Them Arabs are Smart

 Instead of responding the attacks by Israel and the USA and striking military targets, Iran has taken a different path. They are striking critical infrastructure like desalinization plants in countries in which the USA has m ilitary bases. They are blockading the Straits of Hormuz. They are attacking the economy; not the military. IMHO a very smart move. They know that our military is much stronger than theirs. Instead, they are bringing the entire global economy into play; resulting in extremely strong pressure for Israel and the USA to back down.

Defunding Home Security

 Recently, the Democrats offered to negotiate reforming ICE separately from all othe Homeland Security agencies. The introduced bill to unlock funding for all of the other agencies. But, the republicans refused to separate the issues insisting an all-or-nothing aproach. IMHO, the Republicans are now responsible for any further witholding of funds for those other agencies, not the Democrats.

Way to go! Republicans! Stop blaming the Democrats. Why not compromise and get back to negotiating in good faith?

The 2nd Amendment vs. ICE

The founding fathers of this nation ere concerned about how a federal military and the potential for negative consequences for the population. These fears were expressed in the Declaration of Independance where it specified grievance ag ainst King George by saying "He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the onsent of our legislatures", "He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power", and  "For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states."

Don't some of these claims ring true today? In fact most of the founding fathers were concerned that any federal standing army could be turned against the citizenry.

George Mason (1788) "When once a standing army is established, the people lose their liberty. The most effective way to enslave tham is to disarm them."

Elbridge Gerry (1789) Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia in order to raise an army upon their ruins."

Noah Webster (1787) "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed... The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops"

Back when the 2nd amendment was ratified, it was probably true that an armed citizenry would suffice to prevent a totalitarian government from abridging liberties. I  argue that  today things are quite different since the President controls the most powerful military in the world. If he decided to turn it against the citizens, how could an armed citizenry defend themselves?

President Trump seems to be doing his best to disarm and intimidate us into submitting to his will. I believe that he wants to be a dictator. He has already deployed armioes of federal ICE agent to major cities creating havoc and even death. These agents bear no identies, wear masks and claim openly that they "are above the law/" The President has even gone further saying that he is willing to invoke the Insurrection Act so he can send in federal troops wherever he, personally, determines that things are not going his way.

WARNING The problems with ICE and the Presidents threats regarding the domestic use of federal troops are a precursor to the establishment of Donald Trump as a supreme Dictator and Tyrant - Much like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jun Un and Adolf Hitler.

King Donald - Revised

Recent actions by Donald Trump reminds me of King George back in colonial days. As the Declaration of Independence outlined the wrongs committed by The King which led to the founding of our nation, so Mr Trump could be accused of similar wrongs.

The Declaration of Independencs says, "He [King George] has endeavoured to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass otherds to encourage their migration hither; and raising the conditions of new Appropriation of Lands". That sounds to me like how Mr Trump is obstructing immigration; especially over our Southern border. His actions to eliminate the right of citizenship by birth also seem wrongful.

The Declaration also says, "He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries". Mr Trump  has loaded the Supreme Court with justices who have recently said that he cannot be tried for crimes he may commit as "official acts". This has enabled him to break the law by firing several Inspector's General in violation of the 30 days notice required by law. In his previous administration, he also fired several Attorney's General because they disagreed with hime. He also failed to appoint any members to the Federal Merit Systems Protection Board; thus denying employees and whistelblowers their protection under the law. 

The Declaration says.'...for cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world". Mr Trump has turned US trade policy upside down. He has engaged in trade wars between the United States and China, Mexico, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Japan and even Britain itself as well as other random nations. He has railed against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement. He has broken alliances with other nations and withdrawn from the Paris Accord and numerous other treaties.

The Declaration goes on to say, "He has excited domestic insurrection amongst us". Mr Trump supported (if not ordered) the January 6th rebellion and has suggested that he would use federal troops to quell demonstrations. He has granted pardons to most of those who were convicted of crimes related to the insurrection. He has made statements and remarks that have actually inflammed this and other demonstrations.

