Nov 22, 2022·edited Nov 22, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
And of course, let's remember that every time some unregulated or insufficiently regulated sector forces their way into our lives, economies, pensions, etc., at no point do elected officials talk about how the people will be protected when things crash and burn or poison us.
Fracking, casinos and cryptomining will bring jobs!
Ok, but what about the destruction to our land, the increase in gambling addiction, the loss of disposable income, the health risks from contaminated water, or the fallout when the prices or the industries themselves crumble?
HEY! Just shut up with all those questions!! There will be some jobs and I will get the money I need to get elected this cycle and by the time you're all suffering, I'll either be so entrenched in this position I won't have to care what you think or you'll be so powerless I won't even have to hear it. But you're right, if something happens and the company or investors suffer, we will need to take more of your tax dollars to bail out the most important donors, but that is a price I'm willing to let you pay.
And that ladies and gentlemen....is what we call "capitalism."
It's not capitalism, Ian, it's autocracy, or oligarchy. By any name the game is "You must believe me, because I'm (handsome, rich, have a great voice, a good actor, great performer....take your pick) Capitalism when it's working as designed is regulated, governed, and adheres the 'Law of Supply and Demand'. Some people (theoretically those who are great inventors, or managers) are reasonably wealthier than others. Every one who produces, sells, or purchases the products is less wealthy but has sufficient income to live decently. The problem arises as it did in the late 19th and late 20th centuries when some greedy con artists shoved de-regulation down the throats of the "common man" bribed the government into accepting their ideas. Then went after education to keep the "common man" less educated, underpaid, and vastly overworked. The problem with the Bezos', Trump's, Musk's, etc, is they don't long for the life they now live. No, they want a Medieval Monarchy where there are a few kings ordained by their gods, a small number of devotees who either worship them or are so envious they turn themselves inside out to be like them. All other humans are serfs, slaves, peons, who live breed and die in a short enough period to provide all the luxuries these kings need to satisfy their gluttony.
Go Fay! That was an excellent assessment! In fact, being really rich is all that is really required, or rather appearing to be really rich (ala Trump). Right now, child-men have the ascendency and may have figured out how to get from people the response of a lot of adults to children, seeing those child-men as beings who have to be protected from the big bad world. I can't think of any other explanation for the mass fawning over Trump, a singularly ugly person, (at least inside, I have no remembrance of what he actually looks like, he was that unimportant to me when I had some vision). He has money, but nothing like what he bragged of. I suspect Musk isn't as rich has he says or he could have bought Twitter outright without having to con the banks. This group of child-men may have had a good idea or two at one point but by the time they have gained power, they have none except to get more money and power. Yep, they want sycophants and serfs. There is nothing else in their world. That is why Musk can abuse his workers with no remorse. Serfs should be so grateful they even have a job at all. We need to find ways to stop this insanity. I know we don't need to be living under the rule of children in the guise of adults.
Rest assured, Trump is almost as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside. Very nasty people tend to uglify as they get older at a much more rapid rate than normal.
Capitalism is rigged by the shear number of people that are living on the planet they can never be employed there's too many and so capitalism unregulated always will win on supply and demand and that's why the conservative party is adamant about no abortions. That' the only way they can ensure that capitalism continues to be slanted against labor. The reduction in testosterone in men across the planet is probably chilling them to the bone because sex is becoming less of a driver maybe because the planet is controlling the species or maybe from the very endocrine disrupters we find in our medications and plastic products that we continue to spew everywhere in the world.
Then add on the very way capitalism destroys the quality of everything by constantly cheapening the product or service to increase profits and our standard of living goes right along with it. A big fat race to zero.
Well, it IS partly Capitalism — or at least a misuse of the model. Capitalism is great for the *building* phase of an endeavor — be a career, company, or country. Yet upon reaching maturity, an entity is supposed to stop growing and shift to a steady-state maintenance mode of operation. In the biological world, creatures that reach maturity then keep on growing end up as medical anomalies or circus sideshow attractions. Yet in our current economic model, that’s an occasion to break out the champaign and put the company on the cover of Forbes.
As one example, General Motors has been in business for over a century, yet if it is not continuing to show quarterly profit growth, the shareholders (the majority of whom contribute zero value to the company) are clamoring for the CEO’s head.
And GM happens because the government subsidizes them allowing them to buyout their competition rather than being replaced by the competition. The same is true in Alphabet and Meta. They've bought up all their competition because they were allowed to keep, without fear of prosecution for liability every penny they made. That also allowed them to buy out any patents that would threaten their business. We're down to 10 major corporations that produce 90% of the consumer goods we depend on.
Fay, what you said is very much parallel to what I've been thinking for quite a while. Thank you for stating this - much needed - analysis of modern life !
Faye you have nailed it: the whole downward slide. And it’s both patties and nobody seems willing to accept responsibility. Instead of accepting responsibility and looking for a better way, the pols view that as a weakness and blame others. I thought we were supposed to learn that I’m kindergarten. Seem more important than learning to read a year earlier.
Nov 22, 2022·edited Nov 22, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
In government, the foxes take over the henhouse. The patients run the asylum.
What you are describing is "regulatory capture" (also "agency capture" and "client politics"), a form of corruption of authority that occurs when a political entity, policymaker, or regulator is co-opted to serve the commercial, ideological, or political interests of a minor constituency, such as a particular geographic area, industry, etc.
I remember Bork (the dork) who was almost appointed to SCOTUS. I bought his books. I believed some of his BS. He was the prophet of the Reagan "bigger is better" theory of antitrust. I liked what he said in his Bork Commission Report, which would have removed administrative law judges from the authority of agency heads and placed them in the chain of authority of the judiciary.
But the theory was that the FTC and Justice Department should not regulate antitrust because markets crave efficiency.
It turned out what they crave is Fascism.
Fear of conviction and a lengthy sentence should inhibit flim flam artists. It's common knowledge that Bernie Maddow got 150 years. But they apparently do not have well developed amygdalas.
Daniel, I admit I never understood people's fondness for Bork and the grief I kept hearing after he was rejected by the Senate. I was glad. I guess I was too unversed in Bork's type of economics to appreciate it. His did not in any way mesh with what my college economics professor and I understood the economy in a democracy should look like. I also found him pretty arrogant. That could just have been because he was nervous or not a good public speaker, but he came across as haughty and thinking he was superior. I don't know him at all but still have that impression. I doubt he would have been much worse than Scalia and the others Reagan and Daddy Bush nominated after him, though.
I think markets do Crave efficiency. But systems designed for efficiency and profit optimization can work counter to reliability and fairness.and that is when the public can get shafted.so a certain level of Market inefficiency in some areas impacting the public sector is necessary.
Thank you Daniel. I too, remember Bork. That whole flim-flam of deregulation is what allowed the rise upon rise of the autocratic class we have now. The more is better worked beautifully for them, for the country not so good.
@Ian. I was going to comment that you described the world of the robber barons, a version of capitalism that was warned against by none other than Adam Smith. However, Fay Reid has very well explained why this isn't capitalism, it is a captured and perverted form of un-regulated exploitation. It is simply unacceptable that our politicians are co-opted into supporting this by the action of obscene wealth in politics and the role of Citizens United in allowing the anonymity of the exploiters to hide them from accountability. But the three of us are in agreement - this cannot be allowed to continue this way and the only cure is for the people to be more influential with their own elected representatives. Vote Democratic as one step in the right direction.
Agreed. This is one of the reasons why I struggle with the extent to which the Democrats are also purchased by mega donors, banks, etc. Surely they have proven to be the lesser evil, but if they wanted to...if they truly did follow a completely different path, they could publicly eviscerate every comment made by the GOP about the party's supposed interest in "free markets"...they could unleash with case after case of how these titans of industry are often recipients of disturbing levels of government support and billions of taxpayer dollars...as they lobby to prevent government from funding things like health care and schools and regulations that protect us because government should "get out of the way."
Ian, I would love to see Dems go for the high road all the time. I am not sure how they can sustain it when Republicans have vast financial resources coming to their aid and Democrats have to depend on small grassroots donors. In blue states, for example, it can work because the media will cover their events and make small campaigns possible to be successful. However, we saw what happened in New York this election when Dems didn't compete successfully with the negative race-baiting crime ads and lies about the causes of inflation from the rich guys who don't even have to give their names as donors. That is just plain crazy. I would so love for us to do better.
Hi Ian, on this point you and I are in total agreement. I am very fortunate to have a Congressman (Democrat, of course) who truly cares about his constituency and the country as a whole. He even replies to emails, holds town halls regularly, but even he got roped into pimping for the DCCC. As to your comments on Education, this seems to be one of the real fears of the extremists who favor dictatorships. They convince the parents that if we allow the schools to teach critical analysis they will lose control of their children and the kids will all turn into those horrible, drug using, atheistic, LGBTQ+'s. Which those people are dumb enough to believe, Especially since their mega churches preach the same crap.
@Ian. Agree! Katie Porter, AOC, examples on the Progressive Wing. Actually with Speaker Pelosi now ceding the leadership, we may have a more progressive caucus (but maybe less effective?). There is a certain game to be played in Congress, I can only describe as a Real Politik that takes into account the way Representatives are beholden to various interests AND to be aware of what they need to do to be re-elected in their various precincts and districts. It seems to me we need a shepherding, constant pressure in the right direction over time. Oh! That's what you said.
The oligarchs understand the power they possess. More importantly, they understand what could compromise that power. They know the only thing that can stop them, is our power-in-numbers... our collective financial power and our collective political power in a democracy. This is why they work so hard to keep us divided, keep us unaware of who our common enemy is (them) and keep as many of us as possible from participating in the political process- voting. If they can't get your support, the next best thing is to muddy the water (limit your knowledge), conceal themselves by creating other bogymen, keep you distracted/uninterested, and/or sew division (divide and conquer) based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, politics, class, etc., etc.
Benjamin, we do need to find ways to get ordinary citizens to see what is going on and to stop buying the nonsense in the ads paid for by people who care nothing for them supporting a candidate or candidates who also care only for what they themselves can gain from the power being in Congress will give them. That is not democracy or capitalism.
Oh Ian! That was amazing! Your description of the way monopolies cry "Jobs, we are bringing jobs," then care nothing about the impacts of the work those jobs will make people do and how destructive it will be, is exactly right! There is a new ad running in the Philadelphia area and beyond that says Biden could lower gas prices by 30 cents a gallon if only he would allow more drilling and refining of oil and it would create more jobs. They have the language down that is sure to lure a bunch of people to demand that Biden at al do what the fossil fuelers want, not realizing it could wreck their own water supply, pollute the air and land, and cause their neighbors or fellow citizens hundreds of miles away to get cancer. The ads are supposed to assure the deliberately uninformed that the corporations will take care of everything and provide cheaper gas and jobs with no price to pay. I would love to see response ads that actually tell the truth. I know they cost, but I bet a whole lot less than cleaning up the mess the fuelers will make with their plans.
Nice Ruth. Another good example is these casino operators claiming that their taxes will magically improve schools to get votes. The rates of taxation however, will do nothing of the sort, being only a drop in the bucket. And odious gambling marches on, sucking in suckers everywhere. This is NOT "Gaming." This is gambling -- and despoiling lives.
yes capitalism functioning today and our Congress ,even when they give a damn,does a piss-poor job factoring in the risk of downstream consequences. does anybody know how to fix that? yes it's the money.and the need for a sufficiently enlightened electorate to elect representatives to act to change the system. not seeing a whole lot of that.So the big money helps to keep the electorate ,which is for the most part disinterested anyway,unaware.Unenlightened. and often overburdened with immediate concerns.
The mainstream media never ever talk about the very wealthy, their record profit margins, subsidies and huge tax breaks. Or the fact that they pay nothing, some of them.
Steveandjanereed ; yes, the electorate is mostly uninformed and constantly get the message from msm that there is nothing they can do about things. Look at the lies about the red wave that were completely unfounded. The BS about inflation being caused by Biden and the Democrats...
The SEC's whistleblower program pays eligible whistleblowers a reward of between 10 and 30 percent of the sanctions collected in cases over $1 million, when they voluntarily provide the SEC with high-quality original, timely, and credible information and assistance.https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-151
Jean, I suspect Manchin will parrot anyone who stands for fossil fuelers and money, his two favorite things. Oh wait, he is also really into power, I almost forgot.
Depressing isn't it? But let's not forget the wars, the war criminals, and I don't mean the people fighting the wars, but those that control and decide on wars like any president and their cabinet members since WW2. All war criminals without charges. They should fear for their lives for what they've done. They are no better than Hitler and yet they roam free.
Ian, as usual, is on top of the game. Jobs and income - never mind how one gets it - are sacrosant elements of our culture, at least as the body politic is concerned. Business, on the other hand, regards jobs as a nuisance, to be jetisonned in favor of its own income. Looking after their own jobs, politicians laud job growth when they well know how the game is played.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I had several co-workers advise me to get in on crypto-currency Thank goodness I listened politely and ignored. Yes the government is largely to blame, but so are the idiotic, pie-in-the-sky. let's all get rich, gamers. As my Daddy always said "If it sounds to good to be true, it is". As to the ticket racket, the entertainment industry shares some of the blame. Why can't you buy tickets to a show from the theater where the entertainment is appearing. "Hey, Billy Bob, let us sell your tickets and you can fire most of your staff and keep the profits for yourself". My husband got bilked of $300,000 by his stock broker. We both sat in the office and I kept saying this doesn't sound legal and the broker kept assuring Jack it was. So then I changed to even if it is legal it doesn't sound ethical or moral. It's what the broker called selling short or some such thing. it amounted to using someone else's money to take a chance on buying stocks that were going to fail using only 10% of your own money and then selling at exactly the right second to score a win, Yes the planners and schemers should have all their assets taken from them, but why are people so damned gullible. So I won't die the richest old bitch in the cemetery, I'll still be dead, and I haven't stolen, conned or tricked anyone either.
Yes, Fay, my parents both said the same thing about if it sounds too good to be true, and tried hard to live by that. The times I have played the lottery, I imagined if I got rich that I would help my family pay off their homes or do repairs, stuff like that, then figured out which organizations needed my help most. I do not want to be rich, just not stressing over money. No one should have to do that. I hope I will also be remembered for not cheating anyone or hurting anyone by my actions. I suspect that is what most people hope. The ones who crave wealth and will do anything to anyone to get it as so many in power today around the world do are the ones we have to beware of because they will do their best to wreck any comfort we might have to keep feeding their habit of accumulation at any cost to others. Also, I think theatres didn't realize how harmful having one entity marketing their ticket sales could be. They know now. I would love to see them take back that part of their productions.
When crypto arrived, my first thought was about something that a fictional actor said in a movie many long years ago... "Nothing Unreal Exists" Mr. Spock/Star Trek. I wasn't going to invest one red cent in something that doesn't really exist but while my grandson was in College he was conned into buying crypto by a "friend" and lost every single dollar HE invested in "nothing at all". I guess for human beings who somehow simply CANNOT learn from history, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes" becomes their way of life. Thanks to the support of our OWN government, the "prizes" all go to the Oligarchs, not the average American Citizens conned into parting with their money (again).
Just Me, the saddest thing for me is that a lot of people struggling for every penny bought into the imaginary money hoping it could give them a break. Of course, it didn't and they along with those with more resources who wanted even more were left with nothing. I keep hearing the line from Pete Seeger's song "When will they ever learn?"
Joke (ok bad joke ~ old bad joke) : Do you know why there are fences around cemeteries ? ?
Too many people are just diying to get in ! !
I've been a 'student' of human history - ancient to modern - and have come to the conclusion that ALL cultures, throughout time, have a subset of the population that - raise themselves to the
positions and powers - of leadership. i.e. a genetic component or rare combination of components that produces and/or 'enables' a random few to rise to those levels of power and position & therefore wealth/extreme wealth. Some use those positions for - the public good - but way too many do not - i.e. the current 'crop' of bazillionaires = Trump, Musk, Bezos et al.
To borrow from a recent musical (P T Barnum-esque ?) "Never Enough"....
Thank you for anther good laugh. I need something to laugh at today. You are correct that with all animals that prey (felines, canines, hominids, etc) there always seem to be some that take leadership roles. With our fellow preying animals, it seems to be the strongest and brightest that lead the group. Unfortunately with Homo Sapiens, there are so many of us that the slimiest, most deplorable con artists seem to be coming out on top.
People want something for nothing so they fall for it over and over again. Come on crypto-currency back by nothing absolutely nothing not even some small third world government nothing and people buy it. Who really is at fault? If I sell you my car and tell you it is a piece of junk but you buy it any way is it my fault when it breaks (at least in this case you got a car). Ticketmaster is a whole different issue.
Yes, I remember junk bonds well. Mike Milken who ruined millions of lives was sentenced to 10 years in prison, served 2 years in what I call a Country Club prison, and when released got a very nice job teaching how to do it classes in a college in Southern California.. And not everyone who got bilked was in it willingly. A lot of us, myself included lost money through a retirement fund who's officers fell for the schemes hook, line, and sinker. Fortunately for me, this was the late 80's and I didn't retire until 2021. But an awful lot of people lost their life savings, and pensions to junk bonds and savings and loans. People not educated in the stock market, including me, should not put money in it unless they want to devote their time and energy into closely watching and investigating stocks. There are a few, very few, honest stock brokerages who carte about their clients to advise them away from high risk. Dean Witter is not one of them. That was the firm that conned my husband out of $300,000
A great question with a long and complicated answer and history. I know some attorneys who work only on antitrust lawsuits. And according to various sites on the internet (also belonging to this problem) its historic. But I instantly thought about Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s when the auto and oil industries destroyed the street car transportation system. Think of all that resulted: traffic, freeways, smog, loss of affordable transportation, neighborhoods destroyed for freeways, a social structure of neighborhoods and local shops, businesses, schools and freedom of movement for people who couldn’t or didn’t want to drive. And often shopping was concentrated in malls people had to drive to. Suburbs were built up and connected to the automobile and loss of social contact. Sprawl became the emblem of life. Remember Roger Rabbit? He tells the story. https://www.investopedia.com/insights/history-of-us-monopolies/
The same thing happened in Detroit, Michigan. My mom worked for the DOT in the 1940's and when the combustion engine was invented all mass transportation ended. Tracks were pulled up, concrete poured and roads were built and buses replaced rail lines throughout the city and surrounding areas just as you describe happening in Los Angeles.
Talk about the Loss of Social Contact... That has certainly seen "improvement" under the new Unregulated digital Social Media our OWN government is forcing us to use. I go to restaurants and see groups of people sitting at a table who don't even acknowledge each other's presence throughout the meal. My own bank is attempting to get me to "charge" everything on a credit card instead of using checks to pay bills because every single time something is "charged" instead of paid for by cash or check, the bank gets a tiny little fillip of $$$. I use a flip-phone that cost me $50.00 because I don't think it's very "smart" to pay thousands of dollars for a Smart Phone and hundreds more per month for Data/Apps and all the rest of it. But - that's just me.
They destroyed the economies of several states. When I was a kid, Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central were the bluest of all stocks on the NYSE.
Irenie, I remember reading about the auto-ization of Los Angeles when I was in college and couldn't believe the people let it happen. My economics professor reminded us how powerful money is and in the "right" hands can do a lot of damage. Even in the early 1970s, we were aware that oil use and overuse was a problem but that the oilers had so much more power than any of us and were well at work buying up anyone and anything that might have stopped or even slowed them. Their purchase of Ronald Reagan slowed, and nearly stopped the renewable energy sector that was just getting started. The Bushes were on board too because of their ties to the industry itself. I suspect their purchases go deep into our government, perhaps even our Supreme Court and other judges. How else can one explain a decision that claims the EPA has no jurisdiction over greenhouse gases? I appreciate the anger of the young people about this corruption.
A lot of what you described has happened here in Seattle too. I attended the Seattle Worlds Fair
'way back in' 1962 where the Monorail was debuted. It was a sensation (at that time) and fun to
ride to downtown and back to the fair grounds. + there was a huge and very interesting Science
Pavilion (for a kid of 12 at the time), all of which presented HUGE POTENTENTIAL and HOPE for the future. Unfortunately most of that did NOT come to fruition. The monorail did not expand into other parts of the city and got relegated to more of an amusement park attraction.
