"I got involved because I wanted to help inspire more people to get off their butts and register and vote - not just in this election, but in every other election from now on, you know?" -- Jello Biafra
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
On Political Machines
April 5th, 2011
We received some amazing feedback from a former Chicagoan regarding our missive which compared Gov. Scott Walker's corruption to some of the old time Chicago political hooligans.
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| The Boss |
This reader shared a perspective on the late 1960's Richard J. Daley Machine you don't hear too often these days. Heads up, life within it sounds pretty damn good.
"Ah good old Chicago. I remember when my husband and I moved into our first apartment in the city, and the local ward heeler turned up -- a dear little man named Harry Jacobsen as I recall -- just to let us know that if we needed a job or any help with city services or anything at all, he was there for us.
There was no bribery -- no quid pro quo -- no overt or implicit corruption: just the kind of "constituent service" designed to keep the voters loyal. What Walker and the Kochs are doing is shamelessly, openly corrupt, and their habit of deflecting it with their usual "we didn't do it, what about those wicked liberals" crap doesn't change the facts.
It's a simple little illustration of the Chicago of the late 1960s. All that's gone, now, of course, but for a few generations it's how most of our cities thrived. The book and movie The Last Hurrah touch on this a little bit, the Boston version -- Boss Curley ran the same kind of operation as Mayor Daley.
The corruption was never in the neighborhoods (though the same cannot be said for things like bank deals and construction projects) -- instead, the GOTV model was to make sure nobody went hungry or jobless, that streets were clean and safe, and that widows and orphans were tended to." EMPHASES OURS
Bagman's Boy Bumped Down A Bit
April 5th, 2011
We posted yesterday about the wild nepotism in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walkers administration. We also had a little fun comparing the Walker machine to some famous old-time Chicagoans. It's amazing what a little sunlight can do. From The Journal Sentinel:
"Gov. Scott Walker abruptly reversed course today and demoted the son of a large campaign contributor to his former job with the state Department of Regulation and Licensing."
Translation - Walker got scared shitless when he discovered that in spite of his best efforts, we still live in the 21st Century.
"The move comes one day after the Journal Sentinel reported that Brian Deschane, 27, had landed an $81,500-a-year job in Walker's administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. The promotion amounted to a raise of 26%. His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association. The group's political action committee gave $29,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, last year, making it one of the top five PAC donors to the governor's successful campaign. Members of the trade group also funneled more than $92,000 through its conduit to Walker's campaign over the past two years."
"The younger Deschane has no college degree, little management experience and two drunken driving convictions."
"Brian was moved to (the Department of) Commerce at the request of (Regulation and Licensing) Deputy Secretary John Scocos to head up a division that was eventually going to be moved to DRL," the statement said. "Deputy Secretary Scocos worked with Brian at DRL earlier this year and thought he could help with the transition of the Commerce division to DRL. "When Governor Walker learned of the details of this agency staffing decision, he directed his administration to move in another direction."
"Gov. Scott Walker abruptly reversed course today and demoted the son of a large campaign contributor to his former job with the state Department of Regulation and Licensing."
Translation - Walker got scared shitless when he discovered that in spite of his best efforts, we still live in the 21st Century.
"The move comes one day after the Journal Sentinel reported that Brian Deschane, 27, had landed an $81,500-a-year job in Walker's administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. The promotion amounted to a raise of 26%. His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association. The group's political action committee gave $29,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, last year, making it one of the top five PAC donors to the governor's successful campaign. Members of the trade group also funneled more than $92,000 through its conduit to Walker's campaign over the past two years."
Translation - Yes, they rewarded the unqualified baby boy of a Bagman with a massive salary on the public dime while telling highly qualified professionals that they were greedy leaches for expecting half that much.
"The younger Deschane has no college degree, little management experience and two drunken driving convictions."
Translation - It is our humble speculation as to it being very unlikely anyone else would actually give the Bagman's Baby any job in this economy that does not have paper hats.
"Brian was moved to (the Department of) Commerce at the request of (Regulation and Licensing) Deputy Secretary John Scocos to head up a division that was eventually going to be moved to DRL," the statement said. "Deputy Secretary Scocos worked with Brian at DRL earlier this year and thought he could help with the transition of the Commerce division to DRL. "When Governor Walker learned of the details of this agency staffing decision, he directed his administration to move in another direction."
Translation - This is called covering your ass in an effort to protect the seedy, grimy inner-workings of your corrupt den of villainy.
"Walker chief of staff Keith Gilkes recommended Brian Deschane for a job with the Regulation and Licensing Department. In January, he became bureau director of board services, a position that paid $62,728 a year. His pay will return to the lower amount when he resumes duties Wednesday at the Department of Regulation and Licensing, Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said."
"Walker chief of staff Keith Gilkes recommended Brian Deschane for a job with the Regulation and Licensing Department. In January, he became bureau director of board services, a position that paid $62,728 a year. His pay will return to the lower amount when he resumes duties Wednesday at the Department of Regulation and Licensing, Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said."
Translation - Walker and his team still don't have a clue that it's wrong for the Bagman's Baby to have this position at all. Or that the salary is still way too fucking much.
Beckwatch - Paul Ryan WTF?! Edition
April 5th, 2011
As my feeds and inbox were deluged today with Rep Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his Path To Poverty, I came across all kinds of nutty stuff. Nothing was as weird as this. Listen to Glenn Beck and Paul Ryan say "I love you" to one another. Then, hold onto your butts, listen to Beck rationally condemn the plan for not seriously addressing defense waste.
As my feeds and inbox were deluged today with Rep Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his Path To Poverty, I came across all kinds of nutty stuff. Nothing was as weird as this. Listen to Glenn Beck and Paul Ryan say "I love you" to one another. Then, hold onto your butts, listen to Beck rationally condemn the plan for not seriously addressing defense waste.
The Paul Ryan Pamphlet Part 1 - Taxes
April 5th, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
My first reaction when I finished reading The Path To Prosperity, Rep Paul Ryan's (R-WI) highly anticipated "budget," was to wonder where the rest of it was. It's like an introduction without a following body of work. The calculated lack of specificity is stunning. It's a buffet of political talking points.
There are certainly many scary charts, spooky graphs and a lot of Neo-Con think-tank phrases. But to call it a "budget" is an insult to arithmetic itself. In fact, at his press conference earlier this afternoon Ryan said it "is not just a budget, it’s a cause." With all due respect, faith doesn't secure the outcome of financial equations.
by F. Grey Parker
My first reaction when I finished reading The Path To Prosperity, Rep Paul Ryan's (R-WI) highly anticipated "budget," was to wonder where the rest of it was. It's like an introduction without a following body of work. The calculated lack of specificity is stunning. It's a buffet of political talking points.
There are certainly many scary charts, spooky graphs and a lot of Neo-Con think-tank phrases. But to call it a "budget" is an insult to arithmetic itself. In fact, at his press conference earlier this afternoon Ryan said it "is not just a budget, it’s a cause." With all due respect, faith doesn't secure the outcome of financial equations.
Let's look at the Ryan scheme:
"Keeps taxes low so the economy can grow. Eliminates roughly $800 billion in tax increases imposed by the President’s health care law. Prevents the $1.5 trillion tax increase called for in the President’s budget. Calls for a simpler, less burdensome tax code for households and small businesses. Lowers tax rates for individuals, businesses and families. Sets top rates for individuals and businesses at 25 percent. Improves incentives for growth, savings, and investment"
"Keeps taxes low so the economy can grow. Eliminates roughly $800 billion in tax increases imposed by the President’s health care law. Prevents the $1.5 trillion tax increase called for in the President’s budget. Calls for a simpler, less burdensome tax code for households and small businesses. Lowers tax rates for individuals, businesses and families. Sets top rates for individuals and businesses at 25 percent. Improves incentives for growth, savings, and investment"
Taxes are at their lowest levels in modern history and have been for years. There has been no corresponding expansion of the economy. What's more, the $800 billion in prevented "tax increases" he touts is predicated on the complete repeal of HCR. That is not going to happen. There is no demonstrably broad benefit to the U.S. economy from the hyper-wealthy having a tax rate of 25%. A 10% drop in the corporate rate with not one single loophole singled out for elimination is ridiculous.
We have to substantially raise taxes and soon. I say it. Krugman says it. Reich says it in no uncertain terms. In fact, a majority of Americans say it. And yet, Ryan skips merrily through an alternate reality.
