It becomes very difficult to advocate for supporting Democrats with news like this. Maintaining Powell, to say nothing of DeJoyless and the other Trumpers Biden strangely decided to keep on, has sent a very sad message about whether the party truly cares about the working class, democracy, and everything else they yelled about in their GOTV efforts. What does a worker gain if he elects a Dem but loses his wages, regulations, and job security? Well, the same misery they would have gotten with a Republican. Once again, the Dems reveal themselves to be too beholden to corporate interests. This is making those of us who have to try to mobilize voters with the lesser evil argument have to work even harder given how small that gap of evilness appears to Americans who get their money from paychecks, not from trusts, investments, and financial schemes.
Madeline, I agree with you. The circus in the Capitol just proves Republicans have nothing to offer anyone but lies, mistrust, disingenuousness, threats, deals that let insurgents get far far too much power on important committees when they should actually be in prison for trying to overthrow our government. They would have been OK with Pence hanged and as many of their colleagues killed as possible so they could keep a lying, cheat in office. I get it that Dems haven't given us everything we would need or like, but Republicans have given us NOTHING! They will continue to give us nothing while they work hard to undermine our democracy. The thing we need to do is figure out how to stop them. Too many New Yorkers sat home in November, so we have a Republican majority House and that bodes good for no one, except for the ones making deals with McCarthy to get committee assignments and other perks they do not deserve. It's appalling. What a disgusting human being McCarthy is, just like all the rest of the insurgents.
I certainly agree, but I am fortunate enough to be able to discover and focus on their multiple areas of progress. For too many Americans, it’s still the economy above all.
"One possibility: Any large corporation in an industry dominated by five or fewer giant corporations that raises its prices more than the Fed’s target of 2 percent should be presumed to have monopoly power, and slammed with an antitrust lawsuit."
IMHO price fixing and price gouging is epidemic and is the basis for inflation. Democrats tried to pass legislation to get authority to sue price fixers and price gougers. Republicans opposed it. At the state level, some have authority to sue. Some state laws permit consumers to sue.
This kind of fraud exists in many businesses, not just major domestic corporations.
The government is a major consumer. IMHO it gets screwed and should be alerted to price fixing and price gouging scams. Perpetrators of fraud often target large government programs such as Medicare, federal disaster assistance, and unemployment benefits. During the pandemic, billions of dollars were also stolen from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by fraudsters who created fictitious businesses or inflated the employee or revenue numbers of a legitimate business.
In all such cases, people were trying to deceive the government in one way or another; according to our survey, government employees on the front lines say the most common types of FWA they see are from people submitting false claims and using forged or fake documents to obtain benefits to which they are not entitled.
In terms of frequency, the next-most-common instances of FWA involve billing for unnecessary items or services, charging excessively for items or services, and billing for goods or services that were never delivered, an offense that is often accompanied by falsified records.
Other common types of fraud that government employees are seeing:
* Misusing codes on a claim, such as upcoding or unbundling codes.
* Using kickbacks, bribes, or rebates to induce or reward referrals for items or services reimbursed by government programs.
*Unauthorized online access, like account takeovers.
After 47 years of working for or with Government agencies, I understand and appreciate your statement Daniel. I have heard officials in the Government from Ronald Reagan onward putting the blame on 'Welfare Queens' None of my friends believed me when I told them the biggest fraud (meaning the most amount of their tax dollars stolen) came not from Welfare Queens but Business Rats. They cite things such as the woman exiting a Cadillac and entering the Welfare office in a fur coat. They just ignored the fact that at that time she could buy an older model Cadillac for $150 when the same year and model Chevrolet, Ford or Plymouth cost $1500. The fur coat (even mink) could be purchased at any thrift store for $25 but a cloth coat at the same thrift shop cost $50. But a business billing medicare for a wheel chair for a dead man or air canisters for a healthy older woman who never met that man, that they could ignore. Everyone is willing to believe he $700 toilet seat for the military, but they blame the military, not the crook who sold it, nor the Congressman who insisted the military buy it because this particular crook was one of his valued donors, We need to forcefully educate the "common American", indoctrinate them with the truth, as the Republicans have done so well with indoctrinating them with lies.
Agree. but then their (GOP, WASPs) main villains are women. We want control of our own bodies (what???) We expect the same pay for the same work (you've got to be kidding - you don't even have balls!) Oh, and we're all bitches (black, brown, red, white, yellow, hell even if we're sky blue pink with purple polka dots - as my Aunt used to say)
democrats were in total power for last two years they could have passed a law but did not. Don't blame republicans for the democrats not coming to our aid. Really that simple. Neither wants true competition. Hey it is a two party system not a 20 party system. Easy to pay off both sides of two parties especially when most are not competitive so you only need to give to one side in over half the contest.
Daniel Solomon ; The Democrats passed the infrastructure bill and got some help for people. The bridge that McConnell was meeting with Biden about is possible to fix because of that achievement. There are some GOP who actually act like it is THEIR doing, but it is not.
I want to elaborate a little: The pundits are constantly blaming the Democrats for not getting more progressive policies through. Or they focus blame specifically on Sinema and Manchin. But they're only 2 people.
We need to be blaming the Republicans more for their obstruction of good policies that most Americans actually want!!!!!! (I am shouting that!)
When I was door-to-door canvassing in the last election, I came across a registered Democrat who refused to vote at all; he was fed up with the Democrats because they never made single-payer national health care happen. Was that the Dems fault??? I don't think so!
Obamacare is a good example, I think, of severe compromises made when we really wanted national, single-payer. Right? Can we please keep that in mind?! Can the pundits Please do a better job of putting credit where it's due and blame where it's due?
Yes, but by the vast majority of measurements, the Democratic Party has consistently done far better than the Republican Party on the economy. Too many people have been misled by right-wing propaganda paid by giant corporations & billionaires to think otherwise.
Comparing with a subversive terrorist organization like the Republican Party has come to be, makes almost any organization look good by comparison, but the Democratic Party is still way too beholden to corporate interests.
your wrong neither is working for us. Wake up. Lack of competition is the issue all along. I have said that for months read my post. Lunch box Joe is better than the Trump but not helping us. We need true competition but they are letting Kroeger merger for no reason but profit. Started under Eisenhower got over the top with Regan and has not stopped.
You are entitled to your own opinions but NOT your own set of facts. Democrats like me, support a living wage for ALL workers, the child tax credit, progressive tax rates, & better public schools for ALL children. For timeless wisdom & history show that in a more JUST culture, ALL Americans can better flourish.
The GOP is so smitten with big business and big money, that aren't trying to serve all the people, just the wealthy donors. Democrats have to go through the system to get rid of Powell and DeJoy, people who have to be fired by boards of Governors, with a small majority in the Senate, and in the minority in the House to a group of Democracy haters driven by greed for power.
To clear up the situation with respect to the Fed chairman: the Fed chairman is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a fixed term of office, which is five years, I believe. Powell’s tenure was renewed by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2021. We’re stuck with him for four more years.
Ian, I agree. I’m getting disgusted with Democrats and the complete lack of urgency in indicting TFG, but also by letting Seditionist criminals be seated in Congress.
While there isn’t a lesser of 2 evils scenario, the RescumliCons are outright seditionist/fascist supporters. The R party blocked removal of the dangerous lunatic twice!!
But if Dems don’t follow the law & remove these people, then they don’t get our automatic support either. Our political system makes it difficult to be in the pocket of corporations for the abysmal amounts of money used to buy politics. Bernie did it!
Every day they attempt to have serious policy discussions with somehow-still-elected officials who openly supported the overthrow of the government by police-murdering lunatics who would have killed them if they were found is another day I wonder if America simply deserves to collapse to serve as a warning to other nations.
Dear Seeking Reason, I understand your disgust. But there is a 'chain of responsibility' that must be followed in any law-abiding Nation, which we are supposed to be. Neither House of Congress, Representatives or Senate, can indict. Not even the DOJ. Indictments come from the Grand Jury. What the House of Representatives and the Senate SHOULD and must do, is refer all miscreants in their chamber to their Ethics Committee. That Committee, if they agree to the guilt or unethical behavior, can, for guilt refer the person to the DOJ who in turn can gather the necessary evidence to present a request to a Grand Jury for indictment. In the case of unethical behavior, which certainly the notorious 147 traitors displayed. Then that unethical person can be referred to the floor (full body of legislators) of whichever Chamber to oust them forever, or at least for the balance of the session. This is what should have happened between January 6, 2020 and the last day of the session in the House of Representatives. It should happen now that we have better control of the Senate with those Senators who voted to overturn the will of the people by voting against the acceptance of the certified vote, January 6, 2020. One of my worst nightmares is Kevin McCarthy being Speaker and carrying through his threat to disband the Ethics Committee in the House of Representatives. He is capable of doing that, he is that smarmy. If it comes to pass lets hope the 212 Democrats unite and find at least 6 courageous, conscientious and honorable Republicans to prevent it from happening.
It is now nearly midnight EST and mc carthy just lost the 14th round of votes. BUT long story short: another vote to adjourn was just overruled because mc carthy now feels he got one hold-out (gaetz) to change his vote, so they are NOT adjourning; they are currently going through the 15th round. Nobody knows what mc carthy did to get gaetz to change his mind - and nobody know if he'll stick to the new "commitment" come his turn to yay/nay. Real clown show. I think the renegade "demand" re the ethics committee may still be in play. It is really REALLY scary. It appears that the inmates MAY be running the mc carthy asylum. What sad, weak, pathetic, DANGEROUS person mc carthy is.... AND those supporting him.
But apparently Gaetz or somebody caved and Mc(unworthy)Carthy was declared speaker with 216 votes, I don't understand how his happened, The Democrats held strong with 212 votes for Jeffries, I thought the nut case needed 218 votes to win.
Kevin McCarthy's willingness to make concessions and backroom deals with the Insurrection Caucus in order to secure his ambition to be speaker should have disqualified him from the job. Imagine if he had reached across the aisle to deal with a few moderate Democrats instead.
He may have "won" the vote, but in doing so America has certainly lost again. He negotiated with the terrorists because he put being Speaker of the House way too high on his bucket list.
Some bright spots, though: Several Dems had brief opportunities to get exposure on the national level, and the entire party displayed strong unity and used every chance to describe what that unity has been able to deliver to the American people the past 2 years. Especially gratifying is the 15-min speech Hakim Jeffries gave after the final vote and when he was announced House Minority Leader. You may wanna watch the last part more than once... Youtube link = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLOAQjjKJbM
Chrystal -- As we know, mc carthy's never been known for creativity, smart politics, and bravery..... and he's pretty much weakened the Speaker's position (HIS ability to efficiently manage getting necessary votes for any issue) and he will be spending every single day looking over his shoulder to see if any one of the insurrectionists is about to call a vote to remove him. Buckle up; it's gonna be a very VERY rough ride. It's disgusting. How so many people we KNOW were involved in Jan. 6, 2021 have been allowed to acquire this much power is extremely problematic.
