Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/62477
6A Daily News – Thursday, April 19, 2012 Opinion DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 The paradox of mobility in America We're a species that has gotten around; we've wan- dered, pioneered and migrated to every corner of the world. The spear tip of technology is how we can get somewhere else: the wheel, the sailboat, the rocket. In short: we're movers. We are now as mobile as we've ever been as a culture. Our phones are not tethered to any particular location. Our keepsakes, like photos and let- ters, are all saved on devices smaller than your average drugstore paperback. The bit- ter visual of a breakup – the splitting up of a couple's CD collection – no longer exists since you both have copies of the same MP3s. Your comput- er fits comfortably in your lap – everything else is in your pocket. We now have the abil- ity to go anywhere and bring with us more things utilizing less space than at any other time in human history. We have the ability – the freedom – to roam more now than ever before. And yet our upward mobility is standing still. York Times wrote in January this year, "Countries with less Jason DeParle in The New equality generally have less mobility." As Occupy Wall Street successfully pointed out, the top one percent "earn" nearly a quarter of the nation's income. While they have enjoyed an increase in wealth and a decrease in taxes, the rest of the country has seen a flattening of their prospects. The U.S. ranks near the bot- tom in income inequality and therefore upward mobility. Time noted, "The Pew Charitable Trusts' Economic Mobility Project has found that if you were born in 1970 in the bottom one-fifth of the socioeconomic spectrum in the U.S., you had only about a 17 percent chance of making it into the upper two-fifths." Americans have mobile phones with immobile socioe- conomics. Put that in your made-in-China travel mug and sip it. many factors and usually when there is an issue with many factors it means there's a parti- san divide as to its "true" solu- tion. Former Senator, former presidential candidate, Rick Santorum mentioned the lack of upward mobility but sub- scribed boilerplate Republican Why is this so? There are cure-alls like deregulating businesses and cutting taxes for corporations. Arguably if that helped upward mobility – we'd have upward mobility. President Obama also talked about this fact earlier this month. "It is antithet- ical to our entire his- tory as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everyone who's will- ing to work for it – a place where prosperi- ty doesn't trickle down from the top, but grows outward from the heart of the middle class," said the President to a Florida audi- ence. the very things we need to grow an economy that's built to last – education and train- ing; research and develop- ment; infrastructure – it's a prescription for decline." The real solution is proba- bly in the middle – which is often ever so slightly to the left of President Obama's positions. Conservatives, like heli- He continued, "By gutting Tina copter-hopping New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, will say it's the safety net that has made us lazy waiting for govern- ment checks. But countries with a bet- ter current mobility rate (most of the industrialized world) will note their social safety net is what makes mobility pos- sible for the lower classes. Dupuy tion. However, tuitions are ris- ing, grants are shrinking and student loans are becoming a plague of post-collegiate liv- ing. College is no longer the class-lift it once was. One thing that is supposed to ensure you'll do better than your parents is get- ting a better educa- This is where we are as a nation: Your Android can go anywhere with you … just probably not into the upper middle-class. Tina Dupuy is an award- winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Is progressivism the new communism? Commentary In politics, truth-telling can get you into trouble, even if you stumble upon it by acci- dent. Just ask Rep. Allen West (R-FL). West is feeling the heat for a pregnant pause he took dur- ing a town hall meeting after he was asked "What percent- age of the American legisla- ture do you think are card-car- rying Marxists or Internation- al Socialists?" "It's a good question," West responded, "I believe there's [sic] about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. don't actually hide. It's called the Congressional Progressive Caucus." The left became unhinged. Obviously West touched a (Long pause) "They large numbers of card-carry- ing communists lining the halls of Congress, there is a clear tie between the Democ- ratic Party's Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), Communist Party USA (CPUSA), and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). It really boils down to mar- keting. In marketing, many times the same product is given a different name or label in order to increase its appeal to certain groups. Names are sometimes changed due to the product's connection to other products, or the public's association to a prior name. nerve; before long, members of the Congressional Progres- sive Caucus (CPC) drafted their response: "Calling fel- low Members of Congress 'Communists' is reminiscent of the days when Joe McCarthy divided Americans with name-calling and mod- ern-day witch hunts that don't advance policies to benefit people's lives..." The CPC's response is just another sign of the political times we live in. But some- thing about their argument doesn't pass the "smell test." While there may not be Although Progressive share much in common with CPUSA and DSA, they are shrewd enough to understand the terms "communist" or "socialist" are unpalatable for most Americans. Hence, the word "Progressive" was injected into American politi- cal verbiage. While the words are not interchangeable, one thing is for sure: The CPC is doing its part to further the goals of modern Communists and Socialists who have found a voice in the Democratic Party. USA PAC leader Joelle Fish- man reported CPUSA uses the Congressional Progressive Caucus as "an important In 2002, Communist Party lever" to "move the debate to the left." A February 2, 2010 Communist Party USA article "Convention Discus- sion: A Time to Grow" explained they plan to meet their goals by run- ning for office "with- in the auspices of the Democratic Party" because "conditions rarely if ever allow us to run open Com- munists for office." The same article praised Obama's election asserting, "We have the oppor- tunity to build some- thing big, a large, influential and effective Communist Party USA. After the incredi- ble movement to elect Barack Obama, more far-reaching solutions and socialism in par- ticular are back at the dinner table for discussion." It seems they are moving Susan Brown can president, Obama has led the charge in attacks against job-creators, extended the olive branch to "99 Percent" anarchists, and publicly castigat- ed the third (and his equal) branch of gov- ernment. Americans have had zero control over the appoint- ments of unsavory anti-capitalist cabinet members like former "Green Czar" and avowed Communist Van Jones. toward attaining their goals. Obama's election, in conjunc- tion with Progressives canni- balizing the Democratic Party by ousting common sense Blue Dogs, aided in a severe shift to the left. Americans have witnessed the deteriora- tion of this nation by way of the same type of race-baiting and class warfare Commu- nism cannot exist without. Unbecoming to an Ameri- sive's should take their mes- sage "and get the hell out of America." I think most of us would be happy if they would just "get the hell out of" the Democratic Party and run on their own ticket. fresh air," West, is dead-on in his assessment of Democratic Party Progressives. West once said Progres- Susan Stamper Brown is an op-ed columnist, motivational speaker, military family advocate and grief counselor who writes about politics, the military, the economy and culture. she can be reached at susan@susanstamperbrown. com. All things consid- ered, "Washington's newest breath of