What would you do in this
situation described by Jack Lessenberry at Metro Times?
Let's say you have a brother who just can't manage money or pay his bills. He's in debt up to his eyeballs. His kids aren't getting adequate medical care or education because of his spending.
Five years ago, he did have money, but blew it all, and more, on a wasteful and destructive foreign adventure that made your family a lot of enemies. Last week, however, he topped that.
He arranged to borrow a whole lot, most of it, presumably, from the Chinese. But he didn't use it to pay his bills; he gave most of it to a bunch of millionaires who didn't need it, to curry favor with them.
So you tell me: Is it time that we stepped in and did an intervention, or whatever it's called, before our family is ruined forever?
In case you didn't guess, Lessenberry is talking about George Bush and his fiscal mismanagement of our country. Intervention is definitely needed and long overdue, but the problem is it may be too late.
Here are some more horrid facts. The damage to the budget and our economy caused by Bush's latest tax cuts won't kick in till after he leaves office. But they will hit at a particularly vulnerable time.
That's because the baby boomers will be starting to retire, in an enormous avalanche that will increase for years and put immense financial strains on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and on other money needed because of the collapse of many private pension systems.
There won't be nearly enough money coming in, partly because of the many tax cuts for the wealthy, partly because there just won't be enough new workers. For clues as to what that might mean for your family, you might want to rent the movie Cinderella Man.
The folks in that movie, which is really more about the Great Depression than boxing, got in the shape they were in because of a government that pursued economic policies of the sort George Bush and his gang have been vigorously pushing.
It might be too late for an intervention, but it's not too late to divorce ourselves from Bush's dysfunctional family in Washington.
6 comments:
Lessenberry makes a great point. If someone ran his family the way this admin runs the country, he'd be up for Most Unfit Parent of the Year awards, and probably have his kids taken away from him.
And who would be the most outraged - family-values conservatives. Go figure.
Remember, at least Russ Feingold tried to draw some attention to bush's wiretap crime and no one would join him.
For whatever reason the Congress on both sides seem to just look the other way about everything he does no matter how bad it is.
really excellent post ... because this is the frickin' truth ... it is a global acting out of such individual issues ... actually, this is a brilliant post ... danke
Intervention?!? Kathy, have you ever attended one of those? Things get messy, names are called, and sometimes lawyers and/or the police get involved. Sure, problems may get solved, but at what cost?
No, clearly what's needed here in the old American standby: ignore the problem, and it'll probably go away.
Patricia, I think Congress looks the other way most of the time because they're all beholden to the same special interests. No one works for the people anymore.
Rory, gracias muchacho!
Rex, you're probably right about just ignoring the problem. It worked for Republican voters last time around, right?
The point is well taken that all of the shit will hit the proverbial fan AFTER Bush leaves office, and perhaps replaced by a Democrat in which Republicans will say, "see, we told you Democrats couldn't fiscally manage the country!"
How the Republicans get the reputation for being fiscally responsible is beyond me.
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