Legislators are not part of the solution, they are often the problem …
It seems that every legislator believes that legislation is the answer to the world’s problems. But, unfortunately, most legislators lack the native intelligence, understanding of history, critical thinking ability and subject matter expertise to put forth real solutions to problems which might be unsolvable by fiat. In addition, most legislators lack the guts to buck the political system and/or their party to create such solutions or even speak the unvarnished truth before the media. They are so busy raising campaign funding and courting the special interests that they have little time to even read the legislation that is being proposed.
What President-elect Obama fails to understand is that the marketplace will develop alternative solutions to the problems facing commercial problems. Think of the underground black market – or simply the growing use of barter between individuals. These are solutions. As for greater social problems, the answer still lies in “people helping people.”
It is when charities become institutionalized with a highly-rewarded leadership do things start going wonky. It is when the government steps in to institute special procedures and reporting requirements do the market participants start looking for loopholes and workarounds. Such is human nature.
Legislators do not understand …
The single most important thing that legislators do not understand is that you cannot legislate human nature, you can not legislate morality and most certainly you can not legislate freedom.
Before listening to Obama’s message …
There are those who are convinced the President-elect Obama can solve all of the world’s ills with his philosophy of hope and change. People are desperate to believe his message. That things can get better, that things will get better.
Unfortunately, reality intrudes. Like Bill Clinton who boldly announced that his Administration would be the most ethical administration in the history of the United States, the sad fact that President-elect Obama comes to office with only a thin margin of support, nearly half the country, or at least the voting citizens, opted for another candidate, and with corruption and controversy swirling about him and his designated functionaries. People who, in many cases, are Clintonistas, beholden to another President and another time. Democrats whose fundamental philosophy is based on special interest promises to cobble together a coalition of marginal elements to achieve their electoral goals.
New beginnings?
And there are those who loudly demand that we give this new president a chance to succeed, to fulfill his vision of America. Well, for one, I am not sure what that vision might be; although I am sure it involves larger government, more government control, more taxpayer funds and more control for the corrupt unions. I am sure that it involves paying political debts to fringe elements of our society and empowering those groups which have been thoroughly infiltrated by people hostile to the United States and our way of life.
Cynical, you bet …
Your right if you pointed out my cynicism. But I would take comfort in the fact that I can point to recent history – both the Clinton and the Bush Administrations – and claim that the political parties and their candidates are bereft of any real ideas and that they exist only to plunder the United States Treasury on behalf of their political friends while they play this game of power politics on the world stage. In a world where all of the participants are competing for scarce resources, we seem to be hobbled by the laws, rules and regulations that are crafted by those who do not have our best interests at heart. It is these very people who are using our own laws against us – for their own evil and nefarious purposes. If you think that significant amounts of foreign money were not used to influence this election, think again. Although no party or candidate will either admit it or seek to root out those instances of illegal campaign contributions. If caught, they give the money to a charity of their choice, file amended returns and pay a small price. No real penalty for wrongdoing. Self-pardoning their activities.
Beware the crisis …
Using a real or imagined crisis to generate public support, or at least tolerance, of increased government activities has always worked in the past. And, considering the number of mushy-headed dumbed down citizens who have been failed by an educational system which has destroyed the teaching of history and critical thinking, the “chicken little” approach to politics attracts hoards of people who have no idea that they are simply parroting a “big lie.”
Obama hold forth …
“For years, too many Wall Street executives made imprudent and dangerous decisions, seeking profits with too little regard for risk, too little regulatory scrutiny, and too little accountability. Banks made loans without concern for whether borrowers could repay them, and some borrowers took advantage of cheap credit to take on debt they couldn't afford.”
True enough, especially when you consider that democrat Congressmen like Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, did everything in their power to derail attempts at mortgage reform at the GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae. The democrats with their Community Housing programs and prosecution of financial institutions for not making loans in impoverished areas – where people cold not afford homes using standard underwriting criteria.
“Politicians spent taxpayer money without wisdom or discipline, and too often focused on scoring political points instead of the problems they were sent here to solve. The result has been a devastating loss of trust and confidence in our economy, our financial markets, and our government.”
Again, true enough. Both democrats and republicans are to blame for the spending.
“To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced - jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.”
What, no mention of nuclear energy which actually has the power to solve the current energy importation problem? Or hydroelectric energy production using dams? He only mentions the kooky stuff that is uneconomical and unreliable over long time periods.
“To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized. This will cut waste, eliminate red tape, and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests. But it just won't save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs - it will save lives by reducing the deadly but preventable medical errors that pervade our health care system.”
