Monday, August 08, 2011

Treason

I have unilaterally decided that the Tea Party Republicans are guilty of treason.  Yes, treason.  They are undermining the United States of America by holding hostage a sane approach to deficit reduction.  They let the poor loose what little they have left and they continue to make richer the rich by keeping their taxes low.  When people no longer have enough to get by, then they have nothing to lose.  Maybe we saw an inkling of that in the London rioting over the weekend.  The beginnings of a class war?

Seriously though, how much longer will the American poor remain good natured about this?  Anyone who lived through the 60's should know it doesn't take much to set off rioting in the streets and worse.  I imagine once things really get out of hand that the bankers and Wall Street VIPs will be targeted.  I wouldn't travel to work in any limos for a while if I were them.

I am not poor nor rich.  Just one of those in the middle class who sees their retirement funds in jeopardy. I wonder what happens when these hard working Americans get really pissed off too.  This is actually a pivotal time in the history of this nation.  Will we let lunatics run this country via talk radio and Fox news, or will we tell the rich they no longer get what ever they want?

We need to get our financial future back in order.  That includes both spending reductions and higher taxes.  If we do both we have a fighting chance.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have unilaterally shot them.

Magda said...

Jim, I am a former New Mexican now living in Canada, on the west coast, for many years. I read your blog daily, as well as many US news sites, and am stunned by what is going on. I simply do not understand the reluctance to pay higher taxes IN ORDER to get more services -- yet the willingness to (for example) pay exorbitant private medical premiums, or worse, do without medical care. Or safe infrastructure. Or necessary social and public services.

I was a teacher here, am retired now. I checked out the cost of moving to Las Cruces for retirement, and the cost of medical for me and my husband would be more than we pay in taxes as a whole per month.

What was sadder was when I looked into being a substitute teacher in NM: I could be a sub with only 60 college hours, and get $54.00/day! How is that a living wage? And what quality of instruction do students get for that? No wonder science, math and English scores are tanking in the US!

I will not even get into an argument about Canadian vs US medical care -- suffice it to say that the idyllic island I live on has almost a third of it populated with recent US emigres, glad to avail themselves of our system. What I really want to ask is what has happened to folks in the US so that they feel they should get something, if not everything, for themselves, (let alone caring about the other guy) for nothing? It was never like this before; never this mean, nor this irrational.

What is also really sad is that the rest of the world looks on America as childish, even bizarre, and Americans don't give a damn. That insularity simply reinforces the extreme and self-destructive behaviors.

I miss fry bread and carne adovada, (unless I make my own), I miss luminarias and the comfort of adobe on the eyes, I miss Jackalope, green chile cheeseburgers in Socorro, and the smell of pinon in the fall. But I don't mind missing out on the craziness, and I wish it simply weren't there. And I wonder why so many folks in the US put up with it.

Anonymous said...

Still thinking of staying home for the election because you are disappointed with O'Bama? Let the GOP elect who ever they want?

Rodney said...

I just can't get the phrase "let them eat cake" out of my head.