I sent the following to my international audience looking to a return to prosperity
for all of us, which I now send along to you here in the USVI to keep you well informed!
(note that ‘closing the output gap’ means ‘eliminating unemployment’)
They have known me for a very long time and have been most supportive:
First let me thank all of you who have contributed, and have become part of what could quickly become much more than just another seat in Congress!!!
Donations have exceeded $25,000 and at only $25/minute for radio and TV adds the incremental spending has indeed made a difference- thanks again!
There are three weeks to go an any additional contributions will immediately be used to add to the advertising and promotional efforts.
When I ask our volunteers ‘out of ever 10 people they speak to in their neighborhoods, how many say they are voting for me’ they all say more than half!
Friday in St. Thomas while walking to a UVI event I heard a loud ‘Mosler!’ and looked over to see a patrol car with the window down and the officer looking at me. As soon as I turned his way he said ‘Everyone’s voting for you this time, you’re going to win you know!’
I’ve been in 5 ‘debates’ so far, with the candidates on a panel taking questions from a moderator. I’ve just focused on what I’m going to do about each issue, both for the national economy and the USVI economy, while the other candidates have had no specific agenda apart from promising to work hard (and taking cheap shots at each other, of course!)
More and more the audiences seem to be responding with ‘your the only one who knows what to do’. And the ‘anti incumbent’ feeling in general is actually alarmingly high as conditions here continue to deteriorate. Our cost of electricity, for example, just went up to over 50 cents/kw, while government salaries that were already half the national average were cut 8%, with thousands of lost jobs due to the closing of the Hovensa refinery here on St. Croix and widespread government layoffs of nurses and teachers in an already grossly under served community.
I assure you that if I get in Washington will soon be aware of the hurricane that’s come up from the USVI. The Fed chairman will suddenly face ‘innocent’ questions of profound magnitude, such as, ‘Isn’t true that a $trillion deficit adds exactly that much to global dollar net savings, and not a penny less or a penny more, or these two gentlemen next to me from the CBO would have stay late at work looking for their arithmetic mistake?’ ‘Isn’t it true, that by your own regulatory standards, loans to the ECB collateralized with euro deposits would be classified as unsecured loans?’ ‘Given that you do the actual spending on behalf of Congress simply by crediting accounts, and therefore ability to pay, insolvency, and prior funding for Congress, unlike for Greece, is never an issue, and, again unlike Greece, for all practical purposes the Fed sets US interest rates by voting and not the market, what then, is the short term or long term risk posed by deficit spending? And many more. And with all of these questions serving the agendas of various members of Congress there is every incentive for them to be asked. And not to mention testimony and discussions on banking, budgets, and trade. Looking forward to gettng the job done/close the output gap!!!
If any of you want to contribute to ‘THE CAUSE’ remember the limit is $2,500 per person and checks can be made out to ‘Mosler For Congress 2012’.
You can also click here or paypay and further information.
All the best!!!
Warren
You need to communicate to your electorate that only with a Democratic majority in Congress will you get an opportunity to ask anyone any probing questions. Republicans only hold hearings to get a partisan advantage by embarrassing appointed and carreer public servants who have the temerity of telling them that the legislation they passed doen’t work.
My meme for the day is that money is an aide memoire. And any large hoard is evidence of someone not paying what he owes and/or being a person of little brain, whose memory is short.
@Monica Smith,
The “Delegate” to Congress from the US Virgin Islands does not get a floor vote, and therefore is unimportant from the Democratic/Republican arithmetic. They also do not get to vote for the President. However, electing Warren over the current delegate (a Democrat) will send the Democratic Party a clear message that the party is abandoning the most needy in the US society. Warren will be a great voice for the people of the US Virgin Islands, and will be a great voice for sanity. The delegate can take part in committee sessions.
@Clonal Antibody, There won’t be any significant committee meetings if Republicans continue as chairs.
@Monica Smith,
The need for Democrats to take over the house is not the question. It is just that USVI and other US territories even though represented, and allowed to debate, still do not count in the arithmetic of Congress.
