Bidden or Not Bidden

We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we've systematically removed God from our schools.
—Mike Huckabee

Like so many, I am reeling from what happened in Newtown, Connecticut, today. I can hardly put two thoughts together, but as a Christian, I just have to respond to the statement Mike Huckabee made today.

Mr. Huckabee, if your God can be so easily removed from the public schools, or from anywhere, then you're doing it wrong.

If your God wasn't right there, feeling every shudder of terror and grief at Sandy Hook Elementary School this morning, then you're doing it wrong. Seriously.

This horror did not happen because the people of this nation do not believe as you do. Or as I do. Harsh, vindictive indifference to human suffering is not God's way. The Good News is that, in the midst of all the questions and all the anguish, God is with us. God suffers with us. Always.

Bidden or unbidden, God is present.
—Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus

Manufacturing Wages, R.I.P.

Adam Davidson investigates manufacturers’ claims that they “can’t hire people with the right skills,” and finds what they really mean is they can’t do so at the rock-bottom wages they want to offer.

Clinton freed trade to the extent that manufacturing wages are third-world wages, wherever the manufacturing is done.

Clinton’s “constituents”—the multinational corporations—surely thank him for his service.  The American people need to hire a lobbyist.

Welfare State? Not So Much

Paul Krugman shows a graph of government transfer payments to individuals, other than medicare and medicaid:  It shows that such payments shoot up during recessions, when people are out of work, then drop back down as the economy picks up.  Currently about 8% of GDP.  

This certainly only measures transfers to the poor, elderly, and working class.  Welfare for the rich wouldn’t be included.

Weak Dollar Helps Whom?

Paul Krugman tells us,

“a fall in the dollar . . . wouldn’t be a terrible thing and might actually help the economy.”

By help, he means help U.S. workers work longer hours for less buying power, to better compete with third-world workers.

With help like this, who needs enemies?

Krugman does make the point, “the unemployed don’t hire lobbyists,” the root of the government’s inaction to correct the long-term unemployment situation.

The American people do need to hire public-interest lobbyists—on each and every one of the issues that wealth hires lobbyists for.

Robber Barony Is Back

http://topincomes.g-mond.parisschoolofeconomics.eu/#Graphic:
select:
United States
1917-2009
Average Incomes
bottom 90% average income - including capital gains

Shows the submerged 90% of us earn the same (per family) in real terms as we did in the late 1960s. Yet the typical family now has more wage earners, working more hours.

Same site, select
Top Income Shares
top .01% - including capital gains

Shows the hunting animals eating the entire carcass except during 1942-1981, when we had effective antitrust law, labor law, and progressive taxation.

In only these forty years was the average family income of the top .01% "only" 165 times the average family income.  Before 1942 and after 1981, the rich took a much larger share.  In 2010 it was 462 times the average and increasing.  (If only the top .01% earned anything, their share would be 10,000 times the average.   That the one family in 10,000 now takes nearly 5% of all the income, is appalling.)

The rich get their income not for what they do, but for what they own.  They claim to be "job creators."  In truth, the only job creator is a customer, who buys something.  We have to get money back in the hands of those who spend it--the nonrich.  When the only people with money to spend have all the stuff they can use, the economy collapses.  These booms and busts happened regularly up through the Great Depression.  It was political action that transformed the working class into the middle class, avoiding the booms and busts.  Deregulation, detaxing the rich, eroding worker rights, free trade, since 1981 are bringing back the bad old days of many serfs, one lord.  Only political action can reverse the trend.  We have to restore antitrust laws, restore workers' rights, establish fair trade not free trade, tax the rich.

Norway has a much fairer balance of power between employees and employers, partly due to nationwide collective bargaining.  U.S. labor laws have been eroded since they were enacted in 1935, by anti-labor court decisions and anti-labor legislation.  Now, management can ignore labor agreements and labor law without serious consequences.

Stand Up to Our President

Paul Krugman opines that Obama should stand up to Republicans.

Unfortunately, as with Clinton's disastrous free-trade policies, Obama promotes cuts to the safety net that a Republican president would not be able to get past a Democratic congress.  Obama, like Clinton, has been very much a Republican president.

Obama's preparedness to make a whole range of compromises will be at the expense of the 99%.

It is we who must stand up to our president.  We have to prevent him from selling us down the river.

This Bright, Shining Moment

So here in Wisconsin this week we won some and we lost some. Seems like the stuff we won was pretty big, but the stuff we lost isn't exactly small potatoes either. Thanks in large part to gerrymandering, both branches of the state legislature are once again under Republican control, although I hear tell that Democrat Jessica King has not conceded in the 18th Senate District.

We'll have to be more vigilant than ever against Walker's dirty tricks and the yet-to-be-enacted portions of the ALEC agenda. I've heard folks mention right-to-work legislation and mining as two serious threats to the state's Common Good. Amy Goodman says "now the work of movements begins," but here in Wisconsin, the Uprising that began last year must take a deep breath and continue to work against the plundering of our precious resources for the benefit of the 0.01%. In other words, very little has changed on a statewide front. The fix is still in, and the fight is still on.

On the national front, though, the news is pretty damn good. If you're unimpressed by what happened on Tuesday, listen to what Rachel Maddow has to say about it. We have banished the ghoulish specter of a Romney/Ryan/Rove takeover. The anti-woman politicians took a well-deserved whooping, while more women are being sent to Congress than ever before. Marriage equality and marijuana legalization made significant steps forward. A larger proportion of young people, blacks, and Latinos voted than in 2008. It was a great night for diversity all around. These aren't just victories to be celebrated. They're opportunities to be pounced on.

The really good news this week is not what we have accomplished, but the opportunities that are now open before us. We have some serious political momentum to capitalize on, and we must not let it go to waste. We progressives should feel empowered by Tuesday's election results. Here's what I hope we'll do with this bright, shining moment:

Just Say No to Right-Wing Extremism. And say it loudly and repeatedly. We have had way more than enough of the hatred, paranoia, ignorance, and fear-mongering of the factually challenged rabid right. I don't care how the Republican party attempts to reframe itself. This nastiness has got to go. It has no place in our national discourse. It is a hindrance to everything that needs to be done for the Common Good.

By "just say no," I mean call what's unacceptable unacceptable. Speak up. You know—in a civilized way. Don't just nod politely. Silence = assent. Practice in front of the mirror if you have to, but say it. Calling out a friend, an acquaintance, or a family member on their hate speech, misinformation, or fear-mongering can be as simple as asking them a question about what they really mean, what they really believe. Press them. Have a serious conversation. Don't just let it pass. It's time to take back the reins of our public discourse, one conversation at a time if need be. On the people you encounter every day, you are likely to have far more influence than you realize. This is true activism. Bear witness to the truth.

Push Hard Against Obstructionism. The bullying and tantrum-throwing in Congress must cease. The work of the People has been put on hold for far too long. The right-wing agenda of ensuring a single-term presidency for Obama has failed. I hear tell that Harry Reid intends to pursue filibuster reform. This is no easy task, especially given the colossal dysfunction of Congress. But a multifaceted, noisy push from the People might be enough to make all the difference. If Senator Reid really goes after filibuster reform, let's back him up and give him as much boisterous support as we can.

Push Back Against the Big-Money Robber Barons. Overturn the absurdly named "Citizens United." Tax the rich. Close the loopholes. Regulate Wall Street and the banks. Make this—again—the land of opportunity, not just for the very few, but for all. Strengthen the middle class and give a helping hand to the disadvantaged. Support the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and keep up with what's happening with big money in politics.

Advocate for Peace and Civil Liberties. Push back against the NDAA, the drones, the kill list, and war without end. Part of the reason the Obama Administration gets away with these assaults on civil liberties is because we let him. People aren't paying close enough attention. Progressives are focused elsewhere. So shine a bright light. Let Obama and Congress know, let everyone know, that these assaults on fairness and decency are utterly and altogether unacceptable and will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Go Green. Sign up for emails from 350.org and Clean Wisconsin, read them, and participate however you can. This is our one and only planet, and it's clearly in dire distress. We must—all of us—do what we can to mitigate the damage we've already done with our greedy, careless ways.

And did I mention saving the post office and standing up for workers' rights and immigration reform?



Voting is all well and good. Yes. Do it every chance you get. But if we're going to save democracy and save the planet, much, much, much more is required. Whatever you do, determine to be more involved, more active, better informed, better connected.

I've heard it said that if you don't do politics, politics will be done to you. But it won't just be done to you; it won't just be you that suffers. If we fail to make use of this moment, many will feel the effects of our inaction. Nothing less than the well-being of the planet is at stake. Truth, freedom, justice, and peace are calling. If you're a living, breathing human being, you can't afford not to answer.
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Thanks to Occupy Marines for the Howard Zinn image.