THANKFULLY, THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS OVER, AND THE RIGHT GUY WON.
I don’t say that lightly. President Obama’s re-election was one of the most important presidential decisions the American people have made since Franklin Delano Roosevelt — and for many of the same reasons.
Both presidents understood one of the most basic of political realities: that excessive wealth concentrated in the hands of the few destroys a society, particularly a democracy. It’s a simple historical pattern: As more wealth is confiscated or suborned by a wealthy elite, the middle class loses its commitment to the society, and the social compact is gradually broken. Anyone who doubts this should spend a few moments in reflection at the Place de la Revolution (now the Place de la Concorde), Paris’s blood-soaked square where the leaders of the Reign of Terror erected the guillotine in the corner near the statue of Brest. Or read Franz Fanon’s “Wretched of the Earth,” or see what is happening in Syria — or even better, read some of the letters from the leaders of the American Revolution.
The point is simple: If people feel they are worthless and everything they have worked for has been stolen, they are more willing to destroy the status quo. This was the problem FDR faced after the great wealth of the 1920s became the Great Depression of the 1930s.
For the last two decades, America has been on a similar arc. The greatest wealth in human history was built on America’s technology/IPO boom that was then accelerated by a real estate bubble fueled by a corrupt and greedy financial industry. Massive amounts of wealth were sucked out of middle class homes and pensions and transferred to the wealthy elite and corporate empires. When the corporations threatened to bring down the whole economy, they were propped up by the government and the same taxpayers who were fleeced in the first place.
Fortunately, Obama has a second term and seems willing to confront this massive transfer of wealth and rising inequality that is so dangerous to a democracy. However, as grateful as I am for President’s Obama re-election, there are a few other things I would like to see happen in 2013. Here is a short list of what I think quickly needs to be fixed, or at least initiated, in the New Year. If time allows, I hope to expand on them in the months ahead.
• Redistribution of wealth. America has to find a way to stop the continual transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy elite. This a rapidly growing problem brought on by a series of misguided tax laws that have to be repealed. No modern developed nation can function smoothly and effectively without a stable middle class that expects to be able to raise its children free of poverty and out of harm’s way. See Syria and the Arab Spring for examples of what happens when folks feel disconnected and disenfranchised by their governments.
• Ideology gives way to function. The U.S. Congress is the most dysfunctional it has been since the 1930s. This one-time icon of democracy has collapsed into a bitter, disreputable gang of incompetents more committed to zealotry and ideology than to the nation. The institution is an insult to every hardworking American who is asked to be accountable on a day-to-day basis. Our form of representative government is in dire need of reform, or significant change. The place to start is to cap the money by controlling campaign contributions and lobbying.
• Gun control. What sort of creatures are we who can’t, or won’t, protect our children? This is so simple it shouldn’t even be a discussion. As a nation we need to eliminate the sale of assault rifles, get control of the nation’s gun supply, and deal with violent psychotics. Since the NRA is such a powerful lobby, this needs to start in our own communities. Maybe Benicia’s City Council can pass a ban on assault rifles.
• Develop a national energy policy. The lack of a national energy policy, with a commitment to renewable energy generation and a reduction in greenhouse gases, is unconscionable. The planet is getting hotter and more crowded, and the U.S. still uses the environment as a garbage can.
• Rein in public pensions. It is no secret that we are destroying our communities and cities by not controlling public employee pensions and benefits. This is painfully true in California and at the federal level. Excessive pension payments, salary spiking and vacation buyouts all must be eliminated. This behavior is eroding the trust citizens have in their public employees, leading to a belief that public employees are corrupt and unaccountable. See the current crisis in Greece for background on an economic system that can’t control its public sector payrolls.
