4 weeks ago
Sunday, October 26, 2008
9 Days to Change: It's Our Time Now
How about a little folk/country rock for Sunday? This is a good one: video and music.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
10 Days to Change: Go With Obama
In the spirit of Saturday night party time, this tune by the Abbsynia Roots Collective has a great beat, catchy lyric and some nice musical touches: a little Sting, a little Steve Miller with a reggae beat. "Let go of the drama, go with Obama."
10 Days to Change: A Snapshot in Time
"For the last 21 months, she has followed the odyssey of his presidential campaign like a spectator on a faraway balcony. She underwent a corneal transplant to see him on television. She reluctantly agreed to film a political advertisement when he urgently needed to reassure voters about his distinctive American roots. She told him during one of their frequent telephone conversations that it might not hurt if he smiled a bit more.
And on Friday, Senator Barack Obama spent the day here saying goodbye."--
the lead to a fine story in the New York Times, about Obama's visit to his grandmother in Hawaii, probably for the last time.
On Friday, VP candidate Palin was also off the campaign trail, being deposed by the Alaska state government, investigating whether she violated ethics laws or other laws as governor. She also gave a speech advocating funding new programs for special-needs children by cutting earmarks, such as federal support for "fruit fly research." However, that precise research led to new insights into autism which may lead to more effective treatments.
It also became known on Friday that the highest paid person in the McCain-Palin campaign this month was Palin's make-up artist, who made more than McCain foreign policy advisor.
On Friday, Barack Obama had majority of 50% or more in all 6 daily tracking polls.
Newsweek poll: Obama 53% McCain 41%. Obama is viewed favorably by 62%. He leads among all age groups, including seniors, and among white working class men.
Obama is "positioned to win the largest share of white voters of any Democrat in more than three decades."
And on Friday, Senator Barack Obama spent the day here saying goodbye."--
the lead to a fine story in the New York Times, about Obama's visit to his grandmother in Hawaii, probably for the last time.
On Friday, VP candidate Palin was also off the campaign trail, being deposed by the Alaska state government, investigating whether she violated ethics laws or other laws as governor. She also gave a speech advocating funding new programs for special-needs children by cutting earmarks, such as federal support for "fruit fly research." However, that precise research led to new insights into autism which may lead to more effective treatments.
It also became known on Friday that the highest paid person in the McCain-Palin campaign this month was Palin's make-up artist, who made more than McCain foreign policy advisor.
On Friday, Barack Obama had majority of 50% or more in all 6 daily tracking polls.
Newsweek poll: Obama 53% McCain 41%. Obama is viewed favorably by 62%. He leads among all age groups, including seniors, and among white working class men.
Obama is "positioned to win the largest share of white voters of any Democrat in more than three decades."
Friday, October 24, 2008
11 Days to Change: Future in the Balance
"Hyperbole is the currency of presidential campaigns, but this year the nation’s future truly hangs in the balance." So says the New York Times editorial board this morning in endorsing Barack Obama for President. With eleven days until election day, four new polls give Obama a double digit lead in Pennsylvania. So in recognition of PA, here's another song from the primaries, and it's one of my favorites--very catchy. Lots of PA towns are mentioned, including where I lived, where my grandparents lived, where I recorded my own "hit" record... Obama winning everywhere in PA didn't work out so well in April, but this time--yes, we can.
How Low Can They Get?
Barack Obama has left the campaign trail to fly more than 8 hours to Hawaii to be with his grandmother, who is gravely ill and probably dying.
In 1960, when Richard Nixon was hospitalized for a few days due to an injury, John F. Kennedy voluntarily stopped his campaigning until Nixon was able to resume campaigning, as a gesture of fairness.
Those days are gone. John McCain is using Obama's absense to step up his attacks on Obama during a bus tour in Florida.
Not only that, one of his surrogates went on television to express outrage that Obama was "taking a 767 campaign plane to go visit grandma." He said Obama should be "humping his bags on a commercial plane."
Let's leave aside the fact that the Secret Service would not allow Obama to take a commercial flight, which would turn out to be much more expensive because of all the security measures necessary.
Let's just look at what kind of a campaign sends somebody on television to speak in disparaging terms of a candidate who is sacrificing two days of campaigning at a crucial time to be with the grandmother who helped raise him, in what are probably among her last days.
The McShame campaign--how low can they get? This low.
In 1960, when Richard Nixon was hospitalized for a few days due to an injury, John F. Kennedy voluntarily stopped his campaigning until Nixon was able to resume campaigning, as a gesture of fairness.
Those days are gone. John McCain is using Obama's absense to step up his attacks on Obama during a bus tour in Florida.
Not only that, one of his surrogates went on television to express outrage that Obama was "taking a 767 campaign plane to go visit grandma." He said Obama should be "humping his bags on a commercial plane."
Let's leave aside the fact that the Secret Service would not allow Obama to take a commercial flight, which would turn out to be much more expensive because of all the security measures necessary.
Let's just look at what kind of a campaign sends somebody on television to speak in disparaging terms of a candidate who is sacrificing two days of campaigning at a crucial time to be with the grandmother who helped raise him, in what are probably among her last days.
The McShame campaign--how low can they get? This low.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
12 Days to Change: Voted Yet?
Early voting is underway in 32 states, so depending on where you are, you can vote right now. Here's a link to a site that provides information on early voting wherever it occurs. The states voting now include Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and Indiana. Not California, though.
I'd like to say vote now and avoid the rush, but several states are experiencing so many early voters that there are long lines, particularly in Florida where Republicans restricted the number of sites and hours they are open.
28 states accept vote by mail. But if you're a first time voter or haven't voted in awhile, it's best to go in person to make sure there's nothing wrong with your registration. Republican vote suppression efforts are underway everywhere.
Still, if early voting indicates the high level of interest and participation this year, election day may see long lines, too. In Michigan, 98% of those eligible to register are registered to vote.
But many voters are undeterred. The numbers are record-breaking. Here's the latest article on early voting, and here's a summary of how the voting is going so far in some key states. Given the high participation of Democrats, African Americans and women, it's very good for Obama, who has been urging voters to vote early. Some of the stories are very moving.
I'd like to say vote now and avoid the rush, but several states are experiencing so many early voters that there are long lines, particularly in Florida where Republicans restricted the number of sites and hours they are open.
28 states accept vote by mail. But if you're a first time voter or haven't voted in awhile, it's best to go in person to make sure there's nothing wrong with your registration. Republican vote suppression efforts are underway everywhere.
Still, if early voting indicates the high level of interest and participation this year, election day may see long lines, too. In Michigan, 98% of those eligible to register are registered to vote.
But many voters are undeterred. The numbers are record-breaking. Here's the latest article on early voting, and here's a summary of how the voting is going so far in some key states. Given the high participation of Democrats, African Americans and women, it's very good for Obama, who has been urging voters to vote early. Some of the stories are very moving.
12 Days to Change: Viva Obama!
This song is from the primaries, introducing Obama to Latinos in Texas. So in honor of early voting in Texas, here it is again!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
13 Days to Change: Oui, On Peut!
I'm counting down the days to the election with a different Obama music video each day. Check in and get inspired, get down and dance your anxieties away! This is some Zydeco to mark the start of early voting in Louisiana.
13 Days to Change: Obama Widens Lead
Ipso.McClatchy: Obama expands lead to 50-42. (Likely voters.)
Fox poll: Obama by nine points among likely voters.
Pew Research: Obama 52% McCain 38%.
Questions about McCain's judgment in picking Palin, his erratic behavior and negative campaign. Increasing confidence in Obama from the debates. Last Pew poll had Obama up by 10, 50-40.
NBC/Wall Street Journal: Obama 52% McCain 42%
Seniors moving to Obama. Last NBC poll had Obama up by 6.
CNN Poll of Polls (Tuesday): Obama up by 9.
New York Times/CBS: "Mr. Obama’s favorability is the highest for a presidential candidate running for a first term in the last 28 years of Times/CBS polls."
Fox poll: Obama by nine points among likely voters.
Pew Research: Obama 52% McCain 38%.
Questions about McCain's judgment in picking Palin, his erratic behavior and negative campaign. Increasing confidence in Obama from the debates. Last Pew poll had Obama up by 10, 50-40.
NBC/Wall Street Journal: Obama 52% McCain 42%
Seniors moving to Obama. Last NBC poll had Obama up by 6.
CNN Poll of Polls (Tuesday): Obama up by 9.
New York Times/CBS: "Mr. Obama’s favorability is the highest for a presidential candidate running for a first term in the last 28 years of Times/CBS polls."
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Jobs, Baby, Jobs
Hillary Clinton appeared with Barack Obama before 50,000 in Orlando, Florida as that state began early voting--and Floridians lined up for hours to vote. Clinton told the crowd that the Obama campaign was all about "jobs, baby, jobs." The rally was Monday, a day after General Colin Powell endorsed Obama for President.
More Important Now
Madelyn Dunham, Barack Obama's 85 year old grandmother, is gravely ill. Obama will leave the campaign trail Thursday and Friday to fly back to Hawaii where she lives, to be with her. She was important in raising her grandson for many years. Obama spent a week's vacation this summer in Hawaii in large part to spend time with her. Our thoughts are with this remarkable woman.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Big Mo in MO
Barack Obama spoke in St. Louis Saturday to a crowd officially estimated at 100,000, the largest U.S. gathering of this campaign. (Click the second photo to enlarge, and get a sense of how many people that is.) Then (third photo) he spoke again that evening to some 75,000 in Kansas City, MO. In between, he did what Obama volunteers are doing all over the country: calling and talking to voters.
The New York Times story about these events began: "There was the feel of a political world turned upside down on Saturday as Senator John McCain found himself defending North Carolina and Virginia, while Senator Barack Obama was greeted by huge crowds in Missouri, which Republicans had also considered safe just months ago."
Update: Obama contributors got the news first: contributions in September totalled $150 million. If I remember correctly, that at least doubles the previous monthly high. More than 630,000 new donors in the month for a total of 3.1 million. Average donation was still under $100. The categories with the highest donation totals were students and retirees. But lots of everybody else, including some 30,000 fellow writers. AMAZING!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
G.O.P. Trying to STOP THE VOTE
Voters are lining up in record-breaking numbers to vote right now in early-voting states. A very worried Republican Party is trying to stop people from voting, and discourage many others from voting, with an inflammatory campaign of exaggerated and false accusations, claiming voter fraud.
The truth is that in recent years there has been almost no successful registration fraud (people registering phony or ineligible voters, which even then doesn't usually result in those people actually voting) or voting fraud (people voting who aren't eligible to vote) perpetrated in the U.S.
Nevertheless, Republicans are screaming about it on TV, and going to court in various parts of the country to try to force states to adopt onerous requirements designed to create chaos in election systems and at polling places, all simply to discourage voters from voting, particularly minority and lower income voters--as well as student voters this year-- who are more likely to vote for Democrats.
The McCain campaign is trying to demonize an organization called ACORN that among other things registers low-income voters. It is an organization that until recently John McCain was proud to support. Now McCain and his allies have seized on a few cases of canvassers filling out registration cards wrongly--cases quickly caught by ACORN and by local officials--to inflate the issue and alarm people.
The Republican Party tried to get the courts to force such measures in Ohio, but they failed Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them. Now they're trying it in Pennsylvania courts.
This smokescreen of "voter fraud" is precisely what sparked the Bush administration firings of federal prosecutors for political reasons that led to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation and the appointment of a Special Prosecutor. This did not escape the notice of the Obama campaign. Its attorney wrote a letter to the current Attorney General asking that the Special Prosecutor also investigate collusion between the Bush administration and the McCain-Palin campaign:
" I request that Special Prosecutor Dannehy’s inquiry include a review of any involvement by Justice Department and White House officials in supporting the McCain-Palin campaign and the Republican National Committee (“RNC”)’s systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud. It is highly likely that the very sort of politically motivated conduct identified in the Department’s investigation to date, necessitating the appointment of a Special Prosecutor, is repeating itself, and for the same reason: unwarranted and politically motivated intervention in the upcoming election."
Voters must not fall for this blatantly partisan attempt to suppress the vote and to intimidate voters and otherwise cause chaos in the voting system. Republicans are engaging in exactly the activity they accuse others of conducting: subverting the most sacred and most important process of democracy in America.
We must all resolve with even more fervor to vote, and to encourage others to vote this year. It is the most important election of our lifetimes. It is worth any difficulty caused by those who don't want to lose their power and privilege. These attempts to suppress and stop voting makes it all the more important to insist on your right to vote, and to exercise that right by voting.
Here's an update on the issue from the AP:"This is all just one big head-fake," said Tova Wang of the government watchdog group Common Cause. "What silliness this is, at this point. It's all about creating this perception that there is a tremendous problem with voter fraud in this country, and it's not true."
The truth is that in recent years there has been almost no successful registration fraud (people registering phony or ineligible voters, which even then doesn't usually result in those people actually voting) or voting fraud (people voting who aren't eligible to vote) perpetrated in the U.S.
Nevertheless, Republicans are screaming about it on TV, and going to court in various parts of the country to try to force states to adopt onerous requirements designed to create chaos in election systems and at polling places, all simply to discourage voters from voting, particularly minority and lower income voters--as well as student voters this year-- who are more likely to vote for Democrats.
The McCain campaign is trying to demonize an organization called ACORN that among other things registers low-income voters. It is an organization that until recently John McCain was proud to support. Now McCain and his allies have seized on a few cases of canvassers filling out registration cards wrongly--cases quickly caught by ACORN and by local officials--to inflate the issue and alarm people.
The Republican Party tried to get the courts to force such measures in Ohio, but they failed Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them. Now they're trying it in Pennsylvania courts.
This smokescreen of "voter fraud" is precisely what sparked the Bush administration firings of federal prosecutors for political reasons that led to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation and the appointment of a Special Prosecutor. This did not escape the notice of the Obama campaign. Its attorney wrote a letter to the current Attorney General asking that the Special Prosecutor also investigate collusion between the Bush administration and the McCain-Palin campaign:
" I request that Special Prosecutor Dannehy’s inquiry include a review of any involvement by Justice Department and White House officials in supporting the McCain-Palin campaign and the Republican National Committee (“RNC”)’s systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud. It is highly likely that the very sort of politically motivated conduct identified in the Department’s investigation to date, necessitating the appointment of a Special Prosecutor, is repeating itself, and for the same reason: unwarranted and politically motivated intervention in the upcoming election."
Voters must not fall for this blatantly partisan attempt to suppress the vote and to intimidate voters and otherwise cause chaos in the voting system. Republicans are engaging in exactly the activity they accuse others of conducting: subverting the most sacred and most important process of democracy in America.
We must all resolve with even more fervor to vote, and to encourage others to vote this year. It is the most important election of our lifetimes. It is worth any difficulty caused by those who don't want to lose their power and privilege. These attempts to suppress and stop voting makes it all the more important to insist on your right to vote, and to exercise that right by voting.
Here's an update on the issue from the AP:"This is all just one big head-fake," said Tova Wang of the government watchdog group Common Cause. "What silliness this is, at this point. It's all about creating this perception that there is a tremendous problem with voter fraud in this country, and it's not true."
An Historic Endorsement
Major newspaper endorsements for President have begun, and Barack Obama is getting most of them, including the Washington Post (which said that Obama has the potential to be a great President), San Francisco Chronicle, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, St. Louis Post Dispatch, and many more.
But some endorsements say a little more than others. Like the L.A. Times, which hasn't endorsed anyone in decades, and has never endorsed a Democrat, before their endorsement of Barack Obama.
Still, they've been trumped by the Chicago Tribune--another newspaper that has never endorsed a Democrat before. And it's not just that they've been around longer, but the President they chose to name and link with Obama's name in their endorsement:
He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.
When Obama said at the 2004 Democratic Convention that we weren't a nation of red states and blue states, he spoke of union the way Abraham Lincoln did.
It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation's most powerful office, he will prove it wasn't so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States."
But some endorsements say a little more than others. Like the L.A. Times, which hasn't endorsed anyone in decades, and has never endorsed a Democrat, before their endorsement of Barack Obama.
Still, they've been trumped by the Chicago Tribune--another newspaper that has never endorsed a Democrat before. And it's not just that they've been around longer, but the President they chose to name and link with Obama's name in their endorsement:
He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.
