Today Barack Obama once again caved to the whims of the GOP who are in the minority and able to with a cabal of 40 or so Senators do the bidding of the monied interests against the interests of the nation.
Barack Obama campaigned relentlessly on the issue of allowing the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest of the wealthy expire as a measure to help shore up the national balance sheet. Unlike Rep. Boehner's notion that this didn't produce certainty, he also called allowing this tax break to expire job killing.
If that were true, then for every quarter since these cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003, the U.S. economy should have grown by leaps and bounds. The facts point otherwise. Since George W. Bush came into office, the economy has hemorrhaged jobs steadily until Obama came into office where job gains had been seen for the first time in many years. There is zero evidence over the last 20 years that there is any correlation between low tax rates for the wealthy and job creation, or economic prosperity for the rest of the nation.
What is worse, is the fact that tax cuts at the federal level lead to increased overall taxes. The reason is simple, government services that we all expect have a finite and known cost. We know how much it costs to hire a food or mine inspector, a police officer, a fireman, a teacher, we know those costs with great certainty. For many of these positions, federal money is used to offset local costs as a means of returning the tax revenue to the local community in a meaningful way.
When federal taxes are slashed, these costs are passed on to states and municipalities. The funds available to help fund public schools or police officers are cut as a result of the federal tax cuts. Most people would not go without adequate fire, or police protection so the money to keep these functions afloat must come from somewhere. That somewhere is local taxes. When federal taxes are cut local taxes such as fuel, sales and property taxes raise as a result.
So in the end, Federal income tax reduction is an illusion. Unless you are prepared to give up much of what government provides that small break ends up costing you more. It is our government which builds our road, provides schools for our youth, provides emergency services to the community, funds our armed services, provides inspectors to ensure safe water, food and workplaces, these services are not things many take lightly.
I wish Obama would grow a spine and veto any legislation that extends the tax cuts on the wealthy and make a stand. Those cuts are cuts we cannot afford, do nothing to spur job growth, and money that can be best spent elsewhere. Make a stand and sell that to the people. Americans are not in favor of those tax breaks, and the messaging war can be won on that basis. Stand tall like Truman and make a stand now before you find yourself challenged from the base in 2012.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The 14th Amendment and why we should care
There are those who wish to argue for arguments sake and find a scapegoat for all that they find wrong in their own little corner of the world. Frequently that scapegoat tends to be what we would call the "other" or someone who isn't like us. Since our nation's founding certain groups found themselves excluded from the political process and thus the scapegoat other.
At the founding our nation refused, at least until the 1920s, to recognize Native American Peoples as citizens in any real and mean sense. The early Americans began to break and modify treaties with the Natives at will as they pushed the tribes out of their way as we began our westward migration to fulfill what would become to be termed our manifest destiny.
African slaves found themselves counted as 3/5ths of a person until our nation began to undo the institution of slavery and set about incorporating the former slaves into the brotherhood of Americans, which they set out to do with the 13th-15th amendments to our constitution.
Following that the other label fell upon, the Chinese, Italian, Irish and Haitian immigrants in their turn. Americans found themselves in tough times and many blamed their problems or the ills of society on these groups and create a scapegoat so that they may try to find themselves blameless for their current troubles.
Today Mexicans find themselves labeled as the other. Though the U.S. has a sizable Latino population, with people from all over the Latin American world integrating themselves into our society, Mexicans are often blamed for anything someone might find wrong with society. Even though as recent as 40 years ago Mexican laborers were welcomed into the country under programs such as the Bracero program and allowed to pursue their own version of the American dream, Latinos in general find themselves under greater scrutiny as our political discourse trends toward divisive and ofttimes hurtful directions.
