On Dec 17th a 26yr old man named Mohamed Bouazizi stood in front of the local government office in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia poured gas all over his body then lit himself on fire. Why would an educated man go to such extremes to make a point? He was unemployed and the only source of income he had was from a small fruit stand he ran. He did not have the appropriate license to sell fruit so he lost his stand and his only income, he could no longer provide for his wife and daughter. This one desperate act led to the uprising in Tunisia and sparked "freedom fever" in surrounding countries like Egypt and Libya. What can one man do you ask? Just start a revolution.
I am certainly not supporting people burning themselves to get the desired results from their government but what I am suggesting is simply funneling our passions and energy in the right direction. You never know maybe we can start a revolution that will begin to get the country back on track fiscally. I mentioned in my previous post that I could fix the economy. The point I was trying to make is that it is the responsibility of regular citizens to fix this economic mess. We can do it together. Relying on the government is what got us into this mess in the first place.
For the past three weeks I have been working in the office of Congressman Bill Owens. One of the projects I have been working on is a way to get money to eradicate water chestnuts from the local waterways. Water Chestnuts are a very invasive plant that can take over a small inland lake in the matter of a couple of years. The problem is there is no money available to purchase the expensive herbicide to fight the spread of the plant. Some communities were not willing to let the fact that there were no funds destroy their lakes. Average citizens got together and started manually pulling the water chestnuts. Whatever funds they could get from donations and such was spent on renting a harvesting machine. Although the process will have to take place every couple of years the effort was successful enough that the lakes could be enjoyed and were no longer in danger of being overrun with this plant. The moral of the story is that we shouldn't just wait for the government to bail us out we should be proactive in our communities. It is said that all government is local. I believe this to be true but if that is the case then I would have to say a majority of the problems our country faces start at the local level as well. Unemployment, poverty, corruption, low wages, drugs, crime, teenage pregnancy and dealing with the homeless are all problems that can be handled on a local level. Imagine if the federal government didn't have to appropriate funds for all of these issues. Local citizens must take responsibility for the needs of their communities. Its time for dramatic actions. The same old status quo is going to destroy our country and at that point we will all have to come together to just survive. Why not do it know before things get that bad?
A piece of legislation that I believe would help was introduced by Congressman Bill Owens. It was the "War on Debt Act". The proposal was for citizens to buy US Savings Bonds to pay down the debt. The money that was spent on the bonds would go to pay down the debt with China and other countries around the globe that hold $3.7 trillion dollars of US debt. I have to admit I thought the plan was genius for two reasons, first it gets the American public involved and second reduces the debt with China would have a tremendous effect on the value of the US dollar. I was surprised when the proposed legislation never went anywhere. Some called it a political ploy and others said it was a naive move by a rookie congressman serving his first term in elected office. One of the arguments I heard against it was, "Bonds are just another form of debt. Its like paying off your debt with a credit card." Really? Let me ask you this, would you want the countries debt to be held by its citizens that racked it up in the first place or by a country like China or Russia, both of which are in the top five of countries owed? It is a major national security issue to owe these nations that money. How can any reasonable person really think that owing these nations is in our best interest?Oh wait that must be another entitled US citizen making that comment.
Let me close with one more thought. I started this post with a story of the move for freedom in the Middle East. "Freedom Fever" not to be confused with "Bieber Fever" (had to put that in there for my daughter) is spreading not just in the Middle East but around the globe. Here is a scary thought for you. What if the people of China rise up (they have already started demonstrations) and become a free nation? How long do you think it will take for them to become frustrated with the fact they are subsidizing the American lifestyle? When the regular citizen that lives with much less then even our lowest income earners finds out what we owe them the game is over. What then? All I can say is at that point I would rather the citizens of this country were holding our own debt. After all isn't it our responsibility or have we become so entitled that we are not responsible for our own debt anymore.
