Tuesday, May 30, 2017

ALTERNATIVE FACTS? OR, AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE????


This is incredible......   Like many of you, I watched President' Trump's first foreign excursion - holding my breath in the hope that he didn't intentionally or unknowingly started a new war somewhere on the planet....  I cringed when he embraced the Saudi Leadership - in the place that gave birth to and supported the most radical version of Islam and the source of the greatest number of the World Trade Center bombers.....  I took a deep breath when he approached the Western Wall in Jerusalem... in the hope that he wouldn't inadvertently insult Israel or the Jewish people.  And, I relaxed (big mistake!) when he arrived for the NATO meetings in Europe.... a culture he would be more familiar with and comfortable in and one where he had already reversed himself in saying that the NATO alliance would continue as the cornerstone of American foreign policy... and that it was, indeed, not "obsolete." BOY WAS I IN FOR A SURPRISE....

Today's Daily Press Briefing conducted by Sean (Spicey) Spicer went well beyond "alternative facts" and entered the realm of another dimension... and an ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE!   Unbelievably, Spicer and other Trump apologists have described his 9-day foreign sojourn as "the greatest foreign policy success ever!".... "a great success, surpassing expectations!".... "Trump displayed great leadership in his role at NATO".... and other over-the-top superlatives related to his behavior and remarks during the trip.  I thought, that isn't what I saw in the news coverage on TV.  I observed a president stumbling from place to place and from topic to topic and from person to person over nine days, and being a complete embarrassment for the United States. After insulting several NATO State leaders, squeezing the hand of the new French President (after having supported his opponent), ignoring German President Angela Merkel, and shoving other state leaders aside to boorishly push his way to the front of those walking toward a photo area, Trump delivered remarks that did not re-state the US pledge to come to the aid of the other alliance members as expected - Article Five of the NATO Charter - which all member nations pledge to do if any member is attacked. He leaves that part out and, instead, berates those present for not contributing enough cash to support NATO operations, costing the US more than necessary. Frankly, I was embarrassed for him.... and for myself as an American.

In my view, although I admit that I am no foreign policy expert, Trump added fuel to the Putin regime, disappointed or insulted nations that have been allied with the US for the past 70 years - through both Republican and Democratic Administrations, and threatened the stability of the single most successful alliance in history - NATO, while inviting ridicule on the US and those nations who choose to be associated with us in the foreign policy arena.  Facts matter.  Words matter.  Actions matter.  And, behavior matters.  Conspiracy theories and wild speculation have no place in the world of international relations and, with the immense stakes at risk, we cannot afford to send a bumbling, unknowing, uninformed, boob into the hallowed halls of multi-national relations and multi-state negotiations to represent our interests.  While Sean Spicer stated today that Trump and Merkel could not be closer and that Trump's appearance at the NATO meetings could not have gone better or been more effective, Merkel commented that the European nations would need to rely more on themselves insofar as others may not be there when needed as "they" had been in the past. Others commented that Trump ceded leadership of the free world to Germany. Trump's trip - his remarks - and his behavior - presented an inaccurate portrait of American attitudes toward our allies, and projected a narcissism more typical of an "ugly American" out of his/her element, than a measured, mature, and knowledgeable leader committed to a secure future through peace, cooperation, and maintenance of historical relationships. Awful!  By any measure, a total failure on the international stage.

And, by the way Mr. Trump..... CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT A CHINESE HOAX!


Stand Up!  Speak Out!  March On!  Bobby J

Thursday, May 25, 2017

THE ABOMINABLE BUDGET: BROKEN PROMISES AND THE NEW GILDED AGE.

 Ah.... the Gilded Age..... a time when Rich Men were RICH MEN!  Days of Robber Barons!  Captains of Industry!  Railroad Magnets! Oil men!  Bankers with money to burn!  Mining Mavens!  Barrels and Barrels of Big Bucks!  Oceans of Influence!  Need some government assistance?  Need to get the government out of the way?  Need a new law to permit some currently illegal business practice?  NO PROBLEMO!  Just a bunch of money into someone's hand, bank account, campaign fund, or a business partnership, and "thy will be done."

Thorstein Veblen, in his socioeconomic treatise, "Theory of the Leisure Class" (1899), described the behavior of the late 19th century industrialists as evidence of feudal-tribal behavior and "conspicuous consumption."  The "Gilded Age" was a time, according to Veblen, that was a throw-back to the feudal period (9th-15tgh centuries) when status was achieved by the public display of wealth.  Possessions, gold, marble, grand homes and estates, and all-things-bling were all evidence of earned superiority above others. He wrote that the abuses of the early 20th century were more feudal in nature as the wealthy class exhibited their "wealth" in visible ways more typical of central practices of tribalism.  These include subjugation of women (can you say multiple wives, misogyny, and treating women as chattel?), popularity of sport (so, who owns the NFL, Major League Baseball teams?), visible devout observances ( the Christian Coalition, Liberty University, Faith and Freedom Coalition, etc.), and reverence to "social formality" or respect for social "betters" (Hail to the Chief!). Surely, one cannot name someone who has a gold toilet, places their name on everything they touch - women and buildings, is a misogynist, feigns christian devout behaviors, and insists on formal recognition and deference. Or, is the Trump tribe the epitome of Veblen's "conspicuous consumption" insisting that the lower classes bow down, courtesy, and display deference to Trump's superiority as demonstrated by his claimed wealth? One might say that President Trump is the epitome of "conspicuous consumption."

Meanwhile, in the Gilded Age, miners worked double shifts deep in the earth in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia and other places, trying to make ends meet, pay the bill at the company store, and emerged each night covered in black dust.  Women in the needle trades worked extended hours hunched over their sewing machines and cutting tables to create the garments that adorned the daughters of wealth at their "coming out parties" at the Plaza Hotel or in the Mansions of NYC, Boston, Newport, or Richmond.  Children - some as young as 4 - labored 16 hours a day for pennies in factories, mines, mills, or just selling newspapers on the streets of cities, to help keep a roof over the heads of the families of the working poor....  And, then, came the calamities....

