Thursday, October 06, 2005

Buy Gold

Who can argue with that in the face of Bush's financially disastrous policies.

But reading this article, I was reminded of something - how the Dem candidate for President will have to promise to raise taxes, and will once again lose a lot of votes because of it. The Rethug candidate, on the other hand, will be allowed by the media to revel in fantasy-utopian supply-side economics forecasts, where more spending and tax cutting go together like pigs in shit. The Dem candidate will be derided for 'not being serious' for suggesting tax increases, and the Rethug candidate will only have 'doubts case' upon whether his 'controlled spending' programs (i.e. no new tax cuts - we'll just keep the one we already have, fuck you very much) will really bring the economy out of stagflation. The net result - the Dem loses votes for being more realistic.

The Dem candidate, wanting to be taken seriously on money issues, will use all the right buzzwords to win some votes from the middle - reform, stop wasteful spending, etc. - meaning, cuts to social programs for the poor. Those same words will do enough to prevent Middle America from running away, towards the Rethug candidate. The Dem candidate will lose again.

In short, I'm merely pointing out what has proven to be the politically-wise thing to do in this country when running for office - lie. Lie through your teeth. Look straight into the faces of the American people and tell them that you have the power to turn shit into gold. Tell them you'll increase government spending on social programs and you'll cut taxes. Growth will be so astounding that there will be no deficits, and the debt 'will take a long time to go away', but every year we'll work towards paying off the debt. Tell them whatever they want to hear - just don't tell them they'll have to make a sacrifice. Sacrifice doesn't work too well with the American people - that's why the Iraq War is invisible.

So, should candidates lie? No. But they will. The biggest liar will most likely win the next few president elections in the United States. Hopefully something will turn around that rewards truth-telling pols, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

No comments: