For decades, since I can remember, the American people have always been full of hope for the future. There is a spirit in this country that allows that to exist. That spirit is called freedom. Most of us would quickly reach agreement if we sat down and talked in a forum that the less "government" interference we have in our lives the better are we seem to be. Then there exists in our society the minority of our citizens who want the government to take care of their life and business matters for them. They expect the government to provide for them and lack the initiative (and usually the intellect) to exercise personal responsibility.
Then we have a young man come along who recognized the public vulnerabilities that are present in this day and age. I have to agree with Obama that change was necessary. However, being an intelligent human being and having a knowledge of history, I also immediately zeroed in on the lack of specifics in the message. Change isn't always "good." Most of us recognize that also. Change, done in haste at a rapid pace, usually has more negatives than positives attached to it. That is what we are beginning to experience.
The problem is that politics has be become a very ugly American face. I'm fond of saying that both political parties in this nation have done it together to us, the tax payer, for decades with the Congressional orchestra playing in the background and the American public dancing merrily away with their happy feet in the background not paying attention. We get busy with the small things like providing housing and clothing for our families, not to mention the minor task of feeding our kin. At times we struggle with that a bit ourselves so why in the world should we be expected to pick up the tab for others at the same time. I'm charitable but not to that degree.
So 2010 is on the horizon and I wonder how many people are starting to pay attention. Obama wanted change and I'll be darned, we have the opportunity ourselves to make it happen. His vision of change and our vision of change appear to be coming to a crossroads. I have no use for party hacks myself. Maybe you do. The people we send to Washington DC are supposed to be representing us. It's not that way usually. They have become entrenched in those chairs by and large. The only time they want to hear from us is in an election year when their livelihood is at stake. Then they promise us the world and make all the campaign promises they think we want to hear and use big time money provided by their special interest groups to grease the wheels and bombard us with 30 second sound bites with their name repeated over and over again. There is a principle in psychology about that technique that I studied somewhere along the line during my formal education. Why aren't we catching on to some of this stuff?
So, in 2010, when 2/3rds of the problem are coming up wanting to go back and warm those seats again, why not have some real change. This past election we were promised new faces and new ideas. Take a look up there and it isn't happening. We have the same tired faces with the same retread ideas trying to reinvent the wheel. It has become so blatant that the political party name calling and blame game is right there on C-Span to see. I know, I know. Not the most exciting TV on the planet but you might want to take a look at who is saying what and when.
Here are some "changes" I "hope" that I see:
1) The end of "career" politicians. That would be a marvelous start. Some want to cite the loss of the "experience factor." Give it a rest. I cite the "common sense" factor and doing the will of your constituents who sent you there rather than what a political party has as their agenda. Common sense would go a long way in fixing some of the problems the world faces today, this nation in particular. Since they won't impose term limits on themselves like they did the office of the President, we apply it for them. So apply the "experience factor" to that concept. Of course, the Dodds, Franks and Pelosis of the world don't care to hear that even mentioned. We "NEED" them. I need a lot of things but not one of them, or any other career politician, is on my list. It would indeed be refreshing to see some new faces and fresh ideas. So lets now set our "term limit" on them. It's time to go back home now folks.
2) Put an end to the Federal Reserve system. You have to do some research on this system to understand why. Many Americans think it is an arm of the Federal government. It is not. It is an independent system not under the control of the fed. But they do make the major economic decisions that directly impact on most facets of our nation's economy. Obama wants to expand their authority to include just about all the financial sector. That's some change "O" Man. It is also appearing to be "super secretive" as any move to "audit" the Fed by the GAO is soundly denounced. I won't mention the faces and names behind such denunciations, educate yourself about this issue. Many leading economists in this country contend that the Federal Reserve has contributed significantly to the economic problems of the nation. If we're not able to have "transparency" and see what is behind the curtain then do away with it. Anytime a government, any government, doesn't want its citizens to see what is behind Door #1 then they should be concerned as to why. Right now there is a bill in the House that has over 50% co-sponsorship to audit the Fed. Why hasn't it been voted on? You'd have to ask Pelosi and Clyburn that question. I have.
3) Reduce the Federal bureaucracy by 50%. Instead of Big Bro wanting to control everything, let the market forces take care of business. If you have a business, large or small, and you cause it to fail or people don't want what you're selling, then try something else. Government waste is wide spread and well known and seems to be tolerated. We heard recently that the Federal government (the bureaucracy ) would be scrubbed top-to-bottom by this new administration. Instead what we are witnessing is the rapid growth of the animal by giving it a feeding frenzy. We now have totally new government departments and agencies and every bill that has whistled through Congress has the birth of new ones in it. There are now 30 Czars in our government who need no approval from anyone but the Executive Branch to institute policy and make major decisions. What about transparency and oversight?
