Choosing Democracy: Affordable Housing

Choosing Democracy: Affordable Housing: Corporate Landlords: The Fight for Affordable Housing in California _FINAL_MASTER_CLEAN_092518 from Brave New Films on Vimeo .

Trade and Development

On global dialogue and the international economic forum

“Gordon Brown recently expressed his concern at the current weaknesses in global relationships to deal with any future economic crises. With major nations on the brink of a trade war, and with climate change accelerating, we can’t risk the kind of international breakdown that led to the Great Depression.

“Just as at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, there is an urgent need to work out if the current international system can cope with these threats. It isn’t working for the Western world, where stagnant wages have helped feed the rise of the racist right.

“And it isn’t working for the developing world, whose wealth is plundered by multinational corporations or stashed in Western banks.

“We will be convening in the spring an international social forum to bring together leading economists, politicians and civil society representatives, launching a dialogue on the common risks we face and the actions we need to take.

“I am pleased to announce that Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, has agreed to lead this discussion for us.” •

 

 

Speech to Labour Conference 2018.  British Labour Party

John McDonnell MP  _ English

China Is Being Smart, Trump Isn't

China’s Being Smart, and Trump Isn’t

Thomas L. Friedman

Early in the movie “Crazy Rich Asians” a Chinese-Singaporean father admonishes his young kids to finish their dinner, saying, “Think of all the starving children in America.” I’m sure that everyone of my generation in the theater laughed at that joke. After all, we’d all been raised on the line: “Finish your dinner. Think of all the starving children in China.”

That little line contained within it many messages: The first, which any regular traveler to China’s biggest urban areas can tell you, is that rich China today — its luxury homes, cars, restaurants and hotels — is really rich, rich like most Americans can’t imagine.

The second is that this moment was destined to be a test of who will set the key rules of the global order in the 21st century: the world’s long-dominant economic and military superpower, America, or its rising rival, China. And this test is playing out with a blossoming full-scale trade war.

What does such a test of wills sound like? It sounds like a senior Chinese official telling me at a seminar at Tsinghua University in April that it’s just “too late” for America to tell China what to do anymore on issues like trade, because China is now too big and powerful. And it sounds like President Trump, in effect, telling China: “Says who? Show me what you got, baby!” Or as Trump actually tweeted last week: “We are under no pressure to make a deal with China, they are under pressure to make a deal with us. … If we meet, we meet.”

Read the entire essay. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/opinion/trump-china-trade-economy-tech.html

Glossary. Too Big to Fail

Glossary   Who Stole the American Dream,  Too Big to Fail.

GLOSSARY 

1.    American Dream. 

An American set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success and upward social mobility achieved through hard work 

2.    Ben Bernanke. 

Chairman of the Federal Reserve System during the financial crisis. Previously academic expert on the financial problems of the Great Depression. 

3.    Business Roundtable. 

A group of chief executive officers of major US corporations promoting pro-business public policy because they are concerned about the power of unions and the growing public hostility toward corporations as evidenced by popular support for government regulation of the work place and the environment. 

4.    Cato Institute. 

A libertarian think tank known for its willingness to take positions other than its sponsors. 

5.    Conspiracy Theory. 

The belief that a small group of people are secretly coordinating and controlling historical events. 

6.    Corporate Welfare. 

A government bestowal of money grants, tax breaks or other special favorable treatment on corporations. 

7.    Credit Union. 

A member-owned financial cooperative operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates and providing other financial services to its members. 

8.    Deregulation.

The movement to reduce the role of government in the economy and allow industry greater freedom from market constraints that arise in law, in judicial decisions and in market failure. 

`           

9.    Financial Crisis. 

A situation in which financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value as in stock market crashes, financial bubbles, currency crises and sovereign defaults. 

10.  Free-Market. 

A market in which economic intervention and regulation by the state are limited to tax collection and enforcement of private ownership and contracts but no consideration is given to use of the commons. 

11.  Free-Market Fundamentalism. 

A strong belief in the ability of free-market or laissez-faire policies to solve economic and social problems.

Donald in Wonderland

The Donald in Wonderland
Down the Financial Rabbit Hole With President Trump
By Nomi Prins

Once upon a time, there was a little-known energy company called Enron. In its 16-year life, it went from being dubbed America’s most innovative company by Fortune Magazine to being the poster child of American corporate deceit. Using a classic recipe for book-cooking, Enron ended up in bankruptcy with jail time for those involved. Its shareholders lost $74 billionin the four years leading up to its bankruptcy in 2001.

A decade ago, the flameout of my former employer, Lehman Brothers, the global financial firm, proved far more devastating, contributing as it did to a series of events that ignited a global financial meltdown. Americans lost an estimated $12.8 trillion in the havoc.

