Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #223
Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in
Through informing and networking Liberals and Liberal Organizations.
Our vision is hundreds of thousands of well-informed
Our Website Our Editor To Unsubscribe Table of
Contents * Featured Articles Opportunities Petitions Communication to Our Members My Energy Conservation Actions* Commentaries from Our Members Ray McBain: Please Include Links I Send You Liberals and Democrats Links to the Beef Requiring Hospitals to Allow Gay Visits Immigration Reform May Divide Conservatives State and Local Links
to the Beef Washington
State Income Tax Initiative** Richard
Curtis Endorses Initiative 1077 Craig
Salins: Proposal to Promote Clean Elections* Nation and World Links to the Beef Featured Advocacy Group: freespeechfor people.org* China’s Economy is Rapidly Becoming As Large As
Ours Our Liberal Spirit Vision Is Necessary for Using Freedoms and Opportunities Our
Political Priorities ·
Fair Clean
Elections and Open Government ·
Fair Taxes and
Competent Spending ·
Investment for
Productivity ·
Quality
Health, Education, Jobs, Income ·
Environmental
Protection and Energy Independence ·
Security and
Equal Rights ·
Justice and
Peace Everywhere ·
International
Cooperation and Leadership Conservatives oppose all of these Let’s
End Our National Nightmare
Let’s
Restore Our American Dream More on Conservative opposition to our
American Dream Washington State’s 5 Major Needs · Federal Funding for Health and Education · Substituting
a Progressive Income Tax · Replacing
Conservative Legislators Quote of the Week
Where there is no vision the people perish. Proverbs 29:18
Calendar of Events
Thursday, April 29 at 6:30 PM at 415 Westlake Avenue
North, Seattle - Visions of the
Arctic, sponsored by Earthjustice. RSVP
required.
Friday, April 30 - May 2 at
Seattle Pacific University in Seattle - Wellstone Action Campaign Management
Fundamentals, including:
· Activist track: For people interested in citizen lobbying,
issue advocacy, and community organizing, this track provides skills in how to
win on issues.
· Campaign track: This track focuses on how to be an effective staff or
volunteer member of a winning progressive campaign.
· Candidate track: This is for people who have made the decision to run
for office.
Varying cost. To
register.
Opportunities
Commentaries
that have addressed major issues
Obtain
a free ‘Corporations Are Not People’ bumper sticker.
Petitions
Sign
a petition supporting President Obama’s promotion of strong regulation of Wall
Street.
Sign
a petition supporting the legalization of marijuana use.
Communication
To Our Members
My Energy Conservation Actions
When my furnace needed replacing 18
months ago, I replaced it with a highly efficient one. As reported several weeks ago, I recently had
an audit of my energy usage. As a result
I am spending $4200 upon measures to reduce my energy consumption. These include:
$150 Energy audit (which included replacement of
two dozen incandescent light bulbs
by
fluorescent ones) = $500 reduced by $350 by Puget Sound Energy rebate
$1937 Tankless
water heater = $3637 for tank and installation reduced by $200 PSE rebate and
$1500
federal tax credit
$500 Insulate furnace room which no longer
requires open vents to outside house which introduced major amounts of cold air into the midst of house
$85 Sealing
ducts = $338 reduced by $300 Puget Sound Energy rebate
$736 Attic insulation = $1156 reduced by $400
Puget Sound Energy rebate
$939 Ventilating attic to prevent mildew
$830 Caulking around materials interfaces
outside and inside house
to
prevent leakage of cold air into house
$5177 TOTAL
I decided against spending $2185 for
wall insulation at least for now, since it wouldn’t reduce leakage of heat
enough to pay back the investment. Note
that our federal government only gives a tax credit for the materials used in
attic and wall insulation. A tax credit
for services such as installing the insulation would likely be prone to fraud.
I have several reasons for spending this
money.
