David Cay Johnston: The Perils Of Our Growing Inequality

Institute President Rob Johnson interviews David Cay Johnston about his new book, Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality.

[@pseudo_ra]

20mins in and this is already one of the most important conversations to ever take place about our current sociopolitical economic situation. Absolutely brilliant and infuriating!

[@mrtriffid]

Agreed! David Cay Johnston was wrong to stray into the 'Russia-Gate' conspiracy theories, but he is absolutely correct in his analysis of wealth inequality, which he has documented for literally decades.

[@hamwhacker]

5:55 He says he is the father of EIGHT children. That’s too many. If everyone had EIGHT children then the world population would not be sustainable. He is grossly overweight as well🤮

[@leonardkellum6984]

@@hamwhacker i heard that farmer's families have alot of kids, to do the chores.

[@hamwhacker]

@@leonardkellum6984 Not in UK.

[@nedim_guitar]

Now, it's an 8 year old video. And yet, we learn nothing. Well, the general public doesn't learn anything. And the general public have no leverage against the politicians, who use lies, propaganda, misdirections and distractions to serve their capitalist masters. The US is a bit of an extreme, but even the EU has been moving towards that since at least the 1990's. It began with Thatcher. They used the OPEC's price hikes in the 1970's to fight inflation by forcing people into unemployment. And the 70's inflation was never about the people making too much money and consuming too much. The inflation wasn't driven up by rising wages even then. Friedman's ideas about unemployment being a solution for rising inflation are faulty. A lot of other things are just wrong, but it's been accepted as the truth, so we have a political class that serves capital interests, while the inequality keeps rising. There's just more and more pressure on the people, but unfortunately the people move towards authoritarian, fascist ideas. There's one guy that grabs all the cookies and he points to that one immigrant that has half a cookie and says to you "hey, that immigrant has taken your cookies!"...

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

We are mining the bottom to benefit the top. Thank you, David. Well said.

[@Workdove]

Wow ! This is what journalism should be.

[@elvenkind6072]

@circa blonk You talk the talk, but do you walk...?

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

I love that David understands the monumental issues we face but still also recognizes that voting is the most powerful tool we have to enact any change. We do have the power to overcome the corrupt and broken systems that make almost everyone's lives worse at the sole benefit of the very few.

[@kille7543]

Aaaaaand, now in 2023 what happened 🥺

[@ttystikkrocks1042]

David Cay Johnston is extremely well researched, insightful and has such a solid grasp on the underlying realities of our current socioeconomic predicament that he makes the material easy for anyone to understand- a rare gift. I have the utmost respect for his analyses.

[@kenheard3584]

In teresina he drop past the American enslavement as if it did not exist! Collective Barganing fo Whites not for the Captive Laborers.

[@thegreatmonster]

I thought I was the only one thinking what I was thinking after what I was observing, but after what this guy's saying, I know I am not alone.

[@ultramovier]

None of are alone.

[@cupajoy8498]

No you are not!!

[@hamwhacker]

5:55 He says he is the father of EIGHT children. That’s too many. If everyone had EIGHT children then the world population would not be sustainable. He is grossly overweight as well🤮

[@cupajoy8498]

@@hamwhacker a bit judgey, are we? Has nothing to do with his policies which you fail to address. His voice is an important one. We all got baggage. Even you.

[@hamwhacker]

@@cupajoy8498 I haven’t got 8 children. If each generation had 8 children then the global population would be 32 billion in a couple of decades and the world would end. It doesn’t matter what any smug socialist says.

[@pierrehome-douglas7785]

This should be required viewing of every American.

[@meio4744]

People running for office should be discussing and debating these issues soberly instead of the absolutely superficial farce and fiasco of the mainstream media.

[@Byenia]

We the people shouldn't take them seriously otherwise.

[@b.terenceharwick3222]

"An imbalance between rich and poor is the most frequent and fatal ailment of all republics." Plutarch Government capture is the contemporary problem. Johnston ...worthy of serious attention and consideration by thinking men and women.

[@Bridg2Peace]

David Cay Johnston is awesome. How is he not more known?

[@CountBifford]

Most academics do not have the charisma of salesmen and singers, and most don't have the resources to launch a great educational campaign even if they had charisma. Doing research and writing stuff books takes up most of all their energy and money. Now you want them to start a TV show or something?

[@geekfreak618]

Because most citizens are too lazy to research anything to find him. Mainstream media is owned by big corps. They sure as hell aren't going to promote him. I have placed his videos all over social media and they get few comments or likes or retweets, even among progressives who claim to care about such things.

