Suggested Answers to Short Quiz

Focus for discussion = Robert Kuttner's "The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity" (Alfred A. Knopf 2007) - available at your local library or from Amazon.com for $17.79 ($14.89 used) + shipping
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johnkarls
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Suggested Answers to Short Quiz

Post by johnkarls »

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Question 1:

Who ran in New Hampshire as “the candidate of change” proposing “single payer” universal health care???

Answer 1:

William J. Clinton (1992) and Dennis Kucinich (2008).

As we learned for our August meeting on Universal Health Care, “single payer” means a government system such as the rest of the industrialized countries (Western Europe, Canada and Japan) have and as America has only for its senior citizens (Medicare).

The results, of course, have been disastrous for the United States – ranking near or at the bottom among industrialized nations in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality, and treatment of preventable diseases DESPITE SPENDING 15% OF OUR GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (VS. 10.5% OR LESS FOR EXAMPLE FOR FRANCE, GERMANY, BRITAIN AND CANADA) ON A SYSTEM THAT FAILS TO COVER 15% OF OUR POPULATION!!!

If Republican candidates were honest, they would have to admit that this sounds like THE WORST (vs. “the best” as they brazenly claim) health-care system in the industrialized world!!!

Witnessing how the insurance industry successfully blocked the Clintons’ in Congress during the 1990’s, all of this season’s Democratic candidates (except Kucinich) “pulled their punches” and limited their proposals to involve the health-insurance industry.

However, it should be noted that many of the Republican candidates have already accused Hillary Clinton of once more proposing “single payer” universal health care because she has proposed making available to all Americans the same five insurance programs that are available to every Senator and Congressperson and one of the five is a government program – the Republicans fear that most Americans would flock to the government program!!!

Question 2:

Who was accused by Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” of a “lack of candor” for claiming that his health-care proposal was “universal”???

Answer 2:

Barack Obama because, unlike the other Democratic candidates, he has steadfastly refused to include in his proposal a requirement (or “mandate”) that Americans actually purchase the health insurance – the Dec 30th “Meet the Press” transcript is posted on our Bulletin Board under “Participant Comments - ‘Universal’ Health Care.”

In the transcript, Barack Obama admits that under its “universal” health-care plan, Massachusetts felt compelled to exempt 20% of the uninsured for inability to pay and is still having to fine many of the remainder for outright refusing to purchase the insurance. But when Tim Russert pointed out that imposing fines is a “quasi-mandate” Barack Obama responded that fines are a only an option and emphasized that he is NOT even proposing fines.

Question 3:

How does Dana Milbank, a Washington Post columnist, describe the power structure in Washington DC???

Answer 3:

In “Homo Politicus” (Dana Milbank’s new book off press in late December), he describes lobbyists as “kings of the heap” because they dictate everything that happens in Washington with their so-called “campaign contributions.”

Question 4:

Does the NY Times book review of “Squandering of America” accuse Senators John Edwards, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Shumer of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion???

Answer 4:

Yes. The first two paragraphs of the NY Times book review =

“This July, when the Democrats John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton all proposed closing a tax loophole that saves hedge fund managers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, it wasn’t immediately clear what to make of it. On the one hand, it was the sort of proposal you’d expect from the party of working people. On the other, these three presidential candidates had stayed silent on the issue for months — while raising gobs of money from wealthy financiers. Why would they turn on them now?

”Only later did we get some hint of an explanation. The New York Times reported that Charles Schumer, the Senate’s third-ranking Democrat, had spent June assuring Wall Street donors that the loophole would remain intact. This made the pronouncements a victory for everyone involved. The Democratic candidates could take the high road publicly, while their contributors could rest easy knowing those tax breaks were safe.”

Question 5:

From the materials on our Bulletin Board (www.drinkingliberallyslc.org/reading), what other well-known examples of successful briberies of politicians by lobbyists have gone unpunished???

Answer 5:

Per our Bulletin Board –

“Exhibit A” is the insurance industry blocking the Clintons’ crusade in the 1990’s to achieve “single payer” universal health care, and the insurance industry’s successful intimidation of this election cycle’s entire crop of Democratic candidates (except Kucinich) from even proposing anything that leaves out the insurance industry.

“Exhibit B” is the successful effort by American employers who “thumb their nose” at the criminal penalties for hiring illegal immigrants in “The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986” to induce George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton and George W. Bush to refuse to enforce the law, while inducing key Senators and Congresspersons to let the trio “get away with it.”

“Exhibit C” is the successful effort by American corporations that have “out sourced” American jobs to China and India to obtain a special one-year-only tax rate of 5.25% (vs. the normal 35%) to bring home their accumulated profits from “out sourcing” the American jobs. Their accumulated “out sourcing” profits were $2 trillion with a “t”!!!

Question 6:

From your own knowledge, what other examples of successful briberies of politicians by lobbyists, whether or not compelled by extortion from the pols themselves, have gone unpunished???

Answer 6:

According to Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank (please see Answer 3 above), your answers to this question should be infinite!!!

Question 7:

Why is it so difficult to prosecute lobbyists for bribing politicians??? Why is it so difficult to prosecute politicians who so often extort bribes by threatening to take action that is adverse to their victims???

Answer 7:

U.S. Attorneys have to prove “linkage” between “campaign contributions” and the action/inaction that the contributors are seeking.

As explained in the first item on our Bulletin Board for this month, pols refuse to deal with anyone other than “lobbyists” who know “how the game is played” and will not leave any evidence of “linkage.”

Question 8:

Why is it virtually impossible to institute campaign-finance reform???

Answer 8:

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects “free speech” and the “right to petition” the government. Accordingly, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down many campaign-finance reforms as unconstitutional.

Question 9:

Why is it virtually impossible to regulate the support of independent groups (“527 organizations”) for specific candidates???

Answer 9:

Because the U.S. Supreme Court is so vigilant in examining whether attempts to regulate the “campaign contributions” directly to the candidates are unconstitutional violations of “free speech” and the “right to petition” – the Federal Election Commission has refused to waste its time trying to regulate the activities of the independent groups and Congress has likewise refused to waste its time trying to draft any significant legislation that might have a chance to pass Supreme Court muster (though it should be noted that Senators and Congresspersons have a “vested interest” in not trying very hard to regulate 527 Organizations because they want newcomers to have little or no access to “campaign contributions” and newcomers to have little or no chance of inspiring “independent” groups to take action).

Question 10:

Is there anything that can be done other than waiting for a wealthy “messiah” who will finance her/his own independent run for the Presidency??? And wouldn’t s/he be thwarted anyway by a Congress filled with Senators and Congressman who have been bribed by lobbyists to prevent anything from being done???

Answer 10:

For whether anything can be done, please see Answer 11.

For whether a wealthy “messiah” would be thwarted by Congress, the answer (of course) is affirmative – which is the reason for Question 11.

Question 11:

Will the “change” that the American electorate continues to crave decade after decade continue to be a mirage???

Answer 11:

Our group are firm believers that the theory of only “six degrees of separation” means that any good ideas that we generate are capable of “moving mountains”!!!

Accordingly, bring your good ideas along on Feb 14th!!!

Question 12:

And, for extra credit, will Benazir Bhutto’s new book be “off press” in time for our March 13 meeting???

Answer 12:

Yes, her book will be available on Feb 12th so that is one of the three options posted on our Bulletin Board (everyone is free to post others) for us to vote on Feb 14th.

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