Concentration Camp Profits

While the desire for profit can be a virtue in the running and the establishment of a legitimate business, profit, or the lust for lucre, can be an extremely destructive human iniquity as witnessed by the Nazi treatment of prisoners and civilians specifically rounded up into concentration camps who were Jewish, gypsies, homosexual, habitual criminals, or others that were considered to be enemies of the State.  Initially, as a matter of camp policy, inmates were utilized primarily as slave labor, to which their enforced labor would help to construct the very camps that imprisoned them as well as the manufacture of materials needed for the war effort.  The German Schutzstaffel (SS), military agencies, and private contractors worked together to create contracts that would enforce and to implement the processes that would best exploit these resources for the Nazi State.

As you might imagine, any large grouping of peoples within a confined space, necessitates food, water, sanitation, shelter, security, and other measures to maintain the camp safely.  All of the above also necessitates personnel, materials, labor, logistics, and money in order to efficiently operate and to successfully control a given concentration camp.  Even within conditions to which the enforced labor is stolen and hence free of charge, does not mean necessarily that the camp itself will be able to turn a profit.  In addition, people in authority have their own vices and their own greed to deal with which often may be at cross purposes to the desires of the State, to wit, it is quite easy for the thinking to change within a camp, so that the thinking transmutes into providing the very minimal services of nutrition and medical attention to the prisoners, as money not spent on them, can be converted to others in authority that wish to directly profit from it.  Also, of course, if you have demonized the prisoners as being sub-human, not part of the master race, and in substance not worthy of your respect or civility, it is an easy step to treat them cruelly and inhumanly. Taking these things together it is not hard for those in power to think and to believe that if these prisoners have no future within the German State, and further if these prisoners are unable to profit the State alive, then perhaps there can be profit in their death.

When the prisoners first enter into camp they have clothes, jewelry, money, purses, wallets, luggage, coats, hair on their head, and sometimes gold in their teeth.  All of these items have utility, and consequently in this very macabre way, there is profit to be made in the killing of prisoners in concentration camps, and that is why that once the decision had been made to exterminate prisoners, that it was done with real purpose and authority by the Nazis as the combination of seeing the victims as less than human, combined with the lure of money, convinced many that the business of killing was a good business indeed.

If, as part of your ethnic cleansing, you confiscate all property from one group of peoples, those that will benefit from that seizure will support it strongly, because they will profit from it, and further if by disposing of these people you can profit some more, it will be done, especially if all of this is accomplished as an implicit or explicit desire of the State.  In short, unbounded profit as well as unbounded greed, exploits, maims, or kills people.

Cloud Computer Storage and Compromised Data

More and more individuals as well as corporations are utilizing the convenience, cheap expense, and overall usefulness of cloud storage for their data and/or computer productivity tools. In some circumstances, there isn't much choice in choosing to store your data information onto a third party hosting company (cloud storage) because your laptop or mobile device doesn't have the physical storage space to perform this necessary action in the first place.  Additionally, for corporations they often find it much cheaper and efficient to use cloud storage so as to access and coordinate information more readily over multiple time zones and locations, as well as having powerful computer programs such as Microsoft's Office 365 available for all applicable users, all of the time.  On the surface, cloud storage appears to be a win/win scenario, with the users of this service as well as the providers of the storage both benefiting from this utility.  However, in virtually all circumstances, some of the data being stored or accessed throughout the cloudis by definition, either sensitive, confidential, private, or similar and should this data be compromised, would wreak havoc to those having such data breached.

Data breaches within corporation storage is an oft-recurring event (e.g. credit cards) for a lot of reasons, with the most prevalent reason probably being that by so doing, there is money to be made from exploiting and/or accessing this information.  This means, that it is a given, that even if you and your company follow the most strict and restricted protocol to store and to access your information on the cloud, one cannot state with an absolute certainty that the data stored on the cloud is both safe and secure.  While the cloud providers will take exception to this statement and go out of their way to assure you that your data is always safe and secure with them, that certainty is misapplied, as it cannot be 100% failsafe.  This means that it behooves all cloud storage providers to do everything within their power to provide to their customer base that expectation that all data stored within their cloud is, in fact, stored in the most secured manner possible, and in conjunction with this have plans in place, that should data appeared to have been breached, that the appropriate response to mitigate this breach be conducted at the utmost urgency. 

The other problem within cloud storage is the very basic question as to who is the "true" owner of the data to begin with.  One would think that the answer would be the person or entity that provided and accesses the data initially, or in the case of corporations, the corporation itself, but it isn't as clear as night and day as this when it comes to cloud storage.  Although, each cloud storage provider appears to grant you the sole ownership of the content that you place with them for storage, none of them, to the best of my knowledge, makes an iron-clad agreement to the effect, that your stuff is your business above all else, and that under no circumstances will they, the cloud provider, allow implicitly or explicitly access to your data to government agencies (e.g. NSA).     This means that the cloud providers as a matter of principle, should encrypt the storage data in such a manner, that even if they were given a warrant to provide certain information to government agencies, that they could honestly reply that they have no way of knowing whether that data existed or if so, where it existed, throughout their entire network, because of that encryption.  That would mean truly that the foxes weren't actually guarding the henhouse.

The United States of Plutocracy

The most basic reason as to why more people don't complain about being ruled by the rich and the politically connected in America is the fact that America is by far the richest country in the world as demonstrated by its ranking as #1 in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to which China a country that is approximately the same size as the United States in land area, but has four times the amount of peoples, has in whole utilizing nominal GDP as the measure not even 60% of America's GDP.  This means, therefore, that in essence, virtually everyone in America that doesn't live in some forlorn town that is well off the beaten track, has seen or felt in person the wealth of America in its buildings, its infrastructure, its stores, its clothes, its vehicles, its hi-technology electronics, and the like.  In America,   you don't have to be rich in order to appreciate how rich that America is and at least have some of that wealth trickle down to you.  However, in America, you do have to be rich in order to appreciate what money can really do for you, as the people that run this country in all of its many aspects, are either super-rich or powerfully connected or both.

