What amazes me, is less then half a dozen people I've talked to on the lists in the last 6 months, are even interested in how Depressions and recessions ARE CREATED, by those who already have the most.
Much less how this successful formula, for the elite, is able _to be repeated on those who can and will work hard_ and gain all this wonderful stuff for themselves, and have a life just like the top 1%, momentarily. Except a depression recession takes most of that way, and these Depression/Recessions last until the flow of goods and property has slowed or stopped flowing up to the Elite, and then the people get to pay off all the debts and repair all the damages caused by this purposefully caused depression/recession, they then get to accumulate more wealth, and the minute a certain amount of wealth is being BANKED, we get the next recession/depression. Why? Because you'll not work that hard to make the rich richer, but we seem to be able to keep doing it though a succession of depressions/recessions and inflation's and devaluations of what our labors are worth. Every dammed Recession/Depression we've had in this country, the Elite profit. Every War waged since, and including the American Revolution, has made the Elite of Western Europe and the America's, wealthier. NONE of them have ever suffered and do note, all the Military Industrial Complexes, even in the countries that lost wars, FLOURISHED immediately after the war. Don't kid yourself on whose the winner, it isn't the people or the soldiers. In fact, the Elite have never suffered a Recession/Depression EVER since 1740, in Western Europe and the North American Countries. When the General Population is suffering, the Elite are prospering, and they never trickle down economics, what is trickling down is only fit for sewers. That is correct, the most prosperous of times for the top 1-2% of the people of Western Countries, is when the general population is doing the worst, as everything they are losing, is going to the coffers and real estate of those people who consider themselves the Elite, yet have no valuable product of their own necessary for human life. Wage Slaves, is the level where people who don't own property or have large bank accounts, come in. The poor are profitable, if the general public can be convinced to put their tax dollars into supporting them, and then allowing corporations to make a mega profit off of our tax dollars when they take it over from a government agency, once again subverting the Social State we wish to live in, by calling it a Democracy, and then institution Capitalism, which is in fact, government operating for the benefit of corporations, not the population of that country. And it is all funded, by our shopping habits, and trusting the 'free CORPORATE Press" owned by, the top 1-2%. You can share my views on this too. Scott On 4/4/2011 10:01 AM, Scott Peden wrote: > > > Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% > > > Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes > that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet > in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a > quarter of the nations incomean inequality even the wealthy will > come to regret. > > *By *Joseph E. Stiglitz </contributors/joseph-e-stiglitz> > ** > May 2011 > > *THE FAT AND THE FURIOUS* The top 1 percent may have the best houses, > educations, and lifestyles, says the author, but their fate is bound > up with how the other 99 percent live. > > Its no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in > fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in > nearly a quarter of the nations income every year. In terms of wealth > rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in > life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the > corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response > might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good > fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all > boats. That response would be misguided. While the top 1 percent have > seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the > middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only > high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous12 percent in > the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decadesand > morehas gone to those at the top. In terms of income equality, > America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that > President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest > counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran. While many of the > old centers of inequality in Latin America, such as Brazil, have been > striving in recent years, rather successfully, to improve the plight > of the poor and reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality > to grow. > Economists long ago tried to justify the vast inequalities that seemed > so troubling in the mid-19th centuryinequalities that are but a pale > shadow of what we are seeing in America today. The justification they > came up with was called marginal-productivity theory. In a nutshell, > this theory associated higher incomes with higher productivity and a > greater contribution to society. It is a theory that has always been > cherished by the rich. Evidence for its validity, however, remains > thin. The corporate executives who helped bring on the recession of > the past three yearswhose contribution to our society, and to their > own companies, has been massively negativewent on to receive large > bonuses. In some cases, companies were so embarrassed about calling > such rewards performance bonuses that they felt compelled to change > the name to retention bonuses (even if the only thing being retained > was bad performance). Those who have contributed great positive > innovations to our society, from the pioneers of genetic understanding > to the pioneers