Unrealistic Ideology Cripples Compromise as National Default Looms

The biggest difference between America and a third world country is delusion.

Many Americans think that the economy, access to health care, or lack of protective laws may be the biggest differences, or perhaps it is the political differences.

I mean, which would be better -- a democracy or a dictatorship where the majority of politicians are hell bent on promoting their own self interest versus the good of the people? People do not expect fairness, or even justice, for what their country lays upon them, so they do not expect justice -- that would be a dictatorship.

We grow up being taught that we are all equal, have equal rights to justice and liberty. We are given our rights according to the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights. We actually expect these laws to be valid and true. America is a country run on the principles of democracy -- isn't it?

Wait -- DC -- I think we have a problem.

America is sitting here at the moment, watching one group of politicians telling any camera that they can find how they are not going to compromise to help financially save our country from going into default, because the American people do not want any taxes to be raised. The truly pathetic thing about it is that every poll in this country right now -- and for several days -- has shown that the majority of Americans want cuts in out deficit to be a combination of spending cuts and tax revenue from the upper echelon of our society. Those who truly believe the rhetoric that nothing bad will happen if America goes into default need to stop listening to idiotic partisan rhetoric and think about something -- if we borrow forty cents for every dollar we spend right now, do you truly believe that those who want to cut Social Security and Medicare are going to send out social funding OR are they going to make sure all of their Defense bills are paid? We are in two and a half wars after all -- and bombing Yemen. The GOP have been trying to do away with social programs for many years and Congress -- you know, the people that do not want the excessively wealthy to do without -- will determine who gets paid. When Obama said that he could not guarantee that checks will go out, he was not trying to use a scare tactic -- HE WAS BEING HONEST. We do NOT bring in enough revenue to pay for all we spend -- subsidies, tax breaks and loopholes, ya know -- gotta have 'em. When you factor in the fact that anyone making more than $250,000 per year already gets an immediate tax break -- every dollar over $250 thousand is TAX FREE. A million dollar paycheck will only be taxed up to $250 thousand -- but they need more tax cuts. What is wrong with this picture when those who have little pay taxes on EVERY DIME WE EARN but the wealthy do not -- and THEY need more tax breaks? The only question that comes to mind is -- WHY?

There are many that shout louder than any reasonable person would even consider about how Obama, or even Bush, has spent us into a near bankruptcy. Many of us hold a serious disdain for one or the other, or even both, but it doesn't take away from the cold, hard facts. The responsibility for the financial devastation we find ourselves in, the bloated government we have at present and many other rather unpleasant things is NOT the present or past president.

America has three branches of government -- Judicial, Legislative and Executive.

1. A crucial function of the Executive branch is to ensure that laws are carried out and enforced to facilitate such day-to-day responsibilities of the federal government as collecting taxes, safeguarding the homeland and representing the United States' political and economic interests around the world.

2. The Legislative branch, as a whole, is charged with passing the nation's laws and allocating funds for the running of the federal government and providing assistance to the 50 U.S. states.

3. The primary function of the Judicial branch is to hear cases that challenge legislation or require interpretation of that legislation.

The sorry state of our country, if you want to be totally honest, can be laid at the feet of Congress and the Senate. If those partisans that love to hear their own voice would stop long enough to learn civics, they would figure out that the Legislative branch of our government is responsible for writing the legislation that results in spending. Yes, it would be easier to blame it on one person -- "the President is responsible" -- but that is ignorance and/or stupidity, not fact. The President may have the power of a veto pen but that does not guarantee that he can stop legislation. Those who want to put the deficit crisis on Obama need to wake up and clear the cobwebs because the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq WERE NOT PAID FOR. The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy in 2001 and 2003 WERE NOT PAID FOR. The prescription drug program WAS NOT PAID FOR. These expenditures were in the Bush years but it was the Congress and Senate that allowed it to happen. These massive expenditures were not even added to the country's national budget at all and that can be laid at the feet of the Republicans who were irresponsible with our debt then and are still being irresponsible right now. We were stuck with Republican control of Capitol Hill from the Clinton years through the middle of Bush's second term and they are the people responsible for the massive deficit. Right not they are screaming bloody murder about the deficit when they have had a huge hand in it. People like Eric Cantor and all those who would rather we default instead of compromise need to be voted out. It is irresponsible and dangerous. America has no room for juvenile tantrums in Washington and even Ronald Reagan would stand against the approaching default -- CNN played one of his speeches from 24 years ago and he would not have allowed it to happen.

Our country is no longer ours. America belongs to Corporate America. The final nail in our coffin was when the U.S. Supreme Court set forth the judgment that gave a corporation the same right as an individual American citizen, of course that does not include being jailed when they dump toxic waste and poison people. Big money talks loudly and the rest of us no longer have a voice. It should have been a major red flag when the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to stop the recount between Bush and Gore in the state of Florida. I hear all these extreme individuals screaming about how states should be handling their own business and the Federal government should butt out but these same people were screaming for Federal intervention when their party favorite was in jeopardy of losing the 2000 Presidential election. The right to vote for every American citizen died during that recount and it is now the norm for the Conservative Justices of the Supreme Court to subjugate our Constitution as easily as they change underwear since being allowed to interfere with Florida's vote. In the days of our Founding Fathers, any Justice that would intentionally prevent a true count of votes would have been charged with treason and, quite possibly , executed.

