The One Percent

Nah, sometimes the best thing to do is be present, not predominant.  It is not necessary to adopt a slogan, force ideas on others or become run by someone whose actual interests don't include you.

For all practical purposes, OWS is the American portion of the Arab Spring.  Is there a reason to define dissatisfaction?  When you're the 99% and being taken advantage of by the 1%, is there any question about what you are actually miffed about?

Do we need to line people up and say, "These people have lost their homes", or these and say "these people have lost their pensions", or these and say "these have just graduated college and can't get a job"?

The point is that there are so many people in this country that have been screwed over in the past 30 years that those remaining standing are obviously the problem.  And the logic is impeccable, irrefutable, and obvious to the entire world.

Absolutely no one can say that they caused their own downfall, for if they could, then they would be the only ones.  Since there are so many people who "Don't blame Wall Street" and have still lost everything, their ideological bent still supports the people who were hunting for them day and night through methods of information gathering that you couldn't believe.

You cannot have such a collapse of all that is known without either being stupid and not knowing anything, or you have some control over your future unless someone takes it from you.

Again, even if this were just one situation then you could throw out the hypothesis, but such things are happening to millions upon millions of people on the entire planet, you know damned well that it is not your fault.  Only an external force can create such chaos for so many people, and it ain't the 99%.

 No one bets against 99% except the 1% holding all the other cards.
__________________

This was my answer to http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/rawls-on-wall-street/?hp#preview , titled Rawls on Wall Street.

But this covers only the first 30% of the 99 whilst the threat of it happening hangs over the heads of the rest of the 99.

Yes, there are some of the 99 that are doing better than the others, but that is only happenstance.  Happenstance in that when the financial crisis hit one wasn't under water with their health care problems.  Happenstance that they weren't the first wave of the layoff of qualified people to do the jobs when young people could be "bodies" to do the jobs at significantly lower wages.

Happenstance in that women have been moving their way into the workplace and were willing to earn 78% of their male counterparts.

The drive to cut wages was on, and most of us didn't notice.  We just thought it was our fault.

Ah, but the drive to create easy credit was also on, and hey, cheap credit sounds good, right?  I got a credit card based on my piddling earnings delivering The Washington Post to Condo Canyon in Alexandria.  Hundreds of newspapers per day, up and down the buildings, and I got credit.  Not much, mind you, but I could buy things.

The truth is that I would have never been able to pay the credit off if I hadn't realized that I wasn't credit worthy.

And this is what I was talking about with my response to the NYTimes article.  The ability to get sucked into a jet engine really doesn't require anything by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  But the ability to lay your life wide open to manipulation via inexpensive credit is just as deadly.  It only takes longer to realize that you can't breath.

Now my point was that most of the 99 felt for oh those long years that they had failed their obligations, but then along came an even newer method to use credit to get out of your personal funk.

If you had a house, you could borrow on it almost every year.  Rates would fluctuate, but you'd still be able to get the money and purchase those things you needed, like a new roof or a new car, or you could stick some money away to pay for your child's education.

No matter what you did, and you didn't know it, you just passed your money up to the wealthy.  The one percent.

At that point, you were working to support the smallest portion of Americans as if you were the subsidies that Reagan called the "welfare queens".  But who really were the welfare queens?

It turns out they were the rich, the wealthy, people who eat caviar at lunch when they slept in until noon.

OK, the Rock Stars of money, if you will.

However, let us get some delineation defined here.  Rich people aren't people with money.  They are people with value, but that value doesn't come close to the wealthy.

The wealthy are people who cannot get rid of their wealth, even if they tried.  They might pass their wealth onto someone else, but the wealth is a living being that cannot be defeated sans a comet destroying the planet.

Wealth can never go away.  You cannot spend it fast enough and you cannot throw it off a cliff for long enough.  You will die and your children's children's children will still be standing on the cliff throwing money off, and yet more money continues to come in.

Wealth begets wealth and the wealthy know it.  They buy mansion sized yachts and ply the seas for months at a time without concern of where their money is coming from, because they have wealth, and it will never go away.