When Obama said at the 2004 Democratic Convention that we weren't a nation of red states and blue states, he spoke of union the way Abraham Lincoln did.
It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation's most powerful office, he will prove it wasn't so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States."
Thursday, October 16, 2008
No Drama Obama
Once again, all the instant polls and focus groups--including those of undecided voters--said Barack Obama did the more convincing job and won the third and final presidential debate Wednesday night, by a large margin. Most of the pundits remarked on Obama's cool and collected presence and presentations, versus McCain's angry demeanor and erratic presentation.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Back from the Abyss
Martin Wolf of the Financial Times was on Charlie Rose tonight talking about the financial catastrophe that was narrowly avoided this past weekend. He said that the world financial system was on the brink of collapse. Later in the program, economist Nouriel Roubini--who some time ago had warned in detail of what did happen this past month--said that if this collapse had happened, we'd be in a severe recession for ten years.
What saved the system was the IMF and G7 conferences, where governments talked it out, and developed a common strategy of supporting banks along the lines that Gordon Brown in the UK had begun. Wolf said that there was no such agreement on Friday, but by Sunday there was. It wasn't formally a world effort--European nations and the U.S. (which together comprise 2/3 of the world economy) adapted this basic plan to their own national circumstances--but Wolf said it was the kind of concerted effort that was necessary, and had never happened before.
Wolf and Roubini agreed that the amount of money the U.S. has devoted to this is probably insufficient (European nations have pledged much more) but that for now the effort has saved the financial system from total ruin. The economic effects are still going to be felt for some time. Wolf predicts a recession lasting at least a year; Roubini says at least 2 years.
Wolf pointed to a number of relative bright spots, however. He said that U.S. exports are strong, and that the falling price of oil will make inflation very unlikely. He believes most countries will weather this (although some will need help), and most big companies. But there will be failures, particularly in consumer products--especially those depending on selling to rich people.
Both agreed that the U.S. government will need to stimulate its economy with infrastructure and other investments, and soon--which is what the Democrats and Barack Obama have already proposed. The question is whether it will be accomplished soon enough.
Roubini also said what Obama has been saying--that this crisis was caused by the ideology of insufficient regulation of financial institutions, and it went far beyond and far deeper than the housing bubble. Basically, the super rich party is over. And we'll all be paying for it.
Wolf said that the biggest question that will determine how long the recession lasts will be how Americans see the future--whether they have confidence in the future again. It's Obama time, and for once, the American people seem to know what they need.
What saved the system was the IMF and G7 conferences, where governments talked it out, and developed a common strategy of supporting banks along the lines that Gordon Brown in the UK had begun. Wolf said that there was no such agreement on Friday, but by Sunday there was. It wasn't formally a world effort--European nations and the U.S. (which together comprise 2/3 of the world economy) adapted this basic plan to their own national circumstances--but Wolf said it was the kind of concerted effort that was necessary, and had never happened before.
Wolf and Roubini agreed that the amount of money the U.S. has devoted to this is probably insufficient (European nations have pledged much more) but that for now the effort has saved the financial system from total ruin. The economic effects are still going to be felt for some time. Wolf predicts a recession lasting at least a year; Roubini says at least 2 years.
Wolf pointed to a number of relative bright spots, however. He said that U.S. exports are strong, and that the falling price of oil will make inflation very unlikely. He believes most countries will weather this (although some will need help), and most big companies. But there will be failures, particularly in consumer products--especially those depending on selling to rich people.
Both agreed that the U.S. government will need to stimulate its economy with infrastructure and other investments, and soon--which is what the Democrats and Barack Obama have already proposed. The question is whether it will be accomplished soon enough.
Roubini also said what Obama has been saying--that this crisis was caused by the ideology of insufficient regulation of financial institutions, and it went far beyond and far deeper than the housing bubble. Basically, the super rich party is over. And we'll all be paying for it.
Wolf said that the biggest question that will determine how long the recession lasts will be how Americans see the future--whether they have confidence in the future again. It's Obama time, and for once, the American people seem to know what they need.
