Why Secret Government Costs Us More Than Our Rights

Our Congress is discussing certain provisions of the Patriot Act [Big Brother] due to expire at the end of the year. These talks are being held in secret, much of what the Republicans wanted to do with the Watergate hearings but failed because they were in the minority then. Why is secret government bad? Because, it leads to unchecked power and is unworthy of a free people. The Repubs often say they want a smaller government [this isn't true in practice as the federal government has grown under Reagan, and the Bushes], but what they increasingly do is to operate in secret while they enhance the state's powers of snooping on its people. It's not an accident that the whistleblowers who want a clean and accountable government are being attacked by the conservatives.

If most Americans realized the extend to which the rules of the game are being fixed, there would be a social revolution. We hear that there has been an incredible economic growth, the stock market has climbed, and other positive indicators. What we haven't heard is that most Americans have, in reality, taken a pay cut! The average real income of the bottom 90 % [yes, you are in it] has fallen by 7% in the period 1973-2000! In 2004 and early 2005, wages failed to keep up with inflation since 1990, while, at the same time they tell us, the economy grew by 4%! So, who's getting what, and who pays for the excesses of big government and Big Brother? Read this article about the mobility myth.

"As the gap between rich and poor has widened since 1970, the odds that a child born in poverty will climb to wealth - or that a rich child will fall into middle class - remain stuck....Despite the widespread belief that the U.S. remains a more mobile society than Europe, economists and sociologists say that in recent decades the typical child starting out in poverty in continental Europe (or in Canada) has had a better chance at prosperity." This from an article that appeared in a bastion of capitalism, The Wall Street Journal (p. 1, May 13, 2005).

Another defender of unbridled capitalism, The Economist, on the eve of president Bush's second inauguration, produced a sobering analysis of what is happening to the old notion that any American can get to the top. "With income inequality not seen since the first Gilded Age...an education system increasingly stratified with fewer resources than those of their richer contemporaries" and great universities "increasingly reinforcing rather than reducing these educational inequalities.." So, the odds of an American rising to the top by his own hard work are getting longer and longer.

How is it possible than in a democracy the people allow to be manipulated into giving up not only their rights but also their money to the very rich, and, at the same time, being stuck with the bill of a failed war and huge budget deficits? Is it because delving into statistics and examining the numbers is boring? Why do Americans spend more time and thought in deciding their wardrobe and the color of their car than on how the nation's wealth is being spent? We are not talking about "small change," a billion here and a billion there, but about serious money even by D.C.'s standards!

In 1960, the wealth gap between the bottom 20% and the top 20% was about 30 times. Today, the same upper top makes 75 times more! [read J. Holland's article] The numbers are far greater for the top 5% of Americans as compared to the rest of us. Now, there is something seriously wrong here. I'm not in favor of forced equality, but the US ranks the highest in the index of inequality, while it's dead last in fighting poverty among the 20 most-developed countries!

As for the American dream, it will remain just a dream for many Americans who survive on half the median income! Americans are the most productive workers in the world but this without corresponding rewards is another way of showing greater exploitation. And, it's not like we're getting other benefits like universal healthcare, free education, and a strong social safety net. What's been happening is Robin Hood in reverse!