Economic thoughts of a great Federal Reserve Board chairman from 1934 to 1947: Chairman Marriner S. Eccles was way ahead of the times regarding the workings of the economy. He was a millionaire by the age of 24 and a tycoon by age 40. When conventional logic was for austerity during the Great Depression, he reasoned that investments in jobs take place in a climate of high prosperity for when the purchasing power of the masses increases the demands for a higher standard of living enables them to purchase luxury items. At this time we have millions of our people who don’t have enough purchasing power for even their barest needs. Eccles is one of the architects of the New Deal, despite being a wealthy man.
Just like today, back in the 1930s, some business leaders believed that a depression was the God-given scientific operation of economic laws and not manmade. These laws could not be interfered with because they represented the biblical story of Joseph and the seven bountiful years followed by seven years of famine. Another falsity was that austerity would solve the depression, which was, not surprisingly, also proven wrong.
Eccles proposed a minimum wage, higher income taxes, and inheritance taxes on the wealthy in order to control capital accumulations, which creates oligarchies who then can literally buy the government thereby making them even richer. Eccles worked with great vigor for the welfare of that average people. He became one of the architects of the Great Prosperity that the nation and much of the rest of the world enjoyed after World War II.
So, will the new Fed Chair Janet Yellen be as good as Eccles? We, wage slaves, and retired people can only hope. Also, will she support a minimum wage increase of $15 to $18 an hour, which will jump start the economy?
I hope that I am wrong, but what I see at this time is our unions are going to be in the fight of their existence. This is the most perilous time of our life. The life we had is threatened like never before. Unions are the largest organized group of people who can save our country if things keep going the way they are heading at this time. We need to all stand together for power, but we each must prepare and plan to take care of ourselves and our families. We can fight the big fight and not be distracted by worry about things that can and should already be taken care of. For instance, stashing at least one month’s pay and at least a month or even a year’s worth of food, whether the food is staples (pasta, rice, canned goods) and meat or chicken in the freezer. Keep your vehicles' tanks full and if possible a gas can full. It’s in your best interest to also save money for house or rent payments plus extra. This is not new thinking for us old trade workers who had to prepare when...
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