Economist Proves: Reagan’s Deregulation caused Today’s Income Inequality.

Finally, the root cause is revealed.  Plenty of talk has been talked on the topic, by experts, data wonks, and politicians. But nobody was able to say why the 1% started f***ing the rest of us to an even greater extent than hitherto, from the 80’s through the present day. Not until a few months ago, that is:

There are many gauges of the depth and breadth of economic inequality, and they often measure what middle-income working people have today against what they had prior to 1980 – that time when homes were affordable, along with doctor visits and college educations. Yet few of the astonishing charts and metrics that have captured this widening gulf explain how it all came about. So when economist William Lazonick pointed a finger at a very specific aspect of corporate behavior, people took note.

Lazonick’s 4,900-word piece, titled Profits Without Prosperity, focused on the 449 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index that were publicly listed from 2003 to 2012. Lazonick found that from the end of World War II until the late 1970s, corporations generally took a “retain-and-reinvest” approach to profits. That is, they kept their earnings and reinvested them – first and foremost in pay raises and job benefits for the employees who helped make the firms more competitive, but also in business expansion, research and new technologies.

But starting in the early 1980s, after the Securities and Exchange Commission removed limits on companies’ power to buy back their stock, these large, publicly traded companies began spending a portion of their net income on stock buybacks. The trend was exacerbated in the 1990s, when the compensation packages of corporate chief executives were linked directly to the stock value, and has accelerated in recent years – even though it’s been little noticed and rarely discussed as a prime driver of economic inequality.

THIS IS HUGE, Gentle Reader. Huge. It proves what everyone except Teapubbies and all the other “small government” and supply-side eedjits have known for decades: the Reagan Revolution was a huge mistake, a f***-up for the ages, even worse than when the Senate handed Rome to Caligula. The nation’s woeful retreat from its former stability to the shambles of the present day is, once and for all: The. Fault. Of. Reagan. Era. Republicans.

And the longer America keep electing these criminally idiotic, venal, fact-challenged, big-mouthed-but-walnut-brained f***wits, the worse it’s gonna get. We need to vote each and every “Republican” who is currently IN office OUT of said office. And that soon.

Maybe someday, when Repubs go back to the pre-Reagan days of ideological and political sanity; then, and ONLY then, can we allow them back into power. But frankly, friends, we can’t AFFORD these Teapublican nitwits any longer. They have cost us dearly, far too dearly, and done far too much damage to be trusted now.

Now you know who to blame. Time to do something about it.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Teapublicans are out to steal YOUR retirement insurance premiums.

Let’s call some spades, here, OK? Social Security is INSURANCE for which we are forced to pay premiums. Some of us have paid for this insurance for decades and have the right to expect that the seller will deliver the product we had no choice but to purchase. Sounds simple, yes? We pay, we should get what we pay for, like any other insurance (car, home, life) product.

But not according to “Republicans”: they are out to breach our contract and steal our money:

As one of its first orders of business upon convening Tuesday, the Republican House of Representatives approved a rule that will seriously undermine efforts to keep all of Social Security solvent.

The rule hampers an otherwise routine reallocation of Social Security payroll tax income from the old-age program to the disability program. Such a reallocation, in either direction, has taken place 11 times since 1968, according to Kathy Ruffing of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The most cynical aspect of this attack is that it comes from some lawmakers who were helped by Social Security in their own lives. The roster includes Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who received Social Security benefits during his college years, after his father’s untimely death, and now thinks that the nation can’t afford to keep paying them as currently scheduled.

Another is Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), the sponsor of the House rules change, whose father died when he was 2 and then was raised by a single mother on Social Security and veterans benefits. Now he talks about Social Security going “bankrupt,” which is flatly incorrect, and promotes a measure aimed at cutting benefits for all. This is known as climbing the ladder and pulling it up behind you.

Got it, folks? The Teapubbies are doing exactly what they said they would do if elected. They are out to wreck Social Security, pocket our premiums, and throw anyone who is retired or disabled onto the streets instead of giving you the insurance benefits you paid for.

F*** those people. And if you voted for a “Republican”, f*** you too.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

As predicted, “Voodoo Economics” has created a “Zombie Economy”.

This blog sneers ofttimes at “Republicans” and their stupid-f*** “supply-side” economics. (Here is one example of said mockery.) The gist is: tried and true data-based economic practices are the way to succeed, and Randian, Lafferesque Voodoo economic policies are the way to fail.

In Kansas, one of several states that have decided Ayn Rand was the false Goddess they shall worship, Voodoo economics have had the result most of those in the Reality-Based community have predicted:

In Kansas, the right wing has completely run the show in the state capitol since the 2012 elections, when Sam Brownback (who became governor two years earlier) led a purge of moderate Republicans who were acting as a brake on his agenda in the state Senate. Kansas is now a laboratory for what would happen if conservative Republicans gained full control of government. Empowered state Republicans slashed taxes for the rich, arguing that an economic boom would follow. It didn’t, as job growth in Kansas has underperformed the national average (as has Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, another state that moved hard right around the same time). But what did follow was a huge hole in the state’s budget (while liberal-dominated California is running a surplus and paying down debt).. (Emphasis via Cranky)

In state after state, the predicted results have occurred: Voodoo economics have created a sort of Zombie economy. What might seem just a mildly amusing turn of phrase is in fact a devastating blow to those of us not in the 1% (said 1% motherf***ers not being in the least incommoded by the Undead Economy). The economy is limping along, barely alive as far as most of us can tell, and that is not a sustainable path.

In Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, and indeed across the nation, we see the results of “Republican” policies: and rotten results they have proven to be. Using millions of people to test their voodoo theories was unethical at the outset, and has since sucked most of the life our of our economy.

Unlike the zombies one sees in movies, our Repub-afflicted economy can be healed and brought back to life. All that is needed is to lay off the voodoo, apply some healthy policies, and the rotting ambulatory corpse of our nation will be restored to health.

And the first step of that cure? Get out and vote. Vote against each and every “Republican” in every race, in every location. Banish the witch doctors and bring back the trained, educated professionals that had served us so well for centuries. Ditch the dream of Supply-Side, and awaken to reality.

That ‘dream’ turned out to be a nightmare the likes of which even Romero could never have envisioned, anyway.

Mr. Blunt and Crankly

House “Republicans” STILL don’t give a s*** about anyone but their fellow millionaires.

And here is the proof. House Speaker John Boehner once again said “no” to providing insurance benefits to the unemployed: people who became unemployed because of Repub policies, mind you. So no, they do not give a single sheep raisin for you or I.

As it says in the above-linked article,

Two weeks ago, a bipartisan group of senators announced a deal on legislation that would extend benefits through the end of May. Under the bill, people who’ve missed benefits would receive retroactive payments. Given the additional 70,000 who have been dropped from long-term unemployment benefits each week since they expired in December, that number has reached roughly 2 million.

But House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested Wednesday the House wouldn’t consider the Senate bill to extend federal long-term unemployment insurance unless the Senate works to pass jobs proposals offered by Republicans.

Got it? The House Repubs won’t do anything for the majority of Americans unless they can throw more of our tax dollars to their über-rich buddies. So, says the House majority, AMFYOYO to all of the working Americans that the GOP dejobbed via their idiotic economic policies.

As the woman who was quoted in the linked article asked about Boehner and his cronies, “Don’t they care about the irreversible damage they are doing to millions?” The answer, dear lady, is clear:

No. They don’t care. They didn’t before, they don’t now, and they won’t tomorrow. No matter if you starve, live in a box, die, they do not care.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Screw the Catholic Church, but the Pope is speaking some truths.

This writer has been trickling all over supply-side economics for quite some time now, going back to the Reagan era when the idiotic notion first reared its ugly-assed head. And so have many others. But Pope Francis has outdone us all.

Here is Francis taking the academic approach:

“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world,” Francis wrote in the papal statement. “This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacra­lized workings of the prevailing economic system.”

“Meanwhile,” he added, “the excluded are still waiting.”

And here he is with the killer phrase, offering a perfect summation of Voodoo Economics:

“The promise was that when the glass was full, it would overflow, benefiting the poor. But what happens instead, is that when the glass is full, it magically gets bigger, and nothing ever comes out for the poor”.

Being a descendant of Huguenot refugees who fled from the terrors and crimes of Rome, Mr. B & C has long felt (and continues to feel) a huge antipathy towards the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Screw that organization with a rusty chain saw. They have done immense damage to Jews, Protestants, women, and the LGBT community over the centuries, and continue to to wreak havoc today, bringing misery and death to untold millions. And they rarely (if ever) apologize or make recompense for their crimes. So, again, screw that organization.

But let’s give credit where it’s due: Pope Francis has revealed the Laffer-Curve Emperor to be naked. He has brilliantly summed up the con job that was foisted upon the world by a bunch of fake “Republicans”, starting in the late 70’s. He has linked the cause (Supply-Side Economics) to its effect: the historically unprecedented inequality that plagues our planet. He has, in short, truly done God’s work this time.

It may be nothing more than the leader of one criminal organization calling out another: but it is truth. It is a truth that the world needs to hear. So, bless you, Pope Francis. Just for today, and thank you.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

OK, Then Prove Otherwise.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky has a tendency to throw gauntlets. Part of that is a personality trait, and part of it is designed to promulgate his viewpoint. When one issues a challenge, one must accept that the “challenge-ee” will pick the glove up and whup it right back at the challenger. And so it goes.

In some cases, the replies are piles of neatly arranged facts (real or alleged), with which the combatants duel away. This usually happens with economics and other quantifiable topics. But there are done subjects that are not as easily proven or disproven, and that’s where we can’t always settle on a common view.

For example: last Saturday’s post about Steubenville , in which this writer threw down on the town for their lack of action in the face of a truly horrific rape crime spree.

A lot of responses came back, alleging bias, assumptions, tendentiousness, and so forth. All reasonable thoughts, and worthwhile discussion topics. However, no one came back with any proof to counter the original post: rather, the replies were either themselves based on inference and anecdotal evidence, or were naught but ad hominem attacks.

