What with all the hoopla about blackberries, iphones, Google--symbols of the knowledge explosion--how is it the same old corrupt crap still goes on? It's because we are still a nation of idolatry. Those in high places who do wrong are usually forgiven, or rationalization sets in so that our idols are refurbished and, ugh, worshiped. I hope Obama has had enough of the Rubin Trap of Summers and particularly Geithner to dump them.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. After all these half-baked wars from Korea to now there simply is no solution to proactive rogues in this nutty world. In our own county we can't even wipe out druglords, perverts and the Mafia, let alone Islamic crazies. As some have suggested, give up trying before we totally drain our monetary and human treasures and concentrate on the nut cases here.

Where did Reich's optimism go? To begin with the unemployment figure will drop by next Nov. because the stimulus will kick in more. Of course, I would rather see a greater share of employment go to serious manufacturing jobs, but that will not happen anymore since we are so damnably attached to foreign made gadgets. Still--no matter how sad symbolically--an increase in hiring at Kmart, Wallmart, and Burger King will help the deceptive figure of unemployment, which for too long, whether low or h...

Board of directors have no more right to give away stock than they have handing out bonuses. The cavalier manner in which people in charge of other people's money is outrageous. Nevertheless, regional or community banks don't operate like George Bailey either — they aspire to be like their big brothers. Banks are banks—rotten to the core. The entire system of finance is based on sham by constantly raising the cost of living so that savers have to turn to banks and other investment op...

"Had the people at the top of corporate America, Wall Street banks and hedge funds not taken a disproportionate share -- most Americans would not have felt the necessity to borrow so much." Reich is only partly correct here. Excessive consumer debt has always been with us since the credit card became universal. What was new was remortgaging the home that had nothing to do with improvements and maintenance to enhance or retain price integrity of the residence. Credit and debt by definition is ...

Choice is the tag most often misused in the current health reform debacle. Aside from first year come-on gimmicks, all insurance companies are pinned to the same actuaries and eventuate delusion into collusion. The absolute minimal essentials are no more precondition clauses, no ands, ifs and buts to legitimate care, yes to county mandated free walk in clinics for all uninsured, taking the place of Medicaid , every infant hence born is given a government healthcare certificate, and price control...

It's true that no longer should bankers lend with abandon and that too many small businesses have no need to expand and hire. So why doesn't the government reverse the tarp and have these fat cats lend to contractors of infrastructure to speed up the role of investments where it will do the most good? It always rankles me when I see the likes of Coca Cola and McDonalds heralded as great investments as though we really needed them--investors have no imagination, especially investment bankers, exc...

The Senate must be purged by the electorate; it cannot exist as is if it is to be "the greatest deliberative body in the world." The likes of Dorgan, Lieberman, Snowe, Dodd, Nelson of Nebraska, and many others are petty and look to the money peddlers for their orders. Senate should no longer be permitted to have contact with the rotting corporate body of lobbyists.

Stockholders are apathetic in permitting huge salaries, bonuses and perks to company executives. The only way to combat these nonsensical obscenities is for the government to tax the wealthy at the old FDR, Truman, Eisenhower 90+% rate coupled with tax credits for worthy domestic investments.

How can we be sure that bankruptcy from medical expenses is outlawed? Why isn't Cobra built into unemployment insurance? Why can't healthcare be a given, rather than a purchased commodity? Employer based insurance is obsolete, why not begin a phase out by incorporating company plans into Medicare and keeping the insurance company as a supplement? I have little faith the hodge-podge being developed or rather watered down by the Senate stands a chance to be effective; especially for those on the p...

"The legislators may just discover that the bank money is toxic, and standing with the banks perilous to their political careers." This quote is wishful, naive perception. Since the birth of this nation it is the Senate that has been too big in egoism to fail! By its very nature--despite the myth of profiles in courage--it is 99% flunkeys to Wall Street even though dissenters always claim conscience driven motives to hide the backdoor of oligarchy.

Economist bean-counter Robert Samuelson is panicky over healthcare for millions more running up the national debt.[The uninsured] "already receive substantial medical care." Apparenly it is not worth putting in jeopardy other enterprises such as the war machine, outsourcing and Wall Street bonuses.  

According to Robert Reich "both sides of the Pacific is that both America and China are capable of producing far more than their own consumers are capable of buying." Only true, particularly in this country that is under an industrial famine and no longer capable of real productivity and wages. China, would have its hands full keeping up with domestic demand if it ever developed a substantial social safety net and nearly a billion middle class population.

Grayson is old McCarthyism in reverse. True, the republican party deserves a kick in the ass for its obnoxious obstruction tactics, yet Democrats should not fall to their level. If Republicans can't see the enormous compromise the Democrats have made in not demanding single payer healthcare, then an up or down vote on tbe public option should be done immediately; nor should congress delay an effective date but activate the healthcare bill by January.

Finance committee on healthcare in introducing its infinite amendments to amendments is indicative of lawmakers sophistry and insincerity, reducing the Senate to brazen dysfunction and embarrassment. Republican members clearly favor protecting the rates and profits of the health industry under the aegis of the free market, while the Democrats contort reform with double talk by insisting on “change” that barely changes anything because it is constrained by fitting change into a dogge...