Highbrow Magazine - economy https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/economy en Study Shows Growing Spending Power, Influence of African-American Women https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8521-study-shows-growing-spending-power-influence-african-american-women <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 10/08/2017 - 14:43</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackwomanshopping_0.jpg?itok=Tjae_KaP"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackwomanshopping_0.jpg?itok=Tjae_KaP" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.louisianaweekly.com/">Louisiana Weekly</a> and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2017/10/nielsen-study-reveals-growing-spending-power-influence-of-black-women.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>(NNPA Newswire) — A new report detailing the record-setting spending power of African-American women has further buoyed the confidence of Black female entrepreneurs, who said the information proves their undeniable value to the United States and the global economy.</p> <p> </p> <p>The report titled, “African-American Women: Our Science, Her Magic,” was released by Nielsen during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference; it revealed that African-American women’s consumer preferences and brand affinities are resonating across the mainstream culture, driving total Black spending power toward a record $1.5 trillion by 2021.</p> <p> </p> <p>The report also noted that Black women comprise 14 percent of all females in the U.S. (“24.3 million strong”) and 52 percent of all African Americans.</p> <p> </p> <p>With an average age of 35.1 years (versus 42.8 for non-Hispanic white women and 39.4 for all women), Black women have enjoyed steady growth in population, incomes and educational attainment.</p> <p> </p> <p>Sixty-four percent of Black women currently enroll in college right out of high school and 23 percent over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, up from 18 percent in 2005.</p> <p> </p> <p>Further, the report noted that the number of businesses majority-owned by Black women grew 67 percent between 2007 and 2012, more than all women combined.</p> <p> </p> <p>The latest U.S. Census figures show African-American women have majority ownership in more than 1.5 million businesses with over $42 billion in sales.</p> <p> </p> <p>“This report is helpful to show banks and brands that Black women are highly qualified to be recipients of fair lending and to be fairly represented in advertising campaigns,” said Samantha Gregory, the founder of the website richsinglemomma.com, a platform developed to help single mothers earn extra cash. “As a Black woman in technology and personal finance, who is also a business owner, those statistics are useful, when I am making a case for working with brands for my blog and business.</p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2blackwomanshopping.jpg" style="height:330px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Gregory continued: “However, if the powers that be are not educated about these statistics, it is still challenging to get a seat at the table, where all the prime contracts are being handed out.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Briana Santirosa, the founder and CEO of online retailer, Casa de Reinas, said that after working in retail for four years, she made the decision to start her own business.</p> <p> </p> <p>Santirosa said that fashion and beauty industries often chose to ignore the purchasing power of Black women.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I do see the market beginning to recognize Black women more and cater to our spending preferences,” Santirosa offered.</p> <p> </p> <p>In Nielsen’s new Diverse Intelligence Series report, the global researcher paints a portrait of Black women as trendsetters, brand loyalists and early adopters, who care about projecting a positive self-image. As they wield that #BlackGirlMagic, Black women play an increasingly vital role in how all women see themselves and influencing mainstream culture across a number of areas, including fashion, beauty, television and music, the report’s authors said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Black women have strong life-affirming values that spill over into everything they do. The celebration of their power and beauty is reflected in what they buy, watch and listen to, and people outside their communities find it inspiring,” said Cheryl Grace, the senior vice president of U.S. Community Strategic Alliances and Consumer Engagement for Nielsen. “Understanding how Black women’s values affect their buying decisions has long been a marketing necessity.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Grace continued: “Now, marketers must also recognize the intercultural influence of Black women on the general market, as an increasingly vital part of how all women see themselves, their families and the rest of the world.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The African-American woman’s independent mindset is present in her growing confidence, self-awareness and rising income, according to the report.</p> <p> </p> <p>Black women are not only redefining what it means to be a woman for themselves, but are at the vanguard of changing gender roles and unlimited possibilities for American women of all ages and races.</p> <p> </p> <p>The report noted that 64 percent of Black women agree their goal is to make it to the top of their profession; 58 percent agree that they don’t mind giving up their personal time for work—20 percent higher than non-Hispanic white women.</p> <p> </p> <p>Further, 14 percent of Black women have annual incomes of $50,000 or higher with ages 35–49 enjoying the highest income within the Black female cohort.</p> <p>                                                                                                                             </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.louisianaweekly.com/">Louisiana Weekly</a> and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2017/10/nielsen-study-reveals-growing-spending-power-influence-of-black-women.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nielsen-study" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">nielsen study</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/black-women" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">black women</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-american-women" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african american women</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/spending-power" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">spending power</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minorities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minorities</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/money" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">money</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Stacy Brown</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 08 Oct 2017 18:43:10 +0000 tara 7752 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8521-study-shows-growing-spending-power-influence-african-american-women#comments U.K. Progressives: Is There an Opportunity in the Wake of Brexit? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5903-uk-progressives-there-opportunity-wake-brexit <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 07/10/2016 - 15:53</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3brexit%20%28cleantechnica%29.jpg?itok=pIHxQxwe"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3brexit%20%28cleantechnica%29.jpg?itok=pIHxQxwe" width="480" height="266" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2016/06/london---the-results-of-the.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>LONDON -- The results of the referendum opting to leave the European Union (EU) have left many of us on the pro-European left in Britain in despair. With good reason: xenophobic politics has asserted itself, economic troubles await, and a fractured society has been revealed.</p> <p> </p> <p>But while the Labour Party tears itself apart, with a challenge to its far-left leader, Jeremy Corbyn, there are some real positives to take from what happened on Thursday.</p> <p> </p> <p>There is still a chance that Britain might not leave the EU. Article 50 notification, the official start of the withdrawal process, has not happened, and will not happen until the autumn at the earliest. Once it does, Britain and our European neighbors then have to come to agreements on the status of Brits abroad and Europeans in the United Kingdom, about contributions to the EU budget, and so on.</p> <p> </p> <p>In addition, a new agreement will have to be drawn up to replace the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland (which is predicated on Britain and Ireland being members of the EU). Then the British government would have to copy-and-paste the bits of EU law it wants to keep into British law, and the Scottish Parliament will have to be consulted on the repeal of European laws in Scotland.</p> <p> </p> <p>Referendums in both Northern Ireland and Scotland, of course, may be on the cards.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then, we have to strike a new trade deal with the EU. Trade deals, which may include negotiations over free movement, take a very long time. It may be several years before all these issues are resolved.</p> <p> </p> <p>By this time much will have changed. Both the ruling Conservatives and Labour will have new leaders, new political issues will have arisen, and a general election may indicate that the electorate has changed its mind about Brexit.</p> <p> </p> <p>Yet even if we do leave, there are positives for the left. The British government would be free to nationalize and/or give state aid to UK industry, to pursue an immigration policy that doesn't discriminate against non-Europeans, and to strengthen protection for workers beyond what EU law allows.</p> <p> </p> <p>These are the reasons a lot of left-wingers, including Jeremy Corbyn and his comrades on the Labour far-left, have traditionally been Eurosceptic. Of course, a post-Brexit Conservative government would be free to go the other way on workers’ rights, state intervention, and racist immigration policy.</p> <p> </p> <p>That's why I voted to remain. But if we believe a left-wing government is possible, its hands would be freer, after Brexit, to pursue progressive policies.</p> <p> </p> <p>Nevertheless, the referendum has unleashed some important – and dangerous – political forces, one of which is an emboldening of racists and xenophobes in Britain.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2brexit_0.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>One of the major motivations for the referendum and the vote to leave the EU was an antipathy toward immigrants. Just days before the vote, in fact, Labour MP Jo Cox was brutally assassinated. The suspect has neo-Nazi links and gave his name in court as “freedom for Britain, death to traitors.”</p> <p> </p> <p>European immigrants in the UK, mainly Polish and Romanian, can hardly feel welcomed these days by the British electorate.</p> <p> </p> <p>Black and Asian Britons, meanwhile, whose migration to the UK had nothing to do with the EU and everything to do with the British Empire, clearly associate Brexit with racism. While 53 percent of whites voted for Brexit, only 33 percent of Asians and 27 percent of black voters did.</p> <p> </p> <p>There have been reports of black and brown Britons being told, “you’re next,” a reference to the idea that having left the EU, Britain could expel anyone deemed “foreign.” (Of course many of these communities were the targets of racism long before the referendum.)</p> <p> </p> <p>Despite these horrifying trends, there are others produced by the referendum that could be positive, from a progressive point of view.</p> <p> </p> <p>Turnout, particularly in poorer areas, has increased (though poorer white voters were more likely to opt for Brexit). Many young people have been politicized, and they overwhelmingly voted remain and are relatively favorable to Labour. Harnessing these forces for electoral gain is paramount.</p> <p> </p> <p>Finally, recall the 2015 General Election. Why did Labour lose? Partly low turnout among the poor and young. Partly, we are told, because people who were instinctively favorable to Labour values feared for their own wallets, for national security and unity, and ended up voting Conservative.</p> <p> </p> <p>A 'Project Fear' told these people that a vote for Labour was a vote for higher taxes, economic chaos, and Scottish independence (Scotland at the time was preparing a referendum of its own on whether to leave the UK. It chose to remain.) Big businesses came out against the Labour party, fearing increased trade union rights, a clampdown on tax avoidance, and lower profit margins. Labour just seemed too much of a risk.</p> <p> </p> <p>But in the referendum, a majority of the country voted for the risky option. Some of the leave voters are out-and-out racists. Some are reactionaries voting against the modern world. Others felt the economy was stacked against them, that the elite weren't listening to them, and that they were bound by forces outside their control.</p> <p> </p> <p>Indeed, many leave voters suspected that Brexit, at least in the short term, would make them worse off. It was certainly a leap into the unknown. They voted against the economic consensus, against the urging of their Conservative Prime Minister, and against what their bosses told them to do.</p> <p> </p> <p>The lesson is clear: Getting people to vote for radical change is possible – even if this time around it wasn't the radical change most of us on the left wanted.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Nikhil Venkatesh lives in the UK and is a member of the Labour Party. He recently completed a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford, where he was Chair of Oxford University Labour Club and Black and Minority Ethnic Students Officer for the student union. Nikhil will begin a postgraduate degree in Philosophy at University College London in September. He blogs at <a href="http://slownikhil.blogspot.co.uk/">http://slownikhil.blogspot.co.uk/</a> and @NikVenkatesh on Twitter.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2016/06/london---the-results-of-the.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/brexit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">brexit</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/david-cameron" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">David Cameron</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jeremy-corbyn" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jeremy corbyn</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/european-union" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">European Union</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/labour-party" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">labour party</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tories" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tories</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/uk" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">U.K.