If Government doesn't create jobs how can tax policy?

The simple truth:  jobs are not created by tax policy but by demand.

As long as big business continues to make record profits while cutting their workforce and as long as those governing and running big business are able to pillage their companies through unjustifiable compensations there will be no corporate behavioral change.

As long as there are enough politicians willing to enable corporate malfeasance through the crippling of regulations and oversight while collecting huge amounts of money and aid through corporate lobbyist, Super-PACs and campaign contributions there is little we can expect in corporate behavioral change.

We have been sold out to corporations that know there is no way we can feed ourselves from home based gardens or the remaining family farms that are not already wedded to a corporate master.

Big business believes that there are now enough politicians in place that have little or no regard for the future of unions that they can now intimidate their workforce into a future compliant to only corporate goals. Give corporate treasuries and those that control them more or we will off shore your job and future. In fact there are so many openly anti-union politicians in place we see huge gambits being played to permanently tilt the playing field into the corners of the corporatist.

Eric Cantor – the bottom feeding Majority Leader in the House of Representatives says of the recent profiteering by airlines as “I guess that’s what businesses do…” while the FAA was unfunded (by his majority over unionization rights) and not collecting the taxes which the airlines continued to collect and pocket.

The day will come when big business wakes up to find that the profits are drying up due to the fact that no one can afford to buy their goods and services since the jobless can’t afford them any longer. Henry Ford – no bleeding heart liberal - realized that he could make more money in volume sales by giving his workforce the ability to afford the cars which they were making. Only if there more Fords in today’s boardrooms and executive offices the problems might not seem so insurmountable.

Welcome to the down-grade - your share of the deficit just went up

@PeaceEcologyNetPeace Planetologist

S&P downgrades US debt - "Nobody I have known of has been more wrong than them." - Rep. Barney Frank | Rachel Maddow http://su.pr/1nSoCy

 

So now is the time to watch for the ultimate GOP and Tea Party hypocrisy as they point fingers at the Democrats for the downgrade. The fact that they drove what should have been a fairly straightforward process to the point of default causing unnecessary stress and calling the world’s attention to the fact that we are now governed by political hostage takers instead of men and women that can sit down and come to a reasonable solution for the problems we face together. This again will prove that they are unworthy of any support in the future as they will demonstrate the limited historical memory and their entire belief that nobody understands the situation as well as they do. They have through their complete disregard for anyone else’s opinion taken more money out of an already stressed economy by making it more costly for this country to do what it must.

No excuses for not supporting the President

Last December President Obama rewarded the GOP hostage takers by giving in to their demands in exchange for unemployment benefits for those hurt by the Bush recession.  This was meant to spare them some of the pain that their continued long term unemployment was inflicting upon them even as the wealthiest of us continued to collect a disproportionate benefit and agitate for even lower tax burdens –which are at their lowest level in our lifetimes. Yes there will be liars who will play statistical games to fit their arguments but as more of the country’s wealth was being concentrated at the upper end it was being taxed at a lower rate than if the wealth was more fairly distributed.

Today the GOP & Tea Holes are employing the same strategy to force the President & over 70% of the population into their fix for the economy.  Their solution defies the opinion of many economists - the fix can't be accomplished through reduced spending alone - the math just doesn't work.  In addition it would mean reneging on the promise of Social Security & Medicare we've made to all. The GOP & DEMS should want to avoid this for many reasons that would appeal to both their senses but seem hell bound to further afflict the poor, sick and/or elderly with hardships caused by the economy devastated by those whom have already benefited by help from our Treasury. If we can help the banks & investment houses – the playgrounds of the rich and idle rich – why can’t we help real people?

 So today the GOP & Tea Holes believe that they only have to stay the course & our President will once again capitulate. The President has only himself to blame for this situation because of his earlier cave-ins.  In addition, the report of his comment to the traitor Eric Cantor to “not call my bluff” can only add to the GOP’s confidence in their chosen strategy.  At this point I’d like to say to all concerned it is immoral to use people as the means to their ends.

Today the unemployment benefits are largely expired & the taxes we so badly need are untouchable for at least a year. The Tea Holes have been so empowered by the mismanagement of the situation by both the White House and John Boehner that they have made a Constitutional amendment forcing balanced budgets a condition to their agreement to raise the debt ceiling.  Meanwhile, the White House once again removed a bargaining position early – the 14^th Amendment – from consideration – for why? 

