Capitalism
2/14/22
The second half of "Economic Update" by Richard Wolff
features a history lesson on 20
th century fascism.
Begin at 14:50
The Oligarchy continues to control the masses
through their strategy of "Divide and Conquer."
Humans MUST find a way to defeat that strategy
if we ever hope to escape 10,000 years of enslavement.
The odds don't seem to be in our favor.
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11/3/21
The 5 biggest publishers who control the industry may soon be reduced to ...
just 4
The Oligarchy is consolidating its power in every industry.
At this rate, it won't be long before they have complete control over civilization.
The 99% will, in effect ... be slaves.
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6/21/20
20% of Americans are out of work.
Airline travel is down 95%.
Production has ground to a near halt, and yet during all of this,
the stock market has rebounded from under 20,000 up to about 24,000.
That proves that the Stock Market does not reflect the actual economy.
The Stock Market is a casino where the rich wager their profits
in hopes of making fortunes without doing any work or producing anything.
More proof?
The drop from 30,000 to under 20,000
happened before the economy shut down.
84% of ALL stock is owned by the wealthiest 10% of Americans.
The stock market does not tell you how the economy is doing ...
it tells you how the rich are doing
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6/30/13
Milton Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics for his "Trickle-Down" theory.
History has proven that his theory was a complete failure ...
for everyone except the rich
If it were up to me, I would have Friedman's remains exhumed,
pay to have someone pry that Nobel Prize from his skeletal fingers,
have it melted down, sold, and then send the proceeds to our veterans.
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11/6/91
Boris Yeltsin
Yeltsin dumped Socialism for Capitalism ... with disastrous results.
"
Yeltsin transformed Russia's socialist economy into a capitalist market economy,
implementing economic shock therapy, market exchange rate of the ruble,
nationwide privatization and lifting of price controls ...
However, due to the sudden total economic shift,
a majority of the national property and wealth
fell into the hands of a small number of oligarchs.
Rather than creating new enterprises,
Yeltsin's policies led to international monopolies hijacking the former Soviet markets,
arbitraging the huge difference between old domestic prices for Russian commodities
and the prices prevailing on the world market.
"
It's the same old story, repeated over and over, in which the rich and powerful
use unrestrained capitalism to strip the masses of their wealth.
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Socialism
7/18/22
In Sweden, just as it is in the rest of the world,
Socialism is being destroyed by the Oligarchs.
It's like watching a row of dominoes fall, one after the other.
Here is Richard Wolff's interview with
Swedish activist Eleanor Goldfield (begins at 14:48)
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3/12/16
Which states are the most Socialist?
(hint: it's not the blue (Democratic) states)
So how do Republicans convince people to vote against their own interests?
(if anyone figures it out ... please let me know).
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10/1/14
How expensive is German college tuition?
It's free
And the story is the same in many E.U. countries.
(and you don't even want to know about their health care)
In those two areas, education and health care,
America is 35th in literacy and 34th in life expectancy
despite being the richest nation on Earth.
I smell rats ... big ones
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Money
6/25/14
Would you like to learn how money is created?
Would you like to learn how Congress gets money from the Treasury?
Would you like to learn about exponential growth?
Well, if you invest the time to watch this video (56:25) ...
you won't be disappointed
There are 3 main categories of financial instruments:
1. Stocks (i.e., equities or shares)
2. Debt (i.e., bonds and mortgages)
3. Derivatives
Derivatives include such things as forwards, futures, options, swaps,
and variations of these such as
synthetic collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps.
Inflation must always be taken into account when discussing money:
U.S. historical inflation rate
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History
1/12/24
The Oligarchy has stormed back and erased almost 50 years of progress
since the New Deal began in 1933.
Here is an article which identifies a likely turning point ...
It was in 1978
2 years later, with the election of Ronald Reagan,
their coup was complete;
and the next 40+ years would be a nightmare
(for everyone except the rich and powerful).
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Economic Inequality
11/14/22
Who have the rich been preying upon
in order to reach such staggering levels of wealth?
Spoiler: the middle class (29:55)
Summary:
the top 1% own 33% (of everything)
the next 9% own 39%
so the top 10% own 72% of everything
the middle class (50-90%) own 26%
and the bottom HALF of America own ...
