2022 Archives

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 10, 2022

How Long Will the GOP Continue to Shrink the Middle Class Rather than Grow It?

Republicans always work against middle class people, worsen poverty, and direct all their efforts and opportunities toward the top 10 percent (and, particularly, the top 1 percent) of Americans. A middle class, when mishandled, can be a powerful and fearsome thing, as the rulers of Iran and Russia are discovering. Both regimes are now teetering on the edge of collapse because of popular uprisings that would not have happened without a middle-class in each country. People paralyzed by grinding poverty rarely revolt — it takes a lot to produce “barrio uprisings” — because their lives are consumed with day-to-day survival issues. But when people are prosperous enough that they’ve left behind the most severe economic insecurity — believing they’ll always find another home, job, or can get into another university — they begin to demand a responsive government and will rise in protest when it fails to meet their demands. Republicans have been warning about this since the 1950s, although not in the way you may think.

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 9, 2022

Thomas Paine and the Promise of America by Harvey J. Kaye

A short review of a masterpiece of a book you should have in your library. Back in 2006, Professor Harvey J. Kaye wrote one of the best history books I’ve read in decades: Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. I wrote a review of it back then that I recently stumbled across on the internet and thought you’d want to read. Hope you don’t mind a second “book” email in your inbox today…

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 9, 2022

Restoring Government, of, by and for the People

Can we reclaim the dream of freedom and individual liberty in the land of its birth? I believe we can. Every culture and every religion of what we call the civilized world carries, in one form or another, a mythos or story about a time in the past or future when humans lived or will live in peace and harmony. Whether it’s referred to as Valhalla or Eden, Shambhala or One Thousand Years of Peace, the Satya Yuga or Jannat, stories of past or coming times of paradise go hand- in-hand with hierarchical cultures.

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 8, 2022

Saturday Report 10/8/22: How will OPEC’s 2-million-barrel-a-day production cut hit America?

The Best of the Rest of the News. — What weakens a republic enough to lead to a civil war or major change of governmental system away from democracy? — DeSantis does a master class in how to create hatred and distrust of the media and crank up violence against your political opponents. — The beginning of the end of the drug wars! — Manufacturing is what creates "the wealth of nations" (as Adam Smith taught us) and, increasingly, Democrats in Congress get it. — It's a safe bet that the Supreme Court is about to further kneecap democracy in America. — How will OPEC's 2-million-barrel-a-day production cut hit America? — Will Putin use nukes in Ukraine and, if he does, what will the result be? — Will the crime issue win the House and/or Senate for Republicans? — Geeky Science! Can petting your dog or cat help your brain?

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 7, 2022

Can America Stand On Her Own Two Feet?

Americans can hold the same idea in two different contexts at the same time: While embracing interdependence at home, we must also embrace self-reliance on the international stage. We can’t build enough cars because the chips, invented here in America, are all manufactured overseas. 30% of America’s oil is now being exported by giant oil corporations that are jacking up our gasoline prices because of a “shortage.” This is insane! How did the Reagan administration and neoliberals ever since get away with making our nation almost totally reliant on China and a handful of other low-wage countries for everything from the chips in our cars to our cellphones to the tech necessary to build a battleship or missile? And who turned our energy fate over to the Saudis? Of all the concepts that ground most Americans’ idea of our country, self-reliance ranks among the top.

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 6, 2022

Are White Supremacy & the Wealth of Its Oligarchs the Only Things the GOP Fights For?

The Republican Party has, in fact, reinvented the old Confederacy, including treasonous iconography & fighting to preserve statues and place names of traitor Confederate generals. Hershel Walker’s abortion hypocrisy is a hot mess, but that’s only the smallest part of the story: the GOP actually has a template for what they’re attempting to pull off in the election this fall and “morality” has nothing to do with it. Instead, it’s all about white power and wealth, in a context that once ruled the southern states.

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 5, 2022

Will Powell, MBS, and Putin Throw the Entire World Into a Depression?

Decisions made by Powell, Putin, MBS, and OPEC+ are going to impact the midterms and the economics of the entire planet. Jerome Powell, Vladimir Putin, and Mohammad Bin Salman are on the verge of throwing the entire world into a massive depression. Powell’s interest rate increases are compounded by the action taken this morning by Russia and Saudi Arabia, leading the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna, to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day.

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 4, 2022

How Economic Outrage Trumps Most Other Issues

Democrats are hoping that national social issues like abortion & gay marriage will help this November but most voters — particularly independents & Latinos — put the economy as their #1 issue. Nothing is more powerful than economics. Economics seems like an erudite science, or a boring classroom topic, but it is the most powerful force in all of politics. Every single one of us, every single day is affected in one way or another by economics. It determines our ability to feed and house and clothe ourselves, to live with dignity, to support and help those around us and those dependent upon us. It’s so powerful that it blinds us to everything else. When economics are out of whack, we cease to care about pretty much anything else that doesn’t impinge on our survival.

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 3, 2022

Why Babcock Ranch Survived Hurricane Ian but Others Florida Cities Didn't

The Babcock Ranch community near Ft Meyers shows building a resilient and low-carbon America will save both money and lives. We need to start now. The media is all over the story that Governor DeSantis was notified that the danger threshold for evacuation was hit on Sunday, but he waited until Tuesday to order one (leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake). But there’s another story out of Florida — a good news story — that’s not getting anything close to the coverage it deserves. Just 12 miles northeast of Fort Meyers — a community devastated by the hurricane with total loss of power, water, and massive loss of life — another community not only came through the hurricane just fine but never even lost power.

Posted at Hartmann Report on Oct. 2, 2022

If We End Corporate Personhood We Can Define the Terms of a New Economy

Although the increasingly unrestrained marketplace that Teddy Roosevelt and Louis Brandeis warn of makes it hard for many companies to emphasize community values, some still do. Others are recognizing the need to respond to human demands for a cleaner, safer, less toxic world. Additionally, many people are fortunate enough to work in an industry they love, and the love of railroads or automobiles or flying or medicine has motivated the start-up and the ongoing operation of many of what are now the world’s best companies. In my experience in business, it’s the people who care about their industry or area of expertise who are the most likely to be successful.