Concerning 'big government', there are some things that if the government doesn't do, then who will?: 1) Conservation and punishment of environmental polluters: - A nation that destroys it's soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. (Franklin D. Roosevelt) 2) In a society where self-interest prevails, the government needs to promote its opposite--the common good: - The hopes of the Republic cannot forever tolerate either undeserved poverty or self-serving wealth...We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we now know that it is bad economics...- Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off. (Franklin D. Roosevelt) 3) And in a society that is preoccupied with short-term value, government needs to remind us that our future depends on not failing to incorporate values into our plans: - The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profits. (Franklin D. Roosevelt) So for those who are still anti-big government: - I believe that in the future the State...will assume a much larger role in the lives of its citizens...Now some people are going to say this is socialistic. My answer to them is that it is "social," not "socialistic." (Franklin D. Roosevelt,1928)
Obama Picking Media Haves, Have Nots More than Predecessors
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Bill, thank you for covering these issues in a way few other media outlets do. Sadly, the culture of forgetting and the complexity seem too powerful to fight. I work in finance but support broad, strong regulation in what is these days scandalous act of long-term self-interest. I try to explain to friends and family outside the field about subsidies, moral hazard, perverse incentives - not to mention that we already have entities that are designed prevent "too big to fail" (for example, what ever happened to the FTC after that big AT&T thing? are they still around?).
I caught the 1/10/10 show about the banking nightmare and as if I wasn't already mad enough, got livid after the show. To the point where I sat down and wrote a 2 page letter of my outrage. I plan on sending it to as many politicians that have anything to do with reigning in these bastards as possible and most especially those that are receiving any money from the very institutions who got us into this mess to begin with. Thank you for this program and thank you to the Mother Jones reporters for making me get off my ass and do something. I also went out and bought the magazine to further fuel my anger. There are just too many of us in the real world, struggling to make every penny count for these egotistical bastards to continue on as they have done before. AND for our elected officials to stand by, water down the laws or out n' out oppose measures to curb the banks and Wall St. and THEN reap monetary benefits from them...? These people aren't working for me and I'VE HAD IT!! No more panels with more and more questions to the vermin bankers that just prolong the whole mess. I KNOW WHAT THE ANSWERS ARE. LAWS! I am giving as many politicians as I can think of notice that they will not have my vote in the future, and I vote in every election, large and small. Enough is enough. The mass of us that make up this country, and don't have obscene paychecks and bonuses, must rise up and shout to the rafters. We MUST let Washington know that WE are DEMANDING change in the system NOW. and we are not going to forget whose side you chose.
Thanks to Moyer,Drum,Corn for information. I had read Mr. Drum's fabulous article and Emailed a summary of it to >12 people before your show. After reading it, I contributed to Mother Jones' Investigative reporting fund. I would be willing to march on DC if done when I can take off work. Someone set it up! As other bloggers, I am angry and have lost sleep all year because of the greed, ignorance and complexity around both financial collapse and health care reform. Earlier in the year I began a gradual program to act as I reasoned I could with my dollars. We bought my son's mortgage from Wells Fargo to become son's mortgager; I bought my other son's student loan to become his lender for Med. school; I sold 2 pieces of property to local young people by installment plans, I wrote Fidelity & TRowe about voting my SEP/IRA retirement mutual fund stock options to vote against excess executive pay & bonuses or those that reward short term events only; I refused all retirement investments that involved proprietory investments of derivatives(if I knew about them post 9/08 awareness of issue); I joined my local political party; I am asking League of Women Voters US to adopt financial reform as issue of study, positions, advocacy (June convention will decide); I continue local credit union for checking/CDs, but am asking that credit union why it got $5.3mil. from TARP for home improvement loans; I am initiating a new CD account with a local bank than lends 98% of its deposits to local businesses and private buyers of houses, vehicles (just have to read their FDIC filings first at www.fdic.gov); I read this blog, several articles & books (like Bad Money,Wall Street Journal's Understanding Money, Banks and Wall Street); I sent dozens of Emails to my D.C. Elected officials (My Sen.Corker is on Banking committee,will probably ignore me); I sent letter to the editor calling for reform and repeal of carried interest rule; I hired someone part time; I stopped contibuting to my retirement plan since the money goes to Wall Street and too much to financials within mutual funds. I will just save locally or buy individual stocks and no more into SEP/IRA with someone else's rules. I am evaluating all my mutual funds and am moving out of those with significant purchases in the financial or insurance sector. I await a good tutorial on AIG (not a bank,???why bailed out) (insured against derviative loss??is that valid insurance practice?) So that's what I've done. Any other ideas?
