I spent the greater majority of today trying not to be haunted about the Iowa caucus. So for the first time in a long time I found things to keep me out of ear shot of the news. As I have more time I will explain why I felt so anxious about this coming election, but today I am here for a different kind of missive
Anyone here who knows me well is aware that I belong to no political party. I am not a Democrat, not a Republican not even an Independent. I simply want an America back that allows me to be free. Free to eat as I wish, live as I wish, say what I want and have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness. My hope is a candidate who's concern is the well being of the people, not the search for the power to change my country even further from what it's original design was.
However tonight I am not here to shout out my opinions or my thoughts. I have not perched in front of my monitor to tell you who I believe in and who I don't. There is plenty of time for that. Tonight I am here to make you think.
Scott came home today from work bringing me an e-mail that was circulated from somewhere within the company mail. Tonight I want to share it with you not as a slight against one party or another, but as a reality of life. How so often those things offered to us in pretty packages of ease and comfort for all come at a higher price then what we are aware of. This little ditty just rang so true of how we are taken down path of promises that life can be easier if we are only willing to give up just a few of our own desires and freedoms. Yet when those same circumstances are applied to everyday life we can see the similarities of what is suggested and how it can really effect us. It is at these points that we often find ourselves questioning the path we are following.
With that said I offer to you this little prize and leave you to your own thoughts, opinions and examinations of what you really believe.
A Father - Daughter Talk
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat. With the approach of the coming change of power many of these policies where part of the discussions of her college courses. One point in particular that had become popular was the redistribution of wealth, which she was very much in favor of.
She found herself deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor she had a formed a rather bleak opinion of her father. She now felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
During her stay at home for break she decided to challenge her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. She presented him with the wealth of knowledge gained from her professors, who would obviously know more than he how to view the government policies objectively. After a long lecture on the ideas she knew to be true, she glared at him, waiting for his concession to the validity of her well expounded points.
After a few moments he smiled at her and asked how she was doing in school.
Taken aback and angered by his apparent evasion of the discussion she rather haughtily informed him that she had a 4.0 GPA. Then further expounded on the how tough it was to maintain that average. In no uncertain terms she stated that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying. This left her no time to go out and party like the other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend or college friend because all her time was spent on study.
Her father listened patiently and praised her on her hard work and dedication. Then he asked her how her friend Audrey, who also attended the same college, was doing.
Rolling her eyes and showing visible disgust she replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies or participates in discussions and is barely holding on to a 2.0 GPA. To her college is a blast and revolves around her popularity. She is invited to all the parties, she is always out with friends and half the time she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over!"
Her father shook his head and expressed his sadness over her future with such a low GPA. Then he looked thoughtfully at his daughter and said "I know how you can help Audrey. When you get back to school why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to her. This distribution will give you both a 3.0 GPA and you will both have a fair and equal chance at getting good jobs when you graduate."
The daughter was visibly shocked by her father's suggestion and angrily fired back at him. "That's not fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I've invested all my time and hours of hard work into my homework! Audrey has done next to nothing towards her education or a degree. All she has done is played all year while I worked my tail off! I have earned that GPA and it is mine!"
At this the wise father rose from his chair, smiled and gave his daughter a loving kiss on the forehead. As he turned to leave the room he gently replied. "Welcome to the Republican party."
Makes you think doesn't it!
Amber Fire
"Vote for Freedom"
**** Please forgive any mistakes you may find, I am still getting use to typing again and have not quite refined my abilities yet. Thank you! ***
As always I ask all to respect the opinions of others that are expressed here. Please remember that everyone has an opinion an is always free to express it on my articles. There is no wrong thoughts or opinions as everyone has a right to their own view even if they are different from mine. Please afford others the same respect for their opinions as you expect for yours.
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Comments: 26
I have no intention of oversimplifying anything. Just offering up something that made me pause and think, so that others might do the same. Each will view it in a different way and have their own views on it, as you have demonstrated. This is a good thing, people should always think and examine those things placed before us. It is in this way that we are able to make educated decisions that are our own, as opposed to ideas imposed upon us.
