Our economy will get humming again when there is demand for goods and services. Money needs to be funneled to the people who will spend it locally - the lower and middle class. Rich people take their tax cuts and spend them where returns are highest; in this day that is often overseas. Tax cuts for the rich make no sense, and job programs for the poor makes so much sense. How about a modern WPA?
@AlanGrinberg They may not see it, but "the rich" are in a dangerous box these days. They have all the stuff- houses, cars, planes, boats- they need so their surplus river of cash goes into financial "investments" which in the case of derivatives are basically fraudulent- mere bets on some financial outcome. Eventually someone will pull the plug on this by being the first to cash in their chips.
That's a good commentary, Steve. One thing you touched on that I rarely see in the media is the idea that business invests when there is demand. A company is not going to borrow money at low interest rates to build more factories if no one wants to buy (or can afford to buy) their product.
You commentary is lucid, I share most of you views on a surface level, although it appears to be positioned from an 'inside the box' perspective. It appears to me that there are fundamental systemic problems, and that its not likely to be fixed from within. The same dynamic that lead to the election of a fraud will be at play. Its like removing water from a hole without realizing that the hole itself is the problem, next rain its back to square 1. Waiting for next elections is not a solution imo
@Rickdeckard2020 I'm not happy with waiting 2 years either. Just not sure what can actually be done. I think the polls will continue to reflect that people are not happy with the performance of Obama and the economy. I am happy that this election reflected a shift in mass consciousness, which is something we really need.
@Rickdeckard2020 I think there are some things that can happen outside of politics that will also play a role. Because consumers are not buying as much with debt, corporate chiefs are coming under increasing pressure and we may see more turnover. Another major piece is the derivative bubble. All bubbles collapse and when this one goes a lot of heads will role and the system will reset. I think the Soviet Union collapsed in part because the people stopped believing in it.
@Rickdeckard2020 One reason for hope independent of elections is that at the moment "the box" is on fire. The war in Afghanistan is not going well, and the financial wizards have unleashed a demon they can't control. Someone I know has a son who worked on Wall Street and described it as a shark tank. When the prey fish have all been devoured the sharks turn on each other.
War in Afghan, like many other overt and covert wars are enabled by Propaganda and concealment/censorship/marginalization of information. Its not new as one can guess by reading 'War is a Racket' by general Butler. Many people in the west are not aware of the magnitude of how much the media, gov, corps and military, have and are still lying and manipulating public opinion. Returning from Afghanistan or an economic turn around will not change this situation, but learning about it is a 1st step
the "War on terror" is a fraud, and each war is preceded by a propaganda campaign in the media. It usually a) avoid placing a region's situation in proper context, b) conceals the real economic and strategic reasons for the war, c) demonizes the enemy with false stories and real but misleading ones, d) elaborates reasons for the war, e) frame any debate so that the fraudulent premise is not exposed (those against do so within the False premise) and the target does not have a voice
Imagining being in a city where organized crime has the local politician, police and news paper in its pocket through bribes, corruption, intimidation, is an interesting scenario. The towns people are oblivious to the situation because the news paper does not report it. Worst, if the mafia boss were knocked away, with all things being equal, another boss would replace him, so its the mechanisms that need to be identified and undermined.
So far I see the following aspects in our civilization that facilitate at a general root level the problems (not including the political system because its obvious)
1- The monetary-economic system itself (hard to see and hard to imagine an alternative), it facilitates concentration of power and of media influence as well as corruption and economic intimidation(fear of loosing livelihood)
Our economy will get humming again when there is demand for goods and services. Money needs to be funneled to the people who will spend it locally - the lower and middle class. Rich people take their tax cuts and spend them where returns are highest; in this day that is often overseas. Tax cuts for the rich make no sense, and job programs for the poor makes so much sense. How about a modern WPA?
AlanGrinberg 1 year ago
@AlanGrinberg They may not see it, but "the rich" are in a dangerous box these days. They have all the stuff- houses, cars, planes, boats- they need so their surplus river of cash goes into financial "investments" which in the case of derivatives are basically fraudulent- mere bets on some financial outcome. Eventually someone will pull the plug on this by being the first to cash in their chips.
shovland 1 year ago
That's a good commentary, Steve. One thing you touched on that I rarely see in the media is the idea that business invests when there is demand. A company is not going to borrow money at low interest rates to build more factories if no one wants to buy (or can afford to buy) their product.
AlanGrinberg 1 year ago
You commentary is lucid, I share most of you views on a surface level, although it appears to be positioned from an 'inside the box' perspective. It appears to me that there are fundamental systemic problems, and that its not likely to be fixed from within. The same dynamic that lead to the election of a fraud will be at play. Its like removing water from a hole without realizing that the hole itself is the problem, next rain its back to square 1. Waiting for next elections is not a solution imo
Rickdeckard2020 1 year ago
@Rickdeckard2020 I'm not happy with waiting 2 years either. Just not sure what can actually be done. I think the polls will continue to reflect that people are not happy with the performance of Obama and the economy. I am happy that this election reflected a shift in mass consciousness, which is something we really need.
shovland 1 year ago
@Rickdeckard2020 I think there are some things that can happen outside of politics that will also play a role. Because consumers are not buying as much with debt, corporate chiefs are coming under increasing pressure and we may see more turnover. Another major piece is the derivative bubble. All bubbles collapse and when this one goes a lot of heads will role and the system will reset. I think the Soviet Union collapsed in part because the people stopped believing in it.
shovland 1 year ago
@Rickdeckard2020 One reason for hope independent of elections is that at the moment "the box" is on fire. The war in Afghanistan is not going well, and the financial wizards have unleashed a demon they can't control. Someone I know has a son who worked on Wall Street and described it as a shark tank. When the prey fish have all been devoured the sharks turn on each other.
shovland 1 year ago
War in Afghan, like many other overt and covert wars are enabled by Propaganda and concealment/censorship/marginalization of information. Its not new as one can guess by reading 'War is a Racket' by general Butler. Many people in the west are not aware of the magnitude of how much the media, gov, corps and military, have and are still lying and manipulating public opinion. Returning from Afghanistan or an economic turn around will not change this situation, but learning about it is a 1st step
Rickdeckard2020 1 year ago
the "War on terror" is a fraud, and each war is preceded by a propaganda campaign in the media. It usually a) avoid placing a region's situation in proper context, b) conceals the real economic and strategic reasons for the war, c) demonizes the enemy with false stories and real but misleading ones, d) elaborates reasons for the war, e) frame any debate so that the fraudulent premise is not exposed (those against do so within the False premise) and the target does not have a voice
Rickdeckard2020 1 year ago
Imagining being in a city where organized crime has the local politician, police and news paper in its pocket through bribes, corruption, intimidation, is an interesting scenario. The towns people are oblivious to the situation because the news paper does not report it. Worst, if the mafia boss were knocked away, with all things being equal, another boss would replace him, so its the mechanisms that need to be identified and undermined.
Rickdeckard2020 1 year ago
So far I see the following aspects in our civilization that facilitate at a general root level the problems (not including the political system because its obvious)
1- The monetary-economic system itself (hard to see and hard to imagine an alternative), it facilitates concentration of power and of media influence as well as corruption and economic intimidation(fear of loosing livelihood)
2- Secrecy(national security, confidential, proprietary, censorship)
3- Hierarchy (agencies, corporations)
Rickdeckard2020 1 year ago
@Rickdeckard2020 All good points :-)
shovland 1 year ago