It won’t be the free shit army leading the revolution. They are still getting their free shit and are satisfied living a life of ignorance and squalor. It is the educated middle class who have fallen into the lower class that are most angry. They believed in the American dream and it has proven to be an illusion. Their anger is palatable as they witness the continued looting by the Wall Street elite and the transfer of their wealth to the non-productive ignorant class through SNAP, SSDI, Section 8 housing and a myriad of other entitlement bribe programs.
The spark for any revolution would have to come from the youth of the country who have been enslaved in the chains of $1.2 trillion of student loan debt, no job prospects, and being handed a $200 trillion bill by their parents and grandparents. When will their frustration and anger boil over? There will be a revolution and I want to be there when Jamie Dimon, Bernanke and the other criminals lose their heads. Bring it on.
America’s new ‘economic guillotine’ is dead ahead Commentary: Wealth report on inequality calls to mind French Revolution
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch)
Credit Suisse’s new Global Wealth Report reminds us of the 1790s when inequality ignited the French Revolution and 40,000 met the guillotine. Today, Credit Suisse data reveal that just 1% own 46% of the world, while two-thirds of the world’s people have less than $10,000 wealth.
Credit Suisse predicts a world with 11 trillionaires in a couple generations, as the rich get richer and the gap widens.
Can this trend continue? Or will it trigger an “economic guillotine?” Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz, author of “The Price of Inequality,” is not as optimistic as Credit Suisse: “America likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity.” But today the “numbers show that the American dream is a myth … the gap’s widening … the clear trend is one of concentration of income and wealth at the top, the hollowing out of the middle, and increasing poverty at the bottom.”
History is warning us: Inequality is a recipe for disaster, rebellions, revolutions and wars. Not in two generations. Much, much sooner, a reminder of the Pentagon’s famous 2003 prediction: “As the planet’s carrying capacity shrinks, an ancient pattern of desperate, all-out wars over food, water, and energy supplies will emerge … warfare will define human life on the planet by 2020.” Yes, much sooner than two generations.
Revolutions catch us off-guard, ignite suddenly, spreading like fire The French Revolution is a powerful history lesson, easily denied. Angry masses. Their treasury bankrupt. High interest on nation debt consumed half their tax revenues. Why? Earlier wars, a decedent aristocracy, an incompetent King Louis XVI. The anger so intense that during the 1792-93 Reign of Terror the king was guillotined, along with as many as 40,000 others, many of whom were innocent, as inequality ripped apart their nation.
Why? The aristocracy, intellectuals and the rich were oblivious of the needs of the masses, much like our leaders today. As Adbusters magazine put it: “Even in the seconds before their heads were about to roll away from their bodies underneath the blade of the guillotine, it still puzzled the opulent Paris elite how this could be happening.”
The truth is, they were in denial, not listening to the masses for years. Yes, revolutions catch whole nations by surprise: “Just months before the storming of the Bastille in 1789, everything was peachy. The social order ran smooth. The poor paid their dues. The middle class kept their mouths shut. The aristocracy partied … and the next day they were being dragged through the streets by their frilly collars like common thieves.”
Inequality is accelerating rapidly to revolutionary levels Are we near a new Bastille Day today? Barry Ritholtz’s the Big Picture recently posted “The Stunning Truth About Inequality In America,” a list of 14 reasons from “WashingtonsBlog,” warning us the inequality gap is accelerating rapidly, widening so fast that America may soon be at what you could call Bastille Day levels, an inequality gap so great it is the fuel and trigger that can ignite an angry people into revolution.
These 14 triggers are reinforced by the statistics in the Credit Suisse Wealth Report, Stiglitz’s challenge and the Pentagon prediction. Here’s a slightly edited version of the “Stunning Truth About Inequality,” a must-read for America’s 95 million of investors:
1. It’s worse than you imagine. Americans consistently underestimate the amount of inequality in our country. They would be shocked to learn the truth …
2. Worse than history’s worst. Twice as bad as in ancient Rome, worse than in tsarist Russia, worse than in America’s Gilded Age, worse than in modern Egypt, Tunisia or Yemen, worse than in many banana republics in Latin America. Yes, today’s inequality is even worse than experienced by slaves in 1774 colonial America.
3. America lagging other developed nations. Worse in America than any other developed nation.
4. Permanent inequality. Staggering inequality in America has become permanent.
5. America’s two economies. There are two economies: one for the rich, and the other for everyone else.
6. Top 1% rallys, while 99% in recession. The economy has only recovered for the richest 1% … the rest of the country is more or less stuck in a depression.
7. Rich keep getting richer. The Super Rich are raking in more than ever before.
8. Poor getting poorer. While more and more people are sliding into poverty.
9. Middle class now dead. One of every five households in the America is on food stamps. The middle class has more or less been destroyed.
10. Causes market crashes. Who’s who of prominent economists and investors say that inequality causes crashes and hurts the economy.
11. Great Depression. Extreme inequality helped cause the Great Depression, the current financial crisis … and the fall of the Roman Empire.
12. Bad political policies. Inequality isn’t happening for mysterious or uncontrollable reasons. Bad government policy is responsible for runaway inequality.
13. And leadership. Bush was horrible, but income inequality has increased even more under Obama than under Bush.
14. Conservatives. It’s a myth that conservatives accept runaway inequality. Conservatives are as concerned as liberals regarding the stunning collapse of upward mobility.
