alanjjohnstone
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A global recession?
“analysts warned the outbreak could wreak economic havoc on a scale not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.”
Eisenhower Socialism
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/13/bring-back-eisenhower-socialism
Of course, this virus is what the over-populationists have all been waiting for. A plague to wipe out the parasitical homo sapiens from the face of the Earth, well about 60% of us, at least.
The conspiracists are at work already. Its a bio-weapon created by eugenic social engineers introducing the virus to reduce the population. It is the pharmaceutical industry seeking to make profits. Its a plot to get rid of the aged and elderly that are an increasing drain on the economy.
In Bristol a visit by Greta Thunberg is expected to attract a crowd of around 25,000, most of them children and young people.
Special coaches are being arranged from London, Cardiff, Exeter, Oxford and Birmingham, and rail and bus stations are gearing up for a huge influx of youngsters keen to take part in the strike and hear Thunberg speak.
At least one Bristol school is expected to close and the numbers will be swollen by thousands of students from the city’s universities and colleges.
“They accused Dr. King of being a communist,” Sharpton said. “Every major leader in the 60s they tried to call socialist or communist. Whatever you decide to do on Saturday, do not go by those that use the ‘socialist’ tag to try to separate us from what we need to do for this country… And we are not that stupid to allow you to tell us who is what.”
AOC concedes that M4A is unlikely to be passed as Sanders envisages it and that he will have to make concessions and compromise.
“A president can’t wave a magic wand and pass any legislation they want,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told HuffPost this week.
Ocasio-Cortez ― one of the most outspoken advocates for Medicare for All ― said she thought voters understood there was an “inherent check” on the president’s ability to actually change things like our health care system. “The worst-case scenario? We compromise deeply and we end up getting a public option. Is that a nightmare? I don’t think so,” she said.The Left reassures the public that Sanders is not a radical
Paul Krugman V Richard Wolff on socialism
PAUL KRUGMAN: OK. I mean, Bernie says he loves Denmark. I love Denmark. I think Denmark is an illustration of how decent a society can be. The Danes don’t think that they’re socialists. They think that they’re social democrats. They don’t use the word “socialist.” And it isn’t socialism as we’ve always used to understand it. It’s not government ownership of the means of production. It’s not seizing the commanding heights of the economy. It’s a really strong social safety net and a strong labor movement, all of which I support.
RICHARD WOLFF: Sure. There is no agency, neither public nor private, that defines what a socialist is. If you follow the socialist movement for the last 150 years, you would discover that it has been a contested terrain from day one. There were different interpretations and different meanings. Bernie Sanders is perfectly in line with one of the traditions of what socialism is. It’s the government having a big role in offsetting some of the awful qualities of capitalism.
Jesse Jackson weighs in
“Sanders isn’t talking about making America into Cuba or Venezuela; he’s talking about extending social guarantees like those offered in most other advanced industrial states, invoking Denmark or Sweden. These countries have universal health care at lower cost, paid family leave, guaranteed paid vacations, higher minimum wages, more generous public retirement programs. They also have vibrant and competitive economies, lower inequality, less poverty, and higher life expectancies…Call it capitalism with a conscience, democratic socialism, call it lemonade. It’s the substance, not the label that counts..”
Most investors doubt Sanders’ health-reform plan will receive enough support to pass in Congress and would be too disruptive to even be feasible to implement.
“But you have two scenarios,” James said, “one, an acknowledgement that the chance isn’t absolutely zero; or two, an extension of the uncertainty, neither of which is a great setup.”
“Social democracy and democratic socialism have never completely overlapped. Originally, “social democracy” named all socialists that rejected anarchism and ran for political office, while “democratic socialism” named the flank of social democrats that insisted on the liberal democratic road to socialism. Democratic socialists contended against their Marxian comrades that democracy is the indispensable road to socialism, not a by-product of achieving it. Social democracy was a name for the broad socialist movement and democratic socialism was a liberal-democratic flank of it…
“Social democracy” became synonymous with European welfare states in which the government pays for everyone’s healthcare, higher education is free, elections are publicly financed, and solidarity wage policies restrain economic inequality…”If China catches a cold – the whole world coughs and sneezes
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/24/stock-markets-coronavirus-italy-airlines
The FTSE 100 index in London lost 247 points to 7,156.83, a 3.3% drop and its worst worst percentage fall since January 2016.
US stock markets had their worst day in two years.
The Italian stock market tumbled by almost 1,500 points to 23,288.35, a 6% slide, putting it on track for its worst day since 2016. Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Dax index fell 3.5% while France’s Cac 40 lost 3.7%.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.8%, while South Korea’s Kospi slumped 3.9%.
