Thoughts on politics, economics, life and creative works from the author including poetry
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
What should be in The Second Bill of rights? Draft
In addition to FDR's six Amendment proposals we esperately need:
- An amendment to protect rights of Natural Born Persons against Artificial persons.
- Nationalizing the Voting System and protecting Voting Rights for everyone
- Direct Election of the President
We Democrats must make our charter more functional. A Second Bill of Rights is more important than ever!
Health Care is a Utility
Some Goods are Utilities
I was listening to Randi Rhodes and she started talking about health care as a Utility and it hit me,
yes it is!
Almost all the great fortunes in this country come from people creating, developing, buying or stealing control over, goods of such importance that they are utilities! Henry George was defining the criteria for a Utility. His ideas would have powerful effect on the laws of the United States for the next 50 years.
- Healthcare is a public utility. Hospitals, clinics, Emergency response people, are all providing vital utility to us.
- Likewise, Energy, power networks, communications networks, cable companies, satellite systems, etc.... are all utilities.
- Our education system, colleges, high schools, libraries, etc... are all utilities too.
They are so important that they need to be regulated and ruled in the public interest. And for private persons to own and make vast unearned fortunes off of them is piracy. At the same time, those providing the Utility to people, are important, and should be provided for and sustained in gratitude.
This is a simple, but powerful concept. And of course the concept has been a target for privateering recently!
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/utility |
This ought to be obvious. Windows is a Utility. So are the operating systems on your phone. And so are your phones and laptops. People should make a living from utilities. But not vast fortunes.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Russian Agents, Gaslighting Spun News and Ongoing Active Measures
The Trumpian movement to create a Domestic Brownshirts force is moving along. Fortunately it's not attracting mass crowds because, maybe, rank an file Trumpeters might be figuring out that Trump is breaking his promises on health care, is a narcissist and serial liar. I don't have confidence, however, that Trump will fail. He has dedicated cadres of agents with links to the Russian Far Right, and maybe to Russian Intelligence.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Tories, Neoliberalism, NeoKeynesianism versus Post Keynesianism
We Are Not Neoliberal
Friends of mine constantly accuse various Democrats of being "neoliberal". The term has some definite meaning to it, and so I find their use of it to be sloppy, broad-brushing and usually defamatory. What it isn't is anything to do with the actual Democratic Party and it's ideology. It is a defamation of Democrats to call us "neo-liberal." The term has a real meaning and is used wrongly by those trolling us, who use it. They can call themselves intellectuals, but they are defaming the party and what it stands for when they call us that.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Redemption
Monday, June 12, 2017
Franklin As a Modern Money Advocate
This continues a post Tory Economics Versus Benjamin Franklin which in turn completes something I wrote back in 2015. Benjamin Franklin was no angel, but his observations about money and economics were on point. And he made some important points about the money supply that seem to have been deliberately forgotten, again and again, in subsequent years.