Markets are as old as civilization. Capitalism is a few hundred years old. Markets can exist without capitalism, but capitalism cannot exist without markets and regulations. Without regulations, it turns into neofeudalism where a few monopolize and own everything. We have the regulations, but the oligarchs have become the government and own the regulators.
Not sure if he NFL is a Marxian paradise, but at least it understands that nobody buys tickets to see the owners. Most of us believe in a society defined by "rules of the road" that apply equally to everybody. The Trump Party oligarchs only believe in "my way or the highway".
This post is a master class in economics. When the extreme right screams "Socialism" the response should be so "so what". Every benefit Americans have, has come from Democrats. When white working class Americans decide to vote Republican, they should remember who butters their toast. Or, in fact, how do they even have toast to begin with.
Another fact about the NFL that is "interesting": for some time now, well over a majority of the players are people of color.
Wajahat Ali and Danielle Moodie explain more on current racist aspects, the Tech Bros interests, and depravity involved with the insiders. The podcast is posted on The Left Hook and is titled: MAGA And Billionaires Need Racism To Survive
Thiel is at the center: he has been expounding on the antichrist---he should look in the mirror. It's about LAWLESSNESS and WHITE POWER. That is what they want, we need to understand it to fight it. See you in the streets.
Ironically, strident white supremacists support EXTERMINATION of gays and Thiel could become a crispy critter. If Musk has Asperger's he could make the NAZI hit list.
Yes, big sports are very heavily subsidized and socialized. Quite the feat for what has become a massive entertainment industry.
A request for these columns is to move away from the "Imperial Presidency" language. As a country, we need to move on to a new world of a collegial executive. Let's start by staying with "administrations"--a collective of more or less talented individuals--rather than a particular past individual president did something. The current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania should well be the last imperial president.
A "motion to vacate" must now be supported by at least nine Republican members to trigger a vote, a significant increase from the previous single-member requirement.
Votes for Removal: Once a vote is triggered, a simple majority of the House is needed to remove the Speaker.
As I said Saturday, there are more than that in Dem majority states like Minnesota, California, NY. There are more in the House problem solvers' conference.
I.E. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Sunday pushed for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign after his name appeared in files linked to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Opposition to Speaker Election: Massie was the only Republican to vote against Speaker Mike Johnson’s election in early 2025.
Failed Ouster Attempt: Massie joined a move to remove Speaker Johnson, stating he was "losing political capital by the second".
Policy Disputes: Massie heavily criticized Johnson for working with Democrats on spending bills and for not holding votes on releasing Jeffrey Epstein files.
Repercussions: Following his opposition, Massie was removed from the powerful House Rules Committee in January 2025.
In January 2025, Johnson removed Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, citing a desire for a "fresh start" in the new Congress. Turner, a critic of Donald Trump and supporter of Ukraine aid, was replaced following pressure from conservative hard-liners.
Dozens of House Republican members oppose Trump on Ukraine, tariffs, other policies.
Let us hope that the attempts to rig the election with laws, armed poll watchers, MAGA voter commissions, voter caging and t Dominion Voting Systems had been acquired by Scott Leiendecker, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Vote.. a Republican operative and close associate of Ed Martin, is offset by the most massive turnout of Democratic voters ever seen in November not to mention 2028
I've pointed out and written about, many times, that the same billionaire owners, who rail against rules that regulate capitalism, run socialist sports leagues. The wealthy believe this is the only way to run a functioning league. Socialism is good when it helps the billionaires - not only in sports but through subsidies, tax breaks, etc - but not for ordinary people.
Let's not forget that it was Joe Biden who quipped "I beat the socialist" then kept proclaiming "I'm a capitalist." The same rhetoric came from Hillary Clinton and many prominent Democrats when Clinton was running against Bernie Sanders. The old "hammer and sickle" they said, reinforcing the Red Scare propaganda that Democrats thrive on. And the NFL sucks up our tax dollars for their stadiums and the "privilege" that all that revenue generated by the stadium will bring which of course never materializes. You are naive to think you can be a "referee" when it comes to consolidated corporate power. Look no further than the Affordable Care Act, which was going to be a "referee" for the health insurance industry, but that has largely worked in reverse.
By the way Boris, this is 2026, not 2020, Biden is no longer President, and is not 2016 anymore and Hillary isn't running aainst Bernie.
It is 2026 and the world is in peril from Karasnov and Putin . Why don''t you extricate yourself from your misery, and migrate to your Soviet Socialist wonderland. I am sure that they could use a D.O. considering the 600,000 wounded that Vlad has caused with his meat charges in his genocidal war to eradicate Ukraine.