Thanks For Reading
Steve
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
I Can Fix The Economy
Yep, you read that right I just declared I could fix the economy. I know that I don't have a PhD or a Masters in Economics and that I have never managed a company that makes millions or billions of dollars but I guarantee you that I could fix it. I know politicians would like you to believe they are all looking for the magic bullet to fix the economy or that some special mathematical formula is necessary but the truth is all that is required is common sense. You don't need to be a rocket scientist just someone that can balance a checkbook. The special mathematical equation is as follows: Income-Expenses=Budget. You can only spend what you make. Its really that simple. So whats the problem? Why are we in such a mess? The first step in trying to fix anything is to find out what the problem is. You maybe surprised at who I blame for the state of the economy.
The people most responsible for the state of our economy is you and I. I will give you a second to pick your laptop off the floor you just threw it on. Hopefully you will have composed yourself enough that you are not moving the little arrow to hit the red X on the top right corner of your screen. The sad truth is WE are the problem, not the politicians, not big business and not all the countries we give foreign aid to. Let me explain.
This past weekend I took my daughter and her friend to a snowmobile safety class. My children and I enjoy using snowmobiles in the winter and it is one of our favorite ways to go out for dinner. We ride the sleds in the direction of the town we want to eat in and eventually we end up at a restaurant. You are probably wondering how we would get from town to town without riding on the road? NY like many states has wonderful groomed trails that you can ride on. You can literally ride for thousands of miles. Many of these trails are groomed by the state and the others by local snowmobile clubs(that get funding from the state). It is a very pricey endeavor to keep the trails open and the snowmobilers happy. During the safety class the instructor kept bashing the politicians for taking away some of the funding for next year. At first I was annoyed at the politicians who dared to try and ruin my hobby but then I realized that is the problem with this country. We all think we are entitled to something. Try it. Think about something you get from the government that you wouldn't want to change. I will give you a list of things that I wouldn't want to lose. I am presently going to college so I would hate to see any decrease in funding for college students. I am a veteran and I would hate to see any reduction in benefits for veterans. I am an avid sportsman who doesn't want the hunting and fishing fees to go up. I want my snowmobile trails to be nice and soft so I can enjoy my rides with my kids and friends. This list doesn't even mention the hot political arguments out there like military funding, social programs and unions just to name a few. I know it is easy to bash politicians for spending but try keeping all the people in the country, state or district happy. I challenge you to post a comment on your FaceBook page and see if you can just get the friends on your page to agree. It is impossible. So what am I saying?
As a student, veteran and outdoor enthusiast I am willing to give up some of the things that mean a lot to me. The sad truth is if we don't all get on the same page we wont just lose our hobbies that are near and dear to us but we will lose everything and by everything I mean everything. Our democracy is in grave peril. Our way of life is in serious danger of being taken away from us. I believe we are in the most perilous time that our country has seen since WWII. They have called the WWII generation the "Greatest Generation" because of the way they came through the Great Depression and how they fought WWII. The fact is this generation is as much or more endanger of losing what they fought for then any before. I do not say any after because I don't think we will have an after if this generation doesn't stand up. What we need know is a Greater Generation to rise to fight for our country. When I say fight I am not talking necessarily about actual warfare but a nation that is willing to lay aside its greed and entitlements to give the next generations a better future. The truth is whenever this nation calls its men and woman to arms they rise and meet the task but what if we ask the people of this nation to go without for a time? What if we ask this generation to make the hard economic sacrifices that it will take to pull us out of this mess, would they answer the call? Sadly I would say that more would rather die for their country then live with less for it.
So the first step in fixing the economy is by realizing that we as citizens need to make some sacrifices. I said at the beginning I could fix the economy and so can you. It will require grass root efforts and citizens to come together and fix it. Instead of calling your congressman or woman and complaining about what they are cutting call them and tell them you know they are making tough choices. Tell them you would be willing to sacrifice___fill in the blank_ so the next generation wont have to. Some have mentioned that it is time for a revolution in our country and I would agree. It starts with citizens being fiscally responsible and then demanding it of their elected officials. Don't expect politicians to sacrifice votes that threaten their job if you are not willing to sacrifice yourself.
