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Politics’ Role in the Extinction of the Middle Class
Its official I am getting old. I’ve always been one of those people who read and observed things developed an opinion and then moved on with my life. However, recently I have become one of those people who read and observe, and then feels compelled to comment. Don’t get me wrong I have always been a rather opinionated guy, just not on a global basis. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but I guess it doesn’t really matter because deep down inside it kind of feels good.
I don’t consider myself an overly educated man, at least not when compared to the so called elite of our country, you know, the ones who decide what is best for the masses. I did graduate high school and attend some college but that was about it. Everything else I’ve learned in life has come from living it. I also believe, at least in my opinion, that I have been blessed with a greater than average amount of common sense. I have also always had an uncanny ability to quickly, and I mean quickly, see people and situations for what they were. Believe me when I tell you having that ability has not been an asset in my personal or business life.
My involvement on a political level has been limited to voting about five times in my life, keep in mind I am forty-two years old. I’m not bragging I just want you to understand who I am. I didn’t care about who was mayor, congressman, senator, governor, or president. I always new at the end of the day even the most well intending politician in order to survive would be swallowed up quickly by lobbyists, special interest groups, or their peers. Sort of that conform or be cast out mentality. It is rapidly starting to look like I may have been right all this time. So now what do I do I’ve read and observed, so I guess it must be time to move on. The problem is I don’t believe I can just move on this time.
Then it happened, I started having conversations with family, friends, co-workers, and just people in general. A funny thing occurred, they all pretty much feel the same way I do, trapped and not sure what to do to fix the problem. At that point I took it one step farther I started watching the presidential debates and reading all the articles I could find about the candidates. I also started reading about the overall well being of this country. That is what got me to the point I am today, sitting at my computer putting my thoughts on paper. I am not sure what if anything I will do with this yet, but I guess you have to start somewhere, and this seems like a pretty good start. I don’t want to come across as one of the death and gloom types that is painting a picture of Armageddon and we are all doomed, I merely am going to try and help people including myself understand why things have gotten to the point in this country they have. So here it goes.
I am going to start with the things that have bothered me the longest and work to wards my newer thoughts as I move along.
First: Homeless in the United States.
How can any citizen of this country go to sleep at night knowing there is anyone sleeping outside with no food and it not be their choice to do so. The numbers are about 600,000 families at any given time. This includes approximately 1.35 million children. It also includes 200,000 veterans, that’s right 200,000 people who protected your freedom have no place to live at any given time. With the resources this country has there should be no homeless and hungry people, problem is there is no profit in solving the homeless problem within the government.
Second: Affordable Accessible Healthcare.
There are approximately 37 million Americans without health insurance at any given time in the United States. Whether they don’t have it available or simply can’t afford the cost. While many a politician has talked about reforming the healthcare system it will not happen until we the people force it to happen. Why, you ask, because there is no profit in giving healthcare services to all American citizens.
Third: Illegal Immigration.
There are approximately twelve million illegal immigrants in the United States right now, and that number grows by the second. Don’t get me wrong here, I am all for immigration when the rules are followed. Problem here is if you remove all the illegal immigrants in this country it is going to drive the cost of goods higher than they already are and we all know there is no profit in that. We are going to secure our borders by building a super highway from Mexico, through the United States, and into Canada, now that sounds profitable, but I fail to see how that is going to help secure our borders. Oh yeah absolutely no social security or any other benefits offered to illegal immigrants.
Fourth: Tax Credits.
I’m tired of hearing if I do this or that then I will qualify for a tax credit when I file my taxes. Problem is I don’t need a tax credit that is smoke and mirrors and if I’m lucky will put a hundred or so dollars in my pocket come March. I need to pay less taxes when I buy goods or services, problem with that is there is no profit in giving me a true tangible savings in my daily life.
Fifth: Oil.
We don’t need it, we have other technologies available to us that are far more efficient and have been developed to a point that they can easily replace our appetite for the millions of barrels of oil we use. Problem again, there is not enough profit in developing alternative energy sources to help eliminate our lust for oil.
Sixth The Dollar.
The dollar has no value because it is no longer backed by gold. At some point someone thought if we needed to raise money we should just print it and forget about whether or not it could be guaranteed by gold. If that is the case then we should just print a nine trillion dollar bill and pay back the national debt and we can start from scratch with a new regime with the well being of the people in mind. Only one problem with that idea, there is no profit in it.
Seventh: The Economy.
We are not nearing a recession, we are in a recession and are going to be for quite a while, and everyone knows there is no profit in a recession.
Eighth: Government Spending and Policies.
Get rid of wasteful spending that benefits no one. Get rid of lobbyists and special interest groups, again the problem with doing this is there is no future or profit for a politician to do something so radical.
Ninth: Military Spending.
I completely support the military and the need for the military. I do however feel it is not the responsibility of the United States to police or occupy another country simply because we don’t have the same belief system they do. We are spending trillions on our military when that money could be well spent in many other ways while still maintaining the most powerful and feared military on the planet.
Tenth: Produced In America.
We have to stop sending all of our production to foreign countries and bring it back to the United States. Again the problem in doing that is you will dramatically cut down on profit, and that is not a good thing, right? Unemployment is not bad?, so why should we care were are goods are produced. Besides China is sending us some quality products and they are not charging us extra for the led.
I think by now you are starting to get the picture. The government hasn’t seriously tackled any of these issues simply because of one word, profit.
There is no real interest in tackling any of the before mentioned issues simply because of return on investment.
There is no serious interest in building refineries or windmills or nuclear power plants simply because it takes years to recoup the initial cost of production. Unfortunately they only way any of this type of technology will be developed are if the taxpayers are willing to foot the bill. Until then we will just have to see what costs more a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk.
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Posted by saw13 on 2008-01-16 20:58:01 | Rating: | Views: 86
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saw
thanks for the comment on my blog.you are right in your observation of the days events.its funny how two days after i posted my comments on recession,the feds came out with a b.s. plan to help the ecconmy.but they still dont get it.in the next 2-3 weeks you will see a 2000++ drop in the dow.this will ooccur when all the insurance co.s that are procecting all the lenders who are writting off billions have to pay up and they just dont have the monies to bail them out.stay tuned the fan is gonna get hit.
god bless
rick
n1rg
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Posted by n1rg
on 2008-01-19 18:11:11
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saw
thanks for the comment on my blog.you are right in your observation of the days events.its funny how two days after i posted my comments on recession,the feds came out with a b.s. plan to help the ecconmy.but they still dont get it.in the next 2-3 weeks you will see a 2000++ drop in the dow.this will ooccur when all the insurance co.s that are procecting all the lenders who are writting off billions have to pay up and they just dont have the monies to bail them out.stay tuned the fan is gonna get hit.
god bless
rick
n1rg
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Posted by n1rg
on 2008-01-19 18:11:34
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Rick,
That is funny you say that about the insurance companies, I was wondering if there was gonna be enough capital to pay any of this so called guaranteed money. Should be interesting to watch in 08, not gonna be a good year for to many the way it looks.
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Posted by saw13
on 2008-01-19 20:44:07
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