July 2, 2009
Capitalism's Dirty Little Secret
-- by Dave Johnson
A good read: Debt is capitalism’s dirty little secret
Summary: Lightly-regulated capitalism pushes all the gains to a very few at the top.
"So why has there been no revolution? Because there was a solution: debt. If you couldn’t earn it, you could borrow it. Cheap financing was made widely available."Well those days are over. All the benefits still flow to a very few at the top - sometimes without any masks over what is happening, as with the bailouts. But the rest of us no longer even get to borrow a lifestyle.
What comes next?
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 11:51 AM PST on July 02, 2009.
July 1, 2009
Did Free Trade Cause The Recession?
-- by Dave Johnson
For many years the world has suffered under a “free trade” regime that eliminates good paying jobs in every country, sending the work to countries that keep wages low and restrict workers' ability to organize for a better life. The profits went to an already-wealthy few and the inequities increased, wealth concentrating massively at the very top.
And now consumers around the world have run out of money. This is not a surprise.
Did these trade policies cause the recession?
Imagine a company in South Carolina that makes 20,000 pairs of shoes a week and distributes them to stores. Now, imagine that the company closes its South Carolina plant, opens a plant in a low-wage country, ships all the machines and raw materials there, ships back 20,000 pairs of shoes each week and distributes them to the same stores. Is that “trade?” Are the raw materials sent out of the country an “export?” Are the shoes brought back into the country an “import?”
The only thing that has been “traded” in this scenario is American jobs traded for huge executive bonuses. The workers in the low-wage country are not paid enough to buy any remaining American-made products. And, as the economic collapses as a result of shenanigans like this, American workers are no longer able to buy shoes so the executives won’t be getting bonuses next year.
I submit that nothing in this example is “traded” except that our standard of living has been traded away. And this exchange brings little benefit to the workers in the low-wage country. This is exploitative trade, not free trade, and we need to protect our workers, the workers in other countries and the world's economy by demanding that our trade partners provide living wages and benefits. We can enforce this demand by attaching import tariffs at a level that makes our own goods competitive. This removes the advantage gained by exploiting workers - and the revenue reduces our own tax burden to maintain our competitive infrastructure. It is an incentive to pay their workers enough so they can reciprocate and buy the things we make here. Instead of the race to the bottom that led to this recession such tariffs create an incentive to raise standards of living around the world.
We should have national policies that prevent exploitation of workers and the environment and that share prosperity. This is a choice between lifting each other up or continuing a spiral to the bottom.
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 3:09 PM PST on July 01, 2009.
June 30, 2009
California Suspicion
-- by Dave Johnson
Here is what I suspect. It's obvious that Republicans are shutting the state down on purpose. I suspect they have a plan ready, and will launch a full-scale "shock doctrine" "solution" to the problem, along with a full-on PR campaign blaming Democrats, "spending" (meaning benefits and services to citizens who are not rich) and government in general (democracy) for the problem.
The "solution" will likely include a flat tax (giving a huge tax cut to millionaires while raising them for the rest of us), probable cutting or even eliminating corporate taxes, maybe school vouchers or just eliminating public schools to some degree, etc.
So let's see. This is not an accident it is a plan.
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 10:57 PM PST on June 30, 2009.
Does the Public Think Politicians Are Crying Wolf (Again)?
-- by Dave Johnson
This post originally appeared at Speak Out California.
A recent large headline in the San Jose Mercury News got me thinking. The headline was, "A dire warning from the Governor". (Online headline is different from the morning's print headline.) From the story, "Schwarzenegger said ... his threat ... is necessary to prod lawmakers into swift action."
I have to admit that even I rolled my eyes when I saw that -- even though I understand how serious the problem is. And this led me to think that maybe there is a "crying wolf" factor at work here. This has been going on now or a long time.
A few months ago the crisis was reaching a breaking point, dire warnings were issued, and most importantly the public was starting to pay attention. This triggered the leadership in Sacramento to do what I think was the worst possible thing: they came up with the fluffy budget compromise that "solved" the crisis and resulted in the failed May 19 Special Election. I believe the compromise was a mistake that broke the tension and led people to believe that the "crisis" was over, so they tuned back out.
I think the "chicken little" aspect of the whole affair kept people away from the polls in droves.
I am not faulting the Governor and other state leaders for headlines like thos and other warnings because the crisis is real. Our leaders all need to do whatever it takes to get people to pay attention, to realize this budget crisis is real and that everything that can be cut has been cut, that they really are going to have to let people out of prisons and close parks and still will run out of money anyway. Bankruptcy and all of its consequences looms. For real. The public has to get involved and do their job in this democracy.
But I can understand why most Californians have tuned out. I think part of this budget problem is that it has become the norm to use drama and fear to prod others into action. And not just with the budget. There are so many terrible problems hitting us from so many directions. The economy really did collapse, and we may be on the edge of another Great Depression. For real. This has been a headline swarm for months. Swine flu is real, but is not as lethal as it first appeared it could be. This was the headline swarm a few weeks ago. And of course Global Warming is real, and serious. It has been a headline swarm for years.
Those are real and serious problems. But at the same time there are so many manipulative, well-funded and sophisticated PR campaigns, usually from corporate interests, that use fear and/or other manipulation. Remember the headlines warning aobut possible terrorist smallpox attacks? Remember being told that Iraq was on the verge of hitting us with nuclear weapons? Remember duct tape?
So people just do not know who to trust and necessarily are becoming immune to drama.
California's big media outlets could do a better job of explaining the real problems facing the state, beginning by dispelling the idea that the state is just wasting taxpayer money and everything can be solved with a few painless budget cuts. They need to do this in a serious, respectful way, with comprehensive investigative reporting. If print media won't do that, they should close their doors -- they aren't doing their jobs and aren't helping anyone anymore so they should let their advertisers support a medium that helps democracy rather than hinders it. If broadcast media can't do that, they should relinquish their broadcast licenses to others who will.
The poor, elderly and disabled have already suffered the cuts. They understand that this is for real. So maybe we need the crisis to hit home so (middle class) people can also understand that it is for real - this time.
Click through to Speak Out California.
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 3:38 PM PST on June 30, 2009.
Who Is Our Economy FOR, Anyway?
-- by Dave Johnson
The Seeing the Forest question: Who is our economy FOR, anyway?
If the government provides good, low-cost health care to citizens it reduces the profits of the big insurance and drug companies. This health care battle lays down a clear choice of who benefits: citizens or a wealthy few?
Republican Senator Snowe of Maine announces her choice. See Open Left:: The Problem With The Public Option Is That It Lowers The Cost Of Health Insurance,
In an Associated Press interview in Portland, Snowe said it would be unfair to include a government-run health insurance option that would take effect immediately."If you establish a public option at the forefront that goes head-to-head and competes with the private health insurance market ... the public option will have significant price advantages," she said.
Well, duh. That is the whole point. You can't lower the price of health insurance unless you start offering lower-priced health insurance. It's a tautology.
So, naturally, during the fight to lower the price of health insurance, so-called moderate Senators think that the problem with the public option is that it would... lower the price of health insurance. While it may be news to so-called moderate Senators, protecting the crappy products of large corporations is not their job description.
Yes, this health care battle is stripping some of the camouflage from the real fight: do the people benefit from our government, or do a wealthy few benefit?
Who is our economy for, anyway? I first asked that question here just about seven years ago, and it became the blog's tag line. I think the financial crisis and now this health care battle allow people to clearly see and understand which choice their Washington representatives make. And I think the way these twin crises are unfolding helps people to understanding the choice their own elected representatives make. I think will make a big difference come election time.
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 11:10 AM PST on June 30, 2009.
June 29, 2009
Too Many People
-- by Dave Johnson
Krugman: Betraying the Planet,
Temperature increases on the scale predicted by the M.I.T. researchers and others would create huge disruptions in our lives and our economy.It doesn't affect people who are not here. If we see famine, mass migration and other mass-scale disruptions coming there is something we can do roght now to ease the suffering and that is conceive fewer people!. . . In other words, we’re facing a clear and present danger to our way of life, perhaps even to civilization itself. How can anyone justify failing to act?
1) Conceiving fewer people means fewer people will be here to need food, hospitable climate, etc. If they aren't here they can't starve.
2) Conceiving fewer people means the use of carbon-releasing energy will be lower. So lower carbon emmissions, lessening the problem.
3) Conceiving fewer people means the people who are here have more resources available to them.
4) Duh!
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 9:05 AM PST on June 29, 2009.
What Should Progressives Do Now?
-- by Dave Johnson
Scholars and Rogues is starting a discussion of what progressives should do to get the national Democrats to start serving the people. Go read Democrats to Progressives: we're just not that into you,
It has been observed that the Republicans seem to be more effective with a minority than the Dems are when they have the entire country by the balls. GOPpers derail the train by threatening a filibuster, but the Democrats can’t seem to head off a bad idea with a damned-near buster-proof majority. How the hell is this possible?My thinking, this is a war between a few who control the resources of large corporations and the rest of us. Breaking up the Democratic Party helps the other side. But the threat of breaking up the party does gain leverage over the careerists - those who are in the party for a career and contracts and potential high-paying corporate jobs after they do a few favors. So maybe it is useful to discuss.[. . .] Longer-term, though, it seems like the progressives can make an argument - and one that is supported by some actual evidence - that they represent the will of a goodly slice of the American public. Even better, given how the youth vote seems to be trending, they can also argue that their hand is going to strengthen over time. Are these premises accurate? Hard to say. But they are testable hypotheses, and the posit is certainly plausible enough to be worth examining.
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 8:19 AM PST on June 29, 2009.
June 27, 2009
Markos' Letter From Republican Congressman
-- by Dave Johnson
Markos of DailyKos got a letter, apparently from a Republican Congressman. Go have a read.
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 10:42 PM PST on June 27, 2009.
June 26, 2009
Jackson
-- by Dave Johnson
Michael Jackson's autopsy starts in a few minutes. Will it be televised?
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 8:04 AM PST on June 26, 2009.
June 24, 2009
Health Care Results Will Judge Value Of Democratic Party
-- by Dave Johnson
A thought. If the Democratic Party is unable to bring the people health care reform this year -- and that means with a very strong "public option" and subsidies so we can afford the coverage -- then I think it is time to ask whether the Democratic Party as presently constituted is capable of serving the people, or should be scrapped and a new party built from the grassroots up? There is nothing more basic to the idea of democracy than that the people should realize the basic benefits of modern society, and the most basic of these is a right to health care.
-- Posted by Dave Johnson at 9:40 AM PST on June 24, 2009.
