Excerpt: "Rocker Bruce Springsteen touched on a nerve of widespread discontent with the financiers and bankers at a Berlin concert on Wednesday, railing against them as 'greedy thieves' and 'robber barons.'"
Bruce Springsteen performs with the E. Street Band during their European tour to promote their latest album 'Wrecking Ball,' 05/25/12. (photo: Reuters/Alex Domanski)
Bruce Springsteen:"The Banker Man Grows Fat, Working Man Grows Thin"
31 May 12
ocker Bruce Springsteen touched on a nerve of widespread discontent with the financiers and bankers at a Berlin concert on Wednesday, railing against them as "greedy thieves" and "robber barons."
Springsteen, a singer-songwriter dubbed "The Boss" who has long championed populist causes, played to a sold-out crowd at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, singing from his album "Wrecking Ball" and speaking about tough economic times that have put people out of work worldwide and led to debt crises in Greece and other countries.
"In America, a lot of people have lost their jobs," said Springsteen, 62, who performed for three hours to some 58,000 fans in the packed stadium that hosted the 1936 Olympics and the 2006 World Cup final.
"But also in Europe and in Berlin, times are tough," he added, speaking in fluent German. "This song is for all those who are struggling." He then introduced "Jack of All Trades", a withering attack on bankers that includes the lyrics: "The banker man grows fat, working man grows thin."
Europe has been especially hard hit since 2008's financial meltdown that sparked an enduring sovereign debt crisis. Unemployment on the continent has risen to levels not seen since the 1990s.
Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" tour began on May 13 in Spain, which is struggling with its crushing debt load, and it runs for 2-1/2 months with 33 stops in 15 countries before concluding on July 31 in Helsinki.
'Fat and Easy ON Banker's Hill'
Berlin, largely a working class city, has been a special place for Springsteen since his July 1988 concert behind the old Iron Curtain in East Berlin.
Watched by 160,000 people, or about 1 percent of then Communist East Germany's population, it was the biggest rock show in East German history, and The Boss boldly spoke out against the "barriers" keeping East Germans in their portion of the city.
Some historians have said the concert fed into a movement gaining moment at the time that contributed to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall 16 months later in November 1989.
"Once in a while you play a place, a show that ends up staying inside of you, living with you for the rest of your life," he told the crowd on Wednesday after being handed a poster from a fan thanking him for the 1988 concert. "East Berlin in 1988 was certainly one of them."
Even though Germany has managed to come through the current financial crisis in fairly good shape, Berlin itself is struggling with a double-digit unemployment rate, low wages and a high poverty. And some of the lyrics in Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" album clearly struck a chord with the crowd.
In "Shackled and Drawn", Springsteen sings about "Gambling man rolls the dice, working man pays the bill. It's still fat and easy up on banker's hill. Up on banker's hill the party's going strong, down here below we're shackled and drawn."
With "Easy Money", Springsteen rips into the "fat cats" who will "just think it's funny ... when you're whole world comes tumbling down." In "Death to My hometown", Springsteen assails the "greedy thieves and robber barons" who "destroyed our families, factories and they took our homes." In the song "Wrecking Ball", he sings: "Hold tight to your anger."
"The financial world has caused us all a lot of our problems and Springsteen has always been a critical spirit - that's what I like about him," said Kathleen Wapp, a 42-year-old doctor's assistant from Wolfsburg who was at the show. "I like the way he's not afraid to put a critical light on the key issues."
"I think it's great the way he's taking on the banking industry - he's got it dead right," said Matthias Beck, 46, a carpenter from Leipzig. "There's hardly anything good about banks. They take advantage of the little people, and it's always hard to find someone who'll take responsibility when it all goes wrong."
