Comments for Fun With Thomas Friedman at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 9 out of 9 comments http://www.cepr.net Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:42:07 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10525 Three points: Right-O It was not every American wanting to buy a house that put us over the cliff. It was greedy bankers for which interest profit was not enough, but Credit Default profit too, and thus no risk banking. Unstated: Economic history shows wars create debt. Additionally Friedman's other drum, the green economy cannot come without restructuring. We cannot grow our way into a green economy. And without changing Bigtime we will find more wars. Regarding winning together, Democracy is majority rule; our current filibustery, the Senate’s rule of 41… is minoritiy rule. What Together? - Gentleman Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:58:25 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10524 Thomas says "education, infrastructure, immigration of high-I.Q. innovators and entrepreneurs, rules to incentivize risk-taking and start-ups, and government-funded research to spur science and technology." "Brains, more brains" croak the brain-eating zombies in the Night of the Living Dead. We don't need more brains, or "incentiviz"ing. Where we consistently fail is in making the transition from great ideas to viable marketplace products. Books have been written documenting the arm's-length list of American small companies whose patents have been snatched up by Asian manufacturers, who then made a successful go at making and marketing the products. Sad to say, those of us who know how things are made and how they work are embarrassed by the all-to-often shoddiness of the products of American design and manufacture. It's painful to hear foreigners laugh at the "quality" of American goods. It's unlikely that this realization will get through to the likes of Thomas Friedman and his ilk. It would challenge their view of themselves as the brains of the most innovative and technically adept country on the planet. - diesel Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:39:55 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10521 I am fine with a transaction tax, but I need a little change. Make it start at 5% and decline on a time basis to the .25% rate. Take out the HFT's with their superfast computers who are simply technological parasites feeding off real investment income. A billion here and a billion there and it adds up to a lot of money. - EMichael Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:16:30 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10518 is always prominently and eloquently mentioned and sought when one side won. Watch in November 2013 and January 2014, one party will once again asked the country join to work "Together" to acheive and sacrifice for the good of the country. Of course, it's the victorisous party who will be doing that, the party who has undermine the entire country every which possible ways for the last four years in order to get what they wanted. Yep, whenever you hear someone calls for "togetherness," it means he has won! - JL Sun, 07 Aug 2011 09:05:23 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10517 I won't waste one of my 20 articles a month reading Tom Friedman. But I will note that the "we're all in this together" hooey always shows up right before the cut taxes on the wealthy and raise taxes on the rest of us. - PeonInChief Sun, 07 Aug 2011 09:02:01 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10516 It's clear those in power positions aren't listening to the people any more. We need mass action as a first step in a progressive movement to protect and advance the interests of the working class, poor and elderly. We know that cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as well as other social programs are coming. If we don't do anything, we'll certainly lose. If we do something, we might win. Surely Dr. Baker doesn't think that a financial transactions tax is going to happen without pressure from the people. The wealthy, powerful and well connected aren't just going to wake up one day and decide it's a great idea. The first step in a 1000 mile journey: a Demo. http://october2011.org/welcome - Jeffrey Stewart Sun, 07 Aug 2011 08:39:54 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10513 Thomas Friedman is a Reiterater of the Obvious [i]for the Oligarchs[/i]. His idiocy is not directed at the general audience. Take him as speaking only to his fellow millionaires and billionaires, his words make perfect sense. The Oligarchs must hang together or surely they will all hang separately. (Ben Franklin, saying Friedman's line far better and far earlier.) The apparatus of power in North America and Europe is bent toward preserving power in the hands of the top 1% or so while slowly depriving the rest of us of what little power we've barely had. The growth in income inequality. The gladiatorial wars and entertainment culture of sports and reality television. And, very important, the national security state. The obsession with 'security' can and will be turned to protect the 1% from the 99%. Sound crazy? Conspiracy theory? Watch. - Hugh Sansom Sun, 07 Aug 2011 06:45:58 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10512 [quote]...we have [to] "win together or lose together."[/quote] As an axiom of game theory economics this wise phrase from Friedman explains why the economy cannot recover. It's a matter of critical mass. Everyone must pull in the same direction or opposing directions. There's no in between. Friedman was obviously inspired by Rick Perry's recent invocation to pray together or die together at the altar of moral relativism. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the gluttonous overconsumption driven by debt that flowed like a river of satanic gold from markets contaminated with government interference. Repent now or forever hold your joblessness and underwater mortgage in a sea of moral relativism. Stupid liberals. - izzatzo Sun, 07 Aug 2011 06:15:42 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/fun-with-thomas-friedman#comment-10511 No doubt Friedman would turn to Harvard, the only place yet that has been able to out-Chicago the Chicago Boys. And Rogoff no less, a man who based a whole book on a grade school mistake in arithmentic. - Benedict@Large Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:16:21 +0100