QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will the off-year elections of 2010 go down in history as the culmination of the turning of the United States government toward something other than democracy?  Is the United States national government now an Oligarchy rather than a Democracy?  That is, are the richest 1-2% of the electorate dictating what will happen to the other 98-99%?  Interesting questions, but not necessarily the most probing.  Maybe we should ask more personal questions of ourselves to bring home what is really happening in our beloved country.  Consider then:

1)  Have your personal views ever been solicited by a Congressional Committee?
2)    Have you ever been asked to suggest or to write a piece of legislation or regulations that would benefit you or your business?
3)    Do you pay a lobbyist who represents your views (and wants) to your Congressman or Senator?  Do you have your own lawyer who finds legal loopholes that benefit your income or your business?
4)    Have you ever met personally with your Congressman or Senator, like on a golf course, at a special resort, or at a private dinner or party?
5)    Has your Congressman or Senator ever voted to help enhance your personal situation or business?  Or, more to the point perhaps: has your Congressman or senator ever not voted, or delayed a vote, or negatively impacted a piece of legislation that would have hurt you or your business?

If you answered “NO” to most of these questions, you have to ask yourself who can answer “YES” ?  It’s very simple.  The rich and powerful can answer YES to every question because they have been given, or taken, special privileges that are not available to the ordinary citizen.  The rich and powerful, like CEOs of major companies, or wall street brokers, or bank execs can “buy” access to their government representatives that you can’t afford.  Your access to your representatives is limited to writing letters, making phone calls, protesting in the streets, and voting.  Some among us believe that this is the way it should be: that the rich have earned their right to call the shots, while the rest of us should support them because they know what is best for all of us! 

YOU don’t have any real access beyond the basics, because the government of this country does not, at the moment, belong to you!  It is totally in the hands of the rich and powerful: both houses of Congress have a majority of millionaires; the Presidency has been occupied by a millionaire for some time now (and the current Cabinet is afflicted with the same oligarchical malady); the Supreme Court has millionaires in the majority (and some of them live in gated communities to separate themselves from YOU). 

And, guess what, it’s your own damn fault, because you have allowed our electoral system to become a system tilted toward electing millionaires when few others can afford to run unless they raise scads of money from the very people who have it, and who want to “buy“ access!  Ask any politician what the bane of their existence is: raising money, is the answer, and money is at the heart of the corruption of our democratic system.

But, back to the questions:

6)    How much of your household income do you spend on necessities: housing (mortgage & maintenance), food, clothing, medicine, all taxes and government fees, transportation, child care, work-related expenses?  How much of that budget do you spend on luxuries: vacations, recreation, club memberships, fine jewelry, art work, “baubles”, collector items like cars, a yacht,  redecoration of your home, etc.?
7)    Can you pay a lesser rate on a portion of your income, say up to $50,000? 
    Can you hide any of your income in overseas bank accounts where taxes are much less? 
8)    Can you deduct for all of the depreciation of a (work-related) piece of equipment at once instead of over the 20 years it actually takes to depreciate (computer, cell-phone, car)?
9)    When did you last receive a raise in pay or a bonus or have an enhancement made to your benefits like health care or pension?
10)    How many in your household have to work to make ends meet?   How many are finding it almost impossible to find a job?  What kinds of temporary or permanent jobs have you had to take to keep afloat?
11)    How much have you had to cut back on in the last decade to make ends meet?
12)    How much debt is your household carrying right now?

These are not questions to be taken lightly.  Do your answers scare you at all?  Do they make you angry, frustrate you, discourage you?  Does it make you the least bit worried that the majority of those in positions of power in this country are not feeling what you feel as you answer these questions; that they are not even having to concern themselves with these questions because they can afford the necessities and the luxuries?  That they are getting bonuses, stock options, pension securities, and Cadillac health plans that you can’t even imagine? That they have special tax breaks that are not available to you?  That when they lose a job because of poor performance, they get a multi-million dollar settlement package that enables them to retire with ease?  That they haven’t had to cut back to “make ends meet” because they have done just fine while the rest of us are taking it on the chin (and everywhere else) during these hard economic times?  And does it bother you at all that the rich and powerful are dictating monetary and economic policy and legislation that continues to benefit them, while cutting back on, and zeroing out, programs that help the middle class and the poor? 

How long do you plan to take the abuse, the condescension, the arrogance of people in power who refer to the other 98% percent of us as “the little people”, the “small people”, “unfortunates”, “lower classes,” and who rant and rave about “welfare cheats” and “those who ought to stand on their own” or “pull themselves up” and make “something of themselves”? 
How long will you stand for the loss of your right to earn a decent wage while those in power cut back on union bargaining rights, and bemoan the audacity of government workers like police, firemen, teachers, health care workers, bargaining for adequate wages, benefits, and pensions. 
How long will it be before you realize that every time the rich and powerful gain another loophole, or privilege, or incentive, or tax break to their benefit that you lose because you have to make up the difference in retail prices or taxes you pay?  In the last 30 years, the rich have gained more money, more riches, more access, more clout, more power while you have gained very little, not only in access and clout, but in wages: just about an additional $300 (adjusted for inflation) over that same span.

