The election and beyond

The election is over and we now have “our first Black president”. Actually we have our first half Black president. Barack Obama is half Black. And he is half White. The very fact that he, according to his words, turns his back on the White part of his heritage is a bad omen. He claims to want to reunite this country, but does not claim his White heritage. Also, the fact that he did not honor his commitment concerning campaign funding is another bad omen.


The changes Obama has in mind for our country, if we can believe the words he has said, are going to be disastrous. His record of voting and the bills that he has sponsored will drive this country into bankruptcy, not heal the country’s economy. The socialistic tendency Obama has demonstrated is something we just can not afford. Call it generosity if you want. Call it being helpful. No matter what you call taking from those who earn and give to those who do not earn is bad for the country. The key to economic recovery is to give an incentive to earning and saving.


What has all the welfare programs in the past achieved? In the 1960’s, the African American family structure was stronger, much stronger than it is today (I am talking about the welfare class, not the working class). However, the same is true for the White welfare class, and the Native American working class and all other working classes. Giving people free food, free housing, or free medical care takes away a part of their self-esteem. Personal honor declines. Look at these families today.


Broken families, both Black and White, are rising in number. The children of these families are being raised to believe that it is normal to sit and wait for the Government to take care of them. They believe that the Government owes them food and housing and medical care. But, just who is the Government? In the United States, we have a Government “of the people, by the people and for the people”. The funding for these programs comes from the rest of us, those who are working.


And, there will come a point where we, the working class lose too much of our earnings to support those who are draining the welfare system. Then where is our incentive to work? Why should we work to provide a standard of living that we can not afford to those who choose not to work? I can’t think of any reason at all to do so.


We need to curtail the handouts and provide those who are receiving them with work. Sure, there are some who can not work. My dear neighbor Pearl does good to take care of herself. The fact that she, at the age of 94 can fix her own meals is remarkable. But, she can not work. She needs a hand. There are those who claim to have ailments that make it impossible for them to work. “My right leg is shorter than my left leg, it hurts to walk. My friend Don, missing a leg, works every day. Yes, it is not comfortable for him to work, but he does. I have other friends, missing limbs, blind, or deaf who work every day. “I can’t concentrate” just isn’t an excuse to not work. It doesn’t take concentration to pick tomatoes. It doesn’t take concentration to sweep streets. These can work. “I won’t take a job like that!” Then find a better job. Just because you don’t want to take a job is no reason for me to support you and your family.


The more of our gross national product we spend on taking care of those who choose not to work, the less we have to expand the economy and provide more and better jobs. We need to insist that people work and earn their keep, both here and abroad. There is a reason some countries are poor. Kenya, Cuba, and other countries where dictators do not allow the citizens the freedom to better themselves are poor and will always be poor. Only when a population has the freedom to work, earn, save and invest can a country prosper. And, only when the vast majority of them do so will the country prosper. Providing money and food to countries where the leaders only allow their friends, and the military that keeps them in power, access to this donated wealth will do nothing to help the country. All this does is help the dictator continue to pay for those who keep them in power, while the population suffers. Often, giving aid helps provide a higher standard of living for the dictator and his army and a lower standard of living for the population. Is this the goal of the Global Poverty Act?


And, then there is the issue of the corporate taxes to consider. In that it has been established that corporations are going to be taxed at a higher rate, we may see more corporations moving overseas in order to avoid this tax hike. Sure, Obama has said that there will be a tax incentive to stay in America. But, is this tax break going to be enough to offset the higher corporate taxes?


To build a strong America, we need jobs, and we need those jobs to provide a livable wage. There is more to a livable wage than just being paid more per hour. There are companies out there, Walmart for one but there are many more, that restrict the hours that the employees can work. And, there are clauses in the hiring procedures where the employee is subject to be sent home before the shift is over, should the workload be low. BUT they are also required to come back in to work should the need arise. This is wrong. This restricts the worker to an unlivable wage. They are not able to work a second job because they never know when they are going to have to report to work. A livable wage can be achieved by offering a full 40 hour week for all employees (except for students who should be restricted in hours– but still be offered a stable and regular work week) and seniors who perhaps would rather not work full time. An unlivable wage also results in high turnover in the workplace – which often results in lower customer satisfaction.


