We are now well into the 2013 holiday season and we seem to have survived once again.
Sometimes the news leads you to believe that the current crisis is going to ruin us all. However when the worst thing the news can complain abut is the President taking a picture of himself at a Mandala's funeral, things can't be all that bad.
I think what I find most amusing nowadays is the drama that permeates our society over the silliest things. We don't even get a full 15 minutes of fame anymore, we don't have time for that, although oddly we spend so much time "following" other peoples lives on social media. We have a congress that until recently couldn't seem to agree on whether the sun was shining but they actually passed a budget deal in the house. This has outraged some people on the right
who would prefer to hold most Americans hostage to their ideas.
Extremism is the elevation of one issue above everything else. If you believe that "big Government" is "evil" then you are willing to sacrifice everything to reduce its size. Of course some people may not have a place to live, food to eat or decent health care, but that is not, in their opinion, a concern to government. Of course it depends a lot on what you think government is. If we have a government of the people, by the people and for the people, disliking government is actually disliking people.
They may deny this, but they really do think most people are stupid and lazy and should just go out an make a lot of money. They may end up on the bottom, but if they do its their own fault, they just need to work harder. Of course they do realize that some people are born into poverty or have absent parents, but they can cite examples of people who overcame humble beginnings to become successful. These of course are the one in a thousand who do overcome the obstacles, but certainly their success is not a condemnation of the of the other 999.
It is very hard to imagine a time in history or pre-history where people did not band together for safety. Clearly banding together leads to the need for some sort of rules, we see this in our ape relatives, even if the rules are simply the strongest bosses around everyone else. This is government and society is not possible without it. How much government do we need, that is open to debate, but there is no "correct" answer. We may want more of it or we may want less of it and we have the right in this country at least to pursue our concept, but we also have to accept the fact that compromise is the essence of modern society.
The House of Representatives may have figured that out.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Why Is This So Hard?
I've met a fair number of Americans from many different parts of this country over the years, and in general we have a lot in common. Most want security, prosperity and freedom. Most of the elected officials promise us those things but somehow they end up being so opposed to each other that they can't fund the government or raise enough funds to pay our bills.
Now, each problem has more than one solution, but it would seem that right now we are faced with some simple choices. We have made promises to our citizens related to various benefits (entitlements) and we haven't raised enough money to pay for these promises. This plus a couple of wars and a horrible recession has led to large deficits and increases in our national debt.
The only way to balance the books is either to cut those benefits or raise more money (taxes). This is the problem we face and we have some people arguing that we have to live up to our obligations and others who say we can't raise taxes. This results in borrowing. It is a tough problem and we don't have a short term magic solution, although there are many promising signs related to economic growth and increased national resources in energy that have some promise to help out over time.
We are faced with a potential time bomb in the current low interest rates that make our interest payments almost affordable. This is not a situation that can last forever and when interest rates go up so do our debt payments.
The solution is fairly obvious, we need to reduce some future entitlements while increasing revenue. This has to be done in a way that promotes economic growth, which in and of itself improves revenue since the tax base grows and the entitlement rolls shrink somewhat. Why our elected officials can't figure this out is the mystery.
Now, each problem has more than one solution, but it would seem that right now we are faced with some simple choices. We have made promises to our citizens related to various benefits (entitlements) and we haven't raised enough money to pay for these promises. This plus a couple of wars and a horrible recession has led to large deficits and increases in our national debt.
The only way to balance the books is either to cut those benefits or raise more money (taxes). This is the problem we face and we have some people arguing that we have to live up to our obligations and others who say we can't raise taxes. This results in borrowing. It is a tough problem and we don't have a short term magic solution, although there are many promising signs related to economic growth and increased national resources in energy that have some promise to help out over time.
We are faced with a potential time bomb in the current low interest rates that make our interest payments almost affordable. This is not a situation that can last forever and when interest rates go up so do our debt payments.
The solution is fairly obvious, we need to reduce some future entitlements while increasing revenue. This has to be done in a way that promotes economic growth, which in and of itself improves revenue since the tax base grows and the entitlement rolls shrink somewhat. Why our elected officials can't figure this out is the mystery.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Silly Shutdown
When you play poker, you have to "know when to hold them and know when to fold them" and if you don't you will get taken to the cleaners.
Certain Republicans thought that the cards they held, shutting down the government, were worth holding and that they could get concessions. Well they didn't and I think they will get taken to the cleaners.
The scary part is that they are simply too ignorant to realize that the Affordable Care Act is not going away and to shut down the government or too create a default will end up causing a lot of unnecessary grief.
I think they are terrified by the fact that the dire predictions they made about the law are not going to come true. The exchanges are up and the premiums are actually reasonably affordable. There are some glitches, but mainly because of the tremendous amount of interest.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the law, but it is going to become better understood now that it is going live and the Republicans are terrified by that. It really is a pretty good law once you get to know it, not perfect, but still pretty good.
Certain Republicans thought that the cards they held, shutting down the government, were worth holding and that they could get concessions. Well they didn't and I think they will get taken to the cleaners.
The scary part is that they are simply too ignorant to realize that the Affordable Care Act is not going away and to shut down the government or too create a default will end up causing a lot of unnecessary grief.
