First of all I'll say that I am by no means a Glenn Beck fan, or a fan of any other TV pundit.

I think the underlying theme of the article is that neither party is interested or capable of lifting the poor out of their circumstances, unless you consider the welfare state as some form of whole-hearted attempt.

Trickle-down economics didn't work because the money didn't trickle down, it trickled into the corporate coffers and overseas. Actually, it didn't trickle as much as it flooded.

The Democrats are guilty of portraying themselves as the lone advocates of the poor, and fail miserably on all fronts, as Beck's article shows. But that doesn't stop them from insisting on campaigning to, then subsequently ignoring, those that they pretend to care about.

Our entire political system is to blame. Our Keynesian economic system is supported and promulgated by both parties and the underlying problems are obfuscated by superficial tinkering and political doublespeak, partisan bickering and artificial debate.

Real solutions aren't even introduced into the political debate, leading to narrow, illogical solutions that only serve to exascerbate and widen the problem. Of course, then we need to turn to our leaders for yet more unworkable solutions that only serve to justify their very existence and the ever-expanding, suffocating and inefficient bureaucracy.

What we need in this country is to start producing for ourselves again. We need J-O-B-S. Not low-level service jobs but good-paying production jobs. We need Americans investing in America, not China or Taiwan and their slave labor factories. America has become the world's janitors and chambermaids.

Ron Paul, a proponent of the Austrian School, has forecast all that has come to pass, not only in the economy but in foreign policy as well.

From a speech before the House 9/25/01:

"Mr. Speaker, I returned to Congress 5 years ago out of deep concern about our foreign policy of international interventionism, and a monetary and fiscal policy I believed would lead to a financial and dollar crisis. Over the past 5 years I have frequently expressed my views on these issues and why I believed our policies should be changed."

From a speech before the House 7/16/02:

"Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Free Housing Market Enhancement Act. This legislation restores a free market in housing by repealing special privileges for housing-related government sponsored enterprises (GSEs). These entities are the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie), and the National Home Loan Bank Board (HLBB). According to the Congressional Budget Office, the housing-related GSEs received $13.6 billion worth of indirect federal subsidies in fiscal year 2000 alone.

One of the major government privileges granted these GSEs is a line of credit to the United States Treasury. According to some estimates, the line of credit may be worth over $2 billion. This explicit promise by the Treasury to bail out these GSEs in times of economic difficulty helps them attract investors who are willing to settle for lower yields than they would demand in the absence of the subsidy. Thus, the line of credit distorts the allocation of capital. More importantly, the line of credit is a promise on behalf of the government to engage in a massive unconstitutional and immoral income transfer from working Americans to holders of GSE debt."

Ron Paul knew these catastrophes were imminent years before anyone else and tried in vain to get the Congress to change policy. Yet today we still take our cues from the elitist Political Class and their media sycophants who have no desire to inform the public of the true American condition.

I would invite all free-thinking people to browse through the Ron Paul Library and get a rare view of a politician that actually does care about the plight of the average American, and has been proving it for more than thirty years.

Today's politicians are no more than corporate puppets in an elaborately staged propaganda campaign, and have no idea of what causes our problems; nor do they have any ideas on how to solve them.

I'm in wholehearted agreement, Griff... but you can't sell Ron's brand of individual responsibility and economic freedom to a welfare society. Thus, voters will flock to the politician offering the greatest largesse. My only hope at this point is that Obama knows how to throw the curveball.

Don't forget... buy more gold and silver.