Friday, August 31, 2018
Important Facts on Friday.
Yesterday was the Birthday of a hero. His name is the late, great Fred Hampton. Fred Hampton was born a leader. He lived in Illinois where he fought discrimination, played in sports, and worked in civil rights efforts before he even joined the Black Panthers. By the time he joined the Black Panther Party, his consciousness was always strong. Never afraid of injustice, he condemned oppression and he believed in socialism by his own words. He condemned the capitalist exploitation of workers and the poor and he wanted more unity among revolutionaries in order to establish a system free from injustices plaguing the world. He was an intellectual and he appealed to the poor since he had the power to empathize with the suffering. Power to the people were his words since the only way to cause a real change is by harnessing the power of the people to do so. He condemned Daley and his machine perpetrating the status quo in the great city of Chicago. The FBI used an agent to monitor Hampton. When he organized the gangs and other groups for political organizing and rejecting violence, then the FBI and the Chicago police saw him as a threat.
The Chicago police in December of 1969 murdered Fred Hampton and his friend Mark Clark in one apartment. Hampton's pregnant wife was almost killed. His wife and his son survived and continue to this very day to fight for our freedom. Fred Hampton's murder was so blatantly evil and unjust that the government had no choice but to give financial compensation to his family. No cop was convicted of his murder or the murder of Mark Clark. This is why we advocate for our liberation. Fred Hampton's life was short, but his legacy was large in the sense that it motivated the youth and others to continue on the course to desire human liberation along with justice for our black Brothers and our black Sisters.
Rest in Power Brother Fred Hampton.
Yesterday was the Birthday of Sister Tianna Bartoletta and she is 33 years old. Her birthplace was Elyria, Ohio. As one of the greatest track and field athletes in our generation, she has inspired tons of people to pursue their dreams. She is a living hero, because she is a survivor of so much mistreatment and she stands as a living witness to the power of women. For years, her love affair with track and field has grown. Also, she is a dynamic individual athlete and a great teammate in relay races. Tianna was named a 2002 American Track & Field Outdoor All-American. She earned nine career high school state championships, including seven in individual events, and became the third athlete in Ohio history to win four events at a state championship meet two years in a row (Susan Nash did it in 1983–84 and Jesse Owens did it in 1932–33). She attended the University of Tennessee in college. After college, she has been involved in sprints and in the long jump. She won gold in the 2006 Moscow World Indoor championships for the long jump. Not to mention that she was part of the historic woman USA team of the 4 X 100 relay race that broke a record (in the 2012 London Olympic Games). She raced with great runners like Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter, and Bianca Knight. She won the 2015 Beijing World Championship involving the long jump too. She won the 4 X 100 relay race again in the Summer Olympics at Rio in 2016 (with legendary runners like Allyson Felix, English Gardner, Tori Bowie, and Morolake Akinosun). She has a bronze in the long jump in London in 2017. To this day, she works hard in Club 360 in order to help young girls pursue education. She inspires everyone and she has a great spirit. I wish Sister Tianna Bartoletta more Blessings.
Days ago was the Birthday of the late, great Brother Michael Jackson. He was more than a singer, a songwriter, and a dancer. He was the greatest entertainer of our generation. He brought down barriers, and made music videos that made us think about real issues (like poverty, the environment, famine, the beauty of black culture, and overcoming obstacles). He believed in love and social tolerance. Michael Jackson also was courageous to speak his mind and promote accountability in the music industry. He was born in the Midwest in Gary, Indiana. From the Jackson 5 to his solo career, his music was iconic. From Off the Hall to Thriller, he amazed society with his lyrics and his sound. He danced constantly, but he loved his family a great deal. He also loved his friends and his children. Not to mention that he had a deep love for Diana Ross who inspired him throughout his life. He had great strength and sensitivity at the same time and we certainly honor his positive contributions to human society. Today, his influence is still here with modern artists mimicking his style or the messages in songs. Also, he was a black man who appreciated his black identity too. I wanted to make that clear. Therefore, Michael Jackson taught us about how music is meant to advance an end to oppression and the upliftment of goodness.
Rest in Power Brother Michael Jackson.
Donald Trump is certainly an enemy of democracy. He is silent while one person threatened Boston Globe employees. That person is arrested now. Trump also called for violence against protesters of his views too years ago. Giuliani compared investigators to stormtroopers, which is offensive. Trump also recently lied and claimed that the respected reporter Lester Holt doctored the tape of his interview where Trump admitted that he fired Comey because of the Russia issue. He has no shame in scapegoating the press for his problems when he is the author of his own issues. Any Trump supporter is a supporter of a racist, a sexist, a vulgar hypocrite, and an enemy of truth. He also canceled pay raises for federal employees and has regularly issued Twitter rants that obfuscates the reality that his allies have been criminally indicted plus convicted of various serious crimes. He has no empathy for protesters who oppose police brutality, racism, and injustice. Mueller should be allowed to complete his investigation. Trump's paranoia of the DOJ and the press makes us aware that he is not ready for the Presidency. He must resign or be impeached. White House counsel Don McGahn is leaving and has talked with the Mueller investigators for an extended period of time. So, we have to be vigilant, vote, and stand for our beliefs.
By Timothy
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Other News.
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/the-schedule-for-aretha-franklins-funeral-is-the-most-o-1828718192
https://imixwhatilike.org/2017/11/28/brucedixononbpp/
http://www.historyasia.com/shows/blood-and-glory-civil-war-color
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/aug/11/women-equal-to-men-science-fact-book-angela-saini
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/civil-war/war/war-overview/
https://www.themaparchive.com/new-spain-c-1600.html
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Learning and Growing.
Yesterday was a very important, historic day. It is the day of the 55th year anniversary of the March on Washington. It was the dream of so many men and women who desire to see equality and justice made manifest in our land and in our world. A. Philip Randolph back in the 1940’s wanted that exact march (in protesting industries discriminating against black people during World War II), but he lived to see his dream of such a march later fulfilled in 1963. The march wasn’t just about a multiracial protest against Jim Crow apartheid. The organizations and supporters of the march wanted many political demands explicitly met. The social activists involved in the March wanted an end to police brutality, they wanted federal civil rights legislation, they advocated for labor rights, they desired living wages, and they believed in investments in education. A. Philip Randolph, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, Cleveland Robinson, Roy Wilkins, James Farmer, John Lewis, and countless other men, women, and children organized the whole march. Flyers were sent, calls were made, and over 200,000 people traveled into the capital in order for them to rally for human freedom. At the march, many speakers spoke their minds like A. Philip Randolph, Daisy Bates, John Lewis, and others. One very bad mistake was the restrictions on women speakers as women have every right to voice their issues without restraint. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his powerful “I Have A Dream” speech.
Many people focus on a few words, but his speech was much more than those few, inspirational, legitimate, and eloquent words. His speech in total was an indictment of the racism and oppression found in America. It was call for America to live up to its creed and enact the freedom that are owed to African Americans. Mahalia Jackson moved Dr. King to speak about the Dream. So, Dr. King put the notes down and spoke from his heart words that were pertinent about the Dream and its true meaning. Dr. King’s Dream was straightforward in desiring humanity, regardless of skin color, to have the same equality and justice as anyone else. He wanted racism against black people to end and economic exploitation to cease. He gave his closing statements of his speech in religious, spiritual terms that stirred up the crowd who witnessed him deliver his inspirational, monumental oratory. Now, we live in 2018, and we still believe in the Dream wholeheartedly. With our zeal, we will continue to advocate for it for our faith is real and the Dream will exist in the future.
In conclusion, studying economics is very important. We know that trickled down economics doesn’t work to help the economy in a wide ranging scale. Back in 1993, Bill Clinton wanted to increase the taxes on the earners who made $250K+ a year from 31% to 39.6%. Many conservatives thought this would cause an economic disaster. They were wrong. In fact, from 1992 to 2000, 23 million jobs were created among 8 budget years. The deficit was turned into federal surplus. When Bush came into office back in 2001, he lowered the tax rate on earners who made $250K+ a year from 39.6% to 35%. George W. Bush also cut the top rates on capital gains and dividends. He passed his large tax cut again with the same policies in 2003. From 2001 to 2003, the economy barely grew. The housing market crash contributed to the Great Recession. George W. Bush was desperate and claimed to promote tax cuts and low spending, but passed a large bailout to large financial institutions not to the American people directly who experienced home foreclosures or the poor in general. When Barack Obama came into office, he inherited the problems of the Great Recession. At the end of 2012, Barack Obama raised the taxes on the super wealthy to about 39.6%. He also increased tax rates in capital gains and dividends. Later, the economy grew. By the end of Obama’s second term in 2017, the unemployment rate declined to less than 5 percent, the median income increased, and the GDP has grown. Even when conservatives and supply siders cite Reagan, they omit that Reagan's tax cuts of 1981 didn't end the recession in 1982. It prolonged it until 1984. The economic growth by Reagan was facilitated (via Volcker of the Federal Reserve) by the low interest rates and the expansion of government spending from the mid to late 1980's. Even Ronald Reagan raised taxes at times. I don't support Reagan's ideological agenda (as he promoted imperial adventures, used austerity, and did many things that I don't agree with like him vetoing an anti-apartheid bill), but Reagan did in fact raised taxes multiple times.
