Left Addresses Economics, continued
12-01-13 Splitting off a bunch of comments from Bengazi post.
Since that post was about both Benghazi and liberal statements on economics, I was using it as the second “Latest political goings on” thread, and it became mostly about that. So now, this new thread will be for general economic updates.
[For those who don’t know how to move comments from a post like this, I explain how I did it, here: https://erictb.wordpress.com/about/#comment-1088 ]
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Income Inequality Gets Worse When You Slash Taxes On The Rich: Study
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/income-inequality-study_n_3346073.html
CEOs Are Terrible At Management, Study Finds: Forbes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/ceo-management-terrible-study_n_3346071.html
Here’s a good one:
Big Lie: America Doesn’t Have #1 Richest Middle-Class in the World…We’re Ranked 27th!
http://www.alternet.org/economy/americas-middle-class-27th-richest?
“How Inequality Was Created”
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/07/23/2340411/the-rich-feel-poor-if-they-make-less-than-5-million (Yeah, people are always telling us “don’t complain, compared to the third world, you’re rich”, but does anyone ever tell them that?)
http://www.salon.com/2013/07/22/income_inequality_ruined_detroit_partner
Food Stamps Avoided By Millions Of Eligible Americans
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/14/food-stamps_n_3757052.html
Taxpayer Dollars Paid A Third Of Richest Corporate CEOs: Report
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/richest-ceos-compensation-ceos_n_3825087.html
A Plutocracy Ruled by Self-Centered Jerks?
http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/27/a-plutocracy-ruled-by-self-centered-jerks
Executive Excess 2013: Bailed out, Booted, and Busted
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/08/12227/executive-excess-2013-bailed-out-booted-and-busted
Paying CEOs Top Dollar for Poor Performance
http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/28/paying-ceos-top-dollar-for-poor-performance
Forget Al Capone — Today’s Racketeers are on Wall Street
http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/29/forget-al-capone-todays-racketeers-are-on-wall-street
Again; wake up everyone, to who the real “takers” really are; and stop excusing them and blaming the poor!
Elizabeth Warren Calls Supreme Court Right-Wing, ‘Pro-Corporate’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/08/elizabeth-warren-supreme-court_n_3891428.html
“You follow this pro-corporate trend to its logical conclusion, and sooner or later you’ll end up with a Supreme Court that functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of big business,”
Conservatives complain that the Supreme Court is so liberal, and issues like abortion, gay rights, “removing God from the public sphere” etc. (the “moral” and religious issues) are what they focus on, but it seems those are smokescreens for the economic area, where we see who’s really gaining the most.
Wealthiest Americans Take Home Biggest Share of Income Ever Recorded
http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/11/wealthiest-americans-take-home-biggest-share-of-income-ever-recorded
The Koch brothers’ secret bank
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/behind-the-curtain-exclusive-the-koch-brothers-secret-bank-96669.html
“Short says his members are ‘concerned that the nation that they grew up in and that their businesses have flourished in will not be there for their children and grandchildren,’ and are ‘committed to trying to restore what they view are free markets in a free society in America’.”
This is what it always comes down to; “the nation they grew up in”, and why these people can’t ever be seen as the ones at least partly responsible for milking the economy. They represent the “values” of “America”, so it must be others to blame for everything.
The Myth of the “Free Market” and How to Make the Economy Work for Us
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/17-5
Matt Bevin: Anger Toward Wall Street Since Financial Crisis Is ‘Class Warfare’ Against Job Creators
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/matt-bevin-class-warfare_n_3940818.html
“Have you ever been offered a job by a poor person? No one has” typical rationale.
Why Are American Health Care Costs So High?
The Simple Reason for the Long Downturn: Housing Bubble Burst
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/the-simple-reason-for-the_b_3938762.html
5 Industries That Are Mercilessly Robbing the American People
http://www.alternet.org/economy/5-industries-are-mercilessly-robbing-american-people
Bad News For People Who Hate Obama: You May Have Been Cheering For Him This Whole Time
http://www.upworthy.com/bad-news-for-people-who-hate-obama-you-mayve-been-cheering-for-him-this-whole-time-2
Billionaires Received Millions From Taxpayer Farm Subsidies: Analysis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/farm-subsidies-billionaires_n_4232739.html
Some evidence austerity is backfiring, so that the GOP’s “pro-business” philosophy is actually ending up hurting business (And the economy with it, as they claim liberalism does):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/gop-pro-business-not_n_4276687.html
Here’s a good one on someone admonishing banks:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/james-cole-bankers_n_4297894.html
Here is an interesting idea as to something I’ve always wondered:
Can Science Explain Tea Party Success, ‘Occupy’ Fade-Out?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/study-success-failure-political-movements_n_4310626.html
“
”
One Facebook commenter of course points out how the Tea Party is backed by “billionaire $$” and mainstream media, while Occupy was “abused” by “fascist governments” (citing Bloomberg).
A Huffpost commenter points out:
”
” (The study the article cited acknowledged that “conservatives, too, can shoot themselves in the foot.” despite galvanizing their ranks with perceived agreement, through “their inaccurate perceptions [which] could impair group progress when actual agreement is necessary.”)
Speaking of billionaire backing, here’s another article on that:
Tea Party Republicans Backed By Big Corporate Players Following Shutdown
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/23/tea-party-republicans-corporate-backing_n_4329597.html
Dinesh D’Souza, the darling of the conservative movement who aimed to call out the Black American community for using the “victim rhetoric” of “Racism” claims to get undeserved stuff, calls Obama a “grownup Trayvon”.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/dinesh-dsouza-trayvon-tweet_n_4345318.html
Meanwhile, even Gates (along with Buffett) are saying the tax system is already “flat” in a way that favors themselves:
http://www.upworthy.com/what-warren-buffett-and-bill-gates-think-is-very-unfair-might-shock-you
Frank Schaeffer (son of Francis Schaeffer, often liked by conservative Christians, who ignore the critiques he made of their movement, as Michael Horton pointed out in Beyond Culture Wars, and now the son has turned completely against conservativism) blog article:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/frankschaeffer/2013/11/jesus-ate-a-95000-truffle-the-evangelical-gop-worships-wealth-so-kiss-jesus-justice-fairness-and-america-goodbye/
leading to this:
http://www.alternet.org/economy/5-signs-rich-have-way-too-much-money
Later, found these:
Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-tirado/why-poor-peoples-bad-decisions-make-perfect-sense_b_4326233.html
(Some people still spewed the conservative nonsense!)
CORPORATE WELFARE IS ALMOST DOUBLE SOCIAL WELFARE
http://benswann.com/corporate-welfare-is-almost-double-social-welfare/
The Richest World Leaders Are Even Richer Than You Thought
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/29/richest-world-leaders_n_4178514.html
How Dollarocracy is Destroying America:
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-how-dollarocracy-is-destroying-america/
An interesting video on how “positive thinking” philosophy can make the situation worse:
Why The Religion Of ‘Positive Thinking’ Needs To Be Burned At The Stake
http://www.upworthy.com/why-the-religion-of-positive-thinking-needs-to-be-burned-at-the-stake-5
(The way it’s often thrown at you whenever you to to someone with any sort of unsolvable problem, always did seem like a “pacifier” to me!)
Are Economic Royalists Leading the US Over a Precipice?
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/20624-are-economic-royalists-leading-the-us-over-a-precipice
Book Excerpt The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America – and What We Can Do to Stop It, byThom Hartmann
Also, in another FB thread, the subject of Zeitgeist came up, with links to these sites calling it a “cult”. I wasn’t sure about that, not knowing anything really about the movement, beyond what was in their films and on their website, which last time I checked, was rather vague.
