Future of democracy

Our government just barely avoided a shutdown. The rich get tax breaks equivalent to the poor. Planned Parenthood and Medicare are in the process of being de-funded (which will cost us more in the long run). Social security might be privatized (so what happens to the thousands of dollars I have already paid in). Our economy is starting to make a recovery and yet our President may not get a chance to take credit for it. So where is our democracy headed?

The democracy in the U.S. is headed for a wake up call. People are tired of the lack of representation. Are there any politicians that can say they are a true representation of his or her constituents? Not likely. All we want is to be heard by the people that lead us. We are smart enough to understand how our government works, so tell us. I don't believe that our founding fathers wanted a country of elitist rule. Politicians believe they are what is best for our country. I believe we are what is best for our country. This is supposed to be a government "of the people, by the people and for the people." The key part of that statement is "the people." Whatever happened to "the people?" Many politicians think the people all became wealthy. At least, that's who they support when they vote in Congress. What happened to our country?

I do have some suggestions as to how to solve a lot of these problems. Number one, make lobbying illegal. If you eliminate lobbying, then Congress will vote for what the people want and not what the corporations want. We will also not see $4 billion dollars being spent on an election. Number two, with the technology today the average citizen has the ability to vote for topics without needing representation. By the people actually would mean by the people. I believe this would create a more true democracy, and lower the cost of keeping Congress in session. It would also make people become more educated and more a part of the government. This is definitely something that would take a few years to implement and, by the way, we are already headed that direction. Number three, our government has to be completely open with the public. Our government was never meant to be a secretive government. With full disclosure our voting patterns would be less influenced by parties and more influenced by what is right for the people. These are just a few suggestions of ideas that would change the way our government does business. I do believe that we will begin to see a change soon. It is time for us to take back our government. What is best for the wealthy is not what is best for all. 

Economic policy

The economic policy of the U.S. is not only important to us but also to the rest of the world. The fact that our country spends so much more money worldwide than any other country is an important fact. We saw this effect recently when our economy had a crash that reverberated around the globe. We spend so much money supporting different companies through imports, that when we stop spending that money international business takes a nose dive. Our spending on travel and leisure is a large part of many country's GDP. The amount we provide in aid to many developing countries supports their growth. Our global impact tells the story of our importance in the global community. So why are we trying to suppress globalization? I believe it is mainly a form of control that we can exert over the rest of the world. U.S. corporations want to stay on top. They don't want the competition that would arise from international companies if they were given a larger share of the market. So again the power of the corporations exerts its control of our economy and thus their control of the world.

The economic policy of our country also plays a part in our day to day lives. The decisions that our government makes decide the amount of help that many citizens get. This is more important than ever right now. Congress and the President recently passed a budget proposal that would allow our government to stay "open" until the end of August. They are currently working on a budget for the year after that. The Republican controlled house is trying to cut spending in many different areas, including eliminating Medicare and Planned Parenthood. My concern with this is that they are attempting to eliminate things that affect us as citizens. I don't really understand why they don't cut cost somewhere else, like maybe in their salaries. In the past few years their has been a decrease in pork barrel spending but those costs still exist as well. Maybe it's time to get rid of those too. I also think it is a good idea to increase revenues. My extreme idea for this is to legalize marijuana and tax the hell out of it. If this is too extreme for the public then maybe we need to eliminate some of the tax cuts to the corporations and to the wealthy. These companies aren't going anywhere. If they decide to move to another country they lose huge benefits of being an American corporation. It also might be a good idea to eliminate the unnecessary bureaucracy. There are positions in our government that are a waste of money. I believe the President should sit down and (i'm sorry this eliminates some jobs) check the benefits against the costs of many government positions.

I guess my biggest problem with the recession that we're in is that so many people have good solutions, but our government doesn't care about the common man anymore. As said at the beginning, the corporations run our country and we need a change in the way government does business.  

Comprehensive care and our government

The discussions this week really made me realize that the welfare state is one of the main principles of my political beliefs. Many people brought up good points about our country. A lot of people believe that our government needs to stay out of our lives. The problem with this belief is that our country was never meant to be that way. Our founding fathers didn't believe in less government. They believed that the states should govern, not the federal government. The original idea that we shouldn't be taxed was never what the founding fathers believed. They just believed that the states should decide what and who should be taxed. Our government, including at the state level, needs the tax dollars in order to exist. It is a common misconception that our country could survive without taxes, but it can't.

