As Will Rogers famously said, “I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat.”

Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson detail how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers organized business interests to block progressive legislation in the 70s. This involved both the long affinity between corporate America and the Republican Party and intensive lobbying efforts to dissuade moderate Democrats from voting for progressive legislation in the Senate during the Carter administration.

The first part of the book outlines the contrast between the American economic and political scene after World War II and the 70s with the scene in the past 30 years. Most of this material repeats what has been shown in study after study. The authors counter the usual explanations of the change in a CSI detective style, showing that such things as education and technology do not explain the concentration of power and wealth that has occurred.

What has happened, according to Hacker and Paul Pierson  is the strengthen organization of corporate America led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers and the weakening of organizations which represented a broad spectrum of middle America. The authors describe how the Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers successfully lobbied to block labor laws and business regulations during the Carter administration when progressives thought that a Democratic President, Senate and House would enhance regulation of environment and work and product safety as well as eliminate impediments to labor organizations. They also describe how corporate America has transformed the Democratic Party from a pro-working class party to a pro-business party, albeit perhaps not quite as pro-business as the Republicans.

Part of the reason for corporate success in Washington is attributed to the decline in participation in labor unions and a variety of middle American organizations including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and service clubs such as Lions, Shriners and Rotary clubs all of which did provide middle America with a more unified voice in the 1940-60s.

The authors also detail the fact that, at least in the late 1970s it wasn’t necessary for the corporate interests to enact new “business-friendly” legislation or to repeal older legislation; all that was necessary was to block passage of progressive legislation. We have seen this strategy repeated both during the Clinton administration which was unable to get health care reform passed. Doing nothing was all that the health care segments required. We have also seen it in 2009 — the Republicans do not need to pass anything for corporate America. All they have to do — and they have been very successful in this — is to block progressive legislation either by threat of filibuster in the Senate, or in committee, or in the 112th Congress the House. And, in either case, we have minority rule.

Hacker and Pierson do not go into great detail about the role of corporate America money in political campaigns. For that side of the story you should read Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress — and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig.

The authors conclude the book with a conclusion “Beating Winner-Take-All” which I must confess is rather disappointing. Having identified the problem as being the effective political organization of corporate America to oppose progressive legislation and even to roll back progressive laws, Hacker and Pierson focus more on the difficulties of getting the tens of millions of middle Americans organized to oppose the corporate takeover of the political system of America. The opposition will require that middle Americans once again organize themselves to speak in Washington — and I might add in their state capitals.

I recommend this book for those who want to have a better understanding of the American political scene today.

Recent American political and economic history can be conveniently divided into two forty year periods: 1933-1972 (from FDR’s first term through Nixon’s first term) and 1973-2012 (Nixon’s second term through Obama’s first). The first period covers a spectacular recovery from the Great Depression dominated progressives of the Democratic Party. It was an era of an improving standard of living for all Americans and of an unprecedented absence of economic crisis. The second period is an era of economic stagnation, wildly widening income discrepancy and repeated booms and ever worsening busts, the latest of which still depresses the American economy, especially for low and middle income workers. What happened?

Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer — And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class by Jacob S. Hacker & Paul Pierson

This book briefly describes the economic contrast between Richistan and Broadland, two mythical countries, one of which sees the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and the other in which economic growth is shared by all. Our second era is represented by Richistan, while Broadland is more like our first era. How did this happen? The authors use a CSI analogy to ferret out the causes, dealing effectively with the arguments for rapidly growing income and wealth disparity. They conclude that the “criminal” is government.

But how was the government transformed from a moderately progressive democratic institution to a regressive institution representing wealth? The authors provide a good historical analysis of how, at the end of our first era and beginning of the second, the American political parties came to be owned by corporate America rather than the people. This section of the book is worth the price of the book. We see the huge increase in lobbying, campaign contributions, political action committees and propaganda mills posing as think tanks in the 1970s and 1980s.

Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress — and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig 

Lessig explains in depressing detail how money corrupts our Congress. Although dealing specifically with congressional campaign finance, it is applicable to state politics and presidential campaigns. He argues that quid quo pro bribery is actually very rare, but the need for congressmen to raise large sums of money to pay for campaigns makes them dependent on their contributors rather than on the people alone. He also details the problem created by the “revolving door” by which government officials move from the private sector and back — often to very substantial incomes — is part of the problem. Less helpful are his suggestion on how to fight this corruption, although some of his arguments have merit. The main problem is getting reform through Congress (and legislatures) dependent on corporate campaign cash.

End This Depression Now! by Paul Krugman

We know how to end this depression but our political leaders lack the will to do so. Lessons learned from the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, and the postwar economy in America show the way. Paul Krugman traces the causes of the current financial crises, not as an attempt to fix blame (there is plenty to go around), but so we can understand why it happened and what can be done about it. These lessons are also learned from other nations that have experienced similar conditions in the late 20th century. The reasons recovery has been so slow is that the stimulus was too little, too brief and in some cases misdirected.

The shift of focus on the deficits and debt misdirects our attention from what must be done. At the end of World War II, the national debt was 120% of Gross Domestic Product. It “fell” to about 60% by 1964, not because we had budget surpluses and paid down the debt, but because the economy grew significantly. The dollar amount of the debt had actually increased. The debt as a percentage of GDP did begin to grow in the 1970s, but did not really take off until the 1980s and following.

The slow recovery does aggravate the debt because revenues are suppressed and expenses increased. Government spending increases aggregate demand which creates jobs — which increases the GDP and revenues and reduces expenditures for unemployment compensation, nutrition programs, medicaid, housing assistance, etc. That in turn reduces both the deficits and the debt as a percentage of GDP. Prolonging the recession will have costly long term effects. Long term unemployment makes it more difficult for older workers to reenter the labor market at previous levels, much less at levels they would have achieved if employment had been continuous. Even more dire is the fact that the recession is retarding young workers entering the labor market which will have a negative effect throughout their lifetimes.

Krugman offers a way to bring the current economy up to speed and refutes the arguments of the naysayers.

The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too by James K. Galbraith

Galbraith provides economic data on income and wealth disparity in a readable manner. The major problem with “free trade” is that business really does not want it. What the corporate lobby has done in the past 40 years is to “unlevel” the playing board to benefit large corporate profit.

I have recounted the role of the two Marconi radiotelegraph operators on the Titanic. Both did abandon ship. But getting off the ship and into a lifeboat was not enough to save one’s life. One of the operators died of hypothermia; the other survived, albeit with both feet frostbitten in the 28° waters. That is, of course, below freezing; but salt water freezes at below freezing.

Modern archaeological research has revealed much about the sinking ship. With the ship listing to starboard and the bow dropping, forward water-tight compartments began to fill with sea water. The compartments were open at the top. In other words, the design assumed that a water-tight compartment had to be water-tight only on the sides and the bottom, which would work as long as the ship remained level and the compartments did not go below sea level.

With the bow sinking the stern rose above sea level. The ships structure could not withstand the forces and the ship literally broke in two at midship. The bow section of the ship was designed to cut efficiently through water, so it descended quickly and smoothly to the bottom over two miles below the service. Much of what was above deck was stripped — smoke stacks, cranes for the life boats, etc. But below deck things are remarkably well preserved after 100 years in salt water.

The stern was not so fortunate. Not designed to slip easily through water and given a twist at the outset, it descended in a spiraling path which tore it apart and scattered debris over several square miles of the ocean bed. While the “ride” to the bottom would not have been pleasant for anyone, it must have been far more terrifying for those hundreds of steerage passengers trapped in the stern as the Titanic descended to the bottom 100 years ago today.

If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let them enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival.

If anyone is a grateful servant, let them, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord.

If anyone has wearied themselves in fasting, let them now receive recompense

 If anyone has labored from the first hour, let them today receive the just reward.

If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let them feast.

If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let them have no misgivings; for they shall suffer no loss.

If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let them draw near without hesitation.

If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let them not fear on account of tardiness.

For the Master is gracious and receives the last even as the first; He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has labored from the first.

He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one He gives, and to the other He is gracious.

He both honors the work and praises the intention.

Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord, and, whether first or last, receive your reward.

O rich and poor, one with another, dance for joy!

O you ascetics and you negligent, celebrate the day!

You that have fasted and you that have disregarded the fast, rejoice today!

The table is rich-laden: feast royally, all of you!

The calf is fatted: let no one go forth hungry!

Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness.

Let no one lament their poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn their transgressions, for pardon has dawned from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Saviour’s death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it!

He descended into Hades and took Hades captive!

He embittered it when it tasted His flesh! And anticipating this, Isaiah exclaimed: “Hades was embittered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions“.

It was embittered, for it was abolished!

It was embittered, for it was mocked!

It was embittered, for it was purged!

It was embittered, for it was despoiled!

It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

It took a body and came upon God!

It took earth and encountered Ηeaven!

It took what it saw, but crumbled before what it had not seen!

O death, where is thy sting?

O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen, and life reigns!

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!

For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the first-fruits of them that have slept.

To Him be glory and might unto the ages of ages.

Amen.

The Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom

]]> http://eutychus.us/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=341 0 http://eutychus.us/wordpress/?p=336 http://eutychus.us/wordpress/?p=336#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:05:05 +0000 kenpeck http://eutychus.us/wordpress/?p=336 One hundred years ago today, the Marconi Corporation radiotelegraph operators managed to repair the transformer and get their transmitter working again. They then had to deal with the backlog of passenger messages to be sent. They were also monitoring ship to ship radio communications. These included reports of ice in the area where the HMS Titanic was sailing. These were dispatched to the bridge. One of the last such messages warned of a large iceberg directly in the path of the Titanic. It is unclear whether this message reached the bridge.

What is known is that the Titanic struck a large iceberg, tearing a long gash in the side of the ship. Perhaps the captain was careless, thinking that the ship was unsinkable. It is probable that if the Titanic had struck the ice “head-on” its design would have enabled it to survive the collision. In a head-on crash, a few of the compartments of the bow could have been sealed off without gravely affecting the ability of the ship to stay afloat and travel to safety. But the side-swipe tore open numerous compartments on one side of the ship, causing it to list to one side and ultimately to sink.

Moments after the collision, the radiotelegraph operators aboard the Titanic began sending out the famous “dit-dit-dit dah-dah-dah dit-dit-dit” distress signal — SOS. They began sending out information about location, what had happened and the need for assistance.

Several miles away, the lone radiotelegraph operator aboard the RMS Carpathia was preparing to shut down his radio for the night when he received the Titanic’s distress message. Had the message been sent a few moments later, it would not have been received by the Carpathia. The few hundred survivors of the disaster owed their lives to this chance event. Because the message was received, the Carpathia changed course and steamed toward the Titanic a few hours away.

Aboard the Titanic the Marconi Corporation had placed a State of the Art radio-telegraph station. This was before radio-telephony or voice communications. The radio transmitter used a spark gap to generate radio waves — rather like harnessing the static we elders heard on our AM radios caused by lightning to communicate messages. Such transmitters are illegal these days because they cause as much interference as, well, lightning.

But it was State of the Art. It wasn’t there so much as to provide information to the crew or, for that matter, even in the event of emergency. It was there for the same sort of reasons that a modern ocean liner might advertise fast internet and Wi-Fi. The radio station provided passengers — especially first class passengers who could afford it — with the ability to communicate with business associates, friends and family.

A spark gap transmitter requires, not surprisingly, a spark — a spark of short duration to produce the “dit” and a longer duration the “daah” of Samuel Morse’s code. To produce a spark, voltage is required. The longer the spark in the spark gap transmitter (and thus the ability to generate more powerful radio emissions) the longer the gap needs to be. The longer the gap, the higher the voltage is required. The way that high voltages are generated is by use of transformers which can raise low voltage to higher voltages.

