In our big country there is room for a lot of diverse opinions. With a population of 300 million people, the United States can have at least 100 million different opinions as to what is going on with our economy. One former Senator from Texas said that America is in a “mental recession”. He arrived at that statement by saying you have heard of mental depression, well this is a mental recession. I find it interesting that someone with a Ph.D. in economics could come up with such a statement, but his next remark gives us insight into his first remark. The former senator and professor of economics went on to say that Americans are a nation of “whiners”. These two comments taken together pretty much sum up where this man is coming from. Let me put my spin on it now. What he is really saying is, I have mine and I don’t give a rat’s ass that you don’t have yours. Stop whining about the sorry state of the economy and go out and get yours. If you can not get yours, drop dead because we don’t have a place at the table for you.
Now this is the interesting part, this former senator and professor of economics is one of the economic advisers to John McCain. John McCain quickly disavowed the remarks and made a weak joke about the former lobbyist-senator-professor being a candidate to become the future ambassador to Belarus. How funny is that?
Given the economic problems facing the majority of American families on July 11, 2008, I find it interesting the distance there is between the haves and the have-nots. Those that have a great deal of money are so far removed from what is happening to so many American families that their words demonstrate just how much out of touch they are with the majority of the American people. Words from the former senator should perhaps not be so surprising given the problems we find this nation in today. The disconnect is real.
In my last position before I retired, I worked in my state’s capitol, Columbus, Ohio, and I saw a little of what goes on in state government as I worked for the state. Many decisions are not made on the basis of what is best for the people at large, but what is going to help the friends of the people that contributed to put the people in power in office. It really is that simple. All the hoopla is merely a distraction from the real business at hand, giving your political friends the keys to the vault . The Issues that get the rest of the people all worked up, but do not have anything to do with their economic well being are carefully crafted to win votes. In 2004, the issue of “gay marriage” was on the ballot in Ohio. It was voted down and yet the economy tanked anyway. The poor uneducated voter is manipulated by some very clever political strategists and the sad part is that they don’t even know it is happening to them.
Now in 2008, with gasoline over $4 a gallon, jobs leaving our state (and the country), unemployment up, the housing market and new home construction down, and food prices up, perhaps issues closer to the bone will become the substance of what this November’s elections will be about. We will know we are close to the bottom when food, housing and jobs become the issues that will drive this year’s presidential election. Given that the price of oil is back up over the $140 a barrel this morning, on its way to $150, the thought that the fall elections will turn on something on the order of gift wrap rather than substance is hard for me to believe. I hate to see families suffer, God knows we have enough suffering in this world, but I sure hope that the American electorate can see through the bullshit thrown at them this time.
Stay tuned.
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2 comments:
McCain's advisor? "Birds of a feather, flock together." There are two types of people in the world - Saints and Sinners. What do you do with people to stupid to be either?
You know what is so scary? There are smart intelligent people in this country that know what has to be said and done to quiet things down and bring stability to the markets, but those that need to say those words will not say them. As a result, a lot of needless panic gets factored in, and I am not smart enough to understand why? Somewhere someone is looking for an edge, and the guys in Washington are giving someone an opportunity to score some points and/or make a buck. Do the Republicans think they can play the economy like a war and scare people into thinking they don't want to change horses in mid stream? Knowing they don't have enough time to fix the economy before the elections, just take it down further and see how that plays? What a gamble? And with other people's lives, but then again, what's new?
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