The other day I overheard a conversation between a Black man and his son. It was a touching conversation, as I heard it. We should be proud of who we are and where we come from. But after reflection, I feel that the Father missed a major point. It is true, I certainly agree that we should be proud of our heritage. But the gist of the conversation was that being Black is sufficient reason for being proud. In fact, I feel that a great part of the racial tension in America is that we place too much emphasis on the color of our own skin than the accomplishments that we have achieved.
As a middle-aged, middle-class man, with mixed Native American heritage and White heritage, I feel that there should have been much more said. Don’t get mad and quit reading before I have a chance to say that there is nothing wrong about being Black, or being Native, or being White, or Asian or anything else. You should, whatever your race, be proud of those who came before you. Every race, without exception, has had those who have achieved greatness. We should celebrate their achievements. But, we should not lay personal claim to the achievements of others. Those achievements are what made those people great and have nothing at all to do with us. Just as every race has those we would rather not claim, we should condemn their actions. And those actions do not make us bad people.
This is where the conversation I overheard was lacking, What does the achievements of our forefathers do with who we are? In the case of the Black man I overheard speaking, it is true that Martin Luther King was a great man. His actions, and those of other men of his time and before, made it possible for Blacks today to have more opportunity than they would have had otherwise. But, how does this alone make an individual Black today better? We achieve greatness because of what we do as individuals, not what others before us have done. I do want to make it clear that this problem exists in all races. There are those who are Whites, Natives, Asians and mixed races who believe that living on welfare is honorable - the best way to go. These who believe that it is good to live off the labor or others are missing one great point. If you take from those who work and give to those who do not, then you take away the initiative to succeed.
Unless I am missing something, many Blacks - those who sit back and the Government take care of them rather than working to better themselves, are letting Martin Luther King down. His struggle was to give them a greater opportunity to be equal. Yet, today, with all the concessions aimed at raising the standard of the Blacks, they seem to be sinking lower. Perhaps it is not possible for the Government to raise the level of a society. Perhaps only the effort and intuitive of the individual can raise their level.
To be sure, many are doing well. I have several Black friends who have achieved success. And they are proud of their accomplishments. Those who are successful did not achieve greatness because of Government handouts. These did not achieve greatness because of Martin Luther King. Perhaps it is because of King that the door to success was unlocked. But it was they who opened the door and entered. Individual intuitive is what makes greatness.
I have many ancestors in my Native American heritage of whom I am proud. And, from the White side of my family, there are many more. However, this pride is OF my ancestors. I am proud of their accomplishments - of what they contributed in their time. But that pride is a lesser pride than that I feel of myself. I am proud of what I have accomplished in my life. I am proud of the overcoming the obstacles that have been between me and success. I am proud of the way my children have turned out. I am proud I who I am. My great ancestors have not made me a better person. Just as Thorfinn “the Skullsplitter” (my 27th Great Grand Father) does not make me a hooligan.
And, who we are, who we have become, have nothing to do with my ancestors. They didn’t bring us to this point. The individual decisions we have made on our own have brought us to this point.
But what I really want to talk about is the coming election. It seems that have a candidate who seems to be more proud of his Black heritage than warrants. To be sure, he does have some Black blood. And, he has some White blood. That, in my opinion, makes him mixed. There is nothing wrong with being mixed. I am mixed, part Native, part White. The truth is, most of us are of mixed blood. But, what does the race of his Ancestors have to do with his ability to run the country?
What does Barak Obama have to be proud of? Look at his record. What is his contribution to society? What is his record on Taxes? What is his record on worker’s rights? What is his record on Human Rights? What is his record on Immigration? What is his record on voting attendance? What is his record on abortion? What is his record on person rights? What does he really mean by “redistribute the wealth”? What is his record on energy independence? Do we really know enough about this man to allow him to be the leader of our country?
Be cautious of listening to him talk about his plans. Be cautious of listening to ANY candidate talking about their plans for the future. What is more important, what is more telling about their character, is their past record on the issues. It is easy to say “I will work to help the poor achieve a livable wage!” Any candidate can say that. But, when we look at the past record, we can see where the truth really is. When we look at their past associations, we can tell something about their character.
Obama claims to be for change. However, what are we changing? Some parts of our country are working well. Some things don’t need changed. And those things that do need changed, need to be changed for the better.
If I were bleeding from my finger, I have a problem. I need that problem addressed. And, I need change. However, cutting off my hand isn’t the solution. Sure, the hand isn’t bleeding anymore. But, I have a more pressing problem to deal with.
One thing that needs changed is the entire election process. We are forced to choose between the few candidates that are brought forward. Many who would like to become president, some who could do a great job, are never given a real opportunity to run. And, we are left with no real choice at all.
Sure, we have the opportunity to vote for candidate A, or candidate B. And, perhaps there is another candidate who doesn’t have a real chance to win, but voting for this candidate may alter the outcome of the election and give us the President we really didn‘t want to have. But we are limited to voting for these few people that we don‘t really think has our, nor America‘s best interest at heart.
For us to have a real choice, we should be able to vote for “none of the above”. What would accomplish? This would give us, the people, the right to tell the parties that neither of the candidates they have offered meet our approval. And, if this is the case, then a new election must be held. And, none of the candidates that ran in the first election can run in the new election. Therefore, the parties will be forced to come up with REAL and viable candidates. We, the People could even remove from office people who were running unopposed. But, we do not have that power. The Government doesn’t want us to have that power.
But, the odds of us ever having this opportunity are remote. Neither party will give the people real power. With this power, we would have total control over the elections. We would, in the opinion of the politicians, have too much power We could actually vote a candidate out of office. Even if the contest were uncontested, we would have the opportunity to vote “none of the above” and force the candidate out of office.
This could have the effect of ending the problem of term limits. Currently we have the problem of the incumbent who has built a dynasty. And other politicians are unwilling to run against them. It isn’t that the incumbent is doing a good job. It is just that he has too much momentum and power to oppose. And, frequently he has too many people in his pocket. Perhaps he has supplied too much pork to the community. Whatever the case, even without an opponent.
But, we will never get that right. The system is against us. But, remember, this is a Government “for the people and by the people”. We need a return to the constitution. We need to return to greatness.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
What life is about
I do not want this blog to be just about politics. I know this is what has happened so far. But, this is just because we are facing the most historic election in our history. No matter who wins, the face of America is going to be changed. There is either going to be a man of African American Heritage (OK half and half) or a Woman in the White House. But, that is enough of politics for today.
Today is about life. It is about celebration of life. It is about what is important in life. Today is my birthday. And what better way to celebrate a birthday than contemplate what my life has meant. True, there has been a lot of turmoil in my life. I have seen and lived through tough times that I hope none of you ever have to live through. But, those times are not important. In fact, most of the details of those times have faded into a jumble of things that never come to surface.
What I do think about are the times that:
Erica was helping me load some firewood into the back of the truck. I had a log, perhaps about 70 pounds. And she, just about 3 years old, had a twig. “Help me Daddy. It’s heavy!”
Brad would practice his ROTC drills in the yard for hours. Every move had to be perfect. He had to be perfect.
Angie was bitten by a dog. She wouldn’t tell us where that dog was, because she was afraid that the dog would be impounded and put to sleep. The fact that she would rather go through the rabies shots than allow a dog be put to sleep says something about her character.
The smiles as each of you reached each milestone in life, the first step, the first word, the first bicycle ride without training wheels. Each little step toward growing up made my life better. And now, as you are getting along in years, you are seeing some of the same joys that I saw.
There are many stories of watching you kids growing up. There are things that, at the time you were too young to understand. And, as time passed, I had hoped that you would have forgotten about. There are some things that you may have heard, that may not be true.
I have collected a fair amount of things. But, things are not that important. I have the house, the land, the truck, a motor home and a bus; a tractor and all the things that make life comfortable. But, these things are not what make life good. There is a difference between comfortable and good. Comfortable is the warm home when the cold winds outside are raging. Good is the warm smile that is seen across the table at family dinner. Good is hearing the stories of how the day went. Good is hearing the laughter of a child (even when they get older and have children of their own). Good is sitting under a tree, watching the river go past, and holding the hand of someone that I should have known long ago. Good is reading the letters and cards that I have gotten from long ago that tell me how their lives have been impacted by being my kid.
Life had been good. Life is getting better. The thing about life, is the best part of it is when you are a child. Then as we grow up, we are told that we should give up our childish ways. This is true. We should give up SOME childish ways. But, we should always retain that inner child in us that makes life so wonderful. Sometimes, this is hard to do. Sometimes, life gives us such a hard hand to play that it may be impossible. But, the quest to re-find that inner child should be followed. I have done that. And now, in respect to someone (Trinity) who has helped me find my inner child, I am going to sing a song:
Happy Birthday ME
Happy Birthday ME
Happy Birthday, Happy Birth Day
Happy Birthday ME.
Love you kids.
Today is about life. It is about celebration of life. It is about what is important in life. Today is my birthday. And what better way to celebrate a birthday than contemplate what my life has meant. True, there has been a lot of turmoil in my life. I have seen and lived through tough times that I hope none of you ever have to live through. But, those times are not important. In fact, most of the details of those times have faded into a jumble of things that never come to surface.
What I do think about are the times that:
Erica was helping me load some firewood into the back of the truck. I had a log, perhaps about 70 pounds. And she, just about 3 years old, had a twig. “Help me Daddy. It’s heavy!”
Brad would practice his ROTC drills in the yard for hours. Every move had to be perfect. He had to be perfect.
Angie was bitten by a dog. She wouldn’t tell us where that dog was, because she was afraid that the dog would be impounded and put to sleep. The fact that she would rather go through the rabies shots than allow a dog be put to sleep says something about her character.
The smiles as each of you reached each milestone in life, the first step, the first word, the first bicycle ride without training wheels. Each little step toward growing up made my life better. And now, as you are getting along in years, you are seeing some of the same joys that I saw.
There are many stories of watching you kids growing up. There are things that, at the time you were too young to understand. And, as time passed, I had hoped that you would have forgotten about. There are some things that you may have heard, that may not be true.
I have collected a fair amount of things. But, things are not that important. I have the house, the land, the truck, a motor home and a bus; a tractor and all the things that make life comfortable. But, these things are not what make life good. There is a difference between comfortable and good. Comfortable is the warm home when the cold winds outside are raging. Good is the warm smile that is seen across the table at family dinner. Good is hearing the stories of how the day went. Good is hearing the laughter of a child (even when they get older and have children of their own). Good is sitting under a tree, watching the river go past, and holding the hand of someone that I should have known long ago. Good is reading the letters and cards that I have gotten from long ago that tell me how their lives have been impacted by being my kid.
Life had been good. Life is getting better. The thing about life, is the best part of it is when you are a child. Then as we grow up, we are told that we should give up our childish ways. This is true. We should give up SOME childish ways. But, we should always retain that inner child in us that makes life so wonderful. Sometimes, this is hard to do. Sometimes, life gives us such a hard hand to play that it may be impossible. But, the quest to re-find that inner child should be followed. I have done that. And now, in respect to someone (Trinity) who has helped me find my inner child, I am going to sing a song:
Happy Birthday ME
Happy Birthday ME
Happy Birthday, Happy Birth Day
Happy Birthday ME.
Love you kids.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
What are we to become?
I hate to say it. I am ashamed, not of America, but of Americans. Here we are in the middle of this current election with a massive amount of mud being slung. It is not just the candidates. Even though they are slinging more than normal. Listening to the advertising, we have no clue on any of the claims being made. McCain’s health care is going to be taxed, he is going to take benefits from the elderly. Obama’s health plan is going to take our choices away and give benefits to the illegal aliens. And both sides disputes the claims of the others. Lies abound on both sides. But, we must elect a president. There lies the problem.
As I said, it is not America that I am ashamed of, it is the Americans - the citizens of our country - that I am most ashamed of. What are we becoming? A few months ago, students in a Christian College hung Obama, in effigy. In California, an effigy of Palin has been hung from a window. Both of these instances symbolizes a lynching. A Republican worker falsely claimed that she had been attacked by a mugger who then carved a “B” on her face because she had a McCain bumper sticker on her car. Just this week, two skinheads in Tennessee and Arkansas have been charged with plotting to assassinate Obama. I read today that man in Ohio is being charged with shooting some teenagers who were stealing the McCain sign he had in his yard. Claims of signs being stolen - on both sides - are frequent. Claims of voter registration fraud, on both sides abound. Claims of intimidation by the Secret Service against a woman who told a pollster that she thought Obama was a Socialist. More claims of voter repression, on both sides, have been reported. The Democrats have made claims that the Republicans have been making it hard for the poor, black and elderly (typically voting Democrat) to make it to the poll. And, perhaps there is some evidence to support this claim. Republicans have made claims of illegal aliens being registered, and people registering in more than one district. Again, there may be some substance to these claim. I have read of individuals being barred from the poll by agents of both sides. Again, perhaps there is some truth in this as well.
What does all these claims mean?
On one side, these stories take away from the real issues that we should be studying. As it is, we do not know who Obama is. We do not know where he stands on “spreading the wealth“. We do not know what McCain’s health care plan really is. In some ways we know more about Bristol Palin’s Boyfriend than we do about Obama. We need to know more about the issues, and the candidate’s stand on them. We do need to know more about both policies and less about how much dresses cost.
Simple. These claims of voter frauds, stealing signs, death threats, intimidation and the like tell me that we have transformed from the Greatest Country on Earth, to a Third World Country. We are one the downward slide toward being among the likes of Kenya, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, and other countries where politicians have been assassinated when on the campaign trail, where campaign workers have been threatened, where the only two choices on the ballot are for the incumbent to be reelected or for the voter’s own death. This is not Democracy.
Where does this slide end? Are we to become a Nation of thugs and intimidators where opposition to the incumbent party is not allowed? Are we to become a Nation where the likes of Hugo or Kim are our leaders? Are we to become a Nation where the common man has no rights? Are we to become a nation where opposition is repaid by death?
With the direction we are moving, it will not be long before we have a socialistic dictatorship that can not be changed. When the rights of freedom are repressed, freedom will wither and die. When the people no longer have the meaningful right to vote, the ruling class have the power to dictate what we will accept. When the freedom of speech is repressed, the expression of ideas of freedom becomes impossible.
Look at the other countries, where socialism rules; where freedom of speech is forbidden; where the right to a secret ballot does not exist; look at the way the citizens of these countries live. They do not have the freedom we have here. They don’t have the standard of life we have here. The middle class, those that Obama claims to be the hero (some call him the Messiah) of, no longer exist. And, this is the way that Obama intends to take us.
Do not be swayed by the offerings of the Government - the free medical care, the free food, the free this and that - nothing is free. Remember that, nothing is free. The things they are offering you have a cost. These countries have exorbitant tax rates. Sure, you may get free health care, but at the cost of 50% or more income tax, are you better off? I think not. When the rich are taxed to the point where it is no longer justifiable to risk assets in business ventures, they can quit. Yes, that is right. The rich can quit. They can just close the doors and leave. We already have this on a small basis. Look at the states where businesses are taxed at a higher rate (California is a good example) than surrounding states. Unemployment is on the rise. Companies are leaving those states for states with lower tax rates. When a Federal tax is imposed on a company, they have few choices. First, pass the tax to the consumer. But, the consumer will seek a lower price, often from Walmart with goods made in China or some other Third World County. Second, they can lower standards and produce an inferior product that does not meet the consumer‘s expectations. Third, they can find a place where the tax rate is lower. That would mean that we will be losing businesses (that is spelled JOBS) to countries that have lower tax rates. The best thing to do, tax wise, is always to lower the taxes on the businesses. This creates incentive for businesses to relocate IN America. This give incentives for businesses to create MORE jobs. Rather than giving money to the rich, lowering taxes just allows the rich to keep more of the money they have earned, and reinvest the money in their business.
We complain about the companies moving jobs overseas, it is true that this is happening. Yes, part of the reason is that the labor is cheaper there. But, that is just part of the picture. Americans may get higher wages. But, they are also the most productive workers in the world. This balances out the higher wages. But, there are other costs to consider. Transportation of the goods back to America is higher. Control of the finished product is non-existent (look at the recent powered milk situation, the recalled toys last year, recalled medication and other problems from outsourced factories). If these companies were not paying the higher taxes, then some of them could afford to stay here in America. We must make America a tax haven, where other countries come here for a tax advantage. It can be done. It must be done.
