[img]583|left|Eric L. Wattree||no_popup[/img]Our political class is failing us miserably, both Democrats and Republicans. The Republicans are leaving no stone unturned to further enrich those who are already filthy rich, and the Democrats are throwing us crumbs while the middle-class standard of living is being aggressively chipped away to conform to the standards of the new global economy.
The GOP calls any program that helps the poor and middle-class socialist in nature, an intolerable waste of public funds. Yet when it comes to helping the rich and corporate class, no expenditure is too great.
Generally I do not buy into conspiracy theories. But if you fail to take counsel from your lying eyes, you are a fool. We have reached that point.
My Friend on the Other Side
I have a friend in Texas, a fellow vet, a confirmed Teabagger. We only agree we like and respect each other. Otherwise, we come from two different planets. Previously, I could simply write off Teabaggers as ignorant and insincere racists. I happen to know Tom is neither ignorant, insincere, nor a racist, so he represents a profound philosophical problem. What box do I drop him into? I have not found one. I have no choice but to seriously examine his concerns.
After agonizing for several months, I conclude both the left and the right are correct in their anger. Both are being manipulated by the political class system.
The answer is quite simple. Corporatists and their political cronies have us so busy hating one another we are too distracted to see what is being done to us.
Since liberals and conservatives believe our respective miseries are a direct result of the other, It is self-perpetuating. We hate one another so much we eagerly embrace anything negative placed in the mix by our manipulators.
On the Downside
When Tom and I debate, it rarely comes down to assessing the facts. Invariably, it degenerates into who is worse, liberals or conservatives. That is what’s going on across America.
This country is engaged in a struggle that has nothing to do with liberalism or conservatism. We are engaged in a class war, the corporate class against the poor and the middle class. While they have us busy fighting the last war — racism on the left, communism on the right —corporatists are cutting all of our throats.
While we have been distracted, politicians who are to be protecting our interests have become a class unto themselves. They have become the political class, an essential part of the corporate class.
From that perspective, no wonder the nation is so divided. Like Houdini, they have us looking at their left hand while we should be looking at their right.
Clear evidence: Both parties agree bringing down the deficit is a top priority. They also seem to agree on placing the burden of sacrifice on the backs of the poor and middle class.
In spite of the “dire effects” of our national deficit, neither party is concerned about the $2 billion a month we pay for our non-productive wars. No expense is too great in that regard. The reason is, wars are so profitable to the corporate class. They force the poor and middle class to fight the wars and pay for them. But their families are not impacted. The rich no longer expect to die for this country. That is the job of the little people. Ask Dick Cheney.
They claim the deficit is so severe they are “forced” to cut part of the safety net from under poor and middle-class Americans, like Medicare and Social Security, while giving the top 2 percent of the population a tax cut, which, the least efficient use of the nation’s revenue, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
According to the Center for American Progress, “The Congressional Budget Office evaluated a variety policies earlier this year based on their ability to boost overall economic growth and employment. The number one thing Congress can do, according to the report, is to increase aid to the unemployed. Other efficient ways to give the economy a jolt include additional investments in infrastructure and more aid to states. The least efficient? Extending the tax cuts.”
The Center adds: “In its January report, ‘The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020,’ the CBO [Congressional Budget Office] projects that a full extension of the Bush tax cuts, plus a permanent fix to the Alternative minimum tax, will cost $3.7 trillion over 10 years, not including debt service costs.”
Our political class has convinced us if we give Gucci enough money, we can get him to hire workers to produce Gucci bags that he is limited to selling in a homeless shelter. That is counterintuitive. Why would Gucci throw away perfectly good money to produce a product he can’t sell? He will take the money overseas and produce his bags in a market where people have the money. The only way to stimulate the economy is to put money in the pockets of the people in the homeless shelter. That is the only way we can provide Gucci with people who have the resources to purchase his goods.
Another glaring example of gross political hypocrisy took place last year. While America was drowning in the second worst economic crisis in history and citizens were losing their homes and jobs, Congress voted themselves a $93,000 a year raise, not a in salary, but “petty cash.” Then there is Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who should go down in history as the quintessential example political hypocrisy. The newly elected Tea Party- supported Harris ran on the abolition of “Obamacare.” In spite of that, he began demanding his government- run healthcare before he was even sworn into office.
I address this to my good friend Tom. Let’s lay that socialist thing to rest. The socialist controversy is nothing but conflated politi-speak designed to get you to work against your own interests. If we ever want to control our own destiny, it is incumbent upon us not to allow ourselves to be manipulated. While you might say that rabid socialism is bad because it led to communism, I could as easily argue that rabid capitalism is bad because it led to slavery. We must learn to think in nuanced ways.
Social Security and Medicare are socialist programs. I don’t know of any average citizen who wants to give up either. It is true, Tom. We need to take our country back, but not from one another. We need to take our country back from those manipulating us.
As a suggestion: Instead of fighting one another, you handle your hypocrites and I will handle mine. Then let us come together and handle the corporatists. These are not Americans. They are globalists with a vested interest in making us hate one another using the oldest ploy, divide and conquer.
Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet and musician, born in Los Angeles. A columnist for the Los Angeles Sentinel, the Black Star News, a staff writer for Veterans Today, he is a contributing writer to Your Black World, the Huffington Post, ePluribus Media and other online sites and publications. He also is the author of “A Message From the Hood.”
Mr. Wattree may be contacted at wattree.blogspot.com or Ewattree@Gmail.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
