We must undo the voodoo!
By Thom Hartmann A...
Republicans know that trickle-down economics is no longer an easy sell, so they've wrapped up those bad policies in a new package.
This week, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a rule that requires more macroeconomic scoring on all major fiscal legislation through a process called “Dynamic Scoring.” Now, that may sound innocent enough, but, that's only until you consider that this whole practice centers on the failed economic policies of Ronald Reagan.
According to this new rule change, any significant changes to the budget or tax policy must be scored based on how they effect our economy and government revenue. However, those scores will be generated using the long-debunked premise that lowering taxes somehow increases government revenue.
Even though we have thirty-plus years of evidence that clearly disproves this nonsensical economic policy, Republicans decided to use it as the basis for every decision concerning our tax policy. As former Labor Secretary Robert Reich explained recently, “Dynamic scoring would make it easier to enact tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, because the tax cuts wouldn't look as if they increased the budget deficit...”
It doesn't take an economic expert to understand that tax cuts lower government revenue. And, it doesn't take a historian to remember what happened after George W. Bush slashed rates for those at the top. Tax cuts for the rich don't stimulate our economy, and this flawed logic shouldn't be used to make economic decisions.
As Senator Bernie Sanders said, “In these difficult times, we need realistic economic projections, not discredited theories, not voodoo economics.” Call your Representatives today and tell them to reverse the dynamic scoring rule change.
Comments
#2
you dont really understand any of the dynamics of the Fed ponzi scheme. the Fed captures our income before it becomes money supply ( we are all so good at making the lettuce) and sells that cash flow to its member banks (our Mr. POTTERS) at a discount to market value with the understanding that you dont loan the lettuce to anyone but back to the FED. The Fed will pay you to take an already sweet deal and shut up? in the mean time the Fed has massively increased its capture of both legal and illegal incomes since '07! and dont seem to be of the trinkle down tribe thus far. long before '07 the Fed has been shipping our money supply over to LA DUCE VITA and now those dollars are going to flood back as the European central bank wants to own more dollar denomies. and in a hurry? like i said you dont see stuff like i do YET.
#3
Leave it to the Repugnicans to take dog s**t, wrap it up, and sell it as tootsie rolls.
Where did I put the pooper scooper?
#4
It is amazing how government thinks we believe everything they say. I guess it's because we do. Just like when they told everyone that the ACA was going to insure 15 million people who can't afford health insurance and not cost anyone any more money. Even better everyone is going to get health care cheaper. Ya right.
#5
Stop telling us to call our Representatives. THAT HASN'T WORKED. Matter of fact, now that there are more of those guys in there...It'll help even less. THEY DON'T CARE. Why should they even pay lip service to our called in concerns? They haven't and won't.
#6
They should call it what it really is: "DYNAMIC WHORING". Where a bunch of rightwing fascist billionaire-butt-licking bigots, pretend they know everything about economics while whoring for the top 1/10th percent and screwing the rest.
#7
Well Kend, I have healthcare now and only had the emergency room before and, I think the number of newly insured is 7 million - and growing. That isn't bad.
Some people do pay some more and others less but people have to learn to use the exchanges.
#8
Legislation is judged "good" or "bad" "according to its effect upon the economy and government revenue" what they don't say is that it's judged "good" if it ruins the economy and the ability of government to function.
#9
vegasman56, well said. E.I.C. - more info.?
#10
vegasman56, well said. E.I.C. - more info.?
#11
tom kauser-
Yes I do. It's called " The shell game ".
#12
sorry. double hit.
#13
Mark, 7 million isn't enough. Everyone should have it. My point is if they told the truth and said everyone's taxes will go up 4% or what ever the number is but everyone will be insured and put it to a vote most people would vote yes. But it is always a lie. Or if you did what we did in Canada one province started it and the rest said hey that looks great lets do that too. But this government lied and now you have nothing but problems. The morel of the story is never trust government. Some how you never get what they tell you you are going to get and it costs ten times more.
#14
Quote Kend:The morel of the story is never trust government. Some how you never get what they tell you you are going to get and it costs ten times more.
Kend ~ Wow! It worked out fine for you though. It worked out fine for most of the industrialized world too. Imagine that! Maybe the MORAL of the story isn't to "never trust government;" but, rather, to never allow corporate monopolies to get so strong that they can co op government? All it took in Canada was one province to change the entire country. In our country, the entire Federal Government is powerless beneath the thumb of the health insurance megalopolis.
