GirrlScientist, more high-paying jobs is actually the micro economic solution. The macro economic problem is that we are attempting to resuscitate a system of capitalism that was created at the end of the medieval times. At that time, this new form of economy, lCapitalism,” did great things to eliminate an economic system that was no longer working. Now we have a 500 year old system of capitalism, which has also become outdated partially and it has gained irrevocable control over the political and justice system. Attempting to install corrections and checks and balances to our deteriorated system of capitalism over democracy will not solve the macro economic problem. We need a completely new economic system that will not permit the accumulation of wealth into the pockets of a few. “Economic, Democracy” provides not only high-paying jobs through worker owned coops, but equal economic power to the wage earners. The alternative to capitalistic democracy is a new wave of thinking called “Economic Democracy” is the alternative to corporate rule. Here is a link to a good brief explanation of economic democracy. https://www.proutinstitute.org/policy-solutions/economic-democracy-the-alternative-to-corporate-rule.
No one seems to get the idea that there would be no corporations without people to buy what the corporations sell! SO, this backs up your point. Thanks for sharing the link!
I agree with you. And most of our systems need renewal or revamping for the good of all. Economic Democracy: What a concept. SO, what do you think of Bernie Sanders' book CAPITALISM?
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people". Why the hell not? Commerce is a way to pool and exchange our output and talents, but why don't WE get to make the rules for the conduct of commerce, and NOT vice versa. Why the hell not?
Many slaves also had room and board. Not very healthy and not comfortable but better than the streets or having to chose between feeding your kids and paying the rent or living on the street.
I'm not sure, but I don't think slaves had a choice to be homeless on the street or to live in the substandard housing that was so generously porvided for them.
After liberation most slaves stayed put on their plantations and in their housing, they had no economic alternative, One thing that they did do, most of them, was to take the surname of their master. The difference was that now they got paid by the bushel, and in turn had to pay their former master rent for the shotgun (slave) cabins. By the way when I lived with my grandparents I lived in one of them.
My family, white pig farmers in the tall pines of SW Arkansas, had black neighbors in the 1870 and 1880 census, most were surnamed Geddie, the name of the major planter in the area, and whose daughter married the oldest son (a great uncle) of my 2nd great grandfather.
No choice and of coarse suffered enormously from human cruelty. There is no comparison really . The only comparison is between those who do not pay a liveable wage and slave owners.
Chattel slavery is more expensive than wage slavery. Karl Marx partner was Frederick Engels, Engels had inherited a textile mill, and to be profitable he had to buy the cheaper but inferior Egyptian cotton, because southern Cotton was too expensive.
Marx would write scathing letters to the editors of Southern Papers, particularly Charleson SC imploring them to free the slaves and hire them back at market wages, and that would enable them to produce cheaper cotton.
Slave owning was expensive, The Captial investment in a slave, housing, clothing, feeding, medical care, even entertainment and paying the preacher to teach them the "good book" and tell them that Jesus commanded them to obey their master Ephesians 6:5 and Colossians 3:22 - call on slaves to be obedient to their masters and of course the overseer, his wife and family, horses for the overseer, housing for the overseer, and then the taxes he had to pay, and people he had to provide for slave patrols (regularly trained militia's)
Marx sound economic argument went no where, because the southern planters were still traumatized by the Nat Turner slave revolt.
Raising incomes for average people is common sense. If wage earners have more money they will most likely spend it rather than saving it. They may buy goods and services or maybe invest in a home. Whatever they buy will create jobs and increase corporate profits which would cause increases in executive pay. Currency supply is merely another human product which can be increased or decreased with demand. There is no need for unemployment or overworking of employees. There is no reason people must work 5 days or 40 hours a week. People work only to live and thrive, we were not born to work, work is a means to an end.
If the tax cutting politicians really wanted their tax cuts to "create jobs," they would include a provision in the legislation that the corporations must use the extra money to either hire more workers or give pay raises to the ordinary, non-executive employees. The fact that they don't include this requirement in the tax cut legislation proves that they are just rewarding their billionaire bankrollers with a government-funded windfall. And ordinary taxpayers are saddled with the debt.
The illionaire does not work . As a hoarder accumulator the illionaire is compulsive , insane, and polluting. Dump the polluters rubbish anywhere ..o that's a crime " littering" " dumping" is a crime. Sell free pollution and future garbage is crimeier crime.
Not non-existent, but it certainly dilutes them. This has me thinking. I'm as much a stock market genius as I am a brain surgeon, but what if the bought back shares were held as treasury shares, not for the purpose of inflating the value of outstanding shares or executive compensation, but for the purpose of reselling at a higher value later on? I don't believe that's an active strategy, but I think it would result in companies actually benefiting from stock price increases by bringing in more paid-in capital. Most people don't realize that companies don't benefit from the rise and fall of the stock market, unless they sell more stock (or as I suggested above, resell at a premium). If such a thing were incentivized, and/or intentional dilution disincentivized, I think that might make a difference.
