The Fed’s misguided Zero Interest Rate Policy

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

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

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

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

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

Cars are never an investment and here is why

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

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

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

Standing armies and military coups

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

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

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

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

Two Senators per State and perpetual minority rule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Due process of law and the right to a safe environment

The hard part for the United States, was creating a nation in which the people would have fair access to all those things of real importance, such as shelter, education, employment, non-discrimination, safety, and opportunity – of which, America has pretty much accomplished this for the most part and in those areas in which it has fallen short, seems to have, at a minimum, surely created the foundation for such to subsequently improve and to thus become eventually firmly established for the good of all its citizens.  The thing is that because America is so intent upon capitalism and therefore the drive for profit being the be-all and end-all of its existence, we do so find, that money and the lust for that money, supersedes just about every aspect of the due process of law as well as fairness under that law, to the detriment of the people, in whole.

A case in point is the salient fact that many an enterprise works with dangerous chemicals, of which, the discharge of those chemicals through the air and water, or the actual processing of such, clearly causes harm to those in proximate location to that enterprise; along also with many a time, we find that the potential pollution of dangerous chemicals of all sorts, as well as other noxious things, is not properly handled correctly or dealt with responsibly at all, by that enterprise, and thus ends up becoming part and parcel of the air that we breathe, the land that we walk upon, along with the waters that we utilize for drinking.  In other words, each of us, should be entitled to a safe environment in which the water that we drink, the shelter that we reside in, and the air that we breathe, are free of harmful contaminants. 

What we so find, in our free enterprise world, is that those that are fixated upon making money, above all, will often do just everything in their power to see that what is clear and obvious to an independent and objective observer in regards to pollutants, is negated by all the countervailing avenues so available for those businesses that have money, position, and power – in which, those then that suffer the most from these noxious chemicals and the nasty pollution of all stripes, are almost always those that lack money, position, and power.  This presupposes that in America, there is a dividing line which seems to stipulate, that it is okay, to discharge harmful pollutants, wherever so desired and to obfuscate such, as long as it is not in any neighborhood or vicinity that matters to those that have influence, money, and power.

Regrettably, when it comes to the conscious discharge of dangerous chemicals and other pollutants into the atmosphere, which are thus permitted to adversely affect our streams, rivers, land and air; we do find that oftentimes this pollution will end up extending far beyond the intended destination of where such was expected to go, and further to the point, these pollutants are often far more long lasting, and typically far more dangerous and debilitating to the human body than so advertised.  So then, if due process of law, is to mean anything of substance at all, then it has to mean that each one of us, disadvantaged or not, is entitled to, first and foremost, a safe and healthy environment, of which, this government of, for, and by the people, needs to do its fair part to assure that this very thing happens.

Oil, assembly, Rich Country and Poor Country

Because of the continual value of oil,  and in consideration of the fact that oil as a commodity has been so important for so long, in addition to taking into fair deliberation that oil as a commodity has been, overall, increasing in its selling price, we therefore find that oil should be considered to be, especially for those nations, that have plenty of it, the supreme opportunity to jumpstart their economies and thus their corresponding GDP.  The bottom line is virtually nobody would ever give a thought to nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia, if it wasn’t for the massive amount of oil, and thus wealth, that has been generated for them, by that oil.

Sometimes, life can be really simple for certain countries, of which, that simplicity comes down to whether or not they have an abundance of a valuable commodity, such as oil, of which, the extraction of it, for them, is relatively inexpensive, and the price that they receive for the selling of it, is relatively lucrative.  In other words, those that are able to manufacture or produce an item that is absolutely essential to modern day living, and are able then to get a princely sum for such, are going to be in the pole position for their nation to become wealthy, depending upon, of course, other salient factors, such as domestic population, governmental competence, business structure, and the like.

On the other hand, there are plenty of nations, of which, their people work extremely hard, such as in the assembly of cellular phones, clothing, apparel and textiles, toys, furniture, consumer electronics, and various other relatively low-priced goods, in which the main part that these nations play is to provide the cheap labor to put these things together by basically contributing that labor through the assembly of those goods.  That is to say, those that do an inordinate amount of assembly of just about anything, but especially those items that are relatively cheap in price, and often do so upon an excessive amount of quantity of each, will definitely keep their people very busy and occupied, but they as a people and as a nation, will fundamentally not get rich, though they may well inch their way up, in regards to the GDP so generated by the virtue of that labor.

So then, for a certainty, some countries, because of their in-demand natural resources that they so have, are provided with a golden opportunity to become wealthy, by the simple virtue that those natural resources can be, figuratively, turned into gold, without thus having to expend an immoderate amount of effort in order to accomplish such.  Then there are those other nations, that work very, very hard, through the relentless efficiencies of their factories and by the busy hands that contribute to the manufacture of those goods, but they are not on any easy path to wealth, because the compensation for doing so, is limited, and thereby often controlled by outside entities that make the real profit off of the sweat and blood of those doing that grunt work of labor.  In other words, having the right natural resources can, in and of itself, make a nation rich – whereas, the assembly of low-priced goods, probably never will.

Plenty of monies devoted to war, but not enough for domestic infrastructure

The problem for America in insisting that it has to be the world’s policeman, and thus get itself involved in wars, insurrections, rebellions, and disputes throughout the world, is that, quite frankly, there is always going to be trouble somewhere, and oftentimes there is going to some degree of trouble, everywhere.  This thus signifies that if America simply spent more time, energy, and materials upon exclusively defending its own nation, and that alone, that we would soon discover that billions upon billions of dollars could thus be reallocated and redirected towards that which would be far less destructive, into that which would be far more constructive.

We live in a modern era, in which the efficiency of how we get about from one place to another, is important from so many levels – such as, in consideration of, the pollution so created in our travels, to the overreliance upon non-renewal fuels, to the integrity, maintenance, and reliability of our various transportation needs, as well as the overall efficiencies of the transportation so being utilized, every day.  As it has been said, a stitch in time saves nine, of which, the roads and bridges that we utilize day by day, along with the energy so consumed to transport ourselves and our goods, in addition to our electrical power grid, sewage systems, water tables, and so on and so forth, need to be properly maintained, and improved upon, so as to have such be consistently reliable.  When then, we act as if we don’t need to expend necessary monies to maintain what we already have, as well as to improve such to make it even better, by devoting appropriate monies so needed for sustainability, in addition to research and development, we have done ourselves and our country, a grand disservice.

In order for America to get done what it needs to get done in regards to its infrastructure advancement, it first needs to make that a real national budget priority and arguably should make it a much higher priority than expending hundreds of billions of dollars upon its military, whose budget is already gargantuan.  The bottom line is that there is only so much monies that can be allocated for social services, the  military, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and the like.  While, no doubt, there are plenty of inefficiencies in how the government currently spends and allocates its money, and therefore plenty of areas of which the government could easily spend less – it just seems sensible to concentrate first upon and thereby to trim back monies so being assigned to the military, because its current budget is so sizeable.

The truth of the matter is, that billions of our dollars are being spent essentially on that which is in so many words, a military killing machine.  It would thus behoove this country to spend less on proficiently killing people as well as on annihilating foreign buildings and other material things, and more on creating that which will be beneficial for the people as well as for business enterprises, instead; which is why we need to be more forthright in asserting that domestic infrastructure, needs to be properly prioritized, so that it can be appropriately maintained and upgraded, for our continual benefit.

Don’t buy where you can’t work

In America, employers with more than 100 employees are legally obligated to report to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission their employee count which takes into consideration sex/gender and racial classification by job categories, of which, the Equal Employment Opportunity, EEO-1 must then be submitted annually to that agency.  To the degree that this information, can be made more publicized, then that general public, can thus utilize that information in a way and manner, that they best see fit, and in particular, they can vote with their dollars; so as to the extent, so able, not then purchase products or do business with those corporations that are not suitably fair and inclusive, thereof.

For a certainty, what will get any company’s attention is any action, whether a formal boycott or protest or not, that adversely impacts that particular company’s business image and/or the bottom line of their profitability and sales.  Those companies, then, that appear to be tone-deaf need to be woken up by those that have a vested interest in seeing that this nation lives out its basic motto, of equality, fair opportunity, fair play, fair pay, and justice.  So then, there really isn’t any better way of doing such, in order to effect positive change, then to disrupt the normal course of business for those companies that are unfair in their hiring practices, so that, these companies, will progress from the mere mouthing of platitudes to the actual needful action to correct such.

Indeed, the voice of one person can only reach so far, but the voice of those that are joined together in a common cause, can be loud and can also be quite effective, especially when directed to the source of that trouble.  While we can give credit to the United States government for passing strong laws, so meant to eliminate or to reduce substantially prejudices of all sorts, the proof is in the eating of the pudding, and when statistics tell us that certain peoples are being precluded from employment, or are being employed by these companies primarily in only low-compensation jobs, then those things do need to change, especially so, to reflect that the era of favoritism to the favored race and similar, is not right and is not in harmony to what this country professes to represent and to believe in.

As they say, every dog has its day, and in America, that era of those of only a certain race, and/or of only a certain religion, thus being forever the sole alpha dog, is not consistent with the melting pot that America, actually is.  We are many people, from many backgrounds, of which, what truly unites each of us, is the belief that what America so represents, at its best, is liberty, freedom, opportunity, justice, prosperity, and fairness; of which, then, those institutions and businesses which are still behaving in a way and manner which negates such, deserve to be punished for their waywardness, as the patriotic duty of those that are Americans, and especially so from those that have been denied a fair chance to live the American dream.

Live life as if it matters, because it does

There are plenty of people, for whatever reason, that just go about their business, day after day, without a real plan, without any real goals, and without purpose.  Though it is true, that for people like that, life can conceivably work out very well; the truth of the matter is, it probably isn’t going to work out nearly as well as it could be for them, because those that don’t live life as if their decisions and choices really matter and have consequences to them, aren’t going to get all of what they could get out of life.

Additionally, no matter what a given persons’ personal background so represents, there comes a time when a person transitions from being a dependent person who relies heavily upon others for their welfare and decisions so made, such as one’s parents, to becoming their own independent person, with their own responsibilities that they must now answer to.  So then, when we become an adult, for a certainty, we have an obligation to live our life in a manner and way, that is going to represent meaning and purpose, for us; so that, when we inevitably hit those obstacles and setbacks, we are thus able to reflect upon the bigger picture of our objectives, in which, we can thereby find a way to achieve or to adjust such, as necessary.

After all, it’s problematic to maintain our focus, upon anything, if we don’t actually know what we are supposed to focus upon, and why we have selected that particular achievement to be our goal.  That is why, it’s a foundational truth that we need to have some sort of game plan to work upon, or else we will find ourselves losing not only our direction, but also we will not have the stamina or wherewithal to keep doing what we need to do in order to achieve positive progress.  Those then, that lack reasonable objectives to go after, are in constant danger, then, of simply spinning their wheels, and hence not going anywhere of real interest, anytime soon.

So too, the sooner that we are cognizant that we are truly sovereign in our own person, the sooner that we have the opportunity to become something of merit in our life.  That is to say, the choice to make our life actually to mean something of substance, is always at our volition; whether or not we recognize such, early in our life or late.  The advantage of knowing what we want to be earlier in our life, is the inherent flexibility we will thus have to make those unanticipated adjustments that will keep us on track to accomplish something meaningful as we continue upon our life path.  Those though that find their way, much later in life, are inevitably going to find that some doors are now closed; but there are always other doors, so available to them, of which, those that are dedicated to what they are focused upon, are often able to make good progress at a rapid pace, in order then to achieve what they have put their minds upon, late start or not.

In short, those that can’t seem to find meaning in their own life, are, oftentimes, pretty much in a mindset of simply going through the motions – whereas, those that have found their meaning in life, and have a purpose that drives them to keep on keeping on, will continue to exert themselves despite disappointments, because they are driven to get to their planned destination, because arriving at that chosen destination really does matter to them.

Standing armies and the inevitably of unjust war

The United States has the world’s greatest military force, and it devotes an astonishing amount of hundreds of billions of dollars, to have, expand, sustain, and to maintain that military force.  The ironic thing is that back before America had its independence, one of the facts so enumerated by that Declaration of Independence, was decrying that Great Britain had a standing army in America, without thus having the consent of the legislature of America.   While it is true, that the current standing army in America, does at the present time, have the consent of the legislature; the danger, thereof, of having a standing army is just as valid today as it was back when the seeds for our drive to become independent of Great Britain, so existed.

The reason so many people were fearful of a standing army, back in colonial times, and why we have a significant portion of the people that are fearful of the same today, is that it doesn’t much matter what a given Constitution says, or what the rule of law is supposed to represent, if that standing army has the power to get itself involved in all sorts of foreign or even domestic incursions, with dubious justifications for doing so, again and again.  So too, standing armies, represent for the people within those nations, of the constant danger of having those that are its actuators, insisting that these standing armies must so be utilized for this or for that, and that this need appears always to be never ending, for there is always something going on somewhere, that attracts their meddling interest.

