Sarah's Coming...Sarah's Coming

Sarah’s coming, Sarah’s coming! She is coming to little “ole Redding”. This is a Redding in a county with record unemployment, poverty levels at historic highs, school districts dismanteling ROP programs to save English I classes, a housing bubble disaster born from conservative stupidity; etc. She comes to Redding and it COSTS MONEY to see her! It costs a lot of money (at least four times what her “book” costs).

I cannot think of a more appropriate symbol of the total loss of credibility of the conservative movement than this. People will troop to see her, in a right wing haven, and praise her no matter what she says. Some of these people will have to borrow money to get in the door because they are flat broke!

If she cared for people she would speak for free; but that would be an anti-free enterprise giveaway; just like quitting as governor showed her “concern” for the citizens of Alaska.

Meanwhile, the conservative nonsense she spouts has produced the Wal-Mart economy, a middle class that is non-existent, and a depression in Northern California.

This is comparable to Hoover coming to Shasta County in 1932 (he didn’t), and promising “Prosperity is Right Around the Corner”; (it wasn’t).

And what will she say? Let’s see: 1. Cut taxes. 2. Cut Government. 3. Drill Baby Drill. 3. The media is unfair to me. 5. And, as she flies over an empty Shasta Lake, global warming is a myth. She can probably see melting glaciers from her front porch.

So, go pay your money to build a conservative icon, so the cons might retake the White House and complete the job of running this once great country into the ground.

I think I will take a pass on this one, and save my money.

The "con" in Econ

“Plan B for local government. City to cut public pensions. A extra-governmental committee of 10” attempting to revitalize city growth and build city revenues. Does anyone note a trend of desperation here?

Economic conservatism as practiced in California and the United States since its Reagan inception does not work. It is a failure. It is a governmental and economic disaster.

Reveune and investment in the future builds solid economic growth. This means that public investment through taxes, purchasing government bonds, and other investments will lead to economic growth. Tax cuts are short term stimulants but cannot be targeted to guarantee economic growth goals. The most recent middle class tax cuts by the current administration and the larger more damaging tax cut for the rich by the Bush Administration, lack investment value in the future because there is no predicting what people will spend it on. It does not trickle down. The rich just got richer. It doesn’t work to build a growth economy!

Tax credits can be targeted to encourage positive economic growth. However, tax cuts and credits always decrease revenue for government, schools, parks, police, fire; etc. Chronic low revenue for government services kills economic growth! No bridges, no commerce. No energy plan for the future, we run out of gas with no plan B. Our economy dies and our people go hungry.

California has cut revenues while increasing spending and borrowing. We are blithly destroying local and state governments and our school system while the conservatives scream for even more “stimulus” tax cuts and cuts in government. In fact the tax cutting mania has served to do just the opposite of its intent, acting to drag our economy and standard of living down. Now, we are reduced to special committees, Plan Bs, etc; while those who got us into this mess practice for a modern tea party, yet more tax cuts!

Is anyone out there paying any attention to the biggest con job in our history? Why not hold those who created this mess accountable just once? It is not an accident that con starts the word conservative.

Sowell Rants Again

Thomas Sowell is at it again in his piece “Government Never Creates Wealth”. Conservatives in Redding must read this fool with great anticipation as he verifies a philosophy that has reduced this county to feudalism.

Of course Government can create wealth. Shasta County has many government employees in forestry, education and reclamation. These workers spend their paychecks in the local economy. Most local economic analysis, rank government as a vital part of the Shasta County Economy. As government has retracted due to the incredibly stupid tax cutting mania of the past thirty years, Shasta County has seen a vital part of their economic well being dwindle with disastrous results; a 40% poverty rate.

In fact, cuts in government lead to reductions in private sector jobs.

This is particularly the case today, with the global economy. The United States has followed a foolhardy policy allowing millions of jobs to be shipped overseas, and has done nothing to protect American labor. Many other countries in the world (including China and India) have protectionist governmental policies, tariffs , taxes on outsourcing, that protect their workers. The conservative free enterpriser, who believes that government has no role in an economy, has “conned” us into believing that we can stupidly send our work overseas, benefit with the lower prices of foreign laborers who are non-union and work for pennies a day, and still benefit our economy. We all troop to Wal-Mart to buy cheap T.V.s, sold by people making dirt cheap wages, while our neighborhood stores close and our friends go hungry.

Corporate America is no longer corporate America. Multi-national corporations are the norm today. They don’t care about Shasta County. They only care about making their products cheap, selling them cheap, and raking in the profits. And, a more scary trend is developing. American consumerism, that used to be essential to multi-nationals, is no longer as important. Chinese and Indian consumerism is quickly filling the void. In short, Mr. Sowell, your stupid economic philosophy has led the United States into a future as a second class economy, with a few very wealth C.E.O.s who head up multi-nationals and the rest of us poor and destitute. So let’s cut government, throw away Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, so our people have NOTHING!

