The Perils of Circus Politics

The Perils of Circus Politics

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015

Robert Reich

The next president of the United States will confront a virulent jihadist threat, mounting effects of climate change, and an economy becoming ever more unequal.

We’re going to need an especially wise and able leader.

Yet our process for choosing that person is a circus, and several leading candidates are clowns.

How have we come to this?

First, anyone with enough ego and money can now run for president. 

This wasn’t always the case. Political parties used to sift through possible candidates and winnow the field. 

Now the parties play almost no role. Anyone with some very wealthy friends can set up a Super PAC. According to a recent New York Times investigation, half the money to finance the 2016 election so far has come from just 158 families.

Or if you’re a billionaire, you can finance your own campaign.

And if you’re sufficiently outlandish, outrageous, and outspoken, a lot of your publicity will be free. Since he announced his candidacy last June, Trump hasn’t spent any money at all on television advertising.

Second, candidates can now get away with saying just about anything about their qualifications or personal history, even if it’s a boldface lie.

This wasn’t always the case, either. The media used to scrutinize what candidates told the public about themselves. 

A media expose could bring a candidacy to a sudden halt (as it did in 1988 for Gary Hart, who had urged reporters to follow him if they didn’t believe his claims of monogamy).

But when today’s media expose a candidates lies, there seems to be no consequence. Carson’s poll numbers didn’t budge after revelations he had made up his admission to West Point.

The media also used to evaluate candidates’ policy proposals, and those evaluations influenced voters. 

Now the media’s judgments are largely shrugged off. Trump says he’d “bomb the shit” out of ISIS, round up all undocumented immigrants in the United States and send them home, and erect a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexican border.  

Editors and columnists find these proposals ludicrous but that doesn’t seem to matter.

Fiorina says she’ll stop Planned Parenthood from “harvesting” the brains of fully formed fetuses. She insists she saw an undercover video of the organization about to do so.

The media haven’t found any such video but no one seems to care.

Third and finally, candidates can now use hatred and bigotry to gain support. 

Years ago respected opinion leaders stood up to this sort of demagoguery and brought down the bigots.

In the 1950s, the eminent commentator Edward R. Murrow revealed Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy to be a dangerous incendiary, thereby helping put an end to McCarthy’s communist witch hunts.

In the 1960s, religious leaders and university presidents condemned Alabama Governor George C. Wallace and other segregationist zealots – thereby moving the rest of America toward integration, civil rights, and voting rights.  

But when today’s presidential candidates say Muslim refugees shouldn’t be allowed into America, no Muslim should ever be president, and undocumented workers from Mexico are murderers, they get away with it.

Paradoxically, at a time when the stakes are especially high for who becomes the next president, we have a free-for-all politics in which anyone can become a candidate, put together as much funding as they need, claim anything about themselves no matter how truthful, advance any proposal no matter how absurd, and get away bigotry without being held accountable.

Why? Americans have stopped trusting the mediating institutions that used to filter and scrutinize potential leaders on behalf of the rest of us.

Political parties are now widely disdained.

Many Americans now consider the “mainstream media” biased.

And no opinion leader any longer commands enough broad-based respect to influence a majority of the public.

A growing number of Americans have become convinced the entire system is rigged – including the major parties, the media, and anyone honored by the establishment.

So now it’s just the candidates and the public, without anything in between.

Which means electoral success depends mainly on showmanship and self-promotion.

Telling the truth and advancing sound policies are less important than trending on social media.

Being reasonable is less useful than gaining attention.

Offering rational argument is less advantageous than racking up ratings.

Such circus politics may be fun to watch, but it’s profoundly dangerous for America and the world. 

We might, after all, elect one of the clowns.

ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written fourteen books, including the best sellers “Aftershock, “The Work of Nations," and"Beyond Outrage." He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause. His film, INEQUALITY FOR ALL is available on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon. His new book, "SAVING CAPITALISM: For the Many, Not the Few" is out 9/29. 