You are absolutely right not all wealth is gained through hard work and sacrifice. I am well aware that hard work and sacrifice does not always produce wealth and success, but that does not mean that I expect those who have gained it to give it to me. Life delivers different things to different people. Some are blessed with wealth, while others are blessed with love, and others blessed with something else. To begrudge another for what they have is to ignore what one has been given.
Corporate profits may seem an offense to you and that is okay. Your views are your own and valid to you and I will not attack them. Yet in the same right I might feel that the profits made by taxes to be offensive or the three figure salaries of our Congress which spends most of it's time finding ways of taking more of my hard earned income. I doubt highly they will be distributing any of that wealth my way.
There is more than one entity that will be effected by the distribution of wealth and to single it out to one thing is unjust to the others who may suffer from such policies. For example, it has recently been proposed by one of our candidates that the "family inheritance of all" should not exist. That when one dies all they own should be given back to the state. As I move up in age I find it somewhat disturbing that what I have put away for my children should no longer be theirs, but rather belong to the government. Somehow that smacks of Socialism to me, and I for one am not eager to change our country into one with Socialist policies.
As you can see it all depends on the point of view and what each person deems as valid or offensive. It also encompasses how narrow or broad ones views are on the subject. Each person will take from this something different, and each persons opinion will be valid for them.
My only wish and goal is to make people think and find their own opinions and ideas as opposed to following that which they have heard and adopted as truth.
Lower earners also work hard and many times can't feed their families. Wealth distribution is a based on a false value system. This system is flawed.
Republican, Democrat, Liberal, Conservative, Socialist, Communist.....
Each *one* of these represents a piece of *the whole*
Every day, we apply one of these "parties" characteristics to our life in places where each ideal might be the most opportune or beneficial.
None of these, individually, ever has worked for a very long time alone. They are all facets of the human being.
America was created based on a government *by the people and for the people*
Let's grab hold of the reins and pull this horse and bugy back into the station.
It needs a wash and tune-up!
My only wish and goal is to make people think and find their own opinions and ideas as opposed to following that which they have heard and adopted as truth.
my favorite line of the article.
Thanks Amber and welcome back!
I sort of see the Republicans as the party of the well off, and the better off, making sure that the worse off stay that way.
The idea of individual thought and research to form an opinion is indeed an important issue to me. I applaud anyone who also sees the value in this type of thinking. To many of us listen to what others say and rather then search out if it is true, adopt it as their own opinion. To me this is one of the most dangerous pitfalls to freedom and the "American Dream".
I am sure that there is validity in your statement that not all aspects of socialism are bad. However we have a government body which is not known for their ability of restraint or control in their decisions. To take that one step into an aspect of socialistic policy could lead America into a full scale change. To even breech the idea of meshing such systems into our current government would demand a Congress of trustworthy individuals who's main goal was the welfare of the people. I am not altogether sure that is what we have today and so the danger of full scale change to adopt the bad with the good is not an unrealistic view in my opinion.
Yes we need change, but do we need it at the cost of taking on ideas and systems that have failed in the past. Change can come but it does not come easy nor without a price of one form or another. We as a people have become complacent and unwilling to give up even the smallest of luxuries to fight for our own rights and freedoms. We watch as prices soar and our lives are reduced to working 50 and 60 hour weeks to just get by. We grumble and express our dissatisfaction, but too many of us are unwilling to stand up and fight against it.
Corporate greed exists because we allow t to. We take no action, we make no stand and so it and the many other economical hurtles we face continue to grow and take over our lives. Yes, these things all exist and encumber our ability to find that place of "comfortably making it", but is wealth distribution really the answer or is it just another Band-Aid on an already dysfunctional system? If we really want change as a people then we must be willing to fight for it and MAKE it happen as opposed to sitting back and waiting for an already corrupt and overindulged government to give it to us.
