Once again, I offer my response to an email from a "Conservative" friend. He asked me about political "sides" (e.g., Right v. Left, Conservatives v. Liberals, etc.), and also whether or not I thought our economic system might collapse...and what I thought might come after that, specifically, would it be a leaner, more conservative system.
My response---
Here's what I believe in terms of "sides". I came to this after about 5 yrs of serious consideration---
There is no longer any choice between so-called Liberals and so-called Conservatives; that's all an Oligarchical distraction - a Divide & Conquer strategy. It certainly wasn't always that way; maybe 10 to 20 yrs ago the choice was genuine...no longer. To illustrate, take Kennedy & Obama as examples. I believe that JFK was a genuine Liberal/Progressive...and I think he truly loved this country. I didn't agree with most of his politics, but I thought he was sincere in his beliefs. Obama is a snake. Those smitten with Obama-worship appear to believe that he's a Liberal; those opposing him appear to believe that he's a Socialist. I firmly believe he's neither...OBAMA IS A CORPORATIST through and through. I've detailed my reasons for that belief in various Blog posts.
Here's what John Pilger, a self-admitted Socialist (and an investigative journalist), had to say about O---
"He's a product of Madison Ave. propaganda---Brand Obama... and it's all fake. Don't believe what he says; watch what he does.".
"Conservatives" point to ObamaCare as an example of socialism; what a joke. The ACA was a bailout of the health insurance industry; it should have been called the Affordable Insurance Act. It did nothing for health care; it basically gave $$$ to mega insurance companies. It's "affordable" because many customers now have higher premiums than before, and because many people are now forced to buy coverage they don't need (such as maternity care for single men). The extra money supposedly is diverted to subsidize poorer customers. In any case, it's PRIVATE companies that benefit. That's fascism, not socialism; it's the power of the State married to the power of Big Biz. Despite their phony bitching & moaning about OCare, I firmly believe that the health insurance industry loves it. It's a windfall for them. It's also a windfall for PRIVATE doctors, PRIVATE clinics, PRIVATE hospitals, etc. Why? More business.
So, as to "sides" in the current political climate, I see only two real choices--- the Oligarchy, and the rest of us. Unfortunately, that means the now phony Conservative-Liberal and Repub-Dem splits have to be ignored or dismantled, or both. People will think that's ridiculous, impossible, unimaginable. I say, look at History; something very similar has happened over & over, not only around the world, but also in the short span of this country. For example, the Republican Party was not around for decades earlier in our political history. Our Founders were all "Liberals", but later "liberal" no longer meant "for freedom". NeoCons are called Neoliberals everywhere but in the USA. Reagan & Thatcher were proponents of Neoliberalism to everyone but Americans...and that was a bad thing to most foreigners. The current political state of things is not carved in concrete. It's not even unusual for such things to totally change. But the Oligarchs would like us to believe otherwise...because the current setup is a perfect Divide & Conquer strategy for them. And please, it's not any kind of "conspiracy"; it's simply good business to them.
As to the Tea Partiers, it's very hard to assess them...they're of various beliefs and decentralized to a large degree. They are not, despite what the Corporate Media calls them, only ultra-conservatives. If I were to guess, I'd say they're near the right track, but not on it. Of course, my "right track" may not be yours. [It does bother me that I've seen some evidence that most likely their "grassroots" movement really was started and funded by Oligarchs such as the Koch brothers. The evidence is not definitive, but it's there. In my mind, that taints the whole movement to some unknown degree. They may be a good thing...or not. It's too hard to tell right now.]
....................................................
I don't know for sure whether or not your excellent questions were rhetorical, but I'll give my opinion regardless. :) [Many more Americans should be giving serious thought to these things; instead, they seem to be distracted by Bread & Circuses.]
Naturally, all of the following is pure guesswork on my part. I've learned that the older I get, the less I really know for sure. That said, I believe our current system is doomed...probably not within my lifetime, or maybe even yours, but doomed nonetheless. All the signs are there. The national debt will continue to grow until the collapse; that will come shortly after the world no longer accepts the dollar as the world's reserve currency. People in positions of power didn't say much when an unprecedented event happened fairly recently---for the 1st time ever, a major country (China) called for a discontinuation of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. That's monumental; it's the first crack in our worldwide financial dike.
Before the dike bursts, however, I believe that the Oligarchs (with the aid of their Cronies in DC...just like before) will pull off one or two more great heists...bailouts and trillions in loans (like before) at less than 1% interest. Everything's pretty much in place for that to happen again. The biggest things in the financial markets STILL are derivatives...they're still being sold hand over fist...and they're STILL backed by zero reserves. It's the biggest scam in the history of humankind...all for the benefit of Oligarchs, and all facilitated by their Cronies in DC---Repubs and Dems. The One Percenters appear to be very short-term thinkers. They will get more billions to secure their immediate families, and the rest of us can go to hell and/or the poorhouse.
As to emerging from the ashes with a leaner, more conservative theme, I hope not...because today's "Conservatism", based on what I've seen from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, the anchor on Fox (name escapes me), Bill Kristol, etc. appears to be a cross between Attila the Hun and Trotskyism. I'm serious...it barely resembles Conservatism at all. It's NEO-conservatism, through and through. They don't believe in Peace through Strength; rather, they believe in Peace through WAR... pre-emptive war...in other words, naked aggression. That's very UNconservative. In the financial/economic arena, they believe in working with Cronies in DC in order to rig the game in their favor, making them richer & richer. Supposedly, according to the propaganda, that's so they can "create jobs". What a joke and a scam. Instead they destroy jobs, eliminate jobs, ship jobs offshore, cut costs by eliminating benefits, hire part-time workers, fire those about to retire, and in general, play the Enron Game. All very UNconservative.
I believe some millionaires/billionaires have made it honestly, but in general, I think one has to be unethical or crooked, or both, in order to get to that level. Very UNconservative.
So, my preference (coming from the ashes) would be the Capitalist version of Anarcho-Syndicalism. [There is a Socialist version, but I don't advocate that one.] As viewed today, "Conservatism" simply isn't lean enough. Today's "Conservatism" is way too Statist in nature. Just my opinion.
Be Well, Pard
Showing posts with label Obamacare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obamacare. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Oligarchs, Propaganda, & Fascism
This all is not unique to the USA; it's a worldwide phenomenon in the developed world... at least, in general. Perhaps a country such as Norway, for example, is not yet Fascist...really, I don't know. As usual, I'm using FDR's and Mussolini's definition of Fascism: the power of the State married to the power of BIG Business. And as always, I maintain that none of it is a "conspiracy"; most of it is out in the open for all to see. First, though, we have to stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.
Let's take a tiny example of that Kool Aid; it's here in the USA and goes by either of two names--- Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It should be called, the Affordable Insurance Act. As the Roosevelt Institute points out, the ACA is a "bonanza" for private health insurance companies. It bails them out. Apparently, people were dropping their policies or switching to cheaper, "catastrophic care" coverage. Contrary to what some may think, insurance premiums have not decreased with the ACA; our Gov't is making up the difference...a bailout. The availability of health CARE has not increased, and the COST of health care has not decreased. Before the ACA, there already were long lines of folks at clinics with cash in hand. Obamacare is not health care reform... instead, it's a bailout of private health care insurers, who now are even more entrenched in our health care system.
Notice that the Corporate Media here in this country rarely, if ever, speak of any of the above; rather, they focus on the "need" for the ACA, or on the basically unimportant fiasco regarding tech problems of the website. Is their lack of coverage of what's really relevant a "conspiracy"? No, I don't believe so. It's more like individuals and groups with similar interests and mutual goals working sometimes individually, sometimes together, to promote BIG Business. It's no more a conspiracy than is that of AT&T working to maximize profits. Corporations are required by law to maximize profits for their shareholders. It wasn't always that way, but that's another story. [Google: How did John D. Rockefeller change the rules for corporations.]
What are the "similar interests and mutual goals" of the Oligarchs? Rather than repeat it, I refer you to Item number 4. in my November 2 post, "The New World Order...Again". David Rockefeller stated it quite well...in 1991.
For two startling and brief depictions of more Propaganda in America (and the world), do a YouTube Search for each (separately) of these videos: Political Fraud; and, Financial Crime. They're both by ClassWarFilms, and each one is only about ten minutes in length. They're somewhat shocking, but right on the mark. The History of the USA is quite different from the History of the People of the USA, the former being to a large degree, nothing but propaganda...geared to benefit the Powers-That-Shouldn't-Be. :)
Some Inconvenient Realities---
1. In 1998, the richest 1% of this country owned 30% of the wealth; today it's between 40 & 50%. [Estimates vary within that range.] That's not because the other 99% of us are lazy...the game has been engineered in favor of the one-percenters.
2. Capitalism has been replaced by Financialization...credit derivatives and other inventions of Wall Street that do not involve any production of goods. The only true capitalists left in the world are owners of SMALL businesses.
