Heleen Mees van de NRC 13

Heleen Mees in NRC: 'Eind jaren vijftig en begin jaren zestig hebben westerse landen sociale zekerheidsprogramma's geintroduceerd die een halve eeuw later financieel niet meer houdbaar blijken te zijn.'

Nu de feiten, zoals die in het machtigste westerse land de werkelijkheid bepalen: 'For each dollar earned in 2005, the top 10 percent received 48.5 cents. That was the top tenth's greatest share of the income pie... since 1929, just before the Roaring '20s collapsed in the Great Depression. And within the top 10 percent, those who made more than $100.000, nearly all gains went to the top tenth of 1 percent... who made at least $1.7 million that year. And until we have real election reform, until we make it possible to run for national office without candidates kissing the rings of (the rich) to get hundreds of millions of dollars, this cannibalization of America will continu. Our elites manipulate statistics and data to foster illusions of growth and prosperity. They refuse to admit they have lost control since to lose control is to concede failure. They contribute, instead, to the collective denial of reality by insisting that another multibillion-dollar bailout or government loan will prop up the dying edifice. The well-paid television pundits and news celebrities, the economists and the banking and financial sector leaders, see the world from inside the comfort of the corporate box. They are loyal to the corporate state. They cling to the corporation and the corporate structure. It is known. It is safe. It is paternal. It is the system,' aldus Chris Hedges, voormalig buitenland-correspondent van de New York Times in zijn boek Empire of Illusion. Het is een perfecte omschrijving van corporate woordvoerders als Heleen Mees en de NRC.