Harold Hellickson's Blog (14)

Seven Defects of American Governance -- Part 2

By Harold Hellickson

Sorry about the long delay from Part 1 in this 3 part blog, but here is Part 2.  The concluding Part 3 will be submitted next week. 

Our government's policies of war and empire, the need for restoration of sanity to our monetary, fiscal, and trade policies, reversing the income inequality trend, and improving social justice, these I consider the seven major defects of modern day American…

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The True In Spirit But Not Quite Accurate News network 

Newsflash from TISBNQA……………………..The Heritage Foundation announced receipt of development funding from the Koch brothers for concept design of a  two-room addition to the Bush Presidential Library.  The Heritage Foundation will be responsible for the conceptual design of two the rooms to further promote a growing…

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Seven Defects of American Governance – Part 1 

Beyond the Magnificent Seven, there are a bunch of other sevens; the seven climes, the seven continents, the feast of the seven fishes, the seven dwarfs, the seven deadly sins, the seven sacraments, the seven seas, the seven seals with their seven secrets, the seven virtues and the Seven Wonders of the World to name at least most of them. 

To these I have another seven; our federal government's policies of war and empire,…

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The Seven Defects of American Governance 

Just as there are seven dwarfs, seven virtues, and seven deadly sins there are seven major policy defects of American governance; the policies of war, empire, monetary, fiscal, trade, income inequality and social justice.  This article is a summary statement of these seven defects.  A more detailed discussion of each of these defects will follow in four seperate articles.

The war on terror was stupidly enacted and is stupidly conducted.…

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Matching its all time low, the current approval rating of Congress is 18%. Special interests continue to divert Congress from the public interests. The game is rigged and Congress is incapable de-rigging it. So too, it is literally impossible for citizen voters to create fundamental political and social change by strictly adhering to only those methods approved by the government.



Or is it?



The only apparent alternative for peaceful change is that prescribed in Article V… Continue

The Fed's monetary policy of low interest rates favor the financial/corporate/mega-wealthy oligarchy with an increase in the money supply which encourages speculation that overvalue assets that form economic bubbles that collapse.



Tax policy favor the financial/corporate/mega-wealthy oligarchy by increasing their money supply which encourages speculation that overvalue assets that form economic bubbles that collapse.



The except below is from Fed Policy Stealing From Our… Continue

Democracy allocates one vote to each eligible individual. Equality may be implied but in our form of representative democracy, inequality is guaranteed. Each individual vote is not of equal value.



There are but two truths about democracy. The first is the widespread delusion amongst the poor that we have one. The second is the chronic terror amongst the rich lest we get one.(1)



Gerrymandering of districts within the various states assures some 95% retention of incumbent… Continue

Compensation for the 10 highest paid corporate CEO's for 2008 has just been released by the high-class watchdog Corporate Library.

On average, each of the 10 received $222 million.

The least paid received $72 million.

The highest paid received $702 million.

There is something damn wrong with this country!

I believe



……. In the separation of Corporations and State.



I believe



……. That Corporations hold dominion over Congress,



……. But Citizens should hold that power.



I believe that Corporations



……. For the first hundred years of this nation,



……. By Design and Charter, served the public good



……. And they should be required to do so again.



I believe that Major… Continue

Can President Obama’s plans for economic and social reform succeed with two strikes against himt? With two strikes against him, will he hit a homer or strike out? Progressive elements of the Democratic Party are going to have to push both the President and the Congress very hard for Obama’s presidency to be successful. There is little evidence of either that push or his success so far.



The first strike against Obama is the corporate-governing-elites-controlled Congress, albeit with a… Continue

“We live in an age of corporate dominion just as we once lived in an age of domination by royal families, kings, and warlords. Our culture is dominated by television and petroleum.” Our demands for entertainment and consumerism “depends on an unbroken supply of both“.



We live in a representative democracy where, in theory, our interests are represented in both Congress and the Administration. In reality our representative democracy is where state and district democracies individually… Continue

At the top of Obama’s domestic policy agenda are 1) the economy, 2) health care, and 3) education. Looking at each, what is mostly evident is palliative placation; palliative being the soothing of a disorder without effecting a cure and placation being, to allay our fear. In effect Obama speaks of concerns of substance without substantive plans or solutions.



On the economic front, Obama continues trickle-down-upside-down-socialism, of Reagan/Bush; Wall St. favored over Main St. It’s… Continue

Following my July 26th article, "Income and Net Worth Inequality" a commenter indicated he was in pursuit of additional information. I promised him that I would review my files and send him what I could find. I did. He suggested it be submitted as article for a wider audience. This is it, with only a slight modification.



For the record, the data used for the earlier article indicates seventy percent of American families earn less than $75,200.



"The two greatest obstacles… Continue

The Company Store or Theft by Any Means



That the rich have prospered from the labor of others is not news. Neither are the varied strategies by which the rich have continued to grow income and wealth inequality. What would be news is that the directional trend of income and wealth inequality were reversed. But will it? If so, how?



Pre-unionization, the Company Store assured owners of textile companies, coal mines, and others, plus those employing temporary farm labor that… Continue