Marin Voice: New book hits on reasons for faltering democracy

Robert Reich, a University of California, Berkeley professor and sometime West Marin resident, has a new book out.

Reich taught at Harvard and Brandeis University as well as at Berkeley; served in both Democratic and Republican administrations; and was named former President Bill Clinton’s secretary of labor in 1993.

“Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America” focuses on the theme  that Baby Boomers — among them Clinton, former President George W. Bush and Reich himself — came up short in protecting and growing our democracy. Hence the political chaos we’re experiencing now.

I am a political observer, though nowhere near as closely or expertly as Reich. He inspired me to dig deeply into my own thoughts as to why our democracy has fallen into such disrepair that a man like Donald Trump has been elected president twice.

After World War II, Europe and Asia were decimated while the U.S. emerged politically and economically stronger than ever before. The GI Bill provided millions of veterans with a free college education, zero-down payments when buying a home and low-interest loans for starting a business.

By 1950 a baby boom was peaking and a strong middle class, along with unions, grew. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination of any type based on race, sex, religion or national origin. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 specifically prohibited racial discrimination during elections.

Back then, it seemed no one questioned the country’s system of government. How is it that now, just 75 years later, our democracy is on the proverbial ropes?

Reich believes American democracy began veering off course with what he calls “the worst memo in American history.” Lewis F. Powell Jr., a Virginia corporate attorney who became a Supreme Court justice, wrote it in 1971. In it, he insisted that the country’s economic system was “under attack” from consumer, labor and environmental groups and that businesses should “mobilize for political combat.” “Success,” Powell added, “is dependent on organization and funding.”

The memo was sent to U.S. Chamber of Commerce members, leading CEOs, large corporations and trade associations. As a result, corporate political action committees grew from 300 in 1950 to over 1,200 in 1980. By 1990, Chamber membership had doubled and U.S. corporations had sent 61,000 lobbyists to Washington — that’s about 100 lobbyists for every member of Congress.

In turn, the unionized portion of the workforce dropped from 35% in 1950 to 6% today; laws preventing Wall Street from gambling with people’s money were repealed and taxes on corporations were slashed while loopholes were increased. As Reich concludes, “Rarely in history has one document … had such nefarious consequences; it distorted American democracy and shifted power upward.”

My take on when our democracy made a wrong turn was in the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954. That’s when Sen. Joseph McCarthy menacingly appeared on national television for more than 30 days straight with frightening reports of “communists” being in lofty places.

The problem was that few Americans really understood communist philosophy. McCarthy, the John Birch Society and the House Un-American Activities Committee had simply announced, ad nauseam, that communism was an evil, atheistic and wily enemy sneaking into our lives.

I think things may have been different if John Lennon’s epic song “Imagine” was around then. “No need for greed or hunger,” “no possessions,” “and no religion, too.” These are basic tenets of communism. If democracy had an enemy in those strong postwar years, it was dictatorships, not idealistic communism.

Unfortunately, it didn’t end with McCarthy’s downfall, it grew stronger. Former President Dwight Eisenhower warned of a growing military-industrial complex, and to never get involved in a land war in Asia. His warnings went unheeded. Since then, untold billions of U.S. tax dollars have built the world’s mightiest military force; almost exclusively to fight communism. Those funds could have created civilization’s finest education and health care systems, along with solid infrastructure and a government free from money’s influence.

It really doesn’t matter when or how America’s democracy started faltering. The critical questions now are when, how and if it can be rebuilt. Perhaps then the thoughts expressed here will have constructive value.

Jim Wood, of Tiburon, is the co-founder of Marin Magazine and of GreenTeam, a volunteer organization that develops and maintains beautification projects on the Tiburon Peninsula.