Quick Opinions » Politics

Governments Stimulus Fairytale

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:26:41 +0000

By Herb Kay

Once upon a time, I thought that when a politician did or said something really ridiculous it was because they were being purely political, but really in their heart of hearts, they knew better. In other words, if a politician says something like “America needs stimulus” they likely knew that in all the history of such things, literally none have ever worked. What I used to believe, was that politicians who said such nonsense were simply being disingenuous. Now, I think they are just stupid.

I mean, no one could repeat as much baloney as the talking heads on Capitol Hill, over and over again – and not really believe it. Insincerity does not excuse the situation – it’s as if that was the case – and as we are staring into the recession, a reasonable person would put aside partisan propaganda and do the right thing for the country. But it is not the case. They, meaning those that continue to add insult to injury, must really believe that just adding liquidity (printing money) is going to work out in the end. It’s all a bit mind-numbing.

Now, I have had this discussion with a lot of people, many of who are believers in government stimulus. Inevitably it always goes back to the “New Deal.” When I point out to them that between 1932-1940 things in America got progressively worse, the inevitable retort is that World War II and all the government spending pulled us out of the Depression and thus proving that if you do spending on a big enough scale, it will work. Hence what is happening now, as things get bad, it doesn’t take long before politicians start calling for a War on this or a War on that. The problem is, even though most Americans would believe that WWII ended the Depression, they are mistaken.

For those of us who did not live through those years and for those of you who did, 1940-45 were years of a command economy and shortages of everything. You couldn’t buy a new car or nylons or chocolate or much of anything else and if you could it was with ration coupons. In other words, for those years we had essentially a Soviet System. We were so understandably devoted to winning the war that we ignored the hardships, but to believe that this rationing somehow ended the Depression is a gross misreading of history and it’s also absurd.

Let me prove my point. If this logic were true, then what President Obama should do is call up the Prime Ministers of Japan and Germany and tell them to build a huge fleet of warships, as big as those they both had in WWII, with America doing the same, and we all load them up with tanks and airplanes and bombs, and then sail them out into the middle of the ocean and sink the whole damn thing. That ought to do it! At least, that is what the “War on anything defeats an economic downturn” argument would say. It’s absurd I know, but this is even what most kids are taught as history.

What really ended the Depression was the rush of consumer demand beginning in 1946. Millions of folks freed – both of the war’s rationing and the end of the New Deal – which happily died in 1940. Freed of government interference and doing without, good old “free market” demand fueled the boom. That is the lesson we should learn. Government is just feeding on the free market. To the extent that they stop, is the extent by which we will succeed. Every dollar spent by a government is a dollar taken from the free market or worse, created out of nothing, stimulated by paper money, leading to bubbles and busts.

In fact, I believe our entire economy is just one big bubble at this point and virtually all pricing of everything is suspect with few exceptions. Meanwhile just remember, soon these politicians will not be fooling anyone.

Herb Kay, self-made millionaire, best-selling author, nationally recognized finance and business expert, and creator of Herb Kay’s S.O.S. System (http://www.HerbKaySOS.com), offers his insight into the world of everything from business to personal finance with a style all his own. It’s the Herb Kay Way!

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What Should Be the Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions For Voters?

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:38:06 +0000

By Anand Krishna

In spite of their “purportedly” common vision toward a better and more livable world, our politicians have failed. Certainly not all of them were, or, are insincere.

Nevertheless, they have failed to deliver. Today, we live in a more comfortable, but not a “better” world. Conflicts and wars are tearing us apart – whereas, peace and harmony remain issues for discussion among our elites.

In his historic speech in Cairo on June 4 this year, President Obama spoke about the need to “have the courage to make a new beginning”.

Later, during the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23, he emphasized, “The time has come for the world to move in a new direction.”

Interestingly, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose speech was boycotted by many, also expressed hope for “a global community filled with justice, friendship, brotherhood and welfare”.

Not long after, speaking at Harvard on Sept. 29, President Yudhoyono proposed the reinvention of “a new world”.

More recently, speaking in Egypt on Nov. 9, Chinese Premier Jiabao hoped the cooperation between China and the African countries would “contribute to the effort of building a harmonious world
of enduring peace and common prosperity”.

I do not doubt their good intentions, but neither can I close my eyes to the fact the world envisioned by them is still a far cry from their hopes.

Why?

President Sukarno, one of our founding fathers, found flaws in the way we handled our problems.

Speaking to the 15th UN General Assembly on Oct. 4, 1960, he said: “Any effort to solve our problems with violence, threat, or force would not only fail, but create problems of a more serious nature.”

He cited “equality” as the only solution. To him, equality was the quintessence of all human rights. He hoped for certain universally accepted guiding principles to usher in a new era of equality among nations. It was on these grounds that he wished to “build the world anew”.

Sukarno was a man of vision.

He was a dreamer, but not an unrealistic one. He knew the realization of this dream would only be possible if we all let go of our “petty grudges, and ill feelings toward each other…

“Eliminate the cause of war, and peace shall reign. Eliminate the cause of tension, and life shall be easy…

“It is not only to ensure the survival of this world, we have the task to build the world anew!”

Sukarno often cited Neo-Imperialism and Neo-Colonialism as threats to world peace and true emancipation. Many of us then, and even now, scoff at him, and consider his fears unfounded.

History, however, has proved otherwise. Neo-Imperialism and Neo-Colonialism are not only a living reality, but are also thriving at the cost of our ignorance.

To make things worse, even our politicians and highly paid diplomats are often unaware of this.They still relate Neo-Imperialism and Neo-Colonialism with certain western powers. They cannot see the tables turning. The imperial powers colonizing us are no longer western, but also eastern, and perhaps, our next-door neighbors, and darling friends.