The biggest ploy the wealthy ply upon us is that we, too, can become wealthy.

No, we can't.  The best we can do is become rich, and the rich and the wealthy don't talk to each other, unless the wealthy wants to use your money to make them wealthier.

If you haven't noticed, we've been moving up the totem pole where all the money goes.  And here it is.  If the wealthy lose money on investments they make (supposedly the job creators), they get tax write-offs and subsidies because they paid for them in their support of certain candidates for political office.

Face it, even if they lost on investments, the amount of money coming in from their other investments will continue to build their coffers.  Losses are a normal part of investment, but when you get all your money back, you didn't take a risk, which is what investment is all about.

So we don't really just have a financial institution that is too big to fail, we have PEOPLE whom are too big to fail.

Now that is a giant leap.  We have financial institutions that are supposedly too big to fail, but their investors are too big to fail in the first place.  How could this be good for the 99?

I realize that I perhaps seem a little obtuse to some of you, but the fact is that even this doesn't go far enough.

Wealth has been grown over the centuries, often by creating bubbles that cost the poor man money and moving that money up to the wealthy.

Why would a wealthy man want the money out of a poor man's pocket?

Because there are far more poor men then wealthy and a billion nickels is a lot of money.  Fifty Million Dollars to be exact.

How about you can grab a nickel out of everyone's pocket per day?  Just a nickel.

Think about a group of people coming into your house and going through your sofa for change every day.  Nay, every 15 seconds.

Well, guess what.  Goldman Sachs and numerous other Bank Holding Companies, are using massive computer systems to leech hundredths of a penny out of your pockets every 1000th of a second.

If this is what we have become, then you should be able to see that the failings of the 99 are not their fault.  It is the fault of people whom would take advantage of you at every turn of events.  At every second you live.

About 30 years ago there were mail order companies that would send you catalogs, suggesting items were in stock and could be shipped immediately, but they weren't.  These companies planned on using your cash for a 7 day period to make money, and then send you the product you bought, and most people didn't even notice.

People were less aware of transactional money at the time, and they'd send in their check and wait for the product.

Now if it were a camera, for instance, then you might have a tendency to wait for a couple of weeks, but in the meantime these people were buying and selling diamonds with your money.  And then they'd finally send you the product.

This is the way Capitalism works.  It is Money Creep.  The money creeps up the totem pole, and whilst you may get product, you have no clue that you are being raped.

I know for a fact that some gas stations take a dollar from your account, supposedly as a test to see if the account is valid, but they are stealing money from you to back their investments.  Yes, they give you your dollar back, but they used it for their own purposes during the time it was away from your bank account.

This is Capitalism.  If you aren't a part of the 1%, you are meat.

Comments

[Bill Perkins]

"The point is that there are so many people in this country that have been screwed over in the past 30 years that those remaining standing are obviously the problem. And the logic is impeccable, irrefutable, and obvious to the entire world."

Clueless sour grapes. You're all set. You could be BMOC at OWS.

[Roger W. Norman]

Having a bad day?

You figure it out, Bill. When the majority of people get screwed by the smallest of minorities, then some level of manipulation has been accomplished.

I know people who have no credentials and are just as smart as those on Wall Street. What do you attribute it too? Oh, you wouldn't.

And I'm not concerned about the CEOs making tens of millions per year. I'm concerned that people from Wall Street are generating worth that doesn't have any economic value to it, and they get to walk about with hundreds of millions.

We can't just allow more worth without creating jobs. That is not a part of the economic engine of our nation.

The only value to anyone is the same one percent that didn't do anything to earn their money.

You can disagree with me, but I doubt you can actually argue with the premise.

Roger

[Bill Perkins]

In nine out of ten cases, people's own failure to act responsibly in their own interests creates their failure. That you know smart people who haven't bothered to "get credentials" as you put it is exactly what I'm referring to. I have a college degree as a result of working my way through jr. college and then university, an officer in our Navy submarine force, hold a CPA certificate, I'm a Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor. Do you think all that is a result of "happenstance". No, I worked my ass off, and it's no less than others not inflicted with mental and physical disabilities should and could do. Those with mental and physical disabilities we should all assist as best we can, whether as family or fellow citizens.

Often being in the wrong place at the wrong time is because we're acting carelessly, or just plain being stupid. Usually, especially as kids, we get away with it, but sometimes not. Debt from inexpensive credit cards that we can't pay is just plain careless and stupid. Buying houses we can't afford because of easy credit is just plain acting stupid. Adults know better, they just prefer to have stuff--then they go bankrupt and leave the bank or the vendor on the hook.

Exactly what is worth without economic value on Wall Street? The very wealthy in this country, check out the Forbes top 400 list, are dominated by people whose wealth is tied up in their interests in stock of very large corporations who employ millions of people throughout the country, and world for that matter. I guess you don't appreciate foreign employment though. Do you expect Buffet or Gates or even the Koch brothers or William Ford to suddenly cash out and abandon their life's efforts and their employees? Obviously, much of the wealthy cash out enough shares to fund and spend millions, but their contribution to the nations middle class employment cannot be denied.

Give me an example of Wall Street worth without economic value. And tell me, does it make sense for Joe the Plumber or General Motors to give a person a job if it doesn't add value?

IF we've been screwed, it's by ourselves, being satisfied with being mediocre and sending people with mediocre character to Congress and the White House.

By the way, there is no company, individual or country too big to fail. The more we prop them up with more debt, such as Greece or ourselves individually, the bigger the inevitable failure will be.

And exactly what is your premise? "When the majority of people get screwed by the smallest of minorities, then some level of manipulation has been accomplished." Is that it? Is Goldman Sach's penny-stealing the best you can do?

All your posts have the same thread, Roger: Woe is me, I'm helpless, it's not my fault, I'm just one of the 99%, what can I do to fix this, the man has me under his thumb, I'm just as smart as those guys so why can't I have what they have.

I guess that's why I keep arguing with you Roger, I know you're a smart guy, so why have you just given up? Cause that's what this language says to me.

What we have to do is elect conservative people who will stop taxing and stop growing this government so that private employers can see the future in order to take risks of adding employees so that they can see that will add to their own VALUE. Employees and workers will never earn the same as their job owners.

You never state what your ideas are to fix the American worker dilemma. Or is your mantra that of OWS. Forgive all mortgages, forgive all student debt, guarantee a living wage and employment.

[Roger W. Norman]

Bill, I started working when I was 13 years old. For two years I mowed lawns every day during the summer, saved my money, did the responsible things and at 15 I went to work for real. I went to school with a work program, worked the afternoon at a custom kitchen cabinet shop, and then went to work at the only 7-11 until eleven, went home, slept and got up and went to school.

I attended the School of Hard Knocks at the University of South Vietnam.

I'm a vet, but also a Past Eastern District Commander of AmVets in the state of Virginia.

I started some of the first video stores in the country. I started some of the first computer stores in the country, one being a rental setup for Commodore and Atari called Games to Go, the Gs being Pacman. This was the first computer game rental store in the entire world.

I moved into running the first corporate computer store, which was used for recruitment and retention of employees as a method to create an environment where the employee was indebted to the company as a way to retain qualified employees. Or at least that was what I was told. I don't know that less than $2k was a reason not to leave a company you didn't like, but that was the idea.

You see, Bill, that it appears to me that you believe I think these things without cause, but I think these things because I have seen it in action.

I didn't go into a lot of the other elements because you're just going to have to get to know me to understand what I say.

I'm also aware that there are roving protagonists whose job it is to attack people not of a like mind. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.

But really, some of your stuff doesn't speak of a lot of considered thought.

"Often being in the wrong place at the wrong time is because we're acting carelessly, or just plain being stupid."

Ok, so I told my children when they were growing up that if they didn't want to be in an untenable position then they shouldn't place themselves into that position.

