American Rebirth Movement -- Part 3

I've noticed through the years, especially when working with troubled people in therapy, a job I had years ago and have recently returned to as a way to combine skills to make it through this recession, that many people, when given good solutions start discounting the solutions as unworkable. For many people, real solutions are frightening, and some people fear success more than they do failure. Solutions and success mean being responsible -- day in and day out. The pressure of being responsible and applying solutions is too much for some people to bear -- they'd rather be able to blame others, fate, a handicap or past experiences -- anything but take the solution and go with it.

American society is like that in many ways -- everybody complains but few do anything about it. It's much easier to feel victimized by the system, some power outside our control, than it is to find solutions and do what you can to succeed. So, naturally, some of the hyperbolic claims I've made about the rebirth of America will be discounted as naive and utopian. The sophisticated cynic doesn't believe in the goodness of man. The statist will tell you only a strong interventionist state, which regulates human activity, can ensure that society is fair and that a safety net is there for those victimized by the oppresive system.

But deep down, I think we know what is possible -- that men and women can cooperate and solve problems. Most of us have witnessed the powerful reality of compassion, the creative energy of groups with a purpose. America is known for its charitable spirit -- we simply haven't unleashed our full power to tackle all societal problems.

With nation-wide, coordinated efforts we could build charity hospitals and clinics all across this nation to give healthcare to the poor, with health professionals volunteering their time, or taking reduced pay. Most people want to help -- they want to be part of solutions and know they are making a difference, even if there is fear in such responsibility.

If the market was freed from strangling regulations, income taxes were lowered, or ended altogether, and if companies are challenged to come up with solutions to meet the demands of retirement, healthcare coverage and unemployment, smart people (and there are many, many out there) would devise means to insure these areas of demand are met-- and if society spreads the idea that young couples having kids need to start dealing with retirement, healthcare and emergencies from the moment of birth, creative savings/insurance plans would be offered so that by the time someone becomes 20 years old, their policies would cover most safety net issues.

It's not wise for anyone developing different theories of meeting society's needs to get into specifics, because there's the risk of getting bogged down in the details and looking foolish, but we need to begin envisioning ways to voluntarily create safety nets and an environment in which the economy can thrive so that anyone wanting a job can find one. We need innovative education solutions which arise from supply and demand in the market, and which meet our needs.

Those who sit back and scoff aren't helping. I'll close this series out tomorrow.

The American Rebirth Movement -- Getting the groove back

We'll call it ARM so I can save on the typing. As the news poured in today and I was going from link to link, it all became clear to me -- why not just stop the madness, loosen up and make it happen? The news is filled with huge problems and a couple of small answers here and there, but no answers of any significance.

I kept thinking of that pile of useless paper called a heathcare reform bill, and it occured to me -- this is not going to work. Not just the reform bill, but all of it. Government has reached the point of maximum incompetence, but don't get me wrong -- I'm not simply repeating the old government-is-bad narrative -- no I'm not that simple-minded like those redneck racist yahoos who are calling for the guvmint to git da hell outta thar bizness. Hell, I've read books, slick, I ain't yer average hick.

What I envisioned was nuthin' less than the rebirthin' of Amurica. And don't say you don't nothin' bout birthin' no nation, cuz I know you do. Okay, enuff with da dialect.

Well, maybe you don't know anything about rebirth, because you never studied the first birth in depth, but this is a new day, anyway, and, as they say -- "It's better than doing nothing!" Oh, this is much better than doing nothing.

The country is at a point where we all know that something must be done, so we'll start at a point of agreement. It would be good if President Obama went along with ARM, but it's not necessary. He is a good salesman, and those skills will be needed, and this is where  presidents and congress-peeps can play a major role and redeem themselves in the slaunched-eyes of the public.

Since we've perversely placed the state at the center of America's attention when it comes to big issues of change, politicians will need to be leaders of the ARM. If not Obama, then the next president, or the next, depending on how bad our financial house is disordered, should speak frankly with the American people -- the upcoming Economic Summit would be a good opportunity. The message should transcend the ordinary emptiness of political speech, and should be aimed straight at society in general as a large group of individuals who have the power to transform the country and overcome our financial and social problems.  

I believe there's a growing desire in the country to be empowered to create change. The powerlessness many people feel is frustrating -- people want to be able to do something. Despite the loss in wealth due to the recession, there is still a lot of wealth in America, but beyond wealth there's a great deal of untapped creative energy. If challenged, the people of this country could create a new America. Cynics will say the American people are ignorant and self-centered, but the cynics would be the first group of small minds to be left on the porch in a regenerative movement. The tension the nation feels between where we are and where we could be  creates frustration, cynicism and pessimism, self-deating responses which keep us trapped in a looping downward spiral, but the creative tension can inspire a regenerative energy which breaks the country free of the negative loop into an optimistic future of innovation and creative solutions.

