A National Blind Trust

The arc of Republican policy runs from indifference to pure evil. Their biggest government target is healthcare. Romney has detailed its death, promised for day one. Its budget will go to tax cuts and battle ships. The heart of Romney’s plan is bullets not blood pressure, defense not diabetes. But he offers the comfort of false hope: pre-existing conditions? Covered. Critical care? Only an ambulance ride away. What dark soul lies about death and suffering to build more instruments of killing?

The costs, coverage, and benefits to the government’s plan are ably marked above. No Republican, Romney or Ryan, has been transparent or honest about their plan. Health care is a pillar of small business growth, of family security, of opportunity, of an expanding economy. Yet what Romney proposes is a voucher and blind trust. He treats the expanded coverage and lowered costs of Obamacare like death and illnesses are simply recalls. In Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, where governments make a main priority of expanding health care, they surely have noticed. Is winning global respect putting profits and aircraft carriers before your nation’s health?

Blind trusts are okay for offshore finances, but it’s no way to run, in-country, the health care for the people of the world’s most powerful and prosperous nation.

Breaking Down Empty Claims

Many commenters, (I count myself among them), expertly break down process, take complex details and bring out the truth underlining political actions and ideas. Often labeled partisan, the work is more a discussion of the social contract’s key examples and insights.

With Romney, you are breaking down empty claims. No data, no details. “Go to the website.” (I have!) So we write description, but which Romney do we describe? (With him, we can even make up our own!) For me, is it the one who insulted the black middle class at the NACCP’s convention talking about free stuff, consigning successful people to the 47%, or the Romney who had Ryan signal the end of poverty? I think it’s the third Romney, the one who manipulates groups to gain votes from from other groups. It’s easier to attract conservatives and liberals if the appeals are timed. It’s obvious Romney wants disgruntled liberals to make a last minute decision to jump ship. For better or worse, conservatives are in the pocket; Billy Graham purged his website.

But the big finish requires jobs. But Romney has abandoned any semblence of a plan to make the finish personal. For him, jobs are only a means to attack; try connecting millions of small businesses (not workers!) to Latin American trade. That key example shows his plan is empty! So he steadily mocks the President, narrows the focus to hide his non-tender; next week race will creep back in; but nobody plays the end game better than Barack.

Note: My prediction, from above:  “next week race will creep back in;”

Uncanny! Last night, from my twitter stream:
“Sununu also said of Obama on Hannity tonight: “He’s created more racial division than any other administration in history.”

Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama is also being trumpeted as “racist,”–a huge stretch for the person, the endorsement, and the meaning of the word!

How do we know the blowback is bout “race?” Gen. Powell’s endorsement could have be framed, for example, as having a) no effect on jobs, b) knee-jerk respect by an old warrior for a Commander-in-Chief, c) as bitter scoring settling with Chaney; him fighting an old war. Instead, it’s being called an “affirmative action” pick (again, misusing the concept, but signaling race!), by an affirmative action general, a willingness to disparage one of the great commanders and public servants of our nation going back to Vietnam; a man who Republicans once thought of as Presidential material, a soldier whose service and loyalty and command should be above reapproach and honored.

Sununu, leading the despicable charge and mudslinging, is a foreign-born immigrant. Do his words sound like those of a campaign focused on jobs?

Sadly, other than the charges, the racial content, its use and how and why it works, will be ignored.

If Taxes Are So Bad Why Are Profits So High?

The contrast–and compliment–to taxes are profit. Let’s look at the current impact of taxes on corporate profits. By the logic of many, profits should be squeezed, near lows. But a June 2012 report (Business Insider) tells us that corporate profits hit an all-time high, while wages hit an all-time low! In fact, profits climbed for 9 (and counting!) quarters–an impressive record, given the global state. The 4th Q saw $1.7 trillion in profits. The effective tax rate? 12.5%!

Capital is being severely hoarded in the US, concentrated at the top, as capital decoupled from labor years ago. The only to put capital into play is not by creating more capital, albeit unused for demand, is not by tax cuts (remember that 12.5% rate above?). Instead, use monetary policy with the threat of inflation to encourage capital spending at its present value. Contraction doesn’t become expansion!

~ While employers may be complying with Mitt Romney’s request of them to use their influence as bosses and tell their workers how to vote, the voting booth is still the one place where man and woman is left alone, in peace, to do as they feel they should.

America voted for Hope in 2007. I believe America will vote for salvation from the plutocrats in 2012.