*Miners, working long hours for pennies in horrible conditions, without legally required safety measures, were subject to long hours, mine floods, and tunnel collapses. Workers strike for better working conditions and are shot by private "security" firms like the new Pinkerton Agency hired by the Mine Kings as strike -breakers.....

*600 young teen women working 12 hours a day for $15 a week at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory on Greene Street in NYC are trapped on the 8th floor of a building with no safety features, locked doors, broken elevators, and a rusted fire hose and fire escape when a fire breaks out.  Within 18 minutes, 145 die - burned alive, through smoke inhalation, or jumping from windows to escape the flames.

* In mines, factories, mills, in shops and on the streets, children - some as young as 4 - who could work in small spaces, were paid less than adults, were less unruly than their adult counterparts, were exploited and denied access to educational advancement. After the depression, when public policy wanted jobs directed to adults and education advocates pressed their case, education for children made advances. Paid pennies for their sweat and pain, the laws would finally change in 1938 (amended in 1949) to regulate child labor and allow boys and girls to get an education before joining the ranks of working Americans.

Ah.....  the glories of Gilded Age.....  a time when the disparity in income and in wealth, the gap between the rich and the rest of us was the greatest in US history....  until today.  In fact, the gap between the top 10% of income earners and the bottom 10 % has never been greater....  and, continues to grow as CEO's gain massive pay increases and bonuses, while the minimum wage has been frozen for nearly a decade.  Adjusted for inflation over time, today's minimum wage at $7.25 p/h is lower than it was in 1968, nearly 40 years ago.  Clearly, back then, as well as today, the rich have gotten richer, and the poor, poorer....  with the middle class stressed and shrinking.

Fast forward to 2017 - and what do you see?  The "Citizens United" 5-4 Supreme Court decision in January, 2010 unleashed the use of unlimited money by individuals and corporations (corporations are people???) in political campaigns, undoing decades of reforms that attempted to limit the influence of big money - corporate or individual - in our electoral system. Enter the role of "dark money", Super PACS, and BILLIONS being spent to influence elections and create governing bodies on the state and federal levels that will reflect the funders never-ending want for advantage and opposition to taxing their wealth.  In just a few short years, the "wealth gap" has increased, taxes on wealth - individual and corporate - have been slashed, and social programs for the aged, the poor, the sick, and the middle class have been threatened or reduced.  This approach has become so ingrained that the national debate surrounding reducing the federal deficit no longer includes increasing taxes by 1 or 2 % on the wealthiest in the country who can easily afford to contribute back to the national well-being, but is focused only on cutting, cutting, slashing, reducing, and/or eliminating programs supports for struggling Americans of modest income and working families - the stressed middle class.  Instead of removing the income ceiling on Social Security contributions at 6.2%  withholding (currently at $118,000) which would fund full Social Security for the next 100 years, the entire debate is just how much to cut benefits to retirees or to put off retirement to... say, 70 from the current 66.  And, instead of having wealthy corporations pay a bit more, lets cut food stamps, school lunch programs, Meals on Wheels for shut-in seniors, PELL Grants for low-income students, and deny 23 MILLION working Americans access to healthcare by taking them off of Medicaid - a 47% reduction in 10 years! Studies show that 74 million Americans get health coverage through Medicaid - the largest source of health insurance in the entire country!  And, then take those savings and send the wealthy yet ANOTHER TAX CUT!

The proposed Trump Budget goes even further. The new budget seeks $1.5 TRILLION in discretionary cuts PLUS another $1.4 TRILLION in Medicaid cuts over 10 years. Half a TRILLION goes to Defense spending, $1.6 Billion for the Trump Southern Border Wall, and another $1.4 Billion for border security.. Here are a few or the more than 60 programs slated for extinction.

 - the Economic Development Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency;
 - Literacy Development Grants and International Education funds;
 - Advanced Energy research Projects; Community Services Block Grants;
 - Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;
 - Transportation Security Administration Law Enforcement Grants;
 - Community Development Block Grants, the HOME Investment Partnership Program and the
   Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program (affordable housing generators);
 - Abandoned Mine Grants; National Wildlife Refuge Fund;
 - Senior Community Service Employment Program;
 - National Infrastructure Investments;
 - Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Legal Services Corp. ; National Endowment for the Arts;
   and the National Endowment for the Humanities;
 - the US Trade and development Agency and the Woodrow Wilson Int'l Center for Scholars.

Other massive cuts include:
 - Cuts of $193 Billion (25%) to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
 - $21 Billion cut to Assistance for Needy Families;
 - A $72.5 Billion reduction to programs for disabled people including substantial reduction in Social
   Security Disability benefits (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
 - $40.4 Billion cuts to the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit over 10 years.

On top of this horror show, the entire budget is based on a GDP growth assumption of 3% a year - an estimate that no economists at all agrees with, and an assumed tax reduction down to 15% for upper in come earners. And, even worse, a $2.1 Trillion credit is taken twice by mistake!  

So, will it be back to the Gilded Age of Robber Barons who buy elections, votes, and office holders? The "wild west" of government by influence by cash payments and cash benefits on the other end through tax relief?  The shredding of the social safety net to re-direct tax relief into the pockets of large corporations and the highest income earners in the nation? Are we to become a nation ruled by wealthy Oligarchs - the men and women behind the curtain - like the Koch brothers, the Mercers, and the DeVos clan? Serfs to the lords of the manor? Or, will we be a government "by the people and FOR the people" that Lincoln hoped would not "vanish from the earth." Congress holds the power of the purse.  The Federal budget year comes on October 1st.  By fall, 2017 we will know the answer to this question.  Where do YOU stand? Stay tuned.  Meanwhile, stand up, speak out, march on!




Friday, May 19, 2017

ALT.REALITY AND THE TRUMPSTER: A BODY HERE, A BODY THERE...AND A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN.




