Stop it, Washington,
before it’s too late!
Tomorrow, thousands of ordinary, hard-working Americans will make their voices heard at “Taxpayer Tea Parties” from coast to coast.
The protesters will oppose Washington’s campaign to enrich corporate CEOs — millionaires and billionaires, every one of them — at our expense:
- They will demand that our leaders abandon this insane $14-trillion campaign to save the guilty bankers, brokers, insurers and automakers who created this great economic catastrophe.
- They will demand that these failed companies live by the same rules the rest of us do: That they face the consequences of their actions by reorganizing under the protection of our nation’s bankruptcy laws.
- They will voice their moral outrage at leaders who insist on rewarding the guilty with massive hand-outs … while punishing the innocent with sky-high taxes, soaring interest rates and an explosion in our cost of living.
- They will point out that if that $14 trillion was simply given to the innocent victims of this crisis — America’s 16 million unemployed workers — each and every one of them would have received a check for $875,000.
- And they will warn that unless Washington reverses course immediately, it will destroy the American Dream not only for all of us, but for our children and our children’s children.
The national media will cover these tea parties, of course, and for a day or two, it will fill our airwaves and our newspapers with videos, photos and stories about the protests.
But our leaders are not worried; they know that when the sun rises Thursday morning, another news cycle will begin. These protests will be soon forgotten.
So later this week, Congress and the White House will simply resume throwing trillions of more of our dollars at guilty rich men – and as they have already done this year, pass those colossal new spending bills in the middle of the night without even bothering to read them.
For the past month, I have been involved in the creation of a national grass-roots movement designed to make sure that our protests are not soon forgotten by our leaders …
To assure them that when this unprecedented explosion in Federal debt causes our taxes, interest rates and cost of living to explode in the months ahead, we will hold them personally responsible.
Today, I am giving you the opportunity to make your voice heard. I have written a petition demanding that our leaders stop this insanity before they do more damage to our businesses and families — and today, am inviting you to join me in signing it.
This moment matters. With these protests spontaneously springing up nation-wide, we have the chance to add our voices to theirs – and by doing so, to make this MUCH MORE than a one-day news story.
We have the chance to make a difference.
If we remain silent now, we’ll have nobody else to blame when our nation, our businesses and our families suffer the inevitable consequences of national bankruptcy.
For any “too-clever-by-half” cynics in the audience, let me make this crystal clear:
This is not a pitch. It is not the beginning of a clever product launch. It has nothing to do with selling you a blessed thing.
This is, quite simply, the single most important thing you could possibly do to help save the American Dream for yourself, for your children and for future generations.
Each week, we will forward the signed copies of this petition to every member of the United States House of Representatives, the Senate and to the White House.
Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,
Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
P.S. To anyone reading who feels compelled to defend Washington: Please do NOT sign our petition or write your congressperson, senator or the president if …
- You think it’s both moral and fair to confiscate money from innocent wage-earners and taxpayers who are barely scraping by and giving that money to the millionaire and billionaire bankers, brokers, insurers and automakers who engineered this crisis …
- You think it’s just fine that to save these failed executives, Congress and the White House have piled up more new debt since Inauguration Day than any president has created in a full term in office …
- You believe it’s great that after promising “full transparency,” our newly elected leaders passed a massive spending bill in the middle of the night without so much as reading it …
- You think giving $14 trillion to these guilty rich men while doing next to nothing to help innocent victims now being laid off … losing their homes … and moving into tent cities from Washington to Florida.
So long as you agree NOT to complain in a few months when soaring taxes, skyrocketing interest rates and a sinking dollar turn this recession into an economic conflagration of Biblical proportions …
And when the only Americans immune to exploding unemployment are the elected leaders who turned this recession into a full-fledged inflationary depression …
And if you have plenty of money socked away to see your family through a decade or more of economic catastrophe that Washington’s insane economic policies virtually guarantee and really don’t really give a damn about anyone else …
… Then please feel free to try to change the subject; to rail about what a jerk Bush was.
But if you think it’s strange and more than a little disappointing that the candidate who promised “Change We Can Believe In” is dumbly continuing Bush’s failed economic policies; doing the same tired, immoral, unfair things with our money but promising better results …
And if you have any glimmer of understanding of the catastrophic damage this new federal debt is going to do to your chances for financial success in the years ahead …
Then please: LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
Here’s how to send your message to your Congressperson:
- Point your browser to http://www.house.gov/
- Click “Write Your Representative” in the upper left corner of the page.
- Select your state and type your ZIP code into the window, then click “Contact My Representative” button.
- You will now be looking at a page with your rep’s office address, phone and fax number. Click the link that says, “Send a Message to [your rep’s name].
- This will probably take you to your representative’s contact page, where you will probably be asked for more information before being given an email form.
To contact your Senators:
- Point your browser to http://www.senate.gov/
- In the menu bar at the top of the page, click the “Senators” button.
- At the top of the page, use the drop-down window to select your state.
- You will now be looking at a page that contains links to the webform for both of your state’s senators. Click either one, then complete the webform and type your message, then click the “submit” button at the bottom of the page.
And to contact the President:
- Point your browser to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
- Fill out the webform, write your message and click the “submit” button
Looking for resources related to this article? Try some of these.
Looking for more of Clayton's articles? Check these out.
Looking for past issues of The Total Package? Click here for our archives.
80 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by mark — April 14, 2009 @ 10:40 am
I agree with most of your article except for one thing:
I’ll be surprised if the major networks devote much time to the story…in a meaningful way.
Comment by Venkatesh (Venky) — April 14, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
I agree with everything Clayton says, but unfortunately, cannot join in the petition.
I do think - and this is not just with reference to America - thet just about all of the world’s economic mess is due to the business-political nexus.
Unfortunately, again, I am not American.
Comment by Shanika Journey — April 14, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
Hey,
I don’t know if it will work, but since the white House and President Obama have websites to reach them now, can’t that also be used to have these issues be addressed?
Or how about Social Media outlets, like Youtube?
CNN even? Somebody will put the whole thing on blast. It just can’t be a one time deal.
Repetition is the key to being heard. It’s one of the oldest marketing strategies, but it should be effective to get a point across.
And truthfully, that’s what the government officials hope people won’t do when it comes to a disagreement with their ideas. Just a thought
Comment by Dave — April 14, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
This petition has no weight at all.
Yes, voices need to be raised, but there is no way of NOT faking the “signatures” so when you forward them on, they’ll just get tossed.
Want action? Everyone should sent their very own personalized letter to each one of their representitives..
When the White House mail room gets flooded, then they know it was a cause worth spending more than 30 seconds on and worth putting a stamp on.
Digital petitions are just noise.
Comment by Peter Black — April 14, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Why no outrage and no petition, Clayton, when Washington committed to spending a few trill invading another sovereign nation? And killin’ a few hundred thousand?
I don’t get your priorities…
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 14, 2009 @ 1:43 pm
TO SHANIKA (POST #3): Absolutely, Shanika! I’ve been urging our readers to rattle Congressional cages with direct emails for several weeks now.
Writing your own representatives is the best way to get your voice heard. Joining your voices with others through this petition is another.
TO DAVE (POST #4): You’re absolutely correct about the impact of writing your rep directly — but digitally signed petitions are doing a lot of good. Grassfire.com is proving it right now.
TO PETER BLACK (POST #5): Actually, I didn’t have a blog when Bush invaded Iraq.
When are you guys going to give this ridiculous “Bush sucked so it’s OK if Obama bankrupts me” rap a rest? I swear; you guys could catch your messiah molesting a baby and you’d spring to the man’s defense by blaming it on Bush.
My priority is simple: To do what I can to keep your sorry butt out of the poorhouse. Judging from your irrational response, I fear that may not be possible.
