Who Owns the United States of America?

Author:
David Stone
Updated:
Nov 2, 2014

Is America Up for Sale?

How many care enough to stand up without their hands up?
David Stone

Who Really Owns Our Country?

Who owns America?

How hard is that to answer? Is the question itself clear?

For most of you, it seems the question is about dollars and cents, i.e, who owns the most property? To whom is the government most in debt?

Both questions, I believe, miss the point.

It's not about property because property is the same everywhere. It's the land, whether frozen or bathed in sunshine.

Land can't define anything deep about a country.

Debt? Debts are due the government.

It would be a gigantic mistake to assume that the government is the country. It isn't.

As presently constituted, it's hard to make the case that our government even accurately represents the country, jury-rigged as it is to serve the privileged of any and all nationalities.

No, what constitutes the United States of America is what has always been unique about us - our ideas and our abundant resources, natural, human and creative.

That's where you find the real battleground over who owns us. Each element is fiercely fought over.

A War of Ideas and identity

Were Howard Zinn (See A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present) and Gore Vidal (See The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000) right, or were they just a pair of radicals spoiling the fun and prosperity?

Are we talking money, resources, control or ideas? Either way, the answers have been obscured by decades of fake history taught in classrooms and patriotism so hyper it's blinding.

When professional baseball teams take the field these days, in games played by rich men on teams owned by oligarchs, we no longer get just the national anthem we always had at the start, we also get a fresh infusion of God Bless America during what used to be the relaxing seventh inning stretch.

Maybe the creepiest thing is that, during the songs, the stadium cameras pan police officers, solders and upright citizens who've removed their caps in reverence, as if that's the stuff we're made of.

Such events woven into the most American sport at its finest are instructive.

Below, there's a countdown to the #1 owner of the United States, all things considered, and you'll be asked to share your own opinion.

Spoiler alert - it can get a little heated. Emotions rise when we talk about home sweet home.

A Cherished Idea Bumped Aside

Probably like you, I thought I had a good idea about who owned everything American. Then, someone whispered something strange that made we wonder.

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i-was-able-to-dump-my-previous-trash-collection-service

wednesday-of-the-first-week-in-ordinary-time

At a nonpolitical community event, I ran into this writer friend who publishes regularly in respected places. I told him how disappointed I was over how little change took place after we kicked the bad president out and got a new one.

My friend whispered,

"Obama found out he couldn't make some changes because they weren't going to let him."

They?

Who are "they...?"

This didn't come from your garden variety paranoid or conspiracy theorist. My friend is actually a reasonably well-known writer, with connections, and a successful philanthropist.

Who are "they?" Who really owns and runs the United States...? I wondered, and the search for information began.

My research, peeking around corners and carefully reading the propaganda rich mass media, showed me who, by deduction, reduction and seduction, must own the country or at least the family jewels.

Finally, I had some answers.

Who owns the United States of America? The countdown begins below.

Note: Who Definitely Does NOT Own The United States

Poverty In U.S.
Flckr,Creative Commons License

American History: Alternate Views - The Stories That Will Never Be Official

In Third Place, Billionaires With Faces

The Boys Who Gave You Our Smoothly Operating House Of Representatives

While some say that the Koch Brothers, industrialists who rank high on the list of American polluters (and that doesn't count what they dumped into Congress), give a bad name to ugly, others admire their stalwart, intense focus on the mission at hand, that is, handing the government of the United States over to the super rich.

In the latest congressional voting season, the dynamic duo delivered on a do-nothing congress, at least nothing that helps anyone but the 1%.

Now, in the approaching season of choices, they are determined to overpower facts and reason while creating fictions about all things Obama.

They have all the racists behind them with their "blame it on the black guy" strategy, and now, they are going for everyone without tint of any kind, which they believe is (1) the majority and (2) too ignorant to figure out they are lying.

Second Place: Who Owns The United States of America?

The Donald Trump Syndicate

The next largest owner, I discovered, is The Donald Trump Syndicate.

Face it. Donald himself is an egotistical powerhouse, crudely charismatic and a somewhat preposterous individual. What better way to remain nameless than to subsume oneself in this syndicate, crouching behind the ever-present, always amusing Donald.

Think of this as something like what the Republican Party did in hiding its more bizarre and, frankly, frightening figures behind that adorable hood ornament, George W. Bush, in 2000.

Just as W fronted for the likes of Dick Armey, (How do you like that play on words?), Newt Gingrich and Strom Thurman (one of the last unabashed racists to hold center stage in American politics and to simultaneously hide a mixed race, out of wedlock child), the Donald fronts for a group of secretive billionaires, mostly Wall Street bankers, hedge fund managers and idle rich, all of whom agree that you and I should mind our own business.

