Global labor exploitation

Goods need to be produced in order for us to have items such as cell phones, medical devices, electronics of all sorts, clothes, furniture, and so on and so forth.  Those that are entrepreneurs typically have a mindset in which they conscientiously look at all sorts of alternatives on how things are presently being created, in a manner in which they are often able through proper aforethought and planning to increase efficiency, as well as to lower costs; of which, one of those costs that they are particularly concern about is the full cost of labor, which takes into account, the benefits and accouterments normally associated with such.

All of this thinking and planning, certainly makes sense from a competitive as well as a profitability standpoint, and those that thereupon look upon this world as getting ever smaller, in which they see that certain goods are typically able to be manufactured overseas at a subset of what those very same goods would so cost domestically, have to take that into consideration, even at the direct consequence of the subsequent reduction of domestic labor and its corresponding logistics, so of.

The problem, becomes though, that when such work is directly engaged in overseas, or more typically, subcontracted out to an institution that specializes in such, is whether or not, the people so engaged in this work, as well as the environment, are exploited by those so contracting for that labor.  Of course, the easy answer to that is that this is a two-way street in which, because each party seemingly voluntarily agrees to the terms so of, that there isn’t any particular thing, which therefore would be considered to be, untoward.  But that, however, is simplifying it way too much, because environmental damage, whether so done domestically or overseas, is damage to the environment, of the same planet, that all live upon.  So too, the outright exploitation of those that have literally no power to demand much of anything in regards to wages, the terms thereof, and the conditions so of, is fundamentally and ethically wrong.

Those that subcontract out work overseas, whether they are some of the biggest and most powerful multinational corporations, or even very modest organizations, have an innate responsibility to own up to the fact that they need to be good stewards of what has so been contracted or subcontracted, which includes the labor conditions, the wages so paid, as well as the environment and how it is treated; and while in fairness, lower cost countries should not make the same real wages as those working in western nations, they should at a minimum, receive a “living wage”; along with appropriate overtime pay, and other typical benefits that any worker in any state, so deserves and has a right to.

To a very large extent, there never has been so much exploitation on a global scale then is so seen today, of which, this is the prevailing reason, why income and wealth has become ever more extreme and ever more concentrated into fewer and fewer hands; because those that have the power to demand this or that, or else such will be contracted or subcontracted somewhere else, are essentially forcing these weaker nations and those that live within them, to undercut one another, of which the biggest loser, is whoever is holding the shortest end of the stick, which pretty much is the voiceless overseas laborer.

What we have in actuality is global labor exploitation, writ large, which should not be celebrated, but rather needs to be seriously amended or just plain stopped.

Money and money lending

We read in Holy Scripture, the following, “The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22: 7).  As true as this was, back when this was first written, it is just as relevant today.  In America, the amount of money so being borrowed by the general public, has never been greater, as well as having become completely normalized, and those so lending that money, essentially make their money, in one fundamental way, which is the charging of interest upon that loan, as well as by any fees and penalties so charged, for those so borrowing, all of which the borrower must faithfully adhere to, or duly suffer the consequences for such a failure. 

Whether money lenders should be respected or not, is a very debatable question, of which, fundamentally the loaning of money, isn’t a skill and it isn’t providing a good; in fact, it could be said it’s questionable as to whether or not it is a service, though in some way, it is providing a service, but that service comes, for a significant amount of folks, with a very hefty price.  It should also be taken into serious consideration, that the higher the interest rate that is so being charged for such a loan, the more money that is being extracted from the person or organization that has borrowed that money, of which, this form of extraction, is in many instances, a form of exploitation.  After all, those that lack monetary assets, but need such, are left to pay what the piper so insists upon, especially when they don’t see any other good viable options.  Of course, the money lender, then argues, that what they so charge is what the market will bear, of which the proof so of, is in the activity so engaged. 

Yet, the only thing of value that the money lender brings to the table is the money, and that pretty much is it.  Those that believe that without money, that our society would simply just come to a halt, have got it all wrong, for money really represents a medium of exchange, and to therefore put money above the actual labor that is producing goods, or that which is providing a needed service, have truly put the cart before the horse.  Additionally, the celebration of those that work all these various money hustles, be it huge national banking institutions, or their equivalencies, so that they can therefore make money by the virtue of just having money or the privileged access to it, must recognize the absolute absurdity of applauding that which extracts their undue profit from those that lack capital, or the fair access to it.

The place for money in this world, should be the place in which that money is used in order to be of a benefit for humankind, and not primarily as a profit-making institution.  If it is so needed that money lenders be permitted as for-profit enterprises, the least that any good governance should do for the good of its own people is to regulate that business in a manner in which the general welfare of the country so prospers, as opposed to the money lenders continually taking their pound of flesh, in addition to shedding the blood of all those just trying to get what they feel they need to get in order to make their way in society.

All of the thirteen States had Constitutions before the United States Constitution

There are plenty of revolutionaries that declare this and that and have lofty principles, but when they are unsuccessful in overthrowing their oppressor or opponent, then what was so declared and desired by these revolutionaries, doesn’t really matter all that much, except for perhaps the history books.  In America, the colonists rebelled against their oppressor, and ultimately, they were successful in that revolution; but having been successful they then had to face the problem or the issue of the fact that thirteen sovereign States so joined together under a loose Confederation of those States is not the same thing as a strong and united national government.  That is to say, these States were all in the battle, together, so that, it would seem to therefore make eminent sense, that joined together into one body politic would be the best policy going forward; of which, after much thought, debate and interaction, the Constitution was not only drafted and amended, but ratified by all of those same thirteen States.  It is also important to recognize, that what America did not want to devolve into, was a country divided by the conflicting interests of different regions of that country, for a civil war would be disastrous for that nation; of which, as we know, this subsequently occurred.

It is important to note that each of those thirteen States had their own State Constitution, before the United States Constitution was ratified; so then, what was really at issue for those thirteen States was putting together a limited national Constitutional government, with delegated specific powers for that national government; so as, for instance, to coin and regulate money and debt on a national basis, to negotiate treaties and other areas of business for that government, as well as many other pertinent areas of national interest; but also, quite importantly to thereby set aside all the other undelegated powers to the States or to the people, at large. 

