TSA and the great privatization scam: Part II

It has been a long-held belief among the right-wing populace that the federal government is “too large,” that government workers are inferior to private workers, and that private industry always does things better than the government.

So there has been a continuing effort to move responsibility from the federal government to the states, and from there to the private sector.

States Rights
Any time a difficult social problem is discussed, the right wing inevitably suggests/demands, that the solution be left to the states: Abortion, gun control, immigration, gay marriage, drug control, flag burning, segregation . . . ah, the list goes on and on.

The fundamental reason is that the state and local governments are infinitely more dishonest and controllable (by wealthy crooks) than is the federal government.

Yes, there are plenty of dishonest people in the federal government, especially in Congress, but their actions tend to be more closely watched by the media, and thus more exposed.

I doubt any federal government in history has been as outright dishonest as the government of my state (Illinois), or of my county (Cook), or of my city (Chicago).  If you’re not familiar with the term “Chicago politics,” you haven’t been paying attention.

And talk about bigotry, the states and cities always have been leaders.

It simply is much easier for a bigoted crook to control a state, county or city, than to control the whole country, and the bribe money is just as good. Political “bosses” thrive in smaller governments.

Any time, and I mean ANY time, you hear a politician opt for “states rights,” or “privatization,” know that he or she is a criminal, a bigot or both.  No exceptions.

Which brings us to the title of this post . . .

Privatization

Privatization is the great honeypot of politics. Crooked politicians love privatization because private industry (those folks who are “better” at everything than government workers) pay politicians big dollars to get their greedy hands on public works.

Two years ago, we published, “Presenting!! The Great Privatization Scam!” Please read it.

Any time the states (and counties and cities) engage a problem, the conversation seems to turn to privatization.

Chicago’s notorious Mayor Daley and his cronies stole so much, the city fell billions of dollars into debt. So the good mayor began selling parts of Chicago to private industry. He sold an expressway (Chicago Skyway) to private hands, and the tolls promptly doubled.

He sold Chicago’s parking meters and rates tripled, or more. He was planning to sell Chicago’s Midway Airport, but thankfully he retired (to a highly paid, non-job, at a connected law firm) just ahead of the Feds, looking into his finances.

So while the citizens pay more for services, and the same citizens will pay more taxes in the future (because no parking or toll money will come in) the private investors will laugh and pat each other on the back for the great deals they have made.

No suddenly, for “no apparent reason,” the TSA is unable to handle crowds at airports.

Moetary sovereignty

Sure, there often have been lines at security, but nothing like this. Two-hour waits have become common and even some three-hour waits. How could this happen?

Well, it didn’t just happen. It was caused. And the clue is in the sudden demand for privatization of airport security.

The formula is this: Cause a crisis. Declare the solution is to get rid of those lazy, stupid unmotivated government workers, and bring in those energetic, bright, private workers.

Never mind that they are the same workers.

Never mind that there is zero evidence that replacing federal workers with private workers will solve the problem (i.e. too few workers).

The goal is to get those delicious security dollars into private, greedy hands — hands that will shovel some of those dollars back into greedy politicians hands.

Saggeringly long lines at the nation’s airports this spring have led officials in Chicago, New York City, Atlanta and Seattle to discuss turning security over to private contractors, instead of employees of the Transportation Security Administration.

“It seems to me that it’s broken now and it can’t get much worse,” Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, one of a group of aldermen urging the city to give TSA officers the boot, said in an interview. “Why not give private security a chance?”

Alderman Burke is a long-time Chicago alderman, and therefore, a crook. As infamous Illinois politician, Paul Powell said, “I can smell the meat a’cookin'”.

Alderman Burke can smell the meat a’cookin.’

So sure, give private industry “a chance.” Which company? No one knows, but you can bet it will be a politically connected, generous-to-politicians company.

And a few years after this company is found to be worse than what we have now, the federal government will be forced to take over, again. (Think of the disaster that came from privatizing jails.)

So the real question is: “How did TSA get so much more awful this year?”

No mystery: NOT ENOUGH SCREENERS.

Remember the formula? Cause a crisis. Declare the solution is privatization.

Well, the best way to cause a crisis is to cut budgets, because the federal government “can’t afford” . . . [You name it: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, good roads, safe bridges, food inspection, drug inspection and on, and on and on]

President Bush II wanted to privatize Social Security — put into the hands of Wall Street. Can you guess why? Can you guess why the right wing, the handmaidens of the rich, always wants to cut federal budgets?

