.

WANTED: Book (Draft) Reviewers

2011-10-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

The excerpts contained herein, along with a table of contents and foreword represent 3+ years of research and a solid non-stop year of writing, rewriting, editing and proofing with zero funding or monetary compensation. The result is a book (draft) with a working title of Monopoly that it is being offered free-of-charge for a limited time to anyone that requests a copy by e-mail.

Request Your Free-of-Charge Copy of Monopoly NOW!

JKaneTheResistance@hotmail.com

It’s that simple, shoot out an e-mail and a free-of-charge pdf copy of the draft will arrive in your in-box for review, input and direction. You play the role of book reviewer and push the work to be done back out to the e-mail address above. At some point a book is dubbed “first draft” which then requires thousands, perhaps millions of readers as part of the vetting process to deliver a “published book.” More importantly, our U.S. economy and collective financial health as a nation requires millions of readers which is why it is being offered free-of-charge with an added push for you to forward a copy to every single American citizen you know.

This is an opportunity for YOU to make a difference for our economy and our collective financial health as a nation. It can be read in its entirety, or navigated by points of interest, but it’s critical that you provide feedback via “semi-formal” reviews and that you pass it on to your fellow Americans. It’s highly anticipated that the book will learn from your ideas, links, resources, direction and input to become a better “product” when it publishes. While mere “opinions” don’t carry much weight, nor is there time for back and forth debate, every e-mail will be read and all hard data, statistical information, etc. along with links will be evaluated thoroughly for potential inclusion either within the first edition, future editions or as website content. Collectively we’re far smarter and more powerful than operating alone, but only if we all contribute!

Just like any venture, financial contributions and funding are essential, but in today’s economy it’s difficult to ask anyone to part with a dime, so this pre-release is being disseminated on the “honor system” for those that approve and can afford to help out. If you’re not able, then your reading time, input and direction will be more than enough and greatly appreciated!

Contributions via personal check: e-mail JKaneTheResistance@hotmail.com for mailing address and payee information.

Feedback, Input and Questions: JKaneTheResistance@hotmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JKaneTheResistance

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JKTheResistance

Foreword

2011-10-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

[Pages 2-6]

I always knew I’d write a book one day, but never envisioned it would be this one. It started out with me, just an average citizen, suddenly having something none of us ever have . . . some spare time. That time, was bestowed by the Great Recession we’re all now living within. Even though we’re told it’s now over, we all know better.

A news junkie, just like many Americans, I was and to this day am not a “political junkie” or someone with a natural curiosity about the economy. Only a few pages into this book and you will question both those assertions, but they are in fact true. If our common economic plight, within the context of the political arena, had no bearing upon our nation and my fellow citizens, I wouldn’t be the least bit interested in either topic. Furthermore, it would make all the data, numbers and information provided herein a waste of your time to read. Well America, if you don’t realize it now, you will realize in time — our common economic plight is just about the only issue that really does matter. The reason for that is quite simple: at a minimum all Americans need to eat and we all need a roof over our heads. Meeting the two basic human needs of food and shelter are now in more jeopardy than at any time since the Great Depression and as you will learn herein — the economic challenges ahead of us are absolutely immense and complicated well beyond what most Americans now understand. In order to overcome and confront those challenges, America must now toss aside all the frivolous by comparison issues and focus solely on three economic arenas: massive wealth disparity, a strong U.S. economy and creation of good private sector jobs for our citizens.

As I researched, peeled back the layers and evaluated, I became ever more alarmed by what I uncovered. Previous to my research, I saw my fellow Americans as a happy go lucky group of souls living their own versions of the American Dream. Now I view my fellow Americans as a humble trusting group of people being led to their economic slaughter by a corrupt political class owned by the mega-rich. Even though the vast majority of Americans have been under financial siege for more than 30+ years, we’ve yet to respond with any fight in a battle that can only be described as “class warfare.” Through a highly sophisticated divide and conquer game along with diversion and manipulation of the truth — the powers in charge of our economy and the American monopoly board are sucking the lifeblood out of the American Dream. The cherished and long held idea that America is a classless society where economic opportunity and upward mobility exists, as you will discover, has never been further from the truth.

With the exception of having an extensive 20+ year career in corporate communications, business journalism and marketing, I’m no different whatsoever than any other average American citizen — nor does such a background “qualify” me to write this book. If I’m “qualified” to understand and interpret the facts, statistics and implications of this book, then so are you. I’m merely the messenger of the facts, statistics, data and historical facts. While I of course draw some conclusions from the information, interpretation is up to readers. Nonetheless, my background does uniquely qualify me to unlock and decipher spin and sophisticated political manipulation along with “corporate speak.” At the end of the day, it’s all “advertising” and “marketing” and once you realize that reality — you’ll see beyond it with a big picture perspective to understand that we have all been played and manipulated for decades. In Part I, the multifaceted games are exposed and in Part II, the beginnings of a resistance plan are put into place to end to the games. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet — no singular political figure, existing political party or piece of legislation — that will restore the American Dream overnight. It took decades of apathy and misguided trust in a failed political class to get us into the economic mess we’re now in and it will take at least a decade and more than likely far longer to turn the corner and restore prospects for the American Dream.

If nothing else comes across, two realities are critical to get across: 1) the economic/political hierarchy is no longer working for the vast majority of the American people and 2) unlike at any time in our past, average citizens now have quick access to credible information resources to clear away all the babble and noise killing the American Dream. Armed with that information, the ONLY hope America now has is for average citizens to step-up and get involved to save the American Dream. The current political class is simply not capable of addressing the issues without the leadership of common citizens. The days of worshiping some cult of personality political figure or following and buying into the lofty rhetoric of so called “political rock stars” — with the old glory as their backdrop — is a failed exercise in futility. More importantly, while voting is essential, merely voting every couple of years and doing nothing else in between, is about as effective in bringing about positive economic changes as cursing at your TV.

Only a massive push by engaged citizens acting in their own economic self interest and a constant monitoring of every move the political class makes, will turn things around and restore the American Dream. Anything short of a mass uprising and peaceful revolution by the American people will produce nothing but more status quo empty promises, hollow rhetoric and the same old political games. By design and execution, we’re a confused, manipulated and divided nation — focused on anything and everything — except the three most critical issues we now face: wealth inequality, a strong U.S. economy and creation of good private sector jobs for our citizens.

The time has arrived to say goodbye to cable news, the Harvard economists, political pundits and the talking heads dividing America with gotcha politics, smokescreens and manipulation. It’s time that Americans admit that we have a grossly dysfunctional two-party political system that serves only the greedy desires of the mega-rich. With an inquisitive mind, the Internet and a few clicks of your mouse — the big picture is clear. Contrary to popular belief, there is no battle going on between two political parties fighting it out for the economic wellbeing of “the people.” Red, blue, donkey and elephant are just the colors and characters of an elaborate play acted out for the American people. While some things obviously happen behind closed doors and far more transparency is needed, the American people are so apathetic and bamboozled that we fail to see and investigate the facts that are right in our face.

The resources to uncover the truth are pervasive, yet Americans are lazily led like sheep by cable news, politicians and so called pundits who have as their only agenda . . . more money in their pockets. Far too many Americans will buy into even the most insane conspiracy theory, but won’t lift a finger to look at the truth — when it is unmasked and available for anyone to see. Everyone in America needs to eat and desires a roof over their heads, but far too few will invest any significant research and advocacy time to ensure those two basic life needs are met. On the other hand, as a barometer of warped priorities, more than 122 million Americans voted to determine the last America Idol winner? While it seems a new TV talent show comes upon the scene almost weekly, unless YOU can sing or dance — such talents are NOT going to be feeding YOUR family or paying YOUR bills. Therefore, putting forth some actual political and economic effort . . . should perhaps take a higher priority than American Idol.

While many books exist on most, if not all, topics covered herein, this book attempts to not only expose the big picture but to tie it all together in order to connect the interlocking construction of what amounts to a massive money funnel diverting the lifeblood of American toil and labor to the top of a class structure. Much of the information herein is better suited to be presented via the Internet [which is part of Phase II], but the big picture is best presented via a book. Understanding the big picture is all about exploring and exposing the smokescreens, political party games and manipulation techniques to demystify the control vehicles that have the American people programmed to act against their own economic self interest. The vast research resources and advocacy avenues provided within [and more to come as this draft is moved toward final publication] are the most valuable tools we now have available to confront and solve the humongous economic issues we now face. Assuming you actually want the truth, the websites and information links provided, called “breakout resources,” along with in depth analysis, will help to end to political spin and economic double-speak.

While most books want to convince their readers of something, this endeavor wants you to come to your own conclusions, free from spin and manipulation. That is exactly why extensive footnotes are provided for all the statistics, data and information provided, along with the aforementioned “breakout resources.” This book is about sending you upon your own investigative journey with the goal of enabling you to form your own conclusions — instead of having them formed for you and spoon fed into your brain. Going forward, you must believe ONLY what you can see and can document — not what you are being told by any political party, politician, corporate mouthpiece or talking head. Trust only what you can verify, examine both sides of every economic issue and then, and only then, form your own conclusions. Much of what seems to be, just isn’t true and much of what you have trusted for decades . . . just can’t be trusted any longer.

I didn’t write for reviewers at the New York Times or the Washington Post, but instead wrote for my fellow Americans . . . in the mode of one-to-one conversational English not stilted, ivory tower academic discourse. Unlike the political class and the media, I have nothing monetarily to gain from lying and manipulating reality. In fact, by giving up an anonymous existence, along with exposing the truth . . . I’m doing myself no financial favors whatsoever! Some will claim that I’m envious of the mega-rich, but instead, it’s “familiarity” that breeds my contempt. Being “business friendly” and pro “free enterprise” are not the same as a nation ruled by unmitigated greed and avarice.

A Washington, D.C. insider, I’m not, any more than you, but a move to Washington, D.C. a decade ago opened my eyes to a city that is so corrupted by greed and money that I now see our nation’s capitol as an apple teaming with worms. While most Americans care about the economy, too many say they are “not political.” Unfortunately, the two are as intertwined as foreplay and birth and what happens or doesn’t happen in Washington, D.C. as well as state legislatures, dictates most livelihoods and the future of the American Dream. Getting involved is not some vague “civic duty,” but it is now a matter of basic survival.

My perspectives from 20+ years as a corporate mouthpiece, deliver unique insights that no “journalist” inside a news room possesses. At some point in life, you look in the mirror and realize that you just have to try and do the right thing and exposing the truth is now what I must do. Whether or not Americans can stomach the truth is yet to be seen, but this book is all about exposing it. In many instances I provide some actual solutions, but by no means am I able to provide them all. If nothing else, I ask most of the right questions and questioning is where real change begins. Questioning the road our common American Dream is now upon and whether our current political system and characters are capable of turning the wheel — before we go off the cliff — is the looming question that every American must now ask.

Our political class and the mega-rich don’t want this book and subsequent website to happen and it won’t happen without you. Without you simply attaching this draft to an e-mail with your comments and sharing with every American you know, all the facts, statistics and work herein will be in vain. There will be elements herein with which you disagree . . . thus is the nature of anything that involves economic and political discourse. Freely take whatever you disagree with herein and toss it over your shoulder and out the window, but please take action now on the initiatives with which you do agree. America can no longer afford to act like children by “taking their ball and going home” whenever we disagree, but instead we must unite by the millions on the issues where there is agreement. Divide and conquer politics, manipulation and diversion are exactly why the American Dream is dying and Americans now have to open their eyes before it’s too late. Before reading further, please temporarily place all your political tags, such as “liberal,” “conservative,” “progressive,” “right” and “left” on the rack by the front door . . . such divisions are mere blinders whereby all average Americans are losing economically. I’m irreverent by necessity and my blade is sharp on both edges in order to cut through gotcha politics, sound bites and our failed status quo political system. While Americans can presently agree on little or nothing, there is one thing we can almost all agree upon — this so called “political system” in regard to addressing the critical economic issues of our time — is just no longer working for the American people.

This early draft manuscript is being distributed free of charge via e-mail for two purposes: 1) to gather a wide-range of input, ideas and feedback previous to publishing and 2) to procure grassroots financial donations to either self-publish or to pursue the avenue of finding a publisher. It may be forwarded in this draft form, as you have received it, but ONLY in its entirety with no edits changes or deletions as protected by U.S. copyright laws. Inside of this extremely strict perimeter, you are strongly encouraged to forward a copy to every American e-mail address that exists! This is about numbers and the more distributions it receives the greater chances are for getting it to print. Your involvement, financial contributions and input; along with sharing this draft with all your fellow Americans will determine success or failure.

To say “America is at a crossroads” is cliché and so often repeated that the words now ring hollow — we’re way past the crossroad and missed a huge turn decades ago. In reality, America is either at a point of meltdown or revolution. If we stay the present course, we’re doomed to a two class America of the fabulously wealthy and the dirt poor . . . with no class of Americans in between whatsoever. This book is all about coming together to change that impending reality. Americans now feel helpless and hopeless which has led to apathy and a resignation that nothing can be done to stop the current path we are now on. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that can only happen with a nation of common citizens who are informed, aware and fully engaged. This entire book is premised upon enlightening the American people on how we got here and more importantly how we can now turn back the tide that is killing the American Dream. There is much to be uncovered and investigated along with a massive fight ahead, so let’s get started . . .

2011-10-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

America Year 2030
The “Writing Is On the Wall"
Some Stakes Firmly in the Ground
America’s Economy and the Board Game Monopoly
Greed Kills the Game for Everyone
A View from Atop the American Pyramid
The Career Ladder Unclimbed
Wealth Redistribution
Historical Context to Massive Top-Only Wealth
Budget Basics and the 800 Pound Gorilla
Death and Taxes are Avoidable
Corporate Taxes . . . Not So Fast
The Art of Critical Thinking
Sipping from the Cup of Liberty Kool-Aid
Worshipping the Gods
The Great Game Changer with More to Come
Facing Upto the On Shore Numbers Reality
“Democracy”to the Rescue
Shooting Ourselves in the Foot
Voting in Satan: Attorneys and Lawyers
“Career” Politicians . . . No More, Ever Again!
The Political Families
Why Would Someone Run for Congress?
The Revolving Door
Show Me the Money
Limits, Loopholes and Transparency
In Washington, it’s Always Party Time!
The Two-Party Mirage
Pulling Back the Curtain
The Wall Street Reform Bill
So Why Would Our President Sign Such a Bill
The Federal Reserve
Either Way it Goes, Banking is a Win-Win for the Mega-Rich
If You Think Wall Street is Greedy, Welcome to Corporate America
CEO/Executive Compensation: A Recipe for Even More Economic Disaster
Humans are NOT Stock
It’s an Employers’ Market
Labor Unions: the Antithesis of Corporate America or Not?
Bigger is Better but NOT for You
Big Box or Big Prison?
Wally World the Evil Empire
The Ultimate American Dream Killer
ThatSleeping Dragon is Now Wide Awake!
A Balance of Power Largely in Consumers’ Hands
TradeAgreements and the WTO
The North American Free Trade Agreement
The Media Game: How It Gets Played and Who Wins
Keep Them Believing and Waving the Flag
Keep Them Amused, Entertained and Distracted
Now to the News
Sex Sells and Always Will
The Sky is Falling
These People are News Journalists?
Keep Them Fighting . . . Each Other
Blurring the Lines
Media Conclusions if Any
High Jacking the Christian Religion
Table Setting for the Mega-Rich
Resist or Continue Sticking Your Head in the Sand?

Part II: The Resistance

The Writing Is On the Wall

2011-10-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

[Pages 13-16]

Unlike the politicians, political pundits and media that speak out the back of their head with generalities, glowing speeches, promises that can’t be kept, sound bites, party politics, inflammatory rhetoric and enough smokescreens to confuse any American — this book is about the data and the facts. What you may currently think, or what someone may say are meaningless unless backed up and validated by the facts, the data and statistics.

The phrase “writing is on the wall” is derived from the biblical story where an actual hand and fingers were seen writing on a wall by a king. As the story goes, the king didn’t listen and paid the price. No matter how blatant the hand writing, it seems that throughout history, mankind will deny the obvious and cling to the familiar until it’s too late to reverse course. Unless America can read the handwriting now on the wall and turn the wheel now, the prospects for America’s economic future, most especially for the middle-class, are dismal. The numbers, evidence and statistics herein are so overwhelming and compelling to mandate a radical course reversal that the simply cannot be denied.

Right now, the writing is on the wall for every single American [outside of the very top percentage of the mega-rich] that it couldn’t be more clearly written. The following bullet point numbers, statistics and realities are intended to provoke thought, exploration and most importantly . . . compel your actions going forward. The following are documented facts. They are not created and put out by some political party or candidate, they are not fear mongering, they are not propaganda and just like every statistic herein — they are footnoted in the hope that you will check out each one if you have any doubts whatsoever as to their veracity.

In exchange for a lifetime of toil and hard work by our parents, as well as previous family generations, 91.9 percent of Americans receive nothing, zero, not a dime of inheritance when their parents’ estate is settled. A mere 1.6 percent receive more than $100 K and 1.1 percent receive more than $50 K. Since that adds up to 94.6 percent of the population it means the 5.4 percent at the top of the American food chain get all the outstanding billions in inheritance dollars.¹

The bottom 90 percent of Americans own a grand total of 10 percent of all the stocks, bonds, trusts and business equity in America and only around 25 percent of the non-home real estate.²

With inflation calculated, an America making $25 K in yearly income during 1979 would have to now be making $75,313 to have held their financial ground.³ That’s an increase of 331+ percent, yet the average American income for entire households (not individuals) rose only 50 percent between 1979 and 2006.⁴ For seven straight years leading up to the beginning of the Great Recession (2000 to 2007) actual inflation adjusted income for 90 percent of Americans declined.⁵

Betweenthe start of the Great Recession and June 2011, median household income in the U.S. fell 9.8 percent and after the “official end” of the Great Recession, between June 2009 and June 2011, the inflation-adjusted median household income fell another 6.7 percent.⁶

In 2009, 1 in every 160 Americans filed bankruptcy and the 2010 numbers rose 9 percent to 1.4 million.⁷

The fall in employment from 2007 levels will cost U.S. workers more than $1 T in lost wages/salaries during the five year period 2008-2012.⁸America is experiencing the highest long-term unemployment since 1948.⁹

American families lost a total of $19.4 trillion (in 2010 dollars) in household wealth from June 2007 to March 2009. As of Q1, 2011, only somewhere around $6 T of that lost wealth has been recovered.¹⁰

As of May 2011, more than 5 million homes have already been repossessed since 2006.¹¹ More than 1 million American homes were repossessed in 2010 with 1 in every 45 homes receiving a foreclosure notice (2.9 M). As of June 2011, there were more than 2+ million homes in “active foreclosure” and another 2+ million waiting in the wings.¹²As of July 2011, analysts are predicting another 5 to 7 million homes will be repossessed before the carnage ends.¹³

Between June 2007 and March 2009, American families lost $6.4 T in home value alone.¹⁴ Home values plummeted 32 percent between 2005 and 2011.¹⁵ As of May 2011, nearly 14 million people, 28.4 percent of all homeowners owe more on their mortgage then their home is worth (a.k.a. underwater) and half of those homeowners are more than 30 percent underwater.¹⁶ Analysts now project that the percentage of home ownership will fall to around 63 percent before we bottom out (circa the mid-1960s rate of homeownership).¹⁷

Approximately half of all American workers have less than $2000 saved for retirement.¹⁸ As of 2008 corporate pension plans in America were under-funded by an estimated $217 billion.¹⁹ State government pension plans are under-funded by $3.2 trillion. In 2010, for the first time ever, the Social Security system paid out more in benefits than it took in via payroll taxes.²⁰ When Social Security is combined with Medicare, projections for the next 75 years indicate the programs are under-funded by $46 trillion.²¹

Nationally 14 percent, 43.6 million, 1 in every 7 Americans are now living below the poverty line which is $21,954 for a family of four. Suburban poor grew by 37.4 percent since 2000 to account for 13.7 million Americans. The number of poor people living in the suburbs now exceeds the number living in cities by 1.6 million.²² More than 41 million Americans are now on food stamps.²³A number that represents 1 in every 7 Americans the highest number and percentage in America’s history.²⁴ Medicaid enrollment as of 2010 surpassed 68.2 million, also the largest number in America’s history.²⁵

Between 2005 and 2009, inflation adjusted median net worth fell 66 percent among Hispanic households and 53 percent among black households compared to a mere 16 percent among white households — 2011 median net worth by race was $113,149 for whites, $5,677 for African Americans and $6,325 for Hispanics.²⁶

Alarmed? Shocked by these numbers and statistics? If not, then you already knew them or you’re living large, untouched yet by the massive decline in American prosperity. If any group needs awakening it’s the “as yet untouched” who are living in denial with their heads in the sand. There are many more statistics and numbers to follow because everything herein all about exposing the reality as opposed to what is being said in political and corporate circles.

Many reading these statistics and numbers will assume they know what’s coming: another “bleeding heart socialist liberal” talking about all the perils of the free enterprise system. Big surprise, you’re not even close, not even warm!

Some Stakes Firmly in the Ground

2011-10-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

[Pages 16-17]

Now that some of the damage already done has been documented and I’ve alluded to a possibly bleak future to come for most Americans — it’s time to place some stakes firmly in the ground as to what I believe to be bedrock America values. First and foremost understand that I’m NOT a socialist, communist, anarchist or member of either of the two political parties, herein referred to as Party A (Republican) or Party B (Democrat). In fact, I’m not a member of any political party for several reasons, as follows: 1) While some have suggested that America would be better off if all political parties were outlawed, I don’t by any means believe or adhere to that radical mindset, but I do clearly see the damage done to “democracy,” the political process and our economy by what are known as “party politics” and power grabs. I’m not a member of a particular political party simply because I don’t see one I can fit within. Therefore I’m a registered Independent which now accounts for somewhere around a third of American voters. Surveys regularly indicate that more than 80 percent of Americans would vote for another party and most voters registered in Party A or B only do so in order to vote in party primaries. With that as reality, neither of the two main political parties — or even the two parties combined — can say they represent the majority of the American people. 2) As evidenced by the dismal economic statistics, I simply don’t see how anyone in America can be either a proud member of either Party A or Party B? In the No. 2 spot, just behind the government’s role of providing national security, is government’s role in providing a level economic playing field upon which all Americans can compete and prosper.

Clearly, if that is the measurement of our two-party system then the current system is an abysmal failure. If you’re not yet convinced of that fact, then I’m quite confident you will be when the statistics on wealth disparity in America are revealed herein. Now, for any of you political party loyalists out there who contend that America just hasn’t had enough of one party or the other — consider that in the last 35 years, America has had a Party B president for 15 years and a president from Party A for 20. That fact begs the question, ‘which party has America not had enough of?’ Perhaps the more practical question is, ‘why have both political parties been such abysmal failures at providing a level economic playing field upon which more Americans can compete for their slice of the American Dream?’

Make no mistake whatsoever: I’m a capitalist 100 percent that believes in the “free enterprise system.” With that said however, life experiences teach that a free enterprise system cannot operate unrestrained without major problems for the majority of the American population. On the opposite side of that coin, are the fringe left a.k.a. “closet socialists” who don’t really believe in the free enterprise system at all. Who knows, socialism may be the best answer, but history’s answer to that question is an emphatic “NO!” What socialists don’t realize is that if a perfect socialist state were imposed upon America tomorrow, it would be horribly corrupted with gross inequalities within a week without the same checks and balances we’re missing today in our American free enterprise system.

The other element within the fringe left, who claim to believe in the free enterprise system, are those that believe money grows on trees and that you can fund more “government” without more money. That same crowd have now coined a new term called “corporatism” which at its core has the belief that everything that involves corporations and business is pure evil from the bowels of hell. They even take offense to the term “business friendly” as if an environment conducive to business and a strong economy is something evil. There are absolute multitudes of good corporate citizens in America, good employers, great places to work and business owners that value their employees with pay beyond absolute minimums to fill the job. As will be explored herein, many businesses most especially Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) operations are just as economically challenged as the American workforce. A global economy, coupled with corporations that have morphed into behemoth corporate monsters via mergers and acquisitions and way too much money concentrated at the top of the food chain have many SMEs gasping for air. Herein, when corporations are maligned, it’s not describing the vast majority of businesses in America, but instead refers to the top-heavy corporate beasts that dominate the economic landscape who use their position to unfair advantage and manipulation of the marketplace. Much of the stagnated wages/salaries environment in America that has occurred over several decades is systemic to marketplace pressures and not due to abuse or exploitation of the American workforce. It is primarily the economic table being tilted in favor of the behemoth corporate entities and their mega-rich stockholders that now have the vast majority of American businesses and the workforce alike in the same sinking boat.

To paint all corporations with the brush of evil as is done by many on the fringe left is just wrong! To expect pay and benefits to exceed marketplace norms and profit constraints is simply unrealistic. While there is widespread abusive and out of whack corporate entities with CEO pay and profits that are obscene, most corporations in America operate in an environment of restraint via some semblance of conscience and marketplace confines. As noted already, the free enterprise system is far from perfect and to expect utopia detached from marketplace realities is simply not realistic.

Those on the fringe left in America that believe “profit” is a bad word simply don’t understand what makes the world go around. Where is it that these people think money comes from I don’t know, but what they don’t get is that food comes from the same place. Everyone can’t have a job working for the government simply because there would be no paychecks to tax in order to pay the government workers. Why is that you may ask? Simple, the government doesn’t have even one penny of their own. It all comes from taxes, tariffs, arms sales or the newest source: lending Wall Street our money at a ridiculous low rate. In order to collect 10 cents in taxes from a government employee, you first have to pay them that dollar and if everyone works for the government there is no one in America to create those government payroll dollars. While all this may seem like a basic “duh” for most people, for many Americans this reality is a real epiphany. Furthermore, if the government just prints more money to pay for more government employees, the dollars in every American pocket simply become more and more worthless as time moves forward. Stating the obvious, on occasion, unfortunately is required simply because many Americans believe we can have it all and not pay for it somehow.

The last resort, now already exhausted, was to borrow trillions of dollars from Communist China until we’ve reached a point that we can’t afford to even to pay off the interest money we owe them — much less the actual debt. Only Wall Street gets ridiculously low interest rates from U.S. taxpayers, but China is not as stupid as U.S. taxpayers. Because we unfortunately don’t have the Chinese government in our hip pocket (like Wall Street does our government) . . . we pay real interest rates to China on the money we’ve borrowed from them. It’s too bad China hasn’t yet experienced “freedom” and developed “democracy” like us; if they had — we could make some big time campaign contributions and get some better interest rates like Wall Street did from Congress.

Bottom line, what does all this really mean a.k.a. what’s the skinny? The skinny is that a whole lot of Americans currently working in jobs for federal, state and local governments are going to be out on the street and getting a government job is going to be extremely difficult going forward. Therefore the 30+ million under and unemployed at present is going to grow by leaps and bounds — via government workers tossed out into the streets via austerity measures — if we do not create millions of new jobs in the private sector, hold the line on American jobs going off shore and bring jobs back to America.

Now, with this painful lesson in economic reality in place — it must also be noted that, within every economic system, there will be winners and losers as well as disparity in wealth. With that said, our American free enterprise system has proven itself to be the best economic system found to date for delivering the widest benefits to the most people within a society; however the free enterprise system is a creation of “man.” It is NOT some perfect organism with natural self-correcting mechanics that will deliver the most value to the most citizens without some degree of government, and just as importantly consumer intervention a.k.a. a “shoppers’ conscience.” Even with both government and consumer intervention — utopian existence within America or anywhere in the world will never happen, but there should at a minimum be a more level playing field upon which most can compete for economic equality. Furthermore, participants within our American free enterprise system should be handsomely rewarded for their hard work and victories within the system. Those rewards should include great wealth, ownership of property and the ability to pass down a significant amount of that that wealth to their family.

Wealth Redistribution

2011-10-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

[Pages 27-32]

As defined by Wikipedia: “Wealth Redistribution is the transfer of income, wealth or property form some individuals to others caused by a social mechanism such as tax laws, monetary policies or tort law. Most often it refers to progressive redistribution form the rich to the poor, although it may also refer to regressive redistribution from the poor to the rich.” In the brainwashed minds of 99 percent of Americans “wealth redistribution” means one thing and one thing only: “socialism.” The term socialism means a lot of different things to Americans but at its core, to most Americans, it means ‘taking their money and giving it to sorry ass deadbeats to lazy to work.’

First off, most Americans, don’t have two nickels to take and give to anyone. God help the deadbeats if they need your paltry pennies. So put your fears of socialism to rest. Secondly, as already documented, when your parents pass away, if they haven’t already, you’re still not going to have “two nickels to rub together” since only those atop the pyramid inherit any real money. Even if you got more than $100 K it’s still “chicken feed” a.k.a. “two nickels to rub together” when you equate it to real wealth in the grand scheme of things. In other words, you’re not an America royal and never will be so get over worrying about someone coming to take your money . . . you don’t have any and more than likely never will. Nonetheless, make no mistake whatsoever; this is not a push and introduction of a socialist state in America. As clearly and unequivocally stated early on, this book was written by a capitalist who has earned well within the top 20 percent of American salaries and someone who doesn’t want the government coming to take my “two nickels” any more than you do. So let the hair on the back of your neck lay back down and settle in for the actual truth about “wealth redistribution” in America.

Referring to the definition above for “wealth redistribution” . . . it mentions a type of wealth redistribution called “regressive redistribution.” Ever heard of the term on cable or network news? You won’t! Go into the den, turn on that wide screen TV you’re still paying on and start flipping channels to listen for the term “regressive redistribution.” What do you have via our “technological revolution,” 500 channels, maybe more? Sit and flip from channel to channel 24/7 for the next year or so and you are NOT going to hear the term anywhere, any time, on any channel — especially on one channel in particular a.k.a. the “freedom and liberty” channel. You can and will find socialism talked about 24/7/365, but “regressive redistribution” you’re not going to hear about. Let’s investigate and explain what it is and then the reason you’ve never heard of it will become clear.

An unsophisticated definition of “regressive redistribution” can be summed up in one word called “stealing.” While the word “stealing” is rather harsh and abrasive, it gets worse. It’s not just stealing, it’s stealing from those in America that can least afford it. If you prefer, you can call it weaseling, hoodwinking, manipulating, bamboozling or whatever you wish, but at the end of the day it’s just good old common “stealing.”

“Regressive redistribution” in America is essentially a wildly sophisticated, multi-faceted pyramid scheme where massive wealth is flowing in one single direction ONLY . . . upwards toward a very small percentage of the mega-rich. Very curious, that “progressive redistribution” gets all the media attention when the true culprit in the death of the American Dream is “regressive redistribution.” Unless you are in the tiny small percentage of Americans at the very top, it’s your wealth, from your hard work, that’s leaving your pockets every single day through “regressive redistribution” that is to be alarmed about . . . not socialism!

Everyone has heard of “trickle down” economic theory that is currently experiencing a popular political resurgence. Via that theory over the past 30+ years what has actually occurred and is continuing to occur is massive “GUSH UP” redistribution of wealth. Unlike trickle down economics however, “GUSH UP” economics is no “theory” . . . this theory actually works. It has proven to work over the past 30+ years and is getting stronger by the day. Please don’t confuse “gush” with the word “trickle” . . . gush means a money tsunami! A tidal wave and the type of flood that Noah built his ark to survive.

Why you have never heard of “gush up economics” and the massive wealth being stolen from you and accumulated atop the pyramid is actually quite simple — they [the mega-rich] don’t want you to know about it. If you were one of them would you? Of course not! Instead you’d rather have everyone you can buy off banging on the socialism drum 24/7 distracting the American people from what’s really happening.

Referring back to our imaginary American Monopoly board, first understand that this board belongs to YOU. You, along with your parents and their parents, paid for it with 200+ years of sweat, toil and sacrifice. All together, the millions of Americans that worked, fought and died for America own this board and at one time almost everything on it. It is still the biggest and strongest economy in the entire world and we still have one of the highest standards of living in the entire world . . . for the time being anyway. If any reader feels guilty about this fact then simply close this book and pass it on to someone else — because this book is all about taking care of individual [average] American citizens and nothing else! In short, it’s about being proud to be an American, proud of the standard of living we’ve earned and all about keeping it from being stolen!

Underneath our collective American Monopoly board we all own, we typically have our money stashed under the edge. We like it, it feels good to have all those bills stashed under there and the more we have the better. That’s exactly the way it should be in a free enterprise system. This is America and we’re about “earning” money — lots of it, if that’s an individual American’s goal. “Earning” money however, is not the same as stealing it via political corruption and massive multi-national corporate monopolies manipulating the playing field and marketplace.

