WHO DESTROYED THE MIDDLE CLASS – PART 1

http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=35850

Over the last thirty years, the United States has been taken over by an amoral financial oligarchy, and the American dream of opportunity, education, and upward mobility is now largely confined to the top few percent of the population. Federal policy is increasingly dictated by the wealthy, by the financial sector, and by powerful (though sometimes badly mismanaged) industries such as telecommunications, health care, automobiles, and energy. These policies are implemented and praised by these groups’ willing servants, namely the increasingly bought-and-paid-for leadership of America’s political parties, academia, and lobbying industry.” – Charles Ferguson – Predator Nation

The Federal Reserve released its Survey of Consumer Finances last week. It’s a fact filled 80 page report they issue every three years to provide a financial snapshot of American households. As you can see from the chart above, the impact of the worldwide financial collapse has been catastrophic to most of the households in the U.S. A 39% decline in median net worth over a three year time frame is almost incomprehensible.

Greatly truncated.

Romney= big business roaring, with war machine running. The Bush and Chaney puppets all over again. Hopefully unactualized. Sabby

Regarding the relationship of the 99% to the 1%, I found this of interest in a discussion of behaviors that are very human like among our primate ancestors.Here is a link to the whole list of behaviors they gave. http://www.livescience.com/15309-humanlike-behaviors-primates.html Humans actually seem to tolerate 'unfairness' more readily than monkeys as seen in our social structures. We see other factors than just simple fairness based upon entirely equal treatment. We can recognize that for instance, someone who works harder and is more capable should 'deserve' more. But that does not justify taking from those who have little to give to those already with much more than they can make use of or justify control.

I found it interesting that a conception of fairness went all the way down to a capuchin monkey while there are humans who don't 'get it' at all.

Ted

You don't find fairness subjective? You seem to be using it in an objective way like everybody agrees on what is fair or not. Just wondering.

_________________
I eat ego's for breakfast!
Sincerely, Ego.

I am applying the principles of MBT. These both violate the principle of protecting free will.

Have you a way to subjectively justify removing a tax burden from the 1% for instance to place it instead on the 99% or can you understand it as reasonably objective as a criteria that tax burdens should be equitable, i. e. fair? This has been a significant part of what was discussed in this long thread. It is accepted that as we get above the poverty level and start to pay taxes, that those with proportionately more income should pay more taxes, as long as they are members of the 99%. Somehow those in the 1%, especially the uber wealthy, feel that they should pay disproportionately less on the false basis that they create the jobs for the 99% and will create more if they are allowed to keep more with lower taxes. This has been show to be a false assumption repeatedly in the 'real world'. No one has actually disputed this in this thread or out in politics and claimed that it was in fact true except those wishing to justify making further tax cuts for the uber wealthy.

Have you a way to subjectively justify control of the 99% by the uber rich using their vast wealth to effectively 'buy' our elected Congressional representatives. This leads them to fighting against returning taxes to an equitable distribution over the 100%. This leads them to provide campaign financing through Grover Norquist's organization if, and only if, they pledge to never raise taxes, particularly on the 1% and especially not on the uber rich. This almost shut down government and the economy last year. Clearly you must understand that this can be called nothing but control of the 99% by the uber rich from among the 1%.

Now my original intent in posting this was that I was amazed at how these 'human' concepts were present in our 'distant' relatives all the way down to capuchins. I thought that members might find it of interest. Furthermore, I had the thought spelled out in "I found it interesting that a conception of fairness went all the way down to a capuchin monkey while there are humans who don't 'get it' at all." but was not applying it to anything in particular. All in all, you will have to explain how you consider concepts of fairness to be subjective, in light of monkeys getting it, if that is in fact your point.

Ted

Those of us with pets see all sorts of behavior that indicates a sense of right and wrong, and even in some cases a willingness to be deceptive about it.

I recall a certain group of mares that were forever and always finding a way to get past the electric fence. One day I came round into the front yard and there they all were, munching furiously on the rich green grass that was there. They furtively noticed me of course, but kept munching away. You could just hear them thinking together: "Everybody! Keep your head down! Maybe he won't notice!". All I had to do was clear my throat and there was a shriek from one of them and they all ran round t the back yard.

