Comments by brotherlk#678676

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Written on Guest column: Reforms support great teaching in Tennessee:

Multi-million dollar education donations by billionaires are trojan-horse distractions from low-wage policies and rent-seeking.

Written on Letter: Martin responds to report on Saks probe:

By neither admitting nor denying guilt, you, along with all the other corporate leaders and entities that have presumably robbed the public leave the door open to guilt. This is the consequence of such "legal" vagueness that you'll never be rid of.

If you had been truly innocent why did you not defend yourself? Surely you could have afforded it. To prove your character and bona fides, resign from the Haslam investigation. Wouldn't that be the honorable thing to do?

Written on Achievement School District announces 9 new charter school partners for Memphis:


Written on Guest column: Civic grit, grind at grass roots:

Great editorial. I hope more people read this than is indicated by the few replies. Thank you. Curious: who were the "big five"?

Written on Letter: Voters should be tested:

What a sad and ridiculous letter.

Written on Letter: The real deadbeats:

Brilliant! A gift of truth and insight to the community.

Written on Letter: Caution on Medicaid:

The biggest fallacy and myth in present day economics is the idea that the federal government's budget should be run as a household or a business. Wrong! What home or business can print its own money? The US government as the sovereign, monopoly issuer of its own currency can never run out of money or go bankrupt.

But don't take my word for all this. See:

And especially:

Written on Guest column: House GOP takes debt danger seriously:


Balancing the budget would take money out of the economy, and without concomitant pay increases with productivity increases, the American worker is forced to borrow money either from banks (fat chance) - increasing debt - or home equity (fail!). This is what happened during the Clinton years' balanced budget and we're still paying for that.

President Obama's stimulus did not fail, it kept us from going deeper into recession. The stimulus should have been bigger - spending more money into the economy. Austerity is counterproductive.

And neither party fully understands the proper role of taxes at the federal level, which is, to regulate - wait for it - everyone's favorite bugbear: inflation, not generate revenue. Once again, as the issuer of the currency, the federal government is not operationally dependent on taxation.

Rep. Nunnelee is correct regarding the damage done by the increasing payroll taxes. A recent article regarding Darden owned restaurants in the business section of this paper stated that since consumers had less money in their pockets, restaurants were hurting, seeing dwindling patronage from ordinary consumers.

The House budget plan is not responsible; it's irresponsible. Until we lose this notion that the federal budget must be balanced we'll continue to struggle. We could have full employment and eliminate payroll taxes altogether; as long as inflation is kept low through taxation.

But don't take my word for all this. See:

And especially:

Written on Chris Peck retiring as editor of The Commercial Appeal :

Chris, thanks for all you've done for this community. Your journalistic and editorial skills have been outstanding in bringing us news and analysis that have helped us to see the "big picture" and find solutions to the problems that have plagued Memphis for many years. You promised you'd "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted" and you delivered - all during a time of great upheaval in the newspaper business.

Crime, poverty, taxes, education, etc. were explored and examined to give our citizens a fighting chance to improve our lot. When your editorials first appeared in our paper, I wondered who this outsider was trying to tell us what from what. But very quickly your heart and soul came through as an advocate for progress, and I appreciate that. You're legacy will be felt for a long time to come and you've left some mighty big shoes to fill! All the best to you and the family and in your future endeavors!

Written on Letter: Prejudiced, indeed:

in response to Web:

New Yorkers Were Paid to Commit Vote Fraud
"Some of the first witnesses are also claiming that they were paid by Democrat officials to commit vote fraud."

Son of Democratic Congressman conspires to commit voter fraud
"Patrick Moran, the son of Rep. James Moran (D-VA), is seen apparently conspiring to commit voter fraud by discussing how to forge utility bills and impersonating pollsters in order to skirt Virginia's voter ID law.

And my favorite political YouTube video... Atty General Eric Holder's ballot being offered to a stranger after the man simply said "Do you have a Eric Holder" without proving who he was.

Nahhhhh... we don't need a state run voter ID law.

"Nahhhhh... we don't need a state run voter ID law."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Bottom line: This is a solution looking for a problem.

Written on Letter: Prejudiced, indeed:

Oh yes; be very afraid of voter fraud. Here are some clear examples:

Written on Minimum wage hike proposal nets mixed reaction in Memphis area:

I love Muddy's and Kat's funny and entertaining comments in Wednesday's food section of the CA. I love the fact that she pays her employees above minimum wage. Kudos!

