Health care and the screwing of the American public

One could say, that without health, there is no life – so therefore, good health is something of not only personal importance, but also of national importance. The thing about for-profit health care is the salient fact that those that are in any business for profit, are clearly going to, concentrate upon that profit, above all, especially when they are publicly traded companies that have to answer to a responsible corporate board as well as to its stockholders. What many people may not realize, is that health care seems to be the type of business that has serious economic moats that thus keeps the bigger players, quite satisfied, because they are in the type of enterprise in which the returns and profits are enviable, without seemingly having to unduly worry about their business model ever being disrupted by any upstarts.

In fact, as written in Forbes magazine, the five biggest health care corporations in the world, are all American, and are respectively, United Health Group, Johnson & Johnson, CVS Health, Pfizer, and AbbVie. United Health Group was founded in 1977, Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886, CVS Health was founded in 1963, Pfizer was founded in 1849, and Abbott Laboratories which became AbbVie was founded in 1888. This thus means, that the five biggest health care providers are all themselves, institutions that have been around for decades upon decades, if not for over a century. Additionally, each of these corporations had profits in the multi-billions in 2021 and there isn’t any reason not to expect that to continue for each of them, well into the future.

The thing about health care, is quite frankly, people are going to pay directly or indirectly whatever that they need to pay to maintain their health – for the alternative to not doing so, can be rather catastrophic for them. We see ample proof of this by the fact that United States health care spending in 2021 was a staggering $4.3 trillion. Clearly, this amount of money in play, would be incentive enough, for anybody or any institution, desiring to get ahead, to want to try their hand at getting some of what is clearly a gargantuan amount of money. Yet, what we so see, is that the biggest health care companies, do not appear to be ceding much ground, if any, to rivals.

This would evidently imply that the way that health care is currently structured through our capitalistic system, is consistent with the belief that truly competitive capitalism for the biggest companies in the health care industry, appears not to be functioning the way that such was intended to be. This thus signifies, that this government needs to take into serious consideration, that in lieu of all the monies exiting the pockets of the people as well as the government of that people, that thus goes into the hands of these corporate behemoth health care companies, that such needs to be fully examined and then re-examined, instead. One way to investigate this, is to question as to whether a for-profit health care industry is actually beneficial in its structure for the health of the people, in whole – especially in consideration that the overall health of Americans in comparison to other western nations is indicative that not all is actually well within America – though it must be said all is quite well for these gargantuan health care companies.

Partisan politics

In order for any society to make the most progress for that society, there has to be some sort of reasonable consensus that those that are the people of that society, so agree upon, and therefore it is those policies that the people should collectively engage upon, in order, therefore, for that progress to best occur.  That is to say, while each one of us is going to have our own ideas about what we so desire or wish to occur for society – we have to take into fair account that other people are equally entitled to have their say, as well.  This thus means that having a debate or a discussion about public policy, most certainly has its proper place, along with the fact, that governments should indeed have politicians or something similar in form, which fairly serve to represent the people in regards to that governance, in whole.

It seems that what we see far too often in today’s political atmosphere, is not only a lot of anger and incivility expressed from one person to another, or from one position point to another, or from one political party to the other – but that the political atmosphere of America has devolved into factions, with major political parties that seem to be at loggerheads with one another, on a daily basis.  Perhaps this is the way that it has to be, in the sense, that those that feel strongly about something, should be reluctant to cede ground to anyone or anything.  Yet, in consideration that the government of this country, is supposed to have been created for the expressed benefit of the people of this nation, and of which, those that are our political leaders, have a Constitutional duty to be in lockstep with the consent of the people of such actions so taken; then, it could be argued that partisan politics would seem to add unnecessary drama to those thus truly seeking, essentially, a construct that provides them with fair opportunity, justice, and liberty, above all.

A nation that has lost its vision, is quite clearly not going to know where it really is, and often doesn’t even know its true destination.  In other words, there needs to be some abiding document, that represents the guiding light of all that those that governed this nation, can agreed upon – of which, that document is the Constitution of the United States, along with its Declaration of Independence, which was the impetus for the creation of this nation, to begin with. 

The thing about partisan politics, is that far too often, those pushing for one thing over another thing, aren’t really concerning themselves about what is good for Americans, in whole, but rather seem to be fixated upon what is good for them and those that support them, above all.  So then, what we so have, in reality, is a situation in which there is play of power and position, to favor certain interests, that when thus enacted, are beneficial to those specific interests, often at the expense of the public good.  Those then, that by their direct involvement in partisan politics should thus seldom be seen as patriots, but should be seen for what they really are, opportunists that are out for themselves and their clique, and virtually never for the public good.

The law in action is not always in sync with the law as written

In America, there are all sorts of rules and regulations, along with laws upon laws upon laws.  In truth, there are so many laws that have been written, of which the interpretation of some of these laws, varies from one judicial court to another, while also having a strong inclination to vary from one era to another era, in which that law is so adjudicated in.  That is to say, not every law is absolutely fixed and certain for all time – so too, and  further to the point, not every law, is equally applied to all, equally.  Rather, it could be said, that the law as written, does not necessarily accord to how that law is thus applied in action, and therein lies the rub.

While it’s nice to have laws that are clear, sensible, and seemingly fair – that doesn’t necessarily mean that every one of those laws will actually be applied in a way and manner, that such was intended for -- when it was first debated and written upon.  In consideration that there are an awful lot of lawyers, and in the sure knowledge that the thing about lawyers, is that a fair amount of them are rather clever – whereupon, we thus find that therefore when these lawyers are provided with an assignment in which their pay or their prestige, depends upon them stretching the law, or seeing the law as being in shades of gray, they are going to do their absolute darndest to find a given pathway so as to come up with a novel interpretation of such, that thus favors what they are so trying to accomplish for their client.  After all, a lot of clients are themselves quite aware of the law in question, and in short, don’t care to be compliant to it, and therefore are quite desirous of legal acumen that will interpret that law in a way that is favorable to their position, above all.

This thus signifies that the law in action is not necessarily the same thing as the law as written, of which, quite frankly there are plenty of people as well as institutions that are powerful, connected, or wealthy enough, who are willing then to pay just about any price to see that the law as applied to their particular case, is applied in a manner, that is favorable to them.  In short, well-intentioned laws, that are also well written, and so enacted for a specific purpose in order to exact fair justice, are actually subject to being interpreted by a court of law, in innovative ways, or even basically being ignored as a non-entity, which signifies that the law in action is not always in sync with the law as written.

As much as we like to believe that the law applies equally to all, and is therefore no respecter of persons – this simply isn’t the case, in reality.  In fact, when we take a comprehensive look at the law in action, we are able to see, time and time again, that the law in action, treats those that are well connected in a diametrically different way than those that are not – indicating, that the law in action often serves to protect and even to enhance the elites of society; so done at the expense of all those that aren’t themselves in that same catbird seat

Fair comparison

It seems like human nature to want to compare who and what we are, to other people that we meet, including friends, family, and peers.  Those so doing that comparison, often do so, as a way and means to determine whether they believe that they are in the better hierarchy of achievements and success in comparison to those other people.  Not too surprisingly, many people, are dissatisfied with their standing, which in the best of cases, serves as a meaningful prod to get them to thus go out and to do better in order to get to the place that they so desire to be.  Yet, whether satisfied or not, the comparison format that a significant amount of people, so utilize, is fundamentally flawed; for in truth, a fair comparison really shouldn’t be how we do or do not fare against another, but rather how someone else that was in our shoes, would themselves fare in our stead.

That is to say, as much as people want to believe that we all start at the same place, with the same conditions, the same opportunities, and the same this and the same that – this isn’t true, and even the most cursory of investigations, demonstrates this, conclusively.  In fact, some of us are born with all of the advantages and some of us are born with all of the disadvantages; so that, as in a game of golf, some of us have a very low or no handicap -- whereas, others, have a significantly higher or high handicap.  This thus signifies that in fairness, we need to take into full account the true situation of a person’s circumstances, in which, those then that are provided with the most favorable terms and conditions, should achieve far more than those that have not been placed into those same good circumstances.

So then, for all those that perhaps are overly proud of their achievements, or of their education, or of their status, or of their wealth, need to acknowledge that how proud that they should or should not be, is more fairly weighed by how well or how poorly someone else, under the same sorts of conditions, would fare, instead.  This then, is a fair test, because those that are born under the most trying of circumstances, shouldn’t be expected to reach the same sort of level, than those that are born with a silver spoon in their mouths so achieve – for to discount social status, connections, money, and the like as somehow not having any real meaning or merit to the subsequent success or lack thereof of a given individual, is unfair.

Each of us should indeed be judged upon our own merits, but extenuating circumstances and the acknowledgement that some circumstances are clearly far more conducive to success than others, needs also to be taken into full account.  After all, it’s easy to look down upon someone, especially when we have never lived a day in their shoes -- because having failed to take into fair consideration the circumstances of their lives, in regards to their obstacles, challenges, and injustices, so faced, we have been uncharitable to their character.   Sure, comparisons may have their place, but those that are most honest, don’t need to look any further than to take into fair consideration, how someone else would have done in their stead and if they then feel a sort of emptiness or disappointment inside, when reviewing such, they thus need to seriously endeavor to do better

“The ultimate measure of a man….”

The above full quotation is as follows: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” and this pithy wisdom comes forth from our American Moses, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..  It must be said that just about everyone is in a very good place when times are good and when they are also feeling comfortable, because pretty much life is going their preferred way, and because of that, most people that meet those individuals that are in that good place, are going to like or at least easily tolerate that person because of the fact that these relaxed people are in their “comfort zone,”  thus reflecting to these others no pressure and no tension within their persona, making then these very comfortable people apt to be rather personable and friendly.  On the other hand, not every day is going to be a good day; and further to the point, not every situation is going to be a good situation, in which, we do so find that the person that had been feeling real good in one environment, may feel an incredible amount of stress in another more taxing environment.

A lot of who and what we really are, is regrettably, situational dependent.  That is to say, when all is good, most people are rather benevolent in their attitude and behavior; but then, we have those situations in which things are not going well, and how a given person reacts, depends not only upon that situation, at hand, but has an awful lot to do with the content of the character, of that individual.  So then, while we might well think we know somebody; a truer test to such, is to see how that person reacts when they are not in control, and are under serious pressure, when adversity so comes –  that in a nutshell, serves to show who and what they are made of.  For the challenges that each of us faces in this world, represent our proving ground, in which those fires that we so face through stress and controversy, serve to burn off the dross of our outer shell, to thereby expose who we really are, at our core.

While it might well be our preference that everything should always go our way --  it must also be said, that many people desire for the world to revolve around their desires and their wants; but that isn’t the way that the world actually works, for invariably there is going to be conflict between one person and another, of which, each desires a thing different from another, and of which, to get what they each so wants, will involve confrontation between them.  So then, how a person of supposed good character, reacts to a situation that is not favorable for them, says a lot about who and what that person really is.  For all those that preach toleration, but are themselves intolerant, in those situations that really matter, are definitely wrong for that.  So too, those that preach, “peace, peace” but are only too willing to draw the sword when they are denied something that they really want, have clearly shown their true colors.

For a certainty, it isn’t necessarily easy to keep calm, when everyone around you is losing their cool; but all those then that are always able to stay focused upon that which represents justice, fairness, and empathy, are going to do a whole lot better job of representing well the character of someone worth emulating and being, for they then have stood tall through both the good and the trying times.

Understanding unalienable rights

Each of us, without exception, throughout the entire world are accorded unalienable rights – which thus signifies that each of us, is gifted by our Creator, or by virtue of our humanity, specific unalienable rights.  An unalienable right is a right that cannot be legitimately taken away from us, by any government, or by any other institution; and of those rights, none of those unalienable rights have been gifted to us by any government or institution – rather, governments and institutions can provide us with additional rights, but these additional rights, are not themselves, unalienable.  In other words, our unalienable rights are innate to us, and each of us then is equally entitled to those unalienable rights.  Some examples of these unalienable rights would be life, liberty, independence, free thought, the pursuit of happiness, as well as the fair means to the ownership of property through gainful employment.

Additionally, it has to be understood that unalienable rights always apply to everyone, at every time – as opposed to such only applying to some of the people, some of the time, and only in some situations – and thus not applying in other situations.  In other words, during wartime, we are still entitled to our same unalienable rights, and in fact, there are no conditions in which we are ever disentitled to those unalienable rights; nor is there any situation in which we are subject to losing or forfeiting those unalienable rights.  This doesn’t mean, though, that we thus are not subject to fair punishment for crimes so committed, but rather what it does mean is that any government that infringes upon our unalienable rights, by denying us due process, or through coercion or through injustice or through unfairness, have violated our unalienable rights.

So too, all those that are rightly proud of their unalienable rights, need to recognize, always, that every unalienable right that is ours – must for a certainty be the very same unalienable rights that are for everyone else, as well.  In other words, there is not some hidden hierarchy of unalienable rights, which applies more to some, over others; or applies more to those that are educated over those that are less educated; or applies more to those of western nations over those of developing third-world nations.  it is important to recognize this truth, that when it comes to unalienable rights, those rights are for everyone, so equally applied, and so equally enforced.  Those then, that demand for their own selves, their specific unalienable rights, but will not accord the very same construct to their greatest foes, are hypocrites and are thus wrong in their mindset.

That which is good for the goose, must also be good for the gander; or else, unalienable rights have no real meaning or purpose.  We are all equally entitled to those unalienable rights, and therefore none are entitled to more than another.  This doesn’t mean that the end result of us all having the same unalienable rights, is that we will all be the same in our material possessions, or in our spiritual aspirations, or in our education or in anything – but rather what this so signifies is that we are all equal in the unalienable substance of who and what we really are.

The stickiness of first impressions

As it has been said, a person only gets one chance to make a good first impression, and therefore it behooves that person that is up for that interview or similar, to try to present themselves in a way and manner in which that first impression will be good – thus placing that person in a much better position, than if that first impression was not so good.  While there are all sorts of ways to make a good first impression upon another, the foundation of doing so, has an awful lot in common, in basically meeting what the perceived expectations are of the person that we are meeting with for the first time.  That is to say, if we look the part or act the part of what that person so wants to see, then the first impression that they are going to have, is often going to be rather favorable; and once a first impression is imprinted upon a person’s mind, they have a strong tendency to stick with that first impression for as long as possible, because as much as we like to think that most people, do not render a decision, until they have taken in all or as much relevant information to the subject at hand that they are able to – in fact, we find that a lot of people have a distinct tendency to take shortcuts so as to make up their mind about the other person, long beforehand.  This thus signifies that first impressions are rather sticky, in the sense, that once a person has made their decision, they are often reluctant to backtrack and thereby to change such, of which part of the reason why this is so, is their hesitation to admit that their initial impression, was fundamentally flawed.

While it could be said, that society might well be better served if we were slower to rush to judgment, whether that be of a first impression, or in the judging of a particular situation, or in regards to a perplexing problem – the thing that has to be taken into fair account, is that indecisiveness is basically considered to be a character flaw, so that all those that seem to be taking an interminable amount of time to come to a decision about something of importance, are often seen to be part of the problem and thus not part of the solution.  After all, many a person believes that it is more important to make a decision, rightly or wrongly, than to endlessly debate it back and forth – for at least when a decision has been made, there is now something of substance to accomplish or to work upon or to work with.  

Therefore, first impressions have a way of being rather sticky, because from the viewpoint of having made our judgment in regards to our perception of a particular person, we now have a strong tendency to suffer from the bias of subsequently seeing things from the perspective that favors our first impression, and thus to discount all those other things that are not consistent with such.  So , in effect, while each of us would like to think that we are at our core, fair-minded people,  the truth of the matter is, that many of us, have a strong tendency to be impressed by those that appear to be in harmony with our mindset, and far less with all those, that are not.

Food Stamps/SNAP monthly allocation

The first thing to realize when it comes to those that are laborers in what are considered to be the traditional fields of employment, is that the pay frequency of those so working, varies from being monthly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or weekly.  Not too surprisingly, the more infrequently people receive their paycheck, we find that, especially for those that do not have a lot in material assets, that the navigation around the knowledge that their next paycheck is perceived to be of a long distance away, can readily lead to some degree of difficulty in their thus managing their day-to-day expenses, bills, as well as other obligations.  In other words, those without a lot of savings or the means to access short-term loans on a reasonable basis, will invariably find themselves in the type of situation in which they will have to tighten their belt, so as to deal with the fact that their access to their next paycheck is uncomfortably far away.

When we take into fair account, that the need for food, is a biological necessity, of which, people that are hungry are often quite uncomfortable when they are lacking some reasonable degree of food security or access to such – it thus doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense that food stamps are allocated only once a month.  As might be expected, those that have to utilize food stamps, are often the very same people that do not have a lot of excess monetary capital lying about their premises, and further to the point, are the very same people that are quite vulnerable to suffering from food insecurity.  While it most definitely is quite helpful as well as being beneficial to those that are the recipients of food stamps, the point of the matter is that most people require three meals in a day, of which, that equates to people needing to eat around 90 meals in a month.  So then, when the voucher so being provided to get that food, must cover the entire month of meals, we thus come upon a construct in which upon receiving that allocation, a significant amount of those people will often feel “food rich” at that point, only to discover later and to their dismay, that halfway through the month, that they thus feel “food poor.”  In fact, we read at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov that in a study, “ SNAP participants, adjusted mean food spending decreased 37% from the first 2 weeks to the last 2 weeks of the SNAP benefit month.”   This clearly indicates that the people so receiving those food stamps are not very good at allocating their food purchases so that such would be equally distributed throughout the month.

It would seem, that a better way to distribute SNAP monthly allocations, would be to disburse such more than once a month.  After all, for those that deplete their monthly allocation too quickly, the wait for the next month’s allocation of such, seems interminable.  Further to the point, for all those that have a tendency to stock up on a bunch of food items, all in one visit, the division of that food stamp allocation to semi-monthly or similar, would cut back on not only those impulse purchases, but also would help to re-direct what is so being purchased to those items which more appropriately fit the budget at hand.  Quite frankly, the governmental skillset so needed to adjust food stamp allocations to something more frequent, doesn’t seem all that daunting, thereby signifying that the government should put into practice, that very thing.

Inequality breeds violence

America is a capitalistic nation with a social welfare structure and taxation which surprisingly is felt most tellingly, not upon the rich, powerful, and the elite – whether they be individuals or corporations, but to a very large extent on those of the middle class, upper middle class, as well as also a subsection of the upper class.  At this point, in America, there is absolutely not even the façade that this nation believes in equality, opportunity, fairness, justice, or even just common decency.  Rather, America, has devolved into protecting and embellishing entrenched entitled institutions, of mega corporations and well-placed people, in which the objective of the game for those that are the masters of such, is to extract and thereby to exploit the lesser people, relentlessly.  One might think that since there are so few that have so much, that the people would have the clear advantage via their massive numbers; but in point of fact, those that run the show, have the policing force of the state, along with its massive surveillance system, completely in their power, and when the arms of the nation are controlled exclusively by the hands of those elites, and the so-called “justice” that is rendered upon the people, is dictated by those that regulate that edifice, then the people are clearly at a significant disadvantage.

So then, what we so find in America, is a modern-day gilded age, in which the best-of-the-best, is available for all those that have exclusive access to it, so that these special people as well as these powerful institutions consequently have literally never had it better, and of which, none of them, wish to give up nary a thing in return to that government or its people, which created the foundation for their success to begin with.  On the other hand, there is a whole swath of people that basically play by the rules, believing in the American dream and its capitalistic system, of which some of these people do indeed have some meaningful degree of success and are appreciative of such – but alas we also have, what America prefers to sweep under the rug, which is the massive amount of people, that are basically born into a nation in which they will never receive fair opportunity, justice, peace, or a quality education.  In other words, they are born into poverty and neglect, in which, their lot has pretty much been fixed upon their first living breath.  These then, are quite obviously, the type of people that are going to be prone to committing violence, for they know that the hand that they have been dealt, is unfair and unjustified; thereby motivating them, since they have nothing to lose, to strike back against that society through any means, so necessary.

When a given person in poor circumstances, looks around, and sees that they have no future, and of which, the knowing of that truth, haunts them – they are going to consider what few options that they so have, in which the intent of the subsequent actions so taken will be to do what they perceive that they have to do, in order to get from society, some degree of respect, and if that has to be done through the barrel of a gun, so be it – for they rather die trying than simply to swallow their pride, because at least in the former, they will have had their say and will have stood up to that which is just as wrong as they are, if not even more so.

The evolution of humanity

Humanity must have an overarching purpose for its being, and that purpose has to be, for the betterment of that humanity, in whole.  What makes for the betterment of humanity is what makes for the betterment of a nation – which is, equality, justice, fairness, consideration for the other, and fair opportunity for all.  To the degree that those that are our elected representatives and our national leaders, represent these attributes in action, then to the betterment they thus serve humanity. Whereas, those that are in power and of influence that are divisive, narrow-minded, bigoted, deceptive, unjust, and self-serving are the very people and institutions that are clearly not good for humanity, while also serving as real impediments and obstacles to the good advancement of that humanity.

Nothing that we purport to desire to achieve for humanity at the present time can conceivably be accomplished in just one generation – but rather, step-by-step and thus through persistence and drive, we can, each of us, help build upon the good values and good principles that have preceded us to thereby get us ever closer to where we need to be.  None of this is possible in a vacuum, and further to the point, each of us, has our own weight to carry as our obligation -- for to take humanity to a better place, takes a collective and focused effort, for there are no shortcuts to earn what has to be earned by our merit.

The dissatisfaction that most of us feel deep within our psyche, is there as a constant thorn in our side, or as a ping upon our conscience, so as to awaken us up from our lethargy, or else to serve as a reminder that a life lived around distractions, and mindless activities, is a life poorly lived.  None of us has the same abilities, and none of us has the same background, but all of us, should have a vested interest in seeing that we as a people, are part of the process of progress, as opposed to being those that seemingly don’t care or that actually work in opposition to such.

What each of us gets out of life, is what we put into it – and while it is true that we do not all start at the same place, the destination for all, is collectively the same.  This thus signifies, that each of us has the fair opportunity to be contributors to the greater good of humanity, and therefore of a life well lived; for that in a nutshell, should be the abiding purpose of our life and of our being.  We are each given opportunities to prove our value, and each of us are tested so as to see whether we are true to what we profess in our heart to be.

As it has been written, no man is an island, and the fact that each of us is here on the same planet, signifies that each of us, has been created by the very same hand with therefore the same unalienable rights.  The fact that we recognize those unalienable rights as being invaluable is one thing – but the other thing is whether we are the ones to defend those rights, come what may, and thereby to help make society better for our participation in it, or whether we won’t do our fair part, instead.

Texas is the 9th biggest economy in the world

A lot of people know that if California was a separate country, that it would represent the fifth biggest economy in the world.  Not that far behind, though, is Texas, which if it was a separate country would represent the ninth biggest economy in the world, making it thus bigger, all on its own, than entire nations such as Russia or Brazil.  The most important industry in Texas is the oil and gas industry, of which,  Texas from an oil perspective, represents 43% of the domestic oil production so produced in the United States, as we read at visualcapitalist.com.  This would seem to indicate that when it comes to oil and gas, the perspective that Texas has, may indeed be at odds to all those that desire to steer away from non-renewal energy sources, as well as to all those that are especially concerned about climate change, pollution, and the like.  Further complicating matters, is the fact that oil and gas, from an export perspective is quite beneficial to Texas, and hence to the United States, because oil and gas, most definitely represents very big business, and therefore is of real benefit for the United States export market, of which oil and gas, thus represents the highest percentage of those goods so being exported by America to the world, at large.

Not too surprisingly, based upon the industries that Texas is dominant in, this thus makes a big difference in regards to the policies that Texas so proposes and professes, and thereby the concentrated political power that it thus wields.  This signifies that a successful politician in Texas is almost for a certainty going to be someone that is a proponent or at least at a minimum, a defender of the oil and gas industry, because to not be, would pretty much be political stupidity.

Additionally, while many an American desires to see lower gas and oil prices, so that their personal energy needs extract less from their respective paychecks – those that actually produce the gas and oil, are on the other hand, going to want to typically get as much as they can get from the marketplace.  This thus creates the puzzling scenario, in which, America has for decades, castigated OPEC as being a market manipulator, as well as a cartel, which is gouging the world in regards to the profit markup and availability of that oil so being sold; but what is seldom mentioned is that America is actually the largest producer in the world of oil, but does not, itself, have a separate domestic market for that oil, in which that oil is thus priced at a rate substantially lower than OPEC, as a courtesy for its own people, so as to reduce the profits so made from that industry, upon its own people, domestically.  

So then, what is good for Texas, may or may not be good for the nation as a whole – but make no mistake about it, Texas is incredibly important to the economy of America, most notably because of its oil and gas reserves; of which, it could be said, that if Texas, was to deliberately manipulate the oil market, so that, for instance, it produced less oil than it could produce, or restricted the domestic access to such, that this would in a sense, appear to then represent in form, a domestic version of OPEC.

The importance of thinking

Most everyone believes that they think, every single day, and while that is basically true, we do so find that a significant amount of people, don’t ever take the time to examine thoroughly their own life, let alone the purpose behind such, and thus the meaning of it all.  Far too many people, just buy into the orthodoxy of whatever that it is that those that are in power are selling to them – of which, perhaps these people are also somewhat discriminatory in what they accept or agree with, as compared to that which they don’t accept or don’t agree with.  The main thing is, though, that what we get out of life, has a lot in common to how much we put into that life.  So that, those that wake up, and ask the question, as to why things aren’t this way or aren’t that way, as opposed to believing that there can only ever be slight variations in the way that things basically are -- represent those people that are actually doing some real thinking, and thinking with a real purpose behind such.

We are meant to think, and what we so think, has a lot to do as to whether we see ourselves as truly independent agents, with not only the wherewithal to think for ourselves, but the obligation to do so – as compared to all those that pretty much think along the lines of simply going along with the flow.  So too, we often live lives of which our supposed obligations and duties, keep us forever occupied – of if not completely so, than our hobbies and habits successfully do their part in filling in any available open gaps in our life, therefore indicating that we need not do a whole lot of thinking, because each day appears to be complete in and of itself.

So then, for those that have discounted the importance of thinking, this thus entraps them into a sort of inertia, which because there is no inner drive from them to generate the escape velocity from such, keeps them forever in a certain set place without a whole lot of corresponding variety in their life, whatsoever.  Perhaps this is okay, in the sense, that those that meekly follow the leader, can have a somewhat satisfactory life, when that leader is actually traveling in a direction of some worth and value.  The problem, though, is when that leader fails to meet an ethical standard of substance, which leaves thus those that will not think, vulnerable to all sorts of bad outcomes, which accordingly comes their way.

Those that truly want to make constructive progress are always the same sort of people – which are those that take the time and trouble to not only to do their research via thinking – but to also make it their point to think their thoughts with others that are also known as independent thinkers, as well; so that, together, they can figure out ways that will help to make a society a better place for their participation in it.  To think, is to challenge authority, as well as to question those that are in power – for not all that glitters is gold, and all those that think, know this.

Deception and exploitation

In this world, there seems to be no end to mankind’s inhumanity to mankind; in which, many a person doesn’t much care about how they make their money as long as they get that money, one way or another.  So then, in a construct in which cheap labor is not only desirable for many an employer, and of which we so find that many of those employers so seeking such cheap labor don’t really care to know about all the details of how these people became available to them –  this thus helps to create a marketplace for unscrupulous people to thereby recruit for that cheap labor and these recruiters typically do so, by being extremely deceptive to those that they target for such recruitment.  After all, if the recruiters were to fully disclose the conditions of what that employment would actually be like, as well as the living conditions that would typically be expected, then this would certainly make their job of successfully recruiting credulous people, far more difficult.  Rather, their preference is to take advantage of the vulnerabilities of those that do not have much in their possession, and of these people’s desire for a better life, by concocting a plausible story for them, in the sure knowledge, that once those that have been recruited are away from their home base, and in particular are placed into a new location, of which, those so recruited have no friends, as well as being unfamiliar with the customs of that location, then all those so recruited will thus find themselves to be in a really bad place.

