June 10, 2010
Unbossed and unbought
As I watched beautiful people on cable scream and holler over "ladies night" I couldn't help but wonder what in hell were they thinking. Gail Collins got it right--it was the "Rise of the Richies" not the response to the gutsy moves of Shirley Chisolm, Gloria Steinem, and Betty Friedan: the women who paved the way for women's rights. Tuesday night some extraordinarily wealthy pols spent a personal fortune to win elections but that was not the news. No way--it was ladies night.
Collins writes that we have been guessing how this election would be on TARP, health care, tar balls on the beach, voter anger. Nope--rich self-funders spent tens of millions on campaigns without telling us a damned thing about the gap between the rich and the rest of us; or campaign reform; or unemployment. Who has time? It was ladies night at the Club. The richies were busy, busy. Sorry Shirley, Betty, Gloria...it will happen someday.
post a letter about this blog »
"In the boom years of the late 1990s the fastest year of employment growth was 2.6 per cent in 1998. If in the event we have that extremely strong level of growth from here on out, we would still not get to pre-recession unemployment rates until January, 2015." Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute quoted in Bob Hebert's 6/7/10 column in the New York Times. Aren't we presently having no jobs growth? There is no plan or realistic scenario to address the serious unemployment we now experience.
Robert Reich had an article in 6/6/10 in Truthout.org calling for a jobs program to hire unemployed youth to clean up the Gulf, billing BP. Frankly, that's a no-brainer as a response to that disaster.
How about a real stimulous program that is a CCC type jobs program to reforest the denuded mountains of the west. Millions of acres in 11 states have been lost to a bettle infestation. Besides saving the mountains from erosion, forests sequester large amounts of CO2 and are a vital component in mitigating climate change. The most effective stimulous would be provided, giving purchasing power directly to the people, the struggle against climate change would be addressed and consciousness on the issue can be raised, additionally the jobs corp or CCC workers should be put on Medicaid or similar "public option" exposing the waste of the insurance industry skim on healthcare costs. The economic and envirnmental situation we find our nation are unresolvable until we adopt programs along these lines. The elected Democratic majorities appear not willing to move in this direction without pressure from below. The conditions for a mass movement could not be more developed.
-dd | Hudson, Wi | June 10, 2010
Yes, it is interesting what a dollar buys these days. Even more interesting is what several million dollars gets ya. When one looks over the choice of candidates, not much.
Elected office is about money and power and not much else. Votes have become mere tokens that make voters think they are actually empowered to give some direction to their lives and future.
-Franz Fripplfrappl | Stoughton | June 10, 2010
Yes, 'dd from Hudson', there are plenty of good, humane ways we COULD easily increase employment tomorrow/next week/next month, but unfortunately I don't see the majority in this country oriented towards those solutions. They're captured by the siren song of right-wingers with their simplistic answers - - reduce taxes, remove protective* trade barriers and send jobs overseas (remember clothing or shoes that were 'Made in USA'?), remove government regulation, remove government social-welfare programs, institute lotteries/casinos so people can 'make money', consume-consume-consume - - you know, a general return to the 1890's & 1920's policies that made the country SO fair & just.
(* interesting how - - at least according to the prevailing Neo-cons - - 'protection' in the economic sense has a negative connotation, yet militarily we can't get ENOUGH of it.... even though we're spending more than the rest of the world combined)
-Big Em | Milwaukee, WI | June 10, 2010
current
--------
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003