There was a time recently, when even a recession was unthinkable. The latest Republican budget had indicated more than a trillion dollars in new deficit spending — more than a trillion new growth dollars added to the economy.
Then came COVID-19.
The economy was crushed and continues to be crushed, by many trillions of dollars. How many? No one knows.
Months ago, I wrote that at least $7 trillion in new deficit spending would be needed to save the economy.
Now, it could take at least ten trillion dollars, probably much more.
Whatever the actual number, it definitely is far more than the three trillion the government already has voted in, and even that came from great pressure by the Democrats.
Yes, to prevent a recession, or even a depression, many more trillions are needed.
And then we read this:
Will Republicans doom Trump by declaring premature economic victory?
Ryan Cooper, THEWEEKFor the first time since the coronavirus pandemic struck, we now have a pretty decent jobs report.
There were 2.5 million new jobs in May, the biggest number recorded since statistics started being recorded in 1939.
The unemployment rate fell somewhat to 13.3 percent. Republicans were jubilant. “It’s a stupendous number. It’s joyous, let’s call it like it is. The Market was right. It’s stunning!” President Trump posted during his usual morning cable news live-tweet.
White House economic adviser Stephen Moore told the Washington Post‘s Jeff Stein that no more rescue was needed: “There’s no reason to have a major spending bill. The sense of urgent crisis is very greatly dissipated by the report.”
A Senate Republican aide added: “This definitively kills any chance of trillions of new spending.”
At the May rate, we will not reach the pre-crisis employment level for about eight months — or January of 2021.
But there is little reason to suspect even that will happen. The economic rescue payment has long passed, applications to the small business grant program will end at the end of June, and super-unemployment is set to expire at the end of July.
The gigantic austerity and layoffs from state and local governments will be a further ongoing drag on recovery.
And there it is, folks. The suicide pact between Donald Trump and the Republican party now is signed, sealed, and delivered.
The Republicans — Moscow Mitch McConnell, Bill Barr, Lindsey Graham, et al — eventually will disavow their allegiance to Trump, i.e. claim they never were his puppets. But it will be too late.
Belatedly, all but the most mindless of Trump’s followers will accept what they already know, but have not yet allowed themselves to see: Trump concentrates into one hideous body, all of the bad qualities possessed by the entire human race.
He single-handedly is destroying America.
Ironically, it is the Democrats who are calling for more growth trillions to be added to our economy. Seemingly, they are the sole party that actually cares about the futures of the planet, the nation, the states, and the people.
The Republicans care about the rich and votes, but will lose both by the time November rolls around.
Just as Donald Trump and the GOP are crowing about the current rebound from the deep depths to the shallower depths — a rebound which federal deficit spending made possible — the right-wing will try to distance themselves from the coming crash.
And if by some miracle, the GOP-led Senate adopts enough Democrat recommendations to cause even a tiny growth bump in our shattered economy, Trump and the GOP will crow about that, too.
But it will be too late. Too late for the economy, too late for Trump, too late for the GOP, and too late for suffering Americans.
Destroying is much easier than building. Trump and the trumpers will have destroyed what was America, and only an heroic effort by people of wisdom and vision could have any chance to rebuild us.
The irony of Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again,” will not be lost.
Later, in an amazing display cluelessness, the rich will demand tax increases — on the poor, of course — to “pay for” the deficits.
Blackrock, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Finkwarned clients on a call last week that the U.S. will have to raise taxes to pay for the emergency economic rescue.
Ray Dalio, founder of the investment management firm Bridgewater Associates LP told JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private-banking clients to expect higher tax rates no matter who wins November’s race for the White House.
The above are examples of the rich “grooming the public” for tax increases (together with new tax avoidance mechanisms available only to the rich).
The truth is: Our Monetarily Sovereign federal government has no need for taxes. Even if all federal tax collections totaled $0, the federal government could continue deficit spending forever.
Federal tax collects fall most heavily on the not-rich. Even corporate taxes batter the employees and the customers, far more than any effect on rich corporate executives.
In summary:
- The current administration will cause a depression by telling the Big Lie, that federal deficits are “unsustainable.
- Trump will take no blame, but will boast about any slight uptick in the long fall.
- During the depression, the Gap between the rich and the rest will widen.
- Poverty will increase dramatically.
- Desperate workers will be forced to accept the worst jobs at the worst pay under the worst conditions.
- The very rich will grow richer.
And the public will wonder how this could have happened.
Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.
The most important problems in economics involve:
- Monetary Sovereignty describes money creation and destruction.
- Gap Psychology describes the common desire to distance oneself from those “below” in any socio-economic ranking, and to come nearer those “above.” The socio-economic distance is referred to as “The Gap.”
Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics. Implementation of Monetary Sovereignty and The Ten Steps To Prosperity can grow the economy and narrow the Gaps:
Ten Steps To Prosperity:
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
5. Salary for attending school
6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually.
8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
9. Federal ownership of all banks
10.Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9%
The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.
MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY
#Monetary Sovereignty - Mitchell 
Indeed, unless we implement enough direct monetary gifting to the individual, enough fiscal spending to keep the economy in free flow and reduce any possibility of inflation with a 50% discount to every consumer item and service at retail sale that is rebated back to the enterprise gifting that discount to consumers.
Beneficial price and asset deflation: the end of economic orthodoxies on all sides and the next mega paradigm change.
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If your summary ends up correct, then I would argue the Republicans are doing exactly what they need to do to achieve their actual goals and serve their actual (and only) constituents.
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You are correct, if you look at the short term. But IF it costs them the Presidency and the Senate, then they will have failed.
Many “ifs,” but it gets to a more basic question for Republicans. Why did you decide to become a politician?
Democrats likely would answer that question with noble reasons. But how would Republicans answer? “To achieve power”? “To enrich myself”? “To protect the white race from minorities and foreigners”?
Fundamentally, the Democrats try to protect the poor from the rich. The Republicans try to protect the rich from the poor. I wonder how many understand that.
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There are clearly one hell of a lot of poor Republican voters who understand nothing of that. Or maybe LBJ had it completely right:
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
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That’s an example of Gap Psychology
(https://mythfighter.com/2018/03/20/gap-psychology-is-everywhere-in-your-life/)
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Concerns about the national debt never are supported with facts. They always are expressed with such generalities as “too high,” “unsustainable,” and “not prudent.”
The facts: The so-called “debt,” isn’t a typical debt at all. It’s just the total of deposits into T-security accounts, which are “paid off” every day simply by returning the dollars to the depositors.
In short, the “debt” is a meaningless bogeyman, used by the rich to scare the rest of us.
The people are suffering now. But the GOP feels no time pressure. The rich want to sit back and wait, while you suffer.
What is the magic of $1 trillion? There is none. It’s just more of the irrational, debt-fear mongering designed to keep the middle and poor down. Keep this is mind: THE FEDERAL DEBT IS NOT A THREAT, not to you, not to me, not to anyone.
The federal government has infinite dollars, doesn’t need or use taxes, and could end this recession today if it wished.
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As I’ve said before, I love your economics but your politics is murkey. You are 100% right about the Republicans but you have a huge blind spot when it comes to the democrats.
When they were constructing the cares act bill the democrats had all the leverage in the world to adequately fund small business and the working class. Instead, they signed off on a bill that gave the wealthy a free $6 trillion dollars and left everyone else with crumbs.
You can’t be so naive to think that Pelosi and Trump aren’t making behind closed door deals. It’s all a charade. She gave him more military money than he asked for, money for his wall, and an extension of the Patriot act allowing Trump to continue these insane wars, unconstitutional surveillance, and his goddamn wall!
Trump is a pompous ass but what he does as a president is normal. Barack Obama sold us out and that’s why we have Trump! Instead of single payer medicare we got Romney care even though he owned the senate and the house.
He’s the one that built the cages for the illegal immigrants and at the same time deported more illegals than any president. He prosecuted more whistle blowers than all of the presidents combined before him.
He bombed 7 countries relentlessly, even killing two American citizens. He single-handedly destroyed Libya, kept us in Afghanistan, overthrew governments in Honduras and Ukraine, started a proxy war in Lybya, surrounded Russia with heavy artillary, sanctioned Russia, and threw out all of their diplomats with the phony claim and no evidence of them interfering in our election.
He prosecuted not one wall street criminal but bailed them out while kicking 8 million families out of there homes. He did nothing for the people in Flint, Michigan and did nothing to stop the police brutality that was rampant on his watch.
And finally, He pushed the TPP which was Nafta on steroids with a vengeance as a parting gift to corporate America and Wall Street, the people that owned him. And now they are paying him back in $400,000 speeches.
