The Movement Marches on & so do the Banksters...
By louisehartmann
The Occupy Wall Street movement swelled to at least 20,000 people yesterday – as demonstrators peaceably marched through Manhattan alongside throngs of unionized workers. But as the sun went down – and demonstrators attempted to take their march to Wall Street – another police crackdown ensued. Using pepper-pray and swinging batons – police prevented protestors from accessing Wall Street – and they also closed the Wall Street subway stop. I guess that’s the what the banksters bought when JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon order a a $4.6 million donation contribution to the NY cops family and party fund, tax deductible and thus paid for by you and me.
All in all – dozens were reportedly arrested – capping off a tumultuous 18th straight day of occupation in lower Manhattan. But the movement marches on – another huge demonstration is happening today – this one taking place in the streets of the nation’s capital, Washington, DC.
Comments
#2
Exactly right...except for the initial raising of capital for start-ups, what is Wall Street but just a giant gambling mecca where for any "investor" (gambler) to win....others have to lose. And most people, even if they are fairly knowledgeable about trading and can understand all of the signs of how well businesses are doing, and even if they have their own computer financial analysis programs on their "home" computers, they still do not have much of a chance against the large traders who pretty much can clean our clocks in the trading game.
And when these mega-gamblers end up losing they can get bailed out by our ineffectual and corrupt politicians essentially stealing from most of us who did not even gamble. It's like some arrogant, punch-drunk, wealthy gambler who loses big at the roulette tables in Vegas and then he demands that everyone else bail him out. Or perhaps the Casino bosses pat the guy on the back, robs everyone in town to give to the gambler, and then says..."there, there, here's your money back from the good people of Vegas....don't feel so bad...better luck next time...come back anytime...you can't lose...we won't let you lose...we have a good thing going here, don't we?"
#3
I watched that porcine cop (white shirt...again) swinging away at the demonstrators and kept thinking....the demonstrators far outnumber these stick and mace sadests and could just overwhelm them...there are so many demonstrators that the pigs would not have a chance...even with all of their clubs and mace. I know that would escalate the violence probably ending up in the calling in of the national guard..if there are any left in the US and not stuck over in the Middle East. Now wouldn't that be a pretty picture...Obama calling out the national guard?
It is beginning to look like the white shirts are like the Nazi brown shirts. I understand that the white shirts are the higher ranking cops...the bully boys that have posters of Hitler hanging on their walls at home.
#4
The protest is a Declaration for SEPARATION OF CORPORATION AND STATE.
OWS wants Congress to consider the PEOPLE they represent when considering legislation, rather than corporations - and their lobbyists. OWS is for repealing the Citizens United case (and its progeny) which gives US corporations an unfair advantage and unequal bargaining power over the PEOPLE, and allows foreign investment, in US elections.
It is FOR bailing out the PEOPLE with dignity, rather than the alleged "Too Big To Fail" banks (who refuse to help people with problem mortgages); and it is against privatizing the banks’ profits while simultaneously socializing their losses. It is for restoring the Glass Steagall Act (which prevents banks from using your and my bank deposits for high-risk speculative investments).
It is NOT anti-capitalism or anti-corporate; but it is against off-shoring jobs and it favors "Made in America," and rebuilding manufacturing in the United States.
It is for corporations & billionaires paying a fair share of the taxes (not everything, just a more fair share, so that the tax burden is not so great on the remaining 99% of us.)
It is for preventing insurance corporations from determining whether we can, or cannot obtain needed health care. It is for a living minimum wage that takes into consideration our geographic locations.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/detailed-list-of-demands-overview-of-tactics-for-d/
#5
Interesting how you opened your show spending less than one minute complaining how Apple founder Steve Jobs death took away the headlines from the Wall Street protesters. You ended your eulogy with, "I guess he was a good man but he sent his jobs to China".
When you have contributed one /one millionith to society that Steve Jobs has, let us all know. He directly or indirectly employed hundreds of thousands of people. Most were extremely well paid. Thousands of employees and investors became millionaires and consumers. Many went on to start their own business ventures and were successful in their own right. You could only hope to carry water for the likes of Steve Jobs. Thank you very much.