Despite the differing scales of those disasters, there was a common thread: both companies used financial tricks to make themselves appear so much healthier than they actually were. They both faked the numbers, thanks to off-the-books or offshore mechanisms and eluded investigations... until they collapsed.

Now, here’s a question for you as we head for the November midterm elections, sure to be seen as a referendum on the president: Could Donald Trump be a one-man version of either Enron or Lehman Brothers, someone who cooked “the books” until, well, he imploded?

Since we’ve never seen his tax returns, right now we really don’t know. What we do know is that he’s been dodging bullets ever since the Justice Department accused him of violating the Fair Housing Act in his operation of 39 buildings in New York City in 1973. Unlike famed 1920s mob boss Al Capone, he may never get done in by something as simple as tax evasion, but time will tell.

Hunger in Sacramento

Week #3 Poverty: Hunger & Food Insecurity Follow-up:

• Ready To Make A Difference?: Take Action >

Ø  River City Food Bank - Thank you to last week’s speaker Eileen Thomas, Executive Director of the River City Food Bank. If you’re interested in knowing more about her organization, please see the links below:

• River City Food Bank > http://rivercityfoodbank.org/
• Get Involved > https://rivercityfoodbank.org/get-involved/

• 8 myths about hunger in America https://mazon.org/what-we-do/articles-and-op-eds/8-myths-about-hunger-in-america

• Capitol Public Radio: The View From Here http://www.capradio.org/news/the-view-from-here/2017/09/05/place-and-privilege/ Capital Public Radio’s latest multimedia documentary project The View From Here: Place And Privilege explores the history, politics and economics of housing affordability in California's capital. We map the crisis through the personal stories of neighbors who are hit the hardest and living on the edge. 

Place and Privilege is an hour-long radio documentary, an eight-part podcast and an interactive website featuring exclusive web stories, community voices, photos, videos and graphics, which explore the data in compelling ways. The project also involves on-the-ground community engagement activities that bring diverse residents together to share stories, listen to one another and problem solve.

• CALmatters: Californians: Here’s Why Your Housing Costs Are So High by Ben Christoper and Matt Levin >https://calmatters.org/articles/housing-costs-high-california/

• McKinsey Global Institute: Closing California’s housing gap by Jonathan Wetzel, Jan Mischke, Shannon Peloquin, and Daniel Weisfield > http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/closing-californias-housing-gap

• Week #3 Poverty MS Power Point presentation slides: Please see the attached slides from Week #3.

• Forum Sept. 21^st Speaker Bob Erlenbusch’s Homeless slideshow: Please see the attached slideshow form last by SRCEH (Sacramento regional Coalition to End Homelessness) Executive Director Bob Erlenbusch.

Robert Reich: How to Build Progressive Power

Social Security Benefits Everyone

Mention Social Security and most people immediately think of the monthly checks received by the program’s 62 million beneficiaries.  Each day we see and hear how retirement, disability and survivor benefits keep people afloat and prevent them from falling into poverty. (Nearly half of beneficiaries rely on Social Security for all or most of their income).  But that money isn’t just a lifeline to beneficiaries and their families, it’s an economic boon for their communities and the entire nation. Every year, $800 billion dollars flow to beneficiaries who spend much of their income locally. They do business at the grocery store, the pharmacy, the auto repair shop, the theater and the hairstylist. They purchase clothing, pay rent and other basic expenses – stimulating and strengthening the economy.

Read the essay. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/09/16/social-security-economic-engine-benefits-everyone

Matt Taibbi on the 10-Year Anniversary of the Crash ; Rolling Stone

Matt Taibbi on the 10-Year Anniversary of the Crash; Rolling Stone



Important Myths about the Crash and its Consequences.

The Trump Economy Is on the Path for Another Financial Crisis And It's Likely to Be Even Worse This Time | Alternet

The Trump Economy Is on the Path for Another Financial Crisis ; And It's Likely to Be Even Worse This Time | Alternet

New Census Figures Show That California Has 7.5 Million Residents Living in Poverty — More Than Any Other State - California Budget & Policy Center

New Census Figures Show That California Has 7.5 Million Residents Living in Poverty  More Than Any Other State - California Budget  Policy Center

Wage Growth- Not Quite

MEDIAN INCOME REACHES PRE-RECESSION LEVELS: Eight years after the Great Recession ended, median U.S. household income in 2017 finally returned to its pre-recession level ($61,400), marking the third consecutive uptick in American incomes, according to data released Wednesday by the Census Bureau . But the median's 1.8 percent growth during 2017--President Donald Trump's first year in office--was notably slower than its growth during each of the last two years of Barack Obama's presidency (5.2 percent in 2015 and 3.2 percent in 2016; all figures are adjusted for inflation). Also, the 2017 median remained a bit below its historic peak in 1999 ($62,000 in current dollars).

