Precipice
Long-time favorite Mike Gravel is switching parties. Not that this will matter in the upcoming election one bit, but these are the words of someone itching for a fight, if only someone would take him up on it:
…the Democratic Party no longer represents my vision for our great country.
The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR. It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism — all of which I find anathema to my views.
By and large, I have been repeatedly marginalized in both national debates and in media exposure by the Democratic leadership, which works in tandem with the corporate interests that control what we read and hear in the media.
He’s going Libertarian. I should have seen it coming. I got one of their flyers in the mail last week.
“Operating within the system” also means operating without it. His prescience in this clip is astounding.
Waste not
I’m not normally one to champion for smaller government. I think that most federal programs, no matter how poorly run they may be, have some merit and help further some worthy cause.
But as I walked in the door tonight and checked the mail, I had an epiphany. Why doesn’t the U.S. Postal Service switch to delivering mail on alternate days, at least for residential delivery? In our mail stream, light as it may be (thanks, Catalog Choice!), there isn’t a single thing that I would miss were it delayed an extra day.
With all of the Internets and tubes that we have crisscrossing this great country of ours, maybe daily mail service is becoming a luxury that people would be willing to give up. At the very least, it would probably be easier to forgo than, say, our “right” to buy cheap gasoline.
Plus, this idea gives me a chance to dust off my financial analysis (thanks, employee benefits!) “skills”. To wit, and with plenty of fuzzy math:
The USPS is, roughly speaking, an $80 billion/year operation. There are about 290,000 city and rural carriers, which is about 37% of the total workforce. Salaries and health care don’t come cheap — “Compensation and Benefits” eats up about $54 bn/year; 37% of that is about $20 bn.
Now, imagine that through retirement and attrition the Postal Service was able to winnow its delivery force to half of what it is today. No GM-style buyouts or layoffs here. This reduced force would be tasked with covering the same area but with less frequency. Instead of one neighborhood, say, a mail carrier would be responsible for two, but on separate days. Bags might be heavier or shifts might run longer, but modest salary increases do wonders for the working spirit.
Through the reduction of these positions alone, a savings of $7-$8 bn/year (if not more) could be had. That would certainly be enough to cover the $5 bn loss in 2007, and would keep further rate increases at bay.
Unlike mass transit, where the utility and utilization of the system increases with increased frequency of service, to a point, I think that home mail delivery is actually at that inflection point. The service we are getting is not cost-effective.
Would this be the start of a downward spiral for the USPS? The signal of the beginning of the end? Perhaps. But I see them going down that road anyway. Note the decrease in the volume of First-Class and Periodical mail. These are the largest classes of mail that most people actually care about getting at home. Standard Mail, which has shown an increase, is the class used to send “business” (read: junk) mail at a discounted rate. From this, it appears that rate increases and an increased reliance on Standard Mail is what keeps the boat afloat. As a business model, if it works, it works, but as a public service, I think it kind of stinks.
Maybe this idea should go to Halfbakery for some tough love.
To the victor
A damn fine orator:
It’s nice to think that we could have a president whose speeches inspire, not embarrass.
It’s how you spend it
Don’t let the news fool you. America has the money to throw around.
Unfortunately, we can’t seem to spend it on the right things.
Who deserves the most scorn? Is it the uncompromising, militaristic President or the pussy-whipped Congress who can’t seem to muster a meaningful stand for anything? The system is failing miserably.
A new debate
I’m thoroughly enjoying the Democratic debate in Philadelphia. Although Mike Gravel, my candidate of choice, was excluded for spurious reasons, he’s having a fun go of it anyway, and doing it in a way that could have a lot of promise for the future.
He’s in a small auditorium, and the debate is being projected on a screen behind him. The MSNBC broadcast is Tivoed, which gives Gravel the opportunity to stop the debate and respond to the candidates point-by-point. It’s interesting to watch this free-form analysis and deconstruction of each of the speakers’ points by a fellow candidate.
Of course, this is all being webcast, with an IRC channel providing additional commentary from the peanut gallery.
Little pieces, all working together.
I like Mike even more
My Gravel-loving ego got a bit of a boost yesterday when I saw the following question in the “Gosh, I Love America!”: A 2008 Campaign Quiz piece in the October 15 issue of the New Yorker:
Two of these quotes are from Mike Gravel. Which one is from Mitt Romney?
(a) “I am prepared to tell you that Americans are getting fatter and dumber. I have no problem saying that.”
(b) “I think we at one point were fish coming out of the slime.”
(c) “Gosh, I love America!”
The answer is pretty obvious. I found source material for both quotes.
Of course, the entry of South Carolina’s favorite son candidate threatens to upset the entire race.
A retraction, sort of
After attending tonight’s mayoral form, I realized some of my earlier comments regarding the mayor may have been a bit harsh. Going to a Toby Keith concert is still a stupid thing to do, obviously, but I was impressed with the way he handled himself at the debate. Given what we’ve got to choose from, he’s the city’s best bet. (Or one could write in one’s favorite city councilman.)
Tony Oliva (no, not that one), the Libertarian candidate, felt a little philosophically inconsistent and soft on the issues. But he was always ready to offer up an answer to any question that was thrown his way. Points to him for that. Plus, in the course of about 10 minutes, he mentioned litter, better music venues, passenger rail, and how neighborhood redevelopment could lead to better transit options. It’s nice to know someone else cares about this kind of stuff.
I really wanted to find some common ground with the Socialist Workers Party’s candidate, Ryan Scott, but his constant refusal to directly address nearly any question posed to him grew tiresome after a while. Because the editorial panel failed to rein him in, a lot of his answers did give the debate an interesting tinge of absurdity, though. I would have liked to see the questioners and some of the audience (particularly the old lady behind me) treat him with more respect. It takes some balls to get up and rail against things as he did.
And although I tried to go into the forum with an open mind, the Republican candidate, Mark DeSantis, failed to impress. After reminding everyone several times in the first 10 minutes how “old” he felt up on stage, he proceeded to slip in snarky, and downright mean, comments at the mayor the rest of the night. Way to keep the asshole businessman stereotype alive.
What a letdown
Yukongate, the latest “scandal” to “rock” Pittsburgh city hall has gone on for way too long. I would like to get more worked up about this, but I just can’t. Why? I just don’t have the respect for our Mayor like I used to:
The issue came to a head after Mr. Ravenstahl used the SUV over the weekend of Aug. 18. Among other things, he took it to a Toby Keith concert at the Post-Gazette Pavilion. He said he went with his wife and friends.
Shit, Luke, come on. Two hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic in an SUV to see a xenophobic, good ol’ boy “country” singer? What’s next? A weekend outing to the nearest NASCAR race? You’re dead to me now.
Gas and taxes
Lately, there’s been a lot of things worth mention, but here are two of particular note:
Ethanol: Now it’s personal
This love affair we’re having with ethanol has got to stop. Among the many shortcomings that are noted in a recent New York Times blog post, “Ethanol and the Tortilla Tax,” comes this gem:
So far, Americans havent really caught on to what is happening to the price of products such as soybean or corn-based foodstuffs. But that may change if and when this rush to all fuels allegedly more environmentally friendly affects the price of beer.
It could happen; Heineken, the brewery giant, said beer prices might have to be raised because so many crops are being planted and diverted to bio-fuel production that the supply of barley and hops is being reduced.
Over-reliance on a crop that is chemically dependent and facilitates erosion, being disingenuous about the energy required to produce the stuff (and its purported “green” image), and shortchanging the world’s food supply in favor of keeping our country’s fleet of S.U.V’s in motion is one thing. But fuck with our beer supply? It just won’t fly.
Encouraging bad behavior
Representative Zack Space of Ohio has a solution for the twin “problems” of foreclosures and “high” gas prices:
…families who lose their homes to foreclosure frequently are hit with a massive tax bill. They lose their home and are hit with a “foreclosure tax” by the IRS, adding insult to injury. […] This “foreclosure tax” is simply unfair and needless injury. That’s why I will be introducing legislation to help alleviate this problem.
