I’m running for Congress in the Fifth District of Illinois. As a Chicago lawyer for thirty years I have fought for working people in this District and throughout the city. I have represented unions as well as people with no unions to protect them. In plant closings I have helped them recover health and pension benefits. I obtained health care for the uninsured. I’ve been pressing the State of Illinois to crack down on payday lenders.
In my life as a lawyer I have lived out a commitment to one cause above all – to bring economic security to working Americans, in our District, in our country. That’s the same commitment I will bring to Congress. We’re deep in an economic crisis unlike any other we’ve known. It may last years. We need new and creative ways to protect working Americans, especially our older working people who have no real pensions to live on.
For years we’ve heard the doomsayers: “We can’t afford Social Security.” “We can’t afford ‘single payer’ national health.” One thing we all learned from the $700 billion bailout: We’ve got the money to do all of this and more. At the moment, the Federal Reserve is literally printing money, to give not billions but trillions to banks and financial firms. To the people of this District, the banks and others have gotten their money. Now it’s your turn. Here’s the bailout I will go to Congress to get:
First, I want to expand Social Security, our public pension system, to replace, not overnight but in stages, the private pension system which has collapsed. Social Security now pays about 38 to 39 percent of your working income. In other developed countries, it averages 65 percent. That’s where our fiscal stimulus should be: a commitment to reach this goal, a public pension that ordinary working people can live on.
Second we have to move to single payer health care program, at least in phases: we might begin with extending Medicare to children, but the government should ultimately be the single payer for all. That’s not because single payer is the only ethical and efficient way to protect us all. No, it’s also because it is crucial to making us competitive globally. Through single payer and expanded Social Security, the goal is to pick up the “non-wage” labor costs that employers now have to pay. That’s already how other countries out-compete us: they have the government and not the private employer pick up these non-wage health and pension costs.
Unless we have government pick up the costs of pensions and health care, our companies can’t compete, and we’ll go on piling up huge trade deficits. We’ll have debacles like GM, which has collapsed in part because of the health and pension costs that the federal government should have been paying all along.
For years, the conservatives have said: “We can’t do this. The money isn’t there.” Well, the money is there. It was there for the Iraq war, a colossal waste of money, and for the bailout, the first half of which has been a colossal waste as well. And if we now have the government pick up non-wage labor costs with the use of general revenues, we will in fact make it cheaper and easier for our companies to hire. This is in fact the best and most realistic approach for a long term recovery.
Finally we have to put limits on returns to financial firms. We should re-enact the usury laws, the interest-rate caps that were in place in America up till the 1970s. We need to stop the rates of 30 to 35 percent, the hidden fees, the hundreds of ways that banks pull our money out of industry and into gambling and speculation.
In my campaign, I will have a single minded focus on the economic security to working Americans, that’s why I so strongly support the Employee Free Choice Act and other changes in our labor laws. And that’s why I support policies that will reduce the debt of working Americans. Overall, the plan I am setting out here will help make our country more competitive.
I’m a strong supporter of President Obama. Yes, I strongly support his program to repair our infrastructure. Even so, we don’t have to pave the streets with gold. If not the meltdown then the bail out should have opened our eyes. The real fiscal stimulus has to be the kind that brings financial security to the middle class. The message of this campaign is: We’re moving beyond the bailout. Now it’s your turn.
25 Comments
This is outstanding news. There is no better candidate for the seat.
Although I live in Brooklyn, NY he sounds great to me!! I wish I could vote for him. A real democrats, democrat.
Appearance matters a lot — that’s true of Websites, politicians, and other aspects of life. A Website can have great content, but if it’s poorly designed, people won’t linger long or will be less likely to return (or donate). Similarly, someone seeking political office may have excellent qualifications, as you appear to have, but if he doesn’t present himself well, he’ll turn off some people, and anyone running for office for the first time can’t afford to turn people off. What am I getting at? Your photo. It’s not flattering. It’s B/W, with blurry edges. Your smile seems legit, but the corners of your smile are downturned, which can send the wrong message. Finally, you look a bit like a stuffed suit (or winter coat). I suggest a color photo, one without a coat or jacket, perhaps with a recognizable part of Chicago in the backgroun or just a head/bust shot.
