The Declaration of Independence ends with a curious phrase : "We mutually pledge to one another our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."
Those who have diverted income streams generated by the hard work of Americans into concentrated private coffers - and then shipped millions of their jobs overseas have certainly violated the clear spirit of the Declaration. Worse than this, they have invited the absolute worse 'extreme elements' into our political body under false pretenses.
The recent financial coup d'etat that began in the United States in 2008 under the Bush Administration, and then spread like a Santa Anna wind firestorm throughout Europe and the rest of the world was no accident, and the real war has just begun.
In case you haven't heard the recent news from what is going on in Europe, with the labor movements, then perhaps you should take a look at what is on the horizon for our nation:
Most of the press has described Europe’s labor demonstrations and strikes on Wednesday in terms of the familiar exercise by transport employees irritating travelers with work slowdowns, and large throngs letting off steam by setting fires. But the story goes much deeper than merely a reaction against unemployment and economic recession. At issue are proposals to drastically change the laws and structure of how European society will function for the next generation. If the anti-labor forces succeed, they will break up Europe, destroy the internal market, and render that continent a backwater. This is how serious the financial coup d’etat has become. And it is going to get much worse – quickly. As John Monks, head of the European Trade Union Confederation, put it: "This is the start of the fight, not the end." "Join the fight against labor, or we will destroy you," the EC is telling governments. This requires dictatorship, and the European Central Bank (ECB) has taken over this power from elected government. Its "independence" from political control is celebrated as the "hallmark of democracy" by today’s new financial oligarchy. This deceptive newspeak evokes Plato’s view that oligarchy is simply the political stage following democracy. The new power elite’s next step in this eternal political triangle is to make itself hereditary – by abolishing estate taxes, for starters – so as to turn itself into an aristocracy.
Spain has received most of the attention, thanks to its ten-million strong turnout – reportedly half the entire labor force. Holding its first general strike since 2002, Spanish labor protested against its socialist government using the bank crisis (stemming from bad real estate loans and negative mortgage equity, not high labor costs) as an opportunity to change the laws to enable companies and government bodies to fire workers at will, and to scale back their pensions and public social spending in order to pay the banks more. Portugal is doing the same, and it looks like Ireland will follow suit – all this in the countries whose banks have been the most irresponsible lenders. The bankers are demanding that they rebuild their loan reserves at labor’s expense, just as in President Obama’s program here in the United States but without the sanctimonious pretenses.
The problem is Europe-wide and indeed centered in the European Union capital in Brussels, where fifty to a hundred thousand workers gathered to protest the proposed transformation of social rules. Yet on the same day, the European Commission (EC) outlined a full-fledged war against labor. It is the most anti-labor campaign since the 1930s – even more extreme than the Third World austerity plans imposed by the IMF and World Bank in times past. The EC is using the mortgage banking crisis – and the needless prohibition against central banks monetizing public budget deficits – as an opportunity to fine governments and even drive them bankrupt if they do not agree roll back salaries. Governments are told to borrow at interest from the banks, rather than raising revenue by taxing them as they did for half a century following the end of World War II. Governments unable to raise the money to pay the interest must close down their social programs. And if this shrinks the economy – and hence, government tax revenues – even more, the government must reduce social spending yet further. From Brussels to Latvia, neoliberal planners have expressed the hope that lower public-sector salaries will spread to the private sector. The aim is to roll back wage levels by 30 per cent or more, to depression levels, on the pretense that this will "leave more surplus" available to pay in debt service. It will do no such thing, of course. It is a purely vicious attempt to reverse Europe’s Progressive Era social democratic reforms achieved over the past century. Europe is to be turned into a banana republic by taxing labor – not finance, insurance or real estate (FIRE). Governments are to impose heavier employment and sales taxes while cutting back pensions and other public spending.
http://www.counterpunch.org/...
