John Bows Out, Rudy Cracks Up

Even though I expected it I was bummed to see John Edwards drop out of the presidential race. His populist message and calls to address poverty were inspiring to some. His message of helping the poor in America was also about changing the economic landscape that has been tilted against the middle class for some time. There was of course wide spread opining as to why this message did not catch fire with primary voters. It makes you wonder if things would have played out differently if states like Ohio had been moved up in the primary schedule.

Just when I was feeling blue I got a slight pick-me-up seeing Rudy throwing in the towel today. His fall from the top of the national polls is one of the intriguing stories of the 2008 election. Apparently the more you learn about him the less you like him. He took the fifty state strategy and turned it into the one state strategy. Not a good idea. The other silver lining is Rudy's endorsement of McCain. That act alone should make right-wing radio nation jittery all over again.

SOTU 2008: The Drinking Game

Firstly let's all tip our glass to the last confounded State of the Union address from the master of grammatical disaster. There's no chance anything will top the “axis of evil” moment so this last foray into the SOTU for W. should go out with a whimper.

Grab a beer and drink every time you here the words tax cuts, terrorists, evil doers, Al Queda, Petraeus, nuclear, social security, stimulus and Iraqi people.

Don't forget about the September 11^th reference over and under which is at two minutes this year. Personally I'm taking the under.

More on The Economic Stimulus Plan That Isn't

Things are starting to shake out with the $150 billion economic package cobbled together by the President and members of Congress late last week. As is usually the case with compromised policy the devil is in the details. My previous post envisioned a potential flow of funds that would result from the economic plan. After reading some critiques of the plan on the web my analysis may need some revising. It looks like the plan may be less conducive to create immediate spending and more on pushing through tax cuts to upper wage earners.

According to Professor Krugman's latest column and his continuous blog updates the plan doesn't get enough in the hands of those who will spend it quickly. He faults the acquiescence of Pelosi and Company in allowing those benefits to be cast aside in the final compromise with President Bush. The resulting plan directs nearly 60% of the benefits to the upper two quintiles of income earners according to the Tax Policy Center. These upper wage earners are more apt to save the rebate dollars and not spend them immediately. With the low end stuff out of the plan the tax-cutter-in-chief can continue boasting about the cure all power of tax cuts that make up the rest of the package. No welfare queens getting rich off of this stimulus plan .

It's too bad the aid to State and local governments was weeded out in the negotiations. With Governor Strickland warning of looming budget deficits and local governments already feeling fiscal strain, an economic boost would be nice. This provision and some of the others may become a point of contention when the economic plan is debated in the U.S Senate. According to a story on Politico numerous Senators of both parties are already jockeying to get things put in the final version. How this will effect the outcome is hard to day. Could we see another GOP filibuster if attempts are made to include aid to local governments and increases in unemployment benefits?

Plan Announced to Stimulate China's Economy

The economy goes sour because of what Chairman Greenspan referred to as “froth in thehousing market”and things get surreal. Suddenly an administration that has embraced Friedmanite market principles has gotten all Keynesian on us. Today's compromise (someone caved) between the the Prez and Democratic leaders in Congress calls for pumping $150 billion of stimulus (that's hot) into the economy. The hope is that this action in the form of tax rebates for average Joes and tax incentives for business will prevent the economy from taking a recessionary nose dive this year.

The good news is that all operations in Iraq will be suspended for one year to pay for the economic bailout. Okay that's actually not the case. Per the Washington Post story the plan would require increased borrowing and will increase the deficit by that $150 billion amount proposed.

Here is the proposed flow of funds from the plan:

1. Government borrows $150 billion from creditors like China.
2. Government spends money on rebates and tax incentives.
3. Businesses use tax incentives to buy equipment to manufacture goods in their Chinese factories.
4. Citizens go to Walmart and spend money on crap made in Chinese factories.
5. Feds pay creditors like China increasing interest on borrowings as value of dollar declines
6. Policy makers in D.C declare important election year victory.

The Prez has already mentioned that often repeated theme of Bushonomics, the miracle of unending tax cuts in his speech today

Importantly, this package recognizes that lowering taxes is a powerful and efficient way to help consumers and businesses. I've always believed that allowing people to keep more of their own money and to use it as they see fit is the best way to help our economy grow.

I'm still waiting for Ron Paul's response to this stuff. For more coverage on the plan check out Paul Krugman's Blog.

Uncle Fred Gets the Job Done

It was no real surprise that Fred Thompson dropped out of the presidential race. He exited the race the same way he entered it, seemingly confused and lacking energy. Maybe he realized that many of us were not convinced he was an admiral on an aircraft carrier.

