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"Free" trade ?
Poverty here is no more benefit to the striken here than it is to the stricken there. Poverty can't be resolved through devices that impoverish. We can stick our math up our @$$ on that one.
Perhaps you would care to view Cygnus1 and the five steps #14, #24, #29, # 31, #32 I have created on the forum:
Violent police crackdown against the 99% movement in the middle of the night in Boston Unless the people go the full nine yards then they will never get off the wheel. Perhaps the people are not yet far enough advanced in their understanding to free themselves.
PhilipHenderson rt . But waite there is more. A ?
leighmf "I truly believe we cannot extricate ourselves from this mess." That just goes to show that belief has limitations and limited value.
SillySister eats discounts just short of waste. Who put the lock on the dumpster ? Why do we need to put locks on dumpsters. A crash helmet doesn't do a hell of a lot of good if you are starving. Don't break any locks on garbage , it is against the law, is it not ? r
jrboehmfl Exclusion obstructs possibilitys.
Don't you people ever have an orginal thought. I must be paid, if I disagree with you. Let me ask you a question "Oh Wise One". Do you think the reporters who write for newspapers are paid? How about the folks on radio and tv are they paid for their oponion? If someone gets paid for what they write or say their opinion is worth something. On the other hand, I assume you don't get paid for your opinion, so I guess that makes your opinion worthless.
Insanity : "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".. Albert Einstein.
These "representatives" of ours are neither insane or stupid. They are merely doing the bidding of their corporate masters because their love of money and power is greater than their love of country.
Whenever you hear FREE you know something is wrong. There is no such thing as a "free lunch." Anytime someone offers you something "free" grab your wallet. That person is trying to pry something from you. This is not free, someone will pay a price, likely American workers. Trade tarriffs are useful economic tools to keep Americans working or at least competing on a level playing field. I understand that their were certain foreign policy issues involved in this passage, nonetheless, it is another step down a road that leads to trouble. If these agreements were begun by the Republicans while George W "Asleep at the Wheel" Bush was President, that should be a warning.
I don't understand why the Republicans are so eager to send American jobs overseas. How does that fit with resolving the unemployment problem in the United States. They cheer when American jobs go overseas, they boo when American soldiers say they are gay, they cheer when they imagine a 30 year dying because he failed to purchase health insurance. These are a sick bunch of leaders.
You're confusing 'free trade' with these so called 'free trade agreements". If in fact we did have free trade we would not need an agreement between governments for private businesses to conduct their business.
I wish you were honest Thom.
Colombia, South Korea, and Panama- Free trade also means making deals with bankers holding important ports which circulate the illegal drug trade, historically.
What does it matter when the illegal drug and pharmaceutical trades are both controlled by the Central Bank?
I truly believe we cannot extricate ourselves from this mess.
Used Food:
I think you should find the song sung by Barbara Streisand: "second Hand Rose"....it's timely!
I only listened to you interview yourself for the first hour today.
1. I gather you are against the death penalty. While you were bloviating on that subject, the good people of Connecticut saw fit and condem to death a man for invading a home, beating the family with a baseball bat, killing the mother, raping the 11 year old daughter while her 17 year old sister was tied up in a bed. After they had there fun, they set the house on fire killing three family members. God forbid that was your family. As far as the execution method, mine would be far more uncivil that a shot in the arm that paralyzes them and stops there heart. Off the bridge, or a .45 that I would happily handload for 15r¢ is just fine. Human garbage.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44894512/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
2. You spent a lot of time complaining about Herman Cains 9-9-9 plan. Yes, it does have flaws, but you made the statement that millionaires and billionaires tax rates would fall from 36% to 9% Then you went to Warren Buffett's tax rate of 17%. In the past, you stated that millionaires and billionaires "sit around the pool waiting to collect dividend checks" and pay from zero to 15% tax rate. Which is it?
3. On the Warren buffett tax return of 17% that Mr. Buffett feels is way to low, you forgot to mention that this overly generous individuals company, Birkshire Hathaway, owes the U.S.Government (you & me), about ONE BILLION DOLLARS IN BACK TAXES starting in 2002 that they forgot to pay.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/warren-buffett-taxes-berkshire-hathaway_n_941099.html
God. One hour is enough.
I think state banks could be a real answer. I know Wall Street would absolutely freak and dissolve if the country started demanding charters for State banks. Have you read about No Dakota's state bank? OWS would begin showing their POWER in a real in a translated way.
State Banks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0rJWnRFUJA
North Dakota has a state bank . ND is not in debt. Its people are protected from foreclosure. Its private farms are protected from Big Ag. They have jobs and no real unemployment. The experienced a 700 million dollar surplus of funds for N. Dakota schools, fire, infrastructure etc.in 2011 REally. see links below
Why because the money made on borrowing goes all to the state bank and the people of No Dakota. It keeps growing and is owned by the people for the THEIR needs.
This is a clear answer and it is THE ANSWER to address a huge chunk of our demands with an existing model. No one can say its not practical or doable. It is a proven superior plan that has made No. Dakota immune to what the rest of the country is suffering. I like it because it is a central idea that the 99ers could get behind. Asking the bankers to change who they are and how they do things is a gigantic waste of time, we know they will never change and if they do concede some little something they will take it back as soon as people relax for five minutes.
