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Of course they haven't done enough. Many of them are greedy or frightened. We, the people, don't have to put up with this. It is time for us to get active. support good people and stay in touch after we get them elected. In the mean time, we had better make sure our friends and neighbors have heat and food to get through.
And while I am here, Iwanted to wish you the best. Here is my greeting card and haiku for the season.
Through darkest night
words of freedom singing peace
bring us together.
Love, Eliz
Thank you "ccowley01", for your kind words. By all means, compose your thoughts and share them! You just never know who you're touching "out there"... - AIW
Oh DAnneMarc, AIW, Sandlewould and all the other great souls on here, there's so much in my heart I want to say. I'll have to take time to compose it. In the meantime it heartens me to see that there are such gems (diamonds even) in the desert of the US political landscape.
Keep up the good work and never despair.
2950-10K ~ Again, I couldn't agree more. Sandlewould's idea is beautiful and practical. However, destroying the current system is not necessary to obtain it. Our system is quite flexible. Just look at how easily it went from a freedom loving Republic to a fascist totalitarian Dictatorship. The Founders knew the environment would change and the people along with it. That is why they made the foundation of the Constitution so pliable. Such a benevolent document would be difficult to improve on considering todays norm of education in this country. The simple fact of the matter is that whatever has been done within the legal limits of the law can easily be undone within those same limits. The main problem today is that there is a giant technological mega propaganda machine that is creating the illusion that any effort at change is futile.
What comes to mind here is the Wizard of Oz. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." What appears before us is a massive, powerful entity that cannot be challenged. What is really before us is a few little old men with expensive equipment behind a curtain. Remove the curtain and unplug the equipment and the opposition appears as it really is, weak and dependent on technology for it's influence. I believe the winds of change are in the air. I believe those winds will blow the curtain off the puppet masters and unveil the truth to the masses. I also believe that someone like a Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren--or even Dorothy and Toto--will take advantage of that moment to seize the opportunity that will get us all back to Kansas. Altogether, "There's no place like home! There's no place like home! There's...!"
chuck1949 ~ chuck1941 is absolutely correct. You are presuming that CEO pay is set in stone and non negotiable. The fact of the matter is that CEO pay is the biggest waste and the least cost effective investment of any business. We're talking about people drawing anywhere from $8K-$15K/hr. For doing what? Making phone calls and shuffling paper?
The other point you tragically miss is that the money spent on workers is almost immediately re circled back into the economy; thus, increasing demand across the spectrum; and, ultimately, creating more jobs. A CEO drawing $20M/year can only spend a tiny fraction of that on their every day expenses. Even with the most decadent lifestyle imaginable the vast majority of that money will be socked away the same way a Pirate hides his booty. A worker earning $35K/year will spend at least 3/4 of that on living expenses. Henceforth, raising the minimum wage by cutting CEO's wasteful and opulent salaries and spending that money on workers wages drastically stimulates the economy, and creates more decent paying jobs for everyone. The prices for goods and the number of employees need not be affected.
chuckle8 ~ Thanks for clarifying that. I think we as a species need to do what we can to lift people out of poverty and make them as upwardly mobile as possible. That is why I'm a big believer in passing on a family's wealth. That makes the next generation stronger than the previous one. That is some strong motivation to work hard your entire life knowing that because of it your children will have a better life.
I couldn't disagree more. When love isn't involved people tend to take advantage of each other. A family's fortune belongs with the family and not with the state under any circumstances. That fortune represents the love of the person who just died. It is, in fact, the only thing left on earth from that person and that is what should take care of that family, not social programs. Social programs should be reserved only for people whose loved ones died unexpectedly or penniless and left them dependent and/or in debt.
Big wealth comes with big responsibilities. It takes a lot of work to sustain a financial empire. You snooze you lose. Let the big boys have their cake--if they can keep it. What I'm concerned about is how much good a decent small inheritance can do to improve the life of people. Education, business opportunities, and personal growth experiences like travel all add to the character of people. The better off the majority is the better off society is. A high death tax would not only discourage people from working hard and saving; but it would permanently create a class of Serfs who never have any hope of improving their lot in life. We might as well just bring back slavery.
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
2950-10K ~ Happy Holidays to you too; and, your family.
When people are charged with high interest and fees that is the sadness, and the situation is more darker when there is a matter of high tax.
