Don"t Drink the Water
February 8, 2009 - by Gregory Franklyn
I find it remarkable how quickly the Republican Party in Washington can do a 180 degree turn on a dime. Not only has this week shown that they have been talking with one another and ironing out the spin they are going to go with, but it has shown that they have the flexibility of a sideshow contortionist.
Last Sunday the talk shows were stacked with Republicans talking about how bad the Obama Stimulus Plan is, but they each had a different story about why, and a lot of their diatribes were about things that had already been removed from the bill. This week they are a LOT more unified in their message. This week the rhetoric is "Tax Cuts" are the best stimulus for a failing economy." No surprise there, that's standard Republican dogma.
But, the Republican strategy this week seems contrastingly seamless across the board. Hard sell any government spending in the stimulus as "Pork", and call for tax cuts instead. Here's where the 180 degree turn comes in. Republicans in the House and Senate are complaining that the Democratic Stimulus Package cintains too much spending! These would be the same Republicans who presided over 8 continuous years of spending that brought the United States to the brink of financial disaster. Republican Demi-God, Ronald Reagan's name has been invoked all week as an example of fiscal responsibility. I remember those years very differently, but lets have a look at the record.
While espousing fiscal conservatism, smaller Government and tax cuts, the Reagan Administration, by the end of its term, had raised taxes, expanded the military (a part of the government) and spent us into the largest deficit in history, up to that point. The only Republican Administration who has spent more, and left a larger deficit since then, would be, well,,, er,,, let's see,,, ALL OF THEM!
In fact, a look at the fiscal history of the United States since Richard Nixon points out that it has been Republicans who have been spending like drunken sailors for roughly 40 years now. How they've managed to keep the "Conventional Wisdom" of Democrats being "Tax & Spend Liberals" alive is by saying it over and over again with the confident conviction of a tent revival preacher.
That's also what we've been watching in Congress all week, as well.
Republicans have been turning up the volume to a fever pitch, some like Lindsay Graham, literally screaming on the floor of the senate that the United States will be TOAST if we stimulate the economy via Government Spending! The Republicans presented a counter-proposal to Government Spending on stimulus that was basically conservative, meaning not nearly as expensive, and was composed of Tax Cuts only, almost NO spending.
Barack Obama is understandably scratching his head about this logic. To the Republican objection to government spending to stimulate the economy he responds, "What do you think a stimulus is?" "Spending is the whole point!" You spend money on badly needed projects to put people back to work so they can buy things. This isn't rocket science!
This Presidential Election, like all Presidential Elections, was about the economy. John McCain's position was to let the markets decide, stop interfering with them via taxes and regulations, and giving them the money they need to stay viable so they can do so.
Obama took the position that the same old tired policies that have not been working for the last 40 years be abandoned. He took the position that the Government is in the best position to stimulate the economy through spending on much needed Public Works projects, similar to what worked so well in the last great depression; putting people back to work. Note: Obama Won!
Lindsay Graham may be screaming for a very good reason. It's in the realm of possibility that he's right; no one actually IS listening. The past is a double edged sword. It can teach us, both what to do, what not to do, if we glean the right things from what it is telling us.
The last 40 years has taught us that tax cuts do not have a significant impact on economic activity in the short term. The long term effect of those cuts has been to erode the very foundation of a healthy economy; the middle class. Among the players in this drama, I trust Barack Obama's interest in, and respect for, our shared history. In stark contrast to our immediate past, he's a pretty smart cookie!
Amid all of this intense, nail-biting drama going on about the economy comes the lone voice of Ron Paul. You remember him; he's one of the three men who ran for president that the corporate media decided to paint as wing nuts in the primaries. Primarily because all three reminded us that we went off course as a nation a long, long time ago and that our current problems are a direct result of that deviation.
