I want to address the idea of Oil Companies being responsible for the cost of gas at the present time.
When did we change the type of country that we live in? When did we move from a Republic to a Socialist society? When did we become the type of people who blame Big Business for all our problems?
The reason I am bringing this up is because this week, the congress is calling the Executives of the Big Oil Companies in front of them to give them a chewing out over the current oil or fuel prices.
The congress is using the current fuel prices to grandstand in front of the television cameras by dragging the Executives in front of them and giving them the Fifth degree over their profits. Lets not worry about all the time when the Oil Companies were barely making a profit for all those years in the past. Lets not address the reality that we are still a country that is operated by the free enterprise system. When did it become congress's job to dictate how much an oil company can make? I thought that making money was what a Free Enterprise system was all about. When did we as a people come to the place that we now feel that it is O.K. to let the government interject itself into the business of private companies or corporations.
How is it the Oil Companies responsibility to look for Alternative Fuel sources? I mean, look at the title of the companies, I. E. Oil Companies. They are in the business of finding and producing oil. Now if they want to address that, I am sure the oil companies would be more than happy to have a legitimate discussion on that topic. I am sure that the oil companies would love to hear congress explain how they are putting the needs of some insignificant wildlife ahead of the needs of it's citizenry. I am sure the oil companies would love to have congress ask them why there have been no oil refineries built in the last thirty, yes I said thirty, years! I am sure that the oil companies would love to have congress ask them about the lack of Nuclear Power Plants that have been built to take some of the strain off of the Oil and Natural gas electrical plants. I would love to hear that discussion, wouldn't you?
We need to quit blaming companies for problems that our country is facing that they have and have had no hand in. We need to start allowing these same companies to do what they do, drill and produce oil. We have a number of sites that have been available in this country for over twenty-five years that we could start drilling today. Anwar, up in Alaska is the most popular and the most common. We have others that are not so common, not so popular but are there waiting to be drilled none the less. We have large deposits of oil off of our coastlines that we have not allowed the oil companies to drill. We have the ability to convert coal to oil, yet the elected officials in congress refuse to allow the mining of these extremely large reserves. We have two other sites in Alaska that are just waiting for us to tap, yet our elected officials refuse to allow the oil companies to do it. One of these sites would produce enough oil to provide the entire population of the United States with fuel at future usage assumptions for the next 200 years. That is just One site. We could see $1.50 a gallon gas in one year if the congress would just get out of the way of the oil companies ans allow them to do what they do best. Get the oil. Quit putting the welfare of wildlife in front of the welfare of the citizens. I could care less if some moose or bunny becomes extinct to ensure our way of life. I guess I am just some kind of hater, but I believe that people should come before animals. Period.
Send a message to congress this election cycle. Vote for only those officials that really want this country to be what it has always been, the leader of the world. Vote for those who have publicly stated that they support drilling in Anwar as well as off of our coastlines. Vote for those officials that would allow the building of new Oil Refineries as well as Nuclear Power Plants. Vote for those officials that believe in this country, not in their words, but in their voting actions. We are a great people who can do great things, if we are allowed. Help me get the government out of our way so that we can continue to be the great people we are. If we just vote on these principles, we can again be the leaders that every other country in the world has come to expect us to be.
Let me close with this question. If we are such a bad people and a bad country, why are people dying everyday to come here? Just a thought.
As always, I welcome your comments. Earl
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Entitlement Mentality
I would like to address a serious problem that has been creeping into our society for the past 50 years. This problem is Entitlements.
The past few generations have been slowly indoctrinated into believing that they are entitled to things just because something has happened to them or because they were born without the same advantages as some others.
What causes me to address this now is what is happening to the survivors of the September 11th bombing of the World Trade Center. The families of the people who died there are getting from $250,000 to over 4 million dollars apiece. Now, I want everyone to understand that I sympathize with the families of those who died on that dreadful day, but I don't think that they should receive a dime from the government for what happened. It was not the governments fault that those nut jobs flew the plane into those buildings, not is it the governments responsibility to provide restitution to the survivors for what happened. This is just a case of people wanting to benefit anyway they can from a tragedy that no American was responsible for. This is just 1 in a long list of entitlements that some Americans have come to believe that they have a right to. I hate to burst their bubble, but they are not entitled to anything. What happened on that day was a tragedy to be sure, but it comes down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing More.
