Forget deficit negotiations; where are the jobs?

Establishment liberals are mistaken when they call say that Democrats on the so-called super committee charged with shrinking the deficit incompetent negotiators. It has nothing to do with incompetence. Rather, it is part of a larger failure of establishment liberalism and the bankruptcy of the Democratic Party.

The fallacy here is that negotiations are warranted, that slashing the deficit must be a priority at a time when the nation is battling an economic collapse. Without a serious jobs plan, one that matches the scope of the New Deal, the national economy will continue to disintegrate, costing the nation tax revenues and offsetting any cuts or tax hikes we put on the table.

Progressives need to get behind Dennis Kucinich’s jobs plan, which will increase employment while rebuilding our infrastructure; and, if we’re looking to pay for the jobs plan, we can do so by drastically increasing taxes on the top 1 percent and slashing military spending — both the money spent on our unnecessary and costly military escapades and the cash we hand off to contractors.

The issues are the jobs and economic inequality.

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If a tree fell in a forest, would it run for president?

I have to wonder why the press insists on paying any attention to this clown. Terry Jones for president? Maybe the networks thought it was the Monty Python member.

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  • Read poetry at The Subterranean.
  • Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
  • Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
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Obama the warmaker

All hail the chief as he brings home the troops from Iraq — but don’t say anything about the growing use of robot drones on the expanding battlefield of the war on terror.

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  • Read poetry at The Subterranean.
  • Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
  • Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

Create jobs and cut the military

The defense lobby is playing offense, pushing an argument that cutting defense will cost the economy jobs.

It’s an interesting argument, but one that ultimately fails the test of logic — as Dean Baker pointed out yesterday:

During a downturn where there are lots of unemployed workers, any government spending will create jobs, regardless of whether or not it is on the military. In fact, military spending is likely to create fewer jobs than spending in most other areas (e.g. education, health care, conservation) because it is more capital intensive.

When the economy is near full employment, military spending is a drag on the economy. It pulls resources away from private sector uses, lowering investment and increasing the trade deficit. This leads to job losses, which are likely to be felt most severely in manufacturing and construction.

In short, for those who do not believe in the military spending fairy, military spending will cost jobs in either the short-term of long-term. If the spending doesn’t make sense in terms of advancing national security, then it doesn’t make sense period: end of story.

The lesson here? We need a real jobs plan that includes public investment, but we shouldn’t look to the Defense Department to create those jobs.

  • Send me an e-mail.
  • Read poetry at The Subterranean.
  • Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
  • Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

Happy X-mas War is Over

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

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The end is near, finally, but only after thousands were killed in Iraq, civilians and soldiers both, the nation’s standing was damaged and our democracy was irreparably damaged.

The end of the war in Iraq, however, does not end the American imperial project. We remain entrenched in Afghanistan, with that war bleeding — literally — into Pakistan, and new military efforts taking place in Africa.

So, the president might deserve applause for ending the Iraq War, but let’s not fool ourselves into believing he has suddenly transformed into a peacenik. Bring the rest of the troops home and then we can talk.

  • Send me an e-mail.
  • Read poetry at The Subterranean.
  • Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
  • Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.