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GREED III

Jeopardy

by Julian Edney

Cheating and corruption widespread and widely accepted today. Mandeville’s theory, inspiration for Adam Smith, argued crime and corruption are good for the economy. Is a society ever under control? Ferguson’s theory: societies cannot be steered; but greed and love of luxury always predict national decline. Malthus’s essay, with contempt. Inspiration for Darwin, it established the suffering of the poor as a good. The modern disappearance of the common good: Ayn Rand in our crosshairs. She vigorously campaigned for selfishness and for the demolition of the common good, and her ideology saturates modern policy making. Materialism: research establishes its threat to family values and to the individual. The zero-sum debate. An American theory explaining how the wealthy enrich themselves at the expense of the poor: Henry George explained how progress produces poverty. Recent research shows that social inequality kills. In cities or nations with marked social inequality, there is less happiness, more violence, shorter life expectancies. The discovery of a class living sub-poverty. The rich now retreating into gated communities.





After thirty years of deregulation, cutting back social programs and promoting free market ways, elements of a frontier-style economy are reappearing in America. The profit line, and uncertainty, rule. This, according to Peter Gosselin, is the result of the laissez-faire ideal which has been promoted since the 1970s and was accelerated under President Reagan (1). Its drive to privatize and to lighten government has been so effective as to change the way we earn our living. Americans now find their personal finances going through wild swings. Work has become precarious.

More Americans find they cannot rely on their employers. Some, even executives, suffer layoffs in cycles. To stay employed, many have to change their line of work four or five times in a lifetime. At the same time support and retraining programs have been scaled back, and the worker has to dig into his own pocket to finance these layoffs. In the past he might have appealed to his union for support, but union power is at low ebb. There is little security and even less sympathy for today’s workers, with fewer companies paying medical insurance, and no honor for time served. Pensions are a crap shoot.

Free marketers proudly point: there is freedom in this new volatility. It is a more open system so each person can rise on his merit. But these personal boom-and-bust cycles leave less in the bank. Caught in a downdraft, with rent or mortgage still due, the worker must borrow. Across the nation, personal debt is up.

This unpredictability breeds anxiety; survival means a short-term mindset.

Grab what you can, while you can.

http://www.g-r-e-e-d.com/GREED.htm
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Mr. Cut and paste at it again.

This is the worst yet.

What do you want PBA? The government to take over your life?

Everytime the government gets involve the situation gets worse.

For example my parents are on medicare. It is a nightmare to contact medicare to get anything done. Something we have to deal with when we get national health care.
quote:
Originally posted by skymaster:
Mr. Cut and paste at it again.

This is the worst yet.

What do you want PBA? The government to take over your life?

Everytime the government gets involve the situation gets worse.

For example my parents are on medicare. It is a nightmare to contact medicare to get anything done. Something we have to deal with when we get national health care.


Wrong, everytime corporate fascist gets involved, the situation gets worse. T. Roosevelt was smart enough to see this and intervened, FDR was smart enough, (and loved his country enough) to make government work for the people.
In later years, Republicans have tried to tell us how bad government can be, and when they are elected, they actually show us.
Your folks can't talk to Medicare because Republicans have gotten rid of everybody who was there to help. Needed that money to wage unjust war .
quote:
Originally posted by PBA:
excelman is a true American who sees out of both eyes instead of one. He hears with both ears. I would say excelman is in the center and a good place to be. skymaster,Why don't you debate me or excelman?


He's not going to debate you. He has just enough sense to know he is stupid.
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.


September 11 Freedom Walk

New Majority Leader: Iraq War “May Be The Greatest Gift That We Give” Our Grandchildren

Headstones of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are inscribed with the Pentagons war-marketing slogans

White House and the RNC are going to make a habit of using uniformed military personnel as props at Republican political rallies, despite the fact that it is a plain violation of military regulations banning politicization of the armed forces.

"You must glorify war in order to get the public to accept the fact that your going to send their sons and daughters to die." The inside story of the cozy relationship between big box office American war movies and the Pentagon


2.Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

One of the worst things you'll ever read about your government
We are now a torturing police state: Bush signing into law that will get rid of habeas corpus, allow hearsay evidence, and allow the President to determine what is allowable torture.
Bush Offers Himself Amnesty for Human Rights Crimes
Bush threatens to veto $442b defense bill if Congress investigates detainee abuses.
Guantanamo Judge: “I don’t care about international law. I don’t want to hear the words ‘international law’ again. We are not concerned with international law.”
Rumsfeld to approve new guidelines that will formalize the administration's policy of imprisoning without the protections of the Geneva Conventions and enable the Pentagon to legally hold "ghost detainees,"
US 'preparing to detain terror suspects for life without trial'
U.S. oks evidence gained through torture
July 1, 2003: U.S. Suspends Military Aid to Nearly 50 Countries: because they have supported the International Criminal Court and failed to exempt Americans from possible prosecution.
US has at least 9000 prisoners in secret detention

Read more! click link.
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

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