22 results for author: Rick Lohr
Don’t Let Fear In
Our American society is a big house. There is room for MAGA, Woke, liberals, conservatives, non-political, but not for the plutocratic oligarchic kleptocratic authoritarians now in charge of our government. We, as the people of the United States, are not in favor of a small group of billionaires taking over the government and mining it for our data and taxpayer money. What was it that Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks? “That’s where the money is.”
Why are Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos, and other one-percenters congregating around this administration? That is where the money and power are. Plutocracy is government by the ...
Tariffs and Oligarchy
What is a tariff? It is a tax placed on items imported from another country. Does the other country pay the tax? No, the American importer pays the tax and then passes the increased cost of the product on to the consumer. Who benefits? If tariffs become the major way of collecting taxes it is the wealthiest members of society. People with lower incomes spend most of their salaries or hourly wages on their daily needs. When prices rise, because of the across the board tariffs, they will pay taxes on most everything they buy. Wealthier people make money they don’t need for their subsistence, that surplus would then go untaxed.
I traveled ...
A Need for Empathy
What is empathy? It is the capacity to “walk in another’s shoes.” To walk in another’s shoes means to understand, feel, and identify as an other. It is different from compassion, which is when one in a superior position feels sorry for a less fortunate other.
Empathy is a two-way street. The feeling of understanding for the unfortunate must go the other way as well. It involves understanding as well as being understood, and trust and respect that go both ways. I must understand who I am in my shoes, before I can walk in those of another. Empathy is a feeling of equality of the humanity among all humans.
In current politics, Mr Musk has ...
Realigning the U.S. Towards Dictatorships is Dangerous
The new administration is realigning US foreign policy in a dangerous direction. Instead of traditional alliances with democratic countries, current leadership has expressed admiration for, and aligned interests, with dictatorial leaders. Principle among these countries is Putin’s Russia. Russia, is basically a failed state. Putin’s leadership has handed power to an billionaire class (oligarchs), who he has given license to to exploit the wealth of the state as long as they remain loyal to him. Education and research have declined. Life expectancy is years shorter than in Europe or the US. Great Russians are declining in numbers ...
Ultra-Rich are Working to Mount Anti-Democratic Coup
Under the cover of religion, and promotion of social-political issues, some members of our ultra-rich class have launched a coup. They have insinuated themselves in the government and judiciary to vote themselves huge tax breaks.
Under the last administration, a $1.7 trillion tax cut was enacted. It was heavily tilted to favor the top one-percent. No cuts in spending were enacted to pay for those cuts, so the amount of taxes not collected was added to the deficit.
That was highly inflationary. Also, who will pay the bills if the top one-percent does not? It is the average middle class and worker taxpayers. Warren Buffet has recently said that if ...
Words Matter Today Just as They Have Throughout History
“In the beginning was the word.” Words matter. They are the stuff of thought. They give shape to our identity, our memories, and our personality. Words float in the air as vibrations of sound, and as electrons via various media. Some we hear, some we read, and some we speak. The world is resounding with words. In modern life we can scarcely find relief from them. Before modern electronic media there were periods of silence. There were moments, even hours, without words being introduced into our brains. There was time for internal dialogue. That is, of course, our thought process mulling over things we have heard, and making sense of them.
Kung ...
Do We Want a Government of Laws or Men?
We just celebrated Memorial Day honoring the sacrifice of so many Americans fighting Fascism in WWII. Fascism is a highly personalized authoritarian system. Why should people obey an authoritarian? Their power relies on expressions of loyalty. One approached medieval kings with bows and paeans of praise. They were raised on thrones so that they were literally higher then the supplicants approaching them. Any violation of these protocols suggested that an individual harbored disloyal ideas and had to be dealt with in a severe way. Law is what the authoritarian says it is. They, themselves were above the law and not subject to their prescriptions and ...
Everything is wrong…so elect me
Everything is going wrong. The economy is poor, the military is weak, the government is corrupt, elections are rigged, we’re being invaded, crime is rampant…a litany of doom and disaster has been pushed by those who would like us to react in fear.
It doesn’t have to reflect reality. In the U.S., crime is down, the economy is recovering from COVID and the years prior, our international alliances are recovering, but to aspiring autocrats, it doesn’t matter. Why? If we fear enough we may be willing to cast our vote for someone who appears strong and confident to save us. It is the historic tactic of the would-be autocrat. “Only I can save ...
Is The Federal Civil Service the Deep State?
In 1883 the Federal Civil Service was created to fill government jobs with competent people, not on the whims of the most recent political presidential candidate. The old system was called the “spoils system,” where political cronies lined up for lucrative payoffs for helping their candidate win. The spoils system originated from the 1820 Tenure of Office Act, which limited the terms of officials to the four years corresponding to the election of a new president. It was called the spoils system because the supporters of the successful candidate for president would line up to get lucrative positions in the new administration. This led to vast ...
Congress, Not President, Needs to Act on Immigration
Who are the “migrants” coming to our southern border? “Immigrants” is the new scare word of right-wing political extremists. “Vermin,” “rapists,” “pushers,” “invaders.” Can we think of any more dehumanizing names to call this movement of people attempting to cross our borders?
Is it a serious issue? Yes, it is. Are the evil stereotypes of the masses of people coming to the border correct? No. First of all, the migrants are people who are making a desperate and dangerous journey. They are leaving everything behind in the hope of finding physical security, or a chance for a better life for themselves and their children.
P...