Thomas Geoghegan
Autor(a) de Which Side Are You On?: Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back
About the Author
Thomas Geoghegan is a practicing attorney and the author, of several books, including See You in Court, In America's Court, and the National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Which Side Are You On? (all available from The New Press). He has written for The Nation, the New York Times, and Harper's. mostrar mais He lives in Chicago. mostrar menos
Image credit: Uncredited photo at In These Times
Obras por Thomas Geoghegan
Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?: How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life (2010) 101 exemplares
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
- Nome canónico
- Geoghegan, Thomas
- Data de nascimento
- 1949
- Sexo
- male
- Nacionalidade
- USA
- Local de nascimento
- Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Locais de residência
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Chicago, Illinois, USA - Educação
- Harvard College
Harvard University - Ocupações
- lawyer
Membros
Críticas
Prémios
You May Also Like
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 9
- Membros
- 449
- Popularidade
- #54,622
- Avaliação
- 3.6
- Críticas
- 13
- ISBN
- 24
- Línguas
- 1
- Marcado como favorito
- 1
Thomas Geoghegan
Thomas Geoghegan, a Chicago lawyer specializing in labor law, ran for a seat as an Illinois Representative in the US Congress in 2008. He was defeated. Afterwards, he began to think more seriously about what is wrong with our government and how it could improve to become just, fair, and Constitutional.
In THE HISTORY OF DEMOCRACY HAS YET TO BE WRITTEN, he describes how he campaigned and what he should have done differently.
He also provides several areas that can be changed to improve our democracy. Understandably, labor is a top priority. Since membership in labor unions has declined dramatically, they are a key factor. When labor unions were strong, e.g., during the FDR years, union strength brought about well-paying jobs, even for people without a college degree, opportunities for leadership, and more participating in our democracy. Had the level remained that high, he believes, universal health care and green energy would be realities today.
He supports making voting mandatory. That would eliminate voter suppression. As of now, fewer than half of the eligible voters in the US bother to vote. The result has been people elected to office who receive fewer than 25% of the total votes cast. This translates into candidates trying to attract the extremists who are more likely to actually vote. The middle voters, many of whom are independent, don’t participate and, therefore, their opinions remain unheard while they remain turned off, disgusted, fed up, or unheard. It would also lower the cost of elections.
The two most recent GOP Presidents have received fewer votes than their Democratic opponents. Thanks to the Electoral College, which gives more power to states with smaller populations, they won their seats.
The House is supposed to represent all the people. It controls the revenue. But gerrymandering has warped that goal (in Ohio, the voters are split about 50:50 but the representation is 75:25). The Senate, with its ability to filibuster, has managed to remove that power. Forty senators from states representing 6% of the population can block a bill. Senators from states representing 16% of the people can enact a bill assuming there is no filibuster. According to Geoghegan, the Senate overrepresents the worst parts of the country creating a sense that we are out of control.
The Senate has been elected by legislatures until 1787. After that, the members were elected by the people and were expected to be serving the public. It was able to pass bills to establish things like the New Deal, the Civil Rights Act , The Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Too often, they not only don’t represent their state constituents, they are more loyal to their financial backers and/or their party instead of the Constitution. There was no filibuster. But as labor unions collapsed and Vietnam alienated Americans, the Senate turned into a group representing a minority of Americans but was able to hold the Senate and the country hostage.
Geoghegan discusses federal courts. Many of our laws are the results of federal court decisions, even those, such as abortion rights, that were overturned this year. Yet most Americans cannot even name half the members and how they have become more powerful than they were intended to be because the legislature has abandoned its Constitutional role and the courts have been packed with political-focused judges. Meanwhile, The Supreme Court has taken over responsibilities of Congress, e.g., stopping the vote count in Florida in 2000.
While I don’t agree with everything Geoghegan has written, the book moves quickly and offers much food for thought.… (mais)