**** Elizabeth Warren 2020 | Official Presidential Campaign
This posting will serve the "Elizabeth Warren" and "Neoliberalism Crisis" series of this journal/ blog. The posting is to highlight a recent piece of read and proposal by Senator and Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. For several years, I have looked at Warren as more than just another politician, for me she is kind of like a teacher, and inspiring in her ideas ... looking out for American consumers, workers, small and medium business interests as well, and an advocate for "true" free market. I look up to her, like she would look up to former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, concerning related issues. Warren doesn't just talk this stuff during her campaigns for Senate or President, she's alwayz in the trenches, and instead of only talking, she comes up with so many detailed ideas/ proposals on how to fix things, and she's a workaholic in this field, committed, disciplined and tough, and not focused on fear of these multi- billion dollar entities like some others. I don't know much of anything on these big techs and how they do business, so that's why it's educational to me and interesting. I asked my daughter about this for example, because my daughter caters her services to some of these tech industries big and small as her business ... and my daughter confirmed much and agrees with what Warren is saying here, as far as what overreaching powers these big techs have. How is this an attack on Silicon Valley or free market? When she was recently in Austin at SXSW, instead of just political highsiding, she was with the young tech entrepreneurs asking what they need and what roadblocks they have been running into, as far as advancing their endeavors/ careers/ ideas/ products ... what about the attacks on those by mega entities? ... is it a one way street?
Below, a short read and lesson from Elizabeth explaining the importance of what and why she proposes these things, and the advantages from such action, and the pitfall of inaction, and the growing need of unwinding anti- competitive tech mergers. I also wanted to post this, because the minute she pulled out her pen/ keyboard and opened her mouth, she received all kinds of criticism, even though this is only about keeping big techs in check. I admit, she is bold, and her ideas/ proposals are very big, like we haven't seen in decades, especially from politicians over the last few decades ... again, you have to have big ideas and a full plate, because you are only going to get a fraction of it after chopping it down and negotiating ... but she's straight up and answers questions immediately without the usual runaround, she's pretty firm. And yes, there are legitimate consumer and privacy concerns, regardless of all the opposition lawyer talk, about there is never any concerns or harm to anyone. Also below is a recent interview where she answers questions about this one on one with Ari Melber of MSNBC. 2 pieces below that from Politico, on how Facebook removed her content concerning this, but then put it back up after criticism of Facebook. Another on how Elizabeth has taken campaign donations from employees of some of the same big tech companies she is directing this break up at. This is why I like public funded elections too ... if Warren is wrong for taking employees donations of $20 to a couple hundred bucks a pop, that also means that anyone that takes even a $30 donation on their campaign, even from a fast food mega chain employee, Walmart employee, or any big corporate employee, including a janitor is wrong, eh? ... please, give me a goddamn break! At the very bottom, I will add some thoughts of my own on this.
***** MEDIUM BUSINESS [US] | ELIZABETH WARREN: Here's how we can break up Big Tech: It's Time to Break Up Amazon, Google, and Facebook ... (read)
Elizabeth Warren's Full Interview With Melber On Big Tech 2020 | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC ... Thanx to MSNBC
***** POLITICO: Facebook backtracks after removing Warren ads calling for Facebook breakup ... (newsread)
***** POLITICO: Warren took tech's money while ripping its biggest players ... (newsread)
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***** PD/ RCJ: "ELIZABETH WARREN" ... PART'S 18 THRU 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "NEOLIBERALISM CRISIS" ... PART'S 6 THRU 1
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Thomas Hudson Pickering/ Ranch Chimp
Elizabeth is not some anti- business hard- ass, nor am I, and I don't feel trying to better enforce, revise, and implement antitrust policies, which is all this is, is such a bad idea, at least look at what Elizabeth has to say and proposed, and use it as a base to go on. To me, what you see today, reminds me of just another sort of Gilded Age of the 19th century, same shit in new packaging, which was the neoliberalism model of that time, and this is the latest model of neoliberalism today/ 21st century, with these latest entities. We seen what happened back in that day, and today we are more vulnerable and markets much more volatile because of the changed global market, newest neoliberal policies, prepaid corruption through campaign finance, the laxed enforcement of existing antitrust, etc. And these giants want there to be no oversight of themselves, besides by themselves, whether it's too big tech, too big pharma, too big banks, or too big anything ... history of such like the Gilded Age show that ... it's either enforcement of antitrust or bust. That's why this is in the Neoliberalism Crisis series too, again, since the word neoliberalism is widely misunderstood, let me point out, that neoliberalism has nothing to do with anything like social liberalism of society, it's more "classic liberalism", being economic than social. Unlike classic economic liberalism though, this neo/ new requires governments to help build the corporate businesses, and subsidize it with tax money, some of this is cloaked in the new term of "public private partnership" (PPP, P3 or 3P), which is clever wording to make you think these entities are partners with us, but it's nothing but corporate welfare for those who could not hold their head above water on their own anywayz.