Many people point to the 14th Amendment as the root of the problem, specifically the portion which defines citizenship as persons born in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Their argument is that this encourages people to come into our nation to have their children and use them to try gaining their own citizenship. The so called Anchor Babies. This is a bit of a fallacy, since the process to gain citizenship in this manner is slow and time consuming, there is still a great risk of a family being deported or separated as the undocumented parents are deported while the child who is a citizen moves in with the relatives. One reason the idea of Anchor baby syndrome is a fallacy is that if it were true then the hospitals who operate in the border communities on the US side would have account to almost all births when compared to their counterparts in Mexico. Since those families who already live on the border would have the least to travel to avail themselves of opportunity to give birth their children in the US. I can't find one hospital in San Diego, or Laredo, El Peso that could produce any data to support the anchor baby claim.
There many great why we should not do anything to alter the meaning of the 14th Amendment. First is to honor the spirit of the Amendment. The writers of the Amendment sought to undo Dred Scott and ensure that the several states and their legislatures would not have the opportunity come up with their own definitions on who it would or would not consider a citizen. Many states in the Deep South passed the so-called Black Codes which reduced the freedmen into a status little better than the slavery from which they were emancipated. Congress along with the States amended the Constitution in such a way where citizenship was defined and could be no longer something nebulous and subject to interpretation. The 14th Amendment made it clear that Citizenship was a right of birth and not something open to interpretation.
Detractors point out that few other countries consider citizenship a birthright as evidence to support their own arguments as to why the 14th Amendment should be changed. America has her own history precisely because we didn't do what everyone else does. We are the first nation to truly make a pact with each other to pursue self governance and not have ones government organs foisted upon her like the rest of the world It is this reason above all why we should defiend the 14th Amendment from attack.
At the founding our nation refused, at least until the 1920s, to recognize Native American Peoples as citizens in any real and mean sense. The early Americans began to break and modify treaties with the Natives at will as they pushed the tribes out of their way as we began our westward migration to fulfill what would become to be termed our manifest destiny.
African slaves found themselves counted as 3/5ths of a person until our nation began to undo the institution of slavery and set about incorporating the former slaves into the brotherhood of Americans, which they set out to do with the 13th-15th amendments to our constitution.
Following that the other label fell upon, the Chinese, Italian, Irish and Haitian immigrants in their turn. Americans found themselves in tough times and many blamed their problems or the ills of society on these groups and create a scapegoat so that they may try to find themselves blameless for their current troubles.
Today Mexicans find themselves labeled as the other. Though the U.S. has a sizable Latino population, with people from all over the Latin American world integrating themselves into our society, Mexicans are often blamed for anything someone might find wrong with society. Even though as recent as 40 years ago Mexican laborers were welcomed into the country under programs such as the Bracero program and allowed to pursue their own version of the American dream, Latinos in general find themselves under greater scrutiny as our political discourse trends toward divisive and ofttimes hurtful directions.
Many people point to the 14th Amendment as the root of the problem, specifically the portion which defines citizenship as persons born in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Their argument is that this encourages people to come into our nation to have their children and use them to try gaining their own citizenship. The so called Anchor Babies. This is a bit of a fallacy, since the process to gain citizenship in this manner is slow and time consuming, there is still a great risk of a family being deported or separated as the undocumented parents are deported while the child who is a citizen moves in with the relatives. One reason the idea of Anchor baby syndrome is a fallacy is that if it were true then the hospitals who operate in the border communities on the US side would have account to almost all births when compared to their counterparts in Mexico. Since those families who already live on the border would have the least to travel to avail themselves of opportunity to give birth their children in the US. I can't find one hospital in San Diego, or Laredo, El Peso that could produce any data to support the anchor baby claim.
There many great why we should not do anything to alter the meaning of the 14th Amendment. First is to honor the spirit of the Amendment. The writers of the Amendment sought to undo Dred Scott and ensure that the several states and their legislatures would not have the opportunity come up with their own definitions on who it would or would not consider a citizen. Many states in the Deep South passed the so-called Black Codes which reduced the freedmen into a status little better than the slavery from which they were emancipated. Congress along with the States amended the Constitution in such a way where citizenship was defined and could be no longer something nebulous and subject to interpretation. The 14th Amendment made it clear that Citizenship was a right of birth and not something open to interpretation.
