The Republican party and what I have learned.

Before I talk about the Republican party, let me say that the democrats are not perfect. Raising taxes in time will only hurt the middle class and poor. And raising taxes or more government spending will in time crowd out the private sector. The democrats policies in a lot of ways create more government and less individualism. And so I get it. However, I need to talk what we are doing today and how we got here. The Next Right wants some answers for the future of their party, and I will attempt to give my view.

Again, just as bad as the democrats are with their policies, the republicans do the same. It is inherent in their policies that will destroy or ignore the middle class and the poor. Oh, they may not think so, but really, that is the end result.

I do agree that a good starting point is tax cuts and cuts in government spending. In every aspect of our lives (credit cards, mortgage, and car payments) we have to cut back and the government has to too. And if not the consequences is deficits, debt, inflation, high interest rates, higher unemployment, or maybe a country like China will dictate what we can or can't do. Having said that, we have not cut spending, for the most part, in the history of our country. The latest budget is at 3.5 trillion dollars and it continues its upward trend. So this has to be worked on.

But here is the part that Republicans do not get. At least for the past 8 years. And while I will give the example of the last 8 years and George Bush, it could have been Joe Schmo from Kokomo for that matter. I use Bush because he is a clear example of having no idea on what he was doing. He lived and ruled by ideology. He stayed the course and ran the country in the ground. He ignored many problems. And when problems became too bad, then he spent the money. Example: Medicare Part D.

What we have to do (and this is always the case) is invest in your people, your country, and in the future. Okay, so there are people that say this is central planning or that this is Marxist. Well, I don't know of any CEO that sits around with laissez-faire and says he does not have to do anything or that everything is alright. Because, not everything is alright. You don't let chuck holes in the street get worse. You don't have rotted wood on your house and expect it to get better by itself. You fix the roof leaks and your foundation. 

1. You invest in your people. You don't say that free trade is good, when factories close. In the MIdwest (mostly manufacturing) people are losing their jobs, healthcare insurance, and pensions. Cities and states are losing revenue. No president can say that "free trade is good, as people lose their jobs." I find that as an insult. You do not throw away the middle class and their jobs. 

Whether or not we have papers signed on free trade probably makes no difference. What we have is globalization and we are going to lose our jobs. It is obvious that middle class wages have to come down to the level of third world countries. The free trade proponents never talk about the consequences of this. And they are no where to be found, or at least they ignore what has happened. The world is changing with the internet, free trade, and globalization and we need to keep up with that. Especially so that we have so much to lose.

Investing in your people means you have to compensate for the unintended consequences. And that is mandatory vocational training or trade school. We have to be an educated society.

2. You invest in your country. You have to invest in your infrastructure. We are some 2.2 trillion dollars behind in our infrastructure. Show me a country with a poor infrastructure and you have a poor country.

3. You invest in the future. That is in energy independence, science, innovation, and research and development. This will create the jobs for the future. Spending the needed billions would be far less than what we spent in Iraq. Other countries subsidize on science and facilities. I think there should be some sort of collaboration with business and government on this. Even if government just supplies the money for research is better than nothing. 

I would also say, it won't only be manufacturing jobs leaving the country, but other jobs as well as white collar jobs are vulnerable too. 

However, I don't think the Republican party will ever get this. They are ruled by ideology. That trickle down will trickle down and you do little else. That religion needs to be in government. That we don't talk with our enemies. And even Bob Gates and James Bakers has always said, "you talk to your enemies." 

In the end, as always, the Republican party forgets the middle class. It is ideology and policy that is first no matter what happens to everyone else. This happens time and time again. It is inherent in the Republican party to do this. It is the way they are structured. 

So therefore, I almost doubt if I would vote Republican again. I have seen too much damage by arrogance and ignorance. It never fails. The Democrats are not much better. But they are a smidgin better, even with failed policies, to at least deal with middle class issues. We may go broke in the end, but the way the two parties are, I guess there is little choice.