The other type of welfare – corporate welfare

There are plenty of people as well as corporations that decry about all of the welfare so provided to those that are the least amongst us, for such things as healthcare, food supplemental help, housing assistance, the Earned Income tax credit, and so on and so forth.  For a certainty, there is a significant amount of welfare so provided for those that are clearly needs-based, but none of this welfare so distributed, ever functionally takes care of the systemic issues so creating poverty in the first place. Additionally, we need to take into fair consideration the salient fact, that few people that are doing just fine, would ever willingly trade their current position to one in which they had handed out to them monetary benefits, but only under the condition that they live within the same disadvantaged neighborhoods and oppression of all types, that those that are the most underprivileged have to operate under, every single day.

In all candor, we need to take into full account, that welfare comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors.  This signifies that there are many entities, and especially corporate entities, that while on the one hand, castigating those that are poor for being on the public dole, are themselves, despite often their very good profits, receiving a real form of welfare from their governance.  For instance, certain corporations, because of their size, power, and influence are able to get all sorts of benefits that the general public cannot avail themselves of, such as special property tax abatement set asides, as well as legislative monetary subsidies of all types, specifically setup for the benefit of particular corporations; along with also receiving massive income tax savings done through all sorts of avenues that are clearly outside of not only the letter of the law, but are a clear reflection of how the tax code favors those that have outsize influence, over regular folks.  So too, there are the massive billion upon billion dollar bailouts that permits these corporations to recklessly gamble in the sure knowledge that when their gamble succeeds, they thus shovel in boatloads of money, and when they notoriously fail, they are thus bailed out by the government, which in essence means that they are bailed out by the everyday taxpayers of this nation.

It has to be said, that there are few people that are poor that make out well from being on the public dole, as what is provided to them is often a very poor substitute to actually correcting the foundational problems that create such impoverishment and  poverty in the first place.  On the other hand, massive billion dollar corporations that make incredible profits, most every year, somehow have the audacity to insist that they get whatever privileges that they can obtain, by, for instance, exerting intensive pressure and influence upon legislatures – in addition to deliberately gaming the tax system, so that they can thus milk the general public and get even more money extracted by what has to be considered, grossly hypocritical means.

Indeed, while we should definitely have respect for an honest corporation, what we so find, is that some of the biggest and most profitable enterprises in this nation, are, in effect, welfare cheats of the worst kind.

We are no longer “private citizens”

There are indeed many advantages of living in this present age, with all of our modern conveniences, in which, most of us take these wonderful things such as the internet, indoor plumbing, electricity, clean water, reliable transportation, and so on and so forth, pretty much for granted.  That said, it has to also be taken into serious consideration, that never has this government, in addition to the corporate sector, known so much about its citizens, than this very era.  This signifies that the age of the private citizen, is effectively over, and every single one of us, rich to poor, young to old, has an incredible amount of information that is systematically being stored into dossiers by governmental as well as corporate authorities, of which, apparently there is very little that we can do about this, to circumvent or to ameliorate such.

For some people, perhaps they don’t have a real problem, with essentially living their life as in a “fishbowl,” which is fine then for them; the problem though is for all those other people that are uneasy about how much of their personal life is being kept in records of both governmental as well as corporate folders, in which these folders, contain information that is highly detailed and very specific to those individuals.   After all, it is one thing for a detail profile to be kept for those that are perceived enemies of the state, or are known criminals, and it is an entirely different thing to keep detail profiles of those that are essentially regular folk, who are fairly entitled to live a private life and would often prefer to have some degree of control over what information is disseminated about them, and the reason why.

Nowadays, private citizens, do not appear to have any safe havens, of which, they are instead of such, personally identified, and thus known quite well by government as well as corporate entities.  Yet, we so find that public corporations and public servants seem to daily violate the trust so provided to them by utilizing such information garnered from private citizens, as a way and means to often exploit them or to manipulate them.  In other words, those that supposedly work on behalf of private citizens, or are in the business of selling or providing things to those same citizens, are not themselves seemingly answerable to the private sector, but instead seem to concentrate almost exclusively upon how to utilize the information that they so obtain, to their advantage.

It would seem only fair, that each citizen of this nation, should have the right to get full and complete access to every dossier of theirs so created by governmental as well as corporate entities, and should at a minimum, be able to “opt out” of any and all information, that has no real pertinence to what a government, of, for, and by the people should have on its own citizens; as well as they should also be able to remove or neutralize almost in its entirety, any information contained about them, from private corporate actors.  In summary, all those that wish to engage with private citizens, should do so in a way and manner that takes into account our individual right to the sovereignty of our own personhood, and our Constitutional right to privacy.

“Only the dead have seen the end of war”

The above quote comes from the esteemed philosopher, George Santayana; and for a certainty, rings as true today as back when those words were first written, for indeed, only the dead have literally seen the end of war, for nation upon nation, civilization upon civilization, humankind upon humankind, has not come close to stopping or overcoming its bloodlust, between one to the other.

To believe, especially in those western nations, that we are truly a civilized people, is belied by all of the incursions, battlements, fights, and wars that continually go on, as apparently being the only way to “resolve” differences between two or more parties in conflict with one another.  This is absolutely pathetic, and reflects that humankind seemingly has no capacity to understand that wars and conflicts of all sorts cannot and will not ever successfully end with “a war to end all wars”  or anything along those same misguided lines.

One would think that in consideration that America is the most powerful nation that the world has ever known, which clearly prides itself of being the bastion of liberty, freedom, and free thinking, would desire to lead this world, by actual good example.  If, America, is actually trying to lead by example, they have indeed done the poorest of jobs in doing so – of which, pretty much the only thing that demonstrates that America is not completely without merit despite its bellicosity, is the humane aid that it provides throughout the world, including to those civilians and also institutions that they have “inadvertently” bombed or destroyed, by providing monetary compensation, as well as the material aid required in the re-building, so of.

