Please read this article to see why I wrote this blog today.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/10/eu-sets-trillion-eurozoneimf-defense-package-protect-euro-disintegration/
It is time for all Americans to look towards Europe for our cue to start lowering our national debt and spend wisely. Europe's great experiment in socialism has shown that it is completely unsustainable. The Euro could easily collapse in value and send the world into more economic downturn periods. I am definitely not jumping for joy at the plight of our European friends, I simply have to say that spending money that isn’t there is utterly ludicrous. Debt in any form is a form of bondage that must be avoided – especially by nations. Of course there are times where deficit spending is necessary, but those instances are only for a war effort or an economic or natural disaster.
The IMF bailout package is a sure sign that Europe in general has some serious issues to deal with. We, under the leadership of this administration (and several Republican and democrat administrations before this) are heading down the same road that Europe is currently on. The dream of universal and free health care is unattainable. The national debt of Greece, Spain, Portugal and many other European nations is staggering and due in large part to socialistic governmental policies. Our national debt is staggering in dollar amounts, but theirs is staggering as a percentage of their GDP’s. That being said of course, that does not excuse our own staggeringly high national debt.
The health care boondoggle that just got rubber-stamped by the Congress will lead to only one end – universal health care and thus more out of control national debt. We have seen from the failed social security mess that government-run “social nets” are always colossal failures. I believe that the reason universal health care is unsustainable is that there is no incentive for citizens to stay healthy if they can go to the hospital any time they want to – for free. Also, the quality of the doctors and nurses in the system degrades because the financial incentive to gain more education or open new practices is removed. If health care is to be improved, than everyone has to be responsible for using it carefully and judiciously. This includes individuals, insurance providers and doctors. I don’t want to go into health care in depth here, but I believe that one of (or perhaps the main) reason for the state Europe is in is due to enormous social programs that are inefficient, counter-productive and unsustainable economically. Socialized medicine is obviously a large part of their social program pie.
We, like our European friends, have to look into the mirror and realize that sacrifices must be made if we are to survive as free nations. A good portion of Asia has set a good example by paying off national debt while we in the west have done the opposite. We must sit down, figure out what is costing so much and cut it. A close look at the readily available national budget shows exactly what the main culprits for our debt are: social security and Medicare/Medicaid. Again, I don’t want to go into these particular topics in depth individually now; but I will at a later date. Along with cutting national debt, we also need to encourage economic investment and growth.
One of the greatest assets we in the United States possess is a motivated and creative entrepreneurial work force. Even with all the gloom and doom stories of greatly undereducated Americans, the fact remains that the smaller hard-working group of afore-mentioned people is what brought America to the forefront of the world economic stage. I definitely think that education must be improved, but those who want an education will attain it no matter the cost. Also, simply being book-smart means nothing without having drive and determination. There are many people all over the world who are well educated, but it means little because they don’t (or can’t due to governmental interference) apply that knowledge for practical use.
If we as a nation would stop thinking that life should be fair and actually play the hands we are dealt, we would all be better off. The governmental pork that is pulling our economy down has to be cut now. If we take the hit in jobs, services and supposed safety of a bloated governmental apparatus now, we will fuel economic and social improvement later. Continuously passing our desire for instant gratification onto succeeding generations must stop here and now. This is precisely why the United States and Europe are so deeply in debt.
Dissolving Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid would cut our deficit drastically but hurt many people unfortunately. Our generation and the following generations must see the big picture and make the sacrifice to cut these programs now. Non-profit religious or non-religious organizations would step in to help those in need during the ensuing hardship for many Americans when these cuts were to be enacted. This is not all that I feel must be done however. After cutting these programs, we must lower taxes, provide growth incentives for business and analyze what regulations can be responsibly removed in order to fuel growth. Europe used to be a great capitalist powerhouse by and large, but has lost its edge due to an entitlement mentality and socialist governmental policies. We too will surely suffer the same fate if we do not contain spending and over-regulation now and encourage more sustainable fiscal policy by our government.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The False Belief that the American Dream is an Entitlement
It is an unfortunate occurrence as of late that many people believe this to be true. Personally I believe that there are very few things that anyone is entitled to – except your opinionJ. The only way we will remain a great nation is to believe in hard work and actually have hope and faith in its future. We did not get to where we are today as a nation by believing in entitlement or by leaching off of other people's efforts. The majority of previous generations of Americans worked hard and spent wisely to achieve happiness. Too many of us think that we should be able to have all of what our parents have instantly.