I have heard that the satisfaction in these Socialistic countries is higher than here. But, is this really the case? I think, and have heard others claim this as well, the expectation is lower. They expect to have less. They expect that life will dull and drab. And, these lower expectations are met. Perhaps this is the reason some of these countries have a greater drinking and drug problem than we. Perhaps there is a reason why some of these countries have legalized drugs and prostitution. Perhaps life has become so drab that something is needed to make it livable. Perhaps they have given up.
Socialism is one of those ideas that sounds good on the surface. But in that socialism does not allow the incentive to succeed. Socialism does allow success. Anytime someone begins to succeed in socialism, he is forced to give some of his success to those who have not strived for success. Socialism gives everyone the same. That is, equality for everyone except for the friends of the leading party. Do you think that Biden, who has claimed that paying taxes is patriotic is going to pay the same taxes that We, the People are going to have to pay? I don’t think so.
Yes, it is true that the same can be said of capitalism, that the ruling party gives tax rates to their friends. The difference is what those who get the money do with it.
In Capitalism, the money goes to the rich. Yes, what those who are for Socialism claim is actually true. But, is the money taken from the poor? Not really. The money is not actually GIVEN to the rich. What happens is that the rich is allowed to KEEP more of their own money. What happens next is key. The rich, in most cases, take that money and expand their businesses. Expansion means they need more employees. More employees means more jobs for others. That is Capitalism.
In Socialism, the money is taken from the rich and given to the poor. That sounds like a grand idea. But, what do the poor do? I’ll admit that some may spend the money to help themselves live a better life. But, look at the lifestyle of the poor. They spend a high percentage of their money on drinking, smoking, drugs, fast foods, things like that. But, what does this spending do to raise the financial standard of the country? Yes, it helps the revenues of the tobacco and alcohol industries. The drug dealers are able to buy some more bling. But, overall, this does nothing to generate jobs for others. Nothing is done to help people stay in their homes.
This is the difference between Socialism and Capitalism.
Now, I am not saying that all Democrats are Socialists. Nor am I saying that Republicans are all Capitalists. We, the People of the United States of America need to look at the candidates in question and decide who is best for the country.
What is best for America is what we should concentrate on. When we vote for the candidate that offers the individual the best deal, what is actually happening is the individual is selling their vote to the highest bidder. This was declared illegal decades ago. There was a time when politicians would round up winos and give them a few dollars to vote a particular way. This was wrong then, and it is wrong now. The difference is that now, rather than a few dollars, the bid is up to welfare checks, food stamps and free medical care.
The trouble with voting for what is best for the individual, rather than what is best for the country is dangerous. In the current election, both candidates are offering dubious solutions on the economy. Perhaps they can pull them off, perhaps they can’t. The reality is, someone will have to pay for these programs that are being offered. I know the country is hurting financially. But, there is something more important than the economy.
The security of the Nation is far more important than the economy. Think back to September 11, 2001. The economy was good. Life was good. Then the twin towers fell, the plane hit the Pentagon, and the other plane crashed in the field. Immediately, the economy crashed. We must protect America. We must protect America from the forces from without, and from the forces within that want to prevent her from returning to the greatness we once had.
As I said, it is not America that I am ashamed of, it is the Americans - the citizens of our country - that I am most ashamed of. What are we becoming? A few months ago, students in a Christian College hung Obama, in effigy. In California, an effigy of Palin has been hung from a window. Both of these instances symbolizes a lynching. A Republican worker falsely claimed that she had been attacked by a mugger who then carved a “B” on her face because she had a McCain bumper sticker on her car. Just this week, two skinheads in Tennessee and Arkansas have been charged with plotting to assassinate Obama. I read today that man in Ohio is being charged with shooting some teenagers who were stealing the McCain sign he had in his yard. Claims of signs being stolen - on both sides - are frequent. Claims of voter registration fraud, on both sides abound. Claims of intimidation by the Secret Service against a woman who told a pollster that she thought Obama was a Socialist. More claims of voter repression, on both sides, have been reported. The Democrats have made claims that the Republicans have been making it hard for the poor, black and elderly (typically voting Democrat) to make it to the poll. And, perhaps there is some evidence to support this claim. Republicans have made claims of illegal aliens being registered, and people registering in more than one district. Again, there may be some substance to these claim. I have read of individuals being barred from the poll by agents of both sides. Again, perhaps there is some truth in this as well.
What does all these claims mean?
On one side, these stories take away from the real issues that we should be studying. As it is, we do not know who Obama is. We do not know where he stands on “spreading the wealth“. We do not know what McCain’s health care plan really is. In some ways we know more about Bristol Palin’s Boyfriend than we do about Obama. We need to know more about the issues, and the candidate’s stand on them. We do need to know more about both policies and less about how much dresses cost.
Simple. These claims of voter frauds, stealing signs, death threats, intimidation and the like tell me that we have transformed from the Greatest Country on Earth, to a Third World Country. We are one the downward slide toward being among the likes of Kenya, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, and other countries where politicians have been assassinated when on the campaign trail, where campaign workers have been threatened, where the only two choices on the ballot are for the incumbent to be reelected or for the voter’s own death. This is not Democracy.
Where does this slide end? Are we to become a Nation of thugs and intimidators where opposition to the incumbent party is not allowed? Are we to become a Nation where the likes of Hugo or Kim are our leaders? Are we to become a Nation where the common man has no rights? Are we to become a nation where opposition is repaid by death?
With the direction we are moving, it will not be long before we have a socialistic dictatorship that can not be changed. When the rights of freedom are repressed, freedom will wither and die. When the people no longer have the meaningful right to vote, the ruling class have the power to dictate what we will accept. When the freedom of speech is repressed, the expression of ideas of freedom becomes impossible.
Look at the other countries, where socialism rules; where freedom of speech is forbidden; where the right to a secret ballot does not exist; look at the way the citizens of these countries live. They do not have the freedom we have here. They don’t have the standard of life we have here. The middle class, those that Obama claims to be the hero (some call him the Messiah) of, no longer exist. And, this is the way that Obama intends to take us.
Do not be swayed by the offerings of the Government - the free medical care, the free food, the free this and that - nothing is free. Remember that, nothing is free. The things they are offering you have a cost. These countries have exorbitant tax rates. Sure, you may get free health care, but at the cost of 50% or more income tax, are you better off? I think not. When the rich are taxed to the point where it is no longer justifiable to risk assets in business ventures, they can quit. Yes, that is right. The rich can quit. They can just close the doors and leave. We already have this on a small basis. Look at the states where businesses are taxed at a higher rate (California is a good example) than surrounding states. Unemployment is on the rise. Companies are leaving those states for states with lower tax rates. When a Federal tax is imposed on a company, they have few choices. First, pass the tax to the consumer. But, the consumer will seek a lower price, often from Walmart with goods made in China or some other Third World County. Second, they can lower standards and produce an inferior product that does not meet the consumer‘s expectations. Third, they can find a place where the tax rate is lower. That would mean that we will be losing businesses (that is spelled JOBS) to countries that have lower tax rates. The best thing to do, tax wise, is always to lower the taxes on the businesses. This creates incentive for businesses to relocate IN America. This give incentives for businesses to create MORE jobs. Rather than giving money to the rich, lowering taxes just allows the rich to keep more of the money they have earned, and reinvest the money in their business.
We complain about the companies moving jobs overseas, it is true that this is happening. Yes, part of the reason is that the labor is cheaper there. But, that is just part of the picture. Americans may get higher wages. But, they are also the most productive workers in the world. This balances out the higher wages. But, there are other costs to consider. Transportation of the goods back to America is higher. Control of the finished product is non-existent (look at the recent powered milk situation, the recalled toys last year, recalled medication and other problems from outsourced factories). If these companies were not paying the higher taxes, then some of them could afford to stay here in America. We must make America a tax haven, where other countries come here for a tax advantage. It can be done. It must be done.
