Professor Reich: in my opinion, ronald reagan was a corporate-beholden criminal. he was the beginning of the decline of this country into the pursuit of money and power at all costs, the reversal of this country's progress towards equality, and the sacrifice and destruction of the natural spaces around the globe on the altar of profits. if anyone who ever occupied the white house could be thought of as beezebub's earthly incarnation, ronnie raygun would be it.
You're right. Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes (Bretton Woods), Roosevelt et al, actually Made America Great Again, after taking it back from the Robber Barons.
Ayn Rand, Lewis Powell, Ronald Reagan and Milton Friedman reversed it all and turned America into a socialist paradise - for the Rich. Trump merely continued the practice of government handouts for the wealthy.
There is one solution to all of this ridiculous nonsense: Bernie Sanders.
@Girl Scientist, Michael Hutchinson. What’s the answer to all this?
The predicate is to WIN. . Sweep. In 2020, 70 million eligible voters failed to vote. Stats how that most were Democrats. Plus, using data mining, FT6 has identified about 13 million unregistered who trend heavily Democratic. 60% of unregistered voters have never been asked to register! Yesterday I sent 300 texts using FT 8 software to unregistered Floridians. Last week volunteers sent 1000,000 in a couple of hours. Another session today.
To win in 2024, FT6 will reach out to millions of unregistered likely Democrats "using our one-of-a-kind database and every outreach method possible (phone and text, postcard, email and targeted ad, and in-person too), where new Democratic voters will make the most impact – in the most flippable states and districts."
Your fieldteam6 site is fabulous. I'm more of a writer than a talker, so I'm putting letters/postcards with handwritten messages in the mail via Vote Forward. Keep up the good work (love the name fieldteam6 too!). Every one who cares one whit about this country should get involved one way or the another, even if it's volunteering just one day at your local high school with the League of Women Voters registering students who just turned 18. Come on everyone! GET INVOLVED!
Tomorrow night, Democrats are invited to Focus for Democracy's upcoming presentation. Last month, $5 million was pledged to two deserving organizations, Galvanize and Accelerate Change.
I'm also targeting certain groups we can flip. Amish. Veterans. Looking to organize folks who advocate for SSI recipients. Republicans want to kill it but ironically some are even registered Republicans, and many are MAGATS who metaphorically slit their own throats at the polls. Voted for Trump X 2. Lawyers, medical providers, social workers, care givers have to be influential in their lives.
Daniel, I admire your enthusiasm and your drive. Maybe at some point I'll pitch in. But, very worryingly, Biden's polls remain in the toilet. Never been worse for an incumbent seeking re-election. He's beginning to look like HRC all over again. Maybe the grassroots can help things, but if, 3 months from now in Chicago the polls still look dire, Atlee's advice to Chamberlain will be needed in America's Darkest Hour.
Michael Hutchinson ; polls are often owned by those who own media. I just keep remembering that the last 7 elections were won by blue votes. From the Presidency to the mid terms to the special elections in certain states. All won by the blue 🗳 voters.
Biden Leads 49%-45% in New ABC Poll, 2nd Poll This Week W/Large Biden Lead
NPR/Marist Had Biden up 52%-47% This Week With Likely Voters
SIMON ROSENBERG
MAY 5https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/biden-leads-49-45-in-new-abc-poll?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1223483&post_id=144332447&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=zc69i&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Daniel, what is going on in Ohio? Is Biden going to be on the ballot? Ohio law says can only be on ballot if nominating convention occurs before a certain date, and dem's convention is after that date.
Disgusting isn't it, Michael, that people are their own executioners.
In my opinion the polls are rigged to show a horse race. The only question that should be asked and isn't is: Who will you vote for?
The Polling companies the media are all interconnected, if not by corporate ownership, then by boards of directors, who themselves sit on interconnected board of directors.
There is no true polling, it is all push polling, and one guess as to who wants the Republicans, and that means Trump to win. Billionaires, the Plutocrats, who control the corporations. Deregulation and tax cuts.
As regards those who don't vote. either they are lazy and take things for granted,or are recalcitrant and defiant idiots who think that by not voting they are going to give the finger to Joe and the Democrats because they are miffed.
Idiots, because by default they are voting for Trump, and anyone who is half awake knows what Trump and the fascists have in store for them.
They may not like Joe, they may not like his policies and actions or inactions, but they are going to be miserable if because they sat on their hands, they elected Trump and his fascist agenda.
Biden is not going to deport Muslim and Hispanic immigrants. Trump will
Biden is not reversing civil rights and women's rights gains. Trump will
Biden is not going to turn America into a Christian theocacy. Trump will
Biden will and is protecting women. Trump is misogynist, personally and politically.
Biden has protected LGBT human rights. Trump will negate and reverse them.
And I say to those who say Fuck Biden, enjoy your just desserts, you earned them. Unfortunately those of us who aren't disengaged or Trump humpers will go down with the ship.
Fox News is accusing Biden of doing what the Republicans are doing. This may be the explanation of why many voters believe that Trump is better for Democracy than Biden.
In 2020 N. Korea's dictator indicated that he favored a Trump win in the US elections. It was not out of love for our country. Russia's dictator likewise has favored Trump, and the reason is the same : Trump is bad for the USA! The riddle is why the owners of Fox News favor Trump. Could it be that they expect Trump to give them control of all US news?
The recent polls show Biden ahead. Why? Because they surveyed "likely voters". But ask yourself how valuable a poll is that relies on landlines? Or internet clickbait?
In our recent town election, the ballot results for a budget override funding the school system passed by 33 votes - of about 6000 voters. Then the budget had to go to "Town Meeting". An old fashioned, you have to show up to vote New England tradition. Over 2300 people (a record) actually showed up to vote. The auditorium, two gyms and the cafeteria were packed. The budget, that meant we are all going to pay a real estate override tax, passed with 72% support. These were the "likely voters" who were passionate about education and view life from a "we" perspective vs a selfish "me".
In the run up to 2016 - if the polls meant ANYTHING - Hillary would be completing her second term as POTUS. Trump was as shocked as the rest of the world that he won. Through most of that year polls had Hillary winning in a landslide.
As Daniel suggested, you would enjoy reading Hopium by Simon Rosenberg. And...the RNC is in a state of chaos. A high school political club could do better. The DNC and Biden campaign have deployed thousands of workers and opened many offices across the country. The RNC has not. They are firing professionals.
All the news feeds are filled with the horrors of the world. Which are real. But the horrors of women being denied health care and their reproductive rights are personal and worthy of dystopian novels. EVERY time that issue has been on the ballot (even in red states) we have prevailed.
And...the MSM is FINALLY calling out Trump and the Heritage Foundation about Project 2025. The threat of his potential dictatorship is gaining traction.
We have every reason to be hopeful, but not to be complacent. If every one of us convinced two or three non-voters to vote, we would be victorious.
Thank you for this thoughtful piece and, of course, I hope you're right.
Regarding the polls in early 2016, as published by 538, hypothetical matchups between HRC and Trump were remarkably consistent. Roughly, HRC got 35%, Trump got 35%, and 30% were undecided. On the other hand, Sanders got roughly 70% to Trump's roughly 30% with practically no undecideds. HRC just started pulling away from Trump very late in October, and was finally defeated by Comey and the Electoral College.
The point is, a completely inappropriate candidate was allowed to get close. The polls were fairly accurate. What bothers me about Biden/Trump is that the polls are once again close, and Trump is even less appropriate than he was in 2016.
As I said, I do hope you're right. Maybe women will save us all. It won't be the first time.
It is in the news Terry, I get a wide variety of news letters in my inbox,and the situation in Ohio is a topic. Ohio passed a law that ballots have to be printed by a certain date, and that date is after the Democratic convention.
The Democrats should move up their convention or cancel it, because there is no real competition it is only a formality anyway, a publicity stunt these days, as is the Republican convention.
I'm asking where Michael gets his poll numbers. Yes, I know about the other stuff. And no, Ohio shouldn't be setting the agenda for the political parties to favor one over the other by setting an arbitrary date that they can reset anytime they want. If they keep this up then voting rules should be federalized.
I don't know about that Daniel. I am having some work done on our house and the crew was mainly from El Salvador. The guys have been here for many years and are U.S. citizens. Without telling them my leanings beforehand, I asked them about Biden vs. Trump and they told me that they really like Trump. So, your side would be better off concentrating on mail-in ballot fraud, like in the 2020 election.
Paul B- drumpf's own team (you know, the ones turning against him and testifying against him) admitted there was no fraud of any sort (well except by republicans). why don't you go troll elsewhere?
The Trump case you refer to is about accounting and disclosure for payments related to a non-disclosure agreement in a privately owned company, i.e., not a public company. This case his nothing to do with stock buybacks in public companies. You do not seem to know anything about corporate finance -- so, why is it that I should go elsewhere to comment?
You should go elsewheres to comment, because you are a disruptive troll. We are onto you, and you are wasting your time, do you get paid by the post or the word.
I worked with a roofing crew from El Salvador for decades and not one was an entitled egomaniac. Literally more caring and capable than so called Americans. We have a generation that never wanted or worked for anything. Look in the mirror partner.
Ed - what you describe is more typical of a small owner-run business, like my roofing company and not a larger public company. But, our system of things seems to favor large public companies. Bj
Yes, yes, Michael - the solution is communism or socialism, whatever you want to call total government control of the economy -- which as everyone knows has fed and clothed the masses on a grand scale -- think about the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the Gulags, etc.
There is socialism and then there’s democratic socialism. There are some successes. Cuba might be an economic powerhouse in 10 years while Brazil is going to move fast, not sure which way-- to BRICS (and all That entails) or to the western notion of the Americas and earth saving. What about Al Gore for President and Hillary Clinton for Vice President? Now there's the ticket...
Paul B What we do know is that Capitalism fails cyclically. It is time for it to go. But the population is brainwashed into holding it up as the best…repeated by almost all politicians. It will be extremely difficult but the time has come to take other ideas from communism, socialism, etc and use what works, discard what does not. Dictators always seem to come along & ruin any concept of social equality. Strict regulations help Capitalism but the Fascist-RescumliCons always move us back to wider inequality. Our politics must change as well,
Thanks for this Seeking/Reason! Yer right-- the cycle is up as we segue into a more logical planned economy. Climate change and biodiversity collapse demand it... one of my aliases back in the day and the title of my second book was Approaching Realization
Hey SeekingReason - And what would you say we know about communism? Or, would it be fair to say you think communism is a good system (at least on paper) that, although it has failed badly in the past, it just needs the right set of people to run it in the future, to be successful? Also, what makes you think there is no inequality under communism? In all historical systems of human governance, o any kind, there have always been elite classes. I doubt there's a system which has done a better job of providing goods and services to a population better than the U.S. system, for the past 150 years. Do you agree? If so, what exactly are you suggesting? I think the economy is too complex to be centrally run like a communist system would be. Maybe a mixed system like China has would be good, although I cannot say that I understand their present system. One thing I do know is that the CCP runs the country and it is not a democracy. President Xi is pretty close to being a dictator for life, from what I've read. That can't be what you want -- or is it? Best. Bj
Paul, What the hell are you rambling on about? Your response doesn’t make sense. Go back and read my comment. Where do I say anything about only communism=equality? I specifically wrote, take what works and discard what doesn’t.
Regarding the US as the best system of providing goods and services! Pure blindness on your part. We’re literally the only developed nation on the planet that doesn’t take care of medical needs for people. It IS the biggest reason for bankruptcy in the US-getting seriously ill & needing surgery or hospitalization. The level of greed build into the Capitalist system is shameful.
There isn’t one perfect system but the Scandinavian countries have been successful with forms of Socialism. In fact, our socialist programs are what built a strong middle class here.
The Fascist Republican Party constantly attempts to dismantle it.
Perhaps you enjoy Fascism with an authoritarian rule, or do you?
Paul here is your profit motive for you. Profit driven farmers, and dairy farmers as a family farm are almost nonexistent, are large corporations and to cut costs and to dispose of fecal waste from their chicken farms, mix it in with cow feed, and that is how Avian Flu the H5N1 virus is passed o cows, and then to humans.
Not only is factoring farming of animals inhumane, the greedy bastards are feeding the animals you eat, shit, actual shit, caca, merde, scheiss, dung how great the profit motive is, enjoy your ice cream, cheese, milk.
William - I agree that factory farming is a problem and that it is unfortunate that family farms are disappearing. Our system of laws and regulation (especially inheritance taxes) seems to favor large corporate farming. I don't know the answer and I have not studied the matter. I get Dr. Gabe Mirkin's newsletter and today's post discussed the effects of additives in our foods that are put in to make them last longer on the shelf and not separate. Cancer rates are way up. My spouse and I eat a lot of yogurt. Now, I don't know what yogurt to eat. But, the profit motive is alive and well in all farming, not just corporate farms. Let's not forget factory farming for the raising of fish. It's a jungle out there, William. Stay well. Bj
Paul B. there has never really been real communism on planet earth. it was coopted by dictatator stalin. there was a neophyte sort of attempt in early christianity before it was coopted by rome. see Acts of the Apostles.
Rick - Pirate ship crews were a close second to the plains indians, I believe. Well, until they got caught and lynched by the British Royal Navy that is. Bj
Paul, I agree that socialism is generally a hopeless way to organize an economy - history provides the key. But, you really should get out more, and I suggest you start by actually reading Wealth of Nations, the blueprint for a capitalist society. Adam Smith basically invented progressive taxation, in part to prevent the wealthy from becoming so wealthy that they would subvert the system and destroy the market, which Smith saw as central to the system. We actually already have socialism in America, but it's not the communism or socialism of which you so correctly have such scorn for, rather it's socialism for the wealthy. For what else is not paying your taxes than government welfare for the super-wealthy?
IMHO, you should have an equal amount of scorn for this form of socialism also.
