Number 137 | December 21, 2001 |
Special Edition: |
Greetings, Happy Winter Solstice, everyone! Some months ago, reader Richard suggested that it might be fun to publish a Nygaard Notes that brought together the numerous "Quotes" of the Week in one issue. That seemed like a good idea so, instead of taking a couple of weeks off to attend to personal business and end-of-year Nygaard Notes clerical tasks (and to recuperate from this horrendous head cold that struck me this week), I decided to publish the first ever End-of-Year Nygaard Notes Quote-O-Rama this week. Actually, the entire issue could be composed of nothing but quotations from the media reporting on the "War on Terrorism," since the Orwellian nature of the reporting of this "war" has been boggling my mind on a daily basis since, oh, somewhere around September 13th. Maybe I'll do that special issue early in the New Year. Who knows? I will need to take next week off, also, so #138 will be some sort of reprint issue, as well, as I continue to catch up, so the next All-New Nygaard Notes should be out on January 4th. Sorry about the interruption, but this operation continues to be a one-person operation, so what do you expect? I encourage readers in Minnesota to contact your state legislator and tell them to support efforts in the state Senate to put a moratorium on the so-called "time limit" on welfare benefits. About 2,700 Minnesota families are scheduled to be deprived of their welfare benefits in 2002 because they have exceeded the arbitrary and pointless "5-Year Limit" enacted as part of the famous "Welfare Reform" of the mid-90s. Senator Linda Berglin is politically brave enough to say, "Cutting families off welfare during a period when full-time jobs are tough to find and to keep doesn't make sense." Not only does it not make "sense," it is immoral. To contact your legislator, go to the state legislature website at www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/ or call (651) 296-0504 (sorry, no toll-free number). Although all of the quotations in this week's Nygaard Notes have been previously published, I took the liberty of adding catchy headlines to make them even more vivid and thought-provoking (apologies to The Progressive Magazine, whose "No Comment" feature inspired me to take this approach.) Sniffling through another week, I remain yours truly, Nygaard |
"The winners increasingly are less interested in public goods that support everybody and more interested in segregating themselves from social problems which they will never experience." -- Economist Timothy J. Smeeding of Syracuse University, on why the growing gap between the rich and poor is a problem. (cited in the New York Times ("All the News That's Fit to Print") of January 19, 2000. |
"It is an indisputable fact of our political system that those candidates and laws favored by wealthy contributors usually prevail over those whose backers, or would-be backers, cannot afford to give large sums." -- from the introduction to the excellent study "The Color of Money: Campaign Contributions and Race," published in 1999 by the non-profit organization Public Campaign. |
"We have the resources - the issue is setting priorities." -- Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe (Democrat), who "didn't rule out using some of the state's budget surplus for high-tech business development but said those needs have to be balanced against others, such as tax relief," as reported in the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) of Thursday March 9th, 2001. |
"In order to include the developing world in the benefits of globalization, the well-off have to make some adjustments." -- President Clinton, speaking in front of "an audience of chief executives and political leaders at the World Economic Forum" in Davos, Switzerland last week [January 2000]. The above Quote of the Week came from an article in the New York Times which bore the almost unbearable headline, "Clinton implores elite not to overlook poor." (at least that was the headline in the local paper's reprint of the Times' story.) To their credit, the Times did point out that, to many people who actually live in the Third World, the President's remarks "would not be accepted as totally sincere." |
"In 1999, for the first time, the poor were more likely than the rich to have their tax returns audited, as the IRS followed orders from Congress to examine the working poor who apply for a special credit." -- from a New York Times report, reprinted on page A6 of the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) of February 16th, 2000. |
Would-be President George Bush, speaking to a Texas newspaper in December 1999: "I saw the report that children in Texas are going hungry. Where? You'd think the governor would have heard if there were pockets of hunger in Texas." Yes, you'd think so, wouldn't you? |
"It is very difficult today to find any communications product that provides any emotional bond to the consumer." -- from the "Advertising" column in the November 21st, 2001 NY Times comes the following quote from an advertising executive commenting on the challenge of getting people to choose one electronic messaging service over another. |
"The growth of the General Mills program reflects a desire by companies to address Americans' concerns about education and at the same time nurture brand loyalty among consumers." -- from the Business Section of the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) of August 21, 2001, reporting on a General Mills program called "Box Tops for Education," in which elementary school kids collect box tops from Trix, Kix, and Cocoa Puffs, which their school can then redeem to buy such things as books, pencils, and notebooks. |
"In interviews, Coke officials did not deny that black employees had often been paid less than they should have or failed to get the promotions they deserved. But, in the company's defense, they said workers throughout the company, regardless of gender or race, had similar experiences." -- from an article on the front page of the November 17th, 2000, New York Times, reporting on the recently settled racial bias lawsuit against Coca Cola. |
"In their self-righteous certitude, people like Dvorska are bashing two organizations that, while imperfect, are among the most important advocates for the world's poor in this naturally occurring process of globalization." -- in an editorial entitled "Prague Protests: Bashing Those Who Truly Serve the Poor," the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) quoted a protester named Dvorska at the recent annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as saying "We want the IMF and the World Bank to shut down." But that's not the Quote of the Week. That quote is the Star Trib's comment following Dvorska's plea. |
"There is always concern that rich people will have more and better health care. Many people have noted that we already have unequal systems in place. There is no way to stop this reality now or in the future." -- economist Jeanne Boeh, quoted in the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) of August 6th, 2001, in a article entitled "A New Medicare Model." |
"American foreign policy in a Republican administration should refocus the United States on the national interest...There is nothing wrong with doing something that benefits all humanity, but that is, in a sense, a second-order effect." -- President-elect George W. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, as quoted in the January 14th, 2001 Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) On the same day, the Star Trib's lead headline on the front page read: "Most Accept Bush As Chief." |
"We are in a competitive health care business. Just because we are nonprofit doesn't mean we are immune from the competitive market." -- Gordon Sprenger, Chief Executive Officer of Minnesota health care giant Allina Health System, explaining why his "non-profit" health-care company spends millions on such things as image consultants, golf trips, and spas. Quoted in the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) on March 22nd, 2001 |
This week's "quote" is from a front-page article in the New York Times ("All the News That's Fit to Print") from April 2nd, 2001 entitled "Medical Fees Are Often More For Uninsured." The article reported on the new health-care dynamic in the U.S. wherein huge health insurance companies promise to steer large numbers of patients to certain doctors if the doctors will agree to offer "hefty discounts" on the fees they bill to those insurers. The result is that "the uninsured pay the most and patients with insurance plans are charged the least" for their medical care. Commenting on this reality, Mark Pauly, Professor of health care systems at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, had this to say: "I don't think it's exactly good versus evil. It's just business." |
"Our intention is to make sure that the world is as peaceful as possible." -- "President" Bush, in his press conference of February 16th, 2001, attempting to explain what the Pentagon called "the biggest blow against Saddam Hussein's military in more than two years." And here is the lead headline from the NY Times of November 6, 2001: "U.S. Tries to Sway Worldwide Opinion in Favor of War." |
In an article in the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) reporting on Governor Jesse "The Libertarian" Ventura attempting to defend his massive budget cuts on a recent trip to Duluth. Ventura told the crowd that his budget reflects the "fact" that there is a "limited amount of money available," to which a citizen responded, saying "We do have a huge budget surplus, Governor." The Star Trib then reported that: "Ventura described how budget surpluses are created – through overtaxation." |
"How can there be a surplus when people are homeless?" -- former Minnesota Senate candidate Mike Ciresi, commenting on Governor "Lean ‘n Mean" Ventura's insistence on rebates and tax cuts. |
"I love the Park Board – would love to help them out. We don't have the money." -- Minneapolis City Council Member Dore Mead, commenting on the Mayor's city budget for 2001, which featured no increase in property taxes and was recently approved by the Council. Ms. Mead voted against the budget. |
"We have a big problem. We need government to take some ownership of it." -- Ron Lilek, senior vice president of human resources (sic) for Fairview Health Services, speaking at a rally for affordable housing. He was referring to the fact that finding affordable housing is "a serious problem for many of Fairview's 17,000 workers," about 35% of whom earn between $7 and $11 an hour. Did anyone ask Ron why Fairview's insistence on paying low wages is the government's problem? |