Paul Soglin: Waxing America

COVID - 19 This Pandemic Outcome: You Got What You Need Post #11

The inability of the federal government and the state governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic was planned. I reviewed two hundred pages of reports from the CDC and NIH including the one's linked in previous posts such as the Pandemic Influenza Plan 2017 Update.

First, the studies accurately predict and model what is happening. The U.S. government did not obfuscate the probability of a pandemic or the subsequent consequences.

Secondly, the strategy to address a pandemic was clearly inadequate. There are no recommendations that the federal government prepare the nation for a pandemic on the scale modeled. The reports contain a series of recommendations placing the responsibility on the individual states. That reports acknowledges that the states do not have the ventilators, respirators or other necessary PPEs.

A conscious decision was made to recommend an inadequate response.

If you examine the reports there is only one conclusion. The present crisis is a victory for those who want a smaller federal government, advocate for "state's rights," and who believe economically it is best not to prepare.

No one is to blame, the right-wing won this health and economic battle. The Trump, 'get back to work' and Texas 'old people can die' viewpoint is simply a continuation of the mentality that crafted the reports.

You can't always get what you want

You can't always get what you want

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes, well, you might find, You get what you need.

 

You  can't get your prescription filled at the Chelsea drugstore.

Yeah, and he said said one word to me, and that was "dead"

 

COVID-19 No Bailout for You #2

Twice since the 1990's greedy corporate hoodlums took advantage of the bailouts. The Savings and Loan crisis and the Great Recession resulted in public money used for excessive  private gain.

• Executive bonuses greater than an entire American family of five make in a year.
• Leveraged buy-outs by corporate raiders using money that was not theirs
• Stock buy backs
• Political gifts to key members of congress who voted for the legislation.
• Shifting of personal profits off-shore to escape taxation on the gains

All this can be corrected with simple requirements by the gate keepers. Here is where we need the rules and regulations - not on grants to the small businesses. And if you do not like the requirements, tough. No one is making you take the money.

• No corporate political contributions
• No individual political contributions to PACS by six figure employees.
• No bonuses - you did not save the company, we the taxpayers saved your asses.
• No acquisitions.
• No stock buy backs for a decade
• All employees get a base of $17.50/hour, full health insurance, a retirement plan and 90% of the workers must work a minimum 32 hour week.*
• No increase in contracted workers so as to avoid the employment criteria.
• No off shore bank accounts.
• I'll think of some more, just give me time.

If you do not like the terms, tough. Go away.

 

*That is to ensure that employees are eligible for all benefits.

On Compromise

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to address attendees at a Downtown Madison Inc. breakfast meeting.  The issue of illegal signs and advertising was discussed. One member of the audience asked if I was willing to compromise.

I responded by saying, “I’m not interested in compromise. What I am interested in is coming to reasonable conclusions as to what will work when we value- when we look at all of these values…”

The media message that came from this was that I would not compromise. When the headlines focused on the first sentence of my statement, readers felt that I was intransigent in my position, unwilling to change or listen to others.

Compromising is not problem solving. Refusing to compromise is not refusing to consider alternative solutions.

Others have said it more eloquently than I could.

Stephen Covey, the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People who recently passed said, “Compromise is the result of not properly perceiving the possible synergy of the situation.”

Brad Feld, Managing Director of Foundry Group said it best:

Compromise is a negotiation strategy, not a problem solving strategy.

• Compromise doesn’t care whether or not you actually solve the root cause problem.
• Compromise is two polarized positions converging based on each giving something up rather than problem solving.

 “The downside to compromising is that it can be an easy way out and reduces new creative options.  If you constantly split the difference or ‘straddle the fence,’ game playing can result and the outcome could be less than ideal.” Fisher, Ury and Patton, Getting to Yes, 1991

And, by the way, the discussions on signs and advertising continue.

Borrowing for The CIty Budget - Limitations and Rules

When Dean Mosiman of the Wisconsin State Journal wrote Agencies' responses to Soglin's budget request would cut deeply, for 2012, this comment appeared:

...interest rates are at an all time low...more borrowing at this advantageous time...

The use of borrowing by governments is one of the most misunderstood aspects of budgeting. While many states and the federal government do not have a coherent set of rules and guidelines for borrowing, most cites, counties, school districts, and other local governments try to abide by the standards set by the Government Finance Officers Association budget practices, particularly debt and debt capacity.

Do Not Borrow for Operating Budget Items

The operating budget covers salaries, routine equipment and supply purchases. These are functions of government that do not provide a benefit after their immediate use.

The capital budget is used for those items that have a long life, usually more than ten years. Borrowing can be used for most capital budget items. Heavy earth moving equipment that lasts more than a decade fits, cars for the city fleet do not. Laptops do not, but enterprise software programs do.

The point is that you can borrow for roads, buses, buildings and those types of purchases that have a life as long or longer than the borrowing.

When you start borrowing for day-to-day needs, the outcome is different. It means next year you have to pay the debt on the money you borrowed for food and the utility bill as well as this year's food and utility bill. Clearly this kind of Ponzi scheme can last only so long.

