Forum Post: The new left
Posted 11 years ago on Dec. 5, 2012, 11:11 p.m. EST by richardkentgates
(3269)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
...seems emboldened. I have waited for some force from the left for years, but now I may be having a little buyers remorse. It could just be a rough start but it almost looks like there is some typical spin and misguided notions now backed back the stimulant known as victory. Obama seems the least afflicted with this but I still see no action from him. A little more action from Obama and a little more humility from the still paid-for lefties, and we could be getting close to sanity. I'm not counting on it, but I am still hopeful.
Keynes people, this was all about Keynes vs Hayek, and later Keynes vs Milton Friedman, and everything that followed in macroeconomics, with post-Keynesianism. Then the oil slump hit with OPEC and America suffered some stagflation, which was very important ideologically because it opened the door for more inflation reducing analyses to be taken more importantly than the prior Keynesian stuff.
Today we don't talk about Keynes, and its that detachment from fully thought out economic alternatives that have already been invented and well tested that is driving some of the ennui and malaise of the left these days. The fact that the mainstream can say Occupy doesn't have any demands is because not much mention at all if any was made of America's strong past in Keynesian macroeconomic policies.
True.
Damn, an opinion not based in mainstream talking points. I'm not sure what to think about that :D
I think the old left was actually more in tune with the solutions that we need for today. FDR, for example, did Glass Steagall in the first two weeks of his presidency. He closed the banks for a holiday and did a complete bankruptcy reorganization.
If Obama hasn't declared himself against it, he certainly has never declared himself for it. And where are his public works programs? Republicans won't let him do it? Why doesn't he go on TV or the radio and do "fireside chats" like FDR did?
If he were to do this, he could rally the public behind him to put whatever pressure was necessary on their recalcitrant senators to get the job done.
JFK is also a good example. Instead of getting us into endless wars in Asia, he tried to keep us out of them, and was killed for it. Remember JFK's speech on "secret societies"? Today, such talk is just labeled as conspiracy theories.
He was also heavily into economic development projects, such as NAWAPA, the North American Water and Power Authority, as well as the space program, which created a whole new industry, aerospace, which provided high paying jobs for both blue and white collar workers.
Today's new left seems more opposed to, than for the policies of these individuals who are considered to be among the best presidents the US has ever had.
I find the key to understanding the the political events or non-events of today is captured by your phrase " and [JFK] was killed for it." I surmise Obama does not want to get dead.
All those who are true patriots, all those who believe in democracy must have Obama's back if he finds the backbone to stand for the people. That is what he meant when he said he couldn't go it alone - that it wasn't about him. He was let down terribly in the midterm elections. The Greek Word "idiot" referrs to those who are oblivious to public matters. Why would he stick his neck out for people who can't be bothered to stick their neck out for him? We must stand by him if he decides (God help him) to stand for us.
Do people really not see the seriousness of this? It isn't a game. We have a shadow government. Does anybody still not understand the implications of that? Why do you think NOBODY has had the guts to stand against this since Kennedy???
Do I have to SPELL IT OUT???
I get it. We lost in the House so badly because the dems didn't cu money as much as repubs.
Now the House gerrymandering will make it difficult (but not impossible) to get back the majority.
We gained 10 or so seats and now need about 17. It is doable.
More people have to be woken up from the consumerist/escapist sleep!
Did Obama stand up for the people when he fought to reinstate the NDAA? Did he have the backbone to pull out of Afghanistan? Did he have the courage to end the war on drugs? Did he turn down the millions of campaign dollars from the corporations and wealthy?
He needs to be removed, not supported.
No, I think he's as good a candidate as anyone to find a backbone.
You know when Jessie Ventura became Governor of Minnesota, he later said that he . . . "got a visit from the CIA."
Visit's from the CIA probably have a certain way of impressing people.
Did Obama stand up for the people when he fought to reinstate the NDAA? Did he have the backbone to pull out of Afghanistan? Did he have the courage to end the war on drugs? Did he turn down the millions of campaign dollars from the corporations and wealthy?
He needs to be removed, not supported.
Do you think repetition makes a post better the second time?
obama stands for obama. he has no use for the american people except to tax them into poverty and to be dictator for life
Morning Joe has become a real letdown. Now that the public is further ahead of the curb with respect to the causes of our current situation, the show seems to be more concerned with playing it safe than living up to their initial narrative of America's Conversation. I have watched this show turn into the same joke that all media has become. How can any of us be behind any of them while honest conversation is still so far from anyone's lips.
Drama queen
Yes, unfortunately, I think Obama is more likely to be the one to do the killing or at least be allied to those who do sol
Very fine comment, arturo. When we look at the way FDR dealt with a very difficult period of American history, a period that bears a lot of resemblence to our current situation, you really have a very good blueprint for what must be done now. And it would be easier because he and Elenor blazed that trail for us. I hope that in many ways we can now improve on what they accomplished, if we have the stregnth of character.
