Giving my own state of the union response

 Good evening my fellow Americans.

I am so disapppointed with the state of the union, and the state of this country and its politics, that I have decided to make my own state of the union response to take directly to the American people. I don't expect this to get a lot of attention. My blog posts generally are read by <10 people unless I post them on reddit or something. But, I feel passionately enough about my point of view to write about it in this format.

We are in a very crappy spot politically. Expectations are so low, that we are literally cheering on an 82 year old man talking about defending social security from the right wing mob, and acting like it's the greatest thing ever. This is the bare minimum. We deserve better, we can do better.

The two party system is at the heart of the political malaise that now grips me. Our politics are asymmetrical where the right is more and more radical in every election, and the left is just as milquetoast as ever. When I say the democrats are the bare minimum, I mean it. As for the republicans, well, they're so batcrap insane and beyond the pale that it horrifies me that this country has reached this sorry state. We should not be having serious debates over cutting social security, we should be expanding social security to every American in the form of a universal basic income. We should not be discussing banning critical race theory and trans stuff from schools, but guaranteeing each and every American's freedom to do as they wish, as long as they do not harm others. The modern republican party is a fascist party. Let's just call it that. Their ideas are so crazy and beyond the pale I wince whenever they gain power. And liberals, do freaking better. Seriously, our standards are so low. So freaking low.

Even progressives seem to be at a point where their statements and policy goals just come off as milquetoast to me. Gee, people who work 40 hours a week shouldn't be in poverty? YOU DON'T SAY! That's like, the bare freaking minimum. Making the existing social contract work as its supposed to on paper. That's the bare minimum we should be doing for the American people.

We need to do better. All of these factions, the left, the right, the center, they're obsessed with jobs, and work. Biden beat his chest going on about how many jobs he created. Conservatives didn't talk about jobs as much, but they believe giving more money to rich people creates more jobs. Progressives talk about how hard people work and blah blah blah. No one asks whether we should be working this hard at all. In the past century, productivity per capita has increased 6 fold but we're still working the same hours we did back in the 1930s when our labor laws were created. Many people spend more of their waking hours either at work, or doing work related activities than they do actually living and enjoying life. Yet we consider this "living the dream". Bullcrap. We know, since reading Karl Widerquist's books at least, that this system is artificial, imposed on us, and we don't have much of a choice but to participate. We either work, or we starve.

We act like if only we create enough jobs we will end poverty. That's nonsense, the economy is set up to guarantee that a certain percentage of the population will be in poverty at any given time. Arguably, when the unemployment rate is as low as it is now, that's as good as it's ever going to get. We need to do better. The last time we were in this state, the presidential commission on poverty under Richard Nixon issued a report that states that no amount of job creation or opportunity would ever solve poverty, we need a basic income to do that. Social security, medicare, and welfare, have all done their part in reducing poverty, but without wider systemic changes we will never solve the problem. 

I am calling for these wider systemic changes. We need universal basic income, not just to solve poverty, but to give people the right to say no, not just to any job, but all jobs. We need universal healthcare, to ensure that everyone gets the care we need when we need it. We need free college to ensure equal access to good paying jobs and jobs that are desirable to do, and FULL student debt forgiveness of encouraging a generation of Americans to go to college to get good jobs, only for many of them to be stuck in debt with questionable prospects. We need a housing program to expand the housing supply to meet demand. We need climate change legislation like build back better to ween us off of fossil fuels and prevent the worst of the climate change that's already occurring. I envision a new new deal for the 21st century in which we move away from the same old solutions to the same old problems. I want to actually make progress, not pay lipservice to it. 

I don't expect many people to actually read this, but those of you who did, thank you for doing so. I understand that the current political climate is hostile to my suggestions for a new economy, but these are changes that should be the guiding light for progressives in the 21st century. The same old crap doesn't work, has never worked, and never will work. At best the most progressive of us might make our lives better, but without a UBI, they will never solve the ills with capitalism fully. Thank you for your time.