Is government or private industry worse?

Some of my friends and family are republicans. I feel the same about them as I feel about a family member that is a Jehovah Witness. It’s their choice and although I am baffled by what I consider a tragic, wrong decision, it is useless for me to argue against something they feel strongly about. A good number of them are Republicans because they believe that the basic difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is that the Republicans believe in less government and more private industry and the Democrats believe in social programs and more taxation. Dems may tax and spend, but Republicans spend more but don’t tax . (Reagan and this Bush added the hugest deficits in history, but why care as long as they cut our taxes?)

What I am questioning is the very core of the Republican philosophy. That is the belief that private industry is better than government and left unregulated, will do the right thing. My grandfather said everything is about money and I’m sure he was right. Enron is just one example of unregulated business. A better approach is to look at private industry before regulation. Can you say, “Robber Baron”? Do decisions of million-dollar CEO’s to use cheap foreign labor sound like a familiar tune? Do child labor laws sound reasonable to you or just “politically correct”? Few industries care about people. They are a commodity like the electricity or the cost of a new parking lot. We might hate government regulation, but regulation has come about because our leaders recognize that people are basically greedy. Although the right wing radio hosts sneer at the word “Politically Correct” what are the chances private business would have ended slavery while it was still economically viable or given women equal pay for equal work, or just handed money to doctors for Medicare without paperwork when it is estimated that even with regulation medicare fraud consumes 10% of funds?

Lobbyists for businesses have whittled away at regulations until they are almost nonexistent but unregulated abuse is not enough for greedy people, they are after our tax dollar. The bill, passed by Congress last year, marks a significant step toward privatizing and ultimately dismantling Medicare. It places prescription drug coverage for senior citizens entirely in the hands of private insurance companies and health care plans, forbids the government from negotiating drug prices, blocks the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada, and subsidizes private health plans and insurers to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. Now Bush is going to give our taxes directly to business – and call it Social Security reform.

The majority of the Republican vote comes from white males especially poorly educated men. We understand the haves and the have-mores wanting to perpetuate their largesse. But why would poor people vote against their better interests? I can only surmise that abortion, school prayer and homosexual rights cloud their judgment. And no, Bush will not have to institute a draft. The military is the only one hiring in my town.