As we’ve worked and toiled and played the game, the way the rules say it’s to be played, something has changed over the last 10, 20, 30 years . . . our money under the edge of the American board is not getting larger. More than 30+ years ago Americans put the kids in daycare and almost all our spouses to work. Then we went out and got a second or even a third job. Based upon that fact alone, we should all be financially secure with a large majority well off, but that is not the case at all . . . Americans are losing their shirt. ‘What gives,’ most Americans are now asking? We waved the flag and voted like we’re supposed to, our spouse got a job, we went to college or trade school, joined the union at work, got another job on the side and still our money under the edge of the American Monopoly board is still not growing. It must be the economy in general . . .

The statistics say it’s not the economy at all. In the U.S., non-farm productivity between 1979 and 2009 rose 8.4 percent.¹ Productivity increased twice as fast in 2009 as it had in 2008 and twice as fast again in 2010.² As a result, corporate profits grew 22 percent since 2007.³ With productivity and profits up it seems only fair that the wealth of average Americans would be up as well. Virtually everyone in America is and has been working harder and smarter for at least 20+ years or more. Even though most Americans are no Harvard economist, most of us understand that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the market value of final goods and services produced within the borders of a nation. America, as you probably know, is the largest economy in the entire world and in 1980 the GDP was just under $3 trillion. Since that time, it has risen steadily every single year without exception to reach 14+ trillion in 2010.

Breakout Resource(s):

Productivity Statistics

http://www.bls.gov/lpc/prodybar.htm

GDP Growth

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP.aspx?Symbol=USD

Most Americans don’t know how much a trillion is and it won’t fit on the screen of our calculator we got in high school. We do all know that just one trillion is a heck of a lot of money and a whopping $11+ trillion GDP increase in just the last 30+ years is phenomenal and huge beyond what our small brains can fathom. We realize of course that the population of America has increased significantly over that period of time and that only a small percentage of that $11+ trillion is actual profit, but any way you slice it — that’s billions and billions and billions of dollars in profits. As clearly demonstrated statistically, virtually none, if any, of those billions of dollars have gone into your pocket — since 90 percent of all Americans have experienced stagnant or dropping salaries and wages for three straight decades.⁴ Since we know that manufacturing jobs have been leaving the U.S. for more than 20+ years we know those billions were not reinvested into American manufacturing infrastructure. Since we know that 75 percent of non-home real estate is owned by the top 10 percent of Americans some of it went buy property (virtually none of it purchased by us peasants). Those billions of dollars also didn’t go to pay down the federal deficit and contrary to popular belief the money didn’t go to ‘those sorry people too lazy to work who are gaming the system via welfare.’ So the question is, where did all those billions in profits, over the last 30+ years, go?

The answer: it went to buying up more wealth, stocks, bonds, trusts, property, diamonds, furs, mansions, Bentleys, caviar, second and third homes, pools, personal trainers, ski trips, world travel, passed down inheritance, influence buying, think tanks, lobbyists on K Street, political action committees, campaign contributions, retreats with members of Congress, so called philanthropy, art work, therapists, private schools, plastic surgery, fine dining, exquisite wines, wine cellars, chauffeurs, maids, nannies, pool boys, day spas, yachts, yacht clubs, country clubs, golf, polo, Ivy League educations, estates, security, shopping sprees in Rodeo Drive and the host of other extravagances that only American royalty can afford. Let’s not be petty and envious however, none of this stuff is cheap and it requires a lot of money. We know from all the statistics provided herein that virtually zero money has “trickled down” in the last thirty years, so let’s try to get an idea of how much money has been gushing upward:

The top 1 percent of U.S. households control 40+ percent of the nation’s private wealth. Just 25 years ago the top 12 percent controlled 33 percent. ⁵That 40+ percent figure is more than the combined wealth of the bottom 90 percent of all Americans.⁶A mere 20 percent of Americans at the top of the food chain own 84 percent of all the privately held wealth in the U.S.⁷

The top 10 percent of Americans now own 90 percent of all stock, bonds, trusts and business equity and at least 75 percent of non-home real estate in this nation.⁸

For 15 straight years previous to the Great Recession that began in 2007, the top 1 percent absconded with 50 percent of all the income earned in America. Currently half of all American income is going to the top 10 percent.⁹

When capital gains are included, the 1/10th of the top 1 percent collectively rake in more than $1 trillion a year.¹⁰

Since 1983, 43 percent of all the new financial wealth created by the U.S. economy went to the wealthiest 1%. A full 94% was absorbed by the top 20%, leaving just 6% of the financial wealth created during the 80s, 90s, and 2000s to the bottom 80% of Americans. Total real income growth during that same time period was similarly distributed, with 44% of increases amassed by the top 1% and 87% of total increases accruing to the top 20%.¹¹

The total inflation-adjusted net worth of the Forbes 400 rose from $507 billion in 1995 to $1.62 trillion in 2007, before dropping back to $1.37 trillion in 2010.¹²

Overall income inequality is now at its worst since 1928, just previous to the start of the Great Depression.¹³

As of this writing, the U.S. has 496,000 households worth at least $30 M and more than 5.2 million worth more than $1 M. By 2020, households worth at least $30 M are projected to exceed 620,000 and more than 20 million U.S. households will be worth at least $1 M.¹⁴The top 1 percent of households in the U.S. have seen a 281 percent rise in after-tax income since 1979.¹⁵

Breakout Resource(s):

Income inequality: It wasn’t always this way

http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/income_inequality_it_wasnt_always_this_way/

Anyone see a trend here? Is anyone with a calculator and a PhD in economics or math able to put a firm dollar figure on all the bullet points above? If calculated back to 1980, when the trend officially began, it’s trillions of dollars . . . how many trillions who knows? Is anyone out there in America scratching their heads asking themselves why these numbers and statistics aren’t being reported 24/7 by CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CBS, NBC or ABC news? Doesn’t it seem like there would be a multi-segment, week long exposé by all the networks, newspapers and major news websites to get the word out to the American people? Instead, all we in America hear about is the threat of socialism . . . why are we not hearing anything mentioned about the term “regressive redistribution” instead?

Clearly these trends raise a lot of questions and for most Americans who believe we live in a democracy that operates within a free enterprise system where most Americans have a chance to succeed . . . it should raise some serious concerns. These concerns are not that some people are getting filthy rich in America. In a capitalist system, the pursuit of wealth is the essential element that makes it work. After all, it’s what the free enterprise system is all about . . . making money. The real concern and questions are, ‘what does this kind of money atop the pyramid buy?’ ‘Can it buy a government?’ and ‘What does this type of money do to our imaginary American Monopoly board?’

While the complex mathematical calculations to arrive at the profit dollar figures represented by a growth to $14 T GDP over 30+ years are impossible to figure out, it’s not too difficult to figure out where the money went. Putting you on an investigative journey to uncover how all the money went to the top of the American food chain is what Part I of this book is all about. First let’s get some historical context by going all the way back to our founding fathers to see what they intended and move forward in time to see where these numbers and statistics were previous to 1980.

Facing Up to the On Shore Numbers Reality

2011-10-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

[Pages 74-98]

Now that the 6 billion hungry mouths in the developing world yearning for American jobs, have been explored, it’s time America faced up to the other numbers reality — unsustainable population growth within the U.S. In the last century (1900 – 2000) the U.S. population more than tripled growing by more than 205 million people.¹ Currently the U.S. population is around 311 million people and conservative projections, based upon current policies, are that by 2050 the U.S. population will explode to more than 439 million people.² It is the equivalent of 48 more cities in the U.S. the size of Chicago.³ With that as the impending reality, the first question that comes to mind is ‘what are the environmental and ecological realities of that many humans living within the borders of the U.S.?’ Despite all the efforts, all emerging technologies and all future technologies to come to reduce a human’s carbon footprint, Americans will continue to have the largest footprint of any inhabitants on Earth. Forbes reported in November 2011 that half of the U.S. population now live in places where the air is sometimes unfit to breath, due in large part to “lots of people and too many cars”⁴ The article ranked our nation’s capitol region as No. 16 on a list of cities with the worst air quality and Bakersfield, CA as the worst in the nation.⁵ L.A. is of course near the top of the list, but if you want to see the future, look south to Mexico City which has one of the worst air quality measures in the entire world.

Whether it is in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles or Mexico City, pollution, poor air quality, environmental degradation and the destruction of “Mother Earth” comes from too many people. Even though that is an undeniable absolute fact that is beyond any discussion whatsoever, there exists within America a huge incongruent paradox in thought regarding population management and the environment. No matter how hard America may try, no one claiming to be an “environmentalist” concerned for “Mother Earth,” can simultaneously advocate for open borders and continued legal immigration numbers at the present rate. It is just not possible to hold both mindsets within an informed logical brain . . . it’s just that simple and straightforward. No matter how much anyone wishes to argue otherwise . . .

While our “homegrown” environmental issues from over population are immense due to the highest fertility rate in the modern industrialized world, the impact upon both the U.S. and world’s environment from immigration into the U.S. is exponentially far worse. The reason is quite simple: new immigrants become Americans and adopt American consumption patterns. Just by measurements of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) alone [a.k.a. ozone depleting emissions], no one calling themselves an environmentalist can advocate for any measure that increases our U.S. population by immigration. When you multiply by other environmental measures coupled with the extremely high fertility rates of new immigrants — the environmental impact of new arrivals into the U.S. equates to a looming environmental nightmare. A breakout resource exists below that details the environmental impact of the top 10 nations immigrating into the U.S. but let’s take India as just one example currently in the top 10 to get an idea of the environmental impact. The following is a detailed listing of each environmental arena, by percentage of increase, from just 31,165 people moving from India into the U.S. in 1991.⁶

CFC Production 11025%

Energy Consumption 3236%

Cattle Production 73%

Fish Production 443%

CO₂(Industrial) 2457%

CO₂(Landuse change) -37%

Methane Production 252%

Freshwater Production 321%

Fertilizer Production 452%

Pesticide Consumption 2307%

Car Usage 32350%

Defense Spending 10510%

These statistics are certainly no knock against new immigrants from India and the numbers are pretty much the same for all arrivals into the U.S. from emerging nations. From an environmental perspective, upon arrival, people from emerging nations assimilate and grow giant carbon footprints just like their fellow American citizens. Whether the U.S. can continue to absorb more legal and illegal immigrants into our economy will be explored momentarily, but what is not in question is that our planet simply cannot handle 439 million Americans at any time in the foreseeable future.

Just the issue of fresh drinking water alone dictates that we cannot continue upon our present path of U.S. population growth. The carbon foot print and global warming consequences alone of that many people portend an environmental nightmare, but such unsustainable growth will also deliver lower wages, higher taxes, degraded public education and infrastructure along with the looming water and food shortages. Most, if not all, of those implications are already coming to pass, are apparent today and could not be more blatantly obvious for the decades ahead. Take all the population issues we face at present and multiply that by 130 million more people by 2050 — then ask the question, ‘is that an alluring vision of America that provides quality of life and economic opportunity or instead does it portend the coming of a horrible poverty and environmental nightmare?’ The answer to that question is clear . . .

Clearly, no data, statistics and trends herein point more toward a bleak economic future for America and Third World existence more than our looming overpopulation explosion. How a nation with a university system that is the envy of the entire world [with the science of population studies extremely well established] can be on the path toward Third World quality of life via overpopulation — defies all logic and sanity. Even a novice in the arena of population studies, completely lacking in intellect, can look at the continent of Africa, nations such as India and Pakistan and clearly see the environmental and economic implications for America. Nonetheless, all rational, intellectual and sane voices warning of the horrific consequences of overpopulation have been muzzled via antiquated historical context, religion, party politics and playing of the xenophobia and race card.

Since manipulation of xenophobia and the race card are the most contentious and emotionally charged, the day has arrived for America to confront these two issues head on and address them squarely. America is a nation of immigrants and our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths. That fact and history have no bearing whatsoever upon the implications and science of population studies that clearly dictate horrific consequences ahead, such as: an imploding economy, an environmental wasteland and eroding quality of life associated with an exploding U.S. population. Even though it is an undeniable fact that a significant number of Americans are xenophobic and racist . . . that fact has nothing whatsoever to do with the mature science of population studies and the environmental impact of too many humans.

The two sets of facts are completely unrelated! Neither set of facts have any bearing whatsoever upon the other and tying the two together is absolutely 100 percent illogical. Overpopulation leads to starvation, lack of both economic opportunity and quality of life — no matter the color of one’s skin or nation of origin. Furthermore, given the existing economic disadvantages for both brown and black Americans, overpopulation simply creates an even higher wall that has already entrapped far too many in a never ending cycle of intergenerational poverty.

No matter the forces driving overpopulation within the U.S. be they legal and illegal immigration or poor and pregnant — the economic disadvantages and quality of life issues disproportionately impact brown and black Americans more than any races — by an extremely wide margin! The median household net worth by race in America is $113,149 for whites, $5,677 for African Americans and $6,325 for Hispanics. Advocating for population growth via legal or illegal immigration simply increases competition for jobs — most especially in minority communities who already have the highest unemployment percentage and rates of poverty. As of June 2011 the unemployment rates for African Americans was 16.2 percent and for Hispanic Americans it was 11.6 percent — while the unemployment rate for white Americans was 8.1 percent.⁷ While roughly 31% of all U.S. workers experienced unemployment or underemployment at some point in 2009 — the rates were higher for African-American and Hispanic workers, at 36% and 41%, respectively.⁸ Whereas only 14.3 percent of white children had an unemployed or underemployed parent in 2010, 25 percent African-American and Hispanic children had an underemployed parent in 2009.⁹

As a result, 2010 marked the first year in our long history when the majority of children living in poverty [37.3 percent] were Latino while 30.5 percent were white and 26.6 percent were black.¹⁰ Hispanic children living in poverty had the steepest increase of any ethnic group, growing from 4 million in 2005 to 6.1 million in 2010.¹¹ Reasons given by the Pew Hispanic Center was “a product of their growing numbers, high birth rates and declining economic fortunes.”¹² Of the 6.1 million Latino children living in poverty, more than 66 percent [4.1 million] are children of new immigrant parents, a direct result of high birth rates among Hispanic immigrants.¹³

As you trace the minority unemployment trend downward by age and education levels the percentage of unemployment rises markedly. Now consider that only 55 percent of U.S. born African Americans and 54 percent Hispanic Americans (ages 18-29) have a high school diploma and ask yourself if this segment of society needs even more job competition?¹⁴ Clearly nothing could be more blatantly racist, cruel and inhumane, not to mention ignorant and shortsighted, than to pile more uneducated poor on the top of America’s minority citizens. Of eligible workers of all races, up to age 24, a record 51 percent were unemployed as of the summer of 2011.¹⁵ As with all unemployment numbers, the percentage of black and brown youth in this percentage is far higher that for white youth, but as a whole far too many of those under the age of 24 are unemployed, disengaged, disenfranchised and seething with frustration and anger. If you think it is a minority issue or an education issue alone, think again America. As of the summer of 2011, more than 250,000 recent college graduates were unemployed and an untold number are “flipping burgers” or some other menial task.¹⁶ Together with the uneducated and unskilled who are unemployed or flipping burgers, these young Americans make up a cauldron of unrest that is just waiting to boil over upon America. It’s the same frustration and anger that the world watched play out in the U.K. riots in the summer of 2011, the flash mob phenomenon we’re now beginning to see at increasing numbers in the U.S. and the Occupy Wall Street protests that began in the autumn of 2011.

Those in America playing the race and xenophobia card in regard to immigration, most especially illegal immigration, couldn’t be any more racist and disingenuous toward brown and black American citizens . . . most especially the youth. Instead of pivoting to confront the issues driving poverty and unemployment, Party B and civil rights groups in their blood thirst quest for political power . . . do everything possible to pour gasoline upon the fire by adding even more numbers of ill equipped, uneducated new immigrants on top of starving American citizens at the low end of the socio-economic ladder . . . most especially brown and black American citizens. These people are already drowning economically, their children are living in poverty and instead of tossing them a life preserver, Party B’s solution is to toss them into an ever larger pool of job competition to ensure they drown economically.

The primary modus operandi being utilized to both acquire political power and to starve those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder is of course: the race and xenophobia card. Nothing else could have the power to silence all intellectual and rational voices in regard to the immigration issue more than the emotionally charged issues of race and xenophobia. At every turn, in every discussion the immigration issue is allowed to be reduced to playing of the race card. It’s simply a fact that illegal immigration comes mainly from the south instead of from Canada. Since the majority of Americans would also oppose Canadians immigrating illegally into the U.S., does that make those Americans racists since most Canadians are white? Since a large proportion of Canadians speak French, would anyone opposing tax dollars to produce government documents in French be labeled as racist? Of course not and no one ever makes that charge, but if illegal immigration comes from the south or tax funded accommodations are made for Spanish and you oppose it . . . you’re labeled a racist?

This is the U.S., a nation of laws and one of those laws is against illegal immigration into the U.S. Forget about English as the official language of America, English is the “language of commerce” [a.k.a. the official language] for everyone on the entire planet. Whether it should be that way is neither here nor there . . . it’s reality and the way it is. For that reason, more people in India speak English than in the U.S., yet taxpayer dollars are utilized to accommodate Spanish in America? Absolutely Spanish should be the No. 1 second language of all Americans [right ahead of Mandarin which we’ll need when we are annexed by China]. Nonetheless, to make it in the U.S. economically you must learn English instead of expecting the U.S. to take on the expense of making everything bilingual to accommodate Spanish. Nothing states that reality more emphatically than the 6.1 million Latino children living in poverty.

The solution by the radical right is to simply tell all non English speaking Hispanics to learn English as if most have the money and the freedom to go to night school. The time has arrived for all Americans to realize that “we” have a major economic problem without a workforce that speaks English. The solution is to take all the taxpayer dollars currently being utilized to produce government documents in Spanish, quadruple the money, add in a billion more and then offer “English as a second language” courses ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE to anyone and everyone that is willing to attend . . . no U.S. citizenship required! Make the opportunities to learn English available 24/7 to accommodate any schedule, provide childcare for attendees, tutoring and provide the classes via the Internet and every means possible to remove the language barrier as an economic impediment for economic success in America.

Look no further than Canada where it is a law that every single communication [to include both the private and public sector] websites, printed documents, tax documents, advertising, manuals, etc. must be produced in both French and in English. Billions and billions of public funds and corporate profits [a.k.a. competitive economic disadvantage] are flushed down the toilet each year in Canada just to humor one small population segment within Canada. That is exactly the direction that America is heading . . . write it down and watch it come to pass unless you stop it. It’s not a race issue, it’s an economic issue 100% and American must come to terms with this economic obstacle and arrive at workable solutions . . . instead of falling prey to race baiting tactics that exasperate the problem even further.

Multiculturalism and our rich diversity of second languages learned, taught and spoken throughout America are part of our national heritage. When Italians migrated into the U.S. we didn’t accommodate their language, nor have we begun to accommodate Mandarin which may actually be a really good idea the way our economic fortunes are heading. It is blatantly discriminatory to accommodate Spanish because it economically handicaps those that do not speak English. What economic chance would any American have in China if they did not know how to speak and write Mandarin? None! Zero! Yet we expect a population that is already economically disadvantaged to be able to survive and excel in America without being able to at least speak English? By accommodating and handicapping those that only speak Spanish, too many Americans believe they’re being compassionate. Where is the compassion in relegating someone to a lifetime inability to make it economically in the U.S. by not doing everything possible to teach English as a second language to anyone and everyone that is willing to learn? Without such efforts, we’re a nation that is simply stamping the word “POOR” on these people’s foreheads and thrusting them into the bottom of an American caste system for life. If that is anyone’s idea of justice and equality then move to India where a caste system is well established.

No where are such efforts more critically important than at the preschool level. We must enable children from homes, where Spanish or some other language is the predominate language, to get a leg up in acquiring English language skills that will be critical to their academic success. To continue to nothing and cut spending on such education programs, places these children behind the academic learning curve and in all likelihood relegates them to a lifetime of poverty. What chance does a child in America have that shows up for the first grade without being able to understand English? If they are held back a year to learn English, then so be it. Sending any child to the next grade that is not grade level competent in English is a crime, yet we have high schools in America where half the students don’t speak English. How can non English speaking parents help with homework or communicate with teachers about their child’s academic progress?

The charge of racism in regard to language skills, legal and illegal immigration is nothing more than a straightforward and extremely obvious manipulation ploy. The intent is to transform what should be an intellectual, objective discussion of overpopulation and economic opportunity into an emotional race-charged shouting match. Why the race card ploy gets played in regard to illegal immigration is simple: it works by playing upon Americans’ sense of justice and equality for all. Where is the potential for equality and justice if English competency is not required?

Let’s be extremely clear and emphatic about one thing . . . there is no justice and equality to the “racial profiling” that is taking place in Arizona and other places in America. Even if we had little green men from Mars walking around America who obviously are here illegally — it would be a violation of their civil liberties within a free society to arrest them because they are green and short. Anyone in America that condones racial profiling to remove illegal immigrants couldn’t be anymore un-American. By that same yardstick, anyone that believes in justice and equality for American citizens cannot condone illegal immigrants living in a society as second class humans existing in the shadows. Allowing them to enter and work within the U.S. victimizes them more than anyone via horrible wages, exploitation, poor living conditions and a lack of rights afforded legal new immigrants. It drives down all wages for everyone in the lower socio-economic pool of workers and becomes a massive tax drain upon public resources such as schools, healthcare and social services. It is literally bankrupting America economically and academically with a ball and chain around our nation’s ankle as we struggle to compete in a world-wide economy . . . a battle we’re currently losing. To see where it is leading, look no further than the Greek debt crisis, driven in large part by both legal and illegal immigration and the road ahead for America is clear. They too were led by the shrill voices screaming racism, xenophobia and human rights in an atmosphere that disregarded the fiscal costs and red ink brought about by massive unregulated immigration numbers.

Between 2008 and 2010 alone, 1.1 million new immigrants landed jobs in the U.S., as reported via a study conducted exclusively for Reuters by the Center for Labor Market Studies by Northeastern University.¹⁷ During that same period, U.S. household employment declined by 6.26 million.¹⁸ More than 35 percent of those 1.1 million new immigrants were undocumented workers and the reason they got hired, instead of legal citizens being hired, is simple: low ball pay along with no healthcare benefits and basic payroll taxes being paid for these workers.¹⁹ Access to an illegal workforce simply makes legal American workers more expensive and less desirable.²⁰ So instead of reducing the 6.26 million number who lost jobs during that period by more than 17 percent to 5.16 million, America added 1.1 million new mouths to feed in addition to their high fertility rates. The overwhelming vast majority of these 350,000 illegal immigrants went directly into the competition pool for jobs among the working poor in America who, as of 2009, already numbered well over 30+ million.

Reuters concludes that the ongoing immigration explosion is “creating a deeper domestic labor glut at the bottom of the workforce ladder, depressing wages and sharpening already widening income disparities.”²¹ The Reuters article adds, “. . . such a finding could add to calls to tighten up on illegal immigration. But much of it is Hispanic and the growing Latino vote is a key base for Obama’s Democratic Party.”²² Obviously, Reuters concludes the same thing that all Americans with a brain already know — Party B is willing to put their party strength and election prospects ahead of the economic well being of American citizens at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum [a.k.a. sacrificing the poor upon the alter of poverty to get votes]. No matter how many American citizens are unemployed or how many are starving . . . Party B [it seems] cares only about the political power gained from starvation, unemployment and poverty being created by illegal immigration into America.

The primary blame is not on the shoulders of the 350,000 undocumented workers who came during this period, but with the employers who hired them. As long as employers can hire and exploit cheap undocumented labor they will. It reduces wages for U.S. citizens and those authorized to work in the U.S. and forces undocumented workers into the shadows where they are forced to work for slave wages. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, the number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. in 2010 was 11.2 million. More than 8 million of those illegal immigrants are in the U.S. workforce, a number that comprises 5 percent of the entire American workforce.²³ In other words, the unemployment rate could be drastically cut without illegal workers taking jobs from American citizens among the working poor. Nonetheless, the fringe left and the media write articles, manipulate studies and continue to contend that new immigrants do not take jobs from American citizens. They cite the extremely rare instances where “get tough” state immigration laws result in labor shortages as if that proves something. Here is what such articles and studies prove: 1) employers in America at the low end of the labor pool aren’t paying enough to get their missions accomplished 2) employers in America have been exploiting the illegal labor pool to drive down wages far below the level of a living wage and 3) employers can either pay enough to get the job done, without using illegal labor, or they can suffer the business consequences. The fringe left and media contrived propaganda is simply not true and anyone with the guts to examine the numbers knows that it is a baseless ploy being manipulated for political power and media eyeballs a.k.a. money. When employers are quoted in articles stating ‘I can’t find anyone to work’ what they are really saying is they can’t find anyone to work for slave wages and paying a living wage will hurt their profits.

Clearly, the issue of both legal and illegal immigration is first and foremost an economic issue. A massive inflow of new immigrants, to the tune of well over a million every single year, [be they legal or illegal] is simply an economic burden America can no longer afford going forward. Nonetheless the fire hose of race baiting in regard to illegal immigration continues primarily under the cover of “Hispanic advocacy” simply because the inflow is from the south. The insidious race-based propaganda serves only three purposes: 1) it locks even more Hispanic American citizens, at the low end of the socioeconomic ladder, into a never ending cycle of poverty 2) it creates a larger bloc vote for Party B and voice for Hispanic civil rights groups who are both disingenuous in their concerns about the poor — as evidenced by their continued efforts to dump even more job competition upon both brown and black America and 3) it guarantees a continued flow of cheap labor to America’s employers and exacerbates downward pressures on earning power for our American citizens most in need.

While no one in Party B has ever bothered to ask the poor and working poor about the negative economic impact that immigration [most especially illegal immigration] has upon their financial lives . . . how about the opinions of Hispanic citizens? If you listen to the shrill voices of the fringe left, Hispanic civil rights groups and all the national media — Hispanic Americans are portrayed as too unsophisticated to understand the basic concept of supply and demand economic theory. The reality is far different however, with 31 percent of Hispanic Americans seeing the negative impact of illegal immigration upon their lives.²⁴ While 30 percent are ambivalent, only 29 percent see illegal immigration as a positive.²⁵ Fewer than seven in ten native born Hispanics say immigrants strengthen America.²⁶ More than 61 percent say that illegal immigration is caused by a lack of adequate immigration enforcement.²⁷ Why Hispanic America is presented by both the media and civil rights groups as one monolithic voice in favor of illegal immigration — speaks volumes about the power of the media and advocacy that’s only focused on gaining more political power instead of answering to the economic needs of brown American citizens.

If America learns nothing else from this book, one thing is clear . . . the political class will do anything and sacrifice the economic wellbeing of any American [with the exception of the mega-rich] in order to hold power, gain power and control the flow of money into and out of Washington, D.C. While Party A is obviously oblivious to the economic needs of the poor, Party B is willing to manipulate starvation for political power and money by playing the role of “poverty pimps.” Ask yourself the question, where Party B would be if the economic playing field in America was more leveled and upward mobility existed for all Americans? What if there was no need for welfare or unemployment checks, what political party would suffer the most? Where are the unrelenting, concerted efforts from Party B to begin re-leveling the economic marketplace in America to correct the massive wealth disparity that now exists, most especially for our nation’s minority population? All good questions, don’t you think . . . particularly appropriate when filtered through the highly fractured race card prism being manipulated only for political power and money.

Any American that claims to be an advocate for the poor, who favors continued immigration at the present level [be it legal or undocumented] can only be either uninformed about population issues or disingenuous as to their true motivations. With millions unemployed, many starving already and wages stagnant for decades — who is it that suffers the most with continued out of control immigration numbers at the present levels? Demand for workers has fallen off a cliff and it will remain that way beyond a decade and far into the future. Therefore increasing the supply of people available for an every fewer number of jobs is about as logical as pouring gasoline on an already raging fire.

To be extremely clear, at the low end of the economic ladder, the issue is about too many people already competing for an ever shrinking number of jobs. The jobs that do exist pay little or nothing simply because humans in this segment of the labor pool are as plentiful as grains sand. The numbers issue is a supply and demand economic issue and time has finally arrived for all Americans still wearing rose colored glasses to be forced to look at the real numbers along with the economic implications for America . . . instead of being divided along racial or political party lines. So here are the numbers as of the 2009 reality in America:

Almost 26 percent of the entire workforce, 30+ million people in America are among the “working poor,” which in 2009 was an income of $21,654 for a family of four. Their average wage was $8.31 per hour.²⁸

Some 56.8 percent are white, 14.2 percent are black and 23 percent are Hispanic.²⁹

Only slightly more than 36 percent of the working poor even graduated from high school.³⁰

Almost half of the working poor are under 44 years of age which means that for at least the next 20 years or more [at a minimum] there will always be at least 15+ million available low wage workers.³¹

More than 21 percent of the working poor are foreign born.³²

More than 96 percent of the working poor are employed in only three industry segments: Services, Trade and Retail.³³

Now, in view of these absolutely horrific numbers that represent hunger, malnutrition and a cycle of devout poverty that most, including their children, will never escape — how can any rational and compassionate American advocate adding to the 30+ million working poor in this nation via unrestrained legal or illegal immigration? A number already needlessly ballooned by more than 21 percent of the working poor who were born outside the U.S. [2+ in every 10]. To call such advocacy “compassionate” is so sick, so warped and so depraved that it is unconscionable to do so via “race baiting” or political party power objectives. The actual numbers simply do NOT lie, but the race baiters and the politicians — only interested in votes instead of what is best for America’s poor and working poor citizens — do lie every single day! If the competitive pressures from overpopulation are removed from the working poor, their income levels rise by simply reducing the supply of people to the ratio of jobs that exist. That puts more money into the economy while helping to pull the working poor out of poverty. The vast majority of America’s economic problems stem from consumers not getting a real paycheck that enables them to spend a dime beyond what is needed for food, shelter and transportation and that can be radically changed by simply reducing the number of people available for low wage jobs. Instead of low wage workers competing for jobs, we need employers competing for workers by paying a living wage.

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to foresee at least a couple of decades in massive federal and state cutbacks in social services, aid to the poor, the number of teachers and strains upon our healthcare system and infrastructure. Therefore, how in good conscience can any compassionate advocate for the poor be behind increasing the percentage of the working poor in America by 21 percent year after year via foreign birth? Who is going to pay the way for these people? Where are they going to work? How are they going to support their families? How are they going to be educated? Where are the billions and billions of dollars in federal programs, education, social services and medical care supposed to come from to support well over 6 million foreign born members of the working poor in America already? How much higher would the wages of the working poor be if there were 6 million less people competing for their jobs? These are all questions for the fringe left to answer as well as owning up to the fact that a permanent class of poor Americans meets the power objectives for Party B. All difficult questions to confront and an ugly political reality indeed, but the time has come for Americans to face the truth and address the realities of what continued population growth from immigration really means in the long run instead of for the next election cycle.

As documented repeatedly throughout this book, we are a nation ruled and guided by extremist ideologues where the majority voices of sanity in the middle are never heard. Perhaps nothing demonstrates the two ideological extremes more than the fringe left and radical right approaches to poverty in America. From bashing the unemployed as druggies wanting a free ride, while telling them to get off their posteriors and find a job [when no jobs exist], to accusing anyone poor in America of being lazy and of poor character . . . the radical right clears their conscience of any duty whatsoever to the drown trodden in America. As if that were not callous and misguided enough by itself, they play the religion card via the abortion issue to ensure that “poor and pregnant” is the norm, rather than the exception.

Cutbacks in planned parenthood funding and restraints in sex education efforts do nothing but add to the rolls of poverty and the U.S. population. While fueling the rolls of poverty, the radical right berates welfare mothers and utilizes the budget deficit to kill what little is left of any social safety net in America. Nothing could be more cruel and schizophrenic than to exacerbate the issue of poor and pregnant with some unrealistic abstinence mindset while killing off any means and assistance for survival or a route out of poverty such as education and job training.

No matter how malnourished, listless and uneducated the poor in America may be . . . finding the energy and unlocking the mysteries of performing “the sex act” are apparently no obstacles to success. If you don’t have cable TV or the Internet, what better way to pass the time than sex? Expecting or preaching abstinence is about as realistic as keeping kids out of the cookie jar.

For the poor and uneducated, the very basic concept that no money should = no children or far fewer children is not understood along with birth control 101. High birthrates correspond directly to lack of educational attainment, but you have to question the educational attainment, intelligence and basic common sense of anyone that believes the teaching of abstinence is a replacement for birth control and sex education? If we are to have any hope of population control and economic prosperity in America, planned-parenthood and birth control assistance through adequate funding must be available to everyone, most especially the poor!

