Ahistorical diatribe On Nov 3, 2:49 pm, "M.A. Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The Next New Deal?by Karen Kwiatkowski > Back in the day, I fell in [political] love with a guy named J. Peter Grace. > Reagan had asked him to head upa commission to study waste and abuse in and > by the federal government. The Commission produced a large report, > entitledWar on Waste. Grace shared the commission’s discoveries in another > aptly titled bookBurning Money: The Waste of Your Tax Dollars. Unlike the > more recent 9/11 Commission Report, also published as a book, the Grace > Commission Report contained serious information that many of us didn’t > already know from reading the newspapers, and its actionable and specific > recommendations could have made a real difference in the future security of > this country. > Not that any specific action was taken, of course. Reagan presided over a > fifty-year metastasization of the New Deal. But compared to the present day, > government spending in the early 1980s was downright stingy. Thirty years of > easy money, corporate capitalism and military adventurism doesn’t wear well > on a country. > The so-called Reagan revolution is proof that wanting smaller government > isn’t the same as getting it. By the end of his presidency, every bad thing – > that is to say everything – about our federal government had increased > radically. Sheldon Richman summarized the Reagan legacy in 1988, andit’s > worth re-reading today. > Only a brave American, a suicidal Constitutionalist, or a sadistic Bolshevik > would wish to honestly contemplate the frightening summary of government > growth that will be written at the end of 2008. But perhaps the withering > away of the state is still possible. > I was reminded of Peter Grace because in this age of recession and > belt-tightening, it is only natural to start looking at waste in our > government, and demanding the fat be returned to the "people." It is telling > that a major selling point of the bailout, and its legionary spawn, is that > we (the "people") could turn a profit, or at least, the bailout would"cost > the taxpayer nothing." > But here’s a better idea, a new deal of sorts. Giveaways, special interest > exceptions, and pleasing the masses – well, that’s how it works. It’s what > politicians understand, so let’s expand the program! Throw some new interest > groups a bone! For starters, let’s get the antiwar crowd to stop whining. > Immediately end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – that’llstop the fiscal > bleedingand forestall a few trillion dollars, plus it will stop creating > future liabilities of more terrorism aimed at Americans, more countries to > "rebuild," and more sick and crippled soldiers to maintain for life. > The peace brigades are also unhappy with the American bases or ongoing > deployments in 150 countries, and a half a trillion bucksevery yearjust for > maintenance of the Pentagon and its profligate and self-indulgent lifestyle. > Some may ask, "Isn’t that the price of freedom?" Clearly, it buys damn little > of the ethereal stuff. Burdened by anational debtthat is rising as we breathe > and amounts to $35,000 a person, andan entitlement crisisthat adds a $100,000 > more per taxpayer – does any American feel more free? Does any American, > confused over whether to vote for the national or the international socialist > on November 4th, feel that he or she has more choice? > Another interest group ignored for years by Congress and Presidents are the > small "c" conservatives. As we approach national bankruptcy, these "Warriors > Against Government Waste" are a rising tide, sure to demand their "take" from > a Congress that soon will have little choice but to oblige them. > Other groups that deserve some policy goodies and legislative bones arethe > Ron Paul Revolutionarieswho understand sound money, third-party > constituencies focused on fundamental issues like liberty, the Constitution, > and justice, and every generation in the country that is paying the social > security and Medicare benefits for the generation that is receiving it. > Obviously, there is some overlap among these groups, and contradictions in > priorities. But taken together, it is a monster majority of special interests > that will conspire together for a severely reduced and constrained federal > government. > While our wasteful, desperate security policy around the globe is a well of > near-instant potential savings, the low-hanging fruit today, as it was in the > 1980s, is domestic spending. Every American schoolchild (even those who > cannot name the Vice President) knows what an earmark is. They have all heard > of the bridge to nowhere, and they know what it means. It’s time to abolish > federal departments like Veterans Affairs and Education, and not stop until > Homeland Security is completed gutted. When I say gutted, please don’t get > the serrated blades out just yet – let’s simply split the assets (and the > future budget requests) among the states. Most states have balanced budget > amendments, and actual semi-accountable assemblies, congresses, and > governors. Let them conduct the firesales. > Perhaps Obama or McCain will appoint another commission to look at potential > government savings – as the federal government goes broke and broker, maybe > this time angry Democrats and angrier Republicans in the House will decide to > eat their young, sacrifice their unholy children (or dare I say wealthy > grandparents?) at the altar of political survival. > We worry thatit can’t happen here– but American fascism has already arrived, > in fact, it has been living in the heartland, and our cities and suburbs for > a long time. Others predict that as our government senses it is losing > control, it will cling ever more vigorously to power and authority like a cat > on a high branch, that our limited freedoms of today may be reduced even > further if we demand too much, too soon. > Some believe that our government will launch another warto distract us, orto > get the economy going. It does appear to be true that our federal government > has an array of potential prison camps all over the country, in every state, > waiting to be filled, with contracts for prison guards waiting only to be > funded. > The naming and formation of Department of Homeland Security was no hysterical > accident. America’s expensive domestic programs and adventuristic foreign > policy follow a well-worn historical path. These developments – as with every > action of our federal government – are designed to promote, maintain or > salvage federal institutional capability to continue the plunder. It’s the > same old deal, grown unreasonable, unaffordable, and unbearable. > In November 1934, folks in Indiana sent Charles Halleck to Congress to rein > in FDR’s New Deal. In 1936, Halleck said,"The social experimentation and > reckless extravagance of the New Deal are on the way out because the common > sense of the people is reasserting itself." He went on to say, "We must be > free of annoyance…of restrictions which cramp …our lives… . We must be > allowed to work, to invest, and to save without making out a bureaucratic > blank for every move we make." > Today, America is populated by people who demand instant messages, and refuse > to waste a millisecond typing a single unnecessary vowel. As LRC contributor > Becky Akerspointed out recently, bilingual 6-year olds in America choose to > converse with their friends in English not because anyone tells them to, or > because they want to be patriotic, but because "it’s faster." > Obama and McCain both salivate for neo-FDR status, and a New Deal of their > own, conceived by fellow politicians, and tenderly nurtured like a hothouse > flower. Instead, the next New Deal will be put to government as atrompementby > fast-moving, waste-intolerant, outrageously irreverent people who not only > treasure liberty, but expect it. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
