Do government regulations strangle the economy?

Republicans/the Tea Party accuse government regulations of strangling our economy. Do you agree? Could the opposite be true as the below article suggests? Should the President support more efficient regulations on Wall Street and a break up of banks that are too big to fail?


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on "It's the Inequality, Stupid"

Income inequality continues to be a growing concern among many Progressives. The below article contains a series of charts highlighting increasing disparity between wealthy and non-wealthy Americans. What conclusions can we draw from these charts? How do we account for these numbers? Should policy makers reverse these trends? If so, how?

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Should OWS take an active role in encouraging thvoter registration?

A member of our community sent the administrators of this site the following question: "So how can we encourage the Occupy movement to also become a voter registration movement? That will take away any criticism that their demonstrations are not accomplishing anything." What do you think? Should the Occupy movement be transformed into a voter registration movement? Could the Occupy movement thereby become a force to be reckoned with in the 2012 elections?

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The fate of Obama's healthcare bill

Polls indicate that the President's healthcare law is growing more unpopular. Why is this? Did the President make a mistake by pushing for this law? Are these reforms ultimately good for the nation?

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Is unrestrained free-market capitalism a smoke screen for class warfare against the poor and middle classes?

"The CBO numbers teach some basic lessons. First, the last 30 years of ideological preaching about the superiority of private, deregulated, market-driven capitalism served to enable and mask one of the largest and fastest upward redistributions of income in modern history"

What is responsible for the every growing income inequality in this country? Is the ideology of unrestrained free-market capitalism ultimately a smoke screen for class warfare against the poor and middle class?

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In unaffordability of college education

A college education has long been part of the American dream. Now, with the cost of attending college soaring, is this this dream dead? Is a college degree still worth it? What steps, if any, should be taken to make higher education more affordable?

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Do you agree with Michael Moore that President Obama's first term is 'disappointing'?

Michael Moore describes the President's first term as heartbreaking. Do you agree? Why or why not?

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How to fix the housing market?

The housing market continues to stunt our economic growth. And Conservatives continue to blame Democrat leaders and Progressive policies going back to President Carter for the 2008 crash and its aftermath. This article from the huffington post offers poignant counter-arguments. Who or what is to blame for the poor housing market? What steps can we take to fix it?


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Is the GOP punishing America for electing Obama?

Colorfully and quite provocatively, the author of this piece argues,

Colorfully and quite provocatively, the author of this piece argues, “By now, it is hardly a secret that Republicans have taken every step to subvert the economy to portray President Obama as an ineffective leader. … There is absolutely nothing Republicans have done since President Obama’s inauguration that helps the American people, and in fact, they have used every means possible to cause pain and suffering for 98% of the population.”

What are your thoughts on these and other statements made in the article? Do you agree with the author?

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Rammifications of the "life begins at conception" amendment

GOP candidates Romney and Huckabee have offered support in their campaigns for what would be a “life begins at conception” amendment. In this video Rachel Maddow, and one very bright Iowa voter, deftly detail potential problems with this. Since hormonal birth control (including the pill, the nuvaring, and IUDs) operates in part by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg (and not necessarily by preventing fertilization in the first place), this amendment would open the door to a ban on all hormonal forms of birth control. Additionally, miscarriage could then be considered a criminal offense requiring a court investigation. What are your thoughts?

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The role of vocational training in high schools

In a plan in Gov Walker’s special session on jobs, Wisconsin High Schools would be allowed to drop English and Math requirements to set up vocational-only diplomas, which would “carry the same weight as regular high school degrees” Proponents argue it would allow for specific job training. Opponents argue it would create a two-tiered educational system. How would you respond to this plan? What types of problems might arise from these kinds of systems? What role should vocational training take in high schools?

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Reflections on President Bill Clinton's suggestions for fixing the economy

Among President Bill Clinton’s suggestions for fixing the economy and create jobs include “adopt[ing] strategies designed to unleash the massive amount of capital that is accumulated but not being invested”, “resolution of the home mortgage crisis” and bringing back manufacturing and increasing exports. What are your thoughts on these and the other ideas presented in this summary of Fortune’s interview with President Clinton?

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Thoughts on Rick Perry's flat tax?

Republican Rick Perry is set to propose a flat tax. What is your opinion about implementing a flat tax?

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Do safety regulations help or impair job creation?

This article by Ralph Nader addresses the role of businesses and safety regulations in job creation. While business owners (and the GOP) often argue that safety regulations cuts into efficiency and profits making it more difficult to create jobs, as Nader states,

“About 20 years ago, professor Nicholas Ashford of MIT testified before Congress in great detail about how and where safety regulations create jobs and make the economy more efficient in avoiding the costs of preventable injuries and disease.”

