The Obama administration has been in charge of the country for almost four years now. Their policies have been in place and are being implemented across the country.
They have expanded the unemployment benefit period to 99 weeks (because they haven't created jobs for people to fill).
They have expanded the welfare rolls and relaxed the requirements for receiving the benefits.
They are expanding the food stamp program even though the current program is filled with fraud with people using the stamps (actually a credit card to appear like they aren't on food stamps) for bar visits, lap dances, cigarettes, alcohol.
It seems to be the government is following the Obama directives that are creating a dependent state.
Now commercials and statements by the administration reveal the reason behind all these policies.
One in Six Americans are at the poverty level. One in Six Americans go to bed hungry. We are a starving, jobless, hopeless society.
Under President Bush we were prosperous, proud, a strong people who survived the 911 attacks with national dignity and pride. We were self-sufficient.
There was a down-turn toward the end of Bush's administration. That down-turn was because of the world-wide recession that was just beginning to appear on the horizon. Candidate Obama blamed President Bush for the whole problem. Now, President Obama is saying this same world-wide recession that President Bush faced is beyond even his own control. By his own words President Obama is saying the economic mess is beyond presidential control -- his or his predecessor!
Gee - it wasn't President Bush's fault!!!!!!!
Under President Obama America has changed. We are a lethargic, hopeless, demoralized people. Instead of succeeding we are failing. Our sources of wealth are no longer there. Our homes are worth less than we paid for them, our stock funds have lost fortunes not created them and our savings accounts are drained. Instead of adult children helping our aging parents they are living off their parents at home at the age of 26 and beyond. When in America's history has the norm been 'you are a dependent child at the age of 26'? Really? Another four years of Obama and the new norm will be: 'I'm 50 and my parents don't allow me out after dark'.
What a mess. Under President Obama America has declined. We are no longer a successful nation but according to the liberals in charge we are a starving dependent nation.
Truly President Obama's is a failed presidency.
We are out of hope, out of cash, out of food and dependent on a broke government to get us out of his mess.
It is time for change.
America and socialism doesn't work, and America is the world's only hope.
Let's go back to prosperity - it is our only hope for our future!! And let us realize our Manifest Destiny and lead the world out of the mess communist, socialist, and atheist governments have put us in.
Food for thought in a starving America!
Psalm 139:16b (NIV)
Friday, August 31, 2012
How liberals destroy the human spirit
The human spirit is described as indomitable.
The human spirit functions in individuals to overcome circumstances that should overwhelm them. The Afghanistan War veterans returning with limbs blown off from exploding IUDs are perfect examples of our indomitable spirits.
We climb mountains, challenge nature and soar to the moon because our spirit strives to achieve. We dream dreams, create inventions, solve problems, and stretch the boundaries of science, technology, and knowledge.
The sky is the limit -- no, wait -- to infinity and beyond! There is no limit to what the human spirit can achieve.
So, what could possibly kill the human spirit. Adversity doesn't, problems don't, impossible situations don't.
Complacency and dependency are the death knell of the human spirit. Don't worry we'll do it for you, don't worry you didn't succeed but you tried, one can't be expected to succeed, we'll take care of you.
Thinking of ourselves as dependent, unable to overcome our situations, incapable of rising above our situations is what destroys us.
I blame liberal thinking and the government programs it spawns that is destroying our spirit.
When liberals think keeping citizens on unemployment is the answer instead of allowing our free enterprise system to create jobs for them - that is demoralizing.
When liberals think expanding food stamps programs to include people going to bars - that is demoralizing.
When liberals destroy the economy to the point where men and women can't find work - that is demoralizing.
When children are passed through grade after grade and cannot read, write or do math at even elementary levels - that is demoralizing.
When those who do succeed in college finally graduate they must accept service level jobs because their degree is useless - that is demoralizing.
When one in six, that's (One in Six) people in America are in poverty and starving - that's demoralizing.
Take away people's ability to work and you take away their dignity.
Take away people's ability to feed their families and you take away their pride.
Take away people's ability to rise above difficult circumstances and you take away their self-respect.
When humans believe they can't solve the problems themselves, that there is no hope except for the government elite (select individuals who live in luxury) officials who will take care of all the problems for us -- that is demoralizing.
And finally, when you make these circumstances the norm, and make people feel that government not them is the only thing that will solve the problems - that is demoralizing.
Take away our ability to even imagine individual success and you take away our human spirit.
That is how liberals destroy the human spirit. At its least it is progressivism or socialism where citizens live in dependency on their government to provide for them the basic necessities of life.
At its worst it is communism with the masses living in fear of their government and individual success monitored for the good of the state.
We need to be set free from dependency. We need to be set free from the nanny state.
We need to once again believe that 'to infinity and beyond' is our manifest destiny. We need to assume responsibility for our own lives and believe with an indomitable spirit that we can succeed individually.
Food for thought.
The human spirit functions in individuals to overcome circumstances that should overwhelm them. The Afghanistan War veterans returning with limbs blown off from exploding IUDs are perfect examples of our indomitable spirits.
We climb mountains, challenge nature and soar to the moon because our spirit strives to achieve. We dream dreams, create inventions, solve problems, and stretch the boundaries of science, technology, and knowledge.
The sky is the limit -- no, wait -- to infinity and beyond! There is no limit to what the human spirit can achieve.
So, what could possibly kill the human spirit. Adversity doesn't, problems don't, impossible situations don't.
Complacency and dependency are the death knell of the human spirit. Don't worry we'll do it for you, don't worry you didn't succeed but you tried, one can't be expected to succeed, we'll take care of you.
Thinking of ourselves as dependent, unable to overcome our situations, incapable of rising above our situations is what destroys us.
I blame liberal thinking and the government programs it spawns that is destroying our spirit.
When liberals think keeping citizens on unemployment is the answer instead of allowing our free enterprise system to create jobs for them - that is demoralizing.
When liberals think expanding food stamps programs to include people going to bars - that is demoralizing.
When liberals destroy the economy to the point where men and women can't find work - that is demoralizing.
When children are passed through grade after grade and cannot read, write or do math at even elementary levels - that is demoralizing.
When those who do succeed in college finally graduate they must accept service level jobs because their degree is useless - that is demoralizing.
When one in six, that's (One in Six) people in America are in poverty and starving - that's demoralizing.
Take away people's ability to work and you take away their dignity.
Take away people's ability to feed their families and you take away their pride.
Take away people's ability to rise above difficult circumstances and you take away their self-respect.
When humans believe they can't solve the problems themselves, that there is no hope except for the government elite (select individuals who live in luxury) officials who will take care of all the problems for us -- that is demoralizing.