It is always possible that your humble correspondent is full of s***. If you can prove that 90 % of Steubenvillians are in fact bravely and loudly fighting back against the rape culture that permeates their city, just forward your evidence along and a full retraction will be published.

Bring it. It would be good to be proven wrong on this topic.

Mr. B & C

A Song For The Kasich

A “shell game” is an old trick, beloved by con artists: they have three shells and one small pebble. They put the pebble under one of the shells, and then rapidly move the shells to and fro, mixing them up so you can’t tell which is which. They then ask you “which one is hiding the rock?” Most of us guess wrong, and lose our money.

Ohio Guv-boy John Kasich is clearly a connoisseur of the shell game: he has outlined a large number of changes to the tax code that are confusing and nearly impossible to follow, and labeled them a “tax cut”. Not surprisingly, people in and out of government are scratching their heads, trying to follow The Kasich’s sleight-of-hand routine.

Ohioans would do well to remember a few things:
Number A; Bob Taft once noticed that an income tax cut was about to bankrupt the state, and proceeded to push through a sales tax increase-this cut taxes on the rich and shifted the burden to the middle class and poor. The Kasich is doing something similar, but with more smoke and mirrors-while “cutting” taxes, he is proposing a whole raft of new taxes, again mostly hitting everyone but his wealthy paymasters and cronies.

Letter 2; this is just another example of the discredited and failed theory of Trickle-Down economics. Steal from the poor, give to the rich, and the rich keep the money, instead of magically giving it back to the unwilling donors.

Thirdly; the late great George Harrison summed up The Kasich’s little scam very neatly, as Mr. Vaughn demonstrates:Taxman. That is the Song For The Kasich.

The entire history of The Kasich’s tenure has been one shell game after another. People need to remember the reason con artists work the shell game in the first place: the con man always wins, and the other players always lose.

Mr. B & C

Lying Sacks of S*** of The Week: Austerity Advocates

This week, the Crown O’ Polished Turds has thousands of worthy recipients: anyone and everyone who still pushes Austerity as a solution for an economy in recession. It hasn’t worked, doesn’t work, and won’t work in the future. Like Supply-Side economics, it is a theory with no supporting evidence and lots of information proving it wrong.

Recent examples include Greece and the rest of the EU, as well as Great Britain. The record pretty clearly proves that Austerity Does. Not. Work.

So to all the s*** heads pushing yet another reverse-Robin-Hood scam, we present even more s*** to put on top of your noggins. Wear it with pride, and to warn the rest of us of your approach.

Mr. B & C

PS: remember the huge 1991 Japanese recession, where they tried Austerity to fix the economy? They are STILL in a recession, 22 years later.

Of “Profitutes” and “Profitution”

Mr. Blunt and Cranky thinks it is time for some new words to describe our new breed of politicians: those who not only cheerfully sell themselves to the highest bidder, but fully admit to so doing. These blatantly corrupt swine are all about personal gain and clearly care nothing for the voters who elected them.

So if all these politicos care about is personal profit, let us then dub them “profitutes” and their profession as “profitution”.

Insulting, you say? How dare we compare the likes of John Boehner to common whores? Well , perhaps: but to this writer, it is the hookers who should be insulted. After all, those who sell sex for money are not violating a sworn oath to the constitution. And the Profitutes most certainly are: they take our tax dollars and give us nothing in return. At least a call girl provides the services she contracted for.

(Full disclosure: your humble correspondent has never had sex with a prostitute. He HAS, however, been screwed many times by profitutes.)

Mr. B & C

Austerity Doesn’t Always Work

Not quite a century ago, America had the Great Depression. The government at first tried to let the free market fix everything, used a tiny amount of stimulus, imposed austerity measures, and made things even worse.  A subsequent administration used huge amounts of stimulus, which helped the economy to recover and made it possible for the United States to avoid being taken over by the German Empire later on. Only a few fringe theorists think that we should have stuck with austerity in that case.

A decade or so ago, Japan had a pretty severe recession. The government decided to impose strict financial discipline and imposed drastic austerity measures. Japan’s economy has not yet gotten back to where it was before the recession, even after all these years, and independent economists have pretty much reached a consensus that austerity didn’t work in that case.

A while back, China had no particular economic issues but DID have huge honkin’ political issues. The government used unnecessary stimulus to distract the populace and is now realizing that they are about to have a recession. Neither austerity nor stimulus should have been used in that case.

A year or four ago, America and Europe got whacked with the Great Recession. America hedged its bets and went with a small dose of government stimulus, and the EU went with drastic austerity measures. Today, America’s economy is slowly (very slowly) recovering while Europe’s is circling the drain. Once again, independent economists are saying that the Yanks’ stimulus approach helped to stop the bleeding, and  the Europeans’ austerity measures have made a bad situation even worse.

So why, despite its lousy track record, do so many of us still think that austerity is a good tool to use in fixing our current financial mess?

Mr. B & C