Employers Used to Believe in the Power of Aggregate Demand, What Happened?

Posted on August 13, 2017 by Dave Bradley

From the Thom Hartmann Show Thursday:

Thom discusses the change in America’s business community from being good corporate citizens who saw their employees as assets to today’s atmosphere where corporations exploit whatever they can. 

Thom speaks with guest Rick Wartzman (Author – “The End of Loyalty: The Rise and Fall of Good Jobs in America”, Director – KH Moon Center for a Functioning Society, Drucker Institute, Claremont University, and Contributor – Fortune Magazine) about what caused the widespread prosperity in post war American, where it went, and who took it away.

The video is about 11.5 minutes. The exchange helped answer a lot of questions. As maybe many others have experienced here, in my working days employees went from an asset to an expense that must be controlled to the utmost.

Posted in Blog for Iowa, Corporate Greed, Labor | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Employers Used to Believe in the Power of Aggregate Demand, What Happened?

Sunday Funday: Bellicose, Blustering Buffoon Edition

Posted on August 13, 2017 by Dave Bradley

Here is a little something from many of our pasts. The administration wants to return to the 1950s in so many ways. Here is one that seems appropriate for what’s going on today. 9 minutes of memories. Sorry we couldn’t get the film strip version:

As we used to say back in those days “get on your knees under you desk, tuck your head under hands, stretch back and kiss your ass goodbye.”

Once again, it is nearly impossible to keep up. While the current president is taking a vacation and apparently playing some odd sort of video games with a fellow in North Korea, the special prosecutor seems to be working overtime.

1) What former king of cable news is preparing to reappear in an interview with Michael Smerconish on CNN?

2) North Korea has threatened to launch a nuclear weapon attack on Guam. How long will it take for a missile launched from North Korea to reach Guam?

3) Tomorrow, August 14th is memorable for two major events in history. August 14th, 1945 what major event took place?

4) Ten years earlier, August 14th 1935, FDR signed what bill that has had significant impact on older Americans?

5) Profiting from the presidency! The Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC turned how much of a profit in the first 4 months of 2017?

6) The current administration is pushing hard to change a rule that will take away what right from citizens in nursing homes?

7) National emergencies are usually reserved for short term crises like ebola. What did the administration declare to be an emergency last week?

8) The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership has hit what US industry especially hard?

9) It has been over a week since a terror attack took place on a place of worship in Bloomington, Mn. yet what American leader has yet to acknowledge the attack?

10) What major midwest city is suing the administration over imposition of sanctions because the city is a sanctuary city?

11) Senate leader Mitch McConnell and the current president are engaged in some sort of pissing match on twitter. What cabinet member is related to McConnell?

12) A report on what major issue was published in the NY Times before the administration could quash it?

13) The Dep’t of Agriculture has banned the use of what phrase requiring that the term “weather extremes” be used in its place?

14) Maui wowee! What state is beginning the sale of medical marijuana this week?

15) Great news! Who won the special election in Iowa House District 82 to replace the late Curt Hanson?

16) Europe has been suffering through an extreme heat wave this past week. What devilish name has been given to this heat wave?

17) Famed singer and musician Glen Campbell died last week from complications of what disease?

18) An engineer for what major tech company was fired last week for writing a memo stating that women were “biologically less likely to succeed in technology”?

19) It was announced last week that the FBI had conducted a pre-dawn raid on the home of what former presidential campaign chair in July?

20) What other right wing international leader is the focus of a corruption investigation in his country?

John Fugelsang on Twitter: ““Locked and Loaded” means that either Robert Mueller or the penis-enlargement research community better hurry up quick.”

Answers:

1) Bill O’Reilly or as Colbert used to call him “daddy bear”

2) 14 minutes

3) the surrender of Japan to end WWII

4) the Social Security Act

5) $2 million

6) the right to sue.

7) Opiods

8) farming

9) the current president

10) Chicago

11) McConnell is married to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chou

12) climate change

13) climate change

14) Hawaii

15) Dr. Phil Miller

16) Lucifer

17) Alzheimer’s

18) Google

19) Paul Manafort

20) Netanyahu in Israel. He was even heard to call reports “fake news.”

Astrologists note that the current president was born during a total eclipse. Thus they are warning that the total eclipse next Monday (8/21) could spell trouble for the country. React as your education on such things has taught you.

Posted in Blog for Iowa, Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: Bellicose, Blustering Buffoon Edition

Who Really Owns American Farmland

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Dave Bradley

Image (3) AAAAAIowafarm.jpg for post 3827

“We’re used to thinking of escalating rents as an urban problem, something suffered mostly by the citizens of booming cities. So when city people look out over a farm—whether they see corn stalks, or long rows of fruit bushes, or cattle herds roving across wild grasses—the price of real estate is probably the last thing that’s going to come to mind. But the soil under farmers’ feet has become much more valuable in the past decade. While urban commercial real estate has skyrocketed in places like New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., powerful investors have also sought to turn a profit by investing in the most valuable rural real estate: farmland. It’s a trend that’s driving up costs up for the people who grow our food, and—slowly—it’s started to change the economics of American agriculture.

Think of it this way: If you wanted to buy Iowa farmland in 1970, the average going price was $419 per acre, according to the Iowa State University Farmland Value Survey. By 2016, the price per acre was $7,183—a drop from the 2013 peak of $8,716, but still a colossal increase of 1,600 percent. For comparison, in the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than half as fast, from $2,633 to $21,476. Farmland, the Economist announced in 2014, had outperformed most asset classes for the previous 20 years, delivering average U.S. returns of 12 percent a year with low volatility.

Today, USDA estimates that at least 30 percent of American farmland is owned by non-operators who lease it out to farmers.”

Thus starts an analysis of what is happening to the very farmland that grow the crops that America depends on. It is a rather sobering analysis of farmers getting on in years and corporations looking for a place to park money that seems to be relatively safe. As the old saying goes that I used to hear over and over as a youngster: “They aren’t making any more land.”

The writer, Katy Keiffer, then analyzes in depth the changes that have been and will continue to take place on farms and in farming communities. As the price gets higher and the current crop of farmers gets older there is a turnover from the independent farmer-owner of yesteryear to the corporate owned farms leased back to farmers of today.

Keiffer skirts a particular problem that has been a question in many minds for a long time – could a small number of investor-owners control the food supply?

She does, however, look into the question of whether inverter-owners who are not operators will be as responsible for the land as farmer-owners.

Chief among them: The investment entities that own the land can control what’s grown on it and how. A quick look at farmland investment company websites makes it clear that they are very particular about assessing the fertility, the access to water and distribution, and other criteria of the land they are buying. And they favor conventional agriculture—the kind that uses the agro-chemicals, mono-cropping, and extensive tilling that continue to degrade American farmland. For financial investors, commodity crops are king, and it’s hard to imagine that they will change their minds anytime soon. As Don Buckloh of the American Farmland Trust put it, “When it comes to crop diversification it is nearly impossible to shift a commodity operation to something less monolithic. For example, the infrastructure for dealing with products other than corn or soy in Iowa, simply doesn’t exist. So farmers are stuck with having to grow the same crops ad infinitum. It’s a scary proposition because should the ethanol program be dissolved, what will corn farmers do with all that extra corn? Already the prices are so low that farm incomes are projected to be half what they were six or seven years ago.  We have no plan B for this type of eventuality.”

One other question she delves into is that of foreign ownership of American farmland. She notes that croplands in other countries have been bought by large corporations in the past, often to grow specific crops such as palms for palm oil. Will United States farmland be bought up by foreign owners in such a manner?

A good article to bring out some thought on Iowa’s biggest single resource – it’s fertile farmland.

Posted in Blog for Iowa, Farming | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Who Really Owns American Farmland

Union Recertification Begins Next Month In Iowa

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Dave Bradley

Image (1) labor-movement.jpg for post 17588

The massive and in my mind catastrophic overhaul had a clause meant to drive a wedge between state workers in Iowa.

Built out of the Republican playbook of “divide and conquer” the clause that puts the recertification of a union up for a vote before any contract renegotiation was put in there to pit worker against worker at a time of stress for workers – contract time.

And of course the Republicans who fashioned this bill made it as hard for recertification to happen as they could. To be rectified a union must get a majority of all union member whether they all vote or not. This is a high hurdle meant to bring the demise of union representation among state workers.

We hope that most of the workers see through the Republican laid traps and vote to remain unionized. No doubt there will be those who will want to throw unions out and I have no doubt there will be management skullduggery to plant seeds of discontent within the unions.

These are the games that have been played by management and their backers from the day the first unions were formed.

In case you forgot what this meant to some of the unbelievably wealthy donors of the Republican Party, let me remind you who was the ONLY person at the signing ceremony for this bill last February with Branstad: Koch Brothers’ lackey and apparent Branstad minder Drew Klein of the Koch funded Americans For Prosperity.

Image (1) terry-branstad-drew-klein-after-branstad-signs-union-busting-bill-300x169.jpeg for post 36779

Unfortunately there are many among the union ranks who support Republicans and for whom the hard won rights of union members mean nothing. Maybe the kick in the rear delivered by those Republicans finally made them think. We surely hope so for their sake and I daresay for the citizens of Iowa also.

Stay strong union members!

Here is a short video to explain why unions are so important for working men and women. Stated simply, as union representation diminishes, inequality in pay and benefits increases. Video about 3.5 minutes:

Posted in Blog for Iowa, Labor, union busting | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Union Recertification Begins Next Month In Iowa

Grassley-Ernst Upcoming Town Halls

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Trish Nelson

Ernst Town Halls

Boone
Friday (today) 8/11/17 @ 6:00PM Fareway Education Center, 1215 S Marshall St,

Ft. Dodge
Monday, 8/14/17 @ 4:30PM Monday, Fort Dodge Middle School, 800 N 32nd St,

Washington
Tuesday, 8/15 17 @ 12:30 PM, Washington High School Auditorium. 1111 S Ave

Grassley Town Halls

Bedford
Thursday, 8/24, @ 11:30 Bedford City Hall, 625 Court Ave

Primghar
Tuesday, 8/29 @3:45 Pimghar Community Building, 215 1st St SE\

Sibley
Wednesday, 8/30 @ 8:00AM, Sibley Senior Center, 612 8th St.

Mapleton
8/31 Thursday@10:00AM @Mapelton Community Center, 511 Main Street

Harlan
8/31 Thursday@ 2:45, Harlan Community Center,718 Court St.

Check this space for updates.

Posted in Blog for Iowa, Charles Grassley, Joni Ernst | Tagged , | Comments Off on Grassley-Ernst Upcoming Town Halls

Schedule of Upcoming Democratic Events

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Trish Nelson

Here’s a word from Senate Democratic leader, Rob Hogg. Check out these upcoming events.

Here’s good news to start the day: Democrat Phil Miller, veterinarian and education advocate, won the special election Tuesday in Iowa House District 82 in Davis, Van Buren, and Jefferson Counties in southeast Iowa by 54% to 44% in a district that Trump won by more than 20% last November.

Here’s even more good news: We have a series of upcoming events where you can join in, reach out, and speak up to help us keep building our momentum.

Together, we can compete in districts across Iowa, take back the majority in the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate, un-do the damage, and get Iowa going in the right direction again. Join me for one or more of these following events:

Thursday, August 10, 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. –
“Cruising to Victory” River Cruise Fundraiser, Catfish Charlie’s, Dubuque

Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque has organized a “cruising to victory” river cruise fundraiser on the Mississippi River in Dubuque on Thursday, August 10. I plan to join her, and hope you can, too.

