Yes, the decline has been occurring for decades, hence the boiled-frog syndrome. JBird and David, one thing I think about now is how few people experienced a "real recession," as in 1980-82, and recessions have been pushed forward and now it feels like we finally get the recession that was never allowed to burn off the underbrush.
As for systems, labels get tossed around, but I'm not sure they mean much. Capitalism upended society in the Gilded Age, 34 years of bombings, strikes, etc. ensued. The German and British opted for "social democracy" and the US followed suite in the Great Depression. Why did the govt budget balloon to a third of the economy? Most of the money goes to individuals (Social Security) or to the "healthcare" cartels for treatment of individuals. People have come to expect the state to solve all problems, and politicians love their role as "let me resolve your pain." This has generated what I call "The Savior State," the state as universal fixer of all problems.
Prior to WW1 and WW2, the US Army was very small (and cheap). Only the Navy cost real money, and that was a pittance by today's standards. Post WW2, the US engaged in the Cold War and its military budget became enormous as a result. The Cold War required other spending, such as NASA.
I'm not sure if what we have is actually "capitalism" except at the local level. Monopolies and cartels eliminate the key characteristics of open markets: competition and transparency, so how can we call this system "free market capitalism"? Predatory, parasitic, extractive, exploitive, take your pick. I call it "Addiction Capitalism" but it could also be termed "credit capitalism" b/c without credit the system collapses. It could also be called "Crapification Capitalism" as the way to maximize profit is reduce quality an offer an illusion of "consumer choice."
Few expect any real change, and most are counting on wishful thinking. It's going to be interesting. warm regards, charles
Interesting side-note about the ecclesiastical dominance. Convents were enlarged after the Hundred-Years' War when the women in the beguines were beguiled/coerced into the convents.
The decline into a collapse in quality in everything concurrent with the increasing costs of everything both in money and time has been ongoing for at least thirty years.
I have had to get a job at a thrift store again to get enough money to pay my bills despite my poor health. It seems the decline in the quality of my life (and health) has matched that of the community.
The quality of the goods is awful. Thirty, even twenty, years ago, at this same store, you could get mens suits, dress shirts, very good women's dresses, furniture, and much else that was just as good as new. Not anymore. It's almost all junk or just not available, such as with business suits. So the days when you could walk into a thrift store and get some decent clothes and furniture is mostly gone. And I believe that the decline is across the board in every thrift store excluding the most high-end.
So, the economy only provides increasingly poorly paying jobs and provides overpriced goods and services that are increasingly useless or even dangerous, and unaffordable, such as rent and most food. This creates a growing underclass of human waste either living with inadequate housing, food, and medical care, or just on the streets waiting to die, while the always available, cheap, ostensibly illegal, drugs that anyone can get. This while policed by uniformed guards who do not solve crimes or protect the general population, but serve the upper classes by keeping the waste out of sight.
What a wonderful political economy we have here. I just have to wonder if it is so bad in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I can easily give similar descriptions of the previous paragraphs for San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Marin, as well as parts of Los Angeles, all "wealthy" areas, what is it like in the rest of the country? It's too bad that the Democrats destroyed the New Deal and replaced with Neoliberalism.
And people complain that too many are against the wonders of capitalism and are interested in socialism or something like it. Social Democracy or Democratic Socialism would be better than straight socialism, certainly better than communism. However, if what we have presently is capitalism, it can go hang, but the elites, the powers that be, profit from current system rendering of lives into money. Really, modern capitalism is a abattoir, which renders entire nations.
I have a feeling or a hunch, that Brian Thompson is just a start. Unfortunately, as revolutions and revolts rarely end well for anyone.
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Charles
Yes, the decline has been occurring for decades, hence the boiled-frog syndrome. JBird and David, one thing I think about now is how few people experienced a "real recession," as in 1980-82, and recessions have been pushed forward and now it feels like we finally get the recession that was never allowed to burn off the underbrush.
