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Thom Hartmann is right in that austerity policies will drive further depression in the United States economy. Austerity dries up what job opportunity would exist and further dampens technological innovation and invention and the further development of the non-human factor of production that, when broadly owned, is the path to prosperity, opportunity, and economic justice. Austerity also shrinks the base of "customers with money," which is the REAL engine of economic growth and the job creators to the extent that workers are necessary to the production of products and services needed and wanted by society.
The reality that America must face is that tectonic shifts in the technologies of production are destroying and devaluing jobs and thus restricting the income source for 99 percent of the population. With investment in FUTURE productive capital economic growth and simultaneous broadening of the private, individual ownership thereof, we would turn an anemic, tumultuous down-spiraling economy into a growth engine and build the necessary broadened base of "customers with money" to support and sustain the products that our "machine" prowess can produce and thereby enrich and achieve affluence for ALL our citizens..
The International Monetary Fund also analyzed the impact of tax cuts vs. increased government spending for 6 countries – Canada, France, UK, Germany, Japan and the U.S. over the course of various events in history to understand what worked and what didn’t; they wrote a working paper on their findings HERE. Their study found that different solutions worked for different countries depending on various factors.
In the U.S. (already a low tax country) they found that tax cuts produced statistically insignificant impacts during economic downturns whereas increased government spending produced “significantly” better results. In fact – for every $1 spent in government spending – the U.S. economy experienced $1.80 in economic output; conversely – cutting government spending right now would have a significantly negative impact on the economy. In other words – austerity would be devastating right now. Those were the facts.
Former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett also is advocating more stimulus without tax rate cuts, but as with American economist Paul Krugman and Australian economist Steve Keen he does not address the issue of OWNERSHIP CONCENTRATION and discusses national debt without ANY stipulation of new OWNERSHIP CREATION. Thus Keen fails to address the issue of Who Should Own America. Keen does acknowledge that government stimulus via debt is crucial to further economic growth, but does not address who will benefit in terms of ownership creation.Bartlett states "Republicans have talked themselves into believing that that the only thing that matters to a business is its tax rate and that its sails, its customers and things of that sort are irrelevant. And that's absorb!"Paul Krugman states "...despite years of warnings from the usual suspects about the dangers of deficits and debt, our government can borrow at incredibly low interest rates — interest rates on inflation-protected U.S. bonds are actually negative, so investors are paying our government to make use of their money. And don’t tell me that markets may suddenly turn on us. Remember, the U.S. government can’t run out of cash (it prints the stuff), so the worst that could happen would be a fall in the dollar, which wouldn’t be a terrible thing and might actually help the economy."
The result is deficit financing and ever-growing national debt prop ups the economy in the name of JOB CREATION. The national debt that appears to be never-ending will never be paid down to elimination under current Democratic and Republican leadership. The system must be reformed to eliminate deficits and reward growth. At present, further borrowing, even at 0 percent interest, will ONLY work if new OWNERS of the productive capital asset growth are created. Neither Keen or Krugman address this scenario.
What is required is to focus on OWNERSHIP CREATION with respect to the formation of new non-human productive capital assets as a means of realizing economic growth and enriching EVERY child, woman and man through capital ownership. As tectonic shifts in the technologies of production march on jobs will be destroyed and degraded due to the injection of human-intelligent machines, superautomation, robotics, digital computerized operations, etc. in the processes that produce our products and services.
The following is a Letter to The Washington Post from my colleague at the Center for Economic and Social Justice (www.cesj.org) that I think is pertinent to this thread discussion:
Letters
The Washington Post.
1150 15th Street NW.
Washington, DC 20071.
Letters@washpost.com
Dear Sirs:
George Will raises important issues in “Bewitched by Obama” (The Washington Post, 12/06/12, A19), but misses the point, compromising fatally on principle. The goal is not deficit reduction, but elimination. Obama is not responsible for the deficit, nor the size of it. The system encourages deficits and penalizes growth. Republicans offer a stopgap. Democrats offer more debt.
