Sunday Open Thread: Policy Summit Reflections

by: Christine

Sun May 17, 2009 at 06:43:01 AM EDT

I didn't go yesterday, for two reasons.  One, I am burned out on Detroit, having spent a good part of the last couple years working down there.  I just don't want to go down there unless I have to.  Two, I just had surgery (milking that for all I can, btw) and I'm pretty sure that the drive + the long day + all the hustle & bustle would've been too much.  I might have given it a try if it had been closer to home, but ultimately the better decision was to stay home.

So I kept up with everyone on Twitter & the open threads, and as I followed the specifics of the keynotes and the special sessions, it occurred to me that this kind of information was not the only value in the summit.  In fact there are very few specific policy bits that I carry with me from 2008.  A year after my summit experience, here are the pieces that remain:

1. Amy Goodman.  I had previously written off Amy Goodman because I only knew her from Democracy Now!  And she is so boring to me on DN that (in the words of Lewis Black), after listening to DN for two minutes, I'm not sure I have enough breadcrumbs to get home.  But she is an awesome live speaker.  Amazing.  And while I only remember a few fragments of her speech ("what if we do it the American way?"), I remember the feeling of discovering a new thought leader.   It was a joy.


2. Jim Hightower.  I had heard of him, but nothing much.  At the summit, he told the truth and he made me laugh.   I think I am in love with him.


3. Rosemary, Lois Gibbons, Scotty Urb, and the handful of others who I had never met in person prior to that day.  Two of my favorite moments ...

   First:  being my usual dense self, I attempted to enter the building through the wrong door.  It was locked.  Someone had to open it for me from the inside.  Turns out that 'someone' was Rosemary, collecting signatures for Bob Alexander.  That was awesome.  Not the wrong door part, but the fact that it was Rosemary who was there to let me in.  It was wicked cool to meet her.  

   Second:  being my usual dense self, when Lois Gibbons mentioned that she learned about financial literacy & discipline from the experiences with her daughter, I LOL'd because I envisioned the little liberal running around with a credit card.  Literally, laughed out loud.  Turns out mama was talking about medical bills.  Something that decent people don't LOL about.  Sigh.



4. Spending time with DJ, Wizardkitten, Kathy, Cordelia, etc.  I don't get to see the BFM people very often.  I value the time I get with them.


5. Terry Bankert.  Terry is one of those people who I had seen online a bunch of times.  Always stuck to his guns, always used his real name, and did so while making a living in the town where the things he talks about take place.  Terry runs an activist mailing list, he has a radio show and an Internet show, he blogs, and he participates in forums.  He stands up for what he believes in, and in return for his work as an activist, he has never asked for anything from anybody.   I always had a lot of respect for that and am grateful for the example that he sets for others.  

   I remember trying to explain to someone why it was so cool to finally meet Terry, and when I couldn't come up with any big shiny "WOW," I ended up saying something assy like, "he is the Genesee County version of me."  Then I spent the next few minutes in a painful attempt to explain that I did not mean to suggest that I was some kind of awesome, but that I felt that I had found a kindred spirit in this man, and that's a rare thing for me.  And at some point while I was stuck in TMI, I realized that the only thing I could do to save myself was to stop talking.  Kind of like now.  

   When Terry signs off, as he certainly has good reason to do after all this time, it is definitely our loss.  The sun is setting, at least for a while, on a very good thing.

   Terry, it's been an honor to have you at BFM.

So that's it.  I remember a lot of other things from the summit, but these are the things that have meant the most.   To the folks who were able to attend the summit yesterday, I humbly offer my hope that your lives are as enriched by your experience yesterday, as mine was last year.

(above pics are from WK's flickr set here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/w...

Price of Economic Ignorance

by: allisonrockey

Sat May 16, 2009 at 15:29:32 PM EDT

Unfortunately, I fear our country will be paying a high price for a vary long time, for lacking the basic understanding of how this crisis came to be. I mean I love that classic quote, "Those who forget their history are bound to repeat it."  We have no hope of remembering our mistakes if we don't at least try to understand them now.  

Thankfully in walks Dean Baker to the rescue. Dean is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC and was the Keynote Speaker at the Michigan Policy Summit in Detroit.  

Dean offered clear, concise answers to why we find ourselves in this mess, and as he said, why it shouldn't have taken a super sleuth to see this coming.  The truth is many people did see it coming, they simply were not heard, or were not motivated to do anything about it.  

The housing bubble is one of two primary conditions to blame for economic crisis. So how did we get here and why did it happen?  

The housing boom spurred economic growth through such means as the tremendous increase in housing construction, as well as the wealth people obtained by borrowing against their overvalued homes.  

As housing values continued to climb (tripling in some areas such as DC) understandably people began putting less into their 401(k)s as their retirement seemed assured in the value of their home.  

The problem was this wealth was not real, economists knew these inflated values were not sustainable, and yet the public was not properly educated.  

While this was happening the US had another critical flaw. We were not exporting enough American goods.  A contributing factor to this situation was the overvalued US dollar. The effect of an inflated US dollar, is the same as if we had tariff on all of our exports. Our products were too expensive to the rest of the world, and their products were a bargain for us, and Americans do love a deal!  

Simultaneously, the housing bubble was able to continue for so long because of creative financing on behalf of the banks. This short cited policy virtually guaranteed a collapse of our financial system.  

Dean offered some wonderful solutions, and opportunities that this crisis presents for us, but I don't want to go there yet.  For now I want to focus on understanding how we got here so that I can know our history, before I even think about forgetting it...  

MI Policy Summit: Seeing Opportunity in Crisis

by: allisonrockey

Sat May 16, 2009 at 11:29:22 AM EDT

After a very thoughtful, intellectual, and clearly articulated Keynote Address by Dean Baker on Economic Policy, I thought it couldn't get any better. He spoke to us about the problems we face and the challenges to come, but also the great possibilities that present themselves in this time of economic crisis. The symbolism of listening to these ideas in the city of Detroit, of all places, is outstanding.

And then for a brief few moments I was taken out of my head, and felt my heart open so wide, as Grace Lee Boggs was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.  

The very woman who on Bill Moyers Journal spoke these words,

"The struggle we're dealing with these days, which, I think, is part of what the 60s represented, is how do we define our humanity?"

At 91, Grace Lee Boggs has been a part of almost every major movement in the United States in the last 75 years, including: Labor, Civil Rights, Black Power, Women's Rights and Environmental Justice.  (Bill Moyers Journal)

Grace's eloquent words also spoke to the opportunities we have, not just as a country but the opportunity for humanity to transform and to create a new meaning for what is means to be human. Grace hopes that we don't just work for a higher standard of living, but for a higher quality of life for all people, greater connections and embrace of humanity.

Grace spoke of the opportunity to grow our souls.  She spoke of soul as a verb, a way of acting in the world, not a substance within oneself.

How is the economic downturn and the crises you are facing helping to grow your soul?

Grace wrote in her recent article for the Michigan Citizen,

"Healing our society will require the patient work not primarily of judges but of artists, ministers, gardeners, workers, families, women, communities. It will require the creation of new forms of Governance, Work and Education that are much more participatory and democratic than those collapsing all around us. It will require enlarging our vision, decolonizing our imaginations."

Grace is calling on all of us to act, not just for sake of Detroit, or Michigan, or America, but for sake of humanity.  I get the impression no one says "no" to Grace.