Corporate Control

    George Bernard Shaw nailed the concept of corporate greed in his drama "Major Barbara," which first appeared on stage in London in 1905 and then in a movie released in 1942.
   In it, the author described how industrialists profit from warfare and even encourage it as a way of selling more munitions.
   Americans like to think that in a democratic society, voters control how government acts. The conflict is whether voters endorse a liberal political party that favors the general population or a conservative party that says corporations will extend benefits to the general population.
   At least, that's what some corporations say.
   Reality, however, has an odd way of infringing on the stated dreams of what people say they are working for, and compares that to what they actually do.
   There are indeed some corporations that provide extensive benefits to employees both during their work years and in retirement. Other workers depend on government programs such as Social Security pensions to help them during their senior years.
   The problem arises when corporate leaders and their political allies claim they will provide benefits to workers, and this differs from what they actually do provide. Much of this conflict was resolved some 80 years ago when the Democratic government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt installed a variety of benefit programs.
   Some corporations, however, and their right-wing political allies did not approve, and that disapproval continues even as millions of Americans depend increasingly on government-run programs for household welfare.
   So is it possible that these corporations, in the name of free enterprise, want to dismantle government benefit programs -- which rely on corporate as well as personal contributions -- so these contributions can be passed on to shareholders?
   Modern America was built on the belief that free enterprise can be beneficial to all. But if government favors corporate free enterprise over an individual's freedom to choose which program they prefer, then the nation may face a problem.
   Political parties are often based on preferences of their followers, whether these followers be individuals or corporations. This leads to varying popularity of political parties -- sometimes the population favors a liberal party and other times a more conservative group.
   America has seen this variation reflected in major elections for decades. As election season nears its height, this summer will see these opposing viewpoints advertised in campaign messages in increasing frenzy.
   Come November, American voters will show their preferences as they choose representatives for the next two years in Washington as well as in many state elections.
   Historically, many off-season elections such as the one upcoming have seen voters choose to counterbalance White House preferences with those favored by members of the opposition political party.
   That noted, will we see liberal policies favored by Democrats overturned by more conservative action preferred by Republicans?
   Stay tuned.

Patterns

    The first signs of an economic downturn flashed today as the government reported a dip of 1.4 percent in Gross Domestic Product for the first three months of the year.
   Officially, it takes two consecutive fiscal quarters of decline to established an economic recession.
   This is the first sign of an economic downturn to blink at those who watch for such things. The first quarter dip follows a leap of 6.9 percent in the previous three months.
   Some observers had thought we would not see the first decline until the end of June, the second fiscal quarter of this year. But the Federal Reserve Board had already seen signs of an upcoming decline a few weeks ago, when it pushed up interest rates to combat inflation.
   Two weeks ago, this column wrote that "savings rates are rising, encouraging people to reduce spending, especially if prices remain high. Result: Economic decline."
   Savings institutions have already increased their interest rates, which will encourage people to set more money aside as they cut back on spending. The problem here, of course, is that as spending declines, production also dips to follow the drop in demand. And as production declines, income follows.
  The economic Law of Supply and Demand has not been repealed.
  The political implications of all this are that Republicans will blame the current president, Democrat Joe Biden, for the economic woes of the nation. The second fiscal quarter of this year will end in June, and the results will be posted a few weeks later, just as pre-election campaigning is about to start.
   The third quarter, which ends September 30, will also feed Republican zest for things to blame on Democrats, especially if the national economy does not fully recover from its first quarter dip and the second quarter shows another decline. The GOP would thus blame Democrats for an economic recession.
   One result could be that Democrats would lose a few Congressional seats, thus giving Republicans control, and enabling the GOP to promise they will rescue the economy.
   But.
   The GOP has made that promise many times in the past, and most recessions in the past 80 years have hit while a Republican was in the White House and the GOP was strong in Congress.
   The kicker here is that as the GOP blocks any move to boost the economy, they then accuse Democrats of causing a decline, so they can regain political control.
   Can you say, hypocrisy?

   I knew you could.

Rights and Responsibility

    Internet forums enable people to post anonymous attacks against whomever they choose, with no worries about retaliation or punishment if the attack is libelous or leads to physical assault on the subject of the criticism. The writer of the virulent posting thus escapes responsibility for the threat and for any violence that it might provoke.
   Recently, sponsors of the forums have been blocking such blind attacks, leading to complaints that the posters' rights of free speech have been violated.
   But with freedom comes responsibility. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. It does not guarantee that libelous attacks and the spreading of lies cannot be prevented, and punished after the perpetrator is identified and convicted.
   Sadly, such falsehoods can be spread through other media, such as street-corner gossip or if a person pays a printer to produce them so that person can personally distribute them. In that case, the gossip mongers must pay for printing and distribution themselves, which can easily be very expensive and limited as to how widespread it can be distributed.
   Internet providers are under no obligation to assist in such attacks, especially those that are malicious and false.
   The falsifiers retain their First Amendment rights, but they must pay for printing and distribution. And if they commit libel, they can be punished.

Precedent

   The re-election campaign by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) is being challenged by a group that alleges she is ineligible because of her stated support for those who invaded the U.S. Capitol in January of last year.

 The group relies on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which bans anyone from holding office if that person supported insurrectionists.

  Earlier, a judge rejected her bid to toss the challenge, which was based on the claim that the challenge itself was unconstitutional.

  A longer outlook sees this as a move to establish a precedent, which would then be used to stop Donald Trump from seeking office.

Mandatory vs Voluntary

    Confusion reigns among many Americans as to whether masks must be worn in public, now that a federal judge has ruled that a law requiring them is unconstitutional.

   However, this does not mean that wearing a mask in public to protect against the corona virus is prohibited.

   Mandatory means you must. Voluntary means you can if you choose to do so.

   America has a long tradition of individual freedom of choice. This is good. But that is also balanced by the need to cooperate for the common good of all.

   The spread of a severe virus endangers everyone, so it is up to everyone  to cooperate in efforts to minimize the danger.

   Too many people seem to take the court decision to ban the requirement of wearing a mask in public also means you must NOT wear a mask.

   Individual choice remains. To protect yourself and those you care about, be they family or the general public, wearing a mask is a good option, regardless of what a single court decision says.

Power Play

    The U.S. Republican Party says it will no longer participate in presidential debates, claiming moderators were too harsh on its candidate.
   This after moderators --  chosen from the ranks of independent journalists -- corrected GOP candidate Donald Trump on factual issues or stopped him from interrupting a Democratic candidate, either Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020.
   In 2016, Trump imposed himself in the background to draw attention from Hillary Clinton's response to a question from the moderator, as well as talking over her responses. Four years later, he repeatedly interrupted Biden, eventually prompting the Democrat to say, "Will you shut up, man?"
   The Republican National Committee now accuses the group that sponsors the debates of bias, and of refusing to reform its programs.

Prosperity Patterns

    There have been a dozen economic downturns in America since the Great Depression of the early 1930s. All but three occurred under Democratic presidents, and those three were short and mild.
   The first two were postwar adjustments during the Truman years, and the third was in 1980, a six-month dip of 1 percent when Jimmy Carter was president.
   All the rest happened when Republican presidents were in power, and these included what came to be called the Great Recession during 2007, when George W. Bush was president.
   (Note: The past three declines in output happened during the years when a Bush was president -- father or son.)
   Now, after 15 years of a growing economy, America may be facing a decline, and some experts say the seeds of the failure were planted during the administration of Republican Donald Trump, who was more interested in harvesting his own wealth than seeing to the economic growth of the average worker.
   That remains to be seen, since investigations of his activities are continuing.
   Meanwhile, there are reports that economists warn a recession is on the way, partly due to supply shortages because of the war in Ukraine, as well as repercussions from covid-19 as manufacturers cut back production and consumers reduce spending because of rising prices.
   Several surveys of economic experts say a third or more of them see a downturn within a year.
   It's too early to tell for sure, since the standard definition of a recession requires a dip in national production for two consecutive fiscal quarters. We won't see the first decline -- if it happens -- until the end of June. That means there must be a second decline in the three months ending in September.
   Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Board is pushing up interest rates as its way of combating inflation -- read, rising prices -- and banks are already beginning to boost the rates they pay to savers. The savings rate has been less than 1 percent, while credit card rates on purchases are more than 20 percent.
   But if savings rates rise, that will encourage people to reduce their spending, especially if prices remain high. Result: Economic decline.
   Be careful what you wish for. You may get it.

By The Dozen

   NBC-TV News headline today: "Trump targets 'Big 12' GOP incumbents," a report about the former president's endorsement of political candidates.
   A popular expression is to say, "That's a douzy." Is that a borrowing of "douze," the French word for twelve?
   American schools typically have 12 grades before graduation from high school. (Not counting kindergarten, which is borrowed from the German "children's garden.")
   The school year is divided into what educators call "trimesters," derived from the Latin term "three months." That equates to 12 weeks for each grading period.
   When television sets first became available to the American public, they were built with 12 broadcast channels -- Channel 2 through Channel 13. The broadcast frequency that might have been used for Channel 1 was reserved for other users. The most popular TV set available for consumers had a 12-inch screen.
   Not all metropolitan areas used all 12 channels, however, because of the potential for broadcast signals interfering with each other. New York City stations, for example, used Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. (Technically, Channel 13 was assigned to Newark, NJ.) Philadelphia broadcasters used Channels 3, 6, 10, and 12. Channel 8 was given to Lancaster, PA.
   Other metro areas were assigned channels according to distance from each other to avoid interference.
   I was recently reading about Beowulf, the early warrior who led a squad of 12 to defeat Grendel, who had been harassing people for 12 years. There were 12 phases of the journey the warriors took to complete their mission, and their king awarded the groups 12 treasures for their victory.
   A literature course offered by The Teaching Company lists 12 major Irish authors in that nation's literary tradition. They are Jonathan Swift, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, John Millington Synge, Oscar Wilde, Seamus Heaney, Sean O'Casey, Edna O'Brien, Padraig Colum, Patrick Kavanaugh, and Lady Augusta Gregory.
   Many astronomers have added four planets to the solar system and deleted Pluto, which leaves a net of 12 planets.
   And finally, when a man and a woman get together for procreation, she gives birth to a third human after 36 weeks of pregnancy. Three times twelve equals 36.

Happy New Year

    Time was, the European calendar listed this day as the start of a new year, until 1582 when it was changed to January 1 for the new Gregorian calendar. This day also marked the start of a new year in the Hindu tradition. April 1 also marked the 12th day after the spring equinox.
   But because the Julian calendar, designed by order of Julius Caesar more than a millennium earlier, had become out of date, it was decided to redo it and move the new year 12 weeks earlier.
   This would superimpose the new religious tradition over the Druid tradition of marking the winter solstice as an important spiritual season and the birth of a new year.
   Never mind that the spring equinox was and remains the time when flowers mark the birth season of flowers, rabbits and birds. And that Easter was the name of the ancient goddess of fertility.

   Spring would also have been an easier time to travel and conform with the Roman order to go to your home town for a census.
   In any case, people would greet their friends with "Happy New Year," because that was indeed appropriate.
   However, when the calendar was changed to make January 1 the start of new year rather than April 1, many would continue to say Happy New Year but immediately pass it off as a joke.
   Thus began the modern tradition of playing jokes on others on April 1.