The Economics of Politics

While, no doubt, common knowledge among the business and mercantile congnicenti, politics is a matter of economics. Money drives special interests. Money drives campaigns. Where money is spent drives voter interest.

Money. Money. Money.

However necessary money is to the wheels of government and the economy of the nation, just like your home budget, the country needs to set priorities. The moral standard we set for home should be echoed in the governments planning, but then our home budgets are a reflection, a mirror image, of the priorities the government sets.

For instance: We budget more for medicine when the government budgets less
We budget more for education when the government budgets less.
We budget less for self defense when the government budgets more.

OK and on a personal note: I spent thousands educating my children in private schools that didn't give a rats patooty about their aptitudes interests or desires. I spend thousands every year on medicines I don't really believe in, Dr's tests and hospital bills. I also have guns but not for self defense. I wouldn't want to waste the cost of the bullets (or the legal fees but that's the subject of another post I think).

The point here is: A better general study of the economics of everyday life needs to be made. Or made public. To include an accurate definition of what the "average" family spends their money on. Then figure the up and down sides of the bell curve. You know... One and two standard deviations each way? Lets see how the "deviants" live as well. Some people can make very little money and live well. Others can make "stupid" money and always be in debt. We need a thorough public study of the economy presented with scenarios everyone can relate to .

The economy is the root of our society. Not the root of its strength or the root of its problems, just the root. Always been that way. Before Rome fell the Emperor needed to keep the people happy in order to maintain order and therefore power. Several did this by ordering months of feasts and circuses where they literally fed the populace for free and entertained them all day. Most of the people in Rome went to the circuses so there was little business being done. The economy of the state quickly declined, which prevented the Emperor from paying for the bread and circuses, and the Army which revolted, killed the Emperor and replaced him with another who stole enough money to provide bread and circuses. This sounds a lot like the last few elections in the US. Slick Willy and Dubyah. What a pair of con men.

We the people need to realize the economy runs through our hands and so does the economy of politics. We don't have to take the crap politicians that are handed to us. We don't need to look for the circus. What we need is to present the pols with a coherent plan.

Do this. This is our Manifesto.

4th of July

I spent the Fourth of July celebration with some GIs just back from Iraq. We talked and drank and shot guns in my woods (all legal) and generally had a good time.

Conversation ranged from women to the tour they just completed. They didn't offer a lot of detail regarding their experiences but one comment was telling. This one grizzled veteran (28 ) said: "It's not that there's a lot of fire fights. It's the IEDs. Everytime you go outside the fence you never know if your time is up."

That's anyone's definition of courage.

We the People

For some reason we've allowed the managment of our country to de-evolve from a people driven democracy to an us vs them autocracy. Witness the trashing of presidential candidate Howard Dean. The only candidate with an honest and detailed alternative to the faux Texan in the White House was dumped by the news media because he yelled.

How F$%%))_ ignorant is that.

The only other candidate to show any metal was Rev. Al Sharpton who conceeded his candidacy on race early on but stayed to show the country that there was more to politics than a sound bite.

So the two most human and normal candidates were shunted out of the race for the presidential nomination because of they were normal and human. Instead we had the double talking sound bite generating POLITICIANS running the show. AGAIN.

And we let them run the show into the ground.

I'm not a Democrat or Republican. I am not a Liberal or a Conservative. I despise these labels because they imply a preprogrammed platform of beliefs. Mine are simple.

I believe the people have a responsibility to control the government.

I believe the government should be the rational exercise of the will of the people.

I believe we should question the actions of the government and the politicians.

I believe the government, when it acts on the will of the people, should at least offer us all sides of the story instead of feeding us bullsh$$ to get a bill passed or to appear to be doing the will of the people.

Instead we have sound bite politicians reacting and controlling our governments policies and actions. Picture this : W in any red neck bar kicking back with a long neck and a couple of chums, lets call them Bubba 1 and Bubba2.

W: Well damn Bubba whatcha thinkin' or you jest drinkin'?

B1: I'm thinkin' we need to do some ass whuppin'

B2: I could go for that. Who's ass you wanna wup? Some of them funny talkin' fellows from up North?

B1: Nah. Stirs'em up t' much. They'd send lawyers in. Can't have that's. 'S no fun beating up lawyers. They jest sue ya. I think we need to whup them Ragheads over in A-Rabia. W's Daddy did a good job of it back when.

B2: Yeah too bad he didn't have the stones to kick that bearded freak's ass.

W: Guy's!! Daddy did his best.

B1: Uh Huh. It was a pretty war. Blew the shit out of that country. Too bad we didn't get the top dawg there, though. Kinda like that bass that slipped your hook last weekend. How big you say that boy was? 2 maybe 3 feet? Damn I ain't never seen a bass that big.

B2: Well boys I don't think W ever saw a Bass that big either...

(General laughter: They all know bullshit when the see it.)

B2: Of course there's that freaky Osama Raghead. Heard tell he wants to destroy the Yoonited States of America for which we stand...

W: What country does he own?

B1. Osama? He owns a couple of plantations but he lives in a cave in Afghanistan.

W: Wheres 'Ghanistan?

