Free-Trader, Hieress Sugar Mama Husband, Race-to-the-bottom Friedman is AT IT AGAIN!!

[HughBeaumont]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/opinion/11friedman.html?_r=1

Leave it to a brainy Indian to come up with the cheapest and surest way to stimulate our economy: immigration.

“All you need to do is grant visas to two million Indians, Chinese and Koreans,” said Shekhar Gupta, editor of The Indian Express newspaper. “We will buy up all the subprime homes. We will work 18 hours a day to pay for them. We will immediately improve your savings rate — no Indian bank today has more than 2 percent nonperforming loans because not paying your mortgage is considered shameful here. And we will start new companies to create our own jobs and jobs for more Americans.”

snip

If there is one thing we know for absolute certain, it’s this: Protectionism did not cause the Great Depression, but it sure helped to make it “Great.” From 1929 to 1934, world trade plunged by more than 60 percent — and we were all worse off.

We live in a technological age where every study shows that the more knowledge you have as a worker and the more knowledge workers you have as an economy, the faster your incomes will rise. Therefore, the centerpiece of our stimulus, the core driving principle, should be to stimulate everything that makes us smarter and attracts more smart people to our shores. That is the best way to create good jobs.

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

Unconscionable. Shameless. Insufferable.

I am SO unbelievably SICK of this mustached son of a bitch's bullshit. What kind of bastard is SO deluded that he doesn't see the thousands upon THOUSANDS of qualified AMERICAN CITIZENS that can have these jobs instead? "Uh uh uh uh, but if that happens, whut're we gonna do about paaaaaaying them? $60 to $70 thousand a year is just waaaaaaaay too expensive for whut they do!" Do me a favor then. DON'T go into business. Geee, how DARE our workers selfishly demand a wage that allows them to BUY things in America. The GALL!

[mitchum]

1. He should be strung up on that olive tree

[sendero]

3. Or run over..

... by a Lexus. Either one would be fine.

These egghead globalization dogmatists better find themselves some armed guards soon. People have heard enough of this shit.

[HughBeaumont]

4. And have his world flattened.

I can name several IT DUers who can fill the jobs just fine.

Of course, that means you would have to pay them greater wages than, say, $1000 a month, which would afford them an air-conditioned shanty under the Veteran's Memorial Bridge here.

[madaboutharry]

2. Who is Friedman married to?

n/t

[HughBeaumont]

8. A giant real estate magnate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/billionaire-scion-tom-fri_b_26164.html

As the July edition of the Washingtonian Magazine notes, Friedman lives in "a palatial 11,400-square-foot house, now valued at $9.3 million, on a 7½-acre parcel just blocks from I-495 and Bethesda Country Club." He "married into one of the 100 richest families in the country" - the Bucksbaums, whose real-estate Empire is valued at $2.7 billion.

(snip)

Mind you, I don't think everyone needs to publish their net worth. But Friedman's not everyone. He's not just "doing pretty well" and is not just any old columnist. He's not just a millionaire or a multimillionaire - he's member of one of the wealthiest families in the world, and is one of the most influential media voices on the planet, who writes specifically about economic/class issues. If politicians are forced to disclose every last asset they own, you'd think at the very least, the New York Times - in the interest of basic disclosure - should have a tagline under Friedman's economic columns that says "Tom Friedman is an heir to a multi-billion-dollar business empire."

Again, there's positively nothing wrong with people being rich in general, or Tom Friedman being a billionaire scion in specific. The problem is that so few of his readers know this, even as he aggressively uses his platform to justify policies that almost exclusively benefit his super-wealthy brethren - all under the guise of supposed objectivity.


Hypocrisy. Not just for breakfast.

[madaboutharry]

9. Well, I now agree that Friedman

should STFU.

[lostinacause]

18. Does it really matter where his wealth is? He speaks as someone who believes what he

is saying. Also since money was married into, it probably doesn't play a major role in his beliefs.

It's unfair to assume that self-interest is the primary reason for his stance, just as it is unfair to believe that someone who has a child in the public education system supports funding of education solely based on the benefits her child would receive from additional funding.

While I don't agree with everything that Friedman says, I respect his opinions. I believe they are founded by serious examination of the issues rather then self-interest. He has a willingness to change his opinion, as he did with the War in Iraq. He was initially in support of it and eventually changed his opinion. From my understand also writes in support of the environment. He newest book looks at globalization, energy, and the environment. Though I have yet to read it, I think it would be worth reading, particularly if you have yet to read anything by him.

[HughBeaumont]

20. Yes, it absolutely DOES matter.

When you see and live nothing but one side of your argument's coin, you're not exactly going to know where "tails" comes from.

