“With the economic distress we’re likely to see in the coming year or two or three, revolution will become increasingly likely unless money starts coursing through the nation’s economic veins, and soon. Will it be a soft revolution of government-mandated wealth distribution through radical changes in the tax structure and the construction of a European-style safety net, as master reformer FDR presided over when he saved capitalism from itself? Or will the coming revolution be something harder and bloodier, like the socioeconomic collapse that destroyed Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union? To a great extent, what happens next will depend on how Barack Obama proceeds in his first weeks as president.”
—Me, three weeks before Obama took the Oath of Office

Here’s what I suggested be done to address the September 2008 economic meltdown. In September 2008.

I think I called this one.

1. Declare a Bank Holiday. As FDR did in 1933, Bush should shut down the financial system–banks, stock and currency exchanges–for a week or so to avoid panic selling, cool down market volatility, and give Congress time to craft carefully considered legislation rather than the spend-a-thon slapped together over the last Black Weekend. It bodes ill that liberals and conservatives alike have so little faith in the plan. Take some time; get it right.

2. Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act. The current mortgage meltdown couldn’t have happened without Senator Phil Gramm, now a key economic advisor to John McCain. In 1999 Gramm led the repeal of the Depression-era legislation that had separated commercial from investment banks, allowing Citigroup and other companies to sell mortgage-backed securities that blurred the line between Main Street and Wall Street. Let the financiers handle derivatives, structured investment vehicles, and other arcane financial instruments. Banking should return to its dull, staid roots as a business that pays interest on deposits and collects interest on loans without imperiling those deposits.

3. Bail out homeowners, not lenders. Stop doling out hundreds of billions, even trillions, of dollars, to a few banks and issue the cash to the disaggregated tens of millions of Americans who will spend the money and stimulate the economy instead. Which brings us to…

4. Abolish predatory interest rates. Millions of people in danger of losing their homes would not be in trouble if their banks weren’t charging usurious interest rates. Every primary homeowner should be automatically refinanced to a floating 30-year mortgage, with the interest rate set at 1/4 percent point above the fed funds borrowing rate. Similarly, all consumer credit card debt should be refinanced to prime plus 1/4. The same goes for student loans. Secondary and vacation homes don’t qualify. Unemployed homeowners can apply for hardship deferrals, allowing them to skip mortgage payments until they find a job. Payday loans ought to fall under similar guidelines. In Utah, the average interest rate on payday loans is 521 percent! Of course, reforms will cut deeply into lenders’ earnings. Many banks would be at risk of going under, which is why…

5. Banks that fail should be nationalized. As should investment banks and any other institution that needs federal taxpayer money to avoid failure. If we the people fund ‘em, we the people own ‘em. If and when the economy recovers, the Treasury collects the spoils and cuts our taxes.

6. Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, and slash defense spending. Christopher Whalen, managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics, tells USA Today the government may have to cover $1.4 trillion in bad mortgage debt. That’s a lot of money, but I have good news: we can get it. In 2007, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq would cost at least $2.4 trillion through the next decade–even more if Obama or McCain keep their pledges to send more troops to Afghanistan next year. Cutting our losses and cutting the $515 billion a year Defense Department appropriations budget would help finance the clean-up of the mortgage meltdown.

Here’s a pretty flattering pic of my speech at the opening night of Stop the Machine in DC, part of the Occupy movement:

Disgruntled residents of the town with some of the highest property values in the United States are taking to the streets this Saturday. That’s right: Occupy the Hamptons is about to begin.

Or, more accurately, to the Wharf. In Sag Harbor. 4 pm Saturday. Bring clever signs and a sunny disposition.

This is being touted as a solidarity action with Occupy Wall Street. Indeed, many of the biggest Wall Street criminals sunk some of their ill-gotten loot into vacation homes on the East End of Long Island: Jim Chanos, Ron Perelman, Carl Icahn, Phil Facone, the infamous Koch Brothers. May I live long enough to see them and their ilk behind bars.

Beyond the link to big stolen money, the Hamptons have plenty of their own unique local issues and concerns to start a revolution over.

