I am watching with great dismay, the racial component that has once again become a mainstay of the political conversation. This is very discouraging to me because I believe it is a distraction, designed to sway public opinion away from the issues facing out nation.

The current administration and democratic controlled Congress are spending money at an alarming rate. This theory is based on something called “Kensington economics”. I looked at this theory and what really struck me was the fact that it states that you should spend and lower taxes during an economic crises and reduce spending  and raise taxes during good times. What I noticed is that the Progressives want to raise taxes and spend during this crises. Wow! Seems to me they can even get this right.

I am very confused as far as our borders are concerned. What is the problem with stopping the invasion of foreign nationals coming into our country ILLEGALLY? Why is it tied to “comprehensive immigration  reform”? Why are many Hispanics upset with those of us who want to stop this invasion? Our government is one of the largest promoters of racial profiling I have ever seen. Have you ever filled out a government form that did not ask you your race? What is the point of this practice? If you don’t know you really are missing the point. It is all about control and dollars. It is that simple. I believe that until we as a country stop dividing everyone into sub-groups, we will always have a cultural divide. All of this makes me wonder why second or beyond generation Hispanics are so emphatic about allowing this invasion to continue. I really just don’t get it, if you are an american citizen and you have lived here all your life, why aren’t you concerned with what this practice is costing Americans? The political “spin” is that the illegals do jobs Americans won’t do and our economy will be negatively impacted, tell that to the union construction worker who can’t work because he has been undercut by illegals and cheap pay. They other side says it’s a cheap labor thing, hmmm may be a little truth to both sides, but the argument should not even be happing because the illegals should not be here.

Our economy is in shambles and the stimulus did not work, PERIOD. I really don’t believe what this administration is selling. The market is so up and down it is a joke, unemployment is still very high and no new jobs are being created by the private sector. This is because they cannot get a clear picture of the tax increase that are coming or what impact all the new legislation is going to have on them. You can spin the stimulus results anyway you want but the facts are that the money has been spent on worthless BS that produced no new jobs. Don’t give me the political line that many teachers, cops and firemen are still working because of the stimulus money. They could have done that with a specific  bill that spent much less and accomplished the same thing.

I guess in closing I will say that I am very confused. The President is saying we cannot return to the failed policies of the Bush administration. I contend we cannot move forward with the failed policies of the the Obama administration.

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Things have changed in the past forty years, personal responsibility is no longer part of our national view. We now look to others to provide for us. The list of government programs, is endless, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, unemployment insurance, welfare, and many others.  All of these programs come with a cost to others, nothing is free!

These are truly noble causes, they do help many in need, however the danger is that people do not use them as a short term helping hand but become dependent on them. Our welfare system has created a generational  problem where family after family continue to live off of the state. Yes, we had reform but the problem continues. Social Security was supposed to be a safety net, but has become a primary retirement plan for many seniors. I don’t know how some of them live on what little they get. Medicare and medicaid are in such financial trouble they may not exist in a few years.

I realize that we are dealing with a very complex issue and I certainly do not have the answers. I also realize that many people are working very low paying jobs and cannot afford the high premiums. This is America, opportunity is endless, education is available, creating a comfortable life is possible. Yes, the economy is terrible right now and many are losing their jobs, however this is where the helping hand should come into play, but only for as long as it takes to return to a time of prosperity.

People with the money decided to buy the new cars, the big screen TV’s, the big house. They decided to over extend their credit and not to worry about using their money to buy health insurance. People with the money decided that the new boat or jet ski was a lot more fun than health insurance.

People made choices to not improve their education or skills and remain in low paying jobs. I mean no disrespect to these folks, I am sure they are hard working people. My point is that they have a “I can’t mentality” They feel hopeless and have no hope. I look at where these people are in life and wonder why. Young folks coming from nothing can join the service and will have an education paid for. It will be part of their benefits, in fact they can get a degree while in the service, fully paid for. Of course many join but never take advantage of this opportunity. Just another personal choice that dictates where they will be in life.

I know that our educational system seems to be failing our youth, again personal responsibility, where is it? Many parents do not seem to be involved in their children’s education and the kids are not doing well in school. We tend to blame the educational system and the teachers for this problem, but where is the personal responsibility of the parents? Yes, some teachers are not up to standards and many districts are poor, the facilities terrible. These problems can and should be fixed. There is a larger problem. Parents can’t or won’t help their kids learn. They may go to the football game, but cannot or won’t help with the math or reading. There are many reasons for this including, many parents are non english speaking. The kids are having to learn english and stay up with the class work on their own.

I wonder about personal responsibility, where did it go? This is America, opportunity is available, anything is possible. If we continue to look to government for our needs this America will disappear. I am not sure if we will like the new America but it will be that way because of the decisions we are making now.

Like you I have people I know and loved ones who are victums of circumstances beyond their control. Perhaps these are the people the government should help with support programs.

These are tough times and we are facing very complex issues, but until we all become responsible for the consequences of our decisions and assume personal responsibility things will continue to get worse.

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We all should be allowed to celebrate our heritage as part of our rights as Americans, but if a few decide to make a statement in opposition to this celebration they should not be surprised when the inevitable happens and there are consequences to there actions. I think the talking heads and the news media and all others should look at this an intelligent decision on the principals part and not make this a political or racists issue.

Whether or not the American flag wearing students had the right to wear these shirts is not the real issue for the school, Providing a safe place for our kids to learn is. What is really problem is that our country has come to a place where we are categorized by our ethnicity and given titles such as XXXX Americans and not just Americans.

I think celebrating ones heritage is a positive thing but I also believe we should celebrate our common bond as Americans.

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Around the world he was seen as changing America.The perfect storm was already hitting the shores of America. Years of special interests concessions, Representatives and Senators “helping” citizens get loans for homes they could not afford, bank regulators looking the other way and on and on. The previous administration had left with the economy on the brink of collapse and America involved in two wars that were not going well. The American voter had already voiced its displeasure with the Republican party and the Democrats controlled the Congress.

The main stream media appeared to be basically an extension of the Campaign during the elections and afterwards an extension of the White House. The majority of Americans were just plain disgusted with all things Washington. This man said he had a plan, he offered hope and change. He had his filibuster proof majority in the Senate and a major majority in the House, what more could he ask for?

The left wing of the Democrats appears to see his election and their control as a mandate by the people to implement every program they ever envisioned to make America into their vision of what is fair and better. They called his election further proof of this mandate. He did win the popular vote by about 9 million votes.

During the first months of his administration the economy was a mix of confusion, some said improving as the stock market began to climb and the GDP went up a bit, but unemployment was at 10% and climbing. Mircosoft laid off over 5000 employees for the first time in the history of the company.

What are our expectations of this President? In a divided country it becomes very difficult to define what the majority really wants. We as a people are driven by many different concerns and beliefs. We span the political spectrum from extreme left to extreme right. I do believe most Americans live more to the middle of the scale than in either direction.

The Democratic majority in both houses is moving forward with several bills “designed” to help the American citizen. Health care and clean energy are currently moving through the legislative process. We are still waiting for Card-check and the financial reform bill.

The Senate version of health care reform is currently being debated and as I watch, it struck me that both sides have very convincing arguments and it is very hard to discern what is accurate or what is misleading.

I don’t have an answer to the worlds problems. As I watch the debates, listen to the news, watch the Presidents speeches and read what information is available on these matters it becomes clearer to me the we are heading towards more government control of our daily lives and higher taxes. What is not clear to me is why.

I don’t believe that the TARP by was a take over of the financial system of this country by the Obama administration, I do believe that it was mishandled from the start by the Bush administration and Congress. The major financial entities should have had many restrictions placed on the public dollars they received. It struck me that every piece of legislation concerning any expenditure of public dollars typically  comes with many pages of law governing how the money can be used and very harsh penalties for non compliance. The TARP did not appear to have many if any controls. It seems the Obama administration is continuing down the same path as his predecessor, wonder why?

While I think the auto companies should have left to succeed or fail on their on and let the bankruptcy court sort it out, I don’t believe this was a take over by the Obama administration either. I do believe it was a waste of money. I don’t understand how the auto unions got a piece of ownership in the companies but they did. That will make for some interesting contract negotiations won’t it?

The stimulus is an interesting subject. I read the Summary American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This is a very interesting document, I referenced it in a previous blog, Government Stimulus: “Political or real” http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/PressSummary01-15-09.pdf. This document clearly defines how the stimulus money was to be spent. If you read this document or the actual bill you will wonder how this administration can claim any of the stimulus has contributed to improving the economy. Yet they do and the claim is just ridiculous, it’s really to soon to make that claim. What are jobs saved? Why are most of the funds for government projects that are typically funded via the general fund?  Here are some examples of questionable job creators from the stimulus bill , DTV Conversion Coupons:  $650 million to continue the coupon program to enable American households to convert from analog television transmission to digital transmission. Medicaid Coverage for the Unemployed: Provides 100 percent federal funding through 2010 for optional. State Medicaid coverage of individuals (and their dependents) who are receiving unemployment benefits or have exhausted those benefits and have no health insurance coverage.  Other optional coverage groups are individuals (and their dependents) who are involuntarily unemployed and uninsured and whose family income does not exceed 200 percent of poverty, and unemployed uninsured individuals who are receiving food stamps.”  Compassion Capital Fund:  $100 million for grants to faith- and community-based organizations to provide a critical safety net services to needy individuals and families. Most of the Recovery act job creators do have the potential to improve the infrastructure and will employ folks for perhaps a few years, none will create any permanent or lasting public sector jobs.

