It Still Don't Make it Right

Some of you are young and do not remember when people in general did not like a lot of the things that go on these days and felt that they were wrong. I don't know that I will go down the list but I will say that just because the media and some loudmouths promote things does not make doing those things right.

The truth is some people just do not like the traditional American way. In America, that I remember, people helped their neighbor. They stood up to their problems instead of getting doped up. They loved their family, raised children. They worked and brought home a pay day. Then stayed home and spent time there. They respected church whether they went or not. They talked nice around womenfolk even if they did cuss the mules in the fields. A child minded his parents or had the joy taken out of their rebellion.

Their is a different crowd around now that cares nothing for the integrity of our borders or the integrity of our people. The dollar rules today. Taxes are the goal of government. Lies are not obstacles to getting those results. I really detest the one where our local government cries about needing money so teachers can keep their job and then go build a million dollar football field. I've nothing against football but a child is better off with something in their head than they are with a ball in their hand.

I think every parent should try to drill history into their children. History that predates the 1960s which was when the world went crazy. That way they will know how it ought to be.

Over the years liberals have placed judges in office who can play with the law like food on their plate. States and federal governments can make good laws but if one judge don't like it, they can shoot it down, sending it to the Supreme Court. They time it so that their is a majority of liberal judges there. The good law is shot down and people are left to submit to that authority. The Supreme Court is no longer a judging body but a legislative body. Liberals learned that a long time before conservatives did. They've been working that angle for a long time.

Although, we are obligated to obey the law of the land. It should be noted that the law of the land is not always the same as the law of God. What the law of the land tells us is not always the right thing. We are fast approaching the time in this country when people will have to make a decision in their heart as to what they will do. This thing with Arizona is going to the Supreme Court where a few men will decide if a state has a right to protect itself and make laws. It will govern how every state legislates. It is a power grab. Do you want to live under rules made by people like that judge in Mass. that things same sex marriage is just fine. It is not only wrong, it is just not sensible.

These times are different, not better, just different. We must follow the line of truth and right regardless of what a few squeaky wheels demand.

Economy

I've been thinking about our economy this weekend. There seems to be no cure for our problems. I believe there is a cure but first it will take a change in the mindset of Americans.

There was a time when we produced and sold more to each other than we purchased from other countries. We had natural resources to back up any money held in our hands. Of course, these days, the money is only as good as we believe it to be (consumer confidence). I also think of it as being only as good as our government, since the government is printing the notes (money) and standing good for its value.

I am not an economist in the college-educated sense. I have lived a pretty long time and have struggled with getting money to buy the things we need to survive. You know, housing, food, clothes, transportation, movie rentals, whoops, strike that last one, it is not really a necessity and we have probably not rented more than a dozen in our lifetime.

The problem is that the global economy is good only for those countries that do not produce their fair share of the needs of their country. Maybe it is not a kind statement but poor countries soak up the wealth of other countries like a sponge. Some countries are poor, not because of a lack of resources but because they can not stop fighting each other and their neighbors. There are countries that could do well on tourism, if it was safe to travel there.

Anyway, back to the U.S. economy. I don't know when we started borrowing from China so much. I do remember when our jobs started being exported to other countries where people had to work for next to nothing. We became a country of services. Someone decided that we would do the white collar work and let others do our grunt work. It has not worked out so well. We still have many people who had rather work with their hands and make things. Instead, their working hands must learn new trades which require a delicate touch or they must slip away into the sunset.

We are in a cycle with China. We borrow money from them to buy the things they make. It does not take a genius to figure out where most of the money ends up. The wholesale price of the goods goes back to the ones who made it with cuts from the 'middle-men'. The loans accrue interest which must be paid. There goes more money out of our country. The goods are made elsewhere, so there goes the wages which will be spent in a foreign country. There isn't much wealth staying between the oceans for us to work with.

I do not believe that an economy that produces no tangible product can survive. By tangible, I mean something you can touch. We have lots of services but you cannot eat, wear, or ride in services. Renting a car is a service but it is based on a tangible.

We must cut cost, produce products that our people can afford to buy and keep the money in our country. I'm all for teaching people how to fish so they can eat. I do not believe that one nation has enough fish to feed the world. Each nation must be taught to live on its own resources and balanced trade. One-sided trade will bleed one side dry while making another rich.

The government ought to take the lead but they will not. People will have to stop using credit like currency. "Living within ones means" is a good idea. The government gets their taxes even on credit purchases. If the debt goes bad, the government still has their cut. So, it seems good to the government to encourage credit spending. Indeed, I don't think they could get along with their current wasteful spending habits, without the 'buy on credit' tax money.

No, the government will not change. It is almost enough to turn one against education. Some of the most educated people in the world are running our country and they can do nothing but get us further into debt and let wars strip the economy. If you must buy something, pay for it. If you must go to war, win it and come home.

Cloak of Secrecy

Cloak of Secrecy : I wonder if there could be a blanket over our government where many things that happen are hidden from the public. We are suppose to be an open society. Nevertheless, we must admit that there are many things kept from the public in the name of, for example, national security. I submit that we are 'shielded' more often in the name of national embarrassment.

One instance might be if a terrorist were to get beyond all our efforts to stop them and do something that is damaging to our country. Our officials cannot tell the whole story without tipping off to the terrorist that we have a weakness. The public might be kept in the dark to avoid loosing our sense of security. There are many reasons why it would be in the government's interest for the American people to feel secure. For one thing, people who feel safe will work harder and spend more freely. It is good for the economy for people to feel safe.

Another reason for secrets to be kept is that someone might be so entangled in national affairs that if it were revealed that they had alternative motives, negotiations with foreign leaders could be damaged.

A bank will not advertise their troubles because it would cause a run on the bank and effectively shut it down.

So, don't tell me there are no major secrets kept.

Some secrets we will never know. Our grandchildren might know but they will be so far removed from the situation (by time) that nothing will be done even if a crime was committed. I used to work with classified stuff and it is very easy to slap a "Top secret" stamp on a document but very difficult to declassify it. Even when they are declassified, they are edited.

We wonder about a lot of stuff that goes on and if the truth will be known. There are other things that we do not know about and those secrets will remain so until someone lets the cat out.

We are an open society. Government knows everything about us. In fact, with the Internet, just about anyone can find out everything about us. I do not believe, however, that we have an open government. There are many things that are put under the umbrella of national security when they should be made public so the people can make their own decisions.

The best we can do is try to figure out the rumors that keep popping up. One thing I have noticed is that a rumor without truth will usually die, one with a few facts will linger until those facts are explained.

Thomas Jefferson said it best but I will not repeat it here. I have enough trouble. :)

Financial Problems Good for Some

We had a bad year last year. It looked like things were going to fall down and stay down. The American spirit prevailed and things are turning around. We changed our lifestyle but kept on plugging along. Things have started to get better.

Here's the problem. Those people in high places, and I don't mean the government this time, just will not get the message. It's like "Wow, we dodged a bullet so let's get back at it." They did not dodge a bullet. The economy needed a change and the way things were done needed a change. All the government could do, in our form of government, is prop it up for a while. Big business must make changes or we are still in trouble.

No sooner had they gotten the tax payer boost, they started back on the same old road with outrageous bonuses and business as usual with 'stick it to the consumer' tactics. With them, it is all about how they can get the consumer to be gullible again and how they can get around government regulations.

The hearts of executives and owners of companies must change, if 'things' are ever to stabilize again. With many companies being publicly owned, the pressure is to give the investors back some money every quarter so they will dump more money into the system. So the heart of the investor must change as well. There needs to be a 'long look' at the economy and the future of our nation.

Even in these hard times, people are making money off the hardships of others. Banks have no reason to give people a break. They have already milked mountains of interest from the homeowner and they are probably down to paying on the principal which is not where banks make their money. It's the interest baby! They can resale a home and make the fees all over again and start off with a fresh batch of interest. Charge 8-10 percent and pay out .10 percent on savings, you gotta' make money like that. That was a point 10 interest on savings.

A collapse is big business for some who wait in the wings for just such a day. Buy up stuff for pennies on the dollar and wait it out, then sell at the current market value. Some people are out of a home but someone else is fat on the losses.

