Conservatism’s favorite fallacy

by PMCarpenter

September 14, 2005


In the context of weighing racial and class-based factors in the federal government’s woeful response to Katrina, the Washington Post related this succinct portrayal of the president’s political philosophy with respect to combating poverty:
“In the place of traditional poverty programs, Bush has touted faith-based social service programs, calling them more efficient and effective than those run by the government. Many programs of an earlier generation, he says, have served only to perpetuate the plight of the poor.”

Forty years of relentless right-wing campaigning on the fallacy that government programs “have served only to perpetuate the plight of the poor” has convinced a majority of Americans of the fallacy’s truth. But it has taken root among the electorate only because most Americans don’t examine the assertion’s basis any more than our intellectually lazy president has. It is received knowledge, not informed opinion.
At its core, conservatism is a profoundly antigovernment philosophy, not a pro-opportunity philosophy. The idea that proactive government perpetuates poverty, rather than poverty resulting from society’s structural flaws, is merely a cover story for reducing the cost of government to the haves, leaving the have-nots to the wolves. This may seem like an obvious point, too obvious to note even, and to an informed electorate it would be. But millions of Americans, having bought into conservatism’s simplistic solutions, have also bought into the idea that conservatism stands for a positive philosophy of alternative approaches to social betterment rather than a negative philosophy of limiting government at all social costs.
Without going into a dry, detailed history of what government programs have, in fact, done for the poor, consider again what the Post wrote about Mr. Bush’s views - that he “has touted faith-based social service programs, calling them more efficient and effective than those run by the government.”

Really? Are his faith-based programs somehow something new against which we can now evaluate the ineffectiveness of government?
Hardly. For private social-service programs dominated before the New Deal (and later the Great Society) intervened. It was the inadequacy of such nongovernmental assistance that brought about government’s efforts to do what private charities, principally churches, had been unable to do.

The deployment of Bush’s generous private-over-public aid as a national ideology to fight poverty and provide opportunity had plenty of opportunities itself to work. Prior to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance - need I go on? - those at a socioeconomic disadvantage had little to count on but what private charities had to offer. And it was precious little. The depth of charity’s inability to meet national needs became overwhelmingly apparent during the 1930s, and it was this that launched a fundamental change in approach.

Contrary to the right’s rhetoric and revisionist history, the New Deal wasn’t a manifestation of a bunch of wild-eyed socialists intent on destroying volunteerism and private charity for the sake of erecting big government. The New Deal came about only because private means of assistance had repeatedly failed as society’s principal fallback.
Conservatives love to hark back to a nostalgic America that never existed - to a bygone age when everyone pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, and only when it couldn’t be helped did the struggling ask the local church or community chest for a hand, which was always there for them. It wasn’t, of course, and it was capitalism’s unsparing nature that finally showed the inadequacy of private aid.

Modern conservatism is founded on a deliberately constructed, rose-colored historical myth. What perpetuates poverty is government’s inattentiveness, not its pro-activism. Again, this may seem bloody obvious to you, but far too many Americans have never stopped to consider the basics.

http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/

05:45 AM | Permalink

Congressional Oversight

By Bruce H, Scroggins
9/15/05

Rep, Tom Cole R/Oklahoma says, the Democrats, are afraid of the voters of the elected representative, to let them handle there duly elected responsibilities, and Rep. Cuptito/R say it’s by partisan, “according to the balance” in numbers in the Congress, of both houses.

Many, if not the largest American people, want a responsible Independent Commission for the Katrina disaster, and the Republican controlled Congress, who are Republicans, want a few Democrats, and the rest Republicans, and overwhelmingly, and flat out well over 76 % of the AMERICAN people, don’t want the Congress to investigate there selves, the AMERICAN PEOPLE, want and INDEPENDENT Katrina Commission.

Rep. Al C, Hasting/Florida, the American people want no Congress looking into a Republican mirror, and white washing the results.

