The Republicans won control of the House and picked up seats in the Senate in the midterm election on nebulous promises to slash spending and reduce the size of the federal government. House Speaker John Boehner has pledged to reduce spending to 2008 levels, as per the GOP's campaign manifesto, known as the "Pledge to America."
This is the sixth part of a series of posts giving recommendations on California's propositions. This post recommends a "no" vote on Proposition 26, which requires a two-thirds majority in the legislature to pass some fees.
Proposition 27 will be the subject of the next post and last in this series.
Trying to Understand What Proposition 26 Does
Proposition 26 is a complex and tricky piece of proposed legislation, with a number of subtleties. On its surface it sounds like a standard conservative proposal against higher taxes, and in a way Proposition 26 indeed fits this definition. But to just label Proposition 26 as a classic tax-cutting proposition is to somewhat misunderstand it's purpose.
Proposition 26 has several parts, and each are quite complex. The first part deals with the difference between taxes and fees.
This is the fifth part of a series of posts giving recommendations on California's propositions. This post recommends a "yes" vote on Proposition 25, which requires a majority vote in the legislature to pass a budget.
Proposition 26 will be the subject of the next post in this series.
The Structural Problems in California's Budget Process...
Proposition 25 is the most important proposition being proposed this year. While Proposition 25 may not exactly ignite passion in the hearts of voters, it is far more important for California's future than the much-debated Propositions 19 and 23.
To understand why this is so, one needs to take a look at the structure of California's budget.
This is the third part of a series of posts giving recommendations on California's propositions. This post recommends a "no" vote on Proposition 22, which restricts state borrowing from local funds.
Proposition 24 (and not 23, which everybody has already heard about) will be the subject of the next post in this series.
California, It's Budget, ...
On October 8th, California's legislature passed its yearly budget. The state has become famous for its late budgets and the never-ending budget shortfall. This year was no different; lawmakers were handed a $19 billion dollar shortfall and forced to come up with enough spending cuts and fees to balance the budget (on paper, at least).
California's officials did a variety of things to balance the budget.
Overshadowed by the antics of the Kentucky Senate race is the fact that we have some fine men running for the Congress this year in the Bluegrass State. Ed Marksberry, John Waltz, and Jim Holbert are all great Democrats and deserve our support. John Waltz conducted a tour across his district and found out one thing. Folks are pretty scared about their retirement security with the talk of benefits being cut and retirement ages being raised. While Waltz believe budget cuts are inevitable, he has the right mindset to do it rationally.
In response to a dismal jobs report released on Friday, the White House is ordering spending cuts:
The White House is directing agencies to develop plans for trimming at least 5 percent from their budgets by identifying programs that do little to advance their missions or President Obama's agenda.
The request, made amid rising public anxiety over government spending, comes on top of a pledge by Obama this winter to freeze spending at most agencies for the next three years.
This move will cost jobs, and win the praise of right-wing organizations that seek to slash the social safety net:
Chris Edwards of the libertarian Cato Institute called Obama's latest proposal "a great idea." Maya MacGuineas of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget described it as "a trust-building exercise" that could make it easier for voters and lawmakers to digest more dramatic efforts to rebalance the federal budget, such as cutting entitlement benefits or raising taxes.
"If you're trying to tap into public frustration and showing empathy on the deficit, you go after waste," said Robert Bixby, executive director of the nonprofit Concord Coalition. "I think that's what's going on here."
Rand Paul will probably issue a supportive press release soon, too. Perhaps even the executor of Hebert Hoover's estate.
I am not going to pretend that I live inside the head of President Obama and his advisors, and thus understand their rationale for this move. Maybe they are doing it because they think it will help Democratic electoral chances. Maybe they actually think it is good policy. Maybe it is some combination of both.
The rationale, however, does not matter. We are not engaged in a debate about what goes on inside the minds of the leading figures in the administration, including Obama himself. What does matter is that this move will cost jobs in the middle of an ongoing employment crisis. Not only will this add to widespread hardship in this country, but it will have negative effects on the Democratic electoral position exceeding whatever minimal media optics the Obama administration will receive from this move.
