America in Decline
Is America in decline? Actually America fits the proposed stages of empires quite well (even scarily so). You can read one version here that I mostly agree with. 7 Stages of Empire. A Cautionary Pattern in History | I. M. H. O.
Republicans seem determined to push America back to the days of feudalism with short-sighted plans to empower the elite/wealthy class and ignore/suppress the rest of us. The middle class is shrinking while the “poor” class grows as an increasing number of people fail to keep up with their bills. Back in 1970 90% of Americans controlled 70% of the wealth and 10% controlled 30%. In 2020 is was more like the 90% controlled only 10% while the 10% controlled the remaining 90%.
Don’t get me wrong, the Democrats aren’t much better with their kowtowing to the corporate elite. I’ve said before, we need a third party. Democracies work better when they have at least three parties.
Republicans are targeting Medicaid. How would this work? With removal of restrictions on Medicaid since the pandemic ended, some states are restricting how much they pay for nursing care for seniors. Some nursing homes are actually evicting seniors who cannot pay and these nursing homes are claiming Medicaid does not pay enough to cover their expenses. I read where a 91 year old was being evicted. She could hardly understand it, given her mental decline. What are they supposed to do? Use their walker or wheelchair to move to an alley and a cardboard box?
Did you know that …
> Bankruptcy filings for people over sixty-five has increased four-fold since 2000?
> 62% of people in nursing homes lack the savings to cover their care? Many are being evicted in the 17 states (so far) that reduced/eliminated Medicaid coverage for seniors?
> Over 50% of all families lack the ability to cover a $1,000 or even a $500 emergency expense? In fact, over 30% of Americans older than 50 do not have a single dollar in a retirement account.
> 70% of college students take on loans to pay for college and many cannot pay it off in their lifetime?
Interestingly, ever since President Reagan led the assault on unions, American wages have stagnated along with growth. Labor unions built the middle class in America. Republicans have been working hard since the Great Depression (which they helped worsen) to destroy both unions and the middle class. They attack everyone who works for a wage preferring to give it all to the elite who will share what they think is appropriate.
A few republicans prefer there be no minimum wage, letting the market set the minimum wage. They say raising the minimum wage leads to inflation, making companies less competitive, and resulting in job losses. So wages have stagnated for over 40 years while the elite’s income has risen over 200%. Are they blind to these facts? Trickle-down DOES NOT WORK!
Some Notes about The Economy
Republicans want a “market-based” economy where health insurance, education, retirement and most all business is regulated by supply & demand without being limited by regulations. Of course, what could gop wrong with companies regulating themselves? We only have to look at the environmental disasters of the past to see how that works.
Elites and corporations have been working hard since the 1930s to return to a time when they controlled the economy and government (How the Gilded Age’s Top 1 Percent Thrived on Corruption & Corporatocracy). Republicans seem determined to push the middle class and poor to the curb, into bankruptcy where the elite will control their wages, savings, homes, jobs, children’s education and deny them health insurance (many cannot afford market-driven health insurance prices).
A recent story said young people now believe a college education is not worthwhile given the cost of student loans where many will not be able to pay them off by the time they die. Besides, a young person can go to technical school or learn a trade starting at a decent wage of $25+ per hour. A college education rarely means more money and such a long payoff that they actually might earn less than the technical trade path.
And funding for research is declining as well. One in five biochemistry research scientists admit they are considering leaving the US so they can continue their work. From 2000–2012, only two of eleven research proposals at the National Institutes for Health got funding. A lot do get funded, but still how much research is not getting done? A recent leap in cancer and heart disease development will greatly reduce these two plagues. How many other other advances are being stymied for lack of funding?
If we let Republicans give control of government and money and housing and education and health care, consider the following questions:
> Do you trust landlords to hold down your rent?
> Do you trust Republicans to let you decide what school your children can attend and get your taxes to fund it?
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> Do you really think shareholders of health insurance companies care about your health more than their profits?
I wonder how many people would be homeless after 10–15 years of Republican control? How many would be dying outside hospitals they cannot afford to go into for care? How many students would be denied advanced educations (or even honestly open education transparently representing our history of slavery and warts while growing as a nation/world)?
Infrastructure boomed under the somewhat liberal guidance of Republican president Eisenhower. Under his leadership, we built up a highway system that was the envy of the world. Today those highways and bridges and railways are deteriorating to the point of being dangerous.
Presidents FD Roosevelt & LB Johnson built social nets that actually lifted not only the lowest parts of society but the country to new heights of growth. Such growth led to higher tax revenue and even more growth. Until Republicans cut taxes again. Republican presidents of the past 100 years have mostly burned through surpluses and sparked recessions. I’ll say it again, TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS DOES NOT WORK! The wealthy are NOT going to share their wealth with you & I. In fact most of the wealth feel they do not have enough wealth, “enough” being the next dollar they bring in.
From 1930 to 1970, America deliberately invested in opportunity, building up the lowest parts of society and everyone benefited! Granted the wealth only made 10–20% on their money, but some sacrifices are necessary for everyone to benefit.
Did you know that during WWII and up until the early 1950s, the highest tax on the wealthy was a staggering 75%? Granted, write-offs and adjustments brought them down. But the highest rate was 91%. Though barely anyone actually paid that rate.
The Republicans’ trickle down plan is like Marie Antoinette telling the starving French peasants that they are better off every time she eats another slice of cake!
I mentioned it above, but let me say it again, Republicans’ belief that deregulation will do wonders for corporate and individual wealth is short-sighted and blind to past historical disasters. As if allowing corporations to manage their waste products, clean up their disasters (at their own expense and not the government’s), pay their employee’s a living wage with regular raises that keep up with inflation and other civically responsible behavior … is a good idea. Yeah, sure, what could possibly go wrong? Anyone remember the Exxon Valdez?
They almost never do and they are extremely unlikely to do so in the future when shareholders are screaming about their precious profits at all costs. Cleanup is expensive and they are rarely in position to cover it because they give most of their profit out to shareholders who always want more. The shareholders are less likely to care about risks to the environment than to their profits.
Getting back to unions, they are responsible for such things as child labor laws, the 8 hour day, the 40 hour work week, workplace safety rules, and unemployment insurance. Fair taxes paid by all benefit all. Unfortunately unions got stupid in their demands and alienated the public instead of sticking to reasonable expectations that allow corporate owners/ stockholders to earn a good profit (not outrageous, but a decent profit). America is supposed to allow one to become a millionaire, but apparently this offends unionists (who are probably closet socialists as if socialism was THE answer.
Let me be clear, neither socialism nor capitalism by themselves are the answer. A moderate, middle path utilizing aspects of both socialism and capitalism seems to work best. The Scandinavian countries are attempting this path and it mostly works well for the people’s happiness and everyone’s benefit — i.e. free healthcare, low crime/prison populations, free education resulting in a more highly educated populace, and relatively comfortable retirement system that allows one to enjoy their sunset years instead of working until they die.
In the 1940s - 1960s, we put a lot of tax money into the infrastructure and it has benefited all of us tremendously to the point of complacency. Republicans and others refusing to fund maintenance is resulting in the deterioration we are seeing today. If you fail to maintain your car or home, it WILL fail you, and be more expensive to repair than maintaining them would’ve been. But that is expecting common sense, something grossly lacking in congress.
We also poured a lot of money into healthcare resulting in the world’s best doctors and lowered death rates. The same with education resulting in (used to be) the world’s best educated populace leading the world in research, technical advances, inventions, and growth. Redirected funding to maintain these institutions has resulted in a deteriorated and unaffordable healthcare system (that cannot be afforded by way too many people), and students ranked way down the list of best-educated students.
An interesting fact is apparent in history showing that when financial regulations were implemented after the great depression, financial crises declined dramatically.
In the financial crisis of 2008, more than 26 million people could not find a job. Suicides soared. The stimulus payments during the pandemic prevented a repeat of that sad chapter in our history. Bi-partisan support for the stimulus payments demonstrated a rare common sense realization of the potential crash that could have occurred when bringing the economy to a standstill.
Today banks are recklessly encouraging use of credit cards as somewhat spoiled consumers try to continue the spending they did during the pandemic when they were doing well with stimulus income. We should have learned that lesson in 2008.
Also the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act of 1933–34 set up the 2008 crash after protecting our financial health for 70 years. The Glass-Steagall act forced banks to manage their funds responsibly, allowing creation of separate accounts for checking & savings and establishing the FDIC to encourage consumer faith in banks. The FDIC remains in place, but the rules regulating banks have been watered down to encourage higher profits among the big banks. Banks were turned loose to load up on big risks.
I noted that most Americans now believe the system is rigged to the advantage of the rich & powerful. But they are not to the point of rebelling yet. I believe that time is inevitable.
In summary, Trickle-down economics has through-out history consistently led to recessions and stagnant growth since the time of the Romans. Whereas investing in the most challenged sections of society has consistently led to growth. The same can be said of infrastructure, regular investment leads to consistently reliable transportation systems to the point that it is taken for granted.
Though socialism is not the answer either, at least by itself. I have doubts about any system encouraging “basic income” for the most challenged members of society is not a good idea as that seems to allow the laziest in society to skim through life on my dollar. Again, take the best from both socialism and capitalism and blend for the best outcome in all aspects.
If you do not invest in the weakest parts of society, it will come back to haunt you, just as lack of maintaining your car will lead to a breakdown when you can least afford it. Walking down the middle of the path is the best way to avoid falling off the crumbly edges. Moderation in all things works!