I have heard that the satisfaction in these Socialistic countries is higher than here. But, is this really the case? I think, and have heard others claim this as well, the expectation is lower. They expect to have less. They expect that life will dull and drab. And, these lower expectations are met. Perhaps this is the reason some of these countries have a greater drinking and drug problem than we. Perhaps there is a reason why some of these countries have legalized drugs and prostitution. Perhaps life has become so drab that something is needed to make it livable. Perhaps they have given up.
Socialism is one of those ideas that sounds good on the surface. But in that socialism does not allow the incentive to succeed. Socialism does allow success. Anytime someone begins to succeed in socialism, he is forced to give some of his success to those who have not strived for success. Socialism gives everyone the same. That is, equality for everyone except for the friends of the leading party. Do you think that Biden, who has claimed that paying taxes is patriotic is going to pay the same taxes that We, the People are going to have to pay? I don’t think so.
Yes, it is true that the same can be said of capitalism, that the ruling party gives tax rates to their friends. The difference is what those who get the money do with it.
In Capitalism, the money goes to the rich. Yes, what those who are for Socialism claim is actually true. But, is the money taken from the poor? Not really. The money is not actually GIVEN to the rich. What happens is that the rich is allowed to KEEP more of their own money. What happens next is key. The rich, in most cases, take that money and expand their businesses. Expansion means they need more employees. More employees means more jobs for others. That is Capitalism.
In Socialism, the money is taken from the rich and given to the poor. That sounds like a grand idea. But, what do the poor do? I’ll admit that some may spend the money to help themselves live a better life. But, look at the lifestyle of the poor. They spend a high percentage of their money on drinking, smoking, drugs, fast foods, things like that. But, what does this spending do to raise the financial standard of the country? Yes, it helps the revenues of the tobacco and alcohol industries. The drug dealers are able to buy some more bling. But, overall, this does nothing to generate jobs for others. Nothing is done to help people stay in their homes.
This is the difference between Socialism and Capitalism.
Now, I am not saying that all Democrats are Socialists. Nor am I saying that Republicans are all Capitalists. We, the People of the United States of America need to look at the candidates in question and decide who is best for the country.
What is best for America is what we should concentrate on. When we vote for the candidate that offers the individual the best deal, what is actually happening is the individual is selling their vote to the highest bidder. This was declared illegal decades ago. There was a time when politicians would round up winos and give them a few dollars to vote a particular way. This was wrong then, and it is wrong now. The difference is that now, rather than a few dollars, the bid is up to welfare checks, food stamps and free medical care.
The trouble with voting for what is best for the individual, rather than what is best for the country is dangerous. In the current election, both candidates are offering dubious solutions on the economy. Perhaps they can pull them off, perhaps they can’t. The reality is, someone will have to pay for these programs that are being offered. I know the country is hurting financially. But, there is something more important than the economy.
The security of the Nation is far more important than the economy. Think back to September 11, 2001. The economy was good. Life was good. Then the twin towers fell, the plane hit the Pentagon, and the other plane crashed in the field. Immediately, the economy crashed. We must protect America. We must protect America from the forces from without, and from the forces within that want to prevent her from returning to the greatness we once had.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Election Reform
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am beyond getting tired of the current crop of campaign advertising. The entire situation has gotten entirely out of hand. The system needs to be scraped and replaced. With all the questions and allegations that both of the nominees are slinging around, it seems that if any of these are true then we are facing a security problem.
With the way that contributions are coming in for Obama, it is impossible (at least with the information that he is giving us) to determine if these contributions are legal. Unlimited contributions, under the $250 dollar limit can come in from overseas - from those who are against our standards. These funds, should they be sent from terrorist organizations, could tilt the election. In fact, they could buy the election. I am not saying that this is happening. But, it is a possibility. There are just too many questions that are unanswered to know for sure. The point is, this could happen. It could happen on either side.
The possibility of this happening has been acknowledged for years, on both sides. In the current election, we are hearing that Obama is buying the presidency. And we have heard the same allegations from the Democrats in elections past - that they are buying the election- or flat stealing it . And, it is a real possibility that this could happen. The amount of money coming into the system is just far too great to monitor. What if someone were running for president and had $150,000,000 of contribution that comes in, what would keep them from just running for the border and living in the islands?
There are some other weaknesses in the system that need to be addressed. But, rather than going through all the things that are wrong (like a politician) I am going to offer my idea of how the system should be run. I am directing my comments to the Presidential contest, but the same concepts can be adapted to other contests as well.
1. The presidential election should not last two years as it currently does. This is a waste of both time and money. If a candidate can not present his case to us as to why he/she is the best person for the job, in two months (one for the primary and one for the general election), then I don’t feel they are qualified for that job. They should be allowed to do some background work before the campaign starts. In fact, they should be required to do so. They should have their resume in hand and ready for our (the public’s) review when they fill out the application to run. In this resume, we should have their qualifications, including birth certificate, job history, medical history, education history, bills sponsored and votes (if they are already in office) and above all, why they are the best person to take this job. They need to tell us whatever we need to know to make an informed decision to vote for them. If they can not tell us why we should vote for them, then they are telling us why we should vote against them.
2. In the current presidential election we have two Senators running. Each of these were previously voted into office, to serve our county. It is a disservice to America, and to those who voted ffor them, for these people to be employed by the Federal Government (that is what the classification of being a Senator is, isn‘t it - an employee of the United States?) and run for another office. Doing this would be like me being employed by Walmart and doing work for the Gap during my Walmart working hours. If I am working at Walmart, then I owe them them a full shift of work for a full shift of pay. That is just fair.
3. There should be no fundraising allowed. None at all. Only funds from the Federal Government should be used. Each candidate for the presidency should be given a set amount of money, paid into an account that is to be managed by a third party accounting firm. This puts all candidates on equal grounds. This gives no advantage to any candidate. All advertising would be paid for by the third party. No advertising would be allowed that is not paid for through the third party. I am not saying that censorship should be applied to the advertising (other than all ads should be verifiable facts or “this is what I intend to do and how”)
4. All claims made by a candidate MUST be substantiated with solid evidence - not taken out of context words, not theories, not plain old mudslinging. All supporting evidence is to be used quoting bills voted upon, legislature introduced and other solid and verifiable facts. Do not say “I support the 2nd amendment and my opponent does not”. Rather say (if it is true), “I voted for bill # ____ that supports your 2nd amendment right and my opponent voted against it”. Any claims that are shown to be false must be publicly apologized for, on an equal basis. That is to say, if a candidate makes an untrue claim against the opponent that airs 14 times, during prime time, in 45 cities. The retraction must also be made and aired 14 times, during prime time, in the same 45 cities. Play fair, play honest. We don’t want to know how dirty you are, we don’t want to know how dirty you think your opponent is, we want to know what you are going to offer us. If a candidate is required to some a part of their advertising budget to retract lies that were told, then there should be less lies told.
5. With the instant information age, there is no real need for all the extent of television and radio advertising that we currently have. The screaming, slanted lies about how bad the other candidate is, and the lies about how good I am, tell us nothing. All claims of past performance must be solidly substantiated (both claims of what they have done and what they claim their opponent has done). And, all statement about what they (or their opponent) plans to do must be substantiated with facts and figures as well. It is not enough to say “I am going to lower taxes and raise benefits!” The step by step plan on how this is going to be done must also be included.
The debating system must also be changed. We don’t learn much, if anything at all from debates anyway. What we have is a moderator, who is biased (face it, we all are biased for or against all candidates - and it is very difficult to overcome these biases when asking questions) asking questions that the candidates know is going to be asked and they have a prepared answer ready to be given. Public forums are the way to go. Not with prescreened questions. We need good, solid, honest interviews of the candidates by the people who want to know the answers. The questions are not to be screened. It should be up to the candidates to handle all questions. If a question is stupid, this will come out in the answers. And, stupid question askers will be handled by the system, and the others in the audience.