So what I said was I don’t trust the utopianism of Zeitgest, but they sure made the good point that we are operating off an “illusion of scarcity”, while an abundance is being concentrated. The whole philosophy of “survival of the fittest”, “winner takes all”, Randianism, etc. these people are basically, more fit (“provide value”, work harder than everyone else, etc), so that’s why they get so much wealth while everyone else struggles. The person “only” doing his 40 hours and going home isn’t working hard enough. That’s what we hear. But this acts as if we’re in the ice ages or something.
One person (arguing the USA is is in jeopardy because of “idiots, morons and sheeple”) had said to someone else “corporations are made up of people and if there are any bad ones, they usually don’t last, and they grow and succeed because they produce and give people who so desire them, real jobs with benefits [“WORK, balls and faith in themselves and the opportunities”]; as opposed to govt. workers, who can fail left and right, blow trillions of dollars on BS and foreign aid and crony crap, and never get fired or lose their pensions”.
Yes, private corporations consists of people. Just like government consists of people. The same person who wants to climb to the top and has the talent, temperament and timing to do so can choose to climb up the ranks of government, or just as soon climb up through private enterprise. (This is a point I had long made, but for some reason am only now remembering to write it). The line between the two often becomes blurred as it is. (Govt. appointees chosen from private industry, etc). So this distinction between govt being so corrupt, but private industry always being so self-correcting, is very shortsighted. Either way, they manipulate power, and make “sheeple” out of whoever they can get to trust in them so blindly (often making a big point at pointing out the flaws in the other side!) So then, everyone spends all their energy pointing at each other, and both institutions, in bed with each other, rob us all blind!
Here, “Makers vs Takers” is thrown back at conservatives:
A point I added to Makers-Takers was on this “covetousness” charge. Here’s the larger body of thought:
Just pointing out inequity is seen as “coveting”. While contentment is preached at the average person, the rich are justified in reacting when they “lose money”, in which case they basically punish everybody, and blame it on the lower classes themselves and socialism.
But look at the envy implicit in complaining about welfare. i.e. “I have to work, he’s getting paid without working”. However, if the same person they criticize for wanting more were to take their implicit advice and double his work week, and climb to the top of his organization or field, they wouldn’t consider that “coveting”, but rather “earning”. They didn’t take their neighbor’s money or possessions, but coveting them doesn’t necessarily mean taking (that’s why there are separate commandments on “stealing” or “adultery”, which refer to the actual acts of “taking” something). “Coveting” is the act of “desiring”, regardless of how you plan to go about gaining it —even if you gain it by striving to earn your own “copies” of what they have through your own “hard work” rather than taking theirs. It leads to the competitive “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality that has led to a lot of stress and burnout.
It’s not quite the same as people who have trouble making ends meet, and are then told that it’s because there is scarcity, but then they look around and can see abundance concentrated in a few hands
So this shows the distorted view of those who like to hurl terms out at others (including scriptural ones), but miss the whole point.
The RNC Wrote A 100-Page Autopsy, But Apparently Nobody Read It
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/30/rnc-autopsy-2013_n_4520289.html
The most interesting to me:
Also linked to this article I remember, but not sure if I linked to anywhere:
John Boehner: Conservative Groups Have Lost All Credibility
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/boehner-conservative-groups_n_4433631.html
Not to mention endlessly excoriating Obama for “blaming Bush”!
Noam Chomsky: U.S. Politics Are Now ‘Pure Savagery’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08/noam-chomsky-us-politics_n_4563600.html
Saw a cartoon in the Queens Chronicle, but don’t know how to find it online, or if they put it online, so I found a similar one that’s the same thing:
Here’s a URL I copied on my phone, never got to transfer it to the PC and listen to it for some reason, and then forgot it, until finding it on the Android clipboard (and then thinking I had posted it already. Again, as I mentioned somewhere, those stored clipboards are great!)
This TED Talk Was Banned For Attacking The Job Creator Myth; The Rich Don’t Want You To See It (VIDEO:Nick Hanauer “Rich people don’t create jobs” )
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/11/banned-ted-talk-job-creator-myth
Excellent points:
(1:30) Because of supply and demand, “the ordinary consumer is more of a job creator than a capitalist like me.”
(2:00)”Calling ourselves ‘job creators’ isn’t just inaccurate. It’s disingenuous. That’s why our existing policies are so upside down. When the biggest tax exemptions, and the lowest tax rates benefit the richest, all in the name of ‘job creation’, all that happens is that the rich gets richer”
(2:27)“If it was true that lower taxes for the rich and more wealth for the wealthy led to job creation, today we would be drowning in jobs. But unemployment and underemployment is at record highs.”
(2:54)”Somebody like me makes hundred or thousands of times as much as the median Americans. But I don’t buy hundreds or thousands of times as much stuff [i.e. the clothes and cars he buys may be much more expensive, but he still only has three cars, (not three thousand), and the same amount of clothes as the average person. This does not produce more jobs.
(4:14)”It’s only honest to admit, that when somebody like me calls themselves a ‘job creator’, we;re not just describing how the economy works. But more particularly, we’re making a claim on status and privileges that we deserve.”
Why you can’t “bootstrap” yourself out of poverty
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/no–you-can-t-just–bootstrap–yourself-out-of-poverty-172104522.html
“A common narrative in today’s political arena is that the nation’s least fortunate only need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps – that they’re just not working hard enough. What often goes unnoticed, however, are the overwhelming barriers that those living below the poverty line face on a daily basis.”
The person who posted this comments:
I added:
It’s easier because those 400 or however many can more easily stay behind the scenes and pay people to tell everyone it’s the 150 million, and thus pointing and blaming the man beside them.
In the feed today, there was also this:
Wealthy Businessman Compares Treatment Of The Rich To The Holocaust
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/25/taxes-rich-holocaust_n_4665676.html
The blame in both the Nazi era and the past few decades of US politics had a common theme of the objects of blame being painted as “leeches”, but in the US, this group was NOT the rich (who often had a big hand in pointing the finger of blame at certain other groups, and using well financed think tanks to sway nearly everyone’s thinking in this regard). I would say what we’re seeing now is the tide finally turning to a bit more awareness of the rich’s part in economic problems. And of course they’re going to counter with defensive rhetoric.
11 Reasons We Must Take A Stand Against Inequality
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/income-inequality-reasons-bad_n_4682083.html
(The answer to this is that it’s the liberals’ and poor’s fault the rich aren’t investing).
(Notice, senators are included in “the rich”, not just the private sector, whom conservative detractors claim are the sole objects of maligning).
Also links to this article it looks like I somehow missed:
The Rich Are Hoarding Cash And It’s Making Us A Lot Worse Off: Experts http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/rich-americans-hoarding-cash_n_3720941.html
the bigger threat to the economy may not be that the rich are hoarding their money, but rather that companies are sitting on it.
It’s like I point out in Makers-Takers, inasmuch as the attempt is to blame taxes, “While ‘covetousness’ is condemned in the average person, the rich are justified in any reaction they may make when they ‘lose money’, in which case they basically punish everybody“.
I Wonder If Anyone That Rich Thinks, ‘Yeah, I Need All This Money. All. Of. It.’
http://www.upworthy.com/i-wonder-if-anyone-that-rich-thinks-yeah-i-need-all-this-money-all-of
“TED Talk” guy again:
When ‘They’ Say Cutting Taxes On The Rich Means Job Creation, They’re Lying. Just Ask This Rich Guy.
http://www.upworthy.com/when-they-say-cutting-taxes-on-the-rich-means-job-creation-theyre-lying-just-ask-this-rich-guy
Next Time Someone Argues For ‘Trickle-Down’ Economics, Show Them This
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/rich-richer_n_4731408.html
“The highest-earning 20 percent of Americans have been making more and more over the past 40 years. Yet no other boats have risen; in fact, they’re sinking…In other words, a rising tide has lifted a few big boats and washed the rest aside.”
