Given that USA is a vast and diverse country, it is not surprising that different groups have widely divergent political opinions. Nor is it entirely surprising that some people are selfish, violent, and careless of the rights of others, much as in other countries. What does surprise me is the great number of Americans who are stunningly disloyal. They seem to have no discernible loyalty to their constitution, to their bill of rights, to their head of state, or to their country. They just pay lip service to the stars and stripes flag and anthem, but are otherwise treasonous. Amazing.
Jonah Goldberg: ObamaCare vs. Affordable Care Act Six of One - Obamacare vs. The Affordable Care Act - YouTube God bless the 'Merkins.
I am sorry I can't Glidd. Economically my understanding is that the Tea Party is for small government, a balanced budget and sound money. Which is good enough for me.
I wonder if they are also for saving squillions in warfare and nefarious government contracts in places like Afghanistan and Iraq? I suspect not. Some things like war are worth spending money on (have to fight terrorism!) other things like medical care for the bone idle scroungers that are the black and Hispanic underclass clearly aren't. Of course, loads of Americans just loathe federal government per se. Some of them have never got over the civil war. No doubt Washington seems like a long way away. Strangely, though, they always seem to be in favour of an interventionist foreign policy. What seems astonishing is that the American budget is so poorly balanced bearing in mind how stingy they are with things like benefits and welfare. You wonder what they spend all the cash on (er... missiles?). Though then you remember that the US outspends the entire world on weaponry - maybe that has something to do with it. There were some interesting charts I saw some months ago (can't remember where - maybe here?) which showed that barely any Americans seemed to pay tax. There were so many get-outs and incentives that the amount of taxation was absurdly low. But that's how they like it.
The spread of wealth in the USA is enormous, most Americans are poor and getting poorer but they look to themselves and not the state to help them out. What they want is to keep what they have through low taxes. It is a different mind set to the UK and EU where everyone looks to the state for help. As you say, that is how they like it. Recently a survey showed that more than 50% of Americans believe that the American Dream is beyond their grasp, no matter how hard they work.
Hmm. I can't help feeling that many of the poor Americans, knowing that they have no hope of achieving the American Dream, would quite like a bit of help - like being able to afford to see a doctor or go to hospital. It's sort of made out that they do no work. The reality is probably that they are contributing to the wealth of corporations whose owners and top managers are doing very nicely thank you. Money doesn't grow on trees - it represents someone's work, somewhere. That makes me more socialist than I feel (I don't actually feel socialist at all) but I still think it's a bit poor in a rich country if you can't afford to have good health.
The whole argument seems to me to be a bunch of very rich right-wing neo-conservatives, who have got really grumpy because they lost the election and don't like the fact that their "god-given" right to rule the country is being challenged, trying to say that poor people who can't afford it shouldn't be provided with free healthcare by the state. - "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" - Maybe the "Tea-Party" should read this : they just need to take the ferry over to Ellis Island and look at the Statue of Liberty...
"Bring me your poor huddled masses, and I'll piss on 'em - that's what the Statue of Biggotry says"... Lou Reed, from "New York"
Or mabe they are just making a stand and saying at which point do we stop adding to a $15 trillion mountain of debt ?
I don't see anything in Statue of Liberty quote that says "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses... Unless, of course we've spent all our money on bombing Syria, in which case they can sodd off"... It's a question of priorities - Call me a mad reactionary, but I beleive that a government has a duty to look after its own people before it goes off starting wars half way round the world...
From Wikipedia The Tea Party movement is an American decentralized political movement that is primarily known for advocating a reduction in the U.S. national debt and federal budget deficit by reducing U.S. government spending and taxes.[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][2][/SUP] The movement has been called partly conservative,[SUP][3][/SUP] partly libertarian,[SUP][4][/SUP] and partly populist.[SUP][5][/SUP] It has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009. Maybe it just the Guardianistas that like to categorise them as right wing gun loving anti abortionists religious nuts.
Maybe if they are that keen on reducing debt, they may like to start with their armed forces and armaments industry. Then we might believe them.
Then perhaps they would be better served protesting against the sheer size of their defence budget rather than a budget aimed at helping the poor.
Mirrors my experience, been out there 3 times and also spent two weeks with a family of very nice people in Tennessee .........only problem was it was too damned close to Deliverance for comfort! Guns, under settees, behind car seats, in racks, ''not sure where I left it...'' (seriously!!). A shoot it first then worry if its a human being (hunting) attitude out in the woods. Also the whole extended family had never been out of the US. Pretty amazing sh1t tbh. After a few visits you start to scratch the surface and get below the veneer to find something not very nice.
Books are written on the subject of just what money is but today's paradigm seems to just write it into existence, and that is what the new head of the FED has said she will do until unemployment starts to fall. The idea that it represents someone's work is just so old fashioned Glidd :wink:
