Why We Can't Get Serious About US Economy

Okay, "Pop Quiz" (Answers are at the bottom of the page)

1) What is the size of the US economy in terms of GDP?

2) What is the total US national debt?

3) What is the 2010 US Federal budget?

4) What is the US Federal deficit projection for 2010?

In a recent Seattle Times Op-Ed page Alex Albin makes the case that we don't teach American school kids basic economics along with math and history. I would add that American students are not taught basic political science, either. In a nation where the government is supposed to be built on the principle of government of, by and for the people it is strange that America doesn't do a better job of assuring that "the people" know how their government works and how to tell, in real terms, how effectively their government is representing them.

How well we educate the youth of America will determine how well the youth of America will fare in the realities of 21st century global competition. The fate of the nation always rests with the next generation of Americans. Such is the nature of governance of, for and by the people. I believe that the greatest security that our nation can achieve is for every American child to master the fields of math, science, history and philosophy. An educated population is the greatest defense against tyranny.

If we are going to have a serious discussion about the economic decisions facing America, we need to know what we are talking about. For instance:

What is the difference between the "federal debt" and the "federal budget deficit"?

What does GDP stand for and what is it?

What percent of the total US budget goes to "Foreign Aid"?

How much money does the federal government provide to fund National Public Radio (NPR)?

Just so you know, the total amount of all foreign aid from the US is just over 1% of the total federal budget, and NPR gets no direct federal funding. I have never had anyone answer either of those questions correctly.

Typical guesses on the amount of foreign aid range from 10%-25% of the budget. Eliminating all foreign aid would do absolutely nothing for the US economy and would devastate several countries that depend on US aid. Not exactly a good P.R. move on America's part if you ask me.

So it's going to have to be the "big 4", Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Defense. These 4 items account for over 80% of the US federal budget. We aren't going to truly address our national economic mess until we accept that these four "untouchables" of the federal budget are going to have to be part of the discussion. There can be no illusion that the American economy is in deep trouble. We cannot ignore the reality of our situation any longer.

However, it must also be clear that taxes are going to go up for some of the wealthiest Americans. The top 2%, those whose incomes exceed $150,000 per year, are going to have to give up their 4.6% tax break under "The Bush Tax Cuts". Too damn bad if you can't make ends meet if your taxes go up from 35% to 39.6%. All that means to me, who lives on way less than a tenth of that amount, is that you are living above your means and that is not a good reason to bankrupt America.

It is my belief that we, as Americans, need to recognize and understand that we are part of something greater than ourselves. I find it distressing that far too many Americans are happy to take the rights and privileges of American citizenship while ignoring the responsibilities that accompany those rights. We have an obligation to those that paved the way for us, and we have an obligation to future generations, to guard those rights and privileges. Liberty is priceless, but it is not painless.

1) $14.6 Trillion (2010 est.)

2) $13.6 Trillion

3) $6.4 Trillion

4) $1.4 Trillion

If you got the number to the left of the decimal correct, give yourself one point. The points are meaningless, but at least you won't be pointless. If you got even one right (without cheating) you are doing better than most.

Democracy In The Streets of Egypt?

"If it's Sunday, it's Meet The Press." And for me, it's also "Face the Nation" (CBS), "This Week" (ABC), "GPS" (CNN), and "State of the Union" (CNN).

This week on CNN's "State of the Union", former ambassador and Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte made a statement that I think clarifies the Bush administration and the Republican attitude fairly well. In commenting on the situation in Egypt, he said this:

"I think it's the role of governance to try and introduce a measure of moderation into these kinds of situations. The street is not the government. The street is not democracy. Let's not forget that."

It does make sense, if you think about it, that a Republican does not know where democracy comes from. The only place that democracy can come from, the only place that democracy truly resides is on "the street". It is the voice of the people rising from the street to demand liberty, to demand a say in how their country is lead, to demand their rights as humans.

No Mr. Negroponte, democracy is the street. That is where it started in America and where it will take root around the world. American can't force the issue, no government can. Democracy will come from the will of the people, when they are ready. The best thing America can do is to make sure that when people are ready, they have an excellent example to follow to make it work. If we are going to promote democracy around the world we ought to perfect our own union first.

