Whether it’s health care,
the cost of education, our environment or global trade, Corporate America is holding
us all hostage to the almighty dollar. Greed continues to trump need as corporations
make record profits while more and more Americans fall into poverty every year.
Congress allows industry to write policy, and legislators don’t even read the
bills they enact. The average person would lose their job for gross negligence.
The pharmaceutical/insurance lobbies make billions on the grief of others, systematically
denying people essential treatment or drugs in order to save a buck. Half of
our taxpayer money goes to the Pentagon who “loses” over a trillion dollars and
“it’s nothing but a thing” yet we
have to beg to fund health care for our children. Agri-Business dominates at the
expense of our environment and health as 85% of our food is now genetically
modified, our meat is ridden with hormones and antibiotics, and pesticides have
permeated the water table. Global trade agreements allow corporations to
exploit for profit with no safeguards in place for workers or the environment.
It is our moral imperative
to stand up and say no more! John Edwards seems to be the only candidate that
understands that we have to make an aggressive push to take our country back –
the key word being “take”. While it is important to be able to bring everyone
to the table, we can’t continue to allow Corporate America to eat all the food.
Which comes down to,
follow the money…
Edwards and Obama are my
two top picks but there are some important distinctions to be made here. I think
Obama is awesome and I will support him whole
heartedly if he gets the Democratic nod, but as an activist, and more
importantly as a mother and your sister, there is way too much at stake in this election, not
only for our country but for the planet. Corporate America
will never give up their stranglehold on America or the rest of the world so
we must TAKE IT from them! There is no negotiating a moral standard… and frankly, that’s
what this election is about.
There are two main issues
that concern me about Obama; the fact that he voted for the Peru Trade
agreement (more of the same of what ails us), and more egregiously, the fact that he is promoting nuclear energy. Coincidentally,
Obama has accepted a lot of money from Exelon Nuclear and only stopped taking
corporate monies this past year once he decided to run for President. I commend
him for that recent decision but I am horrified that he is promoting nuclear power.
The current energy bill before Congress may have 10 billion dollars allocated
toward renewable energy, and that rocks, but if you look at the whole pie, it’s
too little too late! 25 billion is allocated for guaranteed loans to build new
nuclear sites and billions more for coal fired plants. I mean, this is what I
am talking about people… Corporate America writing OUR policy! Do ya’ll
remember all the hoopla about storing the nuclear waste at YuccaMountain?
Do you want that in your backyard? Is it OK as long as it’s stored in someone
else’s backyard (out of sight, out of mind)? Do you really think our Earth Mother will be served by that? We need to save Her in order to save ourselves. Almost everything we do generates some
form of waste by-product. Instead of adding to it, especially nuclear waste, we need to use our
considerable ingenuity to invent our way out of this mess. It is our only true
hope. What we absolutely cannot afford
is more of the same… business as usual.
Corporate America has had the resources and the necessary information to create new technologies for decades. Rather than doing the right thing, and truly be leaders of innovation, much of their resources have been spent preventing said technologies from entering the marketplace because, God forbid, that could hurt their bottom line. If their shareholders weren't so blinded by their own greed, they would be able to recognize the incredible opportunity that is presenting itself NOW. Corporate America and our elected officials could simply CHOOSE to lead this necessary technological revolution, but it remains to be seen.... so it's up to us.
Progressives Reach Out To Business From the Des Moines Business Record
Recently a new friend asked: "Why does Central Iowa need a Progressive Coalition and why is its formation important to the business community?"
I think I speak for all the members of the steering committee working on this coalition when I say that we feel the need to protect the USA. We see an America that is in serious peril of sliding down a path of predatory capitalism and arrogant militarism. We believe that path threatens America's very existence as a democracy.
That peril is not precipitated by global economics or terrorist wars. It is posed by a group of political operatives who are leading this country backward to a path we have been down once before with disastrous results.
That path ends in a stratified society, a society of rich and poor but no middle class . It is a society in which the disabled, the hungry and the elderly are set adrift to fend for themselves. It is the society envisioned by another group of Republicans during the early 20th century, starting with Calvin Coolidge and ending with Herbert Hoover as the bookends of a radical conservative era of tax-cutting and go-go predatory capitalism.
Theirs was an age of anti-unionism and the ephemeral stock market bubble of the "Roaring '20s." Their arrogance, their conservative beliefs and their constituents' demands for more and more "instant" wealth led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the 13-year Great Depression.
That catastrophic outcome of their flawed policies so imprinted itself on the minds of two American generations that radical conservatism failed to regain political power for 45 years.
During that progressive period, America prospered beyond anyone's wildest dreams on the bedrock principles of the New Deal. Those principles included equal opportunity, collective bargaining, a path to wealth for all, a safety net for those in need and security for the elderly and the disabled.
But for the last 20 years, America has forgotten the evils that the New Deal wiped out.
Radical conservatives would have us forget the blood, tears and sacrifices of thousands of rank-and-file Americans in ensuring that they were treated with dignity and fairness in the workplace through collective bargaining. Those unions that the radical conservatives would vilify brought us such evils as the 40-hour workweek, paid vacations, overtime for all workers and a living wage for the great majority of Americans.
They would have us forget the lessons our grandparents learned in the Great Depression as the result of their failed leadership: unregulated capitalism leads to corruption, exploitation and destruction of the economic fabric of the country.
They would have us ignore the fact that when the middle and lower classes are persuaded by hate and fear to support aristocracy and imperialism, the people in those classes suffer the most.
The business community owes a special debt to progressive Democratic ideals. Those ideals have allowed them the opportunity to succeed through superior public education, a fair playing field and the freedom to work and create in an open economy.
That privilege engenders a special responsibility to oppose political and economic policies that would make the opportunity available only to the privileged few.
We on the Des Moines Progressive Coalition steering committee look forward to partnering with those business patriots who would help us stand up for the American progressive ideal.
Bruce Stone is the national director of sales and quality systems for Cable Tech Inc., which has its headquarters in Grimes.
Effect of Corporate Globalization on State and Local Governance From Public Citizen at www.citizen.org
Public
Citizen's Global Trade Watch (GTW) promotes democracy by challenging
corporate globalization, arguing that the current globalization model
is neither a random inevitability nor “free trade.” Our work seeks to
make the measurable outcomes of this model accessible to the public,
press, and policy-makers, while emphasizing that if the results are not
acceptable, then the model can and must be changed or replaced. GTW
works on an array of globalization issues, including health and safety,
environmental protection, economic justice, and democratic, accountable
governance.
The current corporate globalization process is pushing an ever-increasing number of issues away from local or even national democratic decision-making and into inaccessible international venues where few citizens or even their elected representatives can follow.
State laws and municipal policies are coming under attack as "barriers to trade." Yet, agreements such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and new negotiations currently underway at the World Trade Organization continue to expand the same failed approach. These negotiations aim to delve even deeper into areas traditionally under state and local control. Three areas have particular relevance for state and local governance: Government Procurement: When states sign up to government procurement provisions contained in agreements such as CAFTA or the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), common economic development and environmental policies, such as buy local laws, policies to prevent offshoring of state jobs, recycled content laws and others could be subject to challenge as barriers to trade.
Investment:Under NAFTA, the proposed CAFTA, and other agreements, corporations can use closed trade tribunals to privately enforce an extreme set of investor rights by directly suing the United States over the actions of state or local governments which restrict the profitability of their investments. NAFTA has already generated “regulatory takings” cases against land use decisions, environmental and public health policies, and adverse court rulings that would not have been possible in U.S. courts.
Services: The WTO services agreement could undermine state efforts to expand health care coverage and rein in health care costs, and places constraints on state and local land use planning. New negotiations in the services area could have additional implications for state regulation of water, energy, higher education, professional licensing and more.
The vote was close (naturally) - with the GOP putting together a
217-215 vote total to pass the bill. While we'll now be dealing
with the impacts of the vote, we should also note just how this bill
passed.
The Washington Post notes
the "hold the vote open tactic" used by the House Leadership -
extending the typical 15 minute voting period until enough votes were
tallied to guarantee passage.
The
217 to 215 vote came just after midnight, in a dramatic finish that
highlighted the intensity brought by both sides to the battle. When the
usual 15-minute voting period expired at 11:17 p.m., the no votes
outnumbered the yes votes by 180 to 175, with dozens of members
undeclared. House Republican leaders kept the voting open for another
47 minutes, furiously rounding up holdouts in their own party until
they had secured just enough to ensure approval.
What goes on in that extra 47 minutes? A little "arm-breaking", naturally.
Rep.
Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., said the Bush administration and Republican
leaders strong-armed Republican House members into voting for CAFTA. He
said they used highway funds and the threat of stripping chairmanships
from Republican House members if they didn't support CAFTA.
"I've seen the Republican leadership break arms on close votes before, but nothing quite this ugly," Pomeroy said.
There was also a little bargaining going on to minimize the political
impact of passing such a bill, especially in the southern states -
where the textile industry is barely holding on.