That is what happened. The 6 holdouts were somehow induced (bribed? blackmailed?) to vote "present", so that McCarthy received the majority of the rest of the votes.
Excellent post even with that oxymoron at the end: "courageous, conscientious & honorable Republicans ". Will be lucky to find one with even 1 of those attributes. The fact that all of them voted for either traitorous McCarthy or someone even more extreme for Speaker proves they don't exist.
Fay, don’t the Politicians love to say no one is above the law. TFG et al are criminals under a multitude of laws. It is certainly odd to have fully separate laws for murdering seditionists and instigators. Crime is crime!
We are NOT a law-abiding nation at all. That is a fact. And this is a problem.
These criminals are untouchable even when attempting a deadly overthrow?
We cannot count on defectors from the christo-fascist republiCon Party. They are nothing more than that. Lack of action against serious high crime is encouragement of it.
You're only off by one year. I believe you're referring to the 2021 & swearing in of Congress members and the subsequent certifying of the (November, 2020) election. We're [mostly] all human and we make mistakes.
I understand your sentiments; however, I have also seen the GOP give awards to the likes of Rush Limbaugh but only one GOP member showed up when awards were given recently to those Americans that helped uphold our democracy while facing physical threats. There are differences. I heard an out-take clip of part of Kathrine Clark’s speech and she clearly identifies differences between GOP and Democrats. Yes, Dems need improvements but the alternative is MUCH worse. Would rank choice voting help?
Ian ; ditto for those in Congress who will not move to oust the election deniers/insurrectionists in their midst who threatened their lives, along with Democracy itself. A two thirds vote is needed to push them out. They continue to be a blight on our government and a real threat not only to Democracy and the rule of law, but the whole world. Can Justice prevail? Or are we doomed?
Actually those who broke their oath of office by committing sedition or other anticonstitutional acts are supposed to be automatically expelled unless at least 2/3 of each chamber of Congress vote to keep/reinstate them. In other words, it takes just 1/3 of at least 1 chamber of Congress to oust them, according to Amendment 14, Section 3. Should be easy. How many Democrats would want to keep the likes of Gosar, Greene, Biggs, Boebert, Perry, Gaetz, Jordan, McCarthy, etc.?
So whenever the federal government finally decides to apply the law to the people at the top, then maybe we can at last solve this constitutional crisis in which we find ourselves immersed. Yes, I know I'm just dreaming.
It sure is confusing to me. Why would they be allowed to stay if they are against Democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law, which they had sworn to uphold? This system is so corrupt that the latest blitzo ; Santos has been 'sworn in' to office. And we keep hearing that the DOJ does not have to prosecute, and can just not do it. What are our tax dollars going to? Our interests are a joke. How many working class stiffs have given their lives for our American Democracy? They give Officer Sicnick a posthumous medal and allow the thugs to sit in Congress!
AOC is the only member of Congress I've heard calling for the application of this amendment to expel her traitorous colleagues, but her calls seem to be falling on deaf ears.
That is how republicans keep getting back in. The democrats just slow it down but don't help. We need true competition at all levels that means at least 20 companies doing something nationally not just 2-4.
The alternative is to call out & pressure Democrats to do their duty & serve the people & enforce the Constitution. If that doesn't work, we might have to try working outside the 2-party system, although I'm afraid we no longer have enough time to build up something effective enough fast enough to make enough impact.
why do you need to be a dictator. FDR did it without dictatorial power. Look what Christ did with just love. Look what Regan did by telling workers it was better to give rich people all there money and they would give them back more money. None were dictators, did not need to be. FDR would still be president if you did not die and Regan would have won a third term if he could have run.
Tom, Be careful about crediting a dark ages character as if he was all about love. The bible (New Testament) has a number of passages of nutty comments from the character Jesus. Not a person I would use for moral action. Way too much hypocrisy in the bible itself.
Biden doesn't have Control over the Post Office, and he doesn't have authority to fire DeJoy. That is up to the 9 member Board of Governors, to which the President can appoint members (under the advice and consent of the Senate), but only when a vacancy occurs or a term expires.. The term for that position is 7 years. By law, no more than 5 of the members can be from the same political Party.
Biden has so far replaced 6 members of the Board. The Board is currently made up of 4 Republicans and 4 Democrats, and 1 Independent. At least 3 of the Republicans have terms that will last several more years. Those members support DeJoy.
It was the Board of Governors that selected DeJoy to be Postmaster General in 2020, and that position has no fixed term. Only the Board of Governors can remove the PG, and only by absolute majority vote.
By all means, blame Biden and Democrats for things they do, and for things they have the power to do, but fail to do. But don't blame them for things they have no authority to do.
So, here's my take on it. I understand what you're saying. I do. I've read about the protocols, the procedures, allllll of the reasons and excuses. But here are the problems: 1) Can you tell me a single remotely similar example where the GOP faced the same issue? I cannot recall one case where a progressive was able to maintain significant control of a major institution when Republicans wanted them gone, protocols and norms be damned. 2) To that, some people say, wait, won't we then become just like the GOP in arguing that the ends justify the means? And that is just absurd. This is not an individual we disagree with on policy matters. This is a man who knowingly worked with a seditious group to try to interfere with the ability of America to hold a free and fair election. The moves he made had absolutely zero justification to be done when and how he did them. The Biden admin should have fired him and let it go to court if he wanted to bring it there, which is exactly what the GOP has done over and over again. But in this case, they would have a ton of evidence to show his efforts to interfere with the election. Instead, the Dems just sit back again with the same excuses of norms and technicalities that they used to let Wall St. get away with destroying the world and the Bush administration get away with Iraq war lies.
You're right about the Democrats' failures to pay attention to the machinations of the GOP (for the last 50 years), and their even worse failure to do anything to stop it. No argument there. The Dems have sucked at their job for decades. No argument.
But my comment was exclusively in response to blaming the Ds and Biden for the current Post Office problem. You can't lay that one at their feet, at least not at this moment. Biden did what he could do. The rest is up to the Governing Board. Maybe Dems could have demanded the DOJ investigate the DeJoy matter and bring charges, but they that's ALL they could do, even if they could do that much. And the DOJ makes those decisions, not the Democratic Party.
As for "Progressives" not being about to "maintain significant control of a major institution," I'll answer that with a question? What progressives? The 10 or so in the House plus the 0 in the Senate? They are powerless against the Democratic Party, never mind the Republican Party. I've been amazed by how much they've managed to influence the legislation in the last 2 years, considering how little power the primarily center right D Party has allowed them.
The Republican Party is lawless and that has brought this country to the brink of ruin. I'm not convinced that the way to fix that is for the Democratic Party to be equally lawless. We may as well just declare war on half the country and be done with the pretense of government altogether.
Ian, once again, I completely agree. The Republicans snap their fingers and the Democrat is ousted. But visa versa never happens. This s not a disagreement of opinion, but a fight over cheating elections over and over again when the Democrats win the popular vote but don’t get to take office. The R party has physically attacked our government, they conspired sedition. This is THE time to pull out EVERY stop as the Rs do over and over again, while the Dems draw on every excuse under the sun with seemingly no sense of urgency this demands. Those of us who are the real patriots and law-abiding citizens are left unprotected by our own side of the government. We have put to death spies for less damage, yet these terrorists get 2 months to 2 years. Fully insufficient! And the mastermind gets referred to by the name I have never used for him. The P word. Since TFG was selected rather than elected, I refuse to apply that word to the biggest criminal in the WH we have had since the inception of this country!
We ALL know that if Democrats, BLM attacked the capitol building, threatened the lives of RescumliCon politicians, shit on the floor and ransacked elected official’s offices, we would all have been shot dead while climbing the wall!
Yet these barbaric murderers and fascist-supporting terrorists, weren’t even interviewed by the FBI. Breaking legal requirements for such a high level crime.
We will NOT move on from this. TFG is fully qualified for the death penalty but he is instead allowed to be treated as a rock star. Allowed to continue to inflict damage and communicate with people who have removed our rights! And continue to do so. Where is the OUTRAGE from the Democrats. To Democrats, Skip singing cumbaya on the capital steps and get these monsters out of our government as required by law!
Impeachment of Supreme Court judges should be launched but we know damn well, only RescumliCons would accomplish this were the roles reversed.
The widening wealth gap which is the result of decades of policies designed by the rich for the rich will create increasing instability. No wonder there are so many disaffected Americans who will vote for a candidate who promises to tear it all down. While Biden was probably the best candidate for the Dems, he was by far way too conservative for me. We need a major change in the taxation rules, and the lobbying rules, and we need people in leadership with a new vision for our country that will actually help those at the bottom of the economic heap. That's probably the only way we can prevent the pending chaos those extremists right wingers are intent on creating.
J. Noi: If Citizens United was struck down just think of all the lobbying money paid to politicians that could be funneled to those disaffected Americans. Higher wages, vacation and sick time, retirement benefits. Billions of $$ back into the system for the American worker rather than the coffers of K Street and the wallets of politicians.
I so agree. It seems so anti-democratic that some people have greater access to our representatives than we do and that they are allowed to use money to sway them for their own purposes. The reality is though, that any of us can visit with our Congress people and make a case for our "cause". It's the money that's the problem.
Yes, it is the money. We can visit our Congress, but it is terribly expensive. There is literally NO parking in DC. Hotels begin at $200/ night and go up to the thousands of dollars per night. I worked in DC for 15 months. Loved it. I My Congressman arranged for me an my (adult) granddaughter to tour the Capitol Building and even provided me with a personal tour guide from his office. We went through the same tunnel the Congress persons use to get to the Capitol chambers. We sat in the galleries of both House and Senate and listened to the debates for awhile. It was fantastic. But I didn't get to see Dr Bera on that trip, although I met him several times when I worked on his campaigns or attended his town halls. It would never have happened though if I hadn't been working there. It would have been too expensive.
Beware the Military-Industrial Complex . . . . It seems we ignored this wisdom at our own peril. Pogo was indeed a wise nebish : "we have met the enemy and it is us! "
As always . . . Awakened not woke , Educated not indoctrinated.
Fay, fully publicly funded elections are the ONLY way to stop this. We also do not need 4 years of campaigning. Getting lobby money out will do away with this as well.
I generally agree, but there are lobby groups that are pro-labor, pro-consumer or pro-environment like the Citizens Climate Lobby to which I belong. Maybe eliminate paid lobbyists only.
I agree. Many non-profits also lobby for generally good causes, and some of their lobbyists are paid as well, since it's considered a profession. We need to overturn Citizens United, and take the big money out of the picture.
