An Embarrassing Wealth Of Insanity

Last time we checked in with Silicon Valley billionaire Tom Perkins, he was shouting how the 99% were worse than Nazi Germany by daring to make him pay taxes.  Now he's decided that the best way to "fix" America is to drop this silly "one person, one vote" crap and let the rich rule.

Tom Perkins suggested Thursday that only taxpayers should have the right to vote -- and that wealthy Americans who pay more in taxes should get more votes.

The venture capitalist offered the unorthodox proposal when asked to name one idea that would "change the world" at a speaking engagement in San Francisco moderated by Fortune's Adam Lashinsky.

"The Tom Perkins system is: You don't get to vote unless you pay a dollar of taxes," Perkins said.

"But what I really think is, it should be like a corporation. You pay a million dollars in taxes, you get a million votes. How's that?"

The audience at the Commonwealth Club reacted with laughter. But Perkins offered no immediate indication that he was joking. Asked offstage if the proposal was serious, Perkins said: "I intended to be outrageous, and it was."

Which is funny, because if you think about it, that's pretty close to how the system works now.   The rich have bought our politicians and the politicians in turn do everything in their power to keep all the voting power with the rich while disenfranchising everyone else.

Perkins may have thought he was clever or outrageous, but that misses the point that America is already set up like this, by and large.  And that's how they like it.