Wars Profit Us Nothing

I can't think why the United States is focused upon Iran, other than myopia from lingering in Iraq too long. China has taken many of our jobs with our explicit consent and the connivance of our leaders. China threatens Taiwan with war and holds Tibet in thralldom. Toward its own people, it is one of the most repressive states in the world, without the personal freedoms that we take for granted in the United States. In China, the media and even the Internet is tightly controlled. The government is so corrupt that it bears a close resemblance to organized crime. In such a society, starting a war would be easy, very easy. The Chinese are a highly indoctrinated people. Only one thing stops the fascists over there, and that's the presence of the United States.

Should we challenge China now? No. But we should be aware that economic strength, including manufacturing capability, is more important in the long run than short-term military superiority. How will we supply our military twenty years from now?

Recall World War Two. What was the deciding factor in the victory of the Allies over the Axis forces? Could it have been our superior manufacturing capability? We supplied our allies with so many tanks, bombers, fighters, guns, bombs, and ships that the Axis powers were overwhelmed in the end.

We are being worn down in a slow and methodical fashion by our own strategic blunders. The United States has been grinding its nose in the Middle East and Afghanistan for no apparent reason other than pride. While the U.S. bleeds billions of dollars a month in various cesspools around the world, within the U.S., jobs are being lost, particularly manufacturing jobs.

People have lost confidence in the ability of this country to lead. That is because George W. Bush was a poor leader, a puppet for Republican criminals that hoped to gain wealth through his myopic policies. If any of them became rich, they should share their gain with the rest of us, who profited nothing from the war. But I wouldn't hold your breath on that one.

Right-wingers feel that their money makes them morally superior to the rest of us. After all, Ayn Rand provides a philosophical justification with her Objectivist philosophy, which holds that money equals morality. The more money you have, the more ethical you are as a person. Another way of putting this is that money is all that matters, a common Republican mantra. Those who have less money are worth less. The only possible reason that the poor are poor is laziness, immorality or stupidity. Their blood is cheap. Let's send them off to die in a war. That way, government spending will go toward the companies we have invested in. Our shares will rise in value. Don't you believe in evolution? Survival of the fittest. What defines "the fittest?" Simple. The amount of money you have. This is the repulsive Republican philosophy in a nutshell.

Many private companies have proved themselves to be mismanaged by CEO's who only thought about short-term gain for shareholders rather than long-term strategy. These CEO's waged class war upon working people. They were rewarded for cutting jobs, benefits, and wages. That is the ultimate limit of skill among American CEO's. They are only good when it comes to harming workers. For this peculiar skill, they are the highest compensated CEO's in the entire world. Problem is, they just don't know how to manage a business. For that, they need outside consultants, market wisdom, and finally when all of that fails, taxpayer money. Those who are paid the highest contribute the least and cause the most harm.

Who should be paid the most? Those with the most skill. The engineers, scientists, and workers whose skills truly are irreplaceable. You could replace most CEO's with an 8-ball and get better results for less cost.

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Any politician who does not appreciate the need to cut military spending and redirect it toward domestic concerns is a politician that needs to be sent back home in the next election. The era of invading little dunghills around the world for little or no reason is over.

Concentrate upon building up the United States economy through a focus upon research and development and job creation. Business as usual under too many Administrations has meant excessive military spending upon fancy gadgets in a time of peace. The U.S. needs big ideas and big dreams, not business as usual.

Stupid wars waged by stupid men has run up much of the eleven trillion dollar debt that Republicans now pretend to be concerned about. Debt can be incurred for good or bad reasons. If you incur debt in order to buy a car that will take you to work, debt is good. If you incur debt just to buy a gun and shoot people at random, then debt is counter-productive.

Let other nations go about the dreadful business of starting wars. If we ever engage in an overseas conflict again, we should be recognized as the white knight, with the support of the international community--including their financial support.