The Middle Class is shedding population. People leave for many reasons. But in the last few years, off shoring, foolish trade agreements, corporate financial speculation and a government little concerned with the plight of average wage earners, has parsed the Middle Class without obstacle.
I agree with the blog post below.
James Pilant
I ordered this online and I have been very impressed. This is the first book by Chris Hedges that I have ever had. I am annoyed with myself for not having discovered him earlier.
Here is an excerpt – The inability of the liberal class to acknowledge that corporations have wrested power from the hands of the citizens, that the Constitution and it guarantees of personal liberty have become irrelevant, and that the phrase consent of the governed is meaningless, has left it speaking and acting in ways that no longer correspond to reality. It has lent its voice to hollow acts of political theater, and the pretense that democratic debate and choice continue to exist.
I think the correctness of his reading is illustrated today by the negotiations over the debt ceiling held between Congress and the President. The liberals, toothless and pointless, are not at the table. The great accomplishments of the liberal and progressive movements over the past one hundred years lay like so many cuts of meat served up on the negotiating table between the two sides, and the Progessives in Congress may just as well not exist. The President proposes cuts to both Social Security and Medicare with no one to stop him. Even the AARP folded like a house of cards. Liberalism as an effective political force is a joke, a satire on its past and a cautionary tale of expediency and stupidity destroying a movement. In particular, the willingness of its candidates to court corporate money and to sell out teachers, workers, soldiers and retirees speaks more of a moral vacuum than it does of effective politics. Without idealism and morality, political movements based on doing the right thing for the poor, the working class and the disadvantaged, have no identity.
I am often asked what we should do about a Wall Street excess, an unfair law, the rich evading taxes and many other things. I’ve taken to dodging the question because explaining to concerned citizens and students that there is no one to turn to, no one to vote for, no one to ask for help, … is depressing in the extreme.
There are two parties in the United States. One is devoted to privilege and a desperate need to stay in power. The other is devoted to privilege and a desperate need to stay in power. Neither deserves a single vote or a moment of serious concern.
Nevertheless, the only remaining arena of possible action is there. However, I have been getting a sense of the nation, that perhaps other choices beside the peaceful are being considered. I do not want to see violence but it is more and more likely.
James Pilant
To get your own copy, you can go here. jp
“Only Ed” is the web site of Ed Mortimer. (It is subtitled – News and views on Environmental Sustainability.) He is an amazing blogger. He posts often and well. Mr. Mortimer is also topical and passionate about the issues. I constantly have to avoid the temptation to re-blog everything he puts up. Like me, he often includes posts of things that interest him off the path of his usual issues. I appreciate that. I often worry that my occasional attempts at humor and general interest stories damage my credibility. Nothing I have seen of his posting detracts from his general message. I hope my postings manage that as well.
Here are his last five postings –
1. Located here, the title link takes you to the news article.
2. Located here, the title link takes you to a news article.
It might be wise for many of you to favorite this site and maybe even subscribe. Of course, you may not share his environmental concerns, but even if this is the case, the news stories are from all over and are unlikely to be seen without his assiduous pursuit of them.
James Pilant
What level of x-ray exposure is safe? Over the last roughly one hundred years, the amount of such radiation considered dangerous has been changed repeatedly and always downward. This article is critical of the nuclear industry and its reaction to an x-ray exposure at one of the facilities.
Now, there is some evidence that there is no safe level. I have included a brief quote from Wikipedia evidencing that point of view. If you are interested in the medical safety of x-rays, I found a wonderful site put up by the University of Oklahoma which I link to here.
From Wikipedia – Diagnostic X-rays (primarily from CT scans due to the large dose used) increase the risk of developmental problems and cancer in those exposed.[28][29][30] X rays are classified as a carcinogen by both the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S. government.[26][31] It is estimated that 0.4% of current cancers in the United States are due to computed tomography (CT scans) performed in the past and that this may increase to as high as 1.5-2% with 2007 rates of CT usage.[32]
I’m very fond of the web site Crisis Jones Report and suggest that you favorite it.
James Pilant
This is a graphed presentation of the mortgage crisis as it unfolded in 2007. I very much enjoy the graphed presentation as you can see the amounts of investments and their loss rate as time goes by. This crisis is still important because it is a key event in the creation of our current economic difficulties, the so called “Great Recession.”
James Pilant
A Druid Journal discusses “ethical eating.”
“Gangraped Nepal nun now faces expulsion from nunnery,” is a post from Sujato’s Blog. This is an excellent post, well written and passionate. I am not well enough versed in the religious aspects to comment at the level of quality I want, so I will let you draw your conclusions. I admit I find his case most persuasive.
“Is God the basis of morality?” asks this posting entitled The Christian and the Euthyphro Dilemma. If you have philosophical leanings, go here! This is from the web site – The Gospel According to Erik.
Here is a discussion of the ethics of creative license from the web site, accidental happiness and entitled – confessions of a dangerous writer.
NJIT Professor Michael Ehrlich explains the role of subprime mortgages in the financial collapse of 2008. (quoted from the text with the video)
Ehrlich explains how sub-prime mortgages came about, how they amplified the housing bubble and then how those mortgages contributed to the meltdown on Wall Street.
James Pilant
Here’s another one – Where do Bubbles and Financial Market Failures Come From?
This is a cigar box converted into a lunch box. It dates from the 1890’s. Families often converted such items into school or work lunchboxes.
(From the – National Museum of American History)
James Pilant
Jayaraman Rajah Iyer is a friend of mine whose work is deep and complex. I recommend it to you, and warn you that you are dealing with a formidable thinker and economic analyst.
James Pilant
via Jayaribcm's Blog
Pilant's Business Ethics Blog 
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