Democratic Candidates I. Some inconvenient truths
Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 08:50:40 PM PDT
Stock markets are crashing around the world. We are in a serious recession. Look at food prices and then look at the Government inflation index. Food prices have been rising like hot air balloons, whereas the Government statistics are hot air of another kind. The CPI is bogus. Please visit www.shadowstats.com. You’ll see that this distortion of government statistics began in the 80s and accelerated during the Clinton Presidency. It minimizes inflation (saves money on social security) and exaggerates the growth in GDP (looks good).
Our government spends trillions on warfare and military toys. What’s the point of sending warships into the Persian Gulf if not to provoke trouble? Nobody claims that Iranian ships are preparing to attack the United States. There was a time when Congress decided whether an incident or attack justified going to war. Today, the Decider decides whether to declare war. Congresspeople keep their heads down. They don’t dare ask what is going on in the Persian Gulf.
It’s not Washington, D.C. that is broken. We, our culture, our political system, our belief that we can get something for nothing, that Americans are better than other people- that’s the problem. Many of us have borrowed up to our eyeballs. Pensions, Medicare, Medicaid, education, Iraq, immigration, trade, foreign policy, housing, the war on drugs — all broken and bankrupt. The chickens are finally coming home to roost.
They call for “tax cuts,” to bail out the lenders and those who have borrowed too much. Didn’t Greenspan’s easy money cure bring on the housing bubble with its catastrophic consequences? Shouldn’t we look behind the crisis of the moment at the parade of problems coming down the pike? How can a tax rebate help someone who was too poor to pay income taxes?
Clinton, Edwards and Obama are talented Presidential candidates- smart, each with different skills. No wonder that supporters of one candidate can’t see the skills of the others. John Edwards is a talented debater; his focus on poverty has been great. Hillary Clinton is a smart woman, very good on details and plans. Barack Obama is different. His speech to the Ebenezer Baptist Church is a wonderful example of soaring rhetoric that can make me cry. However, he does not say how he would get us out of our current messes. In some ways Barack and Bill Clinton are similar, perhaps that’s why they rub each other the wrong way.
Inconvenient truth #1: American working people must have a larger share of the wealth. This is contrary to a long-term trend. Look at the percentage of GDP going to the richest 0.1%.
http://mac.com/...
This figure is modified from Saez and Veall, The Evolution of High Incomes in Northern America, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2003, 118:1–39. There are 3 main points:
A. The twin peaks on the left and right edges are associated with serious depression and disruption. How much higher can economic inequality go before the system snaps?
B. Equality was greatest in the 60s. Inequality rose steeply in the US during the Clinton years and continues to increase. Inequality at this level now exceeds that of the roaring 20s.
C. Canada has a similar curve but the peaks of inequality are blunted.
More Americans lived below the poverty line in 2007 than in 2000, even by government figures which understate the problem, http://jec.senate.gov/...
Inconvenient truth #2 Healthcare is better than it was in 1930 but it is expensive. Healthcare costs more all the time, partly because of insurance company overhead and profits, partly because of much more effective treatments. If we all pay more for medical costs, we need a bigger share of the economic pie. Haley Barbour ran for governor of Mississippi on a promise to cut taxes and reduce Medicaid spending. He did both and infant mortality rose. http://yallerdog.blogspot.com/... Did you hear anything from Trent Lott, George Bush or anti-abortionists McCain and Huckabee about that? Did the MSM mention this when they reported Lott's retirement from government?
Suppose candidate X wants to reverse this disgraceful increase in infant mortality: Where will the money come from? Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California on a promise to provide a tax cut for “little people” by reducing the car tax. He promised to fill that deficit by making government more efficient. He cut the tax all right; California now has a massive budget deficit, and he wants to slash money for schools, Medicaid, etc.. Different than Haley Barbour, but equally destructive?
Inconvenient truth#3 Just as tax cuts and tax rebates can’t change the fact that our economy and our system are unbalanced and unsustainable, more money for pregnancy care and infant medical care can’t break the nexus between poor reading skills, expectation of dependency, obesity and poor health. How can we raise the reading, job, personal planning skills and nutritional status of poor Americans- not just Black Americans, but whites, Latinos, native Americans, etc?
Inconvenient truth # 4 – biggest and most important- we can’t sustain the insane military spending of recent years. It is impossible to improve healthcare, our bridges, our schools, and our roads without money. If a candidate proposes to reduce military spending, the mainstream media will go ballistic in the general election. The fear-mongering pundits won’t buy it. They will interview General Petraeus who will threaten jihadist raids and mushroom clouds in Northern Virginia if we pull out of Iraq. What if a candidate with a policy of toughness and increased military expenditures (C, E & O have promised this) gets into office, sees how bad our financial situation is and then announces that it’s time to cut military spending? Of course, they will be attacked as dishonest.
Hillary Clinton claims that her health program would save “at least $120 billion in healthcare expenses”. She correctly identifies obesity as a significant US healthcare problem. She would “install a groundbreaking national prevention initiative to reduce the incidence of obesity” www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/healthcare She doesn’t explain exactly what she would do but mentions “less than half of adults had their doctors provide them advice on weight, nutrition, or exercise”. Can top down advice from doctors and dietitians end the obesity epidemic? Her claim to save billions in healthcare costs smells like what Californians got from The Terminator. We can have a better and fairer healthcare system but it won’t be cheaper. Changing our culture such that ministers and neighbors chide parents about obesity and getting pregnant without means to support the child would make a difference but how would that happen? It can’t come from lawsuits or government regulations. Could a President Obama get more from ministers and local leaders?
As an academic doctor I deal with the flimsy side of our healthcare system. I am working on a diary “Tilting against the insurance system” which I hope to publish this week. If you think that getting health insurance solves the problem, you need to think again. America needs a twelve-step program. All twelve-step programs begin with admitting the terrible truth. Our system is broken. I doubt that Clinton can get Congress to adopt her top down programs or that fighting John Edwards can force programs down Congress’ throat. Can Obama do better? No guarantees but I’d rather go with a new team than a retread. Obama is closer to a 12-step program than the others. Martin Luther King was admired outside the White South for his efforts to end discrimination. However, his efforts to end poverty and stop the Vietnam War were unpopular. If Obama gets more specific, will he become less popular?
I am an Obama supporter who hopes that he will become more specific. Americans must face the painful facts:
We are a selfish debtor nation unwilling to tax ourselves for the health and education of our neighbors, even though it is in our long-term interest. We have the mightiest missiles on the planet, we spend millions on Halloween costumes and our Healthcare system surpasses that of Bangladesh & Haiti, but is less effective than that of Cuba or Costa Rica. We can do better.
Permalink | 6 comments