–U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s ongoing effort to screw the middle class (and the poor, too)

Mitchell’s laws:
●The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes.
●Austerity is the government’s method for widening the gap between rich and poor, which leads to civil disorder.
●Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
●To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments.
●Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
●The penalty for ignorance is slavery.
==========================================================================================================================================

This post contains a letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, demonstrating what the rich want to do to the rest.

First, let’s clarify who the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is. They are not a government organization. They are a private group, dedicated to right-wing causes, particularly the effort to widen the gap between the upper 1% income group and the lower 99%.

Their website admits their right-wing tilt:

Myth: The U.S. Chamber is spending $100 million to defeat President Obama’s agenda.

Fact: Here is U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue in a Business Week interview:

Question: You have been crisscrossing the country to raise up to $100 million to back a “Campaign for Free Enterprise,” which you will launch on October 14th. Some people have seen it as something of a declaration of war on the Democratic priorities. Why do you feel such a campaign is needed, and what will it focus on?

Donohue: First of all, it’s not a declaration of war against anyone. The issue is very, very clear. This is going to be very positive program. We are going to remind, promote, educate and encourage in every way we can so that people remember, or learn, what made the greatest economy in the history of the world-[what] created more jobs, created more wealth, created more innovation, created more opportunity-was a free-enterprise economy with free and open trade with open capital markets, with the right to fail and fall right on your face and get up and try it over again, the right to make money, and the right to make it in a system with moderate regulation and taxes.

Translation: Yes, we spent $100 million to defeat President Obama, hoping to prevent any efforts to regulate the industries that caused the Great Recession or to hold financial criminals accountable for actions. So?

Anyway, you people are “takers.” The rich are the “makers.” You should be thankful to the rich for all they do for you.

Now for the letter that demonstrates what the rich want to do to you. Sadly, Obama plans to do pretty much what the Chamber wanted Romney to do, just a bit less so.

Multi-Industry Letter for Financially Sustainable National Entitlement Programs
Release Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2012
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT:

The undersigned organizations call on Congress and the President to immediately begin a process to fundamentally restructure our nation’s entitlement programs—Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security—and to put these valued and important programs on a sustainable financial path.

Translation: “Restructure” and “sustainable financial path” are code words for cut funding for programs that primarily help you “takers” of the middle and lower classes.

“In the past few years, the federal government has been recording the largest budget deficits since 1945, both in dollar terms and as a share of the economy. Consequently, the amount of federal debt held by the public has surged. At the end of 2008, that debt equaled 40 percent of the nation’s annual economic output, a little above the 40-year average of 38 percent. Since then, the figure has shot upward: By the end of this year (2012), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects, federal debt will exceed 70 percent of GDP—the highest percentage since shortly after World War II.”

Translation: The dollars currently deposited in T-security accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank exceed 70% of the value of all goods and services produced in the United States in 2012.

We have no idea why net dollars deposited in FRB bank accounts over the past 30 years should be compared with goods and services created this year , but please be shocked, anyway.

If we are ever to get control of these large deficits and rising debt levels, we must get control of the principal cause of these deficits—federal spending.

Translation: We know Congress already controls all budgets, so “get control of” is our code for “reduce.” We want to cut your Social Security and Medicare, but we aren’t honest enough to say so.

For 2012, the total projected outlays for the federal government for all spending (mandatory, discretionary and net interest) is $3.56 trillion. Of that total, mandatory spending (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other social programs) is $2.05 trillion or 57.6% of total spending.

Translation: We are angry that so much federal spending goes to you “takers” of the middle and lower classes. This is unfair to the rich, who are the “makers” in this economy.

Meanwhile, total revenue collected by the federal government is $2.44 trillion. About $1.12 trillion is collected via the individual income tax, $181 billion comes from corporate income tax and the rest, $1.03 trillion, comes from Social Security, excise and other taxes. When the expenditures are netted against the revenues, we see a deficit of $1.2 trillion.