2%
Keep voting Republican, morons,
the rich sure do appreciate ... your support!
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5/2/21
Before the Civil War, slaves in America had to be sheltered and fed
in order to produce the profits for their masters.
150 years later, in 21
st century America (the richest nation on Earth)
huge numbers of American citizens do not even have those things.
Homelessness in America
Hunger in America
So how can America be the wealthiest nation on Earth
with so many homeless, hungry people?
Because the rich are doing better than ever.
Remember to keep voting Republican.
The rich sure do appreciate ...
your support!
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2/23/21
It's hard to imagine a place where economic inequality is any greater than in ...
Texas
And yet most Texans still vote Republican.
I don't feel bad for them.
But I do feel bad for all their fellow Texans
whom they take down with them.
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8/13/17
Question ...
"We have waited for "Trickle Down Economics" to trickle down for almost 40 years.
But be patient. The same people who brought you trickle down economics
are also the same people who, on a daily basis, bring you Jesus ...
and they've been waiting for Him for almost 2,000 years.
Any bets on which one will arrive first?"
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11/29/16
Wealth inequality is getting worse and worse
and the American people just turned over the entire American government
to the Conservatives who made it this way.
The next 4 years will likely be considered the greatest in America's history ...
for the rich
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10/22/15
The "Human Development Index" is a metric
composed of life expectancy, education, and income.
It is published yearly by the United Nations,
and is used to rank the world's nations.
The Human Development Index
I found it odd that America,
which ranks in the 30's in both life expectancy and education could come out #10.
The only explanation would be the superior economic condition of America.
When America's riches are added in, we moved almost to the top.
But that is very misleading.
If you continue reading the article
you come to the Human Development Index.
When the vast inequality of America is factored in,
we come in at number 19 ... barely beating out Slovakia.
For the richest nation on Earth ... that ain't too impressive
Here are two more relevant wiki articles
International Inequality
Worldwide Distribution Of Wealth
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The Poor
12/20/18
So what are some of the ways that the Trump administration is considering
to pay for their farm bailout (12 billion dollars)?
Cutting food stamps to jobless people
This was the funniest line from the article:
"
the 'plentiful' employment opportunities he says now exist."
Sure ... if you're willing to move to China or India.
And here's a line that exposes that blatant hypocrisy for what it is:
"
The executive proposal would circumvent a $870 billion farm bill
set to cross President Trump's desk this week,
legislation that contains no such change in work requirements."
They get paid "not to work" (plant)
and they just got a 12 billion-dollar taxpayer handout.
but they tend to vote Republican while most jobless people likely don't vote at all.
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4/25/18
Republicans continue to find ways to fund their tax giveaway to the rich ...
by taking it from the poor
I just love this part ...
"
The legislative proposal seeks to restore dignity and self-sufficiency to tenants ....”
If any one of you actually believe that the purpose of jacking up the rents of poor people
was for the purpose of restoring their dignity and self-sufficiency,
please leave this web site and never come back ...
You do not belong here
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3/9/18
Martin Shkreli
Martin Shkreli has been sentenced to 7 years in prison,
not because he jacked up the price of medicine so much
that many people who couldn't afford it, died ... that's perfectly legal;
but because he defrauded wealthy people, which was his real crime
In all the time that has elapsed since Shkreli jacked up the prices for life-saving drugs,
has Congress taken any action at all to save the lives of the poor who will die without them?
(Big Hint: They have better things to do - like eliminating taxes for the rich)
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2/6/14
The war being waged by the rich on the poor, the sick, the elderly,
and any other group that make up the weakest
and most vulnerable members of our society,
should turn your stomach.
If it doesn't, it's probably because you are either a Conservative or ...
just a heartless bastard
Most interestingly, the biggest supporters of the rich are ...
Evangelical Christians
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Jobs
1/5/20
Corporations make workers train their foreign replacements ...
before firing them (5:25)
This quote comes from Laurence Fishburne's character "Morpheus"
in the movie The Matrix ...
"
The Matrix is a system neo, this system is our enemy.
But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see?
Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters.
The very minds of the people we are trying to save.
