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| Anthony Freda Art |
Activist Post
The United States has collapsed economically, socially, politically, legally, constitutionally, and environmentally. The country that exists today is not even a shell of the country into which I was born. In this article I will deal with America’s economic collapse. In subsequent articles, i will deal with other aspects of American collapse.
Economically, America has descended into poverty. As Peter Edelman says, “Low-wage work is pandemic.” Today in “freedom and democracy” America, “the world’s only superpower,” one fourth of the work force is employed in jobs that pay less than $22,000, the poverty line for a family of four. Some of these lowly-paid persons are young college graduates, burdened by education loans, who share housing with three or four others in the same desperate situation. Other of these persons are single parents only one medical problem or lost job away from homelessness.
Others might be Ph.D.s teaching at universities as adjunct professors for $10,000 per year or less. Education is still touted as the way out of poverty, but increasingly is a path into poverty or into enlistments into the military services.
Edelman, who studies these issues, reports that 20.5 million Americans have incomes less than $9,500 per year, which is half of the poverty definition for a family of three.
There are six million Americans whose only income is food stamps. That means that there are six million Americans who live on the streets or under bridges or in the homes of relatives or friends. Hard-hearted Republicans continue to rail at welfare, but Edelman says, “basically welfare is gone.”
In my opinion as an economist, the official poverty line is long out of date. The prospect of three people living on $19,000 per year is farfetched. Considering the prices of rent, electricity, water, bread and fast food, one person cannot live in the US on $6,333.33 per year. In Thailand, perhaps, until the dollar collapses, it might be done, but not in the US.
As Dan Ariely (Duke University) and Mike Norton (Harvard University) have shown empirically, 40% of the US population, the 40% less well off, own 0.3%, that is, three-tenths of one percent, of America’s personal wealth. Who owns the other 99.7%? The top 20% have 84% of the country’s wealth. Those Americans in the third and fourth quintiles – essentially America’s middle class – have only 15.7% of the nation’s wealth. Such an unequal distribution of income is unprecedented in the economically developed world.
In my day, confronted with such disparity in the distribution of income and wealth, a disparity that obviously poses a dramatic problem for economic policy, political stability, and the macro management of the economy, Democrats would have demanded corrections, and Republicans would have reluctantly agreed.
But not today. Both political parties whore for money.
The Republicans believe that the suffering of poor Americans is not helping the rich enough. Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney are committed to abolishing every program that addresses needs of what Republicans deride as “useless eaters.”
The “useless eaters” are the working poor and the former middle class whose jobs were offshored so that corporate executives could receive multi-millions of dollars in performance pay compensation and their shareholders could make millions of dollars on capital gains. While a handful of executives enjoy yachts and Playboy playmates, tens of millions of Americans barely get by.
In political propaganda, the “useless eaters” are not merely a burden on society and the rich. They are leeches who force honest taxpayers to pay for their many hours of comfortable leisure enjoying life, watching sports events, and fishing in trout streams, while they push around their belongings in grocery baskets or sell their bodies for the next MacDonald's burger.The concentration of wealth and power in the US today is far beyond anything my graduate economic professors could image in the 1960s. At four of the world’s best universities that I attended, the opinion was that competition in the free market would prevent great disparities in the distribution of income and wealth. As I was to learn, this belief was based on an ideology, not on reality.
Congress, acting on this erroneous belief in free market perfection, deregulated the US economy in order to create a free market. The immediate consequence was resort to every previous illegal action to monopolize, to commit financial and other fraud, to destroy the productive basis of American consumer incomes, and to redirect income and wealth to the one percent.
The “democratic” Clinton administration, like the Bush and Obama administrations, was suborned by free market ideology. The Clinton sell-outs to Big Money essentially abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children. But this sell-out of struggling Americans was not enough to satisfy the Republican Party. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to cut or abolish every program that cushions poverty-stricken Americans from starvation and homelessness.
Republicans claim that the only reason Americans are in need is because the government uses taxpayers’ money to subsidize Americans who are unwilling to work. As Republicans see it, while we hard-workers sacrifice our leisure and time with our families, the welfare rabble enjoy the leisure that our tax dollars provide them.
This cock-eyed belief, on top of corporate CEOs maximizing their incomes by offshoring the middle class jobs of millions of Americans, has left Americans in poverty and cities, counties, states, and the federal government without a tax base, resulting in bankruptcies at the state and local level and massive budget deficits at the federal level that threaten the value of the dollar and its role as reserve currency.
The economic destruction of America benefitted the mega-rich with multi-billions of dollars with which to enjoy life and its high-priced accompaniments wherever the mega-rich wish. Meanwhile, away from the French Rivera, Homeland Security is collecting sufficient ammunition to keep dispossessed Americans under control.
