Tag: Elections

Workers Real Wages Fall

This is what should be talked about in the media.  But no…instead we get an array of mindless speculation on who the Veep will be.

US prices jumped in July by their highest month-to-month rate since 1981, in one of the sharpest inflation spikes since the Second World War.

The July Producer Prices index, reported Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rose by 1.2 percent, on top of a 1.8 percent increase in June. “Core” prices, which exclude food and energy, shot up by .7 percent, more than triple economists’ expectations. Producer prices were up 9.8 percent from a year ago.

The consumer price statistics released last Thursday mirrored the producer price statistics. Seasonally-adjusted consumer prices jumped .8 percent last month—more than double earlier predictions—and were up 5.6 percent since July 2007. Even so, inflation has picked up in recent months. While the Consumer Price Index rose at a comparatively low annualized rate of only 2.8 percent in the first quarter, it shot up at an annualized rate of ten percent in the past three months.

The living standards of workers continue to decline as the purchasing power of their wages falls and pay increases fail to keep up with inflation. The most recent Bureau of Labor statistics report found that real average weekly earnings fell by .8 percent from June to July. Over the past year, weekly earnings fell by 3.1 percent. Thus, the average household now earns a staggering $1,500 less than it would if wages had kept pace with inflation over the past twelve months.

Skyrocketing prices, falling wages, rising unemployment, and falling home values are all lining up to create a massive social catastrophe. According to Credit Suisse, the credit analyst, there will be some 6.5 million home foreclosures by 2012, amounting to 12.7 percent of homeowners with mortgages. While arranging multi-billion dollar bailout of big investors involved in the mortgage meltdown, the Democrats and Republicans have offered no relief for working people facing the loss of their homes and unsustainable levels of debt.

Now the question is:  will the worker finally wake up and realize that the two candidates are offering nothing but a continuation of the crap they are facing now?  Or will they just slide into their party politics and screw themselves yet again?

What Is This Election’s Industrial Policy?

Every year there is an election the Parties come up with a way to fight the deficit and one of those techniques is an Industrial policy for long term growth. Can you guess what it is in this election cycle? Sure you can, just think about it. Want another clue? It is the policy that the government will use as a direct role in the influencing the development of a specific industry that they see as needed for long term growth.

Time is up—Green Industries. Each candidate has had some form of grand plan to stimulate the economy and provide long term growth package built around green industries. Regardless of which of the two parties we are talking about the techniques employed will be the same. These are tax incentives, direct assistance, research support or other forms of subsidies. Any of this sound familiar?

Obama has promised to throw his weight behind green technology to stimulate the economy and bring back those jobs that have left the country for overseas. McCain has also thumped his chest with promises of green jobs and technology. Both candidates are linking the institution of green jobs with other forms of long term growth.

Both of the major candidates are putting all their apples in the green technology cart. Personally, on one hand I think it is about time that the government got involved with the seriousness it deserves on the protection of the environment and if jobs come along with it, so much the better. On the other hand, I see this falling by the way side once the election is over and we have our new president. Makes me think of the idea Clinton had back in 1993, when the government entering into a joint effort with the major American automakers, to develop a low energy car…..that attempt was pretty much a bust and wasted time and money.

Another problem that I foresee is the industry itself, the government does not have a crystal ball on which sector of green technology will be the most successful. There is another problem, industries chase profit and if there is no profit then the program will shut down. Then it brings the problem of what ifs. This push for green technology can also waste much needed resources that could be spent on the crumbling infrastructure.

Green is good….but at what cost?

Can The Electoral College Be Killed?

This old piece of garbage is long overdue for the scrap heap.  It is NO longer need and no longer wanted.  This is a synopsis of a piece written by Pamela Prah:

First it was the presidential primary calendar that state legislatures across the country upended to give their voters a greater say this year in choosing candidates. Now a few states are orchestrating an overhaul of the way voters select the U.S. president.
Voters this fall will still use the Electoral College to determine the next occupant of the White House, but a movement is bubbling at the state level to bypass the process and instead ensure future presidents are the candidates who get the most votes nationwide — an outcome not always guaranteed under the current system.
Those who remember their history classes know that American voters don’t directly elect a president — states do through “electors” who typically vote for the candidate who drew the most votes in their state.
“Why are all the other elections in this country based on the popular vote except for the most important one, the presidency?” asks Barry F. Fadem, president of the National Popular Vote, a group based in California that aims to persuade state legislatures to implement a nationwide popular election of the president. He called today’s system “flat-out, wrong” and expressed optimism that enough states will pass the legislation in time for the 2012 presidential election.

