Here are some of my biases. I am biased in favor of the underdog. I am
biased in favor of solutions that provide for the fulfillment of basic needs
and a satisfying life for a majority of people in the world. I am biased in
favor of education that emphasizes literature, music, and art, and creative
individual learning experience. I am biased against military solutions,
conspicuous consumption, and the accumulation of wealth by a few at the
expense of the majority. I am biased against people who wish to impose
their religious or social values on others by means of legislation. That's
enough for now, I think.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard Driscoll
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2016 8:06 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bad News for America's Workers
All:
I will list my biases just as soon as all you others list yours. I'll
bet my list is longer thjan Carl's List.
Richard
On 12/22/2016 4:58 PM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
Bob, Richard and All,promised.
I take this opportunity, even though I was not asked, to announce that
I, Carl A. Jarvis am a very biased person.
I know, I know, that comes as a huge surprise to most folks. But I
really am biased. My bias is that I absolutely love listening to
peoples points of views. I am like an addict. I can't get enough.
Naturally I do have a word or two of my own...okay, several words of
my own.
But beyond that, I also have a strong bias toward collective action.
This is not looking very healthy for those of us in the Working Class
these next few years. Of course collectivism among the Empire's
Ruling Class is called, "Leadership", while collectivism among us in
the lower classes is called UnAmerican, Socialism, Communism and
Terrorists by some of our upcoming leaders.
These next few years will try men(and women's) patience.
Carl Jarvis
On 12/22/16, Bob Hachey <bhachey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Richard,
Might you identify for me someone who is not biased?
Do you predict prosperity for most Americans under president Trump?
Bob Hachey
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard ;
Driscoll
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2016 12:16 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bad News for America's Workers
I do believe that Mr. Stiglitz is somewhat biased.
Richard
On 12/20/2016 7:03 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Bad News for America's Workerspolicies.
Published on
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
by
Project Syndicate
Bad News for America's Workers
Like Bush, Trump is yet another Republican president who will assume
office despite losing the popular vote, only to pretend that he has
a mandate to undertake extremist policies.
by
Joseph Stiglitz
Distressed homeowner Rose Gudiel outside Mnuchin's home last October.
(Photo: Walt Mancin/Pasadena Star-News) As US President-elect Donald
Trump fills his cabinet, what have we learned about the likely
direction and impact of his administration's economic policy?
To be sure, enormous uncertainties remain. As in many other areas,
Trump's promises and statements on economic policy have been
inconsistent. While he routinely accuses others of lying, many of
his economic assertions and promises - indeed, his entire view of
governance - seem worthy of Nazi Germany's "big lie" propagandists.
Trump will take charge of an economy on a strongly upward trend,
with third-quarter GDP growing at an impressive annual rate of 3.2%
and unemployment at 4.6% in November. By contrast, when President
Barack Obama took over in 2009, he inherited from George W. Bush an
economy sinking into a deep recession. And, like Bush, Trump is yet
another Republican president who will assume office despite losing
the popular vote, only to pretend that he has a mandate to undertake
extremist
"There really is no silver lining to the cloud that now hangs oversome 30 years ago.
the US and the world."
The only way Trump will square his promises of higher infrastructure
and defense spending with large tax cuts and deficit reduction is a
heavy dose of what used to be called voodoo economics. Decades of
"cutting the fat" in government has left little to cut: federal
government employment as a percentage of the population is lower
today than it was in the era of small government under President
Ronald Reagan
With so many former military officers serving in Trump's cabinet ordeteriorate - most likely both.
as advisers, even as Trump cozies up to Russian President Vladimir
Putin and anchors an informal alliance of dictators and
authoritarians around the world, it is likely that the US will spend
more money on weapons that don't work to use against enemies that
don't exist. If Trump's health secretary succeeds in undoing the
careful balancing act that underlies Obamacare, either costs will
rise or services will
During the campaign, Trump promised to get tough on executives whointerest rates.
outsource American jobs. He is now holding up the news that the home
heating and air conditioning manufacturer Carrier will keep some 800
jobs in my home state of Indiana as proof that his approach works.
Yet the deal will cost taxpayers $7 million, and still allow Carrier
to outsource 1,300 jobs to Mexico. This is not a sound industrial or
economic policy, and it will do nothing to help raise wages or
create good jobs across the country. It is an open invitation for a
shakedown of the government by corporate executives seeking handouts.
Similarly, the increase in infrastructure spending is likely to be
accomplished through tax credits, which will help hedge funds, but
not America's balance sheet: such programs' long track record shows
that they deliver little value for money. The cost to the public
will be especially high in an era when the government can borrow at
near-zero
If these private-public partnerships are like those elsewhere, themanaged extremely carefully.
government will assume the risks, and the hedge funds will assume
the profits.
The debate just eight years ago about "shovel-ready" infrastructure
seems to be a distant memory. If Trump chooses shovel-ready
projects, the long-term impact on productivity will be minimal; if
he chooses real infrastructure, the short-term impact on economic
growth will be minimal. And back-loaded stimulus has its own
problems, unless it is
If Trump's pick for US Treasury Secretary, the Goldman Sachs andonce trumpeted.
hedge-fund veteran Steven Mnuchin, is like others from his industry,
the expertise he will bring to the job will be in tax avoidance, not
constructing a well-designed tax system. The "good" news is that tax
reform was inevitable, and was likely to be undertaken by Speaker of
the House Paul Ryan and his staff - giving the rich the less
progressive, more capital-friendly tax system that Republicans have
long sought. With the abolition of the estate tax, the Republicans
would finally realize their long-held ambition of creating a
dynastic plutocracy - a far cry from the "equality of opportunity"
maxim the party
Large tax cuts and large expenditure increases inevitably lead torevenues will actually increase.
large deficits. Reconciling this with Trump's promise to reduce the
deficit will probably entail a return to Reagan-era magical thinking:
despite decades of proof to the contrary, this time the stimulus to
the economy brought by tax cuts for the rich will be so large that
tax
This story doesn't end well for Trump's angry, displaced Rust Belt
voters.
Unhinged budgetary policies will induce the US Federal Reserve to
normalize interest rates faster. Some see incipient inflation (given
the low unemployment rate); some believe the long period of
ultra-low interest rates has distorted capital markets; and some
want to "replenish their ammunition," so that the Fed can lower
interest rates should the economy slow down again.
Trump has argued that the Fed should raise interest rates. The Fed,
which took the first step toward normalization in early December,
will almost certainly deliver - and Trump will soon regret what he
wished for. There's a good chance that the monetary contraction will
outweigh the fiscal stimulus, curbing the Obama growth spurt
currently underway. Higher interest rates will undercut construction
jobs and increase the value of the dollar, leading to larger trade
deficits and fewer manufacturing jobs - just the opposite of what Trump
severe.Meanwhile, his tax policies will be of limited benefit tocare, education, and social programs.
middle-class and working families - and will be more than offset by
cutbacks in health
If Trump starts a trade war - by, say, following through on his vow
to impose a 45% tariff on imports from China and to build a wall on
the US border with Mexico - the economic impact will be even more
promised.Trump's cabinet of billionaires could continue to buy their Guccipolicies.
handbags and $10,000 Ivanka bracelets, but ordinary Americans' cost
of living would increase substantially; and without components from
Mexico and elsewhere, manufacturing jobs would become even scarcer.
To be sure, a few new jobs will be created, mainly in the lobbying
shops along K Street in Washington, DC, as Trump refills the swamp
that he promised to drain. Indeed, America's bog of legal corruption
is likely to reach a depth not seen since President Warren G.
Harding's administration in the 1920s.
And there really is no silver lining to the cloud that now hangs
over the US and the world. As bad as his administration will be for
America's economy and workers, its policies on climate change, human
rights, the media, and ensuring peace and security are likely to be
no less damaging for everyone else.
C 2016 Project Syndicate
Joseph Stiglitz
Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University.
His most recent book is The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided
Society Endangers Our Future. Among his Skip to main content //
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Bad News for America's Workers
Published on
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
by
Project Syndicate
Bad News for America's Workers
Like Bush, Trump is yet another Republican president who will assume
office despite losing the popular vote, only to pretend that he has
a mandate to undertake extremist policies.
by
Joseph Stiglitz
. 29 Comments
.
. Distressed homeowner Rose Gudiel outside Mnuchin's home last
October. (Photo: Walt Mancin/Pasadena Star-News)
. As US President-elect Donald Trump fills his cabinet, what have we
learned about the likely direction and impact of his
administration's economic policy?
. To be sure, enormous uncertainties remain. As in many other areas,
Trump's promises and statements on economic policy have been
inconsistent.
While he routinely accuses others of lying, many of his economic
assertions and promises - indeed, his entire view of governance -
seem worthy of Nazi Germany's "big lie" propagandists.
. Trump will take charge of an economy on a strongly upward trend,
with third-quarter GDP growing at an impressive annual rate of 3.2%
and unemployment at 4.6% in November. By contrast, when President
Barack Obama took over in 2009, he inherited from George W. Bush an
economy sinking into a deep recession. And, like Bush, Trump is yet
another Republican president who will assume office despite losing
the popular vote, only to pretend that he has a mandate to undertake
extremist
. "There really is no silver lining to the cloud that now hangs oversome 30 years ago.
the US and the world."