It doesn’t make any common sense that we find that humankind throughout all of the decades, centuries, and millenniums, has not learned apparently one thing about the futility of warfare and violence to meaningfully resolve conflict, that is substantially any different than when Christianity first came of age.  Indeed, regrettably, in our modern age we are ever in more mortal danger because of not only the sophistication and power of the killing machines so created, but also by the inconvenient fact that never has it been easier to kill or to destroy something or somebody by the application of a machine to do so on behalf of those that have activated it, or through the mere pressing of a finger onto some sort of trigger apparatus.

To end warfare and to successfully resolve conflict, necessitates that nations demonstrate the self-restraint to think through the consequences, so of, before acting.  The pathway to hell, is built upon the billions upon billions of dollars, expended throughout the world, year after year, on munitions and armaments that have as their only avowed purpose, the destruction of human flesh as well as of infrastructures of all types.  Those that do not have the sensibility to understand that more weapons equates to more warfare, and never to more peace, have got it intuitively wrong.  To believe then that lasting peace and justice will ever come through the barrel of a gun is a delusion, that humankind will continue to live through, era after era, until it changes its thinking from that which is wrong to that which is right.

Change to changeless

In this material experience, we are destined to go through many stages in life, and hence to have numerous changes in our life – for this is the natural order of things in our incarnation on earth.  Yet, though we do change, physically as well as mentally, there is an essence of our being, that is and always will remain changeless; for that which has been first created by God, is not lacking in a thing, for it is perfect, from its conception.   This signifies that the primary goal of every human being on earth, is to recognize their eternal connection to their Creator, and from that recognition to be true to the incorruptible aspects of it.  That is to say, this earthly plane, represents, for us, a “proving ground,” of which we will be inevitably placed into difficulties and obstacles, not meant to defeat us or to lessen us, but rather to present us with the fair opportunity to prove our mettle, and hence have burned away from our eyes, the dross, that precludes us from seeing ourselves as true and faithful sons and daughters of God.

Remember this well, God is never a moving target, but rather God is forever the same, and ever will be.  Therefore, when we so find ourselves not being in the place that we should desire to get to, it is up to us, to fathom the way to get to where we need to be, for the prime objective of our life, changes not; and the sooner than that we recognize where we should actually go, the better our chances are of reaching that destination, without a bunch of unnecessary detours and missteps.

Humankind is meant to change, because the knowledge that we have initially is limited by our lack of experience, foresight, maturity, and vision.  This signifies that none of us, gets it right, to begin with, but given enough time and determination, we can certainly make it right, if that is what we concentrate our efforts diligently upon.  After all, it isn’t good enough, to simply know the difference between right and wrong, if we continue to insist that we can do wrong, without having to properly suffer any consequences to that.  So then, the thinking that we do, thereby leading to the decisions and the deeds, that we subsequently perform, for a certainty makes not only a difference to the others that we interact with, but also to our personal growth or lack, thereof.  

As much as people would like to believe that we “go to Heaven,” it is fairer to state, that we “grow to Heaven,” and all those then that hope to find that shortcut to Heaven, will typically find, to their dismay, that there is not a shortcut, at all.  The prize that each of us wants to win, has to be fairly earned, and that prize can only be earned by demonstrating that we have the good character to have successfully develop the attributes that are in harmony with God, so actuated through the chrysalis that changes us from that which must be changed to that which is changeless.

Inefficiencies in our various welfare programs

The national government’s fiscal budget is over $5.5 trillion, which is not only an incredible amount of money, but also lends itself to asking the question as to how efficient that government is, in the expenditures of that money, so meant to be for the benefit of its constituents.  We read, for instance, at heritage.org, that “Adjusted for inflation, welfare spending has increased more than twelvefold since the start of the War on Poverty in 1964.”   The fact that welfare spending has increased twelvefold since 1964, and yet we see all around us, the continuation of many a person and family, still struggling with their day-to-day needs for adequate nutrition, healthcare, and housing assistance, presupposes that quite obviously there has to be some significant flaws and inefficiencies in the operation of our current welfare system, which hurts both those that are taxpayers to it, as well as those that are recipients of such.

The problem with governmental programs and the sheer gargantuan size of some of these programs, in addition to all of the “red tape” and bureaucracy that is both long-established and systemic to them, is that what we so currently have, cannot and is not even close to being efficient in what it is supposed to actually accomplish.  That is to say, the worth of any program, in which billions upon billions of dollars are expended year-after-year, has got to be, whether or not, this country is actually making progress through any of its welfare programs, to ameliorate issues that are detrimental to the people that so need them.  The short answer would appear to be, that the administration of the welfare and the assistance, thereof, is a real disappointment, to just about everyone, though, no doubt, there are exceptions to this.

Sometimes, it has to be said, that emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can bring forth the type of response, which absolutely proves the point that this government really does know the identities of its people and therefore how to actually effectively put food and money into their hands.  For a certainty, this type of quick and efficient response to a national emergency, demonstrates that when this government really wants to get things done, and is thereby less concerned about welfare fraud as well as not being overly concerned that the welfare aid so being doled out has to be restricted to being absolutely needs-base, can actually get it done.

All the hoops and hurdles, paperwork, and endless interactions or interrogations, in which many a poor person feels that they are being seen by those agencies that are meant to help them, as pretty much nothing much more than a burden, could seemingly be overcome during this pandemic, in which the response to those that have the least amongst us, by that government, of, for, and by the people, was actually exemplary.  This signifies that sometimes it is necessary to take what has been in operation for decades and to basically admit that the efficiencies of the program, along with its effectiveness are not actually working and rather than trying to amend such, by this and by that, it probably would be more straightforward to simplify such, by the replacement of what doesn’t work very well, by that which will get what is mandatory for a decent life into the hands of those that have so little, which will thus allow those that are the most unfortunate amongst us, to better access what they so need, along with also getting some much needed dignity. 

