IT’S MY BALL, IF I DON’T PLAY NOBODY DOES!

Partisanship in DC has become the single greatest threat to a working governmental environment and we the people have been caught in the crossfire.

Who is doing what to whom?  Fingers can be pointed at both parties so which side is more to blame?  How do the Republicans and Democrats differ?

One striking difference between the two major political parties in America today is that if a Democrat in power has a good idea the Republicans will go out of their way to block it rather than give the other side a victory.

The GOP seems to think government is a game and they own the ball. If you’re not going to play me then I’m taking my ball home!

The other side of the coin has not been as steadfast a rule since the Democrats have been willing to join the Republicans should they ever come up with a good idea for the entire country.

It’s this childish mentality that caused Mitch McConnell to declare his vow to block everything President Obama tried to accomplish during his tenure as leader of the free World.  He even went so far as to state that his number one job was to make Mr. Obama a one term President!

McConnell and his teammates tried to stop any attempt to give Americans affordable healthcare. Then they wasted time in Congress that could have been spent governing and moving America forward by wasting tax payer dollars constantly voting to repeal the life saving bill.  With nothing in mind to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) it’s clear they just cannot allow history to show that Mr. Obama and the Democrats accomplished something good!

And to tie this act of partisan childishness together with the main theme of the post the ACA was fashioned after Massachusetts’ so called Romney Care!

What were major differences between the two plans? Aside from the fact that one covered only people in one State not much.  Of course one was proposed and put forth by a white Republican.  Hmmm, I can’t think of too many other differences except the scale of the project and the fact that the ACA would help many more lower income families going forward.

And to bring another fact into light note that the Massachusetts legislature that went along with and worked on Romney Care alongside the Republican governor was overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats. They felt that giving the people a win was more important than blocking one for the Republicans!

One other point among so many I could note is that President Obama nominated a judge to the Supreme Court a year ago and even though Mr. Merrick Garland was considered by Republicans to be an incredibly fair judge they refused to even meet with him!  Many were quoted in the past saying Judge Garland would make a very fine choice for the Supreme Court.

What changed?

Oh, right!

The Democrats are starting to learn that this tactic, when used with a media blitz and fake news stories may actually reward bad behavior with reelections, control of Congress and even the White House.

But going forward I am certain the Democrats will not abandon their love of country as have their political opponents.  I don’t see the minority in Congress begging foreign powers to hack the GOP for dirt to embarrass them and take them down. The mere thought of doing so used to be considered treasonous.

I am also certain that should the odd and occasional good idea come forward from the other side of the aisle the Democratic Party will embrace it.

So if the Democrats want to help Americans and the ever shrinking Middle Class survive the next two or four years they will have to play ball.  After all bullies always seem to have a way of winning, at least until their followers finally realize that the truth is they don’t care about anyone but themselves!

ROAD RAGE

For the past few years I have noticed a definite increase in aggressiveness on the road.

You cannot drive on a highway anywhere in America without being tailgated or passed by cars driving 10 to 20 miles over the speed limit.  Many times a car will pass you with his tires still in your lane!

And when doing so the driver looks at you as if you were a criminal deliberately holding him back.

I sometimes see such anger in the faces of these would-be race car drivers as they pass me that I am afraid to be in the same city let alone road with them.

It is no wonder we keep hearing about more accidents and deaths caused by careless or just plain stupid driving.

And because you must constantly alternate between looking forward and glancing at all three mirrors driving any distance further than the local mall or Movie Theater has become an exhausting experience.

Over that last two years I have driven in many cities and find the same aggressiveness on the road.

In Phoenix I was nearly terrified to drive on the highway but had to in order to go anywhere.

After complaining that Arizona must have the worst drivers in America I found the same type of rage on the roads of South Florida and New Jersey and upstate New York.

I witness drivers maneuvering their cars in and out of lanes as though they were in the latest Fast & Furious flick.  Going from right to middle to left lane and then reversing direction back to the original lane just to pass one vehicle!

Are they kidding?

They would rather force you off the road or even kill you rather than lose a second getting wherever it is they are headed.

I am certain they will not be late for their funerals!

I don’t know the cause of this seeming epidemic and realize it is impossible to have police cars every mile or so and on every road in America but until we figure out how to get these maniacs off the road we will keep reading about more highway deaths.

Breathalyzers or sensors on steering wheels to lock the ignition prior to a drunk driver hitting, literally, the road is one way to limit tragedy.

And punishing those who drive recklessly or impaired; text while driving; get behind the wheel with suspended licenses; read the paper, (Yes actually reading the newspaper);

or even putting on make-up while directing a 2 ton missile down the road with loss of license and fines and possible jail time may become necessary.

Hit and run accidents can be stopped with a simple device that cuts the engine off and does not allow it to be restarted for ten minutes or so if sensors in the front bumper are tripped by the car hitting an object while it’s moving over 10 miles per hour.

The time spent sitting in the driver’s seat would allow the driver time to rethink his urge to flee the scene.  He or she may even feel a different urge, stay and help the victim then explain the cause of the accident to the police.

So what is the cause or at least one of the causes of this increase in life threatening arrogance on the road?

I believe the increase in road rage has something to do with the increase of frustration with life in America.

We have very little control of what goes on in our lives these days.

We fight against the odds for a raise at work and rail against the government for a break on our taxes equal or at least close to what the wealthy get.

For too long the average citizen has been watching his savings disappear to higher costs and total taxes.  He realizes that none of this money is being used to make his life better but rather line the pockets of wealthy Americans and corporate CEOs.

The feeling among more and more people is one of resignation.  They know that the America of 2015 will not have a revolution and things will not change.

This bastard started
the Republican policy of
killing the middle class.

The direction the country has been heading since the White House of Ronald Reagan first started the right’s war on unions and the middle class is bad for the masses.

But what makes it worse is that the wealthier among us have figured out ways to speed up the move in that direction.

If nothing changes we will no longer have a middle class.

If nothing changes we will have wealthy over lords deciding which among us gets a crumb now and then.

If nothing changes life as we know it will cease to exist.

If nothing changes the fast fading American Dream will be nothing more than a memory.

And finally if nothing changes frustration levels will rise to the breaking point and road rage may become the least of our worries!

EVERYBODY'S GONE SERFING, SERFING USA!

History is filled with changing economic times.

There have been boom times where many lives were lifted out of poverty and financial disasters where the opposite route was taken.

Governments tend to bring order to the land and if possible stability.

Strong governments are fine as long as they incorporate checks and balances such as the basic hierarchy of the United States.

But without those features strong governments may turn harsh and corrupt as in North Korea and several Middle Eastern lands. A government that rules with an iron fist has many dangers.

But weak governments are worse and open the door to a coup or at the very least a loss of control that spirals down to anarchy.

Nations have been experimenting with different forms of government for centuries and naturally we in America believe ours, while terribly flawed is the best one in existence.

The lord of the Feifdom lived within these walls.

The Middle Ages saw a long period with no strong centralized government.  The land was generally ruled by lords of the land.  These landlords used the labor of what some might consider slaves to work the land for them as a method of paying off a debt.

The debt could be a fine for something bad the pauper had done or a fee for food he needed to survive.  He might owe money to the powers of the day because he sought to marry and asked the landlord to grant him a hut in which to live.  The landlord might oblige in return for favors with the bride and the use of the child’s labor once old enough to work.

But the bottom line was the ‘free’ man was indebted to the landlord and could lose all including his life if he stopped paying what he owed.

One could be excused for confusing this type of situation as slavery but history branded these poor unfortunates, serfs.

Other ‘ages’ followed such as that of enlightenment and the industrial revolution and while the World moved on toward our current modern times it was not without an occasional hiccup.

There were World Wars and the rise of Communism which in many ways can be considered just another form of feudalism.  And many humans still live under totalitarian rule.

We survived the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing great depression.

We enjoyed the post war era that ushered in the Middle Class and general prosperity for a majority of Americans.

