Hmmm… is that little engine running on Koch Brothers’ coal?The little engine will keep chugging, happily along, regardless of the plight of the 99%. Sure, the 1% actually are better off when prosperity has a broad base, but they seem to have forgotten that most of their money is comes from what the working class produces/earns/purchases.
Part of the problem is that people can make profits by hypertrading on currency value. If we first recognize that money is simply how we exchange goods and services without using clubs and guns then we realize it is the product or the service provided that has the value, not the money. However, it has become easier for people to make money from gambling on the value of the dollar vs, the euro vs the yen etc etc at the rate of 10000 trades per minute, perhaps even per second. Even if they only make one cent per trade, at 10000 cents per minute, that is a lot of money. When we put real value on goods and services instead of the money used to acquire them, we can then put more value on the humans who provide those goods and services. There is no incentive on speculators to do anything but make the items on which they speculate to cost more and be harder to acquire as with Goldman Sachs and the Aluminum shuffle they’ve been doing. There is nothing wrong with being rich, but how one becomes rich should have ethical and moral boundaries.Respectfully,C.
Value is put into the system by those who work, and sucked out of it by those who award themselves 3,000 times the wage of their average (not bottom, but average) workers.
Even many in the 1% will end up holding the bag some day for the .1% whose wealth is heaped above theirs like theirs towers over ours. By then it won’t matter much to us.
Happy New Year, Mechanic. We live in a cynical world so no apology is needed for being cynical. My comment is based on the knowledge that MANY humans are compassionate, ethical, and willing to work towards a better society, and ‘Hope’ that humans can be more than self interested and greedy. There are better ways, and we had laws, regulations and even taxes that limited the ability of the powerful to use money as a cudgel over society. Through our national apathy and laziness, the majority of voters ceased voting and lobbyists and wealthy donors filled the void. Letters exchanged between Jefferson and Adams, as well as thoughts credited to Washington, Madison, and Franklin expressed concern should money become the major tool in picking legislators. Sadly, Washington wasn’t even dead before the political parties against which he spoke, began forming and taking their entrenched sides.I have no disagreement with what you wrote and am grateful for the view of a small businessman as well as a thoughtful mind. However, at its simplest, we are standing where the chimpanzee spits. It is easier to move away from the chimpanzee than it is to teach him not to spit, but the most long term solution for everyone, is to educate and change the behavior. This we do by being active in our political system with emails, letters, and phone calls. We do this by being part of the process wherein candidates are chosen, and not just deciding for whom to vote or not vote when the actual election takes place. I support the heavy taxing of companies that take their businesses off shore and heavy import fees on products made overseas and returned here for sale.Did you read the news last month where US companies will sell their chickens to China, China will process it into the processed chicken we eat and send it back to us for consumption.No FDA regs, no gov’t supervision of factories, just processed chicken from China.What could possibly go wrong?Out of time, but always good to chat with you, Mechanic. Don’t let the cynicism get you down.Your friend, C.
“The little engine should be ashamed for being derelict in his duty to carry those who prefer a free ride. "
Do you think so …?
What about those who have paid full fare all their lives, are paying through the nose now and being denied services?
Pray for continued good health, and maybe write to the FDA and protest their approval of Monsanto’s newest corn and soy seeds.Those would be 2,4,D Ready, so your staples will all be seasoned not only with glyphosate, but also with 2,4,D.
Eat up! Enjoy! Your tax dollars at work, complicit in your poisoning. Only the very well off are exempt; nobody else can afford the price of ever disappearing clean food in this country.
What do you call that, when the government is complicit in poisoning the working population …?
“Those who run the business are shielded from you, and from any conscionable interaction with you. All they are concerned with is business ethics, “How much money can we get from them and how fast.” Because that is how the business is judged, by how much money it makes and how fast.”
TTM, that pretty much covers it. BigBusiness has nothing but contempt for its employees AND its customers. But why should they? The government, via the de-regulators and the SC has given them an open license to exploit their employees and customers to the fullest depths of their pockets.
Insurers are backed by government edicts for us to purchase their product. That is, we are forced by law to give our money to insurers, who then are free simply to deny our claims. Sure, they now have to cover pre-existing conditions. That is no burden to them, they are free to deny any claim, any time.
And the patient has no recourse. Oh, yes, there are ‘appeals processes’. Depending on what they are denying that you need, odds are not in the patient’s favor for ‘winning’ an appeal. They can outwait patients easily, and are happy to do it.
And the government is happy to support their doing it. Has been for decades, but now we’re locked in to a downward spiral.
What do you call that again when government is complicit in the poisoning of its population and refusal to support its population’s health care ..?
" What is truly mortifying is the some of the most without are so adamant that the some with all deserve it all, no matter how morally or ethically bankrupt they were in getting it."
Or keeping it.