This week Ron Paul reminded us that we are fighting tooth and nail over a frigging fairy tale. Our system of currency has no foundation. It's a house of cards, we just print what we want and then wonder why its value is taking a dive, requiring us to print even more, which devalues it even more. He's right about that and that is a big piece of the reason corporate media calls him a nutcase. He's a lone voice of fiscal sanity amidst a world that "Drank the Water."
We just gave 350 BILLION dollars to financial institutions who are the living example of fiscal irresponsibility. They, in turn, spent the money doing the very things that bankrupted them in the first place and then have the unmitigated gall to respond to media inquiries about what is being done with our money, with, "It's none of your concern!"
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we learned this week that the Pentagon has been honing some pretty impressive magic acts. They made 25% of their budget disappear! That's 2.3 TRILLION DOLLARS of tax payer's hard earned money. I'm not surprised that The Pentagon lost that much money, either.People who deal with amounts of money like that have a mindset much different that yours or mine.
I'm reminded of a TV Commercial I'm seeing every hour on national television right now. It's a commercial for Orbitz.com, a discount travel booking outfit. A man stands in his front yard watering his lawn. Suddenly a big hovercraft lands in front of him and a smiling pilot jumps out and hands him a price assurance check for $138.00. The man asks why the company didn't simply mail the check. What the pilot says then is a classic example of the mindset that people have, who deal with huge sums of money every day. The pilot looks at the man with an expression of disbelief as if he's lost his mind for asking such an insane question, and answers, "Because we have a hovercraft!"
I think we'd do better to take about a quarter of the money that the Pentagon lost last year and set up a Department of Recovery. Hire accountants, investigators and attorneys and go after these "Disappearing Funds" and Medicare Fraud and Defense Contract Fraud and the people involved in "No-Bid Contracts" and $600.00 toilet seats and get our money back.
Think about it, $2.3 TRILLION Dollars simply vanished in one department in one year! That's more than both the Wall Street Bailout and the Stimulus Package combined and we haven't even started in on the money that vanished in Iraq! The solutions are slapping us in the face, all we have to do is act on it.
Much Love,
Gregory
I find it remarkable how quickly the Republican Party in Washington can do a 180 degree turn on a dime. Not only has this week shown that they have been talking with one another and ironing out the spin they are going to go with, but it has shown that they have the flexibility of a sideshow contortionist.
Last Sunday the talk shows were stacked with Republicans talking about how bad the Obama Stimulus Plan is, but they each had a different story about why, and a lot of their diatribes were about things that had already been removed from the bill. This week they are a LOT more unified in their message. This week the rhetoric is "Tax Cuts" are the best stimulus for a failing economy." No surprise there, that's standard Republican dogma.
But, the Republican strategy this week seems contrastingly seamless across the board. Hard sell any government spending in the stimulus as "Pork", and call for tax cuts instead. Here's where the 180 degree turn comes in. Republicans in the House and Senate are complaining that the Democratic Stimulus Package cintains too much spending! These would be the same Republicans who presided over 8 continuous years of spending that brought the United States to the brink of financial disaster. Republican Demi-God, Ronald Reagan's name has been invoked all week as an example of fiscal responsibility. I remember those years very differently, but lets have a look at the record.
While espousing fiscal conservatism, smaller Government and tax cuts, the Reagan Administration, by the end of its term, had raised taxes, expanded the military (a part of the government) and spent us into the largest deficit in history, up to that point. The only Republican Administration who has spent more, and left a larger deficit since then, would be, well,,, er,,, let's see,,, ALL OF THEM!
In fact, a look at the fiscal history of the United States since Richard Nixon points out that it has been Republicans who have been spending like drunken sailors for roughly 40 years now. How they've managed to keep the "Conventional Wisdom" of Democrats being "Tax & Spend Liberals" alive is by saying it over and over again with the confident conviction of a tent revival preacher.
That's also what we've been watching in Congress all week, as well.
Republicans have been turning up the volume to a fever pitch, some like Lindsay Graham, literally screaming on the floor of the senate that the United States will be TOAST if we stimulate the economy via Government Spending! The Republicans presented a counter-proposal to Government Spending on stimulus that was basically conservative, meaning not nearly as expensive, and was composed of Tax Cuts only, almost NO spending.
Barack Obama is understandably scratching his head about this logic. To the Republican objection to government spending to stimulate the economy he responds, "What do you think a stimulus is?" "Spending is the whole point!" You spend money on badly needed projects to put people back to work so they can buy things. This isn't rocket science!
This Presidential Election, like all Presidential Elections, was about the economy. John McCain's position was to let the markets decide, stop interfering with them via taxes and regulations, and giving them the money they need to stay viable so they can do so.
Obama took the position that the same old tired policies that have not been working for the last 40 years be abandoned. He took the position that the Government is in the best position to stimulate the economy through spending on much needed Public Works projects, similar to what worked so well in the last great depression; putting people back to work. Note: Obama Won!
Lindsay Graham may be screaming for a very good reason. It's in the realm of possibility that he's right; no one actually IS listening. The past is a double edged sword. It can teach us, both what to do, what not to do, if we glean the right things from what it is telling us.
The last 40 years has taught us that tax cuts do not have a significant impact on economic activity in the short term. The long term effect of those cuts has been to erode the very foundation of a healthy economy; the middle class. Among the players in this drama, I trust Barack Obama's interest in, and respect for, our shared history. In stark contrast to our immediate past, he's a pretty smart cookie!
Amid all of this intense, nail-biting drama going on about the economy comes the lone voice of Ron Paul. You remember him; he's one of the three men who ran for president that the corporate media decided to paint as wing nuts in the primaries. Primarily because all three reminded us that we went off course as a nation a long, long time ago and that our current problems are a direct result of that deviation.
This week Ron Paul reminded us that we are fighting tooth and nail over a frigging fairy tale. Our system of currency has no foundation. It's a house of cards, we just print what we want and then wonder why its value is taking a dive, requiring us to print even more, which devalues it even more. He's right about that and that is a big piece of the reason corporate media calls him a nutcase. He's a lone voice of fiscal sanity amidst a world that "Drank the Water."
We just gave 350 BILLION dollars to financial institutions who are the living example of fiscal irresponsibility. They, in turn, spent the money doing the very things that bankrupted them in the first place and then have the unmitigated gall to respond to media inquiries about what is being done with our money, with, "It's none of your concern!"
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we learned this week that the Pentagon has been honing some pretty impressive magic acts. They made 25% of their budget disappear! That's 2.3 TRILLION DOLLARS of tax payer's hard earned money. I'm not surprised that The Pentagon lost that much money, either.People who deal with amounts of money like that have a mindset much different that yours or mine.
I'm reminded of a TV Commercial I'm seeing every hour on national television right now. It's a commercial for Orbitz.com, a discount travel booking outfit. A man stands in his front yard watering his lawn. Suddenly a big hovercraft lands in front of him and a smiling pilot jumps out and hands him a price assurance check for $138.00. The man asks why the company didn't simply mail the check. What the pilot says then is a classic example of the mindset that people have, who deal with huge sums of money every day. The pilot looks at the man with an expression of disbelief as if he's lost his mind for asking such an insane question, and answers, "Because we have a hovercraft!"
I think we'd do better to take about a quarter of the money that the Pentagon lost last year and set up a Department of Recovery. Hire accountants, investigators and attorneys and go after these "Disappearing Funds" and Medicare Fraud and Defense Contract Fraud and the people involved in "No-Bid Contracts" and $600.00 toilet seats and get our money back.
Think about it, $2.3 TRILLION Dollars simply vanished in one department in one year! That's more than both the Wall Street Bailout and the Stimulus Package combined and we haven't even started in on the money that vanished in Iraq! The solutions are slapping us in the face, all we have to do is act on it.
Much Love,
Gregory
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