#6
Retired Engineer,
It is Not the job of Wall Street traders to create jobs. Wall Street traders make money, create wealth. And as a retired engineer, you need to be thankful they are good at there job. You 401(K), your IRA, and/or your pension would be worthless with out the traders. What have you done lately to create a job for someone?
#7
WOW! Sounds like the wall street movement is pushin' some buttons!lol The problem with the now "walled street" is the lack of ethic. Same with the banks, $5 DEBIT CHARGE?? CAN YOU SAY CHACHING? I wonder which crop of crooks is going to scim that money off the top. They use "our" collective whole of contributions and then using ellaborate calculations and likely some other underhanded criminal activities as well as just good ol cut throating to move the money back forth in an effort to make more. Same as going to the casino and trying a 100 slot machines. Also I have no problem letting them make money on my money but when the top hoods are taking monsterous bonuses and not really showing sizable recouperation on what they already lost then I have a problem with it. I am 48 and share a retirement account with the little missus and was targeted, base on my nieve faith in those running the show that we would be affording a life style similar to what we have now at retirement (its just working class but its OK) and while it has made some of it back even as we continue to contribute it is scary to think that without any gaurentee that it may all be heisted again. Its a catch 22 as social security even after the house is paid off won't be enough to keep me in my mac and cheese and pabst blue ribbon and congress has done scarce little in trying to pass anything in resopects to a bill that would allow us to pull it all out without penalization and yet...THEY BAILED OUT THE BANKSs! TO H E DOUBLE TOOTHPICKS WITH B O F A...AND WALL STREET. THE GOVERNMENT IS JUST BUSTED! NAYH!
#8
The tip of the protest iceberg is at hand. I keep asking myself ...... am I too old to do this again ? Ah, what the hell .... the kids need us old f**ts for morale purposes. They really do. I'm with 'em. I hope the police do not open up the "pig" syndrome again ........ beating the hell out of their fellow Americans for a testosterone rush...... too late ..... here we go again. Defiance makes sense.
#9
Oh, Puh-lease!
Thanks to Wall Street parasites, countless 401(Ks) are now in the toilet. Added to that, IRAs and 401(Ks) are the means by which the Republican Party, for decades, has sought to seduce a gullible, fearful citizenry into believing Social Security isn't secure and that the program can't survive. It was a lie. IT IS A LIE, and now it's paying off, big time!
> "And as a retired engineer, you need to be thankful they are good at there job."
Ha, ha, ha! I'm not an engineer. I take it you are. (Six munce ago I cudnt evn spell ingineer, and now I are one!) Learn to spell and write a coherent sentence . . . . . . and by the way, what has being an engineer to do with this topic? You need to get over yourself!
#10
The real problem. . . .
Most people don't know the root problem: Plutocracy!!
Plutocracy: Government by the Wealthy.
Don't demonize, "the wealthy" or talk about "Class Warfare".
Love the wealthy. Most of us want to be wealthy. When our children do bad things, we establish guidelines and limits to their activities. However, we still love them.
Fight Plutocracy. Fight what the wealthy do. They use Corporate money, and their own to buy legislation that benefits the wealthy without regard for the effects on, "We the people". When they buy legislation by Campaign Contributions, PACs to Attack their opponents, Lobbying, and hiring exPolitical Aids and Office Holders, use the word that describes what they do: Plutocracy.
Almost all legislation can now be traced to support for, or threat to withold support for reelection. Examples of Plutocracy:
Pink Slime is labelled a "Processing Agent"
Pipeline from Canada to Texas will be approveds even though, "We the People" oppose it.
Milk labels don't list growth hormones.
Unrestricted use of antibiotics. 2/3 of US consumption is fed to cattle, pig and chicken by Corporate meat raisers.
Implementation of EPA rules delayed.
Republican created USPS fiscal crisis to justify Shock Doctrine Attack on US Postal Service and Union.