I must agree with Mr. Hudson on his description of what he is calling a purely vicious attempt for the EC to roll back wage levels 30 percent or more to depression levels and to overturn and hopefully reverse Europe's progressive social democratic reforms achieved over the past century, and that is exactly what is now going on in our own nation, but let us understand why this is occurring, who are the responsible parties for causing this national and international disaster that is likely to cause violence and social unrest throughout our nation and the entire world:
Wall Street, the Banks, and our key financial markets were directly responsible for causing this calamity, aided and abetted by both parties and our government and Congress, and now they are doubling down, to take advantage of the fact that they got away with trillions of dollars and are now forcing the workers in our various countries to pay, and pay, and pay again, for their greed and avarice.
One thing that I have learned about the recent 'illegal foreclosure mills' going on in our own nation for the past few years, is that when various States, finally stepped in this past week to stop these foreclosures, it wasn't because our own Attorney General Eric Holder, had demanded that this happen, it was because specific leaders in very specific states, caught these bastards, these Banking/Lending foreclosure mills with their pants down, their hands again in the financial pilfering of American citizens and now have been addressed. In other words, these illegal foreclosure mills would have just kept going, endlessly, because they don't give a rat's ass about the laws and are continuing to get away with fleecing Americans. How many Americans' lives have been ruined, by these 'foreclosure mills' and will they be forced to pay restitution? I won't hold my breath on that on. One man that led that fight was Congressman Alan Grayson:
Once upon a time there was a tangible connection between the plutocrats and the rest of us. Carnegie, Mellon and Rockefeller built sprawling enterprises that employed tens of thousands of workers (even if they did treat them brutally). But today's billionaire financiers, about 100 of whom are on the Fortune 400 list, have a tough time explaining how their money-making schemes produce any jobs at all. Very few of us have a clue about how they even make their money.
Again, this 'scared pledge' from the Declaration of Independence has been thrown into the gutter along with the 29 million Americans who are out of work because a nation that is unable to maintain a basic fairness and cohesiveness in their governments, who ignore the basic tenants of human rights and ethical standards for public trust between it's leaders, and its people leads to: chaos and violence.
The Declaration of Independence ends with a curious phrase : "We mutually pledge to one another our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."
I am repeating that statement again, to help us understand the depth of breath of that statement by our forefathers: that they were willing to pledge their very lives, their fortunes and what they call their 'sacred honor' to our nation, and to all of its people.
Where is that kind of sacred honor now?
On their long way up, financial industry billionaires grabbed our economy by the cojones-- and they're not letting go. Economists assure us that the financial sector's role is to prudently move excess savings into investment. But that's not how Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, the largest private equity funds and the largest hedge funds are raking in their billions. Their real cash cow is their secretive daily practice of "proprietary trading" -- the equivalent of gambling in a rigged casino. This has nothing to do with investing in industries that might put our people to work. So our paltry economic growth is generating financial industry booty, not jobs.
This new class struggle will soon begin playing out on some new battlefields. The weight of the U.S.'s massive debt (created by the financial crisis and our failure to tax the super-rich the way we used to) will be put on our backs. The financial elites, along with their richly funded think tanks and compliant political hacks, will tell us to privatize Social Security, reduce its benefits and extend the retirement age. We'll be told we must cut funding for schools and health care services. We'll have to live with a crumbling infrastructure and a deteriorating environment -- because, well, the money just isn't there. The Wall Street billionaires utterly refuse to accept any blame for our economic woes. They simply can't believe that their billions came from fatal flaws in our system rather than from their own genius. They'll fight to the end to convince us and themselves that they are indeed God's gift to our economy. (Wouldn't you if you had a billion dollars?) It's time to make them pay their fair share for the damage they've done. That will help finance the massive jobs programs we need to put our people back to work. Of course, the super-wealthy can afford to pay. Only their pride will suffer.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
It is not only that the Wall Street billionaires refuse to accept any blame for the economic catastrophe that they were responsible for, and has spread to the entire world, it is the fact that our own government has refused to seriously 'punish' any of these insane casino money cartel gamblers and as the recent Foreclosure Mills Scandal has proven, 'these crooks, liars and thieves' are continuing in their looting of American, at free will, as laws are not being enforced and they continue to know that they can get away with their nefarious raping and pillaging.