The emerging mindset of the radical right to cut planned-parenthood and birth control assistance funding — while lamenting the rise in welfare mothers and drain the poor place upon our society — couldn’t be anymore callous and illogical. Surely all adults, even the radical right, know where babies come from and how they are created. Surely they understand that children of poverty are ill equipped and poorly prepared to enter schools that are already crumbling. While teachers and education spending are easy scapegoats for poor academic performance, the truth is that lack of family stability and structure is the No. 1 issue leading to failure of our education system. When educators and political leaders talk math and science and a prepared American workforce, they seem clueless in addressing the poor and pregnant issue that is leading to the systemic failure of our public education system.

As of 2011, of the top 34 “developed nations,” American students rank 14^th in reading, 17^th in science, 25^th in math and 25 percent of America’s eighth graders cannot read at grade level.³⁴ Yet, parents that chose to deliver children into poverty and Americans as a whole want to abdicate their individual responsibilities to educating America and lay all the blame on teachers. At the same time, the media yearns to portray American children as “computer geniuses” because they can play video games. In truth, parents are raising illiterate children who can’t even add and subtract, while they are being horribly mischaracterized in the media as “little computer whizzes” . . . when in reality, unfortunately, a dunce cap is a far more fitting depiction for far too many. While disintegration of the American family, single parenting, etc. are a driving force in our failing schools, it is “poor and pregnant” more than any other factor that is destroying our public education system.

With both the fringe left and radical right totally out of touch with U.S. population issues and Main Street reality, such as: a failing education system, massive unemployment and ballooning poverty in America — let’s review some U.S. history just for nostalgia. Everyone in America is familiar with the famous quote on the Statue of Liberty that reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” These inspiring words are from a sonnet written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 that was bronzed and mounted in the Statue of Liberty in 1903.

While such prose and wonderful sounding words evoke images of the American flag waving in the wind, the sound of the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background and immigrant families arriving upon our shores at historic Ellis Island . . . a lot has changed since 1903. The most notable change is that American citizens are now the “tired, poor huddled masses.” In 1903 we were still a relatively new nation, the industrial revolution required people power by the millions to engage in the manufacturing process that grew our nation into an economic power house that was once the envy of the world.

In the late 1970s America and the world in general began a massive transformation known then as the “computer age,” known now as the “information age.” To enumerate the economic impact of this transformation — not to mention the grossly misguided idea along the same time period that America could be transformed into a “service sector only economy” — is impossible within the breath of this book. In short, the world turned, mistakes were made and as a nation we have yet to grasp and understand the new economic reality we now live within. Namely, the larger a nation’s population becomes the more challenging it will be going forward to provide good jobs, economic opportunity and food a.k.a. “quality of life.”

Most, if not all, modern industrialized nations who are able to support both a large middle-class and quality of life for that middle-class have a smaller population than the U.S. Most, if not all, nations with greater upward mobility than the U.S. have a smaller population. All the nations on Earth that have overwhelming poverty and massive starvation, such as India, Pakistan and the continent of Africa have one issue in common — overpopulation. It is true that in Asia, for instance, the numbers of “middle-class” people are growing at a rapid pace, however don’t confuse “middle-class” in Asia with “middle-class” in the U.S. Even a lower middle-class existence in America is opulent and extravagant when compared to middle-class existence in most of Asia. They are moving from a hut to an apartment while Americans are now moving from a house to an apartment . . . en route to a hut. The reasons are many, but one of the primary drivers without any doubt is overpopulation within America that increases job competition and lowers wages.

Nonetheless, in America we’re still clinging to some wildly antiquated idea that we can take in all the “tired, poor huddled masses” of the world and survive. Just as misguided and related is the idea that a nation with less than 5 percent of the world’s population can float every economic boat on Earth or intercede in every human rights or Third World poverty issue. We can’t even deal with the poverty issue in America, much less the rest of the world. The world has changed, yet our thinking in regard to immigration has not. We’ve taken a wonderful idea and completely ruined it by indulging insane excess that is killing the America Dream for everyone. In 1903 not only did we need millions of new immigrants to build out a manufacturing economy, but we could also afford the population influx via an explosive growth in GDP. Today, there is zero economic advantage to a larger population if that population is not “gainfully employed” and paying taxes instead of paying no taxes and drawing welfare checks.

The Ellis Island images of poor families disembarking ships and setting foot on America soil are so ingrained into the America psyche, that far too many believe that the realities that existed in 1903 still exist today. Namely that a family can still step onto American soil, learn a new language, find jobs and become contributing members of the U.S. economy. That was true in 1903, but today it is nothing more than nostalgia a.k.a. a lie perpetuated by the media to grow eyeballs, the mega-rich to keep labor costs low and to grow a larger voting bloc for Party B. Guess who subsidizes the growth of that voting bloc and grossly lower labor cost for all U.S. employers? It is U.S. taxpayers: 2009 data [collected in 2010] documents that 57 percent of households headed by an immigrant [legal and illegal] with children [under 18] used at least one welfare program.³⁴ Even the households with no U.S. born children had a welfare use rate of 56 percent.³⁵ While an estimated that 52 percent of households headed by legal immigrants used at least one welfare program in 2009, the rate for illegal immigrants was an outrageous 71 percent.³⁶ Illegal immigration alone, annually cost U.S. taxpayers more than $113 B at a time when government budgets are bleeding red ink like never before in our nation’s history.³⁷ The eight major welfare programs examined to collect this data were SSI (Supplemental Security Income for low income elderly and disabled), TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families), WIC (Women, Infants, and Children food program), free/reduced school lunch, food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Medicaid (health insurance for those with low incomes), public housing, and rent subsidies.

Now America, in view of these statistics, does it look as if new arrivals on our shores [be they legal or illegal] are able to find “gainful employment” whereby they can afford to feed the children they chose to bring into the world and pay taxes? While the media bends over backwards to find and highly publicize the 1 in a million new immigrant success story each year, in order to grow media eyeballs and consumers for corporate America, it doesn’t match the reality. Just like those oversized checks given to lottery winners and the Facebook, Zukerberg story . . . the idea that new immigrants into America are making it is a complete myth. The only thing they are “making” is an ever more difficult environment in which established citizens struggle to find work at a descent wage, while “making” the social safety net in America balloon to the point of bursting.

It would be completely wrong and callous to blame and penalize the poor children of new immigrants for their plight, but the nostalgic idea of Ellis Island and new immigrant arrivals who are able to “make it” in the U.S. a.k.a. feed their own children and pay taxes — is now ancient history form a time long past. Even if an existing U.S. citizen is a millionaire who can afford 20 children and send them all to private schools, is such a practice callous and shortsighted in view of our U.S. population issues? Yes! On the other hand, to come to America as a new arrival, have multitudes children that you can’t afford and then expect U.S. taxpayers to pick-up the tab is far worse!

The result is that all members of America’s lower socio-economic strata [be they black, brown or white] suffer from increased job competition and lower wages while U.S. employers profit wildly from cheap labor and Party B gets a larger voting bloc . . . all subsidized by U.S. taxpayers. It is U.S. taxpayers that subsidize the lack of pay by employers, even though all the blame is laid at the feet of the poor for being unable to make it within a competitive environment that is being made worse by the day through overpopulation . . . most of it through immigration.

The 30+ year financial losing streak for almost 90 percent of Americans via stagnated wages and salaries should demonstrate to all sane Americans that the majority of the population we already have are not “gainfully employed” — born out by the fact that 47 percent of our nation don’t qualify to pay income taxes. Adding to our population arbitrarily via immigration with zero economic criteria as to potential economic contributions to our nation works collectively to sink every existing citizen’s financial boat. It simply increases the supply of people when demand is at one of its lowest points in history. The only people in America that benefit from such a completely out of whack supply of people to the ratio of open jobs are the mega-rich, the top 10 percent of Americans who own all the stock in America and those seeking to manipulate the scenario for political power and money.

As the fringe left blasts charges of xenophobia and racism from their megaphone while evoking images of the American Flag and Ellis Island, perhaps it is time for America to take a look a the employment numbers reality we’re now facing. Spewing the platitudes of “cultural diversity” woven into ‘the rich fabric of America’s identity as a melting pot of the entire world’ continues to have a wonderful melodic ring upon the American psyche until you place that fantasy up against the economic nightmare we now face in America. When the fringe left lauds “cultural diversity” as the end all criteria to immigration policy, why do they not speak of “economic diversity” as a laudable goal as well? Millions upon millions of dirt poor, starving new immigrants in need of government assistance to feed their children is NOT “diversity” . . . poor and starving is just poor and starving no matter the color of one’s skin, their nation of origin or the language they speak.

As of this writing there are 5 or 6 people available for virtually every open job that exists in America and the “official” unemployment rate is well above 9 percent. Even the government numbers, which only fools believe, peg the number of unemployed and underemployed at somewhere between 20 to 30 million humans. As bad as that sounds, as bleak as these numbers are — no one in America is looking ahead, most especially any political leader or party. Furthermore, no one is telling Americans the truth about the most probable economic and employment scenarios yet to arrive.

To understand the truth, we Americans have to first get our heads around a reality that many have yet to understand and digest. Despite the media hype behind any ray of economic sunshine gleaned from employment numbers, the stock market, new orders for durable goods, etc. — our economy is NOT going to miraculously bounce back one morning. No matter who is president, no matter which of the two failed political parties you vote in or out . . . we’re NOT coming out of the Great Recession and recovering from the damage done by Wall Street’s greed for a long, long time! It is simply not going to happen and America is in for a long hard slough like nothing any of us have ever witnessed in our lifetimes. [We’ll have to delay utopia for at least a generation.] This reality does not mean that we can’t recover or that we won’t recover, but simply states the truth which is that it is going to be a slow and painful recovery. Here’s why in a nutshell: 70 percent of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending and everyone outside of the top 10 percent is broke. With wages stagnated for decades, Americans made up the gap for lack of pay increases with credit card debt. Once the credit cards were maxed out, Americans began making up the gap for lack of pay via second mortgages in order to keep spending. With the mortgage meltdown that began the Great Recession — the spending game came to a screeching halt simply because there was nothing left in home value to spend. No money via work, no money via credit cards and no money via second mortgages = no consumer spending for at least a decade or more. Housing, furnishings, real estate, etc. are a dead fish which accounts for 20+ percent of the entire U.S. economy which leaves only 50 percent of the consumer economy to create jobs. Outside of the 30 percent of the economy that comprises Business to Business (B2B) spending, which is beginning to show a weak pulse, 20 percent of the economy is completely dead and the remainder is on life support due to no money in any consumers’ hands . . . except for the mega-rich and top 10 percent.

A horribly wounded economy will simply not support massive population growth as far out as anyone can reasonably project and nostalgic memories of Ellis Island will not change that extremely cruel reality. We U.S. citizens are now the “tired, poor and hungry” and we’re going to be economically challenged for many years to come. As to whether we can recover with either of the two failed political parties leading the way is entirely another question all together, but that question will be examined herein as we move forward.

For now, let’s look at the employment reality in America via a snapshot in time and then extrapolate those numbers going forward with some very realistic projections. As of July 2011, the public sector was shedding an average of 25,000 jobs a month, mostly at the state and local level.³⁸ Since the official end of the Great Recession in June 2009, 430,000 public sector jobs had already been lost by July 2011 with almost all projections being that the number will far exceed 1.5+ million more public sector jobs lost before the bleeding ends.³⁷ During the same period, the private sector added only 980,000 jobs.³⁹ Subtract out the job losses in the public sector and that cancels out 40 percent of the 980,000 private sector jobs created during this period of time.⁴⁰ Now consider that estimates dictate that 125,000 jobs per month (1,500.000 per year) must be created just to accommodate new people coming into the job market.⁴¹ Be they new immigrants, college and high school graduates, dropouts or people re-entering the workforce . . . only one of these groups can be quickly and easily eliminated to reduce the supply of people to the number of jobs that exist — that group of people are new immigrants. A number of 125,000 new entries into the job market per month, dictates that 3 million new jobs are needed in a 2 year period just to accommodate those entering the workforce. It also means that for the period between June 2009 and July 2011 alone, we were 2 million jobs in the hole in just accommodating new entries into the jobs market. The reality is that any numbers showing a lower unemployment rate during that time were a complete lie . . . a.k.a. false government propaganda.

Now pick a number, to be conservative lets go with the pseudo official number of 8.5+ million jobs lost to the Great Recession [instead of the more realistic number of 20 to 30 million private sector jobs needed now!] With the 2 million jobs in the hole [noted above], we’re currently trying dig out of as of July 2011, added to the 8.5+ million jobs lost to the Great Recession, plus 125,000 new entries coming into the jobs market every month going forward . . . where will we be by July 2015? If everything holds steady, private sector jobs growth continues at the anemic pace it did between June 2009 and July 2011 — the very conservative jobs-hole number will be 16.5 million by July 2015. If you carry the conservative numbers forward to July 2020 it becomes a jobs hole of 24 million unemployed.

If however we use the more realistic jobs hole beginning number of 20 million [unemployed and underemployed], instead of the 8.5+ million “official” number of jobs lost during the Great Recession, the jobs-hole number becomes 35.5 million by 2030. Do the math America, use conservative projections, make all the best case scenarios leaps of faith you wish and the numbers still add up to a horrific unemployment picture and economic future for America. No one believes the current unemployment numbers supplied by the government and our failed political class who pompously stand upon their podiums with the flag as a backdrop. They are all hoping that our failed education system didn’t get Americans to a point where they can add, subtract and multiply. Apparently they are thus far correct, since almost no one in America seems to be sounding any alarm bells about the future and far too many seem to be focused instead on creating utopia.

Even with zero job losses in the government sector, instead of the 2+ million projected, the private sector would have to produce more than 236,000 new jobs per month for three consecutive years just to recoup the 8.5 million “official” number of jobs lost due to the Great Recession. If you use the more realistic number of 20 million new jobs needed now, it would take more than 7 consecutive years at 236,000 new private sector jobs per month to replace the 8.5 million lost jobs with zero job losses whatsoever in the public sector.

Again this very ambitious private sector jobs growth figure of 236,000 per month is with zero losses whatsoever in government jobs, zero new entries coming into the jobs market instead of the 125,000 per month and zero immigration into America. Instead, an unrelenting fire hose of more than 1+ million new legal immigrants and an untold number of illegal immigrants coming in each and every year . . . all bringing fertility rates that far exceed that of our native U.S. population.

With it being abundantly clear that any and all jobs growth for at least the next decade will have to come strictly from within the private sector alone, let’s take a snapshot look at how we’re doing:

Private Sector Job Creation – May 2010 to May 2011⁴²

May 2011 83,000

April 2011 251,000

March 2011 219,000

February 2011 261,000

January 2011 94,000

December 2010 167,000

November 2010 128,000

October 2010 143,000

September 2010 109,000

August 2010 110,000

July 93,000

June 2010 65,000

May 2010 48,000

Now America, no more basic math, but instead realize that if we are not adding upwards of a million private sector jobs per month we’re making little if any progress on the unemployment front whatsoever. That’s the reality no matter how many race or xenophobia cards get played, no matter how many politicians from both of the two failed political parties squirm in front of the cameras and no matter how much smoke the propaganda machine blows into the air. It’s bleak and it will take well over a decade, if not far longer, for our U.S. economy to recover enough to become a jobs creating engine that can even begin to start catching up with the bleak numbers of population reality.

In short, birthrates combined with legal and illegal immigration into the U.S. dictate both economic opportunity and quality of life within our society. While an aging workforce out of proportion to a youthful workforce is a detriment to economic vitality, far fewer people are needed to sustain America going forward. There are ZERO national benefits, rewards or advantages whatsoever in the modern world to population growth if that population is not gainfully employed, paying taxes and able to feed their own children. None! In fact, by every measurement and on every scale, America would be far better off economically and in quality of life for all U.S. citizens if population growth could be held at zero . . . which of course is almost impossible. Nonetheless, the science of population studies largely dictates that zero population growth should be our driving focus . . . not wildly uncontrolled population growth.

With the present unemployment and underemployment rates along with the anemic projected growth of our nation’s GDP, we’re currently “overpopulated” to the tune of between 20 to 30 million people. We simply don’t have the jobs or even a plan to create jobs that will enable America’s economy to support the overabundance of human capital we have already — yet we continue to unnecessarily add well over a million more people every year via legal and illegal immigration? New census bureau figures released in 2011 place the foreign-born population in America at 40 million, 12.9 percent of or our entire population, the highest share since 1920 back when we actually needed more human capital.⁴³ The 1.4+ million increase since 2009 was the biggest since the mid-decade housing boom and it occurred during the Great Recession.⁴⁴Nothing demonstrates a “government” completely out of touch with economic reality in America than 1.4 million more people arriving on our shores in the midst of the Great Recession.

Breakout Resource(s):

Sustainable Immigration: American Workers

https://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/beckj/august-17-2011/sustainable-immigration-part-1-4-american-workers.html

We have a failing education system, a crumbling infrastructure, an unraveling social safety net due to massive government red ink and millions of people being added on top of these realities at a pace that will crush America if not alleviated. In spite of this glaring reality, the political class is doing virtually nothing and actually exacerbating the issue associated with overpopulation via absolutely insane immigration policies.

Whether it is the radical right refusing to believe that poor people have sex, or the fringe left advocating for an open and free flowing southern border, while telling heart warming Ellis Island stories . . . both are both completely clueless and out of touch with Main Street American reality.

That simply means one thing: the America people are going to have to sound the alarm and take the reins of power when it comes to a policy of sane population management and control. Just to survive economically, sex education and birth control have to be readily available to any and all Americans without any restraints whatsoever. Just as important, if not far more, the fire hose that has been flooding America with new immigrants [both legal and illegal] for decades must immediately be brought down to a small hardly discernable trickle.

Each year for decades the U.S. has accepted more legal new immigrants as permanent residents than all of the other nations in the world combined. In 1965, before laws were liberalized, there were 9.6 million first generation Americans living in the U.S.⁴⁴ By 2007 that number was 38 million.⁴⁵ Between 2000 and 2005 America experienced the largest 5 year influx of new immigrants in our nation’s history with more than 8 million new arrivals — more than half entering illegally.⁴⁶ Since the start of the Great Recession through 2010, with 30 million American citizens unemployed or underemployed, more than 3 million more new immigrants arrived to swell the ranks of poverty and cheap labor even further.⁴⁷

The immigration numbers don’t even begin to tell the population explosion story, but instead — it is the fertility rates of new arrivals that clearly portend massive poverty in the years to come. America’s 2.05 fertility rate is far higher than other industrialized democracies [Europe 1.4 and Japan 1.3].⁴⁸ The U.S. population explosion is not coming from existing U.S. citizens giving birth, but instead from new immigrants giving birth to the tune of more than 2.3 million every single year.⁴⁹ In fact, with current immigration trends, 79.5 percent of all U.S. population growth between 2010 and 2050 will come from immigration and births to new immigrants.⁵⁰ As if blind to the poverty caused by overpopulation in nations such as India or Pakistan, many new immigrants bring with them a cultural blind spot and yearning for large families. It’s as if they arrive, see open space and quality of life and don’t make the connection as to why America was an alluring destination . . . we don’t yet have massive overpopulation and poverty brought about by high fertility rates. Across the world, the higher a nation’s educational attainment the lower the fertility rate and new immigrants into the U.S. [with less than a high school degree] have an absolutely alarming fertility rate of 3.30 compared with those with at least a college degree having a fertility rate of only 1.91 children.⁵¹ More than 60 percent of illegal immigrants have a high school degree or less which statistically delivers a wildly high fertility rate that America can simply not afford.⁵²

The data and statistics simply don’t lie and nothing is more critical in regard to immigration policy than education levels of new arrivals. Using 2009 numbers, of households headed by a new immigrant who has not graduated from high school, 80 percent accessed the welfare system, compared to only 25 percent for those headed by a new immigrant who has at least a bachelor’s degree.⁵³ It doesn’t take a genius in population studies or a sociology expert on the cycle of poverty to plug fertility rates and education levels into an equation and arrive at a future reality that is nothing short of absolutely horrific for America’s economy, the poor, government red ink, social unrest and massive starvation in America the likes of which our nation has never before witnessed.

It is time for all Americans to do the math and examine the realities of massive government red ink, a crumbling education system already, more than 300,000 teacher layoffs between 2008 and 2010, a disappearing social safety net and more competition for jobs that at any time since the Great Depression. With educational attainment of parents and poverty being the foremost indicators of children’s educational attainment and workforce preparation — what do the numbers predict for the economic future of America? Do the numbers appear to paint a picture of a vibrant economic engine that will enable the U.S. to compete in a world economy? Do they paint a picture for quality of life, gainful employment opportunities for the majority, upward mobility and an America that any sane person would want to live in?

The population numbers, education levels, birth rates, crumbling education system and infrastructure, government red ink and massive unemployment and underemployment already paint a clear picture of the “America 2030” as described in the beginning of this book. Massive tent cities in every metropolitan city in America, stepping over beggars on trips to the mall, starvation, malnutrition and more than likely social unrest. Yet we, as a nation, just continue forward with some blind nostalgic idea of Ellis Island stories as if this is still 1903.

With zero population growth, if that were attainable, just the education and workforce preparedness issue alone is a huge mountain for America to climb, but with immigration [both legal and illegal] adding to the weight of that climb . . . we simply can’t prevail economically. An immigrant’s ethnicity, race or country of origin doesn’t matter [as long as they are not a terrorist] — it only takes the basic laws of supply and demand [people and jobs] to dictate that illegal immigration into the U.S. must be brought down to zero and legal immigration must be severely curtailed now! It doesn’t take a population studies expert conducting a five year multi-million dollar government funded study to figure this out. At some point, instead of being the melting pot — the pot melts instead and everyone inside it suffers. By no means whatsoever should we be taking in more permanent residents every year than all of the other nations on the Earth combined . . . in addition to the massive problem we already have with illegal immigration.

A simple look at the numbers of legal new immigrants, allowed into the U.S. between 1820 and 2010 clearly indicates that beginning in the 1980’s we as a nation completely lost our minds, intellect and sense of deductive reasoning in regard to our nation’s immigration policies and numbers.

Snapshots: Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status 1820 to 2010 ⁵⁴

Year		Year		Year
1820	8,385	1915	326,700	1999	644,787
1821	9,127	1925	294,314	2000	841,002
1822	6,911	1935	34,956	2001	1,058,902
1825	10,199	1945	38,119	2002	1,059,536
1835	45,374	1955	237,790	2003	703,542
1845	114,371	1965	296,697	2004	957,883
1855	200,877	1975	385,378	2005	1,122,373
1865	248,120	1985	568,149	2006	1,266,129
1875	227,498	1995	720,177	2007	1,052,415
1885	395,346	1996	915,560	2008	1,107,126
1895	258,536	1997	797,847	2009	1,130,818
1905	1,026,499	1998	653,206	2010	1,042,625

Do the math America, almost 10 million new arrivals on our shores to begin the new century and well over 3 million arriving in the midst of the Great Recession. This is not 1903, we do not have wagon trains crossing America looking for unclaimed land to settle nor do we have employers screaming for more people to fill millions of open jobs. What we have instead are the shrill voices of race baiters and those manipulating the xenophobia card to grow both the unemployment numbers and the poverty levels in America toward that of the Great Depression if not far worse. With somewhere around 12 million illegal immigrants on top of 10 million legal new immigrants in just one decade and 40 million now living in the U.S., we have a population problem — more to the point we have a massive employment problem that was senselessly imported.

With the unemployment and underemployment numbers at somewhere between 20 to 30 million, it doesn’t take some sophisticated equation to figure out that existing U.S. citizens would have been far better off economically without 50 percent of the new immigrants now living in America. Unemployment and underemployment would be far less and the demand for job applicants would be going through the roof along with increased pay for new hires and existing employees. Since hind sight is 20/20, the past can’t be changed except in the arena of illegal immigrants living in the U.S., you have to ask: what was and what is the thinking and strategy of our bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. in regard to legal immigrant numbers? What is the goal? Where is the economic and quality of life ROI for existing American citizens? Where are the hearings, the outcry from the American people and the explanations from Washington, D.C.?

There is no place in America for xenophobia or racism in regard to addressing the overpopulation issue. There is no place in America for holding animosity towards new immigrants that were allowed to immigrate legally to America due to horribly ill conceived legal immigration policies by the U.S. government. The fault lies with the American people who sat by idle and apathetic and allowed it to take place year after year, decade after decade until it grew into what is now an exploding overpopulation and unemployment issue within our shores . . . not to mention an issue of low wages and salaries for all Americans.

America as a whole, even though opposed according to all polling data, stood by and allowed only the shrill, hysterical voices yelling racism and xenophobia to sever America’s collective brain from its stem — to the economic detriment of all U.S. citizens as well as our collective quality of life. The past can’t be changed, but the obvious race and xenophobia manipulation ploys must end now before even more economic damage is done. Instead, we need millions of shrill, hysterical voices yelling for planned parenthood and a million fewer new immigrants coming into the U.S. each year [be they legal or illegal]. Population issues are about numbers, the mix of the poor and economic contributors, education levels, infrastructure limits, a social safety net, urban sprawl, the environment and most of all — economic opportunity and quality of life for all U.S. citizens. It’s about an intellectual, objective and rational discussion on population management that results in a subsequent policy implementation that serves the greater good of the whole . . . not the selfish desires of race, political party or U.S. employers that want a never ending supply of dirt cheap labor for ever higher profits.

For those that believe we should completely slam the door on legal immigration . . . forget about it! With the illegal immigration problem yet to be addressed adding to the problems of the working poor, massive poverty and a failing education system — completely shutting the door to legal immigration would be nothing short of economic suicide. With somewhere around half of the students in most inner city school systems never even making it out of high school — America needs all the college graduates we can economically absorb from other nations. At the moment at least, the university system in the U.S. is still the envy of the entire world. It is our No. 1 economic asset in a competitive world economy. Sadly, our students are less and less able and capable of taking advantage of our university system via financial constraints and academic preparedness. Allowing foreign born students to take advantage of our fabulous university system [often funded by taxpayers via state schools] in the areas of medicine and the arts is a viable contribution for the world at large — if and only if they return to their native country after completing their education. On the other hand, in the areas of business, engineering, technology and science, for example, our current approach is grossly shortsighted. If we educate the world in these arenas and then return these students back to their native country to compete with the U.S. economically, within a nation such as China, our policies are nothing short of absolutely stupid!

Americans, most especially the utopians, have yet to figure out that the survival game ahead is strictly about winning at economic competition with every nation on Earth. Just in case someone missed it, Communist China seems to be getting this free enterprise global marketplace concept pretty well at this point in time, just like India and Brazil. We need to be providing them with MBAs, engineers, scientists and math geniuses via our world-class university system — “like we need a hole in our head.” We play nice and the rest of the world is taking economic advantage of our naivety. Would an NFL or NBA team allow someone from an opposing team to participate and participate in preseason activities and then send them back to the opposition at the start of the season? Of course not! Is a “competitive world economy” any different whatsoever than professional sports? No! Therefore, why would we educate the world in the arenas of business, engineering, technology, science, etc. and send them home to compete and steal jobs from America?

It seems that everyone outside of America still wishes to live in America. Most especially people from poverty stricken, wildly overpopulated nations such as India and Pakistan. It’s quite easy to understand that someone living in a nation where starving beggars line the streets would want to relocate to America where we don’t yet have those problems on a grand scale. Surely, no sane American’s future vision of America is to emulate the problems of India and Pakistan caused by high fertility rates and massive overpopulation? Surely, no one can label such a statement as xenophobic since via the Internet and a couple clicks of a mouse, anyone can see what life is like in India and Pakistan. By comparison, we in America still have some quality of life left, but we’ve reached far beyond our economic capacity limits at present to absorb even more people. While we can’t entirely close the legal immigration door to America, nor is that an aim, we now must instead be extremely selective as to who is allowed into our university system and how many people legally immigrate into our nation. To educate our economic competition and then send them home to compete with us —simply makes no economic sense whatsoever. We’re well beyond the point to where we can economically absorb new immigrants, most especially more “poor huddled [uneducated] masses” and have no other choice but to turn away all but the best and brightest economic contributors. That in turn creates economic opportunity and room for more “huddled masses” somewhere well down the road when they can be absorbed into a revived and growing U.S. economy.

By allowing only the very best and brightest students and legal new immigrants with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills into America, we can help counter our failing education system via entrepreneurs and contributors in order to restore a strong U.S. economy that can become a job creating engine once again. Clearly, with a failing U.S. education system, we are at an increased economic disadvantage without such an influx of talent. While the time has arrived to radically reduce the number of legal immigrants coming into the U.S., priority-one for entry going forward must be STEM skills almost exclusively . . . not whether they are “tied, hungry or huddled” or if their brother happens to live here. If you’re asking if that is an elitist policy and perspective the answer is “No!” Not unless you have answers to the massive poverty issues in America, a failing education system, pulling the working poor out of a cycle of poverty and can provide jobs for the legal and illegal influx of poor new immigrants [who are already swelling the ranks of America’s working poor by more than 20 percent]. In the event that you have an answer to all these issues, then please head directly to Washington, D.C. where no one is even paying the slightest attention to the issues of overpopulation and the economy. All anyone in Washington, D.C. cares about are votes as well as supplying cheap labor and more consumers for corporate America in order to reward the top 10 percent who own all the stock in America.

Going forward, for as far into the future as anyone can now see, illegal immigration must cease entirely and legal immigration must be reserved for only an extremely finite number of economic skill sets that American citizens cannot provide. Attracting foreign nationals and entrepreneurs to relocate or start-up viable, well funded businesses in the U.S. [that hire American citizens] must become priority-one. A “mom and pop” convenience store selling cokes and candies purchased at a Sam’s Club is NOT a viable entrepreneurial endeavor that will provide good jobs for American citizens, nor is yet another lawn care service, etc.

If true entrepreneurs, businesses relocating and skill sets go unfulfilled we collectively suffer economically as a nation. Are such criteria the main focal point of America’s immigration policy? Of course not, that would be sane, rational and objective instead of shrieking, shrill and hysterical. Most all of America believes that “cultural diversity” is good and that being a melting pot society from all over the world is one of our greatest assets. Since that is true, where is the “melting” of race and xenophobia ploys that have continued to plague any objective, intellectual reasoning in regard to America’s immigration policies? America cannot both laud the benefits of being a melting pot and at the same time allow the race and xenophobia card to dominate the formulation of immigration policy. Either we are a “melting pot” or we are not? If we are, then it requires rational, objective discussions in regard to our nation’s immigration policies and criteria for entry into America . . . devoid of race card and xenophobia manipulation ploys. The economic impact of immigration is one of the last criteria being considered and instead, more often than not, it’s whether an immigrant currently has family in the U.S. More often than not, entry into America has nothing whatsoever to do with America’s collective economic prosperity. Can a new immigrant support their own children, or will they expect U.S. taxpayers to pick-up the tab should be question No. 1 and No. 2 should be how many jobs can you provide for American citizens?

When family is not the main criteria for entry, a system of corporate slavery is often deployed via H-1B visas that allow temporary entry into America. The non U.S. citizen agrees to work for slave wages in return for corporate sponsorship of an H-1B visa. Supposedly, such salary and wage manipulation are against U.S. law, but no one on an H-1B via is going to complain so no scrutiny whatsoever upon employers ever occurs. Once in the U.S., the non U.S citizen becomes an indentured servant held hostage to slave wages by the corporation that sponsored them. That in turn drives down the salaries for everyone working in each economic sector impacted by H-1B visas. To get an idea of the volume: in 2009 alone during the Great Recession more than 214,271

H-1B visas were issued as some 15+ million American citizens stood in the unemployment line.⁵⁵ Each visa comes with a 3 year window that is extendable to 6 years with multiple loopholes for even longer stays, so it’s not like they are passing through, but instead become “permanent temporary” corporate slaves.

Without a doubt, for some very limited roles, America needs a strong and vibrant H-1B program to counter our failing education system. All entrants under the H-1B visa program must have a college degree to qualify, unlike the 60 percent of illegal immigrants that have a high school education or less. While more than 200,000 H-1B visas being issued in a single year is wildly excessive, the program if managed correctly could be an oasis in a desert of economic despair, but instead it’s being used as a corporate loophole for cheap slave labor. Although it can be argued accurately that a number of U.S. citizens will compete and lose out on jobs to these foreign born nationals, the upsides far outweigh the downsides in regard to jobs for U.S. citizens . . . up to a point and only if micro-managed by U.S. citizens instead of Washington, D.C. bureaucrats on the payroll of “corporate America.”