What has occurred over the decades since the ratification of that Constitution is what is pretty much obvious, which is that State Constitutions while being still of relevancy to those individual States on some matters, are for the most part, superseded by the power of the Federal Government and its interpretation of legislated laws on a national scale, which therefore has become the law of the entire land, on just about any major issue of interest.  So then, the individual States have over a long period of time, seen their sovereignty compromised and seemingly will not ever get it back.  What is of relevancy in the present day, is whether or not there are any meaningful constraints which still uphold and contend that this is a national government of specific delegated powers?  The general answer to that question, is that there really doesn’t appear to be any.  That is to say, the people, in whole, do not appear to be in charge of their national government; though of course they do have representatives to it; but those so representing that government, seem not to answer to the people’s beat or to their interests, but answer instead to an unelected minority faction of this country, above all else.

Sadly, we are at that place, in which the words so written in our Constitution which appear to be clear and precise, are not interpreted that way; so that what we functionally have is a national government, which never cedes ground, but takes ever more, every single day from the people, and from the States, with no recourse for those people of those States to be found.

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”

The above quotation comes from the incomparable, Maya Angelou.  It is important for all of us to recognize this important fact, that we cannot change the past, for the past is the past, but we can change what we are doing in the present, and by doing so, we can change the future for our good contribution to it.  This thus means, that each of us invariably receives lessons, of which, probably the most expensive lessons to have received are those past events, that have hurt us or upset us, as well as those other actions so taken that we personally regret doing.  All of us, that will not learn from the past, are prone to walk into and make the very same mistakes, going forward; whereas, those that rightly see the past as offering an object lesson to take to heart, can make adjustments, to therefore make for a better life.

As it has been said, life in this world is not necessarily fair, and the events that we subsequently have to deal with, may seem unwarranted and unjust; yet there they are, all the same.  So then, it is our duty, to be therefore the change that we so desire to see in others, first in our own self; and by doing just that, we are bound to be able to face what needs be faced in the future, with greater courage; so that, when provided with more than one pathway on our personal road of life, we need to take into full account, that knowing where we want to go, is going to make our decision, so of, a lot clearer.

The toughest lessons to learn are, for example, those lessons which involve an action or interaction that is so dramatic, that it not only can’t be undone, but it can’t really be rectified in a manner in which fair justice will ever occur in the present.  Those lessons indeed are a painful burden to bear, but decisions so made, even those lasting no more than a split second, can have profound consequences.  So too, those lessons, in which we seemingly are stuck making the same sorts of mistakes again and again, need to be addressed in a manner in which we successfully pass that test, or else we will have to keep taking that test, again and again, until we are able to come up with the correct response.  In this world, there are no shortcuts, and those so sold to us as shortcuts, are illusions, at best; so, it is up to us, to have the integrity of character, to recognize that we have to earn our way to where we need to go, as well as to have the wisdom to see that there are often notable others of good repute that will help us along our journey, so of, if we only request such of them.

Life, as it is, is going to be different for each one of us; and further to the point, the only person that can walk the line for a given individual, is specifically that person, and none other.  Recognize this well, the prize that we so greatly desire, is the exact same prize for everyone; yet, the pathway to earn that prize is a unique experience for each person.  Therefore, it is imperative that each one of us, finds the strength of being, to carry on and to successfully get pass whatever obstacles that are there, so as to therefore get to where they need to be, so they need not begin again as if they had never lived before.

In reality, what sort of government do we really have?

In the scheme of things, this government, is a government of, by, and for the people, by the consent of the governed, and we, in whole, are those people.  Regrettably, with the exception of elites as well as well-placed governmental officials, this government, is, in effect, not in the hands of the people, and does not honestly answer to those people, nor is this government, truly transparent to the people.  We have, in effect, a government that rules us, to its own purposes, and through the power of its extensive and documented knowledge of each one of us, is able to, by the day, grow ever more powerful at our expense.  So then, to a very large extent, our government is, for all practical purposes, behaving more and more as our master, and we as its servants.

How many people can honestly answer this question in the affirmative, which is, does this government responsibly answer all of their questions and concerns in a satisfactory manner?  On the other hand, how many can honestly say that they find their government to be obtuse, confusing, unorganized, unresponsive, and unhelpful, especially in those situations in which help is need at its most urgent level?

Anytime that the government behaves in a manner, in which we fear to tread upon its public offices and engage in its public affairs, for we tremble inside -- then that isn’t good governance.  A government that is in tune and in harmony with its constituents, is that government that is responsible, considerate, patient, and helpful in dealing with the day-to-day affairs of its constituency.  Unfortunately, our government while getting ever larger and ever more powerful, has taken upon itself, to place itself in the position, in which it seemingly holds all of the cards, in regards to, for instance, dealing with those that are impoverished, such as in healthcare, housing allowances, food stamps, educational choices, and general welfare.  So that, in effect, those that are impoverished but are sufficiently obedient to that government, will get just enough, to survive; but never enough to thrive, as well as not being provided with the means to ever extricate themselves meaningfully from their rather dire straits. 

So too, for the middle class, this government will continue on the course it has set, which is basically to allow the largest and most powerful corporations that the world has ever known, to outsource as much work and employment that they so desire, with absolutely no consequences for their doing so; which thereby permits these corporations to make even more money and become even more powerful, at the expense of the middle class, who despite their great work ethic, are finding it ever more problematic to secure good and stable jobs, with adequate benefits and a wage large enough to afford the American dream, but rather are seeing such inexorably slipping away.

This is quite frankly, a government of the privileged for the privileged; and those that are privileged, have never had it any better than what they so have, today.  The vast majority of Americans have been sold an absolute lie, which is that this is a government so created for the general welfare of the people; when, in fact, this is a government that cares only for the welfare of the privileged people, and none else.

“The purpose of the slum is to confine…”

The above quotation comes from the inestimable Martin Luther King, Jr., of which, that quote continues with: “The slum is little more than a domestic colony which leaves its inhabitants dominated politically, exploited economically, and segregated and humiliated at every turn.”  Regrettably, the slums that existed back when King first made this speech in 1966, still exist today, and arguably are even more segregated, more oppressive, and the people that live within them, are in an even more hopeless state.

