Hey, I just thought of this naive question. Are free markets those where everything is for free? That is, do those in favor of free markets want to give away all their goods and services?
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Free market view published
Today the Duluth News Tribune published my local view on the free market. They titled it "Free Market Requires Many Levels of Regulation. You can find it free at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/216679/group/Opinion/ for the next week or so.
Hey, I just thought of this naive question. Are free markets those where everything is for free? That is, do those in favor of free markets want to give away all their goods and services?
Hey, I just thought of this naive question. Are free markets those where everything is for free? That is, do those in favor of free markets want to give away all their goods and services?
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Finance is not capitalism
I've long thought that Wall St. and capitalism were two different entities. Wall St. is almost exclusively about moving money around, not about raising money to put into businesses that provide goods or services. The latter is secondary to Wall St.
Today I read/saw a good distinction in "An Unexpected Fate for Occupy Wall Street". Lee Munson, author of "Rigged Money: Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game", was interviewed on Yahoo Finance's Breakout.
Munson said that "finance is supposed to be grease for the wheels of capitalism." Now capitalism is a tool of finance.
One of the comments was on buying IBM shares long term is not investment. My response was
"It's a personal investment in that you hope someday somebody will pay you more for your IBM shares than you did. IBM gets no new money. Your buying IBM shares gives liquidity to a previous buyer. Liquidity of shares does make it easier for IBM to borrow money or to issue new shares."
Another interesting comment was "New name for Wall Street: FRAUDWAY".
Oh, about Occupy Wall Street, Munson thinks it will evolve to be a watchdog group by 2013.
See also "Beginning of the end of finance as we've come to hate it?"
Today I read/saw a good distinction in "An Unexpected Fate for Occupy Wall Street". Lee Munson, author of "Rigged Money: Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game", was interviewed on Yahoo Finance's Breakout.
Munson said that "finance is supposed to be grease for the wheels of capitalism." Now capitalism is a tool of finance.
One of the comments was on buying IBM shares long term is not investment. My response was
"It's a personal investment in that you hope someday somebody will pay you more for your IBM shares than you did. IBM gets no new money. Your buying IBM shares gives liquidity to a previous buyer. Liquidity of shares does make it easier for IBM to borrow money or to issue new shares."
Another interesting comment was "New name for Wall Street: FRAUDWAY".
Oh, about Occupy Wall Street, Munson thinks it will evolve to be a watchdog group by 2013.
See also "Beginning of the end of finance as we've come to hate it?"
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Another good quote: Education
"Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially of the lower class of people, are so extremely wise and useful, that, to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant." - John Adams, Thoughts on Government, Apr. 1776 Papers 4:86-93
I wonder if those who think they know the intent of the writers of the Constitution only from reading the Constitution would agree with this. "Extravagant", "fiscal responsibility" and complaints about "greedy teacher unions" don't seem to go together.
I found this link on the Coffee Party's Facebook page. I don't know how long this Coffee Party article will be available; I hope the page on constitution.org will be available for years and even decades.
As for constitution.org, I don't know what to make of it. Although it has links to the Federalist Papers and the anti-Federalist papers, it seems to be mostly strictly constructionist about the Constitution itself, that is, how they interpret the Constitution is how everybody else should interpret the Constitution.
I wonder if those who think they know the intent of the writers of the Constitution only from reading the Constitution would agree with this. "Extravagant", "fiscal responsibility" and complaints about "greedy teacher unions" don't seem to go together.
I found this link on the Coffee Party's Facebook page. I don't know how long this Coffee Party article will be available; I hope the page on constitution.org will be available for years and even decades.
As for constitution.org, I don't know what to make of it. Although it has links to the Federalist Papers and the anti-Federalist papers, it seems to be mostly strictly constructionist about the Constitution itself, that is, how they interpret the Constitution is how everybody else should interpret the Constitution.
Fair and balanced reporting?
Fox News posted a video clip entitled "'Occupy D.C.' Goons Push Elderly Woman Down the Stairs". But where in the video is she shown being deliberately or accidentally pushed? We only know two things for sure from this video.