Let me list some other Entitlement that Americans believe they have a right to, but in reality they have no such right. The Government has been giving away the candy store for so long that people actually believe that they have a right to these things.
1, Social Security- I have covered this in a previous article that you can go back and read. But, in a nutshell, This was an Insurance Program that was put in place by the government to protect a person in case they outlived the actuary tables which estimate how long a person is supposed to live.
2, Medicare- Again, see previous article, This was put in place to provide basic hospitalization for people who worked at jobs that did not provide a health plan that someone could carry over once they made retirement age, it has grown to the monster it is now.
3, Prescription Drugs, another government plan that was recently implemented solely for the purpose of obtaining the senior vote, who makes up the largest voting constituent in the United States.
4, Welfare- Originally brought about for people who had jobs but did not make enough money to meet the minimum guidelines for poverty. Most people do not know it, but you could not even apply for Welfare unless you had a job. Now look at what it has become.
These are just a few of the larger entitlement programs that are in existence. There are literally hundreds of others that are less famous but just as destructive to the growth of the individual. These programs all sound good when they are brought about, but like everything the government does, it grows into a monster that cannot be controlled. I believe that all entitlement programs started because someone really thought that there was a need for it and thought they were doing good. But, whenever you provide an entitlement to someone, you actually make them weaker because you take away the initiative to provide that item for themselves. This makes them dependent on the system and the taxpayer to continue to provide for them. Any time you give someone something for nothing, they lose a portion of their self respect. When you allow people to suffer a little, make their lives a little less comfortable, they will, for the most part, find a way to improve their situation. It is human nature. I know, there are people out there that really do need assistance. That is what charities are for, that is what the Church is for, that is what local communities are for. The government should be the last line of defense that a person seeks out, not the first.
Let me tell you about what is happening now that the government is going to pay the families and survivors of the 911 tragedy. There is now an effort being put together by the survivors and families of the Oklahoma City bombing to seek financial restitution for what happened to them. There is also an effort being put together for people who lost family in Embassy bombings to be compensated. Do you see what is happening here. Everyone is standing there with their hands out, wanting free money. Do they not understand that the money they are seeking is not free, someone has to pay it. That someone is you and I, the tax paying, hard working, god fearing, family oriented people of this great country. We are the ones who have to pay the tab whenever there is compensation being paid out for one of these events. I am not sorry, I do not believe that I should have to pay you, because some nut job killed your family member. It is tragic to be sure, but how is that mine, or the other millions of Americans responsibility. We are a nation that has been built on making our own way. Now the government wants to give everything to you, remember to old saying, "beware of the stranger bearing gifts". When the government gives you something, it takes something in return, whether it be pride of oneself, freedom once enjoyed, or rights once guaranteed. There are no free lunches. There is always a price to be paid, the question is, what is the price and who has to pay it?
I pray that our country will find it's way back to what our founding fathers envisioned for our country when the wrote the Declaration Of Independence. I pray that our people will return to the state of mind that helped build this country into the most successful and greatest country the world has ever seen. We are at a tipping point, are we going to continue to accept entitlements, thereby turning this country from freedom to socialism? Are we going to continue to give more and more of our daily responsibility to the government, thereby giving up more and more of the rights that thousands upon thousands of soldiers have died to make sure we had. The choice is yours, what will you do when something like Oklahoma or the World Trade Center happens to you and your family. Will you turn to each other for comfort, or will you turn to the government for payment for something it had no hand in? Will you take the death of a loved one and permanently shame it with the stains of profit over their death. The choice will be yours.
I am not saying that there are not times when someone or some organization should pay when they hurt or kill someone we love. I am saying that when our loved ones are killed by terrorist, the government should not be in the business of restitution for the survivors. That is not the governments role, their role is to find the ones responsible for those deaths and hand out the ultimate justice upon them.
As always, I look forward to your comments. Earl
The past few generations have been slowly indoctrinated into believing that they are entitled to things just because something has happened to them or because they were born without the same advantages as some others.
