I appreciate the comments I have received from neighbors and friends who encourage me to continue to publish these articles in the Dawson News and Advertiser. It is important to know that there is positive reaction, because all I read in the paper from the Tea Partiers is negative and hateful. I am glad they are reading my columns, however!
Solving Our Economic Problems
This has been a busy two weeks in politics. I’ve read columns from our two Tea Party writers in this week’s and last week’s paper using their standard “Obama and the liberals are all socialists” scare tactic. I watched the Republican Presidential debates—wow! Then I listened to our President layout a logical plan to get our economy going.
As for the Dawson News and Advertiser Tea Party columnists, I am certainly glad they read my columns. I am sorry that they refuse to look at the facts, but unfortunately it is emotion, whipped up by a few wealthy individuals, not the facts which drives their party. Their so-called grass roots movement was started by the Koch brothers—two of the richest men in America. The Koch brothers fund The Heritage Foundation and Freedom Works which relay their twisted facts to whoever will read their newsletters and websites. Rupert Murdoch, who we have found out will use any means possible to get a story, funds their media avenue, Fox (tell me how to think) News. So they blame anyone they can for the troubles with our economy. Last week it was immigrants, the ACLU, and too much freedom for black Americans. The week before the blame went to public education and teachers. And of course their biggest cause, President Obama.
Then there was the Republican Presidential Debate. The party’s current front runner, Rick Perry, made two outlandish statements. First, social security is a “Ponzi scheme”. There was nothing about keeping it in place and improving it. I wonder what that means? Then he said that we have seen the end of Keynesian economics. He wants to strengthen “trickle down” economics. Even President Reagan’s budget director David Stockton has said that “trickle-down” didn’t work. All it did was contribute to our huge deficit, increase the gap between the top 5% of Americans and the other 95% while stagnating middle class income and increasing the number of people living in poverty. That helped lead us to the brink of depression and the great recession of 2008.
Next was President Obama’s speech to both houses of Congress laying out the basics of his plan to jump start the economy and get people working again. Of course, this plan would require that the Republicans and the Tea Party compromise. The only problem is that Boehner has stated is doesn’t like the word compromise and McConnell has said his main focus is making sure that Obama doesn’t get re-elected. It doesn’t sound to me like their interested in helping save our economy.
There has been no plan from the Republicans/Tea Party as to how to create jobs. That hasn’t happened because they don’t want President Obama to be re-elected. They don’t want the economy to recover. That has been evident since Rush Limbaugh said a few days after President Obama’s inauguration that he hoped Obama failed. When there was no response from Republicans about his statement, you knew that was what they hoped for too. The only problem is that if Obama fails, then the country does also. And that is exactly what has happened in the last 2 ½ years. The Republicans and the Tea party have played the role of obstructionists knowing full well that it would mean that Americans would continue to suffer. Those Americans that don’t have jobs and are losing their homes are mostly lower income and middle class Americans. I recently met with a field representative of Tom Graves at his office and asked if perhaps those families making less than $50,000 a year might need help with rising health care and college tuition expenses. He basically said those people were making that amount because they were lazy. So to the 48% of Dawson County families who earn $50,000 or less, you can see their concerns don’t lie with you.
So now what happens? Do we continue to do nothing about our economy or do we work together for all Americans. In a recent editorial in the Gainesville Times by Joan King, a North Georgia resident, she said, “Whatever happened to the idea of the common good? These days even the words, "common good" have become divisive. When I wrote a column on the idea of common good back in 2010, I was accused of being a socialist. But if there is no common good, then it's every person for themselves. Not only is this not the Christian way, it isn't even good social history. Life is better for most of us today because of the cooperative efforts of those who came before us.”
So will we come together to save our nation or will we continue on the road to destruction. I hope our Congress decides it is time to work together to solve the economic problems we face.
Bette Holland
September 12, 2011