Rich People Say The Darndest Things
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/rich-people-sayings_n_4704191.html
Show This To The Next Person Who Calls Obama A Socialist Dictator
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/obama-socialist-jobs-report_n_4745193.html
Non-economic:
Coca Cola’s ‘America the Beautiful’ Super Bowl commercial angers conservative pundits
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/coca-cola-super-bowl-ad-angers-conservatives-article-1.1600849
Jon Stewart Can’t Deal With Idiots Mad About Coke’s ‘America The Beautiful’ Ad
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/jon-stewart-cant-deal-with-people-mad-about-coke-ad_n_4745100.html
From former evangelical Frank Schaeffer:
The Slow Motion Lynching of President Barack Obama
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/frankschaeffer/2013/12/the-slow-motion-lynching-of-president-barack-obama/
Inequality Is So Bad Even The Super-Rich Are Getting Left Behind
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/inequality-top-incomes_n_4767160.html
(with “a chart that could stoke class rage among the super-rich”!)
Scary. People worry so much about “big government”, but you wonder if soon some of these .01 percenters will start buying out governments. Then let’s see if they’re any less authoritarian and give everyone “freedom”.
And with the rationale used to justify this astronomical disparity: “they delayed gratification and pulled themselves up, so they deserve it” (i.e. “character” superiority”) they may believe in some sort of slavery over the “lazy” masses!
Billionaire Wilbur Ross Declares ‘The 1 Percent Is Being Picked On’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/wilbur-ross-1-percent_n_4769368.html
(If it’s a matter of being incapable, then is it really “lazy”? In any case, it’s clearly a judgement of superior/inferior).
“Of course, most of what these men are saying is totally wrong. Higher education doesn’t necessarily make you rich [ http://www.epi.org/publication/snapshot_20090722 ]. The rich don’t work harder than the poor [ http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/01/worlds-rich-are-not-incomprehensibly-wealthy-because-they-work-harder/357187 ]. The rich aren’t under siege — in fact, they are the only ones truly thriving [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/11/how-the-1percent-won-the-recovery-in-one-table ] since the recession.”
One responder comes against this strongly:
I added my usual sort of response (that they believe they have :superior character”, and are thus thinking like the slaveowners, and that it’s good we are finally coming against this strongly), concluded with “‘Might makes right’. Except when government does it to them!”
Here’s a good one on guns:
Racial Fears, Gun Fantasies, and Another Dead Teenager
http://prospect.org/article/racial-fears-gun-fantasies-and-another-dead-teenager
They’re really going after this CEO pay gap!
Exclusive Data Paints Troubling Picture Of Skyrocketing CEO Pay
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/13/data-ceo-pay_n_4780937.html
As part of what they are calling “Pay Pals”, there’s a link to this poll also from today:
Most Americans Think Executives’ Pay Is Too High, Poll Shows
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/13/executive-pay-poll_n_4780170.html
To be fair, the first article even links to a couple of articles arguing the counterpoint. But the biggest problem is the “illusion of scarcity” they’ve created. That while there is so much to reward them for (even when the companies they preside over fail), there is not enough of anything for everything else, and it is everyone else’s fault for not becoming CEO’s!
More thoughts left over from the Makers-Takers project:
“Life is imperfect/fallen/hard”, etc “just be happy with what you have” on one hand, and “strive harder and pull your bootstraps; the strongest survive” are two sides of the same “ice age mentality” coin.
It’s one thing to observe that life is not perfect, but that does not justify the hoarding of power, resources and inertia that makes life as difficult as it has become economically and administratively.
The ice age [we are essentially emulating] is even worse than the jungle because the jungle is at least full of life (abundance), while the ice age is totally scarce.
We can’t have it both ways, and run a society and economic system like the Ice Ages or animals fighting for “survival”, yet have it held as “the greatest on earth”.
If you say it’s just human imperfection, then fine; but it proves you’re just like every other human (even the tribesman in the bush or the third world dictator), and there is no real “exceptionalism”. (Every society’s “imperfection” comes out differently).
AN interesting article showing what to me is a grave double standard in some segments of conservativism:
The matter with Kansas now: The Tea Party, the 1 percent and delusional Democrats
http://www.salon.com/2014/02/16/the_matter_with_kansas_now_the_tea_party_the_1_percent_and_delusional_democrats
Kind of ironic to hear about conservatives being against the “elite” according to class, when they support the corporate elite, and refuse to ever see them as having any part in the problems, but see them as the heroes and instead constantly scold liberals and minorities for “class warfare”, and then proceed to blame everything on the minorities getting “handouts” from the liberals.
That’s why they could move further and further to the right the tougher things become.
It’s a sort of solidarity they have with corporate America, seen as the truest expression of “old fashioned american values”. The thing is, most of those at the top don’t care about these people anymore than the educational, government or Hollywood elite do; they just keep them blaming others who are more like them in struggling in these times, and that allows them to continue milking the economy dry.
Another Obamacare horror story bites the dust
http://www.salon.com/2014/02/21/are_republicans_even_trying_another_obamacare_horror_story_bites_the_dust
Yesterday’s prototype:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/20/obamacare-ad-julie-boonstra_n_4823167.html
Leads to this one:
GOP’s Obamacare fiction series: Latest horror story a creation from start to finish
http://www.salon.com/2014/01/31/gops_obamacare_fiction_series_latest_horror_story_a_creation_from_start_to_finish
Had heard and mentioned this one before; now I’ve finally seen a visual meme made of it:
http://www.upworthy.com/1-trillion-given-to-americas-top-1-but-damn-those-welfare-queens
Also interesting:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/07/california-6-states_n_4890982.html
Why Rick Perry Is So Wrong About California And New York
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/08/rick-perry-2014-cpac_n_4922125.html
Bill Maher’s New Rules: The New Trend Of People Who Have All The Power Acting As The Oppressed Ones
http://www.upworthy.com/bill-mahers-new-rules-the-new-trend-of-people-who-have-all-the-power-acting-as-the-oppressed-ones
When You Give Tax Breaks To Rich Folks Because ‘They Will Make Jobs!’ What Really Happens?
http://www.upworthy.com/when-you-give-tax-breaks-to-rich-folks-because-they-will-make-jobs-what-really-happens-5
There is no meritocracy: It’s just the 1 percent, and the game is rigged
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/16/there_is_no_meritocracy_its_just_the_1_percent_and_the_game_is_rigged
You call this a meritocracy? How rich inheritance is poisoning the American economy
No, your economic fortune isn’t just based on work ethic and idea quality. It’s also a gaping inheritance disparity
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/24/death_of_meritocracy_how_inheritance_is_poisoning_the_american_economy
All many will do is blame the minorities and the Democrats. The blaming mechanism is all in place; everything that gets worse is because of them.
Also,
They just blame it on Communism, of course. In other words, because the system doesn’t give private enterprise everything (unlimited favor, money, etc), it’s already been infected with Communism, and THAT’s what’s causing these problems (Like if you tax the rich, they take the money and jobs elsewhere, so that’s the cause of the problem).
A couple good comments:
“All defenses of capitalism ignore the fact that, at its core, capitalism is nothing more than usury. Usurers produce no wealth. Only workers do that. Usurers are parasites. The word, capitalism, was invented to hide that fact. Thus enabling parasites to drain the host without being detected.”
