Chicago Tribune: Propagandizer for the rich.

Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

We often have told you that most of your sources of information have been bribed by the rich:

—Politicians are bribed by campaign contributions and promises of lucrative employment later
—Economists are bribed by contributions to universities and “think tank” employment
—The media are bribed by rich ownership.

The Chicago Tribune’s ownership is big — and rich. How rich?

Wikipedia: Tribune Publishing Company is an American newspaper and print media publishing company based in Chicago, Illinois.

Among other publications, the company’s portfolio includes the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, Sun-Sentinel [South Florida], The Baltimore Sun, The Morning Call [Allentown, Pennsylvania], Hartford Courant, and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

It also publishes several local newspapers in these metropolitan regions, which are organized in subsidiary groups.

It is the nation’s third-largest newspaper publisher (behind Gannett, and The McClatchy Company), with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids located throughout the United States.

That’s rich.

If you read the Tribune, you know it is solid red, from its front page to its back. More importantly, it disseminates “The Big Lie” with a gusto even Fox News must admire.

Today, they went all in and doubled down on the false narrative of right wing’s “The Big Lie”:

Marco Rubio for the GOP, but no endorsement for either Democrat
The Editorial Board

Of the hundred explanations for what now motivates the electorate, the best we’ve seen comes from political scientist Charles Murray writing in The Wall Street Journal:

The Republicans

The central truth of Trumpism as a phenomenon is that the entire American working class has legitimate reasons to be angry at the ruling class.

During the past half-century of economic growth, virtually none of the rewards have gone to the working class.

The real family income of people in the bottom half of the income distribution hasn’t increased since the late 1960s.

During the same half-century, American corporations exported millions of manufacturing jobs (and) the federal government allowed the immigration, legal and illegal, of tens of millions of competitors for the remaining working-class jobs.”

Part of the right wing’s “Big Lie” is to claim that immigrants are competitors for jobs but amazingly, immigrants supposedly are not consumers who create jobs.

It is utter nonsense, of course, but the beat-down 99%ers want scapegoats for their misery, and who is better suited than powerless, brown-skinned people?

(The right doesn’t object to white immigrants any more, though Jews, Italians, Germans, Japanese, Irish and Catholics have in the past, felt the sting of xenophobic bigotry.)

Many of the voters rallying to Sanders helped put Barack Obama in the White House, but doing so didn’t bring them much hope, much change.

Many Trump and Cruz supporters voted Republicans into control of Congress on promises of smaller, cheaper and less intrusive government, only to watch the national debt top $19 trillion-with-a-T.

Note the deceptive language: “Many of the voters rallying to Sanders helped put Barack Obama in the White House, but doing so didn’t bring them much hope, much change.”

You’re supposed to believe Sanders is the same as Obama.

The phrase “many of the voters” is a slick liar’s device. Hey, many of the Obama voters drive fast, take drugs, eat carrots and voted Republican in their states and cities, and that didn’t bring them much hope, much change, either.

Were eating carrots or voting Republican in local elections the cause?

And no right wing screed is allowed to make print without the fake concern about the U.S. debt — a debt that has increased 9,000% in the past 75 years, with no ill effects.

In fact, the ill effects have come when the debt has been reduced.

By the way, note how it was Trump and Cruz supporters, but not Rubio supporters, who voted Republicans into office. The Tribune Editorial Board can’t even lie consistently.

•The party of Abraham Lincoln finds itself with a front-runner (Trump)who has gone out of his way to anger world leaders, giant swaths of the American public and people of other lands who aspire to immigrate here legally. And to what end, other than self-aggrandizement?

•The best argument mainstream Republicans make for Cruz is that he might be able to sideline Trump. Cruz cannot process shades of gray. The same inability to compromise that has gridlocked Washington has left Cruz all but friendless in the U.S. Senate. What’s more, the multiple ethical offenses of his staff have fed pre-existing suspicion that Cruz would do or say anything to win this nomination.

•John Kasich’s expansion of Ohio’s Medicaid program earned him cred as a compassionate conservative. And we appreciate how he erased an Illinois-scale budget deficit and inflated Ohio’s rainy-day fund from 89 cents (true) to $2 billion. But Kasich hasn’t been able to put together the national campaign we expected.

We get it and we agree. Trump is a liar, a carnival barker and as qualified to be President of the United States as jailed TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau.

Cruz is a narrow-minded, rigid bigot, who would have no business running a multi-belief mixing bowl like the U.S.

