Wednesday, July 27, 2005

So Where Do We Go From Here

I was told tonight that most people are too busy living to fight the system. It's a good point. But I think, especially after rereading some of the Constitution, like I did for last night's post, that we all have to step out for a moment from behind our lives and speak out.

We have an obligation for the freedom our these old white slave owners have passed on to us. They weren't perfect and they birthed a country that's not perfect. We're spoilt, arrogant, prissy do gooders on the international stage. We're selfish, stubborn, self righteous bigots at home. And people still want to come here to live.

Go figure.

So we the people have an obligation to set a national standard. This is a call to revolution. I don't mean an overthrow of the government and the constitution. That blood soaked document is the backbone of the vision America has of itself. We just need to use it to our advantage. The political parties who are dictating the leadership and the policies in this country need to be brought to heel. Neither Republicans or Democrats have shown they have the best interests of this country at heart. They only care about power.

OK. That's the way the world works. So WE THE PEOPLE need to speak up to the caucuses and back room dealers and the politicos. Tell them that we need them to meet the basic goals of the manifesto. Tell them, Republican or Democrat, that they MUST obey. No more lies. No more sound bites. Hard, cold concrete facts.

We can't have social programs without a funding source that is renewable.

Taxes depend on the growth of the economy. With a good economy, one built on creativity and accomplishment, as opposed to subservience and dealing, people will have the money to pay taxes.

Make the tax system fair. Everyone pays, each to their ability.

Make the care of our poor, old and infirm a reality. The current system of health care must change in order to fix the problems.

Recognize the realities of economics. Economics is the study of how external forces affect the flow of trade. Everything from Aunt Myrtle's indigestion to the latest bill in front of Congress affects the economy. Greenspan proved how he could manipulate the economy by simply changing interest rates. So every change to the rules effects change to the economy. The trick is to find the right changes.

As an engineer, when faced with a problem that has too many variables to calculate I would try to derive an empirical solution by changing factors until I understood the behavior of the system. Market economists will certainly call me an idiot for suggesting it, but a public experiment might just have the effect of generating the controlled changes we need to improve opportunities for the youth and help pay for the old folks.

Think about Reagan's "trickle down economics". Not much of a theory but rather a touch stone of capitalism. Whatever it was did have an effect on the economy. Legislation guides our economy, whether intended or not. We should have front page public reporting of the effects each law has.

I'll finish tonight on this note: My investigation into the energy bill to find examples of legislative economic impact brought me face to face with the illiteracy of profundity. These boys can't get one clear thought through all of their hedging. There ought to be a law requiring clarity in bills. Maybe there is one, but they certainly didn't get the results expected from it.

I suppose that's one more thing to go one the manifesto. A style guide for clarity in legislation. Put a roomful of lawyers out of business if anyone could read these documents and no where they stood.

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