Restraint: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.
It is not an unusual occurrence to be shocked and troubled when observing members of our government. However, recently it seems even the most weathered veterans among us are unsettled with Congress’ complete disconnect from the American people. One can see this in many areas but the lack of fiscal responsibility is particularly outrageous.
It is probably borne out of this notion that is popular with the current administration that believes we can borrow billions of dollars and jumpstart the economy. John Maynard Keynes touted this concept. He was delusional and so is Obama. There is evidence published that shows that Roosevelt kept America in the Great Depression much longer than necessary by the same ridiculous logic. If not for WWII, we may still be struggling to regain ground. Prosperity happens when one is out of debt. This idea proposes going into debt to be prosperous again.
If you boil this down to the personal level, the madness becomes very clear. Let’s say for example that the average working family in America has a crisis. Suppose the husband has his salary or hours reduced at his job the same month that his wife is laid off from hers. With a loss of income like that, most families would figure out what could be cut from the budget. Dining out stops immediately, maybe the second car is sold and they stop contributions to the United Way. Perhaps the cable service is disconnected. They make drastic cuts to balance the budget and stay afloat until the normal revenue returns.
But the Federal government doesn’t operate that way. Conversely, they borrow or print hundreds of billions of dollars in the hope that by dumping all that money into the economy it will get the exchange of goods and services flowing again. Even if it works temporarily, it harms the economy because we are so in debt and the dollars are devalued.
In the above example of an average family, it would be similar to them deciding to buy a big screen television and take a family vacation now that they have the time. If they would max out their credit cards, they could get the budget back on track. Obviously it is foolishness.
This may be an over-simplification of Federal policy but the analogy is accurate.
To be fair, it is not only the Federal government that is guilty of this irresponsibility. States and municipalities follow suit. The construction of multi-million dollar stadiums is proposed in the face of record unemployment and declining tax revenues. This happens even if the team does poorly year after year and attendance to the games isn’t enough to fill up the old stadium. Nothing seems to hinder politicians’ desires to spend money that isn’t there. Of course it is always presented as an investment. A small tax will be worth what the community will gain from it. A surcharge here and a slight increase there and we are all slowly bled dry.
Part of the issue is that by the time things get really rough, the present cast of characters will be gone and the next generation will need to deal with it. That is why Social Security has been allowed to go full steam ahead towards insolvency. Tough choices need to be made (not now but years ago) to avoid total collapse. Anyone who even suggests that small changes be implemented are criticized as wanting to lock Grandma out in the snow and laugh while she begs on the corner. It is more important to score a cheap political point than to avert a coming disaster.
It seldom crosses anyone’s mind to spend less, but to always find more money somewhere. This is why casinos and riverboat gambling come up for discussion as new sources of revenue. Few seem concerned about increased crime or families devastated by a gambling addiction. Nonsense. We need MORE MONEY! Belt tightening is for the taxpayers. Let them rearrange the budget, or pick up a part time job. We visionaries shouldn’t be bothered by the constraints of responsibility, depleted cash reserves or a prosperous future generation. This spending spree must stop.
Businesses and households operate with a limited amount of cash. When it runs low, changes must occur to survive. The income is increased or an outlay is diminished. This is quite simple really. Normal people can’t order another pile of fresh cash like Congress can. Why is it that our elected leaders don’t feel compelled to operate by the same rules that everyone else does? It is not monopoly money, it is real. Someone worked for, or will need to repay every dollar that is spent.
At one point in our history, it was a virtue to be frugal and live within one’s means. It was shameful to be deep in debt or a poor money manager. As a society we desperately need to return to that mindset. During a slow economy is the perfect time for Washington to begin
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Opinions of Fools
There’s an old adage that says something like: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”. The more I observe the world and listen to people, the more I am inclined to agree. Our nation is populated with people who see themselves as informed, educated, enlightened and in a position to direct the path of the world. They have strong emotions, an opinion and certainty of their righteous cause. The problem lies in that many of these sages are half-witted fools. I have examples.