1) There was a demonstration in front of an event.
2) A women fell at the bottom of a stairway and was distraught.
Did she trip? Was she bumped in the crush of a crowd? Because somebody was blaming the demonstrators for pushing the woman doesn't mean that they actually pushed her. And the use of "Goons" in the headline doesn't inspire confidence in this reporting being unbiased.
"Fair and Balanced" is still part of the Fox News logo, but is making charges without more substantiation "fair and balanced"?
For a more detailed analysis of the situation and the larger context, see http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/occupy-police.
1) There was a demonstration in front of an event.
2) A women fell at the bottom of a stairway and was distraught.
Did she trip? Was she bumped in the crush of a crowd? Because somebody was blaming the demonstrators for pushing the woman doesn't mean that they actually pushed her. And the use of "Goons" in the headline doesn't inspire confidence in this reporting being unbiased.
"Fair and Balanced" is still part of the Fox News logo, but is making charges without more substantiation "fair and balanced"?
For a more detailed analysis of the situation and the larger context, see http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/occupy-police.
Quote of the day: Fair share from wealthy
"[T]here's no reason to punish the wealthy, just to expect them to shoulder their fair share of the tax burden. And expecting proportional sacrifice from those very well off is not 'punishing success,' as some would have it. It's as simple as expecting the strongest campers to carry the heaviest canoe. It just makes sense." - Comment by Will Rice in the comments to his article "Coming Out of the Money Closet".
This and other blogs by Will Rice can be found at http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/category/categories/will-rice. How does he get all of his money? By going to the mailbox to get his dividend checks from inherited stock. See "The Rich Don't Need a Free Ride".
BTW, we aren't in the one percent, but since we both stopped working, we get all of our money at the mailbox or by direct deposit.
This and other blogs by Will Rice can be found at http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/category/categories/will-rice. How does he get all of his money? By going to the mailbox to get his dividend checks from inherited stock. See "The Rich Don't Need a Free Ride".
BTW, we aren't in the one percent, but since we both stopped working, we get all of our money at the mailbox or by direct deposit.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Quote of the Day: Job Creation
"When businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it’s the other way around." "Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators", ice Hanauer, Bloomberg Businessweek, 2011-12-05.
Hanuer writes that he paid "an 11 percent rate on an eight-figure income."
Hanuer writes that he paid "an 11 percent rate on an eight-figure income."
Sunday, December 04, 2011
High profits are the road to ruin - Adam Smith
The Rev. Bruce Johnson of the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Duluth gave a sermon this morning on consumerism - "Consuming Religion". In it, he used "free markets" in the corrupt sense, that is, business is free to do whatever it wants, free of regulation. I knew that Adam Smith used "free market" only once in "Wealth of Nations"; I wondered how often he used "regulation".
Well, I gave up counting, but I noted that he treats regulations as both good and bad. One of the good senses is that regulations prevent abuses. One of the sections that mentioned regulation discussed the three classes involved in the economy - one does nothing and keeps getting richer, the second is necessary to get things started, and the third actually does the work. Here is what he wrote about the second, those who supply the capital (stock in the sense of materials, equipment, and workplaces).
"It is the stock that is employed for the sake of profit, which puts into motion the greater part of the useful labour of every society. The plans and projects of the employers of stock regulate and direct all the most important operation of labour, and profit is the end proposed by all those plans and projects. But the rate of profit does not, like rent and wages, rise with the prosperity, and fall with the declension of the society. On the contrary, it is naturally low in rich, and high in poor countries, and it is always highest in the countries which are going fastest to ruin."
Well, I gave up counting, but I noted that he treats regulations as both good and bad. One of the good senses is that regulations prevent abuses. One of the sections that mentioned regulation discussed the three classes involved in the economy - one does nothing and keeps getting richer, the second is necessary to get things started, and the third actually does the work. Here is what he wrote about the second, those who supply the capital (stock in the sense of materials, equipment, and workplaces).