The answer: Privatization. Giving more money to the rich.

Reality: The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, can afford anything, and no, that won’t cause inflation.

Keep in mind the Big Lie: “Federal taxes fund federal spending.” It hasn’t been true since August 15, 1971, and it isn’t true today.

Travel group protests TSA staff cuts

The U.S. Travel Association is protesting staff cuts that are being planned by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The appropriations bill that is being considered by lawmakers for the Homeland Security Administration, which oversees the TSA, would cap the agency’s employment at 45,000, which the Travel Association said Friday would result in a cut of about 600 workers.

Critics have often complained about the size of TSA’s workforce, but Dow said Friday that it is vital to the travel industry to have effective airport security.

You know those guys in Washington who tell you the federal deficit is “unsustainable” and who want a “balanced budget”? Think about them the next time you’re standing in a two-hour line at the airport.

And no, privatization won’t help. Not one bit. In fact, it will hurt, because private companies are even more devoted to cost-cutting than is the federal government.

Alderman Burke, and politicians all over the country, can smell the meat a’cookin’.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich afford better health care than the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA, AND/OR EVERY STATE, A PER CAPITA ECONOMIC BONUS (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONEFive reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefiting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE CORPORATE TAXES
Corporations themselves exist only as legalities. They don’t pay taxes or pay for anything else. They are dollar-tranferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the government (the later having no use for those dollars).
Any tax on corporations reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all corporate taxes come around and reappear as deductions from your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.)
Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and corporate taxes would be an good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

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

Who is our Most Dangerous Enemy? And who is to blame?

By definition, our Most Dangerous Enemy is the one person who can do more damage to America than anyone in the world.

America’s Most Dangerous Enemy (MDE) is the person who wants to “get tough” with our friends, “get tough” with our enemies, and “get tough” with those who may be neutral.

Our MDE is the person who acts like an impulsive, trigger-happy loose cannon, with the spoiled brat temperament of a teenager, using Twitter to insult all who disagree.

To qualify as our MDE, make rash proposals, then deny they were proposals, but “only suggestions.”

Our MDE exudes bravado and feigns great courage from the safety of a podium, yet is frightened off by a female newscaster who asked a “hard” question about calling women “fat pigs,” “slobs,” animals, and “dogs.”

Our MDE hardly can wait to send American troops into battle, though he himself was a draft dodger who demeans captured GIs.

Our MDE would make enemies of Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, while also insulting everyone in Congress.

Our Most Dangerous Enemy claims America once was great, but no longer is great, but can become great by deporting millions of men, women and children (called “criminals” and “rapists”), by allowing everyone to carry guns, by walling ourselves in, and by cheating creditors in “negotiations.”

Having no experience in international politics and no experience in domestic politics, our MDE claims the single most important job in the world requires no experience, if one has “a good brain.”

The combination of ignorance, bravado, and rash impulsiveness, when added to a President’s power to destroy all life on the planet, would unleash our Most Dangerous Enemy upon us.

Our Most Dangerous Enemy fires back at ex-Sec. of Defense Gates

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates found himself on the receiving end our MDE’s Man’s barbed tongue Friday.

Gates had publicly criticized (our MDE’s) foreign policy proposals and temperament several times the day before.

He said some statements — such as making Japan and South Korea pay more for U.S. military resources — could spur others to take steps that would undermine cooperation with our allies.

Mika Brzezinski, co-host of “Morning Joe,” asked MDE to respond to this criticism during a Friday interview.

Our MDE replied. “I’m not a big fan of his, by the way. … Look at where our country is with years of him being involved. We are a mess. I know he has a great reputation and all of that. All of these guys have a great reputation. They’ve been doing this stuff for 15 years. Look where our country is, OK?”

Is America really “a mess” as our MDE claims? (Other nations wish they were so “messy.”)

Does Bob Gates get the blame — or the credit — for this “messiness”?

Our Most Dangerous Enemy criticizes often, but seldom provides specifics or solutions. And who cares about someone who has a great reputation; they aren’t as smart as our MDE.

(Our MDE) also defended the argument that the U.S. cannot afford to protect other nations without being reimbursed.

“And Bob Gates, who I don’t know at all, but Bob Gates has no idea. See, they are misrepresenting and he’s misrepresenting.”

Ah, the endless generalities with no specifics. No experience needed. No knowledge needed. The job is “only” the Presidency of the United States. Just hire someone with self-proclaimed greatness.

Brzezinski, who described Gates as “one of the greatest foreign policy minds in history,” said part of Gates’ concern is over the way (our Most Dangerous Enemy might express himself as commander-in-chief.

She cited a recent tweet about the EgyptAir flight that disappeared Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea as an example that )our MDE) may be “too trigger-happy with his words.”

MDE’s tweet: “Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!”

Gates said that people with responsibility learn quickly that early reports of a situation often turn out to be inaccurate.

“I think it prejudges the outcome, and let’s just suppose that it turns out not to be a terrorist event. Then what do you say having made these allegations and so on? So it’s always better to wait until you actually know what the facts are before you open up.”

Brzezinski asked (the MDE) if there was any validity to the concern that tweets like the one about the EgyptAir flight might generate panic and anger.

The MDE responded with a typical non sequitur: “I’m thinking of the future. “We cannot continue to let things like this happen. We are being taken advantage of by radical Islamic terrorists, and this world is changing.”

“Thinking of the future?” “Can’t continue to let these things happen?” “This world is changing?” Those are the MDE’s “reasons” for speaking without knowing the facts?

The Bottom Line:
One human being, our Most Dangerous Enemy, incorporates all these attributes:

*Inexperienced and ignorant about the most important job in the world
*Dismissive about those who do have such knowledge and experience.
*Unwilling to learn (“I consult myself”)
*Immature: Teenager’s Twitter name calling, speaks and acts on impulse
*Megalomaniacal
*Braggart and liar
*Dishonest: Cheated on wife. Cheats creditors. Uses fake names to call media
*Misogynist
*Refuses to accept blame
*Bully: Repeatedly proposes forcing other nations to bend to our will
*Coward: Draft dodger; frightened by “hard questions”
*Bigot: Muslims, Mexicans/Latinos, gays, tried to ingratiate with KKK
*Hate monger, fear monger
*Xenophobe
*Will not take specific positions. Criticizes with generalities. Claims all proposals were “only suggestions” Claims to be “flexible on everything”

And this, our Most Dangerous Enemy, might be elected President of the United States.

Who is to blame for that?

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich afford better health care than the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA, AND/OR EVERY STATE, A PER CAPITA ECONOMIC BONUS (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONEFive reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefiting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE CORPORATE TAXES
Corporations themselves exist only as legalities. They don’t pay taxes or pay for anything else. They are dollar-tranferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the government (the later having no use for those dollars).
Any tax on corporations reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all corporate taxes come around and reappear as deductions from your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.)
Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and corporate taxes would be an good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

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

Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys?

Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys?

ASSAILANTS KILL 14 NEAR LOS ANGELES IN WORST MASS SHOOTING SINCE SANDY HOOK

Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, entered the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino and opened fire using assault weapons and handguns, the police said.

Farook, a county employee, attended the holiday party before the shooting, according to the police. He then left in an “angry” manner and returned to open fire

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,”  NRA’s Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre

Monetary sovereignty

Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys?

Were Farook and Malik “good” guys and gals, or were they “bad” guys and gals?

The 2016 Gun-Violence Statistics Out of Chicago Are Horrific

Almost 3,000 Chicagoans were shot in 2015. In the first ten days of 2016, three times as many people were shot in Chicago as in the beginning of 2015, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Donald Trump: “We love the Second Amendment, folks. Nobody loves it more than us, so just remember that.”

Often, Trump shifts the conversation about gun control to mental health, which he says is an issue politicians have ignored for too long. A day after two journalists were killed on live TV in Virginia, he rejected calls to strengthen gun laws.

“This isn’t a gun problem, this is a mental problem,” he said.

monetary sovereignty

Who are the sane guys? Who are the insane guys?

Everything You Need to Know About Federal Background Checks

In the United States, anybody who wishes to purchase a gun at a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL) is subject to a background check.

Of course, if you think you can’t pass a background check, don’t buy your gun from an FFL. Simple.

The most common reason for a gun purchase denial is a criminal conviction. Nearly 150,000 fugitives, 120,729 domestic offenders, and 109,875 unlawful drug users have been denied in the 17 years NICS has been online.

For all the focus on mental health, the bar for denying someone on psychiatric grounds is very high, leading to relatively few rejections: Only 21,000 applicants have been denied because they were declared mentally unfit by a judge.