Further, this move signals that the days of expanding on public investment in this administration are over. This move effectively backs up the Blue Dogs, who slashed $79 billion from an economic relief bill just before Memorial Day. Combined with the Conservadems and various procedural obstacles in the Senate, and there is no longer a working majority in favor of expanding public investment in Washington, D.C. Whatever we manage to get over the next five months will be tiny crumbs compared to what was possible.
Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.
Hundreds of thousands of people from across the world are headed to South Africa to watch the World Cup, descending on Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and six other cities across the country for the biggest sporting event the continent has ever seen. Yet, not everyone headed there is a sports fan. Some are being dragged by spouses, some by friends, some want to be apart of the excitement, but don't want to dish out the dough for tickets, and some are just building in some extra vacation time to see the sights.
My partner Danielle and I recently had the privilege of spending nearly two months traveling across South Africa, meeting with farmers and looking at projects that are working to alleviate hunger and poverty (as part of a 15 month research trip across the continent). Along the way we met with dozens of travelers and packed every weekend with cool excursions. From our travels, here is a guide of 50 non-sport related things to do while in South Africa.
Tons of incredible activities will be missing, so please use the comments section below to create a more comprehensive list.
Johannesburg
What to Do:
1) Spend an entire day at the Apartheid Museum, it's brilliantly laid out using technology and multi-media, and the visit takes you on a journey that will forever change the way you look at race relations and racism. It was a powerful and emotional experience
3) Take a private walking tour or 4) group tour of Soweto where you will see Freedom Square, site of the Soweto up-risings, Desmond Tutu's home, the Mandela Museum, and a visit to a local settlement.
5) Reserve a spot on the one and a half hour guided tour organized by SAB brewing (partners with Miller-Coors in the USA) complete with a 3D adventure and an IMAX-style movie, real life machinery depicting the beer making process, and lots more.
6) Aside from the Mall of America in Minnesota, the East Gate Mall is the biggest shopping center I've ever been to. It has two movie theaters and two more huge malls within walking distance. Alternatively, (7) the mall in Rosebank is closer to the city and has everything you might need.
8) If your traveling with kids you might want to take a one hour trip to Maropeng and visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as The Cradle of Humankind. The interactive journey offers a underground boat ride, fossils, and learning about how humankind was born.
11) For drinks, sip a martini at Ratz 12) eat sushi at Tokyo Star in Melville, or 13) stop by Sundeck in Norwood. The Rosebank mall also has some lively outdoor options.
14) For live jazz, head to Kippie's and 15) to shake your booty head to Carfax.
Where to stay:
16) For backpackers, consider staying in Soweto at the Diamond Digger's Lodge or 17) Bob's Bunkhouse near the airport.
18) For budget travelers, the Sunbury Bed and Breakfast is a great option or 19) the slightly pricier Turrent Guesthouse, both in the fun and bohemian suburb of Melville in close walking distance to bars, cafes, restaurants, and shops.
How to get to and from:
19) Long-haul bus companies are a good bet, our best experiences and most reliable service was with Intercape bus company.
20) Within South Africa, discount airlines Kulula and 1time are options to consider when South Africa Airways prices are too high.
Pretoria
What to Do:
20) You might consider a tour of the Jacaranda City (named after the tree by the same name), where you can visit historical sites, including the President's Office, Melrose House, the Church Square, Kruger House, and the Voortrekker Monument as well as the Union Buildings.
21) You can escape for the afternoon to the National Zoological Gardens and head up the cable car to see a nice overview of the city.
22) For shopping, Pretoria has a decent-sized mall called Menlyn Park, and a smaller shopping center in Hatfield.
Where to Eat/Drink and enjoy the Nightlife:
23) Head to Hatfield for fun restaurants, bars, and nightlife -- with ten neat places all next to eachother on Burnett street, you don't have to go far.
24) Start your morning with a delicious cup of coffee and free wifi at News Cafe
25) For West and South African food, you can try Kariba restaurant or (26) the African Traditional Pub and Grill
Where to stay:
27) For budget travelers, stay at The Village which is in easy walking distance from all the action in Hatfield, yet clean, friendly, quiet, and includes a delicious breakfast.
Durban:
What to Do:
28) For those looking for a safari, you might head to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. In addition to incredible birds and other species -- you might also spot all the "Big Five" - lions, buffaloes, rhinos, elephant and leopards.