She will be holding a pre-cruise reception at Catfish Charlie’s, 1630 E. 16th St., in Dubuque, at 4:30 p.m. Please attend and contribute as you are able.

Boarding for the river cruise on the American Lady will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the ship sailing from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets are required for the river cruise at the $100, $250, and $500 levels. There are a few tickets remaining. Please reserve your spot today by contacting Seth Cohen at scohen@iowademocrats.org.

You can get more details, and invite your friends, at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/129685470968307/

Friday, August 11, 10:00 a.m. –
“Drive for our Lives” Bus Tour, Mays Island, Cedar Rapids

A national bus tour, “Drive for our Lives,” featuring ordinary Americans who benefit from access to health care, will stop at Plaza Park on Mays Island in downtown Cedar Rapids this Friday, August 11, at 10:00 a.m. to rally support for protecting and expanding health care to cover all Americans.

I will be there, and hope you can join us. If you can’t join us, please keep speaking up with Iowa’s congressional delegation: “Don’t take away health care, expand it to everybody as Trump promised.” For more details, and to invite your friends, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/109523463055668/

Friday, August 11, 4:00 p.m. –
Iowa Democratic Wing Ding, Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake

The Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at the historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake will start at 5:00 p.m. For tickets to the Wing Ding, and other information, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/334254563696654/

Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City and I are hosting a pre-Wing Ding reception at the Surf District Grill, 619 Buddy Holly Place, in Clear Lake, starting at 4:00 p.m. with special guest, Congressman Eric Swalwell, a Sac City native who represents the 15th district in California. So if you are attending the Wing Ding, come early and join Senator Ragan and myself.

Other Upcoming Events

Cedar Rapids, Saturday, August 19, 1:30 p.m. – City Manager’s “1-Bag Challenge” Summer Cleanup Challenge, starting at 1:30 p.m. from the McGrath Amphitheatre, 475 1st St. SW. For details, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/675100826025374/

Davenport, Sunday, August 20, 1:00 p.m. – Scott County Democrats’ Summer Picnic, starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Duck Creek Lodge, 3300 E. Locust Street. For details, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/812037492295656/

Luzerne, Sunday, August 20, 5:00 p.m. – Benton County Democrats’ Cookout and Fundraiser at Luzerne City Park, starting at 5:00 p.m. For more details, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/432078207159739/

Lohrville, Saturday, August 26, 4:30 p.m. – Calhoun County Democrats’ Fundraiser, 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., at the Lohrville EMS Building. For more details, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1473784892715652/

Eldora, Sunday, August 27, noon to 2:00 p.m. – Iowa River Forum in Hardin County at Pine Lake State Park, east of Eldora and south of Steamboat Rock, in the day-use shelter.  For more details, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/259921141178599/

Grinnell, Sunday, August 27, 4:00 p.m. – Poweshiek County Democrats’ annual picnic, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. For more details, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/155280011707744/

Cedar Rapids, Rob Hogg Fall Fundraising Kickoff, Wednesday, September 6, 4:30 p.m. – Mark your calendars now for my fundraising event at the Sag Wagon, 827 Shaver Road NE, in Cedar Rapids, on Wednesday, September 6, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. For more details, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/138081293457928/

Contributions to my campaign committee, “Citizens for Rob Hogg,” are always welcome and needed. You can send a check payable to “Citizens for Rob Hogg” to P.O. Box 1361, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406, or contribute online at:
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/hoggforstatesenate

Let’s keep the momentum going – I hope to see you at one or more of these events.

Rob

Senator Rob Hogg
Senate Democratic Leader
Cedar Rapids

Posted in Blog for Iowa, Local Events | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Schedule of Upcoming Democratic Events

Hope Is Alive In House District 82

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Paul Deaton

Senator Harkin Speaking at Aug. 2, 2009 Curt Hanson Fundraiser

What seems most important about last night’s Iowa House District 82 special election to replace Curt Hanson is Democrat Phil Miller won in a post-Tom Harkin era.

Iowa no longer has a Democratic U.S. Senator able to travel most counties, recount his local margin of victory to politicians and engage voters. When Harkin visited Dick Schwab’s 2012 house race in Cedar County, his presence didn’t tip the scale in our favor but gave us hope a Democratic candidate could win rural, conservative areas. A case could be made that when Harkin retired so did Democratic hopes for the state. Democrats fell apart, first by losing his U.S. Senate seat, and then by crafting a spotty effort to support Hillary Clinton for president. Given the scale of President Trump’s Iowa win, such hope is needed.

If you want election night analysis, read Bleeding Heartland’s detailed report on the numbers and potential meaning for Democrats by clicking here.

Here’s the crux: “Today’s result is proof that good Democratic candidates can still compete in Iowa’s smaller towns and rural areas where Republicans made huge gains up and down the ticket in 2016,” DesMoinesDem wrote.

It is significant that one of Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann’s stated goals for 2017 is to shore up support among “new Republican voters.” In a July 27 article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette he said of his “new voters,”

I’m worried about them because, in general, what they know is Republicans have control and Republicans aren’t doing what they promised, even though individual congresspeople and senators are doing what they have promised… The people that are less informed about the process, yes, I worry because it contributes to a climate that we’ve given you what you’ve asked for and we haven’t delivered.

I hope the House District 82 election results give Mr. Kaufmann something else closer to home to worry about.

The test for Democrats will be whether they can walk and chew gum at the same time in 2018. It is one thing to concentrate resources on a single race and win, quite another to turn the Iowa house, senate and governor’s office Democratic again. Democrats have done it in Iowa with mixed results. Governor Harold Hughes’ term beginning in 1964 was notable and largely successful. Governor Chet Culver’s 2006 term hangs like an albatross around neck of the Iowa Democratic Party.

Democrats can have a drink to celebrate Miller’s win thanks to Harold Hughes ‘revamping Iowa’s alcohol control system and legalization of “liquor-by-the-drink.” This morning after they can hopefully develop momentum toward additional wins in 2018.

Dr. Phil Miller’s win last night provided evidence hope is alive.

Posted in 2018 Election Campaign | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

RIP Glen Campbell

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Trish Nelson

Why not pause today for a moment to acknowledge the passing of the great Glen Campbell..

Posted in Blog for Iowa | 1 Comment

Contact Your Reps And CC Your Local Newspaper

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Trish Nelson

Many Iowans are finding out just how futile it is to attempt to persuade our Republican representatives by writing to them directly.  Maybe they’ll be a bit more responsive if we take it to the media, as Cindy Garlock did so capably in this guest column in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Keep writing your representatives in congress. But don’t forget to cc your local paper.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/opinion/guest-columnists/rod-blum-fails-to-represent-all-iowans-20170806

I just received an email from my congressman, Rod Blum.

It is the usual email blast that goes out to folks in his district. One paragraph of the email caught my eye, however. It said, “I learn so much from meeting with people across Eastern Iowa, and I look forward to continuing to travel the district in 2017 to listen to Iowans from all walks of life so I can represent you to the best of my ability.”

I would have to challenge Rep. Blum on that statement. If, indeed, he is interested in listening to his constituents, how is it that he has refused to listen to a group of his Cedar Rapids constituents who have been requesting a meeting with him since February? If he wants to listen to Iowans, why does his staff tell us that meeting with us “would not be an effective use of the congressman’s time?” How can he represent us when we are told by his staff that we are “resisters” and that his staff will not allocate any additional resources to us? How does he know the issues of Iowans from all walks of life when his staff tells us that businesses get priority in meeting with the congressman?

