Optimism - The Gist of America's Past Success

Just another election?

Beware the ides of March

- Shakespeare (Julius Caesar Act I, scene 2, 15-19) ...

Doom, doom and more doom. From global warming to people who want to give into religious fascists to people who actually believe the present administration is being run by fascists to Christian fundamentalists accepting that Armageddon has arrived and we are in a modern Crusade against ALL Islam to people who say this is the year of the big crash that will match the woes of the Great Depression. (worldwide disaster)

My impression is that too many people look at issues and face crisis that occurs naturally, induced by those who use fear to get people to side with them in their propaganda that has a darker reason why they are advocates instead of meeting such things with the mind set of meeting a challenge, armed with as much knowledge as possible and using logic over emotional response.

Pessimism is the ruling factor obtained after a period of apathy, where the result is the political elite has been allowed to micromanage our lives with the help of a growing government that should remain limited, efficient and precise as to exactly what role they play in operating our government on our behalf. Yet optimism cannot stand alone without the logic and facts accompanying it to make it work.

Lawrence Kudlow writes in a Real Clear Politics article, Why Not Optimism? …

"What exactly is wrong with an optimistic president who has confidence in the long-run future of the American economy? President Bush took this stance in a recent interview with me and at the Economic Club of New York. He told me, "Like any free market, there's also downturns, and we're in one. But I am confident in the long-term of our economy."
Optimism, after all, is one of the few levers our chief executive can use every day. By remaining optimistic, Bush is borrowing a page from Ronald Reagan, and rejecting a whole book of malaise from Jimmy Carter. Bush is dealing with the housing and mortgage credit virus. But he will avoid anything that will doom future economic growth. He wants to stop overzealous regulatory legislation that will turn the U.S. back thirty years. And he won't bow to tax hikes and trade protectionism. While the rest of the world is embracing free-market American-style capitalism, he won't lurch left with big-government programs. Home prices must adjust lower to end the housing downturn. And it's precisely these lower prices that will allow young families to afford new homes. Prices may fall, but homes don't go away. Markets, not government, are the best way to sort this out. … And yet he's attacked for his free-market moorings. Liberal columnist Maureen Dowd says he's "plum loco." She and Sen. Charles Schumer call him the new Herbert Hoover.[i] But let's take a closer look. It was Hoover who signed the Smoot-Hawley trade-protectionism act and overturned the Coolidge-Mellon tax cuts. These disastrous measures – along with monetary contraction from a fledgling Federal Reserve – turned a recession into a depression. FDR didn't help matters, either. His misbegotten tax hikes on successful earners and businesses, and his alphabet agencies to control the industrial and farming sectors, extended the depression and held unemployment near 20 percent. Today, it's the Hill-Bama Democrats who want to raise taxes on successful producers. And they want to turn protectionist by reopening NAFTA and stopping any new open-trade treaties. Schumer himself has spent years bashing China, threatening the nation with huge tariffs if its currency policies don't conform to demands. If anyone has resurrected the party of Hoover, it's today's Democrats. They've adopted pessimism as their national pastime, and want us to believe we're already in a long and deep recession. … The e-forecasting economic service says GDP had a small gain in February and a positive reading of 1.5 percent over the past six months. The economy isn't collapsing.[ii] And while it may be flat, there's no deep recession.[iii]
Hooveresque monetary contraction? It's not there, either. After numerous Fed easing moves, the three-month growth of the monetary base has shifted from minus-4 percent last December to plus-6 percent in mid-March. The broader M2 money supply has registered an 11 percent annual gain over the last three months.
Inflation remains a worry. … Big inflation causes deep recessions, and hopefully the central bank is moving back toward price stability. In fact, now would be a perfect time for the Treasury to publicly support a stronger dollar, and to conduct some dollar diplomacy with the G7 nations to defend the greenback. On the housing-credit front, University of Michigan economist Mark Perry, using data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, points out that of the 46 million mortgages outstanding, only 2.04 percent were in the foreclosure process … Meanwhile, commercial mortgage delinquencies ended 2007 near record lows. … Believe it or not, credit is still available, even to small businesses. In the stock market, the best-performing sectors since the January 22 bottom have been transports … These economic-sensitive areas point to a solid-term pickup in economic growth.
Even John McCain is picking up. New polls from Zogby and Rasmussen give him a 6 to 8 point lead over Hill-Bama … So I'm glad President Bush is taking an optimistic view. That's called leadership."

