Well stated..............may I add my disgust for the way media understates the strong economic rebound we are experiencing overall as a nation........it appears networks are so busy to air their reports that the time it takes to be accurate is diminished........getting the story on air, ahead of others, it of utmost importance.....................
Everything great Biden is doing gets buried & all the negative rumors about Biden, presumably false, gets all the attention, along with his mendacious, corrupt, traitorous opponent whose crimes & treachery don't get nearly the press that his lies & false accusations do.
Heck I look for Bidens speeches and the algorythm on youtube makes it hard for me to find the unadulterated non 2 min soundbite versions. Maximum engagement is prefferred over maximum information.
Thanks will do. I usually only find out about a speech he gave when Medias touch references it then I go and find the full version. My subscription "box" spams me with so much that I hardly see that a speech happened recently. I saw the McCain memorial service, Milley retirement, and I think one other thag were recent and they were all good speeches. It puts to bed the whole too old propaganda that we get 24/7. Too fascist? No one ever says that about the alternative.
Bill, I suspect the reason Biden's speeches are so often neglected by media is that they don't play with their premise that Biden is too old, but somehow Trump is not. I'm sorry, but 3 years difference when one is in the 70s is irrelevant.
Biden is pretty boring for most compared to the clown entertainment constantly spewing stuff like, as George Bush assessed tfg's inaurural speech, "that was some pretty weird s#it".
Thank you Ruth. I am so sick of ageism. Corporations have push this all along starting with people in their 50’s. Age is a number and number only. Look around, we have a lot of those same numbers in the both houses. Don’t hear any of those saying too old to perform their duties to the office they were elected.
Bill Reitz, yes, I agree his great speeches defy the ageist propaganda. And then we have the looney tune former guy who speaks the most horrific things and barely a cricket chirps.
Trump's speeches are more like a comedy routine. Dark comedy. He would've been better off, & so would this country, if he had just stuck to entertainment. Or taken over for Limbaugh after the latter died. They're both good at insulting & gaslighting..
M Tree, those are good suggestions, but it should be easier to get what the president is saying than what the criminal Trump is pumping out. When Trump was in office, he was smeared over the news every single day, usually the top item even though he had nothing of value to contribute to anyone. How do we stop this insanity?
Ruth Sheets, yes indeed, that is the burning question for all of us who want democracy, fairness, and the glory of peace. My first gut response is together ---- that's how we stop the insanity. We come together, in spite of our differences of opinion or perhaps even our distaste for one another, and we become a unified, passionate force for what is right. I think of the coal miners, black and white folks, coming together in the early decades of the last century to stand up to the company owners/investors to seek basic safety and workers' rights. We are always stronger together and that is something I can be a part of and something that gives me hope.
Ruth Sheets, P..S. we are actually doing something already. In the last eight years, we the people have been seeking out and supporting alternate, reliable sources of information. This has to have had an impact on their bottom line. The more people that wake up, to their business model which is not supportive of truth and Democracy, the more they will be financially impacted. In the meantime, WE shout the truth from the rooftops.
Ruth, is there any way other than voting with our feet? Refusing to watch or buy media that aids & abets anti-democratic factions (and let them know about it). One advertiser at a time. It may not be possible, but I can't think of anything else.
Bill Reitz ; There may be a "method to their madness". Consider the source. Much of main stream media seems in lockstep to slant the message against Democracy, and towards in the interests of the wealthy. They want another 'leader'.
It is possible the social media companies are trying to push an anti democracy agenda. Certainly the truth socials, twittex are doing so. What I see is googles "Don't be evil" should actually read "Make as much money as possible". Making a profit dominates so much of what drives social media that non profitable things like covering one of Bidens from the heart speeches doesnt make as much money as one of Trumps fascist lie fests. *balancing scale*
That is what is driving this "disinformation bubble" if you will. Money. There is more money in adversarial reportage than there is in just plain old telling the GD truth and educating the viewing/listening public.
Our time is limited in this world. All these lies do is waste our precious time. Leave us stuck trying to fix fake problems. I remember a time when people telling lies like this were just kooks. Now the media elevates them because as you said money. Well only way to hit the media is to kick them in the wallet.
Bill, it helps me to remember that the social media corporations were started by privileged white boys who hadn't had time or opportunity to develop a strong working moral compass. They got rich young or were already rich and had the freedom to manipulate their platforms to pump out whatever they thought would catch eyes and in particular, lure advertisers. There are aspects of big tech, including social media that are beneficial, but once the money factor becomes the major purpose, the social value decreases and the platforms become gathering places for folks, some for positive purposes and goals, others, many others to share grudges, whine about how badly they are being treated, share ideas about white people not being able to run everything anymore or THOSE people "replacing us." Any serious attempts to tone down the negative rhetoric is long gone. It seems to me there needs to be "truth in advertising" when it comes to politics too. I am not sure how that could be enforced, but I am sure some great and not so great minds could figure it out together.
"But once the money factor becomes the major purpose, the social value decreases."
Precisely! They use their technological prowess/products to worm their way into daily life, as though indispensable, then turn to motives based purely on profit once "the hook is in."
I really like the idea Ruth of a Bureau of Voter Protection. Going after all the bold face lies, all of them, reveal them and sue the defaming parties when necessary. On Social Media its main malfunction is Narcissistic supply. All the false misrepresentations of Narcissists as "influencers" and enablers lends itself to the same gaslighting done by autocrats and Fascists. The silicon valley social media white boys to a tee were born to privledge, either enabling hate speech (Zukerberg, Facebook) or speaking it (Musk, TwitteX). Do they try to divide us? Some yes (Musk) others if division brings in the most proft than division it is.
Bill Reitz : I don't believe it is even about balance. Look how unbalanced the reporting of Biden's doings are relative to tfg and his sycophants ! The media is wealthy, because they make so much$$$ and have great wealth. they want the guy who will give trillions to them and not increase taxes.. on them; in other words: rob US blind!
So short sited these billionaires. In the pursuit of ultimate power they will give it up to an autocrat who will only suffer them to exist at his pleasure. That narcissistic bent of these folks allows themselves to think they are invulnerable. You can see that same "invulnerable" thought process in Kevin McCarthy. And he only lasted 8 months? Pptht in a dictorship Elon Musk would be lucky to exist that long.
My understanding is Biden's direct speechifying has been greatly reduced on purpose to accommodate his performance acumen. Is this the straight skinny? This has given me an impression - or at least a puzzlement/question - that Biden's handlers are the executive as much as he is. Contradictions in policy abound. The border wall ridiculousness. Oil and gas leases up. DeJoy trashing the Post Office without censure from the Executive. I sure second your appeal for "maximum engagement."
Selina Sweet ; Right wing talking points. There is nothing keeping President Biden from giving speeches, He does not need 'handlers'; no more than any other President with so many 'irons in the fire' and presently, hateful MAGA enemies. Ageism sucks.
Biden has no choice. The monies for the border wall were appropriated in 2019 and must be spent. https://www.factcheck.org/2023/10/bidens-border-wall-explained/ As far as leasing goes, it's complicated. The Alaska Willow project was legally binding. Other drilling allowed secured Manchin's vote on the IRA and there were political compromises made to get IRA passed, which will far outweigh the damage from more oil leases.
I am unable to find a good news article that explains why DeJoy can't be removed. The news media has this bad habit of playing up some upcoming event, in this case a change to the membership of the Postal Reg Commission with the possibility of removing DeJoy, and then not following through to tell readers the aftermath. I have found this pattern over and over.
You are right about some of these inconsistencies in which he goes 1 way on an issue, then later goes the opposite way. In some cases, it's apparently because he gets pushback from a judge or other government official & says he has to legally abide by their decision.
Jaime Ramirez : Yes: President Biden has been in Washington long enough to know that there must be 'compromise' in order to get things desired. He is not a dictator. Maybe, on the border wall issue, he is calling the right wing's bluff. Hey! You don't wantt to solve the immigration issue in a bi-partisan way: so here is your damned border WALL! Sorry for yelling wall. 😅 I had to use caps to get it to spell properly. The phone was spelling wail! As in wailing . These glitches happen often enough to make me wonder if it is deliberate. AI evil? Sabotage?
I have these kinds of glitches, too. Once I capitalize a word, the next time I use that word, it insists on capitalizing it. For a long time, it would automatically change "its" to "it's", even though I used "its" properly (as a possessive rather than a contraction).
