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.

Did Huppenthal Call Brewer a Liar?

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It’s now two weeks since I requested additional information about the aliases John Huppenthal used and the sites at which he commented. A week ago, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Now, it seems, he may be ignoring my questions. I’ll go out on a limb here. I think Huppenthal’s aliases went beyond Falcon9 … Read more

Gaza: Your Tax Dollars at Work

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I’ve intended to write on the massacre in Gaza but can’t stop reading long enough to write. It’s late, and the best I can do is pass along a few posts on the U.S. role in this tragedy, one from Mondoweiss.net and the other from Truthdig.com, both of which are providing solid coverage.

First, Jonathan Cook at Mondoweiss, in US plays decisive role in Israel’s attack on Gaza. Cook discusses two recent investigations by the Israeli media, one involving the contrived nature of the recent Egyptian ceasefire proposal and the other involving U.S. complicity in the expansion of Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

On the ceasefire proposal:

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Inequality: Is it Really About Jealousy?

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It never fails. Each time I write a piece about the horrific, and worsening, concentration of wealth or income in America, I get at least one snide comment from an inequality denialist about my jealousy. In this respect, our old friend Thucky has plenty of company. Indeed, I believe just about every troll who’s haunted the pages of this blog has gone down that road.

On the last such occasion, I had pointed out the preposterous (at least to me) reality that the compensation of our highest paid hedge fund manager now rivals that of the entire population of a mid-size American city. Didn’t matter. It still was about my jealousy.

So I wonder: What have I said about my own situation that makes inequality denialists so sure my writing is jealousy driven?

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Huppenthal’s Commenting: Do We Know the Full Story Yet?

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A month or so ago, John Huppenthal admitted to posting comments under the pseudonyms Thucydides and Falcon9 at Blog for Arizona, EspressoPundit, Three Sonorans, and Seeing Red AZ. But do we know the full extent of his commenting? Are there other pseudonyms? Are there other sites where he commented? I’ve asked his office these questions. I’ve also … Read more

Worth More: One Man or an Entire City?

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What does it say about our society when one hedge fund manager makes a bigger income than the whole population of Springfield, Ohio or Burbank, California?

[Note to BfAZ readers: This is my syndicated piece for today at OtherWords.org. It’s actually based on a piece I wrote about the city of Surprise, Arizona, which fits this description perfectly. The daily newspaper in Surprise was not interested in the piece, however, so I adapted it for syndication.]

A population of 100,000 is substantial. Five states don’t even have one metropolis that large. Some cities that size, like Fargo, North Dakota, are their state’s biggest. Others, like Lansing, Michigan, are state capitals.

About 100,000 people live in Rochester, Minnesota, home of the Mayo Clinic. The same goes for Burbank, California and Springfield, Ohio.

Most of America’s cities of 100,000 now share one uncomfortable reality.

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