</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racism</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Nikhil Venkatesh</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Cleantechnica; Google Images</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 10 Jul 2016 19:53:47 +0000 tara 7041 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5903-uk-progressives-there-opportunity-wake-brexit#comments America’s Middle Class Struggles to Preserve Retirement Security https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4451-america-s-middle-class-struggles-preserve-retirement-security <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 11/19/2014 - 14:14</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3socialsecurity.jpg?itok=40k6WgAy"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3socialsecurity.jpg?itok=40k6WgAy" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From the Dallas Morning News/New America Media:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>WASHINGTON, D.C.--It’s no secret that retirement security is eroding for many Americans.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Half of today’s working-age households are unlikely to have enough resources to maintain their standard of living once they retire,” according to the National Retirement Risk Index, compiled by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.</p> <p> </p> <p>That conclusion is based on very conservative assumptions, according to the index, which measures the share of working-age American households at risk of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The only way out of this box is for people to save more and/or work longer,” the center said. But it’s not that simple.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Too Much to Top Half Percent</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s easy to put it on people, but at the same time, that money is hemorrhaging to the top half percent,” said Eric Kingson, co-director of Social Security Works, a Washington-based group that supports the expansion and protection of Social Security. “Everyone else is not saving enough when wages haven’t been increasing.”</p> <p> </p> <p>He spoke at a session on eroding retirement security at this year’s Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, which brought together the world’s foremost experts on aging.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Most Americans haven’t experienced significant wage increases for the past 15 or 20 years or so, where health care costs keep going up, where pension coverage is less secure, where the near collapse of our economy was tied to the collapse of housing prices, so that the equity people have in their homes is less,” said Kingson, also a professor at Syracuse University’s Aging Studies Institute.</p> <p> </p> <p>Many workers are also dealing with the pressures of caregiving, which reduces their income if they take time off to care for their loved one, he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We talk about the primacy and the importance of the care that families give,” but the U.S. is one of the few nations that don’t “have some paid leave for caring for a relative or caring for one’s self,” Kingson said.</p> <p> </p> <p>It’s critical to preserve and expand Social Security because future generations will need it more than ever, said Nancy Altman, Kingson’s co-director at Social Security Works. They also coauthored the new book, <em>Social Security Works!: Why Social Security Isn’t Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All</em> (New Press, January 2015).</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Middle-Class Security</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>There’s a bigger picture to all this.</p> <p> </p> <p>Income security is a key component of whether people consider themselves middle-class, said Donald L. Redfoot, senior strategic policy adviser at the AARP Public Policy Institute, who also spoke at the session.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Middle-class status is not just a matter of how much money you make, but the ability to obtain those things that contribute to lifelong security,” he said.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2mediumfdrsocialsecurity%20%28FDR%20Libraray%20Wiki%29_1.jpg" style="height:600px; width:486px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Redfoot was project director of AARP’s Middle Class Security Project, which looked at American middle-class well-being and focused on prospects for a financially secure retirement.</p> <p> </p> <p>The increasingly elusive nature of middle-class security can best be illustrated by housing and health care, Redfoot said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Housing-related expenses — at more than 40 percent — are the biggest expenditures among older adults, he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The Middle Class Security Project found that this basic element of security was eroding as the percentage of 50-plus households who own their homes free and clear declined from 40 to 36 percent [from 2000 to 2009],” Redfoot said.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Onerous Medical Costs</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>What’s more, many workers are facing onerous medical bills, and workers are shouldering more of the cost of health insurance, he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Forty-seven percent of people ages 56-62 are at risk of not being able to pay health care costs in retirement, Redfoot said.</p> <p> </p> <p>In addition, workers 50-plus are three times as likely to report a disability.</p> <p> </p> <p>“A secure middle-class retirement takes a lifetime to build,” Redfoot said. “Events along the way can enable or derail security.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Pamela Yip, Dallas Morning News aging-issues columnist, wrote this article supported by a Journalists in Aging Fellowship, a collaboration of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America, sponsored by the Silver Century Foundation.</em></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/middle-class" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">middle class</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/retirement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">retirement</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/retirement-money" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">retirement money</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saving-money" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saving money</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/retirement-challenges" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">retirement challenges</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Pamela Yip</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 19 Nov 2014 19:14:25 +0000 tara 5436 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4451-america-s-middle-class-struggles-preserve-retirement-security#comments How Corruption Stymies Economic Growth and Sparks Unrest https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3803-how-corruption-stymies-economic-growth-and-sparks-unrest <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 03/10/2014 - 11:22</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1ukraine.jpg?itok=IXJJ2hnW"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1ukraine.jpg?itok=IXJJ2hnW" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Corruption, one of the primary impediments to economic growth, yet among the least systematically tackled, undermines the fragile political and economic progress being made by emerging democracies, including <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2013/12/16/the-10-most-corrupt-mexicans-of-2013/">Mexico</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/world/asia/31iht-indonesia31.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">Indonesia</a>, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/africa/governor-of-nigerias-central-bank-is-fired-after-warning-of-missing-oil-revenue.html?action=click&amp;module=Search&amp;region=searchResults%230&amp;version=&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%23%2FNigeria%2BCentral%2BBank%2F">Nigeria</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p>Recent impressive growth notwithstanding, corruption also threatens to hold back India’s and Brazil’s drive to join the ranks of the world’s developed countries, and has brought Venezuela and Ukraine to the brink of political collapse.</p> <p> </p> <p>Even China, this century’s economic star, is being handicapped in its long-term quest to overtake the U.S. economically by corruption, so much so that China’s new supreme leader, President Xi Jinpang, has made <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-26445711">stamping it out</a> one of the main priorities of his time in office.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to Transparency International’s <a href="http://www.transparency.org/cpi2013/results">2013 Corruption Perceptions Index</a>, nearly two-thirds of the countries surveyed (including all of the aforementioned), were categorized as more corrupt than not.</p> <p> </p> <p>The index scores countries from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).</p> <p> </p> <p>Over half of the survey’s respondents, 55 percent, said that corruption has worsened over the past year.</p> <p> </p> <p>Nearly all of the survey’s most corrupt countries ranked among the world’s poorest.</p> <p> </p> <p>Bribes and backroom deals, the most common forms of corruption, undermine economic development and destroy trust in a country’s political, judicial, security, and business leaders, the report concludes.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Corruption triggers unrest</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Recent widespread protests in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/28/ukraine-genuine-revolution-tackle-corruption">Ukraine</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/04/venezuela-opposition-nicolas-maduro-chavez-poor-outreach">Venezuela</a> have been largely sparked by widespread corruption.</p> <p> </p> <p>Venezuela ranks as the world’s 9<sup>th</sup> most corrupt country (20) and Ukraine is the 14<sup>th</sup> most corrupt (25).</p> <p> </p> <p>Corrupt policemen and government officials in Venezuela regularly abuse their power to enrich themselves through bribery and extortion.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ukraine’s economy has stagnated since it broke free from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.  The country’s per capita output, which was roughly equal to Poland’s two decades ago, is now one-third as large.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ukraine’s recently deposed president, Victor Yanukovich, and his predecessor, Yulia Tymoshenko, both closely tied to the country’s billionaire oligarchs, enriched themselves while in office to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.  </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/6china%20%28Derzsi%20Elekes%20Andor%20Wiki%29.jpg" style="height:437px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Greater economic freedom in Asia fails to stem corruption</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Despite robust economic growth over the past decade, many countries in Asia still rank poorly on international corruption indexes.</p> <p> </p> <p>Between 2001-2010, $2.74 trillion in illegal funds left China (20) through criminal financial schemes, corruption, tax invasion, or other illegal activities, according to a study by the U.S-based Center for International Policy.</p> <p> </p> <p>India (36) and Thailand (35) had nearly  $123 billion and $64 billion spirited away, respectively.</p> <p> </p> <p>In China, bribery, uncompensated taking of private property by unscrupulous local Communist Party officials looking to cash in on the country’s real estate boom, poor construction and shoddy goods are the main sources of widespread public discontent.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26429567">India</a> has not nearly met its full economic potential in large part to widespread corruption permeating every level of government from the national parliament to local police forces.</p> <p> </p> <p>The ruling Congress Party (projected to lose in upcoming parliamentary elections in part because of corruption) regularly demands massive kickbacks from businesses for defense and infrastructure projects.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to the country’s leading business publication, <em>Business Weekly</em>, public corruption cost the Indian economy at least $50 billion annually.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Middle East and Africa swimming in corruption</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The regions most lagging in economic development, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, contain nearly all of the world’s most corrupt countries.</p> <p> </p> <p>Transparency International’s findings indicate that the Arab Spring uprisings, which were largely caused by anger with unethical government officials, have not brought about a decline in corruption in Egypt (32), Libya (15), Tunisia (41) or Yemen (18).</p> <p> </p> <p>Sub-Saharan African is the region most affected by corruption. All of the region’s countries rank among the world’s most corrupt and nearly three-quarters of the region’s people say they paid a bribe to a public body in the last year, according to Transparency International. In addition, very few expressed confidence that the police, judiciary, or politicians look out after the general population’s interest rather than their own.</p> <p> </p> <p>How bad is it in Sub-Saharan Africa?</p> <p> </p> <p>The world’s most corrupt country, <a href="http://somalilandpress.com/the-corruption-overburdened-government-of-somalia-46863">Somali</a>a (8), has a barely functioning government, while the second most, Sudan (11), is <a href="http://www.enoughproject.org/conflicts/sudans">fomenting a civil war</a> in the third most, South Sudan (14).</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2mediumcalcutta%20%28giancarlo%20de%20luca%20fotopedia%29_0.jpg" style="height:398px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Latin America</strong><strong> makes economic progress but fails to stem the tide of corruption</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>In the Americas, Brazil’s star turn on the global stage – it will be hosting the World Cup this summer and the Olympics in 2016—is being overshadowed in part by corruption scandals involving officials overseeing tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure and stadium construction.</p> <p> </p> <p>Last year’s large-scale protests (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-brazil-carnival-idUSBREA1R1Q820140228">which continue</a> albeit less widespread) across Brazil were sparked by the public’s disgust at politicians and businessman lining their pockets at the expense of the country’s middle class and poor.</p> <p> </p> <p>Drug cartel-centered corruption has migrated north from Colombia and south from Mexico to Guatemala (29), El Salvador (38), and Honduras (26), fueling political instability and widespread violence. </p> <p> </p> <p>Numerous politicians and law enforcement officials have been accused of protecting drug cartels, bribery, and money laundering, and more than 100,000 people, including 66,000 in Mexico, have died the last six years in drug-related violence, according to the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>.</p> <p> </p> <p>Drug-trafficking and gang violence have shaved at least 2 percent economic growth in all five countries with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador particularly hard hit given their relatively low per capita incomes, according the Organization of American States.