Whither Copenhagen?

As the debate over the possible Copenhagen climate treaty heats up, and the cap-and-trade bill from months ago died in Congress, and news of the Climategate scandal broke, there are more questions than answers about the very important issue of climate change (aka global warming).

First, the TSAP would like to say that, while we do not invoke the precautionary principle for all issues, we unequivocally do for the issue of climate change (we support the Rio Declaration's version, to be precise).  With no apologies to hardcore libertarians or paleoconservatives, in fact.  We are not fazed one bit by the Climategate scandal as it does not really "debunk" the scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming.  The only serious debate is about how fast it will happen, and when the tipping point will occur.  It is not a matter of if, but when.  And the less precarious position is to assume it is a real and urgent problem.  We need to reduce CO2 emissions to the point where the CO2 concentration is at or below 350 ppm.  And it is currently at an unsustainably high level, and growing.

That said, there is a right way to address the problem and a wrong way.  In fact, there are several wrong ways.  A cap-and-trade like the one Congress tried to pass would be unlikely to solve the problem, and would likely generate undesirable side effects.  Ditto for what is currently being discussed at Copenhagen to an extent, athough we do need an international treaty of some sort (like we successfully did with the issue of ozone depletion in the 1990s) that is an improvement over the Kyoto Protocol (which we still haven't ratified). 

The TSAP endorses a tax-and-dividend system that would tax carbon (i.e. fossil fuels) at the source, and give all Americans an equal share of the revenue generated from this tax.  Every dollar raised will be used this way without exception.  Yes, prices for various things would undoubtedly rise due to this embedded tax, all else being equal, but the dividend will allow Americans to pay for this increase.  The average American would in fact break even, but those who (directly or indirectly) use less energy than average will effectively pay less tax, while the energy hogs will effectively be taxed more, as they should be.  Thus it is certainly not a regressive tax, and may even be mildly progressive.  This is both the simplest and most equitable way to reduce carbon emissions as well as other forms of pollution, not to mention energy waste.  The real challenge is getting the feds to accept something that won't directly benefit them (in the short term).  We also support raising the gasoline tax, but using that to fund alternative energy sources and public transportation along with highway funding (and including a prebate).  And when the Chevy Volt (or something like it) is the predominant car on the road, which we favor, highways should be funded by a per mile driven tax if necessary.

We also support ending net deforestation completely, and putting carbon back in the ground through carbon sequestration.  One method is known as biochar, a type of charcoal made from the plants that remove carbon dioxide from the air, that is subsequently buried.  This is also an ancient method of soil fertilization and conservation, originally called terra preta.  It also helps preserve biodiversity.

We've said this before, and we'll say it again.  We need more nuclear power plants as well.  Nuclear emits no greenhouse gases directly, and even indirectly it pales in comparison to fossil fuels.  Done properly, it is just as green as solar photovoltaic power, produces less radiation than coal power, and is much safer than in the past (and even those dangers were exaggerated).  Since nuclear plants take many years to build, we need to get cracking ASAP.  Nuclear power is not a substitute to renewables; it is a necessary complement to them since we need a base-loading power source, not just intermittent power.  Our nation's irrational fear of all things nuclear needs to die NOW.  Right now.

But the biggest elephant in the room is overpopulation.  It does not make for pleasant dinner conversation, but it must be addressed or else all other causes become lost causes in the long run.  We need to have fewer kids, or nature will reduce our population for us, and the latter will NOT be pleasant.  The TSAP believes in voluntarily reducing the total fertility rate to 1.5-1.9 to do so, along with reducing immigration dramatically, but we do not support draconian and/or coercive measures of population control (like China has used).   But the current tax and benefit incentives that reward having more than two children need to be jettisoned at once.  We believe more liberty is the answer, not less.  But we cannot keep growing and growing, that's for sure (in fact, we need to shrink).  And our addiction to economic growth (despite being recently decoupled from well-being) is also part of the problem.

Here's a social norms technique for you:  7 out of 10 American women have 2 kids or less.  You are American and you are smart.  Join the majority.

Bottom line:  we need to take the environment much more seriously than we do now.  We ignore it at our own peril.

More Americans feel we should mind our own business

A recent poll says that nearly half (49%) of Americans, the highest in 40 years, believe America should "mind its own business" on the international stage.  And more of us feel that we should decrease troops in Afghanistan than feel we should increase them.  Once again, the government is out of touch with the American people and ignorant of the True Spirit of America.

Some people like to call this stance "isolationism," but that is not entirely accurate.  True isolationists (like 19th century Japan) believe in little to no foreign trade as well as no wars, and few Americans fit this mold completely.  However, the TSAP, like half of Americans, is sick and tired of overzealous interventionism and imperialism to the neglect of our problems at home.  Policing the world (and being the world's sugar daddy) seems to do more harm than good to other countries as well. As for trade, we now have a gargantuan and unsustainable trade deficit, and more and more jobs are being outsourced while our economy is increasingly foreign-owned.  Foreign trade is fine, but we need to have a favorable balance of trade if we want to stay strong.  Bottom line: we need to take care of our own first and stop meddling in the affairs of the rest of the world.  Only then can we avoid the fate of the Romans.

By the way, our national debt is now $12 TRILLION and growing.

Sure, the Afghanistan surge will be a success.....Just ask Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the British, or the Russians.

Obama recently said he will send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, and after 18 long months the troops will begin to come home.  Begin to come home?  We should have begun withdrawing years ago!  Let's face it, Afghanistan is a dead end.  It has been eight years already.  Anything we could feasibly accomplish at this point will be too little, too late.  In the long run, any tenuous progress we do make will likely be reversed.

