What is the future of democracy? Is it a realistic option.

I have thought long and hard on this question for several days now. The future of democracy, in this country, the way it is headed seems to be dying. Our democracy seems to have been taken over by Capitalism and until that changes, I don't think we will have a truly democratic country. I was speaking with my husband the other day and we were talking about politics-a first for us, and we were talking about how the rights that we have under the constitution are still strong and solid but we as America have become complacent with the corruption and manipulation that large corporations have been doing over the years.
If we were a true democracy we would rally together and put a stop to large corporations telling us what doctors we can see and what health insurance will pay for. The average American does not feel powerful enough to create change that is necessary. I always imagined that a true democracy would allow all voices to be heard, not just the wealthy 1%. Our reading this week did not shed light onto my dilemma. Our textbook basically said yes it is bad, but it isn't all that bad. Isn't it? Americans do not feel as if they can make a difference, our voices are not heard.
How is it that the majority of people in the United States feel that the pay that they are receiving is adequate? How is it that the majority of people in the United States feel that the healthcare program is working or that our economy is strong? We don't yet, we don't feel that anything we do or say will make any difference. This is not the sign of a democratic state.
Is it a realistic option? I think it very well can be once the average American understands that they can make a difference and that they can make a change. One person may not be able to do much, but 20, 30, 100, 1000, make a difference. We need to stand up for what is right and stop letting ourselves be walked on by the rich and powerful and think that it is okay. Enough is enough.

Taxpayer Receipt

Taxpayer Receipt

Find out how much of your taxes are going to what program.

What is the process to develop an economic policy that provides services and sustainability?

According to our reading there are two parts to any economic policy, there is the fiscal policy and the monetary policy. The fiscal policy regulates the government and the monetary policy regulates the economy. I don’t understand, however, why the economy gets better when the government is running a budget deficit. This doesn’t make sense to me. If I am in great deal of debt I curb my spending and try to get my debt under control. I stop purchasing nonessential items. The government on the other hand, finds that if they are in debt it actually stimulates the economy and more people will purchase goods. Bill Clinton, for all the bad that he did, not only balanced the budget but got us into the largest surplus in American history. What is puzzling me is how could we be running on a surplus if we still had a national debt? I guess from further reading it comes down to definitions. The deficit is what we borrow from other countries and the debt is what we owe. My question is then, why do we keep borrowing money from other countries? Why is it making for a good economic policy to borrow money, not only when we are still trillions of dollars in debt, but borrow from other countries?
So now we have the beginnings of our economic policy. We have borrowed money from another country; we also need to supplement this with taxes from several difference places. We need to not only tax individuals but businesses and corporations as well. Now we have the money, we need to spend it. First we have to pay interest and make payments on the money that we borrowed and then we need to spend money on the entitlement programs. The entitlement programs include such things as food stamps and social security: things to help people that cannot help themselves.
The monetary policy tries to play the gamble game. By manipulating interest rates it either stimulates or slows down the economy. When interest rates are high, the top 20% do very well; they make more money and save more money. However, the rest of the United States can barely buy a pack of gum, buying a house or a car would be out of the question. On the other hand, when interest rates are low, the top 20% doesn’t do as well because there is not as much bang for their buck. However, the rest of the United States has a little party because they can now afford to purchase things that they were not able to before. I like the fact that the interest rates are regulated by a Federal Reserve Board that does not report directly to the government. I think that this allows the FED to actually do what is in the best interest of the American public. The one concern that I have is that the people that are on this board are mostly employees of huge banking conglomerates. I think this is the part of the economy that allows for the sustainability.
So in order to provide services and sustainability an economic policy not only needs to allow the government to control some saving and spending and allow a private neutral entity to do the same. By allowing both of these entities to balance each other out we are able to have an economic policy that is tolerable. If one group is happy with an economic policy then I don’t think it is doing its job. Also, from this week’s reading, I finally found out what Alan Greenspan did. My entire adult life I always wondered who is this Alan Greenspan and why should we listen to him and now I know.

What the New Health Care Reform Looks Like

Health Care Reform

How does a government facilitate comprehensive care for its constituents without sacrificing equity?

Unfortunately there is only one answer to this question and that is-it can't. In order to create comprehensive care for it's people a government must spend money. This is the only way to provide healthcare, pensions and welfare for the poor. In Europe this cost is rolled into taxes both person and sales. Europe also benefits from governmental health care. This includes five weeks of paid vacation, and social programs for the unemployed. America on the other hand depends on the private sector for healthcare, two weeks paid vacation, when it is offered, and the government for social programs such as food stamps and housing assistance. the government has run out of money and companies are finding that offering benefits to their employees does not allow for maximum profits. When did we become "We the people of the capitalistic America more interesting in money than the welfare of it's people." didn't the founding fathers want a more perfect union?

How should a nation-state develop its foreign policy in accordance to iits values and in connection to the development of its domestic policy?

A nation, if I am to understand our assignment, develops its domestic policy in accordance with the majority value of the people. From this point the nation then devotes it’s time to working with other nations that help support and sustain its values, and improves its standard of living. In a perfect situation a nation that engages foreign policy with another nation, will give as much as it receives, improving the quality of life for the other nation as well. In the case of the United States, this is very rarely the case. According to our text, The United States is only concerned with making money and it seems that the way to make money is investing overseas, from lower wages, to loaning foreign governments money. How does taking jobs from Americans and bailing other countries out of debt, help America? Some countries we have bullied our way into and others we take more than we give. The way that we are investing is by carrying a bigger stick.
The other countries of the world are sending us far more than we are sending them. Now it is almost to the point that we are becoming dependent on other countries. We are one of the most advanced, resource rich countries in the world. We have a huge military pointed at every ocean and every continent in the world. Yet we still have millions without proper healthcare or even enough food to eat. A nation is supposed to take care of itself first and yet we are floundering like a fish out of water. Perhaps we need to stop looking at our foreign policy and look domestically instead.