30) Visit a traditional village in Zululand. You can take lessons in traditional dance and music or visit beautiful Phobane Lake
31) For families, you might take the kids to Ushaka Marine World, Africa's largest marine and water park. The place has five "zones" that includes: Sea World (aquarium), a Phantom Ship (restaurant), Wet 'n' Wild (waterpark), and Ushaka Beach.
32) Pay a visit to the Indian Market, where you can grab a bite to eat, buy spices, meet traditional healers, and try on cool fabrics.
33) Durban has a terrific Botanical Gardens, which showcases free live music on Sundays, and allows you to picnic on the property.
Where to Eat/Drink and Enjoy the Nightlife:
34) Vegans and Vegetarians will love EarthMother restaurant which has a terrific menu of locally grown, organic foods. Also, it has the best fresh juice and smoothie bar in all of South Africa
(35) For seafood lovers, you won't go wrong with a trip to New Cafe Fish or (36) Famous Fish Co
Where to Stay:
37) For backpackers avoid the over-priced, poor value, Lonely Planet pick called Gibela Backpackers and instead head down the same street to Tekweni Backpackers Hostel in Morningside.
Cape Town
What to Do:
38) Book ahead for a visit to Robben Island, where Mandela and other prisoners were incarcerated. Afterwards 39) take walking tour to the District Six museum, where you will see the remnants of homes that were destroyed.
40) Check out the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where you can see a breathtaking view at Cape Point, go swimming, and visit a nearby penguin colony
41) You can go scuba diving and snorkel with the Great White Sharks of South Africa. This cave dive is a very popular tourist attraction, where you can literally look the ocean's toughest predator in the eyes.
42) About 90mins by car away is a great spot to head on a safari day trip called Aquila Game Reserve where you will be able to spot giraffes, lions, leopards, and zebras.
43) Tour the Stellenbosch and Paarl Valley wineries. South African wine is famous around the world and you can find several affordable tour companies that will take you between vineyards by bike, 44) bus, or 45) by foot.
46) Hike, 47) mountain bike, or take a cable car to the top of Table Mountain, which offers incredible views of Cape Town City, Table Bay and Robben Island.
48) For shopping you can head to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. It's pricey, but there are tons of restaurants, shops, bars, and even a movie theater.
Where to Eat/Drink and Enjoy the Nightlife:
49) One tour company provides the opportunity to "break bread" with two local Cape Town families, including a home-cooked meal and stunning views over Cape Town, and shared conversation. Then you head to a second host family for coffee and more cultural sharing.
50) Start with homemade Italian food at 95 Keerom, then 51) head for a drink at the Nose Wine Bar, 52) before going out dancing at Snap. It's easy to have a great time in Cape Town with incredible, vibrant nightlife.
Where to Stay:
53) For backpackers you might try the fun (but very noisy) Long Street backpackers in the heart of restaurant and bar nightlife.
54) For budget travelers you will enjoy St John's Waterfront Lodge, located right in the heart of the city, it's quit, clean, well-managed, and very friendly.
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I have been arguing for a long time that progressives need to be aggressively engaged in the deficit cutting debate. I think it is a mistake for us, both policy wise and especially politically, to say that deficits don't matter, or to have an entirely defensive message about the cuts we don't want Congress to make. Voters believe deficits matter, and they want solutions - and while it is currently unpopular to cut Social Security and some other programs (thank goodness), if no alternative to that is presented, too many folks might be convinced to go along.
The progressive message on the deficit has to be very clear: first, don't do anything that will endanger our economic recovery, because the best way to solve the deficit is to improve our economic health (see: the 1990s). Secondly, when you ask for sacrifices, they shouldn't be all or mostly from the middle class and poor. This is a pretty key point, since many of the deficit hawks seem to be zeroing in on cuts in Social Security and a Value Added Tax, both of which overwhelmingly impact the poor and middle class far more than they do the wealthy.
What these proposals are is an attempt to make middle and lower income people pay for the sins of the wealthy who have benefited from the deficit. Middle class incomes have been stagnant over the last decade, while the costs of their groceries, gas, utilities, and college education for their kids has skyrocketed. Middle class housing prices have plummeted the last three years, with foreclosures and bankruptcies increasing exponentially. Middle class folks haven't gotten the big tax cuts the wealthy have over the last 10 years, and when taxes are raised at the local level, its almost always regressive taxes like the sales tax that impact poor and middle class people the most. Meanwhile, public school teachers, social services for the poor, parks, libraries, community colleges, programs to help handicapped kids - all of those programs that matter to working families are the things that get cut.