The President's Reply to "The Drug Question"

A number of people in the medial marijuana community are upset at the response of President Obama to the question regarding the legalization of "all drugs" during the recent You Tube interview. I don't think it was the answer that was the problem. I think the question was flawed. The question should have been specifically about the use of medical cannabis and the rescheduling of marijuana by the DEA.

The legalization of "all drugs" is a long, long way from the sensible steps that can be taken to vastly improve America's drug policy. One such sensible step in this direction would be for President Obama to direct the DEA to reschedule marijuana.

The removal of this "Sword of Damocles" that looms over the entire medical cannabis community across all 15 states and the District of Columbia where the people have, in almost every case, voted by overwhelming majorities to allow the use of - and safe access to - medicinal cannabis.

The will of the people should not be usurped by the government! Oh, wait,isn't that the neo-conservative, T.E.A. Party - and new GOP leadership - mantra? So all those so-called "tenther's" out there should be in full-throated support of the individual states rights to govern themselves without federal over-reach.

The issue for the President isn't whether all drugs ought to be legal, that ain't happening anytime soon - and personally I don't think it should ever happen. Legalization of Heroin is as stupid an idea as putting marijuana on the same level as Heroin in the war on drugs. There is just no comparison in the physical damage that Heroin does to the human body, in the social & economic damage that Heroin does to communities, or in the effect that Heroin has on crime in American society. The issue needs to be laser focused on the laws surrounding marijuana and the medical use of cannabis.

I am heartened that President Obama is at least willing to accept that a discussion of America's drug policy is worthy and, indeed, necessary. Once we get the DEA and federal government out of the picture with respect to the control of cannabis, two things will happen:

1) States can regulate and tax the cannabis industry. Once this is a reality the cannabis industry will become a "cash-cow" in terms of state and local jurisdiction revenue. As soon as the 35 states that do not have medical cannabis laws see the revenue potential in the cannabis industry they will have medical cannabis laws faster than you can say "Jack Herer".

2) Marijuana smuggling pretty much goes away. Seriously, when was the last time you heard of an illegal Scotch Whiskey smuggling cartel being busted? Nineteen thirty-something, I think. Take just that one product out of the war on drugs and that would allow for a more effective policy on the drugs that really are damaging to the nation. Like Heroin...and alcohol.

That marijuana will become legal is not really in doubt. It is only a matter of when and how it becomes legal that is in question. By the time my 21 year old son is my age (I'm 52) this will be done. His 20ish kid will wonder that marijuana was illegal, just as people wonder that alcohol was actually outlawed at one time in America. It is my belief that we, who have the opportunity to help craft cannabis legislation, wither as citizen activist or as an elected representative of the people, that works for all members of the medical cannabis community, have an obligation to do everything we can to pave the way for future patients.

It isn't going to be easy and it won't happen immediately. But it will be worth the effort, of that I am sure. Someone once said, "Decisions get made by those that show-up". Let's be the ones that show-up.

Peace and long life!

This Blog Title Has Changed? W.T.F???

I have decided to change the title of my blog. I wasn't really happy with the whole "W.T.F." thing, it just didn't catch my ear (or my eye) very well but it was the best thing I could think of at the time. The new title comes from an interview that aired on "The Rachel Maddow Show", Nov. 11, 2010, with Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show".

During the course of that interview Rachel asked Mr. Stewart how he sees the role of his show in the media as compared and contrasted with 'serious newscasting'. Stewart claimed a closer kinship to Jerry Seinfeld than to CNN or MSNBC and the kind of reporting that Rachel and others do. Stewart likened his role to as being, "in the stands yelling things, criticizing", putting journalists and reporters (like Rachel) "in the game". I think that Mr. Stewart underestimates his influence.

I believe it more accurate, to continue the sports metaphor, to say that the politicians and news makers are "in the game". The serious, 'hard-news', journalists, reporters and commentators (including social satirists such as Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, among others) are the folks in broadcast booth calling the game.

