One helluva week–make that a month. Not one that I’ll want to experience going ahead.

Denying workers their earned right to bargain collectively is an act of denying human rights to the American working/middle class. I will not recite at length that which you already know–that the Republican party and its most lavish supporters are hell-bent on destroying labor unions, marginalizing the strength of the working/middle class, and exhausting every opportunity derivative of the financial crisis to increase the economic gap between the super-wealthy and average Americans.

Conservatives will, I believe, need to revel in this current state of affairs. Their battle victories will not endure. The war for working/middle class rights is far from over. And the hardworking multitudes will prevail. The time is about right. The ingredients are coming together. The will is emerging.

It is my expectation that events in Wisconsin and parallel sinful actions in states focusing on a similar political agenda are galvanizing the working/middle class. It is my premise that progressives (mild and ardent), liberals (left and right of center), moderates (Democrats and Independents), and reasoning (reasonable) conservatives need to embrace the practices of Republican political strategists.

I’m not talking about fabricating, stretching, and outright lying to the electorate. Rather, I envy the far-right’s ability to remain Johnny-One-Note–resolutely adopting a singular mantra and repeating it over and over without straying for the fear of the consequences of ideological betrayal.

Collectively, progressives-liberals-Democrats-Independents, remain committed to too many goals. We have too many causes. We have too many demands. While each goal may be super worthy, their collective range dilutes our efforts, exhausting our energy and our resources. We become distracted our singular advantage–numbers. Numbers that turn to votes. Votes that result in change.

To my mind the groups of reason and democracy need to come together to focus on class warfare. This phrase has often been held in contempt (and I have been among those reticent to utter it). It seems to go against the grain of a truly capitalist democracy.

Capitalism is a social system based on the principle of individual rights.

But where has capitalism, as we have understood it, gone? More important, where is it taking us?

Conservative and far-far-far-right efforts to erase collective bargaining tear at the fabric of capitalism–presumptively and historically a more-or-less level playing field on which employers and employees meet to create an economy that benefits the people. There was a time, not so long ago, when owners and workers metaphorically sat at a round table to negotiate a balance between corporate profits and workers’ earnings. The negotiating table was round, until not so long ago, an indicator of the two sides’ willingness to talk with one another with an understood purpose of coming to accord on mutually acceptable outcomes via negotiation.

Today’s negotiating table has been transformed to a rectangular shape consisting of two expanding sides (employers, public and private) and two shrinking sides (where the vast number of working/middle class Americans are increasingly wedged together). And, wedged apart in the process. (Recall you r high school math. The area of the table remains a constant as its length and width–the variables–can be worked dependently to maintain the fixed area–think the American economic pie. Actually, in such a model, both sides benefit as the area of the pie grows in reasonably proportion.

I stray for a moment. I am reminded that we must stop using the term ‘entitlements’ to describe the mix of pension and benefits workers gain via negotiation. Those jealous of workers with pensions hear ‘entitlements’ as something that falls from the heavens on a particular subgroup of ‘entitled’ people. Pensions and benefits are earned. Pensions are deferred wages. Benefits are trade-offs of wages. They are contractual agreements that both parties arrive at legally and appropriately. It is a bedrock principle of capitalism–again, a social system based on the principle of individual rights.

What has happened in Wisconsin and is occurring in other states and municipalities are immoral actions benefiting ultra-wealthy greedy people perpetually dissatisfied with their share of the economic pie and corporations with the singular goal–maximizing shareholders’ profit.

I stray again. When we read that private sector employees often earn less than public employees and that their respective benefits/pensions are unfair, recognize what this means. It is not that unionized public sector employees have bled the system to their advantage. Rather, the non-unionized private sector employees have been unable to bargain collectively to their advantage.

Friday morning’s NY Times charted ‘Pension Rates and Collective Bargaining’. The data identifies the percentages of public employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. In New York, 73% of employees enjoy the human right of collectively negotiating wages and deferred wages with employers. In New Jersey the precent is 61%; California, 60%; Illinois, 53%; Ohio, 46%. At least in these states, the working/middle class maintains considerable political muscle.

So it is in those states (forget the South) that class warfare may begin. Seeds have long been planted. Governor Walker and his ilk have been (thank you) nurturing the beds. I see signs emerging, very much like the crocus and daffodils currently sprouting in flower beds, like forsythia budding on the Island’s branches.

And like these perennials which emerge every spring as the conditions for them are just right, now is the time for us to prepare to spring ahead–akin to a law of Mother Nature.

To remedy the unconsionable ‘goal of the greedy’, a minority by definition and by design, reasonable people in a capitalist democracy need to rally around a singular goal–returning an equitable share of the economy to working/mioddle class Americans.

I am suggesting that, for the foreseeable future, we rally around the singular goal of ‘class warfare’. Americans are increasingly recognizing that they must engage this battle. The time is right.

The conservative strategy of preserving and growing wealth and power in the hands of the few is so overwhelming that all issues need be set aside. What happened to the Republicans’ promise of focusing on job creation? They are committed to setting brush fires all over our country with the purpose of distracting Americans from the greatest economic problem tof our time–the rapidly expanding gap of income and profit separating the super-wealthy from all the rest of us.

If we do not get our collective act together–and soon–we will have met the enemy. And the enemy will be us.

Today, you’re in charge of the nation’s finances. Some of your options have more short-term savings and some have more long-term savings. When you have closed the budget gaps for both 2015 and 2030, you are done. Make your own plan, then share it online.

Give it a Try @ nytimes.com

In a taping of “60 Minutes” which the President spoke, he attributes the losses of the Democrats to how he sold the economic recovery package to the American people, rather than on his policies and performance. Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell said “I think the President believes that somehow he didn’t – his product was good but he just didn’t sell it well.”

Indeed the President thinks the policies set forth in his two years were sound, as he brought in a litany of positive changes to the financial system, green energy, and saved the economy from a tailspin in to depression, among other things. “I think first and foremost it was a referendum on the economy,” Mr. Obama said. “And the party in power was held responsible for an economy that is still under-performing.”

During the interview, he expressed the notion that the economy was something that could not be fixed over night and that this would be a slow progression towards recovery. The economy is on his and 4 in 10 people’s minds as the #1 priority. Other top concerns are the deficit, which people did not take as seriously under the Bush administration. Private sector jobs have grown for nine consecutive months now and have surpassed what Bush/Cheney created over eight years.

Read more by Carl Potak: Politics and Society at his blog.

American politics, as the midterm elections demonstrated, have descended into the irrational. On one side stands a corrupt liberal class, bereft of ideas and unable to respond coherently to the collapse of the global economy, the dismantling of our manufacturing sector and the deadly assault on the ecosystem. On the other side stands a mass of increasingly bitter people whose alienation, desperation and rage fuel emotionally driven and incoherent political agendas. It is a recipe for fascism.

Read on at Truthdig.com

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: October 24, 2010

This is what happens when you need to leap over an economic chasm — but either can’t or won’t jump far enough, so that you only get part of the way across.

If Democrats do as badly as expected in next week’s elections, pundits will rush to interpret the results as a referendum on ideology. President Obama moved too far to the left, most will say, even though his actual program — a health care plan very similar to past Republican proposals, a fiscal stimulus that consisted mainly of tax cuts, help for the unemployed and aid to hard-pressed states — was more conservative than his election platform.

A few commentators will point out, with much more justice, that Mr. Obama never made a full-throated case for progressive policies, that he consistently stepped on his own message, that he was so worried about making bankers nervous that he ended up ceding populist anger to the right.

Read On

I think Paul Krugman summed it up very well with this one sentence: “The tragedy here is that if voters do turn on Democrats, they will in effect be voting to make things even worse.”

The caliber of the candidates on the Republican line across this nation is clearly lacking. It doesn’t take a Nobel Prize to appreciate the craziness of Carl Paladino, the childishness of Christine O’Donnell, or the dangerous mentality of so many congressional candidates across this country. Does America really want to go back to an age of “Know-Nothing” politics? especially at a time of such turmoil?

Sure, the Democratic Party has had missteps in the past two years, but does a few missteps mean that the GOP would have done better? If we implemented any of the Republican’s policies in the past year, our current economic situation would be far worse off than we see today. From healthcare and financial reform to foreign policy, President Obama is bringing America in the right direction, and if any progressive cannot appreciate that, they are stuck in a dreamland. Change takes time, especially with the lackluster support President Obama’s once dedicated supporters back him today.

I have seen first hand the challenges of keeping progressives focused on a common goal while helping direct the focus of this group. It isn’t easy with our 1,000 or so members, so I cannot imagine the difficulty that must be faced on a daily basis by this White House – herding cats is a far to generous analogy for keeping progressives in line.

When it comes down to it, I think these once active activists will see the light and support this President and come out and vote for the Democratic candidates this year. No matter how disappointed someone feels with the results of the Obama Presidency to-date, a Republican/Tea Party controlled Congress will be far, far worse for this nation at this time! I think by the time November 2 roles around, voters across this nation will use their common sense, see through the deceptions and lies, and sanity will reign in America once again.

They also ask, “What would be the impact on the middle class if the Republicans continue to hold the entire tax bill hostage in order to provide a windfall tax cut for millionaires and billionaires?”

So today we’re trying out something new to cut through the political back-and-forth you are hearing every day. We are breaking down an issue affecting American families into simple, understandable terms. The table below shows the actual impact on a married couple filing jointly for various income levels. It is based on taxable incomes, which are typically thousands or even tens of thousands less than gross income.

As you can see, the impact of the Obama tax plan for a family earning more than $300,000 is less than 1% of gross income; for families who earn from $400,000 up to $1,000,000 a year, it is less than 2%.

If the Republicans continue to hold the entire Obama bill hostage to the wealthiest Americans as they are threatening, the impact on the working poor families will be almost 3% and approximately 5% on middle class families.

This Republican effort is an attempt to give a tax break of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to millionaires and billionaires. We simply can’t afford to give the wealthiest Americans these big tax cuts that would add $700 billion to the deficit. According to non partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this would be one of the least effective ways to grow our economy and just about the worst way to help create jobs.

Assumptions:
- Taxable income is after all deductions and exemptions but not tax credits (ex: solar energy tax credit)
- The Obama proposal includes an increase of 3% on top two existing tax brackets (ex: top bracket becomes 38% for married couples filling jointly with taxable income above $373,000 but only on the amount exceeding $250,000)

Here is the other side’s rhetoric. What do you think?

We had eight years of Bush and Cheney. Now you get mad?

You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President?

You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy?

You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed?

You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed?

You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us?

You didn’t get mad when we spent over a trillion dollars (and counting) on said illegal war?

You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq?

You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people?

You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans?

You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden?

You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed?

You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city drown?
You didn’t get mad when we gave a 2.4 trillion tax break to the rich?

You didn’t get mad when Bush’s deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark?

You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick?

Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans ?

Oh how soon we forget.

I received this earlier today and, considering that a week or so remains until THE ELECTION, thought it worth sharing.