Time for Real Democracy

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By Bill Shein
December 15, 2011

Two notable events took place on Tuesday, though few may have noticed the vital connection between them.

The first was a long-overdue speech by Attorney General Eric Holder addressing shameful efforts, in more than two dozen states, to limit democratic participation by restricting early voting, adding unnecessary ID requirements, and curtailing voter-registration drives. These efforts, which impact millions of otherwise-eligible, low-income, young, old, and minority voters, are perhaps the greatest threat to voting rights since the Jim Crow era.

Underwritten by corporate-backed groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council, the goal of this crackdown on voting is simple: Close the door on a truly representative democracy. Because those who profit from today’s unjust status quo know they must block massive citizen action – whether it’s Occupy-style uprisings or huge turnout on Election Day – in order to maintain their grip on power.

Their disgraceful campaign brings to mind the words of John Adams, who said, in support of substantial property requirements for voting, that if everyone could vote, “an immediate revolution would ensue.” (Adams also worried that women might demand the vote, too. The horror!)

To advance that necessary political and economic revolution, we need to combine 2011’s growing movement of citizen empowerment with massive participation in, and urgent reform of, our electoral system. The two can, and perhaps must, go hand-in-hand if we want an economy that doesn’t continue to tilt dramatically toward the wealthy.

It won’t be easy. Billions spent by corporate interests on campaign contributions and lobbying have narrowed the range of what’s possible in Washington and Boston – especially when it comes to campaign finance and election law. With both major parties feeding at the same trough of corporate money, the kind of bold action we’ve long needed on employment, housing, climate change, corporate personhood, electoral reform, and other vital issues never even sees the light of day.

That’s why three years into a Wall Street-fueled economic meltdown, a tiny elite – say, about one percent? – is doing just fine. Meanwhile, many more – oh, I don’t know, around 99 percent? – lose homes, jobs, savings, health care, and hope.

The economic facts are grim. A recent Princeton study found that those who lost jobs during 2007-08 and are working again now earn, on average, 17.5 percent less. Yet corporate profits are soaring, enabling even more spending on elections and lobbying.

It seems that American workers are supposed to be content with whatever scraps are tossed down from the plutocrats’ table. Mainstream media discussion of monthly job reports focuses only on the number of new jobs. But few politicians or pundits ask, “Do these jobs pay a living wage? Are they permanent and durable? Do they include sick and vacation days so parents can stay home with sick children or earn paid time off? Do they provide opportunities for advancement?”

Which brings us to Tuesday’s second notable event. In Springfield, the innovative Wellspring Initiative held an event to announce a $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to advance precisely the kind of economic development we need. Combined with $100,000 raised locally, its plan is ambitious.

Modeled after the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, Wellspring aims to build large-scale, worker-owned cooperative businesses right in the heart of Springfield. With both public- and private-sector partners like Baystate Health, UMass-Amherst, Jobs with Justice, and Springfield Technical Community College, these new ventures will tap into the $1.5 billion spent annually on goods and services by the city’s largest institutions. Currently, less than 10 percent of that spending takes place within Springfield.

As in Cleveland, the Wellspring cooperatives will be rooted firmly in the community. They’ll keep resources and jobs and expertise local. They’ll pay a living wage and train employees for advancement. And thanks to worker ownership, employees will participate in democratic decision-making and see their equity stake grow with the business, providing a clear path out of poverty to a brighter future.

We need this model in Pittsfield and across the country: Robust local enterprise that enhances the well-being of workers and invests, for the long term, in our communities.

One thing is certain: We can no longer allow transnational corporations and the anti-democratic public policy they champion to dominate our society. Even when staffed with good and decent people, these institutions have one goal: Profit. Their nature is to drain wealth from our communities. They lay off workers and move operations to low-wage countries, destroying local economies in the U.S. (e.g. General Electric, anyone?). They distort elections. Ultimately, they serve the interests of Wall Street analysts, not those of local citizens.

It’s time to combine the fight for broad democratic participation with a campaign for smart economic development along the lines of the Evergreen and Wellspring cooperatives. By doing so, we’ll advance both political and economic democracy – two fundamental requirements of a just, fair, and compelling future.

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A longtime democracy-reform activist, Bill Shein feels the ground shifting. And he likes it. (You can support Bill’s current crowd-funded book project here.)

 

Psst … Hidden Bank Fees Are Coming

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By Bill Shein
November 17, 2011

Recently, large banks have started imposing new and increased fees on the same (taxpaying) account holders who saved them from their greedy selves with billions in few-strings-attached bailout funds and trillions in low- and no-interest Federal Reserve loans.

See, banks are upset that new regulations – insufficient, but designed to prevent them from blowing up the economy again – could reduce their annual profits by $12 billion. That money, they say, was previously “earned” via exorbitant debit-card swipe fees and by processing transactions in a way that maximized overdraft fees. Nice work if you can get it, eh?

The banks want to reclaim “their” money as soon as possible, ideally without anyone noticing. That’s why the bank statements of millions of Americans will soon include lots of small, sometimes inexplicable charges – just like your phone, cable, and electricity bills.

It’s all by design: Who has hours to spend lost in a “customer service” voice-prompt system to protest a few bucks added to a monthly maintenance fee, only to be summarily disconnected after pressing the “0” key 100 times and screaming, “AGENT! AGENT! AGENT!” until hoarse?

Multiply a few bucks by millions of customers, and, well, there it is: The decades-long transfer of wealth, continued.

Following the collapse of Bank of America’s attempt to charge $5/month for using a debit card, the banks will be sly and clever about new fees. Here’s what to watch out for:

The KBLITSTWTBA Fee – Several years into the economic meltdown, how many people can decipher the meaning of financial acronyms like MBS, SPARQS, CBO, ETF, or EMBS? Depositors must be vigilant in spotting confusing lingo that may disguise hidden fees. Like the monthly “KBLITSTWTBA Fee,” a cryptic acronym that stands for, “Keep Bankers Living in the Style to Which They’ve Become Accustomed.” Outrageous!

Hidden Fee Fee – Highly paid experts, including former CIA operatives, sleight-of-hand magicians, and pathological liars are routinely hired by banks to craft deceptive ways to chip away at your hard-earned savings with hidden fees. These efforts are increasingly funded with the double-ironic “Hidden Fee Fee.” Information on this insidious charge may be hard to find: Look for it on your statement in four-point type and printed with ink that’s only visible when held up to a fluorescent black light.

Costo Beneficio de Mejora – Thanks to online translation tools available even to newspaper columnists, it’s easy for banks to hide fees by printing them in a foreign language. So if you see a $2.32 monthly charge for “Costo Beneficio de Mejora,” know that you’ve been charged an unnecessary “Profit Enhancement Fee.”

Redress of Grievances Fee – This monthly deduction is immediately wired to former elected officials who now work as lobbyists for big banks. Apparently, cashing in on one’s time as a public servant by lobbying on behalf of transnational corporations creates painful moral suffering that can only be soothed by a seven-figure income. This ongoing expense is now passed on directly to account holders. (NOTE: Sometimes appears as “Revolving Door Maintenance Fee” or “Shame Remediation Fee.”)

Don’t Even Try to “Move Your Money” Fee – As Americans move their money to credit unions, small local banks, and cooperatives at a good clip (650,000 new accounts at credit unions alone during the last 30 days, compared to 80,000 in a typical month), banks are in a panic as depositors flee. So they’re cashing in with new charges like the “Don’t Even Try to ‘Move Your Money’ Fee.” Equal to 100 percent of your account balance, it’s imposed the moment you try to close your account. (Watch for details in a “Change to Your Account Terms” statement insert.)

The bottom line? Until you’ve moved your money out of big and non-local banks – ideally before imposition of the “Don’t Even Try to ‘Move Your Money’ Fee” – read your statement closely. Because according to a Nov. 14 story in The New York Times: “Banks may also be betting that consumers will not notice the quiet creep of existing fees. As Richard K. Davis, U.S. Bancorp’s chief executive, told investors on a recent conference call: ‘We’ll see if our customers complain and move, or just complain.’”

Oh, don’t you worry, Mr. Richard K. Davis. We’re done complaining.

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Bill Shein is a founding member of the Berkshire County Hundredaires Club.

 

An Unexpected Heartbreak

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By Bill Shein
November 2, 2011

It’s not because I’m a pessimist, or that I believe the world has conspired against me, but for some reason I’ve always known that Amelia would be the first of my pet ducks to be lost to a predator.

It was either a mink or a fisher that got her a few weeks ago as she frolicked in the river down the hill from my house. What I saw from a distance was confusing and foggy, and I never found Amelia’s body or any evidence of struggle. Perhaps that’s for the best.

Here's day-old Amelia, just hours after arriving in the Berkshires.

The most outgoing, precocious, and plainly hilarious of the day-old ducklings that arrived at my little farmstead in May, Amelia was a Khaki Campbell duck of the first order. Insatiably curious, a bit frenetic, with lustrous brown feathers and a patch of white on her chest, she was the undisputed leader of my Group of Eight ducks. And she was my favorite.

The ducks, which I keep as pets and for the eggs they began laying last month, have been a sheer delight. They’re a highly recommended addition to anyone’s simple, rural life: Pleasant to have around, their soft quacking synchronizes into a contented murmur as they roam the grounds searching for insects and tasty greens.

Amelia earned her name with a surprise leap from the duckling brooder, her Earhartian urge to explore too strong to be constrained by mere cardboard and wire. Once fully feathered, each morning she led the others in a waddling race-walk down to the river, sometimes lifting off for a short flight and unsteady, amateur-pilot glide to a water landing.

The smallest of the bunch, she was still the alpha duck, often standing on the edge of the kiddie pool while the others slept to keep watch and sound the alarm if hawks flew near. While free-ranging, she was the most likely to stray from the group, a habit that may have been her undoing.

She was the first to do everything, including swim.

For one memorable stretch, Amelia was also my most challenging duck. In July, not long after the ducks moved from a pine-shavings-filled pen in a spare bedroom to their outdoor fenced run and coop, she went through weeks of intense separation anxiety. It manifested as follows: Whenever she saw me walk past a window – even for a split second – she started making an eardrum-shattering, nerve-grating, unrelentingly loud noise that you’d never believe was produced by a duck.

Without blinds or curtains, I had to crawl on the floor below the windows to avoid her excellent duck vision. To get safely upstairs, I’d creep across the dining room, then slide across the living-room floor, walk up the stairs, and then shimmy down the hallway along the far wall. Not ideal, though it did help keep the floors clean.

Foraging for bugs and greens, her mischevious look impossible to disguise. (Photo: Christina Lane)

When her hollering became intolerable, I’d just fold and go outside to her. This surely convinced Amelia that “loud quacking brings Bill outside, so I’ll keep doing it until he moves into the coop with me.” Once outside, I’d pick her up, hold her tightly, and gently stroke her neck. She’d quickly settle in, resting her bill on my shoulder while enjoying the attention. Eventually I’d put her down and she’d happily scurry off.

This pleasant but time-consuming routine could, on a good day, buy me four minutes of beautiful silence. Then one day the hollering just stopped – a sign that prayer works.

After a few days of bewilderment at Amelia’s sudden disappearance, the Set of Seven returned to their normal routine, though unsupervised trips to the river have been discontinued for now. Without Amelia, the ducks remained leaderless – inspired, no doubt, by Occupy Wall Street. But my other Khaki Campbell, long-ago named “A.J.” for “Amelia Junior,” has since taken over some ringleader duties, often sprinting around the run and lifting off for short, Amelia-like flights while the other ducks try to catch up to her.

Without embarrassment, I freely admit to a certain man-child nature when it comes to my pets. A deep connection to animals has shaped who I am and how I relate to the broader world. Indeed, as bemused friends and family know all too well, this summer I imprinted on my cute, vulnerable ducklings as much as they imprinted on me. And that has made losing one more difficult: Lately, as I go about my outdoor chores without Amelia at my feet, I feel unexpected twinges of heartbreak.

Amelia leads the Group of Eight on a walk back up from the river.

Amelia, I’ll miss your joie de vivre and how you pecked at the rivets on my jeans, tugged on the laces of my shoes, and ate shredded lettuce from my hand. You should know that The Unbelievable Tale of the Hollering Duck provokes tear-streaming laughter from everyone who hears it. As legacies go, that’s pretty good for a funny, little, too-short-lived and sorely missed Khaki Campbell duck.

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Bill Shein can’t quite remember why he decided to get ducks. But he’s sure glad he did.