Remarks to the Allegheny County Council on April 3rd, 2012

by Thomas Dufour Posted on April 3, 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen of the council:

My name is Thomas Dufour and on Tuesday, March 27th in a collaborative effort with other residents of this county we had published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette a Letter to the Editor asking for this body to take up the issue of passing a resolution similar to the city of Pittsburgh’s which would express this county’s support for a constitutional amendment to reverse the implications of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision on the people of this country.

Councilmen and councilwomen, I’m sure those of you who already support this resolution do not need a history lesson in the effects of the Citizens United decision. And to those of you who are already decided against it, I’m sure you have your reasons for doing so which we can only hope are founded in reason rather than the fear that supporting this resolution might bring on an onslaught of anonymous contributions against you in your upcoming election. But to those of you who are undecided – or to those of you who might need brought up to speed on the effects of the decision – or to those of you questioning why it is imperative this county pass such a resolution, allow me to address you for a moment.

One of my favorite historical texts happens to be a letter written from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams in late October, 1813. In this letter, Jefferson writes lengthly regarding what he considers a natural aristocracy and expresses how he believes that it, being created from virtue and talents, should rule the country rather than the pseudo-aristocracy which is founded from wealth and birth.

Council members, that is what this is about.

What we have before us because of this decision is a country potentially being governed, not by the merit and talents of individual citizens by their well informed intelligence and logic, but by the brute force of monetary influence which to these corporations and organizations is nothing more than an investment risk, which inevitably governs our democracy by instilling in our leaders the fear of losing their jobs through a massive monetary campaign against them, rather than by their disservice to their constituencies. What chance does the virtuous who promote the public good with honesty and integrity stand against the backlash of well funded interest groups and misinformation when we’ve known for years that the press, being bound to their ratings and shareholder interest, is no longer in condition to correct the erroneous and spun statements which tend to be bought with this endless stream of cash? What chance does an individual voice stand when it is drown out by carefully crafted political speech which dominates our air waves? This decision is dirt in the face of American values, and to vote against this motion is to cast a vote against our democratic heritage. The decision is simple. If every person is intended to have an equal voice in government, money cannot be speech.

Council Members, I ask you to do the virtuous thing, and vote in the affirmative to lend our voices to the cause of restoring political power where it rightfully belongs, not in deep pockets, but in the voice of this nation’s citizens.

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Biting my Tongue

by Thomas Dufour Posted on November 17, 2011

“He that uses his words loosely and unsteadily will either not be minded or not understood.” – John Locke
—

Good evening everyone.

A few nights ago I was faced with a dilemma upon whether to act on an impulse which seems to be pervading my general ability to remain calm and civil as these politically strident days pass us by.  Typically – you’ll find me making a hotly partisan comment or deriding Jersey Shore in order to vent my increasingly mounting frustrations in these situations where I allow them to conquer my reason.  Either that – or I’ll end up writing a short political novel on someone’s Facebook wall.  Over the last few nights, I’ve found myself doing just that.  There I sat, ticking away on my keyboard at numerous people only to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of bridges I could severely damage or utterly reduce to ashes over all of this. So I did what I believe to be the best possible thing in these situations.

I bit my tongue.

Now, as much as I go back and wish I would have made a poignant comment or perhaps a witty refutation I feel the relief as I type this that I’m going to get all of it out in a constructive and memorable way rather than the direct antithesis to my current situation.  Peace is a good thing; friends are even better.  So to those of you who are still reading at this point, the teeth are being removed from my tongue and we’re going to be off and rolling.

Part 1.  On Truth and Civility

I decided long ago that I’m not going to go through excessive pains to convince people of the rightness of my cause or the correctness of my personal beliefs.  I’ve decided that the minds of men and women are long made up for a string of seemingly unbreakable reasons and it is no right of mine to oppress or undermine their freedom to believe as it would be no more their right to do so to me.  I’ve let things go, mainly because it is my solemn belief that truth is, as Jefferson described it, a sufficient antagonist to error – and will come to the fore in any debate.  As John Adams said, “facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

It is because of these beliefs that I refer back a few thousand years to Socrates and admit that “as for me, all I know is that I know nothing.”  If there is anything politics has taught me it’s that for every point there is a counterpoint.  For every left hook there is an exposed opening waiting to be pummeled.  It’s the nature of politics and as long as people are passionate about their polarized beliefs, it will remain.

But what truth is in partisan dialogue?  What kind of light persists and remains flickering to guide us home to truth?  What I’ve found doesn’t need further explanation as it seems exceedingly elementary to conclude that considering half of all of the points in a debate will lead you to the inevitable conclusion you’re seeking.  However, considering all of the points generally paints us with a much different picture – one that is much closer to the truth than simply beating one another over the head in argument with partisan talking points.

One of the great things about American democracy is that all of those partisan arguments are available for public consumption and reflection.  Unfortunately, the public seemingly ignores one or both of them in staggering proportions.  The very nature of American democracy depends on the wise constituting both the elected and the electorate.  There is no public benefit from a mind already made. A mind which builds facts upon facts to support what started as an uneducated guess or uneducated opinion is useless to the general public. For citizens to be useful to society in a political manner we must strive at once to wipe the slate clean and build on it a foundation of facts to base our opinions rather than the other way around.  Political conversation should not descend into a shouting match.  It should be an educational fact finding mission.

Part 2.  On Occupy Wall Street

Last year I read an interesting piece in the New York Times titled The Anosognosic’s Dilemma
[http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/the-anosognosics-dilemma-1/].  To reduce your further required reading (as this is already getting long enough), I’ll explain briefly what Anosognosia is.  Essentially, it’s when someone has a disability of some sort and they won’t admit that they have a problem.  For example: anosognosia is when someone suffers a stroke and loses the ability to move their arm and they go into complete denial that they have lost that ability.  Even when asked to demonstrate that they do not have a disability they will make up excuses to cover it up or to prolong the delusion.  They’ll insist that they do not want to move their arm, rather than that they cannot move it altogether.

The article itself was interesting because it delved into the hypothesis that considered incompetency as a disability and suggested some individuals might be so incompetent that they cannot see and refuse to admit their own incompetency.  It offered the example of a Pittsburgh bank robber who was struck in disbelief when he was arrested because he was under the misguided belief that putting lemon juice on his face would render his face invisible to cameras. He even went so far as to test the “juice” by snapping his photo with a Polaroid camera.  Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for society), he apparently missed when he snapped the photo, leading him to believe the “juice” actually worked.

Here in lies our political dilemma.

Let me be the first to not surprise anybody.  I wholeheartedly support Occupy Wall Street (OWS).  However, like any rational human being if someone were to ask me if by supporting OWS I’m comfortable with supporting rape, destruction, communism, anarchism, or violence I will most definitely tell you no.  That question is lemon juice.

If you tell me that by supporting OWS I clearly support redistribution of the wealth and socialism I once again will tell you no.  That statement, is also lemon juice.

If you go so far to suggest that I hate rich people – the entire 1% just for being rich, or that I don’t value hard work, don’t have a job, or that I think everything should just be handed to me, well, you might as well be missing your face with that snapshot from the Polaroid camera.

The entire situation with regard to public support for the Occupy movement is typically generalized inside one of these above comments, which by itself is infuriating.  What’s more irritating is how widespread the misinformation is and how many people deride OWS without even a minute understanding of the complex political issues it represents resistance against.

Now, I’m feeling defeated and therefore willing to admit that in America everything needs to be black and white and spelled out to be politically effective.  I personally believe through my own observation that this mass rounding to the lowest common denominator has been happening for years – which is why it’s easier for some people to accept that Occupy Wall Street is all about “a bunch of unwashed, lazy spoiled children of hippies whining about how hard their lives are and how the government is not giving them enough free stuff” (thanks to Reddit user ReneFonck for that) rather than how it is in fact, among other things, a protest against corporate welfare bought by undue political influence aggregated by monied interests in this country.  It’s easier to be blindly angry than to think.

So is it safe to say that some of us in this country suffer from a politicalanosognosia?  I believe so.  Some people – in light of any amount of facts or evidence will stop at nothing to perpetuate their beliefs, even if founded completely on ignorance.  The unwillingness for some people to even consider another viewpoint is staggeringly unAmerican.  The truth is we have nothing to fear from any political movement as long as the public is free to discuss it openly and as long as all participants are willing to consider all points of the debate.  The truth will always find the light.

3. What OWS Is REALLY About

So here we are, at the explanation.

OWS isn’t about a bunch of lazy hippies who want to camp in parks.  If only the reason for the protest were that simple I’d have finished this article a few days ago and would be moving on to something else.  While there are a variety of reasons for Occupy Wall Street, it’s mostly about the undue political influence monied interests have in our political process. It’s no secret that politicians thrive from donated money and it’s also no secret that it’s capable of shaping policy. It’s about people taking their voice back. “The 99%”, average, everyday Americans should be the only lobbyists that matter in Washington.

Furthermore – it’s about the conversation that is perpetuating in the halls of power in Washington, whether or not it’s actually related to the above issue. Increasing income disparity in the United States is having an adverse effect on the general welfare of our nation and honest attempts to correct it, and the budget issue we’re facing is being blocked by misinformed people who are flying every possible argument directly in the face of reason.

It’s these kind of partisan debates that cause us to realize that the problems we’re facing now aren’t anything new.  We’ve known for years that Social Security was going to have issues.  We knew in 2005 that the ballooning cost of programs over the coming years was going to impact the economy.  But our leaders did nothing.  They continued this continual game of economic chicken in order to not upset anybody which has resulted in the mess we’re in today.

If you look back over the past 50 years or so you’ll see a direct inverse correlation with decreasing top marginal tax rates and the rising of the national debt. You’ll notice a particular spike during the Regan years where they cut the top marginal rate in half, which at the time had a direct impact on the economy from a Keynesian perspective as it injected more money into the system.  The object of the cuts were predicated on the concept of the Laffer curve, which states that decreasing marginal tax rates can increase the amount of overall revenue collected by the government.  George W. Bush also cut the top marginal rates which was supposed to have a similar effect, but in turn alongside other policies has led to the deepest deficits in history.

Now, while increasing the top marginal tax rate back to what it was during the Regan years wouldn’t solve the problem – it’s frustrating to the majority of Americans that it’s not even allowed on the table. In reality – most wealthy people earn their money through capital gains, which means the majority of their income is only subject to a 15% tax which is completely asinine.  It’s under this system that a multi-billionaire pays less in taxes as a percentage of income than his or her secretary making $60,000 a year.

The government is saying that we all need to pitch in – OWS asks, why? Because of inflation the common working people were better off in 1970 than they are now and the wealthiest are doing better than they ever have. So why should we sacrifice? The decreasing marginal utility of currency states that a dollar has more use for us than for them anyway. Those extra few dollars mean the difference between getting to work and eating dinner for some people in the lower income brackets. We aren’t beholden to the wealthy as “job creators”. I say – give me a tax break and I’ll put some of my ideas to work. The rich already own everything anyway. I thought we needed actual competition?

4. Conclusion

So here we are looking for a better way forward.  We’re in the streets reminding our leaders that this government is ours and not the play-thing of them and their rich friends.  We’re not out there looking for a handout – we’re looking for a seat at the table.  But not just one seat – we’re looking at the majority of the seats considering that we ARE the 99% and represent a majority of the taxpayers in this nation.  It’s our voices that need to be heard. That is our mission.

What we don’t need, is a group of ignorant individuals who have no vested interest in this debate badmouthing the movement from the sidelines.  If you’d like to be included, read a little bit about the political system first.  Even research this movement before you regurgitate a blanket statement onto all of us.  Some of us might be hippies; some of us might be poor; some of might be jobless, homeless, or maybe just the opposite.  Some of us might have started out at 14 years old, swinging a hammer for his father’s construction company working full time every summer before suddenly moving to Pittsburgh over the course of a weekend.  Some of us might have made that move and put ourselves through college earning a 3.3 GPA while taking a full course load AND working 50 hour weeks.  Some of us might be currently working a full time job, while working on starting a small business on the side as well as taking the time to write 10 page political essays for the benefit of his friends while working on getting into law school.  But the truth is that none of that is important.  What’s important is that we’re all outside – together – fighting for the same thing.  E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, One.  Our dream is the American Dream, and while it has gotten dim, it’s not going to die on our generation’s watch.

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Citizens Intervention Statement for the Enough is Enough Rally // October 29th, 2011

by Thomas Dufour Posted on October 29, 2011

First of all I’d like to take a moment to openly recognize the individuals injured in Oakland, California and to extend a special message to the police officer who tossed a flash-bang grenade at the protesters trying to give aid to a fallen friend; or to any officer who feels he has the right to intimidate or harm the citizens he is supposed to protect:  When you’re done being tough, take a look down at your badge.  That badge is a gift from us, the people.  That badge is a symbol of our submission to your authority. It’s a trust given to a select few, to look out for our greater good and to protect not just some citizens, but all citizens, even the ones you politically disagree with.  That’s your job, sir — and while you hopefully feel remorseful or regretful of your actions, you’ve broken that trust and I sincerely hope that justice is served and you’re never granted that trust by your neighbors again.  But conversely – to any protester who feels the need to hurl insults, provoke animosity, or to engage in any other action against the police which endangers the well being of those around him or her — there’s no place for that type of behavior and I personally discourage it because whether those officers realize it or not – they too are part of the 99%.

I love my country – that’s why I’m here – and it goes without saying that as a nation, we’re angry.  That’s why we’re here today – and it doesn’t take much to realize that the people who oppose us, and oppose the Occupation movement around the country are angry too – some for similar reasons, some for much different.  However, it should also go without saying that we’re a nation built upon discontent.  America was born of rebellion and the heart of that rebellion – the pursuit of happiness and the constant desire to improve our lives and improve our union was enshrined in our founding documents.   I think that’s part of why we’re angry and I know that’s why we’re here today..

Thomas Jefferson wrote to John Adams in 1813 that “there is a natural aristocracy among men.” and he believed that the grounds of that natural aristocracy were “virtue and talents”.  He also wrote that he believed there was an “artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents.”  He continued by saying that he considered “The natural aristocracy [as] the most precious gift of nature for the instruction, the trusts, and government of society.” He continued, “May we not even say that that form of government is the best which provides the most effectually for a pure selection of these natural aristoi into the offices of government? The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provision should be made to prevent it’s ascendancy.” Jefferson believed that if left to themselves the people would regulate the artificial aristocracy’s ascendancy on their own.  But the dysfunction and corruption in Washington has affected my life because I sincerely believe that we’re treading a course which will end with it being much harder for that natural aristocracy to come to power.

When we look around, what do we see in our political discourse?  Adamant opposition to raising taxes on the most affluent among us, talks of repealing the estate tax, the elimination of social security, reducing funding for education at all levels, cuts in funding for libraries, meanwhile we have corporations who can swindle their way out of paying most of their taxes, systemically important financial institutions who can socialize their risk and privatize their gains, companies making huge layoffs while rewarding their executives with lavish bonuses which negate the savings made by the reduction in employees, oil companies which are once again reporting record profits, and billionaires who pay less in taxes as a percentage of their income than their secretaries. Meanwhile, regardless of the increases in productivity – real wages have stagnated and prices are rising for the average consumer: college is more expensive, food is more expensive, gasoline is more expensive – when I moved from my parents house in Toledo, Ohio to Pittsburgh in 2005, gas was $2.20 a gallon and the tolls to get from Pittsburgh to Toledo and back to Pittsburgh were $17 round trip.  Six years later, gas is $3.50 a gallon and tolls for that same trip are around $30 depending on which way you go.  That’s a 43% increase in gas prices and a 76% increase in tolls in six years which means that seeing my mom and dad is reserved for special occasions.  But I put that off for tonight.  I could have made that familiar four hour drive to Toledo instead of joining you all in our nation’s capitol but tonight, I felt that my voice needed to be heard.  Not just for my own peace of mind, but for all of our parents who rely on their social security checks to get by.  I came tonight for everyone trying to put their children through college.  For the unemployed who can’t find a job and for the under employed who work several jobs just to keep up with their bills.

People oppose us because they say we’re looking for a hand out.  We aren’t.  We’re fighting for our country to have a rational domestic economic policy.  We’re fighting our country to recognize the diminishing marginal utility of money and for it to understand that a flat tax which burdens the poor while relieving the rich isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.  We’re standing in solidarity with our friends camping in city parks tonight because we too agree that too big to fail institutions are an insult to any society that calls itself capitalistic.  We’re not against the wealthy – I’d say we all in our own way hope to be someday too.  But what we’re against is this presumption of infallibility that the wealthy will always make correct and beneficial decisions for society based on their past success.  We want to make our own opportunities.  We don’t want to be beholden to the wealthy as “job creators” in a neo-feudalistic sort of way.  Following our current path of catering to the wealthy interests in our nation would firmly establish an artificial monetary aristocracy in the United States.  Following Thomas Jefferson’s advice, I’m here to say “Enough is Enough” and let’s work on stopping this together.

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American Aristocracy and the Return to Prosperity

by Thomas Dufour Posted on August 8, 2011

For too long I feel I have laid my passions dormant. I have often taken the quieter route in my activism solely out of my distaste for partisanship and the animosity politics generally brings to what would normally be friendly conversation. But after a long train of abuses upon myself, my friends, neighbors, loved ones and my country has derailed any hope for my peaceful continuance as a “click activist”, I feel the time has finally come for me to stand up and take a more active role in my country’s future – not just for myself, but for all of those I have mentioned above.

Tom Paine comes to mind as I’m writing this, and while I’ll spare you all the over dramatization of a paraphrased cliché from one of his works, I will entice you all to relate to the absolute frustration we must mutually feel to be represented by a government that no longer can conceivably represent our economic interests as human beings.

For too long now we have watched as the bickering and name calling have reached a fever pitch. We have watched as media organizations and their respective extremists on either side have pitched their tents and set up camp on their lists of respective opposing issues. But more importantly, we’ve watched a void develop in the bosom of America. A void comprised of citizens who only demand what any other rational human would demand from his or her government: The right to live in peace, the right to better ourselves and our families and the right to live as long and as healthy and prosperous lives as we possibly can in happiness. These cornerstones of government are not new and since the dawn of time, mankind has coalesced into tribes to ensure these ends. It is only recently that this institution has been destroyed in America and I believe that we’re seeing the fallout first hand.

The foundations of our natural aristocracy have been broken by the theory that those who have can produce better than those who have not. The ladders of prosperity have been shattered by the theory that common laborers do not have the right to petition their employers for a better workplace or for better wages. Our public education system is routinely decimated by the theory that you can streamline the duties of an educator down to what effectively becomes a button pressing job while taking away the kind of innovation and creativity that would allow educators to effectively do their jobs. We’ve been goaded into believing that deregulating the marketplace would bring some kind of prosperity to our lives – that loosening environmental restrictions would somehow improve our lot in life. Instead we’re faced with the fallout of a decimated economy while the few in power walked away with millions never to be seen again while we, the people, are left to piece back together what is left of our 401ks and investment portfolios.

Then to be insulted when we ask for small sacrifices in return so we can continue on the work of our society! We’re called communists and Marxists – unpatriotic and lazy. How soon people forget that it wasn’t just the bankers who built our great cities but the Steelworkers who toiled day after day to give the bankers their skyscrapers from which to spit on the world. There is a marketed thought that they should have more money and more influence so that they may provide for us! We are told it is them who we should be beholden to and that it is their lineage who we should look to for our daily bread and butter. It is therefore that we are left to their “generosity” and are reduced to nothing more than what they would consider parasites leeching off their own personal gain no matter which way you approach the topic.

But it is not that way and it was never intended to be so. Our country as illustrated by Jefferson and Adams was meant to be ruled by a class of our best and brightest from all levels of society – not just a class of wealthy elites the way that Great Britain was. America was meant to be different and in being different we were supposed to be better. We were never meant to rely on concentrated wealth and power – we were made to be suspicious of it and to pursue in our own ends the life and liberty which was afforded to us by our united sacrifice in the peace that our sacrifice provided.

We are made better by our virtue and talent and through that we deserve all of the opportunity it brings us per our overall utility to society. So should it not be societies end to ensure the development of those talents and virtues? Should we not be engaging our youth to become the future leaders of our nation and the world? It seems we have shifted our focus from one of hope to one of narrow possibility. So long as a child is able to work upon graduation he or she is deemed a success to society and in that we are failing ourselves and our nation. Not only are we robbing our children blind of the opportunity to reach their potential by underfunding and destroying our education system but we are also adding insult to injury by enslaving these children in poverty by removing any means for them to organize for their own benefit.

It’s time to take a stand and demand that our government organize itself to represent the interests of the people that it was created to represent. Let’s remove all outside influence and develop a congress which represents the best ideas, not the best funded. Let’s build a nation and not just a place known for unquenchable greed. Let’s take further steps not to create endless loopholes which absolve the wealthy from their obligations to our laws and where justice, truly means justice.

It’s all within reach ladies and gentlemen, I believe we can be there together but it will never come easy. We must work at it day by day. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. America needs us and it’s certainly not time to turn our backs on her.

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