GM/Chrysler

With all the clamoring going on this election about the democrats leading us down the path of socialism, why haven't we heard more objections to government bailouts? Apparently because we are already a quasi-socialist society. Corporations have become so big that we can't afford to let them fail as a fully capitalistic society would. Look at the latest General Motors/Chrysler merger talks. In order for General Motors to acquire Chrysler they need 5 to 10 billion dollars from Uncle Sam. Why not just give the money directly to Chrysler and eliminate the middle man? It's not like General Motors is a better managed company than Chrysler. Neither one is a proven winner at this point. By keeping them separate there is a chance one of them will be successful with their future alternate fuel vehicles and become the "job producing engine" that the country needs. By merging them we are betting that General Motors will make the right choice on which of their separate alternative fuel programs will be more successful. A decision that will be influenced by their bias towards their own "Volt" program which is a thinly veiled attempt at keeping its dealers' engine service business alive. What this country needs are new ideas, new companies and new jobs and not bigger companies trying to stay alive by buying market share with the taxpayers' money.

Go with the flow

As the price of oil continues its downward spiral, I am reminded of a saying: Don't fight the market. I can not count how many times I have thought to myself that a stock had dropped to a great price only to see it continue to drop like a lead balloon. It always turns out that there was a reason for the stock's price dropping. I just wasn't privy to it. The same with oil. There's a reason the price of crude oil is dropping. There are forces at work which we don't understand. I think one of those forces is the amount of research being done on bringing electric cars to market. Very rich companies can afford to hire very smart people to research the role of electric cars in the future. Just like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were smart enough to see the coming personal computer revolution, there are people working for the oil companies (google Exxon) who are smart enough to see the coming electric car (bike, motorscooter, etc.) revolution. A paradigm shift is coming. Maybe oil will be obsolete on Dec. 21st, 2012 and the winner will be whoever can exchange all of their oil for the "new" gold by then.

Clueless?

In following the articles on the Presidential campaign it appears that the mainstream media spends too much time listening to each other and not enough listening to Joe the plumber, Joe six-pack and the hockey moms. Joe the plumber isn't depressed because he owes taxes. He gets up every morning and goes to work with the thought in the back of his head that his boss was once like him and he can eventually be like his boss. That's what gets him out of bed and off to work on days he doesn't want to. It's called Ambition. It doesn't have to be well founded. It just has to exist. Joe the Plumber's fear isn't that he will never own his own company. It's that it will not be worthwhile to own his own company. That there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Socialism is the death knell of ambition. The bible repeats it over and over: Without a vision, my people perish. It is time for the media to realize that Socialism doesn't work. It might be fair to those without ambition, but it's not fair to those with ambition. Can you say USSR?

To thine own self be true

This is one of those old sayings you just don't hear any more, and that's too bad. If more of us were true to our own selves there would probably be less of us depressed, addicted or suicidal. The key word here is "self" in the Jungian sense of the word. This requires that people be in touch with their whole psyche. It doesn't eliminate the psychologist, just the meds. A psychologist or spiritual mentor is probably a necessity in this day and age to discover all that you are, never mind all that you can be. No man is an island (we'll save that for another day). Who he is is part culture, upbringing, genetic and who knows what else. When I grew up I spent time with my maternal grandfather and when people say I have a sense of humor I can say I got it from my mother's side of the family. Today, few people can say they knew a grandparent well enough to see them in themselves and yet our ancestors pass down traits, skills and values that are part of our self. Before we dismiss a sense of what is right or wrong offhandedly, we should pause and wonder. Is that sense part of my self?

Immigration

Whatever happened to "give me your tired, etc."? It's one thing to say that people should enter this country legally, but it's an entirely different matter to do so. Many of the tired and oppressed don't have the education to go through the intricacies of the immigration process. The immigration process provides a nice living for a lot of attorneys. Let's face it. We don't want the tired, we want the smart, the rich, the well connected. All our arguments about making the people who are here go back home and apply for American citizenship legally is a cover-up for the fact that most people in this country do not want any poor people in their neighborhood. Well it looks like we are not going to be able to avoid having poor people in our neighborhood because if the economy keeps falling apart we will be the poor people in our neighborhood and it will serve us right.

Very Small Business

Apparently there are small businesses and then there are very small businesses. Maybe we should have a new category called Tiny Business or something like that. A lot of businesses start out as Family businesses. The Husband generally does the work he knows how to do and the Wife answers the phone, makes appointments and manages the books. Then they take on an employee. This is where it gets complicated. Payroll taxes, workman's compensation insurance, accountant fees, etc. This is where many otherwise law abiding American citizens become crooks. They pay the employee off the books. If they become a "small business" they can put the employees on the books and hire the accountant to help them file the income tax forms they need. Our complicated tax system leads many otherwise honest people down the road of crime. I normally advise people to work for others as long as they can rather than try to start their own business. Once you commit one crime it's easier to commit the next. The only difference is degree. As much as large corporations are apparently in need of regulation, tiny businesses are in need of exemptions. They should not have to be responsible for collecting taxes for free for the government; nor should they be liable for being the weapon of last resort against illegal immigrants. Most "tiny" businesses fail within 3 years. Those that survive and grow can eventually shoulder more responsibility but while they are "tiny" they need protection more than regulation.

Fairness

In listening to the Vice-Presidential debate I heard the word "fairness" used in explaining why money should be taken from the rich and given to the poor. Unfortunately "fairness" depends on perspective. If one person spends his youth studying and another spends it on something that doesn't help him or her career wise, what is fair about rewarding someone for their poor choice(s)? I think we can all agree that it isn't fair if a person, through no fault of their own, doesn't have an opportunity for a meaningful education. We can also agree that it isn't fair if a person, through no fault of their own, doesn't have an opportunity for a life sustaining job. But can we agree that if a person doesn't avail himself of the opportunities to educate themselves and work at a life sustaining job, they aren't entitled to have anything other than their basic needs met by Society at the expense of those who have worked hard at taking advantage of educational and job opportunities? Now that would be nice.

need not greed

Our country has to change from an economy of greed to an economy of need. The difference is that an economy of greed often spends resources on creating a need (real or imagined) instead of identifying and meeting an authentic need. It often meets the need in an inferior way and then improves its product to better meet that need. The early IBM computer was a perfect example. Their first personal computers were sold with floppy drives and within a year there were hard disc drives available. The first disc drives weren't even the best technology then available. An economy based on greed wastes resources on creating needs without adding to the overall improvement of society. As the present stock market collapse shows, companies eventually run out of "improvements" and go into bankruptcy or collapse with the only beneficiaries being the chief executives, thanks to obscene bonuses and salaries.

Graduated tax rates

Is it time to return to the "graduated tax rates" of the past? If we are going to continue to use the current complex tax code, then it might be time to consider revisiting the graduated tax rates of the past that resulted in most executives deciding it wasn't worth cheating, lying or otherwise deceiving shareholders, the government or employees for a mere 10% of the amount to be gained by such conduct. The same graduated tax rates that convinced company executives to spread the wealth with company employees here in the US rather than outsource manufacturing to take advantage of less stringent labor and/or environmental laws and thus earn large bonuses completely unrelated to the executive's ability to improve the essence of the company itself and its product(s). It's regressive, yes; but it might be time to let the pendulum swing back to the regressive side of the clock.