America Embraces The Mythical Golden Goose
by Scott F. Paradis
America is the land of dreams, of potential, of opportunity. Unfortunately America has embraced a fantasy, succumbing to the illusion that one can in fact get “something for nothing.” Our political leaders and well-healed elite have discovered the “golden goose” and are acting with maximum dispatch to exploit that fowl for all it is worth. The Fed is now creating money from nothing, as we, the complacent masses, arrogantly delude ourselves into thinking the house of cards can never crumble. Our political solution to a bankrupt state is to pile on more debt. Instead we should be steeling ourselves for the painful awakening ahead when that goose is cooked.
The expansion of government has seemingly relieved the people of responsibility for this debacle. The role relegated to the citizens is to patiently wait for the government’s dole. While the wealthy manipulate politicians to secure their fortunes, the people dawdle on believing all is well. Having lived a generation or more under the auspices of a benevolent state continually expanding its patronage, how could we possibly be mislead by those we have empowered? The answer to this quandary rests in the question itself. We shield our eyes from the truth.
Everyone benefits from the golden goose, so we choose to feed the fantasy.
The privileged position of the United States, standard bearer of the world’s reserve currency, has allowed us to propagate on an unsuspecting planet the greatest financial fiasco ever known. We have abdicated our national responsibility. It is only a matter of time until those that toil and save, sacrifice and dream call the ultimate consumers to task. Every bill comes due, and our day of reckoning draws near.
Creating money either on a prospect of expectant productivity, or by devaluing future prosperity sounds good in the moment – eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow who knows. The alternative to printing money however, requires a regimen of fiscal discipline, shared sacrifice and cooperative effort. To ward off calamity we would have to reconstruct a failed system.
The system has failed, not because of the Constitutional framework, but rather because of weakness in the sovereigns. The sovereigns in this case are the people – you, me, all of us. This government is of the people, by the people, for the people. Rather than assuming responsibility for the quality of our lives we have left our fate in the hands of professional politicians. It should come as no surprise that self-interest and special interests have risen to prominence.
Special interests define the national debate. The prize at stake is the wealth of a once powerful and prosperous nation. But realize it’s not just “those” special interests. The most mature amongst us draw Social Security and depend on Medicare. The poor and working classes benefit from Medicaid, public assistance programs of all sorts, and unemployment compensation. The military-industrial complex and the entire web of public sector employees, from government bureaucrats, to teachers, firefighters, prosecutors, prison workers, and so on, all belly-up to the trough of government largesse.
A myriad of corporate interests pad their coffers preserving the status quo – securing maximum profit made possible by debt. Notably the sectors of finance and banking, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, communications, transportation and agriculture siphon huge sums of national wealth by plying political interests. We want it all and with our golden goose we have assured ourselves that with negligible effort we can indeed have it all.
We embrace a “something for nothing” philosophy and wager future prosperity by continuing to exploit the mythical golden goose. The spigot is open, the funds are flowing.
Those who dare tread on the American political field stand to profit handsomely. Yet, we all are to pay the price.
Something for nothing is a myth.
The United States achieved its position of world leadership by hard work, shared sacrifice, and the ingenuity liberty allows. It is time to lay the mythical golden goose aside and once again take control of America’s destiny.
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Scott F. Paradis, author of “Promise and Potential: A Life of Wisdom, Courage, Strength and Will”
http://www.promiseandpotential.com publishes “Insights” and a free weekly ezine, “Money, Power and the True Path to Prosperity”, subscribe now at http://www.c-achieve.com
