Non-Profits Helps Everyone

            Contine to Help the Citizens of Our Nation

After reading Sandra Weatherly’s blog posting,"Congress Out of Touch with America Volunteer Organizations", I can see that she is very passionate about non-profit organizations and how the federal budget can affect them.  I know that there are non-profit organizations out there that rely heavily on the federal government for financial assistance.  I am all for the federal government allocating money to help out non-profit organizations.  However in these economic hard times, unfortunately there are going to be programs and organizations that will experience budget cuts.

In a utopian society, there would be enough money for all the programs and non-profit organizations to continue the important work that they do.  Unfortunately, we do not live in a utopian society and there is simply not enough money to support every program and organization.  The federal government no doubt has a very difficult job in trying to come up with a federal budget that everyone can agree on.  Once the budget has been approved and passed, then there will be people that will be upset at the cutbacks.  The truth of the matter is that Republicans and Democrats are really never going to agree on anything.  Each party has their own agenda and ideas about how to accomplish these agendas.  Instead what happens is that each party has to settle on giving and taking.

When this giving and taking occurs, the citizens of the United States are the ones that are affected the most.  Many citizens from all socioeconomical ways of life are the ones that suffer.  Sandra is correct that these programs and organizations need fulltime staff to take care of the people that they serve.   Many people, especially the federal government, do not realize just how important these programs and non-profit organizations are important to the ones they serve.

It would be wonderful if all those making decisions see both sides of the coin and try to work it out so that everyone can continue to benefit from the work of these programs and non-fit organizations.  It seems that the programs and organizations that rely on government assistance are the ones that are most effective in helping out those it serves.  One can only hope that the trend that Sandra mentioned can continue and that Republicans and Democrats can start working together rather than against each other.

Way Past time to get Along

Recently during the final countdown of the budget proposal deadline before the government was scheduled to shutdown, the media played a huge role in adding fuel to the fire.  It was bad enough that Democrats and Republicans could not agree on the budget and they could not even disagree on what they were disagreeing about.  Come Congressmen and Congresswomen, it is time to throw aside the differences and work together.

It really does not matter whose is to blame for the current mess the United States is in, but more importantly, it is way passed time to come together and work for the great good of the American people.  Arguing and bickering back in forth does not accomplish anything.  If anything, it only adds for fuel to an already burning fire that is out of control. Our elected officials are supposed to be adults but instead act more that like preschool children who cannot play well with others in the sandbox.  Granted, each official has their own party views, beliefs, and will do whatever is necessary to uphold those views and beliefs.  That being said, when does the disagreeing ever end?  When this country is morally, emotionally, and physically bankrupt?  Sure looks that way. The United States is probably the punch lines of jokes told by other countries.

The media was just as guilty.  There are political activists from both Democratic and Republican sides that are slinging the mud just as fast as can be and all in the name of what?   Trying to rally the troops or just aggravate an already tense society?  Well that is exactly what is taking place.  Political activists are using Twitter and Facebook to get their rants and raves out to the public about the opposing party.  There are political activists that are using the airwaves and debating on talk shows (that are supposed to be there to educate the public). In fact all is does is muddy the waters and can even cause strife.  In fact, there was one political activist that used his Facebook to blame the opposing side. This in turn caused his followers and those that commented on his Facebook posting to start arguing in response to his and the other comments posted by others.  Really, what does this accomplish?  NOTHING!!!

Our forefathers and the Framers of the Constitution are rolling over in their graves at what is currently taking place within the walls of Congress.  It is time to put aside all the political party differences and work together for the common good of everyone.  It seems that sometimes that it would be in everyone’s best interest to have someone in control that is open minded and willing to listen to both sides, make concession when needed, even if he or she does not agree with what the other side is proposing.  In a perfect world everyone gets along and the solution to the problems at hand are more important than any political affiliation but unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and why we are in a tremendous mess!

Energy Crisis Response (Stage 6)

After reading Energy Crisis by Keith Wright , I have to agree that the government needs to find alternate methods to the fuel dilemma.  Something needs to be done, especially since oil consumption in the United States continues to rise.  The United States relies heavily on the oil supply from the Middle East.  In order for the United States to cut its dependency on foreign oil, changes are definitely going to have to be made.  It is about time that the United States is taking a step towards independence from the tyranny of overseas oil prices. 

A public concern might be that since President Obama is pushing for all government vehicles to have a higher efficiency rating, that the price tag on all those vehicles will hit the taxpayers even more than we already are.  Maybe since the government bailed out several large car manufacturers, maybe they could just donate them to the federal government as a way of saying thank you for saving our company.  Understandably that with progress and change, there come give and take, but at the expense of an already taxed society?  The federal government has a hard enough time agreeing on a budget, then how in the world can we expect them to agree on where to get the supply of oil and how exactly to “go green”. 

Other energy sources, such as wind, electric, battery operated, and solar sources, should be continued looked upon as possible solutions to this issue.  Drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and other states, is possible another step towards dependency.  It would also produce jobs and probably help the economy in the process.  The government needs to set aside their differences and focus on the tasks at hand.

Taking Back America

Taking Back America

It seems that the United States is in a serious trouble.  This recession that United States is in has hit most all of the citizens quiet hard.  People are losing their homes at an astounding rate due to foreclosures.  The unemployment rate is through the roof.  Gas prices are steady increasing.  It seems that the government has its hands full dealing with the situation in Libya and the recent devastation in Japan.  How about the good citizens of this great nation?  When do the citizens become the top priority?  How can the government do to help the citizens out?  Here are just a couple of ideas.

                How about drilling for oil in the United States and stop paying the outrageous prices from the Middle East?  Yes there are people out there, conservationist, that want to protect the environment and do not want to disturb nature.  That is all fine and good, but what about the people that are going hungry and are barely making ends meet?  They need their jobs but when they go to the gas pumps and it cost an extra $100 a month to fill up the gas tanks, where does that money come from when they don’t have an extra to spare?  It is time to take the power away from the Middle East and put it back in America’s hands.  Drill oil here.  It will produce jobs and drive down gas prices.  Since gas prices continue to increase, so does the cost of food and all other necessities that are required for daily life. Americans can’t have their cake and eat too, so to speak.  Something has to give.

                The government needs to come together and put the citizens first.  Our elected officials need to set aside their differences and focus on what is important: the people of the United States. They need to remember that it is the citizens that elected them and those same citizens can choose not to re-elect them.  Government spending needs to be cut.  Let’s cut how much those Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen make.  They make almost $200,000 a year.  If each one took a $50,000 pay cut, imagine what would happen.  Apply that money to the deficit or even funnel it back to citizens.  The government officials should to be treated the same as an average citizen.  They deserve the same benefits that we all do. No more perks of being an elected official.  They need to save up for their vacations, just like the rest of the working class do. Get rid of the government kick backs.

                Granted, nothing is as easy as it seems.  In a perfect a world, the citizens would be able to provide for their families. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and the citizens of the United States are suffering. It is way past time for our government to cast aside their differences and work together for the citizens of this great nation.  It is time to take America back.

Stage 4: Blog Critique

The article written by Charles Krauthammer entitled “It’s Still an Empty Lockbox: Accounting tricks versus financial reality” is dealing with the issue of the indebtedness of the United States Treasury and the Social Security trust fund. This article originated because of the recent White House blog posting of President Obama’s budget chief, Jack Lew.  Mr. Lew repeated “his claim that the Social Security trust fund is solvent through 2037. Mr. Krauthammer believes that is false information and that the Social Security trust fund is empty.

According to the article, funds belonging to the Social Security Administration were lent to the Treasury Department, which turned around and spent the funds.  In turn, the “Treasury Department deposited corresponding IOUs, called “special issue” bonds into the Social Security trust fund”.  Mr. Lew claims that these IOUs have monetary value because “these Treasury bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government in the same way that all other U.S. Treasury bonds are.”  Mr. Krauthammer believes that this information is incorrect.  Mr. Krauthammer questions “that if the trust-fund bonds are real, then why are they not included when figuring the national indebtedness of the U.S.?”  Mr. Krauthammer says that the way to measure the national solvency is by the debt/GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio. This type of debt is counted as “publicly held debt”, meaning that the bonds held by other countries and citizens of the U.S.  This debt ration does not include this type of “intragovernmental bonds”. 

Mr. Krauthammer believes that these types of bonds are nothing more than a way for the Treasury Department to keep track of how much they owe other government agencies (in this case the Social Security trust fund).   The rest of the world does not really care what agencies owe other agencies because agencies make up whole, other countries only care about what the whole United States owes them.  This is why the publicly held bonds are different from the intragovernmental bonds.  Mr. Krauthammer says that if we were to default on debt we owe another country, then other countries would stop lending money to the United States. If this were to happen, the United States would be bankrupt. Mr. Krauthammer says that if the Treasury Department were to stop honoring these types of bonds, then there would be nothing more than grumbling from these departments.

The bottom-line that Mr. Krauthammer is trying to make is that Mr. Lew is misleading the public and other members of political world to believe that these bonds are good monetarily and that the Social Security trust fund is still able to continue to do what it was designed to do.  Mr. Krauthammer believes that the reality of the situation is that “it is just still an empty lockbox.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/262449/it-s-still-empty-lockbox-charles-krauthammer

Stage 3: Editoral....Libya

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/08/AR2011030803149.html

In the article by George F Will, of The Washington Post, he introduces some very interesting and thought provoking questions about the current controversial issue between the citizens of Libya and Moammer Gaddafi.  The author’s audience is Congress and even the President. The main focus is whether the United States should become humanitarianly involved and help put an end to Gaddafi’s rule. In all the points Mr. Will makes, he seems to be taking the anti-intervention in Libya approach. Should the United States enforce a “no-Fly Zone” over Libya?  The author brings up some very good questions that need to be analyzed before any decisions should be made.  He is using logically thinking when posing his questions.  If the United States does impose a “No-Fly Zone”, does that stop the Gaddafi ground forces?  The logical answer is no it would not.  Mr. Will quotes Senator Kerry and Senator Clinton in their opinions of the Libya situation.  Is our intervention in Libya really a U.S. priority?  According to Mr. Will, up until a month or so ago, this issue was not a concern for the United States.  It seems that we already have other irons in the fire with two other Muslim nations; does the United States really need to add a third one to the mix? 

With the logical and thought provoking questions that Mr. Will has brought into question, I have to agree that we need to look at the whole picture and weigh the pros and cons of the situation before making any decisions that will affect not only the citizens of the United States but the citizens of other countries.  I feel that while this is an important issue, why does the United States need to get involved?  The United States has always been willing to help out and protect the citizens of other countries.  It is time that the leaders of the United States to start trying to solve our countries problems before borrowing more trouble and causing increased national debt.  I feel that other countries should step up to the plate, so to speak, and take action.  I realize that the United States is considered “Super Power” and with that comes certain responsibilities.  Our nation is in a severe financial crisis and there does not seem to be an end in sight.  We have an unemployment rate that is increasing and families losing their homes.  Gasoline and food prices are skyrocketing.  I know that these issues are on an agenda somewhere, but when will these issues be seriously looked at and agreements between Republicans and Democrats reached to help out with these problems?  When will these parties come together for the good of our country? I thinking now is an extremely good time!

Blog Stage 2: Ohio state Senate passes bill to curtail collective bargaining

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/02/ohio.budget/index.html

This is an article about the collective bargaining between public workers and the government. Since this has passed the Ohio Senate, could very well pave the way for other state governments to also pass a similar bill.  The Ohio Senate narrowly passed this bill by a margin of a single vote.  The original bill was scaled down to include the “Modifications include new measures to settle workplace arbitration, limits on worker vacation and an end to their ability to negotiate health care and automatic pay raises based on seniority. The amended version would also restore collective bargaining rights on wages but ban strikes by all public-sector workers, imposing fines and terminating employment contracts for those who defy the ban.”  Collective bargaining works the following way: the union bargaining team meets with the government team to discuss rights and benefits for employees.  It is then put into an agreed contract between employees and government officials.  Many police and fire departments around the country have obtained contracts through collective bargaining.  Once collective bargaining is taken away, employees no longer have power to fight for better pay and benefits.  The end result is that employees and their benefits are left in the hands of government officials.