[@elvenkind6072]

Because the media refuse to send any information about anyone saying so much honest. It's just like Noam Chomsky, regarded as the most important intellectual alive, but they don't want him on TV, not even if they pre-record what he says, since it's so controversial with true things. Personally I don't have any television apparatus, but I do have a usb dvd burner and surround sound headset for my PC, and enjoy to listen to audiobooks instead, or listen/watch to shows like this.

[@KarlMarxFanClub]

@@geekfreak618 I don’t believe people are too lazy. When most Americans are working 2-3 jobs plus kids they don’t have time to even think about these issues. 50% of Americans also have to choose whether to keep the lights on or paying there car note, this is the last thing they’re thinking about.

[@arashsalehtabari951]

Great interview! He pin points many of the things wich are wrong not just with USA but the entire world, since they have spread the gospel all over the world.

[@arashsalehtabari951]

***** Dont think its a conspiracy just normal human behavior, works in cycles. All we are is a product of our environment so for me its not strange that we move in cycles. 1 happens so we reach with 2 then when 2 happens we react with 3 and so on until we are back at 1. Just cycles. If anything i think the elites are afraid as hell for nationalism cause its harder to control.

[@moodist1er]

@@arashsalehtabari951 everything from economic and social structure to religions are overlapping patterns of fascist conspiracy.

[@abistonservices9249]

Including U.K!

[@abistonservices9249]

@@arashsalehtabari951 - Not true, the rich have it all due to government rules, the rules favour the already rich, if you have money it's much easier to make more in business & become even richer, that's what the government favours, & the government is scared to upset the rich. as they are rich enough to live anyware and they never pay tax anyway due to a legal maze!

[@ianrmacdougall3875]

The most ethical economic rationalism and Integrity author, his grasp of what's wrong with the AMERICAN idea

[@catchow1]

Wow, I wish more people would watch this interview. Extremely informative.

[@josephgoolsby9221]

Outstanding video! It's refreshing to see a Republican that is sincere about treating everyone with respect, and it was refreshing to hear that David Cay Johnston did not feel the poor should be ignored.

[@michael1345]

WOW he is a Republican.

[@chuletaization]

Ignore the poor and they become the foot soldiers of revolution.

[@josephgoolsby9221]

@@chuletaization Agreed Paul.

[@reidwhitton6248]

They're being ignored and we can see the literal anger and resentment fomenting as people embrace demagogues and resort to violence.

[@mdaniels6311]

Man I keep finding all these brilliant minds in such a short space of time.

[@TheFinnmacool]

Oh boy, the human spirit is definitely flourishing in the USA right now. 4 years after this video and moral hazards are amplified.

[@Eric-ye5yz]

When a group of people benefit, within a country, they do so at the expense of the rest. When a nation benefits, it is at the expense of other nations.

[@ricklarson392]

Wow. Some blunt honesty well said

[@ladygirl4205]

We the People must change these wrong things. TY Mr. Johnston for speaking truth.

[@michelvandepol1485]

I would say David Cay Johnston for president but unfortunately Americans who really need someone like this are simply not smart enough to realize that.........

[@philipangelo595]

Brilliant discussion!!!!

[@SMARTvoterWorld]

No matter what solutions people think of, they have to be acted upon. To be acted upon voters need to be able to choose candidates who will act on them. Voters want to choose candidates who will act upon well thought out changes. But they are unable to distinguish between the genuine and the in-genuine. That is why we first need basic consumer rights for voters. The right to a simple list of the actions that carry a vote back guarantee and a single place to compare candidates on those issues.

[@shirleykurtz]

All the candidates offered to the people are just in it for the easy money. They care nothing about the constituents. No one can get name recognition and message to the people without compromising themselves to the rich and powerful. There isn't one honest person in DC. They are all completely compromised.

[@allenanderson4911]

It took far too long for the KZbin algorithm to recommend this to me!

[@thetawaves48]

he is describing the new feudalism - mining the bottom to benefit the top.

[@raphaelandrews3617]

yes and no what is showing is the failure of capitalism. Under feudalism the lord of manor or duke, provided homes for the people who lived on their land and roads and other things and their paid him back in labour and goods. The new system have the rich been given all benefits but paying for none of it and poor paying for their costs.

[@Mulberry2000]

yep is called neo -feudalism, where corporations act as if they have the power and control the courts to shaft the rest of us

[@nileslivingstonsr3930]

Two comments: ...It's The Lord Jesus Christ ( God the Son, whom became a man, the second, the last Adam: I Cor. 15:1-58: Phil. 3:1-21 ) that said to the RICH young ruler: ...one thing thou LACKest. SELL ALL that thou hast, DISTRIBUTE to the poor AND come and FOLLOW me, and thou shalt have TREASURE in heaven... ( Luke 18:18-25 ...King James Bible ONLY ). The same said: ...Lay NOT up for yourselves treasures ON EARTH, where moth and rust doth CORRUPT, and thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures IN HEAVEN, where moth nor rust doth NOT CORRUPT, and thieves do NOT break through and steal. For WHERE your treasure IS THERE will your heart be ALSO. The light of the body is the eye. IF thy eye be SINGLE thy whole body shall be full of light. But IF thy eye be EVIL, thy whole body shall be full of DARKNESS. And if the light that is in thee be BE darkness, how GREAT is that darkness. You CANNOT serve God ( Rom. 6:1-23; Matt. 7:1-29; I John 1:1-5:21; II John 9-11; Jer. 5:20-31 ) and mammon ( RICHES: I Tim. 6:3-10; Zeph. 1:1-3:20 ). You'll EITHER love the one, and HATE the other, or you'll CLEAVE to the one and DESPISE the other. You CANNOT SERVE God and mammon. ( Matt. 6:19-24 ) ...Buy THESE words of TRUTH ( John 14:6; Dan. 10:21; 12:10; Prov. 28:4-5 ), you can DISCERN who TRULY serves God, and who does not. ( Heb. 5:11-14; Mal. 3:18; 2:17; Gal. 1:1-6:18 ). ...I can tell PLAINLY who does NOT: TBN, CBN, DAYSTAR, LESEA, EWTN, KKLA, BET, THE ANSWER, THE PATRIOT, FOX, CNN, HBO, NETFLIX, CBS, ABC, NBC, to name a few! ...What is EVERY ONE on earth going to do when NOBODY on earth can buy or sell ANYTHING at ALL without worshipping the IMAGE of the beast? ...ANSWER: ...Matt. 24:1-51; 24:1-46; II Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 13:1-18!!! ...THAT WHAT! ...says The Lord God of Israel, whom raised JESUS CHRIST from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures ( I Cor. 15:1-58 ). ...So men on this video may be "smart / intelligent", ...but they DO NOT know The Lord, and either do any of The Churches of our day ( 2.3 billion professed Christian Christians: Matt. 15:7-20; Isa. 56:9-12; Eze. 2:1-3:27; 13:1-23; 33:1-33!! ) ...REPENT!! ( Jonah 1:1-3:10...; Daniel 1:1-12:13; Revelation 1:1-22:21 ...K.J.V. only ). ...TIME is running out: Eze. 7:1-27; 14:1-23; 21:1-32; 18:1-32!! ...And YES, I've SEEN The Lord, God the Father, sitting on His heavenly throne FACE to face ( August 10th 2008 ) in a vision. And unlike ALL the WORKERS of INIQUITY ( II Peter 2:1-22; Isa. 10:1-23; Matt. 7:21-23, 26-27; Phil. 3:2, 18-19; James 4:4; II Cor. 11:3-4, 13-15; Isa. 30:1-3 ), I do not SELL the TRUTH, but SHAMEFULLY they SELL their LYING visions, and FALSE divinations ( Eze. 13:1-23; I Tim. 6:3-10 ) for GAIN! ...and WHAT are you ( ALL ) going to do in the end thereof? ( Jer. 5:20-31; Prov. 8:1-36 ). ...So your "smart", but who is WISE? ( Prov. 1:1-3:31 )... from Niles Livingston Sr., a servant, and an apostle of The Lord Jesus Christ ( Galatians 1:1-6:18; Ephesians 1:1-6:24; I Cor. 15:1-58; Psalm 1:1-2:12... ) ...You when to UNIVERSITY! ...I READ THE BOOK OF THE LORD ( The Law: Genesis 1:1 - Revelation 22:21. ..K.J.V ) for 39 years STRAIGHT, and DILIGENTLY sought The Lord, with my whole heart ( Psalm 19:1-14; 119:1-176 ) ...Amen ( Rom. 2:28-29 ). ...CHECKMATE!!

[@gferraro100]

Sound slike your talking about the "The great reset" You will own nothing and be happy about it.

[@TedApelt]

It is now four years later, and what he is saying is just as true today as it was then. Will 2018 be the year we turn things around? If not, then WHEN???

[@shirleykurtz]

Never! This is what we've become.

[@geekfreak618]

Considering how few are willing to vote third party it will not change in 2018. Folks are fully ready to vote blue when that blue is really red now. They won't vote third party even enough to get more voices into the debates. Only takes 5%. They fear and will bat two major parties back and forth for another four years. 2020 will be just as grim unless things change quickly. They still don't believe the dems rigged the elections in 2016, not Russians.