We continued our rise as the most admired nation in the World and have seen continued immigration throughout and past the 20^th century.

But along with our march toward a more perfect union we have taken a huge step backwards.  And if we are not careful we will end up back in a new age version of Feudalism as the most affluent among us look for easy prey among the less fortunate. You might be excused for coining a new phrase as they GO SERFING!

Not your daddy's idea of surfing

Before you dismiss this out of hand as absurd think about all the other times people sat back and allowed their lives to be turned upside down and ruined due to complacency and denial.

As I stated earlier there are millions of humans living under the total control of a small number of evil greedy dictators even today!

And there are more would be tyrants plotting the takeover of other countries going on as well.

But think something like that cannot happen in America?

You know what’s coming, THINK AGAIN.

Our steady march to the Middle Ages began decades ago

But as with any slow and steady movement it may be hard to notice the trend until it affects your life.

To wit we first fast forward to 2008 and back to 1929.

We will bounce around in time from then but it’s a fantastic place to start as the lives of so many people were adversely affected in ways they may not overcome in their lifetime.

I offer herewith a dozen examples of how the wealthy are SERFING, SERFING USA!

1 – SECOND 'GREAT DEPRESSION' SERFING – As a result of the financial meltdown caused by the greed and subsequent appeasement of the wealthiest among us millions were thrown into turmoil for no fault of their own.

In fact the only ones not hurt by the financial crisis were the very same people who caused it!

It’s hard to believe it’s almost 6 years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

And the key players are not only still in power but have cemented their positions.  They have gained more wealth than one would have thought possible just a few short years ago.

And as far as catch phrases go; ‘Too big to fail’ has morphed into ‘Too big to jail.’

None of these criminals have or will see the inside of a cell unless it’s to visit those of us who end up in debtors’ prison.  Or maybe it should be called serfer’s prison.

I know it does not exist – yet.

2 – PARASITIC SERFING – If a company came to you and asked you to promote their product wouldn't you expect some form of compensation?

Let’s say you’re an athlete and Nike asked you to wear theirnew sport shoe so they could get a following and make a killing in the market.  Wouldn't it be nice if you could make a few pennies off their fortune as well?

If you are an athlete in college the powers that be say you are not only NOT entitled to get any money off the sale of your image or the promotion of your name etc but if you do accept money you could lose your scholarship and standing in the NCAA!

In other words the lords of college sports and businesses that make money off those sports have conspired to turn you into fodder for their feudal system.

Welcome the real world, Undergrad Serf, it's only the beginning.

3 – RETIREE SERFING – The awful buyers’ job market has spawned a new terminology, one that should strike fear into the hearts of every near retirement age American; Middle Age Interns!

Everyone knows it is immoral to use unpaid interns to do the job that a full time employee has done or could do but if you complain, well, see ya around pal!

Businesses don’t have to rely on workers sending in resumes anymore.  In fact many consider spending a dime on a ‘worker needed’ ad to be foolish as well as time consuming.

Who has the time to read through the thousands of resumes you will receive from incredibly overqualified serfs?

And besides, they can serf the web or put a sign on the front door for hopefuls to drop their papers in the mail slot.

4 – COLLEGE GRAD SERF – If you were a casualty of the 2008 middle class employment massacre that saw millions ‘laid off’ you suddenly found yourself in the same job pool as your dad or every other new college graduate.

With a tremendously large number of draft choices from which to choose and abuse businesses quickly learned from history.

You want a job?

You have debt?

You have a high rate student loan?

Would you like to intern with us?  We might even offer you a job if you work out well! (Or not.)

This offer of an unpaid form of servitude should be followed by, ‘of course I’ll respect you in the morning!’

However more businesses will say they can hire you but with business down they’ll have to pay you less than half what you are worth.
Oh and forget about a pension or other benefits.  Those are only for me and my friends.  You know the ones who can afford to buy their own with the tremendous profits we will be keeping off your labors.

And don’t think about leaving before normal quitting time or getting paid vacations.  In fact I may need you to work a little late, every night off the books of course!

Don’t like the deal?

