Trump and Congress Fiddle While Americans Get Burned (updated)
By Hank Silverberg
"Nero fiddled while Rome burned." You've probably heard this legend before.
Seventy percent of the city of Rome was destroyed by fire in 64 C.E. The Emperor Nero, who was actually out of town at the time of the fire, was already known as an incompetent, narcissistic leader who cared little about anything outside of his own small circle. When the fire was eventually put out, he used the land leveled by the flames and money collected for taxes to build his own "Golden Palace" and "Pleasure Gardens" while thousands of the city's residents went homeless and hungry.
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| Nero |
I use this example to illustrate what we are seeing today in Washington. Congress can't come to an agreement on how to help the average American during the pandemic, and our own version of Nero thinks he can violate the rules with his ideas of "help" by questionable decrees.
It's not gonna work.
Why? No significant legislation has EVER made it through the Washington maze without some kind of compromise by each side. Notice I said "each" side and not "both" sides. That's because there are never just two sides.
Tip O'Neill, the long time Speaker of the House through the 70's and 80's, used to say on occasion when something got hung up in that maze that good "politics is the art of compromise." And he found a soul mate on that in President Reagan. Yep, the Conservative icon, Ronald Reagan, learned early on he could not get anything done without negotiating with all of the political factions involved. It was an acknowledgement of a calculated political algorithm that getting 80% of what you want is better than 100% of nothing.
It was the same equation used by Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson when they edited the original version of the Declaration of Independence and excluded a paragraph on abolishing slavery. They learned its inclusion would mean rejection of the entire document by several southern colonies, and the failure of American independence from the start. They compromised.
The formula worked until 1860 when 11 southern states decided they wanted 100% of slavery instead of a compromise to simply stop its expansion. That lead to the Civil War and the deaths of more than 600,000 Americans.
(Note to Civil War buffs: Slavery was already a failed economic system withering on the vine by 1860 and could have been negotiated out of existence. Lincoln, who always had the moral high ground on abolition, tried for a compromise, but it failed.)
So, of course compromise does not always work.You need people who understand the concept and are not stark raving mad. Neville Chamberlain gave away too much for too little in Munich in 1938 without an understanding of Hitler's sick master race theology. That resulted in 50 million deaths.
Today the pandemic body count is over 162,000 in the United States and climbing. Five million have contracted Covid-19 with many who eventually recovered after much pain and suffering. Yet we find a President and Republican party who are heading towards 100% of nothing because they can't compromise on how to help.
The Democrats aimed for Mars when they passed a bill in the House seeking three TRILLION dollars for pandemic relief. But they offered to stop at the Moon and bring that down if the GOP would meet them half way at two trillion dollars.
The Democrats "Heroes Act" passed by the House in May would
have provided most Americans with another $1200 stimulus check and extend the emergency unemployment payments of $600 a week to those who have lost their jobs. The GOP blocked that in the
While they fiddle and fail to act, Americans are getting burned. Many will lose their housing for lack of rent or mortgage money. Many more will now worry where their next meal is coming from.
Millions will have had their dreams shattered and those of us over 55 may never get those dreams back.
And then there is Donald J. Trump. The President thinks he can decree pretty much anything he wants. His Executive Orders issued this week included one that will suspend the payroll tax until the end of the year. That's the money taken from your paycheck each week that pays for Social Security and Medicare. If he could legally do that, and that IF is very prominent, people still working would have slightly larger paychecks, but when the suspension is over next year, they would have to pay the money back at tax time in April. Those out of work would get unemployment checks of $400 a week.
Trump says if he is re-elected he will make payroll taxes go away. But Trump can't do any of this. It's fiction. He thinks he has powers like Nero, but he runs smack into the U.S. Constitution, which clearly states in Article 1, Section 8:
"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States;"
It can't be more clear. Only Congress has the power to levy or remove taxes.
But let's say a Republican-led Congress (highly unlikely for 2021) succeeded in removing the payroll tax.The damage this would cause to the general public would be massive. Payroll taxes are used to finance Medicare and Social Security, which provide a safety net for tens of millions of Americans. It's likely budget cuts would be needed tearing that net to shreds and breaking a promise the United States Government made to its citizens and their descendants in 1935. Social Security is insurance for which we pay a premium for our entire working lives. It is NOT a giveaway.
A small number of Americans will survive both the pandemic and the economic turmoil unscathed while others will recover --but slowly. Some, mostly those with political power and extreme wealth, will actually profit from it. But the overwhelming majority have already gone through what many of us have begun to call the "year of hell."
The question you must answer is, who will you believe and who will you fault for failing to practice compromise and give us 80% of something instead of 100% of nothing?
History does offer some clues, though. No one really knows how the great Roman fire started. But Nero, needing a scapegoat, started rounding up members of a small minority known as "the Christians," and started executing them. Today, it is the average American who could become the sacrificial lamb thrown to the lions of poverty, fear and despair.
This time though, those of us who think and stay informed, know who is responsible for our nation's political failure and who to kick out of power on November 3rd. And if we are smart, we will punish them with no political power until they repent.
