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Comments Posted By AdLib

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MMT: Not Your Mother’s Monetary Theory

Funk, can’t tell you how much I really appreciated this primer on MMT. It really is a revelation to realize that public debt is exactly mirrored by private assets and vice versa. It seems so intuitive once you read it but my assumptions were that there was more dilution and diversity to debts and assets…though how could there be? Kind of the theory of matter, something can’t be created from nothing so assets can only be created from deficits and back the other way.

So would it be correct that the imbalance of wealth restricts the flow of this system since assets are being concentrated in the 1% who are not returning assets and taxes to the federal government as much as the rest of the 99% would if they had a larger share of those assets? Because of that, the government is being choked off from having more assets to circulate through programs and initiatives to the 99% and for the welfare of the nation as a whole…which would be transferring those assets to the 99% which then would reciprocate.

So, the more billionaires that are made, the wealthier they get and the less taxes they pay, the more the flow of assets are restricted in their cyclical flow to and from government and the public.

And instead of taxes being the relief valve to keep inflation at bay since they have been reduced so much (until recently with the expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthy), isn’t the siphoning of wealth from government and the 99% by the 1% acting as an anti-inflationary factor? That is, if 99% of the public isn’t getting more money, just the wealthy, then the price of products that 99% of people buy can’t practically inflate?

And if the wealthy escape paying taxes, hide their money overseas and keep downward pressure on the incomes of 99% of Americans (stagnant wages impacted by annual levels of inflation equate to less income), isn’t this a withering system that is unsustainable in this form for the long term?

Lots of thoughts percolating in my head thanks to your fascinating article!

What is kind of amusing is that if the Repubs got their way on slashing the federal deficit, they would be decimating the assets of the wealthy (as public deficits fell, private assets would as well) and possibly stoking up inflation to terrifying heights since a slashing of taxes would harm its function as an inflationary relief valve.

Their economic theories were proven wrong and destructive in the Bush years and seeing their response, it’s clear that they aren’t open to learning from their mistakes, their views of economics are faith based and can’t be altered by even definitive proof of how false and misguided they are.

Looking forward to your follow up article with “inflated” interest.

» Posted By AdLib On February 3, 2014 @ 10:11 am

Remembering Martin Luther King – 2014

Nirek, I think that some people’s minds are corrupted by early-life influences that enforce their fear of the different. No coincidence that “conservatives” are more likely to be hateful and racist, militant against science, resistant to improving systems and programs, etc.

They have a child’s fear of the different and unknown and have been given the protective emotional shield of white Christian superiority to activate whenever they feel too threatened.

As for minorities who are prejudiced against whites and different minorities, that same sensibility combined with the history of prejudice in this country makes a terrible and sometimes life-ruining cocktail.

So maybe some people’s minds are wired early on in a way that justifies hatred as righteous and protective. Those of us who aren’t like that can relate to fear and anger of course but have a difficult time understanding how someone willfully allows their fear and hatred to overpower any sense of decency and conscience they may have.

Our minds simply don’t operate that way so it makes it hard for those on either side of the divide to relate.

And that’s what the corporate fear and hate merchants want, to keep the majority divided so it’s weaker than them.

» Posted By AdLib On January 22, 2014 @ 1:49 pm

Kalima, this is the kind of ignorance that will always be with us…yep, this happened this week…in 2014:

ASU fraternity under scrutiny for MLK Day party

Pictures from the party made their way onto social media websites, depicting guests dressed in basketball jerseys, flashing gang signs and holding watermelon-shaped cups.

http://news.yahoo.com/asu-fraternity-under-scrutiny-mlk-day-party-192840490.html

» Posted By AdLib On January 21, 2014 @ 8:32 pm

Nirek, I am genuinely impressed with all you’ve done in your life and have had to deal with. That must have been a very worrisome duty to fulfill but so glad to hear no one was injured.

How does it feel to look back and see yourself as part of history like that?

I think it was clear, from all the death threats he had received and the many murders in the name of racism that had taken place, that MLK knew the odds weren’t great that he would survive the ocean of hatred out there…he referred to it in speeches, saying he might not make it there with us. Yet, I think there was still optimism in him that maybe he could overcome the odds.

I would think he would have had to have considered the fates of Jesus and Gandhi and may also have come to a degree of acceptance that there is a sacrifice made by those who stand up against power to insist upon peace, love and equality for all people.

With that in mind, how can one not look at this man in awe?

» Posted By AdLib On January 21, 2014 @ 7:02 pm

Kalima, we live in a world of dualities so you’re right, no matter how much love and empathy there is in people, there will always be those that hate. So there will always be bigots.