I do not have the answers. I just know that greed is alive and well and it is greed that got us in the mess in the first place.

Government cannot run everything or else it would not be a free country. There must be a fundamental change in the attitude of banks and big business. For that to happen, there must be a change in the heart of people. The attitude of making it to the top on the backs of others is just not right. It is not good business either in spite of what many think.

What Can the President Do?

Now it seems that Washington has reached the end of the Big Buzz and the cameras are drifting away from the scene of the non-event. The snow has blanketed the capitol in more ways than one. A new future is brewing and I think some of those who were leading the wolf pack are now concerned for their future in politics. I think it is too early for Republicans to gather around the carcase though.

In the end of the discussion, if that ever where possible, it is the country that is most important. It is not the survival of any particular party. It seems that which ever party is in command at the moment, they always get a little arrogant and forget about the people who elected them.

So, what can the president do, now that the fire from the election is burning low. He can get down to the business of running the country the way it was meant to be run...with three branches of the government, with checks and balances. There is little glory in sitting behind a desk and making things happen without the continuous news flashes and the glory speeches. Doing the business of the country is what the chief executive does.

He has three years to get down to business. Sometimes a president just needs to be quiet for a while and study the situation. Sweeping changes make news but they are not always the best way to go. Do some simple concrete things that need to be done. I could think of a few but I am not in charge up there and do not want to be.

Glitter and Glamour

We are in one of the worst financial situations our country has ever been in. Yet, governments still act like there is nothing wrong. Oh, there is talk aplenty. They run the numbers at us every day. This is up, that is down. People, they say, will just have to endure some hardships before this thing is over.

Tell me. What about governments from the White House to the state house? Do you see them cutting back on their parties and purchases? Do you see them staying home to conserve?

What you see is business as usual. Go here. Go there. Use that expense account. After all, the money has been allotted to us!

There was recently a big deal made of a couple who sneaked into the White House. Well, they should not have done that, of course. The real scandal is that that party could have paid off several mortgages for people who are probably now in a shelter someplace. Those fancy SUVs for every one and their cousin, those political jobs for friends and relatives could pay a few mortgages.

The government is living like the folks who bought above their means and are maxed out on all their credit cards, but are too proud to admit it. They will not lower their living standards. They must keep up appearances. The whole world knows that the United States is in hock up to our eyeballs. We could at least, at some point, admit it and start making good on our debts and tightening our belts a little.

I believe the primary reason that the American people are in such financial stress is because of taxation and fees placed on them. We just do not have enough left to spend on things we need and things we would like to have. Those needs and likes are what keeps the economy going. So long as the government takes more than their fair share of the spending money of the American people, things will be stressful.

For the sake of the country, I wish governments would cut down on their runaway spending. Does everyone in DC have to have an assistant to carry their coat? It cost millions to run the president's aircraft and he is going so much I bet they just keep the motor running. It is not just the president though. Where is your representative sneaking off to this holiday season on the taxpayers dollar?

The Mess We're In

Sometimes you have to stretch the memory to get to the root of things. Way back before Bill Clinton left office, he lifted the regulations on Wall Street. It was in his last days so the change took place in the Bush administration. That was about the deal of insuring those risky Wall Street bets on the risky loans for people who could not afford the houses they bought. They bundled the loans and sold them to investors who posted them on Wall Street and got more people to invest. If you understand that, you are probably hiding your money in a mattress, if you have any money.

Next, the Democrats took over Congress about the time Bush was reelected. With Pelosi in charge, they blocked every piece of legislation the president sent to them that would help the country. Government was almost at a standstill for several years. Why would a Democratically controlled congress block even good legislation? The answer is to make the Republican president look bad and pave the way for a Democratic candidate to get elected president. Maybe some think no political party would put the country at risk to gain power in Washington DC. Maybe pigs fly too.

The housing problem is little different than the Savings and Loan disaster of a few decades ago. The associations stretched the bands of the market and it snapped leaving many in financial distress. That also cost a bundle. It was not caused by a failure of the system but was a result of greed.