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This article first appeared at Paul Craig Roberts' new website Institute For Political Economy. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His Internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Donations to Paul Craig Roberts are much appreciated.
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18 comments:
"The United States has collapsed economically, socially, politically, legally, constitutionally, and environmentally."
I'd like to add, morally, ethically and any other "ly" that connotes something positive.
I am glad. The swines are getting what they deserve.
Its almost as if it was planned >sarcasm<
You know what they say about too many coincidences
We are being murdered and they are using the bible (revelations) to do it
Why didn't PCR voice these opinions when he worked in the Ronnie Raygun administration?
A cheap shot, A. Nonymous. A man can change, and a man can admit he was wrong. As PCR alludes to, he was not alone in believing as he did, saying:
At four of the world’s best universities that I attended, the opinion was that competition in the free market would prevent great disparities in the distribution of income and wealth. As I was to learn, this belief was based on an ideology, not on reality. <end
PCR, and David Stockman, have long spoken out against what took place in the 80s. If you want to fault a supply-sider, fault Paul Ryan who comes as Reagan redeemer to a new generation. The Republican Party is determined to repeat all its past failings on a new audience that didn't see the last play.
And since I detect party affiliation in the "Raygun" mention, one which I shared, I'd add that I don't hear Clinton out stumping about how wrong he was when the financial thieves were invited into his administration, producing doozies like the repeal of Glass-Steagall.
Lots of blame to go around, so much so it could accurately be called a war that was waged on the American people. Couldn't have been done without the control of the media which kept the Rs and Ds fighting over how many angels can fit on the head of a pin, oblivious to the absurdity of these fights in a land predicated on keeping government out of such territory.
The Republicans advocated for the rich to steal more, and the Democrats tut-tutted that was okay so long as they could throw a sop to their favorite program allegedly for the poor. When one asks who benefited, the answer is the globalist, aka as Money. Neither party offers even one modestly useful program to restore to the citizens that with has been taken as PCR described in his opening paragraph.
If the US had obeyed the Constitution for the last 100 or 150 years, none, or at least most of this would not have happened.
Gee, Paul Craig Roberts, the "Father of Reaganonics" doesn't see his own role in all of this?
Anyone who believes in the 2 party system needs to look at what each party does. The agenda never changes and the people always suffer. The only difference is the propaganda package used to deliver the blow.
As an aside, when writing a paper or article please state your position, explain your position in the body of the paper, and at the end tie it all back together-restating your position. Most articles abruptly descend personal attacks or unrelated opinions (in regards to the main gist of the article).
This article offered no depth to a very real problem. It seemed to be an off the cuff, quickie note to fill space. A litte in depth analysis with sources of information would greatly help. We cannot get it with mainstream news. Thank you
An excellent analysis Mr. Roberts but unless I missed it you only touched on half of the problem regarding the regulation/deregulation issue.
While it is true that much of America's modern problems stem from deregulation in some areas that resulted in increasingly cut-throat and monopolistic business endeavors at the exact same time those same major corporations have pushed over-regulation in other areas through massive lobbying campaigns.
The reason for this is quite simple - time and resources expelled on piles of unnecessary paperwork.
For major corporations it's no problem to cover that excess overhead and have the people to do that work, but for the small upstart companies or small businesses that excessive paperwork and legal wrangling can easily kill business, quickly.
And that of course is great for the big boys that don't want any new competition.
And when a few manage to get through all that crap and remain in business long enough to begin expanding it's hostile take-over time.
Meanwhile these elitists ability to understand and care about the 'common folk' that make up their corporations and make them their fortunes decreases with each new generation of increasing hand-me-down wealth.
I truly believe the only system that could truly work is a combined system of a controlled market or 'nationalized' market for major industries like energy, communications, military arms, etc.(the source of 90% of the wealth and power of the elites today) along with a totally(or almost so) deregulated market for all other industries.
The major industries should be dumping their profits into public coffers to pay for governmental services, not going into private bank-accounts of globalists to be used to subvert those government services for their own interests.
Simple, but reasonable proposals like that are frowned upon by virtually everyone these days. It either has to be total deregulation or total regulation, no in-between - hence why we're all screwed because a compromise is the only thing that MAY fix things(but is a long shot at this late point in time anyways).
Sometimes people need to compromise their personal belief's for the greater good of the whole that they are part of.
Or remain selfish and obsessed with the 'my way or the highway' attitude and enjoy your continued descent into living Hell. Sadly far too many have already beaten you there...