</p> <p> </p> <p>Latin America’s largest economies Brazil (42) and Mexico (34) ranked in the middle of Transparency International’s 2013 index, yet both were judged as being more corrupt than not.</p> <p> </p> <p>Despite some progress and willingness to reform (the Mexican government recently announced a plan to <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2013/12/11/mexico-reverses-history-and-allows-private-capital-into-lucrative-oil-industry/">partially privatize</a> the national oil company, Pemex, for example) both economies are still largely based on cronyism and patronage preventing them from reaching their full potential given their natural resources.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>People fed up with corruption take to the streets</strong></p> <p>Protests around the world (including the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street) fueled by corruption and economic instability, demonstrate that citizens, whether they are from relatively rich countries like the U.S. or poor like Egypt and Ukraine, are no longer willing to stand by as political and economic decisions are unduly influenced by special interests, valuable resources are exploited by politically connected individuals for personal gain, and public services are weakened because funds intended for them are stolen.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty</em> by economists Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, contends that the wealth of a country is most closely correlated with the degree the average person shares in overall growth of its economy.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to the book’s thesis, when a nation’s institutions, public officials, and business leaders through corruption prevent individuals from benefiting from their own work, no amount of foreign aid, disease eradication or infrastructure development can compensate.</p> <p> </p> <p>Put another way, corruption, abuse of public resources, bribery, and cronyism prevent countries and their people from reaching their full economic potential.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Mark Goebel is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/corruption" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">corruption</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/corrupt-government" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">corrupt government</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nigeria" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Nigeria</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/india" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">India</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/china" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">China</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ukraine" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ukraine</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/venezuela" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">venezuela</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/political-bribes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">political bribes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bribery" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bribery</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economic-growth" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economic growth</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/social-unrest" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">social unrest</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Mark Goebel</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons; Derszi Elekes Andor; Giancarlo de Luca (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 10 Mar 2014 15:22:58 +0000 tara 4405 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3803-how-corruption-stymies-economic-growth-and-sparks-unrest#comments Why Vietnam Should Stand Up to Expansionary Beijing https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3485-why-vietnam-should-stand-expansionary-beijing <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 01/28/2014 - 09:57</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2china%20%28Mark%20Tolleman%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=5PmrHUOg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2china%20%28Mark%20Tolleman%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=5PmrHUOg" width="480" height="321" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/01/ways-forward-for-vietnam-in-the-southeast-asian-sea.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Long one of East Asia’s poorest economies, Vietnam over the last two decades has benefited from rapid economic growth, sharp declines in poverty, and rapid, sustained increases in its external trade. Despite a recent dip in economic performance and ongoing concerns about its institutional deficits, Vietnam’s development prospects retain considerable promise.</p> <p> </p> <p>In this context, questions among the Vietnamese about how to deal with an increasingly expansionary Beijing have gained increasing attention.</p> <p> </p> <p>No country in the world is as experienced as Vietnam is in coping with China. Indeed, for Vietnamese, maintaining stable and minimally friendly relations with Beijing poses formidable and unremitting challenges. During waves of Chinese expansion, these challenges are doubly difficult. On one hand there is the need to deal with an aggressive neighbor in sensitive but self-respecting ways, without unduly compromising national sovereignty and interests. On the other, there is a need to manage national impulses. For Vietnam, fortitude in the face of external threats occupies a sacred place in the national imagination. It is part of being Vietnamese.</p> <p> </p> <p>Certainly, Vietnam needs and stands to benefit from a stable and peaceful relationship with its northern neighbor. But what is Hanoi to do when demands from across the border grow untenable? When Beijing’s disposition and conduct contravene international law and infringe on sovereignty and states’ rights in such a brazen way?</p> <p> </p> <p>This is precisely the uncomfortable position that Vietnam’s leadership faces today; a position which, whatever its precise origins, must now be confronted and addressed.</p> <p> </p> <p>Just this month Chinese authorities (on Hainan and in Beijing) announced their intent to enforce invalid sovereignty claims over virtually the entirety of the Southeast Asian Sea. The areas covered by these bogus claims include disputed islands and rock features, parts of neighboring countries’ 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone, and international waters. The announcement that all non-Chinese fishing vessels would need to seek Chinese authorities’ permission to operate in international waters is inherently illegitimate. And if enforced, analysts point out, would amount to state-sanctioned piracy.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the best of possible worlds, Beijing would step back from its outsized claims and work toward a multi-lateral agreement in a spirit of friendship, cooperation, and regional prosperity. It is also hoped that voices in Beijing calling for less aggressive foreign policy grow louder. Yet at present it appears unlikely that any one state could persuade Beijing to be more reasonable and law-abiding in its approach. A concerted effort is needed, despite Beijing’s insistence that only bilateral negotiations will do. In this instance, bilateral negotiations will not do. The very community is at stake.</p> <p> </p> <p>What are Vietnam’s leaders to do, confronted as they are with unreasonable claims from without and mounting demands from their population to speak out? Over the last decades, Vietnam has been left to deal with its aggressive neighbor alone, mostly through secret negotiations in which Beijing has had its way. Can the Vietnam of today step out of this self-defeating pattern of engagement?</p> <p> </p> <p>At last year’s Shangri-La forum in Singapore, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung spoke eloquently to regional leaders about the need for an era of ‘strategic trust.’ To skeptics and those outside East Asia, the notion of ‘strategic trust’ might seem hopelessly vague, empty rhetoric tantamount to nothing more than a call for ‘good neighborliness.’ If anything, the term ‘strategic trust’ reflects the Vietnamese’ and indeed the world’s perceived need to be sensitive and face-saving but non-apologetic amid escalating regional tensions. Such a posture can be contrasted with Beijing’s emerging doctrine of “strategic uncertainty,” so characterized by Kurt Campbell, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3china.jpg" style="height:472px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Given power asymmetries it is indeed difficult for leaders in countries such as Vietnam to speak out about the current crisis. Which begs the question of whether at some point, ordinary citizens must speak out in the interest of responsible foreign policies based in the region and demand an Asian security order based on the principles of sustainability and community. This is precisely the point made in a petition to the United Nations now circulating among Vietnamese and people around the world, calling on the world body to promote a just solution to Vietnam and China’s maritime disputes. The petition garnered 10,000 signatures within days.</p> <p> </p> <p>Assertions of sovereignty over international waters cannot, as Beijing would have it, be treated strictly as a bilateral concern. Nor can patent disregard for international law in the approach to regional disputes. It is necessary for Beijing to recognize that its behavior adversely affects the interests of all countries in the Asia-pacific region and indeed its own interests.</p> <p> </p> <p>Behind China’s smaller neighbors stands a potential community of nations, albeit one that has yet to coalesce. Perceptive observers and supporters of Vietnam’s case have suggested that Hanoi trade in its almost indefensible ‘non-policy’ that claims “undisputable sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands,” and that “all foreign activities in these areas without Vietnamese acceptance are illegal and invalid” for a clearer policy that can generate broad support from other claimants in Southeast Asia, and from non-claimant countries in Southeast Asia and beyond. Perhaps this would lay the foundation for a common policy for SEA countries and the region.</p> <p> </p> <p>Others have suggested Hanoi should make it clear to Beijing that it would not go into military alliance with countries detrimental to Beijing’s legitimate interests (i.e., not those that claim ownership over the entire Southeast Asia Sea), but that it would be willing to support and join alliances to protect its own legitimate interests, including the peaceful use of international maritime territory.</p> <p> </p> <p>Another possible step is to bring the whole case to the Arbitration Tribunal of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), from which Beijing has threatened to quit. While many Vietnamese are calling for such as step, recent indications from Hanoi suggest it is set to continue its pattern of ‘quiet diplomacy.’</p> <p> </p> <p>Whatever path Hanoi takes, it is clear that Vietnam cannot afford to deal with Beijing alone as it has in the past. To do so effectively, Vietnam must put forward its case in the courts of international law and make its case known in the sphere of global public opinion; allow people’s diplomacy to take its course. Modest but real signs of progress in such areas as human rights would certainly help in this regard.</p> <p> </p> <p>Still, under the present circumstances, Hanoi’s acquisition of six Kilo Class submarines from Russia and its intent to arm Vietnam’s long coast with Russian military technology is understandable. But it is certainly not the bright future Vietnamese young people and their elders long for.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Jonathan London is professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/01/ways-forward-for-vietnam-in-the-southeast-asian-sea.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/vietnam" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Vietnam</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/china" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">China</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/east-asia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">east asia</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/trade-china" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">trade with China</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/expansionary-china" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">expansionary china</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/vietnamese-government" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">vietnamese government</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/poverty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">poverty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jonathan London</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Mark Tolleman (Flickr); Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 14:57:16 +0000 tara 4200 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3485-why-vietnam-should-stand-expansionary-beijing#comments The Current Unemployment Crisis Facing Minority Youths https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3469-current-unemployment-crisis-facing-minority-youths <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 01/22/2014 - 09:35</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2blackemployment%20Colorlines%29.jpg?itok=DH0y2OfO"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2blackemployment%20Colorlines%29.jpg?itok=DH0y2OfO" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/youth_unemployment.html">Colorlines</a> and our content partner New America Media:</p> <p> </p> <p>As the White House prepares to launch a major economic opportunity effort, record high unemployment among black and Latino youth underscores how essential it is to create job opportunities for young people of color.</p> <p> </p> <p>The critical issue here is that the ages of 16 to 24 are make or break years for lifelong earning potential. With one out four blacks and one out of six Latinos under the age of 25 without work, a generation of youth of color risks falling behind.</p> <p> </p> <p>The situation for black and Latino unemployed youths is so alarming that leading think tanks and economists are raising red flags about it at a staggering pace. One report on the topic by Demos, the public policy organization, argues that the “exclusion of young people of color” from job opportunities “weakens the promise of America.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Why’s that?</p> <p> </p> <p>With wealth in African-American and Latino communities already the lowest on record, a loss of income on a generational scale would likely harden existing inequities and set back economic progress in the country for decades. That’s because there are simply so many young blacks and Latinos who want work but can’t find it.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The Older Worker Squeeze</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The jumpoff for understanding what’s going on is that the youth jobs market as a whole, like the broader labor market, is in shambles.