It might sound absurd to those who have cruised the streets lined with high-end luxury stores and layed on the beautiful beaches to think that Hamptonians have anything to be pissed off about. Scratch the surface of the summer playground for Manhattan’s boldface names, however, and you’ll find a lot of reasons for locals to want to overthrow the system.

The local political system is riddled with corruption. The Hamptons are, first and foremost, a beach resort—yet beachgoers are drowning because the town and villages say they can’t afford to pay some kid $10 an hour to work as a lifeguard. In a place with $20 million homes, there are no dedicated bike trails and few sidewalks. The East Hampton dump recently eliminated its housing goods exchange–which allowed the well-off to share furniture and other items with the less fortunate–was recently eliminated by budget cuts. Speaking of the dump, it’s closed on Wednesdays now. Did I mention that East Hampton claims it can’t afford to pick up residents’ trash?

Last fall, corrupt Republican pols even eliminated the pick-up of leaves. What are people supposed to do with their leaves? Shove ’em.

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are raising havoc.

Poverty is no stranger to the “rich” Hamptons: 12.2% of the population and 10.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.5% of those under the age of 18 and 4.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

This isn’t Detroit or West Virginia. How can a region with a huge tax base be so poorly served?

One big reason is its status as a summer playground. Many of the high-end corporate-owned stores that dominate the village main drags (Hermes, for example, sells scarves that begin at $900 each) are only open three or four months out of the year. They’re there to make money from vacationers, with no commitment whatsoever to the community. They shut down over the winter, turning the strips into ghost towns, which deprives local-owned businesses from the chance to attract business. Even during the summer, many don’t bother to hire locals.

The result is that there is basically no work in the Hamptons. The Hamptons didn’t turn into a Third World economy by accident–it’s the result of intentional economic exploitation by corporations, in cooperation with corrupt and short-sighted local politicians and bureaucrats. The Hamptons needs commercial rent control. It should ban leases that aren’t year-round. All hiring should be of local residents. Taxes should be eliminated for the poor and middle-class and shifted to the rich assholes who let their nasty dogs shit all over the beaches during the summer.

Occupy the Hamptons!!!

Earlier this year I received a phone call that led to one of the more interesting cartooning assignments of my career. The set designer for the upcoming George Clooney-directed film “The Ides of March” was looking for background ephemera—newspaper clippings, photos, political cartoons—that might be taped, say, to the back of a seat in a campaign bus.

The movie takes place in Cincinnati, during a pivotal Ohio presidential primary. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Paul Zara, a veteran political advisor to a John Edwards-like liberal Democrat played by George Clooney.

After a number of conversations, we decided that I would draw six political cartoons for the movie. They would be printed on newsprint and placed on the set as described above.

I read the script and tried to imagine what criticisms a political cartoonist might have about the two rival candidates (Morris vs. Pullman) in the race as well as other facets of the Ohio primary that might be of interest. Of course, these candidates were imaginary. It was weird, and very fun.

I was a little worried my cartoons would wind up, like many fine performances by actors, on the cutting-room floor. So I didn’t tell anyone about it. But I was lucky. Two of them are right there, in the second scene (and later on in the film as well). You can even read them if you see them in a theater with a sharply focused screen.

The best thing about drawing cartoons about imaginary politicians is that no one gets angry at you.

Here are all of the cartoons in full color, the way God intended them to be seen. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did creating them.

Last week’s eBay cartoon auction finished a few minutes ago. Final price was $113.00.

A new auction has just gone up.

Last week’s chosen topic, which is now online, was: “Democrats and Republicans agree: Obama has got to go!”

I have just posted a new cartoon auction on eBay. Starting bid is 99 cents; the Buy It Now price is $500.

Winner gets to pick the topic of the cartoon. She or he also may reprint it or donate the reprint rights. They also get the original cartoon artwork.

I also may syndicate the cartoons that result from this. So far all of them have been syndicated.

Of course, this is also a great way to support my work. Thanks for bidding!

I got quoted in
this piece on Russia Today:

Despite reports to the contrary, the police have issued a four-month permit for us to remain. It is already assuming the character of an encampment.