George H.W. Bush’s broken promise that changed the Republican Party
Sunday, May 6, 2018
And Bush Senior Couldn't Keep His Promise Not To Raise Taxes
That may have been the start of "bad Republicanism," but I can't help but think that President Clinton's "Third Way" (in conjunction with British Prime Minister Tony Blair) didn't help much either. Sure, Clinton finally balanced the budget for a short period of time, but the big trade deals negotiated, though quite logical in global economic terms, began the true death knell for organized labor; something that I think was inevitable in any case given that electrified experience retrieval already guaranteed that human skill was doomed as a viable, competitive commodity. Add in the tremendous advancements in containerized shipping and you can see why anything can be made anywhere; with the skill, and motive capital, being able to be applied only with the click of a mobile app (so to speak).
Saturday, May 5, 2018
The Things They Don't Necessarily Emphasize As Much Concerning Jobs Numbers
There has been some mention, at least, of the lack of real wage growth, and we can certainly be grateful for that. The thing that really irks me, however, is how little is given over both to just how much of our economy now is making its big bucks not only on destruction, in its various guises (cleaning up after various natural disasters, social disasters, waging wars with the indirect support of supplying weapons, and supplies, as well as on indirect health costs from the various destructive environments), but also on how what little good news there has been is so fragile in nature. Because this is anything but a storm ready economy.
Fragile because all of the various fault lines that are building up terrible pressures now are still there; still there and just regathering themselves up for another series of big hits to one region after another, and one sector of the economy after another. More grist for the headline news, and weather channel, to make big advertising dollars on even as we watch another ratcheting up of "It's already half past later than you think." And nothing, certainly, in any of our institutions, is improving. And all we are left with is the horrible after effects of "Business As Usual."
Fragile because all of the various fault lines that are building up terrible pressures now are still there; still there and just regathering themselves up for another series of big hits to one region after another, and one sector of the economy after another. More grist for the headline news, and weather channel, to make big advertising dollars on even as we watch another ratcheting up of "It's already half past later than you think." And nothing, certainly, in any of our institutions, is improving. And all we are left with is the horrible after effects of "Business As Usual."
Economists look for wage gains as unemployment falls to 3.9 percent
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THINGS ARE STILL BAD, MAYBE WORSE EVEN
The Unemployment Rate Is Down. Here's Why That's Bad News
Part of the reason the unemployment rate fell is because 236,000 people left the labor force altogether last month, not because everyone suddenly has jobs.
A Story Guaranteed To Break The Heart Of Anyone Who Loves The Pacific Northwest
And it mostly revolves around how one very powerful man can pit good people against each other.
How else is one to characterize what actually happened here when everyone agrees that Seattle, like a lot of booming, tech oriented cities, has a very serious affordable housing problem. And of course that only mirrors the larger problem of very few Americans having a living wage in the first place.
And let's also be clear that the amount of tax that would have had to be shouldered by Amazon by this proposed new "Head Tax" was only approximately twenty million dollars a year. Twenty very large on a company that is now valued at around $700 billion. As such you could hardly view it as more than chump change to Mr. Bezos. And yet he still felt the need to play economic hard ball like it was a very necessary tactic to establish just who is boss in the very city that gave him the opportunity to disrupt from what was very humble beginnings when he first started out.
To say this is the kind of thing that puts disgust for rich people in very large, and quite stark, contrast.
And let us also be clear about something else. Sure, one might have relevant criticism for the Seattle City council on how they manage any and all social spending, but it hardly takes away from the reality that we are selling ourselves so very short here on real human needs; needs that are not being met in any coherent way. And it ought to also be clear that a good deal of why managing social spending is so difficult is precisely because the need is so great across the board for housing, mental health, general health, education, the environment, and families in crisis trying to deal with constant change. All the while various economic interest groups keep pressuring all forms of government to do more with less revenue; which would be a thankless task for anyone trying to manage a bad situation when faced with ever increasing need.
The other problem, certainly, is that you just can't tackle one of these problems is isolation. They are all interrelated. Which then brings us back to the real issue of just how out of balance Capitalism has become in general, and how it's obvious obsolescence must be dealt with from the bottom up, with a comprehensively interlinked alternative.
Be that as it may, however, the bottom line here is that, in my opinion, Mr. Bezos knows very little in the way of shame. Shame for turning what should have been an opportunity to bring people together to negotiate something reasonable as a solution into a game of brinkmanship; where the real intent was to simply beat a once very progressive city into numbed, meek, submission. Pretty much like Mr. Bezos is doing to a lot of cities these days in seeing how far he can make them humiliate, and prostrate themselves before him, and his newfound economic clout. And if you do not see that for what it is then you are either quite uninformed, or are just fine with this sort of tactic.
