The overturn of the SCOTUS decision in the Citizens United is a must. By allowing corporations as “individuals” to contributed unlimited amounts to political campaigns, the system is now skewed to the wealth such that politicians must go begging seeking these funds to run their campaigns. Disgusting. Witness DJ Trump soliciting contributions from Big Oil and promising them access to Federal Lands and elimination or altering environmental rules to favor them. Absolutely disgusting.
"Individuals" that are immortal, amoral, and without any personal responsibility whatsoever. As the clever sign designed to represent the TX state flag says:
{I'll Believe Corporations Are People When Texas Executes One.}
Elizabeth Warren should be Attorney General in the next administration. That would give the gougers something to really fret about. But don't worry, Massachusetts won't go back! (wards).
Yep, right on once again, Jim. Keep on keepin' on, and let's get ready to celebrate Nov. 5 - and then REALLY hold Harris and all our other elected employees ON TASK for real Democracy, at long last.
The s. Carolina price gouging law is in effect the republican legislators see a need for gouging laws. Price gouging pays a lot of campaign donations so our elected officials probably won't do much. We could pay off the national debt with what gets spent on campaigns and lobbying
It is not odd. It just demonstrates exactly who our legislators are really working for. Let's see, they were elected to represent constituents, the took an oath to do that and they are being paid to do that.. Taking any $ or "gifts" from billionaires or corporations (i.e. selling themselves) and then doing what those billionaires want instead of serving those who elected them is fraud at the very least. It is betrayal of public trust (no wonder many folks don't trust govt). It is treason to their constituents and the American people
Whenever corporate economic systems use the word freedom it's about pecuniary freedom which is the focus of the government sanctioned money system that a corporation does to profit by harvesting and selling the natural resources. Life is in the way of the corporate machines.
Thanks for the suggestions of righteous organizations! I'll check them out. It's outrageous that this predatory econ system is making democracy a wholly owned subsidiary. The old Populists beat 'em back and a New Populism can do the same.
We need to understand the differences between capitalism and private enterprise. Private enterprise is the privately owned production of physically real goods and services. Including co-ops and worker owned businesses. Also barbershops, veterinary clinics, artists who sell their own works, corner grocery stores, the local bar and the band plying in it. People by means of their own effort providing services for local communities. We reformers should be clear we support them.
In contrast, capitalism is the privileging of that abstraction known as money. The dominant sector in the current system...and the real non-producers. They simply manipulate other people's money. Or get it from their banking and investment allies who through loans, conjure it out of thin air. Corporate CEOs, in reality not business "entrepreneurs" but revoltingly overpaid employees, are also allies. Their big thing is stock buybacks; once limited to 2% of corporate profits, now at 90% and more because of deregulation. Financed by mass layoffs, providing yet more $$$ going to the CEOs themselves and to insider big stock gamblers. Pure extraction while generating nothing. Econopathy at its most egregious.
Before the huge 1999 anti-WTO demonstrations known as the "Battle of Seattle," we held teach-ins at the U. of WA. A prof of biz econ asserted The Market (their deity) would solve environmental problems. In a desert, water is more valuable than diamonds, so water would be conserved. At the Q & A afterwards, I asked didn't that mean the situation had to deteriorate to desert conditions before The Market solution would work? He turned beet red and told me I didn't know what I was talking about.
On the ferry home, I ran into David Korten--Stanford PhD and former Harvard biz school prof become alt economist--who said that's how you know you've got 'em.
Point is the current econopathy is based on nothing but a flimsy belief system. Diamonds (or gold) aren't edible, either.
So let's get Equitrans to give the Mountain Valley Pipeline back to Counties and States that it crosses and turn it into a utilities trunk line for remote mountain estates instead of the gas sucking dragon that Equitrans incurred so much public debt to build it
The abuses of Big Ag, which are in large responsible for this price gouging on food, should be called out. And they are guilty of other abuses as well: I have not bought a Smithfield product (abusing their community for years--ask the folks in Carolina), Hormel (abuse their workers on a regular basis), and many others. In the same way I would not buy a pin from Hobby Lobby or eat a Chick-Fil-A sandwich (we know them!), I choose to protest with my wallet. It would be great to have someone in power doing the same on a national level. Go, Kamala!
Jim, I was hoping you could give us more information about how the government subsidizes "big name supermarket chains, meatpacking factories, dollar stores, and other giants."
The life blood of politics is money. i think it can cost $50,000,000 to run for Senator or Governor in some States. So the politicians mostly write the laws the klepto-crats pay them to write. Hard to do much about it. As old Strom Thurmond put it, "it's mighty hard to get a hog to butcher hisself". Trump calls Biden and Harris communists. They aren't really communists , although i definitely see some Mao-ist leanings in the D party. ( The D passion for Political Correctness and disarming the people.) I Sometimes wish they'd channel their inner Lenins, and execute all the Fascists , klepto-crats and white-nationalists. White supremacists, whatever.
Might be that they couldn't get much thru the Rethuglican congress. Personally i think he should had the MAGA scum who voted to overthrow the election, shot for treason. Only thing a Fascist understands.
I think Biden is old and slow and devoted to Playing By The Rules even when the enemy doesn't. And remember he was a a tool of Big Money for his entire 36 years in the Senate, and certainly no opponent of them as VP. he's rich and powerful- probably sees Wall Street and the corporate oligarchs as his kind of people, even if he is occasionally on the other side of some bill.
The overturn of the SCOTUS decision in the Citizens United is a must. By allowing corporations as “individuals” to contributed unlimited amounts to political campaigns, the system is now skewed to the wealth such that politicians must go begging seeking these funds to run their campaigns. Disgusting. Witness DJ Trump soliciting contributions from Big Oil and promising them access to Federal Lands and elimination or altering environmental rules to favor them. Absolutely disgusting.