</p> <p> </p> <p>With one out six young people without work, youth unemployment is higher than at any point since most people under the age of 25 have been alive. Close to half of the 4 million young people without work are African-American or Latino. They are joined by another 6 million young people of all racial backgrounds who have given up looking for work out of frustration.</p> <p> </p> <p>The core economic issue here is that younger Americans are being squeezed out of the labor market because there aren’t enough jobs to go around for both existing workers and those just entering the job market.</p> <p> </p> <p>As <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> points out, the economy is down 8 million jobs from where it needs to be in order to make sure that everyone who wants a job has one. With so many jobs destroyed by the Great Recession, and with only mostly lower-wage jobs being created, older, better educated workers are being pushed into areas of employment traditionally occupied by younger workers.</p> <p> </p> <p>Analysis by the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows that the proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds in low-wage work fell by 50 percent from 1979 to 2011 while workers aged 35 to 64 increased their share of these jobs. Moreover, the proportion of those in low-wage positions who attended college almost doubled.</p> <p> </p> <p>As Sarah Ayres of the Center for American Progress points out, “With three job seekers for every available job, employers can hire people at an education level above what’s required for the actual position.” This trend benefits older workers.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The School-to-Prison Pipeline</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>But there are two additional challenges that magnify black and Latino youth joblessness.</p> <p> </p> <p>The first is that lower college graduation rates for youth of color puts African-Americans and Latinos at a severe disadvantage. As more workers with higher education compete for jobs that were once dominated by high school graduates, the hill for people of color becomes steeper. That’s because a third less blacks and half as many Latinos have college degrees as whites. But there’s more at work here.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1blackemployment.jpg" /></p> <p>Disproportionate school discipline directed at blacks and Latinos is a driving force behind lower education attainment rates for these two groups, further damaging lifelong earning potential.</p> <p> </p> <p>Though students from these communities make up less than four out of 10 of kids in school, they make up seven out of 10 of children “involved in school-related arrests or referrals to law enforcement.” As the Advancement Project points out, students who’ve been suspended are up to five times more likely to not finish high school [PDF]. Given the condition of the labor market, the lack of a high school diploma is simply a non-starter.</p> <p> </p> <p>The second is the way that higher incarceration rates damage the job prospects of youth of color. With six out of 10 individuals in prison black or Latino, over 300,000 people of color are released from incarceration each year. As Colorlines editorial director Kai Wright pointed out in a recent article, almost all employers perform a background check on job applicants, even those for low-wage positions. Astoundingly, 90 percent of all African-Americans with criminal records are passed over for employment. That’s a rate three times higher than whites with a similar history. Skewed incarceration is</p> <p>another headwind that youth of color face in the job market.</p> <p> </p> <p>The reason that any of this matters is that youth unemployment means lower incomes and fewer life opportunities for those without work. Since employment between the ages of 16 to 24 is vital to setting the pace for an individuals’ future earning power, joblessness experienced by young people has severe consequences. Just six months of unemployment can mean $45,000 in lower wages. It can take up to a decade to make up lost ground. The longer unemployment lasts, the larger the long-term earnings hole grows. Young people 20 to 24 will lose $20 billion over the next decade in lost wages. Writ large this translates into an amount that will be difficult for black and Latino communities, still reeling from the recession, to absorb.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Turning It Around</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The good news is that youth unemployment is entirely fixable. The most important thing is to jumpstart overall job growth and get the economy functioning normally again.</p> <p> </p> <p>Consequently raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, lowering the wage gap between men and women, and expanding tax breaks for low-income workers—including those without children—would be great places to start. Together these programs would raise the incomes of tens of millions and lift millions more out of poverty. A shot in the arm to the economy on such a scale would help push the labor to function more normally, allow older workers to move up the earnings scale, and clear the way for young people.</p> <p> </p> <p>But an even more targeted effort to end black and Latino youth unemployment is desperately needed. As Tom Allison, policy analyst at the under-34 advocacy group Young Invicibles puts it, “If the goal is to improve the economy, we have to focus on those who are suffering the most.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Breaking the school-to-prison pipeline, structuring a way for more people of color to attend college, lowering incarceration rates, and ending employment discrimination for nonviolent offenders are all essential.</p> <p> </p> <p>With an entire generation of black and Latino youth hanging in the balance, the country doesn’t have a second to waste.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/youth_unemployment.html">Colorlines</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minorities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minorities</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minority-youths" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minority youths</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/job-market" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">job market</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/out-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">out of work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/creating-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">creating jobs</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Imara Jones</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Colorlines</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 22 Jan 2014 14:35:45 +0000 tara 4167 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3469-current-unemployment-crisis-facing-minority-youths#comments What Is the Purpose of One for One Companies (Other Than to Make You Feel Good)? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3196-what-purpose-one-one-companies-other-make-you-feel-good <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 11/18/2013 - 09:18</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1oneforone.jpg?itok=DkSsesF4"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1oneforone.jpg?itok=DkSsesF4" width="480" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> If you walk the streets of urban America, chances are you might have noticed someone strutting in a pair of TOMS shoes. These lightweight canvas slip-ons are popular for their comfort and price tag of $48 a pair for the classic style. What you might not know is that many loyal customers also purchase TOMS because of the company’s influential socially responsible marketing strategy. Through its well-publicized <a href="http://www.toms.com/our-movement/l" target="_blank">One for One</a> program, TOMS partners with 75 organizations in more than 50 countries to provide a free pair of shoes to a child for each pair sold commercially. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Since TOMS launched in 2006, “buy one, give one” or “one for one” companies have become a major trend in the corporate social responsibility movement. Countless companies now subscribe to the belief that by donating one product for each product sold, business can be both profitable and beneficial to those in need. Such businesses manufacture and distribute anything from boots, blankets, backpacks and flashlights to food bars, soap, soccer balls and toothbrushes. As with TOMS, these businesses thrive on making the consumer <a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679628/the-broken-buy-one-give-one-model-three-ways-to-save-toms-shoes" target="_blank">feel good</a> about doing good. In fact, many consumers are attracted to such initiatives because they make it easy to shop responsibly and to give back. And through widespread advertising of these initiatives on company websites and with powerful storytelling, businesses can build customer trust, thereby contributing to their bottom line in an increasingly consumer-conscious culture.</p> <p>  </p> <p> This model rightfully encourages the public to acknowledge global poverty and to take steps to address it. And by tying the commercial product to the actual donation, businesses can connect purchasers directly with the particular issue that the free aid intends to tackle. These buy one, give one companies also guide consumers to be more careful with their purchases. The long-term effect of such conscious consumerism is immeasurable.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2oneforone.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 398px;" /></p> <p> But customers may think twice about supporting this business model if they stop to evaluate the actual impact of their donations on local communities. What many of these socially conscious buyers of goods do not realize is that their contributions to the distribution of free aid – without a corresponding commitment to sustainable development in the regions that receive donations – can damage already impoverished communities.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/buy-one-give-one-not-always-generous-as-it-sounds.html" target="_blank">Some development practitioners</a> argue that in the long run free aid initiatives can do more harm than good. Though handouts may be essential in the short term to address emergencies prompted by natural disasters or armed conflicts, they risk creating aid-dependent communities, destroying local economies, and ignoring the root causes of poverty. In essence, the buy one, give one model provides a convenient shortcut that makes the consumer feel good about a purchase, while at the same time it fails to address – and may even exacerbate – the real contributing factors to global poverty.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Companies that offer free goods to communities struggling with poverty can <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123758895999200083" target="_blank">put local industries out of business</a> by undercutting local prices. As pointed out a few years ago in <a href="http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1987628,00.html" target="_blank">Time Magazine</a>, the influx of free clothing to African countries in the 1970s and 1980s led to the destruction of textile industries. A scarcity of local businesses can stall sustainable development and create a dependency on aid that may push economies into a race to the bottom when aid runs out.</p> <p>  </p> <p> These so-called band-aid solutions to poverty alleviation also may overlook the actual needs of the community. Such initiatives often fail to address the real causes of poverty, including lack of economic opportunity, corruption, legacies of government instability and armed conflict, poor food supply, and inadequate health and education services. For instance, TOMS temporarily relieves <a href="http://www.toms.com/our-movement/l#why-give-shoes" target="_blank">problems with healthcare and access to education</a> by providing people with free shoes that prevent infection and allow them to attend school, but it does not offer long-term solutions to these issues once the shoes wear out.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3oneforone.jpg" style="width: 691px; height: 500px;" /></p> <p> The cost of shipping and packing free goods also might be a wasteful byproduct of the one for one model. Such expenses could instead be used to purchase goods from local businesses to support economic development or to fund education and healthcare initiatives. Others fear that aid drop-offs, like the ones done by TOMS, promote <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2011/1222/Warby-Parker-may-have-a-better-buy-one-give-one-model" target="_blank">poverty tourism</a>.</p> <p>  </p> <p align="center"> ***</p> <p>  </p> <p> Rather than supporting a system that conflates corporate social responsibility with quick fixes to complex problems, companies and consumers may be better off focusing on initiatives that couple their donations with sustainable solutions to poverty alleviation. Instead of giving away free clothing and supplies, why not educate local manufacturers in the countries where companies distribute these products and integrate these actors into the global supply chain? As it stands, TOMS shoes are made in only three countries – China, Ethiopia and Argentina – though it provides free shoes in more than 50.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Trendy eyeglasses company Warby Parker, on the other hand, seems to have refined the one to one model to respond to the needs of the communities it serves. It does not merely donate pairs of glasses in 36 countries through its “<a href="http://www.warbyparker.com/do-good/#home" target="_blank">Buy a Pair, Give a Pair</a>” initiative. The company also funds nonprofit partners, such as <a href="http://visionspring.org/" target="_blank">Vision Spring</a>, which train <a href="http://www.warbyparker.com/do-good/#buy-a-pair-give-a-pair" target="_blank">local, low-income entrepreneurs</a> and empower them to start businesses that sell affordable eyeglasses. As the company notes, this initiative creates jobs and economic incentives to build sustainable businesses, and it “provides community members with the dignity to choose whether or not they want glasses and thereby avoids the culture of dependence that often accompanies foreign aid.”</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4oneforone.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 400px;" /></p> <p> Warby Parker’s model is effective because it seeks to tackle this core cause of poverty – lack of economic opportunity – with the aid of knowledgeable local partners. This approach eschews the culture of unpredictable aid generated by the traditional buy one, give one business model. And it allows local partners to tailor solutions to communities and reduce wasteful programs, thereby increasing efficacy and efficiency of these initiatives.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Companies also might try to source local materials to boost local economies. Ethiopia-based <a href="http://www.solerebelsfootwear.co/pages/our-ethos" target="_blank">SoulRebels eco-friendly shoes</a> locally sources the materials for its fair trade shoes, which are sold over the Internet. The company also creates well-paying jobs for Ethiopians that are three times the industry average, as well as free schooling, healthcare services, and transportation for disabled workers.