"It is the stock that is employed for the sake of profit, which puts into motion the greater part of the useful labour of every society. The plans and projects of the employers of stock regulate and direct all the most important operation of labour, and profit is the end proposed by all those plans and projects. But the rate of profit does not, like rent and wages, rise with the prosperity, and fall with the declension of the society. On the contrary, it is naturally low in rich, and high in poor countries, and it is always highest in the countries which are going fastest to ruin."
Friday, December 02, 2011
Beware the Music Man
Harold Hill was a shyster salesman. He would come into town, make big promises about improving the town, collect the money, and never return. Our modern Music Men are the big corporations that make big promises about creating jobs, extract lots of concessions and grants from local government that local businesses never receive, stay a year or two, and then leave.
See Facebook comments to the Coffee Party's posting of "7 Ways to Support the Real Job Creators".
See Facebook comments to the Coffee Party's posting of "7 Ways to Support the Real Job Creators".
Comment on "job creators"
I posted the following as a comment to the Coffee Party's Facebook posting of "7 Ways to Support the Real Job Creators".
I highly recommend slogging through the 1000+ pages of 18th Century English that are Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations".
Would you believe that he is more sympathetic to the workmen than the masters? That he thinks banks should be regulated? That taxes are necessary? That we have to co-operate with and assist one another? That talents come from our experiences? That he doesn't believe in giving 110% to employers? That the rich get rich at the expense of the poor? That governments are needed to enforce contract law? That merchants complain that high wages affect the economy but say nothing of how high profits affect the economy? That honorable professions are underpaid? That regulations are needed to prevent abuse? That he doesn't think much of corporations controlling government? That corporations are not concerned with the public interest? That although he complained it was illegal for workers to unite to raise wages but legal for masters to unite to keep wages down, he didn't think much of labor unions? But that regulations in favor of workers were just but those in favor of the masters were unjust?
Those are only some of the comments with which I annotated the first 150 pages of my Project Gutenberg copy of "Wealth of Nations".
I highly recommend slogging through the 1000+ pages of 18th Century English that are Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations".
Would you believe that he is more sympathetic to the workmen than the masters? That he thinks banks should be regulated? That taxes are necessary? That we have to co-operate with and assist one another? That talents come from our experiences? That he doesn't believe in giving 110% to employers? That the rich get rich at the expense of the poor? That governments are needed to enforce contract law? That merchants complain that high wages affect the economy but say nothing of how high profits affect the economy? That honorable professions are underpaid? That regulations are needed to prevent abuse? That he doesn't think much of corporations controlling government? That corporations are not concerned with the public interest? That although he complained it was illegal for workers to unite to raise wages but legal for masters to unite to keep wages down, he didn't think much of labor unions? But that regulations in favor of workers were just but those in favor of the masters were unjust?
Those are only some of the comments with which I annotated the first 150 pages of my Project Gutenberg copy of "Wealth of Nations".
Thursday, December 01, 2011
To my Ukrainian reader
If you know Yuri from Kiev who was a graduate student at Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio in 1960-1962, please say hello. Probably you don't know him, but it is surprising how often there is a connection. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
I still remember translating English to English between him and a graduate student from India.
I still remember translating English to English between him and a graduate student from India.
To my readers from around the world for the past week
Thank you!
Danke!
Спасибо!
Terima kasih/谢谢/Nandri
Thank you! Merci!
Terima kasih
תודה רבה
धन्यवाद
Дякю!
If you can't guess all the languages above, see the labels for some hints.
Danke!
Спасибо!
Terima kasih/谢谢/Nandri
Thank you! Merci!
Terima kasih
תודה רבה
धन्यवाद
Дякю!
If you can't guess all the languages above, see the labels for some hints.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
What the heck are these?
Are they some kind of modern art? Are they some kind of interstellar spacecraft? Are they some wierd musical instrument?
We wondered what they could be when we saw one on the cover of the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog, one of the pile of catalogs we received today.
I kept looking in page after page for the object pictured on the cover. I saw many interesting things, from reasonably priced to no way. Finally on page 81 I found them. Hammacher labels them as "The Optimal Resonance Audiophile's Speakers. They are only $60,000 for the pair, just the thing for your millionaire friends, if you're a millionaire too.
