Smoke and Mirrors Politics and Government

The government is continually laying down a smoke screen about economic recovery, but look around...

Image courtesy: blog.youwalkaway.com

(HARRISVILLE, N.H.) - The unemployment Rate is currently at 9.1% according to the official count published with the blessing of the Obama administration. What they are not saying publicly is that this percentage does not include anyone who has been unemployed long enough to have already collected the maximum allowable unemployment benefit, those who were self-employed and cannot collect unemployment benefits, and those who have simply become discouraged after a year or more of attempting to find employment but could not.

Estimates of the total and all-inclusive unemployment run from 14% to 21% depending on whose figures you read.

The cost of living has not increased too badly according to the official measurement approved by the Obama administration. What is not being loudly publicized is the fact that this official measurement does not include increases in the price of food, gas, or heating oil. Of course, this does not make up a large part of your living expenses does it?

How much has the value of your home increased in the last couple of years? How about your bank account, retirement account, or your children’s college fund . . . have they grown much? Are you seeing fewer “For Sale” signs in your neck of the woods? Has the income of those who have managed to find employment increased or has is decreased? Has your income increased in sync with your real cost of living?

What I am getting at here folks is that our government is continually laying down a smoke screen about how well the recovery is doing and about how the economy is improving but look around you. Do you have more in your pocket at the end of the week now than you did two years ago? The other frequently used ploy used by the government is mirrors to shift your focus.

You worry about unemployment so they throw up a mirror with a new war or environmental crisis to shift your focus. Complicit in this game of smoke and mirrors is the mass media. Sensationalism is their stock and trade as well as their bread and butter. If there is nothing sensational going on, readers and viewers tend to focus on personal and family issues rather than what sells papers and advertising time for the networks.

At some point, the U.S. citizen must realize that having his or her head stuck in the sand (or anywhere else for that matter) allows the government to continue to stampede over our rights and pilfer or life savings . . . apparently favorite pastimes of our politicians. Opinions that get publicized as such are interesting and can get you thinking but facts are much more useful. We need to develop a hunger for the facts folks... complete, unaltered, and timely facts!

Our government should be forthcoming with those facts rather than deciding which ones we should hear, how much we should hear, and when we should hear them . . . if ever.

We are exposed to so much smoke, mirrors, flip-flops, twists, turns, and out-and-out lies that we are so confused and off-balance, it is a wonder we don’t start using toilet-paper for our mouths and napkins for our rears . . . but, that is just my opinion!

These are some of the things Robert takes into account when writing commentary that is designed reach people, to "get them thinking" in his words, and indeed it does. Salem-News.com's goal is for all people to be on the same page, we appreciate Bob's more conservative approach toward that same goal."

You can write to Bob Collingsworth at this email address: colli2@webryders.net