Before I begin, I've got two AMAZING speeches (as articles) in the article section PERFECTLY laying out how and why we got to this point - as in the right wing movement begun in the 70's that has brought us back to the Gilded Age. I speak of Noam Chomsky at OWS, and Bill Moyers at Public Citizens 40th anniversary. I've included large clips of them on this blog in case you can't read all of each (both are over 10 pages). And, please be sure to MOVE YOUR MONEY...(if a Bank of America customer go here)...I did about a year ago...best decision I ever made...F*** the big banks...they don't deserve your business.
Also, read about my friend's FANTASTIC documentary called "Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?" on the Huffington Post.
Also, read about my friend's FANTASTIC documentary called "Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?" on the Huffington Post.
OWS Thoughts…
Obviously since last I posted the Occupy Movement has only
grown…and this is a really good thing. In fact, the city I live in has been a
focal point (Oakland) for this growth, and attention. Clearly, the few
anarchists and trouble makers that are simply looking for opportunities to vandalize
and cause havoc have found a home here in Oakland, and likely in other protest
areas across the country in months to come. This, sadly, will continue to be a
challenge…because such actions only hurt the movement in the eyes of the
public, especially in light of the way the corporate media so desperately wants
to disparage it.
With that said, don’t fall prey to the meme that the movement is violent or out of control, because in fact, its OVERWHELMINGLY peaceful, and anyone who isn’t, by definition, is not a part
of it. Moving forward I hope that the movement will work WITH police and local
governments to catch and apprehend these perpetrators – something that has
already happened in Oakland but went largely unreported. Similarly, I hope the
movement will continue to pass through General Assemblies across the country
declarations of non-violence.
I would also urge that protesters do their best, and I think
largely they have, to avoid demonizing or spending too much ire and energy on
local mayors and police. This only gets off message, and say, in the case of
Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, while her leadership has been a little confused and
weak, she is NOT the enemy. If we start calling everyone that doesn’t do
exactly as we like evil, or the "enemy", we will start to lose credibility while
simultaneously pushing away potential future allies.
As for the media and pundits that are clamoring for demands, and criticizing what they perceive as a lack
of message, I will say again…the message is clear, its what I’ve been writing about
on this blog, day in, day out (though only weekly lately), for 7 years now.
There are also PLENTY of demands that have been enumerated, some more general
(like greater economic justice), and some more specific (like restoring Glass
Steagall), in Occupy gatherings throughout the nation.
It’s telling to watch the corporate media trip all over
itself in an endless loop over the “message”. Is there a better example of the
Matrix’s confusion…and desperate need for an easy to understand, corporate
approved, digestible sound bite…with clear leaders and spokespeople spelling
out for the stenographers exactly what they “want”?
As I have said, the message is on sign after sign, the
message is in every new study that comes out showing students falling into
debt, college becoming unaffordable, record corporate profits in the face of
record numbers in poverty, never ending wars and 25 million
unemployed/underemployed, and increasing dependence and burning of fossil fuels
as our climate continues to cause untold damage across the planet (see latest
study that shows the global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped this
past year by the largest number in history…so we’re going BACKWARDS)…and of
course, the list goes on and on.
As attorney Dahlia Lithwick described it, “It’s a movement
that feels no need to explain anything to the powers that be, although it is
deftly changing the way we explain ourselves to one another.”
Reasons for Occupy Wall Street: Our Banana Republic
As I am keen to keep doing, here’s some more factoids to
keep in mind ANYTIME someone asks why these protests are happening…which also directly illustrate why
our capitalist system is clearly broke and in need of STRUCTURAL REFORMS:
- America's median wage fell by 7% over the last decade -- as incomes for the top 1% tripled.
- One in four children -- or 16.4 million overall – live in poverty.
- Last year, another 2.6 million people sank beneath the poverty line, rendering the number of Americans now official impoverished at 46.2 million, the highest number in 52 years.
- In California, unemployment hovers around 12 percent, and one out of four children suffers from hunger as their families struggle to feed them.
- Just 147 companies control 40% of global corporate wealth.