Maybe I'll buy a pair when I get my third million. I'm working on my second million now; I gave up on the first million:)
Pizza as a vegetable? Check the facts.
The news has been filled with talk of Congress classing pizza as a vegetable for school lunches. Surprise, the bill doesn't even mention pizza. It does roll back a requirement on the size of a serving of tomato paste from a half cup to two tablespoons. Surprise again, even two tablespoons of tomato paste can have more nutrition than a half cup of some fruits and vegetables.
I got this from Politifacts story "Republican lawmakers classified pizza as a vegetable for school lunches, Democrats say".
I think I should make an effort to check Politifact and FactCheck more often as part of my daily online newspaper reading. Politifact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times; FactCheck is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
I got this from Politifacts story "Republican lawmakers classified pizza as a vegetable for school lunches, Democrats say".
I think I should make an effort to check Politifact and FactCheck more often as part of my daily online newspaper reading. Politifact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times; FactCheck is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Monday, November 28, 2011
An argument against a moderate third party, for now
E.J. Dionne wrote an interesting article on why the radical right must be defeated before we can think about having a successful moderate alternative party. See "Divided moderates will be conquered", Washington Post, 2011-11-27.
I dislike the terms "throwing your vote away" or "stealing votes from". It's not the supporters of third parties fault that others didn't join them. And third party candidates have won.
Unless there is someone or are somebodies who show exceptional leadership, it seems like Dionne's ideas are best for the long-term interests of the country. But the chances for exceptional leadership seem rather minuscule this "close" to the election. Maybe a new party will arise in time for the 2014 elections. A core might be the RINOs, the Republicans In Name Only, those believe in the Republican Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Eisenhower and not in the Republican Party of Reagan, Nixon, and the Bushes.
I dislike the terms "throwing your vote away" or "stealing votes from". It's not the supporters of third parties fault that others didn't join them. And third party candidates have won.
Unless there is someone or are somebodies who show exceptional leadership, it seems like Dionne's ideas are best for the long-term interests of the country. But the chances for exceptional leadership seem rather minuscule this "close" to the election. Maybe a new party will arise in time for the 2014 elections. A core might be the RINOs, the Republicans In Name Only, those believe in the Republican Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Eisenhower and not in the Republican Party of Reagan, Nixon, and the Bushes.
Alabama and immigration – a legislative disaster
One of the hot button issues is immigration reform, sort of meaning be a legal citizen or get out. Both are a catch-22 for many people who have come to the U.S. without formal papers; becoming a citizen may mean they have to go back to their home country and getting out means the same thing.
Alabama has recently enacted strict immigration laws and is suffering unintended consequences, consequences predicted by many who opposed such laws or who thought the laws would have these consequences.
Not only are farm laborers disappearing, but in many communities customers are disappearing. Alabama is even making itself hostile to foreign businesses it worked so hard to get. A Mercedes manager was stopped for some traffic offense and didn't have his license; he had to spend a night in jail.
For more details see "The Price of Intolerance", New York Times, 2011-11-27
Too many people forget that this country was founded by illegal immigrants. Wave after wave of people from Europe overwhelmed the people already living here. Sometimes they negotiated for land in good or bad faith; many times they just took it.
Interestingly, the original U. S. Constitution does not contain the words "immigrant" or "immigration". Although it has many references to "citizen", it never mentions how one becomes a citizen. Probably the writers were depending on the processes already in place in the several states.
You can find several articles on the web about "citizenship 1700s". I opened the first I saw "History of citizenship in the United States - a knoll by Thomas Sulcer". It is a bit of a ramble, but it has many interesting thoughts about democracy and several references to other authors.
Note: Google will discontinue "knols" (units of knowledge) on 2012-05-01. Knols will be hosted on Annotum.
Alabama has recently enacted strict immigration laws and is suffering unintended consequences, consequences predicted by many who opposed such laws or who thought the laws would have these consequences.
Not only are farm laborers disappearing, but in many communities customers are disappearing. Alabama is even making itself hostile to foreign businesses it worked so hard to get. A Mercedes manager was stopped for some traffic offense and didn't have his license; he had to spend a night in jail.
