31 Comments

On point again. Thanks Thom

The fascists and oligarchs have two strategic reasons for a debt crisis. 1) greed and 2) destruction of democracy. The oligarchs get more yachts and dachas while the politicians achieve their lust for power.

Expand full comment

I have often wondered about this need for power. With politicians or anyone it can't be for power alone. There has to be a reward, other than a psychic reward (ex Looky me I've got power) Although ego, especially for males, has to be a driving factor (plenty of exceptions like Diane Feinstein, useless as teats on a boar hog, is an example)

Take a look at Congress, every member is a millionaire, except for the newby's in the Progressive Caucus. They are padding their pockets off of their political position, either insider trading or being given favors and preference.

I won't be convinced that they suddenly become astute stock traders when they become members of congress. They certainly aren't making their wealth off, sudden investment in real estate development or a small business.

Side tripping into real estate development, like Trumps business, it is a ponzi scheme.

Developers are like sharks, they need to keep moving orthey suffocate and die.

Developers live off the proceeds of their latest project.The proceeds of that project, pay off the loans of the last development, and are used to pay for their mortgaged mansions, jet aircraft, cards, travel, food, Gucci Shoes, and Brioni suits. When they stop developing the whole scheme come crashing down.

Expand full comment

As an ugly example is the current trial about rape in a changing room. No one around, no money involved. Pure power. Not close to be confused with sex.

Of course, sadistic narcissist does also come to mind.

Expand full comment

A good example. Trump is worth a study He is an ignoramus, basically uneducated, he knows it and has an inferiority complex, which he compensates for by aggressive display of power.

Power he has obtained through ruthless and amoral practices, including the use of lawyers to intimidate and silence opponents.

Something that would not be able to do, where it not for his connections and wealth. His connections of course being the same mafia that Guiliana served and to which his son in law is sheltered, and I don't mean the Irish or Italian mafia.

Trump is the head of a criminal syndicate and his lawyers and accountants are sponsored by that syndicate

Expand full comment

Yep. Trained and let loose on this country by his father and Roy Cohn. IMV Willis is well advised to use the state RICO laws. Smith has the seditious conspiracy laws he can use. Of course, TFG is now back stopped by Saudis and has huge amounts from his grift to use for corrupt lawyers.

Expand full comment

I was in the middle of a several hundred million dollar divestiture and then 2008 happened. Deal tanked. Lehman Bros. was our lead bank. In retrospect, on a microcosm level, the crash was orchestrated. Of all the investment banks that either went under or were bailed out, Cerberus Capital Management came out smelling like a rose. Bought up 100's of distressed companies (ended up owning us) and in particular, bought up gun manufacturers. Profit margin is huge on guns. Today, I would not be a bit surprised if another recession is orchestrated, followed by a war. Seems to be the pattern. The real money, power and control for these sickos is in military armament. Why in heavens name are we picking a fight with China?? And who names a bank after the tree-headed dog that guards the gates of Hell??

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2023·edited Apr 28, 2023

Indeed, who names a company after a "3-headed dog from hell?" With some names you really have to wonder what it says about the company.

On the other hand, they are not a "bank," they are a "financial institution." At least that is what I was told, very huffily, by an employee of Bank of America (BOA) some years ago when I was depositing money into my spouse's account (she was out of town and there was no BOA where she was). The woman who told me this wasn't even senior management. I think she was in charge of the teller's cage area of that branch (which was closed during the pandemic, and not reopened - kind of hoped they nixed her too but probably not - she was "one of them"). She was clearly insulted that I even called BANK of America a BANK. Just because they have "bank" in their name doesn't make it so, I guess. Dare I say, "Bank on it?" :-)

Expand full comment

Our family suffered egregiously from these intentional economic collapses since 1983. We have lost homes, jobs, pets to kill shelter’s, stability of owning a home of which twice were taken with garnishment ensuing even after homes were returned. Our son was born with asthma and at 6 and 9 mos had to be hospitalized. We were a Coast Guard family on Champus and it only paid 70% of those bills. The pay was barely enough to survive. We filed bankruptcy and were slapped with a lifetime of qualifying only for subprime loans. Worse, it made our family’s believe we were bums. They won’t stop harming people until we vote them all out. As usual Thom, masterwork on telling the truth and nothing but.

Expand full comment

“They won’t stop harming us until we vote them ALL out.” This sentence is the ONLY way this, and the masterful work of the Biden Administration to put this madness into reverse and start rebuilding a middle class while lifting the poor out of cyclic poverty.

I was disgusted by NC decision to gerrymander themselves in to republican infinity. They bought off Democrat Tricia Cotham to switch parties giving the Republican House a supermajority. Her reason is Democrats are not tolerant of different lifestyles (?).

