The American people are literally being Owned by the Billionaires. Kamala Harris plans to address our Housing problem,by funding New Affordable homes with tax incentives for first time home buyers, and that's a good start. Now we just need to get her into the White House with a majority in the House and Senate. That said, I just mailed my Mail- in Ballot here in Oregon 😊 Thank You,Thom for all you do for the American people and me. Will reStack ASAP 💯👍🌊See you soon on "Substack Live" today at 12noon ET 💙🇺🇸
They have not only bought and are buying our homes, but our politics and politicians as well.
The latest is that Jamie Dimon, though he hasn't endorsed anyone, is supporting Kamala.
I hope and athiestically pray, that if he does, that does not give him an inside track. And I hate, once again to be voting against, because I have been voting for Kamala, and if true then I will be voting against Trump and the MAGAts I have been thrilled because this time I was voting for someone (Kamala/Harris) and not against Trump. I vote for women's rights, not against the misogynists. I vote for DEI not against white nationalist male supremacists. I vote for Democracy not against tyranny
These greedy and power hungry mother effers, have their fingers in all of the pies, that way no matter the outcome they can't lose.
It would be of interest to know which Senators and Congressmen are lobbied by who on what legislation that is proposed to control rents across the US and in specific markets. My guess is that both parties may have their hands in the bucket of immoral manipulation for profit, or at least are blocking legislation because their campaigns are funded by those way too wealthy who are manipulating rents.
I suspect you are right, Tim. One thing we have all learned since the Extreme Court gave us the Citizens United ruling: money is the only thing that talks in the U.S. anymore and it is most certainly corrupting every institution and “sowing the seeds of our own destruction.”
Private equity firms and other investors are buying up housing in the United States, including:
Blackstone
A private equity firm that has been acquiring residential properties, especially in areas with housing shortages like San Diego
Pretium Partners
A firm founded by a former Goldman Sachs executive that has invested $1 billion in single-family rental investments
KKR
A private equity giant that launched My Community Homes to buy and rent single-family homes
Rockpoint Group
A private equity firm that launched a joint venture with Resicap to purchase single-family rental homes
Allianz Real Estate and Centerbridge
Private equity firms that formed a joint venture with Lennar to buy single-family homes for rental properties
Private equity firms are also buying: Apartments, Data centers, Industrial properties, and European properties.
Blackrock is the biggest and worst. Blackrocks Chairman, CEO and major individual investor is Larry Fink
Here is Larry Fink, the most dangerous man in America.
While he may not be super well-known, he’s the CEO & Founder of what may be a company that quite literally owns the world: BlackRock.
BlackRock is a lot more powerful than people know. They control and own:
Most US Banks (such as Bank of America and Chase Bank).
Major oil companies (like Exxon and Chevron).
All of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world (such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson).
Most of the mainstream media (such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC).
The supervision of nearly 10% of all stocks traded worldwide.
They quite literally hold a slice of every pie in the world. In fact, they have a whopping $10 trillion in assets — nearly half America’s total GDP.
BlackRock is so influential that the US and Chinese Governments even relied on the company to escape recessions.
Being the Founder & CEO of such a mega-conglomerate, Fink is now quite powerful as well. He currently sits on both the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum.
In the words of Henry Kissinger, “Whoever controls the money controls the world”. No other company in history has had as much influence as BlackRock.
The fact that BlackRock is a major shareholder in dozens of major companies (Twitter, Amazon, Google, and Facebook, just to name a few) is very important because it means that for any of these companies to decide on company policy, they must now also consult with BlackRock
before doing so.
BlackRock’s influence over 90% of the mainstream media might also be why you’ve probably never heard of them (and why most people haven’t).
Controlling media is a very important step in BlackRock continuing to extend its control over the world, because if everyone knew the consequences of them holding nearly $10 trillion in assets, questions would start to be raised.
Such an unchecked amount of power (especially under the wing of Fink being the sole company owner) means that the guy has unparalleled amounts of power over the world that we may yet to truly understand.
There are 13 Member of Congress, 8 Republicans, 5 Democrats invested in Blackrock
Creating wealth through housing and on the backs of succeeding generations is morally corrupt and I'm a real estate broker. Of course, Wall St. and the elite were never concerned about morality. The plan Harris has is a good start, but a more sophisticated tax incentive package needs to be formatted. If you own, in addition to your primary residence, two to five single family residences as investments and you lease them to people within a certain income bracket, you should be granted a tax credit on your income taxes. If you own more than five houses as investments and do not use the income format for leasing, you should be taxed a lot. That would make some changes.
