U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords has characterized Bush&Co's public policies as intended exclusively for short-term gains of the rich rather than for the long-term needs of families and the nation. This short-term gains approach to public policies is ubiquitous in the world of the Free Market.

I contend that most of our social and economic problems are rooted in the dogmatic preaching of the god of the Free Market and the privatization of our governments.

With the privatization of our own governments, we have now the incessant preaching of the related gospels of the Free Market, that is the preaching of greater productivity and greater Gross Domestic Products (GDP). And so, for example, the British Columbia government is increasing productivity by privatizing highways and health care with the overall result of increasing fictitious competition, increasing fictitious services and increasing the related fictitious GDP numbers.

While governments are privatizing their services and while the economy is supposedly becoming more productive, common people are getting shortchanged. In fact, I understand that as we are told that the economy is more productive in the short-term so more people are out of work in the short-term; and as we are told that the Free Market is instrumental in fighting poverty so we are beginning to understand the inadequacy of shrinking governments over the long-term needs.

President George Bush and French President Jacques Chirac disagree on the legitimacy of the Iraqi war but both presidents agree in shortchanging their people with their shrinking governments. Bush is pushing for never ending tax cuts as he ignores today's liability of some $44 trillion inclusive of healthcare and retirement costs; and President Chirac is pushing for pension reform cuts as public employees protest such cuts.

We used to make fiction out of reality, and now we make reality out of the fiction of the Free Market.

References

U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords Statement of Senator Jeffords, Second Anniversary of Decision to Leave the GOP June 5, 2003 National Press Club, http://jeffords.senate.gov/~jeffords/press/03/06/06052003speech.html

Benson, Richard Productivity: The Illusion of Prosperity Prudent Bear, April 7, 2003 http://www.prudentbear.com/archive_comm_article.asp?category=Guest+Commentary&content_ idx=21987

Townsend, Michael British Columbia privatizes the Coquihalla Highway June 7, 2003 Ensign http://www.ftlcomm.com:16080/ensign/ensign2/townsend/townsend006/coquihalla.html

CBC News Private health care advocates praise B.C. surgery plan June 12, 2003 http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/06/12/health_private030612

Despeignes, Peronet White House shelved deficit report. Study commissioned by O'Neill sees $44 trillion in red ink May 29, 2003 FINANCIAL TIMES, http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/919446.asp

Bremer, Catherine Strikes Hit France, Austria, Germany and Italy (PDF) June 3, 2003 Reuters http://www.ftlcomm.com:16080/ensign/desantisArticles/2003_800/desantis803/strikesReuters.pdf