I guess they haven’t realized if no one votes Republican, you don’t win. So their next move is create a fake board of elections that gives the party in power the ability to reject the will of the people and declare their candidate the winner.

It will be difficult with all the voter suppression roadblocks, but do NOT give up.

PA overcame some hard right gerrymandering to elect our THIRD in a row, Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro, flipped a senate seat blue with Senator John Fetterman, and flipped the state House blue. We’re coming for the state senate in 2024.

Expand full comment

Thanks for referencing the No. Carolina news. If anybody didn't think the Judiciary had been debased to flagrant corrupt puppets before, there's your wake-up call. Meanwhile, Mitch McCorrupt in the Senate is playing hardball with Feinstein's seat on Judiciary. "Watch this space..."

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2023·edited Apr 28, 2023

So sorry you had to go through that. It's just heartbreaking to read about all this hardship people are having to suffer through.

Expand full comment

I have experience of the kind of family you refer to. Nuff said.

Expand full comment

You cannot call this plan anything other than ‘evil’.

And it so fits the Republicans of today.

The hateful words and lies are backed up by out and out treachery. How can this be opposed by the average American citizen?

It is a frightening collection of self serving wealthy people, who as part of this strategy are taking away any power of the people to recover.

Remember they’ve been in process of destroying the Public School system, the Public library system , unions, college availability for people without wealth is priced out of sight.

The authoritarian government the wealthy and the GOP are trying to replace Democracy with , is well underway.

The healthcare system in this country is anything but caring .

Medicines are priced out of reach for those other than wealthier Americans.

The idea of helping those with less is being destroyed. The GOP is trying to get rid of aid to the hungry, ( SNAP reductions). People in this country are dying from hunger. Such concern about the rights of the unborn. No concern for

living children of poverty.

Elderly are also expendable. Social Security and Medicare can go according to Republicans.

Anyone that the GOP considers “less than”,

Minorities, trans and LGBTQ individuals, immigrants and the poor are extremely expendable.

This is the America that Kevin Mc Carthy and his cronies are gunning for. In Thailand the whole country routed for and supported retrieving 17 boys and their Coach from a cave they were stranded in.

We allow our school children to be hunted down by gun owners and their sponsors, the Republican party.

The absolute international community was in pursuit

Of their safety . They weren’t paid , they volunteered.

Only a Revolution of refusing to accept the bold meanness and tawdry campaign of the Republicans will have a chance. We better start fighting for the marginalized

We all are the ‘ marginalized’.

Expand full comment

Indeed, the term ‘market crash millionaire’ was crafted in the 1930s.

In addition to your examples, The Big Short showed a few, but only a few, of the many equity hedge fund managers that made millions on the crash of 2007 at the expense of taxpayers.

Not fully appreciated, the banks needed the bailout money to pay these equity/hedge funds because the banks bet with them that the housing market would continue to rise, and the equity hedge/funds bet it would crash.

The bailout money went to the banks, then, after the executives took their bonuses, it went to the equity hedge funds.

This was a massive upward transfer of wealth from the taxpayers to the financial elite.

The only way to remedy that imbalance is: tax the rich.

Expand full comment

I failed to mention Women as a group also designated by Republicans to lose any power we may have gained.

We are every bit as marginalized by Politicians who are raging against abortion a woman’s ability to decide

her own fate and the fate of her pregnancy.

Why would anyone insist on the right of a fetus to become a child in this dread climate.

Many of them , were they to live would have no means to survive our world regarding climate change .

Another ‘lets pretend it isn’t happening ‘ item on the GOP list( along with the extreme Supreme Court majority appointed by Republicans.

These all, a result of collective ‘ militant ignorance’.

Expand full comment

So far, it doesn't look to be working. I haven't heard any news of hospitals being inundated with a deluge of babies being born. In fact, I've just been hearing about labor and delivery units being shut down. If anything, it's just been an advertising campaign for the abortion pill with every woman of reproductive age keeping them in their medicine cabinet "just in case."

Expand full comment

Ain't it classic: stockpile what's forbidden! I heard there was a surge in vasectomies, as well. Smart guys. The horror show unleashed by Dobbs is complex and comprehensive social disruption. One irony is that the dip in fertility you are observing is flying in the face of the "secret" racist objective Thom has covered: panic over white women disproportionately accessing abortion after Roe was one of the motivations of the relentless and ruthless campaign against.

Expand full comment

"The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor." — Voltaire

Touching on the theme of your article about witch burning, after the 2008 crash, a third of millennials evidently decided not to have children, myself included. Because the owning class no longer has control over the means of reproduction that guaranteed "an abundant supply of the poor", the rich can no longer afford to gamble with the means of production. Shock Doctrine only has the effect of worsening the childlessness crisis, now. I'm sure it's a major motivation for the recent rise in anti-abortion legislation. Millennials are certainly playing the long game (and gen z will no doubt follow suit) but as the recent rise in wages and union wins as of late because of the shrinking labor supply, it looks like they're winning in the end.

