I was just in Atlanta. On the long flight I read Arianna Huffington's new book, Third World America. Now, before my conservative friends go off the deep end, this is not a book about left or right, about Democrat or Republican. This is a book about the assault on the middle class from both parties.
This is a must read for conservatives, for liberals, for members of the Tea Party, for libertarians, well, for every American. (If you're in the top 1% and are making millions of dollars, you might want to skip this one.)
I admit that at times the numerous examples in the book become a bit tedious, but they do move the story forward by illustrating her points.
Rarely do I read a book in which I think the author just hit the larger issues spot on. Arianna hits issues spot on. What she writes resonates with what I have mentioned several times on my blog about my own experiences with the death of the American Dream. The last chapter in her book offers some ideas about how to keep America beholden to "We the people...".
My only point of contention with her book: She takes an amazingly optimistic view about our capacity as a nation to undo the horrific damage that has been done to the middle class. I honestly have come to think that, if our nation can be repaired at all, it will not happen in my lifetime. I do hope I'm wrong.
The entire article is worth reading. The viciousness of corporate America at work...
Our future well being depends more on people like Steve Jobs who invent real products that can improve our lives, than it does on people like Jamie Dimon who invent financial products that do little other than threaten our economy."
But, unless you live on the Gulf Coast, as does my extended family, unless you know people who will lose everything because their livelihood. in fact, the economy of the whole regions already deeply depressed by the aftermath of Katrina, is completely dependent on the health of the Gulf of Mexico, this is just a minor little setback in the United State's intoxicated love affair with oil consumption and war above all else.
God forbid we should have policy that takes care of people and the environment in which we live! That ain't Amurrrrican! That ain't for the real Amurrrrica.
The extremist right wing nut jobs are blaming this on Obama?! (Now who was it that said, "Drill baby, drill!"????)
BP assured everyone this would never happen, but if it did, they had plans to immediately correct it. Now they admit to being clueless about what to do as this well pumps tons of oil into the Gulf every day!
If this disaster doesn't rewrite America's policy on off shore drilling, we are a hopeless and disgusting lot.
Record oil profits. Record oil profits. Record oil profits. What do we do now?
This is yet another catastrophic result of a nation's government owned by corporate greed.
I mourn the death of the pristine beauty of the Gulf Coast on which I grew up: the sugar white sands, the beaches littered with sea shells and crabs, the clearest water in the world in which you could watch little seahorses and starfish swim, dolphins play, and routinely see huge sea turtles and giant manta rays swimming in the wild.
Gone, now. Probably forever so bubbah can drive his Hummer and Ms. Thing can sip her bottled water shipped all the way from Fiji. Am I angry? You're damned right I am! Where's the righteous indignation over taking care of people and the beauty of God's creation?! Instead, we just want to kick some terrorist butt so we can guzzle some more oil.
And where is Dick Cheney today? Talking to King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia? Trying to line his purse with more oil money no doubt? Now isn't he just the clever one. Dick never misses an opportunity!
Our reckless, live-for-the-moment, greedy, consumptive lifestyle in this nation will inevitably kill us all. But what matters most is that some people will get very wealthy in the process.
Yesterday was an interesting day for me—most days are, actually. But the planets seemed to be especially aligned, or maybe yesterday was a "rip, a hole in the time/space continuum" that "take us thru the event horizon." *
1. I got an email invitation to connect with another Tim Tyson on a social network site. What was particularly interesting is that I've been receiving emails for over a year, maybe two, intended for this guy. Apparently our email addresses at a particular email service provider are very similar, and people would type his incorrectly. Since we both have the same name, it's understandable.
At first I thought these were all some sort of junk mail. But they followed a pattern. Apparently he is a well respected videographer who travels the world filming special projects. Nice. (Maybe he's really me in another life?--hence my quotation above)
I'm not really sure how he figured out who I am or why he asked me to join his social network, but when I checked out his social network site (which talked about what he does for a living) along with his email address (which is almost identical to mine), I realized the connection. (You realize, of course, that this could only happen in a digital world with palm-sized, time-warping transporter devices, right?)
Even more amazingly, the "other" Tim Tyson recently finished projects with the British Council about Global Schools Partnerships. Amazingly, the last year I was a school principal, the Director of Bilateral Programmes from the British Council came to visit my school. She was interested in setting up partnerships between the UK and my school. And now the other Tim Tyson is shooting video about these projects?! What are the odds, I ask—even demand?!
The multi-year-long bizarre mystery of the Tim Tyson emails has been solved! But I save the best for last...
2. Imagine getting an unexpected email from a former student who writes this sentence: "I have come to realize that doing what is comfortable or popular tends to be far less rewarding than doing what is right." Now, this young man is only 18! He apparently has become somewhat of an activist for issues related to respect and social justice "for historically marginalized groups." His efforts have earned him national recognition, honors, and some significant opportunities.
My first encounter with younger students who felt a moral imperative to act on issues of social justice came during the Ronald Reagan years. (To cut big government spending, Reagan eliminated funding for homeless shelters thereby forcing the homeless to literally live on the streets.) Shortly thereafter, one of my 8th grade students first saw homeless people in downtown Atlanta. He was from an affluent home and had no idea such a thing could exist in our country. He was outraged, and, as an 8th grader, on his own, took it upon himself to launch a letter-writing campaign to the Georgia governor to have the issue addressed.
I've known many such young people since then—all with an inner calling directing their efforts to make the world a better place. I celebrate all of these young people who, at a very early age, feel compelled to act for positive change.
Their lives color the world with hope.
* Yes, I stole that line from a tweet by Miles Kahn, a producer for The Daily Show. That's actually part of what he said about tonight's show. I laughed out loud when I read his tweet.
By Tim Tyson on January 28, 2010 6:21 AM
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I usually hate chain emails that are supposed to be funny but aren't. But every once in a while one comes along that is hysterical. Here is one:
You know the economy is bad when:
I ordered a burger at McDonald's and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"
If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.
A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.
Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.
The Mafia is laying off judges. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.
I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Lifeline. I got a call center in Pakistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.
By Tim Tyson on January 6, 2010 7:59 AM
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What sheer decadence! Sort of reminds me of the Tower of Babel. I wonder how many years will pass before the building is fully occupied! Never?
The world's tallest building, rising up to 828 meters to touch the clouds, Burj Dubai, is now open for business!
Burj Dubai was opened today in a ceremony, celebrating the fourth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum becoming Ruler of Dubai.
As Dubai struggles with the economic crisis, the 160-floor-skyscraper is seen as a window of opportunity to pick up things and attract more business.
Construction on Burj Dubai began back in 2004. It was developed by Emaar and constructed by Samsung Engineering & Construction.
The building will house 900 residences on floors 19 through 108. The observation deck is on Floor 124. Sky lobbies on Floors 43, 76 and 123 will have fitness facilities, swimming pools and Jacuzzis. It has a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani."
By Tim Tyson on December 5, 2009 1:20 PM
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A banker reminded me recently that capitalism creates more wealth than any other economic system. It just creates it very unevenly.
I think that it also treats disenfranchised people with little to no kindness at all--harkening back to that whole notion of "survival of the fittest." And as jobs have been outsourced abroad to those willing to work for wages well below what a typical American can sustain in the average American market, wage earning capacity is dropping to precipitous levels. I suspect that, rather than passing along cost savings to consumers, corporate execs have enhanced their own wealth aggregation with corporate jets, fat pensions and bonuses, etc.
I worry that the capitalist machinery of this nation has lost its moral compass, and the situation will only get worse. As markets explode in Asia, the fact that they are drying up here in the USA is of little concern to corporate America who sees a new cow fat for the slaughter house. Is it possible that, in time, America will in fact become the largest third world nation on earth as people lose their homes, their jobs, their spirit, their influence on democratic government, their voice, their access to news and critical information...
While in Ireland I noticed local villages took a very dim view of corporate ownership. "Buy local!" the signs read.
