CNN is providing Donald Trump an exclusive, prime-time platform in his campaign for president.
OPEN LETTER TO CNN,
Dear CNN,
I am writing to express my utter disgust and disappointment with your coverage of a former president who attempted to orchestrate a violent insurrection against the United States because he did not win a second term. It is beyond comprehension that you would give any airtime or column inches to someone who has shown such blatant disregard for democracy and the rule of law.
Donald Trump has repeatedly lied to the American people, incited violence, and attempted to undermine the very foundations of our democracy. He has shown himself to be a danger to our country and a threat to our national security. And yet, you continue to give him a platform to spew his hateful rhetoric and dangerous lies.
What message does this send to the rest of the world? That we condone and even celebrate those who seek to overthrow our government and destroy our democracy? That we are willing to overlook the most egregious violations of our laws and values in the name of ratings and clicks?
I implore you to reconsider your coverage of this individual and to take a stand for what is right and just. The media has a responsibility to inform and educate the public, not to provide a platform for those who seek to tear down our institutions and sow division and hatred.
In conclusion, I urge you to do better. The future of our democracy depends on it.
The "lost" boys and other members of the mentally deficient originations that can't come to grips with idea that this country functions in spite of their interference are beginning to realize the man they choose to follow was nothing more than the "Pied Piper of Fools."
It seems Donald Trump has developed a knack for collecting social misfits and people whose only goal is self-destruction. The "Lost Boys" had their day in court only to discover the country they thought they were supporting wants nothing to do with their subversive behavior. Why is it the Republican Party attracts so many mentally deficient morons? MTG is a stand out along with Boebert and Santos, only to mention a few. These social rejects litter the House floor with their very presents, while their lack of political understanding astonishes those seated in the gallery. They waste House time with frivolous motions while attacking normal people who have done nothing more than execute the duties of their assigned positions. Every time Greene opens her mouth even the Republicans are shocked by her lack of understanding how parliamentary procedure is supposed to function. Her foul mouth and moronic intentions are an affront to everything our government stands for. Her lack of political vision is compounded by her staff who are as vacant as she is. SNL doesn't need comedians to reenact her ridiculous antics all they need to do is replay, word for word, what she said during the week. That way any Republicans who might have tuned in can't disagree with what was said, because it came right from the horse's rear end. It bothers me to consider what the future holds for these inept people. What is worse, these unfortunates were elected to their positions by people we loosely refer to as our neighbors. What were they thinking? I will be very curious to see how many of these unqualified misfits get reelected.
I agree with what you're saying, only if isn't really related to the class above. Major media deserve this criticism but also much more.
They're siding with the corporations when it comes to economic subjects.
Europe unlike the US and the UK (leaving out the Guardian) still has left leaning and middle-to-left media that will provide those parts of Bob's class US n media won't carry.
Take e. g. those articles from the NYT recommended at the bottom of Bob's post above. Do you think they're properly covering the labor point of view? Not to mention that you likely can find another article for any of them published on the same date taking the capital point of view.
In their messaging going into the 2024 elections, Democrats should establish that votes for our party provide the only means of ending the disproportionate influence of corporations and billionaires on policy, budget, and oversight.
This nightmare of impending oligarchy will only end when Democrats are in full control of the White House and Congress. Only then can there be campaign finance and lobbying reforms, as well as legislation and oversight muscle to pull back power from corporations.
Daniel: Do you think a requirement to vote would be possible? With fines if you don't vote. One of the problems we have is the reluctance of some key blocs of voters to register.
If we really want to promote voter access, we should place our entire emphasis on increasing voter turnout, not punishing people with fines for not voting.
Although they are also free to decline to vote, because they don't want to be harassed if they do show up to vote, and don't want to stand in line for hours - conditions imposed on them by certain assholes in some states (which will not be named), conditions which would be eliminated by compulsory voting.
This would probably disproportionately punish the very poor, since many of them either don't have the extra energy to vote, or have long since stopped believing it mattered.
I think of it as realistic. How would you enforce this - by fines? Again, that would disproportionately hurt the poor. Why not make election day a national holiday, and have automatic registration at 18?
Particularly instructive, especially if you consider who Smedley was, and how he served >after< he left the marines. The clip shows him speaking to the so-called "bonus army," as well as speaking about how he was approached to "save capitalism." He conveys a message we should always keep in mind because it seems our recent attempted capitalist coup wasn't the first - just one that nobody ever speaks about.
Can a reasonable candidate run on a "jobs, jobs, jobs" platform when in the background there's a Fed touting "unemployment, unemployment, unemployment ‽"
Sociopaths & psychopaths tend to rise to the top in corporations, politics, the military & the media. They're usually ambitious, ruthless & often charming or charismatic. For the good of society, they should be identified early & prevented from reaching the higher levels of an organization.
The problem is that often, a corporation or business or army can't be "successful" unless led by a sociopath. And, since capitalism equals exploitation, we would have to change the entire economic structure if we were to rid ourselves of these people. Another sobering thought, is that many of us have our retirement funds relying on these same companies to keep us comfortable in our retirement. ☹️
Maybe we should change the entire economic structure. But what would it be. Don't you feel that we are on the verge of a big change for good or bad? I do.
I hope you're correct because it is absolutely necessary to save the environment, but people who make money off the old system will fight it tooth and nail.
All things considered we have a halfway decent Country. In order to form a more perfect union we all have to pull in the same direction. No one ever said our Country is perfect because people are not perfect!
America will never come anywhere near perfection until we improve the lives of everyone. I believe that income inequality is the kryptonite. Money, or the lack of, breeds crime and corruption! We see it everywhere. In our SCOTUS, in our Government, in almost all walks of life.
Another big reason for our Country’s downturn is we CONDONE BAD BEHAVIOR!We need stronger penalties for those who turn against our Constitution, especially those in leadership positions. These people are not Patriots. They took the oath to uphold the Constitution not to work against members of the other party! Their job is to make our Country better for all Americans not to tear our Country apart!
Term limits, or the lack of, (SCOTUS), make these problems even worse. Obviously the Government isn’t weeding out the incompetent , i.e. George Santos, MTG, etc…
So the voting public has to wait until they can vote them out of office. How Sad!
All the jobs I had throughout my life I was held Accountable to do what was required or I would be fired. There were no term limits!
Income inequality = kryptonite indeed, a good metaphor. Yes, it's the silly stuff that has brought this great country down. Down, but not out, because I agree that it wouldn't take much to disperse the kryptonite.
The main thing, IMHO, is just to reverse Reagan. This means two things: a very substantial raising of taxes on corporations and the top 0.1%, and encouragement of unionization. Piketty is right, since so much income is now tied up in assets, increased tax revenues must come in large part from a wealth tax, and this may have to be global eventually.
Incidentally, this recipe is not socialism, but capitalism as originally envisaged (spin in your grave, Ayn Rand). Socialism is what we have now, actually - not on behalf of the common man, mind you, but on behalf of plutocrats - for what else is not paying your taxes but government welfare for the rich? Multibillionaires are the new Welfare Queens.
The substantial raising of taxes will require a democratic sweep of Congress. And the only way this will be possible, IMHO, is for Democrats to back to the hilt either Bernie Sanders or his successor. Each would bring the so-called red states along.
The problem is that the public sees him as a hero at the same level as Lincoln and Washington.
I would be happy if voting rights were restored and "one (wo)man one vote" be reinstated as a predicate to getting further goals. Gotta start somewhere.
Reagan as hero is an unfortunate consequence of spin. People remember the good old days before Reagan, and the bad economic times after Reagan, and assume that this unfortunate president was simply the last instance of the good old days, without making the obvious connection. Answer: just don't mention the old bastard.
You're right. And the spin keeps on going. Yesterday while listening to Keith Olbermann, a commercial interruption was selling silver Reagan coins. They were using the Reagan spin to sell them. It was irritating and very sad.
mike, try gaming out your comments. Raise US taxes on corporations and they'll post more of their profits in Ireland. US tax revenue remains the same or decreases. Impose a wealth tax on US corporate assets and the next mega-battery factories and/or wind farm projects will be built in Brazil. Think brown fields are a problem in the US now?
Understood. This doesn't mean it cannot be done politically. Ireland has already been given the Come to Jesus talk, and they seem to be complying. There are enormous logistical benefits for corporations to get their stuff done in America, and legislation can be put in place to make it difficult for them to move their assets.
Piketty thinks that there needs to be a global wealth tax. Maybe he's right. But this current bullshit of essentially no tax and low wages in the US cannot be allowed to continue. It's intolerable.
Unions are a necessity for workers. I grew up in a union family my father was a member of the Operating Engineer Union in New Orleans for a great portion of his adult life. He hung the steel on many buildings and the 3 major bridges in and around New Orleans.
