U.S. Banks Urge Congress to Close Deal on Debt-Limit Debate

“Bankers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein and JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief Jamie Dimon called on President Barack Obama and Congress to raise the federal debt limit to steer the U.S. government away from the threat of default.”

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/07/27/bloomberg1376-LP1OJY0YHQ0X01-22APAHR406PISHEPTT3BK6FLID.DTL

We pay; they profit.

My response to a Democrat still infatuated with this prick Obama

My point exactly, Kim. Thank you for making it. We are paying for over 100 years of imperialist wars fought for Wall Street's interests: cheap labor and cheap natural resources. 

If you want peace stop paying for these dirty wars. 

Raising the debt ceiling is being done to pay for these wars.

Harry Reid let the cat out of the bag when he said he was prepared to compromise on funding these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the NEXT TEN YEARS on a more frugal budget.

As far as Social Security, Kim. Let me give you an "analogy." Wall Street has wanted to get its dirty, filthy, greedy clutches on the Social Security Trust Fund for years just like the mobsters and the Wall Street vultures control the union pension funds.

The privatization of the Social Security Trust Fund in the hands of Wall Street "managers" is what is at stake here.

Already, Congress and the Presidents have robbed the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for their rotten imperialist wars and now they don't want to pay the Social Security Trust Fund back--- Obama's intent is to turn the Trust Fund over to Wall Street the same way he did with health care through his "Affordable Health Care Act" which should be called, "The Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry Bailout and Profit Maximization Act of 2010."

And, by the way, here is another "analogy" for you. Obama made it mandatory for everyone to purchase Health Insurance from these greedy Wall Street vultures because this sets up a precedent: People will be able to be forced through legislation to pay into Wall Street owned, controlled and administered pension funds. Bye, bye Social Security.

Elizabeth Warren says, "Don't blame Obama, blame the Republicans..." Give me a break already. Obama has to go.

I think Elizabeth Warren is like Van Jones. Like a couple of fools, they both continue to support Obama. 


What we need is a new political party in this country bringing together liberals, progressives and the left with peace at the very top of the agenda.

All this "blame the Republicans" crap makes me sick. Obama could have taken care of all of this while there was a Democratic majority in the House and Senate and if he had done what he had led people to believe he would do if elected there would still be a Democratic majority in the House and Senate.

The fact is, we are caught in this two-party trap created by Wall Street just for such times.

We need to free ourselves from this two-party trap once and for all.

Check out the New Progressive Alliance:

http://newprogs.org/

If you are fed up and have had enough you will find many like-minded people here.

What is wrong with the populist sounding analysis of "our economic dilemma" coming from Robert Reich

There is a major problem with Robert Reich's "analysis--- he fails to factor in the fact that:

1. This war economy impacts the economy negatively in a very major and fundamental way.

2. These wars kill jobs the same way they kill people.

3. Robert Reich refuses to acknowledge that the way to create jobs is by putting people to work through massive government programs that are created to solve the problems of the people.

An example of #3 woulds be a National Public Health Care System which would create around ten-million new jobs providing the American people with free health care for much less than wars and militarism cost us.

Robert Reich does a good job as far as he goes but it is intellectually dishonest of him to leave militarism and wars out of his "analysis."

Robert Reich, who is obviously on his way to support Obama, again, this time for re-election, as he tones down his criticisms of Obama's handling of the economy while NEVER having criticized Obama's militarism and wars which have played a major part in just what Reich says he laments: making the rich richer as these Wall Street coupon clippers profit from militarism and wars and these wars are the primary contributor to our Nation's debt which is one more aspect of what makes the rich, richer since the Wall Street bankers profit from this debt through the interest charged.

Robert Reich has failed to note here, or anyplace else, how paying these interest rates on this debt requires "austerity measures" which further impoverishes us all.

How can what amounts to dumping our Nation's wealth into the deepest depths of the oceans not have a major impact on our "economic dilemma?" 

I think this should be further discussed before Robert Reich's analysis is accepted as fact and truth when it would appear he has intentionally left out the most important and fundamental reason for what he correctly calls it: our economic dilemma.

When people like Robert Reich provide such shallow thinking intentionally leaving out the most important fact we should be challenging him not just passing this information along without questioning and comment.

There is, in fact, an organized attempt being made to make it appear that we can discuss our economic problems by leaving militarism and these wars out of the equation; we can't if we want to solve "our economic dilemma."

I would challenge Robert Reich or anyone else to explain how we can solve our "economic dilemma" without peace.

With this video by Robert Reich we see the dishonesty we get from Obama and his supporters. Of course, these wars are Barack Obama's Achilles' Heel so the reason why the real cost of these wars and how they negatively impact and are major contributors to "our economic dilemma" seem rather obvious--- again we get misinformation rather than the cold hard truth that these wars are killing jobs just like they kill people and workers without jobs are going to be poor as will those employed who have austerity measures imposed on them they will become impoverished even though they work--- often two or even three jobs.

I do not argue that Reich's views should not be distributed but these views that are very typical of Democrats who think they can talk about "our economic dilemma" without confronting the impacts of militarism and wars for political expediency are simply dishonest and wrong. Come to think of it, this is why we have a peace movement in the first place which organized labor's leaders, like Robert Reich, want to remain aloof from.

These wars and our economic woes are inseparably linked.

Just ask anyone:

How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you?

Alan L. Maki

- Show quoted text -

--

Alan L. Maki

Director of Organizing,

Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

 

58891 County Road 13

Warroad, Minnesota 56763

Phone: 218-386-2432

Cell: 651-587-5541

Primary E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

E-mail: alan.maki1951mn@gmail.com

Blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

The truth is finally coming out as to what "compromise" over the Minnesota budget will consist of

Will Minnesotans stand for this as hinted by Minnesota Public Radio:

SALES TAX EXPANSION

Minnesota is somewhat unusual in that it doesn't tax clothing sales. Expanding the tax base to include such items could bring more than $600 million over two years, according to a 2010 Minnesota Department of Revenue estimate. Expand the sales tax to food, and new revenue increases by more than $1.4 billion, according to the same estimate.

Still, it's a hard sell in the Legislature, where some lawmakers will argue that such sales taxes are regressive.

The eventual "compromise" between Dayton and the Republicans and the Summit Hill Democrats will most definitely include:

1. Higher property taxes

2. An expansion of sales taxes most likely to food and clothing.
Waiting "until" the "compromise" takes place will be a disaster.

If we want real reforms based upon "tax-the-rich" which goes beyond a nice campaign cliche to elect weal liberal Democrats like Mark Dayton we need a powerful movement--- some kind of massive "People's Lobby" capable of making these politicians understand that there are real consequences to heaping regressive tax policies on us under the guise of "compromise."

The obvious "consequence" these politicians, including Dayton, must be made to understand is that they will be defeated at the polls by people's politicians who will implement real progressive "tax-the-rich" policies designed to redistribute the wealth through meaningful universal social programs.

As MPR states, only a very few state legislators will decry this "compromise" to come as "regressive" so it is up to Minnesotans to to take the required action to defend their own interests.

Same old, same old

This government shut-down in Minnesota is nothing but a ploy by Democrats and Republicans to soften up public employees to take huge cut-backs and concessions in their contract which expired the exact same time the government shut-down while trying to condition and bully Minnesotans into expecting less from government while paying higher taxes as private contractors extract greater profits.

Trumka talks austerity; refuses to demand an end to wars.

Richard Trumka continues to talk about the negative impact the austerity measures are having but he does not mention that these austerity measures are required to pay for these dirty wars.