The fact of the matter is, money and power are addictive, to wit, there are very few that once obtaining these things, have a willingness to let any of it go.  What you find in actuality, is that those that have the wealth and the political influence, want more of it, and will make it their mission to keep it this way.  This means, by definition, since there are so few that are so wealthy, and so many that are not, that the elite few, make it their policy to join together, in the overriding vision, that money and the lust for money trump over all else.  Therefore, the plutocrats of America have an abiding interest in seeing that their offspring go to the same schools as other super-rich children so that they can intermarry, and further that they will later take interchangeable directorship positions in their respective corporations, and as always, make sure that they as the elite have special rights and privileges unknown to the likes of the common man.

The playing field in America has never been equal, and never will be.  While this is a country of laws, it is also a truism that in America, you get all the justice that you can pay for.  When it comes to taxation, the rich are adept at working every conceivable angle, utilizing too the most influential lobbyists, to beat back anything that would take from them, their almighty fortune.  Our tax codes and laws are reams upon reams of incomprehensible laws, navigational only by those in the know, and always in the end, providing a convenient escape hatch for those that are connected.

The Federal Reserve, despite its name, is a private banking consortium, it certainly doesn't answer to the people, as its true master is the rich and powerful.  As President Garfield stated, "He who controls the money supply of a nation controls the nation."   I do submit, I can't think of any position within America, that has within its hands more primal power, than those that print and distribute the Federal Reserve notes, that we use day-to-day to conduct business, pay bills, buy goods, and the like.  Money and the timely access to money, exerts terrible power and influence of one man over another, the power to buy a favor, to corrupt an official, to destroy an individual, and in conjunction with others of like principles, to rule America.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

In John 8:31-32 we read: "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  Within this proclamation from the Christ, holds the answer to life's most important lesson, to wit, if you do not know the truth, if you do not know your purpose, if you do not know who you really are, if you are ignorant of where you came from and where you will go, you cannot hope to be able to impart knowledge, guidance, and wisdom to those that you come in contact with, at the highest possible level, nor will you be able to truly testify to Truth, itself.  This means, that for all of us, there is no more noble objective than to seek and to find Truth, and that by so doing, the scales of deception which clouds our very eyes, will fall off, and we will see the world, life, and meaning, as it really is.

If you are a student, a teacher, a businessman, a laborer, housewife, or whatever that it is that is your lot at this stage in life, you cannot hope to be master of it, unless you know the truth that is the foundation of it.  This means that for all of us, it behooves us, to first have the thirst to seek truth, and then to have the wisdom to accept it, and most importantly of all to then implement this knowledge.    This means that it isn't good enough to simply know truth, as John 8:32 does not state that knowing truth "will" make you free, but that knowing truth "shall" make you free, as long as you continue along the path of being in the word of Christ; which in essence means that you must do your part and remain on the right path, or you and truth will inevitably part ways.

Truth is not and cannot be relative.  Relatively lies in the field of physics and does not and never will apply to moral law.  There can only be one truth, and it is to that truth, that you shall be made free.  People that prefer to play word games in regards to how they claim to believe that truth is relative, depending upon, for instance, one's point of view, or your position perhaps at some point in time, only demonstrate their own ignorance of truth, as any time that truth appears to be contradicted, it basically means that you have not dug deep enough in finding the golden ring of absolute truth.

To be in the light of Truth, takes concentrated and committed effort, the guidance of those wiser than ourselves, and contemplative meditation.  God wants us to by our free volition to seek after Him, and as we do so, we will be drawn into a world beyond this material world, beyond time, beyond space, and beyond our physical being.  While the Truth has many aspects depending upon the face of the mountain that you climb, one thing you will instantly recognize upon seeing Truth itself, is that we are all spiritual beings encased into physical housing, further that the real you is the Spirit, not the physical, and when you truly recognize the importance of this discovery, it will be as if you are beginning to see things as they really are for the very first time.  "…One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." (John 9:25)

The Importance of Population

At the time of America's Declaration of Independence, America had approximately 2.5 million peoples, not of all of whom were revolutionaries or sympathetic even to the revolutionary cause.  England, on the other hand, had around 6.5 million peoples, was far wealthier, and during our revolutionary war was able to hire conscripted Hessians to help them in the prosecution of war against the Americans.  Additionally, Great Britain, was the preeminent naval empire in the world of that age, experienced, and with the monies to replace and to upgrade their naval fleet which had been severely weakened during the "Seven Years' War", whereas America's navy was virtually non-existent, and consequently America primarily relied upon its land forces to hold back and to eventually defeat Great Britain, with the help of the French naval fleet which bombarded and pinned Cornwallis' troops at Yorktown.

While the loss to Great Britain of America was a blow to their budding empire, Britain, knew that they could make up for the loss of America, by concentrating on their trade instead with India, which was a country of nearly 200 million peoples, a land rich in textiles and spices, which became a valuable aid to the British empire, and easily more than made up for their defeat in America, as India, and its valuable trading wealth, was the reason behind Columbus' travel that discovered America in the first place. 

In the late 18th century, the major powers in Europe were France and England, with France having a population estimated at 25 million peoples.  Yet, if we fast forward to Europe and its population at the present day, neither France nor England have populations which are even at 100 million peoples, with Germany as a united nation, having the largest population of any European country, and that population is about 82 million, whereas America alone is over 300 million, and India is over 1 billion peoples.  While Europe still has influence and significance throughout the world, their collective power has significantly waned over the last sixty years, and has been eclipsed by United States, as well as essentially too by China, Japan, and Russia, with Brazil and India, noted as rising powers.

While there is something to be said about the size of the land that your country occupies, there is far more to be said of the size of your country's population, and while natural resources and their wise exploitation also play their part in countries' status, wealth, and power; the bottom line is that countries that have little or no natural resources can still be economically powerful, with notable examples of Japan as well as South Korea, demonstrating that intellectual wealth properly applied will translate into prosperity. 

All of the aforementioned means that the decline of European powers can mainly be attributed to their overall decline in numbers relative to the other countries of the world.  This is also one of the reasons why the European Union was formed, so as to help to bolster the economic effect and the influence of Europeans on a global basis.  The fact of the matter is, though, had France, England, Germany, Italy, and Spain increased their populations and subsequently their overall density of their lands, they would, properly governed and with wise use of their attributes, would have today much more material and economic impact upon the world, rather than instead having suffered a precipitous decline in their dominance.  You cannot hope to be a worldwide power, or to have worldwide influence, without the numbers and the knowhow to back it all up, people, are often in the end, your most important asset and ultimately your legacy for the future, without such, your light will surely dim.

Lincoln at Disneyland

Disneyland/Disneyworld loves to describe itself as being the "happiest place on earth," whether it really is that thing or not, depends, of course, on the eye of the beholder.  What is somewhat surprising is that Disneyland since 1965 has offered a wonderful tribute to Abraham Lincoln, known as "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln".  Although, the show has not run continuously at Disneyland since then, as it has been on hiatus from time-to-time, as well as some of the elements and words of the show being transformed or changed over time, and of course the audio-animatronics of Mr. Lincoln has improved considerably over the years, Mr. Lincoln is currently performing at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

What makes this attraction especially poignant and meaningful, is that it's at a theme park, to which most theme parks make it their mission to provide entertainment, and seldom even consider such words as patriotism, country, equality, and liberty, whereas these are the main themes of the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  This is, in fact, patriotism at its absolute finest, not the pathetic definition of patriotism as being solely the love for one's country, for better or for worse, but patriotism that envelops protecting our country's true liberties and rights with vigor as well as with passion. 

The speech that Lincoln makes in the show is an amalgamation of four speeches from Lincoln's life, with the overarching theme of the speech being the meaning of the word, liberty.  Lincoln makes sure to remind us that true liberty doesn't rest on mere paper, even paper as sacred as our Declaration of Independence, but that liberty is that "…which God has planted in our bosoms," and that the greatest fear that America should have, is not the fear of being conquered from without, but the fear of being conquered from within, from a nation that descends into lawless abandon, into mob law, into corrupt law, and the consequences therewith.  That therefore, each man within this great nation has a sacred and noble obligation to live up to the precepts that our Declaration proclaimed, and that to thereby violate these precepts, will in essence, be a collective suicide of the peoples and their liberty in America.

Lincoln states that we need to "… have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."  This is the clarion call from our greatest President to all American citizens, that the liberty that we seek, the liberty that we love, is written in the hearts and minds of each man, that nothing will ever wrest this liberty away from us, except our own turning away from the foundational fabric of America, such as, its Declaration of Independence, its Constitution, its rule and respect of law, to which, should we forsake liberty, we shall find that a house divided will not stand.  However, united together with one abiding vision that all are created equal, all are treated fairly, and all are entitled to righteous liberty, than we will find that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.

Jews, Blacks, and the fight for Civil Rights

In the modern world, those of the Jewish faith, have always been a minority in every country, until the creation of Israel in 1948, but this only occurred after Jews, had been persecuted, stripped of their possessions, and massacred by the empowered Nazis' of Germany during World War II.  Blacks, too, have been persecuted, stripped of their possessions, stolen from their homeland, enslaved, also lynched and treated for the most part at best as "second class citizens" for their entire sojourn in America.  Those of the Jewish faith, celebrate their exodus from Egypt at a time when they too were slaves, who were ultimately redeemed and saved by their prophet and leader Moses, and later received their proper blessings as the "chosen people" by Yahweh.

In America, there is a commonality that runs through the Black and Jewish experience, one that often tells the tale of discrimination, fear, hatred, abuse, distortions, vitriol, and oppression.  Not too surprisingly, during the Civil Rights era, Jews and Blacks, together, saw that a country that became more inclusive of those that had historically been treated with disdain and denied equal rights, would be a victory for not just Blacks as well as Jews, but a victory for American democracy as a whole, and subsequently there was a meeting of minds between these two groups as to how best to achieve these noble desires.

Today, when we recognize great Civil Rights leaders, the names that roll off of our tongues are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Julian Bond, Ralph Abernathy, Bayard Rustin, Maya Angelou, as well as so many others, but behind the scenes, working hard for those same civil rights, were Henry Moscowitz, Kivie Kaplan, and Stanley Levison.  While Jews were never enslaved in America, nor lynched, they too suffered the indignities of being of a creed that was historically shunted aside in America.  Consequently, when housing authorities in different cities all over America, set up Restrictive Covenants, they denied access to that housing to all "non-whites" as well as to those of "Jewish descent".  Also, top universities in America, addressed the "Jewish problem" by changing or modifying their admissions policy in such a way as to limit Jews attending their college, or by adding official or unofficial quotas of Jews that would be admitted, whereas Blacks, if admitted at all, had quotas attached to their race that essentially limited their numbers at any of the great Northeastern Universities to single digits or perhaps to a couple dozen students in total.

During the height of the Civil Rights cause, there were many martyrs, such as Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Vernon Dahmer, the Reverend George Lee, as well as many, many others.  Jews and Blacks, worked together during the Civil Rights era, in a common cause, to help bring justice and dignity to all.  The victories that have been won by Blacks and Jews in America to bring opportunity and freedom to all peoples, is a process that continues today and will continue until we do come upon that time, when all are judged not by color of their skin, or of their religious persuasion, but instead by their actions and by the content of their character, so that then, truly, the steel chains of injustice and in-toleration will have been vacated into the very dungeons of hell.

Consent of the Governed

The most important document in the history of America is the Declaration of Independence, which represents the reason and the thought process behind why America rebelled against Great Britain.  This means that the Declaration of Independence is the very foundation of American liberty, the cornerstone of every good thing that America represents.  Within this document are contained these important and moving words, that "… Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."  Yet, today, few people believe that we actually have a Federal government that adheres to the very foundational principles of the consent of the governed, as a recent Rasmussen Reports telephone poll indicated that "Just 21% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed."

If we live today in a country that doesn't have the consent of the governed, and I definitely submit that this is indeed the actual case, than we are not living the American dream, we are not living the American way, we are not being true to the Declaration of Independence, or to the blood of our forefathers, and further that America is in fact, not that beacon of liberty and pristine light that it professes to be, but a poor, dim, imitation of it. 

America, its judicial system, its legislative house, and its executive department, are, in essence, a government, onto itself, to which the people must submit or suffer the consequences of their disobedience to the State and its powerful apparatus.  America is many things, it is a nation of laws, laws upon laws, laws that supersede other laws, only to be circumvented by still other laws, laws that serve certain connected interests because of money, or power, or corruption, and laws that are stretched, bent, or curved, to mean anything that the Law makers want those laws to mean.  The legislative house of America subverts its very purpose by caring little for the people as a whole, instead mainly bowing down to well-financed lobbyists, special interests, and corporate desires, to which the voice of the people is effectively drown out by the cacophony of pure greed and the lust for temporal power.  The Executive office of the President, believes it too can write and enact Executive Orders for whatever purpose it pleases, to do whatever that the Executive branch desires to do, which makes that office the power of just one, one to rule them all.

