The "Public Good" Must Go!

We have all heard it before from our leaders, "we are doing this for the public good."

The public good has generally meant doing something for society, in some cases putting the society ahead of individuals, in other cases it meant providing something for those that could not attain some our society's basic needs.

Welfare has often been pointed to as being in the publics interest. No one wants to see people starve or living on the streets in the cold. Minimum employment standards and safety were seen as being something that demonstrated a just society and again for the public good, as are other things we take for granted, like education, health care, security and freedom to move and speak. I am sure you can add to the list.

What is happening however is a move by some to eliminate the public good. Public good removes opportunity from you argue those that want to eliminate it. We would all be better off if with the concept of individual responsibility.

We make each person responsible for providing for their own health care, shelter, education and retirement. The benefits are enormous, governments could (would) reduce taxes, education would not be a State responsibility, expensive health care now would be paid for by individuals that used it rather than government and finally the poorest in society would have to go to work, ending another drain on government.

Who wants this stuff?

The big companies would want this. With less government they can get workers at lower wages, gain access to thousands of people on some type of government support as they would need a job to get by and likely they would take just about anything if they could not rely on society to help them. These people can make it, its just that government is giving them a hand out, not a hand up. If they can't support themselves then they are lazy. Its that simple.

Why would we support it?

A good question. Isn't is a truth that government wastes money faster than you can say Iraq. Aren't those people on welfare lazy? Come on look at it honestly, we have all heard of people stealing from welfare, then there are all those poor folks that go to the free hospital emergency room for every little thing. That adds up to real dollars.

Taxes of course, we all hate them right. If the government did not waste them then I could spend it better for myself. I could invest in retirement, I am healthy so won't need health care and the public school system is nuts, heck they even waste time teaching kids social studies. They need the three R's and that it. If they want to go to university later then I can pay, should be cheaper if the universities did not have to pay for all those poor kids.

The people that benefit from this, from slashed taxes, less government regulation, less government spending are the big corporations. Not ordinary people, not everyday families, not minorities. Who is on the side of these big companies? Look at the folks that want to slash taxes, look at the folks that say we need fewer government regulation and fewer worker rights.

These people won't say it like I have, they will use double speak, consider these;
we will police ourselves, we want a safe workplace, clean water, clean air and happy society just like everyone else does;
you and your family deserve a choice in your children's education,
you should be able to get the best surgeon if you need surgery,
you can save for your retirement better than the government can,
you are responsible for yourself while a few take advantage of the system.

The public good what a waste it is, worse is what would replace it. Those same big companies pushing for individual responsibility are wrapping themselves up in the flag. Conservative leader Stephen Harper says Canada should have joined the Americans in Iraq. George Bush is already doing most of what I talked about above.

George Bush has already slashed taxes, cut programs for health, education and is moving to eliminate red tape that keeps water, air and land as safe as possible from being polluted. He will have to cut more now that the US is fighting a war. 187 million dollars a day is being spent by the Americans in Iraq.

Finally who is making money on the war in Iraq? Who is paying the bill? Why are people fighting in Iraq anyway? Who is paying the ultimate price? More soon.