Principle or Politics

If you are employed in the private sector, then you know all too well that your continued performance and reliability are key to being successful in the workplace. In fact, if you make serious errors in judgment and do not learn from your mistakes, then your job will be in jeopardy.  If you breach the trust of your employer or your employer’s customers, you are likely to be seeking employment elsewhere. That’s right, if you lie, cheat, steal , misappropriate funds or intentionally mislead or if you provide benefits to friends, family or supporters that are clear conflicts of interest, you will likely be terminated in the real world.

 

Not so if you are employed by the US government in upper management or are an elected official.  You see, the ruling class sees themselves as exempt from the normally expected codes of conduct and that they are not accountable to the lower class which includes every non-elected person or non-management government employee.  Never has it been more clear than today that government leadership and the government regulators in leadership positions feel they are entitled to exhibit behavior that would never be accepted in the private sector.

 

Nearly every agency under the Obama administration has been involved in a scandal of some sort and there appears to be a different set of rules applied to those situations than would be applicable to everyday citizens.  I have listed 20 of just such scandals in previous comments and won’t belabor them here again, but at some point, the media and the American people need to face the reality that our dysfunctional government is the result of electing people who are more concerned about their ability to maintain control and power than anything else.

 

Overwhelmingly, the American people do not want the government to control Healthcare. Yet, the government is determined to force that situation upon us. How did “we the people” suddenly turn to “we the government”. We as Americans can take our country back. All we need do is elect folks who will behave and vote on principle and not politics. Vote new!

Taxpayer's Barrow More to Give Away

Since the government now borrows some 40 plus percent of what it spends, then one must understand that any  amount beyond that which has been factored into the current budget is 100 percent borrowed money. It really is a simple concept to understand. Of the approximately $3.4 trillion dollar budget, more than 40 percent is borrowed which will require taxpayer repayment into the future. So, anytime the government agrees to give more financial aid to countries or other special interests at home and around the world, it must first borrow the money before it can give it away. Need a few billion? The government has to borrow all of it which goes directly to the national debt that will someday have to be repaid by taxpayers.

 

This concept seems absolutely ridiculous that anyone can find wisdom in a theory that borrows money to give away when our nation is already financially strapped.  This among other boneheaded ideas coming from the nation’s leaders  should give the American people a glimpse into the absolute ineptitude plaguing our government at every level.  At what point does America finally get it and move to do something about it. 

 

Think about this whole concept, then think about the fact that the Affordable Healthcare Act (AHA)was passed without any legislator reading it.  As predicted by those few who opposed the AHA, it is a colossal failure in nearly every respect. The American people don’t want it, but government knows best so they are going to cram it down our throats. This is more evidence that Washington is out of touch with the American people and they are too incompetent to rule the masses. 

 

More examples exist at nearly every turn. Our current leadership has managed to worsen American’s standing from nearly every prospective. Financially, worse. Debt, worse. Global presents, worse. Economy, worse. Medicare, worse. Social Security, worse and list goes on.

 

When does the American people discover that they have had enough and are willing to boot the leadership out and vote new people into office that will represent the will of the people?

Kill or Drill

Why has there been so much American blood shed in the middle east? The answer is simple. The oil that flows from that region is the life blood of our economy. Politicians have for decades done whatever is necessary to protect the flow of that oil because without it being available at a moderate price to American consumers, our economy would crumble. However, the cost of having that oil is far more expensive than most fully understand.  

When you consider the indirect cost of American blood and money to provide security for the region and to participate in the various wars , the real price of a barrel of oil is perhaps some multiple of the published price. In reality, the real cost of oil to Americans is more like hundreds or even thousands of dollars per barrel. We will continue to pay for this oil in a number of ways into the future even if we managed to achieve energy independence.  For example; Thousands of military veterans and their families will require taxpayer assistance which they have earned for decades to come. They were sent to far away lands to protect American interests. Oil.

 

Some will argue that we do what we do for humanitarian reasons. While that may make those who make the decisions to send troops into harms way feel better about the actions they take, if it were not for our appetite for oil, I doubt we would have been as active in the middle east over the last 50 years. 

We now have other options. For the first time in a long time, the native oil and gas industry has improved our domestic oil production and now has energy independence within the realm of possibility. New technology and new discoveries have provided hope that energy independence is achievable. Obstacles from government and environmental groups should be removed and American ingenuity should be allowed to progress. 

 

The economic benefits from a more aggressive domestic energy development program would benefit the most people in the shortest period of time. Such a move toward energy independence would restart the economy and make this nation the proud economic powerhouse it once was.

This could  all be accomplished in an environmentally friendly manner and create more opportunity for American workers than any other idea out there. And consider this: Bombs and missiles do more harm to the earth and its inhabitants than the oil and gas industry ever could. The human and environmental impact of war far exceeds any harm presented by industry. The time has come for Americans to shift its focus to doing what is best for Americans. I think most people would rather drill for oil than kill for it.