The 99ers

Whether the OWS movement will collapse or lead to real change for the country is up to you. What started in Sept as a populist march on Wall St in NY has now gone global. Mostly non-violent (except for NY & Oakland), other world citizens are now hitting the streets with many of the same thoughts in mind: the banksters have ruined global finances, gotten a bailout, given themselves bonuses--all on the backs of the average taxpayer (read: middleclass).


The main themes seem to be twofold:

1. Wall St represents the greed of the 1% (the small minority who owns 80% of the money and pay very little if any taxes) and

2. The wars (esp. in Iraq and Afghanistan) where we have wasted billions of dollars that could be used in the US to create jobs.

Americans are fed up with the corruption of Wall Street, who has not been made accountable for the collapse of finances globally. Americans are also fed up with a "Do Nothing" Congress, led by a Republican majority, who seem hell bent on passing anti-choice legislation (7 bills this year) while turning a blind eye on the economic crisis.

In the end, it will be up to you, the average reader who may or may not see this post. Join, get involved. That's democracy in action.

Our Country Run Amok by the Supreme Court and Big Business

Contrary to what some think, this country is NOT controlled by big government; this country is (since the Citizens United case and the appointment of Justice Alito) run by an out-of-control Supreme Court with interests in Big Business. It's not government workers or regulations you should be worrying about--you should be worrying about the man behind the curtain--big corporations (esp. Wall St & Energy).


This is the respected Independent Senator from VT, Bernie Sanders, who talks about the collapsing Middle-class & those responsible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njRQ7o_MTHs. Listen to at least the first 4.30 minutes.

Here he is again on the Thom Hartmann show explaining plans for change: http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/media/view/?id=471ff42c-0c5f-4e53-8ed7-9bf5040598f6.



Info you might have missed about the 2008 Oil Price scam:

What Wall Street doesn’t want us to know about oil prices

"The top six financial institutions in this country own assets equal to more than 60 percent of our gross domestic product and possess enormous economic and political power. One of the great questions of our time is whether the American people, through Congress, will control the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street, or whether Wall Street will continue to wreak havoc on our economy and the lives of working families....

...Why have oil prices spiked wildly? Some argue that the volatility is a result of supply-and-demand fundamentals. More and more observers, however, believe that excessive speculation in the oil futures market by investors is driving oil prices sky high... ExxonMobil Chairman Rex Tillerson, testifying before a Senate panel this year, said that excessive speculation may have increased oil prices by as much as 40 percent...

....in the summer of 2008 when gas prices spiked to more than $4 a gallon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other speculators on Wall Street dominated the crude oil futures market causing tremendous damage to the entire economy," Sanders said. "The CFTC has kept this information hidden from the American public for nearly three years. That is an outrage... (read rest of articles w/links at http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=cea380a3-9234-41b1-9f24-991eb4c9bc6c)."


Note that, to date, legislation has been introduced to eliminate this unethical speculation but has been blocked by..guess who???..committee members getting large financial contributions from the Banksters of Wall Street and the likes of the Koch Brothers.

We are past many of the things that might (or might not) have worked in the past. The economy & country are very different from where it was back then. Because it's now run by GLOBAL interests, mostly led again by BANKSTERS, change has to now happen in a different area. Some ideas I've heard:



1. Congress must rebuke the Supreme Court for its obvious influence-peddling from Big Business (for instance, Judge Alito failed to recuse himself from a case where he voted in favor of Vanguard, a company where he had $390,000 worth of mutual funds).

2. Congress must pass a Constitutional Amendment making it illegal for ANY company to contribute more than a certain amount (like $1,000 based on inflation) to any one candidate.

3. Justices with obvious interests in the outcome of cases who fail to recuse themselves should be impeached.

4. Deny tax-free status to organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This group has provided pre-written legislation to governors & legislators of some states (WI, OH, FL are just a few) in an attempt to privatize such things as the "commons"--the PO, highways, fire departments, etc.This group has actively, behind the scenes, supported Big Business interests replacing all government programs.

5. Admit that the war in Iraq was illegal, our continued presence in Afghanistan is irrelevant (we got the bad guy) and move at a faster pace to get our troops out of both countries.

6. Because our economy will not support the return of 150,000 US troops (from Iraq & Afghanistan) into the unemployment lines (added to the current 17% unemployed), we must begin infrastructure jobs asap.

