The crucial breakthrough was made three years ago, when Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania showed that the working memories of children who have been raised in poverty have smaller capacities than those of middle-class children. The Economist, 4-2-09
But worse still, said Black, Timothy Geithner, President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Treasury, is currently engaged in a cover-up to keep the truth of America's financial insolvency from its citizens. Raw Story, 4-4-09
The sad part of all this is that there are now several much better ideas circulating among experts, but none of these seems to get the time of day from the Treasury. Jeffrey Sachs, Huffington Post, 4-7-09
And now there are ominous signs of another food crisis in the making this year, spurred in part by the ongoing credit crunch that has made it difficult for farmers to get loans. Seed Daily, 4-6-09
Economic Insecurity Update: Fraud, Cover-up, a Money Grab, a Global Food Crisis, & the Impact of Poverty on the Brains of Children
By Richard Power
I enjoy reading the Economist. Like the Financial Times, it is a worthy source of news and analysis. Unlike ideologically conservative news organizations in the USA, both of these British publications have remained reality-based, i.e., the editors have not devolved into warping the facts to fit their underlying political orientation.
But from time to time, the Economist also is a source of unintended amusement. For example, the 4-2-09 issue heralded a cover story on "The Rise and Fall of the Wealthy, the Attack on the Rich," an impassioned defense of the wealthiest among us, who have apparently been unfairly targeted in these global hard times; while buried toward the back of the magazine, in the Science and Technology section, was "I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told," a feature highlighting some fascinating research that indicates "how poverty passes from generation to generation … lies in the effect of stress on two particular parts of the brain."
The crucial breakthrough was made three years ago, when Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania showed that the working memories of children who have been raised in poverty have smaller capacities than those of middle-class children. Working memory is the ability to hold bits of information in the brain for current use—the digits of a phone number, for example. It is crucial for comprehending languages, for reading and for solving problems. Entry into the working memory is also a prerequisite for something to be learnt permanently as part of declarative memory—the stuff a person knows explicitly, like the dates of famous battles, rather than what he knows implicitly, like how to ride a bicycle. The Economist, 4-2-08
Tell me, which strikes you as the more compelling story of human need, that those who have benefited most from the obscenely irresponsible economic philosophy that has ruled our lives for the last few decades should finally feel a little heat, or that generation upon generation of children are experiencing severe psychological and physical deprivation? Which one do you think warrants the cover of the planet's best weekly news magazine?
But even when the Economist sticks it foot in its own excrement, it is a far superior product to most offerings in the US mainstream news media (print or broadcast).
Today, for example, I randomly turned on one of the cable news networks in the early afternoon; two attractive young anchors were introducing a segment on the fact that President Obama was going to church this weekend (Easter) for the first time since taking office and whether or not this was an important issue. (This ludicrous distraction is particularly offensive in a nation that was both founded and saved by men who did not consider themselves Christians, i.e., Washington, Jefferson, Paine and Lincoln.)
Meanwhile, some vital stories were only being covered at the periphery of the mainstream media, stories that relate to life and death issues for you and your loved ones, as well as for your nation and your planet, stories you need to hear.
Here are excerpts from three such pieces, with links to the full texts:
In an explosive interview on PBS' Bill Moyers Journal, William K. Black, a professor of economics and law with the University of Missouri, alleged that American banks and credit agencies conspired to create a system in which so-called "liars loans" could receive AAA ratings and zero oversight, amounting to a massive "fraud" at the epicenter of US finance.
But worse still, said Black, Timothy Geithner, President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Treasury, is currently engaged in a cover-up to keep the truth of America's financial insolvency from its citizens. Raw Story, 4-4-09
The sad part of all this is that there are now several much better ideas circulating among experts, but none of these seems to get the time of day from the Treasury. The best ideas are forms of corporate reorganization, in which a bank weighed down with toxic assets is divided into two banks -- a "good bank" and a "bad bank" -- with the bad bank left holding the toxic assets and the long-term debts, while owning the equity of the good bank. ...
Cynics believe that the Geithner-Summers Plan is exactly what it seems: a naked grab of taxpayer money for Wall Street interests. Geithner and Summers argue that it's the least bad approach to a messy situation, in which we need to restore banking functions but don't have any perfect ways to do that. If they are serious about their justification, let them come forward to confront their critics and to explain to the American people why the other proposals are not being pursued. Jeffrey Sachs, Huffington Post, 4-7-09
We tend to forget that the worldwide plunge into recession last year was the result of three separate phenomena that combined to breed disaster. The financial crisis was joined by a food crisis and a fuel crisis as the prices of food and energy soared, triggering food riots across the world.
And now there are ominous signs of another food crisis in the making this year, spurred in part by the ongoing credit crunch that has made it difficult for farmers to get loans.
"I think the world would like to focus on one crisis at a time, but we really can't afford to," warned Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program. Food supplies are tight and prices still high, she said, and more people in poor countries are unable to afford what they need because of the recession.
"These are not separate crises. The food crisis and the financial one are linking and compounding," she noted, adding that food shortages often trigger political instability. "I'm really putting out the warning that we're in an era now where supplies are still very tight, very low and very expensive."
Alarm bells are starting to ring about another food crisis this summer. Seed Daily, 4-6-09
For an archive of Words of Power posts on Economic Insecurity, click here.
Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.
economic security, Jeffrey Sachs, William Black,
Josette Sheeran,
News Media, Richard Power, Words of Power
