Our Countries future along with our planet’s future could depend on the votes of Millennials and Gen Z. The November midterm elections will determine whether we continue to have a democracy that works for all of us or we crater into a dictatorship! Their votes very well could be the deciding factor.
I consider myself a true conservative because I try not to waste anything. I’m just a country bumpkin who takes pride in being ( Friggin Frugal ) as my wife and best friend calls me. A few examples:
* We compost , we conserve energy- gas, home heating oil, electricity, maintain a well insulated home, etc….
We are able to live a very comfortable life on a modest income ( < 60 k per year ) in Connecticut. And we are retired and very happy.
Question: Why does anyone need a Billion dollars to live on? When we have so many Americans living like paupers!
Our Capitalist Government has created the Divisions we have today! If we really want to make America Great for the first time we need to SHARE THE WEALTH. Where is Robin Hood when we need him?
I see billionaires like hoarders. The more they have the more they want!
"Trickle down" and "free markets" don't fit with a duty to tithe or to noblesse oblige.
Seems that worship of wealth has characteristics of religion. -- a belief system, a ritual worship system, and a moral system of social relationships. But in Judeo Christian dogma there is only one God.
Wonder whether there is a correlation with the "prosperity gospel" and material and financial success. Surely some educational institution has examined it and established a curriculum.
Hillsdale? Grove City?
IMHO "Trickle down" and "free markets" are as fake as the golden calf.
Daniel, yes, the prosperity gospel directly corelates with the wealthy of this country. They have warped Christianity to believe that if one is rich, god did that for them and they are not only favored by god, but have god's ear. They are wrong, but a lot of people still hankering for "the American dream" love that. The opposite though is that if you don't have everything you could ever want, god does not like you and you have no favor with god. It is a sick interpretation of Christianity, but those guys are rich and just don't care. They have god's ear, you know!
Yes, Ruth. For many years I have recognized that most people who call them selves Christians are really Calvinists. Jesus said "It is harder for a rich man to pass into heaven, than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle" (I know camel was a mis-translation of rope). Calvin preached that the wealthy were more noble because god graced them, while the poor had lost god's favor. While I am an atheist I do admire the man, Jesus, for his wisdom, courage and true concern for humanity.
Fay, I too have become an 'atheist', not because I "didn't believe" but that no matter how 'good' a life I - tried - to live (a quote often heard = "I'm only human"), something or someone often 'pulled the rug out from under me' (been
forced to move 3 times so property owners could - repurpose - their property,
which costs me even more in the realm of 'moving costs, 1st & last months rent,
damage deposit(s), pet deposit (I WON'T live without my cat !) etcetcetc. For 1 thing - I DO NOT OVER VALUE myself or talents (take DJT for example ~). I know what I can and cannot do. And go from there. All this is to 'explain' why I now am
not a believer, partly because I don't pray (grovel and crawl before an alleged being that is supposed to be omnipresent and omnipotent) for - whatever (success?) and yet I observe those that claim 'divine success' really being - greedy-ass s.o.b.'s where even more is still not enough, & who rarely allow any 'trickle down' to happen, yet take the credit for what little does - much preferring the
hoovering up' effect into their own - pockets.
S I G H ~ ~ ~
Now my health is on the 'trickle down' treadmill, but making do as best os I can.
Hi Dale, I empathize with your problem, as people get older in this country they do as best they can, in a throw away society. I became an atheist after studying all the major religions, seeing how little influence the original founder had on the morality (civic that is not sexual) of the so called followers. I truly believe people created their gods in their own image, in order to (earlier) explain natural phenomena they couldn't understand and (later) to justify their own evil actions (the crusades and other wars of religion)and greed. It wasn't from ignorance or apathy, on my part. When I was very young I sang in a church choir and even taught Sunday school before I realized I didn't believe a damned thing I was supposed to be teaching. Also majoring in Chemistry and physiology I gained a better understanding of my world and the universe. So, putting it shortly, I am an atheist because I don't need a god. In another response, of course you couldn't live without your cat, I have two cats (down from ten) and I'd rather be homeless than without my girls (Callie and Prissy).
Thank you Fay : ) What you said in response to my comment is almost exactly the same as how I
became an atheist. Having grown up in an extended family where virtually all Christian 'cults' were represented as well as many of the fringe 'cults', I got a pretty wide view of what the - devout - were promoting, and no one had the 'final' answer. + since I was in grade school I've been interested in ancient history,
Egyptian & primarily their art forms (over the years I've created my own pieces of 'Ancient Egyptian' art in bronze. Also I spent more than 20 years in the Pagan community and finally realized that adherants of that were into it for the Ancient style Cosplay - Toga, Toga, Toga ~ ~ ~
But none of any of that, from my perspective, made anybody a better person. Just bigoted in their own way. Back when I was working in bronze, I created my own 'alter plate', all in nature
forms, i.e. tree goblets & 1 accidentally showed itself to be a form of 'Buddha Bowl' because it
'rang' when hit with a mallet.
My cat, Dweezle, a rescue that came named that, is a 'cranky old cat, like me' meoWWWWWWrrRRrrrrrr... Very nice to talk to you : )
Ruth, during my brief time as a member of a large Presbyterian church in Kansas City with very prosperous members, this is EXACTLY what they taught... or should I say "preached"?
Ruth you are so right. Most people believe God is a giant puppeteer in the sky, giving out rewards and punishments to people based upon their prayers and beliefs.
