This weekend's Israeli papers are almost single-issue editions, but over there it's all about Israel-Syria, war or peace, not Paris Hilton. The Israeli daily Ma'ariv has a poll showing 84 percent of Israelis oppose a total withdrawal from the Golan (though it split almost 50 - 50 on a partial withdrawal). Ma'ariv's lead opinion writer, Dan Margalit calls on Prime Minister Olmert to form a cross-party national advisory council to manage the Syria file and to build a broad consensus for a peace deal. Haaretz' lead analysis piece by Amir Oren discusses a countdown to war, and how it might still be avoided. And in Israel's bestselling daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, Romem Bergman presents a lengthy, detailed and highly informative history of all the past Israeli-Syrian negotiations -- under Rabin, Netanyahu, and Barak.

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I make a concerted effort not to know anything about Paris Hilton's life, but MSNBC and CNN run all day in front of me so for the last two days I haven't had much of a choice. And let me tell you, it's been a roller coaster of emotion. I found myself genuinely outraged yesterday at her release. I could tolerate it when she just embodied a crass element in our culture that admires, or is at least entertained by, blatant disregard for any form of personal or social responsibility. But this was just too much.

Luckily, there is justice in this crazy world, my friends. Paris is heading back to jail. And hopefully I can once again ignore her.

I have really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with you in the TPM community this week about the Farm Bill, and even more so to hear back from you on what you think federal food and farm policy should look like for the 21st century.

All of us on Capitol Hill work for you, a fact that we remind ourselves of every day. Like any good employee, we want to – we need to – hear back from you, our employer, to tell us how you think we’re doing, where you think we need to improve, what direction you think we should be taking.

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Bill Gates delivered a generally terrific speech at Harvard yesterday in which he focused on “the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.” He also said, “Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequality is the highest human achievement.” Right on, Bill!

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So far this week I’ve tried to focus primarily on the “why” and the “what” of reforming this year’s Farm Bill. (You can learn more over at FoodandFarmBillofRights.com, where you can also sign a petition in favor of reforming the Farm Bill.) Today I’d like to delve a little deeper into the “how.”

Last month as a part of my effort to help move forward the cause of reforming federal farm policy I introduced a measure in Congress, H.R.2364: The Local Food and Farm Act. Joining me in this effort were some of the new freshman members who helped us secure the majority last fall – Reps. Nancy Boyda of Kansas, Steve Kagen of Wisconsin and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York – as well as some of my other good friends in the Democratic caucus like Jan Schakowsky and Bobby Rush of Illinois, Tom Allen of Maine and Donald Payne of New Jersey. (You can see the whole list of co-sponsors over at Thomas.)

The primary function of this legislation is to promote the health and well being of all Americans – particularly school-age children and residents of underserved communities – while also protecting the environment and creating opportunities for local farmers and ranchers.

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For the past six years I have spent way too much time reading right-wing blogs. I am interested in how those people think.

And the main thing I learned is that their consistent approach to any and all negative information about President Bush and his people is to blame the media and general bias against Republicans.

Never, and I mean never, do you find a right-winger who admits that their guy did anything wrong. It's always the messenger's fault. Shoot the bastard!

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Senator Dianne Feinstein has demonstrated leadership in promoting a praiseworthy new sense of the Senate Resolution regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The Resolution has not yet been introduced, but you can see an advance copy of the text here, and Senators Dodd, Hagel, and Lugar are all on board already. Other Senators should be encouraged to sign on to the Resolution while Senator Feinstein should be praised, and here's why.

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The House Agriculture subcommittee that deals with specialty crops, rural development and foreign agriculture is scheduled mark up the sugar program soon. Almost nothing more forcefully symbolizes the challenge to reform the 2007 Farm Bill than the decision that has been made by the committee leadership to just extend the current program for the next five years.

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Bradley Schlozman earned a reputation as something of a ‘vote fraud’ wrecking ball during his tenure as head of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and later as an interim U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Missouri. But when Schlozman went to Capitol Hill Tuesday to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the wrecking ball ran into a buzzsaw, and the result… was a train wreck.

We give you the highlights, or lowlights, in today’s episode of TPMtv.

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Just in case you missed it, here's Jessica, summarizing feminism and charming Colbert--five minutes to make you proud to be a feminist.