This is why voting for Warren against a sitting Democratic USVI delegate and sending the Democratic Party a signal is a no brainer. And in the process, you get a liberal progressive who can think and can bring out the absurdity of fiscal austerity, and the absurdity of the deficit phobia.
@Monica Smith,
Ya, but Warren can team up with Berni Sanders and hopefully Sharrod Brown and raise holy hell with the media using MSNBC as a base. The point is to get him in, then let him work his magic.
MOSLER FOR CONGRESS AND ALTERNATIVE PATHS TO SERVING THE
99%.
@Clonal Antibody,
no floor votes, but, iirc, delegates do get a vote in whatever committee(s) they are on (which i think should include legislation markup?)… also the house committee of the whole. also ask limited question(s) during committee hearings.
trick, i guess, would be how to get warren on an appropriate committee? i don’t know how committee assignments are made but as i recall the dem leadership sold off committee leadership positions to highest bidder.
i used to watch (or listen) to a LOT of committee hearings (house and sentate) until i got too fed up to watch more… although that would change pretty quick if warren wins and gets some committee assignment(s) 🙂
http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-02-25/
http://my.firedoglake.com/selise/2009/03/24/dear-congress-your-hearings-suck/
my understanding is you can ‘walk on’ as a non member and chat informally
@selise, From What are Delegates and the Resident Commissioner? How long do they serve, and what do they do?
@Clonal Antibody,
hmm…. looks like i was wrong about voting during house business as committee of the whole. thanks for the info, clonal antibody!
@Monica Smith, Really Monica? Spend much time watching Rachel Madow, do you?
@Ivan, No, but it would probably be to everyone’s advantage if Warren were interviewed by her.
@Monica Smith,
I think Rachael would be out of her depth interviewing Warren.
@Ed Rombach,
Maybe, but it would still be advantageous to have Warren be interviewed by her. Also, I do believe that she is not averse to doing some homework before an interview. So the 7 DIF could make up part of her background reading.
please try to arrange it for me, thanks!
@Monica Smith, Perhaps if Warren wins it will be much easier to book him for bits in the mainstream media.
@Monica Smith,
Monica, Are you serious?
I hope very much that you win. As a foreigner (non-American), I suppose that US election rules make it illegal for me to contribute to your campaign? And if it is legal, perhaps that is not the kind of support you want?
Glad to hear that you are being well received, Warren.
You are definitely strong on policy but don’t underestimate the value of your personal ethics as well, and don’t be afraid to show it off a little.
I recall seeing a speech you gave to the tea party where you began my making an oath to tell the truth and how you thought every politician should make a similar oath. I’ve forgotten everything else you said in the speech but I’ll always remember that you came across as sincere and earnest.
I would like to see you go to Washington if for no other reason than so you will have a bully pulpit to make your ideas heard. I suspect you’ll learn a thing or too, as well. 😉
thanks!
you know Warren the impact of you being in congress and educating them about monetary system would be much bigger than potentially closing the US output gap.
😉
That is most excellent news. But on a selfish note, I hope it doesn’t mean that you are going to stop posting here. Don’t be a stranger!
these are my feelings exactly–hopefully you continue to blog and fill us in on the inside story of DC.
anyhow, go get ’em, warren!! the USVI needs you!! the US needs you!! hell, the whole damn world needs you!! just win, baby!!
🙂
You can also follow me on facebook where I have a couple of sights under my name thanks
Warren, how about extending a warm invitation to the Koch brothers? These guys need a thorough re-education.
The Kochs’ quest to save America
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/10/13/171440/the-kochs-quest-to-save-america.html
feel free to do so on my behalf, thanks!
About time you got there Warren..it is becoming too painful to watch ignorance argue .
Hi Warren, Been looking at the past votes and I doubt you will win. Mrs. Christiansen just wins by too many votes. She has won with over 70% since 1996.
Last time you tried vs her in 2006 you got 4,447 votes. She got over 19,000 votes.
Also 2 years ago she got over 19,000 out of over 27,000 votes cast.
I also tried looking for your name in the internet version of the Virgin Island Daily News. No mention of you or the race in the past 30 days. Some info in the archives though.
Good luck. I would vote for you in a heartbeat. I am totally disappointed in my choices where I live.
@Adam2,
From United States Virgin Islands’ At-large congressional district
US House election, 2006: U.S. Virgin Islands At-large district
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Donna Christian-Christensen 18,322 62.91
Independent Warren Mosler 10,800 37.08
Independent Write-in 4 0.01
Majority 7,522 25.83
Turnout 29,126
The last time Warren ran, he did get 37% of the votes cast (10,800 and not 4447 as you seem to state.) Donna Christian-Christensen. She was elected in 2008 without opposition. In 2010 she one a contested race by a wide margin (One in which Warren did not run.)
@Clonal Antibody,
I got my info from this pdf.
http://artandhistory.house.gov/congress/110/2006election.pdf
VIRGIN ISLANDS
FOR DELEGATE
Donna M. Christensen, Democrat …………………………………………………… 19,593
Warren B. Mosler, Independent ……………………………………………………… 4,447
Write-in …………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Total ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 24,047
@Clonal Antibody, Hmm
Here is another election result pdf.
http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2006/2006house.pdf
Way more favorable to Mr Mosler and closer to your numbers, Clonal.
(I) Christensen, Donna M. 19,593 63.60% D
Mosler, Warren B. 11,201 36.36% IND
Hmm.. why the huge discrepancy?
this year it’s different.
people have completely turned on her.
probably because of the way things have deteriorated.
all informal surveys show her at less than 50% which means a run off
if no one gets 50%
Warren:
Do they really allow the representative from the USVI to sit on committee’s and ask questions? Not that I spend much time watching cspan but I don’t recall ever seeing it. Hate to throw cold water on the Warren Mosler swearing in party but are you sure this is the best use of your time?
@Ivan,
From United States Virgin Islands’ At-large congressional district
Blockquote>The United States Virgin Islands’s At-large congressional district encompasses the entire area of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The territory does not have a voting member of Congress, but does elect a delegate who can participate in debates.
In the past, depending upon the majority in Congress, the VI delegate has been allowed to vote, but only “when the vote was not crucial” in other words, it could not be the swing vote.
@Ivan,
“Do they really allow the representative from the USVI to sit on committee’s and ask questions?”
pretty sure… for some evidence from the cspan library, here are links to some of the video of christensen speaking (both on the house floor and in committee):
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/donnachristiangreen
correct
best of luck warren!
thanks!!
@Warren,
Could you listen to this video of David Stockman, at least the first 10 minutes, and give some quick rebuttals to it?
I am doing my best to convince my friends about MMT and they bring me new fodder to cut down all the time. This particular one is about what the 1971 gold standard did, which I know. But I can’t remember the bit about the effect of the 1978 natural gas deregulation and what you said at the Columbia law school about Volker (the video isn’t out yet).
I know it’s too much to listen to the whole thing, but Stockman is playing eminence grise and I know his facts are wrong. I just don’t want to be wrong about it myself.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/david-stockman-mitt-romney_n_1968106.html
Thx
Sorry, haven’t had a chance to get to it,
and stockman is hopeless
@WARREN MOSLER,
Yeah, I know you’re busy. I’ll just wait until Rohan Grey gets the video out.
@MRW, @CEBES
I was a non-political civil servant at OMB, 1980-1988, when Stockman was the Director. Over the years I’ve followed his career as reported by conservative media, and conclude now, that he’s a pimp for Wall St. He knows full well that “starving the beast” eventually delivers SS/M/M premiums to his patrons. So he will, without hesitation, bloviate about SS/M/M, debt, and deficits as if austerity is the panacea, knowing full well that he’s practicing cynical subversion.
All you have to know is Warren’s first Fraud to debunk everything Stockman says. Stockman, like the President, Romney and 98% of Americans labor under the false belief that the U.S. and its Federal programs face solvency issues.
Some free advice (we know what that is worth):
Instead of ‘‘Isn’t true that a $trillion deficit adds exactly that much to global dollar net savings, and not a penny less or a penny more, or these two gentlemen next to me from the CBO would have stay late at work looking for their arithmetic mistake?’
Which isn’t really a question, but a statement. How about a question:
‘When the government runs a deficit, where does the money go?’ Instead of getting defensive, they may actually think about that. You can always give the answer … if asked.
@WARREN MOSLER,
Warren,
What are the latest unemployment numbers in USVI, and what is the poverty level out there? Most number on the poverty are old. The latest unemployment numbers appear to be upward of 12% — how is that impacting the already high poverty rate?
Those numbers would be of interest to somebody like Maddow. Also, how these have changed since the GFC, and how the economy has been impacted.
Here is a link to her blog
@Clonal Antibody, Warren,
What are the latest unemployment numbers in USVI, and what is the poverty level out there? Most number on the poverty are old. The latest unemployment numbers appear to be upward of 12% — how is that impacting the already high poverty rate?
Those numbers would be of interest to somebody like Maddow. Also, how these have changed since the GFC, and how the economy has been impacted.
Here is a link to her blog
high and higher
Warren,
I am not an American but I wish you all the best in your congress run. I saw the last presidential debate. The both candidates do not understand how the US deficit works. They still think that the USA can run out of dollars and that the government federal debt is a burden for the future generations. Since the implications of this understanding is important also for the rest of the world (the dollar is the world’s reserve currency) I wish you to became the congressman and to teach them about it.
GOOD LUCK
See you in ITALY
@zaratino,
Even if you “get” it, you can’t say bring it up in a 90 minute debate where you only have a minute or two to explain yourself before getting hammered by both your opponent and the moderator.
I have a growing suspicion that Romney understands MMT to some degree, even though he is using debt and deficits as a talking point against Obama’s record. Have you noticed that he keeps claiming that he can cut tax rates dramatically but offset that lost “revenue” by closing loopholes, eliminating deductions, and by growing the economy? And he never gives specifics? That’s the tip-off. The strategy is to cut income tax rates, and let the economy do what it will do. A pretty straightforward MMT-friendly prescription.
Contrast with Obama’s plan to “ask” (read “force”) high income people to pay a little more in order to help bring down the deficit, as well as to cut military spending. We are already facing a large increase in taxes from Obamacare in January.
@ESM, very good point
Until Warren gets there, This should help you sleep better at night. 🙁
U.S. government less reliant on the Chinese for money to meet obligations
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/china-less-of-a-us-creditor-as-it-becomes-more-of-an-election-issue/2012/10/16/c1bd1bf8-1794-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html
“While China remains a major lender, new data show taxpayers owe 10 percent less than year ago.”
No verification of whether the journalist typed this with a straight face. It’s considered orthodox to retain a poker faced demeanor, regardless of who you’re taking payoffs from.
Utter ignorance is accepted as plausible deniability. As are both dumb & dumber.
I look forward to your presence in Congress. You have my support.
Best wishes
Robert
And many thanks!
@WARREN MOSLER, @Cebes
Warren,
Have you ever written about the correlation between abandonment of the gold standard and income tax rates for the top 20% of earners? I think it might be helpful for everyone in the MMT classroom to observe that the 40 year effort decries Romney’s claim that rates on the rich won’t be cut during his administration. There are very few years when Republican Administrations and Congresses did not cut those tax rates because someone knew that revenue per se was not needed for the Federal government to spend.
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/historical-federal-tax-rates-by-income-group.html
@Robert Bostick,
I meant the highest ,01 and 1% not 20%.
haven’t looked into it. in italy now, doing 3 events, then back home oct 30
Warren,
RE: Your question:
” ‘Given that you do the actual spending on behalf of Congress simply by crediting accounts, and therefore ability to pay, insolvency, and prior funding for Congress, unlike for Greece, is never an issue, and, again unlike Greece, for all practical purposes the Fed sets US interest rates by voting and not the market, what then, is the short term or long term risk posed by deficit spending?”
If deficit spending is the means to the end of eliminating the output gap what difference does it make how that deficit is created? Why would elimination/reduction of the taxes on personal/corporate income, capital gains, dividends, employment(fica,medicare), alternative minimum tax, tariffs, etc. combined with a freeze on spending be more/less effective? This method would leave more money in the hands of consumers, entrepreneurs, etc. who would certainly spend, invest it much more efficiently and productively, and quickly than incompetent federal bureaucrats and crony capitalists.
agreed, the choice are political