Donald Trump's Secret Wish.

Donald Trump has been in the public's view his whole life. We have all seen the ups and downs of his life play out in the public eye from day one. The public has seen the start of his career, the building of his empire and his rise to fame and fortune over the years.

As with all billionaires, you develop an attitude over the years that always includes narcissism, and if your inclination is to feed that beast, it is sure to best you in the end. Billionaire narcissists tend to keep a low profile generally but as their close friends and relatives will tell you, many if not most, are not so warm and fuzzy behind closed doors... being quite eccentric at heart.

Donald has fed his narcissism for decades and this brings up a particular problem for him, the same old has now become old. The thrill of being the 'it' guy, the center of attraction has faded. Donald now has to elbow his way through the other billionaires just to be noticed. At the country club he is not special anymore, he is just one of the many. His beast hungers... his ego needs sustenance.

He caught a break with his TV show, and that calmed his ego beast for some years, but alas, this too has passed. 

Donald has the foresight needed as a businessman to understand the new opportunity when it presents itself, hence his presidential bid. Donald has to acquire something the other billionaires don't have, and the distinction of being addressed as 'Mr. President' by everyone, including the other billionaires is the crowning achievement. This will feed his narcissistic beast for a long time... maybe even forever, he hopes.

Does Donald care that he will have to actually do the job now and again? Well, he has a solution for that, he will simply delegate the groundwork to his staff and simply make an appearance when the work is done,  like all good bosses do. It's that simple.

This approach of delegating most if not all the jobs to surrogates is different from other Presidents in that the others actually went in themselves and was part of the whole process. Donald does not have the time and patience for that.  Donald can't be sympathetic, empathic and dedicated to solutions that serve others, because Donald's upbringing did not allow him the space to develop this mindset. 

He simply can't feel what he needs to feel, as poor people and poor nations do.  He has always been on the other side of the fence... being the vulture, taking advantage, cannibalizing and profiteering from these poor people, companies and nations. His confession of using the system to file bankruptcies in the past, thereby wreaking havoc on smaller companies and thousands of their workers bears this out.

For him as the leader of a nation to start developing feelings of sympathy and empathy so late in his life and in just a few months after being elected to the office, is something not even he can do. It takes years to understand and develop sympathy and empathy, quick and empty words are not enough. Donald is not interested in being a community organizer, he never was and never will be, it is beneath his status, as a billionaire.

Donald's only wish, is not to hold office, but really to acquire the title, so he can prove himself above the growing mountain of other billionaires, as the thrill of everything has already worn off and is now boring to a long in the tooth billionaire. The other billionaires being made to unwillingly address him as 'Mr. President' is the only thing that will stroke his narcissism one more time... for the Don...

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Does The Internet Spawn Global 'Capitalistic Socialism?'

Enter Zipcar, Uber, Lyft and AirBnB

Lest I lose this audience from the start, let me attempt to first outline certain terms that we may know, but as I realize, 99% of us do not understand. To this end I recommend a really great radio episode by an economist who really discusses these business ideas in great detail.  

The show is called 'Economic Update' hosted by Professor Richard D Wolff, from 9am to 10am, on WBAI radio and the episode was broadcasted on July 17th 2015. It is quite educational and one would be well advised to listen at the above radio links,  it will take you to the archive page of WBAI. At the page, just locate the program 'Economic Update' and click it.

Capitalist Enterprise ; traditional business model which focuses on a top down control and decision making structure with little concern paid to the workers' social well-being, or their ability to work safely and more productively on the job. The focus is mainly on profit without strong concern for social or environmental issues related to the result of doing business.

Capitalism is about 300 yrs old, starting in England in the 17th century and expanding outwards from there to Europe and the Americas... and globally. Called an individualistic system it is not well favored in most countries as the result is always a widening of the economic gap between workers and management while having some unsociable or damaging affects on society and the communities where they operate.

Socialism; Emerged in the 19th century and is more geared toward workers getting a better and/or more humane deal, and better social rewards as a direct result of employment. Geared to also socially serve the communities with greater affect in and around where they exist. Cooperating collectively to conduct profitable business while enhancing the society they exist in as a whole. 

In its largest form, Socialism is thought to mean using the government to have and maintain large economies that were socialistic in focus... this is a misunderstanding, as that is really State Capitalism; it is directly run and regulated by the State. 

Socialism has never been achieved anywhere in the world by major countries like China, Russia, Cuba or France, as they were still run and regulated by States, not private community sources.

