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Chapter 2
Predicting The
Future
The Bush
administration and the Republican Party have an extremist agenda and a five year track
record to prove it. If the next five years are anything like the past five years 99% of
the American are going to find themselves in a much worse off position than they are in
right now, and without the ability to effect political change.
The
"Trail of Tears" was what the American Indians called the journey from their
homes in the southeast to the government reservations in Oklahoma. Along the way many of
them died from starvation, exposure, and disease. It is hard to imagine how these Indians
must have felt but their emotions must have included fear, sadness, anger, frustration,
and helplessness.
The story
of the American Indians is ancient history to most Americans and is therefore something
they cannot do anything about, but they are wrong. Today, the native American people
continue to suffer from the actions of the federal government's white leaders. The
resources on their lands are exploited without proper compensation, their trust funds have
been looted, and the problems with their reservation societies have been ignored.
This
Indian history is important because it exposes man's inhumanity towards his fellow man and
how greed has often motivated that inhumane treatment. It is also important because the
past often repeats itself and the day may come when all of us comfortable white middle
class citizens find ourselves on a "Trail of Tears" of our own.
President
Bush and the Republicans in Congress today are very much like the land hungry white
settlers who committed genocide against the native American Indians and enslaved black
Americans. They take from the poor and give to the rich. They prefer to kill those who
they cannot tame. They lie a lot, and when confronted with the truth they lie again. They
try to manipulate the people they want to exploit and if that doesn't work they use
violence. They don't honor their previous commitments and they don't mean what they say.
They destroy the means by which the middle class supports itself through free trade deals,
outsourcing of jobs, regressive tax policies, hiring illegal immigrant labor, and only
requiring companies pay their workers a poverty level minimum wage.
The
American middle class has become the new native American Indians and the GOP and their
wealthy supports have become the new white settlers. The new Trail of Tears will be from
our own eyes and it will lead us to a place we don't want to be if we do not stop them.
That is why we must fight and we must start fighting now.
Federal
Deficits
President
Bush's tax cuts and spending increases have the federal government's budget deficits
spiraling out of control. Just at the time in our history when our government should be
generating surpluses to prepare for the looming future liabilities in Social Security and
Medicare they are doing the opposite. President Bush blames the cost of the war in Iraq,
the need to stimulate the economy, and fraud, waste, and abuse, but those are poor excuses
and shameless lies.
President
Bush and his Republican co-conspirators in Congress are deliberately pushing our federal
government into bankruptcy for the benefit of a few of their mega wealthy campaign
contributors. Their plan is to force our government to sell off its $100 trillion in
assets for pennies on the dollar to the highest bidder in order to pay current
liabilities. Bush's "Federal Real Property Asset Management Initiative"
unwittingly exposes this reality.
Once
these assets are sold off a period of hyperinflation will make the U.S. dollar worthless.
During this period of hyperinflation these few mega wealthy families will move their
liquid assets (cash, stocks, bonds, etc.) to other countries that have more stable
currencies (Yen, Euro, Pound, Rupees, Francs, Marks, Pesos, etc.), and after the dollar
hits rock bottom they will shift back to dollars and the game of monopoly will be over.
When this
happens the U.S. stock market will collapse and if you have any of your Social Security
funds invested in Bush's private accounts idea you can kiss those monies goodbye. Bush's
privatization plan is just a scam to rob workers of their retirement savings.
Eventually,
these few corrupt families will own everything in America and the rest of the American
people will become their improvised slaves, or we will be viewed as potentially dangerous
anarchist, communist, or terrorist and we will be dealt with accordingly.
That is
the direction we are going, but we have the power to change that direction. A few minor
changes to the tax code and we could turn the dire budget projections around, just like
President Clinton did with his 1993 tax legislation. A few minor changes to our election
laws and we could replace these corrupt politicians with honest free-thinking Americans.
The only thing standing in our way is the GOP and a few mega rich families.

