Many people have lost their jobs due to our current economic situation, while others have seemingly been unaffected by it. Why did our economy, the most powerful in the world, have a stroke? The economic meltdown was caused by three factors: social policies (another name for communism), greedy bankers, and greedy Americans. My argument is that not only did we ourselves contribute to the economic meltdown, but everyone will be affected by it in the years to come.
Banks for years have followed certain practices by which they base their decisions on whether to make a loan or to withhold it. To give an extreme example, if a homeless guy came up to me and asked me to borrow $100,000 to buy a home I would not feel inclined to do so for fear that I would never see my money again. I would feel sorry for the guy and try to help him in other ways, but a home loan is out of the question. Banks look at income brackets and past credit scores in determining who should receive loans. If a bank makes a bad loan they lose money! Over the years people like Janet Reno implemented social policies which penalized banks who didn’t make loans to lower income areas. True market forces were interrupted to push political agendas.
Big banks, the ones which are deemed “too big to fall” and yet are currently failing, are at the heart of this crisis. They started making subprime loans to individuals that had very little chance of even paying these loans off. These banks even gave NINJA loans (No Income, No Job, No Assets). What the banks started doing was packaging loans together and selling them as securities on the stock market. Thus the risk was shifted from the bank to investors, and it allowed the banks to continue making subprime loans. They all knew this was bad economics but they were making money and the economy was booming. Housing prices were soaring because of the huge demand for housing. That is, until the loans were not paid and these banks ended up with toxic assets.
Finally, those of us who went into debt and defaulted on our loans should have known better. Just because a bank is willing to give you the loan doesn’t mean that you can afford it or that it is a sound financial move. A large percentage of the American people live outside their means. They have done so in the past, and continue to do so.
Our system is such that it takes about a year for a bank to reclaim these homes. The loving way in which people hand these homes back to the banks is to strip the home of everything and damage as much as possible to stick it to the man. In all reality they are only hurting themselves and the rest of the American people because currently our banks are receiving billions of dollars to keep them from going under.
So what does all this mean? President Obama has now spent over 2.6 trillion dollars trying to stimulate the economy. The White House claims they have “saved or created 640,329 jobs" with all the money they have put into the economy, yet all this while unemployment rates have done nothing but grow. Even if the White House makes such allegations and we choose to believe them, that would mean that it took nearly 4 million dollars of stimulus money per job “saved or created” by the white house. The white house responds with the statement that this is calculator abuse. UNEMPLOYMENT IS STILL RISING!
With all this, in the end we messed up economically and we got ourselves in a rut. But I’m more worried about the long term implications of our debt than trying to make the economy look good for the short term just to get reelected. Dumping stimulus money doesn’t do much for the economy. How will we ever pay off this debt? The debt already exceeds 12 trillion dollars. Our interest on the debt is more than the federal government spends in a year on education. If we stop trying to manipulate the economic forces, they will work themselves out in the end. Our big focus should be eliminating this debt, which we would otherwise immorally pass on to our children.

Josh O.

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Some might say that our welfare system isn’t perfect, but it’s better than letting people starve on the streets. I say that while our welfare may be preventing starvation and poverty it is rapidly promoting another, perhaps worse problem--greed and entitlement. Not that I am of a sadistic nature, in fact I believe heavily in giving to the poor. What I don’t believe in, is the government forcibly taking our money and then the government deciding for themselves how our funds are distributed to the poor. I feel our debt is going to consume us in the future and welfare is just one of the facets adding to our out of control spending.

