Dialog
It is hard to argue that more speech is not better than less speech; yet
that is what the Supreme Court decided last year in the case of Arizona
Free Enterprise Club's Freedom PAC v Bennett. This disallowed an
Arizona law that would have provided public financing to candidates who
were competing against heavily self-financed opponents.
The problem with the flood of PAC money is that the volume of speech
that it generates drowns out the speech of ordinary people who cannot
compete in the advertising market. If there was some method for
generating countervailing speech then Mr. Weinstock's competitive
elections might well come into being (New York Times, March 6, 2012:
A26). At present big money alone talks.
Sent to New York Times
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Romney
Like Brian McGrory, I think that the post-big dig disaster period was
Governor Romney's finest hour (Shrinking Candidate, Boston Globe, March 2, 2012: B1).
It was however, the exception.
During his candidacy and during his time in office, Romney was characterized by the triumph of style (or photo-op) over substance.
When a candidate he worked for a day as a burger flipper and a fish processor so he could understand what ordinary folk were like. Great photo-ops but little gain in understanding. To gain that, he should have read "Nickled and Dimed" or "When Work Disappears" to understand the struggles that low income people go through day by day in the struggle to get work, to get to work, to get a home, and to get from and to home.
As Governor, he rode for one stop on the Red Line to show how safe the subway was after the London bombings -- again a great photo-op that was marred by his failure to know the exact fare.
Alas, I think the Romney we see in this campaign is the Romney that is. That is surprising given his vaunted analytic and managerial competence.
It was however, the exception.
During his candidacy and during his time in office, Romney was characterized by the triumph of style (or photo-op) over substance.
When a candidate he worked for a day as a burger flipper and a fish processor so he could understand what ordinary folk were like. Great photo-ops but little gain in understanding. To gain that, he should have read "Nickled and Dimed" or "When Work Disappears" to understand the struggles that low income people go through day by day in the struggle to get work, to get to work, to get a home, and to get from and to home.
As Governor, he rode for one stop on the Red Line to show how safe the subway was after the London bombings -- again a great photo-op that was marred by his failure to know the exact fare.
Alas, I think the Romney we see in this campaign is the Romney that is. That is surprising given his vaunted analytic and managerial competence.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
A Better Way to Buy Politicians
Lindsay Mark Lewis aims at the wrong target in the op-ed, "A Better Way to Buy Politicians" (New York Times, February 17th., 2012: A23).
The question is not how to buy politicians, but who does the buying?
Right now, corporations and their surrogates (Trade Associations, the US Chamber of Commerce) do the buying -- but they do it with our money!
It is the corporate cash flows that we contribute through our purchases of the goods and services they provide that enable the corporations to swamp the political field with money.
We should be able to eliminate the middleman (the Corporation). Individuals should have the right to make contributions to politicians and to political parties. But the favored few, corporate executives and members of Boards of Directors, should not have the right to use a second channel for unlimited contributions.
It is time to amend the constitution so that political contributions can be limited by law.
Sent to New York Times
The question is not how to buy politicians, but who does the buying?
Right now, corporations and their surrogates (Trade Associations, the US Chamber of Commerce) do the buying -- but they do it with our money!
It is the corporate cash flows that we contribute through our purchases of the goods and services they provide that enable the corporations to swamp the political field with money.
We should be able to eliminate the middleman (the Corporation). Individuals should have the right to make contributions to politicians and to political parties. But the favored few, corporate executives and members of Boards of Directors, should not have the right to use a second channel for unlimited contributions.
It is time to amend the constitution so that political contributions can be limited by law.
Sent to New York Times
Monday, January 30, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Dont Mind the Gap
I do mind the gap.
In his op-ed piece, Andrew Kohut ignores the problems that both rich and poor have in countries and other jurisdictions with high inequality (Don't mind the Gap. New York Times, January 27, 2012: A21).
In their book, The Spirit Level, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett enumerate the problems:
In developed countries, there is a strong negative relationship between inequality and life expectancy; though only a very weak relationship with average wealth. Similar results when we compare inequality and life expectancy across the states in the USA: a strong negative relationship. Again little relationship with the average wealth of the state.
A whole set of other indicators (trust, negative; infant mortality, positive; incarceration rates, positive; well-being, negative).
So inequality matters and it is important to note that it is both rich and poor who suffer from these negative effects. Undoubtedly the poor suffer more.
In the light of the 15% tax rates paid by some of the very rich, we need to thoroughly reform the income tax system to bring back an equitable distribution
Sent to New York Times relevant to Don't Mind the Gap
In his op-ed piece, Andrew Kohut ignores the problems that both rich and poor have in countries and other jurisdictions with high inequality (Don't mind the Gap. New York Times, January 27, 2012: A21).
In their book, The Spirit Level, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett enumerate the problems:
In developed countries, there is a strong negative relationship between inequality and life expectancy; though only a very weak relationship with average wealth. Similar results when we compare inequality and life expectancy across the states in the USA: a strong negative relationship. Again little relationship with the average wealth of the state.
A whole set of other indicators (trust, negative; infant mortality, positive; incarceration rates, positive; well-being, negative).
So inequality matters and it is important to note that it is both rich and poor who suffer from these negative effects. Undoubtedly the poor suffer more.
In the light of the 15% tax rates paid by some of the very rich, we need to thoroughly reform the income tax system to bring back an equitable distribution
Sent to New York Times relevant to Don't Mind the Gap
Friday, January 27, 2012
Kerry's black eyes
It is a pity that John Kerry was not able to sport his black eyes and
damaged nose when he ran for president (Charlie Baker get ready. Boston
Globe, January 26, 2012).
That would surely have trumped President Bush's playing of the windsurfing card.
It might even have led to victory.
Sent to Boston Globe
That would surely have trumped President Bush's playing of the windsurfing card.
It might even have led to victory.
Sent to Boston Globe
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