Another world is possible because another world is absolutely affordable. We have to recapture the wealth that has been siphoned upwards, and we have to accept that it must be taken back. Those in power will never give it up. Most of these people were not even a part of the years of lobbying and union-crushing efforts of their firms. These outsized compensation packages are all they've known, and to them, it's what they've always "earned" and "deserved."
Again, they will NEVER give it up by choice. We must boycott firms, highlight outrageous inequality within them and society, build union power, embarrass and annihilate the reputation of those that exploit workers while helping executives get a third home, and highlight just how much this exists because of government subsidies, government failure to regulate, the prevention of universal healthcare and better unemployment benefits that would make it far easier for workers to leave bad workplaces or to speak up for their fair share, and tax loopholes purchased by the rich.
Your shingle says "Clinical psychologist specializing in political stress and mental health."
Between that and your comment, would you be defined more clearly what you might actually mean with "political force"?
That might help explain why you agreed when there are many more politically literate ways to actually achieve a much more egalitarian and sustainable society.
Hi Eduard, yeah, "political force" is a broad term for a big group of people influences the direction of politics and social power. To me, this includes marches, discussion groups, voting, and lobbying. I struggle to name any movements toward egalitarianism that didn't engage in some element of political force. Perhaps you can share some?
I'm not familiar with the word agentic and ended up with two contradictory meanings. What is your meaning and will conclude with another point.
The meaning of AGENTIC is able to accomplish results with autonomy. How to use agentic in a sentence (Merriam Webster) while Wiktionary as:
1. Social cognition theory perspective in which people are producers as well as products of social systems.
2. Milgram's theory about the agentic state which is the psychological state the obedient subject is in when he or she is obeying authority.
Were you to review Kohlberg's six steps of moral development, democracy requires at least level five or six. Milgram's application is in very best on level four.
Is that all your after with no democratic privilege and opportunity to be involved in democracy other than vote?
Looking forward to your replies as we aspire to a better much more egalitarian society.
Ian, from yours I appreciate that you want a much more egalitarian/civil society but am missing by what rules of the road you actually want to get there.
Two further things for now. Please explain what your first sentence means.
I like receiving RR's newsletters but have no time to review a video. Mike you or someone else provide a brief salient summary of what he said?
The first sentence refers to the fact that poverty is the default claim of political and corporate leaders when the masses ask for basic needs to be met. However, there is never a lack of funds when CEOs want bonuses, companies want subsidies, and leaders want to send soldiers, bullets, and missiles overseas. We have more than enough money for a more decent, peaceful, and supportive country and world.
The way to get there is by efforts to publicize this fact and to organize in ways that pressure those firms keeping public servants and institutions from actually serving the people.
I have yet to figure out what these CEOs do that makes them worth exorbitant piles of money. I mean buying yachts, private jets, and jewelry for the mistress are not exactly what could be termed hard labor. Fudging on income taxes hardly makes one sweat buckets. Exploiting the people who actually work for a living isn't debilitating. Nor is raping the land.
Standing around isn't backbreaking work, either. And neither is playing round after round of golf at overpriced country clubs.
Actually quite simple Mary. They know how to extract money via a choke point.
And we The People need to regain control of the narrative, because if you have not noticed what is the difference between a chokepoint and having a monopoly?
This has been going on for over 30 years. It has increased over time. After 9/11 everything went ballistic with CEO pay. I noticed this when attending UVM in 2011. The disgusting wealth of the administration vs the measly pay that profs get and then the outrageous tuition. We know where that money was going....straight into the pockets of the managers of the school. Administrators make too much money and everyone suffers for it. If we take a look at what University presidents make it will make you very, very angry.
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both. ~Louis D. Brandeis
The wealthy must be made to pay a fair share to support the society which allows them to enjoy being and becoming wealthy. A healthy, stable populace enjoying the fruits of their labor is good for every one. It's called prosperity.
Well, something must be done. I'm not sure I want the bureaucrats setting wage ceilings for everyone nor am I for stifling ambition. Robert offers some tantalizing ways of dealing with the problem. Of course, as soon as something is done, politicians will search for ways to work around any restrictions.
“I think it’s a terrible system, but money in politics is like water running downhill – it finds its way.” ~Jonathan Alter
This isn't just a condition in America. Australia has the same delima. Probably in Europe as well. That all points to the doctrine of the economic system in place in western countries. But, the USA certainly leads the world with this overall program.
Most of CEO pay is in stocks. Most of their income is unearned income from those stocks. which isn't fairly taxed progressively. If anything is to be done with this egregious happening, it'll have to wait until after November. And even then, the process will be tortuously slow and piecemeal. Because the democratic party has its hands dirty with finance capitalism as the republicans. Until the democratic party either embraces progressive initiatives or another party split from them. The process will move like honey in a sub zero atmosphere.
Hasn't anybody noticed...the world is burning up. Nobody is going to escape, and yet we carry on with fossil fuels and polluting as if climate change is not an immediate worry. Meanwhile, crop failures, floods, extreme heat/cold, forest fires, wars, oil spills, toxic bombs.
The way we're going, sooner rather than later, we're all going to be toast - and the big question is: will the very wealthy dig a hole somewhere and try to isolate themselves with a few thousand tins of caviar and foie gras as we peons burn to a crisp? OR, will they take some of their ill gotten gains and finally address what "they caused" and what they should have addressed DECADES ago. No matter how much champagne they hoard in their bunkers, nothing is going to dull the pain of slowly burning to a crisp.
The sad thing about these wealthy, greedy people? They have no imagination, no foresight, they think they're invincible.
I agree, except for the higher taxes/higher worker pay choice. Considering what our corrupt current government is doing with our tax money, I say just make it higher pay to conform to the required ratio.
theres alot being said about excessive pay and wealth going to the few. we all know this, its nothing new, same problem blowing out of proportion. i want to hear what all the oligarch wealth could do if it could be repatriated to the more needy, destitute, homeless, victims of climate change catastrophes, etc.
please propose public policy that would benefit the deserving non oligarchs and maybe even encourage to oligarchs to become magnanimous, generous, donating to worthy societal causes, etc. sometimes a carrot works better than a stick.
why doesnt someone identify all the society-benefitting programs that government is engaged in and show how oligarch bucks could finance and grow each and every program
America's Capitalism is designed to redistribute as much money, wealth, as possible, up from the bottom 99% to the richest 0.001%, the billionaires. As I recall, in the last 40 years the %% of national wealth owned by the richest 0.001% has doubled to est. $7 trillion, and $1 trillion of that owned by 1 man, Elon Felon Musk.
And so America "the great" has about 900 billionaires and 900,000 homeless, a 1% annual tax on the wealth of the billionaires could easily end homelessness in America.
If we taxed Felon Musk 99% of his wealth he would still have a measly $10 billion to squeak by on for the rest of his life, invested in the market he could budget $10 million a week for living expenses for however long he lives and die richer, about than $1.4 million a day.
This amount of wealth in the piggy bank of one man, or woman, is absurd.
I think I could get by on $1.4 million a day but I'd have to stick to beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, maybe I could splurge at Taco Bell once a week.
With $10 billion Felon Musk could budget each day as much as the average American earns in a lifetime.
I propose a 5% wealth tax on assets over $1 billion per year.
Or a wage cap, no person in the employ of any corporation may be paid more than 20x the mean compensation of all persons working in and for the corporation.
Want to raise CEO pay, you have to raise mean pay.
Further to Ian's point regarding fairness, our planet is on the verge of environmental catastrophe. Besides weaning ourselves quickly off of fossil fuels, we have to seriously consider how much we really need in order to live a meaningful life. Let's stop building Mcmansions and collecting crap we don't need. Who needs a 15-room (or more) mansion to live in? Only people who have nothing better to do with themselves than spend their ill-gotten riches on things that ruin our environment. Do Taylor Swift and Jeff Bezos really need to show off their money at Madison Square Garden and Venice weddings that are irrelevant to those outside their immediate family and friends? No! And we're just as guilty for sucking that s**t up. How about doing something nice for someone... Guess what that costs? Nothing. All the money in the world won't make you a better person.