 In hindsight we would call this a lose-lose situation. The pain the President tried to avoid in December will be felt by the ever expanding number of unemployed and any help- in the way of restored revenues is still going into the banks of the non-job creators. 

The President's base may not be happy about this situation but this is not a call to abandon him. Many of us – me included – have been outspoken about our dissatisfaction with these events.  However, I have not forgotten why I voted for him – the situation with which we were faced required a higher intellect than the C-student that ran the previous administration – an intellect that was evidenced by Barack Obama’s resume. I'm counting on this now & hope he is doing what should/can be done.  I don't like the reports about the various "deals" - it leaves me unsure about where our country is going in the long term & how we take care of our own. However, we should remember that President Barack Obama is doing better by us than the McCain-Palin option - perhaps setting Grandma off on an ice flow instead of facing fictitious "death panels" that Sarah Palin lied so happily about.

But if your support for our President is still lagging remember what has transpired with the Supreme Court's recent decisions. We need to have President Obama re-elected & strengthened by a Democratic Congress to protect our basic freedoms from further erosion. Yes I get mad about what’s going on too but I think I would be really dumb to let emotions get in the way of our freedoms.

Support the President, vote Democratic & call out the BS when & where you see or hear it. - Fortitude my friends!

Do we have a Democratic or Republican Problem?

Let me see if I have my recent history correct... 

President Obama is elected to lead our country out of the mess created by a Congress that basically laid down to the wishes of the corporate & wealthy classes served by George Bush and initiated by Reagan. However, before the new President can proceed he is tarred as the most liberal possibly socialist man to hold the office & the GOP decides to block his every effort.

The GOP used every trick to delay any proven progressive move and was aided by the conservative media in misrepresenting programs & demonizing our President. They were successful for a number of reasons whether they were in the majority or the minority.  

Now after a mid-term election where the GOP promised to change things & create jobs to win the majority in the House - they have delivered little in jobs or relief for anyone except George Bush's base. The only other thing they have been successful at since November 2010 is how often they can repeat that “tax increases are off the table”, “we have a spending problem”, “government, civil servants, the poor, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are why we are in trouble” and demagoguing the Democrats for demogoguing their intention to kill Medicare as we know it.

The wealthy are busy buying the protection they think they need from the GOP while sitting on their profits by working us harder for less remuneration & eliminating President Obama as a byproduct.

Memorial Day & Dancing

I read about the arrest at the Jefferson Memorial and watched the videos. Thank god there are so many cameras around to keep the police from employing excessively harsh tactics in dealing with peaceful protesters. Too bad we can't equip them with a working brain that can tell the difference between a public safety menace and people peacefully gathering to call attention to an issue. At any rate, just in case the Huffington Post moderators take exception to my post here it is...

I keep hearing, from conservatives and those who are happy sticking their heads in the sand enduring the status quo, that we should honor those in the military for defending our country and the rights we hold dear. I do salute those that take the orders, stand in harm’s way and that have served our country's ideals but I question whether they are just pawns being moved and sacrificed at the whims of business interest, oligarchs and politicians that willingly pay lip service to peace. There's been way too much warfare in my life time and way too little peacemaking - I wonder just how that would be?

Loved the President's Correspondents' Dinner Moment

Here’s another in my series of posts that did not meet the lofty ideals and rules of decorum set by and for people that still waste time visiting The Huffington Post:

WATCH: Obama Takes On Trump, Birthers, Rivals At White House Correspondents' Dinner

These comments have been expanded and improved as I need not concern myself about meeting someone else’s capriciously enforced standards. 

In a moment of tongue in cheek during the Correspondents’ Dinner, the President outlined all the reasons that Donald Trump will never be elected and is not a serious candidate, even in his own combed-over mind. When the camera was focused on Trump one could almost see the resentment radiating from him until the showman that he fancies himself to be begrudgingly sent a hint of a smile to his lips and a feeble wave to our President. Even though he deserved a bigger beating for his recent behavior the President delivered a suitable can of whoop-ass to placate his supporters.