Of course, President Bush has primarily been using short-term fixes, which was fine in the early period of his first term in office – but by now he should have pushed Congress to pass the Fair Tax Act – a long-term fix. And pessimism has kept it in committee instead of open to final debate and vote. There is much wrong with President Bush's domestic policy, yet the political left continues to focus on the Iraq operation whose first phase was a success and the reason for the invasion is now gone to the Other World. And the candidates vying for presidency in 2008? They are not addressing the issues, like creating policy and atmosphere where illegal immigrants will not only want to break our immigration laws - but leave on their own accord, never wanting to return without using the legal immigration system. And what is the hold up in the border security situation - where is the new fence system? Where is the promised responsible manage of tax payer funding? Why does the government think they must provide $40 rebate for purchasing the required equipment for the change from analog to digital television systems? That is a private sector matter? Mr. Kudlow is correct in his article concerning optimism or the lack thereof, but there are unaddressed issues beyond the hate rhetoric of the Left in truthful problems with Bush policies.

The pessimism has come from the citizenry. I hear it all the time – "We'll never see the Fair Tax Act passed and be rid of the income tax system".

Of course not, as long as the people's attitude is that the politicians will get their way and there is nothing the American people can do about it. That is exactly what they are saying, and that is exactly what the politicians know they are thinking and you can see what their actions are.

If you want real change, not the kind that Hillary-Obama are preaching, but real reform consider these points:

– the American voter must deliver an ultimatum for those presently representing them in the House and the Senate: Act like statesmen/women and do what is good for the nation.

- Allow another refinery to be built and upgrade the present refineries in operation to meet the demand. Something needed for 30 years.

- Allow responsible oil recovery from Alaska and begin increased offshore drilling.

- Once the time comes when we become self sufficient – tell the Arabs and other anti-American nations to drink their oil, we don't want it. Maybe we can unite in this endeavor with the United Kingdom, so they can also be free from requiring the purchase of Arab and Chavez' oil. If France's changed policy toward America and Americans continue, they also can join in the effort to fight against those who keep fuel prices high.

- At the same time continue to invest and promote private sector industries to produce alternate fuel and energy – decreasing the demand for crude oil and supporting environmental goals.[iv]

- Pass the Fair Tax Act and rid Americans of an unfair and intrusive tax system that should never have been allowed to exist.

- Work at, not pretend to, a more efficient government that is more limited and thus with less agencies, less expensive to operate.

- Repeal/rewrite legislation that isn't working, created more problems, or is a transgression against the liberties of the American people. Start with the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. No one should be gagged sixty days before an election to exercise their freedom of speech. Take that part of the legislation out.

- Insist that Congress quit blaming the executive branch for that which they are responsible according to the Constitution. Start being responsible and commit themselves to performing in the manner in which they were elected.

- Insist that Congress tighten their belts in times of economic downturns, instead of burdening Americans further because of their inability to budget – and they in turn keep track of executive branch expenditures. That is their job and their recent raise in pay was not in conjunction with congressional members' performance.[v]

- Let them know you don't care what political club they belong to – their primary concern, once elected, concerns the American people and the welfare of the United States of America – all else, including foreign concerns and aid is secondary. Take care of America and then we can afford to help others help themselves. Any nation that stands against us when voting at the United Nations, gets NO aid. If the United Nations continues to produce bad policies, ignore true human rights issues, and misspends the UN treasury funds - our "club" fees should be withheld.

- The lobby system must be reformed, not dissolved. The reason for the system has been corrupted. Presently there are lobbies for good causes, and one of them is the Fair Tax Act. Conduct by congressional members and lobbyists must be strict with a severe penalty for infractions. Lobbyist and congressional members "discussions" should be conducted in the congressional offices - not over lunch. The earmarking problem is part of this lobbyist reform.

- Take more time and research on proposed legislation, but don't allow them to languish in a committee hoping it will fade away. Use the available resources of think tanks and experts in fields such as economics in order to pass required and sensible legislation. The President has his Cabinet for advice in certain areas of government administration and the Congress should utilize the resources available in performing their job.

- There should be no argument about a person remaining in political office as a career in Congress; however, this does not mean the same old politics. When a congressional member is doing a good job and truly performing it as a statesman/woman – why only keep him/her for 4, 8, or 12 years. Keep them as long as they are healthy enough to keep the job and willing to remain – as long as they perform their job in a manner that is above political rivalry.

These are just examples of what you can present to your representative and senator from your state. The major issues should be addressed like illegal immigration and the enforcement of government laws of immigration, allowing social security to be reformed and allow citizens to choose the present system or the privatization method of investment. Finger pointing is a form of finding out where the problem began – it is not the road to actually fixing it. That comes from research and finding ways to properly address the problem with intent on fixing it as soon as possible. This applies to much of everything in our personal lives – why can't our elected officials do the same with issues concerning our nation.