Detractors point out that few other countries consider citizenship a birthright as evidence to support their own arguments as to why the 14th Amendment should be changed. America has her own history precisely because we didn't do what everyone else does. We are the first nation to truly make a pact with each other to pursue self governance and not have ones government organs foisted upon her like the rest of the world It is this reason above all why we should defiend the 14th Amendment from attack.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Man That Wants to Return U.S. and World to the Great Depression
If America thought that in electing more Republicans to Congress that the gridlock and partisan bickering would be a thing of the past, guess again. Not even 48 hours since the elections and a full two months before actually seeing the 112th Congress take their oaths of office and begin the session, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out a plan to ruin the global economy if the Republicans do not get their way.
At some point in the next year the United States will hit its statutory debt ceilling and would be barred from offering for sale further treasury bonds to raise money to operate. Unless Harry Reid and the Senate leadership revise the Senate rules, the Republicans could filibuster the bill authorizing the raised ceilling unless their demands are met.
In any other venue this would be called blackmail or extortion. These tactics could make the government shut-down of 1995 seem like a walk in the park. In an interview with Fox news he said that any cooperation would come with strings attatched and every Republican for the last two days has said thier first priority is to repeal healthcare so that Insurance companies can once again have the right to deny care and recind coverage to enough people so that they can exceed their earnings expectations.
To the Democrats in congress and the President I would say stand strong. It is clear that the Republicans are less in the mood for comrpimse now than they were in the last Congress. Let them run the game of brinksmanship and become the poster children if the global economy tanks. We as a nation have never bargained with terrorists and we should not kowtow to Boehner's and McConnell's strong arm tactics. Let them stall what is in the nation's and the world's best interest at their peril.
Currently, at least according to some economists, our deficit and debt load aren't as important as getting the economy back on track. That should be first priority, any piece of legislation that does not address this should never see debate in either house. We need to spend money on infrastructure and other projects that will take people off the unemployment roles and out working. Once we get stabilized, we do need to begin to get our taxes reworked so that we can get our government on a paying basis. Yes that means the inheritance tax, which only affects less than 5% of estates and serves to collect taxes on wealth that has been tax deferred, income and corporate taxes as well as the royalties on resource exploitation. We can come up with a fair and progressive system without loopholes so that everyone and every company can pay thier fair share and we an continue our investment in the future.
To the Republican Leadership....you got what you wanted....no you have to work on behalf of the American People and deliver. 2 more years of partisan bickering will not be accpetable. If you try to hold the world's economy hostage like some petty crook in a stick up gone bad, you do so at your peril. The world is watching....the voters will remember who forced the shutdown of the government if it comes to that and you will pay the price in 2 years.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
I am not voting Republican on November 2nd!
This might be the most powerful ad of the 2010 cycle. Wish it saw more airtime when early voting started. Check it out and spread the word.
Monday, November 1, 2010
On the eve of the elections some things to think about
Tomorrow the nation goes to the polls and we as Americans are faced with important decisions when we go to cast our ballot. We must think with our heads and not just out of abject frustration.
Yes the economy is not where we would have hoped it to be. The dire situation that Barack Obama faced when he took office was not some overnight fluke, it was the product of 2 decades worth of failed policies. Trickle down Does Not Work, or so says Regan's former budget director.
In 8 years George W. Bush took a budget surplus and created systemic deficits by giving tax breaks to the wealthiest in the country. If the Republican mantra of cut taxes, cut taxes were the cure a sluggish economy then the Bush years should have shown explosive job growth not a steady and sure increase in the unemployment. We lost more jobs in those 8 years than we can hope to get back in 18 months.
We have candidates who are running campaigns who want to undo much of the 20th century. There are some like Sharon Angle who wants to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy while privatizing the Veteran's Administration, Social Security. There are others who would eliminate or cut back on unemployment in the midst of the recession while protecting the tax breaks for the richest of the rich.
