I have a very simple formulation for this. Ask yourself this: Is Wall Street working for Society, or is Society working for Wall Street. I believe that in a healthy system Wall Street would be working in a way that serves to promote the common good. In our system society works to ensure the health of firms and individuals on Wall Street.

Completely backwards.

Furthermore, the entire formulation is harmful. It perpetuates the attitude that our fundamental role in this society is as consumers. Forget citizenship, stewards of the environment, parents, etc. We are just consumers in the eyes of Wall Street and policy makers.

The massive Bush deficits have created a serious bind for the conservatives. The dollar is weak, making our imports more expensive. We have to do one or both of reducing the deficit and/or raising interest rates. There is very room left in the federal budget to cut spending. So, we need to raise taxes. But the only way to get meaningful deficit reduction is to restore the taxes on the wealthy and on corporations. Raising interest rates will hammer anyone with significant personal debt, either a variable rate mortgage, or credit cards. Clearly the correct solution is to push for more taxation of those at the top. Hah! Like that will happen with this crowd in charge.

Anyone still believe the Republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility? (Note to trolls: leave the Democrats out of your response. This isn't a comparison, it's an absolute statement.)

Of course muckdog will probably just say that people are at falt themselves if they have too much debt or variable rate mortgages. Soon, muck, the rest of the world will be saying that about America: it's our own fault that we have so much debt.

You have to remember the Wall Street sales people are always hyping reasons for the market to rise, and this scenario has happened before. Also stagflation has happened before--and will again soon--where inflation is out of control yet the economy is stagnant or depressed. The Vietnam War aftermath caused stagflation before, and now we have not only the Iraq war but deficit spending domestically. If Bush borrows more money to ruin Social Security, it will cause devastation we haven't seen since the Depression. Eventually the market will drop as well.

Do you notice the odd man out in this game plan? We, the consumers.

Not only the consumers, Steve; we're the producers, too. Capitalists with no laborers have a lot of trouble getting things done.

good topics today. i'm out of town and on my treo, or i'd hop in. one thing to remember above all is motivation.

it's class warfare. The plan is to have the Rich and their servants.

I wonder how the greedy one percent's thinking compares to the Titanic caption's train of thought. I know far too many U.S. citizens have the identical mindset of the Titanic passengers.

Smooth:

What a great analogy. I have been thinking a lot along those lines lately. We have, for many years now, just taken for granted that we will ALWAYS be here, will ALWAYS be "the greatest country on Earth," we will ALWAYS dominate, etc. etc. etc.

Americans just bebop along through life assuming that no one, ever, could topple or destroy what we have in the great 'ole USA. "We're the best and will always BE the best, no matter what!"

As you have so astutely drawn an analogy to- I'm sure the Captian and passengers on the Titanic felt the same way...

Scary...

I hope against hope at this point that we're both wrong and the greatness that was once America can be restored before the Chimp and the GOP can "drown it in a bathtub." I still, to this day, cannot understand how ANYONE could really believe that the concept of that could somehow be good for America...!!!!

The true game plan is called global feudalism. Some believe that it is mathematically possible to run the world economy by focusing global supply and demand on the wants and needs of the top 1-5% worldwide.

Inferior education systems that teach by rote and discourage independant thought can produce docile, non-questioning productive workers who can be cowed by the threat of job loss. The myth of upward mobility can be promoted by the use of key words like 'opportunity','free market' and 'ownership.'

If the system is propagandized properly the staunchest defenders of the status quo will be working class individuals. Although lacking the education and capital to rise into the elete class, many such individuals will believe that through their own hard work and a 'lucky break' that they will be able to secure their own future.

If organized religion is manipulated properly then the 'natural rightness' of the status quo can be reinforced in individuals of limited education and independiant thinking ability. The faith doesn't matter, only that it conform to the overall plan.

Global Feudalism: Welcome to the 21st Century!

Marty, I hope we are wrong too.

The mouth pieces cleverly use selective context to distort reality. The context conveniently omits information that would describe a more complete picture of reality. The added context would read:

Since 2001, George Bush has raised your gas prices by 75%. Bush administration policies and actions that caused the increase were:

1. Bush devalued the dollar to help corporations compete abroad at the expense of the U.S. public.

(Since U.S. dollar's peak value in 2000, the Bush administration actions and policies have led to devaluation, compared to the Euro, of 50%. If foreign governments stop intervening the dollar would fall even more. Compared to $30 per barrel crude prices in 2000, holding the value of a barrel crude oil constant would raise the cost in U.S. dollars to $60)

2. The Bush administration stifled gasoline industry competition by allowing 33 refinery mergers. Essentially, creating an unregulated monopoly.

3. As world crude oil demands peaked, the Bush administration negatively reduced world crude oil supplies by invading and occupying Iraq.

The results of these three actions are:

Oil import prices climbed higher, pushing gasoline prices up sharply, but, instead of feeding inflation, that may ultimately serve to slow consumer demand. Meanwhile, consumer confidence has slipped, job creation was much slower than expected in March, and the trade gap widened again in February.

Since the 2001 recession, consumer spending and mortgage refinancing has kept the U.S. economy from completely tanking. So what does this mean?

hello People!!!

Its stagflation. Its so retro 70's.

The absurd fact is that Wall street can speak such drivel and get away with it. Serfdom . Its the new deal.

Could be time to sell the bastards short.

Its stagflation. Its so retro 70's.

Which is why it's so sad to think that America won't make these fuckers pay.

A flawed President but a profoundly decent man, Jimmy Carter, has been reviled by America for years because of stagflation. But for some crazy reason, the hagiographers seem determined to keep that fate from befalling G-Dub, a man unfit to carry Jimmy's Bible (or his diploma for his degree in nuclear engineering).

Slow.

Moderate.

Growth.

It's a Goldilocks economy.

And.

no.

jobs.

Maybe, the issue is winning an economic war with China. Decreasing wages of U.S. workers makes us more competitive with China's lower wages and at the same time the increase of the cost of goods (made in China) lowers demand and these together slow the Chinese economy and help restore a trade balance?????

simple,

In global feudalsim the trade balance doesn't matter. As America becomes a less profitable market our ability to recieve favorable terms on the ever growing twin deficets, trade and budget, will disappear. When America loses global reserve status and foreign trade is no longer conducted in dollars there will be a drain on monetary reserves and other liquid forms of wealth. There will be a downward economic spirial as America is forced into becoming a high tax-low service nation state.

Balance, for what it's worth, will only be obtained when America is so undervalued economically from the years of downward spirial that our creditors deem us as a good bargan. They will buy us up cheap. So goes the ownership society.

Argus, that sounds even more like a fairy tale than mine. Good job!

simple,

Laugh while you can. Ultimatily only the top 1% will be laughing if the current trends continue.

Argus, I don't doubt the phenomena but I do doubt your explanation for it.

Simple,

As Hobbes said "the best profet is the ones with the most signs to guess by." I could have gone on or used different examples but, it was late and I was tired. Nevertheless, it seems we both have signs to guess by and I trust that you will, like me, be watchful as events unfold.