My Thoughts on the Economy and My Kids Thoughts on the Election

I'm sitting here watching Charlie Rose now, and they're talking about oil prices and the economy. As I've been reading and listening to this talk for several months now, there are some things that are becoming quite clear to me regarding the economy. There are probably those who are truly economists who might disagree with me, but I thought I might throw these ideas out there and see what kind of response I might get. So here goes:

Since the massive economic growth that came to the U.S. with the WW2 arms industry, the prevailing wisdom has been that war is good for the economy. The Korean War helped bear out this assumption, although many would argue that Korea was so close to the end of WW2 that the country was still riding the WW2 wave of economic prosperity. Since the Korean War however, we have amassed a considerable amount of evidence that war is not good for the U.S. economy. I am particularly struck by the similarities between economic trends at the end of the Vietnam War and the current war in Iraq.

When was the last major energy crisis in the U.S.? When was the last severe recession in the U.S.? You probably don’t remember because it all began the year I was born: 1973. In 1973 gas prices were skyrocketing because of tensions in the Middle East and there were lines of cars and trucks, often stretching for miles, waiting to get gasoline because of fuel shortages and rationing. At the same time the government started funding research into alternative fuels and energy sources because they recognized that the U.S. couldn’t continue to rely upon foreign energy to sustain its domestic infrastructure. It was out of this era that the first solar cells were developed, electric cars were being tested and were on the verge of being marketed to the public, and then OPEC eased their grip on the market and we left all of this work behind us and returned to our old habits…but the recession continued through 1975.

The recession of 1973-75 was the worst recession since the Great Depression before WW2 and the primary cause of both the Great Depression and the ’73-’75 recession was a major decline in investment purchases. In both cases investors were not putting their money into the market because they didn’t feel safe…so, the economy started to slow down. We are in a similar economic situation today, although unlike the recession of ’73-’75, we know why there isn’t the level of investment and spending that is necessary to keep the market afloat: poor financial practices that are more targeted to huge short-term capital gains rather than long-term market stability.

In his book Moyers on Democracy, Bill Moyers points out that since the late ‘80’s we, as a nation, have developed banking and investment practices that are solely focused on making the most money in the shortest amount of time possible. As a result we have investors pumping money into stocks and futures thereby driving up the value, and then selling it as soon as the price reaches a level of equilibrium. In the ‘50’s and ‘60’s organized crime syndicates (the mafia) used these “pump and dump” schemes to bilk investors out of millions of dollars and to launder money. Many of the accountants for these mob families were convicted of fraud and racketeering for these type of investment schemes in the mid-20^th century…but now these same investment practices that were landing mafia accountants in jail 50 years ago are de rigeur; what was a crime is now commonplace and I’m afraid we are only beginning to pay the price.

During WW1 and WW2 America encouraged savings and investment through war bonds and other long term investment options. The public bought these bonds, which effectively meant that the public was lending money to the government to finance the military operations of the war. These were meant to be long term investments and offered moderate rates of return to encourage saving. At the same time, since the public was lending money to finance the military it helped keep the nation out of less debt than it would have otherwise been in as a result of the cost of war. Another advantage of this system however was the notion of the bond investor being a stockholder in the government…it gave the common citizen more say in how the government and the war was run. If the public didn’t support the war, then they quit investing in war bonds and the government would feel pressured to slow down or stop aggression. Of course, we don’t hear about war bonds anymore. They were sold up through the Korean War, but when the Vietnam War started the bond sales plummeted. Why? Because the public didn’t support the war…but this is where the model of modern war making changed. Instead of curbing aggression, the government chose to run the war on credit. In other words they began the model of borrowing and deficit spending that is the hallmark of the modern U.S. federal government. A good parallel is Frank Murkowski and his jet…the Legislature wouldn’t give him money for it, so he went out and bought it with the State credit card instead. This is essentially how we have funded every war since Vietnam…on credit. As a result we end up digging ourselves into an abyss of debt and when we reach the limit of what we can borrow we are forced to pull out of the conflict. The recession of ’73-’75 was partially the result of running the Vietnam war on credit and the recession played a big role in why we left.

But even at the height of the Vietnam War we were not even close to the amount of debt that the U.S. is currently carrying. Right now, today, the U.S. has the biggest deficit and debt load that it has ever had in it’s almost 300 year history. Even comparatively after the Revolutionary War when we were a dirt poor nation we didn’t have even a tenth of the debt that we are carrying now. Just like most consumers, the country has fallen victim to predatory lending practices and we have more debt than we can possibly pay off. Actually, the estimates I’ve seen have said that even if the U.S. economy thrived and grew exponentially over the next 100 years we would still only have paid off half of the money we owe as a result of the war in Iraq. That means that my grandchildren and even my great-grandchildren will be paying for this ridiculous war…and that’s shameful. Leaving a legacy of debt to children who are unborn is not something to be proud of…in fact it is utterly disgusting that we have politicians who support this kind of poor fiscal management.

