Finding our Path

We recently had a blizzard.  Our cat was stuck inside for days, unhappy.  Finally, he braved the cold and ventured into the snow.  My husband let him out early in the morning.  When I woke up, I called for him, but he did not come to the door.  I feared the worst.  Perhaps he had been hit by an icicle, or was trapped in a snowbank.

Finally, I got the idea to go to my bedroom window and look for tracks in the snow.  I found them!  There were areas where it appeared that he was confused and couldn't decide where to go.  But his tracks continued, into the safety of a rhododendron bush.

We live in historic times, and many of us are scared and angry.   We don't know what path we are on, and where it will take us. In times like these, it helps me to think of somebody like George Washington and what he went through at Valley Forge.

The Revolutionary War looked lost in late 1777.  The British had re-taken Philadelphia.  Congress, having no faith in Washington, refused to fund his army.  Washington would not attack the British in Philadelphia, and he retreated with his army to Valley Forge; they stayed there for six months.  His men starved.  They had no medicine, no supplies.  Somehow, Washington and his troops survived, and prevailed.

It is easy to look at history and think "Oh, they knew that everything would work out in the end."  In fact, they didn't.  They set out on a path, with no end in sight, and persisted.  Just as we must do now.

Listening tours, part 2

I go to a hairdresser who does a great job with my hair.  Plus, she is kind,  loves her family,  is crazy about her son, and  is generous.  I am pretty sure that she voted for Trump - given her recent comments about things like Obamacare.

Recently I was thinking that maybe I should find someone else to do my hair.  Especially if she starts talking about how she thinks Trump is being treated unfairly.  Or she starts dissing Obama.

Then I thought, maybe I should listen to her.  Not so that I would change my mind, but so that I would expand my mind.  Those of us who did not vote for Trump need to listen to those who did.  I know a lot of people won't agree with me here.  (I am closely related to them!)

Lots of people who voted for Obama, sometimes twice, either did not vote in 2016, or did not vote for Hillary Clinton.  Perhaps it is because of fake news.  Perhaps it is because Russia had a huge impact on the election.

All of the above are possible.  I would guess, though, that there are other reasons, and it would be helpful to just listen; gather intelligence.

Next week, when I get my hair done, I am going to keep my mouth shut - if something comes up about the election or the current administration - I am not going to give my opinion.  I am going to be curious and welcoming of my hairdresser's comments.  I truly believe that listening, and responding appropriately, will help the Democrats re-take the House in 2018.

Bubble Up Economics

Ronald Reagan popularized the notion of "Trickle Down Economics".  The thinking went that if you gave rich people a big tax break, they would spend all of those tax savings and stimulate the economy.  The jury is still out on how well this theory worked.

The economy did improve under Reagan.  Was it due to trickle down, or to the fact that Reagan increased government spending by 2.5% (mostly on  the military)?  Under Reagan's presidency the country experienced stagflation (double digit unemployment and double digit inflation).

Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama tried a version of Bubble Up economics.  Bush did it with a tax rebate in 2001 and 2008.  (the rebate did not prevent the fiscal collapse of 2008).  Obama gave people a 14 month payroll tax cut, from 6.2% to 4.2%.

The multiplier effect (the number of times a dollar circulates throughout the economy) was not what I expected it to be from either of these programs.  Some data suggest that the working poor and the wealthy spent a bigger percentage of the give-back than did the middle class (who spent most of it on savings and paying off debt.)

However, an article from a 12/9/10 blog posting in The Economist (the blog is called "Democracy in America") called "The rich are harder to stimulate than the poor" stated:  "To wit, the gross value of the tax cut for income under $250,000 is much larger than that for incomes over the line."

I do not know whether "Bubble Up" economics works.  I do know that it is a legitimate idea for stimulating the economy, and would probably appeal to working and middle class people.

"The Globalization of Indifference"

I was not going to do a post this early in the week, but Sunday's sermon at church changed my mind.  Our visiting priest at St. John the Evangelist in Wellesley, MA, Father J. Brian Hehir, read a letter written by Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston.  (This letter was read at Mass by all priests in the diocese.)

The letter was inspired by recent events; the Muslim travel ban, and Pope Francis' warning against the "globalization of indifference".  The letter was inspiring, in that it urged everyone to welcome immigrants, to appreciate their contributions to our society, and to have compassion for their plight.  It made me proud to be Catholic.

Years before he was a cardinal, O'Malley was a Franciscan priest - you may know them by their  unique garb - a simple brown tunic and sandals.  They often work with the poorest of the poor.  Cardinal O'Malley worked with undocumented people, so-called "illegals", in the Washington, DC area.  They were escaping persecution, and were mostly from Central America.  This experience gave O'Malley a unique perspective on the current travel ban.

Next week

I am going to a once a week posting schedule.  I should have a post next Wednesday or Thursday.  Barring some catastrophe, the post will be on something I call "Bubble Up" Economics.

Listening Tours

More and more, I am reading and hearing about how Democrats need to learn to listen to real people, to people who voted for Trump, to people who live in "fly-over" country.  There was recently a retreat for top Democrats in Shepardstown, WV (gorgeous little town - close to Antietam and Harper's Ferry).

There were sessions on how to talk to "real people".  One session was called "Speaking to those who feel invisible in rural America".  It seems astounding to me that politicians need to go back to school to put their listening ears on.  You can read more about this meeting in Burgess Everett's 1/25/17 article in Politico.  http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/democrats-real-people-lessons-234198

Another author wrote about Venezuelans' complete inability to rid themselves of Hugo Chavez.  The worst thing to do is to talk down to the people who voted for Trump.  Lectures don't work.  Speaking to people, on their turf, and listening to what they have to say about why they voted for Trump and what they want for themselves, their family and their community, is what works.

You can find this article, by Andres Miguel Rondon,  in the 1/27/17 Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/01/27/in-venezuela-we-couldnt-stop-chavez-dont-make-the-same-mistakes-we-did/?utm_term.

I am happy that the Democrats seem to be getting the message.  I hope that they take it to heart.

Lincoln and McClellan

Imagine that it is late September of 1862.  You are Abraham Lincoln, and you are fretting about the performance of Major General George B. McClellan.

Earlier in the year, in the spring, McClellan would not act at the battle of Richmond (the Peninsula), until May.  He  overestimated the size of the Confederate Army, and refused to move against Lee's forces until he felt sure that he would win.

The battle at Antietam concluded in mid September.  The Union Army was able to claim victory, barely.  In an act of insubordination, McClellan would not advance agains the Confederacy, until it was almost too late.

Imagine President Lincoln's frustration with his general's stubborn defiance.  In early November of 1862, McClellan was relieved of his post.  He would never lead in battle again.

Is there enough of an effort today by the Democrats to take back the Senate in 2018?  Right now, it doesn't appear that way.    The Democrats ask for your contact information and contributions, all important, but not hitting the mark, by a long shot, at taking back the Senate.