Owning the Bad News

It was inevitable.  Obama's economic push could only work in red states for so long before our own backwards economic policies dragged us back down.  We've been listening to Nikki Haley brag on -- and take credit for -- South Carolina's declining unemployment rate for some time now.  I wonder if today's news about its recent upswing will cause her any problem, message-wise.

Here's where our Democratic candidates should be jumping in, first of all, to let us voters know that this has happened.  And then they need to offer the logical explanation, and the logical alternative.

Where candidates like Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky have stumbled has been in their fear of owning the best policies of the Obama administration.  In fact, employment began growing due to stimulus dollars, and has continued to grow because of programs like those he has undertaken to encourage alternative energy initiatives as well as protecting the environment.  Good for business, good for jobs.

Imagine where we might be if Obama had not had to waste time and tax dollars fighting a Congress which Republican members have had as their sole priority blocking administration initiatives.

Because of old-timey Republican philosophy, we have continued to have wealth stagnating in the reaches of the top one percent, while the consumers who are the actual "job creators" are unable to spend dollars they don't have.  Robert Reich describes in his documentary Inequality for All the "virtuous cycle" of economic growth that occurred up to the 1980's, followed by the "vicious cycle" that has resulted in the economic stagnation and increasing inequality that continues to this day.

What is frustrating is that the evidence is clear.  But we continue to spiral downhill due to lies and misdirection by right-wing politicians.

Take, for example, Nikki Haley.  Her policies have not been able to stop some economic growth in South Carolina in the past six years, but the bad ideas she has been pursuing have caught up with us.  The jobs she claims she has brought to the state have been not enough to counterbalance the drain on services that have resulted from her tax giveaways.  Bad business like refusing to accept Medicaid expansion dollars not only hurt uninsured individuals but result in loss in business due to employee illness, public safety issues, and loss of thousands of jobs in the health sector.

And then, of course, we have Tea Party's poster child, Tim Scott.  As long as he is prospering, he will promote any program groups like ALEC and the Koch Brothers are trying to sell.  And sell they do.  Scott's message sounds like Reagan's Morning in America, pretty words that belie the bad policies during the 80's "trickle down" years that began our decline from prosperity.  And if you look at his pro big business and anti middle class voting record, it becomes obvious why those polices just don't work.

So as we see our unemployment rate creep back up, let's spread the word that it's because of the bad policies of politicians like Nikki Haley and Tim Scott.  We have a state that stands to grow and prosper if only we are able to understand why we are in decline even as national employment continues to grow.

We have some great candidates and despite the occasional ambivalence of our state party and shoestring budgets, the word is getting out about them.  Joyce Dickerson is one candidate to watch.  She is not afraid to speak up about what has been wrong with our state, and what national policies need to change to get us working and thriving again.  The thing is, that with Tim Scott's wealthy supporters, it is all too easy to miss this strong, wonderful opponent.  I am hoping that we all will do our best to spread the word about the election coming up on November 4, and the difference between our Democratic candidates and their fiscally backward opponents.

Joyce Dickerson

for US Senate

Let's make sure our elected officials own the bad news they have created through their bad policies, and let's elect candidates that will truly make a difference.

Let's Give It a Try

The voters have spoken.  We now have a republican House and an even less democratic Senate than we had last year.  The philosophy of the lawmakers will govern the land.

So I think we should be more philosophical about this.  And less rigid.  And, as Speaker Boehner has put it, we should start acting like grown-ups.

So I propose that we all adopt the republican economic plan within our own families.  After all, they really believe it will work, so in the spirit of cooperation, we should give it a try.

Children need to stop assuming that they are "entitled" to all those extras, like education and health care.  When you make those things readily available, they will start to expect that you will provide bikes, movies and clothing.

Teenagers are just going to have to grow up and contribute their fair share.  Maybe an extra after school job.  Cut back on the number of years of teenage social security, moving it from 18 to, say, 12.  They will need to pay a more reasonable share of their income toward household expenses, for example, the mortgage and groceries.  Increased productivity will certainly improve the overall wealth of the family.

Which leaves the most important family members, the CEO's if you will.  If the above all goes according to plan, the parents, the people with the most worth, will be free to expand the family interests.  They will have the economic freedom to buy that new car, take that vacation, invest in that summer home.

And that wealth will of course trickle down to the rest of the family.

But, you argue, the middle and lower classes will end up with less education and possibly poorer health.  They will be less likely to reap the financial rewards of their parents.

Not true.  Because, since we have republicans running Congress, we can be assured that when Mom and Dad die, the kids will get every penny that's left.