Craig, yes, I, too have been angry about the way the media has far underplayed the well-being of our economy. They act as though everyone is suffering desperately. They are not. Many of the causes of current suffering come with the ending of critical programs that helped people survive during the pandemic: child care, child tax assistance, student loan payments resuming, local governments not offering Medicaid to all and ridiculous filing problems with Medicaid. Then, there are the corporations that don't want to pay their workers fair wages and make them strike to even get attention. They don't even offer workers half of what they are asking and whine falsely that they are bargaining in good faith. We are in trouble but our media and greedy corporations are at the center of it and Republicans in power are being paid off by those greedy corporations to wreck a thriving economy. Then, there's Powell at the Fed. He desperately wants a recession and is furious it has not happened yet. I am betting he will orchestrate another interest rate hike , then another until people can't afford to buy or do anything. That is insanity, but alas, President Biden thought this was a good guy. He's a Republican! He isn't a good guy.
If the media made the same salary as ordinary people, perhaps their viewpoints and coverage would change. That's why we need more organizations like ProPublica
Not only that, but when the media doesn't mention something important, that is equivalent to lying because it is depriving you of the truth (Orwell called it a form of censorship).
For example, I was watching Dana Bash on CNN interviewing Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett, tax cutter and darling of the Heritage Foundation. They were discussing his willingness to shut down the government because of the budget deficit. He kept repeating, in a drawling southern monotone, a very reasonable-sounding proposition: “Ma’am, you can’t keep spending 7 trillion dollars a year when you’re only taking in 5 trillion..” To which the obvious response should have been “Well Congressman, the deficit was created by a $2 trillion gift to the corporations and the wealthy Americans by Donald Trump. Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, pays less in taxes than a corporate secretary. You could eliminate the deficit by raising taxes on high earners to their original levels, instead of shutting down the government. So, instead of creating chaos, why don’t you just raise taxes on those who can afford to pay, and allow your constituents to sleep at night?”
But not so much of a murmur from Ms. Bash. Makes you wonder who's pulling her strings.
I don’t wonder who’s pulling her strings. It continually amazes me that people are generally willing to let extremist republicans frame the issue.
To the GOP, the only way to take care of the debt is to cut spending in ways that will hurt the maximum number of people, including children.
That’s unconscionable BS. The way to whittle down the debt is to raise the corporate tax rate back to 35%, which is where it was until Trump cut it to 21%. When Trump lowered it to 21% it created a huge drop in revenue hampering our ability to pay down the debt. But, nobody mentions that.
Another way to whittle down the debt is to re-visit the $100 million in ANNUAL subsidies to corporations and businesses funded with taxpayer money. Republicans and corporations are playing
us taxpayers like we are chumps and suckers and
we let them get away with it.
Until Americans understand that the republican party is actively manipulating their own constituents
to accept poverty while corporations and businesses
thrive with record profits, the needless republican histrionics over the debt will continue indefinitely.
Voters need to ask themselves one simple question:
Why are republicans carrying on about the debt and democrats are not? Is it because democrats are too dumb to realize the enormity of the debt? The answer is NO, they aren’t. Republican hysteria over the debt is a manipulation. It’s intended to make voters believe there’s no choice but to cut important
programs for veterans, the disabled, children, seniors and low income families. Moreover, those cuts would be cruel because they aren’t necessary if we raise corporate taxes. By the way, if the corporate tax rate is raised to 35%, corporations will
The primary cause of inflation is the interest that must be paid on all debts public and private (like your car, mortgage, credit cards and U.S. Treasury securities.
Here is how that works. Thought experiment. I live on an island with 10 other persons. I own a printing press and a barrel of gold painted rocks. I convince the others that the rocks have value, and will loan them $100 each on the value of the rocks., at 10% interest, There is now $1000 monetary units in circulation, at end of year each owes me $110.
There is only $1000 in circulation but I am owed $1100. .. Inflation, raise prices or reduce quality and quantity. Debt today will cause inflation in the future. Of course there are supply chain issues, but they are secondary, to debt inflation.
Republicans were happy to pass a bill of over $3 trillion budget which Trump signed, now that Trump or a Republican is not president, they hold our country hostage to advance their culture war agenda and the bought and paid for corporate media is mum.
Here is how the media works. There is a board of directors who are paid handsomely to represent the shareholders, most of whom are other corporations like the carbon cabal, PhRMA, AHIP (Association of Health Insurance Providers) , financial institutions and manufacturers and telecom industry.
The BoD hires executives whose sole directive is to insure a positive rate of return for investors. That is their sole function, if they succeed magnificently they are rewardrd with bonuses and health pay raises, if they fail they are fired.
Editors and producers know who butters their bread, and without direct orders they monitor reporters. anchors and hosts. who have ear buds and are monitored by producers and editors and either pulled, or fired like Keith Olbermann or Tiffany Cross when they cross the line and bring the powers to be into the discussion.
...since news was pushed into playing the ratings game to generate advertising revenue , it pretty much lost its integrity.
There's a term I often hear used today to describe the corporate MSM.s policy: "If it Bleeds...It Leads". When I studied Journalism in High school over a half century ago, that was known as "yellow journalism".
Yes, but this is a pointless lament. The media are struggling to survive, and that means appealing to viewers and readers, most of whom are unhappy about high prices. Trump presents himself as a can-do man, and that appeals to many voters. They are naive and gullible, of course, but that iis the reality we have to confront.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr, me too!!! It is the “Top” in the playpen... spinning, spinning, where will it stop, toddlers mesmerizing over the motion but oblivious of the movement. This is us kids....
...been cranky since 2016 and with the Shenanigans the wackadoodle (R)s (along with two turncoats from the other side o the aisle) have been pulling it hasn't stopped.
I'd really love to be less cranky, really but as ling as there are numbskulls like the (R)s (and yes even the (D)s sometimes) have it will never happen.
Some problems are intractable with no solutions visible. Israel-Palestine/Gaza is one example. Other problems, like the budget deficit, have simple solutions but no one in government seems to want to implement them because it might hurt their personal money supply: Raise taxes on the rich and cut unnecessary military spending. As you say, interest rates are tied to uncertainty, and nothing is more uncertain than finding rationality in right wing politics.
Wayne, let’s get one thing straight--it’s not that no one in government wants to implement solutions to the debt. The GOP solution is to cut spending on services for children, veterans, seniors and low income families. But why should children, veterans, seniors, etc. have to suffer when it makes more sense to raise the corporate tax rate back to 35% and cut back on the $100million A YEAR in taxpayer money given to businesses and corporations as subsidies? Corporations will still be profitable if their taxes are raised, but veterans & children who can’t afford healthcare won’t be alright.
Yes, I was guilty of overstatement. The Republicans are following the Grover Norquist playbook in a highly unbalanced way, skewing toward military spending while cutting public good spending like WIC, ACA, and perhaps Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. Democrats are not pushy enough about correcting the tax code, and many really want too, yet it should not be just the corporate tax, it should be a wealth tax as well. These changes should come with some corporate trust busting. Right now there is too much power concentrated in the corporate sector, and Robert Reich is correct in targeting that issue as the core problem of inflation.
I totally agree with both you and Robert that corporations have too much power and it’s mostly because republicans gave corporations that degree of power. I also agree that corporate power is largely responsible for inflation. We have to wrestle that power away from corporations and it’s going to be an ugly fight. I’d like to see democrats make a declaration of some kind about it, to put both republicans and corporations on notice that dems
intend to do whatever it takes to put corporations
in their place as economic partners, not overlords.
Definitely having a “flood the zone with stuff” problem right now. Prof. Reich seems right on with the underlying cause of higher long-term rates. It fits most accepted models of how financial markets handle risk. But there is some really poor reporting by the financial press.
For one, there is the idea of an inverted yield curve--higher short-term than long-term rates--foretelling a recession. So we have the opposite, which is supposed to be normal and signaling a healthy economy. The hysteria of the corporate press is one of story after story looking for a recession.
One also cannot discount private equity groups seeding a narrative of hysteria. Their source of essentially "free" money has been disrupted. That puts them at risk in their pyramid investment schemes. It can be a real problem for a bad business model.
Excellent analysis. Every day it becomes clearer that the GOP can't govern, they're only able to obstruct. Twomajor Middle Eastern states are without US ambassadors. In times of crisis, we need them on the ground, prepared to report back to Washington. Ted Cruz is a major obstacle to their confirmation.
If that is the case feel sorry for him; but that still makes him unqualified for the post of Senator. Don't get me wrong, I love football, I especially like the strategizing to win a game; but it's still a game, not akin to running a government and especially does not entitle him to harm members of our military and endanger our Nation.
An interesting piece Robert, which I do believe holds water. I think high interest rates are being driven by the Fed, who have been trying to fight inflation though. This is essential as inflation is a serious threat to the Society, Trumpy wants to tear down. (I am sorry I have to smile, in the UK a Trump is another name for passing wind. How appropriate.)