The play-by-play announcer calls the mechanics of the game, the 'nuts-&-bolts' of what is happening on the field. This is the role that Brian Williams, Katie Curic, or Diane Sawyer might be equated with. The 'color commentator' is the person that gives meaning and perspective to the action on the field. They help the viewer to put together the intangibles and make the connections that might otherwise be missed by the casual fan. The two halves of the 'broadcast team' work together to bring the fan as close to the action as possible, to bring the game to life for their listeners whether they are at home watching on the T.V. machine or are in the stands at the game. I always had my little radio with me at Mariners games to listen to the late, great Dave Niehaus and the Seattle Mariners broadcast team calling the games. Quite often the Mariners were terrible and there were more people on the filed than in the stands, but Dave and 'the color guy' made it seem worth sticking around for - or at least listening to.

The news can be complicated and confusing when simply presented as a serious of facts and events. Often people are left wondering how the events covered on the evening news actually impact their lives. What does it mean to me and my life right now? This is where Jon Stewart, along with other satirists and humorists, is able to bring together the connections that are often just out of reach until someone puts it in terms that have relevance to our personal lives.

Most people that watch sports as casual fans really do need the announcers and analysts to follow the games. There are some, like me, that can watch a baseball, football or basketball game without a soundtrack and not miss a thing. There are some that only catch the scores and highlights on the news and never go to actual games. There are some people that never watch or pay attention to sports at all. This is true with respect to the news, too.

I am a self-confessed news-junkie and political nerd. I can safely say that I am not the average American in this respect. Most Americans, it seems to me, are like the folks that catch the highlights on the late news after the games have been played. Unfortunately the numbers of people that don't pay any attention at all is growing. This is a seriously dangerous situation, as it has been said, all that is required for evil to succeed in this world is for good men to do nothing.

As I see it, it is guys like me (and readers like you) that are in the stands. We go to the games, so to speak. We follow our favorite teams, we know the standings, we know how our favorite players are doing and how the playoff picture is shaping up. We are the people that read our newspapers, watch "Meet the Press", etc. We are not, as I have previously mentioned, average as it pertains to our awareness of the world around us.

I hope to make this something that will appeal to all levels of interest. It is my ultimate goal for this blog to start, and to maintain, a conversation about the issues that face our country and our world. I have started to add links to some of the blogs that I read and some of the issues that are important to me. Please feel free to comment as you read, but do remember to be respectful to individuals.

The point of this blog is to give myself an outlet for my opinions and observations, to allow me to present my 'view from the stands', so here we go and thanks for reading.

I Read The News Today...

Thirty years ago today we heard the terrible news that John Lennon had been murdered outside his New York City apartment building. It is also thirty years since my best friend Ray, he was known mostly as 'Wizard' around north Seattle, was killed by a drunk driver. We used to call ourselves "Twin Sons of Different Mothers" (even before the Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg record came out in '78). I still feel that loss acutely and I miss him every day. Yesterday, December 7th, a date which will live in infamy, is also the anniversary of the death of my son, Joshua, in 1996 whom I miss as dearly. The loss that I feel right now is immense and acutely painful.

While The Beatles were the big deal when I was a kid and I liked their music, it was other bands that would capture my devotion and imagination - The Yardbirds, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and on March 27, 1976 I discovered what would become, and remains to this day, my favorite band: Rush. It is important to understand that none of what would become "my music" would have happened if John Lennon and the Beatles, had not happened first, and the Beatles would not have happened unless Elvis happened first, and Elvis would not have happened unless "The Blues" had been around first.

In fact none of the music that we know today as "Rock & Roll" would exist without the influence of American Blues. "Skiffle" was the music that inspired a young John Lennon and James "Paul" McCartney to pick up guitars in the first place. "Skiffle" is generally thought to have originated out of the early New Orleans jazz scene due in part to it's similarity to traditional "Dixieland" jazz from the early 20th century. The New Orleans influence is largely thought to be overstated however. "Skiffle" is generally thought to have derived from merging Blues with influences from western European folk music, mostly Scots-Irish throughout Appalachian areas, as well as Caribbean and western African influences from the slave markets and New Orleans famous "Congo Square" where many of these disparate influences came together. There is a common ancestry and a common heritage shared across generations, cultures and geographic boundaries. This is what music does better than almost any other form of human communication and John Lennon was better than most at speaking to our collective souls about things that still matter thirty years after an assassin's bullet took him from us.

