The results from Tuesday's elections are in, and many are commenting on the political shift in Washington and across the states. However, the election process underscored a few key facts about voter sentiment that should not be lost on newly elected representatives and leaders: Families are deeply concerned about their economic well-being, and are still reeling from the deepest recession in memory. They want good jobs, opportunity for their children, retirement security, fair rules that prevent financial industry abuses, and a responsible fiscal path forward that ends the recession and creates lasting prosperity. The bottom line is, Americans want a sustained economic recovery and a government that will work to achieve it.
Unfortunately, many candidates campaigned using messages that played on voters' deeply held anxieties and fears, without offering solutions to address them. People are frustrated, and it is up to these newly elected officials -- and those currently holding office -- to act in the voters' interests.
This is a time to act boldly and ensure that public investment to build the middle class is high on the legislative agenda. This is one of our most important shared priorities. And, as a nation, we convene every other year to elect, as we did on Tuesday, new stewards of those priorities, and our future. Americans want government to act decisively.
Despite fiery campaign rhetoric, again and again Americans have spoken out in support for public investment in the structures at the core of our society and that lead to a sustainable and growing middle class. Our fellow citizens want effective and well-funded public schools and access to affordable higher education, safe and modern transportation infrastructure, robust public safety systems through fully supporting our police and fire departments, and clean air and water. They want sustainable and living-wage jobs, which means investing in research and innovation; they want Social Security strengthened for generations to come; they want health care costs reduced, and to ensure that more of their loved ones, friends and neighbors have access to adequate and affordable care. Americans want government to put these things at the top of the 'to invest in' priority list. They are more important to families now than ever before.
Americans want to move past political stalemate. They want their future secure, and call on government to meet our national priorities and challenges. Demos will continue to work with our elected officials in Washington, DC, and across the states, and with advocates and concerned citizens everywhere, to advance an agenda that moves this nation toward full economic recovery and future prosperity.
Miles Rapoport is President of the non-partisan policy center Demos and former Secretary of the State of Connecticut.
1) Get the government out of our faces.
2) Want "investment"? Then relieve the tax burden from everyone. All up and all in the avergae American is paying close to 50% of their income in taxes (combined fed and state). We can all better use our own money better then funneling it through the government.
3) Don't scare even more people with the ideas of more spending and more taxes.
The President reneged on his personal promise to renegotiate NAFTA and Democrats have failed as a group to properly address the offshoring of American manufacturing jobs. The result is that once steadfast support from labor in this region of the country has dissipated. It dissapated in direct correlation to the number of jobs lost in the last two years and with the dissapation of hope brought on by Presidential and Congressional inaction on trade policy.
The Democrats will be hard pressed to reelect President Obama with a strategy that is directed at the east and west coast and leaves America's heartland in the cold.
If Democrats continue to neglect tax and trade policy that works to the benefit of American manufacturing and brings back those blue collar jobs to the so called rust belt states they have lost their viability as a national party.
Democrats lost the South long ago and now they seem to be willing to lose the Rust Belt as well.
They won't get any of the three.
They will get these though:
1) More job losses and jobs permanently moved overseas by an emboldened Corporate Class.
2) Permanent Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy (the feckless Senate Dems will roll over on this one)
3) A paralyzed Washington DC as the House spends all of it's time investigating Obama and the Senate gets absolutely NOTHING passed due to structural gridlock.
Welcome to the Oligarchy.
Paul Craig Roberts: America's Job Losses are Permanent
"...The correct conclusion is that the US trade deficit with China is the result of “globalism” or jobs offshoring, not Chinese currency manipulation.
An important point always overlooked is that the US is dependent on China for many manufactured products including high technology products that are no longerproduced in the US. Revaluation of the Chinese currency would raise the dollar price of these products in the US. The greater the revaluation, the greater the price rise. The impact on already declining US living standards would be dramatic.
When US policymakers argue that the solution to America’s problems is a stronger Chinese currency, they are yet again putting the burden of adjustment on the out-of-work, indebted, and foreclosed American population.
Paul Craig Roberts was an editor of the Wall Street Journal and an Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury..."
2) The "wealthy" also includes the companies and corporations that employ millions of Americans.
3) No one is going to "investigate" Barack Obama.
The fact that we essentially have that status right now (effective tax rates on the top .01% are in the low single-digits after taking in to account their capital-gains rate and tax shelters) shows that you don't live in reality.
DeMint, Issa, Bachmann, and others have already stated, repeatedly, that they will open "investigations" using their newfound supoena powers on Day 1 of the new Congress.
'Priorities include lowering taxes for wealthy individuals and for businesses, repealing environmental protections and paring down health care reform.'
That should help all us regular voters.
This is exactly what OBAMA was trying to give them, and what the Rs will take away. Just goes to show how dumb people are. To quote Agent Kay: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals"
The GOP will not allow public investment to improve the job situation. They want to cut the deficit, not increase it (although, an increase in the proper areas will actually improve the economy, force companies to expand and/or rehire many of us, almost 16M people, into productive jobs). The companies want to sit on their piles of cash and pay bonuses to their executives for their work on cutting back to stay profitable. They don't see the long-term issues of foreign competition and how they've continued to send our jobs overseas for manufacturing, high-tech computer work and service and support efforts. Cheap is a reality. However, when China and India someday introduce products which look eerily similar to those formerly made here in the US prior to using foreign workers, there will be no way for these US firms to recoup any losses.
We now have a considerable hurdle just ahead. Can we leap over it and continue on?
We have always been the example for everyone else to use as a form of government to use. However, we are now the laughing stock of the world due to our completely illogical and silly political climate. No one likes a bully and we've become just that in the world, as we are now the only super power (although, China's on the rise).
We may be the strongest economy, but how much longer can that last when greed rules over everything else? It led us into the Great Recession with the greed being present in govt., the banking and financing and insurance industries, and with many people who wanted to buy big houses on insufficient income.
1. Cut federal employees=unemployed
2. Cut Federal program=unemployment and higher taxes in the states.
3. Increase jobs= but don't spend any money--lower the tax rates for businees and lower the cofers.
4. Stay out of my life=why isn't the goverment doing something.
5. Cut earmarks=no money for roads and other state projects=no projects=no jobs creation=more state taxes to cove what really needs to be done, like bridges falling down.
6. Cut education=53 billion to be picked up by the states.
7. Cut unemployment insurance=increased forclosures
You betcha==we will see how this a plays out.
faved
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Well, the results seem to indicate otherwise. The voters have by their voice elected people who have seemingly done the opposite. I've yet to see a rationale plan from the Republicans on increasing jobs, recovering the economy and making government work to achieve it. The principal winners of the election last night: Rand Paul, specifically, want to dismantle the government, allow for corporations to do as they see fit (which doesn't mean increasing jobs in America by the way), and have put forward nothing substantive with respect to recovering the economy.
So, it will be very interesting how Mr. Boehner can take his new found majority and accomplish what the author has said the people are looking for. I hope for the country's sake, that an election brings new powers of wisdom to the Republicans because they have not exhibited any up to this point.
Leaving some of the more outrageous candidates behind speaks to the intelligence of their voters. How we deal with those equally mindless candidates will test our negotiating abilities. How my fellow Illinois voters could elect Kirk still amazes me. Putting it on a low-personal level has me begging the question: If your seemingly good friend has been lieing about you and the values you hold, would you still trust that personl and consider them a friend? Could you ever trust what they say or do in the future? That is my view of Kirk. Perhaps many others considered him the lesser of two evils. I put more trust in those whose power and conviction would temper Alexi's actions. I do not have inside information, but I suspect that his relationship with the failed family bank was not a professional one at the time of its demise, but a familial one. He continued to "belong" to the "family."
The Republicans have no intention of letting anything that will help average Americans come to pass during the Obama Administration. The one and only idea is to tie up the government for 4 years so they can again take over the government. There is no other Republican agenda. They have absolutly no other interest and if millions more Americans lose their jobs and homes and life savings, then so be it.
I hope for wisdom and newly found ethical behavior. However, I am not going to hold my breath as I really don't believe I am a Smurf.
The voters really don't know what they've done. While they may believe they voted for change (once again), thinking the GOP may have an answer to our woes, they will see that what really occurred was Gridlock and a continued "blame game" with Boehner and McConnell blaming the Dems for all of our woes. They will rely on the fickle and short-term memory of the US electorate by blaming our economic woes on President Obama.
The common US elector is woefully unequipped to vote. They know little of the facts and vote for either the person who looks the best on TV or says what they want to hear. They don't wish to learn about the candidate and his/her ideas or ideals. They are swayed by the rhetoric and lies of the many TV ads. While this is an issue for both parties, it is the GOP which has benefited the most from it. They do not wish to truly educate the public on the issues as they would surely lose money from their contributors. It is all about money, folks. Money brings power and power begats money. What a circle that is...
We need campaign and election reform coupled with zero lobbying. Strict limits need to occur. Business as usual is a death knell to our Democracy.
The Dems and Repubs used to be able intelligently debate the issues and sanely discuss contentious items. Each was a sounding board to the other side. No more. When did this intransigence occur? Seems to me that it occurred during the 1980s. Why did the Republicans hate Bill Clinton so much? Was it due to the Reagan era and his rhetoric in blaming the Democrats for everything bad? Was it due to Clinton beating Bush in 1992? Was it due to Carter having been drummed by Reagan? Was it due to the rise of the "holier than thou" attitudes of the religious right?
In any case, we do need to revamp our entire political system. It is too corrupt, with too many special interests in-charge, too much greed, megalomania, and too much anger, avarice and apathy in the electorate.
On a brighter note, I see your book is going to be released this month. Will you autograph my copy?
Joanie
Democrats AND Republicans are just two wings of what Thomas Ferguson calls the Property Party in his "Golden Rule:..." book:
http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Rule-Investment-Competition-Money-Driven/dp/0226243176
Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the
Logic of Money-Driven Political Systems (American Politics and Political Economy Series
It's almost impossible to get third-parties on the ballot:
http://www.thelibertyvoice.com/ralph-nader-ron-paul-agree-ballot-access-laws-are-rigged-against-independent-third-party-candidates
Ralph Nader & Ron Paul Agree: Ballot Access Laws are Rigged Against Independent & Third Party Candidates | The Liberty Voice
The Federal Absentee ballot allows write-ins:
http://www.fvap.gov/resources/media/fwab.pdf
FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT INSTRUCTIONS
It would NOT be easy, but it's possible that a slate of independent or third-party candidates could be elected to Congress and the White House, bypassing the Democrats and Republicans, both beholding to corporations.
President William K, Black sounds good.