·
It will reduce my
heating costs
·
By reducing the
circulation of cold air, It will my house more comfortable
·
By saving energy
partly resulting from use of coal and gas, it reduces green house emissions
·
The work is being
done by people who otherwise would be unlikely to find employment who have been
trained to do this work.
If you are served by Puget Sound Energy,
I would encourage you to have an energy audit and decide what energy
conservation measures you may adopt. If
you are served by a different energy company, find out if having an energy
audit might still be worthwhile even if they don’t offer rebates.
Commentaries
From Our Members
Ray McBain: Please Include Links I Send You
Your newsletter (I read it online) is performing a valuable service to
us readers. Daily, I seek sources of information (facts, analysis with facts).
These I much prefer to opinion pieces. Thus
I would welcome your inclusion of any link I send you that is informative. No
need to attribute the link to me. I just want to see it made available to your
readers. Ray McBain
I encourage others to send links to me. Dave Thomas
Liberals
and Democrats
Tea
Party Conservatives decry supposed Obama Administration tax increases, in
spite of the fact that the Obama Administration has not increased taxes, but
has lowered taxes for more than 95% of Americans. Contrary to Tea Party support for not
increasing taxes on Wall Street and other high income people, Obama should
increase them in order to be fiscally responsible.
Health Care Reform
Dean Baker
Dean
Baker comments
that the shortage of primary care doctors can be solved by enabling foreign
primary care doctors to serve American patients. Elsewhere it has been noted that excellent
primary care training without incurring large student loan debt can be obtained
in Cuba.
Job Creation
The Economic Policy
Institute recommends a five-point American
Jobs Plan to create jobs and stem the unemployment crisis. The plan calls
for the nation to:
·
Strengthen the safety net (including:
unemployment compensation, COBRA health coverage, and nutrition assistance)
·
provide fiscal relief to state and
local governments
·
Make renewed investments in
transportation and schools
·
Support direct creation of public
service jobs
·
Establish a new job creation tax
credit.
The American Jobs Plan is an efficient and effective
way to create jobs. We estimate that the plan will create at least 4.6 million
jobs in the first year, at a total first-year gross cost of roughly $400
billion. This entire cost can be recouped within 10 years by enacting a
financial transactions tax (FTT), which would take effect three years after
enactment. An FTT is a highly progressive way to raise revenue by imposing a
small tax on the sale of stocks and other financial products.
EPI is a
member of Jobs for America Now, a coalition of more than sixty groups working
to put America back to work. For a complete list of participating
organizations, visit Jobs4AmericaNow.org.
Regulating Wall Street
President Obama
In his weekly address,
President Obama commented that “The Obama
Administration has made Wall Street reform a top priority since day one, and
there is broad consensus on the critical need for reform. President Obama
supports a Wall Street Reform bill that holds Wall Street accountable, protects
and empowers American consumers with the strongest consumer protections ever, increases
transparency in financial dealings -- including in the derivatives market --
and ends taxpayer bailouts once and for all. With legislation
moving to the Senate floor in the coming days, we wanted to take this
opportunity to provide a concise overview of the key elements of Wall Street
reform.”
“Wall Street Must Be Held
Accountable – And Pay The Taxpayers Back For
The Costs of TARP. The Financial Crisis
Responsibility Fee would apply to firms that benefited most – both directly and
indirectly – from extraordinary assistance. It would make sure that American
taxpayers are repaid in full for preventing the collapse of the financial
sector. This fee would only apply to the 50 largest firms and it will be
adjusted based on the risks of financial firms in order to discourage financial
institutions from the kinds of excessive size and risk-taking that contributed
to the financial crisis.
We Must Separate “Proprietary Trading” From The Business of Banking. The “Volcker Rule” would ensure that banks are no longer allowed to own,
invest, or sponsor hedge funds, private equity funds, or proprietary trading
operations for their own profit, unrelated to serving their customers.
Responsible trading is a good thing for the markets and the economy, but firms
should not be allowed to run hedge funds and private equity funds while running
a bank.
The Only Way To End Bailouts Is Serious Reform. No firm should be “Too Big To Fail”. We must constrain the growth of
the largest financial firms; restrict the riskiest financial activities; and
create a mechanism for the government to shut down failing financial companies
without precipitating a financial panic that leaves taxpayers and small
businesses on the hook.”
“Today, There Are Seven Different
Regulators With Authority Over The Consumer Financial Services Marketplace.
Accountability is lacking because responsibility is diffuse and fragmented. In
addition, many mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers were almost completely
unregulated. That must change.”
“We Must Establish An Independent Consumer
Financial Protection Agency To Set And Enforce Clear, Consistent Rules For The
Financial Marketplace. A single consumer agency will set clear
rules of the road and ensure that financial firms are held to high standards.
For example:
·
For families who want to buy a home: The piles of forms
needed for a regular mortgage can be overwhelming, and many brokers have taken
advantage of that confusion to give borrowers loans they didn’t need or
couldn’t afford. The new consumer financial protection agency will take steps
to consolidate and simplify with plain language two overlapping and sometimes
inconsistent federal mortgage forms. The agency will, for the first time,
provide ongoing federal oversight of both nonbank companies and banks in the
mortgage market and protect borrowers from unfair, deceptive or other illegal
mortgage lending practices.
·
For families with credit cards: The new consumer
financial protection agency will enforce the new credit card law signed by
President Obama that bans rate hikes on existing balances and other unfair
practices. For families who have used credit cards to get by when times are
tight, the law will give them clarity on the interest rates they are charged.
·
For families caught by unexpected overdraft fees: Many
households have been automatically enrolled in expensive overdraft programs.
These programs can hit consumers with costly overdraft fees for even the
smallest purchases. For example, the FDIC found that the average overdraft
charge for a single purchased item—like a $2 cup of coffee—is $30 at banks with
assets more than $1 billion. The new consumer financial protection agency will
enforce new rules that give consumers a real choice as to whether to join
expensive overdraft programs so that they are not unknowingly charged
unnecessary fees.”
“We Must Address the Gaps that led to Regulatory Failure – At Its Peak, The “Shadow Banking System” Financed
About $8 Trillion In Assets. In the
lead-up to the financial crisis, our regulatory system as a whole failed. One
of the greatest weaknesses of our financial system was the risk that built up
in the “shadow banking” system where there was explosive growth in a range of
financial firms that acted much like banks – but operated without oversight.
Market Discipline Is Not Enough. Relying on market discipline to compensate for weak regulation and then
leaving it to the government to clean up the mess is not a good strategy for
economic growth or financial security.
Our Financial System Needs Clear Accountability. There is no substitute for vigorous, consistent enforcement of the laws
governing the financial system. But each regulator should have a clear mission
and the authority to execute that mission.
·
We must eliminate
the gaps and loopholes that allowed large firms like AIG to avoid strong,
comprehensive federal oversight. To
achieve accountability, it must be clear that there is one entity with the
responsibility and the authority to supervise the most complicated firms. We
believe that the Federal Reserve is best equipped to play that role.
In an address on
Thursday, President Obama again focused upon four components of regulatory
reform:
1.
Now, first, the bill being considered in the Senate would create what
we did not have before, and that is a way to protect the financial system and
the broader economy and American taxpayers in the event that a large financial
firm begins to fail. If there’s a Lehmans or an AIG, how can we respond
in a way that doesn’t force taxpayers to pick up the tab or, alternatively,
could bring down the whole system.
He acknowledged that there might be legitimate debate about the
best way to approach that issue, but made clear that he had no patience for
those making the false claim that somehow reform would lead to more bailouts:
“In other words, a vote for reform is a vote to put a stop to taxpayer-funded
bailouts. That’s the truth. End of story. And nobody should
be fooled in this debate.
2.
Number two, reform would bring new transparency to many financial
markets. As you know, part of what led to this crisis was firms like AIG
and others who were making huge and risky bets, using derivatives and other
complicated financial instruments, in ways that defied accountability, or even
common sense. In fact, many practices were so opaque, so confusing, so
complex that the people inside the firms didn’t understand them, much
less those who were charged with overseeing them. They weren’t fully
aware of the massive bets that were being placed. That’s what led Warren
Buffett to describe derivatives that were bought and sold with little oversight
as “financial weapons of mass destruction.” That’s what he called
them. And that’s why reform will rein in excess and help ensure that
these kinds of transactions take place in the light of day.
3.
Third, this plan would enact the strongest consumer financial
protections ever. (Applause.) And that's absolutely necessary because
this financial crisis wasn’t just the result of decisions made in the executive
suites on Wall Street; it was also the result of decisions made around kitchen
tables across America, by folks who took on mortgages and credit cards and auto
loans. And while it’s true that many Americans took on financial
obligations that they knew or should have known they could not have afforded,
millions of others were, frankly, duped. They were misled by deceptive
terms and conditions, buried deep in the fine print.
4.
Number four, the last key component of reform. These Wall Street
reforms will give shareholders new power in the financial system. They
will get what we call a say on pay, a voice with respect to the salaries and
bonuses awarded to top executives. And the SEC will have the authority to
give shareholders more say in corporate elections, so that investors and pension
holders have a stronger role in determining who manages the company in which
they’ve placed their savings.
Now, Americans don’t begrudge anybody for
success when that success is earned. But when we read in the past, and
sometimes in the present, about enormous executive bonuses at firms -- even as
they’re relying on assistance from taxpayers or they’re taking huge risks that
threaten the system as a whole or their company is doing badly -- it offends
our fundamental values.
Not only that, some of the salaries and
bonuses that we’ve seen creates perverse incentives to take reckless risks that
contributed to the crisis. It’s what helped lead to a relentless focus on
a company’s next quarter, to the detriment of its next year or its next
decade. And it led to a situation in which folks with the most to lose --
stock and pension holders -- had the least to say in the process. And
that has to change. For
more.
Maria Cantwell
Washington
Democratic senator Maria Cantwell says there are
signs that Congress and the Obama administration may finally be getting serious
about Wall Street reforms. The
Washington state Democrat’s comments came as the Capitol Hill fight over an
overhaul of financial system regulations heated up with Democratic
congressional leaders and the White House saying they were prepared to act with
or without Republican support.
For
months, Cantwell has been pressing to include stringent regulation of the
currently unregulated $600 trillion derivatives markets. Last week, Sen.
Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, proposed
legislation that goes a long way toward satisfying Cantwell. “It looks to me as though Blanche is
proposing a real stare-down of Wall Street,” Cantwell said. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he
might bring a bill to the Senate floor as early as this week, and Republicans
were threatening to mount a filibuster.
Derivatives,
which some financiers have called “financial weapons of mass destruction,” have
become a prime source of revenue for Wall Street investment banks. By some
estimates, they generate $20 billion to $40 billion annually for the banks.
Essentially, derivatives are side bets on whether the price of commodities such
as oil, natural gas or lumber or stocks and other financial instruments will
move up or down in trading. Cantwell has
called the trading in derivatives “casino capitalism” and warned it could lead
to another economic bubble that will burst unless reined in. For
more.
Dean Baker
Dean Baker comments that those who committed fraud should be
sentenced to jail and those who failed to identify the housing bubble should
lose their jobs. For
more.
Dean Baker comments that Goldman Sachs cheating of people who
bought their CDOs shows that large financial companies should be broken
up. For more.
Zach Carter
Regulating Wall Street is long overdue. Promoting regulation will force Republicans
to help or reveal their preference for Wall Street over Main Street. For
more. The
financial regulatory reforms which passed the Senate Banking Committee are
inadequate. What’s
needed to fix the Dodd bill.