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Comments
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//all the well-intended government handouts to farmers. They mostly just benefit wealthy farmers and people like Bon Jovi, who pays only $100 in state property taxes on many acres of land. Because he raises honey bees, he qualifies for a honey bee subsidy. Bruce Springsteen also owns acres of property in New Jersey, but pays little tax on it because an organic farmer works the land. //
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/2795
See, I have a problem with the cult of personality. The cult where people get judged by their popularity not their actions - that kind of thinking drives mobs to murder honest people and king murders.
In so may words I see the disgusting immorality of
Our rich people are doing good - they deserve any break -- but your rich people are evil and they should be destroyed.
What really needs to be understood is seporating is those who earn their wealth - like Gates, Dell, Zuckerburg -- they deserve it - they need to be separate from those who got their wealth and power via special government privilege - see the list of companies and CEO's who were bailed out and the Unions who get special protection.
and yea - when Springsteen pays less then $24 / acre on 200 acres in New Jersey he is getting fat at others expense - he should man up and pay the same rate his neighbors who are not farming organically pay.
//Springsteen pays more than $138,000 a year in taxes on his three-acre Colts Neck home, but just $4,639 on the adjoining 200 acres, which is organically farmed and has horses, according to the report.//
http://www.redbankgreen.com/2011/02/fox-springteen-bon-jovi-are-farmers.html
You assail those who champion for the greater good, because they are not ascetic monks and they make honest money for themselves and pay their share of taxes as prescribed by law. Evidently from your "report," Springsteen doesn't have his money in off-shore tax havens like Romney, and he certainly doesn't get tax subsidies like the most profitable companies in history — the multinational energy companies.
So give it a break; if you want to tear somebody down, there are many, many public figures WAY more deserving of your cynicism and accusations of hypocrisy than Springsteen and Bon Jovi.
He's not showboating, he's trolling.
And he earns a good honest living at it - over the years I have purchased some of his vinyl (any one remember those?) but that does not grant him special privilege to live better then his neighbors via special government perks.
//Springsteen pays more than $138,000 a year in taxes on his three-acre Colts Neck home, but just $4,639 on the adjoining 200 acres, which is organically farmed and has horses, according to the report.//
Subsidizing projects that help, not poison, the Earth should be encouraged until they take hold everywhere. Subsidizing the GMO corn and oil industry is criminal. There's a venue you'd be better off shaking your stick at.
I do - I don't think any industry deserved to be subsidized.
Subsidy is fascism in action where low politicians in high places are buying and selling influence at other tax payers expense.
Yea -- If he were rich conservative I bet you would be whining about how he is not paying his fair share.
If he was a rich conservative and I exposed the same thing it would be at least +88 atta boys.
I guess if it were not for double standards ya all would have none at all.
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone againt THE MONSTER."
--- Steppenwolf
Yeah, Bruce is foremost among Woody's heirs.
I have to say that if one "has the podium" s/he can do one of two things:
1) tell it like it is and get people to hear the truth and try to act upon that truth if it's an injustice, or
2) just work to keep the podium and get greedy rich.
The Boss is right-on! He's always represented and championed the average American by telling the truth.
P.S. to Martintfre: Organic farming tax break... GREAT whoever you are...honey bee tax break...GREAT! Better than Monsanto insanity. Honey bee farming needs support to sustain our healthy food chain.
N.
I bet there is nothing stopping you from honey bee farming but lack of knowledge and lack of ambition. Maybe I can cure that.
Couple of years ago I did a chicken coup tour in the city Pittsburgh - urban farming.
The most amazing one I saw::
One such urban 'farm' was one of the tightly nestled row houses packed among the block of identical looking row houses. The "Farm" (back yard) covered a massive 20 ft wide by 30 ft long "field". They had Chickens (6?) Corn, beans, lettuce, radishes, and more vegies I can't remember, a pear tree,an apple tree, a peach tree and a cherry tree and on the back porch roof they had 3 bee hives - all organic. and no the government did not give them money -they did it because it was what they wanted to do. No roosters allowed to reduce possibility of neighbor complaints, all chicken feces was buried to eliminate smell and enhance the compost.
