Failure of US Long Range Strategic Planning, National Economic Security, Public Law

If we are living in the solution rather than the problem, then why not look at a National Referendum to force ethical planning and transparency into corporate and government planning documents.  

Why not seek a referendum requiring all US organizations include a paragraph in their objectives, mission statements, and long range organizational plans that would address larger national failures that resulted in the sub-prime housing bubble, savings and loan crisis, 2008 financial crisis, Dot Com Crash, high unemployment, low taxes for high income earners, federal income tax rules that can't be understood by any one individual, court systems that are too expensive for common man on Main Street, and political and regulatory capture by those with the money to 'get in the game'.

Politics based on power is no longer acceptable.  And business or multinational business based on money or power is no longer acceptable or sustainable.  That means leaving money overseas off-shore till legislation is drafted for the US Congress - is no longer acceptable for those that pay payroll taxes automatically every payday.  Balancing power between people, the government, and corporations is a much better policy.

The main advantage of a National scheme or referendum for government and organizational ethics clauses is to make up for failure of the US Constitution and Federal Legislation.  We should adopt some national pride codified by public law that supports public discussion and transparency to keep our US Organizations on the right track.  The theory being that if we think right, can point to common goals and national concerns, then we will act 'right'.  We will address as a team or community the weakness in policy or actions.  Employees will raise discussions on their own to bring their organization in line with ethical objectives.  And it is very appropriate as ethics training for our young students and businessmen and businesswomen.

I believe there is value looking at a kind of "reorganization" of government based on transparency, ethics, and opportunity for everyone.  I believe this kind of reorganization can be accomplished though goal setting and long range planning.  Of course the idea is to position our nation for the future and correct the failures of the past.

First I wanted to point out some problems with Strategic Planning, organizational missions and objectives. Maybe we can agree that a strategic plan by Henry Kissinger or Zbigniew Brezinski for the world based on an ethnocentric perspective is flawed and likely unethical. Perhaps we can even agree that strategic planning is a corrupting influence on the world based on the killing of non-christians and suppression of foreign governments by our own governments.

I think a government or corporate executive can be easily understood as a human working on his mission to secure revenue, funding, profit, or value for his organization. Each of us may play roles during the work day as a corporate player, an ideologue, as a financial investor, as a person that provides service to his community, as a parent, as a friend, or as a moral citizen. Each human has many different motivations and interests.

So how do you fight the Long Range Strategic Plan for Goldman Sachs?

How do you stop a Long Range Strategic Plan by some faction of Big Businessmen, Big Multinationals, Big Petroleum Interests, World Bankers, or some evil doer?  Well you don't.  You regulate to discourage crime and fraud.  But if you can create a national imperative or national initiative to include ethical rules in all Strategic Planning it may accomplish very much in my opinion.  

In the Government they call this a "Reorganization". Clearly new rules of transparency (regulations) and new "Grand Goals", "National Goals", or "Sustainable Social Goals" would have to be adopted.

There is a precedence for this kind of legislation under public statutory law known as the social contract between a citizen and a state. The social contract defines the relationship between a state and an entity that owes allegiance to it according to wikipedia. Further, public law interacts with civil and human rights.

What is the weakness of my idea?  Well there is no way to know what government is doing. No one wants people sticking their nose into their business even government business. We have a federal "Freedom of Information Act of 1966" that has helped US Transparency and various states have passed their own version. So there is a conflict of interest between the corporate or government employee/manager/executive and letting citizens know the details of business operations. The point is large organizations by their nature do not want their operations publicly known, will resist transparency, and citizens will face years of work to get the full picture of government activities in order to demand that remedies or reparations be made through public planning documents. 

In summary this is my proposal:

1) Insert National rules for mission statements and objective statements

2) Insert National rules for ethical behavior in goal statements

3) Mandate that US Legal Organizations Strategic Planning clearly state and addresses the community, environmental, financial interests of the government in unemployment, job preservation, and social safety nets that may be affected by job losses created by mergers and leveraged take-overs by hostile or unfriendly firms that may saddle the organization with huge debt

4) Make all US Corporations, Fountadtions, governments, and legal organizations incorporate mission, objectives, and goals that are ethical and transparent to the public and employees.

5) US Strategic Planning as practiced in the US is focused as it is on it's own goals is acting like a maverick, acting like a loner, acting to the exclusion of national identity and responsibility. US Organizations ARE Acting like an off-shore privateer, a pirate, or a disinterested party. 

6) There is nothing wrong with forcing corporations to serve the country if not the community by being transparent. I think we would expect the same of NGOs, Foundations, PACs, 501 (c)(4) organizations, 527 organizations (soft money), and any legal entity formed or incorporated in the USA.  US Legal entities must be better citizens or state economy participants.

Links for discussion of weakness in current US Strategic Planning:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_range_planning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolitics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_analysis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_relations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_relations#Epistemology_and_IR_theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_analysis#Bureaucratic_Politics_Model
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_analysis#Other_models
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy#Grand_Strategy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_interventionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_mundialization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeasement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_interventionism#Unilateral_intervention

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_organization

Romney Analysis of Economy, just one word Jobs.

Dear Mr. President and Governor Mitt Romney;

Where as we who are not the lowest common denominator posit we are educated and here is the truth: 1) Political speeches are not speaking to US Stakeholders. 2) Politicians lie or tell half truths. 3) We are all trying to make a profit or get money 4) Your politicical speakers are for TV viewers 5) Lobby money buys political influence and legislation 6) Even your children don't like you.  

Wow, I listened to Marco Rubio on the RNC and heard him say that Obama spend $1 Trillion more than the government received in revenue.  What a lie.  It is well over a $1 Trillion.  Then he goes on to say  all kinds of things that distract us from the State Of the Union.  Clint Eastwood comes on to remind us that this is all a performance. Politics is a performance.

I listened to a few of these speakers and wondered if I would put some thing down on paper. No mater what I write the political performance at the RNC will prove to be more vague.  There is no political info in politics.  And the media don't help.

You listen to Mitt Romney and the party leaders and you end up dummer for the effort.  It was the same old speech.  There was nothing new. Romney is an analyst. Romney is a financial, business and economic analyst. He lives in the world of Balance Sheets and Financial Statements.

But Romney's analysis of the Economy is simply one word. Romney says that Jobs are number #1.  We need Jobs.  Do you have a plan for creating jobs? No.   

What an idiot. He plays to the lowest common denominator. What message will America understand? Jobs. Well okay what is the solution? Jobs. Dumb ass.... I could kick him in the face.

Mitt Romney is an analyst of the economy and of business costs. What is his answer to the economic problems? Jobs. Any specifics? No.  

Well Mr. Governor Romney what is your plan for the economy? Jobs. So after all your financial experience, business experience, layoff experience, off shoring experience, outsourcing experience, and merger experience.... you just say jobs. Yes. Do you have a plan for creating jobs?  No.   

What an asshole.

This man has made the US Voter dumber after 3 hours of TV waiting for him to show up.

Politicians feed their own addiction in public and on our time in the main stream media. Who else has the Ego to make us all watch his/her own life succeed or fail. These people are narcissistic. And when you start looking for it... there are many different examples of narcissism.