That’s correct, Corporate Tax Cuts is just a Scam to keep upping Prices on goods, keep salaries low, benefits leaner & meaner while CEOs rake in Personal Billions, always has been, Always will be. Also known as Legalized Cheating by the Ultra Wealthy at the Expense of the Poor. Widens the Gap, until it gets so awful, survival leads to despair, upheaval and rebellion. The Greedy Never Learn. And too many naive people stupidly keep believing their lies, as we saw at the RNC convention.
Imagine if public school children started getting basic law lessons. Class, today we are going to learn about contracts. What is a contract? Is your weekly allowance a contract? Is it a renewable contract or a fixed contract? What contract do you have with your cell phone?
I agree, Cyrano. Robert's short videos would be an excellent way to teach young people, but we can also take opportunities to teach them. Last weekend, my eight-year-old granddaughter offered to water my flowers for "one or two dollars." I took the opportunity to teach her about bargaining and not being taken advantage of. I explained getting an agreement on what you will earn before doing the work and called it a contract. I told her that I would agree to the two dollars because I was Grandma. When she asked for five dollars to pull weeds, we bargained down to three dollars and agreed. I raised my children with frequent lessons and also had to make up for what they weren't teaching in school, which was a daily chore for me as a full-time, working nurse. But in the end, it was worth it. We need a more equal way to pay for public education and to fight the plan of the 2025 Project to end the Department of Education.
Cyrano - when I taught middle school there was no interest in teaching very much truth. i tried to get my social studies colleagues to incorporate Zinn. no luck. i tried to teach simple law such as your example, no support. the amount of propaganda and fairy tales being taught in our schools is to be expected though, as the ruling class gets very itchy when people think for themselves. I've also been advocating for years that every public school in america should have a working garden that is part of the curriculum. no interest. we have billions upon billions of disposable income for entertainment and useless material junk, but pennies to educate our children.
I hope I am remembering this correctly. A couple of years ago the West Virginia legislators banned teaching personal finance courses in public schools. Of course this ban was brought on by the car dealers, pay-day lenders, banks, mortgage companies, lawyers, etc... buying off the politicians to enact the ban. Better to have a population of citizen ignorant of "money matters" than ones educated to the tricks and scams that continue to be perpetrated by the "money class".
which reminds me of the Wells Fargo scams only a few years ago where WF 'created' phony accounts for customers without them knowing about it and charging service fees that the customers paid (without reading contracts ? or understanding all of what they were paying ?).. And WF seems to still be attracting new customers ? ? ? - - How soon we forget ~
«A fool and his money are soon parted.» SADLY we create a constant supply of «fools» via a system of Public «Education» in which the LAST of the criteria if it exists at all is Critical Thinking. Blind obedience is alive and well as sports teams, and internet apps can work only if that behaviour is strictly observed.
Gary - does that mean math teachers can't teacher calculus? (compound interest). actually the legislators probably wouldn't know about that. I will never forget being a child and my father teaching me about compound interest because i wanted to know why he saved money. alhtough i was too young to understand the math, he showed my what $1000 looked like at different times and rates. I've known since i was 9 or 10 that at 8% interest compounded yearly it doubles in 10 years.
Paul... don't know, but if the WV state legislators got wind of it they probably ban calculus too!!! Besides learning about interest rates in school, 1960's, my parents were both excellent at math and taught me to beware of all things financial. Best to you. Cheers... GH
Having taught in some American schools and having endured the Heads-in-the-Sand climate therein I can fuly endorse what you say. Lots of entertaining FLUFF and «winning sports teams», but Critical Thinking is discouraged at every turn. Class: hand over heart as we all recite...... (...and NO KNEELING!!!)
Freeman - speaking of sports. There is this cultural narrative surrounding the power of sports to teach all sorts of great things to kids. however, if one looks at the number of kids who actually participate, it is a very small percentage of most highschools' enrollment. so inordinate sums are spent on a relative few, which comes at the expense of materials/teachers for other subjects, demonstrably more important than running a ball downfield while sustaining traumatic head injuries.
Paul, I think you nailed it about the deficiencies in middle education, including basic economics. Now, to talk about corp. tax cuts affecting job creation, look at the 'Tax
Cut and Jobs Act' from 2017, the first year of the Trump Admin. Trump slashed the top corp. tax rate from 35% under Obama to 21%, effective from 2017 to the present. The unemployment rate at the end of Obama's term was 4.7%, and after
3 and1/2 years of Trump up until covid it was 3.5% (access link to Tampa Bay Times).
