ON ECONOMIC AND DEFENSE STRATEGIES
Obama continues to be a total enigma to his progressive supporters when it comes to his economic and also his defense policies. He often makes some great statements of his intent and goals, which we heartily applaud, and then we wait and wait for some action to back up and fight for those moves, and the action never comes, or comes two years late and billions of dollars short. We have been waiting for his administration to really fight for infrastructure spending to boost middle class employment.
ON POWER POLITICS
The fact that if the majority of American people did determine national policy a number of significant policies would be markedly different suggests that the majority is failing in the arena of power politics--a distinct but powerful minority in the nation rules. Lives would not still be being lost in Afghanistan, our taxing and spending priorities would be different, guns would not be as easily and readily available, individual rights would be more respected in regard to personal choices and invasive surveillance, education and infrastructure would be supported with high priority, etc. That these efforts have been failing suggests that the public has been loosing the battle of power politics to special interests, and those like Obama, Harry Reid, and the democratic leadership have failed in effectively representing the interests of those they claim to serve.
ON N.Y.TIMES ARTICLE, "WHY CAN'T WE END POVERTY IN AMERICA?"
The most clear, incisive, far-sighted article on how to develop more economic equality and reduce poverty in America. Appealing to the voting patterns of those in the 30 to 70% income range to vote in their own best interests rather than identifying with policies favoring the wealthy would be key. We know well how to produce wealth for those in the upper brackets, tax policies favorable to them, corporate bail-outs to keep them churning, investment credits and write-offs, strategies which work so well that high end income keeps increasing even when the general economy is slumping. If policies to keep the middle class healthy received as much priority (educational support, labor rights, wage controls, health promotion, urban redevelopment, etc.), the income distribution would be more balanced and more people would be able to move out of poverty into the middle class. Reaganomic changes of the 1980's began the decline of the middle class, increase in poverty, and runaway high end incomes and profits, which have continued since then. Time to reverse course!
ON CORPORATE PATRIOTISM
Patriotism is in no way relevant to the value system of corporations. They are created to serve the bottom-line profit interests of those who invest in them, not the best interests of the nation or of its citizens. There was more overlap in these interests prior to the 1990's and the runaway development of the world economy--now profit considerations dictate greater investment and employment overseas, and diverting much of their financial and industrial activities there. The home market, and home employment suffers, and the American middle class is further hit by reduced spending for infra-structure development, as corporations have been able to lobby for many more major tax breaks than are available to individual citizens. Corporate patriotism, forget it--bottom-line profit comes first.
ON THE IDEA THAT AMERICA IS #1
The US could perhaps claim to be #1 in the world in numerous categories some decades ago, and with some pride, but currently we clearly are #1 in defense spending, in wealth accumulation, and in attempting to exert our military and financial muscle in various parts of the world, and lag well behind in many other areas. Weak political leadership, overly influenced by the nation's top-heavy financial institutions, has lost sight of the basic principle of acting in the best interests of the majority of citizens, and a public that had grown complacent with the nation's success during the last half of the 20th Century and become lax in demanding integrity and transparency of their public officials, has led to this marked decline.
ON CARTER'S STATEMENT THAT U.S. IN NOT A FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACY
It is unfortunate that Jimmy Carter's statements don't get much attention in the US, and are not taken with the seriousness they deserve. His presidency may not have been seen as successful, but his actions and perceptions since reveal much wisdom and strength of character and belief. On the cultural and political conflict in the Middle East, on the importance of fair and open elections, on steps to help the underprivileged help themselves, on means of facilitating non-violent conflict resolution, and now on the short-comings of our democratic system, he has much to say. The term 'democracy' implies that power rests with the people and is well-distributed among all the people. With the inequality in power in our society, and with the increasing lack of transparency in flow of information and exercise of power, it is clear that our democracy is being seriously compromised.
No comments:
Post a Comment