My Amendments to the US Constitution

I have three Resolutions for adoption into the US Constitution 1) Congressional Gifts, Campaign Contributions, and Lobbying 2) Too Big to Fail Banks, Separate savings and loans from investment banks, Regulate financial derivative instruments, Breakup too big to fail banks 3) Freedom of Information 

JOINT RESOLUTION on Receipt of Congressional Gifts
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to gift giving and lobbying of congress, and campaign finance of members of congress.
To address the constant influence of money, eliminate conflicts of interest, to promote justice and equality, to place limits on corporate and wealthy entities, and to promote public tranquility the following articles and amendments are proposed. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein),
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission by the Congress:
SECTION 1.
Congress shall not receive more than $100 dollars from any single entity in efforts raising campaign funds with respect to Federal elections, including political action committees, corporations, charitable organizations, churches or religious organizations, and all United States Citizens. There are no exceptions or waivers to this rule for any kind of entity. Congress shall maintain painstaking and specific records of all transactions related to campaign funds and any products such as books, or services such as speeches.
SECTION 2.
Congress shall not receive any lobby dollars, gifts over a $5 dollar value, free lunches, free dinners, free tickets to conventions, transportation tickets or free rides on airplanes, trains, space craft, free hotel rooms, free clothing, or any other produce or service worth more than an appraised value of $5 Dollars from any single entity in efforts or any kind or that would have the appearance of an ethics problem, including political action committees, corporations, charitable organizations, churches or religious organizations, and all United States Citizens. There are no exceptions or waivers to this rule for any kind of entity. Congress shall maintain painstaking and specific records of all transactions related to all kinds of gifts and especially gifts, be they products or services, that could be considered a conflict of interest.
SECTION 3.
The Congressional watchdog, the General Accounting Office, shall have power to make and publish reports and suggestions regarding transparency to all members of congress regarding this article. It is expected that every 10 years there would be an adjustment to gift and campaign dollar limits which will be applied as 20% increase each 10 years after the date of adoptions of this amendment (i.e. $1 added after 10 years equals a new maximum gift value for congress of $6 dollars). 

JOINT RESOLUTION concerning Too Big Too Fail Banks  
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating monopolistic power, financial risk of large US banks and financial entities, national systemic and and economic risk of large US banks, and damage to US citizens from the financial crisis of 2008.
To address the constant influence of high risk financial behavior, to promote justice by slowing down banking fraud, to place limits on financial growth, to safe guard retail banking accounts, and to promote public tranquility the following articles and amendments are proposed.
SECTION 1.
US banks can no longer be both retail and investment banks. Retail banking is the banking for consumers. US citizens accounts shall be protected from bank investments and those within the financial organization that make investments.
SECTION 2.
Financial derivatives and derivative financial instruments will be regulated as any other financial investment. All financial investments whether stocks, bonds, or derivatives will be treated in the same way by regulators and will be shown on balance sheet transactions in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP). Therefore, private hedge funds and private banks will also have to follow GAAP rules, and carry financial transactions on balance sheets.
SECTION 3.
US Banks failing a test of doing annual business greater than $1 trillion dollars in either long term investments, or total capitalization, or $500 billion in total liabilities, or who holds over $300 billion in derivatives, or who creates financial derivative products of over $200 billion annually shall be broken in to separate parts at the end of one year after proposal is adopted. 

JOINT RESOLUTION concerning Freedom for Government Information
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to US Citizens Freedom of Information Requests from all US state and federal government entities. US government agencies work for the US Citizen and are paid through tax dollars from the citizen, so it is reasonable and predicable that citizen will request information.
SECTION 1.
All Federal and State, and Local governments, there agencies and their offices shall provide citizens with free access to information, data, and assistance with respect to Freedom of Information Requests. Therefore government offices shall post instructions, times for office visits, and make an employee available to assist US Citizens visiting in person. Agencies shall make it known where citizens can go to accomplish these freedom of information requests. The citizen will accommodate office hours, office locations, and scheduling of office visits within a weeks time for convenience. Information is recognized as dynamic and changes over time and the intent is that near instant response to freedom of information requests is possible and usually will be reasonable.
SECTION 2.

Economic Stimulus, Jobs Crisis, Specific Problem Areas and Specific Solutions Ideas

Economic Stimulus, Jobs Crisis, Specific Problem Areas and Specific Solutions Ideas

First consider the following problem areas.

A. Problem Area Taxes are Lower for Rich People:
1) Capital Gains, 2) Dividends, 3) Carried Interest, 4) Deferred Wages,

B. Problem Area Taxes for Social Security, Medicare not paid by the Rich (These social programs are under funded).

C. Problem Area Most People Don't Work - although women did join the work force and increase the number of people competing for jobs.  These 4 types of people require others to take care of them whether family or social programs:
1) Children, 2) Elderly, 3) Infirm, 4) Spouses at home

D. Problem Area The Alternative minimum Tax doesn't work for Rich who still have "Loop Holes", Pay "Non Wage Tax Rate", and No Definition of "effective tax rate" except for the tax in the IRS tax booklet. Taxable income and earning is reduced by some calculations, then deductions are put through further manipulations, tax credits are added in, and so on. The original concept of the AMT was for the rich to pay more, but seems they were excluded from the final law when it was passed.

E. Problem Area Congress Spends Funds that We Don't Have.

1) War over 500 Mile from this Country is Questionable, 2) There is No Trust Fund for War Spending, 3) Taxpayer's Borrow Money for War, 4) Much of Spending is a transfer of Taxpayer money to industry, 5) Too much Spending for Prisons for nonviolent crime, 6) Over 1600 Federal Subsidies, 7) Social Security Funds Stolen for War Funding.

F. Problem Area Banks Are Predatory, engage in dishonest and Criminogenic activity, One Idea: "Banks should become a Utility" managed like a the water company. It seems like a good idea, because they function to lend money and with Fractional Reserves - they are really making money "out of thin air" (transparency and regulation goes without saying if banks become a "Utility").

G. Problem Area Borrowed Money which brings up Mondern Monetary theory, central banking, borrowing money for government operations, getting loans from banks as the preferred method and not considering other alternatives than creating this massive federal deficit:

1) MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) has some different ideas. If we are the government, we own the treasury, why don't we create money and institute monetary policy, and why should we pay back money borrowed, or ... even borrow money to begin with???? Unless we borrow or lend to foreign entities we can create money without borrowing it.
2) Monetary Policy is all about making sure there is enough money in the system. If businesses can be born, and grow...if people can borrow and use credit,... then the system works. But today with dishonest deals driving out honest deals ... like the No Document Mortgages, packed and resold within hours or days. Money supply should be tied to changes in population to prevent money from getting tight as it is now. Small businesses can't get loans today (I am told). And people that want to refinance homes can't refinance.
3) Monetary Policy is supposed to work for both Main Street and Wall Street. And it has nothing to do with "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps". Today the money system is Broke. And the Economists in charge are "Neoliberalist".

"Neoliberalism is a contemporary form of economic liberalism that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets to promote globalization. Neoliberals therefore seek to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the political and economic priorities of the world."

H. Problem Area Job Creation is Really Creating an Environment For Starting Small Businesses (Small Businesses are the heart of the USA, employ the most people, and manufacture the most products - it is a myth that big giant corporations are the heart of the USA).

I) Problem Area We are transferring large amounts of funds from the taxpayer to industry through spending, through tax abatements, through public private partnerships, and through federal subsidies that number over 1600 to agriculture, oil industry, and many others like Walmart.

J) Problem Area Taxpayer funds transferred to the defense industry doesn't provide the economic stimulus that another manufacturing industry would. The economic multiplier effect of producing  goods and sending them to the market for other producers to utilize and sell as a component of their product is much less. War material is often controlled and kept out of the common market, it is often damaged or destroyed, and resale after obsolescence is often to foreign countries outside of our markets.

