For many years, we've seen a concerted movement that's been crying out for 'less government". They've achieved little so far, but if they were ever able to enact their agenda, what would be the likely result?

In the name of freedom, would they allow people to buy, sell, and use whatever recreational drug they want? No way. Would they take government our of people's sex lives (legalize the sex trade, for starters)? Nope. Would they allow women to have control over their own reproductive choices? To the contrary, they would put more government into this very personal domain. They would ban abortion, even many if not all forms of birth control. Plus there is an element out there that wants to make divorce more difficult to obtain. That's not freedom.

Could we have less government when it comes to religion? No. They expect the government to maintain a rooting interest in (their) religion, to endorse, promote, even finance it at everyone's expense, Atheists included. So it's actually more government here.

So this less government refrain would seem to be a hypocritical farce, bogus libertarianism. One way they might make headway would be in reducing economic regulations. This could result in the jettisoning of regulations that protect consumer health and safety, that protect worker safety, that inhibit fraudulent practices and ban monopoly. That would hardly be an improvement. Back in 1999 we got rid of one big regulation: they repealed the Glass-Steagall Act. This was a major factor in producing the Great Recession.

The "less government" goal would definitely lead to the rich getting richer, especially with their idea of tax reform. They would likely not have the power to end corporate subsidies and other breaks for the rich, but they could easily make things worse for the not-rich. They could do nothing to end the flood of jobs being exported. It could lead to the destruction of the social safety net that is a moral responsibility for any decent society to maintain. Some would eliminate Social Security and Medicare. Anything that helps ordinary people would be in danger. Why should we go along with that?

"Less government" is a vague mantra. We need to demand nothing but specifics from those who espouse it, because allowing them to move us in that direction would likely only make things worse for the vast majority of us.

Now of course I'm talking mostly about the Tea Party. The Tea Party consists of a lot of people frustrated by the downward mobility of the middle class. But instead of blaming the corporate elite who've rigged the game, they seem to have bought the lie that their problems are the result of undeserving poor people (of color) getting handouts. They think that ending these handouts would set the world right, but of course this would do nothing about corporate welfare, thus making the middle class squeeze even worse. In their ignorance, they are the unwitting agents of their own victimization. And they say the rest of us are "sleeping". No, we just aren't dreaming the Tea Party pipe dream.

(P.S. I would be willing to bet that Kerri Ellen Wilder has never read anything by Friedrich Hayek or Ludwig von Mises, yet as a dutiful parrot she touts them and their works. That would be typical.)

Sincerely,

Stephen Van Eck

Rushville, PA

Having a Republican Congress is like having the Gambino crime family run the government.

While we were concerned about Obama's never-never land of guns running riot in American cities---of feminists' fantasies in Obama's perfumed ranks---of climate change causing terrorism---of restricting Syrian immigration being a recruitment tool for ISIS--- something was going on in Congress while we slept.

In the dead of night, 3:13 a.m. to be exact, the Senate by a vote of 64-35 that included 18 Republicans, approved upping the debt ceiling, this time by $80 billion. Previously, the House approved the ceiling hike with a vote of 266-167 that included 79 Republicans.

Here are some highlights that were tucked into the “Gambinos'” 2,200-page spending bill:

• resettlement of 85,000 refugees from Islamic nations was fully funded at ~ $5.4 billion

• the president's expansion of 10,000 mostly Syrian refugees was fully funded at ~ $640 million

• Planned Parenthood was federally funded at ~ $450 million

• 340 sanctuary cities, all illegal, were fully funded

• illegal aliens, who never paid a cent in taxes, will get a government check for tax credits

• the number of green cards given to immigrants who will replace American workers was quadrupled to 250,000

For this, special thanks are due to the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), the come-along-get-along career politician who voted for the increase.

And kudos to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis), who helped negotiate and shepherd through the bill that raised the debt ceiling for the 75th time. Obama will be pleased.

Think back to the '50s. It was when we made things like cars, fridges, clothes. Imports were something of a novelty. Something from China was so much Chinese junk. If instruction was enclosed with the product, it was written in fractured English much to the scornful delight of readers.

The '50s was also the last time the American Dream was possible. A household was supported by a single wage earner. Given determination, hard work, and initiative, a man's family would in time move up to a more prosperous life in a growing middle class.

There's nothing dream-like about today's American Dream. Getting by on two paychecks and keeping one-step ahead of the family's monthly bills is a measure of success.

What happened?

Somewhere along the way, the American Dream became the Corporate Dream. Instead of the citizens' welfare being the primary concern of our political representatives, the wishes of the corporations became paramount. Government “for the people” was subverted by the government for the corporations. The Republic had become a corpocracy.

Remember the song, Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets? Cross out Lola, write in “the corporation.”

Add up all the taxes paid by Boeing, General Electric, Merck, and dozens of other multinational corps and you pay more taxes than the entire lot. They're living the Corporate Dream while the middle class struggles to keep above the poverty line.

But finally, after three decades of being plundered by the corps, the electorate has had enough. There's a revolt sweeping over the nation, not a cadre of collegiate juveniles taking over administration buildings, but an insurrection of voters. It is perhaps the defining political phenomenon of our time.

The CEOs of the mega corps, those grand pooh-bahs of the foreign slave trade and their handmaiden the US Chamber of Commerce, the lobbyists, career politicians, and the high-muck-a-mucks on W Street, in a word, the ruling class, is on the defensive. The moneyed elites are threatened by Republican novices, men and a woman who by every measure are outsiders.

Double-digit leaders in the Republican race for the party's nomination, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz lead the pack. Trump took on the political mantle only six months ago. And Cruz's first and only political office was an upset victory for a Senate seat in 2012.

As for newcomer Carly Florina, who only polls in the single numbers, she is one very, very smart lady. Florina is not to be dismissed. We'll hear more of her. However, it is Trump or Cruz who stands to be handed the GOP's baton.

The Democratic opposition will doubtless be that quintessential crony, Hillary Clinton. Hillary has had enough scandals past and present to stuff a polyester pantsuit. Bill Clinton's worst-half is old, tired, and as crooked as a country mile, but she's the least hopeless candidate that the DNC can field.

Ladies and gentlemen, the establishment titters.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA