Quote:
Originally Posted by Adak
If they only worked - but they don't, or they don't work efficiently. Efficiency is very important, because we can't just throw money at our problems - we don't have enough of it, and shouldn't be wasting it.
To be kind, they're very wasteful, and big time liars. I neither need nor want, our fed gov't to control every damn thing in my life.
Anybody remember what liberty and freedom were about?
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Well, since you asked... I don't expect for a moment to change your mind, but I haven't participated in this thread so far, and your comments are as a good as an excuse as any for me to jump in with my deep insights and scintillating comments (HAH!)
I remember the days when many of my and everyone else's liberties and freedom was guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Along came 9/11 and the Republican administration then in power pushed through the so-called Patriot Acts and the creation of Homeland "Security." Not content with these atrocities, the Rebublican Gang of Four then got us into a war under false pretenses and without giving the slightest thought as to how the US was going to pay for this atrocity. Rather than following the route of fiscal responsibility by raising taxes and implementing other substancial money saving programs to pay for our adventures in Iraq, the Republicans LOWERED taxes and added insult to injury by awarding lucrative contracts to defense contracters who were in bed with the upper echelons of Republican politicians and the Department of Defense, Pentagon, Chief's of Staff, etc. Can anyone say Halliburten or Dick Chaney or Karl Rove or or or?
Ancient history,, perhaps, but it's brought us to where we are today. Oh, and let's not forget the big financial bailout of all those crooked CEOs and bankers specializing in sub prime lending instruments, etc., etc. These corporate criminals tanked the US economy and you and I had the "freedom" of paying for their get out of jail free cards. Was so much as one criminal financier called to account for his actions? Did a single one go to trial or spend time in prison for the crimes that were committed against the American people? Don't everybody all answer at once.
Why didn't a single Federal prosecutor bring charges against these charlatans who practically drove our country to its knees? I blame both parties for this. No high ranking politician was going to risk PAC money or other campaign contributions or the incredible goodies handed out by the lobbiests for the country's financial low lifes.
And how about the outsourcong of American jobs? Remember Apple? Remember when it was the quintensential American success story? Until it discovered China that is. Goodbye Apple and goodbye every single other American manufacturer of microchips and almost all other components used in the electronics industry.
Wanna hear what Chinese workers get paid to work for Apple? One dollar/hour. And they work 12 hour days with only one day a week off. If production falls behind, they get to work extra shifts for free until the new quotas are met. Apple workers in China are housed in dormitories of 10 stories or more. This makes it easy for them to jump from an upper floor and commit suicide when they break down under the constant criticism they are subjected to and the incredible stress of their work load.
Republicans have the incredible nerve to call this global "free enterprise." Bull shit! China is a COMMUNIST country for those of you who have forgotten. The Chinese government subsidizes Chinese industries with low or zero rate loans, free land to build their plants on, and a system of tarriffs which prevent most foreign produced goods from being competitive in the Chinese market place.
BTW, the above info on Apple comes from the book,
The Betrayal of the American Dream by Barlett and Steele, pp. 85-97.
The US joins in the party by actually giving tax breaks to US corporations who export US jobs overseas. There is no system of tariffs that has any teeth which protects American manufacturing the way Chinese products are protected. BTW, is there any American manufacturing left? I guess we still make a few car parts and your pal, Romney objects to even that.
Wake up and look at what is going on both in the US and globally. The wealthiest individuals and corporations in the US have bouht themselves a national legislature of their very own in no small part due to Citizens United. Would you like to explain to me how you or I have the "liberty" or "freedom" to run a candidate who represents the actual American people - not Goldman Sachs. Good fucking luck, sucker. Until - IF -we get campaign financing reform, our country will continue to run at a deposit as jobs continue to vanish overseas, CEO's are paid obscene salaries to dismantle American enterprise, and the war du jour will rake in billions if not trillions for the cronies of the administration who yet again, "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war," against whatever hapless nation is discovered to have something we want.
Why in the name of the FSM are Conservatives so deliberately blind. You strain at gnats and miss the mountain one foot from your face. The defit is all the fault of the disabled and the homeless children and seniors living on $700/month. Certainly not any of those other factors I mentioned. Oh, yeah. And FEMA, too. Romney et al want to save us from the evil Fema program. Have fun all you folks who were in Sandy's path. Hope you know how to repair your own power grids single handed. And how about "safety net" programs? Romney wants to end the food stamp program. Wanna tell me what the low income children in the US are going to eat? Maybe Romney will start a canned goods program to help them out. What will happen to the low income disabled and seniors when Romeny gives us "liberty" and "freedom" from housing assistance and medical care through Medicaid (the medical program for the very poor)?
You, oh grasshopper, want efficiency in your government programs? According to the non partisen Center on
Budet and Tax Priorities the social safety net programs account for - get this - 13 percent of the entire United States budget. The most expensive programs are social security and defense - both coming in at 20 percent. Now you want to tell me that there's no waste in defense spending? Pardon me while I go find a place to die laughing - maybe I'll just join all those old people and disabled folks that were turned out to starve or die of exposure or die due to lack of medical treatment, so you and your mad hatter hosted tea party could save a a lousey 13% by killing (yes, killing) the most vulnerable members of our population. Meanwhile, Halliburten et al will be shoveling krugerands into their secret off shore accounts and people like members of the Bin Laden family will be secretly spirited away to continue their lives of wealth and priviledge, not to mention well placed campaign contributions.
I have nothing but contempt for the current crop of Republicans who can't be bothered to study even recent history, are to lazy to use common logic, and are all too eager to literally destroy thousands of their fellow citizens because they want to buy a cheap i-pad under whatever outrageous terms Apple may demand and FSM forbid that some rich bitch in a gated community have her taxes go up by even 2 cents
PS. And you think the Republicans tromping around in your bedroom is LESS intrusive government?