Friedman doesn't know or more to the point CARE that American workers are losing jobs. Friedman doesn't CARE that our citizens have worked so hard for a living in this career path and spent tons of hours of schooling, money and time on it. Friedman doesn't CARE that our citizens, thanks to their careers, businesses and wages being decimated have to start all over at the ages of 45-55. Friedman doesn't CARE that there are economic and societal costs to retraining for a different career path, especially at a time when a college education is unaffordable to more than 50% of the American population and counting (at least one that's worth a squirt of water, anyway).

He doesn't CARE because he's insulated in his job and his comfy confines. Friedman is never, EVER going to worry about being fired, destitute or wanting for anything. His narrow, doll-like shoulders would never press such painful tasks as scraping by on two part-time jobs just to make rent & feed your family and find time to broaden skills in a career that may or may not follow it's technological predecessors offshore. Offshore out/in-sourcing has replaced paying American citizens good wages and has jeopardized the future of at least 14 million jobs by 2015 according to one survey.

To brush the needs of "the other team" aside in terms of economic growth and the vital importance a living wage plays in it with the "adapt or be eaten" argument is not AT ALL what I would call "serious examination" of the issue.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

60. Now that one home run of a rant, Hugh!

:toast: :yourock: :applause:

Friedman is a fucking waterhead.

[rvablue]

24. It certainly does matter given his job is to finger wag others about the economy. n/t

ed:typo

[Hannah Bell]

44. It certainly DOES play a HUGE role. Who are you kidding?

and he's a moron. seriously stupid.

[rvablue]

21. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this ....."so few" is right, as I

like to think I know a lot of things.

My family and friends seem to agree as I blather on about this and that.

And this is the FIRST time I have ever heard of this.

And, frankly, I find it shocking and revealing. I will never read Friedman the same again.

edited to add: THIS NEEDS TO BE AN OP IN GD. Some may not click on this thread. Please post it sometime.

[pampango]

43. Looks like things have gone south for Friedman since Sirota's article in 2006.

Not a billionaire any more, though I wouldn't mind trading bank accounts with him. Sounds like the real estate firm lost 97% of its value in the economic downturn.

"As of 2007, Forbes estimated the Bucksbaum family's assets at $4.1 billion, including about 18.6 million square meters of mall space.<4> In late 2008 the value of the heavily leveraged firm plummeted and the company was threatened with bankruptcy; Ann's brother John resigned as CEO, ending family executive control of General Growth Properties. In its February 2009 issue, Harper's Magazine estimated that the value of the Bucksbaum family fortune shrank by 97 percent since December 2007."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Friedman

[Gabi Hayes]

59. that makes him a pauper in the range of the McCains...

wonder if Baba Booey Friedman knows how many houses and cars his wife owns

[George_Bailey]

55. Not for much longer

They own malls and their market share on the Bucksbaum's stock last year lost literally 99% of its value.

George Bailey
http://welcomebacktopottersville.blogspot.com/

[tularetom]

5. Never trust anybody named Friedman

Milton, Thomas or Kinky.

[girl gone mad]

35. lol..

Kinky wants to run as a Dem..

[corpseratemedia]

6. milton, thomas

if Friedman is it's last name, you can guarantee that whatever it spews it's WRONG WRONG WRONG.

(not my original thought but I sure as hell know it's true)

[Gold Metal Flake]

7. Freidman is working for his wealthy in-laws and friends.

He is the enemy of the middle class. He is everything that is wrong with the wealthy, selfish "elite". He has dedicated his life to shelling out this nation and subjugating it's people. He is on the leading edge of the fascist sword cutting apart the fabric of this nation.

Remember how close this nation came to going fascist between 1929 and 1941. Remember where the industrialists and the conservatives stood on the issues of the economy and Nazi Germany. Remember where they invested, and what they tried to do to our democracy.

They are trying to do it again. The Conservatives and the wealthy want another Great Depression so that they can have another chance at establishing a fascist dictatorship. It is their dream and they are so close they can taste it. They pass the dream down to their children, they have armies of lawyers, muscle, media operatives and political allies. The corporations they form span the globe and never sleep.

So, what are we gonna do about it?

[charlie]

10. The Grey Lady is bleeding red ink

to the tune of hundreds of millions, yet they continue to pay this callow, self-besotted idiot. There's been serious talk that this may be the year the unthinkable happens -- the Times might go the way of the dodo. I'd almost say it would be worth it, just to yank the soapbox out from under the dreary pinhead.