George Bernard Shaw was, perhaps, right in saying that: “He knows nothing; he thinks he knows everything – that clearly points to a political career.”

Sukarno offered an indigenous “Indonesian Solution” to face the challenges ahead: Pancasila. “When I speak of Pancasila, I am actually speaking of our nation’s, at least, 2,000-year-old civilization.” He was bold enough to challenge the assembly to point out any flaw in what he offered; or, anything disputable or irrelevant to the modern age and its challenges. The entire assembly, instead, applauded “Sukarno of Indonesia” as he was then known.

Alas, we Indonesians have lost our self-pride. We no longer believe in the ideals of Pancasila, and in the virtues and values of our age-old civilization.

Our leaders find it more civilized to connect with much younger and less experienced civilizations. They forget that when those civilizations lived by raiding caravans, and had to have the divine guidance to divide their booty, we were already shipping our spices using our own flag carriers!

Sukarno explained the values imbibed in Pancasila in few simple words: Religiosity, Nationalism, Internationalism, Democracy, and Social Justice. These are universal values, and no man in his senses would possibly oppose these values.

Yet, I say, we have failed. Where have we gone wrong? Let’s move from being positive thinkers to having a positive and holistic attitude toward life and ask of our conscience, “Are we in a better position today than we were at the time of our independence?”

Simple mathematics: consider the current value of all the wealth, all the natural resources we had on Aug. 17, 1945, when we proclaimed our independence. And, consider the remnants we have, add the numerical value of all our developments, our reserves, add anything, everything, and consider all the loans, all the interests, and all the aid and charity we have received so far. You will be ashamed of calling yourself a son of the soil, as I am. Once, again, where have we gone wrong?

We are busy planning a new world, building, and reinventing it. Our orientation is outside. We want to change the world by changing the conditions outside, and by changing others.

I am reminded of a famous Jacob M. Braude quote: “Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others.”

President Mandela says the same thing: “One of the most difficult things is not changing society, but to change yourself.”

So, what do we do? Let us not despair. “Change your thoughts and you change your world,” says Norman Vincent Peale.

And, Mahatma Gandhi resonances, “Be the change in the world you want to see.”

As a nation, let us first of all agree that Pancasila is the only sane and viable solution to the challenges we face. Moreover, Pancasila connects us to the rest of the world, including those who follow different systems of governance.

Next, let us change our orientation from the outside, to the inside. The change must happen within us. For, it is when the individual changes, that society changes. And, when society changes, the nation changes. Finally, when nations change, the world changes.

Yes, we have to build the world anew, reinvent a new world, make a new beginning, move in a new direction, work toward a global community filled with justice, friendship, brotherhood and welfare, and a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity. Yes, yes, yes, but we must begin with ourselves. You and I must change first!

ANAND KRISHNA – Spiritual Activist
http://www.aumkar.org

Obama’s Takeover of Auto Industry – GMC and Chrysler

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:22:10 +0000

In an unprecedented move, never before done in the history of America, Obama announced his plans to get government control of private businesses. The two companies in question are GMC and Chrysler. He announced his plans in a televised speech on Monday, March 30th. This is after forcing the retirement of longtime CEO of GMC, Rick Wagoner. He did not, however, force the retirement of the head of the auto union who has greatly impacted GMC’s financial problems. Although Obama repeatedly said he does not want to have the government running the auto industry, this is exactly what he is doing. In fact, he is getting into micromanaging GMC by such actions as the government guaranteeing GMC’s service contracts.

Wagoner has worked all his life, 40 years, for GMC. He knows the business inside out. Obama’s beef is with him. Wagoner is too old-fashioned, wanting to continue to produce gas-guzzling pick-ups and SUVs. GMC has to change and produce light-weight green cars for tomorrow’s future. Apparently, in Obama’s book, pick-ups and SUVs have to go. Guess what? In 2008, the two top selling vehicles in America were GMC’s pickups and SUVs. No green car of any description made the top 10 list. Also, the Chevy Malibu was voted car of the year, 2008. Going further, twenty of GMC’s vehicles showed profits in 2008. Eleven of these were pickups and SUVs, and GMC vehicles are very popular overseas.* It doesn’t sound to me like Wagoner has done so badly. But this apparently does not faze Obama. Come hell or high water, and in spite of what Americans want, carbon-fueled vehicles have got to be replaced with green. SUVS AND PICKUPS ARE NOT IN AMERICA’S FUTURE REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE AMERICAN BUYERS WANT.

Thus, Obama has taken it upon himself to gain control of American auto industries and FORCE THIS CHANGE! He is also forcing Chrysler, an American company, to join with Fiat, a foreign company, again a first in American history. This is in spite of the fact that Obama has pledged to bring back to America’s shores as much of America’s overseas business as possible. It seems to become clearer and clearer that Obama’s promises mean nothing. Chrysler has been given thirty days to comply and GMC sixty days. If they don’t, it’s bankruptcy. Chrysler and GMC should have done this first and avoided the middleman, the inefficient, bureaucratic, power-hungry United States Government. Can you name even one thing that the government runs efficiently?

Do you know what the scariest words are in the English language? “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.” Wake up America. One by one, Obama is toppling our freedoms like dominos in a line. Once we lose them, it will be hard to get them back.

Please give me your opinions about the government running America’s privately-owned auto industries.

*Facts from Rush Limbaugh, 3/31/09

Carolyn J. Fosdick, retired teacher, artist, conservative ghostwriter, and author of I Ride A Wild Horse currently spends her time writing on conservative issues and politics that are affecting our American way of life. Visit her newest blog for some insightful and thought-provoking ideas on political economics and for some solutions to some tough political questions.