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So, the corporate fat cats that run this country are doing their damnedest to take everything they can from us. They want us to work longer hours, do more in those hours, and receive less for our time and effort. Is this the new American Dream?
Showing posts with label populism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label populism. Show all posts
August 12, 2009
The New American Dream?
Are you working harder for less? According to the Department of Labor, the answer is probably yes. For details on this, please read this article from MSNBC.
August 7, 2009
Rush compares Democrats to Nazis.
I'm sorry, what? This can't be serious. Sadly, it is. Rush Limbaugh has decided to hit a new level of low. I know I really shouldn't be surprised by this. The man (and I use the term loosely) has a long history of unsavory behavior and offensive commentary that any thinking, rational mind would be appalled to hear. Having watched the footage of his little diatribe I can honestly say that I believe he's walked right off the diving board and sunk to the bottom of the deep end. He's a wacko to begin with, and spends a lot of time in Looney Land. But this was just amazing. Not only is he factually wrong on every single point, his frothing at the mouth like a rabid animal is just spooky.
It offended me when Liberals and Democrats called Republicans Nazis and compared Bush to Hitler. It disgusts me now when it is even less accurate. There is no legitimate reason to play the Nazi card, ever. Except, of course, when dealing with real Nazis. This kind of political rabble-rousing ends any kind of legitimate discussion and causes people to start screaming at each other.
Then again, that's the point, isn't it Rush? You don't want people to talk to each other. You don't want people taking the time to consider the issues and decide for themselves that there is good to be had with Health Care Reform. No, you and your corporate masters want us at each other's throats. You want us fighting each other so we can't fight you.
You see, that's the real goal here. Divide and conquer. In order to keep us controlled and funding their lavish lifestyles they need us disorganized and in disarray. In order for the Corporate States of America to continue unabated they need us to hate each other and to work at odds. They need to keep us from realizing what is good for us and demanding it. They need us tired, ignorant, and hungry. They want us too sick to resist but not so sick as to punch a time clock. They want us poor. They need us to be this. And they need people like Rush Limbaugh to make us hate each other.
April 25, 2009
April 17, 2009
What is Populism?
What is Populism, anyway? Ultimately, there is a very simple definition but a very complex answer. Populism is the belief in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people. The definition doesn't completely answer the question, however. To truly understand Populism we need to put it into context.
Populism is the opposite of elitism, or leadership or rule by an elite segment of society. When the American colonies declared independence from Britain we declared our independence from elitism. Elitism means that only those who are possesed of superior position in society have the right to make the rules that govern everyone. Those rules do not benefit the populace, only the ruling elite. When we declaired that all men are created equal we said that all members of society have a place within government. We went one step further and said that government was granted its authority by the people it governed.
In a Populist society it is the common man that makes the rules. In a fair society those rules seek to benefit the whole of society while impinging upon others at a very minimum. In truth, fairness is intrinsic to a Populist society because of the belief that we are all equal before the law.
A common lie about Populism is that it seeks to take from the wealthy or elite and give to the commoner or poor man. Populism is not about redistribution of wealth. Populism isn't an economic policy. Populism isn't a governmental philosophy. Populism is the belief that the common man is of worth and value to society. Populism is a social principle of equality, and ultimately, fairness. Instead of a ruling elite answerable only to itself, government and society is controlled by the very people it governs. This is what Populism is.
For the people!
Populism is the opposite of elitism, or leadership or rule by an elite segment of society. When the American colonies declared independence from Britain we declared our independence from elitism. Elitism means that only those who are possesed of superior position in society have the right to make the rules that govern everyone. Those rules do not benefit the populace, only the ruling elite. When we declaired that all men are created equal we said that all members of society have a place within government. We went one step further and said that government was granted its authority by the people it governed.
In a Populist society it is the common man that makes the rules. In a fair society those rules seek to benefit the whole of society while impinging upon others at a very minimum. In truth, fairness is intrinsic to a Populist society because of the belief that we are all equal before the law.
A common lie about Populism is that it seeks to take from the wealthy or elite and give to the commoner or poor man. Populism is not about redistribution of wealth. Populism isn't an economic policy. Populism isn't a governmental philosophy. Populism is the belief that the common man is of worth and value to society. Populism is a social principle of equality, and ultimately, fairness. Instead of a ruling elite answerable only to itself, government and society is controlled by the very people it governs. This is what Populism is.
For the people!
April 15, 2009
Why Populism?
The more I see the way the world operates, the more I realize that people need to be reminded of their power and importance. The populace, the people, are the life blood of a civilization and it is through them that true power of law is derived. This is a founding principle upon which our nation is built and it is the people who have been shut out from the systems of governance. We have been stripped of our importance by an over-class that neither regards our needs nor concerns. Liberty is the right to self-governance and that governance must be an expression of the will of the people with regard for the rights and equalities of the minority. Self-governance has been taken from us and replaced with a shallow veneer of involvement. We have been shut out of the Halls of Power because we are not born people of privilege, status, or wealth. We are not power-brokers with billions of dollars to spend. We are the life blood of our nation, and we have been constrained until we are barely flowing through the veins of the Motherland. Our nation withers and dies because its blood does not flow.