Nobody should own more than two houses. The problem is that real estate has been considered and investment, and as a result Russian oligarchs and Saudi billionaires are investing in high American real estate. Chinese and Turk's as well, who knows, who else.
Thom recently wrote about how civil wars historically are started by privileged classes seeking to preserve those privileges. I would suggest that revolutions are often started by middle class representatives seeking to overturn the ravages if rapacious upper classes. I fear America is so in thrall to money that regardless of our November vote and how critical it is,it will take something far more profound, with all that entails, to dislodge the morbidly rich (Thom’s incredibly apt label for them). It will not happen in my lifetime (I’m a very fragile 76). But it needs to happen. Otherwise, our march into a new feudalism is not a question of if, only when.
The ruling class is much smarter than in the past. MAGAtism is both a civil war and a top down controlled revolution. They finance and thus control, the heart of the revolution, gender race politics, the culture war. Just as Fritz Thyssen and his ilk did in Germany.
There is no end to the lengths the ultra-rich will go to make a profit at the expense of ordinary Americans. Controlling housing, exorbitant costs for health care (including high insurance and deductibles and denial of care), shrinkflation of packaged foods, price gouging and anywhere there is a potential for profit. It's another version of the game Monopoly, one winner and everyone else loses. They see an opportunity and they are on it faster than flies on ----.
Warren Buffett comes across as a kindly, grandfatherly investor who has no motive other than making wise investments. But he is one of the players sitting at the Monopoly board, gobbling up properties without actually adding anything to the economy. It's a rigged game. As George Carlin said- these guys have a club and you're not in it.
From reading Thom’s books the real estate debacle is part of the scourge of the oligarchs. This is the new feudal system. The hubris of the “new royalty” eventually causes dire consequences for whole nations. IMO materialism is going to die a noisy and destructive death. The upside is a world where more equitable intentions prevail. I see a tumultuous 2025 that will result in new positive changes.
It’s up to all of us to contribute to those positive changes.
Reversing the Reagan tax breaks for real estate investors would be a start, but breaking up the monopolistic practices of large realty investors is also necessary to redress this current imbalance between homelessness and vacant rental housing held off the market to keep rents and prices high.
This is all part of the greatest battle we face--reclaiming our right and ability to govern ourselves, and be free from the grasp of corporations and Wall Street investors. Nothing else, not even the climate crisis, can be addressed until we untangle ourselves from the global greed monster that we actually helped to create.
We did not create the global greed monster, Jeffrey, it is who we are, it has been with us from the time a man beat to death another man with a mastadon thigh bone, Senacharib, Amenhotep, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Olaf Trygvasson, Jenghis Khan, Peter the Great, your and my ancestors.
Everything Thom says rings true, unfortunately. However, as somebody who started studying economics after retirement, one thing seems to have changed about housing that greatly contributes to the increased cost of housing – square footage. Where I grew up in the 50s, any house over 1,200 sqft was considered big. My house back then was 850 sqt.2BR/1BA. Today, a house over 2,400 sqft is considered big.
Even though the average income of individuals, adjusted for inflation, has not increased very much, household incomes have increased due to dual-income families and working extra jobs. Today, a middle-class house that used to be 1,000 sqft (2BR/2BA) is now 1,400 sqft. (3BR/2BA). It also has more amenities like washers and driers, microwave ovens – 2 to 4-door refrigerators, central air conditioning – even a pool in the back yard in some cases. Likewise, garages grew from none to 1 to 2-cars by the 90s, and both cars usually have leans. Shop for a car, and the salesperson talks about cost in terms of monthly payments, not retail price.
Thus, living P2P has become the middle-class norm. However, culturally, in most cases suburban indenturehood is a self-inflicted wound - encourage by living hip-deep in advertising telling us that, with more loans, we can live even better than today. The Joneses are dead. We look down the block and get the impression that everybody else is doing it – why not me? Thus, a pay raise today is often viewed to be an opportunity to increase in credit card limits; not a chance to buy down debt or invest. That, of course, puts homeowners at risk of foreclosure and purchase by a hedge fund.
