by Dave McGill

Thirty years ago, the system was broken. Today?…..

The High Court is out of touch.

The Justices sent out a clear signal on Tuesday that they are ready to overturn local gun control ordinances and extend gun rights nationwide.

This, despite the fact that the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva recently ranked the U.S. #1 in terms of the total number of civilian firearms already owned as well as in the per capita ownership of small firearms. Furthermore, many consider the proliferation of handguns to be the leading reason the U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, as reported by the International Centre for Prison Studies.

In an even more significant move in January, that might be characterized as pure poetic injustice, the jurists showed supreme indifference to the number one cancer in our political system by striking down laws that limit corporate political spending.

This, despite the fact that the nation is struggling through a financial crisis caused in large part by regulatory lapses induced by an avalanche of campaign donations from special interests. The flood of money and lobbying perks into Washington and our state capitals is nothing less than a giant green monster that has come to influence and, indeed, even dictate, the direction of every piece of legislation. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, the monster is about to become Godzilla.

Our political system is ineffective.

The green monster has also atrophied our legislative process. As just one example, Congress has, for months, been unable to pass a much-needed healthcare reform bill.

This, despite the fact that more than 40 million Americans have no insurance whatsoever.

The crisis is being driven home with extreme clarity by none other than a major insurer. Blue Cross Anthem of California says the reason it will have to raise its rates by up to 39%, is because young, healthy customers have cancelled their policies, thereby increasing the risk level associated with the remaining pool. Aetna acknowledged in January that it estimated approximately 650,000 of its policyholders won’t be able to afford its increased premiums this year.

In addition to the higher premiums they cause, the uninsured are adding untold burdens to the system when they incur accidents or become sick. The World Health Organization has found that the U.S. has the highest healthcare costs in the world, approximately twice as high as second place Switzerland.

And we’re not getting any bang for our bucks. Some 45 nations have longer life expectancies, according to the CIA Factbook. Furthermore, insurance companies are routinely imposing hardships on millions of Americans. Coverage is often arbitrarily denied and many people who have become sick, are trapped, knowing that if they leave they will be ineligible for any other plans because of preexisting conditions.

And yet, despite all of these problems, and the fact that a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that nearly 60% of a fed-up public supports a public option, that particular solution isn’t even on Congress’ radar. Our nation desperately needs appropriate healthcare reform. Congress can’t deliver it.

What Congress can do, however, is suck in scads of money, live by its archaic rules, under which one erratic lawmaker can launch a one-person filibuster, and indulge in conflicts of interest, wherein Congressional positions become mere stepping stones to more lucrative jobs in the lobbying industry.

A recent article in the LA Times, stated that “at least 166 former aides from the nine congressional leadership offices and five committees involved in shaping healthcare overhaul legislation, along with at least 13 former lawmakers, are registered to represent at least 338 healthcare clients…”

Ike was right about the military-industrial complex.

The green monster has many heads. So far this year, the Pentagon has announced billions of dollars in arms deals with India, Pakistan and Taiwan.

This, despite the fact that, according to a survey by the International Trade Centre, the U.S. has already established itself as the world’s top arms proliferator, leaving one to wonder if there will ever be an end to the madness. The survey found that America accounts for 47% of the world’s total arms and ammunition exports, putting it in first place. Second place goes to France with only 7%.

Our education system is floundering.

A major consequence of our monster-induced recession is that teachers are being laid off across the land, drastically increasing class sizes and eroding the effectiveness of the teacher-student relationship. In California, for example, the Los Angeles school board sent out preliminary layoff notices this week to 5,200 teachers and administrators. Statewide, at least 18,000 instructors are schedulted to be issued layoff notices, in addition to the thousands that have already been terminated.

This, despite the fact that, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States education system already fairs poorly against other countries, ranking 35th in mathematics and 29th in science.

These are just some of the problem areas. Today we are beyond broken, and radical surgery is desperately needed or the nation’s decline will accelerate. We like to think of ourselves as the world’s greatest democracy with the highest living standards. These assumptions, however, are nothing more than an echo of a bygone era.

According to the OECD, the U.S. now has the 3rd highest poverty rate among the 30 nations surveyed. This is due to the accelerating wealth gap that has been growing for decades, fueled by yet another head of the green monster. As was the case in the Great Depression, the gap will likely be identified by future historians as a major cause of what is currently the worst recession since the thirties and, according to Alan Greenspan, the worst financial crisis ever.

And, as for democracy, who among us can honestly say that, in this country, the majority rules? Unfortunately, our freedoms are far from what our forefathers envisioned. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 17 countries are more democratic than the U.S., and 48 countries have greater civil liberties.

Furthermore, Freedom House reports that the U.S. ranks 16th in terms of freedom of the press while Reporters Without Borders concludes that 35 nations enjoy a greater degree of freedom, in this respect.

Given all of the foregoing, is it any wonder, then, that the U.S. ranks first in anxiety disorders, according to the World Health Organization.

And, as the green monster becomes Godzilla, look for it to get worse.