In the year 2000 over one trillion dollars were spent on welfare and that amount has steadily increased since then. Right now, about 11% of American citizens are on welfare and that number is likely to continue to increase even further due to the economy. Add into this that 40-50% of Americans do not pay taxes because they fall into the lower income bracket. This means that 30-40% of our population are neither helping nor hindering, 11% are draining our country’s funds, while the so called rich, who are often looked down on for being such, are the 50-60% of our population who are contributing to society by paying taxes. They are the ones who go to work and have a large chunk of their pay taken out so that we have public education, a police force, politicians, and yes, welfare. What happened to the American Dream? The dream that no matter who you are you can make it big here by hard work and determination.
A closer look at how these welfare funds are used by both the government and the individuals who use them would disturb many. In many states obesity and drug addiction is now classified as a disability. Those with these disabilities can now receive government aid. In essence, drug addicts are being paid to be addicted to drugs, so why would they stop? Who would have thought that self induced problems would start to receive government funding.
It is true that there are people out there who need our help; whether it’s a widow with no money, young children without food to eat, or the homeless who were laid off from their jobs due to a lack of money. These individuals clearly need assistance. However, a 30 year old man who plays video games all day has no right to these funds. I’m not so sure if the majority of those who fell within the 11% group receiving welfare even need it. From my personal experience of working at a grocery store for over four years now, I’ve seen what people buy with welfare money. Most individuals with Horizon cards (food stamps) buy candy, pop, and potato chips. Rarely have I ever even seen them buy something that I would classify as a necessity. Why are we paying these people to eat candy, pop, and chips? Will this not add to the obesity problem and force us to give them more money because of their new found disability?
The American people as a whole are some of the hardest working people in the world. That’s our dream to work hard and make it big. But we are giving many individuals the incentive to not work. The American people are very giving, both with their time and their money, in fact more so than any other country in the world. There are charitable organizations across the country, along with soup kitchens and food banks to supply the needy with the food they require. The welfare program should be run within local communities and cities. We cannot ignore our duty to help these people but there is an old adage give a man a fish and he is fed for a day, teach a man to fish and he can supply his own needs for life. With this being said who wants to be forced to give up their money and watch it be wasted by insensible government programs? Not me.

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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpation."
President James Madison (1751-1836) speech, Virginia Convention, 1788


Eleven score and 13 years ago, our founding fathers pledged to each other, as recorded in the Declaration of Independence, their "lives, [their] fortunes and [their] sacred honor" and embarked upon the great experiment known to us as The United States of America. It was to be a true republic- in the words of Abraham Lincoln, a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" guided by divine providence. It was a dream that they shed sweat, blood and tears to achieve. It was a dream defended on the battlefield, in the courthouse, and in the hearts and minds of our earliest patriots. It is a dream realized.
Today there are more than three-hundred-million people lucky enough to call themselves "Americans" and lay claim to the unparalleled heritage of our great country. People from all nationalities, races, and tongues have journeyed here just so that they too might be a part of this great dream and claim the promised blessings of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for their posterity. Through hard work, determination, and a little inspiration they let our capitalist, free economy work for them.
Just like the legal immigrant, I, too, love America. I have lived, worked, and grown to manhood in this atmosphere of freedom. I have been a student of its history, purpose, and theology since I was a boy. I feel especially blessed to be an American after the two years I spent living in the heart of Russia. In Siberia, I learned the Russian language, culture, customs, and history and feel so very fortunate that our country has thus far been spared their dark heritage of tyrants, bloody revolutions, and communism.
As a student of the histories of both of these nations, it not only became apparent to me that there were reasons for the rise of Socialism and the Soviet Union, but that trends similar to those reasons exist in the United States today. Trends that if not halted, I'm sorry to say, will lead us down a long and destructive road toward a fate similar to our Russian friends. Many of these trends may seem harmless, or even appealing such as "universal health care." But behind the campaign promises lies a threat to our hard-won liberties. Although appealing, this progressive movement toward socialism must be halted or our great nation will find itself slowly robbed of its liberties and freedoms in the name of "security" and "welfare."
It shall now be our opportunity to explore the histories of Russia and the United States in order to compare, contrast, and decide for ourselves what our future shall be. As one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, once said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
I would argue that the downfall of Russia's freedom came in small, yet progressive, steps-- a pilgrimage to a new order. This journey was marked by four flags, or landmarks. They remain warning signs of things to come if we continue on our present course. We may walk on opposite sides of the road from our neighbors but, if we are not careful, we will inevitably pass the same markers and arrive at the same destination. With this in perspective, it is easy to see the correlation in our histories.
The first marker came during a time when the people were starting to lose faith in their government: Terrorism. In 1870, years before the October Revolution of 1917, the "Narodnaya Volya", or "People's Will", organization changed their tactics to terror. After many attempts, they finally succeeded in assassinating not only Czar Alexander II, the great emancipator, but also his son Czar Alexander III. Although many of its members and leaders were captured and tried, the damage had been done. (Heyman) The Russian people were gripped with fear, and they began to doubt the strength of their own government. The proud and strong nation that had defeated Napoleon began now to quiver in fear. Something very similar to this has happened to us in recent years.
We all remember the tragic events of 9/11. That day the earth itself seemed to stand still for all Americans. Had those terrorists not been foiled on flight 77, they would have succeeded in destroying the White House. They might have even killed our president in addition to all the other lives they took. We all remember that day because the unthinkable happened. We never believed that it could happen to us, but it did. Our faith was shaken. Many of us turned to God, and even more to family and friends for sanctuary-- for some anchor in our now turbulent lives.
While we are not necessarily at fault for this incident, it nevertheless remains a landmark for America on this Socialist Pilgrimage. We should not hold ourselves responsible or accountable for the terrorists' actions on 9/11. Yet, even so, a mighty change was wrought in our American mindset: we realized that we were not invincible. The reason that this is so important is because we no longer felt secure. As we will further investigate, it is the sad nature of free men in times of crisis to trade liberty for security. To quote another of our great Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
The classic example of this principle is ancient Rome. In times of war or crisis, the senate and the people would hand over power to a Caesar. He was then to efficiently handle the situation through his absolute use of power, and then turn the government back over to the people. Cincinnatus was the poster child for this form of government. He was the great example: a farmer who became king during crisis, and then just gave the power right back in order to return to work. However, there came a time when the people handed power, and their freedoms, to the Caesar- and he never returned them. (Koch) This serves as a powerful reminder for us-- not all men can be trusted with our liberties. Even in desperate times, we must remain ever vigilant to protect the precious freedoms we have.
As we continue on this journey, the next landmark to catch our eye is economic crisis. In the years immediately preceding the start of World War 1, Russia found itself in turmoil. The industrialist boom that had swept the nation had now reduced itself to a few glowing embers of growth. Working conditions were horrible, the pay was worse, and the laborers were forced to work overtime. Aside from the outrageous expansion and industrialization projects, such as the Trans-Siberian Railroad, blame for the crisis can be found in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05. As George F. Kennan, political scientist and former ambassador to the Soviet Union wrote: "It had been a folly, of course, for Russia to involve itself ... in 1904-05 in the war against Japan. This alone [in spite of other economic and social turmoil] had brought the country to the very brink of revolution."
At first it may be difficult for us to imagine how this could have any relevancy to our situation in America, but in all reality this landmark has come and gone while we were sleeping, as it were. Our nation currently faces an economic crisis. Along with the devaluation of our currency we have witnessed some of the highest unemployment rates since the great depression. Compound this with very controversial wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we have been unsuccessful in concluding. Anyone can see that our circumstances are a startling parallel to those of Russia at the turn of the twentieth century. Some would argue that our wars were of liberation, while the Russo-Japanese War was one of greed and conquest. While that may be true, our wars now are just as controversial as the Russians' war in 1904. It is important to remember that while the landmarks remain the same for the journey of both countries, our individual paths may vary in great, or small, degree.
We have thus far mirrored the journey of the Russians toward Socialism. Our confidence was first shaken through acts of terror, and then further undermined by poor economic conditions and controversial, money-sucking war. It was at this point in their history that Russians looked for a means to "provide for their future security." (Declaration) It was at this time that a "savior" emerged. A man who advocated radical change. A man that promised all who followed him "mir, zemlya, i kleb" or "peace, land, and bread"-- the three things all Russians craved. A man whose older brother had been executed for his affiliation with the terrorist group "Narodnaya Volya". A man who called himself Vladimir Illyich Lenin.
Unlike the contemporary Russians, we have the advantage of looking at Lenin from a historical perspective. While he promised change, peace, relief, and prosperity, only change was realized-- and immediately regretted. Lenin's true agenda, masked as socialism was "a desire to transform the USSR into a 'proletarianesque' superpower under [his] personal control, with some limited delegation of authority to the Communist Party elite." (Rosefielde) This, then, becomes our third landmark: government leaders, or other people of influence, pushing their socialist agenda upon a people in crisis. This has happened to America, and it is happening now.
The New Deal's economic overhaul which included the delegation of new and unchecked powers to the Executive Branch, nationalization of businesses, and several "economic plans" such as welfare were all very much socialist. Garet Garrett, a prominent author and journalist for The Wall Street Journal and New York Times in the early 20th century wrote in his book "The People's Pottage" that for President Roosevelt "capitalism, obliquely symbolized by the money-changer scourged out of the temple, was entirely to blame; capitalism was the one enemy, the one object to be hated. But it was never directly attacked or named; always it was the old order that was attacked.
This is how it happened in the past, but what about the present? Socialism has taken on many names and programs and patiently waits until the right moment to vie for public support. Perhaps the most well known guise is "universal health-care" or "socialized medicine." Socialized medicine is a terrible way to play on the emotions of people to win their support for the socialist agenda. "You don't want all the poor old people to die in the streets because they can't afford health care, do you?" ask government leaders of both parties. "Well, no. That sounds awful--" you begin, but they interrupt you again, "It does doesn't it! Glad we agree! Now sign here." "What am I signing?" you ask as you begin to scribble your name. "You are signing away your hard earned money to pay for the financially irresponsible. Have a nice day." The government tips their hats to you and leave you to suffer consequences that were not yours to bear.
As I previously stated: leaders of both parties have betrayed us with this secret agenda; the Republicans hands are dirty as well. Senator John McCain on MSNBC’s “Hardball” in the year 2000 had a conversation with a young woman about socialism in which he is quoted as saying, "Here’s what I really believe: That when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more." The question is how much more? For another example, it was Republican President George Bush who began nationalizing banks and in his last term. Bush also tried to promote socialized medicine under the guise of "Medicare part D." But as we think of the advocates of socialized medicine one name rises above all the others in decibels, popularity, and power: Barrack Hussein Obama. I need cite no sources regarding his plans for change or "Yes we can!" chants because if you have spent one day in this country in the past few months chances are you've heard them about a dozen times. Obama is V.I. Lennin, the third landmark for America. One only needs to listen to one of his public speeches (and those won't be hard to find because, as pointed out by CNN, he is the most televised president in history) to hear of his plans for socialized medicine, wealth redistribution, and progressive change away from the old order. Sound familiar?
Socialism in any form is against the vision of the founders and the Constitution of the United States. To again quote the Declaration of Independence, we are guaranteed the right to "the pursuit of happiness." The word "pursuit" is key because it reminds us that we have the right to pursue-- to fight, to dream, to work-- not the right to reap what we have not sown. The socialist principles of "equality" in all things and of "wealth redistribution" are contrary to the Law of the Harvest and are doomed to failure. There is a reason that the socialist systems of Russia, Finland, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Mongolia, among dozens of others, did not stand the test of time as America has. Socialized medicine is only one way of forcibly taking what one has reaped and giving it to another who has not sown. Not only is it a blatant violation of one's right to enjoy the fruits of his own labors, but it glorifies the idle-- it is contrary to the whole system. Socialism kills the ambition of the people. Why dream of wealth if it will only be taken from you and given to another? As the great economist Thomas Sowell once said, "Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."
Lucky for us, we have not yet reached the fourth and final landmark: National Crisis. Lenin, with all his ideas and promises still failed to gain any sort of real power until the outbreak of WWI that threw the great nation into a state of emergency. To again quote Mr. Kennan:

