Where Are You Robert La Follette? Your State Needs YOU!!!

For the last two weeks, the lawmakers in the state of Wisconsin have been at a stand still.  The "budget battle" that has become the frontline of what I expect will be a year that will be my generations’ seminal point in the history of labor relations in this country.  To the general eye/view of my generation, we do not see or understand the big deal of Wisconsin, we only know the talking points.  With one-side, stating this is about a budget crisis and this is the only solution. The other side is being viewed as not doing their job or running away from their responsibilities. To my generation, many do not get that this battle is about our future, and the public employees in Wisconsin are standing up for us, and meeting the historical expectations of their great state.  My generation does not see that Wisconsin about our rights to level the odds (just slightly) with the house.  That we (people whom worker for others) have a right to the option of benefits, or even a voice in our work-life balance.  That is what Wisconsin is standing up for.

The public employees do not work for us, they work for the agencies, departments, districts, and numerous other government entities that we want and need to support our existence.  Yes, we pay taxes, but our voice in the process is with our elected officials and the policies they pursue.  The decision of Governor Scott Walker is policy about bullying and superiority, not about what is best for the state.  The budget part of this battle was settled last week, when the unions agreed to the stipulations in the proposed budget bill, this is now about imposing the will of the powerful influence peddlers on the masses. Maybe, this is just trying to stop a potential new element for collective bargaining, unions for public health employees, like nurses.  If states begin to implement their own health care systems or even the Federal government enables public health employees the same right to collective bargain, then the opponents of collective bargaining will be forced to address the inequity of the fast growing need industry in this country.  Everyday, Nurses serve a vital role in our health care system.  Currently, only 20% of nurses nationwide do collective bargaining with hospitals and other health care facilities.  Part of the things that collective bargaining does for employees allows them to negotiation work conditions, training, definition of expectations, as well as benefits. 

This is just the beginning of the imposing of will we will see this year, the next and most visible labor battle begins at the end of this week with the NFL. Ironically, the current NFL champions reside in Wisconsin and the City of Green Bay owns the team, if Governor Walker gets his way does that mean the Packer players will not be allowed to collectively bargain for their benefits?  Will it be up to the voters of Wisconsin to give them a raise above inflation? I do not think that Clay Mathews and Aaron Rodgers would be Packers too long if they could not collectively bargain.

This may all be the precursor to the larger fight, Social Security.  The rhetorical structure of Social Security has become now "Entitlements".  For my generation, we will not get "Entitlements", even though we paid into them, I call BS on that.  Yet, my generation is not fighting, not coming up with solutions, we are accepting.  Mark my words, the end game for all this is an end run at Social Security elimination for anyone born after 1970.

I would like to leave you with two things, Governor Robert La Follette served as the Governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906, a Republican, then later a Progressive, established many of the workers right structure we take for granted today, including workers compensation and minimum wage.  Governor La Follette viewed Wisconsin as a "laboratory for democracy", that laboratory of democracy is being tested by the influence of big business he and his Republican contemporaries fought against through trust and monopoly busting.  Governor La Follette fought for the every man of Wisconsin, Governor Walker fight for the fancy lad that wants a corporate tax handout.

Collective bargaining is the coming together of individuals, to form a united group of similar occupations and skills, to bring grievances and propose solutions to a powerful organizational body, wait that kind of sounds familiar. 

A Sacrifice, A Real Hard Sacrifice: Tax Refunds

How far are you willing to sacrifice for the financial good of the country?  In the last year we have heard a lot about the national debt and the annual deficit (yes, there is a difference between the two).  The debt was the main driver of the 2010 elections, many new members of Congress won on the issue that the government is too big and are calling for spending cuts.  After the election, The House GOP immediately announced that they would cut $100 billion from the current fiscal year budget, which was never proposed because of legislative holds and other political BS.  There are three bills in the House Budget Committee that will cut spending, but the total cut is only $32 Billion, a little short of the target.  Some would say it is a start, but it is like paying the bookie $32 when you owe him $100, he will not let you slide without a slight injury.  My problem is that we all know it is a problem, but only one party has done actually real things to try to solve, not so quick GOP and do not give yourself a high-five Dems.  If we (the citizens) are going to get serious about solving the national debt, or at the very least making a health dent in it quickly, I have an option: suspend individual and corporate income tax refunds for five years.

Yes, no income tax refund for five years. Okay before you go scream that I am crazy or that is outrageous, or think I am talking tax increase (which it is not); take a deep breath, according to the IRS data in tax year 2008, $324 Billion was paid in individual tax refunds on 111 million individual tax returns.  To give you a quick comparison, the total proposed budget for FY 2009 for non-security discretionary spending (agencies like Labor, HHS, HUD, Education and about 21 others) was $437 Billion,  that is a difference of just over $110 Billion; Medicare is $425 Billion. 

The total number of individual tax returns for tax year 2008 was just over 144 million returns.  77% of individual tax rates led to a refund on average of $2,902.

So, hear me out, I propose that you keep the credit which for many of us are vital to lowering our tax burden and clearly help the economy.  However, once you get to zero, you are at zero no refund.  The refund is not really overage of what you paid in withholding tax through the year, but the fact you get refundable credits or had other deductions, like the mortgage interest deduction, that lower your tax burden; we have been lucky enough to get the remainder as our tax refund.  Can we sacrifice our remainder to pay down the debt?

My proposal is simple, suspend the individual and corporate tax refunds for five years, just five years to take effect for tax year 2012 (so no refund in April 2013).  The credits and deductions still count to lowering individual tax burden.  If you owe after doing your tax return you still owe, if you are at zero, you at zero.  Mandate that the remainder of about $300 Billion (Based on the current projection rates) be used to pay down the national debt.  Total reduction of national debt is $1.5 Trillion over five years.

I know this is a tough choice, I know after doing my first itemized tax return that I really like the refund total, but if we are going to seriously address this crisis then we need to open up all options.

Do we have the stomach for sacrifice?

The Root of Propaganda, The Roots of Violence, and The Root of Change

Saturday’s events in my home state should never have happened, not for the reasons that many will believe.  First, I agree, the rhetoric of our current political environment needs to change. Many do not know the tone and language used in Arizona elections has been turned up to a level where primary elections are not about issues but about who is more extreme. For example, Jesse Kelly, Rep. Giffords 2008 GOP opponent, had no political experience, was relatively new to Arizona, and ran only on I am against everything Obama and government.  Jesse Kelly used propaganda and suggestive, implied rhetoric to try and stir up a base of strict conservatives to beat out his primary opponent, Jonathan Paton; Jonathan Paton served in the state legislature, active member in the military, just completing a tour in Iraq, and a pragmatic public servant.  The voters in the Republican primary voted for the emotional propaganda by Kelly, this was not an exemption but the rule in Arizona; Ben Quayle won his primary by saying that the President was the worst ever, Arizonans voted him to Congress even though he lived in Arizona for the long tenure of 3 years, a “Real Arizonan”.  The battle in Arizona is about being elected; it is not about doing the best for the state, but winning the spoils of election.   I think it needs to change to one of real factual debate, instead of emotional, propaganda talking points.  This last election was not about constructive debate, but about anti-government angst. The speech and language to gain votes for a seat that many of our representatives do not respect is part of the problem that many have with politicians.  For those that serve the people and those that cover our representatives need to have real debates about policy, not debates for the purpose of rates and poll numbers. 

Next, as details come out about the suspected murderer, the picture of mental illness is being framed.  Last year, as part of the state’s budget crisis about 14,000 Arizonans lost mental health care coverage through ACCCHS.  If someone recognized that the suspected murderer was mental ill, where could they go for help.  The Arizona legislature has taken a position to cut health care for Arizona to balance the budget this includes mental health.  For a long time in Arizona the mental health issues have been pushed aside by lawmakers, hopefully this tragedy will push them to address it immediately.

Finally, this tragedy should lead to the discussion again on the accessibility to handguns by individuals will mental illness.  After Virginia Tech, the Commonwealth of Virginia tightened the state gun laws, to prevent mentally unsounded individuals to purchase a gun without first going through a Federal database.  In Arizona, the last decade has been marked by legislation to allow anyone to carry a gun.  The basis for this openness is that if guns were more available, people would be safer.  The reality is that Arizona has some of the looses oversight of gun ownership in the United States.  I understand that it is a right, but the lawmakers of this state want guns to be allowed everywhere.  There is no reason to bring a handgun to a Safeway on a Saturday morning, or to a bar on a Friday night.  The guns in bar issue is prime example of how the state has changed in the last five years.  In 2005, Randy Graf, Rep. Giffords first opponent whom she beat in 2006, was mocked nationally by the Daily Show for the Guns in Bars law he proposed.  The law allows gun owners to carry a gun into a bar, A BAR.  Apparently, the thinking for this law was that guns and alcohol CAN mix in a non-violent way.  This last year, the law to allow guns in bars passed and was signed by the Governor; the next new gun law is not really a law, but an elimination of oversight, allow guns on college and university campuses, like ASU.  Again, party atmosphere with alcohol and guns could make for an interesting theme party.   

The roots of this tragedy is a combination of rhetoric, anti-government zeal, mental illness, and policy decisions by a state that is demonstrating that it could care less about the people that live in it.  Arizona is in a crisis, not a financial one, or a political one, but a crisis of identity to the rest of world and to its citizens.  The path of the state needs to change, or the image that many have been trying to change for the last 20 years (since the Evan Mecham days) will comeback.  The image of the bigoted, out of control, and leader-less state that is out of touch with the rest of the country.  Last thing, I ask my friends who still live in the beautiful state to take a step back before automatically get mad at what I say; this is my constructive criticism for a state that I love and has lost its way.