But until we do, these people are still a part of that system
and that makes them our enemy.
You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged.
And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system,
that they will fight to protect it."
Yeah. That describes the tens of millions of brainwashed conservative voters ...
perfectly
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3/23/18
Trump played the hicks of rubes of small town America
by promising them lots and lots of jobs.
What Trump didn't tell them was that ...
many of those jobs would be going to cheap foreign imported laborers
Aren't the rubes precious?
They imagine themselves to be so smart,
while reality blows blissfully by them ...
without them even noticing
UPDATE - 4/28/18
Trump tries to soften the blow for the morons
I just loved the part about the
lackluster applause.
A few of the brighter morons probably turned to the others and said ...
"
Are we supposed to clap? "
That reminds me of the time when Trump said to a crowd of supporters
that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue ... and not lose a vote.
They cheered that, not realizing how badly he had just insulted them ...
right to their faces
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1/25/16
Here's yet another tactic that the big corporations have been using
to increase profits for shareholders, while destoying American lives.
H-1B visas
This began in 1990 under president Bush Sr. (you know - the smart Bush).
So not only do the rich ship millions of American jobs overseas
but they import cheap labor to take our remaining jobs.
Keep voting Republican ... the rich sure do appreciate your support!
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12/9/15
How many jobs has Wal-Mart outsourced to China?
About a half million ... and they're just gettin' started
Keep voting Republican and Make America Great Again!
Just a thought:
I wonder why Oligarchs (like the Waltons)
take away hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs from American Christians
and give them to Communist Buddhists thousands of miles away?
Comically (or tragically, depending on your point of view)
Conservative American Christians are the biggest supporters
of the very people who are stripping them of their wealth and livelihood.
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5/17/12
This rich dude tells you who the real "job creators" are ...
and was rewarded by T.E.D. by having this video banned.
It's extremely disappointing that an organization like T.E.D.
would jeopardize their reputation by backing down from political controversy.
Thankfully, it's gotten almost 3 million views - so the word is getting out.
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Wages
1/29/23
Oligarchs in France are raising the retirement age from 62 to ...
64
This is going on around the globe.
In fact, it is much higher in many other countries.
The "Big Boys" (oligarchs) need you to work until you drop dead
and then they can keep all your retirement contributions.
It drives them crazy when they are forced to watch you
collect a pension that you worked a lifetime creating.
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12/27/18
Defying conservative critics, the Seattle economy is booming ...
after raising the minimum wage to $15 (4:46)
This did not come as a surprise to anyone who has ever opened a history book.
We've already seen how the economy performs when the minimum wage is way higher.
Since those conservatives must have known this (access to the same history books)
the only logical conclusion that can be drawn is that ...
they are lying for the rich
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10/24/17
Why wages aren't growing despite increased productivity
Wages have risen 0.2% per year over the last 45 years.
Inflation has averaged about 4% per year during that same period.
Most Americans don't realize that the rich have been cutting their pay drastically
while reaping the benefits of increased productivity and record-setting profits.
You are being hosed America ... and yet you keep reelecting the wolves.
To quote our current president (the top wolf) ...
#SAD
Now here is a quote from a truly great thinker (Cicero)
A man who was WAY ahead of his time:
"
A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious.
But it cannot survive treason from within.
An enemy at the gates is less formidable,
for he is known and carries his banner openly.
But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely,
his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys,
heard in the very halls of government itself.
For the traitor appears not a traitor;
he speaks in accents familiar to his victims,
and he wears their face and their arguments,
he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.
He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night
to undermine the pillars of the city,
he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist.
A murderer is less to fear.
"
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5/2/17
Republicans pass a bill allowing employers to decide ...
whether to pay overtime or give time off
Republicans - pimping exclusively for the rich since 1980
From our second president, John Adams:
"
Government is instituted for the common good;
for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people;
and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men; "
My, my ... how times have changed
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2/16/15
Why are people paid so poorly in America?
Redistribution
Conservatives have no problems with redistribution
as long as it goes where they want it to go.
Where do they want government handouts to go?
To Churches, the Military, Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Corporations,
Wall Street, Big Banks, and lots and lots of tax breaks for rich dudes.