While it could be said, that standing armies are necessary in the sense of the defense of the nation, as well as to have the requisite capability to utilize such in a just and truly required war – the thing is, that the more monies and resources so devoted to standing armies, the corresponding less of that money will so be allocated to the people as a benefit; such as for necessary infrastructure, education, healthcare, social programs, and the like, of which, it is the people through their payment of taxes that are thus on the hook for paying for those standing armies, in lieu of receiving those other valued benefits, instead.  Further to the point, we do so find, that this allocation of money for the military, will impress upon the military to do their level best to  justify that the monies and war materials so being provided to them, are seen as being necessary for the defense and safety of the homeland, thus leading these standing armies to view the world as a very dangerous place, indeed, of which, national security thereby demands that they exert their force continuously, wherever they claim such is warranted.

The danger of a standing army is not that it will be used, justifiably; but rather that it will constantly be used in an unjust and unneeded manner for whatever so-called justification which thus serves the purposes of that which directs it; and of which, because that standing army is so often the aggressor against other nations and peoples, this will invariably create tensions, resentment, hatred, and blowback -- that someday must have its own reckoning.

SMS Text Messages and the illusion of privacy

In this modern age, people communicate routinely utilizing their cell phones via text.  The types of messages that go back and forth, range from the mundane to that which is meant to be private, and everything in between.  Some messages can deal with trade secrets, confidentiality of all stripes, as well as issues that are extremely personal.  In other words, most people, for various reasons, do not desire to have their texts read by just anybody, and to a large extent, most people have zero interest in all of their texts being read by anybody other than their own self.

For most people, when we text message using SMS text, we believe that what we have so sent is only going to be read by the intended recipient, and nobody else; but unfortunately, in this modern hi-tech surveillance state, that isn’t the case at all.  The first thing to understand is that whatever cellular carrier that we have contracted with, for whatever dubious reasoning or legal structure that they must adhere to, can see the full contents of any message so sent while we are part of their network.  That in and of itself, seems to be fundamentally wrong, for a reasonable person would expect that their cellular carrier should just represent the transmission means for a text message to reach its destination, and nothing more than that, and thus shouldn’t be able to read or see the contents, thereof.  Additionally, in this world of “bad guys” those that are skilled at the dark arts have the capability to exploit weaknesses in SMS texting so as to be capable of intercepting text messages and therefore use the information so extracted for their own personal advantage.  In the same vein, governmental authorities or quasi-governmental authorities can also use those same dark arts to extract whatever that they so desire from messages so sent, without the foreknowledge of the person so sending or receiving those text messages. 

In short, text messaging while taking on the aura of being safe, secure, and private to the users of such, isn’t that at all.  This would presuppose that the current structure of SMS text messaging is surely in need of an appropriate upgrade or replacement – but the thing is, that governments as well as other entities, so of, would probably prefer for things to remain just the way that they currently are, for governments have a rather nasty habit of wanting to know everything about their citizenry, without correspondingly letting the general public know everything about them.

Regrettably, then, even when people know that their text messages aren’t as private or secure that they so wish that they would be – we find that people, for the most part, are pretty much going to keep sending out sensitive, compromising, and private messages to one another, because text messaging is a preferred and easy way to communicate with our contacts.  This thus signifies that until the general public raises a real ruckus to this invasion of their privacy, pretty much, we can expect that the government won’t fundamentally desire to change a thing.

H-1B visa, their equivalency, and control

For a lot of people, highly skilled or not, the siren call of the United States, and its claim to be the land of opportunity is the type of call that cannot and should not be denied.  How great the United States really is, can be best answered, by the sheer numbers of people that wish to immigrate to the United States, which reflects that the United States is considered to be, by many that wish to immigrant, a very desirable place, indeed.

In America, there are legal protocols to follow for all those that wish to immigrant, of which, there are more than one avenue to get to this land of opportunity, in which, one of them is the H-1B visa, which permits those that have certain specialized work skills that are in short supply domestically to thereby work within America for a specific period of time, such as three years.  This would seem to represent the ideal “win-win” situation, in which both the foreign worker as well as the company that has hired such, benefit from this transaction.  However, as might be expected, in the corporate world, many a person so employed, domestic or foreign, is considered to be an “at-will” employee, which signifies that when that employer “wills” that someone leave their company through a layoff or being fired, that the foreign worker has little or nothing that they can do to actually preclude such.  So then, when a foreign worker who has a H-1B visa is terminated, for whatever reason, or for no reason, they are thus considered to have fallen “out of status,” which means that they are now typically mandated to leave America, within 60 days of having lost their job, unless they are able to secure employment, in a similar field, and get approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for this change of employment venue.

In short, while a H-1B visa will certainly get a foreign worker through the American door, the status of being kept in good standing is for the most part, controlled by that employer, not by the foreign worker.   Regrettably, when it comes to those that have that sort of power over a given person or entity, there are always going to be those that will abuse such power to their own advantage.  In other words, when a persons’ right to work within America is in the hands of someone else, then the independence of that foreign worker and the inherent sovereignty that they so have is compromised.  This means that wages, bonuses, vacations, sick leave, personal time, overtime, stock options, and the like, are all subject to being manipulated in the favor of the employer, without the foreign worker having a lot of say in the matter, at all.   That is to say, employers that know that a given foreign worker needs to have continual employment in order to guarantee that they are still a member in good standing with the USCIS, lends itself to possible abuses by that employer, for many an employer, prefers foreign workers as well as any others that do not have the full status of American citizenship, because it makes exploitation so much easier.

Economic freedom and liberty

At the present day, we are no longer an agrarian society, nor are we a society that is made up of a massive amount of small self-sufficient independent contractors.  For the most part, many people that are part of the working force, are employees to a particular business enterprise, and of which, typically, their voice, independent of a union, though with the exception of those with an exceptional or in-demand skillset, do not usually have much say as to their employment security or their overall working conditions, thereof.  In other words, many a person, especially those that are not high wage earners, are subject to what could be best described as the arbitrary will of those that employ them, especially so in those States, which have enacted poorly named legislative acts, such as, the “Right-to-Work.”

The reason that being employed “at-will,” or not having some sort of reasonable job security for those that are  classified as an employee, is so undesirable, is the salient fact that those that do not have some sort of security from their employment, thus makes them susceptible to all of the incumbent negatives of not having a consistent income stream, so required, in order to pay all of their ordinary as well as extraordinary bills that come their way.  This signifies that a person that cannot be comfortably secure in their economic freedom is, by any reasonable measure of such, not economically free, and therefore not truly free, as a person.  After all, those that are dependent upon their subsistence via a particular business enterprise, which does not then give them any or much say in their livelihood are thus in constant danger of their own personal “house of cards” collapsing, to their personal damage.

In this world, the best possible way for those that are employed by others, that they can have some semblance of secured employment, is for that government, of, for, and by the people to actually stand up and to represent those people.  The other alternative to a government, that does not care to support or to care for the common people, is for the people, themselves, to join together in unions, so that in concert, they can thus have the power to have a seat at the economic table and thereby receive in return, from their employment, a fair share of the spoils of such, rather than the lion’s share of profits going almost exclusively to upper management, and their investors.

The purpose of good governance, is for that governance to do its fair part on behalf of the people to assist in bringing forth a society that is most beneficial for the whole of the people, rather than favoring some specific subset of such.  In absence of direct action by that government, we find, then, that the government has an absolute obligation to still do its good part to see that those that are employees are fairly represented through, for instance, the aegis of unions or its equivalency – for those that have no voice and no economic security are not free, and will never become free, until they have those very things.

Coming of age and the inconsistency of sex/gender change

The “coming of age” for those that live in the United States, is set at eighteen years of age, of which that coming of age for those that turn 18, signifies that a child has now transitioned to being recognized legally as an adult, with all the incumbent rights, thereof.  The thing is though, within the United States, there are exceptions to this coming of age, of which the most notable exceptions would be the consumption of alcohol, so set at 21, as well as that being the same age set for the smoking of cigarettes and vaping; and in those States which have legalized cannabis, that minimum age is also fixed at 21.  So then, strange as it might so appear, that while 18 is age that one can join the military, and thus fight for their nation and risk their own life in doing so, they aren’t able to legally smoke or drink.

In our modern era, there are a small subset of people that are interested in transitioning from one sex/gender to another one.  As might be expected, the age of consent for doing so, is basically set at the age of 18, but there are exceptions to this age, which thus permits at an even younger age for puberty blockers to be issued for children, as well as for hormone treatment, and there are even recommendations by certain organizations such as The World Professional Association for Transgender Health that as reported by apnews.com, which are now stating that puberty blockers may be appropriate to prescribe as early as the age of 14, and some surgeries should be done as early as the age of 15. 

