How Capitalism Is Generating A Global Third World Economy

In a nutshell, as capitalism matures, the ultra wealthy are simply buying more and more money out of the economy (investment income as opposed to productivity), so there's less and less left for the people doing the work producing the wealth, and less and less for those sacrificed at the bottom*.

(*Capitalism always benefits from higher unemployment, because it keeps the price of labor, lower as more people must compete for jobs--thus capitalism provides an incentive for higher unemployment rates. This constitutes "those sacrificed at the bottom.")

The fact money buys money (one doesn't necessarily have to produce wealth in order to gain in a capitalist economy) means the economic system is a feedback loop. It must be regulated since a feedback loop is unsustainable.

At this point the capitalist system is for the most part one global economy with some nation-state intervention, and the U.S. is simply part of it.

A Global Free Market Economy

The ultra wealthy have long since abandoned caring anything about the United States. They've moved on to creating a global third-world free-market system for themselves.

They still use patriotism and nationalism to win elections to this end however, causing enough distraction and using enough dis-information (via Fox "News," e.g.) that Republican voters won't notice the wealthy's main corporate sources are now trans-national, generate more and more jobs overseas, in China, etc.

Why Free Market Capitalism is Unsustainable

An unregulated free market--whereby money can simply buy money (investment income)--constitutes a feedback loop, and therefore constitutes an unsustainable system.

This is why, as capitalism matures in the U.S., more and more of its business is comprised of financial scamming, even simply preying on the financial mishaps of others, while less and less of its business consists of producing something of value.

StudentsFirst.org--Yet Another Corporate Funded Lobbyist Attack on Teachers

Are you a monumentally successful public institution that doesn't fill the pockets of wealthy investors? Are you unionized, supporting a healthier and more balanced economy--and better pay and benefits for the people doing the actual work, making the sacrifices, and producing the actual wealth? Do you want to teach science in science classes instead of creationism and Exxon ScienceTM?

Well guess what, you will have generated well-funded enemies, the latest of which is "studentsfirst.org," the latest corporate-funded teacher and union-bashing lobbyist organization, formed by Michelle Rhee (who is currently under investigation for fudging test scores to make her former schools appear to have performed better). As "Chancellor" of the DC public school system she fired many teachers due to their students' performance; student performance is for obvious reasons based on many factors beyond teachers' control.

Now StudentsFirst.org recommends teacher evaluations based on student performance on standardized tests, thus re-doubling efforts in pretty much the worst thing going on in public education today: re-enforcing teacher mediocrity through micromanagement and teaching to tests based on low-level thinking skills, then holding teachers accountable for it, despite factors beyond their control, not the least of which is an increasingly free-market third-world style economy, with all the concomitant problems their students arrive with.

Improving education actually involves allowing teachers more freedom to take risks and innovate, and engage students in more interesting and stimulating real-world and cooperative problem solving. Brain science has informed us of this.

But let's see, if I were going to attack teachers, I'd design something that pits them against the well-being of their students. "Students first" means putting students first instead of teachers. (That's the implication, right?) I would portray teachers as selfish people who didn't care about kids.

Sadly, this kind of seemingly transparent tactic (the "Patriot Act," the "Death Tax," "Death Panels," etc.) is very effective on lots of people, which explains why the demonization of unionization has accompanied the decline of the American middle class and the vitality of our superpower economy generally, for example.

The world's finest education institutions with the highest student performance all feature strong and well-respected teacher unions. That's a fact you won't find at "studentsfirst.org."

The more we crack down on teachers for phony reasons, the less our best and brightest will be attracted to the profession. Things will naturally go down hill.

The last thing we need is yet another underhanded non-transparent corporate and wealthy-funded lobbyist organization undermining our indispensible teachers, our education system, and our economy.

Let's hope more and more that people see through these types of tactics.

Free Markets Send American Jobs Overseas

Unregulated free market economics have sent more and more American jobs overseas (seeking out the lowest priced labor) ever since Reagan took office. The solution to job loss and third world conditions creeping in, according to Fox "News," rightwing talk radio, and Tool Partiers? Less government! (Of course.) And more free market economics.