Stories around the dinner table. When you come to dinner at my place be prepared to discuss anything from the Jets v Cleveland Browns, to Kavanagh and Inequality? The Conversation can become heated, however, as one guest found out , nothing is off limits and if you wanted to call time out, that may or may not be acceptable to those in the “heat “ of debate.
Overheard at Dinner:
Kavanagh: Spoiler alert, there were dissenters: Opinions ranged from ardent Trump & GOP Supporters, claiming witch hunts, to the loyal opposition looking at the Judge’s voluminous record and comments. On his merits, Kavanagh, does not appear to be a prudent jurist.
1. He may have gambling debts and is a potential blackmail risk?
2. He may have turned a blind eye to receiving & perhaps authorizing the theft of Democratic emails , when he was Bush’s administration.
3. His record on Labor is consistently pro business. He prefers to limit Labor’s negotiating powers.
4. He actively sought Bill Clinton’s Impeachment, yet, now he’s reversed his position and believes a sitting President should not be indicted! Not even for high crimes? Makes you wonder.
My role as catalyst is simple. I state my viewpoint and let my company respond or duke it out amongst themselves. I’m told, not your normal cocktail party banter!
Every so often, the Politician among us, would try to drag the conversation back to the Jets or Cleveland Browns, to no avail.
When we discussed the oppression of Labor in our society and expressed our concerns for their well being and the corporate propensity to limit use of their creativity, the familiar epithets were heard. Those protecting the rights of Labor were called Socialist. We were then regaled with stories of Hungry’s Despotic Socialist regime prior to WWll or told by the Right how much they dislike Bernie Sanders & the left leaning Democratic Party. Do these examples really represent all Democrats or all Americans critical of Big Business practices in America?
1. The Democratic Party has many groups. One voice does not speak for all.
2. If I hadn’t lived through Capitalism with a social contract with their employees, I might be embracing Socialism. However, benevolent capitalism existed. Employees were well paid and everyone had a car and a place to live in the 70’s. Creativity was encouraged and rewarded. I don’t believe the succeeding generations lack creativity or intelligence. I do believe modern industries refuse to entertain creative thought and I wonder about undiscovered talent. People too poor and uneducated or poor and educated unable to make enough money to be self supporting in today’s Gig economy.
3. One of my solutions: Unite and unionize. Lift all wages!
Next we spoke about Inequality, at the mention of Economists & Stiglitz, in particular, I was admonished for speaking about “theories”. When I mentioned Mandelbrot , a mathematician, all arguments ceased! Mandelbrot. The father of Fractals, came to the same conclusions as Stiglitz & Piketty, 10 years earlier!
Based on Mandelbrot’s analysis, Derivatives are not based on sound scientific principles and subject to risk. He waould agree with current Economists & Buffett and regard them as “Weapons of Mass Destruction”. I’ve proposed a 6% tax on all these transactions in the marketplace. Since Derivatives contract values exceed a Quadrillion Dollars, “we the People” would capture a Trillion Dollars in usable revenue. Mandelbrot, Stiglitz, Buffet would agree.
Next our conversation turned to the “Misbehavior of Markets” and the advice; “sell high”& “buy low” persisted. It was also noted, in defense of Labor, our current models and metrics for measuring employees in the work force and their well being and strata in society are not defined by our current Statistics. The GDP, and other benchmarks defining employee participation in society, being shelved in favor of more precis measurements of society’s economic stratification. We’re looking for real measurements of Americans place in this new Corporate dominated “Gig” Economy.
Real problems confront us on a National level. Can “we the People” afford gridlock in government or one Party conservative Rule. Our country can avoid a Recession or another Climate Event, if we seek Common Ground and create Laws generating Revenue for all of us.
That’s why I want to #RockTheVoteForDemsIn2018 and break the gridlock in Congress. 100 Million , eligible to vote in 2016, stayed home. I understand the roadblocks to voting: Gerrymandering, voter suppression, proper ID, Voter purging, Foreign Power interference and apathy. However, if we came out and voted en mass, every vote would count.
Try voting in 2018. Register today and let’s begin a new chapter in America, one “we the People”, write, #EmbraceThe Future. We can forestall Recessions with Economic Stimulus and planned Infrastructure projects on a National scale.Let’s vote for candidates who will enrich our lives!
Thanks for reading. See you later and we’ll chat.
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