- The top 1 percent of earners more than doubled their share of the nation’s income over the last three decades
Specifically the new GAO report no less made these points:
- The most affluent fifth of the population received 53 percent of after-tax household income in 2007, up from 43 percent in 1979. In other words, the after-tax income of the most affluent fifth exceeded the income of the other four-fifths of the population.
- People in the lowest fifth of the population received about 5 percent of after-tax household income in 2007, down from 7 percent in 1979.
- People in the middle three-fifths of the population saw their shares of after-tax income decline by 2 to 3 percentage points from 1979 to 2007.
And what of Big Oil?
Exxon Mobil just reported quarterly earnings of $10.3
billion, a surge of 41% from last year and Shell's net income rose to $6.98
billion from $3.46 billion in the same period in 2010. Chevron announced $7.83
billion in profits, and BP earned nearly $5 billion.
But do you know the worst part? While the Big Oil companies rake in obscene profits, they’re also getting billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Over the past decade, the big five oil companies -- BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell -- have enjoyed more than $900 billion in profits. At the same time, these oil companies benefit from more than $4 billion in special tax breaks and other giveaways every year. Why are we subsidizing one of the most profitable industries? Why does ExxonMobil get a tax break while so many Americans are struggling to make ends meet and get stuck paying higher gas prices?
But do you know the worst part? While the Big Oil companies rake in obscene profits, they’re also getting billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Over the past decade, the big five oil companies -- BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell -- have enjoyed more than $900 billion in profits. At the same time, these oil companies benefit from more than $4 billion in special tax breaks and other giveaways every year. Why are we subsidizing one of the most profitable industries? Why does ExxonMobil get a tax break while so many Americans are struggling to make ends meet and get stuck paying higher gas prices?
Corporate Tax Cheats
(Most of this summary is from Sam Pizzigati of the Campaign for America's Future): A comprehensive study released by Citizens for Tax Justice
(a group I specifically highlighted WAY BACK in my original Take the Red Pill
op-ed) found the 280 profitable companies grabbed a combined $1.4 trillion in
profits over the three-year 2008-2010 time span.
These 280 corporations could have paid, under the tax code,
over $473 billion in federal corporate incomes taxes. They actually paid only
$250.8 billion, a tax discount of $222.7 billion.
That means these companies faced federal income tax bills
equal to 18.5 percent of their profits during the last three years — little
more than half the official corporate rate of 35 percent and lower than their
competitors in many industrialized countries.
The tax subsidy “discount” for 2010 alone: $85.1 billion.
Over a decade, that annual tax avoidance savings adds up to well over
three-quarters of a trillion dollars, enough to fill all sorts of holes in the
federal budget — and “avoid” massive cuts in public services.
In the 1950s tax dollars from corporations offset about a
quarter of federal outlays, while last year, corporate tax dollars covered only
6 percent of federal expenditures. That’s A CRITICAL STAT…because it lays waste to the argument that our budget problems are spending on social programs that
help people, but rather, the real cause is that those that have it all are failing to pay their fair
share.
The study said that the shelters and loopholes in the
current tax system rewarded companies that aggressively avoided taxes at the
expense of those that did not. A quarter of the companies in the study had a
federal tax bill of 35 percent of their profits, while a similar number had an
effective rate of less than 10 percent.
General Electric recorded $5.1 billion in American profits
in 2010, but claimed a federal income tax benefit of $3.2 billion in its
regulatory filing.
The company that recorded the biggest reduction in taxes was
Wells Fargo Bank, which is a large holding of Mr. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway.
The banking company reported a total of $49 billion in profits in 2008 through
2010, yet received a tax benefit of $651 million.
American companies with significant profits overseas
actually paid more in taxes to foreign governments than they did in the United
States. Rather than lowering the corporate rate more, the study said, the
federal government should end the subsidies and shelters that favor
companies that game the system.
Reasons for Optimism: People are Catching On
As the Occupy Wall Street protest and growing 99 Percent
Movement enters its second month, poll after poll shows public support for the
movement. Here’s the rundown.
70… percent of Americans have heard “a lot” or “some” about the 99 Percent
Movement.
67… percent of Americans think it would be a “bad idea” to lower taxes on large corporations.
