Web Letters | The Nation

Unequal Sacrifice

In his first book, For Us, the Living, Robert Heinlein suggested a means of spreading the pain quite effectively. In the twenty-first-century America he imagined, a declaration of war was voted on not by Congress but by the people themselves. The ballot would not be secret, as anyone voting in favor of the war would be required to immediately report for active military service; should they be tapped out by the war, those who could have voted but didn't would then be recruited. His idea would probably need expansion and adjustment to work, and pacifists would likely be disappointed by the results (we'd probably have still gone to war with Afghanistan after 9/11), but the chickenhawk phenomenon would be dead and gone.

Finding a Way Out of Afghanistan

Nowhere did I sense any moral self-reflection on US foreign policy… not in the Afghanistan Study Group report, nor in the author's review of the report. Here's what I mean: US policy has gone from war-maker to occupier to… are you suggesting "peace broker"? Money and military power can buy a lot of things, but probably not long-term good will or moral leadership. Our real and proxy wars in the Middle East have sown the seeds of mistrust for decades. Only a radical departure from the policies of "empire maintenance" (and arms dealer) to a new policy of nonviolent engagement with the rest of world will make us safer. It's long past time for Congress members and Congressional candidates of conscience to pledge themselves to "not one more life, not one more dollar" for war.

Nevada Goes Bust

Sasha Abramsky's piece on Nevada was excellent, a much-needed presentation on the ludicrous unreality of the American aversion to taxes. I weep for the many poor, aged and disabled people who are already suffering from cuts in services, but for the state as a whole—crocodile tears. Americans are unbelievable, thinking they can live in a civilized society with only the most modest of taxes. One solution? Have all Democrats and independents abstain from politics for a few years, to allow the people enough time to jail, tar and feather or banish all Republicans, Tea Partyers and others who grouse about taxes. Nevada's plight will soon be America's. ¡Viva la revolución!

Unequal Sacrifice

"Pay as you go" isn't enough. The draft isn't enough. If the cause is worth killing and dying for, it is worth the sacrifices we all made in WWII. Compulsory recycling, gas and commodity rationing, wage and price controls, criminal prosecutions for war profiteering, drafting business and scientific leaders to work for the war effort for $1 a year until "victory"; and especially a ban on all frivolous uses of oil, which is being paid for with the blood of our children and the innocents among the enemy. Shut down NASCAR for the duration. No professional sports that require transporting teams and spectators gas-consuming distances. If people can't walk or bike or take a bus to it, it won't happen—not if the rationing is strict enough.

Human Rights in History

I am rather amazed that there was no mention in this article of the work of Eleanor Roosevelt. It was she rather than Franklin D. Roosevelt who led in the establishing the ideal of human rights in the world. She was the one who led the effort at the UN and secured the votes necessary for passage of the declaration. It was her efforts that brought her the widely used name of "First Lady of the World." Since then, the United States has had a terrible record of not cooperating with nations throughout the world to bring about these ideals. Civil rights and human rights are closely connected. Women in America did not even have the vote until 1920! I believe that it is women who are leading the way toward human rights. How about equal time?

Right Response to Unemployment Is Smart Stimulus Spending

Some of the mainstream media today (9/7/10) have a positive spin on the new stimulus packages. One pundit on "Quest Means Business" compared it to the Chinese government's top-down stimulus plan that has maintained their economy in the face of a downturn in global trade and collapsing Western markets. He also remarked that since the multinationals and investment banks are sitting on their pile of money, government is is the only game in town that can stimulate the Main Street economy with jobs, which really support the economy. They also reported on the strikes in France, along with austerity budgets, and French elections in 2012. Twenty twelve will be an interesting year.

The local paper and the LA Times had headlines related to infrastructure repair and the small-business stimulus respectively.

Right Response to Unemployment Is Smart Stimulus Spending

The primary job of all elected officials is to spend our money well and wisely. Mr. Nichols is correct that the inappropriately named "stimulus" money was not wisely spent and our leaders should accordingly be excoriated. Of cours, ill-considered spending has been a hallmark of our elected leaders for decades. Example 1: federal buildings built with public money to glorify an elected official. The Al D'Amato Courthouse—give me a break.