I disagree - unions do. Especially these days in the midwest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fam5wRXcoQE&feature=related
AND if you listen to George Carlin, a mere comedian, you hear truth coming from one knowledgable enough to forsee what we're living today although he is no longer with us. We NEED these people! Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=mKQs-jDI7j8&NR=1
George says it and listen to those calling him out of it. Any of those around to admit that George was right and they were absolutely wrong? No guts from that side.
Got any better suggestions? Or are you just looking for fault?
yes.
a just government respects the rights of all people equally and grants special favor to none. Think about it.
with a guard at every door,
and the vaults are stuffed with silver,
that the miners sweated for.
i saw a lonely miner,
scrubbin coal from offin his back,
and i heard his kinfolks cryin,
got no coal to to heat the shack.
but the banks are made.....
no one is going to jail. they did in the eighties, but not now. untouchables.
First, James 5 in the New Testament
For the Tea Party as well; Take a close look at Senator Frank J. Cannon's book: "Under The Prophet In Utah", a compendium of details very suitable as must reading for Junior Executives in the mold of Mitt Romney.
It may be said, the Mormon hierarchy of 100 years ago provided perfect background for the progressive movement, and for thet, America should be thankful...
And, thanks to our present Mormon Presidential wannabe, light is going into the dark corners of a very pervasive cult.
Walter Martin's book on the "Maze Of Mormonism" is must reading for RNC & Tea Party leadership, as they may consider the parable of cleansing one set of problems only to have the place cleaned up for a far worse set of circumstances-
with a guard at every door,
and the vaults are stuffed with silver,
that the miners sweated for.
i saw a lonely miner,
scrubbin coal from offin his back,
and i heard his kinfolks cryin,
got no coal to to heat the shack.
but the banks are made....
***I guess everybody knows this was recorded by the Weavers in 1963...
no one is going to jail. they did in the eighties, but not now. untouchables.
***The only ones who go to jail are the brave ones who Occupy, and are gassed and abused by cops. In the midst of a Minneosta winter, they were still out there, pleading for warm clothes, tents, blankets, but NEVER giving up!
Then again, if I were a billionair, I could very well think the same way. I do feel that my thousands are justified, and more income would be nice.
(Yes, he received an 'off record' censure call from the State Department !)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq3BYw4xjxE
Amy Goodman interviews Him later:
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/14/occupy_honolulu_hawaiian_musician_makana_performs
It's obvious to this listener that Makana has drawn his inspiration and a goodly portion of his melody (even the same key) from Dylan's opus. It's fine to copy a master, but it's less admirable if you don't credit the original.
I'm just sayin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCWdCKPtnYE&feature=related
Knowing Obama will never seek jails.
Working families have been nuked by banks,
Who Obama treats as heroic Yanks.
Economic terror rains down from New York,
The White House is Goldman's favorite Resort.
-- you treading on thin ice when you point out the thieving bankers on wall street can only do it with the help of low politicians in high places.
Thanks also for not taking credit away from Ronny Reagoon who has taken all the credit for tearing down the Berlin Wall.
Gosh if we could have just kept him around long enough for sainthood.
Henry Ford of the Ford company once said,
"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henryford136294.html#Uix42uJAIqRHKBTi.99
The seriousness of the word revolution can be read and understood by reading "The Revolt of The Masses" by Jose Gasset.
Those clever men on Wall St.
Have never done so well
At stealing with their crooked deals
They thought no one could tell
But now the truth is plain to see
Their house of cards must fall
They cannot hide forever
Behind their paper wall
99% were sleeping
But now we are awake
The 1% have gone too far
They took all they can take
Let us all stand together
Marching hand in hand
As peaceful demonstrations
Spread out across the land
The leaders we elected
Have failed to do their job
They have no sense of decency
They've joined the ones who rob
Now the tide is turning
The time has surely come
To change the course of history
And do what must be done
Resist the great temptation
To take more than you need
Join the Occupation
To end the rule of greed
Let us all stand together
Marching hand in hand
As peaceful demonstrations
Spread out across the land
Get a free download of The Wall St. March. Original string band music from Outermost Strings of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
www.last.fm/music/Outermost+Strings/The+Wall+St.+March
© Richard Huttinger 2011
"Springsteen pays more than $138,000 a year in taxes on his three-acre Colts Neck home, but just $4,639 on the adjoining 200 acres"
You call $142,639 RE taxes nothing? You think $18,000 is more than $142,639?