I can't let the camera shot of Bill O'Reilly go without comment. The President's healthcare plan may pay for the surgery to remove whatever he has lodged in his butt. Seriously, we need to have O'Reilly go through a good Trumping so that he can follow Beck into "retirement".

OK - Come and get me

It’s the day after the so-called fairytale wedding of Prince William and Kate – sorry Catherine Middleton - and the real world has not gotten any better. Without a doubt the supposed happy ending for the newlyweds cannot ever be worse than what many of my fellow countrymen have been forced to endure day in and day out for a period way too long. I look at my young family and try to put my happy face on for them to mask the concerns I have for their futures in the short and long terms.

My daughter increasingly tells me that she is afraid to grow up. She doesn’t know what the future holds for her and she is scared. This breaks my heart because I feel like a part of her childhood is being stolen from her or I’m failing as a father – I don’t remember suffering this type of insecurity when I was eleven years old. Heck by this time in my life my father had passed and I had several newspaper routes and did yard work around our neighborhood. Unlike the Governor of Maine, Paul LePage, my aspirations are not for my kids to have to go to work early.

In fact, so much that allowed my family to stay together after my father’s untimely death is now under attack by people who may not understand the benefits programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have made. People who have been blessed not to have lived under circumstances that required the American social safety net may not understand that instead of five children that could have gone wrong in other times are now productive members of this society – paying taxes and bringing up another productive generation of Americans.

I’d like to point out to anyone reading this that considers themselves a conservative or Tea Partier that even though I consider myself to be a bleeding heart liberal progressive with socialist tendencies – that I am the only one of that ilk from my family. Even my Momma has Fox News on the tube during her waking hours. I may be the biggest horror in her life of disappointments but we are still family and I will always be thankful for our relationship. However, my point is that it isn’t just your opposition that benefits but many of your own tribe that do as well.

Enough background on me – I hope it may help you understand my perspective or at least give you something to make fun of – since when I make my views known and the debate ends I am often ridiculed for my appearance or weight. Yes, even this ugly old fatty has opinions and can debate them without wondering from where the next cheeseburger or Twinkie is coming.

Today I’d like to touch upon many areas that concern me – lightly now and more in depth later. Since my intent is to stake out my position on these topics I am open to discussion and challenges from any quarter. I am here not to educate you but to be educated by you; however, do not misunderstand or take offense if your argument does not end in conversion but a strengthening of my position.

Topic 1 – President Barack Obama

If you have read any of my Tweets or posts on Huffington Post (mostly) you may think I am a bit schizophrenic about our 44^th President of the United States. Let me assure you that I supported him in 2008 and I will again in 2012. He hasn’t been exactly what I had hoped for when I cast my ballot but he is my President and the best person for the job in 2012. Yes I have criticized him and his administration – he deserves to hear from his supporters what they think without having to decipher meaning or intent.

Topic 2 – The Democratic Party

I believe there are better days to come from and for the Democratic Party. There are certain Democratic politicians that seem to be working against the values I hold but I do not see how I can make this party better from the outside than from the inside. I also understand that in our current political environment that it is a numbers game – so since the Republicans have once again unmasked themselves for the corporate fools they are I will support the Democrat in the general election.

Topic 3 – The Supreme Court

This once hallowed body has exposed itself to be just another politically driven entity. I cannot in good conscious support the Court as it is currently constituted. The positions that have to be spun by any nominee to gain Senate approval make it impossible for me to believe that any of these justices deserve the title and responsibility they hold. Of course I can again be accused of being a bit schizoid here but the conservatives on the court do seem to me immune to the brand of hypocrisy they display so often.

Topic 4 – The Economy (Stupid)

I think I’ve made my feelings about the social safety net known above. We should protect these programs with our lives since they mean life for so many disadvantaged. I think we need to get our fiscal house in order but not on the backs of the poor, sick, children and the elderly. Please try to imagine what your life would be like without these people – they are people – worthy – loving – valued and deserving. Too many believe the stereotype of the welfare queen or those that will not find a job because the government money and cheese is just too good – let me assure you they are a vast minority and deserve to be routed out – just don’t further injure the innocent in your quest to punish the cheaters.

