The American Freefall

As the bad news continues to pile up surrounding the economy, you may wonder to yourself - why this is happening to America, the greatest nation in the world? Well, the cause can be summed up with a similar reply – the economy is plummeting because of the worst president in the world. Lets review reasons why starting with a history lesson from May 1, 2000.

“WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Bill Clinton said Monday that the United States would pay off $216 billion in debt this year, bringing to $355 billion the amount of the nation's debt paid down in the three years since the government balanced the budget and began running surpluses.”

The US national debt at this time in 2000 was about $5.5 trillion. Since George W. Bush has taken office, the national debt limit has been raised at least four times, and the national debt now stands at over $9 trillion. That is to say that President Bush has increased the national deficit in 7 years by 65%, to over $9.194 trillion.

A large portion of this US debt (in the trillions) is owned by China and Japan. The last people we want calling our debt is China. The easiest way to calculate these huge debt numbers is that every American citizen has $30,000 of the national debt. This is not a good financial story, especially considering most Americans are already in debt, and this is one of the main reasons the US dollar is falling.

The White House stated that over 50% of this debt so far is due to tax relief and the Iraq war… which brings me to my next two points.

The Iraq war is an unsustainable, fruitless, capricious endeavor that is only training the next generation of terror. WMD’s did not exist. Bin Laden is still at large. The price of oil when George W. Bush took office/ pre-war was around $26. The price is now hovering around $87. The price of oil has increased over 230% in the past 6 years, so you can’t even argue that the blood of 3,930 dead Americans was for oil. The projected cost of the war is at about $1 trillion, and the current plan is to remain occupiers of Iraq and Afghanistan after “Mission Accomplished” and Americans continue to die.

And second, tax relief for the wealthy does not help the economy when middle and lower incomes can barely survive. The wealthy run the economy but are far from the ones supporting it. The millions of $ made by the rich are from the peons below them. But when you wring your hands so tight you finally choke those who have supported your rise to power, you fail.

In addition:

-Energy policy that only relaxes standards, increasing our long-term dependence on oil and refuting strong evidence for global warming.
-Removal of individual rights and freedoms, including habeaus corpus. Governing through fear.
-Refusal to federally fund stem cell research, even on stem cells which will be destroyed regardless.
-Enhancing government’s role in religion. It is only the separation between religion and government that allows religion to thrive.
-Reducing funding for education. Creating No Child Left Behind, which removes funding from underperforming schools, and minimizes a teacher’s ability to tailor education to students needs.

Where does the list end? When does the $ stop falling? When do people stop dying?

Register or else!

The last day to register and be able to vote in the presidential primary is January 7th, so do it now at www.servicearizona.com. I usually register as independent, but looked at my card today and it said PND- Party not Decided. In Arizona you can't vote in the primary election unless you're affiliated with one of the two evildoers!

If you're tired of all the crap that goes on in politics you need to get involved. Right now, the majority of voters are stubborn and old, with little plan for progress and views distorted by their entrenched opinion. Pick who ever you want, but don't let someone else vote for you.

And please, please make sure that you're not basing your vote on overriding emotion, and instead on facts and issues.

That being said, I would really hope to see Barack Obama get the democratic election. A fresh, positive face is exactly what this country needs.