Michael - What makes you think that I am totally comfortable with the present scheme of things in our business community? Just because I defended stock buy backs doesn't mean that I like everything else. The top federal income tax rate is 37%, I believe. That plus at least 7% for most states, 3.1% for medicare and about 7% for social security means the "rich" pay a hefty tax on their earned income. Then, there are the capital gains taxes, which are often levied on the results of inflation on the prices of investments - so, I don't want capital gains rates raised. I think income tax rates are high enough. And, I think the biggest problem we have is our businesses are getting too big, i.e., almost monopolies. The banks are getting bigger by gobbling up smaller banks. The family farm is fading, in part because of inheritance taxes. Taxes and regulations seem to be driving the consolidations. Bj
There there is socialism and then there's democratic socialism. I think we require a Dark Green autocratic President to get us through the climate change and biodiversity collapse. How about Al Gore for President and Hillary Clinton Vice President?
If you want "green", I think RFK, Jr. would do the trick and he's more reasonable than many of the Lefties out there. ! Don't know about the VP choice though. It's been pretty scary the last 3.5 years worrying that we may get a President Harris! We're almost through the risky times.
Oh, POTUS of course. One of the mistakes Sanders continues to make is that he describes himself as a socialist, with his model economy that of Denmark. But Denmark is not socialist by any stretch of the imagination. There are billionaires in Denmark. The difference between Danish and American billionaires is that the Danes pay their taxes.
We had our chance at putting a real progressive in the Oval Office by electing Sanders. What did we do? The DNC has to take credit for helping the socialist/communist screaming republicans discredit him. He had the young voters and the soon to be voting youth supporting him. The media call him “too old”. Look what we have going for the gold now. In the case of the pumpkin furor that is literally what the motivation is. “Socialist paradise for the rich”, is right square, spot on of what happened in America.
The majority of our representatives in Congress and in the Senate are millionaires. They serve their own purposes and they support the ultra rich who put them there. We can change this. We can turn out the vote in such numbers that the election results will be indisputable. This could very well be now or never in our lifetime. I’m speaking from the perspective of an old coot. I’m old but I ain’t dead yet. I’m working on it.
@GrrlScientist, Reagan's place in US history is ugly, but more complicated than your summary. I'm not a fan of his, but I had a ringside seat on the Reagan presidency. My father was his Treasury undersecretary, and wrote the Reagan tax cut legislation of 1981, 20 years after he wrote the JFK tax cut of 1962. The supply side economists were true zealots and believers in their credo, just the way evangelical christians zealously believe they are right. No other deities or belief systems matter. At the same time that the Reagan administration was cutting taxes on corporations and attacking unions and regulations that protect people and environment, in the belief that "trickle down" economics would benefit the nation, self-seeking entities with zero interest in the public good were using the administration for their own ends, because they could. Think, for example, James Watt and the Sagebrush Rebellion. Think, for another example, of Oliver North and the Iran-Contra scam, circumventing Congress' explicit prohibition on funding the Contras. Remember that Reagan was going senile at this time. These were people who make assertions but brook not questioning. Their influence on one another was pernicious. Fundamentally, the tragedy of the commons did not register with them. They did not care. And why? Had they no families, no children? They did not care because they did not understand one damned thing about the limits of the planet, about ecosystems, about limits. Why? Because they were priests of the Chicago School of Economics and such considerations had not entered their bible.
There is a conflict between individual economic wishes and the planet. It has gotten worse, as we know. But you can't pin that on Reagan.
Martha, here is Reagan in a nutshell. He was a B grade actor, with no original thoughts, values or ideology. He didn't pick his staff, his cabinet or his advisors, he was in essence a marionette, someones sock puppet.
The president of a union, who became a union buster in office.
I read a book over 40 years ago, I thought it was Here's the Rest of Him, if bought it from Abe Books, and it is not the same book that I read.
In it Reagan was described as almost a lifeless lump of flesh sitting beihnd the Resolute Desk, no color in the face, sagging jowls, lifeless eyes, until one of his staff handed him a script and he came alive, color rushed to his face, his eyes brightened, his skin tightened and he sat bolt upright.
After decades of denial, the media finally admitted that he had Alzheimers towards the end, but the evidence is that he had early onset when he was governor of California.
The perfect tool, he had fame, a popular image, and when he spoke a soothing actors voice, hence charisma. The perfect tool to lead us into neo serfdom.
He was also a liar. This I remember vividly, He made a promise to his right wing devotees that he would not appoint any member of the Trilateral Commission or the Council on Foreign Relations to his cabinet, and the first thing he did was just that., and not a murmur of discontent, because he had the backing of Jerry Falwell and his moral majority.
There has always been two constituencies in politics and elections,for Republicans and it works for them.
The money powers, (plutocats, oligarchs, millionaires, whatever we call them) whose primary concern is control of the economy, their social power and wealth and
the man on the street, joe six pack, joe the plumber, Jane the housewife who votes based on religion, cultural issues and how they are told to feel about economic issues.
And it is our corporate media which tells them how to feel about anything.
William, totally agree. As for dementia, I have no knowledge of him as Governor, but don't find it surprising. I do know that he had Alzheimer's at the beginning of his first term. By his second term, James Baker sat behind the Resolute desk, while POTUS watched cartoons all day.
Reagan was a useful idiot for Lewis Powell and the Heritage Foundation.
@William Farrar, I hate to tell you, he did pick his staff, and you can look that up. I hated the man, from the time he ordered the National Guard out on UC Berkeley students and the Guard killed one man and permanently blinded another; Reagan's reason on the question was that sometimes a live bullet got mixed in with dummies. I was present for that one too.
You hate to tell me.Really? The man did not have the connections, the knowledge the education to pick his staff. anymore than any President. It takes a god to have the knowledge to choose the experts needed to run the government.
@aWilliam Farrar, I am sorry to think that you believe this. If you want to learn something different, good. If you don't, I can't help you. The non-gods who have been governors and presidents outnumber the gods, and the same is true of their coteries. You might want to look at Reagan's coterie, how long he knew those men, when and how they met and worked together.
Martha: Yours is a curious perspective, especially as a possible insider. I have always thought that “supply side economics” was a ruse, or to put it another way, a deliberate fabrication (aka a lie) to justify to the masses immense and unending tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, at the expense of the middle class and income/asset fairness (i.e., the commons). I doubt Reagan understood this, as he was either too stupid or too senile (or both) to get it. But his advisors surely must have understood it was fabricated nonsense (aka propaganda). What mystifies me is that someone on the liberal side (e.g., Sanders, Warren, etc) hasn’t called them out on it. Or if they have, haven’t continued to scream same at the top of their lungs, over and over again. Of course, President Clinton and his stupid triangulation ideology didn’t help much either. Now I think the right has burrowed so far down the rabbit hole that this country will never see the light of day again. At least in my lifetime …
Reagan personally hired the Treasury Secretary, Donald Regan, and the Undersecretary, Norman B. Ture. Dr. Ture had worked for Reagan when he was California governor, and gave him Proposition 20, which you can also look up. So now you can have the great joy of learning something new today. It wasn't a ruse. What's worse? They believed. Here's my old man talking about it. https://www.pbs.org/video/open-mind-fted-did-supply-side-tax-cuts-work/
Well, Martha since I was teaching in Calif. at the time I knew that Reagan was a favorite of the southern far right of Calif. many of us did not vote for him then or later . What do you think of that?
And those are painful facts. As a teacher in the Fresno school district I was amazed at the vote. However, I was young and had the world to see. I left teaching to see the world. That was a far greater education ! I flew as a Purser for Pan Am. 36 years of learning about other cultures, thought processes, goals of natives from other countries. Politics in Russia as they changed from Communism into ???? Iran as they dealt with other more powerful countries trying to control their own natural properties. Japan’s movement by young women to gain more control over their own lives. I could go on and on. Politics and power… always sat in First Class! When I ended that International career I became a tour director for ET( educational tour) guiding 8 th. graders on tours of their city Washington DC. As the years progressed and the cell phone came along , more and more young people fell into the non-education of serial junk. Many never looked up from their screens to see the Washington Monument. Some were sent home for sending naked pictures of one another from their hotel rooms….. if we don’t want another ( continuing ) take over by the puppets of the deep pockets we’d better educate our own on the dangers of stupidity. Control by lies and money induced power simply stated will forever end hope for this country.
@Jean(Muriel), if the question is whether Ronald Reagan was anything other than a Grade B actor and industry shill, we have to ask whether the people of the state of California were stoned, stupid, ignorant, or alert as Yorick's skull when they voted him into the Governor's office. Reagan ran against then-Governor Pat Brown. He got 57.5% of the vote, as opposed to Brown's 42.27%. Here's the data. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_California_gubernatorial_election.
"At first, Brown tried to smear Reagan's conservative supporters with "lame Nazi metaphors".[11] After Reagan deftly parried that tactic, Brown made a serious gaffe.[11] He ran a television commercial in which he used a rhetorical question to remind a group of elementary school children that John Wilkes Booth, another actor, had killed Abraham Lincoln.[11] Brown's crude comparison of Reagan to Booth based on their common background as actors—in the state that happens to be home to Hollywood—did not go over well with the California electorate.[11][12] Within 48 hours, Reagan had overtaken Brown in the polls.[11]
With a lead that grew throughout September and October, Reagan won by over 990,000 votes, aided by traditionally Democratic working-class areas in Los Angeles and elsewhere.[13] Brown won in only three counties, Alameda, Plumas, and San Francisco. He narrowly won Alameda by about 2,000 votes and Plumas by about 100 votes.[14][15]"
So. Reagan won every county but Alameda, Plumas, and San Francisco.
Whatever I can say about Reagan, and I can say a bit, as I hated him personally and philosophically, and I remain ashamed of my parent's enthusiastic participation in the destruction of the Rooseveltian compact, it's necessary to look at the facts. Most California voters thought he'd be a good governor relative to Pat Brown, whether they were foolish or not.
Even Reagan and the repulsive Bush Jr, I believe both genuinely thought they were doing what was best for the USA- unlike Dump. And Reagan and Jr were both qualified to hold office, again totally unlike Dump.
All too familiar, Laurie. In addition, one of the major human skills is the ability to create euphemisms. Stock buybacks is just another phrase for grand theft robbery.
Yes, It is larceny from the human people, of resources that they paid, in good faith, for Education, Health, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Access to parks, recreation, clean air , pure water, housing, safety and justice. it is not a slush fund for the rich and their foreign friends. It is not Dictatorship, or slavery/tyranny! Traitors are the enemy!
I don't remember who wrote the biography of Reagan I read, but he was a sad little man-child. He was a lifeguard at a local pool in high school and often told a story about lives he'd saved.
He saved none, it was a lie.
Celebrity stoked his ego, not his actual skills.
And the Republican Party does love celebrities. It's alarming we're such a culture of "celebrities", with people actually making a career of social media influencer. What a sad waste of a life.
The Republican party is the party of the rich, they are not the party of principles.
They finance think tanks, PR experts, news handlers, people and organizations which will promote their agenda which is power. Power to get the money,. Money to keep the power.
They know that the public is largely non thinking, non involved, and lazy and are easily influenced by fame and celebrity status. People love to be famous, to have attention, you can see that when a camera is nearby and they want to get on TV, and rush home to see if they made it.
It is also evident by the use of celebrities to sell crappy goods from Insurance and Pharmaceuticals to toothpaste.
Blame the American psyche and mentality. Perception over substance, appearance over reality.
Pogo said, in a comic strip during the VN war. I have seen the enemy and it is us.
Humans are too easily swayed by emotions, and emotions are the target of propaganda.
Hitler, Mussolini, Trump.dictators malefactors, everywhere are experts at using our emotions.
Heather Cox Richardsons book "To Make Men Free" was a hard one to read.
Thom Hartman says to get inside the party that most aligns with your beliefs, and make the change happen.
It's worked a treat with the republicans and wealthy assholes. The Dems have their wealthy, and many are assholes, but most nowdays have a reasonable agenda. Trying to be inside the Dems this year with replacing Ken Buck in my district has been an eye opener. Dude running for the replacement nomination I'm pretty sure funded by rethugs. Apparently two can play that game.
Thanks Jen, but one exception. I don''t have beliefs, I have opinions and my opinions are arrived at, not acquired by consensus, popular opinion or from some authority.
Beliefs are integral to a persons self image, confront or conflict an opinion and you encounter resistance as one is in essence pulling a brick out of a retaining wall.
I have changed my opinions on many things over time. The deductive method, form a hypothesis, acquire information, test the hypothesis, if it fails then do more research get more info and test the hypothesis again, wash, rinse, repeat.
This will not end unless we elect honest brokers to turn the tide.This requires a peaceful transformation of power. It's not possible without extraordinary leadership I am not seeing it at all.
I have no hope that will ever happen Joan. If people were perceptive, sentient and possessed critical thinking skills, there would never have been a scam artist, be it a snake oil salesmen or a Trump
@GrrlScientist…Do you REALLY think ronnie raygun was that smart? IMHO, I don’t. He was a face in grade C movies. To be sure, he WAS evil. But he was a convenient puppet, whose strings were manipulated by big money interests/managers.
Dementia is NOT a “clif” disease; it’s a progressive illness. It’s possible that he had begun his slide into nutdom while governor of California. We have a lot to “thank” ronnie for here, as well.
Hey GrrlScientist…Do you REALLY think ronnie raygun was as smart as all that? I sure don’t. He was a face in grade B movies. To be sure, he was a real asshole, but he was a puppet whose strings were manipulated by the big money interests who managed him. Besides, dementia is not a “clif” disease…it’s a progressive illness. He might well have begun that slide while governor of California. We have a lot to “thank” him for here, as well.
Since Bunkerboy slowly waddled onto the scene, I immediately realized that our FIRST dementia-addled president, ronny, is the reason America started to faulter.
