blog.grahamallen.net

I got into a conversation with a total stranger today and it was somewhat inspiring, albeit quite depressing. what happened to this country? were we not founded on basic principles of limited government and capitalism? it has gotten to a point where corporate greed has intermingled with flawed socialist counter-action and mired us in a desperate situation where the blue-collar workforce and small business have been diminished in favor of a top-heavy economic heierarchy.

i have to believe that thomas jefferson and james madison would be proud of what this country has become to this point, but would look on the past 40-60 years with skepticism. and they would certainly view the past twenty as an outright failure. as housing costs and gas prices are sky-rocketing, corporate figureheads are padding their pockets and stagnating the economy. damn the war. our situation is in a much more precarious position state-side and is in need of a major overhaul. but what can we do?

the lobby in this country is out of control. every law and every bill that is passed in our legislative system adds figures to the cost of doing business. with each figure added, small business is placed in a position to struggle and fail. those that do succeed are forced to nickel and dime their work-force nearly into poverty. the divide between the upper and middle class thus grows wider.

and yet we, the middle class, the majority in this country, continue voting the same crooked, every man for himself politician into office that we can. so is the solution to turn to third-party candidates? it seems that third-party has come to mean the same thing, only slightly modified. they still want to over-legislate and over-regulate. and the one party that has a solid platform for returning the economy to small business has squandered their chances by allowing anarchists to over-run their walls and their image to become tarnished with an anti-drug war sentiment.

i want a voice. i want to champion the cause of entrepreneurship, small business, the working class. but in a way that works FOR the cause, not against it. unions merely agitate and aggravate the issue, with labor costs being passed on to the consumer, thus negating any positive gains for the working class. forced legislation against employers only favors corporate entities, being the only organizations that can afford to meet the steep demands of said legislation. but where do i find this voice if my peers continue down a path of apathy and compliance?

our oil-tycoon president and his pals ignore our pleas for a reprieve from heavily escalated gas prices. and yet this is a complicated issue that reeks of controls and incentives. we have been spoiled up until this point with gas prices that have not escalated in parallel with the rising rate of inflation. but the disparity has been doubled in the past two years, if not tripled. and with talk of prices rising to as much as $4.00 a gallon at the pump, when do we say enough is enough? and this issue affects the average american consumer in multiple ways. we pay for it at the pump. we will eventually pay for it, if we haven’t already, in escalated shipping prices for goods and services.

i have to know: have we all gone mad? is it to a point where the only people who can realistically run for public office are the ones who have the funds to not only back campaigns, but also pay for public relations machines that keep their public images free from tarnish?

and how many people are quick to blame “capitalism” when what we are seeing is a system that has been bled of its energy source and has come to resemble a hodge-podge or a melting pot of every economic system possible?

am i alone in my frustration? am i alone in feeling compelled to accept the social norms of silent acquiescence and a life of perpetual credit hell?

in order to sustain a healthy economic status, the money must continue to flow freely amongst the consumer masses and industry. but in our current state, our pockets have been sewn shut. add to everything above, a technology sector that saw a significant drop-off in the early part of this decade and you have a multi-headed monster bearing down on us.

i’d like to see a light at the end of the tunnel. i’d like to have a voice. i’d like to share that voice with others of the same voice. but we must be empowered and inspired to believe that all that we see in front of us will only change if we will it to change. else the monetary divide will continue to grow and the many will be owned by the few. the only thing worse would be pure democracy- mob rule- but that’s a conversation for another day.

tell me: am i wrong?