I also don’t have to tell you what gasoline prices have done to our families’ budgets. Earlier this summer, prices climbed to $3.25 per gallon and higher. For most of us who live in rural areas, we have no choice but to pay those prices if we want to continue to get to work and pick up our kids from school.
That is why I announced my plan to introduce the Rural Commuters Tax Relief Act of 2007. This legislation could not be simpler: If your household makes less than the national median income, you drive more than 30 miles to work and you work at least four days per week, then you receive a $100 tax credit for each month that the average price of gas is more than $3 per gallon.
So, if I read this right, he’d like to set up programs that only serve to reinforce the behavior that caused the problems in the first place? That’s poor governance.
To wit:
Why are more people suddenly facing foreclosure on their $300,000 home? It’s got a lot to do with the recent subprime lending boom and the popularity of adjustable rate mortgages, which allow for the easy acquisition of a McMansion in the ‘burbs. Speculation in a real-estate market that is teetering on the edge of collapse is not, historically, something that Joe Middle Class usually engaged in. Why not direct this “relief” into something more productive, such as borrower education that encourages potential homeowners to realign their expectations with economic reality?
Representative Space’s district lies amidst a lot of Rust Belt cities that could use an infusion of fresh blood. Incentives to repopulate these empty urban centers would serve to increase the economic health of his state more so than the current cycle of suburban development, which does nothing but keep the fast food chains, big box stores, and highway construction contractors happy. True, it may keep his district from becoming a haven for the Bed, Bath and Beyond set, but we should be concerned with preserving, not developing, our rural communities.
Promoting this type of behavior would also serve to eliminate the need to “help” people who “drive more than 30 miles to work.” The best help for these kind of people is the kind that encourages them to move closer to where they work. In Representative Space’s district, that would probably include cities like Columbus, Akron, and Canton. None of which are weathering the current suburban exodus all that well.
My kind of candidate?
I have a knack for voting for the losing side. This is probably due in large part to the hard right turn this country has taken between my 18th birthday and now. It probably also has a lot to do with being generally concerned about things people don’t really care about (the environment and civil liberties, for example) while discounting the things that really get the masses worked up (NASCAR, Hummers, and Intelligent Design).
I think the only time I was in the majority was when Rick Santorum (NSFW?) lost to Bob Casey for the Pennsylvania Senate seat. Given Santorum’s tanking popularity by the time the 2006 elections rolled around (even his daughter didn’t want to to have anything to do with him), that was an easy call.
I look to be on course for another letdown come next November (or before, depending on how things go), as I become more enamored with the crazy guy of the Democratic field, Mike Gravel. Spurred on by a profile and interview that popped up in my feed reader, I started to look into him some more.
He’s a guy after my own heart. For example, he:
- Supports a carbon tax, and would use the money to support the development of worldwide energy alternatives;
- Would do nothing to offset the eventual rising cost of fossil fuels, especially oil, as he feels higher prices will help to make alternative fuels and lifestyles more feasible;
- Took public transportation to his campaign announcement;
- Wants to reinvent the national passenger rail system;
- Takes issue with America’s unending obsession with constant growth.
This last one is especially great, as I think it underlies so many (if not all) of the problems I think we are facing today. Our short-sightnedness is getting us into trouble:
Q: After climate and energy, what do you think is the most important environmental issue facing the nation?
A: Growth.
Q: Urban growth? Population growth?
A: It’s more complex than that. Our total economy is based upon growth, growth, growth. Well, there comes a time when you destroy so you can have growth.
I want to change our system of revenue from an income tax to a sales tax. That would change this country from a consuming nation to a savings nation. If we begin to look upon growth from a savings point of view, we could do more in the short run with respect to global warming. Our country right now spends more than we earn, and we’re on our way to bankruptcy.
He’s not perfect — I think he dismisses nuclear energy too readily, and he’s got some overly ambitious and/or misguided ideas about a liquid hydrogen infrastructure, but I can live with that.
And really, he’s probably a little nuts, but I can live with that too.