– Clayton
Comment by Phyllis Schwartz — April 14, 2009 @ 1:57 pm
I will be ever grateful for the wonderful copywriting information you share. But I sincerely wish you’d keep your political views to yourself … or create a different web site to talk politics. And hey — thank you for giving all of us the forum to express our opinions as well.
Comment by John White — April 14, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
What all of you have missed is the fact that many Americans are completely and irreversibly pissed-off!
Usually and unfortunately, we’re indifferent to political events that affect the other guy. BUT, stealing half our wealth, condemning our grandchildren to crushing debt and grinding us all under the wheels double digit inflation - THAT’S PERSONAL!
See I’m one of those selfish guys who “steals” well over 250 thou a year - a real scoundrel. But even I have feelings.
I know I don’t deserve it, but my immense wealth was gained, not the Ted Kennedy or the Nancy Pelosi way, I actually went out and earned it. Now excuse me for being greedy, but I really don’t want to give one penny of it to the likes of these two.
Personally (and seriously), I think a line has been crossed. I always wondered when the final straw would be placed upon the camel’s back - the moment when Atlas would Shrug. I think the time is near. Post Obama America will be forever altered when those pulling the cart put down the yoke and say “no more.”
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 14, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
Sorry, Phyllis; this is who I am. It’s impossible for me to stay silent as I see this train wreck taking shape. Too many good people are going to be hurt while too many bad people are being rewarded for scandalous behavior.
– Clayton
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 14, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
“if that $14 trillion was simply given to the innocent victims of this crisis — America’s 16 million unemployed workers — each and every one of them would have received a check for $875,000″
Yes, and resulting in a huge boost for demand in the US economy into the bargain!
Although I would suggest that infrastructure spending, and spending on healthcare & education and other essential services are no less important also.
But on the whole, I have to say I absolutely agree with you this time, Clayton.
YES! There are certainly far more urgent and pressing priorities on which this money should be spent.
I just wish Howard Dean hadn’t been nobbled back in the midst of the 2004 Democratic primaries - he was making your point about ‘borrow and spend’ politics long before now. As was Mike Gravel in the 2008 primaries, for that matter.
Sam
PS- Unfortunately for your petition, I live in Australia of course (thank God neither of us live in Iceland though, the economic catastrophe which has unfolded THERE makes Bernie Madoff look like a rank amateur by comparison!)
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 14, 2009 @ 3:02 pm
Amen about Iceland, Sam — but compared to the scam Congress and the White House are running on us now, Madoff was a piker.
He only stole a few billion from a handful of investors — not $14 trillion from an entire nation.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 14, 2009 @ 3:07 pm
Yeah… just imagine if Dean HAD won in 2004 and the fiscal responsibility he advocated then had become the agenda of a new President.
So much damage, over 4 years of economic vandalism and the potential consequences of these current decisions, could have been averted.
It STILL rankles with me, especially now.
Sam
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 14, 2009 @ 3:09 pm
John White, meet Peter Black.
We’ll just stand back and let you guys duke it out.
Should be fun …
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 14, 2009 @ 3:36 pm
Incidentally Clayton, if you’re really wanting to be effective in this particular political tilt, I’d suggest you take a look at the way Democracy for America (DFA) does things (the political organisation formed out of the Dean campaign in 2004). Their online campaign efforts and grassroots mobilisation across other media has been the model for so many since that time.
Here in Australia, we have a similar organisation at work called GetUp- but DFA were the originals.
Sam
Comment by Grace — April 14, 2009 @ 3:44 pm
Thank you Clayton, for getting involved and taking the lead to encourage your readers to do the same. Those of us who, like you, can see the political handwriting on the wall do not question your motives or methods.
Comment by Efrin Saffin — April 14, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
I agree with Dave and others - futile - there is no moral outrage. “Digital petitions are just noise” (thanks, Dave.)
There is building a sense of disorder and desperation. Rage comes sometime this Summer (at the earliest) or, into Autumn. How it breaks out, and to what effect?
I another year - let’s say July 4, 2010, we won’t recognize anything positive and uplifting. It will probably be a day of open and hot revolution talk, vaguely referencing Independence Day - renamed Dependence Day.
January 14, 2011 is the focal point for historians using very long term cycles, long and medium term financial cycles and our current damning trends.
Well, have a nice day!
S
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 14, 2009 @ 4:07 pm
Really, Efrin? No moral outrage?
Tell that to the folks who’ll attend one of 2,000 Tea Parties tomorrow in what will be the largest tax protest in our nation’s history.
The revolution is beginning now, my friend. I’m going to be there when the shot heard ’round the world is fired tomorrow.
Comment by John White — April 14, 2009 @ 4:48 pm
Hi Clayton,
Sorry for the acrid sarcasm in my earlier post.
A little about me: I am 64 years old and winding down a successful consulting career in a small industry where everyone knows if their competitor sneezes or if his brother in law gets a DWI.
I started in this industry 41 years ago as a punk fresh out of college. For the first 20 years of my career I made an average income. Finally, I decided to go on my own as a consultant.
I sent out 14 letters promising that if they followed my advice, I’d give my clients 10 dollars for each one they paid me or they’d owe me nothing. 6 of them called me back, and I have done business with these same 6 companies ever since.
That’s where I come from.
I’m not rich, but had laid out a comfortable retirement plan for me and my wife. Now half of it is gone. This IS personal Clayton - very personal. A thief has stolen half of my retirement funds, and I’m mad as hell.
I was planning on winding down, maybe keeping a couple of clients just to stay sharp. Obviously, those plans have changed, and again, I’m mad as hell.
As consolation to Mr. Black, this didn’t start on Obama’s watch, there are plenty of criminals to be found. The problem remains however, that America as we know it is lost if the current administration and the congress have their way.
This is serious. I don’t know Mr. Black’s age or income, but I suspect he’s working very hard to make a success of his life (I believe that of all your readers).
I am telling you the truth, I have never been afraid for my country, but now I am. There is zero evidence that the current administration has a clue about what they’re doing, and these are especially dangerous times.
The only thing I can say to those who don’t take this taxpayer “revolt” seriously, is that these protesters are angry, and feel personally violated - this anger is visceral and deep.
I would also venture that the concentration of voters in these crowds is very high - something politicians should take seriously.
PS: I live in rural Texas, and for what it’s worth, I’ve seen a bunch of bumper stickers asking “Who is John Gault?”
Comment by David — April 14, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
Clayton is absolutely right, and I cannot believe some of the negative comments in here. You’re entitled to your opinion, but the apathetic, “won’t work” attitudes are truly scary, and the “keep your politics to yourself” comments are ridiculous.
I’ve always thought that big-name copywriters who have the power to produce massive response should band together, uniting small businesses and entrepreneurs around the country for real political change with respect to economic and taxation policies. Basically to jump start a national movement instead of everyone going at it alone. So thanks for starting something, Clayton.
Clayton, maybe you should write a letter we can all print off and drop in the mail
>> I swear; you guys could catch your messiah molesting a baby and you’d spring to the man’s defense by blaming it on Bush.
Very well put … and sadly, too true.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 14, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
David, I spent an hour on the phone today with the best-selling author of “Winning Through Intimidation” and “Restoring the American Dream” — Robert Ringer.
Ringer, who’s books were such blockbusters that he was featured on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson back in the ’80s, echoed your thoughts and fears almost word for word.
You are not alone, my friend. Those of us who understand history and economics are all fearful of the dark at the end of this tunnel. Our only hope is to turn Washington around before it’s too late.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 14, 2009 @ 5:07 pm
HEADS UP: New P.S. on the article above gives you specific instructions for contacting your elected representatives directly!
Since some seem skeptical that digitally signed petitions do any good, I’ve made it easy for you: Just follow the instructions in the new P.S. above and then email the text of our petition or your own message to your congressperson, your senator and the prez.
Be forewarned, though; our leaders would much rather hear from interest groups and lobbyists capable of injecting big money into their campaigns — like bankers, brokers, insurers and auto execs — so they’ve made it cumbersome and somewhat time-consuming for us actual voters to weigh in.
