Richard D. Wolff

The same “Wall Street bankers and City of London globalists” who control prices are also maintaining this unchecked government and failing economic system. https://clusterrush.io

Reading a Lyndon La Rouche independent party newspaper called “The
New Federalist”, I came across an article on “Wall Street’s war on the
people”. It described hyperinflation and its grip on gasoline, precious
metals and food, all now commodities traded in the stock market. It
went on to state that, “Speculators are trying to cover trillions in bets that
are going bad. It is speculation in the commodities contracts which now fuels
the price inflation or hyperinflation. This uncontrolled government and failing
system of economics is being maintained by the same forces or “Wall Street
bankers and City of London Globalists” who have complete control of prices.
The article continues to say that – Executive powers should freeze the price
of petroleum products and gasoline. To support this there should be a halt to
all commodities futures trading except by end users. Shut down all trading in
commodities-based derivatives and shut down the speculators. We must then
expect a counter-attack from Wall Street involving speculation against the U.S.
dollar, so we need to shut down the currency markets and work with strong
economic nations in returning to “fixed exchange rates”. The Glass-Steagall Act
must be reinstated to separate deposit banking from speculation and begin the
process of weeding out worthless speculative assets from the financial system”.

“The regulations and controls set forth by FDR through the New Deal and the Glass Steagall Act were the reestablishment of the credit system designed by Alexander Hamilton for the United States, and not by capitalism. An economic design that has been systematically dismantled and has now introduced a new credit system based on “speculative junk”

In regards to inflation and price control we can recall when Hugo Chavez
forcefully expelled U.S. oil companies (Exxon and Conoco-Philips) from
Venezuela in 2007, removing their control and reducing the cost of gasoline
to 13 cents per gallon for his people. Chavez nationalized the industry,
considering it a matter of national security and secured and maintained his
economic control over Venezuela’s natural resource while he was in power, (etc.) – “Reflection”, by J. Guzziferno

Thank you very much for sharing your opinion on the matters.

Professor,
Thank you for another great discussion. I admire the clear and concise manner in which you make economic and political issues understandable to those of us who are not economists. In this program you mention that the assault on workers has been ongoing for thirty years (or perhaps you said thirty plus years). My understanding is that the assault began in earnest on the day that Ronald Reagan took his seat in the White House. He proceeded to destroy the progressive income tax system, deregulate banks and other businesses, dismantled protection for unions and a host of other anti-worker policies. The attack has, as you stress, certainly continued under every administration since then. In any event, I would say that the “war on workers” and the lowering of the standard of living for the 99% has been underway for forty plus years, not thirty plus years. I write this not to be argumentative but because you always have a sound reason for making your comments and I am anxious to learn why you say thirty plus rather than forty plus.

Jim Thomas