The Austerity Death-Trap | Truthout
Hamsters, please read this.
Hamster Prez
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Part 2: The Set Up
(ed. note: That was a really stupid title and I 've yet to come up with a new one. Sorry.)
The Republicans are convulsing over the "mobs" in the streets while comparing it to the mobs that co-opted them a few years back Now the Democrats have finally shown their strategy for usurping the momentum of OWS. Rachel Maddow had Barney Frank on the other night, a man that I admire but can't stand to listen to, and what he said was quite telling. While agreeing in general with the idea of the protests, he pointed out that demonstrating by itself did not create change. The only way to do that is to vote.
He made that point several times, and the next guest was an economist/paid talking head for MSNBC, and he supported Congressman's Frank assertion. The only way to fix the problems is to work within the system. And, co-incidentally, we happen to be the party most aligned with what you are demonstrating for, so you should probably vote for Democrats. Subtle and nuanced. Like a brick bat in the hands of Rush Limbaugh.
The problem for both sides is that, to this point at least, OWS is fronting the idea that the system is broken, and that those who are a part of that system are the problem. They are not, therefore, the solution. Yes, at some point the movement will have to become more politically active. The unfortunate truth here is that Mr. Frank is correct. Demonstrating is just that, and the only change it truly affects is the conversation we are having.
We all know that the system cannot/will not be fixed by those who currently run it. They lack incentive to make those changes, while desperately trying to hang on to the status quo. And they will spend whatever it takes to win it, then take it back from us as soon as they do. We will foot the bill for their political maneuvering. We always foot the bill.
I've asked this question here before: When you have it all, then what? The 400 richest used to be the 500, and before that the 1000 and before that the 10,000. The bottom hundred of the 400 are next, and they don't even realize it. And it won't be the people that take it away from them, it'll be the 300 above them. Then the 200. Hyperbolic? I don't know.
Like the health insurance industry before them, the corporate class cannot see that it is poisoning the apple that it's about to eat. I'm not an economist, but even I see that they are working on an unsustainable business model. Lay off workers here and hire them overseas for lower wages and costs to increase your bottom line. Fewer of your customers now have money to spend on the product that you're making cheaper, causing you to sell fewer. In essence, you've only broken even.
As corporations continue to hoard profits and as the banks continue to stash their cash and the Fed keeps handing them money, more and more have less and less and there is no way to sustain that model. When we can't buy anything, then what? What are you going to do with all that money? It' s become worthless. It's what I've been calling "Vampire Economics" because when you've taken the last drop of blood, that's pretty much it.
There is only one cure for the economy, and by extension the global problem as well. Jobs. Investment in jobs by both the public and private sectors. The bottom line is really this: We do not have to be in this mess. It's completely unnecessary and foolish. There's a simple truth here that needs to be said;
When the majority of the people have enough, they tend to keep to themselves. The majority of this country is content with enough. We don't really mind if some have a lot more money than us. We're okay with enough. Enough to pay for our housing, our food, our clothes, and sending the kids to college. And maybe an occasional night out. We really don't ask for much, just enough.
This works to the favor of the corporations and the politicians. See, we like to spend the money you give us. So much so that we'll spend our paychecks buying the stuff we sell for you. Or make for you. It's a pretty clean system of money laundering. You pay us to work for you, and we buy your stuff. And when the electorate is satisfied, it stops paying attention to politics and you guys can go back to normal and do nothing.
What we all, the majority with barely enough to not enough to nothing at all, know is that you cannot fix what's wrong. You are too entrenched in your greed and power to make the easy choices. It really is easy, too. Just decide that it's more important to save this country, and the rest of the world at the same time, than it is to hang on to your precious possessions and fake crowns.
I would also like an apology and an admission of guilt to the whole world. After all, it was our Wall Street and banks, with a complicit government, that crashed the world economy. It was them selling bogus securities to other governments with the promise that they were good. They weren't, and now every major economy in the world is in crisis. Good job, fellas. I will not be here holding my breath, though.