Considering what’s at stake, though, jumping through these hoops should be well worth it.
– Clayton
Comment by Joe Jepsen — April 14, 2009 @ 5:58 pm
The Tea Parties and writing to Washington are good things. After you let the elected officials know that we are tired of taxes, be sure to look for a solution.
The best solution I know of is The FairTax. You can get more information at http://www.FairTax.org - this is a non-partisan website that has done over $22 million in research on how to fix the tax problem.
The fairtax will eliminate ALL payroll taxes - and “unhide” embedded taxes and replace them with a national sales tax. It will also send EVERY American a monthly prebate up to the poverty line so that no American pays taxes on basic necessities.
It will raise the same amount of taxes as the income tax does now - but instead of taxing 150 million workers, it taxes all 300 million americans, 40 million tourists, and all illegals (but they won’t get the prebate)!
Educate yourself: http://www.FairTax.org
Make April 15th just another day.
Comment by Ray — April 14, 2009 @ 8:46 pm
Thanks Clayton,
Once again, you’ve come through.
Tomorrow, I’ll be representing the Libertarian Party of Florida to as many of these Tea Party groups in the Panhandle as I can reach. My message is that we don’t have to accept business as usual in Washington; that the goals of smaller government, lower taxes, and more individual freedom are goals worth fighting for, and that the Libertarian Party is the only party that that supports those objectives.
You can be sure that I’ll be advertising the link to this petition in my collaterals.
I’m thinking a business card with this headline: “DON’T QUIT NOW…THE PARTY’S NOT OVER! Send a message to D.C that you’re NOT their personal ATM.” Then I’ll insert the URL.
Also, I’m sending this to my State Party Chair, for distribution throughout Florida, with the recommendation that he forward it to the national party HQ. That work for you?
Thanks Again!
Yours in Liberty,
Ray
Comment by Joe Derer — April 14, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
Go to http://www.youtube.com and punch in: “Dr.Deagle” not for the faint of heart… if you can handle the truth, you will enjoy it… if not bring toilet paper.Heck you might as well check out my video’s at YouTube… just punch in
“chemtrails boise” i m sure it is happening right over your homes - .www.vaticanassassins.org is enlighting to say the least…
Comment by Joe Derer — April 14, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
“A parting shoot: it should be painfully clear by now that there is no difference between a Republic-rat and a Demo-rat… two wings of the same bird of prey… they are controlled by the same people… they are bought and paid for - with your money.
Loyal to no one. There are forces in play that the average “joe” hasn’t a clue. Read :”The Creature from Jekyll Island”… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Washington is the entertainment division of the DOD.
God help us all.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 15, 2009 @ 3:50 am
Joe: You, sir, are absolutely correct! Anyone who thinks Obama is any different that Bush is deluded.
Even the loony left is beginning to wake up and object to the the Candidate of Change’s appointment of Bush and Clinton retreads to his cabinet and the continuation of brain-dead Bush policies.
The agenda of the republicrats and demublicans is clearly to bankrupt us ordinary citizens with wars and corporate welfare — to make as many families and companies dependent on the state as possible.
– Clayton
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 15, 2009 @ 4:05 am
Quite so, Clayton, although not so much of the ‘loony left’ comment perhaps! I’m a card-carrying member of the Greens in my country and would prob find myself similarly inclined were I living over there.
As for the Libertarians and their cause, I would have found myself to be an enthusiastic supporter of their Presidential tilt in 2008 had Mike Gravel won out, as opposed to far right Republican Bob Barr and his dubious businessman running-mate, Wayne Allyn Root.
But again Clayton, we agree on many things, it would seem.
As Jesse Jackson said so insightfully, long before you, we now have Republicans and Republicans Lite. Convergence between the 2 major parties in America, where points of difference are the EXCEPTION, not the rule, and both are equally wedded to corporate welfare, and to the military-industrial complex. (Remember what Eisenhower said on this subject?)
BECAUSE both depend so heavily on corporate donations to fund their election campaigns.
Campaign finance is now and has always been the issue!
Sam
Comment by Adam Phillips — April 15, 2009 @ 6:38 am
I love the comments here - both positive and negative!
You Americans have something wonderful, it’s just that you’re so used to it, you hardly even recognize it. … You voice your opinions openly and passionately - and you are prepared to act on them by voting with your feet if necessary.
In South Africa, we have opinions sure, but most of the population - even though they complain - will still vote for the same ignorant cluds that perpetuate this mess, and support the likes of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, or dance to China’s tune. No matter how many petitions, toi-toi’s (group protestations), or letters they get - they will carry on regardless.
Africa knows the word ‘Democracy’ but don’t really understand it. You guys live it. It’s refreshing!
I wish you folks all the best. I would join if I could. Treasure and use the freedoms that you have - while you still have ‘em!
Comment by Mark Hendricks — April 15, 2009 @ 9:19 am
I hereby declare April 15 each year to be Tea Party day until there is no more April 15 tax deadline.
All in favor, organize, show up, and vote the bad ones out.
Here’s a link to National Taxpayers Union analysis of your Congressional Reps’ voting records:
http://twurl.nl/smda22
More on these issues at:
http://twitter.com/markhendricks
Get to a Tea Party today!
Thanks Clayton, keep mixing politics and business.
Without freedom, we have no business.
Best,
Mark Hendricks
Comment by Mr. Twenty Twenty — April 15, 2009 @ 10:14 am
Hi Clayton,
I’m a new reader, and I like your bluntness and style.
What we really need to get it in high gear, is a RADICAL shift in mindset. Bottom line, until men decide to Kick Ass, instead of Kiss Ass, things are not going to change.
I listen daily to men around me, hoping that gas prices won’t rise, hoping that the president won’t tax them to death, hoping that someone will save their jobs.
Wake up Buckwheat! Take action! Kick Ass!
Many women find my message offensive, while at the same time, they complain about their husbands and boyfriends, because the men in their lives have become wussified. Most men today don’t take risks, and they don’t have the guts to do what it takes to succeed in a big way in life.
Thinking small and kissing ass hurts the economy, destroys marriages, and might even lead to massive drug abuse like we see today.
Men in our society have been sliding down a very slippery slope, becoming more like Homer Simpson and Hank Hill every day, and need to as men, commit to something bigger than ourselves, something bigger that will truly stimulate the economy, inspired our youth, and help our women experience real satisfaction.
Best to you in all you do,
Twenty Twenty
Ex Hostage - Camp Hill Prison Riots - October 1989
Professional Visionary since April 4, 2007
Comment by Liz — April 15, 2009 @ 2:33 pm
Can anyone here explain how Obama is supposed to deal with the problems he inherited ? Regardless of how we got here, or who the current President is, what is the better way to clean up this mess ? Also, how can we wipe out most of the taxes no one wants to pay and maintain two wars, a bloated kick ass military, and farm subsidies ? Not to mention all the other goodies no one wants to give up.
And by the way, there is no Loony Left left ! The DNC is now a corporate operation, as evidenced by all the ex Wall Streeters on Obama’s team. The political/business partnership is what is killing us. Our economy will continue to suffer under our current health care system. What are the answers besides wasting tea bags ?
Comment by Efrin Saffin — April 15, 2009 @ 5:06 pm
Clayton;
My commentary is meant to bring the sense of what you see and feel (justified) with events. The tea parties today maybe useful but, usually are a blip in this trend toward revolt.
The tea parties will do nothing to change the minds and actions of the Washington, DC ruling class. (Let us call it Mordor, DC for all the evil it causes.)
Your devotion to right change is most excellent! You are especially needed for the skills of marketing the message.