I understand fully your outlook and reasons for the opinion you have formed. So many of us work hard and have little to nothing to show for that labor. We watch ourselves and our children go without even the most basic necessities at times. I am not sure what class of income we would fit into, personally I am against the idea of placing people in a "class". I do know we have good months and bad months. Times when there is enough to keep us running, and times when casseroles and hot dogs are viewed as a blessing. It is a harsh reality to bear for any person in a land which is considered the richest in the world.
The redistribution of wealth is a flawed system, but it grows out of resentment for the luck of others. Opportunity, and the search for it, is to me what leads us to the "American Dream". There are those with the ambition to search out opportunities that are available out there. Then there are the opportunities attained as a result of chance. If we begin to resent those who find them then we must also resent our own good fortune when it knocks at our doors. If you yourself were offered an opportunity of a life time, would you decline it because it was not offered to every other American? If you can honestly answer yes to this then you are a far greater person then I am.
The distribution of wealth is nothing more then another band-aid in a long line of temporary fixes since the Great Depression. To often their answer to the problem is to address the symptoms instead of the root of the problem. We traded our social freedoms when we as a people turned to our government for the exchange of a temporary fix. From this point there has never been one government funded program or idea that has made it a fair exchange for the people as a whole. As time has passed we have leaned more and more upon our government to solve our problems only to see more complex ones plague our search for financial freedom.
I seek out every opportunity that has the slightest chance of taking us forward. I consider ourselves blessed for those that have presented themselves and accepting of those that have eluded us. In the end ... without opportunities where do I place my hopes?
You make such an excellent point!
Human nature is a conglomeration of all of these ideas and systems. If only we could actually have a government "by the people and for the people" again. Wouldn't it be grand to trust our government to implement only those ideas that would be in our best interests.
By the way glad to be back!
First let's remember that Congress members make the same three figure salary regardless of their party standing. So to suggest that one party is well off and not consider that the other party is just as well off would be just ignoring the facts.
I do not think it has to do with "party affiliation" but rather the Congress on a whole. Either side can talk a good game but at the end of the day they are ALL going home to a comfortable life that most of us will never see. The bills they pass can devastate the home with little income while having little effect on their life at all. It would be nice to see a Congress again that lived and worked among it's constituents. Whose main income was a job like ours with a stipends paid for their service as a representative. If they had to live under the rule of their own bills in the same way we did, they might have a different outlook when writing and passing them.
The other often overlooked problem with wealth distribution is who would be distributing it?
Find me one person in our government trustworthy enough to handle millions of dollars with the idea of fairly distributing it to those who actually need it, and I might change my mind.
Tell me there will not be those who manipulate the system to make their own profit, and I might change my mind.
Unfortunately our government and society is not incorruptible enough to guarantee that the idea would not be grossly misused in one form or another. What would be a more likely solution is a way to lower the cost of many of our day to day expenses so that the "30 something Mississippi African American Woman" or any other American citizen is allowed the opportunities to attain financial stability and work towards a better future by their own means.
If everyone had the ability to live comfortably and save or invest (or whatever) on even the basic wage their would no longer be a reason for everyone not attaining some level of prosperity. The only thing holding them back would be their own lack of ambition or overindulgence which would no longer be the responsibility of the masses but that of the individual.
It is my sincere hope that you are wrong, though I understand the circumstances and possibilities which make you believe this. I also agree there is not a candidate that would be willing to either broach the subject nor want to express an answer to the problem if it occurred.
Our economic stability is directly effected by our ability to spend, save and invest (of course this is in the very basics of terms for those driven to tell me it is not that simple). As a nation and a government we are prone to overspending and so prices are out of proportion to income. Couple this with the fact that we conform to the excessive costs and so nothing is done to lower them.
We have a government unable to set and keep a budget and then expect us to pay over and beyond what they already take from us. As well as the unending list of other unnecessary spending they seem to justify at our expense. We have lawsuits for the most ridiculous things which pay millions out to the those looking for an easy road to riches, and the lawyers who have learned to manipulate the law and system to line their own pockets with exorbitant expenses. I could go on for hours as I am sure you know.