In the last 18 months we have seen the beginnings of progress, and tons of great legislation stalled in the Senate. First we have the Stimulus bill. This bill provided tax cuts for about 95% of Americans and some money for public works projects. It has worked but not as well as expected. Reason, tax cuts are the least effective means of stimulating the economy. Putting money into the hands of those who would spend it is the most effective. This bill was too small and not enough money for public works. We have tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure projects that need to be addressed. We have flood control systems that need some attention, you can ask people in New Orleans about what happens when you don't maintain your levees. We have thousands of miles of roads to build, expand and repair. We have bridges that need to be fixed, or they will crumble like the I35 bridge in Minneapolis. We have the need to extend broadband and fiber optics to rural areas. We can begin to convert our energy grid to one that is dependant on fossil fuels to one that is more reliant on solar, wind and geo-thermal. These are projects that would put people back to work which means people will spend money which creates velocity and the money spent on these projects produce a great sum in stimulus to the economy.
The right has attacked the health care bill. They found no problem with insurance companies denying care to sick people to protect their profit margin. They found no problem with CEO's raking in billions of dollars in bonuses, while some of those covered by their insurance company died because they were denied access to care. They Republicans would end the ability of young adults remaining on their parent's policy until they could get their feet wet in their careers after college. The Right believes that it is criminal that we should mandate that insurance companies limit overhead to 20% of premiums.
The difference between the two parties philosophies is stark. The Democrats believe that our best days are ahead of us, the Republicans want to turn back the clock. The Democrats believe our society can help those who are less fortunate, the Republicans believe they should help themselves. This is the difference between seeing unity and relishing in division.
Politics is local...and the decisions we make or fail to make can have long reaching repercussions. Tomorrow, before going to vote, examine each candidate and ask yourself, "What have you done for me lately?" The Democrats have produced the first net gains in jobs since the early 2000s. The Democrats passed the most extensive financial regulatory reform since the 1930s. The Democrats stood strong to make an investment and improve access to higher education. The Democrats want to keep government from intruding in the most personal parts of our private lives (the very definition of small government). The Democrats fought to pass a bill that would encourage companies to stem the tide of outsourcing and keep the jobs in the USA. This isn't the be all, end all but it is a start. If you believe that we have a bright future than you know who you have to vote D and move forward.
If you want to reward the most obstructionist group of policy makers. A party that doesn't see the value of American industry. A party that is fueled by monied interests that that do not favor a strong middle or working class. A party that has offered not one new or original idea to fix what ails us. Then put the car in R and see if we don't hit the ditch again.
Yes the economy is not where we would have hoped it to be. The dire situation that Barack Obama faced when he took office was not some overnight fluke, it was the product of 2 decades worth of failed policies. Trickle down Does Not Work, or so says Regan's former budget director.
In 8 years George W. Bush took a budget surplus and created systemic deficits by giving tax breaks to the wealthiest in the country. If the Republican mantra of cut taxes, cut taxes were the cure a sluggish economy then the Bush years should have shown explosive job growth not a steady and sure increase in the unemployment. We lost more jobs in those 8 years than we can hope to get back in 18 months.
We have candidates who are running campaigns who want to undo much of the 20th century. There are some like Sharon Angle who wants to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy while privatizing the Veteran's Administration, Social Security. There are others who would eliminate or cut back on unemployment in the midst of the recession while protecting the tax breaks for the richest of the rich.
In the last 18 months we have seen the beginnings of progress, and tons of great legislation stalled in the Senate. First we have the Stimulus bill. This bill provided tax cuts for about 95% of Americans and some money for public works projects. It has worked but not as well as expected. Reason, tax cuts are the least effective means of stimulating the economy. Putting money into the hands of those who would spend it is the most effective. This bill was too small and not enough money for public works. We have tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure projects that need to be addressed. We have flood control systems that need some attention, you can ask people in New Orleans about what happens when you don't maintain your levees. We have thousands of miles of roads to build, expand and repair. We have bridges that need to be fixed, or they will crumble like the I35 bridge in Minneapolis. We have the need to extend broadband and fiber optics to rural areas. We can begin to convert our energy grid to one that is dependant on fossil fuels to one that is more reliant on solar, wind and geo-thermal. These are projects that would put people back to work which means people will spend money which creates velocity and the money spent on these projects produce a great sum in stimulus to the economy.
