Haiku Politics

The headline from a University of Michigan press release reads, "Consumer confidence stabilizes as gap widens between income groups".

Now here is the juicy bit from this article:

"Higher prices have driven a wedge between upper and lower income households that now extends well beyond their personal financial situation," according to Richard Curtin, the Director of the University of Michigan'’s Survey of Consumers. Comparing households in the lower one-third of the income distribution with those in the top third, the difference in the overall measure of consumer sentiment was larger than any time since the early 1980's. "Households in the bottom third of the income distribution held significantly more negative views about their own financial prospects as well as a more negative outlook for employment and economic growth," Curtin explained.

The gap between income groups is quite different than anything observed in the prior half century. In the past, the gap grew in size immediately following a recession, as upper income households were quicker to recognize and benefit from an improving economy. "The current situation is exactly the opposite as the gap is now due to lower income households voicing much less favorable economic expectations when the economy is closer to the expansion'’s peak," Curtin noted.

Thus we have yet another example of how our so-called "booming economy" is booming considerably more for some people than for others. The trend in modern American capitalism is for the rich to grow richer, and the poor to get poorer. Rising tides aren't lifting all boats; they are only lifting the luxury yachts, while the beaten up canoes are slowly filling with water and starting to sink. But you knew that, didn't you?

Posted by The Haikuist at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

The headline reads, "Pay Raises Struggle to Outpace Inflation". But if you read the article, you find that, in fact, pay raises may be losing that struggle. According to AP Business Writer Madlen Read, "U.S. employers are planning to increase base salaries by 3.7 percent this year", but "the Labor Department's overall Consumer Price Index...is on pace for a 4.7 percent rise for 2006."

In real terms, that means that workers are making less money than they were before.

Meanwhile, back in April, a study was published reporting that, according to the CNN headline, "Bush tax cuts making rich richer" and "the wealthiest Americans are reaping huge gains from reduced taxes on investment income".

Funny how that works.

Posted by The Haikuist at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Cindy Sheehan has bought a 5-acre plot of land in Crawford, Texas. This is in advance of her antiwar vigil in Crawford that will take place in late August and early September. Way to go, Cindy!

Posted by The Haikuist at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

If you are thinking about buying an iPod, you might want to consider that they are being manufactured by sweatshop labor.

Posted by The Haikuist at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nancy Pelosi has told her capitalist friends in Wall Street that "if Democrats succeed next year in rolling back President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, the money would be used to reduce the federal deficit -- not for new spending."

Thus Pelosi assures Wall Street that no progressive social programs will come out of the Democratic Party. Not surprising, is it? Nor is it surprising that Pelosi is even going out of her way to reassure Wall Street that she will not threaten the interests of the ruling class or that she will do nothing to advance the interests of American's less privileged. She is clearly continuing in the Clintonian tradition when she caters to Wall Street. One thing is certain: the Democrats will not serve as a progressive force in Washington if they take control of the House.

Posted by The Haikuist at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here's a non-shocker of a news item--it seems that Democratic legislators in California are beholden to the oil industry.

According to this story in today's San Francisco Chronicle, "oil company lobbyists have helped tie up or kill almost a dozen bills considered hostile to the industry, including a plan to tax windfall profits and a proposal to regulate refineries as public utilities."

Which party controls the California legislature? You guessed it--the Democrats. The article reports:

Backed by profits last year that ran into the billions of dollars, oil giants like Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co. and Occidental Petroleum -- all active in California politics -- have almost unlimited resources to throw into political campaigns.

Chevron, for example, spent $1.2 million in political contributions in 2005 and $1.7 million in 2004. So far, the company has donated $57,000 this year to candidates but has put an additional $4 million into an effort to help defeat a ballot measure that would tax oil production to pay for alternative-fuel programs.

Perhaps what is funniest about this is the reaction of a spokesman for a consumer group, who complained, "Democrats are supposed to care about people who are being forced to choose between filling up their cars and having more food on the table. It is insane that in a state where Democrats control both houses of the Legislature, they can't attack this issue." The naivete that lies behind that statement speaks volumes.

Combating this kind of faulty belief that the Democrats speak for the common folk, rather than for big business, is the biggest challenge facing the left today. When a consumer advocate who is presented with a clear example of how the Democratic party favors big business over the interests of consumers simply tries to resolve this discrepancy between expectation and reality by declaring it "insane", we can see that we have a long way to go.

The task facing the left is clear--we must convince people that the Democratic Party is simply one of the two parties of the duopoly that governs on behalf of the capitalist ruling class. Only by doing that can we ever hope to free this country of its current political morass.

Posted by The Haikuist at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

I ran across some interesting blog entries here and here regarding an attempt by the Democratic Party in Illinois to keep a socialist candidate off the ballot.

The Democrats, as we can see, will never fail at resorting to undemocratic tactics to keep left wing challengers from running for office.

Posted by The Haikuist at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

According to this item from the SFGate politics blog, Barbara Boxer plans to campaign on behalf of her Senate colleague, the prowar imperialist Joe Lieberman.

This illustrates the point that when you sign on to the Democratic Party, you sign on to the whole package. Although Boxer is supposedly a more "progressive" member of the Senate, the reality is that, for professional politicians within the Democratic Party, loyalty to the party apparatus is always more important than any issue. Boxer's stand on the Iraq War is not as progressive as many liberals characterize it anyway, since she has not called for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and her failing on this issue is a telling sign of how off base the Democrats really are. Still, her support for an outright hawk like Lieberman only further illustrates this point. In fact, it belies the myth that many progressives hold onto when they think that somehow you can separate "good" Democrats from "bad" ones. When you support a Democratic Party politician, you have thrown your lot with the party apparatus. You can't separate Democratic Party politicians from their party, and Boxer's support for Lieberman illustrates this beautifully.

Posted by The Haikuist at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments