301 results for author: Phil Anderson

MAKING AMERICA GREAT

The presidential candidates are pontificating about making America “great.” The Republican candidate in particular has made this a theme of his campaign. Puffing up our alleged greatness is standard political campaign rhetoric. Meaningless sound bites and patriotic cliches are a common campaign strategy. It allows the politicians to avoiding meaningful discussion of actual problems and needed solutions. There may be good reasons for candidates to avoid specifics. Too often those who did discuss the issues have lost. Policy positions are often complicated and boring. Unfortunately people are motivated by emotion not facts. Too often the platit...

FIGHT RACISM WITH “WHITE PRIVILEGE”

“People with advantages are loath to believe that they just happen to be people with advantages.” C. Wright Mills- Sociologist and author. Racism is prevalent in our society. It has been a dominant theme in our history. It has shaped our public policy since colonial times. We all know the history of slavery, Jim Crow, the KKK, educational, employment, and housing discrimination. It was not just in the Deep South. Even Duluth had a lynching. Northern cities have de facto segregated schools. Much of American history is a denial of justice and equality for minorities. As a liberal, educated white person who has lived and worked with ...

BUILDING LOCAL ECONOMIES AND COMMUNITY WEALTH

Henry George in his classic Progress and Poverty (published in 1879) said that all wealth resulted from the labor of the worker. The worker used his skill and creativity to transform natural resources into things to satisfy human needs and desires. This process was the basis of capital as well as all economic activity. Capital did not create jobs, workers did. The current paradigm says economic growth, jobs, and prosperity are created from the top down. Give the super wealthy more and they will “invest” in the economy, jobs will be created, and everyone else will benefit. A rising tide lifts all boats. But it should be obvious that not all ...

ABOLISH NOT MODERNIZE NUKES

The United States is the only country to ever use nuclear weapons. On August 6th and 9th we mark the 71st anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is not enough to just remember the tragic (and many believe unnecessary) loss of civilian lives from these events. We must work to abolish nuclear weapons. The leadership of our country is still mired in the old Cold War mentality. They still believe nuclear weapons are necessary for national defense. They have not learned from the mistakes of 71 years of excessively militarized foreign policy. Many countries still suffer from the legacy of this Cold War mentality. Current ...

SPECULATING ON THE EU VOTE

Last week the British voted to leave the European Union. The next day stock markets all over the world declined precipitously. The DOW in this country dropped 610 points in one day. According to Reuters news agency, global stock markets “lost” $2 trillion in value the day after the vote. Why did this happen? What does it mean? Wild fluctuations like this often occur with stock markets. The news media, pundits, and investment hucksters, of course, always have explanations. The usual spin is that “investors” have lost confidence, or they are “taking profits,” or the “market” is responding to some world event. In this case “investo...

Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate Race and Social Security

On Social Security the contrast between Wisconsin's two candidates for the U.S. Senate could not be greater. Russ Feingold (D) and Ron Johnson (R) are polar opposites on what should be done with this highly successful and popular program. Senator Ron Johnson has said Social Security is a “ponzi scheme.” Johnson, along with many reactionary Republicans, want to make Social Security voluntary and allow younger workers to invest their Social Security contributions in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The article “Attacks on Social Security Continue in Wisconsin” addresses his remarks and the likely impact of his agenda on the financial security ...

THANK A VETERAN WITH ACTION, NOT WORD

The theme of the Superior Fourth of July parade is “Thank a Veteran.” This is a nice sentiment. But the cliche “thank you for your service” is too often just a meaningless platitude. It is like saying “thank you for shopping at...” when the clerk couldn't care less. Along with “support the troops” bumper stickers, it is part of the propaganda that supports our too frequent wars. Real thanks must be more than words. Real thanks is doing what is right and needed for veterans and their families. It is working to make our country what it should be for everyone. We don't think of the costs of war during the flag waving run up to starting ...

Wisconsin Civil Service Reform Is Ill Advised

Wisconsin's current administration was elected on an agenda of creating jobs, cutting taxes, and fixing the budgets shortfalls. They have failed to produce on all three points. Wisconsin is still lagging behind most other states in job creation. Tax cuts for most citizens have been zero or very small while fees have increased. The state budget is still a problem. They have succeeded in creating an avalanche of ill-advised public policy changes which have nothing to do with their original goals. They began with turning down federal dollars for high speed rail and Medicare expansion and continued with restricting public employee collective bargaini...

Socialism in the U.S. Military

Calling your opponent a socialist is a favorite American political slur. The public has been programed to equate socialism, or any deviation from pure free market capitalism, with being un-American. The Constitution, however, does not say much about organizing the economy. Capitalism is not synonymous with freedom or democracy. It is entirely possible to have a socialistic, or even communistic, economy and a representative democracy. Bernie Sanders is unique in openly claiming to be a democratic socialist. He does not intend, however, to change the structure of the economy. Rather he simply advocates making the economy work better by being more ...

Selective Memories

The good old days are the memories of things that never were. We remember what we want to and disregard the rest. Every Memorial Day, in our zeal to honor those who have served, we have a national picnic feast of selective memory about war. Our government is engaged in selectively remembering the Vietnam War. The Department of Defense is spending $65 million in a project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war. It is all about “honoring” the troops. As President Obama stated, “As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect with solemn reverence upon the valor of a generation that served with honor. We pay tribute ...