36-Year Congressman John Conyers Calls for Protest Against the Debt Deal: “Thousands of People [Should Mass] In Front Of The White House To Protest This” (via Washington’s Blog)

On August 1, 2011 By southwerkIn business ethics

First listen to John Conyers –

This video is courtesy of Washington’s Blog.

This budget agreement is a disaster but even more disgusting is the creation of new branch of the government –

Here’s why we don’t want a “super congress” as proposed under the debt ceiling agreement. From the article –

That’s not all. If the politburo — handpicked members split evenly between the two gangs of thieves and poltroons that now hold sway on Capitol Hill — can’t agree on just how much they want to gut the budget and cut taxes for the rich, why then, this will trip a series of “triggers” which will automatically start gutting, slashing and cutting, without any vote by the democratically elected representatives whatsoever. And surely it would be superfluous in me to point out that these unaccountable “superpowers” will soon stretch to cover other areas of legislation beyond budgeting and taxes.

Behind all the flim-flammery of this manufactured “crisis”, we are watching the creation of a new form of government — or rather, the further mutation of the new form of government that the United States has been crawling toward for a long time. We called it a “neo-feudal oligarchy backed by a militarist police state” here the other day. No doubt there are many other ways you could describe this murderous, ravenous, lopsided monstrosity of a system. But the one thing you cannot call it is a “republic”.

Get mad. I don’t want you to do violence. I want you to be aware and to be tough with our elected officials. Let us try to change these things peacefully.

James Pilant

The Ethics Sage Wants the Politicians in Washington Gone!

On August 1, 2011August 1, 2011 By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

In his blog post – Throw the Republicans and Democrats Out of Office, Steven Mintz calls for us to throw the rascals out. And he’s right. I support him 100% in his call to vote out the current incompetents.

Here are his lead in paragraphs but to get the real flavor, you need to go and read the whole thing (and, of course, put the site on your favorites!).

Politicians have lost sight of their main responsibilities — to serve the public interest, honor the public trust, and be faithful to their constituency. It’s the latter that can get them into trouble as is the case with the current budget deliberations. The republicans are driven by conservative views and the Tea Party principles based on balancing the budget, cuts in spending especially from entitlement programs and no new revenues. If this is the Tea Party manifesto then it should start to drink caffeinated coffee. This is not the time to pursue a balanced budget amendment given the government has failed to deliver one for at least the last 14 years and we are still fighting two unwinnable wars.

The Democrats want no balanced budget amendment, limited cuts in spending programs and new revenues by raising the tax on taxpayers making over $250,000 in income. There needs to be changes in social security such as expanding the retirement date to a minimum of 65 years and a maximum 70 years. I would also recommend a slight increase in the 2.5% tax on Medicare which is low in comparison to the 6.25% rate for social security. We have an aging population that now lives longer than in the past and a slight increase in the Medicare rate is justified given the higher Medicare costs to the government.

My own opinions on our current politics have been featured in so many of postings I don’t feel the need to add to this. Besides this particular soap box belongs to the Ethics Sage.

James Pilant

Deficit Hysteria

On February 23, 2011February 23, 2011 By southwerkIn business ethics

I have been arguing that the deficit should be second in our concerns. I want our first concern to be getting people back to work. But right now, it’s deficit hysteria news cycle hour after hour.

From John Talton writing in his column, Sound Economy –

Amid the deficit hysteria, it’s important to remember its two major causes: The worst recession since the Great Depression and two wars, along with many other military commitments, that have lasted longer than World War II. As in 1945, the year the war ended and the deficit was even higher. Such was one of the reasons that taxes were above 90 percent on the rich in the 1950s: To pay off that debt.

(Why don’t we add the totally irresponsible tax cuts of the Bush administration? They made a lot of people very, very rich and devastated the budget.)

“Bag Ladies” On Social Security?