What causes me to address this now is what is happening to the survivors of the September 11th bombing of the World Trade Center. The families of the people who died there are getting from $250,000 to over 4 million dollars apiece. Now, I want everyone to understand that I sympathize with the families of those who died on that dreadful day, but I don't think that they should receive a dime from the government for what happened. It was not the governments fault that those nut jobs flew the plane into those buildings, not is it the governments responsibility to provide restitution to the survivors for what happened. This is just a case of people wanting to benefit anyway they can from a tragedy that no American was responsible for. This is just 1 in a long list of entitlements that some Americans have come to believe that they have a right to. I hate to burst their bubble, but they are not entitled to anything. What happened on that day was a tragedy to be sure, but it comes down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing More.
Let me list some other Entitlement that Americans believe they have a right to, but in reality they have no such right. The Government has been giving away the candy store for so long that people actually believe that they have a right to these things.
1, Social Security- I have covered this in a previous article that you can go back and read. But, in a nutshell, This was an Insurance Program that was put in place by the government to protect a person in case they outlived the actuary tables which estimate how long a person is supposed to live.
2, Medicare- Again, see previous article, This was put in place to provide basic hospitalization for people who worked at jobs that did not provide a health plan that someone could carry over once they made retirement age, it has grown to the monster it is now.
3, Prescription Drugs, another government plan that was recently implemented solely for the purpose of obtaining the senior vote, who makes up the largest voting constituent in the United States.
4, Welfare- Originally brought about for people who had jobs but did not make enough money to meet the minimum guidelines for poverty. Most people do not know it, but you could not even apply for Welfare unless you had a job. Now look at what it has become.
These are just a few of the larger entitlement programs that are in existence. There are literally hundreds of others that are less famous but just as destructive to the growth of the individual. These programs all sound good when they are brought about, but like everything the government does, it grows into a monster that cannot be controlled. I believe that all entitlement programs started because someone really thought that there was a need for it and thought they were doing good. But, whenever you provide an entitlement to someone, you actually make them weaker because you take away the initiative to provide that item for themselves. This makes them dependent on the system and the taxpayer to continue to provide for them. Any time you give someone something for nothing, they lose a portion of their self respect. When you allow people to suffer a little, make their lives a little less comfortable, they will, for the most part, find a way to improve their situation. It is human nature. I know, there are people out there that really do need assistance. That is what charities are for, that is what the Church is for, that is what local communities are for. The government should be the last line of defense that a person seeks out, not the first.
Let me tell you about what is happening now that the government is going to pay the families and survivors of the 911 tragedy. There is now an effort being put together by the survivors and families of the Oklahoma City bombing to seek financial restitution for what happened to them. There is also an effort being put together for people who lost family in Embassy bombings to be compensated. Do you see what is happening here. Everyone is standing there with their hands out, wanting free money. Do they not understand that the money they are seeking is not free, someone has to pay it. That someone is you and I, the tax paying, hard working, god fearing, family oriented people of this great country. We are the ones who have to pay the tab whenever there is compensation being paid out for one of these events. I am not sorry, I do not believe that I should have to pay you, because some nut job killed your family member. It is tragic to be sure, but how is that mine, or the other millions of Americans responsibility. We are a nation that has been built on making our own way. Now the government wants to give everything to you, remember to old saying, "beware of the stranger bearing gifts". When the government gives you something, it takes something in return, whether it be pride of oneself, freedom once enjoyed, or rights once guaranteed. There are no free lunches. There is always a price to be paid, the question is, what is the price and who has to pay it?
I pray that our country will find it's way back to what our founding fathers envisioned for our country when the wrote the Declaration Of Independence. I pray that our people will return to the state of mind that helped build this country into the most successful and greatest country the world has ever seen. We are at a tipping point, are we going to continue to accept entitlements, thereby turning this country from freedom to socialism? Are we going to continue to give more and more of our daily responsibility to the government, thereby giving up more and more of the rights that thousands upon thousands of soldiers have died to make sure we had. The choice is yours, what will you do when something like Oklahoma or the World Trade Center happens to you and your family. Will you turn to each other for comfort, or will you turn to the government for payment for something it had no hand in? Will you take the death of a loved one and permanently shame it with the stains of profit over their death. The choice will be yours.
I am not saying that there are not times when someone or some organization should pay when they hurt or kill someone we love. I am saying that when our loved ones are killed by terrorist, the government should not be in the business of restitution for the survivors. That is not the governments role, their role is to find the ones responsible for those deaths and hand out the ultimate justice upon them.
