Politicians need to start making the hard decisions... you know, the decisions that people hate them for now but 20 years down the road everyone will look back and say: "Wow, it's a good thing president Obama did that or we never would have pulled out of that recession!"
Up to now, they've been trying to please their constituents. What are the latest poll numbers? CompanyX will contribute to my campaign if I get this bill passed. Well if they don't stop that stuff soon, the country will fall apart around us all and no one will have anything.
Not everything happens instantly
We've gotten used to our instant gratification society. When things don't get fixed instantly, we complain about it even if it means that in ten more minutes your MP3 will finish downloading rather than the 15 seconds it takes on the network at work. So it's no wonder that we give up on things before we should, and poll numbers are going to drop like stones if a strategy doesn't pan out instantly. This is why our politicians need to tighten thier belts, set themselves in a "ready" stance and just do what NEEDS to be done.
People don't know what they need
People know what they want, sure, I want a new car, I want that new movie, I wnat, I want, I want. Eliot Spitzer wanted to get laid, and look how that worked out for him. Too many poloticians are worried about getting what they want, and not what our country NEEDS. Their wasting our time and money propping up these banks and large companies with a Bail-out. Why? Might it not be good if they go bankrupt? Might it not be good if they go down in flames? If they can just get away with poor planning and bad decisions this time, what's to stop them again next time.
Mr Pres...
Mr Obama, if you or your staff reads this, our economy has been propped-up for a long time now, and the reason we're in this pickle is because it IS propped up. It's a system of balances, a natural process, and like all natural processes it's bigger than we are, more complex than we can control, with aspects we can't predict, and the best way to weather the flood is to not have built a dam to begin with, because when the dam comes down, the village that got built down in the valley below it will get washed out.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
So he's black...
There's been a lot of hype and excitement about our new President. He's the First Black President of the US of A. He's done it, he's broken the barrier!
So?
Sure, it's great... but ... "he's just this guy, you know?"
Fans of Douglas Adam's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" will recognize that quote and it's significance and I invite anyone reading this to go fin out for themselves what it means.
Let me just say up front:
I'm not making a racist statement in any way. My point is that it doesn't matter if he's Black or not. The fact that he's dark-skinned has nothing to do with how he will perform. Everyone's acting like they won millions in the Lotto, whe really it's more like a $20 scratch-off... it's great, sure,
But what will he do for us?
I know someone who's father used to tell her, "That's my milk, I bought it, I'll drink out of the carton if I want. When you buy your own milk, you can drink from the carton all you want." So, the day she got her first apartment and bought her own milk guess what she did? Drank milk from the carton! Most people would have done it once or twice and thought, "OK, well I've done that" and moved on to other things... not her, she still drinks from the carton.
The facts Jack!
The fact is... it was only a matter of time before we had a black president. We have, or have had, black senators, black governors, black Heads of State and Cabinet members. Really, it's old news... time to stop drinking milk from the carton and move on! Only time will tell if we didn't just make another mistake. It's possible too that GWB could have done a good job if anyone had let him. I admit he did some dumb things and there was no end to things people could find to make fun of him for, but really he had too much opposition for anything he tried to succeed. Maybe he had other plans, and maybe he thought he was "doing the right thing." I'll tell you this though, no one is going to like any politician who does what's actually best for the country and I hope people give Obama the chance to "do the right thing". I also hope he's strong enough to "do the right thing" no matter what the short-term public opinion of him might be.
So?
Sure, it's great... but ... "he's just this guy, you know?"
Fans of Douglas Adam's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" will recognize that quote and it's significance and I invite anyone reading this to go fin out for themselves what it means.
Let me just say up front:
I'm not making a racist statement in any way. My point is that it doesn't matter if he's Black or not. The fact that he's dark-skinned has nothing to do with how he will perform. Everyone's acting like they won millions in the Lotto, whe really it's more like a $20 scratch-off... it's great, sure,
But what will he do for us?
I know someone who's father used to tell her, "That's my milk, I bought it, I'll drink out of the carton if I want. When you buy your own milk, you can drink from the carton all you want." So, the day she got her first apartment and bought her own milk guess what she did? Drank milk from the carton! Most people would have done it once or twice and thought, "OK, well I've done that" and moved on to other things... not her, she still drinks from the carton.
The facts Jack!
