Lesson Learned

The one lesson I learned in fifty-two years of public service was as de Tocqueville said: "America is good." All elements of our society support the nation's economy, except Wall Street and its entities, such as the big banks, brokerage houses, etc.; a/k/a the financial leadership. It is not interested in the U. S. economy. Its interest is in the investment economies; China, India, and Mexico. As the financial leadership continues to wreck our economy with protection for itself, it shouts "protectionism," "free trade," against the U. S. protecting its economy from offshoring.

Let me first qualify as a friend of business. I've won every Chamber of Commerce recognition imaginable. In 1979, I won the New York Board of Trade award and in 1981 I was the speaker when it was given to Sam Walton of Wal-Mart. As Governor I instituted technical training, attracting so much industry as to change South Carolina from an agricultural to an industrial state. In the United States Senate, I worked with Corporate America for protection of their investment and production -- passing five trade bills, all blocked or vetoed by the president. In 1992, the National Chamber of Commerce's president, Bob Thompson, publicly endorsed my reelection to the United States Senate; but by 1998 the National Chamber of Commerce put out thousands of flyers against my reelection. I understood. NAFTA with Mexico and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China forced Corporate America to offshore. I had voted for NAFTA with Canada because Canada had a free market. Mexico didn't -- so I opposed it. The European Union taxed themselves $5 billion over five years to develop a free market in Greece and Portugal before admitting them to the EU. I recommended the European Union approach of building a free market in a country before its admission to the EU.

Today, Corporate America is still concerned about the U. S. economy, but remains quiet because of the stranglehold that the financial leadership has on both business and Congress. No one said it better than Senator Dick Durban of Illinois the other day when he lamented on the floor of the United States Senate: "The banks own this place."

The financial hierarchy, Henry Paulson, Larry Summers, Timothy Geithner, put on a grand charade of stimulus to save the economy but oppose reciprocal trading in globalization to save the economy. They stimulate AIG, Citicorp, and the insurance companies that should have been put in receivership under the Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989. President George W. Bush had just stimulated the economy $5 trillion in his time. Now eight months after Paulson told the Congress that he was appropriating $700 billion to stimulate, another $737 billion by Congress isn't working. We're still losing jobs like gangbusters. No mystery. We're bailing out the economy boat desperately with stimulation, but the financial leadership opposes plugging the hole in the hull from offshoring. AIG and the financial entities are given the ultimate protection of financing and government takeover. But it's a "no-no" to compete in globalization. It's a "no-no" to enforce your trade laws. It's a "no-no" to trade. McKinsey, Peterson and other "experts" keep grinding out warnings against protectionism, against "Buy America," shouting "free trade. And as fast as we give money to GM to invest, GM invests in China.

The reason Congress is quiet about trade is money -- and the financial leadership furnishes the money. In my last race for reelection to the United States Senate for the seventh time in 1998, I had to raise $8 ½ million. That's $30 thousand a week, each week, every week, for the six-year Senate term. A Senate race today in South Carolina would cost between $13 million and $15 million. This means that every working hour, the Senator has his or her mind on fundraising; no time for constituents; no time for the needs of the country; only time for the needs of the campaign. Mike Mansfield used to require a vote every Monday morning at 9 o'clock to be sure we had a quorum. And we stayed in session until 5 o'clock on Friday. Today we finesse a vote after 6 o'clock on Monday to get back from New York or California from fundraisers and adjourn on Thursday so that we can get to California for a Friday fundraising lunch. We don't care about Washington and Lincoln. We've merged their birthdays for a ten-day break called Presidents' Day for fundraising. We have fundraising breaks every month with the month of August gone for fundraising; Columbus Day break; and we give thanks for a fundraiser at Thanksgiving. Even with all this effort, you still have to rely on the national party for help. There is no way for a Democrat in Republican South Carolina to raise $8 ½ million by himself. This explains the confrontational party politics in Washington.

In 1971 and 1973, in a bipartisan vote, we limited spending in campaigns to so much per registered voter so neither the candidate nor the contributor could buy the office. But a five to four decision by the Supreme Court in Buckley vs. Valeo permitted the candidate but not the contributor to buy the office. James Madison never thought that his First Amendment right of free speech would be limited by money. I tried for years with a bipartisan Constitutional amendment permitting Congress to limit or control spending in Federal elections so that we could return as Congress intended in 1971 and 1973. If Congress and the States enact this Constitutional amendment, members of the Congress will be freed from the stranglehold of the financial leadership and have time to save the economy. Two things are bound to happen. Sooner or later Congress will take care of health care and enact a VAT tax to pay for the government we provide. President Obama is on course for health care, and while he is still popular he needs to get "the foot in the door" on a VAT. Today, 150 nations have a VAT at an average of 15.5%. The Internal Revenue Service advises that it will take a year for business and the I.R.S. to gear up for a VAT. No need now to determine the amount needed. Just get it enacted at 2% and adjust it up or down as it replaces the income or corporate tax.

Comments

[Oldtimer]

I can only try to express how much Fritz Hollings' voice is missed in the Senate and on the
Sunday talk shows. deTocqueville said "America is good". But on Wall Street and in the board
rooms of banks the creed is written by Gordon Gecko -"Greed is good". Of course the corporate
media has repeated this mantra ad infintum.
Please come back Fritz and implore Obama to do what you so eloquently describe.
I hope to see you anywhere on TV because its messages like yours that are so completely
missing on television. Americans are not going to coalesce around a Constitutional Amendment
until voices like yours shout it from the boob tube or from the Democratic leadership.
It's a damn shame you are not heard from more often Senator. America needs your leadership
and experience.

[blindhog]

Ross Perot warned us and we were too studid to listen.

[luckybear]

He was wrong about the giant sucking sound. It would have happened anyway; if not Mexico than south asia would have changed trade patterns. Trade volumes increased employment stayed the same. Some people win, some people lose. More people won than lost. Any economist would agree that NAFTA was a success (not as much as was hoped) and Perot was entirely wrong.

We don't do a good job in this country compensating the losers, more retraining and unemployment insurance but on the whole trade liberalization is always a good policy. Real liberals know this to be true and nationalists like Ross have their head in the sand.

[WritusMaximus]

"NAFTA was a success (not as much as was hoped)..." Sorta like a loss is not really a loss, don't you know!

"More people won than lost." LOL! Tell that to the Mexican workers still flooding into the U.S. since NAFTA. Tell that to the American worker whose wages have remained stagnant/jobs sent overseas.

[getsmart85]

Dead on! The investment community, aka the super rich, is not interested in the US economy. While Obama is intelligent, he does not seem to get this. The investment community is only interested in investment opportunities. We must stop feeding the pigs at the trough. Summers, Geithner, and Bernake must go. Laws must prohibit and prevent lobbying. The top 1000 wealthy individuals must be taxed more.

[ezeflyer]

Them with the gold makes the rules, except in direct democracies.

[luckybear]

What direct democracies? We are a Republic to protect for the unbridled populist. No country as large as ours with a diverse set of people has a direct democracy.

Sorry I don't want the entire country to look like direct democracy American Style ie California. California has direct democracy and it has failed miserably. Nader already ruined one election; I don't want his direct democracy silliness to ruin our representative republic.

[dogwatch]

Big American Money used to be a citizen of the United States. Globalization changed that citizenship. Now it is simply Big Money, a citizen of the world. Big Money buys not only our government but all the world's governments. Don't make the mistake of thinking that when it incorporates in our country that it is loyal to our country. It is only loyal to itself. That is why it is bringing the average wages of our employees steadily down as it brings the average wages of a host of foreign employees up. Globalization is wonderful for Big Money, but it is economic cancer for American workers who are destined to be impoverished by this process. This is good if you prosper with Big Money. It is disastrous if your job went across the sea.

[NP40]

There's only one way to stop the practice of "government to the highest bidder". We must form the "People's Lobby" and simply out-bribe {Legally} corporate America. If 5 million Americans contribute just $20 dollars annually, that's $100 million. We can buy a lot of politicians for that amount. People can contribute more if they like. Perhaps, as high as $250 million annually.

There's always a core group of about 100 progressives in the House and about 15-20 in the Senate we don't have to bribe. Focus on the remaining 135 in the House and the remaining 36 in the Senate to pass majority votes and sprinkle their campaign war chests liberally with our "contributions."

Once corporate America realizes that we're onto their game and can even out-perform them at it, they'll demand "reform" or a public option. Why ? This allows them to adopt their next ruse. Disallowing bribes to lawmakers directly, corporate America will then offer "certain positions" to Congressio­nal/Senato­rial reps after retirement or failed re-election bids. Enact a law making it illegal to offer a future postion to any active Congressional/ Senatorial rep while actively elected and serving. A nice round figure of say .................5 years, minimum mandatory should suffice. If it's good enough for a low level, poverty stricken mule hauling around a harmless crushed up plant to smoke, it should be appropriate for a lobbyist bribing our representatives votes.

Short of a Constitutional Convention, I see no other options.

[montale]

There is a simple solution to this monstrous problem. Ban television ads. Make candidates go before a TV camera and talk to the voting public. If they want to sling mud, they will have to do it in front of the camera. Television ads cost a fortune. This measure would cut the money needed to campaign by at least 50 percent. Freedom of speech would not be an issue, as the candidates would have ample opportunity to talk. Of course, palm trees will grow at the North Pole before the gutless wonders in Congress and their media vultures allow this to happen.

[WritusMaximus]

It's unconstitutional. SCOTUS declared that money = free speech.

[JJonz]

Sure, bribing politicians is a form of free speech. Just because SCOTUS declares something as constitutional or not doesn't really mean it is. SCOTUS is just as corrupt as the rest of the system.

[Greggo]

This is so thoughtful and sadly, so true. We have the best congress that money can buy.

[timm0]

Dude, you rock! We miss voices like yours in the Senate.

[jhNY]

Agreed as to who owns who, and that the rest of us all are poorer for it indeed. But the vampires of finance aren't going anywhere, and Congress will not suddenly find itself a stranger to the need for ever more campaign dollars. "America is good"-- also agreed, but the United States as a democracy is broken, and the security on the speculations of our financial overclass is now the US Treasury. And Obama has been shoveling money at the vampires as hard as anybody on the sinking ship.