Many of our predicaments are a result of old practices that have become entrenched in our way of addressing issues. It's these old practices that are flies and stand in the way of progressing in our new world. Here's how we can change our course.
Why are we in the Mideast? Oil. We’re spending money on people who don’t want us because we’re in their lands with our military. Sure, we’re chasing those that wish us ill. But not everyone has those sentiments, why the Arab world? Get off oil, get out of the Mideast. Why are we considered hypocrites in the Mideast? Because we support dictatorships and a conflicting Zionist fantasy that inflamed the indigenous people who are tribal---not introspective as to why it all happened. Stop supporting dictators and Zionist agendas when they inherently conflict with human rights. Support Israel’s right to exist as a de facto matter and provide support should they become threatened. But stop enabling their fanaticism at our expense; it’s part of our flies. Get off oil by exploring alternative energy resources. But we won’t because we’re beholden to the big oil lobby; flies. Something has to change. And if we don’t want to change because we’re in bed with oil, then don’t expect things to get better in the Mideast department.
Review military commitments and remove the necessity of having to defend our actions. Maybe we’re defending some old indefensible position. Instead, invest in the education of the people we combat. They have human universals too. I’m sure they would rather feed their people, take Viagra, have a few laughs, and be left to their own cultures. If they don’t like their politics, it should be up to them to revolt just as we did 250 years ago. We invested in Germany and Japan after the war; they’re now reliable partners. Do we have to wait for a war to help others? But flaunting our disregard for other’s concerns and issues and beating our chests isn’t going win a lot of cooperation. Nineteen fanatics killing 3000 people and changing our behavior into one of paranoia is too easy not to happen again, but a different way. We will never be 100% secure, but we can try to minimize our enemies if we try to educate others for their, and ultimately, all our benefit. They have flies too.
We need infrastructure investment. Deterioration and needed maintenance is timeless regardless of our economic climate. If a bridge fails, are we to return to row boats to get across? We mustn’t stand still because our politics are transient---decay is not. Our population is growing, it can’t be stopped. Roads and bridges need expansion to accommodate this growth. These improvements create jobs; jobs increase tax evenues and prosperity which is viral. Confidence will return when increased employment returns; not when tax breaks only benefit a few. Increased employment IS the tide that raises all boats. Focus on job creation; the rest will fall into place. We’ve been in this position before. We learned that the massive stimulus of a war effort set the stage for emergence from a depression and got the ball rolling for growth. Let’s have a war on decaying and outdated infrastructure.
Better to have more people paying taxes than a few paying less. More people paying taxes ultimately puts less pressure on some to pay more. But a realistic tax structure with a realistic cost is necessary to provide services for a strong society. If we cheat on the foundation, our house will fail. Holding on to ideological chants of smaller government is arbitrary and ignores what might be required to solve problems. We need whatever solves problems. You’re in an emergency room with uncontrollable bleeding. Do you discuss how you’re going to pay for treatment first while the patient dies? Failure to give up the ideology will produce undesirable results.
Increase liquidity for home buyers. This removes the overhang of unsold units which will return equilibrium in supply and demand and stabilize prices. Just the rich or those who conform to documented lending standards shouldn’t be the only ones who are able to buy houses creating an imbalance on the demand side. It’s not the fabric of our country when a significant portion of our citizens are self employed by entrepreneurial design and all cannot conform to one size fits all lending standards. If someone has 20% to put down and has good credit—I would have confidence that that person will be more inclined to protect their investment, which has worked before; better than the one putting 0% down as part of a program instituted merely for banker’s greed. Throwing out the baby with the bath water as a kneejerk reaction to the misunderstood subprime fiasco will not solve our housing problem. There are willing buyers out there but they are being discriminated against because they can’t conform to lender’s onerous standards. Remember, overly aggressive lending practices by greedy bankers could have been reigned in to prevent the overheating; instead, Lehman went under and the banking system froze creating a liquidity crisis. It persists to this day. Think of changing it. Housing will not recover fast enough by current standards. Austerity never created a job; it only provides more to the less needy and less to the more needy. Islands of prosperity in a sea of misery isn’t a pretty picture.
I would invest in research whatever the need be; medical, energy, communication, technology. It creates jobs and new fields of commerce. Just look at what the space program precipitated.
Re examine entitlement programs for actual reality i.e. age requirements and phase them over time to adjust for new actuarial tables. Increase competition in healthcare and drug supplies. Relieve business of some of the burden of recoupment of research via tax incentives. Lower the risk and cost of drug development with a stimulus or a tax cut. Make foreign drugs available at less cost---foreigners use them. But we continue to protect drug companies---more flies. Competitively bid providers throughout 50 states, not one provider having a monopoly in each. Explore a public option without the ideological bent to protecting the special interests of the providers, which eliminates competition. But we know the lobbyists protect that turf; flies, flies, flies. Nevertheless, the goal should be that all if not most are covered. Other countries do it. And don’t tell me our medical care will suffer; because we’re not number one on the life expectancy list. The quality of a society is how it cares for all its citizens, not who has benefitted most from opportunities at the expense of others. No one begrudges the Trumps, Buffets, Gates’ billions, it fuels the American dream; but it’s obnoxious that they made their fortunes from those that needed their products, and the “winners” can’t give back to maintain the fabric of their once great society. Taxes paid by the wealthy should go for more than just armies or what they can’t pay provide.
Invest in the education of our workforce. Admit immigrants who will do the low paying jobs we shouldn’t be doing. Picking lettuce shouldn’t be an American’s aspiration to feed one’s family. I thought we strived to be better than that when the middle class was thriving after WWII. Now there is no middle class. Either you have, or you don’t. And if you have, apparently owning the vote to bury the don’ts has become a goal.
Solve the immigration issue without penalties because we failed to develop a meaningful policy for years. Immigration is a natural migration of man on this earth seeking to fill needs and opportunities created in the destination country. Deep down they’re people like us. They share the same human universal needs. Assimilate them into our society as we have with the millions before them that have contributed to our greatness. They’ll pay taxes, require goods and services, contribute just like those before them. Don’t fear that they look different or have different cultures---they’re not the first to experience labeling and scapegoating. If there are issues with security, deal with them. But to fence in our country would cede control to the xenophobes---those who see their white supremacy threatened and who have contributed little to the country. We have police forces. Let them do their jobs. Outsource low paying manufacturing jobs to other countries so they can prosper too—not rely on a deflated dollar to increase our international trade. Anybody with a job gives them a sense of self worth. It goes a long way to peace.
Invest in our education to have a more competitive workforce doing higher paying jobs; not try to compete by lowering our wages. An educated society contributes to the success of a country. The more suggestions in the box the greater the vibrancy of a country---not simply following groupthink orders of a few. Higher wages increase tax revenues. Cutting taxes doesn’t increase jobs. It’s been proven as a hoped for, unreliable, trickledown dream that only benefits the wealthy---don’t fall for them telling you otherwise. How many times must we fall for this lie? One can’t be out of work and expected to pay the bills. So merely cutting expenses only satisfies one side of the budget equation. It doesn’t address increasing revenues. We can do more than chew gum at the same time. Directing investment in things that result in a better life will result in a fairer economic environment, not just for the few who can pay. If business increases then those wanting more of the pie via lower taxes will benefit from increased sales. No one ever got poor paying taxes. How much is enough? Why should sacrifice only apply to the disadvantaged ones who need it most because the wealthy are resentful and look down on those with lesser opportunities like handouts?
If we have a drug problem, let’s make a war against it; but not between each other. Legalize pot, destigmatize its allure, tax it, grow a better, safer, product; don’t waste money fighting it. Build and maintain fewer prisons, costing less in the long run. Let’s fight it with education and jobs that give people meaning and contribute to life; not that they should be labeled a burden on society because we think it’s their problem and just incarcerate them. They weren’t born that way. But some of society’s actions have had undesirable consequences that cost more in the long run than early or rehab education. This requires a change in mindset. The flies are big here.
Address climate change and earth’s resources. Ignoring it will not make it go away. It’s not a matter of, IF. Looming on the horizon is now to what degree we will be affected by it. Rising sea levels and temperature changes, regardless of cause, don’t have to be exacerbated, and affect not only our country, but what affects others, because of the size of the globe, will eventually affect us one way or the other. We can’t live in a hermetically sealed environment. We can’t build levies, of any sort, around our country. We should learn how to make it the best for all. Air and water quality do not respect boundaries or discriminate against who they affect.
Stop the polarizing. If you don’t like the president’s views, offer workable compromises as has been done and succeeded in the past; not ideological dogma and threats to destroy the system. Working out problems, offering good workable alternative ideas is what made this country great and our system the best in the world. We had results to show for it. What do we have to show for today’s efforts but divisive, self serving, dogma that propel our country into unchartered territory because the starting point for negotiation ending up with unsatisfying compromises is so extreme to begin with. But many don’t like the president for what they think he is; a darker skinned man than their white skin that symbolizes the bigotry they grew up with and hold on to. It’s code for racism that the Libertarians and Tea party/ Republicans also hide behind “property rights”; that a property owner can exclude anybody he pleases, even in violation of the Civil Rights Laws; because it’s his property. And their mission is to insure his presidency accomplishes little so they can use its failure as reason to offer their self serving agenda as the alternative remedy. Remember, it’s their agenda since 2000 that got us into our dilemma of unpaid war debts, high unemployment, no surplus funds, and neglected infrastructure. Feeding the flies by returning to their leadership will spell further distress. This wishing and enabling failure is un-American. Our system says, majority rules; not minority terrorists control.
The source of our solutions should be the recognition of human rights applying to all. This doesn’t mean the perpetuation of existing, discriminating dogma that favors one over another. This is where the flies are biggest.
How do we personally solve problems? We look at the source of the conflict. We have to be honest; not just ideologically mold the solution whereby we either bully it, which will simply be rechanneling the problem to something else, or we can relieve the tension creating the issue and diffuse the situation. We have to look at traditional beliefs that continue and exacerbate old problems. Pragmatism must prevail in the light many of our issues have been created by ancient misconceptions and practices. It can’t be done overnight. But recognizing the source should precipitate a course correction. There’s work to do; not just an unrealistic hope for a return to the past, but fixing our future.
No Flies !
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