Even a cursory examination of these numbers indicates that mandatory spending is not only the biggest category of federal spending but it already exceeds all revenue collected from federal income taxes by a wide margin. Even more troubling, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), mandatory spending is projected to increase in the next 10 years from just over $2 trillion to over $3.5 trillion. At that time, it will represent almost 65% of total spending.

Translation: You poor and middle class people pay most of the personal income tax, virtually all of the corporate income tax (via reduced salaries) and virtually all of the FICA tax. But we want you to pay more — and of course, to receive less. And so far, you agree.

A primary reason for the growth of debt is demographics. Starting in January of this year, an estimated 10,000 baby boomers began retiring daily. The baby boomer wave of 77 million Americans entering our entitlement programs has started. They will place a significant and sustained increase in the share of the population receiving benefits from Social Security and Medicare, as well as long-term care services financed by Medicaid.

Medicare is the third largest program in the federal budget and cost nearly $560 billion in 2011 — or 16% of total federal spending. Federal spending for Medicare and Medicaid rose from 2.2% of GDP in fiscal year 1985 to 5.6% in 2011 according to CBO. Well over half of that was Medicare, and the retirement of the baby boom, combined with growth of health care costs, is projected to push Medicare spending from 3.7% of GDP in 2011 to 6.4% of GDP in 2035.

Translation: If we toss enough statistics at you, you’ll become confused. You’ll want to pay more and receive less? Your ignorance is our best weapon.

Driving these realities is the underlying worker-to-beneficiary ratio. In 1965, there were about 4.6 workers for each Medicare beneficiary. In 2005, there were about 3.8 workers for each Medicare beneficiary. In 2020, there are projected to be only 2.2 workers for each Medicare beneficiary.

Translation: We’ve brainwashed you into believing that Medicare benefits depend on your taxes, which (don’t tell anyone) they aren’t. But as long as you fools keep believing, we’ll keep lying.

As President Obama said on October 3, Medicare is “the big driver of our deficits right now.”

Translation: I can’t believe we spent $100 million to defeat this guy. He’s one of us!

The federal government spends more on Social Security than it does on any other single program. The CBO estimates that outlays for Social Security in fiscal year 2012 will total $769 billion, accounting for more than one-fifth of all federal spending.

The cost of the Social Security program will rise significantly in coming decades as more members of the baby-boom generation reach retirement age and longer life spans leads to longer retirements. As a result, a significantly larger share of the population will draw benefits.

In 2010, for the first time since the enactment of the Social Security Amendments in 1983, annual outlays for the program exceeded annual revenues excluding interest credited to the trust funds. CBO projects that the gap will continue and that outlays will be greater than revenues by around 10% over the next decade. After that, the shortfall will only grow.

Translation: We want you to work until you die. But, if you do retire, you should exist homeless, sick and starving. We know it doesn’t cost anyone a cent to pay federal benefits. Our government is Monetarily Sovereign, after all. But giving you “takers” money doesn’t help us widen the income gap.

Conclusion

Our nation’s entitlement programs are unsustainable. If we do not make sensible reforms, the programs will go bankrupt—and so will the nation. No one can dispute that.

Translation: We know a Monetarily Sovereign government is not like you and me. It cannot be forced into bankruptcy, since it has the unlimited ability to create its sovereign money. But since you don’t understand that, we’ll keep screwing you with the same old lies. It’s worked so far.

As Congress and the Administration work to resolve America’s growing financial challenges and escalating debt, they must begin to fundamentally restructure these entitlement programs.

Translation: It all your fault, you people who hope to live a decent life after retirement, you sick people who need health care, you poor people who can’t afford food and housing – this recession is all your fault. So we have to cut your benefits, you selfish “takers.”

The undersigned organizations urge you to immediately:

Extend all of the expiring tax rates;
Extend vital expired tax provisions;
Provide alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief; and
Find spending cuts to replace a sequestration never intended to go into effect.
Short term action is not a substitute for long term fundamental fiscal reform. In addition to
immediate action on the fiscal cliff, we also urge you to:

Firmly commit to tackling comprehensive tax reform in the next Congress; and
Agree to develop a long term plan to address America’s excessive spending, particularly entitlement spending.

