Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Belling: The Worst in the Doyle Budget and Ignorance of Capitalism

A few weeks ago, Milwaukee radio entertainer Mark Belling wrote a column in the Waukesha Freeman*  listing the twenty two worst picks in Governor Jim Doyle's budget.

The list is what you would expect.

Belling opposes making the state income tax more progressive.

He supports the continuation of expensive incarceration programs that drive up the cost of warehousing inmates and simultaneously increase the probably of more severe criminal recidivism upon release.

 Of course he opposes fair economic treatment for all Wisconsinites when it comes to employer benefits and retirement programs.

The list is more interesting for its implications rather than its numbered items.

Taken as a body of work, Belling's positions result in the worst case scenario in balancing efficiency and fairness. Belling drives up the cost of government and forces taxpayers to  pay more and get less of their tax dollars.

That is because Belling does not understand a simple fundamental principle of capitalism. To become productive, gain efficiency and increase return, one needs to make an intelligent investment in both infrastructure and human capacity.

*I cannot figure out how to access the specific article online; if you know, please tell me.

Barack Obama and The Pirates

No sooner was Captain Phillips rescued and the talking heads provided political meaning to the event. In fact, many of them started the speculation within hours after the seizure of the merchant sea captain last week.

We can all speculate as to what this means for the future:

• An escalation of tactics by the pirates.
• An escalation by the international community to stop the piracy.
• A firm linkage between the pirates and political terrorists.

Before we look too far into the future, we should revisit the past.

During the 2008 presidential campaign there was speculation that Barack Obama could not respond to a crisis. It was hypothesized, that with no military training and no international diplomatic experience, he did not have the qualifications to lead.

Obviously that was not the case.

Leadership is comprised of many facets. One is the technical knowledge - the marksman skilled with a weapon, the social worker skilled in counseling, the computer programmer skilled in creating software.

Each one of these people takes knowledge of their craft, but it does not mean the leader has to have the exact experiences or profound knowledge of the specific profession.

Instead, the leader must analyze, make tough decisions, and take risks.

One errant shot by a Navy SEAL, which had nothing to do with Obama's decisions, and the outcome is different.

But Obama was willing to make the decision that allowed an optimum outcome.

So far, so good.

Obama Follows Some of the Bailout Money - It Is Not Enough

The morning news contains reports that the Obama administration will restrict the use of federal bailout money when it comes to lobbying. The recently confirmed Secretary of the Treasury is prepared to issue rules:

                                    Geithner to issue new lobbying rules

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to unveil new rules Tuesday to limit special-interest influence involving the $700 billion financial rescue program.

The new rules are designed to crack down on lobbyist influence over the rescue program, according to an administration official with knowledge of the changes.

The new rules do not go far enough since they only, "...restrict the contact officials can have with lobbyists in connection with applications for funds from the bailout program..."

Of greater concern is the money that goes to the banks, insurance companies, and automakers and then finds its way into campaigns. As I noted yesterday,

Bailout Money to Be Used To Buy Elections

The bulk of the money will be used to purchase campaign “issue ads.” These  trade associations will either directly make the purchase, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce did last fall to try to re-elect Norm Coleman (R-MN), or funneled to organizations like The Institute for Tort Reform, Americans for Prosperity, and even All Children Matter, who will then purchase issue ads to reward their friends.

Follow the money. Your tax dollars went from the federal government to the Citigroup to trade associations to issue groups to buy television ads to influence elections.

Bailout: Bernanke Blunder and Betrayal

It is now evident that those of us who supported the bailout of greedy financial services companies were betrayed -along with the millions of Americans who opposed the bailout. Maybe the opponents were correct - these creeps cannot be trusted.

As reported by Bloomberg News, Fed Defies Transparency Aim in Refusal to Disclose:

(originally)...Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

As AIG receives its second infusion of public money, bringing the public commitment to $150 billion, fed chief Bernanke and his cohorts at Treasury refuse to divulge the amounts provided to other key financial services companies that were operated by thieves masquerading as prominent wall street financiers for so many years.

Bloomberg is upping the ante with its lawsuit deigned to throw sunlight on the debacle, Bloomberg suing Fed to disclose bailout details

"The Fed has lent $1.5 trillion to banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., through programs such as its discount window, the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility. Collateral is an asset pledged to a lender in the event that a loan payment isn't made.