And Kasich is a good “compassionate conservative,” — but only when he acts like a liberal.

•Many Republicans seem not to have noticed Rubio’s fundamental GOP message of opportunity and uplift.

Is that like Obama’s message of “hope and change” — which you hate?

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation calculated that the tax plan Rubio floated with Sen. Mike Lee would raise after-tax incomes for the bottom 10 percent of earners by 44 percent, chiefly viTV pitchman Kevin Trudeau a expanded credits.

Spending limits, line-item veto, a balanced-budget amendment — all Rubio policy pillars.

Crucially, his foreign affairs expertise vastly exceeds that of his rivals.

We like his youth, his bilingual fluency and the fact that he isn’t one more Republican who’s been standing in line, awaiting his turn to run.

What Republicans did notice is that he was paid to be in the Senate and never showed up, and neither invented nor even voted for the tax plan that was created by Sen. Lee.

An two of those three policy pillars — spending limits, a balanced-budget amendment — would starve the country of money at a time when it is short of money.

The third — line-item veto — would so switch the balance of power to the President, that we might as well do away with Congress. (Yes, yes, I know. But, joking aside, it’s a bad idea.)

We have no idea where the absent Marco Rubio received his “foreign affairs expertise,” but yes, he hasn’t been standing in line awaiting his turn to run.

In fact, he hasn’t been standing anywhere. Surely not in the Senate, a job for which he received six figures and did virtually nothing.

And, he’s young. So is Justin Bieber. Hasn’t the Tribune learned: Never send a boy to do a man’s job?

The Democrats

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are welcome to pander however feverishly they wish, promising vast new expenditures by a federal government already committed to wildly more spending than its taxpayers and its low-growth economy can afford.

Except that federal taxpayers don’t pay for federal spending.

Earlier, the Tribune observed: “During the past half-century virtually none of the rewards have gone to the working class. The real family income of people in the bottom half of the income distribution hasn’t increased since the late 1960s.”

Now, when Democrats offer to provide the working class with their well-deserved rewards, and to increase the bottom half’s income distribution, the Tribune describes this as “pandering.”

Hey boys, get your story straight. Either you want to help the working class or you don’t. Or do you want to help only if the Republicans find a way to do it — which they never do.

And now “The Big Lie” makes its full-blown entrance:

Sanders first amused Americans who know their fiscal math with proposals for free college tuition, expanded Social Security, $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, “Medicare for all”

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calculates that his economic plans would push the top federal tax rate to about 77 percent.

And, “When state and local taxes are included, the top rate rises to an average of about 85 percent (nationwide) ….”

To term the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (Maya MacGuineas, President; Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson board members) “nonpartisan,” is akin to claiming David Duke is black.

I won’t belabor the truth that unlike state and local taxes, which pay for state and local spending, federal taxes do not pay for federal spending.

The federal government uniquely is Monetarily Sovereign and never, never unintentionally can run short of dollars. Never.

In fact, even if all federal taxation fell to $0, the federal government could continue spending forever.

The rich owners of the Chicago Tribune don’t want you and the rest of the 99% to know this, because then you’ll realize the government can and should provide universal healthcare insurance, free college and other benefits to our poorer Americans.

That would narrow the Gap between you and the rich — the very last thing the rich want.

So benefits to you, me and the rest of the 99% are called “pandering” by the rich, who already have the “stuff,” the right wing likes to denigrate.

If you like window-shopping at the Lamborghini dealership on Sundays, when no salespeople are around to check your credit, then you’ll enjoy the bounty of Free Stuff that Clinton and Sanders promise to provide.

Get it? For you to receive good health care is like shopping for a Lanborghini. How dare you?

And here is a bit more of “The Big Lie.”

Clinton’s serial diminishment during the Iowa caucuses campaign of the crisis menacing Social Security — “depletion of total trust fund reserves” in 2034, the system’s trustees warn — edges her toward the Cruz zone of doing or saying anything to win this nomination.

Now repeat after me: There is no Social Security trust fund. Never has been. The federal government neither needs nor uses trust funds.

In fact, I’ll tell you a little secret: The federal government has no funds at all.

Don’t believe me? Then try to find out how much money the federal government has. Ask your Senators; ask your Representative; look it up on Wikipedia; search all government web sites.

Ask them all the simple question: “How much money does the federal government have?”

You and I need a source of money in order to pay our bills. By contrast, the federal government creates money by paying bills.