NEXT SERF!

5 –PEACE OF MIND SERF – Insurance companies have long considered the average human to be an annuity for them.  First they put the fear of disease or death in your head and then they sit back and count their money as you are forced to buy their product.

Insurance in all forms is sold on a “Peace of mind” platform that lulls one into a stupor thinking you are covered in case of an emergency.  Sadly it isn't until you have an emergency that you find you didn't buy the right insurance or you neglected to note the size 4 font at the bottom of the contract you signed.

So sorry but you aren't covered for that!

You can fight and argue but does anyone really believe a lowly serf can defeat the armies of the overlords and their banks of attorneys?  Dumb Serf!

6 – KEEP THE SERF DOWN – And speaking of banks how’s that interest rate you’re receiving?

Is it enough to keep your head above the rate of inflation?

No?

That’s odd since the inflation rate is so low!

Didn't we bail those banks out with our money, our jobs, and our futures?  So the least you should receive in return is a small amount of payback, right?

Hah, you are such a cute Serf!

7 – RELIGIOUS SERFING – But banks take a back seat to the oldest profession in the world.  No I am not speaking of prostitution although in many ways it fits.

Even older than selling your body was the fine art of selling eternal peace, AKA organized religion.

Religion is the worship of anything and in the case of today’s, and yesterday’s religions that thing money!

The only thing scarier than an angry overlord is a so called holy man threatening an uneducated person with eternal damnation.

The preaching snake behind the pulpit is a constant reminder of the talking snake of Adam and Eve fame.

Religion has been around for centuries.

It was started when someone realized he could scare the hell, as it were out of another man by telling him lies of biblical proportions.

Perhaps after two men were fighting an eclipse of the sun happened and one guy jumped at the idea of the first religious scam.  He could tell everyone he caused the eclipse because he was angry!

He asked his friend the creature of the sky to make others do as he wished or face eternal darkness.  The creature obeyed him with a small taste of what that might be.

Not wanting to face that terrible future others treated the lying scam artist with more respect than he deserved.  Little by little the lie became fact and his power grew.

He passed his evil joke onto his heirs and the lineage of the faithful serfs began.

They gave what little they had to the man who spoke with the gods of the sky.  And they did so as faithfully as did the shop owners of Little Italy when paid protection was demanded by the powers that be.

And the rest is history.

8 – NON UNIONIZED SERFING – There is a virtual moat around the castle that is big business these days.  It is as impossible to ford as is the proverbial glass ceiling to break for most women.

Maybe if enough of us get together and form some kind of group we can finally go back across the Rubicon or rise above the invisible barrier to what once was an attainable American Dream.

Maybe we could form a union of sorts.

Oh, wait.  Those have been under attack ever since Ronald Reagan realized their inherent danger to the wealth and prosperity of the feudal lords.

When PATCO had the nerve to desire pay equal to their skills and importance Lord Trickle Down broke them and the trend has continued to this day!

Nowadays unions are under attack from every quarter and when the ones that still exist make any headway in talks with management they are vilified for causing rates to go up and costs to rise on non-unionized serfs.

Why you may ask would this happen?  Well in case you haven’t been paying attention there is no way management will lower their profit margins one cent so any give backs to unions will be passed along.

9 – STAGNATION SERFING – And as far as not paying attention goes have you noticed how little the Republican Party has done over the last 5 or 6 years?

They have stopped or tried to stop every ounce of progress or measure aimed at getting America back on the road to prosperity in favor of lowering taxes for the overlords.

They have proposed cuts to every social measure known to man while giving their full support to the serf makers.  Please don’t call them job makers anymore it’s embarrassing to anyone with a brain.

And still they are in office!

Polls show they will stay in office and even stand a chance to gain a majority in both chambers of Congress.

But with a little luck we can vote these dolts, these puppets of the overlords out of office and elect a more enlightened group to lead us out of our fiefdom.
We must break from our role as Voter Serfs!

10 – SUFFRAGE SERFING – (Nice segue, no?) Well it will take a lot more than luck since the landlords have hit upon another method to keep the slave revolt from taking place, blocking voter’s rights.

