Capitalism | Catherine Crier

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Modern “Conservatives” Are Quick to Impede Progress Without Offering a Different Course

October 3, 2012 / Catherine Crier / One comment

The Republican Party I knew growing up was brimming with “progressive” visionaries who valued national investment in science technology and infrastructure—building, innovating, and investing, publicly and privately, in America’s future. Now, modern “conservatives” are quick to put the brakes on progress without offering a different course.

If they wish to revitalize the Republican Party, conservatives must be willing to strike a balance between free-market ideologies and traditional conservative principles. Balancing these interests does not mean confiscating and redistributing wealth or subsidizing people’s lives, but inequalities must be addressed. Your thoughts?

From The New York Times

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, journalism, national budget, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics / Tags: conservative, conservative ideologies, gop, ideology, progressivism, republican, republican party, traditional conservatism

96 Percent of Americans Have Relied on Social Welfare Programs

October 2, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

In a 2008 national survey conducted at Cornell, 96 percent of Americans reported needing the assistance of federal social welfare programs at some point in their life. However, many government officials, especially Republican leaders, regularly insist upon deep cuts to services for most citizens while simultaneously defending tax breaks, subsidies, and overt political power for transnational corporations.

In its preamble, the Founders stated explicitly that our Constitution was established to promote the general welfare. Americans recognize the difference between ideological rhetoric and realistic solutions, and what they’re seeking is honest leadership that puts the welfare of citizens and our system of government above all else. Would you agree?

From The New York Times

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, journalism, national budget, Patriot Acts, politics / Tags: budget cuts, constitution, cornell, republican, social programs, social safety net, social security, social welfare

Ayn Rand’s Radical Defense of Economic Darwinism

September 25, 2012 / Catherine Crier / One comment

Ayn Rand, the self-proclaimed radical and author of Atlas Shrugged was the ultimate purist, advocating uncontrolled, unregulated capitalism. She perverted Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” into her “virtue of selfishness” and defended an ugly dog-eat-dog economic Darwinism: The masses were servile and insignificant, government was invasive and usually malevolent.

Absolute objectivism, along with the rest of Rand’s arguments, may sway teens—a time when renegade individualism stirs the blood—but time and experience validates the social/political principles envisioned by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Adam Smith.

From Buzzfeed Politics

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, hypocrisy, journalism, national budget, Obsessive Cognitive Dissonance, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics / Tags: adam smith, atlas shrugged, ayn rand, capitalism, deregulation, economy, government, invisible hand, james madison, Mitt Romney, objectivism, paul ryan, randian, romney, ryan, thomas jefferson

Banks Should Be Banks, Not Investment Houses or Gambling Casinos

September 24, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

In response to unregulated financial malfeasance and the Crash of ’29, The Banking Reform Act of 1933 imposed rules to ensure banks were banks, not investment houses or gambling casinos. When the legislation was introduced, the American Bankers Association protested, saying the bill was “unsound, unscientific, unjust, and dangerous.”

Our current crisis is due in no small part to the weakening of these provisions in the 1980s and the repeal of Glass-Steagall in 1999. When you hear banks and their political cronies screaming about regulations today, just remember, we’ve heard it all before. They were wrong in ’33 and they’re wrong now.

From Bloomberg

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, hypocrisy, journalism, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics / Tags: american bankers association, banking reform, banking reform act, banks, commercial banking, crash of 29, fdic, financial regulation, Glass-Steagall, great depression, securities, thomas hoenig

Tax Cuts Do Not Increase Overall Revenues or Spur Domestic Business Investment and Job Growth

September 20, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

Cut taxes on the rich, so the argument goes, and this money will be reinvested at home. For those of you who have read Patriot Acts, we’ve been over this numerous times, but let me restate an empirical fact: Tax cuts for the wealthy do not increase overall revenues or spur domestic business investment and job growth.

A new longitudinal study compiles data from the last 65-years to find why tax cuts in and of themselves have never led to economic growth. In the past, the rich may have reinvested about a third of their tax savings in the US, but now, most of it goes into savings, personal spending, or overseas investments.

