Tens of thousands protest, over 100 arrested in Black Friday challenge to Wal-Mart
click link
note: some demonstrations in st louis area
You Won't Believe These Suez Canal Conspiracies
3 years ago
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Paul Krugman: California proves Obamacare is going to work
Paul Krugman: California proves Obamacare is going to work
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Finally, the California authorities have been especially forthcoming with data tracking the progress of enrollment. And the numbers are increasingly encouraging.
For one thing, enrollment is surging. At this point, more than 10,000 applications are being completed per day, putting the state well on track to meet its overall targets for 2014 coverage. Just imagine, by the way, how different press coverage would be right now if Obama officials had produced a comparable success, and around 100,000 people a day were signing up nationwide.
Equally important is the information on who is enrolling. To work as planned, health reform has to produce a balanced risk pool — that is, it must sign up young, healthy Americans as well as their older, less healthy compatriots. And so far, so good: in October, 22.5 percent of California enrollees were between the ages of 18 and 34, slightly above that group’s share of the population.
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Finally, the California authorities have been especially forthcoming with data tracking the progress of enrollment. And the numbers are increasingly encouraging.
For one thing, enrollment is surging. At this point, more than 10,000 applications are being completed per day, putting the state well on track to meet its overall targets for 2014 coverage. Just imagine, by the way, how different press coverage would be right now if Obama officials had produced a comparable success, and around 100,000 people a day were signing up nationwide.
Equally important is the information on who is enrolling. To work as planned, health reform has to produce a balanced risk pool — that is, it must sign up young, healthy Americans as well as their older, less healthy compatriots. And so far, so good: in October, 22.5 percent of California enrollees were between the ages of 18 and 34, slightly above that group’s share of the population.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Stop whining, centrists: Bipartisanship is a myth that’s never existed
Stop whining, centrists: Bipartisanship is a myth that’s never existed
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One of the greatest myths about American politics is that there was once a golden age of bipartisanship in which responsible, enlightened statesmen set aside partisan differences in order to collaborate with their colleagues on the other side. This understanding of history underlies constant calls for “grand bargains” among left and right on the budget and other issues. It also permits figures like Ross Perot and Michael Bloomberg to pose as practical problem-solvers superior to petty partisan politicians.
Like most historical myths, the myth of bipartisanship is a poor guide to historical understanding and contemporary action.
Yes, bipartisanship was much higher in the mid-twentieth century than it is now. A new graphic provides a striking illustration of the ideological fissioning of Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate.
click link
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One of the greatest myths about American politics is that there was once a golden age of bipartisanship in which responsible, enlightened statesmen set aside partisan differences in order to collaborate with their colleagues on the other side. This understanding of history underlies constant calls for “grand bargains” among left and right on the budget and other issues. It also permits figures like Ross Perot and Michael Bloomberg to pose as practical problem-solvers superior to petty partisan politicians.
Like most historical myths, the myth of bipartisanship is a poor guide to historical understanding and contemporary action.
Yes, bipartisanship was much higher in the mid-twentieth century than it is now. A new graphic provides a striking illustration of the ideological fissioning of Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Paul Krugman: Expand Social Security!
Paul Krugman: Expand Social Security!
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The second argument Krugman tackles, put forward recently by the Washington Post, is that the poverty rate for seniors is low — the implication being that they don’t need further assistance, anyway. Krugman’s response is to note that the official measurement of poverty among seniors is widely seen as flawed, and flawed in a way that underestimates levels of senior poverty. While many believe the poverty rate among seniors to be 9 percent, Krugman says it’s more likely around 15 percent. And what’s more, it’s likely to increase in the years ahead as more struggling retirees enter the system.
But the biggest reason to expand Social Security, Krugman says, is the failure of 401(k)s. “At this point,” Krugman writes, “it’s clear that the shift to 401(k)s was a gigantic failure. Employers took advantage of the switch to surreptitiously cut benefits; investment returns have been far lower than workers were told to expect; and, to be fair, many people haven’t managed their money wisely.”
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The second argument Krugman tackles, put forward recently by the Washington Post, is that the poverty rate for seniors is low — the implication being that they don’t need further assistance, anyway. Krugman’s response is to note that the official measurement of poverty among seniors is widely seen as flawed, and flawed in a way that underestimates levels of senior poverty. While many believe the poverty rate among seniors to be 9 percent, Krugman says it’s more likely around 15 percent. And what’s more, it’s likely to increase in the years ahead as more struggling retirees enter the system.
