Rotten in DC

To even the most obtuse observer of the Washington, DC scene, it's clear there is something rotten there that we've been trying to overlook far too long. Our government is struggling with monumental issues with one hand tied behind its back, and more.

The core problem is money, campaign finance reform, to be specific. Campaigns for high office should be financed by the government so that exceedingly wealthy people who want a new challenge or whatever, can't simply lay out $100 million and become a governor, senator or judge. (No judge should ever have to run for office.) In addition, campaigns for national office should be limited, as they are in many other western countries, to 3-6 months. No more continuous 24/7 campaigns that never end and require ever greater time devoted, not to governing or legislating , but to fundraising. It's going to be hard to make much progress on these matters until the Supreme Court is persuaded that corporations are not people. As it is, the High Court has just made it infinitely easier for corporations to influence legislation using stockholder money. This makes corporations super persons. Let's give them names like Watson for IBM, Jack for GE, Mickey for Disney, Uncle Dick for Halliburton, Jamie for JP Morgan Chase. These men will be able to spend whatever it takes to continue Wall Street's dominance of Washington, thanks to the Roberts Court.

Unfortunately, there is much more to be done to improve congressional effectiveness. I have always been for term limits that would force lawmakers to leave office after say two terms as a senator (12 years) and 3 as a congressman (9 years).
Election to office should not be a lifetime meal ticket. Term limits should be law and any expertise denied the nation because of shorter tenure can be easily overcome by an improved civil service and a steady supply of new talent.

Archaic rules should be changed, especially in the Senate where secret holds on nominations make it impossible for a new president to establish control over the government. Earmarks should be transparent and greatly reduced. Ethics Committees should be reconstituted and required to work in the open. Filibuster rules should be changed to prevent the tyranny of the minority that can immobilize a determined opposition.

And that's just for starters. The country has to break the grip of Special Interests before we can return to our ideals and the phenominal promise they hold. Business can't be rigged so that only a tiny percentage of people benefit and that will mean heavy, determined lifting for many years. The same goes for farming, mining, oil and coal. The subsidies have to go, the playing fields levelled. Until then, it's just going to be more of the same - "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire, burn and cauldron bubble."

Greed

Gordon Gekko notwhithstanding, greed is NOT good. Indeed, greed is quite rightly one of the Seven Deadly Sins, up there with Pride, Lust, Wrath, etc. It's symbol is a gross hog, not to be confused with the charming Wilbur of Charlotte's Web. Nor is greed to be confused with ambition or concentration. It is not an asset or attribute. Nothing wholesome comes from greed.


Greed is often expressed as a forceful effort to acquire or experience an absolute, controlling, or unhealthy amount of a commodity (gold, Renaissance paintings, real estate, stock, pork bellies (!) and/or certain experiences like sex, fame and so on. Like pornography, it's sometimes difficult to quantify, but we know it when we see it and it's not pretty. Greed is not an integral part of Capitalism or the American dream. It is not mentioned with our freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It's allowed along with bad table manners, but not prohibited like driving without a license. One may be deeply motivated to succeed by observing a neighbor imitating Al Capp's cartoon character, J. Roaringham Fatback and cruising to work in a chauferred Rolls Royce, but few are inspired by the billionaire Hunt Brothers trying to corner the silver market many years ago. They were out for more money, of course, but had they succeeded, they would have enjoyed the buzz when they walked into The Oilman's Club. Greed can be deliciously macho at any age.


What my friends who believe in the usefulness of greed are really thinking of is good ole "trickle down economics," that nostrum beloved by President Ronald Reagan. Give a zillionaire another zillion and, according to economist Reagan, he would open a plant in Nigeria, hire 5,000 locals and lift the entire region out of poverty. The altruistic mogul would use the money for the benefit of society, insist on high labor standards and pay fine dividends to stockholders at the same time. It was baloney, of course, but a wonderful fantasy all the same. Trickle down didn't work and never will, regardless of the guise in which it comes. Greed is fuel for the zillionaire, but there are no statues to it, now that it has finally been understood for what it is. My belief is that the average zillionaire would take a windfall and hide it in Switzerland, to avoid paying taxes on it, as so many have done in the past.

Greed is in the headlines today, because of the beyond incredible greedy behavior of leading business executives (think BP) politicians and wannabes worldwide in it's thrall over a period of many years. Indeed, what we are seeing today is little different than what we have seen seemingly forever. Even young people in America today know something of the sins of the Vanderbilts, the Morgans, the Harrimans, et al. who stopped at absolutely nothing to achieve their fortunes and then used charity to buy extensive redemption. The people at the very top seem to always want more. Ambition fanned by the media (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous) becomes greed, power begets the need for more power and the beat goes on. As the gap between the classes widens, the potential increases again for unrest and violence. A single assasination triggered World War I; another today could represent a devastation unlike any other experienced in the United States. No possible benefit of greed, currently beyond my imagination, can justify so much evil, real and potential.


So where does this greed come from? Is it a virus? Not likely. My wife says it springs from fear, a deep concern about returning to poverty or seeming to be weak - whatever condition created the condition in the first place. That makes sense to me and she should know as a practicing LCSW and Addictions Counselor with many years experience in dealing with emotionally troubled people, to say nothing of 40 with me.


I wonder if Gordon would be as sure about greed today as he was years ago. My guess is "Yes." That's the way Masters of the Universe think and always will.

Peace

I received an email recently from a wise friend that ended with the close, "Peace". Usually what friends write is Stay well, Love, Sincerely, Regards, As ever or simply Bye now. But "peace" is really it, isn't it? That's the true goal of our lives, not health, not wealth, not glory or honors that fade. The email called to mind that I've been wanting to write something about peace. And what a time to do it. These days I brace myself when turning on the TV news. The whole world seems to be wallowing in war and rumors of war, rebellions, fnancial tribulations, unemployment, enviromental disasters, bizarre suicides, sensless murders, terrible betrayals, political crises and so on. It's hard to feel peaceful.

Saint Paul began his letters with the words "Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Sometimes the wording was mixed a little but the meaning was absolutely clear. These were gifts from our Triune God of infinite value and they were and are FREE. No merit was or is involved. So can one have a horrible day at the office, in the school yard, at home in the nursery or in the deep valleys of shadows in Afghanistan and still be peaceful? The answer forever is "yes!" Can one be experiencing the worst kind of fear, disappointment, depression and trauma and still find peace? Yes, absolutely. That's why it's called Peace that passes understanding. "My peace I give to you" was Jesus' promise and His promises are true. I've witnessed Grace and Peace and experienced it, as the simplest of lay persons, and so can anyone reading this. In fact, many people may have witnessed and experienced Grace and Peace without even knowing it. When one comes to be aware of the gift, it's significance can still be shrouded. What it means is that nothing else, nothing, means anything and that the knowledge that everything will be all right engulfs you. God is in charge: it's His world, it was His before time and will be when time no longer matters. Why? He loves us and wants us to love Him. That's the "Good News." Think about it!

Bye now, and Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.