As our Declaration of Independence states, governments are instituted amongst men for the purpose of ensuring ourselves of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that is the raison d'être for our government in the first place, and if our government does not provide that to us, its legitimacy should certainly be called into question.  Life offers to all of us, challenges enough, that we do not need, nor do we desire to have our own government, actively working against us, from the taking of our liberties, from the unjustified takings of our labor, or the unjustness and unequal application of natural law.

America is meant to be a mighty nation, one nation, undivided, of liberty and justice for all, but seldom has it lived up to those lofty attributes, instead it is like the sound of a clanging cymbal, without brotherly love, speaking with a forked tongue, seldom asking for consent, but instead demanding unfailing allegiance to the State, or to suffer the consequences forthwith.

Church and State

There is a mistaken belief that the United States of America was setup as a secular State, with clearly delineated lines separating Religion/Church from the State itself.  This belief is patently false and we know that from many statements from our Founding Fathers, with probably the two most important statements being as follows.  Firstly, within the Declaration of Independence it declares that the people of America "…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…"  This proclamation is of immense and fundamental importance to all Americans because it declares that our Rights come not from the Government, nor from man himself, which would by definition mean that they these very Rights could be therefore be also taken away from us by Government or man himself, but instead it is stated that these Rights, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, come from our Creator and not the State.  Further, in regards to religion in America, our First Amendment to our Constitution states that our National Government: "…prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion…" which means that the Federal Government is precluded from interfering with or enacting laws that either aid, eliminate, or establish an official Federal religion.  This does not mean that our Federal Government is an adversary to religion, far from it; its meaning is instead that our National Government will not force a Government religion upon the people that all people must adhere to. 

Further to the point, there is the wrong belief that the best government, by definition, is a government that is totally separated from religion and by implication separated from religious influence upon the people and upon laws.  This belief is not only fundamentally flawed, it is also nonsensical.     If the laws within any country, within any government, are not based upon "natural law", than that government is in error.  Saint Augustine told us that: "The natural law is thus an image of the eternal law writ in the heart of man, impressed there by the Lord who made him."  This signifies that the highest Government, the greatest State, that administers justice to its citizens, is a State that is in harmony with eternal law, and not arbitrary and discriminatory law.  At a minimum, all laws within a legitimate country should be equally applied to all, as this is the only possible way that we can thereby bring justice to all.

Any legitimate State must answer also to a higher power, that power is found in our Creator.  Laws, traditions, and actions that are taken in consideration of this fundamental moral truth, will bring blessings upon that nation and its peoples.  If this was not the case, the President of the United States, would not bother to say during his oath, "so help me God," nor would our justice system use this phrase for court appearances.     

While it is true that the Church is not the State, in fact, in the United States, there isn't even an officially established religion, the principles of religious thought and practices, are the basis itself for the legitimacy of that State, and that when the people determine that "…any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…"  This is the principle that supersedes all others for Americans, as it is this principle that so many brave and great men willingly made the ultimate sacrifice of their "… Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."   This is why those that try to change history and law to reflect that which never was are not only the usurpers of true authority, not only traitors to this country, but a disgrace to the legacy of our Founding Fathers.

Building #7 World Trade Center

The catastrophic events of 9/11/01 are indelibly etched into the collective minds of American citizens, but within that tragic day, many people have forgotten that there was another tower that collapsed about seven hours later after the Twin Towers had "pancaked" unto the ground. This tower, known as Building #7 WTC was a 47-story hi-rise skyscraper, that was not hit by either airplane on 9/11, but somehow, caved in and it too "pancaked" to the ground.  Building 7's collapse has helped fuel the fire, of conspiracy theorists, since the tragic events of 9/11, since its destruction seems on the surface to be inexplicable, as it would appear highly improbable that a fire, alone, could take down a steel structure, yet Building #7 most definitely collapsed to the ground.

Conspiracy theorists profess to believe that a well-timed orchestrated detonation of explosives took down Building# 7, but to believe that, would implicitly mean, that the whole events of 9/11, was an "inside job", including, of course, the destruction of the Twin Towers.   That above belief is patently absurd, and more a reflection of how disappointed and distressed some Americans are to have had their government lie to them on so many important issues again and again.  Yet, we are still stuck with the perplexing fact that somehow Building #7 collapsed on 9/11, which appears on the surface to be absolutely astonishing.

It was not until 2008 that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) came out with their report and explanation as to the collapse of Building #7, which put the blame on the collapse of this building, essentially on fires that were generated from the Twin Towers buildings aftershock which "… ignited fires on at least 10 floors…" on Building #7.  Unfortunately, the building's automatic sprinkler system failed, and the primary as well as backup water supply systems also failed, subsequently meaning that there was no obstacle in the path of this fire to continue to rage throughout the impacted floors.

NIST stated that the structure and the integrity of the building was "… designed to resist gravity loads, but not thermally induced lateral loads."  Still, conspiracy buffs were quick to seize upon the seemingly important fact that no building higher than 15-stories had ever collapsed from fire alone, but this misses the basic and essential point that fire is a destructive element, and that it is fire that allows a blacksmith to bend and mold steel at around 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.  Since we know that it is fire that allows steel to be structured into the size and shape that is desired, it means too, by definition that a temperature that is hot enough and sustained enough within a building structure, will, over a period of time, weakened the steel, as well as all other elements that have a even lower threshold of withstanding fire, and consequently this will ultimately challenge the integrity of the structure itself, if the fire is not contained or mitigated in some way or another.  This is, in essence, is what happened to Building #7, that it was fire, out-of-control, at multiple floors that inexorably brought about its collapse.

The real lesson from the collapse of Building #7, WTC, is not that there was a conspiracy and a controlled explosion by agents within America, but that fire, raging fire, will take down within a short period of time, a very tall structures that is in theory, designed, to be able to withstand fire.   This means that skyscrapers all over the world should be far more cognizant of the destruction power of unrestrained fire and should take prudent measures to mitigate this.

