Cutting the military

After WW 2 ended the people were tired of war and the defense budget was cut. Within five years we were in another war in Korea and we sent our military over there with obsolete equipment. 38,000 soldiers died in that war and many because of poor equipment. Our WW 2 tanks went up against Russian built tanks and they were out gunned. Once again when the cold war ended we decided that the wars of the future would be high tech and we didn’t need as many troops. Then came 9/11 and once again we were at war. The big complaint was that we didn’t have enough ground troops and our soldiers had to do multiple tours of duty. In addition there were complaints about outdated equipment. Now as these wars are winding down The President has proposed cutting military. There has always been a running argument between spending on military programs and spending on social programs, what is referred to in economics as guns vs butter. If we underspend on social programs some people are homeless and some go hungry and when that happens we reverse course and spend more. When we underspend on military people die and/or are injured. It is very difficult to determine what might be needed for some future war and therefor hard to decide on how much to spend. Thus the tendency is to overspend and this results in waste. Often times those who complain about our soldiers not having proper equipment are the same ones who complained about the high cost of military.

Slow recovery

According to many experts the slow economic recovery is caused by businesses not investing. They are sitting on cash waiting for some long term plan for tax reform and for Obamacare to be fully implemented and finally concern over new regulations. I believe there is another factor that many overlook. My entire adult life the government has spent more than it has taken in and for the most part there have been no discernable adverse effects but that is changing. There is evidence showing that when the government debt, (federal, state and local) reaches 90% of GDP that the economy begins to suffer in a noticeable manner. We are now at 84% and rising. This might well be one of the reasons why we are experiencing the slowest recovery since the depression.

Extreme views

I spend considerable time watching political talking heads on TV and it occurs to me that they are having a negative effect on the country and the way many in the country think about issues. For the most part these TV shows bring together people who are committed to a particular ideology and allow them to present their views. I feel this limits the viewer’s choices and leads to false conclusions. It is like saying would you like the shower water to be too hot or too cold. It is much like the old battle between good and evil where things are black and white whereas in the real world that I live in things are for the most part kind of gray. Each of us has certain principals that we will not compromise on but not every issue is a life and death principal. I sometimes get the feeling that if one side announced that summer would be here in June the other side would object. I would like to see a show where they investigate the middle on some important issues presented by people who are not so committed to one side that they cannot see the middle. My guess is that the producers of these shows feel that they would not get an audience if they presented the middle view and they may be right.

Free Press

In today’s world where we have multiple sources of information I am reminded that the reason the founding fathers added the Bill of Rights to the constitution was to limit the power of the central government. The first amendment states that the government shall not limit the freedom of the press. To show the importance of this Jefferson said: The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. Thomas Jefferson 1787 The authors of the first amendment had lived under the despotic King where there was no press to stand up to his actions and they wanted to make sure that would not happen again. I am thankful for those news outlets that investigate governments and expose any activities deemed undesirable. I believe it wise to have a natural distrust of government.

Hedge money

Jan Koum came to the US from Russia at the age of 16. He came with his mother and his father was to follow but he never made it. She took up baby-sitting and he swept the floor of a grocery store to help make ends meet. His mother supported him until she died of cancer and he was on his own getting food stamps and other government aid to survive. Koum was a troublemaker at school but by 18 had also taught himself computer networking by purchasing manuals from a used book store and returning them when he was done. He enrolled in college but didn’t like that and then met an older friend who worked at Yahoo and he started working there. Some nine years later he got the idea for “Whatsapp” and with the help of his friend and a venture capitalist he launched his idea. This week he sold “Whatsapp” to Facebook for 19 billion. His share is 6.8 billion. The money to get this accomplished came from one of those evil hedge fund managers. Also in the news today another hedge fund donated 150 million to Harvard University for scholarships for undergrads. I assume they will accept this tainted money which was probably earned by ripping off poor people.

Sue Obama

Some people in congress feel that The President has overstepped his authority when he changed some of the provisions in Obamacare. I don’t know whether what he did was legal or not but he is being sued by some senators but there is a problem. Some laws have provisions written into them allowing for private suits – Congress has inserted such clauses in environmental laws, for example, out of fear that a future president might be inclined to look the other way when companies pollute. This is not the case with Obamacare. The problem facing the critics of Obamacare is that nobody has the constitutional authority, or standing, to sue the president for failing to enforce a law. Before they can sue they must convince a judge that they’ve suffered a direct injury because the mammoth act hasn’t been enforced in its entirety. Thus those who want to successfully sue must wait until the entire law is fully enforced and then show that they have suffered some injury. By the time all of this happens the law will be entrenched in society and if the courts rule against The President he will withdraw his changes.

