Perspectives

I was out Monday morning helping the garbage men load the truck with my yard waste. Whenever my “debris” passes what I consider an unreasonable threshold, I don the gloves and willingly lift the cans and toss the bags. They appreciate it. Ah, those lazy, shiftless, overpaid, greedy government employees. What? They have the temerity to expect a living wage and a retirement? Who do they think they are? Public school teachers?

Interesting that both types of government employees deal with garbage. The first from our streets, the latter from the Florida Legislature and governor. You be the judge as to which is more offensive.

Context is everything. I’ve been trying to understand why Republicans (nationally and at the state level) seem hell bent on driving down wages and benefits in America. They won’t come out and specifically announce that it is formal party policy, but that is the net result of their bombastic rhetoric and actual initiatives. The cost of labor in America is too high according to Republicans, and for the nation to be competitive in world markets, labor costs have to come down.

This is what I do not understand: If the middle class is essentially going to be sacrificed in America, be driven to accept a lower standard of living, and work longer for less so that American corporations can continually give shareholders higher stock prices, how is that healthy for the nation as a whole, long-term? Yes, those with stocks are enriched, yet the nation is being impoverished.

A week ago, “60 Minutes” did a segment on how American corporations are moving their offices (and jobs!) overseas to avoid the nation’s onerous taxes. Oh, the tears came out. I felt so sorry that corporations are being taxed at a 35 percent rate, but if you set up a “bogus” front office in, oh, say, Switzerland, you pay 10 percent. What’s a responsible corporate CEO to do? Shareholders demand better returns. Loyalty to America? Help pay for the quality of life we all enjoy? Underwrite our freedom, democracy and nation? Hell no. Not when we have private stockholders to enrich.

And then, lo and behold, General Electric is outed for paying no taxes at all on $14 billion in profit. What tax rate of 35 percent? The tax rate is actually zero if you have the “right” accountants, lobbyists and legislators in your pocket.

Bust the unions, eliminate government oversight of business, lower/remove corporate taxes, loosen banking and investment regulations, reduce environmental safeguards, consider corporations the same as the private citizen when it comes to elections (free speech), cut/abolish the minimum wage, do away with public retirement programs, shift Social Security to the private sector, and simply lower the cost of labor, of doing business in America — so as to enrich the few at the expense of the many. That is the Republican plan.

Folks, economic class has always been a factor in American society. To claim otherwise is disingenuous. But war has been declared on a large segment of the American people. The richest 2 percent of “us” don’t really give a damn about what becomes of America. They cannot, and embrace the policies of the Republican Party. It’s not about competiveness. It is about enriching, further, the few.

Ironically, when the ship (of state) sinks, the rats drown, too.

Unless, of course, you’ve a villa in Switzerland. Or, a townhouse in France. With a passport out.