For the last three years, all the democrats have done is push a phony narrative of bogus, dangerous Russia Gate looking like idiots when it turned out there was nothing there except the dirty work of the FBI conspiring to help the democrats in their lust to impeach psycho Trump.
Added to that was their impeachment of Trump over a dumb ass business as usual phone call with the Ukraine president where he did nothing illegal, only the appearance of illegality. Yep, you have the Republicans number, but you sure are chumped by the democrats.
You can do better. I won’t waste more space listing all of the sins of Joe Biden. It would take too long. I’ll just say that if you want to know what kind of person pervert Joe is, just look at Trump. Same guy, only a bit more subtle. Don’t be fooled, it isn’t good for any of us!
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Thanks Anthony,
You may be new to this site. When Obama was President, I criticized his weaknesses and for being the “deporter-in-chief.”
He also was completely clueless about economics. He favored a balanced budget and claimed the federal government should “live within its means.” He even set up a commission to accomplish those disastrous objectives, which set the economy back several years.
Obama was a weak, economically ignorant compromiser, when the nation needed a strong, informed leader. But by comparison with Trump, Obama was a saint.
When a President urging a FOREIGN LEADER to investigate a political opponent is considered “business as usual” we will have fallen a long way down the path of accepting traitors as being normal.
As for the Republicans, I never, in my 85 years, have seen such a mean-spirited, dishonest, lacking compassion, anti-poor group of politicians. Most politicians are just selfish and ignorant, but the current GOP is criminally mean. They are one small step above Nazis.
And they are so incompetent, they were unable to come up with a replacement for Obamacare, even when they had a GOP Congress and a GOP President who announced he would have signed any bill put on his desk. Mean and incompetent; what a combination.
About the best thing I can say about Joe Biden is he is not Donald Trump, but that is good enough. Trump is a Hitler wannabe.
In politics, we often are faced with accepting the lesser of two evils. I personally, would vote for my next-door neighbor over Trump, and I don’t even know my next-door neighbor.
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If you don’t think what Trump did in his conversation with the president of Ukraine wasn’t business as usual than you apparently haven’t followed U.S. policy very well over your 85 years. The Obama administration, and especially Joe Biden, should have been investigated by the DOJ in concert with the Ukranian government. Stupid Trump went about it all wrong. And you are naive to think that the conversation like the one Trump had was out of the ordinary. Give me a break. Obama and Biden committed war crimes in Ukraine by aiding and abetting a coup which toppled a democratically elected government using Nazi elements to do it. How do you think Bo got his position on the board of the most corrupt corporation in Ukraine? Did you miss the Clarence Thomas hearings that Joe Biden presided over in which he allowed the humiliation of Anita Hill? Do you know that Delaware is the Camin Islands of the U.S. where Biden has been senator for decades? Do you know he headed the foreign relations committee hearings leading up to the war in Iraq and purposely did not allow those not in favor of going to war testify before that committee and cheer leaded for the war as loud as the Bush cabal? And even six months after the war he said it was the right thing to do after upwards to 1 million Iraq’s had been murdered over a pack of USA lies? That he was one of the main architects of the crime bill? Or that he helped author a bill making it nearly impossible for someone to be relieved of a college loan in bankruptcy? A guy who never saw a war he didn’t like? That he is on tape bragging about his quid pro quo with the Ukraine government at the Council on Foreign Relations? I could go on.
You missed the point. If you look at all of Trumps dealings, personality aside, his corrupt policies are no different than Bush, Clinton, Bush jr., and Obama. Get a clue about who is and has been running our country, it’s not the president (s). The Billionaire class owns both parties, just do a little research and see where they get their campaign money. Can you really say that the Clinton’s are less corrupt or dangerous than Donald Trump? They all work for the same people my friend. You can find them at Davos and the World Economic Forum. If you really wanted to give some sound advice, you would be telling your readers to boycott, both, the Republican and Democrat parties. It’s not to late to open your eyes and admit it is a two party partnership, one big club, as George Carlin said, and you’re not in it!
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Got it. Since all politicians are crooked, it’s O.K. for Trump to be really, really, really (Trump University, Trump Foundation, 5 bankruptcies, 4,000 lawsuits) crooked. So why worry, right?
Interesting that when anyone talks about Trump’s lying and incompetence, Trumpers never can defend Trump. Instead, they say, “Well, Clinton told lies, and Obama was incompetent.”
In short, lying and incompetence are OK, because everyone on earth lies, and everyone is incompetent.
