Monthly Archives: May 2011

Entitlement Reform

We must have entitlement reform! That’s been the mantra of the Republican lemmings that have been following Paul Ryan toward the horizon. They use the word entitlement like it is some sort of slur. “Why do those people feel entitled to anything?” And just so that we are clear, the entitlements on the table are for the old and the sick.

But I have seen the rise of entitlements in a different way. The way that the wealthy have decided that they are entitled to tax cuts. Why should I have to pay for rising medical costs on Medicare? I’m a job creator! The sense of entitlement is palpable. Tax increases are off the table.

  • Tax increases for the top 1% are off the table to pay for wars
  • Tax increases for the top 1% are off the table to balance the budget
  • Tax increases for the top 1% are off the table to repair infrastructure
  • Tax increases for the top 1% are off the table to pay medical costs for the elderly
  • Tax increases for the top 1% are off the table to help people devastated by tornadoes
  • Tax increases for the top 1% are off the table to feed children living in poverty
  • Tax increases for the top 1% are off the table to support the VA health system

Why? Because the wealthy are entitled to the protection of Congress. Because the wealthy are entitled to keep as much as they want. Because the wealthy are entitled to funnel huge sums of money to political campaigns to keep their taxes low.

That’s who feels entitled around here. And if you dare to agree with me, you’re engaging in class warfare. God forbid we should engage in class warfare after years of the cries of socialism, communism and wealth redistribution as the top 1% amassed more wealth in a rigged game.

And every time they get a tax cut, you know what they do, they ask for another. Talk about entitlement.

A Reminder to our General Assembly and our Governor.

This is a press release from the Progressive Democrats for Delaware. In the interests of full disclosure, I am also a member of PDD and am currently the group’s Vice President and Treasurer, and along with our Steering Committee, drafted this statement. I post it here for wider dissemination, and because I think most if not all of our contributors and commentators would agree with it. I encourage you to contact the Governor’s office and your state Senators and Representatives. Tell them to restore all spending cuts, and eliminate all tax give-aways to the wealthy and businesses.

STATEMENT REGARDING THE STATE BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS

In times of budget austerity and a slowly recovering economy, Delaware is blessed with a gift. A projected $365 million budget surplus.

While lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee have taken a time out in their budget negotiations, now would be a good time to remind them, and the Governor, of some progressive priorities.

Now is not the time to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted. Now is not the time to give still further tax give-aways to the wealthy and to multi-billion dollar corporations, all the while we ask the least among us to suffer more. Now is the time to restore all of Governor Markell’s past spending cuts and reject his proposed spending cuts, most notably, the $5 million in Medicaid cuts.

At the same time, the Joint Finance Committee and lawmakers in the General Assembly cannot go on a wild spending spree. Until the economy is more stable, we urge the Governor and the General Assembly to restore all past spending cuts, reject all spending cuts that have been proposed, eliminate all tax cuts that have been proposed, and keep the remaining surplus in a “rainy-day fund” while lawmakers and citizens have more time to review plans for our state agencies and policy priorities.

Indeed, one of those priorities is controlling healthcare costs and reducing the budget burden imposed on the state by Medicare and Medicaid. With the surplus, now Governor Markell and the General Assembly have more time to develop a plan that does not afflict the afflicted while giving comfort to the comfortable.

Breaking News: Gov. Markell Nominates New DELDOT Secretary

The Governor’s Office just released the following press release:

Governor Jack Markell has announced he is nominating U.S. Department of Transportation official Shailen Bhatt (pronounced “SHAY-linn BAT”) to become Delaware’s next Secretary of the Department of Transportation.

Bhatt has experience working on local, state and federal transportation issues and is currently serving as Associate Administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in Washington, DC. For the last two years, he has been responsible for setting policy and managing relationships with members of Congress and has been leading FHWA’s efforts in reauthorizing the nation’s surface transportation legislation.

“Shailen offers energy, experience and leadership,” said Governor Markell. “Transportation plays a critical role in the daily lives of Delawareans. We face significant challenges in transportation. It was important for us to find someone with strong leadership skills ready to take on those challenges. Shailen offers us local, state and federal level experience. The job demands someone of his caliber.”

“I appreciate the confidence Governor Markell has placed in me by nominating me for this important position,” said Mr. Bhatt. “The challenges facing the Delaware Department of Transportation are real, but so too are the opportunities. If I have the honor to be confirmed by the Senate, I will work tirelessly on behalf of the people of Delaware. We will work to help DelDOT reach its full potential. I look forward to meeting Delaware Senators in the days ahead and, if confirmed by the Senate, to spending time with other elected officials, DelDOT employees, civic and business leaders and the transportation community and doing a lot of listening.”