of the Information Age, have received a pittance > compared with those responsible for the financial innovations that > brought our global economy to the brink of ruin. > Some people look at income inequality and shrug their shoulders. So > what if this person gains and that person loses? What matters, they > argue, is not how the pie is divided but the size of the pie. That > argument is fundamentally wrong. An economy in which /most/ citizens > are doing worse year after yearan economy like Americasis not > likely to do well over the long haul. There are several reasons for this. > First, growing inequality is the flip side of something else: > shrinking opportunity. Whenever we diminish equality of opportunity, > it means that we are not using some of our most valuable assetsour > peoplein the most productive way possible. Second, many of the > distortions that lead to inequalitysuch as those associated with > monopoly power and preferential tax treatment for special > interestsundermine the efficiency of the economy. This new inequality > goes on to create new distortions, undermining efficiency even > further. To give just one example, far too many of our most talented > young people, seeing the astronomical rewards, have gone into finance > rather than into fields that would lead to a more productive and > healthy economy. > Third, and perhaps most important, a modern economy requires > collective actionit needs government to invest in infrastructure, > education, and technology. The United States and the world have > benefited greatly from government-sponsored research that led to the > Internet, to advances in public health, and so on. But America has > long suffered from an under-investment in infrastructure (look at the > condition of our highways and bridges, our railroads and airports), in > basic research, and in education at all levels. Further cutbacks in > these areas lie ahead. > None of this should come as a surpriseit is simply what happens when > a societys wealth distribution becomes lopsided. The more divided a > society becomes in terms of wealth, the more reluctant the wealthy > become to spend money on common needs. The rich dont need to rely on > government for parks or education or medical care or personal > securitythey can buy all these things for themselves. In the process, > they become more distant from ordinary people, losing whatever empathy > they may once have had. They also worry about strong governmentone > that could use its powers to adjust the balance, take some of their > wealth, and invest it for the common good. The top 1 percent may > complain about the kind of government we have in America, but in truth > they like it just fine: too gridlocked to re-distribute, too divided > to do anything but lower taxes. > Economists are not sure how to fully explain the growing inequality in > America. The ordinary dynamics of supply and demand have certainly > played a role: laborsaving technologies have reduced the demand for > many good middle-class, blue-collar jobs. Globalization has created > a worldwide marketplace, pitting expensive unskilled workers in > America against cheap unskilled workers overseas. Social changes have > also played a rolefor instance, the decline of unions, which once > represented a third of American workers and now represent about 12 > percent. > But one big part of the reason we have so much inequality is that the > top 1 percent want it that way. The most obvious example involves tax > policy. Lowering tax rates on capital gains, which is how the rich > receive a large portion of their income, has given the wealthiest > Americans close to a free ride. Monopolies and near monopolies have > always been a source of economic powerfrom John D. Rockefeller at the > beginning of the last century to Bill Gates at the end. Lax > enforcement of anti-trust laws, especially during Republican > administrations, has been a godsend to the top 1 percent. Much of > todays inequality is due to manipulation of the financial system, > enabled by changes in the rules that have been bought and paid for by > the financial industry itselfone of its best investments ever. The > government lent money to financial institutions at close to 0 percent > interest and provided generous bailouts on favorable terms when all > else failed. Regulators turned a blind eye to a lack of transparency > and to conflicts of interest. > When you look at the sheer volume of wealth controlled by the top 1 > percent in this country, its tempting to see our growing inequality > as a quintessentially American achievementwe started way behind the > pack, but now were doing inequality on a world-class level. And it > looks as if well be building on this achievement for years to come, > because what made it possible is self-reinforcing. Wealth begets > power, which begets more wealth. During the savings-and-loan scandal > of the 1980sa scandal whose dimensions, by todays standards, seem > almost quaintthe banker Charles Keating was asked by a congressional > committee whether the $1.5 million he had spread among a few key > elected officials could actually buy influence. I certainly hope so, > he replied. The Supreme Court, in its recent /Citizens United/ case, > has enshrined the right of corporations to buy government, by removing > limitations on campaign spending. The personal and the political are > today in perfect alignment. Virtually all U.S. senators, and most of > the representatives in the House, are members of the top 1 percent > when they arrive, are kept in office by money from the top 1 percent, > and know that if they serve the top 1 percent well they will be > rewarded by the top 1 percent when they leave office. By and large, > the key executive-branch policymakers on trade and economic policy > also come from the top 1 percent. When pharmaceutical companies > receive a trillion-dollar