For more details see "The Price of Intolerance", New York Times, 2011-11-27
Too many people forget that this country was founded by illegal immigrants. Wave after wave of people from Europe overwhelmed the people already living here. Sometimes they negotiated for land in good or bad faith; many times they just took it.
Interestingly, the original U. S. Constitution does not contain the words "immigrant" or "immigration". Although it has many references to "citizen", it never mentions how one becomes a citizen. Probably the writers were depending on the processes already in place in the several states.
You can find several articles on the web about "citizenship 1700s". I opened the first I saw "History of citizenship in the United States - a knoll by Thomas Sulcer". It is a bit of a ramble, but it has many interesting thoughts about democracy and several references to other authors.
Note: Google will discontinue "knols" (units of knowledge) on 2012-05-01. Knols will be hosted on Annotum.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Think of the complaints if this corporation were the government
On Thanksgiving morning, I went to the corner to get the Duluth News Tribune and the Star Tribune. Instead of copies of the DNT, there was a sign that the DNT was available only at convenience stores. Well, this is not convenient to me because the nearest convenience stores are about a mile away.
So, we reversed our normal order of newspaper reading and read a large part of the Star Tribune first.
We were going to our cabin and planned to buy a few things at the supermarket, and so we would get the DNT there. Surprise, they had none. I asked the head cashier about this, and she said they had a call in but it hadn't been returned.
I needed gas anyway and stopped at a gas station/convenience store. I put fifty bucks of gas in the tank and pulled out $51 to pay for the gas and the newspaper. Inside I picked up a DNT thicker than the normal Sunday paper. The clerk warned me that was only the ads and the real newspaper was in a different stack. I picked up a normal size paper and left the want ads behind; we would only put them directly in the recycle stack at home. I went to the register to pay for the gas and the paper, and the clerk told me I needed to pay another dollar. The Thanksgiving Day paper was two dollars!!!
Can't Forum Communications, the publisher of the DNT, live within its means? Shouldn't the advertisers be paying for all the extra paper and printing? Is Forum Communications being efficient by having all the ads left behind for the clerks to clean up?
How loud would the complaints be if any government agency suddenly doubled a fee or a tax? How loud would the cries of government waste be if an office threw out such a huge percentage of paper?
I bet we won't see any letters to the editor about this Thanksgiving waste, but we will continue to see letters about government living within its means. A while ago I asked Chuck Frederick, the opinion page editor, if he had gotten any letters about the 33-1/3% increase of the DNT (75 cents to one dollar). He replied, "Haven't gotten any letters about our price increase. Shh!" I read his reply with a smile. What else can he say? He probably has very little input into pricing decisions.
It is amazing what companies can get by with in price increases but governments are heavily criticized for the same or even smaller increases. People are complaining vociferously about property taxes going up about $100/year, but there are no published complaints about the cost of a newspaper going up $104/year.
Another wasteful practice of Forum Communications, that may or may not continue, is providing two copies of the weekly Budgeteer News to some of its customers. For as long as we've lived in Duluth, a free copy of the Budgeteer News has been thrown on our porch on every Saturday. A few weeks ago Forum Communications started putting it in the DNT delivered to the boxes. What need do I have for two copies of the same paper, of which I throw out two-thirds without even looking at?
I don't know if the doubling up will continue or not. There was no Budgeteer on our porch Saturday, and the Saturday DNT didn't contain it. However, there were some stories posted on the Budgeteer web site on Friday. Were there not enough articles to publish this week? We'll probably never know; corporations don't have to have the transparency that we demand from government (and often don't get).
Update: 2011-11-27 16:00 - Sometime after eight o'clock this morning, the Duluth Budgeteer was thrown on our porch. I just noticed a few minutes ago. I'll see next Saturday if the DNT resumes the double publication of the Budgeteer.
Update: 2011-11-27 18:03 - Paragraph about $100/year for tax/price increase added.
So, we reversed our normal order of newspaper reading and read a large part of the Star Tribune first.
We were going to our cabin and planned to buy a few things at the supermarket, and so we would get the DNT there. Surprise, they had none. I asked the head cashier about this, and she said they had a call in but it hadn't been returned.