Using the bully pulpit, the president and members of the political class can embrace the private sector as the key to generative energy. An out-of-the-box possibility is a nation challenged to use its resources to, first, resolve the healthcare problem. An admission from the government players that any government solution will be inadequate to the needs of a large, diverse, free country, and that private solutions are the first choice, would remove the healthcare problem from the poliitical realm of partisan wrangling and special interest warfare to the private realm where resources are available to develope voluntary solutions which won't be subject to the corrupting influence of politics.

Now, in the Information Age, is the perfect time to begin the private resolution of problems such as healthcare which have become entangled in government programs which are quickly bleeding money and energy to little good effect. An environment of transparency, urgency and optimistic problem-solving should be created in America -- a new way of thinking and acting should be born. At no time in our history has it ever been this important to join public and private sources to move forward. The old game of government trying to get as much from the rich as they can get and the rich trying to hide as much as they can from the government poachers should end.

Look at all the wealth in the sports industry, in Hollywood, in the music industry, among billionaires like Gates, Buffett, Soros, Pickens, Turner, and all the millionaires across the country. If these people were brought into the game and asked to be vital players, the amount of resources and connections and positive energy is staggering. If businesspeople and the rich in general could trust government as an honest partner and they felt like their efforts to solve societal problems would truly be good for everyone concerned, there's no limits to the creative ideas and efforts which could change the direction of the nation. Just imagine what it would do for the psyche of the nation to truly feel like we are all in this together, and that as individuals we can make a difference and work together toward something excellent.

With a concerted effort of the public and private realms, the economy would turn around -- and as we grow in prospertiy and our standard of living rises, a constant focus placed on building a healthy, educated, safe and optimistic society will benefit us all.

I will extend this idea in a couple more posts to present particulars which I think are possible and desirable for the rebirth of America.

The almost impossible task

We can continue to piddle at the cusp of our problems in America, or we can begin facing our problems, identifying them for what they are, and then find solutions. The progressives are still hammering away at the narrative that the state is necessary to correct past injustices, and that the only way to do this is to transform capitalism into some form of socialization and central planning. There are those who look at government intervention then say that without intervention certain things wouldn't have happened: education, post office, roads, strong middle class, assistance for the poor, Medicare, Medicaide, food stamps, unemployment insurance, technology research, dams for energy, infrastructure of all sorts, public transit, safety, environmental protection, Social Security, de-segregation, women's rights, civil rights, building standards, food and drug standards, consumer protection of all sorts, financial regulations, on and on and on.

It's almost a hopeless case because we have given government so much power to control these areas of concern, that all people can see is what has happened due to government intervention. It would take a genius imagination to go back to the beginning and imagine other routes to the same results, or much better results. You would have to assess the effectiveness of all the areas of government intervention, then build a fictional alternative -- "fictional", because in most of these areas of concern the private sector was never allowed to, or never forced to, deal with the problems.

This would be a herculean task, although many libertarian writers have shown how some alternatives would work -- writers such as Rothbard and Friedman. But to address all government interventions would be a lifetime task, and even then people would have a difficult time understanding the alternative vision, because they are trained from childhood to accept government intervention as vital. Another herculean task is the one presented to libertarian-leaning policy makers who promote privatization for this or that -- for every area of concern which would be better off privatized, there are thousands of bureacrats dependent on a government program connected to the concern, politicians who are trying to save their power-base, and perhaps millions of dependent citizens who are afraid of change and don't want to risk losing something the government has provided.

I have no idea how government can ever be limited as it should be limited short of a collapse and rude national awakening. Our government is presently driving the country to financial disaster, and we can no loger pretend it's not an all-out attack on the free market -- between the energy efforts and healthcare reform we're talking long term, permanent costs, not just one or two time bailouts or a stimulus package here and there. Plus, with the attack on free enterprise, unemployment is likely to be high for a long time, costing us much more in benefits to support the out-of-work, with permanent unemployment rising. Safety net costs will go through the roof. It also appears we're politically stuck in two wars which will require long-term maintenance.

Baby boomers are retiring, so SS and Medicare will sink even further in the bog of unfunded liabilities. With government regulating the financial industry into stupor, lenders are going to be skittish and very conservative. Capitalism is being strangled and government spending is rising at record levels. This can't be sustained, and if government tries to soak the rich, money will flee even faster. The big question is -- Who is going to pay for all this? More and more young people are leaving high school with no marketable skills, barely able to read and write. It's incredible that small and medium size businesses are not organizing people to take to the streets -- but, so far, I don't hear any loud reaction.