Our group of concerned 1st District constituents consists of retirees, educators, veterans, a small business owner, and college students. We are the embodiment of “Iowans from all walks of life.” We have followed all protocols put forth by Rep. Blum’s office in requesting a face-to-face meeting with him. We have spoken on the phone with his local staff and his D.C. staff. We have spoken to his scheduler in Dubuque. We have met with his Cedar Rapids office staff. We have sent requests via Blum’s website. We have sent requests via the U.S. Postal Service. We have offered to meet with him at his convenience, whenever he is in the district at a location and time of his choosing.

Does Blum really care about “Iowans from all walks of life” or does he only care about Iowans who voted for him? Or just the Iowans who made campaign contributions? Or does he care more about about the folks who make up the North Carolina Leadership Fund, which gave his campaign more than $46,000 in the last campaign cycle? Or the Washington, D.C.-based Club for Growth, which contributed $42,000? If Blum truly cares about Iowans, why has he been refusing our requests for the last six months? Does Blum really represent ALL Iowans?

Rep. Blum, we continue to hope for a positive response from your office concerning our request for a meeting. Hopefully, the August recess will provide ample time in your schedule to meet with us — you know — the “Iowans from all walks of life.”

• Cindy Garlock of Cedar Rapids is a local political activist

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , | Comments Off on Contact Your Reps And CC Your Local Newspaper

KCRG: Personal Vendetta “Poor Choice of Words”

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Trish Nelson

Last Thursday,  I posted an article on Blog for Iowa,  critical of  KCRG-TV9’s coverage of a rally to protect the ACA held in Cedar Rapids.  I wanted to know by what process the phrase “personal vendetta” was chosen to be used in the on-air report, when the phrase “specific issue” was used in the accompanying text, in describing Indivisible Iowa’s efforts to meet with their congressman, Rod Blum.   As I said in my post, 

“Indivisible Iowa is working hard to fight for good public policy in a civil manner.  It is in no way appropriate to frame their efforts to meet with their congressman to share their views as constituents as a “personal vendetta.”  

I couldn’t imagine how they came up with the inflammatory and inaccurate phrase  “personal vendetta” so I also asked specifically if they were pressured by the Blum camp to use the phrase. Earlier in the week (Monday) I had contacted the station via email, but by Thursday, still had not received a reply. On Friday, I received KCRG’s response from Adam Caros, KCRG News Director.  Here it is below.

Hi Trish,

I apologize for the late response.  This went into a newsroom inbox and the person who monitors it sent it to the wrong person to respond.  I saw your blog post and went looking for your email and found it.  But you should have gotten a response much sooner than this.

The quick answer is that this was a poor choice of words and a misunderstanding of meaning of “personal vendetta,”  The reporter was attempting to convey that Indivisible Iowa is an ongoing and outspoken critic of Rep. Blum to help put their viewpoint and statements in perspective.  “Personal Vendetta” was the wrong choice of words to convey that and that has been addressed with the reporter who wrote it.  But no one tells us what to report or how to report something.  If Rep. Blum had described the group that way, we would have identified that as his opinion.  But the Blum campaign made no comments to us about the group or this story

The web text of “a specific issue” was referring to the group’s push for a meeting with Rep. Blum, which he has repeatedly denied.  The difference between that and the on-air script is because of the medium.  As you noted, we specifically refer to Indivisible Iowa in the web text while the video refers to “one group” while we see the Indivisible Iowa sign.  The script from on-air was re-worked since you could not see the Indivisible Iowa signs while referring to “one group” in a text article.

I know you said this was for your personal knowledge but I would appreciate if you updated your blog post to include this explanation to make clear we were not pressured by Rep. Blum or anyone else on this story or any other.

Feel free to reach out with any other questions,

Adam Carros
NEWS DIRECTOR
501 2nd Avenue SE • Cedar Rapids • IA 52401
Adam.Carros@kcrg.com
office: 319.399.5901  cell: 319.830.7050
social media: @acarros

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Comments Off on KCRG: Personal Vendetta “Poor Choice of Words”