Even if the Super Rich do avoid the coming economic guillotine, what’s ahead? In “Wealth, War and Wisdom,” hedge fund manager Barton Biggs, former Morgan Stanley global strategist, warned of the “possibility of a breakdown of the civilized infrastructure,” a revolution of the disillusioned, angry masses. His solution? Buy a farm up in the mountains: “Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food … well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. Think Swiss Family Robinson.”
I’ll bet my log splitter would work just as well. Sharpen that sum’bitch up and let ‘er fly!
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Heads up… Drudge is running a headline from InfoWars that indicates Chase Bank may be limiting access to cash after November 17. No international bank transfers (for people trying to get their money out), limits to monthly cash activity. Some observers think it’s in preparation for bank runs or a bank holiday.
Read for yourself:
http://www.infowars.com/chase-bank-limits-cash-withdrawals-bans-international-wire-transfers/
This list lost a little credibility with me because of #2. Worse than slave in 1774?
I’m with Wip …….. #2 is QUITE a stretch.
Most of the other 13 reasons all have to do with envy. Those goddamned rich vs the oppressed poor.
I’m definately cash poor. There is no doubt about that. But, I eat wonderfully healthy, and delicious meals …. whenever and however often I want. I’m in near perfect health. The house is cool when it’s hot outside, and warm when it’s cold. I have a gorgeous 18 year old car that faithfully gets me everywhere I want to go. I have a small family whom I love, and get love in return. I’m not one to complain that I’m not rich, nor am I envious of their rich-ness. I am thankful for what I do have.
There are a LOT worse things than being poor. I am even more grateful that I am afflicted with none of them.
Re : #2
There are those who presently have negative net worth. (Think mortgages and student loans). Back in 1774 I don’t think slaves were given massive amounts of credit.
Using the ratio between the net worth of the rich and the poor I am sure you will find it is much worse today.
Submitted by Brandon Smith of Alt-Market blog,
Legitimate revolution takes time, patience and fortitude. Unfortunately, this is a strategic concept that is lost on many Americans today who suffer from a now common ailment of attention deficit disorder and an obsession with immediate gratification. Even some who have their hearts in the right place and who work to defend and resurrect our nation’s founding ideals seem to believe that any action to defeat corrupt oligarchy must be effective immediately, otherwise, it’s not worth the attempt. History, of course, teaches us the opposite.
The American rebellion against the British monarchy was not an abrupt or immediate affair. Anger and unrest over the trespasses of King George simmered for decades. The first British troops stationed with the intent to stifle colonial freedoms arrived in Massachusetts in 1768. The Boston Massacre took place in 1770, and still, the Founders refused to leap into open retaliation. Lexington Green and the “shot heard around the world” did not take place until April 19, 1775. The Revolution took years to culminate into an actual physical war. So what did the colonists do in the meantime? Sit on their hands?
In fact, early Americans employed economic tactics against their enemy long before they picked up muskets and powder. British imports were turned away or destroyed. Clothing and other items normally shipped from Europe to be sold in the colonies were boycotted, while colonists began producing all of their own survival necessities. They refused to participate in the system that was designed to enslave them and this gave them a foundation on which to launch their eventual fight for liberty. Without efforts in economic independence, the American Revolution may not have ever taken place.
I always recall this example whenever I am confronted with a Gung-ho liberty movement activist who demands to know when “we” are going to “do something” about criminal government. Or, when I am confronted by nihilists who proclaim that “we” should have “pulled the trigger” long ago, and now it is “too late to do anything.” The Founders had the same doubts and faced the same naysayers, and had the wisdom to act with the correct force at the correct moment.
The methods of non-participation have been repeated in many dissenting actions against despotic establishments, often with much success. This does not mean that one can necessarily topple tyrants simply by refusing to use their goods or their currency. That would be a childish assumption. Very few tyrants have ever been removed from power without an act of force. However, the process of learning to become self sufficient makes each person more effective as an activist or revolutionary, and thus, more dangerous to those who seek control.
Sadly, one of the greatest threats to the American public in 2013 is the possibility that our government will cut off public access to Federal funds. Our society has become so addicted to government tainted money that up to one third of the country relies on some form of paycheck or welfare from the system. If the system breaks, or is deliberately sabotaged, the sickening level of citizen dependency today makes catastrophe inevitable.
The most interesting aspect of the current “shut-down” situation is the fear it is generating, and the partisan fury it facilitates. Republicans and Democrats are nearly ready to tear each others’ throats out all over the continuance or non-continuance of a political body that no longer functions anyway and has become a middle-man for global banks. This interests me because it is an entirely solvable problem, yet the average American appears completely ignorant of the fix.
Most people are either ready to riot, ready to undermine themselves with bad legislation or a Constitutional Convention, ready for a military coup (another idiotic idea the elites would enjoy), or they have become despondent and uselessly morose, when all they really have to do is consider that perhaps they should not be so dependent on such an unstable economic structure or political dynamic in the first place.
The real power is in OUR hands, and has always been in our hands. Federal welfare, and the idea of the loving provider nanny state are the great illusions. The idea of barreling head first to topple this soulless machine, though satisfying to consider, is also inadequate. A more rounded strategy is required…
The mindless drive for infinite spending often associated with the “Left” is a recipe for utter fiscal disaster in the form of suffocating liabilities, massive deficits, and a hyperinflated dollar. But,the mainstream Republican notion that there will be no consequences if debt default occurs is equally foolish. I have been astounded by wild assertions from the GOP that American tax revenues will be more than enough to cover interest payments on U.S. debts. There are many conservatives and Liberty Movement analysts that should know better than to use official Treasury Department interest numbers and debt numbers to support their arguments.