Meanwhile conservatives like Sowell continue their nonsense to cut government help to the middle class, cut minimum wage, resist health care reform, making people lives even more miserable. It is not the politicians that got us into this mess, Mr. Sowell, is was fools like you who sold the farm for profit.

A Little Kitchen Table Project

Talk about distraction! Thomas Sowell in a rambling piece, “Politicians’ top goal? Distraction” blames politicians and government for all of our frustrations and anger.

Meanwhile, the Tea Baggers meet and vent, and organize resentment. But are these real or a product of other kinds of distractions and lies.

I propose everyone try this little experiment. According to Sowell’s rant, we are “selling our freedom” cheap to intrusive government.

Sit with a cup of coffee or tea (?) with a piece of paper and list how intrusive government altered your life in the past week. Since Tea Baggers are screaming (literally) that they might have to revolt to protect their freedoms, we should all make a list of the freedoms we are losing, the bureaucratic forces that alter our lives.

Let’s see: I can list this week….I guess I resent the stop sign cameras although I haven’t had a ticket. I bought lunch and paid some tax (I guess). I bought gas and it had a tax and ingredients to keep air cleaner. Huh, I’m having trouble here. Most of my contact with government this week were helpful, not harmful.

Oh that’s right, I’ve “never ran a business” and didn’t have to deal with labor law or other regulations that have brought a clean, safe work place and workers’ rights that in many cases have decreased the need to unionize. I suppose there is trouble there, I used the dirty word, “union”.

Oh, yes, I was kept from going to the City Council Meetings to protest the Oasis interchange. Citizens’ concerns have stalled that project. Let’s see, I used to get parent complaints as a school administrator about everything, but we just stonewalled them. Wait a minute, we did meet with them, there was a site council and a school board that allowed all sorts of citizen input.

The truth is the distraction going on here is from the right. Their rant about big government is meant to distract us from an economy that has been tilted to the rich, corporate influence is out of control, aristocracy is flourishing. The sad thing is many middle class people are buying this garbage, blaming the government for everything, forgetting that the government is us. Democracy still works.

Blame the Damn Teachers

Walt Gardner in his recent article on teachers hits on a major problem that has plagued educational reform for years. Reformers, especially in the political arena, have absolutely no idea about what goes on in a real classroom.

I was a Principal for many years in California. I knew I was only as good as my teachers.

Unfortunately, America has a blind spot when it comes to teachers. Most Americans, and politicians look down on the profession as “those that can do, those that can’t teach”.

It is no accident that teachers in California organized into unions at the same time Proposition 13 passed. Teachers are in unions because they need protection from a public and politicians that consider them expendible and look down upon them.

Finally, our socioeconomic collapse, that has reduced many inner cities into blighted horrors of human misery, produces children who are nearly impossible to teach. What would you do, go into an impossible situation for which you will be unfairly blamed, or teach in the “safe” schools where your efforts will succeed with much reward?

Our politicization of education has resulted in a dysfunctional system and it is not our teachers’ fault.

Marching opposite the Baggers

I marched for Health Care Sunday. I joined proponents and watched some opponents, who decided to shadow us and heckle, as we walked from the Mall to City Hall. First, we all noticed how many large and beautiful “Don’t Tread on Me” and American flags they carried. Our “side” on the other hand, carried children, led dogs, and had a few handmade signs (very homemade). I wonder where they got those nice flags?

Anyway, we marched to City Hall. Another contrast was readily apparent. Our group met and talked. We heard testimonials about Health Care problems, talked about how little our Congressman was doing, discussed Health Care and Health Insurance, and the various bills in the offering. Some questions were asked and answers provided. Meanwhile, our “opponents” elected to not confront us but to parade on Cypress Avenue, “demonstrating” in a very organized way, urging motorists to honk horns, waving their expensive flags looking for a camera.

The contrast between us was glaring. Our “side” talked, carried homemade signs, there was no sign of contrived organization or paid for purpose. The other “side” heckled, was organized and carried very expensive flags.

It is obvious where I am going with this; those who oppose health care reform and demonstrate as ‘tea partiers” are bankrolled by somebody. If they represent grassroots America then somebody has hit the lottery. They chant, they rant, they heckle, but they don’t talk much. Several times, I purposely called out to them with “how about compromise” and was chanted at; “liar, liar, pants on fire” was one response. Huh?

That is were we are as a nation. The right wing, bankrolled by the insurance industry and billionaires, has taken health care reform and defeating the President as a cause. They don’t talk, they don’t discuss, they heckle, belittle and demonstrate. The rest of us either stand back in disgust, afraid of confrontation, and shake our heads as our “opponents” try to find another camera to pitch their “message” to.

They know how the media game is played, and they may “buy” victory, but our democracy and economy will continue its decline into the gutter.