JP Morgan's man in the White House: Barack Obama's legacy of ashes
by John Stanton
At one time, it seems decades ago now,
the general thinking in the USA was that President Barack Obama would
jolt the American political system into actually doing something
beneficial for its citizens rather than spying on them, building F-35
aircraft, upgrading nuclear weapons, spending trillions of dollars (US)
on national security, cutting unemployment benefits/food stamps,
fomenting war with Iran, Syria, China and Russia; and dragging out the
war in Afghanistan.
It is a damn shame!! Why? Why?
Sadly, Barack Obama's legacy will be one
of ashes. The destruction of America's social fabric; the
implementation of a surveillance corporate-state; assassination and
negation of Habeas; and a perpetual state of emergency/war economy will
come to dominate the historical narrative on the Obama presidency.
President Obama will also go down in US history as the American
President who paved the way for the financial industry to dismantle
Social Security. With the Executive Powers he has accrued and newly
created, future American President's will, by fiat, be able to sell off
national park lands and other US assets, even the nation's artwork:
citizens of Detroit, Michigan and Greece, Eurozone, are undergoing the
pillaging now (see below Greece Memo, Detroit Creditors).
JP Morgan provides the rationale:
Constitutions, like many in Europe and the USA in the post-industrial
era, are too "socialist" and written at a time when dictatorships
flourished. JP Morgan believes that should change for the sake of
capital flows (see below: JP Morgan Halfway There).
The US Homeland is in serious need of
repair. And it is not just the physical infrastructure that Americans
take for granted that needs fixing: roads, runways, sewage systems,
water, electricity and the like-it is also the American consciousness
both individual and collective that requires revision and regeneration.
There's no time for time for nostalgic looks to past days. The good old
days were nothing of the sort as the US elite inflicted some pretty
severe damage to the American psyche. Just think of legalized
racism/segregation and the Vietnam War. Then there were the alterations,
whether by groups or individuals, that literally changed the course of
US history: the killings of JF Kennedy, ML King, RF Kennedy, Medgar
Evers and Malcolm X. Like them or hate them, America has never produced
any dynamic leader(s) since that can match their individual and
collective standards. And each one of them was "American" to the core.
Better in 2013 than 1963: But Protests, Malcolm X Apply
That said, Americans would do well to
look to the protests of the 1960's and early 1970's that would
ultimately bring out millions from all levels of society to make their
collective voices heard to end a senseless war (Vietnam), stop mindless
discrimination (women, minorities), and strike for better wages/benefits
(US Postal strike in 1970-Nixon use of executive power controversial).
The time for listening to the blatherskites that hold power has passed.
"The people in power have abused and it
is time for a change," said Malcolm X in a blistering oratory, quoting
Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Oxford Debate Union in 1964. "If you sit
around waiting for those in power to change things, you will be waiting
for a long time. In my opinion the young generation of Whites, Blacks,
Browns--and whatever else there is-are living in a time of extremism, a
time of revolution...And there has to be a change...A better world needs
to be built and the only way that is going to happen is by extreme
methods...I will join with anyone, I don't care what color you are as
long as you want to change the miserable condition that exists on this
Earth."
That "miserable condition" will return with vengeance absent opposition from the multitudes.
The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse have
arrived: Democrats, Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives are riding
roughshod over Americans young and old. They are trampling, with
impunity, the US Constitution, Bill of Rights and the ideals within the
Declaration of Independence. Their ideologies blind them from seeing the
damage they are doing. They speak only to each other through the
mainstream media/websites and not to the American people. The citizens
of the USA are little more than a compliant audience.
Americans need to respond to this by
asking and answering some key questions. How much more low intensity
conflict? How many civilian and military suicides are tolerable? How
many more mass shootings at home? How many more vapid statements from
politicians and military leaders? How many more school closings,
furloughs, layoffs? How many more cities like Detroit left to the Hedge
Fund and JP Morgan vultures? How much more intrusion by the American
corporate-state (one dare not use the "F" word) into the lives of US
citizens and millions more around the globe? How many more "big lies" on
the economy and security? How much longer is the Cold War going to last
(pivot to Asia and missile defense systems ringing Russia/China)? Why
so much child poverty which sees Save the Children so active in America?
And just what does it mean to be an
American citizen? Is Rahm Emanuel, the current Mayor of Chicago,
Illinois, a good example? The same Rahm Emanuel that chose to volunteer
with the Israeli Defense Forces during the 1991 Gulf War instead of
with the US Army? What about those USA corporate citizens who pay no
taxes and offshore jobs?
So what's the game plan for your struggling city, town, state or region?
How useful would a program like the
National Security Agency's PRISM, or TRAPWIRE, be in rounding up those
protesting in the USA against austerity, asset sales, pension robbing,
child poverty and unemployment?
