2009-10-19
When America elects representatives and dispatches them to Washington, it does so with the belief those servants will focus on the issues affecting us all in our day-to-day lives. The group currently serving in the Capitol has failed grossly and is now just outright ignoring the people.
The No. 1 priority of the people is the economy. It's ahead of the wars, health care, the budget deficit, terrorism, climate change, energy independence, etc., and by a huge margin. The data is overwhelming, regardless of what poll you read. Jobs and the economy are so far ahead of the other issues, one would think all we would see coming out of D.C. is legislation to get our economy back on track.
Yet you see everything other than the economy capturing the attention of the president and Congress. Climate change and health care consume current leadership while one in 10 Americans are unemployed and as much as 7 percent more are underemployed.
Why would our leaders not focus on the No. 1 priority of the people?
There can only be two plausible explanations. First, they just don't care. Damn the people. They are in power, and they will do what they want. Or second, they are powerless to get the economy back on track and, as such, want to divert attention away from their weakness. What happened to "Yes we can"?
But there may be a third, more sinister explanation.
Current leadership appears very content with the prospect of making everyone in the country dependent upon government for their every need. If I wanted to be a conspiracy theorist, I would say this is a master plan to make us all their modern-day slaves to work in the fields and factories for the benefit of the ruling class.
But I have too much confidence in the spirit of America to believe the people would ever allow that to occur.
From the start of this recession I have been saying on TV, radio and in my column that government can do nothing to get us out of slumps in the economy. If it could, we would never have recessions in the first place. Government could keep expanding the economy forever.
However, our economy is like a set of lungs. It expands and contracts. That process creates a healthy, vibrant economy. If all we do is expand and never contract, the lungs will expand to the point where they pop. That is what we call "bubbles." We had the dot com bubble, the stock market bubble, the housing bubble and the soon-to-come Treasury market bubble. Bubbles are not healthy in that they give us a false sense of wellbeing as they are inflating. People feel they are far better off financially than they actually are – right up until the bubble bursts.
Then, all of a sudden, our 401Ks became 201Ks. The homes used as personal ATMs during the bubble have now become the American ball and chain. The sense that everything we own is going up in value is forever shattered by the reality of the times.
Government can only create an environment that produces confidence. When people are confident, they tend to spend money. Businesses are more encouraged to hire. The best way to provide confidence is smaller government and lower taxes. However, this government is bent on bigger government and higher taxes – and not just for the wealthy.
The Obama administration, along with House Speaker Pelosi, should be focused on what Joe Biden deemed, "a three letter word: Jobs! J-O-B-S, jobs."
Critical issues like employment and Gen. Stanley McChrystal have less of Mr. Obama's attention than cap and trade, health care or gays in the military. What in the world is this president and speaker doing?
Either they are totally unqualified to lead, or Mr. Glenn Beck and crazy-sounding Alex Jones are right. This group in D.C. wants to fundamentally change this nation forever into a nation that looks more like Venezuela or Cuba – a nation where Big Brother runs our lives, a country where rugged individualism and hard work are punished and a lazy entitlement mentality is rewarded.
And if that is the case, where in the world are the Blue-Dog Democrats and the Republicans who love their country? Why aren't they holding this administration accountable?
We all know what needs to be done. We are all in sync on the No. 1 issue in America. We want near or full employment. We want a healthy economy free from bubbles – bubbles that have lined the pockets of a few, well-placed donors of political parties. We want the land of the free and home of the brave to remain just that.
So what do you say, Mr. Obama? How about working on the issues that affect the citizens? How about restoring confidence by announcing a reduction in the size of government and lower taxes across the board for all Americans? How about fast-tracking programs designed to educate our workforce to compete in the 21st century? Do that, and watch what happens to this economy. We will once again be the envy of the world. When we are on our game, no one can compete with us.
Or you can stay focused on the big-government, high-tax, over-regulated nightmare you believe will bring utopia on earth. The collective dream of Marxism and communism that has failed across the globe will fail here. It is time for you to change, Mr. Obama. Or be prepared to lose Congress in 2010.
Back To Commentary Archives | More Commentary @ WND.com Archives
