I am retired critical care nurse, started my nursing career in 1973, retired in 2015. I will be ever grateful to my profession, the changes I saw in those years was phenomenal . The atmosphere of working together however slowly disintegrated, by the time I retired the writing was on the wall. We went from a cohesive, well run unit to one plagued with management cuts, intrusiveness by management and an attitude of “ if you don’t like it , don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” Fortunately, or unfortunately, I retired before Covid hit, actually thought about going back because I KNEW what my fellow nurses were facing. As we all know, it’s been a gradual decline in care, services, and I am so grateful I had my time when I did. My heart goes out to every single medical professional trying to do what they were trained to do. All I know, if you have someone in hospital, make sure someone is with them. Especially if they cannot advocate for themselves😞
It seems our society has been corrupted by the all-mighty dollar. Making money used to be the end result of good business practices but as of late the acquisition of wealth has overtaken the want to produce a product worthy of their corporate efforts. The desire to make something lasting that withstands the test of time and holds some degree of social relevance has been replaced by the procurement of insignificant pieces of paper depicting various monetary denominations. The dollar has been crowned king, sorry Donnie. As a society, we have become obsessed with the lust for wealth. Sadly, it's an end that will elude most of our dreams. We get up every morning and play the lottery without purchasing a single ticket. It's the gift given to us by a society that has lost its way. The value of life has been replaced by that of the dollar. Even in death those we leave behind squabble over what we have left them because of our passing, grief gives way to greed. Puck's words still ring true.
I will reiterate a comment I left previously. The day after Christmas, 1974, my wife and I took a walk and encountered a couple of little boys playing with a puppy. We stopped to make over the little guy and the one boy, no doubt the owner, was all smiles. The other boy stood by, a scowl on his face, Finally he blurted out, "My daddy's gonna get me a better puppy. It costes a hunnerd and three dollars."
From the mouths of babes. Here's a kid, about six or seven, prioritizing the dollar value over the love for a puppy. There, in microcosm, lies the SICKNESS of our culture., and the sure guarantee of its demise. As David Broder, former president of the Sierra Club, once commented, "Everything that can be dollarized, will be." As world becomes ever more under the thumb of the debt mongers, it will sell off everything of real value to keep the wolves of debt out the door. God help us all.
I see that in my grandkids. I spent 3 months building a kitchen into a former living space in my daughter's home. My 13 year old grandson had absolutely no interest in what I was doing or how I was doing it. On substantial completion his comment was "this looks like we are rich."
As the separation of wealth becomes increasingly greater, all those who work for as living are more enslaved by those controlling the money.
Steve--Out of the mouth of babes, what that young boy said reflected the conversations he hears at home on a daily basis, a product of his environment. How about the 6 year old that shot his teacher in the face, heard later saying "I killed the bitch." God help us all.
Exactly my sentiment at the time. That kid wasn't born with that warped value system. Like Trump's seeming popularity, he's a reflection of the times and conditioning. I submitted my thoughts to the local paper at the time and they printed it with a graphic of a sad-eyed puppy with a price tag on its ear.
Steve--I knew a friend in Clearwater Florida, Mike Doll, we cut lawns together for a summer. The lackadaisical manner with which some people raise their children today leaves little wonder as to why so many young adults go bad. When spanking, done appropriately, was remover from the homes and our schools we lost control of our future. NO respect.
The kid may not have had a warped value system; at least, not the way I think you mean. I think he's a sociopath, and mental health experts are split over hard-wiring versus nurture in those cases. Could be, the kid was born with zero empathy or conscience.
Two kids standing on the corner, pre-1980s. One says to the other, "There goes John Johnson. He makes the best furniture in the county. I want to be like him."
Two kids standing on the corner, post-1980s. One says to the other, "There goes John Johnson. Did you know he cleared 100 grand last year pushing that plastic crap? What a great scam! I want to be like him.."
Joined by a young person with a marketing degree today ..."I am not building anything. I am letting Third World slaves (some even our enemies) do it for me, and then I don't care if my neighbors buy it or not. I am marketing it worldwide." "The yellow metal sickness."
Steve, thank you for your valuable, insightful observation. The puppy is "better" because it costs more. Money has become a status symbol, and you can never have enough of it. The Constitution forbids honorific titles, so money and material possessions confer honor on us. In egalitarian societies individuals find ways to raise themselves above the rest. It is in our nature, and religious leaders fought it in vain, and so did the communists. The great danger is when individuals use power to gain status, as Donald Trump is doing.
You missed the Scrooge McDuck comic book when you were a kid. It has been like this for a long time. Check out The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1899), by Thorstein Veblen, economics and sociology, and a critique of conspicuous consumption as a function of social class and of consumerism, which are social activities derived from the social stratification of people.
Much of this is the fault of tax policy, like the IRS code of 1952. Like trickle down BS.
In the beginning, America was envisioned as a country of yeomen farmers. independent, but for enumerated authority. As soon as the Constitution's ink was dry, it was amended with a Bill of Rights.
The idea of a professional education was that as soon as the sheepskin was dry, the bearer could set it up as a shingle to independently run a business. We discussed Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance (1841) and the philosophy of independence in junior high while we played "store" and learned how to manage a checkbook, fill out an IRS return....males had to take "shop" and girls had to take "home ec."
Before the Great Society, most kids quit school at that level - 8th grade... to work for someone else. Those who went on could work for someone else, and my school district was accredited to send workers to the mills. ( I was once their lawyer and can speak authoritatively about accreditation.) But over time kids had to borrow and therefore had no incentive to be free agents and work for themselves.
I reject your characterization at the very end, last sentence. "kids had to borrow and therefore . . . had no incentive to be free agents and work for themselves"(?) That break in the middle of the above sentence represents a true gap in understanding. I was one who "had to borrow" and yet you fault me for having no incentive. I had every incentive to be a free agent, but I barely even had enough money for bus fare at certain times in my life. "Needing to borrow" only adds another layer of oppression on the poor, because once you go below the line, you'll be paying higher interest and extra fees. If you are born beneath that line, your chances of ever getting above it are very low. And, you can't get above it unless you borrow enough to qualify yourself for a job tha t pays enough for you to get above that line, or, if you win the lottery.
Daniel--I didn't miss the old penny pinching version of Donald himself. As for managing a check book we did that to, however, mine seems to be beyond saving for it is always empty. Good points.