Up to the outbreak of war, to 1917 in fact, the leftist extremists had met with very limited success. In the final prewar years they had actually been losing political position and support. What changed all this, and gave them opportunities few of them had ever expected, was Russia's involvement in the war, and particularly the ill-considered attempt by the provisional government to continue the war effort into the summer of 1917, in the face of the epochal internal political crisis already brought about by the recent fall of the monarchy. (pg. 169)


This final landmark, this national crisis, will be the last straw. The people have had their faith shaken, they are in a state of subdued panic. As aforestated: it is the sad nature of free men in times of crisis to trade liberty for security. Socialists know this. According to the Socialist Party USA's own information, although they only had only 7000 members in the year 1920, only 12 short years later in the middle of the depression the Socialist candidate for President of the United states received almost 900,000 votes. (Socialist Party)
This is truly a mirror of things to come. When we arrive at this fourth landmark, it will only be a matter of time before the public writes the checks for security out of their waning, liberties-savings account. This national crisis theory is not unique to my way of thinking, either. To quote Obama's vice president, Joe Biden: "Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking... Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy." Even his own vice president was well aware of what was to follow.
Following the national crisis of WWI, the Bolsheviks succeeded in their coup. Taking power from the Russian people, the nation's progress, prosperity, and happiness were seized. For a vision of what happened next, I again turn to the words of Mr. Rosefielde:
The peasantry was forcibly collectivized, starved by political decree, and exiled in vast numbers. Millions were subsequently terrorized, consigned to Gulag, and an unknown number prematurely killed... Economic radicalism detached from the rule of law succeeded in wrecking lives and killing millions, but it's promises of material prosperity and social justice went unfulfilled. (pg. 1165)
Now, at this point I want to make it very clear to the reader that this is not a conspiracy theory. The intent is not to sway by way of fear, or to present a false premise or argument. I wish only to present a valid argument to the effect that we might watch and be wary. Anyone acquainted with history knows all too well that it has the disturbing habit of repeating itself. I have full faith that the American people are a great deal more intelligent, and more blessed, than were the Russians of 1917. I believe that when we see what is coming our way from over the horizon we can be prepared to make the correct decisions. The inspired men who founded this country had a dream. They dreamed that each citizen would educate himself and protect his own freedoms. As spoken by Thomas Paine, "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
I urge you to be wise when handling your liberties. Do not treat or trade them lightly, for they were purchased with the blood of our forefathers. Do not make rash decisions or fail to educate yourself simply because the ideals and complacency of socialism sound appealing. We must arise again to defend the liberties that we so often take for granted. To quote another of our founding fathers, Samuel Adams, "If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
Be wary of history's lessons; remember what socialism has done, and failed to do, throughout history. Educate yourselves and fulfill your duty as an American, an heir to the great legacy of this country, by standing by whatever cause you deem right, just, and true. That is what truly makes this country "E Pluribus Unum", or "Out of many, One". May we arise from our complacency and comfort to defend and protect the freedoms we daily take for granted, is my prayer.