I'm afraid people are stunned and hoping it will all go away, but from all the evidence it's only getting worse. More and more people are becoming dependent on government assistance and this is not good. We need another revolution, but most intelligent people are capitulating to power, playing the political game and burying their heads in the sand. A nation full of competent men and women, and we're being led by a handful of new age techno-fascists. The only ray of hope has been the Tea Party movement but it should be quadruple its size. This is no time for a replay of intellectuals slobbering over Stalin -- and, no, I'm not comparing Obama to Stalin, just weak intellectuals to weak intellectuals.

We're in a period where ordinary people are protesting, doing something they've never done before, participating in politics as free people should, and the intellectuals are trying to ridicule them into silence. Anyone who chooses the corrupt status quo of state power over people who want to limit the size of an over-reaching government are complicit in the destruction of liberty -- the media, Hollywood, representatives, big corporations, academics, unions, and every man and women who remains silent because they are afraid of losing some bauble from the gift-givers in D.C., they are all complicit.

Big corporations are hiding from competition behind the skirt of the state, comfortable in their international business, unconcerned with the damage done to the American economy, but when government gets desparate for money they will drain these sorry rent-seekers like hogs on a hook at the slaughter-house.

Just look at how Pelosi and Obama have strong-armed the insurance industry and shackled the finance industry, plus what they are in the process of doing with the auto-industry. Whatever company gets in their sights will be at risk. But, these companies asked for it -- when you make a deal with the devil you have to read the fine print.

The problem now is that it's doubtful we can stop this. One thing is for sure -- docility, capitulation and compromise will not help matters.

Why would anyone want the public option?

http://reason.com/blog/2009/10/29/new-at-reason-steve-chapman-on

What Steve Chapman writes is not surpising. Anyone who has paid attention to government run programs knows the inefficiencies, the manipulation, the hidden cost and the underlying goal to expand power.

What's surprising is that so many many people still support the public option. Surely the public knows by now that government programs aren't the answer. This just goes to prove how deeply ingrained is the dependence on government. You would also think that out of all the representatives in government there would be far more fighting against the public option on the Democrat side of the aisle. Because, even though there are many people who still don't get it, there are many, many more who are getting it, and this could be a political nightmare for many politicians with dreams of re-election.

If you're not a part of the solution, then...

A lot of people are worried about the extreme rhetoric coming from the right. They think it's even more extreme than false accusations of racism from the left against Rush Limbaugh, so it must be bad. I also keep hearing that the information from the right is false, but I don't see any proof, except the silly responses to hyperbole. Perhaps part of the problem is that the left understands hyperbole only when they use it, but not when it's used against them.

Those of us who don't consider ourselves either right or left have a choice in deciding who is most correct when evaluating all the rhetoric. I choose the right after much evaluation. I can find very little I agree with from the left these days, except maybe with the faction which wants to end the wars, but even then the reasons for ending the wars are likely different. I believe that politics have interfered with war efforts, and since that's the case, I say end the wars. Plus, I no longer trust the assessment from government regarding threats to our national interests. We haven't been attacked since 9/11, and since the enemy can no longer be found and eliminated, it puts our troops in a bad situation. I don't want our country to spend money and lose lives to rebuild and protect Afghanistan -- I don't think we have the support or cooperation of the Afghani people.

Everything else coming from the left seems counter-productive to a healthy, prosperous, vital and free America. From the pseudo-science of global warming to the healthcare reform, the left pushes policies and regulations which will violate individual rights and bankrupt the country.

If I have a problem with the right, it's that there's not enough resistance to the left's policies and regulations. It seems that one possibility is for the private sector to push the Republican Party back to sanity in order to avoid collapse and a long period of stagnation and high unemployment. The Democrat Party is unravelling, and it's obvious that they've pushed for changes which are destructive to our country, and will continue to do so -- now is the time for the Republican Party to develope a plan to turn it around -- it's now or never.

One of the first courses of actions should be to end all corporate welfare, so that small businesses are strengthened to compete in an open and free market. Then, offer tax breaks to small businesses so that they can grow and start hiring. Scrap the heathcare reform plans offered by the Democrats and institute free market solutions to healthcare -- scrap cap and trade. Rescind all irrational regulations regarding drilling for oil. Phase out Social Security with private retirement plans. Begin the transfer of public education to private education. We need a ten year plan to transfer the welfare state to private assistance organizations.

We need Constitutional amendments to close the loopholes dealing with public welfare and interstate commerce, clarifying the limitations of government. Make spending cuts a top priority and eliminate every government program which is useless and a drain on tax revenues -- give this money back to the people in the form of tax cuts, then implement a plan to end income taxes after the cuts take place.

This is a start, and it's necessary to do these things if our country is going to survive and thrive in the 21st century. So, for all those people worried about extreme criticism with no proposals for solutions -- these are mine. Anything less is piddling at the cusp. I have little faith the Republican Party will offer these changes, so, if I'm correct, it brings us to the only other solution -- a third party revolution.