Currently the H-1B visa program and legal immigration go far beyond filling critical economic talent needs that cannot be sourced in the U.S. No different than the offshore sourcing to acquire cheap labor, both avenues are being exploited by corporate America. Only after a position has been adequately advertised and every avenue to find a qualified U.S. citizen to fill the role has been completely exhausted, should an H-1B visa be allowed. Currently that is not the case, but instead it is a means to acquire cheap labor into the U.S. to boost corporate profits and drive down salaries for everyone.

There will of course be those that say to turn away the “tired, poor huddled masses” is un-American and contrary to what we were founded upon as a nation. Well America, that ideal was great in 1903 and it makes for wonderful heartwarming Ellis Island stories, but today we can’t even feed and employ our own U.S. citizens here already. To allow immigration numbers, both legal and illegal, to continue at the present rate — with the wildly excessive fertility rates that new immigrants bring with them — is a recipe for absolute economic disaster! Look no further than a nation such as Pakistan where more than a third of the population can’t even read and write, where millions upon millions of impoverished people live on the streets begging for food and it is easy to see where we are heading if the growth of the U.S. population is not managed and controlled. How any American can look at a nation such as India and not see that America already has at least 20+ million more people than we can provide jobs for . . . just boggles the mind of any sane human that can add and subtract. With some 15+ million Americans currently unemployed, 20+ million underemployed and no job growth on the horizon for at least a decade that will enable America to economically re-absorb the citizens we have . . . we have to curtail the fire hose of new arrivals upon our shores.

The American boat is sinking like the Titanic under the weight of overpopulation that is leading to stagnated wages, massive poverty, a crumbling public education system and a once dynamic economy that now has the job creating horsepower of a lawnmower. If you’re riding upon an economic Titanic, do you allow more people on the boat to help it sink or do you stop the flow almost entirely while you bail water for a couple of decades?

This is the extremely simple question that America must now address and answer, instead of wallowing in Ellis Island nostalgia and listening to the shriek, shrill, hysterical voices yelling racism and xenophobia. From a scientific, population studies standpoint — every boat has a safe capacity limit for a reason. Is it cruel and self-centered for economically unqualified new immigrants to jump onto the U.S. boat, while America is undergoing the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression? Yes! It is cruel to both the new immigrant and the working poor of America who are already struggling and in many cases starving. If dumping more uneducated bodies with no job skills upon the heads of America’s working poor is your idea of compassion . . . then visit you local homeless shelter, get out of your Lexus and ask the hungry of America if they are feeling your compassion?

That perspective is oftentimes missed by many Americans, most especially many on the fringe left who advocate for the poor and open borders. There was a time when America could take in and provide for many of the world’s “tired and hungry,” especially those just outside our borders, but those days are gone! We’re broke, we have no jobs or food to offer and as heartbreaking as it is, we are now forced to turn most people away in order to keep our entire economic boat from sinking. We clearly have no other choice!

It is not complex algebra to calculate how many people are currently in America of working age already, multiply by one of the highest fertility rates in the modern world, divide by a crumbling education system and anyone can foresee massive poverty and starvation on the road ahead. Look no further than a nation like Pakistan for a vision of America in the decades to come if we do not change course.

Because of America’s still high standard of living, any way you wish to slice it, we’re expensive to employ compared to the rest of the world. Therefore, no matter how many trade agreements are rewritten or how much the economy improves some day, we will have an ever more finite number of jobs to offer. That will be true for at least for the next 20+ years unless some, as yet undiscovered, jobs creator strictly for Americans comes along. Therefore, our first and foremost duty and obligation to humanity is to employ our citizens who were born here. It’s an American birthright and it’s just as critical to restoring the American Dream as everything else in this book. If you were born in the U.S. then you should have the first shot at the jobs that exist. It’s called a return on the investment made by your forefathers and your efforts to date. It’s not racism or xenophobia in any shape, form or manner whatsoever! The immigration issue is not about having or not having a heart . . . it is just about basic math and the economic survival of U.S. Citizens. It is solely a numbers and capacity issue based concretely in supply and demand economic dynamics. The more people we have in America equals more competition for an ever fewer number of jobs available and just as important . . . less pay for the jobs that do exist. Review and study all the nations that have a higher standard of living than the U.S.A., such as France, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Germany. What do they all have in common? The answer: a much smaller population than the U.S. The fewer the number of people, the higher demand there is for each person when it comes to hiring or firing. A lowered supply of people raises demand and wages. At this moment in America, humans are like grains of sand with more than 5 applicants for every job that exists. For the mega-rich, corporate America and the top 10 percent of the food chain that own all the stock . . . this is a dream come true and they hope this present scenario lasts forever. They live in castles, have bodyguards and can leave America any time they wish. The rest of us have to live and somehow survive in America and we have all the job competition we need already.

In only one single economic segment of the U.S. economy is there currently a shortage of workers: agriculture and agriculture alone. Most second generation Americans, and beyond, still refuse to pick grapes in the hot sun. Therefore America must finally create a robust, vibrant guest worker program to fulfill this one singular jobs cavity . . . instead of getting the job done via illegal immigration. With a failing education system and no jobs growth on the horizon in America . . . how long American citizens will be able to refuse such work is an open question? There are only so many really good burger flipper jobs to go around.

America is a sovereign nation. It was a sovereign nation when the Statue of Liberty was erected and it must remain a sovereign nation. If we can afford to be the good guys and either export our jobs to China and Mexico or give jobs to people legally coming into America then great, that’s awesome. However, if we can’t we can’t and wishing it was so doesn’t change the reality. If and when we have full employment in America via the reduction of “low wage scabs” a.k.a. legal and illegal new immigrants coming in to increase profits and wealth for the mega-rich — then we can think about allowing thousands of new people into the U.S., but not until. That’s just the cruel reality of how it has to be in order for our citizens to have a job that pays anything resembling a living wage, instead of being slave labor for the top of the pyramid. Otherwise, we will turn into the Third World nation we’re currently en route to become — with even higher unemployment, lower incomes and standards of living along with massive starvation. The top of the pyramid want cheap labor and consumers and the political class caters to those desires as well as seeking votes to gain or hold political power. As far as creating upward pressures on wages or any concern whatsoever for the overall quality of life for the majority of Americans . . . the political class in America could care less!

Breakout Resource(s):

The Environmental Impact of Immigration into the United States

http://www.carryingcapacity.org/DinAlt.htm

The Numbers Game – Confronting Growth and the Environment

http://www.susps.org/overview/art2004jan.html

All workers—including black youth—benefit from a tight labor market

http://www.epi.org/blog/workers%e2%80%94including-black-youth%e2%80%94benefit/

The State of Young America: Economic Barriers to the American Dream

http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/State-of-Young-America-TheDatabook.pdf

Welfare Use by Immigrant Households with Children

http://www.cis.org/immigrant-welfare-use-2011

Cost of Raising a Child Calculator

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/calculatorintro.htm

Sustained, High Joblessness Causes Lasting Damage to Wages, Benefits, Income and Wealth

http://w3.epi-data.org/temp2011/BriefingPaper324_FINAL%20%283%29.pdf

Wealth Gaps Rise to Record High Between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2069/housing-bubble-subprime-mortgages-hispanics-blacks-household-wealth-disparity

The High Cost of Illegal Immigration

http://www.youtube.com/user/fairfederation?feature=mhee#p/u/10/H8lLU7XjcWc

Immigration Drives U.S. Population Growth

http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc_21_2/tsc_21_2_rubenstein_8_population_growth.shtml

Negative Population Growth

http://www.npg.org/

Immigration During Periods of High Unemployment

http://epi.3cdn.net/c096470249dad7ba7a_epm6iit2i.pdf

FAIR

http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=16895&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1821

Illegal Immigration Backlash Worries, Divides Latinos

http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=128

Center for Immigration Studies

http://www.cis.org/node/54

Hearing on “New Jobs in Recession and Recovery:

Who Are Getting Them and Who Are Not”

http://epi.3cdn.net/c096470249dad7ba7a_epm6iit2i.pdf

Shooting Ourselves in the Foot

2011-10-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

[Pages 102-107]

There are a lot of curious things about America and our culture that are difficult to understand, but one may be above all else — voting in only the mega-rich or their proxy stooges. It’s no more illogical than if the prisoners in Auschwitz had voted for Hitler to hand out the towels as they headed to the shower. Not only have virtually all Americans been “gassed” economically for the past 30+ years, but we’ve continued to vote in only Americans at the top of the pyramid during every single election cycle. To be fair, much of that is due in large part to a two-party only political monopoly whereby it’s cost prohibitive for anyone not at least a millionaire to run for office, but even so . . . we’ve done nothing whatsoever in 30+ years to change that reality. So getting “gassed” economically is 100 percent our fault and our fault alone.

In America we are brainwashed 24/7 to worship money and Americans and past generations have voted only for the rich for well over a hundred years, if not longer. It actually started when a big land owner, George Washington, became our first president, but it began in earnest with the Robber Barons of the Great Depression era. As students of history know, these early 20^th Century U.S. businessmen and bankers amassed huge personal fortunes, typically by anti-competitive or unfair business practices. Some of the best known names, we still recognize today, such as Rockefeller, Morgan, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Hershey and Gates just to name a few. A political pundit of that day wrote, “If a [politician] has the power to do great evil and won’t do it right unless he is bribed to do it, I think . . . it is a man’s duty to go up and bribe.” How any American doesn’t see billions in campaign donations from the mega-rich, corporations, labor unions and special interest groups as straight-up, blatant bribery is the biggest question of our day. Back at the turn of the Century, many Americans were uneducated, but they knew then, just like we know today, that a large percentage of great wealth is gained via monopolies, collusion, corruption, influence peddling and bribery. Knowing that to be a fact, why would Americans vote in only the mega-rich or their puppets?

How could a Rockefeller, any Rockefeller, be voted into office back then and especially today? How did being rich become the number one qualification for holding political office? After fighting the Revolutionary war to get away form the king and then to turn around and create new kings, via the voting booth, is without a doubt the most bizarre, mind boggling reality in all of American politics.

One school of potential flawed thought is that the wealthy, especially those from the business world, know economics and business so well that they know how to vote on issues that will create a strong economy. Even if that were true and there is no evidence that it is, can you trust the mega-rich to do the right thing for the people? Isn’t it more likely that they will take care of their own? In far too many cases greed and the love of money made these people rich, or they inherited it and feel entitled. What’s their motivation to ensure you get your fair share of the American pie? Already millionaires when they arrive in Congress, once elected they receive $174+ K per year, a cushy pension after only a few years in office and a federal backed retirement account . . . where is their incentive to make sure you don’t starve?

It shouldn’t be this way, but the old adage of “birds of a feather stick together” is true. Any minority sticks together and take care of their own, be they black, Hispanic, Irish or filthy rich. A tiger does not change its stripes and the greed that got them into Congress isn’t going to change. That makes it far more likely the rich, when voted in, will use their position to enrich themselves, their families and their elite friends before they will do anything to level the playing field for you. Most of our existing political class was born with a silver spoon and a DNA that programmed them to think that a level playing field is the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to them and their family. Yet, voters send the rich to Washington, D.C. and state legislatures in the hope that they will work to create a more leveled playing field for average Americans. It’s completely illogical!

You can of course get filthy rich by being honest but it’s quite rare indeed. Isn’t it far smarter to play the odds in our favor just to be safe? Shouldn’t we at least do enough research to see how a politician got rich before you send them to Washington to look out for our economic interests? In many cases, it’s not a pretty story once you get beyond the scripted campaign spin.

The opposite end of voting in the rich logic is that they no longer have anything to gain by being greedy and are ready to “give back.” Some new found conscience will enlighten them into wanting to enhance the economic lives of “the people” as “public servants.” Ask yourself the question, how many “servants” own mega-yachts like Senator Kerry? Ask yourself why he tried to dodge taxes on his yacht in 2010, if he has our best interest at heart? The Kennedy clan and Bush family are American royalty who believe their blood lines are superior to the American people. What does someone born with a silver spoon know about the real world? What qualifies them to make good decisions on anything that impacts our wallet? Have they ever worked 40 hours in a week at minimum wage as most all of us did at some point in our life? The concept of a budget and living within average citizen means is completely alien to the elite at the top of the pyramid. Does wealth handed down on a silver platter qualify American royalty to look out for our financial wellbeing via a leveling of the playing field?

The greedy, via our existing political-class, run an America pyramid scheme that controls the overwhelming vast majority of all the wealth in the U.S. They know that people yearn to be led like sheep because thinking for themselves hurts their brain. For some reason people buy into the idea that a politician running for office is somehow superior to themselves and money seems to be the number one criteria used make that determination. Americans conclude that if you have money, no matter how you got it, you must be smart and voting in so called “smart people” on the surface seems to make good sense. Instead, doesn’t it make more sense to vote in people with integrity, principles, solid working backgrounds and people from the American middle-class? There are literally a multitude of qualities that make a good political candidate, but being rich is NOT one of them. Voting in the rich or puppets of the mega-rich is like voting for Tiger Woods to date your daughter — then expecting him to respect her.

The only time rich politicians a.k.a. most members of Congress pay any attention whatsoever to you [the-voter] is every couple of years or so near election time. They know that most Americans can’t even name the last 5 presidents, much less how their members of Congress voted on legislation X, Y and Z a couple of years ago. Quite frankly, they think we’re all “dumb bunnies” and to date, based upon our current economic scenario and horribly corrupted democracy . . . they’re 100% correct in their assessment. Only on very rare occasions do members of Congress focus on anything whatsoever beyond making themselves, their cronies and campaign contributors rich. Every once in a blue moon . . . a war, health care or massive unemployment will come along and they are forced to pay attention to the needs and desires of the people, but 99 percent of the time it’s all about them and their bank account.

Even though our bank accounts are declining by the day, the bank accounts of members of Congress are doing fantastic. In short, they are almost all millionaires and the vast overwhelming majority of them are multi-millionaires many times over.

Breakout Resource(s):

Congressional Wealth

http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/index.php

The opensecrets.org site may be the single most important window the American people have for transparency and accountability in government. It’s an absolutely fantastic tool with almost any information you can dream of when it comes to money and Congress, the federal government, etc. It’s strongly suggested that everyone explore the site and support the resource financially. If it is not funded, America will lose one of, if not the best, resources available to protect our wallets and guard against the massive political corruption that currently exists in America.

While this book could explore in detail all the Congressional wealth, how they got it, if they earned it, etc., there are two reasons for not doing so. First, exploring in detail is a citizen’s job in order for you to free themselves from news media and political party dogma a.k.a. forming their own conclusions instead of being spoon fed. Secondly, any analysis provided would be subject to accusations of bias . . . so do your own in depth analysis. The core guiding principal of this book is to free citizens from “news” media and political party dogma by providing the most unbiased resources available.

Nonetheless, the wealth information on Congress provided via opensecrets.org does warrant a little high level analysis. It is assumed that all readers are bright enough to understand that almost all of Party A’s politicians are “rich as dogs” since their basic pitch is all based on “trickle down economics” a.k.a. crumbs falling from the table of the elite at the top of the pyramid. So members of Party A appearing on the top 25 richest members of Congress list shouldn’t make anyone drop their jaw . . . it’s a given. What’s surprising is the multitude from Party B appearing on the top 25 list, such as: Nancy Pelosi, Jay Rockefeller and John Kerry just to name a few of the better known names. Please examine the lists in great detail and make up your own mind. Look at their companies, where and how they got their money and ask yourself how could it be possible for them to vote for anything that doesn’t benefit the American elite? In short, if you’re a member of Congress at this point in time, no matter your political party, you’re “rich as a dog” and not an average American citizen.

What’s strange about this reality, since we supposedly live in a “democracy” and are free to vote for whomever we choose — is how all members of Congress seem to be filthy rich? We don’t have a king and everyone in office both locally and nationally are voted into office by “the people.” Just as strange, if not more, is the fact that even during recessions, such as the one that began in 2008 — the rich just continue to get rich while almost 90 percent of “the people” just continue to lose ground. How can this be?

Members of Congress had a collective net worth of more than $2 billion in 2010, a nearly 25 percent increase over the 2008 total.¹ Amidst the Great Recession, while America at large suffers and many starve, members of Congress increased their wealth by 25 percent . . . what else do you need to know about our “political system” other than that? In 2009, the minimum net worth of the House was slightly more than $1 B and for the Senate it was $651 M for a total of $1.65 B. Combined, in 2011 the total net worth for Congress jumped to $204 B.² If you think that is alarming, it gets worse, these totals don’t even include homes and other non-income generating property, such as senator, Kerry’s yacht.

What’s hilarious is that so called “progressives” “liberals” and ardent devotees of Party B have been brainwashed to believe that it’s “the other guys” in Congress that hold all the wealth. As of 2011, the poor little donkeys in the Senate hold 80 percent of the wealth in their chamber and the elephants in the House hold 78 percent of the wealth in their chamber.³ In other words, there is very little difference whatsoever between political party wealth in Congress. [Could that be why this “two-party” so called “democracy” thing isn’t working out to well for the people?] When you do the math, the mean [average] net worth for each member of Congress is about $3.8 M plus “non-income producing property.”⁴

So how can it be that Congress is continuing to get rich while the rest of us are starving? The answer in two words: “insider trading” [in addition to cronyism and backroom deal making of course]. As alluded to early on, wealth and who wins in the economy [as well as the losers] is too often dictated by Washington, D.C. and state legislatures. The law for Congress as well as staffers should be the same as it is for the crooks on Wall Street: if information is not “public knowledge” you can’t invest in securities based upon that knowledge. The numbers speak for themselves, average American investors make around 6 percent on their investments and those in Congress, staffers, etc. make around 12 percent a.k.a. double the ROI for average citizens.⁵

For members of Congress along with state legislatures and their staffers, believe it or not, “insider trading” is not illegal. It is a perk reserved only for the political class a.k.a. “public servants.” A 60 Minutes investigative piece in late 2011 exposed the pervasive practice of insider trading on Capitol Hill, based largely on a book by Peter Schweizer entitled Throw Them All Out. Highlights of the 60 Minutes investigation reveal that John Boehner, current speaker of the House, invested in several health care stocks shortly before killing the public option, but that pales in comparison to Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the house, who participated in no less than 8 IPOs, many who had business before her chamber.⁶

As unbelievable as it may seem, under current law it is perfectly legal for a member of Congress to be given free-of-charge or reduced price pre-IPO shares of stock. Even more unbelievable, a member of Congress who receives these shares of pre-IPO stock is allowed to both participate in the formulation of legislation and vote upon passage of legislation that impacts the success of the company issuing the shares of stock. Wads of cash money are considered illegal “bribery” in Washington, D.C., but almost anything else, including pre-IPO shares of stock are considered “democracy.”

Such and atmosphere is crooked beyond belief and wildly pervasive — yet the American people tune into the Daily show for “political laughs” every evening? Is there something “funny” about white collar crooks going to work every day on Capitol Hill [instead of being behind bars]? Little homemaker Martha Stewart spent 5 months in jail for insider trading, but Nancy and John our former and current speakers of the House walk the streets free. Where is the justice?

If you are thinking that the number of people in Washington, D.C. who should now be behind bars for insider trading should be in the 100s . . . think again! The number is thousands who should be serving jail time in one of America’s so called “country club” prisons for the “privileged class.” Insider trading is NOT particularly difficult to determine: A) determine the date the securities were purchased and B) determine what the investor knew on that date by being a Washington, D.C. insider [that the general public did not know]. Any fairly bright high school kid could conduct the simplistic research with access to records and investigative authority. So where are the massive investigations 24/7 and subsequent jail time being handed out in Washington, D.C.? Law and order, is seems, exists only for “the little people” in America.

Clearly such activity is highly unethical and should be illegal, but the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, that would raise the bar and bring much needed scrutiny to the common practice of Washington, D.C. “insider trading,” continues to sit idle in the House. As of this writing, a couple of different versions of the bill exist in the Senate as well, but prospects for passage are dim, just like the likelihood of the SEC investigating members of Congress who control their budget a.k.a “fox watching the hen house.” Much like the laughable “ethics committees” in both the House and Senate, the massive corruption in Washington, D.C. is condoned, protected and pushed forward by the very people we continually elect [via incumbency] to protect our “trust” in government [which is now at zero].

How did we end up here? We supposedly live in a “democracy” and we vote every couple of years — so if there is something wrong with “the system” it must also be true that “we the people” must be to blame. As it turns out, nothing could be more accurate and true as demonstrated throughout this book. The good news is that it doesn’t have to continue. That’s why this is NOT a history book about wealth inequality and our American oligarchy, but instead provides a viable blueprint, in Part II: The Resistance, for beginning to fight back and begin re-leveling the economic playing field.

Breakout Resource(s):

60 Minutes: Congress: Trading stock on inside information?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7388130n

The Two-Party Mirage

2011-10-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

[Pages 126-133]

For 30+ years or more, the people have looked to and fluctuated back and forth between Party A or Party B and just like every mirage in a desert there is never any water or shade at the promised oasis. It’s no different than watching an endless ping-pong match . . . back and forth, back and forth and the only people winning are the political class along with the mega-rich that own both of the two major political parties.

Economically, let’s look at the basic pitches for party A. then party B. Party A basically says that, ‘if we and our backers are allowed to get even richer you’ll get by somehow.’ It’s a firm belief in most circles, a true Americanism, that “if they don’t get theirs, we won’t get ours.” It’s all based almost 100 percent on flawed “trickle down economic” thought. Over the past 30+ years the economy has grown and jobs have been created, but where is there any direct evidence that any of the jobs were created by via “trickle down economics” and more importantly . . . where has one dime of wealth trickle into anyone’s pockets outside of the top 10 percent of citizens? Economic changes occur and developments such as the tech boom and the Internet come along, but surely — no one can claim either was created by trickle down economics and massive wealth accumulation at the top.

The stark undeniable statistics clearly demonstrate one single direction on wealth accumulation during the last 30+ years . . . ALL UPWARD! So obviously, no one can claim that “trickle down economics” creates wealth accumulation for the vast majority of the American people . . . it’s just not possible to make such a claim! It can of course be “claimed” that trickle down economics creates jobs, but there is no way to prove or document such a claim. Yea, president, Reagan cut taxes and that happened to coincide with the tech boom and creation of the Internet. Would anyone, except the radical right, claim that tax cuts created the tech boom or the Internet? Of course not! Nonetheless taxes on the mega-rich have been ridiculously low ever since Reagan.

Since the mega-rich have never had more money than right now, why isn’t the economy booming? Why aren’t jobs being created? How in the world can Party A be advocating for even more money to be given to the top as a way to turn around the economy? Nothing could be more far fetched or illogical than to contend the mega-rich don’t presently have enough money to create jobs. Only an idiot, completely unaware of the massive wealth disparity and money sitting at the top of the food chain, as documented herein, could still buy into the same old Party A mantra of ‘we can’t tax the job creators.’

Where is the cause and effect relationship between massive wealth accumulation at the top and, for instance, the tech boom and creation of the Internet? The tech boom and development of the Internet, largely responsible for much of the economic growth in America during our lifetimes, was driven by the government who created the Internet, average entrepreneurs and not in any way from massive wealth accumulation at the top.

If trickle down economics = wealth accumulation for the vast majority of the American people — then it’s a complete abysmal failure proven by the statistics herein. If trickle down economics = creation of millionaires and massive wealth accumulation at the top then it was a success. Does that equate to private sector job creation, as is so often claimed, or do innovations and economic factors such as the tech boom and development of the Internet create jobs? Businesses and individuals invest in opportunities and opportunities are not driven by massive wealth accumulation at the top. In fact, such massive wealth at the top chokes off economic growth via monopolies, collusion and way too much power in the hands of too few. Money in the hands of average people gets spent to stimulate 70 percent of the economy, but mega-money gets hoarded and redoubled via the stock market. The American people haven’t had any money to spend in well over a decade and what was being spent was credit card and home equity money. Both those sources of spending were wiped out and cancelled via Wall Street’s greed and the housing bubble they exploded upon America. Anyone waiting for consumer spending to turn the economy around had better not hold their breath because there simply is no money available.

Of course, anyone that still has a job in America is glad to have it, but no cause and effect relationship can be made that jobs are created by trickle down economics and massive wealth accumulation at the top. In an August 2011 op-ed piece, billionaire, Warren Buffett, said, “I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.”¹

In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, even with a billionaire like Warren Buffett weighing in, Party A just continues forward with their same old mantra that ‘we can’t tax the job creators.’ Amazingly, far too many Americans continue to buy into such stupefied rhetoric as all the wealth in the U.S. has been transferred to the top over the course of 30+ years.

A job is a job but it’s NOT wealth accumulation unless it pays above the level of basic survival with something significant left over . . . nothing significant has been left over for the vast majority of the American people for more than 30+ years and it’s getting worse by the day. For the last 35 years, we’ve had party A in the oval office for 20 of those years. In 20 years, assuming trickle down works, there should be some evidence of it working, but if wealth accumulation for the middle-class is the yardstick . . . there is no evidence of it working whatsoever — zero! The statistics just don’t lie . . .

Since party A is an abysmal failure, then party B must be the way to go, right? Their basic economic pitch is some kind of quasi “trust us and we’ll take care or you” message, but no one really knows what that exactly means. Whatever it means it must NOT mean being enabled to compete for a piece of the American pie on a more leveled playing field since party B has held the oval office for 15 of the last 35 years. Surely if “we the people” were going to see any results from party B it would have happened by now, but once again, just as with party A, the evidence and statistics say complete abysmal failure. The Party B loyalists will of course say “they tried really hard,” but that bad Party A kept them from moving the ball forward. Almost all Americans [that still have a job] go in for a performance review each year. What happens if you deliver zero results, but say you tried really hard? You’re either fired or given 90 days to show results. In the case of Party B and Party A . . . they have had 30+ years to turn things around economically for the American people and have failed miserably, but they still have a job and hold power?

The truth is, as far as wealth accumulation for the vast majority of the American people, creation of good jobs and protecting the jobs we still have — there is no party in Washington, D.C. accomplishing anything in that regard and it’s been that way for 30+ years. If you’re poor, homeless and struggling, you don’t even exist — unless of course Party B throws you a bone from time to time in exchange for your vote. While the poor have the lowest percentage of voters and participation in the political process, by a wide margin — virtually everyone making six figures or more votes. Politicians therefore, know that the top 10 percent of voters are largely responsible for getting and keeping them in office via the ballot box because A) they vote and B) they contribute to campaigns.

Since America’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown from $3 T in 1980 to around $14 T in 2010 it means that billions of dollars in profits are going somewhere? With that much wealth floating around, you would think that Party A or Party B would have gotten a couple of those dollars into your pocket. Since not a dime of those additional revenues have shown up in your pocket there are three and only three logical conclusions possible: 1) we just haven’t had enough of Party A or 2) we just haven’t had enough of party B or 3) we’ve had all we can stand from both Party A and Party B a.k.a. the status quo.

There could however, be a fourth conclusion that’s logical . . . what if essentially there really is no party A or B? What if it just looks like two parties, but it’s really one party with the same ultimate goal . . . take from the vast middle-class and working poor and give to the mega-rich? Like a greedy version of Robin Hood, who sometimes impersonates the elephant and sometimes impersonates the donkey. The rhetoric and lofty speeches are different at times and both parties claim to be looking out for “the people” in their own way, but a 30+ year financial loosing streak for the American people clearly demonstrates that based on results . . . it’s all total BS! Massive wealth accumulation at the top and nothing whatsoever for the people over the course of 30+ years would lead any logical person to conclude that — either this two-party thing isn’t working or “we the people” are getting the shaft from both parties.

Which party loyalists are the biggest suckers is the only question that remains to be answered. While Party A devotees continue to await their slice of the American pie via trickle down crumbs, Party B loyalists are still buying into the “party of the people” mantra as the mega-rich laugh all the way to the bank. If you believe that Party B is “the party of the people” then how do you explain the undeniable fact that toward the end of 2010 that the mega-rich got a huge tax cut? President, Obama, during his entire election campaign, said over and over and over, ‘no tax cuts for the rich when I’m in the White House.’ He got elected and Party B controlled both the House and the Senate by large majorities. If you control all 3 legislative entities . . . done deal, no tax cuts for the rich, right? Wrong!

Somehow the mega-rich got their taxes cut? The spinners, experts and so called political pundits as usual told the American people what to think and how to think and most Americans were none the wiser. Pick your excuse: A) the mandate after the November election dictated that president, Obama and members of Party B in Congress had to pass tax cuts for the rich or B) president Obama and Party B just happened to run out of time and wanted to go home for the holidays. Is excuse A true? Nope, they had the votes and the veto power of the president to stop any tax cuts for the mega-rich. Then B must be true? Nope once again, they had two years, knew the issue was coming for two years and did nothing whatsoever to stop tax cuts for the mega-rich. Either Party B is guilty of being “poor time managers” or they were 110 percent complicit?

How could this have happened? How could the mega-rich a get tax cut, that will add approximately $700+ B to the deficit over a decade, when president Obama essentially said ‘hell no’ during his campaign? The answer to that question is the same as it has always been for more than 30+ years: the mega-rich always get what they want because they own Congress and the corporate media machine. It simply could not have been done if Party B was not complicit . . . now way, no how, not possible. Party A wasn’t going to bring up the issue, so it was up to Party B and they just decided to just sit on the issue and allow the clock to run out. As long as Party B could somehow create “political cover” a tax cut for the mega-rich was going through. The political cover came in the form of the “good cop bad cop” game. Party B played the role of “good cop” and Party A gave them cover by playing the role of greedy “bad cop” — along with their typical smokescreen that the billions in tax cuts would create jobs and “trickle down” to the people [just like it hasn’t since 1980]. As if the game wasn’t insulting enough to all Americans with any brain, president, Obama came out in the fall of 2011 with another hollow call to “tax the rich’ as an re-election ploy . . . knowing by then that it was safe to make such a call since Party A owned the House and such legislation didn’t have a chance in hell of passing. How convenient . . .

Party B could then use their old tried and true smokescreen of “we tried,” but those bad people in Party A wouldn’t allow it. Only a fool wearing rose colored glasses can twist the reality around in their mind to not see that Party B was 100 percent complicit in getting the mega-rich a tax cut and that all calls for a tax hike thereafter are just part of the game. It’s all a sophisticated ruse upon America and it’s the same game played out repeatedly over 30+ years to rob “the people” and give to the greedy. What’s amazing is that so many in America are still to this day taken in by the game. You would think that after 30+ years, Americans would wise up? Anyone that can’t see through the game may as well stop reading now because you’re just not going to get it. Before you sign out, please don’t forget to tell all the rest of us how ignorant we are about politics, how we just don’t understand “the legislative process” and how Washington, D.C. really works. [Please pardon us if we happen to snicker, just a little, at your condescension] The majority of Americans are now finally realizing that it’s all a big game where in Washington, D.C. the people lose and the mega-rich always win somehow.

When it comes to promises and politics we Americans have zero long-term memory and only focus on the latest media contrived political frenzy, while anxiously awaiting the next one, like a junkie needing their fix. You would think that someone would be tracking it all and keeping score, but we as a people just continue to follow either one party or the other in order to maintain the status quo. The adage, “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” seems appropriate, but in this case it is fool me for more than 30+ years and we still don’t get it . . . that’s not a shame but absolute stupidity! As will be repeated numerous times throughout this book, the definition of stupidity, as you know already, is to “repeat the same behavior over and over and expect a different result.” More than 30+ years is a lot of repeating to still not be getting it . . . don’t you think? Almost everyone in America would agree that the two-party political system is completely broken and simply doesn’t work, but in reality they could not be more wrong. The two-party political system is working to absolute perfection. In fact, it couldn’t be working any better more according to plan. The problem is that it is not working for the American people and works only for the greedy who run it via corrupt politicians and media manipulation.

Anyone that has been to Las Vegas to gamble knows that the house always wins. You lose at one casino, become frustrated and then go down the street to the other casino and you lose at that one. Of course a few people win and as long as “the people” see some win they continue to play. It’s the same reason state lotteries publicize their winners and give them those really big oversized checks on TV — it keeps the suckers coming back to the game.

In reality, speaking economically, voting for one party over another is gambling with your money. Like it or not, government and the legislation they pass or don’t pass along with their management of the economy largely determines your financial well being or lack thereof. Be it taxes, trade agreements, banking regulations, consumer protection laws, or regulations that impact the industry you work within — they all impact your wallet either directly or indirectly. As long as the mega-rich own and control all of our government, via two horribly corrupt political parties — the mega-rich know “the house” will always win at the game. The American people have done nothing but switch from the Party A or Party B “house,” then back again, for 75+ years or more. Just like in Vegas you’re never going to beat the house — no matter which of these two corrupt parties are in control. Anyone that thinks they are beating the house in this two-party casino game needs only to view their complete lack of winnings over the past 30+ years. You have no chips to cash in at the window . . . while the mega-rich have it all. What else do you need to know about the two-party political game?

