Scapegoat Economics

In the wake of the economic crisis of 2008 the United States has repeatedly participated in the blame game with immigrants and with ethnic minorities. Now it is extending domestic scapegoating to still others. Governors in the US now increasingly attack state employees, their unions and pensions as if they, rather than the crisis, had suddenly become the economic problem. Mayors across the country do the same to municipal workers. Of course, both state and municipal budget problems since 2008 are primarily the results of high unemployment and reduced consumer spending. In short, it was and remains the crisis since 2008 that played and plays the key role in cutting governments' tax revenues and hurting government budgets. Growing and more effective tax-evasion strategies of business and the rich have had the same effect. Responding to lowered tax collections, politicians fearful of damage to their careers refuse to raise tax rates. Instead they embrace spending cuts that they justify by means of scapegoat economics. 

Building An Economy For The Future

Ken O’Brien

In an earlier article, You Are Being Exploited!, I promised to expand upon the thoughts written there as they relate to a new paradigm of economic and political thought.

In that article I put forward the premise that the transition from an industrial economy to an information economy was obviating the historical linkage between physical labor and economic rewards. Rather, to an ever increasing extent, every individual, to varying degrees, was contributing information to the system. That information was being translated into knowledge which was ultimately applied as technology accelerating economic growth.  For that contribution they should be compensated. 

You Are Being Exploited!

Ken O’Brien

 

Let’s say that oil was just discovered on your property. Even Jed Clampett was smart enough to know that you don’t just turn it over to Exxon-Mobil without getting something for it.

But, every day, we are proving that good ole Jed was a damn sight smarter than you or I.

The fact is that each and every one of us, to varying degrees, has become an essential source of raw materials in the new global economy. 

Why Conservative Economic Theories Are Destroying America

Ken O’Brien

At the outset I want to apologize to those readers of The O’Zone who feel I am talking down to them.

However, the reality is that there is a mountain of misinformation and lack of understanding about economics and economic policy.

It is a widely accepted truism that one must live within their means. 

Bleeding A Stone

Ken O’Brien

Over the last three days I’ve reviewed several factors underlying the economic situation of the town of Southbridge.

The starting point was the casual remark by our town manager regarding the reality of the dramatic increase in the sewer enterprise fund over the last year.

At the heart of this remark was a callous disregard for the burden imposed upon Southbridge residents as Mike Marketti has amply demonstrated.

From there I moved on to a review of how our property tax rate compares to other local communities.

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION

Ken O’Brien

For forty years I have waited for the term “creative destruction” to enter the American political lexicon.

More than any other concept, this idea, first popularized in its contemporary form by the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, clarifies the proper contemporary framework for government fiscal policies and intervention in the economy.

It is ironic that it has been raised as an issue by the Republican frontrunner for the Presidential nomination Mitt Romney.

The irony lies in the fact that someone posturing as a small government, free market conservative should advance a concept that, in the final analysis, provides the best justification for Progressive policies of government involvement in the economy and the existence of social safety nets.

“Creative destruction” addresses the historical tendency for new industries to supplant and gain dominance over an earlier pattern of production.

FRAK ME!!!

Ken O'Brien

Thirty years of the dominance of the  Reagan reactionary movement has reduced Americans to sniveling serfs hoping that crumbs will drop to their feet from the bountiful tables of their "betters". That is the legacy of trickle down economics, endless foreign military adventurism that matches anything envisioned by George Orwell, and the ascendancy of the rights of corporations over those of individuals.

Americans no longer dream big dreams.

The American dream is no longer a home with a picket fence and a dog in the yard.

The American dream is no longer a better future for our children and our grandchildren.

Spend And Borrow Conservatives Created This Mess

Kenneth M. O’Brien

After decades of listening to the epithet “tax and spend Liberals” the truth has become clear.

Anyone who can divorce themselves from their ideological (dare I say religious) biases need only look at the facts.

From the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 to the election of Barack Obama in 2008, Republicans controlled the White House for twenty out of twenty-eight years.

Strategic Arson: Republicans Are Demonic Keynesians

Kenneth M. O’Brien

“We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”

This famous observation, perhaps the most oxymoronic of all time, is the strategy that the Republican cult and its demonic stepchild, the Tea Party, have chosen to adopt.

Never forget that Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, stated quite clearly that his Party’s number one priority was to guarantee that Barack Obama was a one-term President.

As a result we have witnessed a conscious program that has sought to stymie every effort designed to improve the economy.