#15
The mushroom of the story is never trust government. Hell, that makes sense to me! ;-} Shrooms, anyone? By the way, I just saw a good movie, if not a very difficult to understand one..at least in the beginning..."Inherent Vice". But crank up your hearing aids because there is a lot of whispering. Good thing I had a caption device.
#16
Marc. Sorry I should have said never trust the Fed. Government. You had the right guy down there he tried to give everyone health care in Mass. That would have been the start of a great thing. But now you just have a huge mess as I suggested when this all started.
#17
Was America the greatest country
Only America will not seek equality for working families,
Only America does not invest into its citizens,
Only Americans will allow other countries pass them by for the benefit of the few, the 1%.
Was America great at one time, yes it was.
We did have control of all the social structure at one time.
The inequality that we have established here in this country, the separation of the average American from the top 1% and above, down to the general public has caused this country to lose the greatest country in the world recognition. If you do some research you can see for over the past 30 years we have lost a generation to the greed of the top 1% political power and their wealth.
Which did cause the greatest country in the world to have inequality for all.
Was America great at one time, yes, it was.
At one time America did strongly produce a great product that said Made in America, that Americans took great pride in. With today’s globalization, Corporations have found it more profitable to produce their products overseas because of cheaper labor. That is why it is so hard to find any type of household appliances like washing machine, refrigerator, computers and electronics that says made in America.
Was America great at one time, yes, it was.
Obtaining a state University or College was affordable, in some cases free. Today to obtain this higher education a students have to go into debt extremely, and takes years to decades to pay it off, before Reagan came to power in California, and then President of United States of America with this austerity, conservative agenda, which did not work. Obtaining higher education was affordable a one time for the average working family, and now it's not.
Was America great at one time, yes, it was.
Organize The Work Place, an Army of one will not succeed.
We had labor unions that looked out for their members making sure that you have a safe place to work in, fight for a two weeks paid vacation, at eight hour workday, time a half for anything over eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. And a pension plan for you to live in comfort and security for your retirement. Your local would provide a shop steward to represent you for grievances against the company management. Reagan decided to create a war on the unions although at one time he did say this,
“Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.”
Then went back on his word when Pres. Reagan decided to hurt the working families of America when he fired 13,000 striking air traffic controllers and destroyed their union. This one act did started the downward fall of Americans unions, which destroyed Americans working force, and put it in the hands of the corporations, have you ever heard of the phrase of, “Be Aware Of The East India Company”. It’s worthwhile looking up.
Pres. Ronald Reagan’s approach was to appoint representatives of corporations that will promote their best interest instead of the working family’s best interest. Donald Dotson was one of them that he put into the position of chairman over the NLRB the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Dotson considered organized labor as a threat to the country corporations and the CEOs and destroys individual freedom. Little did he know that unions were the backbone of this nation and brought the American working family to a level of a successful lifestyle by having a livable wage, health care for him and his family, and be able to send their children to obtain a decent college or university education. Now union memberships are at a all time low, we have lost our voice on collective bargaining and have to accept lower wages, while the CEO's and his board making extremely high wages plus bonuses, even if the company fails, forcing America's working family struggle for a paycheck month-to-month to survive on, Who will stand up for you, your local union, because an army of one will not succeed, and be aware of the East India Company.
Was America great at one time, yes, it was.
If you are old enough you can remember coming home from school and your mother being there in your dad at work. Today both parents have to work just to survive the month, just to take care of your family, to put food on the table, provide their family with a house to live in, clothing for their children to where, shoes for their feet, a coats for the wintertime. After Pres. Ronald Reagan now it takes both parents to take care of the household finances, that is keeping the mother not home to the care of their children for proper family upbringing. But in a place of employment,and not have home for a mother supposed to be. All this did happen after Reagan became President of United States of America.
Was America great at one time, yes, it was.
To survive as a nation, as a country, as a society we have to return back to our roots, back before Reagan, back before this austerity, for we can return back to our status as being the greatest country on earth.
Was America, the greatest country in the world at one time, at one time, yes, it was.
It is no longer our fathers country our fathers greatest generation, it’s been stolen by the 1%.
And Be Aware Of The East India Company
#18
Quote Kend:Marc. Sorry I should have said never trust the Fed. Government. You had the right guy down there he tried to give everyone health care in Mass. That would have been the start of a great thing. But now you just have a huge mess as I suggested when this all started.
Kend ~ You sell us short too fast. Vermont is still working on doing what needs to be done. What might have happened in Mass. is history. However, the final result of this "huge mess" is not going to be realized until the fat lady sings.
#19
People probably should have noticed that the government has no interest in what people think. Whatever govt. decides, what are we going to do about it? Sign some petitions? Call our legislators? So? We were so successfully divided, pitted against each other by class and race, that any power the people had was pulled out of our hands. I agree that we need to reverse the voodoo economics/trickle down destruction, but how?
#20
The "voodoo economics" are the result of government serving the wants of big and mega corporations. The start of the real solution is to destroy big corporations - dismantle them, reduce them, limit their size. As long as there is so much power in such few hands, nothing will change for the better.
#21
Reagan's triclke- down economics swindle is by far the biggest lie ever told. His policies have caused meltdowns in the financial sector, export of living wage manufacturing jobs, low and plummeting wages, erosion of public sector jobs/ unions, and the most destructive result, the rise of brainwashing corpse media propaganda machines. Reagan created the perfect environment for Fascism by empowering Kochorate America to trample on liberty and the american way and thus allowing the complete overthrow of our representative government.
In my opinion nationalization of the energy sector is the most important step, we the people, not only in this country, but globally need to take if the planet is to survive period. Elimination of the Carbon Barons is a must! It's no coincidence the first thing on the Koch shills, "TeaRepublican's," agenda is the Kochstone pipeline. I'm praying this issue finally pushes us to revolution.
#22
SHF, you are right government has no interest in what people think. Over 70% of Americans want Ketstone to go ahead, all the states involved have approved it yet six years later and still no decession. Most Americians are complaining that the manufacturing jobs are gone but who in there right mind would invest in any manufacture start up knowing it has taken six years on Keystone and still no desicession. Not even a NO. Who can wait that long. No one can start anything that produces green house gases. Which by the way is everything pretty much.
#23
Kend, I think the Keystone pipeline belongs in Canada. It's a Canadian corporation looking out for its own best interests, and nobody else's; a Canadian corporation and the Koch brothers who stand to benefit from it, at everyone else's expense! Since it is a Canadian company, they can keep their shit in Canada. It's all yours. Tah-tah. - AIW
#24
Ok Alice. You are in the thirty percent I admire that. But why do you just pick on Canada. Why not Venusaula who brings 800,000 bpd by tanker through your gulf to Texas. Or Nigeria who also tanks oil through your gulf. This is a much more dangerous way to get it there. Well we are at it why doesn't anyone complain about the 2.2 million bpd of our shit you are getting by pipeline from Canada to the USA already. By the way most of the investment in Canada's oil companies is American so you are kinda getting your own shit. There is about 100,000 Americans in Alberta where I live making a great living. If you don't want then say no and we will carry on. Sorry Alice I am just not feeling the love.
#25
Kend ~ I for one want to see our dependance on ALL oil ended; therefore, I'd be more than happy to complain about every single one of your issues. Thanks for bringing them up.
OIL IS OBSOLETE.
It always has been and it always will be.
#26
So Marc, no more paved highways, no plastic (computers, cell phones etc.) anti freeze, medicine, ink, life jackets, paint, eye glasses, I could go on forever and one day we will replace all of these but for the next 30 to 50 years I think we are stuck. So let's do the best we can with what we have. Like I said earlier we are doing research on carbon capture that would clean the world up but no one wants it because you hate the oil companies more than you love your planet.
#27
Kend ~ Hemp can replace all those things anytime; and, do so cleaner and more bio-friendly than any petroleum products ever could. Also, cultivation of Hemp will clean the air for real; unlike carbon capture--which, at best, will only slow global warming--use of Hemp oil will actually reverse global warming.
And yes, I do hate oil companies with a purple passion. They are the root of all evil on this planet and I can't wait until they are all nothing more than dirty elements of history.
#28
Marc do you have any idea how much hemp you would have to produce to replace oil. The carbon footprint would be greater than the gain. Why do I bother.
#29
Kend ~ Do you have any idea how many JOBS would be created to produce that much Hemp? Do you have any idea how much O2 that would produce and how much CO2 that would remove from the air? Think about it! Saving humanity aside, the economic stimulus alone is worth the effort.
#30
Marc ok help me out how much hemp would you have to grow to replace one barrel of oil and how much land does that require. Maybe I am in the wrong business.
The USA uses almost 20 million barrels a day. Unless you can grow hemp in the desert I think your idea is impossible. Although there is tons of land up here that can be cleared and farmed. The land is free if you clear it in some places.
Marc homesteading might just be right up your alley.
#31
Kend ~
The Daily Kos: Industrial Hemp Can Save AmericaQuote Article:Growing industrial hemp on just 6% of American lands would produce 100% of our energy needs. We don't need one drop of stinking fossil fuels. Heep seed oil is an excellent biodiesel which produces far less harmful pollution into our atmosphere, 80% less carbon dioxide and almost no sulfur emissions. Hemp produces 40% more ethanol than corn per acre and it grows in marginal soils actually improving soil quality when used as a rotation crop. Hemp requires almost no fertilizer and absolutely no pesticides compared to corn which is the top consumer of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in American agriculture. Industrial hemp grows quickly, maturing in as little as 100 days and produces 4 times a year, enough biomass to produce all our electrical generation needs with far less pollution and with industry creating additional beneficial byproducts.Quote Article:The University of Missouri estimates that an average-size metropolitan area production of 100 million gallons of biodiesel fuel could generate $8.34million in personal income and 6000 temporary and permanent jobs. (Ref: National Biodiesel Board)Quote Article:For those wanting links and more information on the 6% claim.
United States Fact Sheet: US agriculture
Total Land Area in the Continental United States is 2,263,994,361 acres [3,536,294 square miles] 6% of this total land area is 135,659,662 acres. Hemp yields about 10 tons per acre every 100 days to 4 months or 1,356,596,620 tons of total hemp biomass at least twice a year, 3 times a year in southern climates.
Hemp biomass conversions
There are several ways to convert biomass into usable energy including direct combustion to create steam. Assuming that most of the biomass is converted to cleaner fuels first and we subtract the weight from the total biomass for all the other uses before converting we are still talking close to a trillion and a half tons of hemp for fuel conversion. Ethanol conversion rates vary from low of 25 gallons a ton to as much as 100 gallons a ton with modern conversion techniques. Lets use 50 gallon a ton as an educated estimate, that's around 750 trillion gallons of ethanol a year which is more than all the gasoline used in 2010 which was just over 125 trillion gallons. Ethanol is not as energy concentrated as gasoline so the ethanol would require reforming and concentrating to yield fuel mileage rates like gasoline. Still enough hemp fuel could be created and still have enough hemp biomass left to produce methane for electrical generation.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/09/1014706/-Industrial-Hemp-can-save-America
#32
Mark I am heading out for the night. But I just looked it is legal to grow here. You have my interest. I have good freinds with tens of thousands of acres of land. Let's get started.
#33
Kend ~ By the way, if you can't do the math, one barrel of oil is about 42 gallons. That in turn produces 19 gallons of fuel. Therefore 20 million barrels produces 380 million gallons of gasoline per day.
6% of American land can produce 750 trillion gallons of gas per year. That is just over 2 trillion gallons of gasoline per day. Far more than enough to meet the 380 million gallon habit we have. The rest can be burned to produce electricity, used to make plastics, paper and consumer goods, or exported.
#34
kend-
More than just the oil co. controlling what the people want here, they ( oil co.) also control the congressman with large kickbacks to there state projects for there vote and big corp. also control the media so any issues that are presented to the public are scewed. ONLY a handful of people that do have help, backed with money,are getting the message out, such as thom. You have to dig deep to find the answers (just follow the money).
--- The Koch brothers ---
Oh wow!!! Don't get my blood pressure up on those guys. Do you know why they are pushing the xl pipeline? Because they own the Canadian side of the pipeline. They will get royalty rights from the Canadians on each barrel of oil. Sure would like to know how much.
#35
to SHF, Alice ---
well said.
#36
Koch brothers--
They also own the oil storage facilities at Hadistry, the start of the keystone pipeline.
ref. Washington post, think progress
Also they are the largest lease holders in the tar sands, 1.1 million acres
ref. I.F.G.
#37
Reply to #25: Kend, not to worry. I’m not singling out Canada. Venezuela (sp?), Nigeria, Canada… they can ALL keep their obsolete, dirty, toxic crap. They can pour it over their cheerios in the morning for all I care, long as they keep it the hell out of my country.
Sorry you’re not feelin’ the love… Guess I’m a little more patriotic than I thought. - AIW
#38
Kend, why pick on poor countries like Venezuela and Nigeria whose economies can be made barely tolerable by oil income? Start with the richest countries, Canada, Russia and the U.S..
The reason we can't have decent healthcare is because people vote with dollar bills, not ballots, in the U.S.. The Democrats took the Public Option out of Obamacare because they needed every Democrat and Independant in the Senate to vote for the ACA to avoid another of the 500+ eventual filibusters in that body. Joe Liebermann of Connecticut, who is in the pocket of the insurance industry, would not vote for it otherwise. The ACA thus became nothing but a great gift to that insurance industry.
#39
Marc if it is so good why isn't anyone doing it? What am I missing.