The American dream always involved working for your dreams and never involved the victim mentality we see too often today. The "bailouts" (i.e. colossal misuse of taxpayer funds) are a prime example of this "entitlement" mentality and will likely lead to another economic "meltdown." Inflation and interest rate hikes are soon to follow - mark my words. That is another subject all together though:)
Companies have to make the right decisions or be outdone by other more competitive ones. Capitalism will weed out those who do not achieve and the free market will encourage the growth and development of new businesses. This is the way it should be - not paying companies (and/or union bosses or CEO’s) for poor management and greed. The UAW and other unions have lost focus on what free enterprise and competition mean. They want all the benefits they can get without thought to the overall success of the company. Everything in life requires give and take. This was made very clear to me when the UAW would not budge on benefits even as the company failed. This mentality most of all is what brought GM and Chrysler to bankruptcy in my opinion. The UAW was not looking at the big picture. A successful GM and Chrysler would mean more well-paying and secure jobs and more access to benefits for all of their workers. They could then modernize and make vehicles more efficiently and with better work environments. Toyota, Honda and other car companies are more modern and efficient and make cars people want and thus are succeeding.
It is our generation and the ones to follow that must carry the banner of liberty, hard work, ingenuity and competition to get our country back on track. Life is hard and will never be fair. The sooner we all realize this and accept it, the faster we as a nation will be willing to do what it takes to keep our ideals and dreams alive. Each of us has to play the hand we're dealt and then capitalize on our abilities. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot, but could not due to health issues. Is this unfair? I used to think so, but I changed focus and now work doing something else. I am just as fulfilled now than I would have been if I had been able to be a fighter pilot. There are always other alternatives when roadblocks are placed in our paths. Playing victims only leads to excuse-making and stifles ingenuity and drive.
We as a nation are at an extremely important juncture. We can either choose to go down the tired road of failed socialist policy or renew our resolve to take what life throws at us. I personally will never submit to the idea that the government will solve all of our problems; nor will I give up on the true American dream. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness is the true American dream, not a free house, car etc. Notice that it is the "pursuit of happiness," not simply happiness. The achievement of that dream requires effort and sacrifice. Though painful now, I believe that the bankruptcy of two of our auto manufacturers will re-kindle ingenuity and innovation and spur on totally new industries and technologies. Competition and drive are essential to our continued financial success and should be encouraged, not shunned.
The American dream always involved working for your dreams and never involved the victim mentality we see too often today. The "bailouts" (i.e. colossal misuse of taxpayer funds) are a prime example of this "entitlement" mentality and will likely lead to another economic "meltdown." Inflation and interest rate hikes are soon to follow - mark my words. That is another subject all together though:)
Companies have to make the right decisions or be outdone by other more competitive ones. Capitalism will weed out those who do not achieve and the free market will encourage the growth and development of new businesses. This is the way it should be - not paying companies (and/or union bosses or CEO’s) for poor management and greed. The UAW and other unions have lost focus on what free enterprise and competition mean. They want all the benefits they can get without thought to the overall success of the company. Everything in life requires give and take. This was made very clear to me when the UAW would not budge on benefits even as the company failed. This mentality most of all is what brought GM and Chrysler to bankruptcy in my opinion. The UAW was not looking at the big picture. A successful GM and Chrysler would mean more well-paying and secure jobs and more access to benefits for all of their workers. They could then modernize and make vehicles more efficiently and with better work environments. Toyota, Honda and other car companies are more modern and efficient and make cars people want and thus are succeeding.
It is our generation and the ones to follow that must carry the banner of liberty, hard work, ingenuity and competition to get our country back on track. Life is hard and will never be fair. The sooner we all realize this and accept it, the faster we as a nation will be willing to do what it takes to keep our ideals and dreams alive. Each of us has to play the hand we're dealt and then capitalize on our abilities. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot, but could not due to health issues. Is this unfair? I used to think so, but I changed focus and now work doing something else. I am just as fulfilled now than I would have been if I had been able to be a fighter pilot. There are always other alternatives when roadblocks are placed in our paths. Playing victims only leads to excuse-making and stifles ingenuity and drive.
We as a nation are at an extremely important juncture. We can either choose to go down the tired road of failed socialist policy or renew our resolve to take what life throws at us. I personally will never submit to the idea that the government will solve all of our problems; nor will I give up on the true American dream. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness is the true American dream, not a free house, car etc. Notice that it is the "pursuit of happiness," not simply happiness. The achievement of that dream requires effort and sacrifice. Though painful now, I believe that the bankruptcy of two of our auto manufacturers will re-kindle ingenuity and innovation and spur on totally new industries and technologies. Competition and drive are essential to our continued financial success and should be encouraged, not shunned.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Dissolving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
We have some really difficult decisions don’t we? I have been a proponent of eliminating social security, Medicare and Medicaid for years now. The tax money saved would be worth it and I would be willing personally to walk away from and not gain any benefits from it at all (even though I likely will never see any money anyway). I should be responsible for my own medical expenses and retirement expenses. One issue I personally face though is that since I am single, I get taxed way more than a person with kids. I understand the reasoning behind the deductions, but really it stifles my ability to even save for my own retirement - especially during this down economy. Thus I am forced to redistribute a huge amount of my income to pay for someone else's retirement. That is not my responsibility; it is theirs and theirs alone. Would it hurt people to eliminate these government-run failures - absolutely. I still think it is the right thing to do however. The government should then make all donations to charity tax free and families would then have to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their parent’s well-being and their own financial futures. Truly I see only one solution to our debt - cut these programs off and let charitable organizations help those who would be deeply affected by such cuts. Desperate times call for desperate measures and frankly, we cannot maintain this spending. We do not want to see an American economic collapse - no one in the world would because it would make the world turmoil during the great depression look like child's play. It is time to make the decision to put the federal government on a serious diet - no more excuses! Research the federal government's own financial charts and you will see how ludicrous these socialist policies really are. The federal budget should never be in a deficit - especially when it comes to problems that should have been dealt with years ago. Cutting these programs off would affect almost everyone I know, but it is the only answer. It is time to sacrifice for a higher cause and then help each other out. Our children will have no USA (at least as a free nation) in a very short time if we do not act decisively and never look back.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Thoughts on the current administration and Congress
I think that we as like-minded conservatives need to put aside minor differences and band together. We have a common goal - return the country to what it should be; FREE from governmental oppression. In order for us to be taken seriously, we have to be a cohesive group and put aside minor disagreements.
The current congress and white house are filled with individuals who are the antithesis of what our founding fathers envisioned us to be - self sufficient, giving and humble. Unfortunately, too many in the media refuse to press these idiots because they are too afraid of being non-PC or worse, they espouse the same tired beliefs. Allowing government control of almost half of our economy is extraordinarily dangerous and will certainly lead to ruin for us as a nation in both economics and the amount of personal liberties we enjoy. We just need look to Europe and their socialist ideology to see that socialism as primary governmental policy does not work. Do we really want to pay upwards of 60 percent of our incomes to receive the same substandard care that they do? Free-market economics and RESPONSIBLE governmental regulation are the answers to solving the health care woes we have. Tort reform is also a major contributor to skyrocketing health care costs and is something that also needs addressed. While law-suits only make up a small portion of the cost of health care in terms of actual dollar amounts, the fear of law-suits drives insurance prices sky-high which then haves a domino effect on what doctors have to charge patients. This also applies to the pharmaceutical industry and why their drugs cost so much. Just talk to an OBGYN doctor to see how much their insurance costs and you will see a large part of the problem; or research how much money some class-action law-suits cost the pharmaceutical industry. Making law-firms rich off of these suits is another matter all together, but there again, the huge settlements push prices artificially higher than they need be. This is why I feel that there should be a new state or federal court system put in place to weed out law-suit fraud. Their only role should be to hear these cases and then send them on to the higher court if it is found that the law-suit has merit. The party being sued would not even have to deal with attorneys unless this “filter” court deems that the suit can go forward. Caps on punitive damages for injury or wrongful death must also be enacted.