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

He would not rule out implementing a database system tracking all Muslims in the United States -- including Americans of Muslim faith.

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Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not rule out implementing a database system tracking all Muslims in the United States -- including Americans of Muslim faith.

All Muslims in the U.S. would be legally obligated to register "at different places" around the country, putting their personal tracking information into the database. When asked how his idea differed from what the Nazi's required of Jews, Trump responded, four times, "you tell me."

image credit:The New York Times

Trump also refused to rule out requiring all Muslims to carry special religious identification, or to rule out warrantless searches of their homes and places of worship. Said Trump, "We're going to have to do things that we never did before; we're going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago."

While Donald Trump is mimicking Nazi Germany, his fellow Republicans are trying to outdo him. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz want to apply a religious test to refugees. Marco Rubio wants to "close down any place where radicals are being inspired," including mosques. This is spinning out of control, and it's time to draw the line.

It is necessary that Barack Obama, along with all living former presidents, all presidential candidates, leaders of the clergy, university presidents, heads of every large philanthropy, and editors-in-chief of every major newspaper, condemn this hateful venom from the leading Republican candidate for president of the United States.

Every hour it stands without rebuke is more poison leeching into the bedrock of America.

Please join me and Democracy for America in asking America's leaders to stand up and speak out against Donald Trump's outrageous comments. Click here to add your name now to our petition to President Obama, all presidential candidates, and prominent leaders across the spectrum of politics, academia, philanthropy, and journalism.

Together, if we can stand united in defense of America's values, we can turn the tide against Donald Trump and his dangerous bigotry.

Thank you for taking action at this critical moment.

Robert Reich
Former Secretary of Labor

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Paid for by Democracy for America, http://www.democracyforamerica.com/?t=2&akid=6983.1735462.6rXZwo and not authorized by any candidate. Contributions to Democracy for America are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

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The Perils of Circus Politics

The Perils of Circus Politics Robert Reich: If you’re sufficiently outlandish, outrageous, and outspoken, a lot of your publicity will be free. Since he announced his candidacy last June, Trump hasn’t spent any money at all on television advertising. READ HERE shared from

WEDNESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2015 Can We Talk About Weight? Steve Hochstadt: American culture is fixated on skinny as a moral virtue, and encourages the denigration of those who weigh more. I too am critical of people who use worries about weight as a weapon to assert their superiority. That makes me an enforcer of “political correctness”. READ MORE Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Kendrec McDade Shooting Report Reveals Lack of Pasadena Police Cooperation Skip Hickambottom: We find it extremely troubling that the the Office of Independent Review Group was not informed about the administrative review for the Kendrec McDade shooting until after it occurred. READ MORE What’s the Matter with Kentucky? Berry Craig: Once more, the social issues – what one of my union buddies calls “the three Gs – God, guns and gays”– have helped elect a reactionary union-buster in my home state. READ MORE Fighting for Good Jobs for Black Workers in Los Angeles Sonia Singh: One way the center is trying to tackle the barriers that trap Black workers in low-wage jobs is by focusing on construction. READ MORE The Perils of Circus Politics Robert Reich: If you’re sufficiently outlandish, outrageous, and outspoken, a lot of your publicity will be free. Since he announced his candidacy last June, Trump hasn’t spent any money at all on television advertising. READ HERE

(Sponsor this newsletter) Our email address is:  dick_and_sharon @yahoo.com Mt. Washington, California 90065 Copyright ©2015, LA Progressive, All rights reserved.

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CLINTON HITS SANDERS ON MIDDLE TAX HIKES

Bernie Sanders and Robert Reich shared a link.

Clinton hits Sanders on middle class tax hikes

"The last thing you should do is cut their take-home pay right off the bat," a Clinton spokesman says.