We grow up being taught how great we are -- we have a Constitution and guaranteed rights that our soldiers have bled, fought and died for -- at least that's what we are told. We are taught to be patriotic but are not taught to be PATRIOTS. Our soldiers have, unfortunately been used as a tool for those who profit the most from war. They no longer fight for our rights and freedom because the reality is that our freedom is nothing more than an illusion. Our government sends our soldiers where the biggest profits are -- that is why we abandoned the search for bin Laden in Afghanistan to invade Iraq. Cheney's friends at Haliburton and KBR, not to mention the scores of private mercenaries, made an absolute fortune. I know one contractor in Iraq and I do understand who our tax dollars have been paying -- and what we have been paying for.

Waving a flag and being the bully in the world does not make one a patriot. Imperialistic attitude that determines that we must have a footprint in almost every country in the world does not make one a patriot. Choosing partisan rhetoric over what would benefit our country as a whole does not make anyone a patriot. Mistreating those that are different or believe differently than you damn sure does not make one a patriot.

America has become somewhat morally and ethically bankrupt over the past few decades, more so than any other time in our history. We entertain ourselves with reality shows that show the worst in us -- "Jersey Shore" is simply an embarrassment at the extreme kindest. "Real Housewifes" spawns individuals to do whatever they can to get on TV and be famous (including illegal behavior) along with juvenile behavior by those who are supposed to be adults. "Teen Mom" glorifies bad behavior, lack of good parenting and even behavior that lands kids in jail. People like Kim Kardasian and Paris Hilton get famous by releasing sex tapes of themselves and become sought after celebrities. I remember when you had to have some kind of talent to become a celebrity and television shows normally tried to include some kind of "moral to the story".

I heard Donald Trump on CNN on a telephone comment (07/20/11) talking about all the people in America who do NOT pay taxes -- I don't think he was including General Electric, who made $14.2 billion in profits for 2010. This American Corporation made most of it's profits oversea and ended up with a $3.2 billion tax break here at home. I keep hearing Republicans talking about how high the corporate tax rate is (35%) but what about those who don't pay anything close to 35%. Loopholes in the tax codes allow corporations to skirt most of the tax they are supposed to pay. It is pretty much agreed that the tax rate of 35% (corporate) is too high but if we do not close the loopholes that the corporations use to get out of taxes, why should we cut their rate?. I am sick to death of hearing how we 'WILL NOT RAISE TAXES" but to refuse to get rid of loopholes in order to lower the tax rate amounts to greed and nothing more. That high corporate rate does not mean much when the loopholes eliminate taxes almost completely.

Republicans in DC recently voted a resounding NO on a vote that would have stopped oil subsidies for the five (5) largest Oil Corporations. This after one former CEO made a statement that subsidies were not needed.

A good example is Exxon-Mobil. This corporation made $10.7 billion in the first 3 months of 2010, $9.25 billion in the second three months, $7.35 billion in the third quarter and $9.2 billion in the last quarter for a grand total of profits worth over $30 billion dollars of nothing but profit -- IN ONE YEAR. Earlier this year there was a vote to end almost $8 billion in oil subsidies but was soundly rejected be Republicans -- that would have been for the top five (5) oil corporations, not just Exxon. Someone needs to explain why, for instance, a corporation that makes profit of more than $30 billion dollars in one year needs to get freebies from the taxpayers. How can we justify cutting aid for the poor and elderly when politicians are so hell bent on giving our tax dollars to those who do not need it?

The American taxpayer has spent more than $70 billion on security and reconstruction in Afghanistan since 2002.sad considering we can not afford reconstruction at home. There is now confirmation that up to $10 million per day is disappearing like a fart in the wind. The U.S. has not put serious conditions of the Afghanistan government in order to safeguard what we have paid them and, at this rate, there could be as much as $400 million of U.S. taxpayer money going to the same people who we are fighting against. If we are going to give financial aid to other countries, why do we not put conditions on that money instead of no conditions like we did when we bailed out the banks in 2008?

There is no moral to America's story anymore -- there is only the almighty dollar and the race to do anything, illegal, unethical or dangerous, for that dollar.

America is no longer of the people, by the people and for the people. Whoever has the money pays for their own politicians and judges, leaving the rest of us at the mercy of those who believe we should be a one party dictatorship instead of a democracy. Our country belongs to lobbyists and special interests, not us

In barely more than a week, our country will default on our debts. If we do, all of us will suffer even more than we are now. The ideology that spurs on those in the Republican party to behave like a spoiled child instead of doing what is best for our country is going to have serious consequences. People such as Eric Cantor, Michelle Bachman and others, who claim that the Democrats are just trying to scare us, need to be voted out of office if they do not have enough sense to see what's coming. If I could hope for one thing, it would be that the American people will stop voting for someone out of anger or ignorance. Do not vote for someone just because of party affiliations. Vote for someone who is not so much patriotic as they are a Patriot.

Vote for someone who DOES NOT want our country OR government to fail.