A Prayer To President of the United States, Obama:
Please create jobs today for those who will lose everything if they don't get one right away. I am sure I speak for all those who have already, are now, or will be in a jobless, homeless, or otherwise hopeless predicament very soon.
I do not claim to be an economics expert, but can definitely nail down a few of the major causes of our grave economic situation today. I could see the writing on the wall once upon a time ago and of course who was I to have a voice in government policies?
The exact dates are not important and it is perhaps too late to reverse all the damage that has already been done. It seems to me that it all began to creep in around 1968, give or take a few years. I will not attempt to aim blames towards particular persons who were at the helm at the time, nor attempt to give priority to the list below, but simply quantify the big ones that I consider the obvious oversights, as they all contributed collectively to our present economic pitfall.
* Banks were given the OK to loan money to many creditors requiring no guaranteed collateral. I viewed that for what it was, Bad Business Policy. Perhaps my wording of this oversight is not politically correct, but the resulting factual disaster was that much of it was never paid back. I have heard many similar stories about some who borrowed huge sums of money, purchased items of sustaining value, hid them stealth fully away, then claimed loss and bankruptcy afterwards making them small fortunes. According to some, this was considered “The American Way” to prosper.
* The welfare and food stamp programs were a huge and total mistake. Money was given to persons freely to able bodied persons with absolutely no intent of any return what-so-ever. I was in utter disbelief that Congress would stupidly allow this to pass. It was my thinking at the time that this was a completely free giveaway and not an investment of any kind by our government. Because of the lack of oversight and policing, many laughed all the way to the bank while they claimed their pets as dependents in order to bilk even more money from our government. The honest half of those, who really needed more money than they received, were cheated by those lazy and corrupt persons who simply traded their food stamps for cash, weapons, drugs, prostitution and other personal endeavors that further caused society and government deeper financial burdens.
* Greedy business people were allowed to run ramped extorting the unknowing poor ignorant public and filling their pockets with excess profits. Their clever and legal creative bookkeeping made easy billions for many unscrupulous CEO's and corporate pigs, causing thousands of honest and innocent investors to lose everything they had worked for all their lives.
As clearly as I could see what was to become of these blundering oversights, I am somewhat surprised that the downfall did not happen somewhat sooner than it did, although my suspicions were confirmed about the time the government bailed out Chrysler Corporation. You see, it is inevitable that certain markets become saturated to the point of stagnation. The condition is similar to a gold mine that still has gold in it, but no longer profitable to get the remainder out of it.
At any rate, the damage is done and it is too late to turn back the hands of time.
Among others, the economic responsibility has been dumped in Obama's lap to make the best of the situation.
The country is expecting him to perform miracles. After forty years of economic abuse by the greedy, (have no doubts that greed was and is the cause ), just what do YOU expect of him and our government? What would YOU suggest to cure the now extremely cancerous situation? How long will it take to undo the near hopeless economic downfall? How secure is YOUR job? Does anyone see the BIG picture? How many gurus will it take to solve the crisis? Will they make even worse mistakes than before?
Here's my 2 cents worth and some food for thought:
First of all I believe that the essentials of all individuals in a functioning society deserve Food, Clothing, Shelter/Privacy, Education, Health Care, Job, and Fairness of Treatment.
In the world today, that is a tall order of itself, even during more favorable economic times. Close to 10% of Americans in this country are now deprived of many of these necessities and, as predictable, the numbers of homeless and jobless continue to climb at a devastating rate, as do the crime rates, and other inevitable negative statistics.
Please do not pass these ideas off as the rantings of a digruntled lunatic. Do chew on these for a while before hastily drawing any conclusions. Do toss these ideas around for serious and debatable discussion. Blog them. Tweet them. Forever Forum, Flicker and Facebook them. In my opinion, this subject will be the main concern for all in the years to come. What would you do if YOU, simply phrased, ran out of money?
So now what?
Here are just a few suggestions that may alleviate the condition in the long run. You be the judge. One thing is for certain, the old ways of society simply don't work any more.
[ The "Free Enterprise" system of government apparently is not the best system of government.
The wealthy have always been in control of the "Have Nots". If a system is to function at peak performance and fairness, it must be truly Democratic. ALL votes must count.]
Drastic damage control measures are absolutely necessary or we will all be going down the tubes like turds flushed down the commode. Whether you like it or not, we are all intimately involved with society as never before. If you are a responsible person, you had better be contributing your thoughts and prayers and action towards viable solutions to these problems.
• Share the wealth. Let profitable businesses pay all the taxes. They can definitely afford this. Think of the millions of dollars that would be saved in paperwork alone. Business competition would again be strongly stimulated. The working class should have never been required to pay taxes in the first place. They are already taxed with having to work physically harder than executives, risking their health and at a reduced health and longevity.
• Do away with money. Use monitored credits instead. (This is nothing more than Direct Deposit that many people are already using to automatically have their checks deposited and would save the government printing and minting costs) ALL financial transactions could be recorded above board. This would eliminate most underhanded and illegal corruption. Honest persons would not object to this change what-so-ever and would remain completely unaffected by it. The stock market would reflect closer to normal true company values since all company transactions could be made a matter of public record.
• Make company executives accountable for their actions. This one is kind of a legal nightmare for a decision to be made concerning this topic, but if executives were required by law to have a large portion of their own money invested, this would practically force them to make better decisions concerning their company's safety and welfare.
• Adjust Fair wages for everyone. If this is not done, it will be "business as usual" for the "Good 'ol boys club" who are high up on the business ladder. Do you think it is fair that some sports players, among others, get paid millions a year to enjoy what they do anyway? Or CEO's to receive million dollar bonuses in their contracts even if their company to loses money? I don’t. Every time a small group or individual is paid more than their fair share, the majority loses benefits. Economists and new laws will have to be formatted to create a "fair deal" for all. I totally disagree that the economy must be in a continually up curving flux. Japan fixes and freezes its prices for an entire year. Planning for future out costs are much better controlled in this manner. After all, the truely important things in life; family, friends and well being, have remained steadfast throughout history.
• Create jobs for all able bodied persons. Persons able and willing to work should get paid enough to regain their status and self-worth. The States are already paying for unemployment. Doesn't it make sense to pay a company the money to give people a job instead? Then everyone benefits.
• Persons proven unable to work full time could perhaps be allowed to contribute in smaller ways.
• If machines replaced all human workers, then what?
Automation has made much of the pay grades between owners and employees unfair. As predicted by many economists years ago, automation and computers have replaced many workers, increased power usage and contributed to much more pollution.
• Insure health care for all. The government will have to subsidize some of this as usual. It is a well known statistic that 40% of hospital bills are never paid by patients.
• Quality Assurance. What ever is done must be done with over-see, and policing policies in place that will create more jobs and prevent many future oversights.
• Criminals convicted of non-physical crimes should be fined heavily and/or utilized for work programs to pay their way and for rehabilitation purposes; not be rewarded at the taxpayers expense with 3 good meals, free room and board, and color TV to watch all day. Many hard working Americans do not have it this good.
• As an afterthought, the rich should not be allowed to pass their entire wealth to their families as this does not give equal rights to others deserving of fairness to finance and education. After all, why should Lord Fontleroy (spoiled little rich kid) be allowed to have private schooling when hard working Americans are denied the deserved retired Social Security earnings of a passed away spouse or loved one?
• It is human for many to pursue their individual happiness. I believe it is their inalienable right. Therefore change the antiquated laws that restrict persons from this enjoyment, so long as they are NOT interfering with the freedoms of others. That will give the supreme justice department. something to digest, and save law enforcement tons of money. Yes, I am saying legalize marijuana, gambling, and prostitution. Tax it and let society profit by it, not throw money down the drain trying to prevent what is natural for a large segment of our society. As you well know, prohibition didn’t work either, and prostitution is the oldest occupation since the beginning of civilization. Zoning will solve all the problems associated with the above new freedoms.
• Why not have a Government Lottery every day? That could generate a lot of tax revenue.
Please refrain from attaching a name to these collective ideas, such as Socialism. My invented word for these solutions is "Solutionism".
Well there ya go! Just a few little tidbits thrown out there for you to ponder over.
There is no need to email me with comments on this article. Due to a pinched nerve in my back, there has not been suitable work offered to me and I will regrettably be joining the unfortunate and homeless within the next few weeks unless I should be so lucky as to receive some miracle donations, hit the Powerball, or get offered a good job soon.
In Conclusion:
Every time a small group or individual is paid more than their fair share, the majority loses benefits.