My blood pressure is going to kill me. Perhaps that is what the right wingnuts want. Progressives are so angry and dumbfounded that we are either going to die of heart attacks from fear or strokes from outrage! When will this nightmare end? Now my favorite country,Israel, is being attacked from all sides. Are we going to have to take it to the streets? Again? Israel and the U.S. are held to a much higher moral standard than
Stephen W Blackburn ; Not to 'justify' Hamas, but look at the open prison that is Gaza : 2.2 million souls, and hear Netanyahu exhort these captives to "leave as soon as possible". They are between "the devil and the deep blue sea", Israel, and Egypt, and the ocean in between. No boats in which to get out. Either 'exit' a blockade on land. A humanitarian disaster with so many innocents.
The people of Gaza elected Hamas. The Hamas Covenant states that all of Palestine is Islamic holy land and the only solution is jihad. So, internecine war is a consequence and two-state solution is a chimera. The people suffer at the hands of extremists on both sides.
And you are wrong by stating it’s Islamic holy land and only solution is Gehad holy war! How dare you! And it is Christian Holy Jan’s and Jewish holy land also. Problem is , Israeli government has been attacking murdering these people for decades and recently. Didn’t you read about it? Or was this news not covered well in your sources? There is so much more to this story that meets the eye! Spread facts not bad you hear and that propaganda!
No, they have tried endlessly to have a two state solution! It is the Israeli government who refuses, I repeat, refuses to move at all in the 2 state direction! This is evidenced by the continuation of settlements! So you dare to say the blame is Palestine or Palestinians! No stone has been unturned in the efforts to make a 2 state... it has been hampered by crazy right wing Israeli’s. Moving the YS embassy to Jerusalem is and was a horrific mistake! That is to be a 2 state city! The US hasn’t helped, especially with trump being best buds with the Israeli nazi genocidal government. You need to look at what they have done in murder, torture, human rights offenses, genocidal treatment if they Palestinians. Enough us enough!!
Israeli government is terroristic and pushing to annihilate the Palestinians. Seem very much like Nazi behavior to me. Enough of the world allowing this to continue.
Agreed that Netanyahu's government is acting much like the Nazi party when it comes to Palestinians and his own people with his push to become more and more powerful by concentration of power. The people - Jews and Palestinians - are not Hamas or Netanyahu's main priority. Power and control are their main priority. The people who just want to live in peace are just in the way.
Putin is a war criminal. We aren't perfect but Russia, Iran, N.Korea, China, etc are far worse..
Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. Instead of using aid for "butter", Hamas chose guns. When Israel pulled its settlements surriunding Gaza,, Hamas rejected them. Hamas is a terrorist state and openly targets civilians.
You are wrong! Israel has been continuing settlements non stop!! They have been commuting human rights abuses on the Palestinians for decades. They shoot anyone! Kill , torture, rape. Read real news!
I am not a fan of Netanyahu but the Fatah and Hamas are not the same. The occupation of Gaza ended in 2005. Israeli settlements are mostly near Jerusalem or in the West Bank, which until 1967 was part of Jordan. I always thought they would be used to trade in the land for peace negotiations with the PLO, Arafat. But it takes 2 to negotiate.
I know a lot of Arabs. Most are Maronites or Malekites in my home town. We had judges, superintendants of school. When my dad was DA, one of his assistants. In the main they were discriminated by Moslems and that's why their families came to the US.
Many of the Lebanese in my home town were Christians, who originally called themselves Syrian. Hezbollah is more a threat to them than Israel.
I know all of this. I am a Coptic Egyptian. This is not about religion and let’s not start about the right wing fanatic Christians who use god to excuse every evil thing they do!!
What you are talking about here, regardless of religion, does not negate the Nazi terrorism by the Israeli government to the Palestinian people, and the genocide it is now preparing to do under the guise of being victims! The Israeli government has non stop killed and persecuted Palestinians.. taken their homes, their land and their freedoms! They can go nowhere, they can not even worship in their mosques. War sucks, I hate it all. But come on! Enough is enough! The world has not listened or given a damn! Brown people’s land taken by colonizers is ok?? But Putin steps in to take white people’s land and we arm them, open our boarders, share our homes...! Come on!! It is Awful, unfair , injustice at its height. The right wing Christian’s have proven as racist and militant as any other radical group. And if you look at all the refugees that have suffered and traveled... no one treated them like the Ukrainian refugees were treated. Yes people see color! Everyone sees it. And some, many discriminate based on it as well as on religion.
As I see it, Rebecca, you and Daniel are talking past each other. I have very limited perspective here, and speak as someone with no religious or ethnic affiliation. As a humanist, who has followed the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians from the early 1960s, I weep for both sides. Ascribing blame seems pointless. Both "sides" have committed horrible acts. Yet, both sides are composed of people who share the humanity of all of us.
I hold the governments of Israel and the US as bearing more responsibility for the suffering on both sides over the past few decades because they have far more wealth and power than the Palestinians. Terrorism is one of the few weapons of the weak. Terrorism is a weapon used by the strong in an attempt to protect the interests of the state.
The people of both sides are essentially hostage to the passions and events instigated by leaders on both sides. Seeing the humanity of the people on the other side becomes virtually impossible to see when acts of terror fuel emotions. Yet, unless we as common people can develop a voice powerful enough to influence our leaders, it seems that these cycles of violence, dehumanization, and revenge will continue.
Copts are often treated like Jews..... Try to find one in Gaza.....
Not rational to send little kids to be suicide bombers. Family gets $25,000 per kid in compensation from Qatar, Oman.
I am no apologist for Netanyahu the putz, [potty for "dick"], but Hamas precluded negotiaton for a two state solution. Sharon gave up and gave them their own government, their own everything plus additionally returned the settlements surrounding Gaza.
I know a lot of "Palestinians" who happen to live in the US. Most fled because of Moslem, as opposed to Israeli opression. Maronites, Malekites, etc. None left in Gaza. Some did leave their properties. I know a lawyer about 10 years older than me whose entire practice was bringing them to the US. He usually could find a foundation or bring an action in Israeli court to get compensation for their land. Under Israeli law they have rights if they have a deed or an equivalent.
I'm sure that there are miscarriages of justice and there are victims but in Israel Arab citizens serve in government, are free to work and ave civil rights. Druze, who are moslem but not Arab, serve in the military. I was not a big fan of Likud, but Israel is a democracy. The people who elected the right wingers are mainly comprized of untra othodox and Sephardic. As many if not more Jews were kicked out of Arab countries ion 1948 as Palestinians who fled. https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Jewish_exodus_from_the....
In most cases Palestanians were told to flee by tthe Arab Legion who thought they would drive all Jews into the sea or kill them.
Most of us have an amygadla, and when threatened, it's fight or flight.
BTW I used to live in Franconia, Alexandria, Va. The madrasas in my neghborhood had textbooks that called Jews Pigs and devils and told the students - many kids of diplomats from many countries-- that alll Jews should be put to death. After 9/11 a few students went to Afghaanistan to support Ben Ladin.
The US and Israel have no moral standards. It’s all a lie and a show.... all either want or do is take ! Take the land ! Push out and kill or enslave the indigenous people. Disgusting! Free Palestine!
You’ll find me with the “get rid of all the tax cuts for the wealthy” crowd. Return tax rates for them to the 1950s. And, yes, the ongoing obstruction by the republicans has to stop as well.
I have specific changes for you! Estate Taxes First and most importantly are avoided and are being 100% avoided by Billionares and Multi Millionares! Warren Buffet makes around 500k a year ( up from decades at 150k) and Berkshire Hathaway pays ZERO dividends to shareholders! If Warren doesn't sell any stock...and he doesn't he pays Tax on only his Wages ! But the real Tax Avoidance Occurs by using a Irrevocable Trust he can legally transfer his hundred plus Billion Dollars into a Irrevocable Trust and then pay ZERO Estate Taxes at the time of his death! We need to Tax Walth Transfer to Irrevocable Trust at the same rate we Tax Regular Estates! Second All estates under 13 Million dollars are currently exempt from ALL federal estate tax! That needs lowered back down to 5 Million! Second We need to Increase Taxes on ALL Income of Individuals over 1million to 37% to 57% and All Income over 2 Million to 67%! This we need to Tax all Trust Income distributed to non-working Americans with a 10% Slacker Tax! We need to Tax Capital Gains at 30% not 20%. And Finally we need to remove ALL Income tax on the first 40k of income attributed to workers who actually produce goods and services ALL Americans benefit from! I use to work at Public Accounting Firm....so I hope you find my specific solutions helpful.
Hi Brent. You are correct. My unrealized gains in BRKB, if less than the estate tax exemption, are tax free to my heirs. Continuing to allow a stepped up basis at the time of death should be debated in Congress in public.
