Unless we nationalize everything which is what Fascist governments do, our only recourse is pass laws to regulate corporations. We had many regulations in place for consumer protections , but the Republican have removed most.
It used to be in 1970ish, the Fortune 500, then in the 1990s, the Fortune 400, then in the 2010, the Fortune 300, now the Fortune 200. That’s what concentration of wealth looks like. And, all the tax avoidance among these and extreme wealth, wow! We are getting screwed, big time. And what do the very wealthy want to do, cut back on Social Security(which is funded separately and is still in credit, positive balance).
Thank you, John. I've never paid attention to the Fortune ?. I do know that in the "Gilded Age" of the late 19th early 20th centuries it was the Fortune 400 and every wealthy person wanted to be included, I believe it was Forbes Magazine that started the Fortune 400. The Fortune 500 now refers only to Corporations and is selected by Fortune magazine. Forbes has gotten very exclusive so now only billionaires are listed in that "lofty category" There are 735 Americans in the billionaire list which does include Donald J Trump, but none of his offspring, Forbes apparently still calls their list the Fortune 400.
I don't know Pieter. Obama was in a bind. In 2009, Mitch McConnell publicly swore that Obama would be a one term President. In 2010 President Obama, Vice President Biden and Congress pushed through a compromised American Health Care Act allowing the middle c.lass Americans to obtain Health Insurance at reasonable rates. My Son-in-Law, had asthma as a child, and although he was long cured of it, he could not receive health insurance until the ACA.
When Obama won again in 2012, McConnell was furious. But he had control of the Senate. I don't know why the rule exists - it is unfair and unethical - but the Speaker of the House and the Senator pro tem get away with shoving legislation in the round file and it never gets a hearing. So no legislation of importance got passed for the next four years. I do not understand why two persons from a State, not elected to Federal office are allowed to decide whether bills dropped in the hopper may never be heard of again. I began commuting to the mid-west and east coast in 2006 so I missed a lot of political news.
Well Fay you sound of good hart but I was bitterly disappointed when he (Obama) allowed the GMO bill/legislation concerning responsibility for the producers pass. At the time I understood it was a trade off for the affordable health care bill passing but still a great disappointment and another case where big companies like Monsanto get off the hook. It should not be that way.
Truscha you are also confusing fascism with some forms of socialism (not democratic socialism) Fascists LOVE corporate business and work closely to support them. Fascism combines with military and industrialists, to control the majority of the populations (peasant class)
Fay Reid : I'm sure tRump avoids saying his less educated supporters have "just fallen off the turnip truck", (meaning they are dumb as turnips).Even though that is what he most likely thinks of them.
Hi Laurie Blair; I doubt he thinks they are dumb as turnips (:-) After all Trump's own education was bought and paid for by Daddy (Fred Trump) From his speech and actions I'd guess Trump's level of intellect is on par with an average 7th grader. Even my 8th graders had more knowledge than Trump. He also had to have his daily briefings in cartoon sized snippets. He is not a reader, nor is he profound. I loved your humor, Laurie. And agree Trump and his base sit each other, those poor souls didn't even have a Daddy Fred to buy them a college degree.
Only in theory. It' sometimes referred to by the "upper" class as quiet, tough, slow growing, inexpensive vegetables, specifically turnips, which are high in fiber and vitamins like C. They are used as soup base. It has extremely little juice, if any, which turns blue.
"A “turnip-eater” was considered a stupid person; a. “turnip-head” a peasant or a country bumpkin. And. “turnip” itself became slang for a simpleton or a fool."
Meme: a doctor to his patient, a king:. "Your blood is blue - it's a hereditsry condition"
Meaning: When people say that you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, it means that you cannot get something from a person, especially money, that they don't have.
Steadily diminishing in number, the middle class used to be well over half the US population (close to 2/3 at 1 point). It's well below half by now, but it still has a way to go before it completely disappears (but we can't take it for granted that it won't).
There’s a good theory that George Carlin Exposes regarding class in America. I’m paraphrasing, it goes something like this, the middle class does all the work the upper class keeps all the money in the lower class is just there to scare the shit out of the middle class.
I am not confused by fascism. I stated that taking over industries is what fascist government do. Socialist government do not do that. Venezuela took over the power companies, as did Soviet Union, Bolivia, Iraq, Berma, Argentina and other Fascist states.
We need a way to ENFORCE those laws we already have! A good step would be to send politicians and CEOs guilty of terrible crimes to a BLUE COLLAR prison.
Neither musk or Bunkerboy would last THIRTY SECONDS in a REAL federal prison, and their grisly ends would be a lesson for all!
The biggest fascists on the planet today are the likes of Trump, Boris, Putin etc. So I think Americans of all political color should be modest in their comments on other countries as there is still a chance that fascist, convicted rapist, uprising leader and tax frauder (among other)Trump could be reelected president in 2024.
I think that's a bit of an over-simplification, Cathie.
I'm not denying that corporate greed has corrupted our electoral system and therefore Congress itself. Nor would I disagree that workers are being shamelessly exploited worldwide.
But the issue here is the relationship between government policy towards China and private investment in that country, and by extension in other countries around the world.
Obviously, the Elon Musks and Tim Smiths of the world don't have to concern themselves with hard issues of military engagement, human rights, climate protection, and so forth. (Although there are strong arguments why they should.) So it's not surprising that they would have more frequent meetings with Chinese officials at the commerce dept. level.
Ultimately, government-to-government agreements set the rules for international trade. And the Biden administration is currently negotiating three major regional trade agreements which are focused more on climate policy and worker empowerment, rather than on market access and tariffs as were the Free Trade agreements of the past. Of course, that's not a very sexy topic, so we never hear about it.
Prof. Reich raises several important points. But I wish he'd initiate a discussion on what President Biden and his team are actually doing, rather than just stoking more outrage about things we mostly already know.
Actually, that's a really helpful comment. We need to know more about the nuts and bolts. Governing is not a straightforward business deal. It takes a lot of skill, imagination, and hard work. Biden has been described as a "workhorse not a show horse" and I believe that is an apt description. Movie stars are meant to be sexy, not policy makers. We need to go beyond moral outrage by educating ourselves about some really tricky and difficult subjects.
Agreed, Jerry. Get Musk under control (first by forcing him to cough up his fair share of the tax burden) then get the rest of the American Oligarchy under control and we might have a decent world.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has introduced HJR#54 to amend the Constitution, establishing that only natural born persons are entitled to constitutional rights and that money is not speech. So far the bill has 53 other co-sponsors.
If you'd like to help with this effort, or just learn more about it, go to: www.MoveToAmend.org
Jerry, As I’ve posted in the past, because amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in both Houses followed by approval from three-fourths of the states, I believe the more achievable route is to focus on passage of the nearly comparable For the People Act, which passed in 2021 in the Democratically-controlled U.S. House and stalled in the Senate by a handful of Senators who blocked a filibuster carve-out.
Accordingly, among the several top priority 2024 issues, retaining the White House, retaking the House, and adding additional Democratic seats to the Senate are, in my view, near or at the top.
I agree Barbara. The other problem I have with amending the Constitution is that republicans
have wanted to call an Article V Constitutional Convention for a long time. (‘The biggest Threat to Democracy that Nobody is talking About’ by Jonathan Capeheart, Sept. 4, 2018.) My fear is if we
do what’s necessary to amend the Constitution, the
effort will be hijacked by manipulative republicans
and turned into something we don’t want.
As J.Capeheart says in his article, “Right now, 28 states have passed resolutions calling for an Article V convention. That number would be 32 had Common Cause and other groups, such as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, not successfully gotten Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico and Nevada to rescind their resolutions. Still, once the 34-state hurdle is cleared, despite pledges of a discrete, narrow focus, no one knows what could happen.”
The other thing we have to do is add 4 more Justices to the Supreme Court, because as things are now, the conservative majority on the court are corrupt. They are capable of doing anything. But, for good reason, adding Justices won’t be talked about unless Biden wins another term. Professor Tribe
(Prof.Emeritus, Harvard Law) and ret. federal court Judge Gertner recommend expanding the court as
the fastest way to correct for the conservative
Justices who seem ready to destroy democracy.
Tribe and Gertner wrote an article about this topic
Yeah, I don't trust the "narrow focus" of any constitutional convention. Ironically, such a "narrow focus" excuse is what got us the ORIGINAL Constitution, which was supposed to be for some minor alterations of the Articles of Confederation.
I know you've talked about this in the past, Barbara. But I don't understand why this For the People Act wouldn't just be challenged and end up being ruled unconstitutional, citing Citizens United as precedent.
Could you explain why that wouldn't happen? Congress can't just pass a law denying an established constitutional protection, can they?
Jerry, Just as Congress can vote to codify Roe, it can vote to pass the For the People Act. Of course, its passage would be challenged. Still, in the interim, the public would be increasingly educated regarding legislation the majority wants that the GOP is trying to get overturned. Further, I imagine, were the likes of a Marc Elias leading the charge, our federal courts would be hard-pressed to develop a legitimate opposition.
While I would not unequivocally claim a win, I would claim my proposal is the most effective route for passing and retaining an extraordinarily progressive piece of legislation. On a related note, I would suggest reading Susan Garrity Benton, who is part of this thread. I found her post to be a touchstone that undoubtedly will influence both my rhetoric and my actions.
Am I reading this correctly; "that the bill establishes that only natural born persons are entitled to constitutional rights"???? What about the 'naturalized citizens' who actually know more about our constitution than most high school students??
"Natural born persons" means actual human beings, which naturalized citizens also are. The distinction being made is between real people and corporate entities.
The "Citizens United" decision recognized corporations as having a constitutional right to free speech under the 1st Amendment. Presumably, that would extend to other constitutional rights as well. In fact, there's currently an effort being made to allow corporations the right to vote!
Here's how Justice Stevens put it in his dissent to the Citizens United case:
". . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."
“President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Unleashing a Manufacturing and Clean Energy Boom and Accelerating the Production of Affordable Electric Vehicles As part of President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030...”
Here’s another topic:
“Readout of White House Meeting with Governor Walz and Minnesota Leaders on Paid Family and Medical Leave”
And another one:
“FACT SHEET: Historic Biden-Harris Administration Investments in Water Infrastructure and Lead Pipe Replacement Are Creating New Domestic Manufacturing Jobs.”
One more thing--Congress isn’t corrupt--republicans in Congress are corrupt.
Thanks for posting those links, Susan. That's exactly what I'm talking about.
We should always be pushing back with facts like these whenever a Comments Section conversation starts going down the path of "Dems need a better candidate".
The Biden administration has been the most productive in a generation. Ordinarily, rank-and-file Democrats would be thrilled to campaign on his accomplishments. The only reason they aren't is just ugly old-ageism, combined with a culture of celebrity-worship.
No other potential Democratic candidate has achieved nearly as much as President Biden. And there's no reason to believe he can't continue to deliver results we can be proud of.
Start with Jared, Ivanka, Don Jr. (and "fiancee" Screaming Guilfoyle) and Eric, and oh yes, Melania's very special boy, Barron (only people with gilded toilets name a modern child born in America "Barron." Why not just be honest and name him Baron. Baron VonTrump.... but I digress) That whole crowd of free-loaders, put them to work - maybe in one of those meat-packing plants that Covid-liar Trump forced to stay open while employees in horrendous conditions, mostly immigrants, got sick and some died from Covid.
Start with all the republicans for pushing this dystopian apocalyptic totalitarian lifestyle on unsuspecting Americans, along with their affluent Christo-Fascist enablers!
Daniel, Attention is skyrocketing on Ohio finally, thank goodness. Field Team 6 is organizing phone banks on Tuesday afternoons now through July for Sherrod Brown and to register Ohio Democratic voters. Anyone who is available to make some calls, please seek out the info on their website or on Mobilize.us. BlueWavePostcards.org has a huge campaign to blanket Ohio going on now. Their postcards are the easiest to do as they send you the addresses on stickers and the written message is short. We will do this. Donna
When Nixon normalized relations with China, that is when our democracy started trading with dictatorships. All for cheap labor and also when Reagan became president he imported immigrants to bust the unions also. The zero population growth environmentalists have not been represented for about 60 years. The right wing Republicans own this mess for buying the Democrat party as well and the supreme Court.
I'd love to hear your solution. The only solution I can see is to withdraw their power by not buying their products. I think it's gone a bit too far for that, since they monopolize virtually everything we need.
The best solution would be to give some backbone to our legislators in dealing with the corporations and wealthy individuals. Break up monopolies, put teeth into legislation to back up unionization, regulate price gouging and the salaries for upper management. Attach those upper management salaries to a certain percentage of workers' wages. Excess profit taxes. And get corporate money out of politics, abolish lobbying or at least keep it to a certain maximum. Stakeholders, as defined by the past as customers, workers, surrounding communities, shareholders, and suppliers need to have a greater say in business. More power to the people and less power to the wealthy.
We also need to be able to vet those running for office as to their knowledge of the Constitution and get an IQ reading (HAHA, fat chance). Even those who know profess to holding degrees from fancy universities and colleges don't ALL seem to have any common sense.
Off the top of my head, Anna, my state of Ohio, Arkansas and Florida. I know there are more, I just don't want to say unless I had the source in front of me and I don't.
Who are we that many Americans have to vote “R” when it is clear that they are the Fascist Republican Party and what their are doing to our Democracy for their power and personal financial gain!
The Democrats need a new strategy of marketing and to fight these greedy Fascist Republicans but it is politics as usual! I’m sick of one survey after another asking who we are going to vote for and our opinion on trump, the traitor, grifter, thief, and liar and begging for donations! Get the message out that you are not Socialists or Communists and that the Republican Party is now the Fascists. Party! They are not governing but trying to destroy our en there Institution of government! Do something about what Meta,(Facebook) Twitter, and all these lies and deflection spread by the Fascist Republicans news entertainment stations keep spreading! Biden himself needs to have a press conference on regular news stations everyday to combat the Fascist Republican political machine and talk to the American people ! The American people need to be reminded everyday that our Democracy is at stake! The Democrats cannot solely count on the life or death abortion issue and women’s health issues! Many women will still vote with the Fascist Republicans! To hell with Biden answering the press questions to get the press a pat on the back or award, or compensation for getting information! Stop giving so much free press to these destroyers of our Democratic Republic!
We have let corporations rule over everything else. They nearly run our government. Congress is so beholden to giant corporations that it can't work together to do anything that benefits the American people. Even when Congress manages to agree on legislation, protections, loopholes, subsidies and other benefits to corporations have to be included, otherwise there's no deal. Maybe there should be some punishment for corporations who negotiate with governments to the detriment of the US government. Gee, maybe we should tax them.
It is true is all about the money. Citizens United must be overturned and campaign finance laws instituted to stop millionaires, billionaires and corporations from buying candidates.
Problem is we can’t end their subsidies unless we can stop them from buying our Congress, and we can’t stop that because they have bought the Congress. Unless we can convince a *lot* of people that it would be better to try to improve their situation than to "own the libs" we are stuck, it seems to me.
Ahem, It’s not “Congress,” it’s mostly republicans
in Congress. It’s republicans in Congress who give corporations tax cuts and then try to cut spending on programs that help the middle class and the poor to make up for the loss in revenue. Republicans have been trying to end social security since W.’s admin. Recently republicans said there should be no more free school lunch programs.Trump and republicans tried to end the Affordable Care Act. Remember when Trump said he was going to give us a better healthcare plan? Remember Paul Ryan trying to explain the new republican healthcare plan? It was obvious he didn’t know what was in it, which probably means he handed it over to lobbyists
to draft. At any rate it didn’t pass. Trump said, “Who
knew healthcare is so complicated.”
Republicans depend on large campaign donations from corporations and dark money donors. Citizens United made that possible. I’m not saying democrats don’t get campaign donations from corporations,
but generally they aren’t as big as what they give republicans, because they know republicans won’t raise their taxes. It’s s symbiotic relationship between republicans and corporations that’s
destroying the middle class. Which reminds me, it’s
republicans who are trying to make it very hard to vote--or end voting entirely, and they aren’t trying to do that for our benefit. Democrats are vehemently against making it hard to vote. The more power republicans have, the more likely they are to
end industry regulations, because regulations
cut into corporate profits. They don’t care if people are being poisoned by unregulated industries. I could go on, but I won’t.
Susan you pretty much said everything that I was going to say - so thank you. Republicans put us in this situation but whine when money goes to anything that doesn’t benefit them either monetarily or with power. Democrats Really need to get louder with telling people what we have achieved and what we can achieve if we can retake over Congress while retaining the White House but with the numbers to actually be able to veto proof the republicans. Hopefully if we do we learned our lesson (since they never thought we would lose our abortion rights or have our voting rights chipped away and more) and shore up all of outstanding issues once and for all. I would also like for a rule that someone cannot change their party affiliation once elected to any office while in said office. Plus, Please do away with dark money and limit billionaires with their contributions. I guess I could go on but until we gain back control we must get better with our messages and not be afraid to actually tell it like it is or we might not have a planet for our future generations. Still don’t understand how some can disregard science so much so just because it doesn’t fit into their current campaign/ideology even though they once championed for it.
Yes, if Republicans get full control over our government, we will lose our remaining democratic rights, & will turn into a Turkey, Hungary or, heaven forbid, Russia. As the world goes under from climate chaos, ecosystem collapse & mass extinction, which such a fascist regime will refuse to address, we the people will be sacrificed.
What do you mean? Some are getting millions PLUS the get preferred stocks.
Then there is SCOTUS. Thomas himself gets 1/2 million or more a year in bribes. Looks like Roberts ana Alito are in on the fix as well
That's just what we know about. Citizens United probably gives each Reich winger million upon millionsore. Just the gun lobby give them a million each. These are fascist so there are no morals or ethics in most cases
Some of us could see what was happening long ago in another century, & we kept warning about it, but in a corporatocracy such as ours, the voices of ordinary people are ignored, if heard at all.
Here’s the sauce, most big successful companies that do business with China are greedy. Some have no choice because that’s where a lot of items that you need to make your products are made. That does not mean we should let our companies get away with abusing workers in any country. What do we do about it? Stop buying new if you can. Better for the planet as a whole. If we base our economy on reuse instead of buy new big companies might have to change.
China is a huge market. Largest in the world, although India is rapidly catching up. Chinese nationals have tremendous purchasing power. The population is so huge that more people study English in China than in the US. These students know US history.
In the US, institutions like the Heritage Foundation, Chamber of Commerce, etc. see the Chinese as valuable investors. https://www.aei.org/china-tracker-home/
Recently the Chinese government has been accused of using Cuba as a spy base and are apparently funding the Narcos in Mexico. This has scared the local Republicans, who BTW are some of the same people who brought Chinese investment here.
Starting July 1, 2023, Florida law S.B. 264 prohibits a citizen of China from buying real estate in the state unless certain exceptions apply. The exceptions include that it is only “one residential real property that is up to 2 acres” and the “parcel is not on or within 5 miles of any military installation in the state.” The person must have a “current verified United States Visa that is not limited to authorizing tourist-based travel” or have been granted asylum.
The measure applies to “Any person who is domiciled in the People’s Republic of China and who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.” A person who is a citizen of China (and not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident) who meets one of the exceptions and already owns property in Florida “may not purchase . . . any additional real property” in the state.
People like Musk have no sense of patriotism, no sense of unity with other Americans. In the 19th Century American missionaries and Yankee traders rushed to China but they were, in the main, always considered to be foreigners. Much of the population was hooked on opium as a political tactic initiated by the British foreign office. The Chinese government still exercises the mandate to heaven, and the Chinese are still seeking retribution for western intervention that divided their country and hooked their people.
Serious Question - what happens to the people who already own property prior to July 2023? Is he going to try to find a way to take it back from them (like eminent domain)? I don’t want spies but I don’t want people victimized just because of where they came from either.
Daniel already addressed that in his post. They cannot acquire additional property but it doesn't specifically mention taking away property. However, one could infer from the last sentence of the 2nd to the last paragraph of his post that if they're not a US citizen or permanent resident & do not meet any of the exceptions, they could lose their property.
This doesn't sound like American policy. It sounds more like some unethical American companies. Of course, Americans could refuse to buy Chinese-manufactured Teslas. Biden could also refuse to allow Tesla the $7500 EV rebate. So far as Tesla being high-quality, I have heard quite a few complaints about them.
My retired sister & husband (teacher & pharmacist) love their Teslas. But they now have reservations about Musk as do I. They had wanted to help the planet, have the convenience & benefit from the rebate. I feel like Musk doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
There should be some sort of restriction in doing business with a country our government is trying to hold accountable. The big corporations shouldn’t be on a different wavelength than our government, doing as they please Willy Nilly.
Sadly, I have concluded this is who we really are as humans -- motivated primarily by greed, comfort, convenience, control, and fear. Rational thought -- to say nothing of ethics or integrity -- has very little currency in our most important decisions.
And store our growing excess in the rapidly expanding Self-Storage facility industry. At least two new large facilities are being built within five miles of my home.
During WWII people accepted rationing, doing more with less, planting victory gardens. This was for our boys overseas. Why can’t we do it to save the planet that we live on?
I am aware because I am subscribed. I chose only to comment on the one factor of spending which the fed definitely look at. I have tried to live conservatively and when we are getting hosed by corporate monopolies being permitted to continually increase staple food prices or manufacturers who continually rise prices and reduce quantities thinking we are too dumb to notice! Mothers and Fathers are struggling to feed their families. Children are going hungry so stockholders can pad their pockets.
Reich “hits the nail on the head” once again. But Robert, please finish this piece with practical real world solutions. What can be done to change this abomination?
Now we get to see in full measure what Musk really >is< as a self-styled "freedom of speech absolutist." I'm sure he believes in >his< absolute freedom of speech. His damn citizenship should be revoked - as a >first< measure! As a second measure, confiscate the hostile alien's assets. There's >my< damn freedom of speech.
These CEOs can rhapsodize about the work ethic of exploited foreign employees all they like. Unfortunately, they don't understand that employees working for wages, don't have their hearts warmed the same way from working until 3AM to enrich a company to boost stock prices that don't come back in wage growth. This country needs to go forward and bring others with it, not go back to work conditions from 1810.
The Chinese standard of living has increased several fold since they opened up their economy. I'll give them that. What I predict will happen is that Chinese workers in a generation will not put up with this shit, and demand protections. And then? Capitalism being what it is, another source of cheap labor will be found to exploit in some other underdeveloped country.. Corporations will open up factories in Pakistan, strip mine the labor force there, leave an environmental catastrophe, and move to Africa.
At one time brands that had previously been made in the USA were being made in China. At work I would point out the “made in China” on almost everything in the office. It seemed to me to mean the manufacturer wanted things made cheaply and it was reflected in the quality of the product. After WWII “ there were a lot of cheap products “made in Japan” and I learned not to buy them. This is not about Chinese or Japanese workers but, it seemed to me, meeting the demands of the US manufacturers who had there products manufactured there. That is changing. Lately there are Vietnamese products being sold here which to me are of higher quality. In addition, I feel we owe Viet Nam. (read about Daniel Ellsberg’ brave disclosure ). There are articles about Americans embracing the products from Viet Nam. Maybe we will someday see “Made In the USA.”
I would say she’s totally wrong, in a way. It’s wrong to generalize and describe an entire countries people in derogatory terms. It’s also wrong to assume they had much of a choice, when living under a government that prioritizes corporations and allows pervasive advertising to brainwash the people into being perfect consumers.
Yes, her blame is misdirected onto people who had no power & therefore nothing to do with the way our government & society has turned out, as most people commenting on this forum.
The new fascist party supports corporations like this yet the people in the rust belt love the fascists who support those who took their jobs to China. What happened to intelligence in this. Country? When did they get on inced by the ones that 2+2 =5?
Appliances with Chinese parts don’t last over 5 years. The appliances continue to break down requiring service and they put the same Chinese junk parts in them again as what was installed in the factory! Appliances made in USA with American made parts lasted 20 years! I’m sorry if that hurts China’s economy but look what it has done to the American worker and the Americans financial situation due to continuously replacing their junk!
The Japanese vastly improved the quality of their products to where they became a global high standard of quality. That hasn't happened with most Chinese products.
Elon hasn't figured out that "What goes around, comes around". Time will tell how long he has compliant workers willing to "burn the 3 a.m. Oil"! Especially for a pittance.
I love Thom Hartmann. "The Republicans are so sick!"
He also mentions that the Confederate South was a fascist regime. Well, look at those states now! We've been paying particular attention to Florida & Texas, but practically the whole South is fascist now. Add Indiana, Missouri, Idaho, & increasingly Ohio & Iowa, & many other states in the heart of the country. They're basically fascist, or at least moving that way.
I personally do not trust Musk. He is a diehard nutcase. It is dangerous to mess around with China especially when they have humanitarian problems which they also conduct that when they have business here. They do not treat the people fairly.
Compliant workers? Maybe that is the appearance of things. Several months ago, a Chinese student--I teach English to second language learners online, globally--wanted to know what our US government was telling US citizens about Ukraine. For some reason, the question gave me hope. I know there are Chinese who do not swallow the party line, who question, and many who live in fear. Fear is a strange thing. After awhile, it looses its power. Listening to the comments made by many students--mine are mainly professionals, university grads or students and excellent speakers of English--living in many countries, I would say that many are quietly seeking a better way of life then living in fear and enduring horrible working and living conditions.
Something needs to be done to bring corporations under control. The greediness of most CEOs and the treatment of many workers is shameful worldwide
Unless we nationalize everything which is what Fascist governments do, our only recourse is pass laws to regulate corporations. We had many regulations in place for consumer protections , but the Republican have removed most.
True, but we haven't done much in the past 40+ years to enforce existing anti-trust, anti-monopoly laws. And we Democrats had occasional control.
It used to be in 1970ish, the Fortune 500, then in the 1990s, the Fortune 400, then in the 2010, the Fortune 300, now the Fortune 200. That’s what concentration of wealth looks like. And, all the tax avoidance among these and extreme wealth, wow! We are getting screwed, big time. And what do the very wealthy want to do, cut back on Social Security(which is funded separately and is still in credit, positive balance).
Thank you, John. I've never paid attention to the Fortune ?. I do know that in the "Gilded Age" of the late 19th early 20th centuries it was the Fortune 400 and every wealthy person wanted to be included, I believe it was Forbes Magazine that started the Fortune 400. The Fortune 500 now refers only to Corporations and is selected by Fortune magazine. Forbes has gotten very exclusive so now only billionaires are listed in that "lofty category" There are 735 Americans in the billionaire list which does include Donald J Trump, but none of his offspring, Forbes apparently still calls their list the Fortune 400.
Even though I love Obama, wasn’t it he who signed off to big corporations for liabilities in food ?
I don't know Pieter. Obama was in a bind. In 2009, Mitch McConnell publicly swore that Obama would be a one term President. In 2010 President Obama, Vice President Biden and Congress pushed through a compromised American Health Care Act allowing the middle c.lass Americans to obtain Health Insurance at reasonable rates. My Son-in-Law, had asthma as a child, and although he was long cured of it, he could not receive health insurance until the ACA.
When Obama won again in 2012, McConnell was furious. But he had control of the Senate. I don't know why the rule exists - it is unfair and unethical - but the Speaker of the House and the Senator pro tem get away with shoving legislation in the round file and it never gets a hearing. So no legislation of importance got passed for the next four years. I do not understand why two persons from a State, not elected to Federal office are allowed to decide whether bills dropped in the hopper may never be heard of again. I began commuting to the mid-west and east coast in 2006 so I missed a lot of political news.
Well Fay you sound of good hart but I was bitterly disappointed when he (Obama) allowed the GMO bill/legislation concerning responsibility for the producers pass. At the time I understood it was a trade off for the affordable health care bill passing but still a great disappointment and another case where big companies like Monsanto get off the hook. It should not be that way.
Truscha you are also confusing fascism with some forms of socialism (not democratic socialism) Fascists LOVE corporate business and work closely to support them. Fascism combines with military and industrialists, to control the majority of the populations (peasant class)
It was no less a fascist than Benito Mussolini who observed that fascism is the perfect marriage of corporate and government.
By peasant class, you mean our middle class, right?
Yes, that is how Trump and supporters (not followers) see those of us earning less than $400,000 per year
Fay Reid : I'm sure tRump avoids saying his less educated supporters have "just fallen off the turnip truck", (meaning they are dumb as turnips).Even though that is what he most likely thinks of them.
Hi Laurie Blair; I doubt he thinks they are dumb as turnips (:-) After all Trump's own education was bought and paid for by Daddy (Fred Trump) From his speech and actions I'd guess Trump's level of intellect is on par with an average 7th grader. Even my 8th graders had more knowledge than Trump. He also had to have his daily briefings in cartoon sized snippets. He is not a reader, nor is he profound. I loved your humor, Laurie. And agree Trump and his base sit each other, those poor souls didn't even have a Daddy Fred to buy them a college degree.
We still have a middle class?
Only in theory. It' sometimes referred to by the "upper" class as quiet, tough, slow growing, inexpensive vegetables, specifically turnips, which are high in fiber and vitamins like C. They are used as soup base. It has extremely little juice, if any, which turns blue.
"A “turnip-eater” was considered a stupid person; a. “turnip-head” a peasant or a country bumpkin. And. “turnip” itself became slang for a simpleton or a fool."
Meme: a doctor to his patient, a king:. "Your blood is blue - it's a hereditsry condition"
Meaning: When people say that you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, it means that you cannot get something from a person, especially money, that they don't have.
Steadily diminishing in number, the middle class used to be well over half the US population (close to 2/3 at 1 point). It's well below half by now, but it still has a way to go before it completely disappears (but we can't take it for granted that it won't).
I assume it includes the working (lower) class, too.
There’s a good theory that George Carlin Exposes regarding class in America. I’m paraphrasing, it goes something like this, the middle class does all the work the upper class keeps all the money in the lower class is just there to scare the shit out of the middle class.
I am not confused by fascism. I stated that taking over industries is what fascist government do. Socialist government do not do that. Venezuela took over the power companies, as did Soviet Union, Bolivia, Iraq, Berma, Argentina and other Fascist states.
We need a way to ENFORCE those laws we already have! A good step would be to send politicians and CEOs guilty of terrible crimes to a BLUE COLLAR prison.
Neither musk or Bunkerboy would last THIRTY SECONDS in a REAL federal prison, and their grisly ends would be a lesson for all!
Their "ends" might be grisly looking after sharing the showers with blue collar prisoners.
The biggest fascists on the planet today are the likes of Trump, Boris, Putin etc. So I think Americans of all political color should be modest in their comments on other countries as there is still a chance that fascist, convicted rapist, uprising leader and tax frauder (among other)Trump could be reelected president in 2024.
You have no idea what fascist means. Or do you follow mr Putins argument about the Ucranian regime beeing nazis with a Jewish president?
I think that's a bit of an over-simplification, Cathie.
I'm not denying that corporate greed has corrupted our electoral system and therefore Congress itself. Nor would I disagree that workers are being shamelessly exploited worldwide.
But the issue here is the relationship between government policy towards China and private investment in that country, and by extension in other countries around the world.
Obviously, the Elon Musks and Tim Smiths of the world don't have to concern themselves with hard issues of military engagement, human rights, climate protection, and so forth. (Although there are strong arguments why they should.) So it's not surprising that they would have more frequent meetings with Chinese officials at the commerce dept. level.
Ultimately, government-to-government agreements set the rules for international trade. And the Biden administration is currently negotiating three major regional trade agreements which are focused more on climate policy and worker empowerment, rather than on market access and tariffs as were the Free Trade agreements of the past. Of course, that's not a very sexy topic, so we never hear about it.
Prof. Reich raises several important points. But I wish he'd initiate a discussion on what President Biden and his team are actually doing, rather than just stoking more outrage about things we mostly already know.
.
Actually, that's a really helpful comment. We need to know more about the nuts and bolts. Governing is not a straightforward business deal. It takes a lot of skill, imagination, and hard work. Biden has been described as a "workhorse not a show horse" and I believe that is an apt description. Movie stars are meant to be sexy, not policy makers. We need to go beyond moral outrage by educating ourselves about some really tricky and difficult subjects.
Agreed, Jerry. Get Musk under control (first by forcing him to cough up his fair share of the tax burden) then get the rest of the American Oligarchy under control and we might have a decent world.
Exactly.
People come on these comments and repeat/repeat the same old..........
Why did the US NOT move further left?
It's Citizens United st...
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has introduced HJR#54 to amend the Constitution, establishing that only natural born persons are entitled to constitutional rights and that money is not speech. So far the bill has 53 other co-sponsors.
If you'd like to help with this effort, or just learn more about it, go to: www.MoveToAmend.org
.
Jerry, As I’ve posted in the past, because amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in both Houses followed by approval from three-fourths of the states, I believe the more achievable route is to focus on passage of the nearly comparable For the People Act, which passed in 2021 in the Democratically-controlled U.S. House and stalled in the Senate by a handful of Senators who blocked a filibuster carve-out.
Accordingly, among the several top priority 2024 issues, retaining the White House, retaking the House, and adding additional Democratic seats to the Senate are, in my view, near or at the top.
I agree Barbara. The other problem I have with amending the Constitution is that republicans
have wanted to call an Article V Constitutional Convention for a long time. (‘The biggest Threat to Democracy that Nobody is talking About’ by Jonathan Capeheart, Sept. 4, 2018.) My fear is if we
do what’s necessary to amend the Constitution, the
effort will be hijacked by manipulative republicans
and turned into something we don’t want.
As J.Capeheart says in his article, “Right now, 28 states have passed resolutions calling for an Article V convention. That number would be 32 had Common Cause and other groups, such as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, not successfully gotten Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico and Nevada to rescind their resolutions. Still, once the 34-state hurdle is cleared, despite pledges of a discrete, narrow focus, no one knows what could happen.”
The other thing we have to do is add 4 more Justices to the Supreme Court, because as things are now, the conservative majority on the court are corrupt. They are capable of doing anything. But, for good reason, adding Justices won’t be talked about unless Biden wins another term. Professor Tribe
(Prof.Emeritus, Harvard Law) and ret. federal court Judge Gertner recommend expanding the court as
the fastest way to correct for the conservative
Justices who seem ready to destroy democracy.
Tribe and Gertner wrote an article about this topic
in WaPo. I’ll find the article and post it here.
Susan, Thank you for a most astute post. I expect I periodically will refer to it to help guide both my rhetoric and my actions.
Yeah, I don't trust the "narrow focus" of any constitutional convention. Ironically, such a "narrow focus" excuse is what got us the ORIGINAL Constitution, which was supposed to be for some minor alterations of the Articles of Confederation.
I know you've talked about this in the past, Barbara. But I don't understand why this For the People Act wouldn't just be challenged and end up being ruled unconstitutional, citing Citizens United as precedent.
Could you explain why that wouldn't happen? Congress can't just pass a law denying an established constitutional protection, can they?
.
Jerry, Just as Congress can vote to codify Roe, it can vote to pass the For the People Act. Of course, its passage would be challenged. Still, in the interim, the public would be increasingly educated regarding legislation the majority wants that the GOP is trying to get overturned. Further, I imagine, were the likes of a Marc Elias leading the charge, our federal courts would be hard-pressed to develop a legitimate opposition.
While I would not unequivocally claim a win, I would claim my proposal is the most effective route for passing and retaining an extraordinarily progressive piece of legislation. On a related note, I would suggest reading Susan Garrity Benton, who is part of this thread. I found her post to be a touchstone that undoubtedly will influence both my rhetoric and my actions.
Am I reading this correctly; "that the bill establishes that only natural born persons are entitled to constitutional rights"???? What about the 'naturalized citizens' who actually know more about our constitution than most high school students??
I agree money is not speech.
"Natural born persons" means actual human beings, which naturalized citizens also are. The distinction being made is between real people and corporate entities.
The "Citizens United" decision recognized corporations as having a constitutional right to free speech under the 1st Amendment. Presumably, that would extend to other constitutional rights as well. In fact, there's currently an effort being made to allow corporations the right to vote!
.
Thanks for the clarification. I was reading too much into the post.
Jerry et al,
Why not just say “human beings”? And there will be nit pickers and literalists who will argue that a child born by C-section is not “naturally born”.
A county in the State of Delaware is preparing to do exactly that: allow corporations and all forms of business to vote in local elections.
Citizens United Goes to the Ballot Box.
B. Laylander—Corporations are not natural, not born, not persons.
That's exactly the point, difny.
Here's how Justice Stevens put it in his dissent to the Citizens United case:
". . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."
~Supreme Court Justice Stevens, January 2010
Jerry, if you go to WH.gov you will find tons of information about what the Biden admin. is doing.
I just googled WH.gov/electric vehicles and found
info:
“President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Unleashing a Manufacturing and Clean Energy Boom and Accelerating the Production of Affordable Electric Vehicles As part of President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030...”
Here’s another topic:
“Readout of White House Meeting with Governor Walz and Minnesota Leaders on Paid Family and Medical Leave”
And another one:
“FACT SHEET: Historic Biden-Harris Administration Investments in Water Infrastructure and Lead Pipe Replacement Are Creating New Domestic Manufacturing Jobs.”
One more thing--Congress isn’t corrupt--republicans in Congress are corrupt.
Thanks for posting those links, Susan. That's exactly what I'm talking about.
We should always be pushing back with facts like these whenever a Comments Section conversation starts going down the path of "Dems need a better candidate".
The Biden administration has been the most productive in a generation. Ordinarily, rank-and-file Democrats would be thrilled to campaign on his accomplishments. The only reason they aren't is just ugly old-ageism, combined with a culture of celebrity-worship.
No other potential Democratic candidate has achieved nearly as much as President Biden. And there's no reason to believe he can't continue to deliver results we can be proud of.
.
Now they target child labor!
Republicans need to put their children to work based on their laws forcing child labor!
Start with Jared, Ivanka, Don Jr. (and "fiancee" Screaming Guilfoyle) and Eric, and oh yes, Melania's very special boy, Barron (only people with gilded toilets name a modern child born in America "Barron." Why not just be honest and name him Baron. Baron VonTrump.... but I digress) That whole crowd of free-loaders, put them to work - maybe in one of those meat-packing plants that Covid-liar Trump forced to stay open while employees in horrendous conditions, mostly immigrants, got sick and some died from Covid.
You are so right! There are all just a family of grifters, liars, and thieves!
Start with all the republicans for pushing this dystopian apocalyptic totalitarian lifestyle on unsuspecting Americans, along with their affluent Christo-Fascist enablers!
https://www.syracuse.com/news/2023/06/syracuse-public-high-school-doubles-as-church-on-sunday-baptisms-in-the-swimming-pool.html
What happened to the separation of church and state?
americansunited@au.org. All about separation of church and state. Great organization!
Thanks, Danny boy!
Go get 'em, Boom Boom!!
Daniel, Attention is skyrocketing on Ohio finally, thank goodness. Field Team 6 is organizing phone banks on Tuesday afternoons now through July for Sherrod Brown and to register Ohio Democratic voters. Anyone who is available to make some calls, please seek out the info on their website or on Mobilize.us. BlueWavePostcards.org has a huge campaign to blanket Ohio going on now. Their postcards are the easiest to do as they send you the addresses on stickers and the written message is short. We will do this. Donna
You bet we will, Donna!! I just got my packet of 100 postcards yesterday, so I'm gonna be a busy guy today! As Joyce says, "We're in this together"!!
Musk the CEO is making it clear why he is so alt right. He embraces their desire for a return to slavery.
When Nixon normalized relations with China, that is when our democracy started trading with dictatorships. All for cheap labor and also when Reagan became president he imported immigrants to bust the unions also. The zero population growth environmentalists have not been represented for about 60 years. The right wing Republicans own this mess for buying the Democrat party as well and the supreme Court.
Possibly worse in the uS. You do not even have a decent minimum wage or decent healthcare!
This could have been done years ago but you were ll so happy having everything!
We all are stuck with the regressives among us.
I'd love to hear your solution. The only solution I can see is to withdraw their power by not buying their products. I think it's gone a bit too far for that, since they monopolize virtually everything we need.
The best solution would be to give some backbone to our legislators in dealing with the corporations and wealthy individuals. Break up monopolies, put teeth into legislation to back up unionization, regulate price gouging and the salaries for upper management. Attach those upper management salaries to a certain percentage of workers' wages. Excess profit taxes. And get corporate money out of politics, abolish lobbying or at least keep it to a certain maximum. Stakeholders, as defined by the past as customers, workers, surrounding communities, shareholders, and suppliers need to have a greater say in business. More power to the people and less power to the wealthy.
We also need to be able to vet those running for office as to their knowledge of the Constitution and get an IQ reading (HAHA, fat chance). Even those who know profess to holding degrees from fancy universities and colleges don't ALL seem to have any common sense.
That's in the sick RED MAGA STATES!
As rump would pucker, "CHI-NA!!!
Off the top of my head, Anna, my state of Ohio, Arkansas and Florida. I know there are more, I just don't want to say unless I had the source in front of me and I don't.
Who are we that many Americans have to vote “R” when it is clear that they are the Fascist Republican Party and what their are doing to our Democracy for their power and personal financial gain!
The Democrats need a new strategy of marketing and to fight these greedy Fascist Republicans but it is politics as usual! I’m sick of one survey after another asking who we are going to vote for and our opinion on trump, the traitor, grifter, thief, and liar and begging for donations! Get the message out that you are not Socialists or Communists and that the Republican Party is now the Fascists. Party! They are not governing but trying to destroy our en there Institution of government! Do something about what Meta,(Facebook) Twitter, and all these lies and deflection spread by the Fascist Republicans news entertainment stations keep spreading! Biden himself needs to have a press conference on regular news stations everyday to combat the Fascist Republican political machine and talk to the American people ! The American people need to be reminded everyday that our Democracy is at stake! The Democrats cannot solely count on the life or death abortion issue and women’s health issues! Many women will still vote with the Fascist Republicans! To hell with Biden answering the press questions to get the press a pat on the back or award, or compensation for getting information! Stop giving so much free press to these destroyers of our Democratic Republic!
We have let corporations rule over everything else. They nearly run our government. Congress is so beholden to giant corporations that it can't work together to do anything that benefits the American people. Even when Congress manages to agree on legislation, protections, loopholes, subsidies and other benefits to corporations have to be included, otherwise there's no deal. Maybe there should be some punishment for corporations who negotiate with governments to the detriment of the US government. Gee, maybe we should tax them.
Sadly all that is true. Also corporations own our highest courts.
It is true is all about the money. Citizens United must be overturned and campaign finance laws instituted to stop millionaires, billionaires and corporations from buying candidates.