I remember his patiently answering my questions about the how's and why's of unions, and his lengthly replies that I hung on. He explained how a union's main purpose was to represent its members to an often unconcerned management in order to insure fair salary and benefits to their employees. How unions were response for instituting pensions for construction workers based on a portion of their collected dues and fought for fair overtime benefits through collective bargaining and when necessary through striking workers. They also fought for work safety standards to be instituted and then monitored them to be upheld.
One if the most important tasks was instituting training for the next generation of people to effectively operate the cranes with their high gantries that were necessary to hang the steel for tall buildings and bridges.
The power of the many stood toe to toe with large concerns who were more interested in profits than they were with safety standards or a livable wage for their employees.
When I was grown I also found out that unions could have a dark side. The seemingly same dark side as some of the corporations they fought against, that of --greed and the desire for power to exercise this greed. Like all big organizations, and the people that represent them, who deal with millions of dollars of other peoples' money, there can also be corruption. Yes, unions are necessary in this world. For many it's the only defense against corporations with way too much power over the people and little or no respect for those whose work makes their company possible. But like all other organizations with access to large amounts of collected money, they need to be actively monitored and regulated.
Yes,as an ex shop steward ( organiser at worker level ) there were many times when the people at the top of the union were worse than the companies that employed us.Working in the oil industry on $billion projects in various countries.
From around the mid 1990s young people seemed to have no interest in unions. They seemed to think the conditions they had were a gift from the company,holiday pay,safety,pensions,sick leave etc.They didn't know,or care about things that were fought for in the hard times of 1970s and earlier.
Different world now compared to then.No 10 weeks on,1 week off,now it is 18 days on ,10 days off.Share purchase plans in the multi national corporations that employ them.Good pensions that they can contribute to within limits.Virtually retire with 90% of wages during a working life,if the actuaries are correct.
Well it’s Easy to understand once the Supreme Court was bought and paid for by the corporations more than a century ago. The Supremely CROOKED MEMBERS OF SUPREME CROOKED COURT DECLARED CORPORATIONS HAD THE SAME RIGHTS under the constitution as citizens ( human beings).
It’s been a battle ever since in general corporations have more money to BUY THE SUPREME COURT LAWYERS. THe Corporations have used their money to buy the RULINGS THEY WANT TO ALMOST OUTLAW UNIONS CIVIL RIGHTS ETC FOR THEIR MONETARY ADVANTAGE.
The cure for this is civil war or rewrite the constitution ; I’m rewrite the Constitution advocate because I don’t have enough money to BUY the votes of the SUPREME ( gods of law) justices . Currently Our Supreme Court is blatantly for sale the worst in a long time. Just cover your bribery by using the justices families as “Bag People” to funnel money into Supreme Court pockets maintains the illusion of honesty...... J
Compromised is too soft a word for selling out the Vital Office they were appointed to TRATORS ; POOP POOP HEADS; PROSTITUTION ( s/n be used it soils unfairly sex workers). J
One good place to start is to change the corporate law. As it stands, fiduciaries must act in the best interest of the corporation. In particular, the directors have a fiduciary duty to shareholders' wealth. And unfortunately, the best interest of the corporation in most cases does not include climate or public well-being. There are serious consequences to fiduciaries that do not act in the corporations best interest. So, sadly, these corporations are behaving as they should. And a bunch of people can hide behind the current system. If we tweaked the law, so that fiduciaries must act in the best interest of climate and public well-being before the wealth of the corporation or its shareholders, we can have a very different landscape.
At an AGM yesterday ( Rio Tinto) in Australia there were activists there.As a shareholder I invited 2 of them to come in and raise their concerns,everybody declined the invitation .
Questions came in from all over the world,a mine in Arizona that the indigenous people were against,I don't know if they are .The answer was the company have been in discussion with the Apache leaders for 2 years or so,it is a very important site for them ,should no agreement be reached it will not go ahead.This brings pressure from other groups,employment,lost taxes etc .
A call came in from London,where it was around 3.30 a m. A large mine in Madagascar is giving environmental concerns,again discussions are going ahead.
As the largest user of electricity in Australia due to aluminium smelters/ mining ,questions were asked ,how to reduce carbon and the power stations that supply the very high demand for electricity that aluminium needs,wave power,solar power etc.Short term steps will be taken by 2030 and long term steps are 2050 targets.
The inevitable question came in,what are the board of directors going to do about these "zealots" and crazy people with strange climate change ideas.The answer of course was,they are not zealots,we need to change and clean up the planet.The chairman said I will refer to Adam Smith and his first book where he said,the first duty of the entrepreneur is to take care of his locality and people ( stakeholder capitalism).
Within a week the AGM should be up online,you'll be able to watch it .Rio Tinto AGM Perth.
Look at the Fortescue metals AGM,November last year,see how fanatical he is ( the major shareholder with 36%) to clean up the planet with hydrogen for green steel .The infinity train to take ore from mines to port ( approx 300 kilometres and the trains can be up to 4 kilometres long and carry 36,000 tonnes of ore ).
The same man has a large interest in Sun Cable ( google it).This is for solar power to be carried by cable from northern Australia to Singapore,a very long underwater cable.The other partner is an Australian that runs Atlasian in the US.A very active shareholder in companies he thinks are dirty,and he has the wealth to buy shares to have a seat on the board and get them to clean up their act.
They are worth looking at.I would think if you attend an AGM and just ask a shareholder to take you in as a guest most of them will take you in .I always offer activists to come in as a guest.
We need more labor unions. And labor unions need to be more aggressive in struggling for worker safety and wages, but also on education, preparing workers for the new modalities and technologies. Robert Reich is such a powerful voice for the truth!
As almost always, I am struck with how good you are at teaching, and how difficult the subject matter is.
I feel that something went wrong in the USA, and with me during my adult lifetime.
I am trying to write a book that tells me what I can and should do to make the world better. I doubt that I can.
Watching you teach, and hearing you tell stories, remind me how hard it is, I suspect you would tell me that simply trying is good for me... and perhaps the world.
As great a danger and as repugnant a person DT is, I refuse to devote any more attention to him. He is unworthy of wasting one second more of my time on even acknowledging him. I have better things to do. I never watched his show before and I have tuned out now.
I think that Bob’s question can be explained a different way:
On one hand, corporations traditionally fight tooth and nail to prevent union organizing, or limit the pay and benefits that their already-unionized workers try to negotiate for themselves.
Nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has ever framed it this way (maybe I just don’t get out enough or read the right things, I don’t know), but the collusion between corporations to control markete, fix prices and limit wages, often in flagrant violation of antitrust laws, is also a de facto union, only in their case it’s an infinitely deep-pocketed one as it holds virtually all the reins of our economy. Paraphrasing Gertrude Stein, a union is a union is a union.
So, corporations hate only those unions that call themselves unions. Paraphrasing again, this time one of Shakespeare’s best-known lines, To corporations, that which is a sub rosa union would, by that name smell far less sweet.
URGENT
CNN is providing Donald Trump an exclusive, prime-time platform in his campaign for president.
OPEN LETTER TO CNN,
Dear CNN,
I am writing to express my utter disgust and disappointment with your coverage of a former president who attempted to orchestrate a violent insurrection against the United States because he did not win a second term. It is beyond comprehension that you would give any airtime or column inches to someone who has shown such blatant disregard for democracy and the rule of law.
Donald Trump has repeatedly lied to the American people, incited violence, and attempted to undermine the very foundations of our democracy. He has shown himself to be a danger to our country and a threat to our national security. And yet, you continue to give him a platform to spew his hateful rhetoric and dangerous lies.
What message does this send to the rest of the world? That we condone and even celebrate those who seek to overthrow our government and destroy our democracy? That we are willing to overlook the most egregious violations of our laws and values in the name of ratings and clicks?
I implore you to reconsider your coverage of this individual and to take a stand for what is right and just. The media has a responsibility to inform and educate the public, not to provide a platform for those who seek to tear down our institutions and sow division and hatred.
In conclusion, I urge you to do better. The future of our democracy depends on it.
(PASS IT ON) Comments@cnn.com
I concur and express my disgust with CNN for allowing this sociopath an audience. He is guilty of sedition and a traitor.
The "lost" boys and other members of the mentally deficient originations that can't come to grips with idea that this country functions in spite of their interference are beginning to realize the man they choose to follow was nothing more than the "Pied Piper of Fools."
It seems Donald Trump has developed a knack for collecting social misfits and people whose only goal is self-destruction. The "Lost Boys" had their day in court only to discover the country they thought they were supporting wants nothing to do with their subversive behavior. Why is it the Republican Party attracts so many mentally deficient morons? MTG is a stand out along with Boebert and Santos, only to mention a few. These social rejects litter the House floor with their very presents, while their lack of political understanding astonishes those seated in the gallery. They waste House time with frivolous motions while attacking normal people who have done nothing more than execute the duties of their assigned positions. Every time Greene opens her mouth even the Republicans are shocked by her lack of understanding how parliamentary procedure is supposed to function. Her foul mouth and moronic intentions are an affront to everything our government stands for. Her lack of political vision is compounded by her staff who are as vacant as she is. SNL doesn't need comedians to reenact her ridiculous antics all they need to do is replay, word for word, what she said during the week. That way any Republicans who might have tuned in can't disagree with what was said, because it came right from the horse's rear end. It bothers me to consider what the future holds for these inept people. What is worse, these unfortunates were elected to their positions by people we loosely refer to as our neighbors. What were they thinking? I will be very curious to see how many of these unqualified misfits get reelected.