Whether or not this seems to be sensible, should be answered by the understanding that there is nothing much more that could be more life changing, than the changing of one’s sex/gender so done through the usage of puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and medical surgery.   This would seem to indicate, that we have a great deal of inconsistency in regards to the salient fact that certain aspects of adulthood are not legal until the age of 21, but somehow we find that those that are the greatest proponents of sex/gender change are pushing for the age of consent to be ever lower, for that which would seem to be literally life changing.

Further to the point, to somehow believe that young adults, or those that are not even legally adult, know what is always best or wise for them, seems seriously misplaced.  So too, to believe that everyone within the medical profession always has the best interests in mind for those that they engage with, is also misplaced, as appallingly demonstrated through the typically hidden history of errant human medical experiments or procedures, wittingly or unwittingly performed upon fellow human beings who thus then have suffered from the ill effects of that which harmed them.

The powers that be in America, have demonstrated in recent history, that they believe that those that are legally adults should have some restrictions placed upon them, in regards to their personal choices, so of.  One then would logically think that when it comes to a given person’s sex/gender change, that the Federal government would want to step in and have in place, appropriate restrictions, so done on behalf of these young adults, or soon to be adults, as a sensible protection for them, because the long-term effects of such, positive or negative, is not definitively known.

Placing a political bet on both horses

Although there are a multitude of minor political parties in America, what we so find, is that virtually every elected official, Federal, State, county, or local, is a member in good standing of either the Republican or the Democratic party.  This thus signifies that those that donate to either the Republican or the Democratic party are going to, more times than not, be backing a candidate that has at a minimum, a reasonable shot of being elected; though there are those contests, in which, because of demographics or similar, the candidate so running from just one particular party, is actually a shoo-in to win.  One might think, based upon the above, that those corporations and individuals that make large political donations would, all things being equal, simply back whatever candidate from whatever party that they personally favor, and thus be done with it.  But that, alas, is not how those with deep pockets and are quite savvy, actually prefer to operate, for it has to be noted, that those that only back one horse, while thus reaping the benefits, so of, when their candidate wins, will also correspondingly reap the whirlwind and disadvantages when their candidate loses.

So then, in reality, what happens in the political donation field, with those that are very influential donors, is whether such is out in the open, or far more discreet, is those that make such donations, make it a point to donate to both of the major parties, thus putting them in the good graces of each of the parties; so that, whether the election results or heads or tails, they thus pretty much win, for political actors of all stripes, have an endless need and desire for significant political donations, and seldom turn away anybody or any organization, that ends up putting money into their political bucket.   So too, as in many a thing, those that make sizeable donations, typically have at a minimum, some say to match up with the donations so made – and even if a particular elected official insists that this is not so, we do find, that at least subconsciously, it will play upon that politicians’ mind.  After all, those political figures that are absolute in their unwillingness to bend or to play ball with certain donors, are perhaps susceptible to a more concerted effort to have them be defeated in a future election, which most elected officials, would obviously prefer to avoid, and hence then, they are typically amendable to a reasonable accommodation with major donors, whether publicized or not.

That said, it might be reasonable to surmise, that those that make sizeable donations to both parties, would be seen as being two-faced or hypocritical in their actions, and thus perceived as being opportunistic, or worse.  The reality though, is that money is money, and each party typically believes that they know how to utilize the monies so donated to them, in the more effective manner, and thus do not overly concern themselves with the fact that the other side, also got their fair share, as well.   In short, politics lends itself to strange bedfellows, in which, morals, ethics, and integrity, seem to take a permanent backseat to the exercise of power, be it by those that make the donations, or those that receive such.

Are we mere animals or human beings with a conscience?

Some people are prone to point out that we as human beings are animals; but while that is most certainly true, human beings are more appropriately seen as sentient beings with free will, high intelligence, and a conscience.  That is to say, humans have been gifted with the capacity to understand the ramifications of their decisions and their corresponding actions, as well as intuitively knowing the difference between that which is morally right and that which is morally wrong.

