As Baltimore Burns

Here are links to my video series on Race Relations with Joseph Wood, Deputy Secretary of State for the state of Arkansas.  Watching all three would be an investment, but one you might want to make now given recent events.  If you only watch one, watch the first link below, which is on "Solutions".  But the second link is about our "Current Situation" and the third is on "The History".  Joseph is great in all three and now might be a great time to dive deep and watch all three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kVsN7TO-XU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kl152zvFvo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwcJ0QW_D3U

Topple the 1%? Really?

Topple the 1%, That’s Your Strategy?

The View from the Middle

I’m really tired of the new politics.  It seems as if politicians don’t even care about laying out a platform for what they think is good for America.  They are only looking for focus group tested slogans that will win them votes.  President Obama, for example, ran on “Hope and Change”.  Did anyone know what the heck that meant?  And, if what we have today is Hope and Change, I want the old days of Ronald Reagan back.

The latest lab tested catchphrase is “Topple the 1%”.  It appeals to anyone who hasn’t done well over the last six years.  These are people who are not working or who have seen their take-home pay reduced, and unfortunately that represents a lot of people these days.  Down deep they are angry, and they would love to find a punching bag they can use to take out their frustrations.  This slogan gives them that target.

And it would probably work in terms of closing the wealth gap, which I agree has gotten too large in the US.  If the 1% gets poorer and the 99% stays the same, the wealth gap will get smaller, but no one’s life would get any better.  In fact we would all probably be much worse off.

If Hillary, or any President, would decide that the way to close the wealth gap was to punish the 1% (which, by the way, I am not a part of) he or she would discovery some disturbing realities.  We would all find out that these 1%’ers spend a bunch of money that stimulates the economy. When that spending declines, so would the demand that stimulates the economy and creates jobs.

We would also find that these 1%’ers employ lots of people, and if our government would decide to penalize them, it would likely result in a reduction in the people they employ.  In the end we would all experience the wisdom of the old adage, “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”  But we must ask ourselves, why does anyone have to be punished to close the wealth gap?  Instead of pulling the top level of earners down, why don't we encourage things that will lift the lower 99% up?

For example, did you know that we have lost over 8 million manufacturing jobs in the United States since our peak in 1980?  And almost 6 million of that 8 million has been lost just since 2000.  Getting just half of these jobs back would cut our unemployment rate in half.

And these aren’t minimum wage jobs either.  The average manufacturing job in the United States is right at $20 per hour.  With just a little over time, that job will generate a nice $50,000 a year job for anyone who has it.  This would put $200 billion into the hands of American workers to be spent, thus stimulating the economy, and to be taxed, thus reducing our deficit.

The point is we need politicians who are looking to make people’s lives better – all people, not just the wealthy and not just the poor.  When we hear politicians talk about “toppling” anyone, we should be skeptical.  Their jobs should not be about hindering or hobbling anyone, even if that makes many of the rest of us feel better.  We need leaders who’s goal is to lift people up, and my example above is just a small piece of what could be done if we ever got Washington turned around.

So, don’t fall for the clever slogan.  Don’t listen to the focus group tested catchphrase.  Our votes should be aimed at putting positive people in Washington who are after all of our best interests.  We can reduce the wealth gap, but we need to do it by lifting up we the 99%’ers.

Ding Dong Harry Reid is Gone!

The View from the Middle

For me, 2016 can’t come soon enough, and it has nothing to do with the Presidential elections.  It’s because Harry Reid, the most divisive, dishonest, hypocritical person in Washington DC will be retiring.  And when you are the most divisive, dishonest and hypocritical person in DC, that qualifies you for the title of “most despicable” person worldwide.  In fact, the next Despicable Me animated movie may have to pay royalties to Dirty Harry.

So, you ask, what are his qualifications for this prestigious title?  First, He lied to Congress and the American people when he said that Mitt Romney hadn’t paid taxes for ten years.  This was certainly a distraction in the 2012 elections and may have cost Romney the Presidency.  Now, he not only admits his lie, but he actually seems to be proud of it?  To quote Dirty Harry, “Well, he didn’t get elected, did he?”  I guess Harry is suggesting that lying and cheating are fine as long as HE get’s his way.  Now that’s a lesson we want all of our children to learn, isn’t it?  Maybe Harry should write children’s books for the soon to be incarcerated. 

He’s also a world-class hypocrite.  Before he was the Majority Leader in the Senate, the Republicans suggested changing the filibuster proof voting rule in the Senate (60 of 100 votes to pass a bill).  Harry Reid screamed in agony and suggested that would be “the death of democracy” in the Senate.  So what did Dirty Harry do when he became the Majority Leader?  First, he used the reconciliation rule improperly to pass the most important legislation since Social Security, Obamacare.  He then actually changed the Senate rules to allow a simple majority vote to confirm judicial appointees.  I guess it’s only the death of democracy if someone else does it.

Finally, he is a top-notch bully and divider.  He ran the Senate for six years to intentionally eliminate or at least minimize the voice of the minority party.  He eliminated honest debate over huge issues and protected the President from having to choose between signing or vetoing bills by refusing to bring those bills up for votes.  And just recently he was asked what he thought of the Republican candidates for President, to which he answered, “I don’t care, they’re all losers.”  Now, doesn’t that sound like a guy who is willing to reach across the aisle and work for the good of the country?  And this guy was the majority leader?

Now Harry is retiring and doing the country a favor, but there are others who will gladly step in and replace Dirty Harry as “most despicable”.  Nancy Pelosi comes to mind.  She was already rivaling Harry in her position as Speaker of the House, before the country had the opportunity to boot her out of that position by putting a Republican majority in the House.  It took a national effort, however, to do something that the people of California just can’t figure out.

But the point of this piece is to remind the people of this country that we have to get rid of the extreme, partisan and uncompromising people in Washington.  And if we can’t get ourselves to vote these “high name recognition” idiots out of office, the best way to do it is through term limits.

We should limit Congressmen and women and Senators to 12 years in office.  That is six terms in the House and two terms in the Senate.  If these people can’t get their agenda accomplished in 12 years, it’s time they move on before they get corrupted by special interest groups and the absolutely obscene amounts of our money that they spend (squander).  Before term limits are in place, however, I encourage everyone to self-limit these extremists by voting them out of office.  Take back the power from these fringe nut cases and give it back to the people, which will enrich the lives of all Americans.