Reform the tax code – it should be progressive – reasonable – and enforced. I’ve got a lot to say about this but if I get started now I won’t be able to say any more.

Unemployment Insurance – yes. One day or three years – yes. Again – a lot to say about this.

Too Big to Fail, Wall Street, Multinationals and Monopolies – all need to be addressed through regulation and divestiture – they need to be reminded that they exist to serve the public not suppress it.

Unionism - To kind of quote the Speaker of the House, John Boehner: “HELL YES!”

Insurance and Healthcare is again a topic I will go on and on about. My short answer is single payer.

I know this list seems kind of wild but there is so much more – I just don’t want to lose the steam and I feel like that’s what’s happening now. Let me leave off with just one last thought. I believe that being a progressive liberal means to be in touch with life at all levels in our society and to fight the good fight for those that can’t defend themselves – to be a part of something bigger than myself and my family. If what it takes to correct the problems of the United States means furthering the discomfort of the afflicted, poor, children and elderly then perhaps we as a nation have lost the vision that was put to paper by our founding fathers and there is little hope of ever regaining the greatness we once knew and the rest of the world envied. I hope we all can get through these trying times together with goodwill and understanding. Life is too short.

Peace.

A Reaction to DeNiro's Comment

I do not have a major disagreement with Robert DeNiro's statement - just that it really doesn't get to the root of the problem. In fact, his assessment that this is largely a Republican problem seems spot on to me. My comments to the piece reported on the Huffington Post follows:

For me the bottom line isn't the Trumps of this world. Trump is merely repeating the behavior that has become all too common on both sides of the aisle. We make statements that we do not mean "to be factual" hoping that some of the malice will adhere itself to the intended target and that there are suitably large numbers of people simpleminded enough to grab onto it as the truth.

Once upon a time we had a media that was governed by a measure of journalistic integrity that would both ignore these pronouncements and not give them any traction by allowing them the same weight as truly factual comments. A media when faced with outright lies and misleading commentary by the political ruling class or their big business overlords would shine the light of truth upon it. Today, sadly, the media has been taken over by the same overlords and we get the false equivalencies fed to us over and over again.

Today we do have a way to combat some of this with information gained from other sources and the common sense that we all possess - even if it is weakened from under use. We can also become more active in demonstrating our support for American ideals - new and old - through activism - yet another quality that has atrophied since the 60's and 70's.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/24/robert-de-niro-calls-out-republicans_n_852988.html

The deficit of compassion

Can you name one wasteful sacred cow program the Democrats are supporting? In fact they acknowledged that all waste must be cut out of the budget and government. This is viewed by the Republicans as a weakness in the Democratic caucus.

On the other hand, the Republicans can only sing the song of cutting social spending to the bone while handing out additional job killing tax cuts to the wealthiest of families & further exemptions to taxes for the big businesses they refer to as small business. Additionally, Republicans support additional savings and relief to the wealthy/big business by relaxing regulations and defunding the IRS so there are fewer agents to conduct audits that have recently focused on the wealthy.  So I can name some of the sacred cows of the Republicans: Koch Bros., Koch Industries, GE, Offense Contractors etc. At the same moment let me name some of the lambs they would slaughter: Head Start, healthcare for the poor, elderly, handicapped and children, school lunches, Social Security, family planning, PBS and anything that has a socialist tinge to it in their minds.

What is Trump's game?

Mr. Trump is one of "those" people that long for the days of old when "those other people" could be kept from voting by various tests - land ownership, sex or literacy. Since those tests could not prevent the election of Barack Obama the new test is the "birther question" and the requirement that this president be the first to be compelled by a tiny minority to prove to them that which they will never accept. Their claims to irrational theories surrounding this man's birth and the slandering of his parents by people such as Rush Limbaugh have led to many of the problems and distractions that plague this nation during a time of trials like no other in our life times.

I suspect that Trump's game has nothing to do with an actual candidacy because if it did he would just jump in and accrue for himself the benefits of getting the early start on the rest of the pack. I think his motives are simpler - promotion for him and his other money making efforts - which have not been hurt by President Obama's election. This is sad since it is so cynical and hurtful to the nation at this time.

So who is the real American and who is the Capitalist? American ideals are not necessarily capitalist as many of the 2 percenters would have you believe.