But the biggest reason to expand Social Security, Krugman says, is the failure of 401(k)s. “At this point,” Krugman writes, “it’s clear that the shift to 401(k)s was a gigantic failure. Employers took advantage of the switch to surreptitiously cut benefits; investment returns have been far lower than workers were told to expect; and, to be fair, many people haven’t managed their money wisely.”
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Right-wing pension-cutters get humiliated by their own survey data
Right-wing pension-cutters get humiliated by their own survey data
click link
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Of course, that doesn’t mean the Plot Against Pensions won’t move forward. Between money from billionaires, cash from Wall Streeters looking to profit from pension conversions, and support from conservative activists who ideologically oppose the idea of guaranteed retirement income, the plot has vast resources behind it.
Will those massive resources be able to manufacture a sea change in public opinion? Will they make Americans hate public employees and punish those employees by stripping them of the retirement benefits they were promised? It is certainly possible — but it looks like it is going to be a lot harder (and probably more expensive) to engineer such a scam than the anti-pension activists once thought.
click link
snip
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Plot Against Pensions won’t move forward. Between money from billionaires, cash from Wall Streeters looking to profit from pension conversions, and support from conservative activists who ideologically oppose the idea of guaranteed retirement income, the plot has vast resources behind it.
Will those massive resources be able to manufacture a sea change in public opinion? Will they make Americans hate public employees and punish those employees by stripping them of the retirement benefits they were promised? It is certainly possible — but it looks like it is going to be a lot harder (and probably more expensive) to engineer such a scam than the anti-pension activists once thought.
How Wall Street — not pensioners — wrecked Detroit
How Wall Street — not pensioners — wrecked Detroit
click link
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No doubt, there is a tiny grain of truth in this otherwise inaccurate story. Yes, it is true, Detroit is a cautionary tale for governments about financial management and legacy costs. However, it is not a cautionary tale about allegedly greedy employees living the MTV Cribs life off taxpayers. As an eye-opening new report from a former Goldman Sachs executive documents, it is instead yet another cautionary tale about Wall Street’s too-good-to-be-true schemes that end up being, well, too good to be true.
Commissioned by the think tank Demos, the new report out today from former investment banker Wallace Turbeville shows that contrary to the myths about a bloated municipal government overspending on lavish social services, Detroit’s “overall expenses have declined over the last five years” by $419 million thanks to the city “laying off more than 2,350 workers, cutting worker pay, and reducing future healthcare and future benefit accruals for workers.” Today, Turbeville notes that “Detroit has a significantly smaller workforce per capita than comparable cities.” Yet, those draconian cuts still left the city with an annual $198 million shortfall because of three big problems — none of which has anything to do with supposedly greedy public workers and their allegedly overly “generous” pension benefits.
click link
snip
No doubt, there is a tiny grain of truth in this otherwise inaccurate story. Yes, it is true, Detroit is a cautionary tale for governments about financial management and legacy costs. However, it is not a cautionary tale about allegedly greedy employees living the MTV Cribs life off taxpayers. As an eye-opening new report from a former Goldman Sachs executive documents, it is instead yet another cautionary tale about Wall Street’s too-good-to-be-true schemes that end up being, well, too good to be true.
Commissioned by the think tank Demos, the new report out today from former investment banker Wallace Turbeville shows that contrary to the myths about a bloated municipal government overspending on lavish social services, Detroit’s “overall expenses have declined over the last five years” by $419 million thanks to the city “laying off more than 2,350 workers, cutting worker pay, and reducing future healthcare and future benefit accruals for workers.” Today, Turbeville notes that “Detroit has a significantly smaller workforce per capita than comparable cities.” Yet, those draconian cuts still left the city with an annual $198 million shortfall because of three big problems — none of which has anything to do with supposedly greedy public workers and their allegedly overly “generous” pension benefits.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Have Social Security Benefits Really Been Cut by 19 Percent?
Have Social Security Benefits Really Been Cut by 19 Percent?
click link for old story
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he National Academy of Social Insurance, of which I’m a member, has released a new issue brief titled “Social Security Beneficiaries Face 19% Cut; New Revenue Can Restore Balance.” The paper argues that, based on changes implemented in the 1983 Social Security reforms—increases in the normal retirement age from 65 to 67; a one-time reduction in COLA payments; and the taxation of retirement benefits—future retirees will receive benefits 19 percent lower than what they would have received had the 1983 reforms not been implemented. Consequently, NASI argues, well, new revenues can restore balance.