Oh you got that right!
Change a few words here to be harsher for today's crazy cult of America haters and tell me this does not sound like now:
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15142
your welcome
Thanks, it seems the only momentum we have going in this direction these days is the supporters of Glass Steagall in congress.
What "new left"?
Obama, still hamstrung by recalcitrant RepubliCons, still not a dictatorship.
Sanity? "paid-for lefties"?
huh?
Yes, sanity. Tonight, I listened to another D, on The Last Word(msnbc), justifying going off the cliff (which I agree with) by saying the money printed by the Fed under QE is holding up the economy well enough to let the cuts unfold. I am all for going off the cliff but CPI is steadily climbing while the $ index is declining, and none of that money makes it past the investment banks. Who the fuck did he think he was lying to? QE DOES NOT GO TO THE GOVERNMENT OR INTO THE MAINSTREET ECONOMY, it goes only to investment banks because they still can't cover their debts, ie.. the banks are broke and QE is one giant payday loan to them alone, of which the people are footing almost half the bill for. This is not sanity. People will only take the risk of telling a lie repeatedly in public if they have something to gain, so that answers your question of "paid-for".
Laurance Odonell?
Wiki QE: If the nominal interest rate is at or very near zero, the central bank cannot lower it further. Such a situation, called a liquidity trap,[18] can occur, for example, during deflation or when inflation is very low.[19] In such a situation, the central bank may perform quantitative easing by purchasing a pre-determined amount of bonds or other assets from financial institutions without reference to the interest rate.[5][20] The goal of this policy is to increase the money supply rather than to decrease the interest rate, which cannot be decreased further.[21] This is often considered a "last resort" to stimulate the economy.[22][23]
What did QEs do to you?
Horse Shit! There is nothing about interest rates that requires the printing of money. If the government and the banks didn't want to pay the interest on their loans, they shouldn't have borrowed the fucking money. Why should I pay more at the store just so the 1% can skirt their financial obligations? After all, thats what we're really talking about here. "Borrowing on the cheap" is what politicians are calling it. I don't get to devalue my neighborhood just to get a cheaper mortgage. Why? Because it's immoral and requires a bit of self destructive behavior to accomplish it.
Running the US economy is "different" than your mortgage.
What "new left"??
Give it time. Patience.
The New Left meets the Old Right: Synergy!
"I believe totally in a capitalist system, I only wish that someone would try it" -Frank Lloyd Wright
New York Times: Part One How Local Taxpayers Bankroll Corporations http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/us/how-local-taxpayers-bankroll-corporations.html
Part Two Winners and Losers in the Lone Star State http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us/winners-and-losers-in-texas.html
Part Three When Hollywood Comes to Town http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/us/when-hollywood-comes-to-town.html
“The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.” --- St. Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274, Italian Scholastic Philosopher and Theologian
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth.”-- George Orwell
"It's not you against me, Mr. Rearden. It's you and I against Orren Boyle and Fred Kinan." Atlas Shrugged
Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker, supported strict new federal toy-safety regulations
Philip Morris, the world’s largest tobacco company, supported strict new federal tobacco regulation.
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest non-government employer, supported a higher minimum wage and an employer-mandate in health insurance.
H&R Block’s CEO joined Obama’s IRS, and wrote tax-preparer regulations, which H&R Block supports.
GE supported strict efficiency standards on light-bulbs.
Nike supported climate-change rules that crush its smaller competitors who actually make things in the U.S.
Big food producers supported new food-safety regulations.
The financial planning industry group called for more federal regulation of financial planning.
Hedge-fund giant Jim Chanos advocated federal registration of hedge funds.
The American Bankers Association applauded new federal credit-card regulations.
The big trucking companies supported new trucking regulations.
The sugar industry funding PR campaigns against corn syrup and artificial sweeteners.
Red-light-camera makers lobbying for more red-light cameras.
Big milk producers trying to crack down on raw milk.
Existing casinos trying to kill proposed new casinos.
Pot growers favoring pot prohibition.
The guys who make breathalyzer-ignition things, lobbying for more mandates on them.
Liquor stores in Tennessee lobbied to prevent supermarkets from selling liquor.
are you really looking to politicians to solve the problems we face? these turkeys cant even have a real debate on the issues how the fuck do you suppose they will solve problems? "With the economy slowly recovering, infrastructure investment will help spark growth and continue our path towards prosperity. In 2009, ASCE gave America’s infrastructure a “D-“ grade and called for $2.2 trillion in investment over the coming five years. Obviously, this investment has not been made, and consequently, we have jeopardized our economy, our quality of life, and our very safety."--- Greg E. DiLoreto P.E., P.L.S, D.WRE, the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers.