Comments on: Wealth Matters, The American Worker, and the Power of Music with Morley http://grittv.org/2008/06/25/wealth-matters-the-american-worker-and-the-power-of-music-with-morley/ Cultivating a Better Conversation Sat, 14 May 2011 01:31:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Aquifer http://grittv.org/2008/06/25/wealth-matters-the-american-worker-and-the-power-of-music-with-morley/comment-page-1/#comment-295 Aquifer Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:17:38 +0000 http://www.grittv.org/2008/06/25/wealth-matters-the-american-worker-and-the-power-of-music-with-morley/#comment-295 <p>Excellent show! I think you have one of the best, if not THE best show on the scene now.</p> <p>Re American v. European capitalism, Michael Albert wrote a great book some years ago titled, appropriately enough, Capitalism v. Capitalism which elaborates the points Mr, Greenhouse made. The question was raised as to how we got here. I would like to suggest the following (written awhile ago for a local newspaper)</p> <p> Fifty years ago people built schools and hospitals for the public good; today we build malls and casinos. Fifty years ago business subsidized educational and healthcare institutions with taxes and contributions; today the public subsidizes business with tax credits and subsidies. Fifty years ago people empathized with those less well off and set up “safety nets” for the poor and elderly knowing that we and our progeny would/could all be there one day; today we empathize with the rich and set up tax shelters and rebates for corporations fantasizing that we will be there one day. Fifty years ago people built and fostered businesses that actually made things and paid “living wages” so that one person with one job could support a family: today we foster businesses that buy and sell things made far away and pay wages such that two people need several jobs to get by.<br /> To add insult to injury, not only are we abandoning all those institutions built by the public for the public that have served us so well, but we are actively dismantling them as we substitute and subsidize institutions built by private interests for private interest while plaintively (pathetically?) crossing our fingers that our subsidies (”incentives”) will result in a “trickle down” of public crumbs from the private table. Fifty years ago we, the public, were builders, today we are beggars. About the only ideas we have preserved from 50 years ago are an acceptance of pollution and of weapons of mass destruction as the price of “progress” and “freedom”.</p> <p>In short we will promote an economic philosophy that benefits those we identify with and the MSM and Madison Avenue have spent the last 50 years convincing us to identify with the rich. Once we understand that we are much closer to the poor than we are currently really willing to admit, we will fix things again as we did (over) 50 years ago. Until then, things will keep getting worse under the American brand of cowboy capitalism.</p> Excellent show! I think you have one of the best, if not THE best show on the scene now.

Re American v. European capitalism, Michael Albert wrote a great book some years ago titled, appropriately enough, Capitalism v. Capitalism which elaborates the points Mr, Greenhouse made. The question was raised as to how we got here. I would like to suggest the following (written awhile ago for a local newspaper)

Fifty years ago people built schools and hospitals for the public good; today we build malls and casinos. Fifty years ago business subsidized educational and healthcare institutions with taxes and contributions; today the public subsidizes business with tax credits and subsidies. Fifty years ago people empathized with those less well off and set up “safety nets” for the poor and elderly knowing that we and our progeny would/could all be there one day; today we empathize with the rich and set up tax shelters and rebates for corporations fantasizing that we will be there one day. Fifty years ago people built and fostered businesses that actually made things and paid “living wages” so that one person with one job could support a family: today we foster businesses that buy and sell things made far away and pay wages such that two people need several jobs to get by.
To add insult to injury, not only are we abandoning all those institutions built by the public for the public that have served us so well, but we are actively dismantling them as we substitute and subsidize institutions built by private interests for private interest while plaintively (pathetically?) crossing our fingers that our subsidies (”incentives”) will result in a “trickle down” of public crumbs from the private table. Fifty years ago we, the public, were builders, today we are beggars. About the only ideas we have preserved from 50 years ago are an acceptance of pollution and of weapons of mass destruction as the price of “progress” and “freedom”.

In short we will promote an economic philosophy that benefits those we identify with and the MSM and Madison Avenue have spent the last 50 years convincing us to identify with the rich. Once we understand that we are much closer to the poor than we are currently really willing to admit, we will fix things again as we did (over) 50 years ago. Until then, things will keep getting worse under the American brand of cowboy capitalism.

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