My son

Remembrance 6th Anniversary In the early years after my son died, I often asked myself why this happened and I would console myself by saying that God has a plan but those were only words and I needed more. This past year the plan has begun to unfold and it has to do with how I see the future. I have always been optimistic but now I have this feeling that there is something important, something of significance in which I will be involved and play a prominent roll. It will center around ways to help others and I will use my experience and knowledge in a manner that will be different than in the past. I feel a new enthusiasm about the days ahead and it has put a spring in my step. I have been blessed with good health and I don’t intend to waste it but will use my energy in ways that will be new and exciting. I find myself telling my grandchildren that I plan on living to age 100 and that I will see them accomplish their dreams. I write to them passing on some of my life experiences hoping to encourage them to think positive and helping them to face and overcome obstacles. I have started a new career as a teacher which presents me with opportunities to affect the lives of young people in positive ways. But There are still times when my thoughts drift back through the years and I write Memories linger in the quiet darkness Recalling thoughts from the subconscious The miracle of a new born child A toddler just learning his first words Playing in the snow and walking to school Piano lessons in the early morn Playing catch before the dawn School conferences filled with pride Walking to the games side by side Junior High and growing up fast Childhood years that just won’t last High schools gone and off he went All grown up and on his own How quickly the time has flown Mystery tells me some thing’s wrong Trouble cries out the same old song A friend calls says my boys not well His life is just a living hell Treatment helps but just for a while I remember his friendly smile Not much for me to do this time It’s in the hands of the Divine

climate

Yesterday The President brought climate change back into the news and it reminds us of the convoluted way in which we deal with the issue. I offer two examples that both indicate the same absurdity. To fully understand the dilemma we must agree that the problem is worldwide, that is, we have only one planet. First the government has decided not to build a pipeline that would bring Canadian oil to the US and instead it will be sent to China. Second we are switching our coal fired power plants over to natural gas and shipping the coal to China. Understand that here in the US we make extensive use of technology to reduce the contaminants in our power plants, something that is not done in China. By sending this coal and oil to China instead of using it here we are increasing the emissions of unwanted chemicals into the atmosphere.

Obama after five years

When President Obama ran for office the first time in 2008, I did not vote for him because I believed that he lacked the necessary experience to properly handle the responsibilities of the office. After observing The President these past five years, I feel my initial reservations have been confirmed. My concern was more than his just having less than two years in the senate but that I do not view the senate as the proper venue to gain the executive experience needed for the job. I believe to be commander in chief you need to have been in a position of authority over things like people and budgets. This is where managers have to make the tough decisions and where they hone their leadership skills. I think we need to look to people who have been governors, or CEO’s or Generals. As a senator you are one of 100 of your peers and you negotiate with one another. That is much different than sitting alone at the top. As a governor you are working with tax payer money to protect your employees and the citizens of your state. You must make long term plans that are restrained by budgets and unions. The same can be said of military leaders and much like a CEO but he has stockholders to respond to instead of tax payers. As a senator Obama never had to meet a payroll, or set up a benefit plan for employees or satisfy a house full of elected officials or negotiate with a union. There may be senators that have the necessary leadership qualities but I don’t think it wise to find out if they have the skills after they are elected president. As I look ahead to Mrs. Clinton at least she was head of the state department where she got some executive experience and her time there gives us a glimpse of her leadership skills. Her record at state will be examined more closely if she runs for president.

NYC

During the post war years of the late 40’s and 50’s NYC like most big cities bargained with public unions and offered long term legacy benefits (pensions and healthcare after retirement). By the time the 60’s came along the city started into a gradual economic and social decline. Unemployment rose to over 10% and crime increased. The decline continued through the 70’s to the point that in 1975 the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. The mayor went to President Ford for a bailout but he declined and they then asked the State of New York for help and the received a temporary reprieve with some state money. The process of deficit spending by selling city bonds continued. The country’s economy turned around in the 1980’s but by the end of the decade NYC was still in struggling with high crime and slow growth. This was the result of 40 years of liberal government policies. In 1994 a conservative government was elected and began the process of increasing jobs, moving people from welfare and cracking down on crime. The next 20 years produced dramatic changes and the city once again was safe for tourist. This year a liberal was elected and he immediately set up a plan to return to the days of the 60’s where emphasis on public employees and welfare was at the fore front. Everyone is watching to see if things begin to return to the social and economic days of the 60’s. The plight of NYC was not unlike other big cities throughout the county and I can’t help wondering if Detroit had gone conservative in 1990 if they might be solvent today.

Preemies

The recent brouhaha caused by the CEO of AOL who complained about the high cost of birthing pre-mature babies has brought this issue into the news. It illustrates once again that technology is too far ahead of our laws and our thinking. Currently a baby born before 22 weeks has a ten percent chance of survival. For all 23-weekers, there is a great danger of illness and disability. A shocking 91 per cent of these babies will die in the first few weeks of life and never even leave hospital. Of the 9 per cent who survive, most are disabled. Many health professionals find the topic deeply uncomfortable Technology has increased the viability of all preemies except those at 22 weeks or less. This is the current limit of medical science. "In Sweden, Norway, Finland, they don't resuscitate a baby under 25 weeks. They say we're going to use that money for prenatal care," Muraskas says. "The economic thing, I have to say, can become a big issue. …As a country, people are starting to say, 'I don't know if we can afford this.' It takes a lot of money to deal with multiple problems." One of the reasons why these preemies survive is a chemical they inject that keeps the lungs from failing and with these so called micro-preemies they do not use this chemical and instead they wrap the baby in a blanket and lay it with the mother and wait for it to die. According to the nurse at Abbot Hospital in Minneapolis this generally happens within hours.