An excellent show; can't recall hearing Bill M. this outspoken in his condemnation ever before! I want to respond to the question he repeatedly raised, "What can the people do?" because I think Kevin Drum was closest to the answer when he commented that President Obama has to be the spearhead of the battle to take back our country from the bankers and Wall Street; consequently, he should be the focus of our expressions of grievance. Someone wrote here already that his personal response was to sit right down and write the President a letter. However, what we need is a grass roots campaign. For example, when network TV threatened to cancel the show Jericho, there was a massive campaign of mailing bags of peanuts to corporate headquarters [everyone involved understood the symbolism]. Recently, there's been a coathangers to Congress campaign organized [again, the symbolism was clear]. The symbols are important to getting people involved, as slogans and emblems and theme songs always are, and they make it more difficult to ignore us [because our symbols say that we are an us]. So, while writing my letter to the President [expressing such disillustionment that I may not bother to vote for him, again] isn't a bad idea, we also need a symbolic object,expressing a united front, that when mailed to the White House in massive numbers, he cannot ignore the concrete evidence piled on his doorstep. Will it work? I have my doubts, but it's worth a try. However, history indicates that the people [here, just like everywhere else]are only listened to when they take to the streets in massive numbers, such as during the Depression or the Civil Rights Movement. [No, the anti-war movement didn't end the war in Vietnam.] And Kevin Drum is probably correct that as we get further and further from the collapse, and it appears that we're more-or-less safe, it becomes more unlikely any protest will be mounted -- until next time. Conflict theory tell us, correctly, that change comes more often from desperation than from rising expectations.
As the crash in Autumn 2008 picked up steam, and as TARP and the stimulous package began to materialize, the nature of my industry and it's power over Americans became utterly clear to me. Financial institutions exist to consolidate the power of it's captains, certainly, but it's aims are more insidious than that. These men have successfully enslaved vast swaths of Americans, rendering them castrated by immense debts while blinding them to the facts of their enslavement with so much more "free" credit, fancy jargon, and media hype and spin.
These are all excellent blogs.But what I'm going to say may offend some but... The book of Revelation discusses some of these issues. We are headed for a one world government and I know the people with the money are using it to buy power, not mansions and toys. Like someone said on that episode, "they could have those things anytime (been there,done that). It's more sinister than even money,if that's possible.I believe it's a precursor of what was promised.All of the circuit is in bed,not just most of them...ALL.
A great show and great posts. It give me much hope for change to come when I know I'm not alone in the complete BETRAYAL I feel towards our government and Obama. I made the mistake of only listening to the good and not all the bad things that were out there which now seem to be closer to the truth. I am a life long registered independent. From what I have read about the 'birthers', they raise legitimate questions that deserve answers. So now I learn the rampant corruption in this country extends to the Supreme Court as well. Human beings sure aren't perfect, not a single one of us and neither are any of the systems, money, language or anything else we create. Surely, we are intelligent enough to do better than we are, but our history does not support this. We have this money system we are all supposed to live under without even knowing the rules of how it works. And the rules are always changing. Life, as we live it is unfair, unequal and unjust and corrupt because that is the way human beings behave. Obama is a con man, read the bad stuff out there about him. Look for truth everywhere. If the Federal Reserve were audited, it would be abolished for corruption. Seek out and read about all the corrupt politicians currently in office, there are so many. I am educating myself. I take responsibility for my own life, my choices and all my actions. I have emailed my state senators and representative. I have gotten responses. I expect those at the federal level to work on behalf of all the people of this country, not just this state. This year, if they show up in my area--I will be there to hold them accountable. I will write real letters asking my questions and demanding answers, not more BS. My heart hurts for all the suffering people in this failing country because I have been there. I have helped and will continue to help. We are all in this life together. The game of predator and prey must end. Thank-you again for a wonderful program. 2ff7e9595c
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