During the past 35 years America has played in the Party B casino for 15 or the Party A casino for 20 and we’ve lost our financial posterior no matter in which casino we’ve played. In all those years, both parties have “promised the world and delivered nothing” into the wallets’ of average American citizens, but like fools we continue to play the same game. There will of course be party loyalists out there who will believe, no matter how much overwhelming evidence there is to the contrary, that if only their party had been in control all those 35 years that things would be better for all American wallets. It can’t of course be proven that these types of people are wrong, so all that can be said is ‘keep inserting those coins and keep pulling that party lever and maybe you will win some day?’ The house a.k.a. the mega-rich just love players like you . . .

Instead of hugging your party out of desperation, however, at least ask yourself the question: if “diversity” is good for America in regard to people, then why wouldn’t it be just as good for our political system? In Part II: The Resistance, for those of you willing to think outside the two-party box, a beginning step-by-step methodology for diluting the two-party political monopoly will be presented to begin making the American economy work for the people once again . . . instead of only the mega-rich. Let’s first get beyond the bright lights of the Party A and Party B casinos and see just how they got us to come in the door to gamble all our money away.

The first most essential thing they had to do was get us to believe that there are two different casinos owned by different owners with two different ideologies. Each party picks a different set of bright lights to draw as many people as possible into their casino. The bright lights are called hot button issues such as: patriotism, the flag, same sex marriage, abortion, poverty, immigration, national security, freedom, the deficit, racial inequality, family values, gun control, religion, women’s rights and hundreds of other issues that will elicit fire in the belly and focus within each gambler. Now, ask yourself, just how many of these issues would really matter to you if there was an empty dinner plate sitting in front of you?

While the people are mesmerized by every issue but money, the mega-rich and their two political parties are focused on nothing but money and power. It’s not some grand conspiracy on the part of the two political parties, but instead just two different routes to the same goals . . . power, control and money. Both casinos really do want to gain the most players at their table, in order to win elections, because it means they can funnel more money to themselves and their mega-rich campaign contributors who bankrolled their respective campaigns. The mega-rich are very smart people that simply hedge their bets in every election by backing both casinos. If the odds are that “the little people” are going to vote in Party A, they place more money on red and if it’s Party B they put most of their money on blue. When you have billions of dollars, a few million here or a few more million there are like nickels and dimes to us average Americans.

By betting both red and blue, the greedy win no matter which political party comes out on top. Voila! Creation of an oligarchy were the mega-rich control it all no matter which party Americans gamble on, we lose over the long-term when playing on the American monopoly board. When it comes to money, the rules of gravity that dictate “what goes up must come down” simply don’t apply. The money that goes up stays up forever and is multiplied exponentially. In more than 30+ years, as evidenced by the statistics — not one single penny has “trickled down.” Yes America there were boom times, some people got rich and built big houses, but during all those periods the mega-rich were becoming even richer while carefully consolidating their control tools in order to overtake the entire American Monopoly board.

By playing primarily to hot button issues via the “social liberal” or “social conservative” game, both of the political party casinos ensure that by the time we come through their front door we’re filled with hot blooded passion, fired up and completely bought in emotionally to one of the respective casinos ideologies. They even have the equivalent of adult pep rallies called political conventions to get us in gear and headed to their casino to gamble our future away. The more passionate we are about our casino, the less likely we are to stray down the street to the other casino — more importantly we’re far less likely to keep our hand and eyes on our wallets. We forget about our money and plug in like zombies to either one ideology or another. Who cares about money . . . just give Americans their hot button cultural and social issues while bleeding them dry of money.

We sit down, get very comfortable at the table and away we play. We read about our casino, we comment online back and forth about how great our casino is and about how evil the other is. Those in casino A scream that the casino B is full of anti-American socialists, towel heads, faggots, egg heads, atheists, baby killers, big spenders, free loaders, tree huggers and the N word. The other casino members scream back that that casino A is full of hate mongers, capitalist pigs, holy rollers, war mongers, imperialists, flag wavers, rednecks, mother earth haters, labor haters, free speech haters, want to control women’s bodies, homophobes, haters of the poor and are racists. The idea that either of these two casinos calls the other “hate mongers” is absolutely hilarious! Where is the lack of hate from either side? Polarized, hypnotized by the bright lights and drunk with the cocktails of hate being poured like gasoline upon a fire by our corporate owned media — we fight the “liberals” or fight the “conservatives” while the mega-rich that own the house laugh all the way to the bank. It’s only slightly less contrived and absurd than betting on a WWF pro wrestling match.

In futility we sit at the same table and gamble day after day, year after year, decade after decade. Have you stopped to count up your winnings lately? Where is all the polarization and hate from both sides getting the average American financially? All the statistics and facts say nowhere. It’s like two sides of a boat with each side rowing frantically in opposite directions . . . the result is an endless spin of total futility that has America sinking and stuck in neutral.

We and our forefathers built America and we work everyday for ourselves and the benefit of the American economy at large. In other words, this is our casino that we built and own and we should be setting the rules — more importantly we should be setting the odds of winning for average Americans. Because we’ve been brainwashed by the idea that we have only two options, casino A or casino B, we sit at the table and support our party of choice or the lesser of the two evils. Yet somehow, we continue to lose money no matter which casino we play within. Through our sweat and taxes we continue to put our money on the table, but our number never seems to come up. That big check never arrives and the dice never roll our way. We’re somewhat aware of the money on the table we’re losing, but we never even see the money that’s leaving our wallets year after year from under our American monopoly board through inflation and wildly stagnated wages over the course of 30+ years. It’s like a big lake being drained from the bottom by the mega-rich and because the lake was so large at one point in time, we just recently noticed that the entire shoreline is receding. Such a practice is called skimming and we covered it in some detail when we looked at all the productivity gains and wealth gains within the U.S. over the past 30+ years that you have missed out upon. You now know where all that money has gone and who took it, but how they got you to go along with the theft was very sophisticated indeed.

At the very top of the pecking order leading both of the two major political parties, think tanks, the media and corporations are the mega-rich behind ever single door. Once you’ve tasted mega-money you forget average Americans no matter if they are a member of your political party, a member of your union, civil rights group or the poor. Without an ethics chastity belt welded in the locked position, ethics, principals and integrity get kicked to the curb. It is all about greed, personal gain and paying back campaign contributors as long as “the people” are anything less than 100 percent vigilant. We all wish it were not true and like to believe otherwise, but greed rules the day. If mankind is not regulated, investigated and monitored very closely, he will take the money and run if enough money is put on the table. The sad thing is that, many politicians as well as corporate leaders, had high ideals and started out with honorable intentions, but in time man will always fall short simply because no one is looking, no one will ever know and virtually no one in America has been the wiser . . . until now! Even for those Americans that do realize the corruption and the game being played, they tell themselves that ‘at least we don’t live in China where they don’t even have elections.’ The question you need to begin to ask yourself is, ‘do we actually have elections?’ Are we really given choices as for whom we vote?

Pulling Back the Curtain

2011-10-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

[Pages 133 -136]

Before pulling back the curtain you have to get your mind into the money zone and keep it there. Take all the bright lights and hot button propaganda issues that both political parties have been throwing at you for decades and toss them out the window [or at least park them in a separate cavity of your mind]. It is extremely difficult to do and it requires an unwavering laser focus to keep your eye on the ball. It’s much like the carnival game where the guy puts a small ball under one of three cups and switches them around, then makes you guess which cup the ball is under. In the case of our political system, in order to understand it, you must keep your eye on the money at all times. Do not look at the cultural or social issues to your left or right, just watch the money like a hawk and soon it all becomes crystal clear.

Let’s begin with the most recent casino game that ended with the collapse of Wall Street and our economy in 2008. When we talk money, outright theft and massive political corruption it all starts with Wall Street. While countless books have now been written about the Wall Street collapse, most Americans don’t have the bandwidth or interest level to read 20 books on a topic as insidious and repugnant as Wall Street. Therefore, either of two documentaries, if not both, will get you up to speed on Wall Street’s greed, one is Inside Job and the other is Plunder, The Crime of Our Time. Rent or purchase either of the documentaries and you’ll know enough to understand just how corrupt, crooked and greedy the entire Wall Street game really is. While tempting to try and explore herein, the house of cards, the smoke and mirrors, the trillions in paper only assets with zero monetary value that make up the massive Ponzi/pyramid scheme called Wall Street . . . is just too intricate to even try and explore herein. The fact that only one high profile sacrificial lamb, Bernie Madoff, is behind bars doing prison time tells you everything you need to know about our political and justice system in America. White collar crime on Wall Street pays handsomely and it is ground zero for the class of people in America referred to herein as “the mega-rich.” There is no justice system in America for these people. On the very rare occasions they are caught in their constant crime wave of raping average Americans financially on a daily basis . . . they pay only a few million dollars in fines, never receive any jail time and just keep on stealing.

Any political novice with even a little degree of objectivity can scratch the surface to see that both Party A and Party B are fully 100 percent responsible for what happened with the collapse of Wall Street. Bush and Party A pushed for and allowed Wall Street to make up their own rules of Russian roulette for more than a decade. Countless members of Party B, especially in the House Committee on Financial Services led by Congressman Barney Frank pushed for everyone to be part of the American Dream by owning a home and even president, Bush got in on the act. We were told over and over they were doing it for “the people,” but were they really? Ask yourself if in fact they were both doing it at the bequest of the banks and Wall Street? To assist in your analysis, consider that from 1999 to 2008 the financial sector spent $1.738 B on campaign donations within federal elections and $3.3 B on lobbyists.¹

Party B throughout the end of the boom cycle had plenty of regulatory authority to curb the casino games being played on Wall Street as did Party A. Neither ever lifted a finger to put a stop to it because of who was reaping the benefits: the political class via campaign money and positions of power within the system for family and cronies, the hedge fund mega-rich that don’t actually do any work, the silver spoon crowd and the bankers. Party B was the party that really had to sell it to the people via a pitch of “we’re for the people and just want them to have a home of their own.” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became the conduit for the con game and Franklin Raines, a Party B loyalist who ran Fannie Mae, laughed all the way to the bank with a bonus of $90 M. Much like children, now that it’s all blown up in their face, both the parties are doing what they always do . . . pointing fingers as quickly as possible toward the other party and saying ‘they did it, they did it, it wasn’t us.’ Who did what when, or who didn’t in this charade is not nearly as telling as what happened next.

The whole charade blew up in the face of both the political parties to the tune of trillions of dollars. The trillions lost in home values and underwater mortgages, income from job loses, stock portfolios, 401k retirement accounts and economic vitality across the board are almost impossible to calculate. The total damage to American citizens is at lest $13 T, but when you project out the longer term impact on the American economy — the real number is unfathomable.² The greedy Wall Street crowd and the banks had finally gotten caught with their financial pants down. In the process “the people,” you and I, lost at least 20 percent of the value of our biggest asset, our homes. What came next was the biggest con game to ever to be pulled in the history of America — if not the entire world. The media owned by the mega-rich, left right and middle, were sent their scripts and marching orders and nearly every politician in Washington, D.C. lined up behind them as they rolled out the scam 24/7 from every roof top as loudly as their lungs could scream. Just like Chicken Little, they screamed “the sky is falling, the sky is falling,” our entire economy is on the verge of collapse, their will be starving in the streets and social unrest. America as we have known it for our entire lifetimes will cease to exist.’ Over and over the gloom and doom was preached and pumped into every American brain. People were jumping from rooftops and just to prove the threat was real . . . Lehman Brothers was even allowed to fail as a sacrificial lamb [even though their CEO walked away with millions]. Something had to be done and it had to be done now, within days, or we would never recover as a nation.

Voila! Like magic, within matter of a couple of weeks or so, Party A and Party B [who we’re told hate each other] came together, like never before in our lifetime, to pony up a trillion dollars in almost interest free loans. The age of bipartisanship had finally arrived, a true “kumbaya” moment where members of Congress held hands and participated in a fundraiser for Wall Street. There were a few in Congress who grumbled, but at the end of the day, the personal phone calls from the mega-rich telling horror stories of loosing their yacht and of little Biff having to go to a state university were just too much for members of Congress to bear. Since the millionaires in Congress could relate to the indignity of associating with commoners, they examined their conscience and lent the mega-rich our tax money to bail them out from their over the top unhinged greed. Letting them crash and burn so they would finally learn their lesson was just too much “tough love” to dish out. Tough love is only for “the little people,” the unemployed and the homeless in America — not the mega-rich. If Wall Street and the banks were allowed to crash and burn, who would fund the political campaigns of Congress the next time around? Since virtually all members of Congress are placed into office by the mega-rich to begin with, there really wasn’t much choice when their markers were called back in. Almost overnight, it was happy days on Wall Street and the polo grounds once again. Dads would get their millions in bonuses, little Biff would be able to go to an Ivy League school and members of Congress would be able to yacht with Wall Street cronies in the summer. Within months, all was well again on Wall Street and in Washington D.C. which the mega-rich own.

So Party A and Party B came together in unison to save the day for America’s aristocracy and “the little people” were none the wiser. “The little people” thought that Congress saved our entire economy and everyone in the media read from their scripts and confirmed it 24/7 . . . while playing all of America for fools.

Nonetheless, something seems to be missing from that “saved our entire economy story.” Biff is now at Harvard hanging out with the silver spoon crowd, instead of a state school. The children of “the little people” are fighting wars or going to community college — because they are forced to by the ruined economy. While things are great for Biff and his daddy on Wall Street, what about the 8.5+ million lost jobs and 1 in 4 homes that are now worth far less than their purchase price? What about the downward pressures on salaries and wages forcing people all across America to either work for nothing or to take a pay cut? What about the 30 million under employed and the 15 million unemployed? What about the suicides, the drug and alcohol abuse, the domestic abuse, the rise in crime and the massive social unrest now on the horizon? What about the plunge in tax revenues that will soon be tossing at least 2 million [if not far more] public sector employees out into the streets? Does any of this sound as if the economy was saved? Wall Street was saved and members of Congress were ensured their campaign contributions would continue to arrive, but everyone else in America got screwed to the tune of untold trillions.

Far lower starting wages and salaries
Wage and salary concessions
Lower pay raises or none at all
At least 30 million unemployed or underemployed
Falling home values and underwater mortgages
At least 5 million homes lost to foreclosure and 5 million more on the way
Millions of personal and business bankruptcies
Nearly $13 T in lost household wealth³
Virtually zero consumer spending for at leas a decade or more
Constrained economic growth due to lending restraints

Where are the Harvard economists when we actually need them? Where is the study that adds up and calculates all the numbers above over the course of a couple decades or more? Some educated guesses would of course have to be made, but in general, the numbers and projections exist to come up with a total dollar figure that would encompass the damage from Wall Street’s greed. It is the last number either of the two political parties and the mega-rich want calculated and reported to the American people.

We’re now being told that we’ll have to pull together for America by tightening our belts and the “recovery” will just take time. When the Wall Street billionaires, responsible for destroying the economy via their greed, needed money — Congress came through in a moment’s notice. Like devotees, Party A and Party B held hands and wrote the check with our tax money in a “New York minute.” Now, “the people” have no jobs and 55 percent of those that do are worried about losing them. Lost wages, downward pressures on salaries, lost economic activity and a destroyed economy . . . all for the cause of greed!

Breakout Resource(s):

Sold Out – How Washington and Wall Street Betrayed America

http://www.wallstreetwatch.org/reports/sold_out.pdf

Conclusions of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

http://c0182732.cdn1.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/fcic_final_report_conclusions.pdf

Website – Financial Crisis Commission

http://www.fcic.gov/report

Congressional Darlings of Wall Street

http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010093928/crony-capitalism-wall-streets-favorite-politicians

Wally World the Evil Empire

2011-10-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

[Pages 152-155]

No name says greedy and monopoly more loudly than Walmart. No name has done more to lower the wages for every single American and destroy the retail economy of virtually every town in America more than Walmart. In the metaphorical gun we referenced above, no bullet, as in a dollar, could be handed to any name more deadly to America than Walmart. If left untouched as the monopoly they are: Walmart will march the American retail economy into the sea along with every formerly middle-class American. They are ground zero of a massive economic vortex sucking the life out of all average Americans and the number one economic hurricane eating up an ever greater percentage within 70 percent of the U.S. economy. As the largest U.S. private employer with more than 1.6 million workers, Walmart creates a race to the bottom in wages, standards of living, upward mobility and opportunity for all Americans.¹ Stronger than any other single force that exists within our U.S. economy — their negative impact upon the economic landscape of America simply cannot be overstated!

What started out as an American success story to be admired, has now morphed into a monster and bully to be hated and despised. Starting out as a department store similar to Kmart, they grew into a Big Box behemoth that has taken over America and much of the entire world. They expanded into the grocery store industry and are literally killing out entire chains and the same is true for drug store chains. Now they are into tires and automotive, auto and home insurance, car sales, banking and even optometry, not to mention the supplier of restaurant supplies, meats, and merchandise to mom and pop convenience stores. What they will takeover next and suck down the Walmart toilet — one can only imagine — but what is not in doubt is that they have the money and the political clout to kill off anything in their path. If they take over China, that’s good for America, but if they’re left unchecked they will finally take over the entire American retail landscape and nothing could be worse for everyone living in this nation!

Their concept is to pave the planet into a parking lot, build a cheap cinder block box with no frills or architectural and cultural appeal whatsoever. Lay concrete or tile floor on concrete, drop some lights from the ceiling and call it a store. Once a proponent of “buy American,” they now source from all over the world — most especially China — buying in massive volumes to get the cheapest, most absolute bottom dollar price for everything they resell. When Walmart buys, unlike participating in the give and take free enterprise system, they dictate the price. Via their worldwide network of buyers and number crunchers . . . they know before they make a purchase offer what the bottom of the barrel price is for any product imaginable. If you don’t sell to them at that price, they walk away and do everything in their power to destroy your company by locking you out of any future business in addition to fueling all your competitors with business to put your business under for good. With their monopoly and monetary power in the marketplace, they have the power to destroy almost any business or supplier industry that refuses to dance to their tune and they don’t hesitate for a moment to use that power every single day. If evil exists in corporate America . . . its name is Walmart!

From a purely logistical perspective, they are a model of efficiency beyond what the average American can fathom. Warehouses and distribution centers throughout America all tied together via computerized purchasing, inventory systems, cash registers — all the way down to hand held devices used by retail clerks. As soon as the doors close at the end of the day, the Walmart and Sam’s Club army go into restocking action like mighty ants. Forget about hand carts and little boxes, they roll out the next day’s products via forklift on massive pallets as they dazzle and crisscross the store in an absolute frenzy. It’s all monitored and watched via cameras in the sky that are probably tied into some secret viewing room in all of the Walton’s family mansions. When your net worth is in excess of $100 B, you can’t take any chances on “slackers” not giving it their all. In return for all their hard work, Walmart employees receive lousy pay, lousy benefits, lousy retirement and a plantation-owner work environment. Walmart is all about exploitation of every worker, most especially against women as evidenced by the failed class action suit that went to the Supreme Court and failed of course . . . yet American women walk through the doors of Walmart every single day? By the time a Walmart worker reaches retirement if they are allowed to hang on that long — many are virtual cripples from years spent on uncarpeted concrete floors and who picks up that tab? Not Walmart, the American taxpayer via Medicaid. I defy America to find one single Walmart employee that actually likes their job. Some in senior management like the money, but beyond that, they all hate every minute within the confines of their workplace. If that is not the truth . . . then ask yourself why Walmart constantly runs commercials with “happy faced” employees touting how much they love their company? Do you see anyone else in corporate America running such commercials? As Shakespeare wrote, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” and if Walmart wasn’t an absolute hell hole prison to work within, they wouldn’t need to be running commercials trying to convince America that working at a Walmart doesn’t completely suck!

As of 2011, the average Walmart slave earned 14.5 percent less than other workers in large retail companies.² If Walmart implemented an across the board $12 minimum wage for all employees, it would cost the company a mere $3.2 B per year.³ That sounds like a lot of money, but for Walmart it is spare change, just a measly 1 percent of their overall annual $305 B in sales. The Walton family would have to cut back on their caviar perhaps, but the positive impact upon the American economy would be absolutely huge and as for Walmart’s bottom line, it wouldn’t even register on the radar screen.

Here is what America doesn’t yet get: the more than 30+ million Americans who comprise the working poor, whether they work at Walmart or McDonald’s don’t come free. The billions spent on welfare, social services, aid to dependent children, emergency room healthcare, crime prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, the county old folks home, etc. come out of tax dollars that America pays to subsidize the bottom line of Walmart and companies like Walmart. “Low prices” on the front end, but humongous costs on the backend are all paid for by U.S. taxpayers. While austerity measures are being utilized to strip the entire safety net from the working poor a.k.a. Walmart employees, the Walton family is laughing all the way to the bank. Instead of the Walton family getting the blame, however, ‘it’s those sorry ass poor people’ that are forced to wear the scarlet letter of government red ink. America always blames the victims and it is never a greedy aristocracy family like the Waltons of Arkansas who have exploited the working poor to the tune of well over $100 B that pay or take the blame.

If Walmart were forced to pay a $12 minimum wage — the people in our nation that call themselves “good Americans” — who shop at Walmart would have to come up with a lousy 45 cents extra per shopping trip to cover the difference.⁴ For a consumer who spends approximately $1,187 per year at Walmart, it works out on average of $12.49. How many Walmart shoppers can’t afford $12.49 per year to reverse the downward vortex wage flow that is Walmart?⁵Pay now, or pay later, it’s coming out of our wallet either way via taxes or the cash register. Why should the American people subsidize the riches of the Walton family?

A growing percentage of Americans detest the mega-rich, such as the Walton family, want to tax them, etc., but the majority will still pull their car into a Walmart or Sam’s Club parking lot to save a few nickels and dimes while supporting slave labor, the demise of their local community and control of America by the mega-rich. To those Americans, you should hang your head in absolute shame, for you are no better whatsoever than the mega-rich you purport to detest. You are the problem with America!

The following bullet points are just a sampling of what you support when you shop at Walmart:

• The company has recently cut two of its longstanding benefits by eliminating their profit sharing program and, as of 2011, no new employees will receive an extra dollar an hour for time worked on Sundays.⁶

• As of 2007, fewer than half of the company’s employees actually were insured under the company healthcare plan — between just 41 and 46 percent.⁷

• In 2008 an internal Walmart memo was uncovered that outlined an aggressive plan to attack employee benefit expenses by making long-term employment unattractive in order to create a workforce that would be younger and cheaper.⁸

Equipped with the lowest cost possible via buying power and logistical efficiency on a global scale, Walmart operates as a predator within every community and retail industry in which it infects. You name it, mom and pop grocery stores, sporting goods, low end jewelry, clothing, tools, electronics, toys, computers, office supplies and almost every other retail entity that once thrived in America . . . squashed, intimidated, on the ropes or already out of business due to Walmart. Walmart landing in any community is like a retail bomb with nearly every other competitor business blown out of the water. Nothing missed, nothing wasted and all done on such a scale that no retailer, much less some small business owner, can come close to matching them on price. It’s just not possible! Now that they have destroyed small town America, they’re looking to expand and focus more on urban areas within the U.S. and their top targets are New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.⁹ When they arrive and takeover, if not stopped, the average wage of every employee in almost all retail arenas will stall for good and the starting wage for retail employees will drop like a rock. Thousands of new working poor will wear the Walmart ankle shackles enslaved for life into poverty and hopeless existence. To get a better idea of what Walmart is about, consider just a few of the bulleted highlights gleaned from their 2010 annual report:

• Walmart spent an average of $65.75 million every day over the past year on advertising.¹⁰ No wonder Americans are so indoctrinated with the Wal-Mart culture. Walmart’s advertising budget was up 14% in 2010.

• In 2010 Walmart’s CEO, Mike Duke, was paid $19.2 million in direct salary, stocks, and other benefits and in 2009 made $28.4 million.¹¹

• By May 2011, Walmart will have 952.2 square feet of retail space and more stores outside the U.S. than inside. Counting all Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs, the U.S. total is 4,304 stores, while the International store count is now 4,112.¹²

• Net sales at Walmart in 2010 grew by only 1% — the worst gain in the company’s history. Their own greed and success is now killing the goose that has been laying their golden eggs. The company is relying on sales outside America to keep the company growing. International sales, which hit $100 billion this year, now make up roughly 25% of the company’s net sales.¹³

More than anything, more than all the bullet points above, the No. 1 reason Walmart must be stopped is the money funnel it provides to the Walton family. With $100 B in net worth, they own Congress, run roughshod over every community in which they operate, bend every rule of business ethics and dominate the American economic landscape like Nazi storm troopers. If you can’t do anything else for your nation and your local community, at a minimum, never cross the threshold of a Walmart or Sam’s Club. With the current trends and your money [if you continue to put it into to pockets of the Walton family] Walmart will own the Earth and your children and their children will have no choice but to work in the Walton’s slave labor camp. The choice is up to you . . .

Breakout Resource(s):

Walmart Watch

http://walmartwatch.com

How a Higher Wage Standard Would Impact Walmart . . .

http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/bigbox_livingwage_policies11.pdf

The Ultimate American Dream Killer!

2011-10-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

[Pages 166-170]

To complain about our horrible U.S. economy and no jobs for American workers is one thing. To blame it all on the greedy blood suckers is just wrong! Since they have moved jobs off shore, built factories and facilities and invested heavily in our ultimate demise . . . the mega-rich are making billions from their cheap labor strategy. Buying from the mega-rich and the multi-national corporations who provide services and manufacture in the U.S. does funnel more money to the top, but far worse than that could ever be is buying goods and services from their off shore operations! It’s like rewarding them and the foreign nation for greed and taking American jobs. Far worse than purchasing foreign made goods and services from U.S. companies sourcing off shore is buying imported goods from foreign companies.

Going forward in order to revive the American Dream — Americans on many occasions will have very difficult buying decisions to make. Much like within the political arena, our purchases will oftentimes have to be the lesser of two evils. Nothing whatsoever could be more destructive to the American Dream than taking American money off our imaginary American Monopoly board. Every time we spend one single dollar off shore we’re sending even more jobs off shore and hurting our economy because collectively all those dollars add up to billions.

No one in America has any right whatsoever to allow their blood pressure to rise or complain about the mega-rich and the jobs they are sending off shore when they themselves just returned from the store with bags full of foreign sourced goods. Every time this critical issue is mentioned within America, you get the exact same replies such as: ‘it’s too expensive to buy American made products and services’ or ‘I can’t find any American made products and services.’ For 99 percent of Americans both statements are, quite frankly, just “a damn lie!” and every America knows it. The vast majority of Americans have never paid the slightest bit attention to even attempting to buy products and services from within the U.S.A. We act as if turning a product over or around to see where it was made it just too much trouble or clicking on a different website to find a U.S. source may wear out our mouse finger.

We Americans are consumers! We live to consume, we love to consume and we’re going to keep consuming which is why, on average, we have less than $2000 put away for retirement. The point is . . . we’re going to buy stuff or bust! We just have to get that money out of our wallet.

From personal experience, I have a friend who has no children and “financial freedom” and every Saturday rain or shine she leaves in the morning, buys stuff all day long and returns at dark with a car load of stuff. There is “stuff” under every bed, “stuff” in corners, “stuff” in the attic, “stuff” in storage, “stuff” at relatives’ houses and more “stuff” on the way. Most of the boxes and bags never even get opened again, but from an economic perspective — she’s awesome! The question is for what economy . . . because it’s not the American economy.

In 2009 Americans bought $374.9 B more goods and services off shore than we exported and sold to other nations. As far as trade deficits go for America, 2009 was a very good year, largely due to the Great Recession. It wasn’t because we actually got a brain, looked at the label and source of the goods and services we buy, it was because we actually curtailed our overall spending for a year.

Now the bad news! In 2010, Americans exploded our trade deficit to a record $500+ B. We all have to dumb as rocks to spend this kind of money off shore during the Great Recession! Even if our economy was performing well, we’d be stupid to do it, but off shore spending during the Great Recession is the dumbest, most mind boggling activity in the history of America.

Much of it is driven of course by the mega-rich and their media machine that go to great lengths to make everything off shore look more exotic or appear cheaper than American made products. “Euro styling” on the high-end grabs the affluent and cheap on the low end lures all socio-economic strata. Let’s take cars, for instance, anyone that has actually been to Europe knows a BMW and a Mercedes are nothing more than a European Chevrolet. They line every street in Germany, up one side and down the other, even Mercedes taxis are everywhere. There is nothing whatsoever “exotic” about a Mercedes or any other European car. In American however, both brands along with anything European is a must-have status symbol. They don’t make better cars [at least not any longer] and all American’s are getting for the extra $20 K are shipping charges and a status symbol. That Mercedes emblem may as well be a crosshairs in a rifle scope aimed at our American economy. Admittedly some European brands as well as Japanese manufacture in America, but the profits go off shore.

On the low end, it’s all about “cheap.” Cheap stuff that fills landfills and lots of stuff we don’t even need. Asia drives the biggest portion of our foreign trade deficit and it’s killing the American Dream! We’ve gone so far down this dead-end road that in many cases no American alternative exists on the shelf, so the next question is: do we really need whatever it is? Quite often, the answer to that question is the same one you give your child, which is ‘no, you don’t need it and no you can’t have it!’ It is of course naïve to think that some products, such as cheap clothing, will ever be made in America again. Labor intensive cut-and-sew functions would make shirts or pants a cost prohibitive purchase if they were performed in the U.S. Some American made clothing does still exist and buying whatever is left is critical to our economy — just like purchasing anything else that says “made in America.”

You don’t need a PhD in economics from Harvard to figure this one out. A small snap shot tells the larger story: in 2010 just an 18 percent rise ($48 B) in our trade deficit with China cost Americans between 512,000 and 566,000 jobs according to an EPI estimate. By that measure a $500 B overall trade deficit = 5+ million American jobs. Admittedly this example is loose math, since all our foreign trade deficit is not with China, but you get the idea.

The bottom line is that we are sending millions of good American jobs off shore — no matter how many excuses we may want to make to the contrary. The buck begins and ends with each American consumer who collectively drive at least 70 percent of our U.S. economy. We are killing the American economy and we are the ones sending the majority of American jobs off shore. It’s inconvenient and a little more expensive at times to buy “made in the U.S.A.,” but we can’t blame this American Dream killer solely on the mega-rich. This killer sits squarely in the lap of every single American consumer.

Sorry, you can’t buy a new Land Rover because they were just bought out by a company in India and you can’t have a new Volvo because they were just bought out by a company in China. It’s called “conscience buying” and a little voice has to get programmed into your head — every time you touch a product or prepare to order a service — that little voice has to say: ‘is this the best I can do for my local economy and America?’

The ultimate point here is that money makes the world go round and money talks. It’s sad that an American will walk into a voting booth, vote for millionaire A or millionaire B and believe that has some economic benefit. Then leave the voting booth, drive to Walmart and purchase their child the latest iPod made in China. Every vote counts, even if it’s for the lesser of two evils, but the dollars sent to Apple for an iPhone benefit Apple stockholders, China’s economy via manufacturing “jobs,” low wage “jobs” at Apple retail stores and a sliver of white collar workers. As is always the case, the media is quick to deify someone like Steve Jobs once they have passed away and the throngs of Apple groupies are all too quick to go along, but where is the reckoning for the outsourced slave labor camp Apple runs in China know as Foxconn? The name on the door may say “Foxconn,” but the biggest bite of money hammering out the production inside is from that red apple logo on your latest toy. A place so horrible, with wages so low that people are jumping to their deaths as Apple groupies “bop to the beat” of their iPod and download the latest cool iPhone “app.” As we now worship the “dearly departed” Steve “Jobs,” lest we not forget that he was about money first and American jobs second, even though he accomplished much to be admired for during his lifetime.

Although extremely inconvenient for all the Apple groupies in America, the next time you turn on your iPhone, just for a moment, remember that is was made in a Chinese slave labor camp known as Foxconn. When you’re searching for the latest greatest cool “app,” see if there is one called “American Jobs.”

Breakout Resource(s):

Life at China’s infamous iPhone factory

http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/11/05/5414029-life-at-chinas-infamous-iphone-factory

Every dollar spent in the right place makes a positive difference for America because collectively it adds up to billions of dollars each year. When we buy a chocolate bar, we check the number of calories for some reason, but with products and services we just grab? Buying American whenever and wherever possible has to become a religion in America and we have to become devout going forward. We as a people look at a label to check for calories when we already know something is fattening, but to turn a product over to seek out its point of origin is too much trouble? Instead we just grab! That has to change going forward and many resources for addressing the trade deficit will be provided in Part II: The Resistance. While you may not believe it, if we refuse to buy foreign made goods and services, as well as accept functions such as call centers off shore, American companies will have no choice but to produce those goods and source those services with labor from within the U.S.A. Americans as a whole do absolutely nothing whatsoever at present to force the issue with our wallets. Money rules and we call all the shots with our wallets, but only if we use the power in our hand.

