SHOPPING FOR AN ECONOMIST

by Ruth A. Sheets

How is it even Democratic leaders keep picking as advisers, economists who center their principles solely on business interests?  Mr. Biden’s current economic adviser is Larry Summers, former Wall Street hero and definitely not one to help this nation move into the new economy we will need post COVID19 and in the midst of Black Lives Matter.  The old model of corporation-centered, worker who is used solely to benefit the corporation, stockholders,  and Wall Street is going to have to change dramatically.

These unfortunate choices of economists make no sense because Democrats have for more than 80 years been the party of workers.  Just because a man, mostly men, has graduated from a "prestigious" school in Economics does not mean he understands or cares one wit about workers.   It generally means he has only corporate interests in mind, after all, aren’t those universities the path to riches for privileged white boys through corporate life?

Mr. Biden, you are going to need an economic adviser who stands for workers, understands their needs and their rights.  The truth is, if workers are taken care of and do well, corporations will do well too, despite corporate whining that the workers are “robbing them blind” or some such nonsense. 

Here are a few things that can help workers as well as corporations, but it is going to be hard to shake the traditional economists who truly believe “the bottom line” is the only thing that matters and that if workers don’t buy into that, they should be fired. 

- On every corporate board in this country, we need workers represented who understand their job and how that job fits into the task of the corporation.

- A progressive tax structure is essential to both  begin to level the playing field for all Americans and to close the financial gap between CEOs and workers.  Corporations suck out our resources at an alarming rate, then pay next to nothing compared to what they rake in. 

- We need people in government with a vision of what a new economy could look like and who can help our nation understand it and move toward bringing it about.  There is no going back.

- Global warming is with us and will be possibly for centuries and we need to foster research and development that can help us do what is necessary to stop emissions of greenhouse gasses.  This problem should be at the center of everything we do.  If corporations aren’t on board, they will need to be phased out or retooled to the new system.

- We need someone with an understanding of what our economy has been doing to and for various segments of our society.  It has clearly been helping white men, particularly those who have had every advantage from birth.  It has not been that great for nearly everyone else.  That too, can no longer continue. 

- Polluting and dumping in poor communities is unacceptable.  Businesses have gotten away with this for a long time and it must stop.  Before products can come to market or “services” can be performed we need ways to deal with the results of the process, whatever it is that does not disproportionately impact poor communities.

- We must have in place at all levels of government people who can help corporations with hiring (not computer algorithms), particularly employing more Black workers at all levels.  Companies need to unbias  their whole hiring process.  Black Lives Matter and it is time our economy reflects that at all levels.  This is non-negotiable! 

- Every employee must earn a living wage.  We need to find ways to acknowledge that janitors work  at least as hard as the white collar  bosses who employ them.  Therefore they should not have to hold down two jobs just to survive. 

- Caring for a family and members who may be ill or need special help needs to be recognized as essential, and should count  toward receiving benefits in times of disability and old age. 

- We need some kind of universal health care. 

- We need more unions and it must be easier to create them in all kinds of businesses.  Where there are unions, everyone does better.  Unions need to be truly worker centered with the goal of excellence from entry-level worker to CEO.

- Signing non-disclosure agreements or forced arbitration with rules set up by the business, nearly always to the detriment of the worker must be a thing of the past.    

- Child care and family planning services must be part of every contract giving men and women essential choices.

In short, Mr. Biden, you need new economic advisers.  Perhaps you should vet and interview  prospective candidates the  way you will a vice presidential partner.  The economics adviser will be critical in getting out the message of what you stand for and the direction you want the country to go.  We can't go back, and alas, Larry Summers is an economist of the past and too tied to Wall Street, America's casino during the pandemic.  Shop around.  Talk to some economists like Paul Krugman to help you find someone or several someones more appropriate.  Mr. Summers can toss in his ideas here and there, but should not be at the center of any economics decisions you make.  You can be the vanguard of a new post-COVID19 society, but only if you let go of the economists and most economic ideas of the past. 

Women DO Care About the Economy

Women in Binders protesting in Ohio

by muon

The other day Mitt Romney said all this talk about "women in binders" was just a diversion. He said women aren't all that concerned with "women's issues." He said what they really care about is the economy.

As for women caring about the economy, I couldn't agree more. So let me explain it to you, Mr. Romney.

You're the one who uttered the words "women in binders." It was part of your response to a question about the Lilly Ledbetter Act. Now, nevermind the fact that you lied about actively appealing to women's groups to find qualified women to fill cabinet posts (the women's group contacted you, not the other way around), the issue here is women who are often discriminated against in being considered for certain jobs in our society. If a woman can't find a job, simply because she's a woman, for her, that's an economic issue.

If a woman isn't paid equally for doing the same work as a man, especially if that woman's family depends on her paycheck to make ends meet, THAT's an economic issue.

If a woman can't afford contraceptives, and therefore can't plan a family according to what is affordable in her circumstances, THAT's an economic issue.  Not just a family issue, but a major national economic issue, because the more children who are born into poverty, the more strain it puts on social programs designed to help the poor. Of course, these are programs you'd just as soon take away from those children, but that won't change the fact that, without contraceptives, the population will grow, creating a bigger economic issue in the future.

If a woman and her family have inadequate preventative healthcare, to the point where symptoms are ignored because the cost of seeing a doctor, having tests, or buying medicine is too high, THAT's an economic issue. The nation's emergency room and clinics will be overwhelmed. The costs of major medical procedures can ruin families completely.

And that's just for starters. EVERY women's issue is an economic issue. And most women I know are getting very tired of having Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan dismiss women's issues as mere diversions.

We're All In This Together

by muon

I was thinking last night that maybe we need a national pep rally more often. Not just Democrats or Republicans or Tea Party or Occupy, but everyone. The only time Americans seem to cheer for Americans is during the Olympics. I think we need to cheer for more than our sportsmen. We need to cheer for each other, and not only every four 4 years.

The DNC was for the most part a very positive event. The speeches didn't ignore what was wrong with America, in fact, many brought to light nuances of issues that voters may never have considered, but the tone of most of the speeches was that, working together, we could fix things. By the end of the convention last night, I think every person in that auditorium felt more empowered than they did at the opening gavel. Chances are, lots of TV viewers were effected the same way.

What difference does it make?

When FDR took office in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, he spoke to the nation frequently. The tone of his words was very much like that of the speeches of the past week. He communicated an optimism in America's capabilities that went a long way toward Americans picking themselves up and making the nation economically healthy once more. We hear about things like consumer confidence, and that's part of it--that is, people feeling secure enough to spend money they otherwise would save for a rainy day. Optimism--a light at the end of the tunnel--makes people quit waiting for someone else to help. If they see something better, they work toward it. Fear, as FDR said, makes us hesitate, then despair makes us sit down and stop trying.

Political views aside--considering solely the tone of the discourse--I can't describe the GOP Convention as optimistic or uplifting. The speeches dwelt on who to blame for America's problems. When the subject turned to mending those problems, we heard, essentially, Romney, Ryan, private companies, and the Religious Right will fix everything (details to be disclosed after the election). The tone was "We'll decide what's right for America," taking even their own audience out of the process.

I prefer to be asked "What's good for America? And how can we all make it happen?"

As former President Clinton put it: "We're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own."

OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE

The school year has just ended for me and the news for the coming year does not look good.  Rumor has it that 40% of our teachers and support staff will be laid off.  Due to state and Federal budget crunches, our children will be sacrificed again. 

I hear so often “our children are our most valuable resource” and I even have a great T-Shirt with that thought on it.  I think that is the exact truth.  When one notes the way we treat our natural resources in general, one cannot be surprised that our “most valuable” resource should be treated so badly.  We clear-cut our forests.  We fish out our rivers and oceans.  We use our precious FRESH water to drive natural gas from deep in rocks.  We destroy our wetlands to provide entertainment spots for the wealthy.  We hunt animals to extinction.  We strip mine some of our most beautiful places. 

In that same spirit, we allow 25% and more of our children to live in poverty.  We blame teachers for student lack of success, then pile more and more children into their classes with fewer supplies, guaranteeing low success for the children in our poorest communities.  We allow for-profit organizations (charter schools) to suck the resources of the districts who are already tapping taxpayers out.  We drive our kids into prisons because we have no jobs for them.  We charge so much for college that it may take a lifetime to pay it off, that is if they can get work.

Like our other “cherished” resources, we fail to see that what we do or do not do now will sharply impact the future for generations.  What fools we are to choose to live only for the present, spouting our political nonsense while our children’s well-being goes the way of the dodo.

Peace,

Ruth