In this election cycle, how can I not check in to my political topics blog !! We are in the middle of an election that has never been equaled in history... to my knowledge anyway. It has everyone wondering what will happen in November... or on the road to November !!
I'm not sure the two party system is the best option for America anymore. Elections are very costly. I just heard this year that the primary systems are the product of the parties... and that made me wonder who pays for them !! We don't really need a primary, we just need a run-off if there is no clear winner... then everyone can keep trying all the way up to election day !! (Sounds good to me !!) If taxes are paying for all these elections, we need to reduce their frequency and costs... since we have to vote on Senators every two years, maybe that is enough... everything can be put on hold until the next election.
The debt is the most devastating element of our country's life... and it is affecting every other aspect of our daily operations... we have to reduce the weight of the debt until it is GONE !!
I have been on social service programs most of my adult life, and am no a recipient of early retirement funds... I know how quickly everyone likes to blame the poor, and the poor can never fight back. There are better ways to reduce the costs of government, including getting rid of subsidies for not growing crops, finding ownership pathways for housing (which turns it into an income source and an investment), use a revolving loan fund for the SBA instead of loan guarantees (which might be a good idea for education, too), invest in more small farms and businesses instead of the large ones... small businesses hire most of the workers we have (from what I have read), and reform the prison systems to create work and repayment programs instead of jail time for theft/robbery-related crimes.
We really need to start thinking differently... looking for things that cost less and work better.
The Bible teaches restitution for theft, which is why it seems more beneficial to create a supervised work program during the payment process and to increase the restitution as additional crimes are committed... the first time would be court costs and actual costs... the second time would be court costs and twice the actual costs, and so on. If the program is done right, there shouldn't be a repeat because skills will be learned in the process and drug issues that may have caused the thefts can be dealt with as well. Our prisons produce worse people than what went into them... so jail time is not the best answer.
In the (recent?) recession, I noticed that all the small banks died to "save" the big ones... that wasn't good. Small banks are more closely tied to their communities. They are needed to help finance things that big banks won't touch.
I have noticed in the past that big business seems to thrive on government funding of various sorts. I have always thought that government help needs to be reserved for the truly needy, including the smallest businesses, the smallest farms, and the poorest people. Big businesses have other options, small businesses and poor people have no one.
My tax proposal is based on sharing the 10% MAXIMUM sales tax among international commitments like the UN (membership fees) and growing global government needs -- 1%, and nationally among federal -- 3%, state -- 3%, and county -- 3% governments. I also realized that individual products can provide for individual programs, like gas purchases for transportation needs, medical purchases for healthcare needs, etc. By limiting the taxation to a sales tax, government authorities are forced to budget and their decisions are directly linked with the health of the economy. I think it would eliminate a lot of the surplus spending and graft that goes on.
I have shared some of these things in other posts, but it seemed like a good time to bring them up again. If the debt burden causes our economy to tank, in one way or another, there will need to be some budget changes. It is easy to blame the poor, and take advantage of the seniors and disabled persons, to promote abortion as a remedy, and limit access to healthcare, but I hope that other choices will be made.
Let me know what you think...
In Christ,
Deborah Martin
http://work2gather.us
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Friday, May 6, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Friday, 12 FEB 2016 :: Some thoughts about the Democratic debate last night.
Hi... I made a rather lengthy comment on my Facebook page last night about the Democratic debate I watched yesterday. I was still recovering with my thoughts when I entered it. In an effort to refer to it more easily, I want to enter it as a blog post here.
I am deeply concerned for America as we go through another political cycle to choose a president and other legislators. I plan to enter more blogs at this site as the election process continues.
I have left it in the same format as it was posted, which is without any breaks in the text! Enjoy....