In turn, foreign companies doing business in the U.S. will also have no choice but to produce goods and source services via American workers. Toyota and BMW, just to name two foreign companies, already produce cars in the U.S. Apple iPhones and iPods sold in the U.S. need to be made in the U.S. and it can happen in less than a year. Just stop buying them and see how fast Apple starts creating jobs in American instead of China. At a minimum Apple can at least manufacture the ones sold in the U.S. within the U.S., but it won’t happen as long as you support Chinese slave labor with your money.

Believe it or not, because we still have the largest economy in the world, we’re still in charge . . . not the corporations and the mega-rich sourcing off shore. In order to rape us, we have to be willing to help them. In a few short months, we can bring any company to its knees with the votes in our wallets called dollars — no politician required. Not only can we force them to hire Americans, but we can force them to pay a living wage as well. Presently, via our buying habits, we’re our own worst enemy . . .

Breakout Resource(s):

AmericanMadeMatters.com

http://www.americanmadematters.com/

AmericansWorking.com

http://www.americansworking.com/

Still Made in USA

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/

Made in USA
http://www.madeinusa.org

USAonly.US

http://www.usaonly.us/

MadeInAmericaStuff.com

http://www.madeinamericastuff.com/

MadeInUSAForever.com

http://madeinusaforever.com/

MadeByYankees.net

http://www.madebyyankees.net/

Made in the USA Foundation

http://www.madeusafdn.org/

BuyAmerican.com

http://www.buyamerican.com/

That "Sleeping Dragon" is Now Wide Awake!

2011-10-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

[Pages 174-187]

“Beware the sleeping dragon,” said Winston Churchill. “For when she awakes the Earth will shake.” The sleeping dragon of which Churchill spoke was of course Communist China. Most people today, especially our corporate owned media, just drop the word “Communist” from their name and refer to them simply as “China.” Why wouldn’t you . . . they are no longer “Communist.” Now they are just brutal, totalitarian, dictators who have embraced our “free enterprise system.” They support it with state money and every government backed advantage possible, including: currency manipulation, industrial espionage, Internet piracy, counterfeiting, collusion, copyright and patent infringement and bribery. Even though this book is focused on money, namely your money, any American that can overlook the well documented human rights abuses and rampant pollution of Mother Earth by China is just choosing to look the other way. Dong business with China directly supports one of the most dictatorial, oppressive regimes on Earth as well as the largest polluter on the planet.

Give credit were credit is due, although new to the free enterprise system, China seems to be pretty good at it. In 2010, far ahead of projections by every genius PhD economist, China became the second biggest economy in the world. The dragon, it appears, is now officially awake. By 2012, China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy.¹ Due in large part to U.S. companies investing and manufacturing in China, by 2020 it’s projected that China will possess 24.1 percent of world output leaving the U.S. in the dust with only 14.8 percent.²

While America was sleeping, the dragon awoke and in less than 20 years went from being our doormat to kicking us economically out the door. How could this have happened? Where were our so called political leaders? Nowhere apparently! It’s long past time for Americans to stop fawning over our political class, both past and present, and see them for what they really are — failures who sold out the American people. The reason we’ve been sold out to China is money in the form of campaign money and profits for corporate America and stockholders via cheap labor as well as access to a consumer market with a billion people. When historical facts smack you in the face, in regard to China’s meteoric rise, you simply have to focus and begin to ask yourself some difficult questions about our political class.

Can any American remember “Chinagate” . . . of course not — we can’t remember where we put our car keys when we came in the house. Chinagate was part of our 1996 presidential election in which Charlie Trie, an agent of China, sought to slip $460,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Just the tip of a China money iceberg, more than 100 of Trie’s fellow “Chinese agents” fled jurisdiction before 22 were convicted of either fraud or trying to funnel money to the Clinton/Gore campaign via the DNC. The DNC said “woops” and quickly gave the money back . . . and as things always seems to go in Washington, D.C. — all was soon forgotten.

In a repeat performance, during Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential run, Norman Hsu another “Chinese agent,” illegally raised $850,000 for her campaign from “questionable unknown sources.” William Paw, a mail carrier and his family gave $213,000, including $55,000 directly to Hillary. Again, just like with Chinagate, the woops excuse was used, the money was quickly given back and once again . . . as things always seems to go in Washington, D.C. — all was soon forgotten.

Are these two instances “cherry picking” or just reporting of the facts? Was there pay-to- play going on here, or were the Chinese just contributing to further our American democracy? Has money over the years changed hands and is it continuing to change hands in Washington, D.C. to work to the detriment of a strong U.S. economy for our average citizens instead of only the mega-rich? How much has it contributed to China’s meteoric rise in just 20 years? All good questions, don’t you think?

During the Clinton administration, from a national security standpoint, millions of pages of data on “nuclear weapons” were declassified. It was part of a Lockheed Martin, Hughes Electronics and Loral Space and Communications deal to assist China with their nuclear strike force. President, Clinton approved the sale of such technology, even as two of the companies were being investigated by a grand jury.

In December 2004, under the presidential leadership of Bush II, IBM was allowed to sell their PC business to a Chinese company named Lenovo. The sale went through against the wishes of at least a couple intelligent politicians in Washington, D.C. — who questioned, among other things, the risk to our national security. Just lightly scratching the surface pulls up $6+ M in lobbying dollars spent that year by IBM who profited wildly from the sale.³ Along with the sale went the IBM brain power of 10,000 former IBM employees. Today, believe it or not, American citizens actually purchase Lenovo computers from China and our own U.S. government purchases them as well. Even worse, today China owns the world’s fastest super-computer: a machine called the Tianhe-1A that will do 2,507 trillion calculations per second with an estimated 1.4 times more horsepower than America’s fastest computer. Obviously this type of technological advancement delivers business and economic advantages, but militarily, when combined with the billions China is spending on upgrading their armaments and war preparedness . . . it threatens the national security of America.

Currently, U.S. corporations and those of other developed nations are signing deals with China almost every day that dictate technology-transfer terms detrimental to both their corporation and America. Because China controls all the levers, such as import and export licenses, China demands the technology transfers as the price to be paid for access to the Chinese marketplace. American companies either turn over our know-how and technological advancements or they don’t get into the China market. As hard as it is to believe, driven by greed and lust for access to the Chinese marketplace . . . corporate America signs it all over in order to get into the China game.

Although no political leader, much less corporate head, in America is asking the question, perhaps average citizens should ask, once China has our technology, expertise and know-how given to them by America caving in to strong arm tactics . . . what will China need us for? The answer is they won’t and anyone who believes that China won’t “nationalize” entire industries [or just boot out companies], once they have what they want, is naïve in regard to dealing with the Communist nation of China. In fact, China tipped their hand via their stated plan for science and technology from 2006 to 2020 that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce states [is] “considered by many international technology companies to be a blueprint for technology theft on a scale the world has never seen before.”⁴ The blueprint is called indigenous innovation via a Chinese government policy designed to favor Chinese firms for state contracts that requires technology transfer if Western companies want to participate.

Even with the warning from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American companies are plunging head first with their eye only upon short-term money with no long-term foresight whatsoever upon what technology transfer really means for both their corporations and the American economy at large.

Just as dangerous and illogical, U.S. corporations are funding and opening massive research centers in China. Even though America’s R&D spending ($402 B in 2010) is still quadruple China’s $103 B, it’s projected they will surpass U.S. R&D spending by 2020 and they are doing it with our help.⁵ Now consider that the yuan is currently 40 percent undervalued [because our political leadership has no backbone] and understand that all China’s R&D efforts come at a 40 percent discount when compared to the same efforts in America.

Patents, largely tied to R&D, have long been considered the bell weather for future economic prosperity within an industrialized nation. In 2009, China filed 279,298 patent applications which made it third in the world behind the U.S. and Japan.⁶ While the rest of the world was experiencing a recession, China’s patent applications in digital computing and data transmission alone increased by 4000 percent and their patent number filings as a whole will surpass both the U.S. and Japan in 2011 to make them No. 1 in the world.⁷

Is anyone within America’s political class thinking through the military and economic implications of technology transfers along with cutting edge R&D? No! Are stockholders raking in the gravy from China business telling their CEOs to be careful and prudent when making deals with the devil? No! It’s all about the money today in campaign contributions for the political class and short term stock market gains for America’s mega-rich. Sounds very similar to the recipe that crashed our entire economy with the “housing bubble” now doesn’t it?

So America is falling behind in technology as well as R&D, but we still have all those green jobs coming out way, right? Don’t count on it. In 2010, top Party B fundraisers and lobbyists — with links to president Obama and senate majority leader Harry Reid — were working behind the scenes to snatch almost a half billion dollars in stimulus money for a Chinese company to build and run a wind farm in Texas. The turbines would be built by Chinese workers in China of course to ensure no American jobs are created and the operations in the U.S. would be run by the Chinese to ensure the profits go back to China. It’s all a partnership between U.S. Renewable Energy Group, a Dallas investment firm and A-Power Energy Generation Systems, a Chinese firm.

Breakout Resource(s):

Wind at their backs: Powerful Democrats help Chinese energy firm chase stimulus money

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40565987/ns/business-going_green/from/toolbar

The campaign dollars, the bad decisions, the connections and the loosely strewn together instances and facts above may not prove anything definitive whatsoever. They are certainly not aimed at any political party, but instead point to our American political class in general. Nonetheless, when it comes to “green,” Party B is up to their necks in cronyism and pay-to-play campaign donations to “save the planet” as evidenced further by the emerging Solyndra scandal. Taking a page from the Chicago politics playbook, the Obama administration pushed for the solar company to receive $535 M in backing from the federal government in exchange for campaign donations. Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a major stockholder and backer of Solyndra, is credited with raising somewhere between $50 and $100 K for the president’s election campaign. In addition, Kaiser donated $53,500 of his personal money and along with Solyndra senior executives and board members their total donations were $87,050 to the president’s campaign.⁸ Do the math America, somewhere around $187 K for a billionaire borrower to get his hooks on $535 M of our tax money is a dandy interest rate. Most especially in light of the Obama administration “fast tracking” the loan through the Department of Energy amid harsh criticism by the GAO who’s role it is to smell a rat when it comes to government spending. After multiple visits to the White House by Kaiser, president, Obama posing for photo-ops at the Solyndra facilities, etc. — Solyndra is now of course shredding documents and deleting e-mails as fast as possible and the Obama administration is throwing Kaiser and Solyndra executives under the bus as if they have “the cooties.”

When the American public thinks “green,” we think saving the planet and jobs for American workers, but for our esteemed political class “green” means campaign donations and political power. As for the billionaires like Kaiser, political contribution “green” means low interest loans, products made in China for higher profits and more money in their pockets.

It has just been assumed by the American people, for far too long, that our political class was on our side and had our best economic interest at heart. Continue to believe that at your own peril and see clearly that when it comes to campaign money, cronyism and corporate profits . . . the workers of America come in dead last! Millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs gone to China and elsewhere, sweet heart deals to transfer both sensitive defense and business technological advantages to the China and it all begins to add up to either stupidity or a massive 20+ year track record of political corruption in Washington, D.C. to sell out the American people for stockholder gains and corporate greed.

Without any doubt, as far as dealing with China over the past 20+ years, major mistakes were made. The first mistake was to trust our political class to look out for our best economic interests in regard to full and gainful employment as well a strong U.S. economy. Going forward, “we the people” must kick the door down and have a seat at the table during any and all trade agreement discussions and deal making that take place with any foreign nation — most especially any agreements that involve China. “Live and learn” as the saying goes, but if we haven’t learned enough to put the brakes on NOW in regard to protecting our “green jobs” economic sector in America . . . then we have only ourselves to blame for absolute stupidity and naivety.

Overall, imports of clean energy products increased 74% per year, on average, between 2000 and 2010 . . . more than doubling our trade deficit with China in clean energy products.⁹ Clean energy imports from China are currently exceeding our exports by a 10 to 1 ratio.¹⁰ In one single year, from 2009 to 2010, Chinese competition pushed the price of solar panels down 50 percent, making it difficult if not impossible for western manufactures to compete.¹¹ China now exports most of the solar panels they make, control half of the German market and a third of the U.S. market.¹² The reason, as noted in the EPI report linked below, “China is using a wide array of illegal trade policies to stimulate growth and exports of its green technology industries, including massive subsidies of more than $216 billion; restrictions on access to rare earth elements and other minerals; discrimination against foreign firms or goods; technology transfer requirements for foreign investors; and making subsidies contingent on exports or domestic content.” In layman’s terms it’s called cheating, manipulating the market, playing games and kicking America’s posterior in clean energy products.

Breakout Resource(s):

China’s Subsidies to Green Industries Lead to Growing Trade Deficits in Clean Energy Products

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/ib287/

Next time you see another politician with the flag as a backdrop, lauding the “green economy” that’s going to save America, think again — unless current trends are reversed. We obviously can’t trust China, but the real question is can we any longer trust our current political class? No average Americans are watching or paying attention to connect the dots, following the money or tracking the deals. Perhaps it’s time that changed . . .

The clean energy sector is just the most recent economic sector to begin falling under the control of China. Across the board, China is kicking our posterior, cheating us, taking our jobs and robbing us blind. In 2009, 79 percent of all counterfeit goods seized at U.S. borders originated in China.¹³ In the preceding 5 years, it’s estimated that China ripped us off by counterfeiting $10.6 B in U.S. goods such as: apparel, athletic footwear, textile fabrics, floor coverings, consumer goods, chemicals, electronics, electrical equipment as well as copied media and IT software, such as: movies, music, publishing and entertainment software.¹⁴ What did our government bureaucrats have to say about it? They applauded the Chinese for their progress by getting the percentage down form 81 percent in 2008. Just think, at a 2 percent reduction per year, we’ll have the issue fixed by 2046. Keep in mind that these are just the garbage Chinese goods coming into America and just the goods caught at our borders . . . now consider the American products counterfeited by China going into every other nation on Earth. Since we’re the most hated nation on Earth, just how many of these nations do you think care if America is being swindled by China? The answer is almost NONE!

You name it and China is knocking it off or stealing it via pirated optical drives, Internet piracy, copyright and patent infringement, industrial espionage or just good old fashioned hands-on stealing of books, movies and software. How many billions of dollars and good American jobs have they stolen already? They have zero ethics and respect for copyrights, patents, Internet security measures or locked doors. Just how much of China’s meteoric rise can be attributed to plain old stealing and American stupidity?

Assuming you can get past Donald Trump’s ridiculous hair, he does on occasion cut through the BS and tell it like it is. In a recent interview with CNBC, he said, “I know lots of people in China and they think we are the dumbest son-of-a-bitches in the world.” He added, “They think our representatives don’t know what they are doing. They are laughing at us.” He went on to add that by taxing Chinese products coming into the U.S. we can help to pay off the federal deficit and bring jobs back to America. With our inept level of political leadership and spineless bureaucrats protecting our interests . . . don’t hold your breath on anyone in Washington, D.C. standing up to China. They represent the top 10 percent of Americans who own all the stock in America, not “the little people.”

You can’t really blame the Chinese for taking advantage of our stupidity, now can you? If you are a criminal society like China and you find a sucker, what do you do? You play them for all it’s worth until they wise up. Whether our political class has been selling out the American people to China for decades is somewhat debatable, but what’s not debatable is that our political “bureaucrat class” are the most pathetic inept monitors and negotiators in the history of business trade and regulation! Whether it’s deals with China or regulation of Wall Street . . . they are outclassed, out maneuvered, overpaid and played for fools and the American people are the ones paying the price.

Now that China has stolen us blind and as a nation we we’re dirt broke, what’s left? Lend America lot’s of money to see just how indebted we will become. In a March 2009 Washington Times article, Cornel professor, Eswar Prasad calculated that China currently owns $1.7 trillion in U.S. Government debt.¹⁵ Estimates vary of course, depending upon who you ask, but the debt has certainly risen since 2009 and owing China even one trillion dollars is a recipe for disaster. Just the interest payments alone threaten to destabilize our economy and prospects for paying off the actual balance appear bleak at this point in time.

Breakout Resource(s):

Trump CNBC Interview

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/04/06/n_trump_china_sob.cnnmoney/

So what does all this China history have to do with our present day reality and the future? Why should average Americans care or be the least bit interested? In a word, it’s about “survival.” America has been fed a steady diet of “a wonderful global economy” for 30+ years. The ruse is perpetuated every single day, via our corporate owned media machine, and we just continue sucking it up like kittens drinking milk.

Go to your local McDonald’s and ask the college graduates flipping burgers about the “wonderful global economy” then divide a minimum wage into the average college loan amount of $24 K and you’ll get a better picture of the true “global economy” reality. It’s a far cry from the manufactured image portrayed via the corporate media machine. Take just one example from the Cisco ad linked below. Eager, bright-eyed little American students networked by Cisco to their Chinese counterparts as they prepare to participate in this “wonderful global economy.” They even have a movie star selling the idea . . . it’s got to be valid. Makes you feel warm all over doesn’t it?

Breakout Resource(s):

Ellen Page Cisco Advertising Field Trip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHFUwFgu5w4

It’s a Kumbaya mirage, a world vision generated by corporate America and the mega-rich to steal us all blind. Young Americans are told to take out student loans, work on those math skills, major in science and they too will be able to compete in this wonderful world economy. Supplementing the media spin is a heavy dose of “American exceptionalism” from radical right politicians telling Americans we’re ‘the best and brightest in the world.’

In 1998, China graduated 830,000 from college, but just 12 years later in 2010 they graduated more than 6 million and the number will only grow larger in the years ahead. ¹⁶While many American graduates are now forced to move back home with mom and dad and work at McDonalds, it’s far worse than that for China’s graduates. More than 100,000 Chinese graduates now live in a slum called the Ant Tribe that sits just outside the Olympic Village in Beijing.¹⁷ Stench, trash and filth just outside the door — multiple college grads bunking in the same room — with 6 million more Chinese grads lining up in 2010 alone for the privilege to get an open bunk. They possess degrees in accounting, finance, IT, business and engineering and all the other white collar occupations imaginable . . . they are hungry and if they can’t immigrate to America, all are ready to take America jobs via the Internet and that wonderful Cisco network.

As detailed herein — American white collar professionals, now living the upwardly mobile American Dream — are headed for a rude awakening just around the corner and most don’t have the slightest inkling of what’s to come. Thanks to the Internet, from the squalor of Beijing, hundreds of thousands of white collar American professionals will drop like flies with ever increasing frequency. It will only get worse as the mega-rich, stockholders and their multi-national corporations fuel their bottom lines with cheap Chinese talent that sucks the life out of America. Great for stockholders and the mega-rich, awesome for the corporate bottom line, but really bad for America and her white collar college educated workforce!

Just how smart are these Chinese students? In a word, they’re “BRILLIANT!” Go ahead and buy into the idea of “American exceptionalism” at your own peril. A few years ago, I had an intern from China who was getting her MBA from Wake Forrest University. She was just a kid, the child of Chinese “peasants,” but in no time flat she navigated America and the corporate playing field like an old pro. Charming, articulate, smart beyond belief and hell bent on “success!” Multiply that singular reality by 6 million Chinese graduates within China, thousands upon thousands educated internationally and Americans had better bring their A game — for a lot less money. Chinese grads will work for peanuts and they don’t need a big house in the country club. As far a work ethic . . . former peasants carry no burdens of entitlement and are happy just for the privilege to climb upward as Americans slide downward.

If you are a CEO looking out only for the share price and your stock options — who gets hired . . . an expensive American graduate or a hungry grad in Shanghai via the Internet? Again, the question must be asked, who’s going to look out for America’s college educated? Corporate H.R., your boss, assuming they make the next cut, or perhaps our currently corrupt Congress? What about “liberty and freedom” or the mechanics of the free enterprise system? Maybe “American exceptionalism” will save you or you can try wearing a Paul Revere hat to work and place a copy of the Constitution on your office wall.

Just how many American jobs have been lost already to China via freedom, liberty and the mechanics of the free enterprise system? Between 1997 and 2006 America lost 2,166,000 jobs to China. More than 1.8 million of those jobs occurred after 2001.¹⁸ What occurred in 2001? Answer: China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO). Total to date from 2001 to 2010 alone, just in the manufacturing sector, there have been 5.5 million jobs lost, along with 26,000 U.S. manufacturing plants closed.¹⁹ Between 2001 and 2010, 40 percent of all U.S. factories that had more than 250 employees closed their doors.²⁰

These horrifying statistics beg two questions: 1) was getting China into the WTO a good idea? and 2) who was behind it? Question #1 could be debatable, but the answer to question #2 is not. Elder statesman, former president, Clinton is the answer to that question. He theorized, or at least told the American people, that “We’ll be able to export products without exporting jobs . . . The more China liberalizes its economy, the more fully it will liberate the potential of its people — their initiative, their imagination, their remarkable spirit of enterprise.” Do fraud, corruption and good old stealing fall under the category of China’s “remarkable spirit of enterprise” or was our elder statesman just wrong on the whole idea of allowing China into the WTO?

Breakout Resource(s):

America’s Stake in China, by Bill Clinton

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=108&subid=128&contentid=963

In 2010, according to EPI, we only lost approximately half a million jobs to China, but that was only because our economy was horrible already thanks to Wall Street’s greed.²¹ To be fair, China was a formidable player on the global stage previous to 2001, but pushing for them to get into the WTO helped China, corporate America and the mega-rich — not the American people. Let’s look at what happened to job loses to China after 2001 in a few selected “blue states” [as our corporate media like to label them]. After China entered the WTO in 2001 spanning to year 2006, CA lost 269,300 jobs, NY lost 105,000 jobs, IL lost 79,000 jobs and MA lost 59,000 jobs to China.²²

Millions of lost American jobs, human rights abuses, pollution of Mother Earth and ever less food on American’s tables. China is quite literally “eating our lunch!” When you look at the reality, the stats and the numbers . . . China’s entry into the WTO accelerated the war being waged by the greedy upon America’s middle-class.

To blame any specific president or political party alone for China’s rise would be completely irresponsible and just plain wrong — without almost the entire political class pushing for China’s entry into the WTO it wouldn’t have happened. It does however, according to most analysts, mark a dramatic turning point in the rise of China as an economic power. Chinagate is now a long forgotten smoking gun along with Chinese influence upon our “democratic” political system, but any sane individual that doesn’t question what took place behind the scenes then and what’s taking place behind the scenes even now is completely naive. At a minimum, it should send the alarm to the American people that we must now have massive change in the political system, the way business is done in Washington, D.C., the cronyism and a campaign finance system that amounts to outright bribery. Massive amounts of mega-rich money rules and the people’s jobs and financial security take a back seat to stockholders and corporate greed.

The toxic recipe is quite simple, production worker costs per hour, even today, are $22 in the U.S. versus $2 per hour in China (9% of U.S. costs).²³ The mega-rich and stockholders at the top of the U.S. food chain want even more money via higher margins and the easiest way to get it is to make a deal with the devil for cheap labor and access to the China marketplace. That deal for short term wealth and long-term market access includes both R&D as well as technology transfers, not to mention billions of dollars in critical manufacturing infrastructure being placed into the hands of the Chinese.

Because the American people have been increasingly starved for 30+ years via stagnated wages, they demand and in some rare cases have no other choice but to buy from China. The short-term nickel and dime savings put a few dollars back into the family budget, but the long-term consequences to the American economy at large — when viewed collectively — are absolutely horrific over time. Only the mega-rich and stockholders win, while the America people continue to be sucked down into a financial vortex of Third World existence.

Breakout Resource(s):

Costly Trade with China: Millions of U.S. jobs displaced . . .

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/bp188/

The China Trade Toll

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/globaleconomy/upload/epi_china.pdf

Rising China Trade Deficit Will Cost One-Half Million U.S. Jobs In 2010

http://www.epi.org/page/-/pdf/ib283.pdf

USCC.gov

http://www.uscc.gov/

USCC 2010, Annual Report to Congress

http://www.uscc.gov/annual_report/2010/annual_report_full_10.pdf

Ready for Takeoff: China’s Advancing Aerospace Industry

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2011/RAND_MG1100.pdf

The Media Game: How it is Played and Who Wins

2011-10-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

[Pages 196-201]

It is threatening, destabilizing and disheartening to let go of closely held beliefs. The worse the storm, the more tightly humans will cling to anything familiar. For years now, we’ve been led to believe and bought into the idea that we arrived at left/right political polarization all own our own. Anyone that has spent any time whatsoever on Facebook can clearly see just how emotionally invested many Americans are in their political party of choice and beliefs about the current political system. The “fringe left” and “radical right” are more like religious cults than political beliefs and both are obsessed with cultural and social hot button issues — rather than wallet issues. The time is long past due for someone to ask the question, are social and cultural issues even within the role of government? Assuming the answer is “yes,” then the question should be asked, how far down the list of priorities should they be behind the critical issues of jobs, a strong U.S. economy and wealth inequality? Shouldn’t food and shelter come well before 24/7 chatter about social and cultural issues? For far too long, Americans have been focused almost exclusively on “social liberal” or “social conservative” obsessions — while the middle-class in America disappears. Clearly the No. 1 role of government is national security and No. 2 is the economy which includes good jobs for American citizens, yet focus on No. 2 until just recently has been virtually zero. Is that just coincidental or is it intentional, driven by the media machine owned by the mega-rich oligarchy?

Take for instance the 2009 Health Care (HC) debate. Although HC is not a “social issue” per say, it certainly wasn’t priority one when president Obama and Party B took the reins of power in Washington, D.C. Rome was burning, they had the wind at their back and the hope that real change was possible was at an all time high in America. What did they do? As Rome continued to burn, it was HC for breakfast, lunch and dinner 24/7 for well over a year. When they finally finished, there was nothing bi-partisan in the bill and they rammed down the throats of the American people. Maybe, just maybe, that was the only way it was going to happen and it will end up being “good medicine” in the long run, but only time will tell?

Two things about the HC package are debatable however: 1) Could America afford it during a period of record federal deficits and are the added expenses to employers a good idea in a recession and 2) Was this strictly an ideological pursuit that took place in a “damn the torpedoes” environment when jobs and the economy should have been priority one instead? While the answers to both questions may be debatable . . . one thing is clearly NOT debatable — no way should the entire American political system have been locked down in one single debate for well over a year when Rome was burning economically. No way, no how, no possible justification for it whatsoever! If you disagree with that assessment, then you won’t for long because the medicine to come from such inept leadership is a big dose of “liberty and freedom” [on top of non stop HC repeal efforts].

Did we, do we need massive HC reform? Yes! Should it have been allowed to suck the air out of the room for an entire year? No! America had and still has far more pressing economic issues. People are starving in America, jobs are going off shore, new arrivals are taking jobs on shore, all wages/salaries are stagnant and wealth inequality is at a level that is beyond words — yet we talked about HC for a year. That’s not leadership and just like the 24/7 discussions on gay marriage, abortion, the ground zero mosque, terrorism, airport security screenings and whatever gets manufactured as priority one this week . . . it’s no accident whatsoever.

These issues and hundreds of others are the diversionary tools used by the mega-rich media machine to steer us away from the really meaningful crucial issues facing America — namely wealth inequality that impacts basic “food and shelter” needs and pursuit of the American Dream. Admittedly, if we can believe the 30+ million number of unemployed and underemployed supplied by our government — which is highly dubious — most Americans are not yet worried about food and shelter. Those Americans, who don’t yet see what’s coming, believe that they can’t be replaced via an Internet worker. They don’t believe that their wages/salaries will be sucked down the spiraling toilet of downward mobility created by a mega-rich monopoly. Those Americans not directly impacted, aren’t yet asking themselves, ‘who is going to buy their goods and services and with what?’ It’s sure not going to be the millions of unemployed or underemployed yet to come in the years ahead. Hair stylists and Botox providers will serve the mega-rich alone. Clothiers, dry cleaners and fashion houses can forget about it as well . . . food comes before looking good. Home builders who are still in business will only be building mega-mansions . . . nothing modest for a middle-class that will no longer exist. Again, 70+ percent of our economy comes from exchanging goods and services within our borders and if an even larger percentage of workers are replaced by off shore Internet talent and low wage new arrivals, even more money is removed from the game. Ships bringing in offshore manufactured goods and new immigrants displacing the lower middle-class American workforce were just the beginning. It’s the white collar, middle management professionals that currently have more and spend more in the economy that are next on the list to be displaced.

So why repeatedly beat this drum once again during a discussion on the American media? Simple: FOCUS! The next social issue or supposed crisis of the day that arises, ask your self this basic question: ‘is this issue really important in the grand scheme of things?’ Before you go off to Facebook or some other social media arena or start e-mailing everyone you know, ask yourself how much food the issue will put on people’s table? Does stopping or promoting a mosque at ground zero make your job more secure? Does yammering about airport security screenings create jobs? What does promoting or stopping gay marriage, abortion, prayer in schools or gun control do to combat wealth inequality or creation of jobs? Most Americans have an opinion on almost everything, but nine times out of ten the issues and opinions are frivolous by comparison to our economic issues. Divided by social issues, we cannot be united where it matters on economic issues and the mega-rich know it and manipulate us like rats to work against our own economic self-interests. More than 99 percent of our opinions don’t ensure that the American Dream will continue. These opinions don’t put food on the table and ensure that American children today and in the future will have food and shelter. For all those that say we can focus upon and accomplish both — YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG! The last 30+ years of financial losses for the middle-class proves that you are wrong. The idea that we can have it all and accomplish it all simultaneously is exactly why nothing has been accomplished to boost the money in middle-class wallets for decades.

As noted early on, the mega-rich who currently control our American Monopoly board don’t have ANY social or cultural issues. Social issues are for “the little people” ONLY! What we “the little people” don’t seem to get is every time we allow the mega-rich media minions to divert our attention with yet another social issue to captivate our focus — instead of restoring the American Dream via the economy and good jobs — we’re playing right into their hands. It’s no conspiracy, just the corporate media playing the role of pied piper leading the rats in any direction possible to keep them from focusing on the cheese.

It doesn’t take a political scientist to quickly see just how deeply ingrained and attached most Americans are to our dysfunctional two-party status quo. Much like survivors clinging to a tree limb in a flood, anything that loosens their grip is felt deeply inside as a threat that will wash them away. Because they have been programmed over decades to hate the other party, any suggestion that in fact there is only one party that serves only the mega-rich is blasphemy. Nonetheless, when you follow the money, look at the voting records, review who wins and who loses within the current political system — the mega-rich always win and the people always lose. That can’t just be an accident of chance whereby one party is always outmaneuvered by the other.

If we lived in China or some dictator regime, Americans would much more easily believe what you’re about to discover, which is: we’ve been brainwashed into believing closely held beliefs that are just not true. Before exposing the truth, let’s first define “brainwashing.” It is “a process in which a group or individual systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of the person being manipulated. Also called psychological operations, it includes conveying selected information and withholding other information to influence emotions, motives and most importantly objective reasoning.” Learning everything about your subjects such as beliefs, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses and vulnerabilities is the critical first step. From that point it’s not that difficult if you can get enough exposure to your subjects because we’re two legged sheep who will follow each other off a cliff once herded in that direction. If you doubt that reality, even for one second, simply look at the current “freedom and liberty” cliff millions are lining up to jump off, herded by the false promise of “American exceptionalism,” that will simply place the boot of the mega-rich more firmly upon everyone’s neck.

According to A.C. Nielson Company, the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day [28 hours per week, 2 months out of ever year], in a 65-year lifespan, a typical American spends 9 years of their life glued to the tube.¹ Add to those hours, talk radio and the Internet and we eat sleep and breath media in one form or another like no humans ever before. The “enough exposure” question, required for brainwashing, is affirmed.

Some of the earliest instances of brainwashing were by the Chinese during the Korean War to disrupt the ability of captured U.S. solders to effectively organize and resist their imprisonment. The two elements of fear and duress are almost always part of brainwashing and most Americans would agree, that today we’re probably more fearful and under more economic duress than any time since the Great Depression. What doesn’t seem to exist in America, that exists in almost every brainwashing effort is — total control of the subjects to be brainwashed.

No where and at no time in the history of mankind has any population had more media outlets and publications, not to mention the World Wide Web, with an apparent environment of absolutely zero censorship of any kind. It would appear that brainwashing is just not possible, with all of our so called “free press.” Even if someone was feeble minded enough to believe that, somehow via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), “government” controls our media, there is complete lack of control of Internet outlets. While this lack of control and censorship is obvious, it is in fact the very tool that enables “brainwashing.” The very freedoms we believe we have is what makes most Americans never mentally deploy any filters or guards whatsoever — because we can change channels, stations or click to another website . . . even though most Americans never exercise that freedom. If there were walls and restrictions we’d see them, we’d recognize we were being limited. We’re just not dumb enough to be taken in by some elaborate brainwashing scheme.

