Conservatives Request to Secede...A Vision of the Future

The stupidity over the election is getting much worse.  There are now multiple petitions from at least a dozen states to withdraw from the United States.  Before we begin to panic (because I'm sure we are all starting to worry), we have to stop and remember that these petitions are the result of complete stupidity - from the petitioners and the media.

First, the media is reporting this story with headlines like, Divided States Of America: 20 States Petition To Secede After Re-Election Of President Obama.  This gives people the impression that the states have sent the requests instead of a handful of nutjobs.  Not one of the petitions has originated in any state government office.  The states aren't asking for anything...it's the crazies who are signing these petitions.  Unfortunately for them, the White House won't even consider any petition until it reaches 25,000 signatures - which they must collect within 30 days.  The only one that is reasonably close is the petition for Texas.  

While there is zero chance that any petition would succeed, let's have some fun.  Let's assume that the government is tired of Texas pretending to be more important than it really is and grants their request.  There would be a mass exodus of citizens from Texas.  I'm sure there would be some more geniuses that would choose to enter Texas to be a part of their new country.  Either way, this would have devastating effects on the economy of Texas.  

With the laws of the United States no longer being in place, there would be a period of near anarchy while representatives were chosen and a constitution was developed.  The wild west would be alive and well while Texans were killing each other.  of course, the import and export agreements that the United States would no longer be in place, so these agreements would have to be negotiated for Texas.  I imagine they wouldn't get very favorable terms from the U.S. in these agreements.  Not to mention the fact that they would have a very limited amount of exports since most large companies would pull their production out of Texas to remain in the United States.  Limited resources and high import costs would cause the cost of goods to skyrocket in the new Texas.  This would add to the escalating crime rate, particularly because there would be no regulation of firearms while they developed a legal system.  

While many businesses would pull out, there is one business that would see the anarchy as a great opportunity.  The drug industry would move in with full force.  As drug cartels set up shop, they would bring the full force of their arsenals.  With very little in the way of peace keeping force, Texans would be at the mercy of these cartels.  They would quickly seize power.  By the time a government was established including peacekeeping forces, they would be facing a long and bloody war with the cartels.  Of course, they wouldn't have any military equipment because the U.S.Government would have pulled all of this out before we withdrew.  This means that any army or police force would be incredibly outgunned and the cartels would likely control Texas.  

I'm sure that the U.S. and Mexico would be willing to provide a limited amount of firepower for Texas with some major discounts on oil.  This would mean that Texas would not realize the full value of their oil exports for the foreseeable future.  

Let's assume some time passes and order is eventually restored.  The economy in Texas would be in shambles.  The vast majority of the wealth would be in the hands of a precious few individuals.  The remaining population would be living in poverty.  Drugs, violence, and other crimes would be rampant.  I'm sure the U.S. would be willing to offer amnesty to many of the people looking to leave their beloved new Texas for the safety, security, and opportunity that they used to enjoy in the United States.  

The remaining population would begin to grow increasingly angry at the aristocracy of Texas (don't think they won't exist).  Eventually the nobles would have a hard time convincing the starving population that the wealth would trickle down.  They wouldn't be able to convince them that they were better off starving because abortion and gay marriage was illegal.  The poor workers would finally begin to rise up against their masters.  The very loose firearms laws in Texas would mean that the armies of the nobles would be vastly outgunned.  

A brief and bloody civil war would ensue.  Even more people would abandon Texas for the safety and security of the United States border.  Many of these people, due to concern for their families, wouldn't want to wait for proper immigration procedures and would probably cross the border illegally.  That would be part of the wonder irony that would result from this situation.  

Finally, the people would seize power and begin negotiations with the United States to re-enter the Union.  They would be allowed back into the United States, but with strict oversight by the federal government for a time.  While many of these conservatives were gone, an overwhelming majority of the United States would have elected liberal leaders to run our country.  

Social issues like gay marriage would have been resolved.  We would be prospering and enjoying a society well on its way to pure equality between all groups.  Our economy would be prospering with a very strong middle class.  The upper class would be prospering, but the disparity between the classes would be much smaller due to the share of tax burden that they would be paying.  This would greatly increase the money coming in to the federal government.

We would be much better able to care for those who were struggling.  While poverty would still exist, it would be at a much lower rate.  Starvation and homelessness would have been virtually eliminated when we realized that there was no reason our country should allow these horrible conditions to exist.  Some would be paying a higher percentage of taxes, but the higher revenues would be able to pay off our debts and provide the infrastructure we need to build a strong economy.  With everyone's health care covered, the cost of medical care would have dropped significantly.  The amount of bad debt write-off at hospitals would be effectively zero.  This debt wouldn't have to be passed on to the rest of the population so costs would plummet.  