The right has attacked the health care bill. They found no problem with insurance companies denying care to sick people to protect their profit margin. They found no problem with CEO's raking in billions of dollars in bonuses, while some of those covered by their insurance company died because they were denied access to care. They Republicans would end the ability of young adults remaining on their parent's policy until they could get their feet wet in their careers after college. The Right believes that it is criminal that we should mandate that insurance companies limit overhead to 20% of premiums.
The difference between the two parties philosophies is stark. The Democrats believe that our best days are ahead of us, the Republicans want to turn back the clock. The Democrats believe our society can help those who are less fortunate, the Republicans believe they should help themselves. This is the difference between seeing unity and relishing in division.
Politics is local...and the decisions we make or fail to make can have long reaching repercussions. Tomorrow, before going to vote, examine each candidate and ask yourself, "What have you done for me lately?" The Democrats have produced the first net gains in jobs since the early 2000s. The Democrats passed the most extensive financial regulatory reform since the 1930s. The Democrats stood strong to make an investment and improve access to higher education. The Democrats want to keep government from intruding in the most personal parts of our private lives (the very definition of small government). The Democrats fought to pass a bill that would encourage companies to stem the tide of outsourcing and keep the jobs in the USA. This isn't the be all, end all but it is a start. If you believe that we have a bright future than you know who you have to vote D and move forward.
If you want to reward the most obstructionist group of policy makers. A party that doesn't see the value of American industry. A party that is fueled by monied interests that that do not favor a strong middle or working class. A party that has offered not one new or original idea to fix what ails us. Then put the car in R and see if we don't hit the ditch again.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Why Sane People Need to Vote in the Midterm Elections.
We are in the homestretch, less than one month to go before election day and the volume is being increased in regards to why we should vote for one particular candidate or against another. What we, as the average American should consider is not whether or not we should go out to the polls is what the stakes really are.
The Republicans released their Pledge to America which amounts to nothing more than a return to the same failed policies that led to our current economic situation. They want to give the wealthiest among us huge tax breaks that would add $700 billion to the deficit yet tell those who have been put out of work, tough luck we can't afford to extend your unemployment benefits. In over pages you struggle to find people of color in the pictures accompanying their outline for our future. In the 23 pages of policy points they talk about cutting spending without specifying where those cuts will occur. In fact in a nation that needs to invest in its future there is no mention of any plan to invest in or improve education in this nation. We used to be among the best when it came to measurements of our students abilities in math and science and now we are falling rapidly.
There could be a very good reason they don't want to invest in or reform education, then more people would see the GOP and the Right for what it truly is, and elitist oligarchy. In an era where information is literally at our fingertips, too many people listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck and fail to question their assertions. Then you get bloggers like John Hawkins parroting those points which were provided by Beck and the Koch brothers through their AstroTurf campaigns.
Hawkins made a plea to the low-information voter on why moderates should support the GOP, his arguments are quite literally bunk. He laid out 6 reasons which we will debunk right here.
1. He states that we need checks and balances, that the GOP losses over the last few election cycles have left them powerless. Powerless really? That is why a cabal of 1 can simply state that they object to bringing up something to the floor. They have used parliamentary tactics to strip away any provisions that might upset their corporate donors. (This isn't just the GOP, there are several Democrats such as Blanche Lincoln who are just as guilty of this). The GOP is hoping to cause America to further fail so they could reap political rewards.
2. GOP will restrain spending. He did admit that Bush did a poor job in the realm of fiscal responsibility, though he offers no words of how spending would be restrained. Several in the GOP are talking about cutting or privatizing Social Security, Medicare, Veteran's Administration among other things. It is not that spending is out of whack, we need to repair our tax codes so that they work as they should. There is no mention of closing the loophole that allows Hedge Fund managers to count their income as capital gains rather than earned income and pay almost no taxes. There is no talk of letting the top tax rates return to the Pre 2001 levels which would be fiscally sound. Just remember it was Bill Clinton and the Democrats that ran budget surpluses and had our National Debt under control.