But alas, a hundred years ago today the transformer for the transmitter malfunctioned and the transmitter was out of commission. There were two radio-telegraph operators employed by the Marconi Corporation to operate the radio station. The two young men went to work trying to fix the transformer so the transmitter would be operative. Meanwhile, messages the passengers wanted sent piled up in the nurser’s office next to the radio room.

The very first power in that opening paragraph specifies the power of Congress to levy and collect taxes. That power is nowhere mentioned in the subsequent enumeration. Note also that this paragraph also places a limitation on the taxing power that was subsequently modified by the 16th Amendment.  (There is another in Section 9.) If the “general Welfare of the United States” is a “fluff” preface to the more specific and limited powers that follow, then surely the power to tax, to pay debts and to provide for the common defense is also “fluff.”

But the clauses that follow, which is what is usually meant by “enumerated powers” seen as limiting Congress to those specific items, have a history. Shortly before the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 convened, James Madison drew up a list entitled Vices of the Political System of the United States. This list enumerates specific deficiencies which had appeared under the Articles of Confederation between 1781 when the Articles were ratified and in force and 1787 when the convention that drafted the Constitution met. The convention was convened specifically to deal with “problems” that had arisen under the Articles. Madison’s list is a fairly detailed listing of those problems. The clauses that appear between “but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States” and “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers” track those “vices” Madison listed fairly closely. In other words, in these clauses (and some elsewhere) the convention was addressing specific issues, albeit in a fairly general way, known to exist in 1787.

It seems rather odd to suggest that the framers of the constitution intended that only issues known to them in 1787 were subject to Congress’s power to address. I believe the sounder argument is that the framers intended for Congress, through the representative processes subject to election by the people, to be able to address taxation, the common defense and the general welfare of the United States as new issues in the republic arose. They were smart enough to know that issues would arise which they had not foreseen in writing Article I, Section 8, that must be addressed by the Congress.

In 2010 the total revenues of the United States Treasury were $2.2 trillion dollars. Of that 42% or $924 billion was from individual income taxes, 40% or $880 billion was from payroll taxes, $198 billion was from corporate income taxes, 3% or $66 billion was from excises and  6% or $132 billion was from other sources. If you eliminate individual and corporate income taxes and payroll taxes, which are a dedicated tax on income, the government revenues fall to $198 billion.

If you take the very narrow definition of constitutional enumerated powers to exclude the general welfare and a restrictive interpretation of the commerce clause advocated by many on the right, you have some government expenses remaining, specifically:

• Defense at $847.2 billion,
• Interest at $196.2 billion,
• Protection at $54.4 billion, and
• General government at $24.7 billion

Or a constitutional expense of $1,122.5 billion – and a deficit of -$1,077.5 billion. That is almost the kind of deficits we are currently running. If we require a balanced budget, as do many on the right, we would have enough to pay the interest on the national debt with $1.8 billion left over for defense, protection (e.g., Homeland Security and border control), and general government (i.e., the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government).

Notice that this involves a default on the national debt in the form the termination of all current and future Social Security and Medicare benefits. That’s even without the balanced budget amendment!

It also would result in the termination of all federal grants to state and local governments for a wide range of things including health and human services, education, and transportation.

It would also eliminate all federal disaster relief for hurricanes, tornados, floods, fires, drought, and earthquakes.

Eliminated would be any subsidy to farmers and businesses. Cuts in subsidies to oil companies would drive up the cost of gasoline.

Maintenance of national parks would end. The Constitution says nothing about national parks. It would end payments in lieu of taxes on federal properties to states and local communities. For that matter, it makes no mention of the purchase of land from foreign nations. Were the Louisiana, Gadsden and Alaska purchases constitutional?

The income tax was agreed to by three quarters of the states in 1913 and by every state admitted to the Union since. It was agreed to because we, the people, recognized that duties, imposts and excises were insufficient to pay the costs of government a century ago. An income tax was first proposed in 1812 to pay for the costs of that war. The United States actually found the income tax necessary in 1861 to pay the expense of the national government. It was subsequently ruled by the Supreme Court to violate Article I, Section 9, which eventually lead to the 16^th Amendment.