I suggest we tax capital gains as ordinary income, as California does. Most wealth of the upper middle class is held in retirement plans which do not benefit from the capital gain exemption. I am OK with taxing passive investment income at the same rate as earned income.
That’s awfully complicated Gerald, but taxing capital gains as ordinary income is good. How about just raising corporate taxes back to 35%, which is what corporations were paying until Trump cut their tax rate to 21%. That was a huge drop in revenue. Corporations will still be profitable at a 35% tax rate.
And while we’re at it, how about cutting back a bit
on the $100 million given away to corporations EVERY YEAR in the form of subsidies? No one ever talks about the $100 million in subsidies we give away EVERY YEAR to the very same entities that
got a huge drop in their tax rate from Trump.
Why should veterans, children & seniors be the ones who suffer? A few of the GOP’s proposals are: Slashing Critical Job Training & Workforce Develop. Programs, Slashing Funding for Law Enforcement, Eliminating Tens of Thousands of Preschool Slots, and cutting 80% of Title I funding that would impact 26 million students by forcing a reduction of up to 226,000 teachers, aides or other staff.
They also propose rescinding or clawing back over $564 million in funding for programs that mitigate housing-related risks of lead poisoning and mitigate the effects of climate change--because to them,
climate change is a hoax.
Get this--republicans are laying the groundwork for over $3 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and big corporations, ON TOP of the huge tax cuts Trump already gave them!
They’re trying to make it easier for wealthy tax cheats to avoid paying what they owe—by proposing to rescind $67 billion dollars in funding for the IRS already enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act. THIS WOULD INCREASE THE DEFICIT by OVER $100 BILLION.
House Repubs claim these cuts are about fiscal responsibility—but that’s BS. What the GOP wants to do would add $100 billion to the deficit over 10 years by making it easier for the rich and big corporations to cheat on their taxes. In addition they’re separately pushing for corporate tax giveaways that would cost over $500 billion if made permanent—including $30 billion in retrospective tax breaks for corporate investments made last year. THE RETROACTIVE TAX CUTS ALONE WOULD ERASE SAVINGS FROM THEIR PROPOSED CUTS. (More info is available if you go to
Enjoy your hair splitting and how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Moving on to Three Dog Night singing Family of Man which appears to be stuck in my head. Possibly a temporary antidote of sorts to everything the republicans, Russia and Hamas have been doing.
The Tax Rates only count if you have taxable income! Berkshire Hathaway pays no tax dividend and if your Warren Buffet and only Earn 500k a year who cares what the tax rate is?Buffet could transfer All 100 Plus billion into a Irrevocable Trust and avoid 100% Estate Tax! We need major Estate Tax Changes so Billionares and Millionares over 5Million Dollars quit paying NO Estate Tax! People Earning over 1 Million Dollars a year should pay 57% tax on Income over 1 Million not 37%...! Plug the above tax code changes I suggest above and the deficit is fixed!
Yes, Professor Reich, we ALL need to start getting a little grouchier in the face of this BS we're being spoon fed by the media. It's no surprise, since tycoons tend to own them, from Murdoch to Bezo$. And for the idiot that keeps bellowing "define rich", the above are exhibits A and B.
Meanwhile. please get well soon. We desperately need your clarity in these times.
Isn't flunking out of Econ 101 a requirement for earning a journalism degree? I heartily recommend that reporters take Professor Reich's introductory course, all of it available free of charge on youTube. Thank you, Professor Reich, for your clear-eyed assessments over the years!
Thank you for the facts! I wish I could put this on a billboard in Florida. I did take some solace in the fact yesterday that the courts told Desantis and his joke of a surgeon general that they have to publish Covid data for Florida and have to pay the court cost (of course the taxpayers in Florida will take care of that🤬). Thank goodness for the Democrat who stayed the course for this lawsuit.
Thank you. Thanks to DeS horror legislation and imperial orders, there is so much crap in the legal pipeline I was unaware of this ruling. I have no doubt his lapdog Ladapo will fudge the numbers.
Hamas or Russia. Ukraine has achieved that status as well. These events give the very sensitive little financial markets frightful moments of the “vapors”! The markets wreck our lives and it’s nothing but the passing of gas to financial markets!
"The truth is that long-term interest rates rise when uncertainty about the future rises." Matt Gaetz recently said that his plan is working. He is creating political uncertainty. Who is pulling his strings?
Because I work with Switzerland, yes...but. Minimum wealth for a Swiss bank to deal with anyone investing in USD is 2 million SFr. Pretty much a game for the rich.
There are those funds but the Swiss banks have tried to limit who can block trade to themselves, Swiss banks. The central government has gone along because of disruptions of taking the SFr off of gold and the rapid appreciation of the currency.
Is that so? Where can more information on this topic be found? Do you have a specific source? Not asking you to do my homework, as I will definitely be seeking out details on my own no matter what.
E,G. Currency arbitrage involves the exploitation of the differences in quotes rather than movements in the exchange rates of the currencies in the currency pair. Forex traders typically practice two-currency arbitrage, in which the differences between the spreads of two currencies are exploited. Traders can also practice three-currency arbitrage, also known as triangular arbitrage, which is a more complex strategy. Due to the use of computers and high-speed trading systems, large traders often catch differences in currency pair quotes and close the gap quickly. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currency-arbitrage.asp
The most important risk that forex traders must deal with while arbitraging currencies is execution risk. This risk refers to the possibility that the desired currency quote may be lost due to the fast-moving nature of forex markets.
In a policy statement after its September meeting, the Bank of Japan said it would maintain short-term interest rates at -0.1%. The BOJ also capped the 10-year Japanese government bond yield around zero, as widely expected.
That is some detailed answer Daniel. I'm going to copy and paste the whole reply into an email to myself, check those sources and familiarize myself with some of the vocabulary with the idea of taking notes and leaning a few things.
Yeap and with Republicans every issue we have in the united states can be solved by cutting spending and redirecting to the rich. Considering how the inequality divide is still widening it is obvious that they and their rich donors have no scruples except the almighty...dollar.
Well stated..............may I add my disgust for the way media understates the strong economic rebound we are experiencing overall as a nation........it appears networks are so busy to air their reports that the time it takes to be accurate is diminished........getting the story on air, ahead of others, it of utmost importance.....................
Everything great Biden is doing gets buried & all the negative rumors about Biden, presumably false, gets all the attention, along with his mendacious, corrupt, traitorous opponent whose crimes & treachery don't get nearly the press that his lies & false accusations do.
Heck I look for Bidens speeches and the algorythm on youtube makes it hard for me to find the unadulterated non 2 min soundbite versions. Maximum engagement is prefferred over maximum information.
Bill Reitz, try pbs on youtube. Subscribe and look under the live heading or go to their website.
Thanks will do. I usually only find out about a speech he gave when Medias touch references it then I go and find the full version. My subscription "box" spams me with so much that I hardly see that a speech happened recently. I saw the McCain memorial service, Milley retirement, and I think one other thag were recent and they were all good speeches. It puts to bed the whole too old propaganda that we get 24/7. Too fascist? No one ever says that about the alternative.
Bill, I suspect the reason Biden's speeches are so often neglected by media is that they don't play with their premise that Biden is too old, but somehow Trump is not. I'm sorry, but 3 years difference when one is in the 70s is irrelevant.
Biden is pretty boring for most compared to the clown entertainment constantly spewing stuff like, as George Bush assessed tfg's inaurural speech, "that was some pretty weird s#it".
Thank you Ruth. I am so sick of ageism. Corporations have push this all along starting with people in their 50’s. Age is a number and number only. Look around, we have a lot of those same numbers in the both houses. Don’t hear any of those saying too old to perform their duties to the office they were elected.
And when a "younger" person starts with an deranged mind I know a 96 year old woman who can outwit the Orange god.
Bill Reitz, yes, I agree his great speeches defy the ageist propaganda. And then we have the looney tune former guy who speaks the most horrific things and barely a cricket chirps.
Trump's speeches are more like a comedy routine. Dark comedy. He would've been better off, & so would this country, if he had just stuck to entertainment. Or taken over for Limbaugh after the latter died. They're both good at insulting & gaslighting..
Meidas gang
M Tree, those are good suggestions, but it should be easier to get what the president is saying than what the criminal Trump is pumping out. When Trump was in office, he was smeared over the news every single day, usually the top item even though he had nothing of value to contribute to anyone. How do we stop this insanity?
Ruth Sheets, yes indeed, that is the burning question for all of us who want democracy, fairness, and the glory of peace. My first gut response is together ---- that's how we stop the insanity. We come together, in spite of our differences of opinion or perhaps even our distaste for one another, and we become a unified, passionate force for what is right. I think of the coal miners, black and white folks, coming together in the early decades of the last century to stand up to the company owners/investors to seek basic safety and workers' rights. We are always stronger together and that is something I can be a part of and something that gives me hope.
