Left-wing author and media darling Barbara Ehrenreich’s August 29 article, entitled “Smashing Capitalism,” proves yet again what’s been obvious for quite some time. Her view of economics is crazy. Ehrenreich is the author of numerous books, her most famous being “Nickel and Dimed,” and her most recent “Dancing in the Streets”
Ehrenreich claims the poor are single-handedly “smashing the global financial system.” She even describes their actions as a “revolution.”
Here is an excerpt to help explain:
“First they [the poor] stopped paying their mortgages, a move in which they were joined by many financially stretched middle class folks, though the poor definitely led the way. All right, these were trick mortgages, many of them designed to be unaffordable within two years of signing the contract. There were ‘NINJA’ loans, for example, awarded to people with ‘no income, no job or assets.’”
Of course it’s the companies’ fault; how dare they offer a product that makes buying a home affordable. Ehrenreich continues, saying:
“Then, in a diabolically clever move, the poor - a category which now roughly coincides with the working class — stopped shopping. Both Wal-Mart and Home Depot announced disappointing second quarter performances, plunging the market into another Arctic-style meltdown.”
So is it Arctic, or melting? Maybe that’s her nod to global warming. I’m not quite sure when this meltdown occurred, maybe I missed it, but with the Dow Jones up 145 points yesterday it looks as though the markets are doing just fine.
Ehrenreich falls just short of claiming that all this was all an orchestrated move by the working class, saying:
“I wish I could report that the current attack on capitalism represents a deliberate strategy on the part of the poor, that there have been secret meetings in break rooms and parking lots around the country, where cell leaders issued instructions like, ‘You, Vinny — don’t make any mortgage payment this month. And Caroline, forget that back-to-school shopping, OK?’ But all the evidence suggests that the current crisis is something the high-rollers brought down on themselves.”
But the real tragedy here is that it’s not just whackos like The Nation and Huffington Post that print Ehrenreich’s theories. According to a Nexis, CNN has had her as a guest or quoted her seven times in the past 11 months. Whether she’s on to complain about high CEO pay, why college should be available to everyone, or plugging a new book, it’s always comical to watch.
Ehrenreich’s articles are also frequently printed in major newspapers, such as the Chicago Sun-Times, and she is actually a contributor to the New York Times.
The fact that Ehrenreich is cited as an expert is somewhat disturbing, especially after her latest piece, which she ends with this gem:
“Personally, I prefer my revolutions to be a little more pro-active. There should be marches and rallies, banners and sit-ins, possibly a nice color theme like red or orange. Certainly, there should be a vision of what you intend to replace the bad old system with — European-style social democracy, Latin American-style socialism, or how about just American capitalism with some regulation thrown in?”
Even with all this pro-revolution rhetoric she does concede that “Global capitalism will survive the current credit crisis; already, the government has rushed in to soothe the feverish markets.” Yes Barbara, capitalism will survive.
- Stuart James is a Research Analyst at the Business and Media Institute
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Profit
August 23, 2007 - 11:53 ET by JDWWhat's the price of her book?
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
Great question. Almost
August 23, 2007 - 13:50 ET by TheConservativeChemistGreat question.
Almost any leftist arguement can be ended by pointing out the hypocrisy of the left, on nearly EVERY issue.
For instance, why doesn't she GIVE her books away? Why don't the Dems PAY for the uninsured people here? And on and on...
"Yesterday's Communists are Today's Democrats....
Yesterday's Democrats are Today's Republicans..." - An analogy made by *ME*
also what is the evil profit
August 23, 2007 - 13:57 ET by TruthMongeralso what is the evil profit margin for the publishers? distributors? book stores? advertisers? paper companies that cut down trees? produce smoke? warm the earth? kills dolphins?
Ewackos
August 23, 2007 - 14:45 ET by JDWcut down trees? produce smoke? warm the earth?
I didn't consider that, good point.
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
Does it matter?
August 23, 2007 - 14:03 ET by FastEdI remember, durring the turbulent '60's (carried into the early '70's, then the greedy '80's) - Abby Hoffman wrote "Steal This Book" - is that what she want to return to?
