Dear Fred,
Thanks for your email.
Although it will never happen, I would very much like a "showcase monarchy" as they have in Britain. (If The Founding Fathers had never rebelled - as civilized Canada never rebelled - we could still have a showcase monarchy...)
With a sham monarchy in place, traditionalist-authoritarians would be able to satisfy their existential need for pomp and circumstance.
And everybody else would get a functioning democracy.
***
As you say, the wit exhibited in England's House of Commons a marvel.
***
Chesterton, oddly considered a conservative, had profound admiration for French democracy. He saw The French Revolution as the origin of all that is good in contemporary politics. ("Chesterton Quotations" http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/12/chesterton-quotations.html)
***
Over the next twenty years, healthcare will be America's foremost growth industry.
If Yankee ingenuity put it's mind to creating inexpensive medical techniques - particularly for chronic, degenerative diseases, we could contain healthcare cost at home and create a vibrant export industry at the same time.
Plus, even if an "incestuous" circle of taxation were the only way to expand health coverage, such payment offers the tremendous advantage of being money that stays in the United States.
Healthcare may be the only industry which, by and large, does not ship jobs and money overseas.
The power of plutocratic manipulation is so dominant that almost everyone believes that the current state of economic affairs -- i.e., that the middle glass is dwindling as a result of inevitable market forces and that The 5% deserves every penny it sequesters -- is "The Natural Order" of things, and that any deviation from this order is intrinsically perverse and unworkable.
Not only does the success of universal healthcare across Europe belie this plutocratically-pragmatic fairy tale, it is also a fact that the last time The 5% absconded with such a big slice of the pie, America responded with The New Deal which laid the foundation for America's most widely distributed prosperity.
Not only does the success of universal healthcare across Europe belie this plutocratically-pragmatic fairy tale, it is also a fact that the last time The 5% absconded with such a big slice of the pie, America responded with The New Deal which laid the foundation for America's most widely distributed prosperity.
I recommend the brilliant and enjoyable summary of America's economic unraveling at http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/09/inequality-for-all-robert-reich.html (When you arrive at this site, locate the theatrical trailer for "Inequality for All" immediately below the introductory image of Robert Reich bullfighting.)
It has been a long time since I re-read the following quotation. To my satisfaction, it demonstrates how national healthcare could be financed by progressive taxation that lays disproportionate burden on the wealthy.
“In 1985, the top five percent of the households – the wealthiest five percent – had net worth of $8 trillion – which is a lot. Today, after serial bubble after serial bubble, the top five per cent have net worth of $40 trillion. The top five percent have gained more wealth than the whole human race had created prior to 1980.” Elsewhere in this same CBS “60 Minutes” interview, Mr. Stockman describes America's obsession with tax cuts as "religion, something embedded in the catechism," "rank demagoguery, we should call it what it is," and "We've demonized taxes. We've created... the idea that they're a metaphysical evil." And finally, this encompassing observation: "The Republican Party, as much as it pains me to say this, should be ashamed of themselves." Reagan Budget Director, David Stockman, who oversaw the biggest tax cut in the history of humankind - http://www.cbsnews.com/
Just letting the Bush tax cuts expire would go a long way toward economic remedy.
Notably the Bush cuts were NOT accompanied by job creation or widespread prosperity, two purported benefits that have always been The Justification for low taxes.
Beyond certain thresholds, "what once worked" becomes destructive.
Jung calls this paradoxical process "enantiodromia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiodromia
Jung calls this paradoxical process "enantiodromia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiodromia
Google Stockman's "facts" and you will find that no one questions them.
This "void" is quite remarkable insofar as the blogosphere challenges everything.
Everything!
***
The wealthy in America are, in fact, greedy capitalist pigs who are doing their best to bring down "the whole shebang."
I do not think the oinkers will succeed, but -- unwittingly or not -- destruction is what they intend.
"The 1% And The Destruction Of America"
Pax on both houses,
Alan
On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 11:14 AM, Fred Owens <froghospital911@gmail.com> wrote:
Personally, I'm unemployed. I think a job creation effort by the Congress would make a lot more sense.If we had a single payer national health care system, it would be the largest in the world ---England has national health care, also a monarchy and a hereditary aristocracy. You want that?Country comparisons. France has national health care. France also has a national law closing all retail stores on Sunday -- which keeps the religious people happy and keeps the unions happy too. I support Sunday closings for both reasons. But it will never happen here.I am only remarking on the dominant metaphor. The Republicans are widely described as being in an adverse mental condition. There is a wide range of denigrating comments to choose from -- selfish, greedy, reactionary, etc -- so why the emphasis on insanity? .......Also, more broadly, American political invective is sadly lacking in originality and humor -- we could learn from British wits who sting with polished enthusiasm in the House of Commons.
On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 10:45 PM, Alan Archibald <alanarchibaldo@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Fred,
Thanks for your email.The Repugs may not be crazy in the clinical sense of the word.But the following poll indicates that they've taken leave of their senses. http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/ 2013/02/harris-poll-wingnuts- and-president-obama.html If we were not accustomed to America's conservative gestalt being comprehensively lunatic, we would -- through the eyes of suddenly-arrived visitors from another planet --think they are essentially unreasonable people who have NO regard for democratic process nor the Rule of Law.Obamacare was made Law of the Land by both houses of Congress and was then declared constitutional by the conservative Supreme Court.If Repugs want to repeal it, the constitutional process is to get necessary majorities in both houses of Congress.Otherwise, it is time to enact Obamacare.It's The Law!Resistance to enactment, especially by holding the nation hostage (with the Tea Party first holding the Republican Old Guard hostage!?!) is beyond bizarre.You don't like "crazy."Okay.Wacko?Nuts?Deranged?Unhinged?Destructive?Suicidal?Oppositional-Defiant? (I don't know that ODD proves them crazy, but I believe I have proven them psychologically diseased. http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/ 2013/09/arrested-development- american.html) I just finished my first draft of commentary on the Wall Street Journal article you sent. ("Obamacare Arrives")I hope to polish it in the morning.When done, I'll send it your way.Pax tecum
Alan
On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 11:44 PM, Fred Owens <froghospital911@gmail.com> wrote:
“They’ve lost their minds,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said before disposing of the House bill.
Well, no, they have not lost their minds and they exhibit no symptoms of insanity. They are in full possession of their faculties. Sen. Reid is talking in metaphors of course.
The GOP might be described as wrong, muleheaded, obstinate, narrow-minded, desperate for power, dishonest, ego-driven or selfish. But they are not crazy.
--
Fred Owens
cell: 360-739-0214
My blog is Fred Owens
send mail to:
Fred Owens
35 West Main St Suite B #391
Ventura CA 93001
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