I works like this: To pay a creditor, the federal government agencies send instructions (not dollars) to the creditor’s bank, instructing the bank to credit the creditor’s checking account.

At the instant the bank obeys those instructions, and not before, dollars are created.

Given the distance from economic reality that Clinton and Sanders have catapulted in their exhortations, we cannot endorse either of them in the Illinois primary election.

Believe it or not, the right wing newspapers have been spreading this same BS for . . . more than 75 years! Way back in 1940, the NY Times ran an article in which Robert M. Hanes, president of the American Bankers Association referred to the federal debt as a “ticking time-bomb which can eventually destroy the American system.” /em>

(Look at the link to see the progress of that “time bomb.” Hey, would a banker lie to you?)

For 75 years, every time anyone suggests any program that can benefit the 99%, the rich-owned media howl that the debt will rise to unsustainable levels.

They do not want you to have what the rich take for granted. They do not want the Gap to be narrowed.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, for the funniest comment of this entire post — perhaps the entire election season

Marco Rubio . . .offers Illinois voters the framework of a presidency that realistically could exist. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have not met this fundamental economic test.

(OK, here it comes:)

We’re keeping an open mind, hoping that whichever of them prevails will meet that test in the general election campaign.

The owned-by-the-rich editors of the Chicago Tribune are “keeping an open mind.” Does it get any more wildly hilarious than that?

Because promises, pledges and policies mean nothing to a gravely indebted American government that can afford only to window-shop.

According to the Tribune, the American government has run out of its own sovereign currency, the dollar. So the most powerful government on earth actually is standing impoverished, with its nose pressed against the window, unable to buy anything.

And if you believe that Tribune lie, please contact me. I have the British Crown jewels I want to sell you — at a yu-u-uge discount.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

 

===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D plus long term nursing care — for everyone (Click here)
3. Provide an Economic Bonus to every man, woman and child in America, and/or every state a per capita Economic Bonus. (Click here) Or institute a reverse income tax.
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone. Click here
5. Salary for attending school (Click here)
6. Eliminate corporate taxes (Click here)
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually Click here
8. Tax the very rich (.1%) more, with higher, progressive tax rates on all forms of income. (Click here)
9. Federal ownership of all banks (Click here and here)
10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99% (Click here)

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

10 Steps to Economic Misery: (Click here:)
1. Maintain or increase the FICA tax..
2. Spread the myth Social Security, Medicare and the U.S. government are insolvent.
3. Cut federal employment in the military, post office, other federal agencies.
4. Broaden the income tax base so more lower income people will pay.
5. Cut financial assistance to the states.
6. Spread the myth federal taxes pay for federal spending.
7. Allow banks to trade for their own accounts; save them when their investments go sour.
8. Never prosecute any banker for criminal activity.
9. Nominate arch conservatives to the Supreme Court.
10. Reduce the federal deficit and debt

THE RECESSION CLOCK

Recessions begin an average of 2 years after the blue line first dips below zero. A common phenomenon is for the line briefly to dip below zero, then rise above zero, before falling dramatically below zero. There was a brief dip below zero in 2015, followed by another dip – the familiar pre-recession pattern.
 Recessions are cured by a rising red line.

Monetary Sovereignty

Vertical gray bars mark recessions.

As the federal deficit growth lines drop, we approach recession, which will be cured only when the growth lines rise. Increasing federal deficit growth (aka “stimulus”) is necessary for long-term economic growth.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Mitchell’s laws:
•Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
•Any monetarily NON-sovereign government — be it city, county, state or nation — that runs an ongoing trade deficit, eventually will run out of money.
•The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes..
•No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth.
•Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia.
•A growing economy requires a growing supply of money (GDP = Federal Spending + Non-federal Spending + Net Exports)
•Deficit spending grows the supply of money
•The limit to federal deficit spending is an inflation that cannot be cured with interest rate control.
•The limit to non-federal deficit spending is the ability to borrow.

•Liberals think the purpose of government is to protect the poor and powerless from the rich and powerful. Conservatives think the purpose of government is to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and powerless.

•The single most important problem in economics is the Gap between rich and the rest..
•Austerity is the government’s method for widening the Gap between rich and poor.
•Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
•Everything in economics devolves to motive, and the motive is the Gap between the rich and the rest..

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

What is the purpose of government?

Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

What is the purpose of government?

We humans are a social species. Our success as a species relies on the strength of the group, wherein the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

We each belong to many groups: Religious groups, neighborhood groups, family groups, and age groups. We group ourselves by numerous preferences, vocations and hobbies, by sex, by life-style and by wealth.

