Big Govt. Vs. Biz
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
The GOP and their allies in the Tea Party Movement constantly tell us about the evils of big government. How big governments do nothing but infringe on our liberties and spend our money.
They state how we must fear big governments and their constant encroachment into our personal lives. They even used the healthcare reform debate as a forum to show us how scary big governments can be. How big government bureaucrats and not doctors would determine treatment for the infirmed. Sounds scary.
But what is even scarier than big government, is big unregulated capitalist corporations. Imagine big corporate bean counters, which only care about profit margins, deciding treatment for your illness. Well, you don't have to imagine that scary scenario because it's already happening and the GOP and the TPM vow to allow it to continue. Are we ready to allow corporations to run the country? Are we as a people comfortable with getting rid of our big government and replacing it with big private organizations who care for nothing more than the profit?
If you care to look at history, unlike many who would rather have it read to them by their favorite pundit, it has many lessons to teach us. And if you specifically look back at the era of capitalism run amok during the industrialization of our nation, you will see that the good of the people was constantly being ignored in favor of the moneyed interests.
When left alone and unregulated, as the GOP and the TPM propose to do when they hold power, big business has polluted the air, land and water. They have used toxic materials to increase their yields. They have ignored the safety of their workers in order to increase their productivity and they have rigged the system to eliminate competition and limit consumer choice. They have pushed unsafe products into the marketplace while causing environmental disasters all this done in the name of the only thing they truly worship, profit. And historically big corporations have shown a willingness to sacrifice democracy on the altar of capitalism. In fact they are willing to trade with tyrannical governments and those that support terror as long as there is a profit to be made.
For centuries we have been told that democracy and capitalism were mutually beneficial. Well, those times have passed us by because capitalism is on the verge of consuming our democracy. And the Supreme Court, by allowing corporations unlimited financial access to our political system, has turned our democracy into just another commodity to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. Now the only thing that matters in driving policy is the Dow Jones average at the end of the day. The powers that be are willing to allow something as fickle as the so-called "invisible hand" of the marketplace to decide the course of our nation. Something like the price of oil could lead to war. Hey, it's not like it hasn't happened before.
Ironically, the TPM and the GOP, two political parties that love to speak of liberty and have anointed themselves defenders of our liberties, are all for the corporate usurpation of our democracy as long as they get their cut. So go ahead and support the politicians who are OK with this arrangement because what is more important than defending the right to pursue profit by any means necessary?
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
The GOP and their allies in the Tea Party Movement constantly tell us about the evils of big government. How big governments do nothing but infringe on our liberties and spend our money.
They state how we must fear big governments and their constant encroachment into our personal lives. They even used the healthcare reform debate as a forum to show us how scary big governments can be. How big government bureaucrats and not doctors would determine treatment for the infirmed. Sounds scary.
But what is even scarier than big government, is big unregulated capitalist corporations. Imagine big corporate bean counters, which only care about profit margins, deciding treatment for your illness. Well, you don't have to imagine that scary scenario because it's already happening and the GOP and the TPM vow to allow it to continue. Are we ready to allow corporations to run the country? Are we as a people comfortable with getting rid of our big government and replacing it with big private organizations who care for nothing more than the profit?
If you care to look at history, unlike many who would rather have it read to them by their favorite pundit, it has many lessons to teach us. And if you specifically look back at the era of capitalism run amok during the industrialization of our nation, you will see that the good of the people was constantly being ignored in favor of the moneyed interests.
When left alone and unregulated, as the GOP and the TPM propose to do when they hold power, big business has polluted the air, land and water. They have used toxic materials to increase their yields. They have ignored the safety of their workers in order to increase their productivity and they have rigged the system to eliminate competition and limit consumer choice. They have pushed unsafe products into the marketplace while causing environmental disasters all this done in the name of the only thing they truly worship, profit. And historically big corporations have shown a willingness to sacrifice democracy on the altar of capitalism. In fact they are willing to trade with tyrannical governments and those that support terror as long as there is a profit to be made.
For centuries we have been told that democracy and capitalism were mutually beneficial. Well, those times have passed us by because capitalism is on the verge of consuming our democracy. And the Supreme Court, by allowing corporations unlimited financial access to our political system, has turned our democracy into just another commodity to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. Now the only thing that matters in driving policy is the Dow Jones average at the end of the day. The powers that be are willing to allow something as fickle as the so-called "invisible hand" of the marketplace to decide the course of our nation. Something like the price of oil could lead to war. Hey, it's not like it hasn't happened before.
Ironically, the TPM and the GOP, two political parties that love to speak of liberty and have anointed themselves defenders of our liberties, are all for the corporate usurpation of our democracy as long as they get their cut. So go ahead and support the politicians who are OK with this arrangement because what is more important than defending the right to pursue profit by any means necessary?
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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