Wherever you go in the pasture these days you hear the pious
Republicans voicing their concern that the United States not end up in the same
financial purgatory as Greece because of their “European” decision making. They claim the only thing that can save us
from the ballooning debt crisis is to follow their prescription of severe austerity. Further cut backs in education, teachers,
public employees, infrastructure repairs and replacement, Medicare and Medicaid
are claimed to bring order to our fiscal balance sheet. This fiscally pious message from folks that
give away crippling tax breaks to corporations and wealthy individuals loses
all credibility as it’s punctuated with even larger tax breaks for the wealthy
and more tax breaks for wealthy corporations.
While The Old SheepHerder has never been to Europe, on occasion, I find
newspapers now and then that have blown in across the pasture. It seems that Europe is in a much deeper
recession than the United States. All
across Europe they have followed a severe austerity plan to cope with the
financial crisis inflicted on the world by the investor class in 2008. The only discernible differences between the
Eurozone and U.S. economies are the much maligned stimulus and the much
maligned Detroit bailout. This is a
comparison on the viability of trickle-down economics vs. trickle-up economics. All across Europe, obscene tax breaks were
maintained for the wealthy yet nothing trickled down. The severe austerity facilitated the
continued tax breaks and still no recovery relative to the United States where
some investment was made in the middle class.
The results of this investment are undeniable. Your guess is as good as mine why these
inbred aristocrats who need to wear top hats in order to conceal their pointy
heads, want to follow a failed European economic model. A lot has to do with club membership. In the “Good Old Days” rich plutocrats could
get their kids into the best schools with the best degrees for the best jobs
with no competition. We have a President
today that made it into those hallowed educational institutions with hard work
and talent and as the benefactor of years of civil rights struggles. Did I mention that he is darker than your
average President? Since his election
the cock roaches of blatant racism have over run all political dialogue in the
House and Senate. On the day President
Obama was inaugurated, Republican leadership met and planned a slanderous,
obstructive, and uncooperative relationship with the incoming President. The Republicans became the party of
sedition. No consideration of our
National Security, our Financial Well Being, our civil contentment, our Nation’s
Health or the well-being of our Nation’s children was sobering enough for the
Extremist GOP legislators to put their country first. After the ACA was passed, the GOP propaganda
of “Death Panels” was voted as lie of the year by Politico. Since they led us into war in Iraq,
Republican legislators were asked by Harry Reid to write the Veterans Jobs Bill
so they could support it. They wrote it
but did not support it. This will be
their shameful legacy. Is it any wonder
the GOP wants wholesale revision of the history books according to their own
peculiar perspective? The Old
SheepHerder has to give the Republicans credit.
They recognize they are unworthy and incapable of winning a fair
election early on. In order to address
this minor problem they’ve created a whipping boy called voter fraud. I know it’s kind of shocking at first because
voter fraud and Republican go together like Monday night and football. They’re not giving up voter fraud; they’re
raising it to new heights. Republicans
are claiming that voter fraud is rampant in Democratic districts in swing
states controlled by GOP legislatures.
It seems The Constitution has been misread all these years and voting isn’t
a right after all, it’s a “privilege.”
The way to be granted the voting privilege is to follow a number of new
Republican rules. Following the
Republican rules is costly, but if you don’t, you don’t get to vote. What could be fairer? Republicans telling millions of Democrats
they are not allowed to vote. The
entitled party wants its entitled candidate in office in the worst way. With the election a little more than a month
away and the debates about to begin just what do we know about The Entitled
Detroit Dandy? He is a keen businessman
who has had overwhelming “Citizens United” money showered on him by numerous
conservative millionaires and billionaires yet his campaign is eleven million
dollars in debt. The whole narrative of
Mitt Romney as a businessman doesn’t pass the smell test. In Romney you get a
businessman who started Bain Capital through meeting with representatives of
South American Death Squads, their way to crush political opposition. He
secured several million dollars from them and started Bain Capital. Bain bought
companies, borrowed massive amounts of cash against them, then paid out Bain
managers obscene management fees, then on the verge of bankruptcy, gutted the
retirement systems of these companies, fired the employees, and either went
into bankruptcy or sold the company. This isn't an indicator of success; it's
an indicator of entitlement. When
running for Governor of Massachusetts he was caught lying about his residency
on his tax returns. He chose extremist, Paul Ryan as his running mate and after
becoming exasperated for accounting for Ryan’s legislative agenda and weakly
asserting a secret Romney agenda, is now privately referred to as “The Stench”
by Rep. Ryan. Paul Ryan even
acknowledged that the entire Romney economic plan is based on trickle-down economics,
a most broadly and deeply disproven economic hocus-pocus. Paul Ryan has no standing to speak of
financial conservatism. As a Representative he voted for two unfunded wars, the
unfunded Medicare drug benefit expansion, and the Bush tax cuts which were the
expenditures in legislation which led to the financial crisis we find ourselves
in. Would you hire a crack addict as your personal fitness trainer? Ryan was tasked with solidifying support for
Romney in Iowa. After spewing his lies
about Medicare, Iowa is in Obama’s camp.
