Strengthen Social Security

Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his candidacy today by setting a tone that could resonate with the American people. A lot of people assume that President Obama's above-the-fray campaign strategy will ensure his re-election, no matter what happens to rest of his party's candidates. But I'm feeling a sense of déjà vu , a replay of the moment in early 2009 when a country song sang out a warning for the Democrats in 2010.

Nobody listened then. Check out Pawlenty's USA Today editorial and his announcement speech and tell me: Do you hear what I hear? more »

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When it comes to the economy, America's newspapers may be failing their readers. A new report by the National Journal confirms that our major papers have dramatically decreased their coverage of the country's enormous unemployment problem, while at the same time sharply stepping up their coverage of the important but less immediately urgent problem of Federal deficits. As a result, Washington is gripped by an artificial crisis while a real one is ignored.

The question is why? Why have politicians and the media allowed our nation's unemployed to become the Invisible Americans? Their premature obsession with deficits makes it politically impossible for the government to invest in fixing the problem. Fixating on deficits while millions are out of work is like worrying about water damage while your house is still on fire.

In what may be a related development, the public now rates newspaper reporters lower than bankers for "honesty" and "ethical standards." Bankers. That may not a fair judgment, but it's one that only reporters and their editors can change.

Here's what the National Journal found: more »

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The word for today is "choice," not "crisis."

It's time to stop saying the country "can't afford" Medicare, Social Security, or other programs that benefit the middle class. If I told my mother that I "can't mow the lawn" or "I can't do all that homework" when I was a kid, she'd say: "Don't say you can't. Say you don't want to." (The outcome of these exchanges was inevitable. Hello, lawnmower ...)

Now we're told there's a "crisis" and we can no longer afford the middle-class American dream. The truth is the opposite: Our long-term problems aren't caused by the middle class, but by politicians who choose to sacrifice the middle class for wealthy interests.

All this talk about a "debt crisis" is a way for politicians to avoid telling the truth: They'd rather say they "have to" sacrifice the middle class than admit they're making a choice.

"It Needs to Happen"

A comment today from Sen. Tom Coburn reflects the 'crisis mentality' masking today's choices. Sen. Coburn reportedly withdrew from the "Gang of Six" Senators trying to craft a budget-cutting deal. According to a report in the National Journal, Coburn said the Senators "can't bridge the gap between what actually needs to happen and what people will allow to happen."

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Bernie Sanders may represent Vermont and have a New York accent, but right now he looks a little like a Texas Ranger. The motto for those Lone Star State lawmen - "One Riot, One Ranger" - comes from their legendary ability to face down a hostile crowd single-handed. Bernie just faced down something that may be even scarier that rioting cowboys in the Panhandle: a powerful Democratic chairman and his entire Committee.

Sen. Sanders isn't a Democrat (he's an independent socialist who caucuses with them), but he has a lot to teach progressives inside and out the party about how to stand up for what's right: Detach from party leaders, hang tough, and be prepared to walk away if you can't negotiate something reasonable. He's fighting for better policies - and ones that the public strongly supports. (Our American Majority project has more details.)

Let's hope they're paying attention across the country - and at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. more »

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What do you do when the economy's a disaster, things are getting worse, and nobody seems to give gives a damn? What do you do? This country has been divided into two economies. One's the economy of Wall Street and corporate Manhattan, along with Washington's thriving economy of lobbyists, politicians, ex-politicians, national security contractors, and assorted hangers-on.

Call that one the "Acela Economy," since Amtrak's Acela Express links the two urban areas.

Then there's the other economy, the one where most people live. Let's call it the "Majority's Economy." It's a catastrophe, and it's getting worse, not better. Guess which one is getting more attention and care in Washington DC?

It's illegal to shout 'fire!' in a crowded theater. But what if there really is a fire - and nobody cares? It's not like anybody's going to start a stampede in Washington. It would be a major accomplishment just to disrupt their REM sleep.

Fire!

Meanwhile the volunteer firefighters are back at the station as flames rise higher, drinking beer and bitching about how much it costs to gas up the truck. That's because they're afraid the well-paid folks at both ends of that train line will be asked to picked up some of the tab.