4) End the welfare system as we know it. We need to stop perpetuating laziness. If a legitimate need is there then I am sympathetic. Encourage a solid work ethic and not "The Great Society." It hasn't worked nor will it. There is no free lunch and some of us know that. To continue to allow it does society no good. Lets go back and institute "Workfare." There are enough things that need to be done that it could easily be accomplished. Notice all that trash along our highways and byways. There is a need for "volunteer" workers throughout our country. Set time limits on how long one can accept any public assistance and stick to them. Stop increasing the stipend every time a woman has another child out of wedlock. Put the responsibility on the two people who created that individual - the father and the mother. It has been pretty well recognized that if you make people "work" to receive assistance then they get used to working. DUH!
5) Deport all illegal immigrants who entered this country illegally. Make the offense a felony and not a misdemeanor. I keep hearing the term "comprehensive immigration reform." Then when I see any bill introduced that would be a step in the right direction I hear a clamor about it. E-verify is a prime example. What's that? It is a system already in place that has a 96% accuracy rate in identifying workers and their legal status as citizens of this country. There was a bill with an amendment attached to it that just passed in the Senate that requires all employers who are federal contractors to utilize E-Verify to ensure the jobs go to US workers. Another was to grant access to"all" employers to run their employees names through the system. We'll see what happens as it goes to conference with the House where Nancy Pelosi objects to it. Why would anyone object to using a tool to ensure American workers have the opportunity to work? It was like pulling teeth to get authorization to build 700 miles of fence along our southern border to aid "comprehensive immigration reform." I was stationed in El Paso for a few years and got a birds eye view of them floating and wading across the Rio Grande. That is one border that needs to be sealed to ensure reform.
It has been said that it isn't economical to deport illegal aliens. It doesn't appear to be to economical to allow them to stay. Keep in mind that their is a distinct difference between a "migrant worker" and an illegal alien. Checked the unemployment figures lately? The Chamber of Commerce is opposed to any measures to weed out these vermin and return them to where they belong. A rather powerful lobby. The rationale is rather simple as they go. They protect business interests and usually on a larger scale than the Mom and Pop type of enterprise. Any thing restricting a business from hiring someone at the lowest wage possible and paying taxes and providing benefits isn't in their best interest. Which brings me to my next hope for change.
6) Restrict any, and all, lobbyist from access to the halls of Congress on a daily basis. Our elected officials are supposedly there to do the will of their constituents. It would appear to be more of a stampede of lobbyists who call the shots. Of course, I heard it said that there would be "no lobbyists" in the present administration. What was left out was there would be little exceptions along the way. So much for change. But I did have hope.
7) Change your attitude about voting. This might take some assistance. Ballots need to omit which party a person is affiliated with. Now wouldn't that throw a number of people for a loop? They might actually have to do some research on the voting record of the individuals on a ballot. Become a bit more involved in what is going on up there on Capitol Hill. Being involved once in a while in November and then letting it slide until the next time around produces the attitude we are witnessing up there. A great number of these folks think "they" know best. Is that why we send them there or is it to do the will of the people? Write to your elected officials, fax them, sign petitions to be sent to them. Will it make a difference? It should and if it doesn't ignore their name on the next ballot you see and try something different. That might bring about "change" of the sort that would surprise people. We, the people should be listened to since we sent them their.
8) Abolish the practice of "earmarks." That was a hot button issue this past election. Crafty little demons that they are they decided to side step that issue and write pork right into the bill. We're not smart enough to see that slight of hand you see. I do have to believe that politicians now think we are dumber than a box of rocks in Omaha. Maybe we are since we keep sending the same players back to play to the same tired brand of mismanaging our government time after time. It isn't surprising that the members of Congress oppose the line item veto. All that pork would remain on the pig.
We, the people of this country, can "change" things. Any politician making such a promise should be suspect as they are part of the problem. That should be obvious now. However, I'm not sure the majority of Americans want to see the trend we are taking toward socialism. We've seen the nationalization of the banking system occurring, the auto industry has been brought into the fold, AIG is completely owned by the government now and the Cap and Trade bill is no more than attempt for the government to control this nation's energy resources. Health care is looming over the horizon. The "changes" we have been witnessing aren't exactly what I had in mind. I was thinking about something entirely different but then again, it was never clearly defined. It was just a message. We need change and in 2010, I hope we can truly achieve that and let them know that the American people, at large, aren't as dumb as we appeared to be. Speak up now while you still can.
Personally, I am keeping a score card on my elected officials to see what they are doing. Are they party hacks? If so, then that is noted. How can anyone be so tied to a political party's philosophy that the best interests of their constituents take the back burner? Stick to the principles of the country's Constitution first and foremost. It somehow has become all about money, ours unfortunately to us and the special interests dollars to them. The special interests buy those 30 second sound bites. However, we're the ones who pull the levers.
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