Friday, January 30, 2009

Call me Paranoid!

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So, we are sending more of our tax dollars into oblivion huh? Well I'm not surprised. Of course, since I have four children, I imagine I will get a pretty good chunk of change. But come on... will someone please tell me how spending another 80+ Billion of our hard earned tax dollars is a "Change"? George W. Bush did this too, and still, here we are. I got over $4,000 from Bush's stimulus package, because of the size of our family. That was nice, but there is a price to pay that most people don't think about. Here are a few of the things we as Americans are going to lose if this monetary free for all continues.

-Our taxes will continue to increase over time giving us less buying and saving power.
-We will move to a more Socialist economy/government (that is a no brainer).
-The freedom loving, self sufficient American mentality that grew this nation into what it is will become a more Government needy Society.
-Americans will take less risk.
-Americans will lose their motivation to challenge the government, because they will not only become dependant on it, but the government will become so big that we will no longer be able to hold the system accountable to its constituents. This is already taking place. That is why corruption is becoming more prevalent.
-We will spend the stimulus money on consumable stuff, perpetuating our consumeristic society, and decreasing our savings accounts. As a result, this will only mask our economic problems.
-Until America rebuilds our manufacturing base and brings good paying jobs back to America, we will continue to struggle. People will continue to lose jobs, lose homes , and file bankruptcy.

To sum this up, I fervently believe that financial and taxpayer bailouts are only a band aid, that will not result in a long term economic fix. I am not an economist. But I have read that economists overwhelmingly are opposed to bail outs as an economic fix. So then I have to ask; Why are we doing this to our country? Surely the politicians know that our children will have a huge bill to pay if this continues. Are they motivated by short term fixes or long term agendas? Call me paranoid, but something isn't right here!

Friday, January 16, 2009

What is wrong with this picture?

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The Illinois scandal created by Rod Blagojevich, the financial thievery by Bernard Madoff, and now the Satyam billion dollar scam is definitely a sign of the times. But their is a striking difference in the way America and India have approached these public officials. For several weeks, Rod Blag as he is called, was allowed to run free, make a Senate appointment and arrogantly run wild like a child who is without discipline. Bernard Madoff, continues to be out on bail even though there are signs that he is transferring his assets. But in India, former Chairman Raju and CFO Vadlamani were immediately brought to prison after their arrest. Wow! What a contrast.

Don't get me wrong; I believe in the right of innocent until proven guilty. But come on! Our political correctness and lack of decisive criminal justice is giving the future corporate criminals of America the wrong message. Our justice system must make a stronger statement about how it is going to handle corporate and political criminals. These folks are embezzling family fortunes, entrenching political corruption, and swindling the retirement funds of thousands of people. They are common thieves and thugs and should be treated as such. Why are we delaying justice with Rod Blag? Why is Madoff allowed to run free? Why can't we bag those guys, lock em up and fast forward the judicial process? We can get to the parking ticket and misdemeanor cases later! I think we could make a strong statement to corporate criminals if we the people chased them down like the people in India! Or how about cutting their thieving hands off like they do in the Middle east? In India, the police were forcing themselves through the angry mob of outraged citizens for gods sake!

So what is wrong with this picture? Are we that apathetic about issues of morality and corporate crime? Or do the schemes run deeper than what meets the eye? What I want to know is; How many politicians and executives are rushing to clear their names before the witch hunt begins? How many "Deals" are the prosecutors making with other high level execs? Obviously, there are a lot of unanswered questions. But maybe what is wrong with this picture has more to do with a MUCH LARGER group of corporate criminals than civic apathy!