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The ignorance of the oppressed and the treachery of their leaders

Tuesday, March 21, 2017 13:47
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Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
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It takes only two things to keep people in chains: The ignorance of the oppressed and the treachery of their leaders..
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Keeping the populace in chains is a cooperative effort. It requires both the ignorance of the people and the treachery of their leaders. If either one of those is missing, ignorance or treachery, the people will be free.

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Even the most treacherous leaders can’t enslave the populace if the people are knowledgeable and not easily led.

And if the leaders are honest and sincere, those leaders will not enslave even the most naive public.

Today, we see an example of both public ignorance and treacherous leaders:

GOP health plan would cost Mass. at least $1b, Baker says

The Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act would cost Massachusetts at least $1 billion in reduced federal aid, beginning in 2020, and even more in the future, according to Republican Governor Charlie Baker.

“Overall, our analysis indicates that the [bill] would increasingly strain the fiscal resources necessary to support the Commonwealth’s continued commitment to universal health care coverage,” the Republican governor said.

Baker said that his administration estimated that the revenue hit would be at least $1 billion in 2020, $1.3 billion in 2021, and $1.5 billion in 2022, with an even higher impact in the following years.

Congressional Republicans are hoping to ram through the new bill, titled the American Health Care Act, in a vote on Thursday.

The treachery comes from the Republicans and to a lesser degree, from the Democrats. Both parties subscribe to the myths that the federal government is running short of dollars and that the American people have an overabundance of dollars.

The government supposedly must save money at the expense of the people.

The result was the ACA (“Obamacare”), with benefits limited by the above myth. It is a program that asks the populace to pay for health care, though our Monetarily Sovereign government, which can spend infinite dollars, easily could and should.

But then comes the much worse AHCA (“Trumpcare”) plan the cuts the federal government’s costs by taking health care from the poorest among us and by shifting the tax burden from the rich to the rest.

By ignorance of facts, the “99%” is being cheated. The people believe these four myths:

  1. The federal government is running short of dollars, but the people and the states have plenty of money.
  2. Taxpayers fund federal spending.
  3. Federal spending is “big government socialism”that leads to hyper-inflation
  4. State government financial support is preferable to federal support.

Ignorant people do not understand the following truths:

  1. Our federal government cannot run short of dollars, but we the people can.
  2. Neither the debt nor deficits are a burden on taxpayers or on the federal government
  3. Federal health care support for all Americans would benefit all Americans, and
  4. Standing by while the poor are enslaved will lead to the enslavement of us all.

It doesn’t require much intelligence to see that the Republican plan is inferior even to the ACA, which itself is far from perfect. It doesn’t take much intelligence to understand that:

The Republicans have only two reasons for their ACA replacement: To widen the Gap between the rich and the rest, and to do anything, no matter how awful, that is anti-Obama.

But even that minimal amount of knowledge seems to be lacking, today.

Thus, we have a President who feels no shame in tweeting contradictory claims and then denying them all. He feels no shame because he knows his followers will agree with anything he says, even if it goes against their own best interests.

By appealing to our ignorance, our fear, our hatred, our bigotry and selfishness, and our contempt for those who are poorer or powerless —  Donald Trump has betrayed those who believed in him.

Willingly, the ignorant will allow him to enslave them.

A knowledgeable populace would understand that a federally supported Medicare for every man, woman, and child not only is affordable, but would benefit all of America. Rather than using its intellect, the populace has been overwhelmed with negative biases.

To paraphrase Martin Niemöller 

First, they came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not an immigrant.

Then they came for the poor, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not poor.

Then they came for the Muslims, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not Muslim.

Then they came for me—and there was no one to speak for me.

Image result for trump pointing his finger

Yes, you!

.

If you do not speak out against Trump and today’s cruel brand of conservativism, then you are complicit, and one day soon, you too will feel the lash of slavery.

If you think you are immune, you are wrong.

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Only two things can put you in chains: Your ignorance of the facts and the treachery of your leaders. You have the power to prevent it.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty

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The single most important problems in economics involve the excessive income/wealth/power Gaps between the have-mores and the have-less.

Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics.

Implementation of The Ten Steps To Prosperity can narrow the Gaps:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich can afford better health care than can the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE A MONTHLY ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA (similar to Social Security for All) (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB (Guaranteed Income)) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONE Five reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefitting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE FEDERAL TAXES ON BUSINESS
Businesses are dollar-transferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the federal government (the later having no use for those dollars). Any tax on businesses reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all business taxes reduce your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.) Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and business taxes would be a good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.



Source: https://mythfighter.com/2017/03/21/the-ignorance-of-the-oppressed-and-the-treachery-of-their-leaders/

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