When you know the face of the wo/man who made/purchased the product or provided the service, it's more difficult to take advantage of her/him. You have an ancient social contract with them, as old as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Corporations have mastered the art of hiding their faces, have become inaccessible and unaccountable for their egregious conduct, are perpetuating a growing divide between those who have more than they will ever need and those who need just to survive.
I'm paying far more attention to my own purchasing habits. I want to "buy local" more than I want to support big box impersonal corporations whose first allegiance is to the bottom line. Doing so generally costs me a little more, but is this the price for taking better care of people, of attending to community?
By Tim Tyson on November 16, 2009 7:01 PM
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And let's set the record straight: George W. Bush and the Republican Party spent this nation into oblivion and bankruptcy by cutting taxes and spending the budget surplus and vast amounts of money on a needless, pointless war to make their buddies at Halliburton wealthy beyond belief. Nancy Pelosi had nothing to do with it at all. Those who say otherwise are ignorant and/or liars!
And these people didn't want their children to hear President Obama challenge children to do their best in school? These religious extremists are dangerous! They are the radicals that have already ruined the country! I feel so bad for their children.
A new conservative children's book titled Help! Mom! The Radicals Are Ruining My Country! prominently features Nancy Pelosi as an evil villain. Author Katharine DeBrecht, whom you may have seen on Fox News, explains:
"When Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House all we heard was how wonderful it was that a mother and grandmother rose through the ranks to such a position. In reality, that mother and grandmother has played an enormous role in ensuring that our children and grandchildren are shackled with debt for decades to come."
By Tim Tyson on November 7, 2009 5:34 PM
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The financial results have been nothing short of astounding -- for Apple and for Jobs. The company was worth about $5 billion in 2000, just before Jobs unleashed Apple's groundbreaking "digital lifestyle" strategy, understood at the time by few critics. Today, at about $170 billion, Apple is slightly more valuable than Google (GOOG, Fortune 500).
Its market share in personal computers was plummeting back then, and the cash drain was so severe that bankruptcy was a possibility. Now Apple has $34 billion in cash and marketable securities, surpassing the total market cap of rival Dell (DELL, Fortune 500). Macintoshes make up 9% of the PC market in the U.S. today, but that share is increasingly beside the point.
With 275 retail stores in nine countries, a 73% share of the U.S. MP3 player market, and the undisputed leadership position in innovation when it comes to mobile phones, Apple and its CEO are no one's idea of underdogs anymore.
In 2006 Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) paid $7.5 billion to acquire Pixar, the computer animation film studio Jobs had nurtured and controlled. Jobs, in turn, became a Disney director and the blue-chip company's largest shareholder. His net worth, solely based on his stakes in Apple and Disney, is about $5 billion. Other executives have had stellar decades but none can compare with Steve's.
I make the plea to return to small business models using anti-trust laws. This may be a less efficient business model, but it provides critically needed employment (jobs) and a social net that tends more to local people instead of just share holders.
A senior administration official said on Sunday that after extensive consultations with Treasury Department officials, Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would introduce legislation as early as this week. The measure would make it easier for the government to seize control of troubled financial institutions, throw out management, wipe out the shareholders and change the terms of existing loans held by the institution.
average daily circulation dropped 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month span in 2008. That was greater than the 7.1 percent decline in the October 2008-March 2009 period and the 4.6 percent drop in the April-September period of 2008.
And for a detailed graph of the circulation statistics of major US newspapers over the past 20 years, click here. It's horrifying!
Well, allow me to tell you why...
It costs a fortune to deliver a physical paper to your doorstep. Remember the milkman? Print newspaper is going to the same resting place.
Just yesterday I was lamenting that the LA Times is easily only 20% news copy and 80% advertising. What a foolish strategy. Nearly everyone has trained their eye to not even see the annoying noise on the page as they search for content.
From an ecological viewpoint, the print paper is a tremendous waist of natural resources. I frankly have no desire to receive the LA Time any more. I throw out (recycle) a huge amount of paper trash every week. What's the point? Why not save that entire workflow of waisted resources?!
The print paper is no longer a sustainable business model. Adding more advertising to make up for the lowered cost of advertising only increases my desire to see no advertising at all and makes me want to cease the print paper from arriving at my house entirely. I don't subscribe to the paper to see advertising. At 80% advertising, why do I subscribe to the paper at all?
Capitalism is based on a system of enlightened self-interest. The Gospel of Jesus is based on a system of enlightened other-interest. As such, they are diametrically opposed, and more than likely incompatible.
I took my money out of WaMu when it bellied up and was taken over by a bank that then had to receive bailout money. I wasn't fearful I would lose my money; I was outraged at banking mismanagement, abuse, greed, and more! Years ago I went to a single credit card with no fees that automatically pays itself off every month without my doing anything. More and more I avoid big box corporations for local businesses. I blog non-stop about this disgusting mess we're in. And I walk or cycle along the ocean every chance I get to stay sane.
But Michael's right. There are other things on this list I need to start doing--regularly!
FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:
1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. 2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. 3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. 4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like they have in North Dakota. 5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us--just like they do it in Sarah Palin's socialist Alaska*.
FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:
1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. ... Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. 2. Take over your local Democratic Party. 3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year -- or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! 4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there's more of us than there are of them!). Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place "Capitalism Did This" signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.) 5. Start your own media. You.
FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:
1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union. 2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one -- the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card. 3. Do not invest in the stock market. 4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. 5. Take care of yourself and your family.
* Yeah, isn't it ironic that Alaska really is the most socialist state in the union!!! (For those that don't know, in Alaska you have no taxes and the state sends every resident a check every year from the oil revenue!)
"For the first time in more than 35 years, the U.S. military has met all of its annual recruiting goals, as hundreds of thousands of young people have enlisted despite the near-certainty that they will go to war.
I am delighted to report that United Airlines lost a whopping 21% last quarter! I couldn't be happier after the way they treated me: charging me more for my bag to return home than they charged for the entire ticket. I swore then, and I have gone out of my way to keep this promise, I will never fly on United again--even when it has been less convenient for me.
The US airlines that created the largest, most redonkulous and abusive fees this year lost the most money last quarter. Airlines with low or no fees lost the least.
But I'll tell you a few other reasons why the airlines are bleeding revenue. Have you flown lately? Flying is nothing short of misery, literal, true misery.
The seats are so jammed in close to one another seating is actually unsafe in my opinion.
The flights are consistently overbooked making every single seat occupied.
The airlines still run horrible delays even with far fewer flights.
Advertisements abound--even on the tray tabletops on some airlines.
Going through security is frequently absurdly time consuming and demeaning. I've seen literally hundreds of passengers in one line when the airport had the equipment for 6 lines! This week they repeatedly yell at everyone to put their shoes in the tray. Next week they yell at everyone to take their shoes out of the tray and place them on the belt.
And then, let's talk about badly behaved children who are too young to even be on the plane...
Meet Owen, and yes, that's his real name.
As we boarded the flight, Owen, who was probably between two and three years of age, was being held by his mother in the seat across the aisle and immediately behind me. He distinguished himself immediately. His mother couldn't keep him in her lap. Owen was screaming. He wanted to roam around I guess. His screaming grew louder and became unbearable.
The pilot refused to take off with the child in such an unruly state, so the stewardess came back and told the mother that the father had to come up and trade seats with her to keep their little precious under control, or we would just sit on the runway.
The father took the child, and all hell broke loose!! Owen began screaming louder than any child I've ever heard. Now, he wanted his mother. He screamed and screamed at the top of his lungs. He was spitting, gurgling, and sputtering mucous everywhere. He was kicking and twisting violently, literally non-stop. The man seated in front of Owen had to lean forward with his earphones on blasting music so loudly into his ears I could hear it across the aisle when Owen was forced to breathe. The stewardess said nothing to him probably thinking if he turned the music off, he would turn around and kill Owen behind him.
Owen's mother, seated somewhere in the back, began singing, as loudly as she could, in the hopes Owen would hear her (absolutely impossible), "Itsy Bitsy Spider" while the the child raged uncontrollably. The child screamed non-stop for over 30 minutes as loudly as he could--so loudly that he was losing his voice. His muscular father strained to keep the child in his arms. He was constantly kicking the seat of the man in front of him.
