Recent comments
ADHD: Hunter in a Farmer's World
Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
Join Thom for his new twice-weekly email newsletters on ADHD, whether it affects you or a member of your family.
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.
Ken Ware ~ Usually I can find something to disagree with you about; but, not this time. You took the words out of my mouth. The whole unfolding of this political show looks more choreographed than a Broadway Musical. (By the way, I've always hated Broadway Musicals.) Both parties are blaming the other and doing nothing about it. The obvious goal--turn our country into a third world work camp. The only difference, they don't want to pay to maintain the workers.
The way I see it we have two options. Deal with the situation now, internally. This Generation must solve this problem. The powers that be are becoming too powerful too fast. They are dumbing down the next generation and taking away our weapons. The only hope to solve this problem internally falls on this Generation. If you agree, what do you suggest we do? We must act fast and with wisdom and reason!
The second option is complacency. The country will be ruined and the following Generations will be slaves. A solution, however, will eventually come externally as other countries will not accept the imposed burden from ours and remove our masters from power for us. This might be a good course to allow to happen because it is obvious that our Constitutionally sanctioned system has failed. I'm interested to hear your opinion.
Personally, I'd prefer to resolve the problem now than leave a legacy of oppression to the next Generation.
Do not fool yourself. Obama is not your friend. He is not on your side.
He smiles and pretends to be on your side, but he is really nothing but a meat puppet working for those dark forces in our society working to enslave us all.
Obama works against your interests and for those of his corporate masters.
Economically speaking, he will cut your throat and bleed you dry for that last nickel, not because he or his masters really need it, but just because it gives them great pleasure to watch you bleed to death!
And Obama's biggest thrill will be that his victims fell (once again) for his lame rhetoric and stupid protestations that he will fight to protect the American middleclass!
And his corparate masters love him that much more, because he is making it all go down so easy!
Once he leaves office both he and his family will live on in grand style while the rest of society continues to suffer from his crimes and misdemeanors as well as those he allowed to happen on his watch.
While Obama himself may not quite be an economic terrorist, he is their enabler!
So very, very sad to see...
This whole Sequestration process is nothing more than a cowardly way to implement Austerity measures against the poor and the middleclass in America, while preserving the wealth of the few. The President and the Democrats are as guilty as the Republicans when it comes right down to who is to blame for our present situation. Damn them all. This is all starting to smell like an inside conspiracy so each party can blame the other for what is and what will take place across America in the coming months. It is too late to march in the streets; they own the streets and the police in every State across our nation, as well as the news media outlets. Welcome to a new America, modeled after the old Soviet Empire. They all (politicians) belong to the Billionaires and Multi-Millionaires that own the political machine that governs our country. It is sad to read that people actually believe they can make a difference in the politics of our country by appealing to the politicians that have sold us out to begin with. Americans on both sides voted based on the commercials they heard and saw on the media and in general are either too lazy or too stupid to think for themselves, and that was apparent in our last Federal and State Elections! I have no faith in the idea that the American people can actually make a difference in what happens in this country. This is a very sad scenario to think about, that is if one is actually capable of individual thought that has not been fed to them by the powers that be. It is hard to draw any difference between what has happened in Europe (Austerity) and what is about to happen (Sequestration) in America. K. W. Take a good look at Greece and Spain if you think the people can make a difference when it comes to the Banksters and the Politicians. Do not be surprised if these measures lead to violence across our nation. Hopefully, it will lead to the burning of Washington and not our cities!
Can't wait to read what Aliceinwonderland will have to say about these comments! I have not given up, I am just a realist.
Dennis4444 - Go on line (Google) and you can enter your zip code and get your Senate and Representative E-mail address and phone number.
Another acronym to decode: EMS. Translation, please!
Maulman- Regarding Social Security, Medicare and so on, you conservatives are full of crap; either completely clueless or deliberately lying. Your argument amounts to little more than regurgitated sound bytes off FOX "news". Sorry pal, you're barking up the wrong tree 'cuz we're not buying it. Social Security, on its worst day, is more sustainable than the bloody Pentagon. We should be cutting the Pentagon's budget, first & foremost, before anything else... for many reasons, having as much to do with morality as economics.
The solution to Social Security's "problem" is no secret, nor is it "rocket science". Thom talks about this all the time on his show. Just raise the cap on SS-taxable income! Sound complicated? Only a know-nothing like Maulman or Global would buy into this neo-con, bogus lie that Social Security or Medicaid - or the Post Office - is "going broke". The hell they are.
