Fiscal Responsibility

How is it responsible for the head of the Federal reserve to be encouraging Congress to raise the debt limit? I don't think it is! I believe that the only way to be fiscally responsible is to stop incurring further debt. The national debt is now so immense that it may never be paid back.

Credit card companies generally will not raise your credit limit unless they are confident that you will be able to pay the balance. However, Congress has the option of raising their own debt limit. How nice that would be if we as individuals could do the same. We could spend ourselves silly without thinking about ever paying our debts.

When an individual reaches their credit limit, they are often told to start by cutting up their cards and not incur any new debt. Next, they are told to establish a budget within their income sufficient to meet there minimum needs. Finally, they are encouraged to negotiate with their creditors and create a plan to repay them. Doing these things is usually quite painful. But, it is effective for getting back on track.

About half of what the US government spends each year is borrowed money. To simply break even and not even reduce our debt, Congress would need to either double the revenue (taxes) or cut expenses (such as defense and social programs) in half. If a congressional representative were to vote either way, they would most likely never be re-elected. Simply put, they can't do it and keep their jobs. 

But maybe they should - because it's the right thing to do. Anything else would be fiscally irresponsible.

Let's Do It!

 Now that the FDA has given full approval to the Pfizer vaccines, I believe there should be no reason for not passing a law mandating vaccinations for ALL persons ages 12 and up (with religious and medical exemptions of course). Since we have laws mandating no less than nine (9) other vaccines; even for children under the age of 5. There should be no reason not to mandate this vaccine since it's a matter of public health.

It's time to stop the politics and look at the science and the public interests.

Let's Do It!

Why the Resistance?

I don’t understand all of the rhetoric surrounding the issue of vaccinations for COVID-19. What’s the motivation? Is it political?

For many years we have had laws requiring vaccinations for many diseases including Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (DPT), Polio, Hepatitis B and Chicken Pox. There are exemptions for religious and health reasons. But, you cannot go to school in this state without being vaccinated (even under the age of 12). So why all the fuss about requiring COVID-19 vaccinations.

 We have justified these laws by understanding that they protect the health of the general population. They’ve done a good job in controlling their respective diseases. I understand that the current vaccines aren’t fully certified for anything but emergency use. But hundreds of millions of doses without terrible side effects should be evidence enough to grant permission for general use.

 Let’s get with it and do the right thing for eradicating COVID-19. Certify the vaccines and pass the laws.

Liberty, not Equality

It is July 4th and I have just finished reading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Both are remarkable documents, to say the least.

These founding documents speak of "Liberty" and almost nothing about "Equality". Yet much of today's rhetoric from citizens and the media emphasizes all sort of equality.

Notably, the word "equal" appears only twice in the Declaration of Independence. Once rerferring to "separate and equal station". The other as "all men are created equal". It clearly states the desire to create liberty and freedom from King George's authority.

In the Constitution the words "equal" and "equality" appear only 5 times. Only in one case does it refer to personal equality. I.e. in the 14th Amendment which assures equal protection under the law. The other cases refer to numerical equality of one sort or another in the structure of the government itself. 

In fact, the overall purpose of the Constitution was to provide "liberty" as expressed in the opening words "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish ths Constitution for the United States of America".

From these documents, it is clear to me that our country was founded to promote "liberty", not "Equality".

So, what is Liberty?

In the dictionaries, Liberty is defined as

1. The quality or state of being free. The power to do as one pleases. Freedom from physical restraint, Freedom frtom arbitrary or despotic control. The positive enjoyment of various social, political or economic rights and privileges. The power of choice. - Merriam-Webster

2. The freedom to live as you wish or go where you want - Cambridge Dictionary

3. The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.  - Oxford D ictionary 

We must be careful when trying to impose equality lest we abridge another's liberty. For example, wouldn't achieving equal income require redistributing the wealth earned by others? Would this not abridge the others liberty to acquire that wealth?

I believe that the Constitution essentially tried to establish a "hands off" form of government that would encourage individual freedom without impositions or restraints. In other words, a minimal amount of government. One that would not tell one what they could or could not do. And, one that certainly did not impose and sort of constraints.

I don't think that is what our government has evolved into being. Far from it!

George Orwell was right in predicting a "Big Brother" who is watching everyone, A "Ministry of truth" which rewrites history to conform to government policies. "Thought Police", Etc.

It's downright scary!

What ever happened to "We the People"

It's the 4th of July and I've been reflecting on our unique form of government. I've updasted this blog with a few more thoughts.

Seems like our nation has forgotton how we were created. In 1776, "We The People" collectively came together and tried to form a "more perfect Union". It boggles my mind how today's politicions can't seem to come together and agree to do anything, let alone make our union more perfect.

This situation didn't happen overnight. John Locke (in 1689) wrote that all governments would tend to become totalitarian and wrest power away from those they govern. Our founding fathers read and understood Locke's premise. They strived to create a minimal amount of government that would avoid anarchy, support liberty and freedom while providing for cooperation. Today's government has evolved into a huge bureaucracy where nearly 30% of all workers have government jobs. The population is asking "We the Perople" to give us what we want rather than working for it ourselves.