Thanks Thom, I wonder if your analysis will sink in with your readers. Capitalism per se is not the problem socialism per se is not the solution. But a socialist regulated capitalist economy is what has made America "Great" and has provided the ability of your readers to live better than Henry VIII or Louis XVI and longer as well.
Were it not for capitalism,none of us would be here, and this continent would be a Spanish or French possession.
You see it was a group of "capitalists", the lesser gentry, that banded together and formed a joint venture company, called the London Company of Virginia or as some would have the Virginia Company of London, the purpose of which was to exploit that portion of the New World surveyed by Juan Caboto, we know as John Cabot and named Virginia.
Earlier they had planted a small settlement on what we call Roanoke, NC, In 1606 these adventurers of the purse (what we call capitalists) sough to exploit the new world for gold and silver
Were it not for that capitalist venture, we wouldn't be here pontificating.
Wee it not for capitalism, we wouldn't have year round found, vehicles, gasoline,kersone, the ability to travel the world, unless we were privileged, an internet, cell phones, health care other than blood letting and leeches.
Yes there is a natural tendency towards monopolization, first plutocracy,then oligarchy, then monopolization, eventually the monopoly becomes the government, but for the oligarchy becomes the government, and before that the plutocracy becomes the government.
A balance is needed and for awhile, from the last 1930's to the 1960's we had a balance.
It is not an either or, it is a question of restoring the balance. I do no want to live in a socialist society, it is stagnant and repressive. And if some elements on the left had their way one could go to jail for politically incorrect speech, or even acquiring enough money to invest.
And if some on the right have there way, we will all be wage slaves,living at the margins.
The system rewards sociopaths until the sociopaths control the system. The insane are in charge of the asylum. It's end stage capitalism. It's a feature of the system that those with the Dark Triad personalities eventually get control of the governing power. Where do we go from here without a bloody revolution? Most people have food and shelter at this point.
We all know that our oligarchy, in order to maintain their feeding frenzy on working class wealth, has gone to great lengths to malign the word “socialism” in the minds of the American people. They have associated it with USSR type socialism which was imposed under an authoritarian dictatorship, and they have pounded this notion in until it permeates much of the American psyche.
Of course, Thom is not referring at all to USSR type socialism. The socialism he refers to would be democratically decided on. Also, he is not suggesting the socialization of our entire economy. He is rather suggesting setting up measures for regulating our economy, and he is labeling that system for regulation as socialist.
I know I have made myself an annoyance by getting on a soap box about this, but I wish progressives could all settle on one, clear, notion of what socialism is. There seem to be as many definitions of socialism as there are socialists. Also, if you do an assessment of what is currently being called “socialism” under the “democratic socialist” umbrella, the term has now come to refer to just anything that benefits the working class. So, food stamps are “socialist;” housing vouchers are “socialist;” FDR and LBJ’s programs were “socialist.”
I personally do not believe that this “anything that benefits the working class” definition of socialism is correct or even useful. In the rest of the world, it has a very different and specific definition. It refers to the ownership and operation of all or part of an economy by the government. So, the UK’s medical system is socialist because it is owned and operated by the government. Our VA is socialist because it is owned and operated by the government. Social political parties overseas will also advocate for other measures, but include this kind of truly socialist alternatives as well.
Now, a word is just a tool and can be defined any way we want. But clearly, the kind of regulation that Thom is suggesting does not fit into this more universal definition of socialism, even democratic socialism. The government would not be owning anything. Or operating anything. Businesses remain in private hands. They just adhere to rules that require them not to defeat the free market. But so what? Why am I making such a big deal out of this?
We are in the fight of our lives for the preservation of democracy, and we know that one of our challenges will be to defeat the oligarchy’s strategy of activating the public’s fear of socialism by depicting the left as a bunch of raving subversives who want to impost a Marxist dictatorship on America.
In order to repel these attacks and redirect to suggesting programs to fix our ailing working class, I think it would be useful 1) If we would all get together on what the word “socialism” actually means. All these different definitions are just increasing the public’s confusion and vulnerability to misinformation; and 2) If we would hopefully, settle on socialism meaning ownership and operation of all or part of an economy by the government. Yes, that would mean that US police and fire forces are socialist—as well as streets and sidewalks. But it would not include welfare programs like food stamps and housing vouchers which do not involve government ownership but are just government give-ways to help struggling people. Separating these two different approaches also allows us to assess the usefulness of these and other types of approaches to solving problems.