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UBI YES, UTI NO
How else is one to characterize what actually happened here when everyone agrees that Seattle, like a lot of booming, tech oriented cities, has a very serious affordable housing problem. And of course that only mirrors the larger problem of very few Americans having a living wage in the first place.
And let's also be clear that the amount of tax that would have had to be shouldered by Amazon by this proposed new "Head Tax" was only approximately twenty million dollars a year. Twenty very large on a company that is now valued at around $700 billion. As such you could hardly view it as more than chump change to Mr. Bezos. And yet he still felt the need to play economic hard ball like it was a very necessary tactic to establish just who is boss in the very city that gave him the opportunity to disrupt from what was very humble beginnings when he first started out.
To say this is the kind of thing that puts disgust for rich people in very large, and quite stark, contrast.
And let us also be clear about something else. Sure, one might have relevant criticism for the Seattle City council on how they manage any and all social spending, but it hardly takes away from the reality that we are selling ourselves so very short here on real human needs; needs that are not being met in any coherent way. And it ought to also be clear that a good deal of why managing social spending is so difficult is precisely because the need is so great across the board for housing, mental health, general health, education, the environment, and families in crisis trying to deal with constant change. All the while various economic interest groups keep pressuring all forms of government to do more with less revenue; which would be a thankless task for anyone trying to manage a bad situation when faced with ever increasing need.
The other problem, certainly, is that you just can't tackle one of these problems is isolation. They are all interrelated. Which then brings us back to the real issue of just how out of balance Capitalism has become in general, and how it's obvious obsolescence must be dealt with from the bottom up, with a comprehensively interlinked alternative.
Be that as it may, however, the bottom line here is that, in my opinion, Mr. Bezos knows very little in the way of shame. Shame for turning what should have been an opportunity to bring people together to negotiate something reasonable as a solution into a game of brinkmanship; where the real intent was to simply beat a once very progressive city into numbed, meek, submission. Pretty much like Mr. Bezos is doing to a lot of cities these days in seeing how far he can make them humiliate, and prostrate themselves before him, and his newfound economic clout. And if you do not see that for what it is then you are either quite uninformed, or are just fine with this sort of tactic.
Amazon issues threat over Seattle head-tax plan, halts tower construction
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Redistribute Wealth, Not Robots
If we're serious about sexual fulfillment, we should worry more about economic inequality, not sex robots.
IT'S NOT MARK ZUCKERBERG
This Facebook Co-Founder Wants To Tax The Rich
Chris Hughes thinks $290 billion a year is a small price to pay for equality.
Friday, May 4, 2018
In The Future Will You Be Rich Enough To Afford Critical Services?
Will it eventually become your fault for allowing your home to burn down?
In wildfire-prone states, the wealthy pay to have private firefighters protect their home
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WHAT ABOUT LOW-INCOME FAMILIES?
American Higher Education Hits A Dangerous Milestone
As younger generations become more racially diverse, many states are allocating fewer tax dollars to public colleges and universities.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Big Tech's Big Disconnect From What Is Human Oriented Needs Analysis
And what is the need of companies gone mad on the commoditization of every aspect of experience retrieval, and mediated distribution. Madness because it co joins both control of ultimately what will pass as group reality to the masters of creation, collection and distribution, but also the fact that so much of that control will hinge around ultimate addiction; ultimate addiction as the push for more fidelity moves VR into a realm not even a crack pipe will be able to match for very much longer. And as with sugar snuck into everything we eat, before we even knew we had such a jones for sweet, the increasing fidelity will suck the rubes in before they even knew they had such a jones for a seamlessly presented, all enthralling, false reality that will render the participants completely compliant.
That is what you will ultimately be buying into if you stay with business as usual, and also assuming the planet doesn't just shuck us off in the not so distant future. Gosh oh golly. Isn't that just something too wonderful to contemplate.
Just remember, however. The choice is still yours for now. The clock is ticking though. Just saying.
'THE OPPORTUNITY HAS NEVER BEEN RICHER' -- SILICON VALLEY SEES DOLLAR SIGNS IN THE A.I. APOCALYPSE
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That is what you will ultimately be buying into if you stay with business as usual, and also assuming the planet doesn't just shuck us off in the not so distant future. Gosh oh golly. Isn't that just something too wonderful to contemplate.
