Orcas Currents Presentation Packs Orcas Center | Video Now Available

— from David Turnoy —

Well over 300 people attended a lecture delivered by Hedrick Smith on Sunday, Nov. 20, at Orcas Center. Hedrick Smith was a reporter and editor for the New York Times, a producer and correspondent for the PBS show Frontline, and the author of many books, one of which is Who Stole the American Dream? Smith is an astute and discerning observer of politics in this country today, and we are fortunate to have him on Orcas Island for part of the year. He also maintains a website called Reclaim the American Dream, which provides tools for helping groups of average Americans to improve the functioning of our country and to restore democracy. reduce inequality, and rebuild the power of the people.

Smith talked about the populist revolution that took place in America this year, both on the Republican side with Donald Trump and the Democratic side with Bernie Sanders. Many Americans have not seen their lives improving even while the macroeconomic numbers look good. As a result, people were ready to vote for change.

If you have read Who Stole the American Dream?, you will be familiar with Smith’s observation that the heads of corporations used to believe they were part of a virtuous circle of growth, that they felt they had an obligation to not only take care of their shareholders but to grow their companies by investing in research and development and by investing in training, retraining, salary, and benefits for their employees. After all, if employees have enough money to purchase the products manufactured in the economy, they will spend their money, thus driving demand for more products, fueling growth and prosperity for all. This is what drove the best economy America has ever had, lasting from the end of the 1930s into the 1970s.

But a memo written to CEOs in 1971 by a corporate lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice, claiming that anti-business sentiment had gone too far and that CEOs must start fighting back, led to an era of aggressive business and deregulation that still exists today. At the time of this memo in 1971, corporations plowed only 53% of their profits into shareholder returns, the other 47% going to growing the company. Today this nearly equal sharing of the profits has shifted to where 91% of corporate profits are returned to shareholders, and only 9% is spent on growth and taking care of employees. Growth is no longer the goal, as greed has taken over. Even business schools teach budding MBAs that shareholder profits are everything.

The result of this shift has led to a downward economic spiral for average Americans. The pursuit of higher profits has led hundreds if not thousands of companies to move their production facilities to other countries with cheaper labor markets. These companies have paid no penalty for this, and they continue to stash trillions of dollars overseas. Meanwhile, millions of family wage jobs have disappeared, and the middle class has shrunk.

What can be done? The first thing we must do, according to Smith, is to take back our democracy, to fix the things that are wrong with it. Priority number one is getting big money out of politics. Smith is excited that Washington state just became the 18th state to pass a measure calling for the overturning of Citizens United, and this must be accomplished in 20 more states so that the Constitution can be amended so that money isn’t speech and corporations aren’t people. Unfortunately, I-1464, a measure to further reform the way politics is conducted here in Washington state by allowing tax credits for small political donations and by preventing government officials from becoming lobbyists for a certain number of years, did not pass here, but did pass in the unlikely state of South Dakota. Two other important issues Smith encourages us to work on are voter suppression and gerrymandering. In addition, registering more voters is crucial; some 80 million voters, or 40% of those eligible to vote, chose not to. [To that list I would add super delegates, instant runoff voting, and the Electoral College.]

Smith calls on all of us to get energized and involved. It is up to us, everyday Americans, to take back our democracy. Especially now, with the serious threats that our country faces from within, there has never been a better time to participate and make your voice heard.

Editor’s Note: A recording of the presentation is now available:.