Elizabeth Warren: Hey, Isn't America's Middle Class "Too Big to Fail"?
Elizabeth Warren is one of the few public figures who understands and acknowledges the enormous economic stress placed on the middle class, and actually cares what happens to them:
While the middle class has been caught in an economic vise, the financial industry that was supposed to serve them has prospered at their expense. Consumer banking -- selling debt to middle class families -- has been a gold mine. Boring banking has given way to creative banking, and the industry has generated tens of billions of dollars annually in fees made possible by deceptive and dangerous terms buried in the fine print of opaque, incomprehensible, and largely unregulated contracts.
And when various forms of this creative banking triggered economic crisis, the banks went to Washington for a handout. All the while, top executives kept their jobs and retained their bonuses. Even though the tax dollars that supported the bailout came largely from middle class families -- from people already working hard to make ends meet -- the beneficiaries of those tax dollars are now lobbying Congress to preserve the rules that had let those huge banks feast off the middle class.
Pundits talk about "populist rage" as a way to trivialize the anger and fear coursing through the middle class. But they have it wrong. Families understand with crystalline clarity that the rules they have played by are not the same rules that govern Wall Street. They understand that no American family is "too big to fail." They recognize that business models have shifted and that big banks are pulling out all the stops to squeeze families and boost revenues. They understand that their economic security is under assault and that leaving consumer debt effectively unregulated does not work.
Families are ready for change. According to polls, large majorities of Americans have welcomed the Obama Administration's proposal for a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). The CFPA would be answerable to consumers -- not to banks and not to Wall Street. The agency would have the power to end tricks-and-traps pricing and to start leveling the playing field so that consumers have the tools they need to compare prices and manage their money. The response of the big banks has been to swing into action against the Agency, fighting with all their lobbying might to keep business-as-usual. They are pulling out all the stops to kill the agency before it is born. And if those practices crush millions more families, who cares -- so long as the profits stay high and the bonuses keep coming.
America today has plenty of rich and super-rich. But it has far more families who did all the right things, but who still have no real security. Going to college and finding a good job no longer guarantee economic safety. Paying for a child's education and setting aside enough for a decent retirement have become distant dreams. Tens of millions of once-secure middle class families now live paycheck to paycheck, watching as their debts pile up and worrying about whether a pink slip or a bad diagnosis will send them hurtling over an economic cliff.
America without a strong middle class? Unthinkable, but the once-solid foundation is shaking.
Reid and ObUSHama might toss her under the bus with zero notice.
The Middle Class. It was nice while it lasted.
But the Very Rich and the Very Serious need to get back to Versailles, so it's time for the peasants to take off those ties and get back into those rags. We ought to be grateful that Dame Sarah Palin and Lord Glenn Beck favor us with their words, you betcha!
would Jim Rockford do?
Who is Jim Rockford and what should he do?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Watch your Nick at Nite! ;)
The Rockford Files
Watch your own neck at night. :)
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Spooning to Forking, I suppose.
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Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
or maybe....not enough.
;)
...consult his files, and drive off to talk to someone who is "middleclass"
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
I like Elizabeth Warren but I do wish she would escape the Corporate/Capitalist Class obfuscation of class structure in this country, which they do intentionally. My take on it is here.
At least 62% of the population is the working class, well paid or poorly paid, they have no authority over the nature of their work.
1% is the Capitalist class, they have complete authority over the nature of their work, their work is done by and through their capital, IE their wealth.
The rest are the middle class, who have limited authority over the nature of their work. Professional specialists, IE Doctors, Lawyers, middle managers what have you. Small business owners when they do physical work with their employees who may number less than 20 suggests to me that they might also be in the middle class.
Making the working class forget their own status robs them of their dignity.
This is intentional. Otherwise they would understand that they need a union, or a revolution.
Over the last thirty years the members of the Capitalist class have made out like bandits.
The members of the middle class have not done too badly.
The members of the working class have done miserably. They have not kept pace, where it seemed as if they did it was only through taking on enormous debt, which is largely why we are where we are.