Ruth Sheets, P..S. we are actually doing something already. In the last eight years, we the people have been seeking out and supporting alternate, reliable sources of information. This has to have had an impact on their bottom line. The more people that wake up, to their business model which is not supportive of truth and Democracy, the more they will be financially impacted. In the meantime, WE shout the truth from the rooftops.
Ruth, is there any way other than voting with our feet? Refusing to watch or buy media that aids & abets anti-democratic factions (and let them know about it). One advertiser at a time. It may not be possible, but I can't think of anything else.
Bill Reitz ; There may be a "method to their madness". Consider the source. Much of main stream media seems in lockstep to slant the message against Democracy, and towards in the interests of the wealthy. They want another 'leader'.
It is possible the social media companies are trying to push an anti democracy agenda. Certainly the truth socials, twittex are doing so. What I see is googles "Don't be evil" should actually read "Make as much money as possible". Making a profit dominates so much of what drives social media that non profitable things like covering one of Bidens from the heart speeches doesnt make as much money as one of Trumps fascist lie fests. *balancing scale*
That is what is driving this "disinformation bubble" if you will. Money. There is more money in adversarial reportage than there is in just plain old telling the GD truth and educating the viewing/listening public.
Our time is limited in this world. All these lies do is waste our precious time. Leave us stuck trying to fix fake problems. I remember a time when people telling lies like this were just kooks. Now the media elevates them because as you said money. Well only way to hit the media is to kick them in the wallet.
Money. It is the root of all evil. It takes an extremely strong person to not let money corrupt. And sadly....there are far too few of those people.
Bill, it helps me to remember that the social media corporations were started by privileged white boys who hadn't had time or opportunity to develop a strong working moral compass. They got rich young or were already rich and had the freedom to manipulate their platforms to pump out whatever they thought would catch eyes and in particular, lure advertisers. There are aspects of big tech, including social media that are beneficial, but once the money factor becomes the major purpose, the social value decreases and the platforms become gathering places for folks, some for positive purposes and goals, others, many others to share grudges, whine about how badly they are being treated, share ideas about white people not being able to run everything anymore or THOSE people "replacing us." Any serious attempts to tone down the negative rhetoric is long gone. It seems to me there needs to be "truth in advertising" when it comes to politics too. I am not sure how that could be enforced, but I am sure some great and not so great minds could figure it out together.
"But once the money factor becomes the major purpose, the social value decreases."
Precisely! They use their technological prowess/products to worm their way into daily life, as though indispensable, then turn to motives based purely on profit once "the hook is in."
I really like the idea Ruth of a Bureau of Voter Protection. Going after all the bold face lies, all of them, reveal them and sue the defaming parties when necessary. On Social Media its main malfunction is Narcissistic supply. All the false misrepresentations of Narcissists as "influencers" and enablers lends itself to the same gaslighting done by autocrats and Fascists. The silicon valley social media white boys to a tee were born to privledge, either enabling hate speech (Zukerberg, Facebook) or speaking it (Musk, TwitteX). Do they try to divide us? Some yes (Musk) others if division brings in the most proft than division it is.
Bill Reitz : I don't believe it is even about balance. Look how unbalanced the reporting of Biden's doings are relative to tfg and his sycophants ! The media is wealthy, because they make so much$$$ and have great wealth. they want the guy who will give trillions to them and not increase taxes.. on them; in other words: rob US blind!
So short sited these billionaires. In the pursuit of ultimate power they will give it up to an autocrat who will only suffer them to exist at his pleasure. That narcissistic bent of these folks allows themselves to think they are invulnerable. You can see that same "invulnerable" thought process in Kevin McCarthy. And he only lasted 8 months? Pptht in a dictorship Elon Musk would be lucky to exist that long.
ONE Simple Word ! ,,,,,,,,FOR ALL, of the GREEDY GUTS ! , MAMMONITES !! They WONT, be ABLE, to Take it, WITH THEM !! ( " THE Day ! " )
If you can get C-SPAN that airs complete hearings and speeches.
My understanding is Biden's direct speechifying has been greatly reduced on purpose to accommodate his performance acumen. Is this the straight skinny? This has given me an impression - or at least a puzzlement/question - that Biden's handlers are the executive as much as he is. Contradictions in policy abound. The border wall ridiculousness. Oil and gas leases up. DeJoy trashing the Post Office without censure from the Executive. I sure second your appeal for "maximum engagement."
Selina Sweet ; Right wing talking points. There is nothing keeping President Biden from giving speeches, He does not need 'handlers'; no more than any other President with so many 'irons in the fire' and presently, hateful MAGA enemies. Ageism sucks.
Give Biden a majority in Congress and see what he can do. With a Republican majority in Congress the best you can hope for is gridlock.
Biden has no choice. The monies for the border wall were appropriated in 2019 and must be spent. https://www.factcheck.org/2023/10/bidens-border-wall-explained/ As far as leasing goes, it's complicated. The Alaska Willow project was legally binding. Other drilling allowed secured Manchin's vote on the IRA and there were political compromises made to get IRA passed, which will far outweigh the damage from more oil leases.
I am unable to find a good news article that explains why DeJoy can't be removed. The news media has this bad habit of playing up some upcoming event, in this case a change to the membership of the Postal Reg Commission with the possibility of removing DeJoy, and then not following through to tell readers the aftermath. I have found this pattern over and over.
WhAt is performance acumen?
You are right about some of these inconsistencies in which he goes 1 way on an issue, then later goes the opposite way. In some cases, it's apparently because he gets pushback from a judge or other government official & says he has to legally abide by their decision.
Jaime Ramirez : Yes: President Biden has been in Washington long enough to know that there must be 'compromise' in order to get things desired. He is not a dictator. Maybe, on the border wall issue, he is calling the right wing's bluff. Hey! You don't wantt to solve the immigration issue in a bi-partisan way: so here is your damned border WALL! Sorry for yelling wall. 😅 I had to use caps to get it to spell properly. The phone was spelling wail! As in wailing . These glitches happen often enough to make me wonder if it is deliberate. AI evil? Sabotage?
I have these kinds of glitches, too. Once I capitalize a word, the next time I use that word, it insists on capitalizing it. For a long time, it would automatically change "its" to "it's", even though I used "its" properly (as a possessive rather than a contraction).
Craig, yes, I, too have been angry about the way the media has far underplayed the well-being of our economy. They act as though everyone is suffering desperately. They are not. Many of the causes of current suffering come with the ending of critical programs that helped people survive during the pandemic: child care, child tax assistance, student loan payments resuming, local governments not offering Medicaid to all and ridiculous filing problems with Medicaid. Then, there are the corporations that don't want to pay their workers fair wages and make them strike to even get attention. They don't even offer workers half of what they are asking and whine falsely that they are bargaining in good faith. We are in trouble but our media and greedy corporations are at the center of it and Republicans in power are being paid off by those greedy corporations to wreck a thriving economy. Then, there's Powell at the Fed. He desperately wants a recession and is furious it has not happened yet. I am betting he will orchestrate another interest rate hike , then another until people can't afford to buy or do anything. That is insanity, but alas, President Biden thought this was a good guy. He's a Republican! He isn't a good guy.
Powell needs to go.
DeJoy too.
If the media made the same salary as ordinary people, perhaps their viewpoints and coverage would change. That's why we need more organizations like ProPublica
Is it too late to replace Powell?
We watch Morning Joe on MSNBC. THEY stress the strength of the US economy and wonder why voters seem to think it is weak.
Because most everybody else is taking
the Wall Street Journal approach--skew toward wealthy interests--"The deficit is SO BAD, what
will we DO...I know, let's screw the poor and average Americans!"
"Let them eat cake!"
Not only that, but when the media doesn't mention something important, that is equivalent to lying because it is depriving you of the truth (Orwell called it a form of censorship).
For example, I was watching Dana Bash on CNN interviewing Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett, tax cutter and darling of the Heritage Foundation. They were discussing his willingness to shut down the government because of the budget deficit. He kept repeating, in a drawling southern monotone, a very reasonable-sounding proposition: “Ma’am, you can’t keep spending 7 trillion dollars a year when you’re only taking in 5 trillion..” To which the obvious response should have been “Well Congressman, the deficit was created by a $2 trillion gift to the corporations and the wealthy Americans by Donald Trump. Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, pays less in taxes than a corporate secretary. You could eliminate the deficit by raising taxes on high earners to their original levels, instead of shutting down the government. So, instead of creating chaos, why don’t you just raise taxes on those who can afford to pay, and allow your constituents to sleep at night?”