Let’s go back a few years to the Bush administration. I remember when the Country Music group the Dixie Chicks decided to expand their horizons from entertainers to political pundits. They criticized President Bush and bad-mouthed all the aggression associated with the war effort. Of course the left leaning press was delighted to give them all the face time they craved.
What troubled me was that no one questioned why we were hearing singer’s opinions about the war. Certainly, they have a right to an opinion; as much as I do actually.
But they had a level of recognition most folks do not have. Because of that, it was presented as “Divine Truth” on the war effort. I was waiting for an opposing view that questioned the credentials these gals held that elevated them to ‘War Strategist’ expertise. It never came.
Think for a moment; have you ever been in an elevator, barroom or a café and overheard someone say: “This is a really complicated and convoluted political issue, I wish I knew where the Dixie Chicks stood on this problem… Their insight and experience could really clear it up for me”? No, me neither.
Soundstages aren’t the only place where this madness occurs. It’s alive and well in Hollywood too.
Back in March of 2010, actor Tom Hanks made a comment stating essentially that WWII was racially motivated. Because the Japanese didn’t look like us, we had a “Kill them all” mentality. The minor Pearl Harbor thing must have slipped his mind; or maybe we just used that as a good reason to kill lots of innocent people for fun.
Either way, the remarks got a lot of coverage because America was slammed by someone most people would recognize. And doesn’t the press just love to trumpet any smear against our nation; without regards to accuracy or qualifications of the source?
I like Tom Hanks… as an actor. I would love to have his autograph (to sell on E-Bay). It offends me that playing an officer in “Saving Private Ryan” somehow qualifies him to spit on the Greatest Generation. Playing the role of a soldier on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines is not the same as actually doing it! The enemies were also actors, the bullets were blanks and he was never in danger. He retreated to air conditioned trailer and had a latte if things got too rough. The war was very real. Thousands died, millions suffered. To assign credibility to Hanks is an insult to a nation that literally saved the world from tyranny. Perhaps Hollywood has wider doorways to accommodate the egos of these spoiled brats.
But to see hubris taken to a whole new plane, you have to go to Washington D.C. One example out of a thousand took place back in February of this year. Toyota Motor Corporation was the focus of Congressional hearings regarding the safety recalls of their cars. Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood and members of Congress grilled Toyota executives for days.
The questions went something like this: “What failures occurred that led to these issues? Why weren’t they caught sooner? Why were the recalls so slow in coming? Have you covered up your knowledge of the safety concerns? What is being done to prevent future problems?” These are all legitimate questions unless one approaches it from a different perspective. The ones asking with such a tone of self-righteousness and indignation are all elected or appointed officials. They are not engineers or architects. Most have never run a business, designed a product or manufactured anything. But they do have one major accomplishment; they won an election.
Yet they look over the rims of their reading glasses and scold the executives like misbehaved children. As if to say, that when they ran an industrial giant, they never had these concerns. I half expected someone to roll up a newspaper and slap them on the snout.
I fantasized that an executive would snap back to the effect of “I believe we would all be better served if the Honorable Congressman would look to the Congress with the same diligence and attention to detail that he has given to Toyota. You are steeped in a culture of corruption that makes it humorous that you ask us about cover ups. While Toyota has millions of satisfied customers, Congress’ approval ratings are in the single digits. We responsibly operate on a balanced budget while the nation’s deficits are at an all time high due to reckless spending. If a business fails to make a good product for a fair price, it will eventually go bankrupt. Congress has no such pressure since it can print money if it runs out and there is no pressure to be responsible.”
That’s what needs said but won’t be. We as Americans seem to be intimidated by loud, cocky voices that we sense are wrong. Sometimes bags of hot air can speak so convincingly and with such authority that we dismiss our gut signals to get out the barn shovel.