Joshua Mckinney

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There's an old saying that goes something like this: "If you don't vote, you can't complain."

Amen--voting is at the heart of our democratic society. People died fighting for our freedom to choose. What would they say if we just said, "well, I was too busy to vote this year"? Yeah, that won't fly.

Go vote, not just in presidential elections, but in your local elections! Educate yourself and vote your conscience. Martyrs of years past will smile down upon you.

However, I don't think that only voting is enough. Voting is one step (albeit a Neil Armstrong-ish one), but in order to change your nation and reduce the national debt you need to follow up that vote with appropriate political action. And political action is easier than most people think.

Here is a small list of things YOU can do to change your nation:

Promote this blog--Send the link www.redspending.com to your friends. Or, join our facebook group "An Inconvenient Debt" and invite all of your friends to join.

Write a letter to your senator or representative--

(here's how you find them) http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Put your letter in a big envelope to get their attention! Get all of your friends and neighbors to sign it! Send a bunch of letters in one envelope! Be creative.

Keep informed--you can't be involved if you're not informed. Try making your favorite news station your homepage on your web browser for a while. That way, whenever you get online to check your Facebook page, you'll see what's going on in the world that day.

Go to rallies, meetings, and protests. Most organizations have ways that you can follow their events and happenings through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or other social networking sites. Sign up for this correspondence and get involved!

This is just the beginning. I will regularly post ways that you can get more involved in your community. I believe this is the way to bring about change.

Change. That word has been used a lot lately. Regardless of how you think it should be used, here is a definition I think we can all agree with:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

--Mahatma Gandhi

Do you want to change "out of control" government spending? Do you want to reduce the national debt? Be the one who doesn't sit around while the debt grows like a weed. Be the citizen that gets involved.

I repeat what Josh said last week: We can, and we will.

Chuch

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One might think that within today's political realm, someone is trying to pull a fast one on us. Now, I’m not talking about conspiracy theories. I'm talking about debates that are taking place each and every day. The proponents of this new Universal Healthcare are pushing a bill at the American people like a frenzied defensive line doing an eleven man rush to try and bring the ball down before we have time to realize how it will affect our quality of life. Not to point fingers, because when you point one finger forward you point three back at yourself, but President Obama has given over 100 speeches on this very topic within the last couple months. In his own words he said he will not "waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it." He will stop at nothing to get this plan put into action despite the fact that only 44% of Americans are in favor of it while 53% are opposed to it. Most elections are won on smaller margins than that.

Actions that are being taken right now in Washington will have perilous lasting effects on our country. Just to give you an idea of the situation we have put ourselves into, the Federal Budget allocates $61 billion dollars a year for education. That is a lot of money; however, it is dwarfed in comparison to the interest we pay each and every year on our national debt. This last year alone we paid over $550 billion dollars on interest on our debts. Despite this we continue to accumulate more debt, ignorantly believing the future will take care of itself. Imagine if we had no debt and we had an extra $550 billion dollars a year we could put towards education and fighting crime each year.