For the Republicans, it’s simply damage control, and the Republicans, don’t want a fact finding team of the Congress, to go down to the region in question, and gather facts, even the Congressman from the regions, America raise up and tell your Representatives, the Republican controlled Congress, to stop BLOCKING the TRUTH from coming out.

Don’t let the cover-up happen, not this time, not in the 21st century, don’t wait, don’t allow those responsible to gloss over there mistakes, and try to build up some good work, to pad there absolute, malfeasants of Politically Appointed Office.

Oh yes, there Political appointments is what is scurrying around Now that the Light of Katrina, has pulled the covers off there, dumping grounds of FEMA.

Let cut the crap, the Republican controlled Congress has fallen on their collective faces, and have now today rammed through the House a committee to Investigate itself, essentially. America today is seeing full face, what the party controlling all branches of Government, can not do and that is be fair to all Americans, and to assist there larcenous malfeasants, and one of the last bastions of Americans voters bully pall pit have been bought off, and out, the 4th Estate, by Corporate take over, Americans have few voices left, to stand up for the majority of the poor, and the elderly.

Black Americans, Have been bottomed out in Civil Laws, and in Employment, assaulted in lower, and higher Education, advances that took well over a century, are under attach, by the moneyed few, who are not Democrats.

Republican back big Business, has traded unfairly, American jobs for profits, on the international stage, big businesses have trashed the American workers, and there pattern of cutting benefits, year after year, and then asking for wage give backs, and in the end filing for re-organization, and in bankruptcy court finishing of the Union, in what they couldn’t do in the market place, and using the excuse, “we have to compete on the International stage,” when there the very Businesses pushing Congress to sign unfair trade agreements, that gut the American worker.

The Republican majority in both Houses, cares not for the poor, and the elderly, and the sick, and for children, and for black America, and Katrina blow the cover right off there cover-up, that is going on all over America. Congress wants to cut Taxes, Medicaid, Medicare and Education. America is in a costly war, on two fronts, and expending money at enormous clip, and the poorest of America, are just to slow to die, for this Administrations ideology.

The Republican controlled Congress is going to white wash this whole affair, and push there agenda over the Radio, and the News print, and the TV, and before two more weeks past, it will be a Hodge dodge of who don it, and well be so confuse as to who did, or didn’t do what, that when the noise machine is through, every person from the local police, and fireman, and the Mayor, will be at fault, and the president will be strutting around, saying what a good job FEMA doing, but every one from FEMA down will be left holding the bag, for faults. The FOX investigating it’s self, will not show how big a Screw up the Feds really were, Mark my words.

(I), Devastated, Scattered, Then Davis Baconum!!

9/11/05

by Bruce H, Scroggins

Lets throw in Davis Bacon, “I’ am” the President, and this will be good for my base, big business, and “I’ll” make sure, it’s looks like “I’ am” spending Americas money judicially, and it will, also look like “I” care, about the large sums of money, we are forces to spend, because of Katrina. There is a lot of “ the letter, I”, and not any “those devastated,” and this will be, “what's good for the American people’s, Federal money,” only words, and actions, like “what’s good for the Contractors,” there is no, “what’s good for the children of the lost, and hurting people,” and Bush has not said, the people who have lost all there material goods, there homes, there Jobs, there savings, this will be good for them… when Bush signed, and Executive Order, to suspend, (with no sunset,) the hard earned wage rights, won (by Unions, and Blacks, and the poor in general, ) Bush raped the already underpaid workers, (Avg pay in Region, $7 – 10 per hr.)

Katrina combinationed the State, and knocked many out, from the people to the Governments, (City, State,) and left them bloodies, bruised, and many dead. What Bush did at the behest of 32 Congressman/persons, was too stand up the parents left, and punched them in the stomach, hard.

Bush IS effectively saying to their faces, you can rebuild, but you won’t make, even close to FAIR wage, you’ll barely, make enough to afford food. The people will say to them selves, health care in not affordable, and savings, never again in my lifetime, a car is laughable. And we hoped for hope from our president, and Bush said, I’ am thinking of the people’s money, Oh yeah and the Business people who will hire “you people,” to re-build, and the Federal peoples money.

He didn’t limit what the Halliburton’s of America, and the Bectol’s, the Kellogg, Brown, Root, and every other private business who will pay less for work, and profit more, and only re-build at minimum standards. Bush didn’t require high standards, for the companies who will be, bidding, or no-bidding for work. Bush didn’t make sure the people’s federal money was doled out to minority Contractors, he’ going to rely on existing rules, watered down by his cronies, placed in charge, and of oversight, kind of like, what Bush has done in placing people, or dumping people in FEMA, he trust these people. But what Bush doesn’t trust is for an American worker to be paid a fair wage, in catastrophe. Making sure the worker has at least in the region, he or she lives, a prevailing rate of pay to deal with the economy, that will employ ever-increasing cost of living raises.

Listen, and hear me good America, what did you expect from a Hostile Administration to Unions, and Workers, and helpful, and ALL loving towards, the Energy, Health, Insurance, Banking, Military Industry, check it out for your self, Bushes Domestic agenda is smoke and mirrors, give money to Education, but not enough for the legislation forced through Congress, but more then the past Administrations, then in the out years cut it to the bones, Bush on his watch has seen the Manufacturing Industry, devastated, and the owners, have left in mass, to set up Operations outside the USA, to survive, taking the jobs with them, and there Corporate Home bases as well, and the taxes they use to pay in the USA, well that’s a double whammy, to the country, and the worker.

Bush has done absolutely, nothing for the American workers, Nationally, or Internationally… but buy the MILLIONS, the American worker has VOTED for the very man who is single handedly turning America into a First world, Third world country, by his every act, Bush destroys every hard fought protection he can, at every turn of events.

You see, when they scattered all the 250,000 people devastated by Katrina, all over the nation, those people were the very ones who would of protested in strength, what Bush did, by signing the Executive Order, the very talent, to re-build New Orleans, and the Gulf Cost, was living in the Gulf Cost, and they only needed to be moved out of the Devastated Parishes, and at most a slight distance of about 50 miles away to camps, so they could assist in there own re-building efforts, but now there’s no Voices, and the Republican Conservative Right, in concert with there leader have continued there coup, battering the City’s Leaders, and the State’s leadership, keeping them busy, while the Carpetbaggers move in, to bid on the reshaping of the region, the way the moneyed few want it to be re-build, Bush is slamming the door shut, on the workers in the region, all the way to his brother state… THE LAST THING THE DEVESTATED PEOPLE NEED IS A FAIR WAGE… Bush is saying!!

Commander and, Lead Thief.

Republicans Urge Suspension of Davis-Bacon Wage Act for Katrina Recovery
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/9/9/95352.shtml Link to Repubs letter to Bush,
32 signers

Nancy Pelosi
"It's this simple: Hurricane Katrina took away their jobs, now President Bush will take away their wages when they find new jobs. This is a partisan and punitive decision that will make economic recovery much hard for workers and their families.

Congress Vs. Minorities: The New Davis-Bacon Rulesby Scott A. Hodge and Andrew J. CowinExecutive Memorandum #299April 09, 1991 |
The Department of Labor wants to create job opportunities for tens of thousands of American workers, many of whom are minority, poor, or unskilled. The Department plans to do this by expanding the use of helpers on federal construction projects regulated by the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act. Yet Congress is attempting to block these efforts. To protect high-paid union workers at the expense of low income workers, Congress has tacked provisions onto the Persian Gulf emergency spending bill (H.R. 1281), soon to arrive on George Bush's desk for signature, that would prohibit the Labor Department from using funds to relax the regulations now preventing less skilled minority youth from working on federal construction projects.