I agree with Hulk2008 that congressmen/women are not actually responsive to
the public as we might think.  They have prerecorded messages, and do not
reply to their emails addresses, “f that!” I say.  And it should be a requirement
of office that (yes, this is election reform!), they cannot be affiliated, nor any
member of their immediate family, well cousins, aunts and uncles too) with any
corporation.  Also it seems like they should not be able themselves, nor any
family member to be lobbyist for five years after leaving office.  If there is any
populist movement going to be started seems like these practices ought to be
part of the dialogue.

It does look like a good criticism that no “actual economists [are] elected to
Congress.” at least on the face of it.  But when thought about, seems most
politicians have been trained the legal profession.  If the logic holds, however,
that they have to have formal education in whatever they have to vote on, they
would have had to be astronauts to vote for/against funding the space
program, or military strategists to vote for/against war, or medical doctors to
vote for/against health care or associated health conditions such as stem cell
research, justified abortions, etc.  Seems like logic has taken a vacation.

Well, as a matter of fact among Congressmen/women there are nine
physicians, four dentists, one veterinarian. 

Since they have to vote on all the Federal money spent in this country on
everything, it might be that one requirement after being sworn in as a
congressman/woman, they have to attend a basic course in economics, unless
they can prove on transcripts they had already done that.

To the best of my knowledge, there are not now nor have been actual economists elected to Congress.

The economy has been placed in the hands of total amateurs - how can one expect different results?

Forget your congressmen for now.

Visit http://www.webofdebt.com/

Real economists talking about real solutions for the heart of our problem: monetary policy.

Unfortunately, when literally all of one’s Representatives are Repubs and one of our 2 Senators is Repub and the other (Evan Bayh) is merely a Repub in disguise, making any kind of ruckus is like breaking wind in a wind tunnel.
    Our Reps and Sens all have nice boiler plate letters and emails prepared in advance by their staffs - one could wallpaper a bedroom with them.  They all take the tone “Hrumph, as an elected official blah blah I have a responsibility to carefuly use the people’s money blah blah bull.  Therefore though health care is essential bull blah I cannot support any expenditures blah blah blah.”
  NOTE: Sen. Bayh’s spouse sits on the boards of Eli Lilly (big pharma) and Wellpoint (largest health insurer).  Guess which side his bread is buttered on.

We would all do well to recall the satirical allegory of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” written in 1900. It stands as a critique of the country’s first real populist movement and its attempts to break the monopolies enabled by the gold standard (The Yellow Brick Road).

FYI: The Scarecrow represents the well intentioned Kansas farmer who did not understand the monetary system or how it impacted him.

http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/oz.html

Seems a common theme through history:

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”
—Henry Ford

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currencies, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their prosperity until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”
—Thomas Jefferson

“The bold effort the present (central) bank had made to control the government ... are but premonitions of the fate that await the American people should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it.”
—Andrew Jackson

“The government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credit needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of government, but it is the government’s greatest creative opportunity. The financing of all public enterprise, and the conduct of the treasury will become matters of practical administration. Money will cease to be master and will then become servant of humanity.”
—Abraham Lincoln

“The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson…The country is going through a repetition of Jackson’s fight with the Bank of the United States — only on a far bigger and broader basis.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt

Now go to the US Mint website and try to buy a $1 coin with $1 Federal Reserve note and see how far you get.

We’re off to see the wizard…

The public option is more alive than might be thought as the Boston Globe
reports the option is in the Senate bill.  The opt-out is just another smoke and
mirror trick in the House to pacify both sides until the final bill hits the floor of
the full Congress.  It is my guess that an opt-in public option will pass and
that it will be only the Democrats who will pass it.  That will give them the fuel
to trounce Republicans in every local election that happens.

Reich is right, but he is not a poster boy whose message will resonate with the
public at large.  Making a racket is good advice to write/phone/email everyone
you know.  Sending the videos is probably a better idea.  But racket to me
means loud noises, not soft pens, keyboards, or telephone alpha/numeric
pads.  Loud protests and advocacy needs to be conducted.  Isn’t it too late
though? 

The true fact Reich represents is that there needs to be no let up for advocating
for the public option since the interest of the insurance companies will not
stop investing their millions and millions of dollars to defeat it.  It ought to be
more than interesting that they have that much money to defeat the public
option which shows exactly how much money they make that they can lavishly
afford to prevent any competition and keep the cost of health care to the public
squarely in that pocket.