It seems Obama couldn’t have had a better operative to convince “undecided”
to vote Democrat than Paul Ryan. Paul
Ryan epitomizes what is broken in Washington. He publicly professes his
Christian faith to low information Tea Party voters but gains his inspiration
from a renowned Atheist Ayn Rand. His heavy handed assaults on Social Security
and Medicare he describes with a straight face as saving those programs. When
one understands the Rand doctrine of contempt for dependence and support for
the poor you understand Paul Ryan. There is no such restriction in Rand
doctrine from Plutocrats to steal the wealth of their nation. In fact, it is
expected that they should. If they don't, they are weak and don't deserve to
keep their wealth. Ryan's budget has been condemned by the Catholic Church for
its harsh treatment of the poor in order to line the pockets of plutocrats with
yet more money. When Ryan is trying to convince voters he is working in their
interests he cites his devotion to the Catholic Church. When he is publicly rebuked by the Church for
following the teachings of Ayn Rand and harsh treatment of poor people HE JUST
BLOWS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OFF. Mitt
Romney has a lower approval rating than George Bush. He had bags of cash to stomp out his
competition. Is this the only talent
Romney has? Possessing large volumes of
cash? The leadership challenges of
President are far more complex than Romney is capable meeting. The Romney/Ryan ticket doesn’t even attempt
to use facts in their campaign. It’s all
about fear and hate. They are simply
Cheerleaders for hatred and fear calling themselves Christians. How inspirational for young people! Our government is not working. Republicans made that their objective and
they achieved it. Now they are
campaigning on it. Of course their
narrative is skillfully nuanced with lies.
Fair taxation is critical to achieve.
Republicans boast all the time that wealthy people pay 40% of the
taxes. That’s a remarkable number unless
you understand that wealthy people take home 90% of America’s paycheck. If you went out for coffee with a plutocrat
at the local café and all you could afford was coffee for a $1.00 but your
buddy runs the tab up to $10.00 and only leaves $4.00 every day, how
sustainable would that be? To add insult
to injury your former new best friend would brag that they always contributed
40% towards the tab. Should they be getting
applause when they have received 90% of the goodies on the tab? The Republican Party is no longer a National
Party. It is a patchwork of Civil War Dead
Enders, oligarchs, and ignoramuses. The
interests of the Plantation, the Gilded Age, and Thing One and Thing Two are
not germane to the American body politic.
As in 2008 America faces a mountain of challenges. Selfish wealthy people practically own and
write this nation’s tax code.
Legislators are put in office by wealthy individuals and corporations
who then write tax law designed exclusively to benefit the wealthy. The Old SheepHerder about choked on his chewing
tobacco when he heard that the Romney's received a $77,000 tax write off for
their dressage horse. When the public was taken aback by this plutocratic
abuse, the Romney campaign pushed back with “Ann has MS and that horse is therapeutic
for her!” The horse tax write off is categorized
as a business expense on their taxes.
Does this speak to Mitt’s passion for his wife or am I just a hopeless
romantic? I wouldn’t wish MS or any
other debilitating disease or physical condition on anyone. Right now millions of Americans have
debilitating diseases and are working and paying America’s bills as well as
paying for Ann Romney’s dressage horse despite the fact that she can well afford
it without the help of taxpayers. God
help those Americans who collapse from chronic disease after paying 25% and
more income tax their entire working career.
The only thing these people have done is keep America moving, building
America, and paying America’s bills.
Republicans attacked the Affordable Care Act with unprecedented levels
of slander and lies. How dare Americans
look out for each other! How dare
America cap Insurers percentage of profit!
How dare Americans prohibit Insurers from excluding liability of
treatment for the very sick! Chronic
disease is the leading cause of bankruptcy.
Republicans made a historically scurrilous attack as American’s attempted
to better follow the teaching that we are our brother’s keeper. Profits before
people has always been the business model of conservative governance. With
the money not paid in taxes, these types of manipulative people use money stolen
from the tax code to convince poorly educated people that they are just like
them in critical elections like these. Bringing this demographic up to a
comparable tax rate of working Americans is a first step in addressing budget
problems. Our nation is stronger, safer,
and greener if we invest in regional alternative energy co-ops sourcing our
energy with wind, solar and natural gas instead of multinational oil companies
that milk us for tax subsidies then gouge us on cost. Once these co-op entities are established,
America could offer amnesty to foreign held money in lieu of 15 year investment
in the co-ops to help capitalize them initially. This is a jobs program, an energy program, a
manufacturing program, and a banking reform program. Historically, the period of time the
Republicans were completely out of power the longest was called “The Great
Prosperity.” Was this because of all the
Socialism and taxes that were inflicted on our nation? How do failed economic policies result in the
longest sustained period of economic growth our country has ever seen? Compound this question with an explosive
growth in Union membership. People with
good paying jobs can make long term financial plans and purchases. The shelves always need restocking. That means people keep working. Wealthy people make money. The tax base is expanded optimally. With coherent legislative planning
infrastructure projects can be methodically attended to. Don’t believe Republicans dire pronouncements
that America’s best days are gone.
Addition is best accomplished through subtraction when it comes to obstructionist
Republicans. It seems as though the
Republicans haven’t been telling the truth again. It simply isn’t enough to win this election
and the majority in both Houses. We have
to win the next election and the one after that and so on. The Republican Party needs to be relegated to
organizing militias in the back country and swamps. Clearly that is their comfort zone and the
level of leadership they are capable of dealing with, drunken target practice. America has watched as a cancerous pay to
play mentality has consumed Washington. Is
that how America should work? Our
country is set up for FAIR representation not minority rule. American’s who are paying their taxes and are
paying America’s bills are constantly under siege from Republicans for Union
membership, for being a woman, for being an ethnic minority, for being Gay, for
being a Senior Citizen, and for not conforming religiously. NONE OF THESE STATUSES ARE CONSTUTIONALLY
PROHIBITED CONDITIONS FOR CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Republicans consistently express contempt for
government. It is time voters returned
the favor to these destructive extremists.