As you all probably know by now the great bailout swindle did nothing to calm the nerves of the fat greedy investor class, and so Wall Street continued its plunge for 4 days in a row, and most credit markets were frozen. I was watching the local news last night and they were talking about the shortfalls in revenue which many cities and states in the region will be experiencing, but as usual there was no explanation as to why this is happening suddenly. And of course guess who is going to pay for these short falls? If you said those of us in the working class, you are correct. This will possibly be done by raising more local and state taxes, as well as eliminating jobs. That's right many workers will be losing their jobs, because of this, since many political officials are looking to slash jobs in certain government sectors. And this is besides all the jobs that are already being lost in the private sector because of this capitalist economic meltdown.
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There was also mention in the corporate media about all the house foreclosures that are still taking place even though Freddie and Fanny freeloader have been taken over by the government under a quasi-nationalization scheme. It's quasi-nationalization, because even though the US government took these entities over they are still being run as a private corporate interest on behalf of the ruling elites, and not the public.
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There was one particular story they decided to focus on, which was about a 90 year old woman who had been living in her house for over 40 years, and her mortgage had been paid off, but after her husband died she had to take out a second mortgage to make ends meet, but because of the increase in the cost of living she fell behind in her mortgage payments and she was about to be evicted from her home by police officers, when she took a gun and shot herself in the chest. She was then taken to the hospital, and low and behold the story was making the rounds in the media and so Fannie and Freddie freeloader decided to eliminate the mortgage she owed. Walla!!!
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And the corporate media made this sound like it was a happy ending!!! I guess if you want to keep your house all you have to do is try to kill yourself first!!! And I'm sure the only reason the corporate media focused on this is because it was so sensational, and they will never have any real investigative reporting about the many thousands and millions of home owners, of which I am sure there are many elderly who are getting thrown out in the street with, walkers, wheelchairs and all.
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So these bailouts are really set up to help and shore up the elites who have been gorging at the swindlers trough, so they can come after workers when they can no longer afford to pay debts, which are owed at usury rates.
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Even if this capitalist crisis is resolved for the capitalists it will never be resolved for the workers. For us things will only get worse.
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That is why this barbaric system needs to be overturned, and replaced with a socialist democracy, which is by and works for the workers who are the real wealth producers in society.
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I am posting links to some programs about the crisis and the recent bailout. Even though these programs are not socialist in nature, and there are some parts of them which I do not completely agree with, they do have some useful information about what will happen to the bailout, and what were some of the things the capitalist class was doing to create this latest crisis. And this is only one of many which capitalism has gone through, only this one will be more severe than the last so-called recessions, and could be close to becoming a depression.
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The last program is an interview with Michael Hudson, who is a left leaning economist who was on Kucinich campaign team. He talks about what was going on behind the scenes in congress before the passage of the bailout, and he also discusses how this bailout will probably be used. I don't agree with his total analysis since he still tries to rely on certain segments of the democratic party as a way forward for working people.
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The first few links are to program presentations and an interview with Jack Rasmus, who explains this latest crisis of capital, and where this crisis may be heading. I don't agree with his total analysis since he seems to think that this latest assault of the working class began around the time of Ronald Reagan when it actually began much earlier, and that there had been and always will be an ongoing battle of the capitalist class against the working class until capitalism is overthrown and replaced with a more humane system which serves the needs of the workers. He also seems to place some hope in the democratic party, and changes in legislation as a way out of crisis. He does somewhat hint at mass organization of workers in his Presentation " The Trillion Dollar Income Shift," but he fails to mention, what we should organize for
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Nevertheless, even with all the weaknesses The Jack Rasmus site has a number of good programs and I recommend the following 4 programs since they are most relevant to the present situation.
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I am providing the page link so all other programs can be accessed as well.
I will also add these programs to my podcast when I get the time.
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The Collapsing Financial System and the Election,Jack Rasmus interviewed by Suzi Weissman, host of Beneath the Surface, on KPFK Radio, Los Angeles, September 2008
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Jack is interviewed on the blowup of investment bank, Lehman Brothers, and Merill Lynch, and others and explains how current Federal Reserve and US Treasury strategies to contain the deepening financial crisis have failed and why the financial crisis will continue to deepen. Jack discusses how the crisis is leading to an Epic Recession in the real economy and coming mass layoff announcements. He draws parallels between today and the first banking crisis in 1930 during the Great Depresssion of that decade and predicts the government will soon seek a solution similar to the 1930s era Reconstruction Finance Corp.. Click here to listen to the Real Audio version.
MP3 Version
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inancial Crisis & Epic Recession,Presentation at the Alameda Public Affairs Forum
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Dr. Jack Rasmus explains the current financial crisis, its historic origins going back to the 1980s as well as more recent origins since 2001 as a consequence of Bush policies. Hear how the crisis is much more than a housing market collapse, how it has spread to numerous credit markets in the U.S. and globally, and how it is being transmitted during 2008-09 to the real economy globally producing what Dr. Rasmus calls an Epic recession — a new event unlike any seen since the 1930s; not a typical recession and not yet depression. Hear how the ultimate origins of the crisis and recession lie in the $30 trillion plus debt accumulated by government, business and consumers since 1980 as the U.S. economy has entered a period of long term decline. 1 hour 55 minute talk with audience questions and answers. Click here to listen to the Real Audio version.
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MP3 Version
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Trillion Dollar Income Shift,Presentation at the Alameda Public Affairs Forum
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Dr. Jack Rasmus addresses the root causes of accelerating income inequality in the U.S. since the late 1970s. Hear how today more than $1 trillion in income every year is being shifted from the roughly 91 million American households earning less than $80,000 to the wealthiest 1 million households of millionaire and billionaire investors and their corporations. Rasmus shows how the $1 trillion annual income shift has been caused by the accumulated policies of corporate America and political administrations from Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The presentation identifies specific dollar amounts contributed by each of the policies and considers the long term consequences for the U.S. and global economies, financial instability, and global recession.
1 hour 42 minute talk with audience questions and answers. Click here to listen to the Real Audio version.
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MP3 Version
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Is the Economic Crisis Over — Or Just Beginning?,2 Interviews with audience Q & A, WDEV 'Equal Time Radio', Burlington, Vermont, June 16 and July 28, 2008__
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Jack Rasmus is interviewed by host, Travis Leyshon, on the class economic policies that have devastated American middle and working class incomes and standards of living. Rasmus explains how the same policies are largely responsible for the current financial instability in the U.S. that is now being transmitted into a new kind of epic recession in the U.S. and globally. He explains why predictions the economy is stabilizing are in error. Two interviews with audience Q & A.
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Click here to hear the interviews, including audience Q&A:
June 16, 2008; 22 minutes MP3 format Real Audio format
June 28, 2008; 49 minutes MP3 format Real Audio format
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Page Link
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The New Kleptocracy" with economist Dr. Michael Hudson on Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's "Plan" passed by Congress on October 3, 2008. We discuss what is being purchased, the congressional vote, what this means for the oligarchs, and what this means for the rest of us.
Play Version
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Page Link
And for some real Marxist theory go to the following links
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Leon Trotsky
On the American Economic Crisis
(1932)
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Ernest Mandel
An Introduction toMarxist Economic Theory
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Marxists’ Internet Archive
Ernest Mandel
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Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism
A POPULAR OUTLINE
III. FINANCE CAPITAL AND THE FINANCIAL OLIGARCHY
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And for further research check out the Marxist Internet Archive which I will post below, but it is also on the right side of my blog.
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Marxist Internet Archive
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