The United States has changed dramatically since the Constitution was first written in 1787. It has grown from a nation of around 3 million to nearly 400 million, from an area of less than 900 thousand square miles to over  3.5 million square miles. It has changed from a rural, agricultural society to an urban industrial and technological society. People are much more mobile now than then. The 50 states are far more interdependent and interrelated than the original 13, partly due to the success of the Constitution and national government promoting interstate commerce.

A govern-less civilization might be possible if all its inhabitants were angels. But given the reality of Lucifer, not even an angelic civilization could exist long without government. Besides, men are not angels and are as likely to follow Lucifer as not. Because we are apt to steal, rape, and kill, government is necessary for any civilized society.

The need for government goes beyond that. Governments regulate so that a civil society can function. Government tells us on which side of the road we are to drive, how fast we may drive, how we are to behave at intersections, and so forth. Without such government regulations travel by car would be virtually impossible. Government regulates what we can do with our garbage and what our industries may do with their waste. Government regulates the safety of food, drugs and other products. Without such regulation the health of citizens would be in mortal danger. Government enforce contracts and prosecute fraud; without such enforcement, commerce would be impossible.

The 55 men who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft what would become the Constitution of the United States of America were not promising a smaller, more limited national government–quite the opposite. The government created under the Constitution was both larger and less limited than the government that preceded it. The Constitution gave the national government more power over the states and citizens. The Constitution took away power from the states.

As for size, the United States government in 1790 governed a nation of  3,929,214 people living in a land area of 864,746 square miles—a population density of 4.5 people per square mile. New York city was the largest city with a population of 33,131. Two tied for tenth largest city–Marblehead, Massachusetts, and the District of Southwark (a suburb of Philadelphia) both had a population of 5,661.

In 2010 the United States was inhabited by 308,745,538 people living in a land area of 3,537,438 square miles—a population density of 87.3 people per square mile. New York City alone had over twice the population in 2010 of the entire United States in 1790. Los Angeles had almost as many inhabitants in 2010 as the entire United States in 1790. The sheer increase in the population and area governed requires a large government. We aren’t going back to 1790, much less to 1787!

Furthermore, society today is far more complex and interdependent today than it was in 1787. What happens in Alaska has consequences in Florida and visa versus. What happens in California has consequences in Maine. People are far more mobile today than they were 225 years ago. It is far more likely that a child educated in Ohio or Texas will end up living and working in California than it was for someone who learned their trade in Virginia would end up in New Hampshire.

That government that governs best is a government that governs best. It isn’t a function of size. That government that governs best is one that has sufficient power to govern.

Whereas the Texas Legislature has been unable to draw districts for Congress and the Legislature in every year following the decennial census since 1971 that met the standards of the 14^th Amendment of the Constitution guaranteeing persons the equal protection of the laws;

Whereas the gerrymanders in 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011 have abridged the voting privileges of Texas citizens, making the votes of some citizens count for more than others in the legislature;

Whereas Republican Texas Senator Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio has repeatedly introduced bill which would create a bipartisan redistricting commission which would be independent of the pressures of congressmen and legislators;

Whereas Democratic Texas Representative José Rodriguez of El Paso has introduced legislation which would set state standards by which redistricting must comply; and

Whereas the failed efforts to create legal congressional and legislative districts has resulted in expensive law suits and special sessions of the legislature which Texas cannot afford;

Be it resolved that the Texas Democratic Party endorse Senator Wentworth’s proposal to create a redistricting commission consisting of equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats who would select an additional member as its chair, none of whom could be elected officials or party officers, that would be charged with drawing districts for congressional and legislative districts;

Be it resolved that the Texas Democratic Party endorse Representative Rodriquez’ proposal to create specific standards that district maps must meet that would

• Keep voters together who share common interests such as economic, geographic and racial interests,
• Keep districts compact so they don’t snake through and around cities, suburbs and towns, and
• Keep partisan political considerations from determining how districts are drawn, including prohibiting the use of neighborhood voting history; and

Be it resolved that candidates for the Texas legislature be urged to support and campaign on these reforms.