Why Not Try Something Productive?

Forty years ago Americans walked on the moon. The world watched in awe. It was a technological triumph beyond comprehension. Everyone on the planet, even our acknowledged adversaries in the Soviet Union and China, set aside their differences and on that day, for a brief moment, global harmony was realized. We were all citizens of the world basking in man's achievements, all members of the same human race. American technology and science had proved that anything was possible.

An extraordinary by-product of the space program was the creation of a multitude of new technologies instrumental in the development of nearly every major product used today. Many of the innovations in data processing, communications, medical instruments, power generation and other life improving advances had their genesis in man's endeavors to explore space. Products generated from American initiative and ingenuity were distributed throughout the world, leading to unprecedented gains in global living standards that benefitted all mankind.


But today it seems that nothing is possible. Despite the technological progress of the last four decades, the common accord that was briefly enjoyed by the people of the world as the space program reached its zenith quickly dissipated as earthly realities and base human instincts reclaimed their natural order. Human beings returned to the petty jealousies, irrational hatred's and inhuman atrocities against others that have long been commonplace. Powerful Western countries that advocate human rights as well as global organizations chartered to bring peace and stability to area's of conflict idly stand by while people continue to withdraw into the cultural, religious and tribal shells that are tearing the world apart.


Within many nations, changing demographics and widening political differences among diverse ethnic groups and ideological opponents is creating intolerance, lack of respect for others and dangerous polarization of civilized societies. These divisions are now being compounded by the inevitable implosion of global financial markets and associated collapse in economic activity caused by out of control accumulation of massive debt leverage and imprudent speculation. Naturally this is leading to rising business failures, increased unemployment, exploding government budget deficits, and dangerously threatening the system of international commerce and global capital flows.


The world is in a self-reinforcing downward spiral that will lead to disastrous consequences unless rational action taken by responsible government's soon prevail. Unfortunately, most of the policy actions taken to date by major governments have been the wrong ones, particularly in the United States. Boosting unemployment spending and providing for the basic needs of those displaced by business failures and lay-offs is certainly required. But massive spending programs to fund bail-outs, nationalization of industries and relief to folks who made bad decisions is doomed to failure. Trying to solve a problem created by too much debt with enormous amounts of more debt will not work.


Perhaps a bold challenge to all industrial countries of the world to initiate a quest for new scientific and technological achievements would wake up the entrepreneurial and creative hormones, halt the economic stupor and stimulate a vigorous expansion of discovery and invention. Every major power on earth has an educated, rational nucleus of citizens that could be instrumental in joining together in a global mission that could again challenge all of the globe's people to work together to make the world a better place.

In this time of global economic adversity, instead of throwing massive amounts of money down the drain to support imprudent investors, indebted consumers and insolvent financial institutions at the expense of responsible and prudent citizens, government leaders could challenge the industrial world to launch a cooperative new venture to explore the unknown, renew our efforts to conquer the solar system, and in the process generate meaningful new jobs throughout the world, create new technologies that advance global standards of living, and maybe generate international support, teamwork and progress through common interests. Maybe it is possible a joint effort of the scientific communities of each country that has the ability to contribute to renew the exploration of space could work such a miracle.

Yes, It Can Happen Here

In any society, no matter how advanced, complacency and ignorance can both be fatal to survival. Some Americans seem to believe our country is too strong and powerful to ever be vanquished and subjugated by foreign aggressors. Others believe that committed adversaries intent on destroying our way of life either do not exist or can be appeased through dialogue and negotiation. These folks see no need to spend our resources on developing and maintaining a strong defense capability.

Perhaps they are not aware of human history, and the part luck played in several turning points of military conflict. In June of 1942, if American scout planes had not spotted the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway before their scout planes found ours, we would all be speaking Japanese today. If Adolf Hitler had focused on defeating Great Britain rather than launching an attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, creating a disastrous two front war, perhaps we would all now be speaking German.