A way to balance the budget and pay down the debt is to implement “Capital Homesteading.” According to the Coalition for Capital Homesteading (http://capitalhomestead.org/), the Federal Reserve should stop monetizing government debt, and start funding private sector growth — but only if everyone shares in that growth as owners of the new capital.
To encourage financing in ways that create new owners, dividends should be tax-deductible at the corporate level, but treated as ordinary income at the individual level, along with all other forms of income, including inflation-indexed capital gains. All personal taxes (including FICA) should be merged into a single rate levied on all income above a meaningful exemption large enough to cover ordinary living expenses, including education and healthcare, possibly $100,000 for a family of four.
Most important of all, everyone should have a “Capital Homestead Account,” a “Super IRA,” in which dividend-paying shares can be acquired on credit on a tax-deferred basis, repaid using the dividends on the shares, which can thereafter be used for consumption.
Yours,
Michael D. Greaney, CPA, MBA.
Director of Research.
Center for Economic and Social Justice.
http://www.cesj.org/
http://just3rdway.blogspot.com/
Now that the rich are in control of our government we will have to play by their rules. That is, those who benefitted most from Globalisation will pay the least to recover from its worst effects. Those who were affected most badly will get to clean up the mess and pick up the tab. Untile we the people recognise that WE have the power of numbers, and until we stop blindly accepting the propaganda of the rich, nothing will change. What we NEED to do is to press, en masse, our politicians to change the election funding from private to public and rescue our democracy from the grasping fingers of the plutocrats. Publicly funded elections with caps on spending is the ONLY way we will regain representative democracy again.
We must amend the constitution to outlaw the deliberately mis-named "citizens United" (really Oligarchs United) decision and permanently entrench powers to prevent the supreme court from being politically stacked and to break up the "too big to fail" corporations. The corporates and oligarchs must also be prevented from ever using the 14th amendment or any other constitutional provision to usurp human rights for corporate protections.
Reads like the "Rich Folks'" ox has gotta get gored to get out of this economic slump. We probably will need to confiscate some of their excess idle wealth as well as tax income.
I say, Welcome to the New Old World.
Again I must be missing something. America's plan to get out of this recession is to tax "the rich" take that money and spend it on the same things they spent the last 5 or 6 trillion and expect a different result. Wow, good luck.
Most of the countries mentioned above, are in austerity, had to do it as no one would lend them any more money.
the real crisis is that we continually elect rich a-holes who get laws passed to benefit themselves. i am not surprized obama did this. he has shown his stripes in the past. just because i am not surprized doesnt mean i am not PISSED OFF!
Apropos of the revenue/debt/expeditures discussions, check out this Fiscal Chart infographic from the 9th Census of 1870. Note how the early revenues were almost entirely from customs tariffs. Later in the 1830's, the revenue from sale of land was a major component (revenue through Manifest Destiny).
http://www.radicalcartography.net/9thcensus/9th35.jpg
Thom, don't let them drag you into this argument based solely on protecting kids in school buildings. They completely ignore the simple fact that kids play on the playground. The go to and from sporting events and field trips on buses. They go to and from school every day on buses. It takes more than a village to protect them. Teachers tend not to be gun owners and gun literate. They spend their time learning and teaching. Few want to assume the personal danger of carrying a loaded weapon and guns should not be forced upon them. But beyond that schools are not the only places where gun violence is a problem. The worst are in urban areas, then obviously there's movie houses, shopping malls and public events. Thanks but no thanks to the NRA for trying to sell more guns by talking only about schools. We ain't buying.
I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, the whole amendment not just the last clause. I call it the “Militia Amendment” rather than the “Right to Bear Arms” Amendment. Each gun owning citizen should be able to present credentials as a member in good standing of a 'well regulated militia.' The ownership of a gun must comply with regulations established by the 'free state' governing the militia in question because a well regulated militia without regulations is absurd. The supreme court will not need a constitutional amendment to support this national practice since we already have the Second Amendment, bruised tho it may be.
I'm unhappy with the giveaways to the movie industry and to NASCAR, for starters.
Don't blame it all on Congress, austery stems from Wall St and Obama has faithfully represented Wall St interests.
