My e-mail must be on some new political "bathroom wall" because recently into my in box has landed an abundance of articles with titles like " How Democrats can take back the South" and "Dixie is gone with the wind". The articles make the case that we need to adopt "economic populism" as the solution to Democrats gaining back a measure of electoral strength and power. But, as I plod my way through these articles, I realize I really don't understand what this "economic populism" is- besides a catchy tag line. Fair warning, the articles are a basic pimp to read their respective books (not that's there is anything wrong with that!)
I work in a light manufacturing environment for a company that is owned by Germans, making products that are used in cars and houses. Anyone with a solution to the obvious challenges facing the employees and bean counters is of interest to me. However after a solid 2 years of listening to our candidates blather on about helping 'merica being stronger I swear I don't think I heard one rational talking point about how we do this without seriously addressing the issues of right to work states and globalization.
Which brings me to the obvious question, can any of our candidates or elected officials really do anything about these issues without coming off sounding protectionist and anti-trade ?
I can tell you my co-workers understand that their livelihoods are more dependent not on what they do, but what goes on overnight in China, Iraq and London. But g-d forbid someone actually says that out loud. It's no wonder the Fair-Tax pimps get the attention of folks who are struggling to make ends meet and get up knowing the crushing burden they face each day. Clearly it's easier to focus on some form of vitriol against something than to be FOR something.
At any rate...the point of this post is to pose this question:
How would you engage these likely voters in this discussion without uttering phrases that are obviously insulting like "you should stop voting against your economic self interest" or attempting to explain regressive tax policy during a smoke break?
Does Dr. Westen have the magic words? Does Senator Obama have the white paper on this? Does Jim Martin have a spiffy new talking point? Oh and please spare me the Edwards said this and that, his credibility evaporated hiding out from the National Enquirer in a hotel bathroom in LA.
What say you?
11 Responses to “Economic populist rhetoric meet Southern political reality”
"Which brings me to the obvious question, can any of our candidates or elected officials really do anything about these issues without coming off sounding protectionist and anti-trade ? "
No
I think the way we engage them is to talk about new business that should come out of the USA. The whole idea of "A New Green Deal" that includes green collar jobs, new technology and innovation with the bonus of saving money and the environment.
Let's have something to aspire to, instead of something to beat up on.
I don't think any measures made to protect people over profits will survive the "anti-trade" and "anti-business" smears. Not to sound like a Green, but corporate media is never going to take major change laying down (unless you can get their ratings / profits separated from the agenda of corporate parents).
However, just like McCain's $5 million "middle class" earner, some of this can be made to look ridiculous.
The fight in economic populism is the fight over understanding how much power people have over their own lives. If they honestly believe that their own powers, skills, and self-improvement translate directly into promotion and pay increases, then unions will be evil and globalization is just a way to make the Wal-Mart that much cheaper.
Odin. Luv ya, and agree with you. But, seriously, the average working parent, with a couple of kids, a car payment (or two), health care costs on the rise, food costs on the rise. Do you really think anyone has the time to explain that:
The fight in economic populism is the fight over understanding how much power people have over their own lives.
They have a boss breathing down their neck to be on time, kids to pick up from school five minutes ago, and bills to pay. The last thing on their minds is economic populism...
Now show them a promising new career path, and it's something that their kids can be proud of? That's the ticket.
Catherine,
Also agree - if we say, look here's a great new career set if you just sign the dotted line.
But, what I mean in the above is that some people you can tell the wonders of being pro-labor until you're blue in the face and they're more like "whatever, all is good for me" or "those union guys are all slugs, why would I join them?"
So, I guess the selling point is more along the lines of it doesn't have to be this way, heck you don't even have to change careers. You're making your bosses tons of money and we intend to make them share a bit more.
Something more like that, I guess?
You know Guys, this is one of my most favored topics, and we really don't talk about it enough. But goodnesses knows, there's Plenty of Economic websites & blogs that speak to the issue. And books. lots of serious, semi-serious & 'popular' books on modern day economics from a Liberal & Democratic perspective.