"since the Extreme Court gave us the Citizens United ruling"
: which points to the urgency (if we get the majority in both Houses) of legislation to reverse the money toxin the Supreme Court has inflicted on America. More generally, the Court need a radical reform. Article III says, regarding Court tenure: "shall hold their offices during good behavior". Most people focus on "during good behavior" which would seem to indicate that setting a term limit for Justices would require a Constitutional amendment: probably an impossible hurdle. But a few writers in effect focus on the word "hold". Being a Court member does not explicitly imply being an "active" member". Congress could define this active status as, perhaps, eighteen years, after which the Justice would convert to an emeritus status, providing supporting judicial services but not actively deciding cases except temporarily to replace a recusing Justice. During each two-year Congressional session, the President would appoint a new Court member for Congress to ratify. Since the Court would have a vested interest in maintaining the current system (though the question arises as to what group would have legal standing to defend their vested interest by bringing suit on their behalf), Congress should use other language in Article III to tell the Court that the legislation is passed outside their Appellate Jurisdiction. Additionally, there should be a Standing Committee created in the House to oversee ethical behavior on the Supreme Court, enforced with the threat of impeachment.
None of this will be done until the grossly undemocratic Senate Filibuster is abolished. This will only require a simple majority vote.
Democrats won't break the filibuster because for one thing, they fear the Republicans will use it when they gain power, however the Republicans in modern form, will not hesitate to break the filibuster,unfortunately the tradition and myth of comity is too embedded in the Democratic party
There are no street fighters on the Democrat side in Senate, while there are nothing but streetfighters on the Republican side. Oh, there are good guys like Sheldon Whitehouse, Markey, Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders but they aren't cage fighters and are basically standing alone. Most of the rest are compromised by donor dollars.
"the Republicans in modern form, will not hesitate to break the filibuster"
Perhaps, if the Democrats come to see the truth of this, they will realize they have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain for America's future democracy by destroying this travesty against decent governance. Perhaps organized grassroots pressure will help move them.
It is not the Democrats Don. It is one man, Chuck Schumer. I would like to assume good faith, that he is an institutionalization, but at best I assume he lacks a backbone and critical reasoning skills, and he knows that the Republicans will reinstall the filibuster.
Why is it the Democrats have spineless senators like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, and Republicans have people who don't give a shit like Mitch McConnell.
So Mitch is not liked, big fucking deal, he has advanced the ideological agenda of the right, could it be that Democratic politicians have no ideological agenda, We need fighters. otherwise the fascists will win.
If there are so many vacant units nationwide, how will it benefit anyone except the builders and investors for the Harris administration to push for the construction of three million more units? If this were any other country at any other time, those homeless people and anyone else with a conscience would be out in the streets and in front of the towers of power protesting and making life uncomfortable for the too comfortable and removing some of them from their comfy life. It's a good thing for them that we've all been conditioned to accept our plight passively like good students and slaves.
Ah Robert, you couldn't let one post go by without slipping in your dig at public education could you "passively like good students..." You are a trip dude.
So what is your solution to public education? I am as always, waiting breathlessly for a pronouncement from Olympus on high.
I'm so grateful for your insightful feedback. Now, I need to ask you to do me a huge favor. Please produce one (1) bit of evidence proving that the public schools do more harm than good or that they have established a record in any annual period or in any state or district which matches their claims or the expectations of the people served. Being of such high intelligence and being so well-informed, I know you will be up to this task. Of course, mere statements, opinions, and anecdotes will not suffice. What I need is empirical evidence, credible peer-reviewed research which is well-documented, and facts that can be verified and validated objectively. No rush. Take your time. I'm guessing that it will take some time. I will not look for results for a few years, considering the extremely high volume of research which goes in the other direction. But you should try to devote several hours a day, six days a week. I would offer to pay you but I do not want to insult you and I know how committed you are to public schooling (not education - education is something else, not public and not mandatory). Thank you so much, once again.
Robert if you are an example of Public Education, then you are right to condemn public education, because your comment is nuts.
I have asked you repeatedly to give me your recommendation as an alternative to public education.
And your reply is (incredibly) "Please produce one (1) bit of evidence proving that the public schools do more harm than good "
It is not me that is saying public education provides more harm than good, it is you Robert. How stupid do you think I am? As stupid as you? Nay, you aren't stupid at all, this is the second time you have tried to turn the question
Again for the umpteenth time. What is your alternative to public education.
You have none Robert, no answer, except perhaps illiteracy, or parochial, private education.