Most of this decrease may be attributed to the overall improvement in health of the
U.S. economy under Obama after the disaster under Bush, and this decrease flattened under Trump and before covid. Same idea goes for any improvement in mean household income adjusted for inflation covering the Obama and Trump admins. Therefore, for Trump to claim that his tax policies benefited anyone but the super rich in any meaningful way amounts to a withering blast of typical trumpian hot air. It is not a mystery to a keen observer as to why the mega-rich such as Musk and other Silicon Valley moguls have been casting in lots with Trump and his cronies.
This phenomenon exemplifies the tautology that Trump and his oligarch buddies
employ to grab and to hold their vast wealth: The fact 'that we have got all this money means we are smart , so as such we should be allowed to get big tax breaks and seize that much more', the core concept of oligarchy.
What a sad comment on the state of young brains when a two-bit entertainer gets 1000 times the attention of hundreds of serious scientists and deep-thinking philosophers! They'd pay $1500 per seat to attend a mind-rotting Rock Rave, but wouldn't walk across the street to hear the world-changing word from David Suzuki, Vandana Shiva, or even Greta Thunberg.
Great message but the person on the top of the ticket is a poor messenger, although he is a great politician. Democrats need to do a better job touting their accomplishments
Yes, hidden costs are everywhere. One of the costs that is often overlooked is opportunity cost. A poorly educated/trained person represents a significant opportunity cost we all bear.
Remember, it’s working people who create jobs when they have enough money in their pockets to buy the goods and services, that they themselves have produced. Including the cars they will need to get to the voting stations to vote for Joe.
I have heard the "trickle-down" theory for decades yet we have seen no evidence of more jobs being created when corporations get more money from tax breaks and loopholes. I don't understand why the lie continues to control so many of our legislators' actions. It is nuts to keep supporting a lie. When Democrats win (which I sure hope we will do in November), the whole tax code needs to be revamped so it is fair for everyone, not just a money-maker for the already too rich. We need to keep getting the message out that it is workers that end up making jobs and that higher wages is the driving force. That is not a complex idea, so why is it so hard to get people to understand it or even believe it?
My theory is that the phrase "trickle down" is so funny that people are amused and then change the topic. "Trickle down" suggests that someone is being pissed on and THAT is funny so long as I don't understand that the joke is on me.
A wise and revered Left Wing Canadian politician —Tommy Douglas (also a preacher) used to deliver a little sermonette called MOUSELAND [Google it!] about White Cats and Black Cats and how they MANIPULATED »»us» the MICE. BRILLIANT!
Trickle down is a term no conservative ever used. Trickle down is an inaccurate and derogatory term invented by the Democratic party to describe Supply side economics.
You mean the democrats that eventually became the Republican Party years later, right? This statement that the Democrats of 1896 are somehow the democrats of 2024 is just incorrect. Do you need a whole history lesson?
Trickle down economic theory has ALWAYS been the justification for the rich to get richer, so has always been a right wing policy. It makes no sense for poor people to want the rich to get richer in the hope that they will eventually get better off! Duh!!!
Probably best you go spend some time learning to read. Or if you can't manage that, at least watch some Economics 101 vids on Youtube.
I like your last idea. For you. Watch Milton Friedman completely overwhelm and vex Phil Donahue with facts and logic. He'll explain so even you could understand.
Supply side economics usually celebrate entrepreneurs but ignore the work of scientists, technicians, assembly workers, janitors, farm workers who all together make it happen. Production is joint, social effort, but entrepreneurs such Elon Musk want all the credit.
1896, Democrat candidate William Jennings Bryan used the concept of a "leak" to describe the process. Democrats have long held that by legislating to make the masses prosperous, the wealth will makes its way up to enrich society as a whole. He did not use the word "trickle." I'm not sure when that was added on.
Simple! These LIES are TAUGHT in Public Schools by people who have «drunk the Kool-Aid». I have been many times gobsmacked at the brain-dead assertions I have heard in Staff Lunchrooms! «Our government would NEVER do THAT......» Go figure!
Fir Biden and Trump to be even close to neck and neck shows how bad democrats are at messaging. They need to better tout their accomplishment and create a vision that inspires. Just running on an anti Trump essage just reinforces the " persecuted" persona he has created for himself leading his supporters to circle the wagon.
If you can stand to listen to Trump's "speeches" for any length of time -- I can listen for about three or four minutes -- you notice that he switches back and forth between evangelical tent show rhetoric and 3th-rate comedian schtick. Nothing need be taken seriously or even remembered because I'm sitting in my comfort zone, safe and sound from the rest of the world. (Except for the millions of illegals pouring over our southern border every day.)
