By Bill Falzett on 10/14/2008 8:50 AM

An interesting result of all the flash and hoopla about bailout-Mainstreet-Wallstreet is that conservative free-marketeers have decided it's the fault of poor people. Their specious, circular reasoning is that the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) helped low income people get loans. This led to the banks, mortgage lenders, and various executives making money hand over fist because they got greedy. This led to the markets and politicians also getting greedy. Are you with me so far?

Obviously when people are so tempted and so greedy, they overextend themselves and do stupid stuff. Of course, they would not have done so if we (the people and ... Read More »

By Bill Falzett on 10/14/2008 8:46 AM

I've been paying close attention to what the politicians, bankers, brokers, and lenders are doing with our money. I joke with some of my friends about how they must really like owning a major insurance company and so much stock in financial services companies. Obviously, I'm skeptical as to how our taxpayer investments are going to develop. I suspect that the abovementioned folks will do pretty well. The rest of us will continue to do the best we can with what we have while falling behind.

I figured that a basic economics lesson was in order since so much time is being spent by the corporate media and various pundits on the ... Read More »

By Bill Falzett on 10/12/2008 5:21 PM

In addition to community activism and lots of opinions about people and politics, I am a psychotherapist. I decided to share a checklist that I have used for many years that is designed to maximize mood and health. It is a combination of supplements, nutrition and behavioral techniques. I hope you find it useful.

I have listed some suggestions that, according to research, are helpful with mood and thinking. Please remember that these are suggestions and not prescriptions since I am not licensed to prescribe in California. Check these with your physician and/or pharmacist to make sure there are no interactions or contraindications. These suggestions are as up to date as I am aware.

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By Bill Falzett on 10/2/2008 10:44 AM

Appeal-Democrat headline says: "Herger supports bailout despite district opposition". The Woodland paper quotes Herger: "the plan needs to include better oversight... and fix flaws in an outdated regulation system". Wally wants it both ways. Wally doesn't really stay tuned into his constituents except for those few privileged subsidy recipients.

What ever happened to being a representative of and for the people. These two quotes show how Herger is obedient to and compliant with the Bush-Cheney administration. He has no sense of the integrity required to stay with his constituents. The Bush-Cheney-Herger economics plan has failed miserably. It failed because of relaxed regulation that encouraged corruption and deviation from solid practices that should be open and aboveboard.

This bailout can be solved in ways that benefit pe ... Read More »

By Bill Falzett on 9/6/2008 5:09 PM

By Bill Falzett on 7/1/2008 12:42 PM

  Scarcity scares people. When we see that there might be a lack of goodies, there is an immediate reaction. We compete aggressively or fade into the woodwork – the old fight-or-flight response. There are some who struggle a bit and give up after that initial energy surge. Others attach themselves to more aggressive folks. Still others gang up and drag down the guys on top. Some simply die.

  In certain contexts, competition for scarce resources is appropriate. Sports teams compete aggressively for the “trophy”. The individual athletes compete for fame, more money in their next contracts, and perhaps for the love of the competition. The sports team owners compete for revenue and prestige and who knows what else. That seems like a reasonable kind of competition and there is real scarcity at the top to make it worthwhile.

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By Bill Falzett on 6/6/2008 12:56 PM

  Here are some collected thoughts on the state of things today. I hope you use these in your talking points to people. Remember that in spite of what the conservative radicals might say, the results contradict their words. Look at results not intent.

Thanks to Tom Feeley of Information Clearing House for these quotations:

"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power." : Benito Mussolini

We're not a democracy. It's a terrible misunderstanding and a slander to the idea of democracy to call us that. In reality, we're a plutocracy: a government by the wealthy." : Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General< ... Read More »

By Bill Falzett on 5/19/2008 4:53 PM

  Wow! What’s the deal? Talk about crazy-making.  Take a look at Milton Friedman, Naomi Klein, Ravi Batra, Ha-Joon Chang, and all the media pundits who supposedly know economics. Friedman was quoted as saying, “Look at results not intention.” Evidently, that was a rule for others and not for him. I am going to explain economics in a clear and not necessarily all encompassing way. My emphasis is on what really happens 

 

 

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By Bill Falzett on 5/6/2008 10:19 AM

  The original context for responsibility was in politics. John Stuart Mill and Max Weber, two able philosophers, both recognized the importance of responsibility in representative democracies. Both stressed attention to people, situations, and consequences. What they really emphasized was responsiveness to and by the people as is supposed to happen in a democracy.

 

  Liability today is usually the focus in what used to be called the personnel or human resources departme ... Read More »

By Bill Falzett on 3/1/2008 9:39 PM

  Once upon a time about 230 years ago, there was a country made up of many diverse tribes, clans, groups, and individuals. They were ruled by a king that lived very far away. This king didn’t seem to care about these many peoples in this land so far away. Whether he did or not, his advisers were businessmen and royalty to whom caring was secondary to acquisition. They saw this faraway land as a place for them to get many goodies that would make them even more rich and powerful. The people of the faraway land didn’t know the king or his advisers. They did know that they were paying a lot of money to them. They didn’t mind because there was so much land, opportunity, and wealth that there was plenty for all.

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