Well, if you have stayed with me this far, I salute you. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do think that it is important to raise these issues to foster discussion and understanding. It seems to me that progressives often fall into traps that leave them victim to what is beside the point. If we would coalesce around one accurate definition of socialism, I think we could honestly just tell the public about when we are suggesting real “socialist” solutions to problems and also when we are proposing other types of approaches. I think that broadening the definition of “socialism” to just anything that benefits the middle class is just seriously muddying the waters and not helping fight the current fascist challenge. Everything doesn’t have to be “socialist” to be good.
I discuss this issue and more in a larger context in a booklet I call "Common Cents Economics: Economics, Politics, and Mass Hysteria. I serialized it by chapter on Shea Hansen @ Substack.com. Or you can get a Kindle copy on Amazon.
This should be Chapter 1 in every Econ 101 textbook in the country.
Markets are as old as civilization. Capitalism is a few hundred years old. Markets can exist without capitalism, but capitalism cannot exist without markets and regulations. Without regulations, it turns into neofeudalism where a few monopolize and own everything. We have the regulations, but the oligarchs have become the government and own the regulators.
Agree! Wonderful analogy!!!
Not sure if he NFL is a Marxian paradise, but at least it understands that nobody buys tickets to see the owners. Most of us believe in a society defined by "rules of the road" that apply equally to everybody. The Trump Party oligarchs only believe in "my way or the highway".
Of all the team owners, pretty sure only the Rooneys are Dems. HERE WE GO, STEELERS!
The best the owners ever did for us was make sure Trump couldn't buy the Buffalo Bills.
I'm sorry to report that in some circles the NBA and NFL are despised. Here in Baghdad By the Sea, ownership of the Dolphins is 100% MAGA.
Trump’s attempt to create his own league, the United States Football League (USFL) was also a failure.
This post is a master class in economics. When the extreme right screams "Socialism" the response should be so "so what". Every benefit Americans have, has come from Democrats. When white working class Americans decide to vote Republican, they should remember who butters their toast. Or, in fact, how do they even have toast to begin with.
Perfect way to analyze our situation, Thom.....
Another fact about the NFL that is "interesting": for some time now, well over a majority of the players are people of color.
Wajahat Ali and Danielle Moodie explain more on current racist aspects, the Tech Bros interests, and depravity involved with the insiders. The podcast is posted on The Left Hook and is titled: MAGA And Billionaires Need Racism To Survive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOplVXSULdI
Thiel is at the center: he has been expounding on the antichrist---he should look in the mirror. It's about LAWLESSNESS and WHITE POWER. That is what they want, we need to understand it to fight it. See you in the streets.
Ironically, strident white supremacists support EXTERMINATION of gays and Thiel could become a crispy critter. If Musk has Asperger's he could make the NAZI hit list.
Yes, big sports are very heavily subsidized and socialized. Quite the feat for what has become a massive entertainment industry.
A request for these columns is to move away from the "Imperial Presidency" language. As a country, we need to move on to a new world of a collegial executive. Let's start by staying with "administrations"--a collective of more or less talented individuals--rather than a particular past individual president did something. The current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania should well be the last imperial president.
DrDog, we are way past administration/administrations we are into regime (not regimes)
The urgent question of this time, is how to undo the regime.
Within a matter of hours, Hakeem Jeffries (or someone like Don Bacon) could be Speaker of the House
https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Views on ICE, especially re Minnesota are shifting rapidly. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-public-opinion-shifting-against-ice-may-affect-the-dhs-funding-showdown-in-congress
We need to pressure 9 Republican House members.
A "motion to vacate" must now be supported by at least nine Republican members to trigger a vote, a significant increase from the previous single-member requirement.
Votes for Removal: Once a vote is triggered, a simple majority of the House is needed to remove the Speaker.
As I said Saturday, there are more than that in Dem majority states like Minnesota, California, NY. There are more in the House problem solvers' conference.
I.E. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Sunday pushed for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign after his name appeared in files linked to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Opposition to Speaker Election: Massie was the only Republican to vote against Speaker Mike Johnson’s election in early 2025.
Failed Ouster Attempt: Massie joined a move to remove Speaker Johnson, stating he was "losing political capital by the second".
Policy Disputes: Massie heavily criticized Johnson for working with Democrats on spending bills and for not holding votes on releasing Jeffrey Epstein files.
Repercussions: Following his opposition, Massie was removed from the powerful House Rules Committee in January 2025.
In January 2025, Johnson removed Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, citing a desire for a "fresh start" in the new Congress. Turner, a critic of Donald Trump and supporter of Ukraine aid, was replaced following pressure from conservative hard-liners.
Dozens of House Republican members oppose Trump on Ukraine, tariffs, other policies.
