Perverse, Savage, and Lunatic

Of course we have budget problems!
Better than half of all discretionary spending is for military purposes.
Our health care costs are the highest in the world,
although the extent of our care is not. Too many have no care.
We insist that insurance companies should skim from health care dollars,
when we ought to have a single-payer, non-profit system.

Social Security more than pays its own way. It always has.
We steal Social Security money for general budget use.

We are just now climbing out of a huge recession
brought on by chicanery and greed and lawlessness.

Now our income is less than our expenditures.

Forget, for the moment, that in a time like this we ought
to go into debt to put the country back on its feet. If we don't,
the recession will drag on for decades. Cutting back
on public spending right now will only make everything worse.

So what do our politicians do?

They refuse to admit our militarism. For years, under Bush,
they didn't even include military spending in their budget figures.
That was pure charlatinism! Pretend it isn't there!

They refuse to really fix our health care delivery system,
but arrange things so insurance companies, who don't give
a diddly-damn about health care, get paid to administer and limit it.

So what do our politicians do?

They refuse to talk about raising taxes on the people
who really have the money: those at the top. In fact,
they cut taxes on the wealthiest every chance they get,
and thus make the budgetary problem even worse!

To save money, they propose to cut Social Security,
cut health care for the poor and disabled, to cut back
on education (which is our economic lifeline), and
sell the black walnut trees in the city park.

They make things even better for the wealthiest,
and even worse for the people at the bottom.

That is perverse! It is savagery! It is lunacy!

Comments

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