Pew Research Center Poll
Although a majority of voters oppose greater government control,
60% support regulation of Wall Street speculation. For
more.
Republican senators started to oppose the proposed financial
regulatory bill, but may have changed their mind in order to avoid being
labeled as Wall Street supporters. For
more.
Fiscal Responsibility
The
Obama Administration should recognize that we need to replace our Borrow, Consume and Speculate mindset
and practices with government regulated Earn,
Conserve and Invest mindset and practices.
Toward this vision, the Obama should use reconciliation procedures to
adopt the following fiscally responsible measures which will reduce our
deficits, reduce speculation and provide revenues for stimulating creation of
well paying jobs.
These
measures qualify for reconciliation procedures through providing increased
government revenues. By adopting one or
several per week, they will present a moving target that is difficult for
Conservatives and Wall Street lobbyists to focus their opposition against.
1.
Enable people to
use their savings to purchase extra social security retirement benefits. Lowers projected 1.34 trillion budget deficit
by unspecified amount.
2.
Tax financial
transactions. Lowers $1.34 trillion budget
deficit by $100 billion per year to $1.24 trillion. Taxing
financial transactions is particularly important because it would both produce revenue and reduce speculation. If 90% of stockholders quit owning stocks,
the stock market would still perform its function of enabling investors to cash
out their gains. Note that during the 25
years following World War II, very few Americans owned stocks as the stock
market performed its necessary function.
While the price of stocks would fall at first, they would stabilize at a
level that appropriately rewards investors, but not a speculative bubble level.
3.
Charge large
Financial Corporations a Financial
Crisis Responsibility Fee to raise $117 billion. Lowers budget deficit to $1.123
trillion. Dean Baker has suggested the
fee could be 4 times as large as proposed by President Obama. For more.
4. Repeal tax breaks for households with annual incomes
over $250,000: Lowers budget deficit by $43 billion per year to $$1.08
trillion.
5. Eliminate the tax preference for capital gains and
dividends: Lowers budget deficit by $80 billion per year to $1.0 trillion.
6. Levy a progressive estate tax on large fortunes: Lowers
budget deficit by $40-60 billion per year to $950 billion.
7. Establish a new higher tax rate on extremely high
incomes: Lowers budget deficit by $60-70 billion per year to $885 billion.
8. End overseas tax havens: Lowers budget deficit by $100
billion per year to $775 billion.
9. Eliminate subsidies for excessive executive
compensation: Lowers budget deficit by $18 billion per year to $757 billion.
10. Eliminated tax
free employer provided health benefits: lowers budget deficit by $185 billion
per year to $572 billion.
11. Eliminate home mortgage interest deduction: lowers
budget deficit by $129 billion per year to $443 billion.
12. Eliminate 401(k) plans: lowers budget deficit by $69
billion per year to $373 billion.
13. Eliminate Charitable donations deduction: lowers
budget deficit by $55 billion per year to $318 billion.
14. Eliminate state and local tax deduction: lowers budget
deficit by $54 billion per year to $264 billion.
15. Eliminate capital gains exclusion on home sales:
lowers budget deficit by $47 billion per year to $217 billion.
Even if some limits are placed, such as only
eliminating home mortgage interest deduction on second homes and mortgage
interest over a limited amount, the result is a deficit that is significantly
smaller than past deficits. The
resulting deficit can be farther reduced by eliminating wasteful subsidies and
spending relative to our military, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, private health
insurers, etc. One example is to eliminate the huge profits that
medical equipment makers are making by selling motorized wheel chairs. It is thus possible to stimulate creation of
Main Street jobs while maintaining fiscal responsibility. For more. For
more.
Spending several hundreds of billions for stimulating
job creation would still leave relatively modest deficits, less than occurred
during President Bush’s last year. Note
that these measures only affect Wall Street speculations and high income
earners, not medium and low income earners, unless they participate in
speculation.