But not so much of a murmur from Ms. Bash. Makes you wonder who's pulling her strings.
I don’t wonder who’s pulling her strings. It continually amazes me that people are generally willing to let extremist republicans frame the issue.
To the GOP, the only way to take care of the debt is to cut spending in ways that will hurt the maximum number of people, including children.
That’s unconscionable BS. The way to whittle down the debt is to raise the corporate tax rate back to 35%, which is where it was until Trump cut it to 21%. When Trump lowered it to 21% it created a huge drop in revenue hampering our ability to pay down the debt. But, nobody mentions that.
Another way to whittle down the debt is to re-visit the $100 million in ANNUAL subsidies to corporations and businesses funded with taxpayer money. Republicans and corporations are playing
us taxpayers like we are chumps and suckers and
we let them get away with it.
Until Americans understand that the republican party is actively manipulating their own constituents
to accept poverty while corporations and businesses
thrive with record profits, the needless republican histrionics over the debt will continue indefinitely.
Voters need to ask themselves one simple question:
Why are republicans carrying on about the debt and democrats are not? Is it because democrats are too dumb to realize the enormity of the debt? The answer is NO, they aren’t. Republican hysteria over the debt is a manipulation. It’s intended to make voters believe there’s no choice but to cut important
programs for veterans, the disabled, children, seniors and low income families. Moreover, those cuts would be cruel because they aren’t necessary if we raise corporate taxes. By the way, if the corporate tax rate is raised to 35%, corporations will
still be profitable.
The primary cause of inflation is the interest that must be paid on all debts public and private (like your car, mortgage, credit cards and U.S. Treasury securities.
Here is how that works. Thought experiment. I live on an island with 10 other persons. I own a printing press and a barrel of gold painted rocks. I convince the others that the rocks have value, and will loan them $100 each on the value of the rocks., at 10% interest, There is now $1000 monetary units in circulation, at end of year each owes me $110.
There is only $1000 in circulation but I am owed $1100. .. Inflation, raise prices or reduce quality and quantity. Debt today will cause inflation in the future. Of course there are supply chain issues, but they are secondary, to debt inflation.
Republicans were happy to pass a bill of over $3 trillion budget which Trump signed, now that Trump or a Republican is not president, they hold our country hostage to advance their culture war agenda and the bought and paid for corporate media is mum.
Here is how the media works. There is a board of directors who are paid handsomely to represent the shareholders, most of whom are other corporations like the carbon cabal, PhRMA, AHIP (Association of Health Insurance Providers) , financial institutions and manufacturers and telecom industry.
The BoD hires executives whose sole directive is to insure a positive rate of return for investors. That is their sole function, if they succeed magnificently they are rewardrd with bonuses and health pay raises, if they fail they are fired.
Editors and producers know who butters their bread, and without direct orders they monitor reporters. anchors and hosts. who have ear buds and are monitored by producers and editors and either pulled, or fired like Keith Olbermann or Tiffany Cross when they cross the line and bring the powers to be into the discussion.
Craig Douglas ; Yes, but where are the retractions when they get it wrong, along with an apology?
...since news was pushed into playing the ratings game to generate advertising revenue , it pretty much lost its integrity.
There's a term I often hear used today to describe the corporate MSM.s policy: "If it Bleeds...It Leads". When I studied Journalism in High school over a half century ago, that was known as "yellow journalism".
Good news isn’t salacious enough to keep ratings up!
2 reasons:
1. Media are owned by billionaires who are pushing their own interests--less taxes
2. Extreme/False/Fearful narratives sell more ads.
Yes, but this is a pointless lament. The media are struggling to survive, and that means appealing to viewers and readers, most of whom are unhappy about high prices. Trump presents himself as a can-do man, and that appeals to many voters. They are naive and gullible, of course, but that iis the reality we have to confront.
It's because 130,000% of the "mainstream media" is owned AND funded AND gets sexually assaulted by the flacid alt right! (Gross enough for you?)
ah, so the ivermectin is kicking in, eh, Professor Reich? (yes, that is a joke).
i love it when you're cranky because i feel less guilty myself for being ... um ... cranky.
I'm in a cranky mood myself. Not primarily about politics at the moment, but it surely doesn't help.
hey! i have an idea: let's all be cranky >together<
sorry, not so funny. this sentiment works better with a cartoon.
Maybe Dr. Reich will have one ready for us next Sunday.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr, me too!!! It is the “Top” in the playpen... spinning, spinning, where will it stop, toddlers mesmerizing over the motion but oblivious of the movement. This is us kids....
Me too...
And Grouchy put her in detention . .where things go on best not to mention . .out of respect for Grooming prevention . . . #class clown . ..
...been cranky since 2016 and with the Shenanigans the wackadoodle (R)s (along with two turncoats from the other side o the aisle) have been pulling it hasn't stopped.
I'd really love to be less cranky, really but as ling as there are numbskulls like the (R)s (and yes even the (D)s sometimes) have it will never happen.
Lol Grrl ! Very relatable and refreshing honesty - me too !
Crankiness comes with having seen the SAME lies reported over, over, and OVER again, and actually working!
Some problems are intractable with no solutions visible. Israel-Palestine/Gaza is one example. Other problems, like the budget deficit, have simple solutions but no one in government seems to want to implement them because it might hurt their personal money supply: Raise taxes on the rich and cut unnecessary military spending. As you say, interest rates are tied to uncertainty, and nothing is more uncertain than finding rationality in right wing politics.
The Israel Palestine question is a mess one side killing the other. No good answers from outsiders like Us.
Who deserves to die Who deserves to Live... 🧨
Yep. You could flip that and say nothing is more certain than lack of rationality in RW politics.
Agree 200%
Wayne, let’s get one thing straight--it’s not that no one in government wants to implement solutions to the debt. The GOP solution is to cut spending on services for children, veterans, seniors and low income families. But why should children, veterans, seniors, etc. have to suffer when it makes more sense to raise the corporate tax rate back to 35% and cut back on the $100million A YEAR in taxpayer money given to businesses and corporations as subsidies? Corporations will still be profitable if their taxes are raised, but veterans & children who can’t afford healthcare won’t be alright.
Yes, I was guilty of overstatement. The Republicans are following the Grover Norquist playbook in a highly unbalanced way, skewing toward military spending while cutting public good spending like WIC, ACA, and perhaps Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. Democrats are not pushy enough about correcting the tax code, and many really want too, yet it should not be just the corporate tax, it should be a wealth tax as well. These changes should come with some corporate trust busting. Right now there is too much power concentrated in the corporate sector, and Robert Reich is correct in targeting that issue as the core problem of inflation.
I totally agree with both you and Robert that corporations have too much power and it’s mostly because republicans gave corporations that degree of power. I also agree that corporate power is largely responsible for inflation. We have to wrestle that power away from corporations and it’s going to be an ugly fight. I’d like to see democrats make a declaration of some kind about it, to put both republicans and corporations on notice that dems
intend to do whatever it takes to put corporations
in their place as economic partners, not overlords.
Definitely having a “flood the zone with stuff” problem right now. Prof. Reich seems right on with the underlying cause of higher long-term rates. It fits most accepted models of how financial markets handle risk. But there is some really poor reporting by the financial press.
For one, there is the idea of an inverted yield curve--higher short-term than long-term rates--foretelling a recession. So we have the opposite, which is supposed to be normal and signaling a healthy economy. The hysteria of the corporate press is one of story after story looking for a recession.
One also cannot discount private equity groups seeding a narrative of hysteria. Their source of essentially "free" money has been disrupted. That puts them at risk in their pyramid investment schemes. It can be a real problem for a bad business model.
Excellent analysis. Every day it becomes clearer that the GOP can't govern, they're only able to obstruct. Twomajor Middle Eastern states are without US ambassadors. In times of crisis, we need them on the ground, prepared to report back to Washington. Ted Cruz is a major obstacle to their confirmation.
Cruz and good ol' coach Tommy Tuberville. Cruz is just plain evil and Tuberville is a imbecile with the mental capacity of a 6th or 7th grader.
Tuberville might have brain damage from playing football! Unable to think rationally.
If that is the case feel sorry for him; but that still makes him unqualified for the post of Senator. Don't get me wrong, I love football, I especially like the strategizing to win a game; but it's still a game, not akin to running a government and especially does not entitle him to harm members of our military and endanger our Nation.
Imagine the State Dept's unenviable position. Preparing to install two ambassadors and then immediately yank their missions. 🫣
An interesting piece Robert, which I do believe holds water. I think high interest rates are being driven by the Fed, who have been trying to fight inflation though. This is essential as inflation is a serious threat to the Society, Trumpy wants to tear down. (I am sorry I have to smile, in the UK a Trump is another name for passing wind. How appropriate.)
