THE WARS OF THE WORLD

A conservative friend of mine who shall remain nameless (Scott) Was telling me why he disapproved of social welfare programs "that they didn't work, that there are more poor than ever." Well setting aside for a moment that the population has doubled since WWII, I asked if the war on poverty should end because it isn't working, why does he still support the war on drugs, which is a much bigger failure, and hasn't helped anyone. We've spent billions, imprisoned millions and anyone can still get any drug they want, practically any time they want. There are more drug dealers and drug users than ever before. He replied That "It would be much worse if we did nothing." So why doesn't that apply to helping the poor? Wouldn't poverty be much worse if we did nothing there as well? I for one don't believe that the drug problem would be worse if we did nothing. I believe that the people who want to use drugs already do so, and those who don't, aren't going to start simply because it was now legal to do so. So what is the difference? I know conservative love rules and the assigning responsibility and blame. Could it be just about law enforcement? Maybe we should outlaw being poor? At least it would clear up the homeless problem putting them all in prison.

Another aspect of this phenomenon is the war on healthcare costs. This same friend was complaining that under the affordable care act, healthcare cost would go up due to the fact that more people would have access to medical treatment. Which led me to ask; "As a Christian, shouldn't you be happy more people will be getting healthcare? Aren't you suppose to love thy neighbor, more than thy checkbook?" ( chirp...chirp...chirp..) Why is it just Godless liberals fighting for universal medical coverage and an end to poverty? It certainly seems like conservatives are religious about the issues until it affects their bank accounts, then they forget that Jesus said to help the poor, heal the sick, and feed the hungry.

No where was this more obvious than on facebook. During the last election Republicans posted time and again about what would happen to THEIR money, THEIR taxes if God forbid Obama won re-election. My liberal friends and I were dismayed by this difference, as our concerns were about what would happen to the old, the sick, the poor if Romney were to win and gut social programs as promised? It seems to me that many conservative Christians have adopted a new Holy Trinity; consisting of unregulated Capitalism, blind Patriotism, and Jesus. In that order.

WAGES AGAINST THE OBSCENE

It’s hard to believe that there is anyone who would like to abolish the federal minimum wage law but it has been on corporate America’s wish list since it was created.  Being overwhelmingly pro business almost every candidate in the last Republican Presidential primary expressed a desire to do that very thing.  Think they have very little chance of accomplishing this little dream of theirs? 

Don’t write them off just yet because they’ve done it before.  Convincing millions of America’s poorest citizens that the only recourse or source of power that they truly have, the government, the courts, the unions are in actuality their greatest enemies.  Vilifying the EPA, OSHA, the SEC, the departments of labor and education are just a few of the planks in the Republican’s “small government” platform designed to weaken the power of the populace to the point where only money will have a voice in public policy. Allowing their friends and the corporations they own to do as they wish with no interference from the commoners. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the “red” states of the south.  These states are consistently at or near the bottom of almost all of the economic indicators of financial health. (at least they lead the nation in obesity and diabetes)   Lowest in education. Lowest in wages, opportunity, and standard of living.  These same states (most of which are so called ‘right to work’) do run high levels of distrust and anti government, union, and court sentiments toward the very organizations capable of leveling the playing field and giving them a voice in their own destinies.

Economics has never been my strongest subject, in fact it bores the crap out of me.  But when it is blatantly obvious, even I can see when it is time for a change.  The states that have continually voted Republican for decade after decade have seen little to no improvement in their conditions, yet they stick with the right who tell them that education is elitist, that worrying about the environment is crazy, and that what is good for the wealthy is best for them as well.  That anything even slightly resembling Social policy is totally un-American and completely evil. 

If only it weren’t for those other ‘pesky’ states, around New England and the northwest, many of which have instituted a state minimum wage in excess of the federal standard.  Almost all of these mostly “blue” states have a better standard of living than their southern counterparts.  So how can the Republicans continue to claim that a minimum wage is bad for the economy and businesses?  Easily, the same way  they have convinced them that all of their other resources were bad for them, by lying.

It’s just another example of the top 1% continuing assault on the middleclass and working poor that has gone unchecked in this country since the late seventies. The working classes has seen their wages creep up only slightly, remain stagnant, or in terms of actual buying power have declined in the last thirty years while executive and ceo compensation has skyrocketed by several hundred percent in the same time period.  This disparity is possible only because those at the top (who see their employees only as a financial burden) get to decide how profits are distributed, and more and more they are deciding that they want it all.

Despite the fact that the workers are the ones who make the products and perform the services for which consumers are willing to pay.  No customer would pay for what these managers and executives do so their compensation is taken from profits earned by the labor of others, by this definition, management is on public assistance.  Those at the bottom get the wages, and those at the top walk away with obscene levels of income.

  If you lived in a state that was controlled by one party for decades, and saw not the slightest improvements in that time, wouldn’t you try something new?  Not these guys, they are steeped in old timey- and in the Republican’s new Holy Trinity;  Unfettered Capitalism, Blind Patriotism, and Jesus.  In that order.

DELAY TACTICS

Their trouncing in the recent elections has the Republicans making the rumblings of possible compromise.  Right now they seem resigned to give up more than they ever thought they would on the current immigration reform negotiations, realizing they can no longer win with just the angry white vote.  Whatever the outcome I have no doubt that after they do compromise they will try to re-secure that base by blaming the Democrats for ramming through legislation without working with the right, the same thing they did about the Affordable Healthcare act.

To that I say- Sorry! You have no one to blame but yourselves.  These issues and many others have existed for decades while the people waited for solutions and the right paid only lip service to the problems we face, pretending to care while delaying and deflecting the issues until time ran out or the opposition simply gave up.  Time and again we heard this from the right;

“We know something needs to be done about healthcare costs/immigration/gun control/ budget deficits but lets take it slow, study the problem and do it right.”  Translation; Slow it down to a crawl/ pretend to work for a solution/ send it into committees for study until it dies a slow death/ declare you tried but the other side was unwilling to compromise and wait for that socialist Carter/ Clinton/ Obama to be removed from office.

That worked well for you in the past, but finally the people got tired of waiting.  They voted in candidates that would tackle tough issues, healthcare was passed, and stood up to court challenges despite your corporate sponsored Teabagger movement. Your promises to make Obama a one term President went unheeded, and now you are having to really work on immigration, congratulations, your polices have come home to roost.

Speaking of Republican Delays, our old friend Tom “the Hammer” Delay seems to be running out of time for his appeals of his Three year prison sentence.  Let’s all hope he starts serving sooner rather than later. That nickname should serve him well where he’s going.

NEWTOWN, OLD PROBLEM;

Last comment on gun control, because I don't believe anything meaningful or long lasting will come of this. Not as long as we love our "toys" more than we love our children. I am not anti gun, shooting things can be a lot of fun, but I am anti shooting seventy people in two minutes- so I don't necessarily trust my fellow neighbors with that ability either
The second amendment "gives" us the right to own firearms, but just because we have the right to something doesn't mean we have to exercise That right. maybe it's time to grow up and admit that we, as a people are not mature or responsible enough to wield that kind of power over one another, an voluntarily give up our guns for the greater good, and a better society. Yeah, that gave me a chuckle too. Barring that (HA HA) the arms that the founding fathers wrote about were single shot weapons which had to be reloaded after each and every firing. Maybe all guns should be of this type; break action, single shot that must be reloaded. I wonder how many mass shootings could have been pulled off with these limited firearms?
considering the damage guns can do they shouldn't be so easily obtained. every gun should have a waiting period, background check, a safety class, maybe even a medical / psych exam- I don't think this is too much to ask for if you want me to trust you with that kind of firepower.