The dark side of globalization

There are obvious advantages to globalization in the sense that the products that so many of us buy and utilize each and every day are significantly less expensive because they have been produced overseas.  While that savings does, in general, make a material difference to the pocketbook of American consumers; in point of fact, not too surprisingly, the real main beneficiary of globalization is never going to be the consumer of those products, but actually the manufacturer and owner of those products.  The reason that this is so, is that multi-national corporations are quite cognizant of the importance of reducing their costs for materials, their costs for labor, and their costs for infrastructure so as to stay competitive and to say relevant; of which, globalization allows those corporations to be very efficient, and therefore not only to maintain their gross margins, but actually to increase them, which benefits directly the executive management of those corporations, as well as the stockholders of the company.

It then follows that domestic labor and domestic infrastructure will often not be able to compete against globalization, because their cost structure is fundamentally appreciably higher; so then, these former jobs are essentially exported overseas to foreign workers, as well as there being less of a need for specific infrastructure to build these products domestically, since it has been outsourced from America.  All of this essentially is deflationary for wage appreciation in America, especially as unions in private industry are in exceedingly steep decline, so that, the prime beneficiaries of such globalization is often going to be, only those that are the owners of the products so being produced.

In addition, it should be clarified that in America, there are labor laws that must be adhered to in regards to the working conditions, such as for the safety and comfort of the workers, along with rules in regards to overtime, break time, unemployment, social security, and Medicare that employers are obligated to provide to their employees; whereas in other countries, such laws may be quite lax, non-existent, or are overcome relatively easily, by, for instance, simply subcontracting out jobs, so that these foreign employees are not directly employed by the true beneficiary of that labor.  This also means that all the laws that have been passed in regards to the environment, such as clean air, and clean water, zoning laws, and community commitments are circumvented by simply having a given company's factories located outside of the United States.

The bottom line is that companies that are strictly domestic, cannot hope to compete against globalization, because the cost structure of those foreign countries are structured in a much more favorable way.  In other words, the playing field isn't level and it also isn't fair.  Again, while consumers in America might indeed benefit somewhat from globalization, the actual only real meaningful beneficiary is the multi-national corporations that take advantage of labor, environment, legal and infrastructure systems overseas in a manner which allows them to make a lot more money while passing a bit of those savings onto consumers.   This simply means that the rich are getting a lot richer; while more and more valued domestic jobs are vanishing, and unions are left high, dry, and irrelevant.

Transitory and eternal

A significant amount of people are so caught up in their lives, that they believe that all that they are is contained within their physical sphere and resides nowhere else.  A belief such as that would essentially mean that life has no meaning, since nothing that is physical, no matter what games are played, can be sustainable in perpetuity.  Not only that, but we read in Holy Scripture from our Messiah: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (Matthew 24; 35).  Clearly, that passage, indicates that there is a dimension that is not only beyond time and space, but is eternal, of which, the most appropriate understanding of this, is that the greatest good that any of us can do at any particular time, is to devote ourselves exclusively to those things that are eternal, as contrasted, to those things which are temporary, though some of these things may appear to be exceeding long in time to us, and/or seem of real value.

This should not be taken to mean that the advancement of mankind has little or no purpose or value, so that each of us, should therefore in lieu of doing the actual laboring of work, simply sit in quiet contemplation, each and every day; but rather to give us the appropriate perspective as to what really matters.  For what matters is our relationship one to another, that is to say, how we treat each other, what we do for one another, and the wisdom and good advice that we impart to one another.  This does mean that a dog-eat-dog world is fundamentally flawed, so too is a world that demands an eye-for-an-eye, for these worlds are not progressive but regressive.  Indeed, if we are unable to get along and work together productively here on earth, than there isn't any good reason, why any other dimension should therefore become for us a dimension of peace and harmony, as if in the dying of our physical body, somehow brings us into an eternal Paradise.

In point of fact, those that aren't ready for Heaven, so to speak, while they are here on earth, are going to be precluded from reaching the dimension of utter peace and harmony, because they are not those very attributes, themselves.  On the other hand, those that live their life in a way in which they see their neighbor as their own self, and their characteristics contain such as joy, peace, goodness, integrity, and steadfastness, have by their very deeds open up the portal of fulfillment in the eternal dimension which they have manifested in their lives here on earth.

The things that pass away are not us, and never will be us.  On the other hand, all that we do to better ourselves as well as to better our fellow sojourners are the very things that pass on from person to person and from generation to generation, for they do not ever come to an end, for our consciousness has no ending to it, though its form and shape may change as the dimension that we exist in, changes.  Therefore, what we do, what we say, and what we become, is who we really are, of which, to be truly eternal, we must be totally One with the Eternal, and this life on earth is for the very purpose of being tested in the crucible of Truth, and thereby burning off all the dross, that distorts the very thing that matters, which is our eternal bond to God.

Breach of Promise

People make promises all of the time, of which, some promises are of such a serious nature, that because a verbal agreement can be legally binding that the party that believes that the promised has been breached, has the right to sue the offending party.  In the case of a breach of promise, the substance of this is actually the promise of marriage, in which the fiancé that gets cold feet or decides that they do not wish to get marry after all, or was deceptive in their desire of marriage, of which, all of these, are subject to and are known as the breach of contract to marry.  It is important to realize, that historically women did not have the income opportunities as well as educational opportunities that they are so provided with today, so that, an actual promise of marriage, was a serious commitment meant to indicate that the man making the promise would be taking care of his wife-to-be for life.  So too, this meant as a matter of course, that the bride-to-be would quite obviously no longer be considered  as single and thereby available, but rather would be  clearly seen as committed and therefore unavailable.  In addition, since both parties would have made a binding commitment to one another, the woman would be somewhat vulnerable to relaxing her sexual mores with her husband-to-be.

