Let me be clear: if any part of the $60 million of taxpayer money dubbed Vermont’s “rainy day fund” survives this economic downturn, it will be a moral travesty, plain and simple. A moral tragedy laid squarely on the shoulders of all those elected to care for the business of the state and the well-being of its citizens.

Against the cascade of economic disasters, $60 million dollars will not be a cure – only a bandage. But it’s a significant bandage. You can apply a bandage too early – that’s obvious. But a bandage does absolutely no good if its applied after all your blood has run out. By that time, the body is shutting down. The bandage needs to be applied before the last moment, worse-case scenario. That’s equally obvious.

And that’s because letting someone’s blood empty out entirely on the floor has a cascading effect to all the organs of the body. They shut down. Staunching that bleeding when it’s still possible to staunch some of it won’t solve the problem, but it may minimize the cascading damage and keep the patient alive long enough so that other measures can come into play, or until the body starts healing itself.

Any legislator – left, right, center, whatever – who can’t recognize that this is the reality faced by the simplistic, even heartless slashing of critical services that will themselves create an accelerated breakdown of the economy and hurt more people… well, that legislator may not be intellectually up to the task of governing, and is almost certainly not up to the moral responsibility.

As near as I can tell, the Rainy Day Fund serves one purpose and one purpose alone in the State of Vermont. It is a $60 million pot of taxpayer money that lets elected officials feel fiscally responsible. That salves their anxieties about press perception. I’ve seen no coordinated economic ethic in play in these budget-slashing discussions, but it’s clear that nobody wants to be the first to suggest even looking at the rainy day fund, ‘cuz then somebody will call them fiscally irresponsible. This despite the fact that every economist that isn’t still myopically worshipful of the joys of total deregulation and the Laffer Curve will tell you that cutting these services during a sharp downturn is dumb.

I’d like to hear at least as much talk from lawmakers about moral responsibility as we do about fiscal responsibility, although as wrong-headed as they continue to be about the former, maybe I don’t want to know what many would do with the latter.

On Douglas and Lunderville’s end, there’s a clear worldview in play. The Grover Norquist goal of getting Government “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub” (presumably preserving just enough to continue playing taxpayer-funded sugar daddy to political croneys). On the opposition side, however, there seems to be a complete vacuum of such an ideological framework. And nature abhors a vacuum.

I’m with nature on this one.

Just a quick note this morning. The Illinois Supreme Court has rejected Attorney General Lisa Madigan's complaint to have Rod Blagojevich declared incapacitated and removed from office.

Without comment, the court denied an emergency request from Lisa Madigan, the state’s attorney general, to consider removing Mr. Blagojevich from office as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order that would have immediately stripped Mr. Blagojevich of many of his powers, including the authority to appoint someone to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. 

Apparently there is no written decision, but if I get one I'll put it up.

My latest piece at the Guardian didn’t come out well being crunched down from 1000 words to 600. Ah well.

This new “angry centre” has found institutional voice in the ideology-versus-pragmatism discussion playing out in the media. Obama, to the fired-up centrists, is the champion of adulthood following eight years of screaming children, and it’s time for the children to pipe down and mind their manners, lest they find themselves expelled from the dinner table. This new centre is distinct from the old, even though it is populated by many of the same faces. The old centrism was quick to compromise and was largely defined by what it wasn’t (left or right).

This emerging, muscular centrism wants to be a force in its own right, defining itself, rather than being defined by the political poles. It’s basic tenets remain unchanged from the days of the Third Way, (with a more Keynesian bent, granted), but it stands eager to challenge anyone suggesting that taking a principled, centrist stand is oxymoronic.

In other words, the American centre has itself become ideological – and it’s pissed off.

The premise is apparently unintelligible. Basically, I believe there’s a pattern in play in the recent back and forth over whether or not voicing concerns over Obama’s center-right cabinet picks is appropriate:

1. Progressives criticize Obama, are accused unfairly of being “angry” in their criticism.

2.Many Obama defenders push back against the criticism, and do so angrily (even irrationally) themselves

3. Some Progressives counter that this angry pushback is based on kneejerk reactions from an Obama cult of personality that abides no criticism of the President Elect.