The bottom line is that Mr Trump is not a King, but he has behaved much like one. By stacking carious departments and agencies with his political cronies, he has behaved like a typical totalitarian dictator. He has actively supported division amongst the people. He has violated the Constitution by writing many Presidential Orders which are not sanctioned by the Constitution nor with the advice of Congress. Writing laws is the job of the Congress (albeit itself currently horribly divided). The President's job is merely to execute the laws passed by Congress. He cannot make law. He cannot and shuld not have it "his" way. He does not own the country like he owned his businesses. He cannot simply say "you're fired" when things don't go his way.

The Political Bell Curve

The bell curve is a shape often used to represent the distribution of opinions or behaviors. In elections, it provides a compelling way to understand why voting is critical and how it can influence the political landscape.

At the peak of the curve is where the majority of voters opinions lie. This represents the collective will of most people. The edges of the curve represent the extreme or minority viewpoints, which while valid, may not reflect the desires of most people.

Unfortunately, it is the people from the edges that generally go to the polls for the primaries. There they tend to nominate "fringe" candidates that will move forward to the general elections. As a result the majority of votersd are asked to select between "fringe" candidates that most likely do not represent the majority points of view. It becomes a choice between the lesser of two evils. This is hardly "democratic".

When voter turnout is high, the curve remains balanced and the collective majority shapes the outcome. However when turnout is low, the bell curve shifts towards one side or the other, allowing the extremes to dominate.  

Low Voter Turnout: In many primaries, particularly in off-cycle or less competetive races, turnout can be relatively low. This gives more weight to motivated, often more ideologically extreme voters. This leads to nominating fringe candidates that appeal to a small but highly engage base.

Party Base Influence: Primaries are typically more about appealing to a party's base rather than the majority general electorate. This often leads to the rise of candidates with extreme or unconventional views because they are able to energize and mobilize a particular faction of their party.

Democracy seems to work best when there is high voter turnout typically because there is more mass in the high part of the bell curve making the fringes less meaningful to the outcome.

Perhaps Ranked Choice Voting (RVC) might minimize having extremist candidates at the general election. Because voters to rank candidate in order of preference, RCV encourages candidates to appeal to a broader base of voters.

1. Broader Appeal: Because candidayes must consider that they may need to secure a second or third-choice vote to win, they will be lead to more moderate positions that appeal to more voters
   
   
2. Less Negative Campaigning: Since a candidate may nneed to appear to a second-choice voter, they have incentive not to harshly attack other opponents.
   
   
3. Moeration in Governance: Elected officials who win through RCVmay feel a mandate to govern with a more balanced perspective having won from a broader based electorate.

While RVC has the potential to moderate political extremes, its effectivness depends on factors such as political culture, voter participation  and how well the system is understood.

NOT a Mandate

Despite what President Trump may think, he was NOT given a mandate in his election. He won by one of the narrowist margins in history. A margin of only 0.15% of the popular vote is most certainly not a charter to do anything he wants. That is only a tiny fraction of the "landslide" 22.6% margin of 1964.

Not only that, he also did not get a majority of the voyes either. He only received 49.8* of all popular votes that were cast. Compare that with George W. Bush with 50.3% in 2004, Barrack Obama with 52.9% in 2008 and 51% in 2012, or Joe Biden with 51.3% in 2020. Even when consoidering the Electoral College votes, Trump only received 6 more votes than Harris; 312 to 306.

Yet Trump and his allies are claiming a "landslide" and a "blowout". From their telling, Trump's "sweeping" and "historic" victory has given MAGA a "powerful mandate" to govern. Everyone's vote counted, but the real outcome came down to the choices of just a tiny sliver of swing state voters. NOT a mandate from my perspective.

Can We Avoid Disaster?

 Why do we allow ourselves to be distracted by politics when no leaders, reall none of them, are even talking about the BIG problems. The kind of problems that put the very existance of humanity in the balance.

Chief among the concerns that most leaders avoid discussing is Climate Change. This is a multi-directional problem that involve MUCH more than just the burning of fossile fuels. It is so serious, that in a mere 20 or 30 years, the human race may not be able to survive on planet Earth.

Look at this graph, which shows that not only is the mean global temperature increasing, it now shows an exponential curve that is accelerating.

If this trend continues, the "tipping point" of a 2.5 degree Celcius will be reach much sooner that originally expected. And much like many other things that have momentum, there is likely to be an overshoot of the target before things go back to normal.

At present, it looks like the tipping point will be reached in the next 5-10 years instead of 25. Of course, many of our leaders will be out of power or even dead by then. But, do they not have any concern for their legacy, the people wh o will outlive them, their children and grandchildren. Is business so short sighted that they don't care what happens beyond the profit from the next quarter?

Climate change is a huge problem that involves many social and economic sectors. Here is a graph that shows how many different factors are all contributing the the changes. They ALL must be addressed - NOW!

I believe that the signs are clear - DOOM awaits humanity if we do not reverse these treands. I urge all citizens to appeal to their political leaders to STOP fostering popular and political divisions and come together to solve one of Earth's most urgent problems.

The window of opportunity is closing rapidly. There is still a very slim chance that we may avoid catastrophy.

The End of the Industrial Revolution

One might say that the purpose of the industrial revolution was to relieve humanity of the need for labor by introducing machines. The epitome of the revolution then will come when robots replace all humans in whatever jobs they might do.

Looking at thr rapid improvements in the state of artificial intelligence and robotics, I believe that we are very near the end of the industrial age. Probably within the next 10 to 15 years, robotic androids will be able to do everything than humans might do. it is estimated that by 2036 there will be more robots in total number than humans. Robots to cook meals, clean the house, baby sit the kids, plough the fields and reap the harvest... The list is endless. Robots will even be able to replicate themselves. In a limited way, they already can.

So what will us humans do?

If I were 25 years old today, I would be terrified. Huge obstacles are in their way such as global warming, devaluing of the dollar, real imcome being diminished, real expenses being inflated, jobs replaced by robots, etc. It's rerally scary!

Fixing these thing require leadership that has view for the future; not the past, despite how "great" our country may have been. After all, the future is created by the actions and choices we make today. However, I do not see any leaders (anywhere in the world) who are actually trying to focus on the results of their actions upon  the future of mankind. Rather, they continue to look backward saying things like "We'll make America great again". In actuality, America cannot ever again be "great" in the way it was in previous years.

Going into the future without competant leadership means that the future will be chaos and humanity will pay the price. We might even become extinct.

Do We Love Our Children

I would say that we probably don't. We have left them an environment destined for disaster.

Looking at the past several generations, I am seeing some alarming trends. Looking back several generations at age 25 and adjusted for inflation, we see 

There is a widening gap from one generation to the next in these and other dimensions. 

Basically the younger the person, the more they lack opportunity and prosperity. Today's 30-year-old is no longer doing as well as his or her parents did when they were 30. This is a fundamental breakdown in a society that should be making things better for the next generation.

People over the age of 55 feel pretty good about America. But 

less than one in five people under the age of 34 

feel good about America. Young people are pissed off and angry because they aren't receiving the same opportunity and prosperity that was available to their parents.. Many feel despondent and hopeless because they know they aren't getting anything near what their parents got. Some give up and become complacent while others turn to resistence, outbreak and even violence.

How much do we value youth labor when we've kept the minimum wage very low? If adjusted by inflation, it should be almost $25 per hour. 

Housing costs have skyrocketed when compared with the avertage personal income. Mortgages have risen from aroung $1000 to over $2500 due to rising interest rates and the inflated costs of the dwellings themselves. An average $250,000 home has risen to well over $500,000.

In only a few short years wealth has been transfered from young to old. In 1989 people under the age of 40 controlled over 12% of the household wealth. In 2023 that share was nearly cut in half to a mere 7% while those over the age of 70 nearly doubled their wealth. 

Every year botaining higher education becomes more difficult. Generally it has become more difficult to gain admission and , once admitted, the costs have increased dramatically. In 1987 The Ivy league schools on average admitted between 16 and 20 percent of the applicatants. Today the average is less thn 10%. According to the College Board the costs have skyrocketed for both Sate and Ivy League institutions.

Todays students are at a definiate disadvantage both in gaining admittance and payimg significantly higher costs.

More to come...

King Donald

 Donald Trump's behavior often reminds me of King George back in colonial days. As the Declaration of Independence outlined the wrongs committed by The King which led to the founding of our nation, so Mr Trump could be accused of similar wrongs.

The Declaration of Independencs says, "He [King George] has endeavoured to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass otherds to encourage their migration hither; and raising the conditions of new Appropriation of Lands". That sounds to me how Mr Trump has tried to obstruct immigration; especially over our Southern border.

The Declaration also says, "He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries". Mt Trump fired the inspector general who was responsible for the oversight and accountability of ther congress. Her fired several attorney's general who disagreed with him. He also failed to appoint any members to the Federal Merit Systems Protection Board; thus denying employees and whistelblowers the protection under the laws. He has loaded the Supreme Court with justices that hold his ultra-conservative views.

The Declaration says.'...for cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world". Mr Trump has turned US trade policy upside down. He has engaged in trade wars between the United States and China, Europe, South Korea, Japan and even Britain itself as well as other random nations. He has railed against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement. He has broken alliances with other nations and withdrawn from numerous treaties.

The Declaration goes on to say, "He has excited domestic insurrection amongst us". Mr Trump supported (if not ordered) the January 6th rebellion and has suggested that he would use federal troops to quell demonstrations. He has made statements and remarks that have actually inflammed said demonstrations.

The bottom line is that Mr Trump is not a King, but he has behaved much like one. He has actively supported division amongst the people. He has violated the Constitution by writing Presidential Orders which are not sanction by the Constitution. Writing laws is the job of the Congress (albeit currently horribly divided). His job is merely to execute them. He cannot have it "his" way. He does not own the country like he owned his businesses. He cannot simply say "you're fired" when thing don't go his way.

Debt Ceiling

 There really is no debt ceiling if it constantly be raised!

Consider your own credit card. It has a limit (a debt ceiling). Can you raise it? NO the authority which granted you the card may or may not raise your limit debending on several factors; most importantly your ability to pay your debts.

We The People have (in the 16th amendment) granted the government the right to incur debt. But congress seems to think that they can continually raise the limit themselves. Shouldn't We The People be the ones to authorize any increase? After all We're the granting authority and congress is the recipient of the credit?

The current national debt is OUTRAGEOUS! It should be a national embarressment. If any individual incurred a debt of such relative proportion we would be forced into bankruptcy.

The national debt  is currently more than $94,800 per citizen and $247,000 per taxpayer. The national debt is a House Of Cards that is ready to collapse. And it is climbing at an exponential rate.

Isn't it time for them to BALANCE the budget and stop overspending? Should we continue to allow congress to continue driving the nation into further debt? I say NO!

I've asked my congressman to stop raising the debt ceiling and become fiscally responsible. Why don't you ask your representative to do the same?

The Meaning of Democracy

Democracy Definition

a. Government by the people; that form of government in which the sovereign power resides in the people as a whole, and is exercised either directly by them.

b. A state or community in which the government is vested in the people as a whole.

Oxford English Dictionary

Are we losing our democracy in the United States? 

I believe that we are losing it! We The People as a body are no longer the governing power. Instead, money interests, lobbiests, corporations and the elite rich are the ones who actually control the government. They control who can run for office and then dictate what they should vote for or against. 

This is a very sad state of affairs. And the Supreme Court's decision re: Citizens United as actually made things even worse. IMHO no "artificial person" like a corporation should be able to have any influence over the government. Yet, the court says that corporations may pour infinite money into swaying the government towards their advantage.

It is time that We The People regain control! Everyone who is eligible should vote to remove those who do not act in the public interest.

The addage "Divide and conquer" is quite true. The politicians and the media are currently working overtime to do just that. This country has never been more divided. And if we remain divided, we shall fall!

Clean Energy

The situation with global warming requires humanity to find a way to have abundant energy without destroying the environment. The problem with wind and solar energy sources is that they are not constant. Nuclear energy (though fision) creates radioactive byproducts that take centuries to become safe. The only source that seems to be both constant and safe is geothermal.

Heretofore, geothermal energy has been expensive when compared to coal, wind and solar. However, breakthrough technology promises to reduce the cost of geothermal significantly. Several companies (Gyroton Technologies, Quaise Energy, AltaRock, and others) are developing Gyroton-powered drilling devices that will blast through rock by vaporizing it. These technologies promise to deliver boreholes deep into the Earth's core in a matter of days instead of years.

Many existing electric generators depend upon superheated steam produced by boilers fired by coal or natural gas. Injecting water into boreholes located next to these existing generators could produce the superheated steam needed to run the generator turbines making coal or natural gas unnecessary. This would also bypass the need to build new and expensive power plants, wind farms and solar arrays.

I believe that deep geothermal offers tremendous advantages over solar, wind and nuclear approaches. It warrants significant government support and investment.

If you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, please send me an email at alan.doering@gmail.com 

Divided Nation

 Divisa et Imperator (Divide and Conquer).
This addage is in full operation today.

It is sad to see the United States in such a state of divisiveness and polarization. It should be obvious that this divisiveness only serves to keep a clearly broken government in power. I believe the media and the politicians are working overtime to keep it that way. For so long as the population remains divided, it cannot amass the strength to oppose those who are in power. 

In his book 1984, George Orwell predicted a situation much like today. The Ministry of Truth (the Media) rewriting history and distorting the facts. Big Brother (the government) watching the citizens every move, etc. I believe that if the current trends continue, Democracy itself will be lost and a revolution will be likely within the next 20 years.

A sad, sad state of affairs!

United Nations???

For many years, the United Nations Security Council has been almost powerless to deal with international conflict. I believe this is mostly due to the fact that it takes only one nation to veto the desires of all the other council members.

Is it not time, to modify the UN Charter so that decisions can be made by concensus rather than being killed by a single veto? IMHO no one nation should be able to overrule the will of the majority; especially when such vetos usually are  blatantly in the self interests of the party wielding them. In effect, one nation can impose it's will over all the others. This is blatantly unfair!

Perpetual Debt

 I think this quote from Thomas Jeffeerson is worthy of being reposted here.

"I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To prteserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in out meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they [the people] will be happy" -- Thomas Jefferson

Of course, that is exactly what has happened. We The People, through our government, are now in debt to the tune of more than $30.6 Trillion dollars. That's outrageous!

I think it's completely outrageous that about half of all the money spent by the government is "borrowed". If you or I had a spending habit like that it wouldn't take long before our creditors would shut us down and force us into bankruptcy. I believe that Congress has the duty to reduce the debt and find a way to live within its means. If that means cuts to "favorite" programs, then so be it! The cuts, no matter how severe, would certainly be less painful in the long run than bankruptcy. So let's get started making the cuts!

However, I doubt very much that congress has the courage to do the right thing. Otherwise, it's just a house of cards that will eventually crumble. Unfortunately, the people in power seem to lack such courage and are concerned with their own near-term benefit more than they are with the long-term health of the nation. They want power, money and other benefits now and apparently don't give a damn about what might happen in the future after they are gone..

Are we losing our democracy?

Over the past several years I have become worried that our American Democracy seems to be broken. Political divisions are becoming more and more prevalent. Money seems to matter more than votes. and the people I associate with seem to feel that something is wrong. Are we losing control over our democracy? Let's look at this question.

This question does not appear to be new. In fact, it may have been predicted by Prof. Alexander Fraser Tyler (1747-1813) when he wrote the "Cycle of Democracy" way back in 1776 . Basically, the cycle concludes that democracy can only persist until the citizens discover that they can vote for themselves benefits from the public treasury. After that they tend to vote only for things that benefit themselves and the democracy collapses fiscally until it is replaced by a dictatorship.

So, where are we now in this cycle? Is our democracy in trouble? Lets examine the cycle step by step.

1) Bondage. We fled Europe and came to America because we didn't want religious persecution. In the early 1700's America was essentially in bondage to the British government. Jonathan Edwards around this time led the Great Awakening in which the colonies experienced the conviction that God was more important than man.

2) Spiritual Faith and Courage.  The founding fathers had deeply held principles for which they were willing to lay down their lives. This led to the courage to face the tyranny and oppression of Britain and fight the Revolutionary war revolting against the 2% tax imposed by the King. Image that, only 2% whereby today we have much more than that imposed by our own government.

4) Liberty.  By winning the war , the colonists were able to gain their freedom and Liberty. A key principle in our Constitution was the concept of "Liberty" and the "Rule of Law". 

5) Abundance. Having Liberty allowed the colonists to grow and grow developing their economy, improving their lives and creating great abundance. American ingenuity and innovation brought an end to WWII and made America the wealthiest and strongest nation in the world. With that abundance came selfishness, greed and all the vices that come with it. 

6) Selfishness and Complacency. Abundance leads to selfishness and feelings of entitlement and complacency. When your wallet becomes thick and fat and everything is abundant, you become selfish in desiring your share of the abundance. So long as your wants are fulfilled, you become complacent and don't pay attention to the government and others. This leads to apathy. 

7) Apathy.  So long as there is abundance, society tends to surrender to personal fulfillment and allows government to pursue its own agenda; obtaining its own perks rather than serving the people and catering to money lobbyists and special interest groups.

9) Dependency. With abundance we become dependent upon having "things". This leads to spending too much money to acquire them. When you spend too much money you eventually stop caring. You stop looking to the future and live only for the day. Many Americans looked to the government as being the ultimate source for welfare, health care, social security, etc. But the government has nothing to give that it doesn't first acquire through taxes. Personal liberty and freedom have been given over to Big Brother. Many Americans don't even know what freedoms they have lost because the schools no longer teach them. It's easy to lose what we don't know we have.

10) Bondage. The U.S. Government, no - We The People, are in debt to the tune of $30.6 Trillion dollars. The share of this debt is about $91,800 per citizen. Add this to our personal debts and we find ourselves in bondage to the debt collectors. We all know that something is not right. Our leaders make promises that they cannot fulfill. Dependency on government is a form of slavery. Slaves can never perform the functions of free men and women.

I think that everyone might agree that America is entering this last step in the cycle. We are moving ourselves into bondage.

This is nothing new!

We only need to look at history to find that this is not the first democracy to fail. The origins of the Welfare State may well have been in the time of Clodius (93 bc - 52 bc).

Clodius was a disruptive politician, head of a group of political thugs and a bitter enemy of Cicero. Clodius did something that changed the political world forever. He devised a tool to gain political power by promising free grain in exchange for votes. How is this any different than the modern scheme of giving food stamps, welfare, discounted insurance, and many other perks to the citizens?

Eventually, 33% of everyone in Rome received public relief in the form of grain and other perks. This led Roman society to erode from within. The military became over extended (at enormous cost), the borders of the empire could not be controlled, the currency was devalued to pay off debts, and the bureaucracy lived as parasites of their Roman constituents. Doesn't this sound familiar to modern Americans?