Now here are some potential solutions or ideas:

1) Get rid of the Central Bank (since we know they are in bed with the people that they are supposed to Regulate, the Revolving Door from the Treasury to Big Banks to the Federal Reserve proves this is one big "Club"). No one knows why the FED was created in secrecy without congress anyway.
2) Break Up All Banks that are too big to fail with Antitrust Laws (separate commercial banks, investment banks, and savings banks).
3) Stop Foreign War over 500 Miles from any one US State.
4) Stop asking the Government to Create Jobs.
5) Stop asking Businesses to Create Jobs.
6) Fully Fund Social Security and put money behind a Firewall (that is why we called it a "Trust").
7) Extend Unemployment benefits another year
8) Bring Army Troops back to permanent stations in the USA from Japan, Korea, and Germany. This means building (Stimulating) more housing, barracks, training facilities, and maintenance facilities. It also WILL Stimulate the US Economy as their money is spent in the US.
9) Create Incentive programs in K-12 through small Grants of $2000 - $4000, and in Colleges and Tech Training Schools of $5000 - $6000 to test new inventions, create contests in science, agricultural labs, greenhouses, etc.
10) Close the Department of Education since it has failed.

12) Scrape the current federal income tax scheme in favor of a progressive tax that only allows 5 deductions, recognizes wages and earnings the same way, investment dividends and short and long term profits and loses are treated with an exclusion for the first $15K earned, then taxed at 24%, interest rates for two mortgages can only be deductible up to $100K per house, there would be no such thing as a lower tax rate for "carrying fees" earned through business.  This tax plan will get Lawyers, Tax Lawyers, Accountants, Tax Accountants into other economic activities that could be helpful to the GDP and may have a multiplier effect on the economy (hopefully we can get more financial managers into manufacturing also). This may also reduce the number of IRS employees needed to review tax forms. Outlaw Deferred Wages since they erode tax base and obstruct visibility of Executive Wages Earned (nontransparent).

   A) Progressive tax with few deductions from 14% ($1-$22K per year) 16% ($23K-30K per year) 18% ($31K-38K per year) 20% ($39K-$49K per year) 22% ($50K-$60K per year) 24% ($61K-70K per year) 26% ($71K-82K per year) 28% ($83-$95K per year) 30% ($96K-120K per year) 31% ($121K-$1.5M per year) 32% ($1.6M- infinity)
   B) All wages, tips, carry fees, income treated the same
   C) Rich people pay full Social Security and Medicare taxes
   D) Allowed to own two houses and deduct up to $100K per year per house, additional houses are called investments and you can't deduct the interest paid from income taxes
   E) Head of Household and those with dependents can deduct health insurance premiums, copays, drug costs, and medical bills
   F) Investments are encouraged, loses and gains are only calculated when actually sold stocks, bonds or other financial instruments.
   G) Pensions are not taxed by the federal government unless they exceed $100K per year in which case they would be taxed at the lowest rate or 14%
   H) Personal deduction allowed, plus deduction for dependents and spouse

13) Overturn NAFTA and CAFTA
14) Stimulate manufacturing with "Economics Free Zones" in states and cities across the USA which would remove barriers to businesses, reduced taxes, reduced licenses, reduced certification requirements, no unions, reduced sales tax, reduced production tax, reduced capitol investment tax, maybe customers would not have to pay sales taxes either.
15) Stimulate manufacturing by providing small grants to trade schools and to students toward teaching them about business and how to start a manufacturing enterprise (laboratories, agricultural plots, energy and alternative energy testing projects, chemistry projects, hazardous waste control technology).
16) Stimulate manufacturing by identifying banks that would lend to new businesses, establish new small business federal loan programs at federal loan rate of 6% or 8%, identify technologies that will be trends in the future and will be focus of federal loan program (waste disposal, recycling, energy, autos, mass transportation).
17) Stimulate business creation with additional public works programs, and energy technology programs grants, loans, reduced production tax, sales tax, capitol investment tax, for businesses with capitalization below $10 Million Dollars that will produce energy or manufacture capitol equipment utilized in the energy industry.
18) Make Health Care Portable across State Lines ending monopolistic Insurance Programs.
19) Make all Student Loan Interest Rates go down to either 6% or 8% to end the predatory rates from financial organizations who get their money for free or nearly free (Fractional Reserve Lending) and who now use profits to Lobby Congress.
20) Break up the TV/Cable Monopoly with Antitrust Law. No media owner/corporation/cabal should have the power to advertise talking points and call it news.
21) Outlaw Lobbying Congress and Gift Giving to Congress (i.e. free hotels, free dinners, free vacations, free conventions, free plane rides). And accepting gifts/contributions from foreign entities by congress is treason. Campaign contributions shall be set at the same limit for all US Citizens, but corporations and PACs shall not contribute to congressmen/women. Congress shall raise money through books and speaking, but can't sell books to PACs or corporations or some rich entity.
22) SEC must be bolstered with full backing of US Treasury if it is to face big banks in court to discourage criminogenic behavior.
23) SEC probably needs manpower of 200 additional agents to investigate Fraud and Criminogenic environment.
24) Corporations need to be rated not only on their risky behavior, and for hiring unqualified personnel to create mortgage loans or other financial instruments, but also for the amount of leverage they use and lack of reserves they keep on hand (transparency is key).
25) Corporations need to be Rated for all consumers, investors, or potential business partners with regard to transparency and independent audits of Off Balance Sheet Transactions. GAAP rules are the goal for US Businesses and should be mandatory for transparency.
26) Politicians should be Rated and Evaluated when they intervene/pressure Federal regulatory offices and agencies. For Instance it is said that congress interfered with the IRS audits of Rich people in the past. The real danger is that political pressure can allow regulations to be bent without the politician knowing the full context of the US regulations or the Lobbying Entity's Activities (Context is crucial to all US systems).
27) Make Banks become "Utilities" like water or electric with profit controls, leverage controls (less than 10 to 1), fractional reserve controls (minimum on hand assets), Interest Rate controls (Student Loans at either 6% or 8%, Small Business Loans either 6% or 8%), Off Balance Sheet transaction controls (to make explicit what is allowed and what is prohibited), and transparency of credentials for bank loan officers and mortgage specialist.
28) End the Revolving Door Between Federal Regulators and the Industries they Regulate. There are rules that exist that prevent government employees from working in industry jobs for a period of 5 years under certain conditions and circumstances. Disclosure Forms can be used to keep up on job changes of government employees that want to move from the Treasury or another agency to work for the entity or industry they were sworn to regulate (this forces people to chose their careers and stick to their decisions).
29) There should be a US congressional program to monitor, control, discover, and eliminate slave labor and child labor used in foreign countries for cheap labor. If US textile and manufacturing jobs have gone over to foreign countries, then we should have certainty that the labor rate is not a slave labor wage. We should not lose manufacturing to slave labor.


http://www.truth-out.org/have-super-rich-seceded-united-states/1326127151
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36kizAjPmuo&list=PL0F4ACDBAAD6AA9CA&index=2&feature=plpp_video

Brief 17 minutes run down on current environment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Qe0HlKKfw
 Teaching session 56 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=6YT84CokUsA Controversy about firing US AG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12oDVr2RZQ&feature=related

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/banks-financing-mexico-s-drug-cartels-admitted-in-wells-fargo-s-u-s-deal.html
http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2012/01/26/wachovia-bank-laundered-money-for-latin-american-drug-cartels/
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/04/wachovia-paid-trivial-fine-for-nearly-400-billion-of-drug-related-money-laundering.html