But, despite my disgust with our country’s addiction to credit, it is not wholly at fault. There are also the capitalist creditors, the literal loan sharks, who will lend any nation or anybody money as long as they are willing to pay a price. In the case of mortgage lenders we have seen that the price that many people had to pay was much higher than they were able to afford and, as a result, we have the housing crisis. The selfishness and greed of lenders to make a buck had put the mark in this situation…they wanted to see how high and hard they could push. They wanted to see how much money they could make, so they started offering mortgages and home equity lines of credit to anyone regardless of income. If you had lower income you just had to pay a higher interest rate…it didn’t disqualify you. But isn’t that paradoxical? If you don’t have enough money to make the payments, then you had to pay a higher interest rate? That’s crazy isn’t it? Although I understand the need to attach a price to the greater risk a lender takes on a person who has poor credit or not enough to pay…but charging outrageous interest was actually defined as a sin in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testament; it was called usury and, in my opinion, it’s still a sin and part of the reason why the U.S. economy is in such dire straits.

There was a time in the this country when credit was only extended to those who had the ability to pay it back…now credit is a commodity that is available to anyone regardless of their financial situation and as a result there is a credit and home mortgage crisis that is part of the reason we are currently facing the worst recession in 20 years of more. Credit has become the new measure of social fitness in the United States. When you apply for a loan, for school, for employment, for the military, or anything else it is quickly becoming de rigeur to do a credit check. Your worth as a citizen and as a person is being measured by a scale that indicates how well you play the capitalist economic game. If you play the game well, and by the myriad rules included in the small print of every mortgage, credit card, and auto loan, then you are deemed to be socially “fit” and a desirable employee or citizen. If you don’t play by the rules, or perhaps more appropriately if you don’t understand the rules, then you are undesirable and are not allowed to participate in modern civil society. Actually, you are allowed to still participate but you have to pay to play…you can still play if you're willing to pay the multiple penalties and fees that make up for your less desirable status as a citizen with bad credit.

Well, so much for my rant on the status of the American economy. I have a lot more to say, but Lianne says that I’ve probably bored you long enough so I’ll try and wrap up with some ideas about what I’m going to do about the economy: Honestly I’m not going to do anything about it…I’m not sure that I myself can do anything to influence the direction that the country is heading, but I can do certain things to make sure that my family and I are relatively insulated from the effects of the recession. In other words, we can think globally and act locally.

One of the things that we are doing is making a serious effort to bike more and not drive our car. We live in the perfect place to do this and the only difficult part is figuring out how to manage the kids. Meridian is old enough to ride her own bike, but Elias and Isabelle still have to be towed, but it’s possible. A couple of weeks ago I hooked up Isabelle’s tagalong bike to my bike and then attached the trailer to the tagalong. As a result we had a very long and cumbersome human powered train…but we had fun and caused quite a stir at the farmer’s market. Which brings me to the next thing I/we can do: like many people we are trying to raise a larger garden this year, build up our food storage, and eat locally…at least during the summer months. We feel that all of these things help to minimize the costs that are incurred to produce and ship food and thereby make a difference by minimizing our carbon footprint. We also know that by having a garden and more usable food storage we are prepared for worse days to come should the economy and impending food crisis become much worse. In fact, we just came back from Portland where we went to Bob's Red Mill and stocked up on a lot of whole grains and other "goodies". I could survive on Bob's 10 Grain Hot Cereal...it's so stinkin' tasty!

Perhaps the most important thing we are doing is talking to our kids about why we make the lifestyle choices we do and about how we can all make a difference by doing small things in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities. We are also talking with the kids about the war and the upcoming presidential election. We want them to know that how we vote can make a difference in the direction of the country and, because they often listen to the news with us, we want them to know that there are other options besides war and that we don’t have to be a war-like country. There are other options to solve our problems…and the girls are becoming quite aware of this. Just the other night as we were driving home we were talking about Muslims, the war and the upcoming election. As we headed toward home Meridian asked: “Does Barack Obama like the war?” I said “No, I don’t think he likes the war and if he was elected President I think he would try to stop the war.” Then Meridian asked: “What about John McCain? Does he like the war?” “I think that he would keep us in the war and that he would make it last a lot longer” I replied. Then Isabelle chimed in: “But God doesn’t like us to fight. I don’t think that God likes war.” I replied to this keenly astute observation with: “I think you’re right Isabelle; God has told us that we shouldn’t fight and I don’t think that he likes war either.” Both girls were silent for a few minutes and then Isabelle piped up from the back seat in a thoughtful voice: “Then I think God would like us to vote for Barack Obama.”

So there you have it…that’s as close to an official endorsement as you’ll get from the "man upstairs" and because it came from the mouth of a sweet, innocent child, I'm even more inclined to believe that it's the truth. I have to admit that I am very proud of them and I think that their words are important for us all to heed in this upcoming election season. We make things so complicated sometimes, and really the things that matter are the simple truths that we all knew as children: don't fight, say "please" and "thank you", treat everyone fairly, and use your manners…and that’s all I have to say about that.

Thoughts on the Upcoming Political Season

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by my family to write down some thoughts on the upcoming election and recent political issues. We have a monthly newsletter that we all use to keep in touch and knowing that I had strong feelings about the upcoming elections, they wanted me to share my recent thinking, so I've decided to adapt it and post it here for your general edification and in the hope that it might stimulate some dialogue about the important issues currently facing our country.

Although this piece is largely about politics it may surprise you to find out that I am not astutely following the presidential election at this point. Now, this doesn’t mean that I’m uninformed…I read the paper every day, I’m on many email list-servs that frequently discuss the presidential election, and I am a religious NPR listener so I probably get more election news than the average American; but in the interest of my sanity and a growing skepticism about the U.S. electoral process I am trying to remain a distant and impartial observer as the presidential race heats up.

One of the reasons that I am trying to stay somewhat distant and impartial is the amount of marketing that has come to typify recent political campaigns. Politicians, and especially presidential hopefuls, have begun to take their cues from the brand-based marketing that now pervades American culture. Candidates have moved away from substantive dialogue on the real issues facing this country and have spent more time on slick advertising and catchy campaign gimmicks. Although I like Obama for his enthusiasm and panache, I have to admit that his “branding” has been brutally effective and I’m afraid that most people are jumping on the Obama bandwagon because of his catchy taglines and his carefully cultivated public image and not for his grasp on the issues. In fact, many of my students who come to class wearing Obama shirts and buttons can’t even tell me his stance on the war in Iraq or his proposed plan to deal with the healthcare crisis in America. They like Obama because of the image he projects: young, hip, and vaguely anti-establishment. That’s all they know and they’re fine with that. But I’m not! One of the foundational assumptions of democratic politics is an educated citizenry who understand the issues and the candidates positions on the issues; then, and only then, can they make an informed decision about which candidate is best qualified to lead the country. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case in America; we’ve become a culture more impressed by the superficial at the expense of the substantive.

You’ve probably guessed by now that my general lack of engagement with the upcoming election has nothing to do with apathy. In fact, I am more concerned than ever about the state of this country, our priorities, and our elected leaders; but at the same time I am horribly disillusioned about the electorate in general, and not just because they so easily fall prey to political marketing. As I talk with people here in Moscow and in my travels around the country I am appalled with the lack of critical thinking and the general impotence that has come to pervade the minds of the general populace. As gas prices continue to surpass $4.00 per gallon, as healthcare costs continue to increase at three times the inflation rate, and as we continue to devote over 2/3 of our national budget to supporting the military industrial complex, I can’t help but wonder why more people aren’t concerned. Most people I’ve talked to in the past several months seem to have a “that’s the way it is” attitude and just accept these outrageous phenomena as basic facts of life.

Now I’m not suggesting that we need more public protests, petitions or letter writing campaigns. These are old traditional methods that, in my view, have outlived their effectiveness. In the days of the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War there was a vanguard of organizers who were able to capitalize on the sentiment of the times and mobilize massive groups of individuals who could shut down cities and force the attention of lawmakers. Nowadays, municipal restrictions on public gatherings have stifled our right to “lawful assembly” and where two or more protesters are gathered, the police are among them (biblical allusion intended). Marching around the streets with a sign decrying the violence and oppression in Iraq isn’t going to change the world today…it’s only going to soothe the conscience of the protester and make him/her feel like they’ve “done something”. But what are we to do in a world that makes so many of us feel ineffective and alienated from the public process? How do we make change when we feel so detached from the decision makers in Washington D.C.? That’s been my recent quandary and I’m not sure I have a good answer, but I do have a strong belief in the old adage: “Think Globally, Act Locally” and that may be where the real change needs to take place.