[@debraa.155]

Vote for Bernie!!!

[@ottocubed9520]

Outstanding analysis gentlemen.

[@CurtisAST]

In June 2020 this subject is more relevant than ever.

[@darkanser]

I think I heard an echo of - or perhaps, I should say rebuttal to -- Sheldon Adelson. I recall the gaming magnate saying something like "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich??" as if being smart/intelligent and/or brilliant can only be manifested or proven through accumulating riches. Or on the flipside, does having or making great money mean you're brilliant?? Perhaps it does oftentimes. I mean making money is a value -- I wouldn't scoff at someone's ability to make money -- but it's not or shouldn't be the only value!!!

[@billyhack9673]

We enjoy consciousness raising. Let’s celebrate the right to free association. Decriminalize unions!

[@hughmac13]

Fast-forward to May 2020…

[@johnhanks4260]

Inequality is evidence for coming depression. Over production for the rich, and lack of consumption for the poor.

[@MzMahoganyHoneyBrown]

Very interesting, looking forward to reading your book

[@dinnerwithfranklin2451]

Really good interview. And a good prescription. Thanks

[@ferryman4520]

Never, never , never give anyone nothing to lose.

[@eottoe2001]

Inequality and poverty are not the same thing he says. I wish I could explain that to my fellow Democrats.

[@grayarcana]

There were wonderful giants of old, in America!

[@lynpotter6471]

I would vote for this guy so hard

[@D800Lover]

At 10:15 onward we have the description of evil, to "deny food to people, because somehow this would make them better" and this being a doctrine by 'good Christian folk' must make God seethe. *"Woe to those who are enacting harmful regulations and those who, constantly writing, have written out sheer trouble, in order to push away the lowly ones from a legal case and to wrest away justice from the afflicted ones of my people, for the widows to become their spoil, and that they may plunder even the fatherless boys."* Isaiah 10:10

[@dadaimiza]

👀

[@D800Lover]

@@dadaimiza - Crawl back into the gutter you came from!

[@marlbankian]

Excellent analysis !

[@driziiD]

father of 8! respect fam!

[@randygeyer7673]

For me. I created solutions and ideas. I found everyday substance to follow.

[@oracleofottawa]

This was really good...

[@fraserbailey6347]

A very good analysis.

[@williamlouie569]

When you are on top you want stay on top. To do that you got keep the low classes fight among themselves and don't notice who's pulling the strings.

[@hugoelias6146]

Great share (y)

[@PheneticsCo]

David Cay is a genius

[@mickygarcia4251]

The pitchforks are coming.

[@atendriyadasa6746]

This is beyond an "interview", thehis is A.) a feast for the soul or B.) these guys are conducting a bleepin' hOMe runs derby here, sports fans. And the interviewer's got a tie frOM Disraeli Gears! Good stuff! 'anks!!

[@elsiegel84]

Maybe federal tax should be on that portion of income not spent back into the productive domestic economy.

[@mspiekkola]

9 yrs ago! If they only knew!

[@reinhardts-entropica]

Let's see what W. B. Yeats wrote in his poem _The Second Coming_ in 1919: Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. […]

[@AshvinPatelUSA]

We have the best democracy in the world that money can buy. We need to take lobbying and pac money out of our elections. They are the culprit of all wrongdoing. We need to facilitate a process where candidates can debate in a public forum. They don't need to run in each and every states five times in a private jets during election, especially in the age of communication.

[@dadaimiza]

Have you ever traveled ?

[@jerryjones7293]

" For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; when they had done this they would sooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance…" - George Orwell "1984"

[@dorothydjcox707]

It's not abstract at all. Really it's fairly simple.

[@HistoricalPerspectiveRBr]

6:20 I'm curious which European countries bar parents from working. I live in one of those European countries and while there are generous parental leave schemes I'm not aware of any compulsion to take advantage of them, I cannot even imagine why it would be necessary.

[@burden9809]

Please keep working to inform the general public!

[@dc37009]

Stunning lack of subtitles !?!

[@bthomson]

This was EIGHT (8) years ago! Nothing has changed - in fact things have gotten WORSE!

[@siminnouri9306]

We need to change the economic system not the political system . Our problem is neoliberalism economy to co-op economy.

[@sebolddaniel]

Scary times.

[@07kenbird]

I would suggest that the Nation-State started becoming less significant in the time East-Asia Company, the Dutch Eastern Asia Company, & if there are such equivalents in the Portuguese, German, and Spanish nation-states.

[@lastfirst6626]

At 6:54 you hear about "investment" between 0 to 7 years bearing an "annualized return of 7%". That's what it's all about--how much money is my kid going to make.

[@Dr.A.Rosenberg]

Simply amazing to some people but everything he described in this interview is nothing new ! This has been going on since the beginning of time ! Nothing happens by chance . It's all by design .

[@cupajoy8498]

So do nothing, right. Just because we know, doesn't mean we don't need reminders every single day.

[@TheReactor8]

Talk is about the inevitable corruption of a succesful society. It is not the system that is rotten, human nature rots any system eventually.

[@mickeylara2111]

In America we have retired people who make 50 million dollars a day.

[@GETJUSTICE4U]

"The only responsibility of business is the maximisation of profits, regardless of social or ecological costs."........ Milton Friedman, Guru of The Chigago School of Terror-con-nomics.

[@williamforrestall2161]

... Some good points here - some overlooked points here - the term "inequality" the cultural leftists more recent code word to for fostering political "envy" based on economic envy , an old tactic updated from the long and ancient history defined by anti-Semitism from the Pharaoh to the socialists of today , from terms like Bankers, Jewish financier, the rich, the 1% , all ( Rob Johnson touches on this subject in his question of idolatry ) . How about talking about the effects or downside cost of monopoly governance based on a compelled national identity funded by "coercive taxation" vs "voluntary taxation" ( see Dr. James Payne ) and identity based choice driven governance , rather than "coercive governance", funny that according to the Cultural Leftists you can choose your gender , but someone else will assign you a sovereignty, a sacred "nationalism" that you will beholden to as a tax serf .... some good - some limitations - worth watching - indicates more than it articulates - keeping human rights in mind (see UDHR 1948) and individual freedoms to choose models of governance ( think of the problems between the Jews and the Pharaoh ). Over looked is the problem with "taxing the Rich" , the same problem the Pharaoh had with the Jewish people ages ago - and was/is the subtext , of the anti-Semitism of the 19th cent. socialists . Progressive" Income Tax (or the cliché “tax the rich”) has a veiled racist subtext that often surprises people - and which governments of all kinds would rather suppress a wider understanding of . Taxing the “rich” or “progressive income tax” policies have lots of problems ...a racist subtext is just one. According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Centre, Jewish people ranked as the most financially successful groups in the United States, with 44% of Jewish living in households with incomes of at least $100,000, Pew Research Centre. Sadly under leftist “progressive income tax” laws , Jewish people pay more taxes than other people , often way more. In a culture that utilizes intersectional analysis to understanding and identifying racism, it will become harder to avoid the race issue for advocating or imposing racially unfair taxes. What many want people to overlook is that operationally a progressive income tax ( or taxing the rich , ( or the 1% an anti-Semitic trope) is just a re-invention of the old repugnant Jewish based taxes that were part of European history going back to Roman times, (go ahead look up special taxes ,property or economic regulations for Jewish people for a sad bit of history). Google “Taxation of the Jews in Europe” www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/biblical-taxation The hidden reality is that progressive income tax is unduly punitive upon Jewish people today like many of the old property, career, and tax or economic regulations of old, although ‘progressive taxation’ often imposed under the guise of the “equality” within an invented ( or man made) social construct claiming sovereignty, or if you will the man made religion of nationalism. This political pretext “labeling” evades a more critical examination of the much deeper and far more real social and cultural characteristics that define people. A Flat tax might not be perfect but it at least moderates the explicit anti-Semitic racism of "Progressive Taxation". The Jewish people may account for less than 0.2% of the world's population, but among the 1,426 billionaires around the globe, 165 or 11.6% of them are Jews, and their joint wealth has reached the incredible amount of $812 billion, according to Forbes Israel. Out of the 50 richest people in the world, about a quarter or 25% are Jewish, and of the top 10 richest Jews in the world, eight are from the U.S., while two are from Russia. So next time someone says or screams "TAX THE RICH" .... you know what they really mean... sad but true. www.takimag.com/article/jewish_wealth_by_the_numbers_steve_sailer/#axzz54LLyd3jJ

[@albwilso9]

You are only the 100th intellectual who say that this inequality will destroy us, that I have heard since 1990 , but will we reverse this ? What do we do? will we get a landslide of voters, vote out the oligarchs and their representatives. Let’s get going!!!

[@geoffdearth8575]

A car elevator for every McMansion!

[@rollinmc5427]

All these talks by scholars are good to hear but when will it lead to change in government policy, that seems to be the feature of American society, all talks and no action

[@geoffreyharris5931]

Ok. So this should be fine. It is what happens when people take what they want for themselves . A few will win big and a lot will lose.

[@rlsdw745]

Japan CEO’s win or lose depending on productivity!

[@fredzag2452]

He's right, but the people with the moneysay He's wrong! End of argument.

[@sdozer1990]

Why do people generalize Reagan's policies?

[@ewaoconnor7013]

I have just started listening to this and I am already upset by all this inequality and exploitation ☹️

[@frankcolumbus3330]

Voting changes nothing we have a one party system.

[@johnnyrocker7495]

Time to openly declare war on the MIC.

[@richardbambenek2601]

The only solution for change is to limit the power of the rich to set the rules. In this country money talks.

[@coopsnz1]

Increasing taxes makes poltican& union leaders richer in Government

[@justinlinnane8043]

it is incredible to me that America still considers itself a society to emulate !! its has to be one of the most backward , brutal and depressing countries in the developed world. walking round detroit and other inner cities or the imploding rural towns is like being in poverty stricken India or africa !! do you think americans actually know how poor they are compared to other civilised countries ?

[@1MgySgt]

Fortunatley, you are free to move to one those civilised countries.

[@justinlinnane8043]

@@1MgySgt I do live in one of those other civilised countries thank God and in the four years since I wrote that comment things are no better over there . America is one of the most profound " con jobs ' ever played on the world. The fairytales you tell yourselves to paper-over the grim reality of life for most American is a tragedy and frankly sinful . America is a shit cake covered in sickly sweet icing nothing more

[@raphaelandrews3617]

This shows the failure of capitalism, what you have is a economic system that subsidised the rich and super rich and at the same time penalizing the poor for being poor, the polar opposite of socialism.

[@danielvera638]

Bernie avant Bernie.

[@deepthought0189]

I wonder what rich people taste like.

[@scientifico]

+Deepthought 01 sweet and fatty.

[@elvenkind6072]

Chicken.

[@leonardkellum6984]

an oldtime greek philosopher said, the only place to spit in a rich man's house, is in his face

[@davu5637]