He achomplished some truly historic feats like starting to normalize relations with multiple nations that were our enemies, but his economic terrorism overshadows those by far! [sic]
Hey there GirlScientist - Please read what I just posted, to the effect that stock buy backs are entirely logical and not unfair to anyone. As far as the destruction of natural spaces around the globe - you do have a point, but the solution is to regulate economic activity, not the banning of buybacks. Thanks. Bj
Laurie - Why the attitude? Can't you take hearing a different opinion? If you think I'm wrong, you are free to argue the other side. If you don't want to engage, just move on to the next post which may be by someone who shares your view. Best. Bj
Government ownership of all means of production? Since when?
Also, my central point, probably unstated, is that we as a collective need to return to honest management of companies--when they start to flounder they resort to stock buybacks--that's mismanagement and they should go down--as simple as that. Remember, "It's A Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart? That's the character honesty we need to sustain this country as a democracy.
I agree about the necessity for honesty, but so long as we have human beings (with human nature) running things, there will always be problems of dishonesty, inefficiency and downright incompetence. The profit motive in a competitive environment (along with reasonable regulation) is probably about as good as it will get. If you want to read a good story about corruption of government in forming a cabal with Big Pharma, read RFK Jr.'s book: "The Real Anthony Fauci" -- what an eye opener.
Paul, I've heard about his book that's been slammed by most media commentators. I read Jeffrey Sachs "Common Wealth" book years ago. And recently dabbled in innovative ideas regarding global governance in harms way. Here's my conclusions:
I've learned we must not focus as much on 'competition' to save us but more on cooperation and collaboration. Our Earth's resources are finite so eventually, beyond peoples near-term resistance, we will need to share land, water, etc. in order to stay alive as humans, along with other sentient beings. So that's my analysis--at least as we all sit on our planet today. Have a great week!
Strawman Paul. No one advocates government ownership of the means of production, never happened in America and never will.
If you are using the USSR as an example, don't. The USSR was a combine of seven trusts organized along resource lines, from Human and Transportation to agriculture and mining.
The problem with the Soviet Union was that they were on a Marxist 100% gold standard. A ruble was defined as .9871 grams fine gold, however the Russian could not demand gold, but a foreigner could through their NordBank in Paris.
The result was a perpetual shortage of rubles, and that is the definition of a depression. Perpetual depression was the result, fortunately there was the "cold war", the foreign threat, which was just to justify expending all resources on munitioons, heavy industry and weapons of war.
Oh and the trust for human resources was the KGB, it bartered and sold human resources to the other trusts,like mining, transportation, forestry and agriculture.
Each trust had their won bank, and the GosBank was the central coordinating bank. These trusts created debts with other trusts, and the debts were paid, first by barter, and if not by barter then by gold and in the USSR, because they had no Federal Reserve type system, the trust banks needed gold, The USSR was obsessed with obtaining gold, at any and all costs.
William - If enough of the attributes of ownership are dictated by the government, isn't that about the same as "government ownership"? I think so. Public utilities are a good example, because they are heavily regulated including their rates and how they generate the power. Moreover, if the government tells my company how to make its product and what I can charge for it, why isn't that the same as government ownership? Most lately, look at the car companies which, in effect, are being forced to manufacture electric vehicles and the prices for the vehicles are subsidized with tax credits. Best. Bj
Stock buy backs are economically and socially destructive Paul.
Corporations are managed by a Board of Directors, who hires the executives.
When stock is distributed among the many, then the many have representatives on the BoD, when stock is held by the few, or even a family, then the family or the few govern the corporation.
Corporations have one charter and one charter only and per Dodge v Ford, to make a profit for the owner(s).
To make a profit, a corporation must reduce costs and increase revenues, not matter what it takes, and to dilute the dividend pool of investors. The fewer the better, like News Corp. Which is majority owned by the Murdoch family., I know you are a Fox fan, but they aren't the only family that owns a corporation, there is the Ochs Sulzberg family which owns the NYT and if you do a deep dive into all major corporations you will see that in most cases it is a handful of people, who have zero interest in your well being Paul, that own these corporations and profit at your expense.
Think not, well book all of your flights on Boeing airplanes. The founder said that he would rather shutter the hangar doors, than produce one unsafe airplane, the current crop of CEO's are profit driven, at the expense of the lives of the people who fly on their planes. Even Boeing workers won't fly on a Boeing plane.
The food giants poison the consumer, sell adulterated foods that cause cancer and endocrine diseases. The Petro chemical cabal is destroying the very planet, or at least the life on the planet that it needs to sustain itself, and to provide the owners and CEO's with yachts, mansions and private jets. Insurance companies and pharmaceuticals kill people in pursuit of profit.
Union carbide killed thousands in Bhopal India, because it didn't spend the money on maintenance and a leak of fume killed thousands. BP, cut corners, for the same reason and we wound up with the Deep Horizon spill.
Your grandchildren, maybe your children, are going to have to deal with the end of the anthropocene as glabal warming heats the planet, causes the antarctic ice to melt, seas rise and humans have to survive heat domes, increasing and increasingly violent tornadoes, hurricanes and arctic blizzards not only in Yankee land, but increasingly in the old confederacy.
As money, thanks to stock buy backs, is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the few, so is power, and conservatives like you wind up being the victims with liberals like me.
And here is the interesting part Paul, you aren't getting paid to defend the system and the people that are using you to protect and promote their dictatorial power, or maybe you are.
William - No, I'm not getting paid. In fact, I do not invest in corporate securities directly or indirectly, as they are too risky. However, I do have a masters in corporate finance and I have studied stock buy backs, which forms the basis of what I think about them. If I owned any stock, I would want it in a private corporation where I didn't have to comply with SEC rules, which are ridiculously detailed. I know b/c I used to work at the SEC. Best. Bj
And my Masters is in finance and accounting as well. The difference then between you and I is that I realized and detoxed from the lies and propaganda of the Milton Friedman, and Koch Brothers, Foundation for Economic Education bullshit.
Of course you want de regulated companies, all of the filthy fucking grifters and thieves do, but there is a problem here dude, those hated regulations were enacted to save the hides of little investors like you.l
William - In the context of stock buy backs, I do not understand what you are talking about regarding lies and propaganda you were taught that you detoxed from. What, exactly? Did you work as a regulator for many years in the federal government as I did? I know what the regulations were enacted and many of them are necessary, mainly as a basis to prosecute someone after the fact. Net capital, segregation, inside information, trading ahead, etc. - all good stuff. I gave my reasoning on how stock buy backs are supposed to work. When a company is making investment decisions, a stock buy back is just one option to be considered, with a goal of maintaining or even improving the returns to shareholders. So, please tell me what I said that was wrong. Thanks. Bj
BJ (initials also mean Blow Job, BTW). Frankly I don't believe you about anything. Just another Walter Mitty, claiming credentials to spread your disease.
Wow! Lately, every time I hear about Reagan, it reminds me of what a terrible president he was, what a destructive guy when it came to our economy. It is interesting just how simple it would be to fix one of the really big inequity problems with our economy, stop stock buybacks. Congress could do that, but alas, there are so many super rich guys who just must have their stock buybacks to feed their insatiable money and power habit that the reps and senators who have been purchased by those corporations couldn't possibly do the right thing and vote to stop the insanity of stock buybacks. Reagan whined about "welfare queens" when he was helping to create stock buyback kings who, unlike the welfare queens, exist in significant numbers and will not stop unless stopped. So, we need serious pressure to stop them. If their corporations are so worried about stock prices that fluctuate so they have to pay more than R&D for stock buybacks, they probably shouldn't be in business or should have better management.
Ruth and Andrea: I agree with both of your comments. Lobbying and stock buybacks should be made illegal but as long as money runs the game, it's not going to happen. I'd have to differ from the old cliché that 'money is the root of all evil'. For me money is like house paint; it looks glorious on the surface but covers a multitude of ugliness underneath.
Andrea, I would really like to see paid lobbying limited. Corporations should be able to only have a certain small number of lobbyists active on Capitol Hill, say no more than 5 per corporation and say, 100 per entire industry. That is too many, but far less than are active now. Private citizens and non-profits can have or be lobbyists, but there should be limits on that too and the folks who finance that lobbying needs to be identified. In addition, corporate lobbying should not be tax-exempt. I don't know if it is now or not, but if it is, it should not be. Then, there should be a 5-year break between people leaving Congress and returning to Capitol Hill as lobbyists. I don't know if this would help, but it's something to be tossed into the mix of ideas.
Patricia, yes, keep former legislators from being heads of corporations in particular that have business with our government, the military, or anything that their knowledge could give an advantage. Five years for that would be a good time frame too.
Has anyone noticed that the stock of public companies may be purchased by anyone, including the unions -- and, therefore, if a company is "making out like a bandit" by buying back its own stock, anyone else may also have joined the party at any time? Complaining about stock buybacks being "unfair" is like me complaining about someone else making a killing on having owned Tesla (or Microsoft many years ago), when I could have also bought the same stock, but did not. It's a stupid argument is my point.
The stock buyback causes the reported "earnings per share" of the stock (the primary indicator of the profitability of a company) to increase , even if the company's actual profit has remained the same or even decreased. IMHO, this is fraud!. Also, some companies go deeper into debt to buyback their shares. This can damage the financial stability of the company. All of this is to allow the CEO and his management buddies to "look good" to Wall Street and collect their bonuses!
Tim - Well, maybe it will and maybe it won't increase earnings per share and I agree with you that laying out the cash or borrowing could undermine the company's financial stability. Buying back stock means the company will have less working capital to run the business -- so, there are many possible side effects, such as an inability to meet customer needs. And, if the company borrows money to replace the lost capital, it will have interest expense -- so, earnings per share may not be maintained and may even decrease. But, the possibilities of these side effects does not mean the government should prohibit them -- it means the company needs to have competent management that knows what it is doing. That's my view, anyway -- which is that I think the government should be running as few things as possible b/c the government knows less about business than the people in the company. Look at Boeing -- do we really think the government knows more about airplanes than the employees of Boeing? The FAA does not know more about planes than Boeing does and I don't trust the government when they suggest they do. In any industry, diversity and competition, while punishing those companies who break (reasonable) laws. is the best answer, in my view.
If the "competent management" were angels, no government intervention would be needed. But they are not! Many are driven by the "shareholder is king" idea and their own greed, and to hell with anything else. You do make some excellent points about stock buybacks, and I agree that our government sometimes does not know what it is doing. For example, Donald J. Trump as President!
I wasn't talking about the competency of the president -- I was talking about the competency of our regulatory agencies. But, if you want to talk about the president -- at least Donald Trump ran a private business for many years, as opposed to President Biden who never ran any private enterprise. Look at the foreign policy mess we are now in, thanks to President Biden and his team. Sad.
Paul, OMG! You certainly do despise "The Government." Boeing hasn't done all that well lately when The Government has not been watching them too closely, depending on their own people alone to catch the many problems. Stock buybacks seem to me to be a cheat, and it does not seem to matter to those in charge of the corporation because at least in the short run, the stocks go up and it can make the company look solvent, of sufficient quality that folks are still paying strong prices for the stocks. The customers are next to irrelevant because the big guys will always have an excuse for whatever customers experience and dismiss it until they can't anymore and the guys who ran the buybacks are already gone with their golden parachutes.
Ruth - I do not "hate" government -- I am realistic about its capabilities, which are limited. I worked as a financial regulator for about 40 years (SEC, CFTC, OTS and FHFA) and I was always impressed with the knowledge of the companies we regulated and depressed about the capabilities of my colleagues. The financial companies could run rings around us in the knowledge department. Stock prices are driven by the prospects for future profits and have little to do with past profits. I think you have a point regarding corporate executives leaving before things go south, after collecting their bonuses. But, there are ways to limit the early outs, such as with deferred compensation agreements and delayed stock sales and options exercise. Bj
I consider stock buybacks malfeasance. It goes along with cooking the books. Many companies, where you own stock are well seasoned crooks from my experience.
Sure, you're right -- there are many crooks out there in all walks of life. There are laws against all forms of malfeasance -- the issue before us is whether stock buybacks should be illegal. Apparently, Prof. Reich thinks they should be illegal. I tried to explain how things work and that they should remain legal. What do you think and why? Thanks.
I think corporations need to upgrade their compliance, in most regards, and not rely upon stock buybacks when their revenue or recent earnings reports look shabby. I know expert crooks, like those at Enron, who are raking up millions on Wall Street. I don't think it's fair to their stakeholders nor does it serve the commons. What it does is create incoherence that leads to the instability of the entity and fosters grievances from several sources except for those at the top of the rung. It's not an enjoyable work environment at most publicly traded corporations today. And life is too short for that kind of daily grind.
I think we agree on the problem - greed and dishonesty - but the solution is something we need to talk about, as there are two ways to go: 1 - more government regulation and internal compliance structures; or 2 - smaller companies and increased competition. I prefer the latter -- based upon my 40 years as a federal financial regulator at SEC, CFTC, FHFA, OTS.
And NO off-shoring. Likely, we need multiple approaches, including the two you have voiced. Paul, humans have PROVEN they are notoriously greedy and self centered. Oversight & regulations with teeth are required. Carrots & Sticks, BIG sticks!
Paul, yep, the way you describe it, it seems to make sense, but let's see, stocks cost, sometimes a lot and who is it has the money to buy them, the guys who are raking in the bucks, not the average person, you, possibly excepted. When profits are too large, stock buybacks are a lure and the big guys go for it. And, they have the inside scoop on when the funds are available for use in that buyback. Who else could do that?
Ruth - You're right that a lot of people do not have the money to buy stocks, but certainly their pension funds do. A lot of companies no longer have individual stockholders but, instead, have institutional investors, i.e., pension funds as their stockholders. Stock prices are more driven by the prospects or outlook for future profits, not past profits. Moreover, if future prospects are bleak, stock prices will plunge, no matter what last year's profits were. My view is that the large amount of current buy back activity is because corporations are not optimistic for the future and, therefore, have decided to not invest their retained earnings (profits) back into the company. That's the way the buy backs would be explained by my corporate finance professors back in the day when I was in college. Bj
First of all you as an individual have to already have money to buy stocks; that is, not everyone can afford to buy shares. Second, I will complain about Tesla or Apple or Google making "a killing". They don't give back to the society that made their enormous wealth possible and then they seek to monopolize their companies to the detrimant of our society. And stock buy backs are one way they do it. It is stock price manipulation!