"The Fed made the loans under 11 programs in response to the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. The total doesn't include an additional $700 billion approved by Congress in a bailout package.

 

November Elections 2008: The Morning After

I woke up this morning glad to have done the radio show on WTDY last night with Sly and Bill McCoshen, a Wisconsin Republican who will, hopefully, have a lot to say about the future of his party, but disappointed that I did not attend the parties where so many of my friends celebrated last night.

I was surprised at my own emotional response to the election of Barack Obama. I was more filled with wonderment about what the next four years will bring rather than joy over his election.  Perhaps it was the projections that he was going to win that took the edge off the victory.

In any case, for the first time in my lifetime, and that includes the election of JFK in 1960, or my years as mayor when Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were elected, I am truly excited about the future and the unknown possibilities for our nation and the world. The economy and the wars will prevent any immediate social change, but it is coming.

The engagement of so many young people of so many different colors in this election holds more hope for the future. Voting is the first level of civic engagement. With persistence and hard work, hopefully they will stay engaged by running for office themselves, getting involved in their children's' education, and voting in subsequent local and state elections.

• I missed the gathering of the supporters of the Madison school referendum which won by a large margin, putting to rest the myth that there is some kind of secret plot by the supporters of public education to place these measures on the ballot when turnout is low.
• The Democrats took control of the Wisconsin Assembly. Marc Pocan gets a big thank you for adopting a "50 state" strategy and finding great Democratic candidates in as many Assembly districts as possible.
• Perhaps the biggest local disappointment was the apparent defeat of outstanding Trish O'Neil in the 47th District. She was the victim of one of the nastiest television advertisements this election season.
• While Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) was defanged, it is evident that extreme right-wing money and energy was shifted to outside groups like  Coalition for America's Families, the Club for Growth and All Children Matter which continues to produce WMC-style attack ads.
• In Oshkosh, Gordon Hintz was returned for a second term to the Assembly's 54th district with 66% of the vote.  Keep an eye on him. Here is a legislator who is effective, principled, and a nice guy.
• The biggest Midwest disappointment was Al Franken's apparent loss to incumbent Republican Norm Coleman in the Minnesota US Senate race. Franken would have made a great senator and Coleman is an opportunistic jerk. Coleman has some serious ethical problems in casting future votes regarding the financial bailout which he supported, since AIG put $25 million into the US Chamber of Commerce over a five year period and then the right wing business group spent a hefty sum in his support.
• Best news from the left coast: As of this posting, it appears that same sex marriage survives in Californian. Barely.  Update 2:42 UGH
• Those who checked in here last night can see from my solitary post that it is too difficult to do live radio and  blog simultaneously.
• Congratulations to the high school students who got involved in the school referendum and and all of the electoral races even though they will not vote for a few more years.
• I suppose my nice introduction of Bill McCoshen, above, will get back to the social conservatives and doom him as an influential leader in fixing the Republican Party. With moderate business leaders estranged from their party, and Democrats in control of both houses of the legislature and the Governor's office, they have no place to go. Now is the time for the Democrats to reach out and form a coalition of labor, business, and education leaders to fix and fund education from kindergarten through college in Wisconsin.

Guilty pleasure I will pass on today - No right wing Milwaukee talk radio; I have too much work to do and it will be more fun spending the spare time chatting with friends.

Republican Resurrection of Red Baiting: Consistent with the 1950's

This presidential campaign is not about the 1960's. According to the Republicans it is about the 1950's .

The 1950's were a continuation of racism and segregation. The 1960's was about economic and social justice and the death of Jim Crow.

The 1950's were the zenith of United States foreign policy built on a platform that claimed our economic, morale, and racial superiority to the people of Africa, Asia, and South America. It was a foreign policy built upon the premises that we were entiled to our fair share of the world's natural resources, canals, and corrupt dictators, and we defined fair share.

The 1960's were about a new foreign policy built on supporting justice and freedom, and by supporting peoples' battles for liberation from tyranny, not imposing our version.

The 1950's were about hating the New York Yankees.  The 1960's were about hating the New York Yankees.

The 1950's were based on the myth of rugged individualism and Horatio Alger.

The 1960's were about recognizing the social compact and that most successful Americans did not make it by themselves but made it through the support of friends and neighbors, just as we did in this country a century earlier with barn raisings, helping with the harvest, and a good public school education.