Some perspective is needed. First, the 1983 reforms didn’t only reduce benefits; they also increased taxes, by covering newly hired federal workers and non-profit associations, accelerating tax increases already on the books, prohibiting state/local workers from leaving the system, and so on. Together, tax increases made up around 38 percent of the total changes in the 1983 reforms, and that’s even if you count the taxation of benefits as a benefit cut rather than a tax. How to categorize the taxation of benefits is ambiguous and I can go either way, although I’d note that benefit taxation tends not to affect low- and middle-income retirees very much. (This might be the first time I’ve seen NASI opposed to taxes on high earners.) Overall, the 1983 reforms were more balanced than you might guess from reading NASI’s paper alone.
click link for old story
snip
he National Academy of Social Insurance, of which I’m a member, has released a new issue brief titled “Social Security Beneficiaries Face 19% Cut; New Revenue Can Restore Balance.” The paper argues that, based on changes implemented in the 1983 Social Security reforms—increases in the normal retirement age from 65 to 67; a one-time reduction in COLA payments; and the taxation of retirement benefits—future retirees will receive benefits 19 percent lower than what they would have received had the 1983 reforms not been implemented. Consequently, NASI argues, well, new revenues can restore balance.
Some perspective is needed. First, the 1983 reforms didn’t only reduce benefits; they also increased taxes, by covering newly hired federal workers and non-profit associations, accelerating tax increases already on the books, prohibiting state/local workers from leaving the system, and so on. Together, tax increases made up around 38 percent of the total changes in the 1983 reforms, and that’s even if you count the taxation of benefits as a benefit cut rather than a tax. How to categorize the taxation of benefits is ambiguous and I can go either way, although I’d note that benefit taxation tends not to affect low- and middle-income retirees very much. (This might be the first time I’ve seen NASI opposed to taxes on high earners.) Overall, the 1983 reforms were more balanced than you might guess from reading NASI’s paper alone.
How the Tea Party helped a military giant bully its workers
How the Tea Party helped a military giant bully its workers
click link
snip
Boeing is the $100 billion aerospace giant whose business includes selling fighters, bombers and missiles to the government. As I’ve reported, through a series of prolonged strikes, employees at its Washington state factories have extracted a share of the bounty from that business, and secured a level of economic security largely unheard of in America’s fastest-growing post-crash sectors.
This year Boeing, in a move the Seattle Times noted could “rapidly compress” the company’s “exit from Washington state,” threatened to build its next big airplane line somewhere new – at great short-term cost to the company – if union members didn’t cough up massive concessions in exchange for a promise to keep it in state.
Local Machinists Union president Tom Wroblewski reportedly tore up Boeing’s pension-replacing contract extension proposal at a union meeting and called it a “piece of crap,” but ultimately “declined to give specific direction” in Wednesday’s vote and “publicly stressed that the deal would bring job security.” The members still voted no, prompting Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to tweet, “Tough news from [union local] @IAM751 tonight,” Boeing to announce it was “left with no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the [new] 777X,” and Wroblewski to declare that the union had “preserved something sacred by rejecting the Boeing proposal,” and voice his “hope” that “Boeing won’t discard our skills …”
So Boeing Machinists declined to hand over future pensions as a ransom for protecting future jobs. Still, somewhere, South Carolina Gov. and self-described “union-buster” Nikki Haley must be smiling.
click link
snip
Boeing is the $100 billion aerospace giant whose business includes selling fighters, bombers and missiles to the government. As I’ve reported, through a series of prolonged strikes, employees at its Washington state factories have extracted a share of the bounty from that business, and secured a level of economic security largely unheard of in America’s fastest-growing post-crash sectors.
This year Boeing, in a move the Seattle Times noted could “rapidly compress” the company’s “exit from Washington state,” threatened to build its next big airplane line somewhere new – at great short-term cost to the company – if union members didn’t cough up massive concessions in exchange for a promise to keep it in state.
Local Machinists Union president Tom Wroblewski reportedly tore up Boeing’s pension-replacing contract extension proposal at a union meeting and called it a “piece of crap,” but ultimately “declined to give specific direction” in Wednesday’s vote and “publicly stressed that the deal would bring job security.” The members still voted no, prompting Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to tweet, “Tough news from [union local] @IAM751 tonight,” Boeing to announce it was “left with no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the [new] 777X,” and Wroblewski to declare that the union had “preserved something sacred by rejecting the Boeing proposal,” and voice his “hope” that “Boeing won’t discard our skills …”
So Boeing Machinists declined to hand over future pensions as a ransom for protecting future jobs. Still, somewhere, South Carolina Gov. and self-described “union-buster” Nikki Haley must be smiling.
Listen up, Arne Duncan: Racist defense of Common Core won’t derail coalition to fight corporate school reform which hurts kids
Listen up, Arne Duncan: Racist defense of Common Core won’t derail coalition to fight corporate school reform which hurts kids
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Too Much Reliance on Testing
Chief among the complaints of students, parents and teachers are the overemphasis on and poor quality of standardized tests that schools are made to impose.
In many states, including New York, very young children now face a battery of exams. The Daily News reported, “Because of a tough new curriculum and teacher evaluations, 4- and 5-year-olds are learning how to fill in bubbles on standardized math tests.” Giving bubble tests to kindergartners has become the order of the day in many schools, even though testing at this age group “is slow and traumatic,” and “trying to get a proper answer was next to impossible.”
According to an article in the Washington Post, because these tests increasingly require students to fill out the forms on computers, “educators around the country are rushing to teach typing to children who have barely mastered printing by hand.”
In later grades, students can encounter exams practically around every corner. In Pittsburgh, a local reporter found that public schools this school year have to administer “a total of more than 270 tests … to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In fourth grade alone, there are 33 required tests … The district has no choice … the state mandates them.”
CLICK
snip
Too Much Reliance on Testing
Chief among the complaints of students, parents and teachers are the overemphasis on and poor quality of standardized tests that schools are made to impose.
In many states, including New York, very young children now face a battery of exams. The Daily News reported, “Because of a tough new curriculum and teacher evaluations, 4- and 5-year-olds are learning how to fill in bubbles on standardized math tests.” Giving bubble tests to kindergartners has become the order of the day in many schools, even though testing at this age group “is slow and traumatic,” and “trying to get a proper answer was next to impossible.”
According to an article in the Washington Post, because these tests increasingly require students to fill out the forms on computers, “educators around the country are rushing to teach typing to children who have barely mastered printing by hand.”
In later grades, students can encounter exams practically around every corner. In Pittsburgh, a local reporter found that public schools this school year have to administer “a total of more than 270 tests … to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In fourth grade alone, there are 33 required tests … The district has no choice … the state mandates them.”
Monday, November 18, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
American manufacturing isn’t dead yet. In fact, it’s growing
American manufacturing isn’t dead yet. In fact, it’s growing
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The report indicates businesses were increasing orders and output even in the face of the 16-day federal government closing in October. The housing rebound and demand for vehicles, the mainstays of manufacturing, will help to sustain economic growth that’s forecast to cool in the wake of last month’s fiscal gridlock.
“We’ve seen decent growth in manufacturing,” said Brian Jones, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York, who correctly projected the drop in total production. “Demand is holding up. The economy in general is doing better.”
The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.2 percent rise in total industrial production. September output was revised up to a 0.7 percent gain from a previously reported 0.6 percent advance. Estimates of the 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg ranged from a drop of 0.2 percent to an increase of 0.5 percent.
click
snip
The report indicates businesses were increasing orders and output even in the face of the 16-day federal government closing in October. The housing rebound and demand for vehicles, the mainstays of manufacturing, will help to sustain economic growth that’s forecast to cool in the wake of last month’s fiscal gridlock.
“We’ve seen decent growth in manufacturing,” said Brian Jones, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York, who correctly projected the drop in total production. “Demand is holding up. The economy in general is doing better.”
The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.2 percent rise in total industrial production. September output was revised up to a 0.7 percent gain from a previously reported 0.6 percent advance. Estimates of the 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg ranged from a drop of 0.2 percent to an increase of 0.5 percent.
Friday, November 15, 2013
The president strikes back: Insurance companies get their justified comeuppance
The president strikes back: Insurance companies get their justified comeuppance
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If your health insurance carrier has canceled your plan in anticipation of the launch of the Affordable Care Act, the administrative fix President Obama announced Thursday doesn’t guarantee you can get it back.
But setting aside logistical hurdles, it loosens regulations to allow insurance companies to reinstate the plans for another year, if they so choose — and if they first fully apprise you of your other options, including expanded benefits and the potential availability of premium support, on the exchanges.
This solution combines a clever p.r. stunt, a stalling tactic, an act of retribution, the genuine possibility of transition assistance for some, and a large political and substantive gamble. It bears the hallmarks of desperation and frustration and determination, but it just might work.
The idea isn’t to retroactively fulfill the promise he made to everyone whose plans have been canceled, but to demonstrate to the public that there’s now nothing in law requiring carriers to dump policyholders or uphold their cancelation notices, so that the public takes its concerns and grievances directly to the carriers. That would alleviate pressure on Democratic lawmakers to vote under duress for legislation that would undermine the Affordable Care Act more dramatically.
click
snip
If your health insurance carrier has canceled your plan in anticipation of the launch of the Affordable Care Act, the administrative fix President Obama announced Thursday doesn’t guarantee you can get it back.
But setting aside logistical hurdles, it loosens regulations to allow insurance companies to reinstate the plans for another year, if they so choose — and if they first fully apprise you of your other options, including expanded benefits and the potential availability of premium support, on the exchanges.
This solution combines a clever p.r. stunt, a stalling tactic, an act of retribution, the genuine possibility of transition assistance for some, and a large political and substantive gamble. It bears the hallmarks of desperation and frustration and determination, but it just might work.
The idea isn’t to retroactively fulfill the promise he made to everyone whose plans have been canceled, but to demonstrate to the public that there’s now nothing in law requiring carriers to dump policyholders or uphold their cancelation notices, so that the public takes its concerns and grievances directly to the carriers. That would alleviate pressure on Democratic lawmakers to vote under duress for legislation that would undermine the Affordable Care Act more dramatically.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Do you earn more than a Somali pirate?
Do you earn more than a Somali pirate?
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They estimate that the owners of 179 ships hijacked between 2005 and 2012 paid out ransoms totaling between $339 million and $413 million, or an average payment per vessel of around $2.3 million.
But the pirate foot soldiers — the men with guns who illegally take to the seas to hunt down ships — earned only $30,000-$75,000 each, with the first to board a targeted vessel winning a $10,000 bonus.
It turns out that some pirate attacks were shoestring operations while others, well-equipped with weapons, boats, satellite phones and GPS locators, cost tens of thousands of dollars to launch.
Much of the takings of individual pirates were whittled away on the mild narcotic “khat” and food that is provided on credit during long months of negotiations during which the pirates guard the vessels and their crew, meaning their takeaway was frequently even lower. It was also quickly frittered away on imported SUVs, alcohol and more khat.
click
snip
They estimate that the owners of 179 ships hijacked between 2005 and 2012 paid out ransoms totaling between $339 million and $413 million, or an average payment per vessel of around $2.3 million.
But the pirate foot soldiers — the men with guns who illegally take to the seas to hunt down ships — earned only $30,000-$75,000 each, with the first to board a targeted vessel winning a $10,000 bonus.
It turns out that some pirate attacks were shoestring operations while others, well-equipped with weapons, boats, satellite phones and GPS locators, cost tens of thousands of dollars to launch.
Much of the takings of individual pirates were whittled away on the mild narcotic “khat” and food that is provided on credit during long months of negotiations during which the pirates guard the vessels and their crew, meaning their takeaway was frequently even lower. It was also quickly frittered away on imported SUVs, alcohol and more khat.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
The bottom 90 percent have no voice in Washington
The bottom 90 percent have no voice in Washington
click link
snip
So how to explain this paradox?
As of November 1 more than 47 million Americans have lost some or all of their food stamp benefits. House Republicans are pushing for further cuts. If the sequester isn’t stopped everything else poor and working-class Americans depend on will be further squeezed.
We’re not talking about a small sliver of America here. Half of all children get food stamps at some point during their childhood. Half of all adults get them sometime between ages 18 and 65. Many employers – including the nation’s largest, Walmart – now pay so little that food stamps are necessary in order to keep food on the family table, and other forms of assistance are required to keep a roof overhead.
The larger reality is that most Americans are still living in the Great Recession. Median household income continues to drop. In last week’s Washington Post-ABC poll, 75 percent rated the state of the economy as “negative” or “poor.”
So why is Washington whacking safety nets and services that a large portion of Americans need, when we still very much need them?
It’s easy to blame Republicans and the rightwing billionaires that bankroll them, and their unceasing demonization of “big government” as well as deficits. But Democrats in Washington bear some of the responsibility. In last year’s fiscal cliff debate neither party pushed to extend the payroll tax holiday or find other ways to help the working middle class and poor.
click link
snip
So how to explain this paradox?
As of November 1 more than 47 million Americans have lost some or all of their food stamp benefits. House Republicans are pushing for further cuts. If the sequester isn’t stopped everything else poor and working-class Americans depend on will be further squeezed.
We’re not talking about a small sliver of America here. Half of all children get food stamps at some point during their childhood. Half of all adults get them sometime between ages 18 and 65. Many employers – including the nation’s largest, Walmart – now pay so little that food stamps are necessary in order to keep food on the family table, and other forms of assistance are required to keep a roof overhead.
The larger reality is that most Americans are still living in the Great Recession. Median household income continues to drop. In last week’s Washington Post-ABC poll, 75 percent rated the state of the economy as “negative” or “poor.”
So why is Washington whacking safety nets and services that a large portion of Americans need, when we still very much need them?
It’s easy to blame Republicans and the rightwing billionaires that bankroll them, and their unceasing demonization of “big government” as well as deficits. But Democrats in Washington bear some of the responsibility. In last year’s fiscal cliff debate neither party pushed to extend the payroll tax holiday or find other ways to help the working middle class and poor.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
How the 1 percent always wins: Liberal washing is the right’s new favorite tactic
How the 1 percent always wins: Liberal washing is the right’s new favorite tactic
click link
Liberal washing has always been around, of course. But it has really risen to prominence — and dominance — in modern times. Indeed, one of the most reliable political axioms of the last 30 years is this: If corporate America cooks up a scheme to rip off the middle class, Republicans will provide the bulk of the congressional votes for the scheme — but enough establishment-credentialed liberals inevitably will endorse the scheme to make it at least appear to be mainstream and bipartisan. Yes, it seems no matter how venal, underhanded or outright corrupt a heist may be, there always ends up being a group of icons with liberal billing ready to drive the getaway car.
The most reliable way to liberal-wash something is to get a famous Democrat to support it. This is because even though many Democratic politicians, party officials, operatives and pundits are neither liberal nor progressive, the media nonetheless usually portrays all people affiliated with the Democratic Party as uniformly liberal on all issues.
The famous examples of liberal washing come from the White House. A few decades ago, Democratic President Bill Clinton liberal-washed corporatist schemes like NAFTA and financial deregulation. Today, it is Democratic President Barack Obama liberal-washing the insurance industry’s healthcare initiatives and now joining with a handful of Democratic legislators to liberalwash – and legitimize – the right-wing crusade to slash Social Security benefits.
But, then, as evidenced by just the last few months of news, liberal washing also operates just as powerfully in other political arenas.
click link
Liberal washing has always been around, of course. But it has really risen to prominence — and dominance — in modern times. Indeed, one of the most reliable political axioms of the last 30 years is this: If corporate America cooks up a scheme to rip off the middle class, Republicans will provide the bulk of the congressional votes for the scheme — but enough establishment-credentialed liberals inevitably will endorse the scheme to make it at least appear to be mainstream and bipartisan. Yes, it seems no matter how venal, underhanded or outright corrupt a heist may be, there always ends up being a group of icons with liberal billing ready to drive the getaway car.
The most reliable way to liberal-wash something is to get a famous Democrat to support it. This is because even though many Democratic politicians, party officials, operatives and pundits are neither liberal nor progressive, the media nonetheless usually portrays all people affiliated with the Democratic Party as uniformly liberal on all issues.
The famous examples of liberal washing come from the White House. A few decades ago, Democratic President Bill Clinton liberal-washed corporatist schemes like NAFTA and financial deregulation. Today, it is Democratic President Barack Obama liberal-washing the insurance industry’s healthcare initiatives and now joining with a handful of Democratic legislators to liberalwash – and legitimize – the right-wing crusade to slash Social Security benefits.
But, then, as evidenced by just the last few months of news, liberal washing also operates just as powerfully in other political arenas.
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