Now how the revolt comes and it’s resolution over time, who can speculate. Gerald Calente has a fair estimation of the future: http://libertymaven.com/2009/02/10/trends-guru-gerald-celente-talks-revolt-with-glenn-beck/4305/
and,
http://www.prisonplanet.com/celente-predicts-revolution-food-riots-tax-rebellions-by-2012.html
I am with your interests Clayton - just refuse to work without effective means. Tea parties are fury and noise.
Your pamphleteering (ala Thomas Paine,) will do far more good.
Comment by Scott — April 15, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
Obama should deal with the problems by not dealing with them. All this so-called Presidential “leadership” we get is killing the damm country. I paid taxes today and I don’t even know what I got in the bargain.
Comment by Liz — April 15, 2009 @ 7:33 pm
This country is slowly being killed by special interests who get their way with Washington at our expense. Wall Street and the banks invested FIVE BILLION DOLLARS for the right to gamble with our economy. The only type of Presidential leadership that can fight this type of corruption could NEVER get elected. I still do not know how we are going to afford 2 wars, the Pentagon budget, farm subsidies, and Federal Prisons by collecting fewer and fewer taxes. We cannot cut enough spending to support even those programs, let alone social security, medicare, and basic infrastructure expenses. Forget education. We could shut down the DOE and still fall short of the needed tax revenue if we made the kind of tax cuts being proposed. How about cracking down on off shore accounts ? Tax havens ? Again, what are people willing to do without in order to pay fewer or no taxes ? I never get an answer to that question, no matter when or where I ask it. Fewer police ? Fewer fire fighters ? More crowded schools ? More expensive mail ? An end to the FDA, EPA, and FDIC ? Where does the money come from ? An end to lifetime medical and pension benefits for all elected officials ? Any ideas welcome.
Comment by David — April 15, 2009 @ 8:16 pm
Liz, I agree - about the questions. There’s a lot of anger and shouting but little REAL NUMBERS. As in, WHO exactly is paying taxes in America, and how much. WHERE is the money going. I’ve found a few websites that are very eye-opening. It’s amazing what happens when you look at *reality* instead of getting in heated, purely-political debates.
Want to know who pays the most taxes, and those who receive the most?
http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/2282.html
Want to see where our tax money really goes? Look no further than Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget
Or, the budget for 2007:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget%2C_2007
One website regarding an actual solution, which someone else mentioned earlier:
http://www.fairtax.org
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 15, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
Liz, I think we could begin by canceling the $14 trillion Bush and Obama are blowing on bail-outs and hand-outs for millionaire CEOs who screwed up their own companies.
And the $400 billion stimulus package Congress just passed in the middle of the night without reading it.
Then, how about zero-based budgeting for all Federal agencies instead of brain-dead automatic increases each year?
And what’s wrong with going through every agency budget and eliminating the waste, fraud and abuse Washington is so infamous for?
And how about ending the USPS monopoly on delivering the mail and letting it compete against FedEx and UPS and letting it fail when the private sector provides better service for less?
How about shutting down the National Endowment for The Arts? We’re broke; do we really need to borrow more money from China and mortgage our kids’ future so “artists” can create more piss Christs and take photos of guys with bullwhips shoved up their bums?
A billion here, a few trillion there; pretty soon, we’re talkin’ real money.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 15, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
Oh; and Liz? There certainly IS a loony left. And boy are they pissed that their “messiah of change” has turned out to be little more that George Bush in hipper clothes.
A cabinet full of Bush and Clinton retreads … we’re still in Iraq … we’re still throwing trillions at huge corporations.
The good news is that millions of Americans are suddenly realizing that there’s no difference between the two parties anymore.
Our leaders and media pit Democrat voters vs. Republican voters because as long as we’re fighting each other, we’re not fighting the real enemy: The corrupt Demublican establishment that’s bankrupting America and destroying our families’ futures.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 5:46 am
Well now we come back to all those points of difference as per the previous debates, I suspect. But it’s the derogatory terminology that really gives me the irrits, to be frank! Clayton, one Rush Limbaugh is bad enough, we don’t need a new one *chuckles*
Am very much aware of the existence of a far right-wing element both in the US and in my own country, and equally am I aware of the existence of an element, albeit NOWHERE near as prominent or substantial in my country or yours, to my knowledge, which I’d consider to be ‘far left’.
Now, I don’t know what you mean by ‘loony left’ and such unsophisticated generalisations make me cringe.
But to claim that those of us who are progressive and not at all aligned with the Democratic Party, either people of a more moderate & pragmatic bent such as myself, or people of a more militant and possibly more extreme outlook, were somehow fervent camp followers of Obama, is just arrant nonsense!
You’re verballing up people who would never think that way in a fit, Clayton. Lesser of two evils, that’s about the most glowing appraisal you’d ever get.
Personally, I NEVER had any great illusions about Obama one way or the other! Nor did anyone else who was either progressive or thoughtful in any way. How could we? What substantive policy differences did we see for God’s sake? Almost NONE. That’s why I, for one, never supported him in the primaries.
Really Clayton, how could you possibly, if you are particularly aware of the opinions of progressive non-Democrats, think that any of us, ANY of us, would be blind camp followers of Obama?
As for privatisation, it’s a near-TOTAL failure as a policy. I could give you SO many examples of spectacularly disastrous private-run utilities around the world, for instance, or other privately-run services originally in public hands which have been disastrous, that it’d make you fall over backwards in disbelief, Clayton. And that’d just be my shortlist!
You want to know why the healthcare industry is amongst the most profitable businesses in the United States? Cause the insurance companies take twenty-four cents out of every dollar that’s spent. You know what it takes the government to do the same thing for Medicare? Three cents out of every dollar. So what is all this crap they hand you about private business being more efficient than government?
I don’t support monopolies either, but with all the research I’ve done on this subject, all the information I have at my disposal, which is MASSIVE, to say the least, you’ll never, ever sell me on the notion that privatisation is usually a positive development. It just ain’t so.
Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 5:56 am
And personally, I think Liz hit the nail right on the melon with pretty much everything she said.
Corporate special interests have a stranglehold on our democracy, and that’s just as true in Australia as it is in the US.
That’s one of the big reasons why I was so strongly behind Howard Dean at the time, because he was the only candidate I’ve seen presenting real answers to this problem, who, if he wasn’t nobbled by the DLP with their shadowy 507 organisations and Swiftboating in Iowa, had a real chance to achieve results.
Tax evasion is rife, the US military budget is ridiculously bloated, and the ‘law and order’ auctions which take place at election after election, especially in State politics, here and in the US, mean that you’re stuck with a ridiculous amount of money spent on prisons into the bargain.
Until real campaign finance reform happens, it’s a seemingly intractable situation.
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 7:12 am
(DLP in that last post should read DLC, as in the Democratic Leadership Council- strongly aligned with the Clintons. Both they and the DLC have much to answer for over their actions in 2004)
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 16, 2009 @ 7:38 am
Sorry, Sam, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
For every failed privatization you can name, I could show you hundreds of examples where incompetent and corrupt government management of companies that should be private has only created ongoing, massive losses and lousy service that would never be tolerated in the private sector.
Try this:
Free enterprise: Good. Efficient. Creates wealth. Lifts masses out of poverty.
Government: Bad. Wasteful. Destroys wealth. Condemns millions to lifetimes of servitude.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 7:50 am
Fair play to you too Clayton- good on you for coming back & responding after my dialetic there mate, when I’m rolling I can be a formidable sight to behold
No doubt you could give me many examples of this factor also. In fact, I’m sure you can, especially in some countries.
But in the end I would still have to disagree with you, because the unvarnished truth is neither black nor white in this instance.
There is governmental corruption and mismanagement just the same as there is in any private company, but I believe that the difference lies in greater accountability and oversight.
You can vote out a government. You can’t vote out a private company- well, not unless you own/control enough shares anyway.
While public monopoly control of any service isn’t necessarily a good thing - again, we agree on this - private monopoly control, corporatisation or otherwise full privatisation of essential public services has often been worse.
