My Good Friend Azel,
It is not only at retail where the chains put a squeeze on assets (including labor) to maximize their profits.
Organizations such as Walmart, Costco, Safeway, Shears, etc. need to back out of the retail trade and become more of a wholesale operation with pre-order delivery to community/neighborhood access outlets which can be established in all neighborhoods so that almost all can get what they need and reasonably want within walking distance of their homes.
However, even if we could get such cooperation from the myriad of supply chains, there would still, at least within the time realm that we consider now, be an over-supply problem. Therefore, we would be faced with the cut-throat competition practices that characterize such a low effective demand/over-supply (side) economy.
It is problematic, but not insurmountable.
By the way, I joined this "Organization" because, I thought the basic mission, and principles were good, but I would rate them as an A- or a B+ in the way in which they were stated. Or if this is HueMass, hew sea, I would give it an AB, Si?
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Letter to Tea Party
Letter to Tea Party
(originally blogged on Tea Party site about 3 to 6 months ago)
I'll be up-front.
I've been a Communist since the age of fifteen. I am now in my 57th year and have learned much since 1969. Oh, I learned nothing previous to those years. Really, not really.
I favored a Republican, McCloskey, an anti-war Viet Nam Veteran in 1968. I was a Eugene McCarthy fan until "Petey" entered the race. I was too young to vote.
But you all may remember Nixon ran a pro-war campaign in 1968, pledging allegiance to "the great silent majority that favors the War".
Hubert Humphrey by comparison was an even more absurd caricature.
Oh sure, Republicans won in 1968, but I can assure you that of the "children" of fighting age and younger we were nearly a consensus in opposition. I would also attest to you all that the majority of Americans were unrepresentative by either "wing" of our Capitalist Party government.
Memories can be conveniently short and many of the youth, and unfortunately those who fared better by the "natural selection" process forgot or never really learned the valuable lessons of Viet Nam and the ridiculous notion that we were fighting for democracy, liberty, freedom, whatever the hawkish cries were at the time.
The brave young men who served thought they were doing the right thing, I suppose. I'd venture that few, those who survived to contemplate the experience, still believe that. After all it was Fascist Capitalism against Fascist "Communism".
Through my years of academic and experiential learning, I have evolved to explain my liberation "theology" as that of one of Cooperative Communitarian/Libertarian Socialist.
I would set forth the proposition that we are not at polar extremes, in fact having earned a MBA with distinction and worked for many years in Health "Care" Cost Accounting, the notion of fiscal responsibility (a myth of the Reagan years? - it is argued that much money was borrowed from Banks to finance a Military buildup which finally reached its ultimate expression in the post 911 US aggression in the Middle East) is a concept that I understand perhaps much better than those who would consider themselves "politically liberal" and much better than many if not most if not all of my "socialist" colleagues. But I also understand the concept of Business Social Responsibility, having aced such a course in Business School that I viewed as the foundation of my Business Education. (Believe it or not taught by a burly southerner by the name of John McCain) I also know very well that the Voodoo Economics of Monetarism and Neo-classical Economics is a tragic oversimplification of reality that has played out to disastrous consequences in the last thirty years and can only lead to an end times tragedy for the youth and children of the planet (which includes the environments which we still call the United States).
I could refer you to many books on the topic, but trust me when I tell you that Capitalist Corporations do not respect borders, and what is a border anyway, but an arbitrary King's Grant with lackey Senators and Congressman, State, County, and Municipal officials to enforce what is really nothing more than a glorified feudal system administered mostly for the benefit of an increasingly few.
Contrary to the more peace-loving religions of Buddhism and Jesusianism (St. John enunciated the concept of selflessness which is also a teaching of the more pure Buddhist faith) we fool ourselves and/or others when we deny that we are acting in self-interest and extended self-interest. The question then becomes how do we define that extended self-interest? Is it a Red State? Is it a Blue State? Is it a White State? Is it a Black State?
The Constitution is a noble peace of paper, particularly the bill of rights. However, as Mr. Nixon so ridiculously stated about 1973 that it is a government of laws, not men (thousand pardons to all the perdaughters who may be viewing this epistle), the entire history of our cherished, but being squandered, North American continent has been so rife with the abrogation of human rights that I sometimes wonder if the only real right that we have is to remain silent. Why did the same Aristocracy that commissioned working class and unemployed immigrants to kill natives and kill working class, and unemployed Brits only give us the right to "peaceably assemble"? Why has that right deteriorated to the point that we must get a Government permit to do that? Was it a legitimate government of laws from which the Supreme Court ruled that a highway expansion or other form of eminent domain was only considered a taking if the value of the property was reduced to $0?
