Resources and Links
Baker County Democrats
This web site and this Facebook page reflect the progressive approach to economic and environmental justice by our local Democratic Central Committee. They offer timely updates to the major issues of poverty and global warming, plus current events of interest.
Associated Press
In January, 2013, the Associated Press published a three-part analysis of the past, present, and future impact of automation technology on the American economy and American jobs. The three articles may be found here:
- “AP IMPACT: Recession, tech kill middle-class jobs”
- “Practically human: Can smart machines do your job?”
- “Will smart machines create a world without work?“
60 Minutes
On January 13, 2013, the TV program “60 Minutes” broadcast a segment titled “Are robotics hurting job growth?” The answer was decidedly “Yes.”
Independent Lens
A 2012 video by ITVS, titled “Why Poverty? Park Avenue: Money, Power & the American Dreamtdescribes the influence of money in politics.
Research Books
We suggest that research and reference books be purchased from your local, independent book store.
Presimetrics: What the Facts Tell Us About How the Presidents Measure Up On the Issues We Care About. By Mike Kimel and Michael E. Kanell, 2010.
Among many other things, this book concludes that there is no correlation between economic growth and levels of taxation, and that economic growth has been higher under Democratic presidents. Lots of graphics and charts.
The Conscience of a Liberal. by Paul Kurgman, 2007.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman provides a fascinating history of the transition from a great concentration of U.S. wealth at the top before the Great Depression, to a leveling of wealth disparity resulting from the New Deal and World War II, and then to a renewed inequality starting with the Reagan presidency. Written before the start of the Obama presidency, it highlights the importance of health insurance reform, and it predicts the difficulties in getting that reform enacted. It also predates the economic crisis of the Great Recession and predicts that in the absence of crisis the return to relative equality will have to be gradual….
The Lights in the Tunnel by Martin Ford, 2009.
Accelerating technology is likely to have a highly disruptive influence on our economy in the near future — and may well already be a significant factor in the current global financial crisis.
The Betrayal of the American Dream by Donald Barlett and James B. Steele. 2012.
Four decades of mistaken tax and trade policy, declining public and private investment, and willing desregard of existing laws have crippled many American industries and sent thousands upon thousands of U.S. jobs overseas without caution.
The Global Class War by Jeff Faux, 2006.
The politics of the new international “free trade” market is dominated by a virtual “Party of Davos,” the globe-trotting network of corporate investors and CEO’s, and the politicians and journalists who work on their behalf.
George Lakoff
We are indebted to linguist George Lakoff for helping us clarify and express our underlying thoughts and feelings about how our country should work to support all of our fellow citizens. The archives of his Rockridge Institute may be found here. The archive contains a .pdf download of his book, Thinking Points, 2006, a brilliant introduction to his work.
Google.com
We are most impressed by the wealth of information available on the Internet. We would encourage all involved citizens to “Google” subjects that you might want to understand better. Chances are very good that you will find the answers you’re looking for — or a path to find the answers.