4. My thesis, then, is that much of this pushback comes – not from a cult of Obama personality – but from a new “Angry Center” that is a growing political force independent of Obama himself.

Now, in the hours since this posted, this leftist has become more than a little angry after all, but the basic thesis still stands.

From TPM:

The  news today that bigoted pastor Rick Warren is going to give the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration is sparking an uproar on the left, with the latest being that the venerable liberal group People For The American Way is sharply condemning the decision.

…the decision really gives Warren an extraordinary platform — not to mention yet another data point supporting the bogus notion that the radical Warren is some kind of “moderate.” If the first black president doesn’t mind him giving the invocation at his historic inaugural, how bad and bigoted can he really be?

It looks like Obama did, in fact, learn something from the Donnie McClurkin fiasco during the election.

He learned that despite many recent gains, you still risk absolutely nothing politically by rolling right over the LGBT community.

In this era of unprecedented consciousness and action on LGBT issues, this is a statement (even if its “just” an unintentional one). A statement that bigotry against gays and lesbians doesn’t matter. In this way, Obama is making his already positive historic inauguration historic in an additional, ugly way, through its symbolic embrace of that bigotry.

This is worthy of demonstrating against. I hope human rights activists decide to make their voices heard at the swearing in.

Now if anybody wants to jump in and flame me in the comments for being too mean to poor, misunderstood Barack, flame away. I’ll consider each one a badge of honor.

Story in today’s Times Argus entitled “Foodbank: Shelves Are Empty” closes with the following paragraph:

Gov. James Douglas announced Tuesday that he would volunteer at the Foodbank Wednesday afternoon in an effort to call attention to the importance of donating. The event, which will include a statement to the press, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

I must admit, my first uncharitable thought had something to do with shoes, comma, heaving of, in the general direction of the powerful. But hey, it’s the holiday season. So let us banish ill will from our minds and hearts, and applaud our Governor for this noble photo op — er, selfless act of voluntarism.

Let us also applaud the grapefruit-sized balls of a leader who would stage a publicity stu — er, perform his civic duty on behalf of those less fortunate, in the same week that he unveiled a festive round of budget cuts.  

The 6th Annual DemocracyFest will be held this summer, July 17-19, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington, VT!

DemocracyFest is a political festival for liberal/progressive activists which features trainings, speakers and entertainment; teaching people how to make a difference and have fun doing it! Past annual DemocracyFests have been held in Massachusetts, Texas, California, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Over 4,000 activists have been trained to help on campaigns and make a difference in their communities. This year’s event, hosted by Democracy For Vermont, promises to be another exciting, informative and fun filled weekend!

Full weekend tickets are only $55 and include:

– All trainings, entertainment, and speakers on Saturday and Sunday.

– Dinner on Saturday.

– Breakfast on Sunday.

– Semi-Guided Tour of Burlington and Welcome Party on Friday.

– Children under 14 free with adult ticket purchase.

– Free parking, or transportation to and from Burlington Airport.

– Priceless interaction with activists from across the nation.

On site lodging is available at the Sheraton Hotel for the reduced rate of only $99 per night, for rooms up to 3 days before or 3 days after the event (based on availability)! Please call 1-802-865-6600 to make your reservation. You must say you are with the DemocracyFest group to get the reduced rate. Lodging at the reduced rate is limited, so make your reservation today!

Sponsorships levels with a variety of benefits for businesses and organizations who support the 6th Annual DemocracyFest are listed here.

For more information go to http://www.DemocracyFest.net

(This is a few days old, but it keeps the conversation going and is a bit different than many of the suggestions here, although clearly in the same ballpark with the same governmental priorities. Excellent addition to the discussion. – promoted by odum)

All,

Here is an op-ed I wrote a few  weeks back that is in today’s Free Press:

http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

Best,

Steve

(Here’s an excerpt -odum):

Rather than cut social services and increase taxes, Vermont’s political leadership needs to consider a radical notion: allowing the state government to use the rainy day fund to cover vital social services and issue bonds to finance public works. The state can run a deficit for a couple of years without creating a huge debt burden for future generations. Just as FDR ran deficits to keep people working during the New Deal, the state government can play a smaller similar role. We can keep people working and help soften the worst effects of the economic downturn.

Fiscal prudence does not mean penny-pinching in every circumstance. In fact, tax hikes and spending cuts in vital services at this moment in our economy would be fiscally imprudent during these difficult times.

We need our leaders to demonstrate political courage by maintaining social services and putting Vermonters to work without burdening families and businesses with more taxes.

So yesterday’s Rutland Herald had two headlines under state news, right next to one another:

Legislators to weigh variety of budget cuts

Council focuses on reducing child poverty by half

Now, noting that many of those budget cuts involve major cuts to programs that help eliminate poverty, there’s a certain irony at work here.

In the meantime, I’m getting a real sense of the administration’s approach:

• reduce funding for social programs because the tax base has gone down;


• cut funding to programs that will help people out of poverty;


• this causes a lowering of the tax base, and…


• repeat as necessary.

Take, for example, the testimony the other night from Todd Washburne, a high school student who needs a computer to speak:

“I am within sight of my high school diploma and planning on pursuing a college degree next year… I am concerned about cuts at a time when I need more resources, not less.”

Without the help of Washington County Mental Health, “I will be doomed to life as an underachiever,” he said.

And I’ll note something here: many of you know that I lost a major contract this year and my income has been slashed dramatically.  Things aren’t easy right now, but they’re not awful either.  Even being seriously underemployed, if I had to set aside an extra $50/month to pay an additional $600/year in taxes to cover these crucial programs, I’d have no problem with that.  I’m not the only one who thinks that way.  Again, from the Herald:

Marjorie Power of Montpelier, urged lawmakers to consider raising taxes to cover the shortfall in revenues, rather than cutting services… “I am not wealthy, but if they moved the income tax up I would not fuss.”

The desire to cut, rather than raise taxes, is “simply ideological,” Power said.

She’s absolutely right.  Raising taxes or not– the agenda coming from the administration has nothing to do with competent fiscal policy.  It’s simply about enforcing an anti-tax ideology that favors the wealthy over the poor and the middle class.

You know… I remember seeing how the wingnuts had taken over the Republican party and joking how much I missed the days when they were primarily just the party to screw the poor.

I was wrong.  I didn’t miss that either.

(Thanks BP for bringing to this to our attention. Southern Vermont got hit hard from this last storm.   – promoted by Christian Avard)

 The big ice storm five days ago has really been tough on parts of Southern Vermont .Utility crews are getting things back to normal ,but these few days got me wondering where Lt.Governor Dubie is in all this .Last Summer he declared a symbolic emergency saying the State needs to be prepared for the worst case scenarios involving shortages of fuel and oil .Where is he ?The only recent sign of him to be found is the last entry in his online “logbook” is an essay titled Yes We Can .

Today VPR reports that “The Vermont Agency of Agriculture says it’s looking for generators that can be loaned to farmers who don’t have power. Anyone who can lend a generator is asked to call the Agriculture Agency in Montpelier.” It appears the State has no generators ready  in preparation(past budget cuts?)for this type of emergency given they are asking for the public to loan them .All reports make clear that the situation is under control but after Lt.Gov. Dubie’s election year self declared Fuel Emergency and his general focus on emergency planning it comes as a surprise he hasn’t put in an appearance while its icy out .He announced in June that he would begin a thorough review of Vermont’s emergency response plans – a book several times larger than a state phonebook – to determine if the state should begin preparing for emergencies .How did that work out ?  

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail…

http://ltgov.vermont.gov/log_b…

Not a polite thing to do – I apologize in advance; but I’m desperate for ideas and support in helping my son.  A bizarre story – prepare for it.

I belive it’s one of Medicaid fraud, abuse, exploitation and neglect – but why? what could be the motive?

I know everyone is busy; and just dumping a link might not be terribly acceptable; but my initial story is here: Any mystery sleuths have at it – I don’t know what is going on or why; but maybe someone already has a clue, some direction, a pro bono connection or ideas that I could bring to Montpelier:  

http://www.ibrattleboro.com/ar…