Fix the Economy, Not Wall Street: Why regulate a broken system when we can build a better one?

from YES! Magazine:



Fix the Economy, Not Wall Street
Why regulate a broken system when we can build a better one? Welcome to New Economy 101.

by David Korten
posted Apr 28, 2010


Financial reform is the Congressional political issue of the month. Democrats say their bill will place essential controls on Wall Street to prevent abuse and a repeat of the financial crash. Republicans say it will encourage further Wall Street risk-taking by giving the big banks a guarantee of a future taxpayer bailout if reckless decisions trigger another financial crash.

Each party would have us believe that its side has the better answer about how to prevent another financial collapse, limit future taxpayer exposure, and protect consumers from financial fraud. These are good objectives, but their focus is fixing Wall Street.

No one in official circles seems to be asking the more fundamental question: “How do we create a financial services sector that directs money where it is needed: toward creating living wage jobs that provide essential goods and services for all Americans in ways consistent with a healthy environment?” Fixing Wall Street, as we presently know it, will do little, if anything, to achieve what should be our real purpose. Since the September 2008 financial collapse, Wall Street has conclusively demonstrated that it is concerned only for its own profits and bonuses.

Thanks to the taxpayer bailout and a constant flow of nearly free credit to the big banks from the Federal Reserve, Wall Street is once again reporting record profits and bonuses. Main Street, which has received far more modest public support, has not been so quick to recover from the effects of the crisis: high unemployment, low wages, consumer debt, bankruptcies, and foreclosures. It is a stunning contrast not lost on the properly outraged American public. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/david-korten/fix-the-economy-not-wall-street

Going back to a 91% top tax rate, like it was in the '40s and 50s, the years that America came out of the Depression and was the engine of the world economy, that would be a start.

During the 40's and 50's, there was a lot of manufacturing jobs, here in the USA. Unskilled laborers could get a job and support a family. Not so much now.

Machinist Apprenticeships are some thing not very many people can pass

production has become harder to be profitable so the money goes elsewhere. with production technology costing relatively the same the only variables are labor costs,product, and management. competition is fierce. the huge firms in all fields have swallowed up smaller interests. the economy is down, and the money policymakers are terrified of inflation. the current monetary policy hurts those in debt. it is a policy for the wealthy. the fact that we have had low, low, interest rates and demand is still lagging shows the debt rate is high. highly efficient productivity with inventory control done in real time keeps labor cost and labor demand low. it also keeps demand for product low. Customers have to created by new ventures or by the government. the whole world is eating one apple and no one stopped to figure out how it was supposed to work.