B2: That's where the Rooskies got there asses kicked. Remember? All rocks and dirt.

W: Oh yeah I saw that on TV. Good movie. Let's kick the Russian's asses...

B1: Can't do that. They're our friends.

W: I' d kick your ass. You're my friend.

B1: You'd try....

B2: Guys.... Have another beer W.

W: don't mind if I do... So we gonna kick some ass?

B1: Yeah let's do it.

B2: So whose ass we kickin'?

W: Let's get Hussein. He's easier to find than Osama, his country is more like Texas and he's got OIL.

B1: Damn W. You are a chip off the old block...............................

Governments

What is the purpose of government?

In a representative society like America's, we labor under the delusion that government is "of the people, for the people." This bit of naivety is shattered every time a government, Local, State, or Federal, steps on the rights of the individual for the sake of the greater good. A fine example is the Supreme Court ruling that enjoins local governments to suborn the rights of landowners in favor of increasing tax base through development.

Totalitarian governments are created for two reasons. Some totalitarian governments exist solely to protect the power of a core cadre. Others, even more frightening, exist to take care of the people by making their decisions for them .

Winning isn't everything but....

Everyone likes to win.

Winning in America means living the life you want to live. The American Dream has always meant having enough money to live a pleasant life. For some that takes more cash than others, but the idea is the same.
Now check out today's economy. If you're over forty or have kids, healthcare (including dental which few plans actually cover) is a major portion the cost of living. Then there's retirement. How do you live and save money for retirement? Take it from the kid's college fund? (O you have a kid's college fund? My kids college fund is state aid, of which there is none.)

Today's economy makes it hard for even the most "successful" middle class workers to have good healthcare, have a pleasant lifestyle, take care of the kid's education, and have enough money to retire and enjoy their golden years. In fact I don't know anyone who hasn't tried to do this and ended up in debt to their eyeballs.

Being in debt is not winning.

In fact doesn't there seem to be a corollary between the rapid growth in gambling and state lotteries, and the decline of most people's ability to pay for what they want and need? Everyone who wins the lotto says, "I'm gonna pay off my bills and my kids bills..."

We have the richest economy in the world. Losing here is better than winning in most other countries. But does that mean we should be satisfied? Everyone wants to win. Either change the game so we can win or stop waving the prizes in our faces.

I hate playing a sucker's game.

Playing Chicken

Life is different in America. In some countries , (Ethiopia, Darfor, Iraq) the main impetous of life is survival. A young man in Iraq has three choices, fight the American Crusaders, fight the foreign (and domesticate) insurgents, or be a victim of either or both. If this hpothetical young Iraqi wants thrills he doesn't need extreme sports like base jumping or skiing through avalanche zones. He just needs to walk down his hometown street. More thrill than I need.

In America we ARE safe. The violence of 9/11 was a wakeup call, but our country for all its ills resists the rule of club and rifle. We have expectations.

We expect a just and fair police force, from the part time rent a cop in the village down the road to the Director of the FBI. We expect innocence to be rewarded and guilt punished. Hell, we expect to be treated as innocent until we ARE proven guilty.

We expect that violent defense of our property is a requirement only if we live in the "wrong" neighborhoods. We expect the criminals to be responsible for the laws they break.

Some of us think that if we make enough laws there won't be any criminal activity. (Guns are a great example. Criminals who carry guns DON'T get permits, go through background checks, and register their weapons. So why do we need more "stringent" gun control laws? The law abiding citizen isn't the problem. The criminals are. And remember; They're CRIMINALS. They don't obey laws... duh. So what good do more laws do except hinder the law abiding?)

While I'm on the subject of laws and criminals: Laws that try to coerce the majority into a narrow set of behaviors fundamentally make an intermediate class of lawbreakers. Consider: A recent study states that most states have a 10 to 15 mph tolerance on the maximum speedlimit. Why? Because 96% of the traffic exceeds the speedlimit by that much. These scofflaws represent a solid majority of the public using the highway system. Breaking a law makes you a criminal, right?

Anyway: The point behind this post is to outline the expectations of Americans. We expect things to be better here than any other place in the world. Yet we still don't meet our own expectations. Our leaders aren't held to a high enough standard and if they aren't why should we? If the laws we live under are not reasonable on the little things (like speeding) why should we believe they are reasonable on bigger issues. (like taxes).

Remember if we're already criminals what does it matter if we break another stupid law?

A New Opportunity

Folks this is not a rant. This is an opportunity. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors. There's a Madman who wants people's thoughts and experiences and help in shaping a policy document to restructure the government and society of the United States.

Think about it. This thing ahs been done before. Sometimes peacefully, somtimes with violence. We don't need violence, but we do need a strong voice. One echoing call to those who think they hold all the power. Two words: "No More."

The Manifesto

The Manifesto

As a country we need a coherent set of ideals to follow and to require our leaders to follow. The constitution represents many good and useful concepts. The declaration of Independence has others, but lest we feel these writings of white capitalists of 230 years ago are not relevant to today's world lets see what can be added.

Economics: The basis for a free society is a free economy where every person or family can maintain the standard of living they want and are willing to work for. When people can work and actually afford those things they want and need they don't feel apart from society. Our new manifesto must show how everyone can interact with the economy and meet their needs.