Perhaps if Bush had NOT gone into Iraq and instead sent more troops to Afghanistan, we would have had a chance at winning (albeit a slim one).  The side show became the main attraction, and Bush dropped the ball big time.  Everything since then has been mere damage control.  Or maybe the whole ordeal could have been avoided, and thousands of lives not lost, if we had simply prevented 9/11 (it could have been done).  Was it really worth it to invade Afghanistan in the first place?  The drug lords sure think so.  And the terrorists benefited from the creation of a failed state, as well as a destabilized Pakistan.  And the body count of civilians has been staggering.

And what did the American people get out of the deal?  Debt!  Our national debt is now pushing $12 TRILLION dollars, and the value of the dollar is falling.  Gold is $1200 per ounce now, and rising.  And so is oil.  How we will extricate ourselves (while the current leadership is in power), I really don't know.

If Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union couldn't do it, what makes Obama think he can?

How to Destroy the Mexican Cartels in Five Easy Steps

Mexico's drug war shows no signs of stopping. And yes, this war is not merely a metaphor but an actual armed conflict. Belligerents include several Mexican cartels as well as the Mexican government, with the United States playing a supportive role to the government. In 2008, over 6000 people died, including numerous civilians, and some of the violence even spilled over to the American side of the border (most notably Phoenix). Ironically, the majority of the cartels' funding comes from drug sales in the United States, to the tune of $23 billion dollars, despite (or rather because of) prohibition of these substances. And the cartels have made significant inroads into most of America as well.

Staying the course will lead to a temporary Pyrrhic victory at best. Let's face it, the War on (some) Drugs is already lost, and is America's first major defeat.  A war we lost before it even began.  And over two thirds of Americans believe it has been a failure, while less than 10% believe it has been a success.  Like alcohol prohibition, only writ very, very large. Crime, corruption, racism, violence, and death are the fruits of our labor. And a new way forward, one that involves thinking outside the box, is long overdue. Here is what we propose to be the ONLY lasting and feasible solution:

1) Legalize cannabis for all adults over 18, period. Tax and regulate it like we currently do with tobacco and alcohol, with licenses required to sell it. Like tobacco, allow adults to grow their own cannabis for personal use as well.

2) Withdraw from all international treaties that prohibit cannabis.

3) Increase drug treatment and education, funded by the excise taxes.

4) Get tougher on violent crime, gun-running, and racketeering. This will be easier since more resources would be freed up.

5) Create a system of tight regulation for the eventual legalization and controlled distribution of many other currently illegal drugs, except perhaps for the most dangerous ones like methamphetamine, crack, or PCP.

Admittedly, the last one on the list would be the toughest on to do politically, and will be unlikely to happen in the near future regardless of who is in power. But even if the other steps were taken, especially legalizing cannabis, the cartels would be severely hurt economically since the "backbone" of their trade would collapse. It is estimated that as much as 60-70% of their profits come from the cannabis trade with the US. And it is well known that any business who suddenly loses 60% of their profits goes under. Since the cartels are strictly wholesalers (and, of course, producers) of drugs, only full legalization of the entire supply chain would work to upend their trade. In their weakened state resulting from cannabis legalization, the Mexican government would likely finish them off.

As for hard drugs, which represent much of the remainder of the cartels' profits but are highly unlikely to be legalized in either country, demand is best reduced through education and treatment, the latter estimated to be a whopping seven times more cost-effective than interdiction.

For cannabis at least, prohibition clearly fails to even make economic sense.  The social costs per user of cannabis use pale in comparison to those associated with alcohol and tobacco, as well as the cost per user of enforcing the laws against cannabis.  The potential tax revenue gained plus the huge reduction in enforcement costs would more than offset any hypothesized negative effects of legalization. 

Several economists concur with this viewpoint.  Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard professor of economics who for 15 years has studied the prohibition of both alcohol and drugs throughout history, makes some very good arguments in favor of legalization.  One of his studies found that legalization and taxation of cannabis nationwide would potentially yield $10-14 billion per year in increased revenue and reduced enforcement expenditure.  And this is a rather conservative estimate!

The TSAP is not a "pro-drugs" party. Rather, we are pro-liberty and anti-tyranny. We do not endorse the use of any substances, including alcohol and tobacco, but believe that legal adults are sovereign in body and mind and that prohibition of these substances clearly does more harm than good.  Remember, the term "controlled substance" is actually a misnomer since it is virtually impossible to adequately control that which is prohibited.

In addition, a common misconception about the violence in Mexico is that it is caused by looser American gun laws relative to Mexican laws. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of the weapons used (full automatics, rockets, grenade launchers, etc.) are currently illegal in the US.  I repeat, they are currently illegal on BOTH sides of the border.  And if the corrupt Mexican government really wanted to protect their citizens, they would help them protect themselves by legalizing civilian gun ownership (and concealed carry).  Like all thugs and tyrants, the cartels just LOVE unarmed citizens.  The "experts" (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc.) all agree:  Gun control works!

UPDATE

Looks like California has put an initiative to legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis on the ballot for 2010.  The initiative, though somewhat flawed, has a decent chance of passing. A whopping 56% of Californians support legalization, as do 53% of Americans overall, the highest in US history.  And the state needs something to help plug their monstrous budget deficit--they are technically bankrupt.  Will "California Dreaming" finally become a reality?  We predict it will pass in 2010 since they finally have a critical mass of supporters.  If any state can do it, California can.

The TSAP endorses the initiative as a starting point, but notes that it is far from perfect.  For example, the age limit is 21 rather than 18, and several provisions appear to conflict with the Compassionate Use Act's protections of medical cannabis patients.  But those "wrinkles" can be ironed out later.  The sooner we legalize, the better.  And we hope other states will join California as well (already Oregon is considering it).