Given that the real U.S. National debt including entitlement programs is estimated at around $200 trillion, and real deficit figures stand at around $5 trillion per year, I’m wondering how anyone in their right mind could claim that annual tax revenues of $2.5 trillion (2012 direct revenue numbers) could possibly cover foreign interest payments on top of existing liabilities? A massive piece of flesh has to be taken somewhere, and the U.S. financial system is on life support already.
The no-worries default theory does not take into account the fact that median household incomes have been dropping every year for the past five years, thus continuously diminishing tax revenue opportunities. It does not take into account the massive spike in interest payments that would come with a foreign sell-off of U.S. Treasury debt. It does not take into account the possibility that foreign creditors might refuse to accept payments on interest in U.S. dollars (as creditors refused to take German Marks as payment during their hyperinflationary collapse). Nor does it take into account the eventual loss of international faith in the dollar as the world reserve currency, which would rain havoc down upon the U.S. populace in the form of dollar devaluation and exploding prices on every commodity imaginable. Think this cannot or will not happen? The Chinese are now openly calling for it to happen!
There is a false notion floating around alternative economic circles that a default is caused only by the refusal of a nation to pay the interest on existing debt obligations, and that these debt obligations are somehow static and predictable. In fact, a default also takes place when Treasury bonds (consider the vast sums of short-term bonds circulating in foreign coffers) are unexpectedly liquidated by creditors and the debtor nation does not honor them in full. Greece went through a similar “haircut” process, though the domestic and global effects are limited because they do not suffer the distinction of holding the world reserve currency. The U.S. does carry that distinction, and with it comes danger. America has only defaulted on debt payment once during the time in which the dollar ascended as the world reserve, in 1979. This was a “technical” default the government blamed on an organizational error, and was extremely short lived.
Never has the U.S. gone into full default mode while holding world reserve currency status.
Let’s not delude ourselves, fellow conservatives. There is a steep price to be paid for debt default. I fully agree that mathematical reality requires our nation’s government to end it’s fiscal spending obsession, and if that means we suffer a painful withdrawal, then so be it. Obama cultists don’t seem to grasp that this event is inevitable anyway. However, attempting to gloss over the consequences will only make it easier for the mainstream media to demonize us later down the road as the cause of the coming catastrophe. There is no way around it. There is no magical silver bullet solution to avoid the pain. We will have to take our medicine, one way or the other…
Fantasies of a serene default scenario are luring many conservatives into a false sense of security which distracts them from preparation. Never assume we are destined for the best possible outcome. Always assume the shark circling you in the water sees you as dinner.
Whether the White House gets its way, or no-one gets his way and the whole debacle eventually ends in default (which has been my personal prediction since the debate began). America’s economy will face the same destruction on only slightly different timetables. As I pointed out in my last article, The Possible Outcomes Of The Shutdown Theater, the only conceivable winners will be international banks, who can play the market and bleed it dry based merely on what their politician friends tell the media on any given day, and who ultimately WANT to dismantle the United States, our economy, our sovereignty and our Constitution to make way for a new global financial edifice.
If there is no way for the average American to win this game because the rules have been written by our opponent, then perhaps we should stop playing the game altogether.
This means millions of Americans must actively pursue a more independent standard of living. This means each and every person must learn to provide all of their own survival necessities, including food, water, shelter, energy and self defense. This means growing a well-planned garden and educating one’s self on raising livestock. This means learning a valuable trade skill that is useful and always sought after regardless of the state of the mainstream economy. This means striving for off-grid status and cutting ties to electric, gas, and water utility companies. This means training to keep one’s self and one’s family safe in an atmosphere of violence where state sanctioned law enforcement may not be present to protect you. This means building relationships within one’s neighborhood, town or county that allow for proactive organization without the oversight of government. This means providing your own community safety and disaster response without the aid of FEMA. This means establishing alternative local trade (like a barter market) that is NOT dependent on the Internet or any other government watched and regulated network. This means refusing to follow the mandatory directives of Obamacare. This means removing your children from federally funded and dictated schools. This means divorcing yourself completely from government.
There are those within the Liberty Movement that are working to make it easier for regular people to transition away from the mainstream, providing outlets for education and organization for those seeking more independence through non-participation. My own website, http://www.Alt-Market.com, is geared towards helping people network for barter and mutual aid at the local level.
Oath Keepers, a Constitutional organization of veterans, currently serving military, police, firefighters and concerned civilians, has just launched its “Civilization Preservation Program.” It is designed to set up highly adaptable training groups across the U.S. who will teach any interested citizens within their community the survival methods needed to endure disaster, whether natural or man-made, as well as how to rebuild as the storm subsides.
If one is dependent on a tyrant, one cannot hope to defeat that tyrant. The reason so many people are afraid of the results of government shutdown and debt default is because so many people refuse to step away from the system. The reason so many people are afraid to fight back is because they have seen the establishment as their source of income for so long. If more Americans were self-reliant, if more Americans were willing to give up free goodies from the state, if more Americans built their own economic foundations, a collapse of our financial structure would be meaningless. We could simply sit back comfortably and let it die, for why would we care about the funeral pyre of a vicious and reckless political/corporate suicide train?
As things stand at this moment, though, the death of the system is not something to cheer, no matter how much we might wish it to crumble under the weight of its own criminality. The collapse of the existing system will not be the end of our troubles, only the beginning. Chaos always opens doors for evil men, and they will certainly take full advantage of the chaos triggered by shutdown, default or continued inflationary debt spending.
We must make ourselves ready to resist by making ourselves separate from the monster we plan to fight. Crisis waits for no one, and on the path our nation now walks, crisis is assured.
