Depends on how corrupt the enterprise becomes.

Deregulation of Housing leading to the collapse of the banking industry .

A montage I'd like to see from the likes of Thom Hartman or John Stuart in regards to who is to blame:

Right up to the bitter end Bush made speeches celebrating the "health" of the economy and that the housing industry was key. Publishing a montage of Bush's assertions in that regard remains as evidence to exploit .

State of the Union ?

I'm with you, Thom. I believe they are intentionally trying to crash the economy to make Obama a one-term-president. Of course, in the process, if they can make their corporate paymasters (or as I call them: The Dark Overlords) even richer and more powerful, all the better in their view. Their champaign donations go up that way.

As synical as that sounds, I also believe they are overplaying their hands and showing all of us their real colors. Have you heard their spokesperson, Ann Colter, justifying Kent State? Really? Murdering college students is now all right? They've losts their minds. They're obviously desperately fearful or losing power - because they are.

The "Powers that Be" are about to become the "Powers that Were." By the time the 2012 elections roll around the public will be more than anxious to throw the bums out!

I like to call that "trickle ON Reaganomics", because the "haves" just keep pissing on the "have nots"! And that's ALL they get!

Please consider: The response to The global Financial crash, every where, has been to literally "print or keyboard" money estimated to be in the hundreds of trillion of dollars, in order to "rescue" the big Banks and financial institutions, those responsible for creating the crash, however, the correct response should have been "bankruptcy" for the financial gigolos, and implementation of my long-time proposal for THE UNIVERSAL ECONOMY. The main purpose of THE UNIVERSAL ECONOMY, is to create "Social" capital in order to eliminate Poverty; as you read you will understand that the rich and powerful already have their version of THE UNIVERSAL ECONOMY but it only serves those who need it least."Please now read and judge for yourselves; whereas bailing out the financial and banking institutions is certain to create hyper-inflation, money "printed" and spent into the grass-roots of domestic economies will not.Please read it all.
All Nations of the world must take back their Sovereign rights that enable them to create their own supply of domestic, Interest free, Debt free, Social Capital and to create a State Bank, to create and issue all Democratically mandated "Social Capital" ; one American State (North Dakota) does this and is free of the financial woes depressing the rest.
This first step eliminates untold quanta of inflation and Government debt.
Every Sovereign independent Nation, or co-operating group of Nations, will then use this Social Capital to totally eliminate Poverty and deprivation in their communities by issuing to all that need it a Social Wage, structured to provide a basic break even living standard, a wage that will continue until death. This forms the basis, the bed-rock of a stable, consistent, trickle-up economy.
The Government will finance all conceivable Public Support and Infrastructures, Health, Housing, Education, etc.
The Social Capital so created will be the sole means of financing the Nations Money Supply, it adjusts automatically to population levels. This will become a "trickle Up" economy, replacing the nonsense of trickle down.
No Capital or subsidy will go to Private Enterprise directly, for if it did it would cause serious inflation.Capital issued and "spent" into circulation, as described above, would not create inflation.
There would be no interference with Private Enterprise. The Private Sector could employ those in receipt of the Social Wage by offering wages and hours of employment capable of inducing people to do the work offered; the wage so earned would supplement the Social Wage, not replace it. Thus inducing mutually agreed conditions at much lower wage costs to employers.Will this not help negate the export of jobs to China etc.?
Thus far no or very little taxpayer money has been expended. The burden of support for the poor and the provision of social and community infrastructure has been lifted from the backs of Corporate enterprise and the wealthy.
Control of Social provision has passed out of the hands of those not willing to vote for higher taxation to facilitate it. Working people are no longer at the total mercy of Market force gambling, that all too often deprive them of livelihood and take away hard won assets such as homes and pension funds. Working people can more easily change employment to escape unsatisfactory masters and conditions.
Price and cost inflation will be substantially reduced by ceasing tax collections from wage and salary earners, to include abolition of any sales taxes, G.S.T., and V.A.T.. Instead individuals will pay tax only once, and that when they are deceased, when the taxman will be empowered to asses deceased estates for tax liability. Avoidance will place the whole estate in danger of confiscation. Is there a better, or more equitable, system or time to pay tax, other than when we are dead?
Corporations and all other commercial enterprise will pay an annual flat rate tax levied against total net profits. Avoidance and imaginative minimisation schemes will not be allowed. Tax allowances will be strictly limited to running, operating,overheads and development expenditures.
Government will not subsidise free enterprise, this great engine, by it's own rules, must stand or fall on it's own merits.
The value of Sovereign currencies, exchange rates, for international purposes will be decided by co-operating Governments, taking into account the requirements and relativities embedded by consent in trade agreements, indicated by Supply and Demand and moderated to avoid damaging competitive pressures or disruption to home markets. Exchange rates will be fixed, stable, out of the influences of manipulators and traders.
There is much more to be said in explanation, however your own knowledge and experience will enable you to foresee the many attributes such a system delivers. My title for it is "THE UNIVERSAL ECONOMY" for it will work anywhere and for every person, fairly and equitably.
A very small "coterie" of Bankers and money power people is holding the world to ransom, they spend untold quanta of money spreading lies about the evils of Social Capital, for their own narrow purposes, populations around the world are in mortal danger, somehow the money power must be defeated.This defeat will come about when we elect independent politicians who will change our system from being representative to being participatory, and we return the Economy to one operating on "sound money", circulating in THE UNIVERSAL ECONOMY. This formula, most importantly,takes care of the constantly increasing costs due to population growth and other demographics.
Have you read this far? then you have my thanks, your commentary would also be most appreciated.
Regards, Thomas W. Adams.

