We Shouldn’t Promote the Wealthy Elite Who Already Run this Country

Why do we all let the conservatives run our country into the ground?  They tell us that we spend too much money taking care of ourselves, paying for outlandish things like public servants to teach our children, fight our fires, police our streets, fixing our roads, etc.  Why do we listen to these lies?  We perform all the work that keeps this country functioning and keeps rich people rich.  As with other societies in crisis, historically speaking, a scapegoat must be found to divert attention away from the real problems, conservative policies.  No longer do the moneyed elites show much regard for the middle class that put them there.  Instead, they pit the middle class against each other with the hope that it will auto-cannibalize itself into a weakened state where desperation drives politics and public decision making and not logic that supports self preservation. Conservatives love power and when they do not control it, they will go to any and all measures to get it back.

In any community in this country, if the folks who live in the “nice” neighborhoods take issues with or are afraid of anything, they immediately have their needs met and the issues resolved.  If an emergency occurs in these neighborhoods, or rich people take issue with something, all available resources are used to address the situation.  If terrorists were to create a crisis in a good neighborhood, the rest of the community would become totally vulnerable, lacking the political power and support to justify the immediate need for protection.  Crime and terror would be rampant and unstoppable, as scarce public resources would not and could not be deployed to help.

Losing the War on Terror

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has been engaged in the War on Terror and almost exclusively against Muslim extremists.  Who is winning this war?  Who will win this war?  It’s hard to imagine that such large and complex questions might be answered by the act of allowing or disallowing a mosque at Ground Zero, but I submit to you that it is. 

Forget for a moment that the United States engaged this War on two fronts and has yet to really eliminate the enemy or diminish the numbers of their soldiers.  The enemies support for the war is factitious and could diminish quickly – most likely it won’t.  In fact, those numbers have increased at times. 

Forget for a moment that these wars tanked our domestic economy and the world’s economy.  The abilities of productive and competent peoples to regain economic ground and repay debt are repeated throughout history. With more foreign competition in the marketplaces, it may take a while for the United States to define its unique and valuable talents. 

But when the United States denies religious freedom in defiance of the Constitution and embraces ethnocentrism, we have lost the War on Terror.  When the mechanisms by which many generations of vastly different peoples have prospered and helped propel the United States to domination in so many ways are abandoned, we have lost the war.  We will not have lost because we are still fighting, or because we are poorer and now live with less.  We will have lost because we sacrificed a unique and great quality that defined the United States superiority in the first place.  We will begin a habit of destroying other mechanisms that create and promote opportunity and prosperity.  We will begin to be defeated.

Republicans Produce Great Rhetoric for Recruiting Anti-American Terrorists

Whether it’s Newt Gingrich or Governor Paul LePage, one has to marvel at some Republicans desire to aid anti-American terrorists in their efforts to portray the United States as the Great Satan, a great aid when trying to recruit new terrorists. It seems to me that these statements from these leaders might be considered harmful to American interests domestically and abroad.

Unraveling Conservative Spin

In 2001, when George W. Bush took office and Republicans controlled Congress, the budget was essentially balanced and the total national debt was about $5.8 trillion. Washington has run an annual deficit every year since. Over Bush's first six years, when Republicans controlled the White House and Congress, the debt rose by about $3.2 trillion. Over the last two years of the Bush administration, when Democrats controlled Congress, the debt rose by another $2.9 trillion. So over the eight-year Bush administration, the debt more than doubled, rising by a total of $6.1 trillion.
Obama, in his first two years, has added about $3.2 trillion more to the national debt. There are plenty of caveats. The pace of debt expansion under Obama is obviously faster, but that's due to the stimulus and to a shrinking economy that still hasn't regained all the ground lost since the recession began in late 2007. And both presidents passed programs with costs still to be tallied in the future. Still, any politician charging the other party with excessive spending could--and should!--level the same accusation at his own party. Republicans and Democrats alike are addicted to spending money they don't have.
During the housing boom, Fannie and Freddie faced political pressure to expand homeownership and competitive pressure from Wall Street to back ever-riskier loans. When the market went bust, defaults and foreclosures piled up, and the government had to take them over.
Ours is a beautiful country, but it has been taken over by men who have no respect for human rights or constitutional liberties. Our people are basically decent and caring, and our highest ideals are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, which says that all of us have an equal right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The history of our country is a striving against corporate robber barons and war makers, to make those ideals a reality — and all of us, of whatever age, can find immense satisfaction in becoming part of that.