NOW, here in town, and WA in general, a big push for Light Rail, built at ground level,which IS expanding into more parts of Seattle and nearby cities. BUT at WHAT an environmental cost ! ! ! of deforestation, disruption of small neighborhoods nearer the major and minor highways, where the Monorail was built elevated on towers at regular intervals with not nearly the same level of
environmental disruption (to my perceptions). I'm now old enough and handicapped enough that I will probably never make use of this - new - system of transportation ~ ~ ~ S I G H ~
"The monorail did not expand into other parts of the city [Seattle] and got relegated to more of an amusement park attraction." which was Odd, since Seattle Voters APPROVED Monorail Expansion THREE separate TIMES.
Anything we do to reduce the partisan role of money in politics will be tempered by people finding the next way around it. This doesn’t mean that we should not move in that direction. Rather it underscores how important it is for us to move aggressively in that direction, and expect it to be a multi-move game. We must approach this as one approaches fighting high profile crime, relentlessly. We attack, they parry. We attack again, and again.
@Daniel, Bennett and Randy. The only answer is to realize and activate the Democratic majority in our population to achieve a long series of Democratic administrations. Security in a political seat is part of what allows a politician to rebuff lobbyists and do the people's work. So everything Daniel said, but with an emphasis on HOW!
make that a small d in Democratic. going to have to get independents in on it. on HOW--the more I learn the more I think that chiefly it has to start from the bottom and work up. Grassroots movement.This is not how I used to think, although it's not just one or the other.
there are so many hows that it's hard to know where to begin. Here in Missouri we have a Missouri Voters protection coalition, we have numerous Progressive organizations C3 C4 and pacs trying to make a difference .the centers for Higher Learning don't seem to make that large an impact on the culture. private and public sector organizations which could move Healthcare forward in the state seem more concerned with protecting Turf and the status quo.
We have a legislature which is populated primarily by economic illiterates. their definition of economic development is tax cuts, that's about as far as it goes. we have term limits which tends to make our legislators even more captive by private sector interests to the detriment of the public. But the media, IE private sector interests, especially in the rural areas, is not informing people how they are being harmed by their legislators. 4 years ago a ballot initiative to stop gerrymandering was passed.then two years ago the Republicans rallied and tricked the public into voting to reinstate gerrymandering by the Republicans. Now the high-priority for Republicans in the Missouri legislature is to gut the ballot initiative process so the supermajority Republican legislature can get its way on most everything. it's pretty much going from bad to worse although Democrats did pick up a few seats this election. I think it's really hard when you have a Supreme Court hostile to democracy.I don't see how things can greatly improve without changing the makeup of the Court.A decrease in wealth inequality will greatly help.
Dear steveandjanereed, Thank you so very much for pointing out the danger of term limits. People think they are great because the get rid of certain legislators they despise, usually in some other district. But what we really get is legislation by un-elected lobbyists who "generously" offer to research and write the legislation for the harried and desperate newly elected. We have term limits for State legislators in California. I voted against it and have voted to end it every time it comes up. But guess what? the lobbyists and their masters love term limits.
Daniel, I like all your suggestions. We could start doing that with an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices, a set of ethics for the Court, and penalties for justices who lie to Congress just to get appointed. Term limits on the Supreme Court and some other rule changes would help too. Ditching John Roberts as Chief Justice would also be a good thing if it were possible (what a despicable guy along with Alito who leaks his own drafts, then wants to start a hunt for the person who did it). And they claim to be so holy. OMG!
Mr. Barouch has just accurately described what has been going on around the world since the Dawn of Man, so Good luck with all your "advocation" to change it permanently. Don't you think that the majority of average American Citizens want the same thing you do?
Sure bribery and extortion are crimes but when you face the fact that our OWN SCOTUS legalized the bribery and dark money that flows into American elections today through their 2010 Citizens United decision what do YOU think you'll be able to do when our own government remains opposed to supporting the Common Good for everybody in the USA and just concentrates on continuing to line their own pockets at the expense of average American Citizens? If our whistle-blower laws really worked, would we BE in the situation we're in today? I don't think so.
@Just Me. It is tempting to give up the ship. But it helps to count up the positives. For example, in spite of all the bad things happening, we have returned a Democratic Senate AND we have kept the Republican majority in the House to a real minimum. I don't mean to say this fixes everything, but it helps genuinely well-meaning public servants to get more done for the public interest. Fingers crossed we can hold the Presidency in 2024 and return both chambers of Congress to Democratic majorities!
Exactly, Daniel. Your list is quite comprehensive. The question is how do we get from point A to point B in this new "Guilded Age." With this question I credit both you and Bennett Barouch, whom you refute. And that combination of credits is the dilemma. -- In the words of comic strip character Pogo: "We have met the enemy, and they are us!"
@Bennett. We need a younger, left-er, more vigorous Democratic Party in charge of government, and we need Elizabeth Warren or like person to run an anti-monopoly agency, using RICO on the perps. We need change on the SCOTUS or legislation to reverse the "corporations are people" concept that allows money to dominate politics even more. We need District of Columbia to become a State, along with Puerto Rico; that's 4 more Senators and justifies two more (at least) Justices. Good picks from a Democratic president along with one or more of the existing Justices dying would give us a chance at a balanced Court.
Bennett, I am not at all worried about different congresses appointing more and more justices. If that happens, there could be a lottery to see which 9 or 11 or 13 should hear a particular case. No one would know ahead which justices it would be, so priming justices would be a little harder and we might get decisions that are more fair, more just.
That scares me even more, Ruth! Critical issues would be settled by subgroups with a net bias based on chance. By chance, gun laws, abortion, civil rights, voting, ... settled by a group of justices that just happen to be all regressives. Indeed, whichever type of justices are in the minority would be even more in the minority more often, reducing rather than increasing balance. I am with you in spirit, but I don't think that procedure would get us where we both want to be.
But Bennett, that's the Court we have now. McConnell cheated out of having Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court and then cheated again by rushing amycorny as a last ditch replacement for the great Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so now instead of a hope of a chance we have a five or six majority of non-Constitutionalists, bigoted, biased and prejudiced as they are and enmeshed in their personal religious beliefs. I'll take Ruth's lottery any day over what we've got.
Yes, that's what we have now. But imagine a court with, say, 11 justices, and imagine there are 7 regressive and 4 progressives. As hard as it would be for the regressives to be joined by enough regressives to render a humane decision on anything, it would in average be even more likely if the 4 progressives happen to not be present in full force on any given case, which would be the norm. Using 7 justices per case as an example, on any one case the possibilities are: 0 p and 7 r, 1 p and 6 r, 2 p and 5 r, 3 p and 4 r, 4 p and 4 r, 5 p and 2 r, 6 p and 1 r, and 7 p and 0 r. So, half the time on average over a large number of cases (and more or less often than that in practice over a normal annual caseload), regressives would set the law of the land. Yes, the same is true of progressives, but the good they will do will not cancel out the bad the regressives will do. We are better served to have SCOTUS reassert its role as a defense against majority rule (in voted legislation) when the will of the majority violates protected people and rights.
Yep, Laurie, too much cheating and influence pushing by the Federalist Society, a group that is barely democratic and I might argue, not democratic at all. They are ideologues who care nothing for the law and what is best for the most people, only the rich white conservative ones, you know, the ones who also don't care much for democracy unless it is giving them everything they want, the child-men and child-women of our nation.
Benjamin, I really like all your suggestions. How do we get started on making them happen? I write to my representative and senators. Two really do care, but the Republican senator does not. How can we get enough support in Congress to do anything especially since Republicans who have nothing positive to offer anyone will be taking over the House in about 6 weeks?
Bennett Barouch ; and we keep ourselves informed by reading forums like this and listening to podcasts of similar nature to get/stay aware of the latest scams.
Bennett, I agree that we need to be relentless, even more relentless than the monied. We need to be teaching the skills of parrying to our young people. Maybe some wealthy folks should endow chairs at colleges and universities in countering the economics of accumulation that disregards the values of the people and the nation, or something like that.
@Ruth. Endowing a chair is quite expensive. I chose to create a scholarship that funds two students every semester, and due to the University's own endowment, this goes on now in perpetuity. This is the Benjamin R. Stockton Endowed Scholarship at California State University, Long Beach. Money = Mouth! LOL
I have to thank you for always keeping up with what’s going on around us that most people are not aware of. It’s like being in a classroom with you on a daily basis, and I love how you put it simply so that anyone can understand. The truth is everyone should be reading what you write so that they do understand and aren’t living in some La La Land. I’ve noticed a lot of young people prefer to live in that land and don’t care what’s going on around them and that’s a shame. I try my best to get many young people registered to vote and explained the importance of these midterm elections. No matter what I said, or how I said it, including how it would affect them more than it would ever affect me, they still would not register all because they never wanted to get called to be a juror. It’s a sorry excuse, but that’s exactly why they won’t do it.
Just wait until they need to be judged or have some legal matter judged by a jury of their peers. Perhaps then, a few will be very regretful that they didn't care enough about the civic duties of a democratic republic, to register and vote...all because they didn't want the "bother" of jury duty.
I know there are far more important questions and implications brought up today, and I have no doubt we'll discuss & solve them all in this discussion and the world will become utopia as a result. But for me, the whole issue with Ticketmaster's website crashing puts me in mind of how the National Healthcare site crashed, and how the "capitalist sector" piled on about government ineptitude. (The big lie there being that anything the government does is >always< incompetent, and can >only< done better & cheaper in the free-market private sector.) At that time it was clear to me that the National Healthcare site crashed because of the nearly instantaneous crush of hits by simultaneous requests of millions of users just itchin' to sign-up for healthcare insurance. That's in the very nature of such a volume of internet traffic hitting a website! It looks to the server(s) like a "denial of service" attack in cyber-warfare.
Contrary to the polit-shit the "conservatives" would have us all believe, we see here a real-world demonstration that the private sector >really couldn't< do better, and >certainly< not cheaper - even as they've specialized in providing that "one-click" banditry for years and years! Just sayin'!
True enough. But that's a different issue than I was raising. I wasn't praising the virtue of the government program. I was comparing the failure of the Ticketmaster system - a well-studied system - with the rollout of the government website for National Healthcare, a newly implemented system subject to everything every newly rolled-out system must deal with. I'm sure you'll agree: Ticketmaster is >not< a newly rolled-out system.
DZK, Wow! I really like your comparison of the ACA site to what happened with Ticket Master. When ACA crashed, no one in the know got to even explain what happened. The right-wingers jumped on it so fast it got magnified by all the media. It was nuts. I don't hear anyone in power in the private sector being blamed for allowing such a poorly run entity to have a monopoly on the ticket industry the way they screamed about ACA's site (and what about the fact that so many people really needed health care - that was pretty much ignored at the time).
