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I'm not sure if there is a label for my politics.
I am probably a bit of a liberal, but here and there there are conservative thoughts. Basically, I believe in the Constitution and Lincoln's phrase "...of the people, by the people, and for the people...". It is our country. It doesn't (and shouldn't) belong to politicians, any one political party, or big business. We need a strong Federal government which takes care of the big things (such as defense, health, and education), but which doesn't mess much in our individual lives, except to strongly protect children, and to keep the "playing field" fairly even for individuals, especially vis-a-vis organized crime, including corporations exhibiting run-away greed. Click on this link to access all of Gran's Political Forum. MY LATEST FORUM ENTRY:A major (maybe THE) problem with the US right now is employment. If people are not working they can not buy things from anyone for themselves or their families. They are also not paying taxes (such as income sales taxes), hence government income is reduced. Reducing government income ultimately reduces the services government can supply - such as education, roads, national defense, health support, research, (the list goes on and on). Buying foreign-made products (or using foreign-made services) often seems a short-term personal necessity (its cheaper, its better quality, there are more features, etc.). The problem is, your neighbors are no longer making these products or supplying these services. Over time, fewer of your neighbors will be working, and many of those who are working will be making less money. (It is a downward spiral.) As more people have less money, they can buy fewer goods and services, such as medical insurance. They will be drawing unemployment insurance and other forms of public assistance. These will cost the government more. The government will either (unrealistically) let these people starve, etc., or (more realistically) be forced to raise taxes (either now, or borrow money and raise taxes later). Practically, eventually the government will probably be pushed to cut other services to support peoples' basic needs. Goodbye research. Goodbye education. Goodbye roads. Goodbye defense. Goodbye USA. How did we get this way? First a company realized that sending jobs being done in the USA could be done at lower cost somewhere else. The company would make a bigger profit. Then another, to remain competitive, felt it needed to follow. The industry slowly slid off the shore. Was this steel, socks, televisions, cars, computers...? Who knows? I think these are a few of the many. Then another direction takes over. Steel is overseas, so ex-steelworkers buy fewer cars and trucks. Fewer autoworkers keep jobs. Even less steel is needed in the USA because we are making fewer cars. Our heavy industry, or electronics industry, and many other industries are now very retracted. Even some x-rays are being sent abroad to be read, telemedicine and now tele-surgery are growing, and creating most computer software is an overseas activity. I'm not opposed to other countries growing in market share, but I see several problems. First, during WWII, we were "the Arsenal of Democracy". We provided most of the tanks, trucks, ships, guns, and airplanes that armed us and our Allies, as well as much of the food, munitions, and other supplies. Today, we couldn't even come close to doing that. "But we aren't going to fight another world war," many say. Don't count on it. Our enemies (heck, any good strategist or tactician) will see what we can't do or will do poorly, and take advantage of these weaknesses. We MUST build up our heavy industry, out military, and the appropriate parts of the "military/industrial complex" to protect ourselves. We've got to move lots of stuff back inside our shores for our own national defense. This may mean dropping out of trade treaties. It may mean cutting the demands of labor unions. It will mean cutting the greed of corporations and their executives. (Why does anyone need more than a few million a year anyway?) It will mean massive investment in US industry and infrastructure. At the same time, it will mean reducing our debt to other countries. Enough! You get my drift. Good luck to us. Any thoughts? |
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