Friday, August 5, 2011

Tea Party Anarchists

The Roman Empire, like most great civilizations of the past, became an "empire" because it had "big government". Great things were accomplished, a culture was born, technologies were advanced, the sciences and arts flourished, massive public works were built such as the aqueducts and the Coliseum.

Rome fell for two reasons: It stretched its military might too thin (like the United States is doing today) and because of political infighting, dividing the nation (which has been happening in America).

The United States (with "big government") won World War II, built the Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam, the Empire State Building, and our national highway system. Big government got us to the moon...the last great thing America has accomplished (unless you include Bill Gates Microsoft). Although the age of computers has also put many Americans out of work.

I've heard many Republican pundits, who advocate for corporate America and low taxes, saying government doesn't create jobs. This is simply not true. People create jobs (demand), not businesses (supply). People are the government. And people who have money to spend will buy things if there is something to buy when they need or want something.

If it costs me one dollar to produce a widget, but I only paid you one dollar a year, you aren't going to buy my widget unless you save for a very long time, or borrow the money. Or you'll buy your widget from someone else who produces it for less. So corporate America decided to build their widgets in China for less (for larger profits and CEO pay) and sell it back to us for cheaper. But since you no longer are earning that one dollar a year in wages, you can no longer afford to buy any widgets at all. So the CEOs sell their widgets to those who have jobs in China. Meanwhile, because you no longer have a job, you must rely on food stamps to eat. But the CEO doesn't want to pay taxes to fund your food stamps. And the Tea Party doesn't think you should have food stamps either. Or Medicaid. Or Medicare. Or disability. Or Social Security. Just a job at McDonalds, earning just enough to buy food, but no widgets.

When a government no longer operates "for the people", but just for special interests, it collapses from within...just as ours is doing today. The problem is not because of "big government", because we are the government. The problem has become the politicians (mostly Republican), Wall Street bankers, and the big "multi-national" corporations - - - those who abandoned America, its people, the country, our "big government".........us.

We have 100 million more people living in America today than we did 40 years ago, so now we also have "bigger government". With a third more people to care for and all the related bureaucracy that's needed to govern the government, it only makes sense. If a corporation doubled in size after moving to China, would they only need half as many managers to manage twice as many workers to build their cheap Chinese widgets?

Let the Tea Party stand in those long lines at the DMV with smaller government. I don't mind paying taxes if I can avoid that nuisance.

America's best years were experienced in the past when we governed ourselves with progressive ideas, not regressive ones - - - such as those that the Tea Party embraces. Returning to the days of our founding forefathers is going backwards in time, before we advanced our ideas and national philosophies to become a great nation.

The Tea Party would have us accusing one another of heresy and burning witches at the stake again. They (the Republicans) have already been rolling back "separation of church and state", woman's rights, the labor movement, and voting rights. They're going after our social safety nets that we want for ourselves, such as Medicare and Social Security in our old age.

Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives are government workers, paid $174,000 a year with tax revenues collected by those earning a median income wage of $40,000 a year. Members of congress are sucking on the government tit, so aren't they part of "big government", and therefore part of the problem?

And if they are being paid by me to deprive me of $15,000 a year in Social Security benefits, isn't that like paying someone to rob me?

Recently, the Tea Party wanted to completely shut us down! (the government)

Unless we unite as one big government (and not shrink into a much smaller government) America will also fall like Rome. Rome was much more successful than we are, in that it has lasted far longer - - - before we became a smaller government and went into decline.

We've already launched out last space shuttle, and America no longer boasts the biggest dam, the fastest trains, the tallest buildings, or the longest bridges.

We have already been in decline for the past 40 years when corporations began outsourcing jobs, depressed our wages, and started paying less into the treasury....choking the tax revenues we've needed to maintain America's greatness. A fair percentage of taxes paid by businesses and individuals is the patriotic and American thing to do (And Warren Buffett agrees).

But the Tea Party and people like ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva (a Republican) said ending the tax breaks for the big oil companies would be "un-American", then refused to apologize to the American people.

Without big government, we have small government, which is just one step closer to anarchy.

"...government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." - Abraham Lincoln - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - November 19, 1863

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE

2 comments:

  1. Great post as always, Bud! Susan

    ReplyDelete
  2. You should include an analysis of the riots in the UK. What is happening there can happen in America and much worse if large numbers of Americans stay unemployed and abandoned by the government.

    ReplyDelete