Very well said … I’m pretty sure you have the right sow by the ear here, :-)
Uncle Joe Premium Member over 10 years ago
Hmmm… is that little engine running on Koch Brothers’ coal?The little engine will keep chugging, happily along, regardless of the plight of the 99%. Sure, the 1% actually are better off when prosperity has a broad base, but they seem to have forgotten that most of their money is comes from what the working class produces/earns/purchases.
chazandru over 10 years ago
Part of the problem is that people can make profits by hypertrading on currency value. If we first recognize that money is simply how we exchange goods and services without using clubs and guns then we realize it is the product or the service provided that has the value, not the money. However, it has become easier for people to make money from gambling on the value of the dollar vs, the euro vs the yen etc etc at the rate of 10000 trades per minute, perhaps even per second. Even if they only make one cent per trade, at 10000 cents per minute, that is a lot of money. When we put real value on goods and services instead of the money used to acquire them, we can then put more value on the humans who provide those goods and services. There is no incentive on speculators to do anything but make the items on which they speculate to cost more and be harder to acquire as with Goldman Sachs and the Aluminum shuffle they’ve been doing. There is nothing wrong with being rich, but how one becomes rich should have ethical and moral boundaries.Respectfully,C.
Enoki over 10 years ago
What’s that…? The full time gainful employment rate today thanks to the economic incompetence of the Obama administration?
ScullyUFO over 10 years ago
Everything up until the comma in your post is exactly right! And that is what is the problem.
Kip W over 10 years ago
Value is put into the system by those who work, and sucked out of it by those who award themselves 3,000 times the wage of their average (not bottom, but average) workers.
Even many in the 1% will end up holding the bag some day for the .1% whose wealth is heaped above theirs like theirs towers over ours. By then it won’t matter much to us.
Enoki over 10 years ago
TTM, thank you so much for that gratiutious insulting and ad hominem attack. I genuinely enjoyed reading it. Again, thank you.
chazandru over 10 years ago
Happy New Year, Mechanic. We live in a cynical world so no apology is needed for being cynical. My comment is based on the knowledge that MANY humans are compassionate, ethical, and willing to work towards a better society, and ‘Hope’ that humans can be more than self interested and greedy. There are better ways, and we had laws, regulations and even taxes that limited the ability of the powerful to use money as a cudgel over society. Through our national apathy and laziness, the majority of voters ceased voting and lobbyists and wealthy donors filled the void. Letters exchanged between Jefferson and Adams, as well as thoughts credited to Washington, Madison, and Franklin expressed concern should money become the major tool in picking legislators. Sadly, Washington wasn’t even dead before the political parties against which he spoke, began forming and taking their entrenched sides.I have no disagreement with what you wrote and am grateful for the view of a small businessman as well as a thoughtful mind. However, at its simplest, we are standing where the chimpanzee spits. It is easier to move away from the chimpanzee than it is to teach him not to spit, but the most long term solution for everyone, is to educate and change the behavior. This we do by being active in our political system with emails, letters, and phone calls. We do this by being part of the process wherein candidates are chosen, and not just deciding for whom to vote or not vote when the actual election takes place. I support the heavy taxing of companies that take their businesses off shore and heavy import fees on products made overseas and returned here for sale.Did you read the news last month where US companies will sell their chickens to China, China will process it into the processed chicken we eat and send it back to us for consumption.No FDA regs, no gov’t supervision of factories, just processed chicken from China.What could possibly go wrong?Out of time, but always good to chat with you, Mechanic. Don’t let the cynicism get you down.Your friend, C.
Hawthorne over 10 years ago
“The little engine should be ashamed for being derelict in his duty to carry those who prefer a free ride. "
Do you think so …?
What about those who have paid full fare all their lives, are paying through the nose now and being denied services?
Pray for continued good health, and maybe write to the FDA and protest their approval of Monsanto’s newest corn and soy seeds.Those would be 2,4,D Ready, so your staples will all be seasoned not only with glyphosate, but also with 2,4,D.
Eat up! Enjoy! Your tax dollars at work, complicit in your poisoning. Only the very well off are exempt; nobody else can afford the price of ever disappearing clean food in this country.
What do you call that, when the government is complicit in poisoning the working population …?
Hawthorne over 10 years ago
“Those who run the business are shielded from you, and from any conscionable interaction with you. All they are concerned with is business ethics, “How much money can we get from them and how fast.” Because that is how the business is judged, by how much money it makes and how fast.”
TTM, that pretty much covers it. BigBusiness has nothing but contempt for its employees AND its customers. But why should they? The government, via the de-regulators and the SC has given them an open license to exploit their employees and customers to the fullest depths of their pockets.
Insurers are backed by government edicts for us to purchase their product. That is, we are forced by law to give our money to insurers, who then are free simply to deny our claims. Sure, they now have to cover pre-existing conditions. That is no burden to them, they are free to deny any claim, any time.
And the patient has no recourse. Oh, yes, there are ‘appeals processes’. Depending on what they are denying that you need, odds are not in the patient’s favor for ‘winning’ an appeal. They can outwait patients easily, and are happy to do it.
And the government is happy to support their doing it. Has been for decades, but now we’re locked in to a downward spiral.
What do you call that again when government is complicit in the poisoning of its population and refusal to support its population’s health care ..?
Hawthorne over 10 years ago
" What is truly mortifying is the some of the most without are so adamant that the some with all deserve it all, no matter how morally or ethically bankrupt they were in getting it."
Or keeping it.
Very well said … I’m pretty sure you have the right sow by the ear here, :-)
artistdavid over 10 years ago
Have the Libs noticed New York State luring new business and jobs to N Y by promising no taxes for ten years?
Just think what prosperity and jobs, states could generate by cutting their taxes in half.