Social
Security
The
Social Security trust fund has been robbed. Republican administrations have taken very
dime out of the trust fund and given that money to the top 1% through tax cuts. They have
stolen $700 billion dollars from the trust fund in just the past five years. That money is
the retirement savings of the baby boomers and generations X'ers. Not only have they
robbed the surpluses but now the Bush administration wants to scam the system of even more
money through his privatization scheme.
Bush's
privatization plan would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to set up and manage and it
would drain the system of several more hundred billion because of the revenues going into
private accounts instead of into the trust account. His plan would add additional risk to
these retirement funds and would cause a huge increase in administrative cost. His plan
would decrease the solvency of the Social Security system. Nothing about his plan makes
any sense and most Americans are starting to recognize this reality. Maybe that's why we
don't hear Bush talking about it anymore. His con doesn't have any marks taking the bait.
Bush's plan is really just a trick to enrich wall street bankers, brokers, and investment
firms at the expense of workers.
Elections & Accountability
The means
by which we, the American people, hold our elected leaders accountable is through
elections. However, based on the elections in 2000 and 2004 it appears that we no longer
have that ability.
The
election in 2000 was decided by five justices on the Supreme Court who stopped the vote
recount. It was stolen by state officials in Florida who manipulated the vote count using
a variety of tricks.
The
election in 2004 was also stolen but this time by paperless voting computers that were
built by Republican friendly corporations. These computers left nothing to recount if the
election was called into question like it was in 2000. This election was also stolen by
state officials in Ohio where voter manipulation was once again a major factor in the
outcome.
Both of
these fraudulent elections resulted in big differences between exit poll results and the
official vote count results which indicates these elections were stolen.
Both of
these elections were stolen on behalf of the Republican Party and for the benefit of their
wealthy campaign contributors. Nothing has changed to give us confidence that future
elections won't also be stolen by the same people for the same reasons. Therefore, since
we cannot hold our leaders accountable with our votes we must do so through other means,
or we must accept the fact that we no longer live in a democracy and deal with whatever
consequences that reality delivers.
The
Democrats have authored legislation requiring a paper trail for every voting computer but
the Republicans won't let it out of committee.
The
Republicans in Congress think they have our government locked-up, and they do in terms of
these bogus voting computers, but we can overcome that obstacle. We can return power to
the American people through individual actions and knowing each person has that ability
can help motivate us to act.
Shrinking
The Middle Class
Most
Americans live in the middle class, but that is changing and not because more of us are
moving into the upper class. The growth of the American middle class is the result of one
amendment to the constitution, the sixteenth amendment passed in 1913, and the progressive
tax laws that followed its passage.
However,
President Reagan and a Republican controlled Congress turned our progressive tax system
into a regressive tax system in 1981. Their tax legislation reduced the number of tax
brackets from 16 to 2 and cut the top tax rate from 70% to 28%. These same people also
doubled the tax rate on Social Security withholdings. Suddenly, the tax burden was shifted
from the very wealthy to self-employed small business people and middle income families.
It was also at this time that the federal deficit began to explode into the stratosphere.
After
President Clinton was elected he expanded the number of tax brackets, raised the top tax
rate, and closed some tax loopholes without a single vote from any of the Republicans. The
Republicans let out anguished cries claiming that this tax increase would crash the
economy and doom the middle class, but we can now look back and see that they were wrong
and the Democrats were right. The economy grew steadily throughout the 90's and the
federal deficits turned into surpluses, and the standard of living increased for all
income levels.
However,
when George W. Bush took office in 2000 the first thing he did was reverse all Clinton's
tax policies and passed several more tax cuts that went primarily to the very rich. These
changes brought the deficits roaring back with a vengeance and have sent middle class
incomes on downward trajectory. Today, he continues to push for, and pass, more tax cuts
that benefit the most wealthy people in our society despite record deficits.
In 1969
155 high-income individuals were able to avoid paying any income taxes by utilizing a
variety of tax loopholes so the Congress created the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). One of
the other main reasons the AMT was created was because President Nixon took a $576,000
deduction when he donated his presidential papers to the National Archives resulting in a
personal tax liability of only $792 dollars. The AMT forces the people at the top to pay
at least some taxes. However, because the AMT has not been indexed to inflation more and
more middle income families are being required to pay the higher AMT. Not surprisingly,
Bush's solution is to repeal the entire AMT law for everyone at a cost of $1.2 trillion
over 10 years. This would further shift the tax burden from the people at the top to the
people in the middle.
If this
trend continues the middle class is facing certain extinction. Our society and economy is
headed straight for one modeled after Mexico with a few at the top and everyone else at
the bottom. We could soon find ourselves trying to sneak across the border into Canada to
find a decent paying job with benefits. This may sound funny but don't waste too much time
laughing because after a while Canada will probably seal its border up tight.
The
middle class can overcome this downward trend, but not as long as the GOP is in power.
The
Expanding Military Industrial Complex
In 2005
the U.S. government spent over $450 billion dollars on the military, and that does not
count the cost of the war in Iraq, homeland security spending, or intelligence department
budgets. We are spending more on our military than all the other countries of the world
combined. The Pentagon says that they cannot account for all that money. If our leaders
what to find some fraud, waste and abuse they need look no further than our military and
intelligence departments.
Just
before President Eisenhower left office he warned us about the military-industrial complex
with the following message:
-
"....we
must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced
power exists and will persist.
-
We must never
let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We
should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the
proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful
methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together." Dwight D.
Eisenhower - January 17, 1961
Now, over
forty five years later we can see that his prophetic warnings have some true in an ugly
right-wing chickenhawk war mongering reality. There has been a disastrous rise in
misplaced power that the Republicans Party exposes through their actions and legislation.
Our liberties and democratic processes have been eroded with the Patriot Act, fraudulent
elections, and threats of a nuclear option in the Senate. The American citizenry has such
busy life styles they are not alert or knowledgeable about what is going on in our federal
government. The huge rise in military budgets and cuts in domestic programs expose an
imbalance that is threatening our liberties, democracy, and life styles. The war in Iraq,
9/11, and torture have exposed that our intelligence, military, and political leaders are
either incompetent or corrupt, or probably both.
It is
time we make some changes to our military budgets and personnel and getting rid of the
Commander and Chief, George W. Bush, will be a good start. After that we can focus on
getting rid of the other corrupt politicians in Washington. If we fail to make these
changes we may find ourselves in country that is no different than Nazi Germany under
Hitler's command.

New
Legal System
Most of
us have heard President Bush talking about "junk lawsuits" and how they are
hurting our economy. He wants to pass tort reforms so that when someone is injured by a
negligent corporation they will be limited on the amount of compensation they get through
a lawsuit.
First,
the problem of junk lawsuits filed by injured individuals is a myth. According to Public
Citizen, corporations are 160 times more likely to file a lawsuit than an individual, and
are 68% more likely to file a frivolous lawsuit, or defense, than an individual. The truth
is corporations and their owners don't want to be held accountable for anything. Thus, by
passing tort reform laws that limit compensation and requiring the loser to pay court cost
they will be able to get away with murder.
Second,
lawsuits don't harm the economy. In fact, lawsuits stimulate the economy by creating new
opportunities and by forcing corrective actions by the offending corporations. Take the
example of the woman who sued McDonalds for million of dollars because she was injured
when she spilled scalding hot coffee on her crouch. She won the lawsuit and McDonalds has
turned down the temperature of their coffee makers, but they still did not pay her a dime
for her injuries. They were able to appeal the verdict and delay legal actions for years
even though they lost a jury trial. Eventually, they did settle with her but not for the
jury awarded amount of $2.7 million, and not for the amount of the award reduced by a
judge of $480 thousand, but for much less. However, during all this time a lot of money
has been spent on lawyers, court cost, and other related expenses and all these things
help boost our economy even if they do delay justice.
If
anything lawsuit reforms need to go in the other direction and give the injured party and
juries more power and rights, and not less.
If the
Republicans succeed in getting these tort reforms past into law and you get injured you
might as well just plan on getting injured a second time in court when you get screwed out
of a fair compensation for your injuries.
Working
Longer For Fewer Benefit
According
to the International Labour Organization, American workers already work more hours per
week than workers in any other industrialized country. For the past forty years wages have
not keep up with inflation resulting in stagnate or slightly declining wages. Pension
plans are being ended or suspended, even by large successful corporations like IBM and
General Motors. Most manufacturing companies have already moved their manufacturing
operations to Mexico, Korea, China, or Taiwan, and now high tech jobs are going to India,
Asia, China, and Europe. Unions have failed to bring in new members and as a result
workers have less power against corporate power and virtually no political representation.
Workers
have been sold out and corporations are reaping record windfall profits which they often
hide in offshore accounts to avoid paying any taxes to our government. Back in the 1950's
the share of tax revenues from corporations and individuals was about equal, but today
corporations pay an average of 9% of all income tax revenues with individuals making up
almost all the rest in personal income and Social Security taxes.
If these
trends continue the day will come when most high paying jobs will be outsourced to other
countries and a good job will be working for Wal-Mart or McDonalds, which are already the
two largest employers in America. Before long families may need three full-time incomes to
pay their bills. Talk about busy life styles.
Health
Care
Currently,
over 45 million Americans don't have any health insurance. President Bush blames junk
lawsuits on the rising cost of health care but lawsuits only account for 1% of total
health care cost. Companies are closing their businesses and moving overseas to avoid
paying for the rising cost of their employee's health care, but our government leaders
don't have the balls to stand up to the insurance and drug industries to stop this price
gouging.
Many
elderly Americans are being forced to decide between buying food or prescription drugs.
President Bush's prescription drug plan through Medicare is unnecessarily complex, has a
very tiny benefit for average Medicare patients, and is going to cost over $300 billion
more than Congress was told when they agreed to it. However, this plan is a financial
bonanza for the insurance and drug companies. This plan has greatly accelerated the
Medicare programs insolvency. This plan also makes it illegal for the government to
negotiate for lower drug prices through bulk drug purchases. This plan is typical of the
Bush administration's sell-out scams.
If these
types of trends in health care legislation continue more Americans will find themselves
without health insurance, and many will end up in bankruptcy court due to some family
medical emergency. There is something very immoral about the richest country in the world
not caring for its citizens health care needs, and the missing morals of this
administration mirror that sad reality.
Public
Schools and Vouchers
President
Bush wants to replace pubic schools with vouchers so that parents can send their kids to
the school of their choice. He claims that this competition will increase the quality of
public schools. This sounds reasonable and it even sounds like it might be a good idea,
but it's a trick and it's being sold with clever demagoguery just like all the other
right-wing proposals.
This
Republican trick has three parts. First, corporations want to take over the public schools
so they can make money. There is nothing wrong with capitalist wanting to make a buck,
however, our non-profit public school system is very efficient and has worked well up to
now, so why change it? Second, unless these school vouchers are for at least $15,000 per
child per year they will not be enough for parents to send their children to high quality
private schools without big out of pocket cost.
Also,
where are these high quality schools located? And how many students can they hold? Do busy
working parents really have time to drive across town twice a day to drop off and pick up
their kids? When these high quality private schools are full to capacity where do the
extra kids go to school?
The
reality is the voucher program is really just a subsidy for rich people to send their kids
to the private school, which they probably already attend without the need for government
vouchers. Also, school vouchers are a way for big commercial real estate moguls to get
their hands all that valuable public school land that is currently being wasted on
non-profit public schools. That land could be used to build more for-profit prisons to
house all the deadbeat dads, credit card abusers, and people without health insurance who
cannot pay their bills because they are sick.
Faith-Based
Initiatives
President
Bush is a big advocate for giving our tax dollars to non-profit faith-based organizations
to care for the poor with social services, and it was the first executive order from his
administration (1/29/2001). And he is not alone, many Democrats, including Hillary
Clinton, support this idea. The main problem with this idea is it violates constitutional
law concerning the separation of church and state. Personally, I don't want my government
in the business of deciding which religious organizations get my tax dollars, and I don't
want religious organizations lobbying our elected leaders for more handouts.
The other
big problem with Bush's faith-based initiatives program is that it would require people
seeking social services to subject themselves to a religious indoctrination before being
able to receive help. Our government should not be requiring a homeless atheist to attend
Christian Bible studies in order to get some food, but this is what this program does.
Bush has
been able to go around the Congress and implement this un-constitutional program through a
series of executive orders. His latest order, on 3/7/2006, places this program under the
direction of the Department of Homeland Security.
Therefore,
if a community gets hit with a terrorist attack or natural disaster instead of people
looking to their federal government for help they can go to a local religious organization
and pray, or beg, for help.
This
entire concept is somewhat ironic since it has come out of the most immoral, corrupt, and
inept administrations in the history of the world. I wonder if Hitler had a similar
program. Maybe the Jews thought they were about to receive social services before they
were gassed.
Personally,
when it comes to organized religion I believe what Thomas Paine said:
"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish,
Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and
enslave mankind and monopolize power and profit.".
I think
the GOP uses religions and the word "faith" to sucker gullible Christians into
voting for them. They do the same thing with the abortion issue. It is just a con and we
are the marks. They are trying to distract us with a big shinny object in one hand while
their other hand is busy picking our pockets. They are the people who wear their faith on
their sleeves that Jesus warned us would come to mislead and destroy us.
Media
Propaganda
It is
hard to imagine that the corporate owned media could get any worse than it is right now.
Most of the shows and commercials on TV and radio are deliberately designed to wash the
public's minds with images and sounds that are manipulative to the point of being
Orwelling. Many of these programs and commercials are very entertaining, but that is just
part of the bait and switch con they use to sucker us into watching TV and listening to
the radio.
Parents
shouldn't let their children watch any TV, or only allow viewing of previewed and
carefully edited recordings.
The
movies coming out today are equally manipulative and should be shunned completely or
carefully edited. The propaganda is usually well concealed and cleverly done but if your
look for it, you know why it is in the movie, and who put it there it is easy to spot.
Public
television channels, like PBS, use to be safe havens from corporate America, but they sold
out and today commercial advertising is allowed. The only channels on my cable that are
commercial free are the CSPAN channels and Turner Classic Movies channel, both of which I
highly recommend.
The
Republicans like to criticize the media as being liberal, but the opposite is actually
true. Media companies are huge for-profit corporations that are out to make as much money
as possible and keep as much of that money as possible. As a result, they are inherently
conservative organizations run by people who want to be deregulated, untaxed, and
unburdened by a large active watchful parent like federal government.
It is
true that many actors are outspoken liberal personalities, but they are just actors and
are speaking for themselves and not for the corporations that make the movies and TV shows
they are in.
Also,
there is a major problem with media companies and campaign finance corruption. During
every election cycle the handful of giant media companies jack up their advertising rates
just in time to milk our politicians for every dollar they can gouge. It is this high cost
of media campaigning that has turned our political leaders into high priced whores for the
people with the most money. This is not just the media company's faults but it is also our
elected leader's faults because they refuse to change the campaign finance laws. It is the
American people who are paying for this corrupt system of quid pro quo money for
legislation, and the big media companies are playing us like we are all just a bunch of
punk-ass-bitches.
The
Art Of Distraction
News events are not necessarily news events any more. There has been a steady
stream of manufactured news events that are being used to distract, mislead, and
manipulate the American public.
Many of
these phony news events are about political and social issues, like flag burning or
abortion rights, and security issues, like the color coded security alerts and Iran's
nuclear potential, as well as a variety of other issues. The point of these news events is
to manipulate the minds of the American public, and not to inform the public about the
truth. It is akin to a slight of hand magic trick where the audience is forced to focus on
one hand while the other hand is busy pulling off the trick. They are just illusionary
news reports being perpetrated by some well paid right-wing manipulators of the public's
minds.
Maybe the
Lincoln Group, the company the Pentagon hired to write and plant false news stories in the
Iraqi media about how well the war is going, is also writing stories all us suckers in
America.