Are you as much in shock as I am? WOW! What a series of events over the past week... You just can't make this stuff up! It just seems that Trump (Wha? The most abused president in history?).... gives the commencement address at the US Coast Guard Academy earlier this week and delivered a wholly inappropriate address. Instead of congratulating the graduates and commending them on their achievement, typically, he CONGRATULATES HIMSELF! "The BEST PRESIDENT EVER!!!!!... The BIGGEST WIN!!!!! Did the MOST EVER IN 100 DAYS!!! THE MOST CRITICIZED IN HISTORY!!! THE BEST HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION!!! THE BIGGEST TAX CUT EVER... " This guy has totally lost it - if he ever had it.... Did you ever wonder just HOW he got a degree from the University of Pennsylvania? From the Wharton School? He doesn't read.... he just doesn't know 
A N Y T H I N G about US History or government, never read the US Constitution.... and, seemingly, has no common sense... He cannot speak sensibly and has difficulty stringing words together without a prompter. That likely explains why he tweets! - no need to construct a logical argument in sentences and paragraphs... Or, maybe he thinks that a "paragraph" is something that you wear when you jump out of a plane! Let face it folks, this guy seems like he never got out of grade school.... He needs some ABCs and a coloring book.

And now, on the eve of his first foreign trip, rumor has it that he is preparing to "purge" his inner circle at the White House. I am sure that his paranoid personality will compel him to spend even more time at Mar-a-Lago or his Giant Penthouse in NYC.... the one with the gold toilet ... to escape the bugs, Obama phone taps, staff leaks, congressional snooping, press and media "fake news", and women accusing him with "inappropriate touching." He is not just re-tweeting, he is retreating further and further from reality and into a Trump-world alt.reality, where alt.news is real news and Trump fantasy is reality. As our president watches cable TV and ingests alt.right conspiracies and fake news in the dead of night, places where Vince Foster was murdered by the Clintons, Ted Cruz's dad was part of the JFK assassination, a DNC staffer was killed by Hillary in 2015 for leaking to Wikileaks, and "the Donald" won the 2016 election in a historic landslide of biblical proportions notwithstanding that 3-5,000,000 illegal alien votes were cast for Hillary, he considers where to go and what to do next.......

Some Trump musings........ And, what's up with Paul Ryan conspiring with Pence (who just established a "Super PAC") and other congressional leaders who, instead of defending him, headed for the hills and issued all of those awful complementary comments about Special Counsel Robert Mueller? What are they up to anyhow? Isn't Mueller a buddy of Comey? Hey - I should fire Rosenstein for appointing Mueller. How did he get there anyhow? Who told me to nominate him as Dep. AG? Was it that fool Sessions? The guy who "recused" himself from being involved in any matters involving Hillary or the Russians? That's why I am up to my knees in Capitol Hill alligators! Maybe I should fire Sessions too! After all, things were going just fine ... well, after the Women's March anyway... and, why did I let Ryan talk me into that crazy Health Care bill.... the AHCA (All Hurt, no Care Act)? Who recommended that? Wait until I get me hands on that PENCE! What? I can't fire him too???? And, I heard that the entire Cabinet is plotting to remove me from office and hand it to Pence?  After all that I did in appointing them to their positions?  That's what I get for listening to Pence and Ryan and McConnell... all those jerks recommended these people... Hey, and so did Priebus!  Jeez.... where is Ivanka when I need her???   And, look at that jerk - "Spicy."  I would be better off being defended by the Hell's Angels! Or, maybe Erdogan's goons.... they did pretty good taking care of those protestors yesterday.... "Spicey's" entire Communications gang should catapult themselves off the White House roof! I better call Donald Junior... he's in St. Petersburg... Can't trust Kushner anymore... he recommended I fire Comey and look how that turned out...... And, can I still trust Ivanka (probably.... she is HOT, after all....)? Maybe the Secret Service is eavesdropping on me and others who visit the office like the Russian Foreign Minister..... And, where are the tapes? How did they get that photographer into the Oval Office anyhow???? OH... right, Vladimir asked that I let them in and keep the US press out... OK... got to keep him happy... they have photos of me in Moscow having some fun.... No sense adding that fuel to the fire in DC that is already ablaze.....

Maybe I can get some of the heat off by leaving the country for a while - say more than a week..... I'll go visit a bunch of places, have lunch and dinner with other bigwigs and let the home-front calm down... maybe some religious leaders too... Jared thinks that I can get peace in the Middle East! Now, THAT would take the heat off..... Maybe foreign affairs, instead of affair-affairs, will make all of this go away.... We could stop in places with no extradition treaties...... hmmmmm.... And, of course, then there is Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and North Korea. Let's see...... maybe launch some more missiles, a few MOAB - you know, those really, really big bombs! (I do everything BIGLY!)... Send some BIG troops around to various hot-spots, invade an island or two, arm South Korea with BIG missiles, send some BIG hardware to Saudi Arabia.... and, in my spare time, export some Mexicans - those bad hombres'.... That should do it.... Distraction always works. And, if it doesn't, then I can just declare bankruptcy! Hey, can the US declare bankruptcy???  Can I settle this thing with Mueller? Maybe I should just re-hire Comey...... hmmmmm......  Then I can continue making America GREAT Again! 

Monday, May 15, 2017

LOYALTY OATHS, PINKY-PROMISES, AND DONALD THE TERMINATOR.





