Michael, with respect because I know we are on same page this is all so much
more than the wealthy slanting the playing field in their favor. American
society, Western Society really is beset with levels of opulence and corruption
unseen since the time of the robber barons in the latter part of the 19th
century. As Mark pointed out there was tremendous movement on the rates as a
result of what these big banks did. Even stealing on the fringes would have meant
huge swings. This was so much more than that. And critically it was not perpetuated
by a couple of rogue bankers, but appears to be systematic. Though the jury is
still out, everything I have read seems indicate an industry wide fraud.
The biggest
issue to me is that there is no consensus at any level for reform. Historically
America has found ways to pull itself back from the brink, but now as Mr. Dylan
might say, everything is broken.
After a generation
of shameless, wanton corruption America entered into the Progressive Era in the
1890 or so and for 30 years reform was popular and expected. By my light we are
nowhere near that sort of consensus and Americans can talk about politicians
that will not compromise and do not legislate, but they must know, they simply
must know, that they themselves are to blame as well. WW I changed the equation
in terms of the expectation of reform, and for ten years after, until the
depression, hedonism sort of became fashionable again, and reform was pushed to
the back burner.
Cycles
follow from there. The Depression is followed by the New Deal, then WW II, then
the McCarthyite, socially comatose 50’s, then the 60’s Rock & Roll, Peace,
Civil, Women, and Gay Rights movements. Then comes Reagan. In the 32 years
since the social contract between the haves and the have nots has been torn to
near complete separation. Make no mistake what is called conservatism today would
have been intolerable to the public in 1968 when Nixon was elected, or 1980
with Reagan, or 1988 with Bush. Through that entire time the only (short-lived)
effort at reform was in response to the venal crimes of Richard Nixon. But in
the current environment we operate in where a grass roots movement, The Tea Party,
springs up in response to perceived corruption and is quickly swallowed up by
the most corrupt political and business entities in the country, the Koch brothers
and Americans for Prosperity, reform in today’s lexicon is nearly non-existent.
Democrats in
general and the President in particular are not really part of any solution and
the Affordable Car Act, notwithstanding, this presidency has been a pale shadow
of anything that could be considered Progressive. I believe there are two
reasons for this. The first is money. For all the talk about being outspent the
President and the Dems will likely raise close to two billion dollars. That money
flows because it wants something. And what that something is sure not programs to
aid the poor, sick and hungry among us. Capital at that level is the enemy of reform,
everyone knows it. Liberals and Dems that hold onto the hope that our billionaire
is better than theirs are grasping a thin reed.
The second
reason that Obama’s call for Hope and Change have amounted to so much less is a
flaw in the president himself. While he has been hamstrung by a recalcitrant Congress
bent on protecting the perks of their obscenely rich benefactors at almost any
cost, the President made a huge miscalculation early on and that was that he
could make a deal with the devil if he just talked nice to the old fiend. The
President (by his own admission this past week) has done a poor job of explaining
the what and whys of his policy proposals and in case after case after case has
refused to take on the conservative establishment.
High gas
prices made the raising of CAFÉ standards
palatable, but unless there is a dramatic shift in a potential second term the Obama
presidency will make little movement on global warming and this will be a huge
opportunity lost. Wall Street reforms are stalled and hundreds of regulations
growing from Dodd-Frank are yet to be written. Of most immediate urgency the
stimulus plans that he has put forth have been lackluster and ineffective.
Blame it on Congress, sure, but the president politically has been outmaneuvered.
What I wouldn’t give to if Obama had cajones comparable to either of the Clinton’s.
But even
with my deep frustration with the President the bigger issue it seems to me is
the American people who do not care for or about reform. Political leaders respond
to the demands of the people, since Egyptian times they always have and they
always will. Americans vote against their interests all the time. The South, with
their serial social problems, poor education, healthcare, and the lowest standard
of living (nine of the bottom ten in median income) votes reliably Republican. This
is true even in the states of the deep, deep south with HUGE blocks of African
American voters. Ironically, if the Tea Party movement, ugly though it was in some
ways, had remained independent and so viable, and the Occupy movement and
retained more of its muscularity before the winter and changing police tactics softened
its bite, reform might have been possible. The point is that there was some
consensus, right and left for reform, and some real anger, so change is possible.
When? I don’t know. For now, at least in my opinion
we are locked in between a charade of reform, which isn’t really anything like
it, and total “catastrophe” as Dr. West called it last week. It is an easy choice
as to whether or not to vote for this President over his rich, spoiled, arrogant
and disconnected opponent. Just don’t have any illusions that this represents
progressive change. Sadly, at least based on the first time it does not. IF I
am wrong and freed from running for a second term the President really goes
after entrenched, and now nearly omnipotent power, no one will be happier than
me.
No comments:
Post a Comment