Economic Domination IS Political

[Octafish]

An excellent overview of why we need to change the established order, meaning:

We need to make the financial system work for us.

A System of Economic Exploitation and Domination

Wall Street and the Politics of Finance

by ROB URIE
CounterPunch
WEEKEND EDITION OCTOBER 5-7, 2012

In the early days of the Obama administration there was an opportunity, at least in theory, to reconsider the role of finance in Western economies. The financial part of the economic crisis that the banks created left them vulnerable and dependent on visible public support. And while Mr. Obama came relatively late to this history, his decision to wholly revive finance capitalism will haunt the economies of the West until banks are returned to their useful social function as utilities.

Public anger over outsized paychecks, predatory practices and freedom from liability for several decades of straightforwardly criminal behavior aside, banks and the debt based economy they produce force the most destructive elements of capitalism onto a fragile world. Ironically, finance capitalism produces monumental wealth redistribution, the great boogieman of capitalist economists, and serves to justify acts of human and environmental devastation that, when viewed on their own, are quite obviously insane. And while this tendency can be attributed to capitalism in general, financial leverage adds a structural element to economic production that amplifies the worst tendencies of capitalism. The existing system of global finance must be gotten out of the way before less destructive modes of economic life are possible.

SNIP...

Whatever the visceral anger toward Wall Street, the reasons why finance capitalism must be ended and banking returned to its social purpose as a utility are analytical. While financial crashes like that of 2008 are emblematic of systemic instability, it is the transfer of social wealth from labor to finance that is most socially, economically and politically destructive. The focus of official Washington on restoring the existing system as a means to restore economic vitality gets it exactly wrong. And calls to simply re-regulate the banks ignore that while the banks were regulated financial profits accrued that allowed them to buy deregulation from a compromised political system.

Finance capitalism can’t be fixed because of its inherent contradictions. There is no ‘natural’ reason why banks, rather than public institutions, have the right to create money—that is a political outcome. And the political power of finance capitalism is more than just capture of the political system, it lies in the everyday power over the way that the world is set up—the relation between ‘natural’ needs like shelter, transportation, education and healthcare and the debt system used to ‘buy’ them that converts an increasing proportion of the product of our work to financial profits.

CONTINUED...

Guess things will keep on keeping on, as long as We the People are the ones who pick up the tab.

Goss. I mean, gosh! It's probably better to be of some use to Capital. Imagine what things would be like if they didn't need us, anymore, for that.

[mike_c]

1. we are engaged in a class war and NEITHER major political party...

...is aligned with the political and economic interests of the working class. They court our votes with lies and empty promises, then carry water for the masters of the universe and the captains of industry until there is none left for the people they toss crumbs to. And every four years they give us a mighty circus for entertainment and self deception.

I am utterly disillusioned by partisan politics in the U.S. I have outrage fatigue. I want nothing more than to pull the plug on all forms of "media" and go off somewhere to paint, far from the selfish bleatings of politicians and the venal rat bastards they serve.

National electoral politics are a fine circus, but they inevitably draw attention to the workings behind the curtain. Real, fundamental change will not come from the ballot booth. It just won't.

[Octafish]

3. The system is failing.

The solutions require only one thing -- money.

The problem solvers can't get to that. The sheriff is in cahoots with the train robbers. They'd sooner we die than spend a nickle on making life better for another.

Most of the wealth -- 7/8ths-- in human history has been created since 1981. David Stockman, of all people, explains who benefitted.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/187077-david-stockman-on-the-single-most-drastic-error-in-policy-in-modern-history

PS.. Very much appreciate you spelling out what we're facing as Democrats and human beings. These turds are killers.

[raouldukelives]

2. I'm not sure which does more damage. Voting for the Romneys of the world

Or investing with them. Probably the latter. I mean, votes are nice and all but that cash is hard to beat.

[Octafish]

6. The 'money trumps peace' press conference was a tell.

A trillion large every year for war. Austerity for the rest of us.

Have you seen the Friends of UBS?

http://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/revitalizingamerica/SenatorPhilGramm.html

Positively Buy-Partisan, which explains how Mitt has $100 MILLION IRA and I owe about that much.