I could probably recall a dozen similar tales like that with horses and especially dogs.

And yes, there does seem to be humans 'who don't get it at all'.
It's exasperating.

Montana

How are the "1%" controlling the "99%" again, Ted? I forgot if you ever mentioned that before. I know you mentioned the tax thing.

I thought you were relating the article to the 1% vs. the 99% and fairness in an objective sense, that is why I chimed in. You said,

I wasn't meaning concepts of fairness at all regarding to monkeys, just saying that I thought fairness in general is a subjective thing, in monkeys or humans. Basing an argument off of what is fair in an objective sense for whatever subject or issue seems pretty omni scientist like to me. The social norm of what is fair for a group or people or monkeys might be one thing, but that doesn't mean it is justified, right, or moral.

_________________
I eat ego's for breakfast!
Sincerely, Ego.

I am not particularly interested in social norms. That is part of the problem, that those norms are not fitting with the principles of MBT. The principles espoused by Tom in MBT as in why we are here in the first place, to interact, observe the feedback and thus lower our entropy and raise our QoC and that the free will of all is to be optimized as opposed to the strongest wins. Those are relatively objective criteria as opposed to social norms. The social norm for the 1% subjectively places them as superior in all ways to the 99% and with the right therefrom to control the 99%. Unless you are holding out on us, you are like the rest of us a member of the 99%. Do you feel that it is desirable that you be controlled, that your vote for instance for elected officials should be outweighed by the monetary might of the 1% to 'buy' the guy you thought you elected to office to represent your interests to instead represent first and foremost the corporation(s) owned by the 1%. To eliminate environmental protections for the 99% so that the 1% can make higher profits with their corporations? There are many other things that could be pointed out.

Ted

A Manifesto for Economic Sense. Something to sign on top, but the manifesto is under it so scroll down please.
http://www.manifestoforeconomicsense.org/
Love
Bette

_________________
All That Is
what is?
Consciousness.

a video of Jerry Mander (4 Arguments for the Elimination of Television)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3NBEurnIqY

Jerry Mander, author of "In the Absence of the Sacred" and "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television", describes the drawbacks of television. An excerpt from the extended interviews of What A Way To Go: Life At The End Of Empire. A middle class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot and the demise of the American Lifestyle.

if one can figure out how to hook the boob tube to the world wide web, and do direct streaming, this opens up lots of healthier options

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Does this PMR make my butt look big?

Another interesting report:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/05/real_es ... -mortgage/

Thanks Kathy.

That reminds me, someone here posted a link to a movie, "Thrive", here sometime ago. I saved the link but only watched the movie just recently.

http://www.thrivemovement.com/the_movie

It's well produced and does a kick-ass job of lining up and labeling all the negative social dynamics out there, and then towards the end gives a sammary of things that individual people can do, and is surprisingly upbeat all things considered.

Puzzlingly, the first chunk of the film, maybe 20% or so, seems to want to focus on zero point energy, toruses and other occultish shapes, without ever really touching the ground. That part of the film doesn't really connect very well with the material of the rest of it. So, for me at least the first 25 minutes or so were pretty fluffiform, and I imagine that they lose a lot of viewers because of it.... But if you are looking for a pretty good fiolm about hidden social agenda that isn't strident or loopy, you might like that one.

Montana

You might find this graphic showing the known offshore tax havens where Mitt Romney has investments, although the amounts are not know but fully concealed. He is very much a 1%er, although not one of the really big fish unless he has much, much more hidden that is suspected. https://my.barackobama.com/page/m/55c14 ... 0538/VEsC/ Yes, this has a political source in the Obama campaign, but where else will you get this kind of information? Romney will not willingly give it out and is trying to conceal it, pretend that it is not there.

Ted

This is important. Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

http://www.laprogressive.com/trans-paci ... ment-tppa/

Love
Bette

_________________
All That Is
what is?
Consciousness.