Today is a day, at least for me, to remember and be thankful for the time that I had with the people that I miss and for the legacy that remains for all of us from those greats that have passed on. As the Righteous Brothers sang: "If there's a Rock & Roll heaven, you know they've got a hell of a band" - This is an updated cover version, very well done and an excellent video tribute to some of the greats that died too soon.

A Letter to President Obama

Here is the text of a letter I sent to the White House this morning:

***************************************************************************************

***************************************************************************************

Dear Mr. President,

I'm just one little voice out here & you have 537 voices, much louder & much closer to your ear, mostly saying, "Hooray for our side!"

However, I talk to people and I watch TV news and commentary regularly so I have some idea of what is happening. This is what you need to know, sir:

Sen. Mitch McConnell yesterday on "Meet the Press" said no taxes will go up, the GOP is claiming victory already!

Do not compromise any further on letting "The Bush Tax Cuts" expire. If the GOP really wants to play chicken, sir, go ahead & PLAY CHICKEN with them. Even if you lose, which you most likely wouldn't, you will have been seen by your key supporters (people like me that you will need in 2012, so will every Democrat running in 2012, BTW) as having actually fought for something. As it is, most people I have talked to say that they feel disappointed because you tend to give away important bargaining chips before the negotiations even began – the “Public Option” & “DADT” are typically mentioned.

If the Democratic Party can find a backbone somewhere I think you ought to use it to stand up to the GOP and force “The Bush Tax Cuts” (have you noticed how that's now “the current tax rates” when referred to by the GOP?) to expire. Then come back in the next session & get a better deal for the middle class and small businesses.

Make the GOP go to the American people that elected them and make their case for the richest 2% - most of whom make more in a week than many (most?) Americans do in a year. I just read that the 74 people who had the highest incomes in 2009 made more than all 19 million people that make up the lowest income levels combined. This who the GOP thinks needs a tax break? Really, sir, you can’t figure out how to stand up to this? I gotta believe that the most inspirational Politician in my lifetime, since “Bobby” in ’68, can rally public support for making millionaires pay another 4.6% - for someone making $20,000 per WEEK that ain’t much. My family and I live on far less than $46,000 per year so no millionaire can tell me that they cannot make ends meet without that extra $46K.

If you want us to believe, Mr. President, you have to give us something to believe in. This is a fight you will win, if you stand up for the middle-class we will stand with you. If the money-men win this one, they will win the country and we end up right back where the "Regan-to-Bush II Years" put us.

Never give up, never surrender! (Galaxy Quest)

*******************************************************************************************

I would encourage anyone that gives a damn to do the same. I am sending copies to Sen. Murray and Cantwell as well as to the majority leadership in Congress - yes, that is still the Democratic Party until January 2011. Feel free to copy and adapt what I wrote, if you wish.

Taxing "The Rich" vs "Don't Raise Taxes On Anyone"

Yesterday morning, Saturday December 4, 2010, I was up watching the television news channels - I am typically up and around by 5:00 am or so everyday - so I was able to get the "Breaking News" update live from CNN and MSNBC that the votes in the U.S. Senate which would extend the current tax rates for incomes below $250,000 ($500K for couples) or $1,000,000 in the proposal from Sen. Charles "Chuck" Schumer (D-NY) failed as was widely expected. The votes were mostly along party lines however there were also 5 Democratic members who voted with the Republicans to raise taxes on everyone if the richest 2% don't get to keep their 4.6% tax cut, too.

The arguments were pretty clear from the outset on this:

The Republicans say, "Don't raise taxes on ANYONE in a recession, period!"

The Democratic Party's argument goes something like this:

"For the last 30 years, since the beginning of "Reganomics" or the "Trickle-Down" theory*, the wealthiest Americans, the top 2% - whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is at or above $250,000 per year - have received an abundance of the benefit of economic policies which have now created a huge problem for the other 98% of Americans and, by virtue of the fact that the US dollar (USD) is the default currency of the entire planet that 'problem' extends far beyond our geographic borders.

The cost of extending "The Bush Tax Cuts" for the top 2% of wage earners is about $700 Billion over 10 years. Because we are already in debt 'up-to-our-eyeballs', and deficit spending is at record levels, we'd have to borrow that $700 Billion, probably from China, and we just cannot afford to keep up this pretense of borrowing ourselves into prosperity. The rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer - the middle-class hardly kept up with inflation and stayed about the same in financial terms but the number of families within the middle-class went down, quite literally, into the poverty levels."

