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I know, I know — the President’s gone all weak and wobbly following the mid-term elections, and his Presidency is doomed; the country’s doomed.  It’s all over, and we’ve been beaten by Karl Rove once again, along with the help of the right-wing Supreme Court decision that handed corporate America anonymity in their political donations to the Republican Party.

OR, it just might be possible that the President does know what he’s doing, and we’re going to be just fine.  The oh-woe-is-me crowd is devastated by the extension of the ineffective Bush’s tax-cuts to the top 2%.  Though it has been proven time and time again that trickle-down actually trickles up, and we all know that this tax-gift to the top is a massive waste of tax payer’s money, I think it just might be possible that the President has a longer-term plan in mind.

In order to get the really big changes that Obama wants to accomplish he needs to set the table for change.  If he wants to make the country’s tax code more fair and more equitable for the middle class; if he wants to see the country’s long-term deficits under control; and if he wants to ensure future funding for the country’s governance — then he needs to bring the lawmakers together to make the necessary changes to accomplish these really big goals.

He also needs to see the economy continue to stabilize.  Maintaining the middle-class tax rates and trimming the payroll tax temporarily, along with a handful of small business tax incentives to grow and hire, effectively represents a second economic stimulus package.  While the tax-cuts for the rich do not stimulate the economy, they were the price the President had to pay to get his 2nd stimulus passed into law.  Keeping the economy on track is his number one goal in order to grow jobs, put money in peoples’ pockets, and also to continue to cut the government deficit through increased revenue due to the taxes paid through higher employment.

Here’s how I see it:  The fight we’re embroiled in today — the Bush tax-cuts for the rich — is soon to be sooooo last year!  What I foresee on the horizon is the left and the right coming together to rewrite the tax code.  This change has been foreshadowed by the President’s Deficit Reduction Commission when the co-chairs revealed a recommendation that tax-rates be actually lowered, while simultaneously closing tax loop-holes and reducing tax-deductions.  There is a lot in this plan that will appeal to both sides.  The top % of income earners will actually end up paying more in taxes than they do now, even though their top rate would go down. 

And when the onerous estate taxes that are a continuing major spark between the right and left are looked at from another angle, the right and left can both win with a grand bargain on tax reform.  We could eliminate the estate tax and take away the right’s ability to accuse the left of administering a DEATH TAX and playing CLASS WARFARE, by simplifying the tax code and taxing income from inheritance at the same rate as all other taxes.  That would be fair.  When the tax code is rewritten in its entirety, the argument over the Bush tax-cuts and estate taxes will be made irrelevant.

If the tax-code is made more equitable and clear, it will also have the effect of helping to reduce the deficit, in addition to being more fair to the middle-class —and will help ensure adequate revenue for the future.  Then, trimming spending on the Defense Department, getting Social Security squared away by raising the cap on payroll taxes, etc., — this I think is the President’s plan. 

We can help by supporting this approach, and letting go of the ‘old fights’ without needing to be declared ‘the winners.’  And, maybe, just maybe the country can be the real winner.

I’M PRETTY SURE OBAMA KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING!

CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS reports their analysis of the tax deal President Obama struck with Republicans.  CHECK-IT-OUT here.

“Our analysis of the framework tax agreement that President Barack Obama announced yesterday, including additional tax cuts and an extension of unemployment insurance, finds that 2.2 million jobs will be the end result. In this time of economic distress, millions of new jobs are, of course, very welcome. It is, however, unfortunate that these jobs have to come from an agreement that is a balance between large, unneeded, bonus tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and the needed continuation of unemployment benefits, middle-class tax relief, and additional help for the economy for the rest of us.”  Bolding is ours. 

Here’s a chart that contrasts both the number of people (in millions) who benefit from the President’s priorities vs. the Republican’s, AND the total cost (in billions). The components of Obama’s tax deal (extended unemployment benefits, the payroll tax cut, and the extended credits) will cost $214 billion to aid 156 million people. The Republican’s priorities (extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich and cutting the estate tax) will cost $133 billion, but only benefit roughly 4.8 million people.

HERE’S YOUR VISUAL! 

We don’t like the bonus tax breaks for the wealthy, but Progressives should stop ranting and realize that the President did NOT have the votes to pass the tax-cut package he really wanted to pass.  Now, maybe we can blame him partially for the fact that there are fewer Dems in the Senate — but that’s another argument for another day.

The President made the best possible deal he could, at this time in the history of his presidency.  He made the best decision he could to keep the modest economic growth going.  PERIOD.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF W.’S TAX CUTS!

Here’s an idea for how Dems can win elections — TELL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHAT WE STAND FOR!

What does the Republican Party stand for?  Easy:  Smaller Government/Lower Taxes.  What does the Democratic Party stand for?  Not so easy:  No bumper-sticker slogans.  The Republican Party has a 40 year head start on the Democratic Party in the messaging department, and it’s way past time to stop letting the Right frame the issues.

I really do believe that The American People share our values — and, that’s what is so shameful about losing the messaging wars.  Yeah, shameful. 

Geez, what’s wrong with the Democratic Party?  The President told us that “good policy IS good politics.”  Dumb.  Good policy is good policy.  Good politics is framing the issues and the players BEFORE the other side does.

We saw MSNBC’s The Ed Show one day recently when big Ed was taking a day off.  His substitute host offered up these potential bumper-sticker slogans:  “Opportunity for All/Responsibility.” 

The idea for this slogan is that the “Democratic Party stands for opportunity for all Americans to succeed, AND stands for responsibility in government” — responsibility that the Democratic Party actually has been representing:  Clinton came into office and had to clean up the Reagan/Bush disastrous budget deficits;  Clinton left W. a huge surplus.  W. irresponsibly ran up the deficits AGAIN with unpaid-for tax cuts for the rich and his unfunded wars.  Obama came in to office and has to clean up the Republican mess — AGAIN.

The Democratic Party IS the grown-up party.  We’re the pragmatists.  We don’t believe in the fairytale of “trickle-down economics.”  We believe that a healthy middle-class IS the pragmatic solution to our economic woes, and we do not believe that continuing to let the top 1% – 2% rake in all the nation’s wealth, and leave our middle-class sinking, can lead to a healthy economy.  We believe that ensuring that all Americans have an opportunity to succeed leads to a thriving economy for the entire country.  We believe that is the responsible thing to do:  Opportunity for All/Responsibility.

CHECK-IT-OUT:  SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO JOB GROWTH WHEN PRESIDENT CLINTON RAISED TAXES ON THE WEALTHY, AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED WHEN W. CUT TAXES ON THE WEALTHY.

UP-DATE:  Check-it-Out at the New York Times.  Economist David Leonhart explains that the FACTS do not support the Republican assertion that the Bush Tax-Cuts for the rich created jobs.  We learn that in the decade that these draconian tax-cuts have been in place has been the slowest decade for job growth since the 1940s.  So the BIG question to be answered is:  Since we know that these tax-cuts did not create jobs, why then should we bust the deficit by extending this gift-to-the-rich?

LOVE THIS GRAPH! 

What a startling visual this chart is, showing a comparison of the Democratic tax plan and the Republican tax plan.  Each bubble on the chart shows the relative size of the average tax-cut to people in that particular tax bracket.  It is somehow so illuminating to be able to visualize the gift to the already-rich that the Republicans are proposing.  They claim that their motivation for giving this enormous gift to the upper-class, is to create jobs — but we here at CLN are wondering:  If cutting the income-taxes for the uber wealthy really produces jobs, then where are all the jobs that these tax-cuts should have already created (during Bush’s presidency)?  I don’t see them.  Hey, Speaker-in-Waiting Boehner — WHERE ARE THE JOBS REPUBLICANS PROMISED WITH THEIR DEFICIT-BUSTING TAX-CUTS? 

SEE JOBLESS TAX-CUTS RESULT BELOW.

Republicans tell us that “The American People have spoken” in last Tuesday’s mid-term elections.  Well, if you consider 42% of registered voters — or 90 million of America’s 300 million people — as representing The American People, then they certainly have spoken. 

And yet, considering that most of the results of these elections were decided by razor thin majorities, can we honestly say that The American People have spoken and decided that the GOtP (Grand Old tea Party) has better ideas for running our nation?

When we question The American People in polls, including in the election night exit polls, we actually learn that the country continues to be ideologically split.  48% of the voters in last Tuesday’s elections said they wanted the health care law repealed — but 47% either wanted it left alone or expanded.  How’s that a mandate to repeal health care?  The American People have spoken on health care — and it’s a split decision.

