November 2011
18 posts
Robert Reich: Restore the Basic Bargain →
robertreich:
For most of the last century, the basic bargain at the heart of the American economy was that employers paid their workers enough to buy what American employers were selling.
That basic bargain created a virtuous cycle of higher living standards, more jobs, and better wages.
Back in 1914, Henry…
The 2-Year Window | Mother Jones →
Matt Taibbi: UC Davis Pepper-Spray Incident... →
When we abandoned our principles in order to use force against terrorists and drug dealers, the answer to the question, What are we defending? started to change.
The original answer, ostensibly, was, “We are defending the peaceful and law-abiding citizens of the United States, their principles, and everything America stands for.”
Then after a while it became, “We’re defending...
Newt Gingrich to Occupiers: Take a Bath, Hippies! →
motherjones:
Yup.
Population density fostered literacy, the... →
stoweboyd:
It appears that the industrial revolution in the UK was sparked by rising literacy, which was in turn the product of rising population density:
Tim de Chent via Per Square Mile
The Industrial Revolution was fostered by a surge in literacy rates. Improvements in reading and writing were nurtured by the spread of schools. And the founding of schools was aided by rising population ...
“He says it’s pure accident that he became wealthy by learning to tell jokes and...”
– http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/11/13/bill-maher-s-comedy-of-rage.html
Chomsky Interview With Bill Moyers, 1988 →
‘The Crisis of Democracy.’ That report reflects attitudes that go way back. Even the mainstream democratic theorists have always understood that when the voice of the people is heard, you’re in trouble, because these stupid and ignorant masses, as they’re called, are going to make the wrong decisions. So, therefore we have to have what Walter Lippmann, back in 1920 or so,...
For every 10,000,000,000,000 stars, there is one...
“To some degree they’re playing on a different field, and to some degree, they’re...”
– John Hodgman - AV Club Interview
Wall Street Isn't Winning It's Cheating →
The point being: we have a massive police force in America that outside of lower Manhattan prosecutes crime and imprisons citizens with record-setting, factory-level efficiency, eclipsing the incarceration rates of most of history’s more notorious police states and communist countries.
“But the bankers on Wall Street don’t live in that heavily-policed country. There are maybe...
Wall Street Isn't Winning It's Cheating →
“Banks borrow billions at zero and lend mortgages to us at four percent, or credit cards at twenty or twenty-five percent. This is essentially an official government license to be rich, handed out at the expense of prudent ordinary citizens, who now no longer receive much interest on their CDs or other saved income. It is virtually impossible to not make money in banking when you have...
