Do you like to think? Do you like thought provoking discussions?
No? Well I do, so I'm going to break down this thought provoking article by Frosty Wooldridge for those of you who don't like thought provoking articles and then I am going to go over some of my thoughts on some flaws that have really destroyed those who are working class.
The article really points to the lack of common sense of President Bush and to some serious weak links in the way our country is currently set up.
While I don't agree with all of his points, particularly the nature of becoming too protectionist and ignoring outside threats, you must admit that common sense wise they bring up some valid points.
What is common sense? According to the dictionary, “Sound and prudent judgment.”
- After 9/11, common sense dictated that we stop immigrating into our country people from terrorist regions around the world
- After 9/11, common sense mandated that we secure our southern borders from terrorist incursions
- Bush led attacks on Iraq 10,000 miles away while leaving our borders wide open
- Millions of people from the land of Islam are allowed to continue to immigrate here as if none of them might become terrorists on our own soil
- Common sense dictated that Bush begin logical, prudent and rational withdrawal from Iraq after the Iraq Study Group showed it was un-winnable
- 13 million American children live below the poverty line
- 1.3 million American children suffer homelessness
- 14 million unemployed Americans struggle with joblessness, hopelessness and uselessness
- Meanwhile, Bush has spent $789 billion in rebuilding Iraq.
- Bush has done nothing to change the status of 14 million unemployed Americans
- Bush has allowed six million legal immigrants to flood America eroding jobs, housing and schools for American families
- Bush has allowed an estimated 10 million illegal aliens to cross our borders while making excuses for them to be here illegally
- Bush pledges 20 percent reduction in oil consumption by 2017
- America will increase its population by 30 million people by 2017 thus increasing consumption
- Annual trade deficits run $700 billion in the past 6 years
- Three million manufacturing jobs have vacated our country
- one million American IT jobs vanished due to H-1B, H-2B and L-1 visas
- 40 million Americans can’t afford health insurance for themselves and their children
- Bush supports 20 million illegal aliens and their children with automatic health care in every hospital
- Bush supports 380,000 illegal alien mothers birthing 380,000 anchor babies annually with full funding from American taxpayers
- Average births cost $5,000 to $8,000 and into the millions if premature or having a defect
- Bush won't support American citizens and their children with basic health care
- Home foreclosures reaching epidemic levels
- Consumer debt at $2 trillion and the average credit card holder suffering a $9,149.00 balance
Bush proves daily a man out of his league. He possesses no vision, shows no direction or understanding of the dilemma he forces on America. He uses no reasoned approach to our nation’s pressing challenges. Instead, he reaps dishonor on this republic, chaos in Iraq and misery upon our citizens. As my father would say, “President George W. Bush lacks the common sense that God gave a goose!”
My Thoughts
Immigration And Jobs
It is quite ridiculous that we continue to allow millions to immigrate into this country while at the same time millions already here are either out of work or so far down on the poverty level that there's little hope of climbing out. An unchecked illegal immigration problem continues, while legal immigration continues to be increased. It is totally illogical if you just look around at the facts in this country with a little common sense.
All you are ensuring by such actions is that wages will continue to go down, those already here will have even less of a chance at advancing or even getting on board the "American Dream Express" and with the way our health care system is set up, having little chance of receiving health insurance.
Health Care
One of the most idiotic parts of America right now is the way we have allowed health insurance to be intertwined with employment.
Back in the old days this wouldn't seem like such a bad thing. People worked for a company for 20, 30 or 40 years or more. Today that is not the truth. People are thrown away like trash and in the process left without a means of obtaining basic health insurance.
Most people don't know this, but companies get great tax benefits by providing health insurance. On top of this they get a discount from insurers under group policies.
Why is this a bad thing? Because it is basically unfair competition when you compare it to the individual in the marketplace. All the chips lie with the companies.
I'm actually pro-business, but this one item has always bothered me because it does not allow for the individual to obtain their own policies that they can maintain themselves without relying on an employer. It doesn't allow an individual to be in control of their own destiny. Even basic health insurance for a family of 4 will cost you as much or more than a mortgage payment every month if you try to get it by yourself.
Meanwhile we are supporting millions of illegal aliens health care while individuals legally here cannot afford their own.
Greedy Businesses
Ahh the sub prime loans scandal. It's almost as if we forgot that people actually have to pay the money back. The fact is these financial institutions are so greedy that they will approve a donkey to get a buck today without caring what happens in the future.
This seems to be driven by greedy CEO's who come into a cmpany, slash the workforce, change the policies to drive revenue up for several years and then bail out as soon as the peak of revenue has hit and the coming collapse is on the horizon.
This can be clearly seen by companies like Bank of America declaring that they are going to give credit cards to illegal aliens. These are people who have no Social Security Number and are probably using false documents. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that situation right? I mean there's no chance of them running their credit cards up to max and then disappearing right?
It's all a grab for the quick buck and if the loans default it is a corporate write off as a loss. Who really picks up the tab though? Those who are legally here and can be tracked do. Their interest rates and fees will be increased (fromt he already 20-30%) to support the deadbeat loans since the legal people won't simply be able to disappear.
To Hell In A Hand Basket
I'm not sure how much longer corporate dominance in everyday life is going to be allowed to continue. From people losing health care because they are laid off to being displaced because of cheap illegal labor to being forced into poverty and not being allowed the chance to climb out due to the influx of more workers things aren't looking bright.
More and more "white collar" jobs are being shipped overseas as outsourcing expands to industries that weren't touched in the past. People who normally make a decent wage are seeing their jobs go away. Companies like JP Morgan Chase who announced they are sending a third of their white collar skilled jobs to India.. It's no longer the tech workers being tossed aside; it is the brokers and loan officers and engineers. Like the CEO's white collar workers are ignoring this enjoying the quick buck they are making now and ignoring what is going to happen to them in the future.
In Closing
I don't claim to know the solutions to all of these problems. Certainly an easy enough task would be actually attempting to secure our southern border rather than just give it token lip service. Actually cracking down on illegal aliens and their employers would help curb illlegal immigration as well, which would give the poor a fighting chance.
True legal immigration reform would also help, ensuring that industries aren't just getting foreign workers because they are cheaper, but because they have a real need. Also ensuring that immigrants we are allowing into this country truly have America's best interests at heart and not just their pocketbooks. People who actually want to come here and assimilate.
Health care is the big question. If you try to shift things into the individuals favor you'd have to cut the tax incentives that companies receive in providing health insurance to their workers. This of course would leave even more millions without health insurance as their companies would drop the plans. However, this would force insurance companies to scramble for business by lowering their rates.
It's not a very good solution, but I do believe that things need to swing in the individuals favor and away from the companies. Workers just don't stay at jobs long enough for their whole individual security to be in the hands and at the whim of a company or some person at the top who decided that employees #1021-#1125 in "Department D" need to be tossed away in order to show a profit of $3 million this year.
All in all, for the American legal citizen, things look to be headed to Hell in a hand basket and that basket is on fire.
How would you solve these problems and challenges?
