It's not Democrat vs. Republican, it's Government vs. The People

I think government has simply become the mask for huge corporations that pull strings in the background. They are the corrupting influence on our political system and as long as we focus on government as the enemy (which by logical extension it is) they are free to run amok and they have been doing just that. At what point do the American people just stop paying taxes into this corrupt system? I don't mind paying for a government that works for the people but I do mind paying for a government that is owned lock, stock, and barrel by multinationals.

 

At least teacher's unions represent people, the people that teach our children no less. Who do corporations represent? A small group of shareholders. I'm not giving unions a pass but if you took every cent that unions took in in union dues and threw all that money at lobbying, it wouldn't even represent a tiny fraction of 1% of money that a single industry like big oil could throw into the pot just from a small portion of their annual profits. A single industry! It’s not like unions are gaining ground these days. They are less and less influential year after year. I tend not to worry about the minnows in the water until I know all of the sharks have been taken care of first.

I think it is human nature to be corrupted by power and you can't change human nature so your only alternative is to eliminate the corrupting influence. For every Charlie Rangel there is a Tom Delay on the other side. What difference does it make who it is this week? It only proves that anyone can be corrupted and will be if corporations continue to be equal to individuals and money remains equal to free speech. The middle class doesn't stand a chance and we risk becoming less and less relevant to this land everyday we do not take on the powerful elites both in our own government and the corporate oligarchy.

 

In other words...all allegiance to the corporate share holders. Unions are evil and corporations are good. Representing the masses is bad and representing the few is the way to go. Is it any wonder why we are where we are?

 

Only if they are publicly traded companies. Not all corporations are bad by any stretch but the ones that create tax loopholes that benefit them exclusively, the ones that reek havoc on the environment, the ones that throw their workers lives away for the sake of profits, the ones that crush innovation because they have a monopoly, gimme a break, you can't be as naive as that to believe that in the quest for profit, anything goes. Corporate greed has outright bought the Republican Party and apparently a good share of the Democratic Party too. How many new business start ups do you see these days? They used to be a regular event but not anymore. Unions are necessary evils in society. Without them we would watch the middle class completely dissapear. Again, focus on the sharks not the minnows.

 

Yup. You guys bought him too. Congratulations.

 

In the same way that society needs lawyers. Without them, there would be nothing in place to temper their greed. Sad but true.

 

"The worst enemies of the republic are the demagogue and the corruptionist."

~Theodore Roosevelt

 

This thread is actually making sense !!! what the hell happened to all of you ?

 

I think there is little difference between any of the politicians in office. Almost all are beholden to special interests and, of course, their own political survival over anything else. Sure, they try to placate the masses and they take their campaign stances but it really is all just smoke and mirrors. After the elections are done, they forget it all until the next election. Their goal is not the betterment of the country. Their goal is to keep their jobs, their power, their influence and their money. Placate the masses when needed (mostly by throwing some money at them) but just hold onto power at all costs by feeding those special interests. I have felt that way for about 4 years. That was when I first started changing my voting habits.

 

It like the band " The Who " song from the 70's......" meet the new boss, same as the old boss".......

I feel a real coalescing in this thread, I am glad most of us are starting to realize that partys are not the enemy, the politicians are.

The problem, is, how do we fix it?

 

It's rich versus non rich and the destruction of the middle class, and future generations. It's about wealth extraction from the populous for benefit of the few. It's about greed. It's about power. It's about evil. It's about corporate America strangling the majority of Americans, and it's about corruption. The mega wealthy have won. They own both sides of the political arena and they've successfully terminated the future of America.

 

Now tom, it is widely known here that you have proclaimed "government is the only way to fix anything". So I'll ask, if government is "owned" by the rich, how does government fix this?

 

Seems to me most of our representatives are rich, were already rich, or soon will be rich. The rich support the rich and govern accordingly. It's all about rich versus poor more now than it ever was. Sad but true. IMO...that's why there is now such a concerted effort to effectively eliminate the middle class and all of its subordinate classes. When's the last time a poor man screwed over a rich man? Vice versa? Every minute of every day. Corruption and greed inspire more corruption and greed until everybody plays along to get along, or gets run over. Hence, the current corporate climate that is the key to all "success" today.

 

Tom,
Are you saying that poor people are better than rich people?

Or that if the rich and poor are polar opposites, and the rich think only of themselves, then the poor think only of others? And where does that place the middle class (and "subordinate classes?" What are those?)? Are you saying the middle class is morally neutral?

The problem with our political system today is not greed (that's an ethical issue that challenges every class and generation), or class war, but lack of trust. Too many, on both sides of the aisle, refuse to even consider the proposition that the other side is anything other than evil incarnate.

 

There really isn't class warfare so much as there is party warfare.