Congress doesn’t hold the patent of arrogance/ignorance exclusively. The President shares it too. A black professor was arrested by Cambridge, Ma. Police in July 2009. When asked to comment, Barack Obama first admitted he didn’t know, wasn’t there and didn’t see all the facts but pronounced that the police acted stupidly. Wait a second. You don’t have the details, don’t know the facts but you know which side of the controversy was right. That’s pretty interesting for a Harvard lawyer to pass judgment without facts.
Maybe it’s a gift that this administration has. Homeland security head Janet Napolitano hinted that she may file a lawsuit against the State of Arizona over their new immigration law. When pressed on the issue, she admitted that she hasn’t read it yet. But she knew she would oppose it.
Could it be that the facts don’t count as much as political agenda? There seems to be a prevailing, collective opinion that many people adopt automatically. I don’t need to think for myself, the people that I trust already thought it through for me. And that is how I feel too. Aren’t these the radicals from the sixties who always talked about questioning authority and not accepting the status quo? Now they are led around by the nose and seem quite content with talking points. My! How the mighty have fallen into line.
Let’s go back a few years to the Bush administration. I remember when the Country Music group the Dixie Chicks decided to expand their horizons from entertainers to political pundits. They criticized President Bush and bad-mouthed all the aggression associated with the war effort. Of course the left leaning press was delighted to give them all the face time they craved.
What troubled me was that no one questioned why we were hearing singer’s opinions about the war. Certainly, they have a right to an opinion; as much as I do actually.
But they had a level of recognition most folks do not have. Because of that, it was presented as “Divine Truth” on the war effort. I was waiting for an opposing view that questioned the credentials these gals held that elevated them to ‘War Strategist’ expertise. It never came.
Think for a moment; have you ever been in an elevator, barroom or a café and overheard someone say: “This is a really complicated and convoluted political issue, I wish I knew where the Dixie Chicks stood on this problem… Their insight and experience could really clear it up for me”? No, me neither.
Soundstages aren’t the only place where this madness occurs. It’s alive and well in Hollywood too.
Back in March of 2010, actor Tom Hanks made a comment stating essentially that WWII was racially motivated. Because the Japanese didn’t look like us, we had a “Kill them all” mentality. The minor Pearl Harbor thing must have slipped his mind; or maybe we just used that as a good reason to kill lots of innocent people for fun.
Either way, the remarks got a lot of coverage because America was slammed by someone most people would recognize. And doesn’t the press just love to trumpet any smear against our nation; without regards to accuracy or qualifications of the source?
I like Tom Hanks… as an actor. I would love to have his autograph (to sell on E-Bay). It offends me that playing an officer in “Saving Private Ryan” somehow qualifies him to spit on the Greatest Generation. Playing the role of a soldier on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines is not the same as actually doing it! The enemies were also actors, the bullets were blanks and he was never in danger. He retreated to air conditioned trailer and had a latte if things got too rough. The war was very real. Thousands died, millions suffered. To assign credibility to Hanks is an insult to a nation that literally saved the world from tyranny. Perhaps Hollywood has wider doorways to accommodate the egos of these spoiled brats.
But to see hubris taken to a whole new plane, you have to go to Washington D.C. One example out of a thousand took place back in February of this year. Toyota Motor Corporation was the focus of Congressional hearings regarding the safety recalls of their cars. Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood and members of Congress grilled Toyota executives for days.
The questions went something like this: “What failures occurred that led to these issues? Why weren’t they caught sooner? Why were the recalls so slow in coming? Have you covered up your knowledge of the safety concerns? What is being done to prevent future problems?” These are all legitimate questions unless one approaches it from a different perspective. The ones asking with such a tone of self-righteousness and indignation are all elected or appointed officials. They are not engineers or architects. Most have never run a business, designed a product or manufactured anything. But they do have one major accomplishment; they won an election.
Yet they look over the rims of their reading glasses and scold the executives like misbehaved children. As if to say, that when they ran an industrial giant, they never had these concerns. I half expected someone to roll up a newspaper and slap them on the snout.
