(#175-1) March 27 2015. The disinformation age?

CALLING THIS THE INFORMATION AGE IS WILDLY MISLEADING

THIS IS A TIME OF UNPARALLELED CHANGE, CONFUSION, CONTRADICTION, CORRUPTION, DISINFORMATION, DISTRACTION, OVERARCHING GREED, AND INABABILITY TO COPE

IT’S THE PARADOX AGE (headless chicken version)

I’m increasingly struck by the fact that despite this being a time when we have never had more answers available—partly, because thanks to the internet, we now have the tools to both find and implement these solutions—we seem to be getting ourselves into more and more of a mess without dealing with most of our problems. Instead, more and more of us seem to be rushing around like a bunch of headless chickens.

If you have never decapitated a chicken with a machete (I saw my step-father in action, and don’t recommend this particular killing technique) they can rush around for long moments in bloody aimless confusion before collapsing dead in a flurry of gore-sodden feathers.

It’s a superfluous expenditure of energy. As snipers like to say about their victims. “It’s pointless to run. You’ll only die tired.”

Much less messy, and more practical, is to wring a chicken’s neck—which I have done a number of times. Necessary though it was, I didn’t much like it. On of my chores as a child  was to feed the hens  on my grandmother’s farm in Ireland, and I grew rather fond of the things. There is something rather soothing about hens clucking away. I associate that farm with much happiness. It was located south of Dublin in Brittas Bay, County Wicklow. Yes, I know there are other Dublins—but we’re talking Ireland here.

But, I digress. Back to my main point.

• We have a hopelessly out of date constitution which palpably isn’t working—yet there is no discussion about changing it. Why, on earth, not?
• We profess to live in a representative democracy but most of us are no longer represented—and we really live in a plutocracy. That means rule by the rich for their benefit. It is scarcely a mystery. Elections are now bought in the most blatant way.
• We have never had more means of communication, yet it’s increasingly hard to get through to anyone by phone. In fact, it’s increasingly hard to get though to anyone—period. Ideology now wins out against facts—constantly. Rugged individualism defeats rationality nearly every time—and Americans are fiercely proud it.
• We purport to be drowning in information, yet most Americans are alarmingly ignorant of issues that are directly relevant to their lives.
• We are the richest country in the world, yet the earning power of most Americans is in decline—and tens of millions are on food stamps. Yet this catastrophic situation is rarely challenged in any fundamental way. It’s just the ways things are.
• We argue that we have the best economic system in the world—and advocate growth as the solution to most economic problems, yet China—which actually plans its economy—is growing about three times fast than us (and has done so for years).
• We profess to be the guardians of world peace, yet everywhere we go we spread carnage, chaos, and corruption (and we are the leading supplier of weaponry). Look at the current mess in Yemen which was recently touted as a success. We are contaminating countries wholesale.
• We spend twice as much on healthcare as any other developed nation, yet live sicker, die sooner, and—under most health criteria—rate last. Half of insured adults are on legal drugs. That should scarcely be a surprise. God alone knows what the other half are on.
• We eat more calories than anywhere else in the word—yet  yet out Food Chain is deeply flawed and a truly alarming number of our fellows go hungry. Why do we find this acceptable? Have we no decency?

I could list such paradoxes for pages—but I believe my case is made.

I’m not sure that writing about it accomplishes anything—one can always hope—but it keeps me in writing trim.

And that is where my primary concern lies.

Still, I have to wonder where this extraordinarily reckless U.S. behavior—political, economic and military (Is there a difference?) will lead us. It’s spreading havoc on a global scale. It is not a case of good intentions gone wrong. A great deal of this is deliberate—pretty damn evil—and immensely profitable.

Actions have consequences. So does inaction.

Whether we are prepared to admit it or not—and the answer seems to be largely not—we have become systemically corrupt.

If we weren’t, we would act. By tolerating this, we become complicit.

We are complicit.

VOR words 752.

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(#174-1) March 26 2015. Action and no reaction—yet again. This is disturbing. The American Business Model is being hijacked in plain sight—with scarcely a protest. Disturbing!

A FUNDAMENTAL & DISASTROUS SHIFT IN THE ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THIS GREAT NATION

AN UNINFORMED OR ACQUIESCENT AMERICAN PUBLIC

NICK HANAUER—A DEFINITIVE MEMBER OF THE 1% EXPLAINS IT BEST

Stock Buybacks Are Killing the American Economy

Profits once flowed to higher wages or increased investment. Now, they enrich a small number of shareholders.