The fact is... it was only a matter of time before we had a black president. We have, or have had, black senators, black governors, black Heads of State and Cabinet members. Really, it's old news... time to stop drinking milk from the carton and move on! Only time will tell if we didn't just make another mistake. It's possible too that GWB could have done a good job if anyone had let him. I admit he did some dumb things and there was no end to things people could find to make fun of him for, but really he had too much opposition for anything he tried to succeed. Maybe he had other plans, and maybe he thought he was "doing the right thing." I'll tell you this though, no one is going to like any politician who does what's actually best for the country and I hope people give Obama the chance to "do the right thing". I also hope he's strong enough to "do the right thing" no matter what the short-term public opinion of him might be.
But Sir, it's your DAUGHTER!
Crazy?
I love my daughters, I'd do anything for them given the proper circumstances. I even tried to petition my own child support. Crazy hmmm....? Unfortunately, the court petitions are not written that way, so no matter what, I can't volunteer to pay into a "formal" state-run child support system. "She" has to petition it... so no matter what, every other Dad and I are forced to look like a loser who doesn't want to take care of his kids.
How it works.
For those not participating, Child Support sounds like a great idea... Make those losers PAY! From the inside though, that rose-colored glass is stained with blood. It's gotten a little better in recent years, but still... Here in NY State, Child support is automatically 17% of your GROSS income for one child... but that doesn't stop them from trying to sneak one over on us Dads... it was 17% when I had my day in court and the "child advocate" wrote down "17.8%". Of course, I didn't know it was only 17% at the time and I was too depressed to find out, and of course "SHE" wasn't going to say a thing. They also make you fill out a Financial affidavit which of course they don't look at, because they don't believe it... "aren't you going to check my expenses?", I asked. Her reply, "Sir... This is your daughter!" and she never looked at the affidavit. She could have looked and said, "You can get by with a local phone plan and $80 a week for groceries", but she didn't even try.
Sabotage
So this past year like many people, I had lost my job, Child Support payments were taken from my unemployment check until it ran out. Now, I haven't had to even think about Support payments since that day I left court, it's been taken from my paycheck every week and sure it's something I have to include on my income taxes but other-wise it's automatic. When unemployment ran out so did the automatic payments. "She" waited 6 weeks to ask me about it and Child Support never sent me a notice. So I called them and asked what my options were and elected to pay via electronic transfer direct from my checking account. My first clue was when she said,
"Sir, it may take 45 days for this payment to process"
(Mind you, Walmart can cash an electronic check before you get home from shopping)
"ummm.... what? My bank told me you can fax them a document and it can be done today..."
"We can but I can't guarantee that it will be sent today. What's your bank's fax number sir"
I gave the number.
" it should be posted within the next 45 days, will that be all?"
"Yes, Thank You..."
45 days later, the fax was never received, the payment still hadn't been made, I had called the bank, checked my account online and in person, So finally I went in person to my local child support office and asked... as it turns out, NO ORDERS WERE EVER PROCESSED ON MY ACCOUNT THAT DAY. So Now I was 12 weeks behind, with my bank account frozen. No Job. And no access to my savings from when I was working. Welcome to Life with Child Support!
How does this Help?!
So now there I was, ready and willing to make my payment and someone deliberately sabotages not only my life, but my daughter's and "hers". This is proof that this system needs to be changed. What good is it to my daughter if this sort of thing can happen. Not only is it important to me that "she" gets the money I put in, but it's important to me that my daughter benefits from it directly. Under the current system, "She" can take that money and spend it all on drugs, booze, clothes, a new car, or whatever, my daughter is not required to see one dime of it. This is WRONG!
The Future of Support!
I love my daughters, I'd do anything for them given the proper circumstances. I even tried to petition my own child support. Crazy hmmm....? Unfortunately, the court petitions are not written that way, so no matter what, I can't volunteer to pay into a "formal" state-run child support system. "She" has to petition it... so no matter what, every other Dad and I are forced to look like a loser who doesn't want to take care of his kids.
How it works.
For those not participating, Child Support sounds like a great idea... Make those losers PAY! From the inside though, that rose-colored glass is stained with blood. It's gotten a little better in recent years, but still... Here in NY State, Child support is automatically 17% of your GROSS income for one child... but that doesn't stop them from trying to sneak one over on us Dads... it was 17% when I had my day in court and the "child advocate" wrote down "17.8%". Of course, I didn't know it was only 17% at the time and I was too depressed to find out, and of course "SHE" wasn't going to say a thing. They also make you fill out a Financial affidavit which of course they don't look at, because they don't believe it... "aren't you going to check my expenses?", I asked. Her reply, "Sir... This is your daughter!" and she never looked at the affidavit. She could have looked and said, "You can get by with a local phone plan and $80 a week for groceries", but she didn't even try.
