Expanding on an earlier post, the US is in the situation it is because of all of us.  Not just the rich, not just the poor, but everyone.  Of course the wealthy don’t want to give up any of their excess, after all who defines “excess”?  And the poor are unwilling to work for that school lunch or breakfast, not even a little bit.  After all, they are needed at home for the children because Daddy’s in the slam.

Neither side wants to give an inch for the common welfare, to reduce budgets, to reduce debt.  The military, the most bloated, expensive and useless machine in the history of the Universe, says we’d be vulnerable to all manner of pests and vermin with any cut in spending.  They won’t “give” for the common welfare, either.

The US will not sacrifice for the good of the country.  We talk about WWII, the Marshal Plan, and that’s it.  Every faction accuses the others of greed while they gorge as fast as possible on the carcass of the economy.  And there’s good pickings for some, not so good for most.

Not only won’t the various factions in the US sacrifice for the common good, the country as a whole won’t consider itself a part of a whole, a member of a single planet, and participate meaningfully in global concerns, such as carbon emissions.  ”Let the Chinese do it!”  Nope, wouldn’t want to spend a cent more for electricity, or have out standard of living impacted in any manner whatsoever.  Not even medical care for our own poor will stir our hearts.

Nope.  The problem is us, all of us, each and every one of us and our lobbying groups in Washington, who scream, cry, weep and moan that there isn’t a program which could be cut back, or a tax which could be increased, or a work requirement put on more than a basic minimum of welfare.