Translation: Don’t raise income taxes, especially on the rich, but do cut benefits for the middle and poor classes. That seems fair doesn’t it?

Sincerely,

Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce – NY, Air Conditioning Contractors of America, Air Movement and Control Association, International, American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), American Bakers Association, American Beverage Association, American Composites Manufacturers Association, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Forest & Paper Association, American Gas Association, American Institute for International Steel, American International Automobile Dealers Association, American Iron and Steel Institute, American Land Title Association, American Meat Institute, American Road & Transportation Builders Association, American Trucking Associations, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arizona-New Mexico Cable Communications Association, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce – OH, Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc., Associated Equipment Distributors, Associated General Contractors of America, Associated Oregon Industries, Association Forum of Chicagoland, Association of Commerce & Industry of New Mexico, Association of Washington Business, Baton Rouge Area Chamber – LA, Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce – WI, Bismarck-Mandan Chamber – ND, Boise Chamber of Commerce – ID, Bossier Chamber of Commerce – LA, Buckeye Valley Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Buffalo Niagara Partnership – NY, Business Council of Alabama, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, Campbell County Chamber of Commerce – WY, Carroll County Chamber of Commerce – GA, Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce – NV, Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County – IN, Chamber Southwest Louisiana, Chambers of Commerce Alliance of Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties – CA, Chandler Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Chemung County Chamber of Commerce – NY, Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry – PA, City of Central Chamber of Commerce – LA, Connecticut Business Industry Association (CBIA), Currie Associates, Dallas Regional Chamber – TX, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce – OH, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce – CO, East Parker County Chamber of Commerce – TX, East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce – LA, Eastern Contractors Association, Inc., Edison Electrical Institute, Electronics Representatives Association, Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International, Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce – VA, Fergus Falls Area Chamber of Commerce – MN, Financial Executives International, Financial Services Roundtable, Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Fountain Hill Chamber – AZ, Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and Industry – WI, Fullerton Chamber of Commerce – CA, Galesburg Area Chamber of Commerce – IL, Gallup McKinley County Chamber of Commerce – NM, Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce – CA, Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce – NJ, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Granbury Chamber of Commerce – TX, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce – NM, Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce – TX, Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce – SC, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce – NC, Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce – IN, Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce – TX, Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce, Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce – FL, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce – NC, Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry – PA, Greater Sandoval County Chamber of Commerce (GSCCC) – NM, Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce – LA, Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce – SC, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce – FL, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce – PA, Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau – MN, Hilton Head Island – Bluffton Chamber of Commerce – SC, Hong Kong.China.Hawaii Chamber of Commerce – HI, Huntingdon County Business and Industry – PA, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce – CA, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, International Council of Shopping Centers, International Foodservice Distributors Association, International Franchise Association, Ironworker Employers Association of Western PA, Irvine Chamber of Commerce – CA, Jeff Davis Business Alliance – LA, Jefferson Chamber of Commerce – LA, Joliet Chamber of Commerce – IL, Kalispell Chamber of Commerce – MT, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce – SC, Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Lake Havasu Area Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Lodi District Chamber of Commerce – CA, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce – CA, Los Angeles Area Chamber – CA, Los Angeles Metro Hispanic Chamber of Commerce – CA, Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce – VA, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce – TX, Manatee Chamber of Commerce – FL, Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce – MN, Maui Chamber of Commerce – HI, Melbourne Regional Chamber of East Central Florida, Mesa Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Metal Powder Industries Federation, Metals Service Center Institute, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce – MN, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Mississippi Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc., Missouri Association of Manufacturers, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Monroe Chamber of Commerce – LA, Montana Chamber of Commerce, Moore County Chamber of Commerce – NC, Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), Myrtle Beach Area Chamber/CVB – SC, NAHAD – The Association for Hose & Accessories Distribution, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce – TN, National Asphalt Pavement Association, National Association of Chemical Distributors, National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Beer Wholesalers Association, National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), National Federation of Independent Business, National Grocers Association (NGA), National Marine Manufacturers Association, National Parking Association, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, National Roofing Contractors Association, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society, North American Die Casting Association, North American Equipment Dealers Association, North Carolina Chamber, North Country Chamber of Commerce – NY, North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corporation – NE, Northeast PA Manufacturers & Employers Association, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Northumberland County Chamber of Commerce – VA, NUCA, representing utility and excavation contractors, Nuclear Energy Institute, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Society of CPAs, Opelika Chamber of Commerce – AL, Orange County Business Council – CA, Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce – WI, Outdoor Amusement Business Association, Inc., Oxnard Chamber of Commerce – CA, Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce – CA, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, Petroleum Marketers Association of America, Plano Chamber of Commerce – TX, Precision Machined Products Association, Prince William Chamber of Commerce – VA, Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau – CA, Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce – DE, Retail Industry Leaders Association, RI Manufacturers Association, River Heights Chamber of Commerce – MN, River Region Chamber of Commerce – LA, Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce – MN, Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce – TX, Rush Strategies LLC, Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce – LA, S Corporation Association, Salem Area Chamber of Commerce – OR, Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce – MD, Salt Lake Chamber – UT, San Angelo Chamber of Commerce – TX, San Antonio Manufacturers Association, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation – CA, Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce and Convention-Visitors Bureau – CA, Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce – PA, Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Snack Food Association, Society of American Florists, Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce – AL, South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce – CA, Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber – MI, St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce – MN, St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce – LA, State Chamber of Oklahoma, Steel Manufacturers Association, Tempe Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Texas Association of Business, The Chamber of Commerce serving Johnson City – Jonesborough – Washington County – TN, The Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton – OH, The Chamber of Reno, Sparks, and Northern Nevada, The Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce – AL, The Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce – LA, The Kansas Chamber, The Longview Chamber of Commerce – TX, The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, The Real Estate Roundtable, Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce – CA, Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce – AZ, Tulsa Metro Chamber – OK, Turfgrass Producers International, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, United Fresh Produce Association, United States Telecom Association, Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA) – CA, Vista Chamber of Commerce – CA, Warsaw Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce – IN, Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce – IL, White Pine Chamber of Commerce – NV, Women Construction Owners & Executives, USA, Woodworking Machinery Industry Association