[Populist_Prole]

4. Of course. Too many see it the wrong way.

As the astute Jim Hightower says, it's not left-right...it's up-down, income wise. It's so incredibly frustrating to see so many stupid fucking idiots focus on small potatoes bullshit.

[Octafish]

7. Jim Hightower would make an excellent President of the United States.

Hope he runs in 2016. In the meantime, we could use his talents as Secretary of the Treasury:

A Wall Street Devil Gets Religion — and an Apt Epitaph

The clueless bankster who shattered Glass-Steagall makes vain attempt at redemption

By Jim Hightower | Published on 07.31.2012 7:06 p.m.

EXCERPT...

After the financial collapse of 1929 led to the Great Depression, the Glass-Steagall Act was passed to protect people’s deposits from another system-wide crash by prohibiting banks from also owning stock brokerages, insurance corporations, hedge funds and other shadowy, high-risk financial operations.

After the financial collapse of 1929 led to the Great Depression, the Glass-Steagall Act was passed to protect people’s deposits from another system-wide crash by prohibiting banks from also owning stock brokerages, insurance corporations, hedge funds and other shadowy, high-risk financial operations.

Picky-picky, said Weill, who hired a hoard of lobbyists to demand that Washington legalize his illegal structure by simply repealing the pesky law he was blatantly violating. He even brought former President Gerald Ford and former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin onto Citigroup’s Board of Directors to be bipartisan front men leading the charge to kill Glass-Steagall.

Sure enough, in 1999, Congress dutifully went along with Weill’s push for repeal, and Wall Street promptly rushed to amalgamate more Citigroups, thus creating the “too-big-to-fail” system that — only eight years later — did indeed fail. Weill’s “work of genius” forced a multitrillion-dollar bailout on us taxpayers (including $45 billion that went to Citigroup itself), and it wrecked America’s Main Street economy. By then, though, the genius had retired with so much money that he could afford to air-condition hell.

CONTINUED...

http://www.noozhawk.com/article/073112_jim_hightower_wall_street_devil_gets_religion/

Wall Street would object, but Hightower at Treasury would empty that swamp of crooks PDFQ.

He knows who's who and what they did: We the People know, too.

[leftstreet]

5. So nice of DLClinton to deregulate banks

Nice for the ruling class anyway

DURec

Definitely worth reading http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/10/05/wall-street-and-the-politics-of-finance/

[Octafish]

8. Phil Gramm's UBS Vice Chairman home page separates the punters from the players.

It's a Buy-Partisan Who's Who:

President William J. Clinton
President George W. Bush
Robert J. McCann
James Carville
John V. Miller
Paula D. Polito
Anthony Roth
Mike Ryan
John Savercool

SOURCE: http://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/revitalizingamerica/SenatorPhilGramm.html

One of my attorney chums doesn't like to see his name on any committees, event letterhead or political campaign literature. These folks, it seems to me, are past caring.

Some of why DUers and ALL voters should care about Phil Gramm.

The fact the nation's "news media" don't should also be of great concern.

[HiPointDem]

9. kr.

[Octafish]

10. The two most important programs for most Americans were misrepresented in debate...

Martha Raddatz and the Faux Objectivity of Journalists

Establishment journalists are creatures of a highly ideological world and often cause ideology to masquerade as neutral fact.

by Glenn Greenwald

EXCERPT...

Exactly the same is true of Raddatz's statements and questions about America's entitlement programs. Here is the "question" she asked to launch the discussion:

"Let's talk about Medicare and entitlements. Both Medicare and Social Security are going broke and taking a larger share of the budget in the process."

"Will benefits for Americans under these programs have to change for the ok programs to survive?"

That Social Security is "going broke" - a core premise of her question - is, to put it as generously as possible, a claim that is dubious in the extreme. "Factually false" is more apt. This claim lies at the heart of the right-wing and neo-liberal quest to slash entitlement benefits for ordinary Americans - Ryan predictably responded by saying: "Absolutely. Medicare and Social Security are going bankrupt. These are indisputable facts." - but the claim is baseless.

CONTINUED...

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/12-4