One of the problems of course is the misinformation regarding just how much this economic heist and catastrophe actually cost Americans (and the rest of the world, as the domino affect and economic wildfires grew).
For instance, the idea that all this cost Americans was the original $700 billion TARP funds, and that now that these Banks/Wall St., have paid these funds off, and that we citizens could actually be making a profit on the 'deal' is the biggest lie out there you will ever read about.
Not only have the 'real costs' not been properly noted or reported in the MSM, but remember, that with the EC set to cut back 'workers' wages and go after pension funds, as Alan Simpson and the Cat Food Commission and some of the insane Republican Tea Party candidates are doing...talking about not only privatizing Social Security, but going after the final safety net, then perhaps as you look at the real figures, the real costs of the greatest heist and transfer of wealth given to the new Oligarchy, you will understand, why there is no very little difference between the Neo-Liberals and Neo-Cons.
By claiming a narrow TARP success, the Times attempts to invalidate citizen anger at the bailout by making it appear that the electorate is somehow misinformed about its costs or is just plain stupid. Nothing could be further from the truth. Claiming that TARP was successful, but ignoring the much larger and more relevant costs of other areas of the government bailout is like claiming the voyage of the Titanic was successful because many of the lifeboats were recovered. It is important to remember that the ship sunk.
Here are my estimates of some of the total costs to American consumers and taxpayers of the entire government bailout. Many of these costs could have been absorbed by creditors and lenders to these highly leveraged large banks and financial institutions without involving taxpayer funds, but both administrations instead chose to stick it to the electorate rather than risk alienating their biggest corporate and wealthy campaign donors.
Estimated Total Costs of Bailout
* Fannie and Freddie bailout = $700 billion estimated, at least, on their $5 trillion portfolio.
* Federal Reserve's increased printing of money to fund purchase of mortgage securities in market and bad assets from banks (which directly leads to an equal amount of inflation, a hidden tax on consumers and savers) = $2 trillion.
* Eventual FDIC losses = $500 billion.
* Credit union guarantees = $50 billion.
* Present value cost of lost interest income to US retirees and other savers due to government's zero interest rate policy = $2 trillion.
* Present value cost of additional high unemployment and lost wages caused by government's focusing on bank and Wall Street profitability first, rather than on job creation = $5 trillion.
* Total loss in housing values due to inappropriate response to overbuilding and high foreclosure problem = $4 trillion (a fraction of the total housing value loss of10 trillion, much of which was necessary to return to non-bubble levels).
* Cost of future bad loans created since 2008 by Fannnie, Freddie and FHA by continuing to lend aggressively into declining real estate markets = $300 billion.
* Wasted stimulus money (Where exactly did this money go and what do we have to show for it?) = $300 billion.
* Total estimated cost of government bailout = $14.85 trillion.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
If the Democrats and Blue Dogs cave into the continued Bush Tax for the Wealthy, that alone is another $ 700 billion, which we are 'suppose to believe' that these wealthy people will reinvest in Americans.
Who do you think is going to pay for that total estimated cost of the government bailout of $ 14.85 trillion? It sure as hell is not going to be Wall Street/the Banks or the Corporations who could not only care less about American jobs or millions falling into poverty.
The social unrest and violence has already begun in Europe, and to think that this will not spread to our nation, and world wide is delusional at best. I do not and have never advocated violence, but I can see the handwriting on the wall.
The United Nations work agency today warned of a long "labour market recession" and noted that social unrest related to the crisis had already been reported in at least 25 countries, including some recovering emerging economies.