Sincerely,

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

Nine Steps to Prosperity:
1. Eliminate FICA (Click here)
2. Medicare — parts A, B & D — for everyone
3. Send every American citizen an annual check for $5,000 or give every state $5,000 per capita (Click here)
4. Long-term nursing care for everyone
5. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
6. Salary for attending school (Click here)
7. Eliminate corporate taxes
8. Increase the standard income tax deduction annually
9. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99%

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. Two key equations in economics:
Federal Deficits – Net Imports = Net Private Savings
Gross Domestic Product = Federal Spending + Private Investment and Consumption – Net Imports

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

–Economics of today for the worlds of tomorrow: Telepresence

Mitchell’s laws:
●The more budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes.
●Austerity is the government’s method for widening the gap between rich and poor, which leads to civil disorder.
●Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
●To survive long term, a monetarily non-sovereign government must have a positive balance of payments.
●Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
==========================================================================================================================================

Here we are talking about the economics of tomorrow, while mainstream economists have not yet caught up with the economics of today.

For new readers of this blog, the economics of today recognizes that the U.S. government has the unlimited ability to create its own sovereign currency. The government never can run short of dollars; it doesn’t need to ask you or me for dollars.

The U.S. is Monetarily Sovereign. Illinois, Chicago, Cook County and Greece are not. But, mainstream economics has not progressed past August 15, 1971, when the U.S. went off the gold standard. Today’s economists, media and politicians still claim the U.S. must “live within its means,” and that the federal deficit is “unsustainable” and the debt must be reduced.

In short, the economics taught in most college and universities does not recognize the fundamental differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty. Ignorance is passed down the generations.

Like a traveler who relies on connecting flights, if you miss the first flight (today’s economics) you will miss the next flight. An article in the November 10, 2012 issue of NewScientist magazine provides a few hints at what will be tomorrow’s economics:

It’s Thursday morning and 7-year-old Devon Carrow-Sperduti is meant to be starting school in 5 minutes. His mum is getting impatient. Devon is like any child his age – in all but one respect.