[rvablue]

25. Yep. I'd love to know how much cash the NYT wastes on both Friedman's and MoDo's drivel. n/t

[midnight]

11. He seems to have left the most insulting part out of his

proposal. no Indian bank today has more than 2 percent nonperforming loans because not paying your mortgage is considered shameful here. Well it is not a thing American familys are proud of either. But when loans are created to fail the borrower the shame needs to be placed at the foot of the lender and not the borrower.

They might also bring over another cultural practice. Bride-burning is a form of domestic violence practiced in parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries located on or around the Indian subcontinent. A category of dowry death, bride-burning occurs when a young woman is murdered by her husband or his family for her family's refusal to pay additional dowry. The wife is typically doused with kerosene, gasoline, or other flammable liquid, and set alight, leading to death by fire.<1> We can't afford to open our borders to any more sexism. We finally passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act.

[rvablue]

22. Yep. I'm sure you heard about the beheadings in India last week b/c bride and groom defied

the rules of the caste system.

[PM Martin]

40. Let us open our doors to savage cultures!

:sarcasm:

[HughBeaumont]

12. It's interesting to note that the Plain Feeler put this swill . . .

. . . on the front page of their Forum section, where people's LTTEs get published.

Here are some of the letters they ran today. Good for a laugh.

For years, we've witnessed Republicans losing their way and adopting poor spending habits, but now we're in for a real treat as the "cost-conscious" liberals leverage their supermajority to advance a radical socialist agenda. Based on the "success" of the recent TARP bill, where billions went "missing," a proctologist might provide better stimulation.

While our new administration appears to be well-versed in the realm of economics, aside from tax delinquencies, its latest offering deserves much praise. When an empty piggy bank suddenly becomes a bloated pig, as we've just witnessed, nothing more than a rotten piece of pork can be expected. Unfortunately, too many dopes are incapable of rational thought and rely too heavily on media that are deeply in love with the former senator from Illinois.

If this latest "stimulus" bill is someone's idea of a solution, they can keep their "change"! - Alexander Djordjevich, North Royalton

AH, I see, Alex. When Republicans waste our cash on vanity wars and tax cuts for the rich, they're merely . . . "losing their way". But we spend to help the American people and we're "radical socialists". The light is shed. Thanks, stupid.

If Congress and the president want to stimulate the economy by getting consumers spending and businesses hiring again, they should have dedicated the majority of the stimulus bill to cutting payroll and corporate income taxes. This is a historically proven way to stimulate the economy.

Reducing the payroll tax for those paying taxes today will have an immediate effect on take-home pay. Reducing taxes on businesses will also have an immediate effect by lowering their costs, which results in a cheaper product for you and me, allows them to hire more employees like you and me, or earn a higher profit (gasp!) and spread the wealth in the form of a dividend to shareholders like you and me.

The current so-called stimulus package relies on the hope of reviving our economy through massive spending managed by Washington, which has been shown to work only on the pages of Keynesian economics textbooks.

It is hard to imagine why anyone believes that 535 members of Congress under the influence of every well-heeled special interest (except apparently their constituents) will spend $787 billion smarter than 300 million Americans and thousands of well-run businesses hurting in today's economy. - David Bowen, Avon

Wow. So much stupid I don't know WHERE to begin. Do we start with the "historically proven way to stimulate the economy" revisionism or the whole "tax cuts will make the owner benevolent" fantasy? Where do these dopes COME from?

[Ikonoklast]

16. North Royalton is the most insular and clannish city in NE Ohio,

save Linndale.


Home of Bundists and former Eastern Bloc Nazi sympathizers.

More racists per square inch than a Klan meeting.

[Greyhound]

62. You just don't get it, you liberal fool! When you lower taxes, revenue go up,

therefore all we have to do is eliminate taxes altogether and our revenue will be infinite.

Jeez! Why can't you see this, it is so clear?
:silly:

[HughBeaumont]

64. You wouldn't believe how many conservatives regurgitate this bullshit.

It's utterly amazing how little about corporate economics these Rush/dope addicts know, which is displayed marquee style everytime one of them repeats the "Tax cuts creates JAWBS, yew dum lib!" canard. When you try and explain to them how wrong they are (using obvious historic examples like . .. say . . . THE LAST 8 YEARS!!), you'll just get either some form of "red menace" insult or a half-baked ad-hominem involving "Economics 101, look it up!". IDIOTS.

[leftupnorth]

13. New Rule: "Free Traders" like Friedman will now be referred to as "Free Traitors". n/t

[DBoon]

14. and I'm sure there is an editorial columnist from India

who could do Friedman's job for a small fraction of his pay.