Let us hope that the attempts to rig the election with laws, armed poll watchers, MAGA voter commissions, voter caging and t Dominion Voting Systems had been acquired by Scott Leiendecker, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Vote.. a Republican operative and close associate of Ed Martin, is offset by the most massive turnout of Democratic voters ever seen in November not to mention 2028
At present that's the only way to Save our Souls.
ONLY WAY, Nostradamus.
What are your ideas, oh wise one. Convert Republican?. LOL. fat chance, they are cowards. Law suits.. Dream on, they won't survive SCOTUS
There are of course other ways, bu you weren't issued a hair shirt, and you''d have no tolerance for pain,much less personal discomfort, sez you.
There is always nationwide, and perpetual resistance but that involves risk and pain,
Or may a total collapse of the worlds economy, as American goes bankrupt, but again you said that you weren't issued a hair shirt.
HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU. I'd take a Republican who is not MAGA for speaker. E.G. anyone opposed to Trump.
This analogy is so accurate. I am sharing it with all sports fans so they hopefully get the connection!
I've pointed out and written about, many times, that the same billionaire owners, who rail against rules that regulate capitalism, run socialist sports leagues. The wealthy believe this is the only way to run a functioning league. Socialism is good when it helps the billionaires - not only in sports but through subsidies, tax breaks, etc - but not for ordinary people.
IMHO the tax structure and tax enforcement are welfare for the rich.
It ain't fair! Many of us have paid more income taxes than Trump!
To quote TV Detective "Columbo" . . . Just one more thing.
If the NFL were equal to Donald John's Republican politics, then:
For the next YEAR, we'd have to listen to the Patriots whine, cry, and bleat that
WE WON. WE WON! WE WON!! WE WON!!! — AD NAUSEUM.
And 77.3 million Low IQ fans would agree.
VOTE OUT THE WHITE TRASSH* HATERS OF WOMEN, GIRLS, JEWS, NON-WHITES, and ALL OTHER OUT GROUPS.
*SS is deliberate
Let's not forget that it was Joe Biden who quipped "I beat the socialist" then kept proclaiming "I'm a capitalist." The same rhetoric came from Hillary Clinton and many prominent Democrats when Clinton was running against Bernie Sanders. The old "hammer and sickle" they said, reinforcing the Red Scare propaganda that Democrats thrive on. And the NFL sucks up our tax dollars for their stadiums and the "privilege" that all that revenue generated by the stadium will bring which of course never materializes. You are naive to think you can be a "referee" when it comes to consolidated corporate power. Look no further than the Affordable Care Act, which was going to be a "referee" for the health insurance industry, but that has largely worked in reverse.
By the way Boris, this is 2026, not 2020, Biden is no longer President, and is not 2016 anymore and Hillary isn't running aainst Bernie.
It is 2026 and the world is in peril from Karasnov and Putin . Why don''t you extricate yourself from your misery, and migrate to your Soviet Socialist wonderland. I am sure that they could use a D.O. considering the 600,000 wounded that Vlad has caused with his meat charges in his genocidal war to eradicate Ukraine.
You really are a Luddite, or are you a Marxist. so what Joe Biden said this orthat, The current threat is MAGA, Trump and Putin.,
You and your harping on the red scare, that is so 1950's and over;
We know that you dredge it up for Putin, Putin is your beloved heir to Stalin.
You must have some form of dementia,living in the past.
This is a brilliant analogy: one that anyone could understand.
Thanks Thom, I wonder if your analysis will sink in with your readers. Capitalism per se is not the problem socialism per se is not the solution. But a socialist regulated capitalist economy is what has made America "Great" and has provided the ability of your readers to live better than Henry VIII or Louis XVI and longer as well.
Were it not for capitalism,none of us would be here, and this continent would be a Spanish or French possession.
You see it was a group of "capitalists", the lesser gentry, that banded together and formed a joint venture company, called the London Company of Virginia or as some would have the Virginia Company of London, the purpose of which was to exploit that portion of the New World surveyed by Juan Caboto, we know as John Cabot and named Virginia.
Earlier they had planted a small settlement on what we call Roanoke, NC, In 1606 these adventurers of the purse (what we call capitalists) sough to exploit the new world for gold and silver
Were it not for that capitalist venture, we wouldn't be here pontificating.
Wee it not for capitalism, we wouldn't have year round found, vehicles, gasoline,kersone, the ability to travel the world, unless we were privileged, an internet, cell phones, health care other than blood letting and leeches.
Yes there is a natural tendency towards monopolization, first plutocracy,then oligarchy, then monopolization, eventually the monopoly becomes the government, but for the oligarchy becomes the government, and before that the plutocracy becomes the government.
A balance is needed and for awhile, from the last 1930's to the 1960's we had a balance.
It is not an either or, it is a question of restoring the balance. I do no want to live in a socialist society, it is stagnant and repressive. And if some elements on the left had their way one could go to jail for politically incorrect speech, or even acquiring enough money to invest.
And if some on the right have there way, we will all be wage slaves,living at the margins.
The system rewards sociopaths until the sociopaths control the system. The insane are in charge of the asylum. It's end stage capitalism. It's a feature of the system that those with the Dark Triad personalities eventually get control of the governing power. Where do we go from here without a bloody revolution? Most people have food and shelter at this point.
Imagine in wrestling or boxing, if money decided the weight of the contestants. A 100 pound weakling could end up facing a 300 pound giant.
Lol.
Actually, I looked it up - the heaviest wrestlers have topped 600 pounds!
Wow.
https://www.thesportster.com/wrestling/top-15-heaviest-wrestlers-of-all-time/
In gym, we'd have handicap matches. E.G. One heavyweight against three featherweights.
Who usually wins?
We all know that our oligarchy, in order to maintain their feeding frenzy on working class wealth, has gone to great lengths to malign the word “socialism” in the minds of the American people. They have associated it with USSR type socialism which was imposed under an authoritarian dictatorship, and they have pounded this notion in until it permeates much of the American psyche.
Of course, Thom is not referring at all to USSR type socialism. The socialism he refers to would be democratically decided on. Also, he is not suggesting the socialization of our entire economy. He is rather suggesting setting up measures for regulating our economy, and he is labeling that system for regulation as socialist.
I know I have made myself an annoyance by getting on a soap box about this, but I wish progressives could all settle on one, clear, notion of what socialism is. There seem to be as many definitions of socialism as there are socialists. Also, if you do an assessment of what is currently being called “socialism” under the “democratic socialist” umbrella, the term has now come to refer to just anything that benefits the working class. So, food stamps are “socialist;” housing vouchers are “socialist;” FDR and LBJ’s programs were “socialist.”
I personally do not believe that this “anything that benefits the working class” definition of socialism is correct or even useful. In the rest of the world, it has a very different and specific definition. It refers to the ownership and operation of all or part of an economy by the government. So, the UK’s medical system is socialist because it is owned and operated by the government. Our VA is socialist because it is owned and operated by the government. Social political parties overseas will also advocate for other measures, but include this kind of truly socialist alternatives as well.
Now, a word is just a tool and can be defined any way we want. But clearly, the kind of regulation that Thom is suggesting does not fit into this more universal definition of socialism, even democratic socialism. The government would not be owning anything. Or operating anything. Businesses remain in private hands. They just adhere to rules that require them not to defeat the free market. But so what? Why am I making such a big deal out of this?
We are in the fight of our lives for the preservation of democracy, and we know that one of our challenges will be to defeat the oligarchy’s strategy of activating the public’s fear of socialism by depicting the left as a bunch of raving subversives who want to impost a Marxist dictatorship on America.
In order to repel these attacks and redirect to suggesting programs to fix our ailing working class, I think it would be useful 1) If we would all get together on what the word “socialism” actually means. All these different definitions are just increasing the public’s confusion and vulnerability to misinformation; and 2) If we would hopefully, settle on socialism meaning ownership and operation of all or part of an economy by the government. Yes, that would mean that US police and fire forces are socialist—as well as streets and sidewalks. But it would not include welfare programs like food stamps and housing vouchers which do not involve government ownership but are just government give-ways to help struggling people. Separating these two different approaches also allows us to assess the usefulness of these and other types of approaches to solving problems.
Well, if you have stayed with me this far, I salute you. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do think that it is important to raise these issues to foster discussion and understanding. It seems to me that progressives often fall into traps that leave them victim to what is beside the point. If we would coalesce around one accurate definition of socialism, I think we could honestly just tell the public about when we are suggesting real “socialist” solutions to problems and also when we are proposing other types of approaches. I think that broadening the definition of “socialism” to just anything that benefits the middle class is just seriously muddying the waters and not helping fight the current fascist challenge. Everything doesn’t have to be “socialist” to be good.
I discuss this issue and more in a larger context in a booklet I call "Common Cents Economics: Economics, Politics, and Mass Hysteria. I serialized it by chapter on Shea Hansen @ Substack.com. Or you can get a Kindle copy on Amazon.
Lest we now forget, though, minimum wage for lowest paid NFL player is almost $850,000. quite a closed society,
You had me until the ending. Isn’t the NFL an oligopoly that is minting money for the owners?