Can Progress be made in America without the Feds Playing a Tighter Role in Regulation?

As we write this blog, today is Sunday, February 22 -- only about a month after Barack Obama was sworn in as President. Obama was elected with a strong mandate for change and now, barely more than 30 days after he was sworn in, "Change" is fast on its way. The economic stimulus package, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act have passed and been signed into law.

Meanwhile, the housing crisis, the automakers' mess and the banking situation still need additional help, as does the need to bring the federal government back to its traditional role as the enforcers of tough regulation. Yesterday, one of our readers wrote in to ask,

"Where the hell were the auditors, regulators? This continuing string of travesties may be enough to cause the American people to become like Howard Beale in Network, "Mad as hell" and "Not going to take it any more." They might even give up their self-destructive love affair with Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan, and Ronald Reagan's apotheosis of selfishness to the pantheon of virtues."

The widely reported story our reader referred to was "Madoff Never Made Supposed Investments" So far, the court-appointed trustee has examined records "only" back to almost 1993 and no evidence that any securities were ever purchased during that time has been found.

Assuming this remains true as the investigation continues, this fact raises further question, e.g., where did the trade confirmations and fake statements to investors come from ... from someone at the Stock Market? ... and why didn't all these "checks & balances" (Stock Market, Brokerage Firm, Bank Accounts, IRS, etc., etc.) ever come to light through our government "regulation" system? Remember that Madoff confessed ... no government regulatory authority actually looked into this crime.

Chairman Edolphus Towns from New York is the new Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Let's watch carefully to see that the Madoff situation gets the full investigatory spotlight, so that we can learn which regulatory agencies dropped the ball and who profited in addition to Madoff.

"Wanted: Personal Economic Trainers. Apply at Capitol."

The Stimulus legislation isn't quite through the Senate yet, so if you have friends (who haven't lost their jobs yet), who still don't understand what the Stimulus does, writer and Post website editor Steven Pearlstein carefully explains in today's Washington Post: "Wanted. Personal Economic Trainers. Apply at the Capitol. " It's great reading ... absolutely accurate ... and family friendly -- suitable for all kinds of people, whether they are employed, unemployed or just plain stubborn about understanding the need for economic Stimulus.

Pearlstein's "must read" ends with a quick and easy but very accurate definition of economic stimulus:

"Spending is stimulus, no matter what it's for and who does it. The best spending is that which creates jobs and economic activity now, has big payoffs later and disappears from future budgets."

The bottom line: Our economy is in trouble. Number of jobs lost just in 2008 already is as many as were lost in 1945. Lose many more and we'll all be stuck in an uglier version of the Great Depression because the folks that don't want this bill in the Senate are in danger of being called the "Marie Antoinettes" of 2009 -- happily wondering why the unemployed aren't eating big pieces of cake with lots of frosting on them.

One particular "Marie" is Senator Tom Colburn from Oklahoma. Pearlstein reports that one in five workers in Oklahoma are government workers. Yet in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, Colburn complained that one in five of the 3 million jobs that the stimulus package might create or save would be government jobs. We note here that Colburn's job is a government job and so is every one of the jobs his personal staff holds, some of whom are located in Oklahoma. If Colburn is going to look down his nose at government workers, maybe he should resign so at a minimum, he wouldn't be snarling about his own government salary.

But seriously, Colburn and his staff are evidence of the curmudgions who need most the "economic trainers" Pearlstein recommends. But for Colburn ... and other naysayers, too. See below for basics. Read them ... think thoughtfully ... turn off the radio ... this is too important to trust Rush Limbaugh and his pals. Then call your U.S. Senator -- see directions at the bottom of this article.

1. Stimulus = Spending
2. The best spending results in investments that stick around for awhile, e.g., roads, sewers, school buildings, transit and high speed rail, medical equipment and more -- all different kinds of infrastructure. To build or repair infrastructure, it takes workers.
   
3. The middle class is hurting. Why? ... because as our economy shrunk during the last eight years, they were asked to pick up the slack -- working more, paying more taxes proportionately than the very rich and all the while, finding that with the cheap interest available then, they could balance their budgets by borrowing money. Now the piper has come with higher interest rates, squeezing the very people who paid the bills while the rich danced.
4. The middle class is hurting. What to do? ... See Stimulus package ... it creates jobs (see #2 -- infrastructure investments creates jobs) and tax breaks ($500 per individual) give immediate extra cash (to pay for the long delayed bills) in the way of specifically targeted tax breaks for the middle class.

Now, please call your Senator. Let him or her know that you support the Stimulus Bill. You might even tell them how your town has a crumbling school or has had to lay off workers, stop fixing the road, or how bottled waters is required for its babies because of its lack of water/sewer.

For Senate phone numbers, click here. At the top of the page, write in your state and your Senate contact info will pop up. Thank you for caring about your country.

PS: Pearlstein's got a new blog spot on Leadership. You might want to put it on your read list. Find it here.

Change = Progress in Only 16 Days

Just think -- in less than 16 days, this new Administration has made three really big accomplishments:

1. President Obama has signed SCHIP -- State Children's Health Insurance Program into law. Last year, readers of My Rural America worked hard to pass it, and we couldn't be more proud of this new Congress' action to pass SCHIP. About 1/3 of rural kids rely upon SCHIP and usually Medicaid. This year -- with the collapsed economy that President Bush left us stuck with, SCHIP is even more important because for every one point rise in unemployment, 700,000 kids in unemployed families become eligible.
   
2. Even before signing SCHIP, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. This bill combats wage discrimination, making it possible for more employees to challenge wage discrimination based upon gender, race, age and disability. The bill is named after Lilly Ledbetter who learned decades later that she was being paid significantly less than her male colleagues who were doing the same job at the same time, for many years of work at Goodyear. A lower court ruled that Goodyear was wrong, awarding Lilly $3M but Goodyear challenged and the case went to the Supreme Court, where the Court's extremely conservative Justices ruled that past discrimination didn't matter, saying Lilly should have sued sooner. The problem with that decision is that often those who are discriminated against in this way do not find out until many years later and the Court decision made sure that companies that discriminated wouldn't have to make things right. Now Congress and President Obama has fixed this injustice.
   
3. Obama Stimulus has passed the House. President Barack Obama warned a few hours ago, "The time for talk is over." As you read this tonight -- February 5, the Senate is likely to vote on the package later this evening. There has been much misinformation about the Stimulus, including that from the Heritage Foundation and other conservative news sources, but the bottom line is that Roosevelt did it right to get us out of the Great Depression and Obama's plan, like Roosevelt's, is one that can work. The Stimulus Package includes:

• Tax breaks for 95% of American workers. This is immediate cash on hand, which will be reflected in paychecks. What the conservatives are complaining about is that the top 5% of income earners (the extremely rich) aren't getting more tax cuts (like the rich did under the Bush Administration when essentially, the middle class got left out).
• First time home buyers will receive additional tax credits -- so more incentives for these new buyers to stop waiting and get into the market. As it is, just like the banks (even those with capital) are afraid to loan money right now), and so are the home buyers, who are waiting to see what happens. The tax credits offered should be the necessary incentive to get these buyers to be braver and quicker about buying the first homes they need and want.
• Infrastructure investments -- roads, bridges, schools, rails and mass transit systems ... a whole generation of new green jobs are in this Stimulus.
• Buy American ... there is a requirement that materials will need to be made by American workers. This means more jobs for Americans. Presently, the unemployment rate is the highest it's been in 16 years, i.e., since George H.W. Bush was president, and in 2008, more jobs were lost than in any other year dating back to 1945.
  

So watch the Senate carefully. This is about our future. Watch carefully. You may expect a report here about who votes yes for moving forward, and who votes no, trying to stop progress and return to the last eight years.

Congress Getting Along? YES!!

Well, this is pretty cool. We first wrote about how Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to the White House to negotiate with the President over the need for economic stimulus in January. She came out with agreement for a solid package that met the three most basic goals for a stimulus -- timely, targeted and temporary. The bill passed the House and went to the Senate where it got dolled up with a couple of very necessary extras that will assist 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans. That was good news, but still we worried ... since the bill was a slightly stronger bill than the President had agreed to, would House Republicans balk?

The answer to that question was no. Rather, Minority Leader John Boehner and Speaker Pelosi worked together to pass the bill in the House, with the expected result that the President will sign it very soon. We call that a BIG WIN for the economy and for our nation. For more detail on the final package, see the New York Times story -- Congress Votes for a Stimulus of $168 Billion.

There's more good news, too. Today's Politico has an on-line story "First Date: Well Played" that's a quick, fun read with a serious message. Pelosi and Boehner are still talking, and that's a good start.

Let's hope that these conversations include talk about the Farm Bill. After all, the Farm Bill is crucial to the economy of rural America.

Economic Stimulus -- Congratulations Congress

Whew. Working families won a round on Friday when both the House and the Senate passed the economic stimulus package. There was strong support on both sides of the aisle, with many members of Congress working together to make sure that it passed.

Mark Zandi, Moody's Economy.com's chief economist approved the action by saying that although the stimulus package "could not prevent a recession (if one is coming), as its benefits won’t kick in until this summer; ... it could substantially mitigate the severity of any downturn. " As a whole, the package includes tax rebates as high as $1200 per family, small business incentives, a child tax credit and assistance for homeowners who may lose their homes because of the mortgage crisis.

President Bush earlier committed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he was in favor of a stimulus package, so we anxiously await confirmation that he will sign the bill.

Open Letter to Senator Jon Tester on the Bush Budget

Dear Senator Tester,

My Rural America just loves you. Why? ... Because you're right about the Bush Budget being just plain cruel to rural America. You said just, " ... another nail in the coffin of rural America, so to speak."

Over the next days/weeks we'll be doing a continuing feature about our country's endangered Middle Class. Whether the subject -- i.e., the "nail" -- is "Economic Stimulus" package, Farm Bill or how the Bush Budget cuts "Essential Air", broadband, AMTRAK, the "Wild Land Fire Program" and/or a lot of other things too, it would be a real slap in the face to rural Americans if we were to end up stuck with the President and his allies' Budget.

To get us started, we're sharing the Great Falls Tribune's story, "Tester: Bush Budget Fails Rural America."

Thanks again for working hard to protect us all.

Your fans at My Rural America

Maybe George Bush Doesn't Eat?

Now that there has been a bit of time since SOTU, have you noticed what was missing?

Think now. After all, why are we here? .... and now that your thinking cap is on, we'll bet you remember R U R A L.

Not one word did George Bush have to say about rural, Farm Bill, rural development, school lunch, food safety, agriculture or the Bill's many other related subjects on Monday night. We might remember that rural Americans gave George Bush a +19 vote margin over John Kerry in 2004. But we guess he just forgot ... just forgot all 55 to 60 million of us.

Read what some Farm State members had to say at "Bush Silence on Farm Bill Draws Fire," on Politico. Our favorites:

• "To stymie a Farm Bill has real consequences ... The Farm Bill is our (economic) stimulus," reminded Representative Earl Pomeroy (ND).
• "The Farm Bill is the single most important legislation for rural communities," Senator Tom Harkin (IA).

Succinctly, Tom Buis, President of the National Farmers Union said, "I was appalled."

At My Rural America, we are appalled, too. Maybe George Bush doesn't eat?