Let me modify that a little. Interest rates are historically low. The government took in almost 800 billion dollars in revenue last year. As the economy improves, people go back to work and the ripple effect increases the revenue. Pretty soon we will be taking in a trillion dollars, then two. President Obama needs to ignore the "debt ceiling" and tell treasury to pay the bills (Hartmann)
Amen to that brother!
You funny KEND...work all you want, but you completely dismissed what I was pointing out...
No one is taking 70% without giving back in return; Universal Healthcare system, Better Education system, Roads, Bridges, better Energy Policy, in general an Improved way of life.
This country was "suposedly" founded on the EQUAL Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. There ain't noth'n equal about unregulated capitalism; it creates and allowes for unethical business practice. Why do you think we are in the mess we are in!?
I'm not against a person working to improve their situation...Thats what the U.S. "use" to be about, However their were regulations and a better playing feild; one that strenghtened the working middle class...The largest population of consummers.
This "deal" was no deal for most of the ordinary citizens. I'm glad they left some things off the table for now. The real fight begins with the debt ceiling and the kinds of cuts RepubliCONS will want the country to make (hopefully Democrats will have guts and fight for what is right for ordinary folks.)
Legislators need to understand Democrats kept the presidency, kept a larger majority in the Senate and ousted 8 House members. If they do this, they may accomplish something for those ordinary citizens whose votes decided to trust the Democratic party!
Just for the record No Fraud- Rocky Anderson was my very favorite candidate. If he runs again, he's got my vote.
I love America as much as anyone. However, it breaks my heart to see people gathered together under freeways living in cardboard boxes, children preferring to scribble misspelled graffiti on public walls than attending public schools and playing in public parks, and our cherished senior population feeding out of garbage cans and moving in with their children.
How bad is it going to get before the 'affluent' realize that there is more to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness than fashion, luxury, and the pursuit of wealth. Can a Billionaire truly by happy if then have to have more than they need to live in luxury? How much more than a billion dollars does one need to be happy?
I respectfully submit that if you need more than a billion dollars to be happy what you really should be pursuing is the counsel of a psychiatrist and a preacher.
"Give unto Caesar that which is Caesars and give unto God that which is Gods."
No, I'm not happy. I thought 250K was fair...just 2% of the citizens make that and the 1% own 2/3 of the nations wealth. We need to continue to address the inequality here. Winning the election is just a start and is going to require alot of effort to educate folks of this major discrepancy. The Borrower is a Slave to the Lender. Who owns most of the Treasury Bonds? Not China. The 1% who pay 15% taxes on money earned does. The U.S. borrows by design, because we can't generate enough revenue. Why? Because these so-called lower taxes were supposed to create jobs, where the 8% unemployed can work and contribute in taxes paid. It is a start and only a start. Compromise is part of the equation and Obama has been re-elected to lead. The House must be held accountable for inconsistencies and a lack of duty to their office they pledged to serve. That is where the pressure must be applied and maintained until some consistency of government cooperation to govern for the good of the people is provided by those elected to congress. They should all be put on notice of either to govern for the good of "We The People" or HOUSE CLEANING IS NEEDED. They are all part of the 1%. So they govern for the benefit of themselves.
All I am saying is all I want to do is work work work shouldn't I have the right to do that with out someone taking 70% of my money? I believe poeple have the right to be unequal. Don't you?
Once again our politicians kicked the can further down the road and did not really solve the problem. A one trillion dollar a year deficit and how much of it did they close? Not much.
Oh the tangled wed we weave!
Your excuse for casting a fear vote is very common amongst those who voted for Obama. I wonder what would have happened if people who cast fear votes for Obama would have been more proactive and voted third party i.e. Julie Stein, or Rocky Anderson?
Most of my friends - who are made up of both republicans and democrates - voted for third party candidate Rocky Anderson.
It's apparent that had fear voters cast their vote for what they value...We would have a President that represents the people.
SHAKE THE TREE IN 2016...NO MORE FEAR VOTES!!!
Obviously KEND your idea of success is very American; limited and merely about how much stuff and crap you can gain.
I have several friends that meet your superficial idea of success; BIG house, fancy cars, lots of stuff and crap. None of them are happy because of what they possess or how much space they have. They will tell you their success is do to happy and healthy employees; along with being community active and reaching out to help those less fortunate.
They will also tell you that the upper 2% - which they fit into very well - can afford to pay higher taxes and still be very wealthy, successful, and happy.
The difference between you and them is clear...You - along with all neocons, and republicrates - buy into the hype, they don't.
During my 7 years of living abroad, I discovered just how much stronger familey and community values are compared to here in the U.S.
Sure middle class people in France, Germany, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Austrailia, etc. may not live a life of superficial luxury but thay are in more ways happier.
Take my brother and sister for instance; they are dual citizens - born in the U.S. but have lived in Australia for 38 years (since they were 4 and 7 years old). Both of them have traveled and lived in many other countries as adults. They both have good paying jobs and live quite comfotablely, (though you may disagree because they don't have alot of stuff and crap).
When I was living in Austrailia I asked both my Brother and Sister why they have never moved back to the states; their reply was that the U.S. is to expensive, all Americans do is work work work...Americans do not live life...Americans work their lives away...And when Americans get sick they suffer unless they can affoard to have health Insurance...They went on to discuss how poor the American Education system is and how people who live in countries that pay for ones education are more likely to be successful in obtaining a degree or apprenticeship.
There are 6+ billion people in the world...The U.S. population is only just over 300 million. If the American Dream is still in tact then why are more people not clammering to come here. Sure lots of people do come here under the guise of what once was a country where a person could work hard and have a better life than where they came from...But that is no longer.
Many countries have surpassed the U.S. in areas of: Medicine, Education, Technology, Energy, Engineering, Social Services, etc.
The U.S. however does lead the world in Military Power, Obesity, Highschool Drop Outs, Heart Disease, Suicide, Gun Violence, Homicide, and Prison Population.
The United States of America is no longer the greatest country. Today more Americans fail than prosper...And that ain't do to lack of effort!
We need anpther Amendment to the Constitution.
"No appropriation by Congress is vadid law until the taxes are raised to complete payment therefore."
KAY MERKLE BORUFF Please share with us their generosity. I am no billionare, nor am I a millionare, in fact I make way less than 6 figures a year. I lived in France, as well as Germany; each for a little more than 2 years, and then Austrailia for 3years...ALL wonderful places to live healthy and happy lives. I have a cousin who has lived in Finland for 7 years now and a friend who moved to Denmark back in 2005 after 15 years in the U.S. Army. Australia was my very favorite, mainly because my brother and sister - who are dual citizens - live there and have for the past 38 years. New places are always better when you have at least one person to introduce you to the locals and their culture. I must say all three countries taught me alot about societies that are socialley organized as a collective and opporate quite successfully as a Social Democracy; the pros and cons...I found the pros far out weighed the cons. Americans and the U.S. government could certainly learn a thing or two from these countries when it comes to healthcare, and education.
I left Austrailia in 2007 and returned back to the states so that my now wife could be closer to her then 76 year old father. We have plans to move back to Austrailia once he passes away, which won't be too much longer since we as a family can no longer afford the treatment and medicines that he needs. I wanted him to apply for dual citizenship and take him to Austrailia where he could receive the treatment and meds he needs for less than 1/2 of what it cost here, but he's too proud and bigoted to go.
I hope and pray that my generation and future generations will be able to organize and apply more humain social policies than those that have divided this country into a culture that believes only the rich count while the middle class - the largest population - are merely pawns for the war machine.
What have I learned? Well... I know this is gonna piss off one or two of you but... nothing.
I knew when I voted for Obama that beating R&R was gonna come at a heavy price. And I - we - are paying it now. But I also know that had Romney won, this situation (bad as it is) would have been a whole lot worse. And while I'm certain Thom Hartmann is just as disgusted as I am with Obama's handling of Baby Bush's tax cuts and the mythical cliff (UNBELIEVABLY stupid!), I'm just as confident he would agree that Romney would have been way, way worse.
My intuition about such things has been incredibly accurate over the past 35+ years, especially at times like this when I've wanted so badly to be wrong. - Aliceinwonderland