In the end, you want to know the truth

In this age of so-called “fake news” as well as the “truth” seemingly being seen as being exclusively subjective, rather than ever being viewed as being absolutely objective; we find then that it is no real surprise that so many of us, don’t really know what truth is or how to go about even finding it.  The thing about the way that a significant amount of people look at truth, is that they often get truth confused with perspective, and these are definitely not the same thing, at all.  There is, in the end, only one truth, but how a given person understands that truth, can definitely differ.  That said, it’s always a misconception to believe that there are multiple truths, or contradictory truths, because that is the nature of subjectivity and perspective, but not of truth.

So too, there are plenty of people, in certain circumstances, that have no real interest in the truth, because to hear the truth at that juncture in time, would hurt them, and because they do not wish to be hurt, they will not accept the truth; but prefer, instead, to believe in something other than that truth, which, in its own way, thus comforts them.  This, thereby, is the reason why we have so many “truths” in this day and age, because so many people aren’t interested in actually facing up to what they need to face up to, but basically want to have echoed back to them, that which they believe in, or have embraced as being truthful, even when it is not.

The problem with the living of a life, that has as its foundation something important that is fundamentally false, is that it makes that foundation, unsound.  Rather, those with any real sensibility, are always going to be better off, with a foundation that is based upon truth, and thus embrace the vibrancy of truth, above all.  Those then, that do not do this, have put themselves on a pathway that will not end in truth, which means that sooner or later, they will have to turn back in order to find the pathway of enlightenment, or else exist within a construct in which they will get ever more further away from where they should actually be.  

Those that make it their point to seek truth, have for a certainty, taken the high road, and having taken the high road have the best perspective to see what is right and what is wrong, and can then thus act accordingly.  Those then, that avoid that road, for whatever reason, wittingly or not, have thus placed their lives and their perspective basically into the hands of outside circumstances and outside forces, which thereby overly influences them as to their viewpoint of this world, and hence their perspective of what is or what is not true. 

The truth is unchangeable and always will be; for truth, does not change with the prevailing winds of the time, or the dictates of those that try to manipulate it.  Therefore, understand this well, for those that truly want liberty, freedom, and free choice, this can only be accomplished in that construct which is totally true.

We are family

There are far too many people that spend far too much time, with the selfish and self-serving belief, that the only thing that really matters is their own life, or perhaps just their own family unit, and therefore make it their point and principle to conduct their life with basically that type of mindset in all that they say and do.  A world full of way too many individuals that insist that they have to have their way or that only what they so desire and want actually matters is the type of world, in which there will never be peace, justice, or harmony.  All those then that spend an inordinate amount of time, pointing out how this or that person or culture is inferior to them, and therefore is perceived as being lesser than them, have clearly failed to comprehend, that every human being, without exception, is entitled to the exact same list of human rights, and therefore the courtesy of our respect.

The very first thing that some people get so very wrong, is that when human beings are birthed, they are absolutely dependent upon the family unit as well as to society, for their successful upbringing.  In other words, none of us are born as an independent adult, but rather there are distinct stages to the development of our human character.  So too, what we so learn when we are growing up, comes forth from those that we interact with at home, but also those that are our teachers, friends, and mentors.  Indeed, there does come that stage when we are truly sovereign individuals, responsible for our own affairs, but to get to that stage is a process, which takes not only time, but involves a needful connection with others in order to reach that point.  This signifies that we have been obligated to engage with others that are outside of our biological family, of which, the role that these others have played in our lives, has been essential to our development in it, which makes them, in many respects, something akin to what a family represents, in essence. 

All of what this is saying, is that human connections, one to another, and in particular those relationships, which are healthy and helpful, are necessary for a given person to thus have a successful and fulfilling life.  It is through those interactions,  that we thereby grow to understand the virtues of camaraderie, friendship, trust, and affection.  We find, though, on the other hand, that those that lack having these vital things, often have the most troubling of lives, for those that do not feel that they matter to the other, are often prone to strike out in frustration against their perceived unjust lot. 

The objective then, for a good society, is not to focus upon that which seemingly divides us, but instead to concentrate upon that which unites us; so that we recognize better that as fellow human beings, created equally, we are meant to help and to support one another, for we are truly interrelated and interdependent, needing one another to accomplish those necessary things, as family.

Dissent, debate, and orthodoxy

In consideration that the purpose of life is the search for truth, we would like to think then that when truth butts heads against the given orthodoxy of the age, that subsequently, the orthodoxy would change to accommodate that truth should itself always reign supreme.  Regrettably, that doesn’t appear to be the case, at all; in which, time after time, those that are ahead of the curve, aren’t seen for what they really are – brilliant innovators and brilliant thinkers, but rather are typically seen to be an annoyance to that which is the prevailing orthodoxy of the age, and thus these prodigies are often put in their place by those in authority, by essentially having to “come to heel” or even being forced to recant.

The most unfortunate thing, is that those that believe that we live in an information age, in which, truth is thus always in the forefront, come what may, don’t seem to understand that it doesn’t much matter, how much technology, knowledge, or knowhow that a given time period has, when contrasted to how those that are in authority handle that which is inconvenient and especially troubling to the perceived stability of their rule.  That is to say, in any governance which in its structure is hierarchical, then all those that wish to challenge the orthodoxy and the belief system which is currently in play, are going to find it problematic to be successful in doing so, mainly because those that are the ruling members of that governance, who feel challenged by this new information, are often going to desire to, at a minimum, re-spin such to support their orthodox narrative, instead.  This, then, is why we see so often, that those that think “outside the box” are pressured, through all sorts of stratagems, to get back inside the box, under the guise that doing so, would be better for the people, in whole; because to challenge long-held beliefs, is unsettling, in ways, that could undo things which that governance would prefer to see be kept settled and done.

All of this basically means, that change, even that change which is built upon truth and insight, can be incredibly slow to occur, because those that have power and authority, of which, they discern that such change would impact their status, negatively, are going to preclude such change from occurring, in order to better defend their position and thus be able to best maintain their status.  This signifies, that the freedom to express ourselves, the freedom to search for that which interests us, as well as the freedom to openly discuss things and matters that are of pressing concern to us, is vital, to the overall liberty of a given nation – for when, that which is of most interest to us, is essentially edited or is not even disseminated, then those societies, living under those types of restrictions, will invariably regress from getting ever closer to meaningful breakthroughs, important discoveries, and to truth.

In short, the best society, not only permits open debate, but also countenances dissent to the prevailing orthodoxies of that age, in the sure knowledge that by doing so, this will, in the end, make for a society that focuses more on enlightenment than blind obedience.

Transparency is necessary for good governance

We are told to believe that America is the greatest republic that the world has ever known.  Yet, how is it possible to actually know this, when the very governance of this nation, hides secret behind secret, from the general population, that it has duly sworn to serve?  In actual fact, in matters of the upmost importance to that which is trivial, this government has consistently over decades upon decades, kept the most vital information far away from the seeing eyes of the general public, and while, in theory, it is probable, that at least some of our legislators are aware of what is so happening behind closed doors, this is subsequently seldom discussed in public, or even reasonably debated upon.

It is a truism, that those that are up to no good, want their business to be held behind closed doors, because they recognize the obvious, that if and what they were saying and doing, was actually fully disclosed, that they would indeed be exposed for who and what they really are.  So then, when our government, insists that it has the right to keep secrets from the general public, often under the excuse that such is necessary for our national security, this presupposes that the real reason for such, is that this government fears that full disclosure to the general public, would seriously undercut what they are really doing, and thereby expose that government for its failure to be forthright and honest with the people, about its true business and their intents, thereof.

Of course, there is a time and place for secrets, but such should be kept to an absolute minimum, because when it is not, then those that do not wish to have to reasonably defend or to explain what they are proposing to do, find the pathway of least resistance to always be that which is not subject to being publicly disclosed. Indeed, transparency and openness in government, necessitates that opposing sides have an opportunity to say what they so desire to say, and of which, this thus means that those that wish to assert arbitrary power, are pretty much precluded from doing so.  So then, this signifies that when the people are fully informed of what is really going on, that there is for a certainty, going to be some serious debate about those matters which are of most concern to them, of which, the outcome, so of, will thus be uncertain.

There can never be justice and never will there be justice, when the facts so needed to render a fair and informed decision, are hidden.  This means that a country which preaches that it is the land of liberty and freedom, must live these very traits by being open and transparent with the people that it has the duty to govern with their informed consent.  Further to the point, consent cannot be wittingly given, when the information so provided to the people, is deliberately opaque, distorted, or manipulated.  So then, any government that will not be transparent with the people, especially of that which would be most vital of interest to them, is a government that has failed its duty, and therefore has failed its people.

Why aren’t there any rich people in prison?

America absolutely loves to lock up its citizens, and thereby leads all other western nations by a considerable margin in doing so.  In consideration, then, that America is also the richest nation in the world, one might expect then that the prisons, thereof, would also have a fair representation of very rich people that are actually incarcerated, as well, but this isn’t true at all.  In fact, we read at prisonpolicy.org, that “…in 2014 dollars, incarcerated people had a median annual income of $19,185 prior to their incarceration, which is 41% less than non-incarcerated people of similar ages.”  In other words, the people that are incarcerated, are mainly those that are poor, disadvantaged, less educated, and pretty much un-championed. 

None of the above should seem all that surprising, because even the most cursory of looks at those that are incarcerated, makes it pretty darn clear that those so incarcerated, appear visibly to have the distinct look of the underclass, which is, in the scheme of things, true.  Yet, to believe somehow, that all the crime and bad deeds that are done in America, are always done by that same underclass, is belied by all of the white collar criminality, which seems to be not only systemic in America, but absolutely relentlessly persistent.  That would seem to suggest that all those that decry that we need more law and order, should probably want to do more investigation about what actually constitutes a criminal act that thus mandates a corresponding prison term.

While there are myriad differences between the rich and the poor, when it comes to those bad deeds, which are inimical to a good society, the way that the poor conduct their criminal enterprises, is often constrained by the tools of the trade that they readily have to avail themselves of, taking in fair consideration their social position, knowledge, and networking connections. In other words, the underclass, typically commits those crimes that are classified as “blue collar” crime, not really because that would be their preference, bur rather because that is pretty much the only real option that they have, based upon who and what they are in reality.  On the other hand, greedy rich people, or amoral clever people, are a whole different breed of enterprising criminal, and hence what they want to take isn’t going to typically come about from strong-arming anyone, but rather is more a game of subterfuge, misdirection, lying, cheating, and double-dealing.  This essentially means that those that are rich are a different class of criminal, and being of a different class, are subject thereby to different rules.

Those that make the rules that, in theory, apply to everyone, equally, are typically the well-educated, the elite, and the politically astute.  While these type of people may indeed be upstanding citizens, it has to be said, that a meaningful portion of them, actually are not.  In fact, the most shrewd rule makers, know who they really are at their core, and hence they make sure that the criminal codes as enforced, or even what is considered to be a crime, necessitating incarceration, is circumscribed by the knowledge that those of their class, do not ever go to prison, because prisons are for “commoners;” whereas, the rich and clever folks are only considered to be in bad form for having been caught or overly greedy, and thus are properly subject only to a brief “time-out”, or a monetary fine, or perhaps a social scolding, and nothing much more.