So now we have this gaping federal deficit. (More in extended entry)
In the health reform fight, if progressives wanted a significant increase in health coverage and public health care, they were forced to simultaneously swallow rollbacks in women's rights. The current outlines of the fiscal year 2011 budget deal seems to force progressives into a similarly painful choice, as they only receive wide latitude to pursue a staunchly progressive reconciliation bill if they accept cuts in non-military, discretionary spending.
Senate Democrats have written their budget resolution so they can pass jobs legislation using reconciliation, the controversial process used last month to move healthcare reform.
The resolution does not specify what specific jobs measures could be covered, and does not explicitly allow for the use of reconciliation rules to pass energy legislation or the extension of George W. Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and a number of other Democrats on Tuesday, however, said the fast-track process could be used to move tax cuts, energy legislation and more later this year.
There are many different areas it could be used," Cardin said.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) released highlights of his proposed budget Tuesday evening after meeting with his committee colleagues and addressing the Democratic caucus earlier in the day.
The budget cuts spending further than the president called for and institutes a freeze on "all non-security discretionary spending for three years, from 2011 through 2013," according to a document put out by the committee. In other words, cutting social programs and other non-military spending.
It would be easy to make up Conrad's proposed cuts in social spending by reducing defense spending, but as we know by know "fiscal conservatives" consider military spending sacrosanct but public programs for the poor and elderly to be a grave threat to our nation. Wars are free, but Grandma not eating cat food costs money.
That progressives keep having to face these choices is like some twisted scenario from a movie, where the central character is forced to shoot one person to save two others. It is the sort of heinous, stomach churning choice that forces you into a crass utilitarianism and a violation of a good chunk of your principles.
The whole process is a lot worse than making sausages. Real lives are at stake, and so it is more akin to ordering some people to die to win a larger war.
Even though financial regulations are being touted as the next big legislative fight in the Senate, it is not likely that a financial reform bill will be introduced to the full Senate for at least another month.
The Senate returns to work on Monday, April 12th. The sources I hear--and I do consulting work for Americans for Financial Reform as part of my fellowship with the New Organizing Institute--say that the earliest possible date for a financial regulations bill to hit the Senate floor is Monday, April 19th.
More commonly, I have heard that the last week of April, from the 26th through the 30th, will be when the bill is introduced. More pessimistic sources even place it at the first week in May.
When the Senate returns, the first order of business will be to complete the extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits. Democrats and Republicans, as well as the House and the Senate, failed to reach an agreement on the extension last week. Such an agreement is needed to end a Republican filibuster, led by Tom Coburn.
In the House, the federal budget will take center stage during April. Perhaps the most important thing to watch in that fight is what reconciliation instructions are included in the budget resolution. The wider the potential scope of the 2010 reconciliation bill, the wider the possibilities of progressive governance for the rest of the year.
Reconciliation bill changed, still expected to pass today As has been reported widely this morning, including by David Sirota, the Senate parliamentarian changed the reconciliation bill earlier today. This will require another vote in the House of Representatives.
The argument that any changes to the reconciliation in the bill would have defeated the bill does not appear to be holding up. However, these are minor changes, and so it could be argued that any substantial changes to the bill would have caused a more serious problem.
Public Option As far as the public option is concerned, there are good reasons to be cynical right now. Either the Democratic leadership doesn't care about it all that much, or they are actively working against it (I choose the former). House Whip James Clyburn says they have the votes to pass the public option. However, Speaker Pelosi said during a meeting last week with progressive bloggers that she was told the Senate did not have the votes (I was in attendance at that meeting), and as such did not try to add one to the reconciliation bill.
On the Senate side, Harry Reid has promised a vote on the public option, but all Democratic Senators have ruled out any strengthening amendments for this reconciliation bill, including a public option. So, the public option is therefore not allowed into the bill, and there is no public vote to verify the claim that there are not enough votes in the Senate. We are just supposed to believe that there are not enough, without any names ever being named.
