Change

In My Opinion – by Bob Fogarty

It appears that the current buzzword in American politics is “Change”. I’ve also noted that the candidates from both political parties are using it in the sense of “it’s time for a political change in Washington, and I’m the best bet”. Well, yes, change is in the air, and it’s high time I’d say. President Bush is finishing his second term in office and now we have a constitutionally mandated change in the regime. However, changing from one party (in this case the Republicans) to the other side of the aisle (the Democrats) doesn’t appear that it’s going to be the answer to our problems. I’ve hears the term “Republicrats” a number of times, and used it myself, as an indicator that the two primary political parties have nearly merged in their goals. This is of course only partially true. Over the last few years the neoconservative republicans have been on a spending spree unprecedented in our history, ignoring the fiscally conservative wing of the party. The Democrats for their part have been weeping and wailing about all that federal spending, but since they’ve become the majority party in congress the spending continues unabated. Both parties have become the free wheeling high rollers so beloved of special interests.

They do differ in their response to the War on Terror however. While the Republicans apparently want to continue their “Romp and Stomp” all over the Arab world, the Democrats want us to come running home with our tails between our legs. Neither option will do the United States any good whatsoever, merely making us an even more inviting target for the terrorists. Both parties pay lip service to the problem of border security, but aren’t doing anything about it. The Republicans want to continue their self proclaimed authority to spy on American citizens, the Democrats continuously wail about that spying violating our civil liberties, while in the meantime the NSA continues reading our mail and the FBI is still checking up on our library cards. Both parties are all in favor of continued illegal immigration, the republicans for “cheap labor” apparently, while the democrats seem to like the idea of even more under privileged (read Democratic) voters, despite the fact that the American public has responded to amnesty for illegal immigration with a resounding NO, several times!

Both parties blame the other for our nation’s financial woes, conveniently not mentioning that congressional free spending has been pushing us to the verge of national bankruptcy for decades. Fiscal moderation apparently isn’t something taught to budding politicians anymore. We might keep in mind that the collapse of the Soviet Union was brought about by government bankruptcy, not by the number of tanks and planes in the US inventory. The soviets printed money like it was going out of style, with nothing to back it except vague promises. The US Federal Reserve has been doing the same thing to us for over two decades. The soviets were burdened with an enormous, ineffective, and very expensive bureaucracy, something else our federal government seems to favor. Despite all their bragging, the soviet educational system was an abject failure. Our federal control of the US educational system is today failing our kids, and our nation.

The public, in the meantime, has been taken to the cleaners in the form of taxes upon taxes, and a few government mandated corporate profit schemes as well. The Republicans are preaching a massive tax cut, with no corresponding cut in spending. I expect they’ll want to run the presses overtime printing even more valueless paper money. For their part, the democratic presidential candidates are proposing to increase our taxes, which I’m sure congress will find a way to spend on even more pork and earmarks. They’re also proposing that the government require everyone in the country to have some sort of private health insurance, which would be a windfall for the insurance companies. ‘Course they don’t seem to have any suggestions about how we (John Q. Citizen) are supposed to afford that high priced insurance.

It would seem however, that even after seven years of being severely bashed by almost everybody, President Bush still has a sense of humor. Either that, or he’s slipped his trolley completely! In his January 28th State of the Union message he said, “The actions of the 110th Congress will affect the security and prosperity of our Nation long after this session has ended. In this election year, let us show our fellow Americans that we recognize our responsibilities and are determined to meet them. And let us show them that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and cooperate for results at the same time.” A moment later he said, “…we must trust people with their own money and empower them to grow our economy”. Congress recognizing its responsibilities!? Or that the two major political parties might co-operate over anything besides wrecking the country!? And the concept of allowing Americans to keep their own money certainly wasn’t something he picked-up in Politics 101 or in lectures covering “tax and spend”! Overall, I thought those lines were good for a real belly laugh.

We’ve all heard of the huge national budget each year, and the media is constantly reminding us about congressional pork and earmarks. Wasteful spending and its rabid defense has been a trademark of congress since creeping socialism in the form of FDR’s “New Deal” first hit the streets. Now, if a democrat wins the presidency, it seems that we’re probably going to get a Canadian style socialized medical care system. Don’t get sick under that program, it might be a couple of months, or a couple of years, before a doctor sees you. At the same time I’m not very hopeful about a federally mandated medical insurance program either. After all, something like 30% of Americans don’t have any medical insurance, simply because they can’t afford it. So now, at the snap of congressional fingers, we’re all going to miraculously have the extra few hundred dollars a month to spend on medical insurance? What a deal for the insurance companies!! “But it’s free, it’s free!” the socialized medicine proponents shout from the rooftops. Sorry boys and girls, “TANSTAAFL”, There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Somebody’s going to get stuck with the bill, and in this case it’s going to be the taxpayers, again, for only a “few” hundred billion dollars each year.

Certainly any change in the wrong direction, as proposed by liberals and so many Republicans is a step backwards. But there are changes we know must come about. We know we face enemies who want to kill us. We know American jobs are going to Mexico, China, and India. We know our schools are failing our kids. We know our borders are severely leaking. And the proponents of change in Washington aren’t doing much more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Perhaps there really are two Americas, the Washington beltway… and the rest of us.