Sure, offering a 40 hour week would perhaps require the need for these employers to provide benefits. But that is just one of the costs of doing business. Not providing a livable wage, and perhaps with benefits not only creates an unfair advantage but creates hidden corporate welfare. Again, I will pick on Walmart, and again there are other companies guilty of this as well. When Walmart works employees only part time, and does not provide profit sharing, insurance and other benefits they have a lower operating cost than a grocery store like Krogers. The employees of Walmart are often forced into a situation where they must rely on food stamps, medicare and other Government handouts to be able to survive. And, when possible they often leave for a better job as soon as possible. By letting the Government pickup the tab for the benefits that other companies pay then we the taxpayers are subsidizing these companies.


We need to create good jobs. We need to provide incentives for companies to stay in America, to grow, to thrive and create more good jobs. Taxing big business has become far too easy. With the proper wording of tax bills we can make it seem like these companies are receiving obscene profits. Take Exxon for example. Sure, Exxon makes a ton of money selling petroleum based products. But, remember there is a difference between profit and profit margin. They make such a large profit simply because they sell a large amount of product. Their profit margin is the true picture. The profit margin, the profit divided by the cost of doing business (research, drilling, refining, etc.) is around 4%. Banks do better. Pharmaceutical companies do better. Walmart does better. Fast food companies do better. Most other companies make a higher profit margin than Exxon. However, because Exxon sells such a volume of product, they make more profit.


If we tax a company too much, then it becomes less desirable to do business in America. What would happen should Exxon, or some other oil company, decide to take their business to China or India – and not sell any product in America? It could happen. And if it did, we simply would not have fuel to operate, not at any cost. I am not advocating giving these companies tax breaks. Just give them fair taxation. Big business provides the jobs we need as well as products we need.


Also, when jobs leave America, Americans have less to spend. With fewer jobs, there is less money to be spent. This creates a cycle, a downward spiral of diminishing revenue that can become a depression.


To build a strong America, we need to encourage saving. It is through the individuals who save for their future that America finances economic expansion. Saving accounts in banks provide funds to lend to home buyers. They also provide loans to small businesses for expansion. Workers, saving for retirement often put money into the stock market (either through direct investment, a 401 K, or mutual funds). The companies use this money to expand and provide more jobs. When we take away the incentive to save, we sap the growth out of the economy and America’s future suffers. And, when individuals do not save, their own future suffers.


Spreading the wealth just does not work, especially when the Federal Government is spreading. When you look at the costs involved in spreading the wealth, it becomes evident that there is a massive amount of overhead involved. I would like to find the figures on how much money the welfare system actually gives to the poor, and how much is spent in administration fees. I would not be surprised to hear that out of five dollars spent; only one dollar goes to those needing the assistance. The other four dollars are spent for administrative costs. I don’t know about you, but I think that a company that spends five dollars to create a product that is worth just one dollar is not doing a good job. But, we are talking about the federal Government here.


These are the people who have given a seven hundred billion dollar bailout to the financial institutions who are still entertaining clients at hunting lodges and golf courses. And, it seems that when the heads of these companies are finally taken to court, we are going to have to pay the attorneys for both sides? These are the people who want to give welfare and social security benefits to illegal workers who have never paid into the system. These are the people who make it hard for Americans to grow and prosper, but give preferential treatment to foreign business owners.


I am torn between wishing Obama well in his venture as President and giving him the same treatment that he and his party gave Bush. It is evident that the Financial Markets are not impressed with the election results. The first two days after the election has seen massive selling with a 10% drop in value. I would like to see Obama to do well. I would like to see the Government and the people to prosper. I would like to see America to enjoy a time of peace. It will be interesting to see what happens.