Organized Money Is Dangerous To Democracy
By Thom Hartmann A...
The question that is constantly being asked, particularly on the talking heads on television, is "what do the Democrats have to do to regain political power?" What does it take?
What it takes is something very, very simple. Donald Trump showed this during the Republican primary and during the election. When Trump came out and called banksters killers and said they're robbing you blind. He said he was going to do away with carried interest.
Of course he didn't. He didn't do anything about the banksters, in fact wants to further deregulate the banksters. But he talked about it, he said the things that got him elected.
Now, the difference is, Democrats actually believe this stuff and actually will legislate based on this.
So, you want to know, Democrats, what to do to get elected, to get and hold power? Listen to the guy who was elected president of the United States four times - the only person in history to be elected president of the United States four times in a row - Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
One week before the election of 1936 when he was running for re-election, FDR said this about how he took on the rich:
"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace--business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob."
And then Franklin Roosevelt talks about what he did about this:
"Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred."
The applause for Franklin Roosevelt just goes on and on and on. And then he says I took on the rich people on your behalf in my first administration, and my next administration I'm really going to do it. Here he is:
"I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master."
And they did. He had passed Social Security, he had passed the the National Labor Relations Act, just massive changes to the American economy and the American landscape that made a functional modern democracy possible. It's remarkable.
So, Democrats, if you want to know how to win an election, talk like this. Here's FDR again:
"Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing."
How is that not our banksters today? And then his gentle warning to Americans, this is so brilliant...
"Let me warn you and let me warn the Nation against the smooth evasion which says, 'Of course we believe all these things; we believe in social security; we believe in work for the unemployed; we believe in saving homes. Cross our hearts and hope to die, we believe in all these things; but we do not like the way the present Administration is doing them. Just turn them over to us. We will do all of them- we will do more of them we will do them better; and, most important of all, the doing of them will not cost anybody anything.'"
Tell me that today the Republicans aren't playing the same scam they were in the 1920s and the 1930s. It's amazing.
Comments
#2
Im having trouble with my app. Its not working the way it was on the 8th of January and wont let me download the show
#3
Help
#4
If you think there is any difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to Banksters, then you are in complete denial. The only way to get away from the control of the Banksters is Crypto Currency. If you do not know what that is, you owe it to yourself to get educated.
#5
Might be wrong here!
It appears that anyone with fortitude and courage always get assasinated in "the land of the free"
Can you reember them and recall their vision for humanity?
Why do they get murdered?
#6
I can't help but think of Bernie when I read FDR's words. Maybe he should pick Oprah as his VP running mate. How could they lose?
Organized money has given us a corpse media monopoly that both distorts and suppresses political truth to the point where many in this country now blindly support Fascism. I shake my head in disbelief when I see Kochpublican Trump supporters fly the American flag.
Allowing millions to put their faith and trust in a so called news channel that is nothing more than propaganda meant to manipulate the gullible into voting against almost everyones best interests has been a severe blow to liberty and the American way. Murdoch's organized money has undone well over two hundred years of progress. Foxaganda is anti-american!
#7
chuckle8: In reply to yesterday, thanks for the info. Yes, I'm aware of the disbanding of Kobach's voter fraud commision. Kobach realized the Dems on the commision would eventually expose his crimes.
Anyway, regarding provisional ballots being handed out to those being dumped from the voter rolls.... ACLU lawyers need to do a little cross check of their own. They need to show that the generic names being used by Kobach do not match the names of those being thrown off the rolls. This would be quite simple because the middle initials, adresses, SS numbers, not to mention signatures , etc. do not match the generic name being used in the fraud. This is a clear case of election fraud ..... Kobach as well as the red state participants should all be charged with the crime. lock them up, lock them up, lock them up...LOL
#8
For those that think block-chain/crypto currency is the answer. Look up "Fedcoin" that should make you all really uneasy. Watch cashless economy evolve and watch the end coming.