America and the Middle East

America's industrial-military complex and most notably its oil companies, have an abiding interest in the Middle East, for the obvious reason, that there is plenty of oil there.  Unlike, say a country like Japan, or Germany, or Italy, or France, America has a large domestic oil capacity as well as the technological knowhow to extract, process, produce, distribute, and to utilize our domestic petroleum resources.  Reuters.com estimated that the United States became, once again, the biggest oil producer in the world in 2013, because of our success in extracting oil from shale formations and the sophisticated use of horizontal drilling techniques.  This doesn't mean that the United States no longer imports oil, but it does mean, that the United States essentially has the means to accommodate its energy needs without the necessity of the Middle east, if not right at this moment, certainly in the near future, especially if it made it a policy to do so.

America spends an inordinate amount of time, money, and participation in way too many wars or wars of another name, in the Middle East, of which most of this ill-advised activity could be abandoned without materially impacting the United States as a whole.  Forgetting, for the moment, the moral right or wrong, that our military incursions involve in the Middle East, the savings in money, materials, life, and good will by America simply allowing the Middle East to determine for itself, what it does or does not do, would be of immense benefit for not only America, but for the world at large.  The fact of the matter is, if it wasn't for the oil, America would be content to treat the Middle East with benign neglect, but the oil and the lust for profits has corrupted our motives.

It is high time for the American policy in the Middle East to change and to change dynamically.  The Middle East is not in our historic sphere of influence, nor is there any good reasons why America insists that it must be the world's policeman, subsequently getting itself involved in every domestic or border or civil dispute within the Middle East, as it really isn't necessary, nor does it often help to produce either a better or safer or more just world. 

The continual involvement and interference of America and its corporations in the Middle East, has served to inflame passions against our nation, and Western nations, in general.   America fears that if it should withdraw its foreign aid, its foreign investment, and its military might, that within this vacuum some other country or group of countries, would assert their power and influence against the Middle East.  What of it?  America has been intimately involved whether directly, or indirectly, in Middle Eastern politics since the conclusion of World War II, and during this entire time, has not made the Middle Eastern world, safer, more democratic, or more just.  It has, however, provided great profits for certain American-based corporations as well as feeding well the military-industrial complex.

America is in a fortunate place, it has great wealth, knowhow, as well as great natural resources, so it does not need Middle Eastern oil to thrive.  It lusts for Middle Eastern oil, because it lusts for profit, lusts for the expansion of a military that is already way too large, and lusts to have dominion of every corner of the world.  Unfortunately, for America, it forgets that to ensure domestic tranquility, unnecessary forays into foreign territory seldom brings peace, justice, or the American way.

10-Year Treasury Rates

US 10-year Treasury rates sunk to a yield of just 1.837% on January 14, 2015, this after hitting 3.03% on December 31, 2013, to which most pundits and mass media outlets predicted a 2014 10-year treasury rate to be approaching 4% at the end of calendar year 2014, instead 10-year treasury rates moved in the opposite direction almost for the entirety of 2014 and this decline has been precipitous for the start of 2015.  Treasury rates are sensitive to a lot of economic news and global economic concerns, but undoubtedly the area of most concern as to why Treasury yields have gotten significantly lower in the United States over the last year, is the commodity pricing meltdown that has occurred over the last seven months, led by the precipitous fall of oil beginning in mid-June of 2014.  Oil and its price, is by far the most important commodity in the world, its usage and availability throughout the world is absolutely critical for overall economic output and consequently when the price of oil plunges by over 50% in just six to seven months this will undoubtedly have profound effects throughout the world economy. 

While there are a slew of economic factors that affect the 10-year treasury rate, first amongst them all, is the overall inflation rate both currently and going forward.  Most Americans are use to the price of things going up, year after year, sometimes significantly, while at other times modestly, but this has not always been the case in America.  For instance, during the great Depression, and in particular from the years 1927-1933, America went through a period of deflation, to which the years 1932 and 1933 saw prices sink at approximately 10% per year.  There are two great and dangerous problems that deflation represents with one being that those that are indebted will be compelled to pay effectively significantly higher amounts of money back on their loans because while the debt service is the same, the money that is being paid back is worth more, meaning that in essence you are paying more in real terms on your debt.  The second terrible problem of deflation is that when you perceive that the pricing for goods are getting cheaper, you will have less incentive to buy something today, or to spend money on capital investments today, because you are anticipating even lower prices, leading to lower overall economic activity and thereby to a recession or a possible depression.

The United States as well as other major countries, such as Germany, France, England, and Japan is currently in situations to which inflation is low, this inflation is anticipated to continue to be low, and all these aforementioned countries are concerned about the pernicious economic effects of deflation.  The fact that each of each of these other countries also has 10-year treasury yields that are even lower than America is indicative that low 10-year treasury rates are not going away anytime soon.  While many in America, are use to treasury rates at 4% and above and consider these rates to be "normal", the fact of the matter is, if you go back further in time, for instance, from the years 1935-1955, with the exception of a couple months each way, the 10-year treasury yield did not rise above 3% or fall below 2% during this entire 21 year period.  This, in itself, is proof positive that treasury yields adjust to the economic times of the age, and in an era of low inflation, as well as possible deflation, there isn't any good reason to expect these yields to jump up to 4%, or even back to 3%, anytime soon.

Why?

Nobody wants to argue with somebody every day, nor does anyone really want to have to over think every situation, or consider all the different outcomes taking into consideration every possible ramification.  Additionally, to all that basic fundamental stuff, sometimes you are tired, sometimes you aren't motivated, or you feel weak, or your attitude isn't quite your normal self.  Yet, in all of these situations, you don't have to just pack it in, and become a recluse in one form or another; you can simply ask the question, why.  Why is it that certain things are the way that they are?  Why is that you really need to borrow my car, or borrow money, or borrow anything of mine?  Why do I go to work, or go to school, or obey the law?  All these are basic questions that should be asked from time-to-time, not in every situation, and not all the time, but you will find that the more often that you do sincerely ask why, the more often you will start the process of drilling down to the real crux of the matter.  It all really starts with asking of the question, why.