Take the
example of the Port of Dubai Worlds deal. In this deal the United Arab Emirates was buying
a company that would have given them control over many major shipping ports in the United
States. This was never a real business deal but was a manufactured news event designed to
force the public to view things differently. One of the ways it was used was to make the
Republicans in Congress look like they were independent free-thinkers who would be willing
to part ways with President Bush on important national security issues. The truth is they
did this because Bush's poll numbers are at an all time low and the 2006 midterm elections
are coming up and the Republicans up for reelection needed an issue to separate them from
an increasingly unpopular president. Mission accomplished?
Another
example is the news reports that the IRS might start selling citizen's private tax records
to companies. Once again, this is not a real possibility for obvious legal reasons but is
only designed to manipulate the publics minds with fear and make them think about the need
for greater personal privacy. The people who really fear this type of exposure are the top
.0001%, and that is why it was made into a news event.
Another
example is the Republican's "nuclear option" in the U.S. Senate. This was not so
much of an effort to approve Bush's right-wing extremist nominees to the federal bench as
it was an effort to overcome the Democrat's ability to stop Bush's first tax cuts from
becoming permanent. The Republicans act like their heads will explode if they don't
permanently repeal the estate tax for their billionaire friends. This nuclear option
against the Democrat's filibuster was just an effort to test the water, or to run the flag
up the pole to see who would salute. They know if they could use the rule breaking nuclear
option on Bush's judicial nominees they would be able to use it on other legislation,
including killing the estate tax by making Bush's first tax cuts permanent.
And the
list of examples could go on and on, but the bottom line is that the American public
cannot trust the corporate owned media or the Republican Party. They are just manipulating
us by distracting us while they rob our government by bankrupting it; while they loot the
Social Security trust fund with tax cuts for the very rich; while they undermine the rule
of law with deregulations and tort reforms; while they use our young soldiers as
expendable pawns in a war about oil and Israel's security; and while they steal our
democracy with fraudulent elections and quid pro quo campaign fundraising.
We are
being conned by the GOP, and the big media corporations are complicit in this fraud. After
we take back our government we will put an end to this mind-f@#k.
Humans
Vs. Robots
Japan has
been busy developing robots that look, move, and respond like humans. It won't take long
for this technology to develop to the point that these robots, or androids, will be able
to replace many blue collar workers, and eventually many white collar workers. These smart
robots will be able to work 24/7 without pay, food, or health insurance. They won't steal
from their employers, make mistakes, call in sick, or develop a bad attitude.
I love
the idea of having one or more androids to help me do things, but there is a high price
for this technology. What are business owners and government leaders going to do with 6
billion people who are unemployed and are only adding to pollution, global warming, and
using up limited resources? I think the answer is obvious. We must fight back now to make
sure we are in control of our government when these new android robot workers come onto
the market, and not the other way around.
Bird
Flu
Recently,
President Bush has been on TV trying to scare everyone into believing they might die as
the result of a bird flu pandemic, similar to the "Spanish Flu" pandemic in 1918
that killed over 50 million people. There are two big differences between then and now.
First, medical technology is much better now. Anti-viral and viral drug treatments are
hundreds of times better now then they were then. Second, communication technologies are
much better now. As soon as the first group of people become ill with the bird flu the
entire world will know it within hours and people can begin to take precautions including
receiving flu shots.
What this
is really about is scaring people into doing whatever their political leaders tell them,
and having an excuse to pump billions of our tax dollars into the pockets of the big drug
companies. So far Bush has been successful on both counts. We are scared of him and the
highly profitable drug companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
Mitt
Romney, The Most Dangerous Politician In America
The GOP
has a small-government philosophy and they have a potential tool to deliver it in Governor
Mitt Romney (R - MA). Mitt Romney is a ultra right-wing Mormon who promotes the GOP's
small-government philosophy, and who has his eye on the presidency. Mitt is an
unapologetic Bush supporter singing his praises at every opportunity. The reason he is so
dangerous is because he is smart, good looking, wealthy, and well known and he could use
these tools to win the presidency. If he does become president you can bet your bottom
dollar he will take this country in the same direction Bush has taken us, and with equally
disastrous results. The middle class will pay while the rich get richer.