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Thursday, 11 FEB 2016
I guess I should add a few words about the debate coverage I was able to see... I think the idea of the government raising "revenue" to pay for the programs they want to implement is deceptive. The only revenue the government generates is taxes... and they keep looking for more victims to pay it, more ways to "raise" it... I think I was very struck by the accepted idea that wealthy people have a responsibility to provide all their wealth for the government to use. There is a post by Young Americans for Liberty below this space I am filling right now, and it says :: SOCIALISM....with a photo of the Berlin Wall, I think... barbed wire and fencing that kills, imprisons, and defeats the need for human freedoms. There is a catchy phrase below the title word, but the idea remains that government run countries create prisons of poverty for regular people, while the "leaders" enjoy lives of wealth and excess. I cannot understand why the people of America think this is better. I know what Welfare feels like, what it does to people, how it is a prison without metal bars... and I know the desperate need we have to accept it when it is all there is for us to access. America WAS a great country, but it is in that grey area where all countries go to die...struggling for air, looking for miracles, grasping at legal loopholes and regulations that might keep it alive. Our priorities have changed, ever so slowly, maybe, but they have changed. We are not invincible, but we are still free... maybe we can find a way to stay free, to allow differences of opinions without making laws to force everyone else to change. I suppose I was really amazed at the section I heard about forcing other countries to submit to our power and control. Technology is changing warfare, and it will be used to hurt us. Our military battles will be computerized, and the rest of the world will catch up with us. Anything, ANYTHING, attached to the internet will become a weapon, a target, a tool for destruction. I suppose there already are many crimes we don't know about because they are happening somewhere on the internet and haven't been discovered yet. Who will be able to deal with the changes that technology is bringing with it? How will we recover as a nation? Where will the funding come from. I think it is an indication of our country's healthcare budget when government insurance doesn't include new eyeglasses or basic dental care. I think it is another indication of our country's financial status when Retirement benefits are paid almost two months after the month they are designated for. I think we will see the real state of America's financial situation if we look at the way it is handling it's "saving money" efforts, including legalizing things that cost too much to deal with in the legal systems. Abortion is promoted, euthanasia is promoted, higher ages are suggested or required for receiving program funds, healthcare is mandated so the government can try to control prescription prices, etc.... if you look beyond the obvious, beyond the rhetoric, beyond the public displays, and recognize the diversions of your attention, I think you will find a foundation that is about to crack into pieces. I know I am trying to figure out what happens when your cash is worthless, and the banks lose what you trusted them with, when stocks disintegrate, bonds become bankruptcy, and there is no where else to turn.
======================================
I am relatively new to Facebook and still learning how it works. I think the link below may be to the individual post, but I am not sure. It was on the page I gathered it from.
https://www.facebook.com/DeborahMartin.2014/posts/1682588245329345
I am deeply concerned for America as we go through another political cycle to choose a president and other legislators. I plan to enter more blogs at this site as the election process continues.
I have left it in the same format as it was posted, which is without any breaks in the text! Enjoy....
=======================================
Thursday, 11 FEB 2016
I guess I should add a few words about the debate coverage I was able to see... I think the idea of the government raising "revenue" to pay for the programs they want to implement is deceptive. The only revenue the government generates is taxes... and they keep looking for more victims to pay it, more ways to "raise" it... I think I was very struck by the accepted idea that wealthy people have a responsibility to provide all their wealth for the government to use. There is a post by Young Americans for Liberty below this space I am filling right now, and it says :: SOCIALISM....with a photo of the Berlin Wall, I think... barbed wire and fencing that kills, imprisons, and defeats the need for human freedoms. There is a catchy phrase below the title word, but the idea remains that government run countries create prisons of poverty for regular people, while the "leaders" enjoy lives of wealth and excess. I cannot understand why the people of America think this is better. I know what Welfare feels like, what it does to people, how it is a prison without metal bars... and I know the desperate need we have to accept it when it is all there is for us to access. America WAS a great country, but it is in that grey area where all countries go to die...struggling for air, looking for miracles, grasping at legal loopholes and regulations that might keep it alive. Our priorities have changed, ever so slowly, maybe, but they have changed. We are not invincible, but we are still free... maybe we can find a way to stay free, to allow differences of opinions without making laws to force everyone else to change. I suppose I was really amazed at the section I heard about forcing other countries to submit to our power and control. Technology is changing warfare, and it will be used to hurt us. Our military battles will be computerized, and the rest of the world will catch up with us. Anything, ANYTHING, attached to the internet will become a weapon, a target, a tool for destruction. I suppose there already are many crimes we don't know about because they are happening somewhere on the internet and haven't been discovered yet. Who will be able to deal with the changes that technology is bringing with it? How will we recover as a nation? Where will the funding come from. I think it is an indication of our country's healthcare budget when government insurance doesn't include new eyeglasses or basic dental care. I think it is another indication of our country's financial status when Retirement benefits are paid almost two months after the month they are designated for. I think we will see the real state of America's financial situation if we look at the way it is handling it's "saving money" efforts, including legalizing things that cost too much to deal with in the legal systems. Abortion is promoted, euthanasia is promoted, higher ages are suggested or required for receiving program funds, healthcare is mandated so the government can try to control prescription prices, etc.... if you look beyond the obvious, beyond the rhetoric, beyond the public displays, and recognize the diversions of your attention, I think you will find a foundation that is about to crack into pieces. I know I am trying to figure out what happens when your cash is worthless, and the banks lose what you trusted them with, when stocks disintegrate, bonds become bankruptcy, and there is no where else to turn.
======================================
I am relatively new to Facebook and still learning how it works. I think the link below may be to the individual post, but I am not sure. It was on the page I gathered it from.
https://www.facebook.com/DeborahMartin.2014/posts/1682588245329345
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