But, you did gain some other things caused by those same powerful owners of government: higher (total) taxes; higher prices but less buying power; more inadequate schools; loss of housing; higher interest rates on credit cards; restricted loans from banks;  fewer consumer protections through regulation and legislation; health care insurance premiums up and benefits restricted; health care adequacy down; prestigious private schools for them, diminished public education for you.  You can fill in many of the blanks yourself because you know exactly what has been taken from you.

How long will it take before you realize that our wonderful unique representative democracy has been stolen out from under us by an Oligarchy that rules our lives in much the same manner as the dictators and oligarchs of certain Middle Eastern countries?  The Tea Party missed it entirely, targeting government as the culprit and supporting more robbery (of them and us) by the Oligarchs and Plutocrats.

How long will it take before you realize that nothing short of a revolution will reclaim what has been lost? 
A revolution that requires peaceful demonstrations, constitutional amendments, electoral reform, and term limits;
A revolution that denies the oligarchs the loopholes, breaks and privileges that they now enjoy;
A revolution that requires of the rich (and the rest of us) the responsibilities of liberty and of power: to help the poor, the disabled, the disenfranchised, the prisoner, the elderly, etc. etc.
A revolution that opens up the records and transactions of government - and those of the contributors to legislators - for all to see;
A revolution that does not involve us in preemptive warfare or any more unjust military excursions into other countries, all of which rob us of young lives, money, and prestige as well as our sacred honor, no matter how upright, decent, and dedicated our brave military men and women may be.

How long will it take?

WHAT DO PROGRESSIVES WANT?

If former Senator Russ Feingold’s latest effort -- ProgressivesUnited.org -- is any indication, the initial mission is quite focused, as indicated by the following Mission Statement:

“In January of 2010, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision greatly expanded the corrupting influence of corporate special interests. It's time we fought back. Launched one year after that decision, Progressives United will:
--Empower Americans to stand up against the exploding corporate influence in Washington, especially since the Citizens United decision.
--Hold our representatives accountable to every constituent, regardless of economic class or insider access.
--Support national, state, and local candidates who stand up for our progressive ideals.

Progressives United aims to build a massive grassroots effort dedicated to mitigating the effects of, and eventually overturning, the Citizens United decision. It is an organization that works to provide means for individuals to stand up to the big money special interests ruling Washington. We will work to ensure that elected officials are held accountable to their constituents and are not beholden to corporate interests. Additionally we will work to elect leaders at all levels of government who will stand up for progressive ideals.
We will also closely monitor all elected officials, calling them out when they are acting against what is best for their constituents in order to benefit a special interest. And we will ensure that campaign finance is a prominent issue in the 2012 campaign; we want all candidates to take a strong public stand on campaign finance reform.
Progressives United is dedicated to opposing corporate dominance over our elections. We will work every day to ensure Abraham Lincoln’s words that we are ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ remain true.”

Right now, there is a website connected to Progressives United that is asking people to help build an agenda for this new endeavor.  Strangely enough, there are many items suggested there that this Blog has advocated in past publications, and  there are others worth mentioning, as well.  The following list is a summary of what I regard as the most plausible and interesting of these proposed Progressive agenda items.

1)   Overturn Citizens United decision. 
--a constitutional amendment 
--outlaw corporate spending on election process 
--pass the DISCLOSE ACT requiring  corporations to reveal their contributions

2)    Campaign Finance and electoral reform. 
--limit amount that can be spent on all elections 
--public funding of all elections 
--abolish PACs 
--abolish the Electoral College

3)    Restrict Lobbying. 
--prevent all lobbyists from interacting with members of Congress (unrealistic) 
--prevent monetary inducements for members of Congress
   
Comment: I find little of substance in these proposals.  I have called for constitutional amendments that would:
    --prevent members of Congress from receiving any compensation, privilege, emolument, gift or any other form of contribution from any entity that could benefit by particular legislation or committee process.
    --I believe this needs expansion into preventing any influence on the writing of regulations
    --restrict the revolving door of legislators becoming lobbyists or legislative consultants for a period of five years after leaving elective office; and this needs to be expanded to cover civil servants and appointees, as well as judges.

