Dodging Rocks

I wrote the piece below these comments with the fervent hope that the abuse in the credit card business would gain a little more notoriety. But from the response I received from my readers, I might as well have danced on the grave of Jesus. So for all of you rock ribbed conservatives, this message is for you.

The first thing that I would tell you is to stand up for what is right. Forget about what you cannot change. Especially now that Specter has changed parties, stopping any legislation that we don't like is not going to happen. But if we want to earn the credibility of the voters, we have to at least stand against abuse such as is going on in the credit card industry.

Oppose the legislation that you deem to be bad for the country, but stand up and be counted for legislation that will actually help us.

Not only will you be doing your party a favor, but will not appear to just be anti-everything. People have to stand for something and not be against everything.

It is impossible for any party with the political power that the Democrats have to not over-step and make things worse for everybody. But I want to tell you to keep your powder dry until we get the results in from Obama's far-reaching policies. There is not the first thing we can do besides gripe and carp about his agenda. But griping and carping only makes you and we sound like a bunch of sore losers who are out of touch with the majority who supports Obama and his policies.

There is going to be plenty of time to remind the Democrats that they were wrong. Since Conservatives are in a weakened position at the present, there is no reason to keep our panties in a wad over what we cannot change. So when Obama does something good, do not be afraid to admit it. As stated above, you will only gain credibility because of it, and people will pay more attention when you say something is wrong.

It is a personal belief of mine that the Democrats will have to damage themselves. Paying for their agenda will put a terrible yoke of debt on the private sector and out of the ashes; the Republicans will have the opportunity to win public support again.

In case you don't remember my previous writing about where the Government gets its money, let me remind you. Federal employees pay no taxes; their total take is from the treasury. The military pays no taxes for the same reason. State employees do not help the state coffers for the same reason. There are approximately 2 million prisoners that pay no taxes and several million retirees that pay no taxes. (The Social Security bunch)

That only leaves the private sector to carry the load.

Illegal immigrants do not pay federal income taxes, and further, cripple us with debt out the whazoo for public support. (Health care, education etc.) The small amount of sales taxes they pay does not come anywhere near paying for the services they receive.

When the Government sells debt to foreign countries, they own us. We already have to kiss the ass of some of our foreign creditors to get them to buy more of our debt.

So cheer up, there is going to be a day of reckoning for the Liberal agenda. Let us just hope the damage isn't so severe that we are permanently crippled.

Cheers,

-Robert-

Credit Run Amok

Your credit standing today means the difference in being able to own a car, home, or other consumer items or not have them. Most wage earners do not have the cash on hand to make a major purchase, so by means of the credit card; we leverage our future earnings by borrowing from one of the credit card issuers.

So far so good, as long as your job holds out and you don't skip on your payments. I was one who understood the need for a higher interest rate if it meant that a wider segment of our population could have credit according to their income and ability to pay. But the evolution of the fee based credit card has literally stolen from our most vulnerable citizens.

This from nclc (National Consumer Law Center) describes the outrages by various banks.

"Millions of consumers are being victimized by “credit” card offers that charge hundreds of dollars in fees and extend minimal available credit – sometimes as little as $50. These cards, which we call “fee harvester” cards, share a common thread: high fees that eat up most of an already low credit limit, leaving the consumer with little real, useable credit and at a high price.

One card featured in the NCLC report comes with a credit limit of $250. However, the consumer who signs up for this card will automatically incur a $95 program fee, a $29 account set-up fee, a $6 monthly participation fee, and a $48 annual fee – an instant debt of $178 and buying power of only $72"

I encourage you to read the full report at the above link.

Even as a conservative, I appreciate the efforts of Obama to drain this swamp of charlatans. Not all credit card issuers are guilty but all have contrived fees above their already high interest rates. In the example above, provided by the NCLC, "fee harvesting" credit issuers use almost all-available credit with fees. Little is left for the consumer to buy anything. Fee harvesting is literally a license to steal from the vulnerable that can least afford such exorbitant fees.

Remember, it is not only the sub-prime market affected by these shady practices. The card issuers raise their interest rate without notification, charge exorbitant late fees, and even lower your credit line for reasons that only the card issuers understand.

Obama should be applauded for his efforts to correct a bad situation for all of us. I have heard that by his clamping down on these practices that commerce will suffer. What?? The only business that will be affected is bad business. Credit card issuers will no longer be able to give credit to unworthy borrowers (via the fee system), and by shrinking their risk, save us all some money. The status quo is not an acceptable option.

This issue has nothing to do with 'Socialism', but instead, has everything to do with leveling the playing field for millions of people.

Cheers,

-Robert-

Middle Ground

Lest anyone forget, whether you are on the right or on the left, the political middle ground has always been a moving target. What is considered middle ground today would have been 'far-left' in the 1920's. And the middle ground of the 1920's would be 'far right' by today's standards. The pendulum pointing to the middle ground has swung to the left since the late 1800's.

For those of you who may not recall conditions in the late 1800's through the early 1900's, that era of greed and avarice paved the way for transitioning to the left. During that period of time, workers, both child and adults were treated horribly by a non-caring American aristocracy. Risk/reward was out of whack as the industrialist of that era sought more and more power. Concern for the person who was trying to feed his family, was whittled to such low standards by those industrialists that it took several bloody strikes and finally Federal and state laws to help reign in the power of corporations.

One of the largest concerns was the low wages paid to individuals. The pay was so small that a family had to rely on all members to earn a living. Child labor abuse was rampant during this period. By 1899, 44 states and territories had a child labor law of some type.

Twenty-four states had minimum age limits for manufacturing employment by 1900, with age limits around 14 years in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, and no minimums at all in most of the South. Keating-Owen Act of 1916 regulated trade with goods made with child labor. Not tremendously effective but it was a step in the right direction.

I mention these tidbits of history to make the point that unbridled capitalism fosters a type of greed that is detrimental to the society and an oppressor of its citizens.

The same destruction happens with the far left end of the political stick. Countries without the risk/reward element in their makeup suffer from a social malaise that the government, no matter how well intentioned, can correct. Supply and demand has to regulate industrial output as opposed to quotas. For a nation to thrive, it needs a good healthy private sector.

Governments have tried to maintain the private sector, and at the same time, prevent ambition from harming the society. All developed nations learned the lessons of the late 1800's of how destructive unbridled greed can be. But finding that 'middle ground' has proven to be a tricky tight rope to walk for most nations and they generally get it wrong.

One of the more popular methods of keeping ambition at bay is the tax. Taxation can be a useful tool only if the tax doesn't become a personal means to an end. Politicians like to use the tax system for their own aggrandizement. The politician has within his power to select winners and losers by the way that he manipulates the tax code, and those political decisions may rest upon how much money the interested parties have been willing to 'donate' to the politicians. Such corruption is very much a part of the political landscape today. Neither party is exempt from the tug of the promise of riches. Both parties have their weak sisters who willingly dirty their hands at the expense of good government.

Democrats blame the Republicans and Republicans blame the Democrats for the political corruption in Washington. It is like the pot calling the kettle black though. Good sense laws are all but impossible because of public corruption.

So where do we go with our grievances over the way the government is working? The time-tested method in the United States is with elections. It is at that time that we can both throw the bums out and install new faces, or we can elect to maintain the status quo. Sounds good, but does it accomplish the job intended?

In this day of mass media, it has been shown that media control also controls the passions of the populace. For better or worse, an impassioned electorate elects the government trumpeted by the mass media along the lines of the agenda they harbor. An emotional tidal wave washes a candidate into office and not clear logical thinking. It is just the way things are and not a complaint. However, we the people deserve better than the marketing and packaging of a candidate without proper scrutiny.

Today's candidates only come under intense scrutiny if he/she does not fit the agenda of the mass media. The opposition candidate gets every I dotted and every tee crossed, while the media trumpets the candidate they approve of with little inspection. It is a fairness issue, not to the candidates, but to the people.

Term limits would certainly help, but politicians are not likely to pass any such initiative.

I don't see the pendulum swinging back to the right any time soon. It will however swing back after the left has punished the private sector so much, that jobs and income become serious concerns. Liberals will ultimately punish wealth creation to the point that they become unpopular. As I said, the political middle is always a moving target. Our best hope is to maintain our democratic way of choosing a government. The democratic system we employ will always balance itself whenever tipped too far in any one direction.

Cheers,

-Robert-

Outraged

Every once in a while a piece comes to me that needs no further clarification or conclusions about it. This is one such piece sent to me by my cousin. Most of us feel like this woman. After reading the letter, ask yourself if you feel the same way that she does. If you do, then attending one of the many "Tea parties" may be a first step in taking our country back.

oooOOOooo

This letter was sent to the Wall Street Journal on August 8, 2008 by Alisa Wilson, Ph.D. Of Beverly Hills , CA . in response to the Wall Street Journal article titled "Where's The Outrage?" that appeared July 31,2008.

"Really, I can tell you where the outrage is. The outrage is here, in this middle-aged, well-educated, upper-middle class woman. The outrage is here, but I have no representation, no voice. The outrage is here, but no one is listening for who am I?

I am not a billionaire like George Soros that can fund an entire political movement.

I am not a celebrity like Barbra Streisand that can garner the attention of the press to promote political candidates.

I am not a film maker like Michael Moore or Al Gore that can deliver misleading movies to the public.

The outrage is here, but unlike those with money or power, I don't know how to reach those who feel similarly in order to effect change.

Why am I outraged? I am outraged that my country, the United States of America , is in a state of moral and ethical decline. There is no right or wrong anymore, just what's fair.

Is it fair that millions of Americans who overreached and borrowed more than they could afford are now being bailed out by the government and lending institutions to stave off foreclosure? Why shouldn't these people be made to pay the consequences for their poor judgment?

When my husband and I purchased our home, we were careful to purchase only what we could afford. Believe me, there are much larger, much nicer homes that I would have loved to have purchased. But, taking responsibility for my behavior and my life, I went with the house that we could afford, not the house that we could not afford. The notion of personal responsibility has all but died in our country.

