If experience has taught you that cynicism is the only healthy response to the dysfunction of our government, Robert Reich has something to say to you: “We have got to get beyond cynicism, we have got to get beyond outrage, and we have got to mobilize, organize, on an ongoing basis. And it can be done!”

Beyond Outrage, by the way, is the title of Reich’s new eBook, in which he points a way out of the current economic and political mess. He speaks from a rich experience of service at the highest levels of government and academia. But it is significant that, having served in three national administrations and written more than twelve books and countless articles, he chose to join the faculty of UC Berkeley. Here he continues to teach and write to an audience that is not lost to cynicism and still has plenty of outrage—the student population of America.

An April 18 interview with Jon Stewart gave him an effective platform for sharing his ideas of what is wrong with America—and how it can be fixed. Reich believes that a tax structure that favors the rich and the use of wealth to influence the laws and regulations of the country are central to the problem. He warns of dire results: “Who is representing us? If we don’t take back our democracy from the special interests, if we don’t have an economy that is working for all of us, eventually there will be a third party.”

Two examples he gave were the Supreme Court’s decision on “Citizens United” and the recent passage of the STOCK Act, stripped of crucial provisions that would have outlawed our legislators from profiting from providing insider information.

Reich noted, “A lot of people think, ‘I can’t do anything. I am powerless. I am (just an) individual. A pox on all their houses! I hate politics! I don’t want to go near it!’ That kind of cynicism actually rewards the big money interests. (They think) ‘Now we can completely take over.’”

He continued, “The problem is that in the financial sector or the big corporations, they are the ones who are sending so many lobbyists into Washington that it is impossible for Washington to function in the way you want Washington to function.”

Reich stated that, historically, when corruption in government and the public sector got to a certain point, the public rose up and demanded change. And he believes it can happen again. To that end he is chairman of a citizens’ group, “Common Cause,” a non-partisan advocacy group devoted, among other things, to getting money out of politics. “It hasn’t succeeded yet, Reich admits, “but we’re working on it.”

And that pretty well describes Robert Reich’s determination to keep working and speaking out against the craziness and corruption in Washington. “You can send good people to Washington, but nothing good will happen unless good people outside Washington are mobilized, energized and organized.”

This explains Reich’s presence and participation in teach-ins at the scene of Occupy demonstrations. He affirms, “Do not underestimate the power of citizens when they are riled up!”

What can you do—you are only one person? True, but you are only “six degrees of separation,” on average, from any other person on Earth. You become powerful when you share information with your friends and ask them to share it with their friends—it becomes a global revolution. As Stephen King suggests in The Long Walk, when these “society-supported sociopaths” come, step aside, and find the strength to run…

President Obama has signed the STOCK Act, which puts one in mind of the unfortunate comparison between the making of laws and the production of sausage—all the more since “pink slime” is enjoying its 15 minutes of fame. It’s true that much in the bill is good and necessary, but the final version is not what it could have been, not what it ought to be.

Perhaps the worst thing about this legislation is not what it does or does not contain, but what happened to it on its way to the President’s desk. After the widely viewed “60 Minutes” program, the legislation enjoyed instant celebrity, and most of the House members wanted on board. Nevertheless, it was in the House that the most significant skullduggery occurred. It was there that, despite wide bipartisan support for the bill, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor excised the crucial provisions that would have required anyone selling “political intelligence” to register as a lobbyist and make reports of such transactions available to the public. In one stroke the “insider trading bill” lost its teeth.

The Senate version of the bill retained all the provisions of the original House bill, but something happened there out of the public’s view, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid went along with the mangled House version. Oh, if walls could talk! Senator Grassley knew what went on, and it made him angry enough to refuse to sign what he referred to as “political espionage.”

So the STOCK Act has been passed and signed, and our legislators believe it will boost their sagging ratings. The bill, after all, is known as the “Insider Trading Bill,” and that certainly sounds good. The President remarked, “It’s the notion that the powerful shouldn’t get to create one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for everybody else.”

“If we expect that to apply to our biggest corporations and our most successful citizens, it certainly should apply to our elected officials,” Obama said.

The President is right about that. As well as anyone, he knows that the legislation is not perfect. Just before he signed the bill he noted, “I should say that our work isn’t done… We should limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they have the power to impact. We should make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa. These are ideas that should garner bipartisan support.”

Looking back on the long and bumpy ride the STOCK Act has had, it seems apparent that the bipartisan support the President called for will appear in proportion to the public’s insistence on it.

What can you do—you are only one person? True, but you are only “six degrees of separation,” on average, from any other person on Earth. You become powerful when you share information with your friends and ask them to share it with their friends—it becomes a global revolution. As Stephen King suggests in The Long Walk, when these “society-supported sociopaths” come, step aside, and find the strength to run…

President Obama (Official Portrait)

On March 24, 2012, I sent An Open Letter to President Obama.

Since I have not yet gotten a response from the President, I Googled the definition of political intelligence and found a “News Release from Senator Grassley.” which states: “On Tuesday the Republican Majority Leader of the House and the Democrat Majority Leader of the Senate worked together to thwart the will of 60 Senators and 286 Members of Congress.

“First, the Majority Leader in the House said that the definition of political intelligence was so ‘vague’ that he couldn’t possibly figure out how to define it.

“That’s the excuse given for stripping any regulation of it from the STOCK Act. To me, that came as something of a surprise.

“I would like to read Section 7 part b of the version of the STOCK Act that was rammed through the House of Representatives:

“Definition – for purposes of this section, the term ‘political intelligence’ shall mean information that is derived by a person from direct communications with an executive branch employee, a Member of Congress, or an employee of Congress; and provided in exchange for financial compensation to a client who intends, and who is known to intend, to use the information to inform investment decisions.

“That seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it?”

Those are the words of Senator Grassley, and they are easy to understand: The Majority leaders of the House and Senate decided that they did not want to give up the financial compensation from their clients who intend “to use the information to inform investment decisions.”

What is this financial compensation worth to Congress? The emasculated STOCK Act, which has gone to the President for signature, does not outlaw the “$402 million a year political intelligence industry”, one means of congressional enrichment.”

Senator Grassley calls this “unregulated political espionage.”

Mr. President, we are asking you to refuse to sign this bill in its present form and tell the world why you cannot. You can put an end to unregulated political espionage. Stand with Senators Burr, Coburn and Bingaman and Representatives Campbell and Woodall to send this bill back to the Senate for reinsertion of the critical political intelligence language.

________

Footnote: On Wednesday, April 4, 2012, President Obama signed the STOCK Act, although Eric Cantor, under the pretense of providing “further study,” had stripped out the $402 million political intelligence language.

What can you do—you are only one person? True, but you are only “six degrees of separation,” on average, from any other person on Earth. You become powerful when you share information with your friends and ask them to share it with their friends—it becomes a global revolution. As Stephen King suggests in The Long Walk, when these “society-supported sociopaths” come, step aside, and find the strength to run…