Here is the danger we face. The government is putting up the money (which they don't have) to prop up companies that played the stock market (with money they did not have) and lost. Who did have the money? The citizens of our country had the money and trusted it to Wall Street. That's like giving a monkey a banana and telling it to not eat it. The danger is that instead of a free enterprise system, we are slipping into a socialist system where everyone depends on the government for everything. In the free enterprise system, you take your chances and if you loose, you start over. In the socialist system, you take your changes, and if you loose the government gives you back the money you lost and takes part in the company. We all know how good the government is at making a budget balance.

The problem is if you give a teenager all the money they need, they will never go to work and become responsible citizens. If the government gives the companies all the money they need, they will never take responsibility for their actions. Since when do we reward crooks who run crooked companies, well, since just a few months ago. Probably a lot of the people giving away taxpayer money also lost money in this mess and are trying to recoup it by building the companies back up.

Our country prospers only when the government minds their own business.

Whose to say that we can't do without the stock market anyway? Everything doesn't have to be national or international. If banks did their job, businesses would have the expansion capitol they need. The stock market is a trumped up casino where people bet their few thousand that they can make a million off it.

Three Parts of Government

It should be remembered that in our country we have three parts to our government. Although we elect a president to fix things, congress still has to approve a lot of what he does. Of course, the supreme court does what they do, quite badly, I must add. Anyway, a president does not get to do everything he says he will do while on the campaign trail (unless you have a congress that cannot think for themselves and just says 'me too'). He must abide by the constitution whether he wants to or not. It's the law. Also things look much different once he is in office. He must be careful about making rash statements. On the campaign trail, he can say the wrong thing, say whoops and go on about his business. Not as president. His words are action.

Of course, he can't just up and load everyone on a ship and leave Iraq. The departure must be orderly and must include security for the people there. The candidate may have thought he could but the actuality of the situation is much different.

As president, he is not just dealing with the hot button issue of the day, like on the campaign trail. He must look at American interest worldwide and try to do a balancing act that does not always work. He can't sit in Washington and say stuff that makes everyone nervous 'out there'. No matter who it is that sits in the chair, he either considers carefully or chaos will erupt.

So, we have three branches of government and I like it that way. If a president could do anything he wants on a moments notice, he would be a king and not a president. We went down that road long ago and decided against it.

Little tricks.

Their Little Trick

The way to get something over on the American people is to give it a name and keep calling that name over and over. It is like having a pretty basket. (Is it ok for men to say pretty?) You really like the design and the ease of handling but there is no telling what gets put in the basket. Such is the so-called stimulus gizmo. It all started out as a way to give the banks a lift so they could give the people a lift and get the economy going again. Now it is just another basket for our federal government and the new administration, to stuff their programs in. The basket has gotten so heavy it will take generations to move it from one place to another.

It is the same way they wrap other things like war. They put that in the patriotic basket whether the war is necessary or the right way to solve a particular problem. Of course, we will support the troops once they are in harms way but that does not make a particular war the correct way to handle a particular situation. Our problem with war is that we are excellent at getting into one but we are clueless on how to give the country back and get out. We do not have a rapid response program regardless of our fast moving aircraft and ships. We need to learn how to get out when the time comes.

I am not against standing up for ourselves. I am against being tricked into thinking something is this when in reality it is that.

Government

Washington Leadership and such...

You know...I don't know if this is going to work out. Having two sets of rules (one for us and one for them) just seems wrong to me. They have the best insurance, we have to scratch up what we can and loose it if the job goes down. They get new cars, planes while we are making do with something that was probably under water in Katrina. They get real serious (and critical) when it comes to the sacrifice citizens must make but it is a big joke if someone points out government waste.

Mister John McCain stood up to express his concern over the cost of the president's new helicopter and the president made a big joke out of this great man's concern. Hey, a billion dollars would sure help out in our neighborhood. But no, it is all funny when it is their stuff. I do not like it when it is hands off of their stuff and give away ours and our grandchildren...