If only he were just a "passing wind" instead of a poisonous miasma....
There is a medication for that Immodium AD and in Trumps case Immodium AG as in Attorney general. Now if we could just get the fast acting version.
Bill Reitz, hahahaha, thanks for the much needed laugh!
You’d be right about the feds: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/the-federal-reserve-whos-behind-the
My blood pressure is going to kill me. Perhaps that is what the right wingnuts want. Progressives are so angry and dumbfounded that we are either going to die of heart attacks from fear or strokes from outrage! When will this nightmare end? Now my favorite country,Israel, is being attacked from all sides. Are we going to have to take it to the streets? Again? Israel and the U.S. are held to a much higher moral standard than
Stephen W Blackburn ; Not to 'justify' Hamas, but look at the open prison that is Gaza : 2.2 million souls, and hear Netanyahu exhort these captives to "leave as soon as possible". They are between "the devil and the deep blue sea", Israel, and Egypt, and the ocean in between. No boats in which to get out. Either 'exit' a blockade on land. A humanitarian disaster with so many innocents.
The people of Gaza elected Hamas. The Hamas Covenant states that all of Palestine is Islamic holy land and the only solution is jihad. So, internecine war is a consequence and two-state solution is a chimera. The people suffer at the hands of extremists on both sides.
And you are wrong by stating it’s Islamic holy land and only solution is Gehad holy war! How dare you! And it is Christian Holy Jan’s and Jewish holy land also. Problem is , Israeli government has been attacking murdering these people for decades and recently. Didn’t you read about it? Or was this news not covered well in your sources? There is so much more to this story that meets the eye! Spread facts not bad you hear and that propaganda!
No, they have tried endlessly to have a two state solution! It is the Israeli government who refuses, I repeat, refuses to move at all in the 2 state direction! This is evidenced by the continuation of settlements! So you dare to say the blame is Palestine or Palestinians! No stone has been unturned in the efforts to make a 2 state... it has been hampered by crazy right wing Israeli’s. Moving the YS embassy to Jerusalem is and was a horrific mistake! That is to be a 2 state city! The US hasn’t helped, especially with trump being best buds with the Israeli nazi genocidal government. You need to look at what they have done in murder, torture, human rights offenses, genocidal treatment if they Palestinians. Enough us enough!!
Israeli government is terroristic and pushing to annihilate the Palestinians. Seem very much like Nazi behavior to me. Enough of the world allowing this to continue.
Agreed that Netanyahu's government is acting much like the Nazi party when it comes to Palestinians and his own people with his push to become more and more powerful by concentration of power. The people - Jews and Palestinians - are not Hamas or Netanyahu's main priority. Power and control are their main priority. The people who just want to live in peace are just in the way.
Don't leave us dangling! " Israel and the U.S. are held to a much higher moral standard than"
Than whom?
Putin is a war criminal. We aren't perfect but Russia, Iran, N.Korea, China, etc are far worse..
Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. Instead of using aid for "butter", Hamas chose guns. When Israel pulled its settlements surriunding Gaza,, Hamas rejected them. Hamas is a terrorist state and openly targets civilians.
Hamas destroyed the buildings that the Israelis abandoned. I cannot see a way to peace - Hamas is committed to Israel’s destruction.
You are wrong! Israel has been continuing settlements non stop!! They have been commuting human rights abuses on the Palestinians for decades. They shoot anyone! Kill , torture, rape. Read real news!
Not with respect to Gaza and/or Hamas.
I am not a fan of Netanyahu but the Fatah and Hamas are not the same. The occupation of Gaza ended in 2005. Israeli settlements are mostly near Jerusalem or in the West Bank, which until 1967 was part of Jordan. I always thought they would be used to trade in the land for peace negotiations with the PLO, Arafat. But it takes 2 to negotiate.
I know a lot of Arabs. Most are Maronites or Malekites in my home town. We had judges, superintendants of school. When my dad was DA, one of his assistants. In the main they were discriminated by Moslems and that's why their families came to the US.
Many of the Lebanese in my home town were Christians, who originally called themselves Syrian. Hezbollah is more a threat to them than Israel.
I know all of this. I am a Coptic Egyptian. This is not about religion and let’s not start about the right wing fanatic Christians who use god to excuse every evil thing they do!!
What you are talking about here, regardless of religion, does not negate the Nazi terrorism by the Israeli government to the Palestinian people, and the genocide it is now preparing to do under the guise of being victims! The Israeli government has non stop killed and persecuted Palestinians.. taken their homes, their land and their freedoms! They can go nowhere, they can not even worship in their mosques. War sucks, I hate it all. But come on! Enough is enough! The world has not listened or given a damn! Brown people’s land taken by colonizers is ok?? But Putin steps in to take white people’s land and we arm them, open our boarders, share our homes...! Come on!! It is Awful, unfair , injustice at its height. The right wing Christian’s have proven as racist and militant as any other radical group. And if you look at all the refugees that have suffered and traveled... no one treated them like the Ukrainian refugees were treated. Yes people see color! Everyone sees it. And some, many discriminate based on it as well as on religion.
As I see it, Rebecca, you and Daniel are talking past each other. I have very limited perspective here, and speak as someone with no religious or ethnic affiliation. As a humanist, who has followed the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians from the early 1960s, I weep for both sides. Ascribing blame seems pointless. Both "sides" have committed horrible acts. Yet, both sides are composed of people who share the humanity of all of us.
I hold the governments of Israel and the US as bearing more responsibility for the suffering on both sides over the past few decades because they have far more wealth and power than the Palestinians. Terrorism is one of the few weapons of the weak. Terrorism is a weapon used by the strong in an attempt to protect the interests of the state.
The people of both sides are essentially hostage to the passions and events instigated by leaders on both sides. Seeing the humanity of the people on the other side becomes virtually impossible to see when acts of terror fuel emotions. Yet, unless we as common people can develop a voice powerful enough to influence our leaders, it seems that these cycles of violence, dehumanization, and revenge will continue.
Copts are often treated like Jews..... Try to find one in Gaza.....
Not rational to send little kids to be suicide bombers. Family gets $25,000 per kid in compensation from Qatar, Oman.
I am no apologist for Netanyahu the putz, [potty for "dick"], but Hamas precluded negotiaton for a two state solution. Sharon gave up and gave them their own government, their own everything plus additionally returned the settlements surrounding Gaza.
I know a lot of "Palestinians" who happen to live in the US. Most fled because of Moslem, as opposed to Israeli opression. Maronites, Malekites, etc. None left in Gaza. Some did leave their properties. I know a lawyer about 10 years older than me whose entire practice was bringing them to the US. He usually could find a foundation or bring an action in Israeli court to get compensation for their land. Under Israeli law they have rights if they have a deed or an equivalent.
I'm sure that there are miscarriages of justice and there are victims but in Israel Arab citizens serve in government, are free to work and ave civil rights. Druze, who are moslem but not Arab, serve in the military. I was not a big fan of Likud, but Israel is a democracy. The people who elected the right wingers are mainly comprized of untra othodox and Sephardic. As many if not more Jews were kicked out of Arab countries ion 1948 as Palestinians who fled. https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Jewish_exodus_from_the....
In most cases Palestanians were told to flee by tthe Arab Legion who thought they would drive all Jews into the sea or kill them.
Most of us have an amygadla, and when threatened, it's fight or flight.
BTW I used to live in Franconia, Alexandria, Va. The madrasas in my neghborhood had textbooks that called Jews Pigs and devils and told the students - many kids of diplomats from many countries-- that alll Jews should be put to death. After 9/11 a few students went to Afghaanistan to support Ben Ladin.
The US and Israel have no moral standards. It’s all a lie and a show.... all either want or do is take ! Take the land ! Push out and kill or enslave the indigenous people. Disgusting! Free Palestine!
If the US wants to claim the high moral ground, don't you think it should practice what it preaches?
With respect to the Biden administration, they try.
I agree, Daniel. Imo being held to a higher standard is a good thing.
Thank you for another great fact based article.
You’ll find me with the “get rid of all the tax cuts for the wealthy” crowd. Return tax rates for them to the 1950s. And, yes, the ongoing obstruction by the republicans has to stop as well.
Since you appear to have somehow overlooked it…
“You’ll find me with the “get rid of all the tax cuts for the wealthy” crowd.”