Truth to power, Professor!! Over the last 50 years security, of any kind, has been stolen by the mega rich. The only way I see to correct this injustice is to out vote the criminals and pass strict laws with no loopholes for the rich, strict enforcement of those laws and when the law is broken, one should be arrested and fined and spend some time in lockup. Hell if all those back taxes had been paid, social security would not be in jeopardy, nor any of our social programs, such as health care, housing, food, utilities and others. And giving trump and his ship of fools authority over everything has done nothing but add more debt to the working class and an out of control spending spree that has driven up the national debt to an unthinkable amount and still CLIMBING!!!! Wake up voters and get this ship wreck out of office QUICK . The mid terms are our best chance to spring a leak in that horrible ship. And another leak could start with impeachment or invoking the 25th amendment--NOW -- before the mid terms!!!! RESOLVCE TO STAY STRONG AND UNITED
Greed is a foundation of our lizard brain. Debt is the mirage that enables it. These factors can't be dissolved in socially acceptable ways. Dominance by the wealthy can be undermined only by force, and then only temporarily. Any society that has accumulated $40 trillion in debt is beyond repair.
Here’s a variant of this story to look into: the $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement in court in California. Note, the ruling was made on the basis that Anthropic had downloaded material from online sources which had pirated the primary material. It was NOT a ruling against Anthropic ‘learning from’ original material.
There is a lot to learn here, and the rights of original creators are still open to being used as wished by AI platforms like Anthropic.
Another world is possible because another world is absolutely affordable. We have to recapture the wealth that has been siphoned upwards, and we have to accept that it must be taken back. Those in power will never give it up. Most of these people were not even a part of the years of lobbying and union-crushing efforts of their firms. These outsized compensation packages are all they've known, and to them, it's what they've always "earned" and "deserved."
Again, they will NEVER give it up by choice. We must boycott firms, highlight outrageous inequality within them and society, build union power, embarrass and annihilate the reputation of those that exploit workers while helping executives get a third home, and highlight just how much this exists because of government subsidies, government failure to regulate, the prevention of universal healthcare and better unemployment benefits that would make it far easier for workers to leave bad workplaces or to speak up for their fair share, and tax loopholes purchased by the rich.
Exactly. The powerful will never give it up willingly, we must demand it through political force.
Your shingle says "Clinical psychologist specializing in political stress and mental health."
Between that and your comment, would you be defined more clearly what you might actually mean with "political force"?
That might help explain why you agreed when there are many more politically literate ways to actually achieve a much more egalitarian and sustainable society.
Hi Eduard, yeah, "political force" is a broad term for a big group of people influences the direction of politics and social power. To me, this includes marches, discussion groups, voting, and lobbying. I struggle to name any movements toward egalitarianism that didn't engage in some element of political force. Perhaps you can share some?
I'm not familiar with the word agentic and ended up with two contradictory meanings. What is your meaning and will conclude with another point.
The meaning of AGENTIC is able to accomplish results with autonomy. How to use agentic in a sentence (Merriam Webster) while Wiktionary as:
1. Social cognition theory perspective in which people are producers as well as products of social systems.
2. Milgram's theory about the agentic state which is the psychological state the obedient subject is in when he or she is obeying authority.
Were you to review Kohlberg's six steps of moral development, democracy requires at least level five or six. Milgram's application is in very best on level four.
Is that all your after with no democratic privilege and opportunity to be involved in democracy other than vote?
Looking forward to your replies as we aspire to a better much more egalitarian society.
It's the only way, but Republicans won't do anything about CEOs gaming the system because they believe in and support gaming the system themselves
- Karen Cooper
Ian, from yours I appreciate that you want a much more egalitarian/civil society but am missing by what rules of the road you actually want to get there.
Two further things for now. Please explain what your first sentence means.
I like receiving RR's newsletters but have no time to review a video. Mike you or someone else provide a brief salient summary of what he said?