As for systems, labels get tossed around, but I'm not sure they mean much. Capitalism upended society in the Gilded Age, 34 years of bombings, strikes, etc. ensued. The German and British opted for "social democracy" and the US followed suite in the Great Depression. Why did the govt budget balloon to a third of the economy? Most of the money goes to individuals (Social Security) or to the "healthcare" cartels for treatment of individuals. People have come to expect the state to solve all problems, and politicians love their role as "let me resolve your pain." This has generated what I call "The Savior State," the state as universal fixer of all problems.
Prior to WW1 and WW2, the US Army was very small (and cheap). Only the Navy cost real money, and that was a pittance by today's standards. Post WW2, the US engaged in the Cold War and its military budget became enormous as a result. The Cold War required other spending, such as NASA.
I'm not sure if what we have is actually "capitalism" except at the local level. Monopolies and cartels eliminate the key characteristics of open markets: competition and transparency, so how can we call this system "free market capitalism"? Predatory, parasitic, extractive, exploitive, take your pick. I call it "Addiction Capitalism" but it could also be termed "credit capitalism" b/c without credit the system collapses. It could also be called "Crapification Capitalism" as the way to maximize profit is reduce quality an offer an illusion of "consumer choice."
Few expect any real change, and most are counting on wishful thinking. It's going to be interesting. warm regards, charles
Unfortunately am having to do a lot of shadow work dealing with a health insurance company for a medication a family member needs
Being bombarded with continuous spam callers
Unfortunately everything may accelerate now towards full oligarchy state fascism in the next couple years
lol maniacally
Interesting side-note about the ecclesiastical dominance. Convents were enlarged after the Hundred-Years' War when the women in the beguines were beguiled/coerced into the convents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguines_and_Beghards
The decline into a collapse in quality in everything concurrent with the increasing costs of everything both in money and time has been ongoing for at least thirty years.
I have had to get a job at a thrift store again to get enough money to pay my bills despite my poor health. It seems the decline in the quality of my life (and health) has matched that of the community.
The quality of the goods is awful. Thirty, even twenty, years ago, at this same store, you could get mens suits, dress shirts, very good women's dresses, furniture, and much else that was just as good as new. Not anymore. It's almost all junk or just not available, such as with business suits. So the days when you could walk into a thrift store and get some decent clothes and furniture is mostly gone. And I believe that the decline is across the board in every thrift store excluding the most high-end.
So, the economy only provides increasingly poorly paying jobs and provides overpriced goods and services that are increasingly useless or even dangerous, and unaffordable, such as rent and most food. This creates a growing underclass of human waste either living with inadequate housing, food, and medical care, or just on the streets waiting to die, while the always available, cheap, ostensibly illegal, drugs that anyone can get. This while policed by uniformed guards who do not solve crimes or protect the general population, but serve the upper classes by keeping the waste out of sight.
What a wonderful political economy we have here. I just have to wonder if it is so bad in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I can easily give similar descriptions of the previous paragraphs for San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Marin, as well as parts of Los Angeles, all "wealthy" areas, what is it like in the rest of the country? It's too bad that the Democrats destroyed the New Deal and replaced with Neoliberalism.
And people complain that too many are against the wonders of capitalism and are interested in socialism or something like it. Social Democracy or Democratic Socialism would be better than straight socialism, certainly better than communism. However, if what we have presently is capitalism, it can go hang, but the elites, the powers that be, profit from current system rendering of lives into money. Really, modern capitalism is a abattoir, which renders entire nations.
I have a feeling or a hunch, that Brian Thompson is just a start. Unfortunately, as revolutions and revolts rarely end well for anyone.
We have predatory capitalism
Am hearing that Luigi’s family were exploiting the aged in nursing homes
Then supposedly Luigi had a bad surgery experience so went after a health care executive
Some irony there
The USA was founded on genocide and slavery and was designed by oligarchs for oligarchs
We had some respite in mid 1900s due to fear of communism
But now the ravenous wolves of capitalism have free rein or “reign”
Do best you can battling insurance companies
Apparently many homeowner insurance claims for flooding being denied
And Bill Clinton says democrats lost the election because did not go far enough right
Hillary is descendant of a mayflower family so slavers and genociders lol