Somebody tell that to Donald Trump.

State and local police are not required to submit criminal-record data to the FBI. Reporting “varies widely based on the practices of the individual departments. The smaller the town, the worse the records.”

Federal law does not require states to forward mental health records to NICS, and some states are resistant, citing privacy laws.

The FBI has only three days to make a final determination on the buyer.

Why only 3 days? What’s the rush?

If a decision can’t be made in that time frame, the FFL is allowed by law to go ahead and sell the firearm. The dealer is also not required to notify the FBI when a sale has been made after a three-day delay.

Default-proceed sales are eight times more likely to involve a prohibited purchaser than sales with background checks that are resolved within 72 hours.

What could possibly go wrong with a system like that?

monetary sovereignty

Study these people carefully. Take your time.

Some bought their guns at a federally licensed firearms dealer. Some bought their guns from a friend, or a neighbor, or a stranger on the street, or at a gun show, where no background checks at all were necessary.

Look again.  With which of them are you trusting your life?

Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys?

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich afford better health care than the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA, AND/OR EVERY STATE, A PER CAPITA ECONOMIC BONUS (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONEFive reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefiting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE CORPORATE TAXES
Corporations themselves exist only as legalities. They don’t pay taxes or pay for anything else. They are dollar-tranferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the government (the later having no use for those dollars).
Any tax on corporations reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all corporate taxes come around and reappear as deductions from your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.)
Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and corporate taxes would be an good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

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

If a man and a woman each act stupidly, which will be President?

gYou may expect this article to be about the “glass ceiling,” i.e.the unfair disadvantage women have in business and other pursuits. Or, you may believe this article is about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

You’d be right — and wrong.

The 5/16/16 edition of the Chicago Tribune had this excellent article by Dana Milbank. I’ll give you a few excerpts, but I recommend you find and read the full article, by purchasing a Tribune or by going online:

Sarah Palin, the political mother of Donald Trump
Dana Milbank

Sarah Palin: “You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
Donald Trump: “I know Russia well. I had a major event in Russia two or three years ago, Miss Universe contest.”

Palin is, politically, the Mother of Trump.

Trump, asked by NBC’s Chuck Todd where he gets his military advice, said: “Well, I watch the shows. You know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows.”

Palin’s reply to Katie Couric in 2008 about which newspapers or magazines she reads: “Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.”

But the likenesses go much deeper:
–The attacks on the media.
–The demonization of a supposed “establishment.”
–The huge and sometimes violent crowds.
–The prominent platforms given both candidates by Fox News.
–The racist responses among supporters.
–The suspicion of science.
–The scapegoating of Muslims.
–The portrayal of President Barack Obama as something other than American.

Well before Trump built his national political reputation by questioning the authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate, Palin called it a “fair question” and “fair game” and said “the public rightfully is still making it an issue.”

In 2011, after Trump said he was sending investigators to Hawaii to probe Obama’s birth, Palin responded, “More power to him.”

Before Trump said he would bring back waterboarding and “a hell of a lot worse,” Palin (said) “if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.”

Before Trump talk(ed) about banning Muslim immigration (a stance Palin supports) and forced registration of Muslims, Palin said, “Let Allah sort it out,” in her 2013 response to the Syrian civil war.

Palin justified her accusation that Obama “pals around with terrorists” by saying that Obama isn’t “a man who sees America the way you and I see America”.

She stirred the crowd to turn against the press in a manner similar to Trump’s rallying of supporters against penned-in reporters at his events: “Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thundersticks and shouting abuse. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African-American soundman for a network and told him, ‘Sit down, boy.'”

Nicolle Wallace, a former top official on the McCain 2008 campaign, observed the parallel in The New York Times in January after Palin endorsed Trump: “Mr. Trump is riding the wave of anxiety that Ms. Palin first gave voice to as Sen. John McCain’s running mate. Mr. Trump has now usurped and vastly expanded upon Ms. Palin’s constituency, but the connection between the two movements is undeniable.”

Sarah Palin is well engraved in America’s consciousness as being a raving loony, who is completely ignorant about world and domestic politics. She appeals to fringe mentalities, followers whose primary emotion is hatred of anyone or anything different from them, especially the poor and people of color.

Palin’s rants rightfully are dismissed with laughter and scorn by anyone with a brain. And, though she has had some experience in politics, her image as an “idiot shouting” has made her unelectable.

