Like those junior high school popularity contests for class president and the student council or homecoming king and queen, it's all about working the crowds and making promises you either can't or have no intention of fulfilling like less homework, open book tests, more pep rallies, and so forth.
In truth, I guess no one really expects you to actually follow through on your promises, it's just that they get so caught up in the campaign speeches (usually accompanied by free pizza), balloons, flyers, confetti, and all the rest, we just overlook the fact of the matter. That is, there's not much of what they're promising they can make happen.
After all, most everything has to be approved by the teacher, the principal (who may have to deal with multiple teachers and staff members ranging from the janitor on up), the coaches, and perhaps even involve the School Board. There's not much in life, and particularly in the world of politics, which is as it appears to be.
How often have you heard candidates say something like "when I'm (re)elected I'm going to lower taxes" or "I'll stand up to the powerbrokers (or substitute "corporate lobbyists" "special interest groups", etc) and make them pay", "I'll fight higher gas (utility, grocery, or whatever) prices" and best of all, "I'll be your voice" and "I'll be answerable only to you".
No one in politics or business (or indeed life) exists in a vacuum. They don't take actions arbitrarily. Everyone has a boss, especially politicians. Everyone elected is assigned to committees and have to follow the committee structure, and that means getting the approval of the committee chairperson, and up the food chain. There's a party whip to ensure bills are voted on in a certain way. Of course, there a large chunk of their time dialing for dollars, not for themselves, but for party bosses and the party itself.
If there is any candidate who thinks they're going into Congress, the State House, or local council and play the part of a rebel, they are sadly mistaken. First off, the committee system virtually guarantees they won't have the time. Most members are assigned three or more committees which occupies most of their day, and sometimes even into the evening.
Secondly, the party system is partly designed to weed out anyone who isn't a "team player". Party leaders are more than willing to work against an individual, including getting someone to run against them in the primary (called "primaring"). Troublemakers can be excluded from media events.They can even be reassigned to some obscure and worthless committee, virtually guaranteeing they'll never be heard from again.
They can be cut off from the financial spicket of corporate donations and endorsements (bear in mind, to get reelected the average U.S. Senators needs to raise a minimum of $14,000 per day for the six years they're in office) So the next time you hear some candidate saying they'll stand up to whomever, tell them to set down and shut up. They aren't "standing up" to anybody.
Another $344 million came from company PAC's and trade associations. In 2023, corporate donors gave a record $4.2 billion dollars to Congress (most of the money came pharmaceutical and healthcare companies). Now, tell me who Congress represents.
Spending $4.2 billion dollars should buy a lot of Congressional members, so you'd think we would have a pretty good healthcare system wouldn't you? Well, if so, you'd be wrong. Dead wrong. The U.S. healthcare systems ranks last compared to other top tier nations in 70 performance measures.
Our hospitals have fewer available beds per patient than other countries. We also have fewer doctors and nurses per patient too. We fail in preventative care (focusing more of treatment after the fact) and in access to care. We face higher costs for care than in other nations and poorer administrative efficiency. One reason is that most other countries have some form of nationalized healthcare while we have "pay-as-you-go" system. The closest we come to nationalized healthcare is so-called "Obamacare" which is considered mediocre.
Corporate lobbyists also "help" draft legislation for legislators. They also review various bills and provide summaries of their content and even recommendations on how to vote. Now isn't that nice of them? It bears mentioning that roughly 90% of Congress members go on to become lobbyists when they leave office. Why? Well, besides all the usual perks, the average member of Congress can expect a 1,452% pay raise over the $150,000 they made while in office.
Politicians like to make all sorts of claims and promises when they're running for office. They always try to make it appear they're "one of the people". Some "dress down", appearing in blue jeans, rolled up sleeves, eating at some local diner, or using working class phrases, etc. These people have as much in common with the working or middle class as Martha Stewart would at a White Castle.
Congress is called "the Millionaire's Club" for good reason. Almost everyone in Congress is a millionaire. In fact, the median net worth of Congressional members is one million dollars. Some are worth far more than a million dollars, and those who aren't, are pretty close going in and are certainly worth a million or more coming out. Not bad for a job that pays $150,000 annually.
Kamala Harris speaks about "a new way forward" on her campaign website as if the country is heading down the wrong path. Well, I think we're owed an explanation since Harris and her boss, Joe Biden, have been the ones driving the proverbial "bus" for the last four years. Exactly what kind of "new path" does she mean? A new path different from what Biden and Harris has been skipping down over the last four years?
Trump's campaign slogan in 2014 was "Make America Great Again"; the same as it is now. That's pretty straight forward. He sees an America which once was the envy of the world. We were number one in production, top tier in education, had the highest quality of life of any country, the lowest child mortality, one of the longest life expediencies, and the world's best military bar none. None so much anymore.
The majority of our manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas ("offshoring") as early the late 1960's and 70's, but it was in the 1990's that it went into high gear, especially during the Clinton Administration and the package of NAFTA, and with it a lot of solid middle class incomes. The worst segment hit were women and minorities. America transformed from a major manufacturer nation into a service economy. From 1998 to 2021, the U.S. lost 5 million manufacturing job (2.8 million between 2001 and 2018), with the majority going to India, Malaysia, and China.
Even our seniors, who used to be considered politically "untouchable" have faced low cost of living increases ("COLAs"), fewer exemptions, and even Social Security, once regarded as "sacred" is under attack. Starting with President George W. Bush, there's been regular raids on Social Security, starting with a "borrowed" $1.37 billion to pay for the war in Iraq and cover the costs of tax cuts for the well-to-do. To date Congress will owe Social Security over $804 billion dollars in interest alone by 2027. Instead, Social Security and Medicare are facing a deficit.
According to a Pentagon assessment following the disastrous end to our 20 year involvement in Afghanistan and embarrassing withdrawal under President Biden, our military is exhausted and in serious need of a total overhaul and refit. The only branch rated "battle ready" was the U.S. Marine Corps. Nevertheless, we are presently not capable of successful dealing with multi-front conflicts.
We are currently struggling with the aftermath of two severe weather events, and yet we can send billions overseas to prop up juntas and wannabe dictators. We sent Ukraine and Zelenskyy $12.1 billion alone in 2023. We face rising poverty rates--12.3% or 1 in four Americans. In 2023, there was 653,104 homeless individuals in the U.S, especially among our veterans. Between October 2023 and August 2024, there were 43,116 U.S. veterans living on the streets, and yet those entering the U.S. illegally are given preference.
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Botched Policy Responses to Globalization...
Not Prepared for Major War: Commission Slams U.S. DefenseStrategy
Measuring U.S. Military Readiness
Group spent record $4.2 billion in 2023lobbying federallawmakers, report says
US Healthcare System Ranks Last Overall Among Other HighIncome Countries