66 …percent of Americans think the distribution of money and
wealth in this country should be “more evenly distributed among more people.”
65 …percent of Americans think taxes should be raised on millionaires.
66 …percent of New York State voters support a millionaire’s tax.
58 …percent of New York State voters agree with the views of the Wall Street protesters.
46 …percent of Americans think the 99 Percent Movement “reflect[s] the views of most Americans,”
compared to just 34 percent who say it does not.
43 …percent of Americans agree with the views of protesters, compared to just 27 percent
who disagree.
The 1% Wants Higher Taxes on Millionaires Too
68 …percent of millionaire investors support raising taxes on millionaires.
61 …percent of investors with a net worth of more than $5
million support raising taxes on millionaires.
Obama, the Super Committee, and the Fascist GOP Clown Car
Let me begin by a brief overview of the President, who, as I
said would happen for years, if he just started taking up the populist mantle
(though its largely just words…but some actions) he could VASTLY improve his
chances of re-election (which I also have said will happen). But, while him
talking populism is better than him not, there remains some deep concerns on my
part.
But, let’s start with the good. By finally going after the
GOP, day in and day out, particularly on his jobs bill, people are finally, at
least getting an inkling of the GOP’s real endgame: sabotaging the economy in
order to beat Obama in 2012.
Consider the last 3 filibusters of his jobs bill:
- Oct. 11: 100 percent of Senate Republicans voted against millions of American jobs in order to protect the very wealthiest Americans — the top 0.5 percent — from having to pay their fair share.
- Oct. 20: 100 percent of Senate Republicans voted against nearly 400,000 jobs for teachers, firefighters, and copsin order to protect the very wealthiest Americans — the top 0.5 percent — from having to pay their fair share.
- Yesterday: 100 percent of Senate Republicans voted against 450,000 Americans jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, airports, and other critical infrastructurein order to protect the very wealthiest Americans — the top 0.5 percent — from having to pay their fair share.
Similarly, Obama has begun to do another thing I’ve been
advocating FOR A LONG TIME: using executive orders to at least do something.
The modest help (though he could do MORE on this front…using TARP $$) he’s
giving to homeowners is better than nothing. His order to help students
consolidate loans will help some too. These moves also highlight key
differences between the parties, as the GOP wants to increase foreclosures and
END student loans altogether (or privatize).
So, what ELSE could the President do without Congress’s
help? David Dayen lays out some specifics…keep an eye out if any of these are
followed…because remember, NOTHING will pass the GOP house or overcome the
filibuster in the Senate: “He can issue executive orders mandating that the
federal government’s contractors and suppliers of products pay their workers
good wages and have decent benefits. He could create a White House on improving
jobs and income for the middle class that aggressively works with each agency
to figure out ways to create more good jobs. He could toughen up the Buy
America provisions on procurement. He could really begin to squeeze the Chinese
on currency manipulation. There are a lot of things the President can do to
help the middle class and those trying to climb their way into it where he
doesn’t have to wait for Congress. He is not the Legislator-in-Chief: the
executive branch has enormous powers it can use to help people. I hope the new
messaging strategy coming out of the White House is a sign of more things to
come. Because us 99 percent sure do need the executive branch to be on our
side.
You know where the executive branch has the most ability to
help the middle class right now? It is in the area of housing and banking
policy, which was the topic of Monday’s media announcement. I am very happy the
President has become increasingly aware of the huge problems in this area, and
that he wants to do something about them. The problem is that it is
increasingly obvious that really big things are needed, because the problems we
have in the banking/housing sector are deadly serious. So while I am happy with
some of the changes the White House announced Monday, such as removing barriers
to mortgage holders getting assistance and figuring out how to reduce or
eliminate some fees for homeowners wanting to restructure their mortgage, I
still fear that the White House is thinking way too small given the scale of
the problem.
SNIP
We are not living in a conventional economic moment. The
housing bubble and subsequent collapse has created wreckage we cannot dig our
way out of with the modest-sized steps the administration laid out…While
positive, they are not big enough or bold enough. The only way to solve this is
with a massive writedown of housing debt, and by moving to resolution authority
on the worst of the big banks — doing what the FDIC does all the time with
smaller failing banks, taking them over and selling off the assets in orderly
fashion. However painful, however much the bankers and Republicans in Congress
will scream in outrage, it really is the only answer to fixing our dead in the
water economy.