J., I agree we need more progressives in power, but voting to "tear it all down" is just stupid and stupid is a choice. There is a whole lot between where we are now and "tear it all down." I do not understand that way of looking at things because voting for chaos does not actually bring anyone closer to the kind of change those voters claim they want. Anger with no discipline rarely does good for anyone. The House insanity with McCarthy should show all of us what happens when chaos is trying to get into power. Right now, Republicans are the toddlers in the room, whining, lying, crying, throwing tantrums (quiet ones, but tantrums nonetheless), and ignoring the adults in the room who are really trying to stand firm for stability rather than chaos. McCarthy has given away any pretense of caring for the American people on the part of Republicans. They want power and money to get reelected. That is it. Oh yes, they also want to wreck Social Security and anything that actually helps the American people. They certainly do lie to claim how much they care and voters actually believe them with absolutely no evidence. That goes along with their claims (with no evidence) that the 2020 election was fraudulent.)
The MAGAts like authoritarianism, like Putin and Orban. They are against abortion because they claim to support the 'sanctity' of life (except a woman's life). Yet even the images of a woman trying to give birth in a war zone and eventually dying along with her baby has not moved any of them to rethink their support for Putin and authoritarians like him. Where are the protests and outrage from them? The first thing they will try to cut will be aid : humanitarian and military, to Ukraine. I hope they cannot.
Laurie, it seems to me what Republicans have learned since the Nixon days is that speech is cheap, particularly if you can get the media to cover whatever crap you say. They care nothing for life beyond their own. They like Putey and Hungary's Putey because they are white men who got power because they have loud mouths, a network of thugs who will do their bidding, and the media which will multiply and amplify their lies and just words because they don't really care that much what they say because most of it is lies anyway. They care nothing for women (even the women among them care nothing for other women). Fetuses are a political tool so they can put into place all kinds of anti-woman policies. Republicans are soooo on board with that too. All of them have taken the courts, so can declare whatever they want gone, gone. And, no one expects they will have legal justifications for what they are doing that reflect modern thought or what is actually beneficial for anyone but themselves. They are also great blamers. Everyone is at fault for everything except them and in reality, they are often the ones at fault. It works great especially when the media is either totally controlled by the child-men or like here pretends it has some idea of "balance." There is no balance. One party lies nearly all the time, cheats when it can (gerrymandering), and exploits the Supreme Court's Citizens United case which gave dark money donors free rein to contribute as much as it wants to buy members of congress. I don't know how to get the "real Americans" to see how they are being used.
Well said, Ruth! In addition to the gerrymandering there is the Electoral College that skews the vote, giving the 'right' more clout, and taking power from Democrats.
I don't know how people can keep claiming that Biden was our best candidate when we had a candidate who was extremely sharp with boundless energy, who came up with well thought out plans for almost all our major problems, & has an impeccable record for standing up for ordinary people & for what is right against the powers that be, Elizabeth Warren. Only a Roosevelt could solve our multiple crises & turn us around. Warren was/is that Roosevelt, but the vast majority of Americans have failed to recognize it.
He was the best because he is a moderate appealing to a wider swath of people. Putting up a woman, we'd once again have to cross our fingers that misogyny didn't come into play. Americans seem loathe to have a woman at the helm, so because it was so important to win that election it was better to be careful than bold. I agree that there were other candidates who were better equipped to make the changes necessary, but I held my nose and voted Biden.
I am tired of this posing of conventional wisdom that a woman can't be elected. In 2016, the Democratic establishment proclaimed it the year of the woman as they put all their support behind Hillary. Then suddenly in 2020, a woman couldn't be elected. What's the difference? Hillary was a corporate friendly candidate who would preserve corporate interests, & Warren was a progressive who would stand up to corporations. So they had to put up this false meme that a woman couldn't win. By the way, conventional wisdom has generally been wrong throughout this century, when our society has become very unconventional & anti-establishment.
Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, “…the rate of return on capital would steadily diminish (thereby killing the engine of accumulation and leading to violent conflict among capitalists), or capital’s share of national income would increase indefinitely (which sooner or later would unite the workers in revolt.)
John K Fishman ; Revolution does not have to be chaotic or even destructive. Remember the mid terms. While not anticipated nor revolutionary, they went against the mold.
The midterms were no better than a wash, actually worse than that. Look at the chaos in the House, which we'll have to endure for the next two years at least.
Actually, Democrats did exceptionally well for midterm elections where we had the incumbent President. Usually it means lots of lost seats. Dems hold the Senate with a majority, which can do its own investigations. With that it could mean getting another more liberal judge or two on the Supreme Court. I have this fantasy that Jack Smith will go after the seditionists in Congress, as well as other 'high rollers', up to the former guy! Congress could go into meltdown with the crazies and their concession from McCarthy that a single nut job can oust him if they get miffed about his actions. Lots of untenable situations possible there ahead. Very concerning. Give 'em enough rope to hang themselves. The majority will still rule!!!!
But consider who was running against the Democrats: liars, crooks, seditionists, insurrectionists, traitors, led by the worst, most corrupt president in history, who was proven to have planned, organized & incited a deadly insurrection against the Capitol, & steal hundreds of top secret classified government documents, which earned him the (dis)honor of displacing Benedict Arnold as the most notorious traitor in our history. Meanwhile they were going after our individual rights, such as right to abortion, voting rights, marriage rights, birth control, etc., and trying to turn our country into a fascist authoritarian state, & proving themselves to be a subversive terrorist organization.
In view of all that, how could they win any office? Of course, the answer is enormous amounts of money going to Republicans from billionaires & corporations, an extremely effective disinformational propaganda machine indoctrinating millions of Americans, & far too many Americans who don't treasure democracy & are fine with us becoming authoritarian.
Jaime ; Everything you cite is in there, for sure! It's all a big threat to every human who wants self rule and fairness in Democracy. I hope we can get through this time of terror!
"One possibility: Any large corporation in an industry dominated by five or fewer giant corporations that raises its prices more than the Fed’s target of 2 percent should be presumed to have monopoly power, and slammed with an antitrust lawsuit."
Five or fewer seems generous - many industries have no more than three "competitors" (and, in some cases, there are only two that are relevant!)...
Rishi, we don’t have the strength of former anti-monopoly laws. It is up to courts to decide on the legality. And we know the big problem with that right now!
True... but the FTC & DOJ can still do their part to shape competition in the marketplace; both agencies appear to be signaling their intent to remain vigilant as well (e.g. by challenging proposed mergers). European agencies can help as well...!
We need another trustbuster. Where is Roosevelt when we need him? Well, we actually had a chance to elect a modern Roosevelt, Elizabeth Warren, in 2020, but we missed it, perhaps a fatal failure. She was Theodore & Franklin wrapped into one with the way she consistently & persistently confronts corporate power & formulates plans for solving our most pressing problems. That's the kind of leader we so desperately need.
Rishi, what a great idea! I would love to see some of those over 2%-ers taken to task and fined a huge amount of money for their bad behavior. That would bring prices and inflation down pretty quickly, if say, a dozen or so corporations were hit.
If nothing else they'll be punished by the markets for their short-sighted behavior: borrowing gobs of money when it was cheap (i.e. interest rates were low) allowed American companies to trade soundness for temporary security; now the bill will come due (Trump tax cuts truly aren't cheap!)...
Imagine a mechanic who had only one tool, one that was almost useless to begin with. The mechanic wouldn’t be able to repair or adjust very effectively. The mechanic would be darned good at damaging things that the tool doesn’t fit. Powell and the Fed are this mechanic and they are the only unchecked shop in town.
Tim, so how can we shut the shop down, at least temporarily until the economy can right itself, which I think it will do if left alone for say, 6 months?
Ruth, I wish I knew. I can’t think of any other professional setting where there is only one tool, and it feels like a hammer. That tool does of course have some value, but the very definition of an economy is far more complex. I feel it’s not just the Fed. For example, one doesn’t need the Fed to hold big business accountable, to behave well and not as predators,, to pay their share in taxes and to treat their employees well. That used to be the “contract”. I look at our top one percenters and feel they are also being selfish and unethical in avoiding their share of the expenses. When those things are persistently out of balance it will only get worse. Start with leveling the field so we all live by the same rules. And fix the tax laws where they allow huge disparity to exist legally, though not ethically.
Tim, I am on board with the need to function from a level playing field, but alas, the 1% cares nothing for level anything. They got where they are on a decidedly non-level field and believe their privilege didn't exist and that it was their tremendous brilliance and talent that did it for them. They are wrong but the myth lives. The House with its toddlers in charge now will do nothing to level the field in any way because they are members of the "I did it all by myself" club.
Lying for them is a way of life and helping anyone else gain any ground is not. We do have some laws in place that should help us, but who is going to enforce them. DOJ doesn't seem to be able to do much these days as they prosecute the actors in the insurrection while unable to figure out what to do about the leaders who need to be prosecuted. I don't see them having time to prosecute the tax cheaters when the IRS finally identifies them or the states dealing effectively with the people who are undermining our local governments and school boards with their hatred and lying. Where do we start? I honestly don't know.
It’s a curious thing. We hire citizens to take their turn to represent us for a awhile. And we expect them to do their jobs in service to their country. Then, we hire other good citizens to hold them accountable when they don’t. What happens when it seems the check and the balance are no longer attached to the scale?
I agree Tim. I've been saying for months that the Fed's only tool in the hammer called "Interest Rates" and they've been eager to use it on this screw called "Inflation" even when analysis has shown 54% of the inflation was profiteering, not necessary cost increases or some kind of bloat of workers finally having "too much money" after 45 years of NOT having enough to keep rate with inflation to begin with.
We needed someone at the Fed who understand the practical limits and applications of their tool and who will implore CONGRESS to use the law to address all these economic problems that fall outside actually being solved by willy nilly interest rate manipulations.
We also need someone at the Fed whose perspective on the economy isn't a myopic obsession with numbers on a spreadsheet, completely divorced from the notion that "The Economy" affects real people's real lives in often long lasting and disastrous ways. People who think economics is a game of applied theory to pushing a line ever upward for it's own sake... with no sense of how pushing the line in some ways ruins lives should have no business as Fed chair, and I am convinced Powell is exactly this kind of person.
I’m not a very good complainer- I like to fix things, like some sense of fairness and collaboration. Always thought that the definition of a leading civilized society presumed that.
It is virtually criminal behavior by corporate giants who in the past 50 years have essentially gained control of our political process. I cannot agree more that these giants should be penalized for their predatory practices and the DOJ should become trustbusters.
In addition, stock buy-backs should be unlawful as they make a mockery of our capital system!
Yeah that’s just sad. I thought the feds major assignment was to keep employment high, and now they want to cut it so that we get paid less. The boomer generation worked 30 years under stagnant wages, my whole adult life. Retrained twice, still ended up “low income” aka: poor.
At 71 I'm still working at my small shop. It's the only way to 'make ends meet' and afford some 'extras' like dental care and eye care that is not covered, like glasses and also hearing aids. The way things are going, my barber shop income may be necessary to live ; There is a push to end Social Security 'as we know it'. Crazy that it is taxed! At least for those with modest incomes. What will happen with a long government shut down!?
Laurie, I have always found it to be idiotic not to include eye wear and care as a medical necessity. Most everyone needs eye correction. And dental care is critical to health too. Most people, down the road or as we age, will need hearing aid.
As far as Social Security, ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ADULT in the US will depend on it. Take it away from the MAGAs and even they will revolt. I don’t think that will happen without extreme repercussions, including violence. But why must we be pushed to that point!?
$858 BILLION dollar budget for the fiscal yr of 2023!!! But sorry, no money gor you to see well or hear well. I’m sure you understand…🤦🏻🙄
I am so glad I am retired and all income coming in is indexed. This country is not for workers and not just the Fed. Restricting unions, ignoring raises to minimum pay and the bigger they get the more the top earns.
The people making these interest rate/pricing/wage decisions are the very ones personally unaffected by price explosions. First, they're all in bed together-the same schools, the same Wall Street "Too Big to Fail" bamboozler revolving doors, a monetary orgy of privilege, grift, greed, and arrogance. Second, they're all part of that 10% owning 90% of stocks; the very ones making the decisions, the rules, are not only not negatively affected by increasing prices but are rewarded by such. Sickening.
Ken Simpson - We have just been told that inflation was 7.1% this year. How accurate is this? it seems that price increases are in fact probably higher than this. A couple of years ago, A doughnut at Dunkin's was 83cents, it is now $1.30. A couple of years ago, a McDonald's McChicken sandwich was 79 cents, it is now $1.49. Less than a year ago, a slice of cheese pizza was $1.06 at Cumberland farms, a couple of months ago I dropped in to buy such a slice, it was $1.59. Some of these jagged price increases predate covid 19 and the war in the Ukraine. It is frightening; I am a retiree living on a Civil Service pension and Social Security, and neither is increasing like this. A recent mailing from the Senior Citizens League said Social Security recipients have lost 40% of their purchasing power over the past 20 years since cost of living adjustments have failed to keep up with inflation.
I'm fairly well convinced there is a hefty contingent of pseudo-libertarian billionaires who are very much in favor of a return to a system where they own everything and control everything, and all the peons just work in exchange for company scrip or room and board, until you serve no useful purpose to their needs, at such time you will be turned out to die in a ditch somewhere.
I’d say they are very real libertarians and not pseudo at all. These libertarians don’t want government regulations. It holds them accountable. The rest of your comment, I agree!
This is about hoarding wealth and injecting their religion, the christian religion and no other. They are as anti-American to the ideas of the founders as one could get.
It is about enjoying bulldozing everyone who gets in the way of maximum profits while still enjoying the relaxing benefits of smoking marijuana. 🙂
But fundamentally their Libertarianism is fake and only self concerned.
That their infinite liberty comes at an obvious direct cost to everyone else's Liberty illustrates that it's a scam philosophy to rationalize greed, without actually standing for what it purports to stand for at all.
To rationalize not only greed, but their anti-social attitude. They are like headstrong children that think they should be able to do whatever they desire regardless of who gets hurt. No laws for them. Immature.
Do you remember when ATT was THE ONLY phone company . You paid Seven Dollars to speak for 15 minutes long distance. The breakup of ATT is why phone calls are cheaper than when ATT had no competition. Phone communication is getting cheaper because of competition from TMUS (T Mobile ) is driving the cost of communication down.
Um, history tells a different story. The current company known as AT&T is not the same AT&T that was broken up by Judge Green in 1982. One of the regional Bell operating companies, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, started acquiring other regional Bell operating companies. It also changed its name to SBC Communications. In 2005 SBC Communications purchased AT&T, which at this point was a long-distance company, for 16 billion dollars, and took on the more popular AT&T name and brand.
There were also separate movements in the wireless industry with the wireless arm of the business becoming a subsidiary of the company as AT&T mobility.
All of these acquisitions had to pass DOJ and FCC approval, with some of the transactions requiring divestiture of certain business units. SBC did a fair bit of political finagling along the way to get the DOJ and the FCC to go along with each buy.
Reich's analysis of the Fed's approach is yet another indicator of how BOTH parties are controlled by big money. Why isn't Reich's analysis a centerpiece of the progressive political agenda? It's simple enough that most people should get it.
The Fed is representing the billionaire class. The raising of interest rates is really about killing jobs so that there is more competition for employment and this weakens workers and there pursuit for workers rights as a result of increased demand for employment in comparison available workers.
Wow! Appropriately depressing on a depressing day, a day when we are reminded over and over that insurrectionists attacked our Capitol and Capital and would have killed elected members of Congress had reinforcements not shown up to stop them, and, that little has been done to hold the insurgents accountable. Oh yes, a few guys who put themselves on social media to brag of their efforts to overthrow our government have been sentenced to tiny amounts of time in jail, but nothing has been done to the ringleaders, the ones who planned the event and who continue to sit in Congress voting and not voting for a non-entity, Kevin McCarthy for Speaker. One smugly directs actions of his "forces from his resort in Florida and state legislatures are swimming with either insurgents or those who are in total support of them and their efforts. It is disgusting, but what can we do. Due to a filibuster in the Senate that only requires a single man to whine that he doesn't like something Democrats are for, even if it would make things better in this nation, has kept a voting rights act from going into place that would outlaw gerrymandering (cheating no matter what one calls it), a requirement that everyone has the right to vote, not just ones Republicans like, and other important provisions. The Supreme Court sits smugly gloating over the bad decisions they made for our nation last year and plan to make this year. On one hand, the chief brings up Brown v. Board of Education while knowing he plans to vote to destroy affirmative action which is the only thing that has helped to realize Brown V. Board. The hypocrite in chief has proven just because you are a white guy who is not unattractive and who went to an elite school does not make you worthy of a high office of responsibility. On the other hand, Clarence Thomas has questionable activities in his background and a wife who is an unabashed insurgent. Biden made a huge mistake letting Jerome Powell, a Trumper, remain in charge of the fed. He seems to be OK with chaos and workers being unemployed so huge corporations can cheat the people while they rake in the bucks. I can't help but wonder whose pocket Powell is in. It is certain it is not the pocket of the American people. What a jerk!
Frankly, I think it's time to take a look at eliminating The Federal Reserve. I really believe discussions should be taking place for some way to reduce the role of the central bank. By all accounts, the central bank has ALWAYS favored the wealthy, the upper class, corporations, what have you. Working people have been the force that BUILT AMERICA. TODAY, largely thanks to the central bank and Reaganomics, working people have been left behind. FAR behind.
Jonathan, I would like to see a serious investigation of the value of the Fed. It may turn out we no longer need a Central Bank. On the other hand, we might, but it might need to have a whole lot less power to screw with our economy as it is doing now. Then, when you get a fool with only one tool which several members of this thread have pointed out, only damage can be done. And, when damage is done by such a strong entity, the people who are hurt are not the rich and powerful; it's the working folks and folks who want to make a better life for their families. It's time this institution be checked out for its actual value to our society.
That's all I meant was to examine whether or not we could do without it. Since its inception, around 1915, after the NY bankers promised it would stop the incessant recessions, we've had a market crash, and every 20-25 years had severe recessions. And every time, those recessions hit working people MUCH harder than the rich. I believe the "experiment" has been a colossal failure, to society as a whole.
Ruth ; I agree ; in a country where money is speech I am suspicious that the Fed can set working people up to make less money as a remedy for 'inflation' that is nothing more than billionaires' price gouging us for goods we need. What a set-up for THEM! And a losing proposition for US. Our ability to SPEAK is then limited as well as our ability to eat and put a roof over our heads. How can we afford to contribute to Inequality Media Civics Action if we don't have enough to live well?
Laurie, I suspect that is why Trump nominated Powell and the Senate approved him. He is not an economics genius. One can tell what kind of person he is when listening to his speech about raising the interest rates until inflation was stopped, and unemployment rose, even if it meant a recession. That said it all to me. I just don't understand where the other Fed members are and why they let Powell, the Trumper make the decision about interest rates. Are they all rich folks who truly care nothing about the people and how painful unemployment is. Maybe they need to be unemployed for a while, maybe permanently from the Fed.
I think that might give them some insight. The ones now controlling the purse strings of Congress seem eager to cut cut and cut some more of government spending. But instead of helping working people , they want to cut funding to IRS which will protect the rich. They certainly will not fund the FEC, or the FCC, or anything that will help the public.
It becomes very difficult to advocate for supporting Democrats with news like this. Maintaining Powell, to say nothing of DeJoyless and the other Trumpers Biden strangely decided to keep on, has sent a very sad message about whether the party truly cares about the working class, democracy, and everything else they yelled about in their GOTV efforts. What does a worker gain if he elects a Dem but loses his wages, regulations, and job security? Well, the same misery they would have gotten with a Republican. Once again, the Dems reveal themselves to be too beholden to corporate interests. This is making those of us who have to try to mobilize voters with the lesser evil argument have to work even harder given how small that gap of evilness appears to Americans who get their money from paychecks, not from trusts, investments, and financial schemes.
Right now the Dems are working for us have you asked a republican what they've done for you lately?
Madeline, I agree with you. The circus in the Capitol just proves Republicans have nothing to offer anyone but lies, mistrust, disingenuousness, threats, deals that let insurgents get far far too much power on important committees when they should actually be in prison for trying to overthrow our government. They would have been OK with Pence hanged and as many of their colleagues killed as possible so they could keep a lying, cheat in office. I get it that Dems haven't given us everything we would need or like, but Republicans have given us NOTHING! They will continue to give us nothing while they work hard to undermine our democracy. The thing we need to do is figure out how to stop them. Too many New Yorkers sat home in November, so we have a Republican majority House and that bodes good for no one, except for the ones making deals with McCarthy to get committee assignments and other perks they do not deserve. It's appalling. What a disgusting human being McCarthy is, just like all the rest of the insurgents.
I certainly agree, but I am fortunate enough to be able to discover and focus on their multiple areas of progress. For too many Americans, it’s still the economy above all.
"One possibility: Any large corporation in an industry dominated by five or fewer giant corporations that raises its prices more than the Fed’s target of 2 percent should be presumed to have monopoly power, and slammed with an antitrust lawsuit."
