This has all happened before...

[DiscoBerry]

And it will all happen again.  This piece kind of points out the obvious but I guess seeing it all thrown together in one concise article makes me feel a bit gloomy. 

We are recreating the Gilded Age, the period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries when corporations ruled this nation, buying politicians, using violence against unions, and engaging in open corruption. During the Gilded Age, many Americans lived in stark poverty, in crowded tenement housing, without safe workplaces, and lacked any safety net to help lift them out of hard times.

With Republicans more committed than ever to repealing every economic gain the working-class has achieved in the last century and the Democrats seemingly unable to resist, we need to understand the Gilded Age to see what conservatives are trying to do to this nation.  Here are 8 ways our corporations, politicians and courts are trying to recreate the Gilded Age [detailed explanations on link].

1. Unregulated Corporate Capitalism Creates Economic Collapse
2. Union Busting
3. Income Inequality
4. Open Purchase of Elections
5. Supreme Court Partisanship
6. Violations of Civil Liberties
7. Voter Repression
8. Anti-Immigration Fervor

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/04/eight_ways_were_headed_back_to_the_robber_baron_era/

[m52nickerson]

Yes, yes it has.

Great article, great post. 

[Old Viking]

For all practical purposes this has already been accomplished.  It's sickening.

[N. De Plume]

This is just news now?