Our society has moved from one in which people worked cooperatively to accomplish things for the common good. Today's society is one where individuals and minorities reign supreme. It has become "Me Centered". Individuals are saying, "I want what is mine to have. I want it now. I want someone else to give it to me. And, I want it on credit". If anything is wrong in their world, they want someone "else" to fix it rather than fixing it themselves or with the cooperation of their neighbors. 

This is a dangerous trend. If not corrected I fear that our democracy is doomed to failure. This trend ultimately transfers all individual power to the government or to others. Locke's premise has taken root.

The folks whom we have elected will not fix things. The won't, because they are influenced by lobbyists, corporations, the wealthy and by their own greed. If they fixed the national debt, addressed global warming, enacted term limits, or fixed the health system, etc. they themselves would be personally affected adversely. Therefore, they will never vote to truly fix anything.

Our elected officials spend an immense portion of their time seeking the money needed for re-election instead of working to solve the people's problems. The are guided by money and not the constitution and the law. They worhsip cult leaders (like Mr. Trump) like they were idols. Seldom to the winners actually represent a majority of the voters. Eighteen of the fifty-nine presidents received less than 50% of the popular vote. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin). How can one say they "won" with only 49% of the vote. That means the other 51% didn't want them. The system is seriously broken.

I fear for the very existence of our democracy.

Google Play Gift Card Scam

 A few days ago, my neighbors and I were all hit with a Google Play Gift Card Scam. Luckily many of us did NOT give the scammer whatn they wanted. However, many of us did purchase the gift cards and now we are stuck with them.

a) Google's policy is NOT TO REFUND any gift card purchases; even if they remain unopened and unused.

b) Google Play Gift Cards can ONLY be used to purchase Google Play product. Obviously, none of these products are of interest to most senior citizens because they involve computer games, etc.

So, we are left as owners of cards that are useless to us and cannot be refunded. So, the scammer has STUCK us one way or the other.

The Google buracracy is awful. After wandering around their endless online menus and chatting with several agents, I finally wrote an email to their CEO (sundai@google.com). Did I get a reply from Mr. Pichai? NO! Instead I received a reply from another Google minion who said "I recommend contacting the Google Play Support Team online. They would have the right tools to investigate this for you". I did what he said and found that the online agents do not have the power nor the desire to fix the problem. Instead, I fought with endless meus and finally got an agent who merely reiterated the company policy. He admitted that he was not empowered to resolve my issue. Ultimately, he told me to contact the retailer who sold the cards and closed the chat over my objections.

As the agent recommended, I have contacted the retailer several times. Each time they told me essentially "Google has your money. So you must deal with Google". I don't blame them because they also probably have no way to get a refund from Google. Yes. Google has the money and Google won't give it back.

I and my neighbors cannot afford to lose $300 due to a rigid and unweilding company policy. We have filed a local police report, as well as resports to the FBI, the FTC and the Pennsylvania Attorney General (case BCP-21-05-009722).

I agree that Google should have the right to refuse a refund IF the PINs have been exposed and/or the card has been used in any way. But, I believe it is sheer greed on their part not to refund the purchase of a card that has no value to the purchaser and has been verifably unused, is unuseable and was never given to a scammer. It is obviouly a very bad policy from a public relations point of view. It is also plain morally wrong.  But Google can get away with simply because they are BIG and only care about profit instead of their customers.

Enough of my rant. Here are the facts in the case:

1. My neighbors online account was hacked and the names of his contects were seized by the scammer.

2. The scammer sent emails to the contacts presenting a very plausable story. It included facts about my neighbor that were very believable. The email used my neighbors Full name and correct email address. It was even signed with his personal signature as "Mayor Jim". here's the text of the message

"Thanks for responding, Actually, I need to get GOOGLE PLAY GIFT CARDS for my Niece who had Heart operation some days ago she had lost both parents to the disease (COVID-19). It's her birthday but I can't do this right now because I have arthritis in the knees and ankles. They are giving me problems. I am going up and down one step at a time. This method is neither graceful! Or fast!, and I tried purchasing online but unfortunately no luck with that. Can you get it from any store around you? I will reimburse you with the money spent. kindly let me know if you can handle this.

Await your soonest response.

Mayor Jim"

and a following email

"Thank you very much. Google play gift cards are sold at almost every grocery store or drug store in the gift card section.Total amount needed is $300 ($100 denomination) I need you to scratch the back of the 3 cards to reveal the pins, then take a snapshot of the back of the card showing the pin and have the photos attached in the email then send it to me. I will be so glad

Once again thanks,

Sent from my iPhone. Mayor Jim"

3. Some of my neighbors and I responded by purchasing the Google Play cards. However, I did not scratch off the PINS. When I returned from the store, I saw my neighbor's car in the drive. When I went next door to give him the cards, he told me it was a scam. Luckily, I had not yet carried out the scammers instructions to expose the PIN's.

4. I immediately returned to where I had purchased the cards and spoke with the manager who said I could not get a refund. I then filed a police report and notified the FTC, etc. And the saga continues...

I wish I had followed my intuition and had not purchased the cards until investigating further. Shame on me. Since I have no pension and a very limited income, I cannot afford to lose $300. But that's what happens when corporation gets to be so BIG that they no longer care about their customers. Monopolies and big conglomerates DO NOT work in the public interest. I get that!