So that's that? The End? Might cynicism be a defense against actually feeling all of our feelings, really feeling them? Cause if we were to choose to let go of the cynicism, where might that lead?
Selina--If you're referring to my post what I was attempting to say isn't cynicism its reality. I don't like it any more than you do but our world loves wealth, no matter in what form it may present itself. If more people see the change as cynical maybe we can alter the direction in which we are traveling.
When you've taken action in your personal life, has it been because of something you're drawn to or escape something that's unbearable? Feelings and emotion move us. Cynicism is anger and disappointment and helplessness intellectualized. Heady. Static. Guts, fire in the belly, inspiration, heart, courage all coupled with Will to Act - move us. Cynicism either observed in others or one's own attitude is a form of passivity.
Selina--I'm anything but passive. As for being cynical, I see things as they are. Robert put this topic up for discussion because he feels the same way I do about our current social direction. For far too many of us it isn't "in God we trust" it's in the dollar we have deliver our soul on to.
Each of us needs to find out unique way to contribute to the common good. Findings group that we can support and that can support us when we get discouraged.
Very well said! A problem with durable products, by the time they're finally worn out, & you look to replace them with more of those great, lasting products, they're out of business, & you have to settle for some unproven, inferior product.
Some of us have knocked on so many doors we are exhausted. It's easy to say "effect change", but in some of the places I have worked, an employee would be fired for trying to change the attitude of management.
Eric--Case in point, Maui. Lets see how the rebuilding process goes. Will reconstruction recreate the laid back flavor of the old Maui or will huge hotel concerns commercialize the entire area into another tourist trap. Adventures in paradise, aboard the Tiki, 1959.
I understand your interest in the detour, but do you really think the left is less interested in making money? Their war is about money and power, their alphabet soup government agencies are about making money for those who control them...I see a growing uniparty, which saddens me which brings me full circle back to your desire for a detour.
Let us remember our history. Tony Coelho, a very liberal Congressman from California's Central Valley, called the Democratic Party's attention to the fact that we were getting beat like a gong by GOP money and we needed to go out and get some money too. So we did.
Martha Ture: Yes, Unions were being destroyed and donations from them were drying up forcing Coelho, circa 1980, to go after $$$ from big business -- a Faustian bargain that harmed the blue collar / middle class immensely. Prof. Reich made this clear in one of his talks at Harvard (I think it was) a few years ago. It's been hopeless INEQUALITY ever since until President Biden said, "I'm tired of the middle class getting fleeced " and managed to navigate some helpful legislation thru a difficult Congress. It seems that the Democratic Party has, or wants to, come home to labor. Please, please let's elect many more Democrats. I plan to devote time, money, and energy to this election cycle like never before because, as Kamala Harris has said, Democracy is fragile and needs its citizens to fight for it. How to communicate this to the uninitiated is the challenge; it can be done by plain speaking, I hope.
P.S. We could do much worse than Kamala as a back up and we should proudly tout her credentials for the oval office. Also, Ralph Nader is a few years older than President Biden and still sharp as a tack mentally. The latter said the other day that his age has given him some wisdom, something we might learn to respect more in this country.
I'm compelled to say: Doris Kearns Goodwin, the eminent Historian of U.S. history, and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have both publicly called for Campaign Finance Reform (CFR). Interesting.
Bernie Sanders also remains very sharp, & although several years younger, Robert Reich as well as Elizabeth Warren & Hillary Clinton all show no signs of slowing down.
Oi vei is mir. Carlos, I don't know where to start with your view of history. Let's see. Unions were being destroyed. . see the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which bans union contributions to political candidates, restricts the power of unions to call strikes that "threatened national security," and forced the expulsion of Communist union leaders (the Supreme Court found the anti-communist provision to be unconstitutional, and it is no longer in force). The unions campaigned vigorously for years to repeal the law but failed.
I mostly think of the egregious medical establishment in the US.
Who is going to back Universal health care?
Who is going to change abortion rights?
As the world moves further to the right (sceptical about France at present) after Macron finally goes but I do think the US should look at alternatives to the Dems/Repubs.
Yes, although at this critical time we can't afford to split the anti-fascist left-moderate coalition, I hope that, as the Republican Party ideally disintegrates, a strong, truly progressive party can emerge to the left of the Democratic Party, & they compete with each other. Then we might finally get strong, pro-environment/climate legislation that we so urgently need, much greater economic justice & a progressive tax system, universal healthcare & other progressive programs & policies.
RFK Jr is a lunatic. A certified whacko. Dig a bit deeper and you will find a damaged person who denies the realities of science and sees conspiracies around every corner. His family is probably considering an intervention which would hopefully involve parking him somewhere where he will cease to be a danger.
I was very impressed by RFK JR. until I heard his take on Israel and his total disregard for the Palestinians and the Apartheid state Israel has imposed on them. I don't understand how someone who is so correct on so many issues can be so blind on this one, and it makes me question his moral compass. Sad.
What is he fighting for that you approve of so much? I mainly hear how he's fighting against vaccines & support for Ukraine, but I no longer hear anything from him about the environment, for which I used to admire him. I am sincere in my question since I think the news I've been getting about him is incomplete & one-sided.
As a whole, the Democratic Party, with all its flaws, & there are many, is orders of magnitude better (or less bad, if you prefer to look at it that way) than the Republican Party. All the good Congress members are either Democrats or Independents leaning Democratic (& I'm not including Kristin Sinema), such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Ed Markey, Raul Grijalva, Ro Khanna, Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Barbara Lee & the Squad. They may be on the verge of gaining control of the party (although I've been hoping for that for ages).
Good lord. Hop a track over to a different tune pertaining to what you think might be possibilities /needed to un-glue the status quo you describe so despairingly (and from an already "give upness" attitude). What can you and I do to begin booting ourselves out of the citizen passivity/apathy Wolin describes so well?
That "track" is the solution. Our denial of truth is our enemy. Amoral Capitalism is our weapon of choice. The gilded age has returned with even more desires. Unfortunately we can't find enough people below us to lay the blame on. So we continue to be grifted by the Kings and Queens as our saviors. We Peasants are far too busy keeping those cigs spinning with our purchases of larger TVs to even care enough that our Supreme Court is now firmly in the grips of those in theirs thrones polishing their crowns of glory. All hail the Bling du jour and remember to fling sand, from your sand boxes at anyone who doesn't have the same ethics as the ex POTUS has. Nixon taught them well.