NICK HANAUER FEB 8 2015, 12:00 PM ET

President Obama should be lauded for using his State of the Union address to champion policies that would benefit the struggling middle class, ranging from higher wages to child care to paid sick leave. “It’s the right thing to do,” affirmed the president. And it is. But in appealing to Americans’ innate sense of justice and fairness, the president unfortunately missed an opportunity to draw an important connection between rising income inequality and stagnant economic growth.

As economic power has shifted from workers to owners over the past 40 years, corporate profit’s take of the U.S. economy has doubled—from an average of 6 percent of GDP during America’s post-war economic heyday to more than 12 percent today. Yet despite this extra $1 trillion a year in corporate profits, job growth remains anemic, wages are flat, and our nation can no longer seem to afford even its most basic needs. A $3.6 trillion budget shortfall has left many roads, bridges, dams, and other public infrastructure in disrepair. Federal spending on economically crucial research and development has plummeted 40 percent, from 1.25 percent of GDP in 1977 to only 0.75 percent today. Adjusted for inflation, public university tuition—once mostly covered by the states—has more than doubled over the past 30 years, burying recent graduates under $1.2 trillion in student debt. Many public schools and our police and fire departments are dangerously underfunded.

Where did all this money go?

The answer is as simple as it is surprising: Much of it went to stock buybacks—more than $6.9 trillion of them since 2004, according to data compiled by Mustafa Erdem Sakinç of The Academic-Industry Research Network. Over the past decade, the companies that make up the S&P 500 have spent an astounding 54 percent of profits on stock buybacks. Last year alone, U.S. corporations spent about $700 billion, or roughly 4 percent of GDP, to prop up their share prices by repurchasing their own stock.

In the past, this money flowed through the broader economy in the form of higher wages or increased investments in plants and equipment. But today, these buybacks drain trillions of dollars of windfall profits out of the real economy and into a paper-asset bubble, inflating share prices while producing nothing of tangible value. Corporate managers have always felt pressure to grow earnings per share, or EPS, but where once their only option was the hard work of actually growing earnings by selling better products and services, they can now simply manipulate their EPS by reducing the number of shares outstanding.

So what’s changed? Before 1982, when John Shad, a former Wall Street CEO in charge of the Securities and Exchange Commission loosened regulations that define stock manipulation, corporate managers avoided stock buybacks out of fear of prosecution. That rule change, combined with a shift toward stock-based compensation for top executives, has essentially created a gigantic game of financial “keep away,” with CEOs and shareholders tossing a $700-billion ball back and forth over the heads of American workers, whose wages as a share of GDP have fallen in almost exact proportion to profit’s rise.

To be clear: I’ve done stock buybacks too. We all do it. In this era of short-term-focused activist investors, it is nearly impossible to avoid. So at least part of the solution to our current epidemic of business disinvestment must be to discourage this sort of stock manipulation by going back to the pre-1982 rules.

Shareholders aren't providing capital to the corporate sector, they're extracting it.

This practice is not only unfair to the American middle class, but is also demonstrably harmful to both individual companies and the American economy as a whole. In a recent white paper titled “The World’s Dumbest Idea,” GMO asset allocation manager James Montier strongly challenges the 40-year obsession with “shareholder value maximization,” or SVM, documenting the many ways that stock buybacks and excessive dividends have reduced business investment and boosted inequality. Almost all investment carried out by firms is financed by retained earnings, Montier points out, so the diversion of cash flow to stock buybacks has inevitably resulted in lower rates of business investment. Defenders of SVM argue that investors efficiently reallocate the profits they reap from repurchased shares by investing the proceeds into more promising enterprises. But Montier shows that since the 1980s, public corporations have actually bought back more equity than they’ve issued, representing a net negative equity flow. Shareholders aren’t providing capital to the corporate sector, they’re extracting it.

Meanwhile, the shift toward stock-based compensation helped drive the rise of the 1 percent by inflating the ratio of CEO-to-worker compensation from twenty-to-one in 1965 to about 300-to-one today. Labor’s steadily falling share of GDP has inevitably depressed consumer demand, resulting in slower economic growth. A new study from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development finds that rising inequality knocked six points off U.S. GDP growth between 1990 and 2010 alone.

