I just read a piece today that said many of the biggest companies are not lining up to support Trump despite the promise of tax cuts because they fear the chaos a Trump presidency will create; tariffs pushing up prices, mass deportations reducing low wage manual labor workers, amongst other things. It’s so hard to see how this is going to shake out. I’m on pins and needles daily…this after I just got zucked for who knows what reason.
I’m losing faith all the way around and really need November to get here while offering a huge ray of hope.
it's not just appalachia, it's most of america that does not have savings or a safety net. moving outside of the U.S. makes you see how absurd it is there. I always say that we don't have working roads and bridges so 7 billionaires can build private rockets to go to space. the rest of us suffer to give all the resources to the few at the top.
"But what if I propose a different idea – that society doesn't exist for the good of everyone"
Sure, like back in the hunter gatherer days.
No agriculture, no metals only rock tools and sticks, animal skins for clothing, homemade moccasins, gathering wild foods, nuts, berries, small game using only bow and arrows and spears.
Example: Boeing was once a manufacturing company run by engineers dedicated to building the best airplanes in the world. But it morphed into a public company with management focused on earning the highest returns for its stockholders. The result - people died when faulty equipment failed.
Personally, I am pessimistic that our country will get better. It will continue to get worse as the cristofascist right wing screeches that the enemies to be feared are our neighbors who are immigrants, people of color, gay, trans, female.
Since the Supreme Court ruled that corporate donations to politicians is a First Amendment right, getting money out of politics isn't going to happen.
One of the best essays I've read on Substack. Almost every second paragraph was restackable! Delighted to have come across your writing.
You're absolutely spot on about how, we as a society, now relate to money. Money has acquired a moral value of its own. Not only that, it is now considered a virtue. I mean it will be since along with self-improvement, mindfulness and all the happiness jazz, money is a key factor for surviving and thriving (being truly happy) in a money-oriented society. And this virtue for many trumps all others, leading to moral and societal chaos.
The fault lies in limited liability. Risk is endemic to business. Assume risk is 100 units and investors stake 20 units of their wealth. The other 80 has not gone away. It has simply been reallocated to others somewhere else. Those others comprise: contractual creditors, including banks; statutory creditors, usually involuntary such as taxing authorities; creditors arising from tort. The most vulnerable are the last group. They have no ability to influence the amelioration of risk. They generally don’t even know it exists. If the world was fair the last group would appoint the decision makers but the one’s who do make the profits from risk taking and pass the cost to others. An example is Norfolk & Southern Rail. It took a deliberate risk to save money and inflicted monumental damage to be suffered by innocents. Looked at dispassionately this is madness.
Every business depends on 3 groups of people: employees, customers, and investors. I believe we've gone wrong by placing investors as the most important of those three. But instead of courting investors, if you take good care of employees and customers (while managing business competently), investors will be eager to partake of the profits.
The end game for our current system leaves employees and most customers without enough resources to buy products.
“Why would the majority agree to live that way? Why would those who are already insanely bloated with wealth want more than they could ever possibly spend?”
I believe it’s the same reason why you see people defending billionaires and opposing raising taxes for them - people hope that one day they or their children will be among this minority, and they’re supporting the system with the hope that they system will support them when the time comes.
Thanks for so incisively describing the way in which greed is destroying our society. This is the major impediment to taking action to slow runaway climate change.
You’ve written:
“The loss of tax revenue impacts public services, education, infrastructure and the entire civic life of that community.”
However, as Bill Mitchell notes:
“While the orthodox conception is that taxation provides revenue to the government which it requires in order to spend, the MMT conception is that the tax revenue is an indispensable policy requirement in order to ensure the government can operate at its desired scale, without pushing the economy into an inflationary episode.”
Another leading light in this field is Stephanie Kelton, amongst other things the senior economic adviser to Bernie Sanders. Stephanie has written ‘The Deficit Myth’ and features in the recently released documentary ‘Finding The Money’ https://findingmoneyfilm.com/
"Modern monetary theory is an approach to economic management developed since the 1990s by Professor Bill Mitchell, alongside American academics like Professor Randall Wray, Stephanie Kelton, and investment bankers and fund managers like Warren Mosler. It builds on the ideas of a previous generation of economists, such as Hyman Minsky, Wynne Godley and Abba Lerner, whose interpretation of the work of the famous economist J.M.Keynes was very different from that which became dominant by the 1980s."
As usual you were concise about the problem , unfortunately there seems to be no way out of this .
And if the repugnant Republicans get back in total power , this scenario will only continue to get worse . The entire system has taken a turn for the worse for many years . Total collapse may come if we want it or not .
and another thing is the idea of ever happening growth. The economy always has to be growing.. there are no goal posts for things like that. Enough to be comfortable is not enough because for some reason the human family is missing out on a very important issue. Self fulfillment... always thinking the outer will fill an empty inner doesn't work. My personal belief is this is what these belief systems really teach. Instead of an inner growth into self reliance and self worth we are always told we are sinners and flawed so we look for outside fulfillment.
Thank you!!! this ties in nicely to the billionaires who are supporting trump because he's bribing them with tax cuts and oil leases. I wondered why they didn't walk out of the room when he suggested that deal; but yeah, if businesses are allowed to do anything they want, why would a little bribery stop them? Thank you!
I just read a piece today that said many of the biggest companies are not lining up to support Trump despite the promise of tax cuts because they fear the chaos a Trump presidency will create; tariffs pushing up prices, mass deportations reducing low wage manual labor workers, amongst other things. It’s so hard to see how this is going to shake out. I’m on pins and needles daily…this after I just got zucked for who knows what reason.