Oh, my!!
True it's not nuthin .. but $23 and 20 cents per acre is damned close.
Tis good to have low friends in high places
Critics of Bruce(and his wealth) most certainly did not grow up in the Northeastern U.S. in the 70's. But Springsteen transcends any particular age group or geography.
At the age of 62 it can be argued he may still be the most relevent rocker today.
I have seen Bruce and his band about a dozen times (most recently in Tampa this year)and he is one of the few who can emote pure passion, in the lyrics and music. This is real artistry and it can be argued by some of the best music critics in the land that this New Jersey messenger may not have any equals in the modern era.His serious songs have a common theme-times may be hard, life is difficult, but hold on to what you hold dear and charge ahead-and there will be at least a dim glimmer of light near the end of the tunnel.
Several decades ago, Margaret Thatcher claimed: "There is no alternative". She was referring to capitalism. Today, this negative attitude still persists.
I would like to offer an alternative to capitalism for the American people to consider. Please click on the following link. It will take you to an essay titled: "Home of the Brave?" which was published by the Athenaeum Library of Philosophy:
http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/steinsvold.htm
John Steinsvold
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."~ Albert Einstein
Bruce sings of the corrupt greedy bastards who tear this country down and the ignorant keep on cheering them on. A vote for Romney is a vote for empty headed values that will destroy America, and even the rich will eventually go down.
Sing it out loud, Bruce -
ahhh dude - just a heads up, Senator Obama joined the senate majority and voted to bail out many of those greedy bastards - while President Obama's justice department has prosecuted ... ZERO people responsible.
1) The fallibility of leaders may have little to do with their causes. Example: Ronald Reagan is most accurately described retrospectively as a tax-raising neo-liberal.
2) Bill Gates is probably less deserving of more of his wealth than Springsteen. Gates is far better sever by the inequalities of the system. It is like comparing a giant to a child.
3) Nothing justifies the degree of wealth achieved by Gates, Buffet, Soros, and others. Buffet admits this.
4) The class argument is not liberal versus conservative, but advocates of the plutocratic establishment (essentially the status quo) versus alternative (economic democracy) advocates.
5) There is nothing inherently wrong with government subsidies (given the current system) and they have been in use for at least the last century in the US. It is subsidies to the rich that are wrong. The so called "free market" worshiped by radical libertarians is an ideological construct, not a natural law. The system advocated under such a proposal favors the creation of a series of corporate fiefdoms. ("Escape from New York" was a film about a libertarian paradise, and Pinochet's Chile, came close to realizing it.)
6) To dislike Romney is not necessarily to be crazy about Obama. Some merely think him the lesser of two evils.
While Springsteen has amused millions (m self included), Bill Gates has helped made the lives of Billions better. PS Gates along with Buffet has donated 24 BILLION to causes in central Africa.
//3) Nothing justifies the degree of wealth achieved by Gates, Buffet, Soros, and others. Buffet admits this.//
False premise only justified by feelings of envy and personal greed.
//5) There is nothing inherently wrong with government subsidies //
Government can't give anything to any one unless it take it from some one else first. Government subsidies are politically motivated and inherently fascist -- if you wish to endorse fascism -- go for it, but don't expect my support
Gates can afford the donations. In fact he could easily afford more. But you miss the point.
Those who justify an individual achieving unlimited wealth always fail to understand the role of the system which fosters it, and the consequences of that system for the rest of the world.
Wilma
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