Suggested Discussion Outline - Come Home America - June 10

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johnkarls
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Suggested Discussion Outline - Come Home America - June 10

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SUGGESTED DISCUSSION OUTLINE

A. FAILING DEMOCRACY (which Greider calls the “soggy mattress” overhanging all substantive issues) –-

A-1. Brief review of our Feb 2008 materials 16 months ago (posted on this bulletin board) when our topic was - "The Best Government Money Can Buy: Bribery and Extortion" focusing on "The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity" by Norm Scheiber (New Republic Senior Editor) and "Homo Politicus" by Dana Milbank (Washington Post Columnist), both of whom described Washington as a cess pool in which "campaign contributions" (aka bribes) dictate everything that happens, except when the pols turn the tables by "shaking down" the lobbyists for "campaign contributions.”

A-2. What can be done about failing democracy.

A-3. Whether one answer is Reading Liberally and its “Six Degrees of Separation” Calls to Action to contact our elected officials with regard to specific issues and contact their friends/acquaintances in a never-ending chain to do the same.

A-4. Whether there are improvements that could be made to the model of Reading Liberally’s “Six Degrees of Separation” Calls to Action.

B. SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

B-1. The substantive issues that have been raised by William Greider and President Obama and that are addressed in our Short Quiz Questions 11-13 (the Short Quiz and Suggested answers are listed under “Participant Comments” on this bulletin board):

B-1-a. Taxing US-based multinational companies that out-source American jobs.
B-1-b. Eliminating nuclear weapons from the world (including American nukes).
B-1-c. Congress’ decision to permit US-based companies that had accumulated $5 trillion of profits from out-sourcing American jobs in tax-haven subs which could only invest in commercial paper of unrelated US companies, to liquidate that commercial paper and dividend the proceeds to their US parents at a special one-time income tax rate of 5.25% (vs. 35%) with the US parents using the funds to buy back their stock –- setting the stage for the current recession/depression ($3-4 trillion of sudden contractions forced on American companies that had NOT out-sourced American jobs and that could suddenly not “roll over” their commercial paper, and $3-4 trillion suddenly transferred from commercial paper to the stock market).

B-2. Other substantive issues raised in “Come Home America.”

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