I turned 70 two months ago and remember well the years leading up to Reagan. Working class people like the families in my neighborhood were steadily getting ahead.
But there was something else peculiar to that era: People somehow connected the improvements with justice.
Justice mattered, for some reason. I lived in a neighborhood that was filled with racists. But when what MLK was doing showed up on TVs, they started changing. Workplace and school changes helped; kids and adults worked and learned with people different from them. Good things happened, slowly but steadily.
IMO Reagan was the beginning of economic inequality. We had a few disruptions with Dem presidents, but the Republicans have continued working behind the scenes to keep the so called "trickle down economics" front and center. Hopefully, it will only be 4 years tha we need to endure.
How two foreign-born gits can come to OUR country, enrich themselves beyond imagination - well, at least Elno - and then to tell US how much of OUR government THEY want to destroy..chutzpah doesn't half account for it.
We have a pretty good economy right now, so these Gilded times may have a little runway left. Whether it all implodes in 2 or 6 years is a detail. Layer on top of that a shitload of impending climate emergencies and the late 2020s-early 2030s will be a helluva ride.
"If the Trump-aligned aristocracy takes Medicaid and Social Security and veteran’s benefits away, the extravagances we watch them revel in might not seem so enviable anymore. Their riches might start to seem more like plundered goods."
Should that come to pass, the shooting of healthcare CEO Thompson would prove to be "The shot heard round the world", if not prescient.
It’s actually surprising that something like the UHC assassination hadn’t happened before. I mean these people make a profit over denying us treatments that can prolong or save our lives. I am definitely not condoning such an act of tragic violence, but if the killer turns out to be someone who lost a friend or loved one because UHC denied coverage, I wouldn’t be shocked at all.
After WWII when the military was being reduced for post war life, many of the top intelligence personnel went to the advertising industry. Capitalism requires demand creation. The "hidden persuaders" were threatened with regulation for their worst abuses; but settled into a format of selling things in a manner not believable to a person of average intelligence.
Modern ads take many forms. Basically they want your attention. The purpose is to sell you what they want to sell you. The method is the algorithm that promotes engagement. They get paid for mouse clicks. It starts with amusement or even alarm, and leads to god knows what. The problem is that we share a planet, but each live in a world that is defined by our attention. This is the consequence of internet enshitification.
Not the point you're making, but I had an experience recently that suggested a positive role for streaming. It was in a group of about 20 people convened on Zoom for a short series of sessions basically focused on grounding ourselves in hope of some glimmerings of solutions to the world's metacrisis emerging between us. Having only used Zoom before in business contexts (where it frankly sucks), it was a pleasant surprise to see, well, glimmerings of hope for streaming spaces as places to develop new social sensibilities.
There may yet be ways to leverage the internet for the good it was originally hoped to be a wellspring of, and free it (and then the world) from the lords who have stolen our commons. BlueSky is pretty damn good so far too -- and I never liked Twitter, even before the rat Musk.
Zoom has been a great thing for my mental health. Living sort of isolated, my oldest and his girlfriend live upstairs ( they’re in their mid 20s) moved back to help me. When I had my second back surgery in April, I was able to continue my therapy. I do have the kids here, but rarely an adult to talk to. My dad is in his late 80s and a 2 hour drive away, I speak to him daily but he’s definitely slowing down and the conversation is banal.
So I’ll take zoom for therapy when I can’t drive, I’m in Maine so if it’s bad weather and we still have power zoom to the rescue.
I’m glad you have found value in it too. I was skeptical in the beginning.
So true. We are entering the Trump/ Elon Age of Plunder. People go about their lives & don’t seem to notice threats until they affect them personally. So they won’t pay attention to what Trumpicans do to end the ACA, cut Social Security etc until they suddenly realize that THEY have lost their healthcare & benefits. The question is : how will they react then? How much will they have to personally suffer to leave the MAGA cult . Having families die from COVID didn’t do it.
As a foreigner with a 45+ years interest in US politics and social trends, may I be so bold as to offer two facets of the American sociopolitical culture. Firstly sentiment can turn on a dime and secondly Americans have very short memories. So let's see how many rabid MAGAs there are in 4 years. I predict overreach and backlash just like Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
The New Gilded Age started with the Reagan years. Another time when the country was besotted. I guess seniors should start stocking up on cat food tuna again (for real, look it up).
What will all of these Trump voting families do when their grandmas with Alzheimer’s are suddenly forced back home when Medicaid no longer covers their nursing home costs—because Medicaid has been slashed and turned into a block grant. One of the many wet dreams of the GOP that may finally become reality. And goodbye affordable health insurance on the exchanges, free wellness checkups, and coverage for those adult kids 26 and under. Everyone hates the ACA I mean Obamacare, right?
It will be open season on everything from NOAA and the NWS to NASA; SS to Medicare and the Post Office. They have wanted to privatize govt services for decades. And this is just scratching the surface. Will they disband FEMA and put Christian charities in charge of helping people affected by natural disasters? And think about the thrill of flying when they slash the FAA and hire private companies to investigate safety issues and crashes. Not to mention the FDA. We don’t need no stinkin bureaucrats checking our food for us! And you will finally be able to try that mysterious drug from Mexico that the FDA wouldn’t allow because of their stupid rules and regulations.
Will any GOP in the House or Senate have the courage of John McCain to vote thumbs down and save us from ourselves (and their colleagues worst impulses)?
If not, get ready for the fire sale to end all fire sales. Americans may get cheap raw milk at the grocery store, but so many other things that make our lives comfortable and livable, not so much.
It’s about pain and sacrifice people! Elon said so.
I have been wondering the same thing. So many of us have busted our tails to save up what little we can. How do we protect ourselves from the Robber Barons?
it's kind of all out in the open already... justin sun (chinese organized crime, cryptocurrency, money launderer extraordinaire) streamed himself eating the $6 million banana the other day, right after he put $18 million in trump's pocket.
I do think that the same social media that enabled the looting will sow the seeds of its exposure.
It's just going to take a lot longer than we imagine it should. Democrats have spent most of my political life trying to protect people from consequences. That was never an evil goal, but it may have proven ignoble. The absence of consequences has allowed people to think that a lifelong criminal reality TV star is going to solve their problems for them, and it's distracted the Democrats from doing the real work of reforming how the very regulatory state WE designed has hurt our own ability to solve problems for voters.
Just like other eras of mass disruption by changes in media (like the aftermath of the printing press!), it's just going to take a long time for new norms to form around the specific challenges of social media. Given the pace of technological progress, we may not have even perfected them by the time the next disruption comes!
My biggest fear is that history isn't going to just stop for us while all this is happening and we're busy getting our shit together. The New Axis is pretty much poised to win the first phase of the Second Cold War, and the ONLY silver lining is that we may be able to keep the losses in Ukraine to an unsteady draw. Our pants are down, and the next several decades aren't going to get any easier than the previous several have been.
These ultra rich people now feel totally empowered. Well, maybe not health insurance executives. I believe it's time to invest heavily in the private security sector of the economy. If you rip off enough people, one or two will not stand for it. Gotta make sure some disgruntled person, feeling wronged at having his (or her) life ruined, doesn't decide to take matters into their own hands. Much easier to do in this country, awash with guns as it is.
You nailed it.
I turned 70 two months ago and remember well the years leading up to Reagan. Working class people like the families in my neighborhood were steadily getting ahead.
But there was something else peculiar to that era: People somehow connected the improvements with justice.
Justice mattered, for some reason. I lived in a neighborhood that was filled with racists. But when what MLK was doing showed up on TVs, they started changing. Workplace and school changes helped; kids and adults worked and learned with people different from them. Good things happened, slowly but steadily.
Who talks about justice now? Seriously, who?
IMO Reagan was the beginning of economic inequality. We had a few disruptions with Dem presidents, but the Republicans have continued working behind the scenes to keep the so called "trickle down economics" front and center. Hopefully, it will only be 4 years tha we need to endure.
How two foreign-born gits can come to OUR country, enrich themselves beyond imagination - well, at least Elno - and then to tell US how much of OUR government THEY want to destroy..chutzpah doesn't half account for it.
I wonder if they weren't wealthy if they would be so popular? People seem to use money as a proxy for wisdom
We are seeing the end not the beginning of a new Gilded Age. Watch
We have a pretty good economy right now, so these Gilded times may have a little runway left. Whether it all implodes in 2 or 6 years is a detail. Layer on top of that a shitload of impending climate emergencies and the late 2020s-early 2030s will be a helluva ride.
"If the Trump-aligned aristocracy takes Medicaid and Social Security and veteran’s benefits away, the extravagances we watch them revel in might not seem so enviable anymore. Their riches might start to seem more like plundered goods."
Should that come to pass, the shooting of healthcare CEO Thompson would prove to be "The shot heard round the world", if not prescient.
It’s actually surprising that something like the UHC assassination hadn’t happened before. I mean these people make a profit over denying us treatments that can prolong or save our lives. I am definitely not condoning such an act of tragic violence, but if the killer turns out to be someone who lost a friend or loved one because UHC denied coverage, I wouldn’t be shocked at all.
After WWII when the military was being reduced for post war life, many of the top intelligence personnel went to the advertising industry. Capitalism requires demand creation. The "hidden persuaders" were threatened with regulation for their worst abuses; but settled into a format of selling things in a manner not believable to a person of average intelligence.
Modern ads take many forms. Basically they want your attention. The purpose is to sell you what they want to sell you. The method is the algorithm that promotes engagement. They get paid for mouse clicks. It starts with amusement or even alarm, and leads to god knows what. The problem is that we share a planet, but each live in a world that is defined by our attention. This is the consequence of internet enshitification.
Not the point you're making, but I had an experience recently that suggested a positive role for streaming. It was in a group of about 20 people convened on Zoom for a short series of sessions basically focused on grounding ourselves in hope of some glimmerings of solutions to the world's metacrisis emerging between us. Having only used Zoom before in business contexts (where it frankly sucks), it was a pleasant surprise to see, well, glimmerings of hope for streaming spaces as places to develop new social sensibilities.
