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

To: DavesM who wrote (343113)	1/14/2003 5:34:56 PM
From: MSI	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 769667

Massive spending on non-productive "protection rackets" like the military and private security, exploding debt, falling dollar, and elite-centric allocation of spending by gov't and corp through Bush tax policies, all result in the worst of both worlds. It would be different if the next few trillion were spent, say, in New Deal type public infrastructure like roads, bridges, buildings, parks, etc., which last for 100 years. That creates real wealth, adds value, adds jobs, and decreases costs of doing business throughout the economy, thereby decreasing inflation. Inflation and weakening of the economy is further pushed by the trend towards gov't protection for corp monopolies extracting increasingly higher prices for the basic necessities of life. Watch for drugs, gasoline, even water supplies to dramatically increase prices in '03 and '04, even as wages decline. This will be masked by statistical slight-of-hand ("core" vs "other" definitions to exclude anything bothersome), but everyone will notice continued drop in standard of living and discretionary spending. Eventually, nothing will be discretionary -- you'll have unending bills every month just to get up in the morning. Your telecommunications will be cable, internet, phone, tv, radio (and software, as one wag said, all on one bill, from Microsoft <g>) The enrichment of insiders comes from what everyone knows to be the Achilles heel of Washington politics, that the lobbyists interests are heard to the exclusion of the rest of the citizenry - money buys legislation more effectively than votes. A $100,000 "investment" or bribe brings $10 million in disguised benefits to the corp lobbyist, a 100:1 ROI, and irresistable to both corp and politician alike. Even tho' by far the world's predominant economy and culture, nevertheless a significant element in maintaining US debt rating will increasingly be the US military, and a flight to safety, which is further incentive to policymakers to increase violent conflict worldwide.