When we study animals in their natural environment, what we so notice is that there are the inevitable battles between the same species of animals in order to have better access and thus to assert their dominance or desire for vital things such as for food, for sex, for territory, and therefore to establish their place in the social hierarchy of their species.  That truly is the nature of the beast, so presented in the natural world, of which, animals have to prove themselves in battle against one another to gain that which they are so determined to have, in which, there are most definitely winners and losers within that domain, and even those then that are the winners, are always susceptible to losing their dominance to another opponent, at any given time.

While we would like to believe that because of our understanding of what is right and what is wrong, that societies are always then built upon the solid foundations, of harmony, justice, fairness, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness; what we so find, though, is that many of humankind’s societies, in actuality, have an uncomfortable amount in common with what we so see in the animal kingdom.  In other words, many a society, is not really based upon fairness and justice, but instead seems to have a lot more in common, with that society being structured around whomever has the dominant control of such, in which these powerful people and dominating institutions seem to bypass good social niceties and replace such with the various guises of the use of force, so as to have their way, and to thereupon get far more than their fair share, from the people, by the threatening of, or by the use of force, directly or indirectly, against them.

So then, when we take the time to study our history, or to fairly evaluate what is actually occurring all around us, we will see, time and time again, that it is governmental force and the power behind such that reflects how the law is truly actuated within this nation and without.  For instance, America is the preeminent military power, asserting its supremacy all over the world, by utilizing a very heavy stick upon recalcitrant countries, so as to have its way; while also displaying the same type of force domestically, through its militarized police force.  So too, the people themselves, in this extremely well-armed country, are prone to dealing with their issues and problems, by the use of force, one upon another, in which, all of this combined, seems to tell the story, that America is not so civilized, but rather, seems to behave more in a manner of an animal trying to exert its control and dominance over others. 

Regrettably, this seems to indicate, that rather than humans using reason, wisdom, intelligence, and one’s good conscience to deal with one another, that in so many respects, all that is often set aside to assert, instead, one’s dominance of the other, much like we so see in the animal kingdom.

Vice taxes

A significant portion of the citizens of America, have a propensity to want to spend part of their money upon vices, of all sorts, such as prostitution, illegal drugs, lottery tickets, gambling, and alcohol, in which revenues are thus collected for the government through an implemented excise tax by the respective Federal and State authorities upon those vices which have been legalized within America and are subject to that tax.  The thing is, though, while it is estimated that billions of dollars are collected by those Federal and State agencies upon those vices which have been legalized and regulated, there is a significant portion of monies, of the illegal drug trade, along with prostitution, and various other vices, in which, because these are not legal or have been ignored, aren’t taxed at all. 

The first mistake that this government makes is that when a certain percentage of the population, for whatever reason, indulges in vices such as illegal drugs, and of which, the policing arm of the state, seems incapable of interdicting such to any meaningful extent, is that, not only will this type of illicit business continue, but because this underground economy, isn’t taxed upon the revenues that they are so generating, which probably amounts to billions upon billions of dollars, what we so have, is the tax paying public being stuck, then, with the considerable expenses so generated to police such, without much benefit incurring to that general public, which thus amounts to being the second mistake,

Whether or not this government, desires to continue to put together well-meaning but simple messages, such as “just say no,” or whether this government, will admit that after fifty years of futility in a drug war, which has been an unmitigated failure – that logically then needs to be answered with some sensibility, is that it has to be admitted that we are at that decision point, of which the decision to be made seems pretty straightforward. That is to say, it would probably behoove this government to decide to legalize and then to regulate a significant portion of the illicit drugs so being currently consumed within America, and then to subject such to an appropriate vice tax – much as we have so seen with legalized marijuana in specific States.

The advantage of adding more items subject to vice taxes, is first of all, the added revenue from the updated list of those vices that these people so indulge in, and the second benefit, is that by legalizing that which is current illegal, it thus means that the businesses that manufacture and then distribute these now legalized drugs, would be subject to all the taxation as well as regulations that corporations must so adhere to, in order to do business.

Of course, there are going to be a whole lot of people, that will decry the legalizing of what they perceive to be dangerous drugs – but, what of it; for the bottom line is that whatever America is currently doing has not worked and in all probability is never going to work.  So too, people’s bodies are their own, and if they so desire to utilize substances which may be detrimental to them -- seems to be by all rights, their own personal choice, and the only real question, then, is whether this government wishes to tax them for thus having that privilege bestowed upon them.

Is this a government by the people or by the rich?

