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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PartyTime who wrote (60976)	11/6/2000 4:27:54 PM
From: willcousa	Respond to of 769667

Knowing the Democrat party the cats probably did vote.

To: PartyTime who wrote (60976)	11/6/2000 5:29:39 PM
From: Mr. Whist	Respond to of 769667

Good luck on your move. You have been a beacon of truth on this board.

To: PartyTime who wrote (60976)	11/6/2000 8:04:28 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Party Time, Thank you for your well-considered, thoughtful and intelligent overview of the situation. At one point you left a tiny opening for me to add a bit of color: This enables the continuation of paying off the third largest expenditure in government: the federal debt. I don't know why you GOPwingers ain't in favor of this. It's boggling! With gains from reducing this expenditure comes a stronger and more effective government. There are a number of elements to this so bear with me. First of all, the Federal Reserve Board deals in Treasury debt with 29 primary broker-dealers. Lots of them are common, household names like Goldman, Sachs, SSB, M/L and their brethren. Those who have taken the time to study this market (not an easy thing to get information on, nor do the participant want it to be) realize that this market is very lucrative for these firms. They have no motivation whatsoever for the public portion of the national debt to be erased. It destroys profitability. Most, but not all of these 29 prime dealers are big contributors to the GOP. And as we well know, political parties respond to their constituencies. The natural constituency of the Republican Party leadership is, surprise, not the American public. Anything but. OK, so that's part one. Part Two: Debt is Slavery - We have a profound heritage in this country, extending back to the days when the colonies were founded, of a basic belief in the inequality of man. Thus, slavery was the norm over a vast geographical area and to this day there are Americans who feel that it is the natural course of human events. Now just how does this relate to the national debt, you ask. In the same way that the debts of Third World Nations relate to the IMF, the World Bank and their governmental masters. Debt is the subtle mechanism that is used today, in view of the sensible and compassionate international treaties outlawing slavery, to impose the will of the financially sophisticated on the politically, financially and educationally naive of this world. And just so in America, what we have is a moneyed elite who have been able (by means largely of providing a disingenously useless education to the bulk of the citizenry) to hide in plain sight the fact that they are the recipients/masters as creditors of the national debt and the American public at large, and the working middle class in particular, have been reduced to a permanent debtor status. The implications, looking at this on a generational level, are truly sinister and mind boggling. When I was a youth, in the '60's, an education was a very inexpensive right of many in the middle class. Today, a child entering even a public institution is faced with a daunting cost to buy the one thing that is going to matter most in his/her life, a good education. Society has not reacted to this dislocation of the nations wealth in any rational fashion. It has merely submitted to the idea that we can live with the debt. I am quite disappointed that the Democrats haven't made more of an issue of this. Because it is the Democrat's native constituency who are worst served by the present system. I suppose that it is simply to abstract an argument for the sound bite spinners to deal with. This is a pity. Because it's not that difficult to comprehend once the pieces are laid out. Part Three: Goals - You say With gains from reducing <the national debt> comes a stronger and more effective government.* I will assure you, this is not a goal of the leadership of the GOP. You and I are very much of the mind to think that the word commonweal has a noble meaning and is a goal to be sought. I see scant indication that this view is shared by the GOP leadership**. Quite the contrary, with the exception of nurturing an aggressive military for further imperial purposes, the GOP appears to be largely in favor of dismantling the Federal establishment. Prefering greatly the corporate model of governance. The GOP didn't invent laisse faire, but they sure do embrace it. Particularly with their first in time first in right approach to capitalism. For you see, I do not believe that the GOP leadership has in mind to rule this country for the benefit of all citizens. It has in mind to use the devices it can to take care of its own. And for now, the national debt serves that purpose quite nicely. Best, Ray See Caroline Baum/Bloomberg: quote.bloomberg.com for a discussion of the true nature of the reduction of the national debt. The reduction is purely illusory. *George Bush could do vastly more for the education of America's youth by getting our financial house in order, by at least an order of magnitude, than by any means he is proposing. **There are millions of well-meaning Republicans whom this post is not meant to be disrespectful. They are like you and me, they want what is best for the country. I want everyone to draw the important distinction between the leadership and the ranks. The contrasts in attitude and objectives are stark.