They are sitting on buckets of money, the golden eggs we lay. As i get on my knees and grovel to my boss for just 15% more pay. Kid needs school money, my water heater broke and my boss spits at me and says your just a joke.

Don't you get it man? I'll give you the can. I can hire another shmuck to make me another buck and you can just starve as I eat the yolks from the golden eggs you lay.

So here i sit and toil wonderin' where America went all the political pocket monkeys and my taxes they spent. Should have let the banks fail and put the banksters in jail. We are all getting so screwed and scarce is ethics in what they call truth as we still pay out the wazoo to the banks that put it to me and you!

Create jobs not war. We need to settle a different score. I want to know where all the money disappeared to. And see an America born anew!

Okay that was odd. Seriously though? Face it folks they don't care we are a society run amuck, no honor no ethic and the shills in DC are the biggest joke of all. The biggest tragedy is the number of people the media have so brainwashed....

The "Pres" needs to do some serious fire side chatting, like now! And talk soft but carry a big stick. 2012 is way to close for him to sit on his hands. We need to call out the obstructionists!

I wish to second the above.

Most Democrats try to sell their policies as what I call "Yes, but" liberals. They accept the Republican mantra that Republican pseudo-economics works, "but" we have to make "sacrifices" to make sure the less fortunate are taken care of.

As Obama doesn't get enough credit for saying, and doesn't say enough, we tried Republican "economics," and it didn't work. The policies that Republicans are dedicated to destroying led to unprecidented economic prosperity. Social Security isn't a sacrifice, it helps the whole economy, not just seniors, by making seniors part of the economy. Education. Intrasctructure. Public, universal health care. These are not costs. They are necessary to a healthy, prosperous country.

As to the minimum wage. One aspect is that if we raise the minimum wage, we take a major step towards solving the illegal immigration problem. Let's face it. The reason immigrants -- legal and illegal -- come to the U.S. is the same. Economic opportunities greater than in their home countries. Jobs. Illegal immigrants do jobs that, frankly, most American do not want to do. It is reasonable to say that if the wages for some of those jobs were higher, if the security, safety, and benefits were better, more of those jobs would be held by American citizens, and the opportunities illegal immigrants seek would be reduced. I'd like to test this idea; it is not something that can be settled in any way other than emperically. But it is one reason a higher minimum wage would lead to lower unemployment and greater economic health.

And I see very little chance of anyone making any of these arguments.

Yes, Thom, You guessed it right...................That exactly is their agenda.................... in the wake of getting Obama blamed, they will go to any extremes ................. the hatred, the racism and above all the greed is, what defines them.

Pretty damning study. Those dang liberal universities with their snooty intellectual book lernin' and their "studies" need to be replaced with jesus camps. Git er dun.

Honestly though, the real Republicans, the upper crusties with all the connections that control the conservative propaganda centers directly and indirectly know damn well that Reaganomoics doesn't work for the majority. It works out so well for them, however, that they have so much money that they can perpetuate their own system. It's powered by greed and nothing short of crashing the economy will fix it. They're going to live like pigs in the fat house until that happens -- gambling with the wealth of the nation and proclaiming divinity.

