Bob Lord

Bob has mostly wound down his 39-year career as a tax and business lawyer (with a 1-year interruption to run for Congress in 2008 (CD3), when he tried to unseat John Shadegg. Bob now serves as the senior advisor on tax policy for the Patriotic Millionaires, a group of wealthy Americans who believe the light taxation of America's rich is destabilizing our democracy, and as an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. Bob has been writing for Blog For Arizona since late 2011, concentrating mostly on federal issues, with an occasional foray into Arizona state politics.

Intellectual Dishonesty Bi-Partisan Style

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Posted by Bob Lord

If you're sick and tired of partisan bickering in Congress, you may want to reconsider.

You see, one month ago, the "freshman bi-partisan caucus," or "United Solutions" gang, as they're calling themselves, led by 29 year-old Democrat Patrick Murphy of Florida, issued their manifesto, in the form of a statement to President Obama and House leaders in both parties, outlining their supposed bi-partisan solutions. You can find the entire letter here. According to this bi-partisan caucus, which by my count numbers 36 including 13 Democrats, their statement outlines areas of "common ground." My own assessment is that the supposedly common ground bullet points in the statement either are taken straight from the Republican playbook or are proposals with which nobody could conceivably take issue, like "aggressively pursuing Medicare fraud." Wow, that's thinking outside the box. 

But the real gem in the United Solutions manifesto is the second bullet point, which reads in full:

AZ Freshman Reps Sweep Gold, Silver and Bronze

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Posted by Bob Lord Looks like in the Olympics of selling out your base, our three freshman Congressional reps can claim a clean sweep. This from Down With Tyranny: In 2012 the DCCC put virtually all their recruitment energy and, later, their money behind Blue Dogs and New Dems. The freshman class is significantly further … Read more

A Glimpse At Our Future

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Posted by Bob Lord With 40 hours or so of travel time during my trip down under, there was ample opportunity for reading.  The most intriguing read was 2052: A Global Forecast For The Next 40 Years, by Jorgen Randers. Randers was one of the co-authors of The Limits to Growth, back in 1972. Combining … Read more

A Numbers Guy’s View of The American Dream

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Posted by Bob Lord

For those of you who haven't noticed, I'm a numbers guy. A geek to the core. 

A numbers guy probably should be staying away from a concept as lofty as the American Dream. It's ok to analyze the crap out of some things, but not the American Dream. The American Dream is for big picture people, right? Probably, but I can't resist. 

I've contended in prior posts that conservatives have bastardized the concept of the American Dream, and progressives largely have let them get away with it. According to today's conservative dogma, the American Dream represents the chance in America to go from humble beginnings to vast fame and fortune through hard work. To conservatives, Steve Jobs represents the American Dream. In my mind, the real American Dream is entirely different. It is simply the ability of any American who works hard — a teacher, a cop, an auto worker — to enjoy a good life. Under either definition of the American Dream, anyone can achieve the American Dream through hard work. After all, if it wasn't out there for all Americans, it wouldn't be the American Dream.

In my mind, the math and the logic are compelling. My analysis follows after the jump.

$15 Per Hour: It’s Australian For Minimum Wage, Mate

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Posted by Bob Lord After spending a week in Melbourne, Australia visiting our daughter and son-in-law, I have to reconsider my views about wealth and income inequality. NOT   Want a job paying $15 per hour? Just move to Australia and work for the minimum wage.  Yes, the cost of living there is a bit … Read more