What They're Feeding Me

In the Straw Dog crusade against financial regulation, Neoconservatives have begun the IRS and Federal Reserve Puppet Show, a large election-year production co-ordinated across media outlets to manufacture the belief that the IRS and Federal Reserve are the sources of all the problems America faces, and fear of those institutions as a result. In early April the tax man is an easy political target, and the Fed is a shadowy agency ideal to whip publicly for political points. By late May half the country will have its refund and the wars will keep right on chugging. In the meantime, perhaps wealthy neoconservatives are hoping another Joe Stack comes along and keeps them from having to pay their increased Medicare taxes. Hannity cheers for the “Tim McVeigh wannabes.” Militarism is encouraged.

Ironically some “conservatives” are effectively arguing for nationalizing or collectivizing the Federal Reserve, which is currently a private entity with Presidentially-appointed Governors including a Chairman and Vice-Chairman. The “audit the Fed” movement is predicated on there being some nefarious background information proving any number of conspiracy theories. Until such auditing takes place, all such theorizing is simply speculative, and entertaining but not informative or helpful. The Fed shoulders responsibility for having failed to see the housing market collapsing, while outside investors saw that it was and made money off of that collapse. They need to make rules that will prevent this sort of behavior. They are not Magneto. They did not take us off the gold standard because of some Zionist plot.

Crusades against the IRS by elected or formerly elected officials, such as Newt Gingrich on TODAY with Matt Lauer, are especially hilarious because the IRS pays the salary of anyone in elected office. It is always so refreshing to see the people in our government who openly hate the very existence of government. The Tea Party rallies where elected Representatives and Senators deride the institutions that make America run decently are priceless moments in time for us to remember always. These pundits hope to use fear of some basic, modern institutions which the public sees unfavorably to boost their own terrible ratings. Sadly, this sort of fear mongering works on the neoconservatives’ sheep-like base. Can neoconservatives campaign for a job while decrying it? Apparently, they say “Yes We Can.”