The United States and the Americas as a whole have become the land of profit first. Now don't get me wrong. Profit is not bad but in recent yers it has come at a price on many different levels.
Companies in the United States have record earnings. But on the downside those people who work for those companies do not readily share in the profits and are given a wage that the company sees as fit for them while also demanding many more hours of work. In the meantime, the CEO's of those companies earn huge salaries and equally huge benefits. In the US and the world we are told that just a mere one percent of people have 99 percent of the riches.
Let's get one thing straight. I am not a communist and I have always felt that communism is intellectually bankrupt. But the fact remains that in the US and other places, it is commerce and corporations that have a stranglehold on the various congresses who are supposed to be serving all the people. This can be easily verified by watching an election in the US and seeing who the contributors are and they are huge and the amount of money spent on an election could run a small country for a year. So naturally those who are elected to serve all the people have a tendency to favor commerce, industry, and their backers leading others to THINK that their "laws" and regulations are for the benefit of all.
Even the Federal government in the US shows this bias. Take the FDA for example. The FDA says that it has to study for a long time those elements in food and medicine that have long since been banned in the EU. Yes, chemicals can be good and so can some additives, but there is a huge amount of pressure put on the government by chemical companies to be allowed to do things that the rest of the world shudders at. Is the rest of the world inferior in their judgment or is it to sustain huge profits by companies?
What about medicine. Medicine is good. On the other hand, watch the commercials about medicines and you will find that in some cases a certain medicine may cause cancer, TB, fatal pancreas disease and a whole range of other physical disasters. Yes we need medicines, but the approval of such things by the FDA and the allowing of serious consequences speaks merely of profit. The companies insist that this may happen to one in a million people but you know how to answer that "fact.".
The airlines in the US really suck! There is not other gentle way of saying it. They are the ones that oppose high speed trains in the US while people all through the world have that mode of transportation, and of course the member of Congress go along with that. Airlines used to have really good service and amenities but now they have narrowed seating space and charge for everything possible and they are making huge profits like the rest of those in commerce are given huge tax breaks and the means of legally "positioning" their money in investment.
There is nothing wrong with investment and future planning and expansion. Americans remember that certain banks were too big, according to Congress, to fail and American taxpayer money bailed them out and in return they have stuck it to the American public and Congress allows their antics to continue without serious regulation. In America we are told that regulation is inferior to "voluntary" policing by companies. Does anyone seriously believe it? Congress seems to. Look at the food industry....self policing has lead to much food poisoning episodes, so called GMO's, extremely high salt content and a whole list of food trash included in the supply including antibiotics that are now spread world wide. In the meantime, the food industries have shrunk packages from one pound to 13 ounces and charge the same as they were for one pound or the items they sell are the same price but are smaller...have you noticed? Yes, companies need to have a sustaining profit...but have you checked the stock market that has gone from about 7000 in 2006 to over18,000 now, and who is making all the money. Yes I understand investment benefits all, but who is the all?
People want to come to the US and eventually get on social security which is a wonderful program. But what about those increases for seniors to keep up with inflation and other costs? The Congress that gets huge increases in salary automatically because they really need it has devised a plan whereby an imaginary thing called the CPI, which has little to do with reality, determines how much of a raise in benefits those of SS will receive, while never questioning what the basis of their salary increase is. They also refer to those benefits that people on Social Security and Medicare receive as ENTITLEMENTS. What a joke....then what are their salaries and huge raises to be called..NECESSITIES to help them live a better life?
Companies in the United States have record earnings. But on the downside those people who work for those companies do not readily share in the profits and are given a wage that the company sees as fit for them while also demanding many more hours of work. In the meantime, the CEO's of those companies earn huge salaries and equally huge benefits. In the US and the world we are told that just a mere one percent of people have 99 percent of the riches.
Let's get one thing straight. I am not a communist and I have always felt that communism is intellectually bankrupt. But the fact remains that in the US and other places, it is commerce and corporations that have a stranglehold on the various congresses who are supposed to be serving all the people. This can be easily verified by watching an election in the US and seeing who the contributors are and they are huge and the amount of money spent on an election could run a small country for a year. So naturally those who are elected to serve all the people have a tendency to favor commerce, industry, and their backers leading others to THINK that their "laws" and regulations are for the benefit of all.
Even the Federal government in the US shows this bias. Take the FDA for example. The FDA says that it has to study for a long time those elements in food and medicine that have long since been banned in the EU. Yes, chemicals can be good and so can some additives, but there is a huge amount of pressure put on the government by chemical companies to be allowed to do things that the rest of the world shudders at. Is the rest of the world inferior in their judgment or is it to sustain huge profits by companies?
What about medicine. Medicine is good. On the other hand, watch the commercials about medicines and you will find that in some cases a certain medicine may cause cancer, TB, fatal pancreas disease and a whole range of other physical disasters. Yes we need medicines, but the approval of such things by the FDA and the allowing of serious consequences speaks merely of profit. The companies insist that this may happen to one in a million people but you know how to answer that "fact.".
The airlines in the US really suck! There is not other gentle way of saying it. They are the ones that oppose high speed trains in the US while people all through the world have that mode of transportation, and of course the member of Congress go along with that. Airlines used to have really good service and amenities but now they have narrowed seating space and charge for everything possible and they are making huge profits like the rest of those in commerce are given huge tax breaks and the means of legally "positioning" their money in investment.
There is nothing wrong with investment and future planning and expansion. Americans remember that certain banks were too big, according to Congress, to fail and American taxpayer money bailed them out and in return they have stuck it to the American public and Congress allows their antics to continue without serious regulation. In America we are told that regulation is inferior to "voluntary" policing by companies. Does anyone seriously believe it? Congress seems to. Look at the food industry....self policing has lead to much food poisoning episodes, so called GMO's, extremely high salt content and a whole list of food trash included in the supply including antibiotics that are now spread world wide. In the meantime, the food industries have shrunk packages from one pound to 13 ounces and charge the same as they were for one pound or the items they sell are the same price but are smaller...have you noticed? Yes, companies need to have a sustaining profit...but have you checked the stock market that has gone from about 7000 in 2006 to over18,000 now, and who is making all the money. Yes I understand investment benefits all, but who is the all?
People want to come to the US and eventually get on social security which is a wonderful program. But what about those increases for seniors to keep up with inflation and other costs? The Congress that gets huge increases in salary automatically because they really need it has devised a plan whereby an imaginary thing called the CPI, which has little to do with reality, determines how much of a raise in benefits those of SS will receive, while never questioning what the basis of their salary increase is. They also refer to those benefits that people on Social Security and Medicare receive as ENTITLEMENTS. What a joke....then what are their salaries and huge raises to be called..NECESSITIES to help them live a better life?