“First Capitalism defeated Communism; now Capitalism is defeating Democracy.”
Might as well throw this one in while i’m at it:
Why Democrats really love to hate the Koch brothers.
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/20/the_lefts_perfect_villain_why_democrats_are_really_going_after_koch_brothers
GOP States Are The Most Dependent On Government
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/26/republican-states-most-dependent-government_n_5035877.html
Bernie Sanders: Citizens United Is Creating An ‘Oligarchic Form Of Society’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/27/bernie-sanders-oligarchy_n_5045041.html
http://www.upworthy.com/a-fugly-truth-made-pretty-a-cartoonists-depiction-of-wealth-inequality-ma3-5f
The Shocking Rise of Wealth Inequality: Is it Worse Than We Thought?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/04/02/wealth_inequality_is_it_worse_than_we_thought.html
If You Think Only Poor People Need Welfare, Wait Till You See What Really Rich Folks Do With It
http://www.upworthy.com/if-you-think-only-poor-people-need-welfare-wait-till-you-see-what-really-rich-folks-do-with-it
And see how a whole bunch of conservatives (mostly on FOX News) suddenly go jugular on Harry Reid for calling out the Koch brothers:
Harry Reid Hit As ‘Brain Dead,’ ‘Off His Meds’ By Conservatives After Koch Criticisms
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/04/harry-reid-koch_n_5092685.html
Elizabeth Warren Picks A Fight With Paul Ryan
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/07/elizabeth-warren-paul-ryan_n_5106395.html
The conservatives’ answer to the focus on the Koch brothers’ “dark money” is to find comparisons in liberal donations:
Nothing Really Compares To The Koch Brothers’ Political Empire
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/koch-brothers-liberal-counterpart_n_5113492.html
U.S. Corporations Now Hold Over $2 Trillion In Untaxed Profits Overseas: Study
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/08/profits-overseas-untaxed_n_5114300.html
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/koch-industries-and-its-obamacare-subsidies
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONSERVATIVES_HEALTH_CARE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
The Super Rich Are Richer Than We Thought, Hiding Huge Sums, New Reports Find
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/12/super-rich-richer_n_5138753.html
“…a lot of the money is held in offshore tax havens.”
http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/Zucman2013QJE.pdf
Executive Pay: Invasion of the Supersalaries
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/business/executive-pay-invasion-of-the-supersalaries.html
A couple of memes:
This last one posted by a libertarian friend, who disagrees with the point being made. I commented:
I think the point is that the system is *rigged* to overly favor people with the right talent, timing and temperament (aka “type”), which figures a lot in success.
The non-liberal answer is a mix of saying “life is not fair”, to claiming it actually is fair, and to justify this, often to try to suggest the poor are all just lazy, and then focus on the abuse of the welfare system to the point that that’s the whole problem (and that in fact, the poor are the ones actually getting everything, but then squandering it, as in the “Ant and Grasshopper” analogy).
While people claim taxes are passed down to everyone else through prices and taking jobs out of the country, their higher wages can be also. Why wouldn’t they? They ask for more because they can, and they know they’re “valuable” to the company, and then everyone does it, and a so-called “market” rate is created. Because the services are “valuable” enough for people to spend the money, then it seems justified. Everyone exonerates this, as no laws have been broken or coercion or anything; and blames only taxes for the economic tightness they experience.
(Then, of course, the working class demands higher pay, especially when they see the executives getting it, and this justifies demanding higher wages. This is particularly pronounced in sports and entertainment. Then, we begin the bottom up system of blaming, where even the struggling working class, and especially the unionized force, like the non-working poor on “welfare”, all want what they haven’t “earned” like only the rich did).
Hence, what’s been noticed, of this income gap growing exponentially in a few decades, even though nobody’s “working” that much harder.
Also, while Bill Gates may be an example of someone who did earn his wealth through the system, the liberal criticism has actually NOT been focusing on him and others like him, but rather others such as the Koch’s (more recently), executives of companies that are NOT productive, yet are going under; often in financial scandal (yet the “market rate” still determines they still get the same raises, bonuses and finally, golden parachutes); plus all the other power brokers, who have not really produced value, like Gates, but simply inherited a lot, or, got it through cronyism, and now spend a lot of time, behind the scenes manipulating everything (including the government) so they can keep that gain (and have us all, the “subjects”, blaming each other for our struggles).
That’s who occupies most of the 67, and other lists like that.
While I myself know that just having government try to control the problem (when it’s used as a part of it), still, this disparity is really glaring, and should not be blamed only on people not “working” hard enough. (It takes a bit more than work to get up there, unless you’re REALLY talented like Gates and a few others, and why should only the MOST talented (and others who are good at pulling strings) have EVERYTHING? No one’s insisting the talented shouldn’t have more than others; but that’s no longer quite what’s going on now.
Then, someone suggested this book:
Robert Reich Beyond Outrage-Expanded Edition
Sounds interesting.
A couple of reviews:
On a lighter note, but getting across some good points:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/12/bill-maher-right-wing-talk-radio_n_5139044.html
Here Is Why You’re Not Making It In America: Your Sunday Morning Conversation
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/13/thomas-piketty-income-inequality_n_5136003.html
“Hell, that top .01 percent has hit such stratospheric new heights [links to http://www.demos.org/blog/9/13/13/top-01-percent-reach-new-heights%5D that now the rest of the top 1 percent is set for a healthy dose of class envy. Still, those guys are headed for a new and covetable status — they’ll essentially be the New American Middle Class.”
Also links to:
Nazi Name-calling and Non-apologies
http://thebaffler.com/blog/2014/03/nazi_name_calling_and_non_apologies
And this one:
The Doom Loop of Oligarchy
http://www.vox.com/2014/4/11/5581272/doom-loop-oligarchy
“capitalism, left unchecked, subverts democracy by always and everywhere concentrating wealth at the tippy-top. That creates a class with so much economic power that they begin wielding tremendous political power, too. And then they use that political power to further increase their wealth, and then they use that wealth to further increase their political power, and so on.”
For Those Who Think ‘Big Government’ Is Taking A Huge Portion Of Tax Dollars, I Present … Facts
http://www.upworthy.com/for-those-who-think-big-government-is-taking-a-huge-portion-of-tax-dollars-i-present-facts
What Some Folks Do With Their Piles Of Money Is Downright Un-American
http://www.upworthy.com/what-some-folks-do-with-their-piles-of-money-is-downright-un-american
U.S. Policies Favor The Wealthy, Interest Groups, Study Shows
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/15/government-wealthy-study_n_5154879.html
A Threat to American Democracy
C.E.O. Pay Goes Up, Up and Away!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/opinion/ceo-pay-goes-up-up-and-away.html
“It’s a rigged game. When the company’s stock goes up, the chief executive views himself as a hero. And when it goes down, ‘it’s Janet Yellen’s or Barack Obama’s fault.’”
This, found following a link to something much closer to home:
After 2 Years, M.T.A. and Union Close In on a New Contract
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/nyregion/after-2-years-mta-and-union-close-in-on-a-new-contract.html
We’re still in the “Ice Age” mentality, where there is not only not enough money for worker raises, but they want us to “give back” benefits as well! Yet there is always plenty for those at the top, both in this agency, and elsewhere. They “work”, we don’t “work”!
Why are things this way in this country, and a noisy political rhetoric machine insists it should be this way, or is not even this way enough?
