Recent comments
ADHD: Hunter in a Farmer's World
Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
Join Thom for his new twice-weekly email newsletters on ADHD, whether it affects you or a member of your family.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Thom, you said that we are at a crossroads. I agree, and have felt so for a time. I say that we are getting up the gumption to take a step forward as a society. There will be a little shakin' and a little tenderizin', but forward we'll go. The billionaires will read the writing on the sole of the big shoe and 'see the light'.
Compassion holds the lamp.
Make America Greatful Again
@17 Turbineguy:
Good idea, that system has worked in Germany for years. I doubt if you'll get support from the "washed up lefties" though. It's a solution that takes away an issue. I think changing the law is a bit too much to accomplish. One way to begin, would be to work with a large corporation to restructure their board of directors. It will require a lot of work and co-operation from everyone involved. Do you have any ideas on where to begin? Perhaps a large corporation with an image problem. I like it, keep it going.
A book written recently by Duff McDonald called 'The Golden Passport' is a history of the Harvard Business School and the impact it has had on the way business is done in this country. An MBA from this institution has indeed been a 'Golden Passport' opening the door to the world of corner offices and corporate governance. As early as the late 1980's the school began pushing the idea of shareholder capitalism wherein a corporate board should only be occupied by investors with profit as the only metric. This began the development of most of the dysfunction that is today on the verge of destroying our country. Indeed some of the perpetrators of this idea have seen the light but realize they have created a Frankenstein that they do not know how to kill.
If we were able to do what Germany has done in making co-determination the law of the land where corporate boards are required by law to include stakeholder factions including; 1. Employees, 2. The government, which very much has a stake in corporate decisions, and 3. The ownership and investor class, we might be able to begin a correction process which would take the country back from the bankers. Indeed there are multiple layers that have to be addressed if we are to regain control of our country, but this - A fundamental restructuring of our banking / corporate system must come first.
There are modifications to our capitalistic system that can help. Co-ops and B- Corporations are steps in the right direction.
Dane is a bot... with experimental AI thrown in from the right hand side
Still; can't quite get used to this Mac. Dang!
Yes; it was. I really like the comment you made prior to replying to my question. I was at a loss. Gotcha
Yes; it was. I really like the comment you made prior to replying to my question. I was at a loss. Gotcha
Unfortunately America was born in protest against government...Great Britain. It's in our DNA. We forget that "greed" is in the DNA of corporations. Adam Smith, the revered Scot economist, and a father of free-trade, knew it. But, it appears that that book section is "out-of-print". As a son of a Canadian, I have looked how Canada learned the lesson, watching America, and they wanted a different DNA. When Canada became independent, their DNA included the phrase "...peace, order, and GOOD government...". Government CAN BE GOOD as it balances the power of moneyed corporations and the common good. Can Americans get it?
Thom:
I enjoy your column and agree with your POV. The problem though is that you are preaching to the choir and not reaching the ignorant and uninformed masses who don't realize or care whether we are losing our democracy.
The question is, how do you and others who agree with you, reach them? How do we make them realize that not only does the government constantly lie, that the media misrepresents or covers up, and that truth is something that is being sabotaged by a system of bribery that now permeates our government at every level?
There are millions like me who realize this, but there are many more millions who think what I just said are the words of a wacko conspiracy theorist.
There is no hope for democracy in a nation where most of the people are clueless.
Oldskoold: In yesterdays blog deepspace posted some stats on employment. Check it out. Is that your question?
Thom said it all in tonights blog! ....excellent.
However one thing our founders didn't anticipate in all of their visionary wisdom was the possibility that a few Monoploy Capitalists/Carbon Barons would have the gaul to finish destroying the planet with no other explanation than an out of control thirst for money and power. Science has already convicted them.
Can you imagine waking up as one of the Koch brothers and facing the realization that a storm producing over six feet of rain in Houston was to a large extent based on consumption of your product? Scientists for the first time have connected four extreme weather events to climate change...that was one of them.
Question; what's that about 2950-10k?
Government? What Government?! We have a corporation that masks itself as a Government.
deepspace: Thanks for that stat regarding employment and those seeking it....If you asked Trolls like Diane, at least half the population is getting "free stuff" at her expense, because they're too lazy to work.
Dianereynolds: Tell us all what Thom's blog had to do with your accusation of communist content yesterday? Give all of us "Lefties a late Christmas present." Go ahead and flaunt your ignorance.....we all need to prepare for foxaganda comments like that when Bernie runs for President.
BTW: The delusion of communism bothers you more than the reality of Fascism?? I don't hear you complaining about a few billionaires making all of the rules for your life.
Tom great statement on Billionaires and Democracy. I couldn't have said it better myself. Why did you ever leave the Big Picture I miss your commentary and knowledge of the history of this country.
As always; Thom nailed it! Unfortunately in this circumstance he didn't re-state how they have pulled this off. The 25-30% are absolutely brainwashed. (And on another note; we only need to cure 5 or 10% of them to get back "within the rainbow"). The assault on the fairness doctrine, rise of Fox views. and, the one that really had the "jumper cables" was "Rush Limbaugh". I first heard his slime in 1987 or 88. I wondered; who the hell would listen to that garbage. Well; they did. Who is they? They are the ones who always snicker when "they" see a state worker leaning on a shovel. "They" (especially in the NE rite now) are awaiting Government services such as snow pushing 24/7 to be done till "they" can get out of their driveway. But; "they" will trash them for not getting out of the truck and shoveling the snow ledge on their driveway by pushing the snow off the street. The dumbing down of American citizens by assaulting education is the key point here. If you think back; the late 70's and 80's was when the "online college" phenomon started. It "boils down to education. Not a fault of the educators, a fault (that I maintain was purposeful) on behalf of the military/industrial/corporate complex that killed Kennedy and now have their endless war(s). Lets bring the draft back and "draft" an entire corporation! It's a person now ya kno....