Many serfs cannot afford to take time off from work to vote on Election Day or their lords may insist they work a few extra 'off the book' hours on that Tuesday.

Luckily many states have early voting days and same day registration and extended hours if lines are long.

Oh wait, those have been ruled out by every State with a Republican held majority across America.

And even if you can get to the polling booth on time you may not be allowed to vote if you are a woman who has been divorced and you don’t carry proof of your married name change with you.

You cannot vote if you have ever been arrested or perhaps look like you have been arrested or if the guy at the front door of the polling place doesn't like your face!

Voter’s rights are going the way of the unions in our American fiefdom and it will take a huge concerted effort to stem that tide from drowning our freedom.

11 – KEEP ON SERFING – The righteous fight for Democracy in America will take a great deal of money.  And it is money most of us do not have.

The vast majority of workers are paid far less than they deserve and many take home levels considered below the poverty line.

The meager money these workers make forces the government to subsidize them with programs such as food stamps from SNAP.

But the same companies that pay their workers these obscenely low wages spend fortunes to stop any increase to the federal minimum wage laws.  They vilify these low paid workers calling them lazy takers.

The truth is it is the CEOs of the large corporations who are the takers.

With their ownership of five ninths of the Supreme Court they have taken our labor, our money and our futures and placed them firmly in their off shore tax havens.

The ‘Citizen’s United’ ruling clearly unites only the citizens with unlimited wealth, aka our new overlords.

And these overlords of America fight anything that threatens their fortunes.

They have grown so sure of themselves that they were totally blindsided when their last champion lost his bid for the White House.  They were so certain he was going to win the Presidential election and take back America from the low class takers that even when the polls closed and they showed a massive victory for the other guy they sat stunned claiming fraud.  It was a pathetic show of hubris but certainly not their first and surely not their last.
Serfs of America may be forgiven for a bit of schadenfreude but sadly it didn't last and it was soon business as usual in Feudal America.

12 – SERF THE IGNORANT – The overlords are even waging a war on education and science refusing to believe in any man made or man assisted climate change.  Perhaps they feel if they keep their heads in the sand or somewhere else the sun doesn't shine nothing will stop their ascension to total lords of the World.

Friends of the wealthy who perpetrate and perpetuate this perp-laden practice regularly appear on friendly networks such as Rupert Murdoch’s FOX to keep the under educated just that.

Lulling the masses to sleep with tales of how the Democrats are out to take away your freedom or worse, your guns scare their base almost as much as did the preachers of old.

And since the Republican Party is the puppet of the wealthy one must conclude that they realize an educated electorate is their worst nightmare.
Sad ill-informed Serfs!

Anyone with a brain or a modicum of intelligence must feel frustrated to do anything about this system.

If we continue to act as if it’s futile to fight we will end up in a feudal light!
If all we do is Bitch Boys (and girls) nothing will change.

Our leaders have abdicated the throne to the landlords of the Fiefdom and as the glaciers melt and the oceans rise one wonders if they can swim.

They had better learn fast.

But until then sadly they will continue to serf.

Because everybody’s Serfin, serfin USA.

If we all had a notion

Across the USA

Then no lords would be serfin’

Like they are today!

America's New Normal

As the Dow Jones and other stock markets continue to reach new record highs and corporations report insanely high profits unemployment numbers should still alarm any intelligent economist.
Even as new workers are hired they are receiving far lower salaries and fewer benefits than ever before.  This at a time when their so-called fixed costs continue to rise.

So here is a quickie economic explanation for those who don't like to read long winded posts by way of an updated old adage:

A RISING TIDE 

LIFTS ALL YACHTS

& DROWNS THE MIDDLE CLASS

AND THE POOR



¿CE N'EST PAS? (THEY HATE FRENCH!)