Senior citizens and compulsory Social Security taxes

The traditional retirement age, that most people recognize as being the norm, is the age of 65.  While this government has decided to increase the age ever so slightly for those that desire to receive their full benefits from the Social Security Administration that are owed to them to age 67; the bottom line, is that age 65, is still basically seen by most people as being the normal or target age to retire.

The problem, though, for many a senior citizen, is that whether or not they so desire to retire, is dependent upon their financial situation, and more and more senior citizens, are finding that despite whatever aid their government is providing to them in their twilight years, that such is not actually beneficial enough for them to prudently stop working.  In fact, we read at ngpr.org/blog that as of the 2020 census, a surprisingly high total of 26.6% of those aged 65-74 are still employed, at least on a part time basis.  Yet, despite their advanced age, these elder employees are still required to pay their normal share of their Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) which is a payroll tax of 7.65% so paid by the employee as well as being matched by the employer, so of.

In consideration, then, that Social Security was created to provide a safety net for our senior citizens, it then doesn’t seem right or fair, that those that actually are in their senior years, should still be compelled by law, to pay into FICA, when they have already reached the traditional retirement age of 65.  Rather, it makes for common sense, that all those that are age 65 and above, who are still laboring for a living, should not have to pay any additional monies into FICA, and therefore the employers of these senior citizens, should also not have to make their corresponding contribution to such, either.

In fairness to all those that have reached their retirement age, this government, should by all means, get off of the back of those that have already devoted their best years to working, and should make it then, public policy, that as not only a courtesy to these elder citizens, but also in consideration that our governance owes these elders the responsibility to do the right thing for them, would thus no longer mandate that senior citizens pay into FICA.  One would think, then, that most people, young as well as old, would not have an issue with this appropriate change; but assuming that there was some general debate about such, the FICA act could be amended to reflect that those that are age 65 and older, and also making less than $50,000 a year, would not pay into FICA, whatsoever; but those others that at their advanced age who were still excellent wage earners, would thus be subject to FICA taxation per the normal rules of such, once their income reached $50,000, and would  subsequently end their FICA contributions, only when their income thereby reached the current legislated wage cap amount.

In short, the current compulsory payment into FICA, for those that have reached the normal retirement age, and yet are still working, should be eliminated or significantly amended.

The perils of cheap labor

Most Americans are employed by companies that are part and parcel of our capitalistic system.  This thus signifies, that making a profit for those corporations is of upmost importance to them, along also  with this being of real meaning and significance to their shareholders, executives, and their Board of Directors.  So then, there is many a company that believes, that profit really is the be-all and the end-all of their existence, and because of this mindset, many a company looks upon the labor aspect of their corporation, as being almost exclusively an expense -- which thus creates a fundamental problem or conundrum.

All companies have expenses, of which, those expenses include but are not limited to the outside materials so needed to help manufacture the goods so being sold, the capital equipment required to produce business products, the physical real estate so needed to conduct a given business, in addition to the research and development so necessary in order to stay on top of things so as to advance one’s company vis-à-vis competition of all types.  Then there is what is often the biggest expense of them all, which is the labor component of a companies’ workforce, which consists of human beings, that are employed as part of that company.

It certainly makes sense that companies should look at each one of their expenses, and thereby try to derive the best overall utilitarian value from each – such as in the lowering of the expenditures on materials, or by the increase in quality, so of; or in the timeliness of what is so needed, and so on and so forth.  It is fair then to say, that lowering expenses, or increasing the efficiency of the materials so required in a given business should always be an important consideration for all companies.  The salient problem, though, lies in the fact that when companies picture labor as being just another expense, then there is always going to be a tendency to look at labor as the type of expense that needs to be minimized, by thus, for example, providing less in salary then what could be paid, or less employee benefits overall, or by making it company policy that layoffs and terminations should always be considered as something appropriate to do, in order to thus boost the bottom line as well as also to get rid of  accumulated “deadwood.”

In short, the drive for cheap labor, is the reason why so many companies are absolutely fine with not paying a “living wage” and have no desire to ever do so.  Their justification for having this type of attitude is often not personal, but rather comes down to the dollars and cents of a business decision that fixates that lower expenses, be it labor or other areas, always contributes to a better bottom line and that bottom line is apparently the only thing that really matters.  As long as this is the case, America will continue to have millions of full-time employed people that do not make enough income to have any semblance of the American dream, but rather are suffering from the American nightmare of hopelessness.  The only way forward, then, is for the governance of this nation, to make it a point, that a living wage for all should be its national policy; and until this is actuated, we can expect that many companies will continue to extract sizeable profits through their exploitation of labor, because they can.

“Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation”

The above quotation comes from the renowned theologian, D. Elton Trueblood, and this represents his profound insight into how faith really should be looked upon for each one of us.  After all, those that have faith, but lack a good reason of why they have such faith, are susceptible to being in danger of losing that faith, because of their possible inability to properly defend how they came to such a faith, other than by blindly doing so.  In other words, some of that of which we most believe in, is going to be challenged from time-to-time, not just from well-meaning people, but also from those that are not so well-meaning, at all.  So then, when we don’t seem to have an answer to the question that they are asking, it lends itself to damaging our belief in our own faith.

On the other hand, those that understand that faith is more appropriately defined as “trust without reservation,” have themselves successfully established a more solid foundation to stand upon – for this presupposes that we trust that God has all of the answers to all of our questions, and because we know this, we can take comfort in understanding that by having faith in God’s omniscience, we know that we are ever in the most surest of hands.  That is to say, there is a moral order to this universe, and of which, each one of our lives has a purpose to it; to wit, it is our place to find that purpose, so as to live up and fulfill such, by the trust that we have in the purpose behind our creation by the very hand of God.