There are areas where private competition is useful and needed, but not always in my opinion.
Again though, good on you for responding
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 7:55 am
Think I need to possibly clarify the last part of my message just before - what I perhaps should have said is that there are some essential services which are better provided when private competition also exists, in my opinion.
Sam
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 16, 2009 @ 8:58 am
Ah, but Sam, your entire argument falls apart when you try to answer, “Who’s regulating the regulators?”
Consumers, shareholders and boards of directors punish executives for waste and inefficiency by firing them quickly — not in four or six years.
Federal law and regulations prevent most corporations from committing crimes and punish those who do.
But no law quickly fires congressmen and presidents (or sends them to jail) when they waste our money. Or when they promise us one thing but deliver another — or nothing at all.
Without term limits on Congress — and with increasingly clever manipulation of an increasingly ignorant electorate — the scoundrels who steal our money and erode our liberty remain in office for decades.
For these reasons, I trust corporations to do the right thing most of the time … and I expect the government to do the wrong thing most of the time.
Therefore, it follows that the LESS influence the government has over the economy and our lives, the better.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 9:17 am
Well, we certainly have different perspectives, probably influenced by our differing experiences of politics over time, here as against there.
But comprehensive term limits, Congress, Senate, State Houses etc- now that’s an idea whose time has come!
That’s something I can certainly agree with you on. Comprehensive term limits, and real campaign finance reform, together would make an enormous difference in both your country and mine.
But in the US, you would have a greater ability to force a referendum on this issue! There’s something worth fighting for…
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 9:22 am
Clayton, here is a website devoted to a cause you may well be interested in:
http://ni4d.us/
National Initiative For Democracy
This is another possible remedy to a number of the issues you’ve raised, although I’m still somewhat ambiguous on it…
Sam
Comment by Mike — April 16, 2009 @ 1:12 pm
Really, who cares?
It’s not like your petition is going to
make one bit of difference.
Nice try Clayton, but you’re still going
to have to pay up.
Keep writing sales packages that pull in
the money Clayton - we need funding for
more government programs.
toodles
Comment by Michael Brock — April 16, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
Hey Clayton,
Great post! I agree with you for the most part and like the fact that you are putting the truth out there for others to see. I also like many of the comments left by your readers. I’m truly glad there are others who are against this type of governmental tyranny and are willing to stand up for their rights… KUDOS to all of you!
Best Regards,
Michael Brock
P.S. I signed the petition, too.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 16, 2009 @ 3:21 pm
Noteworthy also, while this discussion is still alive, that Congressional Democrats’ once-proclaimed commitment to net neutrality, hence freedom of Internet access and freedom for Internet-related business, and content providers, has withered on the vine within months of Obama being elected.
The Internet Freedom and Preservation Act, once championed by Democratic congressmen against Republican opposition, is now being buried in committee by those same Congressmen, as it becomes increasingly clear that both sides are just as much in bed with special interests on this issue as well.
If ANYTHING demands public action by all of us in our common interest, it is this.
Sam
Comment by Liz — April 16, 2009 @ 8:37 pm
Sorry I missed all the action !
Thanks for your contributions, Sam.
I would like to mention right up front that “Messiah” is a right wing buzz word for Obama that I deplore. To see a credible business owner use it on his professional website is very disappointing. But I love freedom of speech, so I am glad to know that about you. The man has been in office for less than 100 days, and yet some believe that either he should have solved the problems he inherited already or else he is ending civilization as we know it. Loony indeed. To have treated Bush this way so early in his Presidency would not only have been wrong, it would have produced a torrent of howls and conspiracy theories. To be an Obama supporter now is to be accused of seeing him as a God. Maybe for some the expectations are so impossibly high because of the the type of leadership we have just endured for 8 year. Now we have wing nuts shooting cops because Obama is allegedly going to take away their automatic weapons. How long before someone tries to kill this man ?
Clayton, the only reason you are on this site, and are lucky enough to have developed such a successful business is because of our form of Government. Our Government was formed by a bunch of wild eyed progressives who fought a conservative and monastic England in order to win OUR freedom. The Constitution and Bill of Rights are pretty liberal documents. Where would this country be without railroads ? The Tennessee Valley Authority ? The GI Bill ? The Internet ? The 4th Amendment ? The Second Amendment ? Clean Air ? Clean Water ? Safe Food ? Safe Meds ? Creating schools for our kids in place of factories ? FDIC ? Women who can vote ? Blacks who can vote ? The most powerful military in the World ? If you hate Government so much, have you considered living without all these percs ? Who should pay for all this ? The other guy ? We pay the lowest taxes in the free world, and have twice allowed for the total collapse of capitalism thanks to greed and corruption on Wall Street and in our Banking system, and yet continue to believe more in that model than anywhere else in the world. The Market has not solved all our problems or created the kind of competition that should have created affordable health care, yet we claim the real problems would begin if we had Government bureaucrats. What about corporate bureaucrats who decide on what health care I am entitled to only after they consult a balance sheet, and are therefore making medical decisions for me. This is efficient ?
Where were all the tea bag protesters when taxes were raised in 1982, 1983, 1990 ? When Reagan tripled the deficit ? When Bush squandered a surplus and spent over 600 billion in Iraq ? When he grew the size and scope of Government more than any other President in our history, and created the largest deficits we have ever seen ? Why were anti war protesters called every imaginable epithet including anti-American, treasonous, unpatriotic, and worse ? But now for anyone to criticize the sincerity or legitimacy of yesterday’s protests creates some kind of First Amendment crisis.
I do not literally expect you to answer all these questions, but rather allow for some of your beliefs to be challenged. I am a capitalist and an entrepreneur. But to pretend that Government is always wrong and never needed is certainly not true. Smart and efficient Government, yes. One that regulates judiciously and effectively. One that protects my rights. One that encourages a fair and open market economy. One that provides reasonable safety nets as a matter of national security. Is this too much to ask ? If so, then I am afraid this country may indeed be in danger of failing.
Comment by Efrin Saffin — April 17, 2009 @ 12:09 am
Clayton;
Here is the excellent economist, Martin Armstrong’s report,
“Financial Panics - Political Change” - very strong views, backed-up with solid arguments. He too, sees positive results from this multi-crisis period.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ucjxvcj0xrc
ES
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 17, 2009 @ 4:14 am
Liz, you are so wrong. I am not “lucky” to have this site or to be successful. I earned everything I have through decades of back-breaking work; the diligent application of any gifts god gave me and every skill I’ve been able to acquire.
And I carried an increasingly bloated, wasteful and corrupt government on my back every step of the way.
I am, however, lucky to have been born in a country in which the free enterprise system — capitalism — was, although somewhat diminished, still pretty much intact.
That stroke of good fortune has given me the opportunity to lift myself out of poverty despite every dollar and liberty the government has confiscated from me.
The legitimate role of the federal government is common defense and to preserve the liberty that allows us to pursue prosperity and happiness. We can quibble over which wars are justifiable and which are not. But any legitimate liberty or right denied any individual is indefensible.
The government’s legitimate role is NOT to be the sugar daddy of every special interest group. It is NOT to protect us from the consequences of our self-defeating actions. It is NOT to confiscate trillions from hard-working people to bail out super-rich CEOs and corporations. And it is certainly not to limit or control our personal choices.
These are violations of the Constitution and the intent of the Founding Fathers. Worse: The consequence of the government doing these things over time is the gradual destruction of the only principles that are worth fighting for.
You mention rights guaranteed under the U.S. constitution as proof that government is good. Including the second amendment, which Congressional Democrats are already attempting to subvert with not one, but two bills that make it a crime to own a gun and also a crime to defend our families with one.
Let’s be clear here: The U.S. Constitution is not the same as the U.S. government. The Constitution is the only thing that makes our leaders think twice before they run roughshod over our rights.