If we could see the walls and the chains that bind our perimeters of thinking, we could and would resist, but what if the restraints are invisible. What if they are literally hidden within our apparent sense of “freedom” serving as the primary vehicle to deliver the knock-out punch?” We’re exposed to the messages of both the so called “left” and “right” and we can constantly change channels, go to different websites and read different publications of our own choosing, but we don’t. In reality, only a very small percentage of Americans get their information anywhere but the main sources. Just like sheep, we’re a herd species.

Nearly everyone wrongly assumes that brainwashing can only have one singular indoctrination goal. Where is that idea established as fact or reality? The idea that brainwashing must have one singular mindset is just not true. It’s simply what we Americans have been led to believe for more than 30+ years. We buy into the game of Party B versus Party A, liberals versus conservatives, good versus evil, us versus them, the good guys against the bad guys and all the while we’ve been losing our posteriors financially. As long as we have an opponent we can see and fight against, we’re happy little warriors fighting the battle for social conservatism or liberalism. All the while, for more than 30+ years, trillions of dollars have been sucked somehow from underneath our American Monopoly board and into the pockets of the greedy at the top of the American class pyramid.

Virtually every single American wants to trust and believe in our leaders, both political and corporate, as well as our media. From birth, we’re taught to believe in our nation, to support our nation, to be patriotic, wave the flag and support America. Loving our nation and supporting it, is as it should be, but it is brainwashing nonetheless or at least “indoctrination.” If that works so well and it appears to, then why would anyone have trouble believing that Americans could have just as easily been brainwashed into believing in two apparent opposing party mindsets? When you think it through, it is far easier to pull that off than brainwashing everyone into one single mindset. We would have recognized that for sure . . . we may be stupid, but we’re not that stupid!

What if the mega-rich were master manipulators that devised a way to herd Americans into acting and heavily investing emotionally in completely opposite belief systems? Could they use such beliefs to further their goals of constant monetary gain? A divided population fights each other don’t we? If we’re divided, does it really matter whether we wear a little liberal or conservative tag? We’re going to focus on the apparent adversary . . . the other party. Wealth inequality and some far fetched pyramid scheme that’s sucking all the money upward, is and will remain, a nonexistent priority as long as we’re fighting each other.

The only way something this sophisticated, this devious could be pulled off would require all the media to be under the thumb of one controlling force. Well America, that force has been in play for centuries and in the past few decades it has overridden every other force, it is called greed and money. The war strategy being deployed is as old a war itself, something that has worked to perfection over and over again throughout history. Once fully accomplished, it has never failed to topple great armies and nations alike. It’s called “Divide and Conquer” and it works in sports, war or any other venue where it’s critical for people to work together in order to succeed.

It doesn’t require some grand conspiracy, some new world order, some singular Oz like figure behind the curtain pulling the levers. It simply requires a fairly small group of people to all be on the same page, all working toward the same goal. There is no need to coordinate, no need to draw up an elaborate game plan or have secret meetings. All that’s required is to work separately toward either one or two options: push the American people down chute A or chute B [conservative or liberal]. Once that’s accomplished and “the little people” in camp A and B believe 100 percent that some epic battle is taking place for their benefit . . . they’ll remain docile, pliable little pups who are easily manipulated by diversion tactics and party propaganda.

Behind it all are the mega-rich and their political class puppets, also known as an oligarchy or a plutocracy. They possess all the buttons, levers, stations, channels and websites that we believe we’re choosing for our news and information every day. While they each vie for more money of course, they have one thing in common. It’s a bond stronger than any other force on earth, except survival — an unquenchable thirst for more money and more wealth. Their lust for even more money, trumps love of any nation or people and their aim is the exploitation of the entire planet and everyone on it. Please don’t confuse the mega-rich with those people across town living in the country club with an inflated ego. This is strictly a discussion of the super-rich, the dynasty families, the transnational corporations and the political class that we have been repeatedly voting into office for decades because it seemed we had no other choice. Essential to their pursuits, first and foremost, is a virtual lockdown and total control of the American media machine. Don’t get a lump in your throat or panic now, it’s too late, it already happened [while citizens were watching American Idol and Dancing with the Stars]. While they were amassing all the important properties on the outside of the American Monopoly board, they bought up virtually all the media and consolidated it into the hands of a few.

Over the past several decades we have seen an absolute media explosion of more channels, outlets, websites, radio, cable, satellite communications, mobile communications, books, magazines and newspapers. Never before in history have we appeared to have more freedom in communication channels, outlets and choices. As the outlets have grown something has shrunk while virtually no one was paying attention — ownership. Today, revenue producing media to include TV, cable, publishers, websites, newspapers, movie studios and radio are in the hands of a smaller pool of people than ever before in modern history.

Most recently, without even a peep from the American people, Comcast used the FCC’s “APPROVED” rubber stamp and $13.8 B to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Company. Philadelphia-based Comcast has about 23 million cable TV subscribers and nearly 17 million Internet subscribers. It also owns a handful of cable channels, including E! Entertainment and the Golf Channel, as well as a controlling interest in the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers sports teams. Taking over majority ownership of NBC will transform the company into a media powerhouse. NBC Universal owns the NBC and Telemundo broadcast network, 26 local TV stations; popular cable channels including CNBC, Bravo and Oxygen, the Universal Pictures movie studio and theme parks and a roughly 30 percent stake in Hulu.com, which distributes NBC and other broadcast programming online.

The move simply furthers a disturbing trend, whereby just six companies called “the Big Six” control almost everything you watch, listen to or read. Independent journalism, objectivity, fair and balanced reporting are now a thing of the past. It’s all about control, manipulation, divide and conquer political games, smokescreens and maintaining a status quo political oligarchy in which the mega-rich rule America with their iron fist of oppression.

The Big Six Corporate Media Monopolies:

General Electric (Comcast)
Disney
News Corp
CBS
Time Warner
Viacom

Just these six had combined 2009 revenues in excess of $250 B. Just below the Big Six are a second tier of 27 corporations that pretty much own everything not owned by the Big Six media giants. The word “everything” means EVERYTHING to include: cable, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, publishers and telecom.

Breakout Resource(s):

Who Owns the Media?

http://www.freepress.net/resources/ownership

In essence, 33 companies control virtually everything you see, hear or read. Movie studios and the publishing industry are closely aligned, if not owned by this same mega-rich group of people. A singular small group of elite people [less than 40 companies] control it all! Their annual revenues are half a trillion dollars or more and they have one thing in common: mega money and way too much power, influence and control over everything that happens or doesn’t happen in America as well as the world.

They “officially” get together yearly at a “media-mogul retreat” to ensure that their profits and propaganda machines are fine tuned to benefit their mutual lust for even more wealth. Unlike what the conspiracy theorist fruit loops believe, they do not wear cloaks and meet in darkened caves with a lot of candles, but instead sport Botox faces and designer fashions. What is essential for you to understand is that these media moguls do not have “viewers, listeners and readers” in mind when they get together. They already know that you are going to watch, read and patronize their garbage machines because A) you’re already brainwashed and emotionally invested B) you will cling to anything, like a child to their favorite toy, if it provides any crumb of hope or sense or security and C) at this point you’ll take any respite or diversion from reality you can get. As long as we remain “brainwashed,” their profits are secured and not at any risk whatsoever. Sure they compete with each other, but when you’re a multi-billionaire losing is subjugated to the ultimate goal of taking care of your fellow mega-rich and the political status quo. It’s far easier to cry over the loss of a few million dollars on your yacht than to cry with your starving children in a homeless shelter. As long as they are all working toward the same ultimate goal of maintaining the status quo — they all win and just can’t lose. The American Monopoly board belongs to them and the American people are being played like rats in a maze.

Breakout Resource(s)

FAIR

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=100

Contents - PART II: The Resistance

2011-10-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

It’s Now Decision Time

The Road Ahead

Bring the Top 5 Banks Down to Size

Beware Any Moves to Water Down the Pathetic Wall Street Reforms

Use It or Lose It: the Power of Your Wallet is Now at Hand

Priority I: Stop “Made in China” from Destroying America

The Biggest Challenge of Our Time

Workplace Fairness

The Gaping Hole That Must Get Filled

The Freedom to Starve

Austerity, No Jobs and Nostalgia

Tax the Mega-Rich, Most Especially their Estates

Boycotting the Mega-Rich Families Fighting Estate Taxes

Too Many People and No Jobs

Curtailing Stock-Based Executive Compensation

Reigning in CEO Pay

Busting the Monopolies and Ending the Merger and Acquisition Craze

Repeal NAFTA, End Fast Track and Retool Our WTO Relationship

Fixing a Failed Two-Party Oligarchy

End the Bribery: Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform, NOW!

Election Reforms and New Political Parties

Voting Your Wallet

Dismantling the Two-Party Game

Congressional Reforms . . . Enough Chatter, Let’s Do It!

End the Congressional Pension Plan

Slam the Revolving Door and Delay Plan B

Transparency that’s Meaningful

Forget Censure or Expulsion Ruled by Congress

Zero Earmarks as in None, Not Ever Again!

End Senate Filibuster Games Once and for All

Term Limits, No More “Career Politicians” Ever Again!

Where is that Recall Button?

Reinventing the Role of “Public Servants”

Let’s Be Honest about Political Reforms

Fixing the Media . . . Dream On!

Setting Political and Economic Priorities

Change and Reformation a “How To” Guide

Wanted: Your Input, Feedback and Financial Support

Early Stage Reviewers

Financial Contributions

Feedback, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Grassroots Expertise and Resource Needs Moving Forward

Additional Breakout Resources

Footnotes

Bring the Top 5 Banks Down to Size

2011-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

[Pages 238-243]

In the case of Wall Street and the “too big-to-fail” banks, no industry and no group within the aristocracy is more responsible for stealing the American Dream, ruining our economy and taking over our government. Their unbridled avarice and greed reduced the value of individual homes by tens of thousands of dollars and put millions and millions of America homeowners “underwater” a.k.a. owing more than the home is worth . . . not to mention putting at least 8.5+ million Americans out of work. As a result, average Americans are left holding the bag for Wall Street with some 13 T trillion dollars in debt and financial losses. In truth, it’s not our debt at all because we didn’t cause it, but generations of Americans will have to work like slaves — if they are fortunate enough to find a job — to pay of Wall Street’s debt. What is amazing is that Americans are still passive, still docile, still willing to take whatever is dished out . . . while Wall Street pays itself billions of dollars in bonuses?

Wall Street and the banks, because they own Congress and Washington, D.C. were able to blackmail U.S. taxpayers, through fears of a total economic collapse, into a massive bailout of almost at trillion dollars. Then, instead of showing humility or any contrition, Wall Street twisted arms in Washington to deliver a “Wall Street reform bill” with the teeth of a baby mouse. Not only is the legislation virtually worthless, it made the banks and the Wall Street investment houses — that were deemed “too big to fail” previous to the Great Recession — even larger behemoth pigs.

Now that the American people are left holding their debt and living within their ruination of our economy, Wall Street is back to business as usual. While all of the top 5 investment banks and smaller banks on down the list in size are responsible for the meltdown; one more than any other is not only more responsible but benefited more financially than any of the other banks. In a highly recommended book, called Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World, author William Cohen details the worst-of-the-worst bank’s role in the meltdown and in doing so reviews the banks long and sorted past of corruption. In the 1920s Goldman ran a Ponzi-like scheme involving investment trusts. In the 1970s they peddled soon to be worthless commercial paper for the soon to be bust Penn Central Railroad and then leading up to the meltdown that caused the Great Recession — they sold highly suspect mortgage-backed securities to clients and investors while all the while betting against the solvency of those investments.

Nonetheless, when Washington, D.C. needs a financial advisor or regulator, they turn no where but to former Goldman Sachs employees and CEOs almost exclusively. Most noteworthy, Hank Paulson within the Bush II administration who made sure that Goldman Sachs came out of the financial meltdown as an even larger bank — in a group of behemoth “too big to fail” financial monopolies with no competition whatsoever. If too big to fail led to the last financial disaster, then the next disaster to come based on bank size alone . . . should put the final nail in our economic existence.

Goldman Sachs paid out an average employee bonus of $430,700 in 2010.¹ The very people who are directly responsible for destroying our American economy were paid more than 8 times the average total income of U.S. households.² Separate to that money, Goldman employees received and additional $36 M windfall via stock options granted during the 2008 financial collapse.³ To pour even more salt in the wound Goldman Sachs inflicted upon America, they announced in June 2011 they are firing 1000+ American financial professionals and moving their jobs to Singapore to skirt new Wall Street reform regulations. While some of the radical right in Congress want to label the reforms a “jobs killer,” 1000 fewer Goldman Sachs crooks on our shores is a blessing in disguise. Maybe the fired employees can get a job as real estate agents in the industry they destroyed?

Across Wall Street as a whole, bonuses in 2010 were $20.8 B, with an average of $228,530 . . . a record year.⁴ As for the slithering Wall Street CEOs, primarily responsible for the Great Recession we’re now living within, here’s just a sampling of their 2010 pay and stock options they received in 2010:⁵

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO Goldman Sachs Group $14.6 M

Jamie Dimon, CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co. $17 M

Laurence Fink, BlackRock CEO, $13 M*

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America Corp. $9.1 M*

* Restricted stock only, salary not included

The real question is how is it that Wall Street is still standing? How is it that the branches of these banks on nearly every corner are still in tact? How can the CEOs of these banks even walk the streets without an army of bodyguards to keep them alive? How dare any of them even show their face? Where are the investigations from the Department of Justice? Where are the Wall Street CEOs behind bars? Why are prisons and jails only for “the little people?” These are the questions that all Americans need to be asking themselves . . . allowing Wall Street crooks to walk the street is a crime, an affront to every American’s sense of justice and fair play and yet, nothing to date has been done to put any significant Wall Street executive behind bars?

Clearly understand there are two justice systems in America and only average citizens go jail in America for stealing. For Wall Street and the mega-rich it’s all about utilizing their “get out of jail free cards” a.k.a. “negotiated settlements” such as the $67.5 M deal former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo got from the SEC to stay out of jail. More recently, Bank of America [as part of the Countrywide scam] agreed to payout $8.58 B to 22 institutional investors, but to date nothing has been done to relieve American homeowners underwater. Why? “Institutional investors” such as BlackRock Financial Management, Metropolitan Life and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who were included in the settlement, are part of our America aristocracy and America homeowners underwater are just “chumps” a.k.a. suckers! Now, with a settlement in place, most analysts believe that all Bank of America homeowners who have been sitting in foreclosure limbo will now be tossed out into the streets at a greatly accelerated pace going forward.

Violence is never the answer, but instead of violence, Americans, the good natured lot that we are, have just shrugged our shoulders and said ‘oh well, we got screwed by the banks and there is nothing we can do but pay off their debt.’ We even still carry their credit and debit cards in our wallets and we still have our money in their banks? The real question is, ‘are we insane?’ Are we the most stupid people to every walk the Earth? Do Americans have any backbone whatsoever? If we do, it’s time to show it by enacting our collective vengeance upon the top 5 banks! Not next month or next year, but today this week, if you have even one single penny in any of the following banks, then be one of the proud Americans that fires the first shot over the bow of the mega-rich aristocracy by closing ALL your accounts and refinancing ALL your loans away from the following banks and Wall Street firms:

Bank of America
Citigroup
Goldman Sachs Group
J. P. Morgan Chase and Company
Wells Fargo & Company (Wachovia)

It’s simple and easy: 1) open a new account at a small local bank or credit union tomorrow 2) give a voided check to your payroll department to start direct deposit and 3) allow all checks to clear from the big bank and then close the account . . . with a really big smile on your face! The time is long past due to show these behemoth greedy pigs that we Americans do have a long memory, we do feel the pain delivered via their greed, we’ll never forget what they did and from this day forward we will enact our own form of vengeance. They’ve bought off our government, hit us with nickel and dime fees just to access our money, financed mergers that destroyed good American companies, engaged in predatory lending and pursued greed beyond what any human conscience should allow . . . all contributing to destroy our economy and put millions of Americans out of work. Any American that maintains business with the top five and other large banks (provided via the breakout resource below) is complicit 100% in their greed. You are just as responsible and just as accountable as the banks in which your deposits and loans now reside.

Breakout Resource

Top Banks Listing via the Federal Reserve

http://www.ffiec.gov/nicpubweb/nicweb/top50form.aspx

Please don’t stop with the top 5 banks in pulling your deposits and loans, all the large banks are the greedy vipers responsible for the Great Recession within which we now suffer. Move every single penny you have to small local banks and credit unions tomorrow! It’s a small request in the grand scheme of things and it can be done in less than an hour. Unfortunately, it must be done in person on most occasions, simply because the banking industry has stacked the deck with red tape, potential fees and a prickly mine field to navigate when closing your account. The Freedom and Mobility in Consumer Banking Act that is currently stalled in Congress would remove many of these obstacles, but nonetheless, don’t allow a few minor obstacles to stop you from closing your account today. Use your small voice via e-mail, snail mail, Facebook and every other social networking vehicle to make this a national call to action for every single America alive . . . to remove every single dime they have in the big banks.

Don’t think for even a moment that our collective action, involving millions of Americans, in this regard will not have a massive impact upon their power. Vengeance feels good, but as stated repeatedly, this book is all about the future. To reward the banks that destroyed our economy with your money is just sick! It’s as if you’re asking to be raped again. Go to the breakout resource above and look at the deposit dollars and estimate what percentage comes from people just like you. It’s HUGE!!!!! Billions and billions of dollars sitting there to be yanked from their greedy clutches.

Once this effort is up and running, don’t buy their spin and whining . . . make them squeal like the pigs that they are. Their spin will be the same BS they used to blackmail the American taxpayers into bailing them out . . . they will claim that such a run on the banks will destroy the economy, lessen America’s power as “the financial hub of the world” . . . bla, bla, bla. They will whine, cry and plead with the American people to once again come to their aid. They’ll spend billions on commercials and public relations campaigns along with pleading to their cronies in Congress to pass some bill to come to their aid. Let them starve in the streets, like the American families they have foreclosed upon, let them feel hunger and unemployment!

Who at the banks have heard the pleas of American families thrown out into the streets to starve as their homes were foreclosed upon? Who at the banks have heard the pleas of American small business owners as they’ve begged for loans to expand their businesses or just to survive a down economy? No one at the big banks heard the pleas from America as they used their new found weight and power after the bailout to simply buy up all the faltering small banks ravaged from their greed. The swine of Wall Street have simply used a down economy, of their own creation, to tighten the screws upon the American people even more.

Rest assured, once “we the people” have taken our vengeance along with our billions of dollars in deposits, life will go on. There will be some empty bank buildings on some corners as money shifts to smaller local banks and credit unions, but they’ll be bought up and reopened by smaller banks. The mega loans currently being made by the mega-banks will simply be made in conjunction by a couple of the smaller banks. Don’t buy the spin that ‘our entire financial system will collapse,” because it’s total crap! The mega-rich used their spin game once and we bought into it like suckers, but we’re not gong to be suckered twice by the same game. It’s time for America to finally wise up! The idea that what is good for Wall Street is good for America and average citizens is total complete BS! That thinking and those days are over . . . America has wised up!

Don’t put if off for even another day, pull all your deposits and refinance all your loans while interest rates are at rock bottom and get it done this week! Then encourage everyone you know to do the same and do it now! The goal is to launch a run on the big banks like nothing ever before witnessed in American history. Once we get this effort moving in earnest, we can put a stop to the billion dollar bonuses in a month. We can downsize the big bank CEO pay in a heartbeat, along with their palatial estates. We can’t starve them as they have done the American people, but we can sure punch them in the stomach! More than anything, we can remove the millions of dollars in bribery money they are now using to buy Washington, D.C. to pay off our political class.

Just as important, if not far more, is an all out effort by every American voter to remove every single member of Congress and state legislature that has ever taken one single dime of campaign money from Wall Street. If you think it’s not your party of choice, or not your representative taking the bribes, then think again America! Review the listings below via the breakout resource of the top 20 senators and members of the House and if there is a party difference, it is miniscule! No. 7 on the House bribery list taking money from Wall Street is Chair of the Party B National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. So what else do you need to know about Party B and Wall Street bribery?

While a massive and complete overhaul of campaign finance in America will take time and more than likely will require the American people taking over Washington, D.C. and shutting it down completely to achieve it . . . rooting out all money from Wall Street can be done in one or two election cycles. A single dime of campaign money from Wall Street must become the ultimate kiss of death for all politicians going forward, regardless of political party. Living within the Great Recession, delivered by Wall Street greed, as far into the future as anyone can foresee and allowing even more bribery money to go into the pockets of our corrupt political class . . . is like trying to get your only daughter a date with Tiger Woods.

Breakout Resource(s)

Top 20 Senators Receiving Wall Street Bribes

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=F03&cycle=2012&recipdetail=S&mem=Y&sortorder=U

Top 20 Members of the House Receiving Wall Street Bribes

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=F03&cycle=2012&recipdetail=H&mem=Y&sortorder=U

Commercial Bank Pay-to-Play Contributions to Congress

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F03++&goButt2.x=11&goButt2.y=6

It is far more important, than any act of mere revenge, that we remove the money big banks utilize to bribe our Congress. If you don’t get anything else from this book understand clearly that Wall Street and the big banks OWN our Congress and government just like you own your dog. Now, when Wall Street calls, your members of Congress wag their tails and roll over on their back while asking for their belly to be rubbed. The only evidence needed to prove that reality is the bailout that occurred. No more evidence needs to provided or added. Your deposits and loans are funding bribery and calling it by the name of “campaign finance” is just lying to your self. It is bribery and much of it is being done with your money. End the lie and stop the bribery today by pulling every dime of your loans and deposits from the big banks and encourage every single America to do the same. Vengeance can be ours if we act together . . . make these pigs pay for their greed!!!

Breakout Resource(s):

WallStreetWatch.org

http://www.wallstreetwatch.org

Breaking Up the Banks

http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=2509

Make Wall Street Pay

http://www.makewallstreetpay.org/

Freedom and Mobility in Banking Act

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3077

The Gaping Hole that Must Get Filled

2011-10-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

[Pages 269-271]

In general the weak laws protecting American workers are at best marginal with pathetic penalties for violations for discrimination, wrongful termination, etc. As noted in Part I, labor unions have to date filled a vital role in protecting their represented workers and have been a positive force at large to educate and advocate. However, the conclusion that many, if not most, political scientists have that labor union resurgence alone is the only hope and viable solution for the challenges ahead — couldn’t be more wrong! Just like much of the short-term, antiquated thinking from the two major political parties, old ideas and organizational political structures are now passé. Furthermore, many Americans are anti-labor unions due to perceptions, correct or incorrect, that were formed long ago. With a paltry level of support and labor union membership at an all time low . . . labor unions can’t possibly be our only answer for the future, but at best, can only hope to be part of the conversation. First off, labor unions are all locked into the Party B dogma, hook, line and sinker . . . even though, as documented herein, it was president, Clinton who opened the flood gates to off shore labor with the signing of NAFTA. It was the ultimate stab in the back that led to the demise of labor unions and possibly sealed their fate forever.

The labor union model and its history to date is largely a force for protecting only rank and file “workers” — with little if any history into the echelons of white collar workers and middle management roles. That leaves a huge gaping hole for protecting the interests of the American workforce at large. In part I, the forces, technologies and means by which these members of the American workforce are yet to be ravaged by corporate greed and the mega-rich were clearly laid out, but no one it seems is looking ahead. This entire segment of American workers have their heads in the sand with a false sense of security, but their heads are already on the chopping block from a new workplace tsunami yet to hit America shores with its full power. Again, just to reiterate, if your job does not require that you be located on American soil . . . your days are numbered! The writing is clearly on the wall and if you refuse to read it, act now to stop what’s coming, then you have only yourself to blame when your personal belongings are boxed up and you are walked out the front door of your place of employment.

Virtually all American workers have already been subjected to downward pressures on salaries for some 30+ years now — via new hires coming from off shore and immigration into the U.S., being aged out and manipulated via downsizing or replaced with contractors at pathetic pay rates never before seen in America. Going forward, there will be almost no white collar profession that’s immune, including engineers, accountants, middle managers, purchasing, planning, logistics and a host of other professional roles in an onslaught that has yet to begin in earnest. White collar Americans are being picked-off one by one, every single day, in a fashion that gets no press or attention from anyone in America. It’s primarily because there seems to be no organization, no group and no organized effort to band this wide-ranging group of American professionals together into a cohesive force for political combat. As we in America stupidly, allow foreign nationals from China, India and other emerging economies to study in the U.S. [show them our play book] and as their respective education systems in their own nations continue to progress, the labor pool of white collar professionals willing to work for less money grows by the day. Who benefits . . . the mega-rich and the multi-national corporations who are consuming an ever larger slice of the world economic pie as their wealth continues to grow. It’s a big world and the time has come for Americans to get their head around the big picture.

This big picture reality presents a huge gapping hole and traditional “organized labor” approaches aren’t going to work for this group of Americans because they are too diverse and are spread across too many companies. While absolute concrete solutions don’t yet exist, one thing is for sure, without solid efforts to organize these millions of Americans into groups with political clout . . . they will drop like flies at an ever increasing rate going forward. Corporate America will of course deploy the buzz words “competitive pressures within a global economy” to further erode salaries and any sense of job security for this unrepresented segment of Americans who’s jobs will disappear. The solutions may be professional organizations growing some teeth or it may be organizational efforts yet to be conceived, but without a combative organized force, the Human Reaper (HR) will be knocking on more and more doors and cubicles in the years and decades ahead serving up lower labor costs with every swing of their blade.

Whether it is anti-union sentiment, divide and conquer politics, manipulation that pits white collar against blue collar or taxpayers against government workers . . . it’s all driven and furthered from greed at the top of the food chain. Until and unless middle-class Americans, along with the poor, realize that we are all in this together, we will continue to sink divided . . . doomed to an inevitable future of Third World existence.

Curtailing Stock-Based Executive Compensation

2011-10-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

[Pages 303-305]

As detailed in Part I, corporate board rooms of America are manipulated over time to place the CEO into some God-like post surrounded only by “yes men” [and “yes women”] who simply rubber stamp whatever the CEO wants. At the top of the CEO wish list are millions upon millions of dollars in free stock as well as a golden parachute escape hatch to ensure the CEO never bumps their financial knee no matter what. While CEO pay is the issue that gets all the press, it is how they are paid as much as the outrageous amounts that’s destroying the American Dream for all average Americans.

Once a CEO gets their hooks on stock they can quickly sell off, via free or reduced price stock options, their focus is all about getting the stock price up and almost nothing else. If their efforts to get the stock price up results in everyone in the company loosing their job and the company ceasing to exist — the CEO walks away with millions in a prearranged no way to lose scam. In return for this deal, the CEO in turn rubber stamps outrageous compensation packages for all board members in good favor to ensure they go along with the scam. Once the fox watching the hen house scenario is firmly in place, the CEO and board go about raiding the company to push up the stock price at the expense of the workforce. Mergers, acquisitions and downsizings are the order of the day to ensure stockholders, the CEO and board members walk away with millions. Once the scam is completed, the CEO is set for life even if they never head another company and board members take their pay off and simply find another company host-beast to begin sucking dry. To see how it works, look no further than Richard Fuld, former CEO of Lehman Brothers and Angelo Mozilo, former CEO of Countrywide who both — after mismanaging their respective company’s business operations and running them into the ground — are now sitting on millions as former employees suffered for their greed, as well all of America.

At the core of this insidious scenario, repeated over and over throughout corporate American, are free stock and stock options awarded at a fraction of their value to CEOs and board members. Once the stock is in hand, it’s a rape and pillage free-for-all by all members of the board and the CEO with only one goal — GET THE STOCK PRICE UP! To get the ball rolling, a good downsizing will make Wall Street react positively and then it’s on to possible mergers and acquisitions for the same sole purpose. Once the stock price is up, the CEO and the board starts cashing in by selling off their stock. Americans and workers have sat idle for more than 30+ years as they watched the same game in corporation after corporation take place as workforce after workforce is decimated and thrown into the streets. With stock in hand, the long-term prospects for the company its employees are dead last on the list of CEO and board member priorities.

Who benefits? Obviously the CEO and board benefits, but it’s the top 10 percent of Americans that now own 90 percent of all stock, who benefit handsomely as well. Primarily, it’s Wall Street, hedge funds and our American aristocracy who reap the most money from stock ownership and corporate bleed-out techniques. Who pays for their greed? America at large, starting with employees and every community in which a raided company operates via the local and state tax base as well as the wider economy.

There is a simply fix, not perfect, but a fix that will go further than any measure in decades to help block boards and CEOs from rape and pillage raids: NO FREE STOCK or REDUCED PRICE STOCK OPTIONS for CEOs and members of the board! In theory, such legislation seems like a simple fix, but in truth it may encourage even more corporations to incorporate off shore just to skirt the law. Nonetheless, such legislation needs to undergo serious consideration and analysis. What doesn’t need any further consideration is a change in the accounting rules whereby corporations simply issue stock or reduced options to boards and CEOs off the balance sheet as payroll expenditures. Free stock and options are pay, no less than the payroll checks you receive. Therefore, when millions of dollars in stock are bestowed to boards and CEOs they must be accounted for on the books out of the corporate bottom line — just like your paycheck. Furthermore, CEOs and board members must be compelled to pay income tax on the stock awards in the year they are received — instead of deferring the income to another year or counting it as capital gains income to lower the tax burden to around half of the income tax rate.

Once legislation dictates a change in accounting practices and tax treatment of such stock awards, you’ll see far fewer free stock awards and reduced price options for board members and CEOs. In turn CEOs will again have a long-term vested interest in keeping their job instead of bleeding their corporate host-beast dry like a vampire and flying off into the night.

Since the top 10 percent of Americans now own 90 percent of all stock — with 44.1 percent owned by the top 1 percent — average Americans who own only 10 percent collectively have virtually no say whatsoever in corporate stock awards to CEOs and board members. Nonetheless, assuming it’s a safe investment, if you work for a publicly held company and don’t own as much of their stock as possible [along with your fellow employees], you’re blowing in the wind. If you’re not attending stockholder meetings, voting against cronies of the CEO from being on the board and fighting tooth and nail against excessive pay and stock options for your CEO . . . then you should at least be sending out a lot of resumes. The percentage of stock owned by employees in America is nothing short of pathetic and few if any — even pay attention to who’s on the board, merger and acquisition rumors or anything else that actually matters. Here’s a hint, nothing significant to your financial well being over the long hall is going to arrive via your company newsletter. In there you’re going to get one message: everything is just dandy, the CEO is a wonderful human and just keep your head down, keep working 14 hour days and the company will look out for you. Yea right . . .

Admittedly, if all employees buy up all the stock they can get their hands on, for most companies it pales in comparison to the number of shares owned by the top 10 percent of Americans, but employees owning stock carries far more clout than a 1 to 1 ratio of stock owned by outsiders. CEOs and corporate boards don’t want their employees at stockholders meetings, they don’t want you paying attention and they don’t want you voting against cronies of the CEO from sitting on your board. They don’t want you communicating with each other and they sure don’t want Wall Street rumors circulating within the rank and file.

A partial solution to changing the game is all about buying stock as well as organizing and communicating within the employee network. On the other hand, if you are not wise enough to conduct such activities under the radar . . . you also know all too well that your personal items will be boxed up and you’ll be escorted to the front door by the Human Reaper (HR). Create a pseudonym and start a Facebook page or launch a website or blog to get the word out. Be a thorn in their side and just like everything else going forward, verify everything before you trust. If people are being cut in a division, rumors of a merger are in the air — expose it to every single employee!

With the history of American CEOs, anyone that blindly trusts senior management and the CEO, are quite frankly . . . an idiot! In far too many cases, the CEO is simply waiting out the vesting time period for their stock options . . . once in place, it will be time to take the money and run. It’s the system by which corporate America now functions to the detriment of the American workforce and unless we fight it tooth and nail going forward . . . the American workforce and America at large will continue to lose out to the aristocracy.

End the Bribery: Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform - NOW!

2011-10-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

[Pages 321-325]

Two major political parties, 535 members of Congress and 311+ million citizens and no one it seems can come up with a viable way to fix the bribery, corruption and ownership of our government by special interests and the mega-rich? Our campaign finance system will never be perfect, but with the present system — nothing even resembling a “democracy” exists. The background and rationale were clearly laid out in Part I to justify six straightforward steps that will greatly help to return rule of America to “the people” as it was envisioned by our founding fathers. These straightforward steps are as follows:

1) Overturn the Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission Supreme Court “SCOTUS” ruling that gave corporations, labor unions and other organizations the right to spend money from their general treasury to back or oppose specific candidates running for office. That will still leave the door almost wide open for “electioneering” type spending that does not name specific candidates. Going forward however, any and all money behind any effort with implications upon the function of our government or the election of officials must disclose the individual donors behind the effort . . . no more secret funding from anonymous donors manipulating our political system for their own agenda or financial gain.

