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Posted on Sun, Mar 21, 2010 : 7:39 a.m.

Government is run by corporations, lobbyists

By Letters to the Editor

Americans have been completely blind-sided by Republican and Democratic propaganda with the age-old lies and misinformation of the evils of government control. The Democrats fell in line with imbedded political conservatives to lie and destroy health care reform with the Tea Party misguided Palinites, which have a vendetta against the government.

Our government is not of the people. Corporations and lobbyists control and dictate the policies that control Americans.

Why are we so afraid of government control? In the 1900’s, hundreds of American fortunes were made by capitalists who used the power of government to gain advantages over competitors or to profit from public resources. The Vanderbilts, Astors, and many more built their railroad fortunes on a $100 million in federal and state grants and 200 million acres in federal land grants. American taxpayers, subsidized these so-called self-made millionaires.

During the first World War, the Dupont Empire, after our government seized German chemical patents, gave Dupont assistance in building plants. The nuclear power industry and the Internet are both products of technologies that were developed in government laboratories. Corporations thrive on “Big Government.”

The American people have accepted the propaganda that CEOs deserve to make huge bonuses and salaries because the myth that they are smarter and more deserving than anyone else in the work force. Wake up America! Their incompetence and greed caused the banking system to collapse, throwing a nation in turmoil, all while the American taxpayer bankrolls their greed and ineptitude, with bonuses for failure.

The corporations that failed call government interference socialism, however, did not a socialist system bail them out? And did not Socialism (our government) send out a Stimulus Package and loaned billions to the automobile giants? Americans are powerless pawns dominated by the greed of Wall Street and the imploding of the corporate structure.

Pat R. O’Malley Ann Arbor

Comments

Griffen

Sun, Mar 21, 2010 : 5:56 p.m.

Corporations and lobbyists certainly have an impact on what laws we see and need to follow, but that is nothing new. This country was founded by business for business. We live in a construct based on stepping on others on the way to the top (figuratively).

Hot Sam

Sun, Mar 21, 2010 : 12:34 p.m.

Eliminating the tax code does not mean eliminating taxes. We all know the necessities and successes of things the government does. That does not mean we need keep the plethora of programs and bureaucracies that are not...

Mike Hartwell

Sun, Mar 21, 2010 : 11:15 a.m.

I agree with the author. Many elements of American life are a result of Government activity. NASA, CDC, NIMH, interstate highways, vacines, and the list goes on. If Americans wanted to be free of government get rid of everything not just the IRS.

Hot Sam

Sun, Mar 21, 2010 : 11:10 a.m.

We could start by eliminating the tax code. This is the target of the majority of these lobbyists. Every time some genius says they're going to tax the rich, they add another couple thousand pages of deductions for special interests. Then we allow the politicians to have special plans for themselves exempting them from things like Social Security and health care concerns. What suckers we are...

Hot Sam

Sun, Mar 21, 2010 : 11:05 a.m.

This letter begs the question...which is worse...the briber, or the bribed? We complain about corporations and continue to elect the career politicians that enable this nonsense. The federal government is completely out of control, and we need a systematic approach to limit it's ability to do things which the author writes about.