What are your thoughts on these arguments?

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Should Occupy protestors work with the President and the Democrats?

The Occupy movements have been gaining attention and momentum. Yet, protest organizers and the Democrat leaders don't seem to be embracing one another. Why is this? Should Occupy protestors work with the President and the Democrats? If so, how can a productive and efficient coalition be formed?


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What advice would Dr.King give to current progressive movements?

Today a dedication was held at Martin Luther King Jr's monument in DC. In this article, his son writes of his enduring legacy. What advice would Dr.King give to current progressive movements? What can today's Progressive activists learn from the Civil Rights movements of King's time?

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Global Occupation - What should be done next?

“Taking a cue from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, protesters across the world took to the streets Saturday to demonstrate against the banks and what they say is corporate greed. Organizers of the global protests said there would be demonstrations in 951 cities in 82 countries.”

Occupy Madrid, which first inspired the OWS protests, had 300,000 attendees. Internationally, London, Toronto, Sydney, Rome and others held camp-outs in support. This is in addition to the thousands of participants at each of the 10 major Occupy protest sites across the US many more elsewhere. What does the level of national and global support mean for OWS? Now that there is national and international support, what should OWS do next to create political change?

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Bill Blinton's speech on Occupy Wall Street

Former President Clinton stated,

" “So all I would say to the people in the Occupy Wall Street crowd [is]...They need to be for something specific and not just against something because if you’re just against something, somebody else will fill the vacuum you create.”

Do you think that Occupy is simply a short-term blip on the radar? Or can protestors , as President Clinton suggests, articulate and rally behind specific policies and reforms?

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What would you say to a Wall Street CEO?

Before the Occupy Wall Street protests, the focus of the 98/99% was to lobby politicians to fix taxes so that the rich pay their fair share. Dialogue or conversation with Wall Street CEOs was not demanded. But since OWS protests are appealing directly to Wall Street CEOs, it’s clear that we now ask for something like dialogue or negotiation directly with CEOs. While responses from Wall Street have more typically consisted of derision, mockery, dismissal, or even antagonism, notably, on Wednesday Citi CEO Vikram Pandit said, “trust has been broken between financial institutions and citizens” and that he’d be happy to talk to the Occupy Wall Street protestors “anytime they want.” -- What kind of realistic dialogue would you like to see between the people and CEO such as Vikram Pandit? If you had ½ an hour with a Wall Street CEO (conversation only!!!), what would you say/ask?

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on the repeal of Topeka, Kansas' domestic violence law

“Tuesday, the City Council of Topeka, Kan., voted to repeal the local law that makes domestic violence a crime. The vote is being called a cost-cutting measure, as neither the City Council nor the district attorney wants to foot the bill to prosecute the cases.”

Beyond the more obvious concerns that this will allow perpetrators of domestic violence to remain on the streets, some argue that is another example of budget cuts that target women and children. What are your thoughts on this measure? Do states have the right to decide what type of violence constitutes prosecutable violence? Or this there some external standard they have to uphold? To what extent can budget concerns be allowed to affect cases of deciding what is prosecutable crime?

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The panic of the corporatocracy

“The [Occupy Wall Street] protests have already elicited a remarkably hysterical reaction from Wall Street, the super-rich in general, and politicians and pundits who reliably serve the interests of the wealthiest hundredth of a percent. And this reaction tells you something important — namely, that the extremists threatening American values are what F.D.R. called “economic royalists,” not the people camping in Zuccotti Park.”

What are your thoughts on Wall Street’s responses to the OWS protests? Do these attempts of various GOP politicians and talking heads to denounce OWS demonstrate panic or concern on the part of the corporatocracy? What does this mean for the future of OWS?


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Have the 'Economic Royalists' from the FDR era returned?

“What [these ‘economic royalists’] really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike"

Do you think, as the author of the article argues, that this FDR quote from 1936 is applicable to today’s Tea Party? How can this comparison help us today to defend the values & institutions we hold dear?

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Censorship of Occupy Wall Street

It’s clear that corporate-controlled media sources had been doing everything in their power to not cover OWS. But more disturbingly, in cyberspace, there has also been censorship. Many suspect that Twitter blocked it from ‘trending’ in the US. More disturbingly, for a while, Yahoo mail’s spam and malware filters blocked all emails containing the phrase or URLs pointing to sites with the phrase. How can we ensure our freedom of speech isn’t filtered across cyberspace? What can we do to prevent the next politically sensitive topic from reaching this level of censorship? Or are we destined to become like China?