Of course you're right, but why is this even an issue and why does Trump continue to get away with it? Because elections are decided by swing voters, and many of these voters are in the top 10%, make $200,000 per year, have a 401K, and think that they're wealthy. They notice that their 401K goes up when Trump cuts taxes on the corporations.
Daniel, you are repeating Mike Pence's argument in his debate with Kamala Harris in 2022. She replied that people were suffering. Not much has changed in this respect. How do we deal with the high cost of living? We must b e specific to be convincing.
I don't know what you're talking about. My favorite is that some MAGA truckers were no longer ab;;le to write off their expenses, so lost out. Trump tried to penalize people in blue states. A lot of Republicans live there, too.
Dudley - that was a rhetorical question, right? if not, then the answer is simple. insider trading, bribes, extortion, blackmail, and now "tips" (per supreme court)
I know but wanted to bring this forward hoping after this 2024 election we could push legislation covering the House-Senate and Supreme Court. Maybe get talking heads to make it headline efforts. You know we successfully convicted a Senator
Dudley - yes! and with no drama, threats, gaslighting, name-calling, supreme court appeals (well they wouldn't care, they're repugnants), no interference from gym jordan or comer pyle. what? are you implying the system can work if everyone follows the rules?
that would be true if it were a zero sum game. I believe the point being made is that as you increase demand, as in the lower 30% spend their money on goods, you expand the economy. There will be short term inflationary pressure sure, but if there is actually competition in the marketplaces (as opposed to our current lack of), that will be short lived. Those providing the capital for expansion should profit from that, but they can't be the only ones prospering or it all breaks down as it did during the depression and the other financial crises we have seen.
Thanks for yet another very wise economic lesson, Prof. Reich. It's too bad you didn't get to explain this to the banana Republicans at their convention in Milwaukee this week. Also thanks for the timely tips you and Heather gave us yesterday, especially the parachute (gratefully, I jumped and bailed out)! Hopefully, we Democrats can put on a much better convention. Go Kamala!
The Republicans at the Milwaukee show would not tolerate lessons from anyone on any topic -- especially economic issues. And Trump would be brought forward to laugh any lesson off the stage, which is why the superwealthy are fighting to put him back in the White House.
The key to creating more jobs is to create more disposable income, which are higher wages and lower cost for housing, healthcare, and groceries.
People do not purchase new products, e.g. appliances, automobiles, clothing, and consumer electronics when not affording food, medicine, and rent or mortgages.
Professor Reich: as Jim Hightower once said: The issue isn't just jobs. Even slaves had jobs. The issue is wages.
FIGHT BACK. Register new Democrats' to create more jobs.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Yesterday, we sent out over 46K texts and we’ll be sending more tomorrow in the #textbanking https://www.fieldteam6.org/fund-the-mission
More jobs and higher wages!
Teddy Roosevelt talked about a "square deal".
You name it. As a matter of FACT, the infrastructure and chips acts created 15 mill new good manufacturing jobs.
GirrlScientist, more high-paying jobs is actually the micro economic solution. The macro economic problem is that we are attempting to resuscitate a system of capitalism that was created at the end of the medieval times. At that time, this new form of economy, lCapitalism,” did great things to eliminate an economic system that was no longer working. Now we have a 500 year old system of capitalism, which has also become outdated partially and it has gained irrevocable control over the political and justice system. Attempting to install corrections and checks and balances to our deteriorated system of capitalism over democracy will not solve the macro economic problem. We need a completely new economic system that will not permit the accumulation of wealth into the pockets of a few. “Economic, Democracy” provides not only high-paying jobs through worker owned coops, but equal economic power to the wage earners. The alternative to capitalistic democracy is a new wave of thinking called “Economic Democracy” is the alternative to corporate rule. Here is a link to a good brief explanation of economic democracy. https://www.proutinstitute.org/policy-solutions/economic-democracy-the-alternative-to-corporate-rule.
Creating higher paying jobs BOOSTS the economy! Covid proved this: If Americans have money, they SPEND money!
No one seems to get the idea that there would be no corporations without people to buy what the corporations sell! SO, this backs up your point. Thanks for sharing the link!
Wikipedia goes into a much more detailed discussion of the system of economic democracy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_democracy
What economic system doesn’t control the political and justice system? It seems to be inherent.
Money, political position, and violence are all forms of social power. The more corrupt the society, the more they are interchangeable.
Thank you for this, Marc.
I agree with you. And most of our systems need renewal or revamping for the good of all. Economic Democracy: What a concept. SO, what do you think of Bernie Sanders' book CAPITALISM?