• National Service. While many of the items on my “want” list are easily doable, developing a National Service Program may be a long shot. However, somehow as a society we need to rebuild the trust and commitment to our nation that has been withering since 9/11. The easiest and most beneficial way to do this would be to create a program that would require young folks and/or immigrants to participate in some area of society. For some this could take the form of military service; for others it would be tutoring or teaching in schools, or working with cities to develop parks, working with the aged or volunteering in hospitals. The program would intersect with young people at the middle school age, then later after high school. It could be divided into weekends, seasons or some flexible time period. The main point is that it be equable and evenly administered with a multitude of options. Everyone — from the richest to the poorest — would give something to the nation for the equivalent of 12 months. In return, the nation would provide benefits like a reduction in college loans, or social security. We need to develop “buy-in” to our cultural values, particularly for the groups that are hardest to reach and most prone to feeling disconnected to the body politic.
Since 9/11, America has groped for its way in the 21st century. We have endured terrorists and fought costly wars for revenge and to protect a fossil fuel addiction that is technologically unnecessary. The wealth of our middle class has been destroyed by unregulated and unrepentant corporate pirates who built empires that were “too big to fail.”
We start 2013 with a president who has great potential, but who is saddled with a self-indulgent and irresponsible Congress that has fallen to its lowest point in most of our lifetimes. The conduct of our representatives and senators reflects badly on all elected officials, and as citizens we need to insist on accountability and reform. There is much to be done in the years ahead if the nation is to regain its balance and political sense.
Grant Cooke is a long-time Benicia resident and CEO of Sustainable Energy Associates. He is co-author, with Nobel Peace Prize winner Woodrow Clark, of “Global Energy Innovation: Why America Must Lead,” published by Praeger Press. Cooke and Clark are writing a second book, “The Green Industrial Revolution.”
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Grant: A well-thought out piece. I’m in your audience, keep up your aspirations, I agree with your assessment all the way around, our Congress is a cesspool of arrogance and stupidity. I am still an activist for a real solution to Crohn’s Disease and therefore a lifetime member of the National Service already…see my “Cat’s Pages,” at http://www.peterbray.org/pedro
Peter Bray, The A Cappella Handyman
Benicia, CA
Maybe when Obama does nothing of any value in his second term, we can elect him again, and Grant can write the same article 4 years from now. Oops, Obama can’t be elected again. Well, maybe some other Great Liberal Hope candidate …
The problem, Grant, is not who is elected. It is that the American “way of life” is running out of cheap energy and will not be sustainable in anywhere near the current shape or form. The next 4 years will see more fantasies about some “clean energy, green tech” fix to this inevitable decline. We will see 4 years of gridlock, fake posturing, false starts, and wishful thinking, as we try to avoid the inevitable, resulting in more and more decline and social chaos, no matter who is president. Obama won’t do anything except try desperately to maintain the status quo, or at least sell us on the illusion he is maintaining it, even as it slips through our collective fingers.
It is foolish to think Obama will do anything close to what you wish for. It is even more foolish to think he even CAN do anything, even with the best intentions.
Grant stated: President Obama’s re-election was one of the most important presidential decisions the American people have made since Franklin Delano Roosevelt
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” George Santayana quotes
“We are spending more money than we have ever spent before, and it does not work. After eight years we have just as much unemployment as when we started, and an enormous debt to boot” . – U.S. Secretary Henry Morgenthau. . . May 1939.”
FDR had few friends closer, or more loyal, to him than Henry Morgenthau, yet even he recognized the failures of FDR’s economic policies.
It is sad that educated, well intentioned people of today cannot understand this reality.
In light of what we now know about the Great Depression and FDR (rather than what we were taught) he did not end it and it was only ended by war. Morgenthau’s words are stunning and the data shows that unemployment was worse in 1938 than it was when Roosevelt was reelected in 1936. It appears that he was reelected in 1940 on the basis of fears about a coming war and, interestingly enough, assurances on his part that we would stay out of it.
In 4 years now we have increased our national debt by 60% – much like having a credit card balance of 10 grand and going out and spending another 4 at Christmas. I know many people believe in redistribution, but to pursue that at the expense of destroying an economy that produces wealth makes no sense and that is what has and is clearly being pursued.
Make that another 6 at Christmas. BTW, the enormous cost of the interest charge on this will take significant chunks out of any more money we get from the rich. And don’t be surprised if middle income people, including retirees, get hit by this.