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=7495773   Robert Reich 
and here is the Blog from Robert Reich on Truthout.com 
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/8214-break-up-the-banks-says-the-dallas-fed
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/money-power-wall-street/  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_loan_crisis  (1980s and 1990s) ( total cost for resolving the 747 failed institutions was $87.9 billion)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932010
http://www.dallasfed.org/assets/documents/fed/annual/2011/ar11.pdf  
http://www.neweconomicperspectives.org/2011/09/william-black-why-nobody-went-to-jail.html

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7926
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Akerlof
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_K._Black
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis
http://ideas.repec.org/a/bin/bpeajo/v24y1993i1993-2p1-74.html
http://www.walmartsubsidywatch.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals#Notable_accounting_scandals
http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2011/06/warcosts  
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-how-big-banks-are-rewriting-the-rules-of-our-economy/  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism  
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/02-5  link on neoliberalism

Banking Reform, Economy, Globalization, Unemployment, US Budget, US Banks, US Congress, US Debt, US Politics, Federal Reserve, Lobbying, Revolving Door,

Political Distortions Erode US Public Confidence

Political Distortions Erode US Public Confidence

The many half-truths and distorted truths have not only maintained a political status quo, but have dumbed down the US Public.

1) That we live in a democracy. In fact we live in a Limited Republic where our Representatives pass laws

2) That we live under a capitalist system. We live in a mixed economy which includes social programs, capitalism, and significant central control of the economy through government subsidies, tax abatements, and legislation that has supported creation of a financial industry with bubbles in mortgages and derivatives.

3) That money does not influence our government and create obligations and considerations after elections. In fact we know with capitalism, advertising, media exposure, the powerful impact of television that big money is required to win elections. And where is that big money going to come from? Big pockets. Big money establishes relationships, access, obligations, political appointments, and political considerations. Lobbyist' contribute money to politicians, then are permitted to write legislation as if they had the best interest of the common people and working class.

4) That corporations are people. Marine General Smedley Butler wrote a book in 1935, War is a Racket, in which he outlines his career in Central America and the Caribbean. In fact when blacks were recognized a people by the Civil Rights Act of 1871 corporations filed law suits to push their own interests under this law. Corporate influence in the US and around the globe can not be denied. But business is business. People can make moral and ethical decisions and even fight for their own country. But if corporations hurt people or put their employees in dangerous situations their liability is just a few bucks. The IRS and the SEC can't even begin legal proceedings against large corporations without huge funds.

5) That US Media is free from conflicts of interest. In fact Western media is a largely owned by 5 corporations or people. And media can't exist without obligations to large corporate advertisers. And media can't perform it's business without powerful people providing them access to government press conferences, government spokesmen, elected officials, government buildings and election events.

6) That the government has our best interest in mind and is largely free from conflicts of interest. In fact it is hard to separate fact from fiction. However there are many examples of corruption in US Governments.

A) Savings and Loan Scandal 1988
B) Keating Five Scandal 1989
B) Mortgage Crisis 2007
C) Financial Crisis 2008
D) Reversal of Depression Era laws to prevent Banking Scandals
E) Use of "Riders" in US Congressional Legislation
F) Every Presidential Administration has Scandals
G) Use of Social Security Trust funds to pay for the Vietnam War
H) Operation Northwoods Plot to start war with Cuba thru "false flag" operation on US soil
I) Gulf of Tonkin incident to start war with Vietnam
J) Business Plot 1933 by US Industrialist to overthrow the US Government
K) Operation Ajax by CIA in Iran in 1953
L) Subsidies by federal government for Walmart parking lots, regional warehouses, and stores
M) The Federal website www.cfda.gov shows 2,200 different Domestic Assistance programs for 2012. I'm pretty sure this is the current number of Subsidies. In 2006, according to the Cato Institute website there were 1,696 federal subsidies.
N) Vulture Fund Company Seeks $40 Million Payment from Zambia on $4 Million Debt from "aid money" granted to fight poverty
O) No one has gone to JAIL in the 2008 Financial Crisis that went global and for which the FED provide over $20 trillion dollars in emergency loans
P) Too Big Too Fail banks haven't been broken up
q) There is no investigation of 2008 financial crisis since it would require 20K investigators and mortgage banks must put together the paper work "referral"
R) Patriot Act - because it erodes the Bill of Rights
S) National Defense Authorization Act - because it erodes the Bill of Rights
T) Congress hasn't signed a US Budget for 1000 days
U) The Iraqi War, Afghanistan War, Vietnam War, and Korean Wars were not declared by Congress.
V) We allow rich people, corporations, and foreigners to contribute millions of dollars to US Congressmen. Foreign lobbyist can go to the State department. Congressional receipt of foreign lobby dollars sounds like treason.
W) Antitrust law used to protect against monopolies and oligopolies, but today corporations get larger year after year, have personhood, and seem not to have any limitations since the lessons they learned from the Bell Telephone breakup
X) There is no concerted effort by the US government to discover, monitor, control, or legislate prohibitions against slave labor and child labor in foreign countries where US textile and other jobs have gone
Y) There is less funding for US job retraining today than there was prior to 2008 Financial Crisis as per NPR last week
Z) Creation of the Federal Reserve
AA) Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham plead guilty to taking over $2M in Bribes from 3 defense contractors
BB) Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana was caught with $90K in his house freezer
CC) Cost of congressional campaign is $1 million per candidate, and Senate campaigns is $4.3 million, but could be $10-15 million and the winner usually is the one that has the most campaign money
DD) One third of campaign money could be coming from Political Action Committees based on 1986 study (PAC are special interest groups)
EE) Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested in 2008 for trying to sell a US Senate seat
FF) Opensecrets "all time top donors" list of campaign contributors shows AT&T, National Association of Realtors, and Goldman Sachs in the top 10 - Citigroup is #15, JP Morgan is #26, Microsoft #28, Lockheed martin #33, General Electric #35, surprisingly American Bankers Association #23 and American Medical Association #16
GG) US Government subsidies for oil exploration when profits are high and there is not chance the industry will fail anytime in the next 20 years

7) That industry does not have much influence on regulators in our government. In fact we have a revolving door from industry to all our regulatory agencies including the big banking, big pharmacy, big agriculture, and probably the EPA. This means people that work in regulated industries rotate through jobs at the Federal Reserve, US Treasury, SEC, FDA, Energy Agencies, Gas and Oil Agencies, and probably the EPA. They also probably have a strong influence in universities and the medical profession also. Regulatory capture is also a problem here where Industry has so much influence that it makes the rules or determines the enforcement.

8) That main street has the same chance to make money in financial markets as big banks. In fact we have a) slower ability to trade shares in financial markets b) a big hurdle and lost opportunities when prices change dramatically while US markets are closed c) wealthy financial consultants like Mitt Romney pay 15% for their fees that make a large portion of their income.

9) We don't need manufacturing, protection for manufacturing industries, and the business environment allows entry for new manufacturing. In fact the banking industry is focused on high risk/high yield investments and wants goods to be manufactured in cheap labor countries since it looks like a good business model that is efficient use of capital. There is little going in in the USA to a) Ensure people have the skills they need b) have retraining opportunities c) stimulate manufacturing in the US d) provide reasonable financing through banks to start new manufacturing e) install protectionist policies to keep US manufacturing base g) recognize the economic force called the economic multiplier effect that derives from valuable manufacturing activity h) recognize that US workers need an advocate i) provide grants for research into technologies that the US will need in the next 10-20 years.

