Deb Shafto On The Economy

In this year's race for the governorship of Texas, there is only one real progressive running for the office. Both of the major party candidates are self-professed conservatives (of the Big Business variety). The progressive is Deb Shafto, who is running on the Green Party ticket. After introducing Ms. Shafto a few days ago on this blog, I said I would be posting about her stand on the issues. This is the first of those posts. Here is what Deb Shafto thinks about our current economical situation (in her own words):

We have been led to believe that the recession is almost over. Not to worry! However, all the evidence points to the contrary. I do not like being the bearer of bad news, however, all the indications are that we have just begun to feel the pain, and it appears that those in charge, those that are supposed to understand the system don’t have a clue and if they found one, would not act on it. Pretty harsh words, but let’s take a look at what is needed and what should be done.

It is clear that Wall Street is having a grand time. They have arranged scams, convinced others to invest in them and taken the money and run. This financial mess is in a good part due to the repeal of legislation segregating financial institutions and regulating what they can do. The cure, surely, is to reinstate Glass-Steagall and the other regulations that were put in place to prevent the sort of collapse that has occurred.

While I do believe it was the Republicans who were primarily responsible for the set-up, the Democrats now have a majority in both houses. They claim they must be filibuster-proof, a super majority that they have now lost through attrition. It would have been a very good deal to have Republican members of Congress rise to filibuster single payer health care and the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall, a truly informative proceeding for the voting public.

In addition to the necessary changes above, there are fundamental flaws in our financial system that cannot and will not be repaired by the insiders in charge. In our capitalistic system, businesses must grow or they are overwhelmed and eaten by their competitors. This planet and its resources will not allow for continued growth. The constant demand for ever more energy has raised our global temperature and, if continued, may well cause climate change such that we cannot survive. We are now seeing formerly peaceful nations make wars over access to what may soon be scarce resources. In fact those wars take the money we need for health care, retirement income, decent, well funded schools, money for space exploration, college tuition and more.

The model of finance capital is not a true model, but an apologia for what the greedy want to do. The myth of “Market Forces” is trotted out to support all kinds of programs that benefit the already rich, but is not given a mention where it doesn’t fit. Union membership, for instance, has created a middle class, a good life for people who must earn a paycheck. Their good salaries create a demand for goods and services which fuels production. So far so good, but capitalist economics calls unions a “market constraint” and seeks to have labor paid only enough to allow them to live to work.

As they have succeeded in depressing working people’s income, they have hoarded money into the top of the heap where it creates no jobs, creates no demand for goods and services and serves to inflate the value of corporate paper, making it vulnerable to the kind of collapse we have just seen. These so-called experts cannot and will not see beyond their own greed, and they will continue to voluntarily blindfold themselves until they pull down this house of cards leaving chaos behind.

So, what’s to do? First, let us build community feelings and relationships within our neighborhoods. Let us find places in our midst to grow food and prepare communal dinners. Let us care for our neighbors in community like family. Let us support workers in factories where good products are being made but not with the profit margins the holders of the capital want. There is a movement to have the workers take over, buy out, democratically run and produce goods without the weight of huge executive salaries. There are people in this country who are making a living (not getting rich) by showing employees how to do this. Let us produce locally, buy locally, and re-cycle locally. This contracted economics has always been portrayed as a step down, somehow negative, and deprived.

I truly believe that the loving, sharing with and caring for friends and neighbors offers a truly rich life that cannot be matched by the acquisition of a larger TV, or a more expensive pair of sneakers. I truly believe that competitive acquisition of goods cannot compare to a life of service to family and others.