Every conceivable statistic that
can serve as a measure of governmental competence -- health outcomes
like infant mortality and longevity, educational outcomes, financial
statistics such as national indebtedness and the balance of payments,
investments in industrial tooling and transportation infrastructure,
responses to natural disasters, the provision of safe food and drug
supplies, and every other measure of governmental
accomplishment -- has the US falling rapidly into a third world status.
by Herb Ruhs, MD
Can a system of legalized bribery such as has evolved in US
electoral politics be presumed to result in an actual governmental
process? When wealthy individuals, industries, corporations and
weapons suppliers can "invest" (Grover Norquist, the leading light of
modern US "conservatism," insists on calling campaign contributions
"the best paying investments possible" with "returns" of over 1000%)
in candidates with the expectation of quid pro quo approvals of
requests for government largesse what results is not government as
such, but rather a process of systematic looting of public funds.
Under these conditions, the actual traditional business of government, protecting the
interests of the nation and its citizens, can
be expected to atrophy to insignificance. This legalized crime wave
represents a sufficient, if not sole, cause for the rapid decline of
the US in every area. Even the military, which presumably is
supported by vast military expenditures predicated on corrupt
political processes, has suffered decline.
We have witnessed the
virtual impotence of US military in war after war from the debacle of
the Viet Nam war through the embarrassing spectacles of various
invasions of tiny weak countries and culminating in the twin
disasters of Iraq and Afghanistan. Every conceivable statistic that
can serve as a measure of governmental competence -- health outcomes
like infant mortality and longevity, educational outcomes, financial
statistics such as national indebtedness and the balance of payments,
investments in industrial tooling and transportation infrastructure,
responses to natural disasters, the provision of safe food and drug
supplies, and every other measure of governmental
accomplishment -- has the US falling rapidly into a third world status.
For the last thirty plus years the US has been under the control of
anti-democratic, "pro business" (read pro-thievery) elements in
cahoots with gigantic media companies who are the main recipients of
campaign contributions. I don't think it will solve all our
problems, but doubt if of our problems are going to get any serious
attention until we get big money out of politics.
There's hope of honest government so long as candidates succeed or fail on the basis of begging. My gut proposes complete government funding of all campaigns, with equal but audited funding for every candidate who files. My brain says that's not workable for a hundred obvious reasons and probably a hundred more that aren't so obvious ... but my gut still wins the argument.
