Profile

Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
09 April 2018 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
An Informed Atheist Re-Addresses Christianity
10 March 2018 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
A Progressive Reform Program for America
10 March 2018 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
Supply Side and Libertarians Are Wrong and Not Supported by the Data
10 March 2018 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
How Income Inequality Injures People and the Economy
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
A Democratic Reform Program for America
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Supply Side Libertarians Are Wrong and Not Supported by the Data
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Rise of Economic Ignorance
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Rise of Income Inequality (Part VI)
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Rise of Income Inequality (Part V)
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Rise of Income Inequality (Part IV)
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Rise of Income Inequality (Part III)
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Rise of Income Inequality (Part II)
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Rise of Income Inequality (Part I)
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
Racial Hatred Is Confused
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
What To Do About North Korea
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
On Neoliberalism
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
Ban Hate Marches and Assemblies
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
On Miss Piggy and Mr. Pork
22 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Demise of the Democratic Party
09 August 2017 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
On Elitism

Americans Have Been Distracted and Had by the Oligarchs

26 July 2015 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
Kimball Corson
Liberals are pleased with developments on social issues. Even the conservative Catholic majority on the Court has somewhat seen the light. But there is a major rub here. By means of this mock battle, which conservatives have used to stir and inflame their red state electoral base, they and the oligarchical interests they represent have pulled a fast one.

Social issues became strongly politicized and fought by conservatives as a smoke screen to distract Americans from the agenda of the oligarchs they represent to rig the economy massively in favor of their own capital based profits and against the majority. The smoke screen has been a huge success and of course includes the republican parade of fools and their comments as they run for one or another office. Winning is not the issue. Distraction is. Conservatives have backed off a bit recently and allowed liberals and progressives some social wins now that the economy is so largely and well rigged in favor of the oligarchs. Warren and Stiglitz point out some but not all of that rigging.

By means of the rigging, profits have remained high for an incredibly long time. The means used to rig include: Blocking a hike in the minimum wage, bank frauds and abuses, blocking the refinancing of student loans, changes to the bankruptcy laws to favor creditors, blocking new over time rules, union busting, rigging the tax code, to include reduced top marginal income tax rates, fighting efforts for more equitable compensation so CEO's and their ilk don't rob the store, blocking a financial transaction tax for Wall Street, gutting the antitrust laws, seeking horizontal mergers, blocking trade agreement reforms and pushing for larger abuses, blocking reforms to our intellectual property laws, blocking health care and ins programs while hustling for special exemptions, legislations and CFR's to seurer reforms, blocking tax hikes on unearned income and capital gains, blocking infrastructure and public transportation reforms, blocking expansion of the social safety net, Medicare and Social Security and affirmatively trying to gut those programs, and generally applying a wreaking ball to government ro serve their own financial interests. These are among the obvious and overt means used to rig economic matters, but more is largely involved as well.

Slackened competition and demand have eased commodity prices worldwide thereby raising profits as has the continued off shoring and, now more importantly, the partial off shoring of American jobs by using parts manufactured abroad. Robotics makes ever greater in roads and increases profits and capital returns at the expense of displaced labor. Emerging third world middle class markets somewhat sustain demand for corporate America in the face of a) growing income inequality in the US, b) more and profitable monopoly practices here and c) huge economies of scale, especially from horizontal consolidation in the US as the antitrust laws lie largely dead or dormant.

The American middle class has been gutted by the oligarchs, who have looted and taken advantage at every turn, while we worried about the rights of gays, teaching religion in our schools, racial tensions and other less important social issues.. Without major economic reforms --which are hard to imagine in this political climate and without campaign fiance reform -- most Americans stand no real chance.The direction of these developments augers against the America's middle class. It is an oligarchical and profit driven system, with people and governments trailing along behind in the slip stream. Fairness and equitable concerns are deemed irrelevant and congress has capitulated. But too many Americans are too ill-informed, anxious and angry about these matters to do anything that is effective about them.
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Vessel Name: Altaira
Vessel Make/Model: A Fair Weather Mariner 39 is a fast (PHRF 132), heavily ballasted (43%), high-aspect (6:1), stiff, comfortable, offshore performance cruiser by Bob Perry that goes to wind well (30 deg w/ good headway) and is also good up and down the Beaufort scale.
Hailing Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
Crew: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
About:
Kimball Corson: I am a 75 year old solo sailor, by choice. However, I did take on a personable, but high maintenance female kitten, now a full grown cat, named KiKiPoo when she is sweet, or KatKatPo after she has just killed something like a bird or bat. [...]
Extra:
Although I was a lawyer and practiced law with good success for thirty years, creating significant new law, I never really believed in the law, the politics of law or in the over reaching self-interest of most lawyers I met. Too much exposure to Nietzsche and other good and seriously thoughtful [...]
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Profile

Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