Who is the in the 1%?

“The One Percent” is an amazingly well done documentary that gives an inside look at how the richest millionaires and billionaires in the U.S. live. The documentary was made by Jamie Johnson (as in Johnson & Johnson) in 2003. He reveals his own families struggles to come to terms with their wealth in the face of growing inequalities. In his search for understanding of fairness, justice, morality and profit he speaks to everyone, from Nobel Prize winning Milton Friedman to the granddaughter of Warren Buffet to the poor living in the projects of Chicago or working on sugar plantations in Florida. It's available to stream on Netflix.

Here is a link to the synopsis and trailer.

Also, thanks to my friend Maren, here is a global perspective of where you can find the one percent: MAP.

While these highlight the problem of rising inequality and concentration of wealth, the question remains, what to do about it? I think the answer has to go beyond increasing taxes on the rich. We need structural changes that help to prevent the richest from buying political favors through large campaign donations and funding lobbyists. We also need to make reforms to ensure that even the poorest are able to send their children to quality schools. For a start...

Ray Charles - Biographic Movie

I’ve got Georgia on my mind, I got a woman, Drown in my own tears, Night time is the right time…
Ray Charles created so many incredible songs that broke musical boundaries - mixing gospel, r&b, blues, soul, country, pop ; broke racial boundaries – bring great music to white and black audiences in the north and refusing to sing to segregated audiences in the south; broke international boundaries – going from a ruff life of sharecropping in Georgia to playing and singing around the world; broke many hearts – he had the power to melt women with his music and magnetic personality. I knew he was extremely talented but I didn’t know where he came from besides knowing that he was blind. Last night I watched a fantastic biographical movie that brings his story to life. If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend you do.

Guantanamo May Remain Open Indefinitely… Take Action

Under the Bush Administration, the government threw out the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions in declaring an unconventional “War on Terrorism.” The struggle against terrorism is unconventional because we are not fighting against another nation; rather we are fighting against an extremist ideology that supports the use of violence and guerrilla warfare to attack their perception of infidel “Western” powers. Since this is a war of ideology, I don’t believe that it makes sense to further undermine our ideology of democracy and the protection of human rights by using unjust detention and torture of people suspected of committing acts of terrorism. This approach makes us appear hypocritical and weak. To succeed in a war of ideology we have to stand behind what we believe otherwise we have already let them win.
I hoped that the Obama administration would change our course in the struggle against terrorism. One of his first promises was to close Guantanamo. However, Guantanamo is still open and there is now a bill that has passed the House of Representatives and is being voted on by the Senate that would keep Guantanamo open indefinitely. Please join me in writing to your Senator to ask them to vote against this bill and demand changes that ensure that innocent civilians suspected of terrorism are not being treated inhumanely as this will only provide more incentive for people to perceive the U.S. as an enemy. You can find the full text of the bill at here . The sections of the bill pertaining to the status of prisoners at Guantanamo include Sections 1036-1039. You can express your opposition to the bill and write to your representative using the following link.

I recently watched a Danish documentary called Armadillo about the war in Afghanistan that gives a first-hand view of the brutality and ineffectiveness of the war. You can find it on Netflix. Also I suggest reading “Taliban” and “Descent into Chaos” by Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid for an in-depth overview of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Dedicated Protestors Making a Difference

The recent global protests are the result of an interesting and beautiful exchange...students in the United States created Facebook which has helped students in Middle Eastern and North African countries to coordinate and protest against dictatorships and inequality and now the success of their protests have inspired Americans to protest our own outrageous economic inequalities.

Tunisians got the ball rolling with a mostly peaceful protest and now a democratic election. Hopefully their new government will be able to respond to the demands of their people more effectively. I also hope that protests in the United States and even in more difficult situations, such as is the sad case in Syria, remain peaceful. The violence that erupted in Oakland is not the way to go. If the protests degenerate into fist fights with the police the credibility that the protests carry a message for how we can rebuild a more inclusive and strong economy will be lost. By contrast, the persistence and coordination of many protesters is gaining more and more positive attention. There is an online public forum for Occupy Wall Street where there is an explanation of democratic structure protesters are using to reach decisions is explained and there are links to open discussions on key issues such as the cash-for-immunity deal in negotiation between the government and banks related to the investigation of fraudulent "robo-signing" of foreclosures. The protesters are not an angry mob seeking to tear everything down, they are a legitimately angry group of intelligent people looking for answers to transform our economic system and society to one that is less unequal and unfair.

I have a passion for using numbers to contextualize problems. Here is a chart that clear shows the growing inequality in our society (click on it to see a larger image) as well as a link to an excellent slideshow elucidating the many problems we are facing.

What do the protesters want? Essentially, strengthened rule of law so that bankers and others can't get away with fraud and other crimes, increased taxes on the rich, and more jobs for the unemployed.