Reg stated: FDR… did not end it (the Great Depression) and it was only ended by war.
Good points Reg.
An argument can be made that WWII, did not actually end the depression, as a false economy was created with a large number of potential workers taken out of the work pool to be placed in military service. What fueled the economy during the war was further government borrowing, a policy which was as unsustainable as FDR’s pre war policies.
What is notable is that our current recovery is apparently the worst since WWII. That should give pause to anyone advocating that we continue along this course. BTW, the French actor Gerard Depardieu has just become a Russian citizen in response to France’s millionaire’s tax. Talk about voting with your feet!
Keep flogging that Morgenthau quote. Do you have any other statements by him to reinforce the case, or are you just going to keep beating that one comment till someone listens?
I know, you read a book once about WWII. Your authority on the subject overwhelms. Try reading another, perhaps one that wasn’t on the World Net Daily top 20 must-reads. May I suggest William Shirer?
May I suggest William Shirer?
Actually, I read three of his books before I was 21.
Which brings this quote to mind.
Time to re-read them.
I believe the facts underscore Morgenthau’s quote, including data from the BLS. There is already enough demonization in this newspaper and on the comments. Let’s focus on what will work. That is my only concern.
DDL is on a quixotic quest to demonize FDR, thereby tearing down a liberal sacred cow and tarnishing all the good he accomplished. It’s a hopeless task even for the rhetorically gifted, which he is not. An honest discussion of our current situation would not resort to trite, misinformed, drive-by history, false equivalencies or revisionist hyperventilation.
Try reading some Churchill.
Ok, but Grant’s piece makes the case for a positive comparison with FDR. Had FDR been successful that would be ok, nor is it to say many things he did were good if not very good. But economically he was not successful – so to replicate his policies just doesn’t seem to make sense. BTW, we should only be talking about tax policies with regard to how they encourage economic growth. Redistribution by itself doesn’t guarantee that.
Reg stated: we should only be talking about tax policies with regard to how they encourage economic growth
Excellent point. A good place to start would be the increase in excise taxes during FDR’s first two terms and the impact of those taxes on those hardest hit by the depression (though in that example ‘encourage… growth’ would repalced by “impacts… growth”).
“Beach Bum,” yes, our world is in deep trouble and becoming increasingly precarious. Immense changes will be required of us to adapt ourselves to viable lifeways. However, I cannot see the far-right’s dedication to mega-wealth and the Perpetual Growth Paradigm as preferable to the path chosen by the 2012 election.
Alas, Dennis, the reality you understand appears to be only one facet or strand of the whole. But, I’m willing to be wrong. Let’s assume you do understand the totality. Outline a clear program for us to follow that is not just a simple minded hastening of our destruction, sacrificing many for the efficient survival of a few whose only merit is already having great wealth (and by it imagine themselves better than most others.)
RMS states: Outline a clear program for us to follow that is not just a simple minded hastening of our destruction
There is no short, nor quick answer to that and I am not going to distract from Grant’s piece beyond that which I already have, except to say; the path we are now on is duplicating the FDR path of 1936, which resulted in the second depression of ’37-’38.
Grant stated: Rein in public pensions. It is no secret that we are destroying our communities…This is painfully true in California
I may be wrong here, but my guess is that Grant voted for Jerry Brown for governor, the man primarily responsible planting the seeds for this catastrophe during his first term. Again, George Santayana’s words are appropriate here.