My point in all of this is that, as a nation, we have made many bad decisions in the past with our money. We are currently making even more bad decisions. We're about to make one of the worst decisions possible, which is, destroying people's ability to receive proper health care. Take this call to action. Let your voice be heard and make a difference. Let the government know that we don't want Universal Healthcare, because at best it will cost us nearly a trillion dollars without consideration to anything else. We don't want to pass such a huge debt to our children. Promote this blog. Get the word out and keep your friends informed. As Americans, we can make a difference and we will.

Josh

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Since the purpose of this blog is to make people aware of the issue of our growing national debt, one might wonder as to why we are addressing other issues such as universal healthcare. But such an issue is a direct link to national debt: if new legislature is passed, bringing about these new changes in our healthcare system, our economy won’t be able to sustain itself with the amount of debt that will be incurred. As such, any post pertinent to the issue of healthcare is also pertinent to our national debt. The following is from a practicing doctor who you can google yourself to see. This is his view on the matter.


Friends:
I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table and, as your friend, by explaining many of the problems from the aspect of a doctor.

First off, the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents 17% of the American physician workforce.

I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. Why is this? For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list. Each time, I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms, which I did. Within 48 hours, the form came back to me, which was mailed in immediately via fax, and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then, each child would have been blind in the eye. Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point—rationing of care.

Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1,000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a contact lens post cataract surgery. By that time a successful anatomical operation is wasted as the child will be close to blind from a lack of focusing for so long a period of time. Again extreme rationing.

Solution- I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds, which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal immigrants children for free. Again waiting for the government would be disastrous. Last week I had a lady bring her child to me.They are Americans but live in Sweden as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision 3 months ago, and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery, they would be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, no surgery was needed. Again rationing of care...

For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive...

I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist ( add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years). A neurosurgeon spends 14 years post college and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that 20 medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already the top neurosurgeon at my hospital who is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can’t stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on medicaid so he felt he just could not stand working with the beaurocracy anymore.

We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate on at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing, and the children’s hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also.This is true not only in Atlanta, but of every community in America. The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not like rationing of your own health. Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions, knowing that he is controlled by the state/government? I certainly could not trust any doctor that would work under these draconian conditions.

One last thing, with this new healthcare plan there will be a tremendous shortage of physicians. It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system. Also it is estimated that another 5%
shortage will occur because of decreased men and women wanting to go into medicine. At the present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions to medical schools .That means that for the past 15 years, that somewhere between 49 and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true of private schools also because all private schools receive federal fundings. The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years, and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years ago--she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.

Zane Pollard MD

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Lately I've been pondering, as is my custom, about the dreadful plight our world is in. Perhaps my last post wasn't sufficient to convey the true fragility of the dream that is America (it used to be the dream that was Rome, but then Caesar screwed it all up), but today I forgo further beration in favor of a more benign topic than I am wont to typically approach. Sadly it seems that our leaders are in a similar state of mind as myself, because they appear guilty of the same neglect. But what is being neglected, you ask? It's quite simple really: the future.
In a display of truly moronic shortsightedness that has sadly become all too typical of government, Obama and friends are only adding to the damage by spending more money and making big plans to continue that spending – health-care reforms, I'm looking at you. Of course, none of this will do anything to ease the suffering of the economy, but that's another rant for another day.
Oftentimes when I'm asked to do something, I try to ask two questions: who's going to pay for it? and who's going to clean it up if it all goes South? So let's apply these questions to our current economic situation – the answer on both accounts: our children. So imagine little Timmy says he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. Instead of feeding him the you-are-special-and-can-do-anything-you-want-to crap that we seem to be so in love with lately, why don't we tell him the truth? “Well, sorry Timmy, but I'm afraid that by the time you're old enough to be an astronaut we're going to be so in debt that the closest thing we'll have to a space program is a swing set. Besides, you'll be too busy cleaning up all of our messes and trying to restore the integrity of the dollar and the American global economic presence to worry about space.”
There are some that seem to have realized the full portent of our actions, but they are the responsible minority. Everyone else is so caught up in solving their own problems and getting back to their comfortable lifestyles that they couldn't care less what happens 30 years from now. The government is no better; instead of realizing their agenda will have to wait and putting priorities where they should be, they're attempting to ignore the real problem and are trying to get the public to do the same. As soon as someone brings up the issue of who's going to pay for it? with health-care reform, we suddenly start hearing about how we're all going to die from swine flu (backed by numbers no less), how bad Bush & co. were for torturing mass-murderers, and then Ted Kennedy dies (now that's what I call party loyalty).
Begrudged bipartisan politics have screwed our country up enough at present, so why don't we utilize this whole democracy thing to our advantage and do something about it? There's still hope that we can turn things around not just for us, but for future generations. The sad reality of the situation is that the emerging adults of today are going to be in about the same position as little Timmy, but it's still in our power to keep that from happening to those that will come after – so do it.
- Brutus