Want the News in a Different perspective? Try Dean Baker's 'Beat the Press' posts at The American Prospect' Blog. For a deeper understanding, try any of the dozens of blogs listed on the side bar of the Economists View Blog by Mark Thoma: [http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/].
Read the New book by By Prof. James K. Galbraith: 'The Predator State'. Look on Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo Cafe for the detailed discussion of same. [http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2006/05/predator_state.html]
Yes, Juliana. John Edwards had & has plenty of good solid ideas on this 'economic populism' biz, and it's a good thing he was in the race to push them forward. The other campaigns cribbed and borrowed plenty from his ideas and tone. And it certainly helped Obama & Clinton, both. Look to see the what the 'Facing South' Blog has to say about the value of Economic populism (or realism) in the South: [http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/].
There's a world of analysis that's certainly possible within the realm of your question. But suffice it to say it's a highly complex issue that many folks throw up their hands in frustration of ever understanding. And here's where JRE got it right. The economic game in the country has been increasingly rigged against the middle classes, and in favor of the richest of the rich in the US, those earning over 250K (which is about
I had a very lengthy & detailed response here, but Juliana has not gotten back to approve it just yet.
The shorter version is about where JRE came out. He was the real voice of well informed economic populism, this seasons and for the last 4 years. It sounds like this.
We're screwed. The system has been carefully rigged against the middle class. The Repug's did it. And they're akin to arsonists who while burning down the building block gets so excited by the drama & the scene, they forgot to add an escape route. They never thought of it. The property classes NEED the middle class or else the entire economic edifice of America comes crashing down around their ears. And yet few will listen. Including Millionaire 'reporters'/ 'new readers'/ opinion makers.
That's the shorter version. The original I tried posting here was longer and replete with plenty of references. But although I speak using these references, (and everyone knows this), I seemingly can't easily post this info here. So we're reduced to those infamous 'sound bytes' that we all hate, but have been inculcated to use nevertheless.
There's no easy way out of this morass, and no bumper sticker that can easily cover all the damage that's been done to the economy by a generation or more of rapacious and down right evil Repug. economic policy prescriptions that have been foisted upon us. They've socialized the losses for big business, and privatized the gains of corporate predators who feed off of the government and the middle class. Suffice to say that as a direct result of this, for the average Male wage earner today, you're making Less income on an inflation adjusted basis that what your fathers did at the same age. That's not happened since the Great Depression of the Dark Hooverite 1930's.
Go to Demos.org and see their report on: 'The Economic State of Young America'. It'll shock you. Young folks are the worst off in this miserable economy, and they're again in the worst shape economically with mounting ed debts & all since the Great Depression.
Then go to The Century Fund tcf.org and punch up 'economics' and look for their excellent scholarly SHORT report on: 'The Basics: The Middle Class at Risk'.
Not bad places to start reading. And we'll ONLY get this stuff by More reading. Sorry about that. Continuing Ed is necessary for all of us. Everywhere. This 'stuff is Excluded from the TV for many reasons. Producers think it's too complex. It certainly challenges their status quo, and as Owners of the Media they OWN America too BTW. But that's a longer topic, if slightly less complex. They own it, we just watch! So all we need to Read more!
Cheers & Good Luck, JMP
More of what I'm talking about here from The Century Fund: TCF.ORG
"The New American Economy: A Rising Tide that Lifts Only Yachts
Bernard Wasow, The Century Foundation, 7/10/2008
Download in PDF format
The New American Economy looks at trends of income and wealth distribution in the United States. Particularly striking in this analysis is the heavy concentration of wealth in a small percentage of Americans and the widening gap between the rich and the poor in the United States, particularly when compared to other industrialized nations.
Read other reports in the Reality Check series here. Originally Published in 2004, this publication was updated in July 2008.
Edition: Online/Paper Pages: 12"
So really short, ready to download in PDF for anyone to read. All you need to do is stop watching the TV and start to research the question. It's that simple, yet taxing at the same time. You have to expend some effort to understand what's been going on. It takes Time, Effort, Thought & Understanding. Which is why seemingly it's unpopular and people want to wait around for the perfect sound bytes. They're not coming, JRE had it, and evidently some folks missed it. And yeah, don't let me leave without calling him a 'bad boy' for his foolish choices.
Geesh. It's only the country Bush has screwed. The Middle Class. And he was working on the rest of the world. But hey, where are the visuals on that? We don't even get any war pics anymore. They're ALL censored. Not on the TV anymore. ERGO the war ceases to exist, and they've (Bush Rethugs') manipulated reality to suit their ends. Now you know (again) how the powers that be are able to 'disappear' 4100 dead troops, and a deeply unpopular war.
What to do? Read More. Learn more. Educate others on the real shape of the economy that works for no one But the Yachting classes. Cheers, JMP
From the favored Dean of rational & liberal economics, Dean Baker, explains what you need to know about competing Fed tax rates proposed by McSame vs Obama. Via TPM Cafe:
tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com
Combating Swiftboat Economics
By Dean Baker - August 18, 2008, 3:18PM
"John McCain has explicitly embraced President Bush's economic policies. This means that McCain is running on the worst economic track record of any president since the Great Depression.
In a normal world, this would be a problem for McCain, since the economy is clearly the most important issue in voters' minds. However, in Swiftboat land, reality gets turned on its head. McCain is trying to make the economy a weak spot for Obama, just as Bush made John Kerry's Purple Hearts a liability for him.
Just as Kerry's war record was not a cause for shame, it is not Senator Obama who should have to worry about a bad economic record. The policies he has endorsed, including higher tax rates for Senator McCain and his rich friends, produced solid economic growth under President Clinton. It is John McCain who is Mr. No Jobs in this story.
The record is as clear as night and day. During the eight years of the Clinton administration, when rich people paid the same tax rates proposed by Senator Obama, the private sector added 15.8 million jobs. By contrast, in the seven years and six months of the Bush administration, when rich people paid the Bush-McCain tax rates, the private sector added just 3.5 million jobs. And, it is losing jobs at the rate of almost 100,000 a month as President Bush prepares for retirement.
While job growth is probably the most important measure of the economy's health, almost every other measure also showed that the economy performed better with the Clinton-Obama tax rate than the Bush-McCain tax rate. The real wage for the typical worker rose by 6.6 percent in the Clinton years. By contrast, wages have risen by just 1.0 percent in the Bush years and are now falling. At the current rate of decline, real wages will be lower in January of 2009 than when President Bush took office in 2001. The typical family's income rose by 15.3 percent under Clinton, it fell by 1.6 percent under Bush.
In short, the facts show that Senator McCain's efforts to portray Obama as a job killer are utter nonsense. The economy had its most prosperous period in 30 years with the tax rates Obama is proposing. President Bush then cut taxes for the rich, and the economy turned in its worst performance since the Great Depression. While the tax rates are hardly the whole story behind the prosperity of the Clinton years or the economic deterioration of the Bush years, the record makes a mockery of the scare story that McCain has been pushing in his ads.
If the media did their job, they would ridicule Senator McCain for trying to pass off such nonsense. This should be a far more serious matter than Reverend Wright's views of race relations or even Obama's flag lapel pin. But, if it is not aggressively countered, Swiftboating can work.
The story is simple, Kerry was a war hero and the Clinton-Obama tax policies create jobs. Bush was a draft dodger, and the Bush-McCain tax policies cost jobs, although they do make the rich even richer. Got it?"
Let's Hope so! Cheers, JMP
Yup ... I also like Stiglitz as an economist.
One of my co-workers has an "Obama and Marx" print-out on his wall. As soon as he has some free time, I'm going to have a few words with him...
Well Marx was not around to endorse, aid & defend Obama's ideas & policy proposals. These guys are: econ4obama.blogspot.com/
It's a discussion list people might want to look into. Cheers & Good Luck, JMP