Many of the progressive economists and political leaders I respect the most tend to downplay worries about the federal budget deficit, or say that while we need to worry about it someday, we can't do anything about it until the economy recovers. For example, the great economist James K. Galbraith wrote a piece the other day entitled "Why Progressives Shouldn't Fall For the Deficit Reduction Trap". In it, he reacts to a press statement from some left-of-center groups where they discuss responsible ways to cut the deficit that don't involve cutting Social Security/Medicare by arguing that progressives should not even concede deficits are bad in any way, let alone talk about constructive ways down the road to deal with them.
As much as I respect the people holding both positions- the one saying we should work on deficit reduction but not right now, and the one saying it's wrong to even acknowledge that running deficits is bad- I believe that both positions are a deep political and economic mistake. While I support Keynesian deficit spending in a recession like this one, I also believe that progressives do our bigger political cause a huge disservice if we ignore the deficit issue. I believe to my core that when faced with an intractable political problem, the only way to deal with it is to face it head on rather than ignore it or stay on the defensive about it. Democrats would have taken control of Congress in 1998 if they had pushed back sooner against Republican impeachment efforts rather than trying to change the subject. Al Gore would have won West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and the Presidency if he had dealt with the gun issue head on rather than ignoring and hoping it would go away. And progressives will get far more traction by taking on the deficit issue directly and having our own strategy for dealing with it than by saying it doesn't matter, or saying we'll deal with it later, and then trying to change the subject.
Before I go on to say what I think our deficit strategy should be, let me also go out on a limb and say this: getting the deficit under control does actually matter. As long as we owe the Chinese this much money, we are never going to take them on as aggressively as we should on trade and climate change and other issues. As long as the deficit and the interest on our national debt skyrockets, there will be no political will for investing the money we need to invest in our people. The owners of our national debt, whether we are talking foreign countries or wealthy bankers, are not the kind of folks I want to be benefiting from our national treasury. We need a plan to reduce our annual deficits. But the bottom line for me is that the politics of ever-expanding deficits and debt are unsustainable over the long run. Voters prefer jobs over deficits in the short term, for sure, but over the long run it becomes a bigger and bigger symbol for voters of an out of control government, and that is not good for the progressive cause over time.
So here's what I think progressives should be doing about our deficit:
One of the most fundamental truisms of politics and policy is that old saying about democracy requiring eternal vigilance. In a political system like ours dominated by big money and the lobbyists that money hires, that is especially true, even in years when Democrats control both houses of Congress and the White House.
Beyond the raw power and connections of big business lobbyists, two of the biggest reasons we s till have to worry about this even with Democrats in control are that (a) a lot of these things are done behind the scenes, out of the public spotlight, while other big issues are being intensely debated; and (b) the free market ideology that has come to dominate even in a lot of Democratic circles.
Three huge examples of major backsliding on economic issues have come to light over the last couple of weeks brought on by this combination of lobbyist influence, free market economic theory, and the ability to quietly push for things in the dead of night while health care is taking most of the media's- and the progressive movement- attention. Any of these issues would be easy to win on if the media covered them and/or the progressive movement focused their fire on them, but with health care taking up so much bandwidth, it's harder to fight these things.
back in the day when i was an environmental justice organizer in one of san francisco's poorest and most polluted neighborhood i came up with a pithy little acronym - TWIMBY - to describe what appeared to me to be the aggressive emiseration of working class communities and communities of color even as the elites were enriching themselves.
as our country hurtles toward an economic abyss and is buffeted by the winds of the shock doctrine it seems to me that the term is becoming all the more relevant.
I figured now would be a good time to remind everyone (again) about some upcoming space events, that would be worth going to. We have a couple of major events this week, as well as future events upcoming. I promise reports to any and all I attend, and I suggest that you attend as well
Before you go to sleep, some fairly shocking testimony proving there is no worker shortage and some additional shocking facts on how the US debt is affecting job creation as well as how current research grant awards are inversely affecting R&D!
New Progressive Coalition and Democracy Alliance have both sent very thoughtful and interesting responses to my recent post on bloggers and donors, and I encourage folks to read them and respond. I like both of the posts a lot, and I think their ideas about how to move forward are useful. I have also gotten a lot of other constructive feedback from individuals in the donor, and plan to do another post soon on this topic. -Mike
First of all, I would like to thank OpenLeft for the opportunity to respond to your post about connecting donors to the blogosphere, and offer some insight from one donor's perspective as well as some insight into the Democracy Alliance organization.
As a longtime donor to progressive causes and campaigns, I have witnessed the evolution of the progressive movement. As a Board member for a number of progressive organizations, including Mother Jones and the Ms. Foundation for Women, I've had valuable insight into the challenges facing organizations as they seek out individual donors for the multi-year funding that is crucial for building capacity. Over the years that I have been involved in the progressive movement as a donor and activist, the environment has changed significantly. I believe there are powerful forces and constituencies that are replacing the old guard and bringing new voices and new ideas into the process. I have grown frustrated with the approach of "targeting" voters through expensive television ads that often miss the intended audience by a mile. I believe that blogs, and other new media tools, are a more efficient way to reach voters and we must find ways to support this work. As an individual donor I have supported and will continue to support bloggers, and the use of new technology and the online space to reach critical audiences who are often missed by more traditional media.
Political events in 2000, 2002, and 2004 galvanized the progressive movement at all levels. Progressives came together across the country, in a variety of ways, to unite around shared beliefs and a shared desire for change. As a Democracy Alliance Partner since its founding in 2005, and Board chair for the past year, I've seen firsthand exactly how much we've accomplished in the two years since our inception and I'm heartened to see the movement expanding on all fronts.
The netroots community and blogosphere have grown in the last several years into a powerful force that was almost unimaginable just a few years ago. In the last two years the Democracy Alliance has begun to form a first of its kind community of donors committed to strengthening democracy by partnering with, making human and financial investments in, and fostering collaboration among leaders and institutions committed to building a sustainable progressive infrastructure.
In his post Mike correctly enumerated some crucial barriers to funding the blogosphere, and the near impossibility of realizing a significant impact by giving to individuals. However, those barriers are neither permanent nor insurmountable. As an individual progressive funder I, and others like me, will continue to fund bloggers and those who are making progressive change happen. As a Partner in the Democracy Alliance the goal is to fund collaboratively, and as the Chairman of the Democracy Alliance, we look forward to finding opportunities to support the entire netroots community through organizations and institutions that are enabling the long-term health and sustainability of the community.
I hope this marks the beginning of an honest and productive conversation between donors and the netroots, about how to leverage the power of both groups to move forward in a strategic and effective partnership.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, and the Democracy Alliance staff, I want to thank you again for the opportunity to share my thoughts.
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