The embarrassing reactions of many Republicans to the passage of the Health Bill left little doubt in any ones mind that the current Republican Party will do anything to try to win. Their childish decorum in yelling insults and self fulfilling prophecies on the floor of the House did not look like a party dedicated to morals and high standards. The party of independence did not express one individual thought in the historic debate that night. Their loyalty was to the party, not the people.
What has happened to the Republican Party? The former strong defender of the entrepreneur and private business has ended up bankrupting the economy and begging for a government dole to survive. The Bush/Cheney administration with their "yes man" leadership mode has evidently become the party standard operating procedure. Lies and deceit (ie weapons of mass destruction, etc) appear to be the carry over weapons to regain control of the country. Politics, not the welfare of the country and its citizens, is their number one goal. Win at any cost. Democracy be damned. The will of the people (the republican people that is) must prevail to the last letter. The leadership would not even consider debating changes. They would only consider a "start over" doing things their way. They were sure that their previous tried and proven method of lies and deceit would inflict a political defeat on the Democratic Party, and that was the goal. There was little thought for the 32 million without any insurance and those who could not get insurance because of preexisting conditions. They did not want the government to reduce insurance companies profits by forcing them to pay for costs that went beyond their arbitrary limits. Their approach was to persuade those who didn't know any better that voting for health care meant voting for abortion, which was a blatant lie. "Don't let the government take over your life," they cried. (it's better to have the unregulated insurance companies determine what care will be paid for, which of course dictates what care will be given.)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
STIMULUS, ANOTHER NAME FOR MONEY SCHEME
Leaders of the "Trickle Down" economic policy decided that they could make a bundle in the housing market if we had a housing boom. There were a lot of people who wanted expensive housing but there were limited funds available. They figured that if these people could get credit they would start buying. The first thing to do was to get banks to give sub prime loans. (These are loans that are higher than the collateral backing the loan.) To encourage the banks to make these loans the two "Mac Agencies) would buy the loans from the banks, giving them a commission without any risk. Both good loans and sub prime loans were sold to the Macs. When the the Sub Prime loans overwhelmed the Macs, Goldman Sacks and some lesser firms packaged the loans into huge confused bundles and sold them to AIG, charging a hefty commission of course. When the mortgage payments stopped coming through, The Mac's stopped receiving their share of the payments and AIG stopped receiving their share as well, and when AIG ran out of available funds to pay off on the failed mortgages, the crisis started. Usually when there is a foreclosure on a failed mortgage, the sale of the property reimburses the Insurers (AIG ultimately in this case) and the loosers are the mortgagees who failed on the loan. In the case of the sub prime mortgages the sale of the property was much less than the amount owed, and both mortgagees and Insurance companies suffered the loss.
The government decided that the Insurance Company (AIG in this case) was too big to fail and Goldman Sacks either confirmed this or advised them of their decision. Immediately, the Government Official in The Bush Administration that used to be with the Investment Companies got together an enormous STIMULUS package to bail out the insurance companies (AIG in particular.) Reportedly, AIG was then able to pay the bonuses owed to their officers and also to pay Goldman Sacks for their "services"
When the new administrtion took office, the Stimulus action continued with the new Secretary of the Treasury (who also was a former officer in the Federal Reserve System) promoted the strategy that the financial institutions were too big to fail. As a result, the bail out continued; bonuses have been paid, and Goldman Sacks and some lesser investors have made billions while Main Street continues to be in Crisis.
In all fairness, some other things have been done to ease the pain on Main Street but continued
Stimulus (or pay out) of the financial investment companies who caused the crisis, will not solve the problem. It will mostly just add to our enormous debt.
The government decided that the Insurance Company (AIG in this case) was too big to fail and Goldman Sacks either confirmed this or advised them of their decision. Immediately, the Government Official in The Bush Administration that used to be with the Investment Companies got together an enormous STIMULUS package to bail out the insurance companies (AIG in particular.) Reportedly, AIG was then able to pay the bonuses owed to their officers and also to pay Goldman Sacks for their "services"
When the new administrtion took office, the Stimulus action continued with the new Secretary of the Treasury (who also was a former officer in the Federal Reserve System) promoted the strategy that the financial institutions were too big to fail. As a result, the bail out continued; bonuses have been paid, and Goldman Sacks and some lesser investors have made billions while Main Street continues to be in Crisis.
In all fairness, some other things have been done to ease the pain on Main Street but continued
Stimulus (or pay out) of the financial investment companies who caused the crisis, will not solve the problem. It will mostly just add to our enormous debt.
Friday, March 12, 2010
BACKBONE OF AMERICA
The government civil servant workers have recently been called the "Backbone of America." The reference is to the Policeman, Firemen, Department of Public Works Workers, Public School Teachers, Social Service Workers and the thousands of workers in the many government agencies that fill the needs of the public from issuing driver's licenses to inspecting the meat we eat to make sure that it is fit for human consumption. These people truly provide the vital services that are needed for the civilized existence we have come to expect. For the most part, they are people who have dedicated their lives to serving the needs of others. They are human beings and of course they have selfish desires and being American they are competitive, but they tend more to be cooperative and socialistic.
The people in the private business sector on the other hand tend to be most competitive and self centered. They are the people who consider themselves independent with their idea of the "American Dream" to gain riches and rise above others. They also are human beings and of course have compassion for others in varying degrees. They produce the fuel that makes America run, but the thrust is more for personal achievement than it is for the general welfare of others, and they tend to be more conservative in a political sense.
Then there is the military. They have great self pride of course, but they are dedicated to their country and its people. They are prepared to make the supreme sacrifice if necessary. They are
outwardly independent and more conservative in a political sense but basically cooperative and
socialistic in nature.
All three groups might lay claim to being the "Backbone of America" and within each group there
are individuals who are indeed the backbone of America. These people are distinguished by their attitude. They strive to be self sufficient yet acknowledge their interdependence on others. They have self pride and struggle to become all they are capable of being, but they can be cooperative and believe in fair play. They are the kind of people that most religions used to try to develop. The label, Backbone of America, is an arbitrary title and is determined by the individual or individuals expressing the label. Our decision is that the title belongs to the Government Civil Service Workers.
The people in the private business sector on the other hand tend to be most competitive and self centered. They are the people who consider themselves independent with their idea of the "American Dream" to gain riches and rise above others. They also are human beings and of course have compassion for others in varying degrees. They produce the fuel that makes America run, but the thrust is more for personal achievement than it is for the general welfare of others, and they tend to be more conservative in a political sense.
Then there is the military. They have great self pride of course, but they are dedicated to their country and its people. They are prepared to make the supreme sacrifice if necessary. They are
outwardly independent and more conservative in a political sense but basically cooperative and
socialistic in nature.
All three groups might lay claim to being the "Backbone of America" and within each group there
are individuals who are indeed the backbone of America. These people are distinguished by their attitude. They strive to be self sufficient yet acknowledge their interdependence on others. They have self pride and struggle to become all they are capable of being, but they can be cooperative and believe in fair play. They are the kind of people that most religions used to try to develop. The label, Backbone of America, is an arbitrary title and is determined by the individual or individuals expressing the label. Our decision is that the title belongs to the Government Civil Service Workers.
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