Lately, I have been pissed at some of the news I have read. The Senate tries to pass an energy bill, only to have parts of it clipped by Republicans and threats of a veto from the White House if the elimination of tax breaks on the oil industry was carried out. The FCC wishes to continue media consolidation of smaller stations into media conglomerates who already have a hold on much of what we see and hear. The economy is controlled by those who want to drive their bottom lines up and get people who might be cautious of spending what little they have on goods they don't necessarily need, sometimes forcing them into debt they have trouble getting out of it.
I'm not the most politically charged guy on the block, but just hearing about stories like this put me on edge. Let's face it: if you are part of a corporation, then I'm not a fan of what you do or what your company stands for. But I also cannot live comfortably without them , seeing that they provide so many necessary services to our country. It's when they abuse their streams of money, streams that are meant for the citizens in need generously given to them by their government. It's when you exploit cheap labor and resources in other countries just to save money and shift jobs away from the countries they were formed in. It's when they hide what they do and what they make under a cloud of optimistic, we-can't-do-any-wrong public relations campaigns.
I have been fascinated by the corporate complex for a while now, by the way it turns and how it turns economics into a tool of infinite growth. Any growth comes at some price however, whether it be through use of natural resources, labor power, or the trade of one thing for another. To decide on the question of unlimited profits involves deciding on how you feel about economic growth in general (moderated growth in my case).
On the other hand, some of the Democrats are crazy too. Fighting for the common good is fine and all, but no one party is to blame for our problems. Things happen on all levels of government due to bad decisions from several officials regardless of policy. The Democrats are so adamant on pushing for renewable energy when it will take much more to reduce our need for petroleum. If there is one thing that the oil guys have right, it is that oil is used in more than just gasoline. Gasoline seems to be targeted because it is visible, is used by almost everyone, and is a product that represents a huge industry that some Democrats stand against.
The most striking thing our government has failed to do is give consideration to long-term policy in favor of short-term fixes. Ignorance is prevalent in any policy, giving favor to immediate fixes like tax breaks over longer-term fixes like overhauling the tax system. Few people in Congress seem to appreciate true long-term planning; I mean beyond trying to get us to use more ethanol based fuels by 2020, I mean real long term thinking. This means taking into account what could happen if a given policy is implemented, understanding both the risks and consequences of your actions ten or twenty years from now. Saying we will use ethanol in our fuel doesn't necessarily mean we have ways to encourage its use, nor does it account for how we will deal with other sources of petroleum use. Not to mention it will benefit the large agriculture companies like Monsanto, who thrive on growing their special brand of genetically modified corn.
I will use this space in the future to bring out articles that illustrate issues that concern me. I will say my piece, and maybe one day others will voice theirs. Hell, even if I can just get my opinion out somewhere, I'd probably feel a lot better.
Let's see how far this will take me and other people that are reading this. Everything is still connected as I said when I first started this blog, but my opinions have probably gone in stranger directions.
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