On February 15, 2011February 15, 2011 By southwerkIn business ethics

From the Chicago Sun-Times by Terry Savage –

Fear of being a “bag lady” is the secret worry of every older woman. I’ve written and talked about this before, and the subject always gets a nod or a grimace of recognition.

No woman wants to be a burden on her children – or grow old alone, worry about money.

With our President and the Congress and the beltway commentators all determined to cut Social Security, we can expect the situation to get worse, probably much worse as what’s left of the safety net is dismantled.

Read a little more –

*Women are likely to have a longer period of chronic disability and are more likely to need care in a long-term facility or from a paid caregiver. This is compounded by the fact that women are more likely to be alone in old age and less likely to have a family caregiver.

*Fifty-five percent of female retirees and 71 percent of female pre-retirees are concerned that they might not have enough money to pay for health care costs in retirement, compared to 42 percent of male retirees and 63 percent of male pre-retirees.

People, real people, not financial funds, not mortgage foreclosures companies, are supposed be looked after by our government. We are not supposed to be tossing grannies on to the fire of maximized profits. But we are.

Making every American regardless of circumstances rely totally on their own resources for virtually every contingency seems to be the philosophy of government. But a bank can navigate a depression better than a human being and a bank is unlikely to get a degenerative disease that bankrupts a family and destroys every vestige of financial security.

We should be looking out for each other not making sure of the highest possible return on investments.

James Pilant6

Social Security 101 (via Crooks and Liars)

On January 6, 2011January 6, 2011 By southwerkIn Capitalism

Crooks and Liars is one of favorite blogs. This is a critical entry. It talks about the malicious propaganda we are all exposed to about Social Security and its trust fund. I wish everyone concerned with the issue would read this particular post.

James Pilant

From Crooks and Liars –

<em>My career, pre-blogging, was as third-party administrator of employer-provided retirement plans. For years I was a certified practitioner, and I watched as private pensions were systematically dismantled, underfunded, and ultiimately converted to 401k plans subject to the whims of the market and unsophisticated investors. While owners might — MIGHT — have retired with adequate funds, workers almost never did. The one single thing that every worker could always count on at retirement was (and is) Social Security.

Yet it seems that conservative lies have taken hold to the extent that the truth is called a lie, while lies are called the truth. Once upon a time, that only happened in fiction. Now it’s real. So let’s talk about Social Security, what it is, and why you shouldn’t believe everything conservatives and their minions in the press tell you.

British Call For Executive Bonus Regulation

On November 29, 2010November 29, 2010 By southwerkIn business ethics, Capitalism, ethics, Government Failure

British Business Secretary Vince Cable calls for stiff bonus regulations.

From the BBC –

Mr Cable said disclosure was vital.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said the potential scale of 2010 bank bonuses remained “of considerable concern to the government”.

He added: “I’ve launched a consultation in my own department on corporate governance that takes in issues of remuneration and disclosure, and it may well be that that’s a better way of tackling it.

“I wouldn’t just cover banks, but highly paid executives in general. But we have to have a system whereby executive pay is available to shareholders so they can make proper decisions from it.”

Isn’t this something we should be talking about? Currently, business bonuses are at all time highs while the middle class barely hang on. Why don’t we talk about austerity for someone who isn’t a homeowner or a worker?

All over the United States, salaries have been stagnant for decades or even reduced. Some fields have diminished in size or virtually ceased to exist. Why should business bonuses be immune for the same kinds of cuts?

From further down in the article –

Mr Cable said he was “not persuaded” that banks realised they needed to limit bonuses, saying excessive remuneration in the sector remained a “major irritant”.

He added that if the banks gave out substantial bonuses at a time when the wider population faces the impact of austerity measures, it would be a “major provocation”, and that the government had the power of raising taxation to deal with the matter.

We’re not even having a discussion about this. Why is it always the middle class that gets hit? Why do they talk about Social Security and Medicare when there is so much money among so few who accomplish so little? How is it that Americans who paid into Social Security their entire working lives can be referred to as the “Greediest” generation as if they were two bit thieves?

James Pilant

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