Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us: Chapter 2 Synopsis

Bitterly Books is undertaking a chapter-by-chapter review of Ralph Nader's work, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us. You can read past chapter synopses here. Past reviews can be read here, and Viator's columns can be read here.

For the complete coverage of Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us, click here.

CHAPTER 2 SUMMARY BY BITTERLY INDIFFERENT

Having agreed to change the world in Chapter 1, the Maui Group introduces its first round of change offensives and unveils its mascot, Patriotic Polly—a shrieking acid trip of a parrot that barks orders through the television. Nader opens with four individual scenes describing how the work of Warren Buffett's superteam is affecting the lives of ordinary Americans. Then we're given a billionaire-by-billionaire rundown of what they've all been up to, and most of them end with the rallying cry of "Stay Tuned." While Warren Buffet was explicit about the Maui Group's need for secrecy, it's possible that they are trying to throw people off the scent by referencing the New Age Book about spiritual mediums or the superb John Ritter movie co-starring Pam Dawber and a convicted pedophile.

Then, in case you fell asleep, Nader has the completely fictitious Washington Post columnist David Roader provide a summary at the end of the chapter, giving the condensed version of what everyone has been up to. He even ends his column with "Stay tuned," simultaneously repeating the movement's rallying cry for the reader and marking the columnist as a wannabe poseur who's desperate to be in on the secret.

The most dramatic scene of the chapter happens in the last 2 pages when the villain of the piece is introduced. The sinister Brovar Dortwist has read the Washington Post column, and is not pleased. There is tension in the air as Warren's group reconvenes for Maui 2: Electric Boogaloo.