Grant I do not think you will be surprised that I do not agree with you. You point out issues with no solutions. Words only. Let me start with public employee pensions. I do agree there. The Federal Government started about twenty years ago to revise their system. Anyone in a non Federal pension will without a doubt say their State, County, City and any other group that belongs to CalPers are much better off. On the State, County and City pensions all you have to do is look back at the greed in the Clinton era. Pensions spiked at an alarming rate. I do blame the Liberals on that. False economy and they jumbed while the jumbing was in their favor. That can not be changed for present employees. We are now trying to take care of future problems with new hire second tier pensions. Has no effect on present employees. That will take at least ten years to get a major effect on pension issues. The City of Benicia does not offer Healthcare as a benefit after retiring. You are on your own or pay the City rate to stay in the plan, that is not cheap. All employees in CalPers should pay the full employee side of retirement benefits. In most cases they pay little of the 7/8 % of the employee contribution. That must be fixed and the employee should pay the whole employee amount. On healthcare most groups are now in the process of revising the employee plans. Employees will pay more for healthcare as bargaining goes on each year. Remember in the City of Benicia up until a few years ago healthcare was paid for by the city if you took Kaiser. Which most do.That is changing and will change more. Grant as far as redistribution of wealth the President just tried to do that and it failed. It was redistributed but hit the middle class big time. That is not what he thought he was doing. Now how can that be. Simple payroll taxes on Social Security. The President made no attempt to extend the 2011/12 4.2%. He let it expire and now it is back to the 6.2%. Remember the cap rises by $3700.00 on all employess if they earn up ,to $113,7000 a year. That is over a 12% increase. The first pay period of the new year the employees are going to get a shock that will jolt them back to reality. Who did I just vote for. A family or individual making $1,000 a week will see take home pay drop by $20.00 a week or over $1,000 a year. That is not what the President promised the middle class. Yes he did redistribute the wealth but not as he planned. It backfired on him. He just hurt the folks that elected him big time. So much for that. I will comment on the other issues in a few hours. The Preidents re-election was not all as important as you think. The middle class are not going to forgive him and it will hurt Liberals big time.
Did I miss something along the way? The point about Obama and FDR was not about who led the U.S. out a recession, but that both presidents understood the dangers inherent in a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy elite. I’m gravely concerned that as wealth slips away from middle class to the wealthy more folks feel dislocated and removed from the body politics. The other items are also crucial. What say you all? Would you support a ban on assault weapons? What sort of people are we who turn away from the slaughter of our own children when we have the power to stop it? This is far too important to be a conservative/liberal issue, and we should have the courage to address it. How about a call for the Benicia City Council to adopt a ban on assault weapons? At least it would be a ceremonial gesture of Benicia’s concern for a national tragedy.
Grant,
Your article is pretty clear that you love Obama and believe his policies will save the nation from the horrors of the free enterprise system. Since Obama’s policies are parallel to many of FDR’s policies it stands to reason that you are in agreement with massive government expenditures (25% increase in the National debt is project in the next 10 years), as well as increased government controls over many areas of our personal lives.
It is also seems like you are under the mistaken belief that FDR’s economic policies led the nation out of the depression, when the fact of the matter is they did not, by any measurable standard of economic success (GDP, Unemployment rate, stock market levels, tax revenue, tax rate increases).
To believe that Obama will have success where FDR did not is naïve. Those are the thoughts that led to my comments.
If you have facts and figures which indicate otherwise regarding FDR’s first two terms, I would welcome to consider them.
Grant: I’m all in favor of an Assault Weapons Ban…who needs ’em? How many holes you gonna put in a backwoods deer? 300?–pb
Grant,
I think what you may have missed (and meaning no disrespect – believe me) is that government policy, regardless of how well-intentioned, can reduce the amount of revenues we have to deal with any of the things of concern to you and others. If the philosophy of our elected officials is to redistribute wealth, even if it means lower revenues, it creates a problem in funding the things we must have. What is striking to me is that affordable healthcare (as one example) failed to include reforms that might have actually made things more affordable as well as available. Ultimately, I think we’re all going to see those costs, in whatever form, shifted to those of us in the middle class and to our children and grandchildren.