Predictable.  From the outset, the Trump Presidency carried with it the stench (or at least an unusual odor) of scandal.  Months prior to the election there were stories of collusion between the Trump Campaign - and its cast of characters - Carter Page, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., Roger Stone, Senator and now AG Jeff Sessions, short-lived National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and others - with Russian operatives, oligarchs, hackers, and even Putin himself.  Taken together - and with the cooperation of Julian Assange, Wikileaks, and a series of Russian hackers breaking into the DNC computers and stealing Campaign Chair John Podesta's e-mails, a plot was uncovered to hurt Hillary and help the Donald in the 2016 election. In fact, a series of events, including leaks of the Podesta e-mails and other sensitive Clinton Campaign information, were a part of the Kremlin-based plot and, indeed took place.  Regardless of whether you think that this sort of political sabotage cost Hillary the election or not, what remains is a substantial cyber-spying-based and "strategic leak" effort to damage the political prospects of one candidate seeking the highest office in the nation. This sort of interference in our electoral process - whether successful of not - is completely unacceptable, is illegal, and, in the view of many, when conducted by an adversarial foreign power, an act of war against our democracy.  Even worse, the seemingly close association and meetings between primary actors in the Trump Campaign leadership and Russian operatives over several months during the election and the "bromance" between Trump and Putin that has been obvious from early in the 2016 campaign season, led to serious questions as to whether the Trump troop colluded and coordinated with this illegal Russian interference in our electoral process.  Calls for an investigation ensued and, dutifully, both Houses of Congress took up the challenge in January, 2017 with Republicans in charge in both Chambers.

Months earlier, Jim Comey and the FBI were already investigating alleged illegal interference by foreign powers in an American election. And, true to form, the Bureau didn't comment on the status of their investigation.  In the House, Speaker Ryan assigned the investigation to the House Intelligence Committee chaired by Devin Nunes (R-CA), while some facets of the work were undertaken by the House Oversight Committee chaired by Jason Chaffetz (R-UTAH).  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell assigned the task to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). Notably, both Intelligence Committees have a similar process - hearings are held in secret and are classified in nature.  Classified Information received in the committee is, by definition, also classified, and even committee members are precluded from revealing anything learned through that process. The result is 2-fold protection: First, Republicans control the flow of the investigations and the information generated; and, second, any information that sheds negative light on Trump, his cronies, or supporters, is held in secret and not shared with the public. Further, should anything of a criminal nature be uncovered, a referral goes to the Department of Justice headed by the US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, appointed by President Trump!  It seems that the wagons were quite tightly circled.  Or, were they?  Apart from the congressional committees investigating these matters, including leaks to the press from some inside the investigation, another non-political and respected entity was engaged - the FBI.  And, pending the appointment and Senate confirmation of Jeff Sessions as AG, the Acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, a career prosecutor and Obama administration hold-over, was sitting at the top of the Justice Department.From a trump point of view, these two flaws needed to be addressed. So, slow down the committee investigations until that could be accomplished. 

Although quiet about the nature and extent of their investigation of Russian interference in our election and any coordination or conspiracy with the Trump Campaign, Comey and company were pressed into service by the congressional committees to assist in providing information already uncovered by the FBI in their on-going review of the matter. Perhaps the view of that element of the investigation was that the pieces were "contained" but not altogether "controlled." Acting AG and Obama Administration hold-over, Sally Yates, visited the White House Counsel on January 26th - just 6 days after the Inaugural - to let the White House Counsel, Don McGahn, and the President know that the newly appointed National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was "compromised" by contacts with Russian operatives, having accepted a substantial payment for a speaking engagement in Moscow some months earlier. Within the week, Sally Yates was fired from her position. (Michael Flynn would not be dismissed until February 13th - 18 days after the White House knew that he was susceptible to Russian blackmail). And, any testimony that Yates was scheduled to provide to the House Intelligence Committee was cancelled by Nunes.

The other wild card, was, of course, Jim Comey and the FBI.  And, that is what prompts President Trump to invite FBI Director Jim Comey to the White House for Dinner on January 27th, one week after Trump was sworn in as President and one day after the Sally Yates visit to the White House Counsel. The two shared dinner at the White House alone.... and, that is where their individual descriptions of the dinner conversations diverge.  Given the Yates visit the day before, it is easy to see that President Trump might have some concerns regarding the investigation into the Russia connection. Clearly, as Acting AG, Sally Yates either received or shared the info regarding Michael Flynn with the FBI.  FBI Director Comey was certainly aware that Flynn was compromised as this dinner took place. In any case, Comey associates describe how President Trump asked the FBI Director if he was under investigation and asked for "loyalty" from Comey.  Comey, they say, would not commit to personal loyalty to the President.  Comey would not even offer a "pinky-promise" of personal loyalty but only offered loyalty to the US Constitution and the rule of law.  Comey associates quoted in the press also denied that Comey told Trump that he wasn't being investigated. Trump has said that Comey asked for the dinner and asked to keep his job.  Further, according to Trump, Comey offered at the dinner - and on two separate phone conversations - that Trump was not under investigation. So, with two distinctly different descriptions of who asked for the dinner and what was said there, and no other witnesses, we have yet another mystery - this one involving the only non-partisan player engaged in the Russia-election investigation. Meanwhile, Michael Flynn continued to serve as National Security Advisor.  Which description of the dinner conversation is accurate?  Was the conversation taped as President Trump has hinted?  So far, we do not know.

What we do know is that in his business career, Trump insisted on personal loyalty and trusted few people beyond his immediate family members.  Non-disclosure oaths were typically required if an employee worked in close proximity to Donald Trump, regardless of the role that they may have played.  And, we do know that Comey had the courage to speak truth to power during the Bush Presidency when both he and the then Director of the FBI Robert Mueller threatened to resign over a Bush-era attempt to re-authorize the NSA Domestic Surveillance Program. Comey and Mueller stood up to President Bush's Chief of Staff and the White House Counsel and, in doing so, risked the anger of the President and his senior staff as well as their careers.  Just as in the current Trump case, President Bush - who's order to extend the NSA Program was being refused - could have disagreed and fired them both.  Instead, the President demurred and both Comey and Mueller were vindicated.  Last week, Trump did not demure.  Comey was summarily terminated while at a gathering of potential FBI recruits in California. As I write this, Comey has yet to publicly comment on the Trump matter, the Russian investigation, or his own termination.

