Tea Party Politics Pt 4: Why is mistrust of government growing?

Tea Party themes aren’t exactly sweeping the land (TP themes - tax cuts and mistrust of government), but they are surfacing to some extent in cities and towns throughout Ontario - 19% of Canadian voters would join a Canadian Tea Party - so we should we be concerned to some degree because man cannot live by tax cuts and mistrust alone.

Some politicians will continue to embrace TP themes, some governments will bring mistrust upon themselves through wrongdoing (real or perceived) and the media will go on fanning the fire under TP themes.

I surmise as well that though you can’t talk about growing debt, economic losses and unemployment numbers without talking about a player with an important role, i.e., government, there are other forces (besides tax-cutting politicians and media) at play.

Another important factor is an economic framework that governments, corporations and consumers have adopted and taken for granted (especially its success) for 30-plus years, i.e., globalization.

I recently read the following statement:

“The central perception of Globalization is that civilization should be seen through economics, and economics alone.” [The Collapse Of Globalism (and the reinvention of the world), John Ralston Saul]

I thought, if we sense economies are weakening in some ways, then we may easily start to mistrust those we think are chiefly in charge, i.e., governments.

But corporations, businesses, and consumers cannot be left off the hook. (Corporations and consumers are the government after all. Corporations just have more lobbyists).

If globalization, which resulted in boom years for many economies (though not all), has had its day, we’ll require untold levels of cooperation between various levels of government to chart a new course, country by country.


Tax cuts and mistrust - that is exactly the wrong way to go in as we consider our future.

As B. MacLeod wrote in his recent newspaper article (that inspired a few thoughts of my own - you poor readers!), “In the U.S., some Tea Party candidates see taxes as virtually unpatriotic, but tax freezes are the Canadian compromise. Yet few who suggest them are able to come up with concrete ways to address increasing costs.”

Corporations and consumers have desired tax cuts for years, some were forthcoming, but I think the boom years are over.

We may have abused our economy and economic resources as much as we’ve abused our environment at the same time, and increasing costs may be the end result of our cheap, fossil-fuel backed lifestyles that we’ve pursued for the last 50 years or so.

Those who want more tax cuts and wish to chiefly mistrust the government may be better off to look for another planet.

Soon.

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The Collapse Of Globalism has been a good read so far.

More details later.

Song For The Blue Ocean is another book I’m reading. The song may be a funeral dirge soon, when I consider how the oceans are being raided - almost without thought for the future.

Exciting details later as well.

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