The money is being spent, contracts are be awarded and one would assume some folks are going to be employed to perform the tasks specified in the recovery act bill, so I guess you could say jobs will be created. I wonder why we are hearing rumors of another stimulus bill, what is left for the government to fix and how will we pay for it?

It has become clear to me that our country has diverse opinions and beliefs on many of the subjects we have been discussing. I firmly believe that the best form of government is the one that governs the least, to paraphrase a one of the founding fathers. We seem to have a segment of our population who believe the rich are evil, corporations are evil, insurance companies are evil, and anyone with millions of dollars made it off the backs of labor and should give back to labor. They also believe that the government is better qualified to provide them with the basic things in life they need.

This segment of the population also believes everything that the government has done wrong is a republicans fault, mostly a republican president. The following is taken from a comment to one of my blogs. It is typical of what I described in the previous paragraph.

“As for the economics, under “Reaganomics” we had an increase of trade and a loss of jobs in America. The workers got poorer and the business people got richer. Since WW II we have gradually, but steadily, lost our standing in the world as a nation that produces things that can be sold. (The one area in which we still excel is agriculture – thanks to foreign workers.) We are no longer the leader in steel production, textiles, automobiles, TV’s, etc., etc.. Part of the problem is our long-standing trade policies and part of it is the American proclivity to buy what is cheaper – not what is better. As a consequence, America produces less steel than Japan and about 20% of what is produced in China. There are no TV’s, stereos, or Levi’s produced by Americans. It has nothing at all to do with a free market. As for the energy suppliers of the world, you tell me what Saudi Arabia is going to sell us when their oil runs out. Sunshine?

What I find interesting is that the commenter never mentions Clinton and NAFTA, what’s more is his concern for Saudi Arabia. I would ask him what will Saudi Arabia sell when we have converted to alternative energy? Does he support a country who treats women as property, is a monarchy and has a court system that no way resembles the one we have and has punishments that he considers torture or inhumane?

It is clear to me that many people believe that this country should be changed to resemble the european model of government. I disagree and ask once again, Why would we want to be like the rest of the world when we have set the standard. It seems to me that the immigrants who are coming into this country are the new entrepreneurs. They are doing the jobs some Americans won’t do and then finding a way to succeed, start a business or get an education and excel. A lot of these folks left a place where the government was in charge of their lives so they came here and took charge of their own lives.

The segment of our population that wants all this government sustained entitlement also seems to believe that if you earned something they should be entitled to it also, but of course it should just be given to them. If they cannot have it you join the evil or lucky group of people they hate.

I guess my biggest concern is that we are amassing an unbelievable amount of debt to support all these programs. At some point I want the leadership to wake up and stop writing checks we can’t cash.

We started Yes-23 as a forum for discussion and it has achieve that end. We publish all comments to our opinions and enter into discussions with most of the commenters. It is an interesting exercise. I have learned that we as a people are more than simply disagreeing on issues, we are angry, both sides are very angry. There can be no civil discussion or compromise when both sides are out to discredit and destroy one another simply because they disagree on certain issues.

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Subject: Fwd: FW: Letter From Grandpa – PRICELESS! …. Read It Is GOOD!!

John G. is 63 years old and owns a small business. He’s a life-long Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year has all but evaporated.

With the stock market crashing and new taxes coming his way, John assumes now that he will work to his dying day.

John has a granddaughter. Ashley is a recent college grad. She drives a flashy hybrid car, wears all the latest fashions, and loves to go out to nightclub s and restaurants. Ashley campaigned hard for Barak Obama.

After the election she made sure her grandfather (and all other Republican family members) received a big I- told-you-so earful on how the world is going to be a much better place now that her party is taking over.