A great example of the global/local ethic can be found in the second wave of the women’s movement in the 1960’s and ‘70’s. In fact, it was only when the women’s liberation movement adopted this ethic that real progress was made towards substantive women’s rights in America. With the establishment of “home discussion groups”, “bread and roses clubs”, and “consciousness raising groups” the women’s liberation movement brought big national issues to the level of the isolated woman in the home. These groups were based in neighborhoods and communities and took these global issues, discussed them locally, which then led to local action and eventually national change. Now, it’s important to note that the landmark legislation of this era, the Equal Rights Amendment, was never ratified, but even today we enjoy the fruits of this amazing time in American history.

Over the past several months I’ve watched Lianne take every chance possible to talk with friends and other people she meets about local and national policy issues. She challenges their assumptions and shares her position on the issues, and as a result has started people thinking about issues that they may have never given a second thought. In fact, earlier this year she got all of the preschool moms out to vote in the local election even though several had said they probably weren’t going to vote…of course some of them voted pro-development, which was not what Lianne was advocating for, but at least she got them thinking and involved. I have to admit that I’ve been proud of her willingness to step outside of her comfort zone and challenge those around her and perhaps that’s what we should all be doing.

When was the last time you asked a friend about his or her beliefs on certain issues or the election in general? Good question, huh? We generally don’t do this in America…there are three topics that we don’t talk about: income/debt, personal beliefs, and politics. These are not considered acceptable topics for polite conversation and yet, in the case of personal beliefs and politics, are there two more important things to get people thinking about? I’m hard pressed to think of any…

Well, I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you my political peregrinations for another time. If there is one message you should take home it is: don’t be apathetic and don’t let your friends and family be apathetic either. That’s it, plain and simple. Now, you don’t have to start a consciousness raising group or go out an actively campaign for a candidate, but start challenging yourself and your friends and families. Challenge their assumptions…ask them why they believe one candidate is better than another and make sure they have a good answer. Ask them what they think about climate change, ask them what they think about organic farming, ask them what they think about wilderness preservation, ask them what they think about the war, ask them what they think about oil prices, ask them what they think about human rights, ask them what they think about civil rights, ask them what they think about health care, ask them what they think about welfare, ask them what they think about education spending, ask them what they think about America, just ask them and they will start thinking.

Now, for one final politically motivated paragraph, I would like to share some observations with you:

• The new Republican Party does not stand for small government or fiscal conservatism. The Republican party of the 21st century has created more new departments and federal programs than any time in American history except for FDR’s New Deal. Similarly government spending in the last eight years has been astronomical! If you look at the history of this country, since 1776 we’ve amassed a national debt of over $9 trillion dollars. Over half of this debt was incurred under President Bush I and President Bush II, and if you include the debt incurred during the Reagan administration then 70% of the total national debt is due to three individual Republican administrations. If we look closer, of the 19 budgets submitted during these three presidents’ reigns only two were balanced. They didn’t even make an effort to restrain spending. In fact, the usual pattern under all three of these presidents was to gut social service and welfare programs and shift those “savings” to the military industrial complex. Of course, a great Republican by the name of Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about this and we have chosen to completely ignore his sage advice, so that we are now spending more on the military today than we were at the height of the Cold War and that’s a fact that boggles the mind. So, how’s that for fiscal conservatism?

• The Democratic Party has largely lost it’s identity by defining itself as simply “not Republican”. Unfortunately this is not a clear plan for change, nor a clear alternative…its simple contrarianism. Demand a clear alternative from your candidates…they should have a plan for at least the following:
• Getting out of the war in Iraq as soon as possible, and a plan for supporting the education, rehabilitation, and transition of our veterans;
• Reducing pollution and America’s oil dependence by providing clear and affordable alternative energy sources that do not tax our food production system, and by strengthening alternative forms of public transportation and encouraging “smart” growth that creates wired and walkable communities and commerce districts;
• A clear plan for ensuring that within the next five years all Americans will have access to affordable healthcare. My preference is a single-payer healthcare system, but I can accept anything that is fair and ensures equal coverage for all regardless of employment status.
• A clear plan for increasing local control of school systems and a clear commitment to significantly redesigning or eliminating the No Child Left Behind Act. An alternative plan for reclaiming public education from private education companies/contractors would also be an important step in restoring faith and oversight in the American education system. We want our children taught by professionals not corporations; we want our children to graduate as well-informed critical thinkers, not pre-fab corporate lackeys and mindless consumers.
  
• A clear plan for supporting and leading efforts at international diplomacy as an alternative to violence.
• There’s a lot more I think a candidate should have, but these are the basics…
  

• It is not the government’s job to bail out banks and lenders who use unwise and predatory lending practices to make an extra buck or 20 million bucks. Neither is it the government’s job to bail out the homeowner who took advantage of risky and entirely unaffordable lines of credit to get into multi-million dollar homes…although a working class family living trying to live within their means who were taken advantage of by predatory lenders is another story entirely. (Sorry, this is my recent issue…why is Congress trying to bail out these slime bags? There should be such a thing as “natural consequences”)

Okay, that’s my 2 bucks for this evening. I’m sure that I’ve given you more than a little to think about and I imagine there will be some interesting responses as a result of my little diatribe. But that’s all good…just don’t be apathetic. Also, feel free to pass this on to your friends and family if you think it will help them think about what's important in the upcoming election. The more people we get thinking the better...

Primates Given Vaccines Develop Symptoms of Autism

NAA Press Releases

Whoa! I thought this debate was fading, but this research is sure to reignite the fire. It's late at night and I don't know where to start with this right now. Click on the link and read the press release...I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'll be on the lookout for when the actual study is published and post it here. Stay tuned...

Another Example of the Social Construction of Disability: ADHD An Advantage For Nomadic Tribesmen?

Is ADHD An Advantage For Nomadic Tribesmen?

Okay, I know that I harp on this all the time with my students, but here is more "proof" that attributes that might be important in lifestyles that are closer to nature can easily be seen as deficits in settled and/or modern cultures. The example I give my students relates to literacy...500 years ago you didn't necessarily have to be literate to get a job or to be successful. Although literacy was an advantage and often the privilege of the upper classes, it wasn't necessary. You could be a successful farmer, business owner, tradesperson etc. without being able to read. Today you can't even get hired to do the most menial of jobs without a basic level of literacy. Thus, as society has changed to be more text based, so have our conceptions of what is a strength and a deficit.

This story takes this idea back even further. The ADHD gene, while serving an important role in the survival of hunter/gatherer and nomadic cultures, can also be seen as a deficit in sedentary cultures that require more "seat time" and measure success by "time on task" rather than sustenance of the group. Context is everything; and yet we are so quick to reify these ideas of difference without taking into account the effects of society and culture.

Controversial New Movement: Autistic and Proud

Click on the title of this post to go to the ABC News story about the burgeoning neurodiversity movement in the U.S. Personally, I'm glad to see that this is beginning to challenge the hundreds and thousands of "cure" advocates that seem to be driving the autism policy agenda in this country. One of the best weeks I had with my "What is Normal" class last year was when we read the X-Men graphic novel "Gifted", the issue that the final X-Men movie was based on, and debated the pros and cons of curing "difference".

We live in a society today that strives for homogenization in modern U.S. society, from our milk to our children we want them all to be clean, sanitized and, above all, normal. Unfortunately, normality is a wholly unrealistic goal and denies the tremendously rich diversity that defines the human experience. As Shakespeare says through Hamlet: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"...we have defined autism,Asperger's,learning disabilities, and any other diverse expression of the human genetic code as bad...but it is only our narrow thinking that has done so. We only think it's bad...we need to open up our minds and consider other alternatives. We need to acknowledge that difference and diversity is good for us, not a threat to our imagined concept of what a man, woman, or child should be.

Article on Dyscalculia

This article is my vindication! Hahahaha...I knew it! I knew I wasn't alone and I knew that this was a problem that was much more widespread than we've been lead to believe.

I've been told for years that my struggles with math were just because I didn't apply myself in school...I heard this and believed it up until I was in grad school and working with a neuropsychologist in Salt Lake City. One of the assessors there tested me out of curiousity, and after some prodding by me. The test indicated that I probably had a moderate case of dyscalculia. Looking back on my educational experience it all began to make sense...trouble with fractions, multiplication tables, algebra, etc. so on and so forth...

I mean I have an outstanding memory, not to brag but it is far better than most...but for some reason numbers just don't stick. I can't remember my multiplication tables, no matter how many times I review them. Fractions are worse. Geometry was really bad...something about the Pythagorean Theorem and the introduction of letters into numerical equations really threw me for a loop. And yet I was told that it was me being lazy, not applying myself, and in the case of one teacher, I was told that I must be on drugs (I wasn't). But, even if I tried as hard as I could, I still couldn't get it. Even brutal sessions of summer school with Mrs. Strange didn't make a difference. But enough reminiscing or complaining or whatever it is I'm doing.

I guess that I'm just trying to say that I'm glad to see that this is an issue that is finally getting the attention it deserves. More on this to come...if I get motivated and feel like exposing more about my school experience. You'd probably get a laugh...