Sorry, but a minimum wage hike alone won't really do much to improve ourr economy. The problem, as I see it, is that we have sent most of our production jobs to other countrys, like China. Until we can think of a way to get manufacturing jobs back in the USA, then all we are doing by raising the min. wage is inflating our money supply. One way might be to impose import duties on manufactured good entering the country, in order to make our own domestic supplies of goods more economically competitive. Another way would be to charge high export duties on the things we do produce, like food.. If we charged the same per volume of wheat as the OPEC does for oil, then we'd do relaly well, I think. 44 gallons/barrel, 8 gallons per bushel ------> 44/8 bushels per barrel, or 5.5 bushels per barrel. so If we sold wheat overseas at the rate of $20/bushel, that would cover oil at $110 per barrel.

Bubble-Up Economics is the theory that money injected at the bottom of the economic ladder bubbles up and makes the rich richer. Since we've tried Trickle On economics for about three decades, my position is we should try Bubble-Up Economics for three decades now and then compare the results.

According to my calculations, increasing the minimum wage is approximately four times as beneficial for retirement as moving retirement savings from Social Security to private funds. And this doesn't even take into account the excessive fees changed in the private sector. It's just the matter that every additional dollar earned at the minimum wage is subject to Social Security tax.

This is one reason why unrestricted globalization is costing us so much money. The 1.4 million people out of work right now due to bad trade policies passed by Congress is costing us on the order of over $2 billion a year in lost income to Social Security. That is money that would not just be going to shore up the Social Security fund, but also money that would be automatically loaned to the Federal Government (because Social Security is running at a surplus and would not use the money for current payments to retirees), reducing the level of borrowing on the open market.

This is why we should all be on Capitol Hill demanding an international minimum wage. We need to support the domestic minimum wage and eventually raise it to a living wage. The only way to do that is to make it unfeasible economically to go overseas for cheaper wages.

Failure to support a minimum wage means that you find it acceptable to exploit workers. Any politician that doesn't treat the minimum wage with respect doesn't treat humans with respect.

" One very revealing interview with one such voter that really worries me was the voter who stated he voted Republican because the people that could provide jobs were Republican so if "we" give them what they want (i.e. power), then maybe they'll bring the jobs back. I'm very afraid that many low information and/or very desperate voters will have that belief or hope in their mind when they vote. "

And I suppose you still believe that the Democrats (and specifically, Obama) would be different? Yes, the Republicans want to do whatever they can to get Obama out and their man (or woman) into the Presidency. But, I say that it really doesn't matter much because Obama pretty much sold us out to the ruling elite anyway. A second term won't be any different. I am a Progressive and voted for Obama and would have done so again had he not been so "Republican". It is really a one party system...the ruling elite party...that has two factions...the Republicans and the Democrats. They will continue with their junk economics making the rich richer and the rest of us will continue toward poverty...if many of us aren't already there...but it will get much worse! Unless both factions of that ruling elite party is ousted from their lofty high horse or unless a full scale popular dissent occurs nothing will change...we will continue into the abyss. Massive crime waves...massive epidemics...and mass starvation is coming our way and very soon. Voting for Obama for another term is a waste of time...it won't matter...Obama works for the ruling elite. So don't think that the people who voted for Republicans were the only dupes and rubes....those who continue to vote for the Democrat party are just as confused and betrayed...they will continue their desperate death throes because they will still be fooled by the deceptive hope that is being foisted on them. They think that Obama, in a second term, will play a fast one on the corporations and banksters and begin to side with the people for a change but you will be just like the Republicans who thought they would get jobs by giving in and voting for them. Sometime in the next term, if Obama wins, even you and other hopefuls like you will finally realize (well maybe not...some people are just incorrigible) that you were duped...again. And if the Republicans win...well..at least the comedians will have more material for us to laugh at...except starvation is no laughing matter. I mean Bush was about the lowest...until we get a President Palin. Then we can all go to our graves, willingly, laughing all the way.

The Republicans are intentionally sabotaging our economy and our country as a whole. They attack the elderly, the disabled, the impoverished and the sick to give to the very rich. They are as obvious as blatant and proud of it. GOP proves this in their attempts to re-write our country's history into a twisted, fascist kaleidoscope of lies from the textbooks of our children to the powers of our Supreme Court, from the judicial & legislative to the executive branches of our government. They hail oppression, inequality and indifference, all this country's Constitution opposes. The GOP's running theme in all their policies is genocide. They are genocidal against our natural resources, economy, our government, our Constitution and indeed our people. They are obvious, they are blatant and they are proud of it. The question is: What are we going to do about it? Anything?