I would encourage you to read Matt Stoller's excellent newsletter about the work done by the FTC under Biden. After decades of inactivity, we have actual fighters who have won several decisive battles. Most Americans don't have the slightest knowledge of monopolies, just as they were largely uninterested in SCOTUS until it directly impacted their lives. The passivity of Americans is pretty remarkable.
They've blocked mergers and prevailed in a number of cases (eg, the shipping industry). They are bucking the trends of decades, pro-monopoly Democrats, and antagonistic judges, resurrecting long-neglected statutes and applying novel legal theories. Lina Khan should be a name known to everyone, yet she's chipping away at a mountain of corruption and inertia with little support or acclaim.
As usual, I agree with your points, Robert, but I am not feeling hopeful about the possibility of change.
As long as we worship the rich and set up our government and courts to protect corporations, our society will continue to be grossly unfair and unequal.
There isn’t the political will or courage to challenge the stranglehold of corporations and obscenely wealthy families.
There was one moment recently when I had hope for positive change in our county. That was when good people united to protest the death of George Floyd. That movement frightened
right wing politicians and their corporate sponsors, so they did what they always do. They lied, and used the force of government and guns to cheapen the moment, to cause fear and chaos.
Not even the little bit of corporate approved change will happen in the next two years because
people of ill will, wackos and power hungry dumb asses control the House.
@Daniel. We only have the initiative process in a few States, and it is not a panacea for direct democracy. That process is also captured by special interest groups driven by money. I had to vote against all but two of California's initiatives because the others were all about creating some advantage for some moneyed interests.
We mustn't give up, the fact they responded to BLM movement so vehemently is because we've gotten some traction. It's imperative that we continue to tilt widmills even when it feels futile. I never thought Biden would achieve so much in these past 2years, while I suspect not much will happen from here, perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised & aided by more poor SCOTUS decisions or SC (or other AG fndings).
Thank you for this important information!!! It is so important for the public to know how our politicians and lawmakers are letting their constituents down!!! Hopefully this information will get the publicity that it deserves, those involved are held responsible and these practices stopped!!!
What a world. If it wasn't for the climate emergency, racism in multiple forms, misogyny, then campaign finance reform would have to be number 1 on my list of things to tackle. Wait a minute. There is a common denominator here. Corporate entities are involved in all of these things. They lobby to preserve their right to pump greenhouse gases in the air, controlling all their employees while they do so. They are mostly all white men. (Though now that China and India are players there are a few more male people of color mimicking them.) Perhaps when you fight one you struggle against all? We face a interlinked set of problems that should not be seen in isolation. The centralization of power into the hands of a few, whether they lead pseudo-democracies, authoritarian states, or corporations, needs to end in order to solve the grand systemic problem faced by humanity and the planet. The occasional entity that collapses, or looks ridiculous like Ticketmaster, is just a symptom of the larger problem. Humans were meant to live in a diverse, decentralized and thriving garden, not a centralized, power and possession mad concrete jungle.
Medical facilities are now becoming very large businesses resulting in poor customer service. And hospitals are forming monopolies, two within the state I live in, pretty much dividing in two. Not good for patients or employees. With this happening, national health care is getting more and more appealing to me and to some doctors who are tired of dealing with insurance companies. Many PCP’s are not making enough money to compensate them for what they do Andy the cost of maintaining a private practice. Doctors have been forced to practice in these Monopoly hospitals and may be shifted around several locations, do on call for several locations. I believe this is contributing to the existing shortage of PCP’s. Bigger is not necessarily better, unless you are a CEO looking to make a profit. Add to this the fact that insurance companies have been ulimiting the amount of time doctors spend with patients. And doctors employed by hospitals and clinics also are forced to see more patients in as little time as possible. For all but the wealthy, healthcare here is not nearly as good as that of other developed countries, while costing more. I apologize for getting off topic. It is a topic that urgently needs more attention. And it is all about making a profit at the expense of consumers.
And sites such as this are the only place one hears of these atrocities. Not at election time. Not from the corrupted fourth estate. Not from the mouths of the pols reaping the filthy lucre from our totally corporately bought and sold system. Such are the basis for the notion that unfettered capitalism does not work. And it doesn't !
"We are a bipartisan organization focused on ensuring that our national discourse is grounded in facts and honest debate. Facts First USA will keep the focus on facts in the face of abuse of government oversight being used to settle partisan scores."
the problem is in reaching enough of the public to make a difference. My Republican representative is a maga enabler who presents herself as a moderate and does not pay a price with a Suburban moderate voter base at election time.
Right on . Fact is that no democracy can properly function without a media (fourth estate) free from socio/economic/political influence. Ours is anything but .
So these huge businesses will have their debt erased while the little man is squashed under college debt and medical debt and never getting ahead. Ain't American capitalism GRAND!!
I agree with you there and Florida was really bad about being a bankruptcy haven for rich people, until some laws were changed. However, there are some of those people who need to file bankruptcy because of out of control medical costs, and I don’t hold anything against them.
Even before monopolies crash and burn we are all hurt. Competitors are put out of business and prices soar. Choices are limited. It all sucks without regulation.
This could mean that the ordinary people of the earth get Sick and Tired of the Rich who refuse to Share their wealth. Not only money but also their many assets. Of which they would not have without us! They need to start sharing soon or face the wrath of the many! There are many more of us then there are of them!
Keith Olson ; I love music and concerts, but could not afford them anymore. The ticket prices went out of sight. I wonder if that could happen with sports. It has gotten to the point where one must be gifted tickets from people who 'have access' because their corporate jobs have perks like season tickets. I can't help but wonder if and when it could all crash for the greedy. The ordinary people will find ways to enjoy life without being robbed.
It has already happened with sports. I was a diehard NASCAR fan for over 15 years. I started out giving them to my husband as a valentines day gift and we kept renewing every year because we ended up with tickets at $50 for each of us. Best seats in the house, or on the race track. They slowly went up over the years, but not to the point that it was out of our reach. And we really did have some of the best seats in the house because we could see the entire race track in Daytona. When we got divorced in 2004, he got the renewal and called to ask me if I wanted the tickets and I told him no he was more the fan than I was. He told me he couldn’t afford them and I asked him why. I knew that when Tom Cruise came out with that movie about racing that ticket prices would go up and so would the hotels, and they certainly did that. In fact, they doubled the price of the hotel rooms. But we continued to go, and when the divorce happened and he got those tickets, they now asked for $500 per person because they wanted you to buy the tickets for every race that week and of course that meant now the hotels would be a five night minimum at over $350 per night. It was so satisfying to see just how many fans they lost at the track that they quit selling seats on the back stretch because they couldn’t keep the front stretch filled out because of their greed. Then of course, the pandemic came and nobody was attending races, and it really hurt them because that is a very expensive sport. A lot of people just like me completely lost interest, and now couldn’t name a single racer. So now the only people attending those races are those that don’t mind paying those kind of prices. Concert tickets are off the charts. I always want to be up close or I don’t feel part of the excitement so I end up paying the five or $600 per seat but it Hass to be a damn good concert for me to pay that kind of money. I won’t do it anymore because it’s become asinine to spend that kind of money For a concert that may or may not be good. That includes even going to shows in Vegas and paying that same amount or much more for whoever’s got a residency there. All I see anymore is greed greed greed. 
I have given up paying for entertainment. You are so right about finding less expensive ways to enjoy life. Some of my favorites are walking with my wife 3 to 4 miles a day, walking neighbors dogs, riding my bike and working around the home. That’s just a few. I have many more.
Walking is one of the things I do when it is not slippery or very cold. Bicycling is my husband's favorite thing to do. He will set up a trainer in the house during winter weather.
And of course, let's remember that every time some unregulated or insufficiently regulated sector forces their way into our lives, economies, pensions, etc., at no point do elected officials talk about how the people will be protected when things crash and burn or poison us.
Fracking, casinos and cryptomining will bring jobs!
Ok, but what about the destruction to our land, the increase in gambling addiction, the loss of disposable income, the health risks from contaminated water, or the fallout when the prices or the industries themselves crumble?
HEY! Just shut up with all those questions!! There will be some jobs and I will get the money I need to get elected this cycle and by the time you're all suffering, I'll either be so entrenched in this position I won't have to care what you think or you'll be so powerless I won't even have to hear it. But you're right, if something happens and the company or investors suffer, we will need to take more of your tax dollars to bail out the most important donors, but that is a price I'm willing to let you pay.
And that ladies and gentlemen....is what we call "capitalism."
It's not capitalism, Ian, it's autocracy, or oligarchy. By any name the game is "You must believe me, because I'm (handsome, rich, have a great voice, a good actor, great performer....take your pick) Capitalism when it's working as designed is regulated, governed, and adheres the 'Law of Supply and Demand'. Some people (theoretically those who are great inventors, or managers) are reasonably wealthier than others. Every one who produces, sells, or purchases the products is less wealthy but has sufficient income to live decently. The problem arises as it did in the late 19th and late 20th centuries when some greedy con artists shoved de-regulation down the throats of the "common man" bribed the government into accepting their ideas. Then went after education to keep the "common man" less educated, underpaid, and vastly overworked. The problem with the Bezos', Trump's, Musk's, etc, is they don't long for the life they now live. No, they want a Medieval Monarchy where there are a few kings ordained by their gods, a small number of devotees who either worship them or are so envious they turn themselves inside out to be like them. All other humans are serfs, slaves, peons, who live breed and die in a short enough period to provide all the luxuries these kings need to satisfy their gluttony.
Go Fay! That was an excellent assessment! In fact, being really rich is all that is really required, or rather appearing to be really rich (ala Trump). Right now, child-men have the ascendency and may have figured out how to get from people the response of a lot of adults to children, seeing those child-men as beings who have to be protected from the big bad world. I can't think of any other explanation for the mass fawning over Trump, a singularly ugly person, (at least inside, I have no remembrance of what he actually looks like, he was that unimportant to me when I had some vision). He has money, but nothing like what he bragged of. I suspect Musk isn't as rich has he says or he could have bought Twitter outright without having to con the banks. This group of child-men may have had a good idea or two at one point but by the time they have gained power, they have none except to get more money and power. Yep, they want sycophants and serfs. There is nothing else in their world. That is why Musk can abuse his workers with no remorse. Serfs should be so grateful they even have a job at all. We need to find ways to stop this insanity. I know we don't need to be living under the rule of children in the guise of adults.