But her thesis is a reality to the libs - NO personal responsibility, let someone else take care of you, no need to grow up. Does anyone remeber the old saw "If it seems to good to be true, it probably is!"?? Boy, was my dad ever right!
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Responsibility
August 23, 2007 - 14:47 ET by JDWHow many people have died waiting for 'the village'?
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
Depends . .
August 23, 2007 - 15:17 ET by FastEdhow many were idiots of that village? and were they waiting for their universal healthcare?
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Issues
August 23, 2007 - 15:38 ET by JDWSen Clinton has flip-flopped on this. No doubt she will return to it after nominated but consider all of the fools who will continue to chase the crown.
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
Maybe, just maybe
August 23, 2007 - 11:54 ET by Dr_LibertyMaybe, just maybe with all this economic doom, people will finally stop buying her books.
What if there was another revolution in the making? One wherein readers of the NYT suddenly stopped renewing their subscriptions and stopped buying it at newstands?
Oh, wait... that revolution has been slowly in the works.
Viva Bozell!
Viva NewsBusters!
<The Revolution will be available in sizes M, L, XL and XXL>
Does anyone else see
August 23, 2007 - 11:59 ET by MightyMouthDoes anyone else see Barbara Ehrenreich’s enrichment from the sale of such a book as the height of hypocrisy?
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Rofl, I want to see her
August 23, 2007 - 12:05 ET by wiwfRofl, I want to see her defend socialism and communism with a straight face.
Another do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do hypocrit. She's selling a book where SHE will see a profit! :O
"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage
morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested,
exiled, or hanged." -Abraham Lincoln
"SHE will see a profit!"
August 23, 2007 - 14:05 ET by FastEdonly if the publisher sells enough to cover the cost of the carbon offsets that were lost during the publishing process.
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Pick on the poor, eh Barbara?
August 23, 2007 - 12:11 ET by Mica the MagnificentWhy doesn't the revolution-loving Barbara start the revolution herself?
Why doesn't she refuse to pay her own mortgage? Why does she want the 'poor' to start a capitalism-crippling revolution?
I'd also like to know if Ms. Ehrenrich owns a home or two, a fancy car, a 401K - you know, all the horrible things capitalism gives you an opportunity to own.
Capitalism
August 23, 2007 - 12:22 ET by tymanAs usual, white republican capitalists are causing these poor people to not succeed. How about they get off their lazy as*** and get a job. But noooo, they want to be supported by you and me for the rest of their lives. How sad.
No,no tyman
August 23, 2007 - 12:31 ET by Mica the MagnificentThe poor are poor because of the 'man' and the 'system.'
If you think they are poor because they love drugs and booze more than education and are just plain lazy, then you must be the 'man' and believe in the 'system.'
Coming Soon: The Military Industrial Complex - - - A sign I'd like to install on a vacant piece of property in San Francisco
Dittos Mica
August 23, 2007 - 12:46 ET by acumenI agree Mica.
It's just "not fair" the poor can't afford to purchase Ehrenreich’s books to understand how "the man" is getting over on them.
In the true "revolutionary" spirit, Ehrenreich should simply give all of her books away to the poor instead of personally profiting from "the man" who can afford them.
Understanding the poor?
August 23, 2007 - 12:53 ET by Mica the MagnificentAcumen:
Maybe, in the spirit of John Edwards, she is selling these books and making money to better understand the poor.
The losers can't blame the game
August 23, 2007 - 12:37 ET by KC MulvilleCapitalism is just a game with rules. If you don't play the game the right way, you lose ... but don't blame the game for the loss. The collapse of the NINJA mortgage market is real, and it caused real damage. The lenders who offered mortgages at low rates were taking a risk, and the risk failed. Capitalism penalized them for it. That's how we play this game. It wasn't the game's fault.
"It wasn't the game's fault."
August 23, 2007 - 14:07 ET by FastEdYes it was - the poor didn't get to make the rules - get something for nothing, while complaining that taxpayers are getting "tax breaks".
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Not sure what you mean
August 23, 2007 - 17:03 ET by KC MulvilleWhat do you mean by 'the poor didn't get to make the rules?'
