Mr. Smith Goes to Washington!
I had a chance to see this movie yesterday and I must say it really made me think. In the movie, one of the senators from a western state died and the governor had to appoint a replacement. The local political insiders already had a person picked out for the governor. Other people were able to influence the decision thus Mr. Smith. An interesting point, the behind the scenes corruption and graft was presented initially as the exception. Jimmy Stewart playing the newly appointed senator Jefferson Smith has his eyes opened, and much to his surprise the politics of greed was everywhere in Washington. You look the other way on my bill and vote for it and I will do the same for you (this was pre-earmarks when you had to vote and your vote was recorded). Sadly very little has changed! Today well meaning people get elected, go to Washington and get “Mr. Smithed”.
As a citizen of the greatest country in the world I am astounded by the fact that we let roughly 560 people deliberately steal from us, and pass laws that apply only to us or only to them. We allow them to give themselves large pay raises, lavish pension plans, incredible medical insurance coverage, security details, etc… While at the same time taxing us to pay for their pet projects (the bridge to nowhere is a great example), their benefits, their staffs etc…while working their elected position as a part time job!
Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem paying taxes, my problem is with how the people’s money is being diverted into politicians pockets. By the way, all of the above holds true for our state (the only thing that got passed in the last session was their pay raises), our county (the highest sales tax rate in the country) and most of the cities and towns.
All you hear today is the need to raise taxes…this has resulted in the loss of jobs every time, and every where it has been done, look at Michigan, look at Illinois. It is time for Americans to take back our country.
Having worked in business and as a consultant for 30+ years, I have helped companies in trouble. A few times we had to do some radical surgery, but most of the time all that was required was rethinking how the work should be done and the comparing that to what was actually taking place. The result was tremendous increases in productivity (more for less) and significant reductions in COST! This approach can and must take place at every level of government, and it can’t start soon enough!
Radical surgery must start now, the longer we put it off the harder it is going to be for us and our children. It is time to get serious, we must demand that the corruption stop.