Rest assured, Trump is almost as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside. Very nasty people tend to uglify as they get older at a much more rapid rate than normal.
@Fay Reid. That is the best, short essay on political economy and need for regulation I have ever seen.
Thank you, Benjamin. I appreciate your comment, put a smile on my face LOL
Me too Fay and Ruth. And robbing choice from women, to create new generations of uneducated slaves for the wealthy and war hawks.
Capitalism is rigged by the shear number of people that are living on the planet they can never be employed there's too many and so capitalism unregulated always will win on supply and demand and that's why the conservative party is adamant about no abortions. That' the only way they can ensure that capitalism continues to be slanted against labor. The reduction in testosterone in men across the planet is probably chilling them to the bone because sex is becoming less of a driver maybe because the planet is controlling the species or maybe from the very endocrine disrupters we find in our medications and plastic products that we continue to spew everywhere in the world.
Then add on the very way capitalism destroys the quality of everything by constantly cheapening the product or service to increase profits and our standard of living goes right along with it. A big fat race to zero.
Well, it IS partly Capitalism — or at least a misuse of the model. Capitalism is great for the *building* phase of an endeavor — be a career, company, or country. Yet upon reaching maturity, an entity is supposed to stop growing and shift to a steady-state maintenance mode of operation. In the biological world, creatures that reach maturity then keep on growing end up as medical anomalies or circus sideshow attractions. Yet in our current economic model, that’s an occasion to break out the champaign and put the company on the cover of Forbes.
As one example, General Motors has been in business for over a century, yet if it is not continuing to show quarterly profit growth, the shareholders (the majority of whom contribute zero value to the company) are clamoring for the CEO’s head.
And GM happens because the government subsidizes them allowing them to buyout their competition rather than being replaced by the competition. The same is true in Alphabet and Meta. They've bought up all their competition because they were allowed to keep, without fear of prosecution for liability every penny they made. That also allowed them to buy out any patents that would threaten their business. We're down to 10 major corporations that produce 90% of the consumer goods we depend on.
Serfdom describes many of principles of economics, you are absolutely correct Fay!
Fay, what you said is very much parallel to what I've been thinking for quite a while. Thank you for stating this - much needed - analysis of modern life !
Faye you have nailed it: the whole downward slide. And it’s both patties and nobody seems willing to accept responsibility. Instead of accepting responsibility and looking for a better way, the pols view that as a weakness and blame others. I thought we were supposed to learn that I’m kindergarten. Seem more important than learning to read a year earlier.
In government, the foxes take over the henhouse. The patients run the asylum.
What you are describing is "regulatory capture" (also "agency capture" and "client politics"), a form of corruption of authority that occurs when a political entity, policymaker, or regulator is co-opted to serve the commercial, ideological, or political interests of a minor constituency, such as a particular geographic area, industry, etc.
I remember Bork (the dork) who was almost appointed to SCOTUS. I bought his books. I believed some of his BS. He was the prophet of the Reagan "bigger is better" theory of antitrust. I liked what he said in his Bork Commission Report, which would have removed administrative law judges from the authority of agency heads and placed them in the chain of authority of the judiciary.
But the theory was that the FTC and Justice Department should not regulate antitrust because markets crave efficiency.
It turned out what they crave is Fascism.
Fear of conviction and a lengthy sentence should inhibit flim flam artists. It's common knowledge that Bernie Maddow got 150 years. But they apparently do not have well developed amygdalas.
Daniel, I admit I never understood people's fondness for Bork and the grief I kept hearing after he was rejected by the Senate. I was glad. I guess I was too unversed in Bork's type of economics to appreciate it. His did not in any way mesh with what my college economics professor and I understood the economy in a democracy should look like. I also found him pretty arrogant. That could just have been because he was nervous or not a good public speaker, but he came across as haughty and thinking he was superior. I don't know him at all but still have that impression. I doubt he would have been much worse than Scalia and the others Reagan and Daddy Bush nominated after him, though.
I think markets do Crave efficiency. But systems designed for efficiency and profit optimization can work counter to reliability and fairness.and that is when the public can get shafted.so a certain level of Market inefficiency in some areas impacting the public sector is necessary.
Always we should ask “More efficient at what?”
Thank you Daniel. I too, remember Bork. That whole flim-flam of deregulation is what allowed the rise upon rise of the autocratic class we have now. The more is better worked beautifully for them, for the country not so good.
@Ian. I was going to comment that you described the world of the robber barons, a version of capitalism that was warned against by none other than Adam Smith. However, Fay Reid has very well explained why this isn't capitalism, it is a captured and perverted form of un-regulated exploitation. It is simply unacceptable that our politicians are co-opted into supporting this by the action of obscene wealth in politics and the role of Citizens United in allowing the anonymity of the exploiters to hide them from accountability. But the three of us are in agreement - this cannot be allowed to continue this way and the only cure is for the people to be more influential with their own elected representatives. Vote Democratic as one step in the right direction.
Agreed. This is one of the reasons why I struggle with the extent to which the Democrats are also purchased by mega donors, banks, etc. Surely they have proven to be the lesser evil, but if they wanted to...if they truly did follow a completely different path, they could publicly eviscerate every comment made by the GOP about the party's supposed interest in "free markets"...they could unleash with case after case of how these titans of industry are often recipients of disturbing levels of government support and billions of taxpayer dollars...as they lobby to prevent government from funding things like health care and schools and regulations that protect us because government should "get out of the way."
Ian, I would love to see Dems go for the high road all the time. I am not sure how they can sustain it when Republicans have vast financial resources coming to their aid and Democrats have to depend on small grassroots donors. In blue states, for example, it can work because the media will cover their events and make small campaigns possible to be successful. However, we saw what happened in New York this election when Dems didn't compete successfully with the negative race-baiting crime ads and lies about the causes of inflation from the rich guys who don't even have to give their names as donors. That is just plain crazy. I would so love for us to do better.
Hi Ian, on this point you and I are in total agreement. I am very fortunate to have a Congressman (Democrat, of course) who truly cares about his constituency and the country as a whole. He even replies to emails, holds town halls regularly, but even he got roped into pimping for the DCCC. As to your comments on Education, this seems to be one of the real fears of the extremists who favor dictatorships. They convince the parents that if we allow the schools to teach critical analysis they will lose control of their children and the kids will all turn into those horrible, drug using, atheistic, LGBTQ+'s. Which those people are dumb enough to believe, Especially since their mega churches preach the same crap.
@Ian. Agree! Katie Porter, AOC, examples on the Progressive Wing. Actually with Speaker Pelosi now ceding the leadership, we may have a more progressive caucus (but maybe less effective?). There is a certain game to be played in Congress, I can only describe as a Real Politik that takes into account the way Representatives are beholden to various interests AND to be aware of what they need to do to be re-elected in their various precincts and districts. It seems to me we need a shepherding, constant pressure in the right direction over time. Oh! That's what you said.
The oligarchs understand the power they possess. More importantly, they understand what could compromise that power. They know the only thing that can stop them, is our power-in-numbers... our collective financial power and our collective political power in a democracy. This is why they work so hard to keep us divided, keep us unaware of who our common enemy is (them) and keep as many of us as possible from participating in the political process- voting. If they can't get your support, the next best thing is to muddy the water (limit your knowledge), conceal themselves by creating other bogymen, keep you distracted/uninterested, and/or sew division (divide and conquer) based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, politics, class, etc., etc.
And repeal CU
Benjamin, we do need to find ways to get ordinary citizens to see what is going on and to stop buying the nonsense in the ads paid for by people who care nothing for them supporting a candidate or candidates who also care only for what they themselves can gain from the power being in Congress will give them. That is not democracy or capitalism.
Oh Ian! That was amazing! Your description of the way monopolies cry "Jobs, we are bringing jobs," then care nothing about the impacts of the work those jobs will make people do and how destructive it will be, is exactly right! There is a new ad running in the Philadelphia area and beyond that says Biden could lower gas prices by 30 cents a gallon if only he would allow more drilling and refining of oil and it would create more jobs. They have the language down that is sure to lure a bunch of people to demand that Biden at al do what the fossil fuelers want, not realizing it could wreck their own water supply, pollute the air and land, and cause their neighbors or fellow citizens hundreds of miles away to get cancer. The ads are supposed to assure the deliberately uninformed that the corporations will take care of everything and provide cheaper gas and jobs with no price to pay. I would love to see response ads that actually tell the truth. I know they cost, but I bet a whole lot less than cleaning up the mess the fuelers will make with their plans.
Nice Ruth. Another good example is these casino operators claiming that their taxes will magically improve schools to get votes. The rates of taxation however, will do nothing of the sort, being only a drop in the bucket. And odious gambling marches on, sucking in suckers everywhere. This is NOT "Gaming." This is gambling -- and despoiling lives.
Well said, Ian!
yes capitalism functioning today and our Congress ,even when they give a damn,does a piss-poor job factoring in the risk of downstream consequences. does anybody know how to fix that? yes it's the money.and the need for a sufficiently enlightened electorate to elect representatives to act to change the system. not seeing a whole lot of that.So the big money helps to keep the electorate ,which is for the most part disinterested anyway,unaware.Unenlightened. and often overburdened with immediate concerns.
The mainstream media never ever talk about the very wealthy, their record profit margins, subsidies and huge tax breaks. Or the fact that they pay nothing, some of them.
yes but when they do it is often with admiration and implication that they are to be emulated. It is all so very unTao.
And deliberately by design uneducated
Steveandjanereed ; yes, the electorate is mostly uninformed and constantly get the message from msm that there is nothing they can do about things. Look at the lies about the red wave that were completely unfounded. The BS about inflation being caused by Biden and the Democrats...
In part, here's what works. https://www.dol.gov/general/topics/whistleblower#:~:text=and%20Health%20Administration-,You%20are%20protected%20from%20retaliation%20for%20reporting%20issues%20relating%20to,health%20insurance%2C%20and%20transportation%20services.
Check out Sarbanes Oxley/Dodd-Frank laws.