The Federal Highway Administration is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Through the Federal Aid Highway Program, the FHWA supports State and local governments in the design, construction, and maintenance of the nation’s highway system. Bhatt played a key role in establishing the Federal Highway Administration’s signature initiative on accelerated project delivery, called Every Day Counts (EDC).

Before joining FHWA, Bhatt served as a Deputy Executive Director with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) where he was responsible for advancing transportation projects and addressing regional transportation needs. During his time at KYTC, he helped oversee a record construction letting period for the state. Prior to that, he was Director of the Bowling Green/Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Bhatt is on the advisory committee of the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) and formerly served as a board member for Preservation Kentucky and the Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport. Bhatt currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Neelam.

Holiday Plans?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLm39YIRl04&feature=player_embedded#at=98[/youtube]I’ll be laughing my ass off about Republicans doubling down on the genius plan to turn medicare/medicaid into a privatized voucher plan. I’ll also be checking out the norther liberal survivalplex compound and probably doing some extreme training with boulders tied to my legs.

What about you?

Missing the Boat on Gingrich’s Tiffany’s Issue

I’ll admit it, I am enjoying the epic flame-out of the Gingrich 2012 campaign. Watching him contort himself to prove that he is totally consistent with his 24-hours-ago-self is like paying the extra money to see behind the scenes at the circus freak show. This latest blunder presents a golden opportunity for those of us that have been trying to show that tax cuts don’t create jobs.

Newt has been shown to have been on the hook for $500,000 to Tiffany’s in New York. He has been subjected to a number of humorous references because of it. He’s been called Blingrich by several late-night hosts and Colbert suggested that this was because Newt buys his engagement rings in bulk. Newt’s expalnation?

As a private citizen who has done well, I think I’m allowed to pick and choose what I prefer doing.

True enough. Newt likely spent money on things like a diamond and platinum necklace ($45,000) that his wife Callista was spotted wearing. It sure must be fun to go back through the Getty Images of Callista and comparing them to the Tiffany’s catalog.

But the point that we aren’t hitting on, is that this is the sort of bullshit that we are enabling. The tax cut that Newt Gingrich received from the Bush administration didn’t go to create jobs. Sure, Tiffany’s probably was able to hire a “Gingrich jewelry consultant” position, but most of the money for Callista’s jewelry probably went to buying the precious metals contained within. There are no commercial diamond mines in the US and platinum mostly comes from South Africa and Russia. So some the tax cuts that the Gingrich’s received in 2003 that were supposed to create jobs, were instead spent on raw materials mined in Africa.

This is what we have to discuss. The uber-wealthy aren’t the job creators here, and cutting them an undeserved break on their contribution to our society doesn’t spur job creation. It allows them to amass more wealth, at the expense of our nation.

Newt Gingrich needs to be held up, not for mocking, but as the poster boy for what is wrong with the alchemy of trickle down economics and the degradation of civil society that it causes.

Here’s what Newt said on Face the Nation.

I’m a guy running for president who pays all of his bills, and after-tax income at no cost to the taxpayer, and who currently owes nothing except one rental property in Wisconsin. I am debt-free. If the U.S. government was as debt-free as I am, everybody in America would be celebrating.

Newt, America could be debt free if it weren’t for the snake oil you have been selling for the last 20 years. And the problem is that the cost to US taxpayers is that we are now paying interest on that tax money that you legally evaded paying, we can’t get an interest free loan from Tiffany’s as a country.

Of course, all of this is predicated on Democrats actually using this. So, nevermind.

Roger Ailes Exposé in Rolling Stone

If you have 15 minutes, do yourself a favor and read the exposé of Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News in Rolling Stone.  I had heard a good deal of the information before, but the story has been well researched and documented and weaved into a full picture of the man, his mindset and the ideology that drives the network.

Once, after observing a dark-skinned man in what Ailes perceived to be Muslim garb, he put Fox News on lockdown. “What the hell!” Ailes shouted. “This guy could be bombing me!” The suspected terrorist turned out to be a janitor. “Roger tore up the whole floor,” recalls a source close to Ailes. “He has a personal paranoia about people who are Muslim – which is consistent with the ideology of his network.”

As I read it, I am struck by the intractable nature of the problem.  I don’t see a way to counter the guy or his message. I have a feeling of doom as the noise machine seems impervious so long as Ailes decides to stay on.  The only bright spot I see is the guy is old and out of shape.

The article even has a Christine O’Donnell quote:

During her Senate race in Delaware, Tea Party darling Christine O’Donnell bragged, “I’ve got Sean Hannity in my back pocket, and I can go on his show and raise money.”

What a world.

House Redistricting Public Hearing is Tonight.

The more reasonable of the two redistricting plans will be discussed and debated tonight in the House Chamber of Legislative Hall at 7 p.m. I say that because the proposed Senate map makes no logical sense.

From WDEL:

The hearing at 7 p.m. in Legislative Hall is a chance for members of the public to comment on the Democrats’ plan to redraw Delaware’s 41 state House districts. The plan calls for eliminating two New Castle County districts currently represented by Republicans and moving them south, leaving four incumbent Republicans bunched together in two districts in New Castle County. House Republicans have blasted the Democratic plan as partisan gerrymandering. They have released their own redistricting proposal, but Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly and likely will be able to draw the final maps as they see fit.

Awww. Poor Republicans. Playing the victim card after decades of their own partisan gerrymandering. Not only here in Delaware, but also in Texas and Florida and Ohio. Cry me a river.

Horrible Tragedy in Wilmington

Fucking seatbelts people!!!

A child died Wednesday night after being ejected from a car during an accident at the intersection of Fourth and Lincoln streets in Wilmington. Nearby residents who rushed to the scene lifted a white Mitsubishi and found the child wedged behind the back driver’s side tire.

She would not have been ejected, and then run over or landed on by a car, if she were wearing a fucking seatbelt. I am all in favor of the death penalty for parents or guardians who drive while not buckling their children up.

Palin Climbing in the Polls!

Since the Sarah Palin for President boomlet started earlier this week, it would appear her polling fortunes, at least among teatard Republicans, have improved markedly, and she has not officially announced. She is going to win this nomination, folks.

A new Gallup poll conducted from May 20 until May 24 finds Romney leading with 17%, followed by Palin at 15%, Paul at 10%, Gingrich at 9%, Cain at 8%, Pawlenty at 6% and Bachmann at 5. The previous Gallup Poll in April had Donald Trump (!) and Mike Huckabee tied at 16%, with Mitt Romney close behind at 13%, and our Lady Sarah at 10%. There is no way to discern where Trump’s and Huckabee’s support went. I would assume some of Huck’s support went to Sarah, but so too could some of the Donald’s birth racist support. Business Republicans who supported the Donald probably went to Romney.

A new InsiderAdvantage poll finds Mitt Romney just ahead of the GOP presidential field with 16%, followed by Michelle Bachmann at 12%, Sarah Palin at 11%, Herman Cain at 11 %, Tim Pawlenty at 7%, Newt Gingrich at 7% and Rand Paul at 5%. It is interesting that this poll as Bachmann so high when she only registers at 5 in the Gallup. And I wonder what happens to Bachmann when Palin enters the race. Does it evaporate?

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Sarah Palin “has reshuffled her staff, rehiring two aides who have helped plan her political events. And she is expected to resume a schedule of public appearances soon — perhaps as early as this weekend — to raise her profile at a moment when the Republican presidential field appears to be taking final form.”

Hehehehe. It’s like Christmas morning. I am giddy.

John Kowalko’s Letter to the JFC Worked

Maybe it wasn’t all Kowalko’s doing, but he gets props in my book.

“A package of Medicaid cost-cutting measures proposed by Gov. Jack Markell has hit a roadblock in the legislative committee responsible for drafting the state’s annual budget bill.

During their first week of budget deliberations, several members of the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee made it clear that they’re not ready to vote for a $5 million reduction plan that includes limits on emergency room visits, new patient copays and lower reimbursement rates for care providers.

The administration says the cuts are a necessary first step toward chipping away at a Medicaid state budget burden that’s grown by 50 percent over the past decade and is expected to total $681 million in fiscal year 2012

With all due respect, Governor, there is a revenue side to every budget.

Senate Rejects the Medicare-Killing Republican Budget

The Senate has rejected the controversial budget plan proposed by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and passed by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. The vote was 57-40 against the bill. I am still awaiting the roll call vote to see which Republican voted sanely. It is probable that 4 Republicans did. And at least 3 Senators did not vote.

Still, I am amazed that 40 Republicans voted for it. The Ryan Budget: The World’s Largest Suicide Pact.

Update: Voting with all of the Democrats were Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — both 2012 incumbents — along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against it because it wasn’t radical enough.