simple lesson: hoover bad, fdr good

In the grand scheme of things, 75 years is not a very long time. It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt decision to turn away from President Hoover's "pay of the deficit and let the market fix itself" economic policy, and toward one of investment in infrastructure and jobs that stalled the Great Depression and helped create mid-20th century economic prosperity and the American Middle-Class. We know these revolutionary policies as the New Deal, which took place primarily between 1933 and 1936, or about 73-76 years ago.

And yet, many Democrats seem to have already forgotten how the Democratic Party became successful and popular in the first place. They joined with pro-Wall Street Republicans to pass the big bank bailouts while simultaneously hemming and hawing about a moderate stimulus package of grants and tax cuts to average Americans. They stall and hold hissy fits about creating a robust health insurance system that will ensure most Americans and create a bunch of jobs. And now they want to destroy the core of the New Deal, the social safety net of Social Security and Medicare.

There is $317 billion of TARP funds left, with more to come as banks repay the bailout that they didn't need in the first place, and that they failed to loan to businesses like they supposedly were going to. Using this money to create actual jobs would be a good thing, like the New Deal was a good thing. Using this money to try to pay off the deficit when we have drastic cuts across the country due to a lack of revenue, on the other hand, would be a very bad thing.

President Obama has suggested he is open to both options. He should be reminded that Pres. FDR is remembered as one of the greatest presidents this country ever had, and he went with investing in our country and communities; Pres. Hoover, on the other hand, decided to try to cut the deficit. He is remembered as the guy who made the Great Depression a lot worse, and one of the worst presidents ever.

ca unemployment at 12.5%

From the LAT last week:

Unemployment statewide hit a fresh post-World War II high of 12.5%, from a revised 12.3% in September, the California Employment Development Department said Friday.

Prospects for job growth in key recession-battered industries, meanwhile, remain weak.

"Job losses are moderating, but I don't think we'll see a sustained recovery in California until we begin to see job growth in construction and manufacturing," said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

California, which has the most manufacturing jobs in the country, lost 8,300 jobs in that sector last month and 124,400 since October 2008.

Time for a Jobs Bill that will help build sustainable jobs.

thanksgiving as a progressive holiday

There are many reasons that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. That mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie are among my list of all-time top ten favorite foods certainly helps, as does having extra days off to visit family and friends, many of whom I haven't seen for over a year. A double dose of Thursday football also helps (it would be triple if the NFL would realize that the NFL Network experiment is an unmitigated disaster). But the same reasons are true for me of holidays such as Christmas or the Fourth of July (minus the football), and yet there is a particular element of Thanksgiving that makes it a particularly American holiday. Thanksgiving, it turns out, is a time when Americans recognize that we all have so much to be thankful for that we often take for granted during the rest of the year: a peaceful and stable civil society, opportunity, and, perhaps most of all, unifying hope for a better future for all of us.

It is this last character of the United States that makes me think that Thanksgiving has the potential to be a truly progressive holiday; that is, not a holiday for Big-P Progressives, but a holiday when the country remembers and reflects upon its inherently progressive values of community, equality, and the promise of opportunity to make a better life for ourselves and future generations. It is also a uniquely American holiday (sorry Canadian Thanksgiving that takes place in October). As the Christian Science Monitor proclaimed today:

By the time Abraham Lincoln declared it an annual holiday in 1863, Thanksgiving Day had evolved to become an ongoing measure of the American character for generosity, or acts of humble giving to others out of a gratitude for the goodness of God.

Most often, this "ongoing measure of the American character for generosity" is seen in the millions of Americans who volunteer their resources, food, and time to help feed the hungry and needy on this actual holiday, and throughout the holiday season. But our character of generosity is also measured in our welcoming nature, encapsulated in our national motto, e pluribus unum, out of many, one. It is measured in the common belief that in order to live better lives, we need to make our community and country better for everyone in it, so that each of us not only fight for our right to pursue happiness for ourselves, but also fight to create a more perfect Union, that is, a better community.

The American character, as reflected in Thanksgiving, is one of progress.

Much more eloquently, from the President:

As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.

As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our nation throughout the year.