For the next half-hour, Republicans, mostly from textile states, jockeyed over who would be allowed to vote against the bill and save face back home. The final count came minutes after midnight.
An honest question: if this bill is really opposed by the
constituency - why the jockeying to determine whose position is most
threatened? Just who do the Representatives here represent?
Surely not the desires of their consituents, obviously.
How Did Iowa Representatives Vote?
It's hard to find this information easily - a midnight vote guarantees
that the final vote will occur too late to make the morning papers - in
the hopes that "unpopular" votes will be buried in the next day's news
cycle.
The Washington Post listed "aisle-crossers", which leads us to the following:
For CAFTA: Nussle, Leach, King, Latham (all Republican)
Against CAFTA: Boswell (Democrat)
If anyone has access or time - I would love to hear Jim Nussle address the El Salvadoran Ethanol issue that will certainly impact Iowa's agricultural economy, if not deflate that bit of economic development altogether.
Stop Outsourcing Our Future! Goes to Ottumwa Oct. 11 A Town Hall Meeting for people concerned about good jobs, the environment, and a healthy future for their community
Monday, October 11
7:00-8:30 PM
Ottumwa Public Library
101 W. Fourth St., Ottumwa
Join
your friends and neighbors to learn about global trade agreements now
being negotiated by the Bush administration, their implications for
good jobs, a clean environment, and healthy communities, and the choice
that voters have in the Presidential election on the issue of
outsourcing our future.
Panelists
John Whitaker, Iowa State Representative, District 90 Steve Siegel, Wapello County Board of Supervisors Diana Davis-Doud, former employee, Moog/Everco Mary Krier, Iowa Farmers Union Dan Holub, University of Iowa Labor Center Jim Jontz, former President, Americans for Democratic Action
More information: Dave Leshtz, Iowa Fair Trade Campaign, 319-621-4205
Stop Outsourcing Our Future! Goes to Keokuk Oct. 4 A Town Hall Meeting for people concerned about good jobs, the environment, and a healthy future for their community
Monday, October 4 6:30-8:00 PM Keokuk City Council Chambers 415 Blondeau St., Keokuk
Join
your friends and neighbors to learn about global trade agreements now
being negotiated by the Bush administration, their implications for
good jobs, a clean environment, and healthy communities, and the choice
that voters have in the Presidential election on the issue of
outsourcing our future.
Panelists -David Osterberg, Executive Director, Iowa Policy Project -Bill Olmsted, At-Large Alderman, Keokuk City Council -Jerry Kearns, Staff Representative, United Steel Workers of America AND -Jim Jontz, former Congressman from Indiana and President Emeritus, Americans for Democratic Action
Thanks to Jerry Kearns, the meeting will be televised live on local public access TV.
Other Town Hall Meetings in Iowa
Ottumwa, Oct. 11, Ottumwa Public Library, 7:00-8:30pm
"Stop Outsourcing Our Future" Comes to Muscatine Oct. 2 A Town Hall Meeting for people concerned about good jobs, the environment, and a healthy future for their community
Saturday, October 2
10:30-Noon
Larsen Hall Conference Center, Muscatine Community College
152 Colorado St., Muscatine
Join
your friends and neighbors to learn about global trade agreements now
being negotiated by the Bush administration, their implications for
good jobs, a clean environment, and healthy communities, and the choice
that voters have in the Presidential election on the issue of
outsourcing our future.
Panelists
David Osterberg, Executive Director, Iowa Policy Project Rosa Mendoza, Executive Director, Diversity Service Center of Iowa Rev. Jacqueline McCoy, Executive Director, Quad Cities Interfaith Earlene Ledford, AFSCME Iowa Jennifer Sherer, University of Iowa Labor Center
Sponsors
Iowa Farmers Union Iowa Conference United Methodist Church League of Rural Voters Iowa Fair Trade Campaign National Catholic Rural Life Conference Americans for Democratic Action Quad Cities Interfaith Iowa Citizen Action Network SEIU Local 199 AFSCME Council 61 Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Iowa Sierra Club Women, Food, and Agriculture Network American Federation of Teachers Local 716 United Steel Workers of America District 11
For more information, contact: Dave Leshtz, Iowa Fair Trade Campaign, 319-621-4205
Other Town Hall Meetings in Iowa
Keokuk, Oct. 4, Keokuk City Council Chambers, 6:30-8:00 pm
Ottumwa, Oct. 11, Ottumwa Public Library, 7:00-8:30pm
*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.
*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country
Progressives Reach Out To Business
Effect of Corporate Globalization on State and Local Governance
Stop Outsourcing Our Future! Goes to Ottumwa Oct. 11