Evergreene Digest A Journal of Progress for the Rest of Us

• Note: Late Friday (March 5) afternoon, Governor Pawlenty and State Legislative leaders announced a GAMC “rescue” compromise. Assistance recipients will not be whole-sale enrolled in Minnesota Care but will continue receiving care, albeit under new terms shifting financial responsibility away from the State of Minnesota’s general fund. Schools, communities and counties will recognize this maneuver.
• As with most Friday afternoon, late news cycle announcements, this triumph isn’t as triumphant as policy leaders declared. It’s a short-term fix, pushing real health care reform’s hard choices into the next biennium. This deal renders my column’s GAMC policy presumption inaccurate. My concluding observation remains, however, on the mark.

John Van Hecke, Minnesota 2020

In short order, the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program will expire and 32,000 aid recipients will be transferred to the Minnesota Care health insurance program because the Minnesota State House of Representatives failed to override Governor Tim Pawlenty's veto of the program extension. We knew this was coming. The final vote contained all the drama of, say, the tide receding.

What happened and who's responsible?

• It's a great thing that Rep. Kucinich and his 16 allies are forcing Congress to debate the issue, and it would be even better if more constituents would urge their Members of Congress to support Kucinich's resolution.
• UN envoy says it's 'high time to talk' to the Taliban

Robert Naiman, Common Dreams

Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Ken Mitchell

“The war against working people should be understood to be a real war…. Specifically in the U.S., which happens to have a highly class-conscious business class…. And they have long seen themselves as fighting a bitter class war, except they don’t want anybody else to know about it.” — Noam Chomsky

David DeGraw, AmpedStatus

This is the second-part of a six-part report: The Rise of the Economic Elit

As a record number of US citizens are struggling to get by, many of the largest corporations are experiencing record-breaking profits, and CEOs are receiving record-breaking bonuses. How could this be happening; how did we get to this point?

The Economic Elite have escalated their attack on US workers over the past few years; however, this attack began to build intensity in the 1970s. In 1970, CEOs made $25 for every $1 the average worker made. Due to technological advancements, production and profit levels exploded from 1970 - 2000. With the lion’s share of increased profits going to the CEOs, this pay ratio dramatically rose to $90 for CEOs to $1 for the average worker.

As ridiculous as that seems, an in-depth study in 2004 on the explosion of CEO pay revealed that, including stock options and other benefits, CEO pay is more accurately $500 to $1.

More...

Related:

• The Democratic base is drained of all passion because congressional Democrats continue to compromise, water-down, weaken, soften, and create loopholes on everything the Dem base cares about.
• "Why should I care?" are words I hear over and over again from stalwart Democrats who worked their hearts out in the last election.
• The left has lost its nerve and its direction
• Why I Did Not Caucus with my party (DFL) on February 2

Robert Reich, Salon.com

I had dinner the other night with a Democratic pollster who told me Dems are heading toward next fall's mid-term elections with a serious enthusiasm gap: The Republican base is fired up. The Dem base is packing up.

The Dem base is lethargic because congressional Democrats continue to compromise on everything the Dem base cares about. For a year now it's been nothing but compromises, watered-down ideas, weakened provisions, wider loopholes, softened regulations.