Mitt's
small-government philosophy is a slap in the face to Uncle Sam and 200 years of legal
precedents. It would take us back to pre-Civil War days with business owners able to
exploit their workers ruthlessly and criminally. Mitt's idea would drastically transform
our federal government from one that balances capitalism with social programs for workers
to one that is only concerned about the capitalist.
We must
never let Mitt Romney, or anyone like him, lead this country because if we do a lucky few
will prosper and everyone else will pay. His strong Mormon faith will end up being our
bloody cross to bare.
The
Great Depression II
Now this
is something to fear. If America goes into another depression anything like the great
depression of 1929 the middle class is going to get hit very hard. During the 1929
depression most Americans lived on farms in rural communities, thus they were able to cope
by helping one another with things they grew on their farms or hunted in the surrounding
woods. But today most of us live in big cities or sprawling suburbs and we all buy our
food from the grocery stores and restaurants. We don't get our water from wells but we buy
it from municipalities. We don't live in big family groups but in individual family groups
in houses with mortgages, utility bills, and taxes.
Try to
image what America would be like with 100 million unemployed former middle class families
living in the streets. Now for the bad news. The Republicans are going to make it happen.
You probably want to know why? how? and when? and I can tell you those things, but what I
can't tell you is how to cope with the pain, sadness, and despair when it happens. Perhaps
the solution to these emotions is to get angry.
The
Republicans are going to do it because of greed and power. It is a way to transfer wealth
and power from the big group in the middle to the small group at the top.
The
Republicans are going to do it by bankrupting the federal government and crashing the
dollar with hyperinflation. The $10 trillion dollar turnaround in the federal budget
projections during the past five years is no mistake or accident. The looting of the
Social Security trust funds is not just an ironic twist of faith before the baby boomers
retire. The sudden turnaround in the projected solvency of the Medicare system did not
just happen but was carefully calculated and the wheels have already been set in motion.
This GOP
manufactured depression will probably happen within the next five to ten years. With the
current skyrocketing federal debt all that it will take now is a jump in interest rates, a
drop in the economy, a loss in confidence from foreign investors, and a decline in the
value of the dollar and the next depression will be upon us like flies on trash. Two of
these four things have already started to happen.
Now, your
probably wonder if there is anything we can do to stop this from happening? The answer to
that question depends on how many guns you own and how willing you are to use them. We
cannot vote these ugly clowns out of office, so our only option is to tar and feather them
and ride them out of town on a wooden rail. Otherwise, get ready for hard-times living on
the mean streets of America.
Global
Warming
This is
one thing we cannot blame President Bush for, but there is no question that he has not
helped the situation. Global warming is real, it is happening right now, and there is very
little we can do to stop it in the short-term. It probably won't happen as quickly as the
movie "The Day After Tomorrow" shows, however, unless 5 billion people
disappear tomorrow it is going to happen sometime in the near future.
The
weather patterns are already starting to change and the ocean temperatures have already
been changing. When the Atlantic ocean conveyor belt stops Europe and possibly the entire
northern hemisphere will find itself in another ice age. What happens after that is highly
unpredictable but will probably involve radical weather swings between extremes.
President
Bush and his very rich friends probably already have plans for their own survival and
comfort, but the rest of us are like sheep grazing on grass before the slaughter. They
will probably just let us fend for ourselves during the deadly chaos and mass migration
into the south without any food, water, or shelter. The way they treated the people of New
Orleans after Katrina is probably a good model for how they will treat us when the ice
storm hits. But, that's what we get for failing to hold our leaders accountable.
Chapter
2 Summary
Even if
we succeed in replacing our current corrupt government leaders with real people we are
still facing a number of very difficult challenges in the near future. However, if we fail
to oust these political whores and corrupt elites make sure to save the last bullet for
yourself.
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