Not to pick on Obama, but his interaction with Joe the Plumber is a good example of what should be happening. It doesn’t matter that Joe was just thinking about buying a business that may or may not make more than $250,000 a year. Perhaps that is just Joe’s optimism that he can make that plumbing business perform to that level. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that Joe doesn’t have a plumbing license. He has been working at for that company for years, but that doesn’t make him a plumber. And, to own a plumbing company, you do not have to be a plumber, you just have to have plumbers working for you. What does matter is that Joe had a question, a valid question that deserved a real answer. He got an answer, sort of, from Obama. And, Joe got attention, that interfered with his job, from both parties and the media. All for asking a real question that affects many people, that deserved a real answer. America want to know what the candidates really have to offer, not the speaking points that may not be relevant and not really apply to the citizens.
6. The candidates should be limited to a set number of media hours and printed pages. Press releases and other news items will be treated as advertising. If Candidate A is reported in the New York Times as being at a certain function where they gave a speech about abortion, this counts towards the advertising that they are allowed. This should help curtail the possibility of the media picking one candidate that they will support, and hinder the other. Media, in the current election, has decided that Obama will get special treatment. In all elections it has been the same. There has been one candidate that gets good coverage, the other gets negative coverage. Media’s job is to report the news. It is up to those of us who care to be involved to interpret the news. And, for those who choose not to be involved, perhaps they should step aside and allow those who do care make the decisions in these elections.
7. Any violation of any campaign rules will required to be published in newspapers, internet, radio and TV. Fines, paid out of the funding supplied by the Federal Funding. And, as stated before, any retractions that must be made will have to be paid for as well.
8. And this is the big one; there should be an option to vote “none of the above”. With this option, the parties will be forced to offer more viable candidates. If the majority of the votes are for “none of the above” then the parties will have to start all over, with new candidates, and have a new election
9. All of us must educate ourselves to the pulse of our Government. We should demand that each bill in the Senate and Congress be posted in easily accessible formats so that we can all read them before the vote. This information must include the names of all the sponsors and cosponsors of the bill. Then, when the bill is voted on, the vote should also be made public. This way, we can easily see how each of our representatives are voting. I know that this is complicated, with all the added pork to the bills. But, if we give the names and supporters of all the added pork, then we can see how our representatives are wanting to spend our money as well.
10. The electoral college is part of our problem today. First of all, contrary to the belief of many people, the those we vote for, in the electoral college are not required to vote the way that we direct. This is why many people I have spoken with do not vote. They say their vote does not count. They say they are just voting for the elector. Electors, it seems, are free to vote any way they want. The risk of this system is this: no matter what the popular vote is, it could be 70% for Obama but the electors vote for McCain. Sure, it has never happened. But, it is not impossible for it to happen. The electoral college was essential during the early years of America. Information traveled so slow that votes on the far side of the country would take days or weeks to be reported and counted. That is no longer the case. With the instant communication we have today, it is possible for a vote cast in California at 8:30 PM Pacific time to be counted in Washington DC (or where ever the counting is to be done) by 8:31 PM Pacific time. There is no need for anything other than using Popular Vote. Yes, this may give the people in high density states such as California more power than perhaps Utah. But, in that California has more electoral votes than Utah, that is already the case. Using popular vote is one of the changes we need to make in our current election process.
These are the ideas that I have to help bring our election system back to the control of We, the People. I know, that as one person I can't make these changes happen. And, I know there are things that I am missing. But, this is a start. With help, perhaps we can come up with a viable change to the election process before the 2012. Providing America survives the next four years, We, the People must take back control of America from the special interest groups, foreign interests or big business. This is our country. You know, the Founding Fathers declared this a Government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”
With the way that contributions are coming in for Obama, it is impossible (at least with the information that he is giving us) to determine if these contributions are legal. Unlimited contributions, under the $250 dollar limit can come in from overseas - from those who are against our standards. These funds, should they be sent from terrorist organizations, could tilt the election. In fact, they could buy the election. I am not saying that this is happening. But, it is a possibility. There are just too many questions that are unanswered to know for sure. The point is, this could happen. It could happen on either side.
The possibility of this happening has been acknowledged for years, on both sides. In the current election, we are hearing that Obama is buying the presidency. And we have heard the same allegations from the Democrats in elections past - that they are buying the election- or flat stealing it . And, it is a real possibility that this could happen. The amount of money coming into the system is just far too great to monitor. What if someone were running for president and had $150,000,000 of contribution that comes in, what would keep them from just running for the border and living in the islands?
There are some other weaknesses in the system that need to be addressed. But, rather than going through all the things that are wrong (like a politician) I am going to offer my idea of how the system should be run. I am directing my comments to the Presidential contest, but the same concepts can be adapted to other contests as well.
1. The presidential election should not last two years as it currently does. This is a waste of both time and money. If a candidate can not present his case to us as to why he/she is the best person for the job, in two months (one for the primary and one for the general election), then I don’t feel they are qualified for that job. They should be allowed to do some background work before the campaign starts. In fact, they should be required to do so. They should have their resume in hand and ready for our (the public’s) review when they fill out the application to run. In this resume, we should have their qualifications, including birth certificate, job history, medical history, education history, bills sponsored and votes (if they are already in office) and above all, why they are the best person to take this job. They need to tell us whatever we need to know to make an informed decision to vote for them. If they can not tell us why we should vote for them, then they are telling us why we should vote against them.
2. In the current presidential election we have two Senators running. Each of these were previously voted into office, to serve our county. It is a disservice to America, and to those who voted ffor them, for these people to be employed by the Federal Government (that is what the classification of being a Senator is, isn‘t it - an employee of the United States?) and run for another office. Doing this would be like me being employed by Walmart and doing work for the Gap during my Walmart working hours. If I am working at Walmart, then I owe them them a full shift of work for a full shift of pay. That is just fair.
3. There should be no fundraising allowed. None at all. Only funds from the Federal Government should be used. Each candidate for the presidency should be given a set amount of money, paid into an account that is to be managed by a third party accounting firm. This puts all candidates on equal grounds. This gives no advantage to any candidate. All advertising would be paid for by the third party. No advertising would be allowed that is not paid for through the third party. I am not saying that censorship should be applied to the advertising (other than all ads should be verifiable facts or “this is what I intend to do and how”)
4. All claims made by a candidate MUST be substantiated with solid evidence - not taken out of context words, not theories, not plain old mudslinging. All supporting evidence is to be used quoting bills voted upon, legislature introduced and other solid and verifiable facts. Do not say “I support the 2nd amendment and my opponent does not”. Rather say (if it is true), “I voted for bill # ____ that supports your 2nd amendment right and my opponent voted against it”. Any claims that are shown to be false must be publicly apologized for, on an equal basis. That is to say, if a candidate makes an untrue claim against the opponent that airs 14 times, during prime time, in 45 cities. The retraction must also be made and aired 14 times, during prime time, in the same 45 cities. Play fair, play honest. We don’t want to know how dirty you are, we don’t want to know how dirty you think your opponent is, we want to know what you are going to offer us. If a candidate is required to some a part of their advertising budget to retract lies that were told, then there should be less lies told.
5. With the instant information age, there is no real need for all the extent of television and radio advertising that we currently have. The screaming, slanted lies about how bad the other candidate is, and the lies about how good I am, tell us nothing. All claims of past performance must be solidly substantiated (both claims of what they have done and what they claim their opponent has done). And, all statement about what they (or their opponent) plans to do must be substantiated with facts and figures as well. It is not enough to say “I am going to lower taxes and raise benefits!” The step by step plan on how this is going to be done must also be included.
The debating system must also be changed. We don’t learn much, if anything at all from debates anyway. What we have is a moderator, who is biased (face it, we all are biased for or against all candidates - and it is very difficult to overcome these biases when asking questions) asking questions that the candidates know is going to be asked and they have a prepared answer ready to be given. Public forums are the way to go. Not with prescreened questions. We need good, solid, honest interviews of the candidates by the people who want to know the answers. The questions are not to be screened. It should be up to the candidates to handle all questions. If a question is stupid, this will come out in the answers. And, stupid question askers will be handled by the system, and the others in the audience.