Today, we have Trump. Trump believes in tax cuts for the wealthy, cuts to environmental regulations, and he promotes a trade wars (which long term doesn’t work since we have a very interconnected economy). Trump’s trade war deals with tax on foreign goods. Now, many nations have retaliated against that policy by placing tariffs on what we sell to them. This trade war is folly, because of many reasons. One reason is that numerous American companies sell goods worldwide and foreign companies hire Americans. American companies readily sell items overseas. Massive tariffs harm workers and place more of a burden on workers and families who own massive goods and services in the States. For example, tariffs drive up prices on inputs used by American workers to create products. Workers need steel to make cars and other products while tariffs on steel hurt U.S. workers. Tariffs increase the prices of goods that U.S. consumers buy. The Smooth Harley tariff worsen the Great Depression back during the 1930's. We don’t need any tariffs. We need early childhood education, technological skills, research technology, etc. We need investments in health care too. History teaches us that collaboration, investments in infrastructure (like ports, the Internet, high speed transit, bridges, hospitals, etc.), the strengthening of the social safety net, regulating financial entities (as any Wall Street banker who has done criminal actions should be punished), and other progressive policies grow economic development. Addressing poverty and economic inequality must be done as well. Justice for black people and immigration rights are paramount causes to advance. A record high of 75 percent of Americans believe that immigration is good for America, new immigrants can deal with an aging population, immigration spending helps the economy in general, and immigration exists while crime rates are at all time historic lows in 2018. The concentration of economic power into fewer hands during the current generation is wrong. Big money dominating politics unfairly must end. America is made up of many different backgrounds and cultures, so power should be equitable distributed to the human race. That is why health care, housing, education, and other necessities must be promoted to the poor, the working class, and all people.
I didn't comment on Cardi B here, because I don't agree with her on many issues. Yet, I have to take a moment to mention a few words on her now since this is an important issue. Recently, Cardi B and others were part of a skit that disrespected the Civil Rights Movement in really offensive terms. African Americans have shed blood during the Civil Rights Movement in order for us to have many of the rights that some take for granted like the right to vote, the right of housing without discrimination, etc. For her and others like Rip Michaels to create such a skit is not only disrespectful, but it's cruel. Cardi B has shown who she is. She isn't ignorant as some have claimed. She knows exactly what she is doing. Some black people want to unfortunately defend her because she is a person of color. Cardi B says the N word, calls black women "roaches" (which is wrong and evil), colorists readily lust after her, and she has the support among many in that industry. There is no way that I will ever support any non-black person saying the N word period or anyone else for that matter. I don't care what the ending of that word is, the N word is despicable. We must always use discernment. Not everyone who expresses hip hop or tries to befriends us are down. Like usual, Cardi B is said to have apologized (and she portrayed Coretta Scott King in a really denigrating fashion), but you will notice that she would never use a skit to mock the Holocaust, because Jewish people will not play any games like that. The supporters of Cardi B are readily silent and they are silent since their disgraceful support is fully exposed as treacherous. People like Cardi B use music and videos to mock black people for the purposes of making financial profit. We, who are black people, should never play games like that either. Our legacy, our history, and our culture as black people must be respected. This isn't new. Birth of a Nation, modern music that mocks Blackness, and other degrading images have slandered black people for a long time. This is a fight for our liberation. Brothers and Sisters have every right to stand up for our freedom. We don't hate anybody. We just want our human dignity as black people to be respected.
By Timothy
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
55 Years After the March on Washington
https://www.biography.com/news/march-on-washington-facts
http://blog.colourstudio.com/2013/09/making-colorful-history-50-years-after.html
http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2016/06/celebrating-josephine-baker-born-110-years-ago-today.html
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington
http://blog.colourstudio.com/2013/09/making-colorful-history-50-years-after.html
http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2016/06/celebrating-josephine-baker-born-110-years-ago-today.html
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington
Monday, August 27, 2018
The Great Depression and Herbert Hoover
Many people promoted rugged individualism during the Great Recession because many had no choice, but to survive in the midst of harsh economic conditions. Herbert Hoover was President during these times. Cities and towns suffered a great deal. Shantytowns had homeless people. Dust storms harmed the Great Plains. Hoover didn’t start the Great Recession. He did have the responsibility to do something about it as he was President during the peak of it. Hoover knew of economics and he hired experts to try to gather solutions in ending the problem of the recession. He tried different methods and they failed. His failure to solve the problem contributed to his defeat during the 1932 Presidential election. At first, Hoover wanted a hands off policy. He viewed recessions as part of natural occurrences of the business cycle, but people suffering deserve government intervention, especially during times of a massive recession. Hoover once didn’t want the government to be involved. That policy did nothing since by definition; it was no adequate policy at all (of non-intervention). He was Secretary of Commerce years ago. Later, he used another strategy. He wanted to voluntarily encourage businesses and labor to promote economic growth. He also wanted the government to have lower taxes, lower interest rates, and form public works programs. He wanted more money in businesses and individuals and these entities would stimulate economic growth.
This is similar to the Reaganomics of the future. Hoover wanted this goal to end the recession. Hoover wanted the super wealthy to give more money to the poor via charities. He believed that money, food, and clothing would go into these religious and private charities. These charities would, in turn, give money to those suffering. Hoover’s plan wanted volunteerism and voluntary cooperation. It didn’t work out. The reason was that businesses would cut wages, and most Americans followed individual actions not cooperative actions. Workers were laid off for capitalistic reasons. Hoover wanted Americans to work in the interest of the country as a whole without federal legislation. Hoover also believed that state and local governments should provide more relief measures and jobs. He believed in localism. Localism means that problems are best solved by the state and local governmental entities. The problem is that states and cities lacked the economic resources to end the Depression. Hoover even resisted using federal resources to help victims of the Great Depression too. Hoover rejected public assistance and believed in rugged individualism. Charities had little money, unemployment increased, and local plus state government struggled to get the resources to help Americans. This crisis was so big, that the federal government had to take a role in solving it. There were Hoovervilles everywhere. Homelessness was widespread. President Hoover’s policies failed. People started to associate Hoover with the problem from calling trucks Hoover wagons and calling cardboard boxes Hoover houses.
Then, Hoover decided to use federal resources to attack the Depression. Hoover thought that a lack of credit contributed to the recession, so he wanted Congress to create the RFC. RFC stood for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. It was passed on 1932. The RFC gave more than a billion dollars of government loans to large businesses and railroads. It wanted to lend money to banks and these loans would help businesses struggling. He or Hoover believed that money sent to the bankers would be lent to businesses. He viewed this plan as businesses would later hire workers, and production plus consumption would develop. This was part of trickledown economics or the money from the wealthy would go down to the poor. The FRC was part of the federal government, but it didn’t work under Hoover’s actions. The RFC lent out billions, but the bankers didn’t readily increase their loans to businesses. Many businesses didn’t use the loans to hire more workers. The money didn’t go down to the poor in massive levels at all. Hoover did caused a successful public works program of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Congress approved this plan in 1929. It was finished by the early 1930’s and gave employment to many people. Hoover wanted to end the Great Depression, but the problem was that his neoliberal policies didn’t work. People were angry and started to protest against him.
Some American rejected capitalism and believed that capitalism promoted economic inequality and injustice. Some believed in socialism and communism. Others rejected these goals. By this time, fascism grew in Italy and Germany with racists like Hitler and Mussolini. Most Americans never lost faith in democracy. Most Americans wanted substantial change. In 1932, many people came to Washington, D.C. to call for that change. These were World War I veterans and they wanted the bonuses that Congress promised them. These human beings were involved in the Bonus Army. Congress promised a Bonus via the 1924 Adjusted Compensation Act. This law provided payments to the veterans in 1945. Many veterans by 1931 wanted an early payment since the Depression came about. Many veterans were out of work and needed money to survive. The House of Representatives agreed and passed a bill to promote early payments of the bonuses. Yet, the Senate rejected this, so the bill of an early payment was ultimately rejected. Veterans groups came into D.C. to protest this situation. 20,000 veterans came into the capital by the summer of 1932.
Many of them occupied government buildings and set up camps. By July, some of the police wanted to evict them and riots happened. President Hoover sympathized with the marchers. Yet, he wanted General Douglas MacArthur and federal troops to clear them out. MacArthur used tear gas and bayonets to force the veterans out of the Washington, D.C. area. The Army force that removed the WWI veterans included World War II leaders like Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton. Eisenhower later regretted this action as very excessive. Patton wanted his troops to show their sabers. More than 1,000 veterans were tear gassed and many were injured. This response was totally inappropriate and wrong period. MacArthur accused the protesters of trying to promote a direct control of government, but these World War I veterans just wanted just compensation for their service and sacrifice to American society. Hoover didn’t personally order such force in using bayonets and tear gas. Yet, the images of American troops using bayonets on veterans shocked Americans. Images have power and many people blamed Hoover totally for it. Unemployment was almost 25 percent. People were hungry and homeless. Hoover failed to end the Great Depression, so Americans voted for a new President in 1932 to try to get change. The next President would be one of the most transformative President in American history both domestically and foreign policy wise.
By Timothy
Research
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Prince
http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/search/label/African+Americans
https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/black-women-abolitionists-fight-freedom-19th-century
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Beijing
https://alchetron.com/Sally-Hemings
https://www.vox.com/2016/4/8/11389556/thomas-jefferson-sally-hemings-book
http://kalamu.com/neogriot/2014/07/01/history-thomas-jeffersons-black-family-members/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412149803372394610/?lp=true
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/251497960410783922/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AZAvaZWBInBHTLbV1aW1liqCFsKuRLlgQ-JInXTpTeS4hzZ4ZefEw6Y/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/210543351302248713/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/john-adams-out-thomas-jefferson-sally-hemings-180960789/
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Trojan Pam has Passed Away (1953-2018)
I feel sadden. I’m not a crying man all of the time, but I’m almost in tears. COWS dedicated one show recently to celebrate the life of Sister Trojan Pam who has passed away in February of 2018. She had a great light and one of the most brilliant human beings in the world. Her love for black people was incredible and her writing ability was marvelous. She believed in love and justice for black people. We honor her memory by doing what is right, staying on code, and fighting for black liberation that we all seek. Life is a gift and we cherish our lives by being part of the solution in helping our communities. Her lessons were golden and her words of wisdom were paramount. I’m sadden at her passing and I’m near in tears now. She was our hero and she was our legend in our generation.
