President Bush's proposed 2008 budget is characteristic of what is ailing this expanding empire. With permanent tax cuts to the wealthy, increasing military spending, and cuts in social programs, the prospect looks dismal for the working people of this nation.
The Democrats have enabled this administration and the ones before to slash benefits to those who need it the most. The recent minimum wage increase does little to alleviate the struggle of the poor. The purchasing power of our wages is not what it used to be 30 years ago. Forty-seven million people and rising continue to be without health insurance and, neither the Republicans not the Democrats seem to be in a hurry to change the status quo.
It is with the help of the Democrats that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were started. It is with their help that our civil liberties are being eroded. It is with their help that the people of the Middle East continue to face brutal occupations and murder.
Nothing tangible has yet emerged from this new government. Maybe it is time to think in new paradigms that move us away from forms of labor that support mega corporations, mass slaughter, and poverty.
Our population is getting older. There will be fewer younger people who will be able to finance the social and military burdens of this empire. The bipartisan system has proven to be nothing more than politically appealing and misleading. It would be wise to look inside the imperial budget and get a glimpse of where our children are headed.
Is it time for something different?
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