After a while, these conservatives would adjust to our new society.  They would realize that none of the fears that they had were justified.  They would be free to practice their respective religions free from interference as long as they didn't try to enforce their beliefs on others.  While the wealthy conservatives would be paying higher tax rates, they would realize that many of the services they were paying for would be much less expensive so that they could enjoy the fruits of their labor to a greater extent.  The people they previously put down for living under "entitlement programs" would be productive members of society, increasing the workforce and growing the economy.  A sense of great pride and patriotism would exist in the citizens of the United States that would be admired by our allies around the world, including many Islamic nations.  We would be a very happy, productive country in which we all would be proud. 

This is what would come from a bunch of conservatives leaving the Union and allowing us to move forward.  Regardless of what they tell you, progress is not a bad thing.  We must move forward on issue like equal rights.  We spend way too much time debating and fighting over these issues.  It doesn't matter what your religious or personal beliefs are.  What matters is that we respect the rights of others, even if they believe differently.  Instead of focusing on how we can do this, we are dealing with a bunch of children who don't want to play with us anymore because things didn't go their way.  It's time for them to grow up and act like adults.  While they can't have any of our states as a new country to spread their bigotry and stupidity, they are free to leave any time.  This doesn't just include the people signing these petitions.  It includes the members of Congress who need to put aside their personal beliefs and get down to work.  The people have spoken.  We have said that we don't want their trickle down economics and theocratic laws.  Do your jobs or get out so we can find someone who will. 

Election 2012: Latest Poll Results

There is a very interesting election shaping up.  The latest polls show Gov. Romney leading President Obama by less than one point.  The very interesting piece is that, even though Romney is leading in the national polls, he is losing the electoral college estimates based on the polls.  Here's the electoral college forecast I've created using the latest poll information from Real Clear Politics. 

Real Clear Politics takes the most current polls from various organizations and averages them.  Their averages are used by news sites on all sides of the political spectrum from MSNBC to Fox News (two of the most politically biased news organizations in mainstream media).  I used the RCP average to award each state to the candidate leading in the polls for that state.  The only perfect tie was in Colorado.  I gave that state to Romney to make the results more even. 

After doing all of this, I came up with Obama winning the election by 24 electoral votes.  This means that the results could be off a little and Obama would still win the election.  If the President lost New Hampshire and Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, or Wisconsin he would still win the election.  With only about a week and a half until the election, this is great news for those of us who support the President.

What it doesn't mean is that anyone can sit back and let their vote go uncounted.  Get out there and use your vote.  Vote early if that option is available to you.  Either way, don't let one of the few rights that we have to control our government go to waste.  Vote Obama 2012!

Election 2012: President Obama's Final Debate

We saw President Obama in his final debate tonight.  The debate centered on foreign policy.  Overall I feel like the President severely outclassed Mitt Romney in this debate.  It's not very surprising.  Romney is well known to fall all over himself with foreign relations while President Obama has successful experience dealing with the world. 

What really made me happy is that I saw the Barack Obama that I have expected to see during the debate.  I saw a man who was confident in his position.  Who was forceful in pointing out the inconsistencies and lies in Romney's propaganda.  Who looked Presidential.  I'm glad that the President was able to finish his debating career with a strong statement on the role of the United States in the world.  I look forward to seeing him spend another four years leading our country as the President of the United States. 

Jesus was a Socialist

Conservative Christians.  That's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one.  I know that conservatives like to think of themselves as the "Christian right," but they couldn't be further from the truth.  Aside from the fact that they like to focus on the condemnation of homosexuality in the Bible (while conveniently ignoring all of the accompanying verse), they seem to have no understanding of the instructions that Jesus left for Christians.  With that in mind, I thought I would point out a few of the verses that they have forgotten in their attempts to blend their religion into their politics. 

Let's start with the condemnation of taxes.  Many conservatives think that taxes are terrible.  What they fail to remember is that the Bible respects the collection of taxes:

Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Romans 13:7)

Jesus also instructs people to pay the taxes that the government has declared they owe:

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:15-21)

All of the screaming that conservatives do about taxes being too high seems to go against the instructions that are laid out in the Bible.  Of course, their next argument is that they will pay the taxes, but the taxes shouldn't be so high.  They call the President socialist and talk about how he is "evil" and even the "anti-Christ."  Again, there are some verses that they seem to have forgotten about the people chosen to lead our country:

¹⁷ “The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people." (Daniel 4:17)

In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.  (Proverbs 21:1)

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. (Romans 13:6)

¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.  (1 Peter 2:13-15)

Obviously the Bible is telling us that we need to respect our political leaders.  If this is true then I say that the disrespect that conservatives have been showing President Obama during his term and the election is contrary to the commands given to Christians in the Bible.

