Taken from BlogForArizona.com
http://www.blogforarizona.com/.a/6a00d8341bf80c53ef01538de1ab30970b-popup
http://www.blogforarizona.com/.a/6a00d8341bf80c53ef01538de1ab30970b-popup
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Saturday, April 16, 2011
Ensnared by Our Illusions
Taken from BlogForArizona.com
Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:58 PM PDT
By Karl Reiner
According to Census Bureau data, the proportion of Americans living in urban areas rose from 93.2% in 2000 to 93.7% in 2010. The bigger cities grew faster than small ones, most of the growth occurring in the suburbs. The data contradicts one of our cherished illusions. We are not a nation of rugged individuals living in self-sufficient small communities. Because urban societies have needs different than rural ones, we should now understand that governments running urban societies have more complex responsibilities.
Thus far in the economic recovery, U.S. corporate profits have climbed, wages lag, and unemployment remains high. In an outlandish reaction to the situation, there has been a flurry of activity at the state level aimed at curbing the collective bargaining rights of unions. The recession was caused by a giddy combination of lax regulation and the excesses of financial sector corporations. It is difficult to understand how a curb on collective bargaining will do anything to hasten the recovery.
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Germany and Switzerland all have a larger percentage of their workforces unionized than does the U.S. None of these countries are rated as economic basket cases. The level of unionization has not detracted from their ability to maintain functioning economies. Nor has it destroyed the ability to produce. Germany is a major economic force in Europe, ranking among the top five world exporters.
A large part of the American population has elected to ignore the basic requirements of good governance. An efficient state, the application of the rule of law to all parts of society and the ability to hold leaders accountable are vital for long-term success. This historic truism has been conveniently ignored by those espousing the ill-conceived illusion that unions are the cause of all economic ills. The assertion that government is irrelevant to economic progress also flies in the face of historic reality.
The concepts for the operation of successful societies were developed by trial and error over a long period of time. One important change came with the idea that kings were subject to the law. This once extremist notion became the foundation for the modern law-governed institutions we have in today’s secular states.
The concept that companies are legal entities with rights is vital to the success of capitalism. But it does not mean that corporations need to have all same rights as individuals. The corporate role in fostering the conditions that led to the current recession clearly indicates that a degree of government control is necessary. If the role of government is continually diminished, do corporations really want to assume the responsibility of pursuing social rather than business ends? In an energetic society, the enlarged role would be seen by business interests for what it is, a distraction from business.
The gloomy predictions of Karl Marx still hang over the world’s economies. As the industrial revolution progressed, he warned that the situation of workers would grow worse as capital accumulated and concentrated. There have always been indications that corporations will squash competition, stomp the little people, abuse their rights and avoid their responsibilities if allowed to operate unchecked. Marx’s dire warnings were negated in the western nations after a long and bitter process of accommodating competing interests. Workers were eventually recognized as having rights and became consumers. Governments assumed responsibility for regulation and providing safety nets, helping to maintain social cohesion.
Thus far in the economic recovery, U.S. corporate profits have climbed, wages lag, and unemployment remains high. In an outlandish reaction to the situation, there has been a flurry of activity at the state level aimed at curbing the collective bargaining rights of unions. The recession was caused by a giddy combination of lax regulation and the excesses of financial sector corporations. It is difficult to understand how a curb on collective bargaining will do anything to hasten the recovery.
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Germany and Switzerland all have a larger percentage of their workforces unionized than does the U.S. None of these countries are rated as economic basket cases. The level of unionization has not detracted from their ability to maintain functioning economies. Nor has it destroyed the ability to produce. Germany is a major economic force in Europe, ranking among the top five world exporters.
A large part of the American population has elected to ignore the basic requirements of good governance. An efficient state, the application of the rule of law to all parts of society and the ability to hold leaders accountable are vital for long-term success. This historic truism has been conveniently ignored by those espousing the ill-conceived illusion that unions are the cause of all economic ills. The assertion that government is irrelevant to economic progress also flies in the face of historic reality.
The concepts for the operation of successful societies were developed by trial and error over a long period of time. One important change came with the idea that kings were subject to the law. This once extremist notion became the foundation for the modern law-governed institutions we have in today’s secular states.
The concept that companies are legal entities with rights is vital to the success of capitalism. But it does not mean that corporations need to have all same rights as individuals. The corporate role in fostering the conditions that led to the current recession clearly indicates that a degree of government control is necessary. If the role of government is continually diminished, do corporations really want to assume the responsibility of pursuing social rather than business ends? In an energetic society, the enlarged role would be seen by business interests for what it is, a distraction from business.
