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It 's kind of enlightening that all of us are fired up about this topic. We probably will not alter the rudder of our government but sharing frustrations, perceptions, and different points of view are important for every single American. My Dad used to say to me that "nothing is so bad, but talking makes it so". That may have been acceptable back when most people blindly waved the Stars and Stripes regardless of what was going on. In today's world-in our global economy-it is not just the governments that are necessarily to blame, for it's rapidly becoming the multi-national big (huge) businesses that ultimately dictate policy to politicians thru campaign contributions, both openly, and 'soft' influence funds. Every politician has 'after the election payback obligations' that sway their positions on both small and critically important issues; and they may often not be in the best interests of those who elected them. As I said in an earlier post, this is not a recent development; its just that now with instant and in-depth investigative reporting we are now seemingly better 'informed'. Even the media (as yet another component of big business) realizes that sensationalism and vindictive, politically-biased broadcasting increases their audience and sells advertising. Do you think that organized labor endorsing a candidate and "promising" the rank and file' s votes to a particular politician is really much different than being obligated to soft money interests? Has labor-the individual guy or gal on the line, or driving a truck- really benefitted in recent history from such practices? Those same politicians are also beholding to the lure of 'soft money'. It's just an old, and not particularly correct (anymore) widely -held opinion that one party is soft on business while the other caters to labor. Like my Dad's advice to me, it's not relevant in the 21st century. What are the real definitions of liberal 'vs conservative, as they apply today? The lines are blurred! What is critical is that every American who is able to vote first look at the facts, and not the frantic rhetoric and distortions, before they vote. Has the 'wantabe' kept his promises during their political career? Or have they flip-flopped all over the map? And in our everyday pursuits we should strive for excellance at whatever we do to support our families. Americans can be very complacent and even lazy. They expect government to not only protect them in war and peace, to provide an infrastructure within which to live, offer unlimited opportunities,freedoms and liberties, assurances of free trade and unrestricted access to goods and services, and many want wage, benefits, and job retention guarantees while others are looking for a free ride that the rest of us are expected to pay for. . .Yet we have been the strongest, wealthiest , and most productive nation in history. Our system works, but it is up to each individual to continue to take advantage of the unparalled opportunities and freedoms we are so fortunate to have. An earlier post mentioned retraining for a new skill or profession, and that our government has the responsibility, not to save jobs, but to develop new jobs. . .Government can offer incentives for R&D, assist with educational grants, support institutions of higher learning, and offer tax relief for all of these. And they do just that, although some regions of the USA offer more than others to both industry and the individual. It's just more politics, and more about money. . . But government does not create new jobs, nor can it save them, unless artificial measures are taken like FDR's WPA during the Depression. Ultimately taxpayers are going to foot the bill. Industry creates new jobs-they identify a potential market, and if they have the funds and the talent, they sieze the moment and exploit it to its max, including out-sourcing or going offshore to save labor costs. This ain't gonna change. We need to change our thinking and maximize our abilities to participate in this unkind global economy. (I've had to do just that-I quit my day job after embarking on an extensine and intensive learning process to develop and refine my wood working skills and moved a considerable distance to a locale that not only appears more condusive to pursue my new endeavor, but one that offers greater opportunities for my wife who, several years ago, got retrained into a new, better paying and more satisfying career. And we moved to a state (GA) that offers tremendous pluses for my son educationally through their unique technical training grant program. Or we could have stayed where we were and bitched , complained, and moaned forever.)
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