Left In Lowell

Firedoglake has the scoop, and action you can take. Go read. We need everyone on this - and calling Kerry and Kennedy, even if they are not on the Select Intell Committee, to ask them to tell the Committee that under no terms will they vote for a new FISA bill that has immunity from prosecution for telcos that illegally turned over records of their customers over to the Bush administration. Make sure it’s clear that bill should be DOA now, before it comes out of the Senate committee and onto the floor.

Secondarily, you need to read this narrative that Kagro X has formed regarding the telco, Qwest, that refused to turn over records on the basis that it was unconstitutional without a warrant - and whose CEO since been prosecuted for insider trading for selling stock a couple months before Qwest had bad earnings…when those earning only turned bad because the federal government took contracts that Qwest expected to other contractors.

On my way home from my own radio show, I was listening to WBUR which was doing a roundtable discussion on the news. The talk turned to the Republican debates and what the Republicans are saying about the economy. To paraphrase one participant, when joe voter hears the rosy talk from Republican candidates on how great the economy is going, they’re going to turn off the channel. The pessimism in the general populace on economic stability and prosperity is at a very high level. Well, that would be because joe voter is feeling the effects like this (bold mine):

The richest one percent of Americans earned a postwar record of 21.2 percent of all income in 2005, up from 19 percent a year earlier, reflecting a widening income disparity among different classes in the nation, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing new Internal Revenue Service data.

The data showed that the fortunes of the bottom 50 percent of Americans are worsening, with that group earning 12.8 percent of all income in 2005, down from 13.4 percent the year before, the paper said. [HT: AMERICAblog.]

Even more interesting was this line:

It said that while the IRS data goes back only to 1986, academic research suggests that the last time wealthy Americans had such a high percentage of the national income pie was in the 1920s.

And like the house of cards that fell after the Roarin’ 20s, we’re in danger of seeing the rug pulled out from under us again. Consumers - regular ones, not ones who can afford a second million-dollar home - account for up to 70% of the US economy. But consumers, pinched by excessive oil prices (which never seem to come down below $60/barrel, usually much higher…does anyone remember the panic that used to ensue at $35/barrel?), high housing costs, a wage that at times has not even kept up with inflation, or seeing very modest gains if at all…are eventually going to stop buying. Couple the aforementioned problems with the crash in home prices, which until now had fueled consumer spending on equity, and no average person believes that everyone’s getting a fair piece of the record-Dow pie.

And herein lies the Republican dilemma…they’ve entombed “supply side” and “tax cuts” and “free trade” so deeply into their party rhetoric, that even when a poll shows 6 in 10 Republicans think free trade has failed them, and the budget deficit hasn’t gone away on its own (because aren’t tax cuts supposed to “pay for themselves” according to them?) they continue to fight over who’s the best advocate for free trade and supply side (aka “voodoo”) economics (ie the oft-cited theory that incessant tax cutting forever is the best way to increase revenues for government).

Almost more than the Iraq war, the economic trouble of the average American dooms Republican candidates for 2008, unless they change their tune. But, I’m not holding my breath for that one.

On today’s TOL, Lowell City Councilor Kevin Broderick will join us. You can listen at 10am on 91.5 FM, or stream it live.