Americans are not against war and not even against covert military actions. We like our heros and we like the image of the US men as a strong warriors. It just seems like the CIA has been involved in a lot of dumb decision. We like the idea of our involvement in WWI and WWI as justified and patriotic. But it is hard to see how China or Korea posed a threat in the 1950s. I can't see Vietnam being a threat in 1950s or 1960 either. Hello, war is bad, expensive, reduces security that military force could provide in other parts of the world and the US, and the human costs to culture, economies, families, injuries, and deaths is prohibitive. Unless your goal is to cripple a foreign nation under the guise of something else.

Americans don't mind some covert exercise of our special forces in foreign countries and we want highly trained warriors for heros. But political distortions make us all dumb don't they. Why can't our history be known. Admit that our CIA actions and intelligence got out of hand and look at moving those employees to military intelligence activities for more rigid monitoring and control.

10) Distortions of war include: A) that countries over 500 miles away from the US border can be a significant threat B) the idea that the US reserves the right to change governments in South America, Cuba, Iraq, Afghanistan or "failed States" under our foreign policy and the Monroe Doctrine C) that we should invade, isolate, and coerce any nation that is communist D) that we have the right to attack a nation under first strike doctrine when the decision process to go to war has failed.

11) Examples of US wars or military action without logical threat to US Security A) Korea B) Vietnam C) Gulf war with Iraq 1991 D) Iraqi Freedom 2003 E) Afghanistan 2001.

12) Examples of US Covert Actions that stole the right of self-determination from sovereign governments A) Syria 1949 B) Iran 1953 C) Guatemala 1954 D) Cuba 1959 E) Brazil 1964 F) Ghana 1966 G) Iraq 1968 H) Chile 1973 I) Afghanistan 1973-4 J) Iraq 1973-5 K) Argentina 1976 L) Afghanistan 1978-1980s M)Iran 1980

These additional are simply lesser known military actions as part of empire building and looking out for our industrial/trade or strategic interests N) Nicaragua 1980-90 O) El Salvador 1980-92 P) Cambodia 1980-95 Q) Guatemala 1993 R) Mexico 1914 S) Haiti 1915–1934 T) Cuba 1898-1902, 1906–1909, 1912 and 1917–1922 U) Nicaragua 1902-12, 1912 through 1933 V) Dominican Republic 1903, 1904, 1914, 1916-1924 W) Honduras 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924 and 1925 X) China 1927 Y) Porto Rico 1898 Z) Panama 1846, 1856, 1903,


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/opinion/l21brooks.html
http://cfinst.org/congress/pdf/Table4_PostElec.pdf
http://www.cleanupwashington.org/sii/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honest_services_fraud
http://articles.cnn.com/2005-11-28/politics/cunningham_1_mzm-mitchell-wade-tax-evasion?_s=PM:POLITICS
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v3n2/money.html (Cost of Campaign)
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4764307
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4923163 (Pay to play Blaggo)
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?order=A (Heavy Hitters Campaign Contributions)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_loan_crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals#Notable_accounting_scandals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_scandals_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ponzi_schemes
http://www.walmartsubsidywatch.org/
http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/24/news/fortune500/walmart_subsidies/
http://www.neweconomicperspectives.org/2011/09/william-black-why-nobody-went-to-jail.html
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7926
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Akerlof
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_K._Black
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis
http://ideas.repec.org/a/bin/bpeajo/v24y1993i1993-2p1-74.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-real-housewives-of-wall-street-look-whos-cashing-in-on-the-bailout-20110411
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_flag
http://www.wanttoknow.info/010501operationnorthwoods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Industrial_Complex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions#Chile_1973
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions#Destabilization_through_CIA_assets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Wars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil (Broken up in 1911)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System (Broken up in 1984)

Military Politics, Work Place Politics

Some people have a war going on in their heads (memory stress or work stress of one type). We call this competition in the US. Competition can be explored by looking at the winners and the losers. However most will learn more if we look at who military employees compete with and if there is too much or too little competition. The work place contains a broad set of behaviors, some unwanted behaviors, and some unwanted reactions. We could call some of these behaviors competition, harassment, abuse, supervision, and the human resources system or the employment system.

The military is not that different from the business world. In fact early modern management came out of the military and we know it as Theory X management style or the factory management system. Anyway the military system is highly developed as all military systems have become.

Some people have a war going on in their minds because they are harassed by other people or leaders in the system of competition for advancement. Politics are heavily involved, but the focus is on what skills or experience a soldier or employee has. By the way there are both soldiers and civilians in the military system.

Everybody has formal Military Occupational Skills (MOS), although there are different names in different services and for civilians. And your competition in the work place all know where you have been, how you were educated, and what military skills and background you have. You can't escape this process and these judgments.

And the system, wise as it is, has built in an expectation of complaints and grievances. This is to be expected with all the hierarchies being defined. In fact of course you can compete in the world of ideas from people outside of your agency, at different headquarters organizations, people with technical degrees in engineering, quality, or even law. And then there are career political appointees. So it is not just noncommissioned officers, officers, civilians, contractor experts, and organizations with peerless reputations that all compete for dominance. You also compete in your job with your own formal job series/job description, previous experience, training classes, whether you retired already from military service and at what rank/grade, and this defines or limits your career and your ability to compete.

One point is you can be a soldier or civilian in a military career and be trapped/defined at a certain promotion level and no resolution but to leave this employment. This is called having a dead end job or a dead end position.

And it makes sense within the military. We have career tracks. Certain fields understand logistics better than others and better fit the career track. Combat soldiers and combat veterans can only go so far without crossing over into other fields. Money and finance is an important field for instance, but many people will not be able to cross into the field and there are few slots/jobs that pay over $60K a year. Career development and advanced training are vital to reward people and promote the right people. Cronyism and nepotism are discouraged.

Another point is that complaining, networking, politicking and talking with those in management with the power to hire you, send you to training, or change your circumstance. You could say the squeeky wheel gets the oil.

Complainers and whiners are strongly competitive unless they become whistle blowers in which case all bets are off. People that file grievances are looked at a little differently in my opinion. The old patriarchy did not like grievances. But the system has always had strong competition and that means there were public or private complaints.

Still in my opinion many leave the military with a war going on in their heads. Not from combat, not from a deep seated animosity or grievance, not anything dangerous or abnormal, just a lot of memories of eating crap. The world of competition is very much alive in the US Military and the US.

There is a subset of the work force that doesn't complain and may not engage in communication or discussion about relationships in the work place. We might say there were people that submerge issues or thoughts about relationships with supervisors and others. These might be negative or unwanted reactions.

Of course another point is that supervisors and managers are people that are doing well with competition and politics. This is kind of the definition of having an edge when you already are part of management and have a management career.

Now Capitalism is built seemingly from competition, so this is all well and good. Free enterprise, individual property rights for all regardless of race, creed, and color seems the way to go. And we have constitutions and laws to regulate, monitor, and control corruption of the government money trough.

The biggest surprise in Military politics and competition in the work place is the US Contractors that serve as experts. To me government and military experts lose out on the knowledge, skills, and expertise when we pay corporations or consultants to do the government core functions and other non core function. If you want the best government, if you want to avoid regulatory capture, if you want to avoid corruption, then we all need to increase the visibility of contractors and consultants within the Department of Defense. Recently there was a law suit filed by an employee of many years within the Office Management and Budget due to conflict with contractor expertise. So it seems that Lobbyist write the laws for congress and run government budget and financial offices.

