Day: August 19, 2011

Shining Example On The Hill

Today the guys and gals should be returning from their much needed summer vacation (that is sarcasm) and the debate and the finger pointing and the lies will once again be leveled at us normal mortals…..and of course, there will be much to do about nothing (no offense to Shakespeare) we will hear all about the jobs that will be created….and to that I say CRAP!  And then the inevitable….TAX CUTS!  You want a real example of what tax cuts do to a people, a state or a country?  (Read on, McDuff)…..

Mississippi is that shining example of how NOT TO GOVERN!

As part of the spending debate I have heard a couple of pundits use Connecticut as an example of what happens when a state raises taxes…..apparently the state’s economy went into the crapper after they were raised…of course most of those making that argument are conservatives and I would expect NO less from them…..but why has not the Dems jumped on the dismal state of affairs in Mississippi as an example of what constant tax cuts do to a state?

After 20+ years of constant tax cuts and breaks the state is NO better off than it was 50 years ago….It is perpetually at the bottom of every “best” list and at the top of every “worse” list….that means education sucks, health care sucks, income sucks, more poverty and a horrible standard of living….just to mention a few.    For instance, poverty has declined by about 2% in 20 years……income has risen less than 1% in the same time…..the median income for the state is $26,000 a year….that is well below the national average……tax cuts have done NOTHING to better the living conditions of the people…..maybe the wealthy, but the regular working stiff has NOT gained anything.

In the North of the state an industry is building a plant…..to come here they demanded and got tax breaks and economic development money and in the end will create 50 jobs….in essence the state is paying companies to re-locate……

And now all the candidates are thumping their chests about tax cuts to gain supporters and one of them will win…..no one is mentioning the fact that the state is REVENUE….not more give-a-ways to big business.  Those corporate benefits are creating few jobs for the money lost….the math does NOT add up……and the people as stupid as they are, keep falling for the lies and promises and they NEVER see them for what they are….total bullsh*t!

Yes…Mississippi is a shining example of how NOT to govern…….an example of how special interests are destroying an otherwise beautiful state ……it is true for Mississippi and it is true of the United States…..the federal government is doing all it can to destroy a once proud nation into a pile of poverty stricken areas…..good job!

Tax cuts and tax breaks are just a ducky way to drive the state or the country into the crapper……take a look at Mississippi…..is that the future you want for America?  If you listen to the a/holes in Washington, that you sent there to do the country’s business, then YOU have doomed this country to mediocrity.  You can be proud of your vote!  I know I am proud of you!  (that is sarcasm in case you went to school in Mississippi)…….

The Self-Destruct Sequence

Kirk….admiral…..1A1

McCoy….ship’s doctor…..B1B

Scott..chief engineer……1B1

(computer replies)….self-destruct in 60 seconds

Okay, sorry, when I came up with the title that was the first thing that pop into my head…..I know my mind works in mysterious ways…..

We need to establish a few things…like what are free markets?  And what is capitalism?

The free market…….A market economy based on supply and demand with little or no government control. A completely free market is an idealized form of a market economy where buyers and sells are allowed to transact freely (i.e. buy/sell/trade) based on a mutual agreement on price without state intervention in the form of taxes, subsidies or regulation.

Now for capitalism……an economic system dedicated to production for profit and to the accumulation of value by private business firms. In the fully developed form of industrial capitalism, firms advance money to hire wage laborers and to buy means of production such as machinery and raw materials. If the firm can sell its products for a greater sum of value than that originally advanced, the firm grows and can advance more money for a new round of accumulation. Historically, the emergence of industrial capitalism depends upon the creation of three prerequisites for accumulation: initial sums of money (or credit), wage labor and means of production available for purchase, and markets in which products can be sold.

Those are a bit simplistic, but for this post and for a better understanding, they will do……..

There has been lots of opinions about the direction our economy is traveling free marketeers see this whole economic shake up as a good thing and others do not see it as something we should look forward to….a couple of years ago I wrote a post entitled, “Marx Was Right” and was not very popular at the time….read it here……http://t.co/IUnlAIJ

And since I posted that we have seen companies sitting on trillions and buying up their competition at record paces…..while sticking to the lie that they are not investing because of the uncertainty coming out of Washington…..yes, I believe this is a lie….they are buying up their competition so that when the government starts programs that will be more conducive for them….then they will have less competition and it will maximize their profits even more so than today….

It seems that I am NOT alone when I say that pure free markets and capitalism is self-destructing……watch this video from a couple of days ago……..http://t.co/q8994D5

So will capitalism self-destruct?  Just in case you were not paying attention…..in Marx own words…..

In capitalist society the working-class continues to grow, and ownership over the means of production continually dwindles into fewer and fewer hands. One example of this is the stock market, where the finance banks emphasize that “all workers” can own a piece of various companies. In fact, through offering “ownership” of these companies to more people, financial oligarchies are able to gain greater control over these companies by diluting the ownership amongst an unorganized group while also extracting capital from this large group for further investment. For example, a bank need only own 10 or 15 percent of a certain company to have an enormous controlling interest over that company, so long as the vast majority of stocks in that company are owned by thousands and tens of thousands of different people, people who do not have the time to attend shareholder meetings and are not united and unorganized on how to exert control over the company. Furthermore in capitalist society, the value of labour increases while labourers continually receive a smaller portion of that value they create. The selling of labour itself is continually reduced from something that is sold on a monthly or yearly basis to something that is sold day by day, and hour by hour, piecemeal or in short term contracts. As a result, the income gap grows continually larger.

You may NOT appreciate Marx….but his criticism from over a hundred years ago….sounds pretty close to damn accurate.  Bullsh*t!  He was DEAD ON!  The Banksters are pushing the self-destruct sequence for capitalism….you know that economic theory they so love!