Day: March 11, 2011

Toxicity Of American Politics

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Government/Political Science/

We have all noticed that the atmosphere in Washington has gotten more toxic in the last decade of so…..some blame the rise of the Tea Party, others blame the anger on the Right and yet others blame the intrusion of business or corporations since the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that allows corporations a free ride in campaign financing……..

This situation has been written about, analyzed and ranted on for some time….blame is everywhere….the GOP, the Dems, the TP or the vile spewed by pundits on the airways…….but you know from the very beginning of this republic people have seen this coming….Thomas Paine, Teddy Roosevelt, etc….but someone even before Teddy had something to say about the doings in the capital…….

(Pause here for mass anticipation)…..

Back in 1882, on a tour of the US, English political philosopher made this observation…….

You retain the forms of freedom; but, so far as I can gather, there has been a considerable loss of the substance. It is true that those who rule you do not do it by means of retainers armed with swords; but they do it through regiments of men armed with voting papers, who obey the word of command as loyally as did the dependants of the old feudal nobles, and who thus enable their leaders to override the general will, and make the community submit to their exactions as effectually as their prototypes of old. It is doubtless true that each of your citizens votes for the candidate he chooses for this or that office, from President downwards; but his hand is guided by an agency behind which leaves him scarcely any choice. “Use your political power as we tell you, or else throw it away,” is the alternative offered to the citizen. The political machinery as it is now worked, has little resemblance to that contemplated at the outset of your political life. Manifestly, those who framed your Constitution never dreamed that twenty thousand citizens would go to the poll led by a “boss.” America exemplifies at the other end of the social scale, a change analogous to that which has taken place under sundry despotisms. You know that in Japan, before the recent Revolution, the divine ruler, the Mikado, nominally supreme, was practically a puppet in the hands of his chief minister, the Shogun. Here it seems to me that “the sovereign people” is fast becoming a puppet which moves and speaks as wirepullers determine.

And guess what?  The American public HAS become the puppet of these special interests….it is no longer about the “common good” but rather about winning…….. solely.  Look at the new slogan of the GOP….”a better society for the taxpayer”……where is that society?  Lay-offs, unemployment, etc……where is that better for the taxpayer?  The attacks on unions….like they are not taxpayers?  All so much propaganda….maybe we need to make it official and create a Ministry of Propaganda…….all the lame but some how cute slogans are nothing more than that….PROPAGANDA.

From a CNN poll…….

Given the choice between a candidate who agrees with them on the issues or a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama in 2012, a new national poll indicates Republicans overwhelming want a winner.According to CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday, nearly seven out of ten Republicans say they would prefer a GOP presidential nominee who can top Obama in the next election, with 29 percent saying a nominee who agrees with them on every issue that matters the most is more important.

It is all about winning and NOT what may be best for the people and the country…….this toxic atmosphere will do NOTHING to improve the country and move it forward……….the inaction of the government is slowly driving a stake into the very heart of the country…without change our days are numbered….. sad to say……

Are There Serious Solutions To Be Had?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Federal Deficit/Budget Spending/ Budget Cuts

There is a good game of political tennis going on in Washington and on the airways……we all agree we need cuts, but for some reason these cowards are NOT serious about them….why?  In a word….re-election!  They will propose…they will piss and moan….they will accuse and they will cry (not necessarily Boehner)…..and in the end…we have done what the ALL say we should stop doing…..we will have kicked the can down the road…..

But are there some cuts that could be done today that would put the country on the right path to solvency?

Yes, there are some very easy cuts that could be made….but NO one in Washington has the courage to even propose let alone try to implement….

OK Professor, what cuts would you suggest at this point in the debate……

  • The extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, enacted by a Democratic-controlled Congress in December with the approval of the Obama administration, pumps $700 billion over the next ten years into the pockets of the rich. Reclaiming two years of that tax windfall would eliminate all the state budget deficits combined.
  • Total compensation at Wall Street banks and securities firms last year hit a record $135 billion, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal, on all-time-high revenue of $417 billion. The recipients of the Wall Street bailout could bail out the states out of their own pockets.
  • The 400 richest individuals in the United States dispose of a staggering $1.37 trillion in assets, an average of nearly $3.5 billion apiece. A levy of 10 percent on the resources of these billionaires would also erase the deficits of all 50 states.
  • Combined profits for all American corporations rocketed upwards in 2010, hitting an annual rate of $1.66 trillion in the third quarter. A tax of eight percent on those profits—the same percentage as the cut Walker seeks to impose on schoolteachers and park rangers—would eliminate all state deficits.
  • US corporations are currently sitting on $2 trillion in cash, refusing to hire workers despite collecting tax cuts that are supposed to be incentives to do so. A levy of 10 percent on that idle cash would provide enough money to eliminate not only the deficits of the states, but the deficits of all cities and local governments too, as well as preserving the jobs of hundreds of thousands of public employees.
  • Hedge funds assets rose to $1.92 trillion in 2010, the highest ever, up from $1.18 trillion at the beginning of the year. Given a standard earnings formula of 2 percent of total assets plus 20 percent of the increase, hedge fund bosses stood to collect roughly $186 billion in personal income. An 80 percent tax on that income—less than the percentage rate on multimillionaires levied under the Eisenhower administration—would produce more than enough revenue to put all 50 states in the black. (It should be pointed out that the top hedge fund manager, John Paulson, had a personal net profit of more than $5 billion in 2010, while more than a dozen hedge fund bosses had personal incomes above $2 billion and many more took in over $1 billion).  (Thanx to Patrick Martin)

There you are….none of those will make the rich happy or for that matter any corporation, especially those that are sitting on their cash watching the country circle the drain……but I keep hearing from Washington that we all must make the sacrifice for the good of the country and would not that include those that are making a killing on the backs of the middle class?

Does anyone truly believe that cuts to NPR, WIC or any of the hundreds of nickle and dime programs will help balance the budget?  So far the only sacrifice that is being made is that of the middle class and those living in poverty…….nothing asked of the wealthy or the corporations…..so basically they are saying that it is up to the working class to balance the budget and cure the spending woes…..(I know you cannot see it…but trust me…I am smiling my “told you so” smile)…….