Disconnected from Reality

Over and over we see something proposed by politicians with no connection to whether it makes sense or how it will be made reality. Their suggested programs might sound good, but how do we pay for them? Nobody says.

Then there are the campaigns where supposedly small town people are better than big town people. Why? Nobody says.

In his campaigning John McCain has said he knows how to capture Osama bin Laden and will do it when he's president. So he has held it back as a secret to wait to get elected? Who believes he would do such a terrible thing as to withhold such information just to get elected?

Where it comes to money, the biggest disconnect with reality is with taxes, which nobody likes, but it's always a key voting point for Republicans. McCain tells us he will balance the budget in 4 years but how? Nobody says.

Let's look at a big talking point for McCain and Republicans. The rich should not have to pay a higher tax rate than the poor. Their apparent logic is if I make $300,000 a year (that's net not gross) and someone wants me to pay an extra say 4% on my taxes, I am going to be hurt as much by that increase as if I made $50,000 a year.

I understand it'd be nice for everybody to pay the same flat rate, no deductions, but let's look at this logically. Those making $50,000 are probably barely covering their expenses now. Their concern is putting healthy food on the table, getting gas to get to their jobs, keeping a roof over their family's heads, paying for unexpected medical expenses, handling escalating utility bills. A cut in their available income won't be about not taking a trip to Europe this summer. It will cut into their basics.

Isn't there a disconnect from reality to imagine our government (or us) can keep borrowing money without thinking about paying back? The Federal Government is paying interest every year amounting to $406,000,000,000 or $.22 of every tax dollar. How can we do anything about problems like infrastructure with that kind of interest payments? Take it on faith?

From what I understand, this disconnect began with Lyndon Johnson where he didn't try to balance expenses with paying. We have seen it flower completely under GW Bush with the Iraqi war that isn't even calculated into the budget. Now they, President and Congress, casually promise $700 billion to bail the country out of this financial meltdown (although nobody is sure it will work) but even if it does, how do they pay for it? Did you hear any talk about that?

If you are one who supported George Bush, perhaps still do, if you voted for him twice, if you still buy into the reason we are fighting this war is so we don't have to fight it here, how did you plan to pay for it?

If you are favoring John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are even willing to see us potentially fight more such wars around the world, and here comes another disconnect. Even if you are right and they are all justified wars, did you think those will come for free? And then there is the other leap of faith to believe people who haven't had democracy, who actually favor a theocracy, can be converted by guns. Okay, suppose it works, still who pays for it? Did you think it came for free: Cost of Iraq War.

This carries over into ordinary citizens and how we run our lives. So we buy a house we can't afford but have faith we will be able to someday. Why? What is supposed to make that possible? The loan officer said it was okay? Didn't we need to think what made sense to us?

How much of this thinking comes from religious ideas that lead to magical thinking where some divine being steps in to fix whatever goes wrong. Have you watched the Sarah Palin tapes where she talks of the African (for wont of a better word) witch doctor who anointed her and she believed led to her being elected governor and now possibly onto higher offices?

Palin, just as GW Bush had earlier, seems to believe she is on a mission for god. God is delivering this election for her and some, who maybe even read this blog, might agree with that idea.

I saw the tape where some from her church in Alaska compare her to Esther in the Bible sent out to save her people. Never mind that Christians are not being persecuted. It's thinking that is disconnected with reality and totally about faith. There is no test for this faith. Reality only gets in its way. Would god actually think someone totally unprepared to be president, with no real information on the problems ahead, was the best for the job? Take it on faith.

And now some pastor at an invocation at one of their rallies claimed that if McCain/Palin lost it would damage god's reputation. He wasn't kidding.

With that kind of thinking, whatever happens, it's not your doing. God wanted it to happen. This kind of disconnection from reality leads to thinking you can fund this or that (but not health care for all Americans-- magic only goes so far) and not pay for it through taxes. I don't remotely excuse the Democrats or Republicans from bringing us to this point. They both will and have done it.

Our problem is not just an abstract one of government. When I was growing up, there was a thing called Lay Away. You would find something you liked but you wouldn't take it home. You would pay so much money down on it and when you had it paid off, you got it. I have done that with dresses I wanted back then. It was before the days of the magic credit card that has led many to acquire debts that they will never be able to pay off in their lifetimes.

Telling the American people and Congress that the party is over won't be popular-- no matter who is our next president-- if that leader is connected to reality.

The following is part of an email from a friend called The Great Consumer Crash of 2009 by James Quinn, Senior Director of Strategic Planning, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania:

"The steroid of choice for the American consumer has been debt. We have utilized home equity loans, cash out refinancing, credit card debt, and auto loans to live above our means. It has been a fun ride, but the ride is over. We can't get steroids from our dealer (banks) anymore.

















"After examining these charts, it is clear to me that the tremendous prosperity that began during the Reagan years of the early 1980's has been a false prosperity built upon easy credit. Household debt reached $13.8 trillion in 2007, with $10.5 trillion of that mortgage debt. The leading edge of the baby boomers turned 30 years of age in the late 1970's, just as the usage of debt began to accelerate. Debt took off like a rocket ship after 9/11 with the President urging Americans to spend and Alan Greenspan lowering interest rates to 1%. Only in the bizzaro world of America in the last 7 years, while in the midst of 2 foreign wars, would a President urge his citizens to show their patriotism by buying cars and TVs. When did our priorities become so warped?"