Conservatives are wrong when they say that raising
taxes on corporations will just be passed on to low income consumers. Corporations can raise prices to the same
extent regardless of whether they are taxed.
For
more.
Requiring Hospitals to Allow Gay Visits
President
Obama directs any hospital which accepts Medicare or Medicaid funding to
allow patients to choose who may visit them, including GLBT partners.
Immigration Reform May Divide Conservatives
Many
Conservatives oppose immigration reform because it rewards illegal
behavior. Other Conservatives are afraid
that opposing immigration reform will result in Hispanics strongly supporting
Democrats. For
more.
Here’s the Beef
North
Carolina Liberals are opposing Democratic congress members who opposed health
care reform. Also
in Boston.
Tea
Bag Conservatives complain about high taxes, but their taxes have been
significantly lowered.
The
news value of Tea Bag Conservatives is waning.
Pennsylvania
Liberal Joe Sestak is running hard against Arlen Specter in Democratic primary.
We
need to envision not only more jobs, but jobs with fair pay and working
conditions.
Right to Rent bill
concerning people whose houses are foreclosed in introduced in house.
California
blue dog Democrat is being opposed by a consistently Liberal Democrat.
State and
Local
Initiative to Reduce Most People’s Taxes and Fund Education
Through Imposing an Income Tax on High Incomes
A
Liberal initiative is finally proposed which would lower property taxes by
20%, end our business and occupation tax for small businesses and raise $1
billion a year for education by adding an income tax on couples with incomes
over $400,000 and singles with incomes over $200,000. For more.
Bill Gates Sr. announced the initiative, accompanied by speakers
representing small businesses, health-care providers and the League of
Education Voters. League board member
Ruth Lipscomb said income-tax revenues would "start rebuilding our state's
public-education system."
There are three reasons to
support this initiative:
1.
Unless you have a
very high income, you will save money
2.
It will provide
money for our state to come closer to meeting the constitutional mandate that
it fund basic education
3.
It will make our
tax system fairer by making high income people pay for the legal, social and
political infrastructure that previous generations have created which enables
them to obtain high incomes, just as they must pay for the capital, equipment,
supplies and labor which enable their incomes.
For
more.
To qualify to be voted upon, 241,153
signatures by registered voters must be obtained by July 2. Education, labor and other groups which
benefit from state revenues should support this initiative and assist in
obtaining needed signatures. Many who will
not directly benefit from the increased revenues should support this initiative
because it makes our tax system fairer and will lower their taxes. According to a King
5 news poll, two thirds of Washington residents will support this
initiative.
I hope that all of our
members will sign the petition and obtain signatures of their Liberal relatives
and acquaintances. I hope you will also
volunteer to assist the campaign. You
can obtain petitions and volunteer to help the campaign by calling 206-225-4610
or emailing it. The campaign
website offers more information. Dave
Thomas
Richard Curtis Endorses Initiative 1077
A proposed ballot initiative in Washington
would start an income tax for individuals earning more than $200,000 per year
and couples earning more than $400,000. The effort to collect signatures
has just begun. Richard Curtis for U.S.
Senate (WA) Campaign expresses enthusiastic support for Gates Sr. and
Initiative 1077. Richard Curtis, PhD, a
professional philosopher, and Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate issued
the following statement:
Though some indicators seem encouraging, a
sober analysis of economic reality tells us the worst is far from over, and may
yet to begin. We simply must learn from the experience of the last
depression and take action to put people back to work. This effort must
be well thought out and resources from those who have faired better than most –
a fair system of taxation such as Bill Gates Sr. supports – is but one
step. I personally applaud Mr. Gates for his sense of decency and the
effort he puts forth to do good things.