The 1950's were about red scares, red baiting, the Communist Menace, the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC),  pinkos, and fellow travelers.

The 1960's were about political judgments based on the content of one's own beliefs.

The 1950's gave us rock n' roll, the civil rights movement, and the opening of doorways for millions of Americans of all races, colors, and heritages.  But there was a lot that was very unattractive about the 1950's.

After this election, perhaps John McCain would like to join the twenty-first century. The last century is good for instruction but not for reliving. He should tell Sarah Palin.

McCain Concedes or Turns to Desperation

Every election has a flow and a feel to it. The campaigns and the relationship to the electorate takes on a life of its own and evolves.  A candidate cannot run with the same theme and the same message continuously.

There is no formula that dictates the strategy or tactics to be used on a day-to-day basis. There are too many variables, too many permutations. At some point the candidate goes negative. At other times the candidate must defend from the opponent's negative barrage.

At some point the candidate must articulate a positive vision of the future.

Usually within a month of the election, the public tires of the past. They tire of both the negative attacks on the candidate and they even tire of hearing about the fine record of the candidate.

We are at that point in this presidential election. The public is tired of the association of Obama with Bill Ayers; they are tired of McCain's war record. They are tired of McCain's 'maverick' record in the Senate and his opposition to earmarks; they are exhausted with Obama's insights five years ago as to the disastrous course we would take in Iraq.

The public wants to hear about the future. The question for the candidates is not "What did you do for me before?" or "What have you done for me lately?"

The question is "What will you do for me next year?"

Obama for a week, has addressed that question. McCain is still stuck in the past.

Realizing, he does not have traction, McCain is becoming shrill and Sarah Palin even shriller. The next sign of desperation will be swift-boating and finally the capitulation.

Interestingly McCain gave us a glimpse into his own future when he recently told his beleaguered supporters that Obama is a decent man. He has begun to concede.

He is concerned about how history will judge him and his campaign now that the presidency is beyond his grasp.

McCain continuously says he 'approves this message' despite his own misgivings about the negative, slanderous television spots his campaign runs. McCain is faced with the loss of his presidential bid and his dignity. That is becoming more and more difficult for him as his campaign rapidly sinks under the weight of Karl Rove's toadies.

Economic Disaster That A Fool Could Forecast

Like most states, we are caught up in the cruel torture of national policies that are driven by greed, imperialism, and stupidity. Readrers of Waxing America will recall that in the spring of 2007 I forecasted a stock market crash and repeated it last January, Another War; Another Recession. Whatdidyah Expect?

Last  spring I used my limited abilities in forecasting the economy and predicted a stock market crash... For the second time in my lifetime a stupid, foolish war built on lies not only wrecked havoc with another country but it is destroying the American economy.

It does not take a rocket scientist to get it right... Go on take 10% of your income and set it on fire, throw it down the toilet, or just rip it up. And just for good measure, borrow a lot of money and rip it up too.

It is so simple. You cannot destroy your resources and your assets. Imagine the homes and schools that might have been built. Billions of dollars - now that is stimulation for the economy.

I am not a genius in these matters; it is that I am not driven by blind ideology in arriving at conclusions about the ecomony. A few years experience in the public and private sectors, an understanding of history and a willingness to distance myself from bad public planning, or lack of planning, no matter how politically popular the proposal, do help.

As the fall elections approach, candidates for the Wisconsin legislature and Congress from both political parties will warm your frontal lobes with cuddly promises of 'no tax increases,' cutting fat from the budget, and reducing spending.

If you are attracted to those soft sweet sounds, complete the job and instead of voting, just get a lobotomy.

