Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds

     ...But it is going to last a long time for the rest of us. At last the rich have managed not merely to stack the deck in their favor, but to cut the not-so-rich completely out of the game. Not only that, they have managed to get rewarded in the process. It is as if, after having been mugged, we told our attacker to come along home – we have more money there.      For those who measure prosperity by stock market indexes, the recession is over; people for whom the job market is the basis of measurement strongly disagree. I am going to let you in on a little secret: In today's post-industrial society the two are polar opposites! Unless something drastic is done, the unemployment rate is going to rise and fall in tandem with the equity market indexes.      During the industrial era, manufacturers had to rely on workers to produce products, and they still do to some extent. But in the information era, production is not neces...

      Capitalism: An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.*       The basic idea underlying a capitalistic system is that of individual ownership and control of the assets of commerce. Using one’s innate abilities, energy, ideas, etc. to better oneself is the driving force, and success or failure is measured by the bottom line. The “rugged individual” and the “small entrepreneur” are the natural heroes. Individual freedom is paramount.       Unfortunately, unbridled incentive can lead to unbridled greed, which if followed far enough, can bring down the system. Let me give you an example:       When you buy a life insurance policy, you are buying a contract under which t...

      Republic : n. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. (Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary.)       That sounds very much like what we are supposed to have in the United States. It is also in keeping with the response of Benjamin Franklin to the question asked by a Mrs. Powell on the last day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787: "Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"       “A republic if you can keep it," responded a prescient Franklin.       In order to keep a republic, it is important to have a “body of citizens,” or electorate, that has access to all available information concerning any event to be decided by their representatives. The electorate need not be particularly sophisticated or super-intelligent – it just needs to be i...