The Truth About Trickle Down

Trickle-down, supply-side or voodoo economics-- no matter what you call it, it is still a shell game that makes the rich in America richer and impoverishes everyone else.  We tried it under Reagan to end the recession of 1980 and again under George Bush to end the recession of 2000. It didn't work then and it won't work under a President named Mitt Romney.

Let's take a look at the record of "supply-side economics".  Under Reagan, while taxes for the rich and corporations were cut, government spending (a powerful spur to economic growth) tripled-- mostly on military and defense. Remember " Star Wars"? 

In his second term Reagan had to raise taxes, and even so left the nation with a huge national debt. Under Clinton, with the trickle down policies reversed, prosperity returned.  A massive tax hike for the wealthy and government supports for the working classes were not the whole story, but they helped to do the trick..  Here's what Factcheck.org has to say

The Clinton years showed the effects of a large tax increase that Clinton pushed through in his first year, and that Republicans incorrectly claim is the "largest tax increase in history." It fell almost exclusively on upper-income taxpayers. Clinton’s fiscal 1994 budget also contained some spending restraints. An equally if not more powerful influence was the booming economy and huge gains in the stock markets, the so-called dot-com bubble, which brought in hundreds of millions in unanticipated tax revenue from taxes on capital gains and rising salaries.

 Clinton’s large budget surpluses also owe much to the Social Security tax on payrolls. Social Security taxes now bring in more than the cost of current benefits, and the "Social Security surplus" makes the total deficit or surplus figures look better than they would if Social Security wasn’t counted. But even if we remove Social Security from the equation, there was a surplus of $1.9 billion in fiscal 1999 and $86.4 billion in fiscal 2000. So any way you count it, the federal budget was balanced and the deficit was erased, if only for a while.

It took George Bush about ten minutes to cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations again, while also increasing defense spending and starting two wars-- three if you want to count the " war on terror."  Do we all remember that when Bush left office we were on the edge of economic collapse and about to bring the world down with us? Hello-- taxes on the wealthy and on corporations were the lowest they have ever been in 2008 when we had the worst economy ever since the Great Depression.

 Obama is still in the process of putting Humpty Dumpty together again, in spite of tremendous congressional opposition.  No matter what Republicans say, the truth about trickle-down is that it didn't work under Reagan or Bush and it won't work now.  Our only hope is four more years for Obama.

ArchBishop Desmond Tutu on Bush, Blair and Iraq

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in Capetown

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has never been one to shy away from speaking truth to power and he's done it again over this week-end.  In doing so, he's  proven once again that he is one of the few clerics on the planet who, in my not so humble opinion, would make Jesus proud.

Last week, Archbishop Tutu,a leading figure in the world-wide Anglican Communion, backed out of a seminar in Johannesburg because he refused to share the stage with  a war criminal named Tony Blair, whom the Archbishop believes should stand trial in the Hague for War Crimes, along with his buddy, George W. Bush. .  Yesterday, writing in the UK newspaper The Guardian,  he  explained  precisely why.

"On what grounds do we decide that Robert Mugabe should go the International Criminal Court, Tony Blair should join the international speakers' circuit, bin Laden should be assassinated, but Iraq should be invaded, not because it possesses weapons of mass destruction, as Mr Bush's chief supporter, Mr Blair, confessed last week, but in order to get rid of Saddam Hussein?"

he continues:

"The question is not whether Saddam Hussein was good or bad or how many of his people he massacred. The point is that Mr Bush and Mr Blair should not have allowed themselves to stoop to his immoral level.
If it is acceptable for leaders to take drastic action on the basis of a lie, without an acknowledgement or an apology when they are found out, what should we teach our children?"

Imagine that--a  Christian leader who actually speaks out in favor of the gospel message and who follows words with action.  Verily verily-- I think Jesus would be proud.  I know I am.

Bush's Book or How George W. Has Not Changed a Bit

George W. Bush's memoir,Decision Points, goes on sale today, and the hoopla of a major book tour has already begun.  Karl Rove may have been " Bush's Brain" back in the day, but Bush's book, from what I can tell, is a typically brainless attempt on Dubya's part to justify the acts of one of the worst administrations in our nation's history. Though I will admit that his personal observations make him seem more sympathetic, Bush doesn't seem to have learned a thing since the days of " Wanted, Dead or Alive" and " You're doin' a heck of a job, Brownie"  According to its author, this book is a starting point for the judgment of history, which he clearly feels will vindicate him.  Personally, I am not so sure.

Decision Points  is an apt title. The book justifies, among other things, the following decisions: the invasion of Iraq, the use of water boarding, "enhanced interrogation" and rendition, as well as the massive tax cuts for the wealthy and $200 apiece rebate for the not so wealthy that turned the Clinton budget surplus into the Bush deficit. Oh yes, and  Bush talks too about the financial disaster of 2007, but not about the  free wheeling  old boy network that let it happen. Nor does he mention the unqualified political cronies he packed FEMA, the EPA and a number of other Federal Agencies with.  He does, however, take  at least partial responsibility for the TARP bailout. Glad to see he is at least in minimal touch with reality.

The only thing, it seems, that he regrets is his handling of Hurricane Katrina, and even there he blames circumstances and his staff.  Like everyone else in the USA this morning, I've seen snippets from the extensive interview with  NBC's Matt Lauer which kicked off the media blitz. If you missed the broadcast last night, go here to watch it on the NBC website

The interview is very illuminating, and while Bush's POV on his actions and his unwavering belief that history will justify them, does not sit well with me, his informality and humanity in this interview does. He seems almost charming and likable when he makes observations about his personal life, his childhood, his religious conversion and the like.  He clearly loves his parents, his wife, and his children and that's more than we can say for a lot of politicians.

The interview gives a personal glimpse into the why of Bush's personality and the reasoning behind his actions, both official and personal. Most touching is when he describes the moment, soon after his 40th birthday, when he realized his drinking was out of control and managed to quit.

I'm hoping the book will also provide some personal glimpses into the man who masterminded the greatest financial crisis since the great depression, got his country into a quagmire in the Middle East under false pretenses, is responsible for the greatest disparity between rich and poor in the United States since the gilded age and left office with the lowest approval rating since the invention of polls.

He has a lot of blood on his hands which he seems quite unaware of.  History will, indeed judge him, but not, I think, as he hopes.  You made a  heck of a mess, Dubya  but I can't wait to read your book.

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