If you want a candidate who will  provide a lump of coal to warm you in your decrepit retirement, and a dull knife so you can remove your spouse's appendix by candlelight in your toothless waning years, I suggest looking for the following promises:

• A pledge to the business community to provide an educated, trained workforce, not lower taxes.
• A pledge to increase spending on education from kindergarten through the University of Wisconsin and Voc-Tech Systems.
• A commitment to spend money on infrastructure that places a priority on the environment, health, and safety.
• A commitment to regulate where appropriate and needed.
• That infratstructure will be funded through borrowing as should any reasonable capital budget item.
• The operating budget, unlike the capital budget, will be funded by general purpose revenues, and only general purpose revenues. No borrowing here.
• It will be necessary to increase taxes. The increase will be progressive and will fall on wealthier taxpayers.
• A commitment to regulate where required for health and safety.
• A declaration that international trade which exports great jobs and imports poisonous pet food and baby formula is not working.
• There will be no reductions of state revenue payments to local units of government. These reductions only end up with increase in the property tax which has the impact of shifting taxes from the wealthy to the middle class.
• On the national level there will be increases in the income tax- progressive increases.
• If we fight a war, there will be honest talk. It is impossible to have guns and butter. If we fight a war there must be sacrifices at home as well as on the battlefield.
• If the candidate tells you they are highly regarded by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), tell that candidate to move to Alaska.

 

 

It does not take a rocket scientist to get it right... Go on take 10% of your income and set it on fire, throw it down the toilet, or just rip it up. And just for good measure, borrow a lot of money and rip it up too.

It is so simple. You cannot destroy your resources and your assets. Imagine the homes and schools that might have been built. Billions of dollars - now that is stimulation for the economy.

Wall Street Bought the House, House GOP Bites the Hand that Fed It

The financial meltdown and the economic and political crisis are the result of the twenty year relationship between House of Representatives' Republican leadership and the financial services industry, which includes every major bank, insurance company, and brokerage house in the United States.

The deal orchestrated in the 1990's by the extreme right wing House Republicans and the banks was simple. The banks provided the money to elect House Republicans, who would pass legislation to end regulation in the financial services industry.

The money was spread around to Republicans, both moderates and fanatical right wingers, without distinction.

That was key to the deal. The banks and insurance companies could not question the Republican House candidates on other issues.

It made no difference what the financial people thought about choice, protectng the nation''s infrastructure, funding stem cell research, or education. They got the Republicans selected by the GOP leadership.

Now these ideological thugs with a large enough presence in the House are threatening any kind of reasonable resolution to the pending economic crisis.

The operation is not much different than the relationship bewteen Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) and their last remaining foothold in the State Capitol, the Republicans in the Assembly.

In Washington, the right wing is biting the hand that fed them for two decades without regard for the nation or thier own political future.

It would be interesting to look into the records of major Wisconsin insurance companies, borkerage houses, and banks to see the flow of cash that went either directly to these candidates or indirectly into front organizations for the United States Chamber of Commerce and their trade groups and then funneled to so called issue committees.

Frankly, I would ask for my money back.

It's time for payback.

 

Solving the Financial Crisis. A Modest Proposal

As much as it disgusts me, the bailout of the financial institutions run by greedy, egotistical managers and executives presents a less devastating result than letting them go under.

Ten years from now, my family, my friends, the working people who make this country great and ask for nothing more than a fair shake, will be better off with a properly structured loan to an industry run amuck.

Before we get into the details, the first thing we must understand is that bailout or not, the Republican Party, the author of this ideological meltdown, is responsible for the biggest tax hike and the biggest waste of taxpayers dollars in history.

For a bailout to work:

• There must be a return to Glass-Steagall, the Depression-era body of law that provided safeguards against these excesses.
• No foreign banks deserve one cent of American money. If their respective nations wish to save them, they can bail them out. They already made enough money in the past decade.
• A special investigator should be appointed to look into the relationship of banking lobbyists and the principals responsible for this former disaster, special financial guru to John McCain, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, and hit man Newt Gingrich, who thinks the solution to this problem is eliminating the capital gains tax.
• Any borrower should be allowed to extend their home loan one month for each year left on the mortgage and those deferred payments should have a maximum interest rate of 3%.
• No executive of a bailed-out company shall be compensated more than $1 million annually, and that will include company cars, homes, boats, contributions to retirement plans and life insurance. Life insurance can be taken out on the executive if the United States government is the beneficiary until the institution's loans are paid off. Frankly I am being too generous, but I cannot stand to see pirates cry.
• Labor, real work that contributes to the growth of the economy has to be recognized as being more honorable, more noble, and more essential, than flim-flam paper exercises that are nothing more than speculation in industries that are exporting jobs to countries where workers are paid less than $5 a day.
• For every million dollars a financial institution receives, they must repay the entire amount at an interest rate of 3.75%.  All loans must be repaid within a decade.