By Bernard Lea
(Bernard Lea is a public land proponent and conservation sportsman in Montana)
I
am 76 years young, retired, and try to keep up on the politics and
events of the day by watching the cable news on TV along with ABC,
CBS and NBC networks. I read Newsweek magazine and the Billings
Gazette Opinion page, The Outpost and other pertinent articles.
As
I read and watch these different news networks, I am reminded of my
grade school classroom days when we were learning government and
civics. If I remember correctly, our government is the only
democracy in the world that was conceived on the idea that if we were
to be successful, we needed a true capitalistic financial system. The
capitalistic system was based on competition. What happened to this
concept? Where is the competition in the oil and gas industry? As
soon as one station changes their price, it automatically changes to
same price at every other station. With the latest Supreme Court
decision, the rich have finally arrived at the “Golden Rule”,
those with the gold will rule. As I watch the debate on TV, does
anyone really believe that a $35, $50, or even $100 will receive the
same amount of consideration as the donor who gave $1,000,000 or
more?
I
heard one Congressman make a statement the other day that the reason
he didn’t support extending the unemployment insurance is because
there should be some means testing. They are sure there are some
individuals that are married and one is earning maybe $90,000 per
year and their partner is laid off and wants unemployment. I hear no
means testing being discussed in Social Security or Medicare. I am
sure there are some Billionaires that do not need Social Security or
Medicare. Also, I didn’t hear any talk about means testing when
they passed the Farm Bill. I read an article several years ago that
70% of the grazing leases on public lands, Forest Service and Bureau
of Land Management, are held by 20% of the largest corporations in
the US.
I
have a suggestion to solve the majority of our financial woes in the
U. S. Congress. They need to pass 2 bills. The first one would
eliminate the Citizens United ruling handed down from the Supreme
Court. The second bill, it could be done on the same day, would be a
bill that would state that any person or lobbyist could meet with any
congress person at any time, but they have to leave their checkbook
in the car. This idea is supported by the recent decision in Arizona
regarding the state bill that would allow businesses to not serve
gays and lesbians. There was a big uproar concerning religion, but it
appeared the decision the Governor made to veto the bill was only
after the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and finally the news
that the Super Bowl may not come to Arizona next year if the bill was
signed into law. All this is based on dollars. One other thing
congress should do is amend their Pledge of Allegiance to “one
nation, under God, and the Dollar” with Justice and Liberty for
all”. As soon as we take the money out of politics, this country
will be on the right track. Too many decisions made by congress are
based on the amount of campaign donations.
Also,
what about a “trickle up economy”? When the unemployment rate
gets to around 4 to 5%, with corporations and other businesses
providing a somewhat living wage with benefits, THEN they get a tax
break. It just seems the corporations and businesses should feel
obligated to support the employees that worked for them and allowed
them to make the profits they now enjoy.
One
other comment, for those that are in agreement that the federal
lands, BLM and FS, should be in private or State ownership. Think
about this, if those lands ever come up for sale, the way congress
works, by the time the adjacent landowner learns they are on the
market, they will probably already be committed to a campaign donor.
You will not even have the opportunity to bid. And also, do you think
the new owner will let you graze those lands at the current rate of
$1.34 per AUM? This is even if you get to graze them at all. Think
about it.
Bernard
W. Lea
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