Government Failure: The Cause of Chaos

Epic government failure is everywhere. So is the feeling of chaos. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all welfare programs have been deemed unsustainable from every legitimate audit agency that has reviewed the programs. We have spent billions of dollars on a new federal agency to protect the homeland and we find out at the Boston Marathon that we were under a false sense of security. The threat is greater now than it was after 911. The reason is we have an administration that can’t call out terrorism or the people that are mostly responsible for the acts of terrorism.

The new healthcare bill that was passed in 2009 is bankrupting the country and ruining the efficiency of the greatest and most innovative healthcare industry in the world. Unemployment has been at record highs, but more importantly are the millions of people that have given up looking for work or applied for disability. That number has skyrocketed and is unsustainable. Never mind that it is bad for the individual psyche of the nation. We are printing money as if that is a solution when in fact it is adding to the problem of government gluttony.

We have “sustainable” energy companies funded by tax dollars with the only requirement to obtain capital for that business is being a political donor to the administration in power. Most have gone bankrupt after paying out millions in bonuses to the people that ran them (into the ground). Crony capitalism is undermining the legitimate and most effective economic system, capitalism, by painting all capitalism as corrupt. The truth is the government is the corrupt player along with willing accomplices, not capitalism as a system.

The Middle East is a powder keg of radical activity. The Islamic terrorists hate us more than ever even with this president’s naïve attempt to “soften” the rhetoric. Syria has crossed the red line set by the president and the consequences? Still waiting to see how far the president will move the red line back. Setting lines in the sand is never a good idea unless you intend to enforce them. The American people have no stomach for spilling blood and treasure in the Middle East so lines in the sand are just that.

The country has not seen this much depression in attitude and economy since Jimmy Carter in the 70’s. College grads move back home in the basements of their parents after accumulating thousands in education debt for a “Fill in the Blank” Studies Degree. There seems like no hope in sight for a better future. This is just the tip of the iceberg in a list of government failures that just keep adding up as fast as the national debt.

And the President plays another round of golf. God Bless America…

America is Dying

90 Million Americans Not Working.

In March 80,000, 600,000, and 80,000 are the three important numbers to know. 80K were added to the disability roles, 600,000 left the workforce completely discouraged, and 80K jobs were created. The real unemployment number is 15% but the reported number is 7.6%.

America is on an unsustainable path. 90 million Americans are not working. We have an employment participation rate back to 1979 levels of 63.3%.

This is so much bigger than Obama. It is time to think about our country again. The bigger this welfare state gets the faster we will spiral into chaos. There is no economic recovery for 90 million Americans.

I find it hard to believe that anyone can support the path we are on. If there are people that still think that pumping money into the economy, expanding the role of the federal government, and raising taxes on workers is good policy they are too far gone to convince otherwise.

The economy is in survival mode and there are always a few bright spots in any economy but simply take an inventory of the American economy in total, and a very sad story appears to any open eyes and minds.

I don’t give a hoot about political parties and politicians. I want every federal representative who has been in Washington more than 2 terms removed and replaced. DC is broken and they are breaking America…

America is dying…

Government Subsidies

The federal government has been subsidizing industries for many years and they are often the target for elimination but rarely are the critics successful but why? Let’s look at the industry that is the biggest target for eliminated subsidies; big oil.

The three major categories that big oil receives subsidies for are the strategic oil reserve, farm equipment subsidies, and low income fuel assistance programs, totaling 2.5 billion a year. Oil companies are subsidized by the federal government to put aside a specific amount of oil into the Strategic Oil Reserve to ensure in the case of a crisis our government has access to a large enough inventory to manage a crisis. Farming subsidies are probably the oldest of all federal subsidies. As part of that subsidy, oil companies receive just under a billion dollars to supply farmer’s fuel at a reasonable price. The Low Income Fuel subsidy that helps low income families heat their house in the winter represents about $500 million a year.   

So when we talk about subsidies for “Big Oil”, these are the three biggest subsidies the oil companies receive. The average person hears subsidies to big oil and they believe it is simply money that goes in the pocket of big oil companies but the pockets it is going into is DOD (government), Farmers, and Low income citizens. That is why these programs survive. If they were truly just tax breaks going into the executives of big oil they would have been stopped long ago. Most people don’t have the attention span to listen to the entire argument so it is easy for politics to be injected into the arguments. So “Big Oil” remains the bad guy “screwing” the tax payer but are they?

I am against federal government subsidies. The venture capital market is the best avenue for investment in promising technology, products, drugs, etc… If an idea or product is viable it will attract private capital. The “renewable energy” business is the perfect example of why I am against federal subsidies. My biggest concern is the federal government picking winners and losers. What expertise do these bureaucrats have to make that decision compared to private capital? If windmills (which is an ancient and ineffective technology) are a viable energy source- why wouldn’t it attract private capital? Because private capital looks at all of the factors including longevity and ROI which they have determined not to risk their own capital. So why risk the tax payer’s capital? What does the country have to gain? Sustainable energy? Really, if that was the case why then not invest private capital?

The companies most likely to get federal subsidies are companies that donate to political candidates. It gives them access and unfair advantage. It is also important to remember that it is easy to spend other people’s money when the people’s money you are spending is not aware of how it’s being used. Private capital ventures have to guarantee a return or they will not attract new investors.

The market is the best mechanism to flush out future products and industries. Subsidies are attractive to politicians because it gives them power to control. That is not why we have a federal government. The founders knew that the federal government’s role was to ensure foreigners did not attack us, and that commerce was consistently practiced between the states. The constitution was the law and the courts were the referees. Everything else was up to the states and people. We need to move closer to the founding intent…

Under Attack

Why does it seem the federal government is attacking the people they work for? Is it because they are?

