State of the Union

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

I watched the speech last night and I was moved and excited. But then I started watching and reading what other people thought and I wonder, did I watch the same speech? I just don't get it some times, he was so absolutely dead on when he spoke of the cynicism and people turning away. When a member of the Supreme Court is caught muttering 'not true' during the speech. When the Senate Republicans just sit there and don't respond even when Obama talks of the tax cuts they so fondly speak of. No wonder Americans are frustrated with the process. A couple of points that I just don't get or thought of this morning.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

I'm a little late to the game on this but here's what I just don't get. The President is the Commander in Chief, period, it says so in the Constitution. Why doesn't he just pull a Truman and end the policy once and for all? It seem's to me that this makes the most sense and the Armed Services has no recourse in the matter. Any other policy seems redundant and unnecessary.

Cutting taxes

Okay, I get it, the Republicans want less government. So long as that government is able to keep funding a ridiculously over sized defense department that accounts for the largest slice of the budget. And so long as that government is providing subsidies and bail outs for large corporations and banks when they can no longer compete because their overpaid CEO's have screwed the pooch on some major decision. And so long as that government is there to fund corrupt corporations who are ostensibly in other countries to help but instead are just reaping the whirlwind of chaos.

But all of the above not with standing, I get it, the government is like a family, and in tough times they have to cut their spending (despite modern economic theory proving the opposite is true). So where in that bizarro world of economics does cutting taxes come in? If the government is like a family then the taxes are the income. And I don't know about you, but cutting my household income last year did not make my budget easier to balance. All it meant was I had to reduce spending and hinder my ability to plan for the future.

Conclusion

So my response to all those rich white men who think the government should only exist to make them wealthy and preserve that wealth is get over it. Your time in charge is coming to an end. Maybe not now, but soon. Societies where the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of the population are not healthy ones. Change is coming, like it or not. And it would be far smarter to accept some change in your role that benefits the rest of society than cling to that straw boat of plutocracy in a rising tide of populist anger.