Hear hear!
This is exactly right.
End their subsidies at least!
Problem is we can’t end their subsidies unless we can stop them from buying our Congress, and we can’t stop that because they have bought the Congress. Unless we can convince a *lot* of people that it would be better to try to improve their situation than to "own the libs" we are stuck, it seems to me.
It's Citizens United.
Ahem, It’s not “Congress,” it’s mostly republicans
in Congress. It’s republicans in Congress who give corporations tax cuts and then try to cut spending on programs that help the middle class and the poor to make up for the loss in revenue. Republicans have been trying to end social security since W.’s admin. Recently republicans said there should be no more free school lunch programs.Trump and republicans tried to end the Affordable Care Act. Remember when Trump said he was going to give us a better healthcare plan? Remember Paul Ryan trying to explain the new republican healthcare plan? It was obvious he didn’t know what was in it, which probably means he handed it over to lobbyists
to draft. At any rate it didn’t pass. Trump said, “Who
knew healthcare is so complicated.”
Republicans depend on large campaign donations from corporations and dark money donors. Citizens United made that possible. I’m not saying democrats don’t get campaign donations from corporations,
but generally they aren’t as big as what they give republicans, because they know republicans won’t raise their taxes. It’s s symbiotic relationship between republicans and corporations that’s
destroying the middle class. Which reminds me, it’s
republicans who are trying to make it very hard to vote--or end voting entirely, and they aren’t trying to do that for our benefit. Democrats are vehemently against making it hard to vote. The more power republicans have, the more likely they are to
end industry regulations, because regulations
cut into corporate profits. They don’t care if people are being poisoned by unregulated industries. I could go on, but I won’t.
Susan you pretty much said everything that I was going to say - so thank you. Republicans put us in this situation but whine when money goes to anything that doesn’t benefit them either monetarily or with power. Democrats Really need to get louder with telling people what we have achieved and what we can achieve if we can retake over Congress while retaining the White House but with the numbers to actually be able to veto proof the republicans. Hopefully if we do we learned our lesson (since they never thought we would lose our abortion rights or have our voting rights chipped away and more) and shore up all of outstanding issues once and for all. I would also like for a rule that someone cannot change their party affiliation once elected to any office while in said office. Plus, Please do away with dark money and limit billionaires with their contributions. I guess I could go on but until we gain back control we must get better with our messages and not be afraid to actually tell it like it is or we might not have a planet for our future generations. Still don’t understand how some can disregard science so much so just because it doesn’t fit into their current campaign/ideology even though they once championed for it.
The only explanation for people who disregard science is that they live in the moment, and/or they aren’t very smart. Republicans have been backing
people for elected office who are willing to do what they’re told, not because they’re smart.
Corporate profits take precedence over science, the well-being of the American people & a viable future every damn time.
Yes, if Republicans get full control over our government, we will lose our remaining democratic rights, & will turn into a Turkey, Hungary or, heaven forbid, Russia. As the world goes under from climate chaos, ecosystem collapse & mass extinction, which such a fascist regime will refuse to address, we the people will be sacrificed.
Doesn't cost that much to buy a senator nowadays.
What do you mean? Some are getting millions PLUS the get preferred stocks.
Then there is SCOTUS. Thomas himself gets 1/2 million or more a year in bribes. Looks like Roberts ana Alito are in on the fix as well
That's just what we know about. Citizens United probably gives each Reich winger million upon millionsore. Just the gun lobby give them a million each. These are fascist so there are no morals or ethics in most cases
1. How has this happened in the US?
2. Why has this not been done before, you knew this was happening.
Some of us could see what was happening long ago in another century, & we kept warning about it, but in a corporatocracy such as ours, the voices of ordinary people are ignored, if heard at all.
Here’s the sauce, most big successful companies that do business with China are greedy. Some have no choice because that’s where a lot of items that you need to make your products are made. That does not mean we should let our companies get away with abusing workers in any country. What do we do about it? Stop buying new if you can. Better for the planet as a whole. If we base our economy on reuse instead of buy new big companies might have to change.
China is a huge market. Largest in the world, although India is rapidly catching up. Chinese nationals have tremendous purchasing power. The population is so huge that more people study English in China than in the US. These students know US history.
In the US, institutions like the Heritage Foundation, Chamber of Commerce, etc. see the Chinese as valuable investors. https://www.aei.org/china-tracker-home/
Meanwhile Chinese nationals control the following domestic corporations. https://www.madeinamerica.com/chinese-investors/
Where I live, Chinese investors are encouraged by the federal government to develop, using our visa programs. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-top-country-searching-miami-130500647.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAbzD-Emh4OTYC9B_H4tnzySE83E1ChVpDh8spNfGqSq4MvUbtFyr-Z2nTDFmJkXQMJCVMzgA-ywLqQ7ZOqvpb6RayeIznJZIlfJujz3VVTDA7o9khxskpN9ntYrxeK5znJFuSxkwamgYfhXjczHCZkQoEHbEnCRcec4hJHOqURx
Miami Chinese developed condos: https://www.gomiamicondos.com/info/blog/post/chinese-investment-for-brickell-area/
Recently the Chinese government has been accused of using Cuba as a spy base and are apparently funding the Narcos in Mexico. This has scared the local Republicans, who BTW are some of the same people who brought Chinese investment here.
Starting July 1, 2023, Florida law S.B. 264 prohibits a citizen of China from buying real estate in the state unless certain exceptions apply. The exceptions include that it is only “one residential real property that is up to 2 acres” and the “parcel is not on or within 5 miles of any military installation in the state.” The person must have a “current verified United States Visa that is not limited to authorizing tourist-based travel” or have been granted asylum.
The measure applies to “Any person who is domiciled in the People’s Republic of China and who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.” A person who is a citizen of China (and not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident) who meets one of the exceptions and already owns property in Florida “may not purchase . . . any additional real property” in the state.
People like Musk have no sense of patriotism, no sense of unity with other Americans. In the 19th Century American missionaries and Yankee traders rushed to China but they were, in the main, always considered to be foreigners. Much of the population was hooked on opium as a political tactic initiated by the British foreign office. The Chinese government still exercises the mandate to heaven, and the Chinese are still seeking retribution for western intervention that divided their country and hooked their people.
Serious Question - what happens to the people who already own property prior to July 2023? Is he going to try to find a way to take it back from them (like eminent domain)? I don’t want spies but I don’t want people victimized just because of where they came from either.
Daniel already addressed that in his post. They cannot acquire additional property but it doesn't specifically mention taking away property. However, one could infer from the last sentence of the 2nd to the last paragraph of his post that if they're not a US citizen or permanent resident & do not meet any of the exceptions, they could lose their property.
Greed, ego and hunger for power are humanity's greatest weaknesses. We'll be lucky to escape this century alive.
This doesn't sound like American policy. It sounds more like some unethical American companies. Of course, Americans could refuse to buy Chinese-manufactured Teslas. Biden could also refuse to allow Tesla the $7500 EV rebate. So far as Tesla being high-quality, I have heard quite a few complaints about them.
Tesla is like Musk. Crap.
My retired sister & husband (teacher & pharmacist) love their Teslas. But they now have reservations about Musk as do I. They had wanted to help the planet, have the convenience & benefit from the rebate. I feel like Musk doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
There should be some sort of restriction in doing business with a country our government is trying to hold accountable. The big corporations shouldn’t be on a different wavelength than our government, doing as they please Willy Nilly.