As usual, Daniel I am in complete agreement. The American worship of wealth and celebrity, has been the undoing of the country. Perhaps in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was possible for a kid with nothing but a great idea to hack out a fortune through hard work and grits, but that "dream mythology" ended in the mid 19th century. Today the only road to wealth for a truly poor kid is though America's warped worship of entertainment and sports - and that takes a combination of talent and luck, it can also turn to disfavor an leave that "lucky kid" is poor health and poverty.
I agree, and it also takes money and family support to succeed in sports in order to get on the club teams and travel around your state and out of state to compete at the more competitive levels for a better shot to go pro. Even if your family doesn’t have money for club sports it takes family support to succeed in school, to afford good food and eat well, and to achieve at the scholastic level to get into a college or university where you can compete to get a chance to go pro. Not all poor kids have an equal chance to end up in professional sports.
So true Fay. I’m a lifelong atheist. Religions are Inclusive to some but obviously excludes others. There is no evidence whatsoever outside of the religious texts themselves. It astounds me to no end that people still carry these religions forward. I can get into it more but won’t.
You are on target to say that we have the worship over money more than anything else. Not only is the cost of education sky high for young people (and often their parents footing the bill) but everything we do today requires a monthly fee…want to watch tv programming?..Pay monthly, use a phone? Pay monthly, listen to music? Pay monthly, computer 4 years old! Antique! Buy a new one. All this on top of lower wages & higher prices than years ago.
The wealth inequality is outrageous. No one on he planet should be a billionaire!
Daniel - Spot on. The whole project goes even deeper than the prosperity gospel. As vividly described by Kevin Kruse in "One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America" the project of co-opting American Christianity for capitalist gain began as a reaction to the New Deal. Great summary by the autor in a YouTube at https://youtu.be/EyDg_jwYxH8
Heck, no...the greedy billionaires such as Musk and Bezos will never be able to acquire more than they WANT. Do they have far more than they need? Of course! They are the human equivalent of Scrooge McDuck, diving, swimming and playing in his money vault filled with gold. They do the exact equivalent.
Keith, you seem to have found the key to success, have just enough. The wealthy are simply addicted to money and power. They can't imagine living with "just enough" even in wealthy terms. Men like them always need to compare themselves and their possessions with all those other men, and we have media that help them keep score. We the people do need to intervene for our own health as a society.
Based on your first thought, I think we just may be okay.
Each successive generation is MORE PROGRESSive than the last, despite what the 30% of severely under-educated _rumplicans want you to believe. I have faith that, since President Biden was our hugely successful "bridge candidate," the Democratic president that wins in 2024 WILL ONE HUNDRED PERCENT be a progressive.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said that the rich are different. Indeed they are. When they reach a certain level - when they've been allowed entrance into "the club" - their associative processes undergo a change. Their sense of relevance and what is important shifts to their insatiable personal gain and recognition by their perceived peers. Like bad memories, they jettison thoughts of their former humanity and how they arrived at their present status. It is a mental illness, and through get-rich schemes like lotteries and sweepstakes they have used the media to legitimize their excesses in the public view. Greed (if such can be defined, being a relative term) is good and desirable.
The only cure: Declare money as it exists to be worthless and new money to be a non-accumulating medium of value and exchange, its only purpose being the procurement of goods and services. It is cancelled every two years and new currency issued. A basic living stipend is guaranteed and issued to all citizens, regardless of the interpretation of their "value" to society.
Well said, I particularly like the comment on innovation, that great leaps occur as a result of the lure of millions not billions. Accumulated wealth, especially when it is inherited, is sterile.
America is an exceptionally innovative country, but we have neither true democracy nor free markets. In 1787, Adam Smith anticipated this when he a) advocated for progressive taxation, and b) recognized that a strong government was necessary to collect those taxes and break up monopolies and anything else that would distort the free market which was central to his economic vision. He saw society as an organism where there is mutual benefit to all those pursuing their selfish aims.
Redistribution of wealth (through taxes) was a necessary component of such a society. When the average citizen has more wealth because of those taxes, he buys more from the factory owner, to the benefit of both. America had a great economy between 1950 and 1980, in large part because of high taxes. Then Reagan and the simply dreadful Milton Friedman stood Smith on his head. The result today is the MAGA crowd which remembers the good old days, and then blames the Democrats. But the truth remains - if you want to live like a Republican, vote Democrat.
One of the things revealed yesterday, in Griffin's response to criticism of the sterile billionaire class, is that he seems to thinks he knows what's best for ordinary Americans. To hell with democracy! Extraordinary - bordering on the delusional.
The key to making America great again (small caps) is to increase taxes, rather than cut them. Liz Truss would be wise to crack open "Wealth of Nations."
I encourage people like Bezos, Gates etc because they add value to the economy. On the other hand, people like Romney and other vulture capitalists killed the goose that laid the golden egg.
I just wish that the Gates' and Bezos' et all pay their fair share.
Agreed, more importantly, Gates himself would agree with you. Getting out the vote and defeating Republicanism is critical to raising taxes, but a long term solution to our rickety democracy would be compulsory voting - as they have in Australia.
I would agree with you, Michael, on the compulsory voting only if we had a good Civics curriculum beginning in 3rd grade and continuing through high school. The maggot-brained MAGAs are good examples of dummies who shouldn't be allowed near a ballot box.
