We‘re programmed to believe that when it comes to government we can’t make a difference; we think it’s just too big of a problem for us to tackle. This is exactly where politicians want us.
Politicians can always find economists who support their position which gives them an opportunity to use political scare tactics. When a presidential candidate shares an economic idea that is real reform (like a flat tax) it’s attacked by other politicians. These politicians quote what their economists are saying even though the candidate with the idea also has many economists supporting them.
Think about it, when have you ever heard all economists agree on anything? Anytime you hear a politician cutting down another politician’s plan because of what economists are saying keep in mind that economists are also saying the opposite. I contend that none of them know for sure what might happen plus it can’t be any worse compared to where we are today. I don’t think doing nothing is an option anymore; at least if we want to salvage our country.
The U.S. is in huge trouble and unfortunately there are no simple solutions. The ideas of buying more expensive American goods, changing our tax code, reducing the size of government, reducing the pay of government employees, etc. would work but are we willing to take a hit on our way of life? It will be very hard convincing people they need to make sacrifices to save our country.
We’re too vested in our current lifestyles. Most people don’t like change and our generation doesn’t have the sacrifice mentality that our parents and grandparents had. Our tendency is to look for the blame elsewhere when we haven’t done our part to make necessary changes. It’s true that our government has played a huge role in our failed economy but the fact is we’re part of the problem as well.
We’re more inclined to short-term thinking but in this case it’s going to lead to a depression. When this occurs we will be sacrificing like we never have before. I think our policy should be to do what we need to do to save our economy and let the chips fall where they may. Our GDP is an over-inflated balloon that’s getting ready to burst just like our housing market did.
I think we need to put together a New Federalist Document and get support from people in both parties. Then we need to get it into the hands of every taxpayer we can. This isn’t my area of expertise but there’re certainly people who know how to use medium like the internet to reach a large population base.
I think our goal should be to get in front of Congress and share the entire document. They are so used to drilling people with questions I think it’s our turn to drill them. This would be a good time to let them know about Citizens’ Rights clearly stated in our Constitution that if things aren’t working we have the authority to change and/or overthrow the government. They’ve been given plenty of opportunities to do what’s right for our nation and they’ve failed badly.
We should make a bold statement at the end of the presentation that we won’t be placated, we expect real changes; no more talk just action. If they don’t agree with a particular idea in our document then we should demand an explanation. The bottom line is that we need to make very clear they’re working for us not the other way around. They’ve been the ones who have intimidated us into not taking an active role in our government. They’ve convinced us not to waste our time expressing our opinions because all we get from politicians are form letters from their staff.
I realize this sounds harsh but I believe our politicians are intentionally misleading us. Both parties know they fill a voter niche so they don’t worry too much about swaying that many votes. All they have to do is get us so angry at the other party that we’ll keep our representatives in office to take the bad guys on.
I’ve been guilty of not being a good citizen as I’ve set back trusting our politicians will take care of everything. I feel like I’ve been asleep at the wheel because the government has gotten so out of control without me being aware of what’s been happening. Maybe you’re in the same boat I am. I hope you’ll join me in saving our economy and our wellbeing. Any feedback and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.