Sandlewood: In reference your statement about ditching our current political system in favor of a new paradigm.....first I want to mention that I'm totally on board with your sentiment. That said, I realize guys like you and Loren Bliss regard me as a credulous, two party system, status quo individual, with a noticeable inability to type out his thoughts. With the exception of the latter the other part couldn't be further from the truth. "Naive"... isn' t one of my characteristics.
Let me explain as well as I can. To get to where you and just about all of the rest of us on Thom's blog want to get to, as directly as you seem to want to, would require violent revolution.....not my first choice. It would be nice if citizens like Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and George Soros would step forward with their financial clout and foment a coup d' etat ending the lying sacks of crap corpse media in favor of plain truth reporting ........but I'm not, as Aliceinwonderland put it, holding my breath.
But the pragmatic side of ole 2950-10K thinks change will come the old fashion way. It will require more time than any of us wish for......and a great amount of endurance and focus. What we really need to do is continue to elect more Elizabeth Warrens and Bernie Sanders.....trust me, the like minded are out there. While it's a fact that Teabaggers who don't know the difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, buy their way into office with billionaire money, this doesn't automatically mean we can't beat them at the polls. Money doesn't vote, people do!
DAnneMarc: Glad to see you agree... Happy Holidays to you and your family!
2950-10K ~ Very well said, sir. I quite agree!
chuck1949 from chuck1941 (assumes DOB) -- last things first, you say many businesses have closed in the last 18 months, but there has been no increase in the federal min wage. So why do you think that is happening? I think it is for the same reason that 50,000 factories were closed during the W administration.
There is a third way to accommodate the raise in wages. That way is to decrease CEO pay. The problem with the two ways you suggest is that if they could do those they already would have. If they could raise the price and still make as much profit, why wouldn't they have. One has to assume they have already determined the optimal point on the supply/demand curve. Each employee that is currently working is providing more profit than he is paid. If one fires an employee, he loses that profit.
The problem with $15.00 minimum wage as I see it is that many, many union wages are based on the minimum wage. So, when we raise the wage, we also raise wages millions of union workers. Business owners will continue to their profits. They can do that two ways, raise prices or let employees go. Most employers would probably some of both. Some businesses will chose to close up. In our area, I am shocked at the number of small and not so small businesses that have closed in the last 18 months.
Craig, you running for office? If so, you've got my vote. I'll even canvas for ya.
Sandlewould, I live on the west coast. Bummer... - AIW
I'll take you up on it! ..'cept I get the feeling that you live on the west coast, perhaps (or New England?) and I live in KY. Have a very Merry Solstice and everything... sand
4 day work week and a 3 day shift with a liveable wage. Home ownership for single income families that are energy and water efficient. Access to clean water an inalienable human right. New water districts formed on a regional basis with municipalities buying out private owners. A new federal jobs program to usher in the new green economy. Rebuild and refit to utilize 21st century science technology. State banks formed to buy all foreclosed homes. Divest all govt pensions, municipalities and other govt holding from big banks to state and community banks. This is my letter to Santa.
ps. There is a 6 mo waiting line to check out Thom's books from our library. Any extra's laying around?
I haven't heard much said about those that lost their unemployment insurance long ago?
"10-K"- as you know and I know, and most of our friends here are well aware, there's two sets of laws: one for the pigs, the other for the peons. Doesn't take a clairvoyant to guess which set of laws is the harshest and most stringent. What we the citizens of this grrrrreat country are getting, besides a fascist police state, is taxation without representation.
Marc, as I write this I'm about two thirds of the way through that FEMA documentary. I can only take in so much of that stuff at a time before I have to come up for air.
Wow, so we're all terrorists now! Everything the fascists don't like is "terrorism". What the fascists are, they say we are. Truth is, this corporate-owned fascist regime is the biggest terrorist organization on the planet. Been saying that for years. It's like a movie I can't turn off... Beam me up!
At a town hall meeting a few weeks ago, when they said the pledge to the flag, I was the only person in that crowded auditorium who remained seated. Felt kinda weird, like being walled in. It's been 48 years since I last recited the Pledge of Allegiance; at age fifteen, I recognized indoctrination when I saw it and vowed, never again. I've stuck to my guns ever since. No matter how weird or uncomfortable it feels to be the only person sitting, I refuse to be a party to this jingoistic, insipid ritual. "One nation under God"... Yep... Sho nuff. They can stuff their god and Old Glory down the ole "glory hole", if y'all get my drift. - Aliceinwonderland
10k. Yes I know. It's a shame. More and more cities like mine have changed there by laws so all cats are inside only. Windshields on cars designed to defect as many birds as they can. We are using less and less pesticides every year. Because your government is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars of subsidies into wind power bird deaths are increasing in certain species like eagles who don't die from the three I just talked about at such a rapid rate it's scary. If it was up to 1/2 the Americans we would have all wind and solar and no birds.