Pat Rahikainen ; Very true! Hardly a mere trickle. Was taking liberty with imagery and maybe injecting some truth. The very wealthy are behind blocking of bills that
HeyPat, that's the best part of their day, when they can block something that can actually help someone. Then there are the days, they get rewarded for giving a tiny fraction of their wealth to a major hospital so they can get their name on it. Disgusting!
Regarding the 1st point - I've always referred to the so-called "supply side" policy of republicans, since Reagan took office - as "trickle up" economics. The major accomplishment of this policy: Huge increases to the deficit. Huge wealth inequality.
Regarding the Second point - I've never considered America's economy to be a "free market" economy. As far back as I can remember it's been subject to REGULATIONS. The reason wealth has been focused on fewer and fewer people, to me, is because the people with the wealth PAY our legislatures to pass regulations which cause them to get wealthier. And, to me, it doesn't really matter who emerges into the "wealthy" category - they seem to do the identical "stuff." One example I keep seeing comes from Mark Zuckerberg. He is covertly spending MILLIONS to fight off the idea Congress might break up hiis MONOPOLY. The latest example - while watching TV I saw an ad by the "American Edge Project" (identified in the "small print") with a retired school teacher encouraging people to contact their Congress person urging them to "back off" legislation regulating the Tech Industry (as a way to curb inflation - not kidding). I checked the website of "The American Edge Project" and it gave no indication of who is financing it. A little more research and, of course, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg founded the "project." I've seen this scenario repeat itself numerous times (And, I don't watch much TV).
Regarding Dr. Reich's third point: Despite the reality he's likely NOT a "billionaire" all I could think of was the perfect example of a "rugged individual"who became "rich" based on inherited wealth is none other than Trump himself. I never watched his TV show, but in studying him, I've learned he's so "rugged" he's unable to FIRE people himself (despite his antics suggesting otherwise). As president the closest he came to doing it in person was using a "Tweet." To me, some of these people (Trump, Musk, Peter Thiel, Zuckerberg, etc.) are pathetic and their "thirst" for MORE wealth is insastiable. I long for the days when I was young and earnings beyond about $200,000 (probably a couple million today based on inflation) was taxed at 70%. Additionally, the Stock Market was regulated to discourage the financial shenanigans which seem to be common practice in today's economy. All these "rugged individuals" would have been unable, back then (60's and 70;s) to disguise their earnings via stock options, foreign accounts, etc. The "New Deal" set regulations more favorable to us Middle Class minions - republicans have been fighting it since the 1930's with the turning point being Reagsn's election (IMHO). Is there another FDR out there?
Reagan was a poorly educated man who, like John Wayne, spent the War playing bedroom hopscotch in Hollywood while the real men were out fighting to save Democracy from the axis dictators.
Right on Robert! The wealthy who buy politicians and control our government devise all sorts of excuses to conceal their naked rapacity. And these days, they feel empowered to lie even more blatantly because they know ordinary citizens can’t do anything to change these circumstances.
"Trickle down" happens for sure (a few poorly paid service jobs) but the other half of the equation is "torrent UP". Funny they never mention that.
"Free markets" don't exist, probably never have. There's always some manipulation going on by someone, somewhere. And, you get the regulations you pay for.
The interesting thing is that some of these glorified thieves cannot claim even one ancestor who was here for the heavy lifting that built the country. They came just in time for the stealthy lifting that stole the country after the Civil War. Every member of the EU enjoys more economic democracy than we do, and they have a longer life expectancy, AND a higher median level of education than we do. We need to return to the tax schedule under Eisenhower--the last good Republican President. Under Ike, the top tax bracket paid about 91% of their income in taxes, and not one of them had to give up a second mansion or yacht.
The word-game regarding the "free market" deserves to be appreciated by a wider swath of the public. The traditional use of the the phrase from the time of Adam Smith to at least the 1960's when I studied economics in college was that the market was competitive enough to allow easy entry of new suppliers and consumers. In modern terminology, "free market" meant a competitive market where monopolies and oligopolies could not exist. The importance of a free market to economists was that in a free market the magic hand of the marked would find the right market price to balance supply and demand.
So in that earlier epoch, it was widely appreciated as good to have a free market (particularly from the perspective of economics) because competition was what made traditional economic theory work. A "free market" was a good thing.
Capitalizing on this favorable view of a "free market," the Chicago School of neo-conservative thinking somehow was able to alter the meaning of the phrase while conveniently retaining the favorable impression it made. The phrase "free market" came not to mean a competitive market but just the opposite. A market without government oversight could and would become a monopoly-dominated market where competition could be replaced with unlimited profits and skyrocketing prices for consumers.
Dear Mr. Reich: As always , your comments are true to the mark. Reagan should have more accurately said: A rising tide lifts all yachts. As was factually noted by Mr Leavenworth, the federal tax rate under President Eisenhower, a republican with vision, was astronomically higher than current rates. And with that money he built dams, promoted modernization of cities, and crafted the interstate highway system, all projects aimed at improving the life of average citizens. What a concept.
As the wealth gap continues to widen, I wonder who the titans of business will look to as their future customers? Ellis Johnson M.D.
The proper term here might actually be "Prey". Unlimited wealth seems to thrive in a vacume of morality {the halmark of the true religions of this world.} Legal shenanigans and manipulation thru false naratives are evidence of such behavior.
You are SMACK ON THE MONEY, so to speak :) Cuts right to the gist of the matter, without question.
The vehemence of the reaction from the right is a testament to how accurate your analysis is - and generally it slices through the BS and gets it correctly! Thank you for your mindfullness and perceptions!
Great video! It is good to see the myths exposed. If only we can get guardrails and regulations back in place and reverse the erosion of what we once had ; Ethics, laws that actually impacted even the wealthy, such as antitrust legislation a fairer tax rate on the rich and rules that protected worker's rights to unionize, and enjoy safe working conditions and working hours that are not gamed to keep the workers down. Living wages are helpful, too. Binding arbitration should be illegal.
Thank you Robert for reminding us again about the truth, instead of the blather about "fake news" coming from the former Liar in Chief. And the Rosevelt history along with later Justice Lewis Powell allied with the GOP and now we are in a dark place.
Some additional evildoers in this long effort: In addition to Lewis Powell of Virginia who advised the Chamber of Commerce and business leaders I think, there was counsel to the GOP as I recall, from some academic experts on use of propaganda, and more recently, Newt Gingrich, Bannon and others. Lewis Powell was rewarded by appointment to the Supremes..
I keep thinking historically in WW II when American companies like Xerox and Ford was making money hand over fist on Germany actually helping the Nazis. Correct me if I’m wrong Professor Reich, but I don’t belief they paid any tax on their millions of dollars made there. At the same time shiploads of Jews were not allowed into this country although people knew what was going on in the sending them to concentration camps. I see a moral issue here. What is morally correct when money is involved?? Maybe there is no morals- money becomes God! My father always told me “ to make money, you have to have money” And “save up for a rainy day, when you might need your savings to survive.” The old individualistic philosophy. Where is any kind of true empathy and altruism? The Danish tax rate is 52% and it’s ranked one of the best countries to live to be happy. I really think America needs to look itself in the mirror.
America- land of I got mine; you get yours the best way you can. Every man for himself. My mother told me many years ago that people become wealthy by stepping on and taking advantage of others.
Under President Reagan, between 1980 and 1988, the top marginal tax rate in the United States fell from 70% to 28%. Between 1981 and 1989, total federal receipts increased from $599 billion to $991 billion.
In December 2020, a London School of Economics report by David Hope and Julian Limberg was released which examined five decades of tax cuts in 18 wealthy nations and found they consistently benefited the wealthy but had no meaningful effect on unemployment or economic growth.
Herbert Hoover believed "incentivizing" business prosperity would trickle down to the average person and that economic assistance to citizens would stifle the workforce. This philosophy was not effective against the Depression and led to his defeat in the 1932 presidential election against Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.
And yet the beast refused to die.
President Ronald Reagan instituted tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending, and market deregulation, all influenced by the trickle-down theory and supply-side economics. My own father was his enabler as Treasury Undersecretary.
And Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Dec. 22., 2017, which cut personal tax rates and personal exemptions which expire in 2025 and revert to the old, higher rates. However, corporations received a permanent tax cut to 21%.
There is only one, only one, reason for this sadism.
It's personal sadism on the part of certain white males in power. I was the child of one of them, and I have personal observation. These guys are deeply damaged personalities. And the public of the USA admire them.
@Martha Ture. I have deep respect for your opinions and perspectives. I hesitate to comment or amend. However, there are more than one reason. I never thought of sadism as a part of the psychology of those particular folks. Harold Lasswell made me think more of political, economic and self-aggrandizing motives. But I gotta say, the sadistic angle fits right in with the general pattern seen in these personality types! But back to my point, and putting aside your clear literary strategy for emphasis of your point, Lasswell's inventory (Psychopathology and Politics, 1930 and 1960) is useful for prospects of mitigating bad actions of politicians. One cannot legislate sadism, but one can deal with self-dealing, cheating, fraud and other public acts of sick-minded politicians. The abject immorality of people like DeSantis, who will say and do what he knows to be wrong in order to obtain and hold power, does not seem to be a matter for law enforcement. Certainly there is a sadistic element to his callous abuse of gullible followers. But his reason for doing it is really obvious - the dude wants to be President.
Of course Musk would deny it, because that would mean he’s not the self made genius that he claims to be.
The amount of reform needed to fix both economic inequality and the outrageous political spending seem insurmountable at times, but I truly believe it can happen. Maybe not in 5, 10 or even 20 years. But hopefully sometime soon enough that the next generation and beyond can benefit.
IF he has Aspergers (you never know what to believe when it comes to what he tells people) it’s not severe, and certainly isn’t an excuse to be a greedy, self obsessed jerk.
America’s Youth
Our Countries future along with our planet’s future could depend on the votes of Millennials and Gen Z. The November midterm elections will determine whether we continue to have a democracy that works for all of us or we crater into a dictatorship! Their votes very well could be the deciding factor.
I consider myself a true conservative because I try not to waste anything. I’m just a country bumpkin who takes pride in being ( Friggin Frugal ) as my wife and best friend calls me. A few examples:
* We compost , we conserve energy- gas, home heating oil, electricity, maintain a well insulated home, etc….
We are able to live a very comfortable life on a modest income ( < 60 k per year ) in Connecticut. And we are retired and very happy.
Question: Why does anyone need a Billion dollars to live on? When we have so many Americans living like paupers!
Our Capitalist Government has created the Divisions we have today! If we really want to make America Great for the first time we need to SHARE THE WEALTH. Where is Robin Hood when we need him?
I see billionaires like hoarders. The more they have the more they want!
"Trickle down" and "free markets" don't fit with a duty to tithe or to noblesse oblige.
Seems that worship of wealth has characteristics of religion. -- a belief system, a ritual worship system, and a moral system of social relationships. But in Judeo Christian dogma there is only one God.