When Devon gets to Winchester Elementary School in West Seneca, New York, he chats with his friends between his classes, he sometimes gets told off by his teachers for not paying attention and, occasionally, he bumps into walls. It is an inevitable consequence of attending school as a robot.

Devon has allergies that prevent him from physically being at school. Instead, he stays at home and logs into a two-wheeled, 1.5-metre-tall Segway-like robot called VGo, which is waiting in the school grounds. He navigates between classrooms by peering through a camera, and talks with classmates and teachers via a real-time video screen displaying his face. “He’s treated the same as everyone else,” says his mum.

Devon attends school by proxy. The children view Devon’s robot as Devon himself. One day, another child also might attend Devon’s school by proxy. Then presumably, the two robots, or rather, the two children, will talk and play, face to face, video screen to video screen.

Devon isn’t the only one routinely transporting himself to another location like this. He joins surgeons, soldiers and an increasing number of other workers who are turning to an army of surrogates often hundreds of kilometres away. These virtual travellers can hold down nine-to-five jobs, fight wars and perform life-saving operations.

This year, you’ll be able to buy one for the same price as a laptop, and eventually they will be controlled by thought alone and will transmit a sense of touch back to their pilot. It means our senses will become immersed in another location like never before. Researchers, legal experts and ethicists are realising that the way this technology will be used over the next decade and beyond is not only going to affect the way we live and work, it is also going to disrupt economies, challenge laws and may even transform social norms.

Today’s economics describes today. But tomorrow’s will be far different. Yesterday’s economics already has caused, extended and worsened the Great Recession, by limiting GDP growth. Try to imagine what will happen as economists and politicians, steeped in obsolete beliefs, try to cope with the future.

Marvin Minsky, one of the pioneers of robotics, coined the term “telepresence”. He used it to refer to the suite of technologies that allow a person to feel as if they are present at a place other than their true location. In his futuristic vision, these robotic systems would pave the way for a “remote-controlled economy” and would transform society.

If you’re in the US and need part of your prostate removed, for example, it is likely you will experience the skills of a telepresent surgeon using a robotic manipulator – 90 per cent of these operations are now performed this way.

Scalpels have even been wielded across oceans: in 2001, surgeons in New York removed the gall bladder of a woman in Strasbourg, France. Meanwhile, soldiers today routinely control aerial drones and robots for surveillance, bomb disposal and even attacks.

In fact, their use is now so common in the US army that some commentators argue that remote-controlled warfare could come to be seen as a defining trait of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Today’s economics is based on the inefficiencies of human output and wealth creation. We spend much of our working lives preparing for work, traveling to work, traveling for work and traveling from work. We search for information, file information, convey information to someone else, forget information and die with our information.

So far, the signs suggest that people have been using telepresence to visit family and friends, tour buildings like museums, work remotely with distant colleagues or, for doctors and nurses, to check on patients from afar.

The next wave of telepresence under development in laboratories suggests the technology will become significantly more immersive. For example, a team led by Mel Slater at University College London (UCL) has built a surrogate robot whose actions mirror a person’s body movements. Hold out your arm for a handshake, and the robot’s arm follows suit.

Early this year, a student called Tirosh Shapira controlled a robot using only his thoughts – he was at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, inside an fMRI brain scanner, and the robot was in France.

“It was mind-blowing,” [Shapira] says. “I really felt like I was there. When the guys in France surprised me by placing a mirror in front of the robot I was like ‘oh I’m so cute, I have blue eyes’, not ‘that robot is cute’.”

The line between “me” and “it” and between “here” and “there” is blurring. If all your senses tell you you’re in a remote location, and if you can move your arms and legs in that remote location, where are you, really?

Many researchers have begun to explore the looming economic, legal and social impacts. What might be the consequences of it becoming easier for everybody to move about remotely?

For a start, telepresence could disrupt labour markets. One plausible scenario for the technology is to allow low-wage foreign workers to be employed for jobs that were impossible until now.