7. Any district where a US legislator refuses to support Federal Disaster Relief and other programs in lieu of deficit reductions will be bypassed so that welcoming states can rebuild. Tying deficits to disaster relief aid is unethical and only hurts those who desperately need the help.

8. Change the FICA program so that ALL Americans making above $106,000 must also pay into the program.

9. Prosecute the Banksters responsible for the global financial meltdown (they're mostly to blame for affairs in Greece, Italy, etc.); reinstate rules banning banks and financial institutions from merging and deny hedge fund managers & others special tax breaks.

10. Fully fund Medicare for all by placing control back into the hands of non-profits.

11. Stop the anti-voter discrimination laws and place a fine on all citizens who don't vote. Increase it for each failure to vote.

12. Ban ALL political declarations until 6 weeks prior to the elections. Offer free media air time, of a set duration, during that period.
 
It's past time to refocus our problems and take a different path. Afterall, it's "We the People" not "We the RICH People."

Flushing with Money

According to the Center for American Progress, "Americans sent nearly $1 billion a day overseas to pay for oil in 2010. These purchases make up nearly half of our trade deficit. And every dollar that leaves the country to buy a barrel of oil leaves the domestic economy never to return as investment to create jobs or growth."1


Crude prices in the first quarter of 2011 are running around $100 a barrel, which is 20% higher than a year ago. In addition, American taxpayers are coughing up over $70 Billion a year in subsidies to the oil industry.2 Less than $12 Billion is available for alternative energy. And, of course, we see record profits by the Big 5 oil companies:3

The New York Times warned that in the United States:

"A sustained $10 increase in oil prices would shave about two-tenths of a percentage point off economic growth, according to Dean Maki, chief United States economist at Barclays Capital. [He] estimates [the] increase would offset nearly a quarter of the $120 billion payroll tax cut that Congress had intended to stimulate the economy this year."


What are we doing to address the energy problems in the US? Not much, unfortunately. Click here to watch Gas Hole, a documentary released last year. This provides some history of the oil industry, some potential technologies, and lots of frustration with where we are now.

Afterwards, go to Congress.org (handy link to the lower right), find your Congresspersons, and urge them to make big changes with the course of US progress on energy.

Citations:
1. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/02/profits_v_prices.html
2. http://transitionvoice.com/2011/02/gop-cut-food-aid-but-keep-oil-subsidies/
3. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/01/oil_lust.html

Of Parasites and Men

Have you heard many Republicans and conservatives cite Ayn Rand and her books (Atlas Shrugged, etc.)? Do you wonder why? The title of this blog links to a Mike Wallace interview with her (1959). Her books point to the concept of a "rugged individualist" where the markets are a free-for-all and completely free of regulation. I'll bet many of them (and you) have never read her books, but picked up chunks of information, grabbed them on face value and ran with them.

Here's a link to a video with her and Phil Donahue, when he had the Phil Donahue Show. This reflects her thoughts on religion--she was an atheist who felt God did not exist because there was no proof. She felt that, when conservatives base their political decisions on faith, it shows a weakness to those who base theirs on science.

She also felt a democracy was good only if totally voluntary. a separation of state and economy, free of all regulations. Part 2 of the Mike Wallace interview reveals her opposition to labor and any sort of help by the state to those in need.

I heard Thom Hartmann today and he mentioned that one of Rand's idols was, William Hickman, a seriel killer, forger, and armed robber. This begs us to wonder how much to listen to someone who chooses their idols so poorly.


"At the time, she was planning a novel that was to be titled The Little
Street, the projected hero of which was named Danny Renahan. According to Rand
scholar Chris Matthew Sciabarra, she deliberately modeled Renahan - intended
to be her first sketch of her ideal man - after this same William Edward
Hickman. Renahan, she enthuses in another journal entry, "is born with a
wonderful, free, light consciousness -- [resulting from] the absolute lack of
social instinct or herd feeling. He does not understand, because he has no organ
for understanding, the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people ...
Other people do not exist for him and he does not understand why they should."
(Journals, pp. 27, 21-22; emphasis hers.)"1

Citations: 1. Michael Prescott, http://www.michaelprescott.net/hickman.htm.

Rich Man, Poor Man

Who can name which administrations, starting in 1980, showed the highest deficits? Anyone, anyone?

