I don’t believe that we should focus on the Federal deficit. I think we should first make sure that our government is looking after our wellbeing with our money. That is, the Federal government should be working hard to help US, not prop up wealthy donors or corporations with lobbyists.
The people getting the most free stuff are those who shelter their billions in secret overseas tax shelters. The Panama Papers. The Paradise Papers. An endless stream of these greedy schemes — I can’t keep track of them all. The rich tax evaders are engorging on our tax money. Our government was supposed to be of, by and for the People. Not a hideous plutocracy pretending to be a representative government.
I’ve noticed, and I’d like to think everyone has finally noticed, that there’s always a big hoopla about the deficit whenever there’s a proposal for the Federal government to spend money on helping ordinary Americans, or struggling Americans. We can’t afford that. It makes them dependent. It distorts our wonderful market system. Whatever. It’s the usual accusations promoted by the usual propaganda arms funded by the usual plutocrats. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. We all know that K Street is filled with corporate lobbyists and that nearly every politician takes their money and their meetings and votes for their chosen legislation.
Even so-called liberal media notes, often with alarm, the cost of increased unemployment (which is rare and always temporary), or Social Security (for which every American has money withdrawn from his/her/their paycheck every week of their working lives). And don’t get me started on healthcare!
Yes, any benefit that the American people get from their own taxes which goes to their own government — the one with the preamble in it’s Constitution noting its obligation to look out for the General Welfare — is pilloried by ideological opponents and media of all stripes. Because nearly everyone, including those sympathetic to ordinary Americans, have bought the canard that spending is a dangerous proposition…but only if it helps ordinary Americans.
Because concern about costs have never prevented or delayed a war. There’s no meaningful opposition ever by decision makers on killing foreigners usually for oil or some other resource plutocrats want. Tax cuts for the ultra wealthy? In the years following Occupy, there’s some verbal criticism, but the ultra wealthy always get the tax cuts they want — raiding the people’s treasury whenever they want for trillions in easy money. And why not? The people who vote on the legislation are on the payroll of those ultra wealthy plutocrats.
Again, this might sound like some left wing hysteria EXCEPT that we all know that nearly every politician accepts money from the wealthy and the majority votes accordingly. Our attention is diverted from this key fact — we’re supposed to focus on the specific legislation and take discredited self-serving arguments seriously. We all know that tax cuts for the wealthy does NOT create jobs — and that the people making that argument don’t give a crap about jobs. But that ridiculous argument is repeated again and again anyway.
We have even seen Wall Street blow up the economy and get bailed out while ordinary Americans were left to pick up the tab. Even after this, politicians continue to take bribes (let’s not use the euphemism “donations”) from the ultra wealthy, continue to hand out favors at OUR expense, and dare to cry “deficit” whenever there’s some possibility of a dime of value going to the American people from what is supposed to be their own government.
If you bemoan government benefits to the American people, but excuse bailouts, tax cuts and other favors to the ultra wealthy, you aren’t a fiscal conservative. You are a hypocrite.
Wake up.
