Blackened Friday

Many may have heard of the deaths on friday, two men at a ToysRus in arizona that was supposedly unrelated to shopping, and then the temp Wal-Mart worker in Long Island. Now people think a worse sign for the economy would be people not shopping and consuming. For sales to go down would be the death prattle of the american economy. Nobody at the top wants a change in the power structure that they control.
But I think maybe americans as consumers are to ingrained to buy buy buy, that the behavior of shoppers refusing to leave the Wal-Mart store after the death is a worse sign. People won't stop consuming until they are trained not to, and for now we are trained better then canines to consume for the holidays. Shrinking Pocketbooks expanding Waistlines will be the headline of history as to the decline of american power.
Our consumption will be steadfast, but the desperate behavior of people on friday wanting to get the 'deals' is scary. Like a trained doberman going rogue. We no longer follow the proper training, but fight like mad to keep our consumption up.

The products are thought to be necessary to fulfill someones Christmas wish, no child mails into Santa a list topped off by hapiness, family, and friends. No it is gifts and consumption, sad but true. Now if you are familiar with the Suze Orman show, a financial guru who has dvd about getting out of debt and proselytizing on the financial empowerment of women. Well one segment of her show is where people call in with details of their financial status such as savings checking mortgage or CC debt. On light of friday's debacle I present can I afford it Black Friday special

Suze: Hello Monica and Burt in Long Island
M & B: Hey Suze, great to be here.
Suze: Great to have you two, now it says here you looking to purchase a 799.00 big screen TV from Wal-Mart?
M & B: Yes we are actually calling you from the line outside the store.
Suze: Now you have ten thousand in savings, 3 in your checking, and one hundred and eighty on your mortgage, is that right?
M & B: Thats right and we want to make more room in our den by getting those super duper flat big screen T.V's so we can sit on our diabetic rumps and watch commercials telling us to buy things in between shows.
Suze: Now how many people are ahead of you in line?
M & B: about 80 or so
Suze: and have you thought about how many TV's they will have in stock?
M & B: no... I guess we hadn't thought of that.
Suze: and do you have medical insurance?
M & B: Well we don't cause we are switching plans
Suze: Uh, oh well Bert are you confidant about your wrestling skills, because chances are that TV won't come without a fight.
M & B: That wasn't really on our radar, we just thought we would go straight for the TV and...
Suze: Now let me stop you there, the medical bills from the possible fight you will have will not be cheap, black friday has become black eye friday, so maybe if you do get the TV stop and grab some meat (hopefully it's a super Wal-Mart) and slap it on your eye buster, cause your going to need it, but frankly with the way things go now YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT.

Peter Morici

Today there was a Senate hearing with the CEO's of Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Chris Dodd the chairman of the committee called this man Peter Morici "The mouse that roared" after his initial testimony. I have looked into Morici and he has written several articles about the economy and specifically the auto industry. One of the best point I think he made is that the car companies make very high quality products. They are such a high quality that they will last quite awhile, long enough so that the current level of consumption will drop off. With this drop off of consumption come a shrinking in the production. Morici then explained that because a shrinking industry requires layoff, these layoffs require severance pay as agreed upon by the United Auto Workers contract. This severance pay makes the companies less competitive, he emphatically said "even if everything else is equal" that this severance will make their vehicles on average a thousand dollars more then their counterparts, or Japan and Korea as they are known. Morici also touched upon an important thought not often discussed in news of the so called "economic crisis" the Chinese Yuan. The Chinese government has not let the Yuan be valued in a free market structure. This is faulty when realizing the trade deficit with china. When the Yuan is cheap, then Chinese products are cheap here and U.S. products are expensive in china.
Anyways Morici sort of shot holes in the shit spewing from the CEO's as they groveled their case that unless 25 billion is given, Armageddon will happen and unemployment will ruin the country.

Excuse me Obama could you spare a little social change?