Human progress can be made in all sorts of manners, and in all sorts of ways, and often this begins with somebody taking the word, why, and then not stopping until they discover the fundamental answer to that question.  Worthwhile things happen not so much because each day you do things better and better, although that most definitely helps, but often because people see things as they are, and wonder why they can't be better, or be changed, or be substituted or transformed with something that is even better.  While habits and traditions have their place, and habits are usually very efficient in helping us to utilize our time effectively, not every habit is necessarily the correct or the best thing to actually do.  That is to say just because something is always done a particular way, does not necessarily mean, that it is the best thing for you, or for the community, or the best way, so that it does behoove someone to question it, perhaps test it, or to at least re-think it.

It is well to consider that computers are geniuses at computing, processing and analyzing information.  That makes computers a very important tool for mankind, but they are a tool, because a computer does not intrinsically think, they are instead, "doers". Whereas, mankind does think, perhaps not as much as we should, but we do, and that is one of fundamental attributes of humanity as opposed to a machine.  Because we are thinkers, we can discover and create new things, come up with new ideas and new concepts, and often make things better.  All of this really does begin with asking that question, why, having done so we often become greater detectives of human nature, or scientific research, or seeing possibilities that none have seen before.

George Bernard Shaw wrote in his play, Back to Methuselah, which was later to be paraphrased by Robert Kennedy, the following: "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"  In old days in the library, you would come across one word strategically posted along the book shelves, "Think," which is excellent advice, may I suggest that we bring that basic concept back, only this time replaced with the word, "Why?"

Two Weeks' Notice

Not all traditions are worth keeping or worth submitting to; in particular, employees giving employers two weeks' notice of their impending departure from said company is one of those courtesies which should, at times, be violated.  Every State of the union is a State that has a law that private enterprise employees are employed at will, which basically means that your employer can fire or replace you at any time without notice to you, although there are some States that stipulate certain specific exceptions to this general rule.  However, as a rule of thumb, that means, that every day, could in fact be your last day working at your place of employment.    Most employees wrongly fail to recognize that this is the reality of how untenable their position and their livelihood really are.

Another error that virtually all employees fail to recognize is that while their personal effects are still their property, by virtue of having their property at their place of employment, means that should they be discharged unexpectedly, that the company will control the access and the timely distribution of any personal property so left behind.  That is to say, once terminated, you as a former employee have no legal right to enter back into the premises to retrieve your personal property, it will be returned to you, but your former company will essentially control that process and that timing, and as long as they take care of this within a reasonable framework of time, that is just the way it is going to be.  In regards to personal documents that are stored on the company equipment, your chances of getting any of those documents back are solely based at the discretion of the company, since the contents of the equipment are company property, and not yours.  

While there is something to be said about providing whatever amount of notice and courtesy that is standard within your company for employees that are voluntary leaving, and as it doesn't behoove most people to burn bridges, there are still significant reasons why you may not want to give a two weeks' notice.  For instance, if your standing within the company is somewhat shaky, you may find that upon offering your notice of two weeks, that the company's response is for your immediate dismissal, so unless your new job is capable of accepting you as a new hire, sooner than expected, you will be losing two weeks' worth of salary, something that clearly was never your intention.  Another good reason, not to extend your stay unnecessarily, is if your new employment is paying you more money, perhaps even substantially more money, it doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense to work for less money for two more weeks at a company that you have already determined to depart from.

There are, however, circumstances, to which your hand may be forced in providing that traditional two weeks' notice, such as companies that make it a policy within their handbook that those not providing such notice, will forfeit vacation pay or similar, in those types of circumstances, you are better off following your company's guidelines.  

While individual circumstances clearly do not allow a one-size fits all policy in regards to providing notice of quitting to your current company, it is pretty much foolishness to stay longer at a company, than is absolutely necessary.  The most important thing to remember is that in absence of an agreement that stipulates that you are not employed at will, you really don't owe any sort of notice in return, for if it is good enough for the goose so it is for the gander.

The Most Important Words in American History

American history is replete with wonderful words of sage advice containing the wisdom of the ages.  While literally pages upon pages could be written of incomparable American quotes, it can be said though that when one combs carefully through the pages of American history, you will discover that there are these certain words that stand taller than all of the others.  The following words are a testimony to the greatness of America, of its ideals, of its vision, and of its purpose here on earth for not only its own countrymen but for all mankind, and these words come from our Declaration of Independence, a agreement that was signed by the delegates of all thirteen States, North as well as South, a document that upon its signing meant revolution against what was the greatest empire in the world, the United Kingdom, our mother country, far richer in wealth and population than continental America, as well as being the greatest naval power in the world, to which in our Declaration we stated: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"   These words thereby formed the very essence of America, a land that has declared that all men are equal in the eyes of our Creator, and thereby no man is born into the wrongly-held concept of "the divine right of Kings", that is to say, that none can declare by birth that they derive their right to rule by the dictates of God, that instead all by birth all are equal morally as well as being equally politically within society,  so that as Abraham Lincoln stated, this is a country "…of the people, by the people, for the people…."

Moreover, it can be correctly argued, that because all men are created equal, that within these words, it cannot allow, does not permit, or countenanced, that one man has the right to enslave another, because we are all brothers in God, no matter our religion, our color, our country of origin, or other assorted attributes, because an equal creation, means exactly that, that no man can ride on the back of another's man labor, and thereby wrest the bread from another man's honest exertions.  Further to this point, the fact that all are created equally, means by implicit definition, that all must be treated equally within the halls of justice, and that true justice must be equally applied as well as being subject to a jury of one's peers, and not therefore a law onto itself.  It must also be stated, that since all are created equal, that a government or a public policy, that later determines, for example, that some deserve certain healthcare benefits whereas others do not deserve that same courtesy, is a government or public policy that is fraudulent to the people, as the government's purpose should be to live up to the credo, that all are equal, and not that some deserve more or that some deserve less.

Our Declaration of Independence makes it abundantly clear that since all are created equal, that all are equal in the eyes of our Creator, that thereby it is of utmost concern of this country to recognize therefore that: "…God is no respecter of persons…" (Acts 10-34), so that in order for this country to be a true land of freedom, opportunity, as well as liberty for all, it must do everything within its governed powers to see that all are treated fairly, with respect, with brotherly love, and as our good neighbor.

