The shouting is over and directions for the next four years selected. Judging by past behavior (the best predictor, psychologically, of future behavior), we can look forward to:
1. Continued and probably expanded tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and large Corporations. It is no surprise that the stock market soared on the election news: big business stands to gain greatly by the results. Predictions? A strong effort to curtail product lawsuits, no matter how valid, to protect bottom line profits and continued tax incentives to offshore jobs to third world countries where labor costs are low, worker protections minimal, and profitability unlimited.
2. Protection of drug companies by barring pharmaceutical imports from Canada and discouragement of the formation of purchasing cartels for Medicare and other public programs.
3. Semi-privatization of Social Security leading to the emigration of higher paid young employees into private plans, unavoidably diminishing the influx of money available for current and future recipients.
4. Expanded funding for the morass of Iraq and support for the new Afghani government, benefiting the Haliburtons of the world rather than the American worker.
5. Increasing isolation throughout the world as the perceived "big bully of the west" shuns any support which demands shared power and responsible accountability.
6. A decreasing emphasis on job creation as it is no longer a political football and therefore a dead horse. The hope is that the unemployed will eventually take minimum wage service and temporary jobs, the only widely available positions, and business will reap the rewards.
7. The jury is still out on what may happen to a woman's right of choice and committed homosexual unions but we would be well-served to fear cultural values legislated by anyone.
The Have-Nots - the jobless, the homeless, the powerless, and the poor - stand to lose what little they have in a nation where the wealthy gain ever more power while the working class, by the thousands, slips permanently below the poverty line.
"A society may be defined by how it treats its most vulnerable members."
Who said that and where is he when we need him?
Virginia Bola is a licensed clinical psychologist with deep interests in Social Psychology and politics. She has performed therapeutic services for more than 20 years and has studied the effects of cultural forces and employment on the individual. The author of an interactive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com
no-contract cleaning service Des Plaines ..THE ROSICRUCIAN COUNCIL OF THREE:A Thelema/OTO leader who became a... Read More
The Federal trade Commission has a rule, which says that... Read More
We have all heard of the huge debates surrounding genetically... Read More
Originally published in 1958, "The Ugly American" (Lederer & Burdick)... Read More
Revitalization Downtown projects are all the rage in fact the... Read More
It is important as populations expand to work on the... Read More
Policemen in many US cities are taking their new authority... Read More
Last Summer the Federal Trade Commission came out with a... Read More
(1) Each person is to have an equal right to... Read More
Hello! Happy new year. May you live a long healthy... Read More
Since the United States Government is promoting the whistle blower... Read More
We are currently seeing a build up in China of... Read More
Well, another election has come and gone in the US... Read More
September 11, 2001 could have been prevented. We could have... Read More
When were the forms of media created? When did advertising... Read More
Many parents might think it a bit farfetched to compare... Read More
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has... Read More
I propose a special Projection Device code-named: "TIPED". This system... Read More
Will a bus running across the borders bring cordial relations... Read More
Judgment and detective work requires thinking about possibilities. One of... Read More
Let the reader be reminded, that this document we are... Read More
The idea that the majority shows the will of the... Read More
The Iranian elections are certainly interesting indeed. The ruling party... Read More
As you can see from some of our previous articles,... Read More
Why are intelligent people so afraid of the idea that... Read More
bathroom cleaning service Lake Forest ..This is the fourth and final article in a series... Read More
What has really changed in the housing market with regards... Read More
Here are some miscellaneous thoughts on issues many of which... Read More
Most government agencies cannot pass an audit of their expenses.... Read More
The entry by telephone and cable companies into the Internet... Read More
All to often law makers and regulators create rules and... Read More
To be justified, taxes should satisfy a few conditions:Above all,... Read More
Presently Universities and Private Enterprise are working to build more... Read More
Regarding the issues with the Space Shuttle and the in... Read More
I have witnessed a new era of security in the... Read More
Those who are above the law or act as such... Read More
Reform Social Security has been talked of Capital Hill for... Read More
The TSA seems to have completely missed the ball at... Read More
When Boris Yeltsin spoke about an experiment that 'they' wrought... Read More
Former Senator, Daniel Moynihan, accurately summed up the situation when... Read More
You know now that North Korea is backing down on... Read More
Just as everyone has breathed a sigh of relief at... Read More
Many folks who are pro-NASA and Pro-Space Colonies say that... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission in their latest move to increase... Read More
With pain rocking through my whole body today, I cast... Read More
It can be dangerous to engage in free speech. This... Read More
Last week, the media coverage called the airplane crash in... Read More
It appears we are getting a little bit of Sun... Read More
We presently have adequate sniffer devices in this country to... Read More
The Presidents Before Washington:From the moment that the first Declaration... Read More
Political |