All of these things drive the prices we pay and the amount taken from us up until someone making 100,000.000 a year has become our lower middle class. This is not an exaggeration as Scott and I know several couples with this income who without a doubt struggle as much as we do to make ends meet. At what point do we wake up and realize that passing around someone else's wealth is not going to solve the problem. It is only going to increase that which we spend for the basic necessities. Simple logic dictates that those who are having it taken from them are going to want to make more to replace what they are losing .... and it only becomes a "catch 22" situation from there.
It is exactly that thinking that Congress loves! As long as we cannot perceive it as possible .. it is not possible. With the resources of the Internet today we could as "the people" vote anyone we wish into office. Instead we take our paper ballots and feel obligated to pick whom they give us to pick from. How about we cross them all out and find our own representatives.
Just imagine it for a moment. We the people chose our own candidate by means of Internet and the majority votes for this person, dose the government have the right to refuse us our vote?
As for me, I don't begrudge anyone for reaping the rewards of their own hard work, or lucky break, or inheritence. What I really don't like is when these individuals conspire to keep others from "joining the party", so to speak. If they made their fortune by selling washing machines, for example.....well, those things didn't just magically APPEAR. Someone further down the food chain MADE them. It hardly seems fair in any way for the disparity between the top and the bottom to be SO wide AND GETTING WIDER ALL THE TIME.
Adjusted for inflation, manufacturing workers earn about 12% less than they did 15 years ago.
Now, that was about the time I got into manufacturing and I remember $9, $10, and even some $12/hour jobs being available all over the place. NOW I'm seeing $8, $9, and $10/hour jobs for people of similar skill levels to what I had "back when". I remember buying premium gasoline for my car at less than $1/gallon and now I can't touch the cheap stuff for less than $2.89 or so.
Meanwhile, the individuals in the upper echelon are making about 400 times what I do. At least, that's what I've seen in a few news reports over the last year or so.
Whether that's accurate or not, I have no way of knowing. What I DO know is that I've seen corporate bigshots pull up in the plant parking lot with brand new $40K+ vehicles......right before they cut back my hours and start laying people off.
SOMEone is getting hurt and it's easy to see who it ISN'T.
This is the part where someone jumps in and tells me how much I don't understand and how much information I don't have, or ...............whatever. I know what I see and I know what's been done to me and friends of mine. No arguing with THAT.
Philosophical musings don't matter when you can't afford to keep the lights on and gas in the car so you can get to work and STILL be broke.
That is exactly what occurred when the Bolshevik Revolution happened in Russia.
The homes of the rich became hotels where *anyone* could dwell and all the luxuries were distributed to whoever was there to take them....otherwise known as Comunism.
Communism - a form of community where all the proceeds of the community are equally shared among the members. As an ideal, it is workable..just ask any hippie who lived in a commune. The downside is that there are always those who contribute little to the group but receive an equal share of the rewards....not a totally 'fair' system.
Eventually "All men are created equal" translates into "All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others"....
Jason - I have been inthat spot before, too!
I work for a company that doesn't consider the downfall of having too many corporate office and too few of the people who actually make the business prosper.
We are short-handed at the 'front counter' while they are off playing golf, looking for crappier products to increase profit (yet selling garbage that will haunt us in the very near future) and then following the trend that "payroll is the biggest expense" and cutting our jobs in order to please themselves and the stockholders.
I dare *any* corporate bigwig to lay off their whole workforce and tell me where would the money come from? Without people, you have no business...duh!
I recall how Lee Iacocca made Chrysler a major competitor when they did across-the-board pay cuts. Granted, he was still making a very large salary,even after the cuts, but he proved that he was still perfectly comfortable at the lower rate, proving that millions are unnecessary in order to survive.
How about professional athletes?
What in Gods name do they do that justifies a multi-million-dollar-per-year income?
My personal opinin is that if they were 'poor folk from the gutter who made it to the top, they should contribute a good portion of that money back into the neighborhood they came from, to pay back the folks who helped him learn to play so well, supported him and fed him, and to help those still in that place to get somewhere like they did for him. He owes them that much...otherwise, he's still just a punk.