Honesty: We have to make a commitment to the truth. Lies and half truths and withholding information or using secret information to gain an advantage have a long tradition in the world. It causes harm. It is bad. We need to acknowledge this and try to do better.
Our leaders must be at the forefront of the honest movement. It's real hard to trust a president who lies and conceals truths with the bald faced confidence of a street con. Does he believe his barrage of bull&*#$? No one else does, but his actions have taught us the truth is relative to our own perceived needs and desires.

Big Business: Business has made this country the super power that it is. Without capital to invest in new technologies and new industries we might still be hauling coal to heat our houses and driving one horse carriages. Money talks. Unfortunately money doesn't always talk to the betterment of the society. Governments through the centuries have manipulated the way money flows in the economy some for the better, most for the worst. We as a country need to set guidelines for the business world not vice versa. They need us. We need them.

Politics: Both our political parties are frauds. Neither one tries to represent the people. They only want to manipulate the people. Somewhere we need to remind them that "politics" is about the will of the people. We the people form this country. The politicos are supposed to work for us. Enough complaining, lets do something about it.

Politicans shouldn't keep campaign donations. If they've paid all their bills then the balance of the "war chest" needs to be turned over to the IRS to settle tax debts. Politicians should not be allowed to work for lobbyists. Ever. Period. The term "honest politician" needs to stop being an oxymoron.

Lobbyists. These vampires are the spawn of Satan. While there are times when our leaders need expert opinions on matters beyond their education and experience, they certainly don't need devils tempting them with all the kingdoms of the earth and all its riches. We need limits on lobbyists. EXTREME limits.

Health care: We have the best health care money can buy but we're going broke buying it. TANSTAAFL (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch) but the economics of health care are broke. Someone's making a lot of money off of other people's misery. It must stop.
Socialized Health care is an option. We need answers not platitudes.

Society: who are we? Are we white bread Europeans? Are we African? Are we Hispanic? Are we Native American? Are we Japanese or Chinese? No. We're Americans. Our fore fathers were driven out of every decent country in the world at one time or another (yeah that's a quote from Stripes starring Bill Murray), and that includes our African brothers. After all the nasty white man slave trader was only a trader. The sellers were also natives of Africa.
Did our forefathers do bad things to each other? Yes. Let's agree it was not the kind of country we wanted and now it's different. We all need to get over it. The only differences we have are the ones we push on ourselves. If you act ghetto then you're from the ghetto. If you act like a cracker your a cracker. Stop it. It's bad. Let's move on for the love of all.

Religion: If you say "I'm a Christian and we're different", please read the passage in the gospels about praying on streetcorners. It was a parable for all people who profess they are holier than the rest of us. Freedom of religion is a key guarantee in this country. Let's make it a joyous one. This applies to those who worship at the rock of atheism. It's fine if you don't believe in God. If you're right I'll never know. If you're wrong, you WILL know. Let me know how it turns out. But until then stop interfering with the fundamental right to have a religion. Religion is practiced in communities. If you don't like their religion or find it offensive in some way (the same as I might find a black Sabbath offensive) then don't invade their community and try to change them. Mind your own business and move on.

Voices

This blog is a release for the voices in my head. I know it's wrong to hear voices, but sometimes they make a lot of sense...

Opening Shot

Between the failure of our fundamental economy, the war in Iraq and the Cowboy Monkey in the white house I figure it's time to speak out. Someone needs to congeal the credos, clamoring and harangues of the proletariat into something cohesive. Karl Marx tried and failed with a turgid treatise on the ills of his day that became an excuse for greater injustices than the ones he thought to cure.

I think the last hundred and fifty years has shown there is no Utopian solution. All God's chillun ain't never going to play well together. We're just that way. But we can agree on some fundamentals. Unfortunately this country has no agreement on anything. We want inexpensive merchandise. We want jobs that pay enough to support our families and meet our obligations. We want a rule of law but we don't want to be Ruled by the law. We want a strong government to take care of those things we can't take care of for ourselves. We want the government to stay out of our business. (Well it's OK if its in the other guy's business. Just stay out of ours.) We want the best health care in the world. We want to have affordable healthcare. (read that as free.)

We as a country are at odds with ourselves. What are we going to do? The last election made it clear. We live in a divided house. One side has chosen Dad and the other Mom. Them and us. Maybe there are a few people who see the world less black and white. I for one see both political parties as corrupt, power hungry, and morally bankrupt.

In my little world, if you identify a problem you better outline the solution. In concrete terms. With choices and possible results. Wouldn't it be nice if our politicians would do the same? This Blog is created to put together all the pieces . To crystallize my rants and suggest some solutions. I'm going to assume my readers are interested in what I'm saying so they (you) my assume I'm interested in your point of view.

Together we will create a New Manifesto of American ideals suitable for framing, great as a party favor and hopefully good for a $500 a plate dinner during the next election circuit.

Seriously: The American people are being lied to everyday. The president and congress can not possibly be as stupid as they seem. They remind me of my daughter, the blond, who plays dumb so she isn't asked to do anything hard.

More to follow.