How will regulators in the military and government do their jobs, if they compete with outsiders under the guise of consultants hired by their chain of command. How will government employees learn to negotiate, manage, and control military and government programs without the opportunity.

We conclude that contractors and consultants in the government and military should have a lot of visibility. We might be served better by limits of corporate contractors and consultant in the military and government. Remember when too big to fail banks became consultant managers for the financial bailout that they caused? Remember that lobbyist wrote the laws that made the last financial crisis possible? Remember the failures of war, the embezzlement of funds scandals of war, the over charges by defense contractors to the government, the failures of intelligence for going to war, remember the contractor in the Balkans earning $100K to sweep the warehouse, and remember the words of Smedley Butler and President Eisenhower? We need to limit the involvement of corporations in government, act to reduce the revolving door between corporations and government jobs that regulate industry, and we need to be aware of regulatory capture by corporations.

US Military, Military Politics, US Government, US Lobbying, US Ethics, US Politics, Capitalism, Competition, Regulatory Capture, Revolving Door,

Business Ethic Training

All:


William Black is a Professor of Law at UMKC. He is a former regulator in the banking industry and was key witness in defending individual taxpayers (FDIC Insurers) and individual rights against accounting fraud that characterized the Savings and Loan Banking Scandal of the 1980s.

1) Perverse Incentives
2) Dishonest deals Displace Honest Economic Activity
3) Characteristics of Criminal banking Activity
4) Lack of Prosecutions
5) Hope for Prosecutions

Click on any link. The first link is shorter.

Brief 17 minutes run down on current environment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Qe0HlKKfw
Teaching session 56 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=6YT84CokUsA
Controversy about firing US AG:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12oDVr2RZQ&feature=related

Last week I was sugesting the following as Truth:

1) We need the FED (US Federal Reserve which prints US Dollars) to back up the SEC Court Costs and Law Suits with unlimited US Dollars (Securities Exchange Commission) - since the SEC doesn't have the budget to fight Big (TBTF) Banks in Court.
2) The SEC often settles or makes deals to accept a penalty from the bank with the biggest banks on charges of money laundering or other banking violations.
3) Too Big To Fail (TBTF) banks often repeat violations within 1-2 years for behavior they agreed in court to stop engaging in.
4) How can any little guy with a limited budget compete with big lobbyist and big corporations with Billions of Dollars?
5) End lobbying by Foreign Interests Today.
6) End Lobbying in Washington DC Tomorrow as the first step in Campaign Finance Reform.

D.

US Attorney General Stops Practicing Law

US Attorney General Stops Practicing Law


There is a small swirl going around about Attorney General Eric Holder's conflict of interest.

It is clear that the USA has lost $14-20 Trillion Dollars in our Financial Crisis of 2008. It started long before with various deregulation laws sponsored by lobbyist for the financial/banking industry. Apparently Attorney general for President Barak Obama used to work for these various financial corporations in his capacity working for Covington & Burling.

Hm...wow. What can that mean?

Well the financial crisis that we are still reeling from was in 2007-2008. Many in the banking industry felt it coming or avoided the "bad loans". And poor people notice the wave of systemic foreclosures hitting their neighborhoods by 2007. William Black is a Law Professor at UMKC. Bill Black has various videos available to explain the crisis online. Listen to Bill Black and you will learn the characteristics to look for fraudulent banking activity. bill can teach you how criminal behavior explains the Sub-Prime mortgage loan scandal where normal economics and banking doesn't. In fact there is plenty of behavior in mortgage loans to warrant more than 2000 prosecutions and incarcerations.

We have had over 409 banks fail in the USA since 2007. I say there could be at least a 4 to 1 ration of prosecutions. But remember in the 1980s Savings and Loan Scandal there were over 1100 prosecutions for only a fraction of the money lost for Americans. So we know there have not been any substantive prosecutions of Fraud for the Financial Crisis in the USA. Go and search on the internet for William Black Videos and listen. You will find that the comparison of US Government actions for this financial crisis pales in comparison to the "Savings and Loan Scandal".

So to conclude:

Where is the US Attorney General, Eric Holder?

Well no one really knows. We know he is not looking into the crimes which are considered the most horrendous. And we know he has a conflict of interest with his old buddies at Covington & Burling, and all his customers which were the biggest banks in the US History!

Eric Holder must go. Eric Holder is in Bed with all the Biggest Banks. The US Attorney General Eric Holder has stopped practicing law (disclaimer: I am not an attorney of law).

And so we must not elect Barak Obama or Newt or Mitt. We must look to reverse the US Progression into globalization.

1) Globalisation is a big question mark to all Americans today.
2) Federalization is also a big question in American now.
3) Why should we trust people that don't enforce the law or prevent Fraud?
4) Clearly money buys elections and politicians.
5) Clearly politicians are for sale.
6) Clearly the big money is buying politicians.
7) Clearly the big money is Banks and High Finance.
8) You have a big deal - you need to lobby government with big money.

Stop the Wars,
D.

Wars, US Banks, US Finance, US Politics, US Lobbying, Money and Politics, Globalisation

Romney Make a Case Against Trickle Down Economics

Romney Make a Case Against Trickle Down Economics - and for increasing taxes on Rich Americans whether they are executive wage earners, investors, or business owners.


There was much talk today in the media about Mitt Romney's Tax Filings.

I don't believe Americans are good at analysis in our bipartisan political system. Determined Democrats and Republican can be moved from their views. Many entrenched Americans jump into offensive and defensive positions when they meet a new or different idea.

How long have we been told by Republicans that the rich in the USA create jobs when the tax rates are low. There is little evidence that the rich create job or that we are dependent on rich people for our economy. We know much of our tax history show tremendous growth in the economy during times when taxes were as much as 90% for the top tier.

The Rich in America consider many things in protecting their wealth:

1) Risk: we want low risk if we are rich.
2) Invest as a bond holder or share holder to reduce risk.
3) Invest in the Best kinds of industries, businesses, and look for "Blue Chip" type corporations
4) Opening a Business or starting a corporation is very risky, involves loans, involves putting up capital, and dealing with overhead expenses.
5) Business's goal is to maximize profits and revenues, and reduce overhead such as employees (reduce employees not provide jobs to the public).
6) Automate as much as possible to reduce employee overhead.
7) Use outside resources for accounting, legal, and other so that we don't' have to pay overhead for their taxes, health care, retirement, and other benefits.

The Truth:

If I get rich I will not put my money into a business since I don't have the personality, am risk averse, and I don't have a network of business connections. I haven't made much in dividend income, am in a lower tax bracket, and don't really like paying even the 15% on my dividends over the last 3 years. Many Americans seem to think 24% is a good tax rate for dividend income and for rich people in general as per Gallup polls (NPR Radio 23 Jan 2012).

There is at least another perspective here.

1) Instead of austerity (cutting benefits for those that lost jobs, don't have jobs, and now depend on social programs) we can raise taxes on the rich.
2) Let's encourage people to learn and get involved in financial management like buying stocks and bonds.
3) Let's increase the financial and Banking education of all people.
4) It is an illusion that all people can not learn about banking, finance, and investing in stocks and bonds.
5) It is an illusion that we are dependant on the rich in America. The truth is that certain men think they are better/smarter than the rest of us.
6) Men keep us down by controlling information - so we need to keep the Internet open to all and free for all to preserve liberty, freedom, transparency, democracy, and a fair banking-government system (BGS - Banking Government System).