Not to pick on Obama, but his interaction with Joe the Plumber is a good example of what should be happening. It doesn’t matter that Joe was just thinking about buying a business that may or may not make more than $250,000 a year. Perhaps that is just Joe’s optimism that he can make that plumbing business perform to that level. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that Joe doesn’t have a plumbing license. He has been working at for that company for years, but that doesn’t make him a plumber. And, to own a plumbing company, you do not have to be a plumber, you just have to have plumbers working for you. What does matter is that Joe had a question, a valid question that deserved a real answer. He got an answer, sort of, from Obama. And, Joe got attention, that interfered with his job, from both parties and the media. All for asking a real question that affects many people, that deserved a real answer. America want to know what the candidates really have to offer, not the speaking points that may not be relevant and not really apply to the citizens.
6. The candidates should be limited to a set number of media hours and printed pages. Press releases and other news items will be treated as advertising. If Candidate A is reported in the New York Times as being at a certain function where they gave a speech about abortion, this counts towards the advertising that they are allowed. This should help curtail the possibility of the media picking one candidate that they will support, and hinder the other. Media, in the current election, has decided that Obama will get special treatment. In all elections it has been the same. There has been one candidate that gets good coverage, the other gets negative coverage. Media’s job is to report the news. It is up to those of us who care to be involved to interpret the news. And, for those who choose not to be involved, perhaps they should step aside and allow those who do care make the decisions in these elections.
7. Any violation of any campaign rules will required to be published in newspapers, internet, radio and TV. Fines, paid out of the funding supplied by the Federal Funding. And, as stated before, any retractions that must be made will have to be paid for as well.
8. And this is the big one; there should be an option to vote “none of the above”. With this option, the parties will be forced to offer more viable candidates. If the majority of the votes are for “none of the above” then the parties will have to start all over, with new candidates, and have a new election
9. All of us must educate ourselves to the pulse of our Government. We should demand that each bill in the Senate and Congress be posted in easily accessible formats so that we can all read them before the vote. This information must include the names of all the sponsors and cosponsors of the bill. Then, when the bill is voted on, the vote should also be made public. This way, we can easily see how each of our representatives are voting. I know that this is complicated, with all the added pork to the bills. But, if we give the names and supporters of all the added pork, then we can see how our representatives are wanting to spend our money as well.
10. The electoral college is part of our problem today. First of all, contrary to the belief of many people, the those we vote for, in the electoral college are not required to vote the way that we direct. This is why many people I have spoken with do not vote. They say their vote does not count. They say they are just voting for the elector. Electors, it seems, are free to vote any way they want. The risk of this system is this: no matter what the popular vote is, it could be 70% for Obama but the electors vote for McCain. Sure, it has never happened. But, it is not impossible for it to happen. The electoral college was essential during the early years of America. Information traveled so slow that votes on the far side of the country would take days or weeks to be reported and counted. That is no longer the case. With the instant communication we have today, it is possible for a vote cast in California at 8:30 PM Pacific time to be counted in Washington DC (or where ever the counting is to be done) by 8:31 PM Pacific time. There is no need for anything other than using Popular Vote. Yes, this may give the people in high density states such as California more power than perhaps Utah. But, in that California has more electoral votes than Utah, that is already the case. Using popular vote is one of the changes we need to make in our current election process.
These are the ideas that I have to help bring our election system back to the control of We, the People. I know, that as one person I can't make these changes happen. And, I know there are things that I am missing. But, this is a start. With help, perhaps we can come up with a viable change to the election process before the 2012. Providing America survives the next four years, We, the People must take back control of America from the special interest groups, foreign interests or big business. This is our country. You know, the Founding Fathers declared this a Government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Housing Meltdown
I am tired of the media portraying the meltdown of the housing market, and the following meltdown of the financial markets as the fault of George W. Bush. There was nothing he did that caused the problem, and little he could have done to stem the problem. True, the problem did arise on his watch. But it was at such a time that he was fighting criticism for everything he did. He just did nothing. From my perspective, the only thing Bush did wrong in this case was to wait and hope that the problem would, as it had other times before, resolve itself. However any action he could possibly have made, no matter the outcome, would have created a result in criticism towards him.
Where did this problem start? The answer is simple, it was during the Carter years. I will remind you that I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I am an independent who examines a problem from all sides, and determines the solution. At this point, placing blame is senseless. Finding the cause, and preventing it from happening again should be our goal. Anyway, during the Carter years, something called the “Community Reinvestment Act” was passed. On the surface, it looked like a good idea. Many of these programs look good. It is in implementing these programs that we tend to have problems.
The purpose of the Community Reinvestment Act was to provide more funding for the “underserved lower economic areas” to buy homes and start businesses. And, in the beginning there were standards that the banks were to have followed that insured sound business practices on their part. Life was good. Carter had a program that was serving the lower class. The upper group of the lower class were able to buy houses and start businesses. And, that is what the program was designed to do - establish home ownership and businesses in areas where little to none existed before.
So, the program was expanded. The banks were pressured to grant more loans in order to keep their score up. Banks were no able to merge without a good score. And, the interest rate the banks had to pay for their money was based on their score. The score was important. Since the first round of lending, involving those lower income people who were ambitious enough to work diligently, was successful it was decided that more opportunity should be offered these areas. As I have said before, and will say again, America is the land of opportunity. No group should be kept down because of race, religion, sexual orientation. But, not everyone has the means to pursue opportunity. Anyway, as the bar for these loans were lowered, and more people took advantage of these lower standard loans and were able to buy houses, the housing market expanded tremendously.
Then came the speculators. Speculators are generally a bad thing. They drive the prices up, when there is no basis for the increase. They would find a house that needed upgrading. They would buy it for, perhaps $60,000. They would put in new lighting fixtures, some new carpet, slap a fresh coat of paint on it and sell it for $125,000. The interest rate was cheap. And the standards for the borrower was low. And loans were being given for 125% of the value of the house, so people who never would have considered buying a house like that before, could and did.
The basic problem was the rapid increase in the values of the house. Housing has, until the last twenty years, been a good investment. Housing values would increase a steady 4-5% a year. When you keep a house for 30-40 years, the return is respectable. But, when the flood of first time buyers started buying houses, the supply of houses dwindled. With the law of supply and demand, the price of houses rose even faster. The combination of the Speculators flipping houses and the higher demand for houses created a increase of 10-20% per year. And, this artificially high return on investment brought in other round of Speculators.
There was a Television show several years back called “Flip this house” or something like that. In fact, there were several of these shows. The concept was, document from the beginning to the end, the transformation of a house as it was converted and upgraded and sold. The Speculator would buy a house for perhaps $150,000 with little or no money down, and hope to fix it up and sell it for $250,000 before the payments started coming due. In general, they had 4-6 weeks to do this. Some made great profits. In the cases where the houses failed to sell quickly, they lost - often spectacularly. The lure of these riches brought in thousands of more Speculators. Everyone thought they could flip a house in a few weeks and make a fortune. It didn’t work.
As these shows spurred others to become Housing Speculators. And again the law of supply and demand came into play. The cost of housing surged again. And more Speculators and more dramatic increase. And, more lax lending standards. No proof of income loans appeared. It seemed that banks were giving money away to anyone who wanted to buy a house.
The standards for lending got so low, that they were practically nonexistent. I was watching the news the other night where a lady was being interviewed. She was losing her home. It seems that she was unemployed, and bought a $360,000 house. It is ludicrous that she would have been able to do that. When I bought my first house, I had to provide proof of income, job history, credit history and a 20% down payment that had to come from my own savings, not as a gift from family or friends. The theory is, when the home owner has real investment in the house, they are less likely to walk away from it. It is sad that this woman lost her home. But, the reality is, she never should have bought it in the first place. The $360,000 price of the home was inflated by the surging market. Then, when the market bubble burst, the value dropped to below $300,000. She could not make the payments, she could not sell the house. She had no option other than foreclosure.
There are many like her. The housing market is glutted with foreclosed houses. The law of supply and demand comes into play again. More houses than buyers means the prices fall. Those who can not make the payments are forced to sell. If they do not have the equity to cover the drop in value, they can’t sell for enough to cover the loan.
Many times through the years I have heard the comment “It is just a matter of time before the housing bubble bursts. The comment was stated again and again. And through the years, the housing market rose. There were times when questions were raised about the sustainability of the market were raised. But, there were those who said that to change the system would be unfair to the disadvantaged. With all the warning, there was still an outcry of surprise when the market failed. The failure of the housing market was not surprising. In fact, the failure was inevitable. A balloon will only hold so much air before it bursts.
