Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Three things I saw yesterday
I'll try to explain the reasons why I haven't been posting much lately tomorrow or the next day. There are a few reasons why the posting became less frequent a couple of years ago, but I had hoped to pick it up a notch after my vacation last month. Unfortunately, I'm recovering from a fairly serious accident, so that's been put on hold. I'm back at work, but sleeping's difficult, so I don't have the energy for much else. Like I said, I'll explain soon.
I think most Americans need to go back and reread The Jungle, and accounts of the Triangle Shirt Factory Fire and realize that the free market didn't make industrialization benefit most Americans. In fact, for decades, it was pretty shitty for most Americans. At least America had free land (stolen land, if you prefer) to give away; things were worse in Europe. Since it took government actions and union activities to make industrialization benefit most Americans, I really don't understand why so many people believe that globalization would be any different. Accordingly, I strongly disagree with at least one paragraph in Jack Sparrow's guest post in yesterday's "Naked Capitalism." But, I wholeheartedly agree with his analysis of what's happening to the U.S. economy.
Oddly enough, Jim Cramer agrees too. I know that asking you to listen to twelve minutes of Jim Cramer is asking a lot, but please play the clip you can find on this link. He puts a happy face on it, but he's really saying something quite radical (or something that would have been considered radical not too many years ago).
Despite the damage that multinational corporations are doing to the country, the liberals at the American Prospect want us to eschew populism. Isn't that mostly a straw man argument? Not completely, because some people are advocating that Democrats, or liberals, or progressives strike a more populist pose. But, don't you hear more people arguing that liberals and Democrats need to stop being afraid of being labeled populist and need to start taking positions on economic issues that Mort Zuckerman or Larry Kudlow would call "populist"?
I think most Americans need to go back and reread The Jungle, and accounts of the Triangle Shirt Factory Fire and realize that the free market didn't make industrialization benefit most Americans. In fact, for decades, it was pretty shitty for most Americans. At least America had free land (stolen land, if you prefer) to give away; things were worse in Europe. Since it took government actions and union activities to make industrialization benefit most Americans, I really don't understand why so many people believe that globalization would be any different. Accordingly, I strongly disagree with at least one paragraph in Jack Sparrow's guest post in yesterday's "Naked Capitalism." But, I wholeheartedly agree with his analysis of what's happening to the U.S. economy.
Oddly enough, Jim Cramer agrees too. I know that asking you to listen to twelve minutes of Jim Cramer is asking a lot, but please play the clip you can find on this link. He puts a happy face on it, but he's really saying something quite radical (or something that would have been considered radical not too many years ago).
Despite the damage that multinational corporations are doing to the country, the liberals at the American Prospect want us to eschew populism. Isn't that mostly a straw man argument? Not completely, because some people are advocating that Democrats, or liberals, or progressives strike a more populist pose. But, don't you hear more people arguing that liberals and Democrats need to stop being afraid of being labeled populist and need to start taking positions on economic issues that Mort Zuckerman or Larry Kudlow would call "populist"?
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Ooh, sorry to hear about the accident. Hope you recover/feel better asap.
Great trifecta-- and the Cramer was well worth the time. Stunning, really, when you boil it down.
Great trifecta-- and the Cramer was well worth the time. Stunning, really, when you boil it down.
Thanks. I had hoped to do posts about the reasons why I hadn't been blogging as much in general recently and why I haven't picked it up again like I had hoped to by now. Quick example of the long term. Hard to get so worked up over watching Norman Robinson interview garbage execs after seeing that interview with one of the worst job destroying PE bastards out there. Can any sane person who isn't rich watch CNBC without being radicalized?
Short term: the accident actually resulted in a broken neck. Well, broken neck lite -- C1 fracture with no neurological damage, so I'm able to use my arms and legs. Good thing I have a desk job. Since I sleep on a futon, the doctor recommended that I use the extra bed at my mother's until I'm healed. The computer situation and general lack of energy from difficulty sleeping have put blogging on hold.
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Short term: the accident actually resulted in a broken neck. Well, broken neck lite -- C1 fracture with no neurological damage, so I'm able to use my arms and legs. Good thing I have a desk job. Since I sleep on a futon, the doctor recommended that I use the extra bed at my mother's until I'm healed. The computer situation and general lack of energy from difficulty sleeping have put blogging on hold.
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