On March 2, 2013, Robert Reich writes in Nation Of Change:
Imagine a plot to undermine the government of the United States, to destroy much of its capacity to do the public’s business, and to sow distrust among the population.
Imagine further that the plotters infiltrate Congress and state governments, reshape their districts to give them disproportionate influence in Washington, and use the media to spread big lies about the government.
Finally, imagine they not only paralyze the government but are on the verge of dismantling pieces of it.Far-fetched? Perhaps. But take a look at what’s been happening in Washington and many state capitals since Tea Party fanatics gained effective control of the Republican Party, and you’d be forgiven if you see parallels.
Tea Party Republicans are crowing about the “sequestration” cuts beginning today (Friday). “This will be the first significant tea party victory in that we got what we set out to do in changing Washington,” says Rep. Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), a Tea Partier who was first elected in 2010.
Sequestration is only the start. What they set out to do was not simply change Washington but eviscerate the U.S. government — “drown it in the bathtub,” in the words of their guru Grover Norquist – slashing Social Security and Medicare, ending worker protections we’ve had since the 1930s, eroding civil rights and voting rights, terminating programs that have helped the poor for generations, and making it impossible for the government to invest in our future.
Robert Reich has consistently called for a focus on “jobs, wages, and inequality” as he claims the President did in his campaign. But the reality is that Reich and the President have never put forth solutions, except for government investment, BUT WITHOUT the stipulation for broadened private ownership of the private sector companies receiving the government loans, guarantees, research grants, production contracts. This is where the inequality results and contributes to the further CONCENTRATED OWNERSHIP of FUTURE productive capital assets. The inequality problem will continue to worsen as long as the 1 percent ownership class controls the financial system that requires “past” savings to finance FUTURE growth, instead of using pure credit to finance FUTURE growth paid for out of the earnings of the investments. The focus needs to be on OWNERSHIP CREATION, not JOB CREATION, which will naturally follow as the economy revs up to double-digit GDP growth and fully applies technological innovation and invention t shift from unnecessary labor toil to human-intelligent machines, super-automation, robotics, and digital computerized operations. We need to stop monetizing unproductive debt, and begin creating an asset-backed currency that could enable every man, woman and child to establish a Capital Homestead Account or “CHA” (a super-IRA or asset tax-shelter for citizens) at their local bank to acquire a growing dividend-bearing stock portfolio to supplement their incomes from work and all other sources of income. Steadily over time this will create a robust economy with millions of “customers with money” to purchase the products and services that are needed and wanted.
The CHA would process an equal allocation of productive credit to every citizen exclusively for purchasing full-dividend payout shares in companies needing funds for growing the economy and private sector jobs for local, national and global markets,
The shares would be purchased on credit wholly backed by projected “future savings” in the form of new productive capital assets as well as the future marketable goods and services produced by the newly added technology, renewable energy systems, plant, rentable space and infrastructure added to the economy.
Risk of default on each stock acquisition loan would be covered by private sector capital credit risk insurance and reinsurance, but would not require citizens to reduce their funds for consumption to purchase shares.
Support the Capital Homestead Act athttp://www.cesj.org/homestead/index.htm andhttp://www.cesj.org/homestead/summary-cha.htm
http://www.nationofchange.org/sequester-and-tea-party-plot-1362231367