Many older established companies have a policy to pay roughly half of their profits to stockholders as dividends. I have no problem with this. However, the remaining profit is supposed to be reinvested in the company's future, not in stock buybacks!
Agreed, buybacks are bad. Yet you understate the damage. When corporations don't have shareholders they are not visibly and publicly responsible for their actions. You don't know who runs them, who to complain too. Very few privately held companies have visible CEOs. Koch Industries is one, and they are one of the most corrupt and politically active, on the far right, companies in the US. Even more damaging is Cargill, owned by the MacMillan family (not the Cargill's), responsible for huge swaths of tropical deforestation, overuse of fertilizer, child labor violations, and the stripping of topsoil through their massive control of the agricultural sector. Could Apple become even less transparent with buybacks, doing even more damage than they do now? Their model of planned obsolescence dominates the electronics sector - a deliberate move on their part. Corporations already have a lack of compassion or environmental justice in their business model. What will they do when there is no outside force to at least mildly moderate their actions to internalize profits and externalize costs? Yes, stock buybacks should be illegal, and ethics imposed by regulation, otherwise the corporation eats everything, possibly including itself.
Stock buybacks are popular with investors for income tax reasons. Dividends are taxed in the year received, but the benefit of the stock buyback on the stock price is not taxed until the stock is sold. If the stock is never sold, no income tax is ever paid! A ripoff that should be repealed!
An additional but important detail: when appreciated stock is inherited, there is a so-called “step up in basis”, which means that if the heir sells the stock they only pay capital gains on the appreciation since they inherited the stock. This means that tax on the capital gains from the buyback is never paid, even when the heir sells the stock.
Need a democratic majority in both houses to pass that law. The republicans would never go for that. That’s where a huge amount of their campaign money comes from.
Jack, that is why it is so important to vote blue all the way down the ticket this November!! If we could get a majority in the House and Senate and put President Biden back for another term, we could tackle these problems. I am constantly reminded "Rome wasn't built in a day" and our problems are going to take time to correct so we need another strong Democrat waiting by after President Biden serves his term. The main problem is that people now-a-days want everything better tomorrow and don't have patience to hang in until things improve!
Welcome to the Republican world of deregulation. A free market to them means the market can do whatever it wants. By now it is old established policy to step on the little guy, give massive government subsidies to the most financially successful citizens and cut anything that resembles a social safety net. Of course, when you realize that speech is money it only makes sense that the little guy has no voice.
What you write is horribly true! Americans need to come out of their slumber and get active against our corrupted systems. Part of the problem is resistance to progressive thinking as well as a bought main stream news media and even indies that fall prey to dollars.
I think the comment the road to good intent is paved with evil is appropriate here! Someone somewhere must of thought this was a virtuous policy only to have it become another way for corporate greed
On the contrary, I think they knew exactly what it would do and they wanted it to work exactly the way it does. They've been very successful, don't you think?
Hopefully Biden will repeal Reagan's 1982 measure, if he is re-elected. Hopefully he will decline to promise the ultra-wealthy _not_ to do it, so that he will not be beholden in that way.
TY for the link. I see Missouri is in the dark. We double the necessary signatures to put a reproductive rights constitutional amendment on tge August 6 ballot. In 8 out 8 districts, only needed 6. So now the works are trying to fast track 2 motions through the legislature. 1. Outlawing citizen Initiatives for constitutional amendments and/or 2. Initiatives cannot be passed by statewide majority at the ballot box. It has to have a majority in 2/3 of the counties. What....? How is this not anarchy.
Aren't these governments supposed to be working for the people?? How could they outlaw citizen initiatives for constitutional amendments?! Or disregard the statewide majority??!?
I know why they would want to do that - for pure power; but it's sickening! The majority of people worked their tails off on something that was important to them - those kinds of initiatives are far more significant to me because they are about what the PEOPLE want....not some bs bank account or whatever. It just blows my mind that they would be able to pass things like those. Not being able to have their voices heard and make a difference is probably one of the reasons why people don't vote.
I view buybacks as very similar to major corporate layoffs. Other than lining the pockets of the greedy, they are a sign of management bereft of ideas. Tragic to eliminate a trained work force instead of using it for new opportunities. Just like squandering all that capital.
And, of course, as Robert predicted, this insane movement in promoting inequality has caused enormous cynicism among average citizens. And anger ... mostly against Democrats. The success of the scam has been breathtaking. And they're not satisfied. Not, I'm convinced, because they still want more.
I think the money is secondary. They want to so crush everyone from the middle class on down the damage can never be undone and economic justice never restored. This means Trump and impunity. This means locking us into an un-American, Kochist, libertarian dystopian nightmare. They will rule in hell ...
It's not the money anymore. It's the power. To force your whims and personal preferences on others...because you can. I can't imagine a Koch or Musk exclaiming in frustration, " Darn it! I don't get it! Why don't those people.....just appreciate all I do for them, stop whining about stupid guns, work harder, stop getting pregnant shut up and pass the Kool aide?"
James Flanagan ; True! But all they will have for an 'engine' will be to beat a dead horse! the "way back machine" will take them that far back! 1600's ; 1500's ; who knows? throw in some Nukes ; may be the Stone age?
Joan ; Their tactic is to Blitzkrieg US with Abortion Bans, and threats to remove any more rights to anger us, like banning IVF or contraception, ban books, Ban peaceful Protests (so much for HIPPA rules in medicine, or free speech (unless you are MAGA ; even if violent!).Make college out of reach for many, allow Wall street to buy single family homes, then jack up the rent to force US to be houseless to the edge of poverty. Now they want to put sheriffs in charge of monitoring pregnancy! Are we livestock?!? Make travel for pregnant women against the law??! Will they have checkpoints where pregnancy tests are required before passage is granted? And what about the voting laws? Guess what This is looking like? The American Taliban is real!
Seeing as corporations are criminal entities, they should should just be destroyed. We need regulations to protect us from corporations as consumers, because they will try to rip us off, destroy our environment, or sell us dangerous products. We also need regulations to protect us from corporations as employees. OSHA is a thing for a damn good reason. They are predatory entities run by psychopaths. You cannot successfully regulate psychopaths for any given time. They've proved this repeatedly. We cannot stop them from destroyed us by playing their game.
Jasmine ; The slaves had "housing' included. In this market, that could end up being an upgrade! But ! Workers are not being legally beaten and lynched ,They ARE paid, and they are free to go look for another job. Some "non compete" laws are being repealed!
(This comment is not to make a joke of, or to disrespect those affected by slavery of their ancestors or elders!.)
Jasmine ; They could block even a wealthy woman from getting medical care ; or punish them and their doctor if she gets the "illegal" care! Of course, we will learn that the rich will not be interfered with, no doubt.
That's what concerns me the most about them, they don't see that they will be made to suffer too. They think their wealth will protect them. I'm not so sure. Women in the US have only had the ability to have a credit card for 50 years. I think it was 1978 when we got that basic right to control our finances.
Jasmine Wolfe ; You are describing the facts. If they can keep a woman from controlling what happens to her pregnancy, that is being a prisoner in the most definite way. They refuse to allow doctors to treat even a woman who needs care for her fetus, to Prevent loss of the baby's life, which can harm or threaten the mother's life. Even those who are not wanting an abortion ; just medical care to live. they don't care if they die! They want to control the means of production of "their" "Human Resources"! They hate women, and working humans. They treat US like cattle! they do not want US educated! They are our mortal enemies!
Especially now in the states that have the extreme abortion bans, where they plan to have sheriffs "monitor" womens and girl's pregnancies, (The ultimate rape!) and even ban travel ; lest they have plans to go to a state where they can receive medical care. Even a woman who wants her baby and needs medical care to save it's and her own life, are being prevented to get care they need! this is only ONE of the distractions the billionaires are throwing at US to demoralize US and make US targets, with help from their privately owned and operated "judges"! There WILL be Hell to pay for this !!!
Yep, it's getting bad in Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida. Yes they absolutely do hate us. They want to do away with no fault divorce too, effectively trapping many women😢
Incrementalism "strikes deep ; into our lives it will creep". Like paranoia ; "it starts when you're always afraid ; Step out of line ; they'll come to take you away.. Better Stop !. Hey! what's that sound? Everybody look what's going 'round '...
Wonderful post! I worked on Marianne Williamson's campaign: She wants to turn things around and just gets blacklisted by MSM and the DNC. Our democracy is sadly falling very fast.
I've always said that Regan was the beginning of the downfall of this country. I was in high school at the time and even at that young age I could see it. I remembered a few in my high school had to graduate early so they could take advantage of some sort of grant that Reagan was destroying but don't have a fully memory of the details. Since then I have watched how all the institutions that we hold dear, like defined benefit plans, unions, affordable college, all fall by the wayside. Even the retirement age has been bumped up. As a member of GenX I knew we'd be getting the shaft. Now look at things...There is a lot of criticism of the Millenials and I think it really isn't fair. They are really getting the shaft. College is out of reach for many. crushed by debt, unable to buy a first house. Rents are largely unaffordable. Corporations are buying up housing at alarming rates. The American Dream is also largely dead. That on top of an election that could turn the country to fascism is really freaking depressing. No wonder so many people report sleep disturbances!
These laws were voted on by the candidates that we've elected. They've voted to allow these things to line their own pockets with cash and the CEO's. We need to roll these laws back and get back to what made this country great...proper anti-trust laws, and putting financial regulations in place. These things were for the good of all. Not just a few.
This news is of no surprise to many. We started it with neoliberalism, and lo and behold, here we are in a crisis of inequality of mega proportion. Not to worry, though, as we keep capitalism in its current form alive, consuming everything in its path, including by the way the environment, until it reaches its natural end at the end of the Anthropocene, which seems is not going to be that far away with silly fuel to the fire like stock buybacks.
Professor Reich: in my opinion, ronald reagan was a corporate-beholden criminal. he was the beginning of the decline of this country into the pursuit of money and power at all costs, the reversal of this country's progress towards equality, and the sacrifice and destruction of the natural spaces around the globe on the altar of profits. if anyone who ever occupied the white house could be thought of as beezebub's earthly incarnation, ronnie raygun would be it.
You're right. Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes (Bretton Woods), Roosevelt et al, actually Made America Great Again, after taking it back from the Robber Barons.
Ayn Rand, Lewis Powell, Ronald Reagan and Milton Friedman reversed it all and turned America into a socialist paradise - for the Rich. Trump merely continued the practice of government handouts for the wealthy.
There is one solution to all of this ridiculous nonsense: Bernie Sanders.
@Girl Scientist, Michael Hutchinson. What’s the answer to all this?
The predicate is to WIN. . Sweep. In 2020, 70 million eligible voters failed to vote. Stats how that most were Democrats. Plus, using data mining, FT6 has identified about 13 million unregistered who trend heavily Democratic. 60% of unregistered voters have never been asked to register! Yesterday I sent 300 texts using FT 8 software to unregistered Floridians. Last week volunteers sent 1000,000 in a couple of hours. Another session today.
To win in 2024, FT6 will reach out to millions of unregistered likely Democrats "using our one-of-a-kind database and every outreach method possible (phone and text, postcard, email and targeted ad, and in-person too), where new Democratic voters will make the most impact – in the most flippable states and districts."
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Robert has hundreds of thousands of followers on this Substack alone. He has other outlets. If a fraction are motivated, WE can make it happen.
@Daniel Solomon
Your fieldteam6 site is fabulous. I'm more of a writer than a talker, so I'm putting letters/postcards with handwritten messages in the mail via Vote Forward. Keep up the good work (love the name fieldteam6 too!). Every one who cares one whit about this country should get involved one way or the another, even if it's volunteering just one day at your local high school with the League of Women Voters registering students who just turned 18. Come on everyone! GET INVOLVED!
I do FT6 postcards, text, call. Meanwhile also support other organizations. https://democrats.org/share/
Tomorrow night, Democrats are invited to Focus for Democracy's upcoming presentation. Last month, $5 million was pledged to two deserving organizations, Galvanize and Accelerate Change.
https://www.galvanizeusa.org/
https://acceleratechange.org/
Tuesday, May 7th at 8 pm Eastern.
Click here to register: http://tinyurl.com/F4D7MAY
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VLPwIxPZRqW6nsfCObu2EA?_x_zm_rtaid=m0b9rIrpSSe4yoXimGhLjw.1714990984204.dabdbd612f5cfc0f65bfe7f54023af48&_x_zm_rhtaid=328#/registration
I'm also targeting certain groups we can flip. Amish. Veterans. Looking to organize folks who advocate for SSI recipients. Republicans want to kill it but ironically some are even registered Republicans, and many are MAGATS who metaphorically slit their own throats at the polls. Voted for Trump X 2. Lawyers, medical providers, social workers, care givers have to be influential in their lives.
Thank you for adding concrete things we can do rather than wring our hands and shake our heads in disgust over the current forecast.
The "Click here to register" link doesn't work.
But the second link does work. Thanks!
Which organization do you prioritize? Thank you
I do FT6 every day.
I'm frustrated that I can't get anyone with authority at DNC or in the campaign to act. I've been in the vets group since 2020.
I would recommend investproinsight.com earn 30% profit off your deposit
Daniel, I admire your enthusiasm and your drive. Maybe at some point I'll pitch in. But, very worryingly, Biden's polls remain in the toilet. Never been worse for an incumbent seeking re-election. He's beginning to look like HRC all over again. Maybe the grassroots can help things, but if, 3 months from now in Chicago the polls still look dire, Atlee's advice to Chamberlain will be needed in America's Darkest Hour.