After all, it has happened before – more than a decade ago, improved internet speeds and coverage meant nations like India became prime targets for Western companies to outsource online and telecommunication services at lower cost.

Consider how a retail business like Home Depot or Tesco might use telepresent workers. It could stop employing as many local assistants to do jobs like directing customers to products in-store, or potentially even operating machinery, and hand those tasks to employees overseas instead.

“One remote worker could be responsible for 10 stores and 30 robots,” says Matt Beane at the MIT Sloan School of Management, who has also been investigating the impact of telepresence technology. “I’d be very surprised if in 10 years, 10 per cent of that kind of work wasn’t being performed by remote workers.

Or take the implications of medicine continuing on its path towards remote procedures. It is bound to trigger legal and regulatory headaches if it spurs a new wave of medical tourism, for example.

What happens when a dentist in Cuba offers cheaper procedures through teleoperation to people in England? “Where is the service taking place, and who regulates it?” If something goes wrong during a procedure, or if an unqualified doctor practises remotely, for example, it is unclear which court or medical board would be responsible for investigation or punishment.

“If I throw a punch in England and it hits someone in another country, is the offence committed here or there, and which country’s law should take precedence?”

In economics, Gross Domestic Product is a common measure of economic growth or shrinkage. But what if the word “Domestic” loses its meaning?

Modern economics is based on pay-for-work. The faith is that wealth is created by people, and that those who do no work, deserve no wealth.

But what if telepresence machines not only do your job, but almost everyone’s job? What happens to economics when most of the workforce is composed of machines?

The makers of telepresence technology ultimately aim to fully immerse our senses in a location far from our own. And this may inevitably raise the question of how we anchor ourselves in reality. When we can walk, talk and work in a distant land while our body resides at home, where do we exist at that moment in time? In the world that holds your body, or the one that holds your mind?

I ask Devon a similar question: when he uses VGo, does he feel more like he’s at school or at home? He answers with the matter-of-fact simplicity of a 7-year-old. “Oh yeah, I’m definitely at school,” he says, before running off to brush his teeth.

Many people believe reward should be based on work, and that government provided benefits actually reduce the desire to work, as witness the sneering references to “food stamp mother.”

Today, unemployment is seen as a problem for the individual, because it reduces his monetary income, and as a problem for society, because the individual does not contribute work.

The role of government is seen today as encouraging a working society. Tomorrow, unemployment will be acceptable, even normal, as fewer people work. What then will be the role of government?

I believe the government will assume a more socially supportive role. Today, the government punishes work (via income taxes), while it encourages work (via project spending. Can that continue in a world where the implications of work change dramatically?

If you go to the bottom left-hand corner of this blog, you will find a search function. Use it to search “Watson” and you will find seven posts describing the possible futures of economics. All ponder the possible roles of government and of economics, itself.

We are at the proverbial fork in the road. To the right lies a government whose primary purposes are to protecting the haves from the have-nots. To the left, a government whose primary purposes are to protect the have-nots from the haves.

Will the government provide Medicare for everyone, Social Security for everyone, housing and clothing for everyone, justice for everyone – or will these be allocated to the strongest and those judged most valuable?

Today’s governments lean to the right, focusing on productivity. They frets over “dis-employment,” as being deflationary if too high and inflationary if too low.

Governments anguish over money creation (aka “deficits); they war over national borders. Economics lags behind, encouraging needless anguish and excusing needless wars.

The world will change in ways we cannot even imagine. And economics will change with it. But, the economists, the politicians, the media and the public, first must begin understand the reality of today’s economics.

The world is racing at us like a high speed train, as blithely we ride old Dobbin across the tracks.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

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

#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

–The words which will live in infamy

Here are the words which will live in infamy, and which will define the Obama Presidency for history. In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama said,

“. . . we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.”

“A government that does the same”?? A government that sacrifices to live within its means? And exactly what is the government’s “sacrifice” to which he refers? Will our government be unable to pay its rent? Will our government lose its home and be forced to live in the streets? Will our government go to bed hungry and be unable to feed its children? Are those the government’s sacrifices?