Ryan actually cites economic projections from the Heritage Foundation as supporting data within the plan itself. The same Heritage Foundation that said "pro growth tax cuts... always create jobs" while arguing for the extension of the disastrous W Tax Cuts that didn't create jobs. As a matter of fact, the weakest ever post-Depression job creation accompanied that fiscal policy. Of course, that's not what Heritage had projected prior to their initial implementation. Matt Yglesias dug up this gem today.
Heritage prosperity projections that they insisted would follow passage of the W Tax Cuts...
The entire payroll expansion under W came to 2.3% which is almost six times smaller than the expansion rate under just 4 years of Jimmy Carter! Ryan's plan is a larger dose of the same failed "stimulative policies" which have caused this mess. But by all means, let's assume that Heritage is totally correct... this time.
The subject of our revenue in-stream is carefully packaged alongside political triggers designed to provoke panic:
"As economic growth deteriorates, it becomes harder for the government to raise revenue through taxes, and a vicious cycle ensues. If the nation ultimately experiences a panicked run on its debt, it will be forced to make immediate and painful fiscal adjustments (like the austerity program that has provoked riots in Greece)"
America/Greece comparisons are absurd. They are also dishonest. The crisis in Greece was caused by two principal factors. The first is that their economy was so much smaller than ours and not complexly diversified. The second is that they invested their national treasure heavily in our own under-regulated derivatives markets. These are the same markets that Mr. Ryan doesn't want to "over-regulate."
The entire payroll expansion under W came to 2.3% which is almost six times smaller than the expansion rate under just 4 years of Jimmy Carter! Ryan's plan is a larger dose of the same failed "stimulative policies" which have caused this mess. But by all means, let's assume that Heritage is totally correct... this time.
The subject of our revenue in-stream is carefully packaged alongside political triggers designed to provoke panic:
"As economic growth deteriorates, it becomes harder for the government to raise revenue through taxes, and a vicious cycle ensues. If the nation ultimately experiences a panicked run on its debt, it will be forced to make immediate and painful fiscal adjustments (like the austerity program that has provoked riots in Greece)"
America/Greece comparisons are absurd. They are also dishonest. The crisis in Greece was caused by two principal factors. The first is that their economy was so much smaller than ours and not complexly diversified. The second is that they invested their national treasure heavily in our own under-regulated derivatives markets. These are the same markets that Mr. Ryan doesn't want to "over-regulate."
What actually makes it "harder for the government to raise revenue through taxes," is cutting taxes, allowing rampant loophole abuse and refusing to impose taxes in the first place.
The obvious initial steps towards solving our problems are as follows; Expire the W Tax Cuts, return the highest marginal individual rates to Eisenhower Era levels and set the top corporate tax rate on profits at a flat 15% with no loopholes.
Describing Ryan's collection of fantasies as Reaganomic nonsense, which I did earlier today, is actually unfair to the Gipper. When President Reagan was confronted with the destructive and unsustainable reality of tax rates that were substantially higher than today's, he signed bills into law which raised them 7 times.
One must wonder. If Rep. Paul Ryan and his ilk were presented with an actual Reagan budget today, would they portray it as "progressive?"
This "Path" isn't conservatism. It's corporatism. It's less Jefferson than it is Mussolini.
Yeah, I Said Bagman
April 4th, 2011
An observation on the unfolding Wisconsin side show
Personally, I would've at least called Walker a spifflicated palooka. The guy keeps spoonin' the applesauce. He's tryin' to take the whole state and maybe even the country for a ride. He thinks we're all pushovers.
by F. Grey Parker
“Gov. Walker has repeatedly stated that all public employees must sacrifice, but it appears his political appointees are exempt from any sacrifice. Media accounts in the past few weeks have focused on two appointees with close Republican connections getting questionable appointments with excessive raises.
Gov. Walker’s budget adjustment bill that is tied up in court gave him 37 additional political appointees and recent revelations make that highly inadvisable.
A governor cannot ask his employees to sacrifice while rewarding his political cronies and relatives of big donors. I call on the Legislature to halt any expansion of political appointments, no-bid contracts or gubernatorial power over rule-making in the future. This includes special session bill AB 8, which could come back to the Assembly as early as tomorrow.