I think they are terrified by the fact that the dire predictions they made about the law are not going to come true. The exchanges are up and the premiums are actually reasonably affordable. There are some glitches, but mainly because of the tremendous amount of interest.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the law, but it is going to become better understood now that it is going live and the Republicans are terrified by that. It really is a pretty good law once you get to know it, not perfect, but still pretty good.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Assault on America
We have now taken a 19 year old wounded immigrant college student into custody after one of the most intense manhunts in recent history, fully televised. Assuming he is indeed guilty, I'm glad he has been captured. Not sure how much evidence they have besides what has been released, and of course once they interrogate him, hopefully he confesses to eliminate any doubt, but what perplexes me is some comments by elected representatives who have declared that he should be held as an enemy combatant, prior to any evidence that would support such an accusation.
The suspect became an American citizen last year, on a possibly odd date, and has no known ties to any international group. How does that make him an enemy combatant? We have decided that the bombing was an act of terrorism, and it was, but what was the motive? No cause has been identified, no foreign group has taken credit, and until they interrogate the suspect, we have nothing from either of the brothers to implicate anyone or anything as a cause.
Are these rants simply because he came here legally and grew up in this country? In one way or another, we are all either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Is it because he professes Islam as his religion? I believe the constitution give him freedom of religion.
The corruption of liberty is an assault upon America. The crime perpetrated by the bombers is horrific and should be punished to the full extent of the law. However, history has taught us that evil people will use horrific acts, either real or imagined, to further their own aims. We have a system of justice that needs to be used in this case, just like it is used in the Colorado movie shootings, or in any horrific crime where a suspect is captured. Deciding to pervert our system and deprive American citizens of their rights under the constitution is the real assault on America.
The suspect became an American citizen last year, on a possibly odd date, and has no known ties to any international group. How does that make him an enemy combatant? We have decided that the bombing was an act of terrorism, and it was, but what was the motive? No cause has been identified, no foreign group has taken credit, and until they interrogate the suspect, we have nothing from either of the brothers to implicate anyone or anything as a cause.
Are these rants simply because he came here legally and grew up in this country? In one way or another, we are all either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Is it because he professes Islam as his religion? I believe the constitution give him freedom of religion.
The corruption of liberty is an assault upon America. The crime perpetrated by the bombers is horrific and should be punished to the full extent of the law. However, history has taught us that evil people will use horrific acts, either real or imagined, to further their own aims. We have a system of justice that needs to be used in this case, just like it is used in the Colorado movie shootings, or in any horrific crime where a suspect is captured. Deciding to pervert our system and deprive American citizens of their rights under the constitution is the real assault on America.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Responsibility
It is hard to imagine a time when the Congress of the United States has been held in greater contempt than it is presently. Of course, I can only judge by the period I'm familiar with and I'm sure it has always contained scalawags and cads, but as a group they seem to have reached a new low.
What is odd about this is that they are elected by us. So in each congressional district, our fellow Americans decided that the person they elected was the best possible representative they could find to help shape the Government. Yet these very same people, the electorate, hold the institution in contempt.
Part of the problem is that we often elect people on a single issue. So we had an influx of Tea Party candidates who are determined to stop spending and reduce taxes. This of course has implications, such as less money ofr both Defense and Social Services. but the popularity of less taxes and less spending was enough. The fact that the agenda that goes with that has potentially dire consequences for even the people who voted for that representative is ignored.
The rhetoric has become such that even the media, at least some of the media, simply go along with the concept that the Democrats are the "spending" party and the Republicans are the "no tax" party. Of course both parties advocte some spending, it just depends on who is benefitting. Many Republicans signed the no tax pledge, but they are perfectly willing to raise some taxes by eliminating deductons and credits. There is really no difference if taxes go up via the front door or the back door, they still go up.
It is impossible in the current political climate to really determine if we spend too much or tax too little. In some cases the demographics have created a problem, not enough young worker to support the boomer population, and in some cases we have made odd policy decisions, reduce taxes and have two major conflicts right before the boomer generation becomes eligible for many social programs.
Clearly, in a rational society we would debate the resonsiblitity of the Federal Government to provide services and if the majority decides it should, we need to pay for it.
Why is that so hard?
What is odd about this is that they are elected by us. So in each congressional district, our fellow Americans decided that the person they elected was the best possible representative they could find to help shape the Government. Yet these very same people, the electorate, hold the institution in contempt.
Part of the problem is that we often elect people on a single issue. So we had an influx of Tea Party candidates who are determined to stop spending and reduce taxes. This of course has implications, such as less money ofr both Defense and Social Services. but the popularity of less taxes and less spending was enough. The fact that the agenda that goes with that has potentially dire consequences for even the people who voted for that representative is ignored.
The rhetoric has become such that even the media, at least some of the media, simply go along with the concept that the Democrats are the "spending" party and the Republicans are the "no tax" party. Of course both parties advocte some spending, it just depends on who is benefitting. Many Republicans signed the no tax pledge, but they are perfectly willing to raise some taxes by eliminating deductons and credits. There is really no difference if taxes go up via the front door or the back door, they still go up.
It is impossible in the current political climate to really determine if we spend too much or tax too little. In some cases the demographics have created a problem, not enough young worker to support the boomer population, and in some cases we have made odd policy decisions, reduce taxes and have two major conflicts right before the boomer generation becomes eligible for many social programs.
Clearly, in a rational society we would debate the resonsiblitity of the Federal Government to provide services and if the majority decides it should, we need to pay for it.
Why is that so hard?
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