The Un-American Solution

The House recently passed their version of healthcare deform, with all the bad stuff (e.g. individual mandates) and a very limited public option. Plus the Stupak Stupid Amendment about abortion. It's all a giveaway to the greedy insurance companies, like the bailouts were for Wall Street, at taxpayer expense. But it will finally "fix" healthcare, right? Wrong--that's like throwing all of us into a pool full of sharks, and maybe one or two small dolphins, and expecting no one to be eaten. In a nutshell, it would "force everyone, with some small exceptions, to buy an overpriced, defective product, year after year, or face a stiff financial penalty," according to one highly astute critic. Since when did a right (to healthcare) become mandatory anyway?

Aside from the ethical implications, there are also constitutional ones to consider as well.  Some supporters of the plan say the General Welfare Clause somehow gives the feds the power to force people to buy private insurance.  But there is absolutely no precedent for that in this country, and for good reason.  Car insurance is a poor comparison since it is only forced by the states, not the feds, and driving on public roads (as opposed to merely existing) is a privilege rather than a right.  And while the clause gives the feds (and by extension the states) the power to tax and spend, forcing people to buy something from a private entity is clearly not the same thing.  And the current attempt to make an end run by disguising it as a (punitive) tax fails since such a tax on personhood is a direct tax that is unconstitutional when done by the feds unless apportioned among the several states according to population (which it clearly is not).  But I guess the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, is now "void where prohibited," and we might as well just replace it with the phrase "anything goes."  How did America sink so low?

But this will most likely not pass the Senate, thank God. There is no way this can survive a filibuster, especially a bipartisan one. Republican Senator Tim ("Dr. No") Coburn said he will do so by reading the entire mammoth bill out loud on the floor. Read the bill? That's a first for Congress! Hey, how about we do that for EVERY bill that comes to the floor from now on? Takes too long? Well maybe we should put a limit on how many pages a bill can have.

And maybe more people will read between the lines. The healthcare deform bill is really just a capitulation to the insurance industry, plain and simple. Let it die a quick death in the Senate, and may it never be resurrected in a similar form.  The American people agree:  only 32% say Obama's (really Congress's) plan is a good idea, a new low, while nearly half (47%) say it is a bad idea.

Also being debated is that the Senate bill also may expand Medicare to everyone over 55 instead of having even a weak public option for all ages.  At the expense of younger people, of course, who will be taxed to pay for it AND be forced to buy private insurance!  If so, that is intergenerational robbery on an unprecedented scale.  But hey, as long as the ruling Boomers benefit, to hell with their kids and grandkids, right?  Wrong.

The TSAP believes in a single-payer healthcare system for all Americans, funded by progressive taxation, not regressive premiums and penalties. Few Americans know that there is currently an excellent bill in Congress that would do exactly that, but is currently stalled.  Healthcare is a human rights issue above all else. Anything less would be uncivilized.

Just When Will We Leave Iraq?

Who really knows at this point? A recent article suggests that we may stay longer than we planned. Several military commanders want to maintain the current troop levels (117,000--down from 140,000 a year ago) for up to 2 months after the Iraqi elections, scheduled for January 16. But due to political tensions over voter registrations in the Kirkuk province, the elections may be delayed.

Despite recent suicide bombings, however, our troops have not been called back to the cities to quell violence, and the Iraqi government has not even hinted any misgivings about America's withdrawal plan. And violence levels are still lower than they were in 2005 and much lower than in the first half of 2007. It looks like they can stand on their own two feet now, no thanks to Bush's blunders. Even if they couldn't after all these years, that would be their problem, not ours.

Regardless of what happens in Iraq, we still need to get the hell out of there ASAP. On the whole, the American occupation has done more harm than good for the Iraqi people since we invaded in 2003. However, we've miraculously managed to rectify at least some of the tragic mistakes we made over there. Let's not make any further mistakes by staying any longer than planned.

All this while we are debating how many troops to send to Afghanistan. Hey, how about we wind that war down and get out of there as well.

Being the world's police has gotten us nothing but endless world strife and a $12 trillion national debt. Enough already!

We at the TSAP propose that our government ends these twin boondoggles completely, in no more than a year's time. The sooner, the better. Then maybe we could acutally rebuild America for the 21st century rather than let it wither on the vine.

Why Healthcare Reform Is Dead in the Water

Healthcare reform is still being debated in Congress as we speak. But it is looking grimmer and grimmer by the day.

In 2008, Obama promised to reform healthcare by creating a public option similar to the one Congress currently uses, cutting costs, covering everone who wishes to be covered, and NOT making it mandatory. That in itself was a compromise from what he had said he wanted in 2003, which was a universal, single-payer system like Canada has had for decades. And such compromising from the start was where he went wrong. Obama had to compromise further to placate Congress, and so he did. And compromise with the insurance companies, who, let's face it, really care only about their bottom lines. Who have Congress in their very deep pockets.

And let's not forget about the teabaggers, with their scares about their mythical "death panels" and other made-up fears. These fools really need to get a life!

What will get passed by Congress, if anything, is a severely compromised bill that would likely do more harm than good. Coverage would be mandatory (backed by stiff fines), premiums will go up for nearly everyone, and no public option. That is like forcibly throwing millions of people into a shark-infested pool and expecting no one to be eaten. Since when did the right to be covered by health insurance become a duty to be ripped off?

On top of this, costs will likely continue to skyrocket rather than go down--just look at what Massachusetts has now. Ditto for car insurance in all 50 states.