One of the greatest comforts I've gotten from Thom's blog is seeing how many people are actually paying attention, who understand the real source of our fiscal crisis. We simply refuse to be brainwashed by Murdock & Company, and the piggish interests they serve. So save it, Maulman. You guys are wasting your time on us. - Aliceinwonderland
If we think nothing can be done it wont be done. For heavens sake get off your ass, quit whining and do something.
Abzocker
zocken (tsock- kn) to gamble
abzocken (up-tsock-kn) to rip off
Abzocker (up-tsocker) swindler
Please Mr. President, don't cut our Social Security or Medicare. The MSM reports that you are planning to offer cuts to Social Security and Medicare to satisfy the fascist republicans who hate America and Americans. DO NOT GIVE IN, PLEASE! It is the wrong thing to do. I am 77 and do not want to repeat what the elderly went through before Social Security. They either starved to death or survived eating dog food. Without Medicare, we would die simply die .which is apparently what they want us to do. Just hurry up and die. My parents were married in 1930 and my father drilled holes in acorns for the WPA in order to survive. It wasn't until 1937 that he got a job with the USPS and was able to feed his family. I do not want to go through another Great Republican Depression. AUSTERITY does not work. After President Coolidge cut income taxes for the rich in the mid 1920's, a bubble was created because they had so much extra money. The rich had a heyday buying property, etc. The bubble burst in 1928 just like it burst again in 2008 after the Reagan tax cuts. This caused a monetary crash which led to the subsequent crash of the stock market in 1929. President Hoover, who meant well, decided that the nation had to go on an "AUSTERITY" diet which led us directly into the Great Republican Depression. Thank God for President Roosevelt, he pulled us out of the depression and my father was finally able to get a job to feed us. Please read about the Great Republican Depression of 1929 and lead us out of this mess. PLEASE!!!!! Please do not listen to the Tea Baggers and Neocons. They are trying to repeat history trying for a different outcome. They know nothing about economics or history for that matter. They are just trying to please their masters the Koch Brothers, et al. We do not need AUSTERITY. WE NEED JOBS!!!! I am sure you are aware that during your inauguration ceremony in 2009, the usual suspects held a meeting with Grover Norquist vowing to make you a one term president. Now in your second term they are still blocking everything you are trying to do for the American people. They must not succeed. Please tell them to grow up!!!!!
Deaf Politics: The mouths move and utter unintelligible oinking noise. Send the vile swine herders back among the company of the disease spreading swine herds they keep. Into the midst of all the hapless freaked out stampeding pig flesh in the fearsomeness of it all. Yesterdays have their value in planning for the future however don't bother turning back the clock , that is not the direction we are headed and there is no getting around it. So good mourning and a cause to celebrate .
Boner's office never did write back to me. Hey thom i don't get your show in L.A. at 9am anymore since they put on a bunch of blow holes, what's Bernie's standing on it all? And What Do i need to do to get to hear you in L.A. while i'm stuck on the 405 parking lot!lol
YUP!
Mauiman2: Medicare needs to be revamped, as in stopping the fraud and the wasteful feeding at the trough by physicians and hospitals. Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit, has been solvent forever (has over a $2T surplus), could be easily fixed by raising the cap and has by and large been paid for by its recipients; HANDS OFF! The bloated military budget, on the other hand, comprises half of our national spending. Why don't I hear you conservatives clammering to cut outrageous defense spending? Oh, you own stock in General Dynamics? I see....
Regarding Obama caving again, I believe we've watched this movie before. He sets up a crisis, then "compromises". How stupid we were to take him at his word.
Tom,
It Would be nice to see the White House phone and the main Congress numbers
in your statement all about calling.
Until we can get money out of politics we are stuck with too many things that are not good for the 99% but benefit the 1%.
And as long as both parties need the money to stay in power, things will not change.
Can we get Bernie Sanders to expand his party, and start bringing in more people that have his principals? I would vote for a member of the Bernie Sanders party over a democratic or republican candidate.
...shortly after the 08 hiest a man of substantiall wealth shot himself as did many others i read of. his fortune reduced to 50% or less, still sizable by comparison to many but encroaching on his life style. imagine it. Now we head into the next hiest, this time? "My" safety net, your safetty net, items that should not even be in the discussion!!! Yet here we are and they are still trying to bushwack Social Security and Medicare? Now imagine if wall street "did" get thier hands on it? The question i would pose to anyone today is who would you rather trust right now with your safety net? Calling and writing? They really do not care. Greed and selfishness killed what little was left of any so called American dream. Flat wages for decades as the wealth divide increases. Just look at China and the story today about that wasted monster mall and how empty it is. Why? the pigs of industry in china much like in America have made off with all the cash and the mall is belly up because the working stiffs can't afford anyhting. This folks is where America will be sooner then we think. So what do those of us do that might have half an inch to stand on? do we cash out a couple hundred K of our retirement, pay the penalty and tax to pay off our bank imprisonment just to be safe? At elast we'll own the home. we may not be able to afford much more at retirement but hey some dog foods are still cheaper at Big Lots then soup at Wal Mart. Pretty Sad when the solution is so simple.