As always, I look forward to your comments. Earl
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
National Debt
I want to address the problem we are leaving our children and our grandchildren. The problem I am referring to is the debt we are creating with social programs.
The country has a present future debt of 56 Trillion Dollars over the coming seventy-five years, that is the debt at today's rate. Everyday that we go without addressing this problem the debt only becomes worse. It is estimated that by the year 2016 that we will only be able to pay the interest that this debt is accumulating. I feel that this is unacceptable to do to our future generations.
The three programs that have accumulated this debt are 1, Medicare-2, Social Security-and 3, Prescription Drugs. These three programs account for the 56 Trillion dollar deficit that the country is facing over the next 75 years.
You are not going to hear about this from the three people running for election this year, the reason is, is that it is too controversial of a subject. They feel that it is better not to bring up a problem that will bankrupt the county, rather than tell the American People the truth so we can come up with a solution. They are more concerned with their power in the government rather that be the person that is willing to do the right thing and inform the people of what is coming. The politicians would rather line their own pockets and keep their little bit of power than tell you the truth.
What needs to be done is not going to be done because of exactly what was described above. We need to do one of two things in order to get ourselves out of this mess. Neither if the two items I am going to state are going to be popular to the elderly or the people who are getting ready to retire in the next 5 to 10 years. The two items I am referring to are either 1, eliminate the three programs all together. 2, lower the amount of coverage each program has allowed for each person. I will go into each further in the next paragraph
1, Elimination of the three programs. This idea is not going to even be approached by any politicians because the elderly and soon to be retired are the bulk of the voting public. The truth of the matter is, the first program- Social Security- was never intended to be a retirement account. Most people do not know that Social Security had a third word when it was first implemented. It used to be called Social Security Insurance. The program was brought into existence for the purpose to protect an elderly person from outliving the actuary tables. When Social Security was first introduced, you could not even apply for it until you were 65 years old. Here is the catch, the actuary table indicated that your life expectancy was 62 years. What social security was for, was to protect you if you lived too long. Like any Social Program, it has grown to the monster it has become.
2, Medicare. Medicare was brought about because as we progressed through the industrial age, we were seeing that most companies were stopping the policy of providing lifetime benefits for retirees. In addition to this, the government introduced the 401k qualified retirement plans which transferred the responsibility for retirement from the corporation to the individual. What they did not do, was educate the working class about investing for retirement. Even worse than that, they did not even inform the working man or woman that they were now responsible for their own retirement, not to mention health care. This lack of information and education is going to cause a flood of people who have not prepared for their elderly years. This is going to cause the Medicare industry to become unmanageable due to the bills that will be acquired. There is no way for our country to afford what is coming.
3, Prescription Drugs plan. This is a recent program that was brought about because of the elderly population as well as the Baby Boomers that are now hitting the retirement roles. Because these two sets of people are the majority of the voting constituency in the country, the politicians decided that they would pass this legislation for the sole purpose of obtaining their vote. The politicians that passed this law had no regard for the debt that this law would accumulate. They have no idea how to pay for this program, not to mention the other two already discussed.
The second choice is to instead of eliminating the programs, downsize them. What I mean by this is, let the programs continue but lower the amount of coverage each pays. This option is also going to be highly unpopular. People are going to say that they paid into the programs and they want their benefits. They are right, they did pay into the programs, but not for themselves. What most people do not know is, because the government has been taking the money that was collected for Social Security and using it to fund other social programs, that there is no money available for their retirement. What has been happening is that the money that was left in the fund was used to fund the people already on the Social Security roles. It is expected from the politicians that the next generation will pay for the Baby Boomers retirement. What was not taken into account was the Baby Boomer generation is the largest generation in the history of our country. The generation behind the Baby Boomers is about half in size of population, this means that for every Baby Boomer on the roles, it will require two or three working people at the present tax rate to pay for their Social Security. Since those numbers do not equal up, the next thing that will have to happen is the social security tax will have to double on those who are working to make up the deficit. Not a popular idea if you are in the one working. As far as Medicare and Prescription Drugs, these programs need to place limits on the coverage each recipients receives and force the families to help take up the slack. Once this is done, the government needs to transfer the funds collected to the private industry so that the money can be invested for the type of returns needed to fund these programs. I can see no other possible choice available to fix this problem.
I am not writing this to cause panic, but to inform and cause discussion on the subject.