Michael Hutchinson ; polls are often owned by those who own media. I just keep remembering that the last 7 elections were won by blue votes. From the Presidency to the mid terms to the special elections in certain states. All won by the blue 🗳 voters.
@ Michael. Not True. STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Biden Leads 49%-45% in New ABC Poll, 2nd Poll This Week W/Large Biden Lead
NPR/Marist Had Biden up 52%-47% This Week With Likely Voters
SIMON ROSENBERG
MAY 5https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/biden-leads-49-45-in-new-abc-poll?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1223483&post_id=144332447&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=zc69i&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Daniel, what is going on in Ohio? Is Biden going to be on the ballot? Ohio law says can only be on ballot if nominating convention occurs before a certain date, and dem's convention is after that date.
Daniel, thank you for this encouraging information, but let's beware of wishful thinking.
Disgusting isn't it, Michael, that people are their own executioners.
In my opinion the polls are rigged to show a horse race. The only question that should be asked and isn't is: Who will you vote for?
The Polling companies the media are all interconnected, if not by corporate ownership, then by boards of directors, who themselves sit on interconnected board of directors.
There is no true polling, it is all push polling, and one guess as to who wants the Republicans, and that means Trump to win. Billionaires, the Plutocrats, who control the corporations. Deregulation and tax cuts.
As regards those who don't vote. either they are lazy and take things for granted,or are recalcitrant and defiant idiots who think that by not voting they are going to give the finger to Joe and the Democrats because they are miffed.
Idiots, because by default they are voting for Trump, and anyone who is half awake knows what Trump and the fascists have in store for them.
They may not like Joe, they may not like his policies and actions or inactions, but they are going to be miserable if because they sat on their hands, they elected Trump and his fascist agenda.
Biden is not going to deport Muslim and Hispanic immigrants. Trump will
Biden is not reversing civil rights and women's rights gains. Trump will
Biden is not going to turn America into a Christian theocacy. Trump will
Biden will and is protecting women. Trump is misogynist, personally and politically.
Biden has protected LGBT human rights. Trump will negate and reverse them.
And I say to those who say Fuck Biden, enjoy your just desserts, you earned them. Unfortunately those of us who aren't disengaged or Trump humpers will go down with the ship.
Fox News is accusing Biden of doing what the Republicans are doing. This may be the explanation of why many voters believe that Trump is better for Democracy than Biden.
In 2020 N. Korea's dictator indicated that he favored a Trump win in the US elections. It was not out of love for our country. Russia's dictator likewise has favored Trump, and the reason is the same : Trump is bad for the USA! The riddle is why the owners of Fox News favor Trump. Could it be that they expect Trump to give them control of all US news?
You are so right. The last time these idiots did vote we got trump in 2016.
The Republicans and Republican News outlets are responsible for Biden's poor showing! Don't be fooled by them, as they hope you will be!
They fool people with religion and xenophobia.
The recent polls show Biden ahead. Why? Because they surveyed "likely voters". But ask yourself how valuable a poll is that relies on landlines? Or internet clickbait?
In our recent town election, the ballot results for a budget override funding the school system passed by 33 votes - of about 6000 voters. Then the budget had to go to "Town Meeting". An old fashioned, you have to show up to vote New England tradition. Over 2300 people (a record) actually showed up to vote. The auditorium, two gyms and the cafeteria were packed. The budget, that meant we are all going to pay a real estate override tax, passed with 72% support. These were the "likely voters" who were passionate about education and view life from a "we" perspective vs a selfish "me".
In the run up to 2016 - if the polls meant ANYTHING - Hillary would be completing her second term as POTUS. Trump was as shocked as the rest of the world that he won. Through most of that year polls had Hillary winning in a landslide.
https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/23/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-presidential-polls/index.html
As Daniel suggested, you would enjoy reading Hopium by Simon Rosenberg. And...the RNC is in a state of chaos. A high school political club could do better. The DNC and Biden campaign have deployed thousands of workers and opened many offices across the country. The RNC has not. They are firing professionals.
All the news feeds are filled with the horrors of the world. Which are real. But the horrors of women being denied health care and their reproductive rights are personal and worthy of dystopian novels. EVERY time that issue has been on the ballot (even in red states) we have prevailed.
And...the MSM is FINALLY calling out Trump and the Heritage Foundation about Project 2025. The threat of his potential dictatorship is gaining traction.
We have every reason to be hopeful, but not to be complacent. If every one of us convinced two or three non-voters to vote, we would be victorious.
Thank you for this thoughtful piece and, of course, I hope you're right.
Regarding the polls in early 2016, as published by 538, hypothetical matchups between HRC and Trump were remarkably consistent. Roughly, HRC got 35%, Trump got 35%, and 30% were undecided. On the other hand, Sanders got roughly 70% to Trump's roughly 30% with practically no undecideds. HRC just started pulling away from Trump very late in October, and was finally defeated by Comey and the Electoral College.
The point is, a completely inappropriate candidate was allowed to get close. The polls were fairly accurate. What bothers me about Biden/Trump is that the polls are once again close, and Trump is even less appropriate than he was in 2016.
As I said, I do hope you're right. Maybe women will save us all. It won't be the first time.
Where are you getting your info Michael?
It is in the news Terry, I get a wide variety of news letters in my inbox,and the situation in Ohio is a topic. Ohio passed a law that ballots have to be printed by a certain date, and that date is after the Democratic convention.
The Democrats should move up their convention or cancel it, because there is no real competition it is only a formality anyway, a publicity stunt these days, as is the Republican convention.
I'm asking where Michael gets his poll numbers. Yes, I know about the other stuff. And no, Ohio shouldn't be setting the agenda for the political parties to favor one over the other by setting an arbitrary date that they can reset anytime they want. If they keep this up then voting rules should be federalized.
I don't know about that Daniel. I am having some work done on our house and the crew was mainly from El Salvador. The guys have been here for many years and are U.S. citizens. Without telling them my leanings beforehand, I asked them about Biden vs. Trump and they told me that they really like Trump. So, your side would be better off concentrating on mail-in ballot fraud, like in the 2020 election.
Paul B- drumpf's own team (you know, the ones turning against him and testifying against him) admitted there was no fraud of any sort (well except by republicans). why don't you go troll elsewhere?
The Trump case you refer to is about accounting and disclosure for payments related to a non-disclosure agreement in a privately owned company, i.e., not a public company. This case his nothing to do with stock buybacks in public companies. You do not seem to know anything about corporate finance -- so, why is it that I should go elsewhere to comment?
Because you are a troll here! Go to some MAGA site, where they will welcome you!
You should go elsewheres to comment, because you are a disruptive troll. We are onto you, and you are wasting your time, do you get paid by the post or the word.
Says the guy who supports stealing from kids with cancer. If you were honest you'd have told the Salvadorans they were slitting their own throats.
Doesn’t matter - private or public owned / putting nda in the category of attorney fees is incorrect and doesn’t belong as a write off
Maybe you should ask
These Salvadorians - why? I bet they have no clue except food, rent, gas
Susan - You may be right, but you aren't arguing that food, rent and gas are unimportant, are you?! Bj
I worked with a roofing crew from El Salvador for decades and not one was an entitled egomaniac. Literally more caring and capable than so called Americans. We have a generation that never wanted or worked for anything. Look in the mirror partner.
You got that right Ed. Americans are spoiled, self indulgent, narcissists.
They even whine about having to make a choice between paying for cell phone service or medicine.
okay so, that justifies a trump presidency?
a fascist?
Ed - what you describe is more typical of a small owner-run business, like my roofing company and not a larger public company. But, our system of things seems to favor large public companies. Bj
Troll!
Lying troll Paul
THIS IS AN AWESOME SITE. THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT!
Robert has hundreds of thousands
=========
I don't think so.
You can't think Undocumented. It requires active and functioning grey matter to process thought.
There is another solution - put them all against a wall and......
Sorry, getting carried away again.
Naughty Naughty ;-)
I wouldn’t put it past a certain ‘glorious leader’ to attempt do just that.
Yes, yes, Michael - the solution is communism or socialism, whatever you want to call total government control of the economy -- which as everyone knows has fed and clothed the masses on a grand scale -- think about the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the Gulags, etc.
There is socialism and then there’s democratic socialism. There are some successes. Cuba might be an economic powerhouse in 10 years while Brazil is going to move fast, not sure which way-- to BRICS (and all That entails) or to the western notion of the Americas and earth saving. What about Al Gore for President and Hillary Clinton for Vice President? Now there's the ticket...
Paul B What we do know is that Capitalism fails cyclically. It is time for it to go. But the population is brainwashed into holding it up as the best…repeated by almost all politicians. It will be extremely difficult but the time has come to take other ideas from communism, socialism, etc and use what works, discard what does not. Dictators always seem to come along & ruin any concept of social equality. Strict regulations help Capitalism but the Fascist-RescumliCons always move us back to wider inequality. Our politics must change as well,
Thanks for this Seeking/Reason! Yer right-- the cycle is up as we segue into a more logical planned economy. Climate change and biodiversity collapse demand it... one of my aliases back in the day and the title of my second book was Approaching Realization
Hey SeekingReason - And what would you say we know about communism? Or, would it be fair to say you think communism is a good system (at least on paper) that, although it has failed badly in the past, it just needs the right set of people to run it in the future, to be successful? Also, what makes you think there is no inequality under communism? In all historical systems of human governance, o any kind, there have always been elite classes. I doubt there's a system which has done a better job of providing goods and services to a population better than the U.S. system, for the past 150 years. Do you agree? If so, what exactly are you suggesting? I think the economy is too complex to be centrally run like a communist system would be. Maybe a mixed system like China has would be good, although I cannot say that I understand their present system. One thing I do know is that the CCP runs the country and it is not a democracy. President Xi is pretty close to being a dictator for life, from what I've read. That can't be what you want -- or is it? Best. Bj
Paul, What the hell are you rambling on about? Your response doesn’t make sense. Go back and read my comment. Where do I say anything about only communism=equality? I specifically wrote, take what works and discard what doesn’t.
Regarding the US as the best system of providing goods and services! Pure blindness on your part. We’re literally the only developed nation on the planet that doesn’t take care of medical needs for people. It IS the biggest reason for bankruptcy in the US-getting seriously ill & needing surgery or hospitalization. The level of greed build into the Capitalist system is shameful.
There isn’t one perfect system but the Scandinavian countries have been successful with forms of Socialism. In fact, our socialist programs are what built a strong middle class here.
The Fascist Republican Party constantly attempts to dismantle it.
Perhaps you enjoy Fascism with an authoritarian rule, or do you?
You idiot paul, you always go to extremes. You really are stupid.
Thank you, William. That’s a very helpful remark.Bj
Paul here is your profit motive for you. Profit driven farmers, and dairy farmers as a family farm are almost nonexistent, are large corporations and to cut costs and to dispose of fecal waste from their chicken farms, mix it in with cow feed, and that is how Avian Flu the H5N1 virus is passed o cows, and then to humans.
Not only is factoring farming of animals inhumane, the greedy bastards are feeding the animals you eat, shit, actual shit, caca, merde, scheiss, dung how great the profit motive is, enjoy your ice cream, cheese, milk.
William - I agree that factory farming is a problem and that it is unfortunate that family farms are disappearing. Our system of laws and regulation (especially inheritance taxes) seems to favor large corporate farming. I don't know the answer and I have not studied the matter. I get Dr. Gabe Mirkin's newsletter and today's post discussed the effects of additives in our foods that are put in to make them last longer on the shelf and not separate. Cancer rates are way up. My spouse and I eat a lot of yogurt. Now, I don't know what yogurt to eat. But, the profit motive is alive and well in all farming, not just corporate farms. Let's not forget factory farming for the raising of fish. It's a jungle out there, William. Stay well. Bj
I am glad that you liked it. Since you like the truth.
Paul B. there has never really been real communism on planet earth. it was coopted by dictatator stalin. there was a neophyte sort of attempt in early christianity before it was coopted by rome. see Acts of the Apostles.
Actually, a strong case can be made that the American plains Indians had the closest thing to a pure communist system that ever existed.
Rick - Pirate ship crews were a close second to the plains indians, I believe. Well, until they got caught and lynched by the British Royal Navy that is. Bj
Lynching? Really? like from the mainstays and what not?
That is perceptive and likely profound. Thanks Paul...
Paul Cesmat I hasten to add...
Paul, I agree that socialism is generally a hopeless way to organize an economy - history provides the key. But, you really should get out more, and I suggest you start by actually reading Wealth of Nations, the blueprint for a capitalist society. Adam Smith basically invented progressive taxation, in part to prevent the wealthy from becoming so wealthy that they would subvert the system and destroy the market, which Smith saw as central to the system. We actually already have socialism in America, but it's not the communism or socialism of which you so correctly have such scorn for, rather it's socialism for the wealthy. For what else is not paying your taxes than government welfare for the super-wealthy?
IMHO, you should have an equal amount of scorn for this form of socialism also.
Michael - What makes you think that I am totally comfortable with the present scheme of things in our business community? Just because I defended stock buy backs doesn't mean that I like everything else. The top federal income tax rate is 37%, I believe. That plus at least 7% for most states, 3.1% for medicare and about 7% for social security means the "rich" pay a hefty tax on their earned income. Then, there are the capital gains taxes, which are often levied on the results of inflation on the prices of investments - so, I don't want capital gains rates raised. I think income tax rates are high enough. And, I think the biggest problem we have is our businesses are getting too big, i.e., almost monopolies. The banks are getting bigger by gobbling up smaller banks. The family farm is fading, in part because of inheritance taxes. Taxes and regulations seem to be driving the consolidations. Bj
handouts? bs
Government social programs come to exist to cushion the fail areas of capitalism.
