Full Blown Crisis Mode

"Every gun that is fired, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."

--Dwight Eisenhower, 1953


Unless you believe the carefully spun stories being issued by the Bu$h administration, there are some serious problems facing America right now. We are shouldering the majority of the cost of a war that has no end in sight, most of which is being borrowed from foreign countries such as China. The massive debt that they have accrued will have to be repaid, with interest, and is being placed squarely on the shoulders of tax paying Americans, their children, and their childrens children. Now the very same administration who made its case for war based on evidence that they now admit to being incorrect and misleading will tell you that we are making progress in Iraq, and that it will take time for the Iraqis to be able to maintain their own security (which will also put them in control of an army that the US will most likely end up having to fight again at some point). Apparently they think that 'democratic' elections will be able to replace potable water as a source of sustenence in that war torn region. The US needs to cut its losses now, leave Iraq, and any future money that is put into Iraq needs to be in the form of aid and reparations.

The average person in American today cannot deal with spiralling health care costs. Insurance companies, along with pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors, lobbyists, and politicians have made it possible to maximize their profits, while putting a crushing weight on those who are in need of medical care. It is obvious that the people making laws and decisions regarding health care in America are desperately out of touch with the reality that less fortunate individuals have to face every day.

The number of people below the poverty level in the United States continues to increase under the Bu$h administration. George W. Bush's tax breaks to wealthy individuals and corporations in order to 'stimulate growth' and 'trickle down' to the lower classes has failed miserably, and has been shown to be the bullshit pandering to his wealthy base that we knew it was all along. Government handouts are not the solution since welfare programs have long shown that they are not effective in combatting poverty, as they cause the recipient to become dependent. The only solution is to design a system that helps those who need it, while constantly screening the recipients to make sure that they are making progress. Education and job training are the only way to eliminate the need for the welfare system, and to gaurantee that individuals are not abusing the system.

This brings up the obvious problem of public education in America. The pathetically underfunded, and misdirected 'No Child Left Behind' project that Bu$h initiated has failed to address the most serious issues facing the public school system. Requiring schools to meet some kind of predetermined criteria in order to receive federal funding has caused more children to be left behind than ever before. Many people have combatted the massive problems of overcrowding, unqualified teachers, violent and dangerous environments (due to understaffing and lack of discipline) by homeschooling their children, or shelling out the money for private schools. This administration pretends to place education as one of its highest priorities, but it has been shown to have a more important agenda to attend to.

Even if the glaring problems with the public school system can be rectified, a high school education is a useless thing to have when going into the job market in America. Years ago, it was enough to have a willingness to learn, and to work hard. In the ever changing, and increasingly technical world of today, it is necessary to have higher education in order to even be considered for jobs that will keep you from living below the poverty level. Universities continue to increase their tuition costs to the point where a large number of people are unable to afford to continue their education. Student loans, grants, and scholarships can help ease or delay these costs, but the latter two can be hard to come by, and loans have to be paid back. There are lower cost alternatives to attending universities, however they do not put the graduate on level ground with those graduating from a presitigious university.

Entering the job market, even with a degree, still doesn't gaurantee that a job meeting the requirements for survival (insurance, sufficient pay) will be available. In most cases, starting at the bottom, and working hard is still the only way to get ahead. In many cases, an individual will have to work multiple jobs, or in the case of married couples, both people will have to work in order to allow them to keep from living paycheck to paycheck. With the current financial crisis in America, it is getting harder for companies to provide a living wage and insurance for their employees, and harder for an individual to find a job that offers them security.

It is obvious that the Bu$h administration is not concerned about the crisis that America is facing right now. They deny that there is even a problem, focusing instead on continuing to smear their detractors and catapult their propaganda. After watching Bu$h so boldly admit to performing wiretaps without court approval, admitting that the intelligence they used to make their case to go to war in Iraq was based on lies, and defending those in their administration who are obviously guilty of illegal activity, it is impossible to come away with any other opinion of them. They will continue to wage war on the American people until they are forcibly removed.

Next Time: The War On Drugs & The Prison System