Do Not Borrow What You Cannot Afford to Repay

The nature of the problem is not much different for our city than it is for your family. If you borrow $300,000 to purchase a home, you have to pay back the principal and interest over a fixed period of time. If your income is $300,000 a year, a monthly mortgage payment of $4000 a month is affordable. If you make $60,000 a year, it does not work. In fact, it still would not work even if you have no interest payments and only have to pay the principal.

If your borrowing results in a house payment that is more than you can manage, you will not have enough money to pay for utilities, food, and other basics.

That is what we did here in Madison.  Our enormous debt service load is taking away dollars to use for snow removal, park maintenance and public safety.

We cannot borrow our way out of this problem. In fact, we had to make two significant changes in borrowing practices:

1. We stopped borrowing for operating budget items.
2. We reduced our borrowing because our debt service is already too high and it takes away dollars we need for current city services. 

 

 

 

 

Mayor-Elect Paul Soglin Hits The Ground Running

Yesterday was filled with meetings with City officials and press avails. Dean Mosiman's story in the Wisconsin State Journal had details:

Energized by his win Tuesday, Mayor-elect Paul Soglin on Wednesday met with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and city managers and started to forge his early agenda.

Soglin, mayor for 14 years over three decades, said he intends to revive "neighborhood resource teams" of police, building inspectors, public health nurses and others to address growing poverty. He's exploring a humane way to control the geese population. And he wants to use appointments to bring more diversity to the city's array of committees.

"We're going to be moving on many tracks at once," he said.

Soglin, who takes office April 19, said Cieslewicz initiatives such as rebuilding the Central Library and planning for a public market southeast of the Capitol "will continue on present course."

But he said he will seek briefings on why decisions were made and particular options chosen. "We may or may not make changes," he said.

Cieslewicz took no issue with that approach. "That's absolutely fair," he said. "I'd do that myself. I think he's going to find that these are all solid decisions."

The mayor credited Soglin with an effective, clean campaign and vowed to "do everything in our power to make the transition easy for him so he can be successful."

We owe a huge thank you to Mayor Cieslewicz for his assistance in this transition. He's been gracious and helpful.

(For those of you waiting for a callback from Paul, or a response to an email, have a little patience. Nearly every Madisonian and a few thousand from elsewhere have wanted to congratulate him or offer an idea.)

- Barry Orton

 

No General Strike in Wisconsin

The chanting of 'general strike' filled the Capitol last night and evoked romantic notions of the Paris Commune, Egypt or nineteenth century United States.

That is not what Wisconsin needs. We need to expand the arena of conflict with Governor Walker and his Senate Republicans. We need to send a more subtle, contained message to his key supporters, the ones that are concerned about Wisconsin and their own businesses. 

Selective informational picketing of a few Wisconsin companies that do business with the working people of our great state is what is required. It is a simple message, an eloquent message:

"You elected Scott Walker, you put him in office, you are responsible for the union busting. It is incumbent upon you to tell Walker to cease this destructive behavior and not to continue in your name."

They can claim that their support of Walker was on other issues. That is not important. They must take responsibly for the great power Walker has and they must firmly and publicly tell him:

"Not now, not ever. We support collective bargaining; we support hard working public employees. Do not destroy the high quality schools. public services, and local governments in our state."

Slob, Overpaid, Fat Pension, Free Health Care, Public Employees: Debunk This

The Economic Policy Institute besides being one of my favorite sources for information is a pro-labor, union funded organization that gets it right. Can anyone debunk this:

Debunking the Myth of the Over compensated Public Employee

  ...The data analysis in this paper, however, indicate that

 public employees, both state and local government, are

not overpaid. Comparisons controlling for education,

experience, hours of work, organizational size, gender, race,

ethnicity and disability, reveal no significant overpayment

but a slight undercompensation of public employees

when compared to private employee compensation costs

on a per hour basis. On average, full-time state and

local employees are undercompensated by 3.7%, in comparison

to otherwise similar private-sector workers. The

public employee compensation penalty is smaller for

local government employees (1.8%) than state government

workers (7.6%)....

.

Walker Somehow Manages To Unite Law Enforcement And Protesters At Wisconsin Capitol

Tonight Bill Lueders in the DailyPage put his finger on the really remarkable thing about the occupation of Wisconsin's Capitol. Never mind the 100,000+ today in the snow and cold. Never mind the incredible solidarity that has developed over the last couple of weeks between public and private sector unions. Or the sense of small-town living that has developed with the sleepovers in the Capitol building, albeit in smaller and smaller areas, as the Capitol Police and their thousands of uniformed law enforcement reinforcements on temporary assignment closed off larger and larger wings of the building. Or the abundant, high-end and free pizza.

It's the friendly relationship that those uniformed (mostly) union members of law enforcement have developed with the protesters. Both sides are more than polite to one another; they are downright Midwestern friendly.  I've never seen anything like it anywhere. Eye contact, smiles, thank-you's and offers of pizza or a bagel. I thought for years that the Madison Police were the best at keeping events cool, but this reaches new levels. Over 100,000 people in and around the building today; no arrests (again).