With McCain's trajectory locked in towards the GOP nomination it was time for Fred to pull the plug. It's no secret Uncle Fred is a friend and ally of McCain, he did endorse him in the 2000 presidential race. I subscribe to the theory that he was only in the race to peel away votes from Rudy to give McCain some breathing room. With McCain gaining momentum it was time for Fred to go. Maybe he'll be on the short list for VP.

If you don't think Team McCain has gained steam just read David Brooks' Column in today's NY Times. He points out that McCain is bucking the GOP establishment (what a maverick) and lassoing a wide range of support from conservative voters. BoBo even thinks the GOP has resurrected its chances of holding onto the White House.

MLK, Some Thoughts on the Dream

A co-worker sent an email to the office last week that asked if we are supporting "the Dream". This was a thought provoking question one that actually made me take pause. This question becomes even more prescient when taken in the context of a presidential election year where so much is perceived to be at stake. What are the candidates themselves doing to move this nation towards social justice, economic equality (in broad terms) and prosperity for everyone? Who (from either party) is misappropriating King's legacy by invoking his name for trivial political gain?

I have more thoughts on what we can do to take up the vision of MLK but for now I would suggest reading his Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Dennisless Debate Format Works Well

The glass top table at last night's Democratic Primary debate was short (get it) one candidate but I doubt he was missed. Despite the legal challenges and pleas from Willie Nelson, Dennis Kucinich was not permitted to participate in last night's debate hosted by MSNBC. I'm not part of the bash Dennis crowd but I have to say the format of this debate would not have suited having an odd man out (and I mean odd) included in the panel. Tim Russert has a hard enough time avoiding the appearance of being disingenuous without having to coddle also ran candidates.

The Democratic race has been distilled down to three serious contenders for now and this forum provided a glimpse of three separate candidates each working to portray an image of presidential preparedness to the viewing audience in cable television land. The debate was more of panel discussion with each candidate permitted to ask the other a question while sitting comfortably at the table. As Daily Kos offers,

Each of our three candidates brings tremendous strengths to the contest. Any of them would be a strong general election candidate, and they all appear to be sufficiently prepared to enter the White House in 370 days.

The Dems have a steady confluence of energy that looks like it will lead to an orderly synthesis of selecting a clear nominee. They need to continue moving in that direction being careful not to backslide towards the Hobbesian state of the GOP race. Sadly that means the end of the line for the bottom tier candidacies. No more standing at podiums and making jokes about the other candidates' political gaffes or debating about the nature of Jesus. As much as I think Dennis has to offer in the marketplace of ideas his presence would have been counter productive (and the chairs didn't go up high enough). Sorry.

Happy Belated Surgeiversary

If Islamo-Fascism is a word then I think surgeiversary deserves its place in the political lexicon. It means a kind of anniversary that makes you unsure about what exactly you are celebrating. Last Thursday marked a year since the announcement by W. of the surge strategy in Iraq. While the increased troop levels have led to security gains, the stated goal of the surge has largely not been achieved. Yes, force protection is nice but the troop increase was supposed to buy the Iraqis some breathing room to make nice and get their political game together. As of yet there has been some movement but the political landscape has not been radically altered like we were told it would once the additional troops arrived. Below that shiny exterior portrayed in nightly news clips of pretty snow flakes in Baghdad is an undisclosed reality that is unchanged since the surge. At this point the whole damn thing has been so obscured that the average person can't figure out what the real story is. It makes sense that Iraq is fading from the minds of Presidential primary voters and being replaced with pocketbook issues.

There are two points of view I present on the surge and its impact on the Iraq conundrum. One is the Op-ed written by the at dynamic bi-partisan duo McCain and Lieberman that appeared in the January 10^th Wall Street Journal. Their piece titled “The Surge Worked” (not working but worked) is a predictable recounting of the Petraeus good and Al Qaeda bad story of how the surge has pulled off a miracle in Iraq. It's worth reading but their argument fails to move much past the military side of the surge equation. The other exhibit is the Tom Rick's (author of Fiasco) appearance on Countdown with Keith Olberman from last week. I find Ricks' analysis of all things Iraq to be the most direct way to get a dependable and objective answer. Ricks' statement ”Judged on terms in which the President presented it the surge has not worked...” gets to the heart of my surgeiversary pondering. Was the trillion dollars really worth it?

Akron Residency Requirement, 9th District Court Delays the Inevitable

The City of Akron residency requirement was spared a premature death by The 9th District Court of Appeals. This is good news for Akron and Cleveland but the last move has not been made yet. The issue will eventually end up being decided by the Ohio Supreme Court. I think we know where this is headed. The last count of who was on the court didn't bode well for big city mayors trying to defend home rule.