POLITICO.COM

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  Bernie Sanders via Robert Reich

  6 hrs · 

  "Hillary Clinton is now attacking single-payer health care as a way to bring Bernie down. “Bernie Sanders has called for a roughly 9-percent tax hike on middle-class families just to cover his health-care plan,” said Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon today.

  The Clinton campaign must be referring to single-payer legislation Bernie introduced in 2013, which was to be paid for by a 2.2 percent income tax across the board and a 6.7 percent payroll tax for employers. But even assuming that payroll tax increase would be paid for by workers, calling it a “9 percent tax hike” leaves out the savings average workers would get from a single-payer system. Because single payer would be far cheaper than today's private-insurance system, average workers would still come out far ahead of where they are today.

  What really concerns me about Hillary’s tactic here is that this kind of faux analysis makes it harder for any future president – including Hillary Clinton herself, if she’s elected – to propose a single-payer healthcare system."

  9.7k Likes851 Comments1.9k Shares

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  Robert Reich

  9 hrs · Edited · 

  Hillary Clinton is now attacking single-payer health care as a way to bring Bernie down. “Bernie Sanders has called for a roughly 9-percent tax hike on middle-class families just to cover his health-care plan,” said Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon today.

  The Clinton campaign must be referring to single-payer legislation Bernie introduced in 2013, which was to be paid for by a 2.2 percent income tax across the board and a 6.7 percent payroll tax for employers. But even assuming that payroll tax increase would be paid for by workers, calling it a “9 percent tax hike” leaves out the savings average workers would get from a single-payer system. Because single payer would be far cheaper than today's private-insurance system, average workers would still come out far ahead of where they are today.

  What really concerns me about Hillary’s tactic here is that this kind of faux analysis makes it harder for any future president – including Hillary Clinton herself, if she’s elected – to propose a single-payer healthcare system.

  What do you think?

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What I Learned on My Red State Book Tour

What I Learned on My Red State Book Tour Robert Reich: Something odd happened. Many of the conservative Republicans and Tea Partiers I met agreed with much of what I had to say, and I agreed with them. READ MORE shared from

TUESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2015 Why Are So Many Black and Brown Men in Prison? Sharon Kyle: What has become known as the prison industrial complex has grown like a cancer in the United States, touching the lives of untold millions—especially black and brown people. I can honestly say that I don't know a single black person who has not been harmed by our “justice” system—myself included. READ MORE Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend What I Learned on My Red State Book Tour Robert Reich: Something odd happened. Many of the conservative Republicans and Tea Partiers I met agreed with much of what I had to say, and I agreed with them. READ MORE Ben's Campaign a Total Fraud? David Love: In a line of work where people are known to lie, embellish, stretch the truth and engage in artistic license, even Dr. Carson has gone over the line. READ MORE World’s Largest Recycled Water Facility Voted on Today Brenna Norton: The Metropolitan Water District will vote Tuesdaywhether to appropriate funding for a recycled water “demonstration project.” READ MORE Hillary’s Charter School Problem Steven Singer: Clinton’s solution to the charter school crisis is what exactly? She seems to be saying that charter schools have major problems, but the best way to fix them is to redouble our belief in this flawed and failing system. READ HERE

(Sponsor this newsletter) Our email address is:  dick_and_sharon @yahoo.com Mt. Washington, California 90065 Copyright ©2015, LA Progressive, All rights reserved.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

The Rigging of the American Market

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Robert Reich Become a fan 

Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; author, 'Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few''

Posted: 11/01/2015 7:25 pm EST Updated: 11/01/2015 7:59 pm EST

Much of the national debate about widening inequality focuses on whether and how much to tax the rich and redistribute their income downward.

But this debate ignores the upward redistributions going on every day, from the rest of us to the rich. These redistributions are hidden inside the market.

The only way to stop them is to prevent big corporations and Wall Street banks from rigging the market.

For example, Americans pay more for pharmaceuticals than do the citizens of any other developed nation.

