HorsesAss.Org

Nationally, the minimum wage has not been raised in over nine years — adjusted for inflation the current $5.15/hour is now at a half-century low. In 2006 a full time minimum wage worker will earn only $10,712, about $6,000 below the poverty line.

So of course today, self-proclaimed “moderate” Rep. Dave Reichert once again voted against raising the minimum wage, joining his party in blocking a vote on H.R. 2329 for the fifth time in a month. The bill would have raised the wage $2.10 an hour over two years, to a whopping $7.25… well below WA state’s minimum wage of $7.63/hour.

Here’s a fact: Dave Reichert is a Republican, and both nationally and locally the Republican Party opposes a living minimum wage. How can I be so sure? Well, apart from counting their votes, I can also read their platform:

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…Of course, that goes without saying. We all know I need help, and recognizing this is the first step towards recovery.

Specifically, what I need is some technical help.

Like many of you, I’m sick and tired of my own comment threads. Sure, they can be amusing at times, and certainly the trolls contributed to HA’s early success (inadvertently) in their own weird way. But I work hard on many of my posts, and once in a while I’d like to generate a little substantive discussion. It would also be awfully nice to finally expand some of the functionality on HA to enable user “diaries” or something like that.

But I just don’t have the time or the money to get to where I want to go.

Perhaps I just need some help to complete the final 10 percent of the transition to SoapBlox I started in February? Or maybe something like CivicSpace would be a better solution? Or maybe I should go all the way to Scoop? Or maybe there’s some other better solution out there I haven’t even heard of?

Anyway, if you want to play a role in moving HA to v2.0 (and by that I mean do a lot of work for no money,) please drop me an email or show up at Drinking Liberally sometime and let’s chat. I can’t pay you, but I can barter you some valuable promotional space on one of the most widely read local liberal blogs in the nation.

(Oh… and if you’re a top-notch graphic designer, I could probably use some help in that department too.)

The Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally meets tonight (and every Tuesday), 8PM at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Well… almost every Tuesday. We didn’t meet last week because we were all patriotically drinking at various 4th of July parties. (And because the Ale House was closed.)

Anyway, I’m looking forward to a cold pint of Manny’s and a lively edition of Podcasting Liberally, also back after a one-week hiatus.

Oh… and if you happen to be a liberal drinker on the other side of the mountains, the Tri-Cities chapter of DL also meets Tuesday nights, 7 PM, Atomic Ale, 1015 Lee Blvd., in Richland. Go ask Jimmy for more details.

Personally, I’m beginning to get a little irritated hearing about the so-called “peace and justice movement,” the clear implication being that people like me are opposed to, you know… “peace” and “justice.” So just a reminder to some of my fellow progressives that the battle for WA’s U.S. Senate seat is not a battle within the Democratic Party, but a battle between the Democrats and the Republicans.

Sen. Maria Cantwell is a Democrat, and as much as he doesn’t like to publicly talk about it, challenger Mike McGavick is a Republican. So where does McGavick stand on peace and justice? Well, here are just few planks from the WA State Republican Party platform, enthusiastically adopted at their May 26, 2006 convention:

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Rep. Dave Reichert has spent $526,000 sending out 1.5 million pieces of franked mail… that’s 20 percent of his entire office budget. Up Front with Robert Mak has details, and kind of sticks it to Reichert. (I especially like the part where Reichert looks over his shoulders at an off camera aide when he can’t answer a question.) Anyway, watch the video.

The Seattle Times op/ed page (of all places) neatly highlights American Liberalism at work, lauding two local government proposals for increased disaster preparedness. [“Levees to lahar, disaster preparation.”]

King County Executive Ron Sims has proposed a new countywide flood-control district that would raise about $335 million ($15 to $30 a year on a $300,000 home) to pay for repairs and extensions to the county’s many levees. Meanwhile, the small town of Orting, which sits on lahar debris in the shadow of Mount Rainier, is proposing a new bridge across the Carbon River at a cost of as much as $12 million, to speed evacuation in the inevitable event of another major mudslide.

As the Times succinctly points out:

We live in a region with the potential of natural disasters that can be exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure. It makes sense to invest in safeguards now instead of paying for widespread destruction later. New Orleans taught us that.

We hear a lot from the right about the sanctity of the free market and the inherent inefficiencies of government, but there are some necessary public investments like education and safety that are simply outside the realm of the free market. No private corporation could make a reasonable return on adequately educating the children of the poor. No financial calculus could justify the private investment of $12 million in saving several hundred school children from a lahar that may be centuries away.

And yet most of us recognize that these are investments that must be made… that spending tax dollars protecting homes and businesses from inevitable floods both saves lives and prevents huge losses to our economy as a whole. Most of us recognize that this is a proper role for government, and thus most of us implicitly accept the basic ideological tenets of modern American Liberalism.

There is certainly a legitimate debate to be had over the proper size and scope of government, but while neo-cons and theo-cons have spent the better part of the past three decades denigrating the word “liberal” and vilifying those who would take its label, all but the most wacked-out, extremist nutjobs (that’s you, Grover Nordquist) accept that government regulation and public investment plays a necessary role in our modern democracy and economy. Indeed, when Alaska Senator Ted Stevens publicly argues the case for his infamous “bridge to nowhere” he appeals to the core principles of Liberalism, however cynically.

Liberalism was our nation’s overwhelmingly dominant political philosophy throughout the period in which America grew into the greatest economic, military and political power in the history of the world. It was Liberalism that guided us out of the Great Depression and through World War II, the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was Liberalism that desegregated the South, irrigated the desert, and (for better or for worse) built the interstate highway system.

No ideology has all the answers and all can be pushed absurdly to the extreme, so sure, I recognize the need for there to be a balance between our nation’s liberal and conservative impulses. Yet even in the face of a proto-fascist administration that seeks in the name of God and national security to break the shackles of our Constitution by extending its tentacles into every aspect of our private lives, I remain a steadfast believer in the power of an activist, principled government to better the lives of all its citizens.

That is why despite the inherent inadequacy of political labels, I continue to proudly identify myself as a “liberal.”

Just thought you might want to know.

[UPDATE: Sen. Cantwell to call in at 8:07PM.]

It’s a jam-packed lineup tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”– Newsradio 710-KIRO, from 7PM to 10PM — lots to talk about and lots of people to talk with.

7PM: Why does President Bush hate working Americans? Kathy Casavante of the AFL-CIO’s Voice@Work Campaign will join me to explain administration efforts to redefine the word “supervisor” so as to take away the right to organize from millions of workers. Later on in the hour we’ll be joined by nurses from Virginia Mason Medical Centers, whose proposal to reclassify all 600 registered nurses as supervisors is nothing more than a naked attempt to bust the local and state nursing union.

8PM: Democratic challenger and putative anti-war candidate Mark Wilson just dropped out of the race, endorsed Sen. Maria Cantwell, and announced his intention to campaign full time on her behalf. I’ll talk with Sen. Maria Cantwell at the top of the hour, and then Mark join me to take your calls and answer the question: What changed his mind?

9PM: You say you want a progressive revolution? Progressive Majority Executive Director Gloria Totten joins me to tell us what her organization is doing to turn our nation around from the ground up, by training and supporting local progressive candidates in local races. And later on I’ll ask the question if, in addition to all the grassroots, hard-work, infrastructure building… maybe Democrats also have to start getting dirty?

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

UPDATE:
Sen. Cantwell is now joining me at the top of the 8PM hour, and I’ve moved Gloria Totten to the 9PM hour to make accomodate the Senator’s schedule.

As David Postman reports, Mark Wilson will endorse Sen. Maria Cantwell tomorrow, drop his challenge, and campaign on her behalf full time between now and the November election. I just got off the phone with Wilson, and he sounds as enthusiastic as ever.

As much as he might have tried, and as much as some anti-war Democrats wished it to be, Wilson is no Ned Lamont and Cantwell is no Joe Lieberman. Wilson never had a shot at defeating Cantwell in the primary, and it sounds like he understood this from the get go. What he said he thought he could do was encourage a vigorous debate on the war in Iraq, while keeping those Democrats opposed to the war engaged in the process.

Now, he says, it is time for the party to heal, and come together to help take back the Senate and take back some control of our foreign policy. He says he had a long, personal meeting with Sen. Cantwell and came away convinced that she’s working to bring our troops home. But I’m sure he’ll be willing to put all this in his own words tomorrow.

Yes, my server was down for about 12 hours. My guess is either GOP dirty tricks, or it crashed under the weight of NSA surveillance. Or some “technical” problem.

No doubt Sonics officials and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ office are feverishly attempting to work out a deal on renovating Key Arena before Initiative 91 passes in a landslide this November. Yesterday, sponsors dropped off over 20,000 signatures for I-91, which would prohibit public subsidies of sports arenas, and a recent poll showed overwhelming support. This puts a pretty big kink in the Sonics’ demand that taxpayers fork over $200 million to keep the team in Seattle.

Ah well, that’s what Sonics management gets for arrogantly overplaying its hand.

Personally, I could care less whether the Sonics stay or leave, but I’ve got nothing against loyal fans who want to keep the team in Seattle if a reasonable deal can be achieved. In that spirit I proposed a somewhat tongue-in-cheek financing scheme a little while back… a Latte Tax that would place the tax burden squarely on the shoulders of those who would benefit most from a $200 million public subsidy: Sonics majority owner and Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz.

Yes, what better way to finance a new arena whose primary purpose is to make a very rich man even richer, than to tax the business that made him so awfully damn rich in the first place? And what could be more delicious than a Marble Mocha Macchiato, than the spectacle of Schultz’s Sonics spending millions of Schultz’s dollars to convince voters to levy a tax on Schultz’s ubiquitous Starbucks?

Not surprisingly, my Latte Tax proposal didn’t get much traction with either local politicians or team officials.

But should the Mayor and the team work out a reasonable deal in which the Sonics pay their fair share, I do have another tax proposal that I hope our state and local elected officials seriously consider: a Jock Tax.

Currently, twenty other states already levy a tax on the income visiting players earn during their “duty days” within the state. Our Sonics players already pay this tax on most of their away games, so it’s only fair that visiting players pay a similar tax when they play games here.

It is also only fair to devote these revenues towards paying for public arenas and stadiums, considering that rapidly escalating player salaries is the primary economic motive behind the demand for ever greater public subsidy. If taxpayers are going to be asked to pay for a new arena, lets make sure the burden falls on those who will benefit most from the tax.

Now I know what some of you are thinking: the Washington State Supreme Court has already ruled a state income tax unconstitutional. But that’s all the more reason to pass a Jock Tax now.

Many constitutional scholars and tax experts, including such notables as William Gates Sr. and UW law professor Hugh Spitzer, believe that the court’s antiquated 1933 decision likely would not hold up today… and what better way to test this precedent than with a relatively inconsequential tax like this?

Thus a Jock Tax is a win-win proposal — it is a fair and reasonable tax that targets those who benefit most from the policy, while bringing new tax revenues into the state. And as a bonus, it finally puts to rest a constitutional red herring that has clouded our tax structure debate for decades.

Under a reasonable deal, the Sonics owners would be asked to pay their fair share towards a new arena, and with a Jock Tax in place, so would the league’s players. As for the public, well, if you ask me, outrageously high ticket and concession prices are already burden enough for even the most diehard fan.

From: David Goldstein
Date: July 7, 2006 12:18:09 PM PDT
To: Tim Eyman
Subject: Your Show on KTTH

Dear Tim,

Congratulations on your guest spot filling in the next two weeks in the 5AM to 9AM slot on KTTH. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Since you seemed so eager to come on my show for the entire three hours, I’m sure you would be just as excited to have me come on one of your shows for the entire four hours. You just name the day, and I’ll show up. (Don’t worry, I have my own pass card to the Entercom studios, so I’ll just let myself in.)

