Solution--Give them Guns

American Middle Class losing ground to the developed world.



For those of you who can tolerate a graph or and extended article here is some indisputable proof of what is happening the the American Middle Class.

Trouble For the Food Basket

Prophecy and the Ghost of Tom Joad

Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

Bruce Springsteen

This year marks the 75^th anniversary of that great work of American literature The Grapes of
Wrath by John Steinbeck. It told the story of Tom Joad and his family who were forced off the family farm in Oklahoma by drought and depression and who made their way to California where they met further hardship brought on my desperate working conditions and low wages. It was recognized then as a wake-up call to the American people of inequality and persecution of our economic system. This book can be considered both historical and prophetic. Historical in its description of the desperation of the dust bowl farmer’s family and prophetic in its warnings that it could happen again. Could it be that the prophecy of this book is being realized right now in our country?



Although the cause can be debated there is little disagreement that climate change is occurring. In areas that used to be non-arable there are now verdant fields of green crops that feed not only our nation but many others. It is only because of irrigation that this is possible. But consider this. The Colorado River no longer flows to the Gulf of California but now fizzles out before it gets there. For millenia it flowed but now it is diverted before it reaches its historical destination. Nebraska, Colorado and parts of Kansas along with the Central Valley in California are in the depths of an extended drought. Those states on the Western Plains have for decades drawn water from the Ogallala aquifer and it is being depleted at a rapid rate. It is projected to be 70% depleted by 2060. Replenishment will take hundreds if not thousands of years. In addition, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline is set to go right over this precious water resource. We are not the only country experiencing climate change. Australia is in a period of extended drought as are other parts of the world.

 Effects of the drought in California

In the 1930s the western states were referred to as “the dust bowl.” Long years of improper farming techniques had depleted the land and left it barren, a ready victim for the drought and winds that came and blew what topsoil was left to parts unknown. In our case it is not so much the farming techniques as it is an over-reliance on irrigation from sources that are adversely affected by climate change. One must remember that the Anasazi and the Navajo were forced off the land by drought.



In Steinbeck's time there weren't so many corporate farms. Most were family farms and the desperation and want was threatening mostly to those small farmers but now large corporate farms tend thousands of acres and failure of those farms will adversely affect people globally. What many don't realize is that wars have been fought over less. What would a nation on the brink of collapse due to starvation be capable of?



Just think of it. The corn that feeds our beef comes off the great plains as does the wheat for our bread. The fresh vegetables and fruit come from the groves of California. If shortages occur the prices for food will skyrocket (and we are seeing that happen now) leaving many without access to enough food. It won't be the rich that experience the need and want. They will have enough money to weather the storm but the rest of us won't. Those of us who make it from paycheck to paycheck will face some hard choices. Those who aren't making it now will face starvation. When that happens what do you suppose will happen to our government with increasing demands from the people? We can take a lesson from John Steinbeck's time. The Joads left their dusty farm for work in the orange groves. But what happens when the oranges won't grow? In that time the people demanded more and it was a time of great social change and government intervention.


I have always grown a garden but it is a far cry from being a subsistence garden. We still spend a fortune at the grocery but the garden does provide us with good food in season and we can and freeze quite a bit. We have the land that we can use for that but that is a rarity these days. I dare say that butchering a hog or a beef is something most of us have never done. We have lost those skills our grandparents had. But by far the most damage is being done by the marginalization of the middle class. The middle class now lacks the discretionary money to save for a rainy day. Instead of using federal resources to build up and support the middle class the money goes to the wealthy in the form of tax expenditures. Now the largest corporations may pay no taxes at all instead garnering refunds from the federal government due to the tax expenditures built into the tax code.



But it is not all darkness and gloom. There are things we can do if we choose to make the difficult decisions to do so. We can reform our tax code so that the federal government has enough funding to repair roads and bridges. We can institute conservancy efforts to minimize the amount of valuable natural resources we consume. We can move toward energy sources that do not contribute to the effects of climate change. Scientists now say that we will not avoid the effects of climate change but we still can keep it from becoming exceedingly severe. We can begin to make long term investments in human capital that will strengthen the great base of our country. The one thing we should not do is wait until disaster forces drastic action. We can't afford the luxury of thinking there is a painless way to our future. We can't do it individually and we can't get there believing that government is incapable of serving our needs.



Tom Joad faced a terrible disaster in the dust bowl and the Great Depression but what is ahead has the potential to make that look like a walk in the park.



My take is that this time when the wolf comes to the door the people will want more than straw to build their houses.

Where are my taxes going?

The Surprising Truth Behind Tax Day: Where Your Taxes Go | Blog, Smart Charts | BillMoyers.com





did you ever wonder where your tax dollars are going?  Here is a simple to read graph.  Notice how the section regarding foreign operations ( those billions going to foreign governments when we could be helping our own people) is only 1.5% of the budget.  Then notice the military budget.  Look at education, then look at the others and ask why our priorities are the way they are.  Why are we not investing in the future instead of the past?

Kentucky and West Virginia-A Stark Difference

I hope that many of you will take the time to watch this video.  If it doesn't break your heart then you are made of stone.

In this segment of a 60 Minutes program you will see the heartbreaking state of health care in Appalachia.  You will also see the stark difference between Kentucky (a state that embraced the Affordable Care Act) and our neighbor West Virginia (a state that did not).  West Virginia legislators allege that federal support for the ACA will drop leaving the states holding the bag for the health of their citizens.  Do you see what is wrong with this position?

