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
eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..In Police Magazine I read a great article about transient... Read More
Conventional warfare is getting to its limits. Soon wars will... Read More
I've decided to go public with my intentions: I will... Read More
The NSA failed the American people and allowed the attack... Read More
Einstein when ask how did he believe WWIII would be... Read More
Regarding the de-regulation of energy, this is not such a... Read More
When I was growing up, I actually considered a career... Read More
As the Baby Boomer Generation continue to get older, one... Read More
A governing.com report blast one of the major grassroots initiatives... Read More
Well, another election has come and gone in the US... Read More
The process of researching this topic has been an interesting... Read More
Many of those who wish to fight for our country... Read More
One of my favourite pieces of music is the Sex... Read More
From the comfort of their plush offices and five to... Read More
With people living longer we have some problems as those... Read More
Since the United States Government is promoting the whistle blower... Read More
The steel tariff taxes a few years ago hurt industry... Read More
We are having a problem in America with Public Notaries,... Read More
I applaud Monsanto for their R and D. I would... Read More
In typical bureaucratese, the pensive EBRD analyst ventures with the... Read More
We know that in Maryland, which some call "Merry Land"... Read More
When North Americans discuss Cuba, they always focus the intense... Read More
Today we wish to examine a fallacy, or error in... Read More
Our Airports have excess capacity, which is not being used... Read More
Federal Trade Commission Owes Industry and Entrepreneurs an Apology. The... Read More
express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..As the populations expand in Colorado outside of Denver, Las... Read More
The notion that local governments should have almost total monopoly... Read More
US Steel prices have cost franchisees in my company and... Read More
The number of countries in the world at the moment... Read More
Tulipmania - this is the name coined for the first... Read More
The clause (c) of Electronic Crime Act 2004 has been... Read More
"Like humans void of soul or mind, they jeered and... Read More
For years I have been amazed as I've listened to... Read More
Political strategists, branding gurus and image consultants could learn a... Read More
We are slowing the transportation flows of our civilization by... Read More
J. Edgar Hoover and LBJ used to enjoy watching Hoover's... Read More
While many Pennsylvanians are struggling to figure out how they... Read More
I heard on the news this week how America continues... Read More
United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), one of the most... Read More
Judgment and detective work requires thinking about possibilities. One of... Read More
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) is interested in the... Read More
Federal Regulations on Business Destroy America, these regulations are a... Read More
The steel tariff taxes a few years ago hurt industry... Read More
Everyone knows the United States Government often falls down in... Read More
Last Summer the Federal Trade Commission came out with a... Read More
[Author's Note: Another essay that I wrote on notebook paper... Read More
One way to increase evaporation in the ocean might be... Read More
Many people make a lot of money in war. In... Read More
Many are condemning the latest GM Terminator seeds. Yet there... Read More
In an age of terrorism, guerilla and total warfare the... Read More
Political |