If you have only 12.9. Million
🙂 Not ever gonna happen but if it did I would cheerfully pay any and all taxes due on it. 🙂
I have specific changes for you! Estate Taxes First and most importantly are avoided and are being 100% avoided by Billionares and Multi Millionares! Warren Buffet makes around 500k a year ( up from decades at 150k) and Berkshire Hathaway pays ZERO dividends to shareholders! If Warren doesn't sell any stock...and he doesn't he pays Tax on only his Wages ! But the real Tax Avoidance Occurs by using a Irrevocable Trust he can legally transfer his hundred plus Billion Dollars into a Irrevocable Trust and then pay ZERO Estate Taxes at the time of his death! We need to Tax Walth Transfer to Irrevocable Trust at the same rate we Tax Regular Estates! Second All estates under 13 Million dollars are currently exempt from ALL federal estate tax! That needs lowered back down to 5 Million! Second We need to Increase Taxes on ALL Income of Individuals over 1million to 37% to 57% and All Income over 2 Million to 67%! This we need to Tax all Trust Income distributed to non-working Americans with a 10% Slacker Tax! We need to Tax Capital Gains at 30% not 20%. And Finally we need to remove ALL Income tax on the first 40k of income attributed to workers who actually produce goods and services ALL Americans benefit from! I use to work at Public Accounting Firm....so I hope you find my specific solutions helpful.
Hi Brent. You are correct. My unrealized gains in BRKB, if less than the estate tax exemption, are tax free to my heirs. Continuing to allow a stepped up basis at the time of death should be debated in Congress in public.
I suggest we tax capital gains as ordinary income, as California does. Most wealth of the upper middle class is held in retirement plans which do not benefit from the capital gain exemption. I am OK with taxing passive investment income at the same rate as earned income.
That’s awfully complicated Gerald, but taxing capital gains as ordinary income is good. How about just raising corporate taxes back to 35%, which is what corporations were paying until Trump cut their tax rate to 21%. That was a huge drop in revenue. Corporations will still be profitable at a 35% tax rate.
And while we’re at it, how about cutting back a bit
on the $100 million given away to corporations EVERY YEAR in the form of subsidies? No one ever talks about the $100 million in subsidies we give away EVERY YEAR to the very same entities that
got a huge drop in their tax rate from Trump.
Why should veterans, children & seniors be the ones who suffer? A few of the GOP’s proposals are: Slashing Critical Job Training & Workforce Develop. Programs, Slashing Funding for Law Enforcement, Eliminating Tens of Thousands of Preschool Slots, and cutting 80% of Title I funding that would impact 26 million students by forcing a reduction of up to 226,000 teachers, aides or other staff.
They also propose rescinding or clawing back over $564 million in funding for programs that mitigate housing-related risks of lead poisoning and mitigate the effects of climate change--because to them,
climate change is a hoax.
Get this--republicans are laying the groundwork for over $3 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and big corporations, ON TOP of the huge tax cuts Trump already gave them!
They’re trying to make it easier for wealthy tax cheats to avoid paying what they owe—by proposing to rescind $67 billion dollars in funding for the IRS already enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act. THIS WOULD INCREASE THE DEFICIT by OVER $100 BILLION.
House Repubs claim these cuts are about fiscal responsibility—but that’s BS. What the GOP wants to do would add $100 billion to the deficit over 10 years by making it easier for the rich and big corporations to cheat on their taxes. In addition they’re separately pushing for corporate tax giveaways that would cost over $500 billion if made permanent—including $30 billion in retrospective tax breaks for corporate investments made last year. THE RETROACTIVE TAX CUTS ALONE WOULD ERASE SAVINGS FROM THEIR PROPOSED CUTS. (More info is available if you go to
WH.gov/House Republican Bills)
I don’t know about you, but I find these GOP proposals for spending cuts insulting, hypocritical
and needlessly cruel.
Enjoy your hair splitting and how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Moving on to Three Dog Night singing Family of Man which appears to be stuck in my head. Possibly a temporary antidote of sorts to everything the republicans, Russia and Hamas have been doing.
If that’s what your vanity requires to feel better, go for it.
The Tax Rates only count if you have taxable income! Berkshire Hathaway pays no tax dividend and if your Warren Buffet and only Earn 500k a year who cares what the tax rate is?Buffet could transfer All 100 Plus billion into a Irrevocable Trust and avoid 100% Estate Tax! We need major Estate Tax Changes so Billionares and Millionares over 5Million Dollars quit paying NO Estate Tax! People Earning over 1 Million Dollars a year should pay 57% tax on Income over 1 Million not 37%...! Plug the above tax code changes I suggest above and the deficit is fixed!
I loke your grouchiness Robert. But i hope you're feeling better physically. Dems have to fight, call out republican bs every day!
Yes, Professor Reich, we ALL need to start getting a little grouchier in the face of this BS we're being spoon fed by the media. It's no surprise, since tycoons tend to own them, from Murdoch to Bezo$. And for the idiot that keeps bellowing "define rich", the above are exhibits A and B.
Meanwhile. please get well soon. We desperately need your clarity in these times.
I suggest beating them to the Punch. House #Speakership comes to mind
Isn't flunking out of Econ 101 a requirement for earning a journalism degree? I heartily recommend that reporters take Professor Reich's introductory course, all of it available free of charge on youTube. Thank you, Professor Reich, for your clear-eyed assessments over the years!
Thank you for the facts! I wish I could put this on a billboard in Florida. I did take some solace in the fact yesterday that the courts told Desantis and his joke of a surgeon general that they have to publish Covid data for Florida and have to pay the court cost (of course the taxpayers in Florida will take care of that🤬). Thank goodness for the Democrat who stayed the course for this lawsuit.
Thank you. Thanks to DeS horror legislation and imperial orders, there is so much crap in the legal pipeline I was unaware of this ruling. I have no doubt his lapdog Ladapo will fudge the numbers.
Hamas or Russia. Ukraine has achieved that status as well. These events give the very sensitive little financial markets frightful moments of the “vapors”! The markets wreck our lives and it’s nothing but the passing of gas to financial markets!
"The truth is that long-term interest rates rise when uncertainty about the future rises." Matt Gaetz recently said that his plan is working. He is creating political uncertainty. Who is pulling his strings?
The uber-wealthy should be careful what they wish for.
Arbitragers can borrow money in Japan, Switzerland, Sweden at 1% to buy US debt. That's a dream come true.
Because I work with Switzerland, yes...but. Minimum wealth for a Swiss bank to deal with anyone investing in USD is 2 million SFr. Pretty much a game for the rich.
To a billionaire, that's chickenfeed. I'm sure there are funds that trade blocks of currency. We have thr FOREX exchange. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/082515/day-life-professional-forex-trader.asp
There are those funds but the Swiss banks have tried to limit who can block trade to themselves, Swiss banks. The central government has gone along because of disruptions of taking the SFr off of gold and the rapid appreciation of the currency.
Is that so? Where can more information on this topic be found? Do you have a specific source? Not asking you to do my homework, as I will definitely be seeking out details on my own no matter what.
E,G. Currency arbitrage involves the exploitation of the differences in quotes rather than movements in the exchange rates of the currencies in the currency pair. Forex traders typically practice two-currency arbitrage, in which the differences between the spreads of two currencies are exploited. Traders can also practice three-currency arbitrage, also known as triangular arbitrage, which is a more complex strategy. Due to the use of computers and high-speed trading systems, large traders often catch differences in currency pair quotes and close the gap quickly. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currency-arbitrage.asp
The most important risk that forex traders must deal with while arbitraging currencies is execution risk. This risk refers to the possibility that the desired currency quote may be lost due to the fast-moving nature of forex markets.
In a policy statement after its September meeting, the Bank of Japan said it would maintain short-term interest rates at -0.1%. The BOJ also capped the 10-year Japanese government bond yield around zero, as widely expected.
Switzerland 1,75% today. https://www.snb.ch/en/iabout/stat/statrep/id/current_interest_exchange_rates
Some traders track Euros, eurodollars and petrodollars and arbitrage them.
That is some detailed answer Daniel. I'm going to copy and paste the whole reply into an email to myself, check those sources and familiarize myself with some of the vocabulary with the idea of taking notes and leaning a few things.
Thank you very much for taking the time mister.
IMHO a little guy has no hope.
Oh I agree. I just want to know more. I am a gambling man.
David Sea: Why?
They favor the GOP for wealth retention, but the GOP may get us into WWIII.
Thanks for shedding light on this.
Please keep repeating this explanation. We know that people believe what they hear repeated over and over and over.
Yeap and with Republicans every issue we have in the united states can be solved by cutting spending and redirecting to the rich. Considering how the inequality divide is still widening it is obvious that they and their rich donors have no scruples except the almighty...dollar.
Yup - "Tell a lie loud enough and long enough and people will believe it." A. Hitler
And Donald J. Trump
It was more Goebbels, who was Hitler’s PR guy, but Hitler may as well have said it himself.
Great point! Is it propaganda if one continually repeats the truth? If so, I say we go for it!
David Smith: We believe it already. The need is to reach people who don't hear it in the first place.