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"

 

Letter to President Trump Regarding the Swamp

The Wisconsin State Journal asked me to write a letter to the President.  Here it is, with a few modifications:

 

Dear President Trump,

When you drain the swamp, rid our nation of a monstrous falsehood that undermines our success and stops us at every level of government from building a great economy.

The lie is prevalent in the states of Wisconsin and Kansas, in the counties of Florida and Wyoming and in our nation’s capital.    

Cutting income taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals does not lead to private investment and the creation of jobs. Cutting those taxes makes the one percent wealthier and screws the rest of us.

Quality jobs with a living wage are created by public investment in bridges and roads, high-speed internet and public education, for only then does the private sector invest in new businesses. The history of this great nation since the civil war has been periods of construction of dams, railroads, highways, airports, communication systems, education for veterans and more.  Each of these periods of public spending was followed by significant entrepreneurship and a more robust economy.      

The past four decades Washington D.C. has been infested with lobbyists and politicians who took care of themselves, and left the nation to rot. You have a spectacular opportunity to rid the swamp of polluters, leeches, and snakes that poisoned the water, the air, and the earth.

Now is your opportunity to create a new climate, a climate of investment and compassion that looks over all of the earth and its creatures, nurtures and grows the economy taking care of future generations.

Paul R. Soglin

Mayor                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

How Walker Bill Will Impact Public Transit in Madison, and Wisconsin

Last week Madison's WISC Channel 3 and Channel 3000  (February 19, 2011) warned their viewers,

Madison Metro Could See Big Changes:

Madison's Metro bus system could see big changes under Gov. Scott Walker's union bill. The city's transit system would have two options if the governor's bill passes -- either the system must be completely restructured, or lose $45 million in federal funding.

The situation came about because federal law requires collective bargaining rights on wages, pensions and working conditions for that aid. City officials say this detail is something that was overlooked by many."Well, we'd have to look at dramatic cutbacks in service. It's too early to say exactly what that means, but people love their bus services here in the city of Madison. They wouldn't vote for this. And again, it's something that I'm sure wasn't thought about when this bill was so hastily put together," said Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. (emphasis added)

The readers of Waxing America know there is a third option and the situation might not be so dire if the mayor directed the city attorney to get to work.  From last Sunday's post, February 13, 2011 Governor Walker: There Are Better Options for Wisconsin:

...Second, we need to examine Walker’s proposal where it may run afoul of federal law. Madison bus drivers are covered by a federal 13(C) Agreement. This is a requirement that applies to transit systems that receive federal aid.  13(C) “requires the continuation of collective bargaining rights, and protection of transit employees' wages, working conditions, pension benefits, seniority, vacation, sick and personal leave, travel passes, and other conditions of employment.” In other words it is likely that no matter what the legislature does in adopting Walker’s proposals, it will not apply to the Madison bus drivers or the drivers of any union-organized transit system in Wisconsin that receives federal funds...

Forty years ago the city of Madison signed the 13(C) agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportaion. As a condition of receiving federal transit aids, Madison guaranteed the collective bargaining rights of the transit workers. A very strong case can be made that the federal law and the contract will prevail over any state statute.

 

 

 

Saving The American Economy - End Poisonous "Free Trade"

As I look at the abandoned homes and abandoned factories it seems that we will never fill those once healthy spaces unless there are healthy jobs.

Many of those healthy jobs are gone forever - or al east gone until we correct the source of their loss. American manufacturers have gone overseas in search of lower costs. Or at least lower wages.

Forcing U.S. workers to compete against workers exploited in Asia and South America is unfair, cruel and not in anyone's best interest.

It is time to revisit the trade agreements, the treaties and the trade regulations.

There is no free trade when the workers of one nation are forced to compete with the exploited workers of another nation. There is no free trade when the manufacturer in one nation is forced to compete with the manufacturer in another nation that substitutes poisonous materials that are cheaper.

It is time to reinstate tariffs and end the exportation of our jobs and our wealth.

Verizon and Google Deal Not Good For Net Neutrality; FCC Needs To Act

Susan Crawford has the right take on the Verizon - Google "joint policy proposal:"

These two giants have found a policy vacuum and they have, understandably, filled it. A private deal - even a private deal aimed at suggesting legislation - is not the same thing as acting in the public interest.  That’s the FCC’s charge.

...What’s needed now is leadership.  Here’s a quote sent to me yesterday - from LBJ to regulators:  “Let the venal and the self-seeking and the tawdry and the tainted fear to enter your building.”  You need backbone to regulate a giant industry, and this one is too important to our economic, social, and cultural future to ignore.

Waxing America has been concerned about this for quite a while. Verizon and Google (and AT&T and Comcast and Time Warner) should not be making broadband policy; that's the FCC's job or, if the FCC fails at it, Congress' task.

- Barry Orton

Gulf Oil Spill, A Test for Voters: Which Rand Paul Horse Do We Back?

If there is one message from Rand Paul, it is that we have too much government regulation. We all know where he stands and we all know that he needs to bob and weave, especially in light of:

Bad cement jobs plague offshore rigs

Federal regulators don't regulate what type of cement is used, leaving it up to oil and gas companies. The drillers are urged to simply follow guidelines of the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group.

Far more stringent federal and state standards and controls exist on cement work for roads, bridges and buildings...

...An AP review of federal accident and incident reports on offshore wells shows that the cementing process has been implicated at least 34 times since 1978. Many of the reports, available from the U.S. Minerals Management Service that regulates offshore wells, identify the cause simply as "poor cement job."

Rand Paul is going to switch horses and get off the nag that brought him through the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky. No more decrying government regulation, in all instances.

Now Rand Paul will acknowledge that there are moments when proper and reasonable government regulation is appropriate. That is a horse of a different color.

While Rand Paul navigates this shady steed through the troubled waters he will choose the most convenient road to victory. That is not a challenge.

The challenge is for the voters to decide if they are going to buy this ride by the seat of his pants.

Earth Day Looking Into the Future : Earth Day at 40

Forty years ago Tom Smith was a University of Wisconsin student. He was also the student organizer for the first Earth Day event which kicked off on April 17, 1970 and ran for an entire week.

Today Professor Thomas W. Smith is organizing the anniversary Earth Day at Forty. It is a good thing that some things do not change.

Then, as now, Tom was kind enough to invite me to speak Tuesday at Monona Terrace. It was a heady experience sharing the dais, on the eve of Earth Day, Tuesday night April 21, 1970, with Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI), Senator Mike Gravel (D- Alaska), Boyd Gibbons, Secretary to U.S. Council on Environmental Quality and of course the rock band, Oz.

I made my own small effort by introducing a resolution in the city council that proposed banning the internal combustion engine. That went nowhere.

I suggested using methane as an alternative fuel. That is finally making some progress.

Our fledgling movement to create a pedestrian, bicycle, and transit mall of State street took a small step forward as the blocks between Park Street and Lake Street were shut down for fair exhibitors.

Unfortunately the issues, as learned over the past four decades, are even more challenging. The oceans rise from global warming and those oceans are filled with thousands of square miles of floating debris, mostly plastics which are gradually degrading from the effects of sun and water into the seas that feed much of the world's population.

At the time, Senator Nelson was asked who could we afford to clean up the environment. He responded by asking "How could we not afford to clean the environment?'

Today our society is divided. One side looks at the externalities. They examine the  price of contamination that entire nations pay for an unregulated environment.

The air and the water are not free. Not when the cost of obtaining clean air and water is mounting daily for most people.

For centuries, in every nation it was recognized that while a stream might run through private property the landowner had no right to poison the water that an entire community needed for survival.

It is time for modern society to conserve that principle. That is what I will say this coming Tuesday. Some things do not change.

