Trump's 'Gifts' to America could spell impeachment

One great “gift” that Donald Trump has given "We the People" forces us to break the mold on how we think about political divisions in this country.

In the weeks ahead we will forget Republicans and Democrats and the seemingly rigid divide between the two, particularly in Congress.

We will forget Liberals and Conservatives.

And yes, with time, we will even be able to put aside “Red” and “Blue” states.

The last to fall will be our growing class, racial and educational divisions although our history tells us that those will be a long, long time coming.

(Note in passing: we have already forgotten Hillary Clinton. That clears the air and leaves Trump to be judged free of Clinton baggage and fake news “distractions.” )

So what will end these divisions?

Two words: Donald Trump — but not in the dictatorial way he would imagine.

The answer to the question brings us to Trump’s greatest gift. The realignment is going to be over the values of Trump (if they can be called that) versus the bed-rock values of the large majority of Americans.

Trump and initially his Russian friends are forcing us to rediscover and defend our values.

Welcome to a world divided into pro-Trump versus pro-democracy. Pro-dictatorship versus Pro-Freedom.

And finally: Pro-Lies and pro-Truth.

The first place the divide will become obvious will be in the confirmation hearings in the Senate. The Senate is packed with people with very large egos who have been deeply and personally offended by the President-elect. One does not forget insults to one’s military service, to one’s wife or father or the size of one’s privates.

Those senators, all of them Republicans, have not forgotten.

And so we have Lindsay Graham and John McCain stepping up.  Can Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio be far behind? If they and a few of others join in, initially on concerns about national security and Russian subterfuge, we suddenly have an anti-Trump majority in the Senate.

Knowing Trump, he will proceed with further ad hominem attacks. Expect the anti-Trump Senate majority to grow and solidify, possibly killing the whole Trump agenda and rejecting virtually all of his cabinet nominees.

That will only infuriate the self-obsessed Trump more. He will dig his hole deeper and deeper.

Did anyone say “Impeachment”?

Who are those guys?

You could feel this one coming. The Romney bit about the 47 percent delivered to fellow multimillionaires.

Here’s a man who:

• admits he enjoys firing people.

• mysteriously refuses to make public more than two years of tax returns even as he accuses nearly half of us of not paying taxes.

• builds a mansion with elevators...for his cars.

• unblinkingly and in full public view offers $10,000 bets with fellow politicians. (Mormons like Mr. Romney, by the way, are forbidden to gamble, but never mind....)

• portrays his wife’s owning “a couple of Caddies” as a sign of patriotism and modesty. At least she doesn’t own a half dozen Roll Royces....that we know of.

If nothing else, this campaign has given the voters insight into the perspective and values of the isolated and insulated rich who so heartily back Romney and share his views.

Just who are these people? We are finding out, thanks to Romney and his candor.

But there’s more. We have another 50 days of campaigning and three debates to learn about this cozy culture of one per-centers who think so little of us and so much of themselves.

Pay attention, and don’t forget to vote.

Wealth versus Livelihood

I always clip and fuss over those stories about the outrageous bonuses Wall Street gives its traders and executives. Likewise top executive salaries at insurance companies, banks and oil companies.

Some of these so-called “leaders” pay themselves 1000 times what they pay their average worker.

Some leadership.

My reaction to these stories is visceral. I usually mutter “thieves” or “scoundrels” under my breath.

I’m not big on shaming folks, but the thought has passed my mind. Then again, there’s no reason to believe that shaming would work.

Life is shamelessly all about them. They’ve convinced themselves that they are worth every cent because ... that’s what the system is paying them.

The System.

Is there a system? What are its values? How can it produce such inequity? Am I part of the system? Are you? Why do we tolerate it?

So, what is this system? What are the alternatives?

I’ve just finished reading “Agenda for a New Economy” which provides some answers. The book by economist David Korten takes on our “money” system, rooted in “Wall Street Capitalism,” and contrasts it with a “living” economy, focused on “Main Street Markets.”

Korten writes that the “dominant driver” of the former is “making money” for the few. The goal of the latter is “creating livelihoods” for all.

It comes down to values. The values that rule our economy today are inhumane to their core, he argues. And as we have seen, deeply flawed and destructive. They are also responsible for mayhem and war abroad.

Here’s a chart in which Korten places aspects of the two systems side-by-side.




I happen to be involved in an effort to win Hillsdale, my community, the status of being a “Main Street District.” Some aspects of the “Main Street Program” (which is an economic revitalization effort sponsored by Portland’s city government) resonate with Korten's values.

Our work here will be worth it if it brings about the change to the “living economy” described by Korten. His book couldn’t be more timely for me. It has given a deeper meaning and impetus to my work for change here in Hillsdale.

A just society as executive compensation

Tuesday, New York Times columnist David Brooks attacked the Obama administration for placing limits on executive compensation.

He called the effort a “fatal conceit” that is doomed to failure.

Brooks, and most who address this madness, overlook a key fact.

If lining their own pockets drives executives to their decisions, it stands to reason that the corporate decisions will be based on how much the executives can game the system to reward themselves.

The result: decisions that feed executive greed and to hell with the rest of us. We’ve seen plenty of those kinds of decisions recently. Hence the response of the Obama administration.

If there’s a problem with the government’s approach, it’s that it ignores the bankrupt values that drive the system.

We need leadership that makes decisions not for personal gain but for societal good.

By “good” I mean paying a living wage, offering meaningful work, providing universal health care, protecting the environment, providing affordable housing, maintaining justice and security, and educating children and adults alike.

Those are the rewards of leadership. Not vacation chalets in Aspen, yachts in Barbados, mansions in Scarsdale, private jets at the ready, country clubs, penthouses and jewels.

And certainly not compensation that is 500 times that of the average worker.

No, the rewards for the powerful should be nothing more than this: a modest, adequate salary with basic benefits and the knowledge that one’s leadership has helped create of a better, more just, sustainable society.

Ultimately, it comes down to a question of values. Talk about fatal conceit. What do our corporate leaders believe in? Themselves and their personal wealth or humanity and the future of the planet?

The government must come up with a way to ensure that the latter, not the former, values prevail.

What is more obscene, Randolph's gesture or his pay?

More on money and values. The Oregonian reports today that when Blazer star Zach Randolph was suspended for one game because he made an obscene gesture to the crowd, it cost him his one-game salary.

And what would that be? $1,000? $2,000 $10,000?

Not even close.

Randolph is so "valuable" that he "earns" $133,333 a game.

"Valuable" to whom? For what? And why?

And Randolph is complaining. He says the penalty "isn't fair."

The penalty may not be "fair," but only if his salary is. Anyone care to argue that it is? Fair to whom?