2) Create a campaign contribution ceiling of $10 K max per calendar year across all avenues, parties, committees, and candidates. That would be a total ceiling of $10 K per year across local, state and federal elections. Amounts for “electioneering” [non candidate specific spending] would remain as is, but with the strict stipulation that all contributions must have full and complete transparency, with individual identities and contribution amounts for the American people to audit, see and document via complete sunlight and regulation.

3) No more PAC spending whatsoever on specific candidate campaigns either for or against. PACs should be strictly limited to “electioneering” spending only. Although not perfect, at present, bundling money into PAC contributions for specific candidates is nothing more than clear and undeniable vote buying that must end completely! It’s blatant bribery to procure a pre-paid vote card to use to push for or block legislation.

4) No more “bundling” whereby rich fat cats solicit political contributions to be earmarked under their name for the purpose of buying political favors, government and White House appointments and government loans for “green industry” scams upon U.S. taxpayers. All political contributions must become individual contributions only!

5) Abolish and eliminate all 527 groups and entities, be they headed or sponsored by a member of Congress to bribe their fellow members of Congress, or more germane electioneering 527 groups engaged in electioneering activities. Both are a tool that introduces even more millions of dollars into the political system to buy votes on legislation in Congress. Buying votes is illegal at polling stations and it therefore must become illegal within the halls of Congress.

6) Full transparency and financial disclosure of every single dollar, over $5000 per year contributed to any 501(c)(4) entity. The names and contributed amounts must be accessible via every single 501(c)(4) website and if no site exists, available via e-mail request. No more billionaires operating behind the scenes to fund 501(c)(4) publications, articles, websites, mailings, etc. to bend the feeble minds of Americans to work against their own economic self interest via floods of propaganda. At a minimum, Americans should clearly be able to “follow the money” to see who is behind the curtain, pulling the strings so citizens can make up their own minds in an atmosphere of complete sunlight and transparency.

Voila it’s done, campaign finance reform delivered, problem largely solved. No debates, no posturing, no lobbying, no 24/7 smoke and mirror media manipulation . . . just one clean sweep, write it up and we’re done . . . move on to the next challenge. The resulting political environment will still of course be far from perfect, but the six simple straightforward measures above would do more to return rule of our nation back to “the people,” via the vote, than any reforms in perhaps 50 years, if not longer.

Yes, we would still have the corrupting roaches on K Street, a.k.a. lobbyists, but they would now have to “lobby” instead of buying Congressional votes outright via bundling their massive wealth into PAC donations. Millions and millions of dollars would be removed from the vote buying game by slashing the total amount of individual contributions to specific candidates to a maximum of $10 K per year. By banning the money and ability of 527s to buy off members of Congress and exert party and senior member control of junior Congressional members — we would remove even more of the mega-millions lottery that presently makes the individual vote of a common citizen virtually worthless. Most important of all, at present, by overturning the Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling, the most egregious blow to democracy in our lifetime, millions more dollars would be removed from what now amounts to a political sledge hammer of political corruption and manipulation that favors corporations and the mega-rich alone. Finally, by legislating identity and contributions disclosure for all 501(c)(4) organizations and groups, Americans would at least know who is doing the funding.

The pay-to-play political corruption and bastardization of our American political system and democracy has gone on for far too long, as the American people’s legislative needs interests have been trampled by the greed of our aristocracy. With the Obama 2012 campaign expected to raise and spend a billion dollars and the Party A candidate expected to try and follow suit — plus the millions upon millions that will be spent in Congressional races, state legislatures and local elections . . . the poisonous, radioactive waters of political corruption and vote buying have finally come over the dam. Enough! The American people of all political persuasions must now step up to demand an end to the outlandish political spending, along with full and complete disclosure of all players manipulating the political deck of cards.

Clearly, there is no other issue more important to America, than massive and comprehensive campaign finance reform! Without it, the mega-rich alone own and control America, our government and our future. If allowed, they will do nothing more than continue to march middle-class Americans into a sea of poverty by off shore job outsourcing, massive numbers of new immigrants and budget balancing on the backs of those who can least afford it. At a time when America is on the brink of financial disaster, everyday citizens are literally starving, losing their homes to foreclosure and their jobs. For either party, or candidates of either party, to spend billions on political campaigns in this economic environment is repulsive and sickening beyond comprehension! How many people could those billions feed, how many budgets could be brought closer into balance and how many people could be re-employed — with money that is currently spread like manure upon the American people with gotcha politics and negative political advertising to support a status quo political system that has to date failed the American people economically?

The time has come for the political establishment to understand that “we the people” demand performance! We’re done with the two-party only BS and their games at the expense of “the people.” The days of kissing babies, bus tours, lavish conventions a.k.a. multi-day drunk-fests wearing stupid hats are over! Hollow speeches that promise “change we can believe in” via some ideological head in the clouds social liberal manure doesn’t feed people or put a roof over people’s heads. From here on out it’s all about bread and butter, wealth disparity, jobs and a strong U.S. economy! “We the people” are no longer buying the smoke and mirrors manure being spread! We now know who owns and runs America and we demand that control be returned to “the people” via cancellation of pay-to-play business as usual and complete political reform!

Americans, via the Internet, now have alternative sources of political information at their fingertips. In the 2008 election cycle, 24 percent of Americans got most of their political news and information from the Internet.¹ As a whole, 73 percent of all Internet users, a number representing 54 percent of all U.S. adults, went online for political information.² While not everyone has access to the Internet, the vast majority of Americans do and that number will only continue to grow. Just like any other communication medium, the Internet has its share of misinformation and political propaganda, but compared to corporate owned news sources and TV based political ads, the Internet is far superior! At least if Americans deploy their brains and engage in critical thinking, they can find accurate news and political information on the Internet. With TV ads and corporate owned media outlets, Americans get only sound bites, gotcha politics, hysteria, hyperbole, manipulation, talking points and only perspectives from the two major political parties. Such limited vehicles only serve to perpetuate ignorance and ensure Americans stay with a failed two-party only system of government. By removing the billions of dollars now in our political system, both candidates and voters will be forced somewhat to rely less on mindless TV ads that are now obsolete and only for the gullible. Instead of relying on the staid “good guys versus the bad guys” game and culture wars, candidates will be forced to take clear legislative positions, state what they will vote for and why in the event they are elected. Presently, candidate websites are only red, white and blue donkey or elephant games with as few actual position details as possible. It’s total crap! It’s “vote and hope” that always delivers the same result . . . the mega-rich becoming richer and average Americans getting screwed.

The time is long past for American voters, who are supposed to be adults, to rely only on little animal characters to decide the future of our nation. Our lives are not a cartoon and the political games being played ceased being funny a long time ago! At present, as far as examining the issues, being informed and engaging politically, Americans are woefully negligent and we’re now living a hellish economic existence as a result. We’re taken in and played like suckers at a political carnival whereby the big money wins and those without it lose. At present it’s all about marketing, advertising, flag waving, image making and massive money based propaganda machines run by an elephant or a donkey. As long as billions of dollars are allowed into the system, it will continue to be a pay-to-play carnival game with the mega-rich owing the entire game. Presently, the aristocracy has their system fine tuned with money to function exactly the way they molded it over the course of decades. Their goal is to keep the masses ignorant and uninformed so they will continue buying into the propaganda that furthers to divide “the people” and keep them conquered . . . while they continue to exploit it all to their economic advantage and laugh all the way to the bank.

Breakout Resource(s):

The Internet and Campaign 2010

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1931/online-political-use-2010-over-half-US-adults

Once reformed, those that violate the forthcoming campaign finance reforms, go to jail without possibility of parole, period! No slaps on the wrist, no commutation of sentences, no looking the other way. Otherwise they’ll work the system and walk the streets until a new administration is voted in and ask for a commutation of their sentence. As a great barometer for just how corrupt our political system really is and politicians really are, consider the attitude of our former House Minority leader. In 2010, upon conviction on charges of illegally funneling money to influence elections in Texas, former U.S. House Minority Leader Tom DeLay said, “This criminalization of politics is very dangerous. It’s dangerous to our system.” No! Mr. DeLay, what’s dangerous to our system and American at large, is the pay-to-play political corruption that exists and goes on every single day in Washington, D.C. and every state legislature in America. Just the legalized corruption alone, via our campaign finance system, is horrible enough, but if the truth were known, if the focus and resources were available to pursue it . . . the illegal cash money, political favors and backroom deal making that transpires — would set Washington, D.C. and state capitols literally ablaze if it were to all be uncovered and exposed to the American people.

When the political class and the mega-rich rule our nation with money, walk on every criminal and civil charge, skirt all the laws via high powered attorneys, but a kid in the inner city does massive jail time for a small rock of crack cocaine . . . we have no America any longer! We now exist in an oligarchy and a banana republic where the middle-class is shrinking ever smaller by the day, millions of children starve and the greedy become even richer as they gain even more control of our government, our economy and continue to hammer a death nail into the American Dream. The day for a complete reform of our campaign finance system is now at hand and it must be at the top of the list of political objectives pursued by the American people going forward.

Breakout Resource(s):

Fair Elections Now

http://fairelectionsnow.org/

Dismantling the Two-Party Game

2011-10-19T09:33:00.001-07:00

[Pages 332-335]

Erasing monopoly control of government by two deeply corrupt political institutions such as Party A and Party B will be the most difficult fight in the war to save our economy, provide jobs and reduce wealth disparity in America. While one is willing to bankrupt “government” and plunge us off a debt cliff via spending and hoards of new immigrants to acquire votes, the other is hell bent upon grinding “the people” into dust by tilting the economic playing field to a full 90 degrees. Both pools have the same construction . . . an ideological deep end that will drown all average Americans. As demonstrated in PART I, nearly everything is set-up in a divide and conquer strategy by the mega-rich to continue funneling all the wealth to the top. As long as the majority of the American people continue to believe that two political parties are fighting it out for the good of the “little people” — the two-party game will maintain the vast pyramid scheme that will continue sucking every dime possible out of every living American who is not a part of the aristocracy.

Conscience buying every time you open your wallet or pocket book is the first step toward restraining the money hose that’s buying off our government. Coupled with comprehensive campaign finance reform — such measures will create an environment whereby one or both of the two dominate political parties can be reformed, but a tiger doesn’t generally change its stripes once he has tasted the blood of corruption that is our current political system. As evidenced by the data and statistics in Part I, both of the two political parties and a two-party only system of government have been absolute abysmal failures when it comes to looking out for the American people and protecting the American Dream for all Americans. Bite into the lure and completely swallow the extremely poisonous ideological dogma of either of the tow existing parties and America is completely doomed beyond reclamation. It’s the same cliff of no return, no matter which part is driving the bus.

For more than 30+ years, the strangle-hold of two-party rule by the greedy has been maintained with one simple mantra: ‘a vote for any other political party is a wasted vote.’ In reality, it’s akin to a dog chasing its tail in an endless exercise in futility. Under the current political system a vote for either party delivers more cheap foreign labor, depressed wages and salaries and only monetary rewards for the parties and the mega-rich. Are all 535 members of Congress corrupt to the core and only working to further the goals of the mega-rich? No, but a 2010 poll gave Congress an overall approval rating of just 13 percent, so 87 percent have to go. The problem is that no one in America will get rid of their incumbent and replace them with a political reformer to fix the system. While the two pathetic parties are horrible, it’s the political system that is at the heart of our economic problems. Can a few of the corrupt 87 percent in Congress be flipped to work for the people instead of the mega-rich? Yes, but it’s far easier to just replace every old face and every old name in Congress and just start over. Unfortunately, you can no longer vote for political pork for your district delivered by incumbency and earmarks, but instead must put the financial needs of America first. It has to include fiscal responsibility, but it must also include good private sectors jobs and a reduction in the massive wealth disparity in America.

Only a true and complete political revolution in America can stave off the “America 2030” vision described at the beginning of this book. The mega-rich — now firmly in charge of our American Monopoly board — will not one day simply come to the conclusion that they now have enough caviar, yachts and billions in their Swiss bank accounts. Greed simply has no limits and unless an uncorrupted government is put into place to regulate and limit greed . . . the mega-rich will starve us all to death. Virtually every mechanism and tool is in place right now for the mega-rich to simply pull up on the noose to finish hanging the middle-class by the neck and only we can stop them.

It will take time and it will take great courage, but with millions of Americans engaged economically and politically it will happen. Reform of the political system as well as the two parties is part of the solution, but just as much, so too is a groundswell new political parties and independent candidates in every political race all across America. The new parties can’t get sucked into one of the big two as we saw happen with the Tea Party becoming part of the status quo GOP. If the Occupy Wall Street movement is suckered into Party B . . . then just write them off now as a dead cause not worthy of any attention whatsoever. A revolution must be all about destroying the establishment and replacing it with voices of average Americans. New parties have to stand alone and we the American people have to say good bye to the status quo by voting in new faces in the two existing parties, independent candidates and candidates from new political parties. We’re currently traveling down a futile dead-end road and we have to turn the wheel away from the status quo cliff of no return.

Whatever parties emerge, they must develop full and complete political platforms that address the full economic realities of the world we now live in. A good example is a Green Party can’t be just about saving Mother Earth, but must have a full and complete economic platform beyond environmental issues. Any platform must address wealth disparity, the economy and creation of good private sectors jobs or it is irrelevant and out of touch with reality. Just as important, it must be about restraint and fiscal responsibility when it comes to government spending. Saving trees doesn’t feed people, nor does it restore the American Dream unless that dream is an America free from all humans and just one huge forest and healthy planet. We need new parties with realistic solutions to real economic problems, not the utopian visions that have dominated the political discussion on the fringe left for far too long. First comes national security and after that, the agenda has to be all about basic bread and butter issues 24/7 — instead of social issues or some grand vision of an utopian world. Stop for a moment and look around, does this look like anything approaching utopia to you? Utopian thinking is largely responsible for the economic abyss we now find ourselves living within. Wine and cheese intellectualism devoid of reality checks that dream of a world we wish could be, when in truth we’ve never been further away, doesn’t feed people . . . good private sector jobs do! By the same token, if you’re lazy, unwilling to get an education, learn English and unwilling to work hard . . . no one is going to mail you a check going forward because the government is now officially broke. While it would be fun to just play video games all day and go to the mailbox to pick up your check, it’s not going to work because there will be no one paying taxes.

The American people must become politically involved like never before, they must volunteer, organize, rally, write books, blog, e-mail and most importantly vote! What will happen from there, no one can truly predict, but anything will be more productive than staying the two-party course of futility. Any effort that dilutes the strangle hold that the mega-rich dominated two-party system currently has on America is progress in the right direction. Independent candidates have won elections before and many would argue that if Ross Perot has won when running against Bush and Clinton we would be far better off as a nation today, especially economically. At least we would not have been raped by a NAFTA agreement that Bush I pushed and Clinton actually signed. Perot wouldn’t have put his signature on NAFTA even if he had been water boarded by the CIA. That’s the type of political leadership we must now have in place.

If you’re asking yourself if multiple parties would confuse things in Washington, the answer is yes! Confusion in Washington is good if it threatens the two political parties by forcing them to worry and become extremely uncomfortable. They currently live in a cushy beltway cocoon thinking their world can’t be touched or dismantled. At present, Party A knows they are going to get all the votes right of center and Party B knows they will get all the votes left of center. Once they are in office, they vote however the mega-rich that put them into office tell them to vote. We simply must introduce a game changer into the status quo environment of corruption whereby we have lost our democracy and now live in an oligarchy ruled by greed.

The political class has been playing the exact same game for more than 30+ years and “we the people” have been the ones losing while the mega-rich and the political class win it all. Allay any fears that upheaval will allow some radical fringe group to get into office and take over the government. We already have a radical fringe group in charge of our government: a political class that answers only to the mega-rich. What could be more radical than that? Their clear platform is as straightforward and simple as exterminating the middle class until America becomes a two class nation of ultra rich and dirt poor. They intend to continue plundering the American economy for their own gain, sucking it ever more barren by the day. When they are done, if we allow it, slavery will look like a step up for quality of life, because slaves at least had food, we the American people will not. Starvation is radical, political reforms, new parties and new independent candidates are not! Does anyone in America, with any brainwaves, anyone awake for the past 20+ years, think this — the current political system — is working? Again, stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. It’s a dead tired cliché, but the evidence of our collective stupidity couldn’t be more clearly demonstrated by now. This just isn’t working and it’s time for radical change! A peaceful revolution via political channels . . . before the violent revolution described at the beginning of this book comes to pass. The clock is ticking and the time for change is now! America can continue on this passive path of manipulation by the mega-rich, or we can change what’s coming by taking back America from the greedy and restoring democracy. Only actions, activism and multitudes of Americans energized and ready to fight can change our present course.

Change and Reformation a "How To” Guide

2011-10-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

[Pages 359-364]

Write your members of Congress/state legislatures, join/support advocacy groups and don’t forget to vote . . . and the issues of wealth inequality, private sector job creation and a strong U.S. economy that works for “the people” will be solved, right?

Wrong! The political class and the mega-rich who own them would love for America to buy into, or continue buying, the idea that the three steps above will bring about a revolution and actually change the reality in Washington, D.C. and in state legislatures. For many Americans, perhaps even most, even the three simple steps above would be far more than they have ever done in their lifetimes to “participate in the democratic process.” Yet they wonder why this “democracy thing” isn’t working, why all the wealth has been accumulated at the top, why there are no jobs and why average American citizens continue to get screwed by the mega-rich and our political class.

While the steps above are now an absolute must for economic survival, the reasons why they are not going to be enough are so numerous that it’s almost impossible to enumerate, but let’s try anyway. First and foremost, the above steps don’t work and won’t work — if those are the only efforts put forth by the American people — because we’re currently given no choices but to vote in the rich and members of the leisure class [who have the time and resources to participate in politics]. In other words, the political system is rigged, fixed and it is currently a foregone conclusion that only a member of one of the two parties can get elected. As long as the two dominate political parties can keep it a 50/50 proposition — only backed by the mega-rich — “we the people” will continue to lose financially. As the political system is currently set-up, almost no one can get into Congress or state legislatures without first selling their soul to the devil a.k.a. the mega-rich . . . simply because the costs of campaigning are too extravagant. Because the mega-rich own the media, no one but their hand chosen candidates get any face and air time to be exposed to the voting public. Essentially, the mega-rich allow us to either pick someone from Party A or Party B and those are the only choices allowed. The two parties, in every state, have fixed the system to keep independents and third parties out of the game, but that can be overcome and changed.

Tied to that reality is the fact that most Americans still see incumbency as good for their district and incumbents almost always have the financial advantage. Here is the biggest problem in a nutshell: as of June 2011 the approval rating of Congress was 18 percent and their approval has been in the pits for years and years, however, when asked about their respective members of Congress, most Americans approve. The result is that election cycle after election cycle we get the same crooks with longstanding ties to the mega-rich because almost no one in America will vote anti-incumbent or replace their party incumbent with someone new. We go with the status quo over and over and then we wonder why our economy is horrible and why we have been sold out?

We, as a nation, are so economically uneducated, so misinformed, pliable and so easily manipulated by media — whoever runs the most commercials usually wins. Virtually no one in America goes to a website such as opensecrets.org and looks up the campaign financing of their candidates . . . then when the candidate does exactly what they are paid to do via campaign contributors — we act surprised and wonder why democracy doesn’t work? We’re a nation whose brains have been cooked by political marketing and massive media manipulation.

As your guide for this book, I stated early on that a vast background in marketing and advertising made me uniquely qualified to write a book of this type . . . you undoubtedly questioned that assertion. Well America, if you haven’t figured it out by now, you’ll never get it . . . the truth is that to date, for more than 3 decades, all political maneuvering is nothing whatsoever but a marketing, advertising and propaganda fire hose directed by our greedy aristocracy. That’s it, nothing else, total and complete BS!!! Decade after decade of nothing but spin via marketing blitzes and PR campaigns masquerading as “the political process” and “democracy” and we have all been total suckers! It’s an economic carnival game where an average citizen is allowed to win every once in awhile so more suckers will line up to play. As long as someone like Mark Zukerberg of Facebook walks away with a big stuffed bear every once in awhile . . . we fail to see who is behind our economic carnival game and continue lining up to play a game that is fixed for Ivy Leaguers such as Zukerberg.

Here is the truth America. If you have enough money, enough spin masters and can control what people see, hear and talk about . . . you can sell anyone anything and there is no limit whatsoever as to what can be sold to include “ice to Eskimos” or anything else. It is just a fact of marketing and advertising and that is all politics is . . . pure unmitigated marketing spin. If marketing and advertising can convince a fat middle-age man that he will find hot young love if he buys a BMW and Viagra . . . why, for even a moment, would you not believe that advertising, marketing and control of the media could not put anyone in the White House or in any seat in Congress? If that is possible, then manipulating Americans to work directly against their own economic self interests is a piece of cake with the advertising and marketing expertise at the fingertips of the mega-rich who have unlimited funding and budgets. We are a nation that loves to be lied to and we’ve been lied to over and over for more than 30+ years by a political class that will promise anything to get elected into office . . . just so they can sell us all out while laughing all the way to the bank.

In all advertising and marketing if you simply tell people what they want to hear and if you do it enough times — they will buy. It is marketing 101: buy enough exposures and the suckers will line up at your door. In politics it’s a simple message of requiring no pain, no sacrifice, no reality checks and promising to return America to the land of milk and honey. Add in a good speech writer, some compelling video, patriotic music, wave the flag and voila you’re elected or re-elected. Since no network or news vehicle is allowed to cover any candidate that is not a member of either Party A or Party B . . . it’s a locked in 50/50 proposition for the mega-rich puppet masters [since most Americans delve no further than TV or obvious newspaper and Internet outlets].

Once a candidate has overcome the 50/50 game of chance, they’re almost set for life unless they really screw up big time. If they make it to the Senate they are set for 6 years no matter what and even with a two year term in the House, most will get elected to at least another term or two. Since there is no congressional recall button for American voters and only the possibility of expulsion by their fellow band of thieves — via laughable ethics committees — there is no heat in the kitchen until the next election season. As long as a member of Congress has a little common sense, cover their tracks and isn’t too outlandish — the chances for a Justice Department or FBI investigation into their activities are minimal . . . most especially since most political corruption is presently categorized as “ethical” as opposed to “criminal.” After all, criminal prosecution is for us commoners . . . not the aristocracy.

Now, with such a cushy position inside the Washington, D.C. beltway secured [for at least a couple of years at a time], consider that thousands and thousands of e-mails, letters, petitions, etc. arrive into Congress every single day — to the tune of at least a couple hundred of thousand per year — if not more. All from lowly constituents or slightly elevated slugs such as “citizen advocacy groups” who have, by comparison, paid little or no money for attention from the political class via campaign contributions and cronyism.

On average, a member of Congress has around 14 staff members. Typically a couple of interns or kids just out of college handle all the phone calls e-mails, petitions, etc. that arrive from lowly constituents. It’s the job of the interns and the kids just out of college to simply pat citizens on the head like children and make them go away. In order to accomplish this lowly mission, they are fully equipped with form letters and canned responses to any and all issues and pieces of legislation that may be on the “citizen agenda.” In most cases, the citizen gets a letter or a canned e-mail and they go away with pride, no matter the response, because a letter arrived on congressional letterhead or a mass e-mail was sent to make it look individualized. Even for the rare citizen that is still impressed for a time with congressional letterhead, etc., after awhile frustration with the same old games of corruption and cronyism mount and the citizen just goes away.

While a responsive member of Congress and true concern over any citizen issue is rare, simply because it is special interest and lobbyists that get attention in Washington, D.C. — a new phenomenon has emerged to make it even worse. In the beltway it’s called “clicktivism” and most Americans who are even a little engaged politically have participated. It’s the e-mail from some advocacy group that provides a “click here” to send an e-mail or to sign a petition, etc. Behind all the clicking are well intentioned companies selling software and database management tools to make all the “click here” political activism happen with ease. The problem is two fold: A) to much clicking on far too many issues a.k.a. a lack of focus on a strong U.S. economy, private sector job creation and wealth disparity and B) the assumption by the American people that clicktivism is actually an effective lobbying tool.

Bad news America, it’s going to take a lot more effort to bring about change and a revolution than sitting at your computer and clicking your mouse. In an average year, more than $3.5 B is spent in Washington, D.C. alone on lobbyists, not to mention the billions spent in state capitols.¹ So America has to understand that clicktivism is great and far better than doing nothing, but far more has to be done before a member of Congress will throw a lobbyist under the bus and do the right thing for the American people. Even if we were operating in a “democracy,” which of course we’re not, a lack of focus would hurt and merely clicking would have little effect, but this book is about facing up to actual reality and changing that reality . . . not about making readers feel good via lies and unrealistic expectations.

Understand that there are thousands of advocacy groups all focused on a thousand different agendas attacking in an uncoordinated fashion. That’s just simply not going to work! Secondly, while this book documents that many groups are focused on the economy, jobs and wealth disparity — there are far too few advocacy groups focused strictly upon the economic issues in America that truly matter. The reason for that is America has had it too good and too easy economically and we’ve never had to fight previously. There was plenty of wealth to go around and “the economy” was just left up to the political class and the Harvard economists. Advocate efforts could be vague and non-specific and the American people didn’t have to educate themselves on issues such as trade agreements and trade imbalances. Well America those days are gone!!!

Even though your voice will absolutely achieve far more volume via one or more advocacy groups, the individual groups can’t be allowed to take your money and waste your time with splintered advocacy efforts that oftentimes distract or even compete with one another. If all or even most groups came together to push for campaign finance reform or repeal of the NAFTA agreement for instance . . . how long do you think it would be before we had movement in Congress? We could repeal NAFTA in less than 60 days.

Instead of only pushing members of Congress, the time has come for citizens to push the thousands of advocacy groups to come together upon more common economic and political reform agendas. It’s time these diverse groups were forced to grow up and focus on overcoming the bread and butter issues facing America — instead of working toward utopia or their own individual niche issues. How do you get their attention? Easy, you put them on notice that you will be withholding your contributions and support until you see an effective coordinated strategy, working with other advocacy groups on common priorities to bring about change, instead of only talking 24/7 about change. Someone once said that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” and economically hell is the road we’re now on. Therefore, now is the time for some tough love and realistic expectations for advocacy results! Good intentions don’t pay the bills . . .

Simply tell all the advocacy groups not focused on a strong U.S. economy, private sector job creation and wealth disparity that you’ll have to get back to them at another day and time. America now has far bigger issues to confront and overcome. As for the groups that are focused on the issues that count, ask them what happens to the clicktivism letters and petitions that supposedly travel through cyberspace to Congress? Who receives them, who do they go to, how high are their contacts within each congressional member’s staff and most importantly — ask if all the letters, petitions and e-mails are physically hand delivered in duplicate to their cyberspace outreach? All advocacy groups are not created equal and it’s yet another reason why they must be forced to come together to work on common economic and political reform objectives. Millions of dollars per year go to advocacy groups and the time has come for those dollars to start paying huge economic dividends for the American people! Advocate groups need to feel the heat to deliver just like members of Congress. Since clicktivism obviously isn’t working for the American people, the day and time has come to shut down Congress for a few days, via activist groups coming together to amass millions to takeover the capitol until they listen. A great issue to begin with would be campaign finance reform, the most important issue in America today by far! Clicking your mouse is simply not going to be enough to create the required revolution and the sooner America realizes this reality the better.

Although it is cliché to say that “all politics are local,” it is true that far too much emphasis is placed on national advocacy efforts. At the end of the day, either your individual member(s) of Congress is tuned in with your overall economic and political reform agenda [most especially when it comes to sponsorship of specific legislation], or they are not. The problem is that getting a politician to take a position on anything is like trying to nail Jello to tree. While some will give you a position, most will hedge while waiting to see what their party and the mega-rich that own them will allow. So when you receive their form letter saying how concerned they are about whatever issue it may be, if it doesn’t give you a firm “yes” in support and more importantly their name as a sponsor of a specific bill — you can quickly uncover if you should waste anymore of your time with them. Simple go to opensecrets.org or some other source and look up their campaign contributors, then look up their party line on the issue. At that point you pretty much know their position and potential vote should the legislation come to a vote. Nine times out of ten, they currently vote how they are paid to vote and in areas where there are not firm dollars, cronyism and paybacks on the table — they will vote with their party 90 percent of the time. It’s called “democracy” and it has nothing whatsoever to do with “the people” or the majority of citizen opinions expressed.

Nonetheless, as you move through your series of issues, if you haven’t obtained their position via news sources or research, you’ll over time learn if they are a keeper or it’s time to launch your personal campaign to oust them in the next election cycle. Via blogs, Facebook and e-mail, start your campaign immediately to move them out by exposing their campaign money sources and their voting record. If they voted for NAFTA or they take one single dime from Wall Street they have to go . . . this is not complex! You simply can’t wait until November of the election year to make a difference. Bring the heat and bring it NOW! Understand that your focus can no longer be just about specific economic issues and legislation, but just as importantly going forward, it must now be about congressional reforms and the way Washington, D.C. does business. When you combine the two arenas, you’ll quickly see that most of the incumbents in both political parties must now go — most especially if they resist congressional reforms! This nation simply can’t move forward and address the vast number of issues we now face within the present broken system of massive political corruption now firmly ruling America. We have a completely broken and corrupted system of government and the time has come for America to face up to that reality and do something about it!

Once you know the positions of your member(s) of Congress, all is not lost within interim periods between election cycles — even if all your positions and pieces of legislation are opposed. There is still much work that can be accomplished at the national level via blogs, advocacy and Facebook groups to garner attention and votes from other members of Congress for your issues and pieces of legislation.

Also, don’t discount the legislative initiatives that can be accomplished at the state, or even the local level, when movements fail at a national level. A great example are the initiatives to ban employment credit checks that have stalled in Washington, D.C. thus far, but have passed in 6 states and are being considered in at least 20 more. “Where there is a will, there is a way” as the saying goes and Americans have to learn that apathy and resignation to living under the boot of the mega-rich will be an uphill fight every step of the way. Over the course of more than 30+ years, they put the mechanisms, the tools, the media domination, campaign finance system, cronyism, smokescreens and the games into play to own us. Each one will have to be overcome and dismantled step by step, fight by fight until we return control of America to average citizens within a true democracy. The mega-rich and the political class will only go kicking and screaming and this war is only for true American patriots with fight and backbone.

This fight cannot be fought and won from only your computer or the ballot box, but instead will require far more if it is to be successful. Civil disobedience, taking to the streets of Washington, D.C. and state capitols in peaceful protest efforts — must be part of the game plan. The American people have been lulled to sleep over the course of generations with media and technology toys, while the mega-rich have slipped their noose around our necks and plunged their fangs of greed into our juggler veins. We’ve been taken in by the idea that two political parties are fighting it out on our behalf, when in fact . . . nothing could be further from the truth! Lofty speech after lofty speech, as the flag waved in the background, the American people have been fed lie after lie, election cycle after election cycle and the only change that occurs is more financial ruin for average Americans. Promises and good intentions are meaningless and the time for massive change has arrived! The time is now for an “American-autumn,” much like what we’re now seeing sweep through the middle-east under the moniker of an “Arab-spring.”

We are not facing an economic “bump in the road,” but instead we’re facing a massive mountain that has been constructed and put into place by a greedy aristocracy that is sucking the life blood out of every single American and their family. If we don’t fight now, there will be nothing left for which to fight . . . the mega-rich will not stop, their greed will not cease and they will not remove their boot from our necks until we are all marched into a sea of poverty — one by one, family by family — until all future generations are born into slavery and servitude under rule of an even stronger, more well entrenched oligarchy. The table has been tilted as far as it can be tilted and now we must fight in order to return the American Dream to the people . . . out of respect for past generations and respect for those that follow. This is our war, we allowed this downfall to happen to America and this is our day and our time to fight!

Contributions, Feedback, Contact Information

2011-10-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

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Grassroots Expertise and Resource Needs Moving Forward:

Tax accountants, re: tax loopholes for the mega-rich, income taxes and especially inheritance\gift taxes a.k.a. “death taxes”
Trade agreement expertise, the ins and outs, the legalese, WTO, etc.
Webmaster(s), designers/graphic artists, illustrators, hosting services
Writers, editors, journalists
Potential book publishers as well as self-publishing avenues
Experts in federal and state election law