Nowadays, a breach of promise, in regards to marriage, is no longer considered a legal offense, at least in most States, or with States, which still have this statute on its books that this is seldom enforced or taken seriously.  This does mean, in effect, that those asking for a woman's hand in marriage, can simply walk away from that commitment, at any time, even on the day of the nuptials, itself, with little or no legal liability.  However, there are some States that are still enforcing the statute, of which a woman can actually still sue for breach of promise to marry.

The fact that this statute has fallen out of favor, reflects that the law no longer sees a promise of marriage as a legally binding contract, probably because the law does not have a compelling interest to intervene into personal relationship commitments between two adults; in addition to the fact, that many States have no fault divorces, which basically allows either party to walk away from matrimony, for no reason, at all, other than that being their prerogative to do so. 

All of the above basically means that a man's word when it comes to marriage proposals is something that in today's world, is apparently retractable, and at the man's volition.   All of this signifies that the institution and the formalities of marriage, is far less secure today than it was back in the day.   To a certain extent that is quite unfortunate, of which, there appears to be a high correlation that with the appreciably higher degree of freedom, suffrage, and opportunity that women now have, that the less secure and protected marriage proposals and marriages have become; of which the male rascals that mouth promises but don't commit to them, don't seem to mind this much at all.

Wonder, Amazement and Perception

There are plenty of people that see the wonders of nature and are deeply appreciative of its beauty, as they well should be.  Unfortunately, for some of these same people, their wonder of such, supersedes the true recognition that the greatest wonder of them all, isn't really the landscapes and natural phenomena that enchants us, which rightly has its place, but rather is, the fact that our mind is able to see this as being the wonder that it is.

That is to say, without our ability to process and to perceive the things that we see or things that we touch or the things that we hear, this would essentially mean that all these beautiful scenes that surround us, would not be able to be appreciated or even really rightly recognized.  So then, those that are so enraptured about mother earth, while well meaning, should recognize that the greater miracle is actually the fact that they are able to perceive such as magnificent as it is.

This means that the most important frontier is not in all probability something that is tangible to our five senses, but rather what is intangible, of which, the portal for that door of perception is the mind that we are all gifted with.  So then, it follows that we should want to look behind the curtain to actually discover how our mind really works and thereby to perhaps truly to see as if for the very first time.

They say that none are so blind as those that will not see, who then wrongly believe that the images, beautiful or not, that are in front of them, are the be all and end all of everything, as opposed to the perception of that beauty, that truly comes not from the eyes, but from the mind, itself.    So then, while it is intriguing to see the wonders of the world as they are and what they might become, of far more worth, is to delve into the mind within, and to unravel the layers upon layers of our awareness; that for many people is unfortunately, too often left to run on autopilot or just ignored.

That is not to say, that the world, especially of its beauty, is not something worthy of our respect, admiration and appreciation, but rather that those very things that appear to be all so real to us, may not in the skeins of time, be as real or nearly as permanent as their appearance may suggest.  So that, we might just find, that it is our mind that is in actuality the essential part of our being, and it is with this mind that we able to cross into dimensions, far beyond our natural senses and their inherent limitations.

So then, when we see the beauty of natural phenomena, as great as it can be, those wonder of wonders, as incredible as they are, they must be recognized for what they really are, which is just a wonderful enticement and tease for us to thereby find the Ultimate Source of this beauty, recognizing that the search to end all searches, comes through the portal of our mind.

Giving and growth

Many of us live in big urban cities, which because of their sheer size, means that a lot of our day-by-day interactions are with people that we really don't know or hardly know at all; and because of that, there is a strong tendency to develop a more selfish nature, mainly because in our minds, we believe that since they don't really know us and we don't really know them, that these people are thereby more often seen as a means to benefit ourselves at perhaps their expense.  That is unfortunate, for in small communities, and in nuclear families, as a matter of course, there is more sharing, because each person has a strong tendency to acknowledge their responsibility to the other, for there is a more intuitive recognition, that none lives to their own self, and that we therefore are all in this together, so that those that do all of the receiving, and none of the giving, will in one form or another, receive their upbraiding and reprimand.

In point of fact, each day, we are provided choices, as to whether to be a giver or to be a receiver, of which, if we don't put any thought into it at all, we all might well conclude that we would strongly prefer to be just receivers, because receiving seems to make more logical sense.  The thing is while most of us do have a strong desire for nice material things and for good experiences, the receiving of all of these items doesn't feel satisfying when it is done in a vacuum, or unfairly, for we are all in the scheme of things, part of the same human family and the same human experience, of which, there is much more joy in being able to share our lives in all of its aspects with others.

This would seem to strongly indicate that part of a successful life must involve some actual interchange with others, which obviously would necessitate giving of ourselves to those others.  In fact, it is in the giving, especially to those that are not in the position to reciprocate, such as a newborn baby, or a hapless individual, or someone down on their selves, that demonstrates that we are able to look beyond the mirror in front of us and see instead the vision of our unity with one another.

So too, the most surprising thing about giving to others, whether that be our time, or material goods, or advice, or material aid, is that in most cases, rather than feeling that we have sacrificed ourselves to another, that we instead feel an inner joy in having helped someone in a manner in which their sincerity of appreciation for that help is felt to be priceless.  While not all giving involves thankfulness, just knowing that we are doing our part to make society or a given situation a little better, helps us to feel more involved as well as the validation, that our actions and our deeds, really does matter, for we are touching and influencing others in a positive manner.

Truly, it is in the giving that we grow, for we are all in this together, for the race is not finished, until all do finish that race, and that does require teamwork, and faithful giving to all those others, that are sojourning or should be sojourning along side of us.