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people". Why the hell not? Commerce is a way to pool and exchange our output and talents, but why don't WE get to make the rules for the conduct of commerce, and NOT vice versa. Why the hell not?
Many slaves also had room and board. Not very healthy and not comfortable but better than the streets or having to chose between feeding your kids and paying the rent or living on the street.
I'm not sure, but I don't think slaves had a choice to be homeless on the street or to live in the substandard housing that was so generously porvided for them.
After liberation most slaves stayed put on their plantations and in their housing, they had no economic alternative, One thing that they did do, most of them, was to take the surname of their master. The difference was that now they got paid by the bushel, and in turn had to pay their former master rent for the shotgun (slave) cabins. By the way when I lived with my grandparents I lived in one of them.
My family, white pig farmers in the tall pines of SW Arkansas, had black neighbors in the 1870 and 1880 census, most were surnamed Geddie, the name of the major planter in the area, and whose daughter married the oldest son (a great uncle) of my 2nd great grandfather.
No choice and of coarse suffered enormously from human cruelty. There is no comparison really . The only comparison is between those who do not pay a liveable wage and slave owners.
"generously"
Chattel slavery is more expensive than wage slavery. Karl Marx partner was Frederick Engels, Engels had inherited a textile mill, and to be profitable he had to buy the cheaper but inferior Egyptian cotton, because southern Cotton was too expensive.
Marx would write scathing letters to the editors of Southern Papers, particularly Charleson SC imploring them to free the slaves and hire them back at market wages, and that would enable them to produce cheaper cotton.
Slave owning was expensive, The Captial investment in a slave, housing, clothing, feeding, medical care, even entertainment and paying the preacher to teach them the "good book" and tell them that Jesus commanded them to obey their master Ephesians 6:5 and Colossians 3:22 - call on slaves to be obedient to their masters and of course the overseer, his wife and family, horses for the overseer, housing for the overseer, and then the taxes he had to pay, and people he had to provide for slave patrols (regularly trained militia's)
Marx sound economic argument went no where, because the southern planters were still traumatized by the Nat Turner slave revolt.
You think people chose slavery? Huh. Interesting take. The whole “at least they had clothing and shelter” thing is just repulsive reasoning.
Birth control to avoid slavery is located in the non fiction isle.
Rape gods, selling human beings in the fiction porn isle.
Stop being stupid a lifetime achievement .
Raising incomes for average people is common sense. If wage earners have more money they will most likely spend it rather than saving it. They may buy goods and services or maybe invest in a home. Whatever they buy will create jobs and increase corporate profits which would cause increases in executive pay. Currency supply is merely another human product which can be increased or decreased with demand. There is no need for unemployment or overworking of employees. There is no reason people must work 5 days or 40 hours a week. People work only to live and thrive, we were not born to work, work is a means to an end.
“Which is why we need a higher minimum wage, an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, and stronger unions that can bargain for higher wages.”
I’m pretty sure that point was made abundantly plain, but I’m a-gwynna reread this week’s offering. I may have been reading between the lines.
What a laugh! Corporate tax cuts mean bigger bonuses to the executive class. The worker class gets nothing.
If the tax cutting politicians really wanted their tax cuts to "create jobs," they would include a provision in the legislation that the corporations must use the extra money to either hire more workers or give pay raises to the ordinary, non-executive employees. The fact that they don't include this requirement in the tax cut legislation proves that they are just rewarding their billionaire bankrollers with a government-funded windfall. And ordinary taxpayers are saddled with the debt.
The illionaire does not work . As a hoarder accumulator the illionaire is compulsive , insane, and polluting. Dump the polluters rubbish anywhere ..o that's a crime " littering" " dumping" is a crime. Sell free pollution and future garbage is crimeier crime.
and stock buybacks
...which reduce outstanding shares and increase the proportion and value of shares held and promised to those same executives.
yep-RR addressed this topic a while back
stock buybacks (IMO) also reduces to non-existent any 'shareholder' negative input into running a company/corporation ~
Not non-existent, but it certainly dilutes them. This has me thinking. I'm as much a stock market genius as I am a brain surgeon, but what if the bought back shares were held as treasury shares, not for the purpose of inflating the value of outstanding shares or executive compensation, but for the purpose of reselling at a higher value later on? I don't believe that's an active strategy, but I think it would result in companies actually benefiting from stock price increases by bringing in more paid-in capital. Most people don't realize that companies don't benefit from the rise and fall of the stock market, unless they sell more stock (or as I suggested above, resell at a premium). If such a thing were incentivized, and/or intentional dilution disincentivized, I think that might make a difference.