From time to time, members of Congress chastize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over the agency's failure to police filth on our airwaves.

Perhaps the vigilant legislators should take a look at a new venue -- the FCC Web site. What they find would amaze them.

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Barak Obama has a big-picture foreign policy piece in this month's Foreign Affairs, building on his Chicago Council on Global Affairs speech of April 23. When it comes to the Middle East Obama has an encouraging message, especially for those of us who dwell on the region. It is still short on detail, but he is thoughtfully staking out a position that is beginning to build a sound intellectual edifice that confronts the Neocons. And he is overcoming some of the timidity that has characterized Democrat Middle East musings since 9/11.

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Nearly half (48%) of all Americans are worried about debt, says a new survey from Lending Tree. One in five (20%) said they expect to be in debt with credit cards, medical debts and other non-mortgage obligations for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, Ben Bernake is quoted today as "upbeat" about the American economy.

Is this the new steady-state in America? Half of us worried about debt, and one in four seeing no chance of ever getting out of debt? If this is the American experience in the midst of upbeat economic news, does it mean a permanent realignment of American expectations?

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Today, Matt Yglesias made a lively case against mandates requiring that all Americans buy health insurance. Yesterday, Len Nichols offered a well-reasoned case for mandates.

All I can say is that, like virtually every component of health care reform, mandates are more complicated than they appear at first glance.

On the one hand, ultimately we do need to require that everyone sign up for comprehensive health insurance. But if we mandate insurance, we must be certain working families can afford it. This means providing subsidies-- and given differences in cost of living around the country, this could prove complicated. Should a family earning $50,000 a year in Alabama receive the same subsidy as a family in Boston, where housing costs are so much higher? On the other hand, would a senator from Alabama be willing to see families in Boston receive subsidies that are significantly higher?

Obama argues that he wants to wait and see whether the subsidies are sufficient before mandating care. (I would prefer to mandate care for any individual earning over, say, $50,000 —and then see whether the subsidies are high enough to make insurance affordable for the working poor. Nevertheless, I respect the argument that setting subsidies will be messy—and involve some trial and error.)

This is what I am sure about:

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As I said in my first post, rather than going through the comment section and responding one-by-one, I'm going to respond here on the blog instead. I'll try to get to as many of your comments and questions as possible -- and please feel free to leave more comments on this thread, on what I've written here, on one of my previous posts, or on my Food and Farm Bill of Rights.

Chance for Reform

Several readers have asked about the chance of success for a more rational farm bill, modeled perhaps on Farm 21 by Representatives Kind and Flake.

I am absolutely convinced that with the groundswell of support there can be significant improvements to the Farm Bill. I am not naïve about the power of vested interests or the difficulties in making changes because of our legislative system. But the winds are blowing in our direction. One posting said we’d be lucky if a quarter of these proposals were enacted. It’s important to realize that the current farm system has been 3/4 of a century in the making and that this bill will sow the seeds of farm and food policy in America for generations to come. We are fighting not just for improvements now, but for sound agriculture policy for this century.

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Thank all of you for your interesting and insightful questions and comments. I will be addressing as many of them as I can over the coming week. But for now, I’d like to touch on a set of questions: Why is a Congressman whose district is not predominantly rural trying to change federal farm policy? What can a Congressman who doesn’t sit on the Agriculture do to affect the Farm Bill? And what can readers do to get involved in the process?

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Note to Alaska Senator Ted Stevens: just because you’re really far away doesn’t mean we can’t see what you’re doing. Stevens, a Republican, is one of the oldest and longest-serving members of the Senate (which might explain his geriatric confusion of the Internet for a “series of tubes”). You might also remember him generally as one of Washington’s most renowned pork-meisters. But Stevens is also moving closer and closer to a major corruption scandal in the state of Alaska, and that’s what we want to catch you up on in today’s episode of TPMtv.

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This afternoon, World Bank President nominee Robert Zoellick departed on a grueling two-week long "global listening tour" to check in with key stakeholders and clients of the Bank.

Zoellick is hitting Africa first -- before Europe. The first trip defines much of the mission. He is going to Ghana, which chairs the Africa Union now. He then goes to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which is the official headquarters of the Africa Union.

Then, Bob Zoellick will travel to South Africa; then up to London, Paris, Berlin, and Oslo.