Thanks For Reading
Steve
Over the next couple of weeks I will write more blogs on how to fix the economy by focusing on three areas grass root efforts, oil and foreign aid.
The people most responsible for the state of our economy is you and I. I will give you a second to pick your laptop off the floor you just threw it on. Hopefully you will have composed yourself enough that you are not moving the little arrow to hit the red X on the top right corner of your screen. The sad truth is WE are the problem, not the politicians, not big business and not all the countries we give foreign aid to. Let me explain.
This past weekend I took my daughter and her friend to a snowmobile safety class. My children and I enjoy using snowmobiles in the winter and it is one of our favorite ways to go out for dinner. We ride the sleds in the direction of the town we want to eat in and eventually we end up at a restaurant. You are probably wondering how we would get from town to town without riding on the road? NY like many states has wonderful groomed trails that you can ride on. You can literally ride for thousands of miles. Many of these trails are groomed by the state and the others by local snowmobile clubs(that get funding from the state). It is a very pricey endeavor to keep the trails open and the snowmobilers happy. During the safety class the instructor kept bashing the politicians for taking away some of the funding for next year. At first I was annoyed at the politicians who dared to try and ruin my hobby but then I realized that is the problem with this country. We all think we are entitled to something. Try it. Think about something you get from the government that you wouldn't want to change. I will give you a list of things that I wouldn't want to lose. I am presently going to college so I would hate to see any decrease in funding for college students. I am a veteran and I would hate to see any reduction in benefits for veterans. I am an avid sportsman who doesn't want the hunting and fishing fees to go up. I want my snowmobile trails to be nice and soft so I can enjoy my rides with my kids and friends. This list doesn't even mention the hot political arguments out there like military funding, social programs and unions just to name a few. I know it is easy to bash politicians for spending but try keeping all the people in the country, state or district happy. I challenge you to post a comment on your FaceBook page and see if you can just get the friends on your page to agree. It is impossible. So what am I saying?
As a student, veteran and outdoor enthusiast I am willing to give up some of the things that mean a lot to me. The sad truth is if we don't all get on the same page we wont just lose our hobbies that are near and dear to us but we will lose everything and by everything I mean everything. Our democracy is in grave peril. Our way of life is in serious danger of being taken away from us. I believe we are in the most perilous time that our country has seen since WWII. They have called the WWII generation the "Greatest Generation" because of the way they came through the Great Depression and how they fought WWII. The fact is this generation is as much or more endanger of losing what they fought for then any before. I do not say any after because I don't think we will have an after if this generation doesn't stand up. What we need know is a Greater Generation to rise to fight for our country. When I say fight I am not talking necessarily about actual warfare but a nation that is willing to lay aside its greed and entitlements to give the next generations a better future. The truth is whenever this nation calls its men and woman to arms they rise and meet the task but what if we ask the people of this nation to go without for a time? What if we ask this generation to make the hard economic sacrifices that it will take to pull us out of this mess, would they answer the call? Sadly I would say that more would rather die for their country then live with less for it.
So the first step in fixing the economy is by realizing that we as citizens need to make some sacrifices. I said at the beginning I could fix the economy and so can you. It will require grass root efforts and citizens to come together and fix it. Instead of calling your congressman or woman and complaining about what they are cutting call them and tell them you know they are making tough choices. Tell them you would be willing to sacrifice___fill in the blank_ so the next generation wont have to. Some have mentioned that it is time for a revolution in our country and I would agree. It starts with citizens being fiscally responsible and then demanding it of their elected officials. Don't expect politicians to sacrifice votes that threaten their job if you are not willing to sacrifice yourself.
Thanks For Reading
Steve
Over the next couple of weeks I will write more blogs on how to fix the economy by focusing on three areas grass root efforts, oil and foreign aid.
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