Country Fair, and Other Shills

I remember with fondness going to the country fair as a lad in 4H. We would spend the week there, sleeping in the barns; though one year we slept in the local armory which they thought would keep us out of mischief; we almost drove off with a tank, but that’s another story. It was a time of great freedom from parents. We could pick up a little money working for a grandstand show; I have personally road a lama, a ostrich (harnessing the same for dignitaries in carts), donkeys, raced greyhounds and other strange animals for a couple of bucks.

And then there were all those games of chance and skill along with scary rides on the midway up from the barns and exhibition halls. The promised of winning a stuffed animal or the like if you could toss a ring well, shoot a bb gun accurately or throw baseballs knocking off various things from shells. There was always some guy who could do all those things with ease which encouraged the rest of us to give it a go, with the result they had our money and we had no prizes. The pros that mislead us were shills also known and plants or stooges. A good shill gives you the idea he’s just a guy like yourself but is really working for the game folk. We were the suckers. A good shill, also found in many a pool hall, is an expert in group psychology; remember the Hustler movies with Newman and Cruise?

In truth there are shills all over the place, in the audience of a magician’s show, pyramid schemers, laugh generators at a comedian’s performance or laugh machines on TV comedy shows (mechanical shills in this case.) There are critic shills who heap praise on shoddy restaurants or the like, to help a friend build up business. A shill is a fraud who seeks to do damage while pretending to help those who he or she is conning.

I think it is safe to say lobbyists are shills for their special interest groups. There are very helpful to congress folk giving them research on issues (skewed of course to their benefactors’ interests). They generously write the majority of legislation which again is in the benefactors’ interests.

Currently the Republican Party is viewed by many as the shill party for the rich folk. They apparently did not hear or ignored the voice of the people in the last election with over 60% wanting tax increases for the wealthy. They keep up the call (the shill) that the rich are the job creators which is just a con. They want us to be like lemmings jumping over the fiscal cliff. [This is another myth among others about lemmings. In the 1500’s folk believed the fell out of the sky and they died with the grass grew in the spring. They are said to commit mass suicide and jump into the water and drown; they don’t they can swim. But they do fluctuate widely in their populations. Just so you know.]

So here we are having the same old discussion about the fiscal cliff. I say let’s just jump. I don’t like swimming, I’m afraid I might rust, but I probably can if I have too. The next legislature in all likelihood would then make the changes needed.

Perhaps the Republicans will see the light. We need them to as we need the two party system that works for the public not just special interests.