All those that doubt their reason for being, or can’t seem to ever figure it out, are not doing themselves any favors, for all that time spent in doubt, or self-doubt, could have been more profitably spent upon endeavors that will take each of us further along the pathway that we need to be on, so as to be not only a helping hand to others, but also to progress ourselves to where we need to arrive at.  We need, then, to have established the self-confidence to know who we really are, in our essence, so as to become successful in accomplishing that which is of most importance.

While an unexamined life certainly has its issues that must be suitably addressed meaningfully; so too, those that have the type of faith that cannot stand firm against the harsh winds of conflict and doubt, will thus make it far more problematic for these doubters to accomplish those things that each of us are meant to do.  For a certainty, there is order in this universe, and because of that order, there is a purpose to our existence in it.  So then, we need to trust that we are who we are, because there is a purpose for each of us having our own personal identity, and therefore we need to have the faith and the belief, that the actions and deeds so subsequently undertaken, are done for the betterment of not only of our own personal life, but to, in our own way, help to make this world a better place, for our participation in it.

Owning a politician is not the same thing as owning a judicial decision

For all those that wonder why it takes so darn long for any meaningful change to happen, it has to be remembered that those that are in power, will not often, relinquish even a little bit of that power, voluntarily, or without a real good reason to do so.  One might reasonably believe, though, that since no person lives forever, that therefore, during the changing of the guard, so to speak, change would thereby come; but alas, most of the time, that doesn’t occur, either.

When it comes to the rich and powerful, they recognize that the only possible way that they can leave a continuous generational legacy and therefore maintain that power, generation after generation, is that they have to get beyond the politicians and concentrate instead upon the actual Constitutional and judicial decisions that a given country must attend to, so as to define the law as it is written, to their preference, in implementation.  After all, think about it, the same Constitution, along with its Amendments and the precedents so set from previous judicial decisions, represent, the rule of law, and that Constitution, is the Supreme law of the nation, of which, our Constitution was written way back in the late 18th century.

Further to the point, though some judges are elected; typically, we find, that they are elected in a way and manner, that is dissimilar to a political party candidate.  So too, it must also be taken into full account, that the highest court of this land, the Supreme Court, has each of its members to it being appointed by the sitting President, and thus when each of these judges becomes confirmed, they are set to serve for life.  Indeed then, it is evident, that owning a judge is far superior to owning a politician, and additionally, owning a judicial decision, is even better yet.

So then, when we hear that the times they are a changing, the problem that those that wish to make those changes are up against, is the very fact that the laws that they need to see be overturned or recodified, are already firmly established, and therefore are a very difficult thing to change, often to those upstarts disappointment and dismay.  This then, signifies that those that are part of the status quo, don’t get to remain in the position that they are in, without having a very solid foundation to stand upon, and even when those that are the elite are severely outnumbered, they are, because of their status, position, and placement, almost impervious to being effectively negated or changed.

There are a lot of pathways to power and to the sustainability of that power, but it has to be said, that those that have power so contained within the interpretation of the governing document of that nation, through established judicial opinions and judicial decisions, are certainly in the catbird seat to be able to pass on to their progeny or to their inside associates, their form of power, rather readily, for what they have wrought is indeed a mighty fortress, which also consists of a vital watchtower, that sees everything.      

“It is child’s right to be educated”

The above quotation, in full, so advocated by the Common School Advocate of 1847, states, “It is child’s right to be educated; and it is not only his right but it is our indispensable duty to provide for the education of every child in the state.”  This presupposes that back in the mid 19-century that Americans of sound mind, recognized that the children of all of its citizens, were fairly entitled to a good education, so as to help bring up inhabitants that would well represent for their country, conduct such as: civic virtue, good character, as well as developing the necessary accouterments so needed to competently attend to their day-to-day business.

Incredibly, as it stands in the 21st century, that right to be educated for each of our children, and especially for those children that live within the sphere of a lower socioeconomic level with all the disadvantages and handicaps that they have to attend with, has been essentially vacated, and demonstrates almost no hope of being successfully turned around, anytime soon.  That is to say, whether we talk about “separate but equal,” or “integrated,” when it comes to our public schools, what we really have is the situation in which those that live in the right neighborhood, are almost always going to be able to avail themselves of a quality public school; whereas, those that are in the wrong neighborhood, more often are going to have to attend a school that provides its students with an unacceptable low standard of education, and basically outputs far too many children that are functionally illiterate.

We do so find that in America, that it has the audacity to believe that it is the greatest nation that the world has ever known; but despite all of its impressive achievements, America on a fundamental level, is a nation in which though it does indeed have some of the brightest minds so assembled, ever; this must though be tempered by the fact that it also has a rather large underclass of those that are so poorly educated, that is hard to believe that they both of such reside within the same nation.

Those then, that believe that children should be punished for their parents’ lack of success, or lack of income, or lack of discernment, or lack of employment, don’t seem to comprehend that the very best way to counteract previous generations of failure of all sorts, is to prepare the present generation to fundamentally know what they need to know, so as to successfully navigate the travails of this big and somewhat intimidating nation.

Indeed, there are all sorts of rights that citizens of America, have – at least on paper, but those rights have no real value if they are not actuated in the real world.  In this modern age, we need to more fully recognized that those that only have brawn, are in most cases, going to be subservient to those that have brains.  Further to the point, those that do not have a reasonable grasp of the educational basics so needed to conduct themselves successfully in this country, without having to rely upon the input of well-intentioned others, are not only handicapped, but are constantly vulnerable to exploitation of all sorts.  Finally, all those that feel that they have been “left behind” are going to have a strong tendency to ultimately express themselves in a way and manner that does not mesh up well, with those that represent good and sound character.