It is mathematically impossible to make the public- and private-sector investments necessary to sustain America’s global economic competitiveness while flushing away 4 percent of GDP year after year. That is why the federal government must reorient its policies from promoting personal enrichment to promoting national growth. These policies should limit stock buybacks and raise the marginal rate on dividends while providing real incentives to boost investment in R&D, worker training, and business expansion.

If business leaders hope to maintain broad public support for business, they must acknowledge that the purpose of the corporation is not to enrich the few, but to benefit the many. Once America’s CEOs refocus on growing their companies rather than growing their share prices, shareholder value will take care of itself and all Americans will share in the benefits of a renewed era of economic growth.

Share buy-backs are very far from the only problem. The economic situation of most Americans has been eroded in numerous ways from the crushing of trade unions to the near elimination of overtime pay—but it may well be the biggest.

The sheer scale of resources being diverted into share buybacks--$6.9 trillion of them since 2004—is a horrendous distortion. No wonder investment is down, pay is in decline, and demand is depressed—while Wall Street is booming.

So what is being done about this catastrophic situation? Nothing. Those who largely control our economy—from the Fed to the Treasury—remain silent.

The financialization of the U.S. economy is a disaster—and its effects are cumulative and continuing. The predictable outcome is an economically weaker USA—and the lowering of the quality of life of most Americans.

VOR words c.100.

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(#173-1) March 25 2015. Something stressful this way comes—actually, it is already here..

AMERICANS LIVE SICKER, DIE EARLIER, AND YET EULOGIZE THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE

VERY PUZZLING

COULD STRESS BE A FACTOR RE HEALTH (and death)?

That invaluable site, www.mercola.com, has just run an interesting piece on  stress.

Being an intellectually curious writer, I confess I find it downright relaxing (de-stressing) to read such stuff—but I am not unaware of the irony.

I am repeatedly struck by how little is done to make the American Way of Life less stressful—even though the solutions are well known. A great deal is being done to make it more stressful.

Why?

It makes some ultra-rich people even richer.

Is that a good enough answer?

Stress in America Caused by Money

By Dr. Mercola

The American Psychological Association (APA) has released its latest “Stress in America” report, with some good news to report. Overall, average stress levels in the US are trending downward.

On a 10-point scale, with 1 being “little or no stress” and 10 being “a great deal of stress,” the average stress level was 4.9 in 2014, compared to over 6 in 2007.¹ That being said, many are still reporting high levels of stress, especially when it comes to one major factor: money.

Money and Financial Pressures Are Stressing Americans Out

Money topped the list of stressors to Americans, beating out work, family responsibilities, and health concerns. Close to three-quarters of Americans (72 percent) said they feel stressed about money at least some of the time, and close to one-quarter (22 percent) said they experience extreme stress about money.

In the last year, most Americans have taken steps to cut back on their expenses, including using coupons, cooking more at home, and cutting back on non-essentials. Despite these steps, 54 percent of Americans say they have “just enough” or “not enough” money to make ends meet at the end of the month.

What’s more, 32 percent of Americans said their lack of money prevents them from living a healthy lifestyle, while one in five have skipped (or considered skipping) needed doctor’s visits due to financial concerns.

It’s a vicious cycle, because both stress and financial pressure can take a toll on your health, which in turn may create more stress and money trouble. According to the APA report:²

“These findings stand against a backdrop of research that shows the profound effects of stress on health status and longevity. Research also shows that financial struggles strain individuals’ cognitive abilities, which could lead to poor decision-making and may perpetuate their unfavorable financial and health situations.”

Health Care Costs Are a Leading Source of Financial Stress

“Even though aspects of the U.S. economy continue to improve, some Americans are squeezed by sharp increases in health care costs and the cost of living,” the report noted. Overall, 38 percent of Americans said paying for out-of-pocket health care costs is a somewhat or very significant source of stress.

Parents and younger people (Generation Xers) report even higher levels of stress due to health care costs, as do those who make $50,000 a year or less (the study’s definition of lower income).

America spends 2.5 times more on health care per capita than any other developed nation, quickly approaching $3 trillion every year. With this kind of expenditure, you would expect our citizens to be the healthiest in the world, but this is not the case. In fact, the US ranks dead last in quality of care—Americans are sicker and live shorter lives than people in most other industrialized nations.

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(#172-1) March 24 2015. Ideology versus evidence? If you are a rugged individualist, ideology wins every time. It shouldn’t.

A FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION—CAN GOVERNMENT WORK?

AND WHAT TYPE WORKS BEST?

