Time To Stop Squabbling And Start Thinking

For years there has been a school of thought which said that unbridled free market systems were the answer for all of the nation’s needs. Those arguments, to a large part, held sway through the eight years in the wilderness of the G.W. Bush presidency.
Now many say that it was exactly this approach which has led to the current economic crisis.
Unbridled capitalism left open the doors for unprincipled greed and those who knew how to game the system used all their insider guile and knowledge to create new financial vehicles and products in order to stack up a financial house of cards which left them well off as the structure collapsed.
And then others, acting in an unregulated vacuum, like Bernie Madoff, just created a financial empire which existed only on paper upon which the most fanciful financial fiction was composed.
The scales have been tipping towards the wealthy for a long time and the result has been stagnant working class wages and the great disparity of wealth we now experience.
Corporations have become bigger and more powerful and owe no allegiance to any nation.
It is this unbridled capitalism which has led to the pollution which now may endanger the continued existence of life on earth.
The goal of making money has long ago trumped the goal of environmental responsibility.
Combined with the lack of financial oversight has been a lack of scrutiny at the Justice Department in recent years. Gone are the trust busting days and the idea that corporations should not become so large and all powerful that they overshadow the governments of countries and lose all touch with the interests of the common man. The corporate culture needs to rekindle seemingly lost qualities of fairness and ethics and to disavow illegal practices, like Ponzi schemes!
The media, which is so powerful as a shaper of public opinion and as a reporter of current events is continuing to shrink into the ownership of fewer hands which don’t always have journalistic principles as their motivation.
The lack of comprehensive health care and the rising costs of health care has contributed mightily to put us where are now. The idea that the free market should rule medical costs means that many will not get health care and thus add another dimension to the social Darwinism free market thought has created.
Some things are necessities. Electric power, water and sewage are necessities. People need these services to be reliable, clean and affordable. Deregulation has led to sky high electric rates which are beginning to be beyond the reach of the poor. This is something which should be avoided. Electric power should not be a commodity sold for profit but a public co-op which works to maintain low cost power, even if it needs to be subsidized by a combination of governmental entities.
So what works? Common sense says that, in a country that values freedom as does the United States, free markets and individualism are going to be part of the solution. Another part of the solution is going to be strict regulations where needed.
The far right is wholly invested in the trickle down economic theory. If the rich get richer it will trickle down to lower classes.
It is time for a new type of approach, a grass roots economics. Water the roots and enrich the soil to grow a more sound economy and nation.
The political culture needs to move into the 21st century! The hyper partisanship we have witnessed for the past 15 years or so has to stop. The mean spirited, all out warfare, continuous campaign style of politics is doing immeasurable damage to the country.
George W. Bush had his macho, swaggering style and a “My way or the highway philosophy!” With impetus from Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, the Bush administration, and the current GOP, engaged a scorched earth strategy all the time. It worked for him long enough to get another term and then the bottom fell out of the Bush presidency as the many shortcomings of the President’s policies and proclamations became exposed.
Now, instead of working with the new President to consider his hugely ambitious agenda, or to proffer alternatives, they choose to declare war on President Obama and work to undermine him. This is an irresponsibly dangerous game they are playing.
The Republican party lost a lot of ground in the last elections and now they have put themselves out on a limb.


Please check out the banner on the bottom of the page. This worthwhile group is
seeking counselors and other positions for their summer programs. Here is a link for
more information.
http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us/
The Fresh Air Fund is also in need of hosts for this summer. Host families are
volunteers who open their hearts and home to a child from the city to give a fresh air experience that disadvantaged children never forget. Below is a link which explains everything.
http://freshair.smnr.us/

Here are some links to a nice Polish lady's blogs with pictures from Poland, her dogs and other things.
http://foto-donata.blogspot.com/
http://foto-dona.blogspot.com/