Those remarkable words were uttered by Jay Gould, a Gilded Age financier who thought cornering the gold market (and causing a financial panic) was a good idea. Judging from the events in Wisconsin and the Republican anti-union fervor spreading across the nation, very little has changed. In America, wealth, as opposed to blood generally dictates the upper class (those with a shovel) and the lower class (those who dig). Wealth also entails power. More wealth entails more power. Therefore, to gain more wealth, generally, one must gain more power. The Koch Brothers know this. They also know the best way to gain power is to eliminate the opposition. Accordingly, Ronald Reagan was half right. To the Koch Brothers, government is the problem. However, to the average American, government is in fact us, trying to take care of us. So, if we take into consideration there are more of "us" than "them" how do "them" eliminate the will of the vast majority of us, thereby removing "government" from the equation? The answer is actually quite obvious. In Jay Gould's day, you hired one half of the working class to kill the other half. Today, there is no need for direct violence. Jay could for instance, co-opt a few Supreme Court justices into allowing "corporations" (slightly larger versions of "them") into allowing the virtually unrestricted ability to, at a minimum, influence the outcome of even the smallest of elections in the farthest corners of our nation. Or, in the Governors race for Wisconsin. But why would "them" want to influence something as seemingly unrelated to future political and socio-economical dominance as the Wisconsin Governor's race? Well, if you still have to ask that question, you haven't been reading the news lately. Short version, union's (slightly larger versions of "us") also spend money to influence elections. And this, "them" cannot tolerate. And if Scott Walker wants to stay in office, be it the Governor's mansion, or Pennsylvania Avenue, he'll dig for a living, albeit with a slightly fancier shovel.