3. Most all mega corporations are owned & run by Crony Capitalists, aka, Fascists. The Crony Capitalists don't influence elections here; they own them.
4. We're in the largest class war in U.S. history, and as Warren Buffett lamented, "unfortunately, my class is winning."...he's correct.
5. Taxpayer bailouts go to Wall Street, not Main Street. Most of those who receive such bailouts do NOT use them to create jobs...and they're not required to do any such thing. The game is rigged.
6. Propaganda is viewed by the Oligarchs as both a necessary & beneficial component of any democracy...and obviously, the same is true of any totalitarian society.
I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. I view them both (those at the top of each heap, anyway) as branches of the same, un-named political party: the Mega Transnational Corporatist Party. I'll give them this much, they surely know how to put forth the Propaganda.
Just my opinion.
Let's take a tiny example of that Kool Aid; it's here in the USA and goes by either of two names--- Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It should be called, the Affordable Insurance Act. As the Roosevelt Institute points out, the ACA is a "bonanza" for private health insurance companies. It bails them out. Apparently, people were dropping their policies or switching to cheaper, "catastrophic care" coverage. Contrary to what some may think, insurance premiums have not decreased with the ACA; our Gov't is making up the difference...a bailout. The availability of health CARE has not increased, and the COST of health care has not decreased. Before the ACA, there already were long lines of folks at clinics with cash in hand. Obamacare is not health care reform... instead, it's a bailout of private health care insurers, who now are even more entrenched in our health care system.
Notice that the Corporate Media here in this country rarely, if ever, speak of any of the above; rather, they focus on the "need" for the ACA, or on the basically unimportant fiasco regarding tech problems of the website. Is their lack of coverage of what's really relevant a "conspiracy"? No, I don't believe so. It's more like individuals and groups with similar interests and mutual goals working sometimes individually, sometimes together, to promote BIG Business. It's no more a conspiracy than is that of AT&T working to maximize profits. Corporations are required by law to maximize profits for their shareholders. It wasn't always that way, but that's another story. [Google: How did John D. Rockefeller change the rules for corporations.]
What are the "similar interests and mutual goals" of the Oligarchs? Rather than repeat it, I refer you to Item number 4. in my November 2 post, "The New World Order...Again". David Rockefeller stated it quite well...in 1991.
For two startling and brief depictions of more Propaganda in America (and the world), do a YouTube Search for each (separately) of these videos: Political Fraud; and, Financial Crime. They're both by ClassWarFilms, and each one is only about ten minutes in length. They're somewhat shocking, but right on the mark. The History of the USA is quite different from the History of the People of the USA, the former being to a large degree, nothing but propaganda...geared to benefit the Powers-That-Shouldn't-Be. :)
Some Inconvenient Realities---
1. In 1998, the richest 1% of this country owned 30% of the wealth; today it's between 40 & 50%. [Estimates vary within that range.] That's not because the other 99% of us are lazy...the game has been engineered in favor of the one-percenters.
2. Capitalism has been replaced by Financialization...credit derivatives and other inventions of Wall Street that do not involve any production of goods. The only true capitalists left in the world are owners of SMALL businesses.
3. Most all mega corporations are owned & run by Crony Capitalists, aka, Fascists. The Crony Capitalists don't influence elections here; they own them.
4. We're in the largest class war in U.S. history, and as Warren Buffett lamented, "unfortunately, my class is winning."...he's correct.
5. Taxpayer bailouts go to Wall Street, not Main Street. Most of those who receive such bailouts do NOT use them to create jobs...and they're not required to do any such thing. The game is rigged.
6. Propaganda is viewed by the Oligarchs as both a necessary & beneficial component of any democracy...and obviously, the same is true of any totalitarian society.
I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. I view them both (those at the top of each heap, anyway) as branches of the same, un-named political party: the Mega Transnational Corporatist Party. I'll give them this much, they surely know how to put forth the Propaganda.
Just my opinion.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Game Over
This is a Comment I made on the CBS online newscast for 9-18-13--- [The ADDENDUM below is not part of the original Comment.]
ScottHaley says---
1. RE: Fed to keep interest rates low by buying more bonds--- Ask yourself, where does the Fed get the money to "buy bonds"? Is it from the Treasury (fiat printing, out of thin air), or from its member banks (which, according to a 1984 Fed Court case, "are not Federal instrumentalities, but are private corporations")? ["Buying T-Bills or Gov't Bonds" is Gov't-Speak for loaning the Gov't money.] Who gets the interest payments when the Fed "buys bonds"?