Wonder whether there is a correlation with the "prosperity gospel" and material and financial success. Surely some educational institution has examined it and established a curriculum.
Hillsdale? Grove City?
IMHO "Trickle down" and "free markets" are as fake as the golden calf.
They've had OVER HALF A CENTURY to prove that dementia-addled dope, Reagan, was right about his asinine economic system. He was WRONG.
DEAD WRONG.
I don’t think they actually believe this crap. I think they say it and then laugh because the idiots who worship rich people believe it.
Daniel, yes, the prosperity gospel directly corelates with the wealthy of this country. They have warped Christianity to believe that if one is rich, god did that for them and they are not only favored by god, but have god's ear. They are wrong, but a lot of people still hankering for "the American dream" love that. The opposite though is that if you don't have everything you could ever want, god does not like you and you have no favor with god. It is a sick interpretation of Christianity, but those guys are rich and just don't care. They have god's ear, you know!
Yes, Ruth. For many years I have recognized that most people who call them selves Christians are really Calvinists. Jesus said "It is harder for a rich man to pass into heaven, than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle" (I know camel was a mis-translation of rope). Calvin preached that the wealthy were more noble because god graced them, while the poor had lost god's favor. While I am an atheist I do admire the man, Jesus, for his wisdom, courage and true concern for humanity.
Fay, I too have become an 'atheist', not because I "didn't believe" but that no matter how 'good' a life I - tried - to live (a quote often heard = "I'm only human"), something or someone often 'pulled the rug out from under me' (been
forced to move 3 times so property owners could - repurpose - their property,
which costs me even more in the realm of 'moving costs, 1st & last months rent,
damage deposit(s), pet deposit (I WON'T live without my cat !) etcetcetc. For 1 thing - I DO NOT OVER VALUE myself or talents (take DJT for example ~). I know what I can and cannot do. And go from there. All this is to 'explain' why I now am
not a believer, partly because I don't pray (grovel and crawl before an alleged being that is supposed to be omnipresent and omnipotent) for - whatever (success?) and yet I observe those that claim 'divine success' really being - greedy-ass s.o.b.'s where even more is still not enough, & who rarely allow any 'trickle down' to happen, yet take the credit for what little does - much preferring the
hoovering up' effect into their own - pockets.
S I G H ~ ~ ~
Now my health is on the 'trickle down' treadmill, but making do as best os I can.
Hi Dale, I empathize with your problem, as people get older in this country they do as best they can, in a throw away society. I became an atheist after studying all the major religions, seeing how little influence the original founder had on the morality (civic that is not sexual) of the so called followers. I truly believe people created their gods in their own image, in order to (earlier) explain natural phenomena they couldn't understand and (later) to justify their own evil actions (the crusades and other wars of religion)and greed. It wasn't from ignorance or apathy, on my part. When I was very young I sang in a church choir and even taught Sunday school before I realized I didn't believe a damned thing I was supposed to be teaching. Also majoring in Chemistry and physiology I gained a better understanding of my world and the universe. So, putting it shortly, I am an atheist because I don't need a god. In another response, of course you couldn't live without your cat, I have two cats (down from ten) and I'd rather be homeless than without my girls (Callie and Prissy).
Thank you Fay : ) What you said in response to my comment is almost exactly the same as how I
became an atheist. Having grown up in an extended family where virtually all Christian 'cults' were represented as well as many of the fringe 'cults', I got a pretty wide view of what the - devout - were promoting, and no one had the 'final' answer. + since I was in grade school I've been interested in ancient history,
Egyptian & primarily their art forms (over the years I've created my own pieces of 'Ancient Egyptian' art in bronze. Also I spent more than 20 years in the Pagan community and finally realized that adherants of that were into it for the Ancient style Cosplay - Toga, Toga, Toga ~ ~ ~
But none of any of that, from my perspective, made anybody a better person. Just bigoted in their own way. Back when I was working in bronze, I created my own 'alter plate', all in nature
forms, i.e. tree goblets & 1 accidentally showed itself to be a form of 'Buddha Bowl' because it
'rang' when hit with a mallet.
My cat, Dweezle, a rescue that came named that, is a 'cranky old cat, like me' meoWWWWWWrrRRrrrrrr... Very nice to talk to you : )
I did not know that about Cslvinists. It explains a lot.
Ruth, during my brief time as a member of a large Presbyterian church in Kansas City with very prosperous members, this is EXACTLY what they taught... or should I say "preached"?
I don't think there are stats that substantiate any of it. Fairy tales.
🎯
The Bible talks about these so-called Christians. Did Jesus live on this earth as a materially wealthy man or more like a low-income individual?
Ruth you are so right. Most people believe God is a giant puppeteer in the sky, giving out rewards and punishments to people based upon their prayers and beliefs.
Yes!!!
As usual, Daniel I am in complete agreement. The American worship of wealth and celebrity, has been the undoing of the country. Perhaps in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was possible for a kid with nothing but a great idea to hack out a fortune through hard work and grits, but that "dream mythology" ended in the mid 19th century. Today the only road to wealth for a truly poor kid is though America's warped worship of entertainment and sports - and that takes a combination of talent and luck, it can also turn to disfavor an leave that "lucky kid" is poor health and poverty.