Oil extraction from the oil sands doesn't produce the bulk of of carbon dioxide in your air your car and furnace do. Don't buy it and they won't produce it. Oh and try to go with out plastic for a day.
WOW Sandlewould! You sound like someone I'd like to have over, for tea and a toke. I love your perspective. And without a bigger picture to guide us, we'll never find our way out of the maze. - AIW
Alice,
Thanks for the added insight...and sorry 'bout your little bird. You're 'hearing' what I said made my whole weekend. Having spent a brief "moment" on the 'other side' as a result of a near drowning when I was 12 (thus the ocean analogy, I guess) I am simply unable NOT to see the bigger picture, in this case, the end result of our human experience lest a butterfly flaps it's wings and a hurricane is avoided. I can count on one hand the number of times I have NOT been considered certifiable when this topic comes up. I see Thom as a man who knows this, but still clings to the heroes of his youth, his Dad, one of the last great Republicans (no dougt he was...and still is!)..his founding fathers who were wise beyond measure, yet still products of their environment/time...etc. Sometimes I wish he'd just wake up, though my guess is he is wide awake and just has to chose between being considered insane and losing his audience and compromising to get folks to wake up a bit in the hopes they wake up the rest of the way. Thom is still one of my heros, even though I get frustrated sometimes that he doesn't just ditch the whole US gov. machinery and start ponderring the new paradigm. Thanks again for your tenderness, Alice ...Sandle
Hey Kend: I bet you don't know that cats kill up to 3.7 billion birds in the continental U.S.each year. Cars kill up to 80 million and pesticides kill about 72 millon more. Maybe we could work on making cats more bird friendly. The good news is that wind turbines have no carbon dioxide emissions unlike the oil extraction from bituminous sands being converted to energy.
Aliceinwonderland: I have no illusions that political action on our unemployment problem will occur as long as the Teabillionaire Party continues to be allowed to effectively shut down our government and deny the will of the people.
The concentration of our wealth into the out of control and unregulated hands of a few is a crime against humanity and should be treated as such. We jail endless numbers of those who steal small amounts, but when a few steal billions it's considered Laissez Fair Capitalism....... this is only legal because we allow it to be.
Aliceinwonderland ~ Perhaps we should refrain from choosing any targets? I'm serious. That other video I suggested is an excellent example. Alex Jones features prominently in it. Alex is probably the only right winger I've heard lately that makes any sense. He does it by putting aside petty differences and speaking the truth. One interesting thing he noted was how FEMA was placed under the jurisdiction of the DHS. Memos were sent out to all law enforcement agencies that profiled potential terrorists. The profiles could fit anyone, right, left, or foreigners. Essentially, anyone with an opinion about anything. One of the potential profiles was simply having a bumper sticker on your car. Pro life, pro choice, pro gun, even pro Ron Paul. The content made no difference. It was the willingness to voice an opinion that gets you pulled over and harrassed. One of my worst fears was that the government was sowing discord amongst we Americans in order to distract us. Alex Jones takes that to a new level. Apparently these master deceivers are stirring up the pot (no pun intended) in order to provide law enforcement with probable cause to do just about anything with anyone. Meanwhile people on both sides of the isle cheer on the action never realizing that they are next on the list.
I think it is very important that we realize what is really going on and not allow our petty differences to set us up as patsy's in the power game. We all have to wake up, and educate others into waking up as well. Like Lefty Keys so eloquently stated,
We have to learn to recognize and side step this mine field of disharmony that has been set up by the powers that be and focus on our true objectives--namely, getting big money out of our government. We also have to be aware of the mischief the federal agencies are up to in our detriment. There is no reason that all of us, right, left, middle, and every group in between, can't put aside petty differences and rally around that goal. Once that is accomplished the rest should fall into place like a row of dominoes. Thanks for fighting the good fight, "Lefty".
Wouldn't hold my breath, 10-K.
Physical and moral circumstance make employment a necessity...... it's a Human Right....not to be denied. Our representative government has a mandate to be the employer of last resort.