I fantasized that an executive would snap back to the effect of “I believe we would all be better served if the Honorable Congressman would look to the Congress with the same diligence and attention to detail that he has given to Toyota. You are steeped in a culture of corruption that makes it humorous that you ask us about cover ups. While Toyota has millions of satisfied customers, Congress’ approval ratings are in the single digits. We responsibly operate on a balanced budget while the nation’s deficits are at an all time high due to reckless spending. If a business fails to make a good product for a fair price, it will eventually go bankrupt. Congress has no such pressure since it can print money if it runs out and there is no pressure to be responsible.”
That’s what needs said but won’t be. We as Americans seem to be intimidated by loud, cocky voices that we sense are wrong. Sometimes bags of hot air can speak so convincingly and with such authority that we dismiss our gut signals to get out the barn shovel.
Congress doesn’t hold the patent of arrogance/ignorance exclusively. The President shares it too. A black professor was arrested by Cambridge, Ma. Police in July 2009. When asked to comment, Barack Obama first admitted he didn’t know, wasn’t there and didn’t see all the facts but pronounced that the police acted stupidly. Wait a second. You don’t have the details, don’t know the facts but you know which side of the controversy was right. That’s pretty interesting for a Harvard lawyer to pass judgment without facts.
Maybe it’s a gift that this administration has. Homeland security head Janet Napolitano hinted that she may file a lawsuit against the State of Arizona over their new immigration law. When pressed on the issue, she admitted that she hasn’t read it yet. But she knew she would oppose it.
Could it be that the facts don’t count as much as political agenda? There seems to be a prevailing, collective opinion that many people adopt automatically. I don’t need to think for myself, the people that I trust already thought it through for me. And that is how I feel too. Aren’t these the radicals from the sixties who always talked about questioning authority and not accepting the status quo? Now they are led around by the nose and seem quite content with talking points. My! How the mighty have fallen into line.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Hypocrisy of Words
Webster defines hypocrisy as “false pretension to personal qualities or principles not actually possessed.” I looked it up to make sure I was right about my assumptions. My title may be a little misleading; the words aren’t hypocritical, just the people who use them. This train of thought pulled out of the station when I heard the John Lennon classic “Imagine”.
This is one of the former Beatles’ best known songs. It’s an idealistic call to rise above the ho-hum of typical life and be free, uncommitted, owning and wanting nothing. Please ignore the fact that it hails from a multi-millionaire in a New York City penthouse. It sounds okay until you do a bit of critical thinking and word analysis.
For example, I couldn’t stop thinking about the line “nothing to kill or die for’. At first glance, it sounds reasonable and civilized. One can see a barbarian type ruffian wanting to kill something or someone for pleasure and nothing else; simply for the carnal satisfaction of dominating a weaker life form and ridding the earth of it. Yeah, I’m with you John, that ain’t me Man! I’m not looking to cause senseless pain to anybody. I’d like to live in a world where that never happens too.
This is where the critical thinking needs to kick in full tilt. Who in their right mind wants to kill anyone? Who is it that is looking to throw their very life away? Well, me for one and I would gamble you would too. Stick with me here.
What are the reasons you would kill someone? Greed, revenge, jealousy, position , sex or of course money. To be fair, these are probably the things our hippie friend was talking about when he wrote the song. But I contend that there are other things that are just as intense but much more honorable. What about friends, family, justice or principle? Do these summon intense passions any less?
I’m not a violent person; but if a nut is threatening my wife or kids, I’m ready to inflict pain and death mercilessly. Therefore I don’t want a world where there is nothing to kill or die for.
I guess it’s a matter of perspective. When I hear that song play, it conjures up images of a hung-over, unshaven old man waking up in despair on a park bench. Slurring his words, saying that there is nothing to live for. He owns nothing. He needs nothing, except maybe another bottle of Thunderbird.
The point is that too often we immediately accept the vantage point of the one making the statement, because it may be well-intentioned, albeit ridiculous.