giftthrough legislation prohibiting the > government, the largest buyer of drugs, from bargaining over priceit > should not come as cause for wonder. It should not make jaws drop that > a tax bill cannot emerge from Congress unless big tax cuts are put in > place for the wealthy. Given the power of the top 1 percent, this is > the way you would /expect/ the system to work. > Americas inequality distorts our society in every conceivable way. > There is, for one thing, a well-documented lifestyle effectpeople > outside the top 1 percent increasingly live beyond their means. > Trickle-down economics may be a chimera, but trickle-down behaviorism > is very real. Inequality massively distorts our foreign policy. The > top 1 percent rarely serve in the militarythe reality is that the > all-volunteer army does not pay enough to attract their sons and > daughters, and patriotism goes only so far. Plus, the wealthiest class > feels no pinch from higher taxes when the nation goes to war: borrowed > money will pay for all that. Foreign policy, by definition, is about > the balancing of national interests and national resources. With the > top 1 percent in charge, and paying no price, the notion of balance > and restraint goes out the window. There is no limit to the adventures > we can undertake; corporations and contractors stand only to gain. The > rules of economic globalization are likewise designed to benefit the > rich: they encourage competition among countries for /business,/ which > drives down taxes on corporations, weakens health and environmental > protections, and undermines what used to be viewed as the core labor > rights, which include the right to collective bargaining. Imagine what > the world might look like if the rules were designed instead to > encourage competition among countries for /workers./ Governments would > compete in providing economic security, low taxes on ordinary wage > earners, good education, and a clean environmentthings workers care > about. But the top 1 percent dont need to care. > Or, more accurately, they think they dont. Of all the costs imposed > on our society by the top 1 percent, perhaps the greatest is this: the > erosion of our sense of identity, in which fair play, equality of > opportunity, and a sense of community are so important. America has > long prided itself on being a fair society, where everyone has an > equal chance of getting ahead, but the statistics suggest otherwise: > the chances of a poor citizen, or even a middle-class citizen, making > it to the top in America are smaller than in many countries of Europe. > The cards are stacked against them. It is this sense of an unjust > system without opportunity that has given rise to the conflagrations > in the Middle East: rising food prices and growing and persistent > youth unemployment simply served as kindling. With youth unemployment > in America at around 20 percent (and in some locations, and among some > socio-demographic groups, at twice that); with one out of six > Americans desiring a full-time job not able to get one; with one out > of seven Americans on food stamps (and about the same number suffering > from food insecurity)given all this, there is ample evidence that > something has blocked the vaunted trickling down from the top 1 > percent to everyone else. All of this is having the predictable effect > of creating alienationvoter turnout among those in their 20s in the > last election stood at 21 percent, comparable to the unemployment rate. > In recent weeks we have watched people taking to the streets by the > millions to protest political, economic, and social conditions in the > oppressive societies they inhabit. Governments have been toppled in > Egypt and Tunisia. Protests have erupted in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain. > The ruling families elsewhere in the region look on nervously from > their air-conditioned penthouseswill they be next? They are right to > worry. These are societies where a minuscule fraction of the > populationless than 1 percentcontrols the lions share of the > wealth; where wealth is a main determinant of power; where entrenched > corruption of one sort or another is a way of life; and where the > wealthiest often stand actively in the way of policies that would > improve life for people in general. > As we gaze out at the popular fervor in the streets, one question to > ask ourselves is this: When will it come to America? In important > ways, our own country has become like one of these distant, troubled > places. > Alexis de Tocqueville once described what he saw as a chief part of > the peculiar genius of American societysomething he called > self-interest properly understood. The last two words were the key. > Everyone possesses self-interest in a narrow sense: I want whats good > for me right now! Self-interest properly understood is different. It > means appreciating that paying attention to everyone elses > self-interestin other words, the common welfareis in fact a > precondition for ones own ultimate well-being. Tocqueville was not > suggesting that there was anything noble or idealistic about this > outlookin fact, he was suggesting the opposite. It was a mark of > American pragmatism. Those canny Americans understood a basic fact: > looking out for the other guy isnt just good for the soulits good > for business. > The top 1 percent have the best houses, the best educations, the best > doctors, and the best lifestyles, but there is one thing that money > doesnt seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound > up with how the other 99 percent live. Throughout history, this is > something that the top 1 percent eventually do learn. Too late. > > > "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything" > Alexander Hamilton [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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