3. He states that we need to end uncertainty that is hampering economic growth. Even going as far to state "Given how poorly the economy has fared with Democrats in charge, doesn't it make sense to give Republicans a shot at it. John the Republicans did run the economy for 8 years. In those 8 years the income gap grew, unemployment steadily rose, budget surpluses turned into budget deficits, 5,000,000 jobs were lost. That is the record of Republican achievement. They took our economy and ran it into a ditch no John I don't think it would be smart to give them the keys back.
4. Repeal Healthcare Reform before it's too late. Yes the GOP would like nothing better to put the insurance companies back in charge of whether you live or die. John you think we have a superior product, Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate, so does Costa Rica. This reform, while far from perfect, ensures that young adults can remain on their parents policy while they transition into the workforce, that yearly and lifetime coverage caps are ended, that insurance companies can no longer rescind your policy when you need it the most over a clerical error. Get real the reform ends the death panels masquerading as the insurance company's underwriting department, and rationing based upon denial of access to specialists.
5. GOP fighting massive corruption? Do you not remember the scandals of Tom Delay when he was in the House? Neither side is blameless in this mess. BTW John the Justice department didn't investigate the issue of the New Black Panthers because the idea was laughable. There was no credible evidence that would support voter intimidation. BTW why didn't the Justice department investigate how the voter roles were purged in Florida in 2000 wrongly disenfranchising many African-Americans, on the order of Katherine Harris. That charge actually has evidence that would support it.
6. We must punish bad behavior. So let me get this straight, the GOP grinds the Senate to a halt, refusing to allow nominees for various agency positions, including TSA chief to come to the floor for a vote, and acting like petulant children who just want to ruin the day for everyone else and you would reward that behavior? The GOP has done nothing over the last 2 years to add appreciably to the political discourse in this nation. They have sought only to sabotage the workings of our government to bolster their own agenda.
We must not sit out this election. The stakes are high. The question you must ask yourself when you look at the ballot is whether the candidate will serve you or special interests. If you are looking at an incumbent, look at their record did their voting record help you or hurt you, if they consistently voted against your interests you vote against them. If they voted for policies that would have had tangible benefits for you, vote for them.
Get out and vote and let us take our nation back from the corporate interests who seek only to bolster their bottom line.
The Republicans released their Pledge to America which amounts to nothing more than a return to the same failed policies that led to our current economic situation. They want to give the wealthiest among us huge tax breaks that would add $700 billion to the deficit yet tell those who have been put out of work, tough luck we can't afford to extend your unemployment benefits. In over pages you struggle to find people of color in the pictures accompanying their outline for our future. In the 23 pages of policy points they talk about cutting spending without specifying where those cuts will occur. In fact in a nation that needs to invest in its future there is no mention of any plan to invest in or improve education in this nation. We used to be among the best when it came to measurements of our students abilities in math and science and now we are falling rapidly.
There could be a very good reason they don't want to invest in or reform education, then more people would see the GOP and the Right for what it truly is, and elitist oligarchy. In an era where information is literally at our fingertips, too many people listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck and fail to question their assertions. Then you get bloggers like John Hawkins parroting those points which were provided by Beck and the Koch brothers through their AstroTurf campaigns.
Hawkins made a plea to the low-information voter on why moderates should support the GOP, his arguments are quite literally bunk. He laid out 6 reasons which we will debunk right here.
1. He states that we need checks and balances, that the GOP losses over the last few election cycles have left them powerless. Powerless really? That is why a cabal of 1 can simply state that they object to bringing up something to the floor. They have used parliamentary tactics to strip away any provisions that might upset their corporate donors. (This isn't just the GOP, there are several Democrats such as Blanche Lincoln who are just as guilty of this). The GOP is hoping to cause America to further fail so they could reap political rewards.
