We all like to use catch phrases in our day-to-day conversations to emphasize a point or to make it more understandable. Unfortunately like everything else, catch phrases can be a tool for deception and it's often used to simplify matters that usually require more detail.
I'm starting to simplify political situations for my wife, who’s becoming interested in politics,so can get up to speed. Yesterday, she asked me why President Obama said, "You didn't build that" in reference to small-business owners thinking that their success was due only to their initiative and hard work. Of course, that catch phrase was taken out of context because, before that sentence , he had emphasized what most of us already know. We know that we have a collective society, that's taken for granted. We know that a business success is also what doesn't show up in their balance sheets. Government with taxpayer dollars, built the roads, provided the schools, teachers, library, firemen and police officers as support systems for the consumer and the business owners.Conservatives seem to ignore the DEMAND side of the supply and demand economic equation;most seem to think it's all about the job creators. It is but I like to think the REAL job creators are the consumers.
Recently, the free market ideologues changed what they used to call the free- market because it can’t possibly be called that if we have a central government. I think the consensus now is to call it a" free enterprise" because that enables them to operate competitively for profit with minimal government regulation. I think free enterprise or the free market is just the exchange of a business transaction between human beings. We know from experience, that when dealings are made between a large number of human beings, generally accepted rules, regulations, and principals must be enforced by a third party. The days of the handshake agreement are gone and show me one country that lets the free market go unfettered, and I will show you a country that's doomed. So when you hear the catch phrases like “job killing bills, job creators, fewer taxes, smaller government and crony capitalism," it's safe to assume that those words were conspired to favor businesses over the rest of us. The catch phrases have to be repeated until most of the people think that government is too incompetent to handle anything except defense. They will call those who oppose their philosophy a socialist or a statist. This is an open door to plutocracy.
The catch phrase" 40 to 50% of the people don't pay income tax" is used as an excuse not to raise taxes on the top 2%. It's used to make those who don't have enough money to pay income tax, look like free loaders instead of people, sometimes ,through no fault of their own,who are down in their luck. It's a diversionary tactic. It goes in line with the catch phrases " everyone has access to health care" and " we have the best health care system in the world, as another trick used to make people think that we don't have to do anything about the rising cost of health care because the insurance companies will figure it all out and do the right thing.”Let's pass the pass the plate, the lobbyists are anxious to go home."
The Republicans are successfully dealing deaf blows to unions using the catch phrase “job killing agreements" and enacting” right to work laws" but like everything else it helps businesses not workers. I've never been in the union; in fact, I was against unions for a selfish reason. You see. I was getting union benefits by using the threat of the union. Collective bargaining is just an agreement between employees and companies, but it's been demonized so much that the only viable unions remaining are in the public sector. We all saw what the Republicans governors are trying to do to them. I do agree that the lucrative union pension contracts that were made several years ago need to be renegotiated to reflect today's economy.
That catchphrase “cliffhanger" is being used to describe today's economic condition... I didn’t get to the word “liberty” but stay tuned and I guarantee you, it will come up.