There will be no “safe haven” that won’t be overrun with desperate, starving, violent people in the event of a societal collapse. While we townies will surely have problems, I’ll take my chances in the “shitty” before I’ll run out to some lone “safe haven” with only a small group of relatives to defend us against the hordes of crazed desperados roaming witlessly from place to place, becoming ever more crazed and violent as their prospects of even another meal fade, let alone a place to settle into and build a life.
Small towns? Well, if you are a “newbie”, you’re not welcome. Those people will EAT you if you aren’t one of them.
Shelter “in place” and start building your local community and social network. Pay down your bills and stockpile necessities and practice frugality and efficiencies. Learn basic skills- carpentry, simple mechanics, sewing, canning, house repair and building.
Slavery in Colonial America: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States#Colonial_America
Stigshits is an asshole. Totally disrespected Ron Paul during the primaries.
Fuck this pungent piece of dung.
This is what I’m starting to feel like……
[img]http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples_resource/image/26472?sid=90a82ab6d413147a6b6f360d7988f582[/img]
Anybody else feel like this?
There’s supposed to be a guy on the other end of the flogging. I feel like the guy getting flogged.
[img]http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples_resource/image/26475?sid=90a82ab6d413147a6b6f360d7988f582[/img]
Heads are already rolling……
Obama’s Curious Purge Of The Military Continues
Posted 10/15/2013
Defense: The firing of two nuclear commanders in a week adds to a body count that suggests we have either the most corrupt and incompetent general staff in history or our military is being reshaped for other purposes.
The Obama administration, which has fired no one over scandals such as its Fast and Furious Mexican gun-running operation, its criminal negligence in the terrorist attack on our Benghazi diplomatic mission, or the use of the IRS to target and intimidate political foes, seems to have a curious obsession lately about ethics and competence in the U.S. military.
Last week the Air Force’s two-star general in charge of the units responsible for its 450 nuclear missiles was fired “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership and judgment,” an Air Force statement said.
Maj. Gen. Michael Carey had commanded the 20th Air Force, responsible for the three wings that maintain control of the 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles scattered in missile silos across the northern plains.
The statement added that the decision to relieve Carey was based on information from an inspector general investigation into Carey’s alleged behavior during a temporary duty assignment, which is the military’s term for business travel. It was said to have nothing to do with the operational readiness of the ICBM force or recent failed inspections of ICBM units.
Carey’s removal comes on the heels of President Obama’s personal removal of the No. 2 officer at U.S. Strategic Command, which among other things oversees the military’s nuclear forces. Vice Adm. James Giardina had earlier been suspended from that command after a criminal probe into his potential use of counterfeit poker chips at an Iowa casino.
Granted, command of any portion of our nuclear forces is a tremendous responsibility that cannot be compromised by personal indiscretions.
But these and other moves come from an administration that has shown no great devotion to accountability while it has gutted the military, using it as the fall guy in both budget cuts and the sequestration process.
These are just two in a string of recent military firings.
Rear Adm. Chuck Gaouette, the former John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group commander, was relieved in October 2012 for swearing and allegedly making racially tinged comments that resulted in him being flown off an aircraft carrier deployed to the Arabian Gulf.
Suspicions are that Gaouette’s firing by President Obama was due to this strike force commander disobeying orders when he ordered his forces on Sept. 11 to “assist and provide intelligence for” military forces ordered into action by U.S. Army General Carter Ham, who was then commander of the United States Africa Command, against terrorist forces attacking the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Admin@ Brandon Smith article
Smith is describing the Amish/Mennonite lifestyle. My Grandmother lived like that. I do not want to go back and live like that but I am prepared to when necessary. Currently it takes 10 calories to produce 1 calorie of food with nonrenewable fossil fuels. Primitive methods produced 5 calories per 1 calorie expended with much smaller yields.
With today’s vote in theSenate and House, the Federal government TIT has been augmented with an additional $1.1 trillion dollars worth of silicon lactate. The takers will continue to suckle at the expense of the producers and their descendents. Slurp slurp you fucking piglets. When you grow up, you will be slaughtered too.
As a casual (white, Protestant, non-US citizen) reader of this blog, I want to chip in and let you know what I see from reading posts and commentaries. The first thing
that comes to mind is the saying: “Don’t let facts get in the way of truth” and the second thing I see is pervasive inconsistency of thought, and lack of logic that seems to
grab the ideological discourse, which I think is (generally) meant to be a support for Liberitarianism.
Let me start with the whole “Obama thing”. Now I grew up during the Vietnam war, so that is more or less how far back my reference points go. But as a European I still
find it amazing that in my lifetime you were living with the Jim Crow laws. And, I cannot help but feel, when reading all the rants against Obama, when I hear the Birthers
and their likes, the pure, white, hate. I feel that true racism still pervades certain (large) swaths of your society. Predominantly I see these traits in many of those who
say themselves to be Tea Party defenders. Now, the racism is, of course, not as blatantly overt as it once was, and many covers have been set up to disguise ugly facts
and some blacks have even been embraced to legitimize the movement in that respect, but nothing else can explain the hatred that emanates from certain posts. And it
is so ugly; you have no idea how ugly those rants make you look. And at the same time, these same people claim to be believers of the Christian faith. It is when
combining those facts that one knows, that even the Christian faith is being used as a lie, to cover up for the ugliness inside. The hypocracy is so thick you can cut it
with a knife. Do these people not realize this, or do they not care?
