Cliffs are something to be avoided unless you have a hang glider or you want to commit political suicide. Did our Congress have a hang glider that we did not know about? Did most of them want to commit political suicide by bringing us so close to the edge if a fiscal cliff and leaving important issues unsolved. Or do we Americans expect to much of them because it took decades to get into this mess.
No one Congress or President is to blame, rather I blame our system. I know this is a rehashed argument, but I think there is real truth behind it. To run for office in this country you have to be a millionaire or pander to the rich and influential. It is that simple. So to keep their jobs, our nationally elected officials have to go begging for funds to get reelected and if they anger the big political influencers (a.k.a. the rich and privileged) they face political suicide because their funding for reelection will dry up.
The Fiscal Cliff Fiascoes
The political process in America shares the mother-load of blame for the fiscal cliff fiascoes we continue to face: in two months we face another cliff — the automatic cuts that are coming if Congress can’t come up with a plan to reduce the deficit. These cuts will also be just as detrimental to our economy as the massive tax hikes for all Americans would have been. Even taxing the rich does not come without economic costs.
Our political process is too complex and as programmers know the more complex the code the more apt for error, side effects, and breakdown. We need to seek the power of simplicity. The simple answers are sometimes the wisest ones: the good of the many versus the good of the few. The rights and dignity of the few always respected and revered. Do unto others as you have done unto you.
How do we apply simplicity to our political process? Simplicity requires we all have equal voice. A place to start: free elections. Anyone who wishes to run for Congress or President should have an equal chance of winning. Disallow PACS and big money from the process. Free speech does not include spending millions of dollars to support a candidate. Sorry free speech comes from the mouth not the pocketbook. Candidates should have an equal amount of money to spend so the playing field is equalized. Just because you are rich and able to afford the now billions of dollars needed to campaign does not mean you have the best answers for the United States.
Simplicity to complex issues also start at the smallest denominators. Our communities can be empowered to create simple solutions to national problems that best fit the needs of our communities. Our budget should be based on getting the most resources to the people and not to profit the rich.
Simplicity is a good rule of thumb. Even God used this rule. He gave us 10 simple commandments to abide by and a simple overreaching rule for everyone. “Do unto others.” Congress should remember this simple God-given rule when they face the next cliff. Would they want their families pushed off into calamity and hurt?
P.S. https://movetoamend.org/
“We the People, Not We the Corporations” inspired my thoughts in this blog. They have a real simple belief that I repeated here: We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.