The Finance of Politics

For Christmas this year I did what is not unusual in our marriage, I purchased my own gift and gave it to my husband to wrap up for me.  While there is no surprise, there is also no return to deal with.  It's a win for both me and my husband.  This year the item I picked up was the book "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right" by Jane Mayer.  I had read a review on the book and given the political climate immediately after Trump's election, it sounded like my kind of reading.  So, courtesy of Barnes and Noble, Santa arrived with just the right gift!

Jane Mayer writes for "The New Yorker" magazine and has written three other non-fiction books.  Having never read any of her articles or books before, she was a new author to me.  She did NOT disappoint.  The book is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in how our political system has pretty much become a product for sale to the highest bidder.  While her story is about the right end of the political spectrum, I have no illusions that there exists similar stories on the left end as well.  She writes in a very easy to read, NON-conspiracy theory style.  

The book begins with a history of several of our country's richest families.  The Koch brothers, Richard Mellon Scaife, John M. Olin, the Bradley brothers and others.  The story starts as far back as the 1970's and how the Koch's and others came to regard the Libertarian ideals as the proper political course for the country.  David Koch ran for President in 1980 on the Libertarian ticket.  According to Mayer, "In the view of the Kochs and other members of the Libertarian Party, government should be reduced to a skeletal function: the protection of individual and property rights."  These ideas of very limited government are evident today in the Republican party and the Tea Party offshoot.

The book details how the Kochs and others set up their private foundations, think tanks and political action committees etc.  It talks about how different families have plowed massive amounts of money into universities that agree to support courses in free market ideas and in sponsoring judicial seminars for federal judges.  Ms. Mayer discusses the effects of the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case in 2010.  That ruling allowed some of the most wealthy in our country to try and turn back the clock to the Gilded Age of the robber barons.  According to Ms. Mayer this ruling overturned "a century  of restrictions banning corporations and unions from spending all they wanted to elect candidates."  The ability to hide donations through intricate webs of non-profit groups has created the "dark money" description.  She states that "the American political system became awash in unlimited, untraceable cash.  In striking down the existing campaign-finance laws, the courts eviscerated a century of reform."

The following paragraph from Mayer's book is telling: "From the Republic's earliest days, the wealthy had always dominated politics but at least since the Progressive Era the public, through its elected representatives, had devised rules to keep the influence in check.  By 2015, however, conservative legal advocates, underwritten by wealthy benefactors and aided by conservative majority on the Supreme Court, had led a successful drive to gut most of those rules.  It was no longer clear if the remaining checks on corruption were up to the task.  It had long been the conceit in America that great economic inequality could coexist with great social and political equality.  But a growing body of academic work suggested that this was changing.  As America grew more economically unequal, those at the top were purchasing the power needed to stay there."

If you have a concern about our political system and it's seeming failure of the common man, this book should be of interest to you.  It was eye opening to me to read of the shear amount of money generated by these billionaire conservative families and how far they have come over the last 30 years in influencing our politics.  Ms. Mayer quotes the political consultant Mark McKinnon who stated "We have reached a tipping point where mega donors completely dominate the landscape."  

And in my opinion, most of us average citizens have no idea how our political decisions are being influenced by this money machine.  That is the most frustrating thing of all.  

Masquerade

This was my Facebook post from the day after the election.  It has been around 130 days since then and 56 since President Trump took office.  It's time for a look back.  

Dear America, 
     After reflecting on the election results from yesterday, I have to say that my greatest hope is that we never again have such a hate filled election process.  We are privileged to live in a wonderful country where we have a voice in our government.  TO that end, I would like to voice a few of my own thoughts.  
     No matter who you voted for, the newly elected officials represent all of us. In the spirit of unity, it would be wise to try and remember to include dissenting opinions in the new administration. To only include those with whom we “agree” with will only lead to more division within our country. We will all end up back in the same ugly stew in the next cycle. Surely we’re all tired of that!
     Compromise is not a dirty word. Differing views can lead to great ideas. Elections are not just sporting events where there is a winner and a loser and another game tomorrow. Our time on this earth is short and to waste it bickering is sad.

We all need to remember that patriotism is not “owned” by any one party. It can take many shapes and forms. Even though we are a melting pot of cultures, we all believe in the freedom that this country represents.

     We also need to remember that freedom of speech is vital. With this freedom should come the responsibility of LISTENING to each other. If we start listening, maybe we can stop the name calling and blame game and start working together.

     We need to keep in mind that our government was founded on the bedrock idea of separation of church and state. All religions should be free to peaceably worship as they desire. No matter how passionately one individual may believe that theirs is the “one true religion” others that worship differently think the same. Let’s try and remember to not persecute others for their beliefs.

     We must remember that we have responsibilities outside of our borders. We are only 5% of the world’s population but we consume 24% of the world’s energy. Our actions have global implications. We cannot ignore the rest of the world.

     We all need to try harder to educate ourselves on issues and not spew misinformation or hateful rhetoric. In this technology driven world, we must be mindful that our words matter and can do lasting damage with one click of the keyboard. This election was filled with so much misinformation and things taken out of context it was crazy. With the technology it has also become too easy to not LISTEN. We can block dissenting opinions with a single click.

     I appreciate my freedom to voice my thoughts here. Thanks for taking the time to read them. Now we need to all behave like grownups. To that end, can we all just go have a cold beer together?

Thanks--D

The first thing that springs to my mind upon re-reading this post was how naive it was.  I was so hopeful that President Trump would be worthy of the office and put away childish words and behaviors.  I was hopeful that he would work on unifying the country and help us citizens remember that we are all patriotic Americans.  I was hopeful that he would make us proud of our country on the world stage.  While I continue to pray for some sliver of maturity and common sense from the Trump administration, I am now believing that it is all just a masquerade.  

We have a potential wall masquerading as immigration control.  We have a travel ban masquerading as Islamphobia.  We have innumerable unsubstantiated tweets from the President masquerading as facts.  We have insulting comments about foreign countries such as Mexico masquerading as trade policy negotiations.  We have constant defense of all things Russian masquerading as foreign policy.  We have the proposed AHCA bill with it's projected loss of millions from the ranks of the insured masquerading as health care policy for ALL Americans.  We have potential budgets cuts that aim to hurt the poorest in our country masquerading as fiscal responsibility.  And last but not least, we have a paranoid liar masquerading as a President.  

What we do NOT have is a leader interested in unity.  We do NOT have a leader who prizes our hard won leadership on the world stage and who seeks to withdraw from it.  We do NOT have a leader who respects free speech and freedom of religion.  We do NOT have a leader who cares about the health and needs of our country's poorest citizens.  This masquerade ball is NOT a formula for successful governance.  America, how much longer are we going to accept these behaviors as normal? 

Outsourcing Employees

It's time to discuss another topic related to jobs that I rarely hear our political leaders talking about.  Contract employees.  According to the Wall Street Journal article, "The End of Employees" by Lauren Weber, more and more companies are foregoing full time employees in favor of contract employees.  Here is the link to the article.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-end-of-employees-1486050443?mod=e2tw

This trend is allowing companies to adapt quicker to changing conditions with regards to their full time workforce.  It allows companies to manage costs better but usually leads to lower wages and less security for the workers.  Obviously this will also have ramifications with regards to benefits (and the lack there-of) for employees.  It appears to me that this is another reason for the need to have a healthcare system that will allow plans to cross state lines and easily follow people as they adapt to the changes in their work lives.  

The article notes that "At large firms, 20% to 50% of the total workforce often is outsourced, according to staffing executives."  This is just another way our labor force is being drastically changed from the past.  Further, Ms. Weber writes, "Steven Berkenfeld, an investment banker who has spent his career evaluating corporate strategies, says companies of all shapes and sizes are increasingly thinking like this: Can I automate it?  If not, can I outsource it?  If not, can I give it to an independent contractor or freelancer?"   

The American workforce is having to grapple with so many changes that it's no wonder that people are frustrated and looking for answers in the form of unconventional politicians.  The pace of these changes in technology, automation and outsourcing are contributing to the lack of mobility compared to previous generations.  Many workers simply do not know how to adapt to a workplace that looks so different than the past.

It's seems all too easy for politicians to ignore topics like this. I have discussed automation and the lack of mobility in previous posts. Here are the links to those posts.  

http://midwestmoderatemusings.blogspot.com/2016/12/automation.html

http://midwestmoderatemusings.blogspot.com/2017/02/get-moving-america.html

I firmly believe that pandering to our citizens with vague promises about "bringing back good manufacturing jobs" is doing a disservice to not only the workers but to our country.  We need to be having more realistic conversations about these changes that are happening.  How can we re-educate our workforce, provide incentives for them to be more mobile and ensure that they have adequate benefits in the face of so much outsourcing?  While we may be able to stem the flow of some job loss to other countries, these other pressures will still remain.  Changes cannot be managed by ignoring them and we must all look to the future and not to the past. 

Heaven or Spring Training?

In the midst of this crazy world of national politics that seems to change hourly, a looming bright spot glows.  BASEBALL!  Spring training is well underway and opening day is April 2, 2017.

Last week, I was fortunate enough to make a trip to Phoenix, AZ.  Included in the 4 night trip were 3 games of baseball.  The Kansas City Royals are my team and I was able to watch them play the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Francisco Giants.  I'm not suggesting that I'm a good luck charm but the Royals did win all three games.  Just sayin...

This was my first experience with Major League Baseball Spring Training and it did not disappoint.  Two of the three games I attended were at the Royals/Rangers complex in Surprise, AZ and the third game was at the Dodgers/White Sox complex in Glendale, AZ.  The facilities at both places were top notch.  The Royal/Rangers stadium seats 10,800 and the facilities include 6 practice fields and 1 half field.  The Dodgers/White Sox stadium seats 13,000  and the facilities include 13 practices fields and 3 half fields.

The Surprise Stadium was my personal favorite.  Being smaller it feels more intimate.  It's always a special to see a major league baseball game and to sit within a few rows of the field is such a treat.  For a few hours you can absorb the game and feel like a 'top dog' by sitting so close.  On my bucket list is to someday attend a game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City while sitting behind home plate watching the boys in blue play.  Spring training gave me a taste of that bucket list item.

Before the game, you're allowed to walk around the practice fields and take in the hard work that these athletes are putting into their craft.  While I'm not overly knowledgeable about most of the minor league players, it was still fun to see many of these young men play.  If they do get called up to the majors, it will be cool to say "I saw him at spring training".

The weather during my stay was perfect.  No wind, sunny and mid-seventies.  Couple that with a cold beer and a few hours of watching my favorite team and it was heaven.  "Is this heaven?  No, it's Iowa."  You know know what I'm talking about here.

I hope that Major League Baseball does not implement changes that they have been discussing regarding trying to speed up the game.    I would argue that our national pastime does not need to be accelerated.  For a few blissful hours the ability to check out of real life is priceless.  In our crazy world right now we all need a dose of heaven.