I liked the three books of yours that I read. You almost seem too smart for this. I wish you’d run in my district (the 4th). Got a campaign office?
Tom, I am incredibly excited that you have entered this race. You are definately going to be MY congressman - Your “Aurora” Union man - John
Your blog comments on Huffpo regarding healthcare are uninformed. Just ask my Canadian mother-in-law who had to spend her own money on cancer surgery in the States because of the dreadful Canadian single payer healthcare system. It’s a disaster and most Canadian doctors will be the first to admit it. The dirty little secret is that single payer programs subject the working class to rationed/substandard care and hospitals while the wealthy continue to use private medical clinics.
I wish you all the best! Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.
Lisa Pevtzow
I am a family doctor, struggling to care for my diverse patient population while also struggling to care for my own family. I know that enhanced access to real primary care is what is needed to reduce the cost of care and that single payer health finance reform is the only way to achieve this goal. For years I have advocated in a quiet way to my patients and now I am becoming more involved, hence the series of postings noted above.
I wish you luck in your campaign and have also made a contribution to your campaign.
Let me know if you need any TV production help. I’m there for anyone pushing single-payer. We can do this!
Good luck
Mark Sugg: 202 -487-7844
Great ideas! Go for it.
I have sent this idea to numerous public officials and not had the honor of even one response. After reading your post on HuffPo I thought you might like what I am suggesting. I am not an economist and do not have the billions of dollars to throw around that the Fed seems so happy to apply to the current economic crisis. Yet despite all the experts and all the money being tossed into the fire the problems of foreclosures, lowering home values, tight credit appear to continue and worsen unabated. Maybe the answer does not lie with economic theory and addressing bank failures from the top down but with a bit of common sense. As such, I suggest that the issues, though interrelated be viewed independently and appropriate fixes be applied. Here, in my humble opinion, are the separate issues and how I would suggest they be responded to:
Issue 1. Millions of homes are either in or facing foreclosure initially due to “ARM’s”.
a. As a result, home prices have, and continue to drop radically.
b. As a result, the equity value of bank holdings continues to drop bringing the banking system close to insolvency.
c. As a result, banks do not have cash available to lend to businesses and individuals.
d. As a result, the economy, which is mostly based on the easy availability of credit, has ground to a halt.
e. As a result, unemployment has risen dramatically and families do not have sufficient income to purchase goods and services as well as pay their mortgages which results in more foreclosures which continues the downward cycle.
i. As a result, income to cities and states from property taxes is reduced.
ii. As a result, these entities need to lower their budgets for education, public safety and infrastructure spending.
iii. As a result, unemployment rises and families do not have sufficient income to purchase goods and services as well as pay their mortgages which results in more foreclosures which continues the downward cycle.
Steps to a Solution:
1. The government should propose a 90 day freeze on all mortgage payments and foreclosures with accrued interest automatically being applied to the back end of the loan. The Fed, FHA, FDIC, Treasury or some combination thereof should make available to the mortgage holders interest free loans for the 90 day period to prevent lending institution failures do to a loss of cash flow during the 90 day period.
a. The result would be an immediate increase in funds available to consumers to either spend on goods or use to reduce consumer debt.
b. As a result, unemployment would drop, and the pressure on home values would be lessened
c. As a result consumer credit rating would not be ruined by the current situation.
d. Cost to the government would be negligible as this money will be repaid almost immediately (if the following steps are also taken) and the Government is currently lending money to the banks at under 1% currently.