I am liquidating, keeping cash on hand. When cash is scarce, cash will be king. Even today, cash is king. One Fedcoin comes in, the banksters will be unnecessary. only one bank will be available and they will control the "ledger", only fedcoin will be accpetable for paying utilities, taxes, social security, medicare, etc. Check it out "Fedcoin". Come to your own conculsions. Good luck
#9
If you want to understand the forces that undermined Roosevelt and the US war effort, just look at the corporate powerhouses who re-branded themselves after their collusion with the enemy during the war. The same corporations have been shaping the world economy, since WWII, using the euphemisms “Free Enterprise” instead of “fascism” to justify their peculation of world resources and inveigling “Public-Private Partnerships” to vitiate the social pillars of society and eradicate any vestigages of democracy for citizens.
Fascism, like racism, did not die. It merely softened it rhetoric with pleasing euphemisms and self-serving “marketing”(propaganda) to obstruct and obscure the US corporate treason before and during the war. Because FDR died before the end of WWII, the info he planned to use to prosecute corporations, powerful politicians and individuals for treason during war-time, was suppressed and expunged from the public records.
The nice thing about time is that eventually documentation and records are declassified. Glen Yeardon and John Hawkins have chronicled the “suppressed history of a century” in a piercing study of the pertinacious “roots of American Fascism” and racism in our plutocracy. By reading, “The Nazi Hydra in America”, your understanding of history will never be the same.
“This is a valuable history of the relationship[ between Big Business in the US and European Fascism, before, during, and after the second World War. The story is shocking and sobering and deserves to be widely read.” Howard Zinn
#10
I would like to thank chuckle8 for his or her great comments on Kris kobach and interstate crosscheck. I don't know how to use social media but if you do please put it on there . I hope we can saturate the entire country with it and make it go viral. I also want to thank Willy Lohman for his fantastic comments about the US corporations and their embrace of Fascism. Thank both of you I couldn't have said it better myself.
#11
The Dems did a real "bang up" job of "deregulating" the "banksters" in 99...
What makes all of you think, that they're all that different (with the exception of a few) than the Republicans.
What makes all of you think, that a large percentage of the Dems aren't also "in bed"... With the "banksters", Wall Street, big business, corporations, etc...
What makes you think, that most of them are giving us anything more than, "lip service."
#12
Hephaestus #5
Good point. History shows again and again, that when an individual (or group) rises to a threatening level of influence, against the "evil" forces in power, and the status quo... well, they're usually eliminated, by whatever means necessary....
#13
#17 - Thanks for the comment
I question how this works?
I'm not a conspiracy guy by dint of or by need or clutch
It would seem that these observations do not carry coincidence well
If so, there is an organizing of such events
#14
The recent TH program that aired this topic was one of the best ever. I say that often but no, this time really was beyond remarkable. More recently, the moronic public continues to need entertainment figures to lead them.
#15
#16. There is a big difference between Republicans and Democrats. Look at the recent super tax cut for the wealthy. Not one Democrat voted for it, Every Republican voted for it. If you cannot see the difference in that then you will continue to post stupid posts.
#16
Trumps latest, calling certain countries (I will use the word deplorable because it kind of fits). Does he not realize that most of the countries that he is refering to have a very small population that has most of the money and power and an extremely large population that is in poverty because of it. Are we becoming a deplorable country? Norway certainly does not fit that description. It is Socialistic.
#17
Heard it said that people from Norway would not be happy here because they would be used to their government taking good care of them. (Off topic.) Trump passed his physical. Hard to believe. They did a news segment on his diet. Lots of diet soda, fast food, steak, chocolate deserts. I think they're faking his good health in the name of National Security. More deceit.
#18
What was released by the White House had the Doctors name misspelled. Kind of indicates it is not the Doctors words. It justs keep getting better.