So that’s some of what he is doing and could do…but, of
course, there’s also the bad. There’s his efforts to push an agreement between
the state attorney generals and the banks that’s so utterly criminal and sick
it pains me to write about. We should all be thanking the Attorney Generals of
New York, California, and Rhode Island for pulling out of this sham of a
proceeding and launching REAL investigations of the criminals that CAUSED the
great recession we’re now all being asked to pay for.
And of course, all indicators point to the President
APPROVING the Keystone pipeline, which most climatologists believe could just
be the proverbial NAIL in our collective coffin. As George Carlin used to say
(I’m paraphrasing), “It’s not the planet that’s going to die, it’s us. Mother
earth doesn’t need our help; she’s going to shrug us off like a bad cold.” Well…the
fever that we are causing will reach its end point…and we’ve got our foot down
on the accelerator.
So, while he’s doing small things better, and talking a much
better game, its still the BIG THINGS he’s clearly on the wrong side of…and
likewise, the wrong side of history.
The Super Committee Sham
Not to say I told you so…but I did. The Super Committee idea
is proving itself to be the utter useless scam it is…and again, we can thank
the President for this (yes, the GOP is always part of the problem…my focus is
less on them). To think that the Democrats initial proposal was FURTHER TO THE
RIGHT than the Deficit Commission AND the Gang of Six proposals (which included
such scum bags as Joe Lieberman)!??
One wonders what in god’s name are they
thinking? Do they not see the protests across the country? Do they not see the
study after study proving the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer…while
the middle class withers on the vine?
Well, you wouldn’t know it by their proposal to DRASTICALLY
cut social security, Medicare and Medicaid. Yes, the Democrats are proposing
tax increases on the rich…which is good…but we’re talking about a 5 to 1 ratio
of spending cuts to tax increases…when it should be about 1 to 1 - and no cuts in the big three.
Of course, the GOP immediately rejected it and proposed something far worse...and without a single tax increase on the rich
under ANY circumstance while decimating what’s left of the New Deal. Not
exactly two options I want to be forced to choose from.
So, let’s all hope that they FAIL to come to an agreement…because
any one they do come to will be criminal.
Perry’s Tax Plan and the GOP Clown Car
Consider the context: As the income gap is at
its largest in 80 years, and even as the total federal tax
burden is at its smallest in 60, the
2012 Republican presidential field is proposing to give tax cuts to the rich and corporations, increases taxes on the poor, create mountains of debt, and decimate investments and safety net programs (and thereby jobs). In other words, the oligarchs are doubling down on oligarchy.
The good news is that because Americans are feeling the economic pain more directly every day, two-thirds of
the public now say that wealth should be distributed more evenly in the country. Seven
in 10 Americans think the policies of congressional Republicans favor the rich.
Two-thirds object to tax cuts for corporations and a similar number prefer
increasing income taxes on millionaires. 9 percent of Americans think that the policies of the
Republicans in Congress “favor the middle class and 2 …percent of Americans (who apparently still reside in Bizarro Universe)
think that the policies of the Republicans in Congress “favor the poor.”
And look no further than this graph illustrating the
DISASTROUS and almost comical effects of Perry’s flat tax:
VIDEO SECTION
Daily Show: Fox News defends the real victims of the epic battle between
businesses and Occupy Wall Street protesters: the demonized 1 percent.
Daily Show skewers some of the most recent blatant GOP race baiting:
Chris Hayes on OWS:
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/hayes-we-will-know-ows-working-when-even-r
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/hayes-we-will-know-ows-working-when-even-r
Glenn Greenwald on his DEAD ON thesis that it’s not just
about wealth injustice that is driving the protests and discontent…it’s a disparity
in justice under the law:
Senator Paul Wellstone died nine years ago last week…and
remains my favorite politician in my lifetime. Watch some clips of him:
Paul Krugman…analysis always worth listening to:
Jon Stewart slammed Republicans for their hypocrisy when
criticizing President Obama for agreeing to pull all U.S. combat forces from
Iraq, just as George W. Bush signed an agreement to do.