We need true patriotism to return, along with our national identity. We must, of course, address problems and insist that elected officials who have been found to be corrupt and whose performance is not acceptable to find another occupation. However, just being anti-American because of the propaganda rhetoric of the undermining political extreme left based on principles of socialism and the praise of the welfare state does not equate to patriotism. On the other end of the spectrum, the extreme right, patriotism doesn't mean that our government is right even when it is wrong. Patriotism is standing with fellow Americans against an enemy of our nation, traditions, and form of government. Patriotism is recognizing the faults and the issues and dealing with them – not denouncing our nation as a whole or siding with the propaganda schemes of the enemies of the United States. Patriotism does not mean blind nationalism – where we look down on other nations as inferior. Instead we should be seeking to have a foreign policy where we recognize the sovereignty of other nations, but refuse to give up our standards and principles or side with national leadership that is even a mild form of dictatorship.

In part, our government, over the decades, has caused (in part) the resentment of the Central and South American nations towards America (and Americans). We need to repair that gap. We need to show that dictatorships like Chavez and Castro are counterproductive in creating a better nation for themselves. We need to show them that we are not the imperialistic nation we have caused them to believe. At the same time we need to let them know we do not tolerate advocacy of socialism, the welfare state and the form of government called communism. We must develop trading practices that benefits the US and its trading partners equally. We must once again become the role model of our form of government and help our allies in their struggle against elements that would take away their democracy as energetically as we do to retain ours.

This could go on and on, but you get the picture.

Americans should choose their elected officials as carefully as they do when purchasing an automobile or a home. And in that respect, there is another need for reform or maybe even changing the present structure of what our political process has become. Change is nothing new, as our history shows us. It is how we address that change that counts. Better candidates that are presently the "winners" of the primary election process fell by the way because of the political infrastructure and the fact that the media and political elite have more say in the primary election process than the voter. The media should be a source of information with added thoughts in the form of editorials and commentary; however they can no longer be tolerated as a power that overrides the people's opportunity to exercise their liberties and the power of the vote.

And as far as my patriotism – I wouldn't work so hard and continue to write about such things if my optimism didn't tell me that our nation is a great place, worth fighting for – we just have to trim away the rough edges that have developed while we were napping.

And, in reality, if we are looking for the primary source for finger pointing – we just have to look in the mirror. I was once blinded by political entities and the need to be loyal to a particular political party – but one day I woke up. It is time for others to consider what I have written, as well as others, and formulate the consensus within your mind. The late William F. Buckley would call this a method of making people "think". We will be just fine – we just have to exorcise the cancer that has grown among us, dubbed with several political science descriptions, according to ideology – but they are either based upon optimism (patriots) or pessimism (chronic dissidents). Which are you going to choose? Let your representative and senator know where you stand.

And as a tip – do not send email to your elected officials, it is a waste of time. Write a letter, send a fax of a letter, or call directly. Try to keep your points in a page or two – nothing long, and certainly not derogatory. You cannot get people to listen by insulting them or being rude.

FURTHER READING AND SOURCES:

Kudlow's Money Politics – Blog

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[i] The 31st president who shortly after taking office in 1929, the infamous Wall Street stock market crash occurred; however, as you will see in Kudlow's presentation made some big mistakes in correcting the problem.

[ii] Just as today's morning temperature of 18º F. the day before Easter, with a forecast of snow showers is not conducive to the concept of global warming.

[iii] However, it is hard to convince that to working Americans who see that transportation fuel, heating, electricity, garbage removal, food and certain services (including state government fees) have risen in price while their paychecks still show the same amount before this. And, in the case of Wisconsin, our great governor has passed and initiated the biggest tax hike in the history of our state ($1 billion), while at the same time our local school board is asking for a vote on yet another tax hike.

[iv] This does not mean replacing or subsidizing gasoline with ethanol. Ethanol is not as good as people have been led to believe – either environmentally or otherwise. Ethanol is made from corn. If the corn producing industry can make more money producing corn for ethanol and other such industrial products, this means that food that depends upon corn, including corn-fed cattle, will rise extensively. Our government too often backs proposals and schemes to "make things better" – when if they had performed their homework would realize the future and long-term impact overrides the original idea of its usefulness.

[v] And how does Congress get off giving themselves a "cost-of-living" raise when the rest of working America must pay the rising costs with the same paycheck?

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