Perhaps, because:
Matt Taibbi: America Has A ‘Profound Hatred Of The Weak And The Poor’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/16/matt-taibbi-the-divide_n_5159626.html
Author of a book, The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap
“Any American understands that there’s this tremendous pressure to succeed and we think about people, for instance, who are on the welfare system and we think of them without compassion,” he told host Alyona Minkovski. “We think of them as unsympathetic characters because they’re somehow taking from us and, meanwhile, there’s this incredible adulation and worship for people who make money.”
Also, a judge won’t want to hear a poor person’s defense attorney, while “there’s almost an admiration that you see when the judges talk to the lawyers of the white-collar defendants.”
Who are the Koch Brothers and What do They Want?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/who-are-the-koch-brothers_b_5165995.html
Among the comments:
[And conservatives almost always try to lump Naziism and fascism as Left wing. Naziism might stand for “National Socialist“, and were very totalitarian; but clearly, they were operating out of fear against the same regime we consider the center of Socialism and totalitarianism, and also economically, were more Right wing].
Bryan Fischer Says the Poor ‘Ought to Be Kissing the Ground’ Where the Rich Walk (Video)
http://aattp.org/bryan-fischer-says-the-poor-ought-to-be-kissing-the-ground-where-the-rich-walk-video
Americans Think People Are Poor Because Of Bad Breaks, Not Because They’re Losers: Poll
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/17/poverty-poll_n_5167460.html
Here’s an hour long documentary Robert Greenwald’s “Koch Brothers Exposed”: http://youtu.be/UTwqkl8BqSc
All this focus on them now might look like just casting the whole shadow of the nation on these two brothers, but we should realize that they may have been a behind the scenes force in not only the economic mess, but also the race dispute. They fit right onto Michelle Alexander’s timeline of racism, where big business worked behind the scenes to not only prolong racial injustice, but also turn the lower class whites against the blacks by presenting black causes as apart of some evil plot to destroy the nation. (the video goes into their father’s role in the John Birch society with its more open racial rhetoric).
It worked back then, and is still operating the same way today.
Elizabeth Warren Book Is A Liberal Call To Arms That Rips Tea Party ‘Magical Thinking’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/elizabeth-warren-book_n_5175662.html
“We can’t bury our heads in the sand and pretend that if ‘big government’ disappears, so will society’s toughest problems. That’s just magical thinking — and it’s also dangerous thinking,” Warren writes. “Our problems are getting bigger by the day and we need to develop some hardheaded, realistic responses. Instead of trying to starve the government or drown it in the bathtub, we need to tackle our problems head-on, and that will require better government.”
In the comments, someone posted this meme:
http://www.upworthy.com/i-never-thought-a-slice-of-pie-would-make-me-so-angry
http://www.businesspundit.com/11-ways-america-is-keeping-poor-people-poor
I can see a lot wrong, but never know what a better solution is (P—”perceiving” over J—”judging”). But perhaps this is an idea:
Capitalism Is Dying. It’ll Probably Go To Hell. But Something A Lot Better Is Taking Its Place
http://www.upworthy.com/capitalism-is-dying-itll-probably-go-to-hell-but-something-a-lot-better-is-taking-its-place
All this talk of “the brothers”; I came up with a parody:
SUPER MERRY KOCH BROTHERS
It’s the Merry Koch Brothers and financin’s the game
Not like the others in-the-spotlight with fame
When your campaign’s in trouble you can call us on the double
we’re slicker than the others, you’ll be hooked on the Brothers
{Swing – the – axe, on-the-mid-dle class; just – like – that} Yo!
You’re in for the worse; hang onto your purse,
We fund the Tea Party, our-dad founded John-Birch;
You’ll hear of makers, and takers, the commies and gun lovers
Join the faction of the plunderers; you’ll be hooked on the brothers, to the bridge…
It’s the Merry Koch Brothers, and financin’s the game
Found a bunch of scapegoats to place all the blame
Give 1%ers a hand, in the chosen land
You’re bound to discover you’ll be hooked on the brothers
Say…evil Obama and baby mamas are up to misbehavior
They bankrupt the nation; Beulah Land needs saving
Leechin and breaching; the conservatives will discover
They can’t help but be hooked on the brothers
My wife DVR’ed this one for me:
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/elizabeth-warren-details-middle-class-struggles-political-fights/story?id=23414995
Don’t Look Now, But Our Country Is In A Place It Hasn’t Been For Well Over 100 Years
http://www.upworthy.com/dont-look-now-but-our-country-is-in-a-place-it-hasnt-been-for-well-over-100-years
Fast Food CEOs Make 1,000 Times More Than Their Typical Workers: Report
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/22/fast-food-pay_n_5191927.html
“Catherine Ruetschlin, author of the report said the eye-popping CEO-to-worker pay ratios undermine the argument from the industry that restaurateurs are already paying workers what they can afford. She also said the ratios should be a serious concern for shareholders, arguing that gaping pay disparities could lead to low morale and poor customer service, ultimately hurting the company’s stability.”
Oh Hello, Face! Meet Palm. Because You’re About To See A Really Uncomfy Chart About The Super-Rich.
http://www.upworthy.com/oh-hello-face-meet-palm-because-youre-about-to-see-a-really-uncomfy-chart-about-the-super-rich
Elizabeth Warren Sidesteps Clinton Question, Says Wall Fat Cats ‘Strut Around Washington’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/27/elizabeth-warren-wall-street_n_5222232.html
“I’m worried a lot about power in the financial services industry and I’m worried about the fact that basically, starting in the ’80s, you know, the cops were taken off the beat in financial services. These guys were allowed to just paint a bull’s-eye on the backside of American families,” Warren said. “They loaded up on risk. They crushed the economy. They got bailed out. What bothers me now, they still strut around Washington, they block regulations that they don’t want, they roll over agencies whenever they can.”
Elizabeth Warren Blasts FCC Net Neutrality Plan: ‘Just One More Way The Playing Field Is Tilted’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/elizabeth-warren-net-neutrality_n_5242629.html
The U.S. Is Even More Unequal Than You Realized
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/01/income-inequality-charts_n_5241586.html
Paul Ryan’s Approach To Poverty Is Straight Out Of The 19th Century
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/14/paul-ryan-poverty_n_5295555.html
All of this brings to mind something I kept seeing in my research on the NYC neighborhood of this same time period, the Five Points. (https://erictb.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/porches-points-and-poverty)
When a Methodist mission sent Rev. Lewis Morris Pease to the Old Brewery,
The ladies of the Mission society reacted and within a year he was dismissed, when visiting “to view the creatures whom their munificence was assuring places amidst the glories of the hereafter”, and they learned that he had not preached a sermon in two days, because “he had been too busy carting great loads of cloth from the manufacturing houses of Broadway to to his Five Points workroom”.
It was their idea that he should do little but “preach the Gospel and obtain members and converts for the church”; “preaching the word to God, not getting involved with worldly activities”. (He was “no longer relying on the help of God”. And in the Five Points article, I cite somewhere that their whole purpose was said to be to “convert errant Catholics” in the first place. “The inhabitants of the brewery were overwhelmingly Irish Catholics, who detested the Protestants due to the persecution of the Catholics back in Ireland”).
http://academic2.marist.edu/foy/esopus/essays/five%20points%20mission.htm:
He then founded the Five Points House of Industry on the other side of the park, and was replaced in the Mission by the Rev. J. Luckey, a noted evangelist. “However, Luckey fared no better than Pease, and it was decided that in order for the misery and decadence to end, the brewery had to be razed to the ground and replaced by a church.”
https://joebrunoonthemob.wordpress.com/tag/the-five-points/
Sort of like fundamentalists ignoring both race and poverty generations ago, criticizing the “social gospel” because “only preaching the Word of God is important”.
