[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by bmxmon

Does anybody else feel that the majority of the population of the United States is completely retarded?? I feel that the majority of this comes from the media, the music industry in particular.

The answer to the question you raise is: No. I do not think that 'the majority of the population of the United States is completely retarded'...or stupid or whatever label you want to use. Ill-informed and too apathetic is more like it. However, the majority of this country - the ones that voted, anyway - were intelligent enough to reject that paragon of elitist liberalism, John F. Kerry, and re-elect President George W. Bush. Proving that our collective national intelligence is still quite sound, despite the continued existence of Hollywood liberals and media leftists.

The first thing that I will bring up is the war in Iraq. I just got done watching music videos on Fuse. I like alot of the music, but feel what they are saying is really screwed up. System of a Down's song BYOB uses the saying, "why do they always send the poor." I dont understand how they feel that anybody is "sending" the poor to Iraq. This is not like Vietnam with the draft, everybody going over there enlisted voluntarily. Even if the armed forces were comprised 100% of people who lived in poverty, how could you blame that on the government?

If you attempt to use music videos to gauge the attitudes of the nation then you are making your first big mistake and will get always the wrong impression. In general, most people in what we call 'show business' (music, TV, movies and the legitimate stage) are a combination of egotistical, clueless and relentlessly liberal in their politics. Most just follow the liberal crowd mindlessly ('me too') but some go further and incorporate their leftist, anti-war political views into their art. That doesn't mean that they know what they're talking about or that they speak for anyone but themselves. I find it best to totally ignore what anyone who is part of the show business crowd - generally rich and clueless - says about anything, especially politics.

The old wheeze that governments always send 'the poor' to war is an ancient anti-war cliché and it does not apply to the current 'war' in Iraq, by any means. You know that and I suspect the guys in System of a Down' know that - or they should. But it makes a neat little populist anti-war statement for them that the liberals who abound in the music business will approve of. The facts are apparently not something the group care about when a good lyric can be constructed of anti-war canards.

The next thing that I cant understand is how people blame the government for them losing their jobs or getting their pay cut. I bet that the majority of the problems comes from ourselves.

You would win that bet.

The government can affect some fringes of the economy here and there - but not much, unless they make some really bonehead laws...which happens. Right now, the economy is booming with very low inflation and unemployment and high income levels all around. The Bush tax cuts helped that to happen but beyond that long-range governmental act of a few years ago (lowering the tax rates) most of the rise in our economic well-being is due to the decisions of individuals and business owners and CEO's, not the government. We live in a capitalist society, not a socialist or communist society and the government does not control the economy or 'give' people jobs.

People complain that they cant find jobs or decent paying jobs because they all get sent over to China. Why do they always get sent over to China? Because we are constantly demanding cheaper products. Price is the number one factor in peoples decision on which product to buy. The largest expense for companies is labor. We are constantly demanding larger pay checks yet cheaper products. Now I know that it seems like I am pro-government/business, but I dont consider myself that way. I definately agree that the govt and business screw up, but still feel that we always try to blame them other than actually look at ourselves.

You seem to grasp the basic economics of the situation. Most of the jobs going to China (and India) are low-level and will be replaced, eventually. The job market is always in flux. Jobs that didn't exist ten years ago (cellphone tech, for instance) now provide a living for many. Jobs that don't exist today will emerge and provide a living for many Americans down the road. When cars became affordable in the 1920's, a lot of jobs related to horses and carriages went away, yet people survived and new jobs came about in the auto-related business. So it always goes.

As for cheaper prices: yes, we all want those. That's why Wal-Mart is so successful. Price/value. When Americans have more money to spend, whether due to the government taking less out of your paycheck in taxes or because you saved money on needed products by shopping at Wal-mart, that extra cash is put back into the U.S. economy. Whether you put that saved money in a bank, which can then lend money for folks to buy homes, or buy a new TV, car, whatever, it expands the economy - which is not a zero-sum entity - and that is good for everyone, rich, poor and all of us in-between. That's why capitalism works so well and why it is the engine that drives this nation. That some folks don't understand that or just grumble because they get fired is hardly proof of anything except that most people will be out of work now and then in their working life. It happens. We eventually move on to something else. Blaming 'the government' is hardly the correct response to a pink slip and that kind of misdirected whining gets you nowhere.