She's gonna have to do more..

It's a good piece. Here's the whole thing on one page - http://www.alternet....lass/?page=entire

Lots of things built the middle class - not just manufacturing.

[...]

You see, my grandmother was born into the world of boom and bust, boom and bust, as it had been from 1794 until the Great Depression. But my grandmother also lived in a world of economic transformation. Because coming out of the Great Depression, just three laws fundamentally altered the course of America's history.

The first one, FDIC insurance, made it safe to put money in banks. The second one, Glass-Steagal, tried to separate the risk-taking on Wall Street from your local community bank. And the third one, SEC regulations, provide some cops to watch the robbers. And so, out of that, what we got was 50 years of economic peace. No financial panics, no meltdowns. And during that 50 years, we built a strong and prosperous middle class in America.

Now, my grandmother, when she died in 1970 at the age of 94, had been part of that. She owned a little house, she had plenty of groceries in the cupboard, and she had some cash in the bank. She was part of the growth of middle-class America. As were her children and her grandchildren. But shortly after my grandmother died, within a few years, we began unraveling that. Part of it was on the regulatory side. We hadn't been clever about regulations. They stayed ossified. The regulations put in place in the 1930s had not been updated. They had not adapted to a new world. And along came a new group of people who said, "Let's just get rid of the regulations. What are they there for anyway? They just cost money. Dump the regulations." And so the regulatory framework, or the "cops," who were on the beat began to disappear. They lost their effectiveness.

[...]

So let me wrap this back around. Is this going to save the middle class by itself--the consumer agency? I've written about the middle class now for two decades--and if you want to give me another couple of hours I could bend your ear about all that's happened here--and the answer is no. There's frankly too much that's broken. We've got to have change in labor policy, we've got to have change in health policy, we've got to have changes in education policy. That's what it will take to restore a middle class. But we also have to have changes in consumer credit policy. And the new bill is a big step in that direction.

So, here's what I want to say: One way or another, I'll keep pushing for the middle class. I hope you will too.

She's a great advocate.

Cheers,
Scott.

Post #330,714 by beepster 8/3/10 12:22:56 PM Reply	She's gonna have to do more.. ..than talk about how great consumer protection is. manufacturing drove middle class. where productivity and wages start to diverge just so happens to be the same time horizon as where the US began losing its manufacturing base. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.
Post #330,716 by Another Scott 8/3/10 2:18:58 PM Reply	She addresses that, and much more. It's a good piece. Here's the whole thing on one page - http://www.alternet....lass/?page=entire Lots of things built the middle class - not just manufacturing. [...] You see, my grandmother was born into the world of boom and bust, boom and bust, as it had been from 1794 until the Great Depression. But my grandmother also lived in a world of economic transformation. Because coming out of the Great Depression, just three laws fundamentally altered the course of America's history. The first one, FDIC insurance, made it safe to put money in banks. The second one, Glass-Steagal, tried to separate the risk-taking on Wall Street from your local community bank. And the third one, SEC regulations, provide some cops to watch the robbers. And so, out of that, what we got was 50 years of economic peace. No financial panics, no meltdowns. And during that 50 years, we built a strong and prosperous middle class in America. Now, my grandmother, when she died in 1970 at the age of 94, had been part of that. She owned a little house, she had plenty of groceries in the cupboard, and she had some cash in the bank. She was part of the growth of middle-class America. As were her children and her grandchildren. But shortly after my grandmother died, within a few years, we began unraveling that. Part of it was on the regulatory side. We hadn't been clever about regulations. They stayed ossified. The regulations put in place in the 1930s had not been updated. They had not adapted to a new world. And along came a new group of people who said, "Let's just get rid of the regulations. What are they there for anyway? They just cost money. Dump the regulations." And so the regulatory framework, or the "cops," who were on the beat began to disappear. They lost their effectiveness. [...] So let me wrap this back around. Is this going to save the middle class by itself--the consumer agency? I've written about the middle class now for two decades--and if you want to give me another couple of hours I could bend your ear about all that's happened here--and the answer is no. There's frankly too much that's broken. We've got to have change in labor policy, we've got to have change in health policy, we've got to have changes in education policy. That's what it will take to restore a middle class. But we also have to have changes in consumer credit policy. And the new bill is a big step in that direction. So, here's what I want to say: One way or another, I'll keep pushing for the middle class. I hope you will too. She's a great advocate. Cheers, Scott.
Post #330,737 by beepster 8/3/10 5:30:17 PM Reply	i would think (I read the piece)...that the jobs that drove the income would be a major factor..and yes she >mentioned< labor policy...but that was not core to the piece. she mentions deregulation as a bad thing while at the same time saying the regulation itself was a bad thing, etc... its a nice speech but there weren't alot of concrete examples of changes she would recommend. In that, she may have some...they just weren't part of the speech. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.
Post #330,832 by jake123 8/5/10 10:23:07 AM Reply	Well, gee I mean, she's talking about her area of expertise and the area she can do some work in, while mentioning the other major fields that also require work. That's terrible... just terrible. How can we trust her?
Post #330,852 by beepster 8/5/10 4:45:40 PM Reply	Did I say... she was not to be trusted? No. In fact, I said it was a good speech. But if I'm going to award her the job (as nother put it in his title of she wants the job of rebuilding the middle class) then I would hope she has more concrete suggestions in the areas mentioned in addition to the consumer protection act. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.

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