A recent showed that just 53% of Americans would pick capitalism as an economic foundation right now. One out of every five people in this country would prefer a switch to the comforting arms of central planning and socialism, while the rest are unsure. Unsurprisingly, there is a strong difference between Republicans and Democrats – members of the Right are more than twice as likely to support free markets. As distrust in financial institutions grows, people are looking for a scapegoat and have none better than ‘the system.’ Republicans appear to be the ones who are able to resist this easy out and remember that jobs are created when taxes are low. Because of that, we have a responsibility to preach that forgotten message to the masses.
I know protesting makes us feel like hippies (or worse yet, ACORN), but we need to stop being pushed around and voice our opposition. We are opposed to having all of our earnings taken away to pay for other peoples’ mortgages. We are opposed to Obama’s belief that he would make a better CEO of GM than the people who have spent their entire lives in the auto industry, wrecking our local economy here in Michigan. We are opposed to people in Washington, D.C. telling us how to best fix state’s economy, whether or not they’ve ever set foot here. We are opposed to the government taking away that same money from our wallets to push people around in states, too.
So what are we doing about it? Today, people in all over America are gathering to voice that opposition. They are not coming up with defined budget proposals; nor are they coming together to reach a consensus on an overhaul of the tax code – everyday people are leaving their homes and workplaces to let those who do the arcane policy work know that they’re mad as hell and that they won’t take it anymore. People who have enough trouble paying their own mortgages without paying everyone else’s, but couldn’t tell you how a security exchange works, will be there. So too will be people who are tired of being told what to do from on high, but don’t pretend to have the right to do so themselves. They will gather to send a message to those in power – we don’t like the economy either right now, but taking and blowing our money isn’t helping us.
On this most frustrating of days, I encourage you to either attend your local tea party or just refuse to accept that entitlement programs are a necessary part of society. You might not make it out for one of the many demonstrations today, but you can still do your part. Whenever someone complains that the government doesn’t do enough to provide for their family, cringe at the thought of big brother taking the money from your pocket to do it. Whenever you see someone claim that home ownership is a right, and that it is the job of government to provide it cheaply, shudder at the thought of a society of sharecroppers being led by the landowner of D.C. Note to ACORN – apartment communities don’t bite; it’s okay to live there if you don’t have the money for your own house. These thoughts can no longer be disconnected in our political discourse, and it’s about time those of us who know the costs of handouts raised our voices and brought it into the light and spoke up about the selfishness inherent in our society.
To keep what is yours and put food on the table for your family is one thing, but to have Congress clumsily take from the tables of others in order to do so is appalling. This is what I see as a large sticking point for many people getting involved in politics or voting for the first time. I’m all for giving to charity, and I would encourage everyone to do it regularly. However, I’ll be damned if I’m ever going to take your money and give it away, let alone call myself a hero for doing so.
This is not medieval England and Robin Hood is unnecessary – today we pay the government to bail out people who bought homes they could never afford and the idiots that bet on those people affording them. Find your local tea party and meet others who fear about the ability to make ends meet if the government runs their chosen industry into the ground. Lend your support to those who voice their discontent because they have no job to do. Today, everyday people trying to survive in tight times take a couple steps backward to fund local projects so that congressmen can get re-elected to their jobs. Today, we tell the extortionists to stop.
(Note: the tea party site’s servers appear to be overloaded (as of 3am), try taxdayteaparty.com/teaparty/YOUR STATE/ to get your state’s specific page for listings)
Last 5 posts by Gideon D'Assandro
- The Reality of Racial Politics - August 17th, 2009
- Thank God Obama's President - August 3rd, 2009
- Health Care Coverup - July 23rd, 2009
- The Suppressed EPA Report’s Effect on Healthcare - July 12th, 2009
- Social Conservatism Going Forward - July 5th, 2009
I made a post about this on a local forum I attend. Its pretty scary, at least I think it is, that capitalism has lost this much credibility. This just goes to show how many people are completely clueless of all things capitalism.
Gideon, you sound like an anarcho-capitalist, not a Republican. I’m not saying that is bad, its just not what many people would expect from a Republican forum. In regards to the tax issue, cutting taxes is pretty much the only thing Republicans understand. A reduction in tax rates is great, less legal plundering of the citizenry, but they don’t mean anything if spending cuts are not implemented as well. The taxation is very bad, downright evil, as most people pay roughly 50% of their gross income to government in some shape or form, but its the government spending that imposes the taxation. The spending is the real culprit, and Republicans, since Nixon at least, have been the champions of big spending. Of course Obama has put all previous Presidents to shame with his initial budget proposal, but we knew what we were going to get from the current administration.
So, time for policy proposal to help remedy the economy that is relevent to this thread. First, massively cut spending. Start with abolishing entire departments, such as education (Reagan tried), or Commerce. I would advocate returning to the Constitutionally declared departments, but that would take some time. Also, massively shrink the defense budget. We have military bases in countries I’ve never even heard of. We’re still in Iraq, which costs us millions of dollars per DAY. This debt eventually has to be paid off with the productivity from the people in the private economy, which means resources and capital must be allocated away from the private economy to resources for government use. This obviously weakens the economy a great deal, especially when the cost of the war is so high. Once major government spending is reduced then we’ll be able to afford tax cuts.
I agree on spending, whole-heartedly. But I’m afraid that I’m not very optimistic. The last two candidates to openly call for eliminating whole departments – Bob Dole and Ron Paul – have been crushed. But hope abounds…
I think if we can get the Federal Reserve under some major scrutiny then that would really be great in thwarting government spending. The central bank itself is the source not only to the spending, but to the massive variations in the economy as well. I am quite optimistic of the growing skepticism of this institution.
Look for Paul’s new book about the Fed, it should surface here in the short term.