Government
The ideal of government is that it is of the people, by the people, and for the people. So at the national level we "the people" elect a president and representatives to Congress to represent our interests, our communities, our towns and cities and counties and states. There are of course three branches of government: legislative (congress); executive (president); judiciary (the courts). These three branches have powers delineated in the U.S. Constitution.
The ideal situation for the government to work properly is for its members to be ethical public servants dedicated to the welfare of their constituents (of people). And do so while being properly compensated for their work as public servants.
The biggest threat to the proper function of government is that which comes from powerful special interests that represent the very wealthy. Of all the challenges a government faces, when it comes to being able to operate properly, attempts by moneyed interests to exert undue influence is the single most destructive force capable of corrupting it to the core. Which is where we are today...
Over time, and because of relentless attempts by the moneyed elite to exert undue influence in government, they were able to totally corrupt it by using a strategy that took advantage of two things: The need for politicians to raise campaign money, and by enticing politicians, their family members, and/or friends with highly-paid positions in the private sector; the so-called revolving door.
And so the moneyed elite was able to buy off the politicians, including the presidency, and the supreme court.
Business, Finance & Economics
The moneyed elite has a very clear objective in mind when they make the effort to buy off the politicians, and that objective is to steal and loot the wealth created by the working class of the country, and to keep the population dumb and so desperate that they can be easily manipulated and exploited.
The easiest way for the moneyed elite to do that is by looting the banks and the financial system. Previous generations have experienced this many times, and having learned from their lessons, they implemented a regulatory framework to protect the financial system from looting by the parasitic moneyed elite.
In modern times, the key thing the plutocrats did with their bought off politicians was to order them to dismantle the proper regulatory framework protecting against the looting of the financial system.
With this accomplished, the parasitic sociopaths then proceeded to pillage and steal from the the country, with the complete support and protection of their bought off politicians.
The looting accomplishes many objectives. For example, by looting the country's wealth, the parasitic sociopaths plunge the country into economic calamity. This in turn affects the proper function of government and leaves it unable to function at full capacity.
The plutocratic sociopaths then take advantage of that situation and through an elaborate scheme that takes advantage of their control of the mainstream media, and uses sophisticated propaganda techniques developed by Right wing think tanks and public relations firms, they are able to manufacture a "reality" that serves their interests.
For example, as they plunder the country's treasury, the economy goes into free fall. This creates economic distress for the population, and their towns, cities, counties, and states.
Then they create a set of "false choices" to address the situation: The economy collapsed; the tax base declined; the only way to revive the economy is to first replenish the funds looted from the banks with taxpayer's moneys, and second rely on those banks (that are criminally controlled by the sociopathic ruling elite) to spur economic growth (through lending).
But of course, that is a totally manufactured illusion, since under a normal situation (where the entire government was not bought off by the plutocratic sociopaths), the government would've break up too-big-to-fail banks, prosecute the criminals who stole trillions of dollars, and temporarily nationalize the banking system.
The Media
Again, because of the control the plutocratic sociopaths have over the entire mainstream media, they are able to turn it into a very powerful and effective propaganda machine.
Every day and night average Americans are bombarded with a constant barrage of messages, sounds, images, and "news" that on the aggregate have the effect of manipulating the entire population into accepting a certain way of looking at the world, and what can and can't be done. It creates a very powerful (if subtle) framework within which most Americans tend to formulate their world view.
The effects are so powerful that it even greatly influences the thinking and perspective of intellectuals, and people who describe themselves as liberals and/or progressives.
Reality
The first necessary thing in order to start freeing the mind from the control of the plutocratic sociopaths is to come to an understanding of the three topics covered above (Government, Business, Media).
Secondly, as any Economics 101 student knows, the government cannot go broke (in theory) because it can always print money. There are many considerations when it comes to printing money, such as inflation, deflation, foreign debt, currency exchange and valuation, etc., but at the end of the day, the government has many options.
In today's environment, one of the things the government should have done when confronted with the widespread criminality by Wall Street, is to liquidate the insolvent banks, investigate and prosecute wrongdoing, nationalize the banking system, and come up with a national plan to stabilize the housing market, as it was done during the Great Depression.
The government could do the following, as suggested by the New York Times:
The administration should pursue principal reductions for stressed borrowers, and it could do so immediately by calling on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance the underwater loans of borrowers who are current in their payments. What it shouldn’t do is pretend that the proposed settlement is the only — or best — way to get quick relief to homeowners.
The clear and present danger the extortionist plutocrats represent is the probability that their propaganda and complete control of the levers of power is so complete, that we the people may buy into their astroturf manufactured reality which purpose is to subjugate and exploit us.
The proper functions of government need to be restored. Corporate control of the government needs to be rescinded and stopped. The financial system needs to be revamped so it can function properly. Crimes committed by Wall Street and bank executives need to be properly investigated.
The "austerity" measures being imposed on the population, including defunding of education, social safety net, the firing of tens of thousand of government workers, massive levels of foreclosures, persistent high levels of unemployment, are mostly happening because the bought off government let them happened. Because it mainly benefits the plutocratic sociopaths that are hell-bent on subjugating and exploiting the population.
At this point, we have a decision to make. Do we stand up and say "Enough" to this manufactured lie, or do we accept it? It is up to us.
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