“Paul Krugman, who won a Nobel in economics before becoming a New York Times columnist, argued vehemently during the 2008 financial crisis that more government stimulus was needed, rather than the austerity economics Obama was overseeing.”
Obama, again… like Reagan, this guy just keeps turning up.
It is ludicrous, a travesty to have Elon Musk who owes everything to our system telling us how flawed it is, and how sick homeless people are. Musk seems to me childlike in his behavior. He wants too much of everything—children, spouses, money, power. People- assume he is the engineer behind Tesla and Space X, not to mention Neuralink when h is not. He is a businessman. He came from money just as Trump did This is no Horatio Alger story.
His tendency to arrogance and shooting off his mouth will increasingly lose him supporters, and his actual costcutting may put him in peril. So be it. If he wants to face the wrath of the people he is going about it the right way.,
Ms. Kaufman...If I may suggest a relevant addition to your recommended reading list: "Invisible Doctrine: the Secret History of Neoliberalism" (George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison; Crown Publishing: 2024). Perhaps its most valuable contribution to our understanding of neoliberalism is its documentation of the clandestine nazism of the .001 Percent, specifically in their intended social-Darwinist use of austerity to gradually exterminate "inferior" humans and thereby create a global master race, a purpose clearly stated on pages 3 and 4. The remainder of the book details how this is being done to us, particularly by the relentlessly ongoing betrayals deliberately inflicted by both major parties. Apropos what is happening now, it is perhaps the most eye-opening source -- and unquestionably the most easily readable -- I have yet discovered.
Good one! So why do the pitchforks have to come out before the upper echelons (mainstream media, Democratic Party, etc.) even begin to realize there's a problem? Why do so many see *Donald effing Trump* as a champion of working people? I ponder this a lot.
I see the likes of Elizabeth Warren (of whom I'm both a constituent and a fan) and Bernie Sanders and anyone who talks about economic justice (many of whom are people of color) being marginalized and called "far leftists" by self-styled moderates -- and by working people who would benefit from their proposals but vote for Republicans anyway.
No, I don't think it's all about racism and sexism. Once upon a time USians, some of us anyway, had a language to talk about this stuff, and identify the roots of the problem: the people and corporations that benefit from inequality, at least in the short term, and use government to protect their perks. But from at least the late 19th century on, those impulses have been stifled by cries of socialism! communism! as if economic justice were by definition anti-democratic. It's almost certainly incompatible with plutocracy and oligarchy, but if those terms were widely understood, I doubt most USians would support the plutocrats and oligarchs.
How to convince more and more USians that "free-market" capitalism and democracy are neither identical nor joined at the hip? In a media environment that is pretty much dominated by the plutocrats and oligarchs?
I think racism and sexism, along with “socialism” is a weapon those in power use. When I think about it, every time the U.S. has turned hard right, it’s been when Black people have gotten more rights. After Reconstruction. After the Civil Rights movement. Add the women’s lib movement to that, and people in power - and the people without power who aligned with people power - pushed back hard. What gets me is that Biden was actually doing things for regular people. But he never got any credit.
Here's hoping the historians and historically minded economists will do a better job of evaluating the Biden administration than the current media and pundit class.
Racism has been used to divide labor in the U.S. pretty much from the beginning. Unfortunately, plenty of the division has been self-induced.
Great piece. Just have to add to Hanauer’s very astute writing, which cited Henry Ford as an example that Henry Ford was a virulent anti-Semite with a man crush on Hitler. They inspired each other. It makes me ill to see Ford cited as a proponent and exemplar of good policy that doesn’t also mention his irrational Jew-hate.
My daughter and I had this very conversation before I published it. She pointed out that Ford was virulently antisemitic, and I chose to not tackle it in this piece. I went back and forth over whether or not I should use the Ford reference from Hanauer. In the end, I did. Perhaps that was a mistake. My grandfather would never buy a Ford car. And my grandfather would never have been hired by Ford to work in his factory. But from a purely economics standpoint, paying workers enough so that they can afford to buy your product is smart. I hear you, though. I definitely hear you.
😊 Hanauer’s reasoning and use of the Ford illustration are spot on. It’s just hard to stomach. It’s made a little easier, though, knowing that you wrestled with the ethics of it. I wasn’t familiar with Hanauer and wonder if he is aware.
“Paul Krugman, who won a Nobel in economics before becoming a New York Times columnist, argued vehemently during the 2008 financial crisis that more government stimulus was needed, rather than the austerity economics Obama was overseeing.”
