Blah Blah Blah...that's pretty much how I feel about the state of things right now...in the government, in the nation, in the world. And no matter what people think, it is NOT all Obama's fault. It's not all the Democrat's fault. It's not Bush's fault, or his daddy's. This is the fault of every American who wanted to find the easy way to make a buck, and buy a house, and buy a car and basically live the American dream without working for it. It took decades. But it finally caught up with us. The constant borrowing, the constant spending, the constant begging others to bail us out of the situation that we got ourselves into.
We owe China over $1 trillion dollars(plus interest), Russia $115+ billion, and countless others almost as much... We have amassed what was once believed to be an impossible amount of money...upwards of $15 TRILLION. Maybe it really is time to step back, take a good long look at ourselves(collectively AND individually) in the mirror, and figure out how to start getting out of this mess. There IS NO quick fix to this one. It's a problem that's going to take many many years to dig ourselves out of. So how do we begin?
We need to start looking within our own boundaries. The answers are there. We have so many natural resources that can be utilized. Gas, oil, coal, wind, water, nuclear energy; We have enough natural resources in our own borders that could supply us with electricity, heat, and fuel to last us several hundred years. I think by the team we use it all up, we MIGHT be able to get ourselves out of the red. If we were to cut off imports of oil from the middle east and bring production in-country, not only would it be a big ole' middle finger to OPEC, it would create jobs, revenue, and product that would drive our economy for years. It would create self-sufficiency. It would create market stability. Yes, it would piss off all those hippies who are scared of eating processed foods and would rather pay 10x as much for organic products that nutritionally have no additional value. But if that is the worst thing that happens, looks like they might have to be the first of many people who will have to bite the bullet. Just like any mess, we got ourselves into it, and we are going to have to accept the consequences.
But localizing energy production is only going to be a start. In order to deliver jobs, we are going to have to start trusting people again. Now I realize that sometimes, when you trust everyone, you're going to get burned every now and then. But this whole practice of denying people jobs simply on the basis of their credit rating is simply bad for American business. Many people have poor credit ratings because they were uninformed when they signed mortgages, and car loans, and student loans, and credit cards. Some simply made mistakes. But who of us haven't made mistakes in our lives. It should not be a lifetime sentence of poverty because when you were 21, you decided to max out your credit cards, while you were in college, and now when you graduate, you can't find a job because of your poor credit rating, and so you can't repay your student loans, and so your credit rating will continue to suffer. It is a vicious cycle that creates poverty and crime. Stop worrying about peoples' past so much, and focus more on what they offer to the growth of your company, and in turn, our economy.
Next is something that no one really wants to hear, but it is unfortunately necessary to help us come out of this hole. Taxes. There are many ways to go about levying taxes. But we are currently doing it the wrong way. Taxes corporations only hurts the bottom line. It causes them to make cuts and hiring freezes that slow our economy to a crawl. Simply raising the federal income tax by a few percent would bring in billions more in available funds. In return for repealing the corporate tax, every corporation would be able to(and possibly required to) add substantially to their workforce. It's not really a means of making them money. It is a means of freeing up their money so that it can be spent in research and development(which creates jobs). It can be spent on production and sales(which creates jobs). It can be spent on marketing and other services that will also...that's right boys and girls...create jobs.
Stop bailing out people who don't deserve it. Stop sending money places where it does more harm than good. Instead, reinvest it into the people who earned it. The American people aren't lazy, or ignorant. They are simply lost. They need someone to show them the way. It is going to take a VERY long time, but it can be done. It takes patience, and willingness to fail. Failure does not equal the end. Failing is simply a finding one more way not to succeed. Eventually...you find the answer. At that time, all of that hard work will pay off.
I am an American. I was a soldier, and I am and always will be a patriot. I am NOT willing to watch the country that I love fail.
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