Don't tell us what public education is, we have read your screeds,
Stop playing Trump and avoiding the issue: What is your alternative.
PS: Test results and graduation records will not suffice. They prove nothing and are only a reflection of compliance with behavioral standards, attitudes or enthusiasm, and indeterminate skills, abilities, and knowledge.
Simply require these institution to only buy the highest top 10% priced housing so the bottom is unaffected. This requirement would crash the price of housing and losses for these immoral entities.
When Corporats infest the Courts, and wander the White House and the halls of Congress - plagues follow.
At this moment the Corporat moneychangers could be thrown from the temples of our democracy. Their power is built on Precedents, a house of cards. our unique DeathStar- could be imploded today by Pres. Biden using the insane dictatorial power the Supremes created to demand 6 resignations with rescission of all Precedents that cross the border of Judicial Review.
Judicial Review, was defined by John Marshall in 1803 Marbury v Madison: "A law repugnant to the Constitution is void." Voiding the law in Marbury was determinative, the law disappears. In the general case, a portion of a law is, by arguments directly from the literal words of the Amended Constitution, declared un-Constitutional. That law would then be remanded to the legislature for revision.
Part 2 of this is that Boomers are draining savings and/or helping grown kids to get settled which also drains the economy. Add to that the potential homelessness of seniors if social security is cut. It would be a disaster.
The American people are literally being Owned by the Billionaires. Kamala Harris plans to address our Housing problem,by funding New Affordable homes with tax incentives for first time home buyers, and that's a good start. Now we just need to get her into the White House with a majority in the House and Senate. That said, I just mailed my Mail- in Ballot here in Oregon 😊 Thank You,Thom for all you do for the American people and me. Will reStack ASAP 💯👍🌊See you soon on "Substack Live" today at 12noon ET 💙🇺🇸
Not just American billionaires, but foreign billionaires as well.
They have not only bought and are buying our homes, but our politics and politicians as well.
The latest is that Jamie Dimon, though he hasn't endorsed anyone, is supporting Kamala.
I hope and athiestically pray, that if he does, that does not give him an inside track. And I hate, once again to be voting against, because I have been voting for Kamala, and if true then I will be voting against Trump and the MAGAts I have been thrilled because this time I was voting for someone (Kamala/Harris) and not against Trump. I vote for women's rights, not against the misogynists. I vote for DEI not against white nationalist male supremacists. I vote for Democracy not against tyranny
These greedy and power hungry mother effers, have their fingers in all of the pies, that way no matter the outcome they can't lose.
Here in Baghdad By the Sea, buyers' names don't have to be disclosed but the Panama Papers disclosed the extent that oligarchs were market makers for S. Florida real estate. https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/panama-papers-confirm-funny-money-in-miami-property-market-23877
These days people like the Trumps, Thiel, Kenneth C. Griffin, Bezos and too many Rushkie oligarchs have relocated here and have been buying like crazy. I have documented how Chinese and other foreign "treaty traders" use E visas to finance their huge investments. https://reeseonrealestate.com/south-florida-developers-brokers-adapting-to-attract-asian-buyers/
Gates and others have been making money shorting Musk et al. Turns out Gates has been contributing to Democrats. https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-pro-kamala-harris-super-pac-nyt-2024-10
It would be of interest to know which Senators and Congressmen are lobbied by who on what legislation that is proposed to control rents across the US and in specific markets. My guess is that both parties may have their hands in the bucket of immoral manipulation for profit, or at least are blocking legislation because their campaigns are funded by those way too wealthy who are manipulating rents.
I suspect you are right, Tim. One thing we have all learned since the Extreme Court gave us the Citizens United ruling: money is the only thing that talks in the U.S. anymore and it is most certainly corrupting every institution and “sowing the seeds of our own destruction.”
Private equity firms and other investors are buying up housing in the United States, including:
Blackstone
A private equity firm that has been acquiring residential properties, especially in areas with housing shortages like San Diego
Pretium Partners
A firm founded by a former Goldman Sachs executive that has invested $1 billion in single-family rental investments
KKR
A private equity giant that launched My Community Homes to buy and rent single-family homes
Rockpoint Group
A private equity firm that launched a joint venture with Resicap to purchase single-family rental homes
Allianz Real Estate and Centerbridge
Private equity firms that formed a joint venture with Lennar to buy single-family homes for rental properties
Private equity firms are also buying: Apartments, Data centers, Industrial properties, and European properties.
