Counterfactuals on labor and capital

       According to Paul Krugman in today's NYT, workers employed by McDonalds in Denmark make the equivalent of $20./hr. and enjoy 6 weeks of paid vacation every year!   Does anyone seriously think fast food establishments in the US would have a labor shortage if they offered these wages and perks? 

      As Krugman points out,  American insularity feeds a feeling of superiority to Europe's economic system, especially when it comes to worker rights and income inequality.   Quite a bit of these false feelings are based on ignorance.   Many people in America cannot believe there are ways to do capitalism in a more humane and economically equal way.   They would flatly reject the example cited above of McDonalds paying a living wage and treating their employees with humanity.   We have a long way to go and it will require a big dose of humility before we acknowledge we may not know it all.

On to the main event

       Now that we have gotten the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays out of the way, it is time to open our pocketbooks for that orgy of consumption known as Christmas in the English speaking world.   How a day of celebration of the birth of the promised Messiah to a minor religion in the middle east became the spectacle so many of us participate in is a continuing source of wonder to me.   Billions of words have attempted to explain Christmas from the theory it was piggybacked on the Roman holiday of Saturnalia to the Druids of England and the celebration of the Winter Solstice.   In any case, it is once again upon us, as are the expectations of the children among us.  

On the giving of Thanks

        Having finally passed the torch of responsibility for the Thanksgiving feast to our eldest daughter, the Divine Mrs. M and I spent a much less frenetic day than is usual and for that we were truly thankful.   Aside from the turkey dressing I contributed and their  mother's famous apple pie we mostly added gravitas to the celebration as the semi-revered elders.

      All this extra time led to a few thoughts on this most American of holidays.  Number one being the unique nature of the day.   While few of us actually count the blessings bestowed on us merely by residing in the US, they are substantial, especially if you are a white, middle class American.  Besides Canada, I don't know if a single other country has a national day of thanksgiving.

     Leaving aside the sordid history of the European settlers' relations with native Americans, the myth of the first thanksgiving and subsequent iterations of the post harvest celebrations helped cement our national identity.  Regardless of when and how the holiday started, along with the meanings attached to it, for most of us it provides the opportunity for a few moments of introspection.  It is now fashionable in some quarters to bash anything positive in the American experience while others fanatically defend every good thing and ignore the bad aspects of our nation.  We can celebrate the good while acknowledging the bad and resolving to strive for a better America.  Anyway, that's what Thanksgiving Day means to me.

False equivalences

       Despite the manifest problems with the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial, there are lessons to be learned from it.   That white innocence is taken for granted by a majority of whites has become evident as anyone listening to Fox news can attest.   The counter to this is the insertion of a black teenager into the same scenario.   You don't need me to figure what the likely outcome.

      Gun laws are written in such a way as to protect whites.   There is an unspoken truth that people of color will not be allowed to open carry long guns.   Changing the law to restrict everyone from open carrying weapons of mass slaughter will be difficult  if not impossible in today's political climate.

      Organizing Democrats to contest and win elections at the local level is the necessary prelude to more action when it comes to gun control.   Taking on the gun manufacturers at the grassroots is another way for the majority of Americans to exert some control.  

     Finally, sensible gun regulation must become a front and center issue for those who support it.  Otherwise, the 2nd amendment crowd will continue to elect opponents of legislation establishing the limits of gun culture in the us. 

What, me worry

      As usual, the media has spotted a shiny thing, in this case, the proliferation of gun violence  and promptly decided to ignore or bury news on climate change.   It's much easier to cover the Rittenhouse and Arbury trials and speculate endlessly on the cultural significance of armed vigilantes coming to a street near you.   What gets lost is the urgency to do something about climate change before it gets completely out of hand.

      It has been speculated that for the entire population of our planet to live the middle class lifestyle we take for granted in America, we would need the resources of 8 earths.  The burning of fossil fuels and their attendant carbon debt is the reason we have transformed society in developed nations from bare subsistence for the majority of the population to a state of advancement wholly unimagined by previous generations.  It is now time to either repay this debt, or start eviction proceedings against the occupants.  We need to stay focused on what is really important for the human race.

The hits just keep on coming

        According to the latest in a steady stream of books documenting the waning days of failed former president tRump, one of his lawyers demanded a high ranking DOD official authorize a "mission" to capture CIA director Gina Haspel.   The head spook was, according to tRump lawyer Sydney Powell trying to grab and destroy servers located in Germany which had switched millions of votes in the recent election from tRump to Biden.

      The DOD official,, a staunch ally of the former guy refused to play along with Powell who he described as a nut case, according to Jonathon Karl's account of the encounter.   Meanwhile, a CIA spokesman had to issue a statement confirming the presence of the CIA director in her office.

      The whole episode is of a piece with other reporting of the bonkers atmosphere prevailing of the post election White House.   What is unspoken in the various books is the real reason for tRump's obsession with retaining the presidency.   The many crimes the president committed during his tenure would come home to roost after his defeat.   Without the legal immunity provided by the office, it seems the Donald may finally be held to account.   Stay tuned.

What have you done for me lately

        Democrats and their sympathizers in the media portrayed yesterday's signing of the infrastructure bill as an unalloyed win for the party and a cause for celebration of the bi partisan cred the bill scored.   Not to rain on anybody's parade, but even if the bill had been passed and signed the day after Biden's inauguration, most of the spending will not have started in time to make a difference in the 2022 midterms.   In fact, much of the spending the bill calls for will not take place before Uncle Joe is pushing up daisies.

      

Growing older

        In a shocking surprise, the Divine Mrs. M and a diverse cast of family and friends celebrated the occasion of my 70th birthday with a party which left me flabbergasted and grateful to all those who wished me well.  

       Call me exceptionally uncurious, but I had no idea of any planning going on until my sister and 2 brothers and their significant others came to the front door on Saturday afternoon.  Thinking that they travelled here for a quiet celebration, I was further surprised when I was ushered to a local event caterer where the rest of my family and many friends had gathered to shout the ritual "Surprise".  

       It is events such as this that make the concept of family real.  That so many people were willing to break their routines and plans to wish me well makes me humble.   Hopefully everyone reading this has family and friends as warm and loving as this 70 year old.  To the Divine Mrs. M, there are no words except "I love you" !

It's all the Democrats' fault

       The non right wing media has decided everything from "wokeness" to higher gas prices is the fault of the Democratic party.   From NYT editorials telling Dems they don't have a mandate to expand the social safety net to Morning Joseph imploring the party to do something about gas prices despite the fact they all know there is little or nothing they can do about said pricing.

      Democrats are between the proverbial rock and the hard place.     No matter what they do they will piss off a considerable part of their coalition.  Like the midterm debacle of Obama's first midterms in 2010, Democrats are probably going to lose the House, even if they vote to give everyone a pony.  GOP gerrymandering and the historic record explain that.  

       Democrats need to spend the next 10 months governing the nation like the responsible party.  Dog knows the other guys will spend the time before the next election flinging poo in all directions.   There is still plenty to be done legislatively, but the clock is running and the party had better start focusing now. 

Veterans' Day

        Once again we have come to a holiday about which I am deeply ambivalent.  On the one hand, I salute the veterans and today's soldiers who defend us from foreign threats to our independence.   On the other, I deplore the policies which cause us to support a 2 million man standing military force in an era where a much smaller force should be all we need.   

      Whether we realize it or not, our bloated military budgets enable a global American empire of influence and the soldiers and sailors who man the sinews of our war machine are just cogs in the wheel.  Until and unless we elect men and women of good conscience we will continue to celebrate the sacrifice of the men and women of the armed services who are serving in good faith but contributing to a monstrous set of policies.

The worker shortage is BS

         Employers all over the US are moaning about a worker shortage.   Small business owners who depend on immiserated workers who have no choice but to take any job no matter what the pay and benefits are particularly vocal in this regard.

        Many are blaming the "supply chain"  for shortages of goods and services  on a shortage of truck drivers.  Large trucking companies claim they can't get drivers to work.   It turns out that a majority of jobs for drivers at ports of entry don't pay by the hour, but by the load.  Bottlenecks in the port have slowed the loading times to the point where once a driver was able to transport 3 loads a day from the dock to a nearby warehouse.  Now with delays, the same driver can only count on delivering 1 load.   That is a 2/3 cut in pay.   Meanwhile, in inflation adjusted dollars, long haul drivers have not seen a real pay increase in over 20 years.

      The talking heads on TV who make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and more are shrilly calling for workers to accept whatever employers are willing to pay and get back to work so they can enjoy a return to "normalcy".   BTW, many of these pundits supported closing the borders so many immigrants who would have taken low paying jobs are not available.  As we edge toward full employment, workers will gain even more power.   Perhaps this is the way capitalism should work.

Why can't we treat everyone equally

       If you listen to one side of the law enforcement argument, the failed former president should be in custody and facing charges related to events that occurred around January  6, 2021.   While hundreds of men and women who stormed the Capitol with the intention to overthrow the lawfully elected government are being prosecuted, none of the instigators and planners of the event have faced charges. 

      The American public is being treated to another whitewash of political crimes similar to the failure of the Obama administration to pursue war crimes charges against senior members of the G.W. Bush administration.   The rendition and torture of prisoners happened and we did nothing to hold those who did it accountable.   The same thing seems to be happening again regarding charges of sedition and treason against senior members of the tRump administration.

     President Biden made much of having a Department of Justice free of partisanship.   The DOJ is supposed to enforce the laws without fear or favor.  It is time for Merrick Garland to live up to that creed.

The Beltway Pundit blues

      I don't know if D.C. beltway pundits are so unaware of the dreck they mouth on Cable or if they are just bought and paid for shills of the 1%.   I suspect it is a mixture of the two.  The Morning Joe program on MSNBC is a particularly egregious example of both.   On the one hand they praise Democrats for voting for the Bi-partisan infrastructure bill, then cudgel the same party for not taking enough credit for the legislation.

