SFalex's Blog

SFalex Commented on Advice For Partisans: Question Your Own Talking Points by Steve Sailer

2009-04-23T23:01:35Z

i'm going to guess mr. sailer is trying to be provocative here so i'll cut him some slack. but it should be noted that since the late 70's CA fiscal policy has effectively been run by Republicans regardless of who controlled the Leg or the Governors' office.

Consider that it takes a simple majority to cut taxes (and services) while it takes 2/3 to maintain 'em. Add to that a generation of anti-tax fever, an electorate that is older and whiter than the rest of the population, a crazy ass prison-industrial complex that sucks up revenue, and the baseline public sector disinvestment brought on by prop. 13 and you have a pretty good answer of why the golden state has a whole lot of tarnish on it.

As for San Francisco, it's been my understanding that the high proportion of private school attending kids has been fairly constant over time. Our biggest problem these days is the massive disconnect between wages for the great portion of the population and the cost of housing. We've done some things to help with the former, but the latter is a very tough nut to crack in a mostly built out city of 47 sq. miles.

SFalex Commented on Political Cover from Greenspan by Jon Taplin

2009-02-18T05:36:18Z

now that's bipartisanship i can believe in.

SFalex Commented on The Coalition for Mass Transit by Nathan Newman

2009-01-04T04:04:55Z

i'm disappointed in the lack of substantive discussion about the main points nathan's made, which is the economic linkages from urban transit development yield a higher economic multiplier than road construction. i believe the good folks at good jobs first (www.goodjobs.org) looked into this some time ago and came away with the conclusion that building transit and repairing existing urban transportation infrastructure yields a better ripple effects than building new roads on the urban fringe. an important point made in the GFJ study was that the urban transportation infrastructure also reinforced the dynamics that yield political benefits for democrats - density, diversity, and broader distribution of economic benefits.

this actually leaves me with the question of where the building trades unions - both in the AFL_CIO building trades department and in change to win - are in this discussion. this is all the more important since labor would ostensibly be able to amplify the call for urban investment. the trades would have a particularly important role since the development that would occur in these urban areas once we begin to climb out of recession would have a much higher propensity to be built under union conditions.

SFalex Commented on Terrorist Circles by Bernard Avishai

2008-12-02T19:04:59Z

i have little doubt that obama understands this. i just read dreams from my father and he speaks to these concentric circles - not in the context of terrorism, but personal identity and community. i can't say enough how lucky we are to have such an introspective complex leader taking charge as we enter these very turbulent waters.

SFalex Commented on Card Check is More Democratic than NLRB Elections by Nathan Newman

2008-11-13T19:51:15Z

the point i made in my post is not that card check is bad in principle or that the bosses are in any way concerned about their workers.

rather it is pointing out the fact that the bosses have a very attractive argument that taps into how we think of ourselves and elections and forces us to explain why they're the actual stalinists. as they say, if you're explaining you're losing.

SFalex recommended Employee Free Choice Act and Americans' Conception of Themselves by SFalex

2008-11-12T21:15:42Z

SFalex recommended Two thoughts on the unfolding Clinton campaign by SFalex

2008-03-06T23:07:42Z