Will our government lose its job? Will our government go broke, or be unable to send its children to college, or not have warm clothes, or be unable to afford medical care, or face old age without income?

Exactly what government “sacrifice” is he talking about?

There is no government sacrifice. Obama was talking about your sacrifice and my sacrifice – and by his premeditated twist of logic, he makes it sound as though the government heroically will sacrifice to protect you and me.

What unabashed dishonesty!

“Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.” That, in one succinct statement, is the expression of the Big Lie – the lie that the federal government’s finances are like yours and mine and like the states,’ counties,’ cities’ and euro nations.’

It is a lie, a Big Lie, because on August 15, 1971, the U.S. became Monetarily Sovereign, i.e. sovereign over the U.S. dollar. As a result of this enormous change, the U.S. government now can create as many dollars as it wishes, any time it wishes.

Unlike you and me, the U.S. government never can run short of dollars. It can pay any debt denominated in dollars. It never needs to ask anyone for dollars – not you, not me, not China. For that reason, the U.S. no longer needs to borrow its sovereign dollars from anyone or tax anyone to get dollars.

But Obama tells the Big Lie about the government needing to “sacrifice” and to “live with its means.” What are the “means” for a nation that has the limitless ability to pay its bills? What are the “means” for a nation that creates its sovereign currency simply by paying its debts?

Lie after lie after lie after lie, an ongoing litany of mendacity. The man has no shame and no concern for the American people. He is a traitor, doing more damage to America than Osama bin Laden ever could have hoped. Yes, a traitor. What better description is there for someone who intentionally injures his own nation?

Obama wants you to “sacrifice,” and for what? What do your sacrifices bring you? Poverty. Sickness, Homelessness. Unemployment. Lack of schooling. Recession. Depression. Yes, Mr. President, what reward will our sacrifices bring us?

For many years, I had labored under the misconception that the problem was one of ignorance, and if only we could educate the President, Congress, the Fed, the media and the mainstream economists, these intelligent people would see the error of their ways, and the problem would be solved. MMT still believes it.

But, I have changed my mind. It simply is not possible that the President of the United States, the Treasurer of the United States, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States and other assorted experts do not understand how dollars are created and destroyed.

Bernanke is well aware of the truth. He already has admitted he creates dollars by pushing a computer key. Greenspan has said the same thing.

So the only question is: Why does Obama lie? Why does he pretend not to understand. Why does he intentionally and unnecessarily injure us Americans? And the only answer I can come up with is: He, and his accomplices are bribed to pretend, bribed by campaign contributions to the Democratic party.

No other conclusion makes any sense at all.

Who has both the money and the motive to bribe them? The wealthiest Americans have the money, and their motive is to increase the gap between the 1% and the 99%, and that is accomplished via austerity, i.e deficit reduction, with a focus on reduced federal spending.

Yes, reduced federal spending is the bullet into your heart and my heart and into hearts of all the 99%. Cut Medicare; cut Medicaid; cut Social Security; cut food stamps and all the various programs for the poor. Cut the agencies that monitor our food, our medicine, our investments, so the rich can get richer selling us bad food, bad medicine and bad investments.

Cut, cut, cut. That in the President’s double-speak, is how the government “sacrifices.”

MMT and MS have been fighting the battle on the basis of facts, logic and education. Our approach has been: “Because people don’t understand, we have to teach them.”

So we continually write articles trying to make the idea simpler and simpler, to the point where any high school freshman could understand it while simultaneously driving and texting. Only when you, the populace, get angry enough, write enough letters, and threaten the politicians with being voted out – will these liars take notice and change this cozy and unholy partnership with the rich.

Today, Obama and Boehner are discussing your future. They are deciding how much they can screw you without getting caught. Soon they will announce, to everyone’s great relief, that they have worked together to save America from the fiscal cliff they invented.

In the spirit of cooperation, they heroically will cut the deficit. That is, they will reduce your savings. You will sacrifice to avoid their fiscal cliff.

The government will not sacrifice. Nor will the 1%, even with slight tax rate increases. You and I will be sacrificed on the alter of political contribution, by traitors to America.

