PDHblog This is a place for members of Progressive
Democrats of Hawai‘i to express their thoughts
and exasperations about political happenings. The opinions and views are not necessarily
those of PDH's steering committee
or membership as a whole.
REGARDING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The U.S. is in the midst of a prolonged economic crisis. Globally, we are also facing a long-term environmental crisis. In recent campaigns, there has been talk of creating “green collar” jobs and reducing our carbon footprint.
1. What steps do you think Congress should take to rebuild our economy on a more sustainable, yet economically viable basis?
As outlined in my subsequent remarks, we must eliminate from national economic policy the trickle-down theory at transferred from the Bush Administration to President Obama’s Administration in the bailout elements of the stimulus. Our policy must be recommitted to ameliorating the maldistribution of income. We must undertake tax reforms that eliminate regressive policies from taxation of the vast majority of Americans, as discussed below and on my website. Those policies will stimulate savings and investment and increase income and wealth in the middle and working classes, which is the best policy for moderating the effects of future economic variations. We must be vigilant in eliminating the type of profiteering that turned our financial sector into a free for all, instead of a reliable national partner for economic safety and stability. We the need creativity that resides there to meet the needs of broadening wealth, but we must insist that all financial instruments are regulated and protected by adequate reserves, among other things. (more…)
This past Saturday, a number of progressive activists, including a number of PDHers come out to Kailua to urge President Obama to do more, to do better.
A number of us have been disappointed by his position on a number of issues, including the health care reform bill that could be much, much better, and has provisions that don’t solve the problem, but rather serve as a boondoggle for private insurance companies. While many of us strongly support a Single-Payer system of health insurance, given the political realities we’re today faced with, we were happy to settle with a ’strong’ public option, which is in danger of being excluded from the final language.
We’re also unhappy about Obama’s decision to send more troops into Afghanistan, escalating a war that’s been waging for the better part of a decade, with no end in sight.
We also haven’t seen the financial reform he promised during the campaign. Instead, its been more of the same complicit favoritism toward the same financial firms and banks who’s irresponsible practices caused the worldwide financial meltdown and current economic crisis.
Below is testimony I’ve submitted for a special committee hearing to consider approaches to deal with the teacher furloughs.
Aloha Senators,
I am here, testifying before you today, on behalf of the Progressive Democrats of Hawaii (PDH).
Let me begin by applauding those Senators who have signed the petition to convene a Special Session of the Legislature to immediately address the financial crisis that continues to plague our state. I believe those Senators truly understand the immediate urgency resulting from the teacher furloughs and that this issue cannot wait to be addressed by the Legislature during the next regular session.
When times were good, our Department of Education (DOE) was struggling to provide a decent education for our children. Test scores in Hawaii repeatedly posted below the national average. And now (more…)
Today, as we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, it is a proper time to reflect upon the meaning of the man’s life work and message–the challenge he made to each of us to rise to our responsibilities, get out of our comfort zone and work to stop injustice.
Dr. Martin Luther King: Struggling Not to Lose Him
Dr. King was murdered in April 1968 in an attempt to silence his voice. We cannot erase that crime and the burden it has placed upon the movement for justice. But we can resist the many “little murders” which are committed every year around his birthday as the political and economic elite, dare I say, “the ruling class,” works to silence or muffle his message. (more…)
so i’ve become a big fan of podcasts. i know they’ve been around a while, but i’m just now getting on the bandwagon, so to speak. i listen (or try to) everyday to a handful of various news podcasts, including the bbc, democracy now, the economist, and the rachel maddow show. its this last one that has, over the last week or so, repeatedly covered or commented on the auto industry bailout… or lack thereof.
admittedly, i was against the bailout of the mortgage industry, big banks, and wall street. there is no doubt in my mind that they, with the help of lax regulation and oversight, have put us in this mess. it was their blind gluttony at the expense of everyone else that has pretty much tanked the US and world economy. (more…)
This started as an email to friends this morning after I read how the House has passed the Wall Street bailout bill. I tracked down how Neil and Mazie voted and was disappointed enough to finally write something on the bailout bill and the underlying crisis. I do this in a hope of stimulating discussion, even debate, among progressives over the need to develop a pragmatic, but progressive approach to the unfolding economic crisis (crises). An approach which should not only be suitable for “salon talk,” but for engaging our neighbors and politicians in taking real world steps towards dealing with it in practical terms.
Which of us are going to be homeless, unemployed (under-employed) and/or financially ruined 12 months from now? Twenty four months from now? Are we going to continue and watch, while uttering “tut, tut” from the sidelines? Let’s start organizing now, while we still have roofs over our heads, electricity to run our computers, and enough money to keep our “always on” high-speed internet connections.
Most immediately, call Neil and Mazies Office NOW. Their phone numbers, and my continuing commentary/kvetch, can be found after the jump!
(Please jump into the discussion by leaving your comments at the end!)
