UPDATED 10/31/08 6:30 AM - WITH NEW INFORMATION ON MD, VA, NH & IN.
So…we are the world’s greatest democracy? Then I sure as hell feel sorry for the folks in Lebanon, Georgia, the Ukraine and Iraq. In America, the so-called “world’s greatest democracy,” the populace is supposed to wield supreme power through the electoral process. Riiiiight. And if you believe that, you probably also believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim…and Kay Hagan is an atheist (but more on that later).
For those of you keeping score…and you should ALL be keeping score, I will provide information and links to stories of voter suppression, election shenanigans and other methods employed by our revered political parties to defraud Americans of their power and rights.
By the way - if you want to add to this list, or learn of something I've missed (and I'm sure there is a lot out there) feel free send me a note or leave a comment.
North Carolina
We start in North Carolina, home of Senator Elizabeth Dole. Lizzy is currently running an ad that would make Lee Atwater blush. In it, she accuses her opponent, Kay Hagan, of being a godless atheist (isn’t that redundant?). It is one of the ugliest ads I’ve seen…and, as you probably expect, completely off base. Hagan, as it turns out, is an elder at her Presbyterian church, in addition to being a Sunday school teacher. Liz Dole should be ashamed.
As for the election, some are predicting that as many as 100,000 voters in NC can expect to be disenfranchised due to confusing ballots…and legal maneuvering by the RNC. If you vote for a straight party line, your ballot automatically precludes you from choosing a president. That must me done separately. Unfortunately for the elderly, poor and new voters…this information is not being widely publicized. And instead of making it easy for Americans to vote…North Carolina is doing their best to exclude citizens from the process. The problem also occurred in 2004…so this is not some new development. It just happened to work in the Republican’s favor then…and they hope that it will again this year.
Colorado
In Colorado, more than 30,000 voters have been illegally purged by republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman. A suit was filed against Coffman that claims voters have been removed from the rolls based on a faulty system for identifying illegitimate voters, and within 90 days of the election -- both of which violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Florida
Republican secretary of state Kurt Browning has enacted a scheme to reject voter registration applications that failed to pass an overly rigid computer match test. The system disqualifies voters based on nothing more than a missing middle initial on their voter form. In EARLY VOTING alone, more than 12,000 voters have been prevented from casting a ballot.
A man in Florida is posing as a Democratic volunteer for a congressional candidate, in reality he is a consultant of the republican incumbent, he is taking ballots from Democrats and promising to deliver them. Guess what? Those ballots are now harder to find than Jimmy Hoffa.
Indiana
The state GOP sued to shut down early voting centers in predominantly black cities in the northern part of the state.
Furthermore, the republican mayor's office in Indianapolis has moved 31 voting locations after learning that Obama had a clear lead in local polling. He has made no effort to notify citizens about the changes.
Maryland
The Washington Post obtained instructions from the GOP on how to intimidate both voters and election officials:
"A recently distributed guide for Republican poll watchers in Maryland spells out how to aggressively challenge the credentials of voters and urges these volunteers to tell election judges they could face jail time if a challenge is ignored."
Just let them try to challenge my vote.
Michigan
Ever heard of voter caging? Neither had I, until this election. But in Michigan it turns out that republicans are going after victims of the housing crisis and a horrible economy…trying to purge them from voter rolls.
Montana
Republicans challenged the eligibility of 6,000 people in democratic-leaning counties, based on discrepancies in their addresses. After it emerged that one of the challenged voters was a World War II veteran and another a member of the Army Reserve about to ship out to Kuwait, the move was condemned by Montana republicans. The challenge was ultimately withdrawn and the man behind, it, Jacob Eaton, the GOP’s executive director, quit.
New Hampshire
I may just have to move to New Hampshire! They have made it a Class B felony to suppress votes. I guess they mean it when they say "Live free, or die!"
New Mexico
New Mexico republicans held a press conference to release the names of ten voters it alleged to have voted fraudulently in the June Democratic primary. ACORN helped establish that the voters, almost all Hispanic, were in fact legitimate. As it turns out, GOP lawyer Pat Rogers hired a private investigator who intimidated some of the voters by going to their homes to question them about their voting status. Rogers, the private investigator and the state party are now being sued for voter intimidation by several voting-rights groups.
Let us not forget that New Mexico is the home of David Iglesias, the republican states attorney who lost his job for not following republican mandates to bring baseless charges of voter fraud in 2004. It is well documented in his book, In Justice. Here’s more about Pat Rogers and his role in the firing of Iglesias.