2. GOP will restrain spending. He did admit that Bush did a poor job in the realm of fiscal responsibility, though he offers no words of how spending would be restrained. Several in the GOP are talking about cutting or privatizing Social Security, Medicare, Veteran's Administration among other things. It is not that spending is out of whack, we need to repair our tax codes so that they work as they should. There is no mention of closing the loophole that allows Hedge Fund managers to count their income as capital gains rather than earned income and pay almost no taxes. There is no talk of letting the top tax rates return to the Pre 2001 levels which would be fiscally sound. Just remember it was Bill Clinton and the Democrats that ran budget surpluses and had our National Debt under control.
3. He states that we need to end uncertainty that is hampering economic growth. Even going as far to state "Given how poorly the economy has fared with Democrats in charge, doesn't it make sense to give Republicans a shot at it. John the Republicans did run the economy for 8 years. In those 8 years the income gap grew, unemployment steadily rose, budget surpluses turned into budget deficits, 5,000,000 jobs were lost. That is the record of Republican achievement. They took our economy and ran it into a ditch no John I don't think it would be smart to give them the keys back.
4. Repeal Healthcare Reform before it's too late. Yes the GOP would like nothing better to put the insurance companies back in charge of whether you live or die. John you think we have a superior product, Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate, so does Costa Rica. This reform, while far from perfect, ensures that young adults can remain on their parents policy while they transition into the workforce, that yearly and lifetime coverage caps are ended, that insurance companies can no longer rescind your policy when you need it the most over a clerical error. Get real the reform ends the death panels masquerading as the insurance company's underwriting department, and rationing based upon denial of access to specialists.
5. GOP fighting massive corruption? Do you not remember the scandals of Tom Delay when he was in the House? Neither side is blameless in this mess. BTW John the Justice department didn't investigate the issue of the New Black Panthers because the idea was laughable. There was no credible evidence that would support voter intimidation. BTW why didn't the Justice department investigate how the voter roles were purged in Florida in 2000 wrongly disenfranchising many African-Americans, on the order of Katherine Harris. That charge actually has evidence that would support it.
6. We must punish bad behavior. So let me get this straight, the GOP grinds the Senate to a halt, refusing to allow nominees for various agency positions, including TSA chief to come to the floor for a vote, and acting like petulant children who just want to ruin the day for everyone else and you would reward that behavior? The GOP has done nothing over the last 2 years to add appreciably to the political discourse in this nation. They have sought only to sabotage the workings of our government to bolster their own agenda.
We must not sit out this election. The stakes are high. The question you must ask yourself when you look at the ballot is whether the candidate will serve you or special interests. If you are looking at an incumbent, look at their record did their voting record help you or hurt you, if they consistently voted against your interests you vote against them. If they voted for policies that would have had tangible benefits for you, vote for them.
Get out and vote and let us take our nation back from the corporate interests who seek only to bolster their bottom line.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The McScam
McDonald's, one of the icons of an industry that has been destroying America with its menu full of sodium, cholesterol and fat, admits it all but exploits its employees.
In a nation that fails to provide basic health care to its citizens many employers provide health insurance as a benefit to its employees. Companies that are in the low-wage service sector only provide the illusion of health coverage. Many of these plans offer attractive low rates but cover almost nothing. McDonald's admits as much.
Health care reforms which are soon to take effect mandate that 80% of premiums be used by the insurance company to cover paying medical expenses, leaving the remaining 20% to cover the overhead such as salary, profit and advertising. McDonald's is threatening to drop its coverage because the policies it offers its employees do not meet that requirement, nor will it meet the requirements of no annual or lifetime coverage caps. The coverage it offers its hourly employees caps its annual limit at $2000, which as anyone who has ever dealt with illness or injury might cover an x-ray in the local ER, but fail to cover much else. If you get seriously ill, say cancer or other catastrophic illness, chances are you will end up on Medicaid to cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat your illness.
The rabid right are trying to use this as proof positive that the current health care reform is pure evil. That the rules are too overbearing and will hurt the quality of health care as we know it. We must remind them that we are currently mired in the mid 30s in health care worldwide, behind Costa Rica. Part of this reason is the very same insurance that McDonald's is trying to defend. We have employers that care more about profits than providing their employees a living wage or quality health insurance. We can do something about it.