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One of the disadvantages of our materialistic society is that we have developed a feeling of entitlement. For example, when our business operations don't go so well we expect the government to bail us out. In many instances this spills over into our personal lives--the government welfare program being a prime example. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying we don't need welfare; however, this "safety net" program is taken to an extreme when many people who can work choose not to because they get money for nothing. Now that America faces the threat of universal health I feel the need to do all that I can to prevent this "something for nothing" mentality from taking over our healthcare system. The following analogy beautifully depicts my stance on socialized medicine:

"An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class.
That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.
After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.
As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.
The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.
The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.
All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Could not be any simpler than that."

Regardless of the fact that a system like this produces inefficiency and irresponsibility to say the least, it will incur over 1.5 trillion dollars more debt in the next 10 years(foxnews.com). I SAY NO!


Josh Oaks

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The year America entered Red Spending: 1790
The National Debt equivalent to every American: over $38,000
National Debt rate of increase: $3.92 billion per day
Money paid in debt interest last year: $452 billion
Estimated National Debt by 2014: $18 trillion

-Matt










Sources:
Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/03/growing-national-debt-economic-crisis/
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

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Hello there folks, you may call me Brutus, and I'll be your guide today on a trip through the misty, guilt-ridden confines of history. Our focus will be the consummation of a journey that spans generations, a deep-seated yearning that possesses young and old, rich and poor; indeed, this cherished goal has become so engrained within the American collective-subconscious that its pursuit could be construed as patriotic. I speak of the search for someone or something to blame.

But why should we be criticizing and suggesting the abdication of something that's an American tradition? After all, America was built on the blame game. The revolutionaries blamed the British government for the woes and miseries of their lives – which were of course founded in truth – but I know plenty of people who are in full possession of their “inalienable rights” and are still miserable. The Confederate States of America blamed the Union's anti-slavery stance as their original reason for secession, even though basic economics and Jeffersonian ideals of states' rights were the true impetus behind the split (maybe they just didn't sound as catchy). In our own century, the military blamed the government and the government blamed the military for the embarrassing debacle that was the Vietnam War, and recently everyone's favorite scapegoat for everything from the failing economy to swine flu has been the deceptively moderate figurehead of conservatism, George W. Bush.

When it comes to our current economic plight however, we have no one to blame but ourselves. As a nation we are at fault because we have fostered and funded a culture that can be described as nothing short of sybaritic decadence (and not in the incorrect way 'decadent' is used in food and clothing advertisements). We as individuals are equally guilty because we have allowed ourselves to become acculturated by the plague of excessive living, the result of our contagion being recession and debt. In typical American fashion, people are quick to point the finger at China for taking away so many of our jobs, but those jobs wouldn't have reason to exist had we not provided sufficient demand for the trivial crap they manufacture on our behalf. No matter who you try to blame, it ultimately comes down to the utterly-reprehensible truth: it's all our fault. When you try to support a needlessly expensive lifestyle by buying things with money that technically doesn't exist, you're going to run into problems – but that's another topic for another day. Just let it be said that even and especially our government refuses to give up the spend-happy culture which has been our custom, as they seem to believe spending more money to be the only viable solution for alleviating our troubles. As such, I think we can expect the economy to be part of the “Axis of Evil” for many years to come.

Perhaps the saddest part of all is that I if we don’t take action now our current course is set for disaster– people are too attached to their pride and possessions. People are becoming apathetic and lazy and are forsaking the very traits which for centuries have been unequivically American. Diligence and drive are dying attributes, and as a result people are relying on the government to bail them out. Since our liberal friends are in charge they're more than happy to oblige the vox populi - and so we march contentedly towards socialism, where everyone is poor together and industry is crippled to the point of figurative senility. Much like the famed Roman historian Livy, I feel that we have moved to a far different path from that of our forefathers “as the old teaching was allowed to lapse,” and that we are seeing the “final collapse of the whole edifice, and the dark dawning of our modern day when we can neither endure our vices nor face the remedies needed to cure them.” What's scary is that all of that was written in the first century A.D., and yet it ably applies itself to our current situation. The more the Roman citizenry relied on the government to take care of their problems for them the more corrupt its leaders became, until the entire structure collapsed under the weight of its own greed and cowardice. Bottom line: Rome died a miserable and inglorious death that had millennia-long repercussions, America can too.

