I have to start this post by reminding anyone who might happen upon this site that I’m a middle school teacher and not an economist.  However, I’m also a father and a grandfather and the evolution of America’s economy, as I see it, is right toward the top of the issues that are alarming me EVERY DAY!  Lately, I’ve been taping, from Free Speech TV, the show called “Ring of Fire” which is hosted by a person who’s becoming one of the people in America that I most admire, Mike Papantonio.  Before I go on, I would recommend that you either watch the TV version of “Ring of Fire” or listen to the weekly radio show that includes co-hosts Robert Kennedy Jr. and Sam Seder.  I found the TV version because the radio version was one of the casualties of the demise of “liberal” talk radio in Portland, Oregon – thanks to Mitt Romney and Bain Capital which owns (and controls) Clear Channel.  It is my understanding that part of the “blow-back” from Romney’s defeat at the polls in 2012 was the “shuttering” of “progressive talk” all across America.  I have since signed up for XM radio and now I’ve discovered “Free Speech TV” on the satellite so I still manage to get some perspective from people who are not part of the so-called “liberal media.”  (I hope by now anyone happening on this site realizes what a JOKE calling our mass media “liberal” is)

What prompted my thoughts today was a couple discussions which took place on “Ring of Fire” TV.  As usual, they had to do with the subversive work of those behind the present day republican party to undermine the fabric of America – and, while it wasn’t mentioned on the show, I believe the “powers that be” who are behind the scenes “pulling the strings” of the republican “puppets” won’t be satisfied until America has regressed into “third world” status.  And, I have to add here that probably the most frustrating part of all this is the culpability of those in the democratic party who are trying to feed out of the same “trough.”  I just last night re-read a post I made a few years ago and I feel even more strongly today that members of congress should be required to wear DECALS of anyone who provides them with financial support on their clothing (like pro golfers or NASCAR drivers).  That way when unscrupulous congress persons Like Phil Gramm, who in the late 1990’s was responsible for so much deregulation of the financial world (which he’s now profiting handsomely from) writes legislation that benefits his funders (and, in this instance, his wife who was on the board of Enron) at least we have a clearer vision of his TRUE motives!  We have a partnership between Phil Gramm, Larry Summers (OMG – soon to be head of the Fed???), and Bill Clinton (among others) to thank for the dismantling of Glass-Steagall (if you don’t know what that is – click here for one perspective) which has turned the financial behemoths on Wall Street into Alien like entities that are sucking the life out of the middle class of America.  We are witnessing GREED personified and if you haven’t read Karl Marx and his predictions on the ultimate destruction of capitalism, it should be an interesting read, to say the least, at this point in America’s history.

The two issues that really caught my attention recently (on “Ring of Fire”) were; first, the reporting on Wall Street excesses (I’ll try my best to restate them, but if you really want the “scoop” check it out for yourself) like commodities fraud and their attack on the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – which scares the Wall Street bankers because they can’t control it.  The second was an extremely interesting discussion on the state of higher education in America.  I have some personal thoughts on that “front” as I’ve been a middle school teacher for the last 20 years of my working life and have been witnessing first hand the assault on American education coming from the “right.”  In both instances we see the corporate powers of America doing everything in their POWER to tilt the “playbook” in the direction which FUNNELS billions of dollars into their “coffers.”  It’s sickening that all this is happening, and it’s even more sickening feeling as if our government has been de-frocked to the point where they are unable to do anything about it (the fleecing of our nation).  Anyone who’s been paying attention for the past several years knows that republicans are trying to “shrink the government until it can be flushed down a drain.”  The damage of allowing this philosophy to even be part of the discussion is becoming enormous and it will take a mammoth national effort to reverse the carnage to our system of government.  (In the meantime, we’re seeing the possibility of a “lost generation” of America’s emerging youth as this travesty continues.

First I want to talk about the Wall Street banks – although, the emerging student debt crisis is part of that problem as well – who are in control of a HUGE portion of America’s economy and who don’t PRODUCE anything!  They are strictly in the business of MAKING MONEY.  Using creative mechanisms – with little to no oversight – to simply generate income – at the expense of the American public.  On “Ring of Fire” TV there was a discussion of how banks Like Goldman Sachs have purchased HUGE warehouses and they are buying commodities, storing them, moving them around, and manipulating the supply in a way that allows for them to make huge PROFITS at the expense of the general consuming public.  And, as they do with virtually all their schemes, they find ways to circumvent what few laws are still on the books to regulate their behavior.  For example, the storing of commodities.  On the show they used aluminum as the example.  Goldman Sachs will purchase HUGE tonnages of aluminum and store it in warehouses to keep if off the market and push the price higher, at which time they then sell and push the price of the commodity higher than it would have otherwise been if the users of the aluminum were buying it from the manufacturers.  They circumvent the laws against storing commodities by moving the commodity from one warehouse to another (for example, they can’t store it in “one” place for more than a specified number of days – so, they just switch one batch with another from a different warehouse), from which the commodity in that warehouse is moved to the other one.  Quite the creative scheme, and evidently, the profits from this manipulation are HUGE and the costs are born out by the consumers in higher prices.

The comparative example used was a previous scheme by the infamous Koch brothers who purchased large oil tankers, filled them with oil, and then “parked” the tankers off shore until the price moved up in some unsuspecting area of the world and then “conveniently” they showed up with a tanker filled with oil.  It’s a great scheme to make money, but – considering all these “free market” proponents are behind these schemes to undermine the “free market”- at what point do “we the people” decide that the “national interest” is more important than Wall Street’s interest.  I guess a better way to say that is;  When, in America, is Main Street going to become more important than Wall Street?

The bottom line here to me is that the misbehavior of the “too big to fail (jail)” banks on Wall Street has not only NOT subsided since the “crash” of 2008, but it has intensified.  And, I can tell you this with confidence – should the next “crash” happen during President Obama’s remaining term, he won’t be able to blame this one on the republicans.  Yes, they are making things difficult – as difficult as they possibly can (they want him to FAIL) – but, Obama has shown an inclination to cower to Wall Street since his first days in office.  And, now we’re looking at the distinct possibility of Larry Summers as the head of the Federal Reserve Bank – which will just be confirmation that Wall Street will continue to rule unabated.  Apparently, the vision is for America to be a society with a distinct “upper class” and a shrinking middle class.  This brings me to the discussion of the higher education system in America.  We’re pushing students in droves through EXPENSIVE university educations, encouraging them to take on HUGE amounts of debt in student loans, letting the bankers profit handsomely from these loans, and then turning those who succeed and graduate into an economy which has few opportunities for them to earn enough to pay off their loans and begin their careers in any kind of a comparable fashion as to those who are presently making America’s laws.

As a long term middle school teacher, I’ve seen first hand the change (since GW Bush instituted “No Child Left Behind”) to a “top down” approach to educational reform which, unfortunately, finds its roots in our politicians in Washington D.C. and the corporate “heads” who are funding them.  We are “pushing” the idea of “college for everyone” to students as they enter the sixth grade – with few in the educational environment even understanding what kind of future we’re pushing these kids into.  The politicians are the “puppets” of the corporate elite in America and they have little to no perspective on what is important to the students in America – especially, to students in a high poverty school such as the one where I teach.  The “high stakes testing” which accompanied “No Child Left Behind” has been absurd, in my view, since the day it was instituted.  The objective (that ALL students would be at the same level by 2014) was absurd on its face, yet those of us in the schools are too busy teaching to become political activists. (and, most have no desire to do so, that’s why they’re teachers)  Now, we’re seeing the republican party on a national campaign to denegrade public school teachers in their attempt to push public education into the graveyard of public institutions in America destroyed by “privatization.”  I’ve focused on teaching students to learn to think for themselves and to think critically in my years in the classroom, but the pressure to prepare them for the high stakes testing is enormous because the funding is tied to the results.

What you end up with is WHITE test makers – many who are presumably in the university education departments – writing tests for Black, Asian, Hispanic, Islander, Russian, etc., etc. students who often times have no idea what the questions are asking  (again, I’m teaching sixth graders).  My experience has shown me that despite my efforts to assure students that should they “fail” the tests, that doesn’t mean they’re failure as students, many end up “giving up” by the time they’re in the 10th grade.  The high school drop out rate has increased dramatically since 2000 and the reports I’m getting from people associated with students entering college is that many are ill prepared for the challenge.  Now, I don’t know if that’s because the challenge has changed, but my instincts tell me it’s because the curriculum has changed due to the “importance” of all the high stakes tests.