Social advancements we’ve made as a nation were NOT caused by government. In most cases, including equal rights for minorities, these were opposed by the majority of our elected reps for generations and only took place when the people demanded them.
In my estimation, EVERY deficit not rooted in the necessity to defend ourselves against tyranny is a disaster. EVERY tax increase is a crisis. And EVERY new law that further erodes our individual liberty is downright satanic.
As to your “where were the protests” question, I agree with you. If I’d had a blog back then, I would have surely opposed every increase in taxes and deficits. But the answer is that neither America nor the world has ever seen any government spend as much as this one is — or pile up as much debt as this one is.
It is the staggering size of the fiscal crimes now being committed that has mobilized the masses. And for that, we may someday thank this administration for its profligacy — IF we survive long enough to teach Washington a lesson.
You seem to love to make long lists of government programs as proof that we need these clowns. You never, however mention the trillions of dollars that have been wasted in these programs or that have been used not to help the people but to line politicians’ pockets and/or to increase their power by buying them votes. Or how the taxes that have been extracted from working people to fund them have diminished the lives and financial security of those so violated.
And of course, you avoid the proposition that in every case, private enterprise would have and in many cases, HAS done these things faster, better and for less.
The more of us who realize that this isn’t about political parties or personality cults but about the survival of ourselves and our families …
The more of us who realize the whole Republican vs. Democrat debate is a red herring — a distraction promoted by the establishment to keep the people from recognizing that its US versus THEM …
And the more of us who wake up to the reality that there are terrible penalties to be paid when the time-honored principles of thrift and personal liberty are violated …
… The better our chances of surviving this, putting our nation back onto the path that made us the world’s most successful nation and securing a prosperous future for future generations.
– Clayton
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 17, 2009 @ 4:52 am
Well, although we certainly disagree on issues of economic philosophy Clayton, I think we both strongly agree as far as the RepubliCrat red herring is concerned, and the unwarranted power wielded by special interests.
Check out NI4D. The more I look at this proposal, the more I think it offers hope for both you and I…
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 17, 2009 @ 4:58 am
And as I said in my last post, no matter what your political perpective is, one thing Internet-related business is crying out for is network neutrality, to guarantee our freedoms in this area.
If any current issue demands immediate action by anyone in the US involved in an online business, it’s not the stimulus package, important as that issue is. I suggest that the most concerning current issue, by far, is the threat being posed to all our interests by dodgy Democrats & Republicans in Congress who are seeking to thwart the Internet Freedom and Preservation Act.
Sam
Pingback by Around Blogosphere - Posts Of Note — April 17, 2009 @ 6:41 am
[...] Stop it, Washington,before it’s too late! by Clayton Makepeace is a both informational and call to action. As personal raised with conservative values and one who lived through totalitarian regime it pains me to see what is done to country I come to call my home. Time to wake up is now - history repeats itself and if you don’t believe me - read the history of Russia and Germany. [...]
Comment by Liz — April 17, 2009 @ 6:17 pm
Well, Clayton, I guess you have gotten what you wished for. We have lost 12 years of wealth in the past few months as a result of a free market that was free of Govt intervention. I guess those who hate the Govt as much as you do are ok with letting this happen again and again as long as Washington is busy building fighter jets and doing nothing to prevent this. Ok, fair enough. We have created a society built on for-profit principles that is increasingly shutting people out of higher education and health care. We are 39th in a recent report on the cleanest countries in the world. All health demographics have us falling behind on things like infant mortality and longevity. I am not sure who the hell wants to live in a country like this just for the pleasure of saying they pay a smaller share of taxes. The Government can’t be doing as much damage to small businesses as you claim since they are now the backbone of our economy. Something about your argument is hard to follow, but this is your site and you are entitled to analyze things the way you want. The problem is that history, facts, and statistics do not supply the necessary evidence that we would be living in the garden of Eden if only the Government would go away. And I thought the Left hated this country !
I am thinking I should jump on this bandwagon and encourage the donor states (all Blue) to boycott subsidizing the beneficiary states (mostly Red). I am sick of supporting this kind of welfare. For every dollar the recipient states send to Washington, they get back an average of 1.84. I am in CT and apparently supporting this nonsense with my taxes.
I wish you continued success, and will look forward to more stimulating conversation.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 17, 2009 @ 6:22 pm
Uh, Liz … we lost all that wealth BECAUSE of government!
Because of artificially low interest rates and because Washington was too busy screwing around with other things to enforce the law or regulate the lenders..
And of course, because the government gave Fannie and Freddie bonds an implied government guarantee.
Thanks for making my point for me: Washington couldn’t find its own ass in a brightly lit room even if allowed to use both hands.
It is not competent to manage the economy.
Comment by Liz — April 17, 2009 @ 6:56 pm
Low interest rates are fine (and very good for business as Ronald Reagan demonstrated) unless people like Phil Graham push for the right of the Markets to create predatory lending AND risky financial mechanisms without appropriate oversight. As I said, the Dems drank the Cool Aid as well. But this is going no where. Free Markets are perfect and Government is evil. No matter what actually happens. Got it.
The rest of my comments show just how low we will sink to hang onto failed ideology. As I said, I am a Capitalist, but not a fool.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 18, 2009 @ 3:01 am
Meanwhile our entire industry, and the FREEDOM of all Internet-related business, continues to be under threat as a result of Congress’s failure to pass network neutrality laws.
THAT’s what happens when you ‘leave the market alone’ methinks. All our futures remain held hostage to the whims of Time Warner and other such corporations. Not happy about this at all, I must say.
Let’s have a ‘tea party’ about that perhaps? The entire future of our industry around the world less important than the right of some wealthy Americans to avoid tax? *rolls eyes*
Apologies for my ascerbic tone here, but the point of my ravings is abundantly clear yes?
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 18, 2009 @ 3:25 am
And Clayton, am a little bit puzzled by the argument you mount in your previous post, to say the least.
Are you saying that because banks and other lenders were not properly regulated previously, and because of the damage this lack of effective regulation caused, there should be no government intervention in the banking industry at all, for instance? That’s a completely self-contradictory argument from what I can see.
(Hey, I warned everyone about how much of a smartass I was in previous topics
)
“But any legitimate liberty or right denied any individual is indefensible.”
What about when said liberty or said right comes at the direct expense of the liberty or right of another?
As it does in so many ways, the most immediate and clear example currently being Congress’s failure to pass network neutrality laws. Thus endangering the liberty of all of us as Internet marketers!
Sam
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 18, 2009 @ 7:31 am
Sam, my point is that the government has proven itself to be incompetent to fulfill its basic responsibility to enforce the law. Allowing government to go beyond its basic charter to regulate the economy is insanity.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 18, 2009 @ 7:34 am
Sam, did you miss the word “legitimate” in my sentence about denying rights?
Me thinks you are grasping at straws in order to put words in my mouth.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept of “legitimate rights,” they are those guaranteed by the Constitution.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 18, 2009 @ 10:07 am
Well I certainly did mean legitimate Constitutional rights Clayton- and my use of Congressional obstruction of network neutrality laws for the benefit of Time Warner and other associated companies as an example is especially apt, in this case.
At the moment, companies like TW appear to have the ability to tighten control over internet access and access to certain content for at least some users, wherever they have the means to do so, while the rights of users and Internet-related businesses can be trampled upon without recourse.
This affects you, it affects me and it affects anyone else whose livelihood depends on an Internet-related business. This impinges directly on our freedoms in particular, adversely affecting our ability to operate in future, and because it directly affects Internet access and the ability of companies to limit access to content, it obviously affects the size of the market for our products.
I attempted to post a few links to articles detailing at least part of the problem I’m talking about, but can’t seem to do it here.
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 18, 2009 @ 10:22 am
To sum up my argument at least as it relates to this particular example, network neutrality is in my opinion, a thoroughly necessary intervention in a certain market which as a consequence will create greater freedom in other markets and overall serve the public good in this instance, because it will benefit far more people and businesses than it hinders.