Even with the computerization of medical records, costs will not significantly change in the initial years and may even increase. Since most doctors do not actually have the time to read extensive records, it is unlikely that they will be of a significant advantage in providing superior healthcare. However, by controlling access to medical care, the government secures a powerful advantage in controlling the citizens of the United States. There are a number of privacy and other issues of personal freedom which must be addressed before the world’s largest database of medical information is compiled and accessed by insurance companies to set your rates.
“To give our children the chance to live out their dreams in a world that's never been more competitive, we will equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries. We'll provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers so that students in Chicago and Boston can compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future.”
This is sheer stupidity and union rhetoric. Its not the amount of money you spend on computers and infrastructure or the number of teachers that really counts. It’s the quality of the curriculum and the desire of the student to lean that makes a difference. And unless your children plan to learn Chinese and move to Beijing, the idea of competing with their labor pool for jobs is almost nonsensical. Especially when the unions demand that the curriculum continually be dumbed down and teachers (like those recruited by the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn) teach liberal democrat social activism instead of the basics needed to survive in today’s world.
“To build an economy that can lead this future, we will begin to rebuild America. Yes, we'll put people to work repairing crumbling roads, bridges, and schools by eliminating the backlog of well-planned, worthy and needed infrastructure projects.”
Again, this is suspect. Local and state governments use these infrastructure contracts to provide sweetheart deals to the developers, contractors, unions and other special interests – and they are, by definition, filled with waste, mismanagement and corruption. Many of these projects are not shovel-ready and are awaiting environmental impact reports or have other impediments. The money to be paid to the contractors for phase completion will slowly work its way into the economy – perhaps after the recession is over; thus adding to inflationary pressures.
“But we'll also do more to retrofit America for a global economy. That means updating the way we get our electricity by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us money, protect our power sources from blackout or attack, and deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to every corner of our nation.”
Let me get this right. We use the taxpayers money to build out a commercial grid and then turn it over to private interests to run it on behalf of a government that uses energy as a method of raising money – in the form of fees rather than taxes which require a vote of the people? What is the net benefit for the people for supplying the financing for what heretofore has been a private enterprise?
“Finally, this recovery and reinvestment plan will provide immediate relief to states, workers, and families who are bearing the brunt of this recession. To get people spending again, 95% of working families will receive a $1,000 tax cut - the first stage of a middle-class tax cut that I promised during the campaign and will include in our next budget.”
Perhaps we need to allocate these funds only to American citizens and provide them to those who actually pay federal income taxes? As for who is bearing the brunt of this recession, it certainly isn’t the government and some union workers who seem to be humming along quite nicely while the private sector downsizes and suffers.
“No longer can we allow Wall Street wrongdoers to slip through regulatory cracks. No longer can we allow special interests to put their thumbs on the economic scales. No longer can we allow the unscrupulous lending and borrowing that leads only to destructive cycles of bubble and bust.”
I can not believe Obama said this with a straight face coming from an environment of Chicago Machine politics and being the recipient of the third largest campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while have little or no real influence in the Senate.
“It is time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now. We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead, but I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.”
Somebody should inform Pelosi about Obama’s open and honest discussion program as she has just made it more difficult for House Democrats to offer their own versions of democrat bills or submit amendments. The thought that we may not be able to reverse the course of the present crisis is ludicrous given the tremendous resiliency of the American people.
I am not going to continue as there are not enough details to complete a competent analysis. But you may bet your last dollar that the devil will be in the details.
Standing before his phony “I’m official and important ‘The Office of the President Elect’ sign, Obama holds forth on Obamanomics … which coincidently looks just like a giant Congressional earmarks program with all of the special interest pork and union involvement. And with no guarantees that it will work.
Creating 600,000 government jobs to be paid by the taxpayers does not count for job creation in my book. This is an artificial enlargement of the government where waste, fraud, mismanagement and corruption already abounds.
Bottom line …
In the final analysis, government can provide equal opportunities, not guarantee equal outcomes. For to do so would be to deny some their freedom and benefits of their labor, only to reward those who do nothing more than support a political party based on providing entitlements for people who think they have been historically wronged or who do not want to face life’s reality on an equal basis with their fellow citizens.
Perhaps Obama’s greatest contribution is to reduce the size of the government, cut back on taxes and let American business work its way out of this fiscal mess.
What can YOU do?
Remember, a leopard does not change his spots. The political process if fraught with special dealing and corruption and Obama’s democrats have a track record in manipulating the system for their personal and professional benefit.
Quit drinking the Kool-Aid and realize that even the President of the United States, no matter which party he represents, is often powerless to do more than set policy and hope than Congress agrees.
Look out for your own interests first – and everything else will eventually work out.
Be safe and be well.
-- steve
Quote of the day: “Think of what would happen to us in America if there were no humorists; life would be one long Congressional Record.” - Tom Masson
A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius
Reference Links:
CNSNews.com - Obama: ‘Only Government’ Can Fix What Ails Us…
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