Whether you agree or not, this is probably sound advice.

Things happen, n'est-ce pas ?

Note: Who Might Own A Big Chunk Of The U.S.A.

The 1% looks a lot like you know who.
Flickr, Creative Commons License

#1: Who Owns The United States of America?

The Military-Industrial Complex

The largest chunk of ownership in the USA is, not surprisingly, the military-industrial complex, including the Armed Services, taking in all the branches, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, numerous unnamed and invisible spy networks, the CIA, Haliburton and Boeing.

Together, these groups own 81% of the United States of America.

It's a good investment for them, too.

They receive as annual royalties, roughly, 65% of the federal discretionary budget, plus Haliburton and Boeing investments, all of it tax free.

This wealth allows them to establish storefronts in over one-hundred countries, corrupt legitimate political process around the world, smirk at democratic reform, manage and, sometimes, censor the alleged free press here and elsewhere.

You may have noticed that, in all the endless debates prior to the last presidential election, nobody questioned the dominance of this coalition or its influence on private lives.

Guess why.

The military-industrial complex may now have reached Sacred Cow status, immune from criticism and impossible to break down into digestible components.

Who Owns The United States of America - Your Opinions

Maybe you did your own research or maybe you just disagree to be ornery. Speak out.

Conclusion

Whether material, spiritual or other, the owners are not the people most of us meet on the street every day or those ordered to salute the flag, even as it's been subverted as a symbol of government, not the country.

The rest of us have increasingly little say as the 1% gobbles up what's left of our democracy.

What do you think?

Dennis on March 11, 2020:

America is a “British” Colony.

Zack on February 18, 2016:

Rothschilds willing to bet you . There Net worth is hundreds of trillions. They support and fund wars and controls our government. Me and all my nerd buddy's have been researching for years finally we came to this. Also check out Rockefeller you will be amazed.

David Stone (author) from New York City on May 21, 2015:

Thanks, Paula. Keep in mind, we still have the greater numbers. If the American public can ever be mobilized to get off the couch and vote in their own best interests, we would be fine. It's still not clear if they are willing to do that.

Suzie from Carson City on May 20, 2015:

David.....As simplistic an individual as I am, immediately I find the irony in America, "powerful and free Country of the people," being OWNED.....by anyone. In particular not owned by us. HA!

But alas, what you suggest to us is the hard core reality.

Next my curious little mind moves on to a question. So...what SHALL we do? Excuse me, that's "What CAN we do.?"

It is the powerlessness and victimization of corruption which troubles me the most......daily.

Would I choose to live elsewhere? Probably not. So finally I hear the VOICE ask me: "So then, little bug, in danger of being squished at any given moment, what precisely is your problem? Shut up, sit down and do not make waves. Just live, breathe, listen, do as we command and everything will be OK."

All that remains as we shrink at the boom of that sounding voice, is our final plea. "OK, but can you please let us keep the change?"

Fabulous article, David. Overwhelmingly frightening, but undoubtedly real.........UP+++tweeted. Peace, Paula

David Stone (author) from New York City on May 20, 2015:

Right. In so many ways, it comes down to the personal point of view.

SoSoNo on May 19, 2015:

Ownership of anything is being able to control that thing. I.e., I own my house and so I get to say what happens with it (aside from HOA's, local and national government laws and regulations and my neighbors complaints) but to look at ownership as control, then the answer for who owns/controls America, becomes pretty simple. However, the Internet itself makes control more difficult but not impossible. So my question is, how do we individually combat against these controls, and then how do we multiply that affect with wide spread knowledge? Also, what happens on your day to day life that makes you feel controlled? For me, I wake up, drice to the gym, work, ride my bike, find entertainment for myself and family, and make plans for the future. The only controls I see in my life are those that are closest to me who make my life difficult in various ways...so I guess there's no real motivation to change what I'm happy with.

A Friend on April 08, 2015:

Not us. :-)

David Stone (author) from New York City on July 24, 2014:

@John Dyhouse: Like mother like son, John.

John Dyhouse from UK on July 24, 2014:

As a mere Brit, I can only stand back and wonder, from the comments you say that it is satire, but it is exactly the samae in the UK. If you take the question literally, then the vast majority of the land is owned by a very few major landowners.

David Stone (author) from New York City on July 17, 2014:

@HSP Connections: The toughest thing is deciding what "owns" means. It was a deliberately ambiguous question and answered intended to encourage thought and opinion. Thanks.

Peter Messerschmidt from Port Townsend, WA, USA on July 17, 2014:

Metaphorically and very loosely speaking, America is "owned" by those who are MOST fearful of the word "enough," and most addicted to the word "more." Technically speaking, it's a mindset, not "people," although the mindset is perpetuated by people... the people who may own their own 100-foot yacht, but then they "must" have a 150-foot yacht. And so on, ad infinitum.