Elsewhere in the same section is a news brief that mentions diners are strapped for cash and cannot afford dining out at Darden owned restuarants such as Olive Garden and Red Lobster. The reasons? Higher payroll taxes and gas prices.

More money needs to get into the pockets of American workers to keep up. Jobs and growth come from sales and sales come greater purchasing power. Estimates are that the minimum wage would be around $20 per hour if it had advanced alongside wage productivity, CEO salaries, and shareholder returns over the past several decades.

Something's broken in the "virtuous circle" of economics and it's not the minimum wage.

Written on Shooting for the moon: Chamber changes to pursue grander plans for Memphis :

in response to bigtime21:

Great post!

Agreed! It's this kind of dialog that gives me hope for our great city.

Written on Chevy's new Cruze diesel will offer 42 mpg:

Gives new meaning to the phrase "pit stop"!

Written on Editorial: Sharper-edged ethics rules needed :

Wow. These comments are appalling. Mr. Pickler's actions are clearly a conflict of interest and unethical. He should do as suggested above and exclude his firm from doing business with the schools. And Mr. Orgil should also do as suggested and look into other possible conflicts of interest.

Written on Editorial: Saturday letter delivery an expensive luxury:

in response to 61Cross49:

It's just one less day per week when the postal service can deliver our mail to the neighbors. This dinosaur of an agency should have been privatized years ago.



Critics of the U.S. Postal Service will say that declining mail volume has been a result of the internet age and a move toward digital communications. One cannot deny that the USPS has lost mail volume or that costs have grown over the years due to increases in energy prices and the total number of delivery points that must be met as the U.S. population increases. These factors combined with declining revenues have certainly impacted the USPS's net income, but they aren't the chief drain on the USPS's financial resources. Those that would claim otherwise simply distract from the true culprits already mentioned. The most significant problems impacting the USPS's net income are the unreasonable burdens placed on it by PAEA and by its overpayments to the CSRS and FERS funds."

Written on Memphis City Council renames three Confederate-themed parks :

in response to ChickPea:

At least we can be relieved that Ms Wells won't be sharing billing with Forrest -- that was such a bad idea.

Interesting take MCSTHOMASPAINE has on the park. There is a difficult balance between not forgetting our history and resisting the temptation to not glamorize our past.

Typically, glamour wins and history is forgotten.

Relieved, indeed!

Written on Memphis City Council renames three Confederate-themed parks :

in response to jaydarl:

The comments section of the CA is apparently a good business model for them. I frequent a fair number of local newspaper sites and NONE, and I mean NONE, come close to the rancor of the CA, if there is one, please point it to me. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was on par, if not worse, than the CA, but they have since dropped comments on the majority of their articles. The CA comments section is unique amongst local media outlets, only some national outlets even come close.

I see it as a positive trait of Memphis. Where there is passion, it means that people still care. Love care or hate care people, people have Memphis in their blood. When controversial articles like one this have continually less than 50 posts, then you know people have stopped caring, that is when I will start getting worried and looking for an out.


Written on Memphis City Council renames three Confederate-themed parks :

in response to MCSTHOMASPAINE:

At the end of the day, renaming city parks is the proverbial tempest in a teapot. I love history, real history, not feel good for this decade history. I am especially interested in how we as Americans remember our past, and memorialize it.

Over the years I have taken scores of my out of town friends down to see Forrest Park. Over the years, their disgust, interest, indifference, and intellectual curiosity mirrors much of what I read here. The point is, that monument is a lightening rod that sparks historical interest. For years that park has uttered, " come see me, what do you think of me?, Do I offend you? Do you blame me for 600,000 dead? Has not Forrest Park asked us to consider questions about race, culture, and what it means to be Southern?

Am I a fan of NB Forrest? Hardly. I read three books about him, have studied that bloody war, and our city of Memphis role in that conflict. I do not hold Nathan Bedford Forrest close to my heart. Forrest, and what he represented then, and what he represents now, however, has quite a hold on my mind.

Forrest Park is a place of questions, but with no answers. We reach those conclusions on our own. And reaching those conclusions in an honest way requires mental energy, lots of it.

Such a pity that In a city of so many semi-literates where ignorance is regarded on some corners as a virtue, that we seek to diminish the curiosity this tomb has engendered over the last century.In the great city of Memphis we have decided to gag a monument that has forced us to think. What does this act to silence Forrest say about us?

How does this "renaming" make us a better city?

Very well and thoughtfully put. I suppose that if the vestiges of racism were not so prevalent today, this would be a non-issue. But local/Nashville heavy-handedness in this, schools, voter suppression, etc. make it difficult to be neutral or circumspect.

And regardless, this city needs an Ida B. Wells monument!

Written on Memphis City Council renames three Confederate-themed parks :

in response to longisphere:

Hitler will never be forgotten, but over 1,000,000 visit Auschwitz annually. Poland could have changed the name of the camp to Lech Walesa Park, but chose not to rewrite history regarding pure evil. Visitors to the camp are no more supporters of the Third Reich than opponents of the Memphis park name changes are supporters of oppression of any race.

True, but there's a significant difference: Auschwitz remains to remind people of the evil that occurred - Forrest Park - to glorify the general.

Written on Memphis could add civil rights activist's name to park named after Confederate leader :

Let's stop giving prominence to someone who was on the losing side of history and humanity and promote someone who was not: Ida B. Wells.

I know of no Mother Teresa/Christopher Hitchens, Jefferson Davis/Frederic Douglas or Martin Luther King Jr./George Wallace public parks.

Let's have a series of public discussions and debates on the histories of Nathan Beford Forrest and Ida B. Wells and then put the matter to a referendum and let the voters decide who deserves more visibility in the heart of Memphis.

The referendum could ask voters to decide yes or no to have Mr. and Mrs. Forrest's bones dispatched to Elmwood Cemetary and his statue sent to NBF state park. No one could argue with a democratic decision and goodness knows we're about to see a raft of state constitutional referenda on everything from abortion to taxes; so why not join the fray!

No one's asking the truly pertinent question: Is having a park honoring a Civil War general in the heart of Memphis good for business?

We speak of attracting corporations and young, creative talent but would you want to live or work in a city that gives such a place of honor to General Forrest?

No matter how much he may have changed, he never had to answer for his crimes against the United States (thanks to the forgiving - or pragmatic - nature of Lincoln - see the movie).

I hate that Memphis is being negatively spotlighted and held up as such a backwater. Can't be good for business or talent recruitment. Here's what some people are saying about us regarding this matter:

Written on Letter: Not-so-grand GOP:

in response to roda11:

Kelly Brother - the "great American institution of public education" is not working anymore. Input costs are up - quality output is down. Not a trend you want to do nothing about.

Our public education system was doing fine - in fact, the envy of the world - until certain quarters began questioning sound science and integration. Now, vouchers and charters pull at the threads that bind our society and support the common good. Striving students will be culled from the public system and struggling ones will become fodder for the prison industrial/investment complex. Shameful.

Written on Letter: Not-so-grand GOP:

in response to roda11:

You are not going to pay higher property taxes because of declining property values. You will pay the same property taxes regardless of the value.

You will most likely pay higher property taxes because the County Commission will propose spending more money. The TPC and the School Board have managed to do what no business ever does - find increased costs in a merger.

The last two will increase your taxes - the revaluation, no.

Providing quality public service and a commercial product are two very different things. Are you going to send your flaming house to China to be put out by Chinese fire-firefighters or offshore your students to be educated in Bangladesh? We need to pay for quality government and part of that comes out of maintaining a strong tax base and part of that comes from strong property values and fair taxation.

Written on Letter: Not-so-grand GOP:

in response to EdRedLives:

I like my greenbelt tax break.

Tell that to all the citizens that are about to pay higher taxes because of reduced property values.


Written on Chris Peck: A mentor for life's second half:

Beautifully written, touching and powerful. You open your heart and mind for the benefit of this community and it's truly appreciated. Condolences to you and the family.

Written on Letter: A spending problem:

It was Keynesian theory that pulled us out of the Great Depression. I wouldn't call that a failed theory. Part of our problem is that we've abandoned it in favor of failed austerity theory.

Yes, we do have a spending problem: Wealth has accrued at the top of the social scale and not enough of the rest of the people have money in their pockets to spend, to generate demand, create sales that in turn spur economic growth and creates jobs, etc.

The spender of last resort must be the federal government, a la Keynes - if the private sector hoards its gains - to pump enough money into the system to create economic demand from the remaining members of society. Proof that the government is spending too little is the high rate of unemployment. Cutting food stamps and eliminating the Department of Education will do nothing to put money into the economy and stimulate demand but only make things worse.

Written on Letter: Contrived 'cliff':

in response to trainman:

Kelly, which school of economics did you attend? It appears you just arrived from some fantasy planet. Your writings make absolutely no sense.

"The federal government's red ink is the private sector's black ink." Where are the facts that support this? Truth is: federal debt REDUCES the supply of private equity, as tax payers must use funds to reply the public debt.

"It cannot become insolvent. It is not operationally dependent on taxes and can spend into the economy whatever Congress allows." This is another concept without basis. Yes, governments can go bankrupt. That includes city/state/national. Why do you think the IMF was created?

"A majority of voters spoke with a clear message when they re-elected President Obama: Increase jobs and do not cut social insurance programs." A majority does not mean it is the correct path, only the most popular. And the President stated four years ago that "Jobs Are #1", yet despite all his rhetoric, he has yet to provide anything meaningful. At least in the US. GM is building a 1.3 billion dollar facilty in China; a solar panel company is using US funds to build a factory in China; companies have announced plans to reduce full time employees rather than pay for ACA; and instead of becoming energy independent, the President's inaction delays developing natural gas facilties. So where are the jobs, Kelly?

From the inhabitants of planet MMT (Modern Monetary Theory):

1. Columbia University (videos) featuring the priests and priestess of the planet.



2. Radio interview between Harry Schearer and Stephanie Kelton, economist at University of Missouri at KC, regarding MMT. Very good!

3. Former Wall Street Banker, Warren Mosler, explaining MMT in 15 minute segments (video) to a newspaper editorial board.


More from the fantasy planet:
(See especially the online book, The 7 Deadly Innocent Frauds of Economic Policy)

Reep, snop, snort!

(See I Love Lucy:,r:33,s:0,i:186)

Written on Chris Peck: Time to revisit greenbelt law:

in response to Graefleche:

Redefine wealth or farmers?

Or simply make it unlawful to hire a good accountant?

These people are no more farmers than the man in the moon. How about redefining or refining the law whereby people truly farming for their livelihoods are protected and not those who are looking for a tax dodge? Accountants need not be blamed for this; they're simply doing their job.

And I don't think the folks enjoying these tax breaks are evil.
Virtually anyone else would do the same if they could trade places. But let's get real: Real people and communities are suffering greatly because of atrophied property taxes due to the mortgage crisis/foreclosures because of deregulation and predation promoted or allowed by many of the same people who take advantage of the greenbelt law. Little to no mercy has been shown to the vast majority of home owners. Why would anyone advocate for those who can afford to pay what should be their fair share and still have plenty left over?

Written on Chris Peck: Time to revisit greenbelt law:

in response to Graefleche:

Mr Peck,
I am all for proposing the “Huey P. Long” law that insures that the MOST profit any man can make in a year is ONE MILLION DOLLARS. That may well be the incentive to work harder to support the Democrats and fund the entitlements they need to stay in power.

Even the socialist hated Huey P. Long and his idea.

Land owners have always made their living or invested in land purchases. Most are wealthy in their own right so if they own land (regardless how they purchased it) they can easily make a profit on it. If it makes a profit, it may easily be considered a “farm” or an orchard, ranch or Ponderosa pine forest. It is obvious that wealthy people need to be reclassified as how they “made” or accumulated their wealth to better understand that they cannot be considered “farmers” by the Commercial Appeal or YOU.

Eliminate the wealthy people and you can safely redefine the farmer and his property to suit your agenda.

Hyperbolic. No one is proposing capping incomes or eliminating "wealthy people". And the mere mention of socialism betrays a weak case. The very people who decry regulations and taxes cry fowl when hoisted on their own petard.

Written on Chris Peck: Time to revisit greenbelt law:

Great job. In the face of all the budget/employee cuts and tax increase proposals, this needed to be exposed. How many other tax dodges have yet to see the light of scrutiny? I'm sure you're catching flack, but kudos for "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable". The paper stands tall today.

Written on Letter: Capitalism's dirty paws:

in response to dannyalvez60:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

You make some good points. Although, the corporate tax rate is historically low. In the end government is you and me - us. And as long as we're a democracy, we can change leaders at election time. Corporations and banks, not so much. That's why ALEC and voter ID laws are so dangerous. I don't buy that government is evil and the problem, because in the end, that means you and I are irredeemable. I know: we all sin and come short of the glory of God, etc. And yes, everything will get better when we get better as a people, but in the mean time, let's have some law and order in the markets for goodness sake. It will all come to a grinding halt otherwise. Australian economist Steve Keen has warned that the last time we had such high levels of private debt vis-a-vis world GDP, we got WWII to settle the debts. Don't want to see that again!

Written on Letter: Capitalism's dirty paws:

in response to datGuy:

Making stuff up?

Canada & Australia have more foreign born as a percentage than the US
Germany has the same percentage as US
France & UK nearly as many as US

They're not so homogeneous after all. That's the problem with not going there, you don't know.

FYI - cold war was over twenty plus years ago.

Most countries learned the lesson of the cold war that ... it's won economically - the Soviets lost it because they had too many tanks and collapsed, Chinese also learned it and are instead investing in their economy instead and even Eisenhower warned against it.

So I'll pass on the advice of the "old codger". Our country will benefit greatly by ignoring it too.



Written on Letter: Capitalism's dirty paws:

in response to Vril:

Kelly Brother's LTE was probably a bit too esoteric for many CA commenters. In a nutshell, capitalism is corrupt and the free market isn't free. Mr. Brother may be mistaken when he assumnes that the American people will get the big picture.

Thanks to the obfuscation power of the media, the bulk of the American people will continue to be distracted, confused and malleable into the foreseeable future. The inglorious end of our republic will be heralded by self-proclaimed I-reporters with a never-ending deluge of tweets and Facebook posts proclaiming what should be obvious-We the People got hoodwinked.

"Mr. Brother may be mistaken when he assumnes that the American people will get the big picture."

One of my biggest fears. And you're right: The bites in the posterior will only get bigger until it's (already is?), too late.

Written on Letter: Capitalism's dirty paws:

in response to atommuffin:


Those things have always gone on, and companies have gotten caught doing that stuff for the last 60 years or so. The difference now is that it gets a lot more media attention now due to the fact that it seems to fit most of the media outlets agendas. There will always be people and companies that try to abuse the system in anyway possible, socialism or capitalism.

So? I know all systems are corrupt to some degree but there's no excuse for complete lawlessness. Perps higher up are not going to jail.

Written on Wells Fargo to provide $7.5 million to end Memphis, Shelby County lawsuit:

"A civilized society does not believe in caveat emptor [let the buyer beware]..."

From "The Keynes Solution" by Paul Davidson

Written on Letter: Wrong place for slam at capitalism :

Nonsense! All things, including capitalism, need to be questioned from time to time to keep things honest. I'm glad the CA business section included this quote. It shows broadmindedness. Capitalism and the readers of the CA will manage quite well despite this "horror". Perhaps if more people had taken Malcom X seriously, we wouldn't have had the last few years of capitalism's awful excesses.

Written on We all must sacrifice to fix economic mess:

Report of Greenspan's Senate testimony:

Greenspan spurned the Republican acolytes trying desperately to defend the faith and blame the crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act and the powerful lobby of poor people who forced powerless banks to do reckless things. Greenspan dismissed that goofiness in response to a question from one of its right-wing purveyors, Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., noting that subprime loans grew to a crisis only as the unregulated shadow financial system securitized mortgages, marketed them across the world, and pressured brokers to lower standards to generate a larger supply to meet the demand. Private greed, not public good, caused this catastrophe:

"The evidence now suggests, but only in retrospect, that this market evolved in a manner which if there were no securitization, it would have been a much smaller problem and, indeed, very unlikely to have taken on the dimensions that it did. It wasn't until the securitization became a significant factor, which doesn't occur until 2005, that you got this huge increase in demand for subprime loans, because remember that without securitization, there would not have been a single subprime mortgage held outside of the United States, that it's the opening up of this market which created a huge demand from abroad for subprime mortgages as embodied in mortgage-backed securities. (

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