That's partly because it's perfectly legal in the U.S. (but not in most other nations) for the makers of branded drugs to pay the makers of generic drugs to delay introducing cheaper unbranded equivalents, after patents on the brands have expired.

This costs you and me an estimated $3.5 billion a year -- a hidden upward redistribution of our incomes to Pfizer, Merck, and other big proprietary drug companies, their executives, and major shareholders.

We also pay more for Internet service than do the inhabitants of any other developed nation.

The average cable bill in the United States rose 5 percent in 2012 (the latest year available), nearly triple the rate of inflation.

Why? Because 80 percent of us have no choice of Internet service provider, which allows them to charge us more.

Internet service here costs 3 and-a-half times more than it does in France, for example, where the typical customer can choose between 7 providers.

And U.S. cable companies are intent on keeping their monopoly.

It's another hidden upward distribution - from us to Comcast, Verizon, or another giant cable company, its executives and major shareholders.

Likewise, the interest we pay on home mortgages or college loans is higher than it would be if the big banks that now dominate the financial industry had to work harder to get our business.

As recently as 2000, America's five largest banks held 25 percent of all U.S. banking assets. Now they hold 44 percent -- which gives them a lock on many such loans.

If we can't repay, forget using bankruptcy. Donald Trump can go bankrupt four times and walk away from his debts, but the bankruptcy code doesn't allow homeowners or graduates to reorganize unmanageable debts.

So beleaguered homeowners and graduates don't have any bargaining leverage with creditors -- exactly what the financial industry wants.

The net result: another hidden upward redistribution -- this one, from us to the big banks, their executives, and major shareholders.

Some of these upward redistributions seem to defy gravity. Why have average domestic airfares risen 2.5% over the past, and are now at their the highest level since the government began tracking them in 1995 -- while fuel prices, the largest single cost for the airlines, have plummeted?

Because America went from nine major carriers ten years ago to just four now. Many airports are now served by one or two.

This makes it easy for airlines to coordinate their fares and keep them high -- resulting in another upward redistribution.

Why have food prices been rising faster than inflation, while crop prices are now at a six-year low?

Because the giant corporations that process food have the power to raise prices. Four food companies control 82 percent of beef packing, 85 percent of soybean processing,63 percent of pork packing, and 53 percent of chicken processing.

Result: A redistribution from average consumers to Big Agriculture.

Finally, why do you suppose health insurance is costing us more, and co-payments and deductibles are rising?

One reason is big insurers are consolidating into giants with the power to raise prices. They say these combinations make their companies more efficient, but they really just give them power to charge more.

Health insurers are hiking rates 20 to 40 percent next year, and their stock values are skyrocketing (the Standard & Poor's 500 Managed Health Care Index recently hit itshighest level in more than twenty years.)

Add it up -- the extra money we're paying for pharmaceuticals, Internet communications, home mortgages, student loans, airline tickets, food, and health insurance -- and you get a hefty portion of the average family's budget.

Democrats and Republicans spend endless time battling over how much to tax the rich and then redistribute the money downward.

But if we didn't have so much upward redistribution inside the market, we wouldn't need as much downward redistribution through taxes and transfer payments.

Yet as long as the big corporations, Wall Street banks, their top executives and wealthy shareholders have the political power to do so, they'll keep redistributing much of the nation's income upward to themselves.

Which is why the rest of us must gain political power to stop the collusion, bust up the monopolies, and put an end to the rigging of the American market.

ROBERT B. REICH's new book, "Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few," will be out September 29. His film "Inequality for All" is now available on DVD and blu-ray, and on Netflix. Watch the trailer below:

Follow Robert Reich on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RBReich

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ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written fourteen books, including the best sellers “Aftershock, “The Work of Nations," and"Beyond Outrage." He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause. His film, INEQUALITY FOR ALL is available on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon. His new book, "SAVING CAPITALISM: For the Many, Not the Few" is out 9/29. 

 The TRUTH will set you FREE.