It would serve only a little purpose given the impending resource scarcity and the drunken foolishness of hedonism that accepts some Biblical revelation of end times to be a joyous salvation to mention that the Soviet Constitution was an even nobler attempt to design via a written letter of laws, but ran the fallacy of a modus operandi of violence which has been the reality since when? Quite the contrary, the anarchy that we are recognizing and will be increasingly realizing is hell bent and it is my strong estimation that most people who are living that linear trajectory don't really have a clue what is coming and without a commitment to unity and a radical reformation concerning what we need to value, and that is human life. We all have brains, we all have hearts, and most of us have left and right hands, arms, legs, and feet. We are all people. We all live in an environment. The environment is deteriorating. The environment is the issue and our stewardship is the most important responsibility.
Although the socialist will attest to the plight of the elderly and the poor, the infirm, a cooperative communitarian will attest to hopes of the still strong youth and children. Could it be that so many have been forced into the wage slavery of two income earners, which was accompanied in the so-called "Yuppie" movement by the return to the greed ethic, that no one has children to care about or have given up any hope for their progeny. Is youth and childhood a foreign concept?
No, we now must all come together, work together, help each other and understand that in this time of great communications capability that it is fundamental that we communicate the basic principles that hold such a slim hope for the future. The future not be damned. In my very considered opinion those principles need to be inclusion, humanity, equity, altruism, responsibility to life engendering pursuits, and to a hope for the future of the children.
As I write, all I hear is automobiles. Such are the bane of our existence and must be comprehensively planned into perspective. It can be done.
Almost all we really need from the Government is the Treasury. The Treasury without the massive Capitalist Class rip-off that was the Federal Reserve System. In a united world economy, if there is any chance of peaceful transition, which IS the only hope the we must redefine the issues and not have to suffer the foolishness of hatred that stems from a less than comprehensive assessment of the matters at hand and the history, particularly as it relates to precious resources, and their technological squandering and the carelessness with which we define our lives and the relationship of our lives to our neighbors. We are all neighbors.
We do need safety-net programs, but we must understand that if those programs are just another form of State Capitalist organized crime to more so benefit the helpers than the helped and it creates a dependency, like the many chemical addictions that your "free" market justifies in an absurd Capitalist Libertarian motto of atomization, "to each his own", then the helpers need to reassess as well.
But I can't stress enough the importance of the post-peak fossil fuel agenda. I have written extensively detailing the comprehensive approach that MUST be adopted. The government can help, but we must communicate to the people the importance of recognizing the poisonous ethos of the fossil fuel/automobile age from which we must settle down into sedentary communities. The rebuilding of our communities can be accomplished if we commit to such, communicate that commitment and plea with engineered ignorance to please stop. Most importantly to whatever constituency you represent, and I fear it is not the driving idiots that stream past my abode, the notion of a quasi-public private sector based on ethical principles and working in concert with a well-intentioned and WELL DIRECTED government to facilitate and to a lesser extent fund an expanded Organization of Economic Opportunity.
United Assets - United Liabilities = United Equity, The world around. Nothing less than this recognition and BOLD LEADERSHIP will accomplish anything that anyone is going to like except in the most transient of perceptions.
(originally blogged on Tea Party site about 3 to 6 months ago)
I'll be up-front.
I've been a Communist since the age of fifteen. I am now in my 57th year and have learned much since 1969. Oh, I learned nothing previous to those years. Really, not really.
I favored a Republican, McCloskey, an anti-war Viet Nam Veteran in 1968. I was a Eugene McCarthy fan until "Petey" entered the race. I was too young to vote.
But you all may remember Nixon ran a pro-war campaign in 1968, pledging allegiance to "the great silent majority that favors the War".
Hubert Humphrey by comparison was an even more absurd caricature.
Oh sure, Republicans won in 1968, but I can assure you that of the "children" of fighting age and younger we were nearly a consensus in opposition. I would also attest to you all that the majority of Americans were unrepresentative by either "wing" of our Capitalist Party government.
Memories can be conveniently short and many of the youth, and unfortunately those who fared better by the "natural selection" process forgot or never really learned the valuable lessons of Viet Nam and the ridiculous notion that we were fighting for democracy, liberty, freedom, whatever the hawkish cries were at the time.
The brave young men who served thought they were doing the right thing, I suppose. I'd venture that few, those who survived to contemplate the experience, still believe that. After all it was Fascist Capitalism against Fascist "Communism".
Through my years of academic and experiential learning, I have evolved to explain my liberation "theology" as that of one of Cooperative Communitarian/Libertarian Socialist.
I would set forth the proposition that we are not at polar extremes, in fact having earned a MBA with distinction and worked for many years in Health "Care" Cost Accounting, the notion of fiscal responsibility (a myth of the Reagan years? - it is argued that much money was borrowed from Banks to finance a Military buildup which finally reached its ultimate expression in the post 911 US aggression in the Middle East) is a concept that I understand perhaps much better than those who would consider themselves "politically liberal" and much better than many if not most if not all of my "socialist" colleagues. But I also understand the concept of Business Social Responsibility, having aced such a course in Business School that I viewed as the foundation of my Business Education. (Believe it or not taught by a burly southerner by the name of John McCain) I also know very well that the Voodoo Economics of Monetarism and Neo-classical Economics is a tragic oversimplification of reality that has played out to disastrous consequences in the last thirty years and can only lead to an end times tragedy for the youth and children of the planet (which includes the environments which we still call the United States).
