With the death toll at 40 and rising, historic flooding in Vermont and parts of upstate New York, millions without power and an estimated $7-10 billion worth of damage, we can hardly say that anything about Hurricane Irene is cause for celebration -- but it would have been much, much worse were it not for the amazing collective action both by the federal and local governments, and by neighbors and communities.
The storm's proximity to the 10th anniversary of 9/11 gives these efforts added resonance. At a time when the nation seems paralyzed and polarized, the pending milestone has already been cause for reflection about a time -- in the days and weeks after the attacks -- when the country showed all the incredible ways that we could come together. That spirit still exists at the community level, but has been lost at the national level.
Over the last weekend, we watched the country once again come together as we tapped into that All-American barn-raising -- or, in this case, barn-maintaining -- spirit. After the storm passed in New York City, there was certainly relief, but also a kind of exhilaration at having gone through an intense, shared experience with a lot of other people. We came through it a little bit closer to one another than we went into it.
What Irene and the response to it showed is that when the media devote wall-to-wall attention to something, and government officials bring a sense of urgency and ask the public to respond in kind, remarkable things can happen. What this weekend demonstrated is that even though we can't do anything to stop the hurricane, with resolve and collective action we can greatly mitigate its destructive impact. Clearly, that capacity is always there. The question is: why do we only tap into it for natural disasters and external attacks?
The fact is, we have another crisis that's been hovering over the entire United States for almost three years now and shows no signs of blowing over. The numbers should be just as scary as the ones that have dominated our national conversation about Irene:
Right now, there are over 25 million Americans unemployed or underemployed.
The number who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more is over 6 million.
The average duration of unemployment now stands at over 40 weeks, the highest since the financial crisis began.
With the toll that the job crisis is taking on the lives of millions of people in this country -- from college graduates who can't get jobs to middle class families being thrown out of their homes -- this is a Category 5 disaster. In extreme cases, financial desperation has even been a reported cause in suicides. "We have noticed many more people mentioning the economy," said Eve Meyer, executive director of the nonprofit San Francisco Suicide Prevention, which has seen an increase in suicides on the Golden Gate Bridge. "We constantly hear, 'I'm going to be homeless; I would rather be dead than be homeless.'"
Studies show that around 18 months into an economic crisis, suicides begin to rise. "Benefits run out and the crises begin to multiply," said Meyer. Plus, we know that there are myriad other downstream life-and-death consequences of prolonged, economic decline.
Faced with the threat of economic devastation, and even the loss of life: in one instance, we move heaven and earth to prevent them; in the other, we simply accept them. Why is that?
As Hurricane Irene first bore down on North Carolina, various government agencies sprang into action. Scientists and experts were called in to help. Models and forecasts were produced -- then quickly acted upon. We knew what the economic and human consequences would be if we didn't act, so we did.
And then the media sprang into action. Reporters didn't just give us the facts, they told us stories and created a sense of shared experience. Yes, coverage of extreme weather often goes overboard -- sometimes literally (as Jeff Jarvis Tweeted: CNN guy standing in water when he could be standing on pier right next to him. Needless, showoff idiocy. #stormporn) -- but the excessive coverage showed how effective the media can be when they declare something urgent and vital. There were often so many reporters swarming the scene that, as the New York Times' Nick Confessore Tweeted, "Stopped to interview someone. It was another reporter. #irene #reporterproblems."
If only there were as many reporters eager to report from the multiple scenes of our jobs crisis. Despite the fact that, in poll after poll, Americans say that jobs is the issue most important to them, a study by the National Journal concluded that reporting about unemployment fell during the last two years while stories about the deficit skyrocketed.
Of course, the media are not alone in this pivot away from the real emergency. This past weekend, we saw the parade of governors and mayors -- Christie, Bloomberg, Cuomo, O'Malley, Corbett, Perdue -- in the now familiar Emergency Press Conference Protocol: sporting windbreakers, standing in front of a temporary podium, flanked by emergency personnel and the heads of relevant agencies, all with looks of grim determination and resolve. It's the look of action. It's the look that says, "This is not going to be easy but we are up to the task and will do everything in our power." And they did to great effect.
Contrast that with the dominant message about the jobs crisis: paralysis, acquiescence, resignation. Not a lot of windbreaker moments.
My guess is that the approval ratings for all those mentioned above are going to rise because of their strong, effective performances during the hurricane. Compare that with the attitudes found in a recent Pew poll. President Obama got a job approval rating of 43 percent. The number viewing the GOP favorably was 34 percent. Congress got 25 percent. And 86 percent reported that they felt "angry" or "frustrated" with the federal government.
Respond to a crisis, and the public responds back. Don't respond, and the public grows angry and frustrated.