By this point, I was so angry, along with the other passengers, I was ready to take my phone out and shoot a video of this unimaginable scene--when, to everyone's horror, Owen defecated in his pants. The thick, inescapable smell permeated the entire plane. If the use of electronic devices had been permitted at the time this was going on, you would be watching a video of this outgrageous situation.
The tension on the plane was so thick you could touch it. Everyone was stone silent except for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and Owen's incessant gurgling and wailing.
When we reached 10,000 feet, the stewardess came back and told the father that this could not continue. I was shocked that Owen hadn't completely exhausted himself by now and collapsed. But he was going strong. I've seen very badly behaved children in my day, but I've never seen anything like this.
The stewardess suggested the mother take her daughter's place next to the father and hold Owen to see if this would calm him. The stewardess had to place herself between me and the father when he stood up with Owen to keep me from being kicked by the child.
When his mother took him, he finally collapsed in exhaustion. No one can offer me an excuse I will accept for this situation. It is completely, and in every way one can imagine, inexcusable. I was so angry about this situation, I had to wait over a week to publish this. Prior to today I was unwilling to sanitize the words I used to describe Owen.
So why are the airlines bleeding revenue? Few transportation experiences are as miserable. People are simply avoiding the horrid misery.
By Tim Tyson on October 13, 2009 10:01 AM
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Just a few weeks ago, I blogged again about my trip to Norway.
I wonder if previous generations of Americans feel the way I increasingly feel about the United States. I don't much like living here. This isn't the nation of my youth. More and more we allow the bullies, the thugs, the thieves to run rife in the media as if they speak for us all. We allow businesses to become "too big to fail" and play the labeling game with anyone who thinks people matter more than corporations.
Certainly my standard of living is not as high as my father's was.
The Norwegians have such a sensible world view. So do the Canadians. Well, the peoples of so many countries seem to better understand what matters than my fellow Americans.
The annual United Nations human development index, released today, names Norway the best country in which to live. The list of 182 countries is based on 2007 statistics on life expectancy, literacy, school enrollment, gross domestic product, and other criteria.
The top ten countries listed on the index are: Norway, Australia, Iceland, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Switzerland and Japan.
The United States ranks 13th, down one spot from last year.
By Tim Tyson on October 5, 2009 2:49 AM
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Throughout the years, I've alluded to the improbable collusion of the conservative church movement of my childhood and the economy of greed and the "it's all about me" unfettered capitalism that has broken the back of my country. But Michael's letter makes some excellent points that I would hope cause those of faith to pause and reflect on the serious breach between what we say we believe and what we do in our lives.
I've frequently heard, "WWJD?" But, what is the answer to that question? For real this time...
Friends,
I'd like to have a word with those of you who call yourselves Christians (Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Bill Maherists, etc. can read along, too, as much of what I have to say, I'm sure, can be applied to your own spiritual/ethical values).
In my new film I speak for the first time in one of my movies about my own spiritual beliefs. I have always believed that one's religious leanings are deeply personal and should be kept private. After all, we've heard enough yammerin' in the past three decades about how one should "behave," and I have to say I'm pretty burned out on pieties and platitudes considering we are a violent nation that invades other countries and punishes our own for having the audacity to fall on hard times.
I'm also against any proselytizing; I certainly don't want you to join anything I belong to. Also, as a Catholic, I have much to say about the Church as an institution, but I'll leave that for another day (or movie).
Amidst all the Wall Street bad guys and corrupt members of Congress exposed in Capitalism: A Love Story, I pose a simple question in the movie: "Is capitalism a sin?" I go on to ask, "Would Jesus be a capitalist?" Would he belong to a hedge fund? Would he sell short? Would he approve of a system that has allowed the richest 1 percent to have more financial wealth than the 95 percent under them combined?
I have come to believe that there is no getting around the fact that capitalism is opposite everything that Jesus (and Moses and Mohammed and Buddha) taught. All the great religions are clear about one thing: It is evil to take the majority of the pie and leave what's left for everyone to fight over. Jesus said that the rich man would have a very hard time getting into heaven. He told us that we had to be our brother's and sister's keepers and that the riches that did exist were to be divided fairly. He said that if you failed to house the homeless and feed the hungry, you'd have a hard time finding the pin code to the pearly gates.