Obama, again… like Reagan, this guy just keeps turning up.
Also: why _on earth_ is Obama given such credit for the ACA, when that “legislative achievement” is directly responsible for so much harm.
Although I don’t want to see violence perpetrated on anyone, I’m not sure that I wouldn’t acquit.
It is ludicrous, a travesty to have Elon Musk who owes everything to our system telling us how flawed it is, and how sick homeless people are. Musk seems to me childlike in his behavior. He wants too much of everything—children, spouses, money, power. People- assume he is the engineer behind Tesla and Space X, not to mention Neuralink when h is not. He is a businessman. He came from money just as Trump did This is no Horatio Alger story.
His tendency to arrogance and shooting off his mouth will increasingly lose him supporters, and his actual costcutting may put him in peril. So be it. If he wants to face the wrath of the people he is going about it the right way.,
Ms. Kaufman...If I may suggest a relevant addition to your recommended reading list: "Invisible Doctrine: the Secret History of Neoliberalism" (George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison; Crown Publishing: 2024). Perhaps its most valuable contribution to our understanding of neoliberalism is its documentation of the clandestine nazism of the .001 Percent, specifically in their intended social-Darwinist use of austerity to gradually exterminate "inferior" humans and thereby create a global master race, a purpose clearly stated on pages 3 and 4. The remainder of the book details how this is being done to us, particularly by the relentlessly ongoing betrayals deliberately inflicted by both major parties. Apropos what is happening now, it is perhaps the most eye-opening source -- and unquestionably the most easily readable -- I have yet discovered.
I will look at it Loren. Thanks!
Wow. I learn from you every week. But what do we do????
Good one! So why do the pitchforks have to come out before the upper echelons (mainstream media, Democratic Party, etc.) even begin to realize there's a problem? Why do so many see *Donald effing Trump* as a champion of working people? I ponder this a lot.
I see the likes of Elizabeth Warren (of whom I'm both a constituent and a fan) and Bernie Sanders and anyone who talks about economic justice (many of whom are people of color) being marginalized and called "far leftists" by self-styled moderates -- and by working people who would benefit from their proposals but vote for Republicans anyway.
No, I don't think it's all about racism and sexism. Once upon a time USians, some of us anyway, had a language to talk about this stuff, and identify the roots of the problem: the people and corporations that benefit from inequality, at least in the short term, and use government to protect their perks. But from at least the late 19th century on, those impulses have been stifled by cries of socialism! communism! as if economic justice were by definition anti-democratic. It's almost certainly incompatible with plutocracy and oligarchy, but if those terms were widely understood, I doubt most USians would support the plutocrats and oligarchs.
How to convince more and more USians that "free-market" capitalism and democracy are neither identical nor joined at the hip? In a media environment that is pretty much dominated by the plutocrats and oligarchs?
I think racism and sexism, along with “socialism” is a weapon those in power use. When I think about it, every time the U.S. has turned hard right, it’s been when Black people have gotten more rights. After Reconstruction. After the Civil Rights movement. Add the women’s lib movement to that, and people in power - and the people without power who aligned with people power - pushed back hard. What gets me is that Biden was actually doing things for regular people. But he never got any credit.
Here's hoping the historians and historically minded economists will do a better job of evaluating the Biden administration than the current media and pundit class.
Racism has been used to divide labor in the U.S. pretty much from the beginning. Unfortunately, plenty of the division has been self-induced.
Great piece. Just have to add to Hanauer’s very astute writing, which cited Henry Ford as an example that Henry Ford was a virulent anti-Semite with a man crush on Hitler. They inspired each other. It makes me ill to see Ford cited as a proponent and exemplar of good policy that doesn’t also mention his irrational Jew-hate.
My daughter and I had this very conversation before I published it. She pointed out that Ford was virulently antisemitic, and I chose to not tackle it in this piece. I went back and forth over whether or not I should use the Ford reference from Hanauer. In the end, I did. Perhaps that was a mistake. My grandfather would never buy a Ford car. And my grandfather would never have been hired by Ford to work in his factory. But from a purely economics standpoint, paying workers enough so that they can afford to buy your product is smart. I hear you, though. I definitely hear you.
😊 Hanauer’s reasoning and use of the Ford illustration are spot on. It’s just hard to stomach. It’s made a little easier, though, knowing that you wrestled with the ethics of it. I wasn’t familiar with Hanauer and wonder if he is aware.