Throughout history the centers of power and influence have always been changing. Today the predominance of the United States is arguably on the wane as China, India and Russia are rapidly developing into formidable competitors, both militarily and economically. Combine that with the fact Europe spends very little on defense, is becoming muslimized and cannot defend itself. Their only option if threatened is to capitulate to external or internal threats unless the United States comes to their rescue as in the past.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the rise of militant Islam has created a much more dangerous world than we have encountered before, whether the threat be state sponsored or contained in difficult to identify and locate terrorist organizations. The United States today clearly confronts risks to our security that our growing more perilous by the day, and complacency and denial of these threats will only ensure that we do not survive the inevitable conflict. We cannot afford to leave our future to the fortunes of chance. We must continue to face reality, and be prepared. We can only hope the pacifists in Washington wake up to the ways of the real world before it is too late.

Reward The Irresponsible, Punish The Prudent

The primary problem of American government as it functions (or disfunctions) today is that politicians routinely facilitate and encourage the unprincipled and the irresponsible while punishing the honest and the prudent. Unfortunately, one thing that never receives any consideration during deliberations in Congress is whether new legislation will be fair and equitable to the public in general rather than serving to benefit specific interest groups. The primary focus is typically to reward particular lobbies and constituents rather than address real problems faced by the citizenry.

Providing incentives and subsidies that affect the few is certainly not fair to everyone, particularly when that action encourages or rewards irresponsible behavior to the detriment of the far greater number of people who act responsibly. Both the enormous government bail-out of the financial system and the massive stimulus program are examples of government actions that are not fair and equitable to the majority of Americans.

The economic problems we face today are the result of an outrageously excessive amount of debt created with the active support of our monetary authorities and the explicit encouragement of elected representatives in Congress. The use of borrowed money that was easily obtainable with favorable payment terms caused the price of assets throughout the economy to rise to unsustainable levels, particularly real estate.

Despite the plunge in prices of homes and other assets, prices still remain too high. Prices must fall to levels that clear the market and naturally balance supply and demand before sustainable economic progress can resume. Providing tax incentives and other targeted stimulus with taxpayer dollars to rescue reckless financial institutions and consumers will result in the maintenance of prices at current inflated levels, causing any bounce from this spending to be short-lived, thereby wasting the massive amounts of money spent on these programs.

Most importantly, the bail-out and stimulus plans do not pass the test of fairness and equity for the majority of citizens. For example, the intent of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to rescue the mortgage market is to limit losses on loans made by financial institutions and reduce the prospect of foreclosure for those who paid too much for property by supporting prices above the current real market. This does nothing but reward those who irresponsibly played this game, often because they greedily assumed they were guaranteed to make a profit, while punishing the far greater number of Americans who prudently refrained from these irrational transactions. The response by Congress to the damage caused by it's own mindless policies does nothing but keep prices too high for those who desire to buy a home at a rational price, ensuring that the crisis will be prolonged much longer than necessary and that all the taxpayer dollars carelessly tossed to financial institutions will be gone forever.

Beltway Bandits

by Slugzilla


They promise prosperity, they promise great wealth.
They promise security, they promise good health.
They promise us everything money can buy,
But they never come through, it's always a lie.

They claim they are saints, their opponents are liars.
But they're nothing more than thieves for hire.
Power and wealth are their reason for being.
Bribes and corruption are what they believe in.

Avarice and duplicity rule the day.
America is in a state of decay.
Greed is a virtue, Honesty's a sin.
The old values are gone, decadence is in.

They live like kings, and we pay the receipt.
Their lives are nothing but constant deceit.
Pretending to have our interests at heart.
Acting like they care is the easiest part.

The political lizard's, it's plain to see,
Take care of themselves, not you and me.
Pork barrel politics is the name of the game.
It's out of control, there is no shame.

They lie to the public about the course they'll chart.
They say they'll unite us, but they tear us apart.
There is too much hatred, too much hostility.
Too much anger, threatening our liberty.

Throughout all our history men have given their lives,
To keep us all safe, to make sure we thrive.
Our founding fathers took many great risks,
For liberty and justice, not a government like this.

They raise our taxes til' the money's all gone,
Then find someone else to blame it all on.
Their legacy's a bill our children must pay.
May justice be served come judgment day.


It's all bullshit, nothing but lies.
We're beginning to see, we're opening our eyes.
Communities go under, factories die.
Jobs disappear, debts multiply.
Families suffer, and people cry.
But the Bandits in Congress are living high.