I've never understood what the big deal is about tea. I can live without it, if need be, but I can't live without water. Tea isn't even addictive, for cripe's sake!
Nailed it, DHBranski!
Thanks again, Thom, for a sorely needed history lesson. An accurate accounting of the past is vitally important in this modern dark age, where the right-wing rewrite of history is the coin of big-money Republicanism. Down through the ages, it always has been a battle royal between the few who seek a disproportionate, undeserving share of a nation's wealth and power and everyone else.
The solution is simple: Get money out of politics!
2950-10K. Excellent comeback to Diane's complete nonsense.
Furthermore, contrary to right-wing spin, nearly all (something like 95%) of the eligible workforce in America, rich and poor, (excluding students, military personnel, early retirees, the physically and mentally unfit, etc.) actually work, or are actively seeking work, either for themselves or for outside employers -- that is, unless the country is in the depths of yet another cyclical Republican recession/depression, which is the direct result of insufficiently regulated crony-capitalism/billionaire greed, not the least of which is the post-Reagan, widespread, long-term, unpatriotic off-shoring of good-paying manufacturing jobs.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93364&page=1
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/jul/30/blog-posting/are-90-million-americans-not-working-or-looking-wo/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/01/8-facts-about-american-workers/
As usual you're wrong Cha Ching! I've been a member of a very large union for over two decades now and any employee that shows the desire to move up through the ranks can do so freely with education and experience. Seniority comes into play with lateral movement, but seldom creates conflict.
BTW: Have you or logdog ever read Grapes of Wrath???? just wondering..LMAO.
Thanks, jefflisse, for giving Diane a proper education about how unions are not all the same but nonetheless are essential for a generally happier and more productive workforce.
Logdog #9. Relating personal stories as anecdotal "evidence" of a wider truth reveals more about you than it does about some general axiom to do with demand-side economics and the labor market. For instance, is your friend "Joe" running a welfare program, a private business, an ideological propaganda unit, or an armchair psychobabble service?
Evidently Joe hires on the basis of semantics rather than on the needs of his business. By reading way too much into the psychology of some hapless, no doubt desperate, unemployed victim of our dog-eat-dog system (who, c'mon, is simply seeking employment) on the sole basis of which word happens to be uttered in place of the word "employment," your friend is expressing the contents of a very shallow mind infused with false notions and narrow-minded attitudes. And by extension, so are you.
If word got around about Joe as a biased doctrinaire and amateurish psychologist, and say fifty "job" seekers showed up at his office looking for "work," does that mean he would then hire all of them? No, of course not! If he is in fact an actual businessman, as you purport, he would only hire as many as he actually needs to fulfill the mandatory duties that his business requires. So what the hell are you even talking about? Should the state "Job Service" also change its title to match Joe's (and your?) personal tastes and obviously skewed sensibilities?
And as far as hiring the most qualified person to do a particular job, what if that prospective employee stupidly chose the word "job" rather than "work" when relating his qualifications to Joe? Would big boss man therefore pass up that person for a less qualified one, just to fulfill his arbitrary need to appear ideologically consistent and less of a hypocrite? No, as a real businessman, he would choose the former over the latter, wouldn't he ...shouldn't he? If the employee doesn't "work" out, then fire him or her. What's the problem?
(BTW, Diane #11, no union in the country would prevent that from happening. Most only require that the allegations against an employee be demonstrated during a proper investigation, so that a biased employer, such as Joe, can't just fire someone on an unfounded whim -- like if he happened to use the "wrong" semantics in the boss's presence.
During the normal 90-day trial period before full union representation is achieved, employers don't even need to conduct the investigation, as long as they are in compliance with state and federal laws governing hiring and firing practices. Employers have numerous rights under the law to ensure stability and a friendly business climate. Shouldn't employees also enjoy some rights and stability, as the other side of the equation that calculates into a healthy economy?)
The demand for labor is in direct correlation with the demand for products and/or services. And the demand for products and services is in direct correlation to how much money potential customers have in their pockets. For that reason, Thom is 100% historically accurate when he states that Franklin Roosevelt's public works programs is largely responsible for helping citizens reconnect with private enterprise by giving them a decent paycheck (for which "job" seekers worked very hard, by the way, to rebuild our then crumbling infrastructure).
That and WWII -- the largest "guvmut" jobs program ever! -- is what brought America out of the "Republican Great Depression" and led to the largest and strongest middle class in the history of civilization. Business men and women should get down on their knees and thank their God for FDR and his liberal (common sense) policies that elevated the American worker to a revered status, unlike Hoover's (and Trump's) race to the bottom.
Your final misleading (and quite disgusting) paragraph, which not-so-subtly is playing whole groups of people off one another, brings to mind another one of Thom's axioms, which has been proven so true over the decades: "We don't have an illegal immigrant problem as much as we have an illegal employer problem." To give you the benefit of the doubt, your readers should assume that you meant documented "Mexican laborers." Otherwise, you should be sweltering in one of Joe Arpaio's tent-city concentration camps and wearing pink underwear along with all the other slave-labor, authoritarian bosses who undermine unions (read American families) every chance they get.
"We simply need to educate or reeducate ourselves in how we can have it work for all of us." Perhaps we also need to "reeducate" ourselves in what it actually means to be a liberal in this modern age of economic, political, and ideological mission creep.
Of course... In 1980 this country actully made things. we where the largest manufacturer of goods the world has ever seen. Now... we're the largest importer of goods the world has ever seen. In 1980, the largest private sector employer in this country was auto manufacturing, And the employees were mostly ( UAW) organized labor.
Now... the biggest private sector employer in this country is Walmart...