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I have just come by a lucid, excellent analysis of the recent "formal negotiations" between Iran and the U.S. which took place in Baghdad written by Iran expert and Columbia University/School of International and Public Affairs scholar Gary Sick.

I reprint this analysis with permission, as it is not currently available on the web:

US-Iran Talks, 3 June 2007

by Gary Sick

On Monday [May 28], the United States and Iran sat down together in the office of the Iraqi prime minister in Baghdad to discuss mutual concerns about Iraqi security. It marked a turning point in the hostile but impersonal relations between the two countries that many had feared would turn to war. That has not happened. In case there was any doubt about it, Condoleezza Rice said on Friday that "The president of the United States has made it clear that we are on a course that is a diplomatic course," and she refused to speculate on a military option. Skepticism is still in order, but it is evident that something is happening in US policy. Here is my own take in the form of a Q & A:

Q -- Is this meeting really a big deal?

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Thank you to Josh Marshall and Andrew Golis and the whole TPM community for hosting me this week to talk about an issue of great importance to me and, I believe, to the country and to the whole world: The Farm Bill. Last passed in 2002 and up for reauthorization in 2007, the Farm Bill sets national agriculture policy and provides funding for crop subsidies, conservation, nutrition, rural development, marketing, energy, and agricultural research.

Why devote the time and effort to reform U.S. farm policy, you ask?

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In my last post at Table for One, I want to shift from the argument I’ve been making about facts being crucial to progressive political strategy and from my attempt to put this belief into practice. Instead, I will close with some thoughts on the importance of empiricism to progressive policy.

I believe that—note, dear critical commenters, that I’m asserting an opinion here, not backing it up with facts—most differences between New Democrats and other progressives have to do with disagreement about the political climate and the strategic differences that follow from these alternative outlooks.

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Problems arising from immigration cannot be solved by a solely domestic agenda. The debate is back in the headlines as Congress tries once again to reach some consensus on reform (it even spilled over into the Miss Universe beauty pageant!). In Chris Robertson’s recent post, he correctly describes the diverging issues between low-income immigration and the growing trend of outsourced and imported skilled labor. The problem for middle class American workers is the increasing number of professionals abroad who are willing to do comparable work for less pay. American labor, so the story goes, is no longer competitive in the growing marker. As Robertson points out, part of this is due to a lack of trained professionals (especially in science-related fields) available in America. Yet education alone cannot address the wage disparities between Americans and workers in developing countries –not when the costs of living in developing countries is so much lower than it is in America. That fact is that without addressing problems in the global market, skilled immigration and outsourcing will continue to put pressure on middle class opportunities in America.

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I’m racing against the clock. TPM café is closing at midnight and I’ve got a lot to say and I want to say it. There may be more people reading this stuff than if I had the lead article in the American Economic Review – something I know is never going to happen. That makes this too good an opportunity to miss. Somehow or other the mainstream of the economics profession is temporarily outflanked by this weird “internet” stuff.

At the same time I’m dealing with Brad DeLong, who is a heavyweight in the style of Muhammad Ali - “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”. He jabs straight and hard with references to the early Keynes, feints with what looks like a Jim Tobin upper-cut, and effortlessly pulls a rope-a-dope with references to Marx. I know I’ve got to be careful, but I’m feeling pretty good. I studied Keynes at Oxford and Yale. DeLong studied at Harvard.

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Dani Rodrik is a brilliant progressive neo-classical economist and he has made a very constructive sideline contribution to this TPM Cafe.discussion from his blog page at Harvard University. In a post titled “If you are a progressive, you’ve got to love neo-classical economics” he expands on arguments made by Brad DeLong in his post “It’s different for Lefties and Righties”. The essence of Rodrik’s position seems to be that neo-classical economics provides a rigorous framework for studying economics, and therefore you’ve got to love it and do it.

I may be wrong, but to me that is a little bit like saying poodles are dogs, and therefore all dogs are poodles. I don’t buy that logic.

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This week, I couldn’t join 500 fellow economists at the very hip International Confederation of Associations for Pluralism in Economics, convening now in Salt Lake City. I was at the ultra-hip Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, hosting a fine two-day conference on “War and Poverty; Peace and Prosperity” of the you-can’t-get-more-hip-than Economists for Peace and Security. All heterodox economists should join ICAPE. All who care for peace and security, whether heterodox or otherwise, should join EPS.