The only way Trump will square his promises of higher infrastructure
and defense spending with large tax cuts and deficit reduction is a
heavy dose of what used to be called voodoo economics. Decades of
"cutting the fat" in government has left little to cut: federal
government employment as a percentage of the population is lower
today than it was in the era of small government under President
Ronald Reagan
With so many former military officers serving in Trump's cabinet ordeteriorate - most likely both.
as advisers, even as Trump cozies up to Russian President Vladimir
Putin and anchors an informal alliance of dictators and
authoritarians around the world, it is likely that the US will spend
more money on weapons that don't work to use against enemies that
don't exist. If Trump's health secretary succeeds in undoing the
careful balancing act that underlies Obamacare, either costs will
rise or services will
During the campaign, Trump promised to get tough on executives whointerest rates.
outsource American jobs. He is now holding up the news that the home
heating and air conditioning manufacturer Carrier will keep some 800
jobs in my home state of Indiana as proof that his approach works.
Yet the deal will cost taxpayers $7 million, and still allow Carrier
to outsource 1,300 jobs to Mexico. This is not a sound industrial or
economic policy, and it will do nothing to help raise wages or
create good jobs across the country. It is an open invitation for a
shakedown of the government by corporate executives seeking handouts.
Similarly, the increase in infrastructure spending is likely to be
accomplished through tax credits, which will help hedge funds, but
not America's balance sheet: such programs' long track record shows
that they deliver little value for money. The cost to the public
will be especially high in an era when the government can borrow at
near-zero
If these private-public partnerships are like those elsewhere, themanaged extremely carefully.
government will assume the risks, and the hedge funds will assume
the profits.
The debate just eight years ago about "shovel-ready" infrastructure
seems to be a distant memory. If Trump chooses shovel-ready
projects, the long-term impact on productivity will be minimal; if
he chooses real infrastructure, the short-term impact on economic
growth will be minimal. And back-loaded stimulus has its own
problems, unless it is
If Trump's pick for US Treasury Secretary, the Goldman Sachs andonce trumpeted.
hedge-fund veteran Steven Mnuchin, is like others from his industry,
the expertise he will bring to the job will be in tax avoidance, not
constructing a well-designed tax system. The "good" news is that tax
reform was inevitable, and was likely to be undertaken by Speaker of
the House Paul Ryan and his staff - giving the rich the less
progressive, more capital-friendly tax system that Republicans have
long sought. With the abolition of the estate tax, the Republicans
would finally realize their long-held ambition of creating a
dynastic plutocracy - a far cry from the "equality of opportunity"
maxim the party
Large tax cuts and large expenditure increases inevitably lead torevenues will actually increase.
large deficits. Reconciling this with Trump's promise to reduce the
deficit will probably entail a return to Reagan-era magical thinking:
despite decades of proof to the contrary, this time the stimulus to
the economy brought by tax cuts for the rich will be so large that
tax
This story doesn't end well for Trump's angry, displaced Rust Belt
voters.
Unhinged budgetary policies will induce the US Federal Reserve to
normalize interest rates faster. Some see incipient inflation (given
the low unemployment rate); some believe the long period of
ultra-low interest rates has distorted capital markets; and some
want to "replenish their ammunition," so that the Fed can lower
interest rates should the economy slow down again.
Trump has argued that the Fed should raise interest rates. The Fed,
which took the first step toward normalization in early December,
will almost certainly deliver - and Trump will soon regret what he
wished for. There's a good chance that the monetary contraction will
outweigh the fiscal stimulus, curbing the Obama growth spurt
currently underway. Higher interest rates will undercut construction
jobs and increase the value of the dollar, leading to larger trade
deficits and fewer manufacturing jobs - just the opposite of what Trump
severe.Meanwhile, his tax policies will be of limited benefit tocare, education, and social programs.
middle-class and working families - and will be more than offset by
cutbacks in health
If Trump starts a trade war - by, say, following through on his vow
to impose a 45% tariff on imports from China and to build a wall on
the US border with Mexico - the economic impact will be even more
Trump's cabinet of billionaires could continue to buy their Gucci
handbags and $10,000 Ivanka bracelets, but ordinary Americans' cost
of living would increase substantially; and without components from
Mexico and elsewhere, manufacturing jobs would become even scarcer.
To be sure, a few new jobs will be created, mainly in the lobbying
shops along K Street in Washington, DC, as Trump refills the swamp
that he promised to drain. Indeed, America's bog of legal corruption
is likely to reach a depth not seen since President Warren G.
Harding's administration in the 1920s.
And there really is no silver lining to the cloud that now hangs
over the US and the world. As bad as his administration will be for
America's economy and workers, its policies on climate change, human
rights, the media, and ensuring peace and security are likely to be
no less damaging for everyone else.
C 2016 Project Syndicate
/author/joseph-stiglitz
/author/joseph-stiglitz/author/joseph-stiglitz
Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University.
His most recent book is The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided
Society Endangers Our Future.
