Detroit’s bankruptcy is a study of how to do yourself in. The union culture of Detroit prescribed a policy similar to that of Greece. The pension generosity and welfare mentality has to be paid for by someone, in all kinds of ways. And, Detroit has been paying, but not enough.
A few decades ago Detroit lost it’s political leadership, and this will always show-up, usually a generation or so later. A good lesson for the electorate of the nation. At any rate, the Federal Government should stay out of Detroit; simply on matters of principle. After all, the Federal Government couldn’t afford it, even if it was a good cause.
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It’s alarming how much influence the media establishment commands in maneuvering thought and thus action. Paula Dean, the Southern cooking queen confessed to using the “N” word from years earlier. I don’t know how old she is, but growing up in the pre-civil rights South it was common to hear the “N” word. It had a somewhat different interpretation then, and was used in non-hostile conversation. Yet, it was offensive, and although commonly used with discretion, it was wrong wordage, even back then.
But, there was other references, also offensive and downgrading. The “C” word or “Cracker” was a term used to describe poor white people in the South. I don’t know if Ms Dean was asked if she had addressed or even referred to people using the “C” word. If so, I think the media establishment would have forgiven her. But, with the “N” word; that’s the unpardonable. The media has been bragging on Bob Dole for his counseling session to the Republican Party via the media. He compares his long tenure of “getting our work done” with the slowness in Congress today. I understand much of Dole’s complaints and would certainly agree with many of his assertions. For instance, I think the House has taken 37 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It is asinine to take that much time running on a dead-end road. I don’t think Dole’s class would have pursued like behavior and the waste of time. But the pettiness of the current roster in Congress and especially the establishment-disdained Tea Party is only a fraction of the sad story.
Dole served, including the House and Senate, from 1961 to 1996. Many observers will date the general decline of the country from the post WW-11 period, especially from the 60’s on. Although, there are numerous technological, educational, financial, and even select cultural advances in this era; the seeds of decay were sown, and sown deep. Dole was there for much of it. The modern welfare state was birthed during the Dole era. There was a lot of lost debates; a lot of lost votes; by the opponents of the welfare state. But, in the end most of the opposition seemed to get re-elected. If the same value-system had been applied to the politicians, as to football coaches, many politicians would have been out of a job. The intensity of the welfare-state struggle was never such that a pliant, ill-informed, and passive voter could become aroused. The result was the development of a welfare state that cannot now be sustained. Dole was there when the snake-oil salesmen raided the Reagan Administration. I may have missed it, but I don’t remember Dole making a stand against some of the bizarre economic theories that have landed the country into international borrowing and a multi-generational debt prison. Dole and his class seemed to have maintained a reticent position, as year after year and decade after decade, our economy and the means of production steadily consolidated. As a result, our whole economic freedoms, that we boost about, is now being challenged or in jeopardy by monopolies, oligopolies, and financial concentration. If you roll back 50 years or more we have had a cultural make-over in the country. Cultural practices and cultural thinking have radically changed for the worse. Dole’s class, and those of his persuasion, did have some success in keeping back the destructive forces we see emerging today. Yet, there were big losses in his time. It was Dole’s class, in all that nearly 40 years, that set-up much of today’s struggles. When, finally, a political force says, we cannot continue on this course without eventually losing our freedoms; then, that stand, commonly becomes uncivil ! I know there are many factors and angles to the IRS scandal. Yet, as more facts and attitudes surface I feel the people of IRS, that committed the wrongs, could have easily felt philosophically secure. Among our many competing diversities is the ever growing government component in the economy. The IRS, is very much a part of the government component.
The populists movements, of all sorts, are generally opponents to the government component. Even if they don’t win elections, they will educate and ultimately they will make an intellectual threat to the status quo. All this, in time, could reap a harvest; a harvest of fundamental restoration of a more diverse Federalism. This is not good news for those who believe in an all-encompassing central government. The intellectual war is underway. The Tea Party, for one, has rightly recognized that the advocates for this powerful central government come from the corporate world, the academic, as well as the halls of Congress. The IRS employee attitudes might be more common than many might think or want to admit. The IRS employees, top to bottom, certainly discern a threat ! That does not have to come through a chain of command. That may explain, partly, why the Senator became irate, by the “lying by omission” charge against the former head of the agency. When General Motors was going down the tube in 2009, the American taxpayers provided a 50 billion bail-out. The decision was not universally popular, as much of GM’s problems were self-imposed. This is the same GM of “see the USA in your Chevrolet”. President Obama and Vice-President Biden bragged big-time about this “successful bail-out” in the 2012 campaign.
Now we learn that GM is spending 11 billion on new production facilities in China by 2016. They will be creating 6,000 new jobs in China. Yet, they have only invested 8.5 billion in U.S. operations since the bankruptcy. This week a professional athlete announced that he was a homosexual. It received nation-wide news coverage. Incredible ! Or, should I say, incredible just a few years ago. It was not so much that he claimed homosexuality, but that he was treated as a hero. He received a personal phone call from the President.
