Goldy highlights this gem from Frank Luntz.
“I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death,” Luntz said. “They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”
While I think the Occupy movement in general and Occupy Wall Street in particular changed the discussion and have had a positive impact, a much larger driver is that the economy has turned many people against capitalism (or at least the brand of capitalism in the United States). It’s the housing bubble and the myriad foreclosed houses it’s left since it burst. It’s the high unemployment rate, and what it does to people who can’t find work or to people who are afraid to ask for a raise or who aren’t able to take that vacation any more or who aren’t getting as many tips as they did a few years ago. It’s the high price of gas. It’s the degradation of government services.
No, if you want to make people think positive things about capitalism, build a capitalism that works for them. Make capitalism more democratic, and more fair. Make it a vehicle for building a strong middle class accessible to anyone who works hard.
whats a matter carl, you dont mind people like corzine and gestler raping the american public. what a fucking tool you are. i hope you have sons and when they grow up they cant get jobs because white christian males need not apply…retard
Compassionate Capitalism?
At this point, when I think of capitalism on any level beyond the small local business, and even then, I think of Ferengi:
These fictional Star Trek creatures bear a striking resemblance to our “JobCreators” ™ in that they are governed by an extensive code of conduce, termed the Rules of Acquisition, several of which are:
And my favorite…
@2 FTW!
The last 30 years would make a socialist of any reasonable person. For the rest, there is Fox News.
@2: This is great!
if you’ve seen the doc, The Corporation, they describe the features of psychopathic personality disorder and show how they apply to our largest and finest corporations:
@3,4,5
Yes, indeed.
We have designed – no, not the right word – allowed to develop – a system that rewards sociopaths.
I’ve thought about this a great deal, as I’ve analyzed various unsuccessful relationships I’ve had with people in power – mostly in university settings, but I think that is applicable to large institutions – public or private, profit or non.
These organizations, ostensibly there to achieve some good purpose like educating people or carrying out research, become rather the scaffolds for the power-oriented to climb. The original purpose becomes a veneer, and those with the sociopathic traits listed by YellowPup thrive and advance.
I’m not sure how to change this, but some mechanism to fend off the parasites needs to be invented to protect ourselves from the more fiendish among us.
At the recent Republican Governor’s conference, there was considerable discussion of how to defeat Pres. Obama in next year’s election. Among the points being made:
1. They were very concerned that the President would “escape” from blame for the economic situation (i.e., they were concerned the economy might get better before November);
2. They thought a Republican governor (or former governor) would be the ideal candidate to run against Obama, excepting Romney, Huntsman, or any other actual Republican governors;
3. They cautioned that “capitalism” is now considered a negative term in the eyes of the public. Instead, they were encouraged to use the words “Free Enterprise” to attack any Democratic candidate.
4. I didn’t see any discussion referenced on whether using the term “job creators” to refer to the richest 1% of Americans was being encouraged. Perhaps they have decided that scam has just about run it’s course?
From Dictatorship to Democracy:
http://www.aeinstein.org/organ.....g/FDTD.pdf
This is what Frank Luntz is afraid of vis a vis OWS. The U.S. Government and corporate interests are the same thing in LuntzWorld; therefore, anything that threatens corporate interests is sedition.
Speaking of sociopaths climbing ladders….
Herman Cain has a new website – “Women for Cain” – don’t know if that refers to political supporters, or a task assigned to underlings as something to have on hand for the boss.
Section of the site includes attacks on his accusers as “husbandless” among other treasures…
Keep is classy, Herm…
@7: I got cher job creators rightcheer!
[grabs crotch and — gently — squeezes]
Many young ‘trust fund babies’ are wiser than their parents.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/20.....-the-99-p/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Someone should set up a website called “TakeMyWealth.com” for this group.
It’s not the capitalism, it’s the criminalism, yanno?
Most peeps in America think of themselves as middle class capitalists, even if they are neither. They rarely think of themselves as criminals.
So, what do the real job creators think if the Republican’s talking points?
Rich people don’t create jobs” — Seattle rich guy
@9 Cain is either incredibly stupid or simply doing what he’s told (which means he’s incredibly stupid). He’s now openly admitted to having carried on with a mistress for years, giving her money without his wife’s knowledge, and as of last night was still adamantly maintaining that it’s up to her (meaning his wife) whether or not he withdraws from the race. It seems he’s literally going out of his way to align his behavior with all sorts of grotesque stereotypes.
Could this all be a ploy to make Rick Perry look smart by comparison?
@14 Cain is selling lots of books for a profit. Once book sales drop off he’ll go away.
Looks like Herman Cain has lived away from home for quite a bit of his married life, and his wife and kids were quite satisfied with that arrangement.
Herman & Gloria Cain’s Problems Go Way Back: Report
@12 “It’s not the capitalism, it’s the criminalism, yanno?”
Yes and no. Republicans have legalized criminalism in the name of capitalism, so criminal capitalism isn’t criminal anymore, it’s now mainstream capitalism, which is giving capitalism a bad reputation that it probably deserves anyway.
Yeah, we’re all capitalists, because that’s our system. But we all understand the game has been rigged by those who control the game in their own favor. What those folks don’t understand is that there are limits to everything, and they’ve probably exceeded the limits of the general public’s patience with their mentality of greed and exploitation. This is going to bite them in the ass big time.