America is drawing to a close with its love affair for Reagan style capitalism and its contemporary manifestation in the personna of Ron Paul. The disaster which has impacted this nation is a direct result of policies predicated on the assumption capitalists should be allowed complete freedom to accumulate wealth in any manner they so desired. Ron Paul advocates simply rewrote American history to present a myth that historically this nation did not want “big government” to interfere with the economy. This dream interpretation of the country’s history has no basis in fact. From day one of the new nation, Alexander Hamilton created the Bank of the United States to organize the monetary system and instituted tariffs to protect businessmen. The Federal government took leadership in constructing major roads and canals. Railroads emerged due to large Federal financial aid, but to Reagan, America’s development was all due to “rugged individualism.,”
The fantasy continues when describing modern examples such as the aircraft industry which was heavily subsidized by Federal money and the Internet which was a direct result of Federal aid. So, what is in the future for capitalism?
1. We will witness a national health insurance system to finally end the disastrous free enterprise model which has left 50 million without health care. This will enable our automobile manufacturers to finally compete on the global market instead of spending $1,500 on health benefits for each car produced.
2. We will witness heavy Federal investment in new industries as was done with the computer industry.
3. We will witness a massive Federal rebuilding of the infrastructure which can only be accomplished with Federal money. Perhaps, the Ron Paul supporters can explain how this could be accomplished by “rugged individualism.”
4. We will witness strong controls over the financial industry to end the manipulation by corporations which has proved disastrous to the economy.
5. We will witness partial Federal control of banks to help straighten out the mess and then they will become joint government and privately owned.
President Franklin Roosevelt used to tell the story of the wealthy man who went for a walk on a windy day and his hat fell off. A boy retrieved his hat which had fallen into a puddle and the man berated the boy for getting his hat wet. FDR told the story to illustrate how his New Deal program was trying to save capitalists from their own greed, but all they could do was gripe and moan and complain. The Federal government is the only mechanism that can save capitalism from its own follies.
Posted in Barack Obama, Conservatives, Democrats, George Bush, Human Rights, Liberals, Multicultural, Politics, Republicans, Ron Paul, Social Justice, United States, War
Tagged capitalism, FDR, Reagan
