Forum Post: An Open Letter to Washington

To Congress: You guys just don’t get it. Stop protecting your perks. Take the special interests and lobbyists who are driving your agenda, perverting the few of you who actually arrive with honest intentions, and even writing the legislation you support and boot them the Hell out of Washington. Start doing the work of representing the people that we sent you to Washington for in the first place. And if you want to fix the economy, pay attention to helping those who brought you to the dance with their votes, not their pocketbooks. Your corporate bailouts didn’t achieve anything but enriching the few on Wall Street and in the C-Suite who have forgotten that they are stewards of OUR money. Your mis-handling of the economy left the rest of us with homes that are worth far less than we owe on them, chronic unemployment, retirement plans that are a shambles, and a future for the greatest country in the world that is murky. The only thing the regular person got from you in the past 5 years was a few measly bucks in reduced payroll taxes. And OH BY THE WAY…. Payroll taxes used to be called Social Security Taxes. They’re what funds the Social Security that most of us over the age of 35 have been hoping to have as part of our retirement future. All you’ve done for us is give us a few bucks today that aren’t enough to make a difference while further increasing the probability that the safety net we all need for tomorrow won’t survive. DUMB MOVE.

To the Supreme Court: Corporations are not people, even though you ruled they are and that they have the same rights as human citizens. There is nothing in the American lexicon that EVER said “We the Corporations” or “Of the Corporations, By the Corporations, and For the Corporations”. Democracy exists to serve its citizens. Go stand in the corner with the right wing. You’re in time out.

To the Executive Branch: Ask yourself what would have happened if you’d given a trillion dollars or so directly to the citizens of America 4 years ago instead of using it to protect yourselves and your cronies. I guarantee you we would have put the money to better use than you did. Also, how come Federal employees enjoy 99.999% job security while the rest of us have to live in a free market where our jobs are at risk every day? Issue yourselves a mandate to cut spending in every Federal department by 10% in the next 12 months, even if it means some Federal employees lose their jobs. The private sector has been doing that for a generation with a resulting boom in productivity and growth in the economy that was unprecedented until you screwed it up. Any manager in the private sector knows that cutting 10% fat out of a budget is easy the first time through. You can do it without affecting ANY of the services you deliver to the citizenry and if you really put your brains to work, can probably improve your services to us while cutting cost.

For politicians in general: This two party system is killing us. You’re so polarized on both extremes that you’ve lost the middle entirely. But you control the primaries. The oligopoly you enjoy on the primaries unfortunately controls who we get to pick from for office. You keep serving us the same old gruel and we’re getting sick of it. “Please sir, may I have another?” may need to take on a whole new meaning if there’s anyone out there bold enough to try to reach the 99% instead of serving the ½% at either end of the political spectrum.

To our soldiers, sailors and airmen: God bless you. You are our protectors and guarantee the freedoms we all want to enjoy. Your bravery and dedication to this country are a true inspiration. May your future be blessed by leaders who understand your strength and value and who can avoid squandering your bravery on false causes.

And finally, to the 99%: None of us is perfect. We’re also not totally blameless victims. Our own greed and wants let them suck us into the trap of borrowing too much we couldn’t afford to repay. We listened to the allure of lower taxes and allowed the Tea Party to seize our voice. But maybe your emergence means we’re finally getting it. Do yourself a favor. Do a Google search on the musical group Steelers Wheels. They got it right a long time ago. “Clowns to the Left of me. Jokers to the Right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you!”

Let’s get the clowns and jokers out of power and get control of this great country back with us.