In other words, a significant amount of people that are exploited, have often been lied to or deceived about the employment that they thus finds themselves in.  Further to the point, while it is easy and rather convenient to blame and therefore to target those that have recruited people that have become exploited – it has to be taken into fair account, that the bottom line is that recruiters are only one part of the equation – of which, the other major part is all those that knowingly desire these workers, because their business model or their greed, is dependent upon a ready supply of workers that they can exploit, in every way so possible, so that they can thus make their money, upon the backs of those that have no say upon the matter.  That is to say, there wouldn’t be a whole heck of a lot of recruiters, if there wasn’t a need to fill for amoral employers that desire such, of which those employers clearly prefer employees that have no real choice other than to comply with the employer’s demands.

When it comes to exploitation, it basically begins with those that have some position of power -- that desire to have in their control, people that have no power, and thus must adhere to their demands.  So, you could say, that these unprincipled employers create the market, of which, outsourced to another agency, are the recruiters that take care of utilizing whatever tools of the trade so works -- which usually involves deception, though sometimes it is also violence, to get those that have little or nothing, to end up being tricked into a life which is in many ways, a living hell for them, but profitable for those that ply this dirty trade.

There is a real purpose behind pain and suffering

Many of us, fundamentally desire to have a life which does not entail us having to deal with any significant issues that would negatively impact or hurt us in regards to disappointment, rejection, pain, or loss.  Yet, as much as we may so desire to avoid these very things, it is indeed the exception to the rule, when we don’t inevitably suffer from some degree of pain and disappointment in our respective lives, for some period of time, or even for a lengthy period of time.  What seems to be missing so often, when we cry aloud about our particular woes, is that for so many of us, we really need to periodically have a “wake-up” call to thus get our minds and therefore our subsequent actions right, so that we don’t end up taking for granted, that which shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The thing about life, is that we really don’t know who or what we really are, unless we are tested, either by outside forces that impact our life, or when we conduct such a test upon ourselves.  After all, it isn’t possible to be ready for battle or to accomplish something of significance, unless we get into the arena of life, in which, because there are so many other agents and factors within that arena, this thus means that such is not going to be in our control – necessitating therefore that we have the wherewithal to make the adjustments so needed in order to accomplish the very purpose of our starting such an engagement in the first place.  In our life, we must prove not only to our own self, but also to respected others, that we can accomplish what we have so set our minds upon accomplishing.

In other words, the actions that we take within this world, must have real consequences, or else, our interest in this world, would surely be minimal.  Indeed, one of the reasons why we experience pain and suffering, is to ping our conscience so as to wake us up from our lethargy or laziness of mind, to thereby make the concerted effort to overcome such, or at least, to understand better why this is so occurring to us.  So too, life necessitates that there be real stakes at hand, of all that we say and do, thereby placing ourselves in the position to appreciate better the joy and satisfaction of tasks accomplished successfully, in the sure knowledge, that because of our persistence and good effort that we have succeeded in that in which we put our nose to the grindstone upon.

Life necessitates for us, some degree of drama, of which, the drama that we so face, is ours to conquer through our courageous, purposeful, and forceful actions.  Those that fail in overcoming the troubles that ail them, need to comprehend, that their feelings of defeat and despondency are impressed upon them, so that they will thus be reminded to dust themselves off, and thereby to try and try again.  There is, no victory more sweeter, than those that previously having been vanquished, have demonstrated their character by subsequently to have risen up to claim that which is theirs to own, of which, by doing so, they have thus successfully erased their previous pain and disappointment to reap joy and contentment, instead.

Energy that is weather dependent is by definition, undependable

There are lots of people that not only believe in, but desire to have renewable energy, to be the foundation of our energy needs in America.  In truth, that belief, and that desire, is certainly not wrong; and it also seems to represent well, common sense – but the fact of the matter is, that any energy source that is dependent upon the right weather conditions, whether that be the sun, wind, or rain, is going to represent an energy source that is problematic for all those that live within a construct in which their energy needs are constant as well as when such also represents the backbone of the things that they need to attend to every day.  So then, we need to keep in mind that solar power is dependent upon the sun, of which, even on the best of days, the sun does not shine in the same area for 24 hours in a day; as for the wind, the wind does not always blow every hour of every day; and finally for hydropower, it subsists upon a constant supply of water coming from snow melting, or from rain, and cannot well sustain itself in droughts as well as it will find itself subject to being overwhelmed by extreme storms.  Additionally, when it comes to renewable energy, excess energy so produced on a given day, must either be stored through batteries or similar, or else that energy will essentially go unused and will soon thus dissipate. 

Basically, any renewable energy source, that is dependent upon the right weather, is going to, in the scheme of things, not only be not acceptable for any society that needs a continuous source of energy, but it also will not ever be, on its own, a dependable energy source.  This signifies, that while it certainly makes sense to want to take advantage of renewable energy sources that are available to us, such as the sun and wind, that we still also have to be realistic in the recognition that to make our energy sources totally dependent upon that which is not wholly dependable is fundamentally a major flaw.  Rather, it would behoove us to see renewable energy as something that will serve to provide us with a portion of our energy needs but until such renewable energy becomes fully or nearly fully dependable, it cannot ever be our only source of energy.

It’s good to see humankind, driven to find alternative sources for our energy needs, of which, the overriding motive is to lessen our dependence upon that which is perceived as being damaging to the environment, as well as to the climate, and is considered to be non-sustainable over the long run.  Still, what has been put on the agenda as being sold as the proper alternative to fossil fuels and the like, are not currently good enough, to perform their functions at the level that modern society demands and needs, signifying that a mad rush to replace that which is reliable with something that is not, is clearly misguided, and therefore needs to be adjusted to reflect and to take into fair account, this inconvenient but salient fact.