Obama Economic Plan: J-O-B-S
In Toledo, Ohio Monday, Barack Obama made several new proposals on the economy, in addition to his proposals to cut taxes, provide affordable health care, make college education possible for everyone and start growing new Green jobs. Video is above, the prepared text is here, the New York Times story here. Excerpts:
"Last week, Senator McCain's campaign announced that they were going to "turn the page" on the discussion about our economy so they can spend the final weeks of this election attacking me instead. His campaign actually said, and I quote, "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." Well Senator McCain may be worried about losing an election, but I'm worried about Americans who are losing their jobs, and their homes, and their life savings. They can't afford four more years of the economic theory that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else...
We need to pass an economic rescue plan for the middle-class and we need to do it now. Today I'm proposing a number of steps that we should take immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners. It's a plan that begins with one word that's on everyone's mind, and it's easy to spell: J-O-B-S.
That's why I'm proposing to give our businesses a new American jobs tax credit for each new employee they hire here in the United States over the next two years. To fuel the real engine of job creation in this country, I've also proposed eliminating all capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses and start-up companies, and I've proposed an additional tax incentive through next year to encourage new small business investment. It is time to protect the jobs we have and to create the jobs of tomorrow by unlocking the drive, and ingenuity, and innovation of the American people. And we should fast track the loan guarantees we passed for our auto industry and provide more as needed so that they can build the energy-efficient cars America needs to end our dependence on foreign oil.
We will also save one million jobs by creating a Jobs and Growth Fund that will provide money to states and local communities so that they can move forward with projects to rebuild and repair our roads, our bridges, and our schools. A lot of these projects and these jobs are at risk right now because of budget shortfalls, but this fund will make sure they continue.
The second part of my rescue plan is to provide immediate relief to families who are watching their paycheck shrink and their jobs and life savings disappear. I've already proposed a middle-class tax cut for 95% of workers and their families, but today I'm calling on Congress to pass a plan so that the IRS will mail out the first round of those tax cuts as soon as possible. We should also extend and expand unemployment benefits to those Americans who have lost their jobs and are having a harder time finding new ones in this weak economy. And we should stop making them pay taxes on those unemployment insurance benefits as well.
The third part of my rescue plan is to provide relief for homeowners who are watching their home values decline while their property taxes go up.... We don't need a new law or a new $300 billion giveaway to banks like Senator McCain has proposed, we just need to act quickly and decisively.
For those Americans in danger of losing their homes, today I'm also proposing a three-month moratorium on foreclosures.
Congress should pass this emergency rescue plan as soon as possible. If Washington can move quickly to pass a rescue plan for our financial system, there's no reason we can't move just as quickly to pass a rescue plan for our middle-class that will create jobs, provide relief, and help homeowners. And if Congress does not act in the coming months, it will be one of the first things I do as President of the United States. "
"Last week, Senator McCain's campaign announced that they were going to "turn the page" on the discussion about our economy so they can spend the final weeks of this election attacking me instead. His campaign actually said, and I quote, "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." Well Senator McCain may be worried about losing an election, but I'm worried about Americans who are losing their jobs, and their homes, and their life savings. They can't afford four more years of the economic theory that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else...
We need to pass an economic rescue plan for the middle-class and we need to do it now. Today I'm proposing a number of steps that we should take immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners. It's a plan that begins with one word that's on everyone's mind, and it's easy to spell: J-O-B-S.
That's why I'm proposing to give our businesses a new American jobs tax credit for each new employee they hire here in the United States over the next two years. To fuel the real engine of job creation in this country, I've also proposed eliminating all capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses and start-up companies, and I've proposed an additional tax incentive through next year to encourage new small business investment. It is time to protect the jobs we have and to create the jobs of tomorrow by unlocking the drive, and ingenuity, and innovation of the American people. And we should fast track the loan guarantees we passed for our auto industry and provide more as needed so that they can build the energy-efficient cars America needs to end our dependence on foreign oil.
We will also save one million jobs by creating a Jobs and Growth Fund that will provide money to states and local communities so that they can move forward with projects to rebuild and repair our roads, our bridges, and our schools. A lot of these projects and these jobs are at risk right now because of budget shortfalls, but this fund will make sure they continue.