But isn't that how liberals
August 24, 2007 - 09:01 ET by Seabeach4348But isn't that how liberals operate? If they don't like the way things are going they just cry foul and change the rules as they go along?
Example: Algore and the 2000 presidential election.
On game-hating and die Mauer
August 23, 2007 - 23:41 ET by UnsaneSo, I guess this is where the wisdom "Hate the game, not the player" does NOT apply? :-)
(Yes, I agree, this gal is a whack job. The Berlin Wall was NOT constructed to keep out the West Berliners.)
Besides, here is ALL anyone needs to know about capitalism and economics:
Res tantum valet quantum vendi potest.
Good grief, that's scary.
August 23, 2007 - 12:42 ET by ErgoDyneGood grief, that's scary. Sometimes I wonder if these people truly are clueless when it comes to the "art" of economics, or if they're just evil.
"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." - Mark Twain
Presumably this is the sort
August 23, 2007 - 12:47 ET by Jack BauerPresumably this is the sort of book liberals read... and conservatives don't.
That explains a lot.
JB
August 23, 2007 - 12:56 ET by Six String SpiffExactly!
The American Revolution Continued
Was never explained . .
August 23, 2007 - 14:10 ET by FastEdwere the lib books mostly those with pictures instead of words? That would be another explination. I too, would rather read a Comic Book, instead of "Patriot Games", or "Brain Farts".
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Shelves
August 23, 2007 - 14:53 ET by JDWWe normally keep our books on shelves in home libraries...
Libs often purchase boxes of books and send them to warehouses.
JDW
News media: Scoreboard for terrorists
Maybe . .
August 23, 2007 - 15:01 ET by FastEdtheir're buying Carbon Offsets! - books, made with paper, paper from trees, trees equal offset - ta dah!
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Makes then smarter
August 24, 2007 - 08:56 ET by Seabeach4348And because liberals read MORE of these books (which, BTW, would make excellent door-stops) that makes them automatically SMARTER than conservative knuckle-draggers who, apparently, read LESS of this garbage.
Isn't that the conclusion of that article the other day? But I suppose that, being a conservative knuckle dragger myself, I miss the point: quantity not quality is what's important.
And if I didn't know better I could just close my eyes and swear that this book was right out of the late 1960s....or from some doper radical left protest rally....trumpetting "THE revolution" at hand against evil capitalism!
Nothing new, no solutions; just the same old warmed over excrement about the usual victims and how they're being abused by the same villains and how a socialist/communist "revolution" will solve it all.
Weak and pathetic, and I'm so sick of these morons.
Asshats like her should try
August 23, 2007 - 12:47 ET by WhoIsJohnGaltAsshats like her should try to comprehend Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" before they make an effort to analyze the future of capitalism and socialism. A lesson in reality and how to follow socialism to it's logical conclusion.
What they seem to completely miss (among other things) is that socialist and communist dictators have no use for intellectuals and writers, artists and other persons who are not either part of the subjugated working class or part of the ruling jack-booted, corrupt politicos.
This sort of diatribe should
August 23, 2007 - 12:55 ET by robert108This sort of diatribe should illustrate to everyone that todays lefties are communists, pure and simple. Her rant is straight out of Karl Marx.
Socialism. . .
August 23, 2007 - 12:56 ET by TheTruth"The vice of capitalism is that there is an unequal share of the blessings; the virtue of socialism is that there is an equal share of the misery." -Sir Winston Churchill, British statesman (1874-1965)
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." -Sir Winston Churchill, British statesman (1874-1965)
"Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money...." Margaret Thatcher
MSM (Main-Stream-Media): Arrogant intellectually dishonest LIBERALS teaching those stupid peasants how to vote by way of selective reporting, misinformation, propaganda, and out right lies.
Ehrenreich is just another
August 23, 2007 - 13:54 ET by jdhawkEhrenreich is just another limosine socialist. She gladly manipulates capitalism to make herself wealthy while all the time trashing that same system at every term. She is in the same mold as Noam Chomsky and a host of others.
One wouldn't have to be told that she writes for the NYT. That is a given.
