Someone once said you get the government you deserve. Well Americans are about to get four years of a government they deserve, whether it will be a Hillary Clinton government or a Donald Trump government we can’t say at this early point, but what we can be assured of is that our current choices reflects a number of things about America’s political status, which are:
1. We are unable to produce great leadership
2. We are so uneducated about the issues that we are willing to elect bad leadership
3. Our political system is so ineffective because we continue to elect leaders who have no experience in leadership
4. Big Government will never go away because the people who depend on it will continue to elect leaders who endorse the status quo of big government
Over the weekend a general election was held in Switzerland where, because of increasing unemployment due to automation, citizens voted on whether all Swiss citizens should be guaranteed an income equivalent to $2,500 U.S. dollars. The legislation was voted down because the Swiss had the wisdom to know two things many Americans haven’t learned. First, that they can’t afford to provide every citizen a guaranteed income in perpetuity and second, when you give people money, there is no incentive to work harder, if even at all.
Now if you held a vote today in America asking if the average citizen would want to be guaranteed a monthly income of $2,500 for doing nothing, how many of us would quit our jobs tomorrow? The answer is already self-evident. Right now 49% of Americans are being given free money by the state (that working people pay for with taxes). We are already half way there!
It started in 1932 with the New Deal, when our President determined that people could no longer sufficiently take care of themselves, hence the birth of Social Security, a program that never worked and only served as an extra checking account for a government that can never stop spending more than it takes in, to the tune of $19,000,000,000,000.
Let’s define what our choices are and how they affect our future.
If Hillary wins you can expect four major things to occur:
1. Increased surveillance in the name of security
2. Higher taxes and even more cradle-to-grave family welfare programs designed to keep people locked into poverty
3. More foreign jobs moving overseas, meaning less jobs here at home
4. A stronger military
If Donald Trump wins you can expect four major things to occur:
1. Increased surveillance in the name of security
2. Lower taxes and less cradle-to -grave family welfare programs designed to keep people locked into poverty longer
3. More foreign jobs moving overseas, meaning less jobs here at home
4. A stronger Military
Except for item number two, both candidates believe government has a right to monitor its citizens to ensure there are no national security threats against government officials; both candidates understand the military industrial complex is big money as more and more developed countries buy military hardware, and both candidates believe in globalization because it benefits big business, it creates more tax revenues for the government.
The wall will never be built, but Trump will (hopefully) enforce our border laws and reduce the influx of illegal immigrants. Muslims will still flow freely into our country, but I believe Trump and Hillary are both about the same on national security matters.
Hillary presents herself as a woman of the people, the underclass, the downtrodden, when there is nothing in her legislative record to show she has done anything to improve the underclasses standard of living. The same can be said about Donald, except his crowd are people who still work but are getting squeezed in the land of middle income earners.
Trump is more transparent, and his supporters don’t mind because they feel the same way – angry that America is increasing its population with people who don’t work, but get subsidized on the backs of the ones’ who do work.. Trump may not have an endearing personality, but at least you know where he stands. Hillary is more chameleonic, always changing her colors (or her accent) to fit the crowd to whom she is speaking.
Despite the outcome, the needle on American progress may not move very far over the next four years. In fact, nothing will change until these these two things occur:
The enactment of Term limits to members of Congress, both houses. This is the only way to limit the power of corporate lobbyists who, over time, buy votes that do not alwasy serve in the best interst of the people.
We begin to elect leaders who have proven themselves ethical and moral, and represent their communities needs. Like being in the military, being in government should be an esteemed privilege; there is no greater responsibility than serving the public trust.
Today, we send lawyers, activists and favored sons and daughters who exist in circles of influence. Influence in and of itself is not bad, but when the goal is narrow and self serving or works against the community, then influence politics becomes contaminated with greed and power. A great country simply cannot sustain itself with inferior leadership.
Today’s presidential election reminds me of a great quote a friend told me once about golf and it certainly illustrates our current dilemma when it comes to choosing our next president. It comes down to who will less. and that can’t be good.
Don’t kid yourself. Our government was never established to put so much power into the hands of one person, which is why the real problem is not who the next president will be, but rather, who we elect to represent America’s best interests in Congress moving forward.
As it should be.
Jim Watkins is the morning host of Your Wakeup Call on AM 820 News in Tampa Bay and on NewsTalkFlorida.com