It is important to note here that
there are more “cold-hearted” reasons to support this tax as well. We
often forget that Sir John Maynard Keynes, the Father of Modern Economic
Theory, did not suggest taxing the wealthy so as to fund jobs programs because
he was soft-hearted and felt bad for starving people. Keynes was famous
for his contempt for the poor, but he knew as an educated rich man, that if the
poor got too poor they would revolt. The New Deal was not a socialist
takeover of the government as some today might have us believe, but a
compromise with reality that the wealthy simply had to make. Keynes
argued correctly, we now know, that taxing the wealthy in a depression is
necessary to save capitalism.
Mr. Gates has more noble motives, I
believe, but for whatever reason one sees as key we simply must tax the wealthy
more to turn the economy around. This is not a tragedy but an opportunity
to put vast segments of America back to work rethinking, redesigning, and
rebuilding a new economy for the 21st Century. Initiative 1077
will be a significant step forward. Richard Curtis
Craig Salins: Proposal to Promote Clean Elections
WPC - 2010 Elections
Season Advocacy Program
In 2010 there will be
elections at every level - federal, state, judicial, some local. It is certainly an opportunity for WPC and
grassroots supporters to push support for Clean Elections (public financing
of campaigns) - the Fair Elections Now Act (FENA) in Congress; the proposed judicial bill (Supreme Court
Fair Elections) in WA state; and pledged
support from candidates/public officials in general, to work for reforms - such
as public campaign financing, transparency and full disclosure of campaign
contributions, and appropriate limits in campaign contributions (federal,
state, local).
Campaigns / Elections
include:
- federal: U.S. Senate seat (incumbent: Patty Murray)
- state legislature: all 98 House seats; one-half (25) Senate seats
- state judicial: state Supreme Court (three seats); Appellate Court seats; local seats
A Proposed 2010 Elections
Season Advocacy Program
· Notify every candidate about CE/PFC, and WPC's work,
perhaps with a "Candidates' Information Packet" - electronic or
otherwise. ("CE/PFC" =
Clean Elections / Public Financing of Campaigns)
·
Notify candidates
of the opportunity to endorse and pledge support for these reforms,
specifically the FENA bill (federal candidates), the judicial bill (state
legislative candidates and judicial candidates), and proposals to extend public
campaign financing to statewide and legislative races, as well as local
jurisdictions (cities/counties/ports/PUDs).
·
Respond to
candidates' (including incumbents') pledges to endorse, support and work for
these reforms - by adding their name to a publicly-announced list of supporters
of public campaign financing (Fair Elections Now Act / Clean Elections /
Voter-Owned Elections). This list of
endorsers is kept (and updated) on WPC's website (Endorsements page), and will
be prominently announced at our June 19th Awards Banquet - and succeeding
events, as appropriate.
·
Encourage WPC
supporters and CE/PFC advocates to attend candidate forums, town meetings, and
other events and appearances by candidates - and to publicly raise questions
(of candidates) and urge support for our work, our bills and policies. WPC might circulate proposed message points,
to prepare and guide advocates for these meetings and events.
·
Encourage
candidates (including incumbents) to attend the June 19th Awards Banquet -
perhaps as event sponsors. (A
"Candidate's Package" might include two seats/plates, plus mention in
the Program Ad Book - or an ad itself - for a set proposed sum.)
·
Through WPC
broadcast emails, bring attention to our website Endorsements Page, and to
other linked sites that provide information about where candidates stand on the
issue of campaign finance reform, Clean Elections, Fair Elections Now Act, etc.
·
If we have local
volunteer energy and time, perhaps offer to meet with candidates, provide
additional information on CE/PFC and WPC's work, answer their questions, It
might be this is best done at the local (chapter) level - where local WPC
chapters or councils exist and are up to the task.
Craig Salins, Washington
Public Campaigns Executive Director
Here’s the Beef
Police
brutality is seldom punished, especially in absence of videotaped evidence.
Nation
and World
Featured Advocacy Group
----------------------------- freespeechforpeople.org ------------------------------
Freespeechforpeople.org seeks to
correct the damage the Supreme Court has done to the First Amendment, by passing
a constitutional amendment of our own that puts people ahead of corporations. Below is its resolution in support of the Free Speech for People
Amendment.
· WHEREAS the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution was designed to protect the
free speech rights of people, not corporations;
· WHEREAS,
for the past three decades, a divided United States Supreme Court has
transformed the First Amendment into a powerful tool for corporations seeking
to evade and invalidate democratically-enacted reforms;
· WHEREAS,
this corporate takeover of the First Amendment has reached its extreme
conclusion in the United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Citizens
United v. FEC;
· WHEREAS,
the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC overturned
longstanding precedent prohibiting corporations from spending their general
treasury funds in our elections;
· WHEREAS,
the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC will now
unleash a torrent of corporate money in our political process unmatched by any
campaign expenditure totals in United States history;
· WHEREAS,
the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC presents a
serious and direct threat to our democracy;
· WHEREAS,
the people of the United States have previously used the constitutional
amendment process to correct those egregiously wrong decisions of the United
States Supreme Court that go to the heart of our democracy and self-government;
· NOW HEREBY
BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE THE UNDERSIGNED VOTERS OF THE UNITED STATES CALL UPON
THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS AND SEND TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION A
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO RESTORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO
THE PEOPLE.
Learn more about the "Free Speech for People
Amendment" ADD YOUR NAME IN SUPPORT OF THIS RESOLUTION
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China’s Economy is Rapidly Becoming
As Large as America’s Economy
Using purchasing power parity measures of GDP for international
comparisons, China's economy is
expected to be about $9.5 trillion this year. At its current growth rate,
it will pass the size of the U.S. economy in about five years. By many measures it is already larger than
the U.S. For example, it has more
Internet users, college graduates in science and engineering, a larger car
market, and about twice as many cell phone users. For
more.
Here’s the Beef
Large
financial companies making record profits through speculation are paying no
federal taxes.
Europeans promote
replacing consumption with conservation.
U.S.
disregards Israel’s violation of nuclear non-proliferation.
Seven
largest environmental disasters have continuing effects.
In
28 countries, opinion concerning our U.S. is increasingly favorable, enhancing
our influence.
Our
Liberal Spirit
Vision Is Necessary for Using Freedoms and
Opportunities
Our Obama Administration
fails to have a vision for our economy after it has recovered. It doesn’t understand that we must change
from our present Borrow, Consume and
Speculate mindset and practices to a government regulated Earn, Conserve and Invest mindset and
practices. Failing to have this vision,
our Obama Administration is not clearly opposing our present Wall Street
dominated economy in favor of the needed Main Street economy. Nor is it levying taxes to reduce speculation
and provide fiscal responsibility.
Unless the Obama
Administration adopts an appropriate vision, Main Street America will continue to
suffer from an inability to use what freedoms and opportunities we have and
should have. President Obama’s
willingness to listen to various viewpoints is helpful, but the people he is
listening to are virtually all people with a history of favoring unregulated speculation. He needs to listen much more to people who
oppose our present Borrow, Consume and
Speculate economy.
Recommended Books – See our list of books for liberals
Nicole Gelinas, 2009, After the Fall. Saving Capitalism from Wall Street -- and
Washington
Peter S. Goodman, 2009, Past Due. The End of Easy Money and the
Renewal of the American Economy
During the last three months,
I have reviewed books by Joe Stiglitz, Robert Kuttner, Paul Volcker, James
Galbraith and Dean Baker who make recommendations for eliminating or greatly
reducing Wall Street speculation and books by Richard Posner and Robert Pozen
who believe Wall Street speculation offers benefits such that they only
recommend steps to limit the speculation and prevent it from creating bubbles
and their collapse. Nicole Gelinas’ book
is in this latter category. My opinions
are derived from those people in the former category. I only recommend Robert Pozen’s book to
become aware of the many technical aspects of speculation. I do not recommend Nicole Gelinas’ book.