If one chooses to cut through the fat and get to the simple truths at hand, I would suggest looking here: http://www.smoking-mirrors.com/
let me start with.: The United States of America isn't descending into poverty, it's there. you all should start expecting the complete collapse of what ever is left of the moral and social fabric.
Also The United States of America isn't America. It's quite pretentious to think otherwise.
I thank God, as do many north Americans (Canadians and Mexicans) that I am not a citizen's of the United States of America, who would?
If you don't want to sit back and watch it happen. What do you do?
"The real menace of our republic is this invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy length over city, state and nation. Like the octopus of real life, it operates under cover of a self created screen...At the head of this octopus are the Rockefeller Standard Oil interests and a small group of powerful banking houses generally referred to as International Bankers. The little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both political parties."
- John F. Hylan, New York City Mayor, 1922
"While economic textbooks claim that people and corporations are competing for markets and resources, I claim that in reality they are competing for money - using markets and resources to do so. Greed and fear of scarcity are being continuously created and amplified as a direct result of the kind of money we are using. For example, we can produce more than enough food to feed everybody, and there is definitely enough work for everybody in the world, but there is clearly not enough money to pay for it all. In fact, the job of central banks is to create and maintain that currency scarcity. Money is created when banks lend it into existence. When a bank provides you with a $100,000 mortgage, it creates only the principal, which you spend and which then circulates in the economy. The bank expects you to pay back $200,000 over the next 20 years, but it doesn't create the second $100,000 - the interest. Instead, the bank sends you out into the tough world to battle against everybody else to bring back the second $100,000." - Bernard Lietaer, former Central Banker (Belgium)
"I have two great enemies, the southern army in front of me and the financial institutions in the rear. Of the two, the one in the rear is the greatest enemy. The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace, and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes. I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavour to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of the war." -Abraham Lincoln
"The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of Government, but it is the Government's greatest creative opportunity. By the adoption of these principles...the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest [by not having to borrow from privately-owned corporate banks]...Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity. Democracy will rise superior to the money power." - Abraham Lincoln, Senate Document 23, Page 91, 1865
"The death of Lincoln was a disaster for Christendom. There was no man in the United States great enough to wear his boots and the bankers went anew to grab the riches. I fear that foreign bankers with their craftiness and tortuous tricks will entirely control the exuberant riches of America and use it to systematically corrupt modern civilization."
- Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany, after Lincoln's assassination
When a law of the Eternal God is broken, punishment will always follow.
USA Has:
Caused Drought - Now they have drought.
Starved Millions - Now millions are starving.
Caused Floods - Now they have floods.
Destroyed Millions of Homes - Now Homes are being destroyed.
Destroyed the Infra-structure
of Many nations. - Now theirs are being destroyed.
Killed Millions - Now they are being killed.
Plundered Nations - Now they are being plundered.
Tortured Millions - Yet to happen in a big way.
Enslaved Millions - Yet to happen in a big way.
God Is Not Mocked
http://www.peterjamesx.com/docs/God%20Is%20Not%20Mocked.htm
I would love to hear just one politician (including PCR) admit something along the lines of "its OUR fault" "OUR love of money has allowed the country to move from a sovereign nation to something that looks more like a global corporation". Where the statement comes from is irrelevant because the US does not have a two party system. Both Dems & Repubs are equity partners in USA, Inc. We the People need to admit that we have played a huge part in the unraveling of this country as well. We've allowed ourselves to be lulled to sleep with so many distractions that we failed to pay attention to what our elected officials have been doing in Washington. Hopefully the time of apathy is over.
There is no two party system,it was one party after the assasination of John F. Kennedy that was the reason they killed him. The pwoers that be could not allow the people to have a true representative, that would take power away from them and this is why he was taken out and LBJ who represented the corporate elite pretended to be the people's choice.Since Kennedy ever president accept Carter is nothing more than sleezy puppets to the elitists and same goes for the senate and congress give and take a few good people and that is the way it's been.
Paul, I had a lot of respect for ActivistPost until reading made up crap like this: "Republicans claim that the only reason Americans are in need is because the government uses taxpayers’ money to subsidize Americans who are unwilling to work. As Republicans see it, while we hard-workers sacrifice our leisure and time with our families, the welfare rabble enjoy the leisure that our tax dollars provide them" And when the Black Folk figure out the Welfare was designed to hold people down in trade for their vote, they'll be coming after all the idiots who tried to sell welfare as something good, that means they'll be coming for the likes of you!!
How sad that Activist Post would publish something from someone who maintained the lie of a two party system.. unsubscribing all because of you, Paul.
Make it a great day!
"Useless eaters" are the byproducts of "useless leaders." PCR, you can keep that one for your next article. - T.P.
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