News Today

Editors Note: The numerous economic challenges facing our country are daunting, and even writing about it can prove to be quite a tough task. The issues that we’re facing are so massive and complex that it’s difficult to detail in just a single post, much less describe possible solutions.

But in order to avoid sounding like a G.O.P. talking point, solutions must be offered.

So on that note, I’m going to be introducing a “mini-series” on News Today, appropriately titled “It’s not working, and we’re running out of money to throw at it.” Hopefully the series will be able to paint a clearer picture of the situation our country is in, and ways that we can work to get out of it.

The first edition of this series will be the “War on Poverty.”

. . .

Since Lyndon B. Johnson first announced his “War on Poverty” in the 1964 State of the Union address, America has spent over $5 trillion trying to eradicate poverty. Surely we’ve made some substantial progress during those 45 years right?

Wrong. We’re no closer to a great society now than when we started, and you could even argue that we’re worse off. Let’s examine.

The government typically uses the “poverty threshhold” to measure poverty rates in the United States. This measure defines poverty as a lack of goods and services commonly taken for granted by mainstream society (adjusted for interest as well). Even though there are other ways to measure poverty levels, let’s start with this one.

For more information on how the census compiles poverty rates, along with other ways to measure the rates, go here.

From the United States census:

• The official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. This was the first statistically significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004, when poverty increased to 12.7 percent from 12.5 percent in 2003.
• In 2008, 39.8 million people were in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007 — the second consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.
• Since 1960, the number of people below poverty has not exceeded the 2008 figure of 39.8 million people.
• The 2008 number is not significantly different from 1993, 1962, 1961, 1960 and 1959 estimates.

Now it’s only natural that the poverty rate rose during this economic crisis, but even if we disregard the recent upturn in poverty, the actual poverty rate has stayed relatively the same since it first was recorded in 1959. Also, despite drastic changes to fiscal and economic policy, the way that the poverty rate is computed has only changed slightly in 45 years. In fact, some estimate that the poverty rate would double if a realistic family budget was used to measure it.

So basically, what we’re doing isn’t working.

Some of the programs work effectively. Food stamps, for one, have proven to be one of the most responsive ways to help the poor in times of economic downturn. Food stamps also double as a mini-stimulus of sorts, because it injects money relatively quickly into our economy.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 11% of our budget in 2008 was spent on social safety net programs, such as food stamps, child-care assistance, etc… This actually isn’t even that big of a chunk of our spending, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for improvement.

What I propose is a process of system integration, to help make our social programs more streamlined and cost effective. I say process because it’s important that this not be an “event,” or a one-time fix. By first recognizing similarities in programs we can increase (over time to ensure a smooth transition) the level of cooperation and coordination between those programs.

Using a scale similar to the one proposed in 2007 by Thomas Corbett and Jennifer L. Noyes of the Institute for Research on Poverty (University of Wisconsin-Madison) we could transform our social programs into a well-run and efficient arm of the government, one that isn’t creating a tax-burden for future generations.

Institutional Similarity

• Routinized programs: Agencies that engage in core tasks or activities that are rule-driven and repeated without significant variation. Most benefits-issuing programs fall into this category.
• Mixed programs: Agencies that have some routinized elements such as a focus on determining eligibility for scarce benefits but also encompass tasks that seek to alter individual or family functioning. As noted, many work-oriented welfare systems fall into this category.
• Nonroutinized programs: Agencies typically characterized by a reliance on professional norms, collegial rule-making environments, flatter institutional hierarchies, and significant discretion at the front lines. Many, though not all, social service agencies that deal with very problematic family issues often fall into this category.

Relationship Intensity

• Communication: Clear, consistent and nonjudgmental discussions; giving or exchanging information in order to maintain meaningful relationships. Individual programs or causes are totally separate.
• Cooperation: Assisting each other with respective activities, giving general support, information, and/or endorsement for each other’s programs, services, or objectives.
• Coordination: Joint activities and communications are more intensive and far-reaching. Agencies or individuals engage in joint planning and synchronization of schedules, activities, goals, objectives, and events.
• Collaboration: Agencies, individuals, or groups willingly relinquish some of their autonomy in the interest of mutual gains or outcomes. True collaboration involves actual changes in agency, group, or individual behavior to support collective goals or ideals.
• Convergence: Relationships evolve from collaboration to actual restructuring of services, programs, memberships, budgets, missions, objectives, and staff.
• Consolidation: Agency, group, or individual behavior, operations, policies, budgets, staff, and power are united and harmonized. Individual autonomy or gains have been fully relinquished, common outcomes and identity adopted.

