I’m going to start by pointing out that not only are real wages down to levels not seen since 1997, not only is the poverty rate up to a level not seen since 1997, health coverage is down. One in every 20 people who had coverage from their employers last year don’t have it anymore. The only coverage gains were for government insurance programs such as Medicare (hrm, pesky socialism!) Moreover, income hasn’t kept up with reality for the last 40 years. No wonder things seem tight!
So despite the fact that We the People are being squeezed, we get “reforms” that protect the profits of insurance companies, and helpful advice to not need coverage. Nothing is being done to make sure that “coverage” actually “covers” us. Nobody is offering to let Joe and Jane Average buy into government coverage programs that are actually known to work (and work pretty well for the most part).
Open Left is a little behind me on this one: the Democratic Party and its candidates don’t get a dime from me until they start to deliver on some of their promises. In the meantime, every time the Party calls me, I will be sending money to organizations that actually campaign for my interests. Don’t tell me the party has to be “centrist” to get “bipartisan support,” because the majority of people support a very progressive agenda by their standards, and bipartisanship once again means “do it the Republicans’ way.” Don’t tell me to be reasonable, because there is no reason we can’t do this right. And finally, don’t tell me that we can’t get it done in Congress, because they have majorities in both houses.
The party ran on hope and change. It’s time to deliver
In closing: VW’s 240 MPG car will go into production; wouldn’t it be nice if employers followed the law?; a follow-up on different ways to measure unemployment; Levi’s got it together; heart attack rates fall 17% after public smoking bans; the paradox of thrift; send the crooks to prison; scumbag banks; safety tips; and finally, Happy Equinox.