Austerity does not work. It never has. The only solution is investment because deficits don't really matter. They really don't. Besides, the only way to get rid of them is to have a robust economy. And the only way to do that is to have a consumer-friendly economy. Give us some of the money back and we'll give it right back to you. Geez, if I know this, why don't you? They sure know it in Vegas.
Because the system is broken and because those who broke it are disinterested in fixing it, the OWS movement will have to become political. However, in tomorrow night's post I will put forth an old idea that I think is rightly timed and plausible. I think it's time we shook up the status quo just a little bit more.
Keep the wheel greased, Hamsters, and good night.
Hamster Prez
The Republicans are convulsing over the "mobs" in the streets while comparing it to the mobs that co-opted them a few years back Now the Democrats have finally shown their strategy for usurping the momentum of OWS. Rachel Maddow had Barney Frank on the other night, a man that I admire but can't stand to listen to, and what he said was quite telling. While agreeing in general with the idea of the protests, he pointed out that demonstrating by itself did not create change. The only way to do that is to vote.
He made that point several times, and the next guest was an economist/paid talking head for MSNBC, and he supported Congressman's Frank assertion. The only way to fix the problems is to work within the system. And, co-incidentally, we happen to be the party most aligned with what you are demonstrating for, so you should probably vote for Democrats. Subtle and nuanced. Like a brick bat in the hands of Rush Limbaugh.
The problem for both sides is that, to this point at least, OWS is fronting the idea that the system is broken, and that those who are a part of that system are the problem. They are not, therefore, the solution. Yes, at some point the movement will have to become more politically active. The unfortunate truth here is that Mr. Frank is correct. Demonstrating is just that, and the only change it truly affects is the conversation we are having.
We all know that the system cannot/will not be fixed by those who currently run it. They lack incentive to make those changes, while desperately trying to hang on to the status quo. And they will spend whatever it takes to win it, then take it back from us as soon as they do. We will foot the bill for their political maneuvering. We always foot the bill.
I've asked this question here before: When you have it all, then what? The 400 richest used to be the 500, and before that the 1000 and before that the 10,000. The bottom hundred of the 400 are next, and they don't even realize it. And it won't be the people that take it away from them, it'll be the 300 above them. Then the 200. Hyperbolic? I don't know.
Like the health insurance industry before them, the corporate class cannot see that it is poisoning the apple that it's about to eat. I'm not an economist, but even I see that they are working on an unsustainable business model. Lay off workers here and hire them overseas for lower wages and costs to increase your bottom line. Fewer of your customers now have money to spend on the product that you're making cheaper, causing you to sell fewer. In essence, you've only broken even.
As corporations continue to hoard profits and as the banks continue to stash their cash and the Fed keeps handing them money, more and more have less and less and there is no way to sustain that model. When we can't buy anything, then what? What are you going to do with all that money? It' s become worthless. It's what I've been calling "Vampire Economics" because when you've taken the last drop of blood, that's pretty much it.
There is only one cure for the economy, and by extension the global problem as well. Jobs. Investment in jobs by both the public and private sectors. The bottom line is really this: We do not have to be in this mess. It's completely unnecessary and foolish. There's a simple truth here that needs to be said;
When the majority of the people have enough, they tend to keep to themselves. The majority of this country is content with enough. We don't really mind if some have a lot more money than us. We're okay with enough. Enough to pay for our housing, our food, our clothes, and sending the kids to college. And maybe an occasional night out. We really don't ask for much, just enough.
This works to the favor of the corporations and the politicians. See, we like to spend the money you give us. So much so that we'll spend our paychecks buying the stuff we sell for you. Or make for you. It's a pretty clean system of money laundering. You pay us to work for you, and we buy your stuff. And when the electorate is satisfied, it stops paying attention to politics and you guys can go back to normal and do nothing.
What we all, the majority with barely enough to not enough to nothing at all, know is that you cannot fix what's wrong. You are too entrenched in your greed and power to make the easy choices. It really is easy, too. Just decide that it's more important to save this country, and the rest of the world at the same time, than it is to hang on to your precious possessions and fake crowns.