“The American People have spoken, and the Republicans are listening while the Democrats are not!”  How many times did we hear that assertion during and following the election?  Well, if the Republicans are listening to The American People they know that the exit polls told us that the majority of the Republican Leaning voters prefer that Government spend more money to create jobs rather than cutting the deficit — in addition to being split on health care reform.

And, the major Republican misreading of this mid-term election result is their declaration that “The American People have passed judgement on Obama’s agenda.”  I’m sure that the Republicans have read the exit polls and know for a fact that this Republican Leaning electorate said loud and clear that they were not voting to send a message to the President.  Plain and simple, the Democratic Party lost because the economy stinks and the President and Dems failed to frame their message effectively.

It seems pretty clear to us that the Republican victors in Tuesday’s elections are wildly misrepresenting election results and are ignoring the wishes of at least half of The American People.

YOU DON’T SPEAK FOR ME, GOP!

On five hours sleep this election night the main emotion I’m feeling is relief that the tsunami has come and gone.  Amid the destruction there are a few points of gratitude. 

1. California has given us a Democratic Governor and returned Barbara Boxer to the Senate.  It’s so nice to live in a sane state
2. Sister Sarah has egg on her face with several of her Tea Party candidates going down in flames.
3. Nevada has NOT sent a crazy person to the US Senate.  THANK YOU NEVADA!!!

In a previous post I declared that I had worked through my grief over the mid-term elections, and had found a peaceful place of resignation — along with a certain kind of hopeful expectation that the Republican Party is self-destructing.  Check-It-Out:  REPUBLICANS GO THE WAY OF THE WHIGS.

Well … maybe that was just a brave attempt at putting-on-a-good-face, and rationalization as a band-aid.  Because now, one day before the mid-terms, I find myself in a place of despair.  This election is going to be a total wipe-out for the Democratic Party.  Total. 

I believe that it’s now likely that we’ll not only lose the House and 7 governorships, but the Senate as well.  And, well … there goes a second term for you, Mr. President.  Hey, it’s JIMMY CARTER time!

And, Mr. President, you can’t go on pretending that this imploding Democratic Party is all because of the Great Recession and unemployment.  Sure, the economic environment is a bad one for the party in power.  Sure, the Republican Party has been obstructionist.  Sure, Mr. President, you have the FACTS on your side. 

BUT, Mr. President, you didn’t try to explain the state of the country to your fellow Americans.  You didn’t try to explain your policies.  You didn’t try to present a cogent vision for where you wanted to take our nation.  You didn’t even try to address your countrymen as grown-ups. 

You didn’t try to lead.  When you lead, Mr. President, you bring the people along with you.  That’s what leading is.  Leading isn’t getting so far out in front of the people on the path forward that they can’t see where you’re going.  The people won’t follow your lead if they don’t know where you’re taking them.

I’m mad, and so sad, Mr. President.  You didn’t even try.

We recently posted an article about Eleanor Roosevelt and the history of mine safety — it first appeared on May 23, 2010 in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette — “Eleanor Roosevelt said it well:  Workplace rights are human rights,” by California Bay Area scholar Brigid O’Farrell.  Check-it-out HERE. 

She has a newly released book that is gaining attention and acclaim, She Was One of Us:  Eleanor Roosevelt and the American Worker, published by Cornell University Press.

This is the 75th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act and the Roosevelt Institute is promoting the impact of President Roosevelt’s New Deal on our nation.  As a part of that project the Roosevelt Institute has a new blog posted by Brigid O’Farrell on Eleanor Roosevelt’s 126th birthday, October 11.  Check-out this article:  Click here: Eleanor Roosevelt and Labor Law Reform » New Deal 2.0

This blog post is so timely and we encourage all to take a few minutes to read Brigid O’Farrell’s thoughtful article.  She reminds us of the importance of the labor movement in the history of our nation, and the implications for today’s America as a result of the decline in union membership.  We look forward to reading the new book!

If you live in the Bay Area you can see Brigid O’Farrell at a book signing for She Was One of Us at Ink Spell, in Half Moon Bay on November 4. 

Brigid O’Farrell is an independent scholar whose research and writing focuses on employment equity, especially for women in nontraditional jobs, and labor history.