The SEC's whistleblower program pays eligible whistleblowers a reward of between 10 and 30 percent of the sanctions collected in cases over $1 million, when they voluntarily provide the SEC with high-quality original, timely, and credible information and assistance.https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-151
At the IRS awards paid to whistleblowers generally range between 15 to 30 percent of the proceeds collected and attributable to their information. .https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/the-irs-whistleblower-office#:~:text=The%20awards%20paid%20to%20whistleblowers,and%20attributable%20to%20their%20information.
sounds good. I wonder how much they have rewarded . maybe I can forward your links on.
Quick question:
Do you happen to be in WV??
Because everything I just read had me hearing the "verbal" response in Joe Manshit's voice! 🤣🤣
Jean, I suspect Manchin will parrot anyone who stands for fossil fuelers and money, his two favorite things. Oh wait, he is also really into power, I almost forgot.
WOW! what he said...
Depressing isn't it? But let's not forget the wars, the war criminals, and I don't mean the people fighting the wars, but those that control and decide on wars like any president and their cabinet members since WW2. All war criminals without charges. They should fear for their lives for what they've done. They are no better than Hitler and yet they roam free.
Ian, as usual, is on top of the game. Jobs and income - never mind how one gets it - are sacrosant elements of our culture, at least as the body politic is concerned. Business, on the other hand, regards jobs as a nuisance, to be jetisonned in favor of its own income. Looking after their own jobs, politicians laud job growth when they well know how the game is played.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I had several co-workers advise me to get in on crypto-currency Thank goodness I listened politely and ignored. Yes the government is largely to blame, but so are the idiotic, pie-in-the-sky. let's all get rich, gamers. As my Daddy always said "If it sounds to good to be true, it is". As to the ticket racket, the entertainment industry shares some of the blame. Why can't you buy tickets to a show from the theater where the entertainment is appearing. "Hey, Billy Bob, let us sell your tickets and you can fire most of your staff and keep the profits for yourself". My husband got bilked of $300,000 by his stock broker. We both sat in the office and I kept saying this doesn't sound legal and the broker kept assuring Jack it was. So then I changed to even if it is legal it doesn't sound ethical or moral. It's what the broker called selling short or some such thing. it amounted to using someone else's money to take a chance on buying stocks that were going to fail using only 10% of your own money and then selling at exactly the right second to score a win, Yes the planners and schemers should have all their assets taken from them, but why are people so damned gullible. So I won't die the richest old bitch in the cemetery, I'll still be dead, and I haven't stolen, conned or tricked anyone either.
Sorry this happened to you.
Yes, Fay, my parents both said the same thing about if it sounds too good to be true, and tried hard to live by that. The times I have played the lottery, I imagined if I got rich that I would help my family pay off their homes or do repairs, stuff like that, then figured out which organizations needed my help most. I do not want to be rich, just not stressing over money. No one should have to do that. I hope I will also be remembered for not cheating anyone or hurting anyone by my actions. I suspect that is what most people hope. The ones who crave wealth and will do anything to anyone to get it as so many in power today around the world do are the ones we have to beware of because they will do their best to wreck any comfort we might have to keep feeding their habit of accumulation at any cost to others. Also, I think theatres didn't realize how harmful having one entity marketing their ticket sales could be. They know now. I would love to see them take back that part of their productions.
When crypto arrived, my first thought was about something that a fictional actor said in a movie many long years ago... "Nothing Unreal Exists" Mr. Spock/Star Trek. I wasn't going to invest one red cent in something that doesn't really exist but while my grandson was in College he was conned into buying crypto by a "friend" and lost every single dollar HE invested in "nothing at all". I guess for human beings who somehow simply CANNOT learn from history, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes" becomes their way of life. Thanks to the support of our OWN government, the "prizes" all go to the Oligarchs, not the average American Citizens conned into parting with their money (again).
Just Me, the saddest thing for me is that a lot of people struggling for every penny bought into the imaginary money hoping it could give them a break. Of course, it didn't and they along with those with more resources who wanted even more were left with nothing. I keep hearing the line from Pete Seeger's song "When will they ever learn?"
and Congressman like mine Ann Wagner Missouri 2nd District work to protect the financial industry.that's why Edward Jones is a reliable campaign donor. https://money.com/wagner-fiduciary-rule-edward-jones-contributions/ https://www.annwagnerforcongress.net/corruptioncycle
Fay, YOU are amazing !
Joke (ok bad joke ~ old bad joke) : Do you know why there are fences around cemeteries ? ?
Too many people are just diying to get in ! !
I've been a 'student' of human history - ancient to modern - and have come to the conclusion that ALL cultures, throughout time, have a subset of the population that - raise themselves to the
positions and powers - of leadership. i.e. a genetic component or rare combination of components that produces and/or 'enables' a random few to rise to those levels of power and position & therefore wealth/extreme wealth. Some use those positions for - the public good - but way too many do not - i.e. the current 'crop' of bazillionaires = Trump, Musk, Bezos et al.
To borrow from a recent musical (P T Barnum-esque ?) "Never Enough"....
Thank you for anther good laugh. I need something to laugh at today. You are correct that with all animals that prey (felines, canines, hominids, etc) there always seem to be some that take leadership roles. With our fellow preying animals, it seems to be the strongest and brightest that lead the group. Unfortunately with Homo Sapiens, there are so many of us that the slimiest, most deplorable con artists seem to be coming out on top.
Remember junk bonds if not google it same thing.
People want something for nothing so they fall for it over and over again. Come on crypto-currency back by nothing absolutely nothing not even some small third world government nothing and people buy it. Who really is at fault? If I sell you my car and tell you it is a piece of junk but you buy it any way is it my fault when it breaks (at least in this case you got a car). Ticketmaster is a whole different issue.
Yes, I remember junk bonds well. Mike Milken who ruined millions of lives was sentenced to 10 years in prison, served 2 years in what I call a Country Club prison, and when released got a very nice job teaching how to do it classes in a college in Southern California.. And not everyone who got bilked was in it willingly. A lot of us, myself included lost money through a retirement fund who's officers fell for the schemes hook, line, and sinker. Fortunately for me, this was the late 80's and I didn't retire until 2021. But an awful lot of people lost their life savings, and pensions to junk bonds and savings and loans. People not educated in the stock market, including me, should not put money in it unless they want to devote their time and energy into closely watching and investigating stocks. There are a few, very few, honest stock brokerages who carte about their clients to advise them away from high risk. Dean Witter is not one of them. That was the firm that conned my husband out of $300,000
A great question with a long and complicated answer and history. I know some attorneys who work only on antitrust lawsuits. And according to various sites on the internet (also belonging to this problem) its historic. But I instantly thought about Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s when the auto and oil industries destroyed the street car transportation system. Think of all that resulted: traffic, freeways, smog, loss of affordable transportation, neighborhoods destroyed for freeways, a social structure of neighborhoods and local shops, businesses, schools and freedom of movement for people who couldn’t or didn’t want to drive. And often shopping was concentrated in malls people had to drive to. Suburbs were built up and connected to the automobile and loss of social contact. Sprawl became the emblem of life. Remember Roger Rabbit? He tells the story. https://www.investopedia.com/insights/history-of-us-monopolies/
The same thing happened in Detroit, Michigan. My mom worked for the DOT in the 1940's and when the combustion engine was invented all mass transportation ended. Tracks were pulled up, concrete poured and roads were built and buses replaced rail lines throughout the city and surrounding areas just as you describe happening in Los Angeles.
Talk about the Loss of Social Contact... That has certainly seen "improvement" under the new Unregulated digital Social Media our OWN government is forcing us to use. I go to restaurants and see groups of people sitting at a table who don't even acknowledge each other's presence throughout the meal. My own bank is attempting to get me to "charge" everything on a credit card instead of using checks to pay bills because every single time something is "charged" instead of paid for by cash or check, the bank gets a tiny little fillip of $$$. I use a flip-phone that cost me $50.00 because I don't think it's very "smart" to pay thousands of dollars for a Smart Phone and hundreds more per month for Data/Apps and all the rest of it. But - that's just me.
They destroyed the economies of several states. When I was a kid, Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central were the bluest of all stocks on the NYSE.
And top rail executives got the kind of celebrity media treatment Steve Jobs and Elon Musk have received in our time.
That’s exactly how General Moters destroyed the transit system in Detroit in the mid 50s. Buses ,buses ,buses.
Irenie, I remember reading about the auto-ization of Los Angeles when I was in college and couldn't believe the people let it happen. My economics professor reminded us how powerful money is and in the "right" hands can do a lot of damage. Even in the early 1970s, we were aware that oil use and overuse was a problem but that the oilers had so much more power than any of us and were well at work buying up anyone and anything that might have stopped or even slowed them. Their purchase of Ronald Reagan slowed, and nearly stopped the renewable energy sector that was just getting started. The Bushes were on board too because of their ties to the industry itself. I suspect their purchases go deep into our government, perhaps even our Supreme Court and other judges. How else can one explain a decision that claims the EPA has no jurisdiction over greenhouse gases? I appreciate the anger of the young people about this corruption.
Social Engineering
at its Finest.
.
we been
Socially Engineered
by some pretty smart Profiteers
and so now WE are Paying the Price.
.
will we ever Learn?
A lot of what you described has happened here in Seattle too. I attended the Seattle Worlds Fair
'way back in' 1962 where the Monorail was debuted. It was a sensation (at that time) and fun to
ride to downtown and back to the fair grounds. + there was a huge and very interesting Science
Pavilion (for a kid of 12 at the time), all of which presented HUGE POTENTENTIAL and HOPE for the future. Unfortunately most of that did NOT come to fruition. The monorail did not expand into other parts of the city and got relegated to more of an amusement park attraction.
NOW, here in town, and WA in general, a big push for Light Rail, built at ground level,which IS expanding into more parts of Seattle and nearby cities. BUT at WHAT an environmental cost ! ! ! of deforestation, disruption of small neighborhoods nearer the major and minor highways, where the Monorail was built elevated on towers at regular intervals with not nearly the same level of
environmental disruption (to my perceptions). I'm now old enough and handicapped enough that I will probably never make use of this - new - system of transportation ~ ~ ~ S I G H ~
had elevated
"The monorail did not expand into other parts of the city [Seattle] and got relegated to more of an amusement park attraction." which was Odd, since Seattle Voters APPROVED Monorail Expansion THREE separate TIMES.
Anything we do to reduce the partisan role of money in politics will be tempered by people finding the next way around it. This doesn’t mean that we should not move in that direction. Rather it underscores how important it is for us to move aggressively in that direction, and expect it to be a multi-move game. We must approach this as one approaches fighting high profile crime, relentlessly. We attack, they parry. We attack again, and again.
