Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Thom Hartmann — The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It


Thom Hartmann's latest book:
The United States is more vulnerable today than ever before-including during the Great Depression and the Civil War-because the pillars of democracy that once supported a booming middle class have been corrupted, and without them, America teeters on the verge of the next Great Crash.
The United States is in the midst of an economic implosion that could make the Great Depression look like child's play. In THE CRASH OF 2016, Thom Hartmann argues that the facade of our once-great United States will soon disintegrate to reveal the rotting core where corporate and billionaire power and greed have replaced democratic infrastructure and governance. Our once-enlightened political and economic systems have been manipulated to ensure the success of only a fraction of the population at the expense of the rest of us.
The result is a "for the rich, by the rich" scheme leading to policies that only benefit the highest bidders. Hartmann outlines the destructive forces-planted by Lewis Powell in 1971 and come to fruition with the "Reagan Revolution"-that have looted our nation over the past decade, and how their actions fit into a cycle of American history that lets such forces rise to power every four generations.
However, a backlash is now palpable against the "economic royalists"-a term coined by FDR to describe those hoarding power and wealth-including the banksters, oligarchs, and politicians who have plunged our nation into economic chaos and social instability.
Although we are in the midst of what could become the most catastrophic economic crash in American History, a way forward is emerging, just as it did in the previous great crashes of the 1760s, 1856, and 1929. The choices we make now will redefine American culture. Before us stands a genuine opportunity to embrace the moral motive over the profit motive-and to rebuild the American economic model that once yielded great success.
Thoroughly researched and passionately argued, THE CRASH OF 2016 is not just a roadmap to redemption in post-Crash America, but a critical wake-up call, challenging us to act. Only if the right reforms are enacted and the moral choices are made, can we avert disaster and make our nation whole again.
The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It
Thom Hartmann
(h/t Eric Ashelman)

12 comments:

mike norman said...

America's not going to "crash." Just more inequality.

Tom Hickey said...

Put "crash" in the title and a book is destined to sell well.

Don't know whether we can blame Hartmann for the sensational title though. Publishers generally reserve the right to choose the title, since they are the marketers.

Unknown said...

probably be another financial crash at some point. Then more bailouts for Wall Street.

Anonymous said...

Right, this sounds like hysteria-mongering. There is no "plot to destroy America". There are of course, all kinds of schemes and scams that might have as a result a weakening of America.

Descent into wingnutty rhetoric is not constructive, especially since part of the power of the plutocracy these days consists in the failure of populist critics to put on their big boy pants and engage with the forces that are undermining their interests in some non-infantile fashion. I always gave Hartmann more credit than this.

Anonymous said...

Re: I always gave Hartmann more credit than this.

Why? He's no economist, he's a talking head. He could have spent a couple of hours with Kelton or Wray or Hudson, or Galbraith, analyzing his thesis soberly, but he didn't.

Tom Hickey said...

Maybe he did. both Wray and Hudson foresee the mother of all crashes building.

Anonymous said...

Maybe he did. both Wray and Hudson foresee the mother of all crashes building.

I checked the index at Amazon: no Wray, Hudson on p. 159 (first page of the section titled "Masters of the Universe", and Kelton on p. 263, one of the last pages of the book, at the section titled "Seeds."

I doubt you'll see much MMT analysis there.

Anonymous said...

Russia announces decoupling from the dollar


http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_04_04/Russia-prepares-to-attack-the-petrodollar-2335/

http://whoar.co.nz/2014/russia-announces-decoupling-trade-from-dollar/

Matt Franko said...

Kevin no word there whether they will remove the peg...

rsp,

googleheim said...

If Russia decouples then more than ever will Norman's MMT invariants and forex tools lead the way.

When dollar is Unhoarded then the action will begin.

What did Mike comment about Russia Putin and his silly economic dill weed minister earlier this month or last?

The Rombach Report said...

Seems to be a strong undercurrent of discussion about whether or not there will be another crash. I don't know if there is going to be another crash any time soon, but sooner or later there will be another crash. In other words, crashes happen. So, how best to profit from it? Time to buy puts on the S&P500 index? What are the signals? What's the canary in the mineshaft that will herald that the party is over?

Unknown said...

"If Russia decouples then more than ever will Norman's MMT invariants and forex tools lead the way.

When dollar is Unhoarded then the action will begin."

Please explain what this means, thanks.