The their is the issue of free speech right. That's what they tell you. There is also the issue of treason and severe greed.
It’s time these big corporations start thinking of the future of their country.
I think Musk is another Trump.
I wouldn’t buy anything from a Elon Musk company!
Yeah, their maker is a Fascist! Who hates workers!
Sadly, I have concluded this is who we really are as humans -- motivated primarily by greed, comfort, convenience, control, and fear. Rational thought -- to say nothing of ethics or integrity -- has very little currency in our most important decisions.
Mark Becker; speak for yourself!
I was about to say this.
It is YOU Americans that fill your garages with junk and then buy the new 'toys!'
And store our growing excess in the rapidly expanding Self-Storage facility industry. At least two new large facilities are being built within five miles of my home.
omg! They are everywhere!!! It's just crazy!
Not me!
sad isn't it?? I'm embarrassed for many humans. Not all....but many.
Yes in America!
I only power we seem to have would be to stop buying their goods. STOP BUYING.
A lot of it is junk anyway.
Tell the American people to stop buying??????????
During WWII people accepted rationing, doing more with less, planting victory gardens. This was for our boys overseas. Why can’t we do it to save the planet that we live on?
It would help our inflation problem instead of blaming the Biden Administration!
Professor Robert Reich expounds on the true causes of inflation with deep economic knowledge.
I am aware because I am subscribed. I chose only to comment on the one factor of spending which the fed definitely look at. I have tried to live conservatively and when we are getting hosed by corporate monopolies being permitted to continually increase staple food prices or manufacturers who continually rise prices and reduce quantities thinking we are too dumb to notice! Mothers and Fathers are struggling to feed their families. Children are going hungry so stockholders can pad their pockets.
Hahahaha!
Reich “hits the nail on the head” once again. But Robert, please finish this piece with practical real world solutions. What can be done to change this abomination?
Subsidies for outsourcing jobs to cheaper labor countries?
Which one? Musk? Or 'free trade'? Or exploitation of humans?
Now we get to see in full measure what Musk really >is< as a self-styled "freedom of speech absolutist." I'm sure he believes in >his< absolute freedom of speech. His damn citizenship should be revoked - as a >first< measure! As a second measure, confiscate the hostile alien's assets. There's >my< damn freedom of speech.
This just keeps a'gettin' better'n better:
- JIM JORDAN THREATENS LEGAL ACTION:
https://youtu.be/fSuL-26-Vhw
Good! Jim Jordan is a disgrace to the human race!
DZK ; Well said!
These CEOs can rhapsodize about the work ethic of exploited foreign employees all they like. Unfortunately, they don't understand that employees working for wages, don't have their hearts warmed the same way from working until 3AM to enrich a company to boost stock prices that don't come back in wage growth. This country needs to go forward and bring others with it, not go back to work conditions from 1810.
The Chinese standard of living has increased several fold since they opened up their economy. I'll give them that. What I predict will happen is that Chinese workers in a generation will not put up with this shit, and demand protections. And then? Capitalism being what it is, another source of cheap labor will be found to exploit in some other underdeveloped country.. Corporations will open up factories in Pakistan, strip mine the labor force there, leave an environmental catastrophe, and move to Africa.
This is the most likely scenario, without a doubt.
At one time brands that had previously been made in the USA were being made in China. At work I would point out the “made in China” on almost everything in the office. It seemed to me to mean the manufacturer wanted things made cheaply and it was reflected in the quality of the product. After WWII “ there were a lot of cheap products “made in Japan” and I learned not to buy them. This is not about Chinese or Japanese workers but, it seemed to me, meeting the demands of the US manufacturers who had there products manufactured there. That is changing. Lately there are Vietnamese products being sold here which to me are of higher quality. In addition, I feel we owe Viet Nam. (read about Daniel Ellsberg’ brave disclosure ). There are articles about Americans embracing the products from Viet Nam. Maybe we will someday see “Made In the USA.”
I'D rather have goods made in vietnam than in china. Better quality.
BUT you Americans had to have everything? Like spoiled brats.
Where are you from?
I'm wondering the same. I'm guessing UK or Australia by the name. Every post of hers is anti-American (not that she's totally wrong in her criticism).
I would say she’s totally wrong, in a way. It’s wrong to generalize and describe an entire countries people in derogatory terms. It’s also wrong to assume they had much of a choice, when living under a government that prioritizes corporations and allows pervasive advertising to brainwash the people into being perfect consumers.
Yes, her blame is misdirected onto people who had no power & therefore nothing to do with the way our government & society has turned out, as most people commenting on this forum.
Much better quality.
The new fascist party supports corporations like this yet the people in the rust belt love the fascists who support those who took their jobs to China. What happened to intelligence in this. Country? When did they get on inced by the ones that 2+2 =5?
Appliances with Chinese parts don’t last over 5 years. The appliances continue to break down requiring service and they put the same Chinese junk parts in them again as what was installed in the factory! Appliances made in USA with American made parts lasted 20 years! I’m sorry if that hurts China’s economy but look what it has done to the American worker and the Americans financial situation due to continuously replacing their junk!
The Japanese vastly improved the quality of their products to where they became a global high standard of quality. That hasn't happened with most Chinese products.
Elon hasn't figured out that "What goes around, comes around". Time will tell how long he has compliant workers willing to "burn the 3 a.m. Oil"! Especially for a pittance.
Vote Яepuблikan$ for lawless law & order!
Яepuблikan$ - the coup-coup party.
This just keeps a'gettin better'n better! :
- JIM JORDAN THREATENS LEGAL ACTION:
https://youtu.be/fSuL-26-Vhw
- THE GOOD SIDE OF SLAVERY & GENOCIDE . . . IN OHIO . . . HUH ‽ :
https://youtu.be/AAbkcgfmed8
I love Thom Hartmann. "The Republicans are so sick!"
He also mentions that the Confederate South was a fascist regime. Well, look at those states now! We've been paying particular attention to Florida & Texas, but practically the whole South is fascist now. Add Indiana, Missouri, Idaho, & increasingly Ohio & Iowa, & many other states in the heart of the country. They're basically fascist, or at least moving that way.
I've been sayin' they're Confederates for months. The geography alone suggests it. When you get into what they stand for, that clinches it.
I personally do not trust Musk. He is a diehard nutcase. It is dangerous to mess around with China especially when they have humanitarian problems which they also conduct that when they have business here. They do not treat the people fairly.
Does the US treat the American people fairly?
Jennifer, it depends on what color you are and what language you speak.
Hardly!
The only thing surprising about this story is how totally unsurprising it is.
Compliant workers? Maybe that is the appearance of things. Several months ago, a Chinese student--I teach English to second language learners online, globally--wanted to know what our US government was telling US citizens about Ukraine. For some reason, the question gave me hope. I know there are Chinese who do not swallow the party line, who question, and many who live in fear. Fear is a strange thing. After awhile, it looses its power. Listening to the comments made by many students--mine are mainly professionals, university grads or students and excellent speakers of English--living in many countries, I would say that many are quietly seeking a better way of life then living in fear and enduring horrible working and living conditions.
...and Americans don't live in fear?