I would also like an apology and an admission of guilt to the whole world. After all, it was our Wall Street and banks, with a complicit government, that crashed the world economy. It was them selling bogus securities to other governments with the promise that they were good. They weren't, and now every major economy in the world is in crisis. Good job, fellas. I will not be here holding my breath, though.
Austerity does not work. It never has. The only solution is investment because deficits don't really matter. They really don't. Besides, the only way to get rid of them is to have a robust economy. And the only way to do that is to have a consumer-friendly economy. Give us some of the money back and we'll give it right back to you. Geez, if I know this, why don't you? They sure know it in Vegas.
Because the system is broken and because those who broke it are disinterested in fixing it, the OWS movement will have to become political. However, in tomorrow night's post I will put forth an old idea that I think is rightly timed and plausible. I think it's time we shook up the status quo just a little bit more.
Keep the wheel greased, Hamsters, and good night.
Hamster Prez
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
It's Our Party and We'll Try If We Want To...Part 1
The Democrats are desperate to make OWS their Tea Party moment(um). Barney Frank and some of the hired pundits at MSNBC have been trying to co-opt the movement by suggesting that demonstrating alone is not enough and that the occupy movement has to join the political process to be effective. While true, the OWS folks are not interested in the current political options, as evidenced by this piece provided to us by our SoOC correspondent, Sir William of Orange (more on that moniker after the post). Paragraph 4 is of particular importance.
Occupy Wall Street excerpt from article.. author below.
The Occupy movement operates similarly, with each locale establishing its own set of organizational practices. Locales, and the virtual Occupy communities in cyberspace, are federated according to a simple yet powerful point of unity: “The one thing we all have in common is that we are the 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%”—an obvious reference to the well-known, yet still appalling, statistic that the top 1 percent of households in the United States own somewhere between 30 to 40 percent of all privately held wealth. And counting.
Occupy Wall Street’s organizational presence is the New York General Assembly or “GA,” which convenes numbers in the high hundreds at its squat-site in Zuccotti Park. Daily GA meetings are led by facilitators who rotate on a regular basis, and facilitation training is open to all. Specific issues, such as food, medical, legal, outreach, security and others are handled by working groups—also open and inclusive—that periodically report back to the GA. Instead of issuing top-down directives, Occupy groups use a consensus process in which anyone can join in the decision-making and propose an idea. Proposers must field questions, justify the hows and whys of their ideas, and engage a large-scale group discussion. Votes are then cast via an innovative system of hand signals, and proposals are revised until a nine-tenths majority approves.
Of course, all this requires a degree of good faith. Embedded in consensus process is an ethical assumption that decision-making is not a competition: It is not about converting other people to one’s way of thinking. It is about compromise. For every person involved, there is a new viewpoint to consider. This can get messy, but efficiency is not the measuring stick of success here. Democracy is.
Similar to the feminist and alter-globalization movements, these groups want to avoid replicating the authoritarian structures of the institutions they are opposing. This is part of what differentiates them from the Tea Party. Occupy will never become an arm of the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party is part of the problem. These protesters want to prefigure within their own organization the free society they seek to create. And they want to demonstrate against the corrupt and hypocritical culture in mainstream politics and Wall Street—by operating with integrity.
The Occupy movement is a laboratory for participatory democracy. It’s a massive crash course in leadership training. Most of these activists have a particular issue, problem or political idea that is meaningful to them, on which they have developed an expert knowledge. Occupy is both a concrete and virtual space for connecting these issues and expertise without any one position or issue taking precedence. This movement is not mired in the competitive mindset of “my issue is more important than yours” that appears to be stymieing Congress as the country slowly crumbles.
Implicit in this structure is also a rejection of the narcissistic, “I know what’s good for you” form of leadership, now pervasive in this country, in which lawmakers fail to consider the needs and desires of the people they claim to represent. The failure of representative democracy in the United States is perhaps one of the most serious problems of our time, and the Occupy movement is a symptom of this crisis of legitimacy. The people no longer trust their leaders and are even starting to indict the system itself. They think we can do better. We are all leaders.
Heather Gautney, PhD, is an assistant professor of sociology at Fordham University and author of Protest and Organization in the Alternative Globalization Era (Palgrave Macmillan).