While on the one hand, humankind has advanced tremendously since King’s time, in the sense of its technological, material, and other impressive achievements; what has disappointingly not occurred in this country subsequently, is its governance making it a true priority and therefore putting forth the effort to do something of real substance to ameliorate and to correct the pitiful conditions that so many Americans are born into and live within.  Clearly, this is a reflection, that the highest levels of governance cares not a whit about the poor and disadvantaged in this nation; and that the commercial enterprises that make billions upon billions of dollars in profit, each and every year, invest none of it, in uplifting those that need to be uplifted, the most.

How is that this country can devote billions upon billions of dollars to the killing of foreigners, in these endless wars, and not want to actually put some teeth into its own “war on poverty?”  In reality, America, desperately needs to get its own house in order.  The hypocrisy that “God blessed America,” is exposed by the fact that Christianity, by definition, is that religion which is founded upon the principle that we are to love our neighbor as ourself, which in America is belied by the fact of all of those neighbors that are confined to the slums; of which, they are apparently both out of sight and effectively out of mind, with the sole exception of those so exploiting them for their personal benefit at the expense of those that are ill-educated, disadvantaged, and un-championed.

The energy, the perseverance, and the drive to take our slums and to thereby actually make something out of them, is something that this country, with all of its wealth, and all of its hard-working well-educated people, should be able to achieve, in a reasonable period of time; if only this country and its people, devoted and concentrated the necessary resources to fundamentally correct and to ameliorate the situation as it is, right now. 

The poor and the disadvantaged are deliberately segregated from the population at large, in the futile attempt to pretend that they don’t actually exist, when they most certainty do.  America needs to fully recognize this must important and salient point, which is that every healthy newborn child has the innate disposition to explore, to learn, and to become something of merit; and what kills these childhood dreams in the slums, more than anything,  is the surroundings and the infrastructure that they are trapped within and inundated by -- which consists of unsafe neighborhoods, police harassment, injustice, dilapidated and poorly functioning schools, as well as broken families – all this, while also typically being devoid of any meaningful employment of any real worth within their neighborhood.

This country already incarcerates hundreds and hundreds of thousands of its own citizens; of which, if we fairly designated slums as another form of incarceration, this then becomes millions upon millions of our citizens, effectively treated as something which is less than human, and therefore of no real concern to the state.

Why we seek perfection

A perfect score is a perfect score, as you can’t do any better than perfect, because if you could, that wouldn’t be perfection.  So then, to achieve perfection in anything, is the absolute highest level that a given individual can be at, and if it is so possible, a truly worthwhile and noble goal.  The correct motivation that makes us seek for perfection, is never going to be our ego, or for some sort of peer recognition, but rather it is us being true to an inner feeling that propels us to be the best that we can be.  So too, we seek perfection for the very salient reason, that God is perfection, and the greatest tribute that we can provide to God, is to be the finest person that we can be in all that we think, say, and do.

Additionally, perfection by definition, means that there is no room for error, for doubt, or for improvement.  So then, this is what each one of us should strive for; though, no doubt, in the scheme of things this may appear in certain situations to logically be impossible or seem to be impossible, yet, we have an obligation to do all that we can do to be our best, and this is the reason why we shouldn’t easily settle for that which we know is not all that we can do, and refuse to settle for less than what we know that we can and should accomplish.

Our drive for perfection, is also meant as a loving tribute to God, and the best way to demonstrate our sincerity to that purpose is by our actions.   As for those that don’t buy into this mindset, they are functionally people that presently aren’t willing to strive towards that excellence, of which, they are actually quite capable of doing so on some level, but have apparently given up and petulantly don’t feel like doing better.  In life, we are defined by the choices that we make and while we can essentially “opt-out” at any time for any reason, that isn’t going to be a pathway that is going to get us to where we ultimately need to go.

There are all sorts of things that drive people, such as money, honor, power, envy, and so on and so forth; in which, those that strive to be the best that they can be, ultimately will find that the most satisfying motivation in doing what they end up doing is because it is the correct thing to do.  The highest calling that any of us has, is listening to that still small voice within; which in and of itself is not so easily accomplished, nor is it the easiest of things to be obedient to; however, those that are true to that voice thereby follow it absolutely faithfully. 

We want to be perfect, because we want to prove to God, that we truly love God, for God is perfection.  This is why then, we find ourselves being challenged by all sorts of tests in this world, for this allows us to successfully develop the wisdom to become that which we were created to be, co-creators with God in Heaven.      

The real criminals

There are a significant amount of people that completely and unequivocally buy into the “law and order” mindset, but don’t seem to realize that the biggest criminals in the world, are not people like Al Capone, Ted Bundy, or Charles Manson, but are almost exclusively powerful head of states as exemplified by Stalin, Mao ZeDong, and Hitler; as this represents the difference between someone that alone or with a few others commits a few dastardly and notorious crimes as compared to that who through the power of their position and with the compliance and aid of thousands upon thousands that are their faithful followers, kill hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. 

The above serves to help make the point, that those that put on the uniform, as in an officer of the law, or of the military, have an innate responsibility that always and will forever supersede the human or governmental authority that they answer to; which is that they are above all, responsible to a higher natural law, which states that it is always wrong to commit crimes against humanity, no matter what the orders and directives so of, stipulate.  That is to say, all those that claim that they hate Hitler or Stalin, or people of that ilk, must obviously understand that Hitler and Stalin could not have wreak the terrible inhumane havoc that they so did, without the complicity of thousands upon thousands of soldiers and underlings that performed for them, the dirty work, so successfully done. 

This then clearly indicates that the real criminals, the ones that we should always fear the most, are not the “lone wolf” type; but rather those that put on that uniform and comply with orders so given, without bothering to think through the consequences of their subsequent actions, so taken.  After all, our law officers, are supposed to protect and defend us, not persecute and batter us.  So too, our military is meant to defend our nation, not so meant to make violence upon others, civilian or otherwise, without some sort of reasonable and humane “rule of engagement” so enacted and adhered to.