The Fed’s misguided Zero Interest Rate Policy

Though at the present time, the Federal Reserve System has reversed its Zero Interest Rate Policy, the fact of the matter is, that the Fed, over an extended period of time, made the cost of money, that is its zero interest rate policy, the norm for the borrowing of that money for the biggest banking institutions in America, of which, because the cost of borrowing that money was near zero, meant that those that were the most credit worthy, discovered that, for them, borrowing capital from those big banking institutions would be at historic low rates.  In theory, the reason why the cost of money, as in the interest so charged to borrow such, was so low for so long, was to stimulate the economy, but based upon the economic growth so seen during that period of near zero interest rates, the truth of the matter is, that intended stimulation did not come to fruition.

So then, one thing that happened when interest rates were held so low for so long, is that a conscious decision was made to punish those that were savers, who represented those entities that typically kept their money in cash instruments such as short-term bonds, certificates of deposit, and money market funds, in which, because the interest rates were unnaturally low, meant that those entities so investing in these types of cash instruments, would find that their investment vehicle of choice, offered no real return, at all.  This then made those that were invested in these cash instruments, to either accept what was so happening as the “new normal” or else to invest in other investments such as equities or real estate, in order to generate the hope of some positive return on their capital.

Further to the point, near zero interest rates, are exactly the format that favors those that understand that leveraging is a form of increasing one’s wealth, when invested well into risk assets, that have a good chance of appreciating, and by virtue of borrowing that money at such a low cost, and then having those assets, such as stocks or real estate, outperform the cost of that money so borrowed, would see then that their overall assets would increase at a far greater rate than if they had not leveraged up.  Of course, leverage, at any time, comes with a certain degree of risk, and when bets are made that are wrong, it doesn’t matter so much that the cost of money was cheap, when the underlying asset is falling precipitously in value, for then such leverage as that, compounds the losses, so of.

So too, when interest rates were dropped to near zero, it was hoped by this government, that corporations would avail themselves of this money, at such a small cost, in order to stimulate the economy  by hiring more employees, increasing funds so devoted to research and development, and pretty much borrowing funds now, at this near zero rate, in order to boost throughput and product development.  Regrettably, this isn’t really what happened, for despite the fact that businesses seem to be in business to sell product and to develop new products; we do so find that many a company sees cheap money as primarily an easy way to boost profits and thus shareholder value by simply buying back the company’s stock, so done by the issuing of bonds to collect investors’ money at a near zero cost, to do exactly that.

In short, while during the era of near zero interest rates, asset prices  of equities and real estate rose considerably, we have yet to have seen fully played out, the inconvenient fact that when economic growth still remains anemic, that eventually those asset prices will have to normalize to reflect that.

Cars are never an investment and here is why

The biggest material purchase that a typical person makes is their home, of which, homes have historically risen in value over just about any extended period of time.  That is to say, for most people, homes are not only necessary as a place to reside in, but also serves the practical purpose of being an important asset, as well as typically being a good investment.  The second biggest purchase that most everyone makes, is their vehicle.  The thing about vehicles, is that as time goes on, virtually every single vehicle on the road, will depreciate in value – that is to say, the older that the car gets, the more miles that are put on the car, the less that it is valued, and there are virtually no exceptions to this rule.  Additionally, the very first hint that vehicles should not be considered to be an investment, comes at the very beginning, when a given person is making their new car purchase, in which, when they go to insure such, they are often offered “Gap Insurance,” which is the type of insurance that will take care of making good on any “gap” in regards to funds so owed, should that vehicle be totaled in an accident or stolen, in which what that insurance policy is thus covering is the difference between what is still owed to the lender of record, for that vehicle, while taking into fair account, the vehicle’s actual depreciated cash value.  In other words, most cars, when bought new with a relatively low down payment, are actually considered to be worth less by insurance companies than the monies still owed for that vehicle.

The other thing that needs to be seared into our brains, is that an investment, by definition, is something that over a reasonable period of time, gains value; of which, vehicles, are the exact opposite of this, because time and mileage is not the friend of vehicles, whatsoever; which is why used vehicles always cost less than new vehicles of the same type and hence why cars should never be seen as an investment.  The best way to look upon vehicles is to see them for what they are really are; which is a form of personal transportation, and of which, most owners of vehicles understand that despite however good they are in maintaining their vehicle and whatnot, that eventually the vehicle will reach that stage in which it no longer has good utilitarian value.

So then, when it comes to vehicles, its best to see them as an ongoing expense, that will not ever go away, unless the driver of such, simply stops driving.  This thus signifies, that when people research and buy cars, that they probably should keep foremost in their mind, that whatever excitement that they may feel in owning their own vehicle, should be tempered by the fact that, the cars’ value will depreciate from day one, and will continue to depreciate until it is disposed of.  This would seem to indicate that those that are most savvy, are the type that fundamentally know that cars are never an investment, and thus will make their purchasing decision of such consistent with that important knowledge.

Standing armies and military coups

The one thing that America, likes to profess over and over again, is that America has stood the test of time, and is proudly still governed under its original Constitution, so ratified in the late 18th century.  As much as people desire to believe, that the governance in America will always remain stable, secure, and vibrant – because its people would stand for nothing less, is that when we take even a cursory look at the world, at large, we have to recognize that many a government that is currently in place, came forth from a military coup, directly or indirectly.  This signifies that no matter how long a given country’s governance has been in existence, that every country, including the United States, has no guarantee that its Constitutional rule will continue, unchallenged or never to be overturned, forever.

America has the greatest military might that the world has ever known, and further to the point, its domestic police force, is itself highly militarized, and of which, a significant portion of those that serve in domestic law enforcement, also have a military background.  The thing about guns, and especially for any who would be staring down at the barrel of a given gun, is that a substantial amount of those people so staring are going to be amendable to making some sort of peace, reasonable to them or not, with the entity that holds their life or their continual safety in their hands.  In other words, those that have military might, or those that have the guns and ammunition and have demonstrated not only their proficiency with such, but also their willingness to utilize such, are going to garner respect from the general public, grudgingly or not.

