1. The horror of the last century is replaying itself around the globe. Remember reading about the fires in the garment district on the lower east side? Didn’t those egregious working conditions bring about the Unionization of the garment workers? I remember being proud to wear Made in the USA. Now I despair that others are suffering the same fate. The Chinese, the Pakistani’s how many deaths have to continue to occur as corporations pursue the cheapest labor price to assemble their products? When is it enough?
2. NYTimes 9/13/12. The country beckons Spaniards as jobs in the city grow scarce. Enterprising people are going back to the towns and villages of their birth. Towns left empty for 60 yrs are becoming the focal point for a new way of life. Services and goods are being traded where money is scarce. It’s a small start, but it’s providing a different way of life for many , without the stresses of the City?
3. NYTimes Fed responds to a grim reality, 20 million Americans cannot find full employment. In an effort to fine tune the economy the Fed will rebalance : focusing on unemployment not inflation. That’s a good gesture, but where is the Public Private Partnership required to actually create jobs? It’ mundane, but how about committing to infrastructure projects and the education of our children? Invest in “kids and teachers” not their facilities? Bring back a stable monetary system? Spend money on people not on a “select group”, repeal Citizens United and Billions could be available for manufacturing in America. So much to do, so little time, if the will exists action should follow?
4. LOL Joe Nocera Two Days in September: The collapse of Lehman Bothers 4 years ago led to the formation of 2 distinct political movements. Based upon anger with the prevailing system, The Tea Party came into being, with it’s hard line anti government position. Through substantial funding by private individuals and corporations, this grass roots movement has grown into a political party capable of placing like minded candidates in Congress.
What happened to the 2 nd group? Occupy Wall Street? It’s now part of our language , we understand there is income inequality, the issue has been raised. Now comes the hard part, ” without political engagement ” by those who want to reverse income inequality, it will continue to widen. ” Occupy Wall Street gave us a memorable slogan, the 99%, but you know what they say, talk is cheap.”