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Companies seeking an effective corporate social responsibility model also may consider micro-loans to support local businesses. Veteran-owned <a href="http://www.bullandmoose.com/pages/do-good" target="_blank">Bull &amp; Moose necktie</a> partners with and donates profits to the <a href="http://www.kiva.org/start" target="_blank">nonprofit Kiva.org to raise money online</a> for loans to underprivileged male entrepreneurs in North America. The company's motto, “Buy a Tie, Help a Guy,” speaks to the direct impact of the work.  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/5oneforone.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 334px;" /></p> <p align="center"> ***</p> <p> TOMS founder and Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie seems to be listening to the criticisms of the buy one, give one model and adapting his business accordingly. Since 2011, the company has been <a href="http://www.toms.com/our-movement/l#why-give-sight" target="_blank">donating “sight”</a> in the form of free glasses, as well as funding to local partners for eye surgery and medical care. TOMS provides funds to the nonprofit <a href="http://www.seva.org/site/PageServer" target="_blank">Seva Foundation</a>, which supports local organizations that conduct trainings for residents on the provision of professional eye care. The company also hires 30 artisans in Haiti to design and paint shoes as part of its <a href="http://www.toms.com/collections/haiti-artist-collective/l" target="_blank">Haiti Artist Collective</a>, and these products are integrated into the global supply chain.</p> <p>  </p> <p> And in September of this year, Mycoskie <a href="http://business.transworld.net/141305/news/toms-to-grow-local-sustainable-footwear-manufacturing-in-haiti/" target="_blank">announced at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting</a> a new initiative to establish and aid local shoemakers in Haiti as part of a company goal to produce by 2015 one third of its giving shoes in the places where they are distributed. TOMS will employ 100 workers in Haiti over the next year, conduct job training, and assist employees with education for their families, healthcare and support for early childhood. The company also has <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/27/3655205/haiti-to-begin-manufacturing-toms.html" target="_blank">potential plans to open manufacturing operations</a> in Kenya for distribution in Africa.</p> <p>  </p> <p> This new focus on local economies presents a positive shift in the direction of TOMS. Perhaps other buy one, give one companies will catch on to this new trend ignited by the success of Warby Parker and TOMS and realize that their free aid giveaways might sell products and make their customers feel good, but they lack the sustainable impact that conscientious consumers should expect.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Annie Castellani is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine. <em>Follow Castellani on Twitter: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">@TheSustainCapit</span></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/toms" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Toms</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/warby-parker" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Warby Parker</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/one-one-companies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">one for one companies</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/buy-one-give-one" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">buy one give one</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/third-world-countries" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">third world countries</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/eyeglasses" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">eyeglasses</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/shoes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">shoes</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/kiva" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">kiva</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Annie Castellani</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 18 Nov 2013 14:18:30 +0000 tara 3856 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3196-what-purpose-one-one-companies-other-make-you-feel-good#comments What Lies Ahead For President Obama in His Second Term https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1776-what-lies-ahead-president-obama-his-second-term <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 11/09/2012 - 09:09</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamavictory%20%28NAM%29_0.jpg?itok=WzjKgvsy"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamavictory%20%28NAM%29_0.jpg?itok=WzjKgvsy" width="480" height="238" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/11/president-obama-was-a-good.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> President Obama was a good and a bad prognosticator about his future in 2009. In the first two weeks after he was sworn in for his first term, he told an NBC interviewer that if he didn’t deliver he’d be “a one term proposition.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Obama knew better than anyone else that as the first African American president, a moderate to liberal Democrat, and a relatively inexperienced, untested Oval Office occupant, he would be on the firing line to deliver, and deliver fast, on his reform promises. He knew that he’d have to deliver with a hostile, unyielding GOP that would do everything it could to make his words about a one-term presidency a reality. Despite the GOP’s bad intentions for him, and his worry about making headway on getting the economy moving and health care off the drawing board, he far exceeded expectations on both counts. And along the way he managed to deliver on his promise to wind down the Iraq war, track down Osama Bin Laden, patch up relations with the European allies, keep a civil dialogue with Russia, and soften relations with the Muslim world.</p> <p>  </p> <p> This was more than enough to keep his neo-FDR coalition of youths, African Americans, Latinos, labor rank and file, and middle class professional women intact to win reelection. They powered him to a smash victory in 2008. This coalition reflects the fast-changing, diverse, multi-ethnic reality of America. The GOP, still stuck in a time warp and thinking that it can win elections solely with white, male conservative, and rural votes, didn’t grasp this.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The 2012 win rendered his public musing about being a one-term president a false fear. His strong democratic, diverse coalition gives him some breathing space to do what incumbents that win reelection want and hope to do – sail back into office on the crest of both voter hopes and euphoria about the prospect of further change and reform. There’s both promise and challenge here. The first go-round, Obama, as many new presidents do, promised not to conduct political business in the old ways, not to make too drastic legislative changes, and to quickly reverse the bad old policies of his predecessor. It was the fabled man on the white horse coming to the rescue. This was, of course, just that – a fable. Real politics and an impatient public knocked that storybook notion to the ground.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The first time around, Obama’s approval ratings seesawed up and down on waves of impatience, obstructionism, and inflated expectations about his promise of making instant reforms. He won’t make that mistake again. He has a Democratic controlled Senate that will make it much easier for him to reach across the aisle and get things done. Those things are obvious – deficit reduction, as well as tax, education, and energy independence reforms.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumobamawhitehouse%20%28Wikipedia%29.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 337px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> The crucial job that voters in 2008 believed he could do best, and still want done in 2012, is to make the economy right, rein in the Wall Street greed merchants, save jobs and homes, and get the credit pipeline to businesses open. He also will continue to be the firewall against all efforts to gut Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. His ability to accomplish these things didn’t fully happen during his first four years. The modest proposals that he put forward to attack these towering problems only gave the GOP ammunition to rally millions to harangue, hector, and obstruct Obama’s efforts. The GOP still has a firm lock on the House, and Obama’s popular vote victory over Romney was just close enough to tempt some in the GOP to try and continue to subvert Obama’s agenda.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But Obama has enough latitude with his win to forcefully blend tact and political diplomacy with a strong willed determination to get his stalled legislation and initiatives moving. He also has the added luxury of expanding his vision and agenda for the country. This should include tackling the staggeringly chronic high black unemployment rate, the widening income inequality gap, drug and criminal justice reforms, comprehensive immigration reform, and pouring more resources into the nation’s crumbling urban infrastructure.</p> <p>  </p> <p> 2013 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, and 2014 will mark the fiftieth year of the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This gives the president a golden opportunity to open a long neglected and much needed dialogue on two daunting issues that have been glaringly missing from national public policy for decades – namely, how to combat poverty and further strengthen civil rights.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Obama’s reelection has effectively shaken the ghost of having to look over his shoulder at every turn to appease and conciliate the avowed enemies of social and political progress and reform. His reelection won’t make these problems totally go away. But he’s firmly in the command seat now and can fully govern the way he vowed to millions he would.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author:</strong></p> <p> <em>Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a frequent political commentator on MSNBC and a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is the author of How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge. He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK-Radio and the Pacifica Network.</em></p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/11/president-obama-was-a-good.php">New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: New America Media</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-obama-reelected" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">president obama reelected</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">President Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamas-second-term" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">obama&#039;s second term</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/civil-rights" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">civil rights</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Earl Ofari Hutchinson </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:09:55 +0000 tara 1891 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1776-what-lies-ahead-president-obama-his-second-term#comments The Potential for Republican Buyer’s Remorse if Romney is Elected https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1760-potential-republican-buyer-s-remorse-if-romney-elected <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 11/05/2012 - 15:31</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumromneyspeaking%20%28GageSkidmore%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=aKPKYR8n"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumromneyspeaking%20%28GageSkidmore%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=aKPKYR8n" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> In the highly charged, relentlessly partisan political climate of today, one only worsened by the ongoing presidential campaign, it is sometimes easy to forget that Romney isn’t exactly the Republican base’s favorite son.  Indeed, in their fervent desire to defeat President Obama, the dislike and distinct distrust that many on the far right have for Governor Romney has been effectively swept under the proverbial rug. </p> <p>  </p> <p> If, however, Romney is successful in his quest for the presidency, this unity on the right will likely prove transient.  Romney does not share the passion that many on the right have for various social issues; he is not, for example, as fervently pro-life as the evangelical Christians who comprise the bulk of the base of today’s Republican party.  Additionally, a number of the promises that he has made during the course of the campaign will prove difficult to keep as the sharp distinction between the rhetoric of campaigning and the reality of governing sets in. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney has promised, among other things, to balance the budget, cut tax rates for all by 20 percent and to repeal Obamacare on day one of his presidency.  All of these pledges will prove elusive.  Additionally, his hawkish stance on several foreign policy issues, especially his stated desire to more actively intervene in various ways in the Middle East, are in contrast to the increasingly isolationist desires of many on the far right of his party weary of the seemingly endless wars that we are already engaged in and distinctly wary of involvement in any future conflicts.  Like many politicians before him, Romney will find it difficult to conform to the image he has constructed while campaigning, all the more so because that image bears little resemblance to stances and policies he has adopted in the past.</p> <p> Arguably the issue Republicans are most ardent about having addressed upon an ascension to the presidency by Mitt Romney is the swift, if not immediate, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-burd/romney-obamacare-repeal_b_1988394.html">repeal of Obamacare</a>.  While there are certainly a number of options that would be available to a President Romney, immediate repeal is definitively not one of them.  The Republicans would have to win control of the Senate and maintain their control over the House, in addition to Romney becoming president, in order to line up a majority vote in both branches of Congress to repeal the legislation.  This scenario is unlikely as the Democrats appear to have the upper hand on retaining control, albeit by a thin margin, of the Senate. </p> <p>  </p> <p> However, if the Republicans do accomplish a complete sweep of all three, there still remains the distinct likelihood that any attempt to repeal Obamacare in its entirety would be blocked by a filibuster in the Senate.  Republicans would have to have 60 votes in order to override a filibuster; given that their current number of seats is 47, reaching 60 would seem to be an insurmountable task.  Repeal, immediate or otherwise, is a possibility so remote that it barely rates serious contemplation.</p> <p>  </p> <p> That is not to say that Romney and the Republicans cannot do serious damage to the bill.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the official name for what is more commonly known as Obamacare, was passed through a process called reconciliation.  This is a legislative process that allows Congress to pass bills with a simple majority of votes.  The same process could be applied in reverse to dismantle key pieces of the legislation as existent statutes are permitted to be amended through reconciliation if the modification results in deficit reductions.  While technically not a repeal, this would in essence have the same effect.  Reconciliation would, however, require that both branches of Congress reach that simple majority, which would in turn require that the Republicans control both the House and the Senate.  Retention of <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/race-ratings/214115-house-ratings-gop-favored-to-keep-majority">control of the House by the Republicans</a> is considered by many political pundits to be a certainty, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/26/politics/senate-races/index.html">control of the Senate by the Republicans unlikely</a>.  Therefore, Republicans would have to win over the small group of independents that exist in the Senate, as well as several Democrats in order to achieve that majority.  The defection of Democrats to the Republican side on this issue is as remote a possibility as the Republicans controlling a sufficient number of seats to override a filibuster.  Only a victory of unexpected magnitude by the Republican party would provide access to the reconciliation process.</p> <p>  </p> <p> It appears unlikely that the PPACA will be repealed or even curtailed through the legislative branch.  However, control of Congress might not be necessary for Republicans to achieve their stated aim of destroying Obamacare.  If Romney is elected, there are two options available to him through the executive branch that could indeed cripple the legislation.  The first is the ability of the president to issue executive orders.  Romney could issue waivers to all 50 states making them exempt from complying.  There are, however, some caveats.  It is unlikely that all 50 states would desire such a waiver as Obamacare is popular in many traditionally Democratic areas. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Additionally, even those states that would accept such a waiver would first have to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and then, upon approval, wait until 2017 for those waivers to take effect. Much can happen in five years, so the waiver route, while a legitimate possibility, contains a great deal of uncertainty.  The second, and more likely, executive option open to the president is through the budgeting process.  The Budget and Accounting Act requires that the president submit an annual budget; this would give Romney the authority to cut funding for the PPACA which would effectively gut it as a piece of active legislation. This would appear to be the most likely approach for Romney to take given the options available.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The open question remains, however, as to whether Romney would follow through on his promise to repeal or at least defund Obamacare if given the opportunity to do so.  <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/mitt-romney-not-getting-rid-health-care-reform-234959138.html">Recent comments</a> suggest a less hardline stance than that adopted in the past. Romney was quoted as saying “I’m not getting rid of all healthcare reform”, which is a markedly different mantra than the one he has maintained throughout his campaign.  He expanded upon this remark by highlighting certain aspects of Obamacare that he favors, including ensuring that those with pre-existing conditions get coverage and that children have coverage available to them indefinitely under their parents’ plan.  That Romney so openly stated a favorable opinion to any aspect of Obamacare in the midst of a presidential campaign is surprising; that he holds such views is not.  After all it was his healthcare reform in Massachusetts that Obamacare is primarily based upon.  Romney does have options through the executive branch to blunt or even destroy the efficacy of the PPACA.  Whether he will take advantage of them or not remains to be seen.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The second of Romney’s campaign promises that has been most focused upon by his adherents is his repeated pledge to cut taxes.  <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444327204577617421727000592.html">His plan</a>, long on ideology and short on specifics, has included, at various times, the promise to reduce all individual income tax rates by 20 percent, to eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax and to eliminate the estate tax.  This would leave a gaping hole in governmental revenue, a hole Romney has indicated he would fill by limiting tax deductions and loopholes that currently allow high-income taxpayers to reduce their tax payments.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> This plan has come under fire from many, including some conservatives dubious of the math involved in the plan, as Romney claims, revenue neutral.  His supporters, which include prominent Harvard professor of economics Martin Feldstein, claim that the Romney plan will indeed be revenue neutral thus avoiding a large tax increase on the middle class that would otherwise be necessitated to prevent an increase of the deficit.  Feldstein has pointed out that historically lower tax rates have led to higher revenue totals due to the attractiveness of increasing one’s earnings in a lower tax rate environment.  (It should be noted that Feldstein, in addition to his academic position, is a senior adviser to the Romney campaign and thus not an impartial observer.)</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumobamaandromney%20%28NAM%29_2.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 335px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> Others who have examined the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/opinion/sunday/romneys-tax-plan-defies-the-rules-of-math.html">sparse details of the Romney economic plan</a> provided thus far are more uncertain as to the workability of the proposal.  These detractors have pointed out that his plan does not contain any numbers, only vague promises of closing loopholes and limiting deductions in an effort to avoid a negative impact upon the deficit.  The Tax Policy Center conducted a study that calculated the costs of the tax cuts and reductions that Romney has specified, such as eliminating the estate tax and lowering the individual income tax rates by 20 percent, and have concluded that the total cost will be approximately $456 billion per year starting in 2015.  The Tax Policy Center has also concluded that there simply aren’t enough loopholes and deductions currently existent within the tax code that could be eliminated to balance the cost of Romney’s plan. </p> <p>  </p> <p> In response to the criticism, various Romney advisers as well as other prominent Republicans have attempted to clarify the points of the plan.  <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romneys-tax-plan-obscured-by-underbrush/2012/08/28/4cf520b8-f12e-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_story.html">Senator Rob Portman of Ohio</a> said during a speech at the Republican National Convention that “It would be paid for by getting rid of a lot of the underbrush in the code.”  This would seemingly echo the campaign’s promises to close loopholes and eliminate deductions.  While attractive on its surface, this proposal could run into difficulties upon implementation; while some measures might prove wildly popular, such as those that benefit corporate special interests, other proposed loophole closures could rebound on Romney such as the elimination of deductions for mortgage interest and charitable donations.  While stressing that he speaks only for himself, and not for the campaign, Portman has gone on to suggest in several interviews that specific reductions wouldn’t be limited, but rather the total dollar amount of cumulative deductions would be capped.  This idea is remarkably similar to one that Obama has repeatedly proposed, with his plan differing in that it would be specific to upper-income taxpayers; to date Congress has shown little enthusiasm for the idea.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The repeated criticism of his tax plan has also drawn reaction directly from the Romney campaign.  Senior advisor Ed Gillespie’s comments during an interview seem to backtrack a bit from the 20 percent reduction for all promise.  “The 20 percent tax rate – I think that people understand that is a broad principle, that the tax rate needs to come down and we need to broaden the base.  That’s the principle.  The principle is also that we’re not going to change the share of taxes paid by upper-income earners and we’re going to give tax relief to the middle class and it’s going to be deficit neutral.”  Gillespie seems to be concerned with offering a little something to everyone; no new taxes for the rich, tax relief for the middle class, and no impact on the deficit as a result.  It sounds wonderful in theory, but the devil is in the details, and a plan that gives everyone exactly what they want is one that sounds simply too good to be true.  Like his promise to repeal Obamacare, Romney is likely to find that campaign promises are easier to make than they are to keep.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The third of Romney’s promises that have been oft repeated during his years on the campaign trail focuses on balancing the budget.  In the past many political leaders have offered a great deal of lip service without associated action regarding the budget deficit.  <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/08/23/Why-Serious-Talk-of-Balancing-the-Budget-Went-Bust.aspx#page1">Romney’s repeated pledge to balance the budget</a>, much like his tax plan, has been accompanied by very few specifics on how this would actually be accomplished. Additionally, he has at times wavered and at other times reaffirmed his timeline of having the budget balanced by 2020.  Most recently he reiterated the pledge to accomplish this goal within eight to 10 years during one of the debates.  This would appear to be a difficult timeline to adhere to, in particular since even his fellow Republicans don’t seem to be onboard. </p> <p>  </p> <p> A number of issues have arisen that have led to a cessation, for the time being anyway, of talk regarding the balancing of the budget amongst politicians in Washington D.C.  There has been a bipartisan surge of support for increased defense spending, cuts to which would almost certainly have to be made in order to balance the budget within the time context specified by the Romney campaign.  This intensified level of focus upon spending cuts that affect the military is due to the threat of the impending “Fiscal Cliff” where if no deal is reached in Congress as to how to cut spending and lower the deficit, automatic tax hikes and spending decreases will go into effect at the end of 2012.  A warning from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in a recent report echoed the opinion of many that the country would be plunged back into recession during the first half of next year if this spending sequestration is allowed to occur. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Fellow Republicans seem equally concerned with a blind push towards a balanced budget given the current economic climate.  Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a fiscally conservative advocacy group, said in a recent interview, “But the economic consensus is you don’t want a balanced budget in these times because it would slow the economic recovery. So even most traditional deficit hawks – myself included – would still say that until the economy recovers, you don’t want to get carried away with tax increases or spending cuts.”  An example of the effect that Bixby, and others, fear would occur if the budget deficit were closed too quickly can be seen quite clearly in the situation that Europe currently finds itself in.  An emphasis on spending cuts, tax hikes and fiscal austerity has backfired spectacularly as the private sector was unable to fill the economic void left by the significant and rapid downsizing of government in various countries.  Government spending in the United States, which has contributed significantly to the dramatic increase in the deficit, has served as a economic shock absorber and has done much to prevent the Great Recession from becoming the Great Depression part two, which is what much of Europe is currently experiencing. </p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumromneynorfolk%20%28PBSNewshour%29.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 400px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> Another Republican who seems to be in disagreement with Romney’s balanced budget projections is <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82829.html">his own vice-presidential candidate, Paul Ryan</a>.  Romney’s promise to balance the budget by 2020 while only reducing non-defense appropriations by 5 percent is sharply at odds with Paul Ryan’s plan, constructed before his vice-presidential nomination, which cuts roughly 20 percent from the same accounts yet doesn’t promise a balanced budget until 2040.  The accuracy of Romney’s plan is called further into question by the fact that Ryan’s plan was examined for accuracy by the CBO, while Romney’s plan wasn’t. </p> <p>  </p> <p> The <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2012-08-15/politics/politics_ryan-budget_1_paul-ryan-budget-plan-federal-budget">divergence between the two plans</a> has made Ryan, at times, visibly uncomfortable.  During an interview with Fox News, Ryan was unwilling to express confidence that Romney’s proposal would balance the budget, nor could he provide many specifics, even going so far as to say that the campaign hasn’t “run the numbers on that specific plan.” This is an astonishing statement; the vice-presidential candidate for the Republican party openly admitted that the central plank of Romney’s entire campaign, his alleged ability to get the deficit under control and by proxy the long term health of the economy, hasn’t had its associated numbers examined for accuracy. This has led to Romney backing off then reaffirming his pledge to balance the budget within the originally specified time, with his willingness to commit to the plan seemingly dependent more on context than on conviction.</p> <p>  </p> <p> At other times the campaign has resorted to floating alternative trial balloons such as the more realistic goal of trimming $500 billion from the deficit by 2016. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Even this latter goal is suspect given that the base of the Republican Party obstinately refuses to consider any type of new taxes whatsoever.  <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/09/mitt-romneys-wrong-you-can-balance-the-budget-through-taxes-but-you-may-not-want-to/">Romney has attempted to stay in line</a> with the base by repeating the time-tested mantra of how raising taxes would only hurt economic growth and thus are not an option to help balance the budget and decrease the deficit.  This statement is not, however, in line with historical fact.  During the 1960s and 1970s, this country had nearly balanced budgets with significantly higher top marginal tax rates than exist now, according to Joel Prakken, an economist at Macroeconomic advisors. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Indeed, the consensus among most economists is that the most effective way of balancing the budget and reducing the deficit is a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, not just one or the other.  