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The post-bin Laden afterglow is fading. Those video clips of his home movies seem like scenes from a reality show, not glimpses of an Existential Threat. It's the master terrorist as an addled Ozzy Osbourne, minus the Beverly Hills couturiers and groomers. And while a few people might wait for bin Laden to sing Ozzy's "Iron Man" -- "Nobody wants him/he just stares at the world, planning his vengeance" -- our attention-deficit nation is getting ready to move on.

Significantly, while the President's overall approval rating jumped 11 percent after the killing, his economic approval fell and reached a new low: Only 34 percent approved of his handling of the economy, while 55 percent disapproved.

People were happy to see 9/11 avenged, but there's another lesson in that 11% boost, too: The public wants its President to be clear-eyed, resolute, and able to make tough decisions under pressure. We know now that the President can be (and just as importantly, can appear to be) as steely-eyed and decisive as the best of them.

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"If I had a world of my own," said Alice, "everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't."

The rabbit hole's got nothing on this place."Let's save Social Security from a 25% cut in 27 years," they told Alice, "by cutting more than that, starting now." Paul Ryan's GOP plan doesn't "end Medicare," they explained. It just, well, ends it. And vouchers aren't really vouchers. Even "fact-checking" site Politifact joined in, chastising Democrats for saying Ryan's proposal would "change the essential nature of Medicare." That was right before they noted that it would "end the aspect of Medicare that directly covers specific services, such as hospital coverage."

If you thought that the "aspect of Medicare" that directly pays for hospital coverage was Medicare, then apparently you are a very silly person.

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We let him define us for a decade, and now he's gone. After a very American party, the crowds have gone home. Here's one of the more printable Twitter quotes from an online news item entitled "Pornstars Respond to Bin Laden's Death": "Bin Laden is dead. @dirtjunior666 and I are celebrating with margaritas. My foot hurts. Thats my day in a nutshell."

"I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear ..."

It's been a hell of a binge, hasn't it? I mean all ten years of it: the shock, the grief, the togetherness, the anger and political divisions, and finally the party. Now it's hangover time. When the hangover ends, that's when the questions usually begin: more »

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Before President Obama announced Bin Laden's death the big topic in Washington was the deficit. Pundits and politicians alike eagerly anticipated a possible "bi-partisan" budget-cutting deal forged by "selfless" Republicans and Democrats. Deficits will be the hot topic again after the excitement dies down. But Bin Laden's death is a timely reminder of what happened the last time Washington's leaders and pundits reached a "bi-partisan consensus."

Then, as now, we were told that their consensus viewpoint was clearly and objectively correct. Then, as now, dissenting voices were marginalized, mocked, or ignored. Then, as now, the media credulously took the biased statements of interested parties for the objective voice of reason. Then, as now, many politicians were either too fearful or self-serving to speak the truth. And then, as now, we were told that the consensus idea was bigger than the petty distinctions of "left" and "right."

What did we get for all of that? The war in Iraq. And then, as now, the ones being celebrated for their "courage" and "sacrifice" won't be the ones to pay the price.

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Suddenly Washington is filled with proposals for 'debt triggers,' policy devices that would force spending cuts if arbitrary targets aren't met in the future. Everybody's either got one or wants one: the President, the Republicans, the Gang of Six, and all the usual suspects from the austerity crowd.

Let's not dance around the harsh truth, even though that's exactly what these gimmicks are designed to do: "Triggers" are economic IEDs, set to to explode when their builders have left the scene and can't be blamed for the damage.

For those who might be offended by the analogy, remember: the word trigger is best known as the term for the mechanism that fires a gun, or for the device that sets off a bomb. And in management slang, an executive who can't "pull the trigger" is one who can't make tough decisions. That makes it pretty ironic that these 'debt triggers' are all devices intended to make it seem as if tough decisions are making themselves. They're supposed to absolve our leaders of blame for the consequences of their actions.

Politicians all over the world must be asking themselves, where can I get one of those? more »

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