Over the weeks following the Trump/Comey White House dinner, we all witnessed a scramble in the House as things began to unravel. Chairman Nunes held 2 awkward press briefings out in the street in DC saying that he had "secret information" from a "reliable source" indicating that President Trump had nothing to do with any Russian conspiracy to interfere in or impact the election.  Within a week, the story changed and it turns out the Nunes received the information from unnamed people at the White House, pretended that it came from elsewhere, announced that he was rushing to the White House to share it with the President, and brought the information right back to where it had originated. Nunes also cancelled a hearing on the Russian connection that was to feature Sally Yates, potentially exposing Michael Flynn's Russia connection and the fact that the Trump White House had been informed and did little about it. Within 2 weeks, Yates was fired, Sessions confirmed as AG, and Chairman Nunes recused himself from further involvement in the Russian influence probe.  Nunes is himself is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee in this unfolding story.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the House oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz, rattled his committee saber saying that he would launch a substantial investigation into the leaks of classified information to the press from others in the government with an eye toward prosecution of the offenders.  Suddenly, just a week later, Chaffetz announced that he would not seek re-election to his House seat and may even leave the Congress before the year is out!  We can only speculate as to what brought about this quick about face.  No meetings of the Oversight Committee were scheduled.  After the Comey firing last week, Chaffetz publicly suggested that the termination of the FBI Director by the Trump White House be added to the scope of the House investigation.

Over at Justice, the new Attorney General Jeff sessions recused himself from involvement in either any Hillary Clinton investigations or in anything to do with the Russian interference in the election due to his involvement in the Trump Campaign in the first instance, and because of his meetings with Russian representatives during the campaign in the second. Sessions announced that any such involvement by Justice in either circumstance would be handled by the Deputy Attorney General, later appointed by Trump and Senate confirmed on April 25th - Rod Rosenstein.  On Monday, May 8th, AG Sessions and his Deputy Rosenstein were summoned to a meeting with the President at the White House. Later that same day, the Rosenstein Memo justifying the termination of Director Comey with a support letter from Sessions, was delivered to the White House.  FBI Director Jim Comey was fired on May 9th while he was speaking at an FBI recruitment activity in California. The White House Communications Office initially said that the President simply acceded to the unsolicited argument made  by Deputy AG Rosenstein that Comey should be fired because of his mistreatment of Clinton during the campaign, a position supported by Sessions. It appears that Rosenstein and Sessions were directed by the President to make the case for the firing, and Rosenstein didn't appreciate being characterized as the person who sought Comey's termination.  Rumor has it that he threatened to resign and blow up that story line if it was not corrected. Interviewed by Lester Holt 2 days later, Trump admitted that he himself determined that Comey should be fired on the weekend before the meeting with Sessions and Rosenstein.  Trump's decision evidently came  after Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee the preceding week regarding the Russia/Trump Campaign investigation. President Trump told Holt that the Russia-election interference probe was a waste of time and tax dollars and should end.  Instead, what he ended that day, was the FBI career of James Comey and not the investigation into the Russia interference in our election process. Stay tuned....

Meanwhile, the bodies are piling up - Nunes, Chaffetz, Yates, Comey, Flynn, Page, Manafort, and perhaps others.  Trump did "plug" the two holes in the "circle-the-wagons" cover-up strategy by removing the two actors who would not pledge Trump-brand personal loyalty - Yates and Comey. But, in the end, President Trump- the Terminator - may have ended the careers of many others.... , including himself.


Monday, May 8, 2017

"... A LITTLE REBELLION NOW AND THEN IS A GOOD THING....." Thomas Jefferson, January 30, 1787: letter to James Madison


As described in a previous column, upon leaving Independence Hall one day, Ben Franklin was asked by a woman passing by the Constitutional Convention, "well, what have you given us?"  Franklin responded, "a republic, Madam, if you can keep it."  The great American adventure was about to begin - an experiment in self-government the likes of which had not been seen before.  Over the decades and the more than two centuries that have passed since those words were uttered, our system of government - and its basis - the US Constitution - would be tested over and over again.  Through wars, foreign and domestic; issues, collective and individual; upheavals, civil war, peace marches, civil rights and many other causes and concerns, our democracy has evolved and endured.  And, I assume that we will get through this Trump travesty too.  But......


I AM PISSED OFF!

Thomas Jefferson observed that a revolution now and again was a good thing for a democracy.  He believed that the "renewal" of a democracy was dependent on the active engagement of those governed and that, unless that engagement was real and continuous, the will and well-being of the people governed would be sacrificed on the altars of those who's motivations were colored by personal interest and profit, and not in the interests of the commonweal (the common good). A periodic "purge" was a necessity.

As you all know, participation in voting, seeking office, civic involvement, engaging in public debate and discussion regarding the future well-being of the nation and public policy alternatives had eroded over time and, today, is at perhaps the lowest level ever.  There are signs, however, that this gradual abandonment of public engagement and activism may have turned a corner.  From the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 to the Science March, the Climate March, the Tax Day March, and hundreds of Town Hall meetings, the levels of engagement has reached levels not seen since the marches of the 1960s.  America has awakened and Thomas Jefferson would be proud. So, what has resulted in this refreshment and renewal of our public discourse?  My guess is that the forces of privilege and private profit, working together in the interests of private and corporate greed, has once again seized control of the levers of power and are choosing to ignore the best interests of the people.  And, they do so because they believe that the "uninformed masses" will continue to sleep and stand idly by while the oligarchs and those in power use their money and their influence to change America into a "different democracy" dominated by money, wealth, profit, and power.  And, that brings me to the most recent evidence of this attempt to ignore working families and the Middle Class, and turn the clock back to "the good old days" of  Robber Barons and the accumulation of untold wealth while the vast numbers of working folks die from malnutrition and lack of medical care.  Make no mistake - that is what the House vote for - to repeal the ACA and replace it with a far weaker health care scheme that abandons 24,000,000 or more of our fellow citizens of more modest means without health care and, in the end, without hope. And, what did our local Members of Congress do?  Faso and Stefanik abandoned their constituents, violated their oath of office, and chose party and donors over people.  