Kick the Can; Kick the Middle Class

Kick the can was a simple game played by children who generally had nothing else with which to play.  It didn't cost anything and unless you fell and skinned your knee or accidentally lifted the can through a window, was harmless.  (Personal experience on that one, sadly.)
Other children's games were equally harmless and just as inexpensive but all had one thing in common, fair play and fun with friends.
But unfortunately as with just about everything else these days the phrase 'kick the can' has been usurped and altered by our bizarre and dysfunctional political world.
Kicking the can down the road is no longer enjoyable, in fact it's downright ominous.
It sets our sights on some day in the future and causes constant tension until that deadline is dealt with.
It also hints at continued can kicking since agreements are so hard to come by that no one can be sure they will happen even then!
So how did we get to this point?
Well for one thing it has not happened overnight.  We have been heading toward a 'me first' mentality for decades.
And just like the virtual fiscal cliff that has flooded the news media for months there is a tipping point from beyond which it is hard to return.
The ever widening gap between the so called 'haves' and 'have nots' does not help as it provides frustration among the working class.
An honest days pay for an honest days work is merely a phrase without meaning today.  Too many companies see their workers as inventory to be dealt with by accountants.
If your business is doing well it is because the boss implemented a good plan but if it's suffering then the inventory must be cut and that includes the work force.
The false sense that only wealthy people create jobs has been propagated for too long and it is simply not true!  Of course many of them do hire workers but they do so out of necessity, not the goodness of their hearts.
What creates jobs is the demand for what businesses produce and a strong enough economy that allows people the wherewithal to pay for those products.
If no one is buying then no one will produce.
If no one will produce then no workers are needed.
If no workers are needed then no workers will be hired and current ones may be let go.
The fuel needed to drive an economic car is cash in the hands of those who spend and in America that is the middle class.
A strong middle class equals a strong economy.
The middle class is the REAL 'too big to fail' entity!
And until Congress and all our elected officials understand that we will continue to wander aimlessly through the desert of a fruitless economy.
I do not propose to hurt the wealthiest among us nor do I wish them to fail.  I only want Congress to understand that they are not the only ones living in this country and they are not the only ones who close the proverbial curtain before pulling that lever every November.  In fact they are the minority!
If Congress, and in particular the Republicans these days continue to insist on kicking the can down the road while so many of us are suffering then we must remember to kick their can the heck out of office as soon as possible.  And they must be made to understand that we can!
The world has enough misery in it.  Let's not take away every last bit of fun.  Let's return games such as the 'tug of war' and 'kick the can' back to the playground where they belong!

Can We Save America From Ourselves?

Sancho, I see an Impossible Dream!

America has always embraced the entrepreneur, the Don Quixote and his formidable windmill, the David ‘sling-shotting’ his Goliath. We cheer his or her efforts as they attempt to reach their impossible dream and conquer their mammoth goal. The underdog fighting ridiculous odds.  And to some extent we still do. But something has changed over the years.

No I don’t mean we now root for the dreamers to fail, although there are undoubtedly some who do but they are in the minority. And you may still be assured of a path being paved to your door when you perfect that new mousetrap.

What has changed is the attitude of the entrepreneur himself.

While the public is still in awe of success and everyone still loves a winner the winners no longer seem to care about their public.

Okay obviously any new business enterprise still needs customers to pay for that which they produce but believe it or not the customer isn’t the most important part of the equation anymore.

The Alice's Restaurant of Drugs

When America was young someone would open an apothecary and people would flock to purchase items they needed, or browse, or just to say hi. The store owner became a part of the community and living among his customers became family. When a family member was in trouble the brothers would chip in to help. The formula worked for all involved and success was measured not by the size of the bank account but by the number of lives touched and the friendships cultivated.

Of course no one was naïve enough to believe that profits didn’t matter or that that whole bottom line thingy was wasn’t important it just wasn’t that important!

But the corner drug store is nearly extinct replaced by the ubiquitous, faceless chain of a million links. The family doctor is as rare as a unanimous vote in Congress and business ethics well let’s just say they’ve gone the way of the American buffalo. And I wouldn’t give you a nickel for them.