Now the part that you have all been waiting for...the constant complaints that President Obama is a socialist.  While I don't believe that, there is another famous leader who could be considered a socialist.  In fact, I believe with all of my heart that, if he had lived today, his words would be condemned by the very conservatives who claim to live by his teachings.  Yes...Jesus would be considered a socialist.

And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”  (Luke 3:10-11)

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)

⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,  (Acts: 2:44-46)

³² Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. ³³ And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵ and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4:32-35)

When conservatives condemn "redistribution of wealth," they are actually condemning the teachings of the one man whom they pretend to revere among all men.  The one they say they are supporting when they throw the first stone at homosexuals and people of different faiths and backgrounds.  They forget that the teachings of Jesus were radical and progressive in his time. 

I am a liberal Christian.  There are many of us.  We do what we can to follow the teachings of Christ...all of them.  We don't pick a verse and use it to take away the rights and equality of a group that we fear and hate.  We don't teach our children that it's okay to submit to greed as long as you earned the money.  We believe in what the Bible tells us about loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.  We are here to give our neighbor, whether he is poor, of a different religion, of a different race, or of a different sexual orientation, a hand up in the world.  We are the Christian left and we will not stand for ignorance, hate, and greed being justified by our faith. 

Argument against Obama Debunked

Originally appeared on The American Complaint Department October 15, 2012

     Obama’s the worst President ever!  No, I don’t believe that.  That’s what I hear from everyone who is opposed to him in this election.  When I ask them what makes him the worst President in history, they only have a handful of answers.  Most of the answers center on how much money he has spent.  These people are in a panic about the debt of $16 trillion.  I don’t remember any of these people panicking about the $10 trillion debt that our country had when Bush left office.  Most of the other attacks are nonsense such as he is socialist, communist (because these people don’t know the difference), Muslim, and hasn’t done anything good for our country.  The last argument is the one that really gets me fired up. 
       There are two problems with that argument.  First, these people seem to forget that congressional Republicans have spent the last two years fighting every initiative that President Obama has supported.  This has led to very little progress (which was evidenced by the fact that this congress passed fewer bills into law than any congress in history), but the responsibility lies with congressional Republicans, not with the President.  If he were to issue executive orders to get these measures passed, they would be accusing him of abusing his authority. 
       The other problem I have is that, despite the best efforts of Republicans, President Obama has accomplished quite a bit during his term.  Here’s a short list of some of those accomplishments:
       • His economic policies have pulled us from a recession that was heading towards a depression.  The U.S. GDP has grown from 14.07 trillion when President Obama took office to 15.83 trillion in July of this year.  Unemployment was 8.3 percent when the President took office in 2009.  Shortly after he was inaugurated, this number topped out at 10 percent.  Even though he had initiatives such as the Bringing Jobs Home bill blocked by Republicans, he has brought unemployment down to 7.8 percent.
       • He worked to pass the Affordable Care Act, bringing the health care reform that people have been wanting for years.  Today, millions of Americans are now insured due to this bill.  Studies have indicated that this reform will decrease health care spending in the long run as well.
       • Reformed Wall Street with the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act which
       • After 9 years of war, the United States has finally pulled out of Iraq.
        • Under President Obama’s direction, the United States military found and eliminated Osama Bin Laden.
       •Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed for our military bringing more equality to our armed forces.
       • Benefits were extended to same-sex partners of federal employees.
      • Advocated for and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
       • Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, furthering equal rights for women.
       • Ended the Bush-era practices of “enhanced interrogation,” which is a nice way to say torture.
       • Signed the Iran Sanctions Act, furthering the sanctions against Iran in an effort to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
       • He began the process of training Afghan troops to replace American troops so that the U.S. could begin withdrawing its troops.
        •Established a “Credit Card Bill of Rights” meant to protect consumers.
       • Increased funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs
       • Increased student financial aid.
       • Reformed the student loan program so that students could refinance their education at a lower rate.
       • Created the Race to the Top program, encouraging school reforms.
       • Furthered the opportunities for higher education by expanding the Federal Pell Grant program.
       • Worked with Michelle Obama to pass the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act to improve nutrition in schools and improve children’s health.
​
       There are hundreds more examples that I can give of the accomplishments that President Obama has made during his term in office.  In fact, there are websites out there like whattheheckhasobamadonesofar.com that do just that.
       I don’t mind if someone doesn’t agree with the President’s policies.  The ability to have different perspectives and beliefs is a fundamental right of our nation.  However, ignoring the accomplishments of the President simply because members of the opposing political party have said that he has done nothing of value is pure mindless conformity.  Do not simply allow these people to ignore evidence and misconstrue the facts to gain power.  They are counting on your blind acceptance of their propaganda to put themselves in a position to improve their own lives at the expense of those who President Obama has spent the last four years protecting – the middle class.  We live in the age of information.  Don’t accept the lies and propaganda that Republicans have been using as their platform in this election.  Look at the facts and make an informed decision in November.  I believe that, if you do, you will cast your vote to re-elect President Obama.

