Today's Stimulus Adventures Inside The Beltway

Oklahoma's contribution to the next Great Depression

Just about every industrialized country in the world has gone over to the single payer system of health care. And the single payer is the government. Our economy (i.e., our products) is not competitive internationally because our businesses have to pay health care, which raises the unit price of everything we sell. Obama's not going to fix it. Fixing it means making Big Insurance and useless HMOs mad as hell. It's what Howard Dean told me we had to do when I first met him many years ago. Obama didn't pick Howard Dean; he picked a shill for the status quo, tinkering-around-the-edges shill, like most Democrats-- which may make most Democrats better than any Republican but still leaves American working families up the you-know-what creek without a paddle.

One of the ways the Democrats sought to tackle the imbalance was to re-emphasize and expand standard practices about government at least making an attempt to buy American. Contractors receiving bailout funds were expected to make a real effort to spend the money on American iron and steel-- you know, so that it would stimulate the American economy. The howling from the big multinationals and their Republican and Blue Dog whores was so loud I thought the sun and the moon and the stars would all shatter from the sheer volume. Mitch McConnell, someone who has done more damage to the American economy and to working families than anyone in the history of our nation-- and who has been well paid for the trouble-- is leading the movement, along with John McCain, to strip the Buy American provisions from the Stimulus bill.

Today I saw statements from two Democratic members of Congress addressing the Republican complaints. The first came in the form of an e-mail from progressive freshman Eric Massa (D-NY), a member of the Homeland Security Committee:

“I was sent to Washington to represent the interests of my constituents, many of whom work in the manufacturing sector. How could American elected officials not support a 'Buy American' provision in the Economic Stimulus Plan? Supporting American workers and American manufacturing is what the Stimulus Plan is supposed to be about. We need to put America first in this bill and that means expanding and strengthening the ‘Buy American’ provision, not eliminating it as Senator McConnell wants to do. I view this provision as a form of homeland economic security... America has always welcomed its role in the world and will continue to be a world leader. However, we are in a time of national crisis. Pouring American tax dollars into foreign competitors [which is what McConnell is demanding we continue to do] without giving U.S. workers a fair chance first is irresponsible. It is my duty as the Representative of the 29th Congressional District in New York to fight for and advocate for the industries and people in my district. They did not send me to Washington to send their tax dollars to foreign competitors. This is a American Economic Stimulus Plan, not a World Economic Stimulus Plan, as Senator McConnell seems to think. I hope Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will expand the 'Buy American' provision to cover all manufactured goods purchased with Stimulus dollars.”

Massa better be ready to fight on his own side of the aisle first though. The corporate-oriented Democratic Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, feeds at many of the same lobbyist and corporate troughs as McConnell and he has long since abandoned the welfare of American working families for the welfare of his own family. According to today's CongressDaily, Hoyer, a closet Blue Dog who is actively, if stealthily, encouraging reactionaries to undermine Pelosi, is certaainly rolling over on the Buy American provisions in the bill.

As currently drafted, the Senate's $884.5 billion version includes language from Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), that would require the use of U.S. iron, steel and manufactured goods. That is more expansive than the $819.5 billion House version, which applies only to iron and steel as well as the textiles used in making uniforms for airport-security workers. Hoyer said today that he has discussed the matter with Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson, who said he was "very concerned about the flow of economic activity." Hoyer also said concerns raised by European Union Ambassador John Bruton were "justified." Hoyer stressed that U.S. taxpayers expect the stimulus to benefit domestic companies and workers, but he expressed sympathy for U.S. trading partners who have objected to the "Buy American" provisions: "I think the concerns are relevant. The Senate bill goes much further than the House bill, and I'm sure that will be a matter for discussion after the Senate passes the bill." Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said today he was "somewhat concerned" about Buy American provisions but that he had not seen the final language.

The Dorgan provision would apply to products used for the "construction, alteration, maintenance or repair of a public building or public work." That includes "airports, bridges, canals, dams, dikes, pipelines, railroads, multiline mass transit systems, roads, tunnels, harbors and piers." Some domestic manufacturers, particularly steelmakers such as Nucor Corp. and AK Steel, are backing the "Buy American" provisions. But major U.S. exporters, including General Electric Co. and Caterpillar Inc., are lobbying hard to kill the proposals, arguing that other countries are beginning to threaten retaliatory measures.

In an interview today, Business Roundtable President John Castellani said he had heard concerns not only from the European Union but also from countries that have free trade pacts with the United States, such as Canada, Australia and Chile. "I'm hearing from my counterparts around the world; they believe their governments will take similar actions," he said. The language "will send a strong signal to the rest of the world that isolationism and protectionism is the path that the U.S. is going down," Castellani said. "This is a classic example of shooting ourselves in the foot. It ignores that this economy has been struggling for some time and the only thing propping it up has been our exports." Senate Minority Leader McConnell has promised debate on the provision this week. The position of the Obama administration is unclear at this point. Vice President Biden has expressed support for the inclusion of "Buy American" provisions, although official White House statements have said only that the administration is studying the matter. Although labor unions that backed Obama during the campaign, such as the United Steelworkers, are lobbying to keep the language in the bill, some of the president's economic advisers may not support the provision.

You can always count on Republicans and Blue Dogs to put their corporate paymasters first and American working families last. Always. And you can count on the corporate media shills to turn voters away from their own best interests. Which side you think Obama came down on?

Today the Republican obstructionists in the Senate got rolling In earnest; the rest of us can get ready for a Greater Depression. They started debating-- and voting on-- amendments to the Stimulus Bill, the one that's supposed to save us from all inevitable results of the policies they've foisted on us from the past decade. The first one they took up was an amendment by Patty Murray to strengthen the infrastructure investments made by the bill. Sounds pretty cut and dry, right? Most Americans are behind the Stimulus Package that the reactionaries and obstructionists are trying to kill. And indeed every single Democrat except reactionary Louisiana corporate shill Mary Landrieu, who habitually sides with Republicans against working families and for her corporate patrons, voted for the amendment. They were joined by Republicans Kit Bond and Arlen Specter. So it got 58 votes. Kennedy was absent and the Republicans have refused to allow Al Franken to take his seat. So 39 obstructionists defeated the amendment that would have added $25 billion for infrastructure projects. It proposed increasing transportation infrastructure funding to $63.5 billion from $45.5 billion and boosting highway project spending to $40 billion from $27 billion, creating 655,000 new jobs. The Chief Obstructionist was Oklahoma kook James Inhofe.

And while we're on Oklahoma kooks, the other one, Tom Coburn, who may-- please God-- be the next GOP senatorial retiree, proposed an anti-Hollywood Amendment to remove $246 million that was designed to stave off the further collapse of one of the few profitable American exporters left. All but two Republicans were joined by 13 mostly conservative Democrats (plus the film industry-hating Lieberman) to pass Coburn's amendment. I hope you enjoy Bollywood films.