California Free Press

Off the Top of My Head

Democrats Must Assert That Bernie, AOC and Elizabeth Warren Represent the Mainstream Views of the Democratic Party

by John Lawrence

Don't let Republicans call them Marxists or Communists or extremists. Bernie, AOC and EW (Elizabeth Warren) must be the mainstream views of the Democratic Party and Democrats must assert over and over again that their views are mainstream and not extreme. Healthcare and housing as human rights must be accepted as rational mainstream views. Taxing the rich and giving tax relief to the middle class must be burned into the American consciousness. Lifting the cap on social security so that the rich pay into it over their entire income and not just up to some limit and then their income above that limit is not taxed at all is ludicrous. After the extreme right wing views and implementations of the Trump government, Bernie's, EOC's and EW's views seem downright moderate by comparison. Saying that they are moderate and mainstream over and over again will make it so in the minds of the American people just as Trump's views said over and over ad nauseum seemed to make them mainstream and reasonable in the minds of the American people so that they voted for him. Democrats should take a page out of the same playbook. Don't be shy.

From a political point of view, democracy will only be enhanced if there is a reduction in the distribution of wealth from the situation that now obtains. When three billionaires own more wealth then the bottom 50% of the population, it's hard to believe that we live in a democracy any more. When billionaire Elon Musk can throw millions of dollars at an election such as he did with Trump and as he tried to do in Wisconsin, we are only kidding ourselves that we still have a democracy. The Supreme Court Citizens United decision made it possible that billionaires on both sides control elections and not the people. Are we to trust that the best outcome will come about based on whether or not Democratic billionaires pay more money for elections than Republican billionaires or vice versa? This makes as much sense as a wrestling match, the winner of which decides the next election.

Building wealth in the middle class means that a Democratic government must find ways and means to get young middle class people into home ownership as home equity is the main way historically that the middle class has built wealth. There are ways to do this, but the government can't leave it up to the market because the market won't do it. The housing market is only interested in maximizing profits and that means building homes for the upper middle and upper classes. That's where the most profits are. If the United States isn't to become a nation of renters, then home ownership has to get into the hands of the middle and lower middle class, and this in my opinion can only be done by the government creating plans to do this outside of the market. For instance, government could loan people the down payment and make sure that monthly payments are proportional to monthly earnings on an individual basis. Then the government would also have a partial equity stake in the housing so that when the house is sold, the government would be paid back. Or the home owner could at some point buy out the government's equity position. There are creative ways to make this work. Also equity in parents' houses could be transferred to children so that the children who are going to inherit their parents' equity anyway could get started as home owners without having to wait till their parents die. The government could facilitate this. The important point is to reduce the number of renters and increase the number of owners. This would distribute wealth much more widely.

Off the Top of My Head

Trump's Rationale Is Clear

by John Lawrence

Use tariffs and cuts to social services to justify huge tax cuts - mainly for the rich, but the middle class will get a pittance. Tariffs put money into the Treasury's account at the expense of raising taxes on consumers. Why didn't Kamala stress that she would do tax cuts for the middle class funded by tax increases on the rich? Obviously, tax cuts are a big thing for all Americans as was border security. The Democrats missed the boat by not countering Republicans on these two issues. Bernie Sanders has been blowing the truth for years. His positions need to become mainstream issues for the Democratic party, not left wing fringe issues. Counter Republican propaganda that Bernie is too extreme. So Trump is not too extreme? Medicare should be expanded. So should social security. Lift the cap on social security payments. In 2025, the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax (OASDI) is $176,000. Why should there be a cap on the maximum amount of earnings subject to the social security tax? Let the rich pay more.

Democrats need to make Bernie Sanders' positions on the economy the mainstream views of the Democratic Party. Expand the social safety net. Pay social security recipients more so that they can at least afford to put a roof over their heads. Too many seniors can't afford to pay rent. Child care needs to be free just like public education because it is public education. The costs of child care are putting a tremendous burden on the middle class. The US is the only advanced country that does not have a single payer system for health care with the result that we pay twice as much as people in other countries, and we get much worse results.

The Democrats must not be intimidated by accusations of socialism or communism so that they propose some middle of the road lukewarm policies that don't really solve the problems. Those epithets must be expunged. They're not applicable anyway. Should we shy away from health care for all or child care for all or enough social security so that seniors can live in a dignified manner? One of the most important issues is the fact that most middle class people will never be able to afford a home, and, since a home is an asset that increases in value, they will never be able to accumulate wealth. Because of that they will end up bereft in their old age. Only 50% of the people are invested in the stock market, but the entire middle class should be able to get into a home of their own. There are ways that the government could facilitate that. Otherwise, as more people live paycheck to paycheck (Bernie says this is 60 %), they will be life long renters with the result that only their landlords will be able to accumulate wealth.