As Bernie said the American people want it, the Dems want it and the President wants it. How these 2 morons can hold these bills hostage is beyond me - except what is the hidden payoff for them?
Interestingly, in today's Times there is an article how the US is so out of step with many European nations on child care.
What I don't understand is, why the Democrats are not explaining the individual parts of the Reconciliation better??? Sorry, they must accept the majority of the blame here!
Explain the financial gains of having child care.
For instance, if a single mom, or a two parent household for that matter, no longer have to pay over $1,000 for child care, they can then go out and get a job. Explain the math in simple terms. If someone is earning $15. per hour working 40 hours a week, the pay is: 15x40=$600.
Its not worth it for them to work just to pay for child care.
Absolutely spot on. Mainstream media seems too eager to highlight or even invent controversy because thatās what sells. Itās a rare thing (except in opinion pieces) to see a fair and proper analysis of the subject matter. Objective journalism, especially at the once gold standard NYT the last few years, seems to be MIA.
Absolutely right on! I've been especially critical of calling Manchin & Sinema "moderates" - sorry, they're very olde school Dems. who reap big $$$ from corporate donors. That's why I'll never donate to the Dems. only individual candidates, true progressives.
The establishment is the establishment is the establishment... This is a very important point that you have stressed out, M. Reich. No established form of political power wants to see things going a way it cannot grasp or control. It will then justify the status quo to the point of absurdity. This is probably why someone said that we need a revolution at every generation. But wait. This would be Democracy. Can we afford that?
I think you are correct. And let me add: the mainstream media loves to single out Senator Sanders as the top kook among the progressives, when all he's done for his entire adult life is fight to make our society better for working people...
Thank you, Robert, especially for pointing out the Orwellian use of language (calling Manchin and Sinema "moderates" instead of using the descriptive phrase "corporate-beholden>"
Agree 100%. Add PBS NewsHour and NBC Nightly News, which persistently refer to the legislation as a "spending bill," implying that the only intent of the legislation is to spend taxpayer money. That plays right in to the Republicans' rhetoric of "Democrats' reckless tax and spend agenda." It sometimes seems the mainstream news media are merely parroting Republican talking points. I attribute this to laziness on the part of the news media, a failure to come up with adjectives that more accurately describe the intent of the legislation.
Rachel Maddow interviewed Sen. Bernie Sanders last night about the legislation. Although he didn't use the specific wording, he basically characterized Manchin and Sinema as stubborn obstructionists, who seemingly don't stand for anything. They just say no, and don't explain what they want, or what they would eliminate to lower the price tag.
Along with Covid-19 we seem to have another virus working it's way through America (and the rest of the world): atavism as the result of entrenched greed, tribal behavior, and a superstitious yearning for a past that never really existed. The Republican party seems to be thoroughly infected along with so-called "Democrats" Manchin and Sinema. Fortunately the majority of Americans according to the polls need and want progress not regress. The slogan from the 60's "Change it or lose it" seems particularly apropos now. And I completely agree with you about the mainstream media who should be reporting the truth. In my opinion and conviction THAT truth, in the words of Finley Peter Dunne, should "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." An equitable distribution of wealth and benefits is long, long overdue!
The problem is not only print media. Turn on the radio to what used to be independent stations -now owned by a few huge companies of most commercial AM stations. The 2 minutes of news per hour all report the same democratic chaos. Never details.
The nightly news on TV is all the same. Repubs all together on every issue the dems disorganized and unable to deliver a message the citizens of the country can understand.
Thank you for the clarity you have given me. I was getting increasingly upset by the size of the bill, thinking it would be more difficult to oppose it if the pieces were clear.
The issue, as youāve made clear to me now, is the media characterization of the bill.
Iām angry at the NYT, always my go-to, along with NPR. Youāve reaffirmed what I was taught in polysci in 1967: itās important to read critically and widely, and never depend on one source.
Thank you. Iāll be writing to editors this weekend to complain
I am old enough to remember when news divisions of major networks were NOT profit centers, when maintaining a reputable, measured, and comprehensive newsroom was considered a public service as well as a source of pride. The Gingrich abomination that slimed into the FCC in the 1980s wrecked it all (that and Cronkite retiring), then the media world splintered, and now it's all about maintaining perpetual conflict (even if it has to be manufactured) to hold eyeballs and score ratings. That and, sadly, we have a new generation of reporters who don't write all that well, topped off with a 24/7 news cycle that demands knee-jerk responses and creates lots of phony drama. My solution has been to target a select group of information sources that have not lied to me in the past and who I trust to get the story straight (you are one, Dr. Reich), and dispense with the others.
I am so happy you are calling the press out. Where is the unbiased treatment of important matters? If we as a country are going to get past Trumpism the press must do a better job. Hereās hoping their past high ideals will surface again..
As Bernie said the American people want it, the Dems want it and the President wants it. How these 2 morons can hold these bills hostage is beyond me - except what is the hidden payoff for them?
Even the word DEFENSE for that monster budget is wrong. It sounds as if we were being attacked. Who on earth is attacking us?
Marie-Theres
Controversy, dread & doom sell papers. When most people don't vote it's an uphill battle also to educate. Thanks Robert for your perserverence
Interestingly, in today's Times there is an article how the US is so out of step with many European nations on child care.
What I don't understand is, why the Democrats are not explaining the individual parts of the Reconciliation better??? Sorry, they must accept the majority of the blame here!
Explain the financial gains of having child care.
For instance, if a single mom, or a two parent household for that matter, no longer have to pay over $1,000 for child care, they can then go out and get a job. Explain the math in simple terms. If someone is earning $15. per hour working 40 hours a week, the pay is: 15x40=$600.
Its not worth it for them to work just to pay for child care.
Is that so hard???
Absolutely spot on. Mainstream media seems too eager to highlight or even invent controversy because thatās what sells. Itās a rare thing (except in opinion pieces) to see a fair and proper analysis of the subject matter. Objective journalism, especially at the once gold standard NYT the last few years, seems to be MIA.
Absolutely right on! I've been especially critical of calling Manchin & Sinema "moderates" - sorry, they're very olde school Dems. who reap big $$$ from corporate donors. That's why I'll never donate to the Dems. only individual candidates, true progressives.
Corporations control the media and control the narrative just like Noem Chompsky says.
The establishment is the establishment is the establishment... This is a very important point that you have stressed out, M. Reich. No established form of political power wants to see things going a way it cannot grasp or control. It will then justify the status quo to the point of absurdity. This is probably why someone said that we need a revolution at every generation. But wait. This would be Democracy. Can we afford that?
I think you are correct. And let me add: the mainstream media loves to single out Senator Sanders as the top kook among the progressives, when all he's done for his entire adult life is fight to make our society better for working people...
Thank you, Robert, especially for pointing out the Orwellian use of language (calling Manchin and Sinema "moderates" instead of using the descriptive phrase "corporate-beholden>"
Agree 100%. Add PBS NewsHour and NBC Nightly News, which persistently refer to the legislation as a "spending bill," implying that the only intent of the legislation is to spend taxpayer money. That plays right in to the Republicans' rhetoric of "Democrats' reckless tax and spend agenda." It sometimes seems the mainstream news media are merely parroting Republican talking points. I attribute this to laziness on the part of the news media, a failure to come up with adjectives that more accurately describe the intent of the legislation.
Rachel Maddow interviewed Sen. Bernie Sanders last night about the legislation. Although he didn't use the specific wording, he basically characterized Manchin and Sinema as stubborn obstructionists, who seemingly don't stand for anything. They just say no, and don't explain what they want, or what they would eliminate to lower the price tag.
Along with Covid-19 we seem to have another virus working it's way through America (and the rest of the world): atavism as the result of entrenched greed, tribal behavior, and a superstitious yearning for a past that never really existed. The Republican party seems to be thoroughly infected along with so-called "Democrats" Manchin and Sinema. Fortunately the majority of Americans according to the polls need and want progress not regress. The slogan from the 60's "Change it or lose it" seems particularly apropos now. And I completely agree with you about the mainstream media who should be reporting the truth. In my opinion and conviction THAT truth, in the words of Finley Peter Dunne, should "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." An equitable distribution of wealth and benefits is long, long overdue!
The problem is not only print media. Turn on the radio to what used to be independent stations -now owned by a few huge companies of most commercial AM stations. The 2 minutes of news per hour all report the same democratic chaos. Never details.
The nightly news on TV is all the same. Repubs all together on every issue the dems disorganized and unable to deliver a message the citizens of the country can understand.
Thank you for the clarity you have given me. I was getting increasingly upset by the size of the bill, thinking it would be more difficult to oppose it if the pieces were clear.
The issue, as youāve made clear to me now, is the media characterization of the bill.
Iām angry at the NYT, always my go-to, along with NPR. Youāve reaffirmed what I was taught in polysci in 1967: itās important to read critically and widely, and never depend on one source.
Thank you. Iāll be writing to editors this weekend to complain
I am old enough to remember when news divisions of major networks were NOT profit centers, when maintaining a reputable, measured, and comprehensive newsroom was considered a public service as well as a source of pride. The Gingrich abomination that slimed into the FCC in the 1980s wrecked it all (that and Cronkite retiring), then the media world splintered, and now it's all about maintaining perpetual conflict (even if it has to be manufactured) to hold eyeballs and score ratings. That and, sadly, we have a new generation of reporters who don't write all that well, topped off with a 24/7 news cycle that demands knee-jerk responses and creates lots of phony drama. My solution has been to target a select group of information sources that have not lied to me in the past and who I trust to get the story straight (you are one, Dr. Reich), and dispense with the others.
I am so happy you are calling the press out. Where is the unbiased treatment of important matters? If we as a country are going to get past Trumpism the press must do a better job. Hereās hoping their past high ideals will surface again..