2. The Fed Reserve is authorized by the 1913 Fed Reserve Act, a LAW. That Law allowed the Congress to abrogate one of its required constitutional duties: to regulate the value of our money. But there's a problem with that, long ignored by the DC politicos: no law supercedes the U.S. Constitution. Politicians know that full well, but ignore it. This issue is important because Congress supposedly answers to the People, but the Fed (according to Greenspan on a PBS interview back when) "answers to no one"..."no one has authority over us".
3. RE: Obamacare--- According to my research and what was reported on CBS News, a policy via Obamacare tailored to me personally would cost approximately $600 per month. I can't afford a policy for $100 per month. So much for the grand benefits of Obamacare...at least, in relation to me.
4. RE: shutting down the Gov't v. raising the Debt Ceiling--- For the past 80-85 yrs or so, the Fed Gov't has been adhering to Keynesian Economics...essentially, institutionalized deficit spending. It's not a matter of the Gov't being bankrupt in the future; it's already bankrupt, & has been for decades. The politicians have no intention of ever eliminating the National Debt; the Debt Bubble will continue to grow until, like all bubbles, it eventually bursts. The recent "sequestration" efforts did nothing substantial to reduce spending; those efforts only addressed the proposed INCREASES in spending. Even those are being exempted by Congress passing laws to that effect. Deficit spending is continuing, & will continue, until the Debt Bubble bursts. Then it's goodbye Keynes... & our economy...game over.
ADDENDUM: Since going completely off the Gold Standard in 1971 (under Nixon), the only reason the dollar has any value at all is because it is the world's reserve currency. With ongoing institutionalized deficit spending and the ever-increasing national Debt Bubble, inevitably the time will come when other countries decide that the dollar should no longer be the world's reserve currency. That's when the bubble will burst; countries will dump their U.S. dollars. That will cause our economy to tank. Game Over. What can be done to prevent that scenario? In my opinion, nothing substantial---the propaganda favoring Keynesian Economics is too thick. Will we recover from the biggest crash in history? I believe so, but it will be an incredibly long, difficult and painful recovery.
ScottHaley says---
1. RE: Fed to keep interest rates low by buying more bonds--- Ask yourself, where does the Fed get the money to "buy bonds"? Is it from the Treasury (fiat printing, out of thin air), or from its member banks (which, according to a 1984 Fed Court case, "are not Federal instrumentalities, but are private corporations")? ["Buying T-Bills or Gov't Bonds" is Gov't-Speak for loaning the Gov't money.] Who gets the interest payments when the Fed "buys bonds"?
2. The Fed Reserve is authorized by the 1913 Fed Reserve Act, a LAW. That Law allowed the Congress to abrogate one of its required constitutional duties: to regulate the value of our money. But there's a problem with that, long ignored by the DC politicos: no law supercedes the U.S. Constitution. Politicians know that full well, but ignore it. This issue is important because Congress supposedly answers to the People, but the Fed (according to Greenspan on a PBS interview back when) "answers to no one"..."no one has authority over us".
3. RE: Obamacare--- According to my research and what was reported on CBS News, a policy via Obamacare tailored to me personally would cost approximately $600 per month. I can't afford a policy for $100 per month. So much for the grand benefits of Obamacare...at least, in relation to me.
4. RE: shutting down the Gov't v. raising the Debt Ceiling--- For the past 80-85 yrs or so, the Fed Gov't has been adhering to Keynesian Economics...essentially, institutionalized deficit spending. It's not a matter of the Gov't being bankrupt in the future; it's already bankrupt, & has been for decades. The politicians have no intention of ever eliminating the National Debt; the Debt Bubble will continue to grow until, like all bubbles, it eventually bursts. The recent "sequestration" efforts did nothing substantial to reduce spending; those efforts only addressed the proposed INCREASES in spending. Even those are being exempted by Congress passing laws to that effect. Deficit spending is continuing, & will continue, until the Debt Bubble bursts. Then it's goodbye Keynes... & our economy...game over.
ADDENDUM: Since going completely off the Gold Standard in 1971 (under Nixon), the only reason the dollar has any value at all is because it is the world's reserve currency. With ongoing institutionalized deficit spending and the ever-increasing national Debt Bubble, inevitably the time will come when other countries decide that the dollar should no longer be the world's reserve currency. That's when the bubble will burst; countries will dump their U.S. dollars. That will cause our economy to tank. Game Over. What can be done to prevent that scenario? In my opinion, nothing substantial---the propaganda favoring Keynesian Economics is too thick. Will we recover from the biggest crash in history? I believe so, but it will be an incredibly long, difficult and painful recovery.
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