So, anyone had enough of the corporate welfare that is going on lately? I have. I mean, yes, banks are important, as is the automobile industry, but at some point, in a capitalist system, industries have to fail, otherwise, we have indeed slipped into socialism.
Unfortunately, it is the worst kind. The kind of socialism that makes products and insures that the rich stay rich; the kind of socialism that prefers to make weapons and prisons rather than schools and hospitals; the kind of socialism, that soon, will either require or invite wars due to its burgeoning budgetary needs.
The very idea that we can spend our way out of a recession is the same one that got us into this mess…anyone recall Bush telling Americans to shop more following 9-11? Even more egregious is that it is now acceptable for companies to be arrogant enough to ask for our money, using of all strategies, an appeal to patriotism as the raison d’etre.
Quite frankly, as long as Bush has his billions with the Saudi’s and the banks and the auto industries have enough money to pay themselves multi-million dollar salaries and fly to congress in private jets to ask for bailout money, they can kiss the American people’s collective ass. And congress can kiss it too, since they don’t have a clue as to how to get us out of this mess other than throwing money at the problem and bending over to big businesses every perverted suggestion. Make no mistake, what we are seeing with this bailout money is trickle down economics—Republican style—only now we see that our Democratic congress is willing to play that game too.
And let this be a lesson to you idiot-asshole Republicans out there that are still butt-hurt John McCain didn’t win: notice that I’m not lying down like a lapdog to slurp up everything the Dem’s are doing now that we’ve won the election. I am going to be as critical as I ever was, because I care about results, about using government effectively and efficiently, not crooning over some suit because they have a particular consonant behind their name.
To tell you the truth, I’m not a huge fan of Obama’s plan to spend another $700 billion and to keep the Bush tax cuts in place either. I’m all for building infrastructure, but only if it is going to move us forward into a new economy, buoyed by green technology and grants to research alternative energy sources. Let me be clear: I am optimistic that he will do a good job as president, but only if he has the courage of his convictions to institute fundamental, drastic, and lasting change to the way this country functions.
For my part, I am going to try to be solutions oriented, and there are two huge, primary actions that can be taken to get this economy back on track—actions that I don’t hear anyone talk about, and actions I don’t believe Barack Obama or this Democratic congress will take unless prodded by massive popular lobbying:
1) Immigration Reform
2) Forgiveness of debts (primarily student loans)
The first should be no surprise, really. Illegal immigration is a huge burden on our society. To begin with, the influx of cheap, unskilled labor devalues our labor market in general, even our skilled labor market. The result is less jobs and lower wages for U.S. citizens. This then is exacerbated by the fact that many immigrants send their money back to Mexico or Central/South America, where it goes to work in their markets—not ours. Moreover, our social services, schools, police, justice, prison, fire, and medical establishments are burdened with providing service to people that have not paid into the tax system very long, if at all. Finally and most simply, illegal immigration means more people. More people to share less resources, which means ultimately, less for all of us. This may sound selfish, but unless we are going to make the jump to world government, it is necessary to do what is best for one’s country first and foremost. The excellent thing about this problem is that it would be simple to fix. All that would need to be done is enact a 10 year mandatory prison sentence for those who employ illegal immigrants, and then periodically sting businesses that are suspected of not complying with the regulation.
The second action that could be taken, the forgiveness of debts, would have a similarly simple solution: forgive debts that qualify under certain parameters. I know that this doesn’t seem “fair,” but then again, neither is bailing out CEO’s and billionaires. The benefits of such a program, however, would be much more far reaching in turning around our economy than the corporate welfare our government is such a fan of. You see, rather than giving money to people that already have houses, cars, businesses, etc., we’d be giving money to the young and the poor (in my case both). Forgiving debt gained through attending college, would allow the young, educated class to begin buying those things that keep our economy humming, like cars, houses, opening investment and bank accounts, enabling them to start new businesses.
Yes, I am aware of the fact that I am advocating for a program that would benefit me greatly, so of course I have a selfish interest in such an initiative. But the effects of such a program would be dramatic, and I’ll use an old axiom to illustrate my point: give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day, but teach him how to fish, and he’ll eat for the rest of his life. Right now, our government is giving the rich more fish, and they’ll eat for a day, but they won’t have learned their lesson, and so, they’ll have their lavish vacations and their leer jets and their golden parachutes, and five years down the line, we’ll have to bail them out again. On the other hand, by forgiving debt, the government is not making someone rich, but instead, giving them the opportunity to get rich. You see, if the young and the poor have their debts forgiven, we’ll still have to earn a living, we’ll still have to make smart investments, we’ll still have to fish to have our dinner every night, so to speak. And with that, we’ll create jobs, stimulate the economy, and provide a stable base for consistent, sustainable growth.
So, its up to the Democrats: keep throwing money at the fat cats, and the young and poor will slog along, unable to actively participate in the economy because we are saddled with debts, or, help free us from those debts and make us an active and powerful force that can drive the U.S. economy out of this recession, and into the future.
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