IMHO price fixing and price gouging is epidemic and is the basis for inflation. Democrats tried to pass legislation to get authority to sue price fixers and price gougers. Republicans opposed it. At the state level, some have authority to sue. Some state laws permit consumers to sue.
This kind of fraud exists in many businesses, not just major domestic corporations.
The government is a major consumer. IMHO it gets screwed and should be alerted to price fixing and price gouging scams. Perpetrators of fraud often target large government programs such as Medicare, federal disaster assistance, and unemployment benefits. During the pandemic, billions of dollars were also stolen from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by fraudsters who created fictitious businesses or inflated the employee or revenue numbers of a legitimate business.
In all such cases, people were trying to deceive the government in one way or another; according to our survey, government employees on the front lines say the most common types of FWA they see are from people submitting false claims and using forged or fake documents to obtain benefits to which they are not entitled.
In terms of frequency, the next-most-common instances of FWA involve billing for unnecessary items or services, charging excessively for items or services, and billing for goods or services that were never delivered, an offense that is often accompanied by falsified records.
Other common types of fraud that government employees are seeing:
* Misusing codes on a claim, such as upcoding or unbundling codes.
* Using kickbacks, bribes, or rebates to induce or reward referrals for items or services reimbursed by government programs.
*Unauthorized online access, like account takeovers.
*Synthetic identity or business fraud.
*Paying for referrals of program beneficiaries.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud
After 47 years of working for or with Government agencies, I understand and appreciate your statement Daniel. I have heard officials in the Government from Ronald Reagan onward putting the blame on 'Welfare Queens' None of my friends believed me when I told them the biggest fraud (meaning the most amount of their tax dollars stolen) came not from Welfare Queens but Business Rats. They cite things such as the woman exiting a Cadillac and entering the Welfare office in a fur coat. They just ignored the fact that at that time she could buy an older model Cadillac for $150 when the same year and model Chevrolet, Ford or Plymouth cost $1500. The fur coat (even mink) could be purchased at any thrift store for $25 but a cloth coat at the same thrift shop cost $50. But a business billing medicare for a wheel chair for a dead man or air canisters for a healthy older woman who never met that man, that they could ignore. Everyone is willing to believe he $700 toilet seat for the military, but they blame the military, not the crook who sold it, nor the Congressman who insisted the military buy it because this particular crook was one of his valued donors, We need to forcefully educate the "common American", indoctrinate them with the truth, as the Republicans have done so well with indoctrinating them with lies.
Awakend not Woke, EDUCATED not indoctrinated !!! Words matter.
YES!!! And you are the only person I have ever heard correctly translate "woke". I will help spread the word. Thank you!
Fay, thank you for these staunch words in favor of fairness.
Ms Reid:
The significance of the GOP painting the welfare "villain" as a woman should not be lost on us, either. 🤨
Agree. but then their (GOP, WASPs) main villains are women. We want control of our own bodies (what???) We expect the same pay for the same work (you've got to be kidding - you don't even have balls!) Oh, and we're all bitches (black, brown, red, white, yellow, hell even if we're sky blue pink with purple polka dots - as my Aunt used to say)
You bet!
democrats were in total power for last two years they could have passed a law but did not. Don't blame republicans for the democrats not coming to our aid. Really that simple. Neither wants true competition. Hey it is a two party system not a 20 party system. Easy to pay off both sides of two parties especially when most are not competitive so you only need to give to one side in over half the contest.
"Don't blame republicans for the democrats not coming to our aid."
Republicans blocked the legislation in the Senate. Period.
Daniel Solomon ; The Democrats passed the infrastructure bill and got some help for people. The bridge that McConnell was meeting with Biden about is possible to fix because of that achievement. There are some GOP who actually act like it is THEIR doing, but it is not.
Don't forget Manchin and Synema
They are true Reptilians.
Laurie:
The two of them make that quite impossible.😑
Tom ; the filibuster did not help either.
Wow. You just passed the buck again.
Ian, Let’s also not forget that the Dems have tried to do more -- and keep getting blocked by the Republicans.
I want to elaborate a little: The pundits are constantly blaming the Democrats for not getting more progressive policies through. Or they focus blame specifically on Sinema and Manchin. But they're only 2 people.
We need to be blaming the Republicans more for their obstruction of good policies that most Americans actually want!!!!!! (I am shouting that!)
When I was door-to-door canvassing in the last election, I came across a registered Democrat who refused to vote at all; he was fed up with the Democrats because they never made single-payer national health care happen. Was that the Dems fault??? I don't think so!
Obamacare is a good example, I think, of severe compromises made when we really wanted national, single-payer. Right? Can we please keep that in mind?! Can the pundits Please do a better job of putting credit where it's due and blame where it's due?
Yes, but by the vast majority of measurements, the Democratic Party has consistently done far better than the Republican Party on the economy. Too many people have been misled by right-wing propaganda paid by giant corporations & billionaires to think otherwise.
Comparing with a subversive terrorist organization like the Republican Party has come to be, makes almost any organization look good by comparison, but the Democratic Party is still way too beholden to corporate interests.
your wrong neither is working for us. Wake up. Lack of competition is the issue all along. I have said that for months read my post. Lunch box Joe is better than the Trump but not helping us. We need true competition but they are letting Kroeger merger for no reason but profit. Started under Eisenhower got over the top with Regan and has not stopped.
You are entitled to your own opinions but NOT your own set of facts. Democrats like me, support a living wage for ALL workers, the child tax credit, progressive tax rates, & better public schools for ALL children. For timeless wisdom & history show that in a more JUST culture, ALL Americans can better flourish.
The GOP is so smitten with big business and big money, that aren't trying to serve all the people, just the wealthy donors. Democrats have to go through the system to get rid of Powell and DeJoy, people who have to be fired by boards of Governors, with a small majority in the Senate, and in the minority in the House to a group of Democracy haters driven by greed for power.
To clear up the situation with respect to the Fed chairman: the Fed chairman is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a fixed term of office, which is five years, I believe. Powell’s tenure was renewed by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2021. We’re stuck with him for four more years.
Ian, I agree. I’m getting disgusted with Democrats and the complete lack of urgency in indicting TFG, but also by letting Seditionist criminals be seated in Congress.
While there isn’t a lesser of 2 evils scenario, the RescumliCons are outright seditionist/fascist supporters. The R party blocked removal of the dangerous lunatic twice!!
But if Dems don’t follow the law & remove these people, then they don’t get our automatic support either. Our political system makes it difficult to be in the pocket of corporations for the abysmal amounts of money used to buy politics. Bernie did it!
Every day they attempt to have serious policy discussions with somehow-still-elected officials who openly supported the overthrow of the government by police-murdering lunatics who would have killed them if they were found is another day I wonder if America simply deserves to collapse to serve as a warning to other nations.
Ian, You took the words right out of my mouth! 🎯 Fully agree.
Correction: our system makes it difficult NOT to be in the pockets of corporations.
Dear Seeking Reason, I understand your disgust. But there is a 'chain of responsibility' that must be followed in any law-abiding Nation, which we are supposed to be. Neither House of Congress, Representatives or Senate, can indict. Not even the DOJ. Indictments come from the Grand Jury. What the House of Representatives and the Senate SHOULD and must do, is refer all miscreants in their chamber to their Ethics Committee. That Committee, if they agree to the guilt or unethical behavior, can, for guilt refer the person to the DOJ who in turn can gather the necessary evidence to present a request to a Grand Jury for indictment. In the case of unethical behavior, which certainly the notorious 147 traitors displayed. Then that unethical person can be referred to the floor (full body of legislators) of whichever Chamber to oust them forever, or at least for the balance of the session. This is what should have happened between January 6, 2020 and the last day of the session in the House of Representatives. It should happen now that we have better control of the Senate with those Senators who voted to overturn the will of the people by voting against the acceptance of the certified vote, January 6, 2020. One of my worst nightmares is Kevin McCarthy being Speaker and carrying through his threat to disband the Ethics Committee in the House of Representatives. He is capable of doing that, he is that smarmy. If it comes to pass lets hope the 212 Democrats unite and find at least 6 courageous, conscientious and honorable Republicans to prevent it from happening.
It is now nearly midnight EST and mc carthy just lost the 14th round of votes. BUT long story short: another vote to adjourn was just overruled because mc carthy now feels he got one hold-out (gaetz) to change his vote, so they are NOT adjourning; they are currently going through the 15th round. Nobody knows what mc carthy did to get gaetz to change his mind - and nobody know if he'll stick to the new "commitment" come his turn to yay/nay. Real clown show. I think the renegade "demand" re the ethics committee may still be in play. It is really REALLY scary. It appears that the inmates MAY be running the mc carthy asylum. What sad, weak, pathetic, DANGEROUS person mc carthy is.... AND those supporting him.
But apparently Gaetz or somebody caved and Mc(unworthy)Carthy was declared speaker with 216 votes, I don't understand how his happened, The Democrats held strong with 212 votes for Jeffries, I thought the nut case needed 218 votes to win.
If members were not present at the proceedings, or decided to vote "present" that (unfortunately) lowered the required threshold to win.
https://thehill.com/homenews/3803662-five-takeaways-how-mccarthy-won-the-speakership/
Kevin McCarthy's willingness to make concessions and backroom deals with the Insurrection Caucus in order to secure his ambition to be speaker should have disqualified him from the job. Imagine if he had reached across the aisle to deal with a few moderate Democrats instead.
He may have "won" the vote, but in doing so America has certainly lost again. He negotiated with the terrorists because he put being Speaker of the House way too high on his bucket list.
Some bright spots, though: Several Dems had brief opportunities to get exposure on the national level, and the entire party displayed strong unity and used every chance to describe what that unity has been able to deliver to the American people the past 2 years. Especially gratifying is the 15-min speech Hakim Jeffries gave after the final vote and when he was announced House Minority Leader. You may wanna watch the last part more than once... Youtube link = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLOAQjjKJbM
Chrystal -- As we know, mc carthy's never been known for creativity, smart politics, and bravery..... and he's pretty much weakened the Speaker's position (HIS ability to efficiently manage getting necessary votes for any issue) and he will be spending every single day looking over his shoulder to see if any one of the insurrectionists is about to call a vote to remove him. Buckle up; it's gonna be a very VERY rough ride. It's disgusting. How so many people we KNOW were involved in Jan. 6, 2021 have been allowed to acquire this much power is extremely problematic.
That is what happened. The 6 holdouts were somehow induced (bribed? blackmailed?) to vote "present", so that McCarthy received the majority of the rest of the votes.
Excellent post even with that oxymoron at the end: "courageous, conscientious & honorable Republicans ". Will be lucky to find one with even 1 of those attributes. The fact that all of them voted for either traitorous McCarthy or someone even more extreme for Speaker proves they don't exist.