They are only against redistribution
when it is earmarked for the poor, the sick, or the elderly.
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11/6/13
The depressing economic situation for U.S. workers
I took away something different from this story.
Think about what those two lines represented.
The red line was the average income
while the blue line represented the median.
Let's say you have 11 people: 1 ceo and 10 employees.
The ceo earns 1 million dollars per year.
Each employee earns $20,000 per year.
What is the average?
$1,200,000 / 11 = $109,091 per person.
They are living large, huh?
What is the median?
To find the median,
you locate the middle person and use their salary.
Employee #6 earns $20,000 per year,
therefore that is the median.
Not living so large now, are they?
The average is high because it is disproportionately affected by the rich.
It is the median that most people live on.
The America that existed after WW2, up until about 1980,
was famous the world over for its large middle class; everyone prospered.
The "average" and the "median" were much closer together.
Since around 1980 America has been on a downward spiral.
Our society now has one of the greatest disparities between rich and poor,
of any industrialized nation on Earth.
Our middle class is disappearing fast.
Very few are moving up ... most are moving down.
That graph illustrates a sick, sick country.
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Taxes
5/17/23
Republicans ALWAYS fight against the people
in order to protect the profits of the "Big Boys."
This time they are fighting against free tax filing ...
as found in dozens of nations
If you buy into the Republican lie
that taxpayers will lose millions of dollars
by having their taxes done free by the government,
then it's a safe bet that
you have your remote tuned to Fox "News" 24/7.
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11/1/20
Surprise ... remember those tax cuts that Trump and Republicans gave you in 2017?
Well, it's time to pay up
No, not you rich people - you can keep your cuts ...
just you poor and middle class people.
UPDATE 11/7/20
Going into more detail (4:11)
If Democrats fail to take the Senate in 2020
then non-rich Americans are simply screwed ...
for at least another 2 years
It's really is mind-boggling how easy it is for Republicans
to get conservatives to castrate themselves ... and never figure it out.
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8/17/19
The amount that Trump's tax gift to the rich in 12/17
cost the rest of us Americans ...
almost exactly equals what the rich gained from it.
What a co-inky-dink (5:01)
You've been scammed Americans.
But what is really embarrassing
is that he did it right in front of your faces;
and what is even MORE embarrassing
is that half of you still won't admit it.
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1/10/18
California Governor Jerry Brown
California Governor Jerry Brown inherited a $27 billion deficit in 2011.
He raised taxes, and in 2018, he will leave California ... with a $6 billion surplus.
Oligarchs and Republicans are going into overdrive trying to figure out how to spin this one.
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10/10/17
Robert Reich explains the dismal history of ...
Trickle-Down economics (3:06)
It doesn't trickle down folks: never has ... never will.
Yet Conservatives continue to fall for the lie no matter how long it fails.
They believe that someday, the rich will grow a conscience and share with them.
I would put my money on the return of Jesus ... before that happens.
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5/8/17
The Republicans are NOT working on tax "reform."
They are working on a massive transfer of wealth
from the pockets of most Americans
into the off-shore bank accounts of the ultra-rich.
THIS ... would be tax reform
Every time America is compared to other advanced nations (in any category)
we come out looking like a pair of jeans that just got pulled from a wood chipper.
(However, there are 2 exceptions: nobody does Guns & Bibles ... like we do)
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Social Security
10/4/18
Russians hiking retirement age
"
retirement age, formerly age 55 for women and 60 for men,
to age 60 and 65, respectively.
One might have even a bit of sympathy for Russian men, though,
whose life expectancy is a mere 66 years;
40% of men will not live to retirement age under the new law."
And THAT'S the point:
they want you to pay in your whole working life ... and then die.
Guess who gets to keep the money?
This is what Paul Ryan was working on for years
trying to raise the U.S. retirement age to 70.
Just because he retired doesn't mean we are off the hook.
I can guarantee you that Republicans still salivate over the idea.
UPDATE - 12/31/18
They did it
This is happening all over the world.
The retirement age in China is currently 60 for men
and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers.
By 2038 there will be an equal age for women and men set at 67.
The standard retirement age in Japan
throughout most of the postwar period was 55.
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