If there is any shred of independence among legislative Republicans they will not allow the hiring of additional political cronies after the revelations of the past weeks. This is simply not how we do business in Wisconsin.”
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| "Hinky Dink" & "Bathhouse" |
The history of Chicago's political underbelly is something of a hobby of mine. Having grown up in it's shadows and in a house of a decidedly political timber, it just fascinated me. I can tell you amazing stories about the bad old days. It was once truly a city without peer in a nation without a whole lot of "sunlight." For a time, it even made "Boss" Tweed's Tammany Hall in New York look good. I hadn't thought about it much recently until a short time ago.
Yesterday, I posted about Gov. Scott Walker's (R-WI) doling out state money and an important position to the seemingly unqualified, legally challenged and not college degreed son of a major political backer. It's a stunning caper. I jived to a few pals that Walker's shenanigans would've made the average 1950s, cigar-chompin', Chicago-Machine hack blush. After some further thought, I have concluded that this was correct. No one in the first Daley Administration would ever have done anything this blatantly not on the level.
In the midst of a dust-up Walker has intentionally crafted to steamroll over his own state's nearly century long history of open government while giving the high hat to organized labor, he has put an apparent connected bum on the taxpayer's nickel to the tune of just over 80 thousand samolians. To find a guy this craven in Chicago's past, I can only come up with the infamous prohibition era bosses of the 1st Ward, Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna and "Bathhouse" John Coughlin.
At the height of the "Hinky Dink" and "Bathhouse" stranglehold on power in Chicago, a frustrated Mayor Carter Harrison questioned "Hinky Dink" about his quite eccentric and bent partner. The Mayor wanted to know if "Bathhouse" was using narcotics or might actually be certifiable. Kenna looked at Harrison. He suggested that it was not really explicable. "To tell you the God’s truth, Mayor, they ain’t found a name for it yet," he said.
When a 21st Century Midwestern Governor is reminiscent of either of these goofs, he can take his good government malarkey and scram. I begin to wonder if Walker might not be ossified. Maybe he's just a piker. This is only beginning to heat up, kids. I am pretty sure that it ain't goin' away.
Wisconsin Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) is awfully temperate in his response, if you ask me:
“Gov. Walker has repeatedly stated that all public employees must sacrifice, but it appears his political appointees are exempt from any sacrifice. Media accounts in the past few weeks have focused on two appointees with close Republican connections getting questionable appointments with excessive raises.
Gov. Walker’s budget adjustment bill that is tied up in court gave him 37 additional political appointees and recent revelations make that highly inadvisable.
A governor cannot ask his employees to sacrifice while rewarding his political cronies and relatives of big donors. I call on the Legislature to halt any expansion of political appointments, no-bid contracts or gubernatorial power over rule-making in the future. This includes special session bill AB 8, which could come back to the Assembly as early as tomorrow.
If there is any shred of independence among legislative Republicans they will not allow the hiring of additional political cronies after the revelations of the past weeks. This is simply not how we do business in Wisconsin.”
Personally, I would've at least called Walker a spifflicated palooka. The guy keeps spoonin' the applesauce. He's tryin' to take the whole state and maybe even the country for a ride. He thinks we're all pushovers.
He is wrong.
Quote Of The Day - Graft Edition
April 5th, 2011
It's a pity Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is so wildly transparent.
"There's an honest graft, and I'm an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by saying, "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em." -- George Washington Plunkitt, Tammany Hall Poet
It's a pity Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is so wildly transparent.
Quote Of The Day
April 5th, 2011
"The new political gospel: Public office is private graft" -- Mark Twain
Monday, April 4, 2011
Scott Walker Rewards Bagman
April 4th, 2011
Update 7:15pm CST 4/5/2011 The situation has changed, but it ain't over.
In one of the most jaw-droppingly blatant acts of nepotism I have ever come across, Gov Scott Walker (R-WI) has given the bad-seed child of a major donor a spectacular job in his administration.
My condemnation of nepotism should carry some weight, dear reader. I grew up in Chicagoland.
Daniel Bice writes in The Journal Sentinel:
"Just in his mid-20s, Brian Deschane has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions.
Yet he has landed an $81,500-per-year job in Gov. Scott Walker's administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. Even though Walker says the state is broke and public employees are overpaid, Deschane already has earned a promotion and a 26% pay raise in just two months with the state.