This country, as in many other countries, is almost always very reluctant to prosecute officers of the law, or military soldiers, no matter how bad acting that they have been; probably under the belief that such prosecution will serve to undercut and to undermine the loyalty and the obedience of these uniformed officers and soldiers.  The problem with that mindset, however, becomes the problem of all those that know that whatever that they do, good or bad, right or wrong, will not ever be subject to prosecution; so that the consequence to this is that they will therefore not be held accountable for any of their actions, so performed; inevitably devolves into a situation in which thereby, everything is permitted under the color of law.  No wonder then, that so much state sanctioned violence is therefore initiated and faithfully implemented, for those so performing those deeds, typically fear no personal ill consequences, except, perhaps, for a guilty conscience, which often is drowned out through drugs or drink.

When our officers of the law, and military soldiers are basically provided with blanket immunity, no matter what they so do, not too surprisingly, they will do some really terrible things; and the more that they do which is morally and legally wrong, without the personal suffering of fair consequences, so of, the less will be the legitimacy of that state of governance.

The right way to defend freedom

America likes to claim the mantle of being for freedom, liberty, hope, and opportunity.  It could well be those things, but its military-industrial-technology complex appears to run this nation and it behaves clearly in a manner that belies that well-meaning sentiment in its totality.  The greatest hypocrisy so propagated again and again by these United States, is its innate belief that might is always right, and therefore whenever there is trouble brewing, or conflicts that somehow the United States feels it must engage in, it skips diplomacy, it skips being reasonable, it skips having an actual dialog, and it skips an true international consortium of nations putting their heads together; to basically instead, have the United States do whatever it prefers to do, wherever that it wants to do it, which is almost exclusively against non-western nations, and thereby through its great awesome display of the use of its killing armaments, “shock and awes” whoever is unfortunate enough to get on its “bad guy” list, and cares not a whit, about the consequences, immediate or otherwise, of what so thereupon subsequently occurs.

Those that believe that freedom is defended best by killing other people, civilians or otherwise, and by bombing infrastructure as well as the people that just happen to be around that infrastructure, have no conception of what freedom actually is.  To wit, freedom is never defended by the use of arms; it might be necessary to use arms from time-to-time but that usage of armaments is never a means to defend freedom, but rather, at best, it is a necessary act in order to defend the nation from enemies, whether domestic or foreign, of which, the hope is by defending one’s nation, that the end result, will be that the freedoms so ingrained within that nation, will not be sacrificed to that defending; for if freedom is lost to that government in the name of necessary safety and security so enacted, then it is submitted, freedom has not been defended, but rather has been taken away unjustly from the people.

The only conceivable way to actually defend freedom, is to in all actions so taken, make those actions consistent with the nature of freedom.  Each of us has been gifted with free-will, which is our unalienable right; therefore, signifying that any agency that seizes our freedom, or limits our freedom, in order for that act to therefore be legitimate, must have something that is occurring, that necessitates the temporary sacrifice of freedom, or the constraint thereof, for a purpose higher than such freedom so represents.  There are those times, when freedom and our liberties must so take a back seat, such as through a natural disaster, war, famine, and the like; of which, those exigent circumstances necessitates that we bond together and make contributions for the greater good.  All that is fine, for freedom, by its very nature, requires constant vigilance from those that so desire to hold on to it, of which, we need to therefore hold properly accountable those that would take our freedom away.

The right way to defend freedom, is to honor it, in our interactions day-by-day, in the recognition that the freedoms that we so desire, are equally applicable for all others, whether or not we like or dislike them.   Therefore, we each need to judge less, be slower to retaliate, and know that we are all in this together, of which, each one of us, is meant to be free.

The forgotten 9th and 10th Amendments

The Bill of Rights, includes 10 Amendments, but somehow through the course of history, the 9th and 10th Amendments to that Constitution, have not been as materially effective as they were meant to be.  The 9th Amendment makes it clear that the people are the ultimate sovereigns of their Constitutional government, and therefore the enumeration of certain rights in regards to the people so listed in that Constitution, is never meant to be limited to just those specific rights.  The 10th Amendment echoes that point by stating that those powers not specifically delegated to the United States government, are reserved to the States or to the people, which basically signifies that the Federal government is prohibited from aggrandizing onto itself, more and more undelegated power. and therefore, more and more control of the population at the expense of the people; but rather good government is that government which provides for the common welfare of those people, above all else, for the primary purpose of government is for the beneficence of those people.

The nature of governments, well intentioned or not, is to inexorably increase its influence into all areas of its citizens’ lives, typically done under the guise of being a necessary or appropriate thing on behalf of the people, or perhaps so done under exigent circumstances; but once the population has ceded control of certain aspects of their lives for safety, convenience, or whatnot, that government, seldom relinquishes its newfound powers, once that crisis is done and dusted, or continues on instead for iteration after iteration.  Further to the point, governments and the people that are their representatives, have a strong tendency to want to be seen as being helpful, and often have the self-serving belief that in order to be most helpful, they need to know just about everything about their constituency, and therefore with this newfound knowledge they will then be able to be of more assistance to that populace, which seems like a good thing, but in reality, almost always is not.

When the government has the power to tax, the power to arrest, and the power to rule on that which is ruled upon, then that government is clearly superior in its powers, explicit and implicit, then a given individual is; yet, that government is supposed to serve the people, not rule in a manner in which the people do not seem to have a voice, especially, when that individual voice is theirs by right.  The point of the 9th and 10th Amendments is to keep the government, well intentioned or not, subservient to the peoples’ rights, and not therefore for the people, to have to keep giving ground, year after year, decade after decade, only to therefore find themselves ultimately in a position in which they are seen as a resource to be exploited by that government, for the benefit of those that are the actuators of that government.

There isn’t any doubt, that since the Constitution was ratified in the 18th century, that the Federal government, let alone any State government, is far more powerful than it was back at its inception, of which, the only pushback that the people really have in their arsenal is the 9th and 10th Amendments, and if, in effect, the 9th and 10th Amendments are basically treated as if they don’t exist, then the people are no more than subjects of that government which day-by-day, is becoming more and more authoritarian, in which that government’s way is clearly one of ever limited choices for the people and their only desire of those that are its subjects, is obedience.

The betrayal of the middle class

One wouldn’t necessarily know it, by virtue of the stock market hitting ever new highs, seemingly on a weekly basis, and by the fact that America is still the richest nation that the world has ever known; but there are serious cracks in what has occurred in the pocketbooks for the core of Americans; that is, those that aren’t superrich or just plain rich, as well as those that are not poor, or just plain dirt poor.  While there are lots of ways to measure the greatness of a country, certainly one of those is how the hard-working middle class is faring vis-à-vis historical records, as well as how they are doing in the present day.   Regrettably, the middle class in America is regressing, not because they aren’t working as hard as they ever have, and not because America isn’t producing buckets of profits for many of its biggest and most influential corporations, but rather because the allocation of that income and monetary pay is heavily skewed progressively ever more to those at the top of the pyramid; with those that are middle class as well as the poor, progressively falling ever further behind, and of which the progressive income tax code, is effectively, not even close to being robust in the re-distribution of that income and wealth.

We read at epi.org, that the productivity growth and typical hourly worker compensation in the years of 1948-1973, were pretty much in lockstep; demonstrated by productivity growing at 96.7% during that period of time, and with hourly worker compensation, growing at 91.3%.  We then discover that from the period of 1973-2013, while productivity continued its growth at 74.4% during that period; that on the other hand, there was a huge disconnect with hourly worker compensation which only grew at an anemic 9.2% pace during that same period.  This so signifies what is fairly obvious to those that look at the growing wealth gap between the pinnacle of the top in America, as compared to those of the middle class, which is that the wealthiest, the elite of Americans, have taken almost full control of the lion’s share of profits and income, and left the scraps for the middle class to fight over, thereby leaving that middle class, in a far worse position and of much more vulnerability, financially, then they were back in 1973.

For those that somehow believe, that this is okay, or is some sort of normal process or outcome of the capitalistic system, they are wrong.  What this reflects, more than anything, is that those in the highest echelons of power and governance within this nation, are either outright corrupt or compromised in such a way that their decisions are consistently those decisions that favor a small subsection of Americans at the expense of the middle class and the people in whole.  Further to the point, it isn’t healthy for any country for just a small elite to have such a significant amount of its wealth; in fact, this is something that is expected more from a corrupt and backward nation, not from that country which prides itself as being the emblem of a Constitutional republic, with a vibrant democracy.

The fact that so few have so much at the direct expense of the majority of Americans, is indicative that our governance has failed us, and until such is corrected by those that have the vision and the courage to do right by the people of this land, things will only get progressively worse.

Problems, challenges, and solutions

Each one of us is going to invariably have to deal with difficult problems as well as unwelcomed challenges in our lives.   Those problems and challenges are never meant to overwhelm us, but rather they are far better viewed as stumbling blocks meant for us to overcome, through our good efforts, diligence, and concentrated actions.  For all those that do not wish for any problems or challenges, at all, recognize that a life without obstacles to overcome, is perhaps a life that the person so leading it, has not challenged themselves, enough – therefore lacking in the important opportunity to prove their true worth and value beyond mere theory, and therefore never really knowing where they truly stand.

It is important to visualize this world as the ultimate proving ground, of which each one of us, has been tasked with a particular journey, unique to us, that we need to not only take but ultimately to succeed in.  This so signifies, that the problems and challenges that we face in our life, are part and parcel of that necessary experience, providing us thereof with the opportunity to prove our mettle in the field of battle.

So then, when we come across a particular difficult challenge, rather than tucking in our tail, and running away, we need instead to face squarely that challenge and try to figure out a way to overcome it.  This so necessitates that we have a real need to call upon our mental and spiritual strength, as well as to utilize our experience in order to best figure out a way to resolve that which troubles us, and thereby precludes us from getting to where we need to be.  This clearly signifies, that not every problem is going to be successfully resolved in one day, nor does it indicate that we should not take the time to thoroughly study what we are dealing with, so as to come up with the necessary armament and strategy to subsequently conquer such.

So too, it is not reasonable to expect, that even the best laid plans, are never prone to fail; for rather, those of true character are the ones that are able to dust themselves off where they have failed, and will therefore try and try again and again, adjusting as need be to what the situation so warrants.  In truth, that which creates a problem for us, may appear intractable and even immovable, but given enough time, effort, and concentration, may indeed be broken down, bit by bit, and piece by piece.

Our greatest days are never those days, in which we faced nothing that challenged us, and had no problems; though those may indeed have been good days – but rather, our greatest days, and our greatest moments are those times when we took on that which first appeared to be a bridge too far; yet, we were eventually able to successfully cross it, despite dangers, fears, and setbacks, of which we never gave up in trying to capture that prize which laid across that river of trouble, and for that seminal accomplishment, this has made all the difference in our getting to where we need to be, so determined from the beginning of our journey.

The injustice of “Time served”

People are arrested all of the time in America, of which, some of those so arrested, are able to relatively easily be released, soon thereafter, on their own recognizance or through some monetary bail amount, reasonable or unreasonable that they thereby have found the means to secure; and then there are all those others, who typically are already disadvantaged, ill-educated, poor, defenseless, and without good reliable resources to turn to in their time of difficulty – for these people, even what appears to be a reasonable bail amount is not reasonable, and in absence of some sort of progressive acting judge or legislation, they are basically left in an incarcerated state, pending the outcome of their trial, plea bargain, or other adjudication procedures, which can take days, weeks, months, or even longer.

The first thing to recognize for anyone that is incarcerated pending judicial procedures, irrespective of their culpability or alleged crime, is that anytime a person is placed into a position in which they no longer are free, but are bound instead to the criminal justice system, basically just about everything in that person’s life begins to erode, decay, and to come apart, in very short order.  For example, those that are employed, and are unable to show up for work by virtue of their incarceration, are prone to being dismissed; and some are dismissed simply for having been arrested, so seen as a violation of their employment terms.  Additionally, all those that have family obligations, pet obligations, utility bills, car notes, credit card bills, and just about anything that so requires being addressed in a timely manner, of which, this subsequently is not successfully addressed, is going to wreak havoc on that person’s credit, that person’s livelihood, and that person’s life.  All this, for those so being incarcerated, without the ready means to bail out, and having been convicted of nothing.

So too, those that are incarcerated, are never in the catbird’s seat when it comes to any sort of negotiation with the prosecuting arm of the state, and are quite obviously vulnerable as well as being susceptible to getting no more than the short end of the stick from such.  This thus essentially signifies, that an individual that is in a state of incarceration, and unable to bail out, doesn’t have any good options, nor does that person have any leverage with anybody in the justice system, for they are locked up, and therefore time is not their friend, whatsoever. 