The TSAP believes that a single-payer system like Canada's is the way to go, preferably one funded by progressive taxation. With price-controlled prescription drugs, and no more HMO's. Anything less would be uncivilized, as evidenced by the fact that nearly all industrialized countries currently have it, with Taiwan being the latest to adopt it. It is also the best way to rein in out-of-control costs. Failing that, we supported Obama's 2008 plan as a steppingstone to real healthcare justice in the future.

But we strongly encourage Congress to vote NO on any compromised plan that lacks a public option and/or penalizes those who can't afford to be ripped off by (or don't wish to give their hard-earned dollars to) greedy private insurers and HMOs.

The Feral Reserve Keeps Printing Money

Bernanke, chairman of the Federal  Feral Reserve, declared the recession to be over (rotflmao) and yet he wants to keep the interest rate at 0% to 0.25%. In other words, continue to print a record amount of money. He wouldn't even raise the rate to 0.50%, which is still really low. If the Fed keeps rates too low for too long, like during the previous recession, we will just get a new bubble. What will it be next time?

Gold already broke $1000 recently, a signal that inflation is on its way. Deflation will no longer be an issue it seems.

There They Go Again!

The "teabaggers" are at it again. On 9/12/09, the day after the 8th anniversary of 9/11, a massive catch-all protest was held, by the same folks who held the April 15 Re-Tea Party (hence the nickname "teabaggers") and crashed the town-hall meetings. Protesting against healthcare reform, cap-and-trade, the stimulus, bailouts, and, of course, taxes. Despite the fact that taxes were actually cut! Most of the protesters were right-wingers, and they also tend not to be very young. They include the "birthers" (those who deny Obama is a natural-born citizen) and gun nuts who bought up all the guns ammo they could find as soon as Obama won the 2008 election. Need we say more?

Yes, the TSAP also feels that healthcare reform is being pursued the wrong way (we prefer single-payer for all Americans, funded by progressive taxes, with zero HMOs), bailouts were wasteful (no one is "too big to fail"), and the deficit (and the debt) is way too high. We are mortgaging the future so the Millennials and later generations are stuck holding the bag. Obama may not be ideal. The status quo sucks. But we also realize who got us into this mess. I'll give you a hint--it wasn't Obama.

Who started two wars of aggression with little thought of the consequences? Who slept through 9/11 only to use it as an excuse to gut the Constitution and start those wars? Who gave massive tax cuts for the rich in the middle of those expensive wars? Who (among others) raided the Social Security trust fund? Who refused to take any action on climate change and other ecological disasters? Who recklessly ignored our borders? Who allowed his Wall Street and corporate buddies to get away with some of the worst financial scandals in history, crippling the economy, only to bail them out afterward? And who printed and borrowed more money from China (and other countries) to pay for it all? You guessed it--Bush and Cheney. And, of course, the neocons and the super-rich. America got fleeced big time, and the crooks took the money and ran.

Hey teabaggers, when all this was happening, where were you?

The Recession is Over....yeah, right!

Too many pundits and "experts" are willing to call the end of the recession now, and say we are merely in a "jobless recovery" (a term coined during the last recession), and that is a grave mistake. True, the hemorrhaging has stopped (or slowed to a trickle), as measured by GDP, thanks to an increase in government spending and the stimulus package. The Jow Dones is above 9000 and rising. Inventories have dropped as well, as did the trade deficit. But consumer confidence is still very low, and unemployment is approaching 10% nationwide (it is already in double digits in numerous states). The pain of recession will likely continue until at least the end of 2009, if not longer. And the recovery will likely be slow as well. Bottom line: Americans are still hurting, and still need help.

Most evident is the fact that the BLS publishes another, higher unemployment rate number. The more familiar number is what percentage of the labor force that is not working, but looking for work, as reported by surveys. But "discouraged" workers, namely those who simply gave up on looking because jobs are too hard to find these days, are not included in this figure because they are not considered part of the labor force. But the other unemployment rate number includes discouraged workers, and that rate has been given at 10.2% in July, up from 10.1% in June, while the more familiar rate was 9.4%, and declined from 9.5% in June since the labor force also declined (mainly due to discouraged workers). So the real unemployment rate is already in double digits, and still rising. (Although, when "seasonally adjusted," a slight improvement is noted even for the higher unemployment figure, which may be a glimmer of hope)

The good news is that the housing market has already hit rock bottom, and is starting to recover as we speak (notwithstanding the more recent and ongoing commercial real estate crash). This is necessary for the broader economy to get out of its funk, but unfortunately that alone is not enough since other problems have gotten us into this mess as well. A persistently high unemployment rate will also hinder a recovery since unemployed people have less cash to buy things with.

Yes, I know I have said before that economic growth is overrated, causes more natural resource consumption and pollution, and the benefits go primarily to the richest 1% of the population with minimal trickling down. But as long as the population grows faster than the economy does, unemployment will rise. And in every recession (shrinking economy), the first on the chopping block are the working class and working poor. Most companies would rather permanently axe 10% of their workers, and give lavish bonuses to the CEOs, rather than cut wages temporarily across the board (including the top) until business improves. In a society such as ours that expects all able-bodied adults to work for pay (except, of course, those fortunate enough to be endowed with the means to avoid work), and that has a relatively broken safety net, this is a huge problem.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE:

Much needs to be done to not only get the economy back on track, but provide a long-term fix as well. Many long-term weaknesses are hanging over the heads of the American economy, and need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Here's what the government needs to do, with no apologies to libertarians or paleoconservatives:

Short-Term:

1. Send out a third (and final) stimulus in the form of a debit card which will expire in a fixed period of time if not used. It MUST be spent, not put in the bank or invested, and can be used to buy anything but bullion. $300 per person sounds about right, but any amount will work. Give it to every adult over 18, regardless of any sort of criteria.
2. Temporarily extend unemployment benefits for at least six more months, and increase the amount of food stamps.
3. Call a moratorium on foreclosures of all kinds for at least six months, and delay the resets of ARMs, both until after the new stimulus fully kicks in.
4. Create more public sector jobs, even if only minimum wage, to get the unemployment rate down. Especially green jobs and infrastructure jobs to rebuild America.
5. Accelerate the withdrawal from Iraq dramatically, and start pulling out of Afghanistan. These wars are a huge burden on the economy, and we have no business being in either country any longer (if we ever did).