Conclusion:

I don't believe rich Americans will leave the USA if taxes go up for the following reasons:

A) The best markets or at least very lucrative market for business and consumer goods lie in the USA.
B) Most Americans like to be around other Americans, and like the infrastructure or convenience of living, investing, and doing business in the USA.
C) The culture in other countries is different and most in the USA can not or will not adapt to living overseas outside of the USA.

Mitt Romney, Trickle Down Economics, Republicans, US Tax Policy, US Lobbying, Tax the Rich, Banking Government System, OWS

Why do Americans Watch Debates or SOU?

Why do Americans Watch Debates or SOU??? Really!

All we get is a guy kissing a baby for all our time!

The words of Politicians are misleading, disingenuous, Spin, and Propaganda!

Now listen to the clapping in state of the union address. This is just a ruse to confuse or placate the masses. That is why most politicians spout rhetoric instead of honest word. Politics is a game. The game is to fool people to vote for them - if you by chance are interested in voting.

Politicians are magicians. They do one thing that you can see while doing a completely different thing behind their back. We all know that money buys elections. Lobby money buys elections, laws, deregulation, banking fraud, accounting fraud, and too big to fail banks. Never mind that executives have figured out how to loot corporations with lavish benefits packages, start an environment where dishonest deals drive out honest deals, and reduce real employment and real manufacturing that increases the US GDP and increases spin off jobs to support manufacturing.

The fact is if politicians wanted to solve problems, stop wars, create Justice, regulate accounting fraud, they would. There is a mountain of laws and regulations that are not enforced properly or have had subsequent laws reduce their effectiveness. Oh and you tell the IRS to go after small wage earners since they don't influence/lobby congress or engage in expensive legal battles. Oh and you can fail to budget money for proper staffing of agencies like the SEC. And you can over fund and over budget money for agencies involved in the war on drugs.

The solution: Vote for the underdog that wants to go back to individual rights. Vote for Ron Paul for US President.

It is clear that Ron Paul can not implement sever changes to our social systems, social security, social medicare/medicaid,...

we need to send a message to Washington DC and the K Street Lobbyist:

1) We won't be run over by lying politicians.
2) We are watching all politicians.
3) We don't tolerate looting our corporations.
4) We don't tolerate banks funding only Finance and Bank Deals.
5) We won't tolerate Accounting Fraud in the USA
6) we won't tolerate banks that focus on dishonest deals that put quick money in the pocket of the few deal makers.
7) we won't fall for Financial Ratings Agencies and independent accounting firms that don't do what they say the represent, but are "In Bed" with dishonest financial managers.

Republican Debates, State of the Union, US Politicians, Politics, Lobbying, Financial Crisis, Mortgage Scandal, Banking Reform

Mitt Romney Positioned as Aristocratic Candidate

Mitt Romney Positioned as Aristocratic Candidate


I don't know how to call this one, do you Bingo?

Obviously Romney is not one of us. I see video where Romney states he pays 15% Income Tax versus the 35% Income Tax that his tax bracket should be paying.

But there is also

1) False Claim of creating 100K jobs. If you went to business school you know the purpose of business is not to create jobs, support jobs, or help anyone else create jobs. The goal of business is to maximize profit.
2) Maximizing profit often means cutting jobs and managing new efficiencies.
3) Yes, there is a business cycle where businesses hire more people, then layoff workers when the economy or industry enters a recession. But let's be clear about what year we are talking about and whether the industry/business was in a recession.
4) Certain businesses take over other corporations to reap the profits whether through closing the business, or through buying a number of inefficient businesses and reaping the profits of turning around high costs or low revenues.
5) It doesn't seem likely that there is a single business model out there to take over businesses and increase employees - since employees are overhead.
6) It seems like Bain capital is more like a consultant business or a venture capital business. the focus could be on marketing, and developing markets, but more likely is going to see high overhead on paper which would lead to cutting jobs and cutting expenses.

The reason I laid that all out is this: There are perverse incentives now at work in US corporations and Businesses. The perverse payoffs are present if you layoff workers (bonus time), cut expenses, commit fraud, turn over fraudulent mortgages by selling them off, or create derivative financial instruments with triple A Ratings with subprime mortgages or subprime bonds packaged inside. Oh and the executive officers of US Businesses get bonuses and salary increases which tend to lessen profit for shareholders. Shareholder profits being drained to pay for overhead like salary and bonuses clearly are perverse.


Mitt Romney, Off Shoring, Off Shore banking, Cayman Islands, Arbitrage, Hedge Fund Manager, Presidential Campaign, US Politicians, US Politics, Political Spin, Propaganda, Perverse Incentives, Bonuses, Executive Compensation

Gingrich Disingenuous at best

Gingrich Disingenuous at best

Marianne Gingrich un-burdened herself to ABC about how Newt Gingrich cheated for 6 years as she struggled with illness.

1) Newt tried to control the narrative of course. He said it was very "Low" to attack him a day before a state primary (single State primary of potential 50 primaries).

2) Spin, Spin, Spin. We all know Celebrities, public figures and politicians are fair game for analysis and reporting. They are free targets for paparazzi.

3) No amount of spin or propaganda change the fact that reporters have free rein to report on national elections.

4) We even got a bullet on how Newt Gingrich would control the news if he was president. He indicated on major news networks that he felt news media went too far and had too many rights to report. So much for "Individual Rights", transparency, and freedom.

5) Say good bye America. Newt, Mitt, and Barack will continue wars, spend taxpayer money or transfer taxpayer money to industry while taking away individual rights!

US Politics Prevades our lives, Perverse Incentives

US Politics Pervades all of our lives.

The secret is to control the narrative, then you control the facts and the truth. I am told that investigative reports have been laid off in the USA. So much of what we see on the Internet and cable news is a repeat of news that was previously written and released.

You can call US Politics and US Business spin "Public Relations". But why don't we call things what they are. I first started learning about politics when President Nixon was being impeached on TV. Then I remember Jimmy Carter saying how we needed to work on Alternative Energy. Then Ronald Reagan charged President Carter with increasing the US Budget, and US Budget Deficit. Then of course Ronald Reagan had budgets that were multiples of Jimmy Carter's budgets - taking the budget to $3 Trillion Dollars building up the Defense Department and fighting what was a cold war (one with very few bullets fired).

Later on we learned that the Vietnam War was started by a "False Flag" operation in which a US Ship was shot by US military in order to declare a war that was never intended to be won. The Social Security Trust Fund was raided in 1967-8 to fund the Vietnam war (a war 5000 miles away, which we had been involved in since 1959, and which had nothing to do with American citizens, American Soil, or American common interests).

So we have a War Department not a Department of Defense. And we have propaganda, political spin, and shills like Bill O'Riley on Fox news mouthing words written by Public Relations, corporate, employees. And we have politicians who transfer US Taxpayer dollars to one of our giant industries.

But historically politicians have always had some weak ethics and morals. Take your pick. We called US Indians savages to take their land to build this country under an excuse called "Manifest destiny" (American progress to build a strong economy). But how is it we don't know so many things about our world history and US History. Politicians didn't want you to worry about how our government has been involved in regime change in many countries over the last 100 years.

Did we forget about Iran Contra? That was where the CIA was caught moving drugs around the world to fund operations around the world that weren't approved by congress. Did we forget that congress is supposed to authorize use of military and military support programs in foreign countries. yes. And congress is supposed to declare war before we go start wars in foreign countries too. Naw, congress doesn't want to sign off on US Budgets and US Wars. The US Congress doesn't want to sign off on any CIA programs either. Signatures can hurt elections.

