What America is About

From President Obama's speech at the University of Michigan, January 27, 2012:

We do not begrudge wealth in this country. I want everybody here to do well. We aspire to financial success. But we also understand that we’re not successful just by ourselves. ... We’re successful because somebody made an investment in all the federal research labs that created the Internet. We’re successful because we have an outstanding military -- that costs money. We’re successful because somebody built roads and bridges and laid broadband lines. And these things didn’t just happen on their own.

And if we all understand that we’ve got to pay for this stuff, it makes sense for those of us who've done best to do our fair share. And to try to pass off that bill onto somebody else, that’s not right. That’s not who we are. That’s not what my grandparents' generation worked hard to pass down. That’s not what your grandparents and your great-grandparents worked hard to pass down. We’ve got a different idea of America, a more generous America.

Everybody here is only here because somebody somewhere down the road decided we’re going to think not just about ourselves, but about the future. We’ve got responsibilities, yes, to ourselves but also to each other. And now it’s our turn to be responsible. Now it’s our turn to leave an America that’s built to last. And I know we can do it. We’ve done it before and I know we can do it again because of you.

When I meet young people all across this country, with energy and drive and vision, despite the fact that you’ve come of age during a difficult, tumultuous time in this world, it gives me hope. You inspire me. ...You know that doing big things isn’t always easy, but you’re not giving up.
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We do not shrink from challenges. We stand up to them. And we don’t leave people behind; we make sure everybody comes along with us on this journey that we’re on.

That’s the spirit right now that we need, Michigan. Here in America, we don’t give up. We look out for each other. We make sure everybody has a chance to get ahead. And if we work in common purpose, with common resolve, we can build an economy that gives everybody a fair shot. And we will remind the world just why it is that the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth.

Ideology's Collateral Damage

The Tea Party Caucus in the US House of Representatives is once again choosing to support their narrow ideology over the interests of the majority of Americans.  This time by refusing to vote on the Senate's bipartisan compromise that would have extended the payroll tax holiday for two months until a compromise can be reached on a longer extension.  For most of us, even a two month continuation of the break in deductions from our paychecks makes a difference.

Steve Benen of The Washington Monthy describes the scene in the House at this link: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/literally_walking_away_from_a034239.php

So it appears that even during this season of peace on earth and good will to all, House Republicans are operating from their minds & egos with their hearts nowhere in sight.

Moving on to a Single-Payer Health Care System?

I just read a couple of articles by Rick Unger of Forbes that gave me hope that private insurance companies , whom I believe add no value to our health care system , will soon get out of the health care business.

Here are the links:  The Bomb Buried in Obamacare Explodes  Today - Hallelujah!
and The Obamacare Bomb is Real Even if the Washington Post Doesn't Get It

Here's a sample from the first article:

I have long argued that the impact of the Affordable Care Act is not nearly as big of a deal as opponents would have you believe. At the end of the day, the law is – in the main – little more than a successful effort to put an end to some of the more egregious health insurer abuses while creating an environment that should bring more Americans into programs that will give them at least some of the health care coverage they need.

There is, however, one notable exception – and it’s one that should have a long lasting and powerful impact on the future of health care in our country. That would be the provision of the law, called the medical loss ratio, that requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’ premium dollars they collect—85% for large group insurers—on actual medical care rather than overhead, marketing expenses and profit.

Both are worth a full read.

Only We the (real) People Can Change This

There's an article by Bill Moyers that's definitely worth reading if you want to understand what has happened to our political system in the past 40 years.

Here are some choice quotes followed by my comments:

During the prairie revolt that swept the Great Plains in 1890, populist orator Mary Elizabeth Lease exclaimed, “Wall Street owns the country…. Money rules…. Our laws are the output of a system which clothes rascals in robes and honesty in rags. The [political] parties lie to us and the political speakers mislead us.”

Sounds familiar, 'eh?

Why New York’s Zuccotti Park is filled with people is no mystery. Reporters keep scratching their heads and asking, “Why are you here?” But it’s clear they are occupying Wall Street because Wall Street has occupied the country. And that’s why in public places across the nation workaday Americans are standing up in solidarity. Did you see the sign a woman was carrying at a fraternal march in Iowa the other day? It read, I Can’t Afford to Buy a Politician So I Bought This Sign. Americans have learned the hard way that when rich organizations and wealthy individuals shower Washington with millions in campaign contributions, they get what they want.

Yes, it will take us, Involved Voters, standing up and demanding a government that serves all the People, not just the few.  This will be hard work - especially when the average citizen is kept busy trying to make ends meet and just wants to crash in front of the TV at the end of the day. Then there are those whose situations are even worse because of job losses and foreclosures, who are depressed and immobilized.

William Simon (in his) book A Time for Truth argued that “funds generated by business” must “rush by multimillions” into conservative causes to uproot the institutions and the “heretical strategy” of the New Deal. He called on “men of action in the capitalist world” to mount “a veritable crusade” against progressive America. BusinessWeek (October 12, 1974) somberly explained that “it will be a bitter pill for many Americans to swallow the idea of doing with less so that big business can have more.”

Those “men of action in the capitalist world” were not content with their wealth just to buy more homes, more cars, more planes, more vacations and more gizmos than anyone else. They were determined to buy more democracy than anyone else. And they succeeded beyond their expectations. After their forty-year “veritable crusade” against our institutions, laws and regulations—against the ideas, norms and beliefs that helped to create America’s iconic middle class—the Gilded Age is back with a vengeance.

 The world is more complicated now than it was in 1890, but change brought about by the majority of us working together is still possible - not to mention absolutely necessary for the basic well-being of all.  When you hear and see campaign ads - follow the money and take them with a grain of salt.  Work for and vote for those who will restore government of., by and for Real People.

Why can't the Repubicans in Congress recognize a Jobs Plan when they see one?

Are Republicans in the House and Senate just clueless or something worse?

Take a moment to look at this analysis: Is It a Jobs Plan?

Today, President Obama took Republicans to task for rejecting his proposals to create jobs by improving the nation's infrastructure.  Among his remarks were:

“If you don’t want to take my word for it, take it from one of my predecessors. He said that — and I’m quoting here — ‘the bridges and highways we fail to repair today will have to be rebuilt tomorrow at many times the cost.’ He went on to say that rebuilding our infrastructure is common sense — and an investment in tomorrow that we must make today.’ That President was Ronald Reagan. Since when do we have Republicans voting against Ronald Reagan’s ideas?”

Greg Sargent tracked down the Reagan speech, and discovered that the former president proposed a tax on motorists to pay infrastructure investments, “and he explicitly justified this added tax by arguing that infrastructure spending would stimulate the economy.”

Source: Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly

Eric Cantor would have us believe we all have an equal chance at having significant wealth

...but it looks to me more and more like the wealthy have a strangle hold on the means to become wealthy.

Just take a look at this chart from a WSJBlog post (http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/09/16/the-top-5-grabbed-most-of-the-americas-gains/)

 

 

The bottom 60 percent of households actually had less wealth in 2009 than in 1983, meaning they did not participate at all in the growth of wealth over this period.

 

Eric Cantor would have us believe that anyone who is wealthy is so because they worked harder and are smarter than the rest of us. This is undoubtedly true of some.

 

But consider these factors that can skew the distribution of wealth:

• The rich are able to influence government disproportionately in their favor thereby increasing their wealth (tax policies that shift the burden to middle and lower income tax payers; deregulation of the financial sector). The Citizens United decision has amplified this factor.
• Being rich can lead to being given high income jobs regardless of merit (also large bonuses, golden parachutes, etc)
• Being rich means spending a smaller percentage of income on everyday necessities and being able to save/invest more
• Wealth can be inherited; the wealthy can afford to send their children to elite schools which lead to higher paying jobs for them

It looks like most of us are becoming more realistic about our chances of becoming millionaires. (http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/09/19/what-are-your-chances-of-becoming-a-millionaire/)

But  becoming millionaires isn't really what most of us aspire to.  Most of us aspire to living in a country where we all have jobs that allow us to live comfortably; where everyone's children get a good education; where those who are down on their luck get a helping hand; where health care is affordable and of good quality; where those who have worked all their lives are secure in their retirement years; and where the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat will sustain our health. This is what the current political situation in the US has put in jeopardy.

Involved Voters will tell Eric Cantor and like-minded Republicans we aren't buying his solutions - more of the same policies that have fostered the shift in wealth and have damaged the fabric of our country.

Holding the US Financial Sector Accountable

Did you know that the 2008 financial meltdown was 70 times bigger than the Savings & Loan crisis of the 1980's and 90's?  But, so far, prosecutions for fraud are practically non-existent.  The people at the top of the financial institutions appear to be experiencing no negative consequences for their actions. Should they be held accountable just as those responsible for the S&L crisis were?

I recommend listening to this October 18 broadcast of the Onpoint radio program, Prosecuting Financial Titans. It helped me understand the situation and what can be done about it - if Involved Voters make their voices heard.