BUCHANAN DECLARES: DEATH OF THE WEST

Drudge Report ^ | 01/02/2002 | Matt Drudge

[FITZ]

I've lived in Mexico and I don't like the way they divide their classes and keep the wages so low for the majority of people ---I don't think it's a good direction for the US to go but it seems that's what we're doing. Only the college educated ---and probably only some of them --because many have little employable skills ---will make it to the elite upper class, the rest will barely scrape by. For a while the welfare programs will make things appear to be better but only while there's still a middle class left to support them. When the middle class is gone ---we're like Mexico.

[UberVernunft]

Look up the etymology of the word "algebra" and the word "zero" along with words like "azimuth" - vitally important concepts in the development of Western science and mathematics. Also take a look at your keyboard and note the lack of Roman numerals on the top row.

No doubt Islamic culture at that time period was quite advanced. Unfortunately that time has long passed.

[garbanzo]

And most of those countries are failures. In fact virtually all of them are. The US allows people to come here, work, save money, start businesses with a relative minimum of hassle. And we are the world's #1 economy - that's no accident.

[garbanzo]

The problem with the middle class (other than confiscatory taxation) is that we come to expect something for nothing. We expect to enter the workforce with a smile and be rewarded with high-paying jobs for doing nothing. This thread is a perfect example - we blame immigrants because native-born people don't want to work hard or save their money or live beneath their means.

[garbanzo]

The point was that Western civilization was open to ideas from outside the West and that's why the West has succeeded. The Chinese had movable type presses, the Muslims had algebra - but they didn't do anything with it in large part because they thought no one else on earth had anything to teach them and they were the center of the world. And both civilizations crashed to the ground.

[FITZ]

Here on the border, we're getting a two-tier society pretty fast. 9-10% college educated and 30% functionally illiterate at this time (17th largest US city), a 38% drop out rate so the illiteracy is likely to grow. Few employees offered health benefits. The middle class is fleeing because the taxes are unreasonably high. That's not just middle class whites but hispanics also.

[RKM]

You've made ~50 posts on this thread.

Do you see a problem with current US immigration enforcement, and if so, what exactly is your solution?

[WRhine]

We simply can't compare the 50s to today without adjusting for other factors - e.g. women in the workplace, Jim Crow, etc.

Regarding women in the workplace, this phenomenon is largely driven by ever-higher taxation. Back in the 50s while marginal federal tax rates were higher, most families had a much lower overall tax burden than is present. Hence as the aggregate level of taxes rose over the decades the two income family unit began to materialize. This trend has gone a long way towards damaging the social fabric of our country. Kids that grow up hardly seeing their parents, particularly their mother has been yet another factor that has spurred a growing under class of people with dimmer prospects of prosperity than their parents had. It’s not supposed to work this way in America.

[Buckeroo]

I think the world of Pat. Some folks don't realize that he has a Phd and is an acknowledged source of good information about the direction of our nation. I place credence in his concepts; after all, I live in California and he was correct about the destruction of the state (although his points have been about the US, in general).

[Joe Hadenuf]

His points have been about the entire nation because thats were its heading.

[FITZ]

I think it's a myth that immigrants work much harder than Americans. Not from what I've seen they don't. They usually have 3 grandmothers die in one year to get extra time off without advance notice, they really aren't more dependable ----they seem quite a bit less dependable than US born and raised anglos, hispanics, and blacks.

[Buckeroo]

Of course. But if you examine Pat's ideas, all along, one of his largest points is about illegal immigration into America. California is swelling with illegal immigrants, now, because our federal government does not take responsibility to enforce the issue in a responsible manner.

Today, in California, we have the concept of Axtlan; that is we are to be annexed by Mexico. Pat was right all along, too; that's why I love the guy: he has the guts to speak out about serious issues that most "professional" politicians ignore. BTW, Pat is not a "professional" politician; he is a scholar as Dr. Alan Keyes.

[WrenchChucker]

Who is going to do the bulk of the heavy lifting that makes America great?

Those who are in school now training as engineers, and many of those who are bound to become inventors. They'll continue to invent and make the machines capable of heavy, precision, repetative, lifting; hopefully at a fraction of the cost of human labor (A good, and well known, 19th century example is Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin). The tidal wave of Union Workers can be felt already but one often forgets that there are always other alternatives(different job; re-education; etc) for a displaced worker.

America either advances technologically or they remain stagnent. I'm hoping for the former, because the latter means we could eventually relapse into some sort of Mad Max world.

[WRhine]

Look up the etymology of the word "algebra" and the word "zero" along with words like "azimuth" - vitally important concepts in the development of Western science and mathematics. Also take a look at your keyboard and note the lack of Roman numerals on the top row.

You forgot the mention that these great achievements by the Arabic culture, and they were great, were before radical Islam took hold of them and swept them to the dark ages where they remain today. If that had not happened the Middle East would perhaps rival Western Civilization today. This is one of the reasons why I fear all religions when they move to fundamentalist extremes. Anyway, your point is well taken.

[WRhine]

Those who are in school now training as engineers, and many of those who are bound to become inventors. They'll continue to invent and make the machines capable of heavy, precision, repetative, lifting; hopefully at a fraction of the cost of human labor (A good, and well known, 19th century example is Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin). The tidal wave of Union Workers can be felt already but one often forgets that there are always other alternatives(different job; re-education; etc) for a displaced worker.

That is our future, our good future if America can keep those that would like to debase our culture in every way possible in check. I still feel that we can keep our innovation alive but sometimes I have my doubts as socialism progresses in our country.

[doc]

Amen! Pats attackers call him names and list him as a racist. However they rarely argue his points which are about 90% accurate. Pat is right on when it comes to the overburdening influx of illegal and legal residents. In 92 the liberal media lost it when Pat won the first two primaries. The leftist machine went into high gear to stop Pat by labeling him as a fanatic.

[WrenchChucker]

sometimes I have my doubts as socialism progresses in our country.

Hayek has a good take on the matter. Often, the problems that do surface are conceived because of socialism. And what is the typical knee-jerk Socialist solution? More socialist programs to counter the bad socialist programs. It's sort of like covering all the gang-green up with a band-aid; and also to add, there are socialists lurking in both parties, not just the Redistributionist Left.

Of course, the Naderites get First Place for most Socialists Per Party -- excluding the American Communist Party from the contest... but wait. Would the American Communist Party even want to be in the contest due to their disgust for the competitive nature of contest's?... This one may keep me up tonight....