by James Glaser
January 5, 2004

When I was growing up, I had no doubt that those in Washington were all working together to make a better country for me. It didn't matter if you were GOP or DFL; both parties were trying to make life better for all of us.

Today I talk to young Americans and so very many of them see the government in Washington as a greedy group of people working to achieve personal power and wealth.

That may be because we have better reporting than when I was young. It could be that I only wanted to see the good in Washington. I think what happened is the people going to Washington have changed.

When I was young, I never heard that most military officers that retire go to work for defense contractors. They didn't, many retired and moved to their home states and continued to give back to their communities as volunteers. I never knew that most Senators were millionaires and in fact back then, most were not. Millionaires were in short supply and the Senate was not a stepping stone to riches like it is now.

Money is what runs Washington today. The money to run for office today would stagger a politician of the 50s or 60s. When someone or some group invests millions into getting you elected they expect a return on their investment. Those elected are no longer working for the "people," they are now working for whoever put up the money.

I am not saying that our elected officials are in Washington doing one thing and then lying to us about it, but what I see them doing is less than honest and here is an example. Congress passed a huge tax cut. Some say it was for the rich and some say it was fair. The President of the United States tells the American people, "These tax reductions will bring real and immediate benefits to middle income Americans. Ninety two million Americans will keep an average of $1,083 more of their money."

Well I have asked lots of "average" Americans if they got an extra thousand or more and found no one that did. Here is how the President could say that. The Average tax payer got back $265 according to the Tax Policy Center. What President Bush was saying was, the "Average" would be $1,083.

Rich Americans got tens of thousands in extra money, which brought up the average. He wasn't lying; he was playing word games with us.

The young people of today see that and contrary to reports, our children are pretty sharp. They can see that this is dishonest. They see Congressmen and Senators saying the same thing to make that tax cut seem fair to all Americans.

The same can be said about the PATRIOT ACT, no bid contracts, Deficit Spending, and the Prescription Drug Bill. Young Americans today can see what is happening to their future and what that looks like is a life time of paying back for what we are spending today.

Many of those I talk to have been paying back school loans for years now and have many more years to go. They know that a big loan stops them from doing some things "extra" they would like to do to make their lives better. They look at Washington's spending spree under President Bush and have no doubt that they are going to be the ones that have to pay it back.

President Bush and those in Congress that are passing this spending keep talking about a better economy, that will be able to make these deficits whole. Well that doesn't ring true either. Even with the explosion of the economy of the 90s under Bill Clinton, we made only a token payment on the National Debt and the young people of today watch as this new administration, with an economy in the dumps, expands our debt by over a trillion dollars and keeps adding to that with programs for foreign countries that cost billions more.

The people that are going to get stuck with our bills can see that we are spending more on national defense that ever before, but are investing almost nothing in an attempt to foster Peace around our globe.

Young Americans today do not think that our government is honest with us.

They watch as both parties play word games to cover their greed for more money and power. Young Americans know that major Corporations have the inside track in Washington, yet these same Corporations have moved off-shore and pay no taxes.

The young watches as our environmental laws are trashed by a powerful group in the White House. They know that these officials will be dead by the time the effects of these legal changes start to kill Americans in large numbers. They read about the rivers in America that used to catch on fire and wonder why we want to head down that path again. They know that so many Americans today drink bottled water because they do not trust municipal water supplies.

I would have to say that most Americans no longer think that Washington is honest with them. The American people look at those elected as wanting to get something for themselves and if they can help the country, that is a bonus.

I wish that my children would have that feeling of safety that I had growing up. I knew that the President and Congress were working to help protect me and my family and that they were passing laws to make life better for all Americans. When I tell my children and other young people of how I felt at their age the say that I was so naïve.

I don't think that is true. I think that just a few decades ago Washington was still run by people working for the masses and that the need for money to get there has changed everything. Forty years ago a good man or woman could seek office with the help of their state party, friends and neighbors. After elected they would be trying to get their parties ideas made into policy and law. Today a potential politician needs rich corporations and individuals to give them the millions needed to run and their time in office is used up trying to raise the money needed for their next campaign. They are not working for you and me, but they are trying to pass laws and policy that will help those that funded their election.

Americans see what is going on and the percentage of those voting tells us that many Americans and in some States, most Americans, do not believe that their government is honest or that it is working for them.

Just watching as Senators, Representatives and in the last election, Governors, take over a year off from their tax paid job to run for higher office. They start out the election cycle being dishonest by taking their pay, while out on the campaign trail looking for more money and power.

Americans know what is going on in Washington, we just haven't figured out how we can change it, but change will come. Either we will get back on track as a nation or we will lose everything our parents and grandparents wanted for us. Right now, the next generation will not be as free as we were and a few more bills like the PATRIOT ACT and we will be living with a government we would have found abhorrent twenty years ago.

I would not be surprised if buried in the Homeland Security Bill, there was not a provision for a Secret Police Division. Congress wouldn't know about this because with their campaign fund raising, they don't have time to read the bills before they vote, Ask your representatives if they read the PATRIOT ACT before voting or how about the 87 billion for Iraq. There is no way they could because the time between printing the bill and voting was too short, if there was any time at all. Many bills that are voted on are changed in "conference committee" after they have been passed.

Washington has seen many changes since I was a kid and most of those changes are to help the rich and powerful and to take away our rights and freedom.