Basically, I believe that unregulated, uncontrolled markets in essential infrastructure hurt many more businesses than are helped by such a laissez-faire policy, and the issue of network neutrality and the argument in favour provides a good example of this.
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 18, 2009 @ 10:40 am
Apologies for the number of posts also. I wish I could have just edited myself to include this further point, and wish I’d thought of it at the moment I posted originally, but I guess I’m a bit stream-of-consciousness in my debating style.
It occurs to me I may have misread or misunderstood you as far as your position on market regulation & economic management in this instance, and I apologise ahead of time if I did:
“Because of artificially low interest rates and because Washington was too busy screwing around with other things to enforce the law or regulate the lenders..
And of course, because the government gave Fannie and Freddie bonds an implied government guarantee.
Thanks for making my point for me: Washington couldn’t find its own ass in a brightly lit room even if allowed to use both hands.
It is not competent to manage the economy.”
It seems from my vantage like you’re saying that failure of regulation and poor economic management by some governments, and the suffering caused by the resultant lack of regulation, lack of proper economic management, is somehow an argument in favour of government abandoning all attempts to regulate markets and manage the economy.
Personally, I would have thought the antidote was better regulation and better management, not the reverse.
The unwarranted influence of special interests is one cause of the problem in my opinion, and I think that term limits and campaign finance reform are an excellent way to combat this influence, and thus go a long way to help resolving this problem.
Sam
Comment by Efrin Saffin — April 18, 2009 @ 11:26 am
Clayton;
There is no ‘fair tax’ or ‘flat tax’ that meets the letter or spirit of the Constitution.
So, we have to say: no taxation, at all, on private property, and no direct taxation (income tax.) In effect, if a property or a service is taxed, the government can shut you down, take the property, and jail you. If you resist long enough, they will kill you without compunction.
These are the reasons why people are upset: when they lose everything, and they finally realize that the government is not only, not about to help them, but coming to get them, they are truly changed into desperate people.
Unprepared, desperate people have only one way out: they turn to violence to get what they believe is needed to survive. They will also want to get back a bit of that which they believe was stolen from them. And, if they can channel their anger into political revolt, they will do so energetically.
The problem is this: I don’t think that the channeling of potentially violent behaviors will happen. I think the revolt, won’t be just one event. The revolution will be either a long event with many series of revolts, or a relatively short, strong and violent revolution.
The Mordor, DC government is pressing ever onward. These politicians and bureaucrats are hungry predators and they will not stop, willingly. Imagine the size of the largest reptile on Earth with a pea-sized brain. They will do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g to get what they want - and, they want ALL.
My advise is, just stay out of the way. Don’t visit their stomping grounds. Try to avoid getting noticed by their lookouts. Look ordinary. Stand still when spotted, slink away, quietly. Leave futile bravery to others.
There are few times that an individual can prove helpful during a revolution. Your first duty is to your family, then friends. That is the greatest Charity, being of service to these few.
—————————————————
I’d say that the red herring, ‘network neutrality’ is another government claim on private property. No government should regulate, in any capacity, any resources at all.
Claims of copyright and trademark are royal grants; these are powers that are not given by the free market. http://tinyurl.com/TrademarkCopyright
See “A Future of Private Roads and Highways” by Walter Block to get a flavor of how free markets provide superior product and service over that of an authoritarian market run by fascists. http://tinyurl.com/Private-Roads-and-Highways
Comment by Marte Cliff — April 18, 2009 @ 12:34 pm
Clayton, I’m proud of you for speaking out, but you may be setting yourself up to become one of the first residents in the U.S. Detainment camps. http://www.infowars.com/glenn-beck-mentions-fema-camps-on-fox-friends/
The economic collapse scares me - but not because we could face economic hardship and be forced to learn to live as our pioneer forefathers (and mothers) did.
What scares me is that a population without guns and entirely dependent upon Big Brother for basic necessities - like food - will be an easily controlled herd of sheep.
You’ve been talking to Robert Ringer, so I expect you’re thinking about this possibility as well.
I had a long conversation a few days ago with a well-read history professor. The comparisons to Hitler’s rise in Germany and what BO is doing today are simply chilling.
Unless Americans can find a way to fight back, we could see Jack-boots with guns at all of our doors.
Thank you for speaking out and leading us to “do something.”
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 19, 2009 @ 7:21 am
Sam, I think we can agree that the US government as currently configured — allowing corporate, union and PAC lobbying and campaign contributions and without term limits — subverts and neutralizes the will of the people.
As long as these special interests can buy politicians …
As long as politicians can then use that money to buy votes from an electorate that values charisma above character and personal popularity above principles …
And as long as the electorate allows itself to be distracted with Republican vs. Democrat rhetoric rather than acknowledging that in reality, it is we the people vs. the establishment …
We will continue to have a nation in which the people are slaves to the government; not vice-versa.
– Clayton
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 19, 2009 @ 10:49 am
Absolutely right Clayton. Been 100% with you on that point even before I heard you say it. I’ve been saying that myself elsewhere at every opportunity before now too
Personally, I’m a big fan of New Zealand’s campaign finance laws, for example - they are far stricter on individual & corporate donations etc, and more supportive of third parties. As with the NZ electoral process in general.
But in the US, I think prob the best hope of real campaign finance reform, term limits, and an end to the current entrenched political duopoly, is if another candidate like Howard Dean comes along (and manages to survive the inevitable mudstorm from the establishment, as Dean faced and was brought down by in 2004), or if something like NI4D is successfully enacted.
That’s the National Initiative for Democracy (the website for this is ni4d.us), as I said earlier - it’s a proposed Constitutional amendment which, very simply summarised, gives the people the right to develop and pass new laws independently of Congress. Possibly this could be a double-edged sword, but it’s a very interesting and promising idea.
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 19, 2009 @ 10:59 am
We have precisely the same problems here in Australia, just as you outlined. Special interests subverting the electoral process with large sums of money, an electoral system which makes it difficult for third parties (although not quite as difficult as the comparatively disastrous electoral system in America, I’d say), and a worrying policy convergence by the two major parties in many areas. These are issues I’ve felt very strongly about for a long time too…
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 19, 2009 @ 11:06 am
And - adding to my last post - no term limits either! If only we did have term limits in Australia… our country would’ve been spared 12 years of disastrous policies under the Howard government, amongst other things
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 19, 2009 @ 11:33 am
And in response to Effre… well, I find that rigid inflexible ideology too often negates the process of reason and rationality, so I’ve never been a subscriber. I view things on a case-by-case basis.
As an online marketer, I don’t want companies like Time Warner to dictate the potential size of my market or dictate on matters of content provision. Nor do I want any government to be able to do this, as with the ludicrous attempts at internet ‘filtering’ which have been proposed from some quarters. So that’s why I support network neutrality, it’s that simple. No red herrings, that’s what I think, clear as crystal.
And historically, the idea of capital ‘C’ charity, with limited or no government responsibility for services provided, such as the situation in Victorian England, was an unmitigated disaster in so many respects that I would be unable to list them here.
As to private roads and highways, well, the Australian experience of this has been disastrous also. Witness the disaster of CityLink in Victoria, for instance.
Or another example of privatisation - the selling off of water utilities in South Australia. Fifteen months after Adelaide signed a contract turning over its waterworks to a private consortium controlled by Thames Water and Vivendi, the city was engulfed in a powerful sewage smell, which became known as ‘the big pong’ and lasted for months.
Or we could look at Los Angeles. Witness the consequences which unfolded over the last 60 years there as a result of the loss of most public transport in the city, thus making Los Angeles one of the most polluted cities in the Western World.
