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Kucinich’s Main Street

epppie — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:53:58 -0600

Kucinich’s Main Street Recovery Plan
1. Health Care for All: Insurance companies make money not providing health care. As the co-author of HR 676, a universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care system, Medicare for All, I understand millions of Americans want health care that is accessible and affordable.
Medicare for All will help businesses large and small, create jobs as well as save the jobs of thousands of people including those of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who are currently leaving medicine because it is run by the insurance companies. $1 in every 3 dollars of the $2.4 trillion spent annually in America for health care goes to the insurance companies. If we take that money ($800 billion in unproductive wasteful spending) and put it directly into care, we will have enough money to cover everyone. We are already paying for Medicare for all, but not receiving it. HR 676 changes that!
2. Prescription Drug Benefit for Seniors: HR 6800 is the MEDS Act, which provides a fully paid prescription drug benefit, under Medicare, for all seniors. I wrote this bill to help alleviate the economic pressure that comes from the high cost of prescription drugs. We can pay for it by letting the government negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies as well as by permitting re-importation.
3. Stop the Oil Companies’ Price Gouging: As you know, I was the first one to step up to challenge of the corrupt price gouging and market speculation of the oil companies by proposing a windfall profits tax, on oil and natural gas companies, with revenues put into tax credits for the purchase of fuel-efficient American-made cars. However, it may be that nationalization is the only way to put an end to the oil companies' sharp practices.
4. Protecting the American Homestead: As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Oversight Subcommittee, I am working to protect your basic right to have a roof over your head, whether as an owner or renter. I have investigated and helped to expose the manipulation of mortgage markets, and I am crafting a new federal policy so that neighborhoods with the highest number of foreclosures get the most help.
5. Jobs for All: Congressman LaTourette and I have co-authored the bi-partisan New Deal-type jobs program, HR 3400, "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure." It will create millions of good-paying new jobs rebuilding our roads, bridges, water systems and sewer systems.
6. American Manufacturing Policy: I am drafting the American Manufacturing Policy Act, which for the first time, will state that the maintenance of U.S. steel, automotive, and aerospace industries are vital to our national economic security and must be maintained through integrated public-private cooperation, new trade policies, and investment.
7. Works Green Administration: I am also drafting plans for a green New Deal jobs program, in which the government creates millions of jobs by incentivizing the design, engineering, manufacturing, distribution and maintenance of millions of wind and solar micro-technologies for millions of homes and businesses, dramatically lowering energy costs and reducing our dependence on oil.
8. Fair Trade: The U.S. has lost millions of good-paying jobs, and more jobs have been out-sourced. As you know, I have helped to lead the way in opposition to trade giveaways. I strongly urge repeal of NAFTA. We must include workers' rights, human rights and environmental quality principles in all trade pacts. We must also protect the Great Lakes' water resources from the reach of multi-national corporations.
9. Education for All: I know families need help with the rising cost of day care. That is why I introduced HR 4060, a universal pre-kindergarten program to ensure that all children ages 3-5 have access to full-day, quality day care.
10. Protecting Pensions: I am working to change bankruptcy laws so pensioners' claims will be first, ahead of banks, and that corporate executives who misuse workers' pension funds are subject to criminal penalties. I want to fully fund the Pension Benefit Guarantee Board.
11. Social Security: From my first moments in Congress, I have exposed Wall Street's efforts to privatize Social Security and attacked it in the Democratic Caucus when it was being proposed. Can you imagine where seniors would be today if Social Security had been turned over to the stock market? Social Security is solid through 2032 without any changes.
12. Protect Bank Deposits: I will work to make sure the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has sufficient funds to provide for insurance of deposits up to $200,000 at all banks and savings and loans. This is an urgent matter since so many banks are said to be vulnerable.

13. Protect Investors: Bring back strong regulation to Wall Street. As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, I challenged the Wall Street hedge fund speculators as a threat to small investors. I intend to keep active watch over the machinations on Wall Street.
14. Strength through Peace: You'll remember when I led the effort against the ill-conceived Iraq war, which has now cost more than 4,100 US soldiers' lives, cost U.S. taxpayers between $3 trillion and $5 trillion, and resulted in the deaths of more than a million Iraqis. We must bring our troops home and end the war. We must engage in diplomacy. We must reduce the military budget, and we must stop outrageous cost overruns by the likes of Halliburton.
15. Safety in America: I am proud of my work for peace. In July 2001, I introduced a bill, which today is HR 808, that for the first time creates a comprehensive plan to deal with the issues of violence in American society, particularly domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, gang violence, gun violence, racial violence, and violence against gays by establishing a Cabinet-level Department of Peace and Restorative Justice. This proposal has sparked a national movement and when implemented will save tax payers millions of dollars.
16. Monetary Policy: It is long past the time that we looked at the implications of our debt based monetary system, the privatization of money created by the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, the banks fractional reserve system and our debt-based economic system. Unless we have dramatic reform of monetary policy, the entire economic system will continue to accelerate wealth upwards. I am currently working on drafting legislation for an 'American Monetary Act' to address these and other issues in order to protect the economic wellbeing of America.

Another way to put it: Over

epppie — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:12:59 -0600

Another way to put it:

Over the past two decades, Wall street has broken any conceivable social contract between it and society, throwing off any semblance of responsible behavior. This isn't just a matter of price manipulation by selling and reselling the same financial instruments in order to inflate their value. This isn't just a matter of predatory loans and predatory interest rates and deceptive fine print. This isn't just a matter of deregulation that has thrown the riskiest investments into the same baskets with the most solid investments. This is also about larger issues, like changing the tax structure of America so that the rich no longer pay anything like a fair share, even though they benefit the most from the economy that we all support; like using financial influence to push Washington DC into globalization deals like Nafta that benefit only Wall Street and no one else; by fighting against unions and against fair workplace regulations and practises; etc.. Wall street has been behaving very, very badly for a very long time.

If Wall Street wants the People to bail it out, then there need to be some changes. Start with a moratorium on interest rates on mortgages and a rollback for those interest rates that have already been raised drastically.
Then add a moratorium on foreclosures and a mediation system set up to restructure mortgages that are "distressed". Then add a cap to credit card interest rates at ten percent and roll back any interest rates over ten percent. Then it's time to address the other issues mentioned.

If Wall Street doesn't want to commit itself to a social contract with society, and to standards of decent (and non-predatory) behavior, then it can go hang itself. Contrary to what the hype would have us believe, America can survive a Wall Street crash. We've proven that before, and it doesn't have to take us long at all. When people look after people, we do fine. For example, we can establish moratoriums on rates and foreclosures with or without Wall Street's approval. we can provide for extended job loss benefits and a welfare safety net whether Wall Street likes it or not.

Wall street forgets, WE own America. Wall Street does not. It only thinks it does.

Above all, no deal made with Wall Street should involve either the Congress or the judiciary ceding oversight to the Fed or to the Treasury or to Warren Buffet or to King Kong. The Constitution makes it clear that the Congress has the DUTY to oversee the budget, no ifs ands or buts. And the judiciary has an absolute right to oversee Congress' laws. No exceptions.

This site shows starkly the

epppie — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:48:53 -0600

This site shows starkly the way 'experts' have ushered the People into this crisis with calming words and cooings, before suddenly telling us, in a remarkable change of tune, that we have to give it all up OR ELSE!!!

http://fedupusa.org/node/50

Here's a doozy from Paulsen, the Cooer in Chief:

"May 16th, 2008 "In my judgment, we are closer to the end of the market turmoil than the beginning," he said. "Looking forward, I expect that financial markets will be driven less by the recent turmoil and more by broader economic conditions and, specifically, by the recovery of the housing sector."'"

http://www.buzzflash.net/story.php?id=71134

My all time favorite Mickey

epppie — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:32:06 -0600

My all time favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon has him slicing pieces of bread off a loaf, for him and Pluto and Goofy (?), but they're so poor that the slices are transparent! They have one bean too. I think it's a version of Jack and the Beanstock...Mickey is about to slice the bean just like he's slicing the bread when Goofy throws it out the window in frustration, or something like that...

...to me, this whole Bailout thing is just such a blatant power grab by Wall Street. Naomi Wolf is absolutely right about Disaster Capitalism - the more I read about the history of our economy and the world economy, the more obvious it seems that each disaster - be it war or financial crisis - leads to a consolidation of power and wealth upwards, and that's really the reason to have disasters.

The current economic situation is such a lovely case in point. The economy has been in a growing state of crisis for decades and many of the reasons have been obvious to anyone who cared to look (and many HAVE looked and HAVE written about it), but step by step we crept forwards, ever forwards, to the edge of crisis. The media was assuring us every step along the way, along with all the establishment experts, until suddenly they all jumped up, threw their hands in the air, and shouted in unison "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE UNLESS WE HAND OVER (near) COMPLETE ECONOMIC CONTROL TO WALL STREET!!!!" I mean, WHAT AN ACT!!

