Brzezinski: U.S. Recession Could Lead to Riots

February 17, 2009 12:31 PM ET
James Pethokoukis

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, thinks America's rich people should get together and create a fund to give money to America's non-rich people. Pay it forward -- or else. Here is what he alarmingly said today on MSNBC's Morning Joe program (thanks to FinkleBlog):

Where is the monied class today? Why aren’t they doing something: the people who made billions, millions. I’m sort of thinking of Paulson, of Rubin. Why don’t they get together, and why don’t they organize a National Solidarity Fund in which they call on all of those who made these extraordinary amounts of money to kick some back in to [a] National Solidarity Fund?... And if we don’t get some sort of voluntary National Solidarity Fund, at some point there’ll be such political pressure that Congress will start getting in the act, there’s going to be growing conflict between the classes and if people are unemployed and really hurting, hell, there could be even riots.

Me: For a second, Brzezinski reminded me of Peter Venkman from "Ghostbusters": "This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. ... Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!" Now I have a better suggestion: How about the government let the "monied class" and everybody else keep more of what they earn so it can be spent or saved or invested.

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