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Dec 6th, 2017
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OP
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ArticleToo awful to describe.
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Bob, I read it as earlier today. Did a "Readability" copy. Yes, it's awful. But then again, what in politics isn't today? As the saying goes, "When there are no consequences for inappropriate behavior, why stop?" Government is a self-will-run-riot institution. I recently saw an article in which it quoted Ben Franklin saying the following. As a very old and very tired Benjamin Franklin was leaving the building where, after four months of hard work, the Constitution had been completed and signed, a lady asked him what kind of government the convention had created. The very wise Franklin replied; "A Republic, ma'am if you can keep it." Did we keep it? LINK One might conclude that Franklin's reply was a clear indication that he knew deep down that there were looming problems in the future just waiting to happen. If we really get into the history of our government, it's always been a pisser.
Turn on ANY brand of political machine - and it automatically goes to the "SPIN and LIE CYCLE" 
Yours Truly - Gregg
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Awful?! I actually think I read that one major benefit of this awesome deregulation is that it would be easier for small investors (really small, like my Mom and Dad) to get suckered over the internet invest in start-ups.
The final war will be between Pavlov's dog and Schroedinger's cat. --Robert Anton Wilson
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Awful?! I actually think I read that one major benefit of this awesome deregulation is that it would be easier for small investors (really small, like my Mom and Dad) to get suckered over the internet invest in start-ups. Uh huh...welp, according to Matt... There's just no benefit that the JOBS Act brings to an honest startup company. In fact, it puts an honest company at a severe disadvantage, because now it has to compete against other, less scrupulous companies that can simply make their projections up on the backs of envelopes.
This is like formally eliminating steroid testing for the first five years of a baseball player's career. Yes, you can pretty much bet that you'll see a lot of home runs in the first few years after you institute a rule like that. But you'd better be ready to stick a lot of asterisks in the record books ten or fifteen years down the line. Remember the "Bailout" hype? Supposedly one of the primary conditions to getting the bailout funds was to open up lending. Yeah, right. We might as well all get on the Internet and sign up for some of those easy bucks. I'm sure we'll think of something to apply the money to.
Turn on ANY brand of political machine - and it automatically goes to the "SPIN and LIE CYCLE"
Yours Truly - Gregg
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From your link, Gregg: Our Founders studied history and knew that no democracy ever lasted long - looking especially at Greece and Rome. Someone once wrote: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: "From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage." [Alexander Fraser Tytler, a Scottish born British lawyer and writer (1747-1813) ?]. Are we here? "From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence"
Last edited by itstarted; 04/10/12 11:50 PM.
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Every, single, day, new and more inventful ways of screwing up our economy, wrecking havoc on the middle class, comes out of Washington, DC. ![[Linked Image from i48.photobucket.com]](http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f228/ca_rickf/Smilies%202/shake.gif) Any time Eric Cantor is over the shoulder witnessing signed legislation - you automatically know the legislation is not good.
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From your link, Gregg: Our Founders studied history and knew that no democracy ever lasted long - looking especially at Greece and Rome. Someone once wrote: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: "From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage." [Alexander Fraser Tytler, a Scottish born British lawyer and writer (1747-1813) ?].[/size] Are we here? "From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence" Thanks, Bob... The article goes on to say... A "republic" on the other hand is where the general population elects representatives who then are constrained in their representation by the Constitution and other laws. A republic is a nation ruled by law. There is a degree of insulation between the people (who might try to rule in a frenzied mob style) and government rule. A republican form of government has a very different purpose and an entirely different form, or system, of government than a pure democracy. Its purpose is to control rule-making. More specifically, its purpose is to control the majority. It is designed to protect the minority from oppression by the majority. It is designed to protect the individual's (EVERY individual's) God-given, unalienable rights and the liberties of people in general. Our particular republican form of government has a separation of power because our Founders understood the inherent weakness and depravity of man. They knew that people are basically weak, sinful and corruptible, and will pit one men against another other, making it difficult to pass laws and make changes that are fair to everyone. While we'd like to think that our government is still a Republic. To me, it's looking more and more like a democracy, much like it is described in the segment of the article that Bob posted. Do we still genuinely have a Republic form of government? Back to Matt's Article The JOBS Act seems like it will invite a replay of the disastrous tech-stock bubble of the late nineties. That mess was made possible by a historic collapse in accounting standards, with the great investment banks the pioneers of the collapse.
~~~Snip~~~
When the banks stopped insisting on proven track records or real profitability before taking a company public, there was a sudden explosion of stock-market investment into heretofore unknown internet firms. Companies with no track records went from having literally no revenues at all to having five or six billion dollars' worth of market capitalization overnight. Banks explained that the new way to measure a company was by the quality of its ideas, not boring old indicators like revenues. Is history is on the brink of repeating itself? Maybe people don't believe that history repeats itself because of the technical differences between the time periods. Maybe a problem is that people of our day are so overwhelmed with the information highway that history isn't important. 
Turn on ANY brand of political machine - and it automatically goes to the "SPIN and LIE CYCLE"
Yours Truly - Gregg
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Pooh-Bah
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what's so awful, IT? A Democrat gets to sign into law a piece of meaningless legislation with a name that has nothing to do with what it promises, but will make an excellent sound-bite on the campaign trail where he will once again con a portion of his base into "believing in him" while much of the rest will wink and nod at the prospect of pulling one over on their sisters on the other side of hte aisle. Besides, what is the sudden concern for specuators investors? Maybe they will simply be more cautious and take some responsibility for their speculative investment decisions knowing that Uncle Sugar ain't got them as covered as he once did. I mean, it ain't like "Uncle" ever really did, anyway -- least not from the looks of the mega scandals past. Not sure why some folks keep the blinders on. It is what it is. Funny stuff. 
"When all has been said that can be said, and all has been done that can be done, there will be poetry";-) -- Issodhos
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If it were "investors" and there were losses, I would agree.
Deregulation will bring the banks back in... in spades, and IPO's and mergers will go wild, with the profits going to the middlemen, and we'll have Lehman Brothers all over again. At least back in those days the SEC still had some tools to use,even though they weren't very good in enforcement. With the new rules, and leverage that will also be compounded, the rape of the small investor will be complete, and when the bubble bursts the next time, there won't even be a choice... the banks and the government will be as one, and even nationalization won't save the country. The 1% will be home free.
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Pooh-Bah
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[
While we'd like to think that our government is still a Republic. To me, it's looking more and more like a democracy, much like it is described in the segment of the article that Bob posted.
Do we still genuinely have a Republic form of government? Goodness, Austin, of course we no longer have a Republican form of government. Oh, we still have the skeletal frame, but that is only for show to keep the naieve from looking behind the curtain. Within that rusted frame We have devolved into the mob rule of a democracy that is quickly undermining any concept of unalienable natural rights in favor of group privileges meted out by pols in service to the state. And, by the way, "mob rule" is easily co-opted and manipulated for the benefit of those at the top of any power structure, so do not fall for the prattling arses at OWS get-togethers who chant five or six words at a time while the crowd mindlessly bleats and repeats them in unison. Democracy -- as pushed by the usual suspects -- is just another word for a mindless mass. And a mindless mass is easily directed -- though not so easily turned or stopped. It will crush the few left who remember. It apparently did "go gentle into that good night" (with a tip o' the hat to Dylan Thomas. Issodhos
"When all has been said that can be said, and all has been done that can be done, there will be poetry";-) -- Issodhos
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