The lack or alleged lack of funds to perform the simplest tasks afforded to government is not a matter of not having enough money.  It is a matter of how we apportion the funds that are available.  In Kentucky, as in many states , there is a crying need for comprehensive tax reform that will meet the needs of funding state operations in a modern society.  Our most recent budget cut education, medical care and all sorts of consumer programs and turned around and gave millions away in tax breaks to political cronies.  Lexington is asking for bonding capacity and funding up to $65 million for a renovation of Rupp Arena. Now, in our state of Kentucky we have KYnect that is the state run version of the ACA which is an extension of Medicaid.  Many of us know that Medicaid is not the best choice in the world but it is something.  In the states that did not put in place medical care under the ACA there are millions who are still unable to access affordable health care.  There are still 24 of those states, mostly in the south and west which are strong red states run by the GOP.

The question I ask those opposed to the ACA is "OK, what else can we do to insure these people have adequate health care?"  It is not just an ethical conundrum but also one of economics.  You can pay me now or pay me later.

It’s Time the CIA Gets Some Serious Oversight | The Nation

It’s Time the CIA Gets Some Serious Oversight | The Nation

UConn for the Title.

UConn Wins Championship Over Kentucky







Posting after the UK-UConn game.  I didn't post following the Wisconsin game simply because the chance of hanging a ninth banner loomed large.  When BBN gets that close there is a singular focus.  The Cats pulled it out with that now famous Aaron Harrison jump shot and that put us over the moon.  But then it almost instantly became a waiting for the next game.

Next game came and went and our beloved Cats did not prevail.  Give credit to UConn.  They took the strength of our game away and those guards can hit from anywhere.  They played good enough to win and did.

This team far exceeded anything I expected even after the boastful talk pre-season.  Any one with any sense knew it would be hard and it was.  It took the entire season for this team to learn how to play together but then they came on with a vengeance playing every game to the wire and making the naysayers eat their words.  Now, we can whine about not having Willie and that no doubt changed the game but we didn't get beat so much inside.  I can't really complain with our guard play.  Those UConn guards were just sensational.

So, what can we take from this?  Pride.  Pride that we are a part of a state that adores Big Blue Basketball.  Proud that when players leave they can tell their buddies about the giant of a program they came from.

The draft projections I have seen through the first 30 have Randle, Willie and Young being selected.  Harrisons could be taken lower if they decide to go.  They could benefit from another year but there is another point guard coming.  Poythress will stay and he promises the chance of becoming the beast Cal says he can be.  Johnson, Lee, Hawkins all promise to be great players.

Our hearts are broken and everyone will tell us that our expectations are too lofty but we know better.  What the others don't know is that we will love them anyway.  So, for another 6 months we can hang on every word that comes forth from BBN and hope that maybe this will be a breakout year for Mark Stoops.

Congratulations UK Wildcats and BBN.  You did us proud.

Does Money Equal Free Speech and Is It Worth It?

Fruit of the Loom | Influence Explorer: Campaign Finance, Lobbying, Regulations and EPA Violations

Angus King, Susan Collins back Dianne Feinstein CIA push

.Diane Feinstein gets some help in battle against CIA.



This is a further development of an issue I wrote about a couple of
weeks ago.  It is fascinating to see a few cracks opening in the
national surveillance and covert activity establishment

LCRMH. What is the answer?

Change is hard, but E. Ky. must examine what has failed and why.





Conversations yesterday concerning the recent report by Consumer Reports concerning the published safety records of Lake Cumberland Regional Medical Center finally began to get at the root of the problem.  Some good public initiatives were offered to bring pressure on the hospital to improve its record but in the absence of some financial or regulatory imperative public opinion has little effect.



The news of this report was published in the local paper but it seemed that it was only to put the hospital administration's defense forward.  The hospital said that the problem was not in the safety record but, rather, in the data that the hospital had provided to Medicare and Medicaid and that when those errors were corrected the local hospital had a safety record comparable to others of this size.  There was no attempt to verify those claims nor was there any mention of the reporters queries about the veracity of the CEO's statements.  In other words, a whitewash.



The referenced article in this post is not about the hospital but it is about the underlying cause of less than satisfactory performance. This hospital is part of a larger chain of for-profit hospitals and it is no surprise that the bottom line is paramount.  I don't want to argue either the business model or the safety record but the overall attitude by local communities toward businesses such as this.



As Mr. Caudill states the problem is us.  Not them, they are doing what they do but, rather, the local people who are leaders in the community and who hold the reins of power.  Many of the people who have built successful businesses in our local area have contributed to the growth of the Somerset-Pulaski County area but as that generation ages they become more stolid and more concerned with protection of their own assets and influence.  Attitudes such as that hold an area hostage to their preferences because they hold the reins to political power and finance.  Such is the case with LCRMC.  The Board of Trustees (it is inaccurate to say Board of Directors because that operates at the corporate level) of the local hospital is made up of people who are from that caste of people who have made theirs and want to maintain the status quo.  As Mr. Caudill states, it is only when those people begin to value the community's well being more than their own that they are willing and able to be effective for the prosperity of the community.  Locally, that caste is beginning to age out and an new generation is taking their place but many of the newcomers have been well indoctrinated by those whom they would replace.  That has to change and the pace of that change is too slow.



What is the solution?  The only tool that the unempowered have is organization.  It is only through organization that the individual becomes powerful enough to stand against entrenched interests.  Many of our citizens are poorly educated and poorly compensated and do not understand how power is exercised.  The solution to this problem and many others is to organize and educate.