Stories

Why the Right loves a disaster

hkling — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:17:51 -0400

by Naomi Klein
January 28, 2008

Do the free-market policies packaged as emergency cures actually fix the crises at hand? For the ideologues involved, that has mattered little. What matters is that, as a political tactic, disaster capitalism works. It was the late free-market economist Milton Friedman, writing in the preface to the 1982 reissue of his manifesto, "Capitalism and Freedom," who articulated the strategy most succinctly. "Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change.

Taking the Train to a Clean Environment, a Sustainable Environment

Tony DeAngelis — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:49:46 -0400

There's been a lot of talk recently about the need to
do something about repairing and upgrading the
country's infrastructure, including roads, bridges and
levees (another area where the Europeans and Asians are
way out ahead). But mostly it's lip service.

Mazzocchi, Speth and Capitalism's Future

hkling — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:00:47 -0400

"Capitalism as we know it today is incapable of sustaining the environment." - James Gustave (Gus) Speth, in "The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability"

Moyers: 'Democracy in America Is a Series of Narrow Escapes, and We May Be Running Out of Luck'

hkling — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:59:18 -0400

Our Constitution is perilously close to being consigned to the valley of the shadow of death, betrayed by a powerful cabal of secrecy-obsessed authoritarians. Terms like "liberty" and "individual freedom" invoked by generations of Americans who battled to widen the 1787 promise to "promote the general welfare" have been perverted to create a government primarily dedicated to the welfare of the state and the political class that runs it. Yes, Virginia, there is a class war and ordinary people are losing it.

The following is an excerpt from Bill Moyers' new book, "Moyers on Democracy" (Doubleday, 2008).

Ellison Tells Taxpayers $ .43 cents of every $1.00 of Federal Income Tax goes to military

hkling — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:22:46 -0400

When $ .43 cents of every $ 1 .00 goes to the military, the American debt stands at $9.4 TRILLION, our schools and teachers are under-funded, 46 million Americans have no healthcare, and our bridges are collapsing - our priorities are wrong," Ellison stated.

An Uncertain Time for Capitalism

hkling — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:47:26 -0400

By Carl Bloice

The Black Commentator
April 17, 2008

Don't take it from me. The august Financial Times said it last Saturday: 'It is not just the credit crisis. Popular fears of globalization, discontent with high oil and food prices, rising income inequality within nations - all have contributed to an uncertain time for capitalism. The capitalists have certainly not helped.'

Redefining Progress

hkling — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:44:42 -0400

We believe that if policymakers measure what really matters to people—health care, safety, a clean environment, and other indicators of well-being—economic policy would naturally shift towards sustainability.

Learning From the Cultural Conservatives, Part I

hkling — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:39:48 -0400

Messing With Their Minds
By Sara Robinson
Campaign for America's Future

We're now living in an America in which every institution is dominated by these guys. Every facet of our looming disaster was dictated by bankrupt conservative ideas; yet our very ability to visualize fresh alternatives has been constricted by the frames they deliberately laid around our language and discourse.

Is Deindustrialization Inevitable?

hkling — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:31:25 -0400

By Bob Baugh and Joel Yudken

REBUILDING AMERICA’S INDUSTRIAL BASE IS ESSENTIAL FOR MAINTAINING OUR COUNTRY’S living standards and restoring the American Dream for future generations.

Ten Days That Changed Capitalism

hkling — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:25:25 -0400

David Wessel
March 27, 2008
Wall Street Journal

The past 10 days will be remembered as the time the U.S.
government discarded a half-century of rules to save
American financial capitalism from collapse.