The saying goes that guns don’t kill people, people do. You have so many haters in the US and yet you want to allow them all guns. Incomprehensible. More than 10,000
people are killed by guns anually in the US. In Vietnam (1955-1975) the US lost less than 60,000 troops. More than 120,000 people were killed by firearms in the US from
2001 to date, so far less than 7000 have died in combat in the War on Terror in the same period. And those facts don’t make you stop and think or reflect on the
absurdity of sticking to certain principles? Don’t you realize that the terror that you all seem to fear is right there in your own society? Don’t you understand that you
project the terror in your own society upon the rest of the world? Killing and encarcerating, that seems to be your solution to every problem. Analyze and identify the
root-causes for the misery right there amongst you? Nah, why bother? Instead you talk about freedom. Freedom from what; thinking and reflecting? You seem to imagine
that you live in little homesteads on the prairie, where everybody can get ahead through hard work, a gun, and no interference from Big Bad Government. Dillusional.
Now to the economy.
Who was advocating “trickle down economics”? (Tip: It wasn’t Obama)
When did the US national debt curve suddenly break into overdrive? (Tip: Obama hadn’t been elected yet).
What has a significant moderating effect on the Gini coefficient? (Tip: It isn’t tax reduction)
During the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congress (2001-2007) Republicans held The House, The Senate, and The Presidency. Did they take the opportunity to act fiscally
responsible? (Tip: Government spending exceeded income in 6 of the 7 years).
During the 104th, 105th, and 106th Congress (1995-2001) Republicans held The House and The Senate, The President was Democratic. Was Congress fiscally
responsible? (Tip: Government spending exceeded income in 3 of the 7 years)
Since 1900, how many times has the US government had 3+ consecutive years of budget surplus? (Tip: Less than most people have fingers on one hand)
Over the last 50 years, how many years has the US government run a budget surplus? (Tip: Count the fingers on your hand)
Conclusion: While it is not exagerated to highlight that the US is living beyond its means, it is simply fraudulent to blame the current administration for the US debt mess
and ignore the (cumulative) effects of previous administrations. The US has been living beyond its means for at least 100 years.
This has been made possible only due to the privileged status of a country of immigrants (which you now seem no longer to want) and later the US dollar as reserve
currency of the world (largely brought about by the destruction of most other economies during WWII and selfdestructive Communist societies). Wanting to speed up the
demise of that status by refusing to pay its bills will in no uncertain ways bring an end to what Americans perceive as their “excepcionalism” – which has only been
possible to maintain the illusion of through that same status – and it will destroy your whole way of life.
The rest of the world knows what the US does when it is cornered; It takes to arms. You have been indoctrinated through Hollywood to believe that all problems can be
solved by shooting at them. It is therefore in everybody’s best interest to see the US become long term fiscally responsible. You don’t start that by defaulting on your
debts.
However, if you want to maintain and improve the social fabric of your society, dumping your (many) weak to fend entirely for themselves is not the solution. I suspect
the fact that you have allowed massive poverty to persist despite the country’s vast riches, has made it even more important for you to “feel safe” by carrying arms.
You want to guillotine the 1% and speak excitedly about the French Revolution, but you ignore the horrors that followed, and the fact the France is one of the most Socialist, high-tax societies in the rich world today. You don’t reflect.
You complain of rising inequality, but at the same time you decry so-called “socialism” as if you were still living in the Cold War. You decry “big government” and
won’t allow it to remove the inequality to complain of. You are simply not being logic. You decry the fanaticism of Muslims, and yet you embrace the fanaticism of
Christians. You decry centralism, yet you are unable to see, that the cry for decentralization is most often done by those who just wish power for themselves. You cry for
security, yet fail to see that you yourself create an unsecure society and world. You complain about greedy bankes (and rightly so) while you dream of making a billion dollars (fast) and you love to play the market for your own gain (but not loss, of course) and flip houses, but you take no responsibility for your own actions. You complain about your corrupted politicians, yet you are the ones that elected them if you even bothered to vote, which less and less of you do.
When does the hypocricy end?
PS: Sorry for the poor editing …
If you want to see inequality go to the UK. The difference is in the UK, the middle class is poorish. In the US, the gap between top and bottom may be greater, but overall standard of living is vastly higher in the US than those countries being mentioned with less inequality. Vastly higher. US poor are richer than Euros middle class.
So, do people really want to be like Europe? Where the rich maybe aren’t quite so rich but the middle class are poor?
The class divide in Europe is far more stark than in the US. I do not give a shit what these “inequality”stats say.
Zenmom
Guess you never heard of K Street or the DLC. Money talks and politicians like to listen.
As a Leftist, you try to make it simply a political/racial argument to shut down criticism. The reality is in this country is that BOTH parties work for the wealthy. They don’t work for you outside of throwing the fools who voted for them a bone. We have a pay to play system that many including yourself fail to notice because you don’t really pay attention to how politics works. You simply regurgitate talking points.
That’s not even thinking. But that constitutes the thinking of most voters. Regurgitating TP spewed from a oily talking millionaire working for the elites. And that’s a hoot. The elite trot out some paid shill on MSM to tell fools like you it’s “the GOP’s fault”, “gun owners” and conversely the GOP puts out a shill and says “it’s the Democrats fault’. Fact is both are guilty as hell and you got hornswoggled by a slick talking millionaire propagandist who thinks ordinary voters are scum.
So the people fight among each other while rich fuckers like Dimon, Blankfein and Buffett ram a corn cobb up our collective asses and destroy our wealth.
You think the people who actually pay for Obama’s election(not you or the Kos people) who are mostly millionaires and billionaires don’t want their pound of flesh in terms of policy decisions when he got elected? They do and will get what they want. It worked the same for Bush42, Clinton and Bush41.
