Many Americans live well below the poverty line. America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. How do we reconcile these two facts? In a land where some children grow up with an Xbox, a Gamecube and a Playstation 2 others are hungry. In a land where some have two or more homes, others are homeless. Many of us are insulated to the abject poverty which exists around us. Some are aware and try to help in varying degrees. Some blame the impoverished. They must be lazy, lack ambition and are not taking responsibility for their lives. There is nothing like a strong wind to blow down the walls that generally keep the poor out of our sight.
The Societal Budget
Most of us are painfully aware of our own budgets. If we are fortunate enough to have money coming in we must think about where to apply that money so we have enough to meet our expenses (or at least we should think about it). By the way, a great site for helping understand personal finance is MoneyPants (
http://www.moneypants.com). We should budget for a rent or mortgage payment, perhaps a car payment, groceries, utilities, clothing etcetera. If we are really lucky there may be some money left over to think about investing for a rainy day. In many respects you can gain a great deal of insight about someone by considering how they budget and spend their money.
Taxation and Investment
Money for societal investment is raised through taxation. This is basic price we all must pay in to belong to our society. The funds are then spent on things that we need or want as a people. We can invest the money to provide an infrastructure by which we then all have opportunity, security and other fundamental things that we generally could not provide as individuals. While my friend Jon is very strong, if we were invaded by Canada, Jon alone may not be able to protect all of us. Therefore, it is in our best interest to operate at a societal level as opposed to an individual one. Government becomes the body by which we pay in and then get services that we require. As a people we may have widely varied concepts of what infrastructure we require, and it may change dramatically throughout different stages of our lives. Government (in theory) represents the interests of society by collecting funds and then allocating our investment in our society. Just as you can gain insight into an individual by examining their budget, spending and investing, you can also gain insight into a community, state, nation or civilization. Want to gain insight into our spending? If you have never visited the National Priorities Project (http://nationalpriorities.org) it is a great project that can give you insight into how our societal investment is allocated.
What 'W' Means
By electing leadership (or, at least trying to) we presumably elect a body that will represent our interests as a society. For example after collecting the investment (through taxation) government can use our funds to provide services that are mandatory for any democracy to evolve and flourish such as investment in education, healthcare, security, mass transportation, highways, scientific research, public works and other programs that have contributed to America's wealth and well-being. Or they can purchase weapons, conduct weapons research, invade other countries, occupy other countries and provide handouts for large corporations. One of the choices this administration had was how to address the vulnerable levees in New Orleans. As our brothers and sisters in New Orleans continue the rebuilding process, amidst new tax cuts for the wealthy and appropriations for continuing operations in Iraq, make no mistake about the priorities of this administration. How many of us would elect leadership if they were running on a platform of "Let's help the rich get richer, invade and occupy other countries, allow business to pollute and plunder our natural resources"? Okay, you've got me there, but beyond Karl Rove and the neoconservative extremists that have taken temporary control of the Republican party and our government, who else would vote for a slash and burn no tree left behind, no ally left anywhere, let them hate us as long as they fear us doctrine? Clearly not many (unless tabulated by companies who make voting machines where the CEO has guaranteed the Neocons a victory. Diebold comes to mind.) So when I see 'W' on car bumpers it must mean (W)hat the hell are you spending our money on?
A Rising Tide Lifts all Yachts
Supply side economic theory (or trickle down voodoo Reagonomics, if you prefer) assumes a free economic market, something that we simply do not enjoy and the economic theorists supporting this know that. It is as egregious as the scientists that are compensated by ExxonMobil to state that Global Warming is hocus pocus. In my opinion these educated people who have sold their honor should spend the rest of their lives on a melting glacier surrounded by hungry sharks. The theory is that as the wealthy become wealthier, their investments will make the economy grow. The only correct part is the wealthy become wealthier. And a free market should have some important controls without which our poor would continue to suffer through a Darwinistic economic system. Don't get me wrong, I think a free market is generally good. It creates an environment conducive to innovation, competition and efficiency. But an economic system or a system of government is not "one size fits all" there may be other systems that work well in developing countries or different cultures. We should not assume that all countries are hoping for their turn to be bombed into "democracy".
A Broken Levee Sinks Poor Neighborhoods
Tavis Smiley is right, there is a Covenant with Black America, and he correctly states that the Covenant transcends race. As a society we should be investing in an infrastructure that will create an educated, civically engaged society. A democracy extends beyond the simple act of voting (with the exception of in Florida, Ohio and which state will be the controversial swing state in the midterms?) it requires participation within our neighborhoods, our communities, cities, states and federal layers of government. If that engagement is to be meaningful it requires an educated populace with access to an unbiased stream of information so people can make informed choices about our government, legislation and how we invest in the future of America. Do you take every paycheck and use close to half of it to buy weapons, fund weapons research and occupy homes that belong to other families? That's what America does now.
On a personal note, I was deeply saddened by the passing of John Kenneth Galbraith. He was a personal hero of mine, and his writings help shape much of my early economic perspectives. In many ways he contributed to the journey that led me to alonovo.com. While I never had the honor of meeting this remarkable man, I feel I have lost a mentor and the world has lost a beacon of truth, something more valuable than oil in its scarcity.
Just a few thoughts from my over-caffeinated alphabetic mind.
About the Author: Mr. Polisner founded alonovo.com (http://www.alonovo.com/...) in March of 2005. He has been working in most aspects of Information Technology since 1981 and was an early commercial adopter of the UNIX operating system. Prior to founding alonovo.com earlier this year, George was a Director at Oracle Corporation. He is a frequent contributor to newspapers regarding political and economic policy and often appears as a guest on radio programs. In fact, when it comes to alonovo.com, it's pretty difficult to get him to stop talking.