Well Iran Contra involved the US Government and CIA funding, training, and supporting the abusive government(which killed and tortured people all over Nicaragua). The Sandinista rebels were minding their own business in their own country. The US Government didn't have any business in Nicaragua. It turns out the CIA was recruiting and training Nicaraguan National Guard soldiers. Hm,...why so covert??? If it was above board and moral, why wasn't it the US Army that trained the government soldiers?

Because we have a military industrial complex (MIC) that is big business. And if the MIC wants to lobby why not have a war in Iraq??

US Politicians control the narrative even beyond the borders of the USA. The major media outlets carry the news world wide. It is pretty hard to tell the truth with so much Spin, and self serving propaganda (both government and corporate).

Say, you don't think if US Congressmen will allow a war in Iraq without any evidence... they wouldn't cover up massive Fraud on wall Street, or the systemic risks to financial systems posed by Financial Derivatives (CDS,CDO)??

Surely the US Congress would not sanction too big to fail banks that have grown 33% since 2008 and who now control way too much of our banking and economy.

The problem that I see is all of that, but also we have perverse incentives in business that encourage fraud, encourage out sourcing of jobs, encourage layoffs, and don't encourage building businesses and invention.

It appears that the US wages and European Wages have been too high for the last 20-30 years. It appears that national strategies in the US and Europe are to bring down the wages and benefits. This probably means bringing US quality of life down as well.

US Politics, US Budget, US Congress, US Government, US Deficit, Vietnam, Iraq War, Afghanistan War, Social Security, Pension Funds, attack on wages, off shoring jobs, national security, quality of life,

Sexual Politics

Here is an attempt to make some simple bullets about what sexual politics:

Assuming everyone wants:

1) love and grows up with an experience of love, rejection, and correction.
2) Wants committed relationships, or ongoing relationships, and maybe sexual relationship(s) when appropriate to one's age and when the other person is of legal age of consent.
3) Your choice of hetero or homo relationships.

Sexual Politics is clearly focused on attraction or differences between sexes or even between the same sex depending on sexual security, physical security, proximity, and perceptions of threats to ones own self image. For example:

A) You may be walking down a street alone when you get eye contact from someone else.
B) You may be walking down a street alone when you hear a cat call or whistle.
C) You may be in town or in the city when someone challenges your manhood, challenges your wit, or challenges you in a way that makes you wonder if they want you to leave the room, community or neighborhood (scare you off).
D) You may or may not be accepted by coworkers that have served in the military, worked in construction, or are alpha males (macho guys).

The sexual politics between a man and a woman:

-Man tries to look at a woman, tries to get her attention, and tries to talk to her.
-Woman tries to look at a man, tries to get his attention, and tries to talk to him.
-Sometimes men and women don't want to talk to each other.
-Sometimes men or women want to work, study, or focus on other relationships than the person of the opposite sex who tries to get their attention.
-Sometimes men and women need introductions to highlight their strong points and then see they are actually interested in this person of the opposite sex.

The sexual politics involving gays or someone that might be gay has a couple of points:

-People judge people all the time.
-People judge people for having young faces
-People judge people when they are not muscular
-People that consider themselves gay may or may not say or do things to differently than people of the same sex.
-There probably is a kind of sexual politics or sexual friction between gay people like the kind between a hetero man and woman.


Deeper Fears are:

1) Fears about the financial cost of marriage, cost of raising a family, future alimony, child support, and health care costs and preexisting conditions.
2) Fears about have a stable job or having enough education or money for education.
3) Fears about possible mate's intelligence, class, education level (too high or too low), and whether your one intelligence or class is high enough or too high.
4) Fears about family acceptance, peers acceptance, co-workers acceptance of the possible mate or date including negative comments.
5) Fears that amount to issues of self confidence and if your age, education, and street smarts (business smarts) are strong.

So sexual Politics are pretty broad. And when you get older you have additional fears:

A) About loss of saved money.
B) About loss or sharing retirement funds.
C) Health care costs and the care of family dependents.

The political angle in the work place is a lot more interesting and to be avoided:

1) Don't date someone at work, and if you do wait till you are sure they are not the type of person to contact you during work with problems, questions, inquiries, fears, etc.
2) You may be looked down on if you are one of the younger people in the office.
3) You may be looked down on for not going to church.
4) You maybe be judged harshly if you are a young male with out a wife, children. 5) You maybe judged harder for perceptions of who you are dating or if you are going to a bar, pub or dance club.
6) You maybe judged politically if it seems you often have relationship problems or you can't handle your relationship problems outside of the office.
7) You may be rejected at work in an office for being either sex regardless of your experience or education.


Oddly sexual politics has some finer points:

A) If you have lived overseas, served in the military, or came from another city or country, you or your coworkers, classmates, or community may have negative thoughts about your past actions or associations.
B) Everyone wants to be loved, but they have to be open to love and find someone that will love them.
C) Your experience growing up teaches you aspects about what love is for you. You learn how hugs and kisses feel or don't feel. You learn whether you like the sound of your name and how if feels when someone says I love you. You see the look of love in the eyes, smile, and face of your family.
D) You may be looking for the same soft voice, smiling face, comfort, and supportive words that you learned when you were growing up.

Sexual Politics, US relationships, Family, Sexual Harassment

Hidden Politics

The "Hidden Politics of America" is all about secrets. Alcoholism and drug use are not talked about in many families. Just as abuse in the family is hidden, there are other issues. Like the politician who speaks out against a behavior he secretly engages in. Makes you wonder if he hates himself and has a larger spiritual problem.

Hidden Politics have a lot to do with actions or inactions in the family. But often it seems to be about a lack of courage, lack of courage to help someone in the family, public appearances, wanting to be accepted by a peer group or the public in general, and thoughts that we might not be normal or as good as the "American Public Image" demands us to be. A big factor in this self suppression is the spin, propaganda, and political control that - passes for the "Real Truth".

Hidden Politics, US Politicians, Politics, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Dysfunctional Families

MLK Holiday Education

I found a video on FreeDocumentaries.org on what they say was the worst Race Riots in the USA in 1921 in Tulsa, OK. The title is the Black Wallstreet where blacks had create a very strong, profitable, and lucritive network of business owners. Appearantly the KKK rose up, but I am still watching - Teresa Thomas is the Reporter.

Also I heard that MLK was the most popular speaker in the 20th Century since he was able to attract 50K PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY for a single speach.

Actually now I am pretty sure:

1. That MLK was probably killed by a conspiracy. And I don't feel I know the details of the killing.

2. That JFK was probably killed by a conspiracy. And I don't feel I know the details of the killing.

3. I really don't think with all the spin on news we really know our own history. I know we get propaganda and he who. Controls the narrative controls the Truth and History.

4. This countries Economy depended for periods on stealing land from the native indians and on profits from Slavery.

5. I think the war on Drugs is in effect a war on Black men. I think incarseration of black men ruins these mens lives, keeps them from being able to rent apartments, keeps them from being able to get jobs when the get out of jail, perpetuates their return to prision, and not only marks them for life, but also forces them to have to go to crime to be able to even feed and shelter themselves.

6. The War on Drugs is putting 75-85% of people in jail for nonviolent so called. Consensual crimes in which a person hasn't hurt anyone, but simply was in a Black neiborhood and was caught with drugs or pot.

7. The cost on Taxpayers for each person caught with drugs along with all the DEA programs, and assistance to Foreign Militaries is likley over $1 Trillion Dollars.