National Popular Vote was launched in 2006 and is largely founded by its chairman, John R. Koza, a scientist best known for inventing the rub-off instant lottery ticket used by state lotteries and his work in genetic programming at Stanford University. In the 1980s, he and Fadem, an attorney, were active in promoting adoption of lotteries in the states

Calls to reform or abolish the Electoral College were common after the 2000 presidential election, when former Vice President Al Gore won the popular vote, but didn’t have enough votes in the right states to carry the electoral vote over Republican George W. Bush. While Bush won the popular vote in 2004, he could have lost the election if John Kerry (D) had won Ohio.
Despite the hand-wringing over what many call an obsolete election system, little has happened, largely because dumping the Electoral College means changing the U.S. Constitution, an arduous task that requires two-thirds approval of Congress and three-fourths of the states. The National Popular Vote would keep the Electoral College, but change the way electoral votes are awarded.

Under the current system, candidates have no reason to poll, visit, advertise, organize, or pay attention to the concerns of states where they are safely ahead or hopelessly behind, Fadem said. For example, presidential nominees have long ignored California because the state is considered a solid “blue” state that will award its 55 electoral votes to the Democratic candidate.

As was said everything, everywhere is a popular vote, then why is not the president chosen that way.  It is time for the Electoral College to be put in the museum next to T Rex, it is a dinosaur and is an extinct mode for an election.

Ballot Box Gives What Revolution Cannot

For many many years Maoist guerrillas fought to control the country of Nepal.  Many deaths and many peace attempts and nothing was accomplished but more and more blood shed.  Recently a peace accord was signed and basically all parties honored it with minor outbreaks of violence here and there.

Then the election process began and the results were not what most of the world was looking for.

Nepal’s Maoists have accomplished at the ballot box what they did not achieve as guerrillas on the battlefield — winning a chance to transform their country.

Officials said Thursday that the former rebels have won the most seats in the Himalayan nation’s new governing assembly.

The Maoists, who are still considered terrorists by the United States, took more than double the number of their nearest rival in an April 10 election meant to seal a peace deal that ended their decade-long insurgency.

While the Maoists will not have an absolute majority in the 601-seat Constituent Assembly, they are expected to form the backbone of Nepal’s new government and usher in sweeping changes to the impoverished country.

Now we will see if they will try and push their Maoist ideology or if it was just they wanted the power to control the country.  Once again, extremist gain more power through the ballot box than with the gun.

Which Candidate To Choose

Choosing A Candidate

I have spent many, many years analyzing, researching and then supporting this candidate or that. Below I offer you the whole process I go through to find “my” candidate. Am I successful? Hell no! There are no guarantees when you are dealing with politicians, but at least I take a long look before I support. I think that is the key to the people taking back the political process from the parties.

Things I look for:

Does the candidate appear to be capable or is he just a face in the crowd?

What are his/her qualifications?

the proposed ideas and positions of the candidate similar to yours? Not just one, but a majority.

Who are the groups supporting him/her?

Is he/her a leader?

Is the positions canned or is there originality?

Warning signs:

A candidate that has nothing but emotional issues.

Are solutions to problems realistic? Or is it just taking points.

Solutions offered are simple, no sacrifice to complex problems.

Does the candidate only speak on gay issues, race, immigration, the flag–emotional issues, but never speakes about real issues like healthcare, education, etc.

A candidate that only tells you what they want you to hear and not reality.

The biggest, use of negative campaigns and gives false impressions of their opponent.

I sincerely hope this will help people find their candidate. This is not the only “benchmarks”, but it will get one started in the right direction in finding their perfect candidate. Remember, a one issue candidate, even if it is your hot button issue, is never a good choice. Keep in mind that all presidents leave their mark and it will most likely effect your children or grandchildren more than you, so their futures or lack of, should be a concern when picking a candidate to support.

Remember also that your choice will be something that you must live with for the next 4 years.or longer. This should be used for local, state and national candidates. The person you choose will be your voice in the government. Or will he/she?