As I say, I look at things on a case-by-case basis, and on the evidence I’ve seen, yes, government mismanagement of public enterprises takes place, as Clayton said, we all know that. But this kind of application of rigid free market ideology has been an epic failure, over and over again. I could go on forever quoting examples…
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 19, 2009 @ 11:44 am
D’oh! Meant Efrin, not Effre, sorry- was too caught up in my own oration to notice
Sam
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — April 19, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
Sam, every example you cite has been repeated thousands of times with the government in charge.
Many more times, in fact than when private enterprise was in the driver’s seat.
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 19, 2009 @ 4:42 pm
Well thus far, I honestly haven’t heard of too many successful examples of essential infrastructure, or any public service for that matter, handed over to private corporations- that is, an example where the quality of service, and access to said service, has either remained the same or improved- and don’t think I haven’t looked either… at one time some years back I ran a nonprofit international news operation online which took in feeds from 60-odd different countries, and hope to restart something similar again in the future when I have the resources & can find good help.
Although I’d be interested to hear of any examples which run counter to this, for sure, and to be able to check them out.
My attitude on this subject is basically in accordance with the following axiom- it doesn’t matter if it’s a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice!
If a privately-run company could take over any essential infrastructure/public service without increasing costs to the consumer or degrading service, or reducing access to the service, that would of course be worth exploring.
But thus far, in my experience, mostly I’ve seen examples of negative outcomes, often spectacular… like the long power cuts that happened in Auckland (New Zealand) after that utility was turned into a for-profit business: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/67614.stm
Sam
Comment by Efrin Saffin — April 19, 2009 @ 11:49 pm
Sam - you are clueless, and deceitful. Flat-out lying.
If you really read those articles and thought the issues through, you’d find them rational and reasonable.
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Clayton - here are the observations of the tea-parties protests from an older, experienced commentator:
“Tea party day on April 15 got more media attention than I expected. But interest faded fast.
The event was a last-minute effort, with nobody in charge. It really was a grass-roots event. It had little effect. This should reminds us that what appear to be spontaneous grass-roots, mass-movement events rarely are.
What should we learn from this?
Lesson 1: Not many people care about political protesting. The turnout was low. The media saw this. The problem with public political events is that most people don’t care about politics. This is especially true immediately after a Presidential election. The defeated Party retreats from the battlefield.
Lesson 2: Taxes are not a highly motivating issue. People get used to Federal taxes. They figure nothing can be done. They are correct: nothing can be done. Reagan rolled back some taxes (high marginal income tax rates). In his second term, he raised taxes (TEFRA, Social Security). The system keeps rolling along. Until Americans are scared to death by the economy, they will not listen to tax protesters. We are not there yet.
Lesson 3: Most people are contented with the existing political system, compared to any likely alternative. The cost of political change is extremely high. Only in crises do the costs of not changing exceed the costs of changing. We are not there yet.
Lesson 4: The protesters were amateurs. This is to be expected. Those with political skills are already working inside the system. The system co-opts those who start out as fringe dissenters. In 1976, Ron Paul was the only complete dissenter in Congress. I know. I was on his staff. In 2009, he still is the only complete dissenter in Congress. He has not been co-opted. He is a fine Representative of comprehensive dissent, but he has no power.
Lesson 5: All politics is local. People get elected locally. Here is where you can gain influence, if any. Here is where you can help to pick your representatives. Here is where you get your skills in politics. Here is where dissent will pay off when the crisis hits. This is called interposition.
Lesson 6: Local politics bores most people. This is why you can have influence locally. Few people pay any attention. I call this the dogcatcher strategy. This gives a 20-year veteran an advantage. Start here. Stick around for 40 years.
Lesson 7: Build a mailing list. The #1 goal of the tea party should have been to build an email list. I know the man who paid for the tea bags that the government would not allow to be dropped in the river. He is skilled at building mailing lists. His problem was that the people he worked with were not. There was no attention to details. There was no follow-through. Political change comes from attention to details and follow-through.
Lesson 8: Conservatives are not good at political theater. Conservatives don’t think of politics as theater. They are not good at it. Jerry Rubin and his peers were. But their theater was futile. Their followers were co-opted by the system. Until they dig in at the local level and stay there, decade after decade, nothing will change. Let’s see if the tea party produces this kind of dedication and leadership.
Lesson 9: Operating behind the scenes is more efficient. It takes decades to build the ideological and organizational foundations of a protest movement. Think of the abolitionists. They got rolling in 1755: the Quakers. They began to affect public opinion in the USA around 1830. The British abolitionist movement had operated since 1780, and slavery in 1830 was only three years from being abolished in the British Empire. Still, it took until 1859 for the abolitionists to light the fuse that blew up the nation in 1860. I refer to John Brown’s attack on Harpers Ferry, the most important act of political theater in American history. The Secret Six funded him. No one remembers them. They won. He lost.
Lesson 10: You can’t beat something with nothing. The tea bag people had no program, no network, and no nationally known spokesman. It was political theater without traction. Until protesters have a tax program to fight for, one that offers real-world solutions, tax protesting will get nowhere. The prophet Samuel learned this over 3,000 years ago.”
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I hope this helps.
E
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 20, 2009 @ 7:33 am
“Sam - you are clueless, and deceitful. Flat-out lying”
I’m sorry, is that meant to be somehow an argument against the points I made, or possibly an implicit concession through lack of substance?
And by the way, I DID read the second article linked from your post, but it did not contribute any substantive facts to the argument, whereas I did. Rhetorical statements are not arguments, nor are baseless character attacks, Efrin.
Sam
Comment by Sam Crozier — April 20, 2009 @ 7:53 am
Incidentally, Efrin, if you think I’m somehow lying, would you want me to present further factual sources to add to the facts and sources I’ve already provided, or would that just be unsporting?
Sam
PS- Sorry again for my tone Clayton, I apologise, but I was somewhat taken aback by Efrin’s comments.
I still appreciate the way you’ve approached our discussion here though. And we do definitely have a lot of common ground, despite our differences in other areas.
For that matter, there was even a substantial part of Ron Paul’s 2008 platform which I also support, notwithstanding the clear differences in my economic philosophy, and differences in aspects of Constitutional interpretation- most strikingly with regard to gun laws, for instance.
Paul’s ideas on issues such as foreign policy, amongst other things, I applauded at the time. So many needless and ongoing conflicts, and general carnage, could have been avoided from the 1950s onwards, if Paul’s foreign policy approach had been followed instead.
Comment by Steve Matsukawa — April 24, 2009 @ 1:06 am
Clayton,
While you and I don’t see eye to eye on some things, I do believe you are hitting the nail right square on the head here. I don’t see where it is written anywhere that the taxpayers have to bail out these schmucks who got themselves into this mess in the first place.
I don’t see where we the taxpayers were asked if spending this horrid amount of money was OK. In fact, I do believe that this whole thing was done in some dark, smokey back room somewhere, out of the public’s eyes.
Does anyone remember being asked if this bailout was OK?
Competition is competition, and the fittest will survive. If an institution is going down the drain, well, I do believe it’s “See ya, been nice knowing ya!” The survivors will be the stronger for the competition and better for our country’s future.
These college graduates who think that we the taxpayers owe them anything are sorely mistaken.
Yes, college graduates, from the finest universities in the country, who learned that by giving graft to the politicians, anything and anyone can be bought.
Well Clayton, I am joining you in screaming “HELL NO!!!”, that’s not what I bought in for, that’s not a real good use of our tax dollars.
I read somewhere that if the money spent on bailing out these moral cowards were to be split up between all Americans, we each would get $875,000! Now I would believe THAT would really stimulate the economy, as well as build up some savings and put the help where it’s really needed.
So forgive me Clayton for being so long winded, but I finally had enough of what is going on. If I could get off this sinking ship I would, but I can’t because the anchor rope is tangled around my neck.
You keep up the good work Clayton, I’m proud of you!
Warmest regards,
steve
Comment by joe — May 31, 2009 @ 12:18 am
bend over and kiss you’re ass good bye…