I guess that's bad news for us Americans. Here's how we define "Blessed Are the Poor": We now have the highest unemployment rate since 1983. There's a foreclosure filing once every 7.5 seconds. 14,000 people every day lose their health insurance.
At the same time, Wall Street bankers ("Blessed Are the Wealthy"?) are amassing more and more loot -- and they do their best to pay little or no income tax (last year Goldman Sachs' tax rate was a mere 1 percent!). Would Jesus approve of this? If not, why do we let such an evil system continue? It doesn't seem you can call yourself a Capitalist and a Christian -- because you cannot love your money and love your neighbor when you are denying your neighbor the ability to see a doctor just so you can have a better bottom line. That's called "immoral" -- and you are committing a sin when you benefit at the expense of others.
When you are in church this morning, please think about this. I am asking you to allow your "better angels" to come forward. And if you are among the millions of Americans who are struggling to make it from week to week, please know that I promise to do what I can to stop this evil -- and I hope you'll join me in not giving up until everyone has a seat at the table.
Thanks for listening. I'm off to Mass in a few hours. I'll be sure to ask the priest if he thinks J.C. deals in derivatives or credit default swaps. I mean, after all, he must've been good at math. How else did he divide up two loaves of bread and five pieces of fish equally amongst 5,000 people? Either he was the first socialist or his disciples were really bad at packing lunch. Or both.
Silly capitalists! Looks like those pesky, truly leftist governments will clean the Right's clock. I mean, the economies of the socialist nations of Europe, our friends to our north, and communist China long ago recovered from the financial debacle we capitalists caused. Let's just go ahead and nuke 'em now! Whuduhyah say! Hmmm???
“The United States would be mistaken to take for granted the dollar’s place as the world’s predominant reserve currency,” the World Bank president, Robert B. Zoellick, said in a speech at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins. “Looking forward, there will increasingly be other options to the dollar.”
Great. So I'll get to live longer to suffer the buffoonery of Dubyuh! I'm elated.
New findings show that the Great Depression was actually good for U.S. health. Annual death rates declined during years of downturn and increased in years of expansion.
The findings could offer a silver lining to today's financial crisis.
The results reinforce earlier research showing recessions reduce mortality, but researchers didn't know whether the effect would hold through a full blown economic meltdown like the Great Depression.
Years ago I had an old VW Rabbit diesel that got 50 mpg. My previous cars all had a low fuel warning light. Not this little critter. And before she even hit the "E" that baby stopped on me twice! And when it ran out of gas, it just quit. Dead. No warning.
For this mess, we had plenty of warnings. But government didn't care. The wealthy were making big money off of a big gamble.
Oops! The toilet bowl flushed.
The budget situation today looks hugely worse than it did two years ago. The reason for the deterioration is not that the country has suddenly embarked on a massive new round of social spending, undertaken another major military adventure or even emptied the coffers through tax breaks. The reason that the deficit situation looks hugely worse than it did two years ago is that the $8 trillion housing bubble that had been driving the economy finally collapsed and threw the country into the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
In my mind, the Republican Party is not just complicit in this effort, they are responsible. George W. Bush thrust the nation into bankruptcy financially and morally. The Republican party is trying to fan the flames of anger and bullying behavior to hide the mess they created that is the true source of the middle class shriveling up.
Nancy has rightly challenged her colleagues to stop the bullying language that is more and more inciting irresponsible behavior before it leads to murder. If the Republicans do not rise to this challenge and continue this inflammatory language, they should be held accountable for their negligent and complicit conduct, the product of well orchestrated and well financed effort.
The Republican Fear Machinery has taken fear to a whole new level. This is the worst of America.
The average person in the US is mad as hell. They are powerless to affect change so they vent their anger any time and on anything they can: killing rampages, Tea Parties, pulling kids from schools because of the Nazi presidential speech, shouting and screaming over rational discussion in town hall meetings, blubbering about make-believe death panels, praying the president will die...