 

The State of the State of Wisconsin and the United States

The right-wing chatter boxes continue to provide flawed analysis about the national and Wisconsin economy.

They ignore the fact that the U.S. economy was permanently and critically altered by NAFTA and other trade agreements that allowed $2.00 a day workers to replace American workers. They miss the point that a nation cannot engage in two wars at a cost of billions of dollars a week which do little to contribute to the productivity of the country.

When we look at the depth and breath of this depression, the worst economic crisis facing the nation since the 1930's, it is beyond fascination to see these extremists demanding the economy they destroyed be repaired in a year.

It took five years to come out of the Great Depression. That depression saw an expansion of jobs as the advent of World War II and American industrial might combined to right the greatest economy in the world.

The Republican banking crisis, the trade agreements pushed by the right and accepted by some Democrats, will take more than 12 or 18 months to fix.

It is time we come to recognize that 20% unemployment was avoided, that the majority of troubled financial institutions are now above water, and that depression did not cut deeper.

Medical Genius Rush Limbaugh Praises Mandatory Health Insurance, Health Care Reform

A special thanks to Ordinary Jill (Jill Sixpack) who posted a comment to yesterday's post Rush Limbaugh Proud to be Medical Idiot.

I had noted that Limbaugh had praised the health care he received on Hawaii, saying,"I don't think there's one thing wrong with the United States health system," but failed to recognize that not everyone had access to such quality treatment.

Jill made a more important point about the access to health care in the state of Hawaii:

Limbaugh is, indeed, an idiot. Hawaii is significantly different from the rest of the U.S. in that, for the past 35 years,it has required that employers provide health insurance for all employees working more than 20 hours a week (important in a tourism-based economy, in which many workers are part-time). As a result, going into the current recession, Hawaii had one of the nation's lowest uninsured rates and enviably low health insurance premiums for employees (their share is capped by law at 1.5% of their annual wages). The Senate version of federal health insurance reform legislation specifically exempts Hawaii. The state has truly served as a laboratory for health care reform. Unfortunately, it has also demonstrated the dangers of tying health insurance to employment, as the recession has severely strained the system that worked so well for decades. (emphasis added)

Rush Limbaugh Proud to be Medical Idiot

Rush Limbaugh is carted into a Hawaii hospital with chest pains and is discharged two days later, physicians declaring that there is nothing wrong with his heart.

Limbaugh then declares his health is fine - and so is the nation's health care system,

Turning from his health to politics, Limbaugh declared Friday he got the best health treatment in the world "right here in the United States of America."

"I don't think there's one thing wrong with the United States health system," Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh comes to this conclusion based on one instance of medical treatment.

That Limbaugh is deficient in the logic department is well documented, but that he does not understand the health care system is what makes his conclusions so dangerous.

Limbaugh, who has access to the best health care system, is privileged. He has the resources and the access to the best health care system in the world.

The problem is that there are tens of millions of Americans, some with health insurance, who do not have that kind of access.

In 1983 the President's Commission of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research submitted their report to President Ronald Reagan.

In the accompanying cover letter of transmittal they noted:

In examining the special nature of health care, we discern in our country’s traditional

commitment to fairness, an ethical obligation on the part of society to ensure that all

Americans have access to an adequate level of care without the imposition of excessive burdens. This obligation does not require that everyone receive all health care that he or she may want or even all that could conceivably be of benefit. Instead, it is a moral responsibility to see that adequate care is accessible, a commitment that recognizes the competing claims on available resources of other worthwhile social goals.

 

The obligation we have described is one of all to all not a special standard that

applies only to the poor. This does not mean, however, that the Federal government need be involved in the health are of all Americans. Most people rely on their own resources and insurance for health care; and charitable institutions and state and local programs contribute to making the benefits of health care widely available. Thus, in practical terms, the responsibility that ultimately rests with the Federal government is to make sure that those who otherwise could not obtain adequate care are able to do so and that the costs of care are shared equitably.