Rest in Power Sister Trojan Pam.
By Timothy (Me)
https://kushiteprince.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/author-trojan-pam-rest-in-power1953-2018/
Rest in Power Sister Trojan Pam.
By Timothy (Me)
https://kushiteprince.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/author-trojan-pam-rest-in-power1953-2018/
Friday, August 24, 2018
Trump's scandal continues and more facts
You feel like that Presidency is a movie, but this is real. Michael Cohen admitted under oath that the President is a co-conspirator in a crime. David Pecker of the National Enquirer had indeed cooperated with federal prosecutors and has been granted immunity. We know now that the National Enquirer kept a safe containing documents dealing with money payments and other damaging stories about Trump. It is no secret that the National Enquirer has promoted stories in favor of Donald Trump during the 2016 Presidential campaign. David Pecker is telling federal prosecutors everything he knows about Donald Trump. It could related to recordings, copy documents, etc. It seems like the National Enquirer has flipped. Donald Trump is notorious for being aligned with notorious criminals and one author has accused Donald Trump of being tied to the Russian Mafia. Now, the NY prosecutors might indict the Trump Organization including 2 senior executives. Trump cabinet members want to eliminate environmental protections, desire to arm teachers in schools (which is ludicrous), and wants total destruction of much of the social safety net. The Trump regime is filled with criminality.
Cohen has implicated Trump in criminal actions in violation of federal election laws. Paul Manafort is certainly convicted of many crimes. Manafort will have another trial in Washington, D.C. in September too. Trump has praised a criminal like Manafort. The reality of the impeachment of Trump has massively increased since recently in late August of 2018. Trump has tried his best to try to stop the investigation of his administration and has used habitual lying ignoring the fact that the government belongs solely to the people not to one member of the executive branch. Trump has made a mockery of the rule of law and hopefully he will be held accountable for his actions by being removed from office via impeachment and Congress voting to remove him from office.
It is always important to show our Blackness. That means never to compromise our integrity to suit tokenism or the whims of the status quo. It means to recognize that our identity as black people are diverse and an honest expression of our we feel and think encompasses our human expression. That is why we have to always condemn racism since racism denies the personhood of a person based on skin color or physical characteristics that are inborn. Also, it is important to reject colorism as all people regardless of his or her skin complexion have equal worth and equal value. Blackness is about unapologetic creativity, it is about love for our family, and friends, and it is about showing the truth whether the overall public likes it or not. For example, Dr. King opposed the Vietnam War back in the 1960's when the majority of the establishment opposed him. Malcolm X talked about pan-Africanism when tons of people falsely assumed that he promoted unilateral violence. Ella Baker promoted an end to Jim Crow apartheid long before the 1960's. So, telling the truth and loving Blackness are great priorities to pursue. Freedom and justice are just goals. We have the right to show our voices and live our lives without any form of discrimination plus excluding racism.
Also, the truth is that dealing with important issues and consciousness are very important. Some folks have a disturbing pastime to victim blame the poor and victim shame people in general. These are the people who believe in the Horatio Alger's myth and some believe in the notorious falsehood that the world society is a complete meritocracy. Those folks omit that an economic system for over five centuries that grew on the genocide of Native Americans, the enslavement of black Africans, the exploitation of the poor, the harm done to the serfs, and the conquering of lands via colonialism including imperialism have no moral basis to lecture anyone on morality or integrity. Some of the people who act the most in illogical actions, oppression, and lax accountability include some of the super wealthy. Many of the gains that we have created in society from economic rights to civil rights were not created by free market capitalists or centrists. They were created by revolutionaries, labor activists, progressive leaders, civil rights activists, and yes in many cases socialists. Malcolm X wasn't a socialist, but had an interview with socialists in opposing the Vietnam War and criticizing capitalism in 1965. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. praised democratic socialism by his own words. Therefore, we have to be comprehensive in outlook and never omit our responsibility to not only call for accountability (as the pursue of profit is never more important than the pursuit for human liberation and justice).
We must call for universal health care, universal housing, universal education, living wages, an end to corporate corruption, and an eradication of police brutality (not to mention that peacefully kneeing in protesting injustice is never offensive). America is one of the few industrialized nations on Earth which lacks true universal health care and that is wrong. Not to mention that we should never quit. Quit isn't in our vocabulary. Many people, who exist in massively worse conditions than us, have achieved massive excellence involved science, the arts, and other confines of human expression or human intellectual development. You shouldn't be judged on your zipcode or your wealth. You should only be judged on the content of your character. Your own human dignity is priceless and worthy of respect. We live in a new generation and during this time, we honor the ancestors and the old foundations that our ancestors developed from the ground up. Also, we are inspired to build up a new legacy for future generations to grow upon as well.
By Timothy
Thursday, August 23, 2018
More News.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/south-africa-calls-trump-misinformed-land-policy-180823060142595.html
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/23/17772056/south-africa-trump-tweet-afriforum-white-farmers-violence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Beijing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protest_activity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_(1918%E2%80%931945)#Great_Depression
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/23/17772056/south-africa-trump-tweet-afriforum-white-farmers-violence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Beijing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protest_activity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_(1918%E2%80%931945)#Great_Depression
Black Agenda Report Articles
https://www.blackagendareport.com/details-horrific-first-voyages-trans-atlantic-slave-trade-revealed
https://www.blackagendareport.com/long-march-post-capitalist-transition-pan-africanist-perspectives
https://www.blackagendareport.com/how-long-shelf-life-damnable-racist-capitalist-lies
https://www.blackagendareport.com/open-letter-socialists-who-might-be-fronting-democratic-party
https://www.blackagendareport.com/when-things-fall-apart-trump-era-and-missing-left
https://www.blackagendareport.com/long-march-post-capitalist-transition-pan-africanist-perspectives
https://www.blackagendareport.com/how-long-shelf-life-damnable-racist-capitalist-lies
https://www.blackagendareport.com/open-letter-socialists-who-might-be-fronting-democratic-party
https://www.blackagendareport.com/when-things-fall-apart-trump-era-and-missing-left
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Real News
Now, we witness a new era of time. One criminal named Manafort was convicted of 8 counts of economic corruption and the other charges are undecided. The federal government sent tons of documentation to prove that he failed to let the government know about his corrupt transactions and other malfeasance (relating to bank and tax fraud). Manafort is guilty on 8 of the 18 counts and he faces many years in prison. Michael Cohen pledged guilty to charges in New York City. He could face 4-5 years in prison and he admitted under oath that Trump directed him to make payments to 2 women which violated campaign finance laws. Cohen admitted to 8 counts of wrongdoing. This is the first time in American history where a man under oath admitted that he was acted at the direction of the President who directed him to enact a crime during the election season. Also, Manafort has another trial coming up in Washington, D.C. during September. Cohen's attorney said that he has information that is very relevant to the Mueller investigation like information about the Trump Tower meeting and election fraud. The plea deal by Cohen definitely implicates Trump in campaign finance violations.
So, we have told the world that Trump is a habitual liar. He constantly slanders the press and has a lawyer/spokesman Giuliani saying that the truth is not the truth. Giuliani is known for being an authoritarian mayor of NYC when I was younger and he minimized the police brutality crisis in NYC back then. Police brutality is still a crisis today in America. These sets of events are very historic and some have called these events as the beginning of the end of the Trump Presidency. When you have over a dozen people resigning, being convicted, or pleading guilty of felony crimes, then there is a problem with that administration. When you have an administration that abuses its power, abhors the separation of powers, and demonize immigrants, then that administration is abhorrent. Trump saying that this is a witch hunt is false. You have Mueller taking his time to investigate the issues of collusion and obstruction of justice. It's irony since Michael Cohen was one of Trump's greatest supporters. Now, Cohen saw the handwriting on the wall and had done a plea deal. He admitted that he violated campaign finance laws in payments to one person at the direction of Trump. Trump and his administration are filed with corruption literally. In the final analysis, Trump is a total nefarious person.
News today are heavily abundant. Former CIA Director John Brennan is considering going to court to prevent future unfair revoking of clearances. Many people in the intelligence community supported a letter condemning Trump's actions. Omarosa gave a recent interview with Al Shaprton saying that Donald Trump wants to provokes a race war. Omarosa also have shown tapes and other evidence to validate many of her claims. She did this since she believed that no one would believe it without these items of factual evidence. Then, you have Rudy Giuliani outlining falsehoods in his Meet the Press interview yesterday especially saying that truth is not truth. Donald Trump has used his Twitter to slander people and bully others. So, there is never a dull moment here. We live under bizarre times and the good news is that the Trump regime will end in the future. It won't last forever and it's our jobs to do right and help our neighbors. In that sense, crowns upon crowns will await us.