I am sure you can think of more examples.
Marshall
Support Plutocracy, Vote Republican.
#11
Around the world: Cities across America, the Middle East, southern Europe, the United Kingdom. So many other places. It appears to be the start of the revolution preceeding Ravi Batra's New Golden Age. The people of the world are taking off their gilded glasses and seeing the ravages of the upper class for the first time in many years.
It will happen, simply because it has always happened. As Thom says, (and Dr. Batra), approximately every 80 years or so.The confluence of social cycles is finally at hand. All we need is a leader and we may still have one in hand if he's up to it.
Look at the near hysteria the corporate media has focused on these people in the last few days. They believe it. And so should we.
#12
Dangling participle aside (As a retired engineer, YOU . . . My favority danging participle example is a real one when I was working for an online education company: "Before giving birth, put the pig in the pen." Wonderful. Also, THEIR job), OK back to your content: where does that wealth go if they create it? Does it go to create jobs? It doesn't look like it. Does it get socked away and invested? Or maybe it buys another Lexus? In any case, they aren't creating wealth for me: my investments have taken a real hit lately, so where does that money go?
What jobs did you create? And what is the connection between this person's critical comments and not creating a job? It's just a distracting personal attack meaning nothing.
#13
Skitrooper: Is that the best you have to call names. Go back and re-read my post. You'll see that the person I was replying too calls himself Retired Engineer. I know I'm asking a lot of you to try to understand a couple of things at once, but take your time, re-read again if necessary and eventually you'll understand.
#14
Many years ago a potential investor visited J. P. Morgan at his office in New York. While there, Mr. Morgan took the visitor to a large window and pointed out his magnificent yacht to the visitor. He then went on to point out the yachts belonging to the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and other wealthy financiers and industrialists. The visitor nodded as each yacht was pointed out and he then asked one question: Mr. Morgan, where are your customers' yachts? Mr. Morgan could not point out any yachts belonging to those who had invested their money with him.
#15
Many years ago a potential investor visited J. P. Morgan at his office in New York. While there, Mr. Morgan took the visitor to a large window and pointed out his yacht to the visitor. He then went on to point out the yachts belonging to the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and other wealthy financiers and industrialists. The visitor nodded as each yacht was pointed out and he then asked Mr. Morgan one question: Where are your customers' yachts? Mr. Morgan could not point out any yachts belonging to those who had invested their money with him.
#16
Many years ago a potential investor visited J. P. Morgan at his office in New York. While there, Mr. Morgan took the visitor to a large window and pointed out his yacht to the visitor. He then went on to point out the yachts belonging to the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and other wealthy financiers and industrialists. The visitor nodded as each yacht was pointed out and he then asked Mr. Morgan one question: Where are your customers' yachts? Mr. Morgan could not point out any yachts belonging to those who had invested their money with him. (This is meant to be a reply to No. 7. Sorry for the duplication.)
#17
Historywriter: Another one who has trouble reading. You asked where the wealth goes. Well one place it goes is into pension plans, 401(k)'s, IRA's etc. And if it does buy another Lexus, someone has to build the Lexus, deliver the Lexus, sell the Lexus, service the Lexus. Glad to see you have some investments, at least you belive in the system. Everyone's investments have taken a hit, but I believe they'll be back, and I bet you do to, or you would get out of the market. There was no personal attack, just a simple question. What jobs did you create? I'm a little tired of people blaming everyone else for not creating jobs not doing anything themselves. I'll ask the same question of you. What job have you created?
#18
And your point is...?
#19
I am proud of the Americans who have taken to the streets to protest the bank bailouts and the unending wars our politicians insist on starting as often as possible. China and Russia were correct to veto the U.N. resolution which would have allowed NATO (America) to begin bombing Syria on behalf of Israel. The Syrian regime is abominable and should be overthrown, by the Syrians, not the Americans, again. Bring our troops home now, not in 50 years!
