Progressives Were Right About the Bailout; Wall Street Wrong

Well, several new studies demonstrate that progressives were right about the recent bailout and Wall Street, liberals, moderates and conservatives were WRONG.

Capitalist Fools

As usual, Nobel-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, lays it down on the economy.  "Behind the debate over remaking US financial policy will be a debate over who's to blame. It's crucial to get the history right, writes a Nobel-laureate economist, identifying five key mistakes - under Reagan, Clinton and Bush II - and one national delusion." This is must-reading. Check it out. Spread the word.

Kuttner on the Economy

(click any image to enlarge)

For a long time, Robert Kuttner has been one of my favorite progressive economists. He appeared on NPR's excellent news show, NOW, this weekend and suggested a controversial plan for economic recovery that emphasizes massive public investment over fiscal restraint, at least until the economy gets rolling again. Kuttner argues that staving off another Great Depression is more important than balancing budgets. Check it out here.

What do you think? If you could craft public policy to address the economic collapse, what would your plan look like? What would you do?

Here is what Nobel-winning economist and NYTimes columnist, Paul Krugman, thinks should be done about the economic crisis.

Here are some other economy-related political cartoons by Keith Tucker: (click any image to enlarge)

The Three Trillion Dollar War (It's Cost in Ten Steps)

In 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld estimated that a war with Iraq would cost $60 billion. Five years later, the cost of Iraq War operations is more than 10 times that figure. By the time the United States leaves Iraq, the estimated total cost of war will be more than $3 trillion.
(click image to enlarge)

A Post-Racial Society?

Over at The Progressive, Fred McKissick reminds us, in this post-election Obama-glow, "We still aren’t in a post-racial society." He asks,

Exactly how can we be in post-racial America when nearly 40 percent of black children under the age of 5 live at or below the poverty line?

How are we in post-racial America when the level of school segregation for Hispanics is the highest in the forty years and segregation of blacks is back to levels not seen since the late 1960s?

How are we in post-racial America when the gaps in wealth, income, education and health care have widened over the last eight years?

Yes, how, indeed?

Barack Obama's victory was something, but not everything, and we need to be clear about the serious and daunting task that lays ahead in terms of racial justice. The challenge before us is to put substance to the symbol. We must not get so lost in our self-congratulation over the election of our first black president that we forget the persistent chasm of caste and class in our society today, a yawning gap that will require sustained attention, organized political action and significant resources if it is to be bridged.

Childhood Poverty Up 50% in 2007...

... and those numbers came in BEFORE the economic meltdown of recent months!

Save Our Cities!

Responding to Sarah Palin's recent claims that small town America is the "real America," Good Magazine writer, Cliff Kuang, has written an interesting article passionately arguing for a strong urban policy in the next government. He asks,

Is pitting small town against city just another ploy devised to hide distortions on taxes and foreign policy with a grotesque quilt of resentments? And what if that pastoral vision is blatantly false?

Hoopla aside, with the economy sowing so much worry, the town vs. city-issue should be a reminder of an important fact: Towns have not kept our country’s economy vital, no matter what Eleanor Fudd [Sarah Paln] says. Cities have; and they present our best prospects for creating the jobs and prosperity that will pull us out of the economic hole we’re in.

Most Americans simply don’t understand the role that cities play in their own economic well-being...

Kuang goes on to explain the central role of cities as the engines of economic innovation and productivity in the U.S. (cities account for 76 percent of knowledge-economy jobs, 78 percent of all patents, 75 percent of graduate degree holders, 81 percent of R&D employment, and 94 percent all venture funding!) Statistics also make clear that the wealth generated in cities strongly benefits rural America through a federal tax system that redistributes state monies disproportionately to smaller states. So, in fact, our cities are under-served, under-funded, under-appreciated, scorned and too often on the political Right, attacked and condemned as the engine for all that is bad in our society. Kuang concludes that despite the continuing economic struggles of rural Americans, "in the long run, we’ll all suffer if we don’t double down on the places that promise the most return: Cities."

Amen.

Figuring Out the "Green Economy"

There has been a lot of talk this political season about the so-called "green economy." That sounds good and all, but what the hell is it and how should we be thinking about it? Here are a few good essays on various aspects of the green economy to help you on your way:

- Ben Jervey asks, "What Color is Your Collar: Toward a Definition of Green Collar."

- Adele Stan asks, What will the green economy will look like? "We all say we want to go green, but do we all see the same kinds of change when we imagine an eco-friendly economy?"

- Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser writes about the green revolution on campus. And here is a green spotlight on New York University.

- Preeti Mangala Shekar and Tram Nguyen want to make sure the "green wave" doesn’t leave out communities of color. Van Jones agrees.

- Jason Walsh and Sarah White, in "Global Green Jobs," suggest that "greater awareness of the promise of a green economy allows us to challenge the too-familiar "jobs vs. the environment" frame." Ian Kim similarly suggests "eco-equity" for all workers!

- Kevin Danaher argues that a new strategic focus for progressives must include a green economy.

- Jeremy Brecher and Tim Costello and Brendan Smith argue that "MLK, Jr. died fighting to make green-collar jobs good jobs." Now, others at Green For All have taken on his work. The same authors write about hopeful signs in the green economy. There are signs of life in the Oakland green economy, as well.

- Several authors, here, here and here, argue that the way out of the current global economic mess must be built upon a green economic model.

- Two good books on the green economy are here and here.

- The Ella Baker Center has some nice teaching tools on the green economy for those of you who want to integrate these issues into your classrooms.

- David Korten gave a very interesting presentation at the April 2008 Seattle Green Festival, "Navigating The Great Turning From Empire To Earth Community."

- Mark Harris debunks the green mythology surrounding Whole Foods.

- Here is Obama's plan for a green economy.

Do you know of any good resources to help understand green economics and the profound transformation we need to undertake if we are to live in healthy balance with the natural word? If so, please post them in the comments section...

Will Obama Surge Hurt Gay Rights At Ballot Box?

Susan Donaldson James of ABC thinks so. In short, her piece points out that a large number of minority voters are also social conservatives. Thus, the logic goes, the increase in participation among African Americans and Latinos will also drive up the number of anti-gay voters this cycle. The tension between social justice and conservative social values has also created some fragmentation within the black community between civil rights organizations, like the NAACP, and black churches.

Good Sheet: CO2 World

Here's the deal with CO2, the most prevalent greenhouse gas (click image to enlarge):
Thanks to the good people at Good Magazine for another interesting graphic...

Good Sheet: Does Your Vote Matter?

The folks at Good Magazine want to make sure you understand how important your vote is...
(click graphic to enlarge)

Good Sheet: Bill of Health

Another interesting graphic from the folks at Good Magazine, this time on health care costs:
(click image to enlarge)

Good Sheet: "It's the Economy, Stupid!"

This week's cool and meaningful graphic from the people at Good Magazine:

Purple America: Our Agenda

The folks over at Yes! Magazine have a nice feature that points out that despite all the bluster about America being divided into these distinct red states and blue states, between unbending conservatives and liberals, that, in fact, most Americans agree on a core set of issues and policies. Take a look at what most Americans agree on here and then spread the word. Positive, proactive, constructive solutions. I like that very much...

And, if you are interested in Yes!, poke around at their website.