The second part of my rescue plan is to provide immediate relief to families who are watching their paycheck shrink and their jobs and life savings disappear. I've already proposed a middle-class tax cut for 95% of workers and their families, but today I'm calling on Congress to pass a plan so that the IRS will mail out the first round of those tax cuts as soon as possible. We should also extend and expand unemployment benefits to those Americans who have lost their jobs and are having a harder time finding new ones in this weak economy. And we should stop making them pay taxes on those unemployment insurance benefits as well.
The third part of my rescue plan is to provide relief for homeowners who are watching their home values decline while their property taxes go up.... We don't need a new law or a new $300 billion giveaway to banks like Senator McCain has proposed, we just need to act quickly and decisively.
For those Americans in danger of losing their homes, today I'm also proposing a three-month moratorium on foreclosures.
Congress should pass this emergency rescue plan as soon as possible. If Washington can move quickly to pass a rescue plan for our financial system, there's no reason we can't move just as quickly to pass a rescue plan for our middle-class that will create jobs, provide relief, and help homeowners. And if Congress does not act in the coming months, it will be one of the first things I do as President of the United States. "
Monday, October 13, 2008
Nobel with Cat
Congratulations to Paul Krugman, who won this year's Nobel Prize in Economics. Some background and links here. In his New York Times column today, he explains how the surprising plan for the public to buy shares in banks that sent the stock market soaring Monday began in England. Details on the U.S. plan are here. Also in the Washington Post here.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A Helping Hand
"Together we cannot fail. Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without homes. Now when there are families who can't afford to see a doctor
or send their child to college, or pay their bills at the end of the month. Not when there is a generation that is counting on us to give them the same opportunities and the same chances that we had for ourselves.
We can do this. Americans have done this before. Some of us had grandparents or parents who said maybe I can’t go to college but my child can; maybe I can’t have my own business but my child can. I may have to rent, but maybe my children will have a home they can call their own. I may not have a lot of money but maybe my child will run for Senate. I might live in a small village but maybe someday my son can be president of the United States of America.Now it falls to us. Together, we cannot fail."
Friday, October 10, 2008
Speculation and/on the Real Economy
As I write this, European and Asian stock markets are either following the American markets down, or they're leading Friday's U.S. downward plunge, or both. So here's my semi-informed explanation of what's going on.
This fall is explained by "experts" as "loss of confidence" or fear. What it seems to me to amount to is this: rich people are cashing out. They've made as much as they're going to make for the time being from this financial house of cards, and they're taking their cards out while they still can.
Here's something else. I've heard the experts and commentators saying that surely the stock market can't go too much lower because prices are approaching the point that they reflect the real value of the companies. In other words, they are admitting that all this wealth that's being lost was never real wealth at all.
How unreal wealth translates into $4,000 a night hotel rooms (though only $500 for dogs) for government bailed-out AIG execs who promptly spent every cent they got and are back for more, is a bit of a mystery to me, but I see that for a certain period of time, unreal wealth does translate into some kind of reality.
And if you think about it, the concept does work if you look at long enough time periods. Wealth has been created that has depleted resources and destroyed to some extent the ability of the environment to keep sustaining us, at least without a lot of work to renew it. Similarly, our built infrastructure. So the wealth created is, over time, unreal wealth.
Our only chance at sustaining civilization in the long run is to use this period of unreal wealth to organize a new economy and financial system that are sustainable and that will create real wealth over the long term. The first step to doing that is understanding that this needs to be done, and electing the leadership to start doing it. And in this we are lucky: the next election is less than a month away, and we have a candidate in Barack Obama with the knowledge, the intelligence, the temperament and the political ability to get us started on the path we need to take.
But probably before that, the governments of the world are probably going to have to pass a preliminary test. They are going to have to work in concert to stabilize the global financial system. So far this crisis-laden week, the record is spotty. The European Union, which has succeeded in unifying enough to guarantee peace on a continent that pretty much sparked two world wars, is so far failing to meet this crisis as a single entity, as a United States of Europe, or even to coordinate effectively.
There was talk Thursday that the U.S. and the U.K. may coordinate policies on banks. There are meetings ahead. That George Bush is involved is not a hopeful sign, but perhaps there are statesmen (of both genders) who will step up.