And finally, when you make these circumstances the norm, and make people feel that government not them is the only thing that will solve the problems - that is demoralizing.
Take away our ability to even imagine individual success and you take away our human spirit.
That is how liberals destroy the human spirit. At its least it is progressivism or socialism where citizens live in dependency on their government to provide for them the basic necessities of life.
At its worst it is communism with the masses living in fear of their government and individual success monitored for the good of the state.
We need to be set free from dependency. We need to be set free from the nanny state.
We need to once again believe that 'to infinity and beyond' is our manifest destiny. We need to assume responsibility for our own lives and believe with an indomitable spirit that we can succeed individually.
Food for thought.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Expatriates?
When American citizens choose to live abroad they are called expatriates. They don't become citizens of the new country, they simply live and work there. They retain their US citizenship and some eventually move back to America.
When I think of expatriates I think first and foremost of Ernest Hemingway and the literary and artistic giants who assuaged their internal demons immersing themselves in European cultures. Intellectual giants that became expats include Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, TS Eliot, F Scott Fitzgerald, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes. Political, artistic, and high class intellectuals who found solace away from America.
Today's expats are American citizens who choose to live in other countries, no so much to escape America but to experience life abroad. Often work assignments bring them to other cultures and countries for a time and then reassign them back home. Some expats retire to countries where their US retirements go farther and provide more luxurious living. These expats often live in enclaves where they separate themselves from the native populace - they live abroad but socialize with other Americans.
These modern day expats live in another country but keep their American identities, culture and their allegiance to America.
So Americans expatriate (verb) themselves from America and become expatriates (noun) in another country.
What other terms could describe this situation? emigre emigrate/emigrant ; migrate/migrant ; native/nonnative ; repatriate/deport
Again, I think of expats as skilled, often wealthy, adventurers seeking new horizons away from their own country.
Expats - an exciting adventure in a new land.
When I think of expatriates I think first and foremost of Ernest Hemingway and the literary and artistic giants who assuaged their internal demons immersing themselves in European cultures. Intellectual giants that became expats include Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, TS Eliot, F Scott Fitzgerald, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes. Political, artistic, and high class intellectuals who found solace away from America.
Today's expats are American citizens who choose to live in other countries, no so much to escape America but to experience life abroad. Often work assignments bring them to other cultures and countries for a time and then reassign them back home. Some expats retire to countries where their US retirements go farther and provide more luxurious living. These expats often live in enclaves where they separate themselves from the native populace - they live abroad but socialize with other Americans.
These modern day expats live in another country but keep their American identities, culture and their allegiance to America.
So Americans expatriate (verb) themselves from America and become expatriates (noun) in another country.
What other terms could describe this situation? emigre emigrate/emigrant ; migrate/migrant ; native/nonnative ; repatriate/deport
Again, I think of expats as skilled, often wealthy, adventurers seeking new horizons away from their own country.
Expats - an exciting adventure in a new land.
Immigrants?
The first post was: Expatriates? Read it first, this is part II.
When I think of emigrant a different picture emerges. One of the masses living in poverty looking for a way out of despair seeking a new country for a new hope of a better life, the country they will immigrate to.
Quite a different picture. Common usage of the two terms agrees with my assessment. Skilled professionals = expatriates. Manual labourers = immigrants.
Why you came, how you live, and whether you intend to renounce your home country citizenship all play a part in what your experiences in your new country will be.
Citizens in many countries fawn over expats, and other countries fear and monitor them. Either way they are treated with more awe than immigrants.
Immigrants will become working class citizens, and eventually blend themselves into the country's culture and society.
Expats remain aloof, distinct, different, not part of the culture nor will they ever be.
The new blood, energy, hopes, dreams of immigrants invigorate a country and sometimes change the country beyond measure.
The presence of expats equates to "The real housewives of ..." fun to watch but no relation to the country's reality.
Expats seek adventure - immigrants seek a new home.
A sexy girlfriend versus a loving wife.
Illegals?
Part I: Expatriates?
Part II: Immigrants?
Part III: Illegals?
Ok, I've skimmed the subjects of expatriation, and immigration and now illegals.
Each country has its own rules and laws that deal with people coming into their country. Temporary work permits, work visas, green cards, visitors, how long you can stay, what status you have while you are 'in country', who decides when you leave, whether or not you can seek citizenship. Leaving a country is different from being deported.
Countries are sovereign they decide who comes who goes and who gets let back in. Sovereign.
That is why criminal entry, or illegal entry into a country is serious business. A group of people who came in illegally residing in country - for what purpose? Terrorism? Criminal activity? Tax evasion? Will their wages go back into the country's economy or sent abroad? What value do these illegals bring and what detriment? To whom do they give their allegiance?
People entering into a country legally are vetted. They are given permission to stay for a stated period of time, to apply for citizenship, or deported. The country decides their status.
People who enter a country illegally are criminals. They remain under the radar and live lives in shadow.
Technically they are citizens of their home country, the country of their birth.
They are not citizens of America.
So where is their allegiance? To themselves? To their home country? America pays more in wages - so I'm coming to America! Greed? If they send their wages home all the money they earn leaves the country they are living in - it drains the economy.
Countries know how many new immigrants the economy and society can handle, so they make quotas.
When illegals bypass the country's rules and sense of order and criminally enter another country they upset the societal balance of that country. New entrants into America need some assistance in acclimating. The language if different, the monetary system, the food, the societal rules, it takes time and effort to blend into that new culture.
When you have untold thousands entering a country who flood the welfare system whether they intended to or not they negatively impact that country.
A country can accept expatriates, they can accept legal immigrants, and both are usually welcomed into the country.
Illegals shouldn't be tolerated, shouldn't be allowed to stay and countries have the rights to deport them forthwith.
Part II: Immigrants?
Part III: Illegals?
Ok, I've skimmed the subjects of expatriation, and immigration and now illegals.
Each country has its own rules and laws that deal with people coming into their country. Temporary work permits, work visas, green cards, visitors, how long you can stay, what status you have while you are 'in country', who decides when you leave, whether or not you can seek citizenship. Leaving a country is different from being deported.
Countries are sovereign they decide who comes who goes and who gets let back in. Sovereign.
That is why criminal entry, or illegal entry into a country is serious business. A group of people who came in illegally residing in country - for what purpose? Terrorism? Criminal activity? Tax evasion? Will their wages go back into the country's economy or sent abroad? What value do these illegals bring and what detriment? To whom do they give their allegiance?
People entering into a country legally are vetted. They are given permission to stay for a stated period of time, to apply for citizenship, or deported. The country decides their status.
People who enter a country illegally are criminals. They remain under the radar and live lives in shadow.
Technically they are citizens of their home country, the country of their birth.
They are not citizens of America.
So where is their allegiance? To themselves? To their home country? America pays more in wages - so I'm coming to America! Greed? If they send their wages home all the money they earn leaves the country they are living in - it drains the economy.
Countries know how many new immigrants the economy and society can handle, so they make quotas.
When illegals bypass the country's rules and sense of order and criminally enter another country they upset the societal balance of that country. New entrants into America need some assistance in acclimating. The language if different, the monetary system, the food, the societal rules, it takes time and effort to blend into that new culture.
When you have untold thousands entering a country who flood the welfare system whether they intended to or not they negatively impact that country.
A country can accept expatriates, they can accept legal immigrants, and both are usually welcomed into the country.
Illegals shouldn't be tolerated, shouldn't be allowed to stay and countries have the rights to deport them forthwith.
Citizens of...
Part I: Expatriates
Part II: Immigrants
Part III: Illegals
Part IV: Citizens of...
How many German citizens are living in America?
How many Mexican citizens are living in America?
How many Italian citizens are living in America?
How many Greek citizens are living in America?
How many Korean citizens are living in America?
How many Chinese citizens are living in America?
How many Russian citizens are living in America?
How many citizens of other countries are living in America?
I'm not talking about 'German-Americans', 'Mexican-Americans', 'Korean-Americans', 'African-Americans', 'Italian-Americans', etc. These are descendants of immigrants that came to America legally and made America their home.
I am talking about people who are in America who are NOT American citizens.
We know how many are here legally: work permits, visitors, students, temporary stays. We can give you a number on those.
But what about citizens of other countries who are here illegally. NOT American citizens, NOT legal entrants.
Are there millions? Thousands? Hundreds? Who are they?
Are they only here to make money? What ties do they have to America? What allegiance?
Are they a new breed of squatters?
Rules be damned, country sovereignty be damned I came I saw I stayed just try to kick me out.
Yeah boy that's the kind of people we need in America.
Yes to expats - enjoy your stay. Yes to legal immigrants - enjoy your stay - and welcome to become American citizens.
No to illegals - go home and fix your own country.
Part II: Immigrants
Part III: Illegals
Part IV: Citizens of...
How many German citizens are living in America?
How many Mexican citizens are living in America?
How many Italian citizens are living in America?
How many Greek citizens are living in America?
How many Korean citizens are living in America?
How many Chinese citizens are living in America?
How many Russian citizens are living in America?
How many citizens of other countries are living in America?
I'm not talking about 'German-Americans', 'Mexican-Americans', 'Korean-Americans', 'African-Americans', 'Italian-Americans', etc. These are descendants of immigrants that came to America legally and made America their home.
I am talking about people who are in America who are NOT American citizens.
We know how many are here legally: work permits, visitors, students, temporary stays. We can give you a number on those.
But what about citizens of other countries who are here illegally. NOT American citizens, NOT legal entrants.
Are there millions? Thousands? Hundreds? Who are they?
Are they only here to make money? What ties do they have to America? What allegiance?
Are they a new breed of squatters?
Rules be damned, country sovereignty be damned I came I saw I stayed just try to kick me out.
Yeah boy that's the kind of people we need in America.
Yes to expats - enjoy your stay. Yes to legal immigrants - enjoy your stay - and welcome to become American citizens.
No to illegals - go home and fix your own country.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Sometimes I just feel like scribbling!
I never went to kindergarten and I was six years old when I entered first grade. My sister was seven, and they put her in the 2nd grade.
One day I just may wear shorts to church, put mustard on my ice cream, or simply say "No" to whatever the prescribed task is.
I think we all need more than one episode of scribbling in our lives - don't you?!!
My Mom really didn't like young kids going to school, so six and seven was just fine in her book to start school, that and the fact that the school board said do it.
The problem with that was I was 'unsocialized' everyone else had established friendships in kindergarten and the first part of the new school year so I felt odd man out. That coupled with being an introvert made recess a painful experience.
Anyway I found myself in school and wondering why. I didn't like it at first, then grew used to it and finally accepted it.
First grade - what a year!
I was in my classroom for a few months when the teacher (who was older than my Mom!) decided she'd had enough and she up and quit. I guess she reached her retirement age, or her limit either one and she just didn't come back one week. They replaced her pretty quick so I don't think I was the deciding factor but you never know.
I had two 'incidents' in 1st grade that I am sure labeled me. The first was I took a book (it was just a small book) from the classroom and kept it. The teacher kept asking me if I knew anything about it, but hey, small kid, short memory, I didn't know nothin. That was my story and I stuck to it.
The second one was my one and only act of outright rebellion in my school career.
In first grade back in the day they had a lot of worksheets we had to fill in - day after day after day - worksheets. Circle this ball, color this star yellow, circle and color this square blue. Enough already! Well, one day it just got to be too much for me and I put my little foot down.
I got half way through a page on math balls. 3 balls + two balls = 5 balls. Color the balls red. 6 balls - 5 balls = 1 ball. Color one ball blue. A whole sheet filled with balls. I lost it. No more balls, no more coloring balls, just let me sit there and read or organize my desk, or talk but I wasn't going to do any more math balls.
So I scribbled across the remainder of the sheet and innocently turned it in. I was the first one finished! (first mistake - I should have turned it in when everyone else did and it would have gone unnoticed a little longer).
I went back to my seat. She looked at the page and calls me back up. "You didn't finish" - "Yes I did". "Your sheet isn't finished, go back and finish it". "It is finished, I am done with it". "Take it back and finish it", "No". Okay things aren't going too well at this point.
I got the first and only lecture of my life from a teacher. What a naughty, lazy little girl I was. "Wasn't I ashamed of myself" (no). "What would my Mom think of me" (I don't care). "Wouldn't I be embarrassed if my Mom walked in and had to look at that scribbled mess" (no). I was sent back to my desk to think about it. It wasn't too long after that she retired, like I said it probably wasn't because of me, but it probably made her decision easier!
It is interesting to note I can remember every teacher I had through high school - but not my first grade teacher or her replacement. I bet she didn't remember me either, or at least not fondly and not for long!
So with that long prolog - sometimes in life I just feel like scribbling!
Enough with being responsible, enough with filling your days with 'have-to-dos' and not your 'want-to-dos'. Enough with doing the right thing, the prescribed thing, the sensible thing.
Enough with being responsible, enough with filling your days with 'have-to-dos' and not your 'want-to-dos'. Enough with doing the right thing, the prescribed thing, the sensible thing.
One day I just may wear shorts to church, put mustard on my ice cream, or simply say "No" to whatever the prescribed task is.
I think we all need more than one episode of scribbling in our lives - don't you?!!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Life Changers
What really matters?
In life, relationships, world events, the cosmos. What is relevant and what is meaningless.
Does it matter if I stub my toe, cuss at someone on the way to an appointment, burn dinner or create a culinary masterpiece. Who knows, who cares and who remembers.
An individual has a limited span of days, influence, and remembrance. One hundred years from now there won't be a single person on earth that knew me personally. If I am lucky I will be an entry on a family tree (a place holder) that shows the continuum of life.
I am one of the masses. An individual that is born, lives and dies in relative obscurity. So, am I useless? No. None of us are useless. We may not be famous but we are necessary.
There is a woman in Iowa that I have come to love dearly. I didn't know she existed until 2009 and in these short years she has enriched my life more than she knows.
She is a cousin I never knew. She has lived all of her life mostly within Iowa. She has lived her daily existence like we all do. She went to school, got married, wanted but was unable to have kids, became a widow and eventually remarried. She does for people. She worked, kept house, loved and cared for the people around her. She was a rock for them to lean on. She loves to cook for people and even in her 90s she makes homemade ice cream. She has attended church all her life, and now must listen to church services on TV because it is too difficult to get to church most Sundays. She was active in helping her community and neighbors. Now her neighbors look after her, helping her and her 98 year old husband keep their house up. She told me once that she has had to deal with a lot in her life. She got caught in a tornado once. She and a co-worker grabbed hold of a tree and clung for dear life until the twister departed. She was left with a broken back and her co-worker was killed. She spent six months laid up recuperating afterwards. She says often she didn't do much in life, never went anywhere or did anything exciting.
She didn't have to. Rocks don't move. Rocks stay put and anchor things. Winds blow things around, change things, move them, but rocks keep things in place. She is a gentle soul that everyone wants to talk to at least once a day. Her gentleness and her love just make you feel loved, cared for and hugged. She and others like her are more important than any of us know until they are gone. They are life changers.
That is what us masses do. Individually we impact only a few people. We love, hug, and encourage those around us. We are that person that anchors their lives and encourages them to fulfill their dreams. We wash clothes, clean house, go to work, yell at them when we are angry and caress them when they hurt. We live daily unimportant lives while we are leaving imprints on their hearts.
As masses we think we don't count. The movers and shakers of this world are the important ones not us. But when we rise up and stand for something we can topple governments and change the world. And we can keep a loved one from going astray.
Ronald Reagan was a great conservative President of the United States. He was the mover and shaker, the influencer of a generation of people. His was the famous words: 'Mr. Gorbechov tear down that wall!'
But guess what?!
All of us insignificant masses rose up and voted him into office and into the history books. Our votes were anonymous, his presidency is our legacy.
We are life changers by our lives daily touching others and we are life changers by our influence of the world around us.
The individual moments of our lives may not mean much, they don't have to. I can stub my toe and that is all it is, a stubbed toe. A burned dinner is a burned dinner. A kind hello is priceless.
The sum of all our days is life. And life is comprised of our individual days. We live individual days mostly in a rut, doing the same routines over and over and over. Useless rehashing of endless tasks. But within these routines we connect with our loved ones, neighbors and community impacting them for good and bad as they in turn impact us. Overall all these days add up to the life we have led on earth.
Useless moments... yeah. Life changer... maybe. Meaningless... no. Necessary... yes. We are like a house of cards - life would topple without us.
In life, relationships, world events, the cosmos. What is relevant and what is meaningless.
Does it matter if I stub my toe, cuss at someone on the way to an appointment, burn dinner or create a culinary masterpiece. Who knows, who cares and who remembers.
An individual has a limited span of days, influence, and remembrance. One hundred years from now there won't be a single person on earth that knew me personally. If I am lucky I will be an entry on a family tree (a place holder) that shows the continuum of life.
I am one of the masses. An individual that is born, lives and dies in relative obscurity. So, am I useless? No. None of us are useless. We may not be famous but we are necessary.
There is a woman in Iowa that I have come to love dearly. I didn't know she existed until 2009 and in these short years she has enriched my life more than she knows.
She is a cousin I never knew. She has lived all of her life mostly within Iowa. She has lived her daily existence like we all do. She went to school, got married, wanted but was unable to have kids, became a widow and eventually remarried. She does for people. She worked, kept house, loved and cared for the people around her. She was a rock for them to lean on. She loves to cook for people and even in her 90s she makes homemade ice cream. She has attended church all her life, and now must listen to church services on TV because it is too difficult to get to church most Sundays. She was active in helping her community and neighbors. Now her neighbors look after her, helping her and her 98 year old husband keep their house up. She told me once that she has had to deal with a lot in her life. She got caught in a tornado once. She and a co-worker grabbed hold of a tree and clung for dear life until the twister departed. She was left with a broken back and her co-worker was killed. She spent six months laid up recuperating afterwards. She says often she didn't do much in life, never went anywhere or did anything exciting.
She didn't have to. Rocks don't move. Rocks stay put and anchor things. Winds blow things around, change things, move them, but rocks keep things in place. She is a gentle soul that everyone wants to talk to at least once a day. Her gentleness and her love just make you feel loved, cared for and hugged. She and others like her are more important than any of us know until they are gone. They are life changers.
That is what us masses do. Individually we impact only a few people. We love, hug, and encourage those around us. We are that person that anchors their lives and encourages them to fulfill their dreams. We wash clothes, clean house, go to work, yell at them when we are angry and caress them when they hurt. We live daily unimportant lives while we are leaving imprints on their hearts.
As masses we think we don't count. The movers and shakers of this world are the important ones not us. But when we rise up and stand for something we can topple governments and change the world. And we can keep a loved one from going astray.
Ronald Reagan was a great conservative President of the United States. He was the mover and shaker, the influencer of a generation of people. His was the famous words: 'Mr. Gorbechov tear down that wall!'
But guess what?!
All of us insignificant masses rose up and voted him into office and into the history books. Our votes were anonymous, his presidency is our legacy.
We are life changers by our lives daily touching others and we are life changers by our influence of the world around us.
The individual moments of our lives may not mean much, they don't have to. I can stub my toe and that is all it is, a stubbed toe. A burned dinner is a burned dinner. A kind hello is priceless.
The sum of all our days is life. And life is comprised of our individual days. We live individual days mostly in a rut, doing the same routines over and over and over. Useless rehashing of endless tasks. But within these routines we connect with our loved ones, neighbors and community impacting them for good and bad as they in turn impact us. Overall all these days add up to the life we have led on earth.
Useless moments... yeah. Life changer... maybe. Meaningless... no. Necessary... yes. We are like a house of cards - life would topple without us.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Ok One More Trillion Entry ....
I have watched the Olympic swimming and water polo events.
An Olympic size pool has approximately 6 billion water drops in it.
It would take 250 Olympic size pools to hold 15 trillion water drops.
Those Olympic size pools are HUGE!!
If you think of each water drop as a dollar bill - then you can see we are swimming in debt - not just a wading pool swimming but in water over our heads.
This is like the movie Water World - we are inundated with debt.
Spain, Greece and Italy are close to defaulting and America continues to overspend -- we haven't had a worldwide depression since 1929 -- standby!
An Olympic size pool has approximately 6 billion water drops in it.
It would take 250 Olympic size pools to hold 15 trillion water drops.
Those Olympic size pools are HUGE!!
If you think of each water drop as a dollar bill - then you can see we are swimming in debt - not just a wading pool swimming but in water over our heads.
This is like the movie Water World - we are inundated with debt.
Spain, Greece and Italy are close to defaulting and America continues to overspend -- we haven't had a worldwide depression since 1929 -- standby!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Another look at a Trillion
One trillion is still an incomprehensible number to me so I am still trying to get a mental picture of what a trillion actually looks like.
So I did an Internet search on a drop of water. I thought maybe filling a backyard pool may equal a trillion - not hardly!
Here is what I found out: the average size backyard pool takes 18,000 to 20,000 gallons of water in it.
My next question was how many drops of water in a gallon?
So I visited online calculators and volume and capacity measurements (thank-you Internet) and found out that people have actually calculated that!!
According to those calculations there are 75,708.24 drops of water in a gallon.
Ok: 18,000 gallons in a pool x 75,708 drops of water in each gallon = 1,362,748,320 drops of water.
So a little less than 1.5 billion drops of water in ONE pool.
But we have to get to a trillion (a thousand billion is a trillion)
so we have to multiply again!
1,362,748,320 drops of water x 1,000 pools = 1,362,744,000,000 or our magic number of a trillion.
Our national debt is 15 trillion.
1000 backyard pools hold almost 1.5 trillion drops of water.
So we'd still have to multiply by 10 to get to our national debt
10,000 pools. Do the math!! Obviously the online calculators round out the numbers but the basic calculations are an accurate picture of the concept of trillions.
Go to the faucet and place one drop of water in a glass.
Then think of 10,000 pools holding 13,627,440,000,000 drops of water - and that is what 10 trillion looks like.
It is still incomprehensible. And that is the amount of over-spending, deficit-spending or in common terms DEBT that the American government has racked up. And it will continue to grow until we cut spending.
So I did an Internet search on a drop of water. I thought maybe filling a backyard pool may equal a trillion - not hardly!
Here is what I found out: the average size backyard pool takes 18,000 to 20,000 gallons of water in it.
My next question was how many drops of water in a gallon?
So I visited online calculators and volume and capacity measurements (thank-you Internet) and found out that people have actually calculated that!!
According to those calculations there are 75,708.24 drops of water in a gallon.
Ok: 18,000 gallons in a pool x 75,708 drops of water in each gallon = 1,362,748,320 drops of water.
So a little less than 1.5 billion drops of water in ONE pool.
But we have to get to a trillion (a thousand billion is a trillion)
so we have to multiply again!
1,362,748,320 drops of water x 1,000 pools = 1,362,744,000,000 or our magic number of a trillion.
Our national debt is 15 trillion.
1000 backyard pools hold almost 1.5 trillion drops of water.
So we'd still have to multiply by 10 to get to our national debt
10,000 pools. Do the math!! Obviously the online calculators round out the numbers but the basic calculations are an accurate picture of the concept of trillions.
Go to the faucet and place one drop of water in a glass.
Then think of 10,000 pools holding 13,627,440,000,000 drops of water - and that is what 10 trillion looks like.
It is still incomprehensible. And that is the amount of over-spending, deficit-spending or in common terms DEBT that the American government has racked up. And it will continue to grow until we cut spending.
How much is enough?
Several comedians in the news have been wrestling with the question of "how much would you be willing to pay in taxes?"
Some countries are into the 75% of your income goes to taxes. Can you imagine having the government take 75% of your income?
Absurd? Outrageous? Ludicrous!
Why would ANY government need 75% of its taxpayers income. What are they funding: Wild times at OMB or essential services?
As government spirals out of control the money has to come from somewhere.
They can print more, but too much money in the system causes inflation and then the devaluing of the currency.
They can tax more, after all the government's only sources of income are taxes (money taken from citizens and kept), bonds (money borrowed from citizens with the promise of paying it back with interest) and tariffs (taxes on goods other countries bring into the US). That is pretty much all the revenue sources available to governments.
They can borrow from other nations. The world's premiere freedom loving nation (America) is in hock up to her eyeballs to a repressive communist nation (China), doesn't that just suck? We owe as a nation (which means all us little peon citizens) $15 trillion dollars to a communist country. Answer me this question: just who won the Cold War anyway?
So how much is enough? Governments around the world are so bloated they need every dime we make.
We have come to a point where it isn't what the government wants to take from you in taxes - it is what the government is willing to allow you to keep.
At the heart of this idea is that the money isn't yours to keep it is the government's to distribute. How does it go? From each according to his ability to each according to his need? Where have I heard that before?
You go to medical school and become a Dr. ; someone else drops out of high school and becomes a doper. Both of you will receive the same amount from the government, after all we don't want class warfare or haves and have-nots.
Somehow government is honorable, noble and pure taking everyone's money and redistributing it. While individuals who work hard for their wages are considered selfish if they want to keep it. Seems to me that is a share the wealth but don't share the work philosophy.
Oh well. I'd say food for thought, but you might get the impression I want to keep the food and not distribute it so I'll just close.
Some countries are into the 75% of your income goes to taxes. Can you imagine having the government take 75% of your income?
Absurd? Outrageous? Ludicrous!
Why would ANY government need 75% of its taxpayers income. What are they funding: Wild times at OMB or essential services?
As government spirals out of control the money has to come from somewhere.
They can print more, but too much money in the system causes inflation and then the devaluing of the currency.
They can tax more, after all the government's only sources of income are taxes (money taken from citizens and kept), bonds (money borrowed from citizens with the promise of paying it back with interest) and tariffs (taxes on goods other countries bring into the US). That is pretty much all the revenue sources available to governments.
They can borrow from other nations. The world's premiere freedom loving nation (America) is in hock up to her eyeballs to a repressive communist nation (China), doesn't that just suck? We owe as a nation (which means all us little peon citizens) $15 trillion dollars to a communist country. Answer me this question: just who won the Cold War anyway?
So how much is enough? Governments around the world are so bloated they need every dime we make.
We have come to a point where it isn't what the government wants to take from you in taxes - it is what the government is willing to allow you to keep.
At the heart of this idea is that the money isn't yours to keep it is the government's to distribute. How does it go? From each according to his ability to each according to his need? Where have I heard that before?
You go to medical school and become a Dr. ; someone else drops out of high school and becomes a doper. Both of you will receive the same amount from the government, after all we don't want class warfare or haves and have-nots.
Somehow government is honorable, noble and pure taking everyone's money and redistributing it. While individuals who work hard for their wages are considered selfish if they want to keep it. Seems to me that is a share the wealth but don't share the work philosophy.
Oh well. I'd say food for thought, but you might get the impression I want to keep the food and not distribute it so I'll just close.
The Money Pit, Taxes and Fairness
Big government is a money pit.
There will never be enough money to take care of every need or solve every problem. Many would argue that it isn't the government's role to do so anyway, but even if government had enough to take care of today's needs there would be more needs and more money needed to meet them.
Government is also a vicious cycle. Tax - spend - tax some more - spend some more ... tax, spend... tax, spend.
It has gotten so bad the cycle has been altered to 'we need the money now' so we will spend now and tax later. Spend then tax, spend some more, tax some more.... spend, spend, spend, tax ... we are trillions of dollars in debt as a result.
Taxes are a portion of everyone's money placed in a common pot to run the government or, to put it another way, taxes finance the spending.
That sounds like it is true, but technically it is not. I have heard as much as 40% of Americans don't pay a dime in taxes. ALL of us use services provided by the government but only 60% of us pay for those services.
Take Obama's famous 'you didn't build it' speech. 40% of us not only didn't build it - we didn't even pay a dime for it.
Just near everyone uses the roads to get to jobs, shop, go to the doctor, whatever the task it usually requires using a road to get to where we want to go.
Whether it is buses, or cars, or the limos that Congressmen are driven to work in, we all use the roads. We should all pay for them.
Since everyone uses government services everyone should pay for them. Police, roads, fire departments, water, sewage, inspections, courts, libraries, health & human services, military, foreign relations, etc. Do you pay for only the services you use? Do you pay a percentage of your income? If you use more services than someone else should you owe more? Or, should successful people pay a larger percentage of their income so you can enjoy not paying for the services you use?
What is fair? If you work hard and get a raise and it puts you in a higher tax bracket - your raise will go to taxes. You work harder, make more money and it gets taxed at a higher rate - so you are back to where you were. You are working more but someone else is getting your raise. Is that fair?
We have a complicated tax code for sure and trying to figure out who owes what is a nightmare. Families can deduct children as dependents, if they give to charities or tithe they can deduct charitable contributions, they can deduct their mortgage, if you pay state taxes you can deduct that from your federal tax burden, if you make your home more energy efficient you can deduct that in some years, you can deduct losses from renting your house out, etc., etc. Businesses have the equivalent of items that they can deduct as a business enterprise. Whether you are an individual, a small business owner, a large corporation or whatever, you are given 'credits' as it were - deductions for the cost of raising a family or doing business that come off your tax liability.
If your husband is out of work - do you want a large corporation to get tax deductions for hiring more workers? Or do you want to tax them to the limit - to the point where they not only can't hire more workers, but they will have to lay off workers to make payroll and stay in business.
If you are a woman or a minority do you think a large corporation should get tax deductions for hiring a woman or a minority into their workforce?
It costs business men and women to do business. It is not all profit. If the economy slows down and people don't spend as much - the businessman has to eat the cost of the inventory they have on hand. If a tornado wipes out a small businessman's store - it costs to rebuild it. If a business wants to expand it usually requires a loan to do the expansion. The loan isn't free, it has interest charges attached to it and if the economy goes south - the businessman still owes not only the loan but the interest amount as well.
You don't go to work for the fun of it. You expect to get paid for the hours you work. Businessmen expect to get paid for the hours they work as well. But many times they don't. Their profit is eaten up with taxes, inventory, bad economic conditions, price of gasoline and shipping costs skyrocketing, natural disasters you name it they deal with it.
So what is fair? Should government spend money it doesn't have, we are currently $15 trillion in debt. Should government raise taxes or spend the tax dollars more wisely?
The OMB debacle shows there is waste we could trim in government spending before we send in more tax money.
Is a flat tax the answer? What would it be 20%?
No deductions whatsoever - you make $100.00 you give the government $20.00. Businesses the same thing - you owe 20% of your gross income - the rest is yours to use wisely. No business deductions whatsoever just 20% taxes off the top.
Would it work - I don't know I am not an economist. But I do know the current system is full of loopholes and just near irrevocably broke. Portraying the wealthy or even people just trying to succeed as somehow evil isn't an answer either.
Everyone owes taxes to fund the government. The government in turn should provide order, stability and an equal playing field for earned success.
Food for thought:
What would you consider to be a fair tax for you to pay
Why would you expect anyone else to pay more than what you consider fair
If you get raises and start to earn more - should the increase go to you or to a higher rate in taxes
Doesn't everyone want to enjoy the money they earn and benefit from raises not loose them to higher taxes
Taxes are a portion of everyone's money placed in a common pot to run the government or, to put it another way, taxes finance the spending.
That sounds like it is true, but technically it is not. I have heard as much as 40% of Americans don't pay a dime in taxes. ALL of us use services provided by the government but only 60% of us pay for those services.
Take Obama's famous 'you didn't build it' speech. 40% of us not only didn't build it - we didn't even pay a dime for it.
Just near everyone uses the roads to get to jobs, shop, go to the doctor, whatever the task it usually requires using a road to get to where we want to go.
Whether it is buses, or cars, or the limos that Congressmen are driven to work in, we all use the roads. We should all pay for them.
Since everyone uses government services everyone should pay for them. Police, roads, fire departments, water, sewage, inspections, courts, libraries, health & human services, military, foreign relations, etc. Do you pay for only the services you use? Do you pay a percentage of your income? If you use more services than someone else should you owe more? Or, should successful people pay a larger percentage of their income so you can enjoy not paying for the services you use?