#19
Thom seems to be stuck on how much money the Republicans spend on the elections. Didn't the Democrats out spend Trump in the last election. Didn't the Dems lose. Social media like this have more impact on elections then TV. No one gets there information from the news they are all option shows not news. Also why do the poor always vote for the left. The Democrats haven't done a thing for the poor ever and they never will until they quit voting for them. Once their vote is uncertain then both parties with suck up to them. Bernie has been saying the same thing for decades and has accomplished nothing. The Dems better be careful, nothing gets votes more then a good job or a raise. Well unless you don't want a job, if you are one of those Trump must scare the &$?@ hole out of you.
#20
#20 Legend
Gezz Ledge. I must have hit a nerv...
l do align more with the Dem viewpoint. And just because l do vote on the Dem side in elections, doesn't mean that my eyes are blind to the corruption on their side too! Both parties are corrupted by "big money"... Yes, the Republicans to a larger scale than the Dems.
And yes, l believe the Republicans have done much more damage to the poor, the working poor, and the middle class... But, in the last 40 years, a large amount of destructive legislation has been passed and signed into law... BIPARTISAN!
As far as upper tier tax cuts go... The FIRST one (1981) passed the DEMOCRATIC controlled,Tip O'Neill house. Then passed the Republican Senate. Then was signed into law by Reagan.. This is where the fuckn crazy "trickle down" insanity started!
Dont even get me going on the insane, destructive, BIPARTISAN laws that were passed in the 90s...
I'll leave it at that for now. Just another"stupid" post by me.
#21
#24. Another factless, his opinion only post by Kend. References?
#22
#25. There are way too many people that say that Republicans and Democrats are the same when there are vast differences. It only hurts the party to post false claims.
#23
Good post Kend. Maybe some of those good jobs will come from the dozens of stories like this and help pay for "the wall"
"DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler is moving production of heavy-duty trucks from Mexico to Michigan and paying bonuses to US workers in response to the passage of US tax reform late last year.
The automaker will invest $1 billion in its Warren Truck Assembly Plant to make the Ram Heavy Duty Truck starting in 2020. That truck is currently made in Saltillo, Mexico, where workers will continue to make commercial vehicles.
FCA says the Warren plant will add 2,500 new jobs."
https://nypost.com/2018/01/12/fiat-chrysler-to-move-plant-from-mexico-to-michigan-pay-out-bonuses/
Who knows, the Aden sisters may even decide to bring their wealth from offshore Costa Rican banks back to the US.
#24
Thanks Diane. I can always count on you. Here is a fact.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 6.8 percent unemployment rate for black workers in December, the lowest in the 45 years the data has been tracked.
Trump could use a PC lesson but let's be honest the economy is doing extremely well and that is good for everyone. I think we can all agree on that.
#25
Legend
I know its been slow this weekend. With no blogs from Tom on Thursday and Friday. And the crazy neocon trolls, took their time crawling out from under their "faux" news bridges.
So... I guess l was the one, for you to get your frustration out on.
You want references from me. Okay!
This is info easily found in the public domain...
The Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) of 1981. "BIPARTISAN"passed. Signed into law in Aug. of 81.
The Tax Reform Act (TRA) of 1986. "BIPARTISAN" passed. Signed into law in Oct. of 86.
The North American Free trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1993. "BIPARTISAN" passed. Signed into law in Dec. of 93.
The Gramm-Leach- Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999."BIPARTISAN" passed. Signed into law in Nov. of 99...
A law repealing important parts of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. "A fuckn Christmas present for the banksters!!"
In fact; both of the Reagan tax cuts could have easily been stopped in the house by the Dems. They had about a 50 seat advantage back then... But, no. They voted for them "BIPARTISAN"...
In fact; NAFTA and the GLBA could have been stopped as they crossed the executive branch desk... But no. They were signed into law.
#26
#29. Again you post reference with no facts facts. Try this for a fact. The Dow has has had continuous rise for 10 years. Trumps pledge of tax cuts and the actual tax cuts have had an effect but minimal as the chart shows. This is an extension of the Obama Regime. Notice the first year That is what the last Republican regime did.
http://www.macrotrends.net/1358/dow-jones-industrial-average-last-10-years
Post reference with your lies.
#27
#30. Get out of the 80's. Yes I did not agree with LBJ on the Vietnam war and strongly opposed, Trolls on this site love to say that Lincoln was a Republican. The times are changing. What do you want today?
#28
#29
Legend
How about a truce? You and l agree, way more than disagree, on most things political...
What do l want today?
To go pump iron at the gym... So later. :-)
#30
Clinton Foundation !!!
Wonder why the Clinton Foundation folded so suddenly after she was no longer in a position of influence? Perhaps this summary will give some insight??
They list 486 employees (line 5)! It took 486 people who are paid $34.8 million and $91.3 million in fees and expenses, to give away $5.1 MILLION
This is real. You can check the tax return yourself (see below). The real heart of the Clintons can be seen here. Staggering but not surprising. These figures are from an official copy of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation for the tax year 2014. The copy of the tax return is from the National Center for Charitable Statistics website. You can get the latest tax return on any charitable organization there.
Number of employees (line 5) 486
Total revenue (line 12) $177,804,612.00
Total grants to charity (line 13) $5,160,385.00 (that's less than 3%)
Total expenses of $91,281,145.00
Expenses include:
> Salaries (line 15) $34,838,106.00
> Fund raising fees (line 16a) $850,803.00
> Other expenses (line 17) $50,431,851.00 (Not Itemized)
> T ravel $8,000,000.00
> Meetings $12,000,000.00
Net assets/fund balances (line 22) $332,471,349.00
It took 486 people who are paid $34.8 million and $91.3 million in fees and expenses, to give away $5.1 MILLION
And they call this a CHARITY?
This is one of the greatest white-collar crimes ever committed.
And just think---one of the participants was the president and one wanted to be elected president of the United States.
If justice was served they should both be in prison.
#31
Jefflisse: After reading your posts....I take it your solution would be to take over the Democratic Party with infitration of more progressives? The Kochs were able to privatize the Republican Party with the Teabagger movement....turned it into their own Kochpublican Party. We need to turn the Democratic Party into a power to the people party.
#32
Bachmann: How about some real dirt about Trump's foundation, not to mention his University. LMAO. BTW: What happened to Clinton's emails and Benghazi?..oh that's right, that was all just pre-election propaganda, with a lot of help from Putin.
#33
Mr and Mrs, Diane Kend: A bonus doesn't validate trickle down. For 40 years it hasn't worked.......it's just another fascist effort to fool fools.
BTW: The only Walmart workers slated to get the $1000 bonus are those with 20 or more years of service...the pay raise is to compete with other box stores already paying $11 or more per hour. Of course the corpse media will not mention any of these inconvenient truths...might make Wall Street nervous.
#34
2950-10k
Yes, more progressives in the Democratic party would be a good start. Though, a pretty tall order to make it happen. Takes too damn much money to run a campaign for a House or Senate seat... And, l believe it would be an upward battle against the entrenched interests in the DNC. Bernie discovered just how much so!
I know l come across as very pessimistic. Id really like to have more hope for the system...
Personally... I'd rather see a Proportional Representation form of government for this country. Though, l know thats just a fuckn pipe dream.
#35
#35. Would you post a link for that info.
#36
#38 not to mention thousands laid off at the same time. Again they throw a bone to the lower and middle class. What do you think the Walton Family will make from this tax cut?
https://thinkprogress.org/walmart-bonus-layoffs-ed187882b011/
#37
Clinton Foundation
#38
2950-10k
Actually... "Trickle down economics" has worked perfectly for the last 40 years!!
"Chuckling" It's because the pyramid has been (precariously balanced) on it's point, totally up side down... TOTALLY!!
Its "wobbling"really bad....
Gonna fall soon!
#39
#35 the site where you would find the information is posted. It requires real research, not simply reposting what someone else says.
#40
#44
Really?