The Democratic Party argument goes on to explain how the deregulation of the financial and other industries, driven by "Reganomics", perpetuated by the Clinton administration and codified by the 2nd Bush administration, has moved America from the leader and envy of the world in just about every respect - education, innovation, technology, you name it and America was, or was thought to be, the best at it. America was called "The Land of Opportunity" by those, like my parents, who came to America in the 1940's & '50's.

Now America is something like 12th in college graduation and falling, 37th (according to the W.H.O.) in health care and falling, 46th in infant mortality, and these are only a few of the places where America is falling behind where we used to lead the way. The answers are not easy and they "require hard choices" and "sacrifice" if we are going to get back to the principles that got America to the top in the first place.

More tax cuts for the top 2% is just insane, on so many levels. We just cannot afford the $4 Trillion price tag of the "Bush Tax Cuts", but the "bottom 98%" could not absorb the brunt of the impact from an across the board tax increase. The overwhelming majority of whom make less than $100,000 per year (less than half of what the lowest earners in the top 2% earn annually) and have far less than $3.5 Million in net worth (the lowest level that is effected by the estate or 'death' tax).

So what is proposed is to extend the "Bush Tax Cuts" - what the Republicans are now referring to as "the current tax rates" - for the 98% of American families that earn less than $250,000 per year and let them expire for the top 2%, incomes over $250,000 would revert back to the 2000 tax rate of 39.6% from the current 35%.

In terms of dollars and cents, here is an example:

Let's say that a person makes $260,000 in 2010. That is just about the bottom of the infamous top 2% of incomes and it gives us some easy numbers to use as a practical example of what this actually means in real numbers.

If the rates go back to the 2000 rates of 39.6% on and a "taxable income" of $260,000 that would be a tax bill of $102,960 leaving an after-tax-income of $157,040. If however, the tax rate on that same $260,000 is only 35% the resulting tax bill would be reduced to $91,000 with a net after-tax-income of $169,000. That is a net difference of $11,960 or a difference of just over 2 weeks of income - $260,000 per year equals $5,000 per week! Most Americans don't get $5,000 per month let alone $5,000 per week!

As you can see by the strength of their argument that the Democratic Party has the right idea and is pretty much right on about what they are saying. Well, actually you could if you were able to accurately comprehend what they were telling you, which most Americans seem unable or unwilling to even attempt. Most Americans are sheep, to lazy and to stupid to see that they are being lead to the slaughter by the "Industrial-Corporate-Military-Congressional Complex". If the people don't get their collective heads on straight this nation is done as a world power and this is not a good thing for the prospects of liberty as a world goal.

Pres. Obama has said that he is hoping for compromise on the tax issue. This morning (Sunday 12/5/2010) Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told David Gregory on "Meet The Press" "It isn't going to happen. All the Republicans and 5 Democrats voted against raising taxes on anyone during a recession." It seems to me that Sen. McConnell and the GOP are willing to stand on their belief that the Democrats in congress will blink first and be too afraid of the tax rates going up for everyone that they'll give-in on the "tax the rich" strategy without getting anything meaningful in return from the Republicans.

If that doesn't bother you you're not paying attention. If it does bother you:

GOOD! YOU SHOULD BE BOTHERED! Now go and do something about it!

Write your Senators and Representatives in Washington, D.C. and tell them that you do not want an additional $700 Billion heaped on the backs of your kids and grandkids just so the fat-cats can keep hording larger and larger portions of the wealth in America. We do not need, want, nor could we withstand, another "Gilded Age" in America.

*More properly called "Supply-Side" economic theory, it basically states that when the wealthy gain in prosperity it will "trickle down" to the rest of society because the rich will spend their additional wealth on goods and services that are provided by the lower financial classes so that everyone will get a benefit. Add the fact that typically it is the wealthiest classes (the top 2% of incomes) that own the majority of the business interests in America, so they will reinvest some of the additional profits into their businesses and thus create more jobs and, again, everyone wins because the net effect is that a rising tide lifts all boats.

"A rising tided lifted all yachts, the rowboats got left behind" - Warren Buffet, appearing on ABC's "This Week with Christiane Amanpour" 11/28/2010