How did Deschane score his plum assignment with the Walker team?
It's all in the family.
His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-basedWisconsin Builders Association, which bet big on Walker during last year's governor's race.
The group's political action committee gave $29,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, last year, making it one of the top five PAC donors to the governor's successful campaign. Even more impressive, members of the trade group funneled more than $92,000 through its conduit to Walker's campaign over the past two years.
Total donations: $121,652.
That's big-time backing from the homebuilders.
The younger Deschane didn't respond to questions about his job."
Read on...
Update 7:15pm CST 4/5/2011 The situation has changed, but it ain't over.
My condemnation of nepotism should carry some weight, dear reader. I grew up in Chicagoland.
Daniel Bice writes in The Journal Sentinel:
"Just in his mid-20s, Brian Deschane has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions.
Yet he has landed an $81,500-per-year job in Gov. Scott Walker's administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. Even though Walker says the state is broke and public employees are overpaid, Deschane already has earned a promotion and a 26% pay raise in just two months with the state.
How did Deschane score his plum assignment with the Walker team?
It's all in the family.
His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-basedWisconsin Builders Association, which bet big on Walker during last year's governor's race.
The group's political action committee gave $29,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, last year, making it one of the top five PAC donors to the governor's successful campaign. Even more impressive, members of the trade group funneled more than $92,000 through its conduit to Walker's campaign over the past two years.
Total donations: $121,652.
That's big-time backing from the homebuilders.
The younger Deschane didn't respond to questions about his job."
Read on...
Reich On Taxing The Rich
April 4th, 2011
On Friday, I wrote a plea for a return to some sense of sanity regarding tax policy.
Today, Robert Reich wrote:
"Here's the truth: The only way America can reduce the long-term budget deficit, maintain vital services, protect Social Security and Medicare, invest more in education and infrastructure, and not raise taxes on the working middle class is by raising taxes on the super rich.
Even if we got rid of corporate welfare subsidies for big oil, big agriculture, and big Pharma -- even if we cut back on our bloated defense budget -- it wouldn't be nearly enough.
The vast majority of Americans can't afford to pay more. Despite an economy that's twice as large as it was thirty years ago, the bottom 90 percent are still stuck in the mud. If they're employed they're earning on average only about $280 more a year than thirty years ago, adjusted for inflation. That's less than a 1 percent gain over more than a third of a century. (Families are doing somewhat better but that's only because so many families now have to rely on two incomes.)"
On Friday, I wrote a plea for a return to some sense of sanity regarding tax policy.
Today, Robert Reich wrote:
"Here's the truth: The only way America can reduce the long-term budget deficit, maintain vital services, protect Social Security and Medicare, invest more in education and infrastructure, and not raise taxes on the working middle class is by raising taxes on the super rich.
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| Source - The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities - CBPP |
Even if we got rid of corporate welfare subsidies for big oil, big agriculture, and big Pharma -- even if we cut back on our bloated defense budget -- it wouldn't be nearly enough.
The vast majority of Americans can't afford to pay more. Despite an economy that's twice as large as it was thirty years ago, the bottom 90 percent are still stuck in the mud. If they're employed they're earning on average only about $280 more a year than thirty years ago, adjusted for inflation. That's less than a 1 percent gain over more than a third of a century. (Families are doing somewhat better but that's only because so many families now have to rely on two incomes.)"
We are quickly running out of time to right our course. The proof of the deepening plutocracy which drives our monetary policy is revealed in the hard numbers showing a majority of Americans were opposed to the extension of the "W Tax Cuts" for the hyper-wealthy. Tomorrow, it appears Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is going to double down on this madness. This is because they don't care what the people think.
Our window of opportunity is closing.
MLK On Labor Rights
April 4th, 2011
Those who have used today to suggest that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was not a progressive or was unconcerned with the right to organize are just plain lying.
Those who have used today to suggest that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was not a progressive or was unconcerned with the right to organize are just plain lying.
"In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as 'right to work.' It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone…Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped." -- speaking about right-to-work laws in 1961
Beckwatch - Smearing Dr. King Edition
April 4th, 2011
Gleen Beck says that Dr. King's fight really had nothing to do with the rights of labor.