It is our blood most of all that was spilled in our formation as an independent nation. We, the people, bled for our birth. We, the people, bled for our own internal disputes. We, the people, bleed now under a yoke of control. That yoke is ignorance. We have been restricted to meaningless trivialities and been told that it is education. We have been brow-beaten into submission to a master who preys upon our labors but cares nothing for our toils. It is this yoke of bondage that we must cast off and rise above to take back our nation and our pride. We must remove the chains that shackle us and take back our rightful place in society.
We have been caged, our minds left to rot as wheat in the field. Thought is our revolution. Thought is what frees us from slavery and enables us to wield the power that is innately ours. No more an exalted state can man exist in than that of self-mastery. This principle is the founding principle of our republic and it is this principle that heralds the greatest truth we have ever uttered; all men are created equal. This is what is denied to us, and it is this that we must strive for. This is the Revolution of Thought that must take hold, and with it we can aspire to the greatness that was set before us.
Note: This was written a little while back and is meant to be more of a fire-brand than literal expression of populism. As a nation, we need to revitalize the lives and well-being of the common man. We are shackled by our ignorance of the back-room deals in the halls of power. We are worn down by our labors to survive. This is what we must master in order to assert our rightful role in government.
For the people!
It is our blood most of all that was spilled in our formation as an independent nation. We, the people, bled for our birth. We, the people, bled for our own internal disputes. We, the people, bleed now under a yoke of control. That yoke is ignorance. We have been restricted to meaningless trivialities and been told that it is education. We have been brow-beaten into submission to a master who preys upon our labors but cares nothing for our toils. It is this yoke of bondage that we must cast off and rise above to take back our nation and our pride. We must remove the chains that shackle us and take back our rightful place in society.
We have been caged, our minds left to rot as wheat in the field. Thought is our revolution. Thought is what frees us from slavery and enables us to wield the power that is innately ours. No more an exalted state can man exist in than that of self-mastery. This principle is the founding principle of our republic and it is this principle that heralds the greatest truth we have ever uttered; all men are created equal. This is what is denied to us, and it is this that we must strive for. This is the Revolution of Thought that must take hold, and with it we can aspire to the greatness that was set before us.
Note: This was written a little while back and is meant to be more of a fire-brand than literal expression of populism. As a nation, we need to revitalize the lives and well-being of the common man. We are shackled by our ignorance of the back-room deals in the halls of power. We are worn down by our labors to survive. This is what we must master in order to assert our rightful role in government.
For the people!
April 14, 2009
In Defense of Populism
Adam McCall, a student at Emory University in Atlanta, has written an excellent article on Populism. I encourage you all to read it.
In Defense of Populism
By Adam McCall
emorywheel.com
I have a couple of conservative friends who are attending a mock “Tea Party” at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta tomorrow. Being born and bred in and around Boston, I know a thing or two about such events. And, while I don’t necessarily agree that the situation the United States face now is similar to the state of affairs they faced then, I do believe that the media has underplayed the legitimacy of the populist backlash against the Obama-Bush economic policies of the last year.
Regardless of election-time appeals, Wall Street economists dominate the ranks of both parties. Functionally, there has been little change in the macroeconomic policies pursued by both former President George W. Bush and President Obama. Former Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson, current Treasury Sec. Timothy Geithner and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers, as well as their advisers, all spent time working in and around Wall Street. Unsurprisingly, all of their proposed solutions rely on bailing out investment and commercial banks and insurance companies.
Still, I have many friends who trust the elites more. It’s foolish, they say, to get upset about bonuses paid to incompetent managers, the death of the auto industry and the anarchic mess on Wall Street.
This is regrettable; truth is, it has become all too easy for these elite policy-makers to pick and choose which sectors live and die. Trapped inside their own bubbles, government bureaucrats keep Wall Street and the artificial economy afloat. They subsidize the creation of abstract value rather than the people who make America work, the people who make things.
Though there’s been a large outcry about the potential tax hikes on the upper class under the new administration, there has been little recognition of the fact that the bank bailouts represent a large re-distribution of wealth — upwards, to American elites. The idea that strengthening the banks alone will resolve the crisis of confidence in our economy reflects trickle-down economics at its worst.
Whatever happened to Obama’s campaign promises to help the working class and ignore the advice of the Washington wise men?
As these risks become more apparent to many Americans, conventional wisdom has focused on delegitimizing populism as a bastardization of American thought. Even among the intellectual class, there’s a reticence to acknowledge America’s long and proud tradition of populism, reflected in leaders such as former Sec. of State William Jennings Bryan and former Presidents Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt.
Jackson’s example remains instructive for us today. His distrust of banks and concentrated power in the hands of special interests that he put into practical policy as president seem to be the agenda that Obama has failed thus far to pursue. Like Jackson, Obama was elected after promising to fix similar problems after succeeding the unelected heir of a political dynasty. For his presidency to succeed, Obama must recognize the need to re-affirm the populism he preached on the campaign trail, which harkened back to Old Hickory’s.
