Letters to the Editor
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National Self-Destruction is the voters choice
Mike from Bedford is right-on in my view also, when he talks about "National Self-Destruction."
I propose a solution to the "gurus of globalization" and their ability to "mesmerize most Americans."
Pay citizens to register and vote in Federal elections and increase the amount until at least 90% of voting age citizens vote.
Look at this dismal failure:
1996 196,498,000 voting age population. 96,278,000 voted.
2000 205,815,000 voting age population. 105,405,000 voted.
We need to control multi-national corporations in such a way that what they do is in the best interest of our family or nation. To do this we need to locate and support representatives that represent us, our family, our nation.
It's never too late to take back our country from greedy corporations, crooked politicians, fradulent elections, and any other ilk that comes along.
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the backlash is here
after the pet scare with the wheat and such, people are beginning to rethink what they eat and where it comes from. there will be more of this too. for me, the profits these new bosses make is very anger producing and that is why i like dobbs. no apologies. to take away a salary from americans and give it to another country for so much less is appaling. and this is such a christian country too. where are the values? is evolution the only question one can ask at these debates? i am getting angry and will watch the candidates in this. the dems are not honest in my opinion with their investments either. this is a big issue for me.
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this is everyman's story. riveting. solution:Marshall Plan for ROW(rest of world)
Fantastic, true story. We are far past stopping globalization. This is good in many ways. It begins the end of 200 years of exploitation of the weak since the beginning of colonialism. Evening out of the world's fortunes between rich and poor is good. The US with our knowledge and resource base and problem-solving ability have time to do this before the world descends into global warfare pushed by demagogues like GWB, corporate greed, religious fanatics and other zenophobes. However, we need to stop thinking of Q profit timelines and think over a couple of decades. Altruism;historical examples: Marshall Plan,Reconstructing Japan, our own Reform Eras.
Forty years ago, the US electorate looked far and extended human rights and ecological concerns--Civil Rights Act, Equal Pay, OSHA, Mine Safety, Clean Air and Water, EPA, Endangered Species. All this from a bipartisan political coalition which put into action enlightened self-interest and the best of rationalism and modern science. We were a world economic leader. Since then our national leadership has steadily deteriorated as the economic and resource problems have mounted. Yet we can regain our previous stance.
We can do this in a new era moving to new user-friendly energy, changing our lifestyles towards conservation
and getting away from the increasing robotization of Americans and American life(interestingly as we lose our manufacturing jobs, in our private life we accept a more mechanized,controlled and robotized existence).
I live in Chiapas, Mexico, , a southern state of 4 million and one of Mexico's most resource rich and beautiful states. Most families live on less than $50 per month, some much less.
Over 20% of adults between 17 and 40 have emigrated to the US illegally over the past 5 years. These are not neer-do-wells or slackers. To the contrary, they are usually the smartest and most adventurous, a great loss here. But there are no jobs here where a majority of the population are itinerant vendors making little or nothing. Many youngsters are not in school.
Other Mexican states, particularly in the south, are like Chiapas. We need to moderate the immigrant flow, the Mexicans love their families and need better paying jobs here. Why don't we start a Marshall Plan for Mexico and put a few billion of loan guarantees or direct grants into education, infrastructure and employing Chiapas' 4 million people. Ditto for various other states.
These are very hard-working, smart people, given education, capital investment and managerial leadership. They only immigrate because they can't feed their families. Last year Chiapans in the US sent back over $600 million to their families here. This exceeds the total of goods produced by the labor force that stayed here. Let us turn this around.
This is not the total solution but is part of it. Like the old slogan of Dave's dads employer, IBM, which helped start our tech leadership, THIMC! Moves like this might jar our polity out of its dream world and help us confront better the coming difficult years as we get hit with growing resource shortages and Asia's billions of trained and hungry workers. Hang together or hang separately!
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base
You mean like all the beef trade wars? We blocked European beef because of hoof and mouth. The Canadians block our beef because of hormones. We and the Japanese block each other's beef because of trade duties. The EU hates our GM crops (mostly because they subsidize their farmers even more than we do) but the developing world, except for Zimbabwe, loves our GM crops (like Vitamin A Rice that prevents blindness in millions).
So, it's not entirely about quality and content, is it?
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It's never too late to take back our country from greedy corporations, crooked politicians, fradulent elections, and any other ilk that comes along.
You sound like a modern day Mao. And we know how that turned out. Note to the revolutionists out there: It generally ends badly. Very very badly.
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A Few Salient Facts Are In Order
Neither China nor India produce anything. Yes, you read that right. NOTHING.
When was the last time you drove a car made in either country? Bought any durable good made in either country? Used a computer made in either country, or loaded software made in either country into an American computer??
Yes, now you're getting my point.
India has done nothing more than become the world's largest job stealer. Tala, when you boil it down to its essence, is little more than a cheap escort service for overseas companies.
These realities make me sick and fucking tired of hearing about the "competitiveness" of China, India and other job-sucking nations. Where is the Chinese General Motors? Where is the Indian Microsoft? Oracle? Apple?? No, they invent nothing, bring nothing new to the world, but are doing a hell of a job siphoning off the wealth of the world's lower and middle classes.
I don't give a damn about India or China. Neither I nor anyone else in my generation (or my parents' or grandparents') have anything to do with the exploitation of either of those countries. Neither I nor anyone else in this country should have to sacrifice their ability to earn a decent, comfortable living on the altar of PC guilt. Fuck it, and fuck those who espouse such ideas.
As to "inevitability" I can think of a few other things that are inevitable, like violent revolution in the face of widespread want, depravation and economic immolation. The peasants who stormed through the streets of Paris in the 18th century had watched their lot in life slowly dessicate over a hundred years. It is entirely possible that I and most of my fellow citizens will be living in cardboard boxes and defecating out of doors within the next twenty years. What havoc do you suppose WE will wreak??