SINGAPORE’S LEE KWAN YEW IS DEAD

The nation, reflected the man: efficient, unsentimental, incorrupt, inventive, forward-looking and pragmatic.

“We are ideology-free,” Mr. Lee said in an interview with The New York Times in 2007, stating what had become, in effect, Singapore’s ideology. “Does it work? If it works, let’s try it. If it’s fine, let’s continue it. If it doesn’t work, toss it out, try another one.”

His leadership was sometimes criticized for suppressing freedom, but the formula succeeded. Singapore became an international business and financial center admired for its efficiency and low level of corruption.

One of the widely touted lessons of the Soviet Economy is that a centrally planned economy cannot work—and that, therefore, unfettered capitalism has to be the best solution. This argument is extended by quoting a whole string of economies—from the Asian tigers to sundry former Soviet clients which have prospered—and are continuing to boom—under American-style capitalism.

This view is widely believed in the U.S. where anything that smacks of central planning is eschewed. It just doesn’t happen to be true. In fact it is a serious distortion of the reality and mainly serves as validation for egregious corporate power and the current American Business Model—which notably fails to deliver adequate economic benefits to most Americans.

A few ultra-rich do extraordinarily well. A significant minority—who are politically active—do well enough not want the status quo to change (partly because they don’t know any better). The majority struggle. The Middle Class shrinks. Economic insecurity and fear are widespread.

The track record—now proven over a wide range of economies of all sizes and nationalities (and over considerable time) is that a centrally planned mixed economy works best—by far. This is especially true if the basic needs of people such as healthcare, housing, education, an adequate pension system, and a social safety net are factored in. In short, you need a centrally planned, socially just, mixed economy where execution is largely de-centralized—and mainly carried out by the private sector.

It also needs to be pragmatic not ideological. The main criterion about an initiative should be solely: Does it work?

It is widely argued in the U.S. that such social ‘nannying’ of people reduces the willingness to work, innovation, and the entrepreneurial spirit.

The evidence is virtually all to the contrary. Entrepreneurship, for instance, in the highly risky U.S. economy is actually in decline.

I am prompted to write about this by the recent death of Lee Kwan Yew at 91. His achievements in transforming Singapore were just plain remarkable—and his influence has been worldwide.

Was he a democrat? Not by American standards—but then neither is the U.S. right now. We retain the trappings of a democracy but we are functionally a plutocracy that doesn’t deliver the kind of economy that most Americans need.

We need to think about all this a great deal more than we do. The evidence and the answers are out there—and they are best not viewed through a veil of ideology.

VOR words 511.

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(#171-1) March 23 2015. Yes, I do miss Europe.

WHEN I WAS AT BOARDING SCHOOL, I LONGED TO ECAPE AND HAVE ADVENTURES—AND, LATER, TO BECOME A WRITER (and have more adventures)

I HAVE HAD A DIFFICULT LIFE IN SOME WAYS—and some notable failures—BUT I HAVE BEEN LARGELY SUCCESSFUL IN RELATION TO MY OVERALL GOALS.

HARD TO EXPLAIN. EXCITING TO LIVE.

BUT RARELY EASY

Writing has exceeded my wildest dreams.

When I wake I want to write. I crave it. I normally compose something in my head first—to prime the pump—and then I set to work. The greater the challenge, the greater the satisfaction. Writing is my joy.

Do I get everything right first time? Absolutely not. But, fortunately, I have come to love the re-writing process. Typically, I start off with something competent—but inadequate in some way—and then try and add some zest.

What do I mean by zest? I’m referring to something which will distinguish it in some way from the merely adequate.

Typically, it will be a quip, a joke, twist, or a punch line. It may just be a single word. It should make the end result more readable (make the reader want to know more).

If I am writing something serious (and depressing) about the U.S. economy that might be a stretch—but I try.

Where blogging is concerned, I rarely spend much time searching for the perfect word. My feeling is that I should blog within time constraints—and accept the limitations that inevitably result.

I’m more concerned about the clarity of the ideas they express and the discipline of getting one written every day—seven days a week. The process is demanding—seven days a week is not a trivial commitment—but immensely invigorating.

I get a writer’s high!

When I started writing I had no idea that writing would turn out to be so pleasurable—would become such a focus of my life. Back then I struggled to write because I felt an imperative to do so. But, I suffered for years. It took me a long time for writing to induce such happiness.

