Recently a friend of mine asked me why it had been possible in Spain but impossible in the US to get the right and left to agree and vote in favor of a constitutional change to cap the budget deficit.
The reason that what has happened in Spain could not happen in the US is that unfortunately today the US Congress and Senate do not stand for what is good for the people but rather who wins. This problem gets even more complex by the fact that most of the Congressmen/women and Senators have very intimate relations with special interest groups who obviously have a different agenda than serving the people..
Tragically this has resulted in the fact that the US continues to operate with an unfair tax system which favors the rich and multi-national corporations, based on the myth that they are the source of job creation. In reality, more than 60% of the largest US corporations operate abroad and pay no US taxes, or for that matter, very little, or no taxes at all. So far no one has also come up with any convincing and reliable statistics that a wealthy US citizen who pays little or no taxes at all assists in creating US jobs.
The sad fact is that the US national and personal debt now exceeds GDP and that this just can't be blamed on Obama or the Democrats alone. Even the great GOP Guru Ronald Reagan is to blame, as a matter of fact he might even have been the "founding father" of the US economic demise.
The recent downgrade can therefore only be seen as a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the US, across the board, Democrats and Republicans, the Banks and Wall Street, the Regulators and the Fed. In a European style parliamentary government, the leadership of the US would have fallen immediately.
Unfortunately the US is stuck with a two party political system which has reached the limits of its potential.
Unfortunately the US is stuck with a two party political system which has reached the limits of its potential.
Last but not least, let us not forget the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the growth of unregulated financial products, the co-opting of the regulatory agencies, the growth of corporate influence in Washington, and two unfunded and very costly wars of long duration, founded largely on lies and distortions , following a despicable terror attack by a small group of people, and tax cuts for the wealthy.
Sadly the US for several years now has been run by forces which have nothing to do with "a Government by the People for the People".
The rot has gone very deep and the US population is in denial. Maybe its time for another revolution....but will we "oldies" be able to get the kids to look up from their IPADS and convince them that its all about them and that they should take action?
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