True reform should also consist of creating 100 percent tax-free insurance money pools to be used by those in financial need. These pools should be managed by private lending institutions, run by insurers and regulated by state governments to balance the authority the insurers would have in allotting funds to patients in need. These pools should be basically run like HSA’s are now with tax penalties for use outside of legitimate medical expenses and HSA’s and MSA’s would remain in place for those who can afford to pay into them. Pool funds would be held by lending institutions and backed by low-risk bonds to gain interest. People who prove financial hardship to the state government and insurer should then have partial bills paid from the pool funds. Corporations and private individuals should receive tax write-offs for making donations to these pools to keep funds solvent. People who use the funds should then be required to pay back as much as they can tax-free into the pool monies through a payment plan similar to a loan. Actual dollar amounts would be determined after service has been rendered to the patient and would be determined by a panel consisting of insurance representatives and state government meeting with individual clients and reviewing financial records together. While health care is a perplexing issue, I believe that a carrot-stick approach is much more conducive to maintaining freedom than federal mandates. I don't just blame Democrats for growing governmental reach; too many republicans have also furthered governmental size and scope. President Bush made a huge mistake in pushing the patriot act due to infringements of our rights and forgetting that freedom is of paramount importance. Most of the Patriot act is not based in conservatism and this piece of trash health care reform bill (power-grab) isn't either. We do not want or need any big-brother types of people telling us how to live our lives. We have to make this fact known loud and clear through mail, e-mail, blogs, demonstrations and events such as the Tea Party movement. Every voice counts and this is a fight we cannot afford to lose. Our party must return to true fiscal and social conservatism. What I am referring to is that we must truly work to cut governmental size and influence in every aspect of our society. We need to stop apologizing for being Americans and start doing things on our own, as individuals and not rely on government to keep us safe or happy - it will ALWAYS lead to tyranny. The analogy of the trapped monkey is a prime example of how this works. If you place a treat inside of a trap that only consists of a hole small enough to fit its hand into, but won’t allow it to be removed with the treat, the monkey will be trapped by not letting go even though he’d be free by just letting go of the treat. So it goes with people habitually feeding at the trough of governmental “generosity.” Right now, a majority of our collective hands are gripping the treat (promises of government invasiveness and pork keeping us all secure and safe) and keeping us trapped by federal bureaucratic inefficiency. Shrinking the size of the Federal government will be a painful but necessary endeavor. It is true that there are many jobs that would be affected, but displaced talent can create their own companies or join private-sector firms. To lessen the impact, I believe that a phased approach should be embarked upon in that normal attrition should start the down-sizing with direct cuts to the work-force occurring later. Foreign aid for the most part should be eliminated and that money redirected to temporary unemployment benefits for displaced government workers (maximum of 6 months of benefits). After the cuts are made, the military needs to have its budget increased but spent wisely on weapon systems and training. We cannot afford to fall behind on defensive or offensive military capabilities. Keep in mind that the military budget is a small piece of the budget pie – Social security, Medicare and Medicaid and pensions are a much higher percentage of the GDP than the military. Social Security should be phased out in favor of HSA’s, private hospice savings accounts and the pooled monies collected to support the aging. Medicare and Medicaid should be privatized or eliminated in a phased approach also to transfer health care decisions to individuals and not bureaucrats. It is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to deal with health issues and we cannot place that responsibility in the hands of government. Basically, I feel that the direction President Obama and his rubber-stamps in Congress are taking us leads to one conclusion – a socialist welfare state. This is not the country I want; nor is it the country that so many have fought for and given all to protect. We all have a duty as citizens to defend the constitution and its principles and not allow power-hungry politicians from either side of the political spectrum to erode our freedoms.
The current congress and white house are filled with individuals who are the antithesis of what our founding fathers envisioned us to be - self sufficient, giving and humble. Unfortunately, too many in the media refuse to press these idiots because they are too afraid of being non-PC or worse, they espouse the same tired beliefs. Allowing government control of almost half of our economy is extraordinarily dangerous and will certainly lead to ruin for us as a nation in both economics and the amount of personal liberties we enjoy. We just need look to Europe and their socialist ideology to see that socialism as primary governmental policy does not work. Do we really want to pay upwards of 60 percent of our incomes to receive the same substandard care that they do? Free-market economics and RESPONSIBLE governmental regulation are the answers to solving the health care woes we have. Tort reform is also a major contributor to skyrocketing health care costs and is something that also needs addressed. While law-suits only make up a small portion of the cost of health care in terms of actual dollar amounts, the fear of law-suits drives insurance prices sky-high which then haves a domino effect on what doctors have to charge patients. This also applies to the pharmaceutical industry and why their drugs cost so much. Just talk to an OBGYN doctor to see how much their insurance costs and you will see a large part of the problem; or research how much money some class-action law-suits cost the pharmaceutical industry. Making law-firms rich off of these suits is another matter all together, but there again, the huge settlements push prices artificially higher than they need be. This is why I feel that there should be a new state or federal court system put in place to weed out law-suit fraud. Their only role should be to hear these cases and then send them on to the higher court if it is found that the law-suit has merit. The party being sued would not even have to deal with attorneys unless this “filter” court deems that the suit can go forward. Caps on punitive damages for injury or wrongful death must also be enacted.
True reform should also consist of creating 100 percent tax-free insurance money pools to be used by those in financial need. These pools should be managed by private lending institutions, run by insurers and regulated by state governments to balance the authority the insurers would have in allotting funds to patients in need. These pools should be basically run like HSA’s are now with tax penalties for use outside of legitimate medical expenses and HSA’s and MSA’s would remain in place for those who can afford to pay into them. Pool funds would be held by lending institutions and backed by low-risk bonds to gain interest. People who prove financial hardship to the state government and insurer should then have partial bills paid from the pool funds. Corporations and private individuals should receive tax write-offs for making donations to these pools to keep funds solvent. People who use the funds should then be required to pay back as much as they can tax-free into the pool monies through a payment plan similar to a loan. Actual dollar amounts would be determined after service has been rendered to the patient and would be determined by a panel consisting of insurance representatives and state government meeting with individual clients and reviewing financial records together. While health care is a perplexing issue, I believe that a carrot-stick approach is much more conducive to maintaining freedom than federal mandates. I don't just blame Democrats for growing governmental reach; too many republicans have also furthered governmental size and scope. President Bush made a huge mistake in pushing the patriot act due to infringements of our rights and forgetting that freedom is of paramount importance. Most of the Patriot act is not based in conservatism and this piece of trash health care reform bill (power-grab) isn't either. We do not want or need any big-brother types of people telling us how to live our lives. We have to make this fact known loud and clear through mail, e-mail, blogs, demonstrations and events such as the Tea Party movement. Every voice counts and this is a fight we cannot afford to lose. Our party must return to true fiscal and social conservatism. What I am referring to is that we must truly work to cut governmental size and influence in every aspect of our society. We need to stop apologizing for being Americans and start doing things on our own, as individuals and not rely on government to keep us safe or happy - it will ALWAYS lead to tyranny. The analogy of the trapped monkey is a prime example of how this works. If you place a treat inside of a trap that only consists of a hole small enough to fit its hand into, but won’t allow it to be removed with the treat, the monkey will be trapped by not letting go even though he’d be free by just letting go of the treat. So it goes with people habitually feeding at the trough of governmental “generosity.” Right now, a majority of our collective hands are gripping the treat (promises of government invasiveness and pork keeping us all secure and safe) and keeping us trapped by federal bureaucratic inefficiency. Shrinking the size of the Federal government will be a painful but necessary endeavor. It is true that there are many jobs that would be affected, but displaced talent can create their own companies or join private-sector firms. To lessen the impact, I believe that a phased approach should be embarked upon in that normal attrition should start the down-sizing with direct cuts to the work-force occurring later. Foreign aid for the most part should be eliminated and that money redirected to temporary unemployment benefits for displaced government workers (maximum of 6 months of benefits). After the cuts are made, the military needs to have its budget increased but spent wisely on weapon systems and training. We cannot afford to fall behind on defensive or offensive military capabilities. Keep in mind that the military budget is a small piece of the budget pie – Social security, Medicare and Medicaid and pensions are a much higher percentage of the GDP than the military. Social Security should be phased out in favor of HSA’s, private hospice savings accounts and the pooled monies collected to support the aging. Medicare and Medicaid should be privatized or eliminated in a phased approach also to transfer health care decisions to individuals and not bureaucrats. It is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to deal with health issues and we cannot place that responsibility in the hands of government. Basically, I feel that the direction President Obama and his rubber-stamps in Congress are taking us leads to one conclusion – a socialist welfare state. This is not the country I want; nor is it the country that so many have fought for and given all to protect. We all have a duty as citizens to defend the constitution and its principles and not allow power-hungry politicians from either side of the political spectrum to erode our freedoms.
Joining the blogosphere
Well, I finally did it. I officially joined the blogosphere:) I have wanted to do this for quite a while, but decided to finally take the plunge. As my friends and family on Facebook can tell you, I have many opinions on many subjects. I figured that this would be the best place for me to post and spare them all of my rantings:) This forum provides a very valuable service in that anyone can voice their concerns, opinions or exchange ideas - and it's free. Well, if you followed my Facebook link to my blog, you likely have something to agree or disagree with me on. Please feel free to comment all you want. The free flow of ideas and opinions is of vital importance for freedom to flourish. I just ask that you please not use vulgar language and keep it civil. I will delete posts that fit either of these criteria. I am definitely not right on everything (and possibly on most things LOL) and I welcome any other viewpoints.
Steve
Steve
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