Unfortunately, when discussing the political class in America it usually gets pretty depressing. Runaway national debt, leaky borders, escalating healthcare costs, a lost war on drugs, failing public schools, selfish politicians whose only priority in life is their own personal enrichment and egos, a government bureaucracy that fails at everything it does, etc. It can get pretty depressing with all of the bad news that originates with a petty and inept political class.
This situation led us to write the book, “Love My Country, Loathe My Government,” a fifty step plan to fix what ails the country. Sadly, since the book was published in 2009, the politicians in this country have followed absolutely none of the common sense steps that were proposed. Doing so would have put the country in a much better position today vs. what we are currently living through.
So rather than dwell on the continuing bad news that is spawned by today’s political class, lets take a couple of days to talk about some good things that are going on that should give us all some hope that eventually we can actually fix what the political class has broken and finally actually resolve some major issues of our times.
1) Step 26 from “Love My Country, Loathe My Government" proposed a process that would finally resolve the lost war on drugs that the political class and government declared over four decades ago. Since then, the American taxpayer has had to pay trillions of dollars to fight this losing war with the results being the reality that drug use is still pretty prevalent across the country and new, powerful and extremely violent drug cartels have been created as a result of the lost war on drugs.
However, there may be some for sanity in this area. According to research from the Drug Policy Alliance, one year after the state of Colorado legalized the sale and recreational use of marijuana, the following statistics have become reality:
This situation led us to write the book, “Love My Country, Loathe My Government,” a fifty step plan to fix what ails the country. Sadly, since the book was published in 2009, the politicians in this country have followed absolutely none of the common sense steps that were proposed. Doing so would have put the country in a much better position today vs. what we are currently living through.
So rather than dwell on the continuing bad news that is spawned by today’s political class, lets take a couple of days to talk about some good things that are going on that should give us all some hope that eventually we can actually fix what the political class has broken and finally actually resolve some major issues of our times.
1) Step 26 from “Love My Country, Loathe My Government" proposed a process that would finally resolve the lost war on drugs that the political class and government declared over four decades ago. Since then, the American taxpayer has had to pay trillions of dollars to fight this losing war with the results being the reality that drug use is still pretty prevalent across the country and new, powerful and extremely violent drug cartels have been created as a result of the lost war on drugs.
However, there may be some for sanity in this area. According to research from the Drug Policy Alliance, one year after the state of Colorado legalized the sale and recreational use of marijuana, the following statistics have become reality:
- Since the first retail marijuana stores opened on January 1st, 2014, the state of Colorado has experienced a decrease in crime rates, a decrease in traffic fatalities, an increase in tax revenue from retail marijuana sales, and an increase in jobs.
- According to statistics from the Colorado Court System, pot possession arrests have dropped 84% in the year 2014 vs. 2010, saving millions of dollars in law enforcement and legal costs.
- During that same timeframe, arrests for cultivating and distributing marijuana have dropped by more than 90%, saving more law enforcement and court costs.
- Violent crime in Denver went down by 2.2% in the first 11 months of 2014 vs. the first eleven months of 2013.
- In the same period, burglaries in Denver decreased by 9.5% and overall property crime went down by 8.9%.
- State tax revenue from retail marijuana sales amounted to $40.9 million in the first ten months of 2014, not including revenue from medical marijuana and licenses and fees.
- This is far more than the $2.5 million expense that has been set aside to put more health professionals in Colorado schools who will focus on mental health support and on programs to educate students about drug use.
- Traffic fatalities went down 3% in 2014, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation, negating fears that the legalization of marijuana would lead to an increase in traffic fatalities.
Now, obviously the Drug Policy Alliance has a stake in making the Colorado pot legalization experiment look good. But you cannot argue with the statistics or their sources. Crime is down, tax revenue is up, drug use has not spiked the auto fatality rate, and most importantly, tens of millions of dollars that normally would have gone to criminal elements and drug cartels is staying local and providing legal and good jobs for local citizens.
Thus, there is some hope that the successful experiences with legalization in other countries and in Colorado may eventually lead to a cessation of the lost war on drugs, the repression of rights, and the freeing up of tax dollars for better and less dangerous uses than pursuing drug users.
2) As we have lamented many times in this blog, the current members of the American political class are either unable, unwilling, or not intelligent enough to rationally address the major issues of our times and put together and plan that actually resolves them. If they did have the ability, will, and intelligence, we would still not have to cope with failing public schools, the lack of a national energy strategy and policy, leaky borders, an expensive health care system, etc. These problems have plagued us for decades with no resolution.
Government programs are ineffective, inefficient, and often corrupted and infested with criminal fraud. Highly flaunted new government programs more often than not make the existing problem worse (e.g. Obama Care). Don’t believe me, name one current government program that actually works and meets its objectives with in budget:
Thus, there is some hope that the successful experiences with legalization in other countries and in Colorado may eventually lead to a cessation of the lost war on drugs, the repression of rights, and the freeing up of tax dollars for better and less dangerous uses than pursuing drug users.
2) As we have lamented many times in this blog, the current members of the American political class are either unable, unwilling, or not intelligent enough to rationally address the major issues of our times and put together and plan that actually resolves them. If they did have the ability, will, and intelligence, we would still not have to cope with failing public schools, the lack of a national energy strategy and policy, leaky borders, an expensive health care system, etc. These problems have plagued us for decades with no resolution.
Government programs are ineffective, inefficient, and often corrupted and infested with criminal fraud. Highly flaunted new government programs more often than not make the existing problem worse (e.g. Obama Care). Don’t believe me, name one current government program that actually works and meets its objectives with in budget:
- Social Security - a big Ponzi scheme that is quickly heading for bankruptcy.
- Medicare and Medicaid - delivering inferior medical treatment for big dollars.
- Head Start - study after study proves that Head Start is nothing more than a Federal government babysitting service.
- IRS - incapable of collecting almost $400 billion a year from tax evaders but very good at suppressing the First Amendment rights of millions of citizens.
The list goes on and on. But according to an article by Nick Sorrentio from January 6, 2015, that appeared on his Against Crony Capitalism website, for the first time ever, voters say that “the government” is the biggest problem in America today.
Mr. Sorrentino takes a quote about a recent Gallup poll that was discussed in the Investors Business Daily: “Confirming the 2014 election zeitgeist, a new Gallup poll finds that Americans are fed up with ever-encroaching, corrupt and incompetent government, as represented by ObamaCare and other federal policies.
For the first time since Gallup has conducted polling, people say that the “biggest problem” in America is “the government.” It topped all other categories, including terrorism. “2014 was the first year ever in Gallup records that dissatisfaction with government topped the list,” the 80-year-old firm said. “Government includes dissatisfaction with President Obama.””
After 13 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the very violent and real problem of Islamic terrorism, a weak economic recovery, an $18 TRILLION national debt, ever increasing crony capitalism, failing public schools, unbridled government and NSA spying, a failed Obama Care website and failing Obama Care legislation, a President who would rather attend political fund raisers and play golf than connect with the rest of the citizenry, etc., it is about time that Americans finally started to realize that more and more government intrusion and control into our lives is not the solution. Never was, never will be.
Also, the reality that for the first time ever, more voters identify themselves as Independents vs. being either Republicans or Democrats is another good, hopeful sign that the country is waking up to the reality that almost always, the government is not here to help you. Government and the politicians that operate it are here to take your wealth, give it to themselves and their political backers, restrict your freedoms, and try to tell you how to talk, how to think, and how to run your life.
That is enough good news for today, we want to spread out the good news over a couple of days before getting back into political class shenanigans and failures. Today we learned that the legalization of marijuana in Colorado has been a success against most just about any measure of success and failure, making one wonder why it did not happen much sooner in the past and why it is not happening quicker going forward.
We also learned that more and more Americans, according to Gallup, are finally figuring out that government and the politicians that operate it today are not the answers to our problems and that both institutions, government and the political class, are long overdue for an overhaul and replenishment.
There is hope.
Mr. Sorrentino takes a quote about a recent Gallup poll that was discussed in the Investors Business Daily: “Confirming the 2014 election zeitgeist, a new Gallup poll finds that Americans are fed up with ever-encroaching, corrupt and incompetent government, as represented by ObamaCare and other federal policies.
For the first time since Gallup has conducted polling, people say that the “biggest problem” in America is “the government.” It topped all other categories, including terrorism. “2014 was the first year ever in Gallup records that dissatisfaction with government topped the list,” the 80-year-old firm said. “Government includes dissatisfaction with President Obama.””
After 13 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the very violent and real problem of Islamic terrorism, a weak economic recovery, an $18 TRILLION national debt, ever increasing crony capitalism, failing public schools, unbridled government and NSA spying, a failed Obama Care website and failing Obama Care legislation, a President who would rather attend political fund raisers and play golf than connect with the rest of the citizenry, etc., it is about time that Americans finally started to realize that more and more government intrusion and control into our lives is not the solution. Never was, never will be.
Also, the reality that for the first time ever, more voters identify themselves as Independents vs. being either Republicans or Democrats is another good, hopeful sign that the country is waking up to the reality that almost always, the government is not here to help you. Government and the politicians that operate it are here to take your wealth, give it to themselves and their political backers, restrict your freedoms, and try to tell you how to talk, how to think, and how to run your life.
That is enough good news for today, we want to spread out the good news over a couple of days before getting back into political class shenanigans and failures. Today we learned that the legalization of marijuana in Colorado has been a success against most just about any measure of success and failure, making one wonder why it did not happen much sooner in the past and why it is not happening quicker going forward.
We also learned that more and more Americans, according to Gallup, are finally figuring out that government and the politicians that operate it today are not the answers to our problems and that both institutions, government and the political class, are long overdue for an overhaul and replenishment.
There is hope.
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:
www.loathemygovernment.com
It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.
Please visit the following sites for freedom:
Term Limits Now: http://www.howmuchworsecoulditget.com
www.loathemygovernment.com
It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.
Please visit the following sites for freedom:
Term Limits Now: http://www.howmuchworsecoulditget.com
http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w
No comments:
Post a Comment