Here's Beck (clip via Media Matters):
And here are some of Dr. King's own words:
"The limited reforms we have won have been at bargain rates for the power structure. There are no expenses involved, no taxes are required, for Negroes to share lunch counters, libraries, parks, hotels and other facilities. Even the more substantial reforms such as voting rights require neither monetary or psychological sacrifice. The real cost lies ahead. To enable the Negro to catch up, to repair the damage of centuries of denial and oppression means appropriations to create jobs and job training; it means the outlay of billions for decent housing and equal education." -- Teamsters and Allied Trade Councils, New York City, May 1967
"We look around every day and we see thousands and millions of people making inadequate wages. Not only do they work in our hospitals, they work in our hotels, they work in our laundries, they work in domestic service, they find themselves underemployed. You see, no labor is really menial unless you're not getting adequate wages. People are always talking about menial labor. But if you're getting a good (wage) as I know that through some unions they've brought it up...that isn't menial labor. What makes it menial is the income, the wages." -- Local 1199 Salute to Freedom, March 1968
"You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth."-- AFSCME Memphis Sanitation Strike, April 3, 1968
Gleen Beck says that Dr. King's fight really had nothing to do with the rights of labor.
Here's Beck (clip via Media Matters):
And here are some of Dr. King's own words:
"The limited reforms we have won have been at bargain rates for the power structure. There are no expenses involved, no taxes are required, for Negroes to share lunch counters, libraries, parks, hotels and other facilities. Even the more substantial reforms such as voting rights require neither monetary or psychological sacrifice. The real cost lies ahead. To enable the Negro to catch up, to repair the damage of centuries of denial and oppression means appropriations to create jobs and job training; it means the outlay of billions for decent housing and equal education." -- Teamsters and Allied Trade Councils, New York City, May 1967
"We look around every day and we see thousands and millions of people making inadequate wages. Not only do they work in our hospitals, they work in our hotels, they work in our laundries, they work in domestic service, they find themselves underemployed. You see, no labor is really menial unless you're not getting adequate wages. People are always talking about menial labor. But if you're getting a good (wage) as I know that through some unions they've brought it up...that isn't menial labor. What makes it menial is the income, the wages." -- Local 1199 Salute to Freedom, March 1968
"You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth."-- AFSCME Memphis Sanitation Strike, April 3, 1968
Paul Ryan's Recipe For Misery, cont...
April 4th, 2011
Well, the reactions are flying now that Rep Paul Ryan's anti-middle class hand is tipped.
From Paul Krugman:
"For all those older Americans who voted GOP last year because those nasty Democrats were going to cut Medicare, I have just one word: suckers!"
From Ezra Klein:
"In Medicaid’s case, the reform is block-granting. Right now, the federal government shares Medicaid costs with the states. That means their payments increase or decrease with Medicaid’s actual rate of spending. Under a block grant system, that’d stop. They’d simply give states a lump sum at the beginning of the year and that’d have to suffice. And if a recession hits and more people need Medicaid or a nasty flu descends and lots of disabled beneficiaries end up in the hospital with pneumonia? Too bad."
From Ryan Witt:
"Under Ryan’s plan, beginning in 2021, people over 65 would no longer be automatically covered under a government plan. Instead, each senior would be given a voucher with which to purchase their own private health insurance plan.
The problem for seniors is that insurance companies tend to charge older adults more for coverage. The risks for heart disease, strokes, cancer and many other diseases increases dramatically with age. Private insurance companies, unlike the government, must make a profit to continue in operation. Insurance companies only make a profit if they can charge more in premiums than they pay out in claims. Most older adults would not be covered by a group policy since they would no longer be employed. As a result, under the Republican plan, health insurance companies could demand much higher premiums from older adults."
From Jon Perr:
"When Ryan unveiled his Roadmap back in February, as Ezra Klein, Matthew Yglesias and TPM all noted, privatization of Medicare was the centerpiece. But because the value of Ryan's vouchers fails to keep up with the out-of-control rise in premiums in the private health insurance market, America's elderly would be forced to pay more out of pocket or accept less coverage."
Uwe Reinhardt made some predictions about this in February:
"Under the defined contribution approach envisaged by the Rivlin-Ryan plan, most of the risk of future health-care cost increases would be shifted onto the shoulders of Medicare beneficiaries. This feature makes the proposal radical."
