Once upon a time, a giant fire-breathing lizard emerged from the depths of the ocean into a great city. The tottering creature destroyed building after building, ripped out power transmission cables and crushed entire schools of children and teachers under foot. The teachers had their unions, the utilities their lobbyists and the children were lamented loudly by cartoonists. So, when the legislature convened in extraordinary session, the focus was on any profiteers who might benefit from the ongoing carnage. The hearings were generally considered probative, albeit tardy in the press.
Moral: There is no crisis so dire that in its midst the prospect of a profit will find thieves reluctant or public servants resistant.
CHAFF, n. A kernal of legislation, the grain of journalism. Weep germ.
14 comments:
I think I saw the movie. You summed it up pretty well.
Chaff, v., to tease a sweet doggie.
Oh, and I'm first. And second.
CHAFF, n. A particle of guilt (see AIG bonuses) in the conflagration of Depression.
Or am I wrong to be thinking that the above-named issue is a natural consequence of the runaway executive compensation that We the People allowed under Reaganomics? And that Republican assaults on the Yeswecan Administration over this issue, over a principle established by Republicans and a specific facilitated during the latest Republican watch, disingenuous to the point of criminality? This is not just a focus on profiteers, its a focus in which the profiteers are judge and jury.
I've got to stop waking up to NPR news.
Chaff, I sure am glad I live in Texas. Texas the home of AIG who is holding 1/2 of my teacher retirement funds. You all keep bailing, the water's deep out there!
..
CHAFF n. that's what they left me ....
Jim, AIG has half of my retirement funds, too. They used to have ALL of them, but half went by the wayside.
So, how did the legislature stay alive?
Marrow makes the bones taste good.
who on earth can beat "weep germ"?
certainly not me.
wall street meets main street--wall street 0ne dollar divided=80 cents wall street,20 cents main street...or
imagine the USA is 10 people,,one dollar is the total economy--two people control 80cents(wall street,the kernal),and the eight people share the 20cents(main street,the chaff)...the crumbs from
rat nibbled kernal may be worth more then the combined value of the
chaff...what a tangled weave!!!!!
PEACE
Very timely.
TLP, more or less a CLiff's note day.
Amoeba, I don't think WTP set executive compensation or should.
Jim, Corpus Christi under yet?
Quilly, the gates to the Kingdom are opening before ye.
Ariel, by staying out of the path, as ever.
So does screaming, Ice.
A-Bell, I'm searching the land of Honalee as we speak.
Coop, it's not just for breakfast any more.
Practically Dineh, Bear.
Weirsdo, I had all morning to prepare.
so you see the connection,
the Navajo
have long suffered from corporate over-lords
(wealth extracted,with/without federal oversight)
Little compensation for the majority...
Positive side,
learn or rekindle skills in
sheep husbandry and smithing ,
so you yourself can eat and trade
Peace and GOOD MORNING
I don't think WTP set executive compensation or should
Perhaps not, Doug. But when Quilly and I were discussing my long-standing irritation at the number of luxury cars clogging the roads of a small island, I said this:
The society whose members can indulge in glorious excess but do not is the only one likely, over the long term, to survive its own internal dissent. Or be worthy of survival. Note the absence of legal compulsion. If you have to pass a law to do it, you've already lost the game.
Bear, I even see the trails of the connection.
That sounds right, Amoeba. Extravagance is a cultural disorder not a legal one.
Post a Comment