Not too surprisingly, in a justice system, which is all about volume, and never about quality or fairness, thereof, prosecutors see those so unable to bail out, as the easiest of targets to pressure or to coerce into making a plea bargain deal, and so when that prosecutor offers the seemingly most sensible of deals, of the punishment being no more than “time served” this sure does seem like a tempting offer for that person currently locked up.  Yet, while it does provide some sort of “freedom” that freedom is paid through a fairly hefty price, which reflects firstly that there wasn’t any trial, and implicit within this offer from the prosecutor is often an inkling that their case was weak or of little merit; in addition to the fact that those so pleading guilty to that “time served” are now convicted of a crime, with probation usually attached, a possible monetary fine, as well as possible community service.

It is rather amazing how so many are convicted to “time served” as if somehow the justice system gets it just right, not too harsh, and not too lenient; but this is the illusion, and never the truth.

The Homestead Act of 1862, updated

The Homestead Act of 1862, was some of the most important legislation so passed by Congress, which thereby permitted, United States citizens, freed slaves, and even new immigrants so intending to become naturalized, to own 160 acres of western land, then owned by that government, of, for, and by the people; upon the salient condition that such land, be improved by those so paying the filing fee to own it. No doubt, the lure of all that free land was a tremendous incentive for those that went after that offer --who not only saw the opportunity to have that land but thereupon seized such with the necessary commitment and the drive to make that land viable in one way or another, or else to die trying.

Today’s government, still owns about 640 million acres of land, of which, the vast majority of that land is held in the western States.  It is important to acknowledge that land, even undeveloped land, most definitely has value, and of which, there are millions of Americans that do not own any land, whatsoever; and of which, given the right circumstances would be interested in the opportunity to own some.  In consideration, that even the best legislative acts, such as the Homestead Act of 1862, were in their time, “gamed” by America’s favored race, this thereby signifies that plenty of worthy Americans have still never been provided with the same sort of fair opportunity; and in addition, a significant amount of Americans have a background in which they were brought to this nation, against their will, and in a position that they were not their own person, but were considered to be property of another, as in, chattel slaves.

So then, in consideration that native Americans, as well as other people of color, have historically been denied or cheated of their Constitutional rights, and in the sure knowledge that this government has plenty of land that could, in fact, be provided, free of charge or at a nominal charge, to its own people, there should then be legislation so drafted to do exactly that, which could be of great material benefit to those previously left behind.  After all, this good earth has proved again and again, to have natural resources which so developed has produced a great deal of wealth; and in addition, that which is developed and built upon this available governmental land is quite capable of providing good jobs and income for those that have the imagination, drive, and diligence to create businesses that provide needed goods and services for the people.

The Homestead Act of 1862, jumpstarted the development of what was considered to be the “west” at that time, of which its subsequent success was based upon the logic that those that have little or nothing, almost always want something; especially if the deal is as good as it actually appears to be, while requiring in return, no real capital other than blood, sweat, and tears.  There isn’t at the present day, any good reason why this United States government can’t demonstrate that same sort of foresight, as was done more than one hundred and fifty years ago, and thereby to do right by the very people that need to feel that this really is the land of opportunity, freedom, and hope.

Perfection does not change and does not know time or space

The very first problem that humanity has is it seemingly measures everything in relation to something else, which thus forms the basis of the reality that it so perceives. Further to the point, virtually every human being believes for a certainty that in this world, there is both time and space; without taking into consideration that what is viewed as time and space, comes from the standpoint of human measurements, human conceptions, and human limitations.  Further, this also means that everything that appears to be subject to time as well as space, is by definition, imperfect; for that which is by its nature subject to change, makes it imperfect, which therefore means that such cannot be the actual essence of God, for God is immutable.  So then, it appears that we are imperfect and living in an imperfect world, though permitted to have within that world the use of our own free will, and of which everything that we do and interact with, seems very real.  That said, we also are able to acknowledge that God is forever complete, and therefore because God is complete, it doesn’t seem to make sense that we could ever even be a creation of God, if we are, in fact, forever changing through time and space, along with the salient fact that actual creation, by definition, is a form of change, with a beginning which therefore necessitates an end.

All of the above is a puzzle, perhaps unsolvable, perhaps not; but it leads to the very next point which is that there must be a dimension, beyond both time and space, in which everything is in the ever present, never changing, and therefore never subject to time or space.  That dimension is God, and we are at our core, each one of us, Spirit of that God, which makes us therefore begotten of God but with the important caveat that we have always been in existence with God, and always will be.  Because we are at our core, never the physical, but always the spirit, this means, that this world and everything in it, is and must be an elaborate illusion, that we have bought into, but it is not who we actually are, for we are complete, and that which is complete, knows not time or space.

Again, it is important to recognize that God is perfect and immutable, in the ever presence, so then, it is not therefore conceivable that this world and everything in it, is somehow actually the master reality, when it cannot be.  It so follows that the perfection that so many of us seek for, is God’s way of getting our attention focused on that which is the sanctuary of sanctuaries, as compared to those poor substitutes that entice us but that will never satisfy us -- as well as keeping us trapped in seemingly endless cycle of birth, death, and re-birth.

This drama, that we voluntarily participate in, is created in such a way, that we perceive that there is good and evil, light and darkness, right and wrong, so meant to beguile us ever deeper into the play that we are actors in, but never is it meant for us to forget the essence of who we are; for those that will not search for the answer to their reason for being, are in a state of confusion – too caught up in that which is meant really as the impetus for them to find the necessary curiosity to peak behind the curtain so as to then recognize Perfection. 

Those that are anti-immigrant are unpatriotic

There are those that are just plain against any immigration, legal or illegal; then there are those that support some immigration as long as the people so immigrating, look a lot like they do; there are also those that believe that there should be some sort of limit on legal immigration with all sorts of rules and regulations to adhere to, and absolutely no illegal immigrants, at all; and then there are those that would like to see more immigration, with less restrictions, and more consideration taken of worldwide trouble spots in regards to people suffering from abject poverty, environmental disasters, conflict zones, and the like, of which these potential immigrants often see America as truly being the land of opportunity.