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Unemployment gap among young workers and minorities

The most recent jobs report found that:

“Young workers and minorities have been particularly hard hit by the economic crisis. Unemployment in September was 17.4% among workers age 16-24. Among workers under 25 not enrolled in school, unemployment averaged 21.6% for those with a high school degree & 9.6% for those with a college degree. Unemployment in September was 16% for African-American workers and 11.3% for Hispanic workers.”

What can we do to bridge the unemployment gap between the races and age groups? Do these numbers indicate problems with the availability of education, discrimination against race or age in companies’ hiring practices or some other cause?

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How to fix the problem of shortage of teachers?

While many Americans struggle to find jobs, some school systems are facing another problem altogether. In Milwaukee, they're struggling to find certified teachers to fill vacancies in high schools, especially in the maths and sciences. How do we rectify this problem? How can we support education so as to attract more people to the profession of teaching?

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Thoughts On 'Is Soaking the Rich...Dangerous??'

The Tax Policy Center's Howard Gleckman argues that there are some downsides to the tax hike on the rich. Gleckman's chief concern seems to be that the surtax will torpedo any realistic effort at long-term tax reform. He argues “With rates this high, the political pressure to protect tax preferences will be enormous.” As MotherJones reports, “Gleckman's complaint here is that the surtax, while good politics, spells trouble for long-term tax policy.” What are your thoughts? What is the best long-term plan? Immediate tax hikes on the wealthy which immediately benefit the country but make reforming the faulty tax laws more difficult? or working to reform the tax code itself to eliminate the loopholes in place?

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How should Progressives respond to Herman Cain?

Why is Herman Cain a rising star in the GOP/tea-party movement? Should Progressives see him as a serious threat? How would you respond to his recent claims that the Wall Street protesters are "Un-American"?

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President Obama’s news conference and Occupy Wall street

President Obama and other Democratic leaders were sharply criticized last year for their lack of support of the Wisconsin Union protests. During yesterday’s news conference, President Obama seemed to speak in (slight) favor of the movement, stating that the OWS movement demonstrates how frustrated the American people are with the current economic situation and their demand for accountability. (See p.4-5 of transcript). What are your thoughts on the President’s responses at the news conference? What role would you like to see the President taking in these wildly spreading protests?

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"From Wisconsin to Wall Street, an Economic Reckoning"

"Both the defense of unions [in Wisconsin] and Occupy Wall Street, which is broader in its definition of the problem, are responding to two or three decades of increasing economic inequality and, until fairly recently, the inability of progressives to address those things."

With the rise in participation by labor union groups, many news media have started to comment on the similarities between the two movements. What are your thoughts on these comparisons? Why didn’t the Madison protests produce change? How can this be rectified with the Occupy Wall Street protests? What do you see being the future of Occupy Wall Street? What other progressive causes and groups might find a home with this group?

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Can the left get its own 'tea party'?

The author of this article states:

"What's been missing in the Obama presidency is the productive interaction with outside groups that Franklin Roosevelt enjoyed with the labor movement and Lyndon B. Johnson with the civil rights movement. Both pushed FDR and LBJ in more progressive directions while also lending them support against their conservative adversaries."

Have grassroots progressive movements and the Obama administration worked together effectively? If not, why? Do you think the left needs its own 'tea party'?


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President Obama's HRC Dinner speech

President Obama in his speech at the HRC dinner Saturday, said

“Now, ultimately, these debates we’re having are about more than just politics …This is a contest of values. ..This is a fundamental debate about who we are as a nation… I don’t believe -- we don’t believe -- in a small America, where we let our roads crumble, we let our schools fall apart, where we stand by while teachers are laid off and science labs are shut down, and kids are dropping out…”

What are your thoughts this rhetoric of “big America” vs. “small America”? Does this speech indicate any new directions for his policies? Other thoughts or comments?

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Occupy Wall Street

What are your thoughts on the first official statement from Occupy Wall Street? Do you agree with the missive? What do you think about the methods of protesting used so far? What would you suggest be the next step?

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President's handling of our national security and foreign policy

This article's author claims:

"Obama has turned around the global perception of the United States as a “go-it-alone” superpower, a concept born out of our regrettable unprovoked foray into Iraq. He worked with NATO to help facilitate the eradication of Libya’s dictatorial government while keeping U.S. boots off the ground in that nation. He took a less active and more diplomatic approach when dissidents pushed for democratic change in Egypt and Tunisia."

Do you agree? What do you think of the President's handling of our national security and foreign policy?


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