Ohio
Well documented by Robert F. Kennedy and others for the nefarious actions of the RNC in 2004, Ohio will certainly be a battleground state in more than one sense. Republicans are already mobilizing to challenge the legitimacy of Democratic voters. Hopefully this time around the Democrats will be better prepared.
Pennsylvania
More legal shenanigans. The state GOP is suing to throw out more than 140,000 registrations collected by ACORN. You might remember them from John McCain’s sober warning that they might represent the greatest threat ever known to democracy? Yeah, right. Lest we all forget…it’s only VOTER fraud when someone actually tries to vote illegally. And it is well documented that this is an infinitesimal proportion of votes actually cast. The republicans’ hope to through out hundreds of thousands of legitimate registrations…in order to catch the one or two that might sneak through.
Virginia
This one would be funny…if there weren’t so many gullible people in America. A flier is being circulated advising Democrats to vote on November 5th. All those pesky new registrants have created such havoc, that election officials have decided that Republicans will vote, as planned, on the 4th…but Democrats will have the luxury of an added day. Oddly enough, I got several e-mails to this effect in both of the last two elections. I guess they confused enough people that Republicans decided to try it again this year.
On a more serious note, the NY Times is reporting that GOP election officials are trying to intimidate students from voting in Virginia (where they are attending college). The GOP release warned that students could no longer be claimed as dependents on their parents’ tax returns, a statement the Internal Revenue Service says is incorrect, and could lose scholarships or coverage under their parents’ car and health insurance. Neither claim is true - but that isn't stopping the GOP from trying to suppress votes in a State that is seen as crucial to a McCain victory.
Here is an article from 2006 on republican tactics in the old dominion, lest you think these shenanigans are restricted solely to this election.
West Virginia
This is the one that keeps me up at night. Electronic voting that can be easily manipulated by most computer geeks with a GED and an axe to grind. In WV, voters selected Barack Obama, only to have their vote flipped to John McCain. Pollsters comforted them by saying, “don’t worry…I’m sure your vote was counted.” But that is cold comfort for someone already burned in 2000 (Florida) and 2004 (Ohio). This is one on which to keep an eye…because the power isn’t in how many votes are cast, but who counts them (and how).
Wisconsin
After failing in an attempt to purge new voter registrations, republican attorney general J.B. Van Hollen announced the formation of a "voter fraud task force" which involves stationing 50 state prosecutors and other law-enforcement agents at the polls on election day. This is clearly a move to intimidate voters. Is that what our democracy is all about???
Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg. This doesn’t even include the restrictive voter ID laws and other tactics employed by the ironically named “American center for voting rights.” It doesn't include Diebold - whose machines (and political leanings) are still very much in play EIGHT years after they helped to steal the election in Florida.
I’ll update this as more news trickles in…but there is SO much out there already…it could turn into a full time job. And frankly, the more it piles up, the more depressed I get. And the more sure I am that Republicans will stoop to anything to maintain power. Even if it means putting our democracy into a meat grinder.
Other articles of note:
From the Brennan Center for Justice, a paper on voter caging.
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune, an article on voter suppression.
From the Daily Nation another article on voter suppression.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
A New Hope?
In last Sunday's New York Times, Frank Rich wrote an apologia for male, white voters entitled, "In defense of white Americans." In it, he asserts that the media, not reality, is the fuel that propels fears of the Bradley Effect redux. He also asserts that race will not play as much of a factor as many expect...or in McPalin's case, hope.
While I hope the preponderance of male, white Americans will put what's right before what's white, I'm neither as confident nor as optimistic as Rich. He seems to think that the McPalin gambit of pandering to racist fears will backfire. I hope so, because the Republicans have bet all their chips on the race card. But what we've seen from republican politics in the Karl Rove era is that fear is the most frequently used arrow in the republican quiver, and they've used it effectively.
With all respect to Frank Rich, I think he is being very naive. Just because they aren't wearing sheets and burning crosses at McPalin rallies, it doesn't mean they have purged the fear and hatred that undermines much of what is good about our society and our democracy (inclusiveness). You don't even have to listen very closely to pick up on the not-so-subtle language of the us/them racist argument. It's Michelle Bachman accusing Obama of being "un-american"; it's Sarah Palin calling red states "real america" and "pro american"; it's Nancy Pfotenhauer calling southern Virginia, the "real Virginia." At every level, republican discourse is built on divisiveness, fear and hatred. I hope I'm wrong, but Frank Rich, I'm afraid, underestimates the power of the dark side.
