This is of interest:Greetings prog-action.I am the new moderator for Progressive-Action. I have been appointedbythe steering committee to implement certain reforms. ProgressiveActionhas been getting numerous complaints about what has become of ournews-group and they are trying to remedy this situation. The mainpointis that this is NOT a general political discussion group but rather agroup BY and FOR progressives in this area. If you want to hear aboutconservative or reactionary points of view, there are many other groupsyou can join.The main change is that Progressive Action asks our members to agreewith the 10 core positions outlined below. If you have a minordisagreement with the specifics of a given point, that's obviously OK,but if you susbstantially disagree with our core positions then I askthat you leave / not join our group. Don't worry, the 'thought-police'is not breathing down your neck, but this is a list for progressivesand I want to make sure it stays this way.Some of you will disagree with these changes. Some of you will leavethis group. If you cannot live with the new guidelines, I ask you toleave this group and go somewhere else. I also encourage anyone whodisagrees with these reforms to run for election to the steeringcommittee.On a final note. The moderator's identity is not disclosed to ashieldhim/her from personal attacks and b enable multiple people to take onthis resposibility seamlessly. I have been asked however to clarifythat neither Barb Olsen nor Will Rhodes are currently moderators forthis group.So here are the new PROGRESSIVE ACTION NEWS-GROUP PURPOSE, RULES ANDPOLICIES.prog-action purpose.prog-action is a news-group that was set up by progressives in theDuluth / Superior area to further the discussion of progressive ideasand events throughout NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin. This is anews-group created by and for progressives, not a general politicaldiscussion group. While we welcome a variety of viewpoints, we ask thatall members agree with the following core positions. Your continuedmembership on prog-action indicates your agreement with thesepositions. If you choose to unsubscribe from prog-action, simplychoose the unsubscribe option at the bottom of any prog-action email.NOTE: All new applicants for prog-action will be required tospecifically indicate agreement before they will be added to the list.Labor - The right to choose a union and bargain collectively isa fundamental human right. This right must be actively promoted at alllevels of government. Businesses that receive public funds must committo providing living-wage jobs with benefits.Health Care - Health care is a fundamental human right.High-quality health care must be guaranteed to all citizens.Education - All children deserve a first-rate public education.Public funds should not subsidize private or for-profit schools.Fundingbetween affluent and less affluent school districts must be equalized.Human rights - All people are entitled to equal treatmentregardless of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ordisability. Strong legal protections against discrimination must bemaintained.Taxation - Fairness must be returned to our tax system throughprogressive taxation based upon ability to pay.Individual rights - The individual freedoms guaranteed in theBill of Rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, andfreedom from unreasonable search and seizure, must be defended.Trade and Globalization - The rules that govern global trademust be rewritten to provide strong guarantees for labor rights, humanrights, and environmental protection.Planning and Economic Development - Vibrant neighborhoods and ahealthy environment are the backbone of a strong community. Localplanning and development policies must invest in existingneighborhoods,support small neighborhood businesses, promote quality affordablehousing, and be environmentally responsible.War and Peace - Military force should be a tool of last resortand be reserved for cases where the lives and freedoms of Americans aredirectly at risk. Military spending should be reduced with the fundstransferred to meet human needs.Clean Government - Government should be conducted in a mannerthat maximizes openness, accountability, and community participation.Campaigns for state and federal office should be publicly funded toreduce the influence of wealthy interests. Democracy is not limited tothe act of voting democracy is also found in the accurate counting ofevery vote._____prog-action rules and policies.1 To be a user of prog-action you must be in agreement with the corepositions above.2 Absolutely no personal insults or name-calling directed at otherlist-serve members will be tolerated.3 Please try to stick to issues that are relevant to progressives andavoid lengthy off-topic discussions. Occasional postings of jobopportunities, requests for assistance to local families, and so on arefine.4 Please restrict the volume of your weekly postings to a reasonablenumber.5 Please be careful not to send personal messages over thelist-serve.Be aware that when you reply to a prog-action email, it will go toALLmembers!Violation of these rules and policies could result in a warning. Iftheviolation persists you could be suspended from the list for a period oftime and consistent offenders will be permanently banned from the list.Suspension policyIf you receive a suspension, you will be notified of the suspension,thereasons for it and you will be removed temporarily from the list. Afterthe allotted time has passed, you may apply to re-join the list.
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Worthy of comment indeed. The progressives talk about social justice, economic fairness, equality and all kinds of other platitudinous hypocrisy. Their idea of social justice is, if you don't agree with everything we say, we will silence you. Their idea of equality is not bringing the disadvantaged up, but bringing the rest of us down to the lowest common denominator. Their idea of a living wage is, if you make more than your employees, you are evil.
The Cult of Personality has been exposed and they are on the defensive as well as the offensive. If you offend you're not one of us and you're out but we are right so you should just fall in line. How completely intellectually bankrupt of them. Where these ideas come from is right out of Marxism. For this platform to be accepted and promoted is beyond modern belief. This is the stuff of the early 20th century Eastern idealists.
This will serve to galvanize their base but also marginalize it. Anytime you demand total, unbending loyalty to a group lest you risk exile, you will alienate some. On the other hand, you will force those on the fence either closer to you or force them away. Those who stay with you will become your biggest and most adamant defenders...extremists, loyal only to the platform. This is unhealthy in so many ways and progressive it certainly is not. It is a 100+ year old dogma that has only resulted in the death and destruction of millions of people and numerous civilizations.
When will we learn?
5 comments:
PH&C:
I don’t see this as a big deal. Why do you care about their rules? I wouldn’t want to join their club, but they have every right to have rules. You probably won’t find too many pro-choice members in an anti-abortion listserv.
“Their idea of a living wage is, if you make more than your employees, you are evil.” Common, do think that might be just a slight exaggeration? I think they believe that companies that receive government money to locate here should pay a decent wage.
“Where these ideas come from is right out of Marxism.” What ideas come from Marx? You can’t back that claim up. Progressive taxation is not Marxism. The middle class would have to pay more than they do now if progressive taxation were eliminated.
These folks are too left for me, especially when it comes to development, but I don’t think it helps your argument to call them Marxists.
Aloha,
Tony
It's also interesting that Donny, sorry, Don Ness is still an active member of the Progressive Action list serv. Does that mean he believes in everything in the platform they laid out? If so, that's scary.
I wonder how many other local politicians are members in good standing?
I really enjoy your blog posts. They are infrequent, but very thought provoking.
Subdude,
I've been distracted for the last few days with the survival of my business and my children.
To address your comments, the whole concept of collectivism can be achieved any number of ways:
Through Government ownership of the means of production (Marx) or
Socialistic taxation or, redistribution of income.
The concept of collectivism is growing and is a cornerstone of the "Progressive" economic platform.
Further, the expression within the collective of dissention is destructive to the collective and therefore, prohibited as promulgated and instituted under Stalin. The cult of personality is a concept that gained more notariety in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, it has been practiced for centuries.
Both the concepts of collectivism and worshipping a central figure are the foundation of a communist society. Socialism and communism are very interchangeable but employ slightly different approaches.
The end product is the same. You end with prohibition of the individual from ownership and the Government serving as Lord of all means of production. Dissention in socialist and communist societies has always been prohibited and therefore, personal expression is limited.
The Cult of Personality is typically associated with Stalin, Lenin, Mussolini and the like. Choose your dictator. The Chinese live in a cult of personality and a communist economic society.
Anyone who promotes the suppression of ideas, coupled with collectivism of any kind, is, by definition, practicing Marxism. But call it what you want; Stalinism, Leninism, Communism, Socialism...it all starts with the road to hell paved with the good intentions of the collectivists.
As a business owner in Duluth, we have been villified on a number of occasions. When terminating an employee who had stolen a substantial amount of money and goods along with several others, his response was, "maybe if you paid us more, we wouldn't have to steal from you". We average less per hour than every person we employ but are still viewed as "rich business owners". We make less money than Duluth's median income. That is two people working on average, 60 plus hours pre week.
Do the math yourself. We are halfway to collectivism already. If we don't pay the taxes, our property will be confiscated and sold; the proceeds used to operate the government. In essence the Government, already making far more off of our establishment than we do, and our employees making far more than we do, has already collectivised our business. The only difference is, we could dicontinue commerce tomorrow and sell the property.
If we do that, a huge portion of the sale will be confiscated by the government...more collectivism and redistribution.
Thanks for your comments.
PC&H, let me start off by wishing you well in your business.
I don’t know any democrats that would vilify a small business owner like you. It seems to me that you should be a democrat. You’re not making enough to be a republican. Why support a tax policy that makes you pay for your earnings and lets people like Paris Hilton go untaxed?
I don’t really understand the cult of personality reference with regards to the democrats today. Democrats are not organized in such a way that would facilitate a cult leader. The republicans seem to be more susceptible to that kind brainwashing. Look at how many people who parrot the talking points and phrases they hear from that dope, druggy Limbaugh. Look at who they elected: Junior Bush, a man who wasn’t qualified to hold a cabinet position if you went by his resume. His qualification was that he inherited his daddy’s rolodex.
Taxes suck! However, we do have a government to fund. If you have a way to pay for it without taxes I might be for it. We are running a massive federal deficit while at the same time we are cutting taxes for the people who make over a thousand times what you and I make per year.
I hope I made some sense. I wrote this in a slight hurry. I’ve got to run out for a little while.
Good night and good luck,
Tony
Hey Subdude,
Thanks again for the comments. The problem is, the local political scene is and has been dominated by the DFL for a very, very long time. Whether the practices of the local DFL are consistent with the national DNC is worthy of examination.
That being said, an examination of policies that are damaging to business in general and small business specifically, and where those policies originated and who proposed them, points overwhelmingly to the Dems.
I can only relfect on my own experience and what I have witnessed and researched. When it comes to the two things that are most crippling for my business, it is burdensome, spurious regulations and high taxes, not necessarily in that order.
The taxes that we pay are currently, in all honesty, bankrupting our business and will put out of business inside of a year if we don't substantially increase prices. So, we will resort to the price increase as a matter of survival. This may make each sale more profitable but will reduce our volume. The key to survival in any business is inventory turn; that is rolling as much of your inventory over as quickly as possible. Ideally, you turn over your entire inventory before you even pay for it. If you are on terms of say net 7 days and you are turning your inventory over in 30, you will quickly lose your butt in my business. If your terms are net 30 and you're turning over your inventory every 7, you are on the right track.
Regardless of the inventory turn relative to your terms, you have to be able to cover costs, pay for new product and pay yourself. We have gotten to where the combined tax burden is about quadruple what we take home. Our insurance is equal to what we take home and our combined payroll, except for what we pay ourselves is also triple what we take home. It is difficult to put this into proper context but suffice it to say, the fun is gone from the business, the stress is horrible and the incentive has been taken away.
I'm rambling...the point to all of this is like the current discussion in Duluth regarding the possible DECC expansion. Instead of finding creative ways to finance it, they instead take the fast track and default to increasing taxes. This is both supported and opposed by people on both sides of the political fence. The problem I have is that the past tax increases have had sunset provisions but, our DFL leaders down South have always taken a bill to the Legislature negating the sunset and making the taxes permanent. Our local DFL leaders are all too anxious to spend the money on things never intended to be funded from that tax. That tax is damaging to at least one sector of our local economy and I have watched a number of my favorite hangouts close due to the tax burden.
Our local sales and property taxes are keeping retail establishments away. Our zoning and development laws and attitudes, driven mostly by "progressives" are keeping new businesses of any kind from locating here. It's all leading to a fiscal implosion of epic proportion and our DFL leaders are still trying to say it's not that bad.
From somebody in business who sees the writing on the wall; dramatic tax increases necessary to keep the ship afloat, I don't see how it can get much worse. We have a declining customer base, increasing taxes, decreasing tax base meaning the existing obligations will have to be spread among a smaller pool of tax-payers and we aren't competitive or profitable as it is.
Anyway, sorry to be so long winded but I hope you understand my points and my frustration with the local Dems as they really seem to be trying to paint a rosy picture when we have a fiscal trainwreck headed our way at mach II.
Thanks again for the comments and have a great day.
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