What's funny is that many
August 23, 2007 - 14:11 ET by danybhoyWhat's funny is that many of the evil capitalist companies like McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Federal Express, & Microsoft among others have done their thing better, faster, cheaper, & more reliably then big gov't could ever do.
The auther should really look into the failures of socialist/communist gov'ts over the last century. Despite all the "good intentions" that big gov't promises, in a results based world, it does'nt fly for very long or very far. Just a thought Barb.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
Nickled
August 23, 2007 - 16:27 ET by compguytracyNow, I did read the nickled and dimed book, and am going to point out some flaws, this lady looked only for menial jobs, i.e. cleaning, Wal-Mart, restaurants, etc. These are notoriously low paying jobs to begin with, and then she only worked most of the time one job. I have 2 jobs, a tech job, and fast food, and until i get more hours at new job, i will continue to work two jobs. Now, if she wants to contribute some of her white collar dollars from writing to poor people causes, education, training, etc. then we will talk. Go to college, i did it all on loans and perseverence.
If you can read this, you learned despite public education!
Hypocrisy...
August 23, 2007 - 16:28 ET by the_red_stateIt is capitalism that is allowing her book to be published and distributed...but let's not quibble over technicalities.
Considering Barbara
August 23, 2007 - 17:05 ET by zhombreConsidering Barbara Ehrenreich owns a home worth well over a million bucks in Key West, Florida, where the working class she champions can't afford to reside, I'd say she has done pretty darn good in the capitalist system. Being a socialist doyenne in the USA pays off in spades.
Do you know
August 23, 2007 - 17:08 ET by Stuart Jamesthat for certain? If so could you point me to where you found it?
One needs only access the
August 23, 2007 - 17:14 ET by zhombreOne needs only access the public records of Monroe County, Florida, via the internet. This is not secret info.
A socialist looks at that
August 23, 2007 - 22:39 ET by mulerider24A socialist looks at that house and sees a $10,738 annual tax bill.
A capitalist looks at that house and sees a $1.23MM mansion in Key West
and shuts the hell up.
zhombre... I have found
August 23, 2007 - 17:19 ET by Clear thinkerzhombre...
I have found that most liberals that have money really beleive in a socialist system, just not for them. Typical!
Get Email updates from Fred http://socialnet.imwithfred.com/email_alert_july_26.html
I think it is a fine thing
August 23, 2007 - 17:30 ET by zhombreI think it is a fine thing that an independent woman like Ms. Ehrenreich can make a good living from her writing, can acquire real property in a desireable place such as Key West, after obtaining a mortgage from a capitalist megabank, and then see that property appreciate in value over the years. Thank God for liberty, individualism and free markets. The content of Ms. Ehrenreich's writing, on the other hand, and I paraphrase Borat, I like not so much.
"I have found that most
August 23, 2007 - 18:06 ET by ckc1227"I have found that most liberals that have money really beleive in a socialist system, just not for them. Typical!"
They believe in spreading everyone ELSE'S money around for the good of all.
I wasn't born to work my ass
August 23, 2007 - 18:08 ET by mostlymoderateI wasn't born to work my ass off and pay the welfare of other degenerate losers. I can't believe people are advocating socialism. This lady is sickening. Hope she is *GIVING* that book away for FREE!!!!!!!!!! :-(
"There should be marches
August 23, 2007 - 19:00 ET by Trix Rabbit"There should be marches and rallies, banners and sit-ins, possibly a nice color theme like read or orange."
Of course she should oragnize this. Especially if she expects anyone to take her seriously.
"...or how about just American capitalism with some regulation thrown in?"
Babs, you ignorant slut. American capitalism is already regulated. And overly so - energy, insurance, commerce, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and the media, to name a few.
Indeed, capitalism without the virtues of honesty and self-reliance is everything you and your intellectually and morally challenged thralls believe it is.
But be honest, Babs. What you call for in your "capitalism with regulation" is no more or no less than an oligarchy. Your claim to be a voice for the downtrodden falls flat considering you probably depise ordinary Americans and hold nothing but contempt for their beliefs and opinions.
Viva YOUR "proactive revolution!"
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. George Orwell