PROGRESSIVE VALUES ARE ALIVE AND WELL IN THE U.S.

ABSTRACT: Despite Republicans taking over control of the U.S. Senate, progressive values are alive and well in the U.S. In a recent poll of likely 2016 voters, over 70% supported the following policies:

Medicare should be allowed to negotiate drug prices
Student loans should have lower interest rates
Pre-kindergarten and Medicare should be available to all
Trade agreements should protect workers, jobs, and the environment
Corporations that ship jobs overseas shouldn’t get tax breaks
The government should establish a $400 billion / year infrastructure-building jobs program
Public higher education should be debt-free and Social Security benefits should be expanded.

The full set of poll questions and results are available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.boldprogressives.org/images/Big_Ideas-Polling_PDF-1.pdf.

There also were many positive results on progressive ballot measures in the 2014 election. The question is, how did conservative Republicans get elected when they don’t reflect the will of the people? The four main answers are:

Turnout in the November election was very low
Many Democrats didn’t campaign on the progressive issues that are popular with voters
Gerrymandered electoral districts and our primary election system produce very ideological candidates who are not representative of the larger population
Voter suppression efforts by Republicans have succeeded in reducing voting by groups that tend to favor Democrats.

FULL POST: Despite Republicans taking over control of the U.S. Senate and therefore both branches of Congress, progressive values are alive and well in the U.S. The progressive policies that President Obama put forward in his State of the Union speech are much closer to what Americans want from their government than the conservative policy proposals the Republicans are espousing.

In a recent poll of likely voters in the 2016 election, over 70% supported the following policies:

Medicare should be allowed to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical corporations
Student loans should have the same low interest rates as the big bank corporations get
Universal pre-kindergarten should be provided
Trade agreements should protect workers, jobs, and the environment
Corporations that ship jobs overseas shouldn’t get tax breaks
Medicare should be available to anyone who is willing to pay for it
Corporations should have to disclose spending on elections and lobbying
The government should establish a $400 billion / year infrastructure-building jobs program
Public higher education should be available to all debt-free
Social Security benefits should be expanded

There were other issues with over 70% support and many more with majority support. The full set of poll questions and results are available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.boldprogressives.org/images/Big_Ideas-Polling_PDF-1.pdf.

There also were many positive results on progressive ballot measures in the 2014 election, some of which I covered in my 11/25/14 post. Here are some more, thanks to Jim Hightower and his Hightower Lowdown newsletter (http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/).

In dozens of communities in at least five states (Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Wisconsin), voters supported overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United and related decisions that have allowed unlimited sums of money to be spent on election campaigns. These voters called for a Constitutional amendment that would state that corporations do not have the same rights as human persons and that money is not equivalent to speech and therefore can be regulated in election campaigns. Voters in Wisconsin, who re-elected conservative, Republican Governor Walker, nonetheless, voted overwhelmingly in 12 communities for this Constitutional amendment (between 70% and 83% in favor). [1]

Voters statewide in Massachusetts; in Oakland, CA; and in two New Jersey cities voted overwhelmingly to require employers to provide paid sick time (between 59% and 86% in favor). In Alaska, Florida, and New Jersey voters approved conservation initiatives.

Local bans on fracking [2] passed in two counties in California; in Athens, Ohio; and in Denton, Texas. In Denton, the supporters of the ban were out-spent almost 30 to 1, but, nonetheless, won 59% of the votes; a resounding victory, especially because Texas is a major oil and gas state.

Republicans have accused President Obama of being political in his State of the Union speech because he proposed policies that are popular with the public but not with the conservative Republicans who control Congress. This seems like convoluted logic to me. Isn’t democratic, representative government supposed to put in place policies that are popular with the public? It sounds like the Congressional Republicans are admitting that they are out of step with what the public wants. The polling and results of ballot measures cited above confirm this apparent admission.

The question is, how did conservative Republicans get elected when they don’t reflect the will of the people? The four main answers are:

Turnout in the November election was very low (only 25% of those eligible to vote actually voted),
Many Democrats didn’t campaign on the progressive issues that are popular with voters,
Gerrymandered electoral districts, particularly for the US House, and our primary election system where turnout is even lower than in the final election (less than 15% of eligible voters) tend to produce very ideological candidates for the final election who are not representative of the larger population, and
Voter suppression efforts by Republicans have succeeded in reducing voting by groups, such as minorities, the young, and the elderly, that tend to favor Democrats.

If you know of other examples of progressive local ballot initiatives that were approved by voters or other examples of Congress not representing the will of the people, please share them in a comment on this post. Thanks!

[1] Hightower, J., Dec. 2014, “As majorities tossed meek, dodgy Democrats, even more said “Yes” to populist ballot measures,” The Hightower Lowdown (http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/

[2] Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing and is the process of drilling and injecting liquid made of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks and release natural gas or oil.

RECLAIMING AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE WEALTHY

ABSTRACT: We need to reclaim our economy so it works for everyone, not just the wealthy. With different choices and policies that reflect a different set of values, our economy can once again be one where a rising tide lifts all boats, not just the yachts of the wealthiest.

The policy changes that are needed to support the middle and working class include:

Raise the minimum wage
Strengthen laws on equal pay for equal work
Strengthen labor laws and enforcement, including workers’ right to bargain collectively
Strengthen Social Security while protecting and encouraging pensions
Close corporate and individual income tax loopholes, and raise tax rates on unearned income
Ensure that trade treaties are fair to workers and citizens
Strengthen the Dodd-Frank financial reforms and reinstitute a small financial transaction tax
Create jobs and make needed investments in our infrastructure

We need new policies and programs that reflect values and choices that put the average citizen and worker first, rather than wealthy individuals and corporations. If some of these proposals resonate with you, contact your elected officials and tell them. A grassroots movement is needed to shift our economy from the current one that is working only for the wealthiest 10% to the one we used to have where everyone benefited from economic growth.

FULL POST: In my last post, I summarized policy choices that have undermined the middle and working class, largely based on a great speech Senator Elizabeth Warren gave recently. She states that it doesn’t have to be this way and spells out what we need to do to reclaim our economy so it works for everyone, not just the wealthy. [1] With different choices and policies that reflect a different set of values, our economy can once again be one where a rising tide lifts all boats, not just the yachts of the wealthiest.

The policies that undermined the middle and working class were justified by the theory of “trickle-down” or “supply-side” economics. It was used to justify large tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations because the theory said that the country could count on the biggest and richest corporations and the wealthiest individuals to share their growing wealth and create an economy that worked for everyone. The experience of the last 30 years has shown that President George H.W. Bush was right when he called this “voodoo economics.” Nonetheless, there are politicians today who still pledge allegiance to “trickle-down” economics, despite the fact, as Senator Warren states, that it has been shown to be the politics of helping the rich and powerful get more, while cutting off the legs of the middle class.

The set of values that should drive our policies include the following:

A person shouldn’t work full-time and be in poverty.
Women should receive equal pay for equal work.
Labor laws should be strengthened and enforced so that workers are
- paid what they are due,
- able to retire with dignity, and
- able to bargain together as a group with employers for fair pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Our tax system should be fair and require wealthy individuals and corporation to pay their fair share. Workers shouldn’t pay higher income tax rates on their hard-earned income than the wealthy pay on their unearned income from investment gains and dividends.
The burden of student debt should be reduced.
Our trade policies should be fair for workers, creating jobs and raising wages in the U.S.
Big banks and financial corporations should not be too-big-to-fail, allowed to make risky investments with government insured deposits, or bailed out by taxpayers if they get into trouble.
Regulation and oversight should be enhanced, particularly of the big financial corporations, so consumers and our economy are protected from speculation and fraud.

The policy changes that are needed to support the middle and working class based on these values include:

Raise the minimum wage nationally. (Many states and cities are already doing this.)
Strengthen laws requiring and enforcing equal pay for equal work.
Strengthen labor laws and their enforcement, including workers’ right to form unions and bargain collectively so there is a balance of power between the workers and the employer during negotiations.
Strengthen Social Security while protecting and encouraging pensions, as well as personal and employer supported savings, such as 401(k)s.
Close corporate and individual income tax loopholes. For example, stop corporations and individuals from hiding income overseas to avoid paying taxes.
Raise tax rates on unearned income, including capital gains, dividends, and hedge fund mangers’ investment gains.
Allow students to refinance college loans at reduced interest rates and allow relief from student debt in bankruptcy.
Ensure that trade treaties are thoroughly debated in public and are fair to workers and citizens, balancing their interests with those of multi-national corporations.
Strengthen the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, as well as oversight and enforcement. Prevent financial corporations from gambling on risky investments with taxpayer insured deposits. Require too-big-to-fail corporations to split up into smaller entities.
Reinstitute a small financial transaction tax (for example, 0.5%) to discourage speculative trading and generate needed revenue.
Create jobs and make needed investments in our infrastructure by building roads, bridges, and schools; and investing in education and research.

While workers suffered after the 2008 economic collapse caused by out-of-control financial corporations, our politicians bailed out the corporations, often with no or few strings attached. Our politicians have also signed trade treaties and currently are negotiating new ones that are highly beneficial to multi-national corporations. Yet workers harmed by past policy changes and trade treaties, as well as homeowners who lost their homes and workers who lost their jobs in the 2008 collapse, have received little help and certainly have not been bailed out the way Wall Street was.

We need new policies and programs that reflect values and choices that put the average citizen and worker first, rather than wealthy individuals and corporations. I encourage you to listen to Warren’s speech if you haven’t already (just 23 minutes) or to read the press release. If some of these concerns or proposals resonate with you, contact your elected officials and tell them. A grassroots movement is needed to shift our economy from the current one that is working only for the wealthiest 10% to the one we used to have where everyone benefited from economic growth.

[1] You can listen to and watch Warren’s 23 minute speech at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY4uJJoQHEQ&noredirect=1. Or you can read the text in the press release her office put out at: http://www.warren.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=696.

THE UNDERMINING OF THE MIDDLE CLASS

ABSTRACT: Senator Elizabeth Warren gave a great speech recently in which she laid out how actions taken by corporations and related policy changes have undermined the middle and working class. She also spelled out what we need to do to change the rules of our economy so it works for everyone, not just the wealthiest. Up until the 1980s, our economy and the wages of the middle and working class grew together. But since the 1980s, all the growth of the economy has gone to the wealthiest 10%. Wages for the 90% of us with the lowest incomes have been flat, while our living expenses for housing, health care, and college have grown significantly.

This change in our economy, where all the benefits of growth go to the wealthiest 10%, represents a huge structural economic shift. It occurred because of cutting taxes; trade treaties; financial manipulation via leveraged buyouts and bankruptcies; minimum wage erosion with inflation; reductions in health care, unemployment, sick time, and overtime benefits; cutting of pensions and retiree benefits; and restrictions on employees’ rights to negotiate pay and working conditions as a group. Furthermore, corporations have been allowed to turn full-time employees into independent contractors or part-time workers who get no benefits and no job security.

These changes affect all workers, those in the private and public sectors, as well as both union and non-union employees. The changes were promoted by corporations and their lobbyists. Senator Warren states that it doesn’t have to be this way. We can make different choices and enact different policies that reflect different values. More on that next time.

FULL POST: Senator Elizabeth Warren gave a great speech recently in which she laid out how actions taken by corporations and related policy changes have undermined the middle and working class. She also spelled out what we need to do to change the rules of our economy so it works for everyone, not just the wealthiest. [1] She notes that up until the 1980s our economy and the wages of the middle and working class grew together. The rising tide of our growing economy did lift all boats. While the wealthiest 10% got more than their share of the growth (about 30%) in those years, the other 90% of us got 70% of the money generated by the growing economy.

But since the 1980s, all the growth of the economy has gone to the wealthiest 10%. The pay for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of corporations was 30 times that of average workers in the 1980s; today it is 296 times that of workers. And in the last 25 years, corporate profits have doubled as a portion of our economy, while the portion going to workers has declined. [2]

Wages for the 90% of us with the lowest incomes have been flat, while our living expenses for housing, health care, and college have grown significantly. Mothers have gone to work and parents are working more hours but this has not been enough to maintain a middle class standard of living. It certainly looks like today’s young people will be the first generation in America to be worse off than their parents.

Since 1980, the wages of the wealthiest 1% have grown by 138% (adjusted for inflation) while wages for the 90% with the lowest wages have received only a 15% increase (less than half of one percent per year). Workers have not received the benefit of their increased productivity, as was the case up until 1980. Since 1980, productivity has increased 8 times faster than workers’ compensation. If the federal minimum wage had kept up with productivity, it would be $18.42 instead of $7.25. And if it had kept up with inflation since 1968, it would be $19.58. [3]

This change in our economy, where all the benefits of growth go to the wealthiest 10%, represents a huge structural economic shift. So how did the economy get rigged so the top 10% get all the rewards of economic growth?

In the 1980s, government was vilified by politicians who were supported by corporate money. The supposed evils of big government were used to argue for deregulation and cutting taxes. This turned Wall Street’s financial corporations and other large multi-national corporations loose to maximize profits with no holds barred. Furthermore, trade treaties allowed corporations to manufacture goods overseas and bring them back into the U.S. with low or no tariffs, few U.S. regulations, and no regulations on how foreign labor was paid or treated. In addition, the U.S. corporations were allowed to cut benefits and pay for U.S. employees, including by undermining workers’ bargaining power in multiple ways, and through financial manipulation via leveraged buyouts and bankruptcies, as well as changes in tax laws.

Middle class workers have been undermined by corporations moving (or threatening to move) their jobs overseas and by changes in state and federal laws. The minimum wage has been eroded by inflation; workplace safety and legal protections have been weakened; health care, unemployment, sick time, and overtime benefits have been reduced; restrictions on child labor have been lifted; and it has become harder to sue an employer for discrimination. Pensions and retiree health benefits have been cut or eliminated. Just 34 of the Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations offered traditional pensions to new workers in 2013, down from 251 in 1998. [4] And wage theft through failure to pay the minimum wage or overtime wages, or through manipulation of time cards and other means, has spread. Meanwhile, enforcement of labor laws has been weak.

Employees’ rights to negotiate pay and working conditions as a group have been restricted. In addition, the middle class has been hammered by labor laws that allow corporations to turn full-time employees into independent contractors or part-time workers who get no benefits and no job security.

These changes affect all workers, those in the private and public sectors, as well as union and non-union employees. The changes were promoted by corporations and their lobbyists, along with corporate-funded think tanks, the Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Restaurant Association, the National Association of Manufactures, and other business groups. These efforts were also advanced by corporate-funded advocacy organizations such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Americans for Tax Reform, and Americans for Prosperity. [5]

Senator Warren states that it doesn’t have to be this way. We can make different choices and enact different policies that reflect different values. My next post will discuss those values and policies. In the meantime, I encourage you to listen to Warren’s speech (just 23 minutes while you’re doing something else) or to read the press release. (See footnote 1 for links to them.)

[2] Tankersley, J., 12/25/14, “Amid gain, middle class wages get no lift,” The Boston Globe from the Washington Post

[3] Economic Policy Institute, 12/24/14, “The 10 most important econ charts of 2014 show ongoing looting by the top 1 percent,” The American Prospect

[4] McFarland, B., 9/3/14, “Retirement in transition for the Fortune 500: 1998 to 2013,” Towers Watson (http://www.towerswatson.com/en/Insights/Newsletters/Americas/Insider/2014/retirement-in-transition-for-the-fortune-500-1998-to-2013)

[5] Lafer, G., 10/31/13, “The legislative attack on American wages and labor standards, 2011-2012,” Economic Policy Institute (http://www.epi.org/publication/attack-on-american-labor-standards/)

GOVERNMENT BY THE BIG WALL ST. CORPORATIONS

ABSTRACT: The big Wall St. financial corporations just got another big gift. The Federal Reserve announced that it will give Wall St. a year’s delay (to mid-2017) on the implementation of the Volcker Rule, which would ban Wall St. from engaging in risky investments with federally-insured deposits. Many observers believe that this delay will simply give the financial corporations time to kill the Volcker Rule before it ever goes into effect through their lobbying and campaign contributions. The financial corporations’ incessant lobbying and cumulative campaign contributions weakened the Dodd-Frank bill to begin with, and now are delaying, weakening, and repealing its pieces during implementation. Citigroup spent $5.6 million on lobbying in 2013 and its political action committee and employees gave $2.1 million to candidates for federal office in the 2014 election cycle. JPMorgan Chase spent and gave similar amounts.

In addition to huge, risky investments with taxpayer-insured deposits, other risks in the banking and financial system are growing. The bottom line is that the huge financial corporations, which were too-big-to-fail in 2008 and therefore got trillions of dollars in a public bailout, are now bigger than ever and getting riskier by the day. Another bailout and crash of our economy are one financial mistake or economic surprise away.

We need to push back and tell our elected officials that:

The Dodd-Frank law’s financial reforms need to be strengthened,
Financial corporations should not be allowed to gamble with taxpayer-insured deposits, and
Too-big-to-fail financial corporations should be broken up.

FULL POST: The big Wall St. financial corporations just got another big gift. First, the ban on derivatives trading with federally-insured deposits was repealed in the year-end budget bill. (See blog post on 12/14/14.) Then, the Federal Reserve announced that it will give Wall St. a year’s delay (to mid-2017) on the implementation of the Volcker Rule. This Rule, which is a key part of the Dodd-Frank post-2008 crash financial reform legislation, would ban Wall St. from engaging in other types of risky investments with federally-insured deposits. The Volcker Rule is a partial re-implementation of the Glass-Steagall Act, which was enacted after the Great Depression and prohibited banks with federally insured deposits from engaging in investment banking activities. (It kept our banking system safe for 70 years until its repeal in 1999.) The prohibited investment activities include participation in private equity funds and hedge funds, which are basically unregulated investment activities and can be very risky. Goldman Sachs has $11 billion in such investments, while Morgan Stanley has $5 billion. [1]

Many observers believe that this delay will simply give the financial corporations time to kill the Volcker Rule before it ever goes into effect through their lobbying and campaign contributions. This is exactly what happened to the ban on derivatives: it was delayed from 2013 to mid-2015 and has now been repealed so it never went into effect. Citigroup, whose lobbyists wrote the repeal of the derivative ban, held over $60 trillion of derivatives (that’s right, trillion not billion) at the end of 2013 and this huge, risky investment will now continue to be protected by federal deposit insurance. [2]

The financial corporations’ incessant lobbying and cumulative campaign contributions weakened the Dodd-Frank bill to begin with, and now are delaying, weakening, and repealing its pieces during implementation. Citigroup spent $5.6 million on lobbying in 2013 and its political action committee (PAC) and employees gave $2.1 million to candidates for federal office in the 2014 election cycle. JPMorgan Chase spent $5.5 million on lobbying in 2013 and its PAC and employees gave $2.6 million to federal candidates for the 2014 election. Most of the members of Congress who voted for the budget bill that contained the repeal of the derivatives ban had received campaign contributions from one or both of these huge financial corporations. [3]

In addition to huge, risky investments with taxpayer-insured deposits, other risks in the banking and financial system are growing. The requirement for down payments on mortgages was recently decreased to 3%. The number of subprime auto loans has grown to $21 billion; some of them give borrowers 6 or 7 years to pay off the loan. This weakening of credit standards is the same pattern that triggered the 2008 collapse. The large financial corporations are also engaging in a growing amount of lending and trading in investments, some quite risky, that are beyond the scrutiny of regulators. This is all very reminiscent of the situation that led to the 2008 crash. [4]

The bottom line is that the huge financial corporations, which were too-big-to-fail in 2008 and therefore got trillions of dollars in a public bailout, are now bigger than ever and getting riskier by the day. Another bailout and crash of our economy are one financial mistake or economic surprise away. Nothing substantial has changed from the 2008 scenario.

To avoid another collapse and bailout, we need to push back and tell our elected officials that:

The Dodd-Frank law’s financial reforms and their implementation need to be strengthened, not weakened or delayed,

Financial corporations should not be allowed to gamble on risky investments with taxpayer-insured deposits, and

Too-big-to-fail financial corporations should be broken up to reduce the risks they present to our financial system and economy.

[1] Queally, J. 12/19/14, “Just in time for the holidays, another Wall Street giveaway,” Common Dreams (http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/12/19/just-time-holidays-another-wall-street-giveaway)

[2] Eskow, R., 12/26/14, “Wall Street had a merry Christmas. The New Year’s still up for grabs.” Campaign for America’s Future (http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/12/26/wall-street-had-merry-christmas-new-years-still-grabs)

[3] Choma, R., 12/12/14, “Wall Street’s omnibus triumph, and others,” Open Secrets (http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/12/wall-streets-omnibus-triumph-and-others/)

[4] Wiseman, P., 12/16/14, “Memories of financial crisis fading as risks rise,” Associated Press (http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2014-12-15-US–Financial%20Crisis-Forgotten%20Lessons/id-1422b6cbcd4d4b06a93fca295eaf1b7e)

CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE AND MONEY IS NOT SPEECH

ABSTRACT: Many millions of dollars are being spent by special interest groups on our political campaigns. This level of spending makes it clear that wealthy special interests – individuals, corporations, unions, and non-profit organizations – are taking over our elections.

The only way to stop this undemocratic spending is through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution – because of the Supreme Court’s rulings in Citizens United and other cases. Overturning the 2010 Citizens United decision has broad support across all demographic and political groups, including 85% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans, and 81% of independents. And two-thirds of small business owners view the Citizens United decision as bad for small businesses.

Move to Amend, Wolf PAC, and other organizations are working to enact a corrective Constitutional amendment by introducing bills in state legislatures that call on Congress to enact such an amendment or, if Congress fails to act, calling for a Constitutional Convention to propose such an amendment. This legislation has passed in California, Vermont, and Illinois, and is pending in 13 other states.

If you’d like to participate in the effort to overturn Citizens United, contact Move to Amend or Wolf PAC via their websites. Both have local and national activities in which you can participate.

FULL POST: Many millions of dollars are being spent by special interest groups on our political campaigns, both for candidates’ elections and on ballot questions. Nationally, hundreds of millions of dollars were spent in 2014 by outside groups (i.e., not a candidate’s own campaign). (See previous post on 11/17/14 for details.) However, this is not just an issue for national elections. For example, here in Massachusetts recent outside spending included:

Governor’s race in 2014: over $17 million
Two ballot questions in 2014: over $23 million
Boston Mayor’s race in 2013: over $ 4 million

This level of spending makes it clear that wealthy special interests – individuals, corporations, unions, and non-profit organizations – are taking over our elections. The basic democratic principle of one person, one vote, is being overwhelmed by money. This money serves as a megaphone so that the voices and wishes of these wealthy special interests drown out the voices of average voters and citizens.

Making this situation even worse is that a growing portion of these huge sums is given by anonymous donors. (See previous post on 11/17/14.) This money is called “dark money” because its source is unknown. Anonymous donors means there is no accountability for the messages delivered. Furthermore, voters can’t effectively evaluate the credibility of the message because they don’t know who is paying for it.