It is not clear why Mr. Nichols thinks the stimulus failed. Although the bailouts of banks GM and Chrysler were a bad idea for other reasons, for the most part the money will be returned with a profit. Moreover the money was clearly a rescue. There was no pretense of a stimulative effect.

A huge portion of the actual "stimulus" money was in fact a rescue of state and local governments. One could argue that it was wise to preserve the jobs of largely Democratic public employees (wink, wink), it is difficult to make a credible argument that the money was stimulative of new private-sector jobs. Even the public works element limited to "shovel ready" meant that only those projects already in the pipeline were built. So no new jobs were being created.

A large portion of the remainder was for a one-time 2009 tax credit similar to the one-time Bush tax credit of 2008. Both of these tax credits channel Ms. Tyson's wisdom. Clearly, they were intended to boost aggregate demand. Although they did provide temporary increases in demand, neither had a Keynesian pump-priming effect. In an economy where most of goods are imported, increasing demand just makes the world richer. It makes little economic sense to borrow billions from the Chinese so consumers can send half of it back in exchange for stuff that will be discarded in a year or two.

Wisdom requires us to consider ideas other than hoary aggregate demand theories.

The imbalances that affect our economy are structural and institutional, and we need to start addressing them now. We need to start making things for each other again instead of merely servicing each other. We need to make production in the US more attractive with cheaper eco- friendly energy, cheaper capital, lower taxes on manufactures and cheaper labor. The last is my pet peeve, since it is my firm belief that it is wiser to import cheap labor to make things here than to import things made by cheap labor elsewhere.

As long as political discourse is limited to antiquated ideas of aggregate demand by either temporary (Democrat) or permanent (Bush) tax cuts, there will be endless battles of us versus them, with only the Chinese as the winners. Isn't there anyone who can rise above this partisan impasse? A whole lot of political oxen need to be gored.

Obama and the Long View

Dear Sasha Abramsky, I just stumbled on your article analyzing President Obama's love for history and quotes from his memoirs and speeches. To this day I am moved and proud that these hard times and crushing economy have brought forward Barak Obama. It is true that so far the Great Expectations that we, his voters and believers, had for a much faster turnaround of the economy have not been realized. Reading through the latest analyses of renowned economists, a lot of us are starting to realize that with the toughest of opposition from the Republicans, to turn things around is no quick and easy feat. The economy has structural faults that are making it close to impossible to make a fast turnaround. But I believe in him! I still know that his quiet strength and formidable faith in our beloved country and nation will produce the results we would have liked to see now. You are correct in saying that in the long term, his hard work and determination will produce the change and prosperity that millions of us believed that he would bring along. He is fighting an uphill battle against unbelievable tides, and times have not eased up on most of us, but no doubt it will happen! And something else: the Republicans are not going to win this November, they will not be successful in their efforts to thwart the president. We will come out, again, in favor of the least offensive party and help him to continue with his agenda. Your article was brilliant! Thank you !

SDS's Other Wars

I was a freshman at OU in 1963. I recall watching the ROTC drills. I was a theatre major at OU. Most of the boys in the drama school had long hair—the excuse was that they were in a play and could not cut their hair, and there was a certain amount of truth to that. The "D" boys had to do drills as a separate group… strange to think about that now. I am glad that the ROTC requirement went away.

The Bubble and the Globe

Dear Mr. Clover, bravo. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated your article. It was insightful, thought-provoking, and a much-needed palliative to most of the current "coverage" and discussion of the financial crisis. I was reminded of something Slavoj Zizek wrote (I cannot remember where) about the current state of cinema, wherein the end of the world (in various ways) can be readily and repeatedly imagined, whereas the end of capitalism (or even significant alterations in it) cannot. Again, thank you for the article, and to The Nation for publishing it.