But before we blame the business owner for blindly climbing up the wealth ladder of success we must look at the whole picture. The environment has made it necessary for him to step on former friends to do so. The financial landscape of this country has been reshaped, eroded if you will into one of huge peaks and tremendously deep valleys. And while some may think it was easy to see it coming it was nevertheless impossible to stop. Like a heavy freight train careening down the tracks at breakneck speed it would need time to slow down let alone change direction.

The moment of conception was when one business owner realized he could replace a trained, trusted and loyal worker with five eager new employees overseas and pocket some cash. He could train the new employees, communicate with them despite the time difference, and have 24/7 coverage while still saving money! Americans suffered but who the hell cared?

Soon he replaced another and another and before long the bulk of his work force was from Asia, his ethics from hunger and his profit margins from the pages of Fortune Magazine.

His strategy and success caused his competitors to take note and in order to keep pace they joined the Orient express.

It became a “lead, follow or get out of the way” situation and before anyone could say high unemployment ‘Made in China’ had taken over as the most common label in America.

Wall St. Investors know a good thing when they see one and they rewarded the newly non-American businesses with fists full of cash with which to continue their business practices.

And the more Americans they fired, I mean laid off, the better the investment community liked them. This was famously noted when the stock price of IBM soared after the company divested itself of over 5,000 workers. It soared again when they dumped another 5,000 Americans prompting many to conclude that if they got rid of everyone but the CEO the stock price would rise to infinity!

You might think that the government would put the brakes on this seemingly unpatriotic practice. But you also might be accused of not paying attention. No tariffs or punishments of any kind were meted out and the flow of foreign goods into the country was equaled only by the flow of cash flying out.

At that point no one could seriously blame the board of directors of any large corporation for following suit lest they lose their share of the business. Remember that lead-follow-fall into obscurity thingy rearing its ugly head again.

And as the internet became easier and speedier a seamless “flat Earth” spawned a new normal. Customer service calls were now routinely answered by people from India and another few thousand Americans went from bread winners to bread lines.

Overall wealth in America remained fairly constant but the distribution was lopsided and top heavy. CEOs were raking in cash and record profits. Investment brokers and hedge fund managers gave new meanings to the word obscene wealth as their income grew out of sight. What exactly did they do for society again?

And once again the government chose not to act instead rewarding the people who were killing the American Dream with huge tax gifts. Billions in profits were instead taxed at ridiculously low rates with loopholes rendering even those rates laughable.

The money being shoveled into the already overstocked coffers was now eagerly being spent not on new employees or benefits for the current ones but on lavish gifts for the same lawmakers who kept the playing field tilted in their direction. “K Street” supplanted Main Street as the most important address in the lives of the wealthy businessman.

Some may call that practice bribery but truthfully the wealthy were just the paying for services rendered.

Football can thank Vince Lombardi for the phrase, “winning isn’t the most important thing. It’s the only thing!” but multi-national corporations scored big using it as their mantra.

And when the small business owner or entrepreneur saw how the big boys were doing it they followed suit. Now when a business grows large enough the workers are asked to do more and more for less and less. They are told to be thankful to have a job. Unfortunately without a champion in DC they realize they realize they are swimming upstream and acquiesce.

But in the long run if you don’t pay your workers a living wage then you cannot expect them to purchase the items you produce. Even Henry Ford, anything but a workers’ advocate knew the value of a fair wage when he said (sic) “I pay my workers more so they can afford to buy my cars!”

So can things change?

Can the genie be coaxed back into the bottle?

Would you go back in if you were him?

The only way for this country to change its current path toward destruction is for Congress and the President to act and act as one. They must force the issue.

The two factions fighting are as usual on opposite sides but they must realize that if the American ship of state goes down they will go down with it.

“Cut spending.” “Raise revenue.” “No cut spending.” “No raise revenue.” “Drop Dead!” “No, you drop dead!”

The argument is ridiculous and disingenuous. Spending is out of control but taxes are outrageously low, especially on that top 2%. Wisdom, something that appears to be missing from all sides these days, must be used to find a solution. If we cut off funding for our elderly while continuing to bestow the lowest tax rates in history upon the wealthiest we will lose the game.