Like you, I am angry, frustrated, and my blood pressure is up there (guess I have a pre-existing condition now...). FASO LIED!!!!! STEFANIK LIED!!!! They were the 2 votes that were needed to inflict this monstrosity on the American people. I am embarrassed that my Congressman - FASO - promised a young constituent - with CANCER - right in the street in front of his house in Kinderhook with me and many others as witnesses - that he would not support any bill that would take away her health care, and then DID JUST THAT LAST WEEK! I was there when FASO promised that he would support Planned Parenthood - he LIED.... And in his vote last week, did just that with his support for the Trumpcare bill. This alternative health care reality, as described by that lying sack of crap Sec'y Price, as providing "access" to health care, is but another LIE being perpetrated on the American public by the most underhanded, shady, and untruthful group of liars that has ever occupied the halls of power in DC. THIS MUST STOP! I am done with being "civil." I am finished with the niceties of polite protest. Writing post cards is good, calls and e-mail are too. But, we did all that, and what happened? LIES, MIS-DIRECTION, AND VOTES AGAINST US ALL. Those who voted for the Trumpcare bill have no respect for the truth and even less regard for their own constituents. And, that tells me that the only course left to protect ourselves from this insane and destructive demolition squad at the switch in Washington, is "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY."

The Republicans say that they support freedom of speech and urge an orderly and peaceful "assembly." Meanwhile, they are lying and inflicting hurt on those who can least defend themselves. Trump and company "support" civil discourse, while the deals are cut in back rooms, and secret agreements are made with foreign interests until someone's hand is found in the cookie jar. The Republicans demand equal time to present their "alternative facts" and then lie, lie, lie, misrepresent, spin, and lie some more and then leave blood on the floor with the passage of legislation that will leave millions high and dry and will - without doubt - cost lives. Yet, they could care less and remain cavalier in stripping away the care for 24 million Americans of modest income, double health costs for seniors between 50-64, cut Medicaid by nearly a BILLION dollars, and erode the financial stability of hospitals across the country, especially those in rural areas. Yet, Paul Ryan and Secretary Price, along with our LYING President, insist that no one will lose health care.  And, to what end? A massive tax cut for wealthy Americans, increased profits for insurance companies, and big bonuses for insurance CEOs and other executives, already earning millions in pay and benefits. With each passing day, Trump is turning our nation away from its long tradition of caring for one another, and back to a pre-20th century "Robber Baron" period in our dark history when we looked more like a feudal society than a robust democracy, "with liberty and justice for all."

We MUST stand up to this budding oligarchy of wealth. We MUST speak TRUTH TO POWER. We MUST SPEAK OUT and MARCH ON! Only by actions taken by ALL OF US - voter registrations and get-out-the-vote drives, public displays of support for positions that our elected officials take in defense of us, our interests, or our democracy, and VOCAL OPPOSITION against those who abandon their oath of office and their promises to act on behalf of and in the best interests of their constituents. And, we must be especially LOUD AND VOCAL AGAINST THOSE WHO LIED TO US - as John Faso has done time and again over just 4 months in office. Double-talk, double-speak, and the double-cross MUST BE CONDEMNED in the strongest terms.

Jefferson said that he could foresee the future struggles in the history of a democracy.  His belief was that the forces of wealth and power would ebb and flow, balanced against the will of the people served - in a never-ending struggle for primacy.  He trusted that the people - you and me - would prevail in the long run - but only if working people were educated, informed, and vigilant in "keeping" their "republic" in the service of their benefit as Franklin suggested. And, so, John Faso - for frustrating the will of the people, and in defense of our democracy - WE ARE COMING FOR YOU. You have proven yourself to be a tool of a mean-spirited right-wing cabal and not a representative of the people that you represent. You have demonstrated that you could care less for your neighbors and voters by siding with your donors, the Mercers, the alt.right wing-nuts, and that madman in the White House. You have abandoned any District 19 decency in representing the needs of your constituents and, instead, have traded your vote for a smile from one self-centered liar from Wisconsin, Paul Ryan. If you want to represent Paul Ryan, you should move to Wisconsin. Maybe that is the best idea .... because in less than 2 years, your career will be done.

WE ARE COMING FOR YOU JOHN FASO. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. YOU ARE DONE! Your constituents will stand up in their righteous indignation in 2018 and say to you, "NO MORE LIES, NO MORE JOHN FASO."  The time has come to cleanse our democracy of the poison of dark money and the influence of wealthy oligarchs that have hijacked our government. Too many have sacrificed too much for too long.  Too many have died in defense of our freedom and our nation.  And, that sacrifice was for the government of the people that was created by Jefferson, Franklin, and others. It's time for this generation to stand up for their heritage and for their future.  It's time to take our government back.  It's time for the federal government to become - once again - a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" and not one controlled by wealth, corporations, and billionaire oligarchs.  Jefferson would be proud to march along side of those in this battle to reclaim our democracy.  The time has come. 

STAND UP!  SPEAK OUT!  MARCH ON!

Thursday, May 4, 2017

MERLIN MNUCHIN, MAGICAL THINKING, AND THE TIME MACHINE...... BACK TO THE FUTURE?



Ready to go for a ride?  A ride back in time?  A "Back to the Future" experience?  Then, lets take a look at the "new and improved" tax plan as announced by President Trump in the person of Merlin Mnuchin.  And, if you get the uncomfortable thought that you have been there before.... a "deja' vu" experience..... a "been there, done that" feeling.... a sort of, back to the future moment....  you might be right.   
 