Those that are most vociferously anti-immigrant are typically those that also wish to wrap the American flag around their body, and declaim that they are the true Americans, who are patriotically defending our nation, from foreign invaders.  That is the story that they like to tell, and perhaps that is the story that they personally believe; but within that story is absolute hypocrisy, for those that most fervently wish to slam the door on future immigrants, are, almost without exception, descendants of immigrants themselves, legal or otherwise.  This thus signifies that all those that perceive that being anti-immigrant is patriotic, are wrong, for it is, in fact, unpatriotic; for this is a nation of immigrants, so built around those immigrants, embracing the American ideal and dream. 

America would not be the nation that it is today if it wasn’t for all the immigration that has occurred over the decades, both legal and illegal.  So too, those that decry the loudest about illegal immigrants don’t seem to comprehend that the millions of illegal immigrants that are presently in this country, could not conceivably be here, if it wasn’t for the inconvenient fact that certain powerful people as well as well-placed corporations, have benefited immensely from that illicit labor, which they often exploit to the absolute maximum.

Further to the point, America strongly believes that its Constitutional institutions and aspirations so implied, are the greatest edifice so founded upon in the entire history of all humankind; of which, one way to impress upon all the other nations that this is indeed true, is to truly open up America’s gates to let all those that desire to immigrate here to immigrate here.  After all, the greatest component of gross domestic product growth, comes down to consumer spending, of which, quite obviously, the more consumers that there are, domestically, the greater that growth rate. So too, all those that hate America, can no longer hate America, when they come here, and end up falling in love with this land of opportunity and meritocracy, and therefore become themselves part and parcel of the great fabric of this unique nation.

Those that hate immigrants the most, are typically those that match the color and privilege of America’s historically favored race.  They hate immigrants, because apparently, they aren’t themselves good enough, smart enough, or dedicated enough, to be able to fairly compete against them; but alas, it really is not a competition, for the bigger the American pie so gets, the more that there is for everyone.  All those that support fair immigration to this fair land, are those that are the true patriots; and those that do not, are the counterfeit patriots who represent a blight upon this shining light of freedom and liberty.

Public servants and their lies

To begin with, the very nature of service, signifies that the person so serving, is actually serving the person or the public in a manner in which they are truthful, diligent, and competent; for anything less than that, is a form of service but not really good service.  Those that are our public servants are meant to serve the public in a manner in which their actions are always aboveboard and for the greater good; for if not that, then their service is at best conflicted, and at worse, corrupt.

When a given individual lies, or is deceitful, such can be subject to civil or criminal penalties, depending upon the circumstances and what has occurred.  For instance, being deceitful in order to procure governmental aid is considered to be a crime, and lying such as in committing perjury, is also a crime.  People are put in jail all of the time for essentially lying or being deceitful; in addition, lying or being deceitful can often mean the loss of one’s employment.  So, for an absolute certainty those in the general public that lie duly suffer the penalties, thereof.

On the other hand, there are our public servants, of which, by virtue of the public lacking full transparency and disclosure of the deals, communications, and negotiations so done, perhaps unwittingly permits the opening of deliberate misdirection and deceit by those public servants; in which when that general public is lacking in the ability or the means for robust investigation by independent sources as to what is really going on, thereby places those in the general public in a position in which they have to trust that their public servants are actually performing their duties in a conscientious and fair manner, but not actually knowing whether or not this is true.  Further to the point, when public servants are seemingly permitted to deceive the public through their lack of full disclosure, including personal conflicts, or by their distortion of real events, to conform, for instance, with the narrative that those in high positions impress upon them to follow, this all serves to obfuscate what is actually occurring -- creating thereof that pathway of lies and deceits by those public servants which are subsequently sold as being true, when they actually are not.

Additionally, there should never be a construct in which those on the outside, such as the general public, have to duly suffer for their crimes, lies, and deceits; whereas, more times than not, those that are public servants, are typically never held accountable for the same, and almost never personally held to suffer for their crimes, which often are far more damaging to the public and the country that they are supposed to serve, than the acts of just one individual person. 

When public servants are seemingly permitted carte blanche to do whatever that they feel is necessary or advantageous for the agenda that actuates them, of which by doing so they do not disclose their conflicts of interest, or their deceptions, and of which these public servants also have an implied immunity from those that would have the ability to prosecute them, then the general public has been betrayed by those that been placed in that responsible position to represent them.

The argument could be made and should be made, that those public servants that betray the public interests for their own selfish or self-serving interests, or in obedience to that unelected power that unduly influences them, that they should be held accountable for their damage to their country and their fellow countrymen -- which is a far more insidious bad act, by virtue of their misapplication of vested authority.

The more laws the more crimes so accused of

The United States of America is a nation of laws, which on the surface, would appear to be a very good thing.  After all, living in a nation, in which there is “rule of law” typically means that the citizens of such a nation, are protected from arbitrary law so enforced as well as cruel and unusual punishment, inflicted.  Yet, in just about everyway the United States is, especially for those that are its poorest and its most vulnerable, a nation that exerts an incredible amount of power against the defenseless and un-championed, which basically eviscerates the concept of “innocent until proven guilty” as well as ignoring completely one’s right to a “speedy trial”, by replacing these with onerous bail amounts, which thereby places those that are without monetary resources and connections, in a state of incarceration, pending a “trial,” which more often than not is superseded by a coerced plea bargain.

Those that are the prosecutors as well as the District Attorneys throughout America, are supposed to represent the people’s interest, and perhaps in some ways, they do.  What they far too often fail to do is actually to be fair, to seek the whole truth, and to see that justice is served; preferring instead to assert their power and proclivities in a manner in which they are able to achieve the result that they so desire, which simply put, is convictions, while caring not a whit about anything else.

Far too often prosecutors and their enablers “cheat the system,” by first of all, taking what are pretty much cut and dry cases and adding charge upon charge, so an assault upon one’s girlfriend, for instance, becomes not just one assault charge, but then there also is added a separate charge such as “assault by strangulation,” along with child endangerment, kidnapping, disturbance of the peace, and so on and so forth.  Another strategy so used, is to take something in which the circumstances distinctly point to a manslaughter case, such as in a vehicle accident, in which the accused has not been reckless; yet, the accused is subsequently charged with vehicle homicide.  In short, when many charges are “tacked on” to a particular crime, this is known as horizontal overcharging, and when a charge is taken to a higher and more onerous level, this is known as vertical overcharging; of which many prosecutors are prone to one or the other or both.

