Beware the Ides of March

Back to the political side. Why? Because as you've noticed, no matter how far we get economically, these days prospects for the economy increasingly lie in what the government says we can do, or can't do. It's called the political economy, and it shapes more and more of the real economy.

The broader economy is increasingly subordinate to the political economy. Government is effective in implementing its policies, which when it comes to giveaways to the rich, sweetheart deals with industry, and maintaining the status quo, is miraculously efficient. When it comes to serving the people, however, corruption and ineptitude abound, as Katrina attested to. The people are always the last in line at the trough, and Washington runs quite a trough. To make matters worse, corporations now control a gravy train that covers the entire political lifecycle, including even golden parachutes for Washington has-beens who launch second careers based on their skill at pandering to various lobbies.

Like Dodd, my Senator Bayh intends to quit. Or he has quit. Let me be clear--his staffers who are supposed to answer the phones don't. So when I tried to reach his office, I couldn't. What does this say about the Senator? His last e-mail to his constituents--who elected Bayh for six years, not 5 years and 3 months--thanked them for electing him. Well, I guess Bayh's riding off into the sunset is just too momentous an occasion for him to get off his high horse and actually serve the people of Indiana to whom he seems so ingratiated (or is it prone to patronize?)

Despite all Bayh's croonings about the state of affairs in Washington, I hardly think he'll come riding (or is it limping?) back to Indiana any time soon, with his wife so well entrenched at the Wellpoint Board of Directors and all, kids in the finest schools, etc.. (God forbid they have to go back to Indiana.)

Time to make the Senate pay off, gdi! (Although Bayh's got the third-largest campaign war chest in the Senate.) And no more accountability, so we're turning off the phones, or at least going to message-only, screening all constituents unlucky enough (or is it unwealthy enough) not to have his ear or share his bed.

Don't assume Bayh won't make the Senate floor to vote on behalf of his wife's health care insurer, who may not like the bill but certainly doesn't want major change to the status quo either. After all the so-called reform trumpets health care for all regardless of pre-conditions--a euphemism for making everyone buy overpriced health care insurance whose premiums are rising at 10%/year. With no public option offered by the Democratic leadership (though it's supported by over 40 senators and a large majority of the public), there's no reason for the insurers to reduce costs or limit their profits, so it's clear that the whole bill means to raise insurance company revenues.

Already the state of Virginia has passed a law that would exempt residents of that state from having to buy health insurance. Forcing all Americans to buy insurance exceeds all precedents in our nation's history-does the Constitution say that all Americans have to buy anything? Don't think so. Let me remind you: any powers not specifically assigned to the Federal government in the Constitution are the domain of the states. In other words, Mr. Fed, you don't have the right to make us engage in a commercial transaction on behalf of a private company.

Recapping the general trend, it's obvious to see that the federal government is abusing its power. The restraints on power were finally surmounted in 2001 with the passage of the Patriot Act, which purported to make us safer but essentially eliminated any legal control over the Executive branch. Cheney's persistent teasing about torture illustrates the illegality of his actions and his imperviousness to prosecution. Obama's defense of Bush-era torture stains his administration and makes mockery of his promises.

The rise of corporate influence may be the most far-reaching consequence as the interests of corporations and the federal government align. In most other nations, this alignment is called fascism. Here in America we call is socialism-for-the-rich, a perverse redefinition of true socialism, which is defined as ownership of corporations by their workers--quite the opposite of what most Americans consider socialism: control over their lives by government (confused with what is technically a central command economy.)

We're seeing legal cover being created on behalf of corporate personhood as corporations--foreign and domestic--were given the right to make advertisements on behalf of favored candidates.

The concept of the corporate person is simply ridiculous. Now when my business faltered, I couldn't just walk away and leave it to my alter-ego, the corporate person. Though my business was in fact incorporated, it was my credit and money it used, my social security number, my signature. What the laws really mean is that, as a single owner without a lot of money invested in the business, I couldn't invoke personage to protect my assets from creditors. If I'd been part of a corporate racket, a simple employee, well then I could ascribe wrongdoing to that corporate person, who somehow appears only when a corporation that can afford enough attorneys to invoke its personhood gets in trouble.

I think we can see where the Supreme Court is going with its rulings. It's truly dangerous for learned men to judge matters so poorly, as that's evidence that they're serving not the public interest but specific corporate constituencies. How will they come down on rulings in the future? Safe to say they'll side with corporations, with the rich over the poor, with the gilded class rather than the downtrodden.

I guess I've reached the point where I've lost faith in all three branches of my government. I'm not alone, millions of Americans agree that our government and country have lost direction. The next question is what will happen as a result of that collective loss of faith. Yes, the Washington monolith can roll ahead for some time, based purely on momentum. There may even be times when the pendulum seems to be shifting, towards the empowerment of the individuals and the States, and the decline of corporate and state power. But the trend is obvious for anyone to see, and it can hardly end well.