4)    The rich -- individuals and corporations -- must be made to pay their fair share. 
--the richest 2% must pay their fair share 
--rescind the Bush tax cuts for those making over $250,000 
--remove the FICA tax cap 
--establish a Minimum Tax for corporations at about 20-25% (my recommendation) 
--close corporate loopholes and tax shelters

5)    Turn the attack on the middle class into an assault on the power of the rich. 
--pass the Employee Free Choice Act 
--recall Wisconsin Republican Senators 
--reform Wall St. and investment banking by stricter regulation 
--put bankers, investors, mortgage CEOs, etc. on trial for criminal offenses 
--eliminate Big Oil subsidies 
--no more tax breaks for companies who outsource 
--restrict subsidies and low-interest loans to large agricultural conglomerates 
--raise awareness of corporations that avoid paying taxes or receive large tax breaks 
--expose the activity of the Koch brothers to put a ‘face’ on corporate corruption 
--use media to fight back against right-wing lies and distortions 
--boycott products of corporate supporters of right-wing agenda

6)    Fight for single-payer universal health-care for everyone. 
--stop corporate efforts to block real health care reform

7)    End foreign wars and bring our troops home. 
--stop sending money and arms to dictators and thieves 
--cut defense spending

8)    Make education reform a priority. 
--divert defense spending cuts to education

9)    Use media to promote Progressive agenda and to promote fair and factual information. 
--reinstate the Fairness Doctrine to stop corporate propaganda 
--use media, social media and DVDs to influence young people for the future 
--protect the internet from government intervention 
--break up corporate mass media ownership 
--strengthen the hand of the FCC 
--develop a website and our own media sources 
--promote media sources that promote in-depth reporting and analysis 
--enact a ‘Truth in Broadcasting’ law like that in Canada

10)    Progressive groups need to unite
   

This is a Ten Point Program that most progressives (at least on this particular website) seem to endorse.  What’s holding us back from working together and forming a Progressive Coalition?  If you want to help, please go to the website below (by copying or typing it into your browser) and add your own agenda item(s), or vote for those already listed (and don’t forget to check out ProgressivesUnited.org).

http://agenda.progressivesunited.org

A MORAL CRISIS, PERHAPS?

The United States is facing a crisis in social values!  Some may think that such a crisis has to do with being too lax in regard to abortion, homosexuality, and crime.  Others may think it means that we are not giving greater support to the 2nd Amendment, to cutting national and state budgets, and limiting spending on social programs.  Even more may think it simply concerns loyalty to God, family and country.  But, none of these constitute the values crisis of which I speak.

What it does have to do with is a more than obvious deviation from the Judeo-Christian tradition of the enormous value given to caring for the poor, the downtrodden, the widow and the orphan, the stranger and the prisoner, the afflicted and the needy.  Churches and synagogues have moved farther and farther away from their own heritage -- and from Biblical principles -- in these areas.  Moreover, our national governmental entities, that were purportedly built on Judeo-Christian laws and principles, have essentially been moved to support a wholly different theology or ethic: one of prosperity for the few, backed up by a system that now actually discriminates against the poor, the afflicted and the needy.  Instead of a system of equal justice and non-discrimination, we now have a system that supports the perpetuation of rules and laws that take from the poor to enhance the standing of the rich.  Instead of righteousness “flowing down like living waters” we are dealing with a “trickle-down” theory of benefits to the middle class and the poor and the downtrodden. 

As more proof of the moral bankruptcy of the radical right, we now have in Congress a bill known as HR 1, in which are found some budget cuts that will have a devastating effect upon those who need help the most.  A recent letter received regarding this spells out some of the devastation:  “when Congress can seriously debate forcing veterans into homelessness and cutting food aid to pregnant women and children, while giving tax breaks to billionaires, something is very, very wrong.” 

To go a bit further, a recent column by Mark Bittman in the NY Times points out the following:  “I stopped eating on Monday and joined around 4,000 other people in a fast to call attention to Congressional budget proposals that would make huge cuts in programs for the poor and hungry.  Who are — once again — under attack, this time in the House budget bill, H.R. 1. The budget proposes cuts in the WIC program (which supports women, infants and children), in international food and health aid (18 million people would be immediately cut off from a much-needed food stream, and 4 million would lose access to malaria medicine) and in programs that aid farmers in underdeveloped countries. Food stamps are also being attacked, in the twisted “Welfare Reform 2011” bill. (There are other egregious maneuvers in H.R. 1, but I’m sticking to those related to food.)  These supposedly deficit-reducing cuts — they’d barely make a dent — will quite literally cause more people to starve to death, go to bed hungry or live more miserably than are doing so now.”

Too many Americans now hold fast to attitudes that show disdain or fear in regard to the less fortunate, as did that well-dressed Tea Party demonstrator who yelled and screamed near-obscenities at a counter demonstrator who was obviously less fortunate than he and who was, in fact, disabled (perhaps you saw the incident on your TV evening news last summer!).  They fear the poor as different and dangerous, regarding them generally as dirty and apt to act in a criminal manner.  Even more vividly, such Americans view the poor, the immigrant, the unfortunate, the handicapped as indecent, filthy, impure, gross, lewd, coarse, disgusting, bawdy and offensive!  Not all Americans feel this way, mind you, but enough of them to warrant the judgment that too many now buy into this set of adjectives.