Please fire Friedman and give a job to a deserving, hardworking immigrant.

[rockymountaindem]

15. *Why* is he so obsessed with India?

It's one thing to talk about the global economy, but his constant focus on India makes me wonder if he's not some unofficial spokesman for their foreign ministry :eyes:

[lostinacause]

17. Indians are respectful and hard working. They value honesty and family. My experience is that they

are in generally easier to get along with and more trustworthy then most Americans.

[rvablue]

23. OH. PLEASE.

:eyes:

[lostinacause]

37. If you want me to respond perhaps you should say something.

(Irony intended)

[PM Martin]

41. My experiences counter the OP's.

[HughBeaumont]

26. Wow, let's get out the way of THAT broad brush.

:wtf:

[lostinacause]

36. The statement was meant to be broad. The Indians I have met, particularly immigrants, have been

really nice people. I can't think of any culture that I respect more.

Do you believe that Americans are the nicest people on earth? Are they the hardest working? Are they the most respectful of differences?

This of course is not to say that most Americans are mean, lazy, and disrespectful; just that there are other cultures that generally exceed America in these traits.

(Though I am not American born, I am currently a resident. With the exception of respect for differences I would say that Canada and America are quite similar in the traits mentioned.)

[Deja Q]

54. Racism is a wonderful thing.

Of course, when it's unjust positive generalizations then nobody notices. Unjust negative comments are seen from a 30 million miles away. Funny how that works.

[scarletwoman]

27. Then maybe you'd like to move to India? I hear IBM is encouraging some of its soon-to-be laid off

workers to consider relocating to India. Of course, they will only earn the prevailing level of INDIAN wages -- maybe a quarter or less of they made here. But hey, they'll get to hang out with all those "easier to get along with and more trustworthy" Indians.

:eyes:

sw

[lostinacause]

33. You talk as though living in India would be a bad thing. It shouldn't be surprising that I would

be willing to consider it, given that I have spoke highly of their people. Perhaps in a few years it may be feasible.

It's amazing how much resentment we have for people just want the things we take for granted. The comments that I've heard directed at the Chinese, Indians, and Mexicans are appalling. Perhaps the most unifying principle of liberalism is respect for other people; this goes beyond employed European descendants living in America.

[scarletwoman]

49. I've been to India. I will always have a place in my heart for India, it's a wonderful, magical

place. I've always hoped I might have another chance to spend time there, I've felt a strong affinity for India and Indian culture my entire life. While I was there I wore saris and learned rudimentary Hindi. I spent years studying Indian history, culture, and philosophy.

I think it would be wonderful to live there. So, no, I don't at all think that living in India would be a bad thing.

I just don't want Indians taking jobs that equally qualified Americans should have, just because the Indians would be willing to work for less. To me it's just plain wrong, and I don't care how pleasant their characters are.

sw

[pampango]

46. The dreaded "love it or leave it" response.

Anyone who finds fault with some aspect of American life and finds something good in "foreigners" should immediately move to said foreign country.

Things really have turned on their head since I was a young adult. That used to be the conservative response to someone who protest US policy or racism, while pointing out that another country handled things better.

[scarletwoman]

48. Please consider the context -- the OP is an article flogging the absurd idea that the way to improve

our economy is by importing masses of cheap foreign workers from India. My response is that if someone enjoys the company of Indians, it would make more sense to go where the Indians are, rather than bringing bunches of them here.

My concern is for all the trained U.S. workers who would be pushed aside in favor of cheaper imported workers. I don't care how likeable and pleasant Indians are, I don't want them taking U.S. jobs when equally qualified Americans can't find work.

It's not "love it or leave it", it's "let's make sure that American jobs are going to Americans first".

sw

[pampango]

50. I assume that Friedman's proposal is facetious, since there is not a chance it hell it could

happen.

The truth is that American workers have had to compete with millions of immigrant workers since the country was founded. The Irish, Italians, Chinese, Eastern Europeans, Central and South Americans, not to mention Black slaves with whom white farm workers had to "compete". Most of us are proud of the "immigrant" nature of our country and of the contributions these immigrants made to our culture and economy.

At the times these waves of immigrants were coming, many working Americans resisted this influx of foreign workers, who competed with them for jobs and lowered wages, just as many do today. In the short run, immigration hurts the wages and jobs of the immigrants (and their descendants) who preceded them, even if it has always strengthened the country in the long run. What would the progressive position have been at the time - keep the immigrants out or welcome them?

Unrestricted immigration will never happen again. Times are different. (Aren't they always?) It just bothers me that our problems are so often blamed on foreigners. Canada encourages immigration there of educated and skilled foreigners. They seem to believe that productive immigrants actually help the economy and country.

[scarletwoman]

51. Friedman takes himself very seriously, I doubt that he indulges in facetiousness.

Fatuousness, yes, that is his trademark.

I'm not at all against immigration, but I've spent 7 years on DU hearing about people who are educated and trained in IT, who cannot find jobs. It's not a matter of NEEDING immigrants to fill certain jobs, the deal is that the Owner Class wants to find the cheapest workers possible.

Remember the 90s? When we were all getting globalization shoved down our throats? Re-train, they said! Go back to school so you can acquire the skills of tomorrow! So, lots of folks did that. Then, funny thing, they STILL couldn't get jobs, because the corporate employers could always find foreign workers just as educated who would do the work for far less pay.

I don't blame immigrants, I blame the Owners who run the System. All they want is profit, and if it takes re-establishing fuedalism to enrich themselves -- with an underclass of serfs scrambling to survive on bare subsistance wages -- all the better.

I'm fighting against serfhood for my fellow citizens. I'm fighting against corporate globalism that impoverishes all the people of the world.

Friedman has no problem with the establishment of a permanent global underclass, as long as the financial elites of the world can profit beyond their wildest dreams of avarice.

THAT'S what I object to.

sw

[Deja Q]

57. Let's pool our money and buy him a one way ticket. BTW, that guy should read this article:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x420609

Trade war? It's already happening. And the US has only opened its mouth and, to my knowledge, has not yet done anything in action. Other countries are doing things in action.

Yet it's wrong for the US to work on its economy but okay for everyone else to. I have a problem with that. Looks like the globalists weren't expecting the borders to remain up after all. Oops.

[mitchum]

28. And I'm sure one of them could shill for their "virtue" at much less than your going rate

[lostinacause]

34. And what legitimate grievance should I have toward that?

[mitchum]

61. May you soon find out

[girl gone mad]

38. I have some great friends who are Indian-American,

but I've also had one Indian man outright steal a website from me and re-brand it as his own (I had to get lawyers involved), and another who left the country after hiring some friends for programming work and never paying them for hundreds of hours of labor. The stereotype you present is patently ridiculous and ignorant. Every country has a diverse mix of people, from the good to the outright greedy and criminal.

[rvablue]

47. Couldn't have said it better, GGG. Excellent reasoning....it is SO

ridiculous and bordering on childish to argue that one group of people are more virtuous than another group.

There are saints and scoundrels all over the world.

[PM Martin]

42. Americans are of the hardest working people in the world!

[Deja Q]

53. How about good working? Smart working.

I've had experiences, good AND BAD, with offshored support. Most have. And so much of it is bad that the complaints are justified for proper investigations.

BTW: Rudimentary research, never mind what's posted on DU, has shown enough reports of fraud that put your reverse-racist "Indians in general are more trustworthy"... forget it. Maybe the stereotype that the average American is stupid really is true.

[Greyhound]

63. And most importantly, THEY KNOW THEIR PLACE! n/t

[lostinacause]

19. I should also add that Fareed Zakaria (Post-American World) speaks very positively about India too.

[RadiationTherapy]

45. An economist like him obsessed with a population who finds it 'shameful' to fail

in ANY way? Republicans' wet dream.

[Blue_Tires]

29. uh...did 2 million jobs open up and i just didn't hear about them?

[Deja Q]

56. Quite. Either way, let's get those jobs filled.

By qualified people. I don't care where they're from, but with the number of mass layoffs in America, I have a hard time believing there's a shortage of skilled, QUALIFIED Americans.

[BlooInBloo]

30. I thought you were talking about McLoser in your subject. hahahah!

[HughBeaumont]

31. Speaking of sugar mamas . . .

. . . I just saw the Crypt Keep . . .er. . . Cindy McCain at the All-Star game . . . GAAAAAAAAH! Just . . . MAN. Makes the skin crawl almost as much as John's speeches.

[Waiting For Everyman]

32. Lots of us can recognize a hustle when we read one.

So he's not as smart as he thinks he is.

[PM Martin]

39. It seems people named "Friedman" are right wing corprocrats.

To bad for him that Vietcong John McCain lost this one.

[Deja Q]

52. 18 hour days? WHy didn't this person say that lunch and potty breaks would be cast aside too?

Bullshit indeed. Primo bullshit.

Indeed, anybody dealing with overseas support knows for a damn fact that quality (aka "smarts", what that author clearly is not) is not the issue...

[donco6]

58. But wouldn't we want to stimulate the economy to make life BETTER?

I mean, if this is the alternative, bring on the Depression.