While there, I learned that my 94-year old mother, Catherine Galbraith, known to all who love her as Kitty, had fractured her... hip. Seriously, I’m not making this up. Since quite a few readers here will have met her, let me report that she now has a new hip. And, being an exceptionally resilient person, she is coming along very well, under the circumstances.

I flew from Cambridge yesterday to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where today I delivered the first annual John Kenneth Galbraith Lecture at the Canadian Economics Association, sponsored by its Progressive Economics Forum. The lecture touched on many themes of this debate. And so I thought that with the permission of the organizers it might be useful to post it here. I do so with great thanks to them, and to all the participants in this discussion so far.

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I've found the 'Mafia' debate about economic theory and method, especially the back-and-forth between professors DeLong and Galbraith, to be highly informative, interesting, and entertaining. Most of it, however, has been a gigantic diversion from the original subject, which was not economics, but economists. More specifically, the economists who control the elite university departments and by extension, the profession.

Brad is often* magnanimous in engaging competing arguments about economic theory and public policy. But he is clear about what he takes to be his professional oblgation:

"MIT Keynesianism (DeLong's school. -- mbs) does not claim that East Anglian Keynesianism is not "Keynesianism." (It claims that it is a sterile research program, that pursuing its line of research is harmful to graduate students' intellectual development, and that its model-building practices lead to fuzzy thinking, but it doesn't excommunicate East Anglian Keynesianism.)"

The final "doesn't excommunicate" in this context means precisely nothing. No religious procedures are in question. The duty of orthodoxy is clear: deny departmental positions and resources to inferior research programs and purify the top journals of incorrect thinking, all understood as maintaining high standards. After you deny them professional positions, standing, resources, and exposure, the only thing worse that could be done is to commit errant economists to mental institutions.

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I've found the 'Mafia' debate about economic theory and method, especially the back-and-forth between professors DeLong and Galbraith, to be highly informative, interesting, and entertaining. Most of it, however, has been a gigantic diversion from the original subject, which was not economics, but economists. More specifically, the economists who control the elite university departments and by extension, the profession.

Brad is often* magnanimous in engaging competing arguments about economic theory and public policy. But he is clear about what he takes to be his professional oblgation:

"MIT Keynesianism (DeLong's school. -- mbs) does not claim that East Anglian Keynesianism is not "Keynesianism." (It claims that it is a sterile research program, that pursuing its line of research is harmful to graduate students' intellectual development, and that its model-building practices lead to fuzzy thinking, but it doesn't excommunicate East Anglian Keynesianism.)"

The final "doesn't excommunicate" in this context means precisely nothing. No religious procedures are in question. The duty of orthodoxy is clear: deny departmental positions and resources to inferior research programs and purify the top journals of incorrect thinking, all understood as maintaining high standards. After you deny them professional positions, standing, resources, and exposure, the only thing worse that could be done is to commit errant economists to mental institutions.

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A college diploma has become the necessary-but-not-sufficient ticket to the middle class.  But the cost is up (in-state tuition and fees have increased by 35% in just five years--inflation adjusted) and grant aid hasn't picked up the difference. That combination pushes hundreds of thousands of students deep into debt to get their chance at the middle class. 

Any notion that the student loan industry works for students and their families vanished in the scandals over lenders' giving money to college loan officials to steer business their way.  Now education policy specialist Bob Shireman exposes another ugly side of the student loan industry:  Leaked documents show what the private student loan businesses have been squeezing out of Congress.  Unwilling to settle for lending money in a competitive market, the student loan companies have lobbied Congress for a special one-two punch--guarantees if student borrowers default on their loans and special exceptions to make the loans bankruptcy-proof. 

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This has been a very constructive conversation, thought-provoking to say the least. I won't join in the contest to quote from Keynes, but do happen to have been reading at the same time Thomas McCraw's biography of Joseph Schumpeter, and came across the following quotation in it (from the preface to his first book, 'The Nature and Content of Theoretical Economics'): "People can have opinions on the value of general discussions of questions of method.....but to work on problems, not so many methodological principles are needed as there might seem. Rather, discussions of them are a sign of unfruitfulness concerning concrete achievements."

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