If you want to send a message to companies that refuse to pay a living wages or provide benefits to their hourly employees, stop spending money there. Simple, stop hitting up McDonald's, go to a local family run stop instead, or In-n-Out Burger. Go to Starbucks for coffee rather than drop 99cents at McDonald's. Deprive them of the one thing the corporate beast needs to survive, your money. Do that and we can all help make a difference.
In a nation that fails to provide basic health care to its citizens many employers provide health insurance as a benefit to its employees. Companies that are in the low-wage service sector only provide the illusion of health coverage. Many of these plans offer attractive low rates but cover almost nothing. McDonald's admits as much.
Health care reforms which are soon to take effect mandate that 80% of premiums be used by the insurance company to cover paying medical expenses, leaving the remaining 20% to cover the overhead such as salary, profit and advertising. McDonald's is threatening to drop its coverage because the policies it offers its employees do not meet that requirement, nor will it meet the requirements of no annual or lifetime coverage caps. The coverage it offers its hourly employees caps its annual limit at $2000, which as anyone who has ever dealt with illness or injury might cover an x-ray in the local ER, but fail to cover much else. If you get seriously ill, say cancer or other catastrophic illness, chances are you will end up on Medicaid to cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat your illness.
The rabid right are trying to use this as proof positive that the current health care reform is pure evil. That the rules are too overbearing and will hurt the quality of health care as we know it. We must remind them that we are currently mired in the mid 30s in health care worldwide, behind Costa Rica. Part of this reason is the very same insurance that McDonald's is trying to defend. We have employers that care more about profits than providing their employees a living wage or quality health insurance. We can do something about it.
If you want to send a message to companies that refuse to pay a living wages or provide benefits to their hourly employees, stop spending money there. Simple, stop hitting up McDonald's, go to a local family run stop instead, or In-n-Out Burger. Go to Starbucks for coffee rather than drop 99cents at McDonald's. Deprive them of the one thing the corporate beast needs to survive, your money. Do that and we can all help make a difference.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
You Have Nobody to Blame but Yourself
Today the Senate, a/k/a "Where Good Bills go to Die", found itself once again ground zero for the gridlock that has plagued Washington since the President Barack Obama became president and the Republican party decided that they were going to sulk like petulant children and use parliamentary procedure to effectively grind our legislative process to a halt.
Like we have seen so many times before, the Republicans aren't the only ones to blame. Today Senators Blanche Lincoln and her colleague from Arkansas Mark Pryor stood with the obstructionists to bar the Defense Authorization bill from coming to the floor for debate.
Senator Lincoln finds herself all but voted out of office. Barring of course a great scandal involving her opponent and has only herself to blame for her dilemma. By standing side by side with special interests and opposing some of the ideas that are at the core of her party, she in effect gave the Democratic party and their supporters no reason to support her. That is the reason she faced a primary challenge from Bill Halter which received great support from the base of the party. While some people might say that a republican majority in Congress would have a negative effect on the nation as a whole, and it would. What good is a Democrat who is willing to stand with the Republicans and support bigotry or corporate interests? Blanche Lincoln turned her back on the base of her party and will have only herself to blame when she loses her bid for re-election.
Like we have seen so many times before, the Republicans aren't the only ones to blame. Today Senators Blanche Lincoln and her colleague from Arkansas Mark Pryor stood with the obstructionists to bar the Defense Authorization bill from coming to the floor for debate.
Senator Lincoln finds herself all but voted out of office. Barring of course a great scandal involving her opponent and has only herself to blame for her dilemma. By standing side by side with special interests and opposing some of the ideas that are at the core of her party, she in effect gave the Democratic party and their supporters no reason to support her. That is the reason she faced a primary challenge from Bill Halter which received great support from the base of the party. While some people might say that a republican majority in Congress would have a negative effect on the nation as a whole, and it would. What good is a Democrat who is willing to stand with the Republicans and support bigotry or corporate interests? Blanche Lincoln turned her back on the base of her party and will have only herself to blame when she loses her bid for re-election.
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