There there is socialism and then there's democratic socialism. I think we require a Dark Green autocratic President to get us through the climate change and biodiversity collapse. How about Al Gore for President and Hillary Clinton Vice President?
If you want "green", I think RFK, Jr. would do the trick and he's more reasonable than many of the Lefties out there. ! Don't know about the VP choice though. It's been pretty scary the last 3.5 years worrying that we may get a President Harris! We're almost through the risky times.
You are not talking Fred Harris, I guess...
Ha, ha, no, not Fred. BTW - what is the origin of your interesting name? Best. Bj
Zzzzzz
Michael ; Bernie is still in government ; but he is not running for President . What position in government would allow him to do anything about this?
Oh, POTUS of course. One of the mistakes Sanders continues to make is that he describes himself as a socialist, with his model economy that of Denmark. But Denmark is not socialist by any stretch of the imagination. There are billionaires in Denmark. The difference between Danish and American billionaires is that the Danes pay their taxes.
Michael Hutchinson ; What a step in the "unright"direction! A significant difference! At least the wealthy pay taxes
You live in opposite world.
We had our chance at putting a real progressive in the Oval Office by electing Sanders. What did we do? The DNC has to take credit for helping the socialist/communist screaming republicans discredit him. He had the young voters and the soon to be voting youth supporting him. The media call him “too old”. Look what we have going for the gold now. In the case of the pumpkin furor that is literally what the motivation is. “Socialist paradise for the rich”, is right square, spot on of what happened in America.
The majority of our representatives in Congress and in the Senate are millionaires. They serve their own purposes and they support the ultra rich who put them there. We can change this. We can turn out the vote in such numbers that the election results will be indisputable. This could very well be now or never in our lifetime. I’m speaking from the perspective of an old coot. I’m old but I ain’t dead yet. I’m working on it.
Are you?
Provided he has a Congress behind him.
@GrrlScientist, Reagan's place in US history is ugly, but more complicated than your summary. I'm not a fan of his, but I had a ringside seat on the Reagan presidency. My father was his Treasury undersecretary, and wrote the Reagan tax cut legislation of 1981, 20 years after he wrote the JFK tax cut of 1962. The supply side economists were true zealots and believers in their credo, just the way evangelical christians zealously believe they are right. No other deities or belief systems matter. At the same time that the Reagan administration was cutting taxes on corporations and attacking unions and regulations that protect people and environment, in the belief that "trickle down" economics would benefit the nation, self-seeking entities with zero interest in the public good were using the administration for their own ends, because they could. Think, for example, James Watt and the Sagebrush Rebellion. Think, for another example, of Oliver North and the Iran-Contra scam, circumventing Congress' explicit prohibition on funding the Contras. Remember that Reagan was going senile at this time. These were people who make assertions but brook not questioning. Their influence on one another was pernicious. Fundamentally, the tragedy of the commons did not register with them. They did not care. And why? Had they no families, no children? They did not care because they did not understand one damned thing about the limits of the planet, about ecosystems, about limits. Why? Because they were priests of the Chicago School of Economics and such considerations had not entered their bible.
There is a conflict between individual economic wishes and the planet. It has gotten worse, as we know. But you can't pin that on Reagan.
Martha, here is Reagan in a nutshell. He was a B grade actor, with no original thoughts, values or ideology. He didn't pick his staff, his cabinet or his advisors, he was in essence a marionette, someones sock puppet.
The president of a union, who became a union buster in office.
I read a book over 40 years ago, I thought it was Here's the Rest of Him, if bought it from Abe Books, and it is not the same book that I read.
In it Reagan was described as almost a lifeless lump of flesh sitting beihnd the Resolute Desk, no color in the face, sagging jowls, lifeless eyes, until one of his staff handed him a script and he came alive, color rushed to his face, his eyes brightened, his skin tightened and he sat bolt upright.
After decades of denial, the media finally admitted that he had Alzheimers towards the end, but the evidence is that he had early onset when he was governor of California.
The perfect tool, he had fame, a popular image, and when he spoke a soothing actors voice, hence charisma. The perfect tool to lead us into neo serfdom.
He was also a liar. This I remember vividly, He made a promise to his right wing devotees that he would not appoint any member of the Trilateral Commission or the Council on Foreign Relations to his cabinet, and the first thing he did was just that., and not a murmur of discontent, because he had the backing of Jerry Falwell and his moral majority.
There has always been two constituencies in politics and elections,for Republicans and it works for them.
The money powers, (plutocats, oligarchs, millionaires, whatever we call them) whose primary concern is control of the economy, their social power and wealth and
the man on the street, joe six pack, joe the plumber, Jane the housewife who votes based on religion, cultural issues and how they are told to feel about economic issues.
And it is our corporate media which tells them how to feel about anything.
William, totally agree. As for dementia, I have no knowledge of him as Governor, but don't find it surprising. I do know that he had Alzheimer's at the beginning of his first term. By his second term, James Baker sat behind the Resolute desk, while POTUS watched cartoons all day.
Reagan was a useful idiot for Lewis Powell and the Heritage Foundation.
as i've often said: ronald reagan was a grade B actor and a grade F president.
@William Farrar, I hate to tell you, he did pick his staff, and you can look that up. I hated the man, from the time he ordered the National Guard out on UC Berkeley students and the Guard killed one man and permanently blinded another; Reagan's reason on the question was that sometimes a live bullet got mixed in with dummies. I was present for that one too.
You hate to tell me.Really? The man did not have the connections, the knowledge the education to pick his staff. anymore than any President. It takes a god to have the knowledge to choose the experts needed to run the government.
@aWilliam Farrar, I am sorry to think that you believe this. If you want to learn something different, good. If you don't, I can't help you. The non-gods who have been governors and presidents outnumber the gods, and the same is true of their coteries. You might want to look at Reagan's coterie, how long he knew those men, when and how they met and worked together.
@Martha Ture. I am sorry to think that you are a right wing bot.
Martha: Yours is a curious perspective, especially as a possible insider. I have always thought that “supply side economics” was a ruse, or to put it another way, a deliberate fabrication (aka a lie) to justify to the masses immense and unending tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, at the expense of the middle class and income/asset fairness (i.e., the commons). I doubt Reagan understood this, as he was either too stupid or too senile (or both) to get it. But his advisors surely must have understood it was fabricated nonsense (aka propaganda). What mystifies me is that someone on the liberal side (e.g., Sanders, Warren, etc) hasn’t called them out on it. Or if they have, haven’t continued to scream same at the top of their lungs, over and over again. Of course, President Clinton and his stupid triangulation ideology didn’t help much either. Now I think the right has burrowed so far down the rabbit hole that this country will never see the light of day again. At least in my lifetime …
@CindyO, nope. It was no ruse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply-side_economics
Reagan personally hired the Treasury Secretary, Donald Regan, and the Undersecretary, Norman B. Ture. Dr. Ture had worked for Reagan when he was California governor, and gave him Proposition 20, which you can also look up. So now you can have the great joy of learning something new today. It wasn't a ruse. What's worse? They believed. Here's my old man talking about it. https://www.pbs.org/video/open-mind-fted-did-supply-side-tax-cuts-work/
Well, Martha since I was teaching in Calif. at the time I knew that Reagan was a favorite of the southern far right of Calif. many of us did not vote for him then or later . What do you think of that?
And those are painful facts. As a teacher in the Fresno school district I was amazed at the vote. However, I was young and had the world to see. I left teaching to see the world. That was a far greater education ! I flew as a Purser for Pan Am. 36 years of learning about other cultures, thought processes, goals of natives from other countries. Politics in Russia as they changed from Communism into ???? Iran as they dealt with other more powerful countries trying to control their own natural properties. Japan’s movement by young women to gain more control over their own lives. I could go on and on. Politics and power… always sat in First Class! When I ended that International career I became a tour director for ET( educational tour) guiding 8 th. graders on tours of their city Washington DC. As the years progressed and the cell phone came along , more and more young people fell into the non-education of serial junk. Many never looked up from their screens to see the Washington Monument. Some were sent home for sending naked pictures of one another from their hotel rooms….. if we don’t want another ( continuing ) take over by the puppets of the deep pockets we’d better educate our own on the dangers of stupidity. Control by lies and money induced power simply stated will forever end hope for this country.
@Jean(Muriel), if the question is whether Ronald Reagan was anything other than a Grade B actor and industry shill, we have to ask whether the people of the state of California were stoned, stupid, ignorant, or alert as Yorick's skull when they voted him into the Governor's office. Reagan ran against then-Governor Pat Brown. He got 57.5% of the vote, as opposed to Brown's 42.27%. Here's the data. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_California_gubernatorial_election.
"At first, Brown tried to smear Reagan's conservative supporters with "lame Nazi metaphors".[11] After Reagan deftly parried that tactic, Brown made a serious gaffe.[11] He ran a television commercial in which he used a rhetorical question to remind a group of elementary school children that John Wilkes Booth, another actor, had killed Abraham Lincoln.[11] Brown's crude comparison of Reagan to Booth based on their common background as actors—in the state that happens to be home to Hollywood—did not go over well with the California electorate.[11][12] Within 48 hours, Reagan had overtaken Brown in the polls.[11]
With a lead that grew throughout September and October, Reagan won by over 990,000 votes, aided by traditionally Democratic working-class areas in Los Angeles and elsewhere.[13] Brown won in only three counties, Alameda, Plumas, and San Francisco. He narrowly won Alameda by about 2,000 votes and Plumas by about 100 votes.[14][15]"
So. Reagan won every county but Alameda, Plumas, and San Francisco.
Whatever I can say about Reagan, and I can say a bit, as I hated him personally and philosophically, and I remain ashamed of my parent's enthusiastic participation in the destruction of the Rooseveltian compact, it's necessary to look at the facts. Most California voters thought he'd be a good governor relative to Pat Brown, whether they were foolish or not.
I will forever remember Reagan as the “piss on” president because his economic policies did just that, pissed on all us “pee-on”s.
Even Reagan and the repulsive Bush Jr, I believe both genuinely thought they were doing what was best for the USA- unlike Dump. And Reagan and Jr were both qualified to hold office, again totally unlike Dump.
Reagan was a simple dunce puppet for the far right money grubbers.
@Jean(Muriel), did you forget that the people of California elected him governor?
What do you think about that?
See my answer….
GrrlScientist ; The "I -Ronnie" is that he was not even fully present ; An actor with Alzheimer's who was used as a rubber stamp. Sound familiar?
All too familiar, Laurie. In addition, one of the major human skills is the ability to create euphemisms. Stock buybacks is just another phrase for grand theft robbery.
Yes, It is larceny from the human people, of resources that they paid, in good faith, for Education, Health, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Access to parks, recreation, clean air , pure water, housing, safety and justice. it is not a slush fund for the rich and their foreign friends. It is not Dictatorship, or slavery/tyranny! Traitors are the enemy!
I don't remember who wrote the biography of Reagan I read, but he was a sad little man-child. He was a lifeguard at a local pool in high school and often told a story about lives he'd saved.
He saved none, it was a lie.
Celebrity stoked his ego, not his actual skills.
And the Republican Party does love celebrities. It's alarming we're such a culture of "celebrities", with people actually making a career of social media influencer. What a sad waste of a life.
The Republican party is the party of the rich, they are not the party of principles.
They finance think tanks, PR experts, news handlers, people and organizations which will promote their agenda which is power. Power to get the money,. Money to keep the power.
They know that the public is largely non thinking, non involved, and lazy and are easily influenced by fame and celebrity status. People love to be famous, to have attention, you can see that when a camera is nearby and they want to get on TV, and rush home to see if they made it.
It is also evident by the use of celebrities to sell crappy goods from Insurance and Pharmaceuticals to toothpaste.
Blame the American psyche and mentality. Perception over substance, appearance over reality.
Pogo said, in a comic strip during the VN war. I have seen the enemy and it is us.
Humans are too easily swayed by emotions, and emotions are the target of propaganda.
Hitler, Mussolini, Trump.dictators malefactors, everywhere are experts at using our emotions.
Very well said,
And it used to be the Democrats.
Heather Cox Richardsons book "To Make Men Free" was a hard one to read.
Thom Hartman says to get inside the party that most aligns with your beliefs, and make the change happen.
It's worked a treat with the republicans and wealthy assholes. The Dems have their wealthy, and many are assholes, but most nowdays have a reasonable agenda. Trying to be inside the Dems this year with replacing Ken Buck in my district has been an eye opener. Dude running for the replacement nomination I'm pretty sure funded by rethugs. Apparently two can play that game.
Thanks Jen, but one exception. I don''t have beliefs, I have opinions and my opinions are arrived at, not acquired by consensus, popular opinion or from some authority.
Beliefs are integral to a persons self image, confront or conflict an opinion and you encounter resistance as one is in essence pulling a brick out of a retaining wall.
I have changed my opinions on many things over time. The deductive method, form a hypothesis, acquire information, test the hypothesis, if it fails then do more research get more info and test the hypothesis again, wash, rinse, repeat.
Good semantic point
This will not end unless we elect honest brokers to turn the tide.This requires a peaceful transformation of power. It's not possible without extraordinary leadership I am not seeing it at all.
I have no hope that will ever happen Joan. If people were perceptive, sentient and possessed critical thinking skills, there would never have been a scam artist, be it a snake oil salesmen or a Trump
Reagan was a puppet for the rich - just like Trump
He was the beginning of the US Oligarchy!
I'm with your opinion.
@GrrlScientist…Do you REALLY think ronnie raygun was that smart? IMHO, I don’t. He was a face in grade C movies. To be sure, he WAS evil. But he was a convenient puppet, whose strings were manipulated by big money interests/managers.
Dementia is NOT a “clif” disease; it’s a progressive illness. It’s possible that he had begun his slide into nutdom while governor of California. We have a lot to “thank” ronnie for here, as well.
Hey GrrlScientist…Do you REALLY think ronnie raygun was as smart as all that? I sure don’t. He was a face in grade B movies. To be sure, he was a real asshole, but he was a puppet whose strings were manipulated by the big money interests who managed him. Besides, dementia is not a “clif” disease…it’s a progressive illness. He might well have begun that slide while governor of California. We have a lot to “thank” him for here, as well.
Since Bunkerboy slowly waddled onto the scene, I immediately realized that our FIRST dementia-addled president, ronny, is the reason America started to faulter.
He achomplished some truly historic feats like starting to normalize relations with multiple nations that were our enemies, but his economic terrorism overshadows those by far! [sic]
Hey there GirlScientist - Please read what I just posted, to the effect that stock buy backs are entirely logical and not unfair to anyone. As far as the destruction of natural spaces around the globe - you do have a point, but the solution is to regulate economic activity, not the banning of buybacks. Thanks. Bj
Troll!
Thank you, Laurie, for sharing your insights on the subject at hand. You always add a lot to the conversation. Bj
Your facetiousness increases your insincerity. Have a good day.
Laurie - Why the attitude? Can't you take hearing a different opinion? If you think I'm wrong, you are free to argue the other side. If you don't want to engage, just move on to the next post which may be by someone who shares your view. Best. Bj
Not allowing stock buybacks is regulation of economic activity.
Sure it is. So is government ownership of all means of production. What is your point?
Government ownership of all means of production? Since when?
Also, my central point, probably unstated, is that we as a collective need to return to honest management of companies--when they start to flounder they resort to stock buybacks--that's mismanagement and they should go down--as simple as that. Remember, "It's A Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart? That's the character honesty we need to sustain this country as a democracy.
I agree about the necessity for honesty, but so long as we have human beings (with human nature) running things, there will always be problems of dishonesty, inefficiency and downright incompetence. The profit motive in a competitive environment (along with reasonable regulation) is probably about as good as it will get. If you want to read a good story about corruption of government in forming a cabal with Big Pharma, read RFK Jr.'s book: "The Real Anthony Fauci" -- what an eye opener.
Paul is a salesman.
Paul, I've heard about his book that's been slammed by most media commentators. I read Jeffrey Sachs "Common Wealth" book years ago. And recently dabbled in innovative ideas regarding global governance in harms way. Here's my conclusions:
I've learned we must not focus as much on 'competition' to save us but more on cooperation and collaboration. Our Earth's resources are finite so eventually, beyond peoples near-term resistance, we will need to share land, water, etc. in order to stay alive as humans, along with other sentient beings. So that's my analysis--at least as we all sit on our planet today. Have a great week!
Strawman Paul. No one advocates government ownership of the means of production, never happened in America and never will.
If you are using the USSR as an example, don't. The USSR was a combine of seven trusts organized along resource lines, from Human and Transportation to agriculture and mining.
The problem with the Soviet Union was that they were on a Marxist 100% gold standard. A ruble was defined as .9871 grams fine gold, however the Russian could not demand gold, but a foreigner could through their NordBank in Paris.
The result was a perpetual shortage of rubles, and that is the definition of a depression. Perpetual depression was the result, fortunately there was the "cold war", the foreign threat, which was just to justify expending all resources on munitioons, heavy industry and weapons of war.
Oh and the trust for human resources was the KGB, it bartered and sold human resources to the other trusts,like mining, transportation, forestry and agriculture.
Each trust had their won bank, and the GosBank was the central coordinating bank. These trusts created debts with other trusts, and the debts were paid, first by barter, and if not by barter then by gold and in the USSR, because they had no Federal Reserve type system, the trust banks needed gold, The USSR was obsessed with obtaining gold, at any and all costs.
William - If enough of the attributes of ownership are dictated by the government, isn't that about the same as "government ownership"? I think so. Public utilities are a good example, because they are heavily regulated including their rates and how they generate the power. Moreover, if the government tells my company how to make its product and what I can charge for it, why isn't that the same as government ownership? Most lately, look at the car companies which, in effect, are being forced to manufacture electric vehicles and the prices for the vehicles are subsidized with tax credits. Best. Bj
Stock buy backs are economically and socially destructive Paul.
Corporations are managed by a Board of Directors, who hires the executives.
When stock is distributed among the many, then the many have representatives on the BoD, when stock is held by the few, or even a family, then the family or the few govern the corporation.
Corporations have one charter and one charter only and per Dodge v Ford, to make a profit for the owner(s).
To make a profit, a corporation must reduce costs and increase revenues, not matter what it takes, and to dilute the dividend pool of investors. The fewer the better, like News Corp. Which is majority owned by the Murdoch family., I know you are a Fox fan, but they aren't the only family that owns a corporation, there is the Ochs Sulzberg family which owns the NYT and if you do a deep dive into all major corporations you will see that in most cases it is a handful of people, who have zero interest in your well being Paul, that own these corporations and profit at your expense.
Think not, well book all of your flights on Boeing airplanes. The founder said that he would rather shutter the hangar doors, than produce one unsafe airplane, the current crop of CEO's are profit driven, at the expense of the lives of the people who fly on their planes. Even Boeing workers won't fly on a Boeing plane.
The food giants poison the consumer, sell adulterated foods that cause cancer and endocrine diseases. The Petro chemical cabal is destroying the very planet, or at least the life on the planet that it needs to sustain itself, and to provide the owners and CEO's with yachts, mansions and private jets. Insurance companies and pharmaceuticals kill people in pursuit of profit.
Union carbide killed thousands in Bhopal India, because it didn't spend the money on maintenance and a leak of fume killed thousands. BP, cut corners, for the same reason and we wound up with the Deep Horizon spill.
Your grandchildren, maybe your children, are going to have to deal with the end of the anthropocene as glabal warming heats the planet, causes the antarctic ice to melt, seas rise and humans have to survive heat domes, increasing and increasingly violent tornadoes, hurricanes and arctic blizzards not only in Yankee land, but increasingly in the old confederacy.
As money, thanks to stock buy backs, is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the few, so is power, and conservatives like you wind up being the victims with liberals like me.
And here is the interesting part Paul, you aren't getting paid to defend the system and the people that are using you to protect and promote their dictatorial power, or maybe you are.
William - No, I'm not getting paid. In fact, I do not invest in corporate securities directly or indirectly, as they are too risky. However, I do have a masters in corporate finance and I have studied stock buy backs, which forms the basis of what I think about them. If I owned any stock, I would want it in a private corporation where I didn't have to comply with SEC rules, which are ridiculously detailed. I know b/c I used to work at the SEC. Best. Bj
And my Masters is in finance and accounting as well. The difference then between you and I is that I realized and detoxed from the lies and propaganda of the Milton Friedman, and Koch Brothers, Foundation for Economic Education bullshit.
Of course you want de regulated companies, all of the filthy fucking grifters and thieves do, but there is a problem here dude, those hated regulations were enacted to save the hides of little investors like you.l
William - In the context of stock buy backs, I do not understand what you are talking about regarding lies and propaganda you were taught that you detoxed from. What, exactly? Did you work as a regulator for many years in the federal government as I did? I know what the regulations were enacted and many of them are necessary, mainly as a basis to prosecute someone after the fact. Net capital, segregation, inside information, trading ahead, etc. - all good stuff. I gave my reasoning on how stock buy backs are supposed to work. When a company is making investment decisions, a stock buy back is just one option to be considered, with a goal of maintaining or even improving the returns to shareholders. So, please tell me what I said that was wrong. Thanks. Bj
BJ (initials also mean Blow Job, BTW). Frankly I don't believe you about anything. Just another Walter Mitty, claiming credentials to spread your disease.
Wow! Lately, every time I hear about Reagan, it reminds me of what a terrible president he was, what a destructive guy when it came to our economy. It is interesting just how simple it would be to fix one of the really big inequity problems with our economy, stop stock buybacks. Congress could do that, but alas, there are so many super rich guys who just must have their stock buybacks to feed their insatiable money and power habit that the reps and senators who have been purchased by those corporations couldn't possibly do the right thing and vote to stop the insanity of stock buybacks. Reagan whined about "welfare queens" when he was helping to create stock buyback kings who, unlike the welfare queens, exist in significant numbers and will not stop unless stopped. So, we need serious pressure to stop them. If their corporations are so worried about stock prices that fluctuate so they have to pay more than R&D for stock buybacks, they probably shouldn't be in business or should have better management.
And I would add Lobbying and Lobbyists to the greed of those in congress
Ruth and Andrea: I agree with both of your comments. Lobbying and stock buybacks should be made illegal but as long as money runs the game, it's not going to happen. I'd have to differ from the old cliché that 'money is the root of all evil'. For me money is like house paint; it looks glorious on the surface but covers a multitude of ugliness underneath.
Andrea, I would really like to see paid lobbying limited. Corporations should be able to only have a certain small number of lobbyists active on Capitol Hill, say no more than 5 per corporation and say, 100 per entire industry. That is too many, but far less than are active now. Private citizens and non-profits can have or be lobbyists, but there should be limits on that too and the folks who finance that lobbying needs to be identified. In addition, corporate lobbying should not be tax-exempt. I don't know if it is now or not, but if it is, it should not be. Then, there should be a 5-year break between people leaving Congress and returning to Capitol Hill as lobbyists. I don't know if this would help, but it's something to be tossed into the mix of ideas.
There should also be a longer waiting period for congressmen (or any government official) becoming CEOs
Patricia, yes, keep former legislators from being heads of corporations in particular that have business with our government, the military, or anything that their knowledge could give an advantage. Five years for that would be a good time frame too.
They're the one who hold stocks, and the buybacks goose the price. Don't expect anything.
Has anyone noticed that the stock of public companies may be purchased by anyone, including the unions -- and, therefore, if a company is "making out like a bandit" by buying back its own stock, anyone else may also have joined the party at any time? Complaining about stock buybacks being "unfair" is like me complaining about someone else making a killing on having owned Tesla (or Microsoft many years ago), when I could have also bought the same stock, but did not. It's a stupid argument is my point.
The stock buyback causes the reported "earnings per share" of the stock (the primary indicator of the profitability of a company) to increase , even if the company's actual profit has remained the same or even decreased. IMHO, this is fraud!. Also, some companies go deeper into debt to buyback their shares. This can damage the financial stability of the company. All of this is to allow the CEO and his management buddies to "look good" to Wall Street and collect their bonuses!
Tim - Well, maybe it will and maybe it won't increase earnings per share and I agree with you that laying out the cash or borrowing could undermine the company's financial stability. Buying back stock means the company will have less working capital to run the business -- so, there are many possible side effects, such as an inability to meet customer needs. And, if the company borrows money to replace the lost capital, it will have interest expense -- so, earnings per share may not be maintained and may even decrease. But, the possibilities of these side effects does not mean the government should prohibit them -- it means the company needs to have competent management that knows what it is doing. That's my view, anyway -- which is that I think the government should be running as few things as possible b/c the government knows less about business than the people in the company. Look at Boeing -- do we really think the government knows more about airplanes than the employees of Boeing? The FAA does not know more about planes than Boeing does and I don't trust the government when they suggest they do. In any industry, diversity and competition, while punishing those companies who break (reasonable) laws. is the best answer, in my view.
If the "competent management" were angels, no government intervention would be needed. But they are not! Many are driven by the "shareholder is king" idea and their own greed, and to hell with anything else. You do make some excellent points about stock buybacks, and I agree that our government sometimes does not know what it is doing. For example, Donald J. Trump as President!
I wasn't talking about the competency of the president -- I was talking about the competency of our regulatory agencies. But, if you want to talk about the president -- at least Donald Trump ran a private business for many years, as opposed to President Biden who never ran any private enterprise. Look at the foreign policy mess we are now in, thanks to President Biden and his team. Sad.
His businesses - all of them - are all LOSERS - he even filed bankruptcy on a casino - barf 🤮… he has no business sense
Paul, OMG! You certainly do despise "The Government." Boeing hasn't done all that well lately when The Government has not been watching them too closely, depending on their own people alone to catch the many problems. Stock buybacks seem to me to be a cheat, and it does not seem to matter to those in charge of the corporation because at least in the short run, the stocks go up and it can make the company look solvent, of sufficient quality that folks are still paying strong prices for the stocks. The customers are next to irrelevant because the big guys will always have an excuse for whatever customers experience and dismiss it until they can't anymore and the guys who ran the buybacks are already gone with their golden parachutes.
Ruth - I do not "hate" government -- I am realistic about its capabilities, which are limited. I worked as a financial regulator for about 40 years (SEC, CFTC, OTS and FHFA) and I was always impressed with the knowledge of the companies we regulated and depressed about the capabilities of my colleagues. The financial companies could run rings around us in the knowledge department. Stock prices are driven by the prospects for future profits and have little to do with past profits. I think you have a point regarding corporate executives leaving before things go south, after collecting their bonuses. But, there are ways to limit the early outs, such as with deferred compensation agreements and delayed stock sales and options exercise. Bj
I consider stock buybacks malfeasance. It goes along with cooking the books. Many companies, where you own stock are well seasoned crooks from my experience.
Sure, you're right -- there are many crooks out there in all walks of life. There are laws against all forms of malfeasance -- the issue before us is whether stock buybacks should be illegal. Apparently, Prof. Reich thinks they should be illegal. I tried to explain how things work and that they should remain legal. What do you think and why? Thanks.
I think corporations need to upgrade their compliance, in most regards, and not rely upon stock buybacks when their revenue or recent earnings reports look shabby. I know expert crooks, like those at Enron, who are raking up millions on Wall Street. I don't think it's fair to their stakeholders nor does it serve the commons. What it does is create incoherence that leads to the instability of the entity and fosters grievances from several sources except for those at the top of the rung. It's not an enjoyable work environment at most publicly traded corporations today. And life is too short for that kind of daily grind.
I think we agree on the problem - greed and dishonesty - but the solution is something we need to talk about, as there are two ways to go: 1 - more government regulation and internal compliance structures; or 2 - smaller companies and increased competition. I prefer the latter -- based upon my 40 years as a federal financial regulator at SEC, CFTC, FHFA, OTS.
