Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Just returned from Honduras

Okay, so I have just returned from Honduras where I was on a mission trip to an Orphanage. I am changed. For one week no news about the economic "crisis", no news about much of anything. I spoke to someone from Honduras and they stated that "it is unlikely that the global economic issues will effect Honduras because we are too poor." How true. But what is poor? Are they poor because they grow their own food? No. Are they poor because they do not have a 50" plasma TV? No. Are they poor because they don't have two cars? No.

They are rich is spirit. They are rich in love for each other. They are a genuine people. What you see is what you get. We were a curiosity to them because it was obvious that we were not Honduran, but from America, however once they got over that what we began to realize is that we are all just trying to make the best of our worlds with what we have.

We have forgotten the basics. We have forgotten what it is like to not have water, electricity, food. In Honduras the government run schools are not free... the student pays to go, for books, for the uniform, for everything. Here we complain because they want to shut down a school, or worse yet end a sports program.

WAKE UP AMERICA. Wake up to the fact that our strength is in our community, not in our government. In our ability to care for each other and ourselves. In what was once called "Rugged American Individualism". Stop being a sheeple. Stop following the heard. Stop thinking everything can be solved by the government. That is communism / socialism. It is weak and short term. We must find strength in ourselves and in our community.

The government finds strength in control through the tax base. Why do we choose to give that that control? Why do we feel that they should be responsible for taking care of Social Security Number YOU? You are just a number to them... not a person. A list in a database, on a spreadsheet... an income or expenditure.

Look to the 'third world' countries as an example of what real strength is.

-End of Ramble.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Economic Liquefaction

Look around. Take note of what is going on in the world and the nation around you. For not too distant in the future, those who have the means to rewrite history will do exactly that to publish their version of truth. Don’t forget, in spite of 9/11, that our country enjoyed a strong economy until the mortgage fantasy of “affordable housing for all Americans” poisoned the underpinnings of our capitalistic economy and left many who played by the rules wondering where all their savings went. Don’t forget that long before we were all delivered from the wilderness in November 2008 that the price of gasoline had returned to reasonable levels. Don’t forget the federal income tax rate that you are paying for your 2008 AGI as it will not be so low next year. And most of all don’t forget that our homeland has not been attacked by terrorists since 2001.

Now back to the world around you; have you heard that there is an economic crisis? There is obviously much debate about how we should proceed to turn the economy around. Those who believe in capitalism and market forces believe that allowing the economic cycle to run its course, while painful, will lead us back to solid ground. Others believe that government should step in to shore up the economy by helping those that are “too big to fail”. As indicated by my mortgage fantasy statement, I believe the government shore up may help in the short term, but the overall affect will be to prolong the pain of economic recovery by allowing companies that will eventually fail anyway to hang on longer than they should.

It is my opinion that a convincing argument may be made by making your opponents position look weak. It is obvious that President Obama favors larger government and the shore up approach. Since President Obama uses every opportunity to state how much of a crisis our economy is in it is my opinion that he is practicing Economic Liquefaction. By talking down the economy, I believe President Obama is intentionally trying to convince the entire country that capitalism has failed through the destabilization of the economic ground beneath our feet. As the economy becomes less stable it will become apparent that the government shore up is the only available option. The weak economy also provides President Obama with an excellent margin of error as the history writers will “remember” how he turned the failed economy around since it had nowhere else to go but up. There is definitely a big upside for the President and the Democrat congress to allow the economy to languish a bit longer so that the eventual recovery can be attributed to all of their “help”.

Hoping for Change.

##That’s my opinion##

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

An open letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama,

I am tired.  I am tired of the government believing that they can handle things better than I can.  I am tired of the lack of trust in the American people.  I am tired of everyone looking for a hand out.

The United States of America was founded on the belief that the people (we are a republic, after all) should govern through the representatives elected.  In order for that system to work the people have to be close enough to make a difference.  In the current Federal system -- and where it is going -- the people are no longer close enough to do that work, and have lost touch with the reality of where things come from.

There is constant talk of Billion dollar "Stimulus" packages and Trillion dollar budgets.  What is in these entities?  Are these projects really something that should be supported by the Federal government?  Are they really necessary?  What happened to capitalism?  What happened to the free market?  

When the people loose touch with reality by seeing HUGE numbers that are difficult to comprehend so they are made simple by placing a "B" or "T" after them they say "oh, what is a Million dollars here or there".  Or even $30B for a company that is on questionable ground to start with (dirivatives trading has worse odds in the long term then betting at the racetrack.)  Then ask "where is that money coming from?"  This is a zero sum game... there is only so much that is available...  So where does it come from?  Who pays the bills?

President Obama if you search through this blog you will see that I am a critic of the spendthrift policies of the government,  tend to lean more republican (really libertarian), and support less government, not more.  I do not work in the government, but have had my share of turns with really large organizations and know how difficult it is for a for profit organization to stay cost effective and eliminate waste.  How can the largest corporation on the planet get bigger and not expect the same?  How will it eliminate waste?  As a stockholder in the US Government I want to know.

This brings me to my final point, and what I opened up with... I am tired.  I am tired of wondering how much more money I am going to loose.  I am tired of trying to estimate where to put it so that I don't loose more than I am putting in.  I am tired of paying for others who do not deserve it.  I want to understand.  I want to believe that the government has my best interests at heart by it constantly shows me that what it is more interested in is feeding special interests and trying to be everything to everyone.  Why does it not trust its people?  For over 200 years the people of this country have come forward to defend and protect this country.  Why?  Because they believed that this is a free society where they can do what they want (within the law) and their land will not be taken away.  Where their children can live without persecution.  Where they can work hard and give their children a better tomorrow.  I don't see that being fulfilled now.  Why?  Because the government has gotten in the way of what the people can do.  They are taking away our will to go the extra mile.  They are tiring us out.

Please, before it is too late, recognize that we are tired.  By trying to further define the box we need to live in the more we will struggle to get out.  As an African American you should understand what it is like to be stereotyped... stop stereotyping the American taxpayer.   Help us understand how this is better.

-- End of Ramble.

P.S.  President Obama, please give me some hope and stop telling me that everything going on is a crisis.  Please?