      The next segment was on inflation and after naming a couple of items which have increased in price by double digits they start running around the set with their hair on fire, blaming Dems for not being laser focused on inflation instead of the dislocations caused by the pandemic.  90% of the economic problems we have experienced in the past two years have been caused by either Covid or climate change.  Republicans have gone all in on opposing commonsense approaches to both issues.

       If pundits really wanted to practice truth telling, they could and should hammer the GOP 24/7 regarding its total opposition to good governance.   I'm not holding my breath waiting for this to happen.

Corporate BS

        No less a liberal light (supposedly) than the NYT editorial board is advising Democrats to trim the sails of their agenda as a result of a Republican victory in the gubernatorial race in Virginia.   The same pundits who opined Americans didn't support the Dems big social spending bill because they didn't know what was in it are now sure these same voters have scanned the Build Back Better Bill line by line and decided it is too liberal for their tastes.

        If anything, this is a faint echo of the problems the supporters of Obamacare faced in 2009.  Hardly anyone knew what was in the bill and Republicans found it easy to demagogue with sound bites like "death panels".   The slow motion passage of the bill and the watering down of its most popular provisions like insurance subsidies for the middle class led to the backlash of the 2010 elections.

     The BBB, when explained to voters is incredibly popular.   There are no death panel provisions for Republicans to use as scare tactics.  Even if progressives give up many items on their wish list, the reduced bill is still transformative.  But unless it is passed, signed by the president and allows ordinary citizens to feel the benefits in their own lives before the 2022 midterms, there will be another electoral debacle next year.

     The corporations and plutocrats are influencing editorial pages and will continue to shape public opinion to try and reject the increasingly moderate tone of Biden's signature legislation.  Liberals must educate the public about the BS being shoveled  at them right now.

Motivation and elections

         Having voted in every presidential election since 1972 and almost all local and off year elections during that time period I am probably something of a Democratic unicorn.   Many nominally registered Democrats participate once every 4 years if the Democratic candidate moves them.  Otherwise, they are non-participants in the ongoing pageant of small d, democracy.

       The media touts the registration advantage Democrats hold over Republicans, but the enthusiasm is mostly on the Republican side.  With little in the way of policy to offer, the GOP has devolved into the culture war party as well as a cult of personality centered on a failed former president who began his public career as a reality show star.  

      Democrats can do better, but the party needs to become relevant to many voters who are alienated by a system which promises much, but delivers little to actually improve their lives.  

Same old, same old

         No doubt pundits will be spending most of the next couple of weeks telling us about the impending doom facing Democrats in the wake of Republicans winning the Virginia gubernatorial race and possibly the New Jersey contest as well.   What many, if not most will do is quietly gloss over the "issue" which dominated GOP talking points throughout the campaign.  I am referring to Critical Race Theory or CRT, the acronym most refer to when touting it as the Southern Strategy for Republicans.

      The fact CRT is not taught in K-12 in any school system in America has not deterring Republicans from fearmongering the issue of history seen through the lens of white supremacy.   A new generation of white parents, many of them the offspring of Boomers with ambivalent feelings on the issue of race in America have bought the scare tactics used by Republicans like Glenn Youngkin in Virginia.   The recent removal of many statues celebrating the Confederacy has turned a non-issue into a potent political force.

     Primed by Youngkin's victory, the GOP will make the race and to a lesser extent immigration the defining issues of the 2022 campaign.   It is up to Democrats to educate their base and the rest of the nation regarding these campaign ploys.   It is hard to believe in the second decade of the 21st century we still have to deal with the legacy of slavery in this country,, but there it is...

Treason in defense of what?

        A long article in yesterday's Washington Post examines the timeline of the January 6 insurrection and what we know about it so far in excruciating detail.  It becomes plain that the majority of those who stormed the Capitol and entered the building were intent on derailing the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.   

       These people committed treason and should be dealt with accordingly.   So far, however, the people who planned the insurrection and goaded the mob on 1/6 have not been held to account.   That includes the twice impeached, failed former president who watched the rebellion unfold on a giant screen in the White House and resisted calls to restrain his supporters for over 3 hours while they engaged in hand to hand combat with Capitol and Metro police.

     We are supposed to be a nation which respects the rule of law above all.   The next year will be a test of whether we will continue in that tradition or begin the slow slide into authoritarianism.   The leaders of the insurrection must be named and prosecuted to the full extent allowed under law.

We're Doomed

      Well, it's not a sure thing, but if you listen to the media, the coming loss of the Virginia governorship by Democrats to a  tRump lite Republican is the proverbial handwriting on the wall.  Thanks to non-stop pro Republican reporting by the mainstream media and unrelenting attacks from the right it is assumed by many the Democrats' agenda is doomed and we are on a glide path to Republican domination for decades, if not forever.

      No, Virginia, we are not Hungary and tRump is not Victor Orban.   Reports of Democracy's demise have been greatly exaggerated for effect by many in the media.  However, many Americans have greater faith in their fellow citizens than is generally given credit.  Glenn Youngkin may win the Va. governorship, but I don't think that spells impending doom for Democrats in general.   If there is blame to be apportioned, the media must accept a disproportionate share.