and what this all has to do with aesthetics is perhaps Walter Benjamin's observation the right aestehtizes politics ( they give us spectacle, which result in the loss of self) were the left politicizes aesthetics (they use them to make us feel an embodied sense of experience - self-presence) - distraction versus engagement
On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 4:37 PM, William Conger <[email protected]>wrote: > Some of us remember the inflationary period of the 70s (Nixon). Money > Market > funds at that time were paying up to 20%. That's when interest on credit > cards > jumped to 23-24 and higher %. Now Money market funds pay about .003% but > credit > card interest is still 28% for those unlucky enough to be in debt...which > is > just about everyone. It the Middle ages there was a widespread belief that > charging any interest at all was sinful. Of course the demand was theree > anyway. The Jews became the funders of loans. Eleanor of Castille, as > queen of > England kicked out all the Jews from England and confiscated their wealth. > Plain theft, for sure. But the usual, historic interest rate is somewhere > between 6 and 10% when earnings are 3-5% So what explains the current > situation > except greed? > wc > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: saulostrow <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Fri, August 24, 2012 10:39:43 AM > Subject: Re: Subjective - Objective > > Again - loans are a form of credit - the loan and credit industries depend > on generating profit based on interest - if there is no source of profit - > to put new value into the economy - we have stagnation and deficit spending > - which seems to be what we presently have because their is nothing thought > to be profitable to invest in and what is profitable is moving to a > monopoly state. Your account demonstrates how little most of us actually > understand by our economic regime - as for the attack on the middle class - > we can start with the decade long assault on the the safety net that was > constructed between the great Depression of 1929 and the Great Society, > then the export of capital to 3rd world countries and the globalization of > corporations, the attack on unionized labor and more recently the great > mortgage boondoggle (bubble) which effectively has undermined their owners > equity. Now the republicans want access to the moneys that are in SS and > Medicare systems which for them represent still another source of fluidity > and profit - which will lead to further impovertization > > Again, the money is in banks available to be loaned, which is what banks > do. > Banks are required to maintain only about 5% reserves, which means that > they > lend out $19 for every $1 they keep in the vaults. That money is used for > something, but whatever it's used for, it's spent. And if the borrower > spends > the money on anything besides paying the interest on earlier loans, tnen > the > new spending goes back into the economy in the form of wages or purchases. > > -- S a u l O s t r o w *Critical Voices* 21STREETPROJECTS 162 West 21 St NYC, NY 10011 [email protected]