State Capitalism is just a means to arrive at Socialism but it is not in itself Socialism... it is just a means to get there. Many people misunderstand this... including Stalin; and think State or Private Capitalism is actually Socialism, but it is not, if you have not transformed the production process into a community social structure or affair. 

A good example of a long existing social success in the form of a Cooperative is the Mondragon Corporation in Spain.

Workers' Self Directed Enterprise;  is an alternative to traditional Capitalist enterprise. This seems to now be the preferred mode of reducing company expenditure and realizing more profits for the company as a result of the reduction. There may be different ownership arrangements but the workers get a better socio economic result than being employed at  the traditional hotel or rental car company. Worker cooperatives are the oldest form of this business model, one example is religious organizations, where the workers are sociably interactive with the community/society they function within, with positive results for everyone involved.

The new trend for some business models has been greately re-done by the use of the internet and using new platforms that helps companies to grow much faster, spread the cost to a wider framework by letting owner/operators share in the operations and the profits, while not burdening the company with owning the hardware or product. 

This is a link to a WNYC Bryan Lehrer episode where the co-founder of Zipcar Robin Chase is interviewed and offers some wonderful ideas about how and why this business platform is successful. In Zipcar's case, the customers have a much better experience fulfilling the needs to get a vehicle when needed, while not having to deal with the rules and practices of a regular car rental company, or owning a vehicle that you only use on weekends.

With new business platforms using the internet, the actual owners of the products being used are in fact the actual workers as well, for instance Air BnB, where the home owners that facilitate the business also maintain their homes and are thereby the owner/operator of that empty room and property used.

In the case of Uber and Lyft, owner/operators are used by these companies via their exclusive app platforms, to connect riders to a privately owned car operated by its owner who is courteous and keeps within the high standards required by the company. The car owner is paid a premium price for their work and is able to fashion their work hours and work zones, around their personal lives, thereby beneftting from having enough time to have other activities including having a family. 

These new businesses are the epitome of having as close to a successful Socialistic business model in the 21st century as is feasible and it is only growing. It is far more cost effective for the companies, as they do not own a car but just an app and a payment system...and makes millions of dollars with it. Welcome to the 21st century!! Open your wings/minds and fly people!

This is the best example of what I call 'Capitalistic Socialism' in the 21st century. 
Could these business models be a boon to self described Socialist Bernie Sanders in the 2016 election, as opposed to the traditional approach of Hillary Clinton? Well, it is Socialism... kinda

Free download of “Shock and Awe on America” in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com

And The GOP Clown Car Turns Into A Bus!

The GOP clown car turned into a bus today, with the addition of one more questionable passenger, Mr. Scott Walker. Walker's terrible reputation precedes him as one of the worst Governors to come out of the GOP's horrendous bag of tricks, only second in my opinion to Chris Christie, who had his state's credit rating drop eight times... maybe, I lost count, it may be up to ten times by now.

Unfortunately for Mr. Walker, his big splash of announcing his candidacy was overshadowed by Hillary Clinton's speech which was also scheduled for today and had the desired effect of drowning out Walker's announcement later in the day,  to join the Presidential race. Walker's speech was carried live on Fox and MSNBC but everyone with an eye for snake oil salesmen, seemed to yawn as he hit all the right 'run of the mill' talking points.

Walker's  main theme was just another right wing fanatical 'same old same old'... repeal Obamacare, cut taxes, cut regulations, increase use of the fossil fuels God has blessed us with, poke Iran and Russia in the eye, kiss Israel's ring, do away with common core and any other sensible educational tools and we could all have the government's support under his watch... to home school our kids. You all know I disagree with the home school idea.

Walkers speech this evening came hard on the heels of what is believed to be his main rival, Donald Trump's own riveting speech. The Donald still stands by the ridiculous claim that Mexicans are sent to the US by the Mexican government, and when they get here they rape and commit crimes to the extent that they are singlehandedly destroying America and deporting every one of them will save us.

I hasten to add that there has not been any blowback by the GOP or the Republican base to Trump's claim, which only confirms that he is indeed talking on behalf of the Republican party and their base as a whole. The RNC has not been able to muzzle Trump and the silence by the GOP and the base says a lot about the racist undertones of the fight wing... an undertone believed to become the biggest plague the party will have to face in this upcoming election.

Unfortunately for Trump, the great escape by the most dangerous drug lord in Mexico proves one thing... Mexicans can dig tunnels and thereby trump Trump's 'great wall.' The Donald has already seen the conspiracy by the Mexican government and has since asked the FBI to investigate the matter.

Free download of “Shock and Awe on America” in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com