With Republicans refusing to raise taxes, and indeed insisting on lowering them even further, this leaves Romney with the only option available: to continue to sell an economic plan devoid of tax increases that most observers view as simply unworkable.  If Romney is elected, one suspects that his promises not to raise taxes will vanish much like George H.W. Bush’s promises did. The reality of this country’s economic situation makes it clear that a continuance of such historically low tax rates as are currently in place is simply unsustainable in the long term.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The fact that Romney’s social views lack a certain level of simpatico with the Republican base have been well documented.  In no area is that disconnect more apparent than on the issue of abortion, a fact highlighted by what can only be described as the extreme views on the matter held by his running mate, Paul Ryan.  Romney on this issue, as on many others, has shown an astonishing lack of consistency, not only during the campaign, but throughout his years in public life.  Democrats have attempted to take advantage of Romney’s flip flopping by trying to paint him as an extremist, one who holds views similar to those held by Paul Ryan.  The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/romney-abortion-position_n_1837456.html">latter was the co-sponsor of a bill</a> called the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” that initially only allowed exceptions due to “forcible rape,” a baffling term not defined anywhere in the criminal code.  This term was eventually removed from the legislation after public outcry ensued.  Still, the legislation’s intent was nothing short of abominable; it attempted to make illegal abortions in situations where the mother was impregnated by rape or through incestuous sexual activity.  Although Romney is clearly pro-life, attempts to paint the extent of his support of the pro-life movement as mirroring those of his running mate are flawed.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/MediumRomney_4.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 333px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney has never believed that abortion should be outlawed in cases of rape or incest, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2012/08/romney_abortion_and_rape_he_s_a_flip_flopper_not_an_extremist_.html">nor does he push an extreme pro-life agenda</a>, instead preferring to duck the issue whenever possible. As William Saletan of Slate.com observed, when it comes to abortion, Romney isn’t a radical, he’s a weathervane.  Romney is pro-life, but is not passionate about his views in the way that many in the Republican base are; Romney instead pretends to care as much as they do because he needs the pro-life vote to get elected. </p> <p>  </p> <p> While Romney is in favor of banning most abortions and plans on zeroing out federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the idea that he is intent on overturning <em>Roe v. Wade</em> is simply not accurate.  Romney wants to win elections, and he cannot do so if he acts as an extremist; if he were to aggressively push a pro-life agenda as president, he would lose the independent vote and would likely fail to be re-elected. Romney’s willingness to be as pliable as he feels he needs to be on this issue is one of the few consistent things about his positions. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney ran as a pro-choice candidate in 1993 when he challenged Ted Kennedy for the latter’s Senate seat.  He did so because polling data told him that he would not have any chance of getting elected if ran as a pro-lifer.  Romney repeated this strategy of convenience in 2002 when he was elected governor of Massachusetts.  Only after his appearance on the national stage did he begin to present himself as a pro-life candidate, first in 2008 during his initial presidential bid and then again in 2012.  On this issue more than any other Romney will tell you whatever it is he thinks you want to hear in order to facilitate being elected, and it is on this issue more than any other that the base of his own party distrusts him.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Recently Romney <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82225.html">has attempted to distance himself</a> from the positions of his running mate by declaring “There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda.”  Yet during one of the debates he stated that he thought the Supreme Court should overturn <em>Roe v. Wade</em>.  Later he qualified his qualification <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/romney-abortion-position_n_1837456.html">by declaring</a>, "My position has been clear throughout this campaign ... I'm in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest, and the health and life of the mother."  When presented with his original support of the Human Life Amendment, which would extend the protections afforded by the 14<sup>th</sup> amendment of the Constitution to cover unborn children, he riposted beautifully by saying, "there are a wide range of possible human life amendments" and additionally there is little chance of getting both houses and 38 out of 50 states to support such an amendment anyway.  Confused yet?  Don’t be.  There is almost a mystical aspect to the consistent inconsistency that Romney brings to this particular topic, with that inconsistency employed to serve one end, the only end that Romney cares about: winning elections. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney will portray himself on many issues, but on this one in particular, in any way he thinks will best position himself to win.  Romney doesn’t care about pushing a radical pro-life agenda, he cares about getting elected.  Period.  Anyone on either side of the ideological divide of this particular issue who has convinced themselves otherwise has deluded themselves to the nature of the man.  His decision to choose Ryan as his vice-presidential candidate was not an indication of agreement with Ryan’s more extreme (and more sincere) beliefs, it was blatant pandering to a Republican base widely dissatisfied with the conservative bonafides of their presidential candidate.  <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/08/ryan-explains-his-abortion-view-and-then-romneys-133019.html">Ryan himself has said as much</a>, observing, “I’m very proud of my pro-life record, and I’ve always adopted the idea that—the position that—the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life. But let’s remember; I’m joining the Romney-Ryan ticket. And the President makes policy. And the President—in this case—the future President Mitt Romney, has exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother, which is a vast improvement of where we are right now.”  In other words, that Ryan is on the ticket won’t change the fact that Romney doesn’t share his vice-presidential nominee’s views. It is highly unlikely that Romney will attempt to implement any changes to the status quo of the abortion laws in this country because to do so would threaten his chances of election.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney’s foreign policy tenets are much like his economic plan and his promise to balance the budget: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82143.html">broad in ideology but lacking in specifics</a>.  Romney has consistently failed to illustrate what he would do differently than Obama and why those differences in approach should be expected to work.  There is little daylight between Romney’s position and that of the president’s in regard to Afghanistan, for example, and while he has urged greater urgency and aggression when dealing with Iran, he has offered little in terms of substantive policy initiatives for checking that country’s attempt to develop nuclear weapons.  The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/opinion/romney-is-caught-between-neoconservatives-and-neo-isolationists.html">lack of clarity in many aspects of his foreign policy</a> may be as deliberate as his flip-flopping on abortion. </p> <p>  </p> <p> The Republican party is sharply divided on what America’s role in the world should be as neoconservatives on one extreme wish to aggressively promote democracy in the Middle East while the rapidly growing isolationist strain of the party remains fearful of what forces such an approach would unleash and are increasingly weary of the lengthy conflicts that our country finds itself mired in.   Additionally, Romney faces opposition from deficit hawks far more interested in reducing our national debt than in another boots-on-the-ground effort in the Middle East. Romney’s advocacy of becoming more involved in Syria is not likely to find a receptive audience among many on the far right as a result.</p> <p>  </p> <p> When Romney <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/us/politics/romneys-foreign-policy-intentions-hard-to-gauge.html?pagewanted=all">does attempt to differentiate himself from Obama</a>, he at times makes statements that are at best odd and at worst frighteningly uninformed, such as his claim that Russia, and not Iran, North Korea or Al Qaeda, is our country’s number-one geopolitical foe.  Not only is this clearly not the case, but alienating Russia at a time when we need their permission to transport supplies through their territory to our troops in Afghanistan is unwise.  He has promised trade restrictions on China as punishment for the consistent currency manipulation they engage in as part of an effort to increase the attractiveness of their exports. Again, this seems like less than an ideal strategy given that China has proven to be a valuable creditor at a time when we desperately required one to sort our own economic travails. Additionally, they are the only country that has sufficient relations with North Korea to help restrain that country’s deployment of the nuclear weapons in its arsenal.  The only significant area in which the two presidential candidates differ is on military spending. Obama has introduced cuts during his administration and if the U.S. does indeed go over the Fiscal Cliff, billions more in cuts will be implemented.  Romney has insisted on increasing military spending, which even with the isolationists of his own party is sure to win points as he can paint such spending as helping to ensure our country is properly defended.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> Even this represents a double-edged sword, however, as an increase in spending is likely to jeopardize promises he has made regarding lowering taxes and balancing the budget.  If elected, Romney will face a difficult task in balancing the divergent foreign policy perspectives of the two wings of his party as it is likely he will anger one while attempting to satisfy the other.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney has always been regarding with suspicion by the Republican base as someone who is not a true conservative.  If elected to office, he is likely to prove those suspicions justified as many of the promises he has made during the campaign will be difficult to keep.  Repealing Obamacare “on day one” isn’t going to happen; indeed a repeal of Obamacare in its entirety at any point is improbable.  A far more likely scenario is a long, slow rollback through a combination of a variety of measures, with some aspects of the PPACA legislation being retained.  That this will represent sufficient red meat to keep the Republican base satisfied on the issue is questionable. The longer the process drags on, the more their doubts about Romney’s true intentions will grow.  He is, after all, the man who passed the legislation that Obamacare is based upon. If Romney fails in his attempt to inflict the level of damage upon the PPACA that Republicans have been clamoring for or worse, fails to even try, the base will turn on him without hesitation. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney’s promise to cut taxes dramatically will not be kept.  The reality of our fiscal situation and the ongoing global economic crisis is this: we have $16 trillion in debt and an uphill battle to maintain even the mediocre economic growth of the past several years.  A tax cut as massive as Romney proposes cannot be paid for even if every loophole and deduction in the tax code is eliminated.  Obama has proposed an extension of the Bush 43 era tax cuts, with the exception of those applied to the top tier income earners; it is doubtful whether Romney, if elected, will venture much farther than that.  Our country simply cannot afford it.  Romney’s promise to balance the budget will fall by the wayside for the same reason; economists agree that dramatic cuts in government spending in the middle of a weak economic recovery will be counterproductive.  Even if draconian cuts in spending were made, such as those proposed by the Paul Ryan budget plan, a balanced budget within the eight-to-10 year timeframe promised by Romney is a fairytale.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney’s tap dance around the more radical social agenda endorsed by the evangelicals of his party will continue in office much like it has during the campaign.  Abortion is only one of a number of issues that he will speak with conviction about in one context, only to then retreat from those same statements as rapidly as possible in a context less receptive to those views.  If social conservatives are anticipating that Romney will step up and launch an attack on <em>Roe v.</em> <em>Wade,</em> they will be disappointed.  That is not to say that Romney won’t attempt to mollify them by engaging in more oblique attacks upon certain aspects of the pro-choice movement; for example, his antipathy towards federal funding of Planned Parenthood is clear.  But here again, we run into the conundrum that Romney will always face: how to sufficiently appease the far right without alienating so many independents that he risks his re-election chances.  When faced with that particular decision, Romney will abandon any pretense of loyalty to a conservative social agenda in favor of retaining the office.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney will also have to engage in evasive gyrations when it comes to whatever foreign policy approach he attempts to take.  The Republican Party, long known for its pragmatic realpolitik, has devolved into two camps with equally unrealistic approaches: a hyper-aggressive group of neoconservatives who view the Iraq invasion and resultant occupation as a success and who are now demonstrative in their insistence that we take a similarly proactive approach to Syria and a more loose coalition of isolationists who seem to be hopeful that we can disengage from the world altogether.  The tightrope Romney will have to tread to avoid infuriating one group or the other does not appear to be an enviable path.  At least, however, he has years of experience of switching back and forth between diametrically opposed positions to rely upon; if anyone has the inherent skill-set to feign sympathy for everyone’s positions simultaneously it is the former Governor of Massachusetts. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Fellow Republican Mike Huckabee once accused Mitt Romney of <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/220873-huckabee-mitts-bff-and-vp">“having no soul”. </a> Hyperbole to be sure, and particularly harsh hyperbole at that, but a comment reflective of the negative viewpoint the Republican base, evangelicals, Tea Partiers, social conservatives et al, frequently hold about their own presidential candidate. </p> <p>  </p> <p> A less vitriolic, and perhaps more accurate assessment of Romney’s character, has been offered by a number of people, Republicans included.  