"Wage growth remained slow," writes POLITICO's Timothy Noah, "and by some measures actually declined in 2017, even as household income rose. Median earnings for year-round, full-time work fell 1.1 percent, after inflation, the Census reported. The household income gain appeared to reflect an increase in the number of hours worked." More from Noah here and more from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute here.

Opinion | Botching the Great Recession - The New York Times

Opinion | Botching the Great Recession - The New York Times



Paul Krugman

From Trump to Trade, the Financial Crisis Still Resonates 10 Years Later - The New York Times

From Trump to Trade, the Financial Crisis Still Resonates 10 Years Later - The New York Times

See video:  intro here. Crisis On Wall Street

Trump Claims Credit for the Economy. Not So Fast, Says Obama. - The New York Times

Trump Claims Credit for the Economy. Not So Fast, Says Obama. - The New York Times

Global Climate Action Summit

Global Climate Action Summit  - San Francisco
Sept 12-14.  Videos and more.

https://globalclimateactionsummit.org/about-the-summit/

Climate change is real, it is caused by human activity, and it is having devastating effects around the world and here at home in the United States.

Rising temperatures in the Gulf have strengthened hurricanes such as Harvey in 2017, and have exacerbated the Red Tide to extreme levels, killing wildlife and impacting communities and businesses down the Florida coastline.

In California, global warming has resulted in higher temperatures and less rain causing devastating wildfires to spread at an alarming rate, burning 1.4 million acres in 2018 alone. The raging Mendocino Complex has now become the largest fire in the state's history, burning 450,000 acres.

Stronger and more erratic storms, rising sea levels, extreme heat around the world – the impacts of global warming and the climate crisis are not going to go away. We must come together to force the change that our planet needs.

This Saturday, September 8th, join the Rise for Climate, Jobs & Justice at one of the thousands of rallies in cities and towns around the world to call for a fast and fair transition to 100% renewable energy. Sign up for an event in your city today, and join the movement.

Thank you for staying engaged,

Inside Job- Study Guide

Inside Job Study Guide

http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/_pdf/InsideJob_StudyGuide.pdf

Opinion | How Trump Betrays Forgotten Americans - The New York Times

Opinion | How Trump Betrays Forgotten; Americans - The New York Times

Growth Has Lifted Counties That Voted for Trump. Mostly, It’s the Wealthy Ones. - The New York Times

Growth Has Lifted Counties That Voted for Trump. Mostly, It;s the Wealthy Ones. - The New York Times

Ten Years After the Financial Crisis"

Larry Elliott August 30, 2018 The Guardian Capitalism’s near-death experience with the banking crisis was a golden opportunity for progressives. But they blew it , Mitch Blunt Placards are being prepared. Photo-opportunities are being organised. A list of demands is being drawn up by a coalition of pressure groups, unions and NGOs. Yes, preparations are well under way for protests to mark next month’s 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers – the pivotal moment in the global financial crisis. Make no mistake, the fact that events will take place in all the world’s financial centres is no cause for celebration. On the contrary, it is a sign of failure. The banks were never broken up. Plans for a financial transactions tax are gathering dust. Politicians toyed with the idea of a green new dealand then promptly forgot about it. There never was a huge swing of the pendulum away from the prevailing orthodoxy, just a brief nudge that was quickly reversed. The brutal fact is that the left had its chance, and it blew it. Ten years on, international finance is as powerful as it ever was. There has been only cosmetic reform of the banking industry. Corporate power is ever more concentrated. The benefits of the weakest global recovery from recession in living memory have been captured by a tiny minority. Wages and living standards for the majority in developed countries have grown only modestly, if at all. September 2008 was a near-death experience for global capitalism. At one point there were fears for the entire western banking system; when the recession was at its worst, industrial production was collapsing more quickly than it had in the early stages of the Great Depression. It was that bad. The moment was ripe for politicians brave enough to state the obvious: that the crisis was the result of removing all the shackles on global financial capitalism put in place for good reason in the 1930s. But social democratic parties failed miserably to come up with a progressive response to the crisis that would have involved redressing the imbalance between capital and labour. They were timid when they should have been brave, and have paid a heavy price as a result. Mainstream parties patched up the system and paid scant heed to the anger felt by those who felt ignored. The bitterness bubbled away and eventually found other ways of manifesting itself.In the winter of 2008-09, there was a naive assumption on the left that the shock of Lehmans was so profound that change would inevitably occur. If the oil shocks of the 1970s had been the catalyst for the seizure of control by a rightwing political agenda, then the sub-prime mortgage crisis would do the same for the left. But it wasn’t quite that simple, because those who had done well in the decades that followed the Thatcher-Reagan revolution used all their power, influence, financial clout and cunning to resist change. A few tactical retreats were made in order to safeguard the status quo.