Sitting in the bosom of suburbia in the highest per capita county in Pennsylvania can give one a false sense of the American dream being intact and strong as ever. All of those living around here are living that dream. Most have houses nicer than their parents and definitely nicer than those of their grand parents.
So, how does the current US government/finance interaction have importance to their lives? If a company (as now sheltered by the People United Supreme Court decision) wants to speak in its own interest in elections, they are free to do so, as much as any labor union, religious organization, 501(c)3 organization.
So, for those living the "dream", why should we worry? Why? Because we are living in the latter days of Rome. The oligarchs are running our lives and we are encouraging them to do that.
Here's an example. Each school district needs to pay for new schools or renovating older, energy inefficient, or unsafe schools. They "float" a bond issue to get the cash to fund it immediately and pay it off over time. Guess what? The interest rate they are paying is higher than it should/could be. Why? Because a small number of very rich banking executives in Britain set the LIBOR rate for borrowing $$ which will affect every municipal loan percentage in our country. Their recent conviction and parliamentary convictions has not been loudly communicated via the American press on its impact to our local governments.
School districts lay off teachers, build lesser buildings. Townships hire few police officers or municipal service workers and deliver less services. Why? Because a lot of people assume its just the poor US economy. This financial status didn't just happen. It was allowed to occur by elected and non-elected government officials across the political spectrum at all levels whose political and personal financial interests motivate them to keep their mouth's shut or, worse, manipulative for those interests, keeps the public from understanding that they are being screwed, not only at the national level, but at the local bosom of suburbia level, as well as inter-city, county, state, and national levels.
So -- very few elected officials are being disposed like the very corrupt president of the Ukraine. Putin is one of the wealthiest persons in the world, despite having been a civil servant most of his career. The ultimate leader in N. Korea lives in luxury while his people starve and have been convinced that their leader should be held above themselves, the laws of common humanity, or of any country not fully suppressing their people with via, harsh, military and security apparatus.
So, sitting here in my warm, safe, dry, well lit home in the bosom of suburbia, what should I think? Is this how things work? Am I being overly idealistic to expect our leaders in both government and business to have the general well being of their constituencies be priorities in their work activities? I mean, we are okay..... at least for now. One enormous set of medical bills or work income collapse and we are screwed. But for now, I can think that isn't a likely reality.
Does corruption belong as an organic part of any country's political and leadership processes? Is there some level that makes it work better? Is it idealistic to think it should never occur?
So? What do you think? I think that a level of corruption happens in any system, but that here in the USA, it's drifting upward to a level beyond what is good for the general populace. AND its not a republican/democratic, left/right, liberal/conservative issue, despite well funded sources on both sides efforts to convince of just that.
What we need now, are leaders of high independent character, no matter what political, social or financial perspective. Their focus should be on making our country and our world be better based on decisions and words driven by only their passion for our country and world.
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