Took the words right out of my mouth. But said without swearing which is starting to be too easy for me.
One thing I would change” it came right from the horse’s rear end”,
Please leave horses out of this, terrible insult to our equestrian friends and gallant, intelligent animals.
What comes out can’t be equated to any other species.... it comes right out of her “rear end”.
Jean--I will take that under advisement.
Oh, grow up you people ~~~ she's a Horse's Ass ~ plain and simple!
For her that’s a compliment.... for the horse?🐴 wweeeeeeaughhhhh
Donald, you said what I was thinking only more eloquently. Hope it's o.k. to share your post.
Eadie---Fire away my friend, I send a copy of everything I post to the the Don himself.
Sent to CNN via https://help.cnn.com/us/Feedback.
Also posted on my Facebook page.
News to me, as I tend to read the news rather than watch it on television.
I agree with what you're saying, only if isn't really related to the class above. Major media deserve this criticism but also much more.
They're siding with the corporations when it comes to economic subjects.
Europe unlike the US and the UK (leaving out the Guardian) still has left leaning and middle-to-left media that will provide those parts of Bob's class US n media won't carry.
Take e. g. those articles from the NYT recommended at the bottom of Bob's post above. Do you think they're properly covering the labor point of view? Not to mention that you likely can find another article for any of them published on the same date taking the capital point of view.
I tried to leave feedback for CNN and their site wasn't available for this, despite my trying several ways to get to it. Interesting.
In their messaging going into the 2024 elections, Democrats should establish that votes for our party provide the only means of ending the disproportionate influence of corporations and billionaires on policy, budget, and oversight.
This nightmare of impending oligarchy will only end when Democrats are in full control of the White House and Congress. Only then can there be campaign finance and lobbying reforms, as well as legislation and oversight muscle to pull back power from corporations.
Spot on. See my comment.
The fix: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2022/09/20/how-the-biden-harris-administration-is-continuing-to-promote-voting-access/
"The DOJ Pledged to Relentlessly Protect Voting Rights. Is it Living Up to Its Promise?" on Post at https://post.news/@/democracydocket/2PKZ1W7pIKPgLFx2PGiSYFVsWak https://post.news/@/democracydocket/2PKZ1W7pIKPgLFx2PGiSYFVsWak
Daniel: Do you think a requirement to vote would be possible? With fines if you don't vote. One of the problems we have is the reluctance of some key blocs of voters to register.
If we really want to promote voter access, we should place our entire emphasis on increasing voter turnout, not punishing people with fines for not voting.
People in America are free to be assholes.
Although they are also free to decline to vote, because they don't want to be harassed if they do show up to vote, and don't want to stand in line for hours - conditions imposed on them by certain assholes in some states (which will not be named), conditions which would be eliminated by compulsory voting.
This would probably disproportionately punish the very poor, since many of them either don't have the extra energy to vote, or have long since stopped believing it mattered.
But they are the very people compulsory voting will help. Don't be so negative. A lot of them get out to vote anyway. Just not enough.
I think of it as realistic. How would you enforce this - by fines? Again, that would disproportionately hurt the poor. Why not make election day a national holiday, and have automatic registration at 18?
Particularly instructive, especially if you consider who Smedley was, and how he served >after< he left the marines. The clip shows him speaking to the so-called "bonus army," as well as speaking about how he was approached to "save capitalism." He conveys a message we should always keep in mind because it seems our recent attempted capitalist coup wasn't the first - just one that nobody ever speaks about.
- WAR IS A RACKET:
https://youtu.be/26O-2SVcrw0
(WHO WAS SMEDLEY: https://youtu.be/crf7A7x-qC8)
Make of it what you will and put it in whatever perspective you like, although I think you should consider:
https://youtu.be/c3NF349aEHM
A bemothering question:
Can a reasonable candidate run on a "jobs, jobs, jobs" platform when in the background there's a Fed touting "unemployment, unemployment, unemployment ‽"
- WHY DO THE WORST PEOPLE RISE TO POWER:
https://youtu.be/rlg-MXR5amQ
Sociopaths & psychopaths tend to rise to the top in corporations, politics, the military & the media. They're usually ambitious, ruthless & often charming or charismatic. For the good of society, they should be identified early & prevented from reaching the higher levels of an organization.
The problem is that often, a corporation or business or army can't be "successful" unless led by a sociopath. And, since capitalism equals exploitation, we would have to change the entire economic structure if we were to rid ourselves of these people. Another sobering thought, is that many of us have our retirement funds relying on these same companies to keep us comfortable in our retirement. ☹️
Maybe we should change the entire economic structure. But what would it be. Don't you feel that we are on the verge of a big change for good or bad? I do.
I hope you're correct because it is absolutely necessary to save the environment, but people who make money off the old system will fight it tooth and nail.
that question has been on my mind even more of late. Like most things where people are involved, no simple single answer.
I hope you're correct, but remember, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
"Impending"?
LIFE’S TOO SHORT STOP THE HATE
All things considered we have a halfway decent Country. In order to form a more perfect union we all have to pull in the same direction. No one ever said our Country is perfect because people are not perfect!
America will never come anywhere near perfection until we improve the lives of everyone. I believe that income inequality is the kryptonite. Money, or the lack of, breeds crime and corruption! We see it everywhere. In our SCOTUS, in our Government, in almost all walks of life.
Another big reason for our Country’s downturn is we CONDONE BAD BEHAVIOR!We need stronger penalties for those who turn against our Constitution, especially those in leadership positions. These people are not Patriots. They took the oath to uphold the Constitution not to work against members of the other party! Their job is to make our Country better for all Americans not to tear our Country apart!
Term limits, or the lack of, (SCOTUS), make these problems even worse. Obviously the Government isn’t weeding out the incompetent , i.e. George Santos, MTG, etc…
So the voting public has to wait until they can vote them out of office. How Sad!
All the jobs I had throughout my life I was held Accountable to do what was required or I would be fired. There were no term limits!
Income inequality = kryptonite indeed, a good metaphor. Yes, it's the silly stuff that has brought this great country down. Down, but not out, because I agree that it wouldn't take much to disperse the kryptonite.
The main thing, IMHO, is just to reverse Reagan. This means two things: a very substantial raising of taxes on corporations and the top 0.1%, and encouragement of unionization. Piketty is right, since so much income is now tied up in assets, increased tax revenues must come in large part from a wealth tax, and this may have to be global eventually.
Incidentally, this recipe is not socialism, but capitalism as originally envisaged (spin in your grave, Ayn Rand). Socialism is what we have now, actually - not on behalf of the common man, mind you, but on behalf of plutocrats - for what else is not paying your taxes but government welfare for the rich? Multibillionaires are the new Welfare Queens.
The substantial raising of taxes will require a democratic sweep of Congress. And the only way this will be possible, IMHO, is for Democrats to back to the hilt either Bernie Sanders or his successor. Each would bring the so-called red states along.
Reverse Reagan.
The problem is that the public sees him as a hero at the same level as Lincoln and Washington.
I would be happy if voting rights were restored and "one (wo)man one vote" be reinstated as a predicate to getting further goals. Gotta start somewhere.
Reagan as hero is an unfortunate consequence of spin. People remember the good old days before Reagan, and the bad economic times after Reagan, and assume that this unfortunate president was simply the last instance of the good old days, without making the obvious connection. Answer: just don't mention the old bastard.
You're right. And the spin keeps on going. Yesterday while listening to Keith Olbermann, a commercial interruption was selling silver Reagan coins. They were using the Reagan spin to sell them. It was irritating and very sad.
Very well said Mr. Hutchinson
mike, try gaming out your comments. Raise US taxes on corporations and they'll post more of their profits in Ireland. US tax revenue remains the same or decreases. Impose a wealth tax on US corporate assets and the next mega-battery factories and/or wind farm projects will be built in Brazil. Think brown fields are a problem in the US now?
Understood. This doesn't mean it cannot be done politically. Ireland has already been given the Come to Jesus talk, and they seem to be complying. There are enormous logistical benefits for corporations to get their stuff done in America, and legislation can be put in place to make it difficult for them to move their assets.
Piketty thinks that there needs to be a global wealth tax. Maybe he's right. But this current bullshit of essentially no tax and low wages in the US cannot be allowed to continue. It's intolerable.
Hope I'm wrong, but enacting a global wealth tax can only be done by someone who can successfully herd cats.
The cat herder may be Yellen.
Yellen is working on that problem with other nations right now.
Qualifications for political office should include some level of competency.
Like some decent working brains!
RedElisa Mendoza ; And an understanding of and willingness to practice Democracy.
Unions are a necessity for workers. I grew up in a union family my father was a member of the Operating Engineer Union in New Orleans for a great portion of his adult life. He hung the steel on many buildings and the 3 major bridges in and around New Orleans.
I remember his patiently answering my questions about the how's and why's of unions, and his lengthly replies that I hung on. He explained how a union's main purpose was to represent its members to an often unconcerned management in order to insure fair salary and benefits to their employees. How unions were response for instituting pensions for construction workers based on a portion of their collected dues and fought for fair overtime benefits through collective bargaining and when necessary through striking workers. They also fought for work safety standards to be instituted and then monitored them to be upheld.
One if the most important tasks was instituting training for the next generation of people to effectively operate the cranes with their high gantries that were necessary to hang the steel for tall buildings and bridges.
The power of the many stood toe to toe with large concerns who were more interested in profits than they were with safety standards or a livable wage for their employees.
When I was grown I also found out that unions could have a dark side. The seemingly same dark side as some of the corporations they fought against, that of --greed and the desire for power to exercise this greed. Like all big organizations, and the people that represent them, who deal with millions of dollars of other peoples' money, there can also be corruption. Yes, unions are necessary in this world. For many it's the only defense against corporations with way too much power over the people and little or no respect for those whose work makes their company possible. But like all other organizations with access to large amounts of collected money, they need to be actively monitored and regulated.
Yes,as an ex shop steward ( organiser at worker level ) there were many times when the people at the top of the union were worse than the companies that employed us.Working in the oil industry on $billion projects in various countries.
From around the mid 1990s young people seemed to have no interest in unions. They seemed to think the conditions they had were a gift from the company,holiday pay,safety,pensions,sick leave etc.They didn't know,or care about things that were fought for in the hard times of 1970s and earlier.
Different world now compared to then.No 10 weeks on,1 week off,now it is 18 days on ,10 days off.Share purchase plans in the multi national corporations that employ them.Good pensions that they can contribute to within limits.Virtually retire with 90% of wages during a working life,if the actuaries are correct.
Well it’s Easy to understand once the Supreme Court was bought and paid for by the corporations more than a century ago. The Supremely CROOKED MEMBERS OF SUPREME CROOKED COURT DECLARED CORPORATIONS HAD THE SAME RIGHTS under the constitution as citizens ( human beings).
It’s been a battle ever since in general corporations have more money to BUY THE SUPREME COURT LAWYERS. THe Corporations have used their money to buy the RULINGS THEY WANT TO ALMOST OUTLAW UNIONS CIVIL RIGHTS ETC FOR THEIR MONETARY ADVANTAGE.
The cure for this is civil war or rewrite the constitution ; I’m rewrite the Constitution advocate because I don’t have enough money to BUY the votes of the SUPREME ( gods of law) justices . Currently Our Supreme Court is blatantly for sale the worst in a long time. Just cover your bribery by using the justices families as “Bag People” to funnel money into Supreme Court pockets maintains the illusion of honesty...... J
I've written about Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. several times. The case did not actually determine that corporations are "people" under the 14th amendment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_County_v._Southern_Pacific_Railroad_Co.
All that can be done immediately is to attack collaterally. Garland can fix it. Roberts, Thomas, are personally compromised.
https://www.oge.gov/web/278eguide.nsf/content/for+ethics+officials+document~1.06:+failure+to+file+and+falsification+penalties
Can also attack each of their law licenses.
A very important case to cite! Very! Thank you.
Compromised is too soft a word for selling out the Vital Office they were appointed to TRATORS ; POOP POOP HEADS; PROSTITUTION ( s/n be used it soils unfairly sex workers). J
Although Garland is a wimp, no?
Si,
One good place to start is to change the corporate law. As it stands, fiduciaries must act in the best interest of the corporation. In particular, the directors have a fiduciary duty to shareholders' wealth. And unfortunately, the best interest of the corporation in most cases does not include climate or public well-being. There are serious consequences to fiduciaries that do not act in the corporations best interest. So, sadly, these corporations are behaving as they should. And a bunch of people can hide behind the current system. If we tweaked the law, so that fiduciaries must act in the best interest of climate and public well-being before the wealth of the corporation or its shareholders, we can have a very different landscape.
At an AGM yesterday ( Rio Tinto) in Australia there were activists there.As a shareholder I invited 2 of them to come in and raise their concerns,everybody declined the invitation .
Questions came in from all over the world,a mine in Arizona that the indigenous people were against,I don't know if they are .The answer was the company have been in discussion with the Apache leaders for 2 years or so,it is a very important site for them ,should no agreement be reached it will not go ahead.This brings pressure from other groups,employment,lost taxes etc .
A call came in from London,where it was around 3.30 a m. A large mine in Madagascar is giving environmental concerns,again discussions are going ahead.
As the largest user of electricity in Australia due to aluminium smelters/ mining ,questions were asked ,how to reduce carbon and the power stations that supply the very high demand for electricity that aluminium needs,wave power,solar power etc.Short term steps will be taken by 2030 and long term steps are 2050 targets.
The inevitable question came in,what are the board of directors going to do about these "zealots" and crazy people with strange climate change ideas.The answer of course was,they are not zealots,we need to change and clean up the planet.The chairman said I will refer to Adam Smith and his first book where he said,the first duty of the entrepreneur is to take care of his locality and people ( stakeholder capitalism).
Within a week the AGM should be up online,you'll be able to watch it .Rio Tinto AGM Perth.
Look at the Fortescue metals AGM,November last year,see how fanatical he is ( the major shareholder with 36%) to clean up the planet with hydrogen for green steel .The infinity train to take ore from mines to port ( approx 300 kilometres and the trains can be up to 4 kilometres long and carry 36,000 tonnes of ore ).
The same man has a large interest in Sun Cable ( google it).This is for solar power to be carried by cable from northern Australia to Singapore,a very long underwater cable.The other partner is an Australian that runs Atlasian in the US.A very active shareholder in companies he thinks are dirty,and he has the wealth to buy shares to have a seat on the board and get them to clean up their act.
They are worth looking at.I would think if you attend an AGM and just ask a shareholder to take you in as a guest most of them will take you in .I always offer activists to come in as a guest.
Power is all the republicans want so they can rule as a minority government. Power leads to corruption and that is where we are now
Your virtual classroom awaits a working link to Lesson 5. My coffee is getting cold and I waited all week for my next dose of my favorite professor.
Apologies, Pete (and Joan below). The issue is fixed and the link is now included. Thank you!
Just finished watching and my coffee didn’t get cold. I knew the link would go live quickly. Love my Friday mornings with the prof.
We need more labor unions. And labor unions need to be more aggressive in struggling for worker safety and wages, but also on education, preparing workers for the new modalities and technologies. Robert Reich is such a powerful voice for the truth!
Professor
As almost always, I am struck with how good you are at teaching, and how difficult the subject matter is.
I feel that something went wrong in the USA, and with me during my adult lifetime.
I am trying to write a book that tells me what I can and should do to make the world better. I doubt that I can.
Watching you teach, and hearing you tell stories, remind me how hard it is, I suspect you would tell me that simply trying is good for me... and perhaps the world.
Thank you again
As great a danger and as repugnant a person DT is, I refuse to devote any more attention to him. He is unworthy of wasting one second more of my time on even acknowledging him. I have better things to do. I never watched his show before and I have tuned out now.
Democratic presidents do not work for workers.
Republican presidents certainly will never work for workers.
Third party candidates are NEVER viable with a one-vote system that we currently have.
We need ranked-choice-voting to get a president - and senators - who are actually close to representative of the electorate.
Just got up and haven't listened to your recording yet. But this is an enormous "of personal interest" topic. Thank you for bringing it.
5th video on cops wasn't present...can you help?
Fixed. The video of the class is now included in the post. Apologies, Chuck (and Joe below). Thanks!
Wow! Great article by David Dayen about Warren the Oligarch Buffet
I think that Bob’s question can be explained a different way:
On one hand, corporations traditionally fight tooth and nail to prevent union organizing, or limit the pay and benefits that their already-unionized workers try to negotiate for themselves.
Nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has ever framed it this way (maybe I just don’t get out enough or read the right things, I don’t know), but the collusion between corporations to control markete, fix prices and limit wages, often in flagrant violation of antitrust laws, is also a de facto union, only in their case it’s an infinitely deep-pocketed one as it holds virtually all the reins of our economy. Paraphrasing Gertrude Stein, a union is a union is a union.
So, corporations hate only those unions that call themselves unions. Paraphrasing again, this time one of Shakespeare’s best-known lines, To corporations, that which is a sub rosa union would, by that name smell far less sweet.