We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Are we heading to an economic crash in the next few years?

Click here if you wish to access source of this 9:21m video from an interview with Michael Hudson on the Thom Hartmann Program broadcast via RT TV. (Note: there is a brief interruption in the middle of the broadcast, but quickly resumes.)

It would be helpful in understanding Hudson's comments, to understand the difference between defined benefit and defined contribution pension programs. As I recall, this shift began in the 1990s until now whereby most pension plans are of the latter type. As one would expect, this shift has been enormously popular with the One Percent who live largely off of their ownership of corporations and speculative investments. Not only does this allow hedge fund agents and corporate executives to engage in more risky endeavors, but it also has the advantage of encouraging more of the 99% to identify with corporate interests.

For more information on pensions and their reckless use by hedge funds, I highly recommend perusing the Pension Pulse website where the Canadian blogger has specialized in following this issue. Although this offers a Canadian perspective, most of his analyses applies to the US. Specifically, I recommend this and this.

Unfortunately, Hudson's liberal recommendations for change consist of only reforms to the existing system which is doing what it is logically set up to do--to provide the One Percent with short-term profits and power. Over the past 300 years this system has so abundantly rewarded them that they are now hopelessly addicted to it. It is up to us to dismantle it and replace it with a sustainable system that serves everybody. We must do this or else...we will perish from the Earth.