Crisis-hit Spain faced its first general strike in eight years this week as unions protested against the government’s austerity measures and labour reforms. The strike on Wednesday coincided with protests in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia and Lithuania, as well as demonstrations in Brussels by tens of thousands of workers from across Europe as part of a European day of action against public spending cuts. Torres said there were two main reasons for the bleaker outlook facing many countries: "The first is that fiscal stimulus measures that were critical in averting a deeper crisis and helped jump-start the economy are now being withdrawn in countries where recovery, if any, is still too weak," he said. "The second, and more fundamental factor is that the root causes of the crisis have not been properly tackled."
"Fairness must be the compass guiding us out of the crisis," said ILO director general Juan Somavia. "People can understand and accept difficult choices, if they perceive that all share in the burden of pain. Governments should not have to choose between the demands of financial markets and the needs of their citizens. Financial and social stability must come together. Otherwise, not only the global economy but also social cohesion will be at risk."
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/...
And those two points are at the crux of that matter that the 'root causes of the crisis have not been property tackled,' and that the idea of Fairness and how both financial stability and social stability are deeply interconnected are being not only ignored, but that now the Oligarchs are coming after the workers of the world, to pay for their catastrophic actions, on the backs of those people, who have already paid by losing their homes, their jobs and what they have worked for to maintain a simple decent way of life for their families and children, these Oligarchs are surprised at the reaction? They are not surprised they are vicious vipers who are bearing down as fast as they can because they know damn well they've been caught stealing.
No, this is not the end of this worldwide class war at all, this is only the beginning:
As John Monks, head of the European Trade Union Confederation, put it: "This is the start of the fight, not the end." "Join the fight against labor, or we will destroy you," the EC is telling governments. This requires dictatorship, and the European Central Bank (ECB) has taken over this power from elected government.
These worldwide vicious Oligarchs are ready and willing to destroy us, and if we do not hold them accountable, they will, indeed do just that.
If you actually believe the Fake Financial Reform bill, let's the 'taxpayers' off the hook, think again. No way, as a matter of fact, it ensures that too big to fail is (alive and well) and that the dream lives on for the same Oligarchs that have bought and sold our entire government.
As such, Dodd-Frank specifically provides that "in unusual or exigent circumstances," the Federal Reserve may provide such entities with a financial backstop, including borrowing privileges. Remember this: Financial backstop is just another term for a taxpayer bailout. And the major banks and brokerage firms are the members of the clearinghouses, so a backstop would essentially be for them.
According to the Bank for International Settlements, the entire derivatives market had a gross credit exposure of $3.5 trillion at the end of 2009. Obviously, even a small fraction of that amount could represent a sizable call on the taxpayers if a clearinghouse hit the skids. So much for eradicating too-big-to-fail.
"THE crisis is about loss redistribution," said Edward J. Kane, professor of finance at Boston College and an authority on regulatory failures. "In a crisis, these institutions have much more power with the government than taxpayers do and they will make it seem in the interests of responsible officials to rescue them, whether that’s Congress, the Treasury or the Federal Reserve. But the notion that you can always throw these losses on the taxpayer in the long run is very, very dangerous. There will come a time when the taxpayers will come close to revolt."
http://www.nytimes.com/...
How much more are we going allow them to get away with, is the real question, and how will President Obama lead in the future to make certain, that this does not happen in our own nation?
The Europeans have played this 'game' many many times in the past, and that is why we are seeing millions of people march in solidarity. I believe that Americans are still somewhat naive in not truly understanding the actual cost of this catastrophic economic Pearl Harbor we are currently going through, not in terms of money, not in terms of long time costs to the people of our nation, their homes, their jobs, not in terms of reactionary politics, and not in terms of what it will all cost us in the end, because we could not find a few good men or women to really step up to the plate and speak of the same great pledge of 'scared honor' that was put in our Declaration of Independence.
That scared honor seems to be missing in action in our nation. More's the pity.
Thanks as always.