Thanks for the laugh, Jaime, it is indeed an oxymoron (:-)
Fay, don’t the Politicians love to say no one is above the law. TFG et al are criminals under a multitude of laws. It is certainly odd to have fully separate laws for murdering seditionists and instigators. Crime is crime!
We are NOT a law-abiding nation at all. That is a fact. And this is a problem.
These criminals are untouchable even when attempting a deadly overthrow?
We cannot count on defectors from the christo-fascist republiCon Party. They are nothing more than that. Lack of action against serious high crime is encouragement of it.
I wish we could be what “we are supposed to be.”
You're only off by one year. I believe you're referring to the 2021 & swearing in of Congress members and the subsequent certifying of the (November, 2020) election. We're [mostly] all human and we make mistakes.
I understand your sentiments; however, I have also seen the GOP give awards to the likes of Rush Limbaugh but only one GOP member showed up when awards were given recently to those Americans that helped uphold our democracy while facing physical threats. There are differences. I heard an out-take clip of part of Kathrine Clark’s speech and she clearly identifies differences between GOP and Democrats. Yes, Dems need improvements but the alternative is MUCH worse. Would rank choice voting help?
Well said Rose. And ranked voting is a good idea.
Ian ; ditto for those in Congress who will not move to oust the election deniers/insurrectionists in their midst who threatened their lives, along with Democracy itself. A two thirds vote is needed to push them out. They continue to be a blight on our government and a real threat not only to Democracy and the rule of law, but the whole world. Can Justice prevail? Or are we doomed?
Actually those who broke their oath of office by committing sedition or other anticonstitutional acts are supposed to be automatically expelled unless at least 2/3 of each chamber of Congress vote to keep/reinstate them. In other words, it takes just 1/3 of at least 1 chamber of Congress to oust them, according to Amendment 14, Section 3. Should be easy. How many Democrats would want to keep the likes of Gosar, Greene, Biggs, Boebert, Perry, Gaetz, Jordan, McCarthy, etc.?
So whenever the federal government finally decides to apply the law to the people at the top, then maybe we can at last solve this constitutional crisis in which we find ourselves immersed. Yes, I know I'm just dreaming.
It sure is confusing to me. Why would they be allowed to stay if they are against Democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law, which they had sworn to uphold? This system is so corrupt that the latest blitzo ; Santos has been 'sworn in' to office. And we keep hearing that the DOJ does not have to prosecute, and can just not do it. What are our tax dollars going to? Our interests are a joke. How many working class stiffs have given their lives for our American Democracy? They give Officer Sicnick a posthumous medal and allow the thugs to sit in Congress!
AOC is the only member of Congress I've heard calling for the application of this amendment to expel her traitorous colleagues, but her calls seem to be falling on deaf ears.
Jaime ; I noticed that! She is very brave.
She is. She even mingled with the rebels (who she said should be expelled) during the voting for Speaker, the only Democrat I recognized doing that.
Hey, Laurie, what happened to the Sunday Caption Contest? I got no notice from Dr. Reich this morning.
That is how republicans keep getting back in. The democrats just slow it down but don't help. We need true competition at all levels that means at least 20 companies doing something nationally not just 2-4.
What the alternative? Support fascist, white supremacist, repugnicans who don't believe facts? Grow up.
The alternative is to call out & pressure Democrats to do their duty & serve the people & enforce the Constitution. If that doesn't work, we might have to try working outside the 2-party system, although I'm afraid we no longer have enough time to build up something effective enough fast enough to make enough impact.
Well done. Choose the dems for lackluster work or the republicans for outright horrible governing.
Make me dictator for 12 months and I will reset environment, politics and other nagging issues.
why do you need to be a dictator. FDR did it without dictatorial power. Look what Christ did with just love. Look what Regan did by telling workers it was better to give rich people all there money and they would give them back more money. None were dictators, did not need to be. FDR would still be president if you did not die and Regan would have won a third term if he could have run.
Good points. My perspective is one of having little patience.
Tom, Be careful about crediting a dark ages character as if he was all about love. The bible (New Testament) has a number of passages of nutty comments from the character Jesus. Not a person I would use for moral action. Way too much hypocrisy in the bible itself.
Biden doesn't have Control over the Post Office, and he doesn't have authority to fire DeJoy. That is up to the 9 member Board of Governors, to which the President can appoint members (under the advice and consent of the Senate), but only when a vacancy occurs or a term expires.. The term for that position is 7 years. By law, no more than 5 of the members can be from the same political Party.
Biden has so far replaced 6 members of the Board. The Board is currently made up of 4 Republicans and 4 Democrats, and 1 Independent. At least 3 of the Republicans have terms that will last several more years. Those members support DeJoy.
It was the Board of Governors that selected DeJoy to be Postmaster General in 2020, and that position has no fixed term. Only the Board of Governors can remove the PG, and only by absolute majority vote.
By all means, blame Biden and Democrats for things they do, and for things they have the power to do, but fail to do. But don't blame them for things they have no authority to do.
So, here's my take on it. I understand what you're saying. I do. I've read about the protocols, the procedures, allllll of the reasons and excuses. But here are the problems: 1) Can you tell me a single remotely similar example where the GOP faced the same issue? I cannot recall one case where a progressive was able to maintain significant control of a major institution when Republicans wanted them gone, protocols and norms be damned. 2) To that, some people say, wait, won't we then become just like the GOP in arguing that the ends justify the means? And that is just absurd. This is not an individual we disagree with on policy matters. This is a man who knowingly worked with a seditious group to try to interfere with the ability of America to hold a free and fair election. The moves he made had absolutely zero justification to be done when and how he did them. The Biden admin should have fired him and let it go to court if he wanted to bring it there, which is exactly what the GOP has done over and over again. But in this case, they would have a ton of evidence to show his efforts to interfere with the election. Instead, the Dems just sit back again with the same excuses of norms and technicalities that they used to let Wall St. get away with destroying the world and the Bush administration get away with Iraq war lies.
You're right about the Democrats' failures to pay attention to the machinations of the GOP (for the last 50 years), and their even worse failure to do anything to stop it. No argument there. The Dems have sucked at their job for decades. No argument.
But my comment was exclusively in response to blaming the Ds and Biden for the current Post Office problem. You can't lay that one at their feet, at least not at this moment. Biden did what he could do. The rest is up to the Governing Board. Maybe Dems could have demanded the DOJ investigate the DeJoy matter and bring charges, but they that's ALL they could do, even if they could do that much. And the DOJ makes those decisions, not the Democratic Party.
As for "Progressives" not being about to "maintain significant control of a major institution," I'll answer that with a question? What progressives? The 10 or so in the House plus the 0 in the Senate? They are powerless against the Democratic Party, never mind the Republican Party. I've been amazed by how much they've managed to influence the legislation in the last 2 years, considering how little power the primarily center right D Party has allowed them.
The Republican Party is lawless and that has brought this country to the brink of ruin. I'm not convinced that the way to fix that is for the Democratic Party to be equally lawless. We may as well just declare war on half the country and be done with the pretense of government altogether.
I agree. Someone has their foot on the brake. How can this be a mystery as to whom?
Ian, once again, I completely agree. The Republicans snap their fingers and the Democrat is ousted. But visa versa never happens. This s not a disagreement of opinion, but a fight over cheating elections over and over again when the Democrats win the popular vote but don’t get to take office. The R party has physically attacked our government, they conspired sedition. This is THE time to pull out EVERY stop as the Rs do over and over again, while the Dems draw on every excuse under the sun with seemingly no sense of urgency this demands. Those of us who are the real patriots and law-abiding citizens are left unprotected by our own side of the government. We have put to death spies for less damage, yet these terrorists get 2 months to 2 years. Fully insufficient! And the mastermind gets referred to by the name I have never used for him. The P word. Since TFG was selected rather than elected, I refuse to apply that word to the biggest criminal in the WH we have had since the inception of this country!
We ALL know that if Democrats, BLM attacked the capitol building, threatened the lives of RescumliCon politicians, shit on the floor and ransacked elected official’s offices, we would all have been shot dead while climbing the wall!
Yet these barbaric murderers and fascist-supporting terrorists, weren’t even interviewed by the FBI. Breaking legal requirements for such a high level crime.
We will NOT move on from this. TFG is fully qualified for the death penalty but he is instead allowed to be treated as a rock star. Allowed to continue to inflict damage and communicate with people who have removed our rights! And continue to do so. Where is the OUTRAGE from the Democrats. To Democrats, Skip singing cumbaya on the capital steps and get these monsters out of our government as required by law!
Impeachment of Supreme Court judges should be launched but we know damn well, only RescumliCons would accomplish this were the roles reversed.
The widening wealth gap which is the result of decades of policies designed by the rich for the rich will create increasing instability. No wonder there are so many disaffected Americans who will vote for a candidate who promises to tear it all down. While Biden was probably the best candidate for the Dems, he was by far way too conservative for me. We need a major change in the taxation rules, and the lobbying rules, and we need people in leadership with a new vision for our country that will actually help those at the bottom of the economic heap. That's probably the only way we can prevent the pending chaos those extremists right wingers are intent on creating.
J. Noi: If Citizens United was struck down just think of all the lobbying money paid to politicians that could be funneled to those disaffected Americans. Higher wages, vacation and sick time, retirement benefits. Billions of $$ back into the system for the American worker rather than the coffers of K Street and the wallets of politicians.
To which I'll add do away with lobbying all together - lobbyists never act for the good of every citizen, only for whom they represent.
I so agree. It seems so anti-democratic that some people have greater access to our representatives than we do and that they are allowed to use money to sway them for their own purposes. The reality is though, that any of us can visit with our Congress people and make a case for our "cause". It's the money that's the problem.
Yes, it is the money. We can visit our Congress, but it is terribly expensive. There is literally NO parking in DC. Hotels begin at $200/ night and go up to the thousands of dollars per night. I worked in DC for 15 months. Loved it. I My Congressman arranged for me an my (adult) granddaughter to tour the Capitol Building and even provided me with a personal tour guide from his office. We went through the same tunnel the Congress persons use to get to the Capitol chambers. We sat in the galleries of both House and Senate and listened to the debates for awhile. It was fantastic. But I didn't get to see Dr Bera on that trip, although I met him several times when I worked on his campaigns or attended his town halls. It would never have happened though if I hadn't been working there. It would have been too expensive.
Beware the Military-Industrial Complex . . . . It seems we ignored this wisdom at our own peril. Pogo was indeed a wise nebish : "we have met the enemy and it is us! "
As always . . . Awakened not woke , Educated not indoctrinated.
Fay, fully publicly funded elections are the ONLY way to stop this. We also do not need 4 years of campaigning. Getting lobby money out will do away with this as well.