I agree, and it also takes money and family support to succeed in sports in order to get on the club teams and travel around your state and out of state to compete at the more competitive levels for a better shot to go pro. Even if your family doesn’t have money for club sports it takes family support to succeed in school, to afford good food and eat well, and to achieve at the scholastic level to get into a college or university where you can compete to get a chance to go pro. Not all poor kids have an equal chance to end up in professional sports.
So true Fay. I’m a lifelong atheist. Religions are Inclusive to some but obviously excludes others. There is no evidence whatsoever outside of the religious texts themselves. It astounds me to no end that people still carry these religions forward. I can get into it more but won’t.
You are on target to say that we have the worship over money more than anything else. Not only is the cost of education sky high for young people (and often their parents footing the bill) but everything we do today requires a monthly fee…want to watch tv programming?..Pay monthly, use a phone? Pay monthly, listen to music? Pay monthly, computer 4 years old! Antique! Buy a new one. All this on top of lower wages & higher prices than years ago.
The wealth inequality is outrageous. No one on he planet should be a billionaire!
Daniel - Spot on. The whole project goes even deeper than the prosperity gospel. As vividly described by Kevin Kruse in "One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America" the project of co-opting American Christianity for capitalist gain began as a reaction to the New Deal. Great summary by the autor in a YouTube at https://youtu.be/EyDg_jwYxH8
Rewind to “social Darwinism,” the only Darwinism proven to be from Intelligent Design.
Heck, no...the greedy billionaires such as Musk and Bezos will never be able to acquire more than they WANT. Do they have far more than they need? Of course! They are the human equivalent of Scrooge McDuck, diving, swimming and playing in his money vault filled with gold. They do the exact equivalent.
Keith, you seem to have found the key to success, have just enough. The wealthy are simply addicted to money and power. They can't imagine living with "just enough" even in wealthy terms. Men like them always need to compare themselves and their possessions with all those other men, and we have media that help them keep score. We the people do need to intervene for our own health as a society.
Based on your first thought, I think we just may be okay.
Each successive generation is MORE PROGRESSive than the last, despite what the 30% of severely under-educated _rumplicans want you to believe. I have faith that, since President Biden was our hugely successful "bridge candidate," the Democratic president that wins in 2024 WILL ONE HUNDRED PERCENT be a progressive.
Come oooooooon Katie Porter!!!
But only recently. In 1950’s, the GOP quite resembled todays Dems, and AOC would be welcomed at a Ripon meeting.
Katie Porter is awesome!
You are conservative. You conserve. The R party is anything but conservative.
It’s all about ego and insecurity, Keith.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said that the rich are different. Indeed they are. When they reach a certain level - when they've been allowed entrance into "the club" - their associative processes undergo a change. Their sense of relevance and what is important shifts to their insatiable personal gain and recognition by their perceived peers. Like bad memories, they jettison thoughts of their former humanity and how they arrived at their present status. It is a mental illness, and through get-rich schemes like lotteries and sweepstakes they have used the media to legitimize their excesses in the public view. Greed (if such can be defined, being a relative term) is good and desirable.
The only cure: Declare money as it exists to be worthless and new money to be a non-accumulating medium of value and exchange, its only purpose being the procurement of goods and services. It is cancelled every two years and new currency issued. A basic living stipend is guaranteed and issued to all citizens, regardless of the interpretation of their "value" to society.
Sounds like it's been 2 steps forward and 5 steps back. We need four more Roosevelts.
Start by sweeping the Midterms.
We're doing our best. VOTE BLUE!
Well said, I particularly like the comment on innovation, that great leaps occur as a result of the lure of millions not billions. Accumulated wealth, especially when it is inherited, is sterile.
America is an exceptionally innovative country, but we have neither true democracy nor free markets. In 1787, Adam Smith anticipated this when he a) advocated for progressive taxation, and b) recognized that a strong government was necessary to collect those taxes and break up monopolies and anything else that would distort the free market which was central to his economic vision. He saw society as an organism where there is mutual benefit to all those pursuing their selfish aims.
Redistribution of wealth (through taxes) was a necessary component of such a society. When the average citizen has more wealth because of those taxes, he buys more from the factory owner, to the benefit of both. America had a great economy between 1950 and 1980, in large part because of high taxes. Then Reagan and the simply dreadful Milton Friedman stood Smith on his head. The result today is the MAGA crowd which remembers the good old days, and then blames the Democrats. But the truth remains - if you want to live like a Republican, vote Democrat.
One of the things revealed yesterday, in Griffin's response to criticism of the sterile billionaire class, is that he seems to thinks he knows what's best for ordinary Americans. To hell with democracy! Extraordinary - bordering on the delusional.
The key to making America great again (small caps) is to increase taxes, rather than cut them. Liz Truss would be wise to crack open "Wealth of Nations."
I encourage people like Bezos, Gates etc because they add value to the economy. On the other hand, people like Romney and other vulture capitalists killed the goose that laid the golden egg.
I just wish that the Gates' and Bezos' et all pay their fair share.
Agreed, more importantly, Gates himself would agree with you. Getting out the vote and defeating Republicanism is critical to raising taxes, but a long term solution to our rickety democracy would be compulsory voting - as they have in Australia.
I would agree with you, Michael, on the compulsory voting only if we had a good Civics curriculum beginning in 3rd grade and continuing through high school. The maggot-brained MAGAs are good examples of dummies who shouldn't be allowed near a ballot box.
Bezos runs sweatshops. That’s not a positive contribution.
Only time I believe in "trickle down" is when the ultra-wealthy are pi##ing on the rest of us.