Yesterday was the Birthday of a great actress who for decades have shown the wide ranging experiences of African American life. Her name is Sister Loretta Devine and she is now 69 years. From being in movies and TV shows, she gracefully performed her talent globally. Houston is the hometown of hers and Houston is city with dynamic culture. Her relatives placed the great values of hard work and perseverance which shines throughout in her long stretching career. In 1971, Devine graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Drama. In 1976, she received a Master of Fine Arts in Theater from Brandeis University. Broadway was key part of her early career. She was part of the famous Dreamgirls play during the 1980's. Dreamgirls was based on the story of the Supremes. A Different World, Waiting to Exhale, Being Mary Jane, and other shows plus movies definitely displayed her excellent acting skills. Today, she is still intimately involved in acting as she loves the performance of it. She has a child and she is gloriously making the world better. I wish Sister Loretta Devine more Blessings. A role model, a hero, and a strong man defines Brother Al Roker. It was his birthday days ago and he is now 64 years old. He was born in Queens, NYC. He is known as a journalist, weather personality, actor, and author. He is the current weather anchor of NBC's Today. His parents are of Afro-Caribbean descent. His mother has roots from Jamaica and his father has roots from the Bahamas. He worked in news stations showing the weather throughout New York state and Cleveland during the 1970's. His wife is the famous ABC reporter Sister Deborah Roberts too. She has made magnanimous accomplishments in her own right. In real life, my mother saw Al Roker giving children advice on life many years ago. He has three children. With humor, great insights on matters, and charisma, he has expressed a great light throughout the globe. From hosting parades to inspiring human beings, he has made the lives of so many others more enriched with his actions. I wish Brother Al Roker more blessings.
Usain Bolt has his Birthday yesterday. He is the fastest human being in human history and he is now 32 years old. He recently retired from track and field, but his legacy is set in stone as the greatest sprinter of all time. He was born in Sherwood Content, a small town in Jamaica. As a young person, he played cricket and soccer. By the age of 12 years old, he was known around Jamaica as a very fast sprinter. By 2001, he started to win many awards in Track and Field. By the Summer Olympics of 2008 in Beijing, Usain Bolt was great to break records and increase his legendary career. He won 2 gold medals in Beijing. He won 3 gold medals in the London Olympics in 2012 and 3 more gold medals in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He transformed the sport of track and field in our generation. He has inspired a new generation of young men and young women to pursue sprinting, the long jump, long distance running, the marathon, and other sports in relation to track as well. People respect his confidence and easy going personality. He has the fastest 100 m race in history in Berlin with the time of 9.58 seconds in 2009. 19.19 seconds was the time of his 200m world record in Berlin too back in 2009. Usain Bolt is a person who will continue to promote excellence in his own way. I wish Brother Usain Bolt more blessings.
By Timothy
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Monday, August 20, 2018
Savant's Words
http://www.topix.com/member/profile/savant
http://memphisdsa.blogspot.com/2014/01/martin-luther-king-and-economic-justice.html
The remarkable thing about that is that I've found the attitude you speak of more common among some Blacks who were already middle class than among poor Blacks with whom I grew up in East Baltimore. Mostly, they want to leave poverty behind but see no way of doing so. Even the criminal activity that a minority engages in is an unorthodox way of trying to escape poverty, and SOME (not most) even succeed. (As we know many rich whites are descendants of men who became rich, rose out of poverty through criminal means, and then tried to become "respectable. " A famous example from Baltimore was a guy called "Little Willie"--who after becoming rich became "William D. Adams, III). But most of the poor do not resort to criminal activity, and most who do hardly become very successful. Most of the poor, like my parents, work low income jobs and hope for something better for their children. Fortunately, my parents' hope came true to a large extent
All unsavory loon parties--like Republicans and Nazis (now part of Trump's base)--must create a bogeyman alright, conjuring images of hallucinatory dangers while deflecting attention from REAL dangers. Hence the clap trap about threats of terrorism from "black identity extremists" which (like the "Jewish Commie conspiracies" Nazis and many US conservatives rant about) DO NOT EXIST, and deflection of attention from WHITE RIGHT WING EXTREMIST terrorism and dangers of terrorism which DO EXIST. And this paranoid psychology is more widespread in this sick society than is often known. You're more likely to be murdered by a right wing Christian loon, but you're TERRIFIED of Muslims. Or you're a mentally unbalanced white man or woman who's TERRIFIED of "black crime" even thought there's an 87% chance that you will be victimized by another white person. (At least on this point, Blacks are more sane. We don't fear white crime when we know there's a 94% chance such crimes will be done by another Black person. In short, we fear the crime that we actually SUFFER, not (as so many paranoid whites) crimes that we IMAGINE. What we protest is not white crime, but WHITE RACISM.....unless of course, racism is a crime). You have Americans being duped into hating immigrants for taking jobs most American born citizens will not accept anyway, and allow themselves to be duped by Trump's xenophobic hysteria against immigrants. Yet it is the class to which Trump belongs that destroyed the economies of the poorer countries (thereby creating the immigrant crisis), and came within a hair of destroying the economies of the wealthy global northern countries. Yes, the unsavory poliicos--MAINLY right wing (not only)--always need some witch or demon to hunt, when indeed the only demons are those raging through their own hearts and minds.
-Savant
A proposal to close 7 out of 9 polling places in Georgia.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/08/18/georgia-voting-rights-activists-move-to-block-a-plan-to-close-two-thirds-of-polling-places-in-one-county/?noredirect=on
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/randolph-county-polling-places_us_5b77115ce4b0a5b1febb04fc
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-georgia-polling-places-20180818-story.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/randolph-county-polling-places_us_5b77115ce4b0a5b1febb04fc
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-georgia-polling-places-20180818-story.html
The Roaring Twenties.
The Roaring Twenties included both cultural greatness and fights against racism. It included both economic growth and massive economic inequality. It was a time unparalleled in American history and one of the most interesting periods in world history. From jazz to cars, creativity persisted during the 1920’s. From 1919 to 1929, America experienced massive changes. The economy boomed. More revolutionary means of production allowed American consumers to buy more items quicker. Stock prices grew. Factories produced more goods and wages increased. With this reality, more Americans brought for items. The car maker Henry Ford revolutionized mass production. Mass production was about the mass production of large numbers of identical products in order to create things more efficiently. Back in the beginning of the 20th century, mostly the rich could afford cars. The automobile was seen as a tool of the privileged. When cars came into rural areas, they were filled with dust and scared animals like goats and cows. By 1901, an inexpensive car was created by Ransom Olds called the Oldsmobile.
By 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T. This was another inexpensive car. It sold for $850. He made a new plant in the Detroit River to have the car created from steel, glass, oil, and rubber. These items were manufactured in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Ford used assembly lines. They were similar to meatpacking plants using tools to move meat around in preparing for foods. The Assembly line had a worker add an item to the machine and then another worker would do a different job until the car was completely created. This process decreased the time to form a Model T from more than 12 hours to just 90 minutes. So, the cost of the Model T declined from $350 to $290 by 1927. From 10 percent of Americans owning the Model T to 56% of Americans owning it in 1927, it was the first car that ordinary Americans could buy. Gas stations developed in America. Cars influenced the developments of the highway system. Route 66 ran from Illinois to California. Advertising developed greatly and more Americans traveled in vacations. Wages for car makers also increased. Henry Ford increased wages because he knew if people had fair wages and were given more leisure time, then more consumers would buy his products and his car development plans would massively improve.
The automobile industry transformed America. Steel, glass, rubber, asphalt, wood, gasoline, insurance, and road-construction industries were helped by the car industry. Oil discoveries in California, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma gave workers new economic resources in the Southwest. 1926 was when the federal government invested in more highways. In these places, service stations, diners, and motor hotels or motels grew. Railroads and trolleys declined in use because of the rise of the usage of cars. More Americans saw freedom and prosperity with automobiles. Families traveled to the country. More people went into the suburbs from the cities with cars. More people from the suburbs also came to work into large cities. Economically, the 1920’s saw a consumer boom. More people brought items with credit from washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and irons. Electricity governed the power of machines. Installment buying or paying a down payment on something and pay the rest later grew. Rising stock prices developed in the bull market. Some bought on margin as in credit. More people flocked to the cities from the rural areas including African Americans via the Great Migration. Cities like New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Detroit grew massively in population from 1910 to 1930. The Empire State Building was finished in 1931. Suburbs grew too as cars allowed people to travel into a diversity of places. There were economic problems too like lower farm incomes, income inequality, more wealth sent to the super wealthy, and suffering in rural communities. Many people ignored the rural struggles of the 1920’s back then. Warren G. Harding was the Republican President who wanted to promote a laissez faire approach to government. He wanted normalcy. He and the other President Calvin Coolidge promoted a conservative government in the United States of America. Harding wanted this far right agenda and that is why he choose Andrew Mellon as the Secretary of Treasury. Mellon is a total robber baron and big business advocate. Mellon wanted to promote business interests and he desired low taxes on individuals and corporations. Congress reduced spending form $18 billion to $3 billion. Then, the Treasury saw a surplus. Harding signed a bill that increased the protective tariff by 25 percent. He wanted to promote American business interests. European markets retaliated by increasing their tariffs causing a trade war. The trade war harmed the U.S. economy. Harding trusted the Ohio gang and others to handle many political including economic issues. The Teapot Dome scandal harmed the Harding Presidency. By August 2, 1923, Harding died of a heart attack in Alaska.
Calvin Coolidge was President as he was once the Vice President. He supported business interests. He promoted Mellon’s ideas of lowering taxes, cutting the budgets, and giving incentives to businesses. Urban Americans and the wealthy saw great profits. Yet, the rural communities suffered. Labor unions wanted higher wages, racial discrimination was huge, and Mexican Americans wanted equality. Coolidge did nothing since he believed that it was the federal government’s responsibility to end economic and racial injustice. That was disgraceful on his part. Coolidge wanted a foreign policy to prevent wars. The U.S. wanted France and Great Britain to pay its loans to America because of WWI. So, the U.S. supported the Dawes Plan which forced Germany to pay reparations to France plus Great Britain. That money would be later sent to America. The crash of 1929 prevented that money to come into America. Ultimately, it would be the economic instability from the 1920’s that contributed to the Great Depression and World War II.
