Who's Looking Out For The Little Guy?

"The Democrats look out for the little guy. The Republicans only look out for the rich guys."

For a long time, that's the way lots of people perceived the two political parties. Many people still do. Blue collar workers are Democrats. White collar workers are Republicans. Republicans are elitists. Democrats are down to earth.

I think at one time there may have been some merit to that line of reasoning. But not now. They're all elitists.

Union guys have always supported the Democrats because Democrats are considered pro labor. Again, we have the Democrats looking out for the "little guy," the laborer.

But I think the definition of "little guy" has changed dramatically. It's tough for me to listen to a UAW member characterize himself as a little guy. That poor downtrodden laborer probably makes around $40,000 a year.

One autoworker friend of mine told me that if he gets laid off he gets 80 percent of his pay for up to 36 weeks. He also mentioned that his pension will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000 per month when he retires. Is that the little guy or the common man government needs to look out for?

Frankly, I think the best thing our federal government could do for the little guy or the common man would be to downsize.

But our government is going to have a very difficult time downsizing. That's because any attempt to do so is met with firm resistance from the Democrats. They don't want to lose that defender of the little guy label.

Did anyone notice what happened when the Republicans wanted to slow the growth of Medicare? They were demonized.

We were told by the Democrats that there would be senior citizens starving in the streets without health care.

They knew it wasn't true, but it was a good way to make the Republicans look bad. And it worked.

The Democrats have been very successful in convicing the American public that Clinton is the good guy - out to take care of us - and the Republicans are the bad guys - out to harm us.

I have to give them credit.

Of course the Republicans are just as good at the misinformation game. They demonized President Clinton's 1993 budget. Remember the "largest tax increase in the history of the world"? Remember how the Republicans told us it was going to wreak havoc on the economy? Businesses would be closing, the soup lines would open, blah, blah, blah.

And it worked. Lots of Republicans got elected in 1994.

But none of the bad economic stuff the Republicans told us about ever happened. And none of that stuff the Democrats said about Medicare would have happened either.

But who cares? It's not about truth. It's not about what's best for the common man, the little guy, the rich guy or anyone else.

It's all about power. And the guys in Washington will do anything to stay in power. To raise huge amounts of money. To get re-elected. He with the most TV spots wins. It is the single driving force behind virtually all their political decisions.

And in the meantime Medicare is on the brink of bankruptcy (by 2002) and we all suffer because the federal government - fraught with fraud, waste and mismanagement - keeps taking bigger and bigger bites out of our paychecks.

Under the caring Clinton administration, for example:

• Median family income is falling.

• Taxes as a percentage of gross domestic product hit 31.3 percent last year, up from 30 percent in 1993.

• Tax burdens have grown faster than the economy since Clinton took office - 1.6 percent faster.

• Corporate taxing has outpaced the economic growth rate by 3.5 percent.

• Corporate and personal taxes have grown at a faster rate than tax receipts and the economy. Here are the percentage increases from 1992 to 1995, courtesy of USA Today. Corporate taxes, 55 percent; personal taxes, 25 percent; total receipts, 23 percent; payroll taxes, 16 percent; and indirect taxes, 11 percent.

But no matter, the administration is doing great in the polls.

The latest Harris poll, for example, shows President Clinton leading Bob Dole in both character and trustworthiness.

And they called Ronald Reagan the "Teflon President."

Here we have Clinton. He didn't inhale. He dodged the draft. His alleged extra-marital sexual conquests were featured in a national magazine. His buddies in a real estate deal have all been indicted. He faces a civil sexual harassment lawsuit upon leaving office.

Clinton is perceived as having a stronger character than decorated World War II veteran Bob Dole. Hmmm. Who are they polling? Inmates?

So now the Republicans must come up with something to turn the tables. Another cycle of poison rhetoric.

You know, I think I've finally figured out who's looking out for the little guy.

Nobody.