The main problem with all of these charges being added on or of the charges being upgraded to a higher and more severe penalty, is that in a nation in which negotiation, is part and parcel of the justice system, this basically gives the prosecution, which is already an expert in the law as well as being an insider of the justice system, far more ammunition than the defendant will ever have, and when such a defendant is also impoverished, ill-educated and lacking the means to bail out, then the prosecutor clearly has an awesome amount of power to get the result that the prosecution so desires, which thus occurs time and time again.

Regrettably, because the justice system in America would grind to a halt if there was no plea bargaining involved, the logic behind the adding of and the vertical increasing of charges, is so that the prosecution can more easily come to a resolution with the defendant and thereby move on to the next case and then the next.  This so signifies, that those prosecution agents that do not pad charges, are more often going to be faced with the unenviable task of somehow taking more of their cases to court, for without the bargaining chip of reducing charges or eliminating most of the charges, then the options so of, are few, and more actual trials subsequently will occur.

The Commander in Chief is pretty much a paper tiger

The President of the United States, who is statutorily limited to no more than two terms, or eight years, is per Constitutional law, the Commander in Chief of the armed forces; of that there is no issue, but recognize this, that unlike a given monarch or a dictator, the President of the United States, because of term limits, is functionally only going to be in charge of those armed forces for a relatively short period of time; as opposed to generals, who though seemingly under the President’s command, can literally serve for decades.  Further to the point, the United States is a global empire, with a defense budget, which is absolutely gargantuan, so to believe that somehow, the President, is in effect, the Commander in Chief, in any real meaningful sense, is disingenuous.

In point of fact, it would be truer to state, that Presidents, whether a Democrat or a Republican, come and go, but those that run the military-industrial-technology complex, seemingly keep on serving, continuously, irrespective of whether a Democrat or a Republican is elected as President.  One would think, that upon election, that a given President, might want to change who and who not were the generals that the President would like to see serve under that Presidency; something more in line with the fact that the President seldom keeps any former cabinet members from the previous party’s administration, but typically appoints their own; yet with a few exceptions, here and there, pretty much generals keep on keeping on, regardless of who the Commander in Chief is.

All this basically signifies that despite the title of Commander in Chief, the military-industrial-technology complex, bows to no President, but rather trains that President in the way that things actually are, as compared to perhaps how things were meant to be.  So then, when pliant mass media outlets talk about this President’s war or that President’s war, they are not being forthright, for they know that such wars, engagements, battles, and strikes against foreign enemies and targets are actually determined by that military-industrial-complex without any meaningful input or much debate from the Commander in Chief.

Again, logic tells us that any outsider, such as a President, has absolutely no hope of impressing their demands upon any institution, let alone the biggest and mightiest institution, if that outsider, does not control all the underlings of significance that are necessitated in order to therefore have their specific demands and desires so met.  The President is essentially working with career military officers, who know for a certainty that the President simply does not have the working knowledge, let alone the insider secret knowledge, to impact or even to influence much of anything that these generals are involved with.  This basically means that the wars and engagements that this nation involves itself in, come almost exclusively from the military-industrial-technology complex, for Congress ceded its power to “declare war” decades ago to that same complex, and hence the President for all intents and purposes, is reduced to the simple role of being the Chief Cheerleader.

Those that wonder why America insists upon being a global empire and thereby putting its nose into everybody else’s business time and time again, are barking up the wrong tree when they blame the President for such; as opposed to blaming the military-industrial-technology complex, though that is an unelected power that answers not to the people.

Imagine your life suddenly without credit cards

Credit cards are so ubiquitous in today’s society, enough so, that most people don’t really comprehend that credit cards and therefore credit card debt is still a relatively new phenomena, which has become normalized in the present era.  Americans’ “love” or need their credit cards so much, that as reported by valuepenguin.com, “…the average balance for consumers is $5,315,” and that “Americans owe $807 billion” in total, on that debt.  Additionally, for a significant amount of consumers, they would find it difficult to manage their day-to-day finances without their credit cards, because they are so needed in order to make common purchases such as for groceries, restaurants, gasoline, as well as general shopping needs, in which they essentially borrow money now, in order to pay it back later.

So then, for many Americans, the sudden removal of all credit cards from their repertoire of credit card balances, would functionally create a situation in which they would have to therefore find some other source of getting money, reliably, in order to hold them over paycheck to paycheck, such as through “payday loans”, pawn shops, and the like.  This thus signifies that credit cards for a significant swath of Americans are pretty much a requirement, and to therefore have no usage of them, would create serious havoc and financial distress for them; despite the fact, that many credit cards issuers charge a princely sum in regards to the interest on that credit card debt, as well as fairly hefty penalties and late fees for failure to adhere properly to the terms of that credit card issuer. Basically, it could be said, that many Americans don’t have a problem with the paying of these fees and interest charges, as long as they are able to buy what they need “now”, which supersedes their concern about the cost for doing so, at some later point in time.

Then, there are those others that have credit card debt, but they steadily pay off that debt in full each and every month, so rather than credit cards being seen for them as an expense in regards to fees and interest charges, they don’t need to worry about that, since they pay such off in full each month, thereby actually benefiting by the “float” between the time that they bought their goods as compared to when they have to actually pay, along with the salient fact, that a lot of those consumers are in addition receiving financial benefits from their credit card issuer, such as “cashback” and the like.  For these consumers, pretty much, all the advantages that they receive, of which, there are some real good benefits, come essentially from those other consumers that don’t pay off their accounts in full while also suffering from penalties and fees.  The bottom line is that when credit cards were first issued those cards only went to the most credit worthy consumers, but consumers such as that, who are diligent and timely in their payments, aren’t the type of customer those financial institutions can make any real money from; rather, those that issue credit cards prefer instead to have a strong mix of consumers that they can shear like a sheep, over and over again.  This then, is the salient reason, that credit card companies and the credit card business are pretty much here to stay; and the only real reason why any credit card company would suddenly take away one’s credit has everything to do with their confidence in their ability to keep on shearing.