When William J. Casey was a young attorney during the Great Depression, he learned an important lesson.
Jobs were hard to come by, so Casey thought himself lucky to land one at the Tax Research Institute of America in New York.
His task was to closely read New Deal legislation and write reports explaining it to corporate chieftains.
At first, he thought they wanted detailed legal commentary on the meaning of the new legislation.
But the he quickly learned a blunt truth: Businessmen neither understood nor welcomed President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s efforts at reforming American capitalism. And they didn’t want legal commentary.
Instead, they wanted to know: “What is the minimum we have to do to achieve compliance with the law?”
In short: How do we get by FDR’s new programs?
Fifty years later, Casey would bring the same mindset to his duties as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for President Ronald Reagan.
William J. Casey
He was presiding over the CIA when it deliberately violated Congress’ ban on funding the “Contras,” the Right-wing death squads of Nicaragua.
Casey gave lip service to the demands of Congress. But privately, with the help of Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, he set up an “off-the-shelf” operation to provide arms to overthrow the leftist government of Daniel Ortega.
It was what President Ronald Reagan wanted. So Casey felt he had a duty to get it done, and Congress be damned.
When news of Casey’s–and Reagan’s–illegal behavior leaked, in November, 1986, it almost destroyed the Reagan administration.
Especially damning: Much of the funding directed to the “Contras” had come from Iran, America’s mortal enemy.
To ransom a handful of American hostages who had been kidnapped in Lebanon, Reagan sold them our most sophisticated missiles in a weak-kneed exchange for American hostages.
Then he went on television and brazenly denied that any such “arms for hostages” trade had ever happened.
Ronald Reagan
But the “Casey Doctrine” of minimum compliance with the law didn’t die with Casey (who expired of a brain tumor in 1987).
It was very much alive within the American business community as President Barack Obama sought to bring medical coverage to all Americans, and not simply the ultra-wealthy.
The single most important provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)–better-known as Obamacare–requires large businesses to provide insurance to fulltime employees who work more than 30 hours a week.
For part-time employees, who work fewer than 30 hours, a company isn’t penalized for failing to provide health insurance coverage.
Obama’s enemies have long slandered him as a ruthless practitioner of Chicago politics.” So it’s easy to assume that he took “the Casey Doctrine” into account when he shepherded the ACA through Congress.
But he didn’t.
The result was predictable. And its consequences are daily becoming more clear.
Employers feel motivated to move fulltime workers into part-time positions, and thus avoid
- providing their employees with medical insurance;
- and a fine for non-compliance with the law.
Some employers have openly shown their contempt for President Obama–and the idea that employers actually have any obligation to those who make their profits a reality.
John Schnatter, CEO of Papa John’s Pizza, has been quoted as saying:
- The price of his pizzas will go up–by 11 to 14 cents per pizza, of 15 to 20 cents per order; and
- He will pass along these costs to his customers.
“If Obamacare is in fact not repealed,” Schnatter told Politico, “we will find tactics to shallow out any Obamacare costs and core strategies to pass that cost onto consumers in order to protect our shareholders’ best interests.”
After all, why should a multimillion dollar company show any concern for those who make its profits a reality?
Consider:
- Papa John’s is the third-largest pizza takeout and delivery chain in the United States.
- Its 2014 revenues were $1.60 billion, an increase of 11.1% over 2013 revenues of $1.44 billion.
- Its 2014 net income was $73.3 million, compared to 2013 net income of $69.5 million.
In May, 2012, Schnatter hosted a fundraising event for Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney at his own Louisville, Kentucky, mansion.
“What a home this is,” gushed Romney. “What grounds these are, the pool, the golf course.
“You know, if a Democrat were here he’d look around and say no one should live like this. Republicans come here and say everyone should live like this.”
Of course, Romney conveniently ignored a brutally ugly fact:
For the vast majority of Papa John’s minimum-wage-earning employees-–many of them working only part-time-–the odds of their owning a comparable estate are non-existent.
