78% of Americans Don’t Trust the Government

Well, I can’t say as I blame them. The constant drumbeat of issues and problems was going to take its toll eventually. The Republican strategy of “screw the country just make the Democrats look bad” has apparently succeeded.

Dear Barack, you better figure out a way to pull a rabbit out of your hat because otherwise we’re screwed.

Here’s the deal, what has me worn down is the pure dishonesty of the right’s assault. It’s like that game where you bang the gophers over the head as they pop up. No matter how many you bang down, they just keep popping up including those you’ve already banged down ten times already.

The same old lies just keep coming. Opinions are one thing; everyone is entitled to their opinion. You are entitled to think the Stimulus was a mistake and that Health Care Reform is a bad idea. But please stick to the facts. Death Panels and Illegal Immigrants getting free health care are not facts.

The economy is recovering. Is it recovering in areas with endemic problems? No, of course not and it never will. But the Dow is up and unemployment is down. If you think this would have happened without the stimulus package, there’s this bridge I’d like to sell you.

And please check your pay stub to understand that your taxes haven’t increased and what all those deductions really are.

You don’t trust the government? You don’t trust the Federal Aviation Agency? You don’t trust the Food and Drug Administration? You don’t trust the Center for Disease Control? You don’t trust the Environmental Protection Agency?

I even feel pretty comfortable with the FBI and the CIA. We won’t talk about the IRS and you don’t want to know about the NSA but hey, nobody is perfect.

Yes the Federal Government can often be inefficient. But do you really believe big business can be trusted with your welfare without a watchdog? If you do, I have a tunnel I’d like to sell you which would nicely compliment that bridge you just bought.

Do we need some reform? Absolutely, in particular we need to reform how congress works day to day and especially how it allocates money.

If there is one big change I’d like to see, it’s eliminating the need to privately finance campaigns. That would go a long way towards eliminating politicians being obligated to moneyed special interests.

Unfortunately, I’ve not at all sure how one could go about doing that.