Medium-Term:

1. Replace the income tax, both individual and corporate, with a value-added tax VAT of 25-30% on nearly everything, with a lag time preceding its phased-in implementation. But have a 25% income tax on every dollar individuals make over $100K, and 50% on every dollar over $1M, with no loopholes whatsoever.
2. The VAT will also replace the payroll taxes (FICA) for Social Security and Medicare, and put those on a sounder footing. And instead of taking 7.65% of every paycheck for FICA, take 7% and put it in a personal account for the employee's retirement, invested in stocks and bonds. (This will also give the stock market a huge bounce.)
3. Fight outsourcing, and keep jobs from moving overseas. Put a heavy protective tariff on goods from all countries that pay their workers next to nothing, and/or pollute the environment worse than us. (That's just about every country except Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe, and Japan).
4. Reduce immigration by 80-90%, to no more than the previous year's emigration rate. This will free up numerous jobs that would otherwise be taken, as well as ameliorate overpopulation. Crack down on those who hire illegals as well.
5. Invest in alternative energy and other green industries, and rebuild America's infrastructure, especially the passenger rail system.
6. Invest in education to build human capital in America, and make college tuition in public colleges affordable for even the poorest Americans. This will also discourage outsourcing.
7. For those companies who were given bailouts, much will be asked of them.

Long-Term (Never Again!):

1. Go back on the gold standard, and abolish the Feral Reserve within a year.
2. Regulate speculation better, especially in oil.
3. Bring back the "uptick rule" for short-selling.
4. Ban credit-default swaps, CDOs, SIVs, and other exotic, Ponzi-esque derivatives.
5. Abolish (or phase out) subprime mortgages altogether, and put a cap Alt-A mortgages (liar's loans). Require more transparency for ARMs.
6. Crack down heavily on white-collar crimes, and toughen the penalties.
7. Abolish "limited-liability" corporations and partnerships (LLC and LLP). Go back to full liability for a change.
8. Add a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, and begin paying down the national debt. Do so with a wealth tax on the net worth of those with more than $10 million in net assets.
9. Cut government waste.
10. No more bailouts, ever! No one is too big to fail. That should be a promise, not an idle threat.

If even half of these things were done within short order, we would all be much better off in the long run. Except, of course, the greedy, parasitic elites who profit from the world's misery, of course. I can just hear them howl about it now.

A few more things that could be done include:

1. Raise the federal minimum wage to $9.50/hour, or what it was in 1968, adjusted for inflation. And index it to inflation permanently so it never has to be raised again. The current rate does not provide a living wage in most of the country. And some states and cities would need to be even higher than $9.50 as well.
2. Create a job guarantee program, in which everyone who is currently working less than 40 hours a week, or not at all, will be guaranteed an offer of a public sector job at minimum wage to make up the difference, if so chosen. That would be better than a handout, and (involuntary) unemployment could theoretically be reduced to zero. And there is plenty of work that needs to be done!
3. Have a basic income guarantee (citizen's dividend) for everyone, with no means test, replacing welfare, food stamps, and related programs. Alaska already has one, albeit very meager.

These three things alone would greatly reduce the poverty rate as well as improve the economy. The upsides of one will counteract the downsides of the other two as well.

You Might Be a Republican or Democrat if.....

I, Ajax the Great, have mentioned before that I have quite a sense of humor. I figured I should put a joke post on the blog as well, satirizing the two major political parties in this country:

You Might be a Republican if......

• You think global warming is a hoax, but the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were real.
• You think tax cuts for the rich will solve all our economic problems.
• The word "privatize" is really just a euphemism for "abolish."
• You think that welfare for the poor is bad, but have no problem with corporate welfare and bailouts.
• You actually think Fox News is "fair and balanced."
• You consider yourself "pro-life," but not when it comes to war, poverty, or the death penalty.
• You believe that the right to life begins at conception, but ends at birth.
• You've ever referred to someone as "my (insert racial or ethnic minority here) friend."
• You've ever uttered the phrase, "Why don't we just bomb the sons of bitches."
• You think the Teletubbies are gay, and you don't let your kids watch them as a result.
• You think a fully automatic Uzi or AK-47 is necessary to hunt deer.
• You support a waiting period for abortions but not for gun purchases.
• You look down through the glass ceiling and laugh.
• You tend to use the word "bootstraps" a lot when talking about the poor, even when those you are talking about don't have shoes.
• Gays in the military = bad. Gang members in the military = okay.
• You consider education a luxury.
• You think fluoridation of drinking water is a communist conspiracy.
• You have a problem with "tax-and-spend liberals," but see nothing wrong with borrowing and spending money we don't have.
• You believe that trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is good business.
• You believe the Feds have a right to know what books one gets out of the library, but background checks for guns are unconstitutional.
• You believe teenagers are full adults when it comes to being tried as adults, being executed, or going to war, but not for anything else.
• You fear sex more than violence, both on TV and in real life.
• You believe abstinence is the only acceptable response to sex, but not for guns, alcohol, or tobacco.
• You believe it is wise to keep condoms out of schools, because we all know if teenagers don't have condoms they won't have sex.
• You believe "safe sex" is a contradiction, but talk about "clean coal," and "surgical strikes" without even a hint of irony.
• You favor warfare over welfare.
• You think the minimum wage is too high, but support repealing taxes on inherited wealth.
• You believe that pollution is okay, so long as it makes a profit.
• You hate affirmative action, but see nothing wrong with "legacy" scholarships.
• You believe Bush won both the 2000 and 2004 elections fair and square. But God forbid anyone investigates.
• You bash Clinton for "nation-buliding" in Bosnia and Kosovo, but praise Dubya for doing the essentially the same thing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• You believe Obama is secretly a Muslim.
• You still doubt that Obama is a natural-born citizen, and believe the birth certificate is fake.
• You believe in women's rights, just as long as they "stay in their place."
• You believe π = 3, exactly, and that the Earth is 6000 years old, and are willing to teach it in school.
• You believe Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for a society that supposedly tolerates homosexuality. Ditto for 9/11.
• The only "gay" you support - is the Enola Gay.
• You've ever claimed that you can speak for God.
• You've ever claimed that God told you to preemptively invade a foreign nation.
• You thought the war in Iraq would be a cakewalk.
• You consider Kuwait to be a democracy.
• You believe in the original intent and strict construction theories of jurisprudence, but only when it's convenient.
• You would rather vote for Barney Fife than Barney Frank.
• You support state rights, which means Ashcroft or Gonzales telling states what locally passed voter initiatives he will allow them to have.
• You rail against "activist judges," unless they support your right-wing agenda.
• You say America is a meritocracy, but God forbid they tax inherited wealth.
• You're a "good Christian" but you hate more people than you love.
• You consider regulation to be a dirty word when it comes to the economy, but not when it comes to individuals' personal lives.
• You believe separation of church and state is a myth, Thomas Jefferson be damned.
• You see nothing the least bit Orwellian about the Patriot Act or the Department of Homeland Security, even in their names.
• You've ever said civil liberties, schmivil schmiberties.
• You've ever referred to the Constitution as "just a piece of paper."
• You've ever said "Clean air? Looks clean to me."

You Might be a Democrat if......

• You believe our goverment should do something just because everyone in Europe and/or Canada does.
• You've never been mugged.
• You think serial killers like Ted Bundy can be rehabilitated.
• You believe everything you read in the New York Times and Washington Post.
• You trust Ted Kennedy when he said that she was driving.
• You don't understand why anyone was bothered by Jane Fonda's trip to Hanoi.
• The closest you've ever actually been to a rainforest is a Sting concert.
• You think high taxes are great, just as long as someone else pays them.
• You get an evil grin on your face when listening to "Taxman" by the Beatles.
• You think the world owes you a living.
• You believe that everyone is responsible for you but you.
• You keep count of how many people you know in each racial or ethnic category.
• Unwanted fetuses? Hell no. Spotted owls? Hell yeah!
• You actually expect to collect Social Security some day.
• You believe trial lawyers when they say they are just trying to defend the little guy.
• You believe teenagers are full adults when it comes to sex or abortion, but not when it comes to guns, alcohol, or tobacco.
• You think public housing is great, but just NIMBY.
• You believe guns are the root of all evil, and that crime is society's fault rather than the fault of the criminals.
• You think the criminal has more rights than the police who arrest this criminal, unless the crime is sexual harassment, or racism.
• You believe that teenagers can’t control their sexual urges no matter what we do, but child molesters and rapists can after counseling.
• You think only white people can be racist.
• You believe the Second Amendment only applies to state-run militias, not individuals.
• You believe all the problems in the ghetto are caused by the white man.
• You think most Hollywood celebrities are good role models.
• You claim to be an environmentalist, but live high off the hog in a mansion that consumes 20 times the national average worth of energy, and frequently fly in a private jet.
• You would knowingly vote for a crackhead mayor, repeatedly.
• You still believe the Rosenbergs were innocent.
• You still believe OJ was innocent.
• You believe discrimination is bad, unless it is done in reverse. Then it's called "affirmative action" and is a good thing.
• You believe the Jena Six are not violent thugs in need of punishment, but rather modern-day civil rights heroes that should be lionized.
• You fear Christian fundamentalists more than you fear Islamic fundamentalists, if you even notice the latter at all.
• You've ever made a snarky comment about the Vatican as being the "evil empire."
• You've ever thrown bricks through a Starbucks window at a protest/riot, but stopped off for a cup of Seattle's Best on the way back home.
• You don't see the irony in the previous statement.
• You think McDonalds is a bigger threat to America than Al-Qaeda. Really.
• You've ever yelled, "capitalist pig," and you weren't joking.
• You hated the first Gulf War, the war in Afghanistan, and the current Iraq War, but saw nothing wrong with the wars in Bosnia or Kosovo, or bombing the aspirin factory in Sudan.
• You whine about the evils of "Big Business" but turn a blind eye to the abuses of "Big Labor" (aka unions).
• You believe the best way to solve any problem is throwing more money at it (from taxpayers, not your own).
• You support a waiting period for guns but not abortions.
• You believe merely raising one's voice occasionally is a form of abuse. But only when a man does it, of course.
• You believe everyone is equal, just that some are more equal than others.
• You support diversity, just as long as others agree with you.
• You think Fidel Castro and Che Guevara are heroes, and that Cuba is better than America, but always make up some excuse as to why you don't want to move there despite it being so wonderful.
• You believe that, deep down, no one is really "bad," just "misunderstood." Except of course for Republicans, corporations, the rich, and/or anyone else who disagrees with your political agenda. Those are just plain evil, and irredeemably so.
• You deny your party's responsibility for Fanny and Freddie's role in the subprime crisis.
• Your idea of the free market is handing out free government cheese.
• You support school choice for yourself, but not for others.
• You would send your kids to public schools, if they had better extracurricular activities.
• You don't think the government should legislate morality, unless of course you call it "public health."
• You still own anything that says "Dukakis for President."
• You think Carter should be on Mt. Rushmore. Ditto for Obama.