Just as we knew what the consequences of not acting would have been during Irene, we know what the consequence of not acting have been -- and will continue to be -- with the jobs crisis. As Paul Krugman points out, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2015 there will be a total output gap -- the difference between what we're capable of producing and what we are producing -- of $5.1 trillion.
What an enormous waste of human potential. And what makes it so tragic is that it's so avoidable. "If you had told people back in, say, 2007 that this would happen, they would have asserted with confidence that generating a faster recovery would be at the top of the political agenda," writes Krugman. "The fact that it isn't -- that deficits are still dominating the conversation, even as interest rates plumb record lows -- is truly remarkable."
In his speech on Sunday about Irene, the president rightly praised the emergency response and painted a picture of government and citizenry in common action. Just imagine if the following described the response to the jobs crisis and not just the hurricane:
"You need to know that America will be with you in your hour of need."
"... federal agencies are doing everything in their power to help folks on the ground."
"We're going to make sure that we respond as quickly and effectively as possible."
"This has been an exemplary effort of how good government at every level should be responsive to people's needs, work to keep them safe, and protect and promote the nation's prosperity."
"I want to thank scientists who provide the information necessary for governors and mayors to make sound decisions, disaster response experts who made sure we were as prepared as possible."
"... the past few days have been a shining example of how Americans open our homes and our hearts to those in need and pull together in tough times to help our fellow citizens prepare for and respond to, as well as recover from, extraordinary challenges, whether natural disasters or economic difficulties. That's what makes the United States of America a strong and resilient nation, a strong and resilient people."
He's right. All of that was true during the hurricane and it was moving to see it in action. Now that we've been reminded of what is possible, let's rally again -- this time in response to the devastating economic winds blowing across America.
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
Andy Horowitz: A Natural Disasters History Lesson for Ron Paul
Concluding my read of Arianna Huffington's brilliant editorial... commentary, images of Dorothea Lange's 1936 Migrant Mother: Mrs.Florence Owens Thompson at the age of 32, then the mother of seven children living in Nipomo California.
Indeed this is the gravity of a response the Obama administration needs to either match or exceed, in concert with congress. And they should proceed with it post haste... letter for letter.
Seriously, this is an emotional "call to action" to all Americans... President Obama and Congress, one that's perpetually instructive as we move forward!
My gratitude goes out to the ever illustrious founder of the Huffington Post: Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-chief of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group!
The enemy-Irene-was obvious though. She was quick and merciless. Easy to recognize. Not so with the jobs situation. It took time to develop and who or what do we change to fix it?...enter- stage left (or right)... politics!
One of our greatest enemies is our all too helpful politicians. The sausage (per Clinton) that the political arena produces is too often made up of ground-up citizens who we are supposed to help. It's just like the prescription drug problem in this country . Too many doctors writing too many prescriptions for too many dangerous drugs or too many politicians with too much access to too many legislative and monetary fixes (and pseudo-fixes). Give-em what they want Doc...if it doesn't kill'em it'll make-em stronger. Well-too many are getting killed.
But the job crisis will not go away any more than regrowing the forest (economy) that burnt down as a result of the Bush arsonists who destroyed it during their 8-year reign.
Assuming that Chris Matthews is correct when he stated that no president can be reelected when unemployment is above 8% that means that any Republican, even a Joe Walsh or Christine O'Donnell, could ascend to the White House by default.
But, like all crises, Republican¬s figure out ways to either create them overnight or successfully deflect them with other issues. Once either Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann arrives at the White House one of the first things we will hear is talk of bombing Iran since only a military crisis at this point can supersede the economy.
The Republican collective shrug of the shoulders will be, "What economy? Oh, that's so 2012!"
Then and only then will Republicans dust off their 'Support our Troops' bumper sticker ribbons and begin the propaganda campaign of 'You're either with us or with the terrorists'.
I fear the real power over our nation is in its media, a system which seems to be so completely controlled by corporate, intensely right-wing money, and growing more right-wing each day.
Whenever a balanced thinker is allowed to write an article and have it published, I find myself holding onto the message of that article and feeling somewhat as if I would not have the chance to read that kind of thinking much longer. Fearful of what we've already lost, are still losing in full fact reporting, I am very concerned about the future of our Constitution, our nation.
Please continue to support balanced thinking. Thanks for being you and holding up the importance of logic in all that you do.
Secondly, the media must stop trying to accumulating power onto themselves as power brokers and king makers. The power of their narrative can be extremely disruptive. As the politicians have become more isolated from the people so have the professional politicians in the media. Very few of them on the left and right who are wealthy have come out on their programs or in their articles have said, I am one of those wealthy individuals that have enjoyed the benefits of the Bush tax cuts and I am prepared to pay more. I can afford to pay $10K to $100K in taxes.