Blackrock is the biggest and worst. Blackrocks Chairman, CEO and major individual investor is Larry Fink
Here is Larry Fink, the most dangerous man in America.
While he may not be super well-known, he’s the CEO & Founder of what may be a company that quite literally owns the world: BlackRock.
BlackRock is a lot more powerful than people know. They control and own:
Most US Banks (such as Bank of America and Chase Bank).
Major oil companies (like Exxon and Chevron).
All of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world (such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson).
Most of the mainstream media (such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC).
The supervision of nearly 10% of all stocks traded worldwide.
They quite literally hold a slice of every pie in the world. In fact, they have a whopping $10 trillion in assets — nearly half America’s total GDP.
BlackRock is so influential that the US and Chinese Governments even relied on the company to escape recessions.
Being the Founder & CEO of such a mega-conglomerate, Fink is now quite powerful as well. He currently sits on both the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum.
In the words of Henry Kissinger, “Whoever controls the money controls the world”. No other company in history has had as much influence as BlackRock.
The fact that BlackRock is a major shareholder in dozens of major companies (Twitter, Amazon, Google, and Facebook, just to name a few) is very important because it means that for any of these companies to decide on company policy, they must now also consult with BlackRock
before doing so.
BlackRock’s influence over 90% of the mainstream media might also be why you’ve probably never heard of them (and why most people haven’t).
Controlling media is a very important step in BlackRock continuing to extend its control over the world, because if everyone knew the consequences of them holding nearly $10 trillion in assets, questions would start to be raised.
Such an unchecked amount of power (especially under the wing of Fink being the sole company owner) means that the guy has unparalleled amounts of power over the world that we may yet to truly understand.
There are 13 Member of Congress, 8 Republicans, 5 Democrats invested in Blackrock
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/blackrock-inc/members-invested?id=D000021872
Blackrock invests in PAC's many of which have their name
For instance Blackrock Funds Services Group has donated $149,500 to Republicans and $118,500 to Democrats
If really interest to to Open Secrets search Blackrock, then search each invididual PAC
Creating wealth through housing and on the backs of succeeding generations is morally corrupt and I'm a real estate broker. Of course, Wall St. and the elite were never concerned about morality. The plan Harris has is a good start, but a more sophisticated tax incentive package needs to be formatted. If you own, in addition to your primary residence, two to five single family residences as investments and you lease them to people within a certain income bracket, you should be granted a tax credit on your income taxes. If you own more than five houses as investments and do not use the income format for leasing, you should be taxed a lot. That would make some changes.
Nobody should own more than two houses. The problem is that real estate has been considered and investment, and as a result Russian oligarchs and Saudi billionaires are investing in high American real estate. Chinese and Turk's as well, who knows, who else.
Actually, equity value of real estate is as valid a commodity as any other.
When income taxes were high homes were a valid tax shelter. Now that the tax rate is low, makes little sense.
Look below the surface of almost every problem the middle class faces today in America and the root cause will be the unsatiable greed of the 1%.
Thom recently wrote about how civil wars historically are started by privileged classes seeking to preserve those privileges. I would suggest that revolutions are often started by middle class representatives seeking to overturn the ravages if rapacious upper classes. I fear America is so in thrall to money that regardless of our November vote and how critical it is,it will take something far more profound, with all that entails, to dislodge the morbidly rich (Thom’s incredibly apt label for them). It will not happen in my lifetime (I’m a very fragile 76). But it needs to happen. Otherwise, our march into a new feudalism is not a question of if, only when.
The ruling class is much smarter than in the past. MAGAtism is both a civil war and a top down controlled revolution. They finance and thus control, the heart of the revolution, gender race politics, the culture war. Just as Fritz Thyssen and his ilk did in Germany.
There is no end to the lengths the ultra-rich will go to make a profit at the expense of ordinary Americans. Controlling housing, exorbitant costs for health care (including high insurance and deductibles and denial of care), shrinkflation of packaged foods, price gouging and anywhere there is a potential for profit. It's another version of the game Monopoly, one winner and everyone else loses. They see an opportunity and they are on it faster than flies on ----.
Warren Buffett comes across as a kindly, grandfatherly investor who has no motive other than making wise investments. But he is one of the players sitting at the Monopoly board, gobbling up properties without actually adding anything to the economy. It's a rigged game. As George Carlin said- these guys have a club and you're not in it.
From reading Thom’s books the real estate debacle is part of the scourge of the oligarchs. This is the new feudal system. The hubris of the “new royalty” eventually causes dire consequences for whole nations. IMO materialism is going to die a noisy and destructive death. The upside is a world where more equitable intentions prevail. I see a tumultuous 2025 that will result in new positive changes.
It’s up to all of us to contribute to those positive changes.
Reversing the Reagan tax breaks for real estate investors would be a start, but breaking up the monopolistic practices of large realty investors is also necessary to redress this current imbalance between homelessness and vacant rental housing held off the market to keep rents and prices high.
This is all part of the greatest battle we face--reclaiming our right and ability to govern ourselves, and be free from the grasp of corporations and Wall Street investors. Nothing else, not even the climate crisis, can be addressed until we untangle ourselves from the global greed monster that we actually helped to create.
We did not create the global greed monster, Jeffrey, it is who we are, it has been with us from the time a man beat to death another man with a mastadon thigh bone, Senacharib, Amenhotep, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Olaf Trygvasson, Jenghis Khan, Peter the Great, your and my ancestors.
Everything Thom says rings true, unfortunately. However, as somebody who started studying economics after retirement, one thing seems to have changed about housing that greatly contributes to the increased cost of housing – square footage. Where I grew up in the 50s, any house over 1,200 sqft was considered big. My house back then was 850 sqt.2BR/1BA. Today, a house over 2,400 sqft is considered big.
Even though the average income of individuals, adjusted for inflation, has not increased very much, household incomes have increased due to dual-income families and working extra jobs. Today, a middle-class house that used to be 1,000 sqft (2BR/2BA) is now 1,400 sqft. (3BR/2BA). It also has more amenities like washers and driers, microwave ovens – 2 to 4-door refrigerators, central air conditioning – even a pool in the back yard in some cases. Likewise, garages grew from none to 1 to 2-cars by the 90s, and both cars usually have leans. Shop for a car, and the salesperson talks about cost in terms of monthly payments, not retail price.
Thus, living P2P has become the middle-class norm. However, culturally, in most cases suburban indenturehood is a self-inflicted wound - encourage by living hip-deep in advertising telling us that, with more loans, we can live even better than today. The Joneses are dead. We look down the block and get the impression that everybody else is doing it – why not me? Thus, a pay raise today is often viewed to be an opportunity to increase in credit card limits; not a chance to buy down debt or invest. That, of course, puts homeowners at risk of foreclosure and purchase by a hedge fund.
You nailed it Tom, from wage slavery to debt slavery
"since the Extreme Court gave us the Citizens United ruling"
: which points to the urgency (if we get the majority in both Houses) of legislation to reverse the money toxin the Supreme Court has inflicted on America. More generally, the Court need a radical reform. Article III says, regarding Court tenure: "shall hold their offices during good behavior". Most people focus on "during good behavior" which would seem to indicate that setting a term limit for Justices would require a Constitutional amendment: probably an impossible hurdle. But a few writers in effect focus on the word "hold". Being a Court member does not explicitly imply being an "active" member". Congress could define this active status as, perhaps, eighteen years, after which the Justice would convert to an emeritus status, providing supporting judicial services but not actively deciding cases except temporarily to replace a recusing Justice. During each two-year Congressional session, the President would appoint a new Court member for Congress to ratify. Since the Court would have a vested interest in maintaining the current system (though the question arises as to what group would have legal standing to defend their vested interest by bringing suit on their behalf), Congress should use other language in Article III to tell the Court that the legislation is passed outside their Appellate Jurisdiction. Additionally, there should be a Standing Committee created in the House to oversee ethical behavior on the Supreme Court, enforced with the threat of impeachment.
None of this will be done until the grossly undemocratic Senate Filibuster is abolished. This will only require a simple majority vote.
Democrats won't break the filibuster because for one thing, they fear the Republicans will use it when they gain power, however the Republicans in modern form, will not hesitate to break the filibuster,unfortunately the tradition and myth of comity is too embedded in the Democratic party
There are no street fighters on the Democrat side in Senate, while there are nothing but streetfighters on the Republican side. Oh, there are good guys like Sheldon Whitehouse, Markey, Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders but they aren't cage fighters and are basically standing alone. Most of the rest are compromised by donor dollars.
Gomer Pyle in a catch fight with Chuck Norris.