The first sentence refers to the fact that poverty is the default claim of political and corporate leaders when the masses ask for basic needs to be met. However, there is never a lack of funds when CEOs want bonuses, companies want subsidies, and leaders want to send soldiers, bullets, and missiles overseas. We have more than enough money for a more decent, peaceful, and supportive country and world.
The way to get there is by efforts to publicize this fact and to organize in ways that pressure those firms keeping public servants and institutions from actually serving the people.
I like your initial paragraph including how you define the hypocrisy of far too many CEO's
Your second paragraph opens a great segue to your original comment. Only people who have insufficient power protest or boycott.
No idea how to achieve a better democracy through more asserted democracy?
I have yet to figure out what these CEOs do that makes them worth exorbitant piles of money. I mean buying yachts, private jets, and jewelry for the mistress are not exactly what could be termed hard labor. Fudging on income taxes hardly makes one sweat buckets. Exploiting the people who actually work for a living isn't debilitating. Nor is raping the land.
Standing around isn't backbreaking work, either. And neither is playing round after round of golf at overpriced country clubs.
Actually quite simple Mary. They know how to extract money via a choke point.
And we The People need to regain control of the narrative, because if you have not noticed what is the difference between a chokepoint and having a monopoly?
This has been going on for over 30 years. It has increased over time. After 9/11 everything went ballistic with CEO pay. I noticed this when attending UVM in 2011. The disgusting wealth of the administration vs the measly pay that profs get and then the outrageous tuition. We know where that money was going....straight into the pockets of the managers of the school. Administrators make too much money and everyone suffers for it. If we take a look at what University presidents make it will make you very, very angry.
for example:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-university-presidents-make/
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both. ~Louis D. Brandeis
The wealthy must be made to pay a fair share to support the society which allows them to enjoy being and becoming wealthy. A healthy, stable populace enjoying the fruits of their labor is good for every one. It's called prosperity.
But too much is not good for anything or anybody.
Well, something must be done. I'm not sure I want the bureaucrats setting wage ceilings for everyone nor am I for stifling ambition. Robert offers some tantalizing ways of dealing with the problem. Of course, as soon as something is done, politicians will search for ways to work around any restrictions.
“I think it’s a terrible system, but money in politics is like water running downhill – it finds its way.” ~Jonathan Alter
This isn't just a condition in America. Australia has the same delima. Probably in Europe as well. That all points to the doctrine of the economic system in place in western countries. But, the USA certainly leads the world with this overall program.
Most of CEO pay is in stocks. Most of their income is unearned income from those stocks. which isn't fairly taxed progressively. If anything is to be done with this egregious happening, it'll have to wait until after November. And even then, the process will be tortuously slow and piecemeal. Because the democratic party has its hands dirty with finance capitalism as the republicans. Until the democratic party either embraces progressive initiatives or another party split from them. The process will move like honey in a sub zero atmosphere.
Hasn't anybody noticed...the world is burning up. Nobody is going to escape, and yet we carry on with fossil fuels and polluting as if climate change is not an immediate worry. Meanwhile, crop failures, floods, extreme heat/cold, forest fires, wars, oil spills, toxic bombs.
The way we're going, sooner rather than later, we're all going to be toast - and the big question is: will the very wealthy dig a hole somewhere and try to isolate themselves with a few thousand tins of caviar and foie gras as we peons burn to a crisp? OR, will they take some of their ill gotten gains and finally address what "they caused" and what they should have addressed DECADES ago. No matter how much champagne they hoard in their bunkers, nothing is going to dull the pain of slowly burning to a crisp.
The sad thing about these wealthy, greedy people? They have no imagination, no foresight, they think they're invincible.
,
I agree, except for the higher taxes/higher worker pay choice. Considering what our corrupt current government is doing with our tax money, I say just make it higher pay to conform to the required ratio.
theres alot being said about excessive pay and wealth going to the few. we all know this, its nothing new, same problem blowing out of proportion. i want to hear what all the oligarch wealth could do if it could be repatriated to the more needy, destitute, homeless, victims of climate change catastrophes, etc.
please propose public policy that would benefit the deserving non oligarchs and maybe even encourage to oligarchs to become magnanimous, generous, donating to worthy societal causes, etc. sometimes a carrot works better than a stick.
why doesnt someone identify all the society-benefitting programs that government is engaged in and show how oligarch bucks could finance and grow each and every program
I trust you are familiar with the term a card laid is a card played,
When you claim "same problem blowing out of proportion", have you not identified that in your political reality inequality of pay is not a problem?