JP Morgan: The Euro area adjustment--About Halfway There (28 May 2013)
"At the start of the crisis, it was
generally assumed that the national legacy problems were economic in
nature. But, as the crisis has evolved, it has become apparent that
there are deep seated political problems in the periphery, which, in our
view, need to change if EMU [Eurozone] is going to function properly in
the long run. The political systems in the periphery were established
in the aftermath of dictatorship, and were defined by that experience.
Constitutions tend to show a strong socialist influence, reflecting the
political strength that left wing parties gained after the defeat of
fascism. Political systems around the periphery typically display
several of the following features: weak executives; weak central states
relative to regions; constitutional protection of labor rights;
consensus building systems which foster political clientalism; and the
right to protest if unwelcome changes are made to the political status
quo.
The shortcomings of this political
legacy have been revealed by the crisis. Countries around the periphery
have only been partially successful in producing fiscal and economic
reform agendas, with governments constrained by constitutions
(Portugal), powerful regions (Spain), and the rise of populist parties
(Italy and Greece). There is a growing recognition of the extent of this
problem, both in the core and in the periphery. Change is beginning to
take place. Spain took steps to address some of the contradictions of
the post-Franco settlement with last year's legislation enabling closer
fiscal oversight of the regions. But, outside Spain little has happened
thus far...the process of political reform has barely begun."
Citigroup--Revisiting Plutonomy: The Rich Getting Richer March 2006
"The data shows that the gap in incomes
and wealth between the rich and the poor in the US shows no signs of
significant change, and that the richest 10 and 20% of Americans
continue to earn disproportionately high chunks of national income, and
own an even higher share of the national wealth...While the average
consumer might not be feeling great, the important consumers - the
richest 20%, who account, as we've shown, for 58% of income - are in
good shape...Finally, the dollar. The perma-bears told us that the
current account deficit in the US was too high. It could only be lowered
by raising the savings rate of the household sector which in turn would
only be accomplished by rising interest rates and/or a dollar collapse.
We disagree. To us plutonomists, the current account deficit is largely
a function of the savings...rate, which is a function of the propensity
to save by the rich. As we highlighted above, they are rationally
consuming out of their stock of wealth (which incidentally, keeps going
up) as well as from their incomes. To them, dollar devaluations are a
mild inconvenience, but not a reason to change their spending and
dis-savings habits..."
Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality between Greece and Financiers (9 February 2012)
"The Government [of Greece] will neither
propose nor implement measures which may infringe the rules on the free
movement of capital. Neither the State nor other public bodies will
conclude shareholder agreements with the intention or effect of
hindering the free movement of capital or influence the management or
control of companies. The Government will neither initiate nor introduce
any voting or acquisition caps, and it will not establish any
disproportionate and non-justifiable veto rights or any other form of
special rights in privatized companies. No further special rights will
be introduced in the course of future privatization projects. The
Government publishes and updates on a quarterly basis its medium-term
staffing plans per department, for the period up to 2015, in line with
the rule of 1 recruitment for 5 exits. The recruitment/exit rule applies
to the general government as a whole. The staffing plans should be
consistent with the target of reducing public employment by 150 thousand
in end-2010-end-2015. If necessary, the Government will enact temporary
hiring freezes...
15,000 redundant staff will be
transferred to the labor reserve in the course of 2012, in connection
with the identification of entities or units that are closed or
downsized. Staff in the labor reserve will be paid at 60 percent of
their basic wage (excluding overtime and other extra payments) for not
more than 12 months, after which they will be dismissed. This period of
12 months may be extended up to 24 months for staff close to retirement.
Payments to staff while in the labor reserve are considered part of
their severance payments....The minimum wages established by the
national general collective agreement will be reduced by 22 percent
compared to the level of 1 January 2012; for youth (for ages below 25),
the wages established by the national collective agreement will be
reduced by 32 percent without restrictive conditions. Clauses in the law
and in collective agreements which provide for automatic wage
increases, including those based on seniority, are suspended..."
City of Detroit: Proposal for Creditors (14 June 2013)
"Maximize recoveries for
creditors...since the City [Detroit] will not generate sufficient cash
to pay all liabilities alternatives have to be considered...restructure
governance of pension arrangements, maximize collection of taxes and
fees that are levied or imposed, generate value from city assets, wage
reductions (implemented through imposition of furlough days),
caps/reductions on vacation/holiday pay/overtime/sick days, the
reduction of pension multipliers, and changes to healthcare coverage...
Prohibits Detroit's local elected officials from exercising any powers
as authorized in writing by Mr. Orr [appointed emergency manager] and
subject to any conditions he may impose [Orr later reinstated Detroit
city's mayor and city council]...The City must reduce employment costs
for both represented and unrepresented workers as part of its
restructuring...Representatives of the Emergency Manager met with
representatives that currently operate the Detroit Institute of Arts
(DIA) to discuss the art collection exhibited there... DIA contends that
the collection is held by a public trust and cannot be used for any
purpose other than exhibition or to maintain and enhance the collection
itself...Further dialogue is anticipated..."