I needed gas anyway and stopped at a gas station/convenience store. I put fifty bucks of gas in the tank and pulled out $51 to pay for the gas and the newspaper. Inside I picked up a DNT thicker than the normal Sunday paper. The clerk warned me that was only the ads and the real newspaper was in a different stack. I picked up a normal size paper and left the want ads behind; we would only put them directly in the recycle stack at home. I went to the register to pay for the gas and the paper, and the clerk told me I needed to pay another dollar. The Thanksgiving Day paper was two dollars!!!
Can't Forum Communications, the publisher of the DNT, live within its means? Shouldn't the advertisers be paying for all the extra paper and printing? Is Forum Communications being efficient by having all the ads left behind for the clerks to clean up?
How loud would the complaints be if any government agency suddenly doubled a fee or a tax? How loud would the cries of government waste be if an office threw out such a huge percentage of paper?
I bet we won't see any letters to the editor about this Thanksgiving waste, but we will continue to see letters about government living within its means. A while ago I asked Chuck Frederick, the opinion page editor, if he had gotten any letters about the 33-1/3% increase of the DNT (75 cents to one dollar). He replied, "Haven't gotten any letters about our price increase. Shh!" I read his reply with a smile. What else can he say? He probably has very little input into pricing decisions.
It is amazing what companies can get by with in price increases but governments are heavily criticized for the same or even smaller increases. People are complaining vociferously about property taxes going up about $100/year, but there are no published complaints about the cost of a newspaper going up $104/year.
Another wasteful practice of Forum Communications, that may or may not continue, is providing two copies of the weekly Budgeteer News to some of its customers. For as long as we've lived in Duluth, a free copy of the Budgeteer News has been thrown on our porch on every Saturday. A few weeks ago Forum Communications started putting it in the DNT delivered to the boxes. What need do I have for two copies of the same paper, of which I throw out two-thirds without even looking at?
I don't know if the doubling up will continue or not. There was no Budgeteer on our porch Saturday, and the Saturday DNT didn't contain it. However, there were some stories posted on the Budgeteer web site on Friday. Were there not enough articles to publish this week? We'll probably never know; corporations don't have to have the transparency that we demand from government (and often don't get).
Update: 2011-11-27 16:00 - Sometime after eight o'clock this morning, the Duluth Budgeteer was thrown on our porch. I just noticed a few minutes ago. I'll see next Saturday if the DNT resumes the double publication of the Budgeteer.
Update: 2011-11-27 18:03 - Paragraph about $100/year for tax/price increase added.
Republicans support anarchy?
If we believe in guilt by association then Republicans support anarchy.
Many Republicans took the no-new-taxes pledge of Grover Norquist.
Grover Norquist wants to drown government in a bathtub.
Those who want to eliminate government are anarchists.
QED Republicans are anarchists.
But we don't believe in guilt by association, do we?
For more on Grover Norquist, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist.
Many Republicans took the no-new-taxes pledge of Grover Norquist.
Grover Norquist wants to drown government in a bathtub.
Those who want to eliminate government are anarchists.
QED Republicans are anarchists.
But we don't believe in guilt by association, do we?
For more on Grover Norquist, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist.
Iranian TV playing with fire reporting on Occupy movement
The Coffee Party on Facebook had a link to "Crackdown on OWS, creative tactics and the strategy to take back power". The lead-in on Facebook is "Interview with Chip Pitts, human rights advocate and Stanford law professor. "Occupy Wall Street is the closest thing to a civil rights movement in my lifetime...Lots of strands including Occupy movement, academic research and the Coffee Party are coming together in a beautiful harmony."
It was uploaded to YouTube by PressTVGlobalNews on Nov 17, 2011.
"The United States is currently grappling with growing protest rallies against corporatism, poverty and social inequity in the country." - from the text accompanying the video.
I'd say guess who PressTVGlobalNews is, but I've already partly given away that PressTV is owned by the Iranian government.
I wonder how many Iranians watch PressTV in Iran and how many wonder why the Iranian government doesn't practice what it preaches.
