President Joe Biden asserted that America is becoming an “oligarchy” while warning the country in his televised farewell address on Wednesday of a “dangerous concentration of power” by the wealthy.
Why It Matters
President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office just after Biden completes his presidency on Monday. Trump won last year’s presidential election while receiving donations and support from tech billionaire Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, and several other wealthy individuals.
What To Know
“In my farewell address tonight, I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern,” Biden said from the White House, “and that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people…and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America,” he continued. “Extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. We see the consequences all across America.”
Biden went on to say that the rich would be allowed “to make as much as they can,” but not without paying “their fair share in taxes.” The president then warned that “powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence” to roll back regulations intended to fight climate change, which he blamed for recent natural disasters in California and North Carolina.
“We see the same dangers in the concentration of technology, power and wealth,” Biden continued. “In his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. He warned us then about ‘the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power.’ Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.
“Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power,” he added. “The free press is crumbling, editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.