They're angry because they can't afford to live here any longer and there's nothing they can do about it. We're on our way to becoming the largest 3rd world nation on earth.
Why? Because millions of people are dropping out of the middle class every month and have to displace their sense of betrayal and distrust of corrupt, ineffectual government incapable of change because the greedy corporate talons run very, very deep.
Thanks Dubyuh. I'm not sure our nation will ever recover from the damage you and your administration did!
By Tim Tyson on August 19, 2009 8:05 AM
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Similar to lottery winners, with no financial prowess or discipline, most pro athletes go completely broke in less than 10 years after retirement. In fact, 60% of retired basketball players go broke in 5, and 78% of football players in 2! Athletes are forced to sell their homes, sell their championship rings, and file for bankruptcy.
By Tim Tyson on August 18, 2009 5:33 AM
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I get to meet and have engaging conversations with a number of amazingly bright people around the world as a result of my work. Today, on the way to the airport with Wayne was another such opportunity. Some noteworthy points from the conversation:
American society is built on three pillars: representative government (democracy), capitalism, and the Judeo-Christian ethic. After World War II perhaps the strongest pillar was democracy with an emphasis on civic responsibility.
Subsequently, democracy and civic responsibility has been overshadowed by capitalism, which has been elevated to the point of a religion focused on short term material gain in our modern culture. (He also added that the ultimate end of unfettered capitalism is one surviving corporation that has endured the fight of "survival of the fittest." Is that what we really want?)
Couple this with a significant shift in the original basis of the Judeo-Christian ethic: a move away from service to others, the golden rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you), and love/compassion to a new emphasis on the self, personal gain in both power over others and materialism.
I recently heard a minister at a wedding say that if you will put your trust in God, "he will bless you with material gain beyond your wildest imagination." A couple of days ago I read an article in the NY Times about a thriving religious empire that profits (at staggering levels) from prodding people's superstitions with the notion that the more you give to their ministry, the more God will give to you in these difficult financial times; therefore, you should sacrifice and do without to give to them. (What charlatans! I'm delighted their "ministry" is under investigation for fraud and tax evasion.)
Hopefully (but doubtfully) we have seen the end result of the horrific marriage of this distorted view of the Judeo-Christian ethic and unfettered capitalism--the collapse of the entire financial system in the United States with significant collateral damage to the financial infrastructure of the entire world. Interesting to me that the nations that all along controlled the greedy capitalist machinery of their economy have already seen economic recovery!
In the process of a small number of people in this nation becoming exceedingly rich, we have done long term damage to the financial health of the nation our children will inherit.
Are we really that selfish and evil as a people? I suspect so, as we continue to allow the same greed and selfishness to dominate the health industry rather than caring about the health and physical well being of the people in our nation.
But my favorite quotation from our conversation: "Challenge the status quo every chance you get."
By Tim Tyson on July 29, 2009 1:11 AM
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I was just recently in Atlanta. The construction that was underway when I left has just about all been completed. Buckhead looks great. The new construction along Peachtree looks spectacular. However, it appears that nothing is selling at all. The vast majority of the new properties appear, if not completely, then certainly mostly empty--even the high rise condos that were to start at 2 million. I suspect the banks have a lot of skyscrapers on their hands.
I saw a couple of condos that had gone to auction and the financing had fallen through. They are nice, and the price is almost half the price for which they were originally expected to sell. One of them is selling at about $100 per square foot! Still, I'm not convinced these would be good investment purchases during my lifetime. So much property remains available.
I also drove up to the mountain house in North Carolina. So quiet. So peaceful. And it is still about 15º cooler than Atlanta.
My last night in town, I stayed at the Ellis, downtown Atlanta. Very nice!
I was just in Atlanta. On the long flight I read Arianna Huffington's new book, Third World America. Now, before my conservative friends go off the deep end, this is not a book about left or right, about Democrat or Republican. This is a book about the assault on the middle class from both parties.
What sheer decadence! Sort of reminds me of the Tower of Babel. I wonder how many years will pass before the building is fully occupied! Never?
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