I don't watch or support professional sports...it's my way of not pouring my hard earned money into some rich person's wallet.
As far as manufacturing workers making less than they used to, part of the problem is the Unions, who no longer place the worker at the front of their concerns. THe other problem is that too many people shop at WalMart....99% of their product comes from China. That means the American worker has to work for less in order for the product they make to compete 'pricewise' against much poorer quality products.
Americans need to consider really looking at what they purchase and start supporting American Labor.
Keep buying those Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, BMW's Volvo's. Who are you kidding? You're competing against your own co-workers!
I wonder if such a thing exists any more?
If they had to live under the rule of their own bills in the same way we did, they might have a different outlook when writing and passing them.
It boggles my mind that these people not only earn a high dollar salary while serving (Ha!) as elected representatives, but continue to do so after their term is completed! If you or I complete a contracted job we don't continue to be paid for a job we no longer perform.
I follow these primaries and elections with increasing interest as I hope to be able to vote by 2010. If I am lucky we will still live in a nation that actually has free and unencumbered elections...
If... as many fear, GWB declares Martial Law in the interim between now and November then I guess I will find that my activities here will result in my visiting one of those 'Detention Centers' that Suzi writes about in this article
"Adjusted for inflation, manufacturing workers earn about 12% less than they did 15 years ago."
This is one of the main problems this country has. The prices for things continue to rise due to "bad weather for the crops", "natural disasters", other countries having economic or political problems. All these things can cause an additional cost to any item the problem is that once the problem has passed the price does not go down. It remains at the inflated price and we must absorb it.
After the first time they did this and got away with it the practice has continued every year. For some reason prices must go up and the American people absorb it waiting for the break that will never come.
One more reason to stand up and fight against the constant corruption and misuse of political powers. I used this quote in an article I wrote before the "year from H*LL, and it still applies now.
"Find out just what the people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."
— Frederick Douglass, civil rights activist, Aug. 4, 1857
There has never been a truer statement in the history of man
I am with you on the exorbitant salaries paid to so many people for doing nothing -- such as: athletes, actors, actresses, CEOs, and of course lets not forget CONGRESS.
Buying American is also a good idea, We have so little anymore that is made here in the good old USA, and those things that are usually rely on parts from other countries.
It is a swift fall down hill folks and we all seem to have bought a ticket on the ride .. problem is there is only one way off it.
"Congress of trustworthy individuals who's main goal was the welfare of the people.
I wonder if such a thing exists any more?"
Answer: NO!
It would amaze you even more to read the daily records of Congress. It is like reading transcripts of overpaid preschoolers!
I give you a standing ovation. Few are able to admit that life choices have lead them to where they are today. Not to say that some of those choices may have been mistakes, but regardless they are choices. Each choice in life has repercussions and consequences and we are bound to live by those until a choice we make finds us on a new path.
This is one of the reasons I am so against "wealth distribution". Though there are, I admit, many out there that have wealth undeserved, there are just as many who obtained it through legitimate ends. They worked hard everyday to get where they are and to tell them they must give it away just because they have it, is just plain wrong.
If anyone of us were among those with wealth we would be shouting a different tune here. Changing policy will do the same and last longer then any move to take from one to support another. Take from the rich ans sooner or later there will be no rich, then who do we take from?
I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for making this a healthy exchange of ideas without the need to criticize another for seeing things in a different light. It is an honor to have each of you find the time to comment on this little piece, and look forward to your presence on future articles if you so desire. This is the type of exchange that is so refreshing to me! Thank each and everyone!
Amber
I agree totally!
This has been quite a sensible thread with plenty of intelligent responses!
Talk about oversimplification. Here's a news flash: corporate profits provide jobs. If those profits are distributed to someone else, then I will lose my job at the corporation and will be poor and needy, adding to the number of poor. On the other hand, if corporations make even more "obscene profits," they can hire more poor people and virtually end poverty in the U.S. Oh wait...they've done that. Not perfectly, but the glass is 99% full, not 1% empty. Capitalism ROCKS! Get used to it!