And NO off-shoring. Likely, we need multiple approaches, including the two you have voiced. Paul, humans have PROVEN they are notoriously greedy and self centered. Oversight & regulations with teeth are required. Carrots & Sticks, BIG sticks!
Good thoughts--see my other thread reply to you too.
Paul, yep, the way you describe it, it seems to make sense, but let's see, stocks cost, sometimes a lot and who is it has the money to buy them, the guys who are raking in the bucks, not the average person, you, possibly excepted. When profits are too large, stock buybacks are a lure and the big guys go for it. And, they have the inside scoop on when the funds are available for use in that buyback. Who else could do that?
Ruth - You're right that a lot of people do not have the money to buy stocks, but certainly their pension funds do. A lot of companies no longer have individual stockholders but, instead, have institutional investors, i.e., pension funds as their stockholders. Stock prices are more driven by the prospects or outlook for future profits, not past profits. Moreover, if future prospects are bleak, stock prices will plunge, no matter what last year's profits were. My view is that the large amount of current buy back activity is because corporations are not optimistic for the future and, therefore, have decided to not invest their retained earnings (profits) back into the company. That's the way the buy backs would be explained by my corporate finance professors back in the day when I was in college. Bj
Except you don’t own Tesla or Microsoft - there is a difference
Susan - You're right, unfortunately. But, I don't understand your comment. Bj
First of all you as an individual have to already have money to buy stocks; that is, not everyone can afford to buy shares. Second, I will complain about Tesla or Apple or Google making "a killing". They don't give back to the society that made their enormous wealth possible and then they seek to monopolize their companies to the detrimant of our society. And stock buy backs are one way they do it. It is stock price manipulation!
I'm wondering if corporations are not going to reinvest their earnings to grow, they just pay dividends instead.
Many older established companies have a policy to pay roughly half of their profits to stockholders as dividends. I have no problem with this. However, the remaining profit is supposed to be reinvested in the company's future, not in stock buybacks!
Agreed, buybacks are bad. Yet you understate the damage. When corporations don't have shareholders they are not visibly and publicly responsible for their actions. You don't know who runs them, who to complain too. Very few privately held companies have visible CEOs. Koch Industries is one, and they are one of the most corrupt and politically active, on the far right, companies in the US. Even more damaging is Cargill, owned by the MacMillan family (not the Cargill's), responsible for huge swaths of tropical deforestation, overuse of fertilizer, child labor violations, and the stripping of topsoil through their massive control of the agricultural sector. Could Apple become even less transparent with buybacks, doing even more damage than they do now? Their model of planned obsolescence dominates the electronics sector - a deliberate move on their part. Corporations already have a lack of compassion or environmental justice in their business model. What will they do when there is no outside force to at least mildly moderate their actions to internalize profits and externalize costs? Yes, stock buybacks should be illegal, and ethics imposed by regulation, otherwise the corporation eats everything, possibly including itself.
Stock buybacks are popular with investors for income tax reasons. Dividends are taxed in the year received, but the benefit of the stock buyback on the stock price is not taxed until the stock is sold. If the stock is never sold, no income tax is ever paid! A ripoff that should be repealed!
An additional but important detail: when appreciated stock is inherited, there is a so-called “step up in basis”, which means that if the heir sells the stock they only pay capital gains on the appreciation since they inherited the stock. This means that tax on the capital gains from the buyback is never paid, even when the heir sells the stock.
Stock buybacks are "Killing the Host", the name of a book by the economist, Michael Hudson.
Thanks. I have not read that book, but it is nice to know that my thinking is correct.
You are spot on about private companies damage as well!
Need a democratic majority in both houses to pass that law. The republicans would never go for that. That’s where a huge amount of their campaign money comes from.
Jack, that is why it is so important to vote blue all the way down the ticket this November!! If we could get a majority in the House and Senate and put President Biden back for another term, we could tackle these problems. I am constantly reminded "Rome wasn't built in a day" and our problems are going to take time to correct so we need another strong Democrat waiting by after President Biden serves his term. The main problem is that people now-a-days want everything better tomorrow and don't have patience to hang in until things improve!
I’m voting blue all the way down the ticket Peggy. It’s the only way we can turn things around.
Nice idea but the duopoly doesn't care about the commons anymore: it's all about personal greed and power.
Agreed!!
We cannot sustain our democracy with incremental legislation when the Earth is burning.
Younger people are whiners and impatient and not TOUGH enough to ride out some rough times to get things straight
Welcome to the Republican world of deregulation. A free market to them means the market can do whatever it wants. By now it is old established policy to step on the little guy, give massive government subsidies to the most financially successful citizens and cut anything that resembles a social safety net. Of course, when you realize that speech is money it only makes sense that the little guy has no voice.
What you write is horribly true! Americans need to come out of their slumber and get active against our corrupted systems. Part of the problem is resistance to progressive thinking as well as a bought main stream news media and even indies that fall prey to dollars.
Well said, Mike.
If something is being called legally right, it doesn't imply it's morally right.
Stack buybacks are nothing but insider trading! Members of Congress are caught doing the same thing! Think about how many do not get caught.
Yes - insider trading. Exactly what I was thinking.
I think the comment the road to good intent is paved with evil is appropriate here! Someone somewhere must of thought this was a virtuous policy only to have it become another way for corporate greed
Andrea Miles ; "The road to hell was paved with good intentions" is how I remember that quote.
I don't think they ever had good intentions
I knew I would get it wrong thanks for correcting me🤣
Andrea: I doubt that the corporate greedheads care much about the Common Good. though.
On the contrary, I think they knew exactly what it would do and they wanted it to work exactly the way it does. They've been very successful, don't you think?
Hopefully Biden will repeal Reagan's 1982 measure, if he is re-elected. Hopefully he will decline to promise the ultra-wealthy _not_ to do it, so that he will not be beholden in that way.
Right. First register new Democrats. Then GOTV.
TY for the link. I see Missouri is in the dark. We double the necessary signatures to put a reproductive rights constitutional amendment on tge August 6 ballot. In 8 out 8 districts, only needed 6. So now the works are trying to fast track 2 motions through the legislature. 1. Outlawing citizen Initiatives for constitutional amendments and/or 2. Initiatives cannot be passed by statewide majority at the ballot box. It has to have a majority in 2/3 of the counties. What....? How is this not anarchy.
Aren't these governments supposed to be working for the people?? How could they outlaw citizen initiatives for constitutional amendments?! Or disregard the statewide majority??!?
I know why they would want to do that - for pure power; but it's sickening! The majority of people worked their tails off on something that was important to them - those kinds of initiatives are far more significant to me because they are about what the PEOPLE want....not some bs bank account or whatever. It just blows my mind that they would be able to pass things like those. Not being able to have their voices heard and make a difference is probably one of the reasons why people don't vote.
Reminder. He can't repeal a law. Only Congress can to that OR the SCOYUS can declare it unconstitutional. And we know how likely that is.
Thanks for the reminder. I hope then, that the Democrats will win both Houses handsomely as well as the Presidency!
Miriam : At least not with the 'corrupted 6' on the bench.
Miland Joshi ; If only! That would be Great!
I view buybacks as very similar to major corporate layoffs. Other than lining the pockets of the greedy, they are a sign of management bereft of ideas. Tragic to eliminate a trained work force instead of using it for new opportunities. Just like squandering all that capital.
Vulture Capitalism nearing its Zenith! "You know them by their "fruits:"!
And, of course, as Robert predicted, this insane movement in promoting inequality has caused enormous cynicism among average citizens. And anger ... mostly against Democrats. The success of the scam has been breathtaking. And they're not satisfied. Not, I'm convinced, because they still want more.
I think the money is secondary. They want to so crush everyone from the middle class on down the damage can never be undone and economic justice never restored. This means Trump and impunity. This means locking us into an un-American, Kochist, libertarian dystopian nightmare. They will rule in hell ...
It's not the money anymore. It's the power. To force your whims and personal preferences on others...because you can. I can't imagine a Koch or Musk exclaiming in frustration, " Darn it! I don't get it! Why don't those people.....just appreciate all I do for them, stop whining about stupid guns, work harder, stop getting pregnant shut up and pass the Kool aide?"
James Flanagan ; True! But all they will have for an 'engine' will be to beat a dead horse! the "way back machine" will take them that far back! 1600's ; 1500's ; who knows? throw in some Nukes ; may be the Stone age?
Yup, it's getting that bad Laurie. It seems the masses are too agitated and exhausted at the same to to overcome the madness.
Joan ; 'our' Courts are owned, too, by our enemies! the Billionaires should not exist! not without TAXATION; And I don't mean two percent!
Joan ; Their tactic is to Blitzkrieg US with Abortion Bans, and threats to remove any more rights to anger us, like banning IVF or contraception, ban books, Ban peaceful Protests (so much for HIPPA rules in medicine, or free speech (unless you are MAGA ; even if violent!).Make college out of reach for many, allow Wall street to buy single family homes, then jack up the rent to force US to be houseless to the edge of poverty. Now they want to put sheriffs in charge of monitoring pregnancy! Are we livestock?!? Make travel for pregnant women against the law??! Will they have checkpoints where pregnancy tests are required before passage is granted? And what about the voting laws? Guess what This is looking like? The American Taliban is real!
Seeing as corporations are criminal entities, they should should just be destroyed. We need regulations to protect us from corporations as consumers, because they will try to rip us off, destroy our environment, or sell us dangerous products. We also need regulations to protect us from corporations as employees. OSHA is a thing for a damn good reason. They are predatory entities run by psychopaths. You cannot successfully regulate psychopaths for any given time. They've proved this repeatedly. We cannot stop them from destroyed us by playing their game.
*Destroying.
Oh yes ; drudgery with no reward! Slavery for the masses!
Yep. Jobs are slavery with additional steps.
Jasmine ; The slaves had "housing' included. In this market, that could end up being an upgrade! But ! Workers are not being legally beaten and lynched ,They ARE paid, and they are free to go look for another job. Some "non compete" laws are being repealed!
(This comment is not to make a joke of, or to disrespect those affected by slavery of their ancestors or elders!.)
It's STILL SLAVERY. Unless you're independently wealthy, you're OWNED by your boss and the RULING CLASS 🤦♀️
Ban the Billionaires!!!
Jasmine ; They could block even a wealthy woman from getting medical care ; or punish them and their doctor if she gets the "illegal" care! Of course, we will learn that the rich will not be interfered with, no doubt.
That's what concerns me the most about them, they don't see that they will be made to suffer too. They think their wealth will protect them. I'm not so sure. Women in the US have only had the ability to have a credit card for 50 years. I think it was 1978 when we got that basic right to control our finances.
Jasmine Wolfe ; You are describing the facts. If they can keep a woman from controlling what happens to her pregnancy, that is being a prisoner in the most definite way. They refuse to allow doctors to treat even a woman who needs care for her fetus, to Prevent loss of the baby's life, which can harm or threaten the mother's life. Even those who are not wanting an abortion ; just medical care to live. they don't care if they die! They want to control the means of production of "their" "Human Resources"! They hate women, and working humans. They treat US like cattle! they do not want US educated! They are our mortal enemies!
Especially now in the states that have the extreme abortion bans, where they plan to have sheriffs "monitor" womens and girl's pregnancies, (The ultimate rape!) and even ban travel ; lest they have plans to go to a state where they can receive medical care. Even a woman who wants her baby and needs medical care to save it's and her own life, are being prevented to get care they need! this is only ONE of the distractions the billionaires are throwing at US to demoralize US and make US targets, with help from their privately owned and operated "judges"! There WILL be Hell to pay for this !!!
Yep, it's getting bad in Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida. Yes they absolutely do hate us. They want to do away with no fault divorce too, effectively trapping many women😢
We've let ourselves become a nation of legal crooks...😪😠
Incrementalism "strikes deep ; into our lives it will creep". Like paranoia ; "it starts when you're always afraid ; Step out of line ; they'll come to take you away.. Better Stop !. Hey! what's that sound? Everybody look what's going 'round '...
Wonderful post! I worked on Marianne Williamson's campaign: She wants to turn things around and just gets blacklisted by MSM and the DNC. Our democracy is sadly falling very fast.
Concerning to the point of scary!
I've always said that Regan was the beginning of the downfall of this country. I was in high school at the time and even at that young age I could see it. I remembered a few in my high school had to graduate early so they could take advantage of some sort of grant that Reagan was destroying but don't have a fully memory of the details. Since then I have watched how all the institutions that we hold dear, like defined benefit plans, unions, affordable college, all fall by the wayside. Even the retirement age has been bumped up. As a member of GenX I knew we'd be getting the shaft. Now look at things...There is a lot of criticism of the Millenials and I think it really isn't fair. They are really getting the shaft. College is out of reach for many. crushed by debt, unable to buy a first house. Rents are largely unaffordable. Corporations are buying up housing at alarming rates. The American Dream is also largely dead. That on top of an election that could turn the country to fascism is really freaking depressing. No wonder so many people report sleep disturbances!
These laws were voted on by the candidates that we've elected. They've voted to allow these things to line their own pockets with cash and the CEO's. We need to roll these laws back and get back to what made this country great...proper anti-trust laws, and putting financial regulations in place. These things were for the good of all. Not just a few.
I bet that grant had something to do with Star Wars
Excellent analysis. Thanks
This news is of no surprise to many. We started it with neoliberalism, and lo and behold, here we are in a crisis of inequality of mega proportion. Not to worry, though, as we keep capitalism in its current form alive, consuming everything in its path, including by the way the environment, until it reaches its natural end at the end of the Anthropocene, which seems is not going to be that far away with silly fuel to the fire like stock buybacks.
Bill Clinton had a big part to play in share repurchases accelerating.
https://newrepublic.com/article/136516/bill-clinton-created-terrible-corporate-loophole-will-hillary-close-it