Trumpers wish people to believe there is no difference between someone committing a crime and someone committing 18,000 crimes. That’s your “his corrupt policies are no different than Bush, Clinton, Bush jr., and Obama” comment.
There you are wrong. The difference is in quantity. A serial criminal is worse. A serial liar is worse. Serial infidelity is worse than a one-night stand.
Sadly, Trump is a psychopath. There are 20 criteria in the Robert Hare Checklist of Psychopathy Symptoms (See: https://mythfighter.com/2019/07/28/a-psychopath-slipped-into-the-white-house/). Everyone displays a few of those criteria, but Trump displays them all. That is what makes him worse.
As for an American politician trying to subvert a foreign government, that is completely different from asking a foreign government to interfere with the American government. The former is world politics. The latter is traitorous.
Please stop claiming that Trump is no different from previous presidents. You know it isn’t true, so don’t say it. That is just trumpery.
And then there’s this:
Trump reportedly wanted to fire his defense secretary after he broke with the president over sending combat troops to subdue protests
Not only does Trump want to violate the Constitution and turn America into a dictatorship ruled by the military, but he fires all the good people and brings in lackeys, again and again and again. Is this also “politics as usual”?
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Rodger is completely correct here. The ‘What aboutism” that people use in regard to Trump is a failure of rational distinction, and is a technique right out of the amoralist fascist handbook.
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Sad. I gave the evidence, there is nothing for me to say except I wish people would be honest, and acknowledge the sins of both parties, especially journalists but that’s not going to happen.
You can vote for your democratic party which is drenched in blood, and I will vote third party. I refuse to be an accomplice for these psychopathic/sociopathic killers, be it Biden or Trump.
You are supporting an immoral corrupted to the core party just as anyone who supports the Republicans. Sorry, I won’t have it. If people would wake up and start voting third party maybe there could be some incremental change. There is also a thing in Psychology called “denial.”
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You can vote 3rd party, 4th party, or the Anthony Riggio party. It’s just a thrown away vote. I consider votes too precious to throw away.
During my life, there have been zero great Presidents. Johnson came closest — until Vietnam. Too bad.
Two poor choices, I agree. But take the lesser of two evils and make your vote count. Or just stay home and wait for “people to wake up,” for all the difference it will make.
By the way, who is the 3rd party candidate who meets your requirements? Just curious.
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I supported Jill Stein last time and will probably vote Howie Hawkins of the Green party. They have been negotiating with Jesse Ventura who would like to run but the conditions within the party have to be right. It would be nice to see a party reach the 5% mark so they can get on the debate stage next time around. Seeing that the Dems and Pubs run the elections (more corruption) it is near impossible to compete. If all of the people who said that it is a wasted vote, another mantra started by the insiders and then all of the sheep repeating it, would have voted 3rd party, a Jill Stein or a Ralph Nader or even say a Ross Perot may have been able to do something. The table could have been set over the years but for the same old story going back for decades which is, “You’re wasting your vote.” In my mind, it’s all of the people who shunned Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, or Jill Stein and voted Blue or Red that wasted their votes. And they will continue to waste them. None of what I have said has been in any way to defend Donald Trump. I think he is a despicable person and certainly, as your psychological assessment shows, a Narcissistic Psychopath. But then again, so was Hillary. When Julian Assange was asked who he preferred, Hillary or Trump, his apt response was, “that would be like having to choose between cholera or syphilis.” So once again, the American public will be choosing between one disease or the other. As an aside, if the dems were smart, they would oust Schummer and Pelosi.
Anyway, nothing personal; I respect your wisdom and knowledge and wouldn’t even be bothering with this if you weren’t a person who was thoughtful and concerned. And I do appreciate the opportunity to be able to express myself in an intelligent forum. Many sites would sensor my opinions since they are contrary, and wouldn’t even have published my replies. Thank you.
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Do you understand Jill Stein’s economic policies?
I must admit to ignorance on that, but from what I recall she was anti-military, pro-tax, anti-deficit, but wanted to spend on many liberal goals which would have increased taxes, not just on the rich, but on the middle. As I recall, she wanted a big (useless) tax on a relatively modest inheritance. In short, she was on the extreme end of liberalism combined with economic ignorance.
Even Dumb Donald is going along with deficit spending to grow the economy.
