Readings from the Book of Barack
1 In the beginning Govt created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the economy was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the ATMs, and the Spirit of Govt was hovering over the land.
3 And Govt said, “Let there be spending,” and there was spending. 4 Govt saw that the spending was good, and that it separated the light from the darkness. 5 Govt called the spending Investments, and this he did in the first day.
6 Then Govt said, “Let there be roads and bridges across the waters, and let dams divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus Govt made the infrastructure and the patronage jobs for eternity under the firmament from the Potomac which was above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And Govt called the firmament Washington. This Govt did on the second day.
9 Then Govt said, “Let the regulations and the guidlines under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the Bureaus appear”; and it was so. 10 And Govt called the Bureaus demigovts, and the gathering together of them He called AFSCME. And Govt saw that it was good.
11 Then Govt said, “Let there be police, and firefighters, and teachers according to their kind, for they will create more jobs”; and it was so. 12 And then Govt bade the void bring forth crime, and arson, and stupidity, that each would yield seed to bring forth more police, and firefighters, and teachers, and jobs. And Govt saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 On the fourth day Govt said, “Let Us make the economy in Our image, according to Our likeness; let it have dominion over the cars of the road, over the appliances of the supercenters, and over the pet groomers of the strip malls, over all the clickthroughs of Amazon and over every creepy thing of the Dollar Stores.”
15 So Govt created the economy in His own image; services and wholesale and retail He created them. 16 Then Govt blessed them, and Govt said to them, “Be fruitful and use the multiplier effect; fill the land with jobs; thou have dominion over thy realm, within limits, as long and thou remember to get thy permits and tithe thy taxes, for they are good. Hope to see you at the fundraiser.”
17 And on the fifth day Govt made an official Govt holiday, and headed off for a 3-day golf weekend at Camp David. But first Govt said to the economy, "you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, except the tree of Knowledge. There is a serpent in that thing, and thy health care does not cover it."
18 So when Govt was on vay-cay the economy set about the garden, plowing its fields and generating revenue for the glory of Govt. They obeyed the regulations and were not ashamed.
19 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the balanced, publicly-funded birds the Lord Govt had made to sing news to the economy. The serpent was on the AM band. He said to the retail sector, “Did Govt really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? ”
20 "Only yours, serpent," said the retail sector.
21 “Don't be a wuss,” the serpent said to the retail sector. 22 “For Govt knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will wise to Govt's scam.”
23 When she saw that the fruit was pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, and also free to download, she took some and ate it. She emailed a copy to her wholesaler, and he ate it; and then the wholesaler to the manufacturer, and he to the servicer.
24 Then the eyes of all of them were opened, and they realized they were being taxed naked; so they outsourced fig leaves to make coverings for themselves.
25 Then the economy heard the sound of the Lord Govt returning from vay-cay with the demigods Osha and Tarp and Irs. It was the cool of the day, and they were hiding their profits from the Lord Govt among the trees of the garden. 26 But the Lord God called to the manufacturer, “Where are you?”
27 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, so I sought a tax shelter.”
28 And Govt said, “Who told you that your profits were yours? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? ”
29 The man said, “The retailer made me —she has a thing for serpents.”
30 Then the Lord Govt said to the retailer, “What is this you have done?”
31 And she said to the Lord Govt, “Don't take that tone with me, fat boy. And why should I give you my profits?”
32 The Lord Govt was in wrath, and said, “For I am the Lord Govt, creator of Eden! I gave unto you the roads and bridges, and schools and cops, brought unto you of gentle showers of Tarp and Stimulus and rivers of Subsidy, I am the purifier of the waters, cleanser of the air, without which you and your profits would not exist. Thus all that thou have created is created by Us. Thus ye shall render unto Govt what is Govt's, and this is the Word of your Lord.”
33 At these words, Solydra and Gm and Seiu and all the Cronyans and Laborites dropped to their knees in trembling fear and supplicated themselves before the Lord, presenting Him golden gifts of contributions.
34 Then the retailer said to Govt, “And who created you?”
35 In righteous anger did the Lord Govt again rise up and said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Tri-Delts and the Dekes, I am and have always been! I am the great cosmic turtle on which you and the entire economy rest.”
36 "And on whom do you rest, turtle?" said the retailer in blasheme.
37 "Do not mock me with your knowledge trickery, harlot!" said the Lord Govt. "I am turtles all the way down."
Read the entire, utterly ineffable masterpiece here.
[UPDATE: A reader reminds me that in 2008, Iowahawk published an equally masterful takedown of ++Rowan Williams, and his attitude toward sharia law in Britain.]
Absolutely brilliant! And a fair description as well.
ReplyDeletePax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer
But of course it all started with St. FDR! How soon you forget.
ReplyDeleteIf there were no infrastructure, the trucks bringing your food from 2000 miles away would not arrive, and you would starve. Thank Govt (or G-d, if you prefere) for the bridges and the railroad lines that feed you.
Jim of Olym
@Auriel Ragmon,
ReplyDeleteI think you have somewhere learned some erroneous history. The transcontinental railroads in the U.S. were, by and large, built by government. However the only privately-funded and successfully built transcontinental railroad built in U. S. history was the Great Northern Railway, running between St. Paul MN and Seattle, WA, was built in the latter 19th century, with NO government land grants and NO public funding. Every other transcontinental railroad built involved at least federal land grants (of course, the land was already "owned" by the federal government).
Most of the latter also went into receivership following the panic of 1893. Great Northern was one of the few to avoid that. And that was not the end of the GN story, by any stretch of the imagination. Their company is still functioning as part of the North American Railways, which includes the privatized Canadian National Railway.
ISTM that you often automatically and systematically assume, or at least imply, that if something needs to be done, and even if it can be done as a profit-making enterprise, the government is the only wise or effective solution. The economic history of this nation, and of most all other industrialized nations including many that were in what was termed the Communist bloc, suggests exactly the opposite. Your eyewear must be tinted a fairly strong shade of red.
Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer
As to my last post, I misread the history of the last merger, BNSF did not complete the overwhelming majority of the merger with CNR, owing to U.S. government intervention to prevent most of the merger. Nevertheless, the argument stands. And highways, as shown by the Indiana Toll Road's recent history provides yet one more example of what the private sector can do better than the public sector provided only that there is a market for the infrastructure in question.
ReplyDelete