Moreover, a suspicion prevails that the less fortunate are simply lazy or inferior and that their condition is their own fault.  Thus, the principle is now expounded in many quarters that the poor should be able to pull themselves up “by their own bootstraps.”   Unfortunately, these same expounders keep finding ways to put obstacles in the path of the less fortunate so that they have a Herculean task if they try to pull themselves up to another level.  Let us count the ways: removal of funding from community action groups; removal of access to free legal aid;  school-aid formulas that send disproportionate amounts of aid to suburban districts while inner-city districts deteriorate; destruction of bargaining rights for the working poor who join unions; cut-backs for inner-city health clinics; the limiting of health-care access to those who can afford it; the encouragement of  large grocery chains to avoid building within ghettos, keeping food prices there higher than average; punishment of  the homeless as vagrants; attacking of Medicare and Medicaid as well as healthcare reform; privatizing of social security or getting rid of it altogether.  Need we go on? 

We have come to a point where the rich and powerful have decided that government, and corporations, should promote, not the welfare of the people, but the avaricious attitudes and acquisitiveness of themselves, and their cohorts.  They believe the outright acclamation that “greed is good.”  They hire lobbyists to do all they can to get legislation passed that favors their class, their position, their companies, their way-of-life.  Their large companies, making billions each year from a captive consumer population, give back as little as possible to their government or their society, many paying less than 5% in taxes, and giving less than 1% to charities.  Even their churches - and they do love their churches - fail, to a large degree, to support anything other than their own congregations, structures and activities.  The Biblical mandate to support the poor and less fortunate falls on deaf ears and hardened hearts.

The Bible contains more than 300 verses regarding the poor and social justice, as well as  God’s compassion and deep concern for both of these.  It is more than simple compassion that God exhibits, however, for in many of those verses, He is depicted as being on the side of, and walking in the shoes of, the poor and the weak.  This flies in the face of the tepid response of most churches and synagogues to the call for support of the poor.  It challenges our growing belief, stoked by the rich and powerful, that the poor should lift themselves up, or that the government should stay out of social programs and let “faith-based” communities take care of the needs of those less fortunate.  With the growing crisis in all areas of poverty and need, those solutions are bound to bring about an enormous calamity!

One more important attitude or principle must be addressed: the attitude that “rugged individualism” should be the norm for our society.  Again, such a principle flies in the face of the biblical attitude that we are responsible for the well-being of each other.  It flies in the face of the principle that the people of God are a united entity, and that our outcomes and our destiny and our salvation are not tied just to individual belief and action but to the quantity and quality of a society’s response as a whole.  The society that the bible envisions is an interdependent one, with a mutual responsibility placed upon all of us to care for each other.  The “contract theory of government” from John Locke, that motivated many of the Founding Fathers, is clearly built upon these principles.  The Declaration of Independence enshrined such principles in our nation’s fabric by asserting that:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident:
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

It is incontrovertible that Government, deriving its powers from the consent of the governed, is seen here as the instrument by which people in a society might achieve their God-given, natural rights.  Today, we hear far too often that government should not secure the rights of all the people to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, but rather that government should be limited in its scope and that poor people should be on their own in their quest for a better life.  We do hear constantly a drumbeat that focuses on special privileges for the rich and powerful, and that secures those privileges through the moneyed system of unlimited campaign ads by third parties, through well-paid lobbyists working to influence legislation and regulations in favor of large corporations, through special junkets, parties and campaign contributions for officials to spur their vote in the right direction, and through a revolving door of public office to private sector positions that enhances the ability of the rich and powerful to get what they desire, but not what is good for society as a whole.

Against all of this stands the message of a Book that has, in the past, inspired the foundations of our democracy and many of the progressive movements that have expanded civil and economic rights for the American people as a whole.  Lately, the overwhelming message of that Book seems to have been lost in a 30-year onslaught against the very fabric of our Democracy.  Radical right-wing conservatives, under the guise of religiosity and “values” issues, have despised and denuded the vehicle by which people might achieve rights and support, and some protection against the forces of oppression and injustice, of hate, of discrimination, of taxation without representation, of the diverting of wealth from poor to rich, and the granting of special privileges to a chosen few.  As a result, we now have a Plutocracy (governance by the wealthy) that is also an Oligarchy (a privileged few dictating to the vast majority).

We are in a crisis of governance, and as in all such crises, it is a good idea to return to our roots and to ask:  what can we learn from one of the primary foundations of the Judeo-Christian tradition that can inform the further progression of our rights and liberties?   More next time….