How would you "fix" the economy?

[Joe Hillshoist]

Wasn't the economy "fixed" a long time ago?

[Jeff]

Nice, Joe.

The business model of government regards capital as its principal shareholder. As long as capital sees a dividend, the economy is in good shape.

[Joe Hillshoist]

We just lost a government that actually managed to get us through the worst financial crisis in decades because capital (newscorp basically, and mining companies as well) didn't like them.

Thats not the only reason, and I'll go on about them in that thread you started with Tim Sou...ane's article in the Guardian. Tomorrow, after some sleep.

But without the rabid media assault by capital they wouldn't have lost the election.

(Personally I like the thought of the greens and redneck's from the bush having the balance of power in Australia - its about as far from corporate control as I can think of, and that we are gonna get. And they are far apart on politics and motivations - but once you examine what they are actually saying then they are alot closer than you might think.)


Australia's "economy" is in great shape compared to most places, especially compared to the US - our usual economic comparison. But all we have heard for the last 9 months is how bad the national debt is (lowest in the OECD I think) and what a threat to our prosperity the Labor govt was.

See they (the media and rich corpulent mining execs) were saying the words "our prosperity" and we all heard it, but they meant "their prosperity" and never had any intention of sharing it.

Their prosperity and ours are mutually exclusive it seems.

[Bruce Dazzling]

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
— Julius Caesar

The problem with the economy is worse than just an economic problem: it is a psycho-social problem, which arises from a series of deeply spiritual errors.

Because of this, "the economy" will likely never be fixed, because Americans will keep trying to fix the "machinery" of economics, without first fixing ourselves. Americans will, therefore, continue to extol greed as a virtue, excess as a right, and outright thievery as a sometimes acceptable means to supposedly worthy ends: power and riches.

Until we ourselves change, "the economy" will remain just one flagging legacy of an allegedly "great nation," a nation that never really was as great as its people have always somehow managed to claim.

Great stuff, Simulist!

[Forgetting2]

I thought by putting the word 'fix' in quotes I was bringing attention to 3 obvious notes. That it is not really possible to fix. The question of whether or not it is actually broken, which would of course depend on your definition. And that any "fix" might have some crooked connotation.

I also assumed, in a fashion further lacking in rigor, that getting from where the US is now, to for example, a participatory model of economics, would require nothing less than bloody revolution and forced imposition of terms.

On edit:

(I'm aware of the irony of the last statement. Also, a participatory model of economics may be possible, though I believe it would be a long, evolutionary process.)

[wordspeak2]

I like this thread. I agree with what pretty much everybody said. But first and foremost- end the "War on Drugs." Legalize cannabis. Put the money from that into building up poor areas that have been ravaged by capitalism. IMO, that will do wonders for what Stimulus describes as "deeply spiritual errors." Though I don't think they're exactly errors, but the design of a patriarchal elite.

[Laodicean]

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
— Julius Caesar

The problem with the economy is worse than just an economic problem: it is a psycho-social problem, which arises from a series of deeply spiritual errors.

Because of this, "the economy" will likely never be fixed, because Americans will keep trying to fix the "machinery" of economics, without first fixing ourselves. Americans will, therefore, continue to extol greed as a virtue, excess as a right, and outright thievery as a sometimes acceptable means to supposedly worthy ends: power and riches.

Until we ourselves change, "the economy" will remain just one flagging legacy of an allegedly "great nation," a nation that never really was as great as its people have always somehow managed to claim.

That's a home run. Truth!

My two cents:

Legalize Cannabis cultivation worldwide. Bye bye War on Drugs (Marijuana), hello renewed industry (a real green economy) and perhaps...just perhaps, a new spiritual awakening. You may say I'm a dreamer...

[DoYouEverWonder]

Legalize industrial hemp and cannabis. Tax the shit out of the cannabis.

Even if we don't cure our financial problems, we'd all be a lot happier.

[Forgetting2]

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
— Julius Caesar

The problem with the economy is worse than just an economic problem: it is a psycho-social problem, which arises from a series of deeply spiritual errors.

Because of this, "the economy" will likely never be fixed, because Americans will keep trying to fix the "machinery" of economics, without first fixing ourselves. Americans will, therefore, continue to extol greed as a virtue, excess as a right, and outright thievery as a sometimes acceptable means to supposedly worthy ends: power and riches.

Until we ourselves change, "the economy" will remain just one flagging legacy of an allegedly "great nation," a nation that never really was as great as its people have always somehow managed to claim.

Very true, and why I secretly hope the globalist agenda succeeds in destroying the planet and killing off two thirds of it's inhabitants, because only then will people begin to think, "Hmm, maybe we were doing it wrong."

More seriously, I do believe Americans need, and will tragically receive, a very terrible wake up call, to which the snooze button has already been vigorously applied. Talk of what might be applied to help the situation in that light is of course futile. But sometimes I do wish this cup would pass, and miss an era, though I was just a toddler, when a Martin Luther King seemed relevant, and even filled with potential.

[Joe Hillshoist]

Legalize industrial hemp and cannabis. Tax the shit out of the cannabis.

Even if we don't cure our financial problems, we'd all be a lot happier.

I dunno if being happy with the power situation is a good thing. Legalising cannabis won't end all injustice, it'll just make it easier to keep smokers onside with the government.

Legalise it anyway of course, but don't think it'll solve anything about the fundamental flaws.


The fix is in, we should have known
It was always there from the start
Deep within, so slow and strong
Working its way to the heart
One day you notice a change
And then nothing's the same
I'll be your lover now, baby don't deny it
I'll be your lover now, money couldn't buy this

[alwyn]

got news for ya...the average farmer is not making the money on cannabis. The middleman is. And in this economy, where is the money for cannabis going to come from? The po' folk who are smoking it? They are already just barely making it. If it is legalized, the price will drop further, lowering the tax base. The money for the economy must come from a broad base...cannabis is not the savior...although it may be PART of the solution...

[Laodicean]

Oh, I'm with you. In the current state, the only thing that would allow re-legalized cannabis cultivation would come from the corporations/special interests, and only then would the government act to repeal the insanity of it all. And it really is fucking insane to outlaw a growing of a plant...a plant that could feed millions of people.

I wouldn't underestimate the power of cannabis seeds growing all across the globe. Especially in Africa.

[Nordic]

I do believe Americans need, and will tragically receive, a very terrible wake up call,

When there's no food on the shelves of WalMart.

People will freak the fuck out.

And yeah, I don't know about this whole worship thing with cannibis. It's a plant. Some people like to smoke it. Hemp can be used for a lot of stuff. So what? It's not the end-all of end-alls. You could make the shit 1000% legal and that would do nothing about the gangsters on Wall Street or the gangsters in the M.I.C. It would have absolutely ZERO affect on that shit. Which is where the source of all our problems are.

Not that I'm against it, I'm really not, but c'mon. Get real.

[MinM]

1) Repeal Glass–Steagall.

2) Create a false-flag attack to justify going to war (U.S.S. Cole).

3) Try number 2 again (WTC).

4) Start wars around the globe. At least partially to justify propping up failing businesses by pumping trillions into Wall Street.

5) Cut corporate taxes and regulations some more.

6) Bailout Banks.

7) Re-package this with a fresh new face.

Lather.

9) Rinse..

10) Repeat...

[vanlose kid]

– forbid money-lending, capital "investment", the "creation" of money from money, in short, usury in all its forms.

*