Greetings. I am a voting constituent in rural west Texas.
Xmas is upon us. We should give thanks for living in America. Because as spoiled and entitled and aggrieved as we seem to be, there’s still no other country that can give its citizens what we often take for granted.
A voice for the people who live here. Power to the people is not just a bumper sticker.
But today I’m pondering the two concepts of what constitutes a vibrant society. One side thinks all things are best left to business to regulate our lives. Profits are paramount. Wealth accumulation at the top helps everyone else. The individual should be solely responsible for every aspect of their lives being successful, regardless of whether society is skewed against that possibility or not.
The other side recognizes the need for society to help its citizens achieve in life by providing various safety nets and assistance when needed. By giving the people’s money back to them in ways that better life for everyone.
When one side has its way, in the form of gigantic tax cuts for the wealthy, there is no apparent benefit to anyone except the wealthy. Deficits soar. Then these same folks who put these budget-busting ideas into realty start complaining about deficits. And who are they currently looking at to remedy the situation? Old people. Disabled people. Poor people. They believe that cutting social programs is the way to fiscal responsibility, when it seems more logical that getting people to pay their fair share of taxes might be a more equitable solution.
But there’s always the added clarion call to kill the IRS funding that would track down monies from tax cheats that would go a long way to filling our coffers. And without increasing suffering on parts of society.
The other side thinks investing in the country and its people is the way to prosperity. And history has shown that this is what works. Look at America right now. Regardless of the false sentiment that our economy sucks, it does not. We’re working. We’re building. We’re shopping.
It may suck on social media, but in reality, on every economic metric we can see, the economy is booming. This is a good thing. For everyone.
If politicians could think past their next election, and truly work towards the good of the people, there’s nothing we can’t do.
So remember power to the people is a real thing. It may be a naive concept to think we can come together when it matters for the common good. Or as my friend pointed out, ‘You’re such a Democrat.’
I’m still not sure what that means.
Kumbaya y’all. And merry Xmas!
