No Way to Run a Country

I am a believer in taking a stand. I feel that there are certain things that cannot be compromised. However, the United States of America was founded on compromise. The story of our Constitution is one of compromise. In the last weeks, the unwillingness to compromise on both sides of the congressional aisle  has caused tremendous difficulty. It has almost ruined our country.

It is ridiculous to say that we will not vote on a bill unless everyone supports a balanced budget amendment. Some comprise was needed. It is likewise ridiculous that rich corporations and individuals pay no taxes. It is ridiculous that Social Security taxes have a cap. If we taxed the upper class like we do the middle class, many of our funding problems for Social Security would go away. The rich need to be taxed just like the middle class. Neither political party has solved this problem when they have had control of congress. The pointing fingers are hypocritical at best. And there is no whine louder than that of a retired right winger who may have his or her Social Security benefits cut.

Both political parties are so concerned with maintaining power that what serves the people has been forgotten and lost many years ago. The media ideologues on the right and left serve no purpose except to support a broken system. Where are the statesmen? Gone, gone everyone.

On the other hand, the spend, spend, spend mentality must stop. Our country has reached the limit. We cannot do everything for everyone. We are way beyond basic governmental services. Sympathy for the less fortunate is a wonderful thing, but we do them no service with handouts except to acquire votes for the hand that provides.

What to do? If we can find some statesmen, or better yet, stateswomen, we should do away with the U.S. Department of Education. As a former educator, I never saw a federal dollar directly touch my classroom. That is not to say that there are not good federal programs, but we do not need a monstrous government department to administer them. We need to rein in Department of Defense spending. There is probably no other branch of government wasting more tax payer dollars. We need to raise retirement age and Social Security benefits to 68 over a period of time. If we phased that in over 20 years, those who are 48 now would have plenty of time to plan for retirement and adjust their wants and needs. We need to institute a workfare program for those who currently receive welfare. Welfare recipients need to work for what they receive. Community gardens would be a great place to start. Parenting classes should be mandatory. Soft drinks, potato chips and candy should not be available to those on food stamps. If food stamps bought only rice, beans and vegetables, it would be a boon to our country. I do not want anyone to go hungry, but I've eaten my share of rice and beans. Nothing wrong with rice and beans.

Our country has many needs. Infrastructure and healthcare are still major issues. I'm not smart enough to tackle those, but if politicians will give up their lust for power and concentrate on the needs of their constituents, our country can move ahead again. We will have to work together just like the founders.