Jul 01

Martin Gilens’ Affluence & Influence (2012): A Review

Gilens

by Dr. Roger I. Roots

There is a book (and several studies) by Princeton Sociologist Martin Gilens making the rounds among “campaign finance reformers” of late. Gilens purports to have analyzed extensive data regarding the political preferences of the affluent, the middle class, and the poor, and to have distinguished between the three. The book is essentially Marxist in its obsession with class struggle, and government’s responsiveness to the wishes of the poor, as opposed to those of the middle class, as opposed to those of the rich.

Gilens’ overarching theme and conclusion is that the political system responds more favorably to the policy preferences of the affluent than to the policy preferences of the poor or the middle class. His work is cited commonly by the government-trusting “left” as grounds for constitutional amendments, “democracy vouchers,” and other mechanisms to further empower the government in the area of campaign messaging.

This research might be criticized on many grounds. Gilens has made dozens—maybe hundreds, maybe thousands—of choices regarding which polls to cite, and which statutes of Congress or policies of the president to count as successful enactments. By picking some polls and not others, or pointing to some policies and not others, Gilens pronounces (don’t laugh) that the U.S. government has veered deeply toward a free-market, libertarian agenda—as (he claims) is favored by the ultra-rich.

Of course, even the most superficial scrutiny of long-term trends (e.g., the growing share of GDP taken up by government) demonstrates the general falsity of some of Gilens’ assertions.

Gilens’ work contains a built-in bias favoring the notion that “democracy” works best when political representatives are most responsive to majorities. But most people (rich, poor or otherwise) would probably admit that majorities are often wrong, or hold opinions that are superficial and not well thought-out. Minorities with more in-depth knowledge or experience in a given topic area might hold “better” opinions on some things, and any wise policymaker should be well aware of this.
But Gilens is obsessed with notions that any failure by government to respond to voting majorities represents proof of manipulation by the affluent.

Totally lacking in Gilens’ analysis is any notion that government has an interest, or that that interest could ever be malevolent. Gilens appears to have overlooked vast polling which shows Americans have become highly suspicious of government, that voters regard government as “an immediate threat” (Gallup’s words) to their lives, that voters overwhelmingly (by supermajorities) favor tax cuts, and that voters believe the federal government wastes the majority of money it receives.

The true scandal of modern American politics, of course, is that democratic majorities want more freedom and are not getting it.

There is an interesting discussion of the Bush tax cuts in Chapter 7 of Affluence & Influence. Gilens is deeply troubled by the seemingly (to him) unexpected support by the poor for tax cuts that helped the rich. In Gilens’ view, there could be no good reason (other than “false consciousness”) for the poor to favor free-market reforms of any kind. The poor, according to Gilens, should support nothing other than socialism and redistribution as being in their best interests. Gilens has almost certainly never read Hayek’s Road to Serfdom.

Jul 01

Greek Social Security checks are withheld from retirees as Greece defaults on national debt

poverty2

Have you ever wondered about the future of American Social Security? What will happen when liabilities are larger than the credit of the country?

A story today on Yahoo News revealed that retired Greeks who traditionally draw their government pensions in cash from their local banks are now finding that the banks only allow small portions of the pensions to be paid out.

Greece, like the U.S., has gone through years of socialistic, redistributionist governance. Just as in the U.S., government spending has taken up a larger and larger share of the country’s GDP, as grandstanding politicians made promises to the electorate. Health care, job security, and retirement security were all promised by politicians.

Greece’s retirement program–just as American Social Security–incentivized Greeks to work less, save less, and invest less. Just as people themselves lost productivity and prosperity, the country as a whole became weaker and poorer over time.

Jun 29

Long-term artificially-low interest rates are causing lower productivity across Europe

Productivity_3357055b

In a previous post, we alerted readers to a recent report that worldwide central banking has kept interest rates so artificially low for so long that “experts” now doubt whether central bankers can “fix” any future financial crisis. The Telegraph story is here.

The same report also warned that these artificially low interest rates have almost certainly caused a significant decline in general productivity across the world.

Study the chart above. Overall productivity in Europe traditionally grew at rates greater than one or two percent per year. (And growth rates were much higher in the U.S.)

After the recent financial crises, however, government-central bankers responded with lower-than-natural rates of interest on lending. This led to misallocation of business capital, lots of foolish business investment, lots more debt everywhere, and lots more government.

Now productivity growth rates are at or near zero-to-half-of-one-percent annually.

Europe is dying, killed by government and Keynsian economics.

Jun 29

London Telegraph: “the world is defenseless against future financial crises”

worship2_dees

An amazing news report in the (formerly London) Telegraph this week. The Telegraph reports that the world’s central banks have kept interest rates so artificially low for so long (mostly to allegedly “fix” financial crises in the near past) that the central banks will have no possible way to “fix” any future financial downturns. The banks simply cannot lower interest rates any further (unless they PAID people to take their money on loan).

If you save anything in modern America (or anywhere else in the Western (or Eastern) World) you are an utter fool. If you try to launch a business venture, you will be punished from a dozen fronts. High taxes, redistributionist policies that place half the West’s population at the dependence of the other half, and burdensome licensing and regulatory schemes keep most poor people from lifting themselves out of poverty via entrepreneurism.

Jun 29

Puerto Rican Governor admits that the Island’s $72 billion debt is “not payable.”

bankstercop

In the wake of the bankruptcy and default of the Greek government, and the forced closure of all Greek banks for a week, the New York Times is reporting statements by the Governor of Puerto Rico that the island can never repay its $72 billion debt.

Like Greece (and many or most modern Keynsian-economics-driven governments), Puerto Rico has been led by a politics that emphasizes redistributionist policies, welfare, ever-higher taxes, prisons, entitlements, government cops all over the streets and licensing of all industries and businesses.

Jun 29

Some 95 % of New Yorkers who own “assault weapons” appear to be disobeying a recent State law requiring them to register.

police state ii

Gun controllers often promise that their “registration” schemes will never be used to confiscate firearms. They push for laws that require all gun owners (or owners of certain types of guns) to “register” their guns with government officials. It’s just a public safety measure, the gun controllers will often say.

But a decade after California lawmakers passed an assault-weapon-registration law in 1989 (with assurances and promises that the registry would NEVER, EVER be used for purposes of confiscation) California came for all assault weapons. The same thing happened in Australia.

Gun control freaks are also known to visit registered gun owners’ homes with massive SWAT teams to confiscate the guns soon after a gun owner checks into mental health treatment. See here.

It now appears that up to 95 percent of New Yorkers with semi-automatic firearms (er, “assault weapons”) are disobeying a new State law requiring them to register their guns. In Connecticut not long after the Sandy Hook incident, some 85 percent of Connecticut gun owners likewise disobeyed a state registration law. See the story here.

Could Americans be developing a backbone?

Jun 29

Guantanamo inmates deteriorating after multi-year hunger strikes

guantanamo

Who would have predicted 20 years ago that the United States would erect a prison system to hold inmates for life without charges, due process or evidence?

The U.S. concentration camp at Guantanamo is approaching its 15th anniversary, and dozens of inmates continue to be held without charge. The Center for Constitutional Rights is reporting that some of the Center’s Guantanamo clients have been on hunger strikes since 2007 (!) and have been forcibly fed by feeding tubes for more than eight (!) years.

These inmates are reportedly barely recognizable, having lost substantial body weight. Moreover the hunger-striking inmates are suffering memory loss, dementia, intense back pain and loss of sensation in hands and feet.

The Center has filed a motion seeking a court order granting habeas relief and compelling the government to immediately release one of the Center’s clients.

Jun 28

Bernie Sanders Says He will “Make Corporations Pay Their fair share” even as the U.S. has the world’s highest corporate tax rates.

Bernie Sanders

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Socialist-Vt), is campaigning for the Democratic nomination for President. His stump speech reportedly contains a promise to raise taxes on corporations and make them pay their “fair share.”

The problem is that the U.S. already has the world’s highest corporate tax rates. Hundreds of corporations are fleeing the U.S., looking for freer shores.

Jun 28

Greek society has been destroyed by welfare and government spending.

sociallism

Today, June 28, 2015: Greek and European central bankers have declared an incredible SIX-DAY CLOSURE of Greece’s banks. Greece has been bankrupted by years of welfare spending, punishment of savers and entrepreneurs, and overregulation.

Now the once-proud-but-now-bankrupt nation will experience the final wages of socialism and extravagant social spending: massive poverty, unemployment, debt and perpetual poverty.

Socialism is a curse that should only be wished on one’s enemies. Any society that embraces it will inevitably become sick and weak.

Jun 28

“Campaign Finance Reformers” Complain Only About Private-Sector Political Spending—While Ignoring Government Political Spending

brain on drugs

NFL football games regularly feature displays honoring the U.S. military: moments of silence, speeches and videos honoring the troops, and even synchronized air force “flyovers” in which F-16 jets fly over NFL stadiums in formation while fans cheer.

It came out in March 2015 that everything—even the moments of silence—are paid for by the U.S. military itself. In all, the armed forces spend almost 700 million dollars annually on ad campaigns.

Almost $700 million annually. That’s almost what was spent to elect Barack Obama president in the two-year 2008 election cycle. Yet when “campaign finance reformers” decry “money in politics” they speak only of private-sector money and ignore the much-greater threat of government money.

The government has been repeatedly caught paying news outlets for pro-government news stories. See here.

If you spent twenty thousand dollars to fund ads attacking government propaganda, your twenty-thousand-dollar ad campaign would be called “corruption” by some “reformers.” The billions spent by government to promote government are never viewed this way.

Campaign-finance reformers conceal their true desires: to unleash massive government regulation upon the business community and deprive that community of any right to protest or inform the public of the stupidity of such regulation.