Yup. "Trickle down" explains wet socks, nothing more.
Also 'trickle down' makes me think of what is happening in Florida right now and is coming up the East coast.
Those things don't trickle from what I hear... more like blow thru and dump rain down.
Pat Rahikainen ; Very true! Hardly a mere trickle. Was taking liberty with imagery and maybe injecting some truth. The very wealthy are behind blocking of bills that
remedy environmental harms.
Many of them are determined to block anything that makes life better for those "below" them
HeyPat, that's the best part of their day, when they can block something that can actually help someone. Then there are the days, they get rewarded for giving a tiny fraction of their wealth to a major hospital so they can get their name on it. Disgusting!
You're right and it is disgusting in many ways.
They are sadists
That's for sure.
The real problem with "trickle down" is that it IS just a trickle!
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Regarding the 1st point - I've always referred to the so-called "supply side" policy of republicans, since Reagan took office - as "trickle up" economics. The major accomplishment of this policy: Huge increases to the deficit. Huge wealth inequality.
Regarding the Second point - I've never considered America's economy to be a "free market" economy. As far back as I can remember it's been subject to REGULATIONS. The reason wealth has been focused on fewer and fewer people, to me, is because the people with the wealth PAY our legislatures to pass regulations which cause them to get wealthier. And, to me, it doesn't really matter who emerges into the "wealthy" category - they seem to do the identical "stuff." One example I keep seeing comes from Mark Zuckerberg. He is covertly spending MILLIONS to fight off the idea Congress might break up hiis MONOPOLY. The latest example - while watching TV I saw an ad by the "American Edge Project" (identified in the "small print") with a retired school teacher encouraging people to contact their Congress person urging them to "back off" legislation regulating the Tech Industry (as a way to curb inflation - not kidding). I checked the website of "The American Edge Project" and it gave no indication of who is financing it. A little more research and, of course, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg founded the "project." I've seen this scenario repeat itself numerous times (And, I don't watch much TV).
Regarding Dr. Reich's third point: Despite the reality he's likely NOT a "billionaire" all I could think of was the perfect example of a "rugged individual"who became "rich" based on inherited wealth is none other than Trump himself. I never watched his TV show, but in studying him, I've learned he's so "rugged" he's unable to FIRE people himself (despite his antics suggesting otherwise). As president the closest he came to doing it in person was using a "Tweet." To me, some of these people (Trump, Musk, Peter Thiel, Zuckerberg, etc.) are pathetic and their "thirst" for MORE wealth is insastiable. I long for the days when I was young and earnings beyond about $200,000 (probably a couple million today based on inflation) was taxed at 70%. Additionally, the Stock Market was regulated to discourage the financial shenanigans which seem to be common practice in today's economy. All these "rugged individuals" would have been unable, back then (60's and 70;s) to disguise their earnings via stock options, foreign accounts, etc. The "New Deal" set regulations more favorable to us Middle Class minions - republicans have been fighting it since the 1930's with the turning point being Reagsn's election (IMHO). Is there another FDR out there?
Reagan was a poorly educated man who, like John Wayne, spent the War playing bedroom hopscotch in Hollywood while the real men were out fighting to save Democracy from the axis dictators.
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David Piper : Thank you for the information about The American Edge Project" ; Zuckerberg, huh? Figures.
And Zuckerberg came through Ohio after drump was elected having meets with us “real people” so as to “understand” what happened?! Hmmm.
Right on Robert! The wealthy who buy politicians and control our government devise all sorts of excuses to conceal their naked rapacity. And these days, they feel empowered to lie even more blatantly because they know ordinary citizens can’t do anything to change these circumstances.
"Trickle down" happens for sure (a few poorly paid service jobs) but the other half of the equation is "torrent UP". Funny they never mention that.
"Free markets" don't exist, probably never have. There's always some manipulation going on by someone, somewhere. And, you get the regulations you pay for.
Reverse Robin Hood.
God zero ; 'Tongue in cheek : "Freedom isn't Free" (for most of us).
The interesting thing is that some of these glorified thieves cannot claim even one ancestor who was here for the heavy lifting that built the country. They came just in time for the stealthy lifting that stole the country after the Civil War. Every member of the EU enjoys more economic democracy than we do, and they have a longer life expectancy, AND a higher median level of education than we do. We need to return to the tax schedule under Eisenhower--the last good Republican President. Under Ike, the top tax bracket paid about 91% of their income in taxes, and not one of them had to give up a second mansion or yacht.
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The word-game regarding the "free market" deserves to be appreciated by a wider swath of the public. The traditional use of the the phrase from the time of Adam Smith to at least the 1960's when I studied economics in college was that the market was competitive enough to allow easy entry of new suppliers and consumers. In modern terminology, "free market" meant a competitive market where monopolies and oligopolies could not exist. The importance of a free market to economists was that in a free market the magic hand of the marked would find the right market price to balance supply and demand.
So in that earlier epoch, it was widely appreciated as good to have a free market (particularly from the perspective of economics) because competition was what made traditional economic theory work. A "free market" was a good thing.
Capitalizing on this favorable view of a "free market," the Chicago School of neo-conservative thinking somehow was able to alter the meaning of the phrase while conveniently retaining the favorable impression it made. The phrase "free market" came not to mean a competitive market but just the opposite. A market without government oversight could and would become a monopoly-dominated market where competition could be replaced with unlimited profits and skyrocketing prices for consumers.