This will segue into my post later tonight about what to do next. Sir William of Orange is neither from Orange or is he John Boehner. The nickname was given to him by my mother because of his love of the oranges from her tree. Really.
Hamster Prez
An Uncomfortable Realization
I just noticed the following rather disturbing thing. At this moment, I am wearing a baseball cap (China), a long-sleeve T-shirt (Pakistan), a comfortable pair of lounge pants (Vietnam), a pair of socks (Unknown, but likely foreign), and tennis shoes (China again). Head to toe, not a single American made article of clothing.
Apparently I am the only thing in this chair that was actually made in America.
Hamster Prez
Apparently I am the only thing in this chair that was actually made in America.
Hamster Prez
Changing the Paradigm...Again
Ok, so I've promised a blog about the perfect progressive candidate but have since changed my mind about posting it. Instead, starting tonight, I will be writing about something similar but different. I'm going to take the argument to the next, most logical, conclusion. And on this topic, I really hope to stir up some responses from you.
An apology: I just realized that a link that was sent to me was accidentally posted to the blog (twice!), which has since been deleted. It was deleted not because of any reason beyond that I wanted to comment on it when I posted it. It is coming back, but with comments added.
A note about posts: There will be gaps in the posts as I have discovered that writing at work is impossible and unethical. My boss is not paying me to write this blog, and so there will be very few to no posts on the weekends. Since I work 12 hour shifts, it's pretty unlikely that I will use my free 12 hours between shifts to compose posts.
Another PBS Moment: It's pledge week here at HP, and I once again ask you to get the word out about our little blog that could. Please tell your friends, family, co-workers, strangers on the train, whomever about the blog and ask them (and yourselves) to please become followers. That's how traffic is tracked and that's how numbers are created. Being a reader is great, and I appreciate it. Being a follower is better and gives all more internet exposure. So, again Please, like us on Facebook, Twitter, whatever and let's build something together.
Thanks, and more later including a Special Report from our SoOC correspondent Sir William of Orange. All that and more tonight.
Hamster Prez
An apology: I just realized that a link that was sent to me was accidentally posted to the blog (twice!), which has since been deleted. It was deleted not because of any reason beyond that I wanted to comment on it when I posted it. It is coming back, but with comments added.
A note about posts: There will be gaps in the posts as I have discovered that writing at work is impossible and unethical. My boss is not paying me to write this blog, and so there will be very few to no posts on the weekends. Since I work 12 hour shifts, it's pretty unlikely that I will use my free 12 hours between shifts to compose posts.
Another PBS Moment: It's pledge week here at HP, and I once again ask you to get the word out about our little blog that could. Please tell your friends, family, co-workers, strangers on the train, whomever about the blog and ask them (and yourselves) to please become followers. That's how traffic is tracked and that's how numbers are created. Being a reader is great, and I appreciate it. Being a follower is better and gives all more internet exposure. So, again Please, like us on Facebook, Twitter, whatever and let's build something together.
Thanks, and more later including a Special Report from our SoOC correspondent Sir William of Orange. All that and more tonight.
Hamster Prez
Saturday, October 15, 2011
OWS Worldwide: Apparently some didn't get the memo
Either some protestors around the planet didn't get the memo that this is a peaceful and non-violent protest, or those people are a lot more pissed off than we are. Either way, it's a shame that it had to be ugly in some places (especially Rome, apparently). Almost all of the others seem to have been along the same lines as ours here.
More updates as they become available or I have time (working tonight).
HP
More updates as they become available or I have time (working tonight).
HP
Posting Etiquette Learned...
I'm a pretty low-tech guy. I don't have a smart phone of blackberry or even a phone that does emails. But it just occurred to me after I posted last night that some of you may have one and it may just alert you when you have an email and I really don't want anyone getting upset because I'm waking them up in the middle of the night with my blathering.
So, beginning with this post, I will only post during the day regardless of what time I write the post. I do my best work at night, you see. So, sorry if I'm a little late for some of you.
HP
So, beginning with this post, I will only post during the day regardless of what time I write the post. I do my best work at night, you see. So, sorry if I'm a little late for some of you.
HP
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