But you apparently don't believe in the concept of chaos theory, which not only describes the possibilities, but you believe that one can somehow overcome forces outside of their experience.

You can't. You pay taxes, which are only forces outside of your experience, because you grew up knowing you had to pay taxes.

You are governed by the forces of the market as to what you pay for your expendables, meaning groceries or gas.

So now that we have that established, how far do we really need to go to get you to understand that there are forces out there not concerned with you, in particular, but only value you by the amount of money they can take out of your wallet?

This really shouldn't be a big step for you, Bill.

If you've got the money to go out and buy and number of extremely cheap houses, then do so. I applaud the impetus to the market. If you spend money to bring them back to saleable condition, again I applaud you.

You are a part of the solution. I like solutions. I've thought about purchasing houses that once were home and taking on the risk of giving these people back their homes, but lo and behold, I have no retirement funds because of the decline in my property and the market losses to my portfolio.

And a lot of these houses are not totally neglected properties which are no longer viable without major work.

Three years or more of no repair on a home is about $10,000 in lost investment.

Extrapolate this to other areas of our economy and figure it out. If I actually have to go through all of the examples and math, then you won't have done the work. Ipso facto, you won't get the gist of it.

And by the way, I reject the woe is me theory you suggest.

We're talking about directed assaults against American people to deprive them of their ability to become a better part of society.

I'm not woe as me as if I hadn't done anything in my life. I've done plenty. I've only had 13 years when I was a child when I didn't work.

I kind of resent your assumptions that I feel bad for me. I work here at home all day long. I write, and also play music (not records) and I take care of 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 birds, 1 fish and one rescue aquatic turtle which I have hand fed for 8 years now.

I'm sitting in a $100K recording studio surrounded by equipment and potential. I'm still sitting here in a $100k recording studio surrounded by equipment and potential. I was doing the same thing last year and the year before because no on has any money to support their own dreams. The people I support by providing a service cannot support me in order for them to sell CDs at their live performances.

Now I understand market functions, but when people draw back onto themselves like ballbugs, then you have a problem suggesting that it is everyone's fault who has felt the crunch.

And if it were a matter of happenstance, then yes, I'd admit it. But when you or I are manipulated beyond our ability to combat, then we all become victims. We are not in control even if we perceive ourselves as being so.

The only difference is that those whom conceive themselves in control simply haven't been hit yet. But with an unfettered market we will all become subject to outside forces which create untenable positions for us.

[Bill Perkins]

Thanks for that response. I assure you I'm not writing in an effort to be your antagonist. I knew much of what you stated of your work history from reviewing your websites, etc. before I first responded to your writing. And I fully respect your remarkable work in a variety of areas. I have been simply trying to figure why we end up in what I perceive to be polar opposite political viewpoints.

"you believe that one can somehow overcome forces outside of their experience" Yes. But I also believe, particularly at the macro level, that changing the forces that be, particularly government policies and administration, requires a change in thinking of a very large segment of the population that can be demonstrated at the polls. That's my goal. At the micro level, my youngest son got involved in drugs as a teenager, attended countless rehab programs, started traveling the country with other dope-heads and ended up doing eight very hard years in a Colorado prison. He came out a 250lb skinhead covered in outrageous and vulgar tattoos. I know chaos, although perhaps not the kind you refer to, after five years of trying to deal with his drug abuse and then eight years of his incarceration. His mind was about as twisted as it gets, politically and racially. But he did acknowledge the stupidity of the things he did to himself [and to us], and we helped him start the only business he knew, tattoos. He now is very successful with a "family" oriented tattoo shop, married and three kids he's been able to support. He did this with incredible focus and determination, a surprising work ethic, and a small amount of financial help from us.

Our economic situation has to be addressed with solidarity of mind and focus. "when people draw back onto themselves like ballbugs, then you have a problem suggesting that it is everyone's fault who has felt the crunch"..."lo and behold, I have no retirement funds because of the decline in my property and the market losses to my portfolio". We've all felt this economic squeeze, my portfolio was badly hit, I'm sure it will add years to my working, but I refuse to believe I am "manipulated beyond our ability to combat". You never define who your manipulators are--I assume you believe its Wall Street and big business--but I believe it's politicians and endless government bureaucracy.