Health Care – Republican Style

So when the Republicans take the House on November 3^rd, one of their key fiscal leaders will be Rep. Paul Ryan from Wisconsin.  Rep. Ryan and the other Republicans may propose a repeal of the Health Care Reform.  However, nobody is talks about the Republican proposal for Health Care.  Yes, they do have one and it is Representative Ryan’s.  He is proposing a refundable tax credit; $2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families each year. 

First, a refundable tax credit means you pay first and then get it when you file your taxes.  In addition, you get the credit even if your tax liability is zero. 

According to the latest census projections, there are just over 310 million Americans.  According to the 2008 estimates of households, this separates families from individuals.

Total Households: about 112.3 million

Total Families: about 74.8 million

Individuals: about 37.5 million

So let us do some math, 74.8 million times $5,700 each year that equals 426,360,000,000.  That is just over $426 BILLION on tax credits for just Families.

37.5 million Times $2,300 each year that equals 86,250,000,000

That is just over $86 BILLION on tax credits for Individuals

For a total of $512 BILLION each year of spending to the Federal budget. 

A reminder to everyone, the CBO cost estimate of the Health Care Reform Act is 938 BILLION over TEN years; In comparison to my basic math using Rep. Ryan’s proposal and Census data, the Republican proposal is $5.12 TRILLION over ten years. 

If you really care about controlling spending, the national debt, and believe that we need to do something about health care in this country; The Democrats and the President’s Health Care Reform is the better solution for the country.  The Republican solution will continue their policy of fantasy governance or do nothing to solve problems.

Angry at the Government, BUT Are You Angry At The Right One?

The TEA party movement has been the main focus by the media in this election cycle.  The message from the media is that this is an election about anger at the government, at which government?   The focus has been on the Federal government; issues like TARP, the stimulus, and National Health Care Framework as signs that the GOVERNMENT is the problem.  The problem is not the Federal government, and it is not the market -- the problem for the average American is the state and local government.  The actions of the Federal government are so distant from the majority of American, that we do not see the impact everyday; on the flip-side, the actions of the state and local governments touch American everyday like housing and zoning, state and local pensions, and public education.

The major problems in this country are not Federal issues, for example, the housing market.  Yes, the financial industry bears some responsibility for their role in the collapse (note I say some).  However, the decision to zone areas for new home building was done by local governments.  In my home state of Arizona, home construction dominated the economic growth of the last decade.  New sub-divisions were being building every week.  The decisions for zoning by cities in the Phoenix metro area were made by the city councils competing for tax revenue, developer dollars, and prestige.  The short-term gain was important, not the long term effect.   In 2007, according to the WP Carey Business Schools at Arizona State University (ASU), 65,000 homes were built in Phoenix each year.  The thought was that the metro area would continue to grow at the 30% rate it had for the previous 5 boom years.  The problem is that assumption and the housing need were wrong.  The same fate has hit the commercial real estate market. 

Another consequence of state and local leadership decisions is the Pension crisis for government employees.  The crisis in California has highlighted the bad decision-making by local officials.  Many have tried to put the blame on the unions for the pension crisis, but there are always two participants to a negotiation.  The state and local government leaders agreed to the requests of the unions during periods of contract negotiation over the last twenty years.  Even if the threat of a strike was put on the table by the unions, the number of government employee strikes in the history of the United States can be counted on your hands.  If fact the last major police strike occurred in the 1970s, so the threat of a strike is not likely.  Many states have laws prohibiting strike for public employees, yet Republican politicians at the state and local level are trying to scare the public into thinking the union is to blame. 

My final example is education.  Yes there is a Federal Department of Education, but the standards for performance and decisions on curriculum are mainly made a state and local level.  The Federal intervention over the last decade to push policies like No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have led state and local leaders to use that as an excuse for the poor performance under their management.  The fact is that state and local leaders have failed to make real changes to improve education.  In many states, legislatures have cut the education budget in an attempt to balance budgets while not raising taxes.  In some states, they cut taxes and cut education.  

Another drumbeat of state and local leaders is the push for vouchers.  Vouchers have been a key reform issue for over a decade.  The thought is that you give a subsidy to a parent to send their child or children to whatever school they want, to ensure they will get the best education.  However, giving a subsidy to one child or one family may help that ONE child; the purpose of using taxpayers dollars for education is to help the whole of a community.  In addition, vouchers have been sold as parental choice; the parent has always had the choice to send them to a public or private school.  Vouchers are really a subsidy to the private and charter schools that do not have the same accountability to the public and community as your community public school.

