Socialism For The Rich, Free Markets For The Poor

These are not my words. They were the words of Adrian Woodridge of The Economist on “Fareed Zakaria GPS”, broadcast on CNN. John Médaille has written a similar post on his blog < http://distributism.blogspot.com/2007/08/socialism-for-rich-capitalism-for-rest.html>. There was a commentary in a Los Angles Time blog and another at alternet.org. <http://www.alternet.org/story/92426/the_u.s._economy_is_socialism_for_the_rich/>They are so very true.

The George W. Bush administration has done an outstanding job of giving breaks to the rich at the expense of the rest.

The most glaring example is the income taxes paid by the wealthy of Wall Street (or wherever they live). These people receive their pay in the form of capital gains <

http://whippersnapper.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/capital-gains-facts/ >. Capital gains are taxed at 15%. The consequence is that a couple earning $100,000 per year as the result of wages pays taxes at the 25% rate. That same couple earning their income from capital gains pays 15%.

From the Citizens for Tax Justice:

In 2005, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans received almost 70 percent of all long-term capital gains—and paid 72 percent of the tax on these capital gains.

The wealthiest 10 percent of taxpayers enjoyed 90 percent of the capital gains eligible for this special tax break.

The poorest sixty percent of Americans, by contrast, collectively received just 2 percent of the capital gains eligible for the lower capital gains rates.

This situation is nothing compared to the bail out of big corporations. Bear Sterns is the best example of an action by the government to protect all of us less fortunate. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae might well be saved by the government buying stock in those companies. In all three of these instances it was the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department contending that they are saving home owners and other small investors from a crisis that will make their actions seem well worthwhile. There has been talk of saving General Motors and/or Ford if the U.S. government finds it necessary.

Then there are the federal subsidies. The U.S, government subsidizes many industries. Farming is one of the oldest. The government subsidizes corporate farmers as well family farms. There are subsidies going to oil companies for adding ethanol to gasoline and the latest are the subsidies for renewable energy. I once worked for a company that manufactured solar panels and they received a federal subsidy.

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Feb 7,2011

Another blog on the same subject

http://distributism.blogspot.com/2007/08/socialism-for-rich-capitalism-for-rest.html

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The answer is a new kind of federal government that really does concern itself with the rest of us. The problem is that most Americans believe in their government. They believe the U.S. government can do no wrong. That is probably the reason that John McCain will be elected president. He seems like one of us. He seems like a good guy. He has government experience too.

The Gangs of Los Angeles

The problem of gangs in Los Angeles has reached a point that it has finally received the attention it should have received decades ago. Black Street Gangs in Los Angeles: A History is a new book being written by Alex Alonso, PhD Candidate, describes gangs in 1940. Why has it taken so long? I believe there are three reasons. First we have constant coverage of the news on television. Second the internet is an opportunity to spread the word of everything happening. Third the middle class public has become upset enough to voice its concern to the city council.

We have had the benefit of many studies in just the past few years that have yielded no action by the city. The most well publicized studies were by Connie Rice, a civil rights attorney and a second report complied by Laura Chick, city controller.

The mayor, who was a gang member himself in his teen years, certainly knows what gangs are all about. He has appointed a “gang czar”, who also has gang fighting experience to head the city’s new effort. Considering this is a problem that is over 60 years old this anti-gang effort will be long and hard.

Tessa Charnofsky, a dedicated social worker in the mayor’s office and part of the gang reduction program, wrote this to me about gangs.

The Gang Reduction, Youth Development program will address the core causes of gangs. In fact, the largest portion of these dollars will go towards prevention programming at parks, schools, and community centers, and will include parenting programs. There will also be dollars for gang intervention and re-entry programming.
What is new about these dollars is that they are targeting the areas hardest hit by gang activity and so services will be more intense in those areas. Outcomes and results will also be closely tracked.

I cannot comment on the parcel tax except to say that existing dollars do not nearly cover the need in this city. Where I live, for instance, there are tagging crews, poverty, and lots of kids roaming about with not much to do. But there has not been a shooting in many years. So, there is no funding for prevention programs.

It would make sense to have programming throughout the city to effectively prevent these kids from getting drawn in.

The city wants to add a $36 parcel tax to fight gangs. It will be on the November ballot. Should I vote for this?

Fight for a Just Cause

Filoli is an unusual, but not well known, American country house set in sixteen acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 654 acre(2.6 km²) estate, located about 25 miles (40 km) south of San Francisco. 40,000 people visit the estate every year. My wife and I visited there last week on a guided tour. It. was built between 1915 and 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn. The Bourn family earned its money in gold mining and a water and power company that was part of the roots of Pacific Gas and Electric. The house they built is a 36,000 square foot two story mansion that was later used in many movies and television programs including Dynasty (Carrington mansion). http://www.dakan.net/filoli.htm

The name of the estate is an acronym formed by combining the first two letters from the key words of William Bourn’s credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.” The truth is that there is no evidence that he had any good cause except living the good life.

The estate was sold to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, owners of the Matson Navigation Company, in 1937. The Roth family built Filoli’s botanic gardens. In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated the estate in its entirety to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. There is no evidence that this family had a good cause either.

Perhaps that is America’s problem. How many of us Americans have a good cause or really love our fellow man? Well there are many who do have both of these qualities. Unfortunately the Bourns and the Roths are too prevalent.

I believe I do have some good causes (read the entries in this blog and http://www.coastcontact.blogspot.com/) and I believe I do love my fellow man. Perhaps that is the reason I do not live in a 36,000 square foot home. I like the credo enough to adopt it for my own.

What Should be the Big Issue in the Presidential Election?

Ok, maybe I am wrong but that would be only because the candidates choose to ignore this issue. It’s health care for all Americans.

Why wouldn’t they want to discuss and debate this? Simply because both candidates will want to avoid any issue that will reduce their chance of winning the election in November.

All three of the leading Democratic candidates have published their ideas about universal health care. The leading Republican candidates have all taken a position on health care.

Health care is an issue that has been repeatedly been discussed in newspapers and magazines as well as the discussions on radio and television. It was the cover story for the December 3, 2007 BusinessWeek magazine. The December 10, 2007 Newsweek has a section titled Health For Life and in it there is an article titled “Cures for an Ailing System.”

Everyone is having problems paying for health care. The biggest corporations in this country complain about their healthcare costs. General Motors says their cars are costing too much in healthcare benefits < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64599-2005Apr18.html>. The cost of providing health care adds from $1,100 to $1,500 to the cost of each of the 4.65 million vehicles GM sold in 2004. When southern California supermarket employees went on strike in 2003 the primary issue wasn’t the pay rate, it was the medical insurance coverage.

Of course smaller companies can’t afford to provide health insurance. Competition reduces their profits. There just isn’t enough money made to provide that benefit.

Most reliable reports says there are at least 43 million Americans that have no medical insurance. It’s no wonder. Many people do have health care but the cost is a significant burden.

Here are some real costs in my own family. My son is 35 years old and in business for himself. A major medical insurance policy with a $5,000 deductible costs $124.00 per month in San Jose, California. My 31 year old daughter lives in Los Angeles and has Blue Cross PPO with a $1400 deductible and a $40.00 co-pay at a cost of $178.00 per month. The ultimate in cost is my wife’s Kaiser Permanente plan. She has a $50.00 co-pay and it costs $387.00 per month. Wow! I am a member of Kaiser Permanente too but I have Medicare coverage.

What do member of congress pay for their health care? I could not find the answer. I am sure it’s a great plan. Perhaps someone will email me that information.

Our nation needs a reliable health care system that cares for everyone. Let’s hope that all presidential candidates participate in the discussion.