"We're talking about directed assaults against American people to deprive them of their ability to become a better part of society." Again, to me your talking about big government. I'm not saying that politicians are inherently evil, but good intention's unintended consequence is the prime exemplar of chaos theory in my view.

"with an unfettered market we will all become subject to outside forces which create untenable positions for us." No worries about that. We haven't had an unfettered market in over a hundred years. While I agree free enterprise must have its perimeters established by law and regulation, this administration is doing everything it can think of to derail resurrecting this economy in an apparent effort to bow to unions, the green lobby, trial lawyers. What is the logic of requiring government contracts over $25 million to use union labor? Is that the best use of tax dollars, driving up the cost of projects?

Government regulation bloats every industry it presumes to regulate, healthcare being a great example, but nothing compared to what it did for the housing bubble and bust. All you have to know about the housing collapse is to consider what would have happened if all those mortgages were not subprime, that is not no-doc or low-doc loans but good conventional borrowers. The answer, nothing, no crisis, no collapse. So what happened? For 15 years, the government manipulated the banking and mortgage industry with the supposed good intentions of spreading the American dream by manipulation of GSE's and private banking underwriting. Result, world nightmare. The other culprits? S&P and Moodys for rating subprime mortgages as AAA collateral for all the world to invest in. They should have been prosecuted.

Last night's 60 Minutes was an interesting contrast of stories about the Madoff family and what they did or didn't know vs. a story about GE CEO Immelt and his role with the administration as well as what GE is doing internationally--and why. Other than professional interest, I could care less about Madoff, ponzi schemers always eventually get caught. But Immelt drove Leslie Stall nuts because 60% of GE's employment is now non-domestic, because that's where the production is, because that's where GE's customers are. She believes its GE's civic duty to create jobs in the U.S. not in Brazil. Never mind that much of the parts for locomotives and jet engines are made in the U.S., the customers are elsewhere, so they try to assemble them locally. I think it was Toyota or one of the main Japanese car makers that earlier this year announced it was assembling more cars in the U.S. than in Japan. Over and over Leslie went back to that issue, and Immelt refused to apologize for it which seemed to be what she was trying to extract. Of course, he did point out they were pulling some work back from China because China's costs were increasing.

Why don't we elect an administration who might act on behalf of all workers and make the U.S. competitive tax and regulation-wise. We keep falling in the international ranks regarding our competitive position with regard to production and with starting a new business. These are things the government CAN change that would help everyone. Being the employer of last resort that BHO seems to desire to be is self-defeating. It's just a ponzi, just like Madoff.

This may not pass for "considered thought" in your view, but vague indictments of someone out there manipulating you, controlling you and making it infeasible for you to react and positively correct these problems, and "...only value you by the amount of money they can take out of your wallet". What kind of gobbledygook is that?

Who or what is it specifically you say is doing this to you, and for once, give me your idea about what you or we as a whole should do about it?

[Roger W. Norman]

Bill, I want you to go to my reverbnation website and listen to "Broadway Billy's". I wrote and recorded this in about 3 1/2 hours, but I did all the parts in my own home studio.

The reason I want you to do this is to hear a song that I wrote 10 years ago about the plight of middle America. I had to chose a setting, but it applies.

I can't point fingers at individual culprits on these whole financial shenanigans. Apparently the entire US Government can't figure that one out, but the song is about the plight of the people just looking for a little recognition.

The fact that I took one lonely farmer's laments as the basis of the song doesn't mean it is irrelevant, to I'm trying to tell you that I haven't just come about with the attitude I have because I've lived it and probably see it more than others.

Anyway, just listen to the song.

Roger

[Bill Perkins]

No thanks.

I repeat my last sentence above. "Who or what is it specifically you say is doing this to you, and for once, give me your idea about what you or we as a whole should do about it?"