The "proactive" vs the "reactive" citizen

Written by: Julie Nolan on Feb 12, 2006 12:33 AM EST

by Dan Jerry

A friend of mine called today, and we got on the subject of Federal taxes. She was quite upset to learn she could no longer claim deductions for caring for her grandchild, for whom she has custody, because of changes to the tax laws.

She had called the IRS to get clarification, and was told by a (daring) representative “the present Federal administration has no idea what it's like to be poor or middle class. They live in a bubble. The wealthy get rebates, and we get more tax burdons.� My friend wondered how it could be that those in office at the Federal levels could make changes that hurt us, and favor the wealthy. After my call with her I thought a lot about her last musing.

The wealthy and corporations have a lot to gain by paying attention to what the government does. They not only read and watch the news, but they call, write, and express their opinions. They are listened to, as they are the ones who make substantial donations and support lobby groups. They have a lot to loose by not doing so.

We, on the other hand, are “too busy� with vacations, our kids soccer games, golf, and redecorating the kitchen. We “don't have time� to read and watch the news. And we especially “don't have the time� to write or call our elected officials. Understand what's going on in government? Hell, we don't' have a clue what's going on, let alone understand it.

So when the neoconservatives infiltrated the Republican party, we didn't notice. And when they got control of all three branches of government, we were unaware. When they jumped at the chance to go to war with Iraq so they could show the rest of the world how powerful we are, we meekly took their explanations for doing so as truth. Going to war and showing their might would insure the natural resources they needed in their industries would continue to flow, at prices that benefited them. But cuts somewhere were necessary to insure a strong and active military. Health, edcuation, and welfare programs were of no benefit to the wealthy and corporations, and that's where the cuts would be made.

When the neoconservative Republicans recently created a Federal budget that increased spending on Homeland Security by 121%, the Defense department by 45%, the Executive Office of the President by 26%, and the Legislative branch by 48%, we didn't notice. All other budget categories were either kept flat, or reduced.

The wealthy and corporations are “proactive�, whereas the rest of us are “reactive�. Watch the farmers “react� when they suddenly discover that the new budget imposes a tax on milk for the first time, and reduces crop payments and the Milk Income Compensation program by 5% each! We'll undoubtedly “react� with screams too, when food we buy, and the milk we give our kids increase in price. Next year when we pay our kids' college tuition bill, and discover that college loans and grants have changed to our disadvantage, we'll “react� again. And when our local politicians are forced to increase property and sales taxes in an attempt to keep local health, education, and welfare programs operating, we'll all be furious with them; we'll "react" again.

Of course it'll all be too late. We'll scream after the fact, rather than get envolved, educate ourselves, and make an effort to understand. We will have “reacted� instead of being “proactive�.

We “don't have time� to pay attention to what's being done by our Federal-level elected officials. Perhaps we deserve what they're doing to us.

posted by Dan Jerry

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Location: Plattsburgh, NY 12901