There is more anger in America today than any time other than the Viet Nam War. Those of us who lived through it saw rioting in the streets and a truly divided nation. There was no question as to what that anger was directed to: The War! Once again, Americans are angry! They have good reason to be, but they brought it on, in part, by themselves. The "average American" was sold a bill of goods that promised them "The American Dream" but they became the victims of corporate greed and that of their own.
Over the past three years, we’ve seen dreams dashed, savings and retirements lost and now what appears to be the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. That promise of a brilliant future was finally dashed by the crash of Wall Street, and the accompanying domino effect that has shaken the American Economy to the bone. The government appears to be more concerned about Wall Street, rather than Main Street. President Obama and the Administration appear to be detached. Congress is gridlocked. Solutions offered are now "talking points" for the respective political parties. The once promise of a prosperous future now appears bleak. The net result is public anger towards all institutions, especially the government. You might, however, take a good look in the mirror to see that you were sold a bill of goods, and if you had any real common sense or remember your history; that promised pot of gold was fool’s gold. You bought the package, by placing your hopes and savings into the pockets of corrupt investors, promising that all would be well in Wall Street. The 401k was never meant to replace your retirement. It was designed to be part of your retirement. What it did was allow Wall Street to entice you for more profits, while draining your bank accounts. You fell for it! I predicted the crash in 2002 and RPO predicted the crash of 2009, a good year and a half before it happened!
Now we have the Tea Party. Take a look at their platform. Their basic goal is protecting The Constitution. However, the Tea Party is attempting to introduce new Constitutional Amendments, which would repeal the 17th Amendment, thus eliminating the power to elect Senators and return it to the State Legislators. Another would repeal the 14th Amendment, thus removing the guarantee of citizenship. Still another would repeal the 16th Amendment, eliminating the federal income tax. For an organization whose main purpose is to protect the Constitution, they certainly want tear it apart! Their anger is directed at anyone or anything that has the stamp of government. However, if any member of the Tea party is presently receiving extended Unemployment Benefits, Medicare or Social Security, I suggest that you return any future payments! How about "The Birthers"? They continue to contend that President Obama is not a U.S. citizen, as he was not born in the United States. I’m getting tired of dealing with these nitwits as I have done so twice, but their goal is the "Big Lie!" If you repeat a lie long enough, people will start believing it. Unfortunately, this is exactly what’s happening, as polls show that as the ‘Big Lie" persists, more people are believing it. But for many, the citizenship of Obama is not their real concern. It’s that he was born of Afro-American blood. Let’s not beat around the bush; they are really playing the "race card" but will not admit it. As for the rest of you, Get a life!
The Republicans have fueled this anger by their distortion of the Administration’s efforts to deal with the Economy. It appears that politics trump the good of the nation. The Democrats have failed to make a good case for the Administration’s efforts. As usual, they remain silent and disorganized. The Administration’s big mistake was to spend over a year on Health Care and not address the unemployment problem. Health Care plays an important part of our economic recovery, but it is an abstraction to the average American who is either unemployed or under employed. The TARP was placed into law by the Bush Administration and Congress and the Obama Administration could do little more than to administer what was already in motion. The pending legislation to regulate Wall Street will never allow that to happen again. The government cannot create permanent jobs. That task remains in Corporate America, but they’re sitting on their butts and warming their cash, waiting to see what happens next. The government has to get out of existing American industry as soon as possible. It should, however, be ready to underwrite new jobs in the coming Green Economy, as well as subsidizing the rebuilding of the infrastructure of the U.S. Go back to the Recession of 1937. Too much of The New Deal was a bad idea. The American Public has every right to be angry, but so far, their anger is directed towards the only hope of recovering from this Repression, instead of those who got us into this mess. That would be Wall Street. Corporate America and previous Administrations going back to 1980! Unfortunately, that job still remains initially in the hands of the U.S. Government. We, as Americans, are fortunate when our President steps forward to warn us when our nation is in peril or address us for the future. We should listen when Presidents speak. President Eisenhower warned us in 1958 of the threat of the "Military-Industrial Complex". In 1979, President Carter warned us about "self-indulgence and consumerism" in his "Crisis of Confidence" speech. The most important one has been long forgotten It was when President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid out his "Second Bill of Rights" shortly before his death, which promised the American citizen a decent standard of living. Perhaps had we followed it, we might not be in this position!
Tom C.
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