Esfand Aashena

What else can we expect ...

When we are constantly living beyond our means, spending with $$$ we don't have and we are only a reflection of our own government.

Sadly this society (i.e. extreme capitalism) encourages such practices.

Meanwhile in our family, we are spending only the what we have earned, minus some savings.

Great blog!!!

'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory 

Mehrdad

Tell me the virtues of

 //www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/08/1004748/-Tell-me-the-virtues-of-capitalism-now?via=spotlight

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx

This is exactly what's

This is exactly what's going on. Capitalism is not sustainable indefinitely.  Marx was right all along.

"

""Capitalist economies have survived until now for a lot of reasons, not least being the willingness of governments to fix the systemic problems that capitalism must create as a byproduct of its wealth accumulation function. To grow, you must eat, which means you must poop. What you do with that poop is a measure of how advanced you are as a life form.
But more recently, I have settled on the image of a round peg in a square hole. that is not a problem until the hole shrinks or the peg becomes too large. Resource depletion and the lack of true "new markets" are that shrinking hole (along with ever deeper and more frequent recessions - capitalist poop), while the maturity of "First world" economies are that larger peg. There is no wiggle room left, and the peg cannot fit anymore.
That is the essence of the new focus on austerity and cutting throughout the capitalist world. We the masses of people are the casualties as the owners regroup. Problem for them (and us) is that nature does not cotton to capitalism. She has ways of dealing with unchecked growth, and we are rapidly approaching a natural "correction" that will be unprecedented in it's effects on the world's wealth, resources, and ultimately, population." "

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx

Obama is the Mahdi who will save everyone from the doom & gloom!

During the 8 years of the Bush administration having control of the congress for most of his presidency he spent like crazy, gave tax cuts, corporations made record profits and the financial institutions died on their own vomit.

The real estate boom is at the heart of the global financial crisis and because it is so large and so many homes and buildings made at such record profits (now losses) and now hardest for people to buy their first home with tight credit scores, it's just not going to go away anytime soon.

The criticism of Obama these days revolves around not standing up to Republicans like he should've done with allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, first in exchange for extending the unemployment benefits fight and then next on the Government shut down and then on this debt ceiling increase.

Considering the consequences, at which one of these 3 milestones did he have a better timing to stand up for eliminating the tax cuts?  I'd say during the Government shut down debate.  There was more to lose at the other 2 milestones.

But he is moving things right along.  Like in a dysfunctional family you don't have harmony but still manage to raise the kids and make a living. 

Everything is sacred

Structural Crisis of Capitalism

And so far the Capitalists have won.

Surplus value

Your fine and timely blog poses some real good, fundmental and timely  questions regarding the relationship between labor forces, productivity, generated wealth and it's final distribution. Please take a look at this link  which should start answering some of your questions:

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surplus_value

I can testify to you that my and my colleagues productivity is much higher and my employer is is breaking it's profit records every single quarter, but the "markets" are very volatitle. which means the "value of my labor" could change from quarter to quarter. This is a dilema for my employer paying me an agreed fixed salary. This is how job security (or lack of it) becomes an isuue.

"Personal business must yield to collective interest."

For the first time in a

For the first time in a long time -- at least in the dozen or so years I've been old enough to be politically aware -- a space has opened up for real radical change. The evidence is global -- panic on the streets of London, financial chickens coming home to roost in the USA, neo-fascism ascending in Hungary, protests across the globe, nuclear breakdown in Japan, the Maghreb overthrowing its despots, Israel engulfed by protests, Syria and Lebanon rocked by protesters. This is a global and world historical moment we're entering.

Yes, that sounds extreme, but look around -- the world is on fire right now, and not just because of climate change. People are rising up and standing for their rights against autocratic governments and multinational corporations. In the weeks and months to come, this fire will only spread. We're entering an era that, when historians deliver their verdict will resemble the 1960s in terms of global change. It's already beyond Obama, Cameron, Merkel, Jintao et al. This is an epistemic and economic break.

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx

The upcoming massive budget cuts will only add fuel to fire!

The $2 - $4 Trillions in spending cuts that they're talking about is actually people's job inside and outside the Government.  All the Government contracts and supporting private sector jobs that go along with them will be gone.  The revenue will even become less because people won't work and won't pay taxes on not working.

The defense cuts of $800B this holiday season will have a huge impact on jobs and revenue.  One of the things people want is for the DoD budget to shrink.  Well unlike the entitlements like Social Security, Medicare and Medicare where it is a one way street and Goverment pays people and gets nothing in return, the defense budget or budget of other Government agencies actually creates jobs where people pay taxes back to Uncle Sam.  The higher the salaries the more the taxes.

Republicans don't want tax increases and say Washington doesn't have a "revenue problem" it has a "spending problem".  Well you cut the Goverment budgets and contracts and you're bound to get even less "revenue"! 

Everything is sacred

Timing article Esfand Aashena

You are absolutely RIGHT.  We all must try to keep our Jobs.  Believe me I have been worrying too eventhough I work in Federal GOV as a scientist not in a private Corp.

Es-fun-d?! Still fun!

I don't think JJJ worries about jobs or job market in general but he is one of a kind!  The rest of us are in it for better or worse. 

 Times are tough and I think by and large people are downsizing whether on the corporate level or individual level.  For example, small cars are in more in demand now and the era of big SUVs are over and people moving to small SUVs.  Bigger homes are harder to sell and so on and so forth.

Worst downsizing? accepting lower pay after you lose your job. 

Everything is sacred

Great article Esfaand jan

I particularly loved the section about walking faster. I remember years ago, I had this job. My first level supervisor walked fast. His boss walked faster and my third level manger walked the fastest.