More than food for thought.....
"America has experienced "gush-up" rather than "trickle-down." The shame is on the adherents of unregulated free-market capitalism, who have assaulted us with the message of "winner-take-all" wealth over the common good. George Will perpetuates the neoliberal myth by quoting one of his idols, John Tamny: "Income inequality in a capitalist system is truly beautiful...it provides the incentive for creative people to gamble on new ideas.."
But in the realm of reality, there are many reasons for embarrassment".
Some examples from this piece "Great Embarrassments of an Unequal Society" on CommonDreams:
1. Just Because They're Rich, Billionaires are Trusted to Design Our Education and Health Systems
"Bill Gates leads the way here. He got rich in questionable ways from technology, and as a result much of America feels he's qualified to be a great humanitarian. Because of his corporate-endowed foundation, says Arundhati Roy, Bill Gates can "find himself designing education, health, and agriculture policies, not just for the U.S. government but for governments all over the world."
In addition to Gates, education 'reformers' include Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow billionaires Eli Broad and Michael Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch and the Walton family, none of whom have much educational experience, and all of whom are promoting education reform with lots of standardized testing and little accountability to the public.
In agriculture, wealthy western philanthropists decide the future of African farmers from a corporate point of view, with a sense of disdain for traditional methods of small farming.
Much the same in health care, with World Health Organization director Margaret Chan summarizing the role of money in global decision-making: "My budget [is] highly earmarked, so it is driven by what I call donor interests."
4. 40% of Food Wasted.....and 40% of Households Food-Insecure
"According to Feeding America, almost 50 million households, or about 40 percent of American homes, experienced food insecurity at some point in 2013.
At the same time, the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that 40 percent of food in the United States goes uneaten."
"America has experienced "gush-up" rather than "trickle-down." The shame is on the adherents of unregulated free-market capitalism, who have assaulted us with the message of "winner-take-all" wealth over the common good. George Will perpetuates the neoliberal myth by quoting one of his idols, John Tamny: "Income inequality in a capitalist system is truly beautiful...it provides the incentive for creative people to gamble on new ideas.."
But in the realm of reality, there are many reasons for embarrassment".
Some examples from this piece "Great Embarrassments of an Unequal Society" on CommonDreams:
1. Just Because They're Rich, Billionaires are Trusted to Design Our Education and Health Systems
"Bill Gates leads the way here. He got rich in questionable ways from technology, and as a result much of America feels he's qualified to be a great humanitarian. Because of his corporate-endowed foundation, says Arundhati Roy, Bill Gates can "find himself designing education, health, and agriculture policies, not just for the U.S. government but for governments all over the world."
In addition to Gates, education 'reformers' include Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow billionaires Eli Broad and Michael Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch and the Walton family, none of whom have much educational experience, and all of whom are promoting education reform with lots of standardized testing and little accountability to the public.
In agriculture, wealthy western philanthropists decide the future of African farmers from a corporate point of view, with a sense of disdain for traditional methods of small farming.
Much the same in health care, with World Health Organization director Margaret Chan summarizing the role of money in global decision-making: "My budget [is] highly earmarked, so it is driven by what I call donor interests."
4. 40% of Food Wasted.....and 40% of Households Food-Insecure
"According to Feeding America, almost 50 million households, or about 40 percent of American homes, experienced food insecurity at some point in 2013.
At the same time, the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that 40 percent of food in the United States goes uneaten."
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