Monday, August 13, 2018

Trump Feeds Corporate Military Industrial complex.

Military Spending 2019

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/us/politics/fact-check-trump-military-spending.html


This is corporate pay off to the military/industrial complex.
"-- as well as 93 F-35 Lightning II and two dozen F/A-18 E/F fighter jets. The House version also calls for a dozen new Navy ships."
Billions of dollars for 93 F-35s.  We could use 6.  And, the new Navy ships??
June 6 (UPI) -- The House Appropriations Committee unveiled a $674.6 billion defense spending bill Wednesday.
While the committee scheduled a markup session for Thursday and debate with the Senate's version of the budget will likely take months, the House version provides $605 billion in base discretionary funding. That figure is less than President Donald Trump's administration requested, but more than the 2018 level.
The proposed funding would pay for more than 15,000 additional troops and pay raises for those already in military service -- as well as 93 F-35 Lightning II and two dozen F/A-18 E/F fighter jets. The House version also calls for a dozen new Navy ships.
The procurement budget includes more F-35s and littoral combat ships than the military requested, but Congress supports buying the equipment to keep factories and shipyards working and available for future orders, The Hill reported.
"With the changing global dynamics and ever-growing threats to our security, it is absolutely imperative that our military is properly trained, equipped and fully supported in order to do their jobs," panel chair Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., said in a statement. "This legislation does all of this by including robust funding for our troops, the defense programs and activities necessary to accomplish our national goals and ideals, and to continue to rebuild our military."
See updates in the NYT article.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Germany. How Citizens Enabled Hitler

Expert on Nazi Germany Explains How 'Average' Citizens Enabled Hitler — Just Like Trump: 'Ordinary People Will Do Horrible Things'

Historian Richard Frankel, an expert on Nazi Germany, says history doesn’t have to repeat itself — if we stop it.


https://www.alternet.org/expert-nazi-germany-explains-how-average-citizens-enabled-hitler-just-trump-ordinary-people-will-do?

Tariffs

Trump’s Tariffs are Not Really the Point

We pay too much attention to President Trump’s tariffs. We’ve missed the point of what China is doing, and what we want. 

Ronald Reagan told us that markets are good, government is bad, and we should let free markets solve all our problems. Winners will prosper, and gains will trickle down to workers and communities. 

At the global level, this meant free trade policy that blurs national boundaries, and merges or integrates our economy into the global economy. This approach shifts power in favor of global corporations, while reducing policy space for governments, workers, communities, and the environment. 

China has never accepted our free-trade free-market model. Zhang Xiangchen, China’s ambassador to the WTO, made this clear a few days ago.
China has been vigorously exploring a road of market economy, which suits China’s own national situation and circumstances, and we have made remarkable progress in this endeavor. Whatever others may say, we will march along this road unswervingly.  … As for those who speculated that China would change and move onto a different path upon its WTO accession, … that was their wishful thinking. 

Monday, August 6, 2018

Robert Reich: The Biggest Threat to Our Democracy (That You Haven't Hear...

Corporate Earnings

CORPORATE EARNING BONANZA: "America's biggest companies are reporting some of the strongest earnings growth since the recession, boosted by lowered tax rates and a robust U.S. economy that is fueling demand across industries," Thomas Gryta writes in The Wall Street Journal. "Profits at S&P 500 companies jumped an estimated 23.5 percent in the three months through June, according to data from Thomson Reuters, more than 2 1/2 times revenue growth in the same period." 
The Republican-backed tax cuts that passed in December were a big reason for the earnings boost, the Journal reports. The legislation reduced corporate taxes to 21 percent, down from 35 percent. Still, the Journal reports, "any lasting tax-related benefits will depend on how companies use the savings" — that is, whether they use it for investments that could spur longer-term growth. More here.
Aug. 2018.