A little remedial U.S. history

Today's rant is about the roots of the United States, and why movements like the "tea party" and political parties in general, are bad for the united states.

Most believe that the reason that the United states broke away from Britain was a matter of government, but that is only part of the story. We all know of the battle cry of " No taxation without representation." What is less known is why the taxes were imposed, and who benefited. The taxes that were being imposed were to keep the British East India Company, one of the first corporations, afloat after many expenses incurred by their many ventures.

This behavior on the part of a government is a hallmark of mercantilism, which was the dominant economic model of the time. The system of mercantilism benefited those at the top of society, but created the maldistribution of wealth that Adam Smith described when outlining his theories regarding capital.

What we have now is a model moving away from market-based capitalism, and is shifting towards the mercantilism model.
Evidence of this shift is deregulation of credit lending practices coupled with a removal of bankruptcy protections.
What this means for the taxpayers is that their creditors are now allowed to change interest rates at will and without cause, while they, the debtor no longer has relief. This was done despite the overwhelming evidence that the vast majority (93%) of private bankruptcies were due to illness, job loss, or divorce. Another way that our model is shifting is the subsidizing of corporations, either through direct subsidies, "bailouts," or through the practice of protective tariffs. All of these policies mean that we, the consumers, lose in the market, due to increased prices and decreased competition.


When we broke away from Britain, we did not have political parties, and were leery of them, as a whole. This was due to a distrust of putting power in the hands of too few people, as their needs, and the needs of their group, would not always be the same as those of the nation as a whole. President Washington even went so far as to warn against the notion of political parties.

The matter of political parties is benign, in and of itself, but when the wants/needs of the party are set against the best interest of the nation, we have a situation where the nation will, unfailingly, tear itself apart. If we look at the most recent administration, and the previous democratic administration, the behavior of the Republican party takes on an almost treasonous tone. In both times, the government had a shutdown of services, and at the same time, the republicans were engaged in behavior that could kindly be called obstructionist, and less kindly, treasonous pandering to the religious fundamentists they "represent." I call their behavior treasonous, because they are, by obstructing business, are usurping both the election process from the people, but the role of the president. In any other nation, their behavior would be called a "bloodless coup."


In his farewell address, president Washington made a statement to the effect of assuming that religion and morality were not intrinsically linked, but two separate qualities that one could possess, and not necessarily possess both. In their correspondence, many of those credited as 'founding fathers," express the idea that the government, while influenced by the religious values of the people that make it up, cannot exist if religion and government are intertwined.


I think this is very important, and is a fact that is both misunderstood and misrepresented. what those that created this nation were attempting to say was very simple. They wanted it clear that mixing religion and government always corrupts both. They understood the value placed on religion by the people of the United States, but also knew of the horrors created when religion had the backing of the government, and the inherent corruption of government with too much influence from religion. The republicans are currently pandering to a religious base( I use that term with more than one intended meaning) that has values contrary to what it has been accepted to mea to be "American." These people want a racist, sexist country where non-christians are second-class citizens. They want a Sharia law style of government, where their religious text forme the literal basis of the law. they want their religion taught as science.




What scares me about the policies pursued by those currently in political power is the sheer ignorance of what it will do, not only to the United states, but to the whole world. if this massive backslide is not stopped, we will see the return of the dark ages, with corporations replacing feudal lords.