Conservative Christianity, across the board through the 20th century to the present, has been paying for all of this sort of self-serving institutionalized sanctimony, by having society turn further and further away from them as “irrelevant” and control-mongering, —as they steadily complained.
Then, “worldly” political and social activism they had eschewed, suddenly became good!
One of my favorite quotes from Horton’s Beyond Culture Wars, p.198-9:
Also, a shocker in the social feed today, the biggest donator to the Republican party isn’t Koch industries as you would think, but good ol’ Flowers Foods! http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/upshot/the-countrys-most-republican-company-the-makers-of-wonder-bread.html
Koch Brothers’ Secrets Revealed In New Book
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/17/koch-brothers-book_n_5342694.html
So we see some of the background of this “gung ho frontiersman” concept of “manhood that tells the downtrodden to “stop whining” and “pull your bootstraps like we did” sentiment.
A bunch of stuff today:
What It Looks Like When The Concept Of Who The ‘Moochers’ Really Are Is Turned Upside Down
http://www.upworthy.com/what-it-looks-like-when-the-concept-of-who-the-moochers-really-are-is-turned-upside-down-9
Here’s The Painful Truth About What It Means To Be ‘Working Poor’ In America
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/19/working-poor-stories_n_5297694.html
“In a nation that has long operated on the principle that an “American Dream” is available to anyone willing to try hard enough, the term “working poor” may seem to have a bright side. Sure, these individuals struggle financially, but they have jobs — the first and most essential step toward lifting oneself out of poverty, right?
If only it were that simple.”
Here’s one on a similar issue— generations:
I Want To Understand Why All These Millennials Are So Lazy, But I Can’t Seem To Find The Lazy Ones
http://www.upworthy.com/i-want-to-understand-why-all-these-millennials-are-so-lazy-but-i-cant-seem-to-find-the-lazy-ones
Evidence that the Meritocracy is Made Up of Poor People
http://www.nationofchange.org/evidence-meritocracy-made-poor-people-1400511508
Got several likes for sharing this one:
The Worst Places On The Planet To Be A Worker
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/28/worst-countries-workers_n_5389679.html
The U.S., embarrassingly, scored a 4, indicating “systematic violations” and “serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers.”
http://www.upworthy.com/the-truth-about-who-actually-creates-jobs-in-one-simple-graphic
CEO Pay Has Increased By 937 Percent Since 1978
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/12/ceo-pay-report_n_5484622.html
The middle class gets creamed again: Why CEO performance pay is awful for everyone but CEOs
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/10/the_middle_class_gets_creamed_again_why_ceo_performance_pay_is_awful_for_everyone_but_ceos_partner
“…a picture of crony capitalism in the board room and at the SEC. CEOs pad their boards of directors with other CEOs, who are all eager to hike each other’s pay. They hire from the same pool of compensation consultants, who then recommend to all of their boards why each of them deserves to be paid more.
Meanwhile, the CEOs and their teams of lobbyists and lawyers have gotten a compliant SEC to issue a host of rulings that invite stock price manipulation. The resulting higher prices are considered proof of better performance, and also instantly deliver millions to the CEOs through their stock options. Very neat.
The justification given by economists for stock-based performance pay is that corporations should be run to maximize shareholder value, and paying CEOs in stock aligns their performance with the purpose of their firm. But as my business school finance professor told a shocked classroom of my fellow students, the economic purpose of the firm does not have to be maximizing value for shareholders. The firm could just as easily be dedicated to maximizing the value for workers or communities or society at large.
Lazonick’s version of this fundamental critique of corporate capitalism is that…taxpayers and workers lose if the corporation’s core economic performance – as opposed to the price of its stock – declines. The result is fewer people working, less tax revenue, and diminished community life. But CEO pay just keeps going up regardless.”
Also,
Vast Majority Of Conservatives Think The Poor ‘Have It Easy,’ Poll Finds
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/26/conservatives-poverty-poll_n_5535215.html
The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats
By NICK HANAUER
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014.html
The Great American Class War: Plutocracy Versus Democracy
by Bill Moyers
http://billmoyers.com/2013/12/13/the-great-american-class-war-plutocracy-versus-democracy
Pope Francis calls out ‘greedy’ bankers: ‘Stop getting rich on financial speculation!’
http://rt.com/business/166428-pope-financial-commodity-markets/
Some commenters are calling it “hypocrisy”, but it’s certainly better than supporting and defending the system, which is what much of the organized Church had done over its history. Maybe he’ll also begin instituting some change in the wealth of his office, if possible.
Also, this one is interesting:
Why Liberals & Conservatives Aren’t As Different As You Think
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/30/liberals-authority-conservatives_n_5543199.html
Links to this study:
http://www.livescience.com/25491-liberals-conservatives-not-that-different.html
Conservatives being against “authority” actually should figure. Aren’t they the ones complaining about “big government”? (i.e. a more “authortarian” system, basically).
As the article points out:
The second link points out how people, even moderates, tend to exaggerate the other positions.
Here’s a good one (debunking the ever-so-championed-as-absolute-truth claim):
America’s CEOs: In a Class All by Themselves
http://www.nationofchange.org/america-s-ceos-class-all-themselves-1404227147
One commenter adds:
American Dissatisfaction With Everything Is Reaching Historic Levels
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/03/we-need-smith_n_5554830.html
Robert Reich: 3 biggest right-wing lies about poverty
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/17/robert_reich_3_biggest_right_wing_lies_about_poverty_partner/
•Economic growth reduces poverty.
•Jobs reduce poverty.
•Ambition cures poverty.
Robert Reich: The New Way Big Corporations Like Walgreen Are Shamelessly Dodging Their Taxes
http://www.alternet.org/economy/robert-reich-new-way-big-corporations-walgreen-are-shamelessly-dodging-their-taxes
“Walgreen is free to become Swiss but it should no longer be free to influence U.S. politics.”
http://aattp.org/watch-robert-reich-expose-the-evil-koch-brothers-in-three-minutes-flat-video
How Corporate America Shut the Courthouse Doors to Average People
http://billmoyers.com/2014/07/07/how-corporate-america-shut-the-courthouse-doors-to-ordinary-americans
Scary how power is being manipulated.
The best worst president ever
http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/07/08/the-best-worst-president-ever
“The bottom line seems obvious: Much to the GOP’s bitter revulsion, it turns out a calm, intellectual black man really can run an entire country – certainly far better than an inarticulate Texas bumbler, and even in the face of what is easily the most obstructionist, hateful, acidic and often downright racist Congress in modern memory. Quite an achievement, really.”
Obama Tells Us How He Really Feels On Trip Out Of Washington
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/obama-washington_n_5575728.html
Obama Tears Into The GOP – Texas Style (VIDEO)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/11/1313189/-Obama-Rips-The-GOP-A-New-One-In-Texas-VIDEO
“You hear some of ’em, ‘sue him, impeach him,'” Obama said, then added a sarcastic, “Really?”
“For what? You’re going to sue me for doing my job? OK. I mean, think about that, you’re going to use taxpayer money to sue me for doing my job, while you don’t do your job?”