The truth of the matter is that politicians in the West and the US including Australia (Australia which is psychologically totally confused and suffering from an identity crisis as it thinks it is "west" when the reality is that it is geographically part of Asia!!!), are still stuck in their mental capacity and attitude in the glory days of "empire" 5-6 centuries ago. They may have learned to wear Gucci suits nowadays but nothing else seem to have evolved in their psyche and consciousness from their barbarian days. Instead of recognising their sordid past and history , they celebrate their delusions like "Thanksgiving Day" which the Native American Indians rightly and clearly remember and commemorate as their "Day of Mourning" being the beginning of the murdering, genociding, plundering, stealing, raping and ultimately, OCCUPATION , of their land uninvited, without any due compensation even till today. But these thieves and robbers take a lot of pride in the stories they tell themselves and sell to the world how great their "founding" was!!! Same stories with the "Empire" where the sun never sets. Australia with the Aborigines. New Zealand with their Maoris. The African continent with all those Europeans...........it goes on and on. This is the 21st Century , for chrissakes! Grow up and come out of that sick and primitive mentality of never ending desire to dominate, control and subjugate. The zillions of dollars spent on wars and "defence" and the other zillions being hoarded by the 1% is more than sufficient to provide every human being on the planet a very decent and never anything wanting life on this planet with the healthiest and cleanest environment. And we pride ourselves as being the only creature on earth with the intelligence, consciousness and capacity of free will and choice. And these sick politicians choose never ending squabbles, tensions and wars!!! Go figure. Expert:The U.S. in no position to be the cardinal arbiter of what democracy is kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2OkXqergJdmsLs German expert: Different systems can cooperate if united by interest of all of mankind kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2TSaGxtarGle9U Ex-CIA director Pompeo: 'We lied, we cheated, we stole' kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoHXXq2Oo5Vol8U Gen Wesley Clark Reveals US Plan To Invade Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Lybia, Somalia, Sudan, And Iran kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXjWdXdjbs2Nb9U Julian Assange on Afghan war in a 2011 video kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXqqhpJtltF9bpI It is not important to measure democracy by Western standards scholar kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYiTeHyBfZdlerM How Britain Stole Hong Kong and Forced China to Buy Heroin kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2LYg5ufjpKZjq8 Justice may be delayed, but it will not be denied. twitter.com/MFA_China/status/1470759624689152000 Drone Whistleblower Daniel Hale Says Crisis of Conscience Motivated Leak www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/23/pre-sentencing-letter-drone-whistleblower-daniel-hale-says-crisis-conscience A reality check: Exporting war under veil of democracy kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6TMk5Krj9Wefas Uyghur Tribunal: US-Funded Theater Attacking China kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6WceGOmZcmkj7c The Uyghur Tribunal: US-funded Theater (Complete References) newatlas.report/2021/10/01/the-uyghur-tribunal-us-funded-theater-complete-references/ American activist and social media expert Jerry Day has called on the American nation to recognize the war crimes the U.S. government, military and corporate deep-state have committed in the Middle East and rest of the world. “They [U.S.] are simply bombing whatever they want to bomb, killing whoever they want to kill, destroying whatever they choose to destroy without legal grounds. We are the new global villain," said Day. www.yenisafak.com/en/video-gallery/news/us-is-new-global-villain-says-american-activist-2167332 Broken Treaties kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4DIeIeNjttrfsU USA 2001: We will invade 7 countries in 5 years kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6rVnI2mnr6qpa8 From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions-equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years - making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. The bombings were part of the U.S. Secret War in Laos to support the Royal Lao Government against the Pathet Lao and to interdict traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The bombings destroyed many villages and displaced hundreds of thousands of Lao civilians during the nine-year period. Five years ago, the US forces, using the fake intelligence of a staged video by “White Helmets” as evidence, conducted the so-called “most precise air strikes in history” in Syria, killing more than 1,600 innocent civilians. In recent years, the international community has been calling for investigations into the killing of civilians in the US’ overseas military operations. On Syria alone, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic pointed out several times in its reports in September 2019 and February 2021 that the US failed to distinguish military targets from civilians in its air strikes in Syria, which gravely violates international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes. However, the US government has been turning a deaf ear to all this.  According to reports, over the past nearly two decades, the US conducted over 90,000 air strikes in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, which may have killed up to 48,000 civilians. But the US military time and again covered up the facts and refused to apologize, admit its crimes or hold the perpetrators accountable. It did everything possible to evade its responsibilities. On the drone strike of civilians in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesperson said openly in December 2021 that no US soldiers will face disciplinary action over it. The US media also disclosed at the end of last year that from 2014 to 2019, the US military turned its guns on farmers in the middle of harvest, children playing in the streets, families fleeing the fighting and villagers taking shelter in buildings. These disastrous crimes were deliberately concealed and whitewashed. US media revealed last year that according to the US military’s own confidential assessments of more than 1,300 reports of civilian casualties, civilian casualties in US air strikes have been “significantly undercounted”. Larry Lewis, a Director at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) of the US said that on average at least one incident of civilian harm has happened every week since 9/11. There has been an overall pattern of negligence with regard to the US government on the issue of civilian harm. The US has also obstructed the International Criminal Court’s investigations into its war crimes in Afghanistan.  Every human life, regardless of nationality, race, religion or values, is equal and precious. The US should earnestly respond to the strong call of the international community, conduct a credible, independent and impartial investigation into civilian casualties caused by US air strikes, and hold the people concerned accountable. The End of American Exceptionalism kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYu4YXyOhJx0h9k World Debt clocks www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html

[@TheJukeboxhero15]

I think the ideology being pushed by the right wing is conservatism, when in fact it's radically opposed to traditional conservative thought both in essence and in practice

[@D800Lover]

For those who think that being Christian and believing they are somehow deserving of their riches and that the poor should look after themselves, consider the following Bible quotes: "The poor man implores when speaking, But the rich man answers back harshly." Proverbs 18:23 "He that is defrauding the lowly one has reproached his Maker, but the one showing favor to the poor one is glorifying Him." Proverbs 14:31 "The people of the land themselves have carried on a scheme of defrauding and have done a tearing away in robbery, and the afflicted one and the poor one they have maltreated, and the alien resident they have defrauded without justice." Ezekiel 22:29 "They scoff and speak about what is bad; About defrauding they speak in an elevated style." Psalm 73:8 "He that is defrauding the lowly one to supply many things to himself, he also that is giving to the rich one, is surely destined for want." Proverbs 22:13 "The righteous one is knowing the legal claim of the lowly ones. He that is wicked does not consider such knowledge." Proverbs 29:7

[@luciancorvus9992]

D800 Well read & thank you! And here's another by way of thanks …. "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven …. but a jackass will think it has no problem!". Book of Corvus : chapter 666; "Let them eat gold!"

[@raymonddixon7603]

Hallelujah, Yanks have finally discovered Socialism. We!come to the real world.

[@jenniferbringman9054]

Ha, ha, vote you say. Look at the primary in Iowa. Blatant cheating in the vote count! I fear for my grandchildren’s future and they are upper income!

