Tea Party Goosonomics

We are in the worst recession since the 1930s and many people are suffering. The thing is, most people don't really understand WHY the economy has fallen apart.

I, the Goose, wish to make a few rambling statements on our current screwed up state of affairs:

Debt
I don't mind paying state taxes because Georgia must balance its budget by law. That means the tax money I give to Uncle Sonny immediately goes back into the economy.

On the other hand, I HATE giving tax money to Uncle Sam because much of this money is NOT going back into the economy. Rather, it is being used to pay interest on debt. The sad thing is that most of this debt is owned by foreigners (can you say "China?"), so the money is being DRAINED from the economy. As our country sinks deeper into debt, less money is going back to benefit Americans. So, our horrible Congress spends more, and the downward spiral continues.

The solution is for the U.S. Congress to immediately pass a balanced budget act, and FAST.

Now, the Tea Partiers want taxes cut, but they never mention what services they want cut in return. If you corner them, they will mumble something like, "cut government waste." Now, that is possibly code words for "reduce services to the poor." But, okay, giving them the benefit of the doubt, let's say we cut government waste. HOWEVER, the problem is that most of our taxes go to transfer payments, that is Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid (40%). For 2009, 4 percent went to TARP, which makes me too foaming mad to talk about, so I won't elaborate on that. And then 23% goes to defense spending, which allows us to engage in endless wars and kill Muslims from drones. Funny that conservative folks tell me that President Obama is a secret Muslim because he sure has killed a lot of them.

But I digress ... the point is that Tea Partiers don't want to cut THEIR OWN benefits, nor do they want to cut their beloved military (after all, they are called Tea Party PATRIOTS), yet these are the areas where most of the money is going.

Immigration
Sorry to keep picking on Tea Partiers today, but Tea Partiers have no problem picking on poor illegal immigrants. They keep screaming something about the illegals "stealing our jobs." Hell, do you really want to pick lettuce all day? The funny thing is that I don't hear conservatives screaming about the millions of our jobs exported overseas. That is another big cash drain on our economy. At least the illegal aliens are putting money BACK into the economy through rent, sales tax, and the purchase of consumables.

Also, I would like to point out that illegal immigration has gone way down since the recession started. So, like most Tea Party issues, this issue is a crock of poop.

I realize that my own theory to the job drain is controversial, but I link it to global overpopulation. Our jobs our going to countries that are overpopulated, which dilutes the labor wage. So, to the Chinese and Indians, hey, I have a plan -- let's all have less babies. This will create a labor shortage, forcing companies to pay us more. It's basic economics, man. And you Indian and Chinese friends will not only get a better wage, but we Americans will get a break, because it will be less profitable for U.S. firms to export our jobs. I'm just sayin' ... you know, just an idea.

Medical Sector
The medical sector of our economy is doing quite well. Regretfully, it is a major drag on our economy. Nearly every American pays a sizable chunk of cash so that they can feel better and live longer. New technologies allow us to live longer, but they are extremely expensive. Plus, as we live longer we are a drain on insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid. Thus, once again, we have a horrible, downward spiral. The hard truth is that the longer we live, the more we place a drag on the economy. Oh sure, we're pumping billions into the medical sector, but the young people aren't putting enough money back into the system.

The current U.S. medical system is really designed for revenue and not for health. Face it, the medical institutions do not have a vested interest to get you well and quickly, since sick people bring in major money. The clinics and hospitals can squeeze the insurance companies, and the insurance companies can simply raise premiums.

I really like the Kaiser Permanente model, which is more like a health subscription service rather than insurance. If we have many subscription health programs competing in the open market, they would have a financial interest in keeping you well, so that they could keep their subscriptions low, to make them more efficient.

While I applaud the Democrats for passing the health care bill, which is more than the GOP could have ever done, I regret to say that the legislation is a huge, muddled mess. I believe that an advanced society should provide universal health care for its citizens — we just haven't arrived there yet.

Also, for those who call me a liberal, please sit down because what I am about to say will shock you: I don't think companies should be obligated to provide health care. That is simply a benefit they may offer to attract the best workers. If we had more subscription based health plans, there would be more emphasis on wellness and more affordable care for all. But right now, the health care system is only a step away from organized crime, and they are raking in billions, so any meaningful change to the current system will be difficult.

So, I'm bringing this up, and please forgive me, but the videos I saw of the Tea Partiers in Washington, DC showed that most of them were obese. So, really guys, if you want to help the economy go to the gym.

Energy
Now, here is an economic sector that swims in money. But many experts say that we reached Peak Oil and that supplies will only go down. I can assure you that when our economy cranks up again, we will be hit in the face with a huge increase in energy costs, which will take much steam out of the recovery. We can beat this bullet by taking a few billion from the American war machine and diverting it to green energy research. This will do more for peace than building a few more stealth bombers. We HAVE the technology right now for a green economy, and we just need a little more research to make it viable. Once it is viable, we can start investing in green infrastructure. And at the same time we can create a wonderful green energy industry, and we can export our technology to China so they can start giving America some money, instead of us giving them all of ours. There is a real opportunity in this area, but our incompetent, disoriented, and totally dysfunctional federal government has made little progress in this area.

I know you Tea Partiers don't believe in Global Climate Change, and you probably don't believe in Peak Oil either. But I do know you don't like our reliance on foreign energy sources, and I know that you understand how dysfunctional this makes our foreign relations. I think we can all agree on that. And, shoot, relying on other countries for our energy ain't patriotic (oh right, we'll just drill more).

Social Security
The Tea Partiers love to scream the word "socialism," however all of us our socialists. Let's look at the facts. I can say that myself, and all my friends, are pretty stable people and we could probably create retirement accounts without the government's help. But, I know that many people do not have stable lives, and that's often no fault of their own. Due to a variety of reasons, people may simply not be able to save for retirement their entire lives. So, I don't mind being a socialist a little bit to create a government retirement pool, to ensure that others have social security, even though they've had some trips and falls in life. And I may have a fall tomorrow, so I think Social Security is a smart idea. Should we let people opt out of the system? I'm inclined to say "no" because even the luckiest person in the world can have a complete turnaround tomorrow. Social Security reminds us that we are all in this together.

But, as we pay the billions in medical care to live longer, we are draining the Social Security system. So, folks, I'm afraid we are going to have to work longer and retire later.

Summary
Okay, Tea Partiers, sorry to pick on you today. But your constant hypocrisy sort of keeps me pissed. The point is, all of us are in this ride together, and if we want to survive this mess we have to stop being divisive and delusional, and start working together.

Of course, some won't even acknowledge a problem and others will argue endlessly about what the REAL problem is, and Congress will deadlock as usual. But if we have a higher vision and a sense of unity, maybe we can get over the usual bickering.

Goose here, signing out...