Capitalism is the last man standing. That is its aim, its purpose, and its mission. Free is not enough -- we who are the workers in the system must pay and pay and pay so that the capitalists will be satiated. If you accept that as fact, then all of it makes sense. Complete domination of all -- people, power, resources, money. Capitalists are a blight -- a curse on an otherwise free society -- and government isnt far behind. Denis Diderot is supposed to have said that men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest. To that, I would substitute politicians for kings, and capitalists for priests. We will never have a truly free society until we as citizens accept the fact that our government and the capitalists are one in the same. They are not the least bit benevolent, and never do anything that could be construed as beneficial to the people without being forced to do so. As Howard Zinn has said in publication after publication, the great strides made on behalf of common, working-class people here in America only happened because of protest, strike, threats, and sometimes, violence. Government has never done anything willingly. And never without reprisal. Look at what is happening to the student loan issue, now, today. Students, for the past 4 decades, have been encouraged to apply for federally-funded loans to obtain a higher education. This is especially true with regard to the for-profit, universities without walls that are so common today. ARC, where I worked, is a not-for-profit college, but during my tenure there the financial aid department gave out 23 million dollars in loans per year -- and that is only one college in the nation. The terms of these loans vary, but the students were generally promised that they had a decade to begin to pay the loans back upon completion of their degrees, and that, depending upon the field they chose to pursue, the entire loan would not have to be repaid. Today, with the economy in the toilet, students are unable to find adequate work, and are faced with a staggering indebtedness. Occasionally, the loans are forgiven after a considerable lapse in time, but unlike general debt which can be lifted off the backs of taxpayers when they declare bankruptcy, student loans, backed by the government, do not fade away, or become negotiable for pennies on the dollar. When student debt is forgiven, the IRS steps in and files a 1099, declaring that the loan is now considered income, and must be repaid. If the student cannot pay it, penalties are exacted along with confiscation of property and all assets of the student, who by this time is like everyone else in America -- struggling to have a life, with a family, a job, and a home. He or she stands to lose all of it because government never does anything without expecting something in return, and never without reprisal. Some states, like Alabama, are revitalizing debtors prisons. Should the student be responsible for his or her debt? Of course. Should the student lose his or her home because the government wants its money or go to prison because the debt cannot be repaid? No. If you think that the government is right, ask yourself why the capitalists can borrow money each year to shore up their sinking businesses -- money that comes directly from taxpayers -- without paying it back. Ask why capitalists are paid by taxpayers for research and development, compensated for losses obtained in natural resource exploitation, allowed to manufacture arms and sell them to both sides in an international conflict, profit from taxpayers in America who must pay higher prices for gasoline simply because, although there is a declining demand here in America, there is a greater demand in China – and, therefore, we must pay more at the pump. Is this Chinese gasoline? No. Does that matter to the capitalists? No. They are free to rape the taxpayers at every turn, but let a student who has tried to build a life by seeking financial help to pay for tuition fail to pay back the loan according to the terms and you have a thug and goon attaching his or her assets and putting the student, and family, out in the street. This is happening all over the United States – now, today. I have read accounts of fixed income, elderly parents and grandparents who have co-signed for such loans and now have lost their life savings, their homes, and all of their assets because the IRS “is within its right to take from them at will” – in state after state. This is America. This is the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave”. And it doesn’t stop here. You who are veterans must be aware of the fact that those who have served their country in foreign wars are not supported here at home. PTSD cases by the thousands are denied by the government every year; illnesses contracted because of exposure to depleted uranium, agent orange, and other chemicals, are not given credibility by the government and the capitalists who started the war in the first place and then sent someone else’s son or daughter to fight it. I have 70+ year old friends – veterans – who have been fighting to get the government to admit that they were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, for God’s sake, and to this day they are stiff-armed by the very government that sent them to war. If you look around you, you will see veterans just like them. Any government that will not support its veterans is not worth a shit. But – it will always support its capitalists. Only through organized action can we change this, because our “elected officials” are not the least bit interested in helping us. Government has never “given” our people anything. And if you think we are free, you had better start reading books again. Get off the Internet, kill the television, stomp on the iPod, start becoming self-sustaining, and organize with like-minded people who seek a different world and are willing to work toward it. The capitalists have spun a web that is contracting around us, and will eventually squeeze the life out of us, taking every last drop of our bodies, minds, and spirits – and, of course, our money. Poverty is increasing every year. Unemployment has not gone down, it has gone up. Read the data. Inflation and the cost of living are taking away our ability to live “within our means”, and millions of people in the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave” must make a choice every month whether to pay for food or electricity, or insurance, or rent, or clothing. The deck is stacked against average Americans because the capitalists care only about profit. That means “you give” – “they take”. Government, and they, do not care a whit about your problems or mine. It may never be possible to strangle the last politician with the entrails of the last capitalist, but it is possible to have a world not dominated by them. Every time you buy something, you cast your vote. I vote – no.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 09:35:54 +0000
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