They are being pushed into the mud.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
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Alice,
It's been going on for a lot more than 30 years. It's practically a tradition in this country for the capitalists to rip off the middle and working class strata, ably assisted by their appointees in all three branches of the federal government.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
True, there is a history of exploitation, but the middle class didn't really emerge until the 30s and not really until the 50s.
The past thirty years has seen a massive transfer of wealth upwards. Incomes have been basically flat, but the income of the top 5% has went up 150%.
Now there is no manufacturing base left and the neo liberals have almost run out of credit.
I guess you could say the elites are responding to a redistribution of wealth that did not suit their fancy.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
It has been going on since before Marx wrote the first line of the Communist Manifesto:
In the United States the system developed during 1930s, the New Deal, created an environment where the working class benefited considerably.
Standards of living rose but the Capitalist class were never happy and the big push back was underway immediately after WWII.
They found their great communicator in Ronald Reagan and that is where I mark the thirty years.
But you are right that it goes back before then.
Links for video research on 100 years of American Corporate propaganda here
To which I would add Chomsky on the Creel Commission found separately here
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
Agreed, Alice.
I also use the 30 year mark as my reference point, with Reagan as the catalyst.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
In view of the actions of the last 30 years I guess this really confirms FDR was a true populist president. Nice try Franklin. We appreciate the effort.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
FDR said a number of famous things, one was:
FDR in his first inaugural address which is a fine speech, he said:
But he was practical, he tried a number of things, some worked, some did not and he was steadily pushed to the left.
He was of a wealthy family and was called a traitor to his class.
But in the end he was concerned about the people of the country.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
He was of a wealthy family and was called a traitor to his class.
What do you think is being said about Jay Rockefeller behind his back...or the Kennedys.
Old money families like the Rockefellers at least had a family tradition, as people of historical wealth, to know they had a social responsibility to society.
This view has been undermined over the last 40 or so years by the growth of the nuveau riche, who act as if their new found wealth was due to their superiority.
Now...of course there have been robber barons throughout history, including the Rockefellers...but that fact is that there was at least SOME sense of honor.
Yes, did they manipulate things to gain power and money. of course. But most were embarrassed at the thought of even APPEARING to openly shit on the poor.
It was considered gauche, dishonorable and classless.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
the poor had a tendency to bite the rich in the a** when they were being defecated on.
I think that the current actions by the rich have less to do with their relinquishing of old time human decency value, and more to do with the poor newfound docility.
I won't disagree with that. However, black slaves grossly outnumbered their masters and never rose up.
Also, there was a different set of mores then, albeit never equally applied for sure.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
The Masters had the law, gubbermint, police and guns.
Not unlike now, for average Americans. Now they have SWAT teams and helicopters and tasers too. Yikes.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
"rose up," they were killed. With no consequences. You can dispose of your property as you wish.
South lived in abject poverty and yet the rich used institutional racism to implement a good ol divide and conquer approach to societal control.
The slaves and the poor whites had more in common among themselves than the rich white plantation owners. Yet, it was the racism of the poor whites which ended up keeping the blacks in check, and thus force the whites to relinquish their own interest for the "privilege" of doing the bidding of the rich.
For a modern example, simply refer to your average GOP voter.
I don't think there was any old-time decency. Making/acquiring money has always been cutthroat and often unprincipled.
The poor feel docile because they are alone: the unions are gone. One man against the machine is daunting.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
And of course...there is American Idol.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
One of the goodies they toss you.
Watch this and fantasize about what it's like to be rich in some kind of windfall.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
...the middle class, at the size we like to imagine it is, is an artificial construct. The less regulation of the highest 'earners', the smaller the middle class, and the larger the gap between top class and low class. Without artificial controls, the middle class would all but dry up, with only those in direct service to the wealthy, the management class, earning more than the average in the worker class. Without government intervention, we would have no leverage against the corporation, which is, in essence the very incarnation of the anti-union.
Is this the line waiting to do some Obama bashing?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Always!
:)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
I think I will just hang out in the lobby for a while until the crowd has left.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
he does not need our help
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZG8Zq8V54k
I think that's the problem. A whole lot of people just aren't used to an adult running the country. A smart adult who knows to keep his pants zipped is just too much for some to comprehend. We haven't experienced something like that in 16 years.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
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Yep and I saw the original as it happened on Morning Joe. Is there going to be a test or something?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
That is from Obama's own campaign site.
she's not the president.
About this whole mess...is that after W & company really fouled things up, and the deterioration of the country since Reagan, we are at a point where DRASTIC action needs to be taken or else collapse is imminent. But O wants "partisanship" with the people who caused and are causing said collapse. He's either one of them (most likely) or just plain stupid. Dithering is no longer an option, at least when it comes to fixing THIS country.
Dead on! 100% correct!
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
that Obama is simply making sure things stabilize before implementing drastic regulations and assignation of responsibilities for this mess.
I know that is a remote responsibility, but I would love to be proven wrong in my cynicism for a change.
Wants?" Breathtaking.
There is no middle class. Never was.
It is a construct designed to keep us in a permanent state of apathy by reassuring us that we are not one of THEM (the poor), while at the same time providing security to the rich that we will never become one of THEM.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
Can you see the problem coming here? The middle class can no longer pay for the poor or for themselves. Thus the "poor" double or triple in size. Then the only "haves" left are the rich. How long do you think they'll get to keep everything? Huh? The possibilities are violent revolution and/or genocide. They don't see this coming?
To be honest, I think a lot of people feel a need to self-censor some of what they want to say because we know some of it will send up red flags at the NSA.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
I do that all the time.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
I'm sure many of us do. It's no accident. It has all been well orchestrated.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
You should hear what I really think.
Are you saying the speculative truth will get you arrested? If the people who bring assault rifles, etc. to Town Meetings at which the President appears don't even get tossed, then I think my free speech right is going to save me from NSA action for stating what I see as a likely outcome from all this corruption. I don't harm people. I try to make them think. If that is a threat to certain powers, then my job is going well.
I'm going to go read another book and talk to my cats. They are not the least bit politically paranoid. They are spooky around strangers in the house and Rottweilers that they don't know personally, however. Good night.
America IS the middle class. We are not the wealthy and elite. Just look at the numbers.
The fact is the middle class pays for almost everything. It is payroll taxes that funds the government.
If the labor force ever got together - watch out!
The democratic party was once very strong and pro-labor. The party sacrificed one of its original core principles to compete with the GOP - they took corporate money.
Now I think as the GOP fades away the Democratic party needs to split into two parties, one progressive labor and let the other part try for progressive business.
It is impossible to serve two masters and business interest competes with labor interests.
Or maybe just a labor party. Take the union support and money out of the democratic party and I bet it shrinks to less than half.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
.
there's too much money/influence in washington. for the most part "we the people" have been taken out of the process so not to interfere with the corporate agenda.
that corps are peeps, then the deal will be sealed for good.
Outrage, protests from the people? I think not.
That's already happened.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
Sometime this month I thought.
When did they rule on it and link please.
I'm referring to the Hillary movie case BTW.
In 1886
Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 118 U.S. 394 (1886) was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with taxation of railroad properties. The case is most notable for the obiter dictum statement that corporations are entitled to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.[1][2]
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
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The Hillary case is about unlimited campaign contributions from corporations. It is the final blow.
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Money has value only if it keeps moving. Save yours. Don't buy anything you don't really need. Don't use credit. If you can file bankruptcy, do it. Bring them to their knees, then kick them in their asses. Take your country back.
i would define it as being Financially Secure; not having to worry that you are one car accident, or serious illness or lay-off away from poverty or homelessness. That your savings & retirement are safe, your medical coverage adequate, your mortgage at a reasonable rate, and, should you loose your job, you could find another, comparable, job within 6 weeks.
How many people could claim that 30+ years ago? Probably quite a few. Now? Not too many.