Turns out that Mnuchin's magical thinking moment - otherwise known as the Trump Tax Reform Plan - now showing at a theater near you, is just that - "THEATER."  And, it is a movie that we have seen over and over, time and again, and each time that the voting public is duped into voting a Republican into the White House since the 1980's.  From Regan to Bush I, Bush II, and now Trump, not to mention the reactionary Republicans holding court in the House and Senate, we have experienced similar "Tax reform" proposals that all have a common denominator - each lowers taxes on these with the most wealth and/or income, lowering taxes on corporations, large and small, and stripping the enforcement tools that the IRS needs to compel compliance.  And, in each case, the massive deficits resulting from the revenue reductions suffered as more wealth was concentrated on the top 1% of income earners in the country, were never re-captured by the promised economic growth.  In fact, not only did the projected increased economic growth and the taxes that might have resulted failed to appear, the reverse actually took place.  In the case of Regan, a deep recession began and continued under his successor, George Bush I which, in turn led to the election of Bill Clinton in 1992.  And, when George Bush II was handed the presidency over Al Gore by the Supreme Court, his "trickle down" tax cuts resulted in the largest recession since the Great Depression of the late 1920s-early 1030s, leading to the election of Barak Obama. In both of these contemporary examples, not only didn't the promised "rising tide lift all boats", but the revenue losses crippled government and increased deficit spending so as to put pressure to ignore other pressing national needs such as health care.  In both cases, jobs evaporated, unemployment rose, and economic growth tanked.  So much for the "job creators" and their desire to expand opportunity with their new-found cash assets.  Instead, the oceans of cash accumulated by individuals and corporations wound up in tax sheltered investments or off-shore accounts through tax loopholes and remained beyond the reach of the tax collectors. 

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, in his role as Magical Merlin, waved his magic wand over the tried and failed program of "trickle down" economics, enacted by President Regan (described by Bush I as a primary candidate running against Ronald Regan and, later as his VP, as "voo-doo economics"), and  trumpeted the plan as the "single largest tax cut in our nation's history." It turned out to be a one-page re-hash of tax cuts for rich individuals and wealthy corporations, and, as with the other magical thinkers of the trickle-down school of economics, came with the promise of dramatic growth of economic activity - some 3% or 4% or as much as 6% (notably, derided as impossible by legions of economists). Merlin Mnuchin, as with all alchemists, promised that drinking of this potion would result in a hyper-growth in jobs and wealth so great that, "the net cost of the plan would be paid for by the revenue receipts from the new growth."  Looking at the revenue deficit that would result from the full implementation of the plan - both personal and corporate - is calculated at a reduction of $6.2 TRILLION over ten years.  The most optimistic economist's calculation of growth and resulting tax receipts if enacted stands at $2 TRILLION over the same period.  That leaves over $4 TRILLION over ten years in deficit growth! Most economists view growth at 3% and more as highly unlikely.
So, where does that cash come from?  Obviously not from the military side of the budget that Trump has committed to increasing in large numbers. 

So, what is the reasoning behind this re-visit to the failed "trickle-down policies of the past?  Merlin Mnuchin and advocates for this massive transfer of wealth to the already wealthy would say that there are 2 reasons.  First, that the US has the highest corporate tax rates on the planet.  And, second, that the US has the highest personal income tax on the planet.  The result, so the argument goes, is that there "oppressive" tax rates - on corporations and on the "job creators", prevent our economy from the robust recovery that it should have.  Sounds good, right?  Are you kidding me?  Let's take a look at the FACTS, not the ALTERNATIVE FACTS. The following are easily discovered with a small amount of research.  FACTS MATTER!

HIGHEST PERSONAL TAXES ON THE PLANET....

The highest personal tax rate in history was a whopping 94%!  That was the rate on those earning over $200,000 in 1945, with inflation factored in, equivalent to around $2.8 million today. And, although some economists, including Nobel Laureate Peter Diamond, argue that the top rate should be 73% today, the top rate stands at 39.6%. There is nothing magic about that number - if you go back to the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the top tax rate was much higher - between 50% and 91%.  In fact, the rate didn't come down below 50% until 1987 with the "Tax Reform Act" of 1986 sponsored by Senator Bill Bradley.  Even a small change in the top rate, a few percent - say on those earning more than $1 million a year - would make a big difference in how much the federal government brings in - and that revenue can be used for anything - military outlay, health care, Social Security and Medicare, student aid/or free college, or deficit reduction.  But, lets take a look at the Republican claim that we pay the "highest taxes on the planet", another "alternative fact."

In a study published last month and reported in Bloomberg News last month, the UN-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on the relative individual tax burdens in 35 nations, including the US.  The 584 page report, "Taxing Wages", shows that the US tax burden on most American workers has not budged much over the last two decades although there have been substantial tax cuts for upper income earners under George Bush and slight increases on the same class of taxpayers under Barack Obama.  So, considering all 35 nations under the tax microscope, guess who came out at the top of the list for highest relative tax burden?  No, not the US.  At the top are Belgium and France.  Workers in Chile and New Zealand are tax least.  The US is in the bottom third (25th out of 35), just 1% above Canada.  In fact, the US rate for the average worker was 32%, 4 point below the 35 nation average of 36%.  Other countries included in the study are Belgium at 54%, Germany at 49%, Italy at 48%, Austria at 47%, Greece at 40%, and Denmark and Norway at 36% to name a few.  The average tax burden for all 35 OECD nations is 36%.  Again, the US falls in the bottom 1/3 of the list leading to the conclusion that the average US worker pays quite a bit LESS than he/she would elsewhere in the developed world!  And, that's a FACT!

