Yesterday, I listened to how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is going to fight single-payer health care with full fury. For me, this is the final straw. The greed in this country is out of control.
Sadly, the red hat masses will swallow all the lies that the corporate elitists say about single-payer care and "Medicare for all." We are the only developed nation that doesn't offer universal healthcare for our citizens, yet we are told it doesn't work. Instead, we buy insurance policies and when we actually need them the insurance carriers fight us tooth-and-nail to get out of paying all of it. In fact, there is a law firm here in Atlanta that advertises the fact that they are "experts in fighting insurance companies." So, you often have to hire a lawyer to get a carrier to pay you, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling that a great system? Wake up, red hats!
The History
First we were told that Reagan's "trickle-down economics" would create jobs for the middle class, but it was a complete lie -- most of the money went to the corporate robber barons. More recently, we were told that Trump's corporate tax cut would "create jobs" and "bring jobs back to America." Again, a giant lie because the executives at the top simply kept the excess profits.
I recently read that the CEO of Disney was making $428 million a year, yet some employees at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA could barely get by and were living out of their cars. The wealthy elitists don't care if the underclass starves, and you red hats support this madness.
It's a simple fact that once you are wealthy it's easier to create more wealth. What is worse is that the millionaires and billionaires manipulate the political system to create more wealth for themselves. Soon, all the wealth rises to the top, which we are seeing now. Worse yet, people like the Koch Brothers create front groups that meddle in public policy at even the most local levels. Billionaires are not only trying to control politics, but they run for office themselves, and win!
A Better Economic System
James Madison, one of our country's founding fathers, was a true genius when he created a government that really is near-perfect. Our constitution is the absolute secret to America's success as a nation. Sadly, our democracy was damaged with the Supreme Court's Citizens United case, which gave corporations First Amendment rights. Despite this bad court case, the gerrymandering, and foreign political interference, we still have a good political system that works.
Now, the next step is to acknowledge that capitalism is an utter failure and we need to find a better economic system. I don't know the answer yet, and I've studied the ideas of tightly regulated capitalism and democratic socialism, but I think the ideal economy will be based on some kind of bartering. Greed is a negative human attribute and it's a shame that we have an entire economic system built around it. What we need is the opposite -- an economic system built around empathy.
Should We Really Eat the Rich?
Yeah, of course, I'm promoting cannibalism -- it's an excuse to enjoy ketchup. But, hey, after all it was Marie Antoinette who started the whole thing when she said, "Let them eat cake." That idea didn't turn out well because shortly afterwards the heads of rich people were falling into baskets all over France.
The truth is, selfish, greedy people are not worth eating because they turn me off. Now, there are plenty of good rich people who give generously and I'm not talking about these folks. What I'm talking about is the overall nature of an economic system that is engineered to suck the last dollar out of the desperate middle class to greater enrich the wealthy. Look at the pharmaceuticals industry, for instance, which works to keep drug prices high rather than helping people. And there are many other examples of this behavior.
Holy Red Hats
When you look at history the religious institutions usually side with the powerful right-wing even at the expense of the people. In Turkey, Islam is siding with the right-wing government and in Russia the Russian Orthodox Church is on the side of Putin's party. A look at history shows that the church took the side of the conservatives in both the Spanish and Russian civil wars. So, it's no surprise that Christian evangelicals are supporting the wealthy elitists in our country now. Some megachurch leaders even justify their own wealth and the wealth of others by preaching the "prosperity gospel," which flies in the face of Christ's teachings and examples.
I've always been intrigued by the statement of Jesus that says: "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Now, to me, this sounds like a green light for a revolution. But maybe what Jesus is saying is that humble people are more open to his teachings. So, yes, a economic system based on the teachings of Christ is a great idea -- love, kindness, etc...
Conclusion
I recently saw a news show where the speaker was saying that some people are incapable of questioning anything because there is something broken in their brains. For some, this is probably true, but if you are able to question, I encourage you to QUESTION EVERYTHING, including your religion, government, and economic system. Don't just swallow everything the corporate-paid talking heads say on the radio or TV.
It is human nature to simply adapt and tolerate a little discomfort rather than to seek change. Our standard of living is no longer better than our parents, and, in fact, we've now reached the point where it's declining. And all the while the super rich are getting richer and engineering the system to screw us over even more. If this is the environment you like, simply because you think you're better looking in a red hat, then I say, "wake up!" Throw that red hat in the trash and become an agent for change!
Look at all the social and political disruption that's going on right now in our country between the haves and have-nots. Rather than a violent revolution I think it's better to just circumvent the greedy and selfish bastards that control our country and then find creative ways to develop our own economy.
As for you red hats, wake up or enjoy your fall over the cliff.