Tariffs

A tariff, or the imposition of taxes on imports into America, has historically been a very important form of taxation in America.  This type of taxation has crucial merits, for instance, by protecting domestic labor and capital investment, by maintaining domestic sustainability in certain industries, as well as protection from foreign "dumping" of goods onto our land.   The importance of import duties to historical America, is demonstrated quite strongly by the visceral reaction of domestic tea merchants in America, when England's East Indian company was allowed by British parliament to sell its tea directly to America, thereby significantly undercutting the price of tea in America, because the East Indian company was permitted a special exemption for not paying import duties in England, whereas the colonists were subject to these duties for their tea by parliament.   Therefore this inherent unfairness in the implementation of taxation/tariffs was the immediate cause of the "Boston Tea Party".

According to progressive-economy.org, in 1912 30% of the income derived by the Federal Government came from tariffs, whereas 100 years later, tariffs in America average around 1.7%.  While there is a lot to be said about having "open borders" in regards to goods, both exported as well as imported, the reduction of tariffs or the elimination of them therewith, clearly, by definition, will change who the winners are as well as who the losers are everywhere that international trade exists.  In fairness, to virtually any domestic manufacturer of goods in America, their labor, insurance, property, and other associated costs, will invariably be higher than most other non-first world countries, so that the only possible way that American companies that produce goods domestically can be competitive against foreign competitors would be only in their inherent advantages of lower transportation costs, knowhow, and machinery.  When it comes to machinery, however, and to some degree, knowhow, these too can be exported to foreign countries, effectively giving those foreign countries the final means necessary to undercut domestic competition.

As previously stated, the elimination or the lowering of tariffs obviously brings benefits to certain parties and industries within America.  For instance, as a consumer, you, for a certainty, will pay a lower price for goods than you would do with the imposition of duties, although there is always the chance that over time this will not be true, when, for instance, foreign countries are able to gain essentially monopoly or duopoly power on the basis of your exit from the business as a competitor, but overall, clearly a no tariff policy, saves American consumers money.  Additionally, the domestic manufacturers of equipment that is exported around the world are definitely beneficiaries of open markets because their market share has increased significantly from just our borders, international financiers too benefit from the loaning of money and capital while being pay fees and interest for having done so, and certain, specific industries or knowhow, that are sufficiently advanced or that take a tremendous amount of capital investment and technological skill, are typically protected quite well from foreign competition because there essentially isn't any meaningful competition to them.

Americans rightly wonder what has happened over the last few decades to the "blue collar" worker in America.  Apparently, his work is increasingly being accomplished overseas, leaving our people underemployed and dependent upon government for necessary handouts.  It is critical to understand that if multi-national corporations and foreign companies are continually enabled to exploit cheap labor and resources overseas, yet at the same time, suffer no consequences from import duties to America that this policy will eviscerate the noble, working man in America, and turn these men into serfs, without hope, without property, and without a future.

Public School Choice

There are plenty of low paying jobs in America, that typically are filled by people that either live in communities to which that is pretty much all that is offered to them, so unless they can work their way up to some sort of meaningful management within that company, they will be stuck at or close to a minimum wage, forever; there are also too plenty of low paying jobs in America in bigger cities, to which although there are also jobs within these big cities paying a good middle income wage, they typically are only available to people that have achieved certain education degrees or certificates, such as a Bachelor's or equivalent.  This means that in America, the days of the poorly educated, the ill-educated, or for those that have a general disgust of education, are very limited indeed for being able to obtain a decent living wage.  Furthermore, this signifies that for those that want to get ahead, that an education, or at least the opportunity to have a good education, is almost fundamental for success.  Fortunately, in this country, public education for grades 1 through 12, are "free" to all students within America.   Actually, public education isn't really free in the sense that it doesn't cost somebody something, as those school funds typically come from school bonds, government, and property taxes, with your sole contribution basically being able to get your child to the bus stop, providing some school supplies, and some appropriate school clothing.  To the uninitiated, this almost sounds like a perfect situation, bound to mean, that all in America, have equal opportunity to get a quality education.   The fact of the matter is, public schools in America, range from abysmal to outstanding, and consequently the school that your child attends has very meaningful consequences for the success of your child within that school as well as future college and work-related success.

In recent years, some States as well as some school districts, allow parents to enroll their child outside of their school district, or sometimes give them a choice within their school district, in placing their child at the school that they perceive to be of most benefit.  This type of choice is wonderful for all involved, as it incentivizes schools themselves to provide students with the best educational experience.  This also means that parents of these children do not need to worry so much about whether they live in the best or correct school district, so long as they have fair access to the public school of their choice.  Unfortunately, this public school choice, is not available in every State, which therefore means that parents must definitely be cognizant of where they live and the school that their child will attend, as that school choice has an incredibly high determinant as to how successful or safe their child will be.  That is to say, there are some public schools that have nearly a 100% graduation rate for high school students, whereas other schools fall under 50%.  Additionally, some schools challenge the students, provide Advance Placement tests on a regular basis, allow students to take courses for college credit, have extensive extracurricular activities, whereas other schools really come down to basic physical survival and not much else.  In situations to which there is such an extreme between a great public school and a very poor one, parents will often, at least, think about "gaming" the system, and some will definitely do so.

America has all sorts of laws and all sorts of crimes, to which some are fair, some are appropriate, and some are inherently unfair and unfortunate.  If, you as a parent, deceive a school district, about where your child actually lives in order to gain admittance to that good school, there are consequences for being found out.  Besides the obvious which is the kicking out of your child from the school, you as the parent may personally be subject to fines as well as possible jail time, all this for wanting to do and wanting to provide the best opportunity for your child, which in a fair world is hardly a crime at all.  In regards to public schools, in far too many States and in far too many school districts, there is being erected through the means of hi-technology data mining and surveillance tools a virtual wall of separation of those that have and those that only desire an opportunity for their offspring to try to have.  All this is happening in the land, that certain land, that they call the land of opportunity.

Military, Police, the use of Deadly Force and Administrative Leave

The average age of a military recruit in America is probably just under 21, to which you can with parental consent be eligible to join the military as young as age 17.  AS for police recruits, most police departments prefer that eligible police officers either have achieved a four-year college degree, and/or are veterans of military service before they apply to become a police officer, therefore, the average age of a police recruit is probably in the mid 20's, and is certainly higher than those recruited for the military.  It can be said that there are few military recruits that are ex-police officers, whereas there is a substantial percentage of police officers that have previously served their country as members of the military.