The 1920’s saw a new social reality in America. There was a clash between traditionalists who were conservative religious people. The modernists made up of secularists including many progressive religious leaders. This was like the culture war of the 1920’s. Religion was powerful back then with preachers like the famous Billy Sunday. He preached against greed, card playing, dancing, and drinking especially. Farmers were suffering and the rural-urban division grew. There were debates on immigration and the teaching of evolution debate. By the 1920 yearly census, more people lived in urban areas than rural areas for the first time in American history. Urban Americans had a consumer culture in full access. Many of them were open to social change and new discoveries of science. Many rural Americans had a traditional view of religion, science, and culture. Education was very important in America in promoting math, science, literacy, etc. High school graduates grew by 1930. By the 1920’s, some Americans thought that their Christian faith was under siege. So, they promoted religious fundamentalism. This view held that the Bible must be literally interpreted completely. Many of supporters of this view condemned the persecution of the Orthodox Church in Russia by Soviet communists and the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico being assaulted by some revolutionary people. The Scopes Trial of 1925 fined a man who taught evolution in a public school, but later laws would legalize the teaching of evolution in public schools since evolution relates to the study of science. Evolution was modernized by Charles Darwin with his book called, “The Origin of the Species.” The ACLU supported the biology teacher John Scopes who was teaching evolution in the high school. Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney who defended Scopes. William Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor and didn’t support Scopes. Scopes was found guilty and was fined $100. Many people back then falsely viewed that evolution taught that humans just descended from modern day monkeys, but evolution taught that humans and primates share a common ancestor. The xenophobia of the 1920’s was huge. New immigrants had jobs. Some nativists believed that these new immigrants took away American jobs and would harm American religious, cultural, and political traditions. The Nativists opposed new immigrants and many of them had ties to eugenicists. Congress forced new immigrants to pass a literacy test to be new citizens. Wilson vetoed the bill and Congress overridden the veto. Many xenophobes feared new socialists and communists coming into Americans. People, who opposed nativism, said that America was made up of immigrants and this is what made an American an American. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924 promoted a quota system involving immigration. This restricted how many immigrants could come into America from specific nations. The National Origins Act said that the number of immigrants of a specific nationality each year couldn’t exceed 2 percent of the number of people of that nationality living in America in 1890. It banned Asian immigrants from coming into America too. The quotas didn’t apply to Mexico, so Mexican immigrants came into America in great numbers. Many Mexican Americans worked in crops found in California, Texas, New Mexico, etc. A smaller number worked in factories of the North and Midwest.
Immigration hatred influenced the revitalized Ku Klux Klan by the 1920’s. The Klan promoted the doctrines of hate and bigotry plus racism. They committed violence all over America back then. The first Klan brutalized black people during the Reconstruction era. They wanted to prevent black people from voting. The new Klan of the 1920’s promoted hatred against African Americans and they were involved in lynching black people. They also added their hatred of new immigrants including Jewish people, Catholics, and others. There were labor protests and the Klan hated labor unions in general. At its peak, it had 4-5 million white racists in America. They were police officers, judges, and other people in society. Most of them were in the South and the Midwest. In fact, some parts of the Midwest were more racist than the South. Other Klan branches were in the North and the West too. David Stephenson was a Klan leader who controlled politicians too. Some Klan members opposed women from voting. Women groups of Klan members existed too. Klan members terrorized black people, Roman Catholics, and Jewish people via boycotts and terrorism. They opposed businesses owned by black people, Jewish people, and Roman Catholics. They burned crosses in front of homes. The Klan used violence, bribery, rape, and political corruption. They also were exposed heavily by the late 1920’s. The NAACP and the ADL worked hard to oppose the evil actions of the Ku Klux Klan.
By Timothy
By 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T. This was another inexpensive car. It sold for $850. He made a new plant in the Detroit River to have the car created from steel, glass, oil, and rubber. These items were manufactured in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Ford used assembly lines. They were similar to meatpacking plants using tools to move meat around in preparing for foods. The Assembly line had a worker add an item to the machine and then another worker would do a different job until the car was completely created. This process decreased the time to form a Model T from more than 12 hours to just 90 minutes. So, the cost of the Model T declined from $350 to $290 by 1927. From 10 percent of Americans owning the Model T to 56% of Americans owning it in 1927, it was the first car that ordinary Americans could buy. Gas stations developed in America. Cars influenced the developments of the highway system. Route 66 ran from Illinois to California. Advertising developed greatly and more Americans traveled in vacations. Wages for car makers also increased. Henry Ford increased wages because he knew if people had fair wages and were given more leisure time, then more consumers would buy his products and his car development plans would massively improve.
The automobile industry transformed America. Steel, glass, rubber, asphalt, wood, gasoline, insurance, and road-construction industries were helped by the car industry. Oil discoveries in California, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma gave workers new economic resources in the Southwest. 1926 was when the federal government invested in more highways. In these places, service stations, diners, and motor hotels or motels grew. Railroads and trolleys declined in use because of the rise of the usage of cars. More Americans saw freedom and prosperity with automobiles. Families traveled to the country. More people went into the suburbs from the cities with cars. More people from the suburbs also came to work into large cities. Economically, the 1920’s saw a consumer boom. More people brought items with credit from washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and irons. Electricity governed the power of machines. Installment buying or paying a down payment on something and pay the rest later grew. Rising stock prices developed in the bull market. Some bought on margin as in credit. More people flocked to the cities from the rural areas including African Americans via the Great Migration. Cities like New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Detroit grew massively in population from 1910 to 1930. The Empire State Building was finished in 1931. Suburbs grew too as cars allowed people to travel into a diversity of places. There were economic problems too like lower farm incomes, income inequality, more wealth sent to the super wealthy, and suffering in rural communities. Many people ignored the rural struggles of the 1920’s back then. Warren G. Harding was the Republican President who wanted to promote a laissez faire approach to government. He wanted normalcy. He and the other President Calvin Coolidge promoted a conservative government in the United States of America. Harding wanted this far right agenda and that is why he choose Andrew Mellon as the Secretary of Treasury. Mellon is a total robber baron and big business advocate. Mellon wanted to promote business interests and he desired low taxes on individuals and corporations. Congress reduced spending form $18 billion to $3 billion. Then, the Treasury saw a surplus. Harding signed a bill that increased the protective tariff by 25 percent. He wanted to promote American business interests. European markets retaliated by increasing their tariffs causing a trade war. The trade war harmed the U.S. economy. Harding trusted the Ohio gang and others to handle many political including economic issues. The Teapot Dome scandal harmed the Harding Presidency. By August 2, 1923, Harding died of a heart attack in Alaska.
Calvin Coolidge was President as he was once the Vice President. He supported business interests. He promoted Mellon’s ideas of lowering taxes, cutting the budgets, and giving incentives to businesses. Urban Americans and the wealthy saw great profits. Yet, the rural communities suffered. Labor unions wanted higher wages, racial discrimination was huge, and Mexican Americans wanted equality. Coolidge did nothing since he believed that it was the federal government’s responsibility to end economic and racial injustice. That was disgraceful on his part. Coolidge wanted a foreign policy to prevent wars. The U.S. wanted France and Great Britain to pay its loans to America because of WWI. So, the U.S. supported the Dawes Plan which forced Germany to pay reparations to France plus Great Britain. That money would be later sent to America. The crash of 1929 prevented that money to come into America. Ultimately, it would be the economic instability from the 1920’s that contributed to the Great Depression and World War II.
The 1920’s saw a new social reality in America. There was a clash between traditionalists who were conservative religious people. The modernists made up of secularists including many progressive religious leaders. This was like the culture war of the 1920’s. Religion was powerful back then with preachers like the famous Billy Sunday. He preached against greed, card playing, dancing, and drinking especially. Farmers were suffering and the rural-urban division grew. There were debates on immigration and the teaching of evolution debate. By the 1920 yearly census, more people lived in urban areas than rural areas for the first time in American history. Urban Americans had a consumer culture in full access. Many of them were open to social change and new discoveries of science. Many rural Americans had a traditional view of religion, science, and culture. Education was very important in America in promoting math, science, literacy, etc. High school graduates grew by 1930. By the 1920’s, some Americans thought that their Christian faith was under siege. So, they promoted religious fundamentalism. This view held that the Bible must be literally interpreted completely. Many of supporters of this view condemned the persecution of the Orthodox Church in Russia by Soviet communists and the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico being assaulted by some revolutionary people. The Scopes Trial of 1925 fined a man who taught evolution in a public school, but later laws would legalize the teaching of evolution in public schools since evolution relates to the study of science. Evolution was modernized by Charles Darwin with his book called, “The Origin of the Species.” The ACLU supported the biology teacher John Scopes who was teaching evolution in the high school. Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney who defended Scopes. William Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor and didn’t support Scopes. Scopes was found guilty and was fined $100. Many people back then falsely viewed that evolution taught that humans just descended from modern day monkeys, but evolution taught that humans and primates share a common ancestor. The xenophobia of the 1920’s was huge. New immigrants had jobs. Some nativists believed that these new immigrants took away American jobs and would harm American religious, cultural, and political traditions. The Nativists opposed new immigrants and many of them had ties to eugenicists. Congress forced new immigrants to pass a literacy test to be new citizens. Wilson vetoed the bill and Congress overridden the veto. Many xenophobes feared new socialists and communists coming into Americans. People, who opposed nativism, said that America was made up of immigrants and this is what made an American an American. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924 promoted a quota system involving immigration. This restricted how many immigrants could come into America from specific nations. The National Origins Act said that the number of immigrants of a specific nationality each year couldn’t exceed 2 percent of the number of people of that nationality living in America in 1890. It banned Asian immigrants from coming into America too. The quotas didn’t apply to Mexico, so Mexican immigrants came into America in great numbers. Many Mexican Americans worked in crops found in California, Texas, New Mexico, etc. A smaller number worked in factories of the North and Midwest.
Immigration hatred influenced the revitalized Ku Klux Klan by the 1920’s. The Klan promoted the doctrines of hate and bigotry plus racism. They committed violence all over America back then. The first Klan brutalized black people during the Reconstruction era. They wanted to prevent black people from voting. The new Klan of the 1920’s promoted hatred against African Americans and they were involved in lynching black people. They also added their hatred of new immigrants including Jewish people, Catholics, and others. There were labor protests and the Klan hated labor unions in general. At its peak, it had 4-5 million white racists in America. They were police officers, judges, and other people in society. Most of them were in the South and the Midwest. In fact, some parts of the Midwest were more racist than the South. Other Klan branches were in the North and the West too. David Stephenson was a Klan leader who controlled politicians too. Some Klan members opposed women from voting. Women groups of Klan members existed too. Klan members terrorized black people, Roman Catholics, and Jewish people via boycotts and terrorism. They opposed businesses owned by black people, Jewish people, and Roman Catholics. They burned crosses in front of homes. The Klan used violence, bribery, rape, and political corruption. They also were exposed heavily by the late 1920’s. The NAACP and the ADL worked hard to oppose the evil actions of the Ku Klux Klan.
By Timothy
Friday, August 17, 2018
Remembering the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin
Majesty and excellence were part of her life. She was the daughter of the Detroit Baptist preacher Rev. C. L. Franklin. Aretha Franklin was also her own woman who could play the piano, sing, and spoke up heroically in favor of human justice. Jazz, soul, gospel, opera, classical, R&B, and other genres of music were loved and performed by her. She motivated our consciousness and spoke enumerable truths that persist forevermore. She was an elegant, strong, and beautiful black woman who used her voice and her compassion to build up humanity. The following words will show information about her life and legacy. Certainly, it's sad news to report that Aretha Franklin is now passed away at the age of 76. She broke down barriers and was involved in the Civil Rights Movement. She was one of the greatest performers in history and many cite her as the greatest singer in human history. People of every background know of her music, of her courage, and of her strength. She sang an anthem for women empowerment called Respect. That galvanized so many social movements and it showed the truth that women are owed respect unconditionally. Memphis, Tennessee was the place of her birth and she was raised heavily in Detroit, Michigan which is the home of Motown.
Memphis and Detroit are two great American cities whose legacies involving music, culture, and social activism are transcendent. She made an album at the age of 14, which outlined her excellent talent. Her father helped her to sign her first recording deal with J.V.B. Records, where her first album, Songs of Faith, was issued in 1956. Franklin sometimes traveled with The Soul Stirrers during this time. During her 20's, she made classic musical records. Aretha Franklin represented black womanhood to the fullest. We know of her as a gracious, inspiring black woman who was on a mission to promote love, respect, and human togetherness. Loyalty, kindness, and inspirational love all personify her life. Her star shined greatly indeed. She was the Queen of Soul. She was in movies and in other music videos too. Her father was a pastor and a great friend of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. too. Dr. King knew Aretha Franklin as a great friend as well. In fact, Aretha Franklin gave concerts during the 1960's to fund Dr. King's SCLC. Also, Aretha Franklin's father role in the march in Detroit back in 1963 inspired Dr. King to speak at the 1963 March at Washington during August. On February 16, 1968, Aretha Franklin was honored with a day in her honor and was greeted by longtime friend Martin Luther King Jr. who gave her the SCLC Drum Beat Award for Musicians just two months before his death.
Many of the greatest songs that she sang were: Respect, Natural Woman, Chain of Fools, Think, My Song, Day Dreaming, A Rose is Still a Rose, Baby I Love You, I Say a Little Prayer, etc. She performed magnificently in the Blues Brothers film. Many people honor her wit, her gifts, and her commitment to civil rights. Aretha Franklin wanted to maintain her privacy and she was honest about music and life in general. Aretha Franklin always had spirituality as a cornerstone in her walk. Gospel music is included in her discography too not just soul or R&B albums (among a music career spanning over five decades). She just loved music and her Blackness always flourished. There are so many excellent Aretha's classics that they reach up all in your soul. Her family and friends visited her before her passing at a Detroit hospice.
Aretha Franklin was a Queen and she is with the ancestors now in spirit. Certainly, her voice, her passion for justice, her zeal for living, her compassion for her neighbors, and her love of truth are gifts from God. She gave total inspiration to especially black women and black girls to pursue their dreams and aspirations. She had a purpose and wanted humanity in general to express their lights brightly. Aretha Franklin used her artistry in a manifold of positive ways. She was indeed the greatest vocalist of human history. As a trailblazer, she will be greatly missed. We owe a lot to her being a woman of vision. We are all fans of Aretha Franklin. No one was like her before and no one will be like her afterwards. Her legacy is truly eternal.
Rest in Power Sister Aretha Franklin
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
News
https://www.salon.com/2013/11/03/stop_calling_jfk_conservative_the_rights_favorite_new_lie_is_filled_with_historical_flaws/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Mailou_Jones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Walker_(abolitionist)
https://timeline.com/lois-milou-jones-black-art-history-video-ae2ec9f8eab3
http://www.blackstudies.ucsb.edu/about/history
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Black-Studies-Swaggering/131533
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWuTX26Mm0U&feature=youtu.be
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjsK51iHioD/?hl=en&taken-by=nmaahc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Mailou_Jones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Walker_(abolitionist)
https://timeline.com/lois-milou-jones-black-art-history-video-ae2ec9f8eab3
http://www.blackstudies.ucsb.edu/about/history
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Black-Studies-Swaggering/131533
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWuTX26Mm0U&feature=youtu.be
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjsK51iHioD/?hl=en&taken-by=nmaahc
Economics Part 5
Economics Part 5 ( Economic History from 1945 to 2018)
From 1945 to 2018 would include some of the most important economic developments in human history. After World War II, there was the start the post-World War II economic boon. It lasted from 1945 to the early 1970’s. There was the $200 billion in war bond maturing. The G.I. Bill funded a well-educated work force. Immediately after WWII, the middle class grew, GDP increased along with productivity. Across many economic classes, the growth was distributed fairly. By the end of World War Two, Harry Truman was President. He tried to follow liberal positions on some issues like health care, but he was also a stone Cold War follower. He had an antipathy towards the Soviet Union and carried out the Korean War and supported the Greek monarchy in the Greek civil war during the late 1940's. Cold War liberalism emerged at a time when most African Americans were politically and economically disenfranchised. Beginning with To Secure These Rights, an official report issued by the Truman White House in 1947, self-proclaimed liberals increasingly embraced the civil rights movement. In 1948, President Truman desegregated the armed forces and the Democrats inserted a strong civil rights plank in the party platform, even though delegates from the Deep South walked out and nominated a third party ticket, the Dixiecrats, headed by Strom Thurmond. Truman abolished discrimination in the Armed Forces, leading to the integration of military units in the early 1950s. However, no civil rights legislation was passed until a weak bill in 1957. There was the strength of labor unions during this period as labor union membership peaked historically in America by the 1950’s. Many people in towns and the cities experienced better paying jobs by 1960. Still, society wasn’t a Utopia back then either because of the obvious reasons. Back then, black people and people of color were denied basic human rights from voting rights to educational opportunities. Women back then in many cases couldn’t even enjoy full rights and Jim Crow plus lynching back then were in epidemic levels (Lynchings continue to this very day in the 21st century as exposed by many incidents in America alone). The Congress created the Council of Economic Advisors to promote high employment, high profits, and low inflation. Keynesianism was even embraced to some extent by the Eisenhower administration (1953-1961). Many people embraced public works programs, easing credit, and reducing taxes. Keynesian economic policies have been embraced by John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon back in 1969. The nation still experienced recessions of 1945, 1949, 1953, and 1960 with a decline in GDP. The Baby Boom saw a rapid increase in American births from 1942 to 1957. It was caused by delayed marriages and childbearing during the depression, more economic prosperity, and the growth of suburbia. This economic growth was influenced by technological developments. Fertilizer and farm machinery were modernized. The Green Revolution of the 1940’s and beyond increased yields of corn, soybean, and wheat. New Deal policies continued from then to this very day. The New Deal assisted farmers in their policies like farm loans, commodity subsidies, and price supports. The farm population declined and food stamp programs were used to help urban communities. World War II saw air transport heavily utilized. After WWII, America had the leading producer of combat aircraft and commercial aircraft. The airplane manufacturing and maintenance personnel expanded with radar.
The aircraft industry had the highest productivity growth of any major industry, growing by 8.9% per year from 1929-1966. Automobiles, highways, and inexpensive housing expanded suburbia. There were problems during that era of time too. Many poor families lived in overcrowded apartments. Economic inequality was a serious issue. Richer families saw their family savings grow to be used for down payments on many items. Whereas an average of 316,000 new housing non-farm units had been constructed from the 1930's through 1945, there were 1,450,000 units built annually from 1946 through 1955. The G.I. Bill helped many veterans with low down payments and low interest rates. In 1956, the interstate highway system started to develop. Computer technology with transistors and other items helped to do accounting, billing, and payroll actions. Federal taxes on incomes, profits and payrolls had risen to high levels during World War II and had been cut back only slowly; the highest rates for individuals reached the 90% level.