#40
Pfnelkak. Yes a lot of companies have storage facilities in Hardisty. Because Keystone has not been approved they are moving the oil by train from there. Which scares the hell out of me. For the record the Chinese have the largest stake in the oil sands over all. It is the largest oil reserve in the world everyone has a stake in it. The Kochs are small players. Not to down play the massive amount of money they will make your right there. Canada just passed a law that all new mergers or take overs have to be approved by the fed because of the all the forgien ownership.
#41
Reply to #41: Kend, your wife just submitted an excellent argument illustrating why fossil fuel needs to become obsolete. It can't happen too soon.
#42
Reply to #40: What are you missing, Kend? Start with Thom's introductory post at the top of the page and start reading, all the way to the bottom. See if for once, you might manage to retain a kernel or two of that information.
#43
Alice you must be doing a good job then.
The richest countries. The USA is 20 trillion in debt. Sorry to break it to you but you are living the dream on borrowed money. Those countries have plenty of money it just goes to the top .1%.
I think you screwed up with Heathcare. There was far too many lies to Americans from both sides. I think if you did it state by state like Canada did everyone would have seen how good it is and would expect the same. But you can't do that because you need everyone in to bail out The states who are under water on there Heath care benefits like California and New York. They are in big trouble with over promised benefits.
#44
Kend ~ California and New York are in debt? Any who my friend is going to bail out California and New York, Mississippi? I think you have that backwards, my friend. We are the states that bail out everyone else.
http://ringoffireradio.com/2015/01/a-glimpse-at-the-voter-base-that-the-gop-has-built-in-the-south/
As far as your question about Hemp from #40 is concerned, I think most of that has to do with infrastructure and profit. Oil companies knew way back in 1900 that Hemp was a better way to go. They chose oil because it was readily available and easy to pump out of the ground without needing to pay farmers to sow, till, harvest and process. They simply didn't want to share the profit with anyone else; so, they conspired to use the government to eliminate that competition.
Today, there is an entire infrastructure in place to produce energy from oil. Wars have been waged to secure rights to the resource. Not only would there be money lost in switching over, there will be huge startup costs. As before, profits would have to be shared amongst farmers, harvesters, and processors. The bottom line here is greed. As a result, the only way to make the changeover back to Hemp from oil is the same way it was changed in the first place--the government has to step in and force the industry to change.
#45
Marc. I mean just the health care benefits. I watched a program the other day as I am in AZ and they where showing how much trouble some governments are in as they can't fund all the benifits they have promised employees. Cali and NY where at the top of the list. Also they where showing that at least 80% of all private pensions are under funded. Scary.
Alice who do you think my wife is?
#46
I am not sure how contacting a member of Congress is going to help. We get pre-packaged answers written by PR people. The vast majority of Americans have zero influence over government policy making. Public opinion, if it is considered at all, is manufactured by misdirecting, limiting information or outright lying to the citizenry. The action we should be taking is forming citizen based democratic institutions to combat unjust economic policy that heavily favor a tiny fraction of the population and their functionaries.
The US government has always function to serve the wealth interest of the country, but indifference to the general welfare of the population has gone beyond greedy self-interest government official, elected and unelected, acting as money managers for the 1% to a morally bankrupt system blindly or deliberately leading its population to economic oblivion.
Our political system is a farce or a tragedy depending on your disposition to laughing or crying. We must develop alternative means to combat these political and economic forces of domination. The hope, in my humble or not so humble opinion, is massive public organizations based in popular democratic control, but that takes courage, sacrifice, vigilance and hard work. We could start now and create what we want or possibly be forced into something we don't quite believe in later.
Sorry I had to edit..
#47
Kend: You say, "The moral of the story is never trust government." Let's be clear here....how about never trust a government that has been purchased and is controlled by individuals like the Kochs, one that no longer represents the best interests of the vast majority? You know damn well that's what we have, so stop giving us that Koch /Teabag bullshit about how bad government is. The billionaires are the "government" now....it's called Fascism.
#48
Reply to #45: Kend asks “Who do you think my wife is?” What brought that on, my friend, is something I’ve noticed about your posts for awhile. It seems like more than one person is writing them. What gives me that impression is simply that one of those people is a much better writer than the other, with better grammar, better grasp of punctuation use and so on, and often writes much longer posts. Since the women is the better writer in many married couples, I thought maybe the other person was your wife. Seemed plausible anyhow. - AIW
#49
Reply to #26: Anything oil can do hemp can do better.
#50
Danielle said "Johnson rider". That was funny.
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