I generally agree, but there are lobby groups that are pro-labor, pro-consumer or pro-environment like the Citizens Climate Lobby to which I belong. Maybe eliminate paid lobbyists only.
I agree. Many non-profits also lobby for generally good causes, and some of their lobbyists are paid as well, since it's considered a profession. We need to overturn Citizens United, and take the big money out of the picture.
J., I agree we need more progressives in power, but voting to "tear it all down" is just stupid and stupid is a choice. There is a whole lot between where we are now and "tear it all down." I do not understand that way of looking at things because voting for chaos does not actually bring anyone closer to the kind of change those voters claim they want. Anger with no discipline rarely does good for anyone. The House insanity with McCarthy should show all of us what happens when chaos is trying to get into power. Right now, Republicans are the toddlers in the room, whining, lying, crying, throwing tantrums (quiet ones, but tantrums nonetheless), and ignoring the adults in the room who are really trying to stand firm for stability rather than chaos. McCarthy has given away any pretense of caring for the American people on the part of Republicans. They want power and money to get reelected. That is it. Oh yes, they also want to wreck Social Security and anything that actually helps the American people. They certainly do lie to claim how much they care and voters actually believe them with absolutely no evidence. That goes along with their claims (with no evidence) that the 2020 election was fraudulent.)
The MAGAts like authoritarianism, like Putin and Orban. They are against abortion because they claim to support the 'sanctity' of life (except a woman's life). Yet even the images of a woman trying to give birth in a war zone and eventually dying along with her baby has not moved any of them to rethink their support for Putin and authoritarians like him. Where are the protests and outrage from them? The first thing they will try to cut will be aid : humanitarian and military, to Ukraine. I hope they cannot.
Laurie, it seems to me what Republicans have learned since the Nixon days is that speech is cheap, particularly if you can get the media to cover whatever crap you say. They care nothing for life beyond their own. They like Putey and Hungary's Putey because they are white men who got power because they have loud mouths, a network of thugs who will do their bidding, and the media which will multiply and amplify their lies and just words because they don't really care that much what they say because most of it is lies anyway. They care nothing for women (even the women among them care nothing for other women). Fetuses are a political tool so they can put into place all kinds of anti-woman policies. Republicans are soooo on board with that too. All of them have taken the courts, so can declare whatever they want gone, gone. And, no one expects they will have legal justifications for what they are doing that reflect modern thought or what is actually beneficial for anyone but themselves. They are also great blamers. Everyone is at fault for everything except them and in reality, they are often the ones at fault. It works great especially when the media is either totally controlled by the child-men or like here pretends it has some idea of "balance." There is no balance. One party lies nearly all the time, cheats when it can (gerrymandering), and exploits the Supreme Court's Citizens United case which gave dark money donors free rein to contribute as much as it wants to buy members of congress. I don't know how to get the "real Americans" to see how they are being used.
Well said, Ruth! In addition to the gerrymandering there is the Electoral College that skews the vote, giving the 'right' more clout, and taking power from Democrats.
I don't know how people can keep claiming that Biden was our best candidate when we had a candidate who was extremely sharp with boundless energy, who came up with well thought out plans for almost all our major problems, & has an impeccable record for standing up for ordinary people & for what is right against the powers that be, Elizabeth Warren. Only a Roosevelt could solve our multiple crises & turn us around. Warren was/is that Roosevelt, but the vast majority of Americans have failed to recognize it.
He was the best because he is a moderate appealing to a wider swath of people. Putting up a woman, we'd once again have to cross our fingers that misogyny didn't come into play. Americans seem loathe to have a woman at the helm, so because it was so important to win that election it was better to be careful than bold. I agree that there were other candidates who were better equipped to make the changes necessary, but I held my nose and voted Biden.
I am tired of this posing of conventional wisdom that a woman can't be elected. In 2016, the Democratic establishment proclaimed it the year of the woman as they put all their support behind Hillary. Then suddenly in 2020, a woman couldn't be elected. What's the difference? Hillary was a corporate friendly candidate who would preserve corporate interests, & Warren was a progressive who would stand up to corporations. So they had to put up this false meme that a woman couldn't win. By the way, conventional wisdom has generally been wrong throughout this century, when our society has become very unconventional & anti-establishment.
All of which will NEVER happen because of your first sentence. Revolution is inevitable.
Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, “…the rate of return on capital would steadily diminish (thereby killing the engine of accumulation and leading to violent conflict among capitalists), or capital’s share of national income would increase indefinitely (which sooner or later would unite the workers in revolt.)
John K Fishman ; Revolution does not have to be chaotic or even destructive. Remember the mid terms. While not anticipated nor revolutionary, they went against the mold.
The midterms were no better than a wash, actually worse than that. Look at the chaos in the House, which we'll have to endure for the next two years at least.
Actually, Democrats did exceptionally well for midterm elections where we had the incumbent President. Usually it means lots of lost seats. Dems hold the Senate with a majority, which can do its own investigations. With that it could mean getting another more liberal judge or two on the Supreme Court. I have this fantasy that Jack Smith will go after the seditionists in Congress, as well as other 'high rollers', up to the former guy! Congress could go into meltdown with the crazies and their concession from McCarthy that a single nut job can oust him if they get miffed about his actions. Lots of untenable situations possible there ahead. Very concerning. Give 'em enough rope to hang themselves. The majority will still rule!!!!
But consider who was running against the Democrats: liars, crooks, seditionists, insurrectionists, traitors, led by the worst, most corrupt president in history, who was proven to have planned, organized & incited a deadly insurrection against the Capitol, & steal hundreds of top secret classified government documents, which earned him the (dis)honor of displacing Benedict Arnold as the most notorious traitor in our history. Meanwhile they were going after our individual rights, such as right to abortion, voting rights, marriage rights, birth control, etc., and trying to turn our country into a fascist authoritarian state, & proving themselves to be a subversive terrorist organization.
In view of all that, how could they win any office? Of course, the answer is enormous amounts of money going to Republicans from billionaires & corporations, an extremely effective disinformational propaganda machine indoctrinating millions of Americans, & far too many Americans who don't treasure democracy & are fine with us becoming authoritarian.
Jaime ; Everything you cite is in there, for sure! It's all a big threat to every human who wants self rule and fairness in Democracy. I hope we can get through this time of terror!
"One possibility: Any large corporation in an industry dominated by five or fewer giant corporations that raises its prices more than the Fed’s target of 2 percent should be presumed to have monopoly power, and slammed with an antitrust lawsuit."
Five or fewer seems generous - many industries have no more than three "competitors" (and, in some cases, there are only two that are relevant!)...
Rishi, we don’t have the strength of former anti-monopoly laws. It is up to courts to decide on the legality. And we know the big problem with that right now!
True... but the FTC & DOJ can still do their part to shape competition in the marketplace; both agencies appear to be signaling their intent to remain vigilant as well (e.g. by challenging proposed mergers). European agencies can help as well...!
I hope somebody does something. We’ve had serious criminals throwing parties and campaigning over these past two years since the deadly coup attempt.
We need another trustbuster. Where is Roosevelt when we need him? Well, we actually had a chance to elect a modern Roosevelt, Elizabeth Warren, in 2020, but we missed it, perhaps a fatal failure. She was Theodore & Franklin wrapped into one with the way she consistently & persistently confronts corporate power & formulates plans for solving our most pressing problems. That's the kind of leader we so desperately need.
Rishi, what a great idea! I would love to see some of those over 2%-ers taken to task and fined a huge amount of money for their bad behavior. That would bring prices and inflation down pretty quickly, if say, a dozen or so corporations were hit.
Might be time to see a repeat of the "Ma-Bell" solution again. Bring back "Glass Seagal",
Yes ; Glass Steagal would be helpful.
If nothing else they'll be punished by the markets for their short-sighted behavior: borrowing gobs of money when it was cheap (i.e. interest rates were low) allowed American companies to trade soundness for temporary security; now the bill will come due (Trump tax cuts truly aren't cheap!)...
Imagine a mechanic who had only one tool, one that was almost useless to begin with. The mechanic wouldn’t be able to repair or adjust very effectively. The mechanic would be darned good at damaging things that the tool doesn’t fit. Powell and the Fed are this mechanic and they are the only unchecked shop in town.
Tim, so how can we shut the shop down, at least temporarily until the economy can right itself, which I think it will do if left alone for say, 6 months?
Ruth, I wish I knew. I can’t think of any other professional setting where there is only one tool, and it feels like a hammer. That tool does of course have some value, but the very definition of an economy is far more complex. I feel it’s not just the Fed. For example, one doesn’t need the Fed to hold big business accountable, to behave well and not as predators,, to pay their share in taxes and to treat their employees well. That used to be the “contract”. I look at our top one percenters and feel they are also being selfish and unethical in avoiding their share of the expenses. When those things are persistently out of balance it will only get worse. Start with leveling the field so we all live by the same rules. And fix the tax laws where they allow huge disparity to exist legally, though not ethically.
Tim, I am on board with the need to function from a level playing field, but alas, the 1% cares nothing for level anything. They got where they are on a decidedly non-level field and believe their privilege didn't exist and that it was their tremendous brilliance and talent that did it for them. They are wrong but the myth lives. The House with its toddlers in charge now will do nothing to level the field in any way because they are members of the "I did it all by myself" club.
Lying for them is a way of life and helping anyone else gain any ground is not. We do have some laws in place that should help us, but who is going to enforce them. DOJ doesn't seem to be able to do much these days as they prosecute the actors in the insurrection while unable to figure out what to do about the leaders who need to be prosecuted. I don't see them having time to prosecute the tax cheaters when the IRS finally identifies them or the states dealing effectively with the people who are undermining our local governments and school boards with their hatred and lying. Where do we start? I honestly don't know.
It’s a curious thing. We hire citizens to take their turn to represent us for a awhile. And we expect them to do their jobs in service to their country. Then, we hire other good citizens to hold them accountable when they don’t. What happens when it seems the check and the balance are no longer attached to the scale?
I agree Tim. I've been saying for months that the Fed's only tool in the hammer called "Interest Rates" and they've been eager to use it on this screw called "Inflation" even when analysis has shown 54% of the inflation was profiteering, not necessary cost increases or some kind of bloat of workers finally having "too much money" after 45 years of NOT having enough to keep rate with inflation to begin with.
We needed someone at the Fed who understand the practical limits and applications of their tool and who will implore CONGRESS to use the law to address all these economic problems that fall outside actually being solved by willy nilly interest rate manipulations.
We also need someone at the Fed whose perspective on the economy isn't a myopic obsession with numbers on a spreadsheet, completely divorced from the notion that "The Economy" affects real people's real lives in often long lasting and disastrous ways. People who think economics is a game of applied theory to pushing a line ever upward for it's own sake... with no sense of how pushing the line in some ways ruins lives should have no business as Fed chair, and I am convinced Powell is exactly this kind of person.
I’m not a very good complainer- I like to fix things, like some sense of fairness and collaboration. Always thought that the definition of a leading civilized society presumed that.
I agree, Crystal!
It is virtually criminal behavior by corporate giants who in the past 50 years have essentially gained control of our political process. I cannot agree more that these giants should be penalized for their predatory practices and the DOJ should become trustbusters.
In addition, stock buy-backs should be unlawful as they make a mockery of our capital system!
Tom H: An increase in corporate taxes would remedy this buy-back scheme. Close up the corporate loop holes and make them pay their share.
Yeah that’s just sad. I thought the feds major assignment was to keep employment high, and now they want to cut it so that we get paid less. The boomer generation worked 30 years under stagnant wages, my whole adult life. Retrained twice, still ended up “low income” aka: poor.
At 71 I'm still working at my small shop. It's the only way to 'make ends meet' and afford some 'extras' like dental care and eye care that is not covered, like glasses and also hearing aids. The way things are going, my barber shop income may be necessary to live ; There is a push to end Social Security 'as we know it'. Crazy that it is taxed! At least for those with modest incomes. What will happen with a long government shut down!?
Laurie, I have always found it to be idiotic not to include eye wear and care as a medical necessity. Most everyone needs eye correction. And dental care is critical to health too. Most people, down the road or as we age, will need hearing aid.
As far as Social Security, ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ADULT in the US will depend on it. Take it away from the MAGAs and even they will revolt. I don’t think that will happen without extreme repercussions, including violence. But why must we be pushed to that point!?
$858 BILLION dollar budget for the fiscal yr of 2023!!! But sorry, no money gor you to see well or hear well. I’m sure you understand…🤦🏻🙄
If I remember correctly the last shut down, social security, etc. were stopped. I’m guessing any gov. run program was stopped such as SNAP, etc…
I am so glad I am retired and all income coming in is indexed. This country is not for workers and not just the Fed. Restricting unions, ignoring raises to minimum pay and the bigger they get the more the top earns.
The people making these interest rate/pricing/wage decisions are the very ones personally unaffected by price explosions. First, they're all in bed together-the same schools, the same Wall Street "Too Big to Fail" bamboozler revolving doors, a monetary orgy of privilege, grift, greed, and arrogance. Second, they're all part of that 10% owning 90% of stocks; the very ones making the decisions, the rules, are not only not negatively affected by increasing prices but are rewarded by such. Sickening.
The principle of infinite accumulation.
Ken Simpson - We have just been told that inflation was 7.1% this year. How accurate is this? it seems that price increases are in fact probably higher than this. A couple of years ago, A doughnut at Dunkin's was 83cents, it is now $1.30. A couple of years ago, a McDonald's McChicken sandwich was 79 cents, it is now $1.49. Less than a year ago, a slice of cheese pizza was $1.06 at Cumberland farms, a couple of months ago I dropped in to buy such a slice, it was $1.59. Some of these jagged price increases predate covid 19 and the war in the Ukraine. It is frightening; I am a retiree living on a Civil Service pension and Social Security, and neither is increasing like this. A recent mailing from the Senior Citizens League said Social Security recipients have lost 40% of their purchasing power over the past 20 years since cost of living adjustments have failed to keep up with inflation.
Next we'll be hearing from the powers that be the following: Stop complaining! At least you're no longer physical slaves.
We aren't?
I'm fairly well convinced there is a hefty contingent of pseudo-libertarian billionaires who are very much in favor of a return to a system where they own everything and control everything, and all the peons just work in exchange for company scrip or room and board, until you serve no useful purpose to their needs, at such time you will be turned out to die in a ditch somewhere.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/06/james-mcgill-buchanans-terrifying-vision-of-society-is-the-intellectual-basis-of-the-far-right.html
I’d say they are very real libertarians and not pseudo at all. These libertarians don’t want government regulations. It holds them accountable. The rest of your comment, I agree!
This is about hoarding wealth and injecting their religion, the christian religion and no other. They are as anti-American to the ideas of the founders as one could get.
It is about enjoying bulldozing everyone who gets in the way of maximum profits while still enjoying the relaxing benefits of smoking marijuana. 🙂
But fundamentally their Libertarianism is fake and only self concerned.
That their infinite liberty comes at an obvious direct cost to everyone else's Liberty illustrates that it's a scam philosophy to rationalize greed, without actually standing for what it purports to stand for at all.
To rationalize not only greed, but their anti-social attitude. They are like headstrong children that think they should be able to do whatever they desire regardless of who gets hurt. No laws for them. Immature.
Good one! Hahaha, Seeking Reason!
😄😂 For sure! They can always point out the bright side!
Minimum wage workers feel like slaves.
Rose; minimal wage IS slavery. If it is not a livable wage. It is not even real compensation.
Many thank yous!
Jeffrey Von Glahn ; Does that include fertile women who are forced to produce 'human resources' without even being compensated? Isn't that slavery?
Do you remember when ATT was THE ONLY phone company . You paid Seven Dollars to speak for 15 minutes long distance. The breakup of ATT is why phone calls are cheaper than when ATT had no competition. Phone communication is getting cheaper because of competition from TMUS (T Mobile ) is driving the cost of communication down.
No, our local phone company was Bell Telephone. Long Distance was ATT. I remember customers weren't forced into having long distance ATT.
Um, history tells a different story. The current company known as AT&T is not the same AT&T that was broken up by Judge Green in 1982. One of the regional Bell operating companies, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, started acquiring other regional Bell operating companies. It also changed its name to SBC Communications. In 2005 SBC Communications purchased AT&T, which at this point was a long-distance company, for 16 billion dollars, and took on the more popular AT&T name and brand.
There were also separate movements in the wireless industry with the wireless arm of the business becoming a subsidiary of the company as AT&T mobility.
All of these acquisitions had to pass DOJ and FCC approval, with some of the transactions requiring divestiture of certain business units. SBC did a fair bit of political finagling along the way to get the DOJ and the FCC to go along with each buy.
Reich's analysis of the Fed's approach is yet another indicator of how BOTH parties are controlled by big money. Why isn't Reich's analysis a centerpiece of the progressive political agenda? It's simple enough that most people should get it.
The Fed is representing the billionaire class. The raising of interest rates is really about killing jobs so that there is more competition for employment and this weakens workers and there pursuit for workers rights as a result of increased demand for employment in comparison available workers.
Why aren't the feds breaking these monopolies up? Could it be their lobbying power? Governments are corporations, too.
Wow! Appropriately depressing on a depressing day, a day when we are reminded over and over that insurrectionists attacked our Capitol and Capital and would have killed elected members of Congress had reinforcements not shown up to stop them, and, that little has been done to hold the insurgents accountable. Oh yes, a few guys who put themselves on social media to brag of their efforts to overthrow our government have been sentenced to tiny amounts of time in jail, but nothing has been done to the ringleaders, the ones who planned the event and who continue to sit in Congress voting and not voting for a non-entity, Kevin McCarthy for Speaker. One smugly directs actions of his "forces from his resort in Florida and state legislatures are swimming with either insurgents or those who are in total support of them and their efforts. It is disgusting, but what can we do. Due to a filibuster in the Senate that only requires a single man to whine that he doesn't like something Democrats are for, even if it would make things better in this nation, has kept a voting rights act from going into place that would outlaw gerrymandering (cheating no matter what one calls it), a requirement that everyone has the right to vote, not just ones Republicans like, and other important provisions. The Supreme Court sits smugly gloating over the bad decisions they made for our nation last year and plan to make this year. On one hand, the chief brings up Brown v. Board of Education while knowing he plans to vote to destroy affirmative action which is the only thing that has helped to realize Brown V. Board. The hypocrite in chief has proven just because you are a white guy who is not unattractive and who went to an elite school does not make you worthy of a high office of responsibility. On the other hand, Clarence Thomas has questionable activities in his background and a wife who is an unabashed insurgent. Biden made a huge mistake letting Jerome Powell, a Trumper, remain in charge of the fed. He seems to be OK with chaos and workers being unemployed so huge corporations can cheat the people while they rake in the bucks. I can't help but wonder whose pocket Powell is in. It is certain it is not the pocket of the American people. What a jerk!
Frankly, I think it's time to take a look at eliminating The Federal Reserve. I really believe discussions should be taking place for some way to reduce the role of the central bank. By all accounts, the central bank has ALWAYS favored the wealthy, the upper class, corporations, what have you. Working people have been the force that BUILT AMERICA. TODAY, largely thanks to the central bank and Reaganomics, working people have been left behind. FAR behind.
Yes, I’d like a discussion about what might happen if the Fed were abolished. What difference would it make?
Jonathan, I would like to see a serious investigation of the value of the Fed. It may turn out we no longer need a Central Bank. On the other hand, we might, but it might need to have a whole lot less power to screw with our economy as it is doing now. Then, when you get a fool with only one tool which several members of this thread have pointed out, only damage can be done. And, when damage is done by such a strong entity, the people who are hurt are not the rich and powerful; it's the working folks and folks who want to make a better life for their families. It's time this institution be checked out for its actual value to our society.
That's all I meant was to examine whether or not we could do without it. Since its inception, around 1915, after the NY bankers promised it would stop the incessant recessions, we've had a market crash, and every 20-25 years had severe recessions. And every time, those recessions hit working people MUCH harder than the rich. I believe the "experiment" has been a colossal failure, to society as a whole.
Johnathan Schaefer ; and a boon to the wealthy.
It does need study. Perhaps the boom/bust cycles would be have been worse without the Fed.
Ruth ; I agree ; in a country where money is speech I am suspicious that the Fed can set working people up to make less money as a remedy for 'inflation' that is nothing more than billionaires' price gouging us for goods we need. What a set-up for THEM! And a losing proposition for US. Our ability to SPEAK is then limited as well as our ability to eat and put a roof over our heads. How can we afford to contribute to Inequality Media Civics Action if we don't have enough to live well?
Laurie, I suspect that is why Trump nominated Powell and the Senate approved him. He is not an economics genius. One can tell what kind of person he is when listening to his speech about raising the interest rates until inflation was stopped, and unemployment rose, even if it meant a recession. That said it all to me. I just don't understand where the other Fed members are and why they let Powell, the Trumper make the decision about interest rates. Are they all rich folks who truly care nothing about the people and how painful unemployment is. Maybe they need to be unemployed for a while, maybe permanently from the Fed.
I think that might give them some insight. The ones now controlling the purse strings of Congress seem eager to cut cut and cut some more of government spending. But instead of helping working people , they want to cut funding to IRS which will protect the rich. They certainly will not fund the FEC, or the FCC, or anything that will help the public.