There are certainly similarities between Obama and FDR, but there is nothing in that comparison that should make any of us optimistic about the future. According a 2004 study by of the great depression by UCLA economists, FDR’s policies extended the depression by 7 years. In fact, most of the recent economic research of the depression draws similar conclusions, that government policies and intervention — well intentioned though they may have been — made the depression much worse for much longer for most people. Amity Shlaes 2008 best seller The Forgotten Man illustrates many absurdities of FDR’s depression era policies — subsidies for favored industries, price controls, labor controls, trade protection and stimulus plans that drove prices, unemployment and taxes up and deprived Americans of their freedoms and opportunities to pursue legitimate business endeavors. Rather than learn from these mistakes of the past, our current administrations in Washington and Sacramento seem determined to defy history and economic principles by repeating the follies of the past.
It is amazing that FDR’s economic policies still is held in such high esteem by so many.
“still is” should be “are still”.
It is a pity indeed, but FDR was very popular and many have trouble separating celebrities from their ill concieved notions and ideas.
From Mr. Cooke’s article:
“Both presidents understood one of the most basic of political realities: that excessive wealth concentration in the hands of the few destroy a society particularly a democracy.”
With all due respect to Mr. Cooke, this above quotation reads like one of my favorite quotations.
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”
-Justice Louis D. Brandeis.
Below an article by researcher Stephen Lendman that gives the reader a deeper understanding when comparing Roosevelt and Obama.
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2009/04/fdrs-new-deal-v-obamanomics.html
Will, It is good to see that some progressives do realize the negative sides of FDR, as well as the failures of his economic policies. Lendman was doing OK, unti I saw this:
it took a world war to restore prosperity.
That is soooo wrong in sooo many ways, it is difficult to believe he actually wrote that.
I am not sure how much the Dow Jones is a measurement of a recovery but it wasn’t untill 1954 that it reached pre depression numbers
I suspect that that was a reference to unemployment. Of course that was due to turning the unemployed into soldiers and workers who manufactured war materials . Even before that the reductions in unemployment apparently took credit for big government programs like the WPA. Adding those back in the real unemployment rate was 22% according to one estimate – nearly what it was in 1932. Again, the path Roosevelt chose (and giving him and his administration credit for being desperate to have the nation recover) was clearly not a model to follow based on actual results. What is frightening now is that after 4 years and $6 Trillion in spending we have little or nothing to show for it and the plan is apparently to spend more. Erskine Bowles (a Democrat) has indicated that that will likely cost us $1Trillion a year by 2020 (it is currently around $220 Billion a year at interest rates that are historically low).
Reg stated:(and giving him and his administration credit for being desperate to have the nation recover)
I have read three books on the subject; One of the most frightening, (and seldom mentioned elsewhere) aspects of the FDR ‘recovery policy’ was the disparity in where money was spent. FDR’s men focused on states where they felt they needed a win, by dolling out funds to the right people (New Jersey and PA were two key states). Look also at how funds were disbursed in Louisiana. They were much less generous to states where FDR was either way ahead, or projected to lose.
One has to recognize: in ’35/’36 the outcome of the election was not assured and FDR was very nervous about a win. This is another parallel between the FDR era and the Obama disaster.
I find it hard to compare FDR to President Obama. I believe the only thing they had in common was more government control. I do believe there are some parts of both plans that could be considered successful. We will not know for about twenty years on the Obama plan. Much different times and the only thing we should be worrying about is the Obama plan working and good for America. I believe what FDR did has no bearing except for the huge entitlements that are still with us and must be reworked. Not to the degree that it will hurt folks now or in the future. If President Obama is trulely a friend of the middle class he will rework the payroll S/S deductions on say a low 2.% rising scale with a cap and then a downward scale of 2% with no cap. High income earners will contribute much more and they will be the ones as they are now contributing taxes at a very large percentage overall. Make employers the same 6.2% With a cap at say $150,000 at 6.2% That will discourage hiring at a lower salary. I think you find higher earners will not mind. At the same time it puts much more needed money into the economy via less payroll taxes for lower earners. Plus much more finds into the S/S fund and it will save it for future folks at retirement time. I have mentioned this in the past. Lets just see if the President is the friend of the middleclass as he says he it yet does nothing to help. One recent example is the S/S tax going back to the 2010 rate of 6.2%. That will shock the pants off Jan. middle income earners when they recieve their first Jan. check.