Thoughts?

Sources:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html
http://www.lp.org/issues/poverty-and-welfare
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_poverty
http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258
http://liheap.ncat.org/pubs/brock.htm
http://www.irp.wisc.edu/research/reorgsocpol/systemsintegration/QandA.htm
http://www.irp.wisc.edu/research/reorgsocpol/systemsintegration/Corbett_Noyes_APPAM2007.pdf

…Thank you, Mr. President.

Some of us were beginning to think you had forgotten about the issue completely….

Somewhat appropriately, Obama’s harshest warning about the U.S. budget deficit came during his recent nine-day trip to Asia. In an interview with Fox News, Obama said his administration was facing a “delicate balance of trying to boost the economy and spur job creation while putting the economy on a path toward long-term deficit reduction.”

“It is important though to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession,” said Obama.

Obama also said he plans to hold a jobs forum with business leaders and financial experts in December to discuss ways to turn around the 10.2% unemployment. After taking office, Obama said, the focus of the administration was avoiding the Great Depression.

“Our first job was to get the economy to recover. And we’re now seeing that,” said Obama. “We’ve seen economic growth (in the third quarter). We anticipate economic growth next quarter as well. I always said the job growth would lag behind economic growth. The question now is how can we accelerate it.”

In an interview with NBC Obama said there was a whole “range of ideas” to give companies an incentive to start hiring again. Two ideas he did note were searching for more export opportunities and possible tax provisions that would encourage businesses to hire “sooner rather than sitting on the sidelines.”

I, like a lot of Americans, have been pretty discouraged by the amount of spending in the Obama administration so far. I don’t even blame Obama completely since it really does take over a thousand pages of legislation to get the Democrats in Congress to reach a consensus on big issues.

Plus, this guy went to Harvard. He’s a smart man. He knows that we can’t keep spending at these levels… right? Right???

Because we really can’t. For the United States to continue to keep borrowing more money at this point is downright irresponsible.

Put it like this, courtesy of China, Japan and a host of other countries, the United States was given an international credit card. A credit card with no spending limit. Then, with all of the excitement of a fifteen year old girl at the Mall of America, we went crazy with it. We racked up a lot of charges and… now we owe almost $12 trillon.

$12,000,000,000,000.

The forecast doesn’t get all that greater over the next few years either. According to the CBO, over half of the $9 trillion in debt that the U.S. is expected to build up over the next decade will be in interest rates alone (see chart).

States across the country are going bankrupt, California is looking at a $21 billion budget gap over the next year and a half. For a more comprehensive look at California’s situation visit NWunderlich, who has been documenting the state’s budget woes for a while now.

At some point our lawmakers need to come together and address this issue. It will take making some tough choices, unpopular choices like spending cuts and tax raises. Measures do need to be taken though.

If not, then President Obama is correct, we will experience a great deal of economic turmoil. The decades of borrowing are adding up, and if we don’t work to correct this soon it may be too late. It’s essential that we move forward with a streamlined and efficient government, one that is in control of its spending.

Sources:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/government/update–obama-debt-fuel-double-dip-recession/?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g4:r4:c0.000000:b28934020:z10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091118/ap_on_bi_ge/us_california_budget;_ylt=AjVjPu2jpQ9f4C16RAxoY239xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJuZ3QzZjFjBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMTE4L3VzX2NhbGlmb3JuaWFfYnVkZ2V0BGNwb3MDMwRwb3MDMwRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA2ZvcmVjYXN0Y2FsaQ–
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/19/news/economy/debt_interest/

There were a number of races and issues that were voted on yesterday. Let’s take a look at some of the more intriguing races and results.

NY-23 Special Election - Despite the best efforts of conservative star-power like Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, voters in this district (A Republican lock since the Civil War) chose Democrat Bill Owens over the Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Still, it would be wrong to label this a defeat for the hard-right Tea Party movement. They had enough influence to knock G.O.P. candidate Dede Scozzafava out of the race and brought some much needed national attention to their movement.

New York Mayor - After running the most expensive self-financed campaign ever, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg won an unexpectedly tight race Tuesday night with long-shot challenger City Comptroller William Thompson Jr.

Virginia - Republican Bob McDonnell, in a replay of Virginia’s Attorney General race four years earlier, cruised to an easy victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds in the Virginia governor’s race. “One of the reasons we were so successful is we had independents and Democrats come over to our side,” said McDonnell, in a quote that sounds eerily similar to our president. “For those of you who did not support me, I say give me a chance to earn your trust.”

New Jersey - Chris Christie became the first Republican to win statewide in New Jersey in more than a decade by ousting the Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine. Christie was aided by a poor showing from independent candidate Chris Daggett. Despite polling as high as 20 percent in October, Daggett, a former Republican and EPA official, was unable to break double digits at the polls.

Maine - Voters in this state chose to repeal a state law granting same-sex couples the right to marry, marking a defeat for gay rights activists who were hoping the state would become the first to approve gay marriage at the polls. Currently Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut are the only states to allow same-sex marriage.

Ohio - Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo will be building Las Vegas-style casinos after voters in the buckeye state passed Issue 3. This was the fifth statewide vote on the issue since 1990, but with state unemployment hovering around 10% voters said yes to the promise of 34,000 new jobs, $1 billion in capital investment, and $651 million a year in tax revenues for local governments and school districts.

Sources:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/election/ohioans-approve-casinos-for-4-cities-382796.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29119.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/04/AR2009110402115.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29103.html
http://www.theweek.com/article/index/102397/Tea_Party_backlash_in_NY

Regardless of what happens at the polls today in NY-23, one thing is clear. The G.O.P. has a big red problem, one that is likely to get even bigger.

Still think this is astro-turf Nancy Pelosi?

Ask Dede Scozzafava if she thinks it’s not a legitimate grassroots campaign. At the beginning of the month Scozzafava held a 7-point lead over Democrat Bill Owens. Fast forward to today and Scozzafava, the G.O.P. candidate picked for NY-23, has already bowed out of the race and Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman holds a slim lead over Owens in polls, 36 percent to 35 percent.

Inspired by their NY-23 victory, conservatives and tea party activists have already set their sights on some other G.O.P. Senate recruits like Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida, former Rep. Rob Simmons in Connecticut, Rep. Mark Kirk in Illinois and even GOP incumbents like Utah Sen. Bob Bennett.

“I would say it’s the tip of the spear,” said Dick Armey, the former GOP House majority leader who now serves as chairman of Freedom Works, an organization that has been closely aligned with the tea party movement. “We are the biggest source of energy in American politics today.”

NY-23 has brought up some intriguing questions. What will the long-term impact of this conservative infighting be? Could this be the fall of the Republican Party? Are we about to enter a new era in American politics?

Some analysts think so, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. In states from California to Connecticut the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is choosing candidates who appear at first glance to be strong general election prospects in their districts. Nevertheless these candidates are meeting tough resistance from grass-roots level from activists who believe in supporting the conservative cause, even if it means going against the party nominee.

“New York 23, on some scale, is the first battle of a larger internal Republican debate over how to define the party,” said former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a conservative who is challenging Crist for the Senate nomination. “They want us to vote for their candidates, but they don’t want us to run for office.”

Sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/politics3237585;_ylt=AlPTu_LeTcdo21OVPHmfpFBh24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2ajVuNTVrBHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bi1yLWItbGVmdARzbGsDLXJlYWRpbmdlbGVj
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_what_s_at_stake
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091103/pl_politico/29057

Another third party candidate is poised to make a legitimate run in an upcoming special election. Meet Doug Hoffman, a Conservative Party candidate who has been gaining support in his campaign to take over the New York House seat left vacant by the resignation of Republican Representative John McHugh.

The support for Hoffman isn’t just some astro-turf nonsense either. It’s even bigger than a legitimate grassroots uprising. In a surprising coup, many of the Republican Party’s most vocal leaders are also backing the Conservative Party candidate, despite the fact that the G.O.P. already has a candidate in the race, Dede Scozzafava.

On Friday former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum became the latest in a growing list of G.O.P. leaders to endorse Hoffman. That list includes former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes.

To these conservatives Scozzafava has way too many strikes. A state assembly woman who supports gay marriage rights, abortion rights and is in close with labor?

Palin’s endorsement came on Thursday, and the former governor said that Hoffman “stands for the principles that all Republicans should share” in a statement about her decision. By the way, Hoffman’s campaign reported over $100,000 in campaign donations in the 24 hours following her endorsement.

Still, not all Republican Party leaders are convinced of Hoffman’s credentials, or that it’s a good idea for G.O.P. members to undercut one of their own. Newt Gingrich, who endorsed Scozzafava, offered these grim words of advice for conservatives — “if you seek to be a perfect minority, you’ll remain a minority.”

. . .

In keeping with the independent theme of the post, Mark Blumenthal of the National Journal had a very interesting article about New Jersey’s Independent gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett. In his article Blumenthal alluded to a “perfect storm” of sorts that Daggett appears to have going for him.

From the article:

“Those who follow politics are familiar with a pattern, evident mostly in primary elections, in which two front-running candidates will battle for months, often with an acrimonious exchange of negative advertising, only to be overtaken by a little-known third candidate who surges from single digits in the campaign’s final weeks.

In almost every case, three dynamics facilitate the also-ran’s rise: Strong performances in campaign debates and endorsements from prominent newspapers boost their name recognition, while a last-minute surge in the polls helps convince voters that the long shot really can win.”

A closer look at New Jersey’s race reveals that Daggett’s campaign is following that pattern. Daggett has been the clear winner in both debates, he’s already won the endorsement of the Newark Star-Ledger and a Thursday Rutgers-Eagleton Poll showed 39% of voters going for Corzine, 36% for Christie and 20 percent for independent Chris Daggett.

All this being said, it’s undeniable that history is against him. Out of the 365 governors to take office since 1970, only five have claimed a political party affiliation other than Democrat or Republican.

Sources:
http://www.pollster.com/blogs/yet_another_fight_over_party_i.php
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/mp_20091023_1421.php

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28671.html
http://daggettforgovernor.com/wordpress/

Then he should find someone who is willing to do it. This is an amazing story to be reporting on, considering it’s 2009 and not 1959.

Meet Keith Bardwell. Bardwell has served as a Louisiana justice of the peace for over 34 years at Tangipahoa Parish. In his entire time of service Bardwell has refused to marry interracial couples.

“I’m not a racist. I just don’t believe in mixing the races that way,” Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. “I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else.”

Instead, Bardwell refuses to marry interracial couples because he reached the conclusion that both black and white society are reluctant to accept offspring of such relationships.

“There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage,” Bardwell said. “I think those children suffer and I won’t help put them through it.”

While this is a subject that could probably use a little more discussion and debate, the fact remains that Bardwell is breaking the law.

“He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it,” said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzmann.

I’m not trying to tell Bardwell that he needs to change his opinion, far from it. However, if marrying interracial couples is morally wrong to him then the Tangipahoa Parish needs to find someone who is ok with it. I’d like to think that our society has at least advanced that much in the past five decades.

“That was one thing that made this so unbelievable,” said Beth Humphrey, who was denied a marriage license by Bardwell. “It’s not something you expect in this day and age.”

Beth Humphrey and her partner Terence McKay said they are considering consulting the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.

The ACLU is already taking action. They recently sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, which oversees the state justices of the peace, demanding an investigation on Bardwell and recommending “the most severe sanctions available, because such blatant bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of justice.”

Sources:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jy_z-Zo4fvJEf2TK1LCiiPIe9NDwD9BBRD8O0

I wrote a few weeks earlier about how several third party candidates are in a position to make an impact in several elections. Sure enough, the New Jersey gubernatorial race is turning out to be very heated, and not because of the Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine or his Republican challenger Chris Christie.

Instead, most of the buzz is about Chris Daggett, a centrist independent candidate who with just 20 days to go in the race is polling in double-digits and is poised to make a major impact on the outcome of the election. A Fairleigh Dickinson University survey last week showed Daggett capturing 17 percent of the vote. That was enough to put Corzine ahead of Christie 38 percent to 37 percent.

The recent poll numbers create a dilemna for Christie. By attacking Daggett Christie is also elevating him, legitimizing his candidate and offering him free publicity. Ignoring Daggett altogether could be an even worse decision.

On Wednesday the Republican Governors Association (RGA) launched a series of radio and television ads attacking Daggett. “Chris Daggett, like Corzine, only worse,” says the TV advertisement.

“By Election Day, it will be abundantly clear to New Jerseyans that voting for Chris Daggett is the same as voting for Jon Corzine,” said the Republican Governors Association spokesman Mike Schrimpf.

Whatever Christie’s campaign decides to do, one thing is clear here. The people of New Jersey, much like people across the nation, are fed up on the status-quo. They want a change in the way that politics are run in this country, and they are willing to look outside of Democrat and Republican candidates to achieve that change.

“Daggett’s election would send shock waves through New Jersey’s ossified political system,” The Star-Ledger editorial board, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, wrote over the weekend after endorsing Daggett, “and, we believe, provide a start in a new direction.”

Sources:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28205.html#
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28322_Page2.html#

In what has become one of the most emotionally charged and also increasingly polarized political landscapes, it’s refreshing to hear a story like this one.

Republican Zach Wamp already calls Bart Stupak one of his best friends. Now he can call him a campaign contributor as well. Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, gave $2,500 to Wamp’s Tennessee gubernatorial campaign in September.

“He’d be a great governor,” said Stupak of his choice to donate. “If he’s going to run, it’s Tennessee’s gain and our loss.”

This isn’t the first time Stupak has crossed the aisle to give a campaign contribution. He also donated to Republican Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest’s unsuccessful bid for re-election in 2008.

“Some things are more important than party,” Wamp said. “We are absolutely best friends.”

Wamp and Stupak have both lived at a townhouse on C Street in Southeast Washington. While the house and its prayer group have garnered a good deal of controversy in recent months (Senator John Ensign is also a member of the house), its members say that it serves as an important support mechanism for politicians because it enables them to confide in peers.

Sources:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/21/c_street/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28301.html#

I‘m sure you’ve heard about the ACORN video that came out recently, the one where two ACORN employees were seen giving advice on tax fraud to a pimp and a prostitute. The group has since fired both employees in its Baltimore office who were seen on hidden-camera video, saying they “did not meet ACORN’s standards of professionalism.”

The incident has already hurt the controversial ACORN activist group on a national scale. Earlier this week the census bureau announced that ACORN would not be participating in the 2010 census.

The story doesn’t end here though, which is bad news for film maker James O’Keefe. Apparently his hidden video tactics may be in violation of Maryland state law.

STATEMENT OF STATE’S ATTORNEYS OFFICE FOR BALTIMORE CITY RELATIVE TO THE ALLEGED BALTIMORE ACORN INCIDENT

Baltimore, MD – September 11, 2009 – We have received inquiries from citizens and the media asking whether the Baltimore City State’s Attorneys Office would initiate a criminal investigation for acts allegedly committed at ACORN offices located in Baltimore. The only information received in reference to this alleged criminal behavior was a YouTube video. Upon review by this office, the video appears to be incomplete. In addition, the audio portion could possibly have been obtained in violation of Maryland Law, Annotated Code of Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article 10-402, which requires two party consent.

If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to 5 years.

I think it would be in bad taste to go after O’Keefe. Law enforcement can and has made exceptions for someone who records criminal activity on tape and releases it for the good of the public. To go after O’Keefe here is sending the wrong message.

At least that’s what the embattled South Carolina Governor tried to claim on Thursday as he responded to growing calls for his resignation.

“We have a real problem if members of the General Assembly are going to try to influence and truncate an investigative committee to get the result they want to go ahead on impeachment,” Sanford said. “I get that members of the General Assembly want me gone, but that’s been the case for six years.”

Sanford then accused state lawmakers of trying to set up a “kangaroo court where you may as well base the whole thing on media headlines.”

Kangaroo Court or not, you have to believe that this guy’s days as a governor are numbered. There are likely enough votes in the state House to impeach the governor, but the legislature isn’t scheduled to meet again until January.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the governor is safe until then. House speaker Bobby Harrell and the rest of GOP leadership could bring back the legislature for a special session to remove Sanford before January, but Harrell says they are waiting to see the results of an ongoing ethics investigation.