A group can be self-protective against enemies. The very mass of the group can discourage attack. A group also can benefit from a greater ability to find resources, like food, water and shelter, than can any one individual.

But not all groups have governments. Ungulates (hoofed animals like horses, cattle, pigs, etc.) tend to live in groups, but do not have a discernable government.

The closest most groups come to government is having a leader. But even here, it is rare to see the stratification (leader, sub-leaders, assistants, specializations) we normally associate with government.

Humans, more than any other species, invest an enormous amount of time and energy into creating and maintaining governments. From an evolutionary standpoint, anything that requires so great an investment, must provide important benefits. Else, it would have disappeared.

What then, are the benefits of our governments? Why do we invest so much time and energy to create systems that restrict our actions?

I ask this because I read today, a newspaper article written by syndicated writer Cal Thomas, who describes himself this way:

“Cal Thomas focuses on what promotes the general welfare, regardless of which party or ideology gets the credit.

“(His book), What Works, is about pressuring political leadership to forget about the next election and start focusing on the needs of the people who work hard to provide for themselves, send their tax dollars to Washington, and want to see the country achieve something of value … like it has always done.”

The newspaper article criticizes Democrats, Republicans, and Trump (of course). But the one sentence that struck me was:

“Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton feed into the entitlement mentality that the government exists to give you stuff and take care of you.“

We hear this often from the conservative side — that all the non-rich want is to be given “stuff” and to be “taken care of” — as though receiving those things from the government were a sin.

But, it’s a little jarring to hear it from a writer who wants our political leadership to “focus on the needs of the people.”

After all, what are the needs of the people, if not “stuff” and to be taken care of?

If you look at “Mitchell’s laws” (below) you see this:

Liberals think the purpose of government is to protect the poor and powerless from the rich and powerful. Conservatives think the purpose of government is to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and powerless.

Rich and poor, we all want to be taken care of by the government and from those who we believe would attack us. So why is Thomas negative about what Bernie and Hillary offer?

It has to do with his references to an “entitlement mentality” and “the needs of the people who work hard to provide for themselves.”

Clearly, he is referring to poor people, because as Thomas seems to believe, and as “everyone knows,” it’s the poor who have an entitlement mentality and who don’t work hard to provide for themselves — at least those are the myths the rich promulgate.

The rich say, by virtue of their wealth, they are entitled to better lives than the poor have, but apparently this is not to be considered an entitlement mentality.

The rich say they have earned their entitlements because of parental gifts (college education, inheritance, social connections) and desk-work, while the poor have not earned anything because they lack those parental gifts and do only manual labor.

And the rich, who have all the best “stuff,” partly paid for by creative tax breaks from the government, begrudge the poor any “stuff” coming from the government.

At the East Cooper Republican Women’s Club annual Shrimp Dinner, Jeb Bush said:

“Our message is one of hope and aspiration. “It isn’t one of division and get in line and we’ll take care of you with free stuff. Our message is one that is uplifting — that says you can achieve earned success.”

That is the message of the right wing: If you are rich, you have earned all the free stuff in the world, and you should be taken care of. If you are not rich, you do not deserve free stuff or being taken care of.

Conservatives believe reward should be allocated based on success, no matter how the success was achieved. Having received reward is prima facie evidence you should receive reward. Give more to those who have the most.

Liberals believe reward should be allocated based on need, no matter how the need was created. Give more to those who have the least.

What is your opinion? What is the purpose of government?

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

 

===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D plus long term nursing care — for everyone (Click here)
3. Provide an Economic Bonus to every man, woman and child in America, and/or every state a per capita Economic Bonus. (Click here) Or institute a reverse income tax.
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone. Click here
5. Salary for attending school (Click here)
6. Eliminate corporate taxes (Click here)
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually Click here
8. Tax the very rich (.1%) more, with higher, progressive tax rates on all forms of income. (Click here)
9. Federal ownership of all banks (Click here and here)
10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99% (Click here)

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

10 Steps to Economic Misery: (Click here:)
1. Maintain or increase the FICA tax..
2. Spread the myth Social Security, Medicare and the U.S. government are insolvent.
3. Cut federal employment in the military, post office, other federal agencies.
4. Broaden the income tax base so more lower income people will pay.
5. Cut financial assistance to the states.
6. Spread the myth federal taxes pay for federal spending.
7. Allow banks to trade for their own accounts; save them when their investments go sour.
8. Never prosecute any banker for criminal activity.
9. Nominate arch conservatives to the Supreme Court.
10. Reduce the federal deficit and debt

THE RECESSION CLOCK

Recessions begin an average of 2 years after the blue line first dips below zero. A common phenomenon is for the line briefly to dip below zero, then rise above zero, before falling dramatically below zero. There was a brief dip below zero in 2015, followed by another dip – the familiar pre-recession pattern.
 Recessions are cured by a rising red line.

Monetary Sovereignty

Vertical gray bars mark recessions.

As the federal deficit growth lines drop, we approach recession, which will be cured only when the growth lines rise. Increasing federal deficit growth (aka “stimulus”) is necessary for long-term economic growth.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Mitchell’s laws:
•Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
•Any monetarily NON-sovereign government — be it city, county, state or nation — that runs an ongoing trade deficit, eventually will run out of money.
•The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes..
•No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth.
•Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia.
•A growing economy requires a growing supply of money (GDP = Federal Spending + Non-federal Spending + Net Exports)
•Deficit spending grows the supply of money
•The limit to federal deficit spending is an inflation that cannot be cured with interest rate control.
•The limit to non-federal deficit spending is the ability to borrow.

•Liberals think the purpose of government is to protect the poor and powerless from the rich and powerful. Conservatives think the purpose of government is to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and powerless.

•The single most important problem in economics is the Gap between rich and the rest..
•Austerity is the government’s method for widening the Gap between rich and poor.
•Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
•Everything in economics devolves to motive, and the motive is the Gap between the rich and the rest..

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Sorry, I simply couldn’t resist

If you wonder how intelligent people could vote for, and even give their money to, candidates like Trump, Carson, Cruz, Rubio et al, wonder no more.

You have not yet witnessed the depths of religious right wing ignorance.

Here is word-for-word, with nothing added or omitted, an Email I just received from a group called “From the Right”:

“I can’t believe I never heard about this before.

“Since 1996 there have been hundreds of reports about Hillary’s secret mistress… Her name is Huma Abadin, and she grew up in a strict Muslim household in Saudi Arabia…

“And at the tender age of 24, Hillary Clinton made Huma one of her closest “personal” advisors.

“Think about what this means… If Hillary gains the Whitehouse in 2016….

“You can be CERTAIN that the left’s war against Christianity will only grow more severe. Hillary and her Muslim allies will continue trying to CENSOR the Scripture…

Yep, having a friend who is Muslim is proof that Hillary Clinton, a Christian, not only is conducting a war against Christianity, but also will try to CENSOR the bible.”

(Censor the bible?? How will she censor the bible?) Oh, but you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet:

“Just like they did recently when news came out about this newly uncovered bible verse…”

A newly uncovered bible verse??

“. . . where Jesus reveals an incredibly effective way to naturally combat almost any disease.

“In fact: liberal politicians DESPISE Biblical discoveries like the one I just mentioned… Especially since this one specific bible passage has now helped more than 20,000 Christians to heal their diabetes and fight away their cancer.

“For people like Hillary and her Muslim lovers that’s UNACCEPTABLE. They want you to beg big government and big medicine for help when you’re sick…

“Not be able to just read a few Bible Verses and heal yourself in a matter of days (Click here to read the verses on healing disease now). We better seriously pray that a true, God loving conservative gets elected president this November…

“Because if it’s Hillary and her harem of “kept” women… Christianity as we know it will be in danger of going extinct.

“God Bless,

“Ian Walker
“D.C. Christian Coalition

“P.S. I actually found a website that shares the censored Bible Passages I mentioned in this message.

“You can visit that site by clicking here.

“Inside, you’ll see how to naturally combat diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and many other major diseases… And all it takes is following some basic steps that were outlined by our Lord Jesus inside the Scripture.

“You better hurry though, because I have no doubt that the website will get removed FAST.”

O.K., after 2,000 years of intensive study, they have “newly uncovered” bible passages that had been “censored” by someone, and if you read them your “diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and many other major diseases” will be cured “in a matter of days.”

(Hmmm . . . Alzheimer’s was discovered a little over 100 years ago. When were these “newly discovered” bible passages written?)

Oh, and Hillary Clinton keeps a harem (hidden in her apartment, perhaps?) And Christianity, all 2.2 billion strong, will disappear if Hillary is elected.

Understand?

Clearly, the author of this Email believes his audience is stupid. Why?

