Monday, December 31, 2012

Political Snapshot

So.... We had an election. I voted for Rocky Anderson, a guy whose ideas I liked and I knew he wouldn't get even one percent of the vote. I think Obama is marginally better than Romney would have been, but I'm still incredibly frustrated with all of the abuses of executive power, the war mongering, violations of the fourth amendment, indefinite detention, assassinations of US citizens, drone attacks, lack of transparency, and the list goes on and on.

The fiscal cliff is upon us, and I think we should fire all the senators and representatives. While I don't really want to pay more in taxes personally, the whole situation is ridiculous. Tax rates are at the lowest since the 1920's and income inequality is at similar historic highs. Something needs be done. The solution certainly isn't lower taxes nor is it cutting entitlements.

Social security is not on the brink of collapse, the politicians just need to stop using those funds to fund the tax cuts they've been making over the past 20 years.

The media is continuing its commercial slant, providing nearly zero information but tons of hype about tabloid-like stories to fill the air waves.

Medicare is a problem, but nobody is talking about a real solution. The root problem isn't the high cost of medical care, but is the fact we're such a sick nation. Too much bad food (over processed), too much environmental pollution, too many prescription drugs which don't solve problems but instead mask symptoms. We need to overhaul our food system to heal ourselves from the inside out. Just cutting Medicare will only move the cost from one place to another.

I'm hoping the next year is better, but I have little hope the system is going to change. Not quite sure what the next step is.

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