I would add ‘contentment,’ but I’m not sure a writer should be content. I rather value my restless mind.

Where purely creative writing is concerned, I tend to be more of a perfectionist. I don’t consciously write in a different way, but I do polish more, and think twice, before I consider a piece acceptable.

I don’t regard anything I write as good enough.

I never thought of adventuring in the sense of exploring the North Pole or anything similar. I’m not particularly physically brave—though I can have my moments.

Instead, I wanted to experience a wide variety of human situations—and get to know how the world worked a little better. I was particularly interested in different ways of life.

Why are the Swiss so Swiss? How do they do this stuff?

I wasn’t immune to the charms of women. They seemed to offer endless opportunities for adventure—and no small degree of pleasure. They are also, by and large, smarter than we males.

I was to find that women could also be quite dangerous. That aspect doesn’t seem to have changed much.

When I was young, the American Way of Life was touted as being the best—and it may have been so. I first visited the U.S. in the early Seventies and was impressed.

Sadly, I don’t think it is any longer.

Why do I miss Europe?

I guess that, deep down, I prefer a less materialistic consumer-driven environment—and I miss the character, culture, and sheer complexity of Europe. Also, I’m a historian so my heart is warmed by old buildings and a sense of history.

There is a great deal more I can say—and probably will—but now is not the time for it.

I will be 71 in May and have been giving serious thought to what I want, need, and can do for the rest of my life. My options are limited, but so are my wants. I am content with that—very much at peace with my focus.

Concerns for family and friends apart—a significant qualification—I have four ambitions.

Here are three of them.

• To improve my character. I have had some success in this area, but there is room for improvement. I have a couple of weaknesses I would particularly like to master. I’m damned if I want to publish them as yet. Let me make no bones about it. They are weaknesses. Do I have strengths that compensate? I probably do. I don’t consider them good enough.
• To get my little publishing company going. I have been delayed partly by my own imperfections—and partly by my accident of last year. On the other hand, the delays have improved my understanding of the project a great deal.
• To write. I have a long list of projects lined up, but the two most important are my military thriller which I have re-titled, THE BATTLE DANCER,  and my memoirs, —CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK-WRITING MAN. My plan is to write this in five parts—and to make it explicit, humorous, fast paced, and outrageous. I have two follow-up major thrillers in the works. What is a major thriller? It is about 450 pages of heavily researched, highly entertaining, high adventure.

The fourth ambition concerns the opposite sex. It may well not be realized, but even at my age I rather fancy another romantic relationship.

Anyway, though I am quite self-sufficient and love most of what I do—which is to write—I have an open mind on the subject and I greatly enjoy women. Sometimes, they like me.

It would also make a neat ending for my memoirs. Besides, merely looking will be an adventure in itself.

The sentence is something of a cliché—but it it is true. As far as a writer is concerned, everything is material.

CAMDEN TOWN (London, UK)—YET ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL PHOTO BY MY SISTER, LUCY AYETTEY LYONS

THE BLUE HOUSE—ALSO BY LUCY

 

VOR words 963.

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(#170-1) March 22 2015. The notion that most of the soil we use to grow crops in is being poisoned—annually—is somewhat disconcerting. Say it ain’t so! I can’t, because it looks like it is.

ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, GLYSOPHATE—THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN MONSANTO’S ROUNDUP—IS PROBABLY A CARCINOGEN

GIVEN THE SCALE OF ROUNDUP’S USE IN THE U.S. THIS MEANS WE’VE BEEN POISONING OUR SOIL ON A SCALE THAT IS HARD TO COMPREHEND—AND WE CONTINUE TO DO SO.

Many of the problems with our food chain—such as the poor quality of Fast Food (and most centrally prepared food used by restaurants in general) and the fact that excessive quantities of salt, fat, sugar, and chemicals being added to over-processed food—are widely known (if inadequately acted upon) but the glyphosate issue  is one that does not get the attention it deserves.

Glyphosate is the main active ingredient of Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer and is much used with GM (genetically modified) crops. The GM modified crops can be sprayed but only the weeds die. The kicker, of course, is not only have you got to buy Roundup, itself—but also the GM seeds. You have become the captive customer of a monopoly.

Another problem is that, over time, more and more weeds have become immune to Roundup. This wasn’t supposed to happen—but it has.

It deserves special attention because it is so ubiquitous. Roundup is now so widely applied that glyphosate is pervasive and almost impossible to avoid—even if you make a conscious decision to do so. It is used almost universally where corn and soy are grown—and both corn and soy are added to numerous processed foods (even foods where you would not suspect their presence).