While I hope the preponderance of male, white Americans will put what's right before what's white, I'm neither as confident nor as optimistic as Rich. He seems to think that the McPalin gambit of pandering to racist fears will backfire. I hope so, because the Republicans have bet all their chips on the race card. But what we've seen from republican politics in the Karl Rove era is that fear is the most frequently used arrow in the republican quiver, and they've used it effectively.
With all respect to Frank Rich, I think he is being very naive. Just because they aren't wearing sheets and burning crosses at McPalin rallies, it doesn't mean they have purged the fear and hatred that undermines much of what is good about our society and our democracy (inclusiveness). You don't even have to listen very closely to pick up on the not-so-subtle language of the us/them racist argument. It's Michelle Bachman accusing Obama of being "un-american"; it's Sarah Palin calling red states "real america" and "pro american"; it's Nancy Pfotenhauer calling southern Virginia, the "real Virginia." At every level, republican discourse is built on divisiveness, fear and hatred. I hope I'm wrong, but Frank Rich, I'm afraid, underestimates the power of the dark side.
Monday, October 20, 2008
He's John McCain...and he approves these messages
When the rats desert the sinking ship, the ship's captain is supposed to go down with dignity. Instead, John McCain is promulgating a war of fear and hatred designed to portray Barack Obama as a friend to terrorists, among other things.
It is probably unfair to characterize as rats Bill Kristol, Peggy Noonan, Christopher Buckley, The Chicago Tribune, Colin Powell and the dozens of thoughtful republicans who have come to repudiate the strategies and tactics of John McCain. Who could blame them? At a time when this country is in dire straits and in dire need, McCain has employed the same divisive tactics used against him in the 2000 elections...and against Kerry in the 2004 race. McCain has even gone so far as to hire the same people who spread lies and attacked his character...to do the same to Barack Obama.
McCain vehemently asserted in the last presidential debate that he would reject the lies and hatred so frequently seen in, among other places, Sarah Palin rallies. But, sadly, that appears to be lip service. As his campaign continues to sink, so do McCain's judgement, temperament and ethics. He is John McCain. And he will say or do anything to get elected. No matter how much it damages the country and his hard-earned reputation.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Politics on Ice
Sarah Palin might be the world's best known "hockey mom" - but Philadelphia hockey fans welcomed her with a chorus of boos when the wannabee VP dropped the puck to open the Flyers' season.
Even pimping her daughter "Piper" in a Flyer's jersey wasn't enough to stave off the boos.
This carefully orchestrated event took place at the Wachovia Center, and I suppose there is some irony in that the corporate sponsor for the stadium is a failing bank. But this wasn't just a ploy by Palin to tap into her target demographic (all white and, in Philly's case, none too bright); this was a feather in the cap for Flyer's owner Ed Snyder. Snyder is a generous source of money for the Republican party...and I'm sure he's going to get his money's worth if Palin is elected. Judging by the cronyism Palin employs in Alaska...he'll probably wind up as the Fed Chairman...or a Supreme Court judge.
So...when she's not exhorting her deranged supporters to direct death threats and racial epithets at Barack Obama...she is sullying the reputation of my favorite sport. I'm just glad she didn't try this stunt at a Washington Capitals game. It's made me a firm believer that there should not only be a separation of church and state, but of church and state and pucks.
Even pimping her daughter "Piper" in a Flyer's jersey wasn't enough to stave off the boos.
This carefully orchestrated event took place at the Wachovia Center, and I suppose there is some irony in that the corporate sponsor for the stadium is a failing bank. But this wasn't just a ploy by Palin to tap into her target demographic (all white and, in Philly's case, none too bright); this was a feather in the cap for Flyer's owner Ed Snyder. Snyder is a generous source of money for the Republican party...and I'm sure he's going to get his money's worth if Palin is elected. Judging by the cronyism Palin employs in Alaska...he'll probably wind up as the Fed Chairman...or a Supreme Court judge.
So...when she's not exhorting her deranged supporters to direct death threats and racial epithets at Barack Obama...she is sullying the reputation of my favorite sport. I'm just glad she didn't try this stunt at a Washington Capitals game. It's made me a firm believer that there should not only be a separation of church and state, but of church and state and pucks.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Joe Lieberman's Day of Atonement
As we sit on the cusp of Yom Kippur, I am obliged to write about America's best-known Jewish politician: Joe Lieberman.
I find it hard to reconcile that Lieberman's name once graced the bumper of my car. There is no resemblance between the man who once shared the ticket with Al Gore, and the one who now stumps for republican parvenu Sarah Palin.
