Darren Weeks
Coalition to Govern America
May 12, 2015
The very first sign of a nation that is on the decline, as an economic superpower, is that it cannot adequately afford to maintain its critical infrastructure. Upkeep on roads, bridges, water mains, etcetera, are delayed, pushed back, and let go for lack of funds. Welcome to a central bankers' economy.
No federal or state politician ever talks about reversing the "free trade" globalization schemes that have destroyed Michigan's economy. Instead, the great rust belt state — once home to a robust economy, driven by a monster automotive industry — is now attempting to raise its sales tax to 7 cents to pay for road repairs. The measure was recently put on the ballot — and failed miserably. Rumor has it the determined suits in Lansing are going to try it again. Apparently, the only idea they have is to keep pumping the handle on a dry well. Unemployed people can't afford to pay any more taxes.
Meanwhile, the decay continues. I snapped these recently on a road I travel every day. This is only a sampling of my daily rattle.
The roads of Jackson County used to be resurfaced. Then, they went for the cheaper option of dropping tar and pea stone on them and allowing the cars to drive over them and work the stones into the tar. Many, including myself, have got damaged windshields from pea stones that were kicked up by the tires of another car. This year, they seem to have even abandoned that. Now, they just shove a little asphalt in some of the worst pot holes and the rest of the road is left in disrepair. There are exceptions, of course, but it isn't an exaggeration to say that the roads in Jackson County are in extremely poor shape. The state has no answers because there are no funds. The highway revenue whores are pulling motorists over and writing tickets like there is no tomorrow. This is your post-NAFTA, post-GATT, post-WTO "free trade" economy. Isn't globalist, corporatist "prosperity" great? Whee!
As the late-night infomercials used to say... "Now how much would you pay? But wait — there's more!"
These "free trade" policies have worked so wonderfully at destroying our country, that the politicians that are bought and owned by the major corporations, can't wait to take them even further!
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) were both negotiated in absolute secrecy. Government of, by, and for the People? Forget it!
It seems these corporate troglodytes worry that the commoner might be a little upset that they are continually losing more of their wealth to some corporate fatso with yachts, private jets, foreign bank accounts, and a place in the Cayman Islands, while their taxes are raised again and again so they don't have to drive on roads that look like the ones you see in the above pictures. All of that assumes that they can afford to keep a car on the road and the fuel to keep it moving.
It's all good, however. Election season is right around the corner. Let's see... we have a Bush, and a Clinton running. Strange... wasn't it a Bush that negotiated NAFTA? Wasn't it a Clinton who signed it afterward? Deja Vu.
There was a time in our nation's history that tar was used for more than just roads. Lucky for the subversives that our society has "progressed" to being more "civilized".