What is fair? If you work hard and get a raise and it puts you in a higher tax bracket - your raise will go to taxes. You work harder, make more money and it gets taxed at a higher rate - so you are back to where you were. You are working more but someone else is getting your raise. Is that fair?
We have a complicated tax code for sure and trying to figure out who owes what is a nightmare. Families can deduct children as dependents, if they give to charities or tithe they can deduct charitable contributions, they can deduct their mortgage, if you pay state taxes you can deduct that from your federal tax burden, if you make your home more energy efficient you can deduct that in some years, you can deduct losses from renting your house out, etc., etc. Businesses have the equivalent of items that they can deduct as a business enterprise. Whether you are an individual, a small business owner, a large corporation or whatever, you are given 'credits' as it were - deductions for the cost of raising a family or doing business that come off your tax liability.
If your husband is out of work - do you want a large corporation to get tax deductions for hiring more workers? Or do you want to tax them to the limit - to the point where they not only can't hire more workers, but they will have to lay off workers to make payroll and stay in business.
If you are a woman or a minority do you think a large corporation should get tax deductions for hiring a woman or a minority into their workforce?
It costs business men and women to do business. It is not all profit. If the economy slows down and people don't spend as much - the businessman has to eat the cost of the inventory they have on hand. If a tornado wipes out a small businessman's store - it costs to rebuild it. If a business wants to expand it usually requires a loan to do the expansion. The loan isn't free, it has interest charges attached to it and if the economy goes south - the businessman still owes not only the loan but the interest amount as well.
You don't go to work for the fun of it. You expect to get paid for the hours you work. Businessmen expect to get paid for the hours they work as well. But many times they don't. Their profit is eaten up with taxes, inventory, bad economic conditions, price of gasoline and shipping costs skyrocketing, natural disasters you name it they deal with it.
So what is fair? Should government spend money it doesn't have, we are currently $15 trillion in debt. Should government raise taxes or spend the tax dollars more wisely?
The OMB debacle shows there is waste we could trim in government spending before we send in more tax money.
Is a flat tax the answer? What would it be 20%?
No deductions whatsoever - you make $100.00 you give the government $20.00. Businesses the same thing - you owe 20% of your gross income - the rest is yours to use wisely. No business deductions whatsoever just 20% taxes off the top.
Would it work - I don't know I am not an economist. But I do know the current system is full of loopholes and just near irrevocably broke. Portraying the wealthy or even people just trying to succeed as somehow evil isn't an answer either.
Everyone owes taxes to fund the government. The government in turn should provide order, stability and an equal playing field for earned success.
Food for thought:
What would you consider to be a fair tax for you to pay
Why would you expect anyone else to pay more than what you consider fair
If you get raises and start to earn more - should the increase go to you or to a higher rate in taxes
Doesn't everyone want to enjoy the money they earn and benefit from raises not loose them to higher taxes
Cast of characters:
- The money pit: played by out of control government spending
- Taxes: played by the money collected from individuals and corporations that fund government spending
- Fairness: played by Americans tired of class warfare
How much is a trillion?
Trillions, it is an incomprehensible number.
Yet America is trillions of dollars in debt. What does that mean?
The numbers themselves look like:
100
1,000 - thousands
10,000 - tens of thousands
100,000 - hundreds of thousands
1,000,000 - million (roughly the population of Oahu, Hawaii)
10,000,000 - tens of millions
100,000,000 - hundreds of millions
300,000,000 - (roughly the population of the U.S. today)
1,000,000,000- billion
7,000,000,000 - roughly the population of the world today
10,000,000,000 - tens of billions
100,000,000,000 - hundreds of billions
1,000,000,000,000 - trillion
Imagine sharing an island the size of Oahu, Hawaii with
100 people
1,000 people
100,000 people
1,000,000- a million people on Hawaii (roughly the current population)
Try adding another
10 million people
100 million people, 200 million, 300 million, people on it.
The population of ALL of the United States is roughly 300 million people. Can you imagine ALL 300 million people in the entire United States living on the island of Oahu?
Keep going -- we would need to add 700 million more people just to get to a billion --the entire world population is estimated at 7 billion people.
Imagine: Everyone in the entire world living on the island of Oahu, Hawaii
and we still would have to keep going!!
Add 100 billion, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 billion more people and then add 100 more billion and we would get to 1 trillion.
It is truly incomprehensible.
15 trillion people on the tiny island of Oahu is as incomprehensible as owing 15 trillion more than you make.
We are spending trillions of dollars OVER what we bring in (our gross national product)
"deficit" spending - is spending more than you make.
Let's say I make $100,000 and I spend 1 million dollars.
I go to my boss and I say I need more money so he raises my salary to $500,000. Then I spend 2 million dollars.
I go to my boss and I say I need even more money and he raises my salary to 1 million dollars. Then I spend 10 million dollars.
I go to my boss and I say I need more - and he says NO. You have got to live within your means, find something to cut, make some tough budget choices - but don't look to me for any more money - I can't afford to pay you any more than I do now.
We won't pay this debt off in our lifetimes, or our children's lifetimes - our grandchildren will be paying this debt for us.
Kids used to get an inheritance from their parents and grandparents - money left over and passed on down to our children. Guess what kids - you won't be inheriting money or items of value you will be inheriting a mountain of debt!
AND if we don't stop overspending that debt won't be in the trillions - it will be in the quadrillions ....
Hey kids do you know what a quadrillion is? More money than you will ever hope to make in your lifetime!
Yet America is trillions of dollars in debt. What does that mean?
The numbers themselves look like:
100
1,000 - thousands
10,000 - tens of thousands
100,000 - hundreds of thousands
1,000,000 - million (roughly the population of Oahu, Hawaii)
10,000,000 - tens of millions
100,000,000 - hundreds of millions
300,000,000 - (roughly the population of the U.S. today)
1,000,000,000- billion
7,000,000,000 - roughly the population of the world today
10,000,000,000 - tens of billions
100,000,000,000 - hundreds of billions
1,000,000,000,000 - trillion
Imagine sharing an island the size of Oahu, Hawaii with
100 people
1,000 people
100,000 people
1,000,000- a million people on Hawaii (roughly the current population)
Try adding another
10 million people
100 million people, 200 million, 300 million, people on it.
The population of ALL of the United States is roughly 300 million people. Can you imagine ALL 300 million people in the entire United States living on the island of Oahu?
Keep going -- we would need to add 700 million more people just to get to a billion --the entire world population is estimated at 7 billion people.
Imagine: Everyone in the entire world living on the island of Oahu, Hawaii
and we still would have to keep going!!
Add 100 billion, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 billion more people and then add 100 more billion and we would get to 1 trillion.
It is truly incomprehensible.
15 trillion people on the tiny island of Oahu is as incomprehensible as owing 15 trillion more than you make.
We are spending trillions of dollars OVER what we bring in (our gross national product)
"deficit" spending - is spending more than you make.
Let's say I make $100,000 and I spend 1 million dollars.
I go to my boss and I say I need more money so he raises my salary to $500,000. Then I spend 2 million dollars.
I go to my boss and I say I need even more money and he raises my salary to 1 million dollars. Then I spend 10 million dollars.
I go to my boss and I say I need more - and he says NO. You have got to live within your means, find something to cut, make some tough budget choices - but don't look to me for any more money - I can't afford to pay you any more than I do now.
We won't pay this debt off in our lifetimes, or our children's lifetimes - our grandchildren will be paying this debt for us.
Kids used to get an inheritance from their parents and grandparents - money left over and passed on down to our children. Guess what kids - you won't be inheriting money or items of value you will be inheriting a mountain of debt!
AND if we don't stop overspending that debt won't be in the trillions - it will be in the quadrillions ....
Hey kids do you know what a quadrillion is? More money than you will ever hope to make in your lifetime!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Wealthy Former Presidents
Americans have elected wealthy men as president in the past.
Let just think of the modern era and list some:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- Democrat. Extremely wealthy.
John F. Kennedy -- Democrat. Extremely wealthy.
George Bush -- Republican. Extremely wealthy.
George W. Bush -- Republican. Extremely wealthy.
Lyndon B. Johnson and Nelson Rockefeller were two Extremely wealthy Vice-Presidents. Johnson also became President after Kennedy was assassinated.
Al Gore and John Kerry are Extremely wealthy. They ran for president and lost. Al Gore was Vice President and John Kerry is a Senator.
Think of the leaders of the Senate and House: Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Harry Reid (he's just wealthy, not extremely wealthy). Nancy Pelosi and Eric Cantor are the wealthiest members of Congress.
Let's see - past presidents, past vice-presidents, current and past Congressmen are Extremely wealthy. Not to mention lots of governors who areExtremely wealthy.
So why is it such a big deal that Mitt Romney is Extremely wealthy?
Rich people throughout history have gravitated toward politics and public lives. They have ruled society with their philanthropy, their associations. They have created museums, donated money to create universities and hospitals. They run for office and often feel government service to America is not so much their right as their duty.
Now along comes Obama. It is suddenly shameful to be rich and successful. It is suddenly shameful to be rich and want to serve America either in the Congress or as President.
Why should it matter? I don't know who the poorest President has been - it's not something that has ever been relevant.
Class warfare makes it important. Wealthy people are the enemy. Are they?
President Obama is a multi-millionaire.
Hillary Clinton is a multi-millionaire.
If being wealthy makes you an enemy of the people then maybe Obama and Clinton shouldn't be running for office - after all they are millionaires and millionaires don't pay their fare share of taxes.
When high government officials release their tax records many of them give a minuscule amount back to charitable organizations that help Americans. Why? They aren't taxed enough and they don't give enough back voluntarily to charities.
STOP worrying about wealth. To change a phrase: Most people are about as wealthy as they want to be.
If you decided to go to college, decided to pursue excellence at work, strove to achieve personal success, and worked harder, longer, and with more excellence than those around you chances are you are a millionaire.
I know of stories of immigrants from the communist countries that came to America with nothing and became millionaires. They knew that the American work ethic would pay off and they would reap the benefits.
I also know of extremely wealthy families whose wealth is gone by the 3rd generation because being rich and idle eats up the family fortune and if it isn't replenished by hard work, the fortune is lost.
So don't be afraid of a rich president - it's ok. We have had rich presidents in the past - we currently have a rich president - and we will have rich presidents in the future. It is how they govern and whether or not their policies keep people in an endless cycle of poverty or if their policies free the people to pursue personal excellence and yes, wealth.
Let just think of the modern era and list some:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- Democrat. Extremely wealthy.
John F. Kennedy -- Democrat. Extremely wealthy.
George Bush -- Republican. Extremely wealthy.
George W. Bush -- Republican. Extremely wealthy.
Lyndon B. Johnson and Nelson Rockefeller were two Extremely wealthy Vice-Presidents. Johnson also became President after Kennedy was assassinated.
Al Gore and John Kerry are Extremely wealthy. They ran for president and lost. Al Gore was Vice President and John Kerry is a Senator.
Think of the leaders of the Senate and House: Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Harry Reid (he's just wealthy, not extremely wealthy). Nancy Pelosi and Eric Cantor are the wealthiest members of Congress.
Let's see - past presidents, past vice-presidents, current and past Congressmen are Extremely wealthy. Not to mention lots of governors who areExtremely wealthy.
So why is it such a big deal that Mitt Romney is Extremely wealthy?
Rich people throughout history have gravitated toward politics and public lives. They have ruled society with their philanthropy, their associations. They have created museums, donated money to create universities and hospitals. They run for office and often feel government service to America is not so much their right as their duty.
Now along comes Obama. It is suddenly shameful to be rich and successful. It is suddenly shameful to be rich and want to serve America either in the Congress or as President.
Why should it matter? I don't know who the poorest President has been - it's not something that has ever been relevant.
Class warfare makes it important. Wealthy people are the enemy. Are they?
President Obama is a multi-millionaire.
Hillary Clinton is a multi-millionaire.
If being wealthy makes you an enemy of the people then maybe Obama and Clinton shouldn't be running for office - after all they are millionaires and millionaires don't pay their fare share of taxes.
When high government officials release their tax records many of them give a minuscule amount back to charitable organizations that help Americans. Why? They aren't taxed enough and they don't give enough back voluntarily to charities.
STOP worrying about wealth. To change a phrase: Most people are about as wealthy as they want to be.
If you decided to go to college, decided to pursue excellence at work, strove to achieve personal success, and worked harder, longer, and with more excellence than those around you chances are you are a millionaire.
I know of stories of immigrants from the communist countries that came to America with nothing and became millionaires. They knew that the American work ethic would pay off and they would reap the benefits.
I also know of extremely wealthy families whose wealth is gone by the 3rd generation because being rich and idle eats up the family fortune and if it isn't replenished by hard work, the fortune is lost.
So don't be afraid of a rich president - it's ok. We have had rich presidents in the past - we currently have a rich president - and we will have rich presidents in the future. It is how they govern and whether or not their policies keep people in an endless cycle of poverty or if their policies free the people to pursue personal excellence and yes, wealth.
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