Johnny Rotten said it so well. 'Ever feel like you've been had?'

Let's face it; the super-rich have taken the rest of society to the cleaners, and now they want the clothes of our backs.

And then there's this war with Russia. One of the reasons I've been so fascinated with it is that it's so obviously a made-up crisis, and the fact that it could lead to millions of dead people doesn't change that.

I've been reading a lot about Bismarck's Germany lately. Bismarck loved to stampede the Reichstag into doing what he wanted by fomenting some kind of crisis. Reading about his Reichstag is like reading about our Congress. There's always some urgent crisis, because of which the Dems just HAVE to give the Right Wing whatever it wants. And it's always patently made up.

That's why I speak of the war with Russia as an actuality and not as a possibility. I have no doubt that sooner or later, probably sooner, the big war will come. Why? Because war is the way to power, and this is all about power, not money and most definitely not freedom or democracy. That's more and more transparent, I think.

And sometimes I think the folks running the scam like to play cat and mouse just a little. Supposedly one of the Rockefellers told a film maker about 911 before it happened. Supposedly H. Bush once told a journalist 'if people knew what we've really been up to we'd be dragged through the streets'. Bush, of course, can't help spitting out the truth now and then: 'this would be a lot more fun if I were the dictator', etc. He has reverse Taurettes.

As comedy, the current financial crisis is pretty good. As governance - well, it sure is good comedy.

I think Krugman is only

epppie — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:59:47 -0600

I think Krugman is only scratching the surface. And I think your evaluation is brilliant! It couldn't be said better, Mr. Freeze!!

The most important thing about the plan, as I understand it, is that it basically is a huge, huge power grab. What Paulson and the Fed are demanding is dictatorial control over the economy. Period. Or we kilz you.

Most people seem to buy the dictum that money is power, in the sense that money creates power. No, it's the other way around (I think). Money is an expression of power. I think people like Paulson know that. A billion dollars is worth nothing. Just ask the Weimar Germans. But control over the US economy that sets aside Congress and the Judicial System? That's priceless.

And Congress is going to hand this to the Fed and Pauson (ie. Merrill Lynch) for next to nothing, in exchange for a few bones to throw to a few of the folks trying to hold onto their homes.

Thanks for the correction, by the way. I got my billions and trillions mixed up.

I'm still trying to get my

Jacob Freeze — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:57:59 -0600

I'm still trying to get my mind around this: "The top 0.1 percent now earn more money than the bottom 50 percent of Americans."

There are 500 times as many people in the bottom 50% as in the top 0.1 percent, so...

You have a pie, and there are 501 people in the room, and one person gets half the pie, while 500 people share the other half.

Some people are getting very, very thin slices of that pie!

That's a good article by

Jacob Freeze — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:51:02 -0600

That's a good article by Bernie, and it's yet another instance where I find out things are worse than I thought.

"The top 0.1 percent now earn more money than the bottom 50 percent of Americans, and the top 1 percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent."

Oink!

Bernie Sanders seems to have

epppie — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:43:04 -0600

Bernie Sanders seems to have some of the right ideas (in my view):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/billions-for-bailouts-w...

The actual language of the

Jacob Freeze — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:57:18 -0600

The actual language of the various proposals is hard to comprehend for non-economists like me, so I'm happy to defer to Paul Krugman's judgement, but...

While I was reading a hand-out from Chuck Schumer's office, I suddenly remembered one of Beavis and Butthead's comments on some lame-o music video:

If you play it backward, it says "This sucks."

"The government could buy up

Jacob Freeze — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:34:31 -0600

"The government could buy up all the bad mortgages at their full price."

Even at discount, most of the fall-out would disappear, and the banks would be out of the picture, instead of making profits on the bad loan-packages that created this disaster.

I probably admire Warren Buffett as much as you do. There's a guy who has bought huge stakes in dozens of corporations, and he never downsized or broke up any of them, or threw thousands of workers out on the street after a take-over.

But as for the rest of them, it's still Judge Roy Bean time for me...

"Hang 'em all, and let God sort out the innocent from the guilty."

That's one thing I do

epppie — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:46:10 -0600

That's one thing I do appreciate about Obama's recent comments. For once a Dem ISN'T running away from the idea that regulation is important (sensible regulation). Now let's talk about taxes.