The exodus of public safety employees from city limits will not be as bad in Akron as I expect it to be in Clevetown. If you know anyone in the CPD then you've probably heard first hand the complete disdain for residency requirements and the administrations that want to uphold them. Its unfortunate especially since the citizens of Akron have voted twice to reaffirm the desire to have those who police our city also be part of the community by living amongst us. It's funny you never hear of Ford plant employees driving Honda Accords to work.

Cuyahoga Commissioners Get No Breathing Room in 2008

2008 is still in diapers and the Cuyahoga County Commissioners are already facing a slew of potential problems that will make the new year one full of turmoil and challenges for our strategically impaired threesome. Roldo will have plenty to write about this year.

Board of Elections Voting System Overhaul
This one really bites. The commissioners don't have authority to overturn the Brunner decision to scrap touch screen voting nor do they have any real purview on how the BOE proceeds on the primary election. They will however have to commit millions of County dollars (as required by ORC) to pay for a new system and the subsequent implementation. When the implementation is botched (which is an almost certainty) or the election results are not available until 2009 the Commission will take a good portion of the heat for that even though they re not directly responsible. If they try to challenge the Brunner decision in court they will be branded as obstructionists and will end up wasting valuable time on something they have little control stopping. The County also faces a possible legal challenge from the ACLU on the issue of second chance voting and the lack of in relation to the new system.

Medical Mart Delay
So much for super attorney to the stars Fred Nance on getting a site commitment from the Merchandise Mart Properties guys. It sounds like the sharks who run the firm want the Med Mart located near the Cleveland Clinic and the $43 plus million from the sales tax increase. The whole line about the County constructing the exhibition center portion of the project is not what they have in mind. It's more like MMPI will pick the site, take the public funds to build the whole damn thing and the County can scrounge up the dollars to maintain it. Not exactly what we had envisioned. Now commission president Tim Hagan has had to issue an ultimatum that a location must be picked (the one in downtown before Sam Miler dies) in 60 days or we take back the sales tax money. Who will blink here is hard to say. Don't forget the Board stated they would rescind the tax increase if the deal fell through. What happens to all the dollars that were generated before the tax is rescinded?

Administration Building Meltdown
There has been plenty of bad press for the three on this one. What started out as a way to consolidate County employees at one location in the interest of efficient government has turned into a real boondoggle. It goes from County buying a crappy building from a Cleveland godfather for way too much and sitting back and watching the price tag sore while the original goal of savings gets burned away by mission creep. A Hail Mary pass being thrown up is the hope that the building will be snatched up for the right price by a some unsuspecting private developer. All the more reason the Commissioners need the Med Mart sited in downtown.

Myers University Loan Guaranty Extension
The special secret master decider Judge Gaul will settle for nothing less than Myers University remaining open under new ownership. In order for the school's new plan to be viable the half million dollar County loan guaranty (contrary to how it is spelled in the press the word ending with 'tee' is for appliances) . had to be extended. Approving the thing for the first time last year seemed futile and was not a comfortable decision for these guys but it was originally only for one year. Now the promise for monetary aid may never go away and it's only a matter of time before Case comes a knocking for their loan guaranty.

General Economic Malaise
Stagnant General Fund revenue, mounting foreclosures in the County, a withering downtown, banking layoffs, a new Human Services Levy, 3% budget cuts, sinking employee morale...

Happy New Year.

Iowa, the Beginning of the End or Not?

A long holiday reprieve and a bathroom renovation (that's not a euphemism) has kept me away from the blogstead. I didn't feel that motivated to post about too many things anyway. The one thing that I should be weighing in on is the presidential primary race, namely that thing in Iowa tomorrow. Forgive me if I'm not overcome with mass amounts of punditry about the race. Now that it's actually 2008 I will try to pay close attention though. It's not easy when the bulk of the media coverage is more about the horse race and less on the candidates sans the patina of talking points (he got the memo). As the loony GOP reminded us in the onslaught of 2006 political spots, "the stakes are high" and the future of the free world depends on the outcome of this one.

My call for Thursday is Obama pulls off a close one with Johnny Edwards a few points behind. I am hoping and unabashedly admitting that I want Edwards to win the nomination in the end. I like Obama but as Paul Krugman has been pointing out the Barack Star has been borrowing from the right wing bag of talking points at different points of his campaign rhetoric. I'm uneasy about that choice.

