Interview with Michael Hudson

Here's economist Michael Hudson describing his new book, J is for Junk Economics. He also thinks orthodox economics is a big part of the problem.

Honest and Open New EPA Science Act

Comment at Crooks and Liars post describing the Honest and Open New EPA Science Act which was 'to inhibit regulations based, in part, on confidential or proprietary raw data.'

The entire premise of the Republican anti-environment stance is their money and power will shield/protect them from the negative impacts of their policies. For the sake of humanity, we desperately need them to learn they are not unique among humans. They are just as susceptible to the pollution they allow to spew into the air and water.

Choke on some pollution indeed.

Press failure

Comment at Crooks and Liars with video clip of Sean Spicer 'gaslighting' the press:

I blame the press for the sad state of affairs. Right wing news grew, profited and flourished under the failure of the mainstream press to contain their lies and doublespeak through benign neglect. Now we have a press secretary whose starting premise is a half truth which he follows with a ninety degree pivot to a full lie which rotates in a different direction to increase the base of the lie then he turns back around to accuse the press of misdirecting/misleading. Even a partial description of the spin is dizzying. 

I'm tired of DJT and company telling me what 'the real story is' and what's important. I want the truth.

Examples

Controlling information is power, some examples:

Rep. Nunes protects POTUS DJT from investigation by keeping information secret.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle can avoid prosecuting prison guards for murder because information from the police, the prison and emergency services were hidden or 'lost'.

Real reform of the system can only come about by increasing transparency.

Health care idea

The Republicans were unable to pass a health insurance reform law. And although the ACA is not  as bad off as they claim, it has flaws which will seriously impede its effectiveness in the future. One of the provisions in the Republican plan was to 'allow' buyers to 'choose' the type of coverage they wanted; or not require sellers (insurance providers) to provide a fixed set of benefits (like mental health or maternity care).

There was no or little talk of rationing during the recent debate over health care. But make no mistake, medical should be rationed. Resources are not unlimited so keeping very ill people alive at the expense of the wellbeing of many younger, healthy people is absurd. The question is how to set limits? A few years ago, there was an essay and study published about how Doctors' end-of-life decision making for themselves differed from the decisions of patients. This might be the best guide to determine the limits of basic medical care. Survey doctors for how the degree and extent of treatment they would pursue if they had a given diagnosis. Use 90-95% coverage of these limits to define the benefits of a basic universal health care plan; ideally, a system where patients never deal with billing paperwork - the billing system alone of the American healthcare system is extraordinarily expensive. Private insurers can offer anything above and beyond basic coverage.

Like the U.S. tax system, the U.S. health insurance system is deliberately complicated to generate the need for 'specialists' to maneuver the system. The beneficiaries are the 'specialists' themselves and their employers (who profit from their work). Consumers pay in time and stress and dollars due to misunderstanding and errors. A single payer system would lift a major burden from consumers.

Tax Protest

I just spent hours fighting with my tax return - and I have an easy one! There is no good reason why the IRS, who already has the majority of your income/tax status information, cannot automatically generate every tax payer's tax bill; your credit card company sends you a bill every month of purchases made from an enormous variety of vendors/sellers. The IRS should be ably to generate an annual tax bill to make our lives easier. I suggest all taxpayers go back to mailing in our tax forms (even when prepared online - just get the hard copy) in protest until they comply.

BTW, there are a number of companies that do some free tax prep but you need to give your information to a private company to use the service. The IRS already has your information - they are unlikely to sell it for profit.

Update: "Imagine filing your income taxes in five minutes — and for free." Except there are moneyed interests who lobby heavily against it.

Division

Comment at TRNN segment with Gerald Horne discussing the economic aspects of 'War on Immigrants:

Yes. But 'divide and conquer' is not a strategy unique to the U.S. Gender stratification is one of the oldest divisions used to exert social control and extract labor from a 'sub' class of people. The three major Abrahamic religions all assign women to a lower status than men; the major eastern cultures also tend to subjugate women relative to men. The body politic of the day uses social issues to the same effect; sexuality, race, class, immigrants, religion and even abortion rights among others are used to divide Americans into in-group and out-group. These internal conflicts are all staged to distract us from the massive transfer of power and wealth exercised by policy makers. 

Right wing media is dangerous for the lies they promulgate. They may be even more dangerous for the division they sow. The left is renown for its lack of organization and division; this is often seen as a strength. It is now necessary to pool this division so the cacophony of voices can speak towards a common goal.

Another economic pro-anti-immigrant lobby is the private prison industry. 'Illegal' immigrants are are not dangerous or unruly criminals so they are cheap to contain in mass housing - to the private prison industry, this means lots of $$ and profits. 

Update: Division in the form of segregation is costly in crime, economics, culture and likely health as described by NPR.