It’s important to look at society as it really is, as contrasted to simply blithely believing whatever that is being sold to the American public.  While America loves to extol the virtues of its capitalism as well as the inherent greatness of its institutions, the bottom line is that a nation should be evaluated upon how its people, in whole, are actually doing.  Further to the point, the direction that this nation is going in, reflects whether that nation is progressing or regressing in its affairs.  So then, what we so find is that in the 21st century, we have distinctly moved into a new gilded age, in which, those that are at the elite top in wealth, have all of the wonderful benefits and accouterments exclusively attached to their respective names and businesses; whereas, those that represent the middle class of America, find themselves, instead, working ever harder to just maintain their position, and are thus ever more vulnerable to losing their respected status, to those that have relentlessly squeezed them from it.

Now then, since there are so few that have so much, and because there are so many, that don’t have all that much, one would think that in a governance in which the people clearly have the vote, and of which, in theory, the representatives of those people, have the people’s best interests in mind, that this government would make it its point and principle to thus utilize its power and its authority to see that the people got their fair benefits, and lived thus within a construct in which they would always have fair opportunity, and equal justice.  Yet, that is seldom the case, in America; for the decisions made at the highest echelons of governance, at the present time, consistently match up well with the actual desires of the rich and powerful, while leaving those without such access to that power and influence, with nothing but scraps to live upon, instead.

The upshot is that vote or no vote, democracy or no democracy, progressive taxation or not, is that our eyes do not deceive us, for a significant portion of Americans have to continually tighten their belts, as well as to suffer from their lack of fair opportunity, debilitating discrimination, unsecure employment, poor educational facilities, and a general hopelessness that their lot will not soon improve for them, or for their progeny.  The fault for this being the present case, lies at the feet of our governance, for whenever that governance favors the rich, connected, and powerful and thus kowtows to their desires – then all those that are not part of that favored class, will suffer the effects of being cheated out of their fair share.

The only entity that could conceivably match up well against the rich and powerful, is actually a strong and determined central government, and when that government consistently acts at the behest of those that are the rich and powerful, then there is little or no hope for the improvement of the conditions of the people, in whole. Regrettably, in this nation, we find that so many of those in government, while certainly talking a good game, have with their subsequent actions, fairly reflected that they have sold the people out, and done so, deliberately, as well as for their own personal benefit.

What you desire and what you really need are not the same thing

In certain conversations, there are plenty of people, that will tell you all about the things that they “need” – without really understanding that in a lot of instances what they really need seems to reflect more what they really desire, instead.  There is a distinct difference between our needs, such as food, water, shelter, free will, independent thought, and the right to be about our business – as compared to desires, such as to have a really nice home, a comfortable life, a nice car, a satisfying job, good social status, as well as us wanting plenty of other various material things.  So then, desires and needs are not the same thing, of which, it is important that in our governance, that our legislators make it a point to focus upon helping to provide us with or secure for us, those vital things which represent our needs, and hence, leave that which are actually desires, to our own volition and responsibility.

A person’s reach should exceed their grasp, for it is in the trying that we are best able to accomplish those things which are of importance to us.  Yet, fundamentally, what we are so often reaching out for, is typically our desires, which perhaps we have re-configured as representing our needs,  thereby leading to a lot of people suffering from the inevitable frustration when they don’t have all of their desires met to their lasting satisfaction.  Rather, the first order of business in life, is to see that our needs are being met – and then, after that, to go after our desires, to our heart’s content.

So then, a lot of the troubles that people experience in life, has often a lot to do with confusing one’s desires with one’s needs, and therefore, because people aren’t getting what they claim that they must have, they then are susceptible to taking actions or making decisions which may have damaging aspects within them, such as in those that overspend on unnecessary but desirable material things, perhaps because they feel that in order to maintain their social status or its equivalency, that this is pretty much mandated for them to do; forgetting though that monies spent for that which is desirable, but not really needed, can play havoc upon a person’s budget as well as impacting negatively monies so needed, for those necessary things.

Indeed, when people take the time to truly reflect upon their lives, and thereby are honest with themselves, they will thus find that the confusion between desires and needs is something that they need to forthrightly address – especially in the recognition that commercial enterprises along with the advertising that they utilize is structured to entice consumers, of which, these companies are very good at exploiting the vulnerabilities that so many of us are vulnerable to.  That is why, it’s important to understand that our first order of business is to concentrate upon seeing that our real needs are met, and understanding then that while desires have their place, we shouldn’t though permit those desires to overtake our good common sense, leading thus to our own destruction or regret.