A few days ago the President went to a meeting of the abortion organization, Planned Parenthood, and inferred that 42 states that have various regulations and restrictions on abortions, where somewhat out of tune with the times. Also, only a few days ago there was a laugh-party In Washington called Correspondences Dinner. But, the dinner was heavily attended by individuals in the entertainment business. The attendees caused some fuss. It was encouraging to see some correspondences boycotted the party. I guess, for them, it was just not a fit place to be. A few weeks ago a media news person announced she was pregnant and planning a family with her female pardner. She was cheered by her colleagues. So, what an inside out, bottom over top, perverted society some would have us be. The abnormal would be normal; the unnatural natural; good is evil and vice verso; the strange would be the standard. Much of this outlandishness is defended as a “rights” crusade. The somber truth remains that every persons most fundamental civil rights is very secure. Most liberties; likewise. But, you haven’t heard a peep from your Congressman or Senator. When have they been at the well of the Senate or the House denouncing all the frolicking and nonsense that goes on in high places. The politicians know that the elite are not comfortable with alluding to ethics, morals, family values, etc. because it has religious overtones. Of course, most people in government know that religion is a big taboo. We must understand that politicians don’t lead anymore - they are led. Sometimes they are led by the most degenerate elements is society A sensitive ideology has come after a couple of economists, named Reinhart and Rogoff, for concluding, in an academic study, that large government debt ratios impedes growth. Why would we have to confirm this proposition by facts and figures; would not common sense direct us to this result? Maybe I forgot common sense is not so common anymore.
The study called, “Growth in a Time of Debt”, did establish perimeters on debt and growth. The study claims that gross public debt equaling 90% or more of the nations annual output was associated with lower rates of growth. Of course, this whole dispute is more relevant to Europe and the course of austerity being administered to several countries is the European Union. Germany, whose debt ratio falls under the 90% is an advocate for austerity. Then, others says it is cruel to impose bread and butter cuts at a time of recession, which Europe continues to suffer through. They say the time for austerity plans and structural changes would be when the economy starts to heal. The problem with that thinking is at a time of economic growth restoration, there appears little incentive to cut waste of repair structure. Politicians are especially lazy in the stable times and avoid any “unnecessary trouble.” Our Congress abhors preventive maintenance. We like to operate by deadline and sequester. When we take any austerity action, we do so with a very gentle touch. So gentle in fact, it is hardly noticeable, such as the proposed entitlement adjustments. We prefer just piling on the debt ! Our debt to GDP is 106% and no doubt still growing as I write this post. Some people think we will end up like the countries of southern Europe or worse. I guess I am puzzled by all the fuss about the impact of debt. Of course, debt , at high levels restrain growth and mobility. It is no different for governments than private business or even households for that matter. If the head of a family owes money on the house, automobile, furniture, and boat; all this debt should indicate he might hold back before going in debt for the Winnebago. There has been a lot of frustration, among many, for the effective media boycott of the Gosnell trial. Gosnell, an abortion doctor from Philadelphia, is accused of killing infants at birth. The type murder that the advocates of Roe, say would be avoided by the Supreme Court decision.
I think it is fair to say that this story is very news worthy, but it is not an attractive story for the national news media establishment. Some cultural issues sort of run against the grain of the national media thinking. I understand as many as 70 congressmen have signed a petition asking for national news coverage of this trial. Increasingly, the best way to think of the national media is that of one voice. A kind of amplified group-think. The national media is also the voice of advocacy, however subtly it might be packaged. I know there is competition among the outlets, but it seems they are kept within unspoken perimeters. The media likes to talk and write about economics more than cultural issues, but economics is more of a symptom than anything else. I have long contended that the prime political problem with Congress is too much likeness, rather than too many differences. While there are differences in society at large, that are growing, they are not reflected by the members of Congress. These deep differences of society are certainly not articulated by Congress or the media. What you get from Congress is “scratch fights” and pettiness, which many members have discovered contributes to their re-election. Of course, re-election is paramount.
However, occasionally, a matter comes before Congress that defies party associations. Such is the bill known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, or Internet sales tax. This bill, which forces on-line retailers to collect sales tax has been a long time coming. After all, Mom and Pop’s, however small, have been collecting sales tax all along. The Senate bill does have a one million dollar exemption. Some would like the exemption raised to ten million. While it want completely level the field, it brings a long overdue fairness in commerce. The bill is supported by the President and some of the most reliable conservatives in Washington. So, it seems, for this bill, it will be decided on it’s merits alone. If you look at census data, which I did today, you will see the counties of east Tennessee are falling behind. Most counties can’t keep up with their own state or the nation. Our manufacturing is in a long decline, and the age of the consumer is exiting.
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AuthorBill Bays Archives
April 2016
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