And sadly, rather than being angry at the lies and deceit and the sacrifices, the brainwashed victims will cheer this bipartisanship. The cattle will march happily into the slaughterhouse, thanking their executioners.

“. . . we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.” Remember those words. Remember those lies.

You’ll hear them again, as the “fiscal cliff, invented by the President and Congress, is “solved” by the President and Congress.”

They, and Barack Obama, will live in infamy and another four years of lies.

Do you care? And if you care, what are you doing about it?

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

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#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

–Obama’s legacy: He could have. He should have. He didn’t.

President Obama won a huge victory. He won the electoral college vote 332 to 208. He won the popular vote 51% to 48%. This was not the “squeaker” many had predicted. It was the kind of victory that allows a President a springboard to memorable accomplishments and to inscribe his legacy among our greatest.

But Barack Obama shows no energy for memorable accomplishments. His one accomplishment, Obamacare, was lifted from Mitt Romney (who denied it on alternate days), and was passed through the efforts of the Democrats (who complained about the lack of help from the President).

Mostly, he just went along, and let his party do the heavy lifting.

Another example:

Chicago Tribune
JPMorgan, Credit Suisse settle with SEC for $417 million

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co and Credit Suisse Group AG will pay a combined $416.9 million to settle U.S. civil charges that they misled investors in the sale of risky mortgage bonds prior to the 2008 financial crisis, regulators said on Friday.

JPMorgan will pay $296.9 million, while Credit Suisse will pay $120 million in a separate case, with the money going to harmed investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Both settlements addressed alleged negligence or other wrongdoing in the packaging and sale of risky residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), including at the former Bear Stearns Cos which JPMorgan bought in 2008.

The banks settled without admitting wrongdoing, and in separate statements said they were pleased to settle.

“In many ways, mortgage products such as RMBS were ground zero in the financial crisis,” SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami said in a statement. “Misrepresentations in connection with the creation and sale of mortgage securities contributed greatly to the tremendous losses suffered by investors once the U.S. housing market collapsed.”

Each settlement is . . . the latest SEC settlements not to punish individuals.

It’s four years after the crimes, and the Obama administration has shown neither the energy nor the desire to punish the bankers who cost America not millions, not billions, but trillions. The banks were too big to fail, and the bankers were too big to punish. All were rewarded.

Obama just looked the other way and collected the political bribes. He could have demonstrated that criminal behavior will not be tolerated, no matter how wealthy the donor. He should have sent the full force of the federal government after those crooks.

He didn’t.

And then, there’s this:

Chicago Tribune
Obama says resolving fiscal cliff is urgent business

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said he and congressional leaders must quickly get down to work to avert upcoming automatic tax hikes and spending cuts as he sat down for talks with lawmakers on Friday.

“We’ve got to make sure that taxes don’t go up on middle-class families, that our economy remains strong, that we’re creating jobs, and that’s an agenda that Democrats and Republicans and independents, people all across the country share,” he said.

Obama repeated his position that the solution to avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff must balance increased tax revenues against any cuts to spending or reforms to social safety net programs.

So here is Barack Obama, the Great Compromiser, the great defender of middle-class families, preparing us for his cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Now that he has won the election, and never will have to risk a run again, surely he could have told the truth about federal financing.

He should have said, “There is no need to increase any taxes, not even taxes on the rich, and there is no need to cut any social programs. The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign is not like you and me. It’s so-called deficits actually are a measure of the private savings it adds to your pockets. The government can provide Medicare for everyone and higher Social Security benefits, and it will not cost anyone anything — not you, not your children, not your grandchildren.”

Unless we see a reversal in style, his legacy will be that of a mediocre, enervated compromiser, a man displaying no strong beliefs, who has been carried along like a leaf on the river, first by the Chicago Democratic machine, then by the Illinois democratic machine and finally by the national party.

The Democrats, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi fought for the party’s ideals, while Obama led from the rear. With nothing to lose, and a legacy to burnish, he easily could have; he really should have.

He didn’t.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

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#MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

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