When our forefathers set out to establish this great land known as the United States of America they did so with a vision of a government of the people, for the people, by the people, and that to me means a government that will listen to its citizens. When did we go off track in that goal? Was it with George Washington and our very first administration? Was it with Abraham Lincoln and the civil war? I am no scholar so I can not give you a specific time and date, a single event that transformed our government into a government of the rich, for the rich, by the rich. I can tell you that in no time was it more evident that the government is not concerned with the little guy, the average American who works for minimum wage at their factory job. The government gives bailouts to big business saying that it’s for the good of the economy, and then raises my taxes to pay for it. How does taking money from people who can barely afford their bills and giving to the Wall Street folks who live in million dollar homes and drive eighty thousand dollar cars to work help the working man? How does taking our money and giving it to the banks to loan back to us at ridiculous interest rates help the American family get their debt under control, keep the roof over their heads and put food on the table? How does buying out one of Americas largest car manufacturers, then closing down dealerships and discontinuing some of the highest selling brands in that companies families benefit us and create jobs. When a dealership closes it puts more Americans out of work, puts more American families in need of assistance. Even now with unemployment at ten percent and climbing our government gives incentives to companies that send jobs overseas. Even now with our national debt in the trillions we budget 542 MILLION dollars for foreign aid.
Our current path to destruction is not the fault of this administration, nor is it the fault of the Bush administration. America we have been headed this way for a long time. Our indifference and personal greed have put us down this road, and something needs to be done about it. Yes America our government has lost its way and it is time for a revolution. Not a revolution with guns and violence, but a revolution fought with the pen and at the polling place. America it is time to write your representatives and tell them that you are not happy with the direction this nation is headed. It is time to go to the polling place and vote for change, not corporate sponsored change like we received in this past election. It is time to go to your window and shout I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore. Tell your government that you want them to stop spending your money on Wall Street. It is time for smarter spending. It is time to stop borrowing from other countries to buy shiny toys, then repaying the debt at the expense of the American people. America if you do not stand up for yourself there will no longer be an America left.
It is time now to stop trying to stop our economies arterial bleeding with a band-aid. We need long term, sustainable solutions. Is the lack of healthcare the cause of our economic meltdown and should it be the main focus of our government? We need to focus on not only creating new jobs in America, but stemming the tide of jobs heading to foreign workers. At one time our country produced more manufactured goods than any other industrialized nation. It was America’s industrial strength that won World War two. Now you drive down the street and see factories that once employed thousands of Americans shuttered up and empty, the jobs being shipped over to China because it is cheaper to manufacture goods and import them into the country. We need to offer tax incentives to companies that make their products right here at home. We need to increase the tariffs on companies that manufacture their goods abroad and import them into the United States. We need to offer incentives to companies that employ Americans to offer them quality health insurance. We need to end our dependence on foreign oil. If we are going to move America forward we do need to spend the money that has gone to the banks and Wall Street, but not to bail out a business that is failing because of bad debt. We need to spend that money improving America’s highways, connecting America’s cities with modern, efficient mass transit systems. We need to invest in green technology building new hydro-electric plants, wind turbine fields, and clean coal power plants. It is time to give a large incentive not only to car manufacturers who build hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles, but also to the American consumer who buys those vehicles. It is time to invest that money into helping cities hire the police and firefighters that they need to keep their residents safe.
Yes dear Congressmen what we need is more solutions and less rhetoric. If you want solutions listen to your people. We know what this country needs. Ask the single mother working two jobs how she balances her budget. I know most of you come from money and balancing the check book is something your family has “people” for, well than ask them how to make a budget. Contrary to your belief just because you can print money, it doesn’t mean that we actually have money to spend. I have a printer too, and I can spit out hundred dollar bills, but they aren’t worth a thing. I have gone on long enough so I will leave you with this final thought, it’s not too late to fix America, but it will be soon.