"Individuals" that are immortal, amoral, and without any personal responsibility whatsoever. As the clever sign designed to represent the TX state flag says:
{I'll Believe Corporations Are People When Texas Executes One.}
Truly sickening
Elizabeth Warren should be Attorney General in the next administration. That would give the gougers something to really fret about. But don't worry, Massachusetts won't go back! (wards).
Gouging is both widespread and a major detriment to the country.
Yep, right on once again, Jim. Keep on keepin' on, and let's get ready to celebrate Nov. 5 - and then REALLY hold Harris and all our other elected employees ON TASK for real Democracy, at long last.
The s. Carolina price gouging law is in effect the republican legislators see a need for gouging laws. Price gouging pays a lot of campaign donations so our elected officials probably won't do much. We could pay off the national debt with what gets spent on campaigns and lobbying
It is not odd. It just demonstrates exactly who our legislators are really working for. Let's see, they were elected to represent constituents, the took an oath to do that and they are being paid to do that.. Taking any $ or "gifts" from billionaires or corporations (i.e. selling themselves) and then doing what those billionaires want instead of serving those who elected them is fraud at the very least. It is betrayal of public trust (no wonder many folks don't trust govt). It is treason to their constituents and the American people
So now we know that corporate lobbyists are
ALL IN for price gouging the consumers....as are their corporate bosses.
Whenever corporate economic systems use the word freedom it's about pecuniary freedom which is the focus of the government sanctioned money system that a corporation does to profit by harvesting and selling the natural resources. Life is in the way of the corporate machines.
Thanks for the suggestions of righteous organizations! I'll check them out. It's outrageous that this predatory econ system is making democracy a wholly owned subsidiary. The old Populists beat 'em back and a New Populism can do the same.
We need to understand the differences between capitalism and private enterprise. Private enterprise is the privately owned production of physically real goods and services. Including co-ops and worker owned businesses. Also barbershops, veterinary clinics, artists who sell their own works, corner grocery stores, the local bar and the band plying in it. People by means of their own effort providing services for local communities. We reformers should be clear we support them.
In contrast, capitalism is the privileging of that abstraction known as money. The dominant sector in the current system...and the real non-producers. They simply manipulate other people's money. Or get it from their banking and investment allies who through loans, conjure it out of thin air. Corporate CEOs, in reality not business "entrepreneurs" but revoltingly overpaid employees, are also allies. Their big thing is stock buybacks; once limited to 2% of corporate profits, now at 90% and more because of deregulation. Financed by mass layoffs, providing yet more $$$ going to the CEOs themselves and to insider big stock gamblers. Pure extraction while generating nothing. Econopathy at its most egregious.
Money has no intrinsic value. You can't eat money. :-)
Before the huge 1999 anti-WTO demonstrations known as the "Battle of Seattle," we held teach-ins at the U. of WA. A prof of biz econ asserted The Market (their deity) would solve environmental problems. In a desert, water is more valuable than diamonds, so water would be conserved. At the Q & A afterwards, I asked didn't that mean the situation had to deteriorate to desert conditions before The Market solution would work? He turned beet red and told me I didn't know what I was talking about.
On the ferry home, I ran into David Korten--Stanford PhD and former Harvard biz school prof become alt economist--who said that's how you know you've got 'em.
Point is the current econopathy is based on nothing but a flimsy belief system. Diamonds (or gold) aren't edible, either.
Also check out Matt Stoller's BIG on Substack for really good antimonopoly analysis.
So let's get Equitrans to give the Mountain Valley Pipeline back to Counties and States that it crosses and turn it into a utilities trunk line for remote mountain estates instead of the gas sucking dragon that Equitrans incurred so much public debt to build it
And raising our utility bills yet again
The abuses of Big Ag, which are in large responsible for this price gouging on food, should be called out. And they are guilty of other abuses as well: I have not bought a Smithfield product (abusing their community for years--ask the folks in Carolina), Hormel (abuse their workers on a regular basis), and many others. In the same way I would not buy a pin from Hobby Lobby or eat a Chick-Fil-A sandwich (we know them!), I choose to protest with my wallet. It would be great to have someone in power doing the same on a national level. Go, Kamala!
Jim, I was hoping you could give us more information about how the government subsidizes "big name supermarket chains, meatpacking factories, dollar stores, and other giants."
The life blood of politics is money. i think it can cost $50,000,000 to run for Senator or Governor in some States. So the politicians mostly write the laws the klepto-crats pay them to write. Hard to do much about it. As old Strom Thurmond put it, "it's mighty hard to get a hog to butcher hisself". Trump calls Biden and Harris communists. They aren't really communists , although i definitely see some Mao-ist leanings in the D party. ( The D passion for Political Correctness and disarming the people.) I Sometimes wish they'd channel their inner Lenins, and execute all the Fascists , klepto-crats and white-nationalists. White supremacists, whatever.
And the Government creates the money by putting a price on the priceless. Beware of false profits!
Biden and Harris had a chance to enforce the laws but why didnt they?
Might be that they couldn't get much thru the Rethuglican congress. Personally i think he should had the MAGA scum who voted to overthrow the election, shot for treason. Only thing a Fascist understands.
I think Biden is old and slow and devoted to Playing By The Rules even when the enemy doesn't. And remember he was a a tool of Big Money for his entire 36 years in the Senate, and certainly no opponent of them as VP. he's rich and powerful- probably sees Wall Street and the corporate oligarchs as his kind of people, even if he is occasionally on the other side of some bill.