THE ECONOMY -- NOT SO HARD TO FIX

The Federal Reserve -- helping to screw up the economy since 1913

There is a very old trick in politics and academia that we should all be aware of.

It's the trick of making things sound far more complicated than they really are. When pols or academics do this, they're kind of saying: "See, this is very complicated. Only WE can handle it. You ordinary people just take it easy and leave it all to us."

Well I'm here to tell you that most of the time this is a load of bull.

Most fields of inquiry can be distilled to simple explanations. How the hell would anyone ever learn a discipline if they had to begin at the advanced level?

Economists are NOTORIOUS for this. And yet, like weathermen and consultants, they can spout a lot of fancy talk, be completely wrong, and still get paid. Try doing that in YOUR job.

So, as a non-economist, with a vested interest in the economy -- just like you -- let me give you my version of what's going on in the United States in terms of our money.

I see it this way:

If a system isn't working to the advantage of the majority, all the tinkering and talk in the world won't fix it. You need a new system.

Now, I'm not here to advocate one system or the other. My understanding is that we have rarely had an economic system be left to operate uncorrupted by greed and elitism: be it communism, capitalism, socialism or anything else you can name. There are some inspiring exceptions. I'll talk about them next time.

I DO believe we need a new type of economic system. But in this blog post let me just take us the first step and address what we already have: We do not have real capitalism. There is not fair and open competition, free markets, or survival of the fittest.

For example, corporations privatize their profits (capitalism) but often socialize their losses (as when taxes from the people are used to bail them out). So forget about this being a capitalist system. It has some semblance of that, but it has taken the worst aspect of capitalism -- a lack of fairness and compassion -- and run with it.

What do I suggest? This:

1/ Don't listen too hard and long to the boss of the Reserve or Obama or the Secretary of the Treasury. They talk nonsense and are in the pockets of people who don't give a damn about you or me.

2/ Slash unproductive, cynical spending like the enormous military budget and corporate tax breaks, and redirect those billions into public works, social services, helping the poor, ramping up education, bolstering (not plundering) social security, and instituting universal health care. That kind of good stuff. And guess what: Unemployment will plummet -- although some rich folks might have a few less mill each year. It's just common sense (and we haven't used terms like "stagflation" or "commodities" or "fiscal policy" or "supply-side economics" to confuse the issue).

3/ Get money out of politics. It's corrupting the system, keeping honest people out of Washington, and, well, wasting money.

4/ Make your voice heard. I say this time and time again. And if we do it, in numbers, the politicians will have to listen. It works on single issues with single politicians; and that's the way to work up to broader change.

We don't need a "stimulus package." We need a reallocation of resources (i.e. our taxes). Sure, there's a lot more that can be done, but that's a big step in the right direction.

And remember, that's just mending the capitalist model which isn't all that great to begin with.

At the base level of our economy are some basic truths. One of them is that we have a very unfair system. The second is that it can be made fairer and more efficient if we cut the leeches out of the picture.

Those who benefit from a system, however corrupt, will tend to defend that system.

And one of their best defenses is a lot of complicated talk that confuses the hell out of us.

Let's call them on it.

Take care,
Adrian Zupp
FOOTNOTE, NOV. 13 I just read that Obama is "offerin" to spend $4.1 billion on the U.S. nuke arsenal. That's a lot of jobs to you and me.
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FDR's SECOND BILL OF RIGHTS

Of all the cliches, the one I'm tiredest of hearing is: "You're lucky to have a job!"

I understand what people are getting at and I know their heart is in the right place. But their thinking is not.

To me, telling someone they are lucky enough to be able to earn a living ranks up there with telling them they're lucky they can walk down the street unmolested. Aren't these things simple human rights?

Let's face it: When you sell your labor to someone, that someone is profiting from it. Otherwise they wouldn't buy it. They aren't doing you a favor, they're doing themselves a favor.

Don't we all have the right to eat and have a roof over our heads? Isn't society structured in such a way that, in general, you're supposed to go out and get these things for yourself? If that is true, obtaining the means to make it happen should be an avenue available to everyone.

What's more, there is NO REASON why that opportunity should not exist for all who want to avail themselves of it. If there are production and service needs, and there are (we're currently sucking at: schools, hospitals, universal health care, roads, untainted food, alternative energy, inner city recreation facilities, diverse and meaningful mass media, etc), then employment should be going up. The problem is not that there's no work, the problem is that we have an economy that is based on things other than the basic needs of the citizenry.

Things like greed.

The figures on wealth distribution vary a little but no serious analyst argues that it's anything but top heavy. My source here is Prof. G. William Domhoff from the sociology department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Here's what he says:

"In the United States, wealth is highly concentrated in a relatively few hands. As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one's home), the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 42.7%."

Furthermore, we are so brainwashed into being a titanic consumer society that our economy has become heavily weighted on providing things people want (and have been trained to want) rather than the things we all really need. Like top drawer education for all, no questions asked.

Phony capitalism (we DO NOT have real capitalism) is smoke and mirrors. Advertising and PR and propaganda. You need this pill, that outfit, the car that can go from zero to 60 in the blink of an eye. (I always wonder about those car ads: Why do we need super powerful cars capable of immense speeds when we have speed limits and, well, lots of people dying on the roads. I'm not sure if that's a legal issue, a moral one, or both. Probably both.)

My point remains: Work is a basic human right. A real economy based on need and altruism requires lots of labor. And every individual should be considered equally important in their desire to provide for themselves and their loved ones. It SHOULD NOT be a given that CEOs and other deadbeats who know how to swim with the sharks get most of the goodies and then, when any of us furrows our brow, tell us that we're lucky to have a job.

And so it was with some satisfaction that I saw in Michael Moore's excellent documentary "Capitalism: A Love Story" that President Franklin D. Roosevelt [pictured above] actually came up with a Second Bill of Rights that expressed exactly what I'm talking about here. This is FDR's list (and no, it has never been officially brought into law, let alone christened as an actual Second Bill of Rights):


"FDR’s Second Bill of Rights/Economic Bill of Rights

Excerpt from President Roosevelt’s January 11, 1944 message to the Congress of the United States on the State of the Union:

It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

* The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
* The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
* The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
* The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
* The right of every family to a decent home;
* The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
* The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
* And finally, the right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being. America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens. For unless there is security here at home, there cannot be lasting peace in the world."

If you'd like to see a YouTube clip of FDR actually reading this, go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EZ5bx9AyI4

It's time we reasserted our rights as citizens and workers. You don't have to live life on your knees. Your rights and your value are as important as the richest of the rich -- many of whom, in their infinite "superiority," have recently been setting fire to our taxes on Wall Street.

Just remember this: You have rights, but it's up to you to assert them. After that, luck has not one damn thing to do with it.

Take care,
Adrian Zupp

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WE MUST ATTACK IGNORANCE AT EVERY TURN

I just responded to someone else's blog post. I can't condemn them outright for their misguidance -- at least they took the time to post their thoughts. So I will assume they were sincere. If not, at least they got off their butt -- metaphorically speaking.

There are so many misconceptions and plain falsehoods that are passed off as truth.

This is why we must continually educate ourselves in the facts about what is going on in the world and then use those facts and our own energy to rebut those misconceptions and falsehoods.

Bit by bit we will break down the propaganda wall that so many have come to believe represents the truth.

And bit by bit, in doing so, we will build a new wall of truth that will keep out the lies and protect our efforts to make this a better world.

THIS IS THE BLOG I READ (Title: US Defense Spending Has Doubled In Past Decade)
(URL: http://digg.com/d31Qdnv)
(It had a chart of "defense" spending for the years 1940 to 2010. The figures allegedly come from government sources -- and they probably do.)

It read:
'Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil, the defense budget has risen steadily year after year. This year, we will spend twice as much as we spent before the attacks. Obviously we needed to step up our spending after the attacks, but the question is, how sustainable is this? Defense Secretary Robert Gates posed a question in a speech this weekend:

“Does the number of warships we have and are building really put America at risk when the U.S. battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined, 11 of which belong to allies and partners? Is it a dire threat that by 2020 the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China?”

His argument focuses not on cutting spending, but making sure that we are using the money more efficiently. When we spend more money than the rest of the world combined, you would think we could get the job done without steady increases every year. Read more about the speech Gates delivered here and here*.'

*"here" and "here" were hot links to the CNN and New York Times websites respectively. More on those monkeys another time.

THIS WAS MY RESPONSE:
There are no grounds whatsoever for the assertion that "we needed to step up our spending after the attacks [of 9/11]." The U.S. spends far too much on "defense" and has for decades. Stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Invasions of sovereign nations. Contracts for o-rings that cost a fortune, purchased to boost the coffers of corporations that have their hooks in Washington. As you have cited, it is a bloated budget that eclipses all other nations. Money that could go to the poor, infrastructure, education, universal health care... you name it. Improving those things would make this a much safer place to live. Think about it.

And what are we defending against? Where is the invasion? This is OFFENSE spending. And, yes, it is offensive.

Best wishes,
Adrian Zupp

Knocking down the propaganda wall doesn't take a huge intellect. Just common sense and the facts. But the cost of silence is a bleak future for our planet.

Take care,
Adrian Zupp