It's honest advice and I'm taking it myself. But sure, keep telling me I'm mean while you're the one making personal insults. I'll take that lesson real deep to heart.
Which is exactly one of the problems with America - it relies and has always relied on slave labour to provide it economic superiority and they intentionally make it difficult to leave. I've been saving for decades for this moment. I don't think it's easy, but I bet everything - literally - that it will be worth it for myself and my future generations.
Sounds more like seeking refuge than occupying, although, kind of like climate chaos, there might not be any safe place on Earth to which we can flee from the chaos that an unstable or fascist US government could cause in this world.
I don't think anything can save the US right now. As hard as Republicans cheat at elections, I consider their eventual takeover certain and nothing good to come of it. I want out while the getting is good. I live only with women and Republimerica will not welcome them.
Endless Nameless...What a cowards response. At least you aren't a business owner falling on hard times. You'd definitely close shop and not seek a different route that could salvage the business.
Only the fifth person to call me a coward. So original and friendly and boy that just makes me want to stay here with you pleasant people.
Listen here you fucking nobody who doesn't know a fucking thing about be - I lived half my life with drive-bys, I was homeless for months, I had to eat out of dumpsters and fight for my life repeatedly. I had to crawl my way to a damn hospital and this is just shit I did AS A TEENAGER. You don't know a fucking thing about courage and that's before I worked for decades for a country that showed about as much loyalty as you do intelligence.
Go deep throat a goat - you're the coward taking the easy way out by not disrupting your precious life to pull up the tent stakes and go to the next city. Bet you'll never guess where I learned that saying either.
*investors are what turned me away from continuing in my chosen field as an executive chef. Fancy name for a once upon a time cook who enjoyed his lower staus vs power, money and privileges of Management.
Thank you for your honesty. As far as giving up on our fellow citizens, friends ,family and yes even our foes, and fleeing to another time zone, I've a farm in Brazil, have for nearly 20 year's now. Also I returned early after retiring at 47 because of a frugal lifestyle I chose, and still live, coupled by investors lust for ever higher profits. Also my distain for how much more amoral capitalism is becoming. In part due to another B-actor we hired to Lord over us with trump's same belief that it's never the fault of our country. Tis' much easier to lay blame elsewhere. Sadly he's nearly untouchable, his history is proof of this, along with the real leaders the Kings and Queens holding the purse strings will never enjoy seeing one of them being taken down. I made some selfish gambles and lost a major amount of my savings. At 47, I returned and started anew. Having shared that tidbit, I have an option that the majority of our neighbors do not have. So yes, if the fight becomes too difficult I too can throw up the white flag. Integrity has absolutely nada to do with our past. trump and a good portion of the political hacks along with our discovery that the Supreme Court can be bought for concert tickets and shiny bling for the mistresses and real stones for the wifey. Integrity is actually becoming a lost art, along with civility. And if you're insulted by being called a coward for abandoning your neighbors, family, friends and fellow citizens by a nobody on a platform designed for good civil debating about the ills plaqueing the USA, or just a quick review of your enemies if so inclined, then that's on you, and I shall not apologize for my childish tactic of silly name calling. I'll leave it up to you to decide my sincerity or lack of on that as well.
Have a peaceful week, and never allow those who disagree with you to change your moods .Happiness and understanding our true selves are much more important than this short exchange of wordsmith.
Connie Botke, what you said is exactly my experience as an RN working in healthcare, as a patient , and as the daughter of dying parents in this financial system we call healthcare. It feels like a nightmare when I recollect some of the scenarios I found myself in as patients died prematurely and suffered needlessly because profit must be squeezed out of the system like the last drop of blood draining on the floor of the trauma room in an ER. Bernie Sanders' answer is "Medicare for All." The majority of the people know this and want it, but the majority doesn't rule anymore, if we ever did. The founders created this system to protect themselves, the opulent, from the majority encroaching on their fortunes. I don't believe they could have envisioned this would be our ultimate end; but it is. I won't give up. I can't because I love my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and I want them to survive and thrive. We must have Universal Basic Income and Medicare for All to begin pulling ourselves out of the depths we have fallen into.
Yes! I never realized until just this year and I’ve been our 8, that I was suffering from PTSD, I prided myself in being certified in my specialty , attended major seminars every year, most of the time at my expense, achieved the highest nursing award( not rooting my horn) given at my facility of over 1500 nurses. The point being, I strived and pushed myself to be as good as I COULD be! The “cost “ of that was huge. So much trauma, so much responsibility , so many people suffering and dying. Sorry docs, SO many arrogant egotistical physicians, screaming, when WE were there first line of defense! Nurses chewing up younger nurses, I put a protective barrier around me!!! And no one really knew ME! . It stole my soul, I shudder each time I have to enter a hospital. Getting better, past is past. But, beware all those still working this environment, it will eat you up!!!😞
We learn to assume "the nurse mask" to hide our trauma and to function. Continuing to work in nursing was going to kill me. Unless you can become a robot, as some of my colleagues succeeded in doing (or distanced themselves from the chaos by entering administration), you can't do it. Look at nurse suicide statistics and the so-called "accidental overdoses." Look at the national stats for everybody and the declining longevity in the US while the longevity of other "civilized countries" with universal healthcare continues to increase. We must have UBI and Medicare for All. We have PTSD as nurses and as US citizens.
More power to you. And as feminists/suffragettes and unionists and Vietnam protesters know - it is in organizing and persistence and risk taking beyond our comfort zones in massive actions over time, that a national killing narrative/policy changes.
Thank you Gloria for stating facts. As painful as it is we must face this crisis of humanity face on.
It doesn’t change anything when we say “ it has always been this way”. We are supposedly smarter, wiser, than that. Make it different. I have no miracle answer to change the vision from the $$$$$ sign to a sign that gives hope to all. But having been raised during the late 40’s to now I have begun to doubt the legitimacy of this so called Capitalism that is wide open to corruption. Regulation and fair taxation can still allow those who think only of money to be comfortable. And fair wages and taxation of the wealthy (no loopholes) can give everyone a chance to be part of a healthy middle class.
How often I hear from people coming into America that they are here to get rich. Make a bundle and then “go back home”..... give them a reason to stay. Make the playing field about the middle class, about union wages, about government investment in the building of a safe and beautiful society that we can all be proud of. In building public schools that are confident in supporting the teaching of facts so all have a chance to contemplate what has worked and what has not.
A way to then measure what becomes useful to a healthy society and what has simply caused its’ demise.
We can start with healthcare: now big business only.
Housing: now big business only,
Two powerfully important sections of what allows a healthy society to exist.
If we can’t support ourselves as humans by making sure it doesn’t “just be this way always”, then we will live (or not) with the consequences of giving in to power and greed.
Like I said above, it's in big businesses' interest to get Medicare for all. The problem is tat the insurance industry has coopted the business lobbying groups -- National Manufacturers' Ass, Chambers of Congress etc.
In this sense they are as stupid as the 90% of Republicans who vote contrary to their own economic and health well being.
Many Unions do the same thing as the 90% of Republicans. They argue over decreasing benefits and increased costs with "Management" rather than avoid the whole argument and support MFA.
The unions I am alluding to were made up of the workers who in fact worked for the workers and along side the management for the benefit of company and employees. It actually was a fine marriage.
Every other civilized country takes care of their people. And civilized countries should be rendering unending aid to those who have no health system at all! Every nurse, physician, medical professional should volunteer in a third world country administered aid, meds, diagnosis, care,shoes to people who have NOTHING!!!
We have people in this country with nothing and no healthcare. Two of my siblings died because they had no health insurance, hence no healthcare. Do you mean civilized countries with healthcare should come here and help us? Parts of the US are "third world." I don't understand what you mean.
Nicholas Kristof has a long opinion piece in today's New York Times about the poor quality of our healthcare. I only scanned it and thought it should have been larger in scope, but certainly, he makes a point about health care deserts in places like Mississippi.
This used to be my subject. I heard Medicare appeals for 10 years. I have held hearings in most of the places mentioned in the article. At the same time I also heard Social Security disability cases. I got most of the hospice appeals from all over the world.
I was also an officer of the ABA and when "Hilarycare" was in Congress was co-chair of an ABA task force. I think that Medicare is great, and that if Medicare for all could replace private insurance for everyone, but most especially the big corporations that pay for employee healthcare would benefit. The main problem is greed. For example, physicians in the Dakotas, where there are scarce resources make on average more than physicians in most other places.
Pikeville, KY started a medical school. They had lousy care, just like the Mississippi example. But now they are the center of a medical industry. Many schools have graduate programs in health sciences that easily could have warped into an equivalent.
If Medicare for all were enacted with the elimination of the "collateral sources" rule in litigation, all insurance premiums would drop. The premiums we pay for Part B would drop because the base would be expanded to include younger, less sick people. Employers would not have to pay these fringe costs.
Agree with all you say about Medicare for All (MFA) with a couple of exceptions.
1) If you poll Americans you find that 70% favor MFA (and politicians like Sanders and Warren love to quote this statistic). But if you ask the follow up question: "By the way, you do understand this means you too?" then support drops to 35%. So we think that when Americans hear MFA, they think it means universal healthcare, and also suggests that more than a third of Americans are happy with their (employer-based) commercial healthcare. A better approach might be to say MFA for all who want it. Then you have to deal with all the little old ladies who say "but I worked for my Medicare, why should we give it away to young people?" and make it clear that Medicare would cost younger people. Also, as a lawyer, would it be possible to mandate that corporations offer Medicare along with commercial insurance?
2) MFA does not address the issue of physician autonomy, which is closely linked to burnout.
I think the best system would be one in which the government puts out a bucket of money and then encourages doctors to compete for it, the same way they do with defense contractors. I don't approve of most defense spending, but cannot deny that the US makes the best weapons of destruction in the world.
Likewise, in a peaceful context, such funding would raise standards by promoting intense competition between doctors, who are mercilessly (and largely appropriately) critiqued on the internet. To keep doctors honest, there would have to be strict regulation. For example, if my group owns an MRI scanner, we would be allowed, say, 1.2 MRI scans for each new patient and, say, 0.05 scans for each follow-up. After that, we are scanning for free. This would enable doctors to practice Medicine seamlessly, without allowing gaming of the system. Doctors would get paid in proportion to the number of patients they see, not the number of procedures. They would also be incentivized to keep patients out of the hospital, which would further reduce costs.
Exactly, look under a bridge in America ( the beautiful?) and look in the wooded areas of cities and look on the streets of major cities. Try and wrap your head around the fact that we are a mess. Homeless and mental illness do not make a country great.
We have miles of poverty , piles of homeless, millions of mentally ill , that’s “ill “folks. People who suffer mental illness are not bad, they are ill.
No different than getting cancer..... except cancer is a money maker!!!!😱
I am retired critical care nurse, started my nursing career in 1973, retired in 2015. I will be ever grateful to my profession, the changes I saw in those years was phenomenal . The atmosphere of working together however slowly disintegrated, by the time I retired the writing was on the wall. We went from a cohesive, well run unit to one plagued with management cuts, intrusiveness by management and an attitude of “ if you don’t like it , don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” Fortunately, or unfortunately, I retired before Covid hit, actually thought about going back because I KNEW what my fellow nurses were facing. As we all know, it’s been a gradual decline in care, services, and I am so grateful I had my time when I did. My heart goes out to every single medical professional trying to do what they were trained to do. All I know, if you have someone in hospital, make sure someone is with them. Especially if they cannot advocate for themselves😞
Vote left.......enough of this centrist capitalism.
It seems our society has been corrupted by the all-mighty dollar. Making money used to be the end result of good business practices but as of late the acquisition of wealth has overtaken the want to produce a product worthy of their corporate efforts. The desire to make something lasting that withstands the test of time and holds some degree of social relevance has been replaced by the procurement of insignificant pieces of paper depicting various monetary denominations. The dollar has been crowned king, sorry Donnie. As a society, we have become obsessed with the lust for wealth. Sadly, it's an end that will elude most of our dreams. We get up every morning and play the lottery without purchasing a single ticket. It's the gift given to us by a society that has lost its way. The value of life has been replaced by that of the dollar. Even in death those we leave behind squabble over what we have left them because of our passing, grief gives way to greed. Puck's words still ring true.
I will reiterate a comment I left previously. The day after Christmas, 1974, my wife and I took a walk and encountered a couple of little boys playing with a puppy. We stopped to make over the little guy and the one boy, no doubt the owner, was all smiles. The other boy stood by, a scowl on his face, Finally he blurted out, "My daddy's gonna get me a better puppy. It costes a hunnerd and three dollars."
From the mouths of babes. Here's a kid, about six or seven, prioritizing the dollar value over the love for a puppy. There, in microcosm, lies the SICKNESS of our culture., and the sure guarantee of its demise. As David Broder, former president of the Sierra Club, once commented, "Everything that can be dollarized, will be." As world becomes ever more under the thumb of the debt mongers, it will sell off everything of real value to keep the wolves of debt out the door. God help us all.
I see that in my grandkids. I spent 3 months building a kitchen into a former living space in my daughter's home. My 13 year old grandson had absolutely no interest in what I was doing or how I was doing it. On substantial completion his comment was "this looks like we are rich."
As the separation of wealth becomes increasingly greater, all those who work for as living are more enslaved by those controlling the money.
Steve--Out of the mouth of babes, what that young boy said reflected the conversations he hears at home on a daily basis, a product of his environment. How about the 6 year old that shot his teacher in the face, heard later saying "I killed the bitch." God help us all.
Exactly my sentiment at the time. That kid wasn't born with that warped value system. Like Trump's seeming popularity, he's a reflection of the times and conditioning. I submitted my thoughts to the local paper at the time and they printed it with a graphic of a sad-eyed puppy with a price tag on its ear.
Steve--I knew a friend in Clearwater Florida, Mike Doll, we cut lawns together for a summer. The lackadaisical manner with which some people raise their children today leaves little wonder as to why so many young adults go bad. When spanking, done appropriately, was remover from the homes and our schools we lost control of our future. NO respect.
The kid may not have had a warped value system; at least, not the way I think you mean. I think he's a sociopath, and mental health experts are split over hard-wiring versus nurture in those cases. Could be, the kid was born with zero empathy or conscience.
Two kids standing on the corner, pre-1980s. One says to the other, "There goes John Johnson. He makes the best furniture in the county. I want to be like him."
Two kids standing on the corner, post-1980s. One says to the other, "There goes John Johnson. Did you know he cleared 100 grand last year pushing that plastic crap? What a great scam! I want to be like him.."
Joined by a young person with a marketing degree today ..."I am not building anything. I am letting Third World slaves (some even our enemies) do it for me, and then I don't care if my neighbors buy it or not. I am marketing it worldwide." "The yellow metal sickness."
Sad
Steve, thank you for your valuable, insightful observation. The puppy is "better" because it costs more. Money has become a status symbol, and you can never have enough of it. The Constitution forbids honorific titles, so money and material possessions confer honor on us. In egalitarian societies individuals find ways to raise themselves above the rest. It is in our nature, and religious leaders fought it in vain, and so did the communists. The great danger is when individuals use power to gain status, as Donald Trump is doing.
David BROWER. David Broder was a Washington Post journalist.
You missed the Scrooge McDuck comic book when you were a kid. It has been like this for a long time. Check out The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1899), by Thorstein Veblen, economics and sociology, and a critique of conspicuous consumption as a function of social class and of consumerism, which are social activities derived from the social stratification of people.
Much of this is the fault of tax policy, like the IRS code of 1952. Like trickle down BS.
In the beginning, America was envisioned as a country of yeomen farmers. independent, but for enumerated authority. As soon as the Constitution's ink was dry, it was amended with a Bill of Rights.
The idea of a professional education was that as soon as the sheepskin was dry, the bearer could set it up as a shingle to independently run a business. We discussed Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance (1841) and the philosophy of independence in junior high while we played "store" and learned how to manage a checkbook, fill out an IRS return....males had to take "shop" and girls had to take "home ec."
Before the Great Society, most kids quit school at that level - 8th grade... to work for someone else. Those who went on could work for someone else, and my school district was accredited to send workers to the mills. ( I was once their lawyer and can speak authoritatively about accreditation.) But over time kids had to borrow and therefore had no incentive to be free agents and work for themselves.
I reject your characterization at the very end, last sentence. "kids had to borrow and therefore . . . had no incentive to be free agents and work for themselves"(?) That break in the middle of the above sentence represents a true gap in understanding. I was one who "had to borrow" and yet you fault me for having no incentive. I had every incentive to be a free agent, but I barely even had enough money for bus fare at certain times in my life. "Needing to borrow" only adds another layer of oppression on the poor, because once you go below the line, you'll be paying higher interest and extra fees. If you are born beneath that line, your chances of ever getting above it are very low. And, you can't get above it unless you borrow enough to qualify yourself for a job tha t pays enough for you to get above that line, or, if you win the lottery.
Actually, you make the case.
Daniel--I didn't miss the old penny pinching version of Donald himself. As for managing a check book we did that to, however, mine seems to be beyond saving for it is always empty. Good points.
So that's that? The End? Might cynicism be a defense against actually feeling all of our feelings, really feeling them? Cause if we were to choose to let go of the cynicism, where might that lead?
Selina--If you're referring to my post what I was attempting to say isn't cynicism its reality. I don't like it any more than you do but our world loves wealth, no matter in what form it may present itself. If more people see the change as cynical maybe we can alter the direction in which we are traveling.
When you've taken action in your personal life, has it been because of something you're drawn to or escape something that's unbearable? Feelings and emotion move us. Cynicism is anger and disappointment and helplessness intellectualized. Heady. Static. Guts, fire in the belly, inspiration, heart, courage all coupled with Will to Act - move us. Cynicism either observed in others or one's own attitude is a form of passivity.
Hope is playing the lottery.
Selina--I'm anything but passive. As for being cynical, I see things as they are. Robert put this topic up for discussion because he feels the same way I do about our current social direction. For far too many of us it isn't "in God we trust" it's in the dollar we have deliver our soul on to.
Each of us needs to find out unique way to contribute to the common good. Findings group that we can support and that can support us when we get discouraged.
I’ve never heard that definition of cynicism, but it rings absolutely true. Describes someone close to me.
Very well said! A problem with durable products, by the time they're finally worn out, & you look to replace them with more of those great, lasting products, they're out of business, & you have to settle for some unproven, inferior product.
Cynics are irresponsible, lazy and weak. Do something at grass roots level to make change happen. How many doors have you knocked to effect change?
Some of us have knocked on so many doors we are exhausted. It's easy to say "effect change", but in some of the places I have worked, an employee would be fired for trying to change the attitude of management.
Eric--Every thing I post is a knock on someone's door.
Eric--Case in point, Maui. Lets see how the rebuilding process goes. Will reconstruction recreate the laid back flavor of the old Maui or will huge hotel concerns commercialize the entire area into another tourist trap. Adventures in paradise, aboard the Tiki, 1959.
Good point—the latter.
Good morning, Donald, what's a nice guy like you doing in a joint like this?
@ Martha. Aha ha ha ha!
Martha--Waiting to meet a nice intelligent woman such as your self. If you're not scared yet you should be. LOL
I understand your interest in the detour, but do you really think the left is less interested in making money? Their war is about money and power, their alphabet soup government agencies are about making money for those who control them...I see a growing uniparty, which saddens me which brings me full circle back to your desire for a detour.
Let us remember our history. Tony Coelho, a very liberal Congressman from California's Central Valley, called the Democratic Party's attention to the fact that we were getting beat like a gong by GOP money and we needed to go out and get some money too. So we did.
Martha Ture: Yes, Unions were being destroyed and donations from them were drying up forcing Coelho, circa 1980, to go after $$$ from big business -- a Faustian bargain that harmed the blue collar / middle class immensely. Prof. Reich made this clear in one of his talks at Harvard (I think it was) a few years ago. It's been hopeless INEQUALITY ever since until President Biden said, "I'm tired of the middle class getting fleeced " and managed to navigate some helpful legislation thru a difficult Congress. It seems that the Democratic Party has, or wants to, come home to labor. Please, please let's elect many more Democrats. I plan to devote time, money, and energy to this election cycle like never before because, as Kamala Harris has said, Democracy is fragile and needs its citizens to fight for it. How to communicate this to the uninitiated is the challenge; it can be done by plain speaking, I hope.
P.S. We could do much worse than Kamala as a back up and we should proudly tout her credentials for the oval office. Also, Ralph Nader is a few years older than President Biden and still sharp as a tack mentally. The latter said the other day that his age has given him some wisdom, something we might learn to respect more in this country.
I'm compelled to say: Doris Kearns Goodwin, the eminent Historian of U.S. history, and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have both publicly called for Campaign Finance Reform (CFR). Interesting.
Bernie Sanders also remains very sharp, & although several years younger, Robert Reich as well as Elizabeth Warren & Hillary Clinton all show no signs of slowing down.
Oi vei is mir. Carlos, I don't know where to start with your view of history. Let's see. Unions were being destroyed. . see the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which bans union contributions to political candidates, restricts the power of unions to call strikes that "threatened national security," and forced the expulsion of Communist union leaders (the Supreme Court found the anti-communist provision to be unconstitutional, and it is no longer in force). The unions campaigned vigorously for years to repeal the law but failed.
Certainly here in France they are.
I mostly think of the egregious medical establishment in the US.
Who is going to back Universal health care?
Who is going to change abortion rights?
As the world moves further to the right (sceptical about France at present) after Macron finally goes but I do think the US should look at alternatives to the Dems/Repubs.
Yes, although at this critical time we can't afford to split the anti-fascist left-moderate coalition, I hope that, as the Republican Party ideally disintegrates, a strong, truly progressive party can emerge to the left of the Democratic Party, & they compete with each other. Then we might finally get strong, pro-environment/climate legislation that we so urgently need, much greater economic justice & a progressive tax system, universal healthcare & other progressive programs & policies.
On that last note, I like what RFK Jr is doing and fighting for.
So what is it that RFK Jr. is doing and fighting for that you think is likeable.
Please. I ask because he is on record as being a liar and funded by the GOP.
The guy is a nut job that even his family is running far and wide from.
Are you Russian agents?
Paid MAGATS to provide disinformation?
Ouch, why the vitriol? I deplore King Donald and don’t know how any woman could possibly support him
or just misled MAGAs? Guess it doesn 't make much difference.
RFK Jr is a lunatic. A certified whacko. Dig a bit deeper and you will find a damaged person who denies the realities of science and sees conspiracies around every corner. His family is probably considering an intervention which would hopefully involve parking him somewhere where he will cease to be a danger.
I was very impressed by RFK JR. until I heard his take on Israel and his total disregard for the Palestinians and the Apartheid state Israel has imposed on them. I don't understand how someone who is so correct on so many issues can be so blind on this one, and it makes me question his moral compass. Sad.
indeed
What is he fighting for that you approve of so much? I mainly hear how he's fighting against vaccines & support for Ukraine, but I no longer hear anything from him about the environment, for which I used to admire him. I am sincere in my question since I think the news I've been getting about him is incomplete & one-sided.
As a whole, the Democratic Party, with all its flaws, & there are many, is orders of magnitude better (or less bad, if you prefer to look at it that way) than the Republican Party. All the good Congress members are either Democrats or Independents leaning Democratic (& I'm not including Kristin Sinema), such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Ed Markey, Raul Grijalva, Ro Khanna, Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Barbara Lee & the Squad. They may be on the verge of gaining control of the party (although I've been hoping for that for ages).
Let's look at how to get someone into office, Jennifer.
What does it take?
Bernie managed to get into the Dems?
And blocked by the Democratic establishment machine.
Sadly true!
Vote to the right. it was the left (dems) & Hillary Clinton who ruined healthcare
NO
GTFO of America you fucking communist TWAT.
IF 'lefties' take no money from corporate powers like Bernie did it would work or get more leftists into the D party.
Good lord. Hop a track over to a different tune pertaining to what you think might be possibilities /needed to un-glue the status quo you describe so despairingly (and from an already "give upness" attitude). What can you and I do to begin booting ourselves out of the citizen passivity/apathy Wolin describes so well?
Patronize small businesses. Help them thrive.
That "track" is the solution. Our denial of truth is our enemy. Amoral Capitalism is our weapon of choice. The gilded age has returned with even more desires. Unfortunately we can't find enough people below us to lay the blame on. So we continue to be grifted by the Kings and Queens as our saviors. We Peasants are far too busy keeping those cigs spinning with our purchases of larger TVs to even care enough that our Supreme Court is now firmly in the grips of those in theirs thrones polishing their crowns of glory. All hail the Bling du jour and remember to fling sand, from your sand boxes at anyone who doesn't have the same ethics as the ex POTUS has. Nixon taught them well.
Teach the Children Well! ✌️
Leave the US. Easy cure.
You chose the cowardly way to be mean.
It's honest advice and I'm taking it myself. But sure, keep telling me I'm mean while you're the one making personal insults. I'll take that lesson real deep to heart.
Endless, I do not believe you.
Sorry, but please use your name. I hope you have a happier life where ever you are going. Good luck.
So another question is don't you think it's kind of privileged to think that we Americans can just go occupy some other country?
Which is exactly one of the problems with America - it relies and has always relied on slave labour to provide it economic superiority and they intentionally make it difficult to leave. I've been saving for decades for this moment. I don't think it's easy, but I bet everything - literally - that it will be worth it for myself and my future generations.
Real Americans can spell "labor."
The question is don't you think it's colonialist to think you can go occupy another nation? After all, US national policy is anti-immigrant. Here is a list of nations that will welcome US citizens. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-seeking-american-immigrants
Sounds more like seeking refuge than occupying, although, kind of like climate chaos, there might not be any safe place on Earth to which we can flee from the chaos that an unstable or fascist US government could cause in this world.
"Love it or lump it" isn't really public policy.
I don't think anything can save the US right now. As hard as Republicans cheat at elections, I consider their eventual takeover certain and nothing good to come of it. I want out while the getting is good. I live only with women and Republimerica will not welcome them.
"Hope springs eternal-"; here's to better days ahead!
But take your 401K's with you when you leave the rest of us the mess. Nice.
If it helps any, I've been disabled about a decade and don't have any 401ks.
I appreciate your response—and perspective. Good luck as an ex-pat.
Endless Nameless...What a cowards response. At least you aren't a business owner falling on hard times. You'd definitely close shop and not seek a different route that could salvage the business.
Only the fifth person to call me a coward. So original and friendly and boy that just makes me want to stay here with you pleasant people.
Listen here you fucking nobody who doesn't know a fucking thing about be - I lived half my life with drive-bys, I was homeless for months, I had to eat out of dumpsters and fight for my life repeatedly. I had to crawl my way to a damn hospital and this is just shit I did AS A TEENAGER. You don't know a fucking thing about courage and that's before I worked for decades for a country that showed about as much loyalty as you do intelligence.
Go deep throat a goat - you're the coward taking the easy way out by not disrupting your precious life to pull up the tent stakes and go to the next city. Bet you'll never guess where I learned that saying either.
An aside here: Every single country has the exact type of government that it deserves to have.
*investors are what turned me away from continuing in my chosen field as an executive chef. Fancy name for a once upon a time cook who enjoyed his lower staus vs power, money and privileges of Management.
Thank you for your honesty. As far as giving up on our fellow citizens, friends ,family and yes even our foes, and fleeing to another time zone, I've a farm in Brazil, have for nearly 20 year's now. Also I returned early after retiring at 47 because of a frugal lifestyle I chose, and still live, coupled by investors lust for ever higher profits. Also my distain for how much more amoral capitalism is becoming. In part due to another B-actor we hired to Lord over us with trump's same belief that it's never the fault of our country. Tis' much easier to lay blame elsewhere. Sadly he's nearly untouchable, his history is proof of this, along with the real leaders the Kings and Queens holding the purse strings will never enjoy seeing one of them being taken down. I made some selfish gambles and lost a major amount of my savings. At 47, I returned and started anew. Having shared that tidbit, I have an option that the majority of our neighbors do not have. So yes, if the fight becomes too difficult I too can throw up the white flag. Integrity has absolutely nada to do with our past. trump and a good portion of the political hacks along with our discovery that the Supreme Court can be bought for concert tickets and shiny bling for the mistresses and real stones for the wifey. Integrity is actually becoming a lost art, along with civility. And if you're insulted by being called a coward for abandoning your neighbors, family, friends and fellow citizens by a nobody on a platform designed for good civil debating about the ills plaqueing the USA, or just a quick review of your enemies if so inclined, then that's on you, and I shall not apologize for my childish tactic of silly name calling. I'll leave it up to you to decide my sincerity or lack of on that as well.
Have a peaceful week, and never allow those who disagree with you to change your moods .Happiness and understanding our true selves are much more important than this short exchange of wordsmith.
♥️😂🎶
I hear Africa is nice this time of year! Large petting zoo's everywhere! /S
Lions and tigers and jaguars, oh my!
Warlords, Pestilence, famine, OH YES!
Nowhere is safe. The USA is the only place to stay.
Defend its small "d" democracy and keep it safe.
VOTE D straight party line. BIDEN 2024!
Connie Botke, what you said is exactly my experience as an RN working in healthcare, as a patient , and as the daughter of dying parents in this financial system we call healthcare. It feels like a nightmare when I recollect some of the scenarios I found myself in as patients died prematurely and suffered needlessly because profit must be squeezed out of the system like the last drop of blood draining on the floor of the trauma room in an ER. Bernie Sanders' answer is "Medicare for All." The majority of the people know this and want it, but the majority doesn't rule anymore, if we ever did. The founders created this system to protect themselves, the opulent, from the majority encroaching on their fortunes. I don't believe they could have envisioned this would be our ultimate end; but it is. I won't give up. I can't because I love my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and I want them to survive and thrive. We must have Universal Basic Income and Medicare for All to begin pulling ourselves out of the depths we have fallen into.