So what can Obama do to avert further outrage? Expand on current plans to protect homeowners from foreclosure, for starters. Protect the rights of workers to unionize by passing the Employee Free Choice Act, which allows for unions to be formed after workers sign a petition. Put more money into “shovel-ready” infrastructure jobs and less in tax cuts. Support American manufacturing jobs and prevent jobs from being shipped overseas by bailing out the auto industry and supporting efforts to buy American.
These populist steps are necessary. As countries around the world stand idle, ignoring calls from Obama to stimulate their own economies, Obama must radically take steps to spur our own into a brighter day. While some of these policies may be discouraged as protectionist, the reality is that other countries already have “national champions” of industry and trade barriers of their own. It does the United States no good to allow high paying unionized manufacturing jobs to go elsewhere. Low prices at Wal-Mart mean less and less as employment fails to rebound and wages stagnate.
If Obama continues on his present path, wingnut tea parties will be the least of his concerns. The 2010 mid-term elections approach with Obama Democrats, such as Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, under fire from all quarters for their role in allowing the abuses of the bank bailouts. Will it take defeat at the hands of a dissatisfied public to turn Obama back toward populism? One hopes it doesn’t come to that, but it might if Obama doesn’t provide the answer to his own calls for change.
In Defense of Populism
By Adam McCall
emorywheel.com
I have a couple of conservative friends who are attending a mock “Tea Party” at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta tomorrow. Being born and bred in and around Boston, I know a thing or two about such events. And, while I don’t necessarily agree that the situation the United States face now is similar to the state of affairs they faced then, I do believe that the media has underplayed the legitimacy of the populist backlash against the Obama-Bush economic policies of the last year.
Regardless of election-time appeals, Wall Street economists dominate the ranks of both parties. Functionally, there has been little change in the macroeconomic policies pursued by both former President George W. Bush and President Obama. Former Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson, current Treasury Sec. Timothy Geithner and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers, as well as their advisers, all spent time working in and around Wall Street. Unsurprisingly, all of their proposed solutions rely on bailing out investment and commercial banks and insurance companies.
Still, I have many friends who trust the elites more. It’s foolish, they say, to get upset about bonuses paid to incompetent managers, the death of the auto industry and the anarchic mess on Wall Street.
This is regrettable; truth is, it has become all too easy for these elite policy-makers to pick and choose which sectors live and die. Trapped inside their own bubbles, government bureaucrats keep Wall Street and the artificial economy afloat. They subsidize the creation of abstract value rather than the people who make America work, the people who make things.
Though there’s been a large outcry about the potential tax hikes on the upper class under the new administration, there has been little recognition of the fact that the bank bailouts represent a large re-distribution of wealth — upwards, to American elites. The idea that strengthening the banks alone will resolve the crisis of confidence in our economy reflects trickle-down economics at its worst.
Whatever happened to Obama’s campaign promises to help the working class and ignore the advice of the Washington wise men?
As these risks become more apparent to many Americans, conventional wisdom has focused on delegitimizing populism as a bastardization of American thought. Even among the intellectual class, there’s a reticence to acknowledge America’s long and proud tradition of populism, reflected in leaders such as former Sec. of State William Jennings Bryan and former Presidents Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt.
Jackson’s example remains instructive for us today. His distrust of banks and concentrated power in the hands of special interests that he put into practical policy as president seem to be the agenda that Obama has failed thus far to pursue. Like Jackson, Obama was elected after promising to fix similar problems after succeeding the unelected heir of a political dynasty. For his presidency to succeed, Obama must recognize the need to re-affirm the populism he preached on the campaign trail, which harkened back to Old Hickory’s.
So what can Obama do to avert further outrage? Expand on current plans to protect homeowners from foreclosure, for starters. Protect the rights of workers to unionize by passing the Employee Free Choice Act, which allows for unions to be formed after workers sign a petition. Put more money into “shovel-ready” infrastructure jobs and less in tax cuts. Support American manufacturing jobs and prevent jobs from being shipped overseas by bailing out the auto industry and supporting efforts to buy American.
These populist steps are necessary. As countries around the world stand idle, ignoring calls from Obama to stimulate their own economies, Obama must radically take steps to spur our own into a brighter day. While some of these policies may be discouraged as protectionist, the reality is that other countries already have “national champions” of industry and trade barriers of their own. It does the United States no good to allow high paying unionized manufacturing jobs to go elsewhere. Low prices at Wal-Mart mean less and less as employment fails to rebound and wages stagnate.
If Obama continues on his present path, wingnut tea parties will be the least of his concerns. The 2010 mid-term elections approach with Obama Democrats, such as Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, under fire from all quarters for their role in allowing the abuses of the bank bailouts. Will it take defeat at the hands of a dissatisfied public to turn Obama back toward populism? One hopes it doesn’t come to that, but it might if Obama doesn’t provide the answer to his own calls for change.
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