That is what happened to cause the falling housing market that caused the financial meltdown. And, the President had nothing to do with it. Presidents have no power to do much of anything. They are just there when things happen. It is Congress and the Senate that creates bills and passes them. The President can veto a bill. But, for the most part this doesn’t happen because when if a bill passes by a good majority in the Senate and Congress then a veto is sure to be overturned. And, if the President vetoes a bill that the Senate and Congress have passed, then any bill he suggests will never make it out of committee. That is the way the game is played.
The Community Reinvestment Act happened on Carter’s watch. It seemed like a good idea, so it passed. And, through the years, it was expanded upon, by Congress and the Senate, and the expansions also passed. Somewhere along the line, greed and speculation got involved. And now that the scam is falling apart, the Federal Government (spelt “TAXPAYER”) is on the hook for the failing. In the past, businesses had to live with the consequences of their actions. To bail out these failed businesses is just wrong. I realize that it will be painful, shore term, to allow these banks to fail. But, a bail out, long term, sets a dangerous precedent. The Government has become a safety net for failed businesses. This is just wrong. My taxes are going up and my savings are going down to cover the losses involved in business ventures that I had no involvement in and no chance of gaining from.
On the other hand, these banks were operating under laws that forced them to follow poor business practices. Sure, there was a little wiggle room. They could not give these loans. But doing so would limit their ability to take part in the mergers that were happening at the time. And, limiting these loans would also raise their cost of doing business by limiting the sources of capital that were available to them.
That is all in the past now. Banks have failed. The Economy is tanking. Retirement funds are evaporating. Housing equity has been decimated. All this because a seemingly good program was taken over by greed. The original purpose, remember, was to help the disadvantaged. Now, it appears that the entire country is going to become disadvantaged. I just hope that is our Nation survives, the cycle doesn’t start again. I can just hear the rumblings now, it is unfair that I have more than someone else, perhaps we can change the system, lower standards so they can have more. I don’t want to imply that I think I should have more than other people. That isn’t the case.
This is America, the land of opportunity. Everyone has the right to have whatever they want. And, they have the right to become whatever they want to become. However, it is up to the individual to work for it. Government giveaways do nothing to help the economy. Government giveaways weaken society. Only a strong, working society will bring us out of this hole we have dug ourselves into.
Where did this problem start? The answer is simple, it was during the Carter years. I will remind you that I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I am an independent who examines a problem from all sides, and determines the solution. At this point, placing blame is senseless. Finding the cause, and preventing it from happening again should be our goal. Anyway, during the Carter years, something called the “Community Reinvestment Act” was passed. On the surface, it looked like a good idea. Many of these programs look good. It is in implementing these programs that we tend to have problems.
The purpose of the Community Reinvestment Act was to provide more funding for the “underserved lower economic areas” to buy homes and start businesses. And, in the beginning there were standards that the banks were to have followed that insured sound business practices on their part. Life was good. Carter had a program that was serving the lower class. The upper group of the lower class were able to buy houses and start businesses. And, that is what the program was designed to do - establish home ownership and businesses in areas where little to none existed before.
So, the program was expanded. The banks were pressured to grant more loans in order to keep their score up. Banks were no able to merge without a good score. And, the interest rate the banks had to pay for their money was based on their score. The score was important. Since the first round of lending, involving those lower income people who were ambitious enough to work diligently, was successful it was decided that more opportunity should be offered these areas. As I have said before, and will say again, America is the land of opportunity. No group should be kept down because of race, religion, sexual orientation. But, not everyone has the means to pursue opportunity. Anyway, as the bar for these loans were lowered, and more people took advantage of these lower standard loans and were able to buy houses, the housing market expanded tremendously.
Then came the speculators. Speculators are generally a bad thing. They drive the prices up, when there is no basis for the increase. They would find a house that needed upgrading. They would buy it for, perhaps $60,000. They would put in new lighting fixtures, some new carpet, slap a fresh coat of paint on it and sell it for $125,000. The interest rate was cheap. And the standards for the borrower was low. And loans were being given for 125% of the value of the house, so people who never would have considered buying a house like that before, could and did.
The basic problem was the rapid increase in the values of the house. Housing has, until the last twenty years, been a good investment. Housing values would increase a steady 4-5% a year. When you keep a house for 30-40 years, the return is respectable. But, when the flood of first time buyers started buying houses, the supply of houses dwindled. With the law of supply and demand, the price of houses rose even faster. The combination of the Speculators flipping houses and the higher demand for houses created a increase of 10-20% per year. And, this artificially high return on investment brought in other round of Speculators.
There was a Television show several years back called “Flip this house” or something like that. In fact, there were several of these shows. The concept was, document from the beginning to the end, the transformation of a house as it was converted and upgraded and sold. The Speculator would buy a house for perhaps $150,000 with little or no money down, and hope to fix it up and sell it for $250,000 before the payments started coming due. In general, they had 4-6 weeks to do this. Some made great profits. In the cases where the houses failed to sell quickly, they lost - often spectacularly. The lure of these riches brought in thousands of more Speculators. Everyone thought they could flip a house in a few weeks and make a fortune. It didn’t work.
As these shows spurred others to become Housing Speculators. And again the law of supply and demand came into play. The cost of housing surged again. And more Speculators and more dramatic increase. And, more lax lending standards. No proof of income loans appeared. It seemed that banks were giving money away to anyone who wanted to buy a house.
The standards for lending got so low, that they were practically nonexistent. I was watching the news the other night where a lady was being interviewed. She was losing her home. It seems that she was unemployed, and bought a $360,000 house. It is ludicrous that she would have been able to do that. When I bought my first house, I had to provide proof of income, job history, credit history and a 20% down payment that had to come from my own savings, not as a gift from family or friends. The theory is, when the home owner has real investment in the house, they are less likely to walk away from it. It is sad that this woman lost her home. But, the reality is, she never should have bought it in the first place. The $360,000 price of the home was inflated by the surging market. Then, when the market bubble burst, the value dropped to below $300,000. She could not make the payments, she could not sell the house. She had no option other than foreclosure.
There are many like her. The housing market is glutted with foreclosed houses. The law of supply and demand comes into play again. More houses than buyers means the prices fall. Those who can not make the payments are forced to sell. If they do not have the equity to cover the drop in value, they can’t sell for enough to cover the loan.
Many times through the years I have heard the comment “It is just a matter of time before the housing bubble bursts. The comment was stated again and again. And through the years, the housing market rose. There were times when questions were raised about the sustainability of the market were raised. But, there were those who said that to change the system would be unfair to the disadvantaged. With all the warning, there was still an outcry of surprise when the market failed. The failure of the housing market was not surprising. In fact, the failure was inevitable. A balloon will only hold so much air before it bursts.
That is what happened to cause the falling housing market that caused the financial meltdown. And, the President had nothing to do with it. Presidents have no power to do much of anything. They are just there when things happen. It is Congress and the Senate that creates bills and passes them. The President can veto a bill. But, for the most part this doesn’t happen because when if a bill passes by a good majority in the Senate and Congress then a veto is sure to be overturned. And, if the President vetoes a bill that the Senate and Congress have passed, then any bill he suggests will never make it out of committee. That is the way the game is played.
The Community Reinvestment Act happened on Carter’s watch. It seemed like a good idea, so it passed. And, through the years, it was expanded upon, by Congress and the Senate, and the expansions also passed. Somewhere along the line, greed and speculation got involved. And now that the scam is falling apart, the Federal Government (spelt “TAXPAYER”) is on the hook for the failing. In the past, businesses had to live with the consequences of their actions. To bail out these failed businesses is just wrong. I realize that it will be painful, shore term, to allow these banks to fail. But, a bail out, long term, sets a dangerous precedent. The Government has become a safety net for failed businesses. This is just wrong. My taxes are going up and my savings are going down to cover the losses involved in business ventures that I had no involvement in and no chance of gaining from.