Update:
Last week I wrote about the false accusations against mail-in voting from the Trump administration. Eight states will use mail-in voting exclusively this fall, while others will provide it as an option. In Virginia, where I live, it is one of several options. I mentioned last week I intend to use one of them--early in-person voting to avoid crowds because of the pandemic. You simply go to a designated polling place between September 18th and October 31st, and cast your ballot the usual way. It's designed to spread out the vote so there are no long lines on November 3rd, and to DECREASE the number of absentee ballots needed by giving people another time to vote.
So I was surprised when the application you see below in the picture appeared in my mail the other day. It was sent by a group called "Center for Voter Information," which describes itself right on the letter that accompanied the applications as "a non-government, non-profit organization not affiliated with state or local elections officials."
It then told me my "voting score" was "above average," which was insulting since I have not missed a general or statewide election over the last four decades. I am not sure what their motive is but since I didn't ask for such an application, and I had heard already that they were mucking up the works in Virginia, I dialed the number on the letter. At first it was busy, then it was disconnected and when I called again the next day, all I got was an answering machine with no message capability. The envelope with the return address was printed out to the registrar in my county, but it was not addressed properly. They put a Fredericksburg address and zip code when it should have gone to a Spotslvania address. That would lead to a lot of confusion
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| (I blotted out some personal information) |
From their website it appears the group is promoting voter registration and voter participation. But all such unsolicited applications really do is create confusion about our options to vote.
They likely got my name and address off the voter roles which are public record and easily obtainable. My wife got the same form. Some people might have returned the application and are waiting for their mail- in ballot. But with the application's return envelope addressed incorrectly, they may never get that ballot. This is a case of good intentions gone bad, and the result could lead to exactly the opposite of what was intended. It's a good example of the kind of confusion that this election is creating.
MORE UPDATE:
Still not convinced that voter suppression is going to be a big issue this fall?
Late Friday night the Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, who is also a major contributor to the Trump Re-election campaign, reassigned or reshuffled more than two dozen officials or operations managers at the U.S. Postal Service.
The Washington Post described it this way:
"Twenty-three postal executives were reassigned or displaced, the new organizational chart shows. Analysts say the structure centralizes power around DeJoy, a former logistics executive and major ally of President Trump, and de-emphasizes decades of institutional postal knowledge. All told, 33 staffers included in the old postal hierarchy either kept their jobs or were reassigned in the restructuring, with five more staffers joining the leadership from other roles."
It came after a Congressional delegation called for an investigation of DeJoy for cost cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery and held up mail-in ballots in some recent primary elections. The shuffling will take away much of the institutional knowledge at the USPS that has helped keep the mail flowing after DeJoy instituted a hiring freeze and limited overtime.
Trump has repeatedly attacked mail-in voting, even though there has been no evidence of voter fraud connected to it. Democrats and many other observers see this as an attempt to suppress voter turnout by slowing the mail even more during the pandemic when more people will rely on voting by mail. (See last week's blog.)
And then there is this:
Neil Young has been known for his "Heart of Gold." But not when it comes to using one of his songs without his permission for a cause he opposes. The acclaimed Canadian-born musician, who just became an American citizen this year, has gotten some traction on his copyright infringement lawsuit against the Trump re-election campaign.
Young is seeking a court order barring the Trump campaign from using any of his songs, as well as damages as high as $150,000 for each infringement. No response yet from the Trump campaign or Trump himself, who usually scoffs at lawsuits.
Young of course, is known for his support of a number of liberal causes. He had endorsed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries, and last month released a song showing support for Democrat Joe Biden.
On the surface this might seem like a political lawsuit, but the issue of campaign songs being used without permission or compensation has come up several times before this campaign as a copyright violation. Artists and publishers are often vigilant in protecting their copyrighted work. A court ruling will be very interesting and precedent-setting.
Hail to the Veep:
As you probably have heard by now, Joe Biden picked California Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate. It's an historic selection since she will be the first woman of color chosen by a major party to run for Vice-President.
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| (Senator Harris) |
In some ways though, it's not a real surprise. First, Harris is a known quantity having run for President herself in the primaries. If there was any real dirt on her, it would have come out already.
Biden used some basic rules in making the choice even though it's historical. He chose a former primary rival--just like Barack Obama did in 2008 when he chose Biden.
She also was elected twice to statewide office, Attorney General and Senator in Electoral College rich California and has a reputation of being tough on crime. Biden said he wanted a running mate who looked like America and she does. Harris is a first generation American. Her father came from Jamaica. Her mother came from India.
Second, the VEEP must be in sync with the views and policies of the President she serves with and present a unified administration and Harris fits that bill as well.
Reaction from President Trump was just what you would expect. He called her "nasty" because she had asked Justice Kavanaugh tough questions at his confirmation hearing. You may remember Biden and Harris had a heated exchange during one of the primary debates last year, and Trump could not understand how Biden could pick someone who "disrespected" him. Trump of course doesn't like anyone who doesn't like him, especially if its a woman. Mr Biden has said he doesn't hold grudges.
Harris and Vice-President Mike Pence will hold a debate on October 7th. That's must see TV considering Harris' debate style. You may have heard that Mike Pence's wife does not let him go into a room alone with out her, if there is a woman present. This is no joke, it's is true. Because of Covid-19 the debates will have no audience (I'll write more about that when the time comes) So maybe Mrs Pence will be sitting between her husband and the Senator. (That is a joke).
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