[AGL] Fwd: Topics worth considering

[Frances Morey]

Interesting thread about that other pandemic, the crashing economy.
Best,
Frances

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Frances Morey <frances.morey at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 5, 2020 at 12:47 PM
Subject: Re: Topics worth considering
To: Roger Baker <bakeroger at gmail.com>


If amazon.com falls down because they won't countenance the Union Movement
than they deserve to go! I find that contemptible. Unions are good for the
economy as well as the employees.
Best,
Frances

On Sun, Apr 5, 2020 at 12:26 PM Roger Baker <bakeroger at gmail.com> wrote:

> [Read the top one, IMO, if you only read one. -- Roger]
>
> https://eand.co/america-is-committing-economic-suicide-c7c1f71221
> <http://goog_713539639>
>
> *America is Committing Economic Suicide*
>
> American Economy is About to Die From Coronavirus — Because Nobody Saved It
>
> By umair haque
>
> *You are watching an economy begin to die. *That, my friends, is what
> economic devastation looks like. It says that unemployment claims
> skyrocketed to *7 million* last week. That’s a number so high, so fast,
> that there’s no parallel in all of recorded history — even remotely.
>
> The American economy is undergoing the largest shock in history. It’s a
> shock faster, bigger, and more devastating than any war, which is one of
> many reasons the war metaphor is inadequate. We have literally never
> experienced such a thing before.
>
> Why is the American being left to die? Because not nearly enough is being
> done about. This shock is unprecedented in history — and the response
> needed to be, too. Instead, Congress and the Prez passed a stimulus bill
> that’s far, far short of the mark. How much so? In what precise ways?
>
> Let’s think about it together.
>
> *The first reason the economy is dying is that the stimulus is inadequate
> because it’s simply far too little.* We’re going to do a little math
> together — don’t get scared, it’s math any grade schooler can handle. How
> large is the US economy? It’s $20 trillion per year. Of that, about 99% of
> the number of firms are small businesses. How large is the portion of the
> stimulus outlined to support businesses, especially small ones? $500
> billion. Are you seeing a problem here yet? You should. That’s about *just
> 2.5% *of the economy over a year, which means this.
>
> *The portion of the stimulus meant to support business is enough to keep
> the economy going for…just one week*. (Sure, we can adjust those numbers
> up and down. If I assume the 80% of the economy is business, not 100%, the
> stimulus is enough to keep the economy going for…two weeks. You see the
> problem, perhaps.) Think about that for a second. Just one week of support,
> amidst the greatest crisis since the last World War. What the?...
>
>                         **************************
>
> https://www.bonnerandpartners.com/bill-bonner-diary/u-s-coronavirus-spread-invokes-heavy-government-intervention/
>
> *U.S. Coronavirus Spread Invokes Heavy Government Intervention*
>
> *By Bill Bonner <https://www.bonnerandpartners.com/authors/bill-bonner/>*  March
> 30, 2020
>
> *...Fake-Money Firepower*
>
> We’ve seen this before… short-term solutions turn into bigger, long-term
> problems.
>
> Emergency measures during a crisis – like the ultra-low interest rates of
> 2009 – soon become permanent.
>
> The problem in 2008 was mortgage debt. The feds responded with more debt –
> particularly corporate and government debt. This made the economy more
> fragile than ever, leading to today’s crisis.
>
> This time, they follow the same protocol, only in triplicate or
> quadruplicate. The amount of new money (and debt) going into the system is
> staggering.
>
>  More fake money can create more fake wealth. But it can’t create real
> wealth.
>
> We saw that over the last 10 years. The feds’ fake money drove up stock
> prices 300%. But real economic growth was the lowest for any recovery on
> record.
>
> Today, the losses in the Main Street economy are real. The feds can’t make
> them up. All they can do is create more fake wealth.
>
> That’s why we watch the Dow-to-Gold ratio. It will tell the tale… not
> precisely, and not immediately… but eventually. Stock prices may rise, but
> real values won’t.
>
> Look, the feds are in an Inflate-or-Die trap. They’re fighting it with the
> only thing they have: more and more inflation.
>
> They’ll add more and more fake-money firepower… until the whole shebang
> blows to kingdom come.
>
> This is a war they’re going to lose.
> Regards,
>
> Bill
>
>                 *************************
>
> https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dm8bx/leaked-amazon-memo-details-plan-to-smear-fired-warehouse-organizer-hes-not-smart-or-articulate
>
> *Smear Fired Warehouse Organizer: ‘He’s Not Smart or Articulate’*
>
> Written notes from the meeting, attended by CEO Jeff Bezos, detail
> Amazon's strategy to fight union organizing, as well as efforts to obtain
> COVID-19 tests and protective masks for workers.
>
> by Paul Blest <https://www.vice.com/en_us/contributor/paul-blest>
>
> Leaked notes from an internal meeting of Amazon leadership obtained by
> VICE News reveal company executives discussed a plan to smear fired
> warehouse employee Christian Smalls, calling him “not smart or articulate”
> as part of a PR strategy to make him “the face of the entire
> union/organizing movement.”
>
> “He’s not smart, or articulate, and to the extent the press wants to focus
> on us versus him, we will be in a much stronger PR position than simply
> explaining for the umpteenth time how we’re trying to protect workers,”
> wrote Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky in notes from the meeting
> forwarded widely in the company.
>
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