Taking Cuts

Let’s place Jeff Bezos first, Bill Gates second, Warren Buffett third and so forth followed by the rest of the 300 million or so in our country. In other words, imagine a straight line of people going from the richest to the poorest.  Everyone has a place on that line up regardless of income inequality. There may be a significant wealth gap between the person ahead or the person behind. The idea is that everyone has their place on this imaginary line.

Let’s go back to the time of our founding fathers. In the 1770’s, imagine a line going from the wealthiest to the poorest. The WASP’s were at the head of the line and the slaves and indigenous followed. That socioeconomic system continues today with capitalism being the engine. Today, the concentration of capitalistic wealth and power continues to exist and favors a few individuals, Wall Street, corporations etc.  Further, the politicians are elected and reelected based on the contributions of the elite wealthy groups and keep the power structure secure and in place.

 Humans are competitive and there is a significant positive correlation between competition and capitalism. Capitalism favors, in large part psychologically, on competitiveness. Humans are also self-centered, prejudiced, stingy, exploitative and narcissistic. Humans think and act in the present. Humans have difficulty delaying gratification. It’s about gratification and short-term pleasure in the here and now. Forget about tomorrow and take all that you can when you can. Corporations similarly think in the short-term with their quarterly goals, and maximizing profits. One never knows about tomorrow. In fact, the fossil fuel industry is speeding up the process of self-destruction regardless of the existential threat of climate change and the Earth’s demise. They certainly don’t care about the grandchildren. In fact, the second coming of Christ or Armageddon may happen first. So, don’t worry because we have honor, glory and power.

Let’s focus on the current president and his party. This WASP has a history of lying, cheating and taking advantage of others in order further his self-interest. So when he says Make America Great;  I’m going to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it to keep out the rapists, criminals drug’s etc.; or calling somebody a traitor, a snake etc., he’s sending a clear fear  message. The message is to the uneducated white males and others. The message is that people with a different skin color or people who believe in a different religion or God are not going to get ahead and pass you in line. Your place in line is secure. You may not like him, but like his policies of tax cuts for the elite and keeping others out of the country because he’s saving your place in line. Furthermore, the same God that’s on our coin; the God reference on our Pledge of Allegiance; also gave the Wasp power elite the permission to wipe out the Indians as in Manifest Destiny. Our God further supports the discrimination policies against the poor, vulnerable and weak.

Immigrants and these other peoples are not going to receive citizenship, minimum wage, health insurance, Social Security, or even Medicare for all. A socialistic government that provides subsidies and entitlements for farmers for not growing crops; for the fossil fuel industry; or for Wall Street, Boeing etc. is okay because they’re God-given entitled. But, if we start paying people a minimum wage and give them health insurance then this form of a democratic socialistic government is bad because these people may get ahead of you in line.

Politically, Bernie Sanders is bad because he’s saying “no” to the corporate world with their money influencing lobbyists. More importantly, the country’s demographics are changing and people are supporting Bernie which, if elected, will enable many people to pass and then take cuts in line in front of all those old, uneducated, white male WASP folks. Forget about love thy neighbor as thyself and replace it with me first, me first and me first. Keep your place in line at all costs and certainly do not allow others to take cuts. As far as messaging goes, what propaganda group is behind not wanting workers lose their health insurance? Who loves their health insurance? The goal of each health insurance group is profits. Medicare for all will interfere with profits for the insurance company.

If most understood about pure or traditional socialism, Bernie would be the hero and not the capitalist villain. Instead, the politicians, the brainwashing by the sophisticated government media system cleverly equated socialism with Soviet and Chinese communism. These totalitarian systems are diametrically opposed to pure socialistic practices in which the workers control production. The truth doesn’t matter when it comes to government propaganda. The uneducated belief is that socialism is bad and evil just like communism. Bernie does not have a chance because too many are ganging up on him with their hands extended out to the lobbyists. Who wants to bite the hand that feeds them?

In our form of a Republic, capitalism is our God with the pursuit of greed, profit, power, exploitation, destruction. and control. Thus, the pursuit of happiness is largely defined and based on socioeconomic status. Within our political and economic system, competition, aggression, narcissism, dominance, and achievement flourish. The result allows the powerful to rule by keeping most others in their place. The antithesis is Judaic-Christian principles and moral socialistic ideals with its qualities of humanism. Love thy neighbor, assist the poor, welcome strangers, not lying, killing and cheating, absence of jealousy, rule of democracy , highest development of man etc. are principles and qualities of and for the people. Jesus, a true socialist, and his teachings are not requirements for our mixed-oligarchy-autocracy --limited democratic, capitalistic republic.