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 In addition there were complaints about outdated equipment.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