Gordon,

I love you, man. We've only met once, but that week in Arkansas definitely ranks high on "Most Fun Weeks of My Life."

But I totally disagree that this is just "parsing of words." Our anti-capitalism society was going on when Ike was in elementary school. The political collusion between politicians & big business has a much longer history than the late 50s. But that's another discussion.

In 1978, after failing at a wide variety of sales jobs and 2 or 3 businesses, I took a fall-back, short-term job as a bus driver in Miami & Miami Beach, while I figured out how to make big money.

Sixteen years later, "big money" showed up and "short-term" ended. I've always had a long runway.

One of my most vivid memories from my 16 years as a county government employee came the first week in training class. The instructor asked the class how much of the system revenue we thought came in through the farebox. Don't remember my answer. Low guess for the class was about 25%.

Answer: 13%.

In other words, taxpayers were financing 87% of the transit system. The people actually using it and benefiting from it were putting up 13%.

I was stunned. But he wasn't done.

Of all those tax dollars, the majority was coming from the federal government. So people in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Bar Harbor, Maine, and Chagrin Falls, Ohio were paying MORE for our transit system than anyone in our local area.

I sat there shaking my head for awhile.

----

Remember the "3 Big Lies"? I know you heard them in the Navy, if not before:

1. "The check is in the mail."
2. "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."
3. "I promise not to ... (redacted)."

We all know the truth. Government is a special interest group that 100% watches out for itself. There is no way on God's green earth to waste money any more efficiently than to give it to government. The performance standard for government agencies is to spend everything they get on whatever they think is a good idea, so they can ask for more. I saw this craziness up close for 16 years. What boggled my mind was that I was seeing the thievery in just one agency in one county in one state in the U.S.

I don't take a second seat to anyone in my disdain for the big corporations. But it is stark raving nuts to demand more government oversight of these corporations. Reminds me of the words of B'rer Rabbit in "Song of the South" when I was 8 years old:

"Please, B'rer Fox, PLEASE, B'rer Fox, PLEASE DON'T THROW ME INTO THAT BRIAR PATCH!!!"

Corporations = B'rer Rabbit
You & I = B'rer Fox
Corporate & Government Collusion = the briar patch

It's government + big corporations

versus

you + me + all the public + all entrepreneurs & small businesses

I believe it is our duty to ourselves & our children & grandchildren to do everything in our power to change what we can. For instance:

1. It's pretty easy to observe that the longer a politician is in office, the worse they get. Solution? Vote for opponents. Get rid of incumbents. I believe this is a good policy for as long as the U.S. exists.

2. Let them know at every turn that they cannot spend money we don't have. That spending policy MUST end in disaster for us.

Enough of us yelling at them together, and voting them out, will make a change.

Less-experienced politicians won't be able to steal as much money from us. That's my plan.

Richard

PS - Lots of acres available up here. Give me a clue what you have in mind, and I can probably make a suggestion.