Same old, Same old

Originally posted Wednesday, August 4, 2010

This is re posted as of May 5, 2015

The more things change, the more they stay the same


Let’s Keep America First


There is a group of Americans that are known, in certain circles, as the Tea Baggers (TB’s), they belong to an organization called the “Tea Party”. I’ve only seen them on TV, but they look like neighbors and family that are willing to get off their butts and be heard.
What are they saying?
The original TB’s were reacting to a tea tax levied by the King of England and their war cry was “No taxation without representation”. The present day TB’s don’t seem to have as coherent a message, at least not related to taxation and representation, unless it’s the fact that they aren’t represented, but some are being taxed. They carry signs at the various rallies that I’ve seen. The signs say what they are against; higher taxes, bigger government and what they are for; carrying weapons, freedom of speech and to generally do what they want to do without government interference; and I’m for Santa Claus, Mom and apple pie. What I’m for is easily delineated, what they are for is a little more complex. Why did these folks really get off their butts to demonstrate?
High taxes? We in the USA pay, including income, corporate, Social Security and excise taxes about half as much as other developed countries, according to The Tax Policy Center. That’s one group’s set of figures. The Heritage Foundation (a right wing think tank) comes up with a figure that we pay as much as the Japanese, and about 35% less than most of the other developed nations of the world. So what do the TB’s want when they plead for lower taxes? Zimbabwe and Bangladesh take a much lower % of GDP.
My unofficial count had the “We want smaller government” or “Government is too big” signs as next most popular. Government smaller than what, or too big for who? To get smaller government, what would one cut out? Defense (3/4 of a trillion), Highway repair, hospitals (VA), Medicare, Social Security, US Postal Service, courts, FBI, CIA, SEC, National Park Service, SEC, EPA, IRS, FDIC, Federal Reserve and the list goes on. What about agricultural subsidy payments to farmers, and education? Speaking of education here’s a fact for you, China and India graduate 7 times as many engineers as we do. In 20 years the United States will be a second rate nation. Is that what we want? I saw Michelle Bachmann on C-Scan the other day, screaming at the top of her lungs, “Get rid of them all”. “We don’t need government, leave us alone!” I saw some older people with signs “Don’t touch my Social Security” and “Don’t touch my Medicare” and I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that within 5 years a new sign will appear; “Don’t touch my health care, unless you want to give me more”. I don’t see any signs that say “Educate our kids better” or “We need more engineers”. Is there any thinking going into these demonstrations?
Some commentators on radio, TV and in print ask, “What has the government ever done right? I don’t know what country they’re asking about. My personal answer to that question is the U.S.Government does a lot of things extraordinarily well. Believe it or not, the US Postal Service is the best in the world. There is less corruption in our government, there is more responsiveness, our service academies are the envy of every nation and all the people in the United States who work for the Federal, State and Municipal governments spend their money here, not in Argentina, Brazil or India. The US Government doesn’t outsource to China or India like our fat cat corporations. The TB’s should look at all the government financed inventions and the products that came from government sponsored R&D. Our government has changed the world with its research backed products; the internet, transistors, solar panels and hundreds of others. The United States has 18 of the 20 best universities in the world, and our government is their largest supporter. I’m proud of what my government has accomplished for the betterment of mankind and its citizens. Little government can’t do these things and corporations won’t do it. They want a return on investment immediately, government has more patience.
Where does big government come from? How did it get so big? I know that I didn’t do it and I’ll bet that you didn’t do it either. So who did the dirty deed? My guess is that a nonvoting entity called the U.S. corporation. Why do corporations spend so much money on lobbyists and campaign financing? Surprise! They do it to get more money for their special interests and all this money goes to make for bigger government in the form of new and bigger projects. Corporate America is involved with everything. If the corporations weren’t putting so much pressure on the congress, the government would have never got to the size that is. The congress would never have come up with all the programs that it has over the years except for the corporate pressure that has been applied over the years. This is why our defense budget is so big. We spend more on defense than all the other countries in the world added together. The “military, industrial complex” runs this country, and they don’t have one vote. Not one Vote!
Where are the trillions of dollars that we’ve been spending on wars, that aren’t even near to being necessary? They, the dollars, went to the “Military Industrial complex”. One of our greatest generals, President Eisenhower, warned us about the “Military Industrial complex”, he was extremely distrustful of them. Nobody was threatening to invade the USA with millions of troops, but the Bush/Chaney cabal managed to get us involved in two wars that are unwinnable. Instead of spending the money on promoting alternative fuels, they send our troops out against ghosts of the cabal’s making to protect an oil supply that is not protectable. The corporations have the money and they buy the votes.You, I and the TB’s have no say in the process. The politicians tell us to go out and vote. Vote for what, vote for whom? You tell me.
The people of the United States have to start thinking of the future. If we spend on educating more engineers and R & D, the new industries that develop will create well paying jobs which will create the taxes to pay off our debt. The debt will never be paid off by a second rate country. Let’s keep America first!


Posted by The Old Philosopher at 3:57 PM