While in both professions, military as well as in police work, you may go your entire service career without having to discharge your weapon in either self-defense or in a deliberate act of deadly force to take the life of another, the fact of the matter is, that the mission of a military recruit, in times of war or combat, is dramatically different than a police officer's mission which is usually stated as being to protect and to defend the community.  A military soldier, will by definition, is given instructions to kill the enemy, whereas these orders, will seldom, almost never, be given to a police officer.  When a police officer actually engages in deadly force, as a matter of public policy, for virtually all police departments, he will subsequently be placed immediately on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation, and upon clearance will return to active duty, having availed himself of mandatory professional psychological counseling as well as peer review.  

However, in regards to a military soldier and his use of deadly force we find that during the exigencies of war, there is seldom even the opportunity for said soldier to disengage from an active battle or from his duties to his fellow soldiers, his mission, and the overall necessary cohesion of all those involved.   This means as a matter of policy, that soldiers who are younger in age than police officers, have less life experience than police officers, are much more likely to have to use mortal force against an enemy in combat, as well as subjecting themselves to the line of fire in return.  The obvious and frightful conclusion is that our soldiers at a younger age, are subject to far more stressful situations, than our police officers, yet neither administrative leave or counseling is something that they can avail themselves of in any sort of timely manner.

America has the second largest active military force in the world today, and since the end of World War II, has only engaged in war with countries that are far smaller in size especially in regards to personnel, equipment, experience, and sophistication.   This means, that the United States as a matter of policy, should actively manage their military personnel in such a way so that when deadly force is utilized, that its personnel having done so, can avail themselves at the earliest possible time of the necessary investigation of actions taken on the military field, as well as psychological counseling, and peer review.  We, as the richest country in the history of the world, owe that duty to our soldiers, so that when their service on behalf of their country has been completed, they are able to return to life in America, with the reasonable hope that they are well and able.

Immortality v. Eternity

In the English language we often use words interchangeably that have similar meanings or concepts but in actuality there are often subtle yet important differences between the words.  For instance, immortality and eternity is not the same thing, although from a simplistic standpoint they seem to be about the same thing.  Within legends or certain genres, you will come across a character or god that is described as being "immortal," meaning that this entity will never die, that they are indeed "not mortal", but importantly this implies too that this particular entity or god was once born or created.  Whereas, on the other hand any time we come across the word eternal, this word signifies that it is everlasting, existing forever and importantly existing without a beginning or an end.  To be eternal is to exist without time, beyond time, to be in a dimension to which time is not applicable, whereas to be immortal, is to live within a world or a dimension, to which you are in essence trapped in time, never dying, yet never breaking free from the boundaries and the limitations of time.

Consequently, while any being that is eternal is also as an aspect of that eternity, thereby also immortal, since eternity can never be vanquished, it does not follow however, that an immortal being can ever become eternal.  This is because it is our Creator, who is the master of both time as well as space.  Most people take it as a given, that there is such a thing as time, to which time can be subdivided into a past, present, and a future.  In the world that we live in, this does appear to be true to us as human beings, however, as Einstein stated, "... for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."

This would imply that our concepts of both time as well as space have been created for the benefit of humans, and also apparently as an avenue or pathway for us to be drawn inexorably towards eternity, and thereby to escape the confines of a limited dimension.  For this reason, as well as for others, the Christ consciousness was brought forth in human form into our world.  The Christ consciousness existed before time, and has been and always will be eternal, in human form it was utilized by the messiah known also as Jesus of Nazareth.  This Jesus, whose human body was crucified, demonstrated to us by virtue of the empty tomb, that therefore our body is not, and will never be ourselves, that we are in essence, beyond our human body, beyond mere mortality, and if we only would reach out to the Eternal Bliss that is our Creator, we would thereby break free from the limiting delusion that we are separated from God, and that instead we shall know what we have always been, not immortals trapped in time and space on earth, but One with our Father, who art that guiding light, the True Light, from which all light originated, a Light without beginning and without end.

Economic Propaganda

Our government would have us believe that America has recovered strongly from its great recession, witnessed by the drop of unemployment down to 5.8% as of November of 2014, and GDP growth of 5% in the 3rd quarter of the same year, along with stock prices consistently breaking records in calendar year 2014.  This would seem to imply that America is once again enjoying good economic times and consequently has risen like a Phoenix from the ashes of our economic meltdown.  While it is most certainly true that America's economy is in a much better state than it was in 2008-09, it is deceptive to believe that America and its people as a whole have recovered strongly from those days, as there are three types of lies, "lies, damned lies, and statistics".

The fact of the matter is that there are a multitude of ways to look at statistics and thereby myriad ways to mix in estimates, adjustments, historical numbers, and so forth, to obtain a witch's brew of numbers that can serve the purpose of the media outlet or government agency that is disseminating the story.  Government and its media outlets are very much motivated in keeping the general population quiescent and satisfied that everything is okay, that everything is getting better, and that if your personal prosperity isn't happening right here and now, it will be, as it is just around the corner, just have patience and believe.  The one thing that our government does get done right, as opposed to failed or failing socialistic and totalitarian States, is that our government does an excellent job of distributing food and shelter to all comers in one form or another, because a full belly with access to a warm hearth of some sort, isn't too likely to have the stomach to engage in much revolutionary action.

Unfortunately, America is in rather poor straits, and has fallen far from the path of upward mobility since the turn of the 21st century.  We know this by looking at real and meaningful statistics such as reported by the weeklystandard.com that of those aged 25-54 years, "…28.9 million people, or 23.2 percent of the total—is not currently employed." CBSnews.com reports that in 2014 our workplace participation rate dropped to 62.7% which is the lowest rate it has been since 1978.  To add even more fuel to the fire, monster.com reports that "As many as 22 million U.S. workers can be considered “underemployed”."   This means, in essence, millions of Americans are either working at occupations that do not give them as many hours as they desire to work, or in positions that they are overqualified for by either experience or by education or both.

Finally, when American pundits talk about our current "robust economy", they fail to disclose the precipitous decline in home ownership in America.  Bloomberg.com reports that "The homeownership rate in the U.S. declined to the lowest in almost 19 years."   This statistic is very meaningful, as the asset distribution of the middle 60% of Americans, clearly shows that home ownership is their most prized asset, typically making up more than 60% of their net worth.  Additionally, when you do not own your own home, you are to a certain degree, no longer master of your own ship, instead you are subject to the vicissitudes of the true property owner, for better or for much worst.