Getting God all so very wrong

In so many ways and in so many circumstances, God gets an incredibly bad name from essentially ignorant human beings that really ought to know better.  For instance, one of the greatest lies and misconceptions about God is that God allows bad things to happen to us as well as to others, as if God somehow gets a perverse delight in our misery.  So too, there are many people that believe that their cause or their righteousness is so strong that when something tragic happens to them or a loved one, that this more or less proves the point that God either doesn't really care, or doesn't exist, or is powerless.  That credulous belief is fundamentally wrong, for this world, is exactly the world that we have made, based upon our own sovereignty and free will.  So then, when bad things happen, or when bad things occur that we do not like or that we do not desire, this is all part and parcel of living in a world of bad actors and bad actions.  This then means that the trouble that we face, is the trouble that we have brought about us, whether directly or indirectly through our actions, happenstance, or through poor fortune and seemingly bad luck.

This then means that it is a complete waste of time and breath to rail at God, for our tragic or troubling circumstances, rather than finding the real source of our troubles, which often times rests at the feet of mankind, and no other place.  It therefore is wrong on every conceivable level to blame God for a life filled with injustice, hatred, cruelty, unfairness, misery, and tragedy, for that blame is squarely on the shoulders of mankind, itself.  This signifies that the change that so many yearn for, must come from mankind in changing its heart and its ways so as to help manifest a better world, for all of us.

God has made it very clear to all those that will study His Word, and contemplate upon His Magnificence, that "… with God all things are possible," (Matthew 19: 26).  These are not empty words but are the Truth, itself, of which, in every conceivable way, and in all times, there is always that avenue available for mankind to avail itself of, if only mankind would clearly recognize that the only way to get to where they innately desire to go, is to forego wrong, and thereby to take it upon themselves to dedicate their lives to doing only what is right.

It is a privilege for each of us to have been gifted with free will and freedom, of which, the wisest amongst us, recognize implicitly that free will, is a godlike power that demands to be understood and must be controlled extremely well, for it is this free will, that can create absolute wonders, as well as when used incorrectly, creating horrible horrors.  Unfortunately, far too often, mankind misuses its free will in such a way, that life becomes death, liberty becomes imprisonment, and the pursuit of happiness, becomes the pursuit of misery.  So then, in abject anguish, mankind conveniently blames God for their ills, whereas all those ills really come from a lack of an appropriate mature perception and habitual godlessness. 

Those that are saved but aren't really

Religion and faith in one way or another, plays an important role in most people's lives, even of those that do not claim that they consciously believe in a Higher Power.  The reason that this is so is because each of us is intuitively drawn to something that is far larger and greater than ourselves, even if we are unaware of exactly what that Force is.  While it is true, that many people distract themselves from God consciousness through wine, ambition, money, or all sorts of material things and desires that steals our attention, such distractions does not preclude the channel to God knowledge from being forever open and available to each one of us.

Then there are those of us that profess to believe, and further that feel that by reciting a few religious words from rote are able somehow to be in harmony with the all seeing God, and thereby to have space set aside for them in some sort of eternal and blissful Heaven.  So too, there are others, of good repute and good deeds, that work hard on doing right for their neighbors and their fellow sojourners, that feel that by doing so, they too will find their eternal rewards in Heaven.  Additionally, there are those real laggards and procrastinators that feel if they can ask for some sort of absolution upon their death bed, that this will be good enough for eternal Glory.

While all of these things have their place, to be really saved, is actually something that necessitates effort, consistency, knowledge, concentration, correctness, and humility.  All of this requires much labor and not only that but labor that is generated over an extended period of time, for the very thing that so many deeply desire of, while freely available to all, is only attainable by those that put their plow to the ground, and run their lines on the straight and narrow, while never once looking back to check on what could have been.

There are no shortcuts to Heaven, for Heaven is something that is rightly earned.  So too, a soul that is truly saved, is a soul that not only knows right from wrong, but creates deeds that demonstrates that knowledge in action.  It is not now, nor has it ever been, that a Sunday Christian is going to get very far at all, for to have one personality while inside a church or a place of sanctuary, but a different personality for everyday activities is not consistent with faithfulness and is quite obviously hypocritical.

For those that truly want to find God, than that wanting must be translated into actual action, so that, the individual choices that are made day by day, will be in accordance to the realization that God is the God of all, and never will this be compromised or trivialized.  God cannot be bought; so too, God realization cannot simply be handed over to an individual, for God knowledge is something that requires the studious attention and the effective diligence of an apt pupil that is not satisfied until they come face-to-face with the God that is love, and will settle for nothing else but that.

Theft and justice

In virtually every nation and society, theft is considered to be a crime, and the punishment for thieves and robbers can range to something very mild, such as a reprimand or to actual prison time, depending upon the severity, the justice system, and the incorrigibility of the thief.  It does seem strange though, if thievery is so frown upon, that characters such as Robin Hood, known for his stealing from the rich in order to give to the poor; or Jean Valjean from Les Miserables, who stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving nephew, was then arrested and thereupon sentenced to nineteen years of hard labor, only to in the end, to demonstrate the nobility of his character to such a high extent, that Inspector Javert, his nemesis, fatally recognizes that Jean Valjean is a more noble man than he, mainly because Javert had become an obedient pawn to the letter of the law, thereby unable to overcome such;  of which these two archetypes , though thieves, are well respected as men of high character.

We presently live in a world, very neatly divided between the haves, and the have-nots, and whereas there are certain countries that have developed a middle class, as well as upward mobility, the dividing line between the privileged and propertied class, and the disparity between the very rich, and the impoverished, is to a very large extent, no different than what it was at the time of Robin Hood or of Jean Valjean.   In no uncertain terms, the rich, powerful, and connected run the show, which is the very prevailing reason why there are so many with so little, and so few with so much.

This signifies that laws that make robbery and thievery a crime, in all circumstances, and in all conditions, fundamentally must be wrong, for the poor are entitled to a fair return for their labor and for their effort, and to not have such, in this modern day and age, when there never has been so much material richness, is unacceptable.  So too, thievery or general unrest is going to be the result of having pockets or even huge swaths of the population that are ill educated, ill housed, treated unjustly, and given little or no opportunity  to fairly develop their inherent talents.

The poor of this world have rights, of which, they are entitled to a fair opportunity for decent housing, decent education and decent healthcare, and if these things are lacking, the end result, more often than not,  will be crime or civil unrest, of which America, a land with endless reams of laws upon laws, criminalizes just about everything.   The whole reason why the rich in the past as well as in the present, set themselves apart from the masses, is because they know that they have done the masses wrong, and because the rich live so well, they don't want to risk their good health and their good treasure, being raided, justly or not, from those that have little or nothing.

In point of fact, if the government will not fairly and appropriately tax the rich, in order to help and to assist the poor, and many governments do not; then the poor have the inherent right to tax the rich in their own way, for surely they have little to lose, except for the heavy chains that have been unfairly foisted upon them.

Why Dictators and Monarchs die with their boots on

In certain industries there are mandatory retirement ages, but for those that are in the highest echelons in politics, whether as a dictator or a monarch, they are almost never subject to mandatory retirement ages, and a surprising amount of those in office, will not voluntarily relinquish their office, even at very advanced ages, or when in obvious ill health.  The closest semblance of an American President taking on the mantle for life was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was elected four times to the highest office of the land, before dying in office.  Since the passage of 22nd Amendment which limits the term of a President to two terms, Americans will no longer be subject to possibly having a President that will essentially be a President for life, though it has had members of Congress, serve terms of 57 years.

In today's world, Queen Elizabeth II of England has been the Queen for 65 years, and became 92 years old in 2018.  So too, the Sultan of Kedah, and supreme head of state of Malaysia, died in office at age 90, after serving 59 years; as well as  King Bhumibol Adulyadej  of Thailand, died in office at age 88, after serving 70 years.  Dictators such as Fidel Castro, who ruled 52 years, left the office before his death, only because he could pass the office onto his own brother. Kim Il-sung ran North Korea until his death for 48 years, and Chiang Kai-shek, ran the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan, for 48 years, until his death. The list of monarchs and dictators that served in office for incredible long terms is quite extensive, demonstrating that those that are placed into power, and cannot be democratically overturn from that power, often do not give it up, until their physical death.

The most plausible reason why those that are very old, and are often suffering from physical bodies and minds that are in noticeable decline, yet still are clinging onto their power and position, is certainly not because they are needed by the fellow countrymen, and definitely not because they are irreplaceable, although both of these reasons are touted as being correct; but rather that the power behind the throne, the power that is often unseen, unknown, and disguised, has a vested interest in the dictator or monarch continuing in power, as long as they shall live, because their power depends upon the status quo, and they do not wish to risk their position with a changing of the guard.

The fact of the matter is, to run any country, especially a nation that consists of millions upon millions of people, with different religions, different factions, a mixture of private and public enterprises, domestic insurrection, wars, famine, infrastructure, modernity, the internet, and so on and so forth, is a task that necessitates a strong team of individuals for advisement, logistics, and throughput, of which, no dictator and no monarch, even at their peak of their health and mental powers, could possibly keep their hand upon the wheel for everything that is happening.  This does mean that dictators and monarchs are absolutely dependent upon the people and personnel that ostensibly report to them, and they are at the mercy of those seemingly endless reports, of which, the manipulation of a dictator or monarch that is on the wane, is child's play for those that wield the power behind the power.

All banks should be nonprofit

America is supposed to be a free enterprise capitalistic society, but it really isn't, for the government, time and time again, favors some at the expense of others.  A prime example of how the government doesn't play fair with its citizens is the massive billions upon billions of dollars distributed as a bailout for certain banks and insurance companies, with the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), of which, some banks, brokerage companies, and insurance companies, were dissolved, whereas other, favored banks, brokerage companies, and insurance companies were saved.  What the dividing line was between those that were subsidized and provided material aid as opposed to those that were allowed to be dissolved and have their assets sold off at fire sale prices, is not something that lends itself to a clear answer, but suffice to say, that government and certain industry leaders work hand in glove, all of the time.

In point of fact, some of the biggest banks of America, such as Citigroup, Bank of America, as well as a slew of others, were provided billion dollar guarantees, in addition to the purchase of preferred stock by the federal government in order to prop up these banks that had made bad decisions, and had become essentially insolvent.  This decision of providing the bailout for these favored banks was a grand disservice to the American public, for their insolvency should have been used as the opportunity for the federal government to either nationalize these banks or to simply dissolve them.

This then leads to another issue, which is the inherent unfairness of having a banking system that profits upon the sweat labor of those that are working, by having a banking system that is for profit, as compared to having a banking system, which should be similar to credit unions, and thereby be non-profit.  Basically, the loaning of money should not be a profit-based enterprise, but rather should be conducted as a service to those that are credit worthy and in need of loans.  If banking was nonprofit, then the fees so generated, as well as the interest charges for loans, and the interest rate for deposits, would all be fairer to the general public as well as the governance of a nonprofit incentivizes that structure in working with the customer on behalf of that customer, as opposed to exploiting such.

The fact that at the present time there are banks that are classified as "too big to fail" signifies that it is the American taxpayer that is unjustly stuck bailing out banks that make egregiously poor decisions; in addition to the fact, that banking profits are at its core, do so represent the taking and extraction of additional money from the taxpayers in order to benefit the ownership and executive offices of these banking institutions.  None of this is really even necessary, for to simply loan money to those that have a need of it, should not in itself, be structured as anything other than non-profitable, for the whole purpose of loaning money in the first place is to help create wealth, jobs, and prosperity by the investment of that money into worthy enterprises, as well as to provide material aid in the credit capacity of customers.

Apple and fair taxation

As reported by the irishmirror.ie, European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated that: "…Apple was paying €50 in tax on every one million euro of profit it made in 2014."  That equates to a tax rate percentage of 0.005% which is essentially zero.  As might be expected, Apple likes to project the image that they pay all their taxes, as CEO Tim Cook defiantly stated to Congress, "We pay all the taxes we owe, every single dollar."  A statement such as that is disingenuous as best, and in reality is actually fundamentally and foundationally a total lie.  In point of fact, the people that work at Apple and work with Apple, are extremely clever and gifted, in which, as anybody with any sensibility knows, part of the money that you keep, is reducing taxes that are paid; such as the tax set asides so granted for property tax relief, as well as all the other governmental services that lobbyists can get subsidized on behalf of Apple, such as research and development tax credits; in addition to all the favors generated for Apple by counties, localities, States, and nations.  After all, Apple has the largest market capitalization of any corporation in the entire world as well as being highly respected, so that, what Apple wants, Apple typically gets.

There are multiple problems with Apple not paying their fair share of taxes, of which, the first problem is the non-recognition that fair taxation as contrasted to the legal amount of taxation that is due and payable are not now, and have never been the same thing.  The next problem is that competing against Apple is not going to be fair to begin with, because of the gargantuan size advantage as well as the influence of Apple, so that when Apple pays their taxes at an appreciably lower tax rate, than what their competitors pay at, then Apple's advantage is even greater.   So too, companies such as Apple are essentially able to get legislation, taxation or otherwise, that favors Apple, written for Apple, not only because of the size of the corporation, but also because of the prestige of being associated with Apple, since the products that they sell are so highly sought and praised.  The most egregious problem with Apple not paying their fair share of taxes, though, is simply that Apple, perhaps more than any other corporation in American history, has the ability and capability to easily pay their fair share of taxes, of which, those taxes fairly paid, would be redistributed throughout society, localities, and communities in such a manner that the least amongst us, would be able to have a better opportunity to have good shelter, good healthcare, good education, and food enough.

When the richest amongst us, corporate or individual, does not pay their fair share in taxes, but instead has those taxes passed onto those that are already heavily burdened and struggling, so that this lack of taxes being collected, does its part in contributing to massive governmental fiscal deficits, thereby being callously passed onto future generations yet unborn; this signifies, that the tax code as written and implemented is seriously broken, and the fact that massive corporations such as Apple seem to take perverse pride in not paying their fair share, indicates that the division between the have and the have-nots is only going to get wider and wider.

The not so permanent orthodontics

Americans have some wonderful smiles, of which, some of them, come quite naturally to a given individual, whereas others are created by the aid and the usage of orthodontics.  Quite obviously, for very young children that get orthodontics, such as preteens, of which, their permanent teeth have not yet all come in, they are in all likelihood, going to need additional orthodontic treatment after those adult teeth do come in;  of which, orthodontics at such a young age is typically recommended to take care of an overbite or to basically help preclude current problems from getting worse by addressing them at a young age.

Then there are all those others that get their braces after their permanent adult teeth have come in, of which, such are typically teens, but many are adults, as well as even older adults, in which, their orthodontist comes up with a plan to create that winning smile, that Americans so hanker for.  After the orthodontics phase of straightening out the teeth with braces is accomplished, a retainer is then created for those teeth, which is meant to be worn at night, or as necessary, in order to keep the teeth straight and in their appropriate position.

The main problem with retainers for some people, is that they don't follow the instructions as given by their orthodontist for the usage of their retainer; in addition to the fact that most users of braces, after completing their treatment, do not ever see their orthodontist again.  As might be expected, not following instructions has consequences, of which, the very first one is the basic non-recognition by patients of how teeth are moved via braces to begin with.  That is to say, the whole reason why teeth will move through orthodontics is because of the pressure applied, not to the tooth itself, although it may seem that way, but actually to the ligaments that hold that tooth in place.  Therefore, not too surprisingly, in absence of that pressure still being applied, through the regular and the correct usage of that retainer, and especially the amount of time that the retainer is actually on in a given day, then the teeth having no longer any pressure being so applied that will preclude them from moving, will ever so slowly, but inexorably, go back to where the ligaments feel comfortable having them be placed.

This means that over a period of time, someone that has had braces, even for a lengthy period of time, may look in the mirror, some years down the road, and clearly notice that their teeth and therefore their smile is no longer straight but that their teeth are actually back to being crooked, necessitating getting orthodontics to correct such, once again.

The prevailing reason that some people need orthodontic treatment more than once, is very similar to someone that has corrected a former bad habit with a good habit, but inexorably, have gone back to their bad habit; often because of a lack of concentration, diligence, and preventive maintenance; believing incorrectly, that they no longer need to be on watch, when in actuality there are certain things in life that require eternal vigilence.

Doing and Hearing is not the same thing

We read in Holy Scripture in James 1: 22 "But be doers of the word, and not only hearers…" of which clearly this means that to hear and to thereby know what to do, but then not to do it, is a serious fault within the character of anyone that has the audacity to believe that they are a good Christian.  This indeed means that a lot of the world's troubles can be laid at the feet of mankind, that clearly knows what the difference is between right and wrong, but insists upon doing wrong; as well as knowing what they should be doing, but insists upon waiting another day to get around to doing it, and then they wait another day, and then another day, until the end of their material time.

The main problem that so many people have, which is exacerbated by today's instant gratification society, is that they don't want to put forth the effort to do the things that they should be doing; but rather they want to either get things done in a halfhearted way or they seek for shortcuts to accomplish things, not seeming to recognize or to acknowledge that there are certain things in life which necessitate effort, drive, persistence, and throughput and are not susceptible to shortcuts.

In point of fact, the very things that are most meaningful for you, are the very things that necessitate hard work and dedicated labor, for what you really want in life is those things that you earn; because having earned it you appreciate all that went into getting it done, as opposed to having something just handed to you, which though it may well be appreciated, it will not be held in such high esteem, for that lack of personal sweat labor.

Additionally, part of life is to absorb the lessons of life, and then to pass on that wisdom to other people, of which, if you haven't done the very things that you are urging people to take care of and get done, than those lessons that you are proselytizing about aren't going to be readily taken to heart;  as compared to the person that has actually been out in the battlefield and competition of real life, and of real struggles, who have risked a lot in order to gain a lot, having no doubt also suffered losses and made sacrifices along the way.

When you look around the world, and appreciate the greatness and beauty that this world does offer to people, as well as the modern day conveniences that we all enjoy utilizing and taking advantage of, recognize that these very things have all come forth from those that do, and not just those that hear the words; and thereby we owe a huge debt of gratitude for all those that have accomplished so much, as well as the fact that continuous progress for mankind is made from having learned at the feet of previous giants that have accomplished so much.

So too, the whole reason why we watch movies and television as well as reading books, is to listen and to hear their stories, but if all we do, is to admire them, but to do nothing of merit ourselves, then we have failed those storytellers because it is in the doing that we truly write our own tales.

Idolatry

We read in Holy Scripture in Exodus 20: 3-4 "You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourselves an idol…" and further we read in Romans 1: 25 "who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…"  Of which, these scriptural passages nicely sum up the religious truth that there is no other legitimate god but God, as well as that it is a mistake to worship and idolize what our Creator has created, over the Creator.

This so indicates that while it is one thing to appreciate the beauty that this world offers us, which certainly would include our rightful respect of mother earth, it is though a wrong belief, to take earthly things and to thereby treat those objects or creations as superior to the Creator of it all.    While this world has many things that are worthy of our admiration, it is an error in judgment to see those things, outside of their context, that somehow makes those objects as something that is noble in and of themselves, for they are, in the scheme of things, only material objects, though they may be quite beautiful, they ultimately, in one form or another, are still subject to the law of entropy, decay, and disappearance, for each of these created things have a beginning and so too there will be their end.

When it comes to our human relationships, while it is right to honor our mother and father, and to do right by our spouse and children; all that we have in a material sense, will ultimately depart, leaving only the lessons that we have taught and the love that we have given out.  To believe otherwise, indicates a false belief that the reality of this visible world, trumps the reality of the invisible world, but it is that which is invisible that actuates the visible.

Any good scientist wants to keep on searching until they find the ultimate truth, for to do nothing less, means that they have not done all that they could do to comprehensively understand what it is that is being studied, so that the very purpose of great creations is not so much to study that creation, though that has merit, but to find the Creator behind the creations, for to settle for something less than the full truth, cannot be the full truth, and there is only that One truth.

The biggest deception that humanity suffers from is having the belief that what they see is what they should believe; but without the unseen nothing would be seen.   The very cycles that human life deals with, generation after generation, as well as the cycles of life and death in the world of fauna and flora should indicate to all of us that the merry-go-round of material life is circular and repeatable, but unable to ever generate enough velocity to escape into the world beyond this world.  So that, to the degree that idolatry distracts people from the reality that our highest mission is to find our way back to our Creator, this then means that that distraction is at best, a very small reflection of what the reality of the Creator actually is.

Open borders and the decline of the American wage premium

The middle class of America has lost serious ground vis-à-vis the overall economic strength in America.  So that, as reported by fivethirtyeight.com: "In 1970, 55 percent of U.S. income was earned by households in the middle 60 percent of the income distribution," but by 2013, this number had fallen to about 45 percent.  Yet, America's overall economic strength is still preeminent and remains the strongest in the world, signifying that though good money is being made, it mainly is being made at the very top, while the middle class earnings have precipitously declined and the impoverished in America remain impoverished.

There are plenty of theories about the economic decline of the middle class in America, but such a decline has nothing to do with the economic pie of this country shrinking, for the top 1% as reported by cbpp.org demonstrated that their "… share of wealth held by the top 1 percent rose from just under 30 percent in 1989 to nearly 49 percent in 2016," so that, in all likelihood the most significant reason why middle class wages have declined is that open borders and low or non-existent tariffs are not beneficial for the middle class, but are extremely beneficial for certain businesses, while, on the other hand, being quite destructive for other domestic businesses.   Further to the point, American workers have over the last century, received a wage premium over other workers, even those from European nations, but this wage premium is currently in the process of eroding by virtue of the fact that because the world has appreciably grown smaller, with goods being able to be easily transported from one port to another, indeed, at a very reasonable cost; that any country that has the same sort of technology skills, imported or not, as well as operator skills, in addition to the requisite management skills, are readily able to undercut most domestic manufacturers that do not outsource anything.

So that, corporations that are headquartered in America in order to remain competitive on a worldwide stage, have deliberately moved certain segments of their production as well as their technical knowhow overseas because of the incredible labor and production savings, and consequently many qualified workers in America, are either now out of work, or have mainly found alternative work but at a lesser hourly rate, or have trained/educated themselves into some other work.  While it is fairly easy to replace many blue collar jobs with robotics or relatively unskilled labor, it is another thing to replace those that are highly educated, but it's now being done, especially by countries of large populations with educated work forces, such as China and India. This indicates that a higher percentage of white collar workers are now susceptible to the very same things that blue collar workers having been suffering through over the last few decades, which is wage stagnation or even worse.

The bottom line is that if the most important thing for a corporation is to make money, and in particular, making as much as they can make, than they, quite obviously are going to continue to outsource jobs overseas because those that labor overseas are substantially cheaper in their wage needs than domestic American workers.  So then, as great as the economy has been in America, those that reside in the executive office, are the ones that make the lion's share, and those that are not, get nothing but the scraps, if even that.

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) knows everything about you

In order to access the internet, a given user, must use for the most part, their Internet Service Provider (ISP), which in the scheme of things, should just be the conduit connecting people to the internet, and should not be in the business of actually monitoring, recording, and tracking the sites actually visited, but, in fact, the ISP seems to know everything about you, by virtue of seemingly tracking all that is being done by you over the internet.

For instance, if you download content, the ISP, tracks such information being so downloaded, and will, if provided appropriate notice from the content provider that content so downloaded from a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address has violated their copyright rules, will probably subject that user of the ISP, to a notice indicating that they have been identified as allegedly infringing upon a copyrighted work.  This clearly indicates that your ISP really does tracks and records not only the sites that are visited but indeed the content being so downloaded.

In fact, the ISP, appears to keep track of every site visited and every keystroke so made upon that site, so that, anonymity of the user does not exist, and in fact, is tracked per their unique Internet Protocol (IP) address.  In the scheme of things, there isn't a necessity for any ISP in a free country to actually track and record the sites so visited as well as the keystrokes made per site, except as a necessity in the ordinary course of business for the user to access the sites, so that, an ISP should just provide the infrastructure so that users can access the internet, and not be data collectors of such sites visited by IP addresses.

As it has been stated, information is power, and knowing a given IP address and what sites are visited, and thereby seeing everything that these users do on those sites, gives an incredible amount of inside information in regards to the individual as to who and what they really are.  This, most unfortunately, is very much something that governments and businesses are only too eager to collect and have access to, for monitoring and tracking purposes, as well as for exploitation and marketing, or even more nefarious purposes.

The fundamental problem with the current structure of the ISP, and thereby having identifiable and unique IP addresses, is not that there aren't some pretty decent workarounds from such monitoring, but rather, that such workarounds should even be necessitated; over and beyond the point, that many people won't ever bother to getting around to actually doing any workarounds, whatsoever. 

The greatness of America is its freedom of speech as well as its freedom of the press, of which, the monitoring and tracking of all that people do through their ISP, most definitely limits that speech and will constrain that press, all because those that do the watching and the collecting, essentially are in the catbird seat in regards to what is said and seen.  Further to the point, because information collected can selectively be used against certain people or certain organizations, this thus favors those that collect, at the expense of those that are collected from.

The precipitous decline in corporate taxes collected

Nobody really wants to pay taxes, but taxes are necessary for governments as well as its infrastructure to function effectively and to stay up-to-date.  The sheer size of corporations is something that most people have great difficulty, conceptualizing, of which, the highest amount of sales by any US based corporation in 2017, was WalMart, which had revenues of an astonishing $500,343 billion dollars.  The company with the biggest profits in 2017 was Apple with an incredible $48,351 billion dollars.

Americansfortaxfairness.org states that:”corporate share of federal tax revenue has dropped by two-thirds in 60 years — from 32% in 1952 to 10% in 2013."  Such a drop in tax revenues collected from corporations clearly indicates that corporations are extremely gifted at avoiding their fair share of paying such taxes, and thereby effectively burdening individuals with even more of such taxation.

So too, this makes it very clear, that those corporations complaining about how high corporate rates are vis-à-vis other countries, which was successful in dropping the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% in 2017, effectively duped the government.  For the truth of the matter is that few corporations, ever paid at 35%, having readily demonstrated that through their sophistication of maneuvering money all around the globe, and other assorted end-a-rounds, that they are quite gifted at tax avoidance.

When it comes to taxation, the best entities to actually tax are those entities that actually have the money to be taxed, of which, today's mega-corporations have loads upon loads of dollars that should be fairly taxed.  Yet, the ensuing decades from the 1950s onward, clearly indicates that corporations are not paying their fair share, thereby burdening individual tax payers by shouldering onto them far more in taxation than is fair.

Additionally, it doesn't make any logical sense that individuals are charged their taxes based upon a progressive tax rate as determined by the government, whereas, corporations are subject to a flat tax, of which they not only don't pay even close to that rate, but strangely those corporations making modest amounts of profits, are taxed at the same flat rate, as those companies that are making billions upon billions of dollars.

The fact that the corporate share of federal tax revenue paid has dropped so dramatically, clearly demonstrates that corporations are working hand-in-glove with the taxing and governmental authorities, for corporate profits have never been greater, yet, the percentage of taxes so collected from corporations have essentially plummeted. 

This means, when it comes to budget deficits, a very good argument can be made, that such deficits could be reduced considerably, if corporations were more appropriately taxed as they should rightly be, and if this government, made it a point, to actually monitor and to audit corporations so as to extract more money from those companies, so that they will once again, pay their fair share.

In addition, if the largest corporations in America paid a higher percentage of their profits to federal tax authorities, no doubt, this would, in effect, strongly help to redistribute money from the superrich to those that are struggling and thereby reduce somewhat the income inequality within America.

There is no national ID card in America

Although, in many respects, America in its citizen surveillance has never had so much ability to be so intrusive into so many lives, yet, there are still a few things that America policing agencies do not have access to, such as a national ID card and database. If there was a requirement to have a national ID card, this would obviously necessitate having to produce such a card, upon being requested to do by policing authorities, as well as other agencies, public or even private as a form of identification check.

While it is true, that a driver's license serves as a quasi-identification card, not everybody has a driver's license, nor is it a requirement to have a driver's license upon one's body, while not driving.  So too, each individual is required to have a Social Security number, but this number is NOT for national identification purposes and citizens are NOT required to provide their Social Security number to police or other legal authorities, though, the Social Security number in conjunction with an individuals' driver's license behaves as the quasi-national ID.

This would seem to indicate that Americans have some free air to breath, knowing that they actually have the right, at least on paper, to be about their business without having to actually produce papers that prove who they are.  The practicality of the matter though, is that those that are not able to satisfactorily identify themselves to policing authorities will often find that, their freedom of movement, is seriously restricted or under assault, which quite obviously demonstrates that national ID law or not, the freedom to not be disturbed, unless under exigent circumstances, seems to have vanished.

While there are plenty of people that actually support a national ID card, they are fundamentally trading convenience or a false security for something that in the hands of those that wish to do harm, is a very effective discriminating tool to do so; because easy identification of those that have been classified as unacceptable, for whatever reason(s) makes it very straightforward in being able to separate the franchised from the disenfranchised. 

When government authorities know exactly who you are, and exactly where you are at, the rounding up of people that are an inconvenience to state authorities, is not only easily accomplished, but it could be argued, is going to be something that will be accomplished, in way or another, sooner or later.  The government wants to know everything about you, not so as to aid you, though they may speak of aid, and may even offer some kind of aid, but the prevailing reason is to control you, to manipulate you, and to eliminate all those that are not in lockstep with the prevailing governmental desires and decrees.

The national ID card is a very effective way to get everyone to get with the government and its policies, and to more readily discriminate against all those that are not with the government and its policies, basically, stifling civil dissent.  A government that serves the people, does not need a national ID card, but a government that desires to be served by the people, does.

The stock market and the top 10%

The stock market goes up and it goes down.  So too, there are several television stations that are dedicated to nothing more than stock markets, international or domestic, which in the biggest scheme of things, is mostly of interest to those that actually own stocks.  While, it is true, because of pensions, 401Ks, and mutual funds, that stocks or their equivalency are actually owned by a fairly wide swath of Americans, the bulk of such monetary ownership, pretty much matches the wealth of America, which means, that such wealth is at the very top echelon.  In particular, as reported by time.com:  "the richest 10% of households controlled 84% of the total value of these stocks in 2016,” as stated in a recent paper by NYU economist Edward N. Wolff.

This means, or implies, that for mainstream America and those that have even less assets and income than that, the stock market really doesn't matter much to them, because they have no direct investment in it.  However, when it comes to the economy, money, and jobs, it would be a mistake to not recognize that stock market rises and stock market crashes, most definitely has a significant effect upon people, and is especially of real relevancy when the market crashes and burns, such as during the Great Depression, when unemployment went up to 24.9%, or the Great Recession of 2008-09 when unemployment went up to 10%. 

This signifies that when the very rich are getting their tails burned by a persistently falling stock market, that mainstream America will not be far behind in suffering the ill effects of lower or even negative economic growth, leading to layoffs and reductions in job promotion, wages, hours work, and opportunities; for when the rich are licking their wounds, they aren't going to be expanding their businesses, or investing more money into the corporate world, but rather they will be net equity sellers and investing a lot less of their money into equities, making it a foregone conclusion that corporate businesses will have to cut expenses to accommodate this material change.

This indicates that when the rich turn tail and run, it matters; simply because of the fact that so much of America's wealth is in the hands of the very rich, so that when an economic tumble comes, the rich will not hesitate too long in taking their money back from their erstwhile investments, and simply sit on it instead, because they have enough wealth already, that they need not recklessly risk it and thereby they do not.  

This is the inherent danger of the unequal distribution of wealth, for wealth that isn't invested into the economic engine of growth for America, or is mal-invested, leads to unemployment, and the inevitable recession or even depression.  The stock market is a fair reflection of the confidence that the top 10% have in America, and when that confidence is breached, it's the other 90%, that is, those that have little or no say on the matter, that essentially suffers the brunt of the damages, and it is these people that stand in line at the soup kitchens.

Approval and disapproval

Most people have a strong desire to see themselves validated by others, especially by others, that they respect and interrelate with.  If, such approval, stopped with only those that were most important and pertinent in our lives, that might indeed provide material benefits, for those that know us well and have our best interests in mind, are certainly people that should be engaged in order to get appropriate feedback and to help us to become the best people that we can be.

On the other hand, seeking approval from everyone is a path that can only lead to dissatisfaction and hurt.  The very first thing to be cognizant of, is self-respect begins with ourselves, so that, those that feel a need to be liked or approved by everybody, are inevitably, compromising who and what they really are, in order to ingratiate themselves with others.  While, this may even be effective in certain social situations, the downside is incredibly harsh, for when our happiness and satisfaction is actually held in the hands of another, then they so have the power to use such as a whip or as a carrot, in order to more easily control the situation for their benefit.

While it might be okay to fantasize about being loved by everybody, recognize that such is always just a fantasy, for even the very best amongst us, are not now and never will be universally liked or loved.  For instance, some people are hateful, for their own reasons, of which this may be because of their own failures, frustrations, envy, and jealousy.  Others may not like losing attention when outclassed by someone of far more impressive credentials, and so and so forth.  The list of reasons why someone would not like us is literally endless, and because of this, trying to seek the approval and respect of everyone, is not ever possible.

While most everyone has a desire to be liked, that is not the same thing, and should not be confused with, being respected, so that, to be liked by one's peers, may just come down to following their lead, agreeing with them, and always going along to get along; whereas, a person of integrity, does well the things that actually actuates them, for the overall betterment of themselves as well as for others, of which, by staying focused, and on point, this will garner them the respect of those peers with discriminating minds.

There isn't a necessity of needing approval of just anyone, especially from those that don't really know you.  In addition, even those that do know you and care about you, may have their own agendas from time-to-time, of which their expressed disapproval  or approval are a means to manipulate or to control the situation, so one should not only consider the source but also the motivations behind the source. 

This is your life, and it cannot be someone else's, for they have their own lives.  Those that are too fearful to do this or that, unless expressly approved by someone that is not them, are forging the chains of their own imprisonment, not seeming to recognize, that they were created to be free of such entanglements.