Voters — wake up, get involved

It seems to me…we all know that “All politics is local.” So if locals are in control, why should the state of politics today be so chaotic and dysfunctional? The answer is that locals are not in control of politics, at the county, state or national level. Political parties are in control. While political parties are supposed to be run by the people based on the need of the people, they have come to be run by professional politicians who are power seeking individuals. Now, don’t get me wrong, all politicians don’t fall into that category. The problem is that too many of them do.

Politicians have just taken advantage of our failing to pay enough attention and failure to be involved in the decision making that affects us. It rarely affects them. 

When the economy is going well, few, if any, citizens get involved unless their ox gets hit with a cattle prod. But let the economy point south on the compass and you begin to hear some voices complain but many remain silent. Unfortunately, even with an economy that begins to look like that of a third world country, folks are happy just staring at their electronic device while sending messages to others about their favorite coffee latte. They don’t mind spending 4 or 5 dollars for some coffee concoction so why should we expect them to even give a passing thought to the fact that we are in debt to China for about $14 trillion.  

I can remember when back in the 1970s or 1980s, the late Sen. Everett Dirksen from Illinois is reported to have said "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money."  Today, it would be “a trillion here, a trillion there.” The difference between a billion and a trillion is staggering although latte drinkers may not think so. And, that is why the average American doesn’t get too overworked. He or she doesn’t have a clue what a trillion dollars is. The average American barely gets overworked when the price of gas goes up a dollar. He or she bellyaches a little, fills their tank and drives to buy another latte that, when you figure on the basis of the cost of a gallon, cost about $20 or $30 a gallon.  

I think we need to require every U.S. voter to attend a course in economics before they are allowed to vote or, at least, to brush up on basic arithmetic. Although they may mouth the words, the concept needs to go from their electronic device and penetrate their brain so they understand you can’t spend more than you can afford and that sooner or later the credit card companies or China is going to want us to pay what we owe.

While it seems the U.S. Congress has gone deaf to the public or has stuffed earmarks in their ears, here in Stafford we still have the opportunity to speak before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors at each of their meetings and be heard. Every meeting allows time for public comments on issues that are not on the agenda for Commission or Board consideration. If they are doing something right give them a pat on the back and a big hug. If they are doing something wrong tell them so but, in either case, make sure you have your facts straight. If enough average Staffordians speak up with intelligent comments and do so often enough, the elected officials will get the message. Most of the time they hear only from squeaky wheels that attend virtually every meeting and some of these wheels need a front end alignment. Whatever your political leaning is, you should speak out because if you don’t speak up you’ll get what squeaky wants and that just might be bad government. It is still possible to be heard in Stafford and let’s hope the trickledown effect from Washington doesn’t change this. 

Perhaps the comedian Jackie Mason had it right when he suggested that politicians shouldn’t get paid for the laws they pass until we find out if what they did works and is good for us. That just might pay off our debt to China. 

Harvey Gold is a contributing writer at the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at infostaffordcountysun.com.