Donald Trump is even more extreme and has less political experience than Palin. His rants about deporting 11 million Mexicans and building a wall he will force Mexico to buy, and torturing prisoners, and his Islamophobia are dismissed with laughter and scorn by anyone with a brain, even by his own party.

His judgement is seriously lacking. Trump shrugged off widespread allegations that Russian President Putin has ordered the killing of journalists and political dissidents.

Trump: “He’s running his country and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country. I think our country does plenty of killing also.”

(Presumably, Trump feels the same way about Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Castro, and Kim Jong-un.)

Trump’s answering of questions with questions, generalities, irrelevancies, and innuendo is Palinesque. To defend Trump’s banning of Muslims, Palin said, “As governor of Alaska, I banned Muslims from entering my daughter Bristol, and that ban is still enforced to this day.”

A typical Trumpian/Palinian non sequitur.

Trump explained to Bill O’Reilly on Fox News, why he wants to ban all Muslims from America: “Many, many, most Muslims are wonderful people, but is there a Muslim problem? Look what’s happening. Look what happened right here in my city with the World Trade Center and lots of other places.

Yes, the billion Muslims in the world are represented by the dozen guys on the 9/11 planes in the world of Palin/Trump.

Like Palin, Trump is an “idiot shouting,” but unlike her, he just might be elected President.

Why the difference?

Palin/Trump are famous, glib, entertaining, white, Christian, and reasonably attractive. Both appeal to the same angry, “anti-everything,” hatred-spread-wide mentality. Both criticize everything, but have no solid plans for anything.

So why is she a joke, and he might be President?

And here comes Hillary Clinton. Her primary sins are:
–She took two whole weeks to reveal that Benghazi was not the result of a movie, but rather was a planned terrorist activity.
–She used her private server for Emails
–And isn’t there is something vaguely wrong with the Clinton Foundation?
–And wasn’t there something about Whitewater and Kenneth Starr that after years of investigation and millions in costs, and many conspiracy theories, never came to anything?

Considering Clinton has been in politics for many years, that’s a relatively puny list. Compare her scandals with Trump’s numerous scandals, failed businesses like Trump University, Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, Trump Shuttle, and four bankruptcies for which the perpetrator boasts about cheating lenders (and suggests the U.S. government do the same).

Speaking of cheating, Hillary was cheated on by her husband. She stood by her man. The Donald cheated on his wife and divorced her.

Hillary remains married, while Donald is a two-time loser, working on his third wife.

But Hillary can’t be trusted while the Donald can??

Yes, Hillary is criticized for her husband’s unfaithfulness, while Donald’s own unfaithfulness barely is mentioned.

Why?

Hillary has broad experience in government, both domestic and international. Sarah has experience in domestic government.

Donald not only has no experience (other than funding a beauty contest in Russia) — even less experience than Sarah Palin — but he doesn’t seem to understand any need for experience to be hired for the most important job in the world.

It’s doubtful he would hire an inexperienced accountant or lawyer, but he wants America to hire an inexperienced President.

Yet somehow he, not Palin, is the Republican candidate for President.

Why?

I suspect there are two differences:

For reasons only a psychologist might be able to identify, Hillary has a likability problem. Perhaps it’s her voice, or her wide-eyed enthusiasm or her unstylish pantsuits, but for many people, she seems to be cursed with the “Dr. Fell syndrome.” 

And this may relate to the other reason: She is a woman, and men can get away with far more bullsh*t than can women.

Palin/Trump are kindred spirits, espousing the same mixture of ignorance, bigotry and outright lies, that appeal to ignorant, bigoted and gullible people.

Ah, but Mrs. Palin, she is an unelectable, Tina Fey comedy sketch, while Mr. Trump, the notorious misogynist, so infantile he feels compelled to surround himself with beautiful women — he is in danger of winning the Presidency.

Bill Clinton scandalized the Oval office. Imagine what Trump will do in there.

Advice to Melania Trump: Don’t get old.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich afford better health care than the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA, AND/OR EVERY STATE, A PER CAPITA ECONOMIC BONUS (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONEFive reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefiting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE CORPORATE TAXES
Corporations themselves exist only as legalities. They don’t pay taxes or pay for anything else. They are dollar-tranferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the government (the later having no use for those dollars).
Any tax on corporations reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all corporate taxes come around and reappear as deductions from your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.)
Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and corporate taxes would be an good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

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