No Billionaire Left Behind: Satirical Activism in America by Angelique Haugerud (review)

In the 1990s, a small group of social justice advocates in Massachusetts came together to protest the neo-liberal assault on the Keynesian state and on the poor, whose safety nets were being dismantled. Choosing satirical street theatre as their mode of protest, the activists managed to infiltrate and upend some anti-tax theatre organised by right-wing politicians. By the end of the decade, the core of the organisation had shifted to New York City, becoming the Billionaires, first for wealthy presidential aspirant Steve Forbes, and then, as Democrats and Republicans settled on their 2000 presidential nominees, the Billionaires for Bush (or Gore). They adopted humorous “Billionaire” pseudonyms such as Iona Bigga Yacht, Phil T. Rich, and Merchant F. Arms and donned thrift store furs and other evening attire meant to evoke the glamour (and the economic disparity) of the Gilded Age. The Billionaires staged protests meant to draw attention to, and political action against, the corrupting influence of money on American democracy.

In No Billionaire Left Behind, Angelique Haugerud provides an ethnography of the Billionaires and their interjection as tricksters or court jesters into American political discourse during the first dozen years of the 21st century. Haugerud’s study of the Billionaires invites us to consider whether the anti-structure of the joke destabilises systems built by and for the powerful or serves as a safety valve allowing the elite to remain in control. Initially, as the name Billionaires for Bush (or Gore) suggests, the group targeted both political parties, sometimes asserting: “We’re buy-partisan. We buy Democrats and we buy Republicans.” The Billionaires also staged mock protests against collective bargaining: “What’s Outrageous? Union Wages”; health care reform: “Widen the Healthcare Gap”; and public education: “Education is not for Everyone.” On tax days (April 15), the Billionaires would dress in their finery and visit post offices, telling last minute filers: “Thank you for paying our taxes.”

By the 2004 US presidential election, with some dissension, the group had adopted the position that unseating George W. Bush was crucial and should take precedence over the organisation’s broader message about the intertwining of money and political influence. This may have been politically wise; the number of Billionaires chapters had grown from 55 during the 2000 presidential election to nearly 100 in 2004.

Haugerud began her ethnographic study of the group in 2004 and, thus, had to rely on the oral history accounts of a small number of key informants for information about earlier periods. In their recounting of the Billionaires’ history, members tended to focus on protest events rather than on the day-to-day practices of the organisation. Further, participants tended to remember their activities as being successful if they managed to garner media attention, but, as Haugerud notes, it is extremely difficult to assess the direct effects of protest actions. Do they attract new participants, alter policies, or harden the hearts of the opposition?

Haugerud’s direct observations, presented in Chapter 5, reveal that the Billionaires’ attempts at humour were sometimes lost on their spectators. Some spectators who did “get it” recognised the Billionaires’ playful satire as a privilege that a member of the working poor described as “for people who got money” rather than a form of protest available to people struggling to pay rent (147). The Billionaires understand themselves as advocates for the poor but, for the most part, are not poor themselves. Haugerud reports that most are middle or upper middle class. As well, most are white, well educated, and well-versed in progressive politics. Their ranks include public relations professionals, authors, lawyers, artists, graduate students, and more than a few university professors. Chapter 5 also includes details about how the organisation’s leaders in New York City exerted control over the form and content of Billionaires’ events around the country. The first-hand ethnographic material is fascinating, and I found myself wanting more of the kind of analysis and careful ethnography that Haugerud provides here...