poverty as a weapon of mass destruction & the economic policies that loaded the chamber

[xchrom]

http://www.nationofchange.org/poverty-weapon-mass-destruction-and-economic-policies-loaded-chamber-1373640357



Eighty percent of the entire world population lives on less than $10 a day. Even if you live in a country where a gallon of gasoline doesn’t cost around $3.50, and a McDonald’s ‘Happy’ Meal – one of the worst and most nutritionally deficient, but arguably, cheapest meals around – costs about $5, that leaves you $2 and some change to eat another meal, pay rent and medical expenses, or perhaps buy your seven year old a birthday present. That small amount of money might leave your pockets feeling a little empty – in truth it’s the recipe for poverty, and it hasn’t happened by accident. To the majority of people in the world, it was planned and executed with steely perfection by the 2% at the top of the corporate food chain.

Some top-down economists will blame the poor in the US, as if they are a class of their own, for being lazy, or that the single moms are to blame for having so many children out of wedlock that they have to apply for help from the state, draining tax payer funds. Still others will say that world populations are just used to being ‘working-class’ and aren’t intelligent enough to garner jobs which pay higher wages. You would think that with the invention of the Internet, someone in Bangladesh or Laos would be able to make what a middle manager in the US earns, as long as they had similar skills. This simply is not the case.

“Behind the increasing interconnectedness promised by globalization are global decisions, policies and practices. These are typically influenced, driven, or formulated by the rich and powerful. These can be leaders of rich countries or other global actors, such as multinational corporations, institutions, and influential people.

In the face of such enormous external influence, the governments of poor nations and their people are often powerless. As a result, in the global context, a few get wealthy while the majority struggle.” (GlobalIssues.org)

This doesn’t even take into consideration the cost of wars, which are waged over illusory issues to control natural resources, and the poverty that ensues in countries that are damaged by war’s effects.

[byeya]

1. I take it as proven that monopoly capitalism has created more poverty worldwide than

any other system.
It's interesting to me that strongly regulated capitalism, like in Scandinavia, has almost eliminated poverty in their area of the world.
There needs to be an outlet for the inventors and owners of startup businesses and, I think, to the point of loosening some regulations until the firm grows to a certain number of employees 25? 50? 100?

One gripe I have about the last 3 administrations is that there has been little done to enforce the anti-trust laws. These people swore an oath to uphold the laws and they have given a free pass to those who either don't pay their taxes; illegally fix prices; or have become 'to big to prosecute' or a combination of these.

[nashville_brook]

2. ...the policies that The Chamber loaded

http://www.fixtheuschamber.org

[byeya]

3. I think that there are a few local Chambers of Commerce that have disaffiliated with

the RW, strident, national Chamber in the past few years.
The CofC has gotten so anti-Main Street that some are leaving

[nashville_brook]

4. true and yay for them - The Chamber, however actively pushes anti-worker policy

it's not like they've gone away, and it's not like the non-affiliated care to rock their boat. we see The Chamber interfering in all manner of worker issues from sick time to wage theft to domestic partnership.

[byeya]

5. No, they've not gone away and may be stronger than ever. The Cof C seems fixated

on anti-worker legislation and regulations to the neglect of small town main street businesses which used to be the backbone of the organization. If anything, the CofC is more dangerous now than heretofore.