The collapse of the Roman welfare state resulted in civil wars where factions competed to gain control of the huge state apparatus and its public loot. There was a huge bureaucracy, mass corruption, high taxes, and burdensome regulations. Businesses were called upon to support the growing number of public parasites. Think of this in the context of the "Citizens United" decision by the Supreme Court.

The absence of character produces chaos and tyranny. The Romans turned down a fateful and destructive path when they abandoned responsibility, self discipline, self-reliance and respect for the property of others and began to use government for their own personal ends. Remember, the government has nothing to give that it doesn't first obtain through taxes and other means.

Pay attention to history

"People will not look forward to prosperity who never look backward to their ancestors"
--Edmond Burke

As with Rome, history shows us that these cycles repeat themselves. Looking at the present, we can see that we are clearly in the "Dependency" stage. We're saying to ourselves, "Give me Social Security. Give me health care. Give me Food stamps. Give me unemployment compensation. Give me cheap prescriptions. Give me this or that," We've become a nation of takers, rather than a nation of givers, workers and producers.

Erosion of a society starts with an absence of character, moral decadence, fiscal irresponsibility, jealousy and greed, lack of respect for others' property, discrimination based on ethnicity, race, gender or class. We've got all that and then some.

The growth of Rome and the growth of America both stem from their massive expansion of individual liberty. Liberty flourishes because of the separation of powers, a system of checks and balances, the rule of law and the protection of the right of most if not all citizens. Indiviidual liberty is needed for a prosperous economy. No society that has lost its moral compass has been able to retain their liberty. Individual liberty is essential for the growth of democracy. The loss of individual liberty ultimately leads to chaos and tyranny.

Fiscal responsibility is important

The current national debt now soars above $30.6 Trillion dollars. According to usdebtclock.org the debt is increasing at therate of more than $24,000 per second. It represents the amount of debt accumulated since 1776 as the result of congress passing bills for defense, entitlement programs, etc. These are bills that have been already passed. We are going to be payng for the decisions congress has made for many years to come. This is really scary. 

Entitlements, mandatory payments and interest on the debt account for more than 80% of all federal revenue. It is impossible to balance the federal budget without addressing these items. But, politicians can't do anything because making cuts means losing votes or even being recalled from office. 

These numbers are immense. They boggle the mind. And, when they get so large they are hard to comprehend.

There are other factors

There are many factors that affect the economy. One of the scariest is the global fertility rate which has been in steady decline.

In order for growth in the global economy, the fertility rate must be greater than 2.0; i.e. when two parents have two children. If the fertility rate is less than 2.0, the global population will shrink.

This is important because when the rate is below 2.0 it means that the population is aging. That means that there will be more people who are retired and receiving benefits while no longer paying into the system together with the fact that fewer people will be entering the workforce. Its like a Ponzi scheme. If trends continue, the system will collapse because too few people will be left to produce the stuff that keeps the system afloat. We are already seeing these effects within our curent Social Security system.

It is scary to think of how a free and industrious people can lose their character and let their guard down to allow a welfare state to take over. When a self-governing people give their government the power to take from some and give to others, the process will not stop until the bones of the last taxpayer are picked clean.

Devalued currency and inflation

One of the fiscal results of a welfare state is the devaluation of their currency. The massive demands on the government to spend creates pressures for the creation of new money. The result is inflation and devaluation of currency.

The Roman coin, the denarius, was devalued by one emperor after another to pay for the expensive welfare state. This coin once was 94& silver. By 268 AD it was little more than a piece of junk with only 0.02% silver left in it. That's a 99.978% decrease in its value.

How does the modern US Dollar compare with the denarius? Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, and since dollars are no longer backed by either gold or silver, the dollar has lost 98% of its purchasing power. Because this has happend over a period of 100 years, the population has been largely unaware of its demise.

Inlation has a direct relationship to the decline of democracy. As price soar from inflation, wages and the prices of essential goods will be unable to keep pace. Those without assets like gold, silver or other tangible goods will be wiped out. With this will become indebtedness and loss of freedom and liberty. Ultimately, this can lead to revolution and the loss of democracy.

When a currency becomes devalued it leads to major trade imbalance. Creditors will become extremely upset when debtor nations (like the United State) could default on their obligations. Consider the ripple effect on global economies when Argentina defaulted in November of 2016 (the ninth default in its history).

All of the signs are there for an imminent collapse of our democracy. 

Many of our founding fathers argued against hving any form of government at all. But, they agreed that some government was necessary to avoid chaos. They tried to craft a minimal form of government based on Liberty and a separation of powers between the three branches of government. I believe they would  abhor the immense size of our current government.

Sadly, our goverment resembles the Roman welfare state in many ways. It has grown much too big. It has legions of beneficiaries. It is dominated by money interests, parasites and corruption. It has burdensome taxes and cumbersome regulations. It has huge fiscal problems. The citizens themselves have lost their spirit and have become divided and polarized.

Power curently lies in the hands of the few parasites who run the government. It is in their personal interests to keep the population divided. But, ultimate strength is in the hands of We The People. No government can succeed if their citizens unite together and don't want it.

If we want to survive as a free people, we absolutely must come together and stop the political divisiveness. Not only must we do this domestically; but it is necessary for human survival as a species that we do it globally.

We must focus on our common goals; not our differences.

What about the 2nd Amendment?

After every mass shooting, there are screams for more laws controlling guns. Are guns the problem? Or, is it the people who carry them? What would the founding fathers say? Why did they write the 2nd amendment and what does it really mean?

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of thepeople to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed".

United States Constitution 

In reality, the founding fathers had very little concern for the modern gun control debate. Both sides of the modern debate claim that they know the founding fathers would have thought. Let's examine that premise to see if we can determine what they really intended. When reading the debates that lead up to writing the Constitution, the real reason leaps off the pages. Alexander Hamilton called a well regulated militia the "most natural defense of a free country".The Federalists agreed that a citizen's militia was the bulwark of a free people.

The primary justification for the 2nd amendment was to prevent the government from having  a standing army with professional soldiers. Our founders believed that a standing army would be a threat to freedom because a corrupt government could order the army to attack civilians who would be unarmed and unable to defend themselves. The citizens would lose their freedom because they could not fight back. The choice was simple: a standing army or a free nation.

The founding fathers were not against individuals bearing arms. That just wasn't of concern to them. The idea of a militia was all important. They wanted every citizen to be in the militia, and they wanted everyone in the militia to be armed. If anyone was prevented from being part of the militia, they would not want them to be armed. For many years black men and ntive americans were prevented from being in the militia. Prior to the landmark 2008 decision (District of Columbia vs. Heller) courts had ruled that the right to bear arms was limited to those in the militia. 18th century Americans tolerated this interpretation because it gave them control over Blacks and Native Americans.

Today, anyone who wishes for a return to an original meaning of the 2nd amendment - where no one was a professional soldier, and everyone was required to be part of the militia - would find themselves very far from the modern political mainstream. The modern focus of the courts has been to emphasize the second part of the amendment allowing all citizens to bear arms rather than only those in a militia. America's standing army is now the most powerful in the world. And, even the National Guard is a far cry from being a citizens militia because it is certainly not free from government control. 

Americans have passed many strict laws regarding who may or may not bear arms. They have been eager to disarm blacks and other minorities while hesitant to disarm whites. Yet most of the mass shootings have be perpetrated by whites. 18th century militias were unstable and unpredicatable. American gun violence in modern times as been every bit as unstable and unpredictable, and given the improvement to weaponry, far more fatal. America now has a degree of gun violence that is unrivaled by any other country.

The founding fathers could not possibly have forseen the level of today's carnage. At its best the 2nd amendment was a commitment by citizens to participate in their own freedom and keep the government's military power under control. At its worst, it was a way for whites to maintain their social domination over the minorities. In today's America, the racial politics of the `18th century still abound. The concept of citizen participation against government power is nowhere to be found.

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!