Edit: now there’s also a meme of it:
What It Looks Like When The Concept Of Who The ‘Moochers’ Really Are Is Turned Upside Down
http://www.upworthy.com/what-it-looks-like-when-the-concept-of-who-the-moochers-really-are-is-turned-upside-down-9
Some strong language at times, but really hits the nail on the head:
Also had to find this great illustration again:
Seemed to have missed this one though it sounds familiar:
How GOP’s bubble of ignorance keeps leading to humiliation
Why does the right keep falling for false stories about poverty and social programs? Hint: An ideological fixation
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/11/gops_sick_welfare_obsession_how_a_bubble_of_ignorance_keeps_leading_it_astray/
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/10/the-inefficiency-of-the-market-isnt-an-open-question.html
Obama Calls Out American Companies For ‘Gaming The System’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24/obama-corporate-inversions_n_5618873.html
Obama Scolds U.S. Corporations For Evading Taxes: ‘I Don’t Care If It’s Legal, It’s Wrong’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24/obama-corporate-taxes_n_5618840.html
Sen. Bernie Sanders: It Took Obama Years To Learn He Couldn’t Negotiate With GOP
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24/bernie-sanders-obama_n_5617631.html
Here’s How The U.S. Sparked A Refugee Crisis On The Border, In 8 Simple Steps
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/18/refugee-crisis-border_n_5596125.html
Car Loans Could Be the Next Subprime Crisis
http://billmoyers.com/2014/07/24/car-loans-could-be-the-next-subprime-crisis
A bunch of good memes:
http://www.quickmeme.com/College-Republican/page/1/
Obama: Offshore ‘Tax Inversions’ Are Unpatriotic
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/26/obama-tax-inversions_n_5623222.html
‘Big Business IS The New Big Government’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/26/bill-maher-big-business-big-government_n_5623418.html
Obama To GOP: ‘Stop Just Hatin’ All The Time’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/30/obama-speech-stop-hatin_n_5634561.html
Obama: Corporate America Has Benefited From My Policies
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/03/obama-economic-policies_n_5645709.html
“If you look at what’s happened over the last four or five years, the folks who don’t have a right to complain are the folks at the top,”
“Oftentimes, you’ll hear some hedge-fund manager say, ‘Oh, he’s just trying to stir class resentment’. No. Feel free to keep your house in the Hamptons and your corporate jet, etcetera. I’m not concerned about how you’re living,” Obama said.
“I am concerned about making sure that we have a system in which the ordinary person who is working hard and is being responsible can get ahead,” he said.”
Pastor John Hagee: God thinks ‘nasty’ welfare recipients should get a job or starve
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/06/pastor-john-hagee-god-thinks-nasty-welfare-recipients-should-get-a-job-or-starve/
This article nails it:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/08/06/conservative-christian-pastor-calls-unemployed-people-nasty-says-they-should-be-allowed-to-starve-video/
“The verse Hagee is referring to is 2 Thesselonians 3:10, which says:
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
The problem is, Hagee took this verse completely out of context. The passage Hagee read from is a reference to Christians who had stopped working in the false belief that Christ was returning soon [we can understand this as physically, which is what the later church assumed. People then and afterward mistook the nature of Christ’s coming, just as the Israelites before them had]. Instead of working the fields to grow their much needed crops, people became gossips and stuck their noses into the private lives of others [a lot like what politicaly active Christians, such as this have been doing]. Paul warned these Christians to take care of their crops or starve waiting for Jesus to arrive. The verse had nothing to do with people who rely on welfare to help feed their families and everything to do with Christians neglecting doing their jobs to wait for Jesus to return. Sounds a lot like House Republicans.”
Three Charts to Email to Your Right-Wing Brother-In-Law
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/three-charts-to-email-to_b_5664699.html
GOP running out of arguments against the ACA
http://www.msnbc.com/politicsnation/watch/gop-running-out-of-arguments-against-the-aca-325843523691
Turns Out Ditching America To Dodge Taxes Isn’t Always Great For Business
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/10/sp-report-tax-inversions_n_5798074.html
Seems to be ultimately arguing for the gold standard (which I don’t really know about one way or the other; like isn’t gold hard to come by?) In any case, it does sound better than the fiat money we’re using.
Opinion: There ain’t no such thing as a free market
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/there-aint-no-such-thing-as-a-free-market-2014-09-10
John Boehner Is Done Being Nice About The Unemployed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/19/john-boehner-unemployment_n_5849742.html
Inside the Koch Brothers’ Toxic Empire
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-the-koch-brothers-toxic-empire-20140924
Excellent article on education; “Higher ed is sold as the key to an affluent life. It’s really a big business designed to leave you buried in debt”:
College is ripping you off: Students are cash cows, and schools the predators
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/01/college_is_ripping_you_off_students_are_cash_cows_and_schools_the_predators/
Again, the problem is all the “takers”, who don’t go to school at all, and just wait for free handouts. That’s where all the money is going in this economy.
Also, continuing from here:
https://erictb.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/latest-class-and-race-disputes/#comment-2242
The South is holding America hostage
(The Tea Party’s not crazy — they had a plan. Now liberals and progressives need one, too)
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/13/the_south_is_holding_america_hostage/
“Just as a strategy is not a conspiracy, so it is not insanity. Ironically, American progressives, centrists and some Northern conservatives are only deluding themselves, when they insist that the kind of right-wing Southerners behind the government shutdown are “crazy.” Crazy, yes — crazy like a fox.
Another mistake is the failure to recognize that the Southern elite strategy, though bound up with white supremacy throughout history, is primarily about cheap and powerless labor, not about race.
So the struggle is not one to convert Southern Baptists to Darwinism or to get racists to celebrate diversity. The on-going power struggle between the local elites of the former Confederacy and their allies in other regions and the rest of the United States is not primarily about personal attitudes. It is about power and wealth.”
Here’s an example of what colleges are doing with all this money they’re demanding.
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/nightline-luxury-university-colleges-offer-water-parks-upscale-26174791
Nice perks, but NOT, when people are being put in debt for life, for basically a four year resort. And won’t this distract from studies? (I guess if they flunk out, the school still gets the money, so it’s still profitable. I agree better dorm conditions might improve the gades, though).
I was aurprised at how much Norfolk State had added to the campus when I was last there a few years ago. (including a mini mall and nice new dorms that look from the outside like hotels or fancy apartment complexes. Wonder if the are like that inside).
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/09/06/its-official-president-obama-is-the-best-economic-president-in-modern-times/
And for a counterpoint:
http://thehigherlearning.com/2014/09/08/is-obamas-economy-really-better-than-reagans-a-closer-look/
Seeing this latter article linked by someone again, and how it claims “discouraged workers” (people who have stopped looking for work altogether) are not being counted, and this changes the whole dynamic (and this, as figures, has become the main argument of Obama detractors responding to favorable unemployment figures); it then compares several graphs, and then claims a graph of “employment to population ratio”, which compares total employment to the total number of people of working age (16-64) was totally omitted, and is key.
When you start comparing graphs and adding or omitting other variable data into the mix, it becomes clear that this stuff can be spun either way, and that both sides are likely doing this. So unless you’re really on top of statistical data, and all the variables involved, it’s hard to know who to believe. (Which is why I’m leery of statistics, and people who try to throw up “facts” and figures to try to prove blacks are “problematic” don’t have as much of a strong argument as they think they do).
HOWEVER; the fact that we must place these Reagan and Obama bars next to each other, and show how Reagan “(who is widely considered by conservatives as the best economic president ever)” still [essentially] edges out Obama, nevertheless still totally disproves their argument that he’s “the worst ever”.
All you’ve shown is some higher figures; but if Obama was really as horrible, and undeserving of any credit for anything good, then there would be no comparison at all; at least not one that could be changed by adding or removing a graph or two so that one bit of data comes out a little ahead of another.
The article concludes on the state of the economies both presidents inherited, but then argues “how ridiculous it is to compare Reagan and Obama’s presidencies in the first place.” because of (pulling out three more graphs) the decline in manufacturing, leading to an increase in the number of people attending college to try and get better jobs, and the huge amount of debt this generation has been saddled with, and tuition has shot up 10 times than 36 years ago.
