The future is the future; it will be constructed with the bricks of the present and the mortar of the past. The power of ideas shall determine whether we shall use our future to build a palace or a dungeon. The principles of history are as binding and as unbending as mathematics and so, the results are equally as predictable and inevitable.
Societies rise and fall on the opportunities which they offer to their people. The Athenians put Socrates to death on a charge of impiety. Socrates was executed by the state because of his ideas and after his death Athens went into decline. Free thought and ideas could be dangerous in Athens and could make you a target. The ideas of the immortal Socrates still shine bright even today; it was the law of the state and not the poison which murdered Socrates. In a land where justice departs from law you'll have left only tyranny.
Justice is the determination of what it right and fair, of what is best for all. Law is the operation of public control and public order, it was the law which murdered Socrates. It was law which murdered Jesus Christ and Joan of Ark. It is the law which has legitimized every order given by every despot ever in power, for once in power law becomes the preferred tool for despotic public control. It was the law which declared Dred Scott property and African American's 3/5ths of a person, the same law which declared George W. Bush the President of the United States in 2000.
The primary function of any government is for the protection of the population from harm. Government raises armies and navies to protect the population and governments establish treaties to benefit and protect the people. For someone to open the fortress gates and unleash those who might do the population harm is to commit the most grievous crime known to society, the crime of treason. The age old adage says, you're not owed a living, but the purpose of government is to offer you, at least, a chance to make a living.
What then would you call a society that forces its workers to compete against foreign workers who will work for a full week for one hour of your wage? What would you call a government which tells you that this is good and fair and just? A government which then tells you that in the long run, this will all work out for the good for all and that your protection is bad. What would you call a government that encourages the debasement of its own people and even its own economic structure? A government which then in turn cuts taxes for the beneficiaries of this program while it blames the victims of its own crimes.
Sub-prime mortgages began in this country when the number of prime mortgage applicants dwindled. The number of prime mortgage applicants dwindled because wages and buying power for working families was falling. If you were in the home mortgage or home construction business it meant that your phone had stopped ringing and the buyers had stopped coming. The same is true in the automobile business, car leasing and five, six and even seven year financing plans because economic power was slipping from American workers grasp.
Are American workers just not as smart as they once where? We know that American workers are more productive than even their European or Japanese counterparts, so why are their wages falling and why are their jobs disappearing? Free trade says that for one American wage, factory owners can hire thirty Chinese workers. Free trade dictates that the best way for manufacturers to deal with environmental standards is to avoid them altogether. Move to countries where toxic fumes can fill the work space and toxic liquids can be poured down the drain.
If the workers get sick, fire them, if they try to form unions have them arrested or just murder their leaders. If the government raises taxes or standards or if the workers demand a raise, simply pack your bags and move the factory to another third world country. Ship the products back to the United States and then pay an athlete or a celebrity millions of dollars to endorse the product and watch the money roll in. Then use some of the profits to buy political protection and it won't matter which political party you choose because both political parties whole heartedly support free trade.
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