2. During the 90 day period the Fed, FHA, FDIC, Treasury or some combination thereof should offer each of the financial institutions insurance on their complete portfolio of mortgage loans at 90% face value (this number can and should be adjusted by the Geeks with the calculators) rather than buy off bad loans. These same financial institutions must agree to offer a refinance package with very minimal paper work to ALL borrowers in their portfolio offering 30 as well as 40 year fixed rate loans at 4% or thereabouts. Said loan refinance should be a single page letter to each borrower wherein he/she can select to either leave their loan as is or select a 30 or 40 year term of repayment. Should the lending institution refuse to join the program Fannie and/or Freddie should agree to refinance said loans under’ this same program. Said refinance MUST have no qualification requirements and again be made available to ALL borrowers from the non-participating financial institutions.
a. As a result, Home values will immediately stabilize at the 90% value (or whatever percentage is eventually agreed upon.)
b. As a result, bank equity holding will return to near previous levels and the financial institutions will become immediately solvent without the need for a massive infusion of federal money.
c. As a result city and state property taxes will also return to near previous levels with positive effects on education and public safety
d. As a result the vast majority of home owners will be able to pay the new mortgage amounts stopping the cycle of foreclosures, etc.
e. Cost to the government would be negligible and much less than the current bail out (again get those Geeks with calculators going)
f. As a result, bank earning from high interest rates will be reduced though the cost will most likely be considerably less than that of the expected foreclosures (Geeks again).
g. As a result the credit markets will open up as banks will again have funds available for lending.
Issue 2. American consumers are saddled with the largest consumer debt in our history.
a. As a result, in many cases, consumers are at a point where no additional credit is available.
b. Monthly payments at huge interest rates take up a very large percentage of the consumer budget.
c. As a result consumers are not able to purchase goods and services leading to a drop in GDP, employment, and a repeat of the cycle stated above
Steps to a Solution:
1. Again the government can impose a 90 day freeze on payments (a payment holiday) The Fed, FDIC, Treasury or some combination should make available to the issuing banks interest free loans for the 90 day period to prevent lending institution failures do to a loss of cash flow during the 90 day period.
2. The Fed, FDIC, Treasury or some combination should make available to the issuing banks insurance on the outstanding balance of all consumers who join the program specified below at a rate of 90% the face value of the debt. In exchange the banks must agree to a fixed for life (no default interest rates) of say 10% (where are those Geeks?) on consumer debts of those who join the program described below.
3. Any debts that the government assumes by way of the insurance will not be negated in bankruptcy, as is the case with many taxes, and can continue to be collected by the government through the same means as taxes. Hence the only actual cost to the government will be that of collection on defaulted debt more than made up by the interest collected on said debt.
a. The proposed program would close the consumer debt account and if the lending institution has multiple such accounts in a family, all such accounts should be consolidated..
b. The outstanding balances would then be amortized into a fixed payment of 3-15 years, depending upon the amount involved (Geeks again.)
c. Participating banks should be allowed to offer consolidation accounts so long as they meet the fixed interest rate for life at the 10% or a lower rate.
i. As a result, consumer monthly debt payments would drop considerably.
ii. As a result consumers would have more money available to spend on necessities such as mortgage payments as well as other goods and services.
iii. As a result employment in all areas of our economy will increase with the resultant gains described previously.
iv. As a result bank earning from outrageous interest will be reduced drastically however the banking institutions claim these interest rates are necessary because of defaults and since the accounts are now federally insured said defaults will NOT cost the banks large sums nearly evening the earnings situation (Geek time again).
As I said when I started this diatribe, I am not an economist and am very aware that the results listed for these proposals are only a few of those that would occur. I have tried to list the most obvious and believe that the very vast majority of unstated results would be to the benefit of both the financial industry and the consumer. Hence to the benefit of the country as a whole. I see no losers in this game.
Hi Tom,
Congress badly needs a persons of your grace and style, not to mention progressive consciousness. Anything I can do to help from Washington, DC (where I work; I live in Silver Spring, MD just outside the district), let me know. I look forward to getting reacquainted when you assume your new post!
best of luck,
Merrill
Good for you! I hope the American people deserve to have you in Congress. We attended law school at the same time and I have followed your career. Although my circumstances are far from well off, I’ll do what I can.
Tom was a college classmate of mine, and though we scarcely knew each other then, I have become a strong admirer of his zeal for the interests of average people, who have been the victims of the regnant ideology ushered in by the ancient Reagan (too often with their own votes). The Obama administration holds out hope of reversing the Right’s lobotomy on American thinking, but it will take bold, uncompromised new thinkers in Congress to push the envelope. A Geoghegan win will reinforce the momentum for New Deal-magnitude change. And from where I sit in hard-scrabble Trenton, New Jersey, Tom’s win will appear as a thunderbolt. Do it, Chicago!
