Rise Up or Die! by Chris Hedges

by Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Truthdig
May 20, 2013

Image by cool revolution via Flickr

Joe Sacco and I spent two years reporting from the poorest pockets of the United States for our book “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.” We went into our nation’s impoverished “sacrifice zones”—the first areas forced to kneel before the dictates of the marketplace—to show what happens when unfettered corporate capitalism and ceaseless economic expansion no longer have external impediments. We wanted to illustrate what unrestrained corporate exploitation does to families, communities and the natural world.

Patriotic Yardsticks for Unpatriotic Giant Corporations by Ralph Nader

Dandelion Salad

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
May 16, 2013

Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr

Why are big, global U.S. corporations so unpatriotic? After all, they were created in the U.S.A., rose to immense profit because of the toil of American workers, are bailed out by American taxpayers whenever they’re in trouble, and are safeguarded abroad by the U.S. military.

Yet these corporate goliaths work their tax lawyers overtime to escape U.S. taxes. Many pay less than you do in federal income taxes. Imagine corporations, like General Electric, have not paid federal income taxes on U.S. profits for years.

Michael Hudson: What is Debt Deflation?

with Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
michael-hudson.com
May 18, 2013

Image by The Eyes Of New York via Flickr

RussiaToday May 18, 2013

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert examine stories about those who, using spoof trades, bogus securities and fictitious capital, steal real wealth and income. They discuss how it is that every benchmark index is rigged and introduce the concept of the ‘bonus benchmark.’ In the second half, Max talks to Dr. Michael Hudson, author of The Bubble and Beyond, about debt and wage deflation and about the intersection of interest rates and wages going back to David Ricardo when wages were measured against the price of bread to today when they are measured against the price of debt.

The Banking System In Short by Rudo de Ruijter

by Rudo de Ruijter
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Independent researcher
www.courtfool.info
Netherlands
May 7, 2013

Today’s bank system adheres to a very simple principle. When you want to borrow money, you promise the banker you will pay him back and with that promise the banker creates a balance for you. You owe interest on it.

Because so few people know how the system works, nearly nobody sees how – in an almost mechanical way – banking with thin air parasites society like a cancer tumor and reduces people to cogs to appease its financial hunger.

Large Corporations Seek U.S.–European ‘Free Trade Agreement’ to Further Global Dominance by Andrew Gavin Marshall

Image by Nney via Flickr

by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Writer, Dandelion Salad
http://andrewgavinmarshall.com
Originally posted at: AlterNet
May 12, 2013

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the latest plan of conglomerates to strengthen their grip over the planet.

A corporate world order is emerging, and like any parasite, it is slowly killing off its host. Unfortunately, the “host” happens to be the planet, and all life upon and within it. So, while the extinction of the species will be the end result of passively accepting a corporate-driven world, on the other hand, it’s very profitable for those corporations and their shareholders.

Occupied Social Centers in Spain + Cooperatives, Another Mode of Production

Image by @Popicinio via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

PressTVGlobalNews · May 4, 2013

Spanish people are giving life to many schools which have been abandoned for years, forsaken factories, foreclosed and empty buildings and many more places.

Bail-out Is Out, Bail-in Is In by Ellen Brown

by Ellen Brown
Writer, Dandelion Salad
webofdebt.com
April 9, 2013

Image by The Workers’ Party of Ireland via Flickr

“[W]ith Cyprus . . . the game itself changed. By raiding the depositors’ accounts, a major central bank has gone where they would not previously have dared. The Rubicon has been crossed.”

—Eric Sprott, Shree Kargutkar, “Caveat Depositor”

The crossing of the Rubicon into the confiscation of depositor funds was not a one-off emergency measure limited to Cyprus. 

Richard Wolff: Obama Preaches Stimulus to Europe and Practices Austerity at Home

Image by 401(K) 2013 via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews – Apr 20, 2013

Richard Wolff: Low wages, cheap money, and cheap equipment are driving higher profits and the politics of austerity.

Social Security Belongs To The Workers by Kathy Durkin

Dandelion Salad

Image by Fifth World Art via Flickr

by Kathy Durkin
Workers World
April 20, 2013

What will happen to our Social Security benefits? This question is being asked by the program’s 56 million recipients in response to the Obama administration’s proposal to cut the annual cost-of-living raise for all who receive these monthly checks, as part of his 2014 budget.

Rep. Keith Ellison’s “Inclusive Prosperity Act” by Ralph Nader

Dandelion Salad

Image by Seabeak via Flickr

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
April 17, 2013

Citizens concerned about our national debt and wheeling and dealing on Wall Street should energetically support Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-Minn.) “Inclusive Prosperity Act.”

The “Inclusive Prosperity Act” would enact a speculation tax that could help shrink our nation’s deficit while safeguarding and reducing runaway speculative trading on Wall Street.

A small financial transaction tax of 0.5 percent or less – depending upon the financial instrument being taxed – could produce hundreds of billions of dollars annually, perhaps as much as $350 billion.

Noam Chomsky: Against Privatisation at Sussex

Image by hardtopeel via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

with Noam Chomsky

Akshay Pahilajani –

Sweatshops on Wheels by Chris Hedges

by Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Truthdig
April 15, 2013

Image by Metro Centric via Flickr

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The deterioration of the nation’s public transportation, like the deterioration of health care, education, social services, public utilities, bridges and roads, is part of the relentless seizing and harvesting of public resources and programs by corporations. These corporations are steadily stripping the American infrastructure. Public-sector unions are being broken. Wages and benefits are being slashed. Workers are forced to put in longer hours in unsafe workplaces, often jeopardizing public safety.

Michael Hudson: Obama’s “Cat Food” Social Security Reform

Image by David Sachs @ SEIU International via Flickr

by Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
michael-hudson.com
Apr 11, 2013

Michael Hudson: Obama’s “bargain” on social security reform will push more retirees into poverty in exchange for a minor increase in high end income tax – a class that receives most revenue from capital gains.

Richard Wolff VS Joseph Minarik: Debate on Social Security

Image by aflcio via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews – Apr 13, 2013

Joseph Minarik (former chief economist of the Office of Management and Budget for eight years during the Clinton Administration) and economist Richard Wolff take on President Obama’s proposed changes to Social Security.

Failed Privatizations — The Thatcher Legacy by Michael Hudson

Image by The PIX-JOCKEY (photo manipulation) via Flickr

by Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
michael-hudson.com
April 8, 2013

This is from my book on privatization, written some 15 years ago, never published.

As in Chile, privatization in Britain was a victory for Chicago monetarism. This time it was implemented democratically. In fact, voters endorsed Margaret Thatcher’s selloff of public industries so strongly that by 1991, when she was replaced as prime minister by her own party’s John Major, only 35 percent of Britain’s voters supported the Labour Party – half the proportion registered in 1945. The Conservatives sold off public monopolies, used the proceeds to cut taxes, and put the privatized firms on a profit-making basis.