So what is missing in America? Leadership.
But what should we be looking for in leadership in America in 2011 and 2012?
How about a clearly stated and simple to understand solution to every economic, moral, and security problem America has to deal with right now.
So what are these problems?
A. Economic Issues:
1. An out of control unemployment problem exacerbated by a technologically shifting economy that is moving from people provided services to machine generated services.
2. A grossly mishandled, overfunded, and paranoid banking sector that won't lend
money.
3. Gas and energy prices that are out of control, and killing the working sectors.
4. A persistently declining GDP.
5. A lagging housing sector complicated by banks that will not lend.
6. A growing government sector that even an idiot knows cannot be either justified or sustained built on a bureaucratic growth in every funded entity in America with no limits on growth, and no ability to eliminate incompetence. Like anything else that cannot eliminate properly, it fills itself with waste.
7. Out of touch union leadership and membership that have no interests in anything beyond themselves individually and collectively.
B. Moral Issues (from the perspective of a tradition loving Christian):
1. Rampant dishonesty, and consequent lawlessness.
2. A corrupt government that has forfeited the moral right to lead.
3. An education sector that is incapable of educating - instead only serving to perpetuate the current levels of ignorance, and increase the problem cyclically over time, as even the majority of teachers are even unaware of what the problems are.
4. A legal system that is confused, and at war with itself, lead by incompetents that know nothing of the basis, purpose, and value of law. Run by a justice department that can no longer even define what Justice is, let alone manage the implementation of it at any level - including the fundamental policing level - where law and justice have been replaced with 'gotcha' fund raising scams on every street corner, and in every office, while morality has been removed from their equation.
5. Disregard for people as a priority of corporations, organizations, and government entities. Consequently, peoples rights are increasingly trampled and destroyed by larger powers.
6. Breakdown of the traditional family including by its definition. A traditional family is still an original union of one young man and one young woman, who come together to have and raise children under the protections of a supporting church and country. Everything else is non traditional, and a deviation from the norm that was defined by the Judaeo Christian God in the context of historical and still currently relevant scripture - even as we progress as a country from blessing into judgment.
7. An irresponsible and unaccountable media that now wags the dog despite the chaos of explosive amounts of information availability through 1,000's more venues, and options.
C. Security
1. A foreign relations duplicity that has left America confused, and incapable of protecting itself.
2. Immigration policies that are inconsistent and lack credibility.
3. Borders that are porous and open.
4. Impossible levels of tolerance of foreign influence, invasion, and abuse - ignored as though they do not exist.
5. A joke of a United Nations relationship that entertains the leadership rights of "turd world" countries as though they were equals in knowledge, standards maintenance, and understanding of excellence - so as not to insult them. These are the attitudes that lead to Iran and Syria having seats on the Committee responsible for dealing with Human Rights issues. The net effect is the negation of the concept.
6. An economically disastrous foreign trade policy that embraces highly imbalanced foreign trade deficits leaving this country vulnerable to every other lending countries chosen resolutions at any point they choose in the future.
7. An oil policy that creates hazardous relationships with some of the most unstable leadership groups on the face of the earth.
In other words: its a mess.
But what can be done about it?
A few simple solutions will correct all but the dishonesty of the American people. This unfortunately cannot be resolved amongst a free people until their is a will to see this morality deficit change. This will does not exist in America.
In reality, America is no longer a free people as they have forfeited freedom to the government, the media, and the economic power of almost every other major country on earth.
Of course, things can turn around quickly when one realizes the condition and is willing to acknowledge it, as well as deal with the consequences in light of this understanding.
Here is how simply America could be turned around this week if the will and leadership existed to make it happen:
1. Immediate law regarding new bank lending requirements: All banks are frozen from further growth, or internal capital investment effective immediately, and must lend 90% of their liquid assets within the next 12 months according to the following model, or their license to function will be revoked:
30% of lending must be in the form of mortgages.
20% of lending must be in the form of car, truck and equipment loans, and
50% of lending must be in the form of business loans.
The discretion for the basis of lending will be up to the banks, including the terms and who they lend to, as well as how they lend. But failure to lend according to this format will cost their business license, and they will be penalized the balance of the unlent amount. Once banks are forced to start lending, bank's terms of lending will become consistent with the economy they serve in, and this economy will have the juice it needs to start firing again.
2. All American oil drilling moratoriums to be lifted on a scheduled release of oil drilling priorities over the next 12 months. Because oil prices are held high by perceived lack of supply, an immediate influx of future supply and consequent price reductions will have an immediate flight from value. Add to this a monthly freezing of offshore based oil prices (OPEC) such that each month a starting price will be established and for every dollar of oil price increase in the oil market, another dollar of American tariff be attached, and used as a subsidy to offset the pricing of North American generated oil such that the American focused investment in oil supply development is ramped up at the expense of offshore oil supplies - leading to a decline in focus on world price, and an independent American oil market develops on its own. This would develop the Bakken fields more quickly and efficiently.
3. Taxation of unworking capital held by corporations. The greatest threat to the American economy is the fear of losing money in the private marketplace by cash holding investors, and currently almost all are in paralysis to some extent. Once the loss of money for failing to invest is introduced, the money will move quickly.
4. Elimination of directed media free speech. Treat the individuals with the right to free speech - but not in media while under corporate control. Speak for yourself - but not a corporation. New rules for holding directed media accountable including State rights, and local control on television, radio, and internet directing. The internet provides real opportunities for individual expression, but only as long as entities such as google that manage content are made publicly accountable. Pay the boys for their work, but if search engines are the new method for distributing information, they need to have public input and accountability, and be controlled by public protecting structures of accountability - not one Corporation, or small group.
5. Close the southern border, work visa everyone in the country illegally within 180 days, and start collecting taxes from every one of them. Then be aggressive about illegal immigration thereafter without compromise.
6. Give every government department in America a mandate to cut 5% each year out of their departments including the ability to layoff and/or dismiss people without cause and without penalty.
7. Make unemployment insurance collection dependent on each person working a minimum of 24 hours per week, and make every employer in America offer a job to the unemployed in the way that they can make the best possible use of them effective immediately. The new deal would be that while working for an employer, each unemployed person's unemployment would continued to be paid to them at the full rate for the first 90 days, and then be reduced by 10% per month until it runs out at the end of the year. The employer's responsibility is to provide the job, make it profitable enough to pay for the employee after the full year, and pay the additional amount necessary to keep the employee in reasonable wages throughout the year. There would be no limit on what the employer pays the employee throughout the year, except that at the end of the year, it needs to be able to be an ongoing full time job for the employee (24 hours or more per week). If the employer is responsible for letting the employee go within 90 days after the end of the unemployment year, the employer would be responsible for a penalty of one months wages as due to the government. Each month after that until the end of the second year, the amount of penalty would be reduced by 10% until the penalty evaporates at the end of the second year.
This program would put 10-15 million more people to work in the next year for less than the cost we are now paying to have those same people sit at home now.
So thats if for today.
Really, a little creativity and shaking up the status quo is exactly what America needs right now anyway. Now I am just looking for a real leader to sell it and make it happen.
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