A wake-up call for taxpayers: it can't be done 'on the cheap'!

[LuckyLib]

Commentary in today's Minneapolis Star and Tribune, that says it all:
http://www.startribune.com/commentary/story/1340867.html

<snip> The bridge disaster "is merely the chickens coming home to roost. In a sense, a self-fulfilling prophecy. A product of low-tax/no-tax attempts by narrow interest groups to persuade our citizens that we can run our government "on the cheap." We can't.

<snip> But what we do have here is a wake-up call to all caring Minnesotans that narrow, antitax special-interest groups are leading our state down a road of decline. We simply cannot run a progressive, enlightened, competitive state on the cheap.

<snip> The bridge tragedy is just one of many examples. This same erosion has taken place in our education system.

<snip> A similar decline has taken place in our economic status. Recent statistics show a decline in vital areas such as personal income and unemployment rates.

<snip> Finally comes quality of life. As a third-generation Minnesotan, for me this trumps all. And it is not a pleasant picture. My father, my children, my grandchildren all grew up in a state that gave us clean water, clean air, bountiful scenery, a great public education. That is the Minnesota I know and love. And it is in decline. Everything, from our vaunted longevity and health care to our lovely parks and wild areas, needs resources and caring if it is to be maintained. This again means: money. You cannot have a vibrant quality of life on the cheap.
No one "likes" taxes. Nor do I. But the low-tax/no-tax folks play off of this dislike by starving vital government activities, then proclaiming how ineffective and inefficient are government services. It is a calculated, self-inflicted, self-fulfilling prophecy."

[RC]

1. I have already heard some idiot say this bridge collapse proves

that government cannot maintain the roads and bridges in this country and they should be turned over to private enterprise to maintain.

No, the problem is greed. The rich conservative republicans think taxes are a waste of their resources. That government is too big. That it doesn't need all that money it takes in as taxes. Well, this country is crumbling from within. At the rate it is going, within 10 years we will truly be a third world country. Think Baghdad without the Shock & awe. Part time electricity. Clean water being iffy. Chunks missing from roads caused by flooding. More bridges falling down. Most of our manufacturing has already been outsourced. This country is on the verge of collapse right now.
Unless we can get the criminals, the real terrorists, out of our government, it is coming.

[Skittles]

2. he speaks the truth

Minnesotans need to take back their beautiful state from the conservative bastards and America as a whole needs to do the same

[aquart]

3. Yes.

[MatrixEscape]

4. Wait a minute ....

Did I miss a memo?

The bridge disaster "is merely the chickens coming home to roost. In a sense, a self-fulfilling prophecy. A product of low-tax/no-tax attempts by narrow interest groups to persuade our citizens that we can run our government "on the cheap." We can't.

Our government was running us, (into the ________ ) last time I checked. Did it finally change? Sources please! ;)

[Locrian]

5. we've been "missing the memo" for 30+ years

This is the result of tax cuts to the wealthy and corporates (70% to less than 28%) starting back in Reagan and beyond. Republicans have a simple strategy: starve gov programs by cutting taxes on the wealthy and corporations, claim that the programs are then "broken", and suckering the public to think only privatization is the way to salvation. An the suckers buy it every time.

From Thomas Hartmans book "Screwed":

"Beginning with the Reagan administration, the U.S. government has steadily instituted policies and legislation that favor corporations over citizens, argues Air America host Hartmann (The Ultimate Sacrifice). Analyzing the rhetoric and policies of the current administration's "compassionate conservatism," Hartmann goes on to detail the ways in which safety nets for working people (from progressive taxation to antitrust legislation to Social Security) have been steadily weakened, and argues that an empowered, educated middle class is crucial to a functioning democracy. Chapters detail the ways in which what gets called "the free market" is not really free (for good reason, he notes), how "We the People create the middle class," how the policies of the Founding Fathers and figures like FDR still have a lot to teach us, and ways for "Leveling the Playing Field." Though far from comprehensive, and despite its sensationalist title, Hartmann's latest is an intelligent critique of the contemporary plight of the middle class.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.

The American middle class is on its deathbed. People who put in a solid day's work can no longer afford to buy a house, send their kids to college, or even get sick. If you’re not a CEO, you’re probably screwed.

As Air America Radio Host Thom Hartmann shows, this death is no accident. Like the Founding Fathers, patriots such as Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower knew that economic opportunity and democracy go hand-in-hand. They believed in maximizing the public good and they worked tirelessly to build the strongest middle class the world has ever seen. But now, under the guise of “freeing the market,” conservative and corporate forces are waging a covert war against the middle class, dismantling policies like Social Security, Medicare, the minimum wage, and fair labor laws — the very safeguards that foster economic opportunity and citizen engagement. The result is an economic system designed to line the pockets of the super-rich, the impending extinction of the middle class, and a very real, very dangerous threat to democracy itself."

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PDa5K1HCL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg

Everything is short term - there is a house of cards due to fall because of the greed and stupidity running rampant in this country.
http://www.economyincrisis.org/

[MatrixEscape]

6. Glad to see ....

that you get the picture, although 30+ years might be conservative ;)

Serious folks at DU would do themselves a favor by looking at a more scholarly treatment of the financial, corporate, and military course of America since its inception.

Other than viewing the debacle of propaganda and sales pitches on the M%M, relying on that "channel" in the control Matrix is an invitation for deception, distraction and disinformation expertly designed to countermand the facts and manage the results.