• Reagan increased the debt by 11.3% in his first term; he then increased it by 9.3% in his second. George HW Bush increased the debt by 15 %.


• Bill Clinton decreased the debt by -0.7% in his first term; he then decreased it by -9.0% in his second.


• George W. Bush increased the debt by 7.1% in his first term; he then increased it by 20.0% in his second. 1

Can you do the math? In the last 30 years, under Republican President's, the National Debt soared. Only when a Democrat came into office, did it drop. 2 During the 8 years of the Reagan administration, deficits went from almost $74 billion to $2.6 trillion. "In those eight years, the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the largest debtor nation."3

During the eight years of George Bush II, how often did you hear any murmur about deficits? Once, maybe? Yet, within weeks of a Democrat moving into the White House, suddenly all we hear about is deficits. Now, I'm not suggesting running a huge deficit is a good thing. I'm merely pointing out that, as a critically thinking American, you should ask yourself why. What agenda is at hand that overshadows everything else in the news--let alone in the country? Who benefits when the corporate-owned media and conservatives scream "Lions, tigers, deficits! Oh, my!" The targets? Social and educational programs and social security. Back to who's screaming: corporate-owned media and conservatives.

The government currently spends 39.97% of the US GDP. 4 The number ONE biggest expenditure? Defense. 5 How many in the media or among conservatives are lamenting the fact that we are wasting over $7 billion a month in Iraq (more than $3 Trillion as of last Sept)? 6 You want to reduce the deficit? Get out of Iraq.

Now, let's look at wealth in America. Most Americans don't know or don't understand that the top 1% of Americans own 35% of net worth and 43% of financial worth. 7 In English, only 10% of Americans own the United States. 91. 9% of Americans do not receive any inheritance money. The rich are able to contain and enrich their assets in "dynasty trusts", where they avoid inheritance taxes forever. These rich babies are in the "lucky sperm bank." They did not work for their money, they were fed it with a silver spoon--make that a gold spoon, given today's situation.

Why don't they get to pay their fair share? Instead, they get a tax break under Bush which was just extended last December. If you read historical documents (I know you don't), you'd know that our founding fathers did NOT want a peerage--a country dominated by a rich gentry. That's why we don't have Lords and Ladies, remember? Yet, that's just where we are right now. Welcome to the "Have's"; the "Have Nots" can just look at the Statue of Liberty and turn back.

Here's an interesting chart that puts this all in perspective: http://www.good.is/post/must-see-chart-tax-breaks-for-the-rich-versus-budget-cuts/

Citations: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms 2. http://home.adelphi.edu/sbloch/deficits.html 3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26402-2004Jun8?language=printer 4. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/us_20th_century_chart.html 5. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/united_states_total_spending_pie_chart 6. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15377059/ns/business-answer_desk/and http://american3p.org/establishment-news/budget-deficit-is-1-3-trillion-but-war-in-iraq-has-cost-more-than-3-trillion/ 7. http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

Keeping Connected

Today ushers in a new House where, unfortunately, your rich Republican Congresspersons are trying to repeal any benefits created over the last 2 years. Do you really think this is in your best interests? Have you been paying any attention whatsoever? A few thoughts:

• 
  Healthcare reform--if you have a pre-existing condition or need to keep your child on your healthcare plan a little longer (like through college), you can kiss this puppy good-bye.
• Wall Street Reform--they got us in this financial mess and guess what? The Republican appointed to a key committee in Congress to oversee this is in the pockets of Hedge Fund Managers. You voted for him--even if you didn't vote.
• Energy Conservation--expect higher prices at the gas pump once again. Expect Exxon to continue to make record profits and NOT pay any US income taxes (wait, aren't corporations a person?!?).
• Campaign Finance Reform--the Supreme Court says it's ok to contribute whatever amount you want to your elected officials. Republicans make more money, so they'll give more to candidates who reflect their Big Business mentality. Get ready for the One-Party system.
• Continued Media Bias--Most of the media in this country is owned by fewer than 10 corporations. It is not always in their interests to report facts, especially where it reflects poorly on that corporation or their subsidiaries. These corporations are also, alas, often foreign owned. This media includes radio, tv, newspapers, and news magazines. Big Brother may not be watching you, but he sure is controlling you.
  
  So, reflect on the results of how you voted or didn't vote--that's the only thing you can do to amend any problems in this country. Don't throw it away next time.