Anyway, now you know how it came to pass that Trump, Cruz and Rubio are leading the Republican party.

Many years ago, I often voted Republican, but that was before the Tea Party crazies and the uber religious nuts invaded, and ended right-wing reason, science and compassion.

Sorry, I simply could not resist showing this to you.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

 

===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D plus long term nursing care — for everyone (Click here)
3. Provide an Economic Bonus to every man, woman and child in America, and/or every state a per capita Economic Bonus. (Click here) Or institute a reverse income tax.
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone. Click here
5. Salary for attending school (Click here)
6. Eliminate corporate taxes (Click here)
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually Click here
8. Tax the very rich (.1%) more, with higher, progressive tax rates on all forms of income. (Click here)
9. Federal ownership of all banks (Click here and here)
10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99% (Click here)

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

10 Steps to Economic Misery: (Click here:)
1. Maintain or increase the FICA tax..
2. Spread the myth Social Security, Medicare and the U.S. government are insolvent.
3. Cut federal employment in the military, post office, other federal agencies.
4. Broaden the income tax base so more lower income people will pay.
5. Cut financial assistance to the states.
6. Spread the myth federal taxes pay for federal spending.
7. Allow banks to trade for their own accounts; save them when their investments go sour.
8. Never prosecute any banker for criminal activity.
9. Nominate arch conservatives to the Supreme Court.
10. Reduce the federal deficit and debt

No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia.
1. A growing economy requires a growing supply of dollars (GDP=Federal Spending + Non-federal Spending + Net Exports)
2. All deficit spending grows the supply of dollars
3. The limit to federal deficit spending is an inflation that cannot be cured with interest rate control.
4. The limit to non-federal deficit spending is the ability to borrow.

THE RECESSION CLOCK

Recessions begin an average of 2 years after the blue line first dips below zero. A common phenomenon is for the line briefly to dip below zero, then rise above zero, before falling dramatically below zero. There was a brief dip below zero in 2015, followed by another dip – the familiar pre-recession pattern.
 Recessions are cured by a rising red line.

Monetary Sovereignty

Vertical gray bars mark recessions.

As the federal deficit growth lines drop, we approach recession, which will be cured only when the growth lines rise. Increasing federal deficit growth (aka “stimulus”) is necessary for long-term economic growth.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Mitchell’s laws:
•Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
•Any monetarily NON-sovereign government — be it city, county, state or nation — that runs an ongoing trade deficit, eventually will run out of money.
•The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes..

•Liberals think the purpose of government is to protect the poor and powerless from the rich and powerful. Conservatives think the purpose of government is to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and powerless.

•The single most important problem in economics is the Gap between rich and the rest..
•Austerity is the government’s method for widening the Gap between rich and poor.
•Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
•Everything in economics devolves to motive, and the motive is the Gap between the rich and the rest..

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

How Bernie Sanders’ critics completely miss the point

 

Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

Readers of this blog have learned that the social science known as “economics,” has been co-opted by the right wing — the rich wing — to “prove” that social spending for the non-rich should be reduced.

Politicians are bribed by the rich, via “campaign contributions” otherwise known as buying favors. The media are owned by the rich. And university professors are employed by universities and “think tanks” supported by the rich.

The right-wing Supreme Court has ruled that because money is “free speech,” rich people are entitled to more speech than are the rest of us.

So everywhere you turn, you receive misinformation, courtesy of the rich.

Then, along comes Bernie Sanders, who proposes many things the rich do not like. If you go to BERNIE SANDERSOn the Issues you will find his proposals discussed:

INCOME AND WEALTH INEQUALITY
IT’S TIME TO MAKE COLLEGE TUITION FREE AND DEBT FREE
GETTING BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS AND RESTORING DEMOCRACY
CREATING DECENT PAYING JOBS
A LIVING WAGE
COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE TO SAVE THE PLANET
A FAIR AND HUMANE IMMIGRATION POLICY
RACIAL JUSTICE
FIGHTING FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
FIGHTING FOR LGBT EQUALITY
CARING FOR OUR VETERANS
MEDICARE FOR ALL
FIGHTING FOR DISABILITY RIGHTS
STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND SOCIAL SECURITY
FIGHTING TO LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES
IMPROVING THE RURAL ECONOMY
REFORMING WALL STREET
REAL FAMILY VALUES
WAR AND PEACE
WAR SHOULD BE THE LAST OPTION: WHY I SUPPORT THE IRAN DEAL
MAKING THE WEALTHY, WALL STREET, AND LARGE CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE

While I may disagree with some of the details, fundamentally every one of his proposals would make life better for those who are not among the upper 1% income/wealth/power group.

And that is why the rich, and their politician, media, and academic lackeys have leaped from their knees to preach against Bernie.

Here are a few examples:

Sanders Veers Off Into Fantasyland
FEB 21, 2016, By Noah Smith

In order for Sanders’s proposals to be feasible in the long term, they must avoid putting the U.S. fiscal deficit on an unsustainable path.

The only way that will happen is if productivity grows at a historically rapid rate and labor force participation rises to historic highs.

We’ve written about Smith, before. He’s not an economist. He’s an assistant professor of finance at Stoney Brook University.

Forget his obvious ignorance of Monetary Sovereignty, which shows that the U.S. deficit cannot be on an “unsustainable path.”

Instead see how he misses the entire point of Bernie’s proposals, which is to improve the lives of the 99%.

If you go to his article, you will see no discussion of people, poverty, sickness, veterans, fairness, climate change, or the Gap between the rich and the rest. Instead, Smith’s sole focus is on how a Monetarily Sovereign nation will pay for these things.

In short, its “Who cares about the lives of the American people; let’s worry only about how our Monetarily Sovereign government, which never can run short of dollars, will pay”.

And then, there’s this:

Progressive Economists Say Bernie Sanders’ Economic Plans Don’t Add Up
Peter Suderman|Feb. 19, 2016

Even liberal economists think Bernie Sanders’ economic plans are complete nonsense.

Sanders’ plan to replace the nation’s health care financing mechanisms with a fully government-run single-payer system have drawn particular scrutiny, with Emory University health economist Kenneth Thorpe finding that, in order to pay for the plan, Sanders would need to impose a 14.3 percent payroll tax and his income-based “premium” (which is really a tax) at 5.7 percent.

The senator’s home state of Vermont killed a long-gestating plan to pursue state-based single payer after confronting the high tax hikes that would be necessary.

We’ve written about Suderman, too. he’s a right-wing, senior editor at Reason magazine and Reason.com.

His description, not Bernie’s plan, is complete nonsense. The federal government doesn’t need to raise taxes to pay for anything, though that is the bogeyman the rich like to throw in front of us.

Suderman reveals his paid-for ignorance by conflating the Monetarily Sovereign U.S. government with the monetarily non-sovereign State of Vermont. The former can afford anything. The latter, like you and me, has to watch its pennies. Two totally different situations.

And as usual, the article focuses solely on the false narrative of a federal money shortage, and says nothing about the real point: Helping the 99% live better lives.

When President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country,” he opened the door for the rich to claim that somehow, benefits to the 99% were unpatriotic, and that only the leisure class was entitled to good lives.

Kennedy was wrong. The sole purpose of government — the only reason government was invented — was to improve the lives of those live under it.

The right wing has twisted this into: The sole purpose of the people is to improve the wealth and power of the rich and the government.

So preposterous has this notion become that even your federal tax form has a checkbox for you to send the federal government an additional $3 for a phony “Presidential Election Campaign fund.”

Now, that really is nuts.

Folks, the federal government creates unlimited dollars, ad hoc, when it pays its bills. There is no “Presidential Election Campaign Fund,” nor is there a Social Security trust fund, Medicare trust fund, road building trust fund, military trust fund or any other federal fund.

A budget is not a fund.

No matter how much money you have — even if you are Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined — you do not have what the federal government has: The infinite ability to pay bills.

Sadly, even those who defend Bernie, don’t seem to care about the human effects of his proposals:

Krugman and His Gang’s Libeling of Economist Gerald Friedman for Finding That Conventional Models Show That Sanders Plan Could Work
Posted on February 22, 2016 by Yves Smith

I’m a bit late to weigh in on the scurrilous attacks on the Sanders budget plan, and more important, on Gerald Friedman, a UMass-Amherst economics professor who modeled it in detail and gave it favorable marks. Full disclosure: I know Friedman but only casually, having met him at speaking events and conferences. I have also cross posted some of his work from Triple Crisis.

Let us be clear about the vehemence of the salvos aimed at Friedman: this isn’t just a bad case of tribalism and intellectual dishonesty. This is purveyors of a failed orthodoxy refusing to indulge any consideration of plans that would show how badly they’ve mismanaged the economy.

Had (Paul)Krugman and his fellow enforcers deigned to make a good-faith response, the key issue would be what fiscal multipliers to assume on Sanders’ ambitious spending program.

The article continues to defend Sanders on the basis of economic modeling, and once again, therein lies the problem — two problems actually:

1. Economics is a social science, and as such, its mathematical models don’t work. While astronomers can predict the exact location of Pluto 1000 years from now, and chemists can predict what will happen to sodium and chlorine when mixed a 1000 years from now, economists can’t predict mathematically what will happen a month from now.

Note the repeated surprises when federal data reveals last months employment, unemployment, GDP growth, average salary and every other report. Americas best economists repeatedly get it wrong.

And that’s based on predictions of just a couple of weeks.

So, we’re supposed to believe their mathematical models?? Gimme a break. Sure, Value = Demand/Supply, but no one knows tomorrow’s numbers, let alone next year’s.

That is the nature of a social science. All the endless discussion about whether or not Bernie’s proposals are in accord with some professor’s mathematical models is absolute (excuse me) bullshit.

The economics professors who base their reputations on mathematical modeling, make Donald Trump look honest.

2. Rather than phony concerns about unpredictable, future tax collections, GDP increases, house building, etc, the focus should be on the benefits to the people — the 99%.

Federal funding of Medicare for All absolutely, positively will help the 99%, financially, physically and emotionally. That much is certain.

Federal funding of college absolutely, positively will create a more educated public, a benefit to America.

Rather than waving the false flag of fiscal “responsibility” and benefit to the federal government, let’s raise the real flag of human benefit.

Economists, media, politicians: Please, enough with the bullshit.

Ask not what you must do for your government; ask what your government will do for you. That is the real question.

Your purpose is to improve your life and your childrens’ lives. The government’s purpose is to help you.

That’s what it’s for.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

 

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Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D plus long term nursing care — for everyone (Click here)
3. Provide an Economic Bonus to every man, woman and child in America, and/or every state a per capita Economic Bonus. (Click here) Or institute a reverse income tax.
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone. Click here
5. Salary for attending school (Click here)
6. Eliminate corporate taxes (Click here)
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually Click here
8. Tax the very rich (.1%) more, with higher, progressive tax rates on all forms of income. (Click here)
9. Federal ownership of all banks (Click here and here)
10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99% (Click here)

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.
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10 Steps to Economic Misery: (Click here:)
1. Maintain or increase the FICA tax..
2. Spread the myth Social Security, Medicare and the U.S. government are insolvent.
3. Cut federal employment in the military, post office, other federal agencies.
4. Broaden the income tax base so more lower income people will pay.
5. Cut financial assistance to the states.
6. Spread the myth federal taxes pay for federal spending.
7. Allow banks to trade for their own accounts; save them when their investments go sour.
8. Never prosecute any banker for criminal activity.
9. Nominate arch conservatives to the Supreme Court.
10. Reduce the federal deficit and debt

No nation can tax itself into prosperity, nor grow without money growth. Monetary Sovereignty: Cutting federal deficits to grow the economy is like applying leeches to cure anemia.
1. A growing economy requires a growing supply of dollars (GDP=Federal Spending + Non-federal Spending + Net Exports)
2. All deficit spending grows the supply of dollars
3. The limit to federal deficit spending is an inflation that cannot be cured with interest rate control.
4. The limit to non-federal deficit spending is the ability to borrow.

THE RECESSION CLOCK

Recessions begin an average of 2 years after the blue line first dips below zero. A common phenomenon is for the line briefly to dip below zero, then rise above zero, before falling dramatically below zero. There was a brief dip below zero in 2015, followed by another dip – the familiar pre-recession pattern.
 Recessions are cured by a rising red line.

Monetary Sovereignty

Vertical gray bars mark recessions.

As the federal deficit growth lines drop, we approach recession, which will be cured only when the growth lines rise. Increasing federal deficit growth (aka “stimulus”) is necessary for long-term economic growth.

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Mitchell’s laws:
•Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
•Any monetarily NON-sovereign government — be it city, county, state or nation — that runs an ongoing trade deficit, eventually will run out of money.
•The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes..

•Liberals think the purpose of government is to protect the poor and powerless from the rich and powerful. Conservatives think the purpose of government is to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and powerless.

•The single most important problem in economics is the Gap between rich and the rest..
•Austerity is the government’s method for widening the Gap between rich and poor.
•Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
•Everything in economics devolves to motive, and the motive is the Gap between the rich and the rest..

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY