The Jacobin article was interesting. Mostly correct but a couple of criticisms. They suffer from the delusion that the billionaires are on the Right. Many more, of the visible ones at least, lean Left. Bill Gates is probably the archetype of the " the cartoonishly villainous superrich" that they seem to think are Republicans. Every day he looks more and more like a Bond villain. And he is not the only one. I could list them but you know the names. This is especially pronounced among the heirs of the founding generation. There was some movement toward the Right in 2024 but it remains to be seen how durable that will be. There was already the H1B dustup before Trump was even in office.
Second thing the Democrats must do which seems to be lost on Jacobin writers is to distinguish between private sector unions and public sector ones. There is decent evidence that private sector unions have aided the working class, at least until they overreached and drove business abroad. Public sector unions have contributed to the immiseration of the working class both by excessive taxation and by maleducation of their children. Get your inner FDR on and oppose public sector unionization.
The Financial Times article was pretty obvious. The Establishment has failed and the governing parties are pretty much the definition of the Establishment. In the West, this failure is defined by the Green lunacy, the COVID overreach, immigration chaos, the forever wars (fought by the working class) and the various perversions supported by the Establishment.
It should be easy enough for common sense Democrats (“Common Sense Democrats”?) to promote an economic populist agenda AND move away, quickly, from the party’s lethal emphasis on and association with the identity politics its elites love to push. It should be, but these are Democrats, so it probably won’t.
At any rate, the message could be promoted along the lines of each economic populist issue benefiting everybody - as in ALL Americans Matter. Maybe start there.
And it’s always been puzzling why Dems don’t point to Social Security and Medicare more often as living examples of how government does work quite well. For millions, both programs operate like a Swiss watch. When the Republicans go after SS & Medicare, what better way for Democratic leaders, at long last, to bash the Republican party itself, by name, relentlessly, and show working class voters who’s in their corner, who isn’t - and that government can work. Dems pretty desperately have to rebuild trust in their party and government itself.
The Jacobin article was interesting. Mostly correct but a couple of criticisms. They suffer from the delusion that the billionaires are on the Right. Many more, of the visible ones at least, lean Left. Bill Gates is probably the archetype of the " the cartoonishly villainous superrich" that they seem to think are Republicans. Every day he looks more and more like a Bond villain. And he is not the only one. I could list them but you know the names. This is especially pronounced among the heirs of the founding generation. There was some movement toward the Right in 2024 but it remains to be seen how durable that will be. There was already the H1B dustup before Trump was even in office.
Second thing the Democrats must do which seems to be lost on Jacobin writers is to distinguish between private sector unions and public sector ones. There is decent evidence that private sector unions have aided the working class, at least until they overreached and drove business abroad. Public sector unions have contributed to the immiseration of the working class both by excessive taxation and by maleducation of their children. Get your inner FDR on and oppose public sector unionization.
The Financial Times article was pretty obvious. The Establishment has failed and the governing parties are pretty much the definition of the Establishment. In the West, this failure is defined by the Green lunacy, the COVID overreach, immigration chaos, the forever wars (fought by the working class) and the various perversions supported by the Establishment.
It should be easy enough for common sense Democrats (“Common Sense Democrats”?) to promote an economic populist agenda AND move away, quickly, from the party’s lethal emphasis on and association with the identity politics its elites love to push. It should be, but these are Democrats, so it probably won’t.
At any rate, the message could be promoted along the lines of each economic populist issue benefiting everybody - as in ALL Americans Matter. Maybe start there.
And it’s always been puzzling why Dems don’t point to Social Security and Medicare more often as living examples of how government does work quite well. For millions, both programs operate like a Swiss watch. When the Republicans go after SS & Medicare, what better way for Democratic leaders, at long last, to bash the Republican party itself, by name, relentlessly, and show working class voters who’s in their corner, who isn’t - and that government can work. Dems pretty desperately have to rebuild trust in their party and government itself.
GREAT post.
Sorry I missed the Hanukkah concert.
Now that Congress is in session we can get down to serious cuts that both parties can get behind to reduce the national debt.
1. Defense should concentrate on these:
a. satellite defense adding coordination with NATO and United Nations
b. missile defense
c. drone warfare
d. reduce other programs over a 10 year period.
e. require ALL contracts to have an award fee (bonus if rated over 90% successful)
2. Sell US Postal Service created by a new nation now inefficient compared to other delivery companies.
3. Sell VA hospitals created for Veterans who should get care anywhere at any time and now are full of cost overruns.
4. Require all departments to budget 10% toward performance efficiencies.