Expand full comment

All of the above? It strikes me that The Overlords are tearing their hair out about now how to select the right reproducers the way they are being so successful selecting who can vote. I'm not sure they wouldn't be perfectly OK with fewer of "the poor," in general, if they could just get white women to have babies by white men! There ya go: Beelzebub's favorite servant Alito and ilk have just socially manufactured more "brown" babies! Gnashing of expensive teeth and rending of expensive garments!

Expand full comment

ps re: select voting: see today's news, N. Carolina Supreme Court "reverses itself."

Expand full comment

The depression was the high water mark of conspicuous consumption. This was the era of the classic car, the Augurn, the Cord, the Packard, the Cadillac. Mink and Sable furs, diamonds and gold, the rich and famous were luxuriating while my grandmother was baking pies and taking in laundry to get by, and my mother dropped out of school to give out samples of Beechnut gum in a park, dressed in a silly, and degrading, drum majorettes costume. As for the wealthy and entitled those were the good old days, when the pesky bourgeoisie were reduced to a handful struggling to stay open and feed their families, while the proletariat was selling apples, and standing in soup lines or hopping trains to move to a better mythical place.

Expand full comment

The only good news on the subject of this Report is the fact that the GOP as it formerly existed, exists no more. They don't have a platform, they hate the government, and their candidate of choice has a plan that does not include anyone but him. All that defies any logic or ability to execute a master plan.

AND, the best/worst news is they are back right where they started on the culture wars. This makes it impossible for them to win huge voting blocks, especially the youth.

Some seem confused about the why in it all. The money is only a means of keeping score and scoring is all the current GOP cares about. Trump is a reflection of that---he is them, they are him. It should be their undoing, but that's up to the rest of us. Grow the vote.

Expand full comment

A scary observation about defying logic or "ability to execute...." : https://www.rawstory.com/kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit/?utm_source=123456&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=14156 i.e. Aside from actual catastrophic default, what about the rest of the world finally losing faith in America's fundamental competence to govern?

Expand full comment

Our insanity over the last two decades brought us to a point where Americans traveling wanted people to believe they were Canadian. Bush lying and dragging other countries into Iraq, the 2008 financial collapse that affected them too, and then the pure hate and utter disrespect Trump heaped on the rest of the world tells me their faith in American anything is at an all time low. I wonder if they are expecting us to default at some stage; they have their own greedy bastards and radicals that they are dealing with too.

Expand full comment

It’s the Republicans, stupid. ( not you, dear reader, most likely. ) It’s just one slogan ... use it or lose it! -- b.rad

Expand full comment

Historically, fascism only thrives during periods of economic chaos and loss of faith in government. For example, that was the case for the rise of Mussolini and later Hitler. In such situations, historically some of the ultra-rich do regret their support as fascists begin to dictate their business practices and even what they will manufacture - Gee, ya mean like in Florida today? [think Disney]

Expand full comment

While I do find your insights interesting if biased, it would be useful to hear some discussion about the malfeasance of the Democratic Party and their contribution to our country's state of crumbling imperialist oligarchy. You are officially part of the perilous corporate media complex in which Democrats criticize Republicans for their political and financial benefit, Republicans do the same about Democrats, and few discuss the things they both largely agree upon that are killing our country. Because each side has to cater to its own echo chamber lest they'll be thrown off the air for dissenting views and labeled as socialists or Putin propagandists.

Expand full comment

Hi Barry, and as just a reader of this, I thank you for your comment.

I shared this Report on my FB site, with the plea that someone tell me why Thom is wrong. I'll ask you to do the same. You stuck your little toe into the water, but skirted the opportunity to launch the fuller discussion for which you seem to yearn. Let's please look at The Hartmann Report not as an echo chamber, but as a chance to discuss with a level head the issues that threaten to push our country off a cliff. Please tell me where this report is wrong.

Expand full comment

of course. and some of those same billionaires are just plain tired of democracy. some of those same billionaires are just plain tired of having to pay workers. solution-let enough people kill each other; pass such restrictive abortion laws women die from miscarriages; history tells us the party who is power when all stability end up losing. it's the way minorities win. history also shows us lives are expendable, and if they can replace you...well I haven't found a historical example that says the rich are kind-hearted. well maybe robert owens, but he had to go all the way to the backwoods of America to share the wealth with his workers. so the result was they mostly died from poverty and disease because the Indiana community was too far off the commercial pathways, both to sell their products and to get supplies. didn't Peter Thiel say we need to reinstitute slavery?

Expand full comment

And I suppose there's nothing we can do about it. Can't the Dems do anything in anticipation of this?

Expand full comment

Thanks for this Thom, I had no idea.

Expand full comment