Richard Wolff, Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts - truthout/Independent Media Institute
Stephan: Here is another perspective on what is happening with our economy. All of this must be changed, and we must become a society whose highest priority is fostering wellbeing. The alternative is a country you won't even recognize
People walk through the Oculus transportation hub and mall on the first day of the reopening of malls to the public for shopping since the outbreak of COVID-19 in mid-March on September 9, 2020, in New York City. Credit: Spencer Platt/ Getty
Viewing the GOP convention seemed a little like binge-watching the last several years’ parade of none-too-subtle signs of incipient fascism. We saw extreme nationalism, scapegoating immigrants and foreigners in general, white supremacy, “strong (narcissistic)-man” government, aggressive foreign policies, and hysterical red-baiting. Those signs reflect how capitalism’s deepening crisis undermines both the center-left (Democrat) and center-right (GOP) and shifts politics further right and further left. Trump represents the anti-center right, Bernie Sanders the anti-center left. Most capitalists want neither; the center worked very well for them over the last 75 years. As that political center implodes, U.S. capitalists favor the right over the left. They see the difference between fascism and socialism very clearly. They are not fooled by the crumbling old center’s self-serving efforts to equate socialism and fascism.
Fascism can indeed “happen here,” but in unique fashion. Fascism, […]
Hiroko Tabuchi, Investigative Reporter - The New York Times
Stephan: Just as Bob Woodward's Trump tapes revealed the truth, so this article does the same about the Carbon energy industry. Just as Trump knew the facts but lied so these corporate executives know the truth but lie
“We’re just flaring a tremendous amount of gas,” one executive said at the meeting. Credit: Jessica Lutz/The New York Times
Last summer, oil and gas-industry groups were lobbying to overturn federal rules on leaks of natural gas, a major contributor to climate change. Their message: The companies had emissions under control.
In private, the lobbyists were saying something very different.
At a discussion convened last year by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a group that represents energy companies, participants worried that producers were intentionally flaring, or burning off, far too much natural gas, threatening the industry’s image, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by The New York Times.
“We’re just flaring a tremendous amount of gas,” said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, at the June 2019 gathering, held in Colorado Springs. “This pesky natural gas,” he said. “The value of it is very minimal,” particularly to companies drilling mainly for oil.
A well can produce both oil and natural gas, but oil commands far higher prices. Flaring it is an inexpensive way of […]
Stephan: When you hear people say Trump would like a third term, the Constitution be damned, don't laugh or dismiss it. He does, and is doing everything he can to rig the election in 2020. The only thing that is going to stop this is you.
President Donald Trump looks at the crowd during a campaign rally at the Minden-Tahoe airport in Minden, Nevada on Sept. 12, 2020. Brendan Smialowski/Getty
Speaking to a packed, largely mask-less crowd in Nevada on Saturday night, President Donald Trump once again said he wanted to serve three terms in office. Trump said he is “probably entitled” to an additional four years in the White House. “Fifty-two days from now we’re going to win Nevada, and we’re going to win four more years in the White House,” Trump told a crowd of at least 5,000 people in Minden, Nevada that was standing shoulder-to-shoulder. “And then after that, we’ll negotiate, right? Because we’re probably—based on the way we were treated—we are probably entitled to another four after that.”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1304971015647301632&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fslate.com%2Fnews-and-politics%2F2020%2F09%2Ftrump-negotiate-third-term-democrats-rig-election.html&siteScreenName=slate&theme=light&widgetsVersion=219d021%3A1598982042171&width=550px
Even though he is behind Joe Biden in all the major polls, by Trump’s telling the only way he can lose in November is if Democrats “rig” the election. During the rally, Trump once again raised doubts about the reliability of mail-in voting, and without citing any evidence said that Democrats will use it […]
Stephan: The Republicans for a generation have made the deficit one of their central issues. What they don't tell you is that when Republicans are in. power the deficit goes up, when Democrats are in power it goes down. But we have never before seen anything even remotely like what has happened during the Trump years. Read and weep.
Credit: Getty
The federal budget deficit surpassed $3 trillion through August, according to official Treasury data released Friday, and is expected to hit $3.3 trillion when the fiscal year wraps up at the end of this month.
The figures, which confirm earlier estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), show that the deficit is on track to be the largest in the country’s financial history. The $3.3 trillion figure is well over double the largest previous record of $1.4 trillion in 2009, during the financial crisis.
The data released Friday showed that the government has spent more than $6 trillion so far this year, a monumental leap over the $4.4 trillion it spent in the entirety of 2019. That increase was largely due to emergency relief efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn it caused.
Revenues, in the meantime, remained largely unchanged but could only account for about half of the spending, leaving the Treasury to borrow the rest.
The CBO estimates that the accumulating debt will surpass the size of the entire economy next year and break its World […]
