November 2010 will, once again, for the umpteenth time, reveal the “insanity” that Albert Einstein referred to in his famous quote. You know: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. For decades voters have elected folks who, once they get sworn in, do absolutely nothing for the voters and everything for themselves. We elect politicians who deliberate and legislate against us rather than on our behalf. And we keep doing this strange mating dance ad nauseam.

Why do so many of us keep falling for the same old tired game every election? Politics is all about self-interest; that really says it all. The things we see in politics today should tell us, in no uncertain terms, that if we do not play this game to win our self-interests will never be met.

Overall, the political arena dominates our collective psyche; it fills the airwaves of radio stations; it is plastered on our walls via big screen TV’s; it is served up hot and fresh each morning in our newspapers; and every month dozens of major magazines deluge their readers with political opinions and prognostications from one election to the next. Immediately following one election, the next one gets underway.

Take Alan Simpson (as Henny Youngman used to say, “Please” take him). President Obama appointed this guy to help straighten out some of the mess in D.C., and he comes out and disparages Social Security and those receiving it. Simpson also castigated U.S. Veterans for receiving benefits that are rightly and justifiably theirs. If Simpson and his cronies in D.C. were forced to participate in Social Security, instead of living large on their fat-cat retirement benefits, that we pay for, they would not be so quick to tinker with it; it would always be secure.

What sense does it make for us, the electorate, to provide jobs for most of these do-nothing-but-campaign-for-the-next-election politicians while they do nothing to keep us employed? We are indeed a bi-polar, schizophrenic, manic depressive electorate. We vote for one party, and in two years we are ready to switch to the other party, even though both parties either take us for granted or couldn’t care less about us. That is, except when they need our individual votes.

Thomas Sowell is quoted as saying, “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” This is exactly what we do, and we are about to go from manic to depressive in November. We had better change our politics and stop supporting folks who do not support us. We put them in charge of our lives, our destiny, and even though they continue to kick dirt in our faces, we just keep on paying their bills and sending their children to college.

We must be more self-directed and not be led around like a bunch of lemmings by career politicians who are directing money into their pockets and keeping it away from our pockets. Maulana Karenga said, “Self-determination stresses the quest for control of the politics, economics, and cultural institutions and processes of our communities, and to exercise and receive rightful representation and an equitable share of the resources of society. It also requires a political consciousness and responsibility which result in unity, social activism, and building institutions that house and advance our interests as a people.”

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It’s been a long time since Thurgood Marshall served on the highest court in the land; I think it’s time we get another Black person on the bench. We have a “Black” president who has now nominated two females, one white and Jewish, and one Hispanic and Catholic. Now we have six Catholics and three Jews on the Court, and no Blacks or so-called Protestants, the most prevalent religious segment in the United States. Hmmm.

You would think that after all Black people have done for this country, there would be a continuous effort to keep at least one Black person on the highest court in the land. Considering all we have sacrificed for this country, it is reasonable to assume that any fair-minded government leader would make every effort to appoint and maintain one Black person to the Supremes.

And now that we have reached the nirvana we have all been waiting for: a “post-racial society” that is willing to elect a Black man as President, one would think the Supreme Court would be one-ninth Black.

Are there no qualified Black people to serve on the Court? Since they all have to come from Harvard or Yale, do we have any Black folks with that pedigree? What’s up with this absence of Blacks on the Supreme Court? Somebody help me understand this, please!

Brother Anyim Palmer, in his book, The Failure of Public Education in the Black Community, quotes Susan B. Anthony as saying, “The old antislavery school says that women should stay back, that we must wait until male Negroes are voters. But we say, if you will not give the whole loaf of justice to an entire people, give it to the most intelligent first. If justice, intelligence and morality are to be placed in the government, then let the question of White women be brought up first and that of the Negro last.” Could that statement be the answer to my questions?

Are white women more intelligent than Black men, as Anthony suggested? Is that why Elena Kagan was nominated? Surely our President knows of someone Black who is intelligent and capable to serve as a Supreme. With all of his Harvard connections and such, I just have to believe he does. What do you think?

Okay, maybe I’ve got it. Kagan was real close to Thurgood Marshall, right? So, she is nearly Black because of her association and relationship with Marshall. All right, I get it. I hope some of Marshall’s Black consciousness rubbed of on her, since she spent so much time with him. We desperately need someone on the Court who is in tune with Black issues and someone who can relate to Black problems and stand up for us. C’mon, one out of nine is the least we can do.

I always say that, more so than a mere color of the skin, Blackness is a state of mind. Black on the outside does not necessarily mean Black on the inside. And since our government has not shown a willingness to deal equitably with the issues facing Black people in this country, there should be someone on the Supreme Court who at a minimum has a Black consciousness.

The Jewish folks have their advocates, the Catholic folks have their advocates, the Harvard folks have their advocates, the Hispanic folks have their advocate, the gay folks have their advocate, and certainly the white folks have their advocates. Where is the Black folks advocate? Considering the fact that this deal is done, I hope Elena Kagan will fill that void – for now. And, who knows? Maybe next time, huh?

By the way, who is the next white guy scheduled to retire, Scalia or Thomas?

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You’ve heard the saying; it was made famous by John F. Kennedy to suggest that an increase in a particular region’s wealth would enhance the overall wealth of the entire country. Ronald Reagan and his minions came along and used the same aphorism to suggest that an increase in individual wealth, namely through tax cuts, would result in a “Trickling-Down” of prosperity to the poor (Supply-Side Economics). Now we hear the phrase being uttered by President Barack Obama – I wonder what he means by it.

Unfortunately, this tired phrase is used to justify the ridiculous amounts of annual compensation for some folks; it is used to support what most of us know is a false outcome; and it is put forth as a beacon of light for poor people, hope that as soon as the rich get richer everyone will do better. Looking at today’s economy, I think we can see the fallacy of that contention.

Folks on Wall Street, after making their way around the monopoly board a few times, passing “Go” and collecting hundreds of billions of dollars and numerous “Get out jail free” cards along the way, are being paid embarrassing amounts of money. The annual bonuses given out by investment banks and other financial institutions are more than most of us earn in a lifetime. I guess they bought a lot of boats with that money.

I don’t know when we are going to stop falling for the games being played on us by our government and their corporate shysters, but I hope it’s very soon. The eloquence of their cute little sayings placate us and soothe our emotions. Their phrases go down in history while we go down the tubes. When will we learn that it’s all about them – not us.

Here’s the deal, once again for the umpteenth time. No one is going to save us but us. We are all we have. Economics, like politics, is local. You have to own a boat in order for it to rise with the tide. So, let’s move forward on those basic principles. Let’s lower our penchant for nice sayings and decrease our emotional investment in politics. Let’s get real, brothers and sisters, and raise our awareness and activism around collective economic empowerment.

The economic assumptions inherent in a rising tide lifting all boats are flawed to say the least; and we have seen them in action. This latest use of the phrase will be no different, especially if we do not adhere to the first principles of economics: Ownership and control of income producing assets. Until we not only acknowledge that time-tested truth, but act upon it as well, please be aware that a rising tide can also drown you.

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