What’s the matter with Missouri?

What’s the matter with Missouri?

Ted Folkert

December 1, 2015

The question posited in the title of the book “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” isn’t restricted to Kansas. I always have the same question when I spend time in the beloved state of Missouri or when I talk to people from Texas and other states where the political conversation is dominated by ultra conservative ideals. I always have to remind myself that Missouri is the state with a bust of Rash Limpbrain in the state capitol rotunda – the vitriolic blabber mouth, misogynist, racial bigot, drug addict, who abhors anything that even hints to be positive in improving education, providing healthcare, assisting the people who need a helping hand – the poor, disabled, those unable to work – actually, anyone or any program that doesn’t provide more largess for the rich and powerful, of which class Rash Limpbrain surely belongs after all these years of misleading the people with his outlandish lies, to the pleasure of those who provide his wealth, the rich and powerful. His bust in the state capitol rotunda? – I guess that pretty much explains the intellect of those elected to office by the people of Missouri. It is a pathetic display of ignorance and insults the hundreds of good principled leaders who have served the people of Missouri over the last hundred years.

Nothing about the State of Missouri, where I have been a business owner for more than 40 years, shocks me more. When I ventured away to expand business elsewhere 25 or so years ago the state was still mostly Democratic. The political attitude was democratic – provide opportunities for all the people, improve the infrastructure, improve education, assist the poor and others who need a helping hand, help businesses prosper so they can provide jobs, enable a prosperous economy for the people and make sure the corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of the costs of maintaining the infrastructure of the state and improving the lives of those less fortunate than they.

What happened?

Many of the political prognosticators say it was prompted by the efforts of the wealthy Republican donors who focused on gaining control of state governments and thereby sending those to Washington DC who will promote their plans for the country, which focus more on programs and taxation policies which favor the rich and powerful individuals and corporations. Much has been written about the American Legislative Exchange Council (“ALEC”), the organization financed by the famous rich and powerful Kansans, the Kook Brothers, and the likes of them. ALEC provides and promotes legislation to local and state governments to destroy social programs and provide the behemoth corporations with the tools they need to do as they please regardless of the impact on the environment and the populace in general. To these people a good economy is one where the advantaged can earn all they want without being restricted by governmental interference, totally disregarding the future health and prosperity of the state or nation, focusing entirely on what’s good for the big corporations and the rich and powerful.

I know that many of us found the study of history to be annoying and of no apparent value while it was being forced on us in school, but it is unfortunate that its value wasn’t better explained, accepted or understood. History is replete with empirical evidence of the failure of monarchy, despotism, oligarchy, aristocracy and other forms of regressive and oppressive government since the beginning of recorded history. These lessons would come in handy now in convincing the voters that we have been on the wrong path since 1980, with the election of Ronald Reagan, and throughout the following regimes of George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. These leaders have weakened organized labor, deterred social programs benefitting the disabled and disadvantaged, strengthened the ability of the behemoth corporations, enabled the financial behemoths to amass humongous fortunes, and the rich and powerful in diverting the lion’s share of the income and wealth to the few and making it increasingly difficult for the poor and the middle class workers to maintain their standard of living or acquire any lasting benefit for survival in retirement.

Rash Limpbrain has always done a good job of convincing those who need government the most to vote against their own best interest. Now, for the last couple of decades he has been amply assisted by Fox Noise which is owned by an Australian transplant who inherited his money and now expands it exponentially through his control of the public airways, which are owned by you and I, but not controlled by us. Another perfect example of the corporations getting the tools they need to subject the masses to a role of providers of more wealth for the winners in the winner-take-all game of finance and economics.

So now the question is not what is wrong with Kansas or what is wrong with Missouri. Now the question is what is wrong with the nation, the people, the voters, the workers, those of us who do the work and provide this largess for the rich and powerful. The ability of the rich and powerful to own and control our public airways and utilize them to serve themselves and hinder the progress of the working class, stacking the deck, buying the electors, writing the laws, convincing their indentured elected officials to enact the laws, using the government to keep all of the marbles under their control – while our infrastructure, our educational system, our health care system, our legal system, our penal system, and our environment deteriorate, is appalling and unforgiveable.

Something must be done for the sake of the nation. The status quo is leading to a spiraling downward of our economy and the education and prosperity of the people. The enabling condition for continuation and acceleration of the process will be the newly adopted legalization of unlimited money in politics.

I know, everyone has the same right to spend a million or a billion to elect who they want – the rich and the poor alike. Just like they tell us – the laws are fair and equitable, no one is allowed to sleep under bridges, neither the poor nor the rich. Sounds fair doesn’t it?

Think about it!

One thought on “What’s the matter with Missouri?”

  1. Ted – thanks again for your insight and thought proving views…

    It again reminds me of the adage: those that chose to ignore history are doomed to repeat it….

    Since I use the ‘adage’; I had to look it up….

    George Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Spanish-born, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States and identified himself as an American, although he always kept a valid Spanish passport.[1] He wrote in English and is generally considered an American man of letters. At the age of forty-eight, Santayana left his position at Harvard and returned to Europe permanently, never to return to the United States. His last wish was to be buried in the Spanish pantheon in Rome.

    Santayana is known for famous sayings, such as “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.