The politics of scarcity

We are on the side of the people of Libya, but it is a third war, which we can afford to fight even as we prepare to make draconian cuts to human services because we're too broke.

Apparently, we have enough money for another war.

We don’t have enough to give access to quality health care to everyone.

We can’t afford to make sure schools aren’t shortchanged.

We can’t improve our public infrastructure or expand or modernize public transportation.

Upgrading the electrical grid is beyond our means.

We have to take away collective bargaining rights for people who work for a living because it’s just too expensive.

We’re talking about draconian cuts to human services because we’re in such a financial crunch.

Workers have been losing ground for 30 years because the government just can’t keep spending on regulation. And besides, it’s just too intrusive for big corporations to be regulated.

But we can afford another war.

We also can afford more tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans, which we turn around and make up for with more cuts to human services.

There is enough for everyone to have what they need in this country. The gap between the rich and the working class has never been wider, but it is the middle class that is asked to sacrifice everything — including our children, who are the ones dying in these ill-conceived wars.

We don’t need a draft if we can keep working Americans down because their children will join the military for theĀ opportunities it offers. That is, if you come out alive after repeated tours in the wars that are enriching huge, corrupt corporations.

It’s time for real change. If the people of the Middle East can take to the streets, perhaps it’s time for more of us to do the same thing.

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