The only way to stop this undemocratic spending in our elections is through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution – because of the Supreme Court’s rulings in Citizens United and other cases. (These rulings said that corporations and other organizations are people and have all the same rights as actual human beings under the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. The rulings also said that spending money in elections [and elsewhere] is speech and is protected by freedom of speech rights.)

The American public broadly supports overturning the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which was the key to the avalanche of political spending by outside groups. Polling finds that 80% of the American people oppose the Citizens United decision with remarkably strong agreement across all demographic and political groups, including 85% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans, and 81% of independents. Similarly, 88% of small business owners view the current role of money in politics negatively and two-thirds view the Citizens United decision as bad for small businesses.

To address this situation, Move to Amend (https://movetoamend.org/), Wolf PAC (http://www.wolf-pac.com/), and other organizations are working to enact a corrective Constitutional amendment. They are introducing bills in state legislatures that take a two-step approach to advancing the Constitutional amendment necessary to reverse these rulings.

First, these bills call on Congress to pass a Constitutional amendment stating two things:
- The rights protected by the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution are the rights of human beings only and not of corporations or other organizations.
- Congress and the states may place limits on political contributions and spending to ensure that our elections are fair and that all citizens can participate and have their voices heard in a reasonably equitable manner.
Second, if Congress fails to act within six months, the bills call for a Constitutional Convention to propose this amendment.

Such legislation has passed in California, Vermont, and Illinois, and is pending in 13 other states. You can check at the Move to Amend and Wolf PAC websites to see if there is an initiative in your state. A call for a Convention to amend the Constitution needs to be part of the legislation because our current Congress is so indebted to and dependent on wealthy campaign contributors that it is unlikely to pass an amendment staunching the flow of campaign money on its own.

Four of the last 11 amendments to the Constitution began this way – with state resolutions pressuring Congress to act. Notably, the 17^th amendment, which established direct election of US Senators in 1913, was passed by Congress only after many states had passed a call for a Constitutional Convention. Although such a Convention has never occurred, if one did occur, any amendment it proposed would have to be ratified by ¾ of the states in order to go into effect.

If you’d like to participate in the effort to overturn Citizens United, first, go to the Move to Amend website and sign their petition (if you haven’t already). Second, I encourage you to contact Move to Amend or Wolf PAC via their websites. Both have local and national activities in which you can participate.

SECRETS OF THE FY15 FEDERAL SPENDING BILL

ABSTRACT: Congress recently rushed to pass a 1,700 page, $1.1 trillion spending bill. Such last minute, have-to-pass pieces of legislation are ideal vehicles for enacting laws that wouldn’t withstand the scrutiny of the regular legislative process. In my 12/14/14 post, I wrote about 2 such provisions: the repeal of the ban on banks investing in derivatives with taxpayer insured funds and the dramatic increase in the amount an individual can contribute to political party committees. This post highlights some of the other items that were slipped into this budget bill.

The Environmental Protection Agency had its budget cut by $60 million, which will result in its lowest staffing level since 1989. Multiple other provisions affecting the environment and the EPA were included. The Internal Revenue Service had its budget cut by $346 million. This will reduce federal government revenue and increase the deficit because the IRS collects $7 for every $1 it spends on audits. Some of the other provisions are listed below in the Full Post.

To help shed light on the passage of special interest legislation, Open Secrets (www.opensecrets.org) tracks campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures. It then reports on connections between them and the votes and actions of elected officials.

In summary, the budget bill and its various provisions were bad for low-income, middle class, and working families; for the environment; for educational outcomes and good nutrition in schools; and for fair tax collection. They were good for Wall Street, other large corporations, and wealthy individuals. If there are issues here that you care about, contact your Members of Congress and the President now to express your views and ask them where they stand.

FULL POST: As you probably know, Congress recently rushed to pass a 1,700 page, $1.1 trillion spending bill that keeps the federal government operating. Such last minute, have-to-pass pieces of legislation are ideal vehicles for enacting laws that wouldn’t withstand the scrutiny of the regular legislative process. In my 12/14/14 post, I wrote about 2 such provisions: the repeal of the ban on banks investing in derivatives with taxpayer insured funds and the dramatic increase in the amount an individual can contribute to political party committees. This post highlights some of the other budgetary and non-budgetary details that were slipped into this budget bill. [1] [2] [3]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget was cut by $60 million, which will result in its lowest staffing level since 1989. Multiple other provisions affecting the environment and the EPA were included:

Block the EPA from applying the Clean Water Act to certain farms
Require the EPA to allow “mountain top removal” coal mining
Prevent the EPA from protecting 2 types of sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (a benefit for the oil and mining industries)
Bar funding to help developing countries cut carbon emissions

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had its budget cut by $346 million. This will reduce federal government revenue and increase the deficit because the IRS collects $7 for every $1 it spends on audits. Most IRS enforcement targets high income tax cheaters because that’s where the significant losses in tax revenue occur. This might explain why its enforcement capacity is being cut.

Other provisions include:

Provided record funding to airlines that serve rural airports, $5.4 billion to fight Ebola, $5 billion to fight Islamic militants, and $3 billion for weapons systems the Pentagon doesn’t want.
Eliminated funding for President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, which works to improve educational outcomes for children of all ages.
Repealed some nutrition requirements for school lunches (a Michelle Obama initiative).
Cut the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which provides vouchers for nutritious food to low income pregnant women and mothers and their young children. In addition, white potatoes must be included as an approved food. (Guess which industry pushed for this latter provision?)
Cut funding for Pell higher education grants to low income students. The money will be diverted to for-profit companies that serve as collection agents on student loans.
Allowed corporations to cut pensions for current retirees in certain situations.
Repealed rules regulating the hours truck drivers can drive. (A benefit for the trucking industry.)
Blocked Washington, D.C.’s marijuana legalization.

To help shed light on the passage of special interest legislation, Open Secrets (www.opensecrets.org) tracks campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures. It then reports which elected officials received how much in contributions from special interests and how the office holders voted on or otherwise affected policy making favoring the source of their campaign contributions. Open Secrets also reports on the lobbying expenditures of special interests that benefited from legislation or other policy making. For example, it recently reported on campaign contributions and lobbying by Wall Street corporations and the voting to repeal the ban on federally-insured banking corporations engaging in derivatives trading. The report also covered mining interests and the blocking of endangered species protection that would affect them, as well as the trucking industry and changes in driver safety regulations that benefit it. [4] (I’ll provide some of the detail from this report in my next post.)

The issues included in the year end budget bill are precursors of the issues, budgetary and others, that will be on the table when Congress reconvenes. If there are issues in the items above that you care about, keep tuned and be ready to act when they come up. Better yet, contact your Members of Congress and the President now to express your views and ask them where they stand. And don’t think that based on party affiliation you know where a politician stands; 57 Democrats in the House voted for this budget bill; only 6 Democrats in the Senate voted to stop it from going to a final vote; and President Obama supported it and signed it.

[1] Waldman, P., 12/12/14, “Did Democrats get hosed on the Budget Bill?” The American Prospect (http://prospect.org/article/did-democrats-get-hosed-budget-bill)

[2] Kuttner, R., 12/16/14, “The great budget sellout of 2014: Do we even have a second party?” The American Prospect (http://prospect.org/article/great-budget-sellout-2014-do-we-even-have-second-party)

[3] Taylor, A., 12/16/14, “Defense, tourism among winners in spending bill,” Associated Press (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/418395cf20be4a409cfd85bb93020077/defense-tourism-among-winners-spending-bill)

[4] Choma, R., 12/12/14, “Wall Street’s omnibus triumph, and others,” Open Secrets (http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/12/wall-streets-omnibus-triumph-and-others/)