Since she opposes the two major parties, it would be good if she could win an election for something, somewhere, and use that position as a base for proving she could govern rather than just propose and complain. Until then, she is just a female Don Quixote, no better than me.
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She had the same platform phony Bernie had except she understands foreign policy, which Bernie hasn’t a clue. She is anti-war, pro single payer, and pro education. She promoted spending Fed money on main street, not wall street. She was against raising taxes on the middle class.
She did not take corporate money. Not sure about her knowledge of MMT, don’t remember it coming up. But let’s face it, what democrat or republican gets it anyway? She’s very progressive and open minded so my guess is that she would have entertained being schooled on MS. Anyway, her economic policies could not possibly be more retarded than the dems or pubs. Being that she is an MD who genuinely cared about health care was refreshing. Just to get people like her on the stage to challenge the dems and pubs ideology would be beneficial.
Wow, you deleted Ms. Acosta. You could have just deleted the F you. She definitely knew what she was talking about. I hope you will change your mind and put her comments back up. Kind of a bad look. Sensorship?
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I have deleted no one. Did a comment disappear? What did it say?
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So, So sorry!! Confused this with another post. Please accept my apologies.
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As you yourself admit third parties are a waste. Politicians never lead, they must be pushed. That is why mass social movements are the correct political tools. Think Gandhi and MLK, Jr.
Rodger’s 10 guide line policies are excellent all we really need to do is include a 50% discount/rebate policy at the point of retail sale in order to enable their political efficacy. Why? Because that single policy integrates the self interests of the traditionally opposed political constituencies of labor and management.
A 100% increase in individual purchasing power translates into a potential 100% increase in business revenue after all. Almost miraculously, it also integrates beneficial price and asset DE-flation into profit-making economic systems which undoes the thinking of every economic orthodoxy.
If you don’t have to worry about unemployment due to a $1000/mo. universal dividend which enables you to purchase $24k goods and services with the 50% discount/rebate policy and inflation is utterly eliminated by a 50% discount to every consumer good or service, then taxes for unemployment insurance, welfare and even social security become completely redundant.
And what fool would turn down a $2000/mo. purchasing power universal dividend for life for the hope of getting less than that after they’ve worked 45 years?
We must address the real underlying problem which is the monetary, financial and hence economic paradigm of Debt Only….and launch a movement communicating the benefits of the new paradigm. THAT will get political traction.
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Sure. And how many decades have you been preaching that idea? Biden, Schummer, and Pelosi ain’t gonna do it and you can take that to the bank!
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Who will?
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Virtually every individual and every commercial business model except finance….if we begin a mass socio-economic and political movement to implement the policies of the new monetary and financial paradigm of Direct and Reciprocal Monetary Gifting. wisdomicsblog.com Systems were made for Man, not Man for Systems.
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I must admit to not understanding your comment. So I looked up the link you provided and found this:
“Social Credit/Wisdomics/Gracenomics/ Gracientialism
Capitalism’s driving force is power and control, Socialism’s is actually the same. Direct Monetary Distributism’s driving force when aligned with the new monetary paradigm of Direct and Reciprocal Monetary Gifting and its equally aligned policies would be grace as in both benevolence and sovereign power. Grace is the pinnacle concept of every one of the world’s major wisdom traditions, is the unitary power of love in action and is the only concept that, self actualized, can effectively unite the opposites of benevolence and sovereignty. Mankind is shaped by its culture. An economy with its ever present-ness in everyone’s life, based on grace, is precisely the cultural instrument needed to lift humanity out of its long adolescence and enslavement by the paradigm of Debt Only.”
Now I really don’t understand it. Sounds mystical.
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Rodger,
I am not an orthodox religious person in any way. When I use the term grace I always mean it in a self actualized natural philosophical sense. Mystic experiences are entirely natural direct experiences of one’s self awareness and the moment that are too often attended by culturally pre-scientific dogmas (or rejected by a reactionary scientific mindset) and colored by unresolved confusions.
Religion is often a narcissistic phenomenon. Wisdom is both contemplative and temporally active ethical behavior.
Wisdomics-Gracenomics is the title of my book, and the seamless economic application of the new paradigm of grace as in Monetary Gifting. Its three basic policies of a universal dividend and two 50% discount/rebate policies, one at retail sale and the other at the point of note signing for big ticket items and for green consumer products and are aligned with your 10 structural policies.
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Sorry, I still don’t get it, undoubtedly due to my ignorance. Much good luck with your book.
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