Amongst news of the attempted Trump coup in the USA yesterday came two other pieces of news of significance.
One was the win by two Democrat Senators in Georgia. The consequence is that the Democrats now control the Presidency, House and Senate. In principle it is now their time to act.
The second was the appointment of Bernie Sanders as chair of the Senate Budget Committee.
The events might be linked. It is no secret that Stephanie Kelton is close to Bernie Sanders.
And it is no secret that some Democrats want a Green New Deal funded using the principles of MMT.
Might this now happen? It has to be said that there are plenty of Democrats who are also not convinced, which is worrying.
What this does mean though is that the US Democrats are now on trial. How far are they willing to go to break the economic hegemony that says nothing can be done to deliver a real stimulus linked to creating a sustainable economy? They have to rise to the challenge. Some, at least, are likely to make the effort to get them to do so.
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I was shocked last night…… but in some ways more optimistic than in a while.
The Storming of the Capitol will remain seared on US politics for some time and I suspect that in a year it will be “Donald who?” as Trumpism/fascism returns to the fringes with every “mainstream” Republican claiming they never really supported him.
In terms of policy it will be the Georgia run-off election that will matter most. Joe Biden is a natural consensus builder and until yesterday it looked like a consensus would involve moderate Republicans and exclude the left; today it looks like a consensus that will include Bernie Saunders. That is good news for the planet.
Agreed
Sanders getting the Budget Committee is very important
I suspect / hope Stephanie Kelton to be back as an adviser
That sounds like good news to me.
The democrats have only one term as far as I am concerned to turn around Trump’s supporters with definite improvements to their lives (the ‘fly over’ states and ‘rust belts’).
And then there are the Democratic funders who seem to be the same lot who fund the Republicans!!
If the Democrats do not become more radical in their approach and seek to just slow down change ( as they have done so in the past), they could be out on their arses after one term.
.
We’ll see – but GND would be a way forward – especially making sure that the uptake of new industry was in places reliant on old technologies.
I’ve been listening to US left wing/liberal media recently. My sense is that democrats will simply restore the pre-Trump status quo. Biden has signalled this with his recent appointmens. The rhetoric will change, but fundamental shifts in the neoliberal approach are very unlikely. The left caucas is good, and democrats know that there is a lot of support for Sanders’ policies, but like the Brit Establishment, the US Establishment sees the left as the enemy, not the right.
All is not hopeless though. It is possible for mass movements to change politicians’ minds. The civil rights movement accomplished a lot. The labour movements did the same in the 19th/early 20th century in the UK too. Everyone who cares about the abuses of power happening now and cares for the future for their children should consider engaging in activism now. It is my belief that we will have to relearn the lessons of solidarity if we want to have any influence over what governments do in the future.
I agree
It is good that Bernie Sanders is in the fold. I hope too that Biden will listen to Obama in terms of messaging (and yes it is ironic that Obama was the soundbite man). Obama suggests that on healthcare the messaging is ‘affordable healthcare for all those who want it’. It conveys that people who have full insurance coverage don’t have to change what they have and that helps ease the change. Yes that implies a two tier system, but it also allows something closer to universal healthcare to exist.
Throw in a dose of Stephanie Kelton and there is the possibility of making the financial case.
I am hopeful but not optimistic. The optimist says the glass is half full, the pessimist says it is half empty, the accountant says the glass is too big…
Darned accountants…
“Darned accountants…”
Yes, and now be prepared for a barrage of accountant jokes…almost as much fun as actuary jokes
One of my staff was once married to an actuary – and she was the exciting one
Didn’t believe there was such a thing as actuary jokes. So I looked them up. An example: “Two actuaries are duck hunting. They see a duck in the air and they both shoot. The first actuary’s shot is 20 feet wide to the left. The second actuary’s shot is 20 feet wide to the right. The actuaries give each other high fives, because on average they shot it.” Still not sure if there is such a thing as an actuary joke!
The following should also be taken note of:-
https://nypost.com/2021/01/05/aoc-and-squad-allies-named-to-house-oversight-committee/
It is now or never.
The Democrats won’t have a better opportunity and time is critical.
Good to hear Bernie Sanders is
Chair of Budget Committee. Let’s hope Stephanie Kelton also gets access to Biden’s ear.
It’s a good job that Trump is so unconvincing. He doesn’t seem to have any ideology behind his actions. He is just all about himself. He has exposed the fragility of democracy.
The next “Trump” may be more calculating, convincing and driven by ideology like Stalin or Hitler. It’s been shown that a large section of the US electorate are easily fooled/led.
The Clinton/corporatist tendency in the Democratic party is still very strong. Major changes to tackle the climate crisis is as you pointed out is now more possible but when it comes to forcing change by the fossli fuel companies. auto. aviation etc there may be a struggle.
I think the appointment of Sanders is certainly a belwether for where the party might be heading. However, the majority the Democrats will hold in the Senate during the next two years is basically down to only one person …the VP Kamala Harris, who is going to be very busy casting deciding votes, I reckon.
Biden’s first and main job is to attempt to undo the damage Trump and his ilk have been doing, not only over the past four years, but also during Obama’s second term, where he faced a hostile Senate devoted to blocking every single thing he attempted to do. That’s a lot of ground to attempt to make up, with only one person (Ms Harris) standing between cooperation and blockage.
This situation is not conducive to making sweeping changes, I’m afraid. These are changes that not only all Republicans will vote against, but that many centre-right Democrats are also likely to block.
Let Sanders plant the seeds, by all means. (And he’s persuasive AND realistic in his approach.) But don’t condemn Biden if he doesn’t suddenly wave the magic wand and transform the universe from black to green in one term. I wish he had that wand, but he doesn’t …not at the moment, anyway.
Wise words
Biden and his team would do well to go to the struggling small towns and actually ask the people what they need and then implement at least some of those things.
It might be internet connections, it may be creating some local jobs (job guarantee on a small scale). Trump supporters will change their tune quickly once some money starts to flow into work opportunities. And yes, I have fallen into my own trap of identifying the issues without really asking those involved.
Grayson Perry did a good three part documentary on US middle class – he met an anti-vaxxer and began asking her why she was so outspoken. She spouted the usual nonsense before starting to break down a bit and talk about her mother and her upbringing. It seemed cathartic and you could see scope for this one lady to recognise and change her outlook.
If (and it is a very big if) Democrats can get down to that level of interaction with the ordinary people, there would be hope of a better America.
Maybe here too……
I have not much understanding of US politics or government bodies, but this does sound encouraging news, especially since the Democrats now control both the House and Senate. They need the two houses to agree to get anything new passed.
There are many checks and balance over the pond on the Federal Budget.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_budget_process
I noted that 2017 Defence Budget was $606.5bn. To put that in perspective for that year, $35.6bn went to the Interior and Environment and $178bn going to Labour/Health and Education