Monday, June 20, 2011

New Jersey Governor Follows The Primrose Path

image nicked from the webby Dick Mac

I heard a news story this morning about New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, making plans to privatize more schools and replace traditional schools with charter schools.

Christie is that breed of American who believes that the supply-side economic theory, including the privatization of all services, is our only hope; and has, indeed, been a huge success.

There is a 30+ year history of statistical and anecdotal evidence about the success of deregulation (as it is popularly called) and union-busting (as it is more accurately called), and none of that evidence points to this being a good idea for anyone but the very few people who will be given the taxpayers money to keep for themselves while the schools continue on their downward trajectory.

Let's take a handful of industries that have enjoyed deregulation and you tell me how this economic theory has played-out: airlines, banking, manufacturing (especially food processing), government services, drug manufacturing, insurance, home development and mortgaging. OK, we'll stop there.

Over the past thirty-plus years, have these industries become better or worse while enjoying the implementation of deregulation and union-busting?

Yet, the robber-barons and their apologists in the GOP (and the teeny-tiny tea party) sincerely believe, with all their cold, black hearts, that things are better.

In fact, they will tell you that the poor (you and me - the middle class) are destroying our government and economy. In reality, the poor (that is, the middle class) are paying higher taxes than ever before and getting less government services, and the rich are paying lower taxes than they ever have and getting more government services.

What Christie is doing in New Hersey is exactly what the GOP plans to do everywhere: raise the taxes on the workers, lower the taxes on the wealthy, eliminate governmental services for the middle-class (like education), and continue to push more money up to the wealthiest where they've promised it will trickle-down to the rest of us.

And yet, I know people who continue to vote Republican and complain that this is happening. Somehow they blame the Democrats and the working people of America while all statistical and anecdotal evidence contradicts the entire notion.

But, that conservatism for you: close your mind and your eyes and listen only to those who tell you that your fears are the correct fears, your hatred is validated, and that the middle-class is out to take advantage of you.

Sad.


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