Rank: Secretary of the Treasury
Points:4513
Join Date:Jul 2008
Location:Eatonville, Washington, United States
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Bob Dylan said it best, “oh the times they are a changin’.” A hundred years ago the British Empire was starting its slow sail into the sunset. Though any honest Oxford economist could see what was coming, the romance of a glorious two hundred year rise to power blinded the average person to his denial. Sound familiar? Even today there are those stuffy old Brit snobs who still refuse to recognize the lost eminence that was.
So too now has our American dream started its slow float into the sunset. Our zenith has come and gone; World War Two, the automobile, man on the moon, the fall of the Soviets, the technology led economic explosion. Now, like many Brits of the past century we will deal in denial. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), you know, the ones that carry our debt, are on the rise and in their wake we will fade in scorn and envy. Hiding behind a myopic façade, our Ivy League interpreters of Bentham, Mill, and Burke, the ethnocentric experts ignore the intelligence of these powerhouses as mere “Johnny-come-lately” copycats, exploiting their cheap labor and raw materials. These same economists are the geniuses who never predicted the bursting credit bubble that has only modestly impacted the economies of the BRIC.
As we watch them now, primarily the Chinese, eat our lunch -the bonds, notes and other treasuries- ask yourself this. Once they have a stomach full of our bad debt, and inflation goes off the scale as we print dollars to buy more time, how quickly does the loss of our economic clout affect our ability to project political or military power abroad; years, months, weeks? Simply ask the Brits in the wake of World War One how long Imperial England lasted with the debt of war and domestic strife. The answer was probably a day – Armistice Day, November 11th, 1918.
As with the British, we are a victim of our own success. While our inventive genius was exploited creating an industrial “land of milk and honey” unseen before in humankind, we neglected the nurturing of character and the spirit of self-reliance. By and large our latest generation is irrefutably lazy; culturally, physically and intellectually. The masses are completely dependent on the very few. Simply look at the disparity in taxes paid by the top one percent relative to the non-paying bottom fifty percent they carry. Is it a sign of progress when it’s not just our poorest Americans with an expectant hand out, saying - “You owe me!” As a cultural phenomenon the American Experiment has long since lost that euphemistic “Eye of the Tiger.” And our art now truly reflects life; an unending parade of reality television shows glamorizing our fascination with celebrity narcissism. Pedophilic freaks die and we consider a national day of mourning, heroes die protecting us from fanatical zealots and have their grave spat upon as war mongers.
Politicians lure their voters with pork and entitlements, businessmen lure politicians with junkets and cheap mortgages, ambulances chasers hide behind the trial lawyer lobby while healthcare costs explode; and ever-growing populations of obese people are lured by fast food like sheep to the slaughter. Our pseudo leadership is mired in self-indulgence and indifference; they have no moral compass and so, no moral authority. Looking away, they pretend they are still in control by throwing money at our problems, TARP, stimulus, et la, as if we can bribe our way back to greatness with a mortgage on generations of children yet unborn. And as more populous now get in line for things free and less for freedom, there is no going back, thirteen trillion in debt speaks for itself.
So who is John Gault? Wasn’t he that amazing entrepreneur of yesteryear? Can’t say that I ever saw him, but if what I observe is true, he took the American dream with him when he disappeared. And I believe he has now found his Atlantis somewhere in the Far East. As for us with eyes still open, wondering what the ultimate conclusion of the great American Experiment would look like, Ben Franklin knew all along: “When the people find they can vote themselves money; that will herald the end of the republic.” Undeniably we are now there -rudderless, adrift, the tide has turned toward the sunset, and there are many sharks in the water. This is truly…THE END
"There is a time for all things, a time to preach and a time to pray, but those times have passed away. There is a time to fight, and that time has now come." --Peter Muhlenberg, from a Lutheran sermon read at Woodstock, Virginia, 1776
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photobear6
This great Nation is in a downward spiral and the Chief pilot has done nothing but vote present his whole political career.
BluesHarp
This started after WWII. We had the world by the balls. Everything was running wide open. Industry was making and we were buying and consuming at a record pace. Technology was hard to keep up with. One thing would be introduced and not long after, it would be obsolete. We were burning the candle at both ends and now those two flames have finally met. This is the end result of the decline of western civilization. I was hoping that I would not see it in my lifetime, but alas, here it is. We can try to reverse it, but there is nothing that we can do to slow it down. This is the natural order of things. It has to die before we can rebuild it. Unfortunately it will take time, sweat and lots of pain and suffering before we can drag this society out of the gutter. I am sure that I will be dead and gone before that happens.
The fall of the Roman Empire ran this same course. You would think that anyone that studied history would have seen this coming, but we were all too busy with our reality tv shows, dancing with the stars, survivor, iphones, Nintindo DS, Wii, Playstation III, and Mtv to pay much attention to this. Now we must take our lumps for our lack of attention.
I can only hope that the next generation has more luck at turning this back around.
ecaman
The majority of our politicians on both (or all) sides have long sold our country and our birthright for their own self aggrandizement. Obama is the latest glaring example of moral shallowness, but he's not alone. And as the piece above says, one can't merely blame the politicians. It's the general populace. Greedy, grasping, lazy, corrupt, morally lax, unwilling to take responsibility, unwilling to work hard - it's the norm, not the exception. It's not just the young (the easy target), it's every age group. As Walt Kelly said in the comic strip Pogo, "we have met the enemy, and he is us." How do we stop this? Personally, I have faith in the vast majority of the members of this site. It's up to us, and people like us, to both reason with and set the example for the rest of the country. We cannot waiver in our faith and our dedication to the principles of freedom. Don't waste time pointing fingers of blame. Speak out, wherever we may be. Challenge all citizens to do the things that must be done to strengthen our country and the world. And be very careful that we live in such a manner that our critics can never point the finger at us and cry Hypocrisy.
samD
well put. Here Here
BluesHarp
it can be changed, but our young people have been taught from day one that all they have to do is ask for it and they will get it. My 10 year old step son thinks that just because he wants something, that he is intitled to it, and feels that if he doesn't get it imediately, he argues that he desearves it. He has been taught in his school that he has a right to things. I have been telling him that the only rights he has is illustrated in the Constitution and everything else is a luxury. I tell him that he has the right to life, liberty and THE PURSUIT of happiness. Happiness is not a given, you only have a right to pursue it. We are dropping the ball on teaching our kids what this means, but I am trying to make ammends for this and tell my step son that instant gratification is a fantasy in real life. He will throw an absolute fit when he doesn't get everything that he wants, but that is just tough titty. I can't teach a work ethic if the kid never has to work.
The people of this country have figured out that they can vote themselves pay raises by putting in the right politicians. We are never going to get rid of this intitlement mentality as long as people are willing to give up freedom for security. They are teaching it in schools. They are preaching it on street corners. They are pounding it into our heads with the liberal media. They are taking away our country and for the most part there ain't a damn thing we can do about it. The people would change this if they wanted to, they just don't want to. We are a minority. There just aren't enough of us to turn this thing around, but we still have to fight for freedom. We still have to set a positive example. We have to continue to proliferate the wisdom of our generation and the generations past so that the future generations will have something to pattern themselves after.
photobear6
my sister-in-law and her husband are visiting (there bored at there house and have a big screen TV) she's telling her mother who lives in my house that her friend just got a pay raise and stupid me asks where does she work and she tells me it's her mass welfare check. Now both her and her husband are on this same welfare system and I had to leave because I was about to go on a screaming rampage about how this is not a paycheck it's a hand out. You get a paycheck by actually going to a job. I'm working 2 jobs and my wife works full time and were just getting bye and she's crying to her mom how hard they got it and money is tight! Hey I have a suggestion GET A FUCKING JOB you lazy bitch. OK I'm done let thank you for letting me vent to people who can understand normal thinking.
BluesHarp
Nothing wrong with letting off some steam, even though you would probably feel even better if you went and bitch slapped both of those freeloaders back into reality.
I have worked for everything that I have. Sometimes 2 and 3 jobs at a time. Hey, that might be the problem. Other people can't work because I have all of the freaking jobs. Damn, that's it!!! They can't work because I'm doing all of the freaking work.
Nah, that ain't it, they are just freaking lazy.
Preach on Photobear!