Daily Show clip...:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-25-2011/indecision-2012---the-great-right-hope---the-180-club
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-25-2011/indecision-2012---the-great-right-hope---the-180-club
The GREAT attorney general from New York (the one actually
going after the banks instead of kowtowing to them) visits Rachel Maddow:
Amy Goodman and Chris Hedges on Charlie Rose to talk Occupy
movement…about 20 minutes long…excellent stuff:
ARTICLE SECTION
Noam Chomsky Speaks to Occupy Wall Street
A FEW CLIPS:
The Occupy movement really is an exciting development. In
fact, it's spectacular. It's unprecedented; there's never been anything like it
that I can think of. If the bonds and associations that are being established
at these remarkable events can be sustained through a long, hard period ahead
-- because victories don't come quickly-- this could turn out to be a very
significant moment in American history.
The fact that the demonstrations are unprecedented is quite
appropriate. It is an unprecedented era -- not just this moment -- but actually
since the 1970s. The 1970s began a major turning point in American history. For
centuries, since the country began, it had been a developing society with ups
and downs. But the general progress was toward wealth and industrialization and
development -- even in dark and hope -- there was a pretty constant expectation
that it's going to go on like this. That was true even in very dark times.
SNIP
The 1970s set off a kind of a vicious cycle that led to a
concentration of wealth increasingly in the hands of the financial sector,
which doesn’t benefit the economy. Concentration of wealth yields concentration
of political power, which, in turn, arrives to legislation that increases and
accelerates the cycle. The physical policies such as tax changes, rules of
corporate governance, deregulation were essentially bipartisan. Alongside of
this began a very sharp rise in the costs of elections, which drives the
political parties even deeper than before into the pockets of the corporate
sector.
A couple years later started a different process. The
parties dissolved, essentially. It used to be if you were a person in Congress
and hoped for a position of committee chair or a position of responsibility,
you got it mainly through seniority and service. Within a couple of years, you
started to have to put money into the party coffers in order to get ahead. That
just drove the whole system even deeper into the pockets of the corporate
sector and increasingly the financial sector--a tremendous concentration of
wealth, mainly in the literally top 1/10th of 1 percent of the population.
Meanwhile, for the general population it began an open
period of pretty much stagnation, or decline for the majority. People got by
through pretty artificial means -- like borrowing, so a lot of debt. Longer
working hours for many. There was a period of stagnation and a higher
concentration of wealth. The political system began to dissolve. There’s always
been a gap between public policy and the public will, but it just grew kind of
astronomically. You can see it right now, in fact.
Take a look at what’s happening right now. The big topic in
Washington that everyone concentrates on is the deficit. For the public,
correctly, the deficit is not much of an issue. The issue is joblessness, not a
deficit. Now there’s a deficit commission but no joblessness commission. As far
as the deficit is concerned, if you want to pay attention to it, the public has
opinions. Take a look at the polls and the public overwhelmingly supports
higher taxes on the wealthy, which have declined sharply during this stagnation
period, this period of decline. The public wants higher taxes on the wealthy
and to preserve the limited social benefits. The outcome of the deficit
commission is probably going to be the opposite. Either they’ll reach an
agreement, which will be the opposite of what the public wants, or else it will
go into kind of an automatic procedure which is going to have those effects.
Actually that’s something that’s going to happen very quickly. The deficit
commission is going to come up with its decision in a couple of weeks. The
Occupy movements could provide a mass base for trying to avert what amounts to
a dagger in the heart of the country, and having negative effects.
"Our Politicians Are Money Launderers in the
Trafficking of Power and Policy", By Bill Moyers
A FEW CLIPS:
How did this happen?...on August 23, 1971, a corporate
lawyer named Lewis Powell – a board member of the death-dealing tobacco giant
Philip Morris and a future Justice of the United States Supreme Court – sent a
confidential memorandum to his friends at the U. S. Chamber of Commerce.
We look back on it now as a call to arms for class war waged from the top
down. Let’s recall the context: Big Business was being
forced to clean up its act. It was bad enough to corporate
interests that Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal had sustained its momentum through
Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson.
Suddenly this young lawyer named Ralph Nader arrived on the scene, arousing
consumers with articles, speeches, and above all, an expose of the automobile
industry, Unsafe at Any Speed.
Young activists flocked to work with him
on health, environmental, and economic concerns. Congress was moved to
act. Even Republicans signed on. In l970 President Richard
Nixon put his signature on the National Environmental Policy Act and named a
White House Council to promote environmental quality. A few months
later millions of Americans turned out for Earth Day. Nixon then agreed
to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Congress acted
swiftly to pass tough new amendments to the Clean Air Act and the EPA announced
the first air pollution standards. There were new regulations directed
at lead paint and pesticides. Corporations were no longer getting away
with murder.
And Lewis Powell was shocked – shocked! – at what he called
“an attack on the American free enterprise system.” Not just
from a few “extremists of the left,” he said, but also from “perfectly
respectable elements of society,” including the media, politicians, and leading
intellectuals. Fight back, and fight back hard, he urged his
compatriots. Build a movement. Set speakers loose across the country. Take on prominent institutions of public opinion – especially the universities,
the media, and the courts. Keep television programs under “constant
surveillance.” And above all, recognize that political power must be
“assiduously (sic) cultivated; and that when necessary, it must be used
aggressively and with determination” and “without embarrassment.”
Powell imagined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a council of
war. Since business executives had “little stomach for hard-nose contest
with their critics” and “little skill in effective intellectual and
philosophical debate,” they should create new think tanks, legal foundations,
and front groups of every stripe. It would take years, but these groups
could, he said, be aligned into a united front (that) would only come about
through “careful long-range planning and implementation, in consistency of
action over an indefinite period of years, in the scale of financing available
only through joint effort, and in the political power available only through
united action and united organizations.”
SNIP
Even as the Chamber was doubling its membership and tripling
its budget in response to Lewis Powell’s manifesto, the coalition got another
powerful jolt of adrenalin from the wealthy right-winger who had served as
Nixon’s secretary of the treasury, William Simon. His polemic entitled A
Time for Truth argued that “funds generated by business” must “rush by
multimillions” into conservative causes to uproot the institutions and “the
heretical strategy” [his term] of the New Deal. He called on “men of
action in the capitalist world” to mount “a veritable crusade” against progressive
America. Business Week magazine somberly explained that “…it will be a
bitter pill for many Americans to swallow the idea of doing with less so that
big business can have move.”
I’m not making this up. And so it came to pass; came to pass despite your heroic
efforts and those of other kindred citizens; came to pass because those “men of
action in the capitalist world” were not content with their wealth just to buy
more homes, more cars, more planes, more vacations and more gizmos than anyone
else. They were determined to buy more democracy than anyone else. And
they succeeded beyond their own expectations. After their 40-year
“veritable crusade” against our institutions, laws and regulations –
against the ideas, norms and beliefs that helped to create America’s iconic
middle class – the Gilded Age is back with a vengeance.
SNIP
Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson wanted to find out “how
our economy stopped working to provide prosperity and security for the broad
middle class.” They wanted to know: “Who dunnit?”
They found the culprit: “It’s the politics, stupid!” Tracing
the clues back to that “unseen revolution” of the 1970s – the revolt triggered
by Lewis Powell, fired up by William Simon, and fueled by rich corporations and
wealthy individuals – they found that ‘Step by step and debate by debate
America’s public officials have rewritten the rules of American politics and
the American economy in ways that have benefitted the few at the expense of the
many.”
There you have it: they bought off the gatekeepers, got
inside, and gamed the system. And when the fix was in, they let loose the
animal spirits. turning our economy into a feast for predators. And
they won – as the rich and powerful got richer and more powerful – they
not only bought the government, they “saddled Americans with greater debt,
tore new holes in the safety net, and imposed broad financial risks on workers,
investors, and taxpayers.” Until – write Hacker and Pierson - “The
United States is looking more and more like the capitalist oligarchies of
Brazil, Mexico, and Russia where most of the wealth is concentrated at the top
while the bottom grows larger and larger with everyone in between just barely
getting by.”
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