The numerous ongoing debates over the budget deficit in Washington remind me of my chickens. You see, I bought them as baby chicks six weeks ago, investing in the hope that they would do a job. Their task was to eat bugs off the potatoes and cabbage in our garden. But, unfortunately, they were spending more time sparring, flying at each other and downright scrapping instead of pursuing bugs. I had sent this fine poultry brigade to the garden to do a job, and that job was not getting done.
It's the same in Congress. We sent a fine brigade of legislators to Washington to do a job that simply is not getting done. No one there is interested in real tax and securities reform that would benefit those of us who lost our shirts in the latest national finance scandal. Remember the Tea Pot Dome scandal? Remember the the Savings & Loan scandal? How about the 30 to 50 percent of retirement most of us lost in the mortgage banking fraud? Are we still naive enough to trust Republicans or Democrats on their headline-grabbing debate over deficit spending and raising taxes and government default?
I hate the politics of politics but, unfortunately, politics has a real impact on people like me; even more so on those more vulnerable than me and my family. No legislator dares touch the real issue – that we have a shyster system of government that protects the rich and cheats those who do honest work. Any elected official that speaks of dismantling this shyster system must be prepared to face the prospect of punishment at the polls. The folks in power are plutocrats with an elaborate propaganda program in place. Bombarded with confusing economic complexity we, the people, are led like sheep to believe that life will actually be better for us if we simply stop deficit spending and never raise taxes. And so, the shyster system remains intact.
Just like when I bought my chicks, during the latest election, I was temporarily hopeful that a new administration would squash the buggers in charge of the economics of our nation. Having been in China for two years, I frequently read the Economist Magazine and was exposed to diverse international perspectives on American foreign and domestic policy. I learned the amount our nation devoted to the vulnerable and working class of our country paled in comparison to the massive government policy changes, subsidy and bailouts for the corporate rich and powerful. I became convinced of the need for people-oversight of our economy, and toward a smaller government doing more of the vital work of regulating for transparency and honesty. Sadly, though it still isn't politically feasible to change the shyster system and our reps in congress continue scrapping over misleading and irrelevant issues ad nauseam, day after day.
Several weeks ago, six prominent pastors joined together to write an open letter to President Obama regarding this issue. They highlighted something many of us in Big Horn County don't often think about. God is partial. He does take sides, but they have nothing to do with the sides of liberals or conservatives, Republicans or Democrats. Rather, God takes sides with the poor and marginalized. It's written all throughout the Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. (See sojo.net a moral budget July 15, 2011.)
Who tore down the system in our nation that used to give the poor the opportunity to better themselves and their families through personal initiative? How did we come to the point of giving the wealthiest one percent privileged access to expanding their wealth while funding media manipulation of all of us into a side show? We watch the cockfights between congress and the president, distracted while they erect a shadow government to protect their financial cronyism, secret insider deals and the welfare of rip-off tax breaks?
Yes, I'm talking about Bush's breaks. I just read that letting Bush's temporary tax breaks expire, as originally designed, would yield more deficit reduction in ten years than any of the proposals now being foolishly debated.
I've heard it said that when we give handouts to the rich, we are ultimately helping the poor because the rich create jobs for all of us. So why is it that over the past few years, as our corporate tax rate has fallen to the lowest amount in decades, our unemployment rate is so high? After all, we've spent almost a trillion dollars on corporate bailouts. We hear that "taxes are job killers." Well, taxes haven't gone up, so where are the jobs?
This morning, Bonnie and I threw the chickens out of the garden, all of them, along with their chicken coop. They wouldn't stop their sparring foolishness, and further, they keep eating the tiny tomatoes intended for our bellies. We the people – my family – vested with the right to govern our garden, will manage our resources for the benefit of all of us.
Those feisty chickens will be confronted with an impenetrable wall of oversight: a chicken fence, to keep them from using their well-honed beak technology to mess with our crops.
If only we could say the same thing for those in Washington.
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David Graber
Hardin, MT 59034
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