"Anything we do to reduce the partisan role of money in politics will be tempered by people finding the next way around it."
What bull. What defeatist BS.
Bribery and extortion are crimes. But for a couple of 5-4 SCOTUS decisions, states would still have the capacity to limit lobbying.
I testify that our whstleblower programs work. I heard 22 kinds of them at DOL. We need more of them.
I advocate repeal of laws equating money with speech. Overturn Buckley v Valeo. Bring back McCain Feingold. Eliminate Citizens' United.
Tighten lobbying laws.
@Daniel, Bennett and Randy. The only answer is to realize and activate the Democratic majority in our population to achieve a long series of Democratic administrations. Security in a political seat is part of what allows a politician to rebuff lobbyists and do the people's work. So everything Daniel said, but with an emphasis on HOW!
make that a small d in Democratic. going to have to get independents in on it. on HOW--the more I learn the more I think that chiefly it has to start from the bottom and work up. Grassroots movement.This is not how I used to think, although it's not just one or the other.
there are so many hows that it's hard to know where to begin. Here in Missouri we have a Missouri Voters protection coalition, we have numerous Progressive organizations C3 C4 and pacs trying to make a difference .the centers for Higher Learning don't seem to make that large an impact on the culture. private and public sector organizations which could move Healthcare forward in the state seem more concerned with protecting Turf and the status quo.
We have a legislature which is populated primarily by economic illiterates. their definition of economic development is tax cuts, that's about as far as it goes. we have term limits which tends to make our legislators even more captive by private sector interests to the detriment of the public. But the media, IE private sector interests, especially in the rural areas, is not informing people how they are being harmed by their legislators. 4 years ago a ballot initiative to stop gerrymandering was passed.then two years ago the Republicans rallied and tricked the public into voting to reinstate gerrymandering by the Republicans. Now the high-priority for Republicans in the Missouri legislature is to gut the ballot initiative process so the supermajority Republican legislature can get its way on most everything. it's pretty much going from bad to worse although Democrats did pick up a few seats this election. I think it's really hard when you have a Supreme Court hostile to democracy.I don't see how things can greatly improve without changing the makeup of the Court.A decrease in wealth inequality will greatly help.
Dear steveandjanereed, Thank you so very much for pointing out the danger of term limits. People think they are great because the get rid of certain legislators they despise, usually in some other district. But what we really get is legislation by un-elected lobbyists who "generously" offer to research and write the legislation for the harried and desperate newly elected. We have term limits for State legislators in California. I voted against it and have voted to end it every time it comes up. But guess what? the lobbyists and their masters love term limits.
Daniel, I like all your suggestions. We could start doing that with an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices, a set of ethics for the Court, and penalties for justices who lie to Congress just to get appointed. Term limits on the Supreme Court and some other rule changes would help too. Ditching John Roberts as Chief Justice would also be a good thing if it were possible (what a despicable guy along with Alito who leaks his own drafts, then wants to start a hunt for the person who did it). And they claim to be so holy. OMG!
Mr. Barouch has just accurately described what has been going on around the world since the Dawn of Man, so Good luck with all your "advocation" to change it permanently. Don't you think that the majority of average American Citizens want the same thing you do?
Sure bribery and extortion are crimes but when you face the fact that our OWN SCOTUS legalized the bribery and dark money that flows into American elections today through their 2010 Citizens United decision what do YOU think you'll be able to do when our own government remains opposed to supporting the Common Good for everybody in the USA and just concentrates on continuing to line their own pockets at the expense of average American Citizens? If our whistle-blower laws really worked, would we BE in the situation we're in today? I don't think so.
@Just Me. It is tempting to give up the ship. But it helps to count up the positives. For example, in spite of all the bad things happening, we have returned a Democratic Senate AND we have kept the Republican majority in the House to a real minimum. I don't mean to say this fixes everything, but it helps genuinely well-meaning public servants to get more done for the public interest. Fingers crossed we can hold the Presidency in 2024 and return both chambers of Congress to Democratic majorities!
"Don't you think that the majority of average American Citizens want the same thing you do?"
Sure, but major corporations do not.
We don't live in a perfect world. Rule of law works. There aren't enough of them. And not enough money is spent prosecuting them.
Jails are full of criminals who engaged in fraud. This created a cottage industry for some law firms. I live in the fraud capitol of America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Fraud_Strike_Force
Exactly, Daniel. Your list is quite comprehensive. The question is how do we get from point A to point B in this new "Guilded Age." With this question I credit both you and Bennett Barouch, whom you refute. And that combination of credits is the dilemma. -- In the words of comic strip character Pogo: "We have met the enemy, and they are us!"
@Bennett. We need a younger, left-er, more vigorous Democratic Party in charge of government, and we need Elizabeth Warren or like person to run an anti-monopoly agency, using RICO on the perps. We need change on the SCOTUS or legislation to reverse the "corporations are people" concept that allows money to dominate politics even more. We need District of Columbia to become a State, along with Puerto Rico; that's 4 more Senators and justifies two more (at least) Justices. Good picks from a Democratic president along with one or more of the existing Justices dying would give us a chance at a balanced Court.
I am afraid of each change in Congress leading to more and more SCOTUS seats. Other than that I agree.
Bennett, I am not at all worried about different congresses appointing more and more justices. If that happens, there could be a lottery to see which 9 or 11 or 13 should hear a particular case. No one would know ahead which justices it would be, so priming justices would be a little harder and we might get decisions that are more fair, more just.
That scares me even more, Ruth! Critical issues would be settled by subgroups with a net bias based on chance. By chance, gun laws, abortion, civil rights, voting, ... settled by a group of justices that just happen to be all regressives. Indeed, whichever type of justices are in the minority would be even more in the minority more often, reducing rather than increasing balance. I am with you in spirit, but I don't think that procedure would get us where we both want to be.
But Bennett, that's the Court we have now. McConnell cheated out of having Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court and then cheated again by rushing amycorny as a last ditch replacement for the great Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so now instead of a hope of a chance we have a five or six majority of non-Constitutionalists, bigoted, biased and prejudiced as they are and enmeshed in their personal religious beliefs. I'll take Ruth's lottery any day over what we've got.
Yes, that's what we have now. But imagine a court with, say, 11 justices, and imagine there are 7 regressive and 4 progressives. As hard as it would be for the regressives to be joined by enough regressives to render a humane decision on anything, it would in average be even more likely if the 4 progressives happen to not be present in full force on any given case, which would be the norm. Using 7 justices per case as an example, on any one case the possibilities are: 0 p and 7 r, 1 p and 6 r, 2 p and 5 r, 3 p and 4 r, 4 p and 4 r, 5 p and 2 r, 6 p and 1 r, and 7 p and 0 r. So, half the time on average over a large number of cases (and more or less often than that in practice over a normal annual caseload), regressives would set the law of the land. Yes, the same is true of progressives, but the good they will do will not cancel out the bad the regressives will do. We are better served to have SCOTUS reassert its role as a defense against majority rule (in voted legislation) when the will of the majority violates protected people and rights.
Bennett Baruch; There are too many picks made by the 'right' in an unethical way.
Yep, Laurie, too much cheating and influence pushing by the Federalist Society, a group that is barely democratic and I might argue, not democratic at all. They are ideologues who care nothing for the law and what is best for the most people, only the rich white conservative ones, you know, the ones who also don't care much for democracy unless it is giving them everything they want, the child-men and child-women of our nation.
Bravo, Benjamin, well said
Benjamin, I really like all your suggestions. How do we get started on making them happen? I write to my representative and senators. Two really do care, but the Republican senator does not. How can we get enough support in Congress to do anything especially since Republicans who have nothing positive to offer anyone will be taking over the House in about 6 weeks?
Benjamin R Stockton ; If only! I guess there is a reason that DC and Peurto Rico can't vote! Let me guess...possible Democrat majorities?
Bennett Barouch ; and we keep ourselves informed by reading forums like this and listening to podcasts of similar nature to get/stay aware of the latest scams.
Knowledge is power.
Bennett, I agree that we need to be relentless, even more relentless than the monied. We need to be teaching the skills of parrying to our young people. Maybe some wealthy folks should endow chairs at colleges and universities in countering the economics of accumulation that disregards the values of the people and the nation, or something like that.
@Ruth. Endowing a chair is quite expensive. I chose to create a scholarship that funds two students every semester, and due to the University's own endowment, this goes on now in perpetuity. This is the Benjamin R. Stockton Endowed Scholarship at California State University, Long Beach. Money = Mouth! LOL
Benjamin, wow, a scholarship! That is something that can really make a positive mark in a community. Thanks for doing it!
Yep! Build a better mousetrap . . .
I have to thank you for always keeping up with what’s going on around us that most people are not aware of. It’s like being in a classroom with you on a daily basis, and I love how you put it simply so that anyone can understand. The truth is everyone should be reading what you write so that they do understand and aren’t living in some La La Land. I’ve noticed a lot of young people prefer to live in that land and don’t care what’s going on around them and that’s a shame. I try my best to get many young people registered to vote and explained the importance of these midterm elections. No matter what I said, or how I said it, including how it would affect them more than it would ever affect me, they still would not register all because they never wanted to get called to be a juror. It’s a sorry excuse, but that’s exactly why they won’t do it.
Just wait until they need to be judged or have some legal matter judged by a jury of their peers. Perhaps then, a few will be very regretful that they didn't care enough about the civic duties of a democratic republic, to register and vote...all because they didn't want the "bother" of jury duty.
This is a common misconception in TX, where signing up for jury duty actually is an automatic function of the DMV. Love passing along that nugget.
Another advantage to automatic registration
I know there are far more important questions and implications brought up today, and I have no doubt we'll discuss & solve them all in this discussion and the world will become utopia as a result. But for me, the whole issue with Ticketmaster's website crashing puts me in mind of how the National Healthcare site crashed, and how the "capitalist sector" piled on about government ineptitude. (The big lie there being that anything the government does is >always< incompetent, and can >only< done better & cheaper in the free-market private sector.) At that time it was clear to me that the National Healthcare site crashed because of the nearly instantaneous crush of hits by simultaneous requests of millions of users just itchin' to sign-up for healthcare insurance. That's in the very nature of such a volume of internet traffic hitting a website! It looks to the server(s) like a "denial of service" attack in cyber-warfare.