I realize the economy is changing and the opportunities for our young people are changing, but I just don’t think you can expect our public schools to be “manufacturers” of “workers” for the Apple, Microsoft, IBM, and other corporations who would like our public schools focused on producing ready made employees.  At the university level, that should be the “program,” but in the middle schools and high schools I believe teaching students to think for themselves, emphasizing basic skills, and making sure that the curriculum includes more than a focus on math and reading tests should be the focus.  At my school there is no longer a wood shop, it’s been years since there was a welding program, the arts are being “squeezed,” and there is a lack of creative freedom for teachers.  Additionally, the teaching of how our government functions and the importance of citizen participation seems to be one of the victims of “high stakes” testing.   I just don’t think EVERY student is a candidate for “college” and I’m concerned that too many students who would be very successful in “trade” type education end up dropping out of school before they discover their gifts. Additionally, I know too many young adults who have no idea how our government functions or any interest in participating in the process.  This plays into the “hands” of people like the Kochs who are committed to the philosophy (of Paul Weyerich) that the fewer people who vote the better the republican chances of success at the polls.

Getting back to what the discussion was on “Ring of Fire” – the financial toll on America’s youth who are proceeding through college is an impending national crisis.  You can’t reasonably “saddle” a large number of young people with HUGE debts (and the banks are anxious to increase the interest rates on these student loans to exacerbate the problem) and not eventually face another “bursting bubble” from potential defaults from young people who can’t find employment sufficient to start their lives and pay for the loans.  When this “bubble” bursts I can see (and hear) the republicans now blaming Barrack Obama!

I’ve got plenty of issues with the Obama administration – but, the reality is that I genuinely hope that President Obama succeeds.  Trying to do so in the face of a republican party that is OPENLY working to insure our president FAILS makes it difficult for me to voice my gripes toward our president here – as I see nothing more important in America these days than making sure this republican assault on the fundamentals of our system is what FAILS!  (for example, the NSA issue is a serious breach of my confidence in our president.  I’ve stated many times on this site his reluctance to reverse the ill-gotten gains of the Bush/Cheney regime (and allow investigations into their illegal activity)  was a HUGE blunder on Obama’s part – and, unfortunately, I see him as continuing way TOO MUCH of the Bush policies.  Issues like the Head of GE – Jeff Immelt being an adviser on “jobs,” Michael Taylor of Monsanto being a leading adviser for the FDA, Larry Summers as chief economic adviser, Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary, and Eric Holder as Attorney General (along with other examples) are clear evidence that the obscene influence of Wall Street and Corporate America on the policies coming from our nation’s capital continues under Obama.)  I see evidence of many Americans on the “left” pushing to turn the “tide” against the forces funded by corporate America – but, it will be a long battle and it won’t be won until those of us on the “progressive” side (I really want to say liberal) have a leader in the White House who has the same attitude put forth by FDR – that the corporate heads “Hate me, and I welcome their hate.”  This is a WAR for the heart and soul of America (if you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ve probably read that from me before – I keep pointing it out!)

If the republicans succeed in gaining their “permanent republican majority” – that is control of the congress, the courts, the White House, the media (keep in mind, the Kochs and Rupert Murdoch are attempting to purchase the Tribune Corporation – which includes the Los Angeles Times and other leading newspapers, and should they succeed, the SHRINKING of perspective in our “liberal media” will get even more DIRE) pushing back will be extremely difficult.  They are smart and they’ve been working on this since before the election of Ronald Reagan which was the impetus which gained them the real “foothold” that made their “dreams” possible.  The Citizens United Supreme Court decision and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the Roberts Court are integral parts of this scheme.  We’re living in a nation that is experiencing CAPITALISM gone wild, and if “we the people” don’t stop it at the voting booths soon – I believe the right wing cabal will spend unlimited amounts in the 2014 elections in an attempt to gain control of the Senate – and, should they succeed, it will be one more “nail in the coffin” of the remnants of the “New Deal.”  The right wing extremists of the modern day republican party won’t quit until they’ve either gained a stranglehold on America’s government or they’re voted from office.  People like Papantonio are putting up a great effort to inform “we the people” as to what is REALLY happening with our government – however, I believe it will be a losing battle until we get progressive politicians in Washington DC in sufficient numbers to expose the republicans for what they really are! (I hate to beat a “dead horse” – but, had Obama chosen to allow the investigations into the Bush/Cheney abuses and had he the courage to reverse their abuses of executive overreach – we could now be experiencing “The change we can believe in.”)