Whether there are actually 50 votes in the Senate for the public option as a stand alone amendment is a debatable point, as here at Open Left we only ever proved there are 50 votes for a health reform bill that included a public option. What is not debatable is that the Democratic leadership did not try very hard, or possibly even at all, to include a public option in the reconciliation bill.
Republicans still taking process to the extreme, Democrats need to respond in kind During most of March, Republicans declared that passing legislation with only 51 votes in the Senate was THE MOST TOTALITARIAN MOVE EVAH. Now, to no one's surprise, Republicans are voting to allow only 51 votes to change the reconciliation bill in many ways, including non-budgetary items that run afoul of the Byrd Rule, as long as they believe those changes help defeat the reconciliation bill. To put it bluntly, Republicans are willing to use any procedural means necessary to achieve their goals.
As such, the best move for Democrats is try and get reconciliation instructions for as much as possible in the budget bill that will be passed next month. This includes reconciliation instructions for health reform that will allow for a public option to pass in a new reconciliation bill, but it should also include things like energy and education, too.
These reconciliation bills are just about the only way Democrats can still govern. For example, Tom Coburn is going to "pull a Bunning" and filibuster an extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits. The popularity, and immediate necessity, of such benefits far exceeds anything in the health reform package. If Democrats can't even get that done on time because of frakked up Senate procedure, the budget bill needs to leave Democrats with an option to pass as much legislation as possible with only 51 votes in 2010.
Republicans are using whatever procedural options they have to achieve their ends. At this point, Democrats have to respond in kind.
Comprehensive health care reform will cost the federal government $940 billion over a ten-year period, but will increase revenue and cut other costs by a greater amount, leading to a reduction of $130 billion in the federal deficit over the same period, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, a Democratic source tells HuffPost. It will cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next ten years.
The source said it also extends Medicare's solvency by at least 9 years and reduces the rate of its growth by 1.4 percent, while closing the doughnut hole for seniors, meaning there will no longer be a gap in coverage of medication. The CBO also estimated it would extend coverage to 32 million additional people.
A million extra people covered is nice. That certainly seems like a lot of deficit reduction, too.
I had also heard a rumor of a Medicare buy-in being considered as a last-minute change to appease the CBO instead of / in addition to the excise tax change. Unfortunately, it was one of those situations where pushing for it would have been counter-productive (think about what happened when Sanders, Weiner, Dean and Kucinich celebrated the Medicare buy-in deal back in December). The center-right Democrats who were pushing for it would have withdrawn support if the DFHs liked it. Because, in the end, the key for many center-right Democrats is to only support policy that pisses you off (seriously).
However, since a leaked CBO score implies the bill is done now, I think it is OK to let the cat out of that bag. Doesn't seem like it is going to happen one way or the other.
In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Obama called nuclear weapons the "greatest danger to the American people." Yet his 2011 budget proposes a major increase in spending on the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Incredibly, President Obama proposes to spend $600 million more on nuclear weapons than did George W. Bush in his final year.1
Obama's proposed new nuclear spending boost will enable construction of new facilities that would allow the U.S. government to develop new nuclear warheads in the future. That flies in the face of Obama's professed goals of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
Nuclear bombs are a grave threat to life on Earth -- that's why we need the president to walk his talk.
I was suppose to be in DC this week, helping to sell President Obama's new ambitious human space program. Yes, thats right, it is human, it is ambitious, and its very cool. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. That has me rather annoyed
In addition, I am getting rather sick and tired of the teabaggers (or the space equivalent to teabaggers) that have invaded some of the space blogs (and there are a ton). So, instead, I thought I'd tell you why I support the new NASA plan (although I will admit it is a work in progress).
STATE BLOGS
Hundreds of thousands of people from across the world are headed to South Africa to watch the World Cup, descending on Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and six other cities across the country for the biggest sporting event the continent has ever seen. Yet, not everyone headed there is a sports fan. Some are being dragged by spouses, some by friends, some want to be apart of the excitement, but don't want to dish out the dough for tickets, and some are just building in some extra vacation time to see the sights. 
1) Spend an entire day at the 
10) For vegetarians, we loved the 
20) Within South Africa, discount airlines 
34) Vegans and Vegetarians will love 
38) Book ahead for a visit to