Freedom and Government

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. (United States Constitution, section 8)

Hmm! Lay and Collect taxes and pay the Debts: Republicans refuse to raise (lay) taxes and  insist on paying our colossal debt simply by slashing the budget. Both parties incurred in creating the humongous deficit, though Bill Clinton was the last President to balance our accounts. Two wars and 11 years later, they(Congress) keep hiding their head in the sand as if the trillions owed could magically disappear. Did I mention that Washington's credibility is the lowest it has ever been?

Common Defence (British spelling): Does it say "Offence" ?  No, defense only. With the creation of Homeland Security, a department that supposedly embraced all agencies involved in gathering intelligence, we gave up some of our freedom and individual rights, as aptly described by Mr. Ron Paul. "National Security" is a moniker that allows its agents to arrest and detain anybody in the United States who fits a certain description; they can call you a terrorist for whatever reason and keep you in jail and even make you disappear without answering to any superior power. That's a definition that can be applied to any repressive regime in the Arab world. However, the Constitution clearly states the concept of  habeas corpus: "The basic premise behind habeas corpus is that you cannot be held against your will without just cause." Did we give up that fundamental right? Can an American citizen be held in a secret jail without access to a lawyer?

Presidential Directive NSPD 51/Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-20, sometimes called simply "Executive Directive 51" for short), created and signed by United States President George W. Bush on May 4, 2007, is a Presidential Directive which claims power to execute procedures for continuity of the federal government in the event of a "catastrophic emergency (Wikipedia). Few people are aware of its exact contents but what we know is frightening: Only the President can declare a national emergency, whatever that means, and he/she will coordinate actions among the three constitutional powers, thus placing the entire government under the control of the executive power. Nothing is said about individual rights, but we can safely assume that those would be suspended. I cannot understand how such all-important usurpation of the legislative branch's function has not been examined by the Supreme Court and declared illegal. In other words the President is allowed to create his or her own laws with no oversight from the other two government bodies.

There is growing concern among the States that Washington is taking too much power to address natural catastrophes; we have all seen the disastrous response of FEMA after Katrina. Local authorities have much better knowledge of what is needed and would spend the available funds more wisely. Remember all these emergency mobile homes to house victims of hurricanes? They turned out to be contaminated and millions of federal dollars were wasted that could have been given to the States. FEMA, by the way, is a part of Homeland Security which also includes all Border Patrol, Coast Guard and Customs. Such an unwieldy agency cannot function efficiently and we have seen multiple examples of mismanagement of resources. Its components are:

• Customs and Border Protection
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Transportation Security Administration
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
• U.S. Coast Guard
• U.S. Secret Service
• Office of Inspector General

Do you think such "bureaucratic monster" can handle all these functions well? Of course not. I have requested a green card for my daughters 5 years ago; due to the accumulation of paperwork, read inefficiency, my lawyer tells me that it may take another 14 years. What's the point? I may well be dead by then!

To end this essay with the words of a very wise American, Henry David Thoreau:

But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.

Can we aspire at getting a better government in November of 2012?

So Much To So Few

It's insane! It's crazy and cruel! Where is the sharing, the moral conscience, the gratefulness, the Christian ideal, the compassion, and the generosity that must accompany wealth in all Americans? I am not pointing the finger at Warren Buffett, or Bill Gates, or at any of the giving and considerate wealthy members of our society. Rather my indignation signals to the incredible waste of resources by those super rich athletes, singers, actors, politicians and scions of great fortunes who carelessly throw money at extremely expensive baubles while millions of Americans are suffering the shame and humiliation of foreclosures, loss of jobs, loss of pensions, loss of 401K's, loss of savings, and loss of dignity.

Panther Brooch (House of Cartier): 1.1 Million
Diamond Watch (Chanel): 1.9 Million
Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Watch: $113,000 
2005 Ferrari 430 Coupe: $130,000

These are but a just a few of the outrageous gifts bought by celebrities who apparently are oblivious to the urgent need to help American families who have no home, no job and nowhere to go. What kind of economic system gives so much to so few?

Communism was a wonderful concept but the selfish nature of man rendered the idea unusable. People want to OWN something, a piece of land, a house, or even a pet, without government intervention. Nevertheless, the idea of a just society implies that citizens who, through no fault of their own, fall into desperate financial straits, should be helped by an official agency. After all, private charities cannot handle so many hardship cases; church groups and social clubs do help as much as they can, as do charitable volunteers. But when the scope of the problem is so great, when the evident cause of such catastrophe can be placed squarely on rapacious Wall Street vultures, only the government has the means and the resources to save these citizens in distress.

After all, don't we help the victims of hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, wild fires, contagious diseases, epidemics, wars, famine, drought, earthquakes and any of the global disasters that every year affect millions of human beings on this planet? Why in the world can't official agencies help the innocent victims of barefaced manipulation of toxic financial instruments and political corruption (those politicians who passed laws to favor big financial institutions in exchange for campaign contributions)?

Why do you think the "Occupy Wall Street" movement has lasted so long and has spread so far and wide to so many cities and countries? It has surged from a profound dissatisfaction and outrage at the capitalistic system that robbed the poor to give it to the rich. Agreed, there is no sin in becoming rich; it is accepted and admired in those who legitimately earned that right. Most create jobs and opportunities for their communities. The problem surges when that fortune has been acquired through dubious means, whether unconscionable bonuses to failed CEO's, bribes to politicians disguised as campaign contributions, finance conglomerates that invent so-called derivatives that include the mortgages of millions.




The numerous financial ties between Congress members and lobbyists are creating laws that favor the already rich at the expense of the middle class; a review of pension laws shows clearly that thousands of retirees have been cheated of their earned income through legal shenanigans in which both corporations and political leaders worked together to cut pension benefits, never with the consent or knowledge of the employees.

Our most important citizens, the ones that prepare the next generation, have salaries that would make a Wall Street broker cringe in financial pain. Yet we throw millions at athletes, most of whom have no idea what to do with it, example Mike Tyson. They buy lavish gifts and sumptuous mansions until the IRS comes knocking on their tax doors. Meanwhile, another 100 families have been thrown into the streets.

Unjust financial and economic system? Of course, that is why the government is the only recourse most people have; witness the enormous importance of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Washington says that these social programs are running out of money when billions are squandered on stupid wars, generous tax breaks for the rich, enormous subsidies to wealthy farmers and unneeded foreign aid.

Something must be done and something will be done, next year.