:: The Blurst of Times ::

:: 12.16.2004 ::

Oh Man. We’re Fucked. Or: Bill O'Reilly is huge douchebag

So I started off Wednesday thinking about the Federal budget*. Not the budget so much as I was thinking about the dwindling value of the US Dollar. I mean, it’s falling. And why? Because everything that’s supposed to back it up (everything that I once thought would last forever) is falling to shit. Anymore, giving the US government a US Dollar’s worth of your blood, sweat, and tears is about as valuable as giving a fifth home mortgage to a crack fiend. Seriously. No one wants to be the dude getting stuck holding the bag stuffed with greenbacks. I’m talking Germany post Treaty of Versailles, Wall Street on October 30, 1929, and Mexico for the entire decade of the eighties. I’m talking open your wallet and wipe your ass because the only thing keeping this bubble from collapsing is the hot air coming out of the collective Washington mouth.

But I digress. What I really spent Wednesday thinking about was why we’re in such a bad spot*. I mean, speaking realistically, with a few notable exceptions, the people running this nation are some pretty sharp dudes. A lot of Ivy League backgrounds, a lot of business-running experience, a lot of there own personal wealth to manage. And from the businessmen and bankers that I have been around (mostly the land-development types, unfortunately), people with these qualities don’t usually spend their money foolishly. Rappers - yes. College students - some, yes. People with MBA’s - not so much. And yet, we’re so far under on our Federal credit report, no one even cares anymore, let along the folks running the show.

So I tried to come up with a balanced budget. Being your typical lay-person, I know very little about the actual nuts-and-bolts of Federal budgeting. But I do have a job (income), I am self-sufficient (spending), I pay rent, utilities, and loan payments (needs), and I buy good food, books, and records (wants). In effect, I budget myself on a two week basis, and meticulously document all income and spending. So I figure I’m at least a little qualified to try to hammer this one out. And even if I don’t have all the answers, maybe I can start the ball rolling a little here. At least I’m writing again. So let’;s start from scratch.

1) We need income. Taxes. Knuckle up, bitches, because it’s time to pay the piper. Everybody, antes. Let’s say 25% off the top. All income, no loopholes. You win the lottery, you’re paying on it. You got a 15 million dollar bonus for blowing Michael Eisner, congrats and thanks for the four mil. You make $30g a year as a secretary, you’re more than entitled to pay your fair $7,500. No person making over poverty level is spared: rich, poor, fat, thin, ugly, pretty - we all make the bread, we all share the bread. Next up: corporations. No more free rides. No more discounts, waivers, payoffs, pork barrel benefits, nothing. If you can’t run a solvent airline, find another ring in the circus, because subsidization is through (for the moment, I’ll come back to it later, but for the time being, remember: No More Free Lunch. Assholes.). From now on, there’s money in and money out. If you’re standing there and money’s coming in, you’re paying for it in taxes. But it’s not so bad, see:

2) Now we got money coming in, how do we spend it? To save money, we need to spend less. To spend less and still make progress, we need to spend smart. To spend smart, we need to invest today’s dollars in whatever will provide the most long-term benefits. We’re happy to say that Washington has proven beyond all hope of doubt that defense spending is the absolute wrong-est possible answer.

Here’s my answer: Public education. Let’s make everyone smarter. Let’s make everyone more socially, globally, and economically conscious. Let’s give everyone greater opportunity. Here’s why: People are smarter, so more doors are open - more doors open, greater opportunity, less crime - less crime, less cops, judges, courts, jails - less money spent on fighting crime. Want more? Here: People are more aware of their surroundings, so they are more capable of making conscientious global decisions, they are less prone to vote (decide) on fear, less prone to elect militaristic leaders, less prone to go to war, less likely to need nuclear weapons and massive standing armies, less likely to need Star Wars technology, less money spent on defense. Wow, I just ended crime and war as we know it, and I’m just getting started. Think the energy crisis is bad? Try this: Smarter people will come up with better ideas. People more versed in science, history, and sociology will recognize the need for innovative solutions to pressing problems, will no longer be muddled by backward-looking solutions and tradition, and will be willing to open up to better results. Open minds welcome long-term effective solutions, including solar and wind power, geothermal energy tapping, and ecosystem protection. Open minds see Man as a participant in global ecology, not the dominant factor. Suddenly rising cost of oil doesn’t matter much because we have wind farms in Kansas and solar farms in Phoenix. Suddenly, it doesn’t make sense to build a new shopping mall and huge motherfucking parking lot on that wetland, when we could just build it downtown and everyone can take the bus, ride their bike, and walk. Oh, and by the way, by personalizing transportation (away from the anonymity of the automobile), we’re increasing the stability of the social fabric of our communities, also a contributing factor to reducing crime and poverty. Healthcare, war on drugs, global humanitarian crises, AIDS, poverty, depression, obesity, greed, corruption, pop music, partisan politics, despotism, fear. Think how much we have the potential to affect if we can just get people to think for themselves.

We don’t face as many problems today as we think we do. Every time you turn around it seems like there’s more shit on your boots - first it’s terrorists, then it’s war, then it’s crime, then it’s corporate crime, then it’s the economy, then it’s commercials, then it’s the FCC, then it’s rap music, then it’s welfare, then it’s social security, then it’s healthcare, then it’s Canada, then it’s the UN, then it’s the Ukraine, then it’s Georgia, then it’s political factions, then it’s nuclear proliferation, then we’re back to terrorism. It never seems to end.

But it does. There are solutions to our problems, and it isn’t about Church or God or being white, rich, or male. It’s not about saving the Iraqis from a despot or the spotted owl from loggers. It’s about getting to the root of the issue, about drawing a line in the sand and saying okay, if we don’t let this be the high water mark and stand our ground here and now, there’s no point in even holding your breath, because we’ll all sink eventually. And we’re not sinking in our own little pools of debt and broken dreams - we’re all drowning in a big messy ocean of it. And we can stem the slide. We just have to want to.

“If you’re not part of the cure, you’re part of the disease...”

:: Freddy F. at 9:45 PM [+] ::

Comments:

Sign me up... I'm in!

# posted by  RICK : 3:04 AM

 

Paul's right! Count me out! Or in. Either really.

# posted by  RICK : 2:51 PM

 

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