Yes! I never realized until just this year and I’ve been our 8, that I was suffering from PTSD, I prided myself in being certified in my specialty , attended major seminars every year, most of the time at my expense, achieved the highest nursing award( not rooting my horn) given at my facility of over 1500 nurses. The point being, I strived and pushed myself to be as good as I COULD be! The “cost “ of that was huge. So much trauma, so much responsibility , so many people suffering and dying. Sorry docs, SO many arrogant egotistical physicians, screaming, when WE were there first line of defense! Nurses chewing up younger nurses, I put a protective barrier around me!!! And no one really knew ME! . It stole my soul, I shudder each time I have to enter a hospital. Getting better, past is past. But, beware all those still working this environment, it will eat you up!!!😞
We learn to assume "the nurse mask" to hide our trauma and to function. Continuing to work in nursing was going to kill me. Unless you can become a robot, as some of my colleagues succeeded in doing (or distanced themselves from the chaos by entering administration), you can't do it. Look at nurse suicide statistics and the so-called "accidental overdoses." Look at the national stats for everybody and the declining longevity in the US while the longevity of other "civilized countries" with universal healthcare continues to increase. We must have UBI and Medicare for All. We have PTSD as nurses and as US citizens.
More power to you. And as feminists/suffragettes and unionists and Vietnam protesters know - it is in organizing and persistence and risk taking beyond our comfort zones in massive actions over time, that a national killing narrative/policy changes.
Thank you Gloria for stating facts. As painful as it is we must face this crisis of humanity face on.
It doesn’t change anything when we say “ it has always been this way”. We are supposedly smarter, wiser, than that. Make it different. I have no miracle answer to change the vision from the $$$$$ sign to a sign that gives hope to all. But having been raised during the late 40’s to now I have begun to doubt the legitimacy of this so called Capitalism that is wide open to corruption. Regulation and fair taxation can still allow those who think only of money to be comfortable. And fair wages and taxation of the wealthy (no loopholes) can give everyone a chance to be part of a healthy middle class.
How often I hear from people coming into America that they are here to get rich. Make a bundle and then “go back home”..... give them a reason to stay. Make the playing field about the middle class, about union wages, about government investment in the building of a safe and beautiful society that we can all be proud of. In building public schools that are confident in supporting the teaching of facts so all have a chance to contemplate what has worked and what has not.
A way to then measure what becomes useful to a healthy society and what has simply caused its’ demise.
We can start with healthcare: now big business only.
Housing: now big business only,
Two powerfully important sections of what allows a healthy society to exist.
If we can’t support ourselves as humans by making sure it doesn’t “just be this way always”, then we will live (or not) with the consequences of giving in to power and greed.
Like I said above, it's in big businesses' interest to get Medicare for all. The problem is tat the insurance industry has coopted the business lobbying groups -- National Manufacturers' Ass, Chambers of Congress etc.
In this sense they are as stupid as the 90% of Republicans who vote contrary to their own economic and health well being.
Many Unions do the same thing as the 90% of Republicans. They argue over decreasing benefits and increased costs with "Management" rather than avoid the whole argument and support MFA.
Jean,
What does MFA stand for?
The unions I am alluding to were made up of the workers who in fact worked for the workers and along side the management for the benefit of company and employees. It actually was a fine marriage.
Every other civilized country takes care of their people. And civilized countries should be rendering unending aid to those who have no health system at all! Every nurse, physician, medical professional should volunteer in a third world country administered aid, meds, diagnosis, care,shoes to people who have NOTHING!!!
We have people in this country with nothing and no healthcare. Two of my siblings died because they had no health insurance, hence no healthcare. Do you mean civilized countries with healthcare should come here and help us? Parts of the US are "third world." I don't understand what you mean.
Nicholas Kristof has a long opinion piece in today's New York Times about the poor quality of our healthcare. I only scanned it and thought it should have been larger in scope, but certainly, he makes a point about health care deserts in places like Mississippi.
This used to be my subject. I heard Medicare appeals for 10 years. I have held hearings in most of the places mentioned in the article. At the same time I also heard Social Security disability cases. I got most of the hospice appeals from all over the world.
I was also an officer of the ABA and when "Hilarycare" was in Congress was co-chair of an ABA task force. I think that Medicare is great, and that if Medicare for all could replace private insurance for everyone, but most especially the big corporations that pay for employee healthcare would benefit. The main problem is greed. For example, physicians in the Dakotas, where there are scarce resources make on average more than physicians in most other places.
Pikeville, KY started a medical school. They had lousy care, just like the Mississippi example. But now they are the center of a medical industry. Many schools have graduate programs in health sciences that easily could have warped into an equivalent.
If Medicare for all were enacted with the elimination of the "collateral sources" rule in litigation, all insurance premiums would drop. The premiums we pay for Part B would drop because the base would be expanded to include younger, less sick people. Employers would not have to pay these fringe costs.
Agree with all you say about Medicare for All (MFA) with a couple of exceptions.
1) If you poll Americans you find that 70% favor MFA (and politicians like Sanders and Warren love to quote this statistic). But if you ask the follow up question: "By the way, you do understand this means you too?" then support drops to 35%. So we think that when Americans hear MFA, they think it means universal healthcare, and also suggests that more than a third of Americans are happy with their (employer-based) commercial healthcare. A better approach might be to say MFA for all who want it. Then you have to deal with all the little old ladies who say "but I worked for my Medicare, why should we give it away to young people?" and make it clear that Medicare would cost younger people. Also, as a lawyer, would it be possible to mandate that corporations offer Medicare along with commercial insurance?
2) MFA does not address the issue of physician autonomy, which is closely linked to burnout.
I think the best system would be one in which the government puts out a bucket of money and then encourages doctors to compete for it, the same way they do with defense contractors. I don't approve of most defense spending, but cannot deny that the US makes the best weapons of destruction in the world.
Likewise, in a peaceful context, such funding would raise standards by promoting intense competition between doctors, who are mercilessly (and largely appropriately) critiqued on the internet. To keep doctors honest, there would have to be strict regulation. For example, if my group owns an MRI scanner, we would be allowed, say, 1.2 MRI scans for each new patient and, say, 0.05 scans for each follow-up. After that, we are scanning for free. This would enable doctors to practice Medicine seamlessly, without allowing gaming of the system. Doctors would get paid in proportion to the number of patients they see, not the number of procedures. They would also be incentivized to keep patients out of the hospital, which would further reduce costs.
Exactly, look under a bridge in America ( the beautiful?) and look in the wooded areas of cities and look on the streets of major cities. Try and wrap your head around the fact that we are a mess. Homeless and mental illness do not make a country great.
We have miles of poverty , piles of homeless, millions of mentally ill , that’s “ill “folks. People who suffer mental illness are not bad, they are ill.
No different than getting cancer..... except cancer is a money maker!!!!😱