Now, that is a dirty word: Regulation. But it must be. America’s economy is now at the mercy of our politicians’ willingness to restore our regulated free market. We’ve tried the free-for-all market and deregulation, and it didn’t work. Conservatism failed.
But where to start?
Let’s make illegal the process of “short-selling stock!” That’s when an investor — one that doesn’t have a job actually producing product useful to society — sets himself up to make money manipulating the stock market. They don’t invest capital in a company to help it grow and be prosperous and add jobs to the community. They instead borrow its stock from another market leech in the hopes that it will go down in value! It’s a bet they are making with each other. If it goes down, the lender owes the short seller the difference; if it instead goes up, the short seller owes the lender the difference.
Problem is, the short seller is then encouraged to spread false rumors that the company is in trouble, even if it is not, so the stock value goes down and he makes money. And oh, he takes it from your IRA plans too.
This is what conservatives would call our “free market,” though in fact it is manipulating the market, a subtle violation of federal law and a severe intrusion on your family’s nest egg.
But our politicians have been paid dearly by those making all the bucks, to not tighten the law! So they haven’t.
Tidbits:
The Republicans want to give tax cuts to businesses. Great. How about a $6000 per employee per year savings in health care costs? They can simply pass HR676 Medicare-for-all by US Rep John Conyers.
Our favorite right-wing wacko, Rush Limbaugh, publicly stated that he hopes Obama fails! Get that? Our nation is on the ropes and this drug addict hopes America goes down the tubes. If the GOP is going to survive, they had best get rid of this goofball.
And no, it wasn’t all the money Obama raised that got him elected. It was George Bush.
I must say, though I voted for McCain, Obama’s inauguration sent a powerful message. Not so much to blacks, but to the rest of the world as to just how great democracy and peaceful transition can be. Good for us.
I absolutely support the employee’s right to organize, though I think the UAW has been too successful. But I do not support the current effort to eliminate secret votes. Those are essential, especially in America.
The Guantanamo detainees should not be released until their home country (or any other country) agrees to take them. But they should not be subjected to US freedoms )
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“It never ceases to amaze me, the amount of energy that can
go into a project just to avoid doing the right thing. The best,
simplest, least costly, most effective thing we could do is
expand what has been working so well for years, Medicare.
You get sick, you get care, and the caregiver gets paid.
Nothing could be simpler. But follow the money and you’ll
find why the politicians don’t like it a bit. They get their money from insurance interests.” Jack Lohman
On health care….
"America will always do the right thing, but only after everything else fails." Winston Churchill
On Politicians….
"As a business owner, if I had an employee giving company assets to outsiders in exchange for money on the side, I'd fire him. Perhaps even have him jailed. In any other venue we call it bribery, payola and theft. But in the American political system, we call it freedom of speech. We don't jail them, we re-elect them." Jack Lohman
On Energy….
"Since the Arabic OPEC conspiracy has eliminated all pretense of a capitalistic free market, the U.S. should create its own energy supply with a taxpayer-funded exploration division. Contract it to the lowest private bidder, if need be, but introduce some real competition into the system." Jack Lohman
On Elections….
"Unfortunately our political system has fallen, not to the Republicans or Democrats but to the corporate interests that fund their elections. And that is not going to change in November. The only real solution is a complete turnover at the state and national level. We need voter-initiated term limits." Jack Lohman
On Privatization….
"Privatization is the political preference because private corporations can give campaign contributions and government entities can't. We are paying ten times the dollars for Blackwater, Bechtel and Halliburton to perform the same functions our troops could be performing in Iraq. Why? Because the US Army cannot give campaign contributions. Get the political money out of the system, and if privatization continues because it makes more sense than creating another government bureaucracy, then fine. But if it continues because political cash is flowing, then it likely wasn't needed in the first place." Jack Lohman
On HSA’s ….
"It is well known that most medical expenses come in the later years. What do you think the CEOs of your HSA are going to do when you start needing this more expensive care? They are going to start denying it, just as they are today. That’s why there are no HSAs for the elderly. If you plan to be one of us someday, you best ensure that Medicare remains alive and well." Jack Lohman
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