You might be either one, or at least NOT a member of the True Spirit of America Party, if.......

• You assume the government always knows best.
• You can't see the irony in your own beliefs.
• You put the "dog" in "dogmatic."
• You actually think the Federal Reserve has the nation's best interests at heart, is authorized by the Constitution, and that it is actually part of the federal government.
• You think the gold standard is a "barbarous relic" and cannot understand why anyone would possibly want to return to it.
• You believe the Constitution is "just a piece of paper" or "a contract that can be renegotiated at any time."
• You have ever said, "the Bill of Rights is outdated."
• Your idea of hell is having to mind your own business and not meddle in other people's lives.
• You believe the right to life begins at conception, but ends at 18 (abortion = bad, draft = good).
• You believe we should bring back the draft so the "sacrifice would be shared equally," but God forbid anyone over 30 has to go.
• You believe 18-20 year olds are old enough to go to war, vote, get married, have custody of a child, enter binding contracts, work in dangerous jobs, buy guns, buy cigarettes, and be executed, but somehow not old enough to drink.
• You actually believe that raising the drinking age to 21 had a net lifesaving effect in the long run.
• You think cannabis is "evil" and "highly dangerous" and those that use it should be jailed or worse, but you ignore the pink elephant in the room.
• Of course, you never inhaled, right?
• You believe the Constitution gives the government nearly absolute power to control what individuals do to their own bodies, even in their own homes.
• You believe protecting legal adults from themselves is a legitimate government function.
• You believe Millennials (those born 1982-2000) are the worst generation in American history (even when the statistics say that is not true).
• You turn a blind eye to the dangerous and even criminal behavior of Baby Boomers, both now and back in the day, while criminalizing teenagers more severely for lesser indiscretions.
• You believe in liberty for "just us," not all.
• You blame school shootings on guns, Marilyn Manson, heavy metal, rap, video games, and TV. In fact, you blame everything and everyone but the shooters (and the parents).
• You believe free speech does not apply to the Internet since the Founders could not have even imagined such a thing.
• You believe the victim of a violent or predatory crime is at least somewhat responsible in nearly all cases, and should be treated as such.
• You see nothing the least bit wrong with 1% of the population owning over 40% of the nation's wealth.
• You think the government can just keep on borrowing money indefinitely with no thought on how to pay it back.
• You deny that Social Security and Medicare, as they currently stand now, are unsustainable pyramid schemes in need of a major overhaul.
• You think oil, and the lifestyle it enables, will last forever.
• You think "ethics" is the name of an Eastern European country.
• You believe that waging war with no exit strategy was wrong in Vietnam but right in Iraq.
• You want America to continue policing the world, or at least assume that doing so is sustainable.
• You are terrified of anything "nuclear," to the point that you won't even eat irradiated meat.
• You believe overpopulation is a myth. Or worse, you believe that Americans are having too few children!
• You favor growth for the sake of growth, whether population or economic.
• You have your head in an anatomically impossible position.

Current Account Deficit: $101.5 BILLION
Total Bailouts: $8.5 TRILLLION (and growing)
National Debt: $12.5 TRILLION (and growing)
Social Security and Medicare unfunded liabilities: $70 TRILLION (and growing)
Saddling future generations with unprecedented debt and ecological crises, as long as the current generation in power benefits from it: PRICELESS
There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Congress.

Flag Day

Just pointing out that today is Flag Day. But this blog looks no different today because we display the Stars and Stripes every day.

To all the ignorant fools who burn it, remember what it is that you're really burning, and all those that fought and died for it. Those who consider themselves to be on the political left would be better served by "taking back the Flag" and waving it proudly, so it is not perverted into an ultra-right-wing symbol by the fascists. Make it clear that the government policies you oppose are not in the national interest. And let everyone know that you can just as strongly love this country as you fear its government. In fact, plenty of true patriots often do feel that way.

The Flag is not Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, or belonging to any other faction. It is the American Flag, and it belongs to all of us. Live free or die!

Is America Finally Considering the Gold Standard?

Rumors abound that the U.S. Treasury is creating a new currency, known as "Gold Dollars." You read that right--it is a currency backed 100% by actual gold! And it will allegedly exist alongside the regular dollar and can be interconverted. Though the veracity of these rumors is unconfirmed, the TSAP believes that this is an idea whose time has come.

First, a brief history lesson. America started out on the silver standard. Then, we went bimetallic (gold and silver) in the 1800's. In 1900, under President McKinley, we ditched silver and went pure gold. Then, in 1913, something called the Federal Feral Reserve was created. The power to control the money supply (originally belonged to Congress under the Constitution) and interest rates (originally belonged to the market) was delegated by an Act of Congress to an unelected, quasi-government entity that meets in secret to figure how to exercise this awesome power over the economy. Our third attempt at creating a central bank, this one unfortunately stuck.