Romney Refutes His Magic Underpants

The Mittster gave his JFK speech on religion yesterday to allay the fears of conservative evangelical voters that he wasn't Christian enough. Not once during the speech did he mention his magic underpants or temple garment as they are also known. The mere acknowledgment of their existence may have negated any potential gains in trust Romney was trying to win from potential fundamentalist voters that doubt his Christian bona fides.

There's been so much analysis and punditry on the speech that I'm not going to waste much space on it. I do believe Mitt was specifically targeting the zealot base of the GOP that places religiosity over everything else when it comes to elections. Don't believe for a second that it was an assurance that religion and the evangelical power brokers couldn't play a role in a Romney presidency. He was just trying to assuage their fears that his off brand of Christianity wouldn't prohibit him from pursuing the narrowly crafted social agenda that they so crave. As David Brooks rightly points out in today's NYT column a success for Romney would be to gain solidarity in the culture wars that his party has exploited for so long.

The Two Best Things About the Latest NIE

The first best thing about the new NIE on Iran is the gnashing of teeth from apoplectic neo-kooks everywhere. I include in this bunch John Bolton, Freedom's Watch gang and of course the folks at the Weekly Standard and the Wall Street Journal editorial page. This group also includes hardliners in the Israeli government (Ehud Barak for example) who are basically suggesting that the report is wrong.

The second best thing is the news from several sources including Salon and ThinkProgress that the Decider knew about the NIE's conclusions back in August but still continued to insert World War III references in his speeches. Maybe that explains the giggles from the Prez whenever he talks about Armageddon. No seriously, this serves as a check for all of us skeptics out here that know these guys are just using fear of a nuclear Iran for political means. It also weakens any chance of the end of days crowd getting an invasion of Iran as a Christmas gift.

For a great laugh on the “other NIE” read today's Tom Friedman column in the NYT.

METRO Spinning Its Wheels?

This past Sunday the Beacon editorial page framed the METRO sales tax proposal as a social service levy.

Summit County voters, facing a difficult economy, repeatedly have shown a generous spirit, recently supporting levies for children services and mental health, alcohol and drug addiction treatment. As Metro moves forward with its campaign for a sales tax increase, voters must consider carefully their responsibility to help the vulnerable move ahead, too.

The region is never going to get 21^st century transit that provides an alternative for all commuters unless we get past this notion that the buses are there only to help out poor folks. On top of that we are going to increase a regressive tax to help the “vulnerable”out? The odds of a sales tax increase getting approved by voters have to be low. METRO is going to waste too much time spinning its wheels (ha ha wheels) on the sales tax when they should be thinking about a different approach. I go back to my previous posting on this one. The State and this region need to consider a gasoline tax to fund a truly comprehensive approach to public transit. I'm sure the transit systems in New York and Washington D.C. are considered to be more than just a social program.

Akron METRO Doubles Down

Akron METRO the local transit authority is planning to stem it's fiscal woes by placing a sales tax increase on the ballot. According to the report in Tuesday's ABJ and the METRO rider email I subscribe to, the Board of Trustees agreed to place a .25% (that means ¼ percent) increase on the March ballot. The article in the Beacon spares much of the detail on what METRO will have to cut in the event the tax increase measure fails. The information from METRO's email goes into how cuts in State funding and triple digit increases in fuel mean tough times. It continues:

METRO has been fiscally responsible, raising bus fares by 60 percent, cutting more than 30 percent of service, eliminating 52 employees, and freezing wages for more than three years. METRO is facing a $1.8 million deficit in 2008 and $1 million in 2009. Without additional income, METRO and METRO SCAT will be facing some of the most critical service cuts of its history, including eliminating up to 50 additional positions in 2008...

The old ”METRO has had no new sales tax revenue since 1990” narrative is also thrown in for good measure. Never mind that sales taxes by design are indexed with inflation so while the rate has not increased the revenue collected has.

Times are tough for local governments and authorities like METRO and are probably not going to pick up in the near future. Unfortunately for them they don't have many options other than cutting staff or service. They already raised fares in the last go around so that is off the table (except for the North Coast Express). I had an informal conversation with the finance director this summer and he said that the last fare increases actually reduced ridership enough to cancel out the additional revenue that was generated. So here they are having to mess with the grand-daddy of all local taxes. I know property tax is a big fish but the sales tax is a broader and more pervasive tax, some (actually most) would even say regressive in nature. Let's face it the chances of that passing in March can't be that good. Throw in tougher economic conditions on the horizon for the average person and it seems almost impossible.

Long term all of the transit authorities will have to pool resources and think big picture. I am of course referring to a tapping into a new gasoline tax to fund operations and development of local transit systems. When and how this will happen is beyond the scope of what i can do here. I'll pick up this again in a month or so.