On the other hand, these banks were operating under laws that forced them to follow poor business practices. Sure, there was a little wiggle room. They could not give these loans. But doing so would limit their ability to take part in the mergers that were happening at the time. And, limiting these loans would also raise their cost of doing business by limiting the sources of capital that were available to them.
That is all in the past now. Banks have failed. The Economy is tanking. Retirement funds are evaporating. Housing equity has been decimated. All this because a seemingly good program was taken over by greed. The original purpose, remember, was to help the disadvantaged. Now, it appears that the entire country is going to become disadvantaged. I just hope that is our Nation survives, the cycle doesn’t start again. I can just hear the rumblings now, it is unfair that I have more than someone else, perhaps we can change the system, lower standards so they can have more. I don’t want to imply that I think I should have more than other people. That isn’t the case.
This is America, the land of opportunity. Everyone has the right to have whatever they want. And, they have the right to become whatever they want to become. However, it is up to the individual to work for it. Government giveaways do nothing to help the economy. Government giveaways weaken society. Only a strong, working society will bring us out of this hole we have dug ourselves into.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Pursuit of Happiness
Something has been bothering me for a long time. Where do the liberals get the idea that everyone should be the same? Sure, that is a noble idea, but the reality is, we are not - nor will we ever all be the same. I have thought about the foundation of that statement for some time without understanding where this concept comes from. But, it was only this morning that I finally had the revelation of a possible source for this idea. The idea that everyone should be the equal comes from our Declaration of Independence, that great document that makes America the greatest country on Earth, Remember, it says, ”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
But, exactly what does this really say? Does it say that just because I have a $180,000 house then it would only be fair that the homeless family on the corner should automatically have one as well? This is the way that some interpret that phrase - and their interpretation is the interpretation that has resulted in the recent and continuing housing market meltdown that has created a financial disaster and government bail out. Perhaps, I should agree with this interpretation. Perhaps I should be angered because I do not have a $1,000,000 house, or better yet a $18,000,000 house like some entertainers or sports figures. But, I really don’t think this is what the very wise founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote that phrase.
It says, very simply, that we were all created equally. It does not say that we will all end up equally. The Declaration of Independency says that we all have the right to Life, Liberty and can pursue happiness. Now, there are those who say that some of our people do not have these opportunities. But, is this true?
We have life. Our lives can not be taken way from us by the government with out good reason (capital crime) and due process. And. We do have liberty. I am free to travel when and where I want and to say what I want.
The Misery Index, created years ago, determines how unhappy we are in respect to how expensive life is compared to how much we earn. This is a failed index. But, assuming we do want to use it, the income of many of those who claim the Government is failing them, is low in part because of their own behavior. To get a better job, you have to have higher skills to offer the employer. It is that simple.
Look at some of our people. I went into a fast food restaurant the other day. The person behind the counter spoke Ebonics. There’s nothing wrong with other languages. Most of the world speaks languages other than English. But, this is America. English is the language of our Nation. When I found that I could not communicate with this person, I turned and walked out, looking for a place where I could order some food. When I call an American company’s customer’s service number and get someone other than an English speaking person, I tend to hang up and end my relationship with that company. However, there are times that we can not end a relationship with a company. In this age of monopolies, we often do not have the choice of going to the competition. Often, there is no competition. As a businessman, I would not have hired someone who doesn’t speak English. I would also not hire a Spanish speaking worker, or White American who doesn’t have a firm grasp on the English language. Proper English is a tool that helps us to achieve higher goals. Proper English is taught in our schools. There is no excuse in an American worker in not using proper English.
Another thing that holds people back is the way they present themselves. I, as a businessman, would not hire someone who has baggy pants hanging down and showing crack. I would not hire someone with facial piercing. I would not hire someone with visible tattoos. I would not hire anyone who does not keep themselves clean. I know there are those who would say that I am racist in that the many of those with the baggy pants are African American. However, the color isn’t what I am judging that person by. It is the lack of respect for the public. And, as a businessman, I feel that I am not out of line when I expect my employees respect the public (I can not think of any business where the customer is not a member of the public).
Then, there are those who look for Happiness in the bottle, in drugs, in illicit sex, in food, in religion, is fast cars, in thrill seeking, in fashion, in shopping, in countless other venues. But, do they find Happiness?
Watching the number of miserable looking people walking around, observing the advertisements for mood altering medications (happy pills) and anti-stress and anti-depression medication, it seems that a lot of people have not found Happiness. Part of the problem is the concept that we cannot be happy unless other people think we are worthy of being happy. That concept is just wrong. I refuse to allow other people dictate my ability to be happy. I refuse to allow them to have that much power over me. I find my happiness within. I wake up each day and decide to be happy. It is that simple. Yes, there are a lot of things that I would like to have. But, things do not create happiness.
Remember, the Bill of Rights guarantees us the pursuit of Happiness. But, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the Senate, Congress, nor the President can guarantee that we are happy. That, my friends, is our own responsibility.
But, exactly what does this really say? Does it say that just because I have a $180,000 house then it would only be fair that the homeless family on the corner should automatically have one as well? This is the way that some interpret that phrase - and their interpretation is the interpretation that has resulted in the recent and continuing housing market meltdown that has created a financial disaster and government bail out. Perhaps, I should agree with this interpretation. Perhaps I should be angered because I do not have a $1,000,000 house, or better yet a $18,000,000 house like some entertainers or sports figures. But, I really don’t think this is what the very wise founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote that phrase.
It says, very simply, that we were all created equally. It does not say that we will all end up equally. The Declaration of Independency says that we all have the right to Life, Liberty and can pursue happiness. Now, there are those who say that some of our people do not have these opportunities. But, is this true?
We have life. Our lives can not be taken way from us by the government with out good reason (capital crime) and due process. And. We do have liberty. I am free to travel when and where I want and to say what I want.
The Misery Index, created years ago, determines how unhappy we are in respect to how expensive life is compared to how much we earn. This is a failed index. But, assuming we do want to use it, the income of many of those who claim the Government is failing them, is low in part because of their own behavior. To get a better job, you have to have higher skills to offer the employer. It is that simple.
Look at some of our people. I went into a fast food restaurant the other day. The person behind the counter spoke Ebonics. There’s nothing wrong with other languages. Most of the world speaks languages other than English. But, this is America. English is the language of our Nation. When I found that I could not communicate with this person, I turned and walked out, looking for a place where I could order some food. When I call an American company’s customer’s service number and get someone other than an English speaking person, I tend to hang up and end my relationship with that company. However, there are times that we can not end a relationship with a company. In this age of monopolies, we often do not have the choice of going to the competition. Often, there is no competition. As a businessman, I would not have hired someone who doesn’t speak English. I would also not hire a Spanish speaking worker, or White American who doesn’t have a firm grasp on the English language. Proper English is a tool that helps us to achieve higher goals. Proper English is taught in our schools. There is no excuse in an American worker in not using proper English.
Another thing that holds people back is the way they present themselves. I, as a businessman, would not hire someone who has baggy pants hanging down and showing crack. I would not hire someone with facial piercing. I would not hire someone with visible tattoos. I would not hire anyone who does not keep themselves clean. I know there are those who would say that I am racist in that the many of those with the baggy pants are African American. However, the color isn’t what I am judging that person by. It is the lack of respect for the public. And, as a businessman, I feel that I am not out of line when I expect my employees respect the public (I can not think of any business where the customer is not a member of the public).
Then, there are those who look for Happiness in the bottle, in drugs, in illicit sex, in food, in religion, is fast cars, in thrill seeking, in fashion, in shopping, in countless other venues. But, do they find Happiness?
Watching the number of miserable looking people walking around, observing the advertisements for mood altering medications (happy pills) and anti-stress and anti-depression medication, it seems that a lot of people have not found Happiness. Part of the problem is the concept that we cannot be happy unless other people think we are worthy of being happy. That concept is just wrong. I refuse to allow other people dictate my ability to be happy. I refuse to allow them to have that much power over me. I find my happiness within. I wake up each day and decide to be happy. It is that simple. Yes, there are a lot of things that I would like to have. But, things do not create happiness.
Remember, the Bill of Rights guarantees us the pursuit of Happiness. But, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the Senate, Congress, nor the President can guarantee that we are happy. That, my friends, is our own responsibility.
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