The $4.6 million Jamie Dimon gave to the NYPD shows just how close to facism our nation has come. The police are among the 99%, yet they enthusiastially beat and maced peaceful protestors.
#20
Since when have contributions to society come only in economic form? I've always been real impressed with a co-worker who donates her spare time working at a local food pantry, which buy the way lately is having a great deal of trouble keeping up with demand. Thom contributes a great deal disseminating facts and info with intent to educate the populous, something critical for survival of DEMOCRACY. Reply to #6
#21
Somebody wasn't very good at their job back in 2008, a problem which still exists. Seems like wall street "self regulation" kind of lead to a history repeats it's ugly self bubble event causing a socialist style rescue immediately backed by Bush.....EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABLIZATION ACT...to the tune of 700 billion clams! Reply to #7
#22
How do I think it will turn out?...... More crackdowns and arrests leading to more publicity and momentum for the movement. The banksters know their in trouble! The protestors need to emphasize the indirect cause of all the wall street fraud... REPUBLICAN political ideology supporting unregulated capitalism. Also known as feudalism.
How I want it to turn out......." the flames kindled on the 4th of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them." -Jefferson.... just sub in the word corporations as needed!
#23
I agree that the movement needs leadership -it doesn't have to be one person, could be ten. Also, now they (in NYC) have a voice and can ask people for solidarity by closing their bank accounts and moving to credit unions. Anyone can do that, and most people, especially those who cannot be in NY would do it to participate. Hit banksters where it hurts! Ouch! Also, how about we all boycott evil corporations? If enough people do it, they will feel it. Lets not buy Nestle, Coca-cola, chevron, BP, etc. Occupywst could make that a global movement
#24
2950-10K: Where in my post did you find I said "contributions to society come only in economic form"? Aren't you the same person who bragged about paying over $4000 in education taxes? Isn't the tax an economic contribution? You hypocrite.
#25
On a more positive note, I have been checking on HR1351 to refund the billions "stolen" from our postal service and it now has 225 co-sponsors, so I guess it's out of committee. I am hopeful that if that many are supporting it now, it will pass a vote.
In answer to "to big to fail" banks, I am taking steps to move my money to a federal credit union. I was surprised and pleased to learn that one near me is linked to 6700 other FCU's nationwide for ATM service, etc and they are insured. For a $5.00 one time membership fee, I will receive free checking, debit card and online banking/bill pay. they are a co-operative in that they are wholly owned by their depositers. Sounded good to me, so for any of you disgruntled with the banking industry these days, look for a FCU near you and let's take what money we have left away from the big banks.
#26
@marymary u must work for Wallslick or they just pay u to post in their behalf on different sites.
#27
buy a lexus? more like buy a yacth! I worked for a photo processin and equipment company that was the largest in america. the owner who shall be nameless loved his yacths. matter of fact he even owned a chain of marines stores. so anyway, like all compaines that lack ethic he came along one day and told us as managers they were changing our pay structure. so they cut our base and increased the commision? Okay so like now I have to sell not just a million prints a month to make bottom line i have to sell another million just to make up what he jacked from my pay check. Why? so he could have a better looking bottom line and take the sum total of all the wages he jacked and likely go buy himself another boat. We were powerless to do anything. take it or leave was the reply. suffice to say i was not through and just to prove a point i found a hole in the labor code that i found to "entitle" me to over time by where upon i sued the company for the lousy 5k. I won! But not without having the labor board make it clear that there was to be no retalatory action against me. amke a long story short. I stayed on with the company for another year or so and won back favor with some but when i heard they were now going to close stroes to build bigger, newer, grander ones I thought uh,oh..market saturation if not just bad business. the comapny wound up filling for reorganization and closed, i think, 3/4 of the stores I believe leaving a whole lot of people out of work. But bet your bottom dollar to donuts that the owner of the company is still living high on the hog on his yacth....moral of the story? none! just noting that the rich are always getting richer on the back of us workin stiffs and it SUCK!
#28
most excellently put!
#29
Who took the risks to start the company? Where did the capital come from?
