Recent letters to The Columbian by rightists ignored how rightists created current conditions. One from Oct. 1 (“Our woke president,” Our Readers’ Views) heaps blame on President Biden for how we exited Afghanistan. Another from Oct. 3 (“Biden plan has consequences,” Our Readers’ Views) falsely attributes the inflation we have currently to Biden’s policies. Both of these events are due to right-wing neoliberal policies, i.e., the extension of competitive markets into all areas of life, including the economy, politics and society.
Afghanistan’s army collapse? Blame it on the privatization of logistics to private U.S. contractors, who never handed that over to Afghans. Inflation in car prices? Blame it on the neoliberal model that outsourced manufacturing to cheap foreign labor, as well as “just in time” supply chain management, that, in the desire to maximize short-term profits above all else, operates with little to no reserves of materials or services. The debt? As we know from reports on the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, and now the Pandora Papers, the wealthiest have schemes to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
Of course those who aren’t paying their fair share pay lobbyists to inject falsehoods and half-truths into the national discourse.