Last night at a bar in uptown that sported dollar beers through some of the election coverage people were cheering harder then the vikings vs falcons circa 1999. The thing about politics, about systems in general that I despise, is the Us V. Them attitude that emerges. There is only us, there is no them. Presidents are heads of state, they influence policy, but what good is policy when the system that implements that policy is broken and bastardized.
When quotes from Thomas Jefferson are used by supposed 'fringe' candidates like Ron Paul, does that make the founders words irrelevant? Our country took it's initial steps against the power of companies and corporations when it dumped the tea of the British East India Co. (the largest most powerful company at that time)into the harbor of Boston. This was an act of rebellion against the British Government, but more importantly a statement by businessmen like Sam Adams that a monopolistic company would not disrupt the markets by dumping excess tea upon the colonies, after just passing the Tea Act.
Companies were thought to control the people almost as much as corrupt and abusive governments at the time. Business in the United States after independence was kept at a small level until the civil war. The civil war saw the railroads rise in prominence and importance, and once such company just happen to have it's high ranking member pose as Assistant Secretary of War during the national bloodshed. Thomas A. Scott was second in command at the Pennsylvania Railroad company, he was considered a hero as he tirelessly orchestrated troop movement over the rails to provide the front lines with a strategic advantage. He of course did a courageous thing, yet his company also grew it's profits during this time of crisis. Scott after the war began to expand his railroad ownership like any good industrialist would.
Now here is the catch, the charter. What is a charter ? Is used to be that business asked Govt for permission to conduct their enterprises. As railroad expanded they wanted to grow and have ownership all across the country.
Today this seems like a legitimate and reasonable idea, but within the 19th century corporations were looked at as possible brokers of power, limiting the people and their representative government. But Pensylvania in 1870 allowed for the establishment of a holding company.
Berkshire Hathaway, one of the largest companies on the fortune 500 list that dosen't acctually produce any goods or service and merely owns things is run by the richest man in the world Warren Buffett. Well the Pensylvannia railroad with it's political connections of Thomas A Scott was able to won a whole lot more then would have normally been legal. These loopholes in business were then exploited by Standard Oil (What is now Exxon) and mass profits were reaped.

An interesting tid bit about the power of the Railroads back then, they created what is known now at the countries 4 time zones. The lines were drawn not by our government by by the railroad companies so that they could organize their routes/departures/arrivals in a better fashion.

The point is that the US and Them lies more in us the people and them the companies and corporations that exert their control on the world. Take a gander at the fortune 500 and you might notice that Oil Companies as well as vehicle manufacturers tend to be listed. It's probably just coincidence, nobody should look back to great american streetcar decline and wonder if it was any companies fault. Companies are made up of people, so where is the Us Them line blurred. Is it blurred when Coca-Cola bottling companies in third world companies murder union organizers. Does it Matter if Warren Buffett is the largest single shareholder in Coca-Cola?

Obama counts Warren Buffett as one of his economic advisers. The money raised by Obama almost touches 700 million, is that money from the people or corporations. Will the new president take notice of how the world is run, how military activity by our country tends to injure and kill more civilians then opposing soldiers. Will he recognize the US in the poor of other countries workers who don't have the chance to vote, who work for pennies to create goods cheaply for american consumption. There is no them, but this election will not change the perception of those hooting and hollering at the bar last night. The hope for change will die when companies profits shrink, when jobs are scarce. Will Obama hope to change this http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2007/02/fed_chief_issue.html

Could you spare some Social Change?
Saw this video recently, besides making a good point it just looks cool
I met the Walrus

Freetime fighters

There is something about the way we think of progress, how humans have advanced, that is problematic with future generations. The past has wars fought for freedom, freedom to live the life you want to farm for yourself, to stop the feudal system, to stop the slavery, end serfdom. Today there is plenty of freedom, people talk about the wage labor, but to me the thing people should fight for is.... freetime. Now that we are fed and entertained, that the idea of bread and circuses of the romans has continued till today, fast food and professional sports. What people really need is free-time to continue their hobbies the desires. Less working for food means more living for family for kite flying for skipping stones for playing sports. The people in the world most, don't have fast food, they aren't worried about freedom. Give them food so they don't have to toil too long in the fields, then they can gaze at the stars, find a hobby, or whatever they want to do in their freetime. Freetime is something worth fighting for.