Fear and Loathing in the Heartland

Everything that the United States ever was or ever could hope to become lies in the American people. Then along came deregulation, outsourcing, offshoring, multi-national corporations, corrupt politicians, lying, thievery, ponzi schemes etc.

Those things have always been part of America, I guess, but I always thought that good would win out. Now I'm not so sure. The current melt-down of the economy, which started in Dec. 2007 and wasn't officially recognized until after the Wall St. meltdown interrupted John McCain's presidential campaign in the fall of 2008, is just one result.

Another is that we are losing our country. I will always stand on the side of the hard-working men and women of the American labor force. They are what built this country. They are also the ones who built every last red cent that the Investor class ever made off of them. They are also the ones who fought for every sensible regulation that was ever passed to protect themselves in their workplaces. They are also the ones who allowed entire generations past to enjoy the standard of living which we did before it started being systematically dismantled right before our eyes.

I also believe in freedom. I believe that we are (or at least were) free men and women. We are free to start a business. We are free to go to work for someone else at their business if they want us. We are free to sit on our duffs and do nothing if we can afford to. We are also have the freedom to freely associate with whomever we choose and to form associations with a common purpose.

I cherish all of the freedoms that this country has, and stands for. I'll be glsd if I ever see the day that fear quits ruling here. I would be very happy to live long enough to see opportunity and prosperity return to our great nation. A robust economy, not just for a few, but with a thriving middle class it vital. Trade policies which gut the working class and porous borders which allow the illegal immigrants do exactly the opposite. It's been going on since at least the arly 70's, under both Democrat and Republican administrations. In fact, Bill Clinton, whom I think is a good man, was the best Republican president in a long time, having bought into the Newt-Gingrich-Republican-led NAFTA debacle. How's NAFTA look now?

If we don't start creating good paying jobs and growing this economy aggressively we will never be able to face potential looming threats in the world (think China for example). I am afraid we have already squandered a limited opportunity to avoid further destruction in our economy.

I am suggesting an FDR and Eisenhower style infrastructure program to replace crumbling roads and bridges, and maybe some high-speed rail investments to limp us into a position while improvements are made to the energy sector.

Even if all of this was done, it still won't replace what has already been lost however. We need a strong effort to revitalize our manufacturing sector. It will be a heavy lift, and I don't think the right people are in place to make it happen. Time will tell. I am not hopeful.

New Facebook Group: My Organic Biscuit

I have started a new Facebook discussion group for my MS friends. I'm not exactly a technical genius, but I think you can click the title of this posting to go there (that's the idea anyway). If not I'll be back to correct at soon as possible. Hope to see you there!