Whether it’s our constitutional rights, the ability to start a business, or the decision to select a doctor, our freedoms and choices are being destroyed by the federal government. We seem to have elected a group of people that have never had to work a day in their lives and they seem to think that money can be produced out of thin air. We are being represented by anti-capitalist, over educated, and common sense deficient but definitely self-interested politicians.

There isn’t an area of our lives that politicians at the federal level don’t feel compelled to intrude on even when the constitution is absolutely clear on their responsibilities. But it isn’t the constitution’s fault for the betrayal that has been conducted on its tenets. It is us, the citizen that is allowing this attack on our rights.

The constitution can only protect us if we are willing to protect it. We do that by electing people that are truly committed to its founding intent. Taking an oath is not enough. The oath has become meaningless words spewed by politicians that have no idea why it was created never mind ever reading it. We have two parties that have lost their way and have forgotten who is actually in charge; the people.

The regulatory bodies created at the federal level are passing laws without the people’s consent. The EPA is stopping business at an alarming rate under the guise of protecting the environment. Their true intent is to destroy capitalism. There are too many agencies and every one of them must be trimmed or eliminated. Many of these agencies are acting unconstitutionally. Many are engaging in campaigns to destroy our economic opportunities and the future of the greatest economic system in the world. And our response to these attacks?

Our healthcare system is being attacked by the bureaucracy of the Affordable Care Act. How can you operate under the oppression of 21,000 pages of loosely defined regulations deigned to command and control private people and businesses in the healthcare industry? The reason we have seen rising costs is the introduction of the federal government into the fabric of what was once a completely private industry. Healthcare cannot be a right because it requires someone else to provide it. Think about that. A right is inherent in our being human like freedom. The freedom to speak is a right, the freedom to protect ourselves is a right, and the freedom to conduct commerce between each other is a right. We need to discern rights, wants, and unconstitutional dictates. The freedom to live our lives without government intrusion is a right. Every one of our rights will remain under attack as long as we allow the federal government (and all government) to grow.

Every day we make choices. Every day those choices are under attack. What we eat, what we buy, how we raise our children, what faith we believe in, are all under attack by government. They are under attack because government is too big and growing. The way we stop the attack is to defund and limit the federal government. The constitution is our weapon to dismantle this ever growing campaign to infringe on our rights. It is up to us to take back the responsibility we have allowed the federal government to take from us.

Passing Responsibility to the SCOTUS

The intent of the founders to include a Supreme Court Of The United States in the US Constitution was not to become a tyranny by committee, but to simply be a referee if the congress attempted to pass an unconstitutional law - or there was a question regarding the balance of power between the 3 branches of government. They are co-equal in power with each branch having specific responsibilities.

The SCOTUS was actually intended to be the “weakest” branch when you read the discussions around the constitution between the founders. They believed they needed the judicial branch just like a sporting event needs a referee (they didn’t use this argument but it is the easiest way for me to explain). The rules are defined and provide the guidelines for the game. When there are disputes or the players on the team break the rules the referee reviews the action based on the rules of the game. The constitution is the rules of the government and the SCOTUS is the referee.

The SCOTUS has too often become a tool for those that can’t get legislation passed in their favor through the legislative process. The most famous case is Row V Wade. The SCOTUS created a right in the constitution that had never existed before. Instead of allowing the debate about legal abortion to play out in the states, they ruled and created a “law” that has been a divisive issue since. Creating law is not the responsibility of the SCOTUS. Ruling on whether a law is constitutional is.

If a law is not constitutional it is struck down and the legislature can amend and change the law to be constitutional. If it is constitutional the law stands.

The way the SCOTUS is being utilized in modern times is to give 9 unelected, lifetime-tenured judges, the same power as a dictator. It is tyranny by committee. Worshiping the decisions of the SCOTUS is unhealthy and it was never the intent of the founders for the SCOTUS to be so powerful. The reason the founders placed the power to make and change laws in the House because it is closest to the people, and held accountable to elections every two years.

Lawyers love to put faith in the judicial branch because it increases their power and relevance but that is to the detriment of the people…

I Love to Think

One of the most enjoyable activities of my day is taking time to think. I love to think about the ramifications of actions or ideas often promoted in articles. It can be in business or politics, but I find myself never, ever taking the information on face value. I know I’m not alone but I often wonder how many people actually look at the ramifications of policy.

For example: I look at the intentions of government welfare programs and I think to myself, do the results of the program match the original intent? Having grown up in NYC I have had a lot of exposure to the results of these programs. Section 8 housing was intended to provide housing for low income families. The result was the destruction of neighborhoods, gang violence, and too many people becoming prisoners within their own apartments. Welfare for poor families has led to the destruction of the family. You see, in order for woman to get welfare they can’t have a male in the house. They also receive additional benefits for having more children. The result is more single parent households with lots of latchkey kids running around without supervision in dilapidated apartment complexes.

The results of welfare have been the destruction of the inner city and especially the minority communities. There is no incentive to get off the program because the benefits package adds up to more than most people with the same education level can expect from full employment. So as I think about and observe the results I can’t help but wonder is there a better way?

Human behavior is easy to predict. It has not changed throughout the ages. You give people stuff and they become entitled. Teach and man to fish and you know what happens? People in America have been blessed with a system of government and an economic system that has produced wealth beyond any past historical comparisons. It has given us the luxury to be compassionate. We want to feel that we are doing something to help the less fortunate so we support any program that intends to help people. But the government is not the best distributor of this generosity. It is the local church or non-profit.

The intent of the new healthcare law was to insure everyone and make healthcare affordable. Who could argue with that? But the results are already being seen and if we look at the track record of other well intended government programs we can predict failure and the destruction of the best healthcare system in the world. All we have to do is think about it. The evidence that the government is not the answer is everywhere.

I love to think. I hope you do too…