(Last night was the law enforcement unions' sleepover - I saw a Madison cop walking from the City-County Building to the Capitol at about 8:30, carrying a police solidarity sign and a pillow.)

Lueders:

All this week I've been talking to the law enforcement officers converged in and around the Capitol. ...Today I spoke at some length with a state conservation warden, one of the quasi-law enforcement employees who will not be spared the loss of collective bargaining under Walker's divisive plan.

He praised the protesters for how kind and well-behaved they've been, as have the officers I've spoken to over the last week and a half. Something remarkable has happened here: The protesters and the law enforcement officers who have been sent here from every corner of the state have come to like each other, to see each other as being on the same side. (emphasis added)

I think that means -- I hope that means -- that the building will be sealed off peacefully tonight and will vacate peacefully tomorrow. And then Monday morning, when the building is clean, everybody can come back.

Let's all hope Lueders is right about a peaceful exit of all protesters tomorrow. If Walker has indeed somehow managed to unite protester and cop, perhaps only a handful will force the issue and have to be carried out.  That might allow the building, its many legislative staffers, and the uniformed law enforcement folks from Sheboygan to Platteville to take a needed short break.

This no-arrest streak is a badge of honor for both sides.

If that isn't enough, bonding by sharing bagels and pizza in adjacent sleeping bags may have helped.

 

- Barry Orton

The Fight to Save Wisconsin Collective Bargaining is Moving Forward

While the Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly succeeded in adopting the horrendous so-called 'budget repair bill,' a foregone conclusion, the movement to preserve collective bargaining for unions is moving forward.

We have a long difficult struggle ahead, but already there are victories in other states, victories that will make Wisconsin Republicans re-think the proposal of Governor Scott Walker.

Some Republicans soften tough talk on unions

WASHINGTON – With a wary eye on Wisconsin, Republican leaders in several states are toning down the tough talk against public employee unions and, in some cases, abandoning anti-union measures altogether.

Indiana's governor urged GOP lawmakers to give up on a "right to work" bill for fear the backlash could derail the rest of his agenda. In Ohio, senators plan to soften a bill that would have banned all collective bargaining by state workers. And in Michigan, the Republican governor says he'd rather negotiate with public employees than pick a fight...

 

We have a long way to go but these are heartening signs. No matter what the legislature does in Wisconsin, there is going to be a protracted debate on the role of unions and educating the hundreds of millions of workers, both public and private sector, as to the sacrifices made by union members to get future generations the eight hour day, the weekend, and a chance to spend retirement in something better than a cardboard box.

When a few hundred of us, mostly graduate students,  gathered on the steps of the University of Wisconsin memorial Union Saturday February 12, 2011 we knew this would grow. But no one envisioned anything like what we will see tomorrow Saturday the 26th. As the sign says, "Screw us and we multiply."

 

 

 

SEIU Chief on Walker: "This Is All About Power, Not Money"

Monday there was a blogger sit-down with Mary Kay Henry, national president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In Wisconsin the SEIU represents about 20,000 members, most of which work in health care-related fields.  About 4,000 are state workers, and the largest group of those are about 2,000 nurses at the UW Hospital, which ironically, isn't really a state agency now. The majority of Wisconsin SEIU members are in the private sector, and most of those are home health workers.

Henry is, in fact, one of those out-of-state union agitators Scott Walker blames for the occupation of the Capitol. She and some staff had flown in for the day to reinforce her SEIU ground troops in Wisconsin, and show the flag to inspire them and their brothers and sisters from the many public and private sector unions. Only in this case, the flag was a purple SEIU t-shirt.

Henry was energized by her experience at the Capitol, both from the scene inside, and the response to her speech at the noon outside rally. Cutting to the chase, she said: "This is all about power, not money."  Connecting the dots between Walker's actions and the national assault on the political clout of unions, Henry argued that "...collective bargaining is the last line of defense for the American middle class, and we will not concede on our voice on the job."

Emily Mills (Emily''s Post)  was also at the sit-down, and tied Henry's comments to the impending deep cuts in support to subsdized health care in Wisconsin:

Part of the debate about Walker’s budget proposal that’s been mostly overshadowed by the outcry over cutting collective bargaining, of course, is his desire to impose sweeping changes on the state’s Medicare system. That affects BadgerCare, Family Care, and SeniorCare, among other things. It’s all connected – especially for home health workers and for the working, low-income people of the state in general. Henry was sure to address those problems, as according to Shawn Doherty’s thoughtful piece in the Capital Times, “The provisions would allow the administration to revamp and even gut the programs without following state laws or the normal legislative processes.”

This is just as serious of an issue as the threat to union rights and deserves just as much of our indignation. We’re talking about putting into jeopardy the very well-being of our elders, the disabled, the most vulnerable populations in the state.

It's beyond ironic that many of the SEIU members providing health care services need BadgerCare themselves.

 

For a little much-needed humor, here's one of the best signs from Saturday, thanks to deke at Caffeinated Politics.

(That's very likely a SEIU nurse from UW Hospital. Anyone who has been cared for by them will tell you that UW Hospital nurses are wicked awesome.)

- Barry Orton