Just remember, however. The choice is still yours for now. The clock is ticking though. Just saying.
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Google sells the future, powered by your personal data
West Virginia lawmaker rips Big Pharma execs on opioids: 'I just want you to feel shame'
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
A New Deal It Seems That Not Even Supposed Liberals Can Deliver on
If there were anything that truly expressed our screwed up priorities vis a vie the future, this is surely it. Something that shouldn't surprise us, though, certainly, given how we treat education, and teachers, in the first place; as a cost factor that no prominent economic entity wants to be responsible for. And of course, any more now the only economic entities that matter are the private sector ones, as government is rendered ever more impotent by the constant removal of the ability to fund any service that doesn't directly benefit the new economic centers of power.
In my view, what this ought to be really telling us is that it is long past due time for us, and I mean each of us in every community, to truly take responsibility for ourselves. And we can only do that if we take control of our own communities and run them ourselves. Run them ourselves just as my alternative suggests we should.
I have posted on this before. The time is long past to realize that we can no longer do critically important social functions as if they were just processes you can spec out in a service contract with some money oriented service providers. Mental health care. Child care. Education. The list could go on. They are the things that we must do for ourselves (as the acts of loving interest they are supposed to be), in the way that best fits what our community needs, and has at its ability to provide. And we must do these things without regard to the stupid demands of markets; markets that are now the mutated, iterative processes of destruction one would certainly expect from an economic model several hundred years out of date, as well as one laid so low (in terms of social outcomes) by a technological development (electrified experience retrieval) it could not have possibly anticipated.
And as this New Republic article makes abundantly clear, not even the supposed Liberals can work anything useful anymore out of this absolutely broken system. And this is so because even those nations that do a pretty good job now of putting money where their social priorities are, are not likely to be able to do this indefinitely, going into the future, because even if we could beat back the environmental damage done, and save the planet, the ever increasing, now becoming deadly dangerous competitions (for scarce resources, and market dominance in general), will force governments into ever more impossible choices as to what to spend ever decreasing revenues on.
What this boils down to is this: How many ways do you need to see just how inappropriate it has become to continue to believe that a cost based form of economic operation will give us not only what we need materially, but what we must have in terms of meaningful connections between us all. Meaningful connections that feel right because they address both the mind and the heart. And until we realize that we will continue to make the same mistakes we have been making. The same mistakes that the planet will now no longer tolerate at all.
A New Deal for Day Care
See Also:
[Post Note: I'm including this tech reference just to remind you of the very real nature of what has become of "electrified experience retrieval." J.V.]
In my view, what this ought to be really telling us is that it is long past due time for us, and I mean each of us in every community, to truly take responsibility for ourselves. And we can only do that if we take control of our own communities and run them ourselves. Run them ourselves just as my alternative suggests we should.
I have posted on this before. The time is long past to realize that we can no longer do critically important social functions as if they were just processes you can spec out in a service contract with some money oriented service providers. Mental health care. Child care. Education. The list could go on. They are the things that we must do for ourselves (as the acts of loving interest they are supposed to be), in the way that best fits what our community needs, and has at its ability to provide. And we must do these things without regard to the stupid demands of markets; markets that are now the mutated, iterative processes of destruction one would certainly expect from an economic model several hundred years out of date, as well as one laid so low (in terms of social outcomes) by a technological development (electrified experience retrieval) it could not have possibly anticipated.
And as this New Republic article makes abundantly clear, not even the supposed Liberals can work anything useful anymore out of this absolutely broken system. And this is so because even those nations that do a pretty good job now of putting money where their social priorities are, are not likely to be able to do this indefinitely, going into the future, because even if we could beat back the environmental damage done, and save the planet, the ever increasing, now becoming deadly dangerous competitions (for scarce resources, and market dominance in general), will force governments into ever more impossible choices as to what to spend ever decreasing revenues on.
What this boils down to is this: How many ways do you need to see just how inappropriate it has become to continue to believe that a cost based form of economic operation will give us not only what we need materially, but what we must have in terms of meaningful connections between us all. Meaningful connections that feel right because they address both the mind and the heart. And until we realize that we will continue to make the same mistakes we have been making. The same mistakes that the planet will now no longer tolerate at all.
See Also:
[Post Note: I'm including this tech reference just to remind you of the very real nature of what has become of "electrified experience retrieval." J.V.]
LOL WE'RE SO FUCKED
This Video About Robots That Can Adapt To Physical Damage Like Animals Is Blowing Our Minds
So, you're saying that robots are now extremely strong and adept, artificially intelligent and also now self-healing? Cool, cool. Right, and we're all good with this? Gotcha. Great.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Live By The Market, Die By The Market
And/or your own choices along the way as well, of course.
Like perhaps taking on too much at one time? But who am I to say about that, other than to just express an opinion. The bottom line, however remains: The increasing turbulence in the markets he's trying to dominate in hasn't even begun to reach the full chaos that is in store for any of them, and yet he's having more and more challenges already (more competitors, more instabilities -- internally and externally, and increasing inability to meet market expectations).
And oh, by the way, the earth is under imminent threat. Not only by the immediate challenge of extreme weather either; as the dangerous competitions inherent in Capitalism make very clear; those competitions that raise tensions for war over markets, resources, and who dominate. All when cooperation is the only thing that can possibly save us.
The sad thing here, as smart as I am sure he is, is that he will most likely not give nearly serious enough thought to the idea that maybe; just maybe, Capitalism is, in every important respect, obsolete. And maybe even more, that his great capability would be better utilized in coming up with either a better alternative than I have suggested, or helping out in solving all of the problems my approach would have, because you can also be sure that it will have a very good number of those.
As I have always said. I don't have all of the answers precisely because I do not have anywhere near all of the important questions asked yet. I need help in this in that respect for the simple reason that no one mind could possibly anticipate all of the problems going down the path of my alternative would create. The problem, though, is that our options are going to start diminishing exponentially, as time marches on because of the lead times it takes to do anything that might have necessary effect in the time we have left, before all of the ice at the poles melts. Because after that it becomes very problematic as to how long life as we know it can last; so dependant has life become on this planet for various circulatory systems; especially as it relates to mean temperatures all over the place, and how evaporation, and condensation can continue to happen at all, even if there isn't much wind to move the potential for rain where it is really needed, and away from where anymore is certain catastrophe.
What will ultimately happen? Only time, and a great number of individual decisions, will tell.
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"UNTETHERED FROM REALITY:" IS ELON MUSK HAVING HIS KANYE WEST MOMENT?
SOMEONE TAKE THE WHEEL
[Post Note: Here is an example of one of the coming, competitors, who might be just as disruptive, and hungry for completely new tech markets, as Elon himself used to be. And this guy will have a Corporate/Government co operative backing him up. J.V.]
Like perhaps taking on too much at one time? But who am I to say about that, other than to just express an opinion. The bottom line, however remains: The increasing turbulence in the markets he's trying to dominate in hasn't even begun to reach the full chaos that is in store for any of them, and yet he's having more and more challenges already (more competitors, more instabilities -- internally and externally, and increasing inability to meet market expectations).
And oh, by the way, the earth is under imminent threat. Not only by the immediate challenge of extreme weather either; as the dangerous competitions inherent in Capitalism make very clear; those competitions that raise tensions for war over markets, resources, and who dominate. All when cooperation is the only thing that can possibly save us.
The sad thing here, as smart as I am sure he is, is that he will most likely not give nearly serious enough thought to the idea that maybe; just maybe, Capitalism is, in every important respect, obsolete. And maybe even more, that his great capability would be better utilized in coming up with either a better alternative than I have suggested, or helping out in solving all of the problems my approach would have, because you can also be sure that it will have a very good number of those.
As I have always said. I don't have all of the answers precisely because I do not have anywhere near all of the important questions asked yet. I need help in this in that respect for the simple reason that no one mind could possibly anticipate all of the problems going down the path of my alternative would create. The problem, though, is that our options are going to start diminishing exponentially, as time marches on because of the lead times it takes to do anything that might have necessary effect in the time we have left, before all of the ice at the poles melts. Because after that it becomes very problematic as to how long life as we know it can last; so dependant has life become on this planet for various circulatory systems; especially as it relates to mean temperatures all over the place, and how evaporation, and condensation can continue to happen at all, even if there isn't much wind to move the potential for rain where it is really needed, and away from where anymore is certain catastrophe.
What will ultimately happen? Only time, and a great number of individual decisions, will tell.
Tesla Doesn’t Burn Fuel,It Burns Cash
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Sorry Elon Musk, There's No Clear Evidence Autopilot Saves Lives
The feds just threw Tesla under the bus on Autopilot safety.
[Post Note: Here is an example of one of the coming, competitors, who might be just as disruptive, and hungry for completely new tech markets, as Elon himself used to be. And this guy will have a Corporate/Government co operative backing him up. J.V.]
Xiaomi just filed for the world’s biggest IPO since 2014
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