Here’s another example of the same: the word sustainable. Environmentalists wring their hands and wet their pants over urban sprawl. Anyone who has driven out west knows we have multi-thousands of acres to inhabit. The world isn’t full or even near it. This is more of an anti-capitalism agenda than it is worrying over the earth.
I was on a gardening website that touted sustainable gardening! I wondered if the people ever thought at all about what they say. What is unsustainable gardening? Is that where every person in the world has a garden and the planet is covered with green, fruit bearing plants? Oh no! Sierra Club, please come and save us from this natural phenomenon fouling the environment.
But for some reason many Americans will default to feeling guilty and believe the prepackaged foolishness instead of trusting their gut instinct and screaming that the emperor has no clothes. Yes, the emperor is a blatant exhibitionist. He has been walking around naked for years now. We in the crowd have been too afraid of political incorrectness to state the obvious.
Question the status quo. Trust your common sense. It’s called independent thinking and it rocks.
Webster defines hypocrisy as “false pretension to personal qualities or principles not actually possessed.” I looked it up to make sure I was right about my assumptions. My title may be a little misleading; the words aren’t hypocritical, just the people who use them. This train of thought pulled out of the station when I heard the John Lennon classic “Imagine”.
This is one of the former Beatles’ best known songs. It’s an idealistic call to rise above the ho-hum of typical life and be free, uncommitted, owning and wanting nothing. Please ignore the fact that it hails from a multi-millionaire in a New York City penthouse. It sounds okay until you do a bit of critical thinking and word analysis.
For example, I couldn’t stop thinking about the line “nothing to kill or die for’. At first glance, it sounds reasonable and civilized. One can see a barbarian type ruffian wanting to kill something or someone for pleasure and nothing else; simply for the carnal satisfaction of dominating a weaker life form and ridding the earth of it. Yeah, I’m with you John, that ain’t me Man! I’m not looking to cause senseless pain to anybody. I’d like to live in a world where that never happens too.
This is where the critical thinking needs to kick in full tilt. Who in their right mind wants to kill anyone? Who is it that is looking to throw their very life away? Well, me for one and I would gamble you would too. Stick with me here.
What are the reasons you would kill someone? Greed, revenge, jealousy, position , sex or of course money. To be fair, these are probably the things our hippie friend was talking about when he wrote the song. But I contend that there are other things that are just as intense but much more honorable. What about friends, family, justice or principle? Do these summon intense passions any less?
I’m not a violent person; but if a nut is threatening my wife or kids, I’m ready to inflict pain and death mercilessly. Therefore I don’t want a world where there is nothing to kill or die for.
I guess it’s a matter of perspective. When I hear that song play, it conjures up images of a hung-over, unshaven old man waking up in despair on a park bench. Slurring his words, saying that there is nothing to live for. He owns nothing. He needs nothing, except maybe another bottle of Thunderbird.
The point is that too often we immediately accept the vantage point of the one making the statement, because it may be well-intentioned, albeit ridiculous.
Here’s another example of the same: the word sustainable. Environmentalists wring their hands and wet their pants over urban sprawl. Anyone who has driven out west knows we have multi-thousands of acres to inhabit. The world isn’t full or even near it. This is more of an anti-capitalism agenda than it is worrying over the earth.
I was on a gardening website that touted sustainable gardening! I wondered if the people ever thought at all about what they say. What is unsustainable gardening? Is that where every person in the world has a garden and the planet is covered with green, fruit bearing plants? Oh no! Sierra Club, please come and save us from this natural phenomenon fouling the environment.
But for some reason many Americans will default to feeling guilty and believe the prepackaged foolishness instead of trusting their gut instinct and screaming that the emperor has no clothes. Yes, the emperor is a blatant exhibitionist. He has been walking around naked for years now. We in the crowd have been too afraid of political incorrectness to state the obvious.
Question the status quo. Trust your common sense. It’s called independent thinking and it rocks.
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