You know we live in a depression right now that people are comparing to the thirty's well that era also brought us something or someone else Bonnie and Clyde Dillinger pretty boy Floyd maybe its time the Banks start paying for their criminal activity
The vast majority of the politians in DC do not give one damn about the middle class or this country , they've gone international , it's all about big business , corporations , Wall Street and the "haves" , like the head of the Bush crime family said "it's the new world order" . They will continue to sell us out ... and sell the country out from under our feet .
They are trying to preserve capitalism, but they are running out of options. So they are trying to squeeze the last pennies out of the third world. The only way to accomplish this is with regional military interventions.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
They give less of a damn than they used to. America is not their only market these days. Have you been to Asia in the last 10 years. There is a consumer market 10X the size of the USA, and they're buying like crazy. Of course, they don't want to lose the American market, but you're not the only focus anymore.
I call it just enough politics: You get just enough to keep you from the streets, with pitchforks.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
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For all of Ms. Warren's dedication, revelations, admonishments, and admirable intentions, her results have been less than dismal. Without knowing for sure, it appears she was given zero regulatory or enforcement power over the entities she has investigated. If only she was able to act on her findings. So, what exactly is her purpose? Pacification, perhaps? I don't know whether to feel sorry for her or admit that I am tired of hearing her complain and revealing horrors that she can't do anything about. I don't understand what she is mandated to accomplish.
the revolving door between capitol hill and k-street has little to NO interest in anything but their wallstreet darling CHiNA.
Hint: it's the middle class.
Hint: It's the great unwashed, which is essentially 98% of the country, who have been conned by commercial media into thinking they are part of the top 2%.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
They are so misinformed that they actually think wealthy people are just waiting to share. This is the result of lousy education, the dumbing down of almost everyone.
I was middle class, a long, long time ago in a faraway land.
Yup , those were the days .
By Avi Feller and Chad Stone
September 9, 2009
RELATED AREAS OF RESEARCH
Poverty and Income
Trends
Two-thirds of the nation’s total income gains from 2002 to 2007 flowed to the top 1 percent of U.S. households, and that top 1 percent held a larger share of income in 2007 than at any time since 1928, according to an analysis of newly released IRS data by economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez.[1]
During those years, the Piketty-Saez data also show, the inflation-adjusted income of the top 1 percent of households grew more than ten times faster than the income of the bottom 90 percent of households.
The last economic expansion began in November 2001 and ended in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, which means the Piketty-Saez data essentially cover that expansion. The last time such a large share of the income gain during an expansion went to the top 1 percent of households — and such a small share went to the bottom 90 percent of households — was in the 1920s
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=...
Some interesting bar graphs.
Reagan smiles at these statistics....and the Bush Family toasts..."Mission...Accomplished".
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
Thinking back, there were more than a few people that attempted to enlighten and forewarn whoever would listen, these kinds of "Operations" were indeed well under way. They explained almost verbatim these scenarios. "Mismanagement" or "Someone Should Have Known!" were words and phrases that weren't used much. More like "God-damned Thieves!" or questions were raised such as "Who the PHUCK didn't know about it?" They were and are called "Conspiracy Theorists" who donned "Tin Foil Hats" and a variety of colloquial descriptions. Most people seem predestined to deny anything not fed to them by respectable news sources. Of course, by virtue of being in this category, these people have a manufactured, packaged and exceedingly sterile view of the world.
It is seemingly a waste of time and energy to try and convince the masses of even the possibility that massive financial frauds are underway, this minute. And the chances of stopping them is pretty much nil. Just perhaps, the scheme is so huge and pervasive, it could only be orchestrated on a global scale.....by prior design. Maybe, by a relatively small cadre of seasoned and determined megalomaniacs? Actually, the aforementioned (and accurate) Conspiracy Theorists that first began to reveal the many scams being "discovered" now by regulators, also foretold a fairly feeble effort by anyone to stop it, correct it or hold anyone seriously accountable. The "Fed" simply can not explain how it all happened or how it's still happening. My God! They already have all the frigging money America ever had or will have for the completely unseen, but predictable future. Maybe gold will seem downright cheap, if and when it hits $12K per ounce.