Well, the reactions are flying now that Rep Paul Ryan's anti-middle class hand is tipped.
From Paul Krugman:
"For all those older Americans who voted GOP last year because those nasty Democrats were going to cut Medicare, I have just one word: suckers!"
From Ezra Klein:
"In Medicaid’s case, the reform is block-granting. Right now, the federal government shares Medicaid costs with the states. That means their payments increase or decrease with Medicaid’s actual rate of spending. Under a block grant system, that’d stop. They’d simply give states a lump sum at the beginning of the year and that’d have to suffice. And if a recession hits and more people need Medicaid or a nasty flu descends and lots of disabled beneficiaries end up in the hospital with pneumonia? Too bad."
From Ryan Witt:
"Under Ryan’s plan, beginning in 2021, people over 65 would no longer be automatically covered under a government plan. Instead, each senior would be given a voucher with which to purchase their own private health insurance plan.
The problem for seniors is that insurance companies tend to charge older adults more for coverage. The risks for heart disease, strokes, cancer and many other diseases increases dramatically with age. Private insurance companies, unlike the government, must make a profit to continue in operation. Insurance companies only make a profit if they can charge more in premiums than they pay out in claims. Most older adults would not be covered by a group policy since they would no longer be employed. As a result, under the Republican plan, health insurance companies could demand much higher premiums from older adults."
From Jon Perr:
"When Ryan unveiled his Roadmap back in February, as Ezra Klein, Matthew Yglesias and TPM all noted, privatization of Medicare was the centerpiece. But because the value of Ryan's vouchers fails to keep up with the out-of-control rise in premiums in the private health insurance market, America's elderly would be forced to pay more out of pocket or accept less coverage."
Uwe Reinhardt made some predictions about this in February:
"Under the defined contribution approach envisaged by the Rivlin-Ryan plan, most of the risk of future health-care cost increases would be shifted onto the shoulders of Medicare beneficiaries. This feature makes the proposal radical."
Tomorrow should be interesting. We'll all be reading the plan itself. Let me just say this in advance; if one of the cornerstones in Ryan's scheme is a permanent extension of the "W Tax Cuts," the whole thing is bullshit.
Paul Ryan's Recipe For Misery
April 4th, 2011
As we await the full release of Rep Paul Ryan's (R-WI) "budget" proposals enough has leaked out to know that it's more of the same serve-the-rich nonsense that has been inflicted upon ordinary Americans for years. It just takes those policies and puts them into overdrive.
From TPM:
"Ryan's plan will also propose tax reforms that lower corporate and upper-income tax rates, while eliminating certain loopholes. The details of that part of his plan are unclear, but if they adhere to his Roadmap for America's Future, the GOP budget will propose to overhaul the tax code in a way that reduces the burden on the wealthy and increases it on the poor and middle classes."
As we await the full release of Rep Paul Ryan's (R-WI) "budget" proposals enough has leaked out to know that it's more of the same serve-the-rich nonsense that has been inflicted upon ordinary Americans for years. It just takes those policies and puts them into overdrive.
From TPM:
"Ryan's plan will also propose tax reforms that lower corporate and upper-income tax rates, while eliminating certain loopholes. The details of that part of his plan are unclear, but if they adhere to his Roadmap for America's Future, the GOP budget will propose to overhaul the tax code in a way that reduces the burden on the wealthy and increases it on the poor and middle classes."
Quote Of The Day
April 4th, 2011
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." -- Martin Luther King Jr.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
They're Just Not Hiring
April 3rd, 2011
No matter how much we give away to the corporations, they just aren't that interested in investing in America anymore. From the CBPP:
No matter how much we give away to the corporations, they just aren't that interested in investing in America anymore. From the CBPP:
Krugman On "Uncertainty"
April 3rd, 2011
I have been calling bullshit on the use of the phrase "uncertainty" for some time. I am pleased to see Krugman said much the same thing today.
I have been calling bullshit on the use of the phrase "uncertainty" for some time. I am pleased to see Krugman said much the same thing today.
Keep It Up, GOP
April 3rd, 2011
Rachel Maddow profiles the incredible implosion of support for the GOP in the wake of their radical, anti-middle class actions around the country.
Rachel Maddow profiles the incredible implosion of support for the GOP in the wake of their radical, anti-middle class actions around the country.
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