As all know I came to the US in 1970 and worked hard to learn the language and the culture of this great country. The focus was on learning all I could, studying and some day picking up the yoke and pulling my own weight to make this place better for my children.
With the passage of the Health Care Bill and all the reports of what is in it, what is not in it, the costs and the inevitable rationing of health care that will come down the pike (ask Medicare / Medicaid recipients, and those in Canada and Europe and you’ll see it is inevitable.)
I hear the question being asked over and over again; why are American’s so angry. Well, not since the Vietnam War has there been an action taken that affects more American lives in a negative way than this health care bill. In the 1960’s anger towards the war forced an end to it. I remember the last day in Saigon, the pictures of the people climbing onto the helicopter. A sad day for the American flag, but a re-establishment of government “for the people”: the people of the United States inserted themselves back in our government. Change took place.
Health Care is generating anger, not because of what the pundits say. I’m not being enticed by Tea Parties, Rush Limbaugh, or anyone else. Here are the things that have me so angry (note that there is a difference between being angry and being mad).
First:
The economy fell apart due to abuses by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Congress with people like Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank sweeping it under the rug, and simply blaming Wall Street Greed. If you fight the wrong root cause, the problem will always reoccur. Fannie and Freddie are now even bigger into the mortgages because of what they themselves caused and the government’s deep pockets (about 300+ million American’s worth).
Putting more money to prop up worthless assets (as all these bills will do) is like taking an expensive aspirin to deal with a cracked skull. The pain does not go away, and the damage is still being done. Prognosis: the patient dies, but you can say; “well, I gave him an aspirin, he just didn’t understand.”
Fix the problem, root out the poor lending policy of Freddy and Fannie and move on. Two years later and nothing has happened. We just pushed more money out the door at loans that are damaged goods. It’s called throwing good money after bad. We need to stop and take our medicine. But Government knows that if they let that happen, those in power today won’t be around too much longer.
Second:
Bank bail outs have not worked to start the economy because bank bail outs is the wrong place to start. I’ve blogged many times about how an economy works. People take risk for the reward they get. Companies take risk for the reward they get. When you overtax the entrepreneurial spirit of the country, you choke off jobs. When you choke off jobs, you reduce the money and the confidence of the consumer. When you stop the consumer, you stop our economy. We are going straight down that path and Washington seems happy to tackle anything else other than the economy. Well, that is unless they can add more taxes. Higher taxes are NEVER the solution. Reducing spending is the issue.
Third:
The job losses have mounted and are terribly affecting the economy. No matter how much money the government puts into the economy, if entrepreneurs are not conceiving new ideas and creating new markets that create new goods that require more workers, then we are just spending money. The economy needs focused attention from the best minds in the country. The business environment needs to be stabilized (no new taxes that we are not sure about). The taxes must be cut to leave money for the business cycle to start and the “predictability” of our government’s actions needs to return to normal.
Our current government, Democrats in the Congress, in the Senate and in the White House need to stop looking for the Utopian world where all good deeds are fully rewarded and provided for, and return to the reality that the only reason the United States is the most powerful economy in the history of this world is that we work hard, we reward ideas and hard work, and we let those who can (but chose not too) reap their reward commensurate with their applied efforts. Sitting at home, doing nothing – if you’re an able bodied person – should not be rewarded.
It is time to focus on the economy fully, by reducing the deficit and letting businesses create jobs. In uncertainty, the money that goes into risk taking finds its way to safe heavens and waits out the turmoil. President Obama has not reduced the turmoil, if anything his administration along with the Congress and the Senate have done nothing but create more turmoil by not listening, and that brings me to the final point.
Fourth:
Government is out of touch with the people they represent. The United States of America is a Representative Democracy. We elect people to office who then represent us. The founders of this great nation debated the possibilities and decided in a process of checks and balances. One of the least admired but probably the most valuable is the way the Senate and the House of Representatives are set up. The Senate, with the 6 year terms brings stability to Government. Only one third of the Senate is elected every two years, bringing new blood and new ideas to be blended with the two thirds that are seasoned veterans.
But, to counterbalance that long term in office the House of Representatives is set up to be replaced by newly elected people every two years. The entire House of Representatives has to be very conscious of the needs and wants of their constituents because every 24 months there is an election cycle that puts them before the voters. This assures that the people’s house is always in touch with the wishes of the voters. Too, they control the budget and the expenditures, ensuring that the purse strings are not too far from the people. Also, the Senate must approve the bill or no expenditure proposal makes it to the President for his final signature. It is a wonderful system and it has worked more or less since its inception.
This is a time when it is not working. The most critical issue for all Americans is the state of our economy, and the immediate impact of the deficit on the business cycle. What is Congress working on – for 14 months? Adding to the deficit, and adding to the tax burden of the people who drive the business cycle.
Going back to the final days of the Bush Presidency (this anger is not just focused on Democrats, it is focused on turmoil and spending habits that will kill our economy) we have passed the TARP bill, the RESCUE Package, and a number of other “spending” bills that have done nothing to spark the business cycle. Cash for clunkers may seem like a great idea, but it was tax payer money going to provide incentives for the consumer to buy cars that they would otherwise not have, thus tying up cash that could have gone to other things: The same with the First Time Buyer incentives.
It is a proven fact, going back to biblical times (regardless of your religious beliefs) that you cannot spend your way into prosperity. Your expenditures always must be less than your income. You cannot always control (without doing damage) the income stream, but you can always control the expenses. If you have expenses under control you will have the money to spend when hard times come about. If you spend, spend, spend, you’ll have nothing in reserve for when a legitimate crisis, outside of your control, happens.
The anger I feel today is not directed at one person, and it is not the type of anger that is blinding. I bet most American’s today feel the same way. It is the kind of anger that makes me pay more attention. It is the kind that makes me more resolute to express my well mannered opinions to my Federal and State Representatives, and Senators and ask them to heed the voice of the majority: FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY, STOP SPENDING MONEY!!!
All of us manage budgets. All of us would like to have a better home, and better car, even a better vacation spot. Why don’t we all just go do that? It is called “budget reality” we keep an eye on where we want to be, and we do what it takes to earn more so that we can achieve our goals.
This is not about health care, it is about the huge chasm that now exists between the Will and agenda of Government, and the Will and agenda of “We the people of these United States”.
Respectfully Submitted,
The Lee’s Summit Conservative