Had Obama been the serious student of Realpolitick that his enemies claim he is, he would have predicted that most businesses would seek to avoid compliance with his law.
To counter that, he need only have required employers to provide insurance coverage for all of their employees–regardless of their fulltime or part-time status.
This, in turn, would have produced two substantial benefits:
- All employees would have been able to obtain medical coverage; and
- Employers would have been encouraged to provide fulltime positions rather than part-time ones, since they would feel, “I’m paying for fulltime insurance coverage, so I should be getting fulltime work in return.”
The “Casey Doctrine” needs to be kept constantly in mind when reformers try to protect Americans from predatory employers.
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HOW THE NEXT 9/11 WILL HAPPEN: PART ONE (OF TWO)
In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law Enforcement, Military, Social commentary on January 25, 2016 at 12:07 amFourteen years after 9/11, America is now selling its Islamic enemies access to the very weapons–jet-fueled airplanes–they need to wage jihad against its citizens.
World Trade Center on September 11, 2001
This is happening thanks to the greed of American airline corporations and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Essentially, it comes down to this: Wealthy, self-entitled Americans hate waiting in long airport security lines.
But wealthy Americans–unlike poor and middle-class ones–have plenty of money to spend.
So they’re willing to shell out a good portion of it to the airlines and TSA so they won’t have to stand in line with the unworthy peasants.
And the airlines and TSA are happy to scoop up all that money in return for giving these self-important Richie-Riches preferential treatment.
Even if this comes at the risk of the nation they claim to love.
Consider the following:
TSA. offers Pre-Check, a program from the Department of Homeland Security. It’s available to frequent fliers on many airlines.
According to the TSA’s website, here’s how it works:
Click here: TSA Pre?™ Application Program | Transportation Security Administration
The website further notes: “TSA is accepting applications at more than 300 locations nationwide, including 26 airports.”
And what does a Pre-Check passenger get in return for his $85 registration fee?
Here’s the difference between a scan by a magnetometer and one using advanced imaging technology:
If you’re trying to carry a metallic firearm aboard a plane, the magnetometer will likely pick it up. But if you’ve filled your computer with plastic explosive, the magnetometer won’t pick it up.
Advanced imaging technology
Or maybe you want to be a more successful shoe-bomber than Richard Reid, who tried to blow up an American Airlines flight in 2001.
Being allowed to skip the requirement to remove your shoes will certainly take you a long way toward reaching your goal.
Of course, TSA isn’t alone in wanting to make money from deep-pockets airline passengers. The airlines have also been quick to get in on the act.
Most airlines make it possible for frequent-flier passengers to acquire elite status–for a price.
Passengers having any one of the following status memberships are eligible for this benefit:
Delta: Gold Medallion, Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion members
United: Premier Silver, Premier Gold, Premier Platinum, Premier 1K members
American: AAdvantage Gold, AAdvantage Platinum, and AAdvantage Executive Platinum members
USAirways: Silver Preferred, Gold Preferred, Platinum Preferred, and Chairman’s Preferred members
Southwest: A-List and A-List Preferred members
Alaska: MVP, MVP Gold, and MVP Gold 75 members
Jetblue: TrueBlue Mosaic members and those seated in Even More Space seats
Virgin America: Elevate Silver and Elevate Gold members
Click here: Travel Tuesday Top 10: Ways To Get Through Airport Security Faster in the US | The Points Guy
Yes, the greed of corporations and government agencies is partly responsible for this disgraceful–and highly dangerous–situation.
And so is the belief among the wealthy that they are the elect, and thus deserve special consideration.
But there is another factor at work here: The Calvinistic belief–shared by most Americans–that wealth is a sign of God’s favor, and thus proof that its holder is worthy of deference, if not awe.
In combination, they are steadily moving this nation closer to the day of the next 9/11 disaster.
How this will happen will be explained in Part Two of this series.
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