America's Capitalism is designed to redistribute as much money, wealth, as possible, up from the bottom 99% to the richest 0.001%, the billionaires. As I recall, in the last 40 years the %% of national wealth owned by the richest 0.001% has doubled to est. $7 trillion, and $1 trillion of that owned by 1 man, Elon Felon Musk.
And so America "the great" has about 900 billionaires and 900,000 homeless, a 1% annual tax on the wealth of the billionaires could easily end homelessness in America.
If we taxed Felon Musk 99% of his wealth he would still have a measly $10 billion to squeak by on for the rest of his life, invested in the market he could budget $10 million a week for living expenses for however long he lives and die richer, about than $1.4 million a day.
This amount of wealth in the piggy bank of one man, or woman, is absurd.
I think I could get by on $1.4 million a day but I'd have to stick to beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, maybe I could splurge at Taco Bell once a week.
With $10 billion Felon Musk could budget each day as much as the average American earns in a lifetime.
I propose a 5% wealth tax on assets over $1 billion per year.
Or a wage cap, no person in the employ of any corporation may be paid more than 20x the mean compensation of all persons working in and for the corporation.
Want to raise CEO pay, you have to raise mean pay.
Further to Ian's point regarding fairness, our planet is on the verge of environmental catastrophe. Besides weaning ourselves quickly off of fossil fuels, we have to seriously consider how much we really need in order to live a meaningful life. Let's stop building Mcmansions and collecting crap we don't need. Who needs a 15-room (or more) mansion to live in? Only people who have nothing better to do with themselves than spend their ill-gotten riches on things that ruin our environment. Do Taylor Swift and Jeff Bezos really need to show off their money at Madison Square Garden and Venice weddings that are irrelevant to those outside their immediate family and friends? No! And we're just as guilty for sucking that s**t up. How about doing something nice for someone... Guess what that costs? Nothing. All the money in the world won't make you a better person.
Correction, I wrote (below) that CEO pay should be capped at 20x mean pay,
I meant to say that CEO pay should be capped at 20x MEDIAN PAY.
Truth to power, Professor!! Over the last 50 years security, of any kind, has been stolen by the mega rich. The only way I see to correct this injustice is to out vote the criminals and pass strict laws with no loopholes for the rich, strict enforcement of those laws and when the law is broken, one should be arrested and fined and spend some time in lockup. Hell if all those back taxes had been paid, social security would not be in jeopardy, nor any of our social programs, such as health care, housing, food, utilities and others. And giving trump and his ship of fools authority over everything has done nothing but add more debt to the working class and an out of control spending spree that has driven up the national debt to an unthinkable amount and still CLIMBING!!!! Wake up voters and get this ship wreck out of office QUICK . The mid terms are our best chance to spring a leak in that horrible ship. And another leak could start with impeachment or invoking the 25th amendment--NOW -- before the mid terms!!!! RESOLVCE TO STAY STRONG AND UNITED
Greed is a foundation of our lizard brain. Debt is the mirage that enables it. These factors can't be dissolved in socially acceptable ways. Dominance by the wealthy can be undermined only by force, and then only temporarily. Any society that has accumulated $40 trillion in debt is beyond repair.
Link employee compensation to executive compensation.
Thanks Robert.
‘Keep up the good work’.
Here’s a variant of this story to look into: the $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement in court in California. Note, the ruling was made on the basis that Anthropic had downloaded material from online sources which had pirated the primary material. It was NOT a ruling against Anthropic ‘learning from’ original material.
There is a lot to learn here, and the rights of original creators are still open to being used as wished by AI platforms like Anthropic.
Regards,
Anthony.
Stu here. Let er rip.
what a great idea. i've already shared the video.