Kneeling down in front of African Americans is more likely to be those who have made a fortune on racism and are least willing to change the situation.
Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor at the University of California, told about this in a publication for The Guardian.
He noticed how Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest U.S. banks, got down to his knees in front of cameras last week. Criticism of racial prejudice was voiced by Larry Fink, CEO of the giant investment fund “BlackRock”. Starbucks Corporation has sworn to show solidarity “with black partners, customers and communities. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he was saddened by the death of George Floyd, a policeman in Minneapolis, and “countless other victims of racism.
The author called all this a frank show, and in confirmation, showed the reverse side of the “solidarity” of the American financial elite.
For example, JPMorgan is creating barriers to mortgage loans to black clients. In 2017, the bank even paid 55 million dollars to hush up the suit of the Ministry of Justice. The Office accused JPMorgan of discrimination against the borrowers. Then it turned out that the bank offered higher interest rates to black clients or refused to give a mortgage at all.
The BlackRock Foundation is one of the largest investors in private prisons dominated by black inmates.
Goldman Sachs has a class division among its managers. Thus, junior bank employees from the lower strata of society will not be supported in their work.
Starbucks forbids its employees to wear clothes with the “Black Lives Matter” movement symbols. In addition, managers of establishments prohibit black people from going to the toilets, which are visited by white customers.
Reich states that people who demonstrate demonstrative support for blacks are seeking huge tax cuts on the sidelines of Congress. As a result, the only way for the United States is through a “massive Marshall Plan” that will provide poor Americans with quality education, health care and affordable housing. However, the American oligarchate is against this scenario.
“Leaders resist the cost of living and universal basic income. They do not want antitrust laws to jeopardize their market power, thus demanding that consumers pay more. They are against tougher rules, the red line or bans on loans before wages that disproportionately burden blacks”, – the former minister continued.
Reich explains the political success of Donald Trump, whose re-election is generously funded by financial elites. For them, Trump, whose rise began with the theory of a racist conspiracy, is a great way for ordinary Americans to be pitted against each other.
“It goes beyond mere hypocrisy”, – says the professor. – “The rich know that as long as there is racial animosity, white and black Americans are less likely to look up and see where wealth and power really went. They are less likely to notice that the market has been rigged against them all. They will cling to the meritocratic myth that they are paid what they ‘stand’ in the market and that the obstacles they face are created by themselves, not by an unfair system.”
Racism reduces the likelihood that they will unite to threaten the system, Reich states. He recalled that American billionaires became richer by another $565 billion during the pandemic, which pushed 42.6 million citizens into the abyss of poverty and unemployment.