A major change in my philosophy.

It’s quite ironic that I owe some of my recent changes in philosophy and ideology to the current U.S. administration, whose politics, policies, and tactics I hold in complete and utter contempt (those of you who have read the blog will find this as no surprise). As a matter of fact, and in no small measure, my impetus for starting this blog, and my recent increased interest in politics and government, I owe to the Bush administration as well. If it wasn’t for this regime’s blatant and repetitive abuse of executive power, their total disregard for the Constitution and the laws of the U.S., and their complete hypocrisy on issues too numerous to name, I’d probably still be your typical, fat, dumb and happy American citizen, with only a passing interest in the political process.

And I’m sure I’m not alone in this. I’m sure there are many of us out there, who have had it “up to here” with the perversion of the American political system for the benefit of corporate and special interests. I recognize that this is not a new problem, and that the system was broken long before Buchco took office. However, this administration has taken the raping of the American political system to a new level. They have gone far beyond just making big bucks for themselves and their corporate buddies by manipulating the system. They have taken advantage of an unspeakable human tragedy to forward their own warped agenda, and used the tactics of fear and paranoia to justify and expand all of the crimes and abuses they have committed. And this forum in cyberspace has offered those of us in the mostly silent majority a venue to say loud and clearly, “enough is enough.”

So, thank you George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, and all the others in your criminal cabal, for giving me the inspiration to get involved and rage against your despicable betrayal of the American people to serve your own selfish ends. Your treason has helped so many of us put into sharp focus what is truly important to our nation and our world. You may have actually saved democracy in America… by trying to kill it. Time will tell.

And I also owe a debt to this regime for my recent change in position on another important issue, labor unions. Time was, I was no fan of organized labor in this country. While my view was contrary to that of most of my fellow Democrats, I had always felt that labor unions did a disservice to our country, making it much more difficult to compete in a global market. I also felt that while at one time in our history, unions served a vital role by protecting workers rights, today, there are more than enough government safeguards in place to assure the safety and welfare of our nation’s workforce. I can see now that my position on the subject was wrong.

While higher union wages may make American products more expensive than their Asian counterparts, there is something to be said for quality, and consumers ARE willing to pay a premium for it. Over an above that, the idea that American wages are too high is most certainly the wrong way to look at things. We should be working on raising the bar for third world countries, not lowering the bar for ours. What advocates of cheap labor don’t seem to realize is that in the end, they are shooting themselves in the foot. Increasing pay scales to a real “living wage” will produce more consumers capable of affording the products that are being produced, which in the end, is good for labor and management alike. Keeping wages down may be beneficial to corporate interests in the short term; it will adversely affect the overall health of the economy in the long run. Corporate America needs to stop being so shortsighted.

And it’s obvious that we are going backwards as far as worker protections are concerned. This administration has repeatedly hired the fox to guard the hen house when it comes to assuring worker safety and welfare. Our government places coal executives in charge of mine safety, nuclear industry executives in charge of nuclear power plant safety, oil executives in charge of emissions standards, pharmaceutical executives in charge of drug safety. You get the idea. Not to mention that this administration has been actively involved in union-busting tactics within and without the structure of our government. As a matter of fact, a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia admonished the administration’s Department of Homeland Security for it’s efforts to squelch union representation within it’s ranks. The Court stated, "The government's position not only defies the well-understood meaning of collective bargaining, it also defies common sense." Here’s an article on the ruling:

DHS Ruling Deals Administration a Setback

And then there’s the issue of the minimum wage. Last week, Congress decides to vote itself a pay raise. This week, they decide NOT to increase the minimum wage, leaving workers at this pay scale $6000 BELOW the poverty line. It’s OK for fat, lazy politicians to line their own pockets, but God forbid an entry level worker should be able to put food on the table for his family.

It’s obvious to me that this administration specifically, and our federal government in general, are no friend of the working man these days. The American workforce needs a voice, an advocate, looking out for their best interests. And who better to do so that the same people who have been doing it for over a century – America’s labor unions. We need our unions, now more than ever, if for no other reason than the very survival of working class America.