Monsanto have long argued that Roundup is safe and glyphosate degrades so fast it poses no heath hazard—but ever increasing evidence argues to the contrary. Beyond that, it is quite clear that neither the Department of Agriculture nor the Food and Drug Administration have either researched or regulated Roundup adequately. Corporate power is now such that it seems increasingly able to defy regulations—and to blunt investigations.

Though the evidence against it seems to be increasing, I don’t profess to know the truth of the Roundup situation. I have become convinced that the U.S. Food Chain is deeply flawed and hazardous to our health—but apart from taking reasonable precautions and writing about it, I’m not quite sure what else I can do except continue to monitor it.

I do note repeatedly that Americans live shorter lives than the citizens of many other developed nations—by about three years—and are sicker while they live. I also note that there has been a significant increase in medical conditions in the U.S. across the spectrum over the last few decades.

We then come to the sobering fact that the nutritional quality of much of our food has deteriorated massively. An apple today lacks the quantity of trace elements which an apple of half a century ago possessed. Since our bodies require such trace elements, we have yet another health issue here. We have the illusion of nutrition but not the reality—and suffer the consequences. Our immune systems are not as robust, for example.

The good news is that a great deal can be done to remedy the situation—and we now know that regenerative agriculture can grow the vast quantities of food we need as efficiently as monoculture (if not more so). However, those who profit from the status quo—such as Monsanto—like things just fine the way they are.

In fact, Big Agriculture and Big Food fight bitterly and often effectively against our knowing exactly what is in our food. The opposition to foodstuffs being labeled GM is a recent example of this.

It is interesting to note that almost all America’s current problems, from corruption of the political process, to financialization, to militarization to healthcare, to the poor quality of our food chain, can be traced to unchecked corporate power. The issue is less capitalism as such, but our form of it.

Are we doing anything about it?

In Europe, yes.

In the U.S. no.

VOR words 655.

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(#169-1) March 21 2015. There is a mismatch between the high quality, and sheer decency, of my friends—and the prevailing culture. That said, I like most Americans I meet so I’m puzzled at this dichotomy. Or does scum—as well as talent—naturally rise to the top (and gravitate to CEO status or Congress)? My point is that the the U.S.—at the top—does not appear to work too well. At a lower level, it works much better.

IF I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT THE U.S. I WOULDN’T WRITE ABOUT  IT. I WRITE BECAUSE I’M CONCERNED—PARTICULARLY FOR MY FRIENDS

U.S. INCOME GROWTH FOR MOST AMERICANS SUCKS—AND IS APALLING BY INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

I haven’t done a head-count, but as best as I can tell, the majority of my friends are American—and, though being human, none are perfect, they are an admirable lot. Mind you, I am biased—and strongly at that. They are, after all, my friends—and I hold such people in high regard.

I would like to be able to praise my brilliance and impeccable judgment for the qualities of my friends, but—truth to tell—I think they are no more than a cross-section of the people I have met over the last quarter century who I happened to get on with—and vice-versa. In short, I suspect that they are fairly typical rather than a-typical of their nationality, socio-economics groups, and professions.

If I then conclude that my friends are fairly representative of Americans as a whole—which I admit may be a leap too far—I then have to wonder why the U.S. doesn’t work better than it does; and why Americans, in general, aren’t doing more to change the direction of this Great Nation..

‘Work better’ covers a multitude, but my main focus is on wondering why the U.S. doesn’t provide a more secure and stress-free economic way of life for all who live here. After all, other countries are succeeding in this fundamental regard—so why not the U.S.?

As to why more Americans aren’t trying to change the direction of the direction of the country, I have several thoughts on the matter.

• FATALISM. People feel helpless and incapable of making a difference so there is no point in trying—or even worrying about it.
• SELF-SATISFACTION. Despite what they say—many people are actually pretty satisfied with the status quo and with their personal circumstances in particular. The ultra-rich and those who serve them (a category which indirectly includes most of my friends with military connections—though I doubt they think of it this way) would come into this substantial minority. It comprises at least 20 percent of the population—and probably more. Such people tend to be much more politically active than the deprived. This is a crucial point to note. Those who do well out of the status quo will fight furiously to defend it—even if it is blatantly unjust. The deprived tend to be fatalistic and, largely, don’t vote. This is a fundamental weakness of democracy.
• BAD INFORMATION—AND SELFISHNESS. People are not particularly well informed about society as a whole and don’t think in terms of social concern. They focus almost completely upon their personal circumstances. You can conclude that such an attitude is no more than sensible—or extremely selfish.
• OR, I COULD BE WRONG. It could be that my analysis—which concludes that the U.S. is in serious trouble right now, and is heading in the wrong direction—is incorrect. I think about that quite often. My conclusion, so far, is that I am broadly accurate, but don’t know enough detail. The situation is, arguably, more nuanced than as described. The only alternative I can be left with is that the evidence is wrong.