With the battle over the budget this week, the differences between Republicans and Democrats was really highlighted. Republicans want cuts in spending. Democrats want more spending. Sadly the Republicans won this round. The reason I say sadly is that if politicians would look back at history whenever our country has been in a recession or depression government spending is what begins the process of recovery. In our warped Keynesian capitalistic society government spending creates jobs which gives our citizens money which creates higher demand for products which creates more jobs. It is basic economics. I think many politicians actually don't understand economics or believe that they can change the way our economy works. Good luck with that.

The welfare of our country is (as it should be) controlled by our government. A friend of mine asked me this week if I thought the "government should take from some to give to others." I have always stated on this blog and on the discussion boards that I don't believe we should redistribute wealth. I have always said that I just think people should be given equal opportunities. Wealth gives the opportunities to a small portion of our population. It doesn't bother me that the top 1% of our population controls 50% of the wealth. It does bother me that very few people will ever be given the opportunity to reach that position.

Corporations control our country and that includes the wealth. They would prefer that the wealth distribution stay exactly the way it is. If people actually have more say in our government then they might lose some of the power that they have worked hard for (not really). Our country has never been about the people. Our country has always been about business. Because of this, the welfare of the people have never been given any consideration. If big business had their way we would not have 40 hour work weeks and we would not have child labor laws. We would not have overtime and we would not have a minimum wage, and our economy would be screwed up more than it already is.

The welfare of our country is not only about the poor. It is also about what is beneficial to the people of this country. As far as the poor are concerned, there are a few people that take advantage of the system, but the majority of people don't want to be poor. The programs we have set up are a stepping stone out of poverty. And what about Planned Parenthood? If you think there are too many poor children in our country now, think about if there wasn't a place to receive free birth control. Social security? If it hadn't been pillaged by the past few Republican presidents it would work the way it is supposed to. It is basically a savings plan for seniors except people my age won't receive any benefits from the money we paid in because it is almost gone. These are all part of the welfare state of the U.S.

Now as far as how these are part of my beliefs, big government became necessary a century ago when America chose to be a part of the global community. State control would have been perfect if we had maintained an isolationist stance. That is not what our leaders chose. I believe that the only way we can compete with the world is for our country to take care of its people. We should increase the amount of money that is spent on education in order for us to keep our jobs in America. We should work on eliminating poverty to increase our place in the world economically. We should have universal health care like every other industrialized nation in this world. It is a governments job to take care of its people because unhappy people rebel. Look at what is happening in Africa and the Middle East. Are we next?

We continue to fall behind in every category because we are not truly represented in our government. When our politicians are making ten times the poverty level and four times the national average in salary not including what they were worth to begin with, there is something wrong. Our politicians are elected to serve us and somewhere along the way that idea was lost. EVERY politician is or will be corrupted by power and wealth (including yours Turtle). They may all start out with the best intentions, but Washington changes everybody. It is time to lower the salary of all politicians to the same level as the national average; it is time for the wealthy to be taxed properly (is $50,000 here or there really going to hurt them?); and it is time for us to retake our place as the wealthiest country with the most opportunities.

Foreign Policy

Foreign policy in this country has been debated since the beginning. The majority of our founding fathers recommended a policy of isolationism. As a newly freed country, we could not trust international aid. The French just wanted to destroy the British and the British just wanted to hassle the Spanish. Our only concern then was the defense of our country. Little did the world know that the country that was formed had more resources than the European nations. We chose to follow our isolationist foreign policy until the beginning of the industrial age. By this time our country was large enough to be considered a key player in the globalization of the world. Although we were important in the business world, it took a world war to really push us into the forefront of the political landscape. Now we are the most powerful country in the world.

As the most powerful country what we do on an every day basis is of international importance. The U.S. policy on governments can make or break the leadership of those governments. This is actually being witnessed right now. Our support of other country's populations to rebel against their leaders is giving many countries the idea that they can rebel as well. We are watching history change. We are becoming global leaders and it has everything to do with our politics and business. People around the world want what we have.

With this in mind, we as a country need to remember that we are being watched. President Obama's decision to support NATO bombing of Libya is causing an uproar in Congress. People across the country are complaining that we are not the world's police force, but should we allow human rights to be violated. In the past these same politicians complained that we were allowing these violations. It seems like our politicians (from both parties) only support other politicians from the same party. Our foreign policy changes with each change of power. It is time for our country to settle on an idea of foreign policy. Do we continue to be the world leader or do we allow someone else to take our place? Do we focus on our own problems or continue to be a global leader? Only time will tell.