For those who do not know Tom, he held class honors through high school, as well as a four year debater and National Honor Society member. Academics aside, he was also active in the Junior Council for World Affairs. A natural leader and scholar, he will serve his electorate and quite possibly this country beyond reproach.
He had my attention until a disastrous last paragraph. You support Obama!? I thought you were supposed to be a progressive? And was the war being a waste of money really it’s central problem? Do you have a moral backbone, sir? You’ll need it to ever obtain my vote in the district.
Why in the heck are you running as a Dem? Why not run Green and take these issues to the special general election!
I am not one of your potential constituents, unfortunately, but I caught you on Rachel Maddow’s Thursday show (1.8.09), and I’m VERY impressed. Also, I’m your age and, I hope, share your perspective.
What can I do to help–from west-central Illinois? I’m not sure. I’ll donate as I can. I would love to see you in Congress.
Randy Fritz
randyfritz@mac.com
Tom , thanks for caring enough about the people of Illinois and the state of the economy to run for Congress. I support you 150% and I’m thrilled to see such an intelligent and well qualified candidate enter the race!
Chicago is lucky to have you!
GO TOM, YES WE CAN!!!!!
MH, The Recessionista Blog
What a pleasant surprise to learn(from The Nation) that you are running
for congress. I’ve been a fan since reading What Side Are You On. Reading your story has made me avidly pro-union! Too bad that I can’t vote for you.
Okay, I’m stumped. How do you pronounce your name? Please, a hot Italian Beef sandwich is riding on this…
Patrick, Tom’s last name is pronounced “gay-gun.” As I like to say, it rhymes with Reagan phonetically, but not ideologically!
I read your book, ” Which Side Are You On?” and at the moment can state emphatically, it is about time. I am behind you 100% in your run for Congress and thanks for getting running.
I read in your book, The Secret Lives of Citizens, you portray progressives “standing up” but not knowing what to stand up for. Time to hit all variety of anti-violence and anti-hunger activists, etc., with the simple truth that the only program that is ever going to resolve their concerns is getting America paid again.
Everybody already knows that? Okay; what nobody seems to understand in Rent-A-Center-Brains land is just how super simply and easily this can all be accomplished.
Doubling the federal minimum wage to $500/wk, for one instance, would shift a mere $350 billion out of a $14 trillion GDP — a mere 2 ½% of GDP output!; less than GDP typically grows every couple of years — into the pockets of our 40% most wage depressed workers. If everyone got their inflation raises over the couple or three year phase in and forwent a portion of their productivity growth raises – nobody might even notice.
Sector-wide labor agreements is the world-wide answer to the race to the bottom – from Germany to Norway, from Argentina to Indonesia. Wal-Mart just yanked 88 big-boxes out of Germany –land of the most comprehensive sector-wide setup. The French-Canadian “lite” version could transplant easily to the US: non-union firms merely abide by contracts negotiated with union firms (try not to negotiate under that setup). Airline and supermarket workers here would kill for sector-wide. It is time to at least mention the most common sense answer to the race to the bottom out loud to Americans so they can make up their own minds.
Since publication of Michael Harrington’s book, The Other America, 25% of America’s workforce has slipped below LBJ’s, $10/hr ($1.60/hr, adjusted) minimum wage – even as average income doubled. If anybody had predicted this to 1968 Americans they would not have given it one chance in one million to happen. And they would have expected the media to report it as a “great wage depression” (not mere “inequality”) if it did happen.
Tom made it possible for the Wisconsin Steelworkers (of Chicago) to win $15 million EIGHT years after the mil closed without paying workers’ benefits. Then he went on to sue the second owner of Wisconsin Steel and won us another $4 million. He was more than a brilliant lawyer. He encouraged the steelworkers to stay organized, keep the case in the public eye. I support Tom Geoghegan for Congress for the same reason I supported Obama. Tom understands the POWER OF THE PEOPLE and will always be true for us.
Beatrice Lumpkin, wife of Frank Lumpkin
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