Here's how it works: when the Fed cuts interest rates, the Treasury generally must print more money (increasing the money supply), when they raise rates, less gets printed, and banks get less. If the amount printed is less than the amount of worn-out money that is burned, the money supply decreases. Paper money enters the economy when the Fed lends it at interest to the Treasury, who prints it.

Now the Fed caused to be printed a ton of money from 1913 through the late 1920s. We were on the gold standard, but they printed more paper money than there was gold with which to back it, causing inflation. Up until this point, we had very low inflation, and even a deflationary bias. Gold had anchored the money supply, and was supposed to limit the amount of money printed, but the Fed disregarded this fundamental rule, and thus we had a fractional reserve gold standard instead.

In 1928, the Fed began raising rates after cutting them for a long time, ostensibly to discourage excessive speculation in the stock market. The market was in the midst of a bubble, and in 1929 they decided to pop it. Ouch. Though the recession began three months prior to the crash, this undoubtedly worsened it. Banks began failing. Instead of cutting rates, the Fed still kept raising rates to prop up the overvalued dollar. But the dollar still dropped, and the price of gold on the black market skyrocketed as people made a run on the dollar. In other words, the Fed had turned a mild recession into a full-blown depression, the worst we ever had. They essentially fought fire with gasoline! In 1933, FDR decided to confiscate everyone's gold with the Gold Act, and shortly thereafter he abolished the gold standard, giving the Fed unlimited money printing power. Finally, rates were cut since there was no reason to prop up the dollar anymore, and the economy slowly improved. Though that may sound superficially like an argument against the gold standard, it is really an argument against fractional reserve banking and the Fed. And the story is not over yet.

After World War II, an international quasi-gold standard called the Bretton-Woods system was created in 1946. Though it worked well at first, the Fed couldn't seem to keep its hands off the printing press. We paid for the Cold War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War all with overvalued dollars that were supposedly backed by gold. By 1971, this system had failed miserably, stagflation began, and Nixon abolished the gold standard entirely. Inflation soared to levels never seen before, and a deep inflationary recession occurred in 1974-75. Stagflation (a double whammy of high inflation and high unemployment) was a new phenomenon that had previously been impossible due to the gold standard, but now it was everywhere. It got so bad that in 1982, the Fed engineered a second recession by jacking up the interest rates to over 20% to choke off the bloated money supply and thus kill "excess" inflation, and it worked (but was very painful nonetheless). But the inflationary bias of fiat money still remains to this day, excess money is still printed, and thus a dollar now is worth less than what a NICKEL was 100 years ago.

Currently, the U.S. Treasury owns about 238.5 billion dollars worth of actual gold as of April 30, 2009. Even if we assume a value of $1000 per ounce, that is $260 billion, that's about 7% of next year's government budget. And our incomprehensibly large national debt is slightly larger than the approximate value of all the gold in the world. In other words, we got way too many dollars in circulation, and not enough gold (or even silver) to back all of them as it stands now. You can thank the Feral Reserve for that.

Where do we go from here? Here are the alternatives: 1) redefine the current dollar in terms of gold based on the current market price, fractional-reserve, and trust the Fed not to print too much money, 2) do the same as #1, but abolish the Fed and leave control of the money supply to Congress and interest rates to the market, 3) create a new, full-reserve, gold-backed currency in parallel with the current dollar, and abolish the Fed, 4) do #3 but phase out the old fiat dollar entirely, or 5) continue business as usual, and let the dollar depreciate even more.

Alternative #1--been there, done it, caused the Great Depression. Very bad idea.

Alternative #2 would be like a sequel to Bretton-Woods, minus the Fed of course. That would not be a pure gold standard since it would be fractional reserve, but we would keep the same currency (which would be fixed at today's value more or less with minimal depreciation). It would be a definition of the dollar, and a limit to how much can be printed. In other words, stability. A viable idea.

Alternative #3 is similar to the aforementioned rumor (minus the Fed). Several unrecognized private currencies like this already exist (Liberty Dollar comes to mind). But the long-term effects of having two officially-recognized, interconvertible currencies simultaneously is unknown.

Alternative #4 is ideal, a full-reserve gold standard, but we would have to proceed with caution to avoid too much disruption to the economy. In the long run, this would be the best bet.

Alternative #5 is obviously bad in the long run.

The TSAP recommends that we start immediately with alternative #2, and gradually transition to #3 and/or #4 to phase in a full-reserve currency. Though less than ideal, many of the benefits can be achieved using alternative #2, provided that there is no Fed and that gold and dollars are readily interconvertible at any bank in real time. And also that the currency is not debased any further. Most people would rather not carry around physical gold anyway, so the stock of gold is unlikely to be depleted.
The transition would occur as follows if the TSAP was in power:

1. Pass the Federal Reserve Abolition Act, restoring its power to Congress and transfering its assets to the U.S. Treasury.
2. Enact a law that defines the dollar as 1/1000th of an ounce of gold, based on a value close to the current market price of gold (near $1000/ounce). Define silver initially at $20/ounce.
3. Produce more gold and silver American Eagles and Buffalos labeled as $1000 and $20, respectively, with full convertibility between paper money and such coins (obviously a very limited number made). They will be legal tender for all debts. Freeze the number of paper notes in circulation.
4. Produce a limited number of gold certificates, and only those will have full convertibility with gold bullion (other than the limited number of Eagles and Buffalos) at banks. These will, in effect, be a second currency. An absolutely full-reserve currency.
5. Gradually phase out the old fractional-reserve dollar.
6. Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, and run surpluses until the national debt is paid off.

Or we could figure out something else to back money with that has a larger supply than gold or silver, like carbon, energy, time, wood, etc. But the point is that fiat (funny) money (and the Feral Reserve) has to go!

Introduction and Party Platform

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