Discussing with a friend the economic climate (unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies, etc.) — to which politicians pander with false religiosity and more environmental devastation — sensitized my scanning to the following Reddit exchange:
“The fraud started at the very top: With government leaders of both parties. So, what do we do? Yelling that the other side is to blame is pointless and self-defeating. Instead, citizens on all sides of the political spectrum can educate themselves on these issues, insure that the issues stay in the public spotlight, organize in their geographical areas, and then maybe gain real political power. This is precisely what the Populist Party did in the 1890?s. They were farmers who were losing their farms to predatory banks and being gouged by crop speculators. They joined together to form co-ops to buy their goods at a fair price, and then became a national force.”
- minor9sharp11:
- Bush had the worst job creation of any president since WWII, other than his father. Bush 3m jobs, Clinton 23m, Bush H. W. 2.5m, Reagan 16m, Carter 10.5m (in 4 years!). The 8 years of the Bush tax cuts destroyed job growth and the world economy. Raise the (bleep) taxes on the rich now!
(yousaiditnowdealwithit.tumblr.com)
- Kytro
- I am not convinced that politicians have as much control over jobs and the economy as they think.
- themediumisthe
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I’m really tired of comparisons of economic performance under Presidents tenures. It is clear that the economy has such unpredictable lag times and external variables that crediting a President for the economic climate under their time is really an imperfect and possibly misleading measure.
That being said, Democratic economic plans do tend to make more sense and are more than likely better for the economy than the misguided and contradictory Republican cut taxes / military spending routine (see Zombie Doctrine).
This was after reflecting upon an argument by Dave Johnson: “A job is created when demand for goods or services is greater than the existing ability to provide them.” And the corollary: “Businesses do not create jobs. In fact, the way our economy is structured the incentive is for businesses to get rid of as many jobs as they can.”
Oliver McAdoo observes, “Questioning the status quo carries the danger of ostracism, possibly persecution. This aspect has a strong link with politics.”
People doing well under the current system are not inclined to look favourably on those who question the system. Morpheus says to Neo “You have to understand that many people are not ready to be unplugged, and many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.”
Johnson omitted manipulation, whereas this blog has ranted before about ‘Merika accepting image over substance and expecting likewise from others. It is the media that distributes disinformation for the sake of their bottom line, i.e., BAUAAAE. Washington “Of the People, By the People, Sell It to the People” Theater, please take note. There has been much about TSA…
No, I’m not talking your Tax Sheltered Annuity, I’m talking a real growth industry… (Reddit has much ado about strip searches and groping by the Transportation Security Administration)* on Reddit of late, which prompted one Redditor to cry out: Abolish the TSA. It doesn’t provide security, it provides security theater.
* Editor’s note: “Signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001. The TSA was originally organized in the U.S. Department of Transportation but was moved to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 25, 2003.”
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President Obama is ready to talk tax cuts and, as the Center for American Progress observes, “it’s not a question of whether everyone gets their tax cuts extended. It’s a question of whether everyone gets something and the rich get a bonus.”
And, Salon tells us that all 42 Republican senators signed a letter declaring that they would block Congress from any action at all until tax cuts for the wealthy have been safely extended.
& more pillow talk…
She: “Did you know that there are people starving under his (the North Korean) dictatorship?”
He: “I saw where They were showing us such pictures and not pictures of food kitchens serving more of the needy in this country.”
She: “You’re saying it is easier to point at Those People…”
He: “Yeah, the ones that don’t look like us. Are there people starving in this country?”
She (sadly): “Yes. I am seeing more and more of it right at work.”
He: “And, the United States spends more on Defense than all the other countries in the world combined.”
Taxpayers in the top 1 percent don’t need it (a tax cut); they now get almost a quarter of all national income, the highest percent since 1928. Truthout
President Obama has announced “a deal with Republicans to extend tax cuts for all Americans, including the wealthiest two percent.” In turn, the Republicans agreed to extend unemployment benefits.
The truth? Power and privilege at the top is the problem, exemplified by a past president who is not facing war crimes charges after admitting to them.