In this country, we know who the President is and we can blame him for our problems or praise him for giving us hope (a lot less likely in the last 20 years). Yet, most Americans can not tell you who their City council member is or who is on the local school board.  Considering that a City Council member can determine the number of parks, police officers, firefighters, trash collection, and zoning of areas that you are in contact everyday; or the school board member who determines what school your child goes to, bus they ride, curriculum that is taught, books for the school, and the future of your child’s education – I WOULD THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM.  Since your property taxes went up, an entire housing market in disaster because of over-development and zoning, commercial real estate ghost towns because of over-development and zoning, lack of good paying jobs in your area because they went after low hanging fruit in the market, and less resources for education – why are you not mad at your state and local politicians?  They are the ones who made all those decisions in the last decade. 

Finally, two things in this election, first, the majority of incumbent governors are Republicans, not the party of the President.  It looks that majority will increase.  Second, in Arizona  Arizona has been led by a Republican legislature since 1992, almost 20 years, and has only had 6 years with a Democratic Governor.  So if you are angry about the direction of the government you see in your day-to-day life, maybe, just maybe, you need to blame your local government.

The Who, What, Why, and How of This…..

The Who: 

Many of the people who I assume my read this    will already know the physical me, and some know the philosophical and ideological me.  However, background information, I have found helps for understanding the context of ideas.  Without at least a small self-portrait, that illustrates the essence of thought and ideas, the wrong impression can be made.

I was born in the suburbs of Chicago to two educated, professional, working class parents.  Both parents were teachers, homeowners, and involved parents that made sure my sister and I had every opportunity.  My father became a corporate trainer when I was 3, and did that until a business trip to Southern Illinois in 1984.  My father got Legionnaire’s Disease from the hotel he stayed at; from that point on our family’s path would wind through the future like an uncharted path in the mountains.  We moved to AZ in 1986, I was 8 -- almost 9, it gave me the unique characteristic from the rest of my family, I am an Arizonian.  So my ideals and principles were shaped by the culture of the West and the people who make up that culture.  I do carry a lot of the same values of my family, but my view of those values comes from a different perspective. 

Most of my youth and teen years were spent on a ball field, mostly baseball.  When I was 15 – almost 16, I found politics.  My father ran a “make a point” campaign for the Phoenix City Council, I loved it and many of my ideas were brought up during the campaign.  I knew this is what I wanted to do.  In 2000, I continued my education in politics, as a volunteer for Tom Liddy for Congress.  Tom is the son of G. Gordon Liddy, and would have been a great representative for the East Valley and AZ; he lost to Congressman Jeff Flake (who is a great representative for AZ).  In 2002, I worked as Campaign Manager for John McComish for State House, and Sal DiCiccio for Secretary of State.  I also helped Scott Bundgaard startup his run for Congress that year.  Three campaigns, three loses; the experience was great and I met wonderful people who expanded my view of politics, ideas, and the view of collective public.  In 2004, my friend John McComish again ran for State House, this time winning in a hard fought campaign.

Late in August, I interviewed for a position with a Think Tank in DC.  I was hired and moved to DC in mid-September.  I have been in DC metro area (Specifically NOVA) since then and built a career as a government (Federal, State, and Local) management expert. 

I have not been involved in politics here in VA, but have followed and tried to advise AZ state leaders.  I am married, and a father.  I am architect of the future.  I am a political underdog.   

The What:

This …. , I hope will be a expression of solutions.  Notice, I did not say beliefs, thoughts, or opinions.  I do understand that I may from time to time express all three of those items; however, I hope that each of those will lead to a solution.  I ask myself, and any readers to try not to get caught in the tendencies to “make it a bitch session”.  I hope this will be an expression of solutions

The Why:

I love public affairs, politics, and our democracy; I have ideas and solutions, which my wife is sick of hearing about “what I would do”, she wants me to get them out for people to see.  This is my start to taking those ideas and solutions out of my head and into a forum. 

I am moderate who is watching the rhetoric of opinion become fact, and the leaders we choose to guide us get bogged down in issue rather than the problem.  We the everyday citizens are not focused on the problem so we focus on the issue, and ignore any solutions.  I want to continue the evolution of this great experiment of our country, so my son and his children can build on the foundation.  This forum is an outlet to focus on the problems and the solutions, even if they are painful.  For god sake, we should be able to take some pain, we are Americans!!!

The How:

I plan to post my thoughts and solutions.  I am going to invite friends to post.  I will encourage comments and feedback, but I will censor this site for inappropriate posting.  Inappropriate to me is not about foul language, but the context of it.  If you make a comment that to me is bullying, or done with malice it will be removed.  This is my site, I am not the government, and there is no such thing as absolute freedom of speech.  This site is meant for identifying problems, not issues; for ideas and solutions; for debate and discussion.