President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961 and he gave an eloquent speech about the future. Later, in 1962, he called for progressive reforms in American society. He said the following words from his Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union (on January 11, 1962):
"...Finally, a strong America cannot neglect the aspirations of its citizens--the welfare of the needy, the health care of the elderly, the education of the young. For we are not developing the Nation's wealth for its own sake. Wealth is the means--and people are the ends. All our material riches will avail us little if we do not use them to expand the opportunities of our people. Last year, we improved the diet of needy people--provided more hot lunches and fresh milk to school children built more college dormitories--and, for the elderly, expanded private housing, nursing homes, heath services, and social security. But we have just begun. To help those least fortunate of all, I am recommending a new public welfare program, stressing services instead of support, rehabilitation instead of relief, and training for useful work instead of prolonged dependency. To relieve the critical shortage of doctors and dentists--and this is a matter which should concern us all--and expand research, I urge action to aid medical and dental colleges and scholarships and to establish new National Institutes of Health. To take advantage of modern vaccination achievements, I am proposing a mass immunization program, aimed at the virtual elimination of such ancient enemies of our children as polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus. To protect our consumers from the careless and the unscrupulous, I shall recommend improvements in the Food and Drug laws-strengthening inspection and standards, halting unsafe and worthless products, preventing misleading labels, and cracking down on the illicit sale of habit-forming drugs. But in matters of health, no piece of unfinished business is more important or more urgent than the enactment under the social security system of health insurance for the aged..."
So, President John F. Kennedy wasn't a conservative. He was a liberal President. He called for universal health care for the elderly, investments in Social Security, and federal government civil rights legislation (after he was pressured by civil rights leaders like Dr. King, the Freedom Riders, SCLC, SNCC, and others who wanted him to take more militant tone in confronting Jim Crow). JFK also fired CIA Director Allen Dulles, Deputy Richard Bissell, and others. he signed the Test Ban Treaty, which decreased U.S./Soviet tensions during the height of the Cold War. Congress cut tax rates in 1964. President John F. Kennedy did have a tax proposal that wanted to decrease the top marginal tax rate form 91 percent to 70 percent, but that was only part of the story. He also wanted to end welfare and loopholes for the wealthy class, which in effect raised taxes or revenues. He also planned to have increased spending in 1964. He told his chief economic adviser Walter Heller, 11 days before his assassination that, he wanted the tax cut first, "then, we'll have my expenditures program." Kennedy called for cutting tax preferences for oil and gas industries by saying in 1963 that, "while these are complex as well as controversial problems, we cannot shrink from a frank appraisal of government policies and tax subsidies in this area." At that point, the richest 1 percent of households held less than 10 percent of the income share in 1962. Since then, the share of income going to the top 1 percent has more than doubled — even has the wealthy pay less in taxes. JFK believed in the separation of church and state. Also, JFK gave a speech to the Liberal Party back in September 14, 1960 in which he said that he is a liberal, so John F. Kennedy was a liberal.
President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–69) dreamed of creating a "Great Society", and began many new social programs to that end, such as Medicaid and Medicare. The Great Society and other programs cut poverty in half from 1960 to 1970. The Great Society's Head Start, disability benefits, job training programs, have helped millions of Americans of every color for years and decades.
As for the Great Society programs, they were beginning to work until budgets were cut and the economy began to shift from manufacturing. The data is clear: in the years between 1965 and 1973, poverty rates plummeted, and especially in urban areas, by about 38 percent. Even the Model Cities programs helped people, but they were ended in a less than a decade after its initial implementation. By the mid-1970's, many of the programs of the Great Society had been cut or eliminated, leaving only cash assistance (which began to decline relative to inflation and was never sufficient to pull folks from poverty), food stamps and limited housing support.
"...If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
-President John F. Kennedy
Eisenhower expanded nuclear technology. John F. Kennedy supported expansion into space travel and other investment. The South also had a transition from manufacturing to high technology. There was the Atomic Energy Commission's Savannah River Site in South Carolina; the Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville in Alabama; nuclear research facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and space facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, and at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The Defense Department financed some of the private industry’s research and development in the decades like ARPANET, which would become the Internet. By the late 1960’s, manufacturing employment and nominal value added shares of the economy have declined since WWII.
Japan and West Germany grew its economy after World War II. They were rebuilt by the Marshall Plan and actions from U.S. investments to both of those nations. With the Vietnam War, there was massive inflation. The reason was that there was massive spending overseas for the war while by the late 1960's, the Great Society programs were beginning to be cut. The manufacturing jobs started to decline in America especially by the 1960's because of jobs moving outside of the U.S. cities and automation. Also, there was the rise of the service sector economy in replacing the private sector economy by the late 20th century. Technological innovations of the final third of the 20th century were significant, but were not as powerful as those of the first two-thirds of the century. These innovations include: international television, space shuttles, home computers, satellites, etc. Manufacturing productivity growth continued at a somewhat slower rate than in earlier decades, but overall productivity was dragged down by the relative increase in size of the government and service sectors. The Bretton Woods system in 1971 ended. That was when America made the dollar a fiat currency from ending the convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold. By the early 1970’s, imported manufacturing goods came about like automobiles and electronics.
The 1965–1974 period was a major liberal activist era in Congress, with the Democratic-led Congresses during the presidency of Richard Nixon continuing to produce liberal domestic policies. They organized themselves internally to round up votes, track legislation, mobilize interests, and produce bills without direct assistance from the White House. A wide range of progressive measures were carried out, such as in Social Security (with a 20% benefit increase and linkage to automatic cost-of-living increases in 1972), public welfare (with expansion of unemployment compensation, food stamps, and supplemental security income additions to social security), workplace rules (with the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970), urban aid (with the addition of mass transit subsidies to highway construction enactments), environmentalism (with the passage of the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 and the Clean Air Act of 1970), aid to education (including Title IX in 1972), civil rights (with the extension of the Voting Rights Act in 1970), and nutrition (with the establishment of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children in 1972).
Also, it is important to mention that Nixon was involved in Watergate and other scandals that violated constitutional rights and other democratic human rights. So, Nixon was a person who used the conservative movement for his advantage until he caught violating the law (and resigning by 1974). The 1973 oil crisis was about nations like Saudi Arabia banning oil from importing into America. They did this in retaliation of American support of Israel (especially during the time of the Yom Kippur war). Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon talked about this issue. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia's had the intention of cutting back on oil supplies over U.S. policies in the Middle East. The oil embargo started by 1973 and soon, many people had to wait in long lines to just get gas for their cars or trucks.
There was the stock market crash of 1973-1974. New economic theorists attacked the New Deal. They are monetarist economists from the Chicago School of Economics promoted the free market along with low taxes, less regulations and free trade (which is the essence of neoliberalism). Neoliberalism was tried in Chile after the coup of 1973. What resulted was a military dictatorship with cut wages and other economic problems. . One leader of this movement was Milton Friedman. These people promoted deregulation from New Deal style regulation. Milton Freedman's deregulation policies has harmed the economy for years and decades into the future. Friedman's views are similar to the views of Friedrich von Hayek and the Chicago School. America became dependent on OPEC. Stagflation (which is an economy situation with a combination of high inflation with a stagnant economy) harmed America. President Gerald Ford introduced the slogan, "Whip Inflation Now" (WIN). In 1974, productivity shrunk by 1.5%, though this soon recovered. In 1976, Carter won the Presidency. Carter would later take much of the blame for the even more turbulent economic times to come, though some say circumstances were outside his control. Inflation continued to climb skyward. Productivity growth was small, when not negative. Interest rates remained high, with the prime reaching 20% in January 1981. Inflation started to grow in 1973 for the next 15 years because of the Vietnam War. During that time of the mid to late 1970's, money inflation expanded and unemployment grew causing stagflation.
Unemployment dropped mostly steadily from 1975 to 1979, although it then began to rise sharply. This period also saw the increased rise of the environmental and consumer movements, and the government established new regulations and regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and others. As early as 1976, the deregulation movement took ground in America. Carter promoted deregulation in the Airline Deregulation Act, was cleared by Congress. Transportation deregulation accelerated in 1980, with the deregulation of railroads and trucking. Deregulation of interstate buses followed in 1982. Reagan ended many government regulations, but worker productivity didn't grow no faster in the 1980's than during the late 1970's. Reagan's tax cuts were passed in 1981 and were already in effect by 1982. 1982 was the year of the recession. Tax cuts for the rich can't make strong economic growth since some of the rich just will pocket the savings. In addition to transportation deregulation, savings and loan associations and banks were partially deregulated with the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act in 1980 and the Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act in 1982. Incoming President Jimmy Carter instituted a large fiscal stimulus package in 1977 in order to boost the economy. However, inflation began a steep rise beginning in late 1978, and rose by double digits following the 1979 energy crisis. In order to combat inflation, Carter appointed Paul Volcker to the Federal Reserve, who raised interest rates and caused a sharp recession in the first six months of 1980. In March 1980, Carter introduced his own policies for reducing inflation, and the Federal Reserve brought down interest rates to cooperate with the initiatives. During the 1980 recession, manufacturing shed 1.1 million jobs, while service industries remained intact. Employment in automotive manufacturing in particular suffered, experiencing a 33% reduction by the end of the recession. Collectively these factors contributed to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
The Federal Reserve caused another recession when it raised interest rates in 1981. By December of 1982, unemployment was about 10.8%. Reagan promoted Reaganomics. This was about promoting tax cuts to the wealthy, cutting the marginal federal income tax rates by 25%. Inflation dropped dramatically from 13.5% annually in 1980 to just 3% annually in 1983 due to a short recession and the Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker's tighter control of the money supply and interest rates. Real GDP began to grow after contracting in 1980 and 1982. The unemployment rate continued to rise to a peak of 10.8% by late 1982, but dropped well under 6% unemployment at the end of Reagan's presidency in January 1989. The economy grew by the end of Reagan’s 2nd term, but homelessness grew and much of the economic growth existed on the super wealthy. There was the War on Drugs and the crack epidemic harming urban and poor communities nationwide during the Reagan years. Large trade deficits existed. From 1982 to 1987 the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 1900 points from 776 in 1982 to 2722 in 1987 – about a 350% increase. An economic boom took place from 1983 until a recession began in 1990. Between 1983 and 1989, the number of people below the poverty line decreased by 3.8 million. Computers, cell phones, music players, and video games saw more popularity. Much of the economic growth on the 2nd term of Reagan was a product of low interest rates and more government spending not because of trickled down economics. In contrast, even more moderate Republican Presidents promoted some New Deal era government activism in the economy. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's interstate highway program connected an entire nation with highways and allowed middle class families to migrate from the cities to the suburbs. Nixon once said that "We are all Keynesians now" and he created the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The poverty rate by the 1960's was in 20 percent and Johnson's Great Society programs reduced poverty into an all time low of 11.1 in 1973.