So then, in consideration, that we live in a construct in which “might makes right,” there isn’t anything then to actually preclude those that have firm control of the military from simply coming up with some pretext, that necessitates first martial law being imposed upon American citizens, and second, follows up such with what would be in essence, a military coup, by replacing those that are our current legislators with either more compliant legislators or doing away with such, temporarily. No doubt, since semantics are so important, this would never be described by the initiators of such an action as a coup, but rather as being the necessary action needed to be taken, for a temporary period of time, so as to properly protect and to defend the homeland.  Additionally, no doubt, military rule, would do a very good job to see that “the trains would run on time.”  In other words, there would be plenty of people, that wouldn’t mind living under such conditions, signifying that there  would probably be overall far less public dissent than expected, and hence an appreciation by many of this reconstituted law and order.

Indeed, it could happen here in America, for the military power of our awesome standing army, cannot conceivably be ever stopped by the well-armed general public, who would be significantly outgunned in fire power, logistics, surveillance, and professionalism of our well trained military force.  Those then, that believe that our President, as Commander in Chief will always have complete control of our standing army, fail to recognize that the military-industrial-technology complex is already far more powerful than we might like to recognize or to acknowledge.

Two Senators per State and perpetual minority rule

There are a fair amount of people that hold the Constitution of the United States to their heart, because they truly do believe that this Constitution, was the greatest gift of responsible and representative governance, ever provided to humankind.  While there are a lot of positive things to say about the Constitution, one of the things, that is fundamentally flawed, is the structure of the Senate as ratified in that Constitution.  As it stands, per the Constitution, each State of the Union, no matter how small in population, and each State of the Union, no matter how large, are entitled to exactly two, and no less than two Senators per State.  This does signify that States such as California, Texas and New York have the exact same representation within the Senate as States such as Wyoming, Vermont, and North Dakota, despite the fact that California, for instance, has more people within its State, then the  twenty-two least populated States, combined.

What this basically signifies is that in America, we do not truly have fair representation of the people at the Federal level, whatsoever, because those that are the denizens of the smaller States, are able to dictate to the larger States, what will or will not be approved as legislation, and in those cases in which the smaller States are unable to dictate their terms and conditions, thereof, they have, at a minimum, the power to preclude whatever legislation that these smaller States care not a whit for.  This means that on a Federal level, over and over again, the smaller States, are able to almost always have an overinfluential say in regards to legislative acts, which clearly belies their actual population size.

While it is true, that the smaller States are not necessarily in lockstep with one another; it is also true, historically, that, for instance, the Southern States, stood together, to hold back progressive changes so needed in regards to civil rights and discrimination for a very lengthy period of time.  None of this could continue to occur or re-occur, if the Senate was to reflect a more basic representation of their proportion of the population, of which, a reasonable compromise would be to see that each State had at a minimum, one Senator, and no State could have any more than four.  Of course, the chances of this Constitutional Amendment ever passing is pretty much close to zero, because the Senators within those small States, would not have a vested interest in voting against their power and influence to amend such to what would be to their personal and State detriment.

So then, in absence of the actual elimination of the Senate from the Constitution through an Amendment, and hence the elimination of the bicameral legislature, which will seemingly never occur – the only other avenue to even up the score between large States and small States would be to create more States from out of the larger States.  So too, this presents a problem, because Congress, would have to approve this action, and no doubt, the Senators from the smaller States would not be in favor of such, because it would dilute its power; in addition to other medium size States, would not see this as being beneficial to them, either.  In other words, the United States seems to be stuck with what is essentially perpetual minority rule.

“As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them”

The above scripture is from Luke 6: 31, of which, if more people actually comprehended these words and subsequently took them to heart, we would find then that their interactions with others, would fairly reflect these words in action.  That is to say, for all those that would like this world to be a better place, and desire to have more harmonious relationships with others, then the very first place that the change needs to begin at, for this to be thus actualized, starts with our own self, and none other.

Indeed, it is a very difficult thing, to actually try to look at life through the eyes of the other; yet, how are we to understand the other, if we won’t trouble our self to do what we need to do to try to appreciate their point of view?  While each of us do have validity in and of our self, it is when we insist that only our opinion, or our beliefs, or our desires are what really matter, that this thus creates friction; of which, the end result invariably lends itself to sowing disharmony with one another, and further to the point, we will have a tendency to become argumentative and confrontational with others, rather than being open to having a civil discussion and a reasonable conversation, so as to understand one another, better.

Most of us, when we have made a major mistake, before we even consider owning up to it, desire that the other person, be the type that will not harshly judge us and will be forgiving to us.  We long for this, mainly because there are few of us, that willingly want to suffer a fair punishment for our mistakes, because we prefer that those that judge us take into consideration our overall character, or past performance, or even our potential to be a better person, instead.   So then, the type of forgiveness that we desire to receive from others, should be our reciprocal obligation thus practiced by ourselves to those others, as well.

If we would like to create a good impression for others, we need to be mindful of how we behave and act with those others.  That is to say, while there is something to be said about knowing the difference between appropriate and misappropriate behavior – that knowing is never the same thing as the actual doing.  We have to, then, do our level best to conduct ourselves in a way and manner, that is consistent with our most cherished beliefs and to act upon such in a way that brings out the best in us, which thus will help to bring out the potential best in others, as well.

Those then, that want to have healthy friendships, must conduct themselves with a demeanor that reflects good friendship – for the more that we take on the attributes of kindness, compassion, caring, empathy, consideration, generosity, forgiveness, and patience with one another, the more that we see such reflected back to us, because like begets like, and good deeds begets good deeds.