HIGHEST CORPORATE TAX RATE ON THE PLANET

According to the National Priorities Project in a 2017 report of federal budget expenditures, noted that more than 80% of the federal budget comes from personal and payroll taxes.  Last year, only 11% of federal revenue came from corporate taxes - a number substantially down from  a high of 43% in 1943.  This is partly due to a comparatively low tax rate at 35% and partly due to loopholes and holding assets off-shore.  In fact, over an 8-year period, out of 258 profitable Fortune 500 companies (no-profit = no tax), 100 of them managed to pay NO TAXES AT ALL in one or more years. These 100 companies made some $336 BILLION in pretax US profits.  But, instead of paying $118 BILLION in taxes as the 35% rate requires, not only did they NOT pay federal taxes, but ehy RECEIVED TAX REBATE CHECKS FROM THE TREASURY OF $32.1 BILLION. Eighteen profit-making companies - including General Electric, Priceline.com, International Paper, and PG&E (not to mention the Trump Real Estate Group) - paid NOTHING for all 8 years, despite making a profit in every year. Zero, zilch, nada - in-spite of making substantial profits. 

Aside from dodging taxes altogether, the 258 Fortune 500 companies have become expert in avoiding paying the full freight that the law requires due to "loopholes" in the tax law, hard won by their well-paid congressional lobbyists.  Taken together, these companies - profits and all - paid an average of 21.2% over the 8 years in the study (2008-2015) - far lower than the official rate of 35%.  A fifth of these companies (48) paid an effective rate of less than 10%.  And, of those companies that have significant off-shore profits, more than half paid higher rates to foreign governments where they operate than they paid in the United States on their US profits. Only 66 companies paid 30% or more in taxes on their profits over the 8 year period.  In essence, the 35% corporate rate is a MYTH. The Beltway notion that US corporate taxes are more a burden than elsewhere and that makes us "uncompetitive" is patently false!  And, that is a FACT!

SUBSIDIES:  The hidden tax benefits picked from the pockets of wage earners.

Over the 2008-2015 period, these 258 companies earned $3.8 TRILLION in pretax profits.  At 35%, they would have paid $1.3 billion in income taxes over that period.  Instead, they paid only 60% of that amount due to tax SUBSIDIES.  These tax subsidies, totaling a staggering $527 BILLION over 8 years, are legal under the current tax code and have been concentrated in just 25 or 10% of the Fortune 500 profit centers.  Some $286 BILLION in tax subsidies were provided to these 25 companies including ATT, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Verizon, IBM, GE, Exxon Mobile, Comcast, Goldman, and Time Warner Cable.  It seems to me that what we need is a dose of tax fairness and not further subsidies or reductions.

Opponents argue that the US corporations and businesses pay "the highest taxes in the world!"  Not only is this simply hyperbolic language that adds little to the debate, but is is simply FALSE!  And, adding more "alternative facts" to this discussion is of little use. A report issued by the Congressional Research Service in 2014 concluded that the effective corporate rate in the US and the other OECD nations "is about the same" and the rate applied to new investments is "only slightly higher."  The report also states that a change in the statutory rate from say 35% to 25% would, at best, produce a "modest positive effect on wages and output" but at a cost of some $1.3 TRILLION in revenue deficits over 10 years.  The US is not a corporate tax monster.  And, that is a FACT!

Proponents of a massive tax cut also claim that a reduction from 35% to 15 % as proposed in the Trump plan would result is a giant growth in jobs as businesses invest in expanding job opportunity.  In a December, 2013 report, "The Corporate Tax Rate Debate", the Center for Effective Government studied the link, if any, between corporate profits and job growth.  They studied corporate taxes, profits, and job growth.  The report cited the US Government Accountability Office report on corporate taxes that noted that US corporations pay just 12.6% of their profits in federal income taxes.  And, they examined the job creation track record of 60 large, profitable US corporations from the list of 280 profitable Fortune 500 companies with the highest and lowest effective tax rates between 2008 and 2010.  The study found:
    
     1. 22 of the 30 companies that paid the highest tax rates on their profits created almost 200,000
         jobs between 2008 and 2012.  Only 8 firms with high tax rates reported reducing employees in
         that period;

     2. The 30 profitable companies that paid little or no taxes over three years collectively shed 51,289
          jobs, half created new jobs and half shed jobs in the period;

     3. Lowe's, the nation's 2nd largest home improvement store, paid 36% in taxes in the period
         on profits of $9 billion between 2008 and 2010 and hired an additional 28,820 workers in that
         period;

     4. Verizon, the USs largest wireless provider, reported $32 billion in US profits between 2008
         and 2010, received tax refunds totaling $951 million, and REDUCED the number of employees
         by almost 56,000 between 2008 and 2010.

     5. In 2004, a "tax holiday" (similar to that being discussed today) was adopted to encourage
         companies to bring back to the US cash assets held off-shore.  58 firms brought back some
         $218 billion in profits for a saving of $64 billion in taxes.  In the following 2 years, those firms
         eliminated 600,000 jobs.

The report notes that US corporations currently (2014) have more than $1 TRILLION in cash or liquid assets on hand.  In other words, they have the cash to invest in expansion and new jobs should they choose to do so.  The report concludes, however, that there is NO EVIDENCE that cutting the tax rate on corporate profits induces firms to create new jobs in the US.  And, that is a FACT!

Facts matter in any debate.  And, facts certainly matter in the congressional debate yet to come this year.  That debate, as with all discussion in the congress, will be filled with loose rhetoric, facts, and "alternative facts."  Facts need to matter in this discussion.  Because, decisions on tax and budget policy made this year will define economic opportunity for the future - both ours and that of our children.  We need to get this one right. And, the goal should be tax fairness, sharing the tax burden between working families, wealthy earners, and profitable corporations. And, we should aim for economic opportunity for our people, a minimum wage and a living wage to lift our citizens out of poverty in back alleys and onto the main street of America.  Trickle down doesn't work, never worked, and will not work.  We have tested this out several times and each time has resulted in a failure of the claims made.  What may work, some would argue, is an expanded economy with good wages for more workers, more taxes on wealth - personal and corporate - and less on labor that would put more money into the hands of legions of consumers thereby increasing demand for goods and services and spurring the economy to greater heights.  That has always been a formula for American expansion and success. And, it can be again.  If only we have the will to pay attention to the FACTS.

Stand up!  Speak out! March on!