But all of this is not Obama’s fault. You’re talking about stuff that was in motion well before he came on the scene, and in fact proceeded and gained momentum under Reagan’s watch! The reason this comparison is being made in the first place is because of the loud incessant claim that Obama is SO BAD; the worst even, but clearly, even if you can spin Reagan figures as “better”, he is still clearly been doing pretty good in light of all these other factors outside his control.
Just happening to browse the comments, the one on top makes this very point:
The next commenter says “I am not an Obama supporter, so I found this article to be an interesting explanation/counter to the Forbes article. With both sides “cooking the books” to arrive at a favorable position, regular folks such as myself need articles like this so we can draw our own, better informed conclusions.” and then talks about feeling better about the future under Reagan than now.
So a response to that was:
Then, a recent comment to this other similar article: http://www.ijreview.com/2014/01/109489-reagan-vs-obama-7-charts-prove-real-recovery
Another one:
All The Wealth The Middle Class Accumulated After 1940 Is Gone
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/20/middle-class-wealth-shrinks-1940s_n_6014874.html
“And who has been the beneficiary of this middle-class misery? The top 0.1 percent of Americans, whose incomes have just kept rising, and whose share of wealth has soared to levels not seen since Jay Gatsby was still staring at the blinking green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock.
The very rich will just keep getting richer by living on the returns from their wealth, while the rest of us [including even the “merely rich” below the 0.1 percent] will keep falling behind.”
Robert Reich: The 1 percent is gutting America’s middle class
FB caption: “If you want to know what’s happened to the American economy, follow the money…”
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/19/robert_reich_the_1_percent_is_gutting_americas_middle_class_partner/
One commenter actually appealed to the “zero-sum” argument
Some of the responses:
Chris Rock: ‘If Poor People Knew How Rich Rich People Are, There Would Be Riots’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/01/chris-rock-inequality-rich-people_n_6248392.html
We Are the Most Unequal Society in the Developed World… And We Don’t Know It
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/we-are-the-most-unequal-s_b_6171230.html
And a thought on the statement (which I think I found a meme of earlier):
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”
Edward Abbey, Writer and environmental activist
People, while pointing at others as “leeches” (their word for “cancer”, basically), feel they are not leeches, because they are “productive”. So they add in their own criteria that supposedly changes the definition. But the behavior is still the same.
It’s just self-righteousness works of the Law (whether natural or divine).
Ronald Reagan Was a Failure, But Republicans Pray At His Altar
Billionaire Banker Says Life Is Too Hard
Nails the point on “victim rhetoric”!
Meanwhile, look at this:
Richest 1 Percent To Own More Than Half Of The World’s Wealth By 2016, Oxfam Finds
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/19/world-wealth-oxfam_n_6499798.html
One commenter posts this good one:
Bernie Sanders Shows How Reagan Helped Destroy The Middle Class
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/30/ronald-reagan-middle-class_n_6578130.html
10 Facts That Will Blow Right-Wingers’ Minds
Guess how many times Reagan raised taxes?
http://www.alternet.org/10-facts-will-blow-right-wingers-minds
NINE MYTHS THE RIGHT LOVES TO BELIEVE ABOUT WELFARE
http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/nine-myths-the-right-loves-to-believe-about-welfare
This has a link to this great article from 3 years ago (height of reelection campaign, when all this rhetoric was spiraling out of control); not sure if I’ve seen and linked to it before:
Return of the ‘Welfare Queen’
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/23/politics/weflare-queen/index.html
Robert Reich: Why Americans are screwed and Europeans are not
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/robert-reich-why-americans-are-screwed-and-europeans-are-not
Robert Reich: College admissions are affirmative action for the rich
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/24/robert_reich_college_doesnt_guarantee_a_middle_class_life_partner
How Government Works To Help The Rich And Not You
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/30/political-inequality_n_7183556.html
The Pencilsword’s “On a Plate” illustrates the concept of privilege
[Edit: A few days later, Huffpost features link in article : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/02/inequality-privilege-cartoon_n_7484166.html
Someone in the comments posts this meme:
]
Also, today, a cartoon discussion based on this article:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/28/living/feat-racist-dr-seuss-drawing/index.html
(One thing I suddenly noted after all this time, in both these illustrations, as well as old cartoons, is that while blacks and Asians’ faces were portrayed in grossly distorted form as to appear goonish; blacks huge light colored lips, making a clown face, and Asians’ huge mouths/teeth; the arch-evil himself, Hitler was portrayed totally “natural”; basically as he really appeared, and looking totally human (the distinguishing feature being the mustache, of course, and the little bang of hair. It’s like the despisal of “colored” people took precedence over the obvious evil someone aiming to exterminate their whole ethnic group!)
One person commented
I say there was a h̲i̲e̲r̲a̲r̲c̲h̲y̲ of race and ethnicity, and blacks ended up as the lowest, because of the a̲r̲c̲h̲e̲t̲y̲p̲a̲l̲ connotation of “black” being “bad. Religious people even believed the color was the “mark of Cain” or “curse of Canaan”. Plus, this very trait ensured that they could not hide it (change their names, etc) and pass among the others to get ahead, as others could.
(This is what people who say “oh, every other group was discriminated against, and they eventually pulled themselves up and made it” should remember).
In the midst of the race issue, a little break, back in the economic issue (which really is behind everything in this countey. Race was ultimately about economics, and the real venue powers are using to try to bring us back to as close to slavery as they can get, and regardless of race, which is a distraction).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/ceo-pay-average-workers_n_7638370.html
Hillary To Jeb Bush: The Problem Is CEOs, Not Their Workers
![[Fox News]: First thing a cult does, is claim that everyone else is lying to you](https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/11168131_10204377143215699_2245116170406869440_n.jpg?oh=40383c2670444a8a02f2a79db5491813&oe=564EDC07)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/13/hillary-clinton-campaign_n_7787420.html
Also liked this one I saw today:
Jimmy Carter: The U.S. Is No Longer a Democracy
http://www.globalresearch.ca/jimmy-carter-is-correct-that-the-u-s-is-no-longer-a-democracy/5466597
Why Republicans Can’t Convince People They Care About Inequality
“It’s the one form of bigotry that is still allowed in America, and that’s bigotry against the successful.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-care-inequality_55c3ac57e4b0f1cbf1e4280f
3 Economic Myths
by Robert Reich
New Koch: Rebranding the Billionaire Brothers
The billionaire brothers are championing criminal-justice reform and starting initiatives for the poor. But has their formula changed?
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/25/new-koch
The friend posting it comments “A must read for those who want to understand the ‘long game’ of these men.”
After I Lived in Norway, America Felt Backward. Here’s Why.
A crash course in social democracy
http://www.thenation.com/article/after-i-lived-in-norway-america-felt-backward-heres-why
One point I recently saw conservatives make, that probably figures, is that another difference is that America is much bigger than those nations. The more people, the more complicated things becomes, and the bigger the government needed to process everything; but then the bigger the government, the more red tape and even corruption.
But some good points:
The 62 richest people have as much wealth as half the world
http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/17/news/economy/oxfam-wealth/index.html
Lest anyone say, they “deserved” it; it’s based on the “value” they produced for the company:
Highest-paid CEOs run worst-performing companies, research finds
Research firm finds businesses led by lower-paid CEOs earn greater shareholder return
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/highest-paid-ceos-worst-performing-companies-research-a7156486.html
Laziness isn’t why people are poor. And iPhones aren’t why they lack health care
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/03/08/laziness-isnt-why-people-are-poor-and-iphones-arent-why-they-lack-health-care/?utm_term=.f9afb3d45133
Also