State banks would end their enormous power forever. It would shift the power of policy and money back into the hands of the people and would be a start that would change the banker and submissive people paradigm forever. A simple message that would be real change. We the 99% chose to run our own banks. BofA and the rest are welcome to have their for profit businesses run the way they see fit. They don't have a right to stop us either but they will claim they will which will just prove again that these same people are denying us a Democracy and the right to serve ourselves. The will demand that we are to be totally dependent on them and that will be their end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad0gant1zeo
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112420/why-north-dakota-may...
North Dakota Expecting 700 Million Dollar Budget Surplus 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxsrjrw55_I&NR=1
What are Herman Cain's intentions in his 9-9-9 plan which in the details includes abolishing Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security? What does Herman Cain mean when he says the poor should buy used food? He is telling the old, sick and poor to eat s@!t and die.
Seems pretty obvious that when Cain, regarding food, tells us to "... buy second hand ..." he is simply telling us to -- eat shit!
"Used food" is the appelation I attach to time-dated products "reduced for immediate sale." Already eating "used food."
Buy used food? Does Herman Cain want a nation of bulimics, or is he saying 'the poor can just eat shit'?
Hey, you can say that on Real Time with Bill Maher! Bill might beat you to it, though.
You forgot the part about Obama endorsing the legislation.
Listening to your new summary today about NYC events, let me get this straight. Mayor Bloomberg is telling demonstrators they have to leave the park so that it can be cleaned, but then they can come back an continue, but the "property management company that takes care of the park" is pushing to ban sleeping bags, camping equipment, etc.
Hello? NYC has privatized maintnance/management of this public park? And this private contractor is going to have a lot of influence on the critical determination of wheter public demonstration can continue (maybe letting elected officials like Bloomberg off the hook, and eliminating accountability?). And this all just kinda whooshed by in your news summary without notice?
Do I have something wrong here?
I AM NOT A PER CENT, I AM A PERSON!"Despite the destructive effects of more than five centuries of subjugation, as the Originally Free Nations and Peoples of Turtle Island, we still remember what it is to be truly free as exemplified by our ancestors. Our ancestors evolved life-ways and values that challenged European feudalism, medievalism, and lordship. Today, forces seem to be working toward neo-feudalism and neo-medievalism, with a long range plan for irreversible global domination in the name of ‘national security,’ under the unblinking eye of the surveillance state.
http://inxinachtliinmilpa.blogspot.com/2011/10/open-letter-to-occupy-wall-street_13.html
Thom - you're about to have Ravi on - please press him on Peak Oil! I blogged about Ravi and Peak Oil a couple of months ago. You can read that here: https://www.thomhartmann.com/users/bandy-legged-marsupial-cave-rabbi/blo...
my challenge to all y'all today. add your 2 cents please or your slam if need be. we as a collective must work together to find a solution as clearly our reps can not!
my dowdotic solution: to generate revenue we must...eliminate Bush era tax cuts and pass obamanuts surtax on the rich. bump cap gains tax and eliminate the loophole that allows for 0% tax on cap gains for certain income levels.(it is income and should be taxed as such!). Tax each stock trade ie:sales tax it! get rid of the 2% FICA tax holiday and give it to the employers and see if the job creators will create jobs! raise medicare tax to 1.5%, raise FICA, employee side to 7%(this is in an effort to recoupe for the stupid holiday we just had and to further keep money going into the fund.) Limit mortgage interst deduction to set % based on income. limit donation deduction, limit miscelaneous deductions on form 1040. Level a national 1% sales tax. eliminate earned income tax credit or at least cut it by 50%. Copr tax rate of 35% pays @ beginning of fiscal period a % based on 5 year lookback period as well as a flat $800 surtax. Schedule C and E filers pay a yearly sutax % based on a 5 year lookback period. Regardless of loss carry forward all schedule C & E filers pay a $100 surtax. (note: IRS estimates 400-500 billion potential in missing revenue do to improper or fraudulant reporting) Pass the "PISS ON WALL STREET AND BANKS" bill, which allows any person with a retirement account to with draw up to 50% with out penalization to pay off primary residence and or allow them to borrow from self @ 1%. (this one is a no brainer as not only does it free us from bank bondage but with all that yummy extra cash maybe I'd...uh...hmm..gee don't know I've been broke so long paying for my American dreaam that I forgot what it would be like to have a little "disposable" income? WOW I think i'd by the little missus a trinket. I just wonder if I can find one made in America....lolol)
anyway this is my start and I'm jsut curious if any of the occupy wall street folks have thought solutons through. please feel free to wiegh in as I hear that Pizza guy is trying to wow the crowds with his upside down 999 plan and we all know what a stupid mistake that would be.
My next stop? the national budget.
There is usually a trend toward belief in pseudoscience when times turn bad, and now it's happened: California 'Psychics' started advertising heavily on KTLK this week. I hope the unemployed won't waste their money on it.
Our lawmakers are obviously not getting it, there are people in the streets everywhere in this country because of their economic policies. Yet here they go again, instead of considering putting on the brakes, they have instead decided to push the pedal to the floor as we go careening around sharp turns next to the cliff.
Once again Wall St is showing its influence in our government. Well they say its always darkest just before the dawn... I'm just wondering how much darker will it get?
N