The early Bush Presidency's economic policies were sometimes seen as a continuation of Reagan's policies, but in the early 1990's, Bush went back on a promise and increased taxes in a compromise with Congressional Democrats. He ended his presidency on a moderate note, signing regulatory bills such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 1992, Bush and third-party candidate Ross Perot lost to Democrat Bill Clinton. Deindustrialization since the late 1960’s grew income inequality. In 1968, the U.S. Gini coefficient was 0.386. The Gini coefficient measures economic inequality. In 2005, the American Gini coefficient had reached 0.469. Globalization was upon by the world in a large level by the 1990’s.
During the 1990's, government debt increased by 75%, GDP rose by 69%, and the stock market as measured by the S&P 500 grew more than threefold. From 1994 to 2000 real output increased, inflation was manageable and unemployment dropped to below 5%, resulting in a soaring stock market known as the dot-com boom. The second half of the 1990's was characterized by well-publicized initial public offerings of high-tech and "dot-com" companies. Bill Clinton in the 1990's signed a law that increased taxes on top earners (i.e. those who made $250K + income annually). He increased the tax rate from the top earners from 31% to 39.6% on top earners. Later, there was 23 million jobs created under Clinton's time. Bill Clinton was heavily centrist on many issues. Democratic president Bill Clinton (1993–2001) worked with conservatives, against strong liberal opposition, to end some of the main welfare programs and to implement NAFTA, linking the economies of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Clinton pushed to extend modern liberal ideals especially in the areas of health care (where he failed) and environmental protection (where he had more success). There was a budget surplus from a budget deficit during the Clinton years. Economic growth was found from 1992-2000. Many conservatives predicted that Clinton's tax increases would harm America massively in economic terms, but they were wrong. This proved that trickled down economics doesn't work.
By 2000, however, it was evident a bubble in stock valuations had occurred, such that beginning in March 2000, the market would give back some 50% to 75% of the growth of the 1990's. The economy worsened in 2001 with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially, and triggering a recession that is often blamed on the September 11 attacks. Corporate scandals existed too. The housing market caused a false sense of security from 2001 to 2007. George W. Bush signed a tax law that cut the top capital gains and dividends. He reduced the taxes rate from top earners 39.6% to 35%. The economy barely grew. The housing bubble was caused in large part by reckless policies from many banking interests. The Great Recession was global. The bursting of the worldwide bubble in housing harmed millions of American lives. Many banks and hedge funds borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars to buy securities which were toxic. Many U.S. and Europe banks went bankrupt like Lehman Brothers. Also, payday lenders exploited many poorer African Americans in charging them more interests than white Americans. Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama passed bank bailout legislation. The Great Recession ended the Bush administration completely. The government for the first time took major ownership positions in the largest banks.
The stock market plunged 40%, wiping out tens of trillions of dollars in wealth; housing prices fell 20% nationwide wiping out trillions more. By late 2008 distress was spreading beyond the financial and housing sectors, especially as the "Big Three" of the automobile industry (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) were on the verge of bankruptcy, and the retail sector showed major weaknesses. Critics of the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) expressed anger that much of the TARP money that has been distributed to banks is seemingly unaccounted for, with banks being secretive on the issue.
President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in February 2009; the bill provides $787 billion in stimulus through a combination of spending and tax cuts. The plan is largely based on the Keynesian theory that government spending should offset the fall in private spending during an economic downturn. Obama’s policies had mixed results. The policies prevented a return of the Great Recession. Also, much of the job growth came into the wealthy and upper middle class. In the U.S., jobs paying between $14 and $21 per hour made up about 60% those lost during the recession, but such mid-wage jobs have comprised only about 27% of jobs gained during the recovery through mid-2012. Barack Obama expanded taxes for the top earners to 39.6% along with more tax on capital gains and dividends. In contrast, lower-paying jobs constituted about 58% of the jobs regained. Under the Obama years, the unemployment rate continued to decline. By the Trump years, the economy has remained stable with challenges. One was Trump’s recent tax bill that benefited massive corporations and limit taxes on the super wealthy. Tax cuts for the rich won't work to help end poverty or radically grow the economy because of many reasons. Since the 1980's, the tax rate of the wealthy has already been cut from 80% to less than 40%. During that time, wages for workers have been stagnant.
Wages continue to not rise massively among Americans and the U.S. economy is not where it needs to be. Right now, the unemployment rate is about 3.9%. It is also true that some of the wealthy grown by private banks and private industries deprived from cruel evil of slavery. There is still a lot of poverty in the world. The progressive social movements brought us unions, the 40 hour work week, civil rights legislation, women's rights legislation, environmental standards, and other blessings that some take for granted. During that time of these forms of legislation from the early to 20th century to the late 1970's, the economy has grown in unprecedented levels. After the late 1970's, neoliberalism has grown economic inequality. The wealthiest 1 percent take home about 20% of the national income. That is why investing directly to the American people is necessity in growing the economy comprehensively. We need more educated, skilled workers which are productive to any economy. More workers having a living wage will buy items which built industries and those industries in term hire more people. Also, we need to help the poor and the working class as well. Funds in healthcare, education, and job training are key. Donald Trump is clear on slandering the media, coddling authoritarian dictators, supporting torture, making racist including misogynistic statements, kicking people out of national security clearance for political reasons, and make habitual lies. He or Trump is a threat to democracy and freedom itself. Yet, the American people are very resilient and we shall overcome the extremism from the Trump regime.
*We live in a time where people want economic solutions and people are entitled to them. Trickle down economics doesn't work because of many reasons. One reason is that large corporations will not typically send billions of dollars to address economic inequality. Large multinational corporations with tax cuts will spend the money globally in favor of their interests irrespective of altruistic motivations. Also, the wealthy pay less of their income as a percentage than the poor or the middle class. Therefore, if you want more demand for goods and services, you have to send more income to the middle class and the poor, which makes up the majority of the American people. Many workers are consumers and consumers make up the majority of economy activity in the U.S. Most Americans aren't rich. Most Americans are either poor or middle class. Building the economy for the poor and the working class including the middle class is from the ground up. That is why any economic policy ultimately must address our healthcare, education, and infrastructure. A strong education with job training skills will in term help to grow the economy more comprehensively in America. This revolves around public investments since studies already document that public investments grow the economy. For example, the New Deal and Great Society programs cut poverty in half from 1960 to 1970. Also, these programs increased the amount of Americans in college.
We must strengthen our social safety net like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Before these three programs existed, millions of Americans suffered poverty, starvation, and some Americans unfortunately died because of a lax of resources. When Social Security was created in 1935, half of America's seniors were in poverty. By 1966, that poverty rate declined to 28.6%. Medicare existed when LBJ was President. JFK gave speeches in support of it like in NYC (at Madison Square Garden), but he passed away before it was made into law. Medicare guarantees health care for older Americans (which was opposed by Ronald Reagan back then too. Back during the 1960's, Reagan gave a speech where he explicitly opposed Medicare). In 1966, half of seniors had health care and today about 98.9 percent of seniors have health care. Medicaid was used to help the elderly and the poor in very compassionate ways. We, as workers, pay money into Social Security and Medicare everyday we work. This is our money and these social programs must be strengthened. These programs must be expanded and improved upon without cuts.
Universal pre-K is always beneficial. Investing in infrastructure is common sense. An economy can't function without an infrastructure. Without a ROAD you cannot TRANSPORT goods, WITHOUT POWER you cannot have a FACTORY. Therefore, resources to build structures, to create jobs, and to establish wealth are necessary in any civilization. Progressives and even some conservatives rightfully believe in investments in infrastructure like our roads, highways, public transportation, our hospitals, our schools, our bridges, etc. From 1945 to 1975, America made huge investments in infrastructure, education, and health care. Also, there was collective bargaining, union growth, and the growth of the civil rights movement which legitimately expanded rights for black people plus other minorities. That resulted in the lowest drop in economic inequality in American history, possibly world history. During that era of time, median income increased, but since the late 1970's, median income has stagnated because of neoliberal policies (like massive tax cuts for the wealthy, austerity, etc.). Heroes constantly are fighting for a higher minimum wage, a higher EITC (or an earned income tax credit), stronger unions, and lower taxes on the working class to be financed by higher taxes on the super wealthy). We, the people, should run our own government not Wall Street-backed large corporations.
That is why revolutionary economic policies must be fought for and defended.
By Timothy