"When We Begin To Vote In Our Own Self-interest, Without Regard To Party Affiliation, Things Will Start To Change. How About It?"
Kentucky voices: This Republican knows why protesters are angry
By Jerry Shaw
Understanding the anger of the Wall Street protests requires thinking beyond liberal or conservative filters. I am a moderate Republican fast on the way to switching to Independent.
I embrace neither the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity philosophy of the government's hands off completely, nor the Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann philosophy of having the government's hands on everything.
I am a little perplexed about who these protestors are, but I do understand their need to vent.
I am angry too. I am angry there are Wall Street executives who deliberately lied, cheated and then received a government handout to save their companies.
I am angry that these white-collar criminals are not in jail. As a matter of fact, I am angry that they haven't been charged with treason. These people put our country in peril in order to make ungodly profits. Now they sit on billions of dollars and refuse to expend any of it to help create jobs. They seem to worry about what the government might do with their tax money while thumbing their noses at the rest of us.
I am angry at the people who told us that dropping the tax rates on the wealthiest Americans would be good for the economy. The whole idea of a tax reduction for the wealthy was to create jobs.
That was 10 years ago. We know where the money is, but where are the jobs?
I am angry we aren't fixing our crumbling infrastructure. Republicans realize this would boost the economy, but party politics always seems to trump what is good for the country.
When Sen. Mitch McConnell's primary objective in Congress is to make sure that Barack Obama does not get reelected, he isn't serving his country; he is serving his party and his own self-interests. Of course, Democrats are equally guilty of this.
I am angry the rich spend millions to avoid paying taxes. Meanwhile, our schools are not educating our children and it gets worse every year. We are now somewhere in the middle of the pack worldwide in education and dropping like a stone. Some suggest we enable foreigners to more easily stay here to fill the work-force gaps left by our educational system. Wouldn't it make more sense to fix the system?
Mostly, I am angry politics has become more about power and greed than serving the people. Most members of Congress are part of the upper class; many have accumulated large amounts of wealth since getting to Washington.
There seemed to be some sympathy for raising taxes on the super rich until Congress realized it was about to raise its own tax rates.
Everything that comes out of Washington reeks of cronyism, favoritism, entitlement and greed. When an oil company makes billions in profits and also receives government handouts, that is entitlement money.
When the unemployed need help that money is also an entitlement. Yet, the latter is railed against while the former is considered business as usual?
There is only one way to begin to fix this mess. Do not vote for an incumbent. Do not vote for a career politician shifting from one political job to another. We citizens must use the power of the ballot to clean out the rat's nest we have created. We have to remove money as the sole determining factor in elections.
I grew up in the turbulent 1960s. Protesters marched. They were ignored and then persecuted. But they persisted. A president declined to run for reelection knowing he couldn't win. A war was brought to a halt. Civil rights were obtained. All because small groups of protestors swelled into thousands who marched on Washington.
I become very angry when I hear people like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor talk about class warfare like it just started. When 99 percent of the wealth is owned by one percent of the population, the rich have not only engaged in class warfare against the middle class — they are solidly in the lead.
Of course there is a push back. The middle class and poor far outnumber the rich. When we begin to vote in our own self-interest, without regard to party affiliation, things will start to change. How about it?
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/02/1943783/this-republican-knows-why-protesters.html#ixzz1cYpk12JM
Editor's note: Jerry Shaw of Lawrenceburg is an educator and former Herald-Leader community columnist.
By Jerry Shaw
Understanding the anger of the Wall Street protests requires thinking beyond liberal or conservative filters. I am a moderate Republican fast on the way to switching to Independent.
I embrace neither the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity philosophy of the government's hands off completely, nor the Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann philosophy of having the government's hands on everything.
I am a little perplexed about who these protestors are, but I do understand their need to vent.
I am angry too. I am angry there are Wall Street executives who deliberately lied, cheated and then received a government handout to save their companies.
I am angry that these white-collar criminals are not in jail. As a matter of fact, I am angry that they haven't been charged with treason. These people put our country in peril in order to make ungodly profits. Now they sit on billions of dollars and refuse to expend any of it to help create jobs. They seem to worry about what the government might do with their tax money while thumbing their noses at the rest of us.
I am angry at the people who told us that dropping the tax rates on the wealthiest Americans would be good for the economy. The whole idea of a tax reduction for the wealthy was to create jobs.
That was 10 years ago. We know where the money is, but where are the jobs?
I am angry we aren't fixing our crumbling infrastructure. Republicans realize this would boost the economy, but party politics always seems to trump what is good for the country.
When Sen. Mitch McConnell's primary objective in Congress is to make sure that Barack Obama does not get reelected, he isn't serving his country; he is serving his party and his own self-interests. Of course, Democrats are equally guilty of this.
I am angry the rich spend millions to avoid paying taxes. Meanwhile, our schools are not educating our children and it gets worse every year. We are now somewhere in the middle of the pack worldwide in education and dropping like a stone. Some suggest we enable foreigners to more easily stay here to fill the work-force gaps left by our educational system. Wouldn't it make more sense to fix the system?
Mostly, I am angry politics has become more about power and greed than serving the people. Most members of Congress are part of the upper class; many have accumulated large amounts of wealth since getting to Washington.
There seemed to be some sympathy for raising taxes on the super rich until Congress realized it was about to raise its own tax rates.
Everything that comes out of Washington reeks of cronyism, favoritism, entitlement and greed. When an oil company makes billions in profits and also receives government handouts, that is entitlement money.
When the unemployed need help that money is also an entitlement. Yet, the latter is railed against while the former is considered business as usual?
There is only one way to begin to fix this mess. Do not vote for an incumbent. Do not vote for a career politician shifting from one political job to another. We citizens must use the power of the ballot to clean out the rat's nest we have created. We have to remove money as the sole determining factor in elections.
I grew up in the turbulent 1960s. Protesters marched. They were ignored and then persecuted. But they persisted. A president declined to run for reelection knowing he couldn't win. A war was brought to a halt. Civil rights were obtained. All because small groups of protestors swelled into thousands who marched on Washington.
I become very angry when I hear people like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor talk about class warfare like it just started. When 99 percent of the wealth is owned by one percent of the population, the rich have not only engaged in class warfare against the middle class — they are solidly in the lead.
Of course there is a push back. The middle class and poor far outnumber the rich. When we begin to vote in our own self-interest, without regard to party affiliation, things will start to change. How about it?
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/02/1943783/this-republican-knows-why-protesters.html#ixzz1cYpk12JM
Editor's note: Jerry Shaw of Lawrenceburg is an educator and former Herald-Leader community columnist.
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