The accusation: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71279.html">Romney has no core</a>.  This is the great dread of the Republican Party; that the candidate they are fervently hoping will unseat Obama proves to be everything they’ve always feared him to be. Someone with no real conservative principles or agenda, someone far more interested in securing and retaining personal power, the conservative movement be damned.  Their fear is justified. </p> <p>  </p> <p> If Romney is indeed elected, it is not implausible to predict a backlash before the midterm elections of November 2014 by the same people who helped elect him into office.  Say what you want about the reactionaries currently wielding a level of influence within the national government disproportionate to their numbers, they are true believers, keepers of the flame.  Romney is most assuredly not; he is, if anything the absolute antithesis of the nature, the soul if you will, of the very base of the party he would nominally be the head of.  This will become apparent, unambiguously, very early on in a Romney administration as one campaign promise after another is neglected.  The result will be the same dysfunctional, unharmonious, political gridlock that we have today; with the only real difference that it will be a Republican president, not a Democratic one that will be the object of the far right’s loathing.  Their efforts to thwart Romney will be as ceaseless as the passionate labors they have engaged in to prevent the Obama administration from getting anything of substance accomplished. Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Michael Cancella is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: Gage Skidmore (Flickr, Creative Commons); New America Media.</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mitt-romney" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mitt Romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/presidential-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">presidential elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">President Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/us-economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">u.s. economy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">taxes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cutting-taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cutting taxes</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/raising-taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">raising taxes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/abortion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">abortion</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/campaign-issues" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">campaign issues</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Michael Cancella</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Gage Skidmore, Flickr (Creative Commons)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:31:58 +0000 tara 1857 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1760-potential-republican-buyer-s-remorse-if-romney-elected#comments Why the Wealthiest Demographic Groups in the U.S. Should Vote for Obama https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1703-why-wealthiest-demographic-groups-us-should-vote-obama <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 10/21/2012 - 13:29</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamaclinton_0.jpg?itok=q0o5xX1O"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamaclinton_0.jpg?itok=q0o5xX1O" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/10/part-2-seeing-through-the-myths.php">New America Media</a> and <a href="http://www.khabar.com/">Khabar</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Commentary</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Remember the Atkins diet? At its peak, there were legions of dieters worshiping the Atkins god, singing praises of the promised land of slim waistlines and good health. Alas, the reality about the Atkins diet was far removed from its aura. Researchers later revealed its many hazards, and many even pronounced it downright dangerous.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Like the Atkins diet, we have our share of myths in politics. One that Indian-Americans may find particularly seductive is the perception of the Republican Party as pro-business, and hence the party of wealth creation.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Historically, though, this myth has no basis in fact.</p> <p>  </p> <p> It was precisely at the end of eight years of the most recent Republican presidency that the country was brought down to its knees financially. How can a party take a healthy budget surplus, and in just eight years, convert it into the most disastrous financial meltdown seen in over 70 years—if indeed it were the party of wealth creation? (A blind worship of tax cuts even through a costly preemptive war was one factor.)</p> <p>  </p> <p> Wealth and enterprise are synonymous with Indian-Americans. Ditto for Jewish Americans, another very prosperous and enterprising community. If the Republican Party were truly the better choice on these counts, why have these two—the wealthiest demographic groups in America—consistently aligned with the Democratic Party? Why do Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and a majority of billionaires prefer Democrats?</p> <p>  </p> <p> Could it be because these wealthy individuals see that what is good for the 99 percent is also good for the 1 percent, and not the other way around?</p> <p>  </p> <p> Take, for example, Republicans’ overzealous emphasis on tax cuts as the foundation of their economic policies. Tax incentives, the argument goes, help businesses, and so they hire. But would companies hire if no one is buying? It stands to reason that companies don’t make hiring decisions based so much on the tax structure, as they do on whether business is booming or not. To the extent there is a robust demand for their product, companies will hire—tax incentives or not. Conversely, no amount of tax incentives will make companies hire—if there is no demand for what they are selling.</p> <p>  </p> <p> At best, the tax structure can serve as a catalyst or a drag, but in either case, it is far overshadowed by consumer demand—the lifeblood of capitalism. And consumer demand is a function of the 99 percent, not the 1 percent. When the masses are well off, economies expand; when they are hurting, economies contract.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Not surprisingly a study by McGraw-Hill, a leading global financial information company, shows that markets have performed better in Democratic administrations. Since 1901, S&amp;P 500 has averaged an annual growth of 12.1 percent in Democratic administrations versus just 5.1 percent during Republican ones. The same is true for corporate profits. Since 1932, the earnings per share of the S&amp;P 500 climbed a median of 10.5 percent per year (Democrats) versus 8.9 percent (Republicans).</p> <p>  </p> <p> Like the Atkins diet, the myth that Republicans are the champions of business and the economy, stands in stark contrast with ground realities.</p> <p>  </p> <p> So does the myth that Democrats perpetuate the “freeloaders”—the 47 percent who don’t pay any personal income tax. Kyle Wingfield, the conservative columnist at the <em>Atlanta Journal-Constitution</em>, admits, “Conservative policy created much of the 47 percent.” He adds, “The child tax credit is a social-conservative initiative. The refundable Earned Income Tax Credit is largely based on the ‘negative income tax’ proposed almost 50 years ago by conservative economist Milton Friedman.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Undoubtedly there is waste and abuse in the welfare ranks that is of real concern, but a good portion of the 47 percent nonpayers are the aged. Many more are the poor whose tax burden evens out to zero after claiming deductions. They are not deadbeats; they contribute through their work and their payroll taxes.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumobamacampaigntrail%20%28StefRich%29_0.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 400px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> It is the freeloaders at the top end of the economy who may be a larger drag. According to the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank, close to $100 billion goes towards corporate welfare in terms of business subsidies. While Democrats and Republicans are both responsible for this affront to free enterprise, when coupled with the free-for-all deregulation championed by Republicans, it often helps line the pockets of the top brass of the companies. The street credo that Republicans are chums with such robber-barons of industry is not off the mark.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In reality, the more sinister income-redistribution may be the money taken from the middle-class for the “welfare” of executives drawing multimillion dollar salaries—even as the companies they lead file for bankruptcy. This not only siphons away millions of dollars from circulation, but also hurts the buying power of the thousands who get laid off—a double whammy on the economy.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Many Indian-Americans came to this country with the proverbial $20 in their pockets, and went on to carve successful careers and lives. In a disproportionately high percentage, many of us rose to dizzying heights in industry, enterprise, academy, arts, and innovation. This, to me, is not a profile of a community that would fall for myths manufactured by propaganda. This, I suspect, more than anything, is responsible for our overwhelming tilt towards the Democratic Party.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Indian-Americans vested with the Republican Party invariably cite issues such as outsourcing as a reason to align with the right. Sure, India is perhaps the largest beneficiary of outsourcing. Indian-Americans, however, need to ask themselves: is electing an American president about being pro-India? This matters only if all other things are equal. Only if the Republicans and Democrats were virtually the same, and one were pro-India, then it makes all the difference. As to outsourcing, a country is well within its rights and responsibilities to promote business and job growth on its soil instead of proactively pushing it to foreign countries.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumromneycampaigntrail%20%28rogerBaroneTRNS%29_0.jpg" style="width: 574px; height: 600px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Romney: a fiscal extremist</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Romney made it through the wrangling Republican primaries because he seemed the most moderate in a party that has hunkered down in its hardcore shell—and not on classic conservative values of individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, and free enterprise—but on religious and social fundamentalism.</p> <p>  </p> <p> That assessment of Romney as a moderate was befitting a few years back. Today, as candidate Romney, he has morphed into a peon for the far right. More importantly, on the issue that is center stage for this election—the economy—Romney is far from moderate. During the run-up to the primary elections, none other than Newt Gingrich pointed out that Romney is the kingpin amongst all the GOP contenders of the kind of fiscal policies that brought America to its knees at the end of George W. Bush’s presidency.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The criticism of Romney’s lack of ideas, solutions, and vision is mounting, and it is not just from liberals. In an article titled, “So, Mitt, what do you really believe?” The Economist, the reputable champion of free enterprise, writes about him, “A businessman without a credible plan to fix a problem stops being a credible businessman. So does a businessman who tells you one thing at breakfast and the opposite at supper. Indeed, all this underlies the main doubt: nobody knows who this strange man really is.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Obama’s fault: That he is no god</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> What is the overarching and relentlessly repeated criticism of Obama? It boils down to this: that he failed to restore our country to good times like those seen in the Clinton years from the wreckage caused by the Bush years.</p> <p>  </p> <p> This would be perfectly legitimate criticism if Obama had been a passive president. Quite, the contrary, he acted extensively and boldly—like no other president in recent history. Are we there yet? Of course not. I empathize with the worry and fear for our future that persists. But laying the blame on Obama for failing to be God and miraculously turning around, in less than four years, a historic mess unseen in 70 years would be a mistake.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Even as the myth machinery of the extreme right tries to portray Obama as a socialist czar bent on unraveling America, some of those who value true conservatism are fleeing the party. A grassroots organization called “Republicans for Obama” says, “Our current Republican leadership is unable to stand up to the most extreme elements in our party, no matter the circumstance. Meanwhile, President Obama has challenged his own party on numerous issues, including taxes, healthcare, and foreign policy.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> There are no shortcuts to weight loss. And reviving a broken economy of unprecedented proportions is far more improbable by someone who has little more than “tax cuts” in his arsenal.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/10/part-2-seeing-through-the-myths.php">New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: New America Media; Roger Barone, TRNS (Creative Commons); Stef Rich (Flickr, Creative Commons).</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">President Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mitt-romney" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mitt Romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/wealthiest-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">wealthiest americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indian-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indian Americans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jewish-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jewish americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/warren-buffet" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">warren buffet</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bill-gates" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bill gates</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/presidential-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">presidential elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">taxes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bill-clinton" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bill Clinton</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Parthiv N. Parekh</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 21 Oct 2012 17:29:56 +0000 tara 1762 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1703-why-wealthiest-demographic-groups-us-should-vote-obama#comments