President Joe Biden sounded alarms over the rising powers of America’s ultra-wealthy in a haunting farewell speech, declaring a dangerous swing toward an emerging oligarchy. Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, Biden said that this concentration of wealth and influence threatens the fundamental principles of U.S. democracy.
In preparing to hand back the presidential baton to Donald Trump, following a dramatic departure from politics himself, Biden now declares that such extreme wealth and power are further eroding both the fairness and equality that created this country; the emerging oligarchy creates this dangerous divide – a threat even to the basics of rights and freedoms for any citizen.
“The rise of an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power, and influence threatens our entire democracy,” Biden said. “It undermines the opportunities for ordinary Americans to succeed and creates a system where only a select few control our future.”
He identified areas that needed pressing reform: the erosion of a free press, the growing power of the military-industrial complex, and the rampant spread of disinformation. He urged actions against the influence of “dark money” in politics- a phenomenon he says distorts democratic processes.
To advance these objectives, the President also called for constitutional amendments to ensure accountability among US leaders. In pointing out that no president was above the law, he made the telling remark that anyone who commits a crime while in the office of president should be brought to prosecution.
Biden’s words capped a flurry of farewell speeches, in which, in an earlier speech at the State Department, he had heralded efforts by his administration to strengthen America’s position in the world. In the final address, however, he painted a stark picture of the challenges America faces in navigating a future dominated by the concentration of wealth and power.
Reflecting on his long political career, which began in 1972 when he became a U.S. Senator, Biden urged Americans to hold on to hope, stating, “The America of our dreams is always closer than we think. It’s up to us to make our dreams come true.”
As he exits from public life, the farewell speech of Biden was a stern reminder of the many political and social challenges the nation still has to overcome.