This is what happens without labor unions

The eternal battle between those that labor and have no say within the structure of their work employment as contrasted to those that essentially dictate the terms of where, what, and how such labor will be deployed is quite obviously the type of the battle that wholly favors the employer over the employee.  Further to the point, every single employer, large or small, recognizes that those so seeking employment from them, do so out of a general necessity to obtain wages in order to pay bills so as to thus appropriately uphold responsibilities that people must attend to on a daily basis.  This signifies that whether or not the labor market is considered to be “tight” or rather to be suffering from “slack” doesn’t nearly make as much difference to those so seeking employment, as economists will try to make us to believe.  We find then that basic laborers so seeking employment are typically without any real power to change the terms and conditions of their employment with anyone, unless they have the agency of a strong labor union, behind them, for in united numbers there is power, and without such, there is not.

So then, in a construct in which many a person needs a job, the advantages of this known fact are all going to be on the employer’s side, which we see demonstrated time and time again, wherever there is the absence of strong labor unions, by virtue of how many an employer is thus able to “get over” on their employees.  Though we have labor laws which stipulate the conditions of which overtime will be paid and how much that compensation for that overtime will be, we do so find that there are many employees that have had to do work or are expected to do work “off of the clock”, and therefore to basically labor without compensation at straight pay, let alone time and a half.  So too, when it comes to the productivity of employees, we also find that employers are constantly seeking ways to improve that productivity, of which, the basis foundation of such, is to get more work done in the same amount of time – so, for instance, we find that the assembly line for those sorting packages, or of cutting chickens, is sped up, thereby producing from that same employee a higher degree of productivity without that worker typically receiving any corresponding increase in their salary.  None of these things that take unfair advantage of employees would be possible or even really conceivable, if employees had the protection and the strength of a strong labor union, backing them, but in absence of such, and in consideration that this government cares not a whit about the common laboring man, this is what so occurs in the real world.

The bottom line is that the labor cost is an important component in the overall profitability of a given company, and when that company can exert pressure, or utilize persuasion, by one means or another, to get more labor out of their workforce, without having to provide a commensurate increase in pay, then the employer, personally reaps the benefit, thus essentially wresting the bread from the mouths of those that they so employ.

Support your local credit union

People need banking institutions in order to receive their paycheck, pay bills, as well as to organize their finances.  There are for most people, two basic choices when it comes to their banking needs – which are having an account with a traditional bank, of which nowadays a lot of these banks are national in character; or to do business with a local credit union, which provides basically the same services as banks but typically are more consumer friendly, by charging lower fees and by permitting low account balances without penalty -- while also having very competitive interest borrowing rates as well as having competitive saving rates, and finally credit unions are non-profit in their structure. 

It would seem then that most people would thus go to the low-cost choice when it comes to their banking needs, especially in the sure knowledge that non-profit organizations are going to by their very structure, be institutions that are able to provide to their members, a better overall package.  Yet, though there are plenty of people and businesses that do utilize credit unions, the bottom line is that national banking institutions are in an entirely different financial assets league and demonstrate such through their huge aggregate market capitalism, their market share, their credibility, their influence, and their overall impact upon consumers and even the economy. 

The advantage of using a non-profit credit union is that the structure of those credit unions is created around those that are its depositors, which are the actual members of that credit union, and further to the point, the efficiencies of a given credit union, aren’t siphoned away from those credit union members so as to become profits to that credit union, but are, in essence, returned to those that are its members, by virtue of that credit union’s lower fees and lower expenses.  Additionally, credit unions, because they are typically local within a particular community, city, or State, are going to do a far better job of re-cycling the money that is deposited within their premises, so as to be of benefit to that same community, at large.

After all, because national banks are for-profit institutions, it doesn’t take a genius to understand that for-profit businesses essentially make their money or their profit, off of all those that are its consumers.  So then, in the banking business, this means that banks basically make their money off of those that utilize those banks; whereas, for non-profit credit unions, because they are member-owned and member-supported, their overriding mission is to provide a good service to those that are its members, above all.

Perhaps because credit unions aren’t really known for doing a whole lot of soliciting, whereas banks are quite adept at not only doing a lot of advertising, but also soliciting people through direct mail or other means; and of which, banks are also known for their endless promotions and come-ons, that perhaps then, all that solicitation does indeed make a difference to the choice that an individual makes, or if not, at least places into the consumer’s mind, that such and such national bank, is more credible or more secure, than a local credit union.  Whatever that it is, is quite unfortunate, for credit unions, represent the superior product typically for a whole swath of consumers, especially those that cannot afford to be nickeled and dimed, but suffer from such, consistently.

“It Is Difficult to Get a Man to Understand Something When His Salary Depends Upon His Not Understanding It”

The above quote comes from the incomparable, Upton Sinclair, and is as true today, or perhaps more so, then it was back when Sinclair first espoused such wisdom.  The thing about how we learn and comprehend, is that however that we get our information, whether it is through social media, our educational system, or establishment media, or various other assorted means, that we often don’t think enough about the possible motivations and the incentives of those that are writing their words and teaching us.  In other words, those that are dependent, for example, upon the need for fossil fuels to be the prevalent form of energy in America, are going to easily find a way to espouse the necessity as well as the reliability of these fuels, through their voice.  That is to say, it doesn’t matter much to these people, how pertinent or right that the opposing side may well be, when these persons recognize that for their continued good salary as well as their steady employment, that they would be far better served championing what is personally beneficial for them, above all else.

There are plenty of people that seem to be rather intelligent, perceptive, and astute, so it does seem rather surprising whenever we get from them an answer that doesn’t seem to mesh up well with the reality and totality of the situation as we see it.  Yet, when we begin to comprehend, that when we communicate with others, that we have to take into fair account, that their opinions or even that which they call “facts” are often subject to their personal proclivities and interests, then this thus begins to make more logical sense to us.  This thus means, that part of the explanation for why business decisions are sometimes seemingly unfathomable, is the fact that the executives of those companies so making those decisions, often have an incentive or incentives, that are in opposition to those that they so employ.  In other words, in the executive office, their main goal may be to hit certain profit and sales margins, and if this thus means, less money for those that they so employ, or layoffs of certain employees, then these executives are going to often do that, because these upper management people don’t want to understand or to take into account, that those that are their employees have their own needs to meet, as well.

We like to believe that we live in a world of equal opportunity, egalitarianism, and fairness, but the reality of the situation is that there are plenty of people that have no interest in a world like that; but prefer instead to be in a construct in which they receive more opportunity, are accorded their class benefits, and life is structured in a way that is purposefully favorable to them.  They want this, because they want what they want, and don’t care about backing anything that would take away from what they so have, and therefore will not listen to reason or anything that would upset their current status.  Indeed, the vast majority of people clearly know the difference between right and wrong, as well as between fairness and unfairness, but despite knowing this, they find that for their own selfish interests, that they are better served by pretending to not understand, what they do indeed understand, because they do not wish to give up what they so have and value.

Regulatory capture

Basically, regulatory capture, essentially means that the implementation of federal regulation upon a given industry, has in effect, been “ captured” by the very companies that are being regulated, so as to favor those corporations through the process of, for instance, those that are doing the regulating and/or the legislation of the laws that applied to such being, in effect, regulated by industry insiders, or adherents to that industry, or lobbyists working on behalf of that industry.  In other words, regulatory capture occurs whenever the regulators aren’t truly independent agents working on behalf of the government, but rather are well-versed industry insiders that have switched hats so as to thus implement toothless regulation, as well as to see that such regulations are enforced in such a way, that it benefits that industry, specifically; or, we so find that regulatory capture occurs through the lobbying efforts of the lobbyists in a manner in which the legislation is amended or enforced in a way that benefits that industry, at the expense of the public good.

The regulation of industry, is basically a lawful process in which the public believes that a given industry is thus subject to some necessary and prudent regulation – but in reality, some of those companies subject to such regulation, have essentially captured the regulatory body in such a way, that their business model will not be negatively impacted, or if not completely successful in doing so, mitigates such to the degree that such impacts their business model, only marginally. 

When it comes to regulation, it has to be remembered, that those that are the executives of these mega corporations, as well as those that are its stockholders, that they demand to have a good return on their investment  -- so that these particular people are extremely motivated to accomplish whatever needs to be accomplished to be successful and to be profitable, in the here and now, as well as in the future.  Therefore, the regulations so initiated and enforced upon these corporations, they believe have to be re-structured in such a way, that their bottom line will not be negatively impacted or hurt.  This means, that these mega corporations are going to look to exploit any weaknesses or nuances within a given regulation and to the degree that they can do so, capture such, so that they will be able to conduct their business in a way and manner, that such regulation is essentially a non-factor.

While many a person believes that the federal government, is an institution that is second to none – it has to be recognized that the federal government and its departments are only as strong as the budget that it so has, the strength of the legislation so being enforced, and the people that make up that department.  So then, there are myriad ways for mega corporations to impact given regulation, in which, corporations are extremely adept at exploiting such for their benefit – and when, in essence, the federal government, does not have in place, robust procedures, or effective rules and regulations, to protect and defend the public interest, then the end result is regulations with good intentions, that have often been subsequently captured in a way, in which the impact of those regulations on behalf of the public weal of the nation is of minimal or of no effect.

Private security and the Constitution

We live in an era in which more and more often, the interface between the general public and those who for all appearances are acting under color of law, may well end up placing some of those citizens in the unenviable position of having their freedom curtailed, as well as their Constitutional rights, vacated, by such.  In other words, those that are under governmental authority, such as police officers and other law enforcement personnel, know for a certainty that they have specific laws, as well as rules and regulations that they must adhere to, or else they could be found to be in violation of Constitutional law, and thereby the arrest or the seizing of goods from a given suspect, may well be found to be in violation of that law.  On the other hand, there are, for instance, businesses or even portions of townships, that hire private security guards or their equivalency, to essentially “police” their premises and property, and of which, because these private security personnel are not governmental law enforcement, this thus essentially means in a lot of cases, that Constitutional rights for citizens in regards to searches, seizures, due process, self-incrimination, legal counsel, and equal protection, are essentially marginalized or are of no effect within this interactions.

The main problem then, with private security as it so currently operates, is that when the adjudication of Constitutional law, seems to state that the Constitution only applies to governmental officials and their corresponding interactions with the general public, but has little or nothing to say about private entities, acting under color of law – we do so find that a significant problem for the general public is that they have thus less legal rights when interacting with private security then they would have with an actual law enforcement officer.   This thus lends itself to all sorts of potential abuses, for if the powers-to-be, in this era of massive corporate power, makes it their point, to see that they protect their private property through the exclusive use of private security guards; and if townships are able to circumvent their need for police officers, by contracting through private auspices, their own private security force, this thus essentially means that Constitutional law may not apply to those so being accosted by those private security forces.

After all, for all those that desire to have more law and order, but express a general dissatisfaction that the accused currently have too many rights, and therefore are often handled far too leniently; we find that the workaround to this is already in existence, which would appear to be private security forces acting under the color of law, instead.  This thus signifies that whenever there exists an avenue in which the rights of the people, per the Constitution and its Amendments, can be successfully circumvented through the use of private security or its equivalency, then there is bound to be those that will see fit that this very thing so happens.   Indeed, it doesn’t make any good sense, that law enforcement is held to account to adhere to the rules of the road; whereas, private security apparently is provided with free rein to act as law enforcement, but not be held to the same restrictions, so of.