The obscenity today is that our society has had the benefit of enlightenment since the time of MLK and the Civil Rights Act…and yet racism can be openly spewed throughout the day in the MSM (FOX News does it’s part as does Limbaugh and others).

The thing is, they wouldn’t be doing so if there was not an audience that laps it up like thirsty hounds. We will never be fully rid of such people but we should be ale to have a consensus of the majority Americans that broadcasting such hatred should not be socially acceptable.

» Posted By AdLib On January 21, 2014 @ 6:51 pm

Murph, if only we could get those on The Right to consider King’s pledge and not necessarily follow it since many would refuse, but to at least recognize the goodness in it and in those who believe in what it represents.

This mentality that it is a betrayal to simply respect those who have different opinions is so destructive. It’s an invention of the corporatist RW that needs the majority of Americans divided so they can exert and amass power.

There are so many things such as Voter ID, racially biased sentencing and the attack on the poor that I think Martin Luther King might be fighting against if he was alive today. But I wonder if the top issue wouldn’t be re-unifying the American people and in doing so, empowering them and bringing the force of humanity to rule over the greedy and cruel hands of the wealthy and powerful.

And reviving that pledge in the hearts and minds of most Americans would be a very potent way to start.

» Posted By AdLib On January 21, 2014 @ 6:45 pm

KT, I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and the spate of assassinations, the Vietnam war, Nixon and Watergate, social unrest and of course the nuclear threat from the USSR made tumult sort of normal to kids.

At the same time, there was a focus on seeking spirituality (through drugs and/or non-mainstream religious beliefs), free love and communes and the younger generation passionately fighting the establishment.

As the Chinese proverb goes, “May you live in exciting times.” Children of the 1960’s and 1970’s sure did.

First President Kennedy then Martin Luther King then Robert Kennedy, it seemed like no one was safe no matter how important they were, a sense of vulnerability and being helplessly exposed

As I grew older, I became more familiar with what visions they were all pursuing though of them all, only Martin Luther King was simply a citizen who had stood up despite the danger. He had no Secret Service agents protecting him (in fact, the FBI treated him like an enemy of the state) and he knew well that threats to his life were all around him. Yet, that didn’t stop him. What kind of courage and conscience does that demonstrate?

He was a giant, leaving huge footsteps that can’t be filled but do lead in the direction of justice and equality that we can all follow.

» Posted By AdLib On January 21, 2014 @ 6:33 pm

What a remarkable story, Murph.

That quote by MLK about the arc of the moral universe bending towards justice has resided in me since my childhood, there is something so noble, so passionate and so full of humanity in that concept, so reflective of King. And it’s been a pillar of my optimism about our nation and the world, as bad as things get, I remain a believer in that wisdom.

» Posted By AdLib On January 21, 2014 @ 6:16 pm

The Weekend Music Thread-Soundtracks and Theme Songs

And there was the unofficial prequel to The Prisoner…

Secret Agent Man

» Posted By AdLib On January 19, 2014 @ 9:18 am

There’ve been a lot of great TV picks on this thread, I’ve been focused mostly on films so here’s a tv pick, who remembers this one?

» Posted By AdLib On January 19, 2014 @ 9:14 am

jj, this was a theme song from my early childhood. And Courtship of Eddie’s Father too. Nice picks!

» Posted By AdLib On January 19, 2014 @ 9:11 am

Help – The Beatles

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 12:26 pm

One of my favorite little-known cult movies!

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 12:16 pm

As long as we’re talking Ramones…

Rock and Roll High School

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:54 am

Think – The Blues Brothers

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:49 am

Another Brick in the Wall – The Wall

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:46 am

I’ve Had Enough – Quadrophenia

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:41 am

Heh! I’m talkin’ here!

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:35 am

Trouble – Harold and Maude

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:34 am

Smot, your wish is granted!

Sounds of Silence – The Graduate

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:27 am

Smot, great film and song!

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:25 am

The James Bond Theme

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:24 am

I Believe in You – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:17 am

Smile – Modern Times

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:13 am

This Country’s Going To War – Duck Soup

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:11 am

Good Morning – Singing in the Rain

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:08 am

Vertigo Theme – Vertigo

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:06 am

Every Sperm is Sacred – The Meaning of Life

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 10:01 am

Just Dropped In – The Big Lebowski

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 9:59 am

The Time Warp – The Rocky Horror Picture Show

» Posted By AdLib On January 18, 2014 @ 9:57 am