Glenn Beck's points are pointless, like most of his "fact-checked" information.  The GOP hates competition from anybody and they'll ruthlessly attack any form of liberalism.  Their world would be much better if they were in control of everything, always.  Unfortunately, that is not representative Democracy.  Beck is nothing more than a corporate shill who does the bidding of the minority power-brokers, supporting their destructive methods and policies.  Glenn Beck should disappear from public life and promptly be forgotten, except that there's way too much money to be made selling his soul to the GOP.

Encourage Foreign Investment – Competition to Provide Capital

A great opportunity to encourage foreign investment in this country...maybe take some of the "mono" out of the (transnational corporate) monopolies with some good, old-fashioned, capitalist-inspired COMPETITION.  This great country should not be at the mercy of it's uber-rich and -powerful.  Let's give tax breaks to "new" foreign investors just like we give tax breaks to companies that offshore our domestic jobs.  I bet then we'll some increase in domestic investment as massive opportunity slips into the hands of "others".

Remove Profiteering and Support a Public Option in Healthcare Reform

The Public Option is an absolute necessity to any truly effective healthcare overhaul.  Here’s why.

Throughout history, profit has been made providing essential services at the public’s expense until the fleecing became so apparent that a response is absolutely warranted. 

When public infrastructure and community assets, including roads, community utilities, storm drains and parks, needed to be constructed or repaired, contractors were paid more than the minimum capital requirement to finance the work, materials and equipment in the name of supporting businesses entitlement to profit.  Eventually, the public agencies responded by providing the same services with their own forces. Contracting for construction services is still a giant part of our domestic economy.

When public safety services, including law enforcement, fire fighting, border protection, and security support (military), became too expensive to afford, public servants were utilized and paid salary instead of “per occurrence” fees.  Private security and fire protection products and services have only increased in recent decades. 

The same is true for education, a mix of public and private institutions providing a critical service whose recipients’ wealth-levels vary widely.

The people hired to work for the public good have never been paid more than their private enterprise counterparts.  Instead, the incentive to lure them into employment was based upon security - a steady, reasonable income without boosts from profit nor dips from declines and a retirement benefit. Basically, fewer rewards are earned for fewer risks taken.  As well, private enterprise and the public sector have always shared human resources.  The private sector can acquire the talent it needs when opportunity becomes available and often at the public expense, since experience and training are provided by the public sector.

Currently, the healthcare system is served almost exclusively by for-profit institutions.  The public sector must provide this service or no restraints will be in-place to control the greed of private health care providers.

The Last Mayor of Pompeii

Coming to power in November 2008, as the Democrats did, was like being elected mayor to a community recently leveled by a natural disaster. For some time, the daily responsibilities will be to rebuild and neither to maintain nor improve.  The fact that this country has endured a recession comparable only to the Great Depression with only a 10-12% unemployment rate is amazing, a testimony to responsible intervention and sound economic science.  And less than 4 years after the beginnings of the recession are signs of improvement, albeit slow improvement. 

As the Democrats lose their power of an unappreciative public who showed little enthusiasm for the unprecedented efforts to stabilize banking, the economy, health care and energy policy, all of which were in very poor shape, they may silently chuckle to themselves knowing that the Republicans have no plan for mending this country’s ailments and after they gain power and pull the lifelines that currently hold the frailty together, all will be revealed as the “dip” returns to double itself. 

How many more generations will watch those responsible for ruining the economy and profiting from its ruin campaign to direct blame onto honest, intelligent, hard-work members of the middle- and lower-middle classes without shame as they do today? When does the middle-class majority learn to care for itself and stop demonizing efforts to promote its interest, regardless of media-blitzing propaganda?  Metaphorically speaking, a dog and its tail are interminably attached and the tail should never wag the dog.  The financial elite and the middle class are the same, and the minority, no matter how powerful, should be politically beholden to the majority if balance is to be achieved.

GOP’S True Agenda

Tuesday, November 30, 2010.  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said after the meeting that Senate Republicans first wanted to address the expiring tax cuts and pending spending legislation before tackling other issues. He also said the GOP remains "100 percent" against any tax increases and said they oppose any policy of leaving tax cuts in place for middle class people while raising rates for the wealthy.

Don't forget this, America, the rich and powerful run this country and the government, even though they are a very small minority of our population.  They have all the resources they need to control anyone and anything.  They are no more concerned with the future of this country than they are any other country into which they are invested.  They are not Americans in the traditional sense.  They do not live in America; they live all over the world in the most exclusive places.  They do not pledge allegiance to one country, they pledge ownership where they buy their power and influence.  We are foolish if we think that the benefactors of the tax cut extension give even a small care about our future.  When this country turns into total crap, they'll move on the next one that will afford them opportunity to rip-off their society by dodging their fiscal responsibility.

The Republicans are the party of the rich - no question about that as they again bestow undeserved wealth upon those who need it least and weaken the economy further.  The Democrats sell-out to the Republicans as is apparent in this article, and will soon lose power as their constituents abandon them for their misdeeds.  The Tea Party is a populist version of the Republican Party and, in the long-term will share the same fate.  Is another, real “third” party waiting in the wings to carry the flag of the progressive cause and represent the real majority, the middle class?

Public spending: myths vs. facts

By Walt Schafer

To hear some politicians talk, state spending is out of control and state workers are living like kings, among other myths. Let’s look at the facts.

Myth: State-government costs have ballooned in recent years relative to the state’s total economy. Facts: In 1977 state government consumed 6.6 percent of the state’s economy. In 2010 that figure was 5.6 percent.

Myth: The number of state employees has grown out of control. Facts: Thirty years ago there were 9.5 state employees per 1,000 residents. Now there are 8.9 for every 1,000 residents. In 2008, California ranked fourth lowest among all states in the ratio of state employees to state population.

Myth: State spending is at an all-time high relative to residents’ earnings. Facts: For each $100 Californians earn, the state spends $7.44. That number has been this low only four times in the past three decades.

Myth: Public schools and higher education take an ever-growing share of state taxes. Facts: Schools take only slightly more of the state budget (43.6 percent) than in 1998 (42.7 percent). Public universities’ share is slightly lower now (7.5 percent) than in 1998 (8.6 percent). Meanwhile, state prisons’ share has grown from 7 percent in 1998 to 11 percent now.

Myth: Welfare is eating up more and more of the state budget. Facts: Welfare consumed 3 percent of the state budget in 1998; that figure now is 2.4 percent.

Myth: The number of California public employees continues to grow faster than population growth. Facts: Between March 2008 and October 2009, the number of local and state employees declined by 70,000 while population increased by approximately 600,000.

Myth: State employees are not sacrificing like private-sector employees. Facts: Take-home pay for the same job classifications has declined by 44 percent over the past 15 years for California state employees (adjusting for inflation) as a result of pay cuts, increased medical insurance costs, and furloughs. Excluding furloughs, the decline has still been 30 percent.

Myth: State employees in California are no more educated than private-sector employees and, hence, should be paid no more than private-sector workers. Facts: Public employees in California are more than twice as likely to hold a college degree or more compared with private-sector employees (48 percent vs. 23 percent).

Sources: Dan Morain, Sacbee.com, May 13, 2010, and Peter Brand, Sacbee.com, July 6, 2010)

Some Conservative truth

Unemployment hit its highest national levels in the last 37 years that records have been kept in 82 or 83, over 2 years into President Reagan’s first term. 33 states also saw their highest levels of unemployment in those years.

When President Carter took office, unemployment was 7.1% and dropped to 5.8% in the middle of his term then rose back to 7.1% when he left office. President Reagan saw an increase in unemployment of over 3.5%.

Federal revenue under President Carter rose steadily and declined after the 1981 President Reagan tax cuts. Revenues dropped so fast after President Reagan’s tax cuts, he raised them in 84, rescinding 40% of his earlier cuts.

The debt tripled under President Reagan.

The debt doubled under President Bush from 2001 to 2007 WITH a republican Congress. President Bush never vetoed one spending bill in that time.

The deficits under President Bush hit all-time records only surpassed by his father. President Reagan comes in second for highest deficits.

On 1/9/09, two weeks before President Obama was inaugurated, the CBO estimated the deficits for 2009 to be $1.3 trillion. Their forecast called for trillion-plus deficits for years.

The deficit is 90% due to President Bush tax cuts and wars but more the tax cuts. Only 10% is due to the stimulus.

Nearly all economists agree that the economy would have cratered much more deeply and painfully without the stimulus.

The increase in the debt is entirely due to the President Bush policies, the recession’s effects on federal revenues and the cost of supporting the country in the recession.

Obama’s first budget did not increase spending over that of President Bush, adjusted for population and normal growth.

America’s Un-American Future

America is taking a Roman holiday.  The middle class is under attack and continues to shrink, wages and benefits are spiraling downward, energy and health costs are rising out of control, and (voter) revolution is fomenting in our ranks.  America no longer makes anything, all jobs are going offshore and Wall Street unrepentantly continues to repackage worthless debt with no value added in the face of the worst USA-lead global economic crisis in modern history.  If you design, build and otherwise make things, you are facing the prospect of vanishing work and no demand for your skills.  If you have obtained a college degree, advanced degree and professional license, your potential losses are magnified.  Other countries, like Australia and New Zealand are hungry for specialized talent.  Unfortunately, the writing on the wall tells us that we may lose the global game to attract the technical talent who build and maintain our modern world.