As always, feel free to respond. Thanks. Earl
The country has a present future debt of 56 Trillion Dollars over the coming seventy-five years, that is the debt at today's rate. Everyday that we go without addressing this problem the debt only becomes worse. It is estimated that by the year 2016 that we will only be able to pay the interest that this debt is accumulating. I feel that this is unacceptable to do to our future generations.
The three programs that have accumulated this debt are 1, Medicare-2, Social Security-and 3, Prescription Drugs. These three programs account for the 56 Trillion dollar deficit that the country is facing over the next 75 years.
You are not going to hear about this from the three people running for election this year, the reason is, is that it is too controversial of a subject. They feel that it is better not to bring up a problem that will bankrupt the county, rather than tell the American People the truth so we can come up with a solution. They are more concerned with their power in the government rather that be the person that is willing to do the right thing and inform the people of what is coming. The politicians would rather line their own pockets and keep their little bit of power than tell you the truth.
What needs to be done is not going to be done because of exactly what was described above. We need to do one of two things in order to get ourselves out of this mess. Neither if the two items I am going to state are going to be popular to the elderly or the people who are getting ready to retire in the next 5 to 10 years. The two items I am referring to are either 1, eliminate the three programs all together. 2, lower the amount of coverage each program has allowed for each person. I will go into each further in the next paragraph
1, Elimination of the three programs. This idea is not going to even be approached by any politicians because the elderly and soon to be retired are the bulk of the voting public. The truth of the matter is, the first program- Social Security- was never intended to be a retirement account. Most people do not know that Social Security had a third word when it was first implemented. It used to be called Social Security Insurance. The program was brought into existence for the purpose to protect an elderly person from outliving the actuary tables. When Social Security was first introduced, you could not even apply for it until you were 65 years old. Here is the catch, the actuary table indicated that your life expectancy was 62 years. What social security was for, was to protect you if you lived too long. Like any Social Program, it has grown to the monster it has become.
2, Medicare. Medicare was brought about because as we progressed through the industrial age, we were seeing that most companies were stopping the policy of providing lifetime benefits for retirees. In addition to this, the government introduced the 401k qualified retirement plans which transferred the responsibility for retirement from the corporation to the individual. What they did not do, was educate the working class about investing for retirement. Even worse than that, they did not even inform the working man or woman that they were now responsible for their own retirement, not to mention health care. This lack of information and education is going to cause a flood of people who have not prepared for their elderly years. This is going to cause the Medicare industry to become unmanageable due to the bills that will be acquired. There is no way for our country to afford what is coming.
3, Prescription Drugs plan. This is a recent program that was brought about because of the elderly population as well as the Baby Boomers that are now hitting the retirement roles. Because these two sets of people are the majority of the voting constituency in the country, the politicians decided that they would pass this legislation for the sole purpose of obtaining their vote. The politicians that passed this law had no regard for the debt that this law would accumulate. They have no idea how to pay for this program, not to mention the other two already discussed.
The second choice is to instead of eliminating the programs, downsize them. What I mean by this is, let the programs continue but lower the amount of coverage each pays. This option is also going to be highly unpopular. People are going to say that they paid into the programs and they want their benefits. They are right, they did pay into the programs, but not for themselves. What most people do not know is, because the government has been taking the money that was collected for Social Security and using it to fund other social programs, that there is no money available for their retirement. What has been happening is that the money that was left in the fund was used to fund the people already on the Social Security roles. It is expected from the politicians that the next generation will pay for the Baby Boomers retirement. What was not taken into account was the Baby Boomer generation is the largest generation in the history of our country. The generation behind the Baby Boomers is about half in size of population, this means that for every Baby Boomer on the roles, it will require two or three working people at the present tax rate to pay for their Social Security. Since those numbers do not equal up, the next thing that will have to happen is the social security tax will have to double on those who are working to make up the deficit. Not a popular idea if you are in the one working. As far as Medicare and Prescription Drugs, these programs need to place limits on the coverage each recipients receives and force the families to help take up the slack. Once this is done, the government needs to transfer the funds collected to the private industry so that the money can be invested for the type of returns needed to fund these programs. I can see no other possible choice available to fix this problem.
I am not writing this to cause panic, but to inform and cause discussion on the subject.
As always, feel free to respond. Thanks. Earl
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