The ridiculous executive payis responsible for the growing wealth disparity in our country. Further CEOs are robbing funded employee pension plans by dumping their unfunded executive pay and perks on those pension plans; that should be flat out illegal. The former CEO of Costco was more than happy to have the old 12:1 ratio of executive pay to that of the average worker. I have not found any legal justification for these insane pay increases and perks. One economist suggested it was a change in "social mores"; not as far as I'm concerned. No one ever asked the average working person whether they approved of these insane increases. If they can do it in Switzerland and the EU, then so can we. We just have to have the courage to make a stink. France will often shut down the whole country; we in the US do nothing! It is time we made ourselves heard or Wall Street and the CEOs will just continue ripping us off.
I wish that James Madison, or anyone in the Constitutional Convention, had recognized that single-member districts lead inevitably to a two-party system. In addition to saying "please don't form parties," 'Rusticus' also made the case that with 13 states, there should be enough factionalization of political issues that we wouldn't have to fear the arisal of a majority party.
Now, some states did not originally elect their House delegations in single-member districts, but they all ended up that way after Congress required it in the apportionment legislation. If we want to get away from two-party gridlock, we need a multi-member district of some sort, and my plan is available here. I believe that if the lower house has multi-member districts, then all decently sized parties will be able to send members to the upper house, even when its membership is elected in single-member districts.
By their actions and statements, Republicans are sociopathic and psychopathic fascists.
Politically:
1. They have attempted to foment societal fear and hatred of minorities, gays, unions, workers, women and educators for political gain;
2. They wish to emulate Nazi Germany’s barbed wire concentration camps for law-abiding, patriotic homosexuals, protesters, union members and/or destitute Americans;
3. They wish to impose mandatory instruction in Christianity for all Americans, at gunpoint, and the suppression of religious freedom and expression of other faiths;
4. They wish to corrupt public education in America by insinuating Christianity and a Biblical presence in all schools, and by denying empirical scientific teachings;
5. They actively engage in voter suppression, intimidation, fraud and misinformation;
6. They wish to replace the Constitution with the Bible, and to repeal all laws dealing with civil rights and corporate, financial and political accountability;
7. They deny bipartisan representation to citizens by gerrymandering political districts in their favor;
8. They engage in racist political obstructionism, resulting in loss of jobs and incomes;
9. They engage in egregious deceit and character assassination in order to keep citizens from making intelligent political choices affecting them and the nation;
10.They are pro-war, pro-torture and anti-veterans’ benefits and services;
11.They favor fascist governments such as China, North Korea, Uganda and Israel;
12.They favor defunding all social services benefiting the unemployed and poor;
13.They deny health care to all uninsured persons, and those with pre-existing conditions;
14.They oppose public safety by deregulating assault weapons and defunding public services such as firefighters, infrastructure repair and construction, EMT agencies, teachers, schools, police and by refusing disaster relief to communities;
15.Economically, they favor the wealthiest citizens over the less fortunate, demand Constitutional personhood for inanimate objects such as corporations, and are opposed to a living minimum wage, hoping to create national financial chaos;
16.They favor rape and violence against women legislatively, are anti-reproductive rights and encourage the murder of those who provide such services;
17.They are pro-environmental destruction by pandering to energy companies & others;
18.They favor international policies based on fictional “prophesies” in the Christian Bible.
Unless and until we repudiate their flagitious* behavior and presence in Government, America will be a nation enslaved.
*flagitious: utterly corrupt, thoroughly villainous
In the US we also have a problem that the "constitution" thing protects and enforces private contracts.
I missed the German term for "fat cat". Was it "Großekatze" or "Dickekatze"? ("Groß" means "tall, and "dick" means "thick" as in obesity.)
EtA: Okay, so not one of those. It sounded like Thom said Abzugger or something, but I can't figure it out with http://translate.reference.com/translate. Someone who sucks (things) up, according to the translator is "Aufsauger".
You right wing @$$wipez created the whole 'destroy social programs' scam from the very beginning right along with finding other scams to rip people off. You have spent all these years planning and plotting and scheming and avoiding paying your fair share of taxes putting the burden on those who are struggling to get by...many struggling just to stay alive....and you smug, cowardly parasites just keep on laughing all the way to your offshore bank accounts. You heartless cowards can all just EMS!