It has to do with making markets to become the acting governments to control all, and no, it's not true free market, it's only for a few to dictate, when the few/ oligarchy control everything to their absolute power, the majority has nothing left, everything becomes privatized and owned by the richest only, which is monopolization, as well as corporate communism control. I can understand that huge entities for utilities and services are also needed to an extent, because easier to handle such large consumer demand, such as in energy, at least I would guess that's the argument on why you need such large entities/ providers ... being it simplifies oversight and distribution. At the same time though, we should also understand, that there needs to be more competition, to actually promote free market, so, how do you do that? ... we have many experts with many ideas on how we can do that, we don't have any shortages in that area, so you can make a more level playing field with more opportunity. I had no idea even about this "kill zone" that venture capitalists shy from, but it makes sense ... we know how fast these big entities gobble up anything and everything that can expand their profit margin, Hell, even the speed trading/ high frequency trading on Wall Street is eating up the small stocks players ... you can clearly see how this is a problem for expanding true free markets. As I'm writing this, my daughter texted me about some big move today by Google getting into the video game industry, I'll need to look into that ... I have no idea if that is a good thing or lousy thing?, nor did she give her view/ opinion.
Mergers and Acquisitions are in high gear too, since the green light was given to a handful of big deals already, I read not long ago of the long line of corporations waiting to join and merge with others, or gobble up others through acquisitions ... and just today Disney married (owns) FOX, ohhh, how sweet! We hear constantly about the race we are in against the east (China and Russia, which is nonsense, because we're all tied in as far as business, just like with India), we have to outdo them?, or they will take over the world, doom and gloom, etc, etc? ... it's getting silly! The same big players that are screwing us, are the same big players that are playing the east, and out to screw them too, so we are in a race basically to appease the largest entities only, and putting ourselves/ consumers/ workers, as well as upcoming investors and entrepreneurs, such as my/ our own kids, more at their mercy (and we're talking about some that are unmerciful ingrates, at that) ... and none of these too big to fail entities have any commitment or national favouritism, borders, allegiance, or whatever to any country or continent. If we were to lose our asses in our own country economically, who in Hell would bail us out? (and currently because of our debt, we owe too much as it is), and if we did get more help or loans, what would be the payback price? Look at the pressures on several other countries that have financial problems (some were put in by these entities even) as far as pushing everything from austerity, to sanctions, to almost a prison type confinement of sort, to where they can't even function on a global level, basically a hostage and extortion situation, that's how these folks are.
I'm not saying the big banks, energy, or even popular folks that are charming when they talk like Zuckerberg or Bezos are evil, I'm saying we are playing in a jungle, and that's how it worx. And it doesn't matter what line of products and business they're into, whether it's banking, energy, health/ pharma, social media platforms, utilities, services ... when they are so huge, and have so much power, it challenges democracy, free market, competition, consumer costs/ choices, and much. What does this have to do with breaking up, at least in the way Warren is proposing, Facebook, Google, Amazon? ... everything! ... because it sets a precedent, which gives us more bargaining leverage too. None of what Warren is proposing, is shutting down these entities either, it is saying that there has to be some breakup or divestment of conflicting interests, what's the need for the platform utilities to own the marketplace too? These entities lawyers say "well, you don't have a case/ grounds to break up anything, without proof that this done any harm or injury to anyone" or related ... but there is plenty of harm, when folks have their information and accounts, funds or whatever of value hacked, traded or sold, damage to their credit, privacy, denial of basic rights, choice, and the list goes on, there are PROBLEMS and HARM. We have heard talk since the Great Recession of 2008, about breaking up too big to fail banks, corporate monopolies, enforcing regulation and antitrust policies, safeguards so this don't happen again, etc, even though history shows that IT WILL happen again, both political parties have failed to challenge this in any significant way, and those politicians who have, were swept under the rug, on both sides in some way, or ignored.
Word Out ....
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Professor Elizabeth Warren teaches class at University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, early 1990's
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***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
***** RCJ MUSIC/ ART'S HONOUR ROLL SOCIETY (my hand- selected music/ arts picks)
***** "THE RESISTANCE | PERILS OF THE POWER POSSE" ... ( a 2 part futuristic Ranch Chimp Journal dream to dream on )
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