I could refer you to many books on the topic, but trust me when I tell you that Capitalist Corporations do not respect borders, and what is a border anyway, but an arbitrary King's Grant with lackey Senators and Congressman, State, County, and Municipal officials to enforce what is really nothing more than a glorified feudal system administered mostly for the benefit of an increasingly few.
Contrary to the more peace-loving religions of Buddhism and Jesusianism (St. John enunciated the concept of selflessness which is also a teaching of the more pure Buddhist faith) we fool ourselves and/or others when we deny that we are acting in self-interest and extended self-interest. The question then becomes how do we define that extended self-interest? Is it a Red State? Is it a Blue State? Is it a White State? Is it a Black State?
The Constitution is a noble peace of paper, particularly the bill of rights. However, as Mr. Nixon so ridiculously stated about 1973 that it is a government of laws, not men (thousand pardons to all the perdaughters who may be viewing this epistle), the entire history of our cherished, but being squandered, North American continent has been so rife with the abrogation of human rights that I sometimes wonder if the only real right that we have is to remain silent. Why did the same Aristocracy that commissioned working class and unemployed immigrants to kill natives and kill working class, and unemployed Brits only give us the right to "peaceably assemble"? Why has that right deteriorated to the point that we must get a Government permit to do that? Was it a legitimate government of laws from which the Supreme Court ruled that a highway expansion or other form of eminent domain was only considered a taking if the value of the property was reduced to $0?
It would serve only a little purpose given the impending resource scarcity and the drunken foolishness of hedonism that accepts some Biblical revelation of end times to be a joyous salvation to mention that the Soviet Constitution was an even nobler attempt to design via a written letter of laws, but ran the fallacy of a modus operandi of violence which has been the reality since when? Quite the contrary, the anarchy that we are recognizing and will be increasingly realizing is hell bent and it is my strong estimation that most people who are living that linear trajectory don't really have a clue what is coming and without a commitment to unity and a radical reformation concerning what we need to value, and that is human life. We all have brains, we all have hearts, and most of us have left and right hands, arms, legs, and feet. We are all people. We all live in an environment. The environment is deteriorating. The environment is the issue and our stewardship is the most important responsibility.
Although the socialist will attest to the plight of the elderly and the poor, the infirm, a cooperative communitarian will attest to hopes of the still strong youth and children. Could it be that so many have been forced into the wage slavery of two income earners, which was accompanied in the so-called "Yuppie" movement by the return to the greed ethic, that no one has children to care about or have given up any hope for their progeny. Is youth and childhood a foreign concept?
No, we now must all come together, work together, help each other and understand that in this time of great communications capability that it is fundamental that we communicate the basic principles that hold such a slim hope for the future. The future not be damned. In my very considered opinion those principles need to be inclusion, humanity, equity, altruism, responsibility to life engendering pursuits, and to a hope for the future of the children.
As I write, all I hear is automobiles. Such are the bane of our existence and must be comprehensively planned into perspective. It can be done.
Almost all we really need from the Government is the Treasury. The Treasury without the massive Capitalist Class rip-off that was the Federal Reserve System. In a united world economy, if there is any chance of peaceful transition, which IS the only hope the we must redefine the issues and not have to suffer the foolishness of hatred that stems from a less than comprehensive assessment of the matters at hand and the history, particularly as it relates to precious resources, and their technological squandering and the carelessness with which we define our lives and the relationship of our lives to our neighbors. We are all neighbors.
We do need safety-net programs, but we must understand that if those programs are just another form of State Capitalist organized crime to more so benefit the helpers than the helped and it creates a dependency, like the many chemical addictions that your "free" market justifies in an absurd Capitalist Libertarian motto of atomization, "to each his own", then the helpers need to reassess as well.
But I can't stress enough the importance of the post-peak fossil fuel agenda. I have written extensively detailing the comprehensive approach that MUST be adopted. The government can help, but we must communicate to the people the importance of recognizing the poisonous ethos of the fossil fuel/automobile age from which we must settle down into sedentary communities. The rebuilding of our communities can be accomplished if we commit to such, communicate that commitment and plea with engineered ignorance to please stop. Most importantly to whatever constituency you represent, and I fear it is not the driving idiots that stream past my abode, the notion of a quasi-public private sector based on ethical principles and working in concert with a well-intentioned and WELL DIRECTED government to facilitate and to a lesser extent fund an expanded Organization of Economic Opportunity.
United Assets - United Liabilities = United Equity, The world around. Nothing less than this recognition and BOLD LEADERSHIP will accomplish anything that anyone is going to like except in the most transient of perceptions.
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