I’m losing faith all the way around and really need November to get here while offering a huge ray of hope.
it's not just appalachia, it's most of america that does not have savings or a safety net. moving outside of the U.S. makes you see how absurd it is there. I always say that we don't have working roads and bridges so 7 billionaires can build private rockets to go to space. the rest of us suffer to give all the resources to the few at the top.
Thank you for writing this! I agree with what you have to say on the whole matter completely.
"But what if I propose a different idea – that society doesn't exist for the good of everyone"
Sure, like back in the hunter gatherer days.
No agriculture, no metals only rock tools and sticks, animal skins for clothing, homemade moccasins, gathering wild foods, nuts, berries, small game using only bow and arrows and spears.
Sure, pal. Have you taken your meds lately? 🙄
What a tragic waste of human life. And still consuming resources, too.
Well done and insightful.
Example: Boeing was once a manufacturing company run by engineers dedicated to building the best airplanes in the world. But it morphed into a public company with management focused on earning the highest returns for its stockholders. The result - people died when faulty equipment failed.
Personally, I am pessimistic that our country will get better. It will continue to get worse as the cristofascist right wing screeches that the enemies to be feared are our neighbors who are immigrants, people of color, gay, trans, female.
Since the Supreme Court ruled that corporate donations to politicians is a First Amendment right, getting money out of politics isn't going to happen.
One of the best essays I've read on Substack. Almost every second paragraph was restackable! Delighted to have come across your writing.
You're absolutely spot on about how, we as a society, now relate to money. Money has acquired a moral value of its own. Not only that, it is now considered a virtue. I mean it will be since along with self-improvement, mindfulness and all the happiness jazz, money is a key factor for surviving and thriving (being truly happy) in a money-oriented society. And this virtue for many trumps all others, leading to moral and societal chaos.
As you said, it really does rule our lives.
The fault lies in limited liability. Risk is endemic to business. Assume risk is 100 units and investors stake 20 units of their wealth. The other 80 has not gone away. It has simply been reallocated to others somewhere else. Those others comprise: contractual creditors, including banks; statutory creditors, usually involuntary such as taxing authorities; creditors arising from tort. The most vulnerable are the last group. They have no ability to influence the amelioration of risk. They generally don’t even know it exists. If the world was fair the last group would appoint the decision makers but the one’s who do make the profits from risk taking and pass the cost to others. An example is Norfolk & Southern Rail. It took a deliberate risk to save money and inflicted monumental damage to be suffered by innocents. Looked at dispassionately this is madness.
This is just so right on and yes we can change the course we are on.
wow... thank you
Every business depends on 3 groups of people: employees, customers, and investors. I believe we've gone wrong by placing investors as the most important of those three. But instead of courting investors, if you take good care of employees and customers (while managing business competently), investors will be eager to partake of the profits.
The end game for our current system leaves employees and most customers without enough resources to buy products.
“Why would the majority agree to live that way? Why would those who are already insanely bloated with wealth want more than they could ever possibly spend?”
I believe it’s the same reason why you see people defending billionaires and opposing raising taxes for them - people hope that one day they or their children will be among this minority, and they’re supporting the system with the hope that they system will support them when the time comes.
Thanks for so incisively describing the way in which greed is destroying our society. This is the major impediment to taking action to slow runaway climate change.
You’ve written:
“The loss of tax revenue impacts public services, education, infrastructure and the entire civic life of that community.”
However, as Bill Mitchell notes:
“While the orthodox conception is that taxation provides revenue to the government which it requires in order to spend, the MMT conception is that the tax revenue is an indispensable policy requirement in order to ensure the government can operate at its desired scale, without pushing the economy into an inflationary episode.”
https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=50005#:~:text=While%20the%20orthodox%20conception%20is,the%20economy%20into%20an%20inflationary
Bill Mitchell and Warren Mosler are considered to be the founders of MMT.
‘A conversation between MMT founders’ 2 January 2020. https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=44010
Another leading light in this field is Stephanie Kelton, amongst other things the senior economic adviser to Bernie Sanders. Stephanie has written ‘The Deficit Myth’ and features in the recently released documentary ‘Finding The Money’ https://findingmoneyfilm.com/
What is MMT?
Hi Kim. Modern Monetary Theory.
"Modern monetary theory is an approach to economic management developed since the 1990s by Professor Bill Mitchell, alongside American academics like Professor Randall Wray, Stephanie Kelton, and investment bankers and fund managers like Warren Mosler. It builds on the ideas of a previous generation of economists, such as Hyman Minsky, Wynne Godley and Abba Lerner, whose interpretation of the work of the famous economist J.M.Keynes was very different from that which became dominant by the 1980s."
'Explainer: what is modern monetary theory?' Steven Hail, 31 January 2017 https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-modern-monetary-theory-72095
As usual you were concise about the problem , unfortunately there seems to be no way out of this .
And if the repugnant Republicans get back in total power , this scenario will only continue to get worse . The entire system has taken a turn for the worse for many years . Total collapse may come if we want it or not .
and another thing is the idea of ever happening growth. The economy always has to be growing.. there are no goal posts for things like that. Enough to be comfortable is not enough because for some reason the human family is missing out on a very important issue. Self fulfillment... always thinking the outer will fill an empty inner doesn't work. My personal belief is this is what these belief systems really teach. Instead of an inner growth into self reliance and self worth we are always told we are sinners and flawed so we look for outside fulfillment.
Thank you!!! this ties in nicely to the billionaires who are supporting trump because he's bribing them with tax cuts and oil leases. I wondered why they didn't walk out of the room when he suggested that deal; but yeah, if businesses are allowed to do anything they want, why would a little bribery stop them? Thank you!
The really awful part is how many people do not understand that the people with the short words are playing them for the fools they are.