[@stevecoley8365]

X-Files Vampires (greed) are blind and cannot see the ignorance of making homeless and starving to death the goose that is laying golden eggs.

[@frankcolumbus3330]

This country will be burned to the ground if things don't change.

[@RawJewel]

I'm surprised he's a republican. After Trump you only expect them to attack with name calling and false generalities. They rarely speak with such a level of intelligence!

[@Herschel1738]

If you go back before Regan & Newt Gingrich, many Repubs were like Johnston. The GOP was fiscally conservative and catered to the interests of the business class, but believed that this was achieved by making an economy that served all classes. After all, a business only succeeded by hiring working class employees and selling its goods to working class consumers. Regan introduced "trickle down" economics - if the rich get richer, their wealth will trickle down to the poor. IF the rich turn their surplus wealth into productive investments, then, yes, it can work. But instead, they influenced governments to create tax shelters that aren't based on productive investments - they get richer and no jobs are created. The tax cuts for the rich have been getting going on for 4 decades now with no magic turn around in the economy, no fabulous growth in new job sectors (except low paying service jobs) and a severely shrinking public sector that has seen everything from education to infrastructure slashed to the bone. Gingrich started a socio-political movement to bring fundie (but NOT mainstream) religious voters into the party, demonize liberals and Democrats and purge the GOP of any Repub who wouldn't toe a struct party line. That is why today we have a Repub dominated Congress where no one speaks out against bad Repub behavior. The mantra of the new GOP is gain control of government and let morality and constitutionality be damned.

[@visicircle]

well, seeing as how the democratic party radical wing probably hates people like him, what choice does he have?

[@JohnSmith-ps7wp]

There's another video where David elaborates after a woman asking him a question mentions that he said he's a Republican. David's retort: "I'm a REGISTERED Republican, that's not a Republican. I get to vote in the Republican primaries. I once got to vote for a candidate that believed humans and dinosaurs lived together and the cure for diabetes is cinnamon buns." and then he laughed. He's a Democrat ;))) Here's the clip: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6vGnGSgjpxsmaM

[@janetpercell3989]

Because what goes by Republican is only in name only..

[@coopsnz1]

Middle class voting for less taxes , so how is it top 80% screwed

[@hamwhacker]

5:55 He says he is the father of EIGHT children. That’s too many. If everyone had EIGHT children then the world population would not be sustainable. He is grossly overweight as well🤮

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

This is class warfare. The response should be class consciousness and solidarity between the middle and working class. We are in a battle where the rich are our enemy. They have made aggressive actions against us, and continue to do so, by buying politicians and lobbying the govt and many other tactics. This inequality didn't happen naturally. It's socialism for the rich and rugged harsh individualism for regular people, in this country. The rich don't need the government to work for them. They're fine on their own in a capitalist system. The government should be working for the common good, for us.

[@billyhack9673]

The middle class pays taxes.

[@wanderingfido]

He has good points. But. Our understanding of his concepts still needs to be weathered by history. Too often our reactions result in deadly revolution. Good intentions pave the way to hell. Remember that when you find yourself in a crowd holding a pitchfork. Look up to the sky and ask yourself: how did I get here? And, more importantly, how do I get out of here with my skin and conscience still intact?

[@steppenwolf3252]

We'll have flowers and peace signs instead

[@Byenia]

Who convinced you that your skin is always, at all costs, to remain intact?

[@duinay3]

take away 5% of the military budget

[@SamuraiKage-iv3ow]

I think you meant 95%

[@cr1138]

Here you have a journalist, and a lecturer at a major university's law school citing the preamble to the declaration of independence as if it were a legal document. He knows better. And, so should you.

[@wotmot223]

If you think he quoted it as a legal document then you weren't paying attention, or don't understand what the words he spoke meant. He spoke of the purposes, ideals, and intent of those who founded the nation, not what is, or is not a matter of law to be decided in a court. That, or you do understand what he said and are playing the red herring.

[@sebastiancovenent1528]

Re: solutions. Presently, political and economic knowledge across citizenry, across many Western states, is pitifully low. State ed. has been cynically skewed to destroy the scope for Critical Thinking in key areas: history, international relations, economics and politics itself, aspects of Geography. This is of fundamental importance to both the Establishment, and the Mainstream Media which serve it. There are various useful videos on this platform, on Education, and its relationship with politics. We also keep in mind the pivotal text on this matter : Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire.

[@sebastiancovenent1528]

+ Mere 'voting' is unlikely to be enough. With elections' administration itself in private/corporate hands, only a fool would consider this to be beyond the scope of the Establishment machination, corruption!

[@jamesmorton7881]

revolution Debt will be paid by future Human Labor.