Barbara Tremblay Cipak from Toronto, Canada on June 24, 2014:

worthy of another comment - when we think about how fragile life is, using money as a measurement of success is entirely ridiculous isn't it - hope this world becomes more spiritually advanced in the decades and centuries to come

David Stone (author) from New York City on June 24, 2014:

@esmonaco: A good question, but certainly not like the middle class we once had.

Eugene Samuel Monaco from Lakewood New York on June 24, 2014:

I believe everything is driven by money. So my vote would be for the Faceless Billionaires, all dirven by big business. Is there really a middle class America anymore? As the rest of pay to make the rich richer.

David Stone (author) from New York City on June 08, 2014:

@Ibidii: Thank you, Sherry, but I want to go on record that it wasn't me who got you started.

Ibidii on June 08, 2014:

Didn't the Bush family and Dick Chaney have family ties to Haliburton?? Yes, the powers that be and the shadow government... lol Don't get me started! :-\ Awesome lens!

David Stone (author) from New York City on May 12, 2014:

@ThreeQuarters2Day: The failures of the American educational system make it possible to get the general public to believe a lot of crazy things. As I follow the comments over time, I seem to be stirring the wrong people. There is hope democracy can be saved if people wake up and push back from the TV long enough to see it eroding.

David Stone (author) from New York City on May 12, 2014:

@Brite-Ideas: The future is a bit scary, but I don't think it will take that long to turn things over to a now pacified population of addicted television viewers.

Dawn Romine from Nebraska on May 12, 2014:

@David Stone1: I actually did not catch this article as satire until now. So many people actually believe the information you wrote to be true.

Barbara Tremblay Cipak from Toronto, Canada on May 12, 2014:

I'm a political junkie - been actively following politics since the 70's when I was a teenager (although you'll rarely find me writing about it, I can say that I have a solid understanding of who's who and what's what (or at least to a point right?) - I'm currently hooked on a TV show called 'Continuum' - it's a Canadian TV show about time travel and the year 2077, where the US is completely corporate (I know what you're going to say David...lol..it already is...after all, corporations are people now) anyhow, in the show the Congress is now 'The Corporate Congress' (their official name) - enjoyed the read here David!

David Stone (author) from New York City on April 29, 2014:

@norma-holt: Well, it's a satire, not supposed to make anyone mad, just puncture some egos. Do you really think it's that bad?

norma-holt on April 29, 2014:

Politics is corrupt everywhere and the ones who drive it are the money moguls who have no concern for anyone but themselves. I want to know what they do with all their money as they still only eat, live in one house at a time and sleep in a bed, just like the rest of us who are not homeless and struggling to find a warm spot on the street. Society is sick and money has made it so. Great lens and deeply troubling subject.

Kathryn Grace from San Francisco on March 29, 2014:

All joking aside, increasingly we see evidence that a very few (less than 100 apparently) vastly wealthy men own more wealth than 3.5 BILLION of the rest of us own collectively. In other words, a few dozen men own more than half the wealth of the world. I suspect they are the ones pulling President Obama's strings, just as it seems they pulled those of George Bush and every president before him since at least Jimmy Carter. Apparently, Carter wouldn't let himself get tied up, so they tossed him out after just one term.

David Stone (author) from New York City on March 03, 2014:

@SteveKaye: Real success on Squidoo means drawing people in from outside the circle. I wrote this, thinking it might the theme might be a hot button for a lot of people, and it has been. I also tried to make it funny to keep people from getting carried away, which hasn't been as successful.Thanks, Steve.

SteveKaye on March 02, 2014:

Here is a real comment by a real member of the Squidoo community with a real photo and a real name.I'm amazed that a lens like this attracts comments from so many who are outside the community.

justchillinwaheeb on December 18, 2013:

england and the pope.hahaha!

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: Now, see if all of us idiots only knew, as you do, that it's simple, we'd be all independent right. I vote we give the mosquito republics immediate independence and save the rest of us a lot of grief. Simple, right?

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: Except that "states" are theoretical notions and not real things. Therefore, ownership isn't possible.

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: How did we and all the constitutional scholars, except you of course, miss that?

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: How do you feel about humorlessness, Sarah? I feel that it blinds people to reality. What do you think?

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: Keep him behind the curtain, if you don't mind.

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: Hm. Maybe sitting in a corner and listening to New Age music would help.

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: Sarah, do you have any wine in the house you haven't used? What about guided meditation tapes.

David Stone (author) from New York City on December 05, 2013:

@sarah-goodwich-1: Gosh, it's fun when someone takes their own opinions so seriously that they miss the point that this is satire, not a debating club or a soap box.