GOP and the YouTubes

Here's to hoping tomorrow's Republican Presidential debate is a entertaining as expected. I'll be honest I haven't cared to watch most of the debates for either party so far. For some reason I feel compelled to watch this one. Maybe seeing how Rotten Rudy will react to the snowman's question or the Mittster's propensity for bullshit colliding with the in your face forum provided by YouTube is drawing me.

I would love a monkey to ask the Huck about his views on evolution and whether he realizes that humans are actually primates. Oh, and someone could even ask McCain a question too.

Chum Bucket Gets His Revenge

Scottie "chum bucket" McClellan has decided to come clean and reveal that he was indeed pressured by persons including Bush, Rove, Cheney et al to pass bad information to the press on White House involvement in the Valerie Plame leak case. I'm not sure there is anyone left who is surprised by what the former Medicare & Medicaid Services Director's little brother has to say on this subject. Oh wait the Wall Street Journal Editorial page is surprised.

Whether he spills his guts on the Plame affair to vindicate himself or to sell some books it makes no difference to me. I just wish he would have spoken up sooner but, of course he can't comment on an ongoing investigation. I plan to get the book just to read the chapters on why he hates David Gregory and how Jeff Gannon Guckert landed a press pass.

Also curious how the story was not picked up by the American press with the same furor as foreign media outlets. BBC news had it as their lead story for much of the day.

FCC Creatively Destroying Local Media

The motive behind the proposed FCC rule changes for media ownership is no longer a secret. In an op-ed article in today's New York Times, FCC commissioner Kevin Martin makes a case for media consolidation as a means to bail out America's failing newspapers. He is suggesting that relaxing just one area of the cross- ownership rules, in which newspapers could buy local television or radio, would provide much needed breathing room for lagging print media.

It's hard to believe that this is where the proposals for rule changes would end. The ideology at the FCC since the Michael Powell days (or since the 1996 Telecomm. Act) is one that espouses letting a free market philosophy termed creative destruction work it's magic. It's kind of a social Darwinism of markets approach that relies on peeling back the regulatory limitations and seeing what happens when the winners take all of the resources. The winners are of course big media conglomerates and the losers in the end are the general public. The only thing more insidious than allowing the ownership rules to be relaxed is a tiered internet. Both of which screw the consumer in the race for the bottom line. It's no wonder that the FCC is fast tracking the rule change in hope of getting it approved by December.

Last week's Bill Moyers Journal featured a story on the push to further relax ownership rules and the effect on minority owned radio. The potential damage that could be done to an already bleak media landscape is alarming. No wonder I can't trust anyone in politics named Kevin.

It Always Rains on Election Day

My wife reminded me tonight that it wouldn't be election day with out crappy wet weather. Some scenes from the polls:

I voted tonight at around 6PM. The same crew was manning table 8Q. They were kind of quiet tonight. Looked like the Ensure and Centrum Silver was wearing off.

I knew Issue 1 was on the ballot but there were no signs or verbal heads up from the polling pals reminding us not to bother voting on it. Our General Assembly is looking to change the deadlines to avoid these hold out issues from sticking on the ballot.

I like to feed my ballot into the reader. I was number 182. One additional step this year, you have to push a button to acknowledge your vote once it's in the reader. Thanks for the sticker.

Now we sit back and wait for the results.

Islamofascistan?

The upheaval in Pakistan is now in its third day and the country doesn't look like a beacon of nascent democracy in the middle east. What to do if you are on the Bush foreign policy team and have spent so much time propping up the Musharraf regime as a bulwark against terrorism in the region. There hasn't been much tough talk coming from Dr. Rice or The Decider in the past few days. What can you say when that ally is emulating the very catch phrase we are supposedly trying to defeat in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq(n)? There hasn't even been a strong commitment to cut the billions of dollars of aid we provide.

Yes I mean Islamofascism. That phony-ass term created by neocon's to conflate Iraq with the terrorism of 9/11. The same evil following that is brewing trouble in Iran and leading us to the precipice of WWIII (The Decider would have me insert a LOL here but, I digress). If this ideology does exist then it looks like the makings of it are available in the current mix in Islamabad. Let's see there's an Islamic republic,let's not forget they have a nuclear capability, led by a General that took power by military coup. Now that general has suspended the constitution , jailed dissidents of all political stripes, closed down independent media outlets and declared martial law. All this in order to cling to power and claim it's necessary to fight Islamic extremism in the country.

Isn't the system blinking red? Where is Joe Lieberman and the Freedom's Watch gang? Is Pakistan today an eerie parallel of what could happen in the name of fighting terrorism here? Unfortunately most American's are probably watching the news to see when the screen writers strike will be over.