#30
Those speaking out against Occupy Wall Street are painting the protesters as lazy, jobless bums, grifters and the list goes on. The worst thing to me is when they say the protestors are angry and jealous because theyre not rich. How prepostorous! In their discourse they never acknowledge any problems with wall street. They choose the lowroad and are literally laughing with the banksters.
#31
I think the problem is that people don't really know what the protesters want. Everyone in the country is upset about something but the biggest thing they should be upset about is the fact that some people are allowed to protest while others are not.
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#32
Hi Thom,
Let's be call a spade a spade:
Have you and Louise considered the possibility that America is basically a Kleptocracy?
#33
If the military enjoined forces with the people, if the police joined forces with the people, and if all sectors of the American public enjoined with one another, not restricted by race nor religion, nor present political waves of ignorance, then a future system would be developed as utilized upon other worlds with no form of money gains, whether be credit cards, bank loans, cheques nor any other form of transaction.
Those of us who understand and physically know how to set up such a system have been threatened by governments and their thugs, but when government is weakened through an overturn of their elite society, inside their 1% billionaire safehouse, then the people and their protective military then the people and their protective military in all its branches could no longer hold the people hostage through the money system deciding who would have a house, a job, food and education; would employ control of the people’s lives through payoff’s to thugs, mercenaries, and the countless other people who generate homage to the banker through frauds, and other forms of wickedness against the people and those who rise up against them.
When you have countless eyes working in a onesness in every department in the land passing information on to one another against citizens who try their best to throw the present system out for the good of the people, for the health of the people, to govern the new nation by the people who are truly fit to assist the people in governing the nation, then that oneness becomes invincible especially when the leaders of these millions of unified eyes run the entire military machine, promote and conduct neverending wars, as well as infiltrating the governments of various nations; running the banks, pharmaceutical companies, corporations, Federal Reserve, IMF, World Bank, U.N. etc. You get the picture.
When the people become revolutionary these eyes watch all, and interweave their wickedness against the people in all forms making them poor in order that the people will be too busy to rise up against them, but this is precisely why the people do rise up.
It is not enough to rebel without an understanding that to just replace other men and women into an unworkable system will never work. Look back at history. One elected or appointed leadership as a whole replaced with another elected or appointed leadership as a whole never worked. Elected and dictatorship changes never worked and never will.
These leaderships are placed continually (without true enlightenment of how to set up a paradisical system) into an unworkable system, whether it be democracy, autocracy, monarchy, communism nor countless others. Neither will system changes other than that which occur and are upheld and practiced upon worlds you call belonging to paradise work.
There are countless people from other worlds in our galaxy who are standing by waiting to help the people of this earth, and at the least if that help is to be forever thrown back in their faces, then a global evacuation is continually offered to those who are ready and consider these brothers and sisters their friends.
There are enough starships to set much of this planet back on its feet, but the 1% will not allow it for they are too selfish, too greedy and too hateful toward the people at their feet.
This is why world militaries are sacrificed and murdered and allowed to murder and made to murder other people of other nations for the full benefit of corporate greed as well as the manifestation of the military bases belonging to the 1% throughout the world.
If the military in all its units would join with the people then the people would have their own military who would never turn against them - A MILITARY WHICH COULD NEVER BE USED AGAINST THEM! The same with the police force, unions and other. You are most correct about all of this.
Your sons and daughters are collateral damage just as are the sons and daughters of those they send them to fight. Not one of them on either side get a thing out of the war, neither do their children, their parents, their grandchildren to come - no matter which war it is and then they are usually thrown out on the street, so to speak, when they are wounded and sent home – no more use to the eyes and the 1% who hide behind them. Wars make money – they do not save lives nor do anything other than engage in destructive behavior.
It is time the U.S./NATO military stop fighting wars for the itinerary of Israel, the corporate bankers, and industries.
The U.S. government is held so hostage that they are no longer a government of the people and have not been a government of the people for centuries. While there are 50 million Americans, 1 in 5 living in abject poverty, your controlled government is feeding Israel 3 billion of your tax dollars plus all the military equipment they need to bring horrendous wars down upon weak and unarmed nations.