Still, it seems to me what we are seeing in essence is a purging. Virtually all of the economic orthodoxies beginning with Reaganism are being destroyed, including the consumer economy forged in those years.
At the same time, let's remember that we had a good economy in the 1950s and 1960s that included real production as well as consumption, and more equal roles for government and the "private sector" of corporations and small business. It's not impossible. We need to move to that kind of balance, but in a whole new way: a sustainable, renewable, green economy that can create real wealth over the very long term.
This fall is explained by "experts" as "loss of confidence" or fear. What it seems to me to amount to is this: rich people are cashing out. They've made as much as they're going to make for the time being from this financial house of cards, and they're taking their cards out while they still can.
Here's something else. I've heard the experts and commentators saying that surely the stock market can't go too much lower because prices are approaching the point that they reflect the real value of the companies. In other words, they are admitting that all this wealth that's being lost was never real wealth at all.
How unreal wealth translates into $4,000 a night hotel rooms (though only $500 for dogs) for government bailed-out AIG execs who promptly spent every cent they got and are back for more, is a bit of a mystery to me, but I see that for a certain period of time, unreal wealth does translate into some kind of reality.
And if you think about it, the concept does work if you look at long enough time periods. Wealth has been created that has depleted resources and destroyed to some extent the ability of the environment to keep sustaining us, at least without a lot of work to renew it. Similarly, our built infrastructure. So the wealth created is, over time, unreal wealth.
Our only chance at sustaining civilization in the long run is to use this period of unreal wealth to organize a new economy and financial system that are sustainable and that will create real wealth over the long term. The first step to doing that is understanding that this needs to be done, and electing the leadership to start doing it. And in this we are lucky: the next election is less than a month away, and we have a candidate in Barack Obama with the knowledge, the intelligence, the temperament and the political ability to get us started on the path we need to take.
But probably before that, the governments of the world are probably going to have to pass a preliminary test. They are going to have to work in concert to stabilize the global financial system. So far this crisis-laden week, the record is spotty. The European Union, which has succeeded in unifying enough to guarantee peace on a continent that pretty much sparked two world wars, is so far failing to meet this crisis as a single entity, as a United States of Europe, or even to coordinate effectively.
There was talk Thursday that the U.S. and the U.K. may coordinate policies on banks. There are meetings ahead. That George Bush is involved is not a hopeful sign, but perhaps there are statesmen (of both genders) who will step up.
Still, it seems to me what we are seeing in essence is a purging. Virtually all of the economic orthodoxies beginning with Reaganism are being destroyed, including the consumer economy forged in those years.
At the same time, let's remember that we had a good economy in the 1950s and 1960s that included real production as well as consumption, and more equal roles for government and the "private sector" of corporations and small business. It's not impossible. We need to move to that kind of balance, but in a whole new way: a sustainable, renewable, green economy that can create real wealth over the very long term.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Obama's Presidential Debate
By every measure--polls, focus groups, pundits--Barack Obama triumphed in the second presidential debate on Tuesday night. On the economy, the new energy economy, health care as a right, the need for national service, the Climate Crisis, the moral obligation to help stop genocide in Darfur, ending the Iraq war, Obama gave clear and persuasive answers. One indication of this was a focus group covered by Time's Amy Sullivan: "Even more dramatic was the shift in the voters’ personal reactions to the two candidates. Before the debate, McCain had a 48/46 favorability rating; that improved to 56/36 by the end. But that’s about where Obama started the evening—54/36. After an hour and a half, Obama’s favorability numbers were 80/14. As Joe Biden would say, let me repeat that: 80% of the undecided voters had favorable views of Obama and only 14% saw him negatively for a net rating of +66. Not even Bill Clinton got such a warm response in town hall formats."
Monday, October 06, 2008
Obama: "I'm going to keep talking about the economy"
About 4 minutes from Obama's speech in North Carolina on Monday.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
GOT VOTE?
In many states, Monday is the last day to register to vote in this election. If you are not registered, you've got Monday or you've got no vote in this historic election. Do it! (That's the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, singing for a registration rally in Philadelphia in those first two photos.)
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