Business and Farming the Economy

Okay, on a story somewhere, I commented on how it was Republican policy that led us to the Great Depression, Democrats that got us out and it was Republican policy that got us into this mess, and it will be Democrats that get us out - again.  Somebody argued that it was Democrats in power in 2006 when this hit.

Well, DUH!  We had already seen what was coming, tired of Republican policy pandering to corporations, starting wars and screwing everything up.  It was building for a long time.  Nobody with a decent mind can seriously believe that this just suddenly happened a few months after Democrats gained control of congress!!

(Reuters) - In 2007, when the world was on the brink of financial crisis, U.S. income inequality hit its highest mark since 1928, just before the Great Depression.

Seriously, READ THAT ARTICLE!  (not anything I haven't posted here and on Facebook a number of times, but it is Reuters!  Hopefully nobody will squeal "Liberal Source" about them.)

"We need to decide as a society whether this increase in income inequality is efficient and acceptable and, if not, what mix of institutional reforms should be developed to counter it," he concluded.

Well, Crap in ya hat and wear it backwards! Of COURSE it is not acceptable.  For one thing, EVERY time the gap grows, the economy crashes!  We are barely above third world countries now!  Don't get me wrong, I am all for the American Dream of getting rich and all that.  But, Man!! Use some common sense (which is not all that common any more) and personal responsibility.  Pay workers a livable wage - if for no other reason than it will help people buy your product or services!  What is a business or greedy rich person going to do when they have all the money - and nobody else has anything to spare to give them?  Crash.  Its common frikkin' sense, people!!

I've used this comparison before, but Every Farmer knows that in order for the land to keep producing, you have to be kind and take care of it.  You buy fertilizer to pour out onto the land in the winter, till in mulch, sawdust and stuff.  You rotate crops so that you have nitrogen fixers to replenish land that hard crops like corn have depleted.  You maintain your tractor, feed your donkey, plant feeder plots for wildlife so they don't hit your crops as much.  Its the same thing with business or gaining wealth.  If you don't give back, the land dries up and blows away - and you fail.

All those insane CEO bonuses should be distributed to the employees that are the ones really doing the work and making the money.  With the way things are now, they can barely make a living.  We can barely survive paycheck to paycheck.  Wonder why nobody is buying stuff??

Kemal Dervis, global economy and development division director at Brookings and a former economy minister for Turkey, said reducing inequality isn't just a matter of fairness or morality. An economy based on consumption needs consumers, and if too much wealth is concentrated at the top there may be times when there is not enough demand to support growth.

"There may be demand for private jets and yachts, but you need a healthy middle-income group (to drive consumption of basic goods)," he said. "In the golden age of capitalism, in the 1950s and 60s, everyone shared in income growth."

See! I know what I am talking about!  Professionals back me up!!