Speaking of giving away, AIG is obviously a black hole parading as a Wall Street sunflower. If they can't get by with a few billion, let 'em sink. It is a big mess anyway, so why keep on stirring in the same ol' mudhole. So people will be out of work, at least if they quit putting money there and other places, there will be some money left for people to start new businesses and these people can go to work for an honest company or at least one that can manage itself.

Hillary is giving 900 million to Gaza (the ones who are sending rockets to Israel with bombs on them) and so is the government, not us, we don't support terrorist nations, well, I'm all confused. Where did she get that kind of money? She was broke and in debt after the campaign. Oh yea, she works for the government.

Two sets of rules: One set says the government goes on flying high while rule number two tells Americans to tighten the belts, it will be a sacrificial time for us. It ain't right but that has never stopped them before. It is overused lately but it is true, 'they just don't get it'. They have no clue what is really going on in real America. I mean do they know that the price of 'shower curtain liners' has gone up from a dollar to three times that amount since China had to shut down their shower curtain factory. I doubt it..do they know that we are still scared to eat peanut butter...the nuts have gone nuts. Do they know that crime is on the rise because of the economy mess, including white collar crime and the legal crime where we are overcharged and stuff. By the way, I found 50 lbs of potatoes for under $10 the other day. We got 'em stacked up and will have taters 10 different ways for some time to come.

I am not just down on the new president. He is just doing what the others do, sit down and enjoy the ride. The Washington machine will keep on grinding along.

Spring

Visit a Government Website

Quite often, I go to government websites, just snooping around or actually looking for something which I usually don't find. There is so much information, it is hard to find it. Mostly, I am amazed at the duplication involved in government. It is like kudzu (creeping leguminous vine), it just grows and grows. With all that cyber-power, about the best they can do is send an auto-respond message thanking you for your message, opinion, insight and concern. 'We regret, however, due to the large volume of ....'

I'd like to see a little consolidation, how about it? You'd think they could put some of the operations together. You wouldn't believe the rivalry...it is like the playoffs to see who wins the budget payoff. Even the secretaries have secretaries and they have assistants.

They all have computers, buy printer paper, pens, toilet paper, towels, chairs, desks, break rooms, bathrooms, the floors have to be vacuumed, vacuum cleaners, or waxed, wax and mops and someone to operate them, cafeterias, day cares, cars, gas, tires, preventative maintenance, Wow, I'm out of breath! And offices all over the place. And few are authorized to talk about what they do and probably cannot help with a problem without consulting a lawyer or judge.

I ain't knocking the country. It is the red tape express that runs it that gets me all tore up.

While I'm on the bandwagon, how about building a bicycle or horse trail along the interstate highways or country roads so when gas goes up we can park the cars and while you are working put solar panels on them for roofs to produce electricity. I'd like to see a little innovation instead of the same old stuff. Plan ahead people!!

Flying Around

You know Air Force One is a nice plane. I have thought about seeing if I could use it for a weekend. It is the people's property is it not. I think our new president likes the jet too. He has less than a month in office and already he is touring around telling the people he feels their pain. I think one of his stops probably cost a million dollars at least. I figured if he stayed home and sent the million to the town he is visiting, he could provide about $50,000 a year income for a whole neighborhood for several years. What failing business could not put people back to work with that much cash to grow their business. I was looking at some of the details of the so-called stimulus package, it starts out at around 800 billion and will result in anywhere between 400 dollars and up or down depending on whether the person stands on both feet and props one on the wall, has naturally colored hair or uses artificial color ... just kiddin', I think, but you get the idea. I could use some money to buy a freezer to put up some veggies this season. The guy working in the freezer factory could use the work it would generate. It seems pretty simple what they should do. But it will get all mixed up in red tape and overhead and by the time people get any help the crisis will be solved, not by government, but by the spirit of Americans who always hunker down and put their shoulder against the load. Government is not the cure, it is just another obstacle we have to overcome to get where we need to be. An example of how government hinders instead of helping is they raise taxes and fees to compensate for lost revenue when the economy takes a downturn. I know they talk about tax breaks but on the local level, government is playing their own game to keep their local government paychecks coming. Anyway, I was speaking of flying around. The government spends so much money and their wheels trying to fix a problem, there is no money left to fix the problem.