Except higher tax bills!😡😡
That’s correct, Corporate Tax Cuts is just a Scam to keep upping Prices on goods, keep salaries low, benefits leaner & meaner while CEOs rake in Personal Billions, always has been, Always will be. Also known as Legalized Cheating by the Ultra Wealthy at the Expense of the Poor. Widens the Gap, until it gets so awful, survival leads to despair, upheaval and rebellion. The Greedy Never Learn. And too many naive people stupidly keep believing their lies, as we saw at the RNC convention.
When the common man and the common woman are well off the country is well off. What is making our country sick is the oligarchs and their greed.
My conservative stockbroker father confessed he made more $ with Dems in charge.
If you look at our economic history, that's often the case.
Thank you Mr. Reich for the truthful information. I wish people would start understanding how the economy works and start voting for democracy .
Imagine if public school children started getting basic law lessons. Class, today we are going to learn about contracts. What is a contract? Is your weekly allowance a contract? Is it a renewable contract or a fixed contract? What contract do you have with your cell phone?
I agree, Cyrano. Robert's short videos would be an excellent way to teach young people, but we can also take opportunities to teach them. Last weekend, my eight-year-old granddaughter offered to water my flowers for "one or two dollars." I took the opportunity to teach her about bargaining and not being taken advantage of. I explained getting an agreement on what you will earn before doing the work and called it a contract. I told her that I would agree to the two dollars because I was Grandma. When she asked for five dollars to pull weeds, we bargained down to three dollars and agreed. I raised my children with frequent lessons and also had to make up for what they weren't teaching in school, which was a daily chore for me as a full-time, working nurse. But in the end, it was worth it. We need a more equal way to pay for public education and to fight the plan of the 2025 Project to end the Department of Education.
Cyrano - when I taught middle school there was no interest in teaching very much truth. i tried to get my social studies colleagues to incorporate Zinn. no luck. i tried to teach simple law such as your example, no support. the amount of propaganda and fairy tales being taught in our schools is to be expected though, as the ruling class gets very itchy when people think for themselves. I've also been advocating for years that every public school in america should have a working garden that is part of the curriculum. no interest. we have billions upon billions of disposable income for entertainment and useless material junk, but pennies to educate our children.
I hope I am remembering this correctly. A couple of years ago the West Virginia legislators banned teaching personal finance courses in public schools. Of course this ban was brought on by the car dealers, pay-day lenders, banks, mortgage companies, lawyers, etc... buying off the politicians to enact the ban. Better to have a population of citizen ignorant of "money matters" than ones educated to the tricks and scams that continue to be perpetrated by the "money class".
Cheers... GH
which reminds me of the Wells Fargo scams only a few years ago where WF 'created' phony accounts for customers without them knowing about it and charging service fees that the customers paid (without reading contracts ? or understanding all of what they were paying ?).. And WF seems to still be attracting new customers ? ? ? - - How soon we forget ~
«A fool and his money are soon parted.» SADLY we create a constant supply of «fools» via a system of Public «Education» in which the LAST of the criteria if it exists at all is Critical Thinking. Blind obedience is alive and well as sports teams, and internet apps can work only if that behaviour is strictly observed.
Gary - does that mean math teachers can't teacher calculus? (compound interest). actually the legislators probably wouldn't know about that. I will never forget being a child and my father teaching me about compound interest because i wanted to know why he saved money. alhtough i was too young to understand the math, he showed my what $1000 looked like at different times and rates. I've known since i was 9 or 10 that at 8% interest compounded yearly it doubles in 10 years.
Paul... don't know, but if the WV state legislators got wind of it they probably ban calculus too!!! Besides learning about interest rates in school, 1960's, my parents were both excellent at math and taught me to beware of all things financial. Best to you. Cheers... GH
Having taught in some American schools and having endured the Heads-in-the-Sand climate therein I can fuly endorse what you say. Lots of entertaining FLUFF and «winning sports teams», but Critical Thinking is discouraged at every turn. Class: hand over heart as we all recite...... (...and NO KNEELING!!!)
Freeman - speaking of sports. There is this cultural narrative surrounding the power of sports to teach all sorts of great things to kids. however, if one looks at the number of kids who actually participate, it is a very small percentage of most highschools' enrollment. so inordinate sums are spent on a relative few, which comes at the expense of materials/teachers for other subjects, demonstrably more important than running a ball downfield while sustaining traumatic head injuries.
I used to believe like a fool all the latin slogans about virtue and good education supporting virtue.
Paul, I think you nailed it about the deficiencies in middle education, including basic economics. Now, to talk about corp. tax cuts affecting job creation, look at the 'Tax
Cut and Jobs Act' from 2017, the first year of the Trump Admin. Trump slashed the top corp. tax rate from 35% under Obama to 21%, effective from 2017 to the present. The unemployment rate at the end of Obama's term was 4.7%, and after
3 and1/2 years of Trump up until covid it was 3.5% (access link to Tampa Bay Times).
Most of this decrease may be attributed to the overall improvement in health of the
U.S. economy under Obama after the disaster under Bush, and this decrease flattened under Trump and before covid. Same idea goes for any improvement in mean household income adjusted for inflation covering the Obama and Trump admins. Therefore, for Trump to claim that his tax policies benefited anyone but the super rich in any meaningful way amounts to a withering blast of typical trumpian hot air. It is not a mystery to a keen observer as to why the mega-rich such as Musk and other Silicon Valley moguls have been casting in lots with Trump and his cronies.
This phenomenon exemplifies the tautology that Trump and his oligarch buddies
employ to grab and to hold their vast wealth: The fact 'that we have got all this money means we are smart , so as such we should be allowed to get big tax breaks and seize that much more', the core concept of oligarchy.
https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2020/10/23/a-chart-of-unemployment-under-trump-and-obama-tells-quite-a-tale-column/
that much more!
What a sad comment on the state of young brains when a two-bit entertainer gets 1000 times the attention of hundreds of serious scientists and deep-thinking philosophers! They'd pay $1500 per seat to attend a mind-rotting Rock Rave, but wouldn't walk across the street to hear the world-changing word from David Suzuki, Vandana Shiva, or even Greta Thunberg.
Great message but the person on the top of the ticket is a poor messenger, although he is a great politician. Democrats need to do a better job touting their accomplishments
Go back to teaching Civics and basic economics in school
And less tax money equals fewer or poorer public services. As I say in my own Substack, "There's no such thing as a free tax cut".
Yes, hidden costs are everywhere. One of the costs that is often overlooked is opportunity cost. A poorly educated/trained person represents a significant opportunity cost we all bear.
Robert: Thanks for reiterating that "some truths are self-evident..."
Remember, it’s working people who create jobs when they have enough money in their pockets to buy the goods and services, that they themselves have produced. Including the cars they will need to get to the voting stations to vote for Joe.
I have heard the "trickle-down" theory for decades yet we have seen no evidence of more jobs being created when corporations get more money from tax breaks and loopholes. I don't understand why the lie continues to control so many of our legislators' actions. It is nuts to keep supporting a lie. When Democrats win (which I sure hope we will do in November), the whole tax code needs to be revamped so it is fair for everyone, not just a money-maker for the already too rich. We need to keep getting the message out that it is workers that end up making jobs and that higher wages is the driving force. That is not a complex idea, so why is it so hard to get people to understand it or even believe it?
My theory is that the phrase "trickle down" is so funny that people are amused and then change the topic. "Trickle down" suggests that someone is being pissed on and THAT is funny so long as I don't understand that the joke is on me.
A wise and revered Left Wing Canadian politician —Tommy Douglas (also a preacher) used to deliver a little sermonette called MOUSELAND [Google it!] about White Cats and Black Cats and how they MANIPULATED »»us» the MICE. BRILLIANT!
White cat: Republican Party. Black cat: SCOTUS. Am I right?
Black cat is a 67%-owned subsidiary of white cat
Trickle down is a term no conservative ever used. Trickle down is an inaccurate and derogatory term invented by the Democratic party to describe Supply side economics.
You mean the democrats that eventually became the Republican Party years later, right? This statement that the Democrats of 1896 are somehow the democrats of 2024 is just incorrect. Do you need a whole history lesson?
Trickle down economic theory has ALWAYS been the justification for the rich to get richer, so has always been a right wing policy. It makes no sense for poor people to want the rich to get richer in the hope that they will eventually get better off! Duh!!!
Probably best you go spend some time learning to read. Or if you can't manage that, at least watch some Economics 101 vids on Youtube.
Or just shut up?
I like your last idea. For you. Watch Milton Friedman completely overwhelm and vex Phil Donahue with facts and logic. He'll explain so even you could understand.
Supply side economics usually celebrate entrepreneurs but ignore the work of scientists, technicians, assembly workers, janitors, farm workers who all together make it happen. Production is joint, social effort, but entrepreneurs such Elon Musk want all the credit.
I see you were in the Navy. Is that where you picked up the gay moniker?
🤔
Lol. I'm not sure how answering that question explains your failed understanding of how an economy works.
1896, Democrat candidate William Jennings Bryan used the concept of a "leak" to describe the process. Democrats have long held that by legislating to make the masses prosperous, the wealth will makes its way up to enrich society as a whole. He did not use the word "trickle." I'm not sure when that was added on.
Sorry, but the «pissing on us» description above is about as accurate as it can get!
Ok then. Call it supply-side economics. Supply-side economics doesn't work because consumers must have the money to buy the goods that are produced.