That said, Obama has continued the failed economic policies of bush (the lessor), continued and expanded the wars, and displayed a complete lack of leadership capabilities.
Great leadership isn't formed in the absence of oppositionÂ, but, in the presence of it. Great leaders draw us together in the common cause of our universal humanity. They galvanize the wills of the willing and draw a distinctioÂn of clarity from the otherwise seemingly unending sense of chaos.
It is this in which Obama has failed. It is this in which his popularity has fallen. It is in this that those who had "hope" for "change" were disappointÂed.
Obama may be many things, but a "great leader", or even a "leader" is simply not among them.
I always find it humorous when each governmental agency is applauded for it's function and yet all government is derided for being "big government".
Case in point. Ask any conservative about the military, certainly the most governmental of all agencies. You will hear glowing superlatives about the "finest", "best and brightest", "brave", "patriotic", men and women in uniform. Ask about the intelligence community, FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. and you'll hear about how they are "keeping us safe", "doing incredible work", facing "impossible challenges with great success". Similar words are spoken of the courts, federal prosecutors, secret service, DEA, and on and on.
It seems the only "government" the conservatives disagree with is anything dealing with the health, personal safety and welfare of the people. Items the people have paid for such as Social Security and Medicare. Items that allow us to live, such as the EPA's clean water and clean air regulations. Mine safety, car safety, food safety, oil drilling safety, bank gouging, unemployment insurance, etc., these are things to avoid. This is "big government" and it's regulations that we should hate.
And people wonder why some of us see conservatives as "nuts".
The floods are not caused by excessive rain, they are caused by negligence. Humans have totally failed to observe and work with the natural drainage systems of the land.
Deforested land has a seriously reduced ability to absorb and slow down the movement of rain water and plowed topsoil turns into a slurry and washes away filling streams and rivers.
Full of mud, the once deep rivers which would normally flow slow in the dry season and then fast in the rainy season now have no deep pools to take the extra load. So when there is a big rain, instead of flowing deep and fast, the water just spreads out over the land.
One of the biggest changes we can make is to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, the first and most important is to get our farmers to adopt pasture cropping as the main method of growing crops. That is non-tillage farming which means to plant seed directly into pasture.
Yes it does work and it will mean almost zero erosion, better absorption of rain water, and increased humus, read CARBON, in the soil.
If you're interested in sustainable land care, read books like 'Water for Every Farm', 'The One Straw Revolution' or any book of 'Permaculture'.
This site has lots of links organicandsustainablegardening.com
For info and links on sustainability.
Elected pols of both parties, at the bidding of their wealthy elite donors, are engaged in a freakish (doomed) effort to create a "one world economy" (something that would take centuries and for which no American has ever voted). This placement of Americans into wage competition with billions of workers around the world is making hopeless their quest for upward mobility for the indefinite future.
There will never (for countless generations) be "good jobs at good wages" in America for non-elites unless free trade is stopped cold and fair trade (aka sensible protectionism) is substituted in its stead. There are simply too many Chinese and Indians and others who reside in areas formerly known as the Third and Fourth worlds who are capable of performing the labor formerly and currently performed by Americans at far cheaper wages.
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are spinning in their graves at the extent to which mainstream Democrats and Republicans have bastardized their progressive experimental and internationalist outlook and policies.
It's time for a new left-liberal-green party to arise with an enlightened America-first neo-isoloationist perspective on domestic (economic), foreign and defense policy.
Eric C. Jacobson
Public Interest Lawyer
Los Angeles, California
http://www.libdems.us
Appreciate the props. But I'm not sure the real work of filling the vacuum of decency and idealism that has arisen in our country has yet really begun.
It can only be filled by a new party that melds the Greens and "DemocratiÂc wing of the Democratic Party" into a mailed fist, ready to do battle for the common good against both corrupt old parties.
Here, our friends in the Canadian New Democratic Party are showing us the way. Under their late gallant tribune, the great Jack Layton, they have already won the hearts and minds of the majority of Canadians dismayed at the selfishnesÂs and ruthlessneÂss of the conservatiÂve minority Harper government there and its lite Liberal Party counterparÂt. Canada will soon be Canada again.
But America will never be America again unless the better people of our country very soon get about the business of founding our version of the NDP, and building its foundationÂ.
As Dominic Cardy reminds us: "Anyone can talk about problems. Solutions are the hard, real core of progressivÂe politics." http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/1434159
The NDP had their Moses. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/08/22/jack-layton-dead-ndp-lead-cancer_n_932853.html?just_reloaded=1
Who will lead the liberal wing of the Dems out of their unholy alliance with their wealthy donors (who are foes of serious social justice) and into a new stalwart competitive "big tent" progressive party?
Eric