Arriving in the U.S. in 1926 with a new name, Ayn (rhymes with fine) made her way to Hollywood, where she had modest success as a screenwriter and married an aspiring actor, Frank O'Connor. Her politicization came when she and her husband worked on Republican Wendell Willkie's losing presidential campaign in 1940. According to Burns, "Before Willkie she had been pro-capitalist yet pessimistic, writing 'The capitalist world is low, unprincipled, and corrupt.' Now she celebrated capitalism as the 'noblest, cleanest and most idealistic system of all.' "
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9...
...and here's why:
1. The American middle class will deserve it and, hopefully, it will wake them up and cause them to realize that it is THEIR fault in that they have remained ignorant of what is going on in the U.S. and the world, they have elected fools such as Ronald Reagan, both Bushes and other crypto-Nazi Republicans in the Congress, and in their state and local governments, thereby allowing the ruling class minority to loot the U.S. Treasury and oppress the majority of the people of the United states. They have allowed themselves to be dumbed down by the lying crypto-Nazis and the media via propaganda-laden "newscasts" and insipid entertainment programing fit only for those who suffer from low IQs. The middle class has permitted the crypto-Nazis to wage immoral, illegal and unnecessary wars, killing untold millions of innocent men, women and children, and as a result is as guilty as the most heinous World War II war criminals. America's middle class deserves to suffer.
2. Through the severe economic suffering imposed on it by the sociopathic ruling class minority, the middle class will hopefully awaken to realize that there are other forms of economics and government that are far more fair to everyone and far superior to the corrupt cesspool that currently dominates the United States. They will learn that the ruling class is comprised entirely of sociopathic parasites who produce absolutely no wealth, but who feed off the blood of the workers. The middle class will learn that they have been lied to from the very beginning of their lives. They will learn that socialism is the wave of the future and the only true hope for not only the United States, but for the entire world.
3. A 1-2% wealthy ruling class in a society where there is no middle class buffer and the majority are mired in poverty leads to one thing: REVOLUTION and the final destruction of the ruling class and liberation of the people of the United States of America. That's why I hope the pigs allow the middle class to collapse.
God speed the American Revolution!!!!!
3. A 1-2% wealthy ruling class in a society where there is no middle class buffer and the majority are mired in poverty leads to one thing: REVOLUTION and the final destruction of the ruling class and liberation of the people of the United States of America.
Don't threaten me with a good time!!
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
People will only take so much abuse until they decide NO MORE. That's the usual cycle throughout history.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
Excellent Post!
I shake my head everyday at the number of morons who still support the republican party, and think "socialism" is the root of all evil - even as the GOP fascists are destroying their lives, they still support them.
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
What a great bunch comments! I just thank God that I'm not the only one that sees this. How long will it take to sink into the general consciousness. Lots of people are worried about the new or one world order. It's already here! It's being run by the bankers and corporations. They control the world.
being killed through, mostly, no fault of their own: I'll start with wars, no affordable health care, toxic food, toxic drugs (both legal and illegal), pollution, poverty that leads to crime, that leads to more poverty, and overpopulation. Anyone got any to add?
Conservatives (fascists) in government.
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
Absolutely right. And until enough people realize that true and effective leadership can ONLY come from outside of the traditional Republican/Democratic "nominating" circus, we shall continue our backward slide.
Having an "adult" who keeps his pants zipped is a refreshing change in some respects, I suppose, but the policies are more of the same, especially in economic matters.
Let me know when the "Draft Warren" movement needs a volunteer.
So what if she was president. She would be one person, ONE. The thought that one person could so much as make a dent in the sorry classless state of our society and country is absurd. It takes a movement full of many people working everyday to make this country better. Too much stock is put in the position of President, the figure head of the United States. A president can only become a great president when enough of the electorate continuously pushes him or her every step of the way.
We vote them in. And they screw us over. Again.
NOBODY 2012
Warren runs circles around Geithner and Bernanke
Glad someone is taking notice of the plight of the middle class. Media is catching on, too! http://www.newsy.com/videos/what_middle_class
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