Over the last six years, Lieberman has shown a mule-like devotion to the ill-conceived and totally unnecessary war in Iraq. It nearly cost Lieberman his seat in the Senate, and it led to a split with the one party that thought enough of him to put him on the ticket. But as to the war in Iraq, he not only refuses to admit that the invasion was a mistake, he promulgates the Republican "big lie" about the surge. News flash, the surge is only "working" because we've spent hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars bribing Sunni war lords to ease up on insurrectionist activities.
Furthermore, for someone who interjects "faith" into much of his public oratory...Lieberman seems ignorantly detached from the devastation in human life that the war has caused. For someone who once embraced Jewish Orthodoxy, he seems unconcerned that the war in Iraq has given rise to Iran, the biggest threat to Israel in the region. He not only needs to atone for his blind support of the war, but for the damage it is doing to Israel's security.
While Lieberman's paramour, John McCain, has transformed into a tool of the extreme right-wing base of the republican party, Joe himself has morphed into a tool for John McCain. Not only did he get a prime speaking slot at McCain's coming out party, he was on the short list for VP choices (as if the Christian neocons would let that happen). If that wasn't degrading enough, now Lieberman is out stumping for Sarah Palin. He actually told a Florida crowd: "With your help--and God's help--(Sarah Palin) will be the next vice president of the United States." Is there no end to the shame he will bring upon himself? With God's help? I can only assume he is now praying to a different God.
Joe Lieberman is a sellout to this country and to his faith. He is a collaborator, plain and simple, and it is time for Lieberman to atone for his blind devotion to this war and the Christian zealots that comprise the Republican base. I fervently hope that Joe has a "come to Jesus" moment during Yom Kippur...and that he somehow atones for whatever it is that has driven him to such an extreme.
I find it hard to reconcile that Lieberman's name once graced the bumper of my car. There is no resemblance between the man who once shared the ticket with Al Gore, and the one who now stumps for republican parvenu Sarah Palin.
Over the last six years, Lieberman has shown a mule-like devotion to the ill-conceived and totally unnecessary war in Iraq. It nearly cost Lieberman his seat in the Senate, and it led to a split with the one party that thought enough of him to put him on the ticket. But as to the war in Iraq, he not only refuses to admit that the invasion was a mistake, he promulgates the Republican "big lie" about the surge. News flash, the surge is only "working" because we've spent hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars bribing Sunni war lords to ease up on insurrectionist activities.
Furthermore, for someone who interjects "faith" into much of his public oratory...Lieberman seems ignorantly detached from the devastation in human life that the war has caused. For someone who once embraced Jewish Orthodoxy, he seems unconcerned that the war in Iraq has given rise to Iran, the biggest threat to Israel in the region. He not only needs to atone for his blind support of the war, but for the damage it is doing to Israel's security.
While Lieberman's paramour, John McCain, has transformed into a tool of the extreme right-wing base of the republican party, Joe himself has morphed into a tool for John McCain. Not only did he get a prime speaking slot at McCain's coming out party, he was on the short list for VP choices (as if the Christian neocons would let that happen). If that wasn't degrading enough, now Lieberman is out stumping for Sarah Palin. He actually told a Florida crowd: "With your help--and God's help--(Sarah Palin) will be the next vice president of the United States." Is there no end to the shame he will bring upon himself? With God's help? I can only assume he is now praying to a different God.
Joe Lieberman is a sellout to this country and to his faith. He is a collaborator, plain and simple, and it is time for Lieberman to atone for his blind devotion to this war and the Christian zealots that comprise the Republican base. I fervently hope that Joe has a "come to Jesus" moment during Yom Kippur...and that he somehow atones for whatever it is that has driven him to such an extreme.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Making sense of the VP debates
Those anxiously waiting for Sarah Palin to implode in last night's vice presidential debate were probably disappointed with the outcome. The debate resembled a conversation between a human, and a doll with a pull string in its back. No matter what you asked the doll, the answer you got was pre-programmed, and invariably a non sequitor to the question at hand.
When not displaying the cutesy, Barbie-like characteristics evinced in the Tina Fey SNL skits, Palin lapsed into "Chucky" mode, often trying to skewer the clearly ill-at-ease Joe Biden. Some will view the debate as highly successful for the former almost Miss Alaska. Others will cringe at the prospect of our country in the hands of one so utterly clueless about the grave issues we face as a nation.
Those who went into this debate republicans, likely came away breathing a sigh of relief, and with renewed enthusiasm. She didn't have a melt-down or lapse into stupefied silence. But let's not kid ourselves, Sarah Palin's inclusion on the Republican ticket is nothing short of gendermandering. It is transparent ruse to transform the political landscape by manipulating a key demographic, all the while appeasing the fanatic zealots that constitute the base. If they were so sure that Palin were a qualified candidate, the McCain camp wouldn't have insisted that the format of the debate be altered to prevent the moderator from asking follow-up questions. After the Couric debacle, they stripped the moderator of the ability to hold Palin accountable for actually answering the questions. I guess they were worried that it would distract the Alaskan parvenu from the talking points which she worked so hard to memorize during the last few weeks.
It's no secret that Joe Biden didn't score a unanimous knock-out victory. But Democrats should take heart that Palin was unable to engage on any single issue of substance, proving incapable of defending accusations against McCain on matters of the economy or the war in Iraq. We can all hope the media will pick up on Palin's assertion that she wants to explore the constitutional means by which she can expand the vice president's role in the legislative arena. After eight years of Dick Cheney...that is the last thing we need. Especially from one so ideologically linked to the reigning sith lord.
I think Palin lived up to her very meager expectations. The pull-string doll didn't implode. But the fact remains: the McCain-Palin ticket does not auger well for the fate of this country. Four more years of Bush/Cheney politics would be a disaster. Just saying that you are agents of "change", or that you are "fresh" or a "maverick" doesn't make it so. I thought Biden successfully challenged these misconceptions. Let's pray that Americans were paying attention to the facts last night...and not the winking, smirking marionette. I will try to take comfort in the words of a great Republican president: you can fool some of the people all of the time; and all of the people some of the time...but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
When not displaying the cutesy, Barbie-like characteristics evinced in the Tina Fey SNL skits, Palin lapsed into "Chucky" mode, often trying to skewer the clearly ill-at-ease Joe Biden. Some will view the debate as highly successful for the former almost Miss Alaska. Others will cringe at the prospect of our country in the hands of one so utterly clueless about the grave issues we face as a nation.
Those who went into this debate republicans, likely came away breathing a sigh of relief, and with renewed enthusiasm. She didn't have a melt-down or lapse into stupefied silence. But let's not kid ourselves, Sarah Palin's inclusion on the Republican ticket is nothing short of gendermandering. It is transparent ruse to transform the political landscape by manipulating a key demographic, all the while appeasing the fanatic zealots that constitute the base. If they were so sure that Palin were a qualified candidate, the McCain camp wouldn't have insisted that the format of the debate be altered to prevent the moderator from asking follow-up questions. After the Couric debacle, they stripped the moderator of the ability to hold Palin accountable for actually answering the questions. I guess they were worried that it would distract the Alaskan parvenu from the talking points which she worked so hard to memorize during the last few weeks.
It's no secret that Joe Biden didn't score a unanimous knock-out victory. But Democrats should take heart that Palin was unable to engage on any single issue of substance, proving incapable of defending accusations against McCain on matters of the economy or the war in Iraq. We can all hope the media will pick up on Palin's assertion that she wants to explore the constitutional means by which she can expand the vice president's role in the legislative arena. After eight years of Dick Cheney...that is the last thing we need. Especially from one so ideologically linked to the reigning sith lord.
I think Palin lived up to her very meager expectations. The pull-string doll didn't implode. But the fact remains: the McCain-Palin ticket does not auger well for the fate of this country. Four more years of Bush/Cheney politics would be a disaster. Just saying that you are agents of "change", or that you are "fresh" or a "maverick" doesn't make it so. I thought Biden successfully challenged these misconceptions. Let's pray that Americans were paying attention to the facts last night...and not the winking, smirking marionette. I will try to take comfort in the words of a great Republican president: you can fool some of the people all of the time; and all of the people some of the time...but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Tonight's the night...
All apologies to Rod Stewart, but one can only hope that it's "gonna be alright."
Tonight's debate HAS to be a decisive victory for Senator Joe Biden. Anything short of that will prolong the polarizing and logic-bereft back-and-forth over whether Palin is suited to be vice president. The simple truth is, she isn't.
Should it concern us that Palin is not able to name one single Supreme Court case? I was able to name six off the top of my head...my wife 5. That doesn't qualify us to be VP, nor does it disqualify Palin to be VP that she can't think of one. But given the crisis in American politics and in our economy, it's time we had smart people making executive decisions for a change. Eight years of letting the class clown run this country is enough. You wouldn't hire a girls' high school lacrosse assistant-coach to manage the Yankees. Why would you choose someone as ill-suited as Palin to potentially run the country?