And our economic mess is directly attributed to the wealthy, they are the ones through bribery had politicians pen all sorts of destructive legislation.
Do yourself a favor go read Matt Taibbi’s articles on Wall Street, he’s a liberal to be sure, but he understands the cancer that is eating this country alive and who really calls the shots.
@ LIpoh,
As I said, “never let facts get in the way of truth” (or as you say: “I don’t give a shit what those inequality stats say”) but I will try anyway:
Living Standards – Highest GDP per head (The Economist, 2014)
1. Monaco – 171,465$
2. Liechtenstein – 134,915$
3. Luxembourg – 114,232$
4. Norway – 98,081$
5. Qatar
6. Bermuda
7. Switzerland
8. Macau
9. San Marino
10. Kuwait
11. Australia – 61,789$
12. Denmark – 59,889$
13. Cayman Islands
14. Sweden – 57,114$
15. Channel Islands
16. Canada – 50,344$
17. Netherlands – 50,085$
18. Austria – 49,581$
19. Finland – 48,812$
20. United States – 48,112$
21. Ireland
22. Belgium
23. Singapore
24. Japan – 45,903$
25. UAE
26. Faroe Islands
27. Germany – 44,021$
28
29. France
xxx
33. UK – 38,974$
Or how about City Livability? The US doesn’t even figure among the 24 Top Cities
Or how about life expectancy? The US gets a nice 46th place (78.8 years) below countries like Denmark, Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, Portugal, Belgium. etc etc. – but the US has the third highest health spending in the world at 17.9% of GDP (while most European countries spend around 11% (you are basically wasting money big time filling the pockets of big pharma and doctors).
Or how about lowest infant mortality rate? The US does not figure among the 22 best listed.
Of course no other country has as many prisoners as the US at 716 per 100,000.
Zenmon, take your cry of racism and stick it.Your just another self righteous guilt ridden liberal.Have you notice the most racist people in this nation are blacks and many of them would kill your ass if you ever set foot in those neighborhoods.So go cry somewhere else.
Inequality,are you out of your.fucking mind.Over 16 trillion dollars had been spent since the war on poverty.Most of that for and on so called poor people.All of that money taken from people that actually work for a living .You cannot court order equality.
@The Cynic,
I find it hilarious that you call me a leftist, and that I pick up talking points. I read everything, from Zero Hedge to Taibbi on Rolling Stone, to WSJ to Washington Post, to Bloomberg, and media in 5 other languages, so I am pretty well informed all on my own, thank you.
But once you start delivering some verifiable facts, then we can talk – instead of regurgitating that this one or the other is a fucking this or fucking that.
I fully agree with you though, that the US has Donald Ducked itself by allowing politicians to be bought by big money, this has been my view for many years. Had it not been for that money, then a populist like Cruz would never have landed himself a senate seat.
@ bb,
Why would I be guilt ridden? Did you not read what I wrote: I am not American, I have nothing to feel guilty about. But I did set foot in some pretty hairy neighborhoods in both LA and NY, without getting hurt.
And again you prove my initial point, since you obviously pull whatever number you feel like out of you ear. 16 trillion dollars … tsk tsk. But let me help you. Here is a copy paste job from wikipedia:
During FY 2012, the federal government spent $3.54 trillion on a budget or cash basis […] Major categories of FY 2012 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid ($802B or 23% of spending), Social Security ($768B or 22%), Defense Department ($670B or 19%), non-defense discretionary ($615B or 17%), other mandatory ($461B or 13%) and interest ($223B or 6%). Social Security spending increased versus 2011 while Defense, Medicare and Medicaid spending fell
“There will be a revolution and I want to be there when Jamie Dimon, Bernanke and the other criminals lose their heads. Bring it on.”-JQ
Welcome to my World Jim. 😉
Time for Lefties and Righties to LINE UP against the TRUE ENEMY.
BANKSTERS! [img
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RE
http://doomsteaddiner.net
Zenmon,
I didn’t particularly enjoy your opinions on gun ownership. I own exactly one, and its a Merlin .22 LR that according to the serial was manufactured in 1983. In its existence, it has killed 2 dogs, and about a dozen squirrels. Today, it is almost impossible to buy ammo for it with the huge DHS ammo purchases going on. It was made before some of the anti-assult legislation that has been passed here, and is semi-auto. As long as it is not loaded with subsonic ammo, pull the trigger, you get a shot. No reload necessary. I think it holds 18-22 rounds. It’s been a long while since I’ve had it fully loaded. Pretty sure they shortened them up after 1986. I’ll take the longer barrel.
Much of what your missing is from not seeing the picture from here within the USA. Most of that comes from the advertising we’re subjected to. Knowing you’re not here, you’d be shocked to see a viagra ad, let alone many of the other drugs we see advertised every single day. I used to try and keep an eye on the mainstream media here, but I am getting so sick and tired of wasting my time with commercials.
I’d rather spend my time watching RT/NHK/DW/France24, etc. Even TYT (that alone will get me a shitload of thrums down around here I suspect).
I identify much more with Canadians then I do with most of America. But living in the upper midwest, I have long wanted this area to succeed to join Canada, as instead of being forgotten territory in the USA, we’d be desired territory once in Canada.
I’m still all for rolling the motherfucking guillotines to take care of the banking class however (I too spend too much time on ZH).
Oh Zen, I had wanted to touch on your comments on racism. Most Americans (and even those outside) seem to think that the city dwellers are less racist then the rural folk. This simply is not true. I didn’t know anything about black people and watermelon and fried chicken, until I moved to Los Angeles. It was my mom who had to “warn” me not to talk about it in front of her black friends.