Some Middle Class Americans still want the wealthy to get wealthier in the hopes that when they will join their ranks they will enjoy the same freedom from taxes. They are, to put it politely delusional. They will never make it into the top 2% without winning a lottery because the game is rigged.

The rich and powerful no longer meet on golf courses. The new high profile hideout is Davos or some exclusive resort in the Pacific Northwest. And if you are reading this you need not apply for membership as admission is by invitation only and you ain’t invited!

So is the American Dream now an impossible one?

Am I tilting at windmills?

Perhaps!

But with the same spirit that pushed our first settlers to the pacific coast and 20^th century man to the moon I continue to sling shots at Goliath in the hopes others will join the fight and make our country great again.

In a way I am an entrepreneur. Except I have no employees, only partners, 300,000,000 of them!

Were He Alive Today

In the 1930s America moved at a slower pace than today.
Information came via the paper delivered in the morning or picked up at the newsstand on the way to work.
If something momentous happened the news would be disseminated over the airwaves on the new and miraculous Marconi wireless.
Nearly every household had one of those lovely pieces of furniture in their living room.
We might enjoy the Sunday Chase and Sanborn hour or The Lucky Strike Show.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Eddie Cantor entertained us while Orson Welles' 1938 reenactment of the classic "War of the Worlds" scared the living daylights out of us.
But a full 69 years ago tomorrow Americans huddled around the family radio for a different type of terror, a real one!
Dubbed as 'a date which will live in infamy' December 7th was in fact the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and officially invited us into World War II.
President Roosevelt's impassioned speech in front of both houses of Congress merely repeated the obvious, that a state of war had already existed as a result of the attack.
The rest is, as they say history.
But most of us are under attack again.
This time by a far more sneaky foe.
Were President Roosevelt alive today perhaps he would address Congress in the following manner.

Today, December 7^th, 2010 the date Congress proved they have 'it in for me' - - The United States middle class was suddenly and deliberately attacked by representatives of the Empire of the wealthy and their Republican puppet regime.
The average citizen was at peace readying for a holiday season while representatives of the people from the Democratic Party were still in conversation with the emperors of the Republican Party.  Hope was still alive for peace from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Indeed within an hour of the meetings Republican Party members commenced bombarding the airwaves with a continued and continual assault on the American middle class.  This act was in direct contrast to their words of possible bipartisanship deal making when speaking behind closed doors.
It will be recorded that the distance from the Oval Office to the multi media microphone podium was short and that therefore the attack on the public was deliberate and the Party meant to deceive United States middle class by false statements and expression of hope for continued peace.
The attack on the middle class has caused and will continue to cause severe damage to the economy of the average citizen of this country.
I regret to inform you that many American jobs and homes have been lost and more will join their ranks as the Republican Party and their benefactors continue to torpedo any attempt aimed at helping the average Joe from Honolulu to San Francisco and across this great nation to the Eastern seaboard.
I submit that the Republican Party:
will continue to attack Medicare;
will continue to attack unemployment assistance;
will continue to attack fair taxes on the wealthy;
will continue to attack all so-called middle class entitlements;
And therefore will continue to attack my beloved Social Security.
The Republican Party has therefore undertaken a not so surprising offensive throughout the entire American theater.
Their actions today and yesterday and for that matter all the yesterdays speak for themselves.
The people of the United States should have already formed their opinions and must well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation!
As your commander in chief it is up to the President to direct that all measures be taken for the defense of the public at large.  But always must our nation and especially the middle class remember the character or lack thereof of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion into our pocketbooks and our lives by the ever increasing power of the wealthy base of the Republican Party the American people in their righteous might and fortitude shall win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Democrats in Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, our jobs and homes, our interests, and our very lives are in grave danger.
With confidence in our representatives in Congress, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by the Republican Party and their wealthy benefactors in the private banking and corporate sector on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010, a state of war has existed between the United States middle class and the Republican Empire of the wealthy.

I hereby give up any rights to the above should anyone care to forward this to President Obama.