Here's another piece of fire that Press TV is playing with - "Russian Opposition demands free and fair elections".
Are these cases of do as I say, not as I do?
It was uploaded to YouTube by PressTVGlobalNews on Nov 17, 2011.
"The United States is currently grappling with growing protest rallies against corporatism, poverty and social inequity in the country." - from the text accompanying the video.
I'd say guess who PressTVGlobalNews is, but I've already partly given away that PressTV is owned by the Iranian government.
I wonder how many Iranians watch PressTV in Iran and how many wonder why the Iranian government doesn't practice what it preaches.
Here's another piece of fire that Press TV is playing with - "Russian Opposition demands free and fair elections".
Are these cases of do as I say, not as I do?
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Occupy Democracy!
These were the closing words of Robert Reich in "The REAL Public Nuisance".
It isn't till we all speak up and vote that we can regain control of our country from big-money interests.
Maybe the first thing to do is to stop blaming big-money and start changing our own behavior. "As Seen on TV" does not define truth. As long as we vote for the big-money candidates or as long as we stay away, we just give more power to the big-money interests.
It isn't till we all speak up and vote that we can regain control of our country from big-money interests.
Maybe the first thing to do is to stop blaming big-money and start changing our own behavior. "As Seen on TV" does not define truth. As long as we vote for the big-money candidates or as long as we stay away, we just give more power to the big-money interests.
Short term profits, long term losses
Before I get into the title subject, let me explain that I was led by two items on the Coffee Party Facebook page to two different Forbes Magazine articles. Remember that Forbes is a magazine for business leaders; the current slogan of Forbes.com is "Information for the World's business leaders". Also, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief is Steve Forbes who ran for president in the Republican primaries in 1996 and 2000. Among other "conservative" proposals, he called for a flat tax. For more, see Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Forbes.
The two articles I found are both by Steve Denning, who writes a column called "Radical Management" and wrote a book "The Leader's Guide to Radical Management. The two articles are titled "Retirement Heist: How Firms Plunder Workers' Nest Eggs" and "Lest We Forget: Why We Had A Financial Crisis".
The first is about how many companies take funds out of employee pension plans and use these to bolster returns. Companies have also sought to reduce contributions to pension plans, citing them as a drain on profits. Many of these same executives do not look on their golden parachutes and high-priced pensions, including platinum life-time health care as a drain on profits.
The second is an examination of the causes of the financial crises and the lies to deny these causes. Many say that the Federal Government caused banks to make risky loans. But it wasn't banks that made the risky loans, it was non-bank companies that did. For various reasons, these non-bank companies were not supervised by the government anywhere near the extent banks were supervised. Even then, there were many who prodded Congress to weaken the laws governing financial institutions. "These agencies of government were being strenuously lobbied to do the very things that would benefit the financial sector and their managers and traders. And behind it all, was the drive for short-term profits."
Maybe we should stop conjoining "pro business" and "pro overpaid executives".
The two articles I found are both by Steve Denning, who writes a column called "Radical Management" and wrote a book "The Leader's Guide to Radical Management. The two articles are titled "Retirement Heist: How Firms Plunder Workers' Nest Eggs" and "Lest We Forget: Why We Had A Financial Crisis".
The first is about how many companies take funds out of employee pension plans and use these to bolster returns. Companies have also sought to reduce contributions to pension plans, citing them as a drain on profits. Many of these same executives do not look on their golden parachutes and high-priced pensions, including platinum life-time health care as a drain on profits.
The second is an examination of the causes of the financial crises and the lies to deny these causes. Many say that the Federal Government caused banks to make risky loans. But it wasn't banks that made the risky loans, it was non-bank companies that did. For various reasons, these non-bank companies were not supervised by the government anywhere near the extent banks were supervised. Even then, there were many who prodded Congress to weaken the laws governing financial institutions. "These agencies of government were being strenuously lobbied to do the very things that would benefit the financial sector and their managers and traders. And behind it all, was the drive for short-term profits."
Maybe we should stop conjoining "pro business" and "pro overpaid executives".
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