She’s now married to the black boyfriend she had back then.
I literally didn’t understand what they were telling me on the way to that visit. Had never even heard of the racial incantations relating to black people eating those foods. Dad had a black best friend (who married a white woman) before I was born, and I grew up with his kids. That family only moved into my school district after the oldest two had already graduated. The younger two did get some shit from my school, but I did my damn-est to put a stop to it. There weren’t many racists (in my feeling) at my school, but enough to make whose girls miserable without someone standing up for them.
I wasn’t exactly popular in HS, but the usual reaction was “WTF? Why do you care about these Niggers?” My response was that I’d known them most of my life. That single sentence normally put an end to all the bullshit.
That didn’t come across quite as I intended, but I guess this area isn’t as “pure” as I had thought going into this comment. Just calling it as it was.
@ Varnelius,
Thanks for keeping a civilized debate tone.
Problem is life is not about all-or-nothing. That goes for gun ownership (lots of Europeans own hunting rifles) as well as for bigotry and racism which we have in Europe as well.
What really irks me as a person who has looked up to and loved the US from an early age, is to see how the political debate has been hijacked by what I consider to be extremist. Just the fact that I (who my entire life has been an avid anti-socialist) can be called a “leftist” is already a pretty good indication.
Just because I haven’t attacked the “bankers” (Jews anybody?) doesn’t mean that I embrace them and their actions. But let’s face it, governments around the world have depended on banks to fund their ever growing deficits (deficits that have bought off voters, you and me), and have therefore allowed a liberalized financial market, where greed has had excellent conditions to grow. Knowing human nature, we should not be surprised that they have grabbed whatever they could, just as house-flippers and leveraged investors have sought quick gains in the stock market. What we need to do now is put a leash on them, but without strangling them. The fact of the matter is we need banks and financial institutions to channel money to where it is most productive, but we don’t want them to simply let money reproduce itself for the purpose of reproduction.
I have tried to be factual in my posts, yes, I have cherry picked issues, but I believe nothing I have said is incorrect. What I do notice is that getting a discussion based on facts, seems to be very difficult here. And no criticizing the US does not mean everything is wrong, not that in Europe everything is perfect.
Not that I have vocalized this before, but just reinstating Glass-Stegall would go a long ways in doing what you propose. I’ve been for that ever since the 08 crash.
Seems I misspelled that, but here’s the relevant info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Legislation
Z – you douche, your economist figures suck. Luxemborg, Norway, and Switzerland only countries in Western Europe with GDPs ahead of the US. What are their populations and tax rates? Livable city rankings? Are you out of your mind? US is ranked six or seven in gdp by most rankings. Toss out the minnows and then compare.
Standard of living in the US is far higher. Costs are lower, average income is higher.
What a moron.
@LLPOH, WTF? Do you not understand the only reason we are coasting along is due to our status as a reserve currency? Are you not seeing the decay of civilization around you?
As we robotize our factories and computerize our offices, we keep paying the general public less and less, which results in less tax revenues and less commercial demand. This is peak oil in action baby. As energy costs rise, employment costs suffer. This whole ponzi is headed for a crash.
But no, go ahead, blame it on Europe.
Norway 49% tax rate, 14% payroll tax, 25% Vat. Nice, huh?
Norway 5 million people, Swiss 8, Austria 8, lux 1/2, finland 5, etc etc etc. get a fucking clue you dolt.
Oh, I’m sorry, you were not blaming Europe, I jumped the gun there. But you sere still claiming superiority, where that will soon fail. We won’t be holding reserve currency status for long.
Don’t be bitchy about tax rates, IIRC we had around 92% taxes on the uber wealthy in and around WWII, still managed to fight half the world.
Pull your head out of your ass.
V – you moron. I am not blaming anything on Europe. What I am saying is that those nations with “better inequality” than the US are more fucked than the US. I am saying inequality is not a good measure. The best measure is absolute not relative.
I would rather live in a nation with massive inequality where the poorest are not actually poor than in a country where everyone makes 10 dollars a year. No inequality there but no one eats.
I have travelled widely, and I am here to tell you that America’s poor are pretty well off by Euro standards. Z’s bullshit is bullshit. Euro is toast. That includes Germany.
Yes, but if you don’t see that the America you knew is gone, then you havn’t been looking hard enough. Globalism has decimated the “American Dream,” and for those young enough to see it fail, it’s, well, horrible.
I want to work. Quite frankly I might be better off moving to someplace like China at this point. Despite the relatively poor wages, it seems to be more survivable then living here and having to suck the government teat.
Llpoh says he has been travelling widely, he must mean all over his home state, coz he obviously hasn’t got a clue – although I am sure he can name all the NFL players …
Keep it real Zen, you won’t find many friends around here, but you’ve won one with me. Keep fighting the good fight.
Chicago999444 says:
There will be no “safe haven” that won’t be overrun with desperate, starving, violent people in the event of a societal collapse. While we townies will surely have problems, I’ll take my chances in the “shitty” before I’ll run out to some lone “safe haven” with only a small group of relatives to defend us against the hordes of crazed desperados roaming witlessly from place to place, becoming ever more crazed and violent as their prospects of even another meal fade, let alone a place to settle into and build a life.
That’s the dumbest thing I have ever read on this blog, the big cities will be killing fields, with no water or electricity. When people can’t get to work the power infrastructure shuts down.
Chicago999444 don’t spend one minute worrying about the coming collapse, you”ll have nothing to worry about.