I look forward to an “extended debate on the issues.”

Regards,

David

http://www.horsesass.org/
“Politics as unusual.”

“The David Goldstein Show”
Newsradio 710-KIRO, Sundays 7-10PM

Conspiracy theories surrounding Ken Lay’s death are starting to get some traction over on Huffington Post.

According to 94.9 FM KUOW’s web page, Rep. Dave Reichert will be joining Weekday this morning at 9:00 AM to take questions from callers. But word is Reichert chickened out cancelled, and Democratic challenger Darcy Burner will take his place. (I’m hoping that’s a metaphor for the November election.)

Guess we’ll just have to tune in to see who shows up. Should be worth listening to either way.

UPDATE:
Darcy’s on. If you’re curious where she stands on an issue, give her a call: (800) 289-KUOW

I don’t even bother to read our friend Stefan Sound Politics much anymore unless somebody of substance who occasionally gets attributions wrong, like David Postman points me in that direction. Of course, when I do link on over to read what Stefan Sound Politics has to say, I’m constantly reminded why I rarely bother to read him in the first place.

Stefan Eric Earling accuses Democrats of being “unserious” about Social Security reform, and yet he throws out a paragraph like this:

They continue to claim the so-called Social Security Trust Fund means everything will be fine for decades. Wrong. The special T-Bonds in the Trust Fund are simply an IOU from one government account to another. They’re an IOU that will no doubt be honored, but they’re not an asset you can cash at the bank or sell on the bond market like a regular-issue US Treasury Bond. Redeeming the special bonds means raising taxes or cutting spending to pay for them. Even the MSM is starting to understand that.

So… um, what you are telling us Stefan Eric, is that our government won’t be able to afford to pay back the trillions of dollars it has borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund without raising taxes or cutting spending to pay for it, right?

Hmm.

So then, it isn’t really Social Security that’s heading towards insolvency due to incredibly shortsighted, irresponsible and unserious fiscal policy, but rather, the federal government.

Stefan Eric and the Republicans aren’t trying to fix Social Security. No, they’re trying to use Social Security “reform” to cover up the mess left behind by the most fiscally irresponsible administration in US history. If President Bush and the GOP congressional leadership hadn’t turned record budget surpluses into record budget deficits, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Blaming this looming budget crisis on Social Security is nothing but creative accounting.

People like Stefan Eric see privatization as a twofer: they get to dismantle the crowning achievement of the New Deal while covering up the financial disaster created by their party’s failed policies at home and abroad. And the rhetoric they employ is dishonest as usual.

If Stefan Eric wants a “substantive national debate” let’s have one on our current fiscal crisis, and figure out how we’re going to pay for this administration’s policies and programs instead of passing the cost off to future generations. Are we really at war? Then let’s raise taxes to pay for this war the way we have all previous wars, or dramatically cut services elsewhere, forcing our elected officials to pay the inevitable political price. Let the Republicans tell Americans that we can’t afford things like education, health care or even Social Security at home, because we have to pay hundreds of billions of dollars a year fighting “The Long War” in Iraq.

Let’s have that debate, Stefan Eric. But don’t tell me Democrats are “unserious” about Social Security while Republicans blithely run up the largest budget and balance of trade deficits in US history.

UPDATE:
Well, so much for trusting “somebody of substance like David Postman.” Postman wrote:

Stefan Sharkansky says “Cantwell’s social security stance hurts my head.”

So I read the post on (u)SP, but didn’t bother reading the byline. Turns out it wasn’t written by Stefan after all, it was written by Eric Earling. (Whoever he is.) Doesn’t change my point, but I’ve updated the post accordingly.

In case my enemies are interested in knowing what I look like, I’ll be on Seattle Voices with Eric Liu tonight at 8:00 PM, on The Seattle Channel, channel 21.

Or so I’m told. I don’t actually have cable.