By the way, someone in Iran is knocking at the doors of the War Criminals...great job Parastoo! You rock!
http://cryptome.org/2013/02/parastoo-janes-cbrn.htm
Sorry you lefties, the big three (SS, Medicare, Medicaid) will have to AT LEAST have a hair cut in order to survive. There is simply NO WAY they can survive in their current form.
Glad to see you are scheduled to have economist Randy Wray on the show tomorrow. I recently had a chance to re-read a great business card analogy which I think serves as a very clear explanation of how federal government deficits create surpluses for the nongovernment sector, and how the federal government doesn’t need to issue bonds to fund its spending but does so in order to provide a secure interest-bearing savings vehicle in which its citizens can invest the non-interest-bearing dollars they accumulate as a result of the government’s deficits. Here it is:
Imagine the economy is a household which is comprised of you (the parent) and your kids. You the parent are analogous to “government” and the kids comprise the non-government or private sector. As the government you decree that you will offer 100 of your business cards per week to the kids if they agree to tend the garden on a weekly basis.
Naturally, the kids resist as they have no use for worthless business cards so you create demand for your “currency” (the business cards) by establishing a tax that can only be extinguished by remitting them. You declare that the kids will need to pay you 100 business cards per week to remain living in your household.
Immediately, by imposing a tax obligation in the currency of issue (the business cards) you have created a demand for the currency and created the conditions to allow you to transfer private resources (the kid’s labor) to the public sector (your garden). However, also note that you must spend the 100 cards each week before the kids can pay the tax of 100 cards. This illustrates that government spending must precede taxation and that taxation is not a revenue source for the government (i.e. taxing or taking your business cards from your kids does not allow you to spend your cards in the first place). You are the monopoly issuer of your cards and you are never financially constrained in your business cards (the currency).
This arrangement is analogous to a fiat currency like the US dollar. You can then extend this analogy and begin to track your currency transactions via a spreadsheet. This eliminates the need to “print” more business cards. Your spreadsheet represents “bank entries” which record all the outflows (spending) and inflows (taxation). If you make an error and add an extra zero to your spending one week, you wouldn’t have to “print” 900 new cards but your kids would be better off by 900 cards because it would show up as a deposit in their account.
Under the conditions above, the household budget would be balanced each week: You spend 100 cards and the kids pay you 100 cards to extinguish their tax liability. Note that the kids will be unable to accumulate any cards (that is, save) because they can only get access to the volume of cards that you make available via spending.
If you want to teach your kids to save you will either need to increase the business card wage for their labor while leaving your tax unchanged, ask them to do more labor each week and thus increase their wages while leaving your tax unchanged or keep paying them the same amount for the same labor and lower your tax. Let say you provide them with 120 cards per week as wages (government spending) but keep the tax at only 100 cards. Your budget will now be running a deficit of 20 cards per week but the kids can now save 20 cards per week because your spending (the government spending) has provided the “finance” for the savings. As the weeks go by the kids could accumulate more and more savings (numbers in the spreadsheet would increase) and you would soon see that the non-government saving over time is the exact record of the cumulative deficits being run by you (the government). Same as the US economy.
Extend the analogy further; Your kids now want to make more money (cards) and earn a return on their savings. As it stands, the only way they will be able to do that is if you decide to pay interest on their savings. This is equivalent to you offering them a government bond (a bit of paper saying that if they deposit their savings with you each week that you will pay them back at some future time plus some interest paid, of course, in business cards). Your issuance of debt establishes a non-zero rate of interest in your household and increases the kid’s wealth. Note that you were not forced to issue the bond to enable you to continue to run a deficit. The bond simply replaced non-interest bearing savings (reserves in our “banking” system) with an interest-earning asset (the bond).
Work the analogy backward and you can see how a federal surplus reduces private sector savings.
Source: http://www.americasdebate.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20318&st=0
Wow, what devastating austerity and these economic terroists. Lets all freak out to this bloody BS. are you kidding?
federal spending will continue to climb.
No Real 'Cuts'
In fact, if nothing else changes, spending in 2013 will be $3.6 trillion, an increase of nearly 2% over 2012, according to data from the CBO. That's because the sequester's "cuts" are actually just reductions in planned spending hikes.
Nor is the federal government operating anything close to an austere budget when looked at as a share of the economy. According to the CBO, spending this year will account for 22.4% of GDP, a level reached only eight times since 1946 — four of which occurred under Obama.