So my fellow Americans, I implore you to use this as an opportunity to examine yourselves both fiscally and spiritually. Let's not make the same mistake the Romans did – realize that this is one set of traditions that are far from honorable and need to be mercilessly removed from our lives. Let us once more give esteem to thrift and plain living and re-learn the contentment that comes with prudence and moderation. The nation itself is in need of some deep cleaning, but the nation is merely a reflection of the individual, so it starts with you. Accept responsibility for the disaster we've caused and accept the new responsibility of righting this sickening wrong. Then, with our newfound zeal for self correction let us remember the words of our Founding Fathers, namely that “Governments…instituted among Men [derive] their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter [it].” If we're lucky we may just have what it takes to turn this around and get our leaders to follow suit. Otherwise we'll all go down in a rain of worthless high-fructose-corn-syrup-soaked dollar bills with North Korean nukes for a sunset. All while Roseanne Barr sings the National Anthem to the accompaniment of wailing stock-brokers...

Brutus

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The more I talk about the economy, the more I complain to my friend, Chuch. Well, this is now my complaint to the world. We as a people, instead of owning up to the problem, continue to live outside of our means. Our bank accounts are looking like endless red numbers. We seek after the things we crave by going into debt. No longer is a penny saved, a penny earned. Instead, we should say a penny spent is 10 pennies in "no interest payments until 2000 whenever."

Were consumer debt the only problem, I wouldn’t bother my friend so much. But when contrasted with government spending in the last decade, consumer debt seems like chump change. Many will agree that government spending has gone too far. In the last 10 years this debt has more than doubled and is now growing at a faster rate than ever. The more information I learn concerning this problem, the more I complain to my friend, Chuch. And with every complaint comes the response, “Why don’t you do something about it?”

This is where I take my stand.

If we don't take action now, our national debt will continue to rise and will have an end result in one of the three following ways:

1. The government will have to raise taxes. This sounds really easy in theory, especially since Obama is promising to tax only the rich. However, this would be devastating to the economy in a number of ways. If you set a high tax for those who are making a great deal of money, you are, for the most part, taxing business owners. A high tax would mean that they would not make money for starting a business and would take away the incentive for doing such. A direct result of this would be that businesses would not be able to flourish or provide as many jobs. In addition, unemployment would skyrocket. I don’t want to completely throw this option out because it would eventually come to this, but I think that it will need to come from the entire nation and we can all expect our standard of living to drop as this is employed. Basically, by taxing the rich we are giving less money to the people who write our paychecks! Before we even start talking about raising taxes, let’s start cutting back on government spending.

2. The government will print more money causing a rapid inflation. As is, the government prints more money than is destroyed each year, inflating the dollar by about 3% per year. That means that the value your dollar has today is worth 3% less next year. The government could easily pay off its debt in its entirety by just printing more money. That would be like owing 100 dollars and then in essence paying it off with 50 dollars because you dropped the value of your dollar to be worth only that. If we did this, we would, as a nation, lose all credibility to the nations to whom we owe the money— principally Japan, China, India, and the Middle East. What this means for us individually is if you had $1,000 in the bank, the purchasing power of that money would drop, which is the same as taking your money away. So, to put it simply, printing more money is not the best solution.

3. If no measures are taken to pay off our national debt, our nation will go bankrupt. If all of the countries who are keeping us afloat decided to cash in on our debts, we would have no possible way to pay them off, especially since our debt continues to climb. Not only is our debt climbing, but we are paying close to 5% a year on it- that is over 500 billion dollars a year in interest. Possible consequences of the bankruptcy of the wealthiest nation in the world are very bleak. Markets around the world would crash and poverty would abound.

As we can see, we need to take immediate action to correct this problem with our national debt. If our politicians in Washington won’t do anything about it, we need to let them hear our voice. For this reason we have created this blog to keep you informed of our national debt and other pertinent social issues and to inspire people to let their voices be heard. We want this blog to be both informative and interactive, so please feel free to post comments and send us ideas about topics of discussion. Some of our topics of discussion for the near future include capitalism, personal accountability, national accountability, Obama’s promises to the nation, Reagonomics, and other such pertinent issues.

Sincerely yours,

Josh Oaks—Chief Editor
Chuch—Editor
Brutus—Editor
Matt—Tech.

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