“Llpoh says he has been travelling widely, he must mean all over his home state, coz he obviously hasn’t got a clue – although I am sure he can name all the NFL players …”
Zenmon,
Be advised (my European friend) that Llpoh is a successful and wealthy businessman who is highly respected at this forum. His wealth was earned after decades of working 12-hour days and eating mac and cheese. This is well-known fact here at TBP. Lloph could care less about “NFL players” or professional sports in general as he has more important things to do with his time. Please save petty insults like this for other chat boards.
A Merlin 22? I want one. Probably fires some magic bullets!
I’m with LLPOH on this one, our income disparity might be a lot higher, but those at the bottom really aren’t that badly off.
A person can live pretty comfortably at the “poverty level” these days if they eat decently, don’t over-populate (only have as many kids as you can afford) and stay within the budget.
Being poor doesn’t mean driving a used civic while the guy down the street has a brand new Prius.
That being said, the middle class is still being raped over hard core, and the vast growing gulf between the “99%” and the guys at the top is grotesque, and obvious to anyone who looks.
=========================================
@Zenmon – Addressing your world figures:
9 of your top 10 feature either countries whose wealth is driven solely by lucky oil strikes (Norway/Qatar/Kuwait) or by countries so small that they are barely the size of a small US State.
In the case of a many of those, you have tourism driving the entire economy (real or financial). These countries are so small they really don’t have to concern themselves with a military, infrastructure ROI, or a flood of immigrants driving down the numbers.
For example, Monaco’s “highway” stretches 2.5 miles and services pretty much the entire country. Thats kind of a no-brainer. Its not quite so simple when you get to larger countries with actual problems, like scaling up infrastructure or social programs to meet the needs of a large country.
That starts us off at Aus, with $61,000 and the USA with $48,000. At first glance a pretty massive difference however the cost in goods is pretty tremendous as well. A cursory online inspection shows that we are 30-40% cheaper than Aus in most categories. We’ll go with 35%.
So, adjusting for that difference that brings the US up to $64,800 when you consider purchasing power.
Now, our income disparity is higher than Aus, in a large part because of their minimum wage, which if I recall is sitting at $16/hr right now. That number is what is keeping their other costs up.
This is great, because it means even the least skilled people live pretty damned well over there. The double edged sword being that their middle class gets stuck with higher cost of services to compensate for it.
“You decry “big government” and won’t allow it to remove the inequality to complain of.”
The government is causing those inequalities. I find it difficult to believe you are as well versed in the situation as you believe, either that or you really view everything through the lens of bias.
The government has been picking and choosing corporate winners for decades. They have routinely cut their friends slack, while passing on higher costs to individuals and small companies.
Our country has had over 100 years of the government doing this, and you ask us to get out of the way and give them the reigns to the rest of our lives? Is your head not screwed on right? Is it buried in the sand?
“The fact of the matter is we need banks and financial institutions to channel money to where it is most productive”
I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen this be the case. The banks act as a middle man, and siphon off huge sums for their own pet projects.
Banks are not wealth creators, they are wealth destroyers. Much like the government.
As for being a leftist, it is the correct term for someone who is in favor of larger government intervention and a more centralized government. If the shoe fits, wear it.
reins, not reigns
THE WHEEL OF LIFE
I walked on absorbed in deep meditation, endeavouring to understand my vision of the Angel.
And suddenly raising over my head, I saw in the middle of the sky an immense revolving circle covered with cabalistic letters and signs.
The circle revolved with fearful speed, and together with it, now rising, now falling, revolved the symbolic figures of the serpent and the dog; and on the top of the circle, motionless sat the sphinx.
At the four quarters of the sky I saw on the clouds the four winged beasts of the Apocalypse—one like a lion, another like a calf, the third with the face of a man and the fourth like a flying eagle—and each of them was reading an open book,
And I heard the voices of Zarathustra’s beasts:
All go, all return. – the wheel of life ever turns. All die, all flourish again. – the year of existence runs eternally.
All perish, all live again, the same house of existence is ever building. All separate, all meet again, the ring of existence is ever true to itself.
Existence begins at every moment. Round each “here” rolls “there”. The middle is everywhere. The way of eternity is a curve.
And so what was demonstrated last night with the house vote is that no one, no body, is in control of the path of destiny. Life is mechanical and things just happen. What is the only important question; is for everyone to ask them self: What is my meaning in life? Am I a machine reacting to the machine of government heading to a fast approaching train wreck? Or am I a self developing being that has a center of gravity not connected with government and does not need government to survive?
Our ancestors have been here before: there is nothing new under the sun.
I am more concern by the falling wealth/income of working Americans than increasing inequality. The increasing inequality may be the cause, in the case of the US at this particular point in time, of the falling wealth – the game having now become so rigged that middle America is being stripped.
I read an interesting article that said the game is no longer acquisition of wealth via growth, as growth no longer exists. The game is no one where to succeed you need to take wealth from someone else.
If that is true, then guess what – those with assets are much better situated to take from those with less. Not to mention the fact that by and large those with more are probably smarter, better educated, more hard-working. And they are thus going to be better predators in the new game.
And the days of growth may well be over.
I have said repeatedly that the wages in the US will continue to fall in real terms. It is going to get much worse.
I agree with LLPOH and have nothing new to add. as Tbird says, we have been here before. Back before Reagan implemented voodoo economics and we were saved for another day.
El Muckster had an article that describes how we can still postpone Armageddon by dismantling and selling off the expendable parts of America’s empire. Unfortunately, the dismantling will begin from the bottom up.