One thing I do notice is that my American friends accept a great deal which a European would have a problem with. In many cases we are talking a matter of degree. Money, for instance, plays no small role in European life, but isn’t so relentlessly dominant.

To give another example, many things are supported in Europe because they are regarded as good in themselves—not because they make a profit. The concept of doing something for the public good is much better established in Europe. Being green, recycling, and using less energy have become part of Northern European culture, for instance.

The following are some of the issues which would trouble a European—and do concern this particular one.

• MONEY. The dominance of money in the U.S.. It seems to be the one constant—and is certainly the prevailing religion. Judging by their style, it seems to have been adopted by all too many U.S. churches (in direct and specific defiance of the bible).
• CORRUPTION. The prevalence of corruption. This is based less on traditional paper bags of bank notes than on customs and practices which are blatantly wrong, but now so institutionalized as to be regarded as normal. These span the gamut from conflicts of interest in the MICC (Military Industrial Congressional Complex) to share buy-backs by corporations (which are no less than insider trading). The current American Business Model, which is largely focused solely on maximizing shareholder value, is deeply corrupt. For instance, it is just plain morally wrong to treat employees with such indifference—and to have no regard for the community which gave legal birth to you.
• INCOME INEQUALITY. Excessive income inequality. The system is tilted so blatantly to favor the rich that I can only describe my reaction as incredulous.
• RELENTLESS PROPAGANDA. The dominance of hype and propaganda in the media. It seems as if someone is always trying to sell you something—and the level of advertising seems both excessive and relentless.
• CORPORATE POWER. Corporate power, predatory managements, and their widespread indifference to any kind of social responsibility add up to a pretty toxic commercial environment. As other countries demonstrate each and every day, it doesn’t have to be this way.
• FINANCIALIZATION OF THE ECONOMY. Wall Street should be a service designed to allocate resources to the real economy. Instead, it is overly intrusive and influential to the point of being a corrupting and distorting influence. As matters stand, the system that has resulted forces most people into debt—car, house, education, and medical. If you have an average income, it is near impossible to survive without debt.
• THE DECLINE IN INTERPRENEURSHIP. The U.S. now ranks 12th in business startup activity. The ‘can-do’ quality which so distinguished the U.S. has been diminishing for years.
• EARNINGS DECLINE. The fact that the earnings—in real terms—have scarcely advanced since the 70s and have been declining since the Great Recession beggars belief—and cannot have a happy ending.
• BOUGHT POLITICAL SYSTEM. Political gridlock—heavily linked to corporate power.
• BUREAUCRACY. Bureaucracy. For legal and other reasons, this is the most astonishingly bureaucratic country. Believe it or not, when I visited my general practitioner in Ireland—assuming the man had my basic records—no additional paperwork was involved. 
• BROKEN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. The high cost, mediocre quality, and lack of transparency of healthcare boggles the mind—and the end result costs nearly twice as much as the systems of other development countries—and Americans live sicker and die roughly three years sooner. That should spark outrage. Alarmingly, it does not..
• MEDIOCRE EDUCATION. Mediocre educational system. There is much comment on this. The aspect that Americans forget are the consequences. Huge numbers of the people you deal with on a day to day basis are inadequately educated.
• STUDENT DEBT. Costly third level education. This is so structured that it is near impossible to get free of. Concurrently, the Fed supplies trillions of dollars at near zero interest rates to the banks. Precisely how is that socially just?
• LACK OF WORKER RIGHTS. Lack of worker rights combined with the steady erosion of such worker rights as remain.
• MINIMAL VACATIONS. Lack of vacations. There are all kinds of good vacations why vacations of reasonable length are considered essential in Europe—and health comes high on the list. It is hard to see why the same necessities do not apply in the U.S.
• NEGLECT OF THE ARTS. The arts are seen only as a profit center.
• MILITARIZATION OF THE POLICE. This is particularly noticeable to me because my background is in Ireland and the UK where the police—except for a small group—are not even armed.
•  MINIMAL SOCIAL SAFETY NET. The lack of an adequate social safety net.
• RACISM. Racism remains pervasive in the U.S.
• AROGANT FOREIGN POLICY. The arrogance and militarization of foreign policy.
• AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM. The assumption that the American Way of Life is superior in all things.
• LACK OF INTELLECTUAL CURIOUSITY. The general lack of intellectual curiosity—particularly in relation to other nations. Europeans, who mostly speak at least one second language (the British and Irish excepted) tend to look outwards and be aware in considerable of detail of other nations and their developments. In contrast, Americans are largely ignorant of other countries—and don’t seem to be remotely curious. In fact, many know little enough about this country.
• LACK OF SOCIAL JUSTICE. The lack of social justice, general insecurity, and callousness of American life.

From a purely material point of view, there are numerous compensations to American life—if you have an adequate income (though most Americans do not). From a philosophical aspect—particularly where values are concerned—the current practices and direction of this Great Nation are exceedingly troubling. ‘Troubling’ understates the situation. This is a nation heading, at speed, towards catastrophe.

I write about these issues—not because I think I can change them (though I hope to influence a few readers) but because I am innately interested. The U.S. has been such a huge influence on my life—on the lives of just about every human being since WW II—that I was extremely curious to see it first hand (whatever be my conclusions).

I regard it as as a real privilege that I have been able to—and in considerable detail at that. Being deeply interested in Roman history, I have always wanted to go back in time to visit Rome—but, since I have not acquired a time machine as yet, the U.S. has proved to be a good substitute. It, too, is an empire—and it, too, is in decline.

I am also aware that if I was an American and financially comfortable, I would—quite possibly—be largely indifferent to the issues I have listed. Nonetheless, social indifference does not mean that such serious problems don’t exist—and don’t have consequences.

I regard the most serious problem as the general lack of concern by Americans as a whole. People are certainly fed up with many things, but I see scant evidence that people think the American Way of Life needs to be re-thought. The general desire seem to be to make the status quo work better.

The great argument in favor of the American Way of life used to be that it resulted in a superior quality of life—as was demonstrated by the U.S. Middle Class in the 70s.

That may or may not have been true then—but it certainly is not the case now. Under just about every category you care to name (except house size) Northern Europeans are better off, more secure, have better health coverage, and live three years longer.

A thousand extra days of life. That strikes me as no small thing.

One might think such a sea-change would attract more attention in the U.S. than it does.

It doesn’t because most Americans are not aware of this situation. The mainstream media—TV as far as most Americans are concerned—quite deliberately, do a lousy job. They foster a media illusion which encourages a consuming public—even if that consuming public lacks the purchasing power to consume adequately.  Debt is pushed as the easy and socially acceptable alternative.

Sooner or later, a reckoning of ferocious, and violent, social consequence would seem to be inevitable.

Why do I mention violence? I do so most reluctantly—but violence is as endemic to American life as Fast Food.

Both are lethal.

 

In some states, gerrymandering is rendering the will of the electorate almost irrelevant

The fact that the U.S. voting process is so blatantly corrupt leaves me damn near speechless. You would think that after so much time since the foundation of this state, voting, at least, would be perfected. Instead, gerrymandering apart, serious attempts are being made to restrict the ability of the less affluent to vote. 

Trust in government is at about its lowest point in 40 years

Where trust in government is concerned, the disturbing thing is that it has been deliberately destroyed in a systematic way by Big Business. Why so? Because government represents taxes, regulations, and the ability to keep  business in check.

I don’t say this lightly. The evolution of a very deliberate campaign in the Seventies to reverse the gains labor made from the New Deal is well documented.

A further point is that if you lose faith in Government, who do you turn to? By a process of elimination, it is business—and Big Business at that.

Personally, I don’t regard U.S. business as any more trustworthy than government. When the two combine, the result tends to be toxic. Consider U.S. healthcare and the MICC (Military Industrial Congressional Complex). Consider the U.S. food chain. Consider Wall Street and the general impact of financialization.

It is hard to find words adequate to describe the damage done—which largely continues to be done. The track record is clear. Whereas admirable corporations certainly do exist, the general thrust of Big Business is to oppose anything and everything which might improve the lot of workers and society in general.

VOR words 2,182.

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