AMERICA'S DYSFUNCTION

               Greedy Republicans, Spineless Democrats and Annoying Tea Party Folks: 

                                      Can It Get Any More Dysfunctional? 

Interesting isn’t it? Unlike us mortal individuals whose credit limits are decreased when we are late or errant on our credit card payments, the government may simply raise their limits in response to defaulting on their own loan. We mere mortals, however, when we’ve lived beyond our means and the means to pay our debt back face collection agencies, bank foreclosures, liens on our salary and so on.  

In 2001 and 2003 during the Bush administration taxes cuts were made; keep in mind that this was at a time when we were already in one war and about to start a second one-very expensive wars. Does it make sense to cut government revenue when expenses are clearly about to increase.  In 2000 the national debt was 6 trillion dollars. By the end of the Bush years and 2 years into the wars and economic toilet bowl that Obama inherited, the debt rose to 13 trillion. If those tax cuts hadn’t been made, the initial 6 trillion would have been balanced. In other words, our debt wouldn’t have risen if our revenue wasn’t decreased. As recently as last December our representatives voted to renew the tax cuts even in light of our exploding debt. Who is it that’s driving this bus? 

So now instead of increasing revenue by raising taxes back to  previous levels on those who can painlessly afford it we choose to trim a trillion dollars from our debt by cutting jobs and unemploying even more Americans during the highest unemployment rate this country has seen since the Great Depression. More unemployment results in more foreclosures and the need for more unemployment checks going out to those whose jobs we just cut.  Are the drivers of this bus qualified to drive safely? Should we continue to trust them to take us where we want to go?

Further irony; government cuts in jobs and spending result in decreased tax revenues because less people are earning money. I don’t think I’m  exaggerating when I say that whoever is driving this bus must be drunk, stupid or insane because this bus ain’t goin no where fast. The bus has been wrecked and an insurance appraiser would judge it “totaled” ; take it to the scrap yard and build a new better bus, one preferably stupid-proof so anyone can drive it.

The really bad news? Nothing is going to change. The rich are going to remain financially secure (a while longer) while the rest of us common folk will struggle more. This trend is not new.

Quite a predicament we’ve gotten ourselves into and like an antagonistic and failing marriage, our politicians refuse to collaborate on solutions because they are too busy arguing over who is right and who is wrong so that they can convince the public to vote for them, thus insuring that they will stay employed for another couple years.

If our leaders need a little help and guidance I have a few suggestions we could start with that wouldn’t inflict any more damage on our already trashed educational system, social services and entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security, all of which we pay taxes into.

First and foremost I would advise that politicians reduce their salaries (good thing they’re not paid on results) and their ridiculously generous lifetime pensions and health programs (after just two years of service). 

Secondly, I would suggest that we stop worrying about setting up unsolicited democracies in oil rich countries and invest the cost of war into domestic research creating alternative, clean, renewable energy sources.  The Oil Age like the Ice Age is ended.  

Thirdly, I would raise the frigging taxes on the obscenely rich. Period. There is no justifiable reason not to. Underneath our guise of free market economy, we are beginning to resemble feudal Europe more and more. A few kingdoms and their royal families running the show and then the rest of us working our butts off and then, paying taxes to the royalty so that they can build themselves another newer bigger palace. 

Fourth, Campaign Reform.  Take the marketing out of this altogether. Establish times and venues for candidates to all offices to show up, get interviewed by unbiased journalists and/or college professors; we just want to hear where they stand on issues. Period. Let us determine who is lies the least.

Republicans..Democrats...Tea Party...hmmm?   I remember reading once about an authentic tea party that happened back around 1776; yep-The Boston Tea Party and the beginning of an American  Revolution whose founding cry was “No taxation without representation!” Do you feel represented lately? I sure don’t.