Even the republicans know Palin isn't qualified, though 35% of them are afraid to admit it. And if Biden can't put her away, if he is too deferential and sensitive to her gender, if he worries too much about making her look "bad" - then we are going to be in for a long four weeks. Palin is doing a great job of making her self look bad every time she opens her mouth...but that is no reason for Joe to treat her with any less respect than he would a competent, male adversary. That is to say, to be a "street fighting man." (Again, apologies to Rod Stewart. And if you don't know who Rod Stewart is...follow me.)
Tonight's debate HAS to be a decisive victory for Senator Joe Biden. Anything short of that will prolong the polarizing and logic-bereft back-and-forth over whether Palin is suited to be vice president. The simple truth is, she isn't.
Should it concern us that Palin is not able to name one single Supreme Court case? I was able to name six off the top of my head...my wife 5. That doesn't qualify us to be VP, nor does it disqualify Palin to be VP that she can't think of one. But given the crisis in American politics and in our economy, it's time we had smart people making executive decisions for a change. Eight years of letting the class clown run this country is enough. You wouldn't hire a girls' high school lacrosse assistant-coach to manage the Yankees. Why would you choose someone as ill-suited as Palin to potentially run the country?
Even the republicans know Palin isn't qualified, though 35% of them are afraid to admit it. And if Biden can't put her away, if he is too deferential and sensitive to her gender, if he worries too much about making her look "bad" - then we are going to be in for a long four weeks. Palin is doing a great job of making her self look bad every time she opens her mouth...but that is no reason for Joe to treat her with any less respect than he would a competent, male adversary. That is to say, to be a "street fighting man." (Again, apologies to Rod Stewart. And if you don't know who Rod Stewart is...follow me.)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
My Proposal for Debt Relief
All this talk about bailing out wall street, insurance companies, banks, etc. has left a sour taste in many Americans' mouths. Therefore, I would like to propose the following debt relieve package:
Every American tax payer would be eligible to apply for up to $10 thousand in debt relief. This could be applied to the following costs: credit card debt, mortgages (home ownership), health care costs or education. Verification of the debt would be mandatory and the payments would be made directly to the institutions holding the debt. Tax paying Americans not in debt would receive $10 thousand in government bonds, with a ten to thirty year maturity date depending on age. Furthermore, households with dependent children under the age of 18 would receive an additional $5 thousand per child (up to two children...capped at $10 thousand). If the family does not qualify for debt relief, the dependent money would be applied to college funds in the states where they live.
Not only would this provide debt relief for millions of Americans who have suffered through difficult financial times, it would stimulate the economy and ensure remuneration to the companies in possession of the consumer debt. It would also stimulate families to invest in their children's education, secure home ownership and...it would all cost much less than the $700 billion bail out of wall street.
OK - on this last statement I'm not entirely sure...but on the surface it seems to be the case. I will leave it to you number crunchers to prove me wrong. Needless to say, this is somewhat tongue in cheek...I'm not an economist, nor do I play one on TV. The practicality of such a proposal is negligible...but it underscores my belief that social welfare is preferable to corporate welfare. If we are going to bail out business for making bad decisions, why not accord citizens the same?
Every American tax payer would be eligible to apply for up to $10 thousand in debt relief. This could be applied to the following costs: credit card debt, mortgages (home ownership), health care costs or education. Verification of the debt would be mandatory and the payments would be made directly to the institutions holding the debt. Tax paying Americans not in debt would receive $10 thousand in government bonds, with a ten to thirty year maturity date depending on age. Furthermore, households with dependent children under the age of 18 would receive an additional $5 thousand per child (up to two children...capped at $10 thousand). If the family does not qualify for debt relief, the dependent money would be applied to college funds in the states where they live.
Not only would this provide debt relief for millions of Americans who have suffered through difficult financial times, it would stimulate the economy and ensure remuneration to the companies in possession of the consumer debt. It would also stimulate families to invest in their children's education, secure home ownership and...it would all cost much less than the $700 billion bail out of wall street.
OK - on this last statement I'm not entirely sure...but on the surface it seems to be the case. I will leave it to you number crunchers to prove me wrong. Needless to say, this is somewhat tongue in cheek...I'm not an economist, nor do I play one on TV. The practicality of such a proposal is negligible...but it underscores my belief that social welfare is preferable to corporate welfare. If we are going to bail out business for making bad decisions, why not accord citizens the same?
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