If you watch, listen to, or read much in the way of news, you may have noticed that there’s a widening divide between what the people care about and what our elected officials have decided are important. Take the NBC/WSJ poll we talked about in today’s show. The American people are concerned with the following issues – each accompanied by the percentage of those surveyed who believe these are crucial topics that need addressing:
1. Access to lower cost student loans–80% support.
2. Increase spending on infrastructure–75%
3. Raising the minimum wage–65%
4. Emergency funding for fighting Ebola in Africa–60%
5. Addressing climate change/reducing carbon emissions–59%
6. Building Keystone Pipeline–54%
The GOP, on the other hand, has stated that their agenda is based on the following priorities, in the following order:
1. Repeal “Obamacare.”
2. Authorize the Keystone Pipeline.
3. Pass the “Hire More Heroes” (veterans) Act.
4. Restore “traditional” definition of full time work week to 40 hours (see item 1.)
5. Protect and expand America’s energy boom [thanks Obama].
6. Support charter schools with tax dollars.
Notice the disconnect? The only thing common to both lists is the Keystone XL Pipeline, which 54% of people want built, but they favor it because they think it will end America’s dependence on foreign oil. The problem with that is we have no dependence on foreign oil, producing 40% of our own oil and getting the rest from Canada and Latin America. And, we export a lot of what we produce, which means we’re choosing to buy some of that oil we’re getting from our neighbors to the north and south. The average American, however, thanks to the misinformation peddled by those who stand to make billions from the pipeline, believes we get most of our oil from the Middle East. They picture us begging terrorists for oil, and understandably, they think that’s a problem and that the pipeline will solve it.
Of course, given that we already export a lot of the oil we produce and we’ll be exporting a good deal of what we refine from the tar sands, there won’t be any changes to where we get and send oil. All we’ll be doing is guaranteeing more oil gets spilled within our borders and a handful of the same people who already have most of the money in the world will have that much more. And what’s the terrible outcome if we don’t build the pipeline? 4000 jobs are lost for the 15 years it takes to build it, and 35 permanent jobs are lost thereafter. And Canada will find an alternative, building a pipeline through their own terrain, taking it to ports on either of their coasts.
Is this a huge net loss to the US? Hardly. Not when we could be developing sustainable energy. The sun and the wind aren’t as sexy as oil, and certainly not as profitable for the oil companies (they’ll find a way to claim they own the sun and wind, have no fear), but they’re sustainable. That means they go on and on and on. They don’t run out. And even better than that? They don’t poison the planet or add to climate change. Now you’d think that would sound as good to the billionaires as it sounds to us, because they need to breathe air and drink water, too. You’d think that, but you’d be wrong. The people with all the money – and therefore all the power – don’t want sustainable energy. Any more than they want to pay people a living wage or make it easier for people to afford to go to college. And those were numbers 3 and 1, respectively, on the people’s agenda, remember?
So what’s causing the disconnect? Are the people not speaking loudly enough to be heard? Is Congress not listening? Are we all speaking different languages?
Or is it a matter of the Congress hearing us but not caring what we’re saying?
Bingo. They don’t care, and they won’t care. Because we can’t give them millions to run their next campaign, which started about 20 minutes after they took office.
This week’s links:
Tone Deaf: The American People’s Agenda vs The GOPs Stated and Actual Plans
Obama and the Chinese Agree to Reduce Carbon Emissions
Keystone XL Pipeline Support is Based on Misinformation
Next, Everyone Gets a Horse… But No Shirt.
Is Obama the King of Executive Orders?