Let these 1% fight their own wars with their own fists to make the fight even, for if the people in all their parts join one another, all wars will cease and all national resources and lands will be returned to the people themselves and this will be the beginning of building the paradise which the American people believed once was to be their heritage and their legacy unto their next generation of children.
The first step is for the people to take back their own power in every part of the world. The people of the world joining together, no one left out.
WHAT POWER WOULD THAT BE!
IT IS ONLY THE UTILIZATION OF MONEY COUPLED ALONG WITH WICKEDNESS WHICH HOLDS THE PEOPLE IN ALL TYPES OF BONDAGE, EVEN MAKING THEM TO DO THAT WHICH THEY WOULD NEVER CONTEMPLATE ON DOING WITHOUT IT BY PUTTING THEM IN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS.
#34
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#35
I was trying to place this article on above and instead I was left with all the codes. My apologies but I cannot remove them. Here, however, is the article:- cygnus1
Veterans call for resignations, impechments in Washington
"Call to Action," says purge of corruption required to restore constitutional republic
October 04, 2011
By Bob Unrah
"During the past three years, the current administration has committed the most egregious offences against the people, the states and the Constitution, since the founding of our country and today, they operate as a virtual dictatorship, against the governed, beyond the scope and authority the people granted them in the Constitution and at odds with the will of the vaste majority of American citizens," the call states. "The actions of the Obama administration in total, rise to the level of treason against the United States and its people."
It alleges violations of U.S. Constitution and each and every part of the Bill of Rights. "The constitutional representative republic must be restored, no matter the means or the cost. It is on this foundation that we morally and rightfully call for all good people to rise up, stand together, move to restore the constitutional republic, and hold those who have and would stand against the people, fully accountable."
What you, the people, can have, can build for yourselves will be even greater than a Constitutional Republic for generations to come. - cygnus1
#36
No one said that the "job" of Wall Street investors is to create jobs. No one says that they shouldn't make money. The inherent problem is that the system is set up so that they don't care if the stocks/ commodities that are OUR investment make money or not. i.e. the housing crisis started because bad mortgages were bundled together in attempt to guarantee their failure so that Wall Street could bet on them going belly up and making a profit. They devastated millions of lives to make a couple of bucks. There were no ramifications. No jail time, no loss of their job or house. They took a smaller bonus one year and then made it up in the years since with record profits which they have either sat on or rewarded companies that laid off workers or outsourced.. Then turn around and say that unless they get to keep their loopholes so that they can pocket more of the money they will invest even less. That unless they get less regulations they will continue to sit on their money. (the lack of which being the very thing that got us here in the first place). The only thing they DO invest in is politicians that will endorse their agenda. And as far as me and the rest of us creating jobs, I spend 98% of my total income in my local businesses. I'd like to see one of the major hedge fund managers do the same.
#37
Let me attempt to explain the mortgage crisis to you. Freddie and Fannie decided to "give" billions of dollars in mortgages to people without the means to pay them back. Mortgages were written, funding needed to be found for them. These mortgages (I'll call turds) were sent to Wall Street to sell. Wall Street had two choices, polish up these turds and sell them, or kick the new home owners out of their homes. Now Freddie and Fannie said Wall Street could not kick folks out of there homes. Wall Street had to sell the turds. Buyers of mortgages, given a choice of prime mortgages, (I'll call steak) and a polished turd, would always chose to buy the steak. No matter how hard the traders worked at polishing the turds, they wouldn't sell. Someone came up with the idea of making hamburger, mixing the steak with the polished turds. Only a small amount of the polished turd would be added to the steak, so no one will notice. Billions of dollars of this "hamburger" was sold. In 2008, the world wide economy began a correction, which occurs from time to time. This correction caused the number of turds mixed with the steak to increase incrementally. People with good mortgages were pulled down with the bad. The number of turds continued to grow, and would have collapsed the whole system without intervention. So you see, if Freddied and Fannie had not insisted on "giving" mortgages to those who couldn't pay, none of what followed would have occured. As far as hedge fund managers betting against the turd laced hamburger, that's what hedge fund managers do, try to limit risk.
Is all of this right, probably not. Freddie and Fannie shouldn't have forced Wall Street to sell the turds. When the turds didn't sell, it was wrong to mix the turds with the prime loans. However, Wall Street did it with a wink and nod from Freddie and Fannie, who pretended not to notice.
Hindsight is always 20-20. Mistakes were made, and yes people need to stand trial, especially those in the government who created this mess. Do I think this will happen? No. So what choice do we have but move forward. The system works.
#38
I wonder, how many banksters would have lost their homes if we allowed them to fail? Answer, many! So why are so many Americans being foreclosed on?
#39
.". . . The system works".
The system works for the wealthy. The system is called Plutocracy.
Plutocracy: Government by the wealthy.
All of the "Occupy Wallstreet" complaints can be directly attributed to the laws and regulations or deregulation that the wealthy wanted and got.
Deregulation, bailouts, pollution, "Pink Slime". . . the list is endless.
Plutocracy: Government by the Wealthy.
Marshall
#40
Sprague, The system works for anyone with an IRA, 401(K), 403(C), Pension Plan, Mortgage, owns a small business etc. Gee, that's just about everyone.
#41
Google, "pink slime"
Labelled as a, "processing Agent" or filler when added to ground beef.
Plutocracy: Government by the wealthy.
I love the wealthy. I want to be one of them.
I hate plutocracy
#42
That pink slime stuff is nasty. Our government at work.
#43
Nasty!
The Meat Industry lobbied to allow our food to contain, "nasty" stuff. They got what they wanted. They solved a waste disposal problem (feed it to the not-wealthy) and make $millions more for the wealthy. To make "real" beef stretch further, up to 15 percent is this ammonia-infused slaughterhouse waste. Pink slime is now an additive in 70% of the ground beef in the U.S.
A perfect example of Plutocracy: "Our Government" by the Wealthy, "at work"..
Fight Plutocracy
#44
The meat industry may have lobbied, but the Guvment granted. Plutocracy is just another conspiracy theory. Give me names of those who are members of the Plutocracy. Tell me how they govern. This plutocracy is crazy talk.
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"I think many of us recognize that for all but the wealthiest, life in America is getting increasingly hard. Screwed explores why, showing how this is no accidental process, but rather the product of conscious political choices, choices we can change with enough courage and commitment. Like all of Thom’s great work, it helps show us the way forward."
From Screwed:
"If we are going to live in a Democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class. Thom Hartmann shows us how the ‘cons’ have wronged this country, and tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"In an age rife with media-inspired confusion and political cowardice, we yearn for a decent, caring, deeply human soul whose grasp of the problems confronting us provides a light by which we can make our way through the quagmire of lies, distortions, pandering, and hollow self-puffery that strips the American Dream of its promise. How lucky we are, then, to have access to the wit, wisdom, and willingness of Thom Hartmann, who shares with us here that very light, grown out of his own life experience."
Two days ago you did an excellent job of pointing out the distribution of people in this country that actually own Wall Street investments. The one thing I don't think that most people understand is this: If I purchase a new car that money goes back to the manufacturer as profit and pays to support jobs. If I buy a used car that is no longer the case and money is just exchanged from the buyer to the seller. The stock market is the same. If an investment is an initial offering, and that happens very seldom, then the money helps raise capital to create jobs. However 99% of all the money exchanged on Wall Street is just the sale of existing shares of stock from a buyer from a seller, no jobs whatsoever created. So how in the world can one call the Wall Street traders “Job Creators”. Letting them pay only 15% taxes is a total rip-off to the American citizen. If we allow congress to lower the tax rate on capital gains and dividends to zero, as many of them are purposing then we are creating an monarchical class of people that pay no taxes. Millionaires & billionaires earn most or all of their income from investments.