Middle Class

No political party enjoys losing an election, but a healthy party reacts to defeat - after a suitable period of grieving - by trying to figure out what went wrong. That's what Democrats did in the late 1980s after a string of failed presidential campaigns, and the process led to the election of Bill Clinton, a moderate Southern governor. And that's what many Republicans are trying to do now, after the defeat of Mitt Romney in November. They're pondering what went wrong and how the party needs to change.

It's one thing to pick a fight with public employee unions in Wisconsin and quite another for Michigan Republicans to take on all of organized labor, as happened with the "right-to-work" legislation that Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law Tuesday evening. Few states have a stronger union tradition, and the blow to the labor movement there could have ramifications far beyond Michigan's borders. Whatever one may think of unions - and they've made their share of mistakes as surely as corporate executives have - the decision is certain to depress wages in Michigan.

Deductions, exclusions and loopholes: Why does the middle class continue to struggle for dear life on the ladder of hope and prosperity because the rungs have been removed at the 20 percent mark? Does anyone remember when the middle class could take advantage of small but significant tax breaks, such as deductions for union dues and not having to report earned interest on their Christmas Club savings? Where are the loopholes for the poor? Here is how I define the fiscal cliff: For the rich, it's an ant hill but for the poor it's Mount Everest!

Forty-five years ago, I bought a set of electric curlers. They were made in America by Americans. They seemed expensive at that time. As it turned out, I was wrong about the price. After thousands of uses, they turned out to be a superb bargain - and then they died. As I tossed the old rollers into the trash bin, I felt like saying a eulogy to a bygone era when everyone could find a decent job, even if it were a boring, repetitive job on an assembly line, wiring a set of hair curlers for a young teenager.

President Barack Obama has several stated ambitions for his presidency. He wants it to be "transformative. " He wants to unite Americans of all parties. He wants to build an economy from the middle class out (whatever that means), and he wants to help what you might call the domestic refugees of America's economic transformation. Given the principled disagreements dividing left and right in America, it's hard to see how he can accomplish these goals when it comes to conventional economic policy.

Anyone who wondered whether a vote for President Barack Obama meant something should have been reassured by his performance in today's news conference. In the central issue that faces the country right now, whether the resolution to the so-called fiscal cliff will involve higher taxes on the wealthy, he could not have been more clear. Republicans who think they can blackmail the president into backing down on that question, as he did two years ago, had better think again. Mr. Obama outlined several reasons why he was willing to accept an extension of all the Bush tax cuts, including those for the wealthy, at the end of 2010.

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin celebrated his election to a second term with a traditional breakfast at Fells Point diner Jimmy's Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. "I'm kind of a boring guy: Egg white omelet. So that's what I got this morning with my grits," he said. "It was delicious. " Cardin sat at a table with U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who was not facing re-election this year, and Del. Maggie McIntosh. After finishing his meal, Cardin walked through the restaurant and talked to other diners, apologizing if he had caused them any inconvenience.

Democrat John Delaney, running for Congress in Maryland's competitive 6th District, began using a robo-call Thursday that features former President Bill Clinton. In the call, Clinton says that Delaney has "proved he knows what it takes to create jobs and grow this economy. You can count on John Delaney to stand up for the middle class and for our Democratic values. " Clinton has been a frequent presence in the race. He endorsed Delaney before the April primary and he headlined a fundraiser for him last month.

About this time in 2008, in a letter to the editor of the Catonsville Times, I listed 27 taxpayer-unfriendly plans Barack Obama had in store for us, if he were elected president. Well, four years have passed since then, and at least 21 of those 27 items have been implemented or are now works-in-progress. I expect the other six will become realities, if President Obama is reelected. He'll appoint even more anti-American Socialists, Islamists and Hispanics to positions of power and influence than he already has. He'll increase taxes for everybody, including middle class Americans.

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s column about the first anniversary of the Occupy movement betrays a hubris, a willful stupidity, and the usual threadbare deceptions ("Occupy movement got America wrong," Sept. 23). Such are the building blocks of the corrupt edifice that Occupy seeks to dismantle. It is no surprise that a politician of Mr. Ehrlich's stripes would think along these lines, as his administration acted as a tribune for the Walton family. Likewise it is no surprise that Mr. Ehrlich missed the ethical humanism at the core of Occupy.