Sabotage
So this past year like many people, I had lost my job, Child Support payments were taken from my unemployment check until it ran out. Now, I haven't had to even think about Support payments since that day I left court, it's been taken from my paycheck every week and sure it's something I have to include on my income taxes but other-wise it's automatic. When unemployment ran out so did the automatic payments. "She" waited 6 weeks to ask me about it and Child Support never sent me a notice. So I called them and asked what my options were and elected to pay via electronic transfer direct from my checking account. My first clue was when she said,
"Sir, it may take 45 days for this payment to process"
(Mind you, Walmart can cash an electronic check before you get home from shopping)
"ummm.... what? My bank told me you can fax them a document and it can be done today..."
"We can but I can't guarantee that it will be sent today. What's your bank's fax number sir"
I gave the number.
" it should be posted within the next 45 days, will that be all?"
"Yes, Thank You..."
45 days later, the fax was never received, the payment still hadn't been made, I had called the bank, checked my account online and in person, So finally I went in person to my local child support office and asked... as it turns out, NO ORDERS WERE EVER PROCESSED ON MY ACCOUNT THAT DAY. So Now I was 12 weeks behind, with my bank account frozen. No Job. And no access to my savings from when I was working. Welcome to Life with Child Support!
How does this Help?!
So now there I was, ready and willing to make my payment and someone deliberately sabotages not only my life, but my daughter's and "hers". This is proof that this system needs to be changed. What good is it to my daughter if this sort of thing can happen. Not only is it important to me that "she" gets the money I put in, but it's important to me that my daughter benefits from it directly. Under the current system, "She" can take that money and spend it all on drugs, booze, clothes, a new car, or whatever, my daughter is not required to see one dime of it. This is WRONG!
The Future of Support!
- Support payments should be a percentage but max out at minimum wage. Kids really don't need all that much, and all of what they need can be bought by someone making minimum wage.
- Support monies should be given to the mother in the form of debit card vouchers only redeemable for food, children's meds, or children's clothing. There can be a separate card for birthdays and holidays and another portion for childcare and transportation. While I agree that it'd be nice to drive around in a new car, "she" can pay for a new one with her own money, my daughter will survive just fine if her mother drives a used car.
Don't get me wrong
It's not that I don't wish "her" well. I don't hate her, and I can care less what she drives. If she's successful my daughters are better off. I get along with her Fiance. Every year we all have Christmas together and the girls spend every other weekend with me, sometimes every weekend when I can afford it and all summer.
I'm just tired of being abused simply because I'm a Dad.
The NEW "New Deal"
So:
We all know about the current "Economic Crisis" and the politicians are authorizing new "bail-outs" as I speak. Remember later though that I said this: none of it will help
Why not?
Well for starters, Economics is a natural process, just like The Rain Cycle, The Food Cycle, Ice Ages, Tides, and the annual change seasons. What happens when Mankind messes with nature? We protect endangered species, and before we know it, there's an over-population of it. We hold back the oceans and eventually a city gets flooded. The trouble is, natural processes check and balance themselves, and the global economy is no different!
What Happened?
We read and hear and watch the News through our favorite media sources all day long. They tell us, "it was the Sub-prime lending" long with any other number of reasons. However the true problem is so simple it amazes me that people can't see it. Subprime lending is just a symptom, bankruptsy and loan defaults are all secondary symptoms. The real problem is that our economy has been propped up since The Great Depression: ie. The New Deal.
What?
That's right, you heard correctly. Our ecoomy has been flourishing artificially since then. Now it has to balance out. It was already beginning to balance back then. Peaks and troughs, and the peak can only get so tall before the wave breaks and by artificially supporting our economy we've created an economic tsunami.
Now What?
So... there's the problem, what's the solution? I'm no economic genius, I admit it. I have trouble keeping my checkbook balanced. I only see two posibilities though: Continue to try to prop up the enconomy... the WORLD economy that is... or just let it go to hell naturally and level out. We've already tried Bail-outs and where is that leading... more bail-outs!
This Doesn't Sound Fun...