Dear Mr. Reich: As always , your comments are true to the mark. Reagan should have more accurately said: A rising tide lifts all yachts. As was factually noted by Mr Leavenworth, the federal tax rate under President Eisenhower, a republican with vision, was astronomically higher than current rates. And with that money he built dams, promoted modernization of cities, and crafted the interstate highway system, all projects aimed at improving the life of average citizens. What a concept.
As the wealth gap continues to widen, I wonder who the titans of business will look to as their future customers? Ellis Johnson M.D.
The proper term here might actually be "Prey". Unlimited wealth seems to thrive in a vacume of morality {the halmark of the true religions of this world.} Legal shenanigans and manipulation thru false naratives are evidence of such behavior.
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You are SMACK ON THE MONEY, so to speak :) Cuts right to the gist of the matter, without question.
The vehemence of the reaction from the right is a testament to how accurate your analysis is - and generally it slices through the BS and gets it correctly! Thank you for your mindfullness and perceptions!
Great video! It is good to see the myths exposed. If only we can get guardrails and regulations back in place and reverse the erosion of what we once had ; Ethics, laws that actually impacted even the wealthy, such as antitrust legislation a fairer tax rate on the rich and rules that protected worker's rights to unionize, and enjoy safe working conditions and working hours that are not gamed to keep the workers down. Living wages are helpful, too. Binding arbitration should be illegal.
Thank you Robert for reminding us again about the truth, instead of the blather about "fake news" coming from the former Liar in Chief. And the Rosevelt history along with later Justice Lewis Powell allied with the GOP and now we are in a dark place.
That and a partisan evil 'Supreme' court.
Some additional evildoers in this long effort: In addition to Lewis Powell of Virginia who advised the Chamber of Commerce and business leaders I think, there was counsel to the GOP as I recall, from some academic experts on use of propaganda, and more recently, Newt Gingrich, Bannon and others. Lewis Powell was rewarded by appointment to the Supremes..
Heart.
I keep thinking historically in WW II when American companies like Xerox and Ford was making money hand over fist on Germany actually helping the Nazis. Correct me if I’m wrong Professor Reich, but I don’t belief they paid any tax on their millions of dollars made there. At the same time shiploads of Jews were not allowed into this country although people knew what was going on in the sending them to concentration camps. I see a moral issue here. What is morally correct when money is involved?? Maybe there is no morals- money becomes God! My father always told me “ to make money, you have to have money” And “save up for a rainy day, when you might need your savings to survive.” The old individualistic philosophy. Where is any kind of true empathy and altruism? The Danish tax rate is 52% and it’s ranked one of the best countries to live to be happy. I really think America needs to look itself in the mirror.
America- land of I got mine; you get yours the best way you can. Every man for himself. My mother told me many years ago that people become wealthy by stepping on and taking advantage of others.
That’s a legacy I wouldn’t be proud of .
Under President Reagan, between 1980 and 1988, the top marginal tax rate in the United States fell from 70% to 28%. Between 1981 and 1989, total federal receipts increased from $599 billion to $991 billion.
In December 2020, a London School of Economics report by David Hope and Julian Limberg was released which examined five decades of tax cuts in 18 wealthy nations and found they consistently benefited the wealthy but had no meaningful effect on unemployment or economic growth.
Herbert Hoover believed "incentivizing" business prosperity would trickle down to the average person and that economic assistance to citizens would stifle the workforce. This philosophy was not effective against the Depression and led to his defeat in the 1932 presidential election against Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.
And yet the beast refused to die.
President Ronald Reagan instituted tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending, and market deregulation, all influenced by the trickle-down theory and supply-side economics. My own father was his enabler as Treasury Undersecretary.
And Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Dec. 22., 2017, which cut personal tax rates and personal exemptions which expire in 2025 and revert to the old, higher rates. However, corporations received a permanent tax cut to 21%.
There is only one, only one, reason for this sadism.
It's personal sadism on the part of certain white males in power. I was the child of one of them, and I have personal observation. These guys are deeply damaged personalities. And the public of the USA admire them.
@Martha Ture. I have deep respect for your opinions and perspectives. I hesitate to comment or amend. However, there are more than one reason. I never thought of sadism as a part of the psychology of those particular folks. Harold Lasswell made me think more of political, economic and self-aggrandizing motives. But I gotta say, the sadistic angle fits right in with the general pattern seen in these personality types! But back to my point, and putting aside your clear literary strategy for emphasis of your point, Lasswell's inventory (Psychopathology and Politics, 1930 and 1960) is useful for prospects of mitigating bad actions of politicians. One cannot legislate sadism, but one can deal with self-dealing, cheating, fraud and other public acts of sick-minded politicians. The abject immorality of people like DeSantis, who will say and do what he knows to be wrong in order to obtain and hold power, does not seem to be a matter for law enforcement. Certainly there is a sadistic element to his callous abuse of gullible followers. But his reason for doing it is really obvious - the dude wants to be President.
Thank you for this insightful post. It is really good to hear from someone with 'inside knowledge'
Of course Musk would deny it, because that would mean he’s not the self made genius that he claims to be.
The amount of reform needed to fix both economic inequality and the outrageous political spending seem insurmountable at times, but I truly believe it can happen. Maybe not in 5, 10 or even 20 years. But hopefully sometime soon enough that the next generation and beyond can benefit.
IF he has Aspergers (you never know what to believe when it comes to what he tells people) it’s not severe, and certainly isn’t an excuse to be a greedy, self obsessed jerk.