Tuesday, October 11, 2011

"We are the 99%"


More Charts: It's the Inequality, Stupid
Eleven charts that explain what's wrong with America by Dave Gilson and Carolyn Perot at Mother Jones

Great quote of Marriner Eccles:
Marriner Eccles, the Depression-era chairman of the Federal Reserve (and an architect of the New Deal), blamed the Great Crash on the nation's wealth gap. "A giant suction pump had by 1929-1930 drawn into a few hands an increasing portion of currently produced wealth," Eccles recalled in his memoirs. "In consequence, as in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When the credit ran out, the game stopped."
Study: Income Inequality Kills Economic Growth by Josh Harkinson at Mother Jones

12 comments:

The Red Capitalist said...

There's an easy way to change the income distribution curve. Deport the poorest 50% of the population.

Shaun Hingston said...

Good idea Red......

Ralph Musgrave said...

Red Capitalist, Re the Statue of Liberty and "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses...", what's your alternative inscription going to be?

beowulf said...

Red, you should be ashamed of yourself! The US Government can't violate the constitutional rights of its citizens like that unless and until-- and this is crucial-- it writes itself a secret permission slip.

The secret document provided the justification for acting despite an executive order banning assassinations, a federal law against murder, protections in the Bill of Rights and various strictures of the international laws of war, according to people familiar with the analysis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html

Tom Hickey said...

Eliminationism

The Red Capitalist said...

Ralph,

Firstly in my world, there are no icons or statues. These are items for worship and for remembering the past - they are unproductive and promote false beliefs. An efficient society promotes scientific thought and focuses on building the future not reminiscing about the past.

Without writing a treatise here, I believe that Western 'humanitarian' ideologies and social structures are intrinsically flawed because they hinder social darwinism which is necessary for human advancement.

So perhaps an alternative thought is "Weed out the tired, the poor and the unproductive masses and get rid of them (so that human advancement can continue).?


Beowulf,

You would like Ron Paul to be President? I hope not. Fact is, the Constitution was a piece of parchment written over 200 years ago by some not very wise people (even at that time) - you are proposing that we follow the advice of people from over 200 years ago?

...and people wonder why there is no progression in this world right now?

Tom Hickey said...

Red, have you any empirical evidence of the truth of 'social Darwinism"? Can it even be framed as a scientific hypothesis? Is it even reasonable. I think not.

I submit it is just another belief, similar to theological beliefs that function as ideological norms.

beowulf said...

you are proposing that we follow the advice of people from over 200 years ago?

More like 800 years ago.
Magna Carta, in addition to providing for trial by jury, committed the king and his successors to the promise that he would never “attack [any free man] or send anyone to attack him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers.
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2011/06/06/ryan-alford/sentence-first-verdict-afterwards/

The Red Capitalist said...

Beowulf,
In that case, maybe you should be listening to the 1st Emperor of China - Qin Shi Huang who basically advocated killing anyone who disobeyed him.

Magna Carta...ask Bush, Cheney (and Obama) if they know about this document. Ha.

The Red Capitalist said...

Tom,

I'm loosely using the term "Social Darwinism" to explain to people survival of the fittest concepts. I do not follow it as a dogma or belief as you appear to suggest. Neither do i subscribe to "Eliminationism" as you suggest.

As an INTP, I see everything as a system. I will pick the system that is most effective at that point in time or across a designated time span to achieve a certain set of objectives.

Tom Hickey said...

Red, I agree with you that left to the forces of Nature, humanity will naturally prune itself for efficiency. However, humans are no longer reliant chiefly on instinct but rather on reason, intuition, and feeling. Human cognition and capacity give the species options and choices that are beyond the capacity of other species to achieve. Social Darwin is an option, leaving the species to the forces of Nature, but it is neither the only option, not the optimal option, IMHO. We can do better as a species through increasing our adaptability rate by coordinating efforts in exploring options and implementing the most promising ones.

I was not accusing you of eliminationism, just pointing out that there is a concept that applies here.

Anonymous said...

More like INTJ