From The Huffington Post

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, hypocrisy, journalism, Mitt Romney, national budget, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics / Tags: Bush Tax Cuts, Business News, Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney Tax Cuts, Mitt Romney Tax Cuts For The Rich, tax cuts, Tax Cuts For The Rich, Tax Cuts For The Rich Mitt Romney, Tax Cuts For The Wealthy, Tax Cuts For The Wealthy Mitt Romney, Video

Corporate Lobbying Firm ALEC Now Sponsoring Overtly Political Events with the RSC

September 13, 2012 / Catherine Crier / One comment

The revolving door between Capital Hill, the lobbying sector, and corporate jobs is out of control. Unaccountable corporate lobbyists write laws, draft budgets, and create policies that protect personal and business interests.

As Bill Clinton might say, ‘It takes brass ones’. While claiming tax-exemption as a 501(c)3 charity, the corporate lobbying group ALEC is sponsoring overtly political events with the Republican Study Committee. Where’s the outrage? Where’s the IRS?

From Salon

Category: campaign finance reform, capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, hypocrisy, journalism, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics / Tags: 501(3)c, alec, american legislative exchange council, capital hill, congress, corporate lobbying, corporations, gop, Lobbying, nonprofit, republican party, republican study committee, RSC, tax exemption

Institute of Medicine Report Highlights $750B in Unnecessary Healthcare Spending

September 12, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

After years of corporate abuse, there can be no alternative to a government payer health care system without private sector reforms. According to an Institute of Medicine report, wasteful spending and inefficient uses of technology accounted for $750 billion in unnecessary health expenditures last year.

This system is bankrupting our nation morally, financially, and physically. As discussed in Patriot Acts, until we address core issues—why our costs are so high, why our outcomes are so poor, and why, as a nation, we’re in such bad shape—there can be no meaningful reform.

From The Washington Post

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, economics, health care, journalism, national budget, Patriot Acts, politics / Tags: affordable care act, care, government payer, health, health care, healthcare, institute of medicine, obamacare, patriot acts, single payer

Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg Claims Corporations and Lobbyists Are the ‘Solution’

August 29, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

As lobbyists make record sums and taxpayer dollars continue to flood Wall Street accounts, voters must realize that the fundamental principles of American democracy—capitalism, free-enterprise—are being dismantled by elected officials who claim they support traditional conservative principles.

When officials like Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg, currently running for a Republican seat in the Senate, claim corporations and lobbyists are working for pro-American policies it is an absolute sham. Read about Rehberg’s remarks to the American League of Lobbyists and consider whether these men truly represent the American public interest.

From The Huffington Post

Category: campaign finance reform, capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, hypocrisy, journalism, national budget, political parties, politics / Tags: Association Of Lobbyists, congress, Lobbying, Lobbyists, Montana, Politics News, Rep. Denny Rehberg, Sen. Jon Tester, Super Committee, U.S. Senate, Video

NHTSA’s Automobile “Black Box” Regulations Scheduled to Take Effect September 1

August 27, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

On September 1, NHTSA regulations are scheduled to take effect for automobiles with voluntarily installed “black box” devices that track your driving habits, routes and destinations. Promoted by insurers as a way to reduce premiums for safe drivers, these devices may soon become mandatory on new vehicles.

Salon.com’s David Sirota examines another likely scenario wherein the captured data is used to increase rates based not on speeding tickets or accidents, but on ‘bad’ driving habits. Read the article and share your thoughts below.

From Salon.com

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, journalism / Tags: automobile regulations, automobiles, black box, car insurance, cars, edr, event data recorder, insurance premiums, nhtsa, salon

Vanishing Field Labor Damages U.S. Agricultural Industry

August 26, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

In the midst of a record-breaking drought now crippling U.S. farmers and ranchers, another shortage compounds the damage: vanishing field laborers that harvest the nation’s crops. Perhaps the 2004 movie “A Day Without a Mexican” should get a second look.

Illegal immigrants do backbreaking, often dangerous jobs for minimal wages; jobs that Americans don’t want.

From CNBC

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, economics, journalism, politics / Tags: a day without a mexican, agriculture, crop picking, field labor, harvest, illegal immigrants, immigrants, jobs, wages

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