The Politics of Plunder
Nobody’s Opinion: It’s getting near Christmas, and I’ve got a book for your Christmas list:
I do this weird thing…whenever I get a book from the library; I use a pencil and mark up all the passages in the book I want to remember. Then I type those parts out and save them on a CD. Saves me money.
But once in a while, the book is so marked up, almost every paragraph has something marked and so I finally have to admit, I might as well buy it, because I would have to type the whole book out. (Don’t worry, I have a great eraser.)
And the book I plan on buying myself for Christmas is The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington, by Doug Bandow.
No, it’s not on the best-sellers list. It’s not even a new book. It was published in 1990 and basically covers a lot of the Reagan era. Doug Bandow, the author, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and he served as special assistant to President Reagan.
And if you like to see some real statistics behind just where all your money goes, this book is for you.
Despite what you may think, he does not idolize Reagan. What he does do is give an accurate picture of the way the whole system is set up, so that even good men like Reagan, can’t put much of a dent in the corrupt system of “FED ME!"
Not only is Doug a man very found of our founders, but he explains in great detail, just where all the money goes, and how to correct the problems. And this was in 1984.
For instance, I had NO idea just how much the government subsidies our food. Okay, it’s one thing to know it, it’s quite another to read the statistics. The amount of money our government spends is never really reported.
God forbid we take Brad Pitt off the front page.
Here’s an example:
After spending more than $14 billion so far this decade to encourage dairymen to produce as much as they want, the government is now forcing taxpayers to contribute $1.1 billion, along with $700 million in producer assessments, to convince those same farmers to retire. The individual “termination” checks range up to $10 million: all told, 144 dairymen are receiving more than $1 million each to quit their farms.”
I really don’t remember reading about this in my local Sunday paper, do you? And the book is filled with these kinds of facts.
Here’s one of my favorites:
What about the basic right of taxpayers to keep their earnings? Why do dairy farmers, students, yacht owners, foreign politicians, corporate executives, and every other interest group in America have a higher claim to a person’s earnings than the worker himself?”
Exactly.
After reading only half of the book, there is no doubt that our country has been run at least in the food department, much like the Soviet system. We have a few BIG farms, (the little ones were wiped off the map) and billions go to these guys.
One year, the government kept 2 billion oranges off the market because of complaints from Sunkist—left to rot in the sun.
I guess the “free market” just applies when the big corporations can make big profits.
The book will make you think harder, about all the spending now.
I mean, we read about the “lost billions” that were suppose to go to the family’s from 9/11, and the "billions" that were just “mismanaged” in Katrina, and the “billions” that just disappear in Iraq…
They have gotten us use to government waste--- Ho-hum. What’s Brittany doing?
Anyway, as Doug says: People abuse power, it is human nature.
The book may be a little outdated, and you never even heard of it. But, it might just be one of the most educational books you will ever read on the United States Congressmen, and how much they love to plunder.
Of course, I don’t agree with everything he says…but how can you know the future, if you don’t know the past? You can’t.
And the past has been hidden, very well as you find out when you read this book.
The Politics of Plunder at least will make you feel like you got to be a little bird and sit in on the most powerful meetings of pork in Congress.
I might never eat pork again. So enjoy your turkey at your Christmas dinner, and at least check out this book sometime soon, before the next election.
It will make everything all that much clearer, but then again...you might want to just watch the football game.
I do this weird thing…whenever I get a book from the library; I use a pencil and mark up all the passages in the book I want to remember. Then I type those parts out and save them on a CD. Saves me money.
But once in a while, the book is so marked up, almost every paragraph has something marked and so I finally have to admit, I might as well buy it, because I would have to type the whole book out. (Don’t worry, I have a great eraser.)
And the book I plan on buying myself for Christmas is The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington, by Doug Bandow.
No, it’s not on the best-sellers list. It’s not even a new book. It was published in 1990 and basically covers a lot of the Reagan era. Doug Bandow, the author, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and he served as special assistant to President Reagan.
And if you like to see some real statistics behind just where all your money goes, this book is for you.
Despite what you may think, he does not idolize Reagan. What he does do is give an accurate picture of the way the whole system is set up, so that even good men like Reagan, can’t put much of a dent in the corrupt system of “FED ME!"
Not only is Doug a man very found of our founders, but he explains in great detail, just where all the money goes, and how to correct the problems. And this was in 1984.
For instance, I had NO idea just how much the government subsidies our food. Okay, it’s one thing to know it, it’s quite another to read the statistics. The amount of money our government spends is never really reported.
God forbid we take Brad Pitt off the front page.
Here’s an example:
After spending more than $14 billion so far this decade to encourage dairymen to produce as much as they want, the government is now forcing taxpayers to contribute $1.1 billion, along with $700 million in producer assessments, to convince those same farmers to retire. The individual “termination” checks range up to $10 million: all told, 144 dairymen are receiving more than $1 million each to quit their farms.”
I really don’t remember reading about this in my local Sunday paper, do you? And the book is filled with these kinds of facts.
Here’s one of my favorites:
What about the basic right of taxpayers to keep their earnings? Why do dairy farmers, students, yacht owners, foreign politicians, corporate executives, and every other interest group in America have a higher claim to a person’s earnings than the worker himself?”
Exactly.
After reading only half of the book, there is no doubt that our country has been run at least in the food department, much like the Soviet system. We have a few BIG farms, (the little ones were wiped off the map) and billions go to these guys.
One year, the government kept 2 billion oranges off the market because of complaints from Sunkist—left to rot in the sun.
I guess the “free market” just applies when the big corporations can make big profits.
The book will make you think harder, about all the spending now.
I mean, we read about the “lost billions” that were suppose to go to the family’s from 9/11, and the "billions" that were just “mismanaged” in Katrina, and the “billions” that just disappear in Iraq…
They have gotten us use to government waste--- Ho-hum. What’s Brittany doing?
Anyway, as Doug says: People abuse power, it is human nature.
The book may be a little outdated, and you never even heard of it. But, it might just be one of the most educational books you will ever read on the United States Congressmen, and how much they love to plunder.
Of course, I don’t agree with everything he says…but how can you know the future, if you don’t know the past? You can’t.
And the past has been hidden, very well as you find out when you read this book.
The Politics of Plunder at least will make you feel like you got to be a little bird and sit in on the most powerful meetings of pork in Congress.
I might never eat pork again. So enjoy your turkey at your Christmas dinner, and at least check out this book sometime soon, before the next election.
It will make everything all that much clearer, but then again...you might want to just watch the football game.
In that case....I agree...you might be right.
Labels: politics
posted by Joyanna Adams at 8:33 PM
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