Experience should teach us wisdom. Most of the difficulties our
Government now encounters and most of the dangers which impend over our
Union have sprung from an abandonment of the legitimate objects of
Government by our national legislation, and the adoption of such
principles as are embodied in this act. Many of our rich men have not been
content with equal protection and equal benefits, but have besought us to
make them richer by act of Congress. By attempting to gratify their
desires we have in the results of our legislation arrayed section against
section, interest against interest, and man against man, in a fearful
commotion which threatens to shake the foundations of our Union. It is
time to pause in our career to review our principles, and if possible
revive that devoted patriotism and spirit of compromise which
distinguished the sages of the Revolution and the fathers of our Union. If
we can not at once, in justice to interests vested under improvident
legislation, make our Government what it ought to be, we can at least take
a stand against all new grants of monopolies and exclusive privileges,
against any prostitution of our Government to the advancement of the few
at the expense of the many, and in favor of compromise and gradual reform
in our code of laws and system of political economy." Andrew Jackson
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days." - James 5:1-3

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Say "Rules," Not "Regulation"

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Say-Rules--Not-Regulati-by-Susan-Strong-100118-90.html

January 19, 2010
By Susan Strong

Right now the ball is still up in the air on two issues vital to our future as a nation -- financial system reform and energy reform. Some congressional action has already occurred on each of these, but the battles are not over yet. That's why it's so important that we get our metaphors right, as we go into the home stretch.

Maybe you've noticed the sports metaphors I'm using? These are the frames we should all be choosing now, for both issues. Every human activity has rules, implicit or explicit. The biggest de facto lie of supply side economics has been saying that markets or foreign trade can be "free." There's no such thing. Even a village market high in the Andes has unwritten rules of order and fairness, and trade agreements are nothing but a set of rules about how business will be conducted. Moreover our planet's biosphere has iron rules. We are all going to pay very big penalties if we keep on breaking them.

Conservatives always scream about how "regulation" will harm business and our economy. In reality, that's just them demanding the right to play the economic game with no rules. Or to play the game with secret, arcane, or unstated rules that favor them cheating, stealing, being criminally negligent of public safety, and lying to the public about it. This is exactly why we need good government--we need an honest referee. (Yes, I know our government is compromised right now -- publicly funded elections at every level should be the next really big "rules" fight.)

The first step right now is to talk about playing by the rules again, the rules that keep us safe and help us get fair and square, win-win outcomes for every American.

Susan C.Strong, Ph.D.,

Founder and Executive Director

The Metaphor Project

http://metaphorproject.org/

metaphorproject@earthlink.net
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