Having lost both roommates because they lost their jobs, Ashley recently ran short of cash and cannot pay the rent (again) on her 3 bedroom townhouse. Like she has done many times in the past, she e-mailed her grandfather asking for some financial help. Here is his reply:

Sweetheart,

I received your request for assistance. Ashley, you know I love you dearly and I’m sympathetic to your financial plight.. Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President Obama, your grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new economic plan of our own…”The Ashley Economic Empowerment Plan.” Let me explain.

Your grandmother and I are life-long, wage-earning tax payers. We have lived a comfortable life, as you know, but we have never had the fancier things like European vacations, luxury cars, etc. We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring soon. But the plan has changed.

Your president is raising our personal and business taxes significantly. He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do you know what this means, Ashley? It means less for us, and we must cut back on many business and personal expenses.

You know the wonderful receptionist who worked in my office for more than 23 years? The one who always gave you candy when came over to visit? I had to let her go last week. I can’t afford to pay her salary and all of the government mandated taxes that go with having employees. Your grandmother will now work 4 days a week to answer phones, take orders and handle the books. We will be closed on Fridays and will lose even more income to Wal-Mart.

I’m also very sorry to report that your cousin Frank will no longer be working summers in the warehouse. I called him at school this morning.. He already knows about it and he’s upset because he will have to give up skydiving and his yearly trip to Greenland to survey the polar bears.

That’s just the business side of things.. Some personal economic effects of Obama’s new taxation policies include none other than you. You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food, housing, clothing, gifts, etc., etc. But by your vote, you have chosen to help others – not at your expense — but at our expense.

If you need money now sweetheart, I recommend you call 202-456-1111. That is the direct phone number for the White House. You yourself told me how foolish it is to vote Republican. You said Mr.. Obama is going to be the People’s President, and is going to help every American live a better life. Based on everything you’ve told me, along with all the promises we heard during the campaign, I’m sure Mr. Obama will be happy to transfer some stimulus money into your bank account. Have him call me for the account number which I memorized years ago.

Perhaps you can now understand what I’ve been saying all my life: those who vote for a president should consider the impact on the nation as a whole, and not be just concerned with what they can get for themselves.. What Obama supporters don’t seem to realize is all of the money he is redistributing to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans (the so-called “less fortunate”) comes from tax-paying families.

Remember how you told me, “Only the richest of the rich will be affected”? Well guess what, honey? Because we own a business, your grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way, but in the real world, we are far from it.

As you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand what that means, right? It means that raising taxes on productive people results in them having less money; less money for everything, including granddaughters.

I’m sorry, Ashley, but the well has run dry.. The free lunches are over. I have no money to give you now.
So, congratulations on your choice for “change.” For future reference, I encourage you to try and add up the total value of the gifts and cash you have received from us, just since you went off to college, and compare it to what you expect to get from Mr. Obama over the next 4 (or years.

I have not kept track of it, Ashley. It has all truly been the gift of our hearts.

Remember, we love you dearly….but from now on you’ll need to call the number mentioned above. Your “Savior” has the money we would have given to you. Just try and get it from him.

Good luck, sweetheart.

Love,

Grandpa.

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Continuing with the premise that we are responsible for where we are in life because of the decisions we make. I have no debt, no credit cards, I have a savings account that will pay my bills for a year, I drive a 10 year old car, paid for. I pay cash for things I buy by saving for them, I chose a career that would provide me a job security, a pension and medical benefits for the rest of my life. My responsibility for others ended when my wife of 40 years past away this year. I am thankful for the decisions I made to secure health insurance and savings to cover 3 years of cancer treatment and her funeral, I am thankful that I had a savings account that allowed me to pay the share of costs incurred over 3 years and not go bankrupt. This was not luck, this was because I made a decision in my life to prepare for these things.

The reality is that most people in America will not delay gratification. They will use credit to buy the new car, TV or whatever. They live in the moment and do not prepare for the future. There are other  people who use drugs, participate in criminal activities or are just to lazy to work for anything. Why should I pay for their healthcare or anything else for that matter?

Anyone who buys into revolving credit, adjustable rate mortgages, credit cards is spending their future. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Decisions you make in life will dictate where you will end up.

Why am I against all these noble social programs? It is simple, the debt we are incurring is putting at risk of losing everything I worked and planned for.

Does this sound selfish? I don’t think so. Look to yourself and make your own life better, don’t depend on me, I already raised my children, who by the way, have all the benefits I have because they have taken responsibility for their decisions.

The path this administration and congress is taking will bankrupt this county. I don’t feel that I should lose everything I worked for to provide for somebody’s socialist agenda. To my liberal friends, we are not all entitled to everything everyone else has, your must earn it.

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Post it here, share your opinion!

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