Indeed! But the billionaire class lives in luxury and tend to forget the extent to which they depend on the rest of us.
Who cares who coined the phrase... it doesn't really work. GH
Simple! These LIES are TAUGHT in Public Schools by people who have «drunk the Kool-Aid». I have been many times gobsmacked at the brain-dead assertions I have heard in Staff Lunchrooms! «Our government would NEVER do THAT......» Go figure!
But the job creators created lots of jobs......in Mexico and China
This is why Republicans want us to be focused on immigration and parental rights.
Todd--No actually, I'm one of the silent majorities that sees Trump for the fool that he is.
Fir Biden and Trump to be even close to neck and neck shows how bad democrats are at messaging. They need to better tout their accomplishment and create a vision that inspires. Just running on an anti Trump essage just reinforces the " persecuted" persona he has created for himself leading his supporters to circle the wagon.
Vote anyone but trump won't work. It's got to be a vote for the blue/dem candidate nominated at convention. History is converging on us.
Problematic Dems is by far less trauma to USA than trump chaos and bs would be.
If you can stand to listen to Trump's "speeches" for any length of time -- I can listen for about three or four minutes -- you notice that he switches back and forth between evangelical tent show rhetoric and 3th-rate comedian schtick. Nothing need be taken seriously or even remembered because I'm sitting in my comfort zone, safe and sound from the rest of the world. (Except for the millions of illegals pouring over our southern border every day.)
United in hate of "them."
Of course you're right, but why is this even an issue and why does Trump continue to get away with it? Because elections are decided by swing voters, and many of these voters are in the top 10%, make $200,000 per year, have a 401K, and think that they're wealthy. They notice that their 401K goes up when Trump cuts taxes on the corporations.
It's very simple.
@ $200,000 the Trump tax cut meant no deductions for state taxes, other itemized deductions.
Under Biden, markets are at an all time high, lifting IRAs and 401 Ks.
I didn't say it was an intelligent POV.
Daniel, you are repeating Mike Pence's argument in his debate with Kamala Harris in 2022. She replied that people were suffering. Not much has changed in this respect. How do we deal with the high cost of living? We must b e specific to be convincing.
I don't know what you're talking about. My favorite is that some MAGA truckers were no longer ab;;le to write off their expenses, so lost out. Trump tried to penalize people in blue states. A lot of Republicans live there, too.
Yes, that -- coupled with the American public's notion that "politics" is a grubby, infuriating topic, best left to others.
Why is it that many in Congress were elected as middle income earners and leave Congress as upper income earners if not rich?
Dudley - that was a rhetorical question, right? if not, then the answer is simple. insider trading, bribes, extortion, blackmail, and now "tips" (per supreme court)
I know but wanted to bring this forward hoping after this 2024 election we could push legislation covering the House-Senate and Supreme Court. Maybe get talking heads to make it headline efforts. You know we successfully convicted a Senator
Dudley - yes! and with no drama, threats, gaslighting, name-calling, supreme court appeals (well they wouldn't care, they're repugnants), no interference from gym jordan or comer pyle. what? are you implying the system can work if everyone follows the rules?
prosperity actually pours up, not trickles down... excellent Robert
prosperity pours up, cart in front of horse, the nonsense the left believes is staggering in it's scope. you're defining inflation, not prosperity.
that would be true if it were a zero sum game. I believe the point being made is that as you increase demand, as in the lower 30% spend their money on goods, you expand the economy. There will be short term inflationary pressure sure, but if there is actually competition in the marketplaces (as opposed to our current lack of), that will be short lived. Those providing the capital for expansion should profit from that, but they can't be the only ones prospering or it all breaks down as it did during the depression and the other financial crises we have seen.
Thanks for yet another very wise economic lesson, Prof. Reich. It's too bad you didn't get to explain this to the banana Republicans at their convention in Milwaukee this week. Also thanks for the timely tips you and Heather gave us yesterday, especially the parachute (gratefully, I jumped and bailed out)! Hopefully, we Democrats can put on a much better convention. Go Kamala!
The Republicans at the Milwaukee show would not tolerate lessons from anyone on any topic -- especially economic issues. And Trump would be brought forward to laugh any lesson off the stage, which is why the superwealthy are fighting to put him back in the White House.
It isn't Republicans you need to convince or convert. 40% of Americans hold no allegiance to either Party.
The donors to the party don't want people to know these lessons....then everyone would know their secrets.
The key to creating more jobs is to create more disposable income, which are higher wages and lower cost for housing, healthcare, and groceries.
People do not purchase new products, e.g. appliances, automobiles, clothing, and consumer electronics when not affording food, medicine, and rent or mortgages.