I am outraged, that the country that welcomed my mother as an immigrant from Hitler's Nazi Germany and required that she and her family learn English now allows itself to be overrun with illegal immigrants and worse, caters to those illegal immigrants.

I am outraged that my hard-earned taxes help support those here illegally. That the Los Angeles Public School District is in such disarray that I felt it incumbent to send my child to private school, that every time I go to the ATM, I see "do you want to continue in English or Spanish?", that every time I call the bank, the phone company , or similar business, I hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish". WHY? This is America , our common language is English and attempts to promote a bi- or multi-lingual society are sure to fail and to marginalize those who cannot communicate in English.

I am outraged at our country's weakness in the face of new threats on American traditions from Muslims. Just this week, Tyson's Food negotiated with its union to permit Muslims to have Eid-al-Fitr as a holiday instead ofLabor Day. What am I missing? Yes, there is a large Somali Muslim population working at the Tyson's plant in Tennessee . Tennessee , last I checked, is still part of the United States . If Muslims want to live and work here they should be required to live and work by our American Laws and not impose their will on our long history.

In the same week, Random House announced that they had indefinitely delayed the publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a book about the life of Mohammed's wife, Aisha due to fear of retribution and violence by Muslims. When did we become a nation ruled by fear of what other immigrant groups want? It makes me so sad to see large corporations cave rather than stand proudly on the principles that built this country.

I am outraged because appeasement has never worked as a political policy, yet appeasing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is exactly what we are trying to do. An excellent article, also published recently in the Wall Street Journal, went through over 20 years of history and why talking with Iran has been and will continue to be ineffective. Yet talk, with a madman no less, we continue to do. Have we so lost our moral compass and its ability to detect evil that we will not go in and destroy Iran 's nuclear program? Would we rather wait for another Holocaust for the Jews - one which they would be unlikely to survive? When does it end?

As if the battle for good and evil isn't enough, now come the Environmentalists who are so afraid of global warming that they want to put a Bag tax on grocery bags in California; to eliminate Mylar balloons; to establish something as insidious as the recycle police in San Francisco. I do my share for the environment: I recycle, I use water wisely, I installed an energy efficient air conditioning unit.--But when and where does the lunacy stop? Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map, the California economy is being overrun by illegal immigrants, and the United States of America no longer knows right from wrong, good from evil. So what does California do? Tax grocery bags.

So, America ,although I can tell you where the outrage is, this one middle-aged, well-educated, upper middle class woman is powerless to do anything about it. I don't even feel like my vote counts because I am so outnumbered by those who disagree with me."

Alisa Wilson, Ph.D.
Beverly Hills , California


No further comment needed,
Cheers,

-Robert-

Lazy Reverends and Preachers

The cornerstone of Christianity is the relationship between a Church and its congregation. It is lamentable that the Church administrators and ministers are no longer out and about shoring up the faith of the faithful. Those wanting and needing spiritual guidance migrate to the mega-churches hoping for spiritual guidance, but it is a futile gesture. Mega-churches are all about money. There is no way that a person can benefit from a relationship with the pastor of such churches. The sheer size of the congregation makes any personal spiritual guidance impossible.

Gone are the days when the pastors of the local churches greeted newcomers in their area to encourage attendance to their respective churches. By ignoring possible new church members, the resident pastors lose these people either to others or to no church at all.

The church Budget is always a concern at local churches, but if its pastor is out doing the things he needs to be doing instead of brooding about money, the chances are good that he would be able to inspire his flock to new heights. It might even slow the gradual decay of our society.

This is not to ignore the responsibility of the Christian to seek out the church of choice whenever he/she moves into a new community, but the odds are better that they will attend if the local pastors take a more proactive position. The chances for both old and new citizens to become part of a local congregation grow exponentially when the local pastors get to know these individuals. They may not secure a new member the first time they meet, but a continuing effort by the pastor will gain the confidence of the prospective member. Remember, there comes a time when everybody needs spiritual help and guidance. And in those times, they will remember who has been seeking fellowship with them.

Absent any other refuge, the person may just drift without ever receiving the spiritual guidance needed. A shameful situation like that is avoidable if our Ministers and Pastors were just doing their job. A church needs to fire a lazy pastor that is continually concerned about money. Remember churchgoers, if your church services sound like a board of directors meeting instead of a spiritual awakening, you need to corner your pastor and tell him.

I visited a church not many Sundays ago and we listened the better part of that service about the need for increased funding for the 'Missionary Fund', the 'Building Fund', the 'Alms Box' for the poor, and Church expenses. I noticed quite a few empty seats in that Church, and yet, this pastor was building a large new facility. I am not against any of the needs that he spoke about, but with that many empty seats, I could tell that tending the flock was not his long suit.

Do not be afraid to dispose of a pastor who is not serving your church well, or who is instead trying to build an edifice to his fund-raising skills. What we as a Christian nation need now more than ever are pastors willing to do the Lord's work. Those other matters will take care of themselves when a pastor takes it upon himself to tend the needs of his congregation. There is a great spiritual need in this country and Christians from all over need to pay attention to it.

Cheers,

-Robert-