The gloomy predictions of Karl Marx still hang over the world’s economies. As the industrial revolution progressed, he warned that the situation of workers would grow worse as capital accumulated and concentrated. There have always been indications that corporations will squash competition, stomp the little people, abuse their rights and avoid their responsibilities if allowed to operate unchecked. Marx’s dire warnings were negated in the western nations after a long and bitter process of accommodating competing interests. Workers were eventually recognized as having rights and became consumers. Governments assumed responsibility for regulation and providing safety nets, helping to maintain social cohesion.
The recent economic fiasco has not resulted in calls to abolish corporations, although it appears that many would like to see the government’s role shrink and unions disappear. In the U.S., productivity rose 83% between 1973 and 2007, but median real wages rose only 5%. The result has been a troubling growing inequality in incomes. For a long time, the Federal Reserve held down interest rates, boosting housing and propping up asset prices. It turned out to be a subsidy to the financial sector. As the housing bubble developed, salaries in the financial sector outpaced the wages paid for other skilled jobs.
We live in a world where the elites can easily move from country to country, to wherever their skills are in demand. It may be that the squeeze on wages and living standards is part of the nasty price we have to pay to climb out of recession. A strong state, the rule of law and accountability remain necessary for economic growth and political stability. Those who think otherwise are fostering deadly illusions. They will put the nation on a path to turmoil. It will eventually lead to a bitter relearning of the lessons of economic history.
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[Lack of] Election integrity in Wisconsi
Taken from BlogForArizona.com
[Lack of] Election integrity in Wisconsin
Posted: 15 Apr 2011 05:35 PM PDT
by David Safier
If you've been following the Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, you probably know a whopping 14,000 votes were "discovered" by Kathy Nickolaus in Waukesha County, giving Governor Walker's buddy David Prosser a 7,000 vote lead. Nickolaus just kind of forgot to enter them in the only place the county's votes are stored, the circa 1995 personal computer in her office (no, I am not making this up).
While people are trying to figure out what's going on in the count, Nickolaus' past election problems are beginning to surface. BradBlog has a long post on the topic, and you can find more on Daily Kos. As a sign this story is spreading beyond liberal Democrats and the election integrity crowd, the story is also covered in the Wisconsin State Journal.
In a 2006 attorney general election, the number of votes Nickolaus reported was almost 20,000 more than the total votes cast. It's not easy to explain that one away. It's also hard to explain how the county turnout in the 2004 Presidential election could have been 97.63%. Fifty percent, maybe. Seventy percent would be a reasonable stretch. But 97.63%?
I don't know what level of diligence the Wisconsin government will exercise to figure this out. I have no idea how securely the state's ballots are stored to preserve the integrity of a possible hand count. But I know something is rotten, maybe in the state of Wisconsin, surely in the county of Waukesha.
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Robert Reich | President Obama's Real Bu
Taken from RSN
Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog
Robert Reich writes: "The underlying problem isn't the budget deficit. It's that so much income and wealth are going to the top that most Americans don't have the purchasing power to sustain a strong recovery."
READ MORE
Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog
Robert Reich writes: "The underlying problem isn't the budget deficit. It's that so much income and wealth are going to the top that most Americans don't have the purchasing power to sustain a strong recovery."
READ MORE
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Paul Krugman | Obama Calls Ryan's Bluff
From RSN
Paul Krugman, The New York Times
Paul Krugman: "On Wednesday, as I said, the president called Mr. Ryan's bluff: after offering a spirited (and reassuring) defense of social insurance, he declared, 'There's nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. And I don't think there's anything courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don't have any clout on Capitol Hill.'"
READ MORE
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This Tax Day, Make THEM Pay ...a letter
Friday, April 15th, 2011
Friends,
Do you wonder (like I do) what the tax accountants and executives are doing over at GE this weekend? Frantically rushing to fill out their IRS returns like the rest of us?
Hardly. They're taking the weekend off to throw themselves a big party and have a hearty laugh at all of us. It must really crack them up to see us like suckers scurrying around to make sure we report everything to Uncle Sam -- and even send him a check, if necessary.
The joke's on us, folks. GE and tons of other corporations will have a tax bill for 2010 of ZERO. GE had $14.2 billion in profits in 2010. Yet they will contribute NOTHING to the federal government while every last dime is soaked from us.
In the latest budget deal, our politicians could have tackled the deficit by stopping the flow of these ill-gotten billions to corporations. Instead they cut billions from "wasteful" programs that do "wasteful" things, like create new jobs, drive economic growth, and help the needy and our nation's children. It's Democracy in reverse and it sickens me.
GE spends $20 million a year to lobby Congress to throw themselves this party. But do you know what speaks louder than $20 million? 20 million votes! 20 million people, and more, standing together and taking to the streets. That starts now, with you.
This coming Monday, April 18th is Tax Day -- and that's the day when "we the people" will demand our country back from these corporations in events all across the country. You can find the nearest event to you here.
MoveOn members -- along with union, community, and environmental allies -- will gather outside the headquarters and local offices of the biggest corporate tax dodgers to deliver tax bills from the American people. And we'll demand that our leaders make these corporate deadbeats pay.
We're doing this because we don't buy into the Big Lie: that greedy teachers caused the crash on Wall Street! That the selfish firefighters sent millions of jobs overseas! That pregnant woman, infants, and children are sending us into deficit!
No, it was the big corporations that did this. It was the CEOs and the top 1% of the country. THEY brought on the mortgage crisis. THEY made off with trillions of dollars from our economy. THEY are systematically destroying the middle class. And THEY have bought and sold the very people elected to represent us!
On Monday, we will have something to say to Exxon, Chevron, and the big banks that crashed our economy and got billions in bailouts, like Citigroup and Bank of America, who pay little or no federal income tax. In fact, the IRS will likely give them a tax REBATE. If that doesn't boggle your mind then nothing will.
The Tax Day events are about sending this message: We are coming after you, we are stopping you and we are going to return the money, jobs, and homes you stole from the people. This is your tipping point, Corporate America. And I, for one, am glad it's going to happen this Monday.
If you've never been to an event like this before, this is the time. And don't go alone, because none of us can win this fight by ourselves. Plus, it's more fun and exciting to go along with friends and family to be part of real democracy in action -- not the store-bought kind Big Business gets on Capitol Hill.
I really hope you can make it. This is our chance, my friends. Take the time on Monday to make your voice heard. I can guarantee you I will. Please join me.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Obama & The Siren Song of Empty Promises
Rachel Maddow described President Obama's speech on Wednesday as a "defining moment" for his administration, and she was absolutely correct. It was an excellent speech in the main, filled with the kind of lofty rhetoric we have become accustomed to since Mr. Obama first burst onto the political scene in 2004. In it, he proposed taxing the rich, cutting the defense budget and decreasing the cost of health care. He defended Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. For many in the progressive community, it was a reminder of the man who fired the imaginations of so many during his presidential campaign.
Therein lies the problem: it was all just words. Again. There have been many such "defining moments" during this administration, most of which involved retreat, surrender and failure after festooning the walls with words. We heard great talk about including the public option in the health care bill - until Mr. Obama retreated, leaving many to wonder if he ever meant to include it at all. We heard great talk about closing Guantanamo, until he retreated. We heard great talk about repealing the Bush tax cuts for rich people, until that fell by the wayside as well. The very fact that we are still talking about those damnable tax breaks is evidence enough of how far those words go, and that is not very far at all, so far.
And then there were the other words in Wednesday's speech: the ones that tipped a wink to the Bowles-Simpson proposal to eviscerate the social contract which has sustained this nation for generations. There were the words, "Any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table." If that is true, Mr. President, then a plan to provide Medicare for all must also be on the table … but no, that's not "reasonable" or "responsible." The debate over the future of this country has been skewed so far to the right that centrism appears radical, even as the worst elements in our nation win the day time and again.
Words are no longer enough, even pretty ones. Action is required.
Therein lies the problem: it was all just words. Again. There have been many such "defining moments" during this administration, most of which involved retreat, surrender and failure after festooning the walls with words. We heard great talk about including the public option in the health care bill - until Mr. Obama retreated, leaving many to wonder if he ever meant to include it at all. We heard great talk about closing Guantanamo, until he retreated. We heard great talk about repealing the Bush tax cuts for rich people, until that fell by the wayside as well. The very fact that we are still talking about those damnable tax breaks is evidence enough of how far those words go, and that is not very far at all, so far.
And then there were the other words in Wednesday's speech: the ones that tipped a wink to the Bowles-Simpson proposal to eviscerate the social contract which has sustained this nation for generations. There were the words, "Any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table." If that is true, Mr. President, then a plan to provide Medicare for all must also be on the table … but no, that's not "reasonable" or "responsible." The debate over the future of this country has been skewed so far to the right that centrism appears radical, even as the worst elements in our nation win the day time and again.
Words are no longer enough, even pretty ones. Action is required.
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bz0wm
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