There may yet be ways to leverage the internet for the good it was originally hoped to be a wellspring of, and free it (and then the world) from the lords who have stolen our commons. BlueSky is pretty damn good so far too -- and I never liked Twitter, even before the rat Musk.
Zoom has been a great thing for my mental health. Living sort of isolated, my oldest and his girlfriend live upstairs ( they’re in their mid 20s) moved back to help me. When I had my second back surgery in April, I was able to continue my therapy. I do have the kids here, but rarely an adult to talk to. My dad is in his late 80s and a 2 hour drive away, I speak to him daily but he’s definitely slowing down and the conversation is banal.
So I’ll take zoom for therapy when I can’t drive, I’m in Maine so if it’s bad weather and we still have power zoom to the rescue.
I’m glad you have found value in it too. I was skeptical in the beginning.
So true. We are entering the Trump/ Elon Age of Plunder. People go about their lives & don’t seem to notice threats until they affect them personally. So they won’t pay attention to what Trumpicans do to end the ACA, cut Social Security etc until they suddenly realize that THEY have lost their healthcare & benefits. The question is : how will they react then? How much will they have to personally suffer to leave the MAGA cult . Having families die from COVID didn’t do it.
As a foreigner with a 45+ years interest in US politics and social trends, may I be so bold as to offer two facets of the American sociopolitical culture. Firstly sentiment can turn on a dime and secondly Americans have very short memories. So let's see how many rabid MAGAs there are in 4 years. I predict overreach and backlash just like Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
The New Gilded Age started with the Reagan years. Another time when the country was besotted. I guess seniors should start stocking up on cat food tuna again (for real, look it up).
What will all of these Trump voting families do when their grandmas with Alzheimer’s are suddenly forced back home when Medicaid no longer covers their nursing home costs—because Medicaid has been slashed and turned into a block grant. One of the many wet dreams of the GOP that may finally become reality. And goodbye affordable health insurance on the exchanges, free wellness checkups, and coverage for those adult kids 26 and under. Everyone hates the ACA I mean Obamacare, right?
It will be open season on everything from NOAA and the NWS to NASA; SS to Medicare and the Post Office. They have wanted to privatize govt services for decades. And this is just scratching the surface. Will they disband FEMA and put Christian charities in charge of helping people affected by natural disasters? And think about the thrill of flying when they slash the FAA and hire private companies to investigate safety issues and crashes. Not to mention the FDA. We don’t need no stinkin bureaucrats checking our food for us! And you will finally be able to try that mysterious drug from Mexico that the FDA wouldn’t allow because of their stupid rules and regulations.
Will any GOP in the House or Senate have the courage of John McCain to vote thumbs down and save us from ourselves (and their colleagues worst impulses)?
If not, get ready for the fire sale to end all fire sales. Americans may get cheap raw milk at the grocery store, but so many other things that make our lives comfortable and livable, not so much.
It’s about pain and sacrifice people! Elon said so.
So how do we PROTECT our life savings from Crypto???
I have been wondering the same thing. So many of us have busted our tails to save up what little we can. How do we protect ourselves from the Robber Barons?
it's kind of all out in the open already... justin sun (chinese organized crime, cryptocurrency, money launderer extraordinaire) streamed himself eating the $6 million banana the other day, right after he put $18 million in trump's pocket.
see also justin sun's other enterprise with the chairman of the Trump transition team and future american Commerce Secretary: https://cryptadamus.substack.com/p/trumps-transition-team-is-tethered
I do think that the same social media that enabled the looting will sow the seeds of its exposure.
It's just going to take a lot longer than we imagine it should. Democrats have spent most of my political life trying to protect people from consequences. That was never an evil goal, but it may have proven ignoble. The absence of consequences has allowed people to think that a lifelong criminal reality TV star is going to solve their problems for them, and it's distracted the Democrats from doing the real work of reforming how the very regulatory state WE designed has hurt our own ability to solve problems for voters.
Just like other eras of mass disruption by changes in media (like the aftermath of the printing press!), it's just going to take a long time for new norms to form around the specific challenges of social media. Given the pace of technological progress, we may not have even perfected them by the time the next disruption comes!
My biggest fear is that history isn't going to just stop for us while all this is happening and we're busy getting our shit together. The New Axis is pretty much poised to win the first phase of the Second Cold War, and the ONLY silver lining is that we may be able to keep the losses in Ukraine to an unsteady draw. Our pants are down, and the next several decades aren't going to get any easier than the previous several have been.
One wonders what happened to the passion of Occupy Wall Street?
Excellent work, but Look Into My Privatize was RIGHT THERE.
Imbecile
These ultra rich people now feel totally empowered. Well, maybe not health insurance executives. I believe it's time to invest heavily in the private security sector of the economy. If you rip off enough people, one or two will not stand for it. Gotta make sure some disgruntled person, feeling wronged at having his (or her) life ruined, doesn't decide to take matters into their own hands. Much easier to do in this country, awash with guns as it is.