One thing cannot be ignored, is ignored by those who wish to raise the minimum wage: Prices. Go. Up.

Usually about 2 weeks after raising the minimum wage, fast food prices rise. This isn't just some conservative rant, I saw it. I was hoping to buy what I buy every once in awhile for a buck. It wasn't a buck anymore, it was $1.30. 30 cents? Not a big deal right? Well, when that hike is spread across grocery stores, etc then it becomes a B-I-G issue.

I'm as big an opponent as any of voodoo economics and tax cuts for the rich, but I'm at the bottom as far as wages go. I don't make minimum, but I barely make above poverty level. This is the view of a man, a husband and father who must provide for his family and do the best he can. A minimum wage hike doesn't benefit me, and screws me when stores raise their prices to "compensate."

If the minimum wage is raised it *must* include a clause that forces prices to remain the same. If not, all you've done is screwed everybody (except the rich) by raising it.

Charity is the solution???I didn't catch all of the interview with Thom's guest, but I caught the part where the guest advocated tax breaks to charity to increase charity giving and thereby reducing the need for government spending on those in need. The guy must be suffering from a Blanche Dubois nervous break down, he's advocating that people should depend on the kindness of strangers --- to borrow a phrase from Tennessee Williams. Among many things wrong with what the guest advocated is it means that when people fall on hard times; they will be at the mercy of those with the charity money and whatever ax they might want to grind. Something else omitted in the guest's solution/ideology is that when money shifts from the consumer class to those at the top, there should be a correction when the consumers have less to spend and there is consequently less trickle up; those at the top should lose wealth or their wealth growth should at least slow down. But the system has been rigged so that the top keeps making gains, it's not a sustainable scenario and that is a large part of what is behind the economic problems we have been facing.

I'm with you Thom--

There seems no doubt in the corporate mind that the most vulnerable spot in human nature is the ease in which a person can be deceived.

Our primitive ancestors saw the Big Fish eat the little one,--and gurgle, gurgle, gurgle--POP! Human reality was born!

When will we ever learn? We are not fish! Our American founders gave us the opportunity to prove it;--and we did!

It seems to me that we have a rather bi-polar system. First one party screws up deliberately. Then the public creates the backlash by electing the other guys to fix one set of issues created by the first party. Then the other PARTY GETS ELECTED TO FIX IT, BUT LITTLE GETS DONE. NOW THE THUGS WORK TO GET ELECTED AGAIN FOR CONTROL SO THEY CAN MAKE IT MUCH, MUCH WORSE. And in this case, the Dems have their own set of corruption going with the Thugs working to replace them. The fickle voters think it is Obama's fault (and a lot of it is his responsibility-appointing Wall Streeters and lying) and then vote for the thugs again. Will it ever end? Only if We The People take charge will this ever end or the Earth shrugs us off!

Gobbelegook!

I believe you may need a brain transplant - preferably one that leans towards homo sapiens!

The only stupid in this is your claim that republicans are the saints in all this and the one making that claim!

"The only ones who have an incentive to get rid of Obama are the very ones who stand to benefit"

Well, I am not a big bank, or a Republican, or any of those other ruling elite...I am a Progressive who knows when he's been screwed by someone who pretended to be a Progressive...whom I voted for because I believed in what he campaigned on. I don't necessarily think it "would be in my interest" for Obama to lose but I also don't think it would be in my interest if he were to win reelection. The only thing that would possibly be in our best interest is if things were so drastically shook up that it would make those who have been screwing us all to know that they can no longer get away with it and that they might very well either go to prison or some other deserving retribution. Nothing will change in our favor if Obama is reelected....he has already sold out to the ruling elite and will continue to do so. And since he wouldn't even have to pretend to be on our side anymore, should he be reelected, I'm sure things would go along much faster and better for those who are screwing us.

I believe you are mixing apples and bananas! You may want to get rid of Obama for personal reasons and that has nothing to do with ruining the economy so that can happen. But if that is also your goal, ruining the economy, then you are part of the cabal and that is your agenda! So which is it?