True, it sure won't be a picnic. Geopolitical bounderies may be completely different when it's over. We may be on top, and we may not be. Everything has to change sometime. Without change, we face stagnation and death. The kicker is, Change happens wether we try to prevent it or not, so why not ride the wave? If it all falls to pieces we could lose all these great advancements, but if we ride the wave we keep it all and have the opportunity to wake up as something new.... Maybe even dare I say it, something better!
We all know about the current "Economic Crisis" and the politicians are authorizing new "bail-outs" as I speak. Remember later though that I said this: none of it will help
Why not?
Well for starters, Economics is a natural process, just like The Rain Cycle, The Food Cycle, Ice Ages, Tides, and the annual change seasons. What happens when Mankind messes with nature? We protect endangered species, and before we know it, there's an over-population of it. We hold back the oceans and eventually a city gets flooded. The trouble is, natural processes check and balance themselves, and the global economy is no different!
What Happened?
We read and hear and watch the News through our favorite media sources all day long. They tell us, "it was the Sub-prime lending" long with any other number of reasons. However the true problem is so simple it amazes me that people can't see it. Subprime lending is just a symptom, bankruptsy and loan defaults are all secondary symptoms. The real problem is that our economy has been propped up since The Great Depression: ie. The New Deal.
What?
That's right, you heard correctly. Our ecoomy has been flourishing artificially since then. Now it has to balance out. It was already beginning to balance back then. Peaks and troughs, and the peak can only get so tall before the wave breaks and by artificially supporting our economy we've created an economic tsunami.
Now What?
So... there's the problem, what's the solution? I'm no economic genius, I admit it. I have trouble keeping my checkbook balanced. I only see two posibilities though: Continue to try to prop up the enconomy... the WORLD economy that is... or just let it go to hell naturally and level out. We've already tried Bail-outs and where is that leading... more bail-outs!
This Doesn't Sound Fun...
True, it sure won't be a picnic. Geopolitical bounderies may be completely different when it's over. We may be on top, and we may not be. Everything has to change sometime. Without change, we face stagnation and death. The kicker is, Change happens wether we try to prevent it or not, so why not ride the wave? If it all falls to pieces we could lose all these great advancements, but if we ride the wave we keep it all and have the opportunity to wake up as something new.... Maybe even dare I say it, something better!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Introduction
Good Ideas?
Want to hear my views on a specific topic? Leave a comment and if I feel it fits my style, I'll add it to my list!
ME , ME, ME...
...OK Well here's a bit about myself for those who like that sort of thing.
Art
I like just about anything artistic. Music, sculpture, painting, poetry, you name it. I do have my limits, but I find they become fewer as the years go on.
Politics
I hate politics but it's an unfortunate truth that to ignore your political situation is the same as asking to be taken advantag of.
Religion
I'm not religious in the normal sense that people refer to it, but I am religious. This does not stop me from looking for all of the duplicity, hypocrisy, and outright falsities that plague modern religions and the people who follow them.
Family
My children are the most important aspect of my life. Psychology and interpersonal communications go hand-in-hand with art, and much of my experience in this ara has helped me raise my children.
Nature
I'm not a Tree Hugger or animal rights activist or anything ike them. I don't run around being an activist, and trying to convince people of things they'll only experience from the other side of a glass window or television. No, I just spent a lot of time in the woods growing up and so I feel I have a better grasp of how it all works than any of the Tree Huggers or religious nuts ever will.
Want to hear my views on a specific topic? Leave a comment and if I feel it fits my style, I'll add it to my list!
ME , ME, ME...
...OK Well here's a bit about myself for those who like that sort of thing.
Art
I like just about anything artistic. Music, sculpture, painting, poetry, you name it. I do have my limits, but I find they become fewer as the years go on.
Politics
I hate politics but it's an unfortunate truth that to ignore your political situation is the same as asking to be taken advantag of.
Religion
I'm not religious in the normal sense that people refer to it, but I am religious. This does not stop me from looking for all of the duplicity, hypocrisy, and outright falsities that plague modern religions and the people who follow them.
Family
My children are the most important aspect of my life. Psychology and interpersonal communications go hand-in-hand with art, and much of my experience in this ara has helped me raise my children.
Nature
I'm not a Tree Hugger or animal rights activist or anything ike them. I don't run around being an activist, and trying to convince people of things they'll only experience from the other side of a glass window or television. No, I just spent a lot of time in the woods growing up and so I feel I have a better grasp of how it all works than any of the Tree Huggers or religious nuts ever will.
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