Contrary to the polit-shit the "conservatives" would have us all believe, we see here a real-world demonstration that the private sector >really couldn't< do better, and >certainly< not cheaper - even as they've specialized in providing that "one-click" banditry for years and years! Just sayin'!
Right.
Still a con. "Medicare Advantage" is not Medicare and it gives the insurance industry the advantage.
True enough. But that's a different issue than I was raising. I wasn't praising the virtue of the government program. I was comparing the failure of the Ticketmaster system - a well-studied system - with the rollout of the government website for National Healthcare, a newly implemented system subject to everything every newly rolled-out system must deal with. I'm sure you'll agree: Ticketmaster is >not< a newly rolled-out system.
DZK, Wow! I really like your comparison of the ACA site to what happened with Ticket Master. When ACA crashed, no one in the know got to even explain what happened. The right-wingers jumped on it so fast it got magnified by all the media. It was nuts. I don't hear anyone in power in the private sector being blamed for allowing such a poorly run entity to have a monopoly on the ticket industry the way they screamed about ACA's site (and what about the fact that so many people really needed health care - that was pretty much ignored at the time).
>Exactly< the point I was getting at!
Didn’t we learn this lesson long ago? This is why there are anti trust laws but no one upholds them! It Is all about greed!!
We are asleep at the switch.
The FTC should be the first line of defense but SCOTUS has decimated agency authority.
I would encourage you to read Matt Stoller's excellent newsletter about the work done by the FTC under Biden. After decades of inactivity, we have actual fighters who have won several decisive battles. Most Americans don't have the slightest knowledge of monopolies, just as they were largely uninterested in SCOTUS until it directly impacted their lives. The passivity of Americans is pretty remarkable.
tks will check out https://mattstoller.substack.com/
No activity vis a vis price fixers, gougers. Credit California for suing Amazon for price fixing.
They've blocked mergers and prevailed in a number of cases (eg, the shipping industry). They are bucking the trends of decades, pro-monopoly Democrats, and antagonistic judges, resurrecting long-neglected statutes and applying novel legal theories. Lina Khan should be a name known to everyone, yet she's chipping away at a mountain of corruption and inertia with little support or acclaim.
Let me know when they win a court case.
As I stated, they are battling decades of consumer apathy, partisan judges, a hard partisan Chamber of Commerce, and 7-figure law firms. Here's one article, though it's not clear that you want to learn. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-keeps-losing-antitrust-court-battles-few-expect-pullback-2022-10-04/
What the hell. And Trump simply ignores congressional subpoena. what else is new?
As usual, I agree with your points, Robert, but I am not feeling hopeful about the possibility of change.
As long as we worship the rich and set up our government and courts to protect corporations, our society will continue to be grossly unfair and unequal.
There isn’t the political will or courage to challenge the stranglehold of corporations and obscenely wealthy families.
There was one moment recently when I had hope for positive change in our county. That was when good people united to protest the death of George Floyd. That movement frightened
right wing politicians and their corporate sponsors, so they did what they always do. They lied, and used the force of government and guns to cheapen the moment, to cause fear and chaos.
Not even the little bit of corporate approved change will happen in the next two years because
people of ill will, wackos and power hungry dumb asses control the House.
"There isn’t the political will or courage to challenge the stranglehold of corporations and obscenely wealthy families."
IMHO if this were an initiative on a ballot, it would pass.
@Daniel. We only have the initiative process in a few States, and it is not a panacea for direct democracy. That process is also captured by special interest groups driven by money. I had to vote against all but two of California's initiatives because the others were all about creating some advantage for some moneyed interests.
We mustn't give up, the fact they responded to BLM movement so vehemently is because we've gotten some traction. It's imperative that we continue to tilt widmills even when it feels futile. I never thought Biden would achieve so much in these past 2years, while I suspect not much will happen from here, perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised & aided by more poor SCOTUS decisions or SC (or other AG fndings).
Thank you for this important information!!! It is so important for the public to know how our politicians and lawmakers are letting their constituents down!!! Hopefully this information will get the publicity that it deserves, those involved are held responsible and these practices stopped!!!
What a world. If it wasn't for the climate emergency, racism in multiple forms, misogyny, then campaign finance reform would have to be number 1 on my list of things to tackle. Wait a minute. There is a common denominator here. Corporate entities are involved in all of these things. They lobby to preserve their right to pump greenhouse gases in the air, controlling all their employees while they do so. They are mostly all white men. (Though now that China and India are players there are a few more male people of color mimicking them.) Perhaps when you fight one you struggle against all? We face a interlinked set of problems that should not be seen in isolation. The centralization of power into the hands of a few, whether they lead pseudo-democracies, authoritarian states, or corporations, needs to end in order to solve the grand systemic problem faced by humanity and the planet. The occasional entity that collapses, or looks ridiculous like Ticketmaster, is just a symptom of the larger problem. Humans were meant to live in a diverse, decentralized and thriving garden, not a centralized, power and possession mad concrete jungle.
Get-money-out-of-politics!
Medical facilities are now becoming very large businesses resulting in poor customer service. And hospitals are forming monopolies, two within the state I live in, pretty much dividing in two. Not good for patients or employees. With this happening, national health care is getting more and more appealing to me and to some doctors who are tired of dealing with insurance companies. Many PCP’s are not making enough money to compensate them for what they do Andy the cost of maintaining a private practice. Doctors have been forced to practice in these Monopoly hospitals and may be shifted around several locations, do on call for several locations. I believe this is contributing to the existing shortage of PCP’s. Bigger is not necessarily better, unless you are a CEO looking to make a profit. Add to this the fact that insurance companies have been ulimiting the amount of time doctors spend with patients. And doctors employed by hospitals and clinics also are forced to see more patients in as little time as possible. For all but the wealthy, healthcare here is not nearly as good as that of other developed countries, while costing more. I apologize for getting off topic. It is a topic that urgently needs more attention. And it is all about making a profit at the expense of consumers.
And sites such as this are the only place one hears of these atrocities. Not at election time. Not from the corrupted fourth estate. Not from the mouths of the pols reaping the filthy lucre from our totally corporately bought and sold system. Such are the basis for the notion that unfettered capitalism does not work. And it doesn't !
https://factsfirstusa.org/about/
"We are a bipartisan organization focused on ensuring that our national discourse is grounded in facts and honest debate. Facts First USA will keep the focus on facts in the face of abuse of government oversight being used to settle partisan scores."
the problem is in reaching enough of the public to make a difference. My Republican representative is a maga enabler who presents herself as a moderate and does not pay a price with a Suburban moderate voter base at election time.
Right on . Fact is that no democracy can properly function without a media (fourth estate) free from socio/economic/political influence. Ours is anything but .
see: Amy Goodman's Democracy NOW!
https://www.democracynow.org/
.
see also: the Thom Hartmann Program
https://www.thomhartmann.com/
So these huge businesses will have their debt erased while the little man is squashed under college debt and medical debt and never getting ahead. Ain't American capitalism GRAND!!
Thar's why I say bankruptcy is legalized theft.
I agree with you there and Florida was really bad about being a bankruptcy haven for rich people, until some laws were changed. However, there are some of those people who need to file bankruptcy because of out of control medical costs, and I don’t hold anything against them.
In Florida homestead exemption protects individuals. Many corporations borrow never to repay as part of their business plan. Among the worst have been insurance companies that take premiums never to make claims. https://keysweekly.com/42/property-insurance-companies-go-bankrupt-as-policyholders-scramble-for-new-coverage/
My favorite was Pa. Flintlock rifles and spinning wheels were exempt so grifters would put all their money into them and stiff all other creditors.
Even before monopolies crash and burn we are all hurt. Competitors are put out of business and prices soar. Choices are limited. It all sucks without regulation.
And enforcement!
Yes ; rules are useless if they are not enforced.
The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth(Mathew 5:5)
This could mean that the ordinary people of the earth get Sick and Tired of the Rich who refuse to Share their wealth. Not only money but also their many assets. Of which they would not have without us! They need to start sharing soon or face the wrath of the many! There are many more of us then there are of them!
Keith Olson ; I love music and concerts, but could not afford them anymore. The ticket prices went out of sight. I wonder if that could happen with sports. It has gotten to the point where one must be gifted tickets from people who 'have access' because their corporate jobs have perks like season tickets. I can't help but wonder if and when it could all crash for the greedy. The ordinary people will find ways to enjoy life without being robbed.
It has already happened with sports. I was a diehard NASCAR fan for over 15 years. I started out giving them to my husband as a valentines day gift and we kept renewing every year because we ended up with tickets at $50 for each of us. Best seats in the house, or on the race track. They slowly went up over the years, but not to the point that it was out of our reach. And we really did have some of the best seats in the house because we could see the entire race track in Daytona. When we got divorced in 2004, he got the renewal and called to ask me if I wanted the tickets and I told him no he was more the fan than I was. He told me he couldn’t afford them and I asked him why. I knew that when Tom Cruise came out with that movie about racing that ticket prices would go up and so would the hotels, and they certainly did that. In fact, they doubled the price of the hotel rooms. But we continued to go, and when the divorce happened and he got those tickets, they now asked for $500 per person because they wanted you to buy the tickets for every race that week and of course that meant now the hotels would be a five night minimum at over $350 per night. It was so satisfying to see just how many fans they lost at the track that they quit selling seats on the back stretch because they couldn’t keep the front stretch filled out because of their greed. Then of course, the pandemic came and nobody was attending races, and it really hurt them because that is a very expensive sport. A lot of people just like me completely lost interest, and now couldn’t name a single racer. So now the only people attending those races are those that don’t mind paying those kind of prices. Concert tickets are off the charts. I always want to be up close or I don’t feel part of the excitement so I end up paying the five or $600 per seat but it Hass to be a damn good concert for me to pay that kind of money. I won’t do it anymore because it’s become asinine to spend that kind of money For a concert that may or may not be good. That includes even going to shows in Vegas and paying that same amount or much more for whoever’s got a residency there. All I see anymore is greed greed greed. 
Yes, they implode their business, eventually.
I have given up paying for entertainment. You are so right about finding less expensive ways to enjoy life. Some of my favorites are walking with my wife 3 to 4 miles a day, walking neighbors dogs, riding my bike and working around the home. That’s just a few. I have many more.
Walking is one of the things I do when it is not slippery or very cold. Bicycling is my husband's favorite thing to do. He will set up a trainer in the house during winter weather.