March 2, 2004

As I Said Below, Cutting Social Programs is Bullshit... Look What Doesn't Get Cut http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2004/03/02/transition/ President Bush is getting quite a reputation, even among fiscal hawks in his own party, for not spending our money wisely. Now comes a report that he wants to spend $1 million to "train" people who would work for him if he wins a second term. The request is unprecedented, the AP says. It's the first time a president has sought to use public transition funds to prepare officials to enter a re-elected administration. Meanwhile, Bush is proposing cuts in various programs. Critics say it's a nervy move. "It's unbelievable that the same budget proposal that asks Congress to cut money for education, veterans and port security would propose to set aside $1 million to take care of themselves," said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees White House spending.   11:12:57 PM    comment []

Paul Krugman: Still Kicking Ass The General loves Paul Krugman. The guy is kicking ass and taking names. From today: ....There are three lessons in this tale. First, "starving the beast" is no longer a hypothetical scenario — it's happening as we speak. For decades, conservatives have sought tax cuts, not because they're affordable, but because they aren't. Tax cuts lead to budget deficits, and deficits offer an excuse to squeeze government spending. Second, squeezing spending doesn't mean cutting back on wasteful programs nobody wants. Social Security and Medicare are the targets because that's where the money is. We might add that ideologues on the right have never given up on their hope of doing away with Social Security altogether. If Mr. Bush wins in November, we can be sure that they will move forward on privatization — the creation of personal retirement accounts. These will be sold as a way to "save" Social Security (from a nonexistent crisis), but will, in fact, undermine its finances. And that, of course, is the point. Finally, the right-wing corruption of our government system — the partisan takeover of institutions that are supposed to be nonpolitical — continues, and even extends to the Federal Reserve. The Bush White House has made it clear that it will destroy the careers of scientists, budget experts, intelligence operatives and even military officers who don't toe the line. But Mr. Greenspan should have been immune to such pressures, and he should have understood that the peculiarity of his position — as an unelected official who wields immense power — carries with it an obligation to stand above the fray. By using his office to promote a partisan agenda, he has betrayed his institution, and the nation.   When will people learn: (1) "Liberal" is not a dirty word, and (2) The right-wing tearing down of public infrastructure in the United States -- in the form of cutting social programs in the name of "self-reliance" and other bullshit rich people use to demonize the poor they helped create -- is not a solution to the real problem; privatization of essential social programs will only benefit the rich and destroy whatever sense of civility remains. Corporate corruption is the problem. Not government.   11:00:02 PM    comment []

Haiti: A Crisis Made in the United States http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/570/570p18.htm Roberto Jorquera & Neville Spencer The crisis that Haiti is facing is, however, not simply due to the policies of the Aristide government, but is partly a consequence of US policies. Since the beginning of the century, the US has intervened in Haiti in a similar fashion to the way it has in the rest of Latin America. In 1915, US marines occupied the country for 20 years to make sure that it would pay its debt to the US. After their withdrawal in 1934, the US installed Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier who was succeeded by his son Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier. Baby Doc was eventually forced out of power in 1985 after massive protests against his notoriously corrupt and repressive regime. Aristide, a radical priest influenced by liberation theology, was first elected president of Haiti in 1990 in a landslide victory to his Lavalas Movement. His election was based on a program that promoted social reform and a push to dismantle the bureaucracy that had developed under the Duvalier dictatorships. Within seven months of his election, the old remnants of the dictatorship staged a military coup that forced Aristide into exile, while US-backed death squads killed thousands of his supporters. In 1994, the US supported an operation dubbed “restoring democracy” which returned Aristide to power, though only once he had signed agreements to implement neoliberal economic policies and accepted the dictates of International Monetary Fund. However, battling popular opposition to such neoliberal policies from his own supporters, Aristide dragged his feet on their implementation and still remained prone to occasional bursts of anti-US and anti-imperialist rhetoric. Thus, while Aristide was less of a threat to the interests of US imperialism and the local ruling class than he had been, he was far from being their ideal candidate. But while he has commanded overwhelming popular support, there has been little that they could do about him — short of engineering another coup. Read the rest at the link above.   2:20:01 PM    comment []

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