"the Republicans in modern form, will not hesitate to break the filibuster"
Perhaps, if the Democrats come to see the truth of this, they will realize they have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain for America's future democracy by destroying this travesty against decent governance. Perhaps organized grassroots pressure will help move them.
It is not the Democrats Don. It is one man, Chuck Schumer. I would like to assume good faith, that he is an institutionalization, but at best I assume he lacks a backbone and critical reasoning skills, and he knows that the Republicans will reinstall the filibuster.
Why is it the Democrats have spineless senators like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, and Republicans have people who don't give a shit like Mitch McConnell.
So Mitch is not liked, big fucking deal, he has advanced the ideological agenda of the right, could it be that Democratic politicians have no ideological agenda, We need fighters. otherwise the fascists will win.
If there are so many vacant units nationwide, how will it benefit anyone except the builders and investors for the Harris administration to push for the construction of three million more units? If this were any other country at any other time, those homeless people and anyone else with a conscience would be out in the streets and in front of the towers of power protesting and making life uncomfortable for the too comfortable and removing some of them from their comfy life. It's a good thing for them that we've all been conditioned to accept our plight passively like good students and slaves.
Ah Robert, you couldn't let one post go by without slipping in your dig at public education could you "passively like good students..." You are a trip dude.
So what is your solution to public education? I am as always, waiting breathlessly for a pronouncement from Olympus on high.
Wm,
I'm so grateful for your insightful feedback. Now, I need to ask you to do me a huge favor. Please produce one (1) bit of evidence proving that the public schools do more harm than good or that they have established a record in any annual period or in any state or district which matches their claims or the expectations of the people served. Being of such high intelligence and being so well-informed, I know you will be up to this task. Of course, mere statements, opinions, and anecdotes will not suffice. What I need is empirical evidence, credible peer-reviewed research which is well-documented, and facts that can be verified and validated objectively. No rush. Take your time. I'm guessing that it will take some time. I will not look for results for a few years, considering the extremely high volume of research which goes in the other direction. But you should try to devote several hours a day, six days a week. I would offer to pay you but I do not want to insult you and I know how committed you are to public schooling (not education - education is something else, not public and not mandatory). Thank you so much, once again.
Robert if you are an example of Public Education, then you are right to condemn public education, because your comment is nuts.
I have asked you repeatedly to give me your recommendation as an alternative to public education.
And your reply is (incredibly) "Please produce one (1) bit of evidence proving that the public schools do more harm than good "
It is not me that is saying public education provides more harm than good, it is you Robert. How stupid do you think I am? As stupid as you? Nay, you aren't stupid at all, this is the second time you have tried to turn the question
Again for the umpteenth time. What is your alternative to public education.
You have none Robert, no answer, except perhaps illiteracy, or parochial, private education.
Don't tell us what public education is, we have read your screeds,
Stop playing Trump and avoiding the issue: What is your alternative.
PS: Test results and graduation records will not suffice. They prove nothing and are only a reflection of compliance with behavioral standards, attitudes or enthusiasm, and indeterminate skills, abilities, and knowledge.
Finally, stop bitichin Robert, nobody is reading your TL:Dr screeds.
Tell us your solution. I know your complaints. Complaining solves no problems, what is your solution to the problem.
That's right you have none, all you have is endless complaints, because no one is listening to the great Robert B Elliott
What is your metric, and by what tools are they examined and proved?
Simply require these institution to only buy the highest top 10% priced housing so the bottom is unaffected. This requirement would crash the price of housing and losses for these immoral entities.
When Corporats infest the Courts, and wander the White House and the halls of Congress - plagues follow.
At this moment the Corporat moneychangers could be thrown from the temples of our democracy. Their power is built on Precedents, a house of cards. our unique DeathStar- could be imploded today by Pres. Biden using the insane dictatorial power the Supremes created to demand 6 resignations with rescission of all Precedents that cross the border of Judicial Review.
Judicial Review, was defined by John Marshall in 1803 Marbury v Madison: "A law repugnant to the Constitution is void." Voiding the law in Marbury was determinative, the law disappears. In the general case, a portion of a law is, by arguments directly from the literal words of the Amended Constitution, declared un-Constitutional. That law would then be remanded to the legislature for revision.
Part 2 of this is that Boomers are draining savings and/or helping grown kids to get settled which also drains the economy. Add to that the potential homelessness of seniors if social security is cut. It would be a disaster.