All those numbers and figures (on line that, and line this) that you rattled off on your #35 post, and you cant give even one website, article, publication etc.,from which you got this (so called) (smoking gun) information?!?
Come on...
#41
812 great post and to think she almost became president. I have a feeling the Clinton's are going to be locked up some day.
10K it is all trickle down. The debate is whether it trickles down from the government through your hard earned taxes or through private companies. It is clear from 812's post it should not go through a foundation.
#42
Kend and 812
Its time you both get an education on how charitable foundations work. Also there's quite a difference between private charitable foundations and public charitable foundations.
Your numbers are twisted, incorrect, right wing"nut"- propaganda... bulllshit!!
https://www.factcheck.org/2015/06/where-does-clinton-foundation-money-go/
#43
@Rick Steves #32
You struggling to tell us the rise in the stock market and business confidence skyrocketing is due to obama, is like a turd making fun of a sunset.
Even Hartmann gets tongue tied when this bogus statement is mentioned by a caller.
I hope you know better than to actually believe that BS.
#44
35 and #44 OU812. So you cannot post a link to your posted fake News. In #42 I posted a link showing that the Clinton Foundation received an "A" rating. here is another bunch of links. Now go crawl back under your rock.
https://www.google.com.br/search?ei=JvNcWvevKsixwASylIP4DQ&q=clinton+fou...
#45
#48. It was post #31 that had a link to the Dow chart for the last 10 years. Charts do not lie. Obama did it without a 1.5 Trillion dollar give away to Corporations. Prepare for the next depression because it happens everytime after the Republican Party creates huge deficits. Remember the Bush/Cheney Depression? How about the Reagan Recession?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2016/11/20/trumps-turn-repu...
#46
Rick Steves Stop with your bullshit. Obama's market increase were due to the Fed who was dumping $800 million per month directly into the banks which went on for years.
#47
Look at the chart.
#48
Look at the chart. Try posting a link or reference. Something that you, OU812 and Kend find hard to do.
#49
Rick Steve: The only one that is arguing against the stock market S&P being a good investment over years is Thom Hartmann. Go oppposite of his advice and prosper.
Now Mr. Facts, look up "quantitative easing".
"Since the end of the financial crisis in 2008-2009, the US Federal Reserve has been, essentially, printing money to boost the US economy."
"First enacted by the Fed in the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis, QE was basically what a central bank does when it runs out of its traditional arsenal of cutting interest rates and starts digging around in the bag for a new trick.
Frequently referred to as an "extraordinary stimulus" programme, at its most basic, QE is essentially when a central bank buys bonds to lower interest rates.
There were three rounds of quantitative easing. From late 2008 until 2010, the Fed bought nearly $2.1 trillion (£1.3tn) of treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The programme was halted when the Fed signalled that it believed economic conditions had improved.
However, once the US economic recovery faltered later in the year, in November 2010 the Fed announced another round of QE. QE2 ended in the middle of 2011 after the Fed bought $600bn of bonds, primarily mortgage-backed securities.
Once more, however, the Fed was too optimistic. In late 2012, the Fed announced another round of open-ended bond buying, which eventually resulted in it buying $85bn per month. The Fed began "tapering" those purchases at the start of this year, and the programme is set to end in October."
#50
"The Federal Reserve System fulfills its public mission as an independent entity within government. It is not "owned" by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the Congress of the United States."
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
Thom & Louise at a "private audience" with His Holiness Pope John Paul II at his summer palace, Castle Gandolfo, Italy
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann seeks out interesting subjects from such disparate outposts of curiosity that you have to wonder whether or not he uncovered them or they selected him."
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 Screwed:
"The powers that be are running roughshod over the powers that OUGHT to be. Hartmann tells us what went wrong — and what you and I can do to help set American right again."
It is not difficult to understand. We had the Bush/Cheney administration just 8 years prior to the last election. Yet the Trump voters seemed to ignore how bad it was and vote Republicans in again. How stupid can you be?