Register and Vote!

November 6 is only 30 days away!  After the first debate, we've seen a conservative base that has been charged up and ready to vote.  Liberal and moderate voters should take their queue from the conservatives and make sure that they are ready to vote on election day.  If you support Obama, or even just recognize the fact that Romney can't tell the truth and is a terrible option for the presidency, get yourself registered and get to the polls.  Don't let Romney steal the election on lies and impossible math. 

Some people have already seen their voter registration deadline come and go.  Many people are only days away from the deadline.  Click here to check your state's deadline.  

Not sure if you're registered?  Not sure where to vote?  Click here to check your registration and find your polling location.  Finally, get out there and vote!  No matter what your viewpoint, you have no business complaining about the government if you refuse to exercise your power to make a change. 

A Look at Polls - Bad News for Romney

As the election continues to draw closer...we find ourselves looking at polls more every day.  The problem with polls is that there is always a margin of error.  There is always also the potential for pollsters to sway the results.  So there is no way to be sure about any particular poll.  The only ways to combat this problem are to look at the averages of the polls from various sources, or try to find the most historically accurate polls.  I have decided to do both of these.

According to the results of the 2008 Presidential election, the most accurate polls were Pew and Rasmussen.  Because they are easier to find, I decided to look at the Rasmussen polls.  Here is the current data that should have Romney worried:

According to the most current data - Rasmussen has 237 electoral votes for Obama and 196 for Romney.  This leaves 105 toss-up votes.  Of those votes, Rasmussen shows Obama leading for 76 of the votes while Romney only leads for 29 of them.  If this remains true, then Obama should walk away with the election.  In fact, Obama only has to win 33 of those votes to win the election.  This means he could lose the states that only have him ahead by 1 point (Ohio and Virginia), and he will still win the election. 

I'm sure conservatives will say that this poll is biased in some way (probably because their neighbors and friends hate Obama so that means the entire country must).  So I'm also going to average some of the major polls to get a better picture of the situation.  Here are the overall numbers:

Rasmussen (estimated based on state polls) - 47.4 Obama - 46.6 Romney
Real Clear Politics (used by Fox News and MSNBC) - 48.6 Obama - 44.7 Romney
Gallup - 47 Obama - 47 Romney
Purple Poll - 49 Obama - 44 Romney

The answer is somewhere in the middle of all of these numbers, so let's take an average.

The averages of these polls show Obama leading 48 to Romney's 45.6.  So it seems that, no matter how you break it down...Romney is hurting. Let's just hope this continues.  I may even continue to average the polls and publish the results...I may just turn out to be right.

Romney's Tax Release Misses the Point

I don't think Mitt really gets it...well, that's the understatement of the century.  Today, the Romney campaign released his 2011 tax returns.  The returns show that he paid a 14.1 percent effective tax rate.  The problem is that he manipulated his taxes, effectively overpaying so that his actual taxes conformed to his earlier claims about how much he paid.  He did this by not claiming some of his charitable contributions.  Before any conservatives try to say that this shows that he is a great guy...don't be fooled.  First, it is obviously a political ploy meant to keep him from looking like a fool for overstating how much he pays in taxes.  Second, he has the ability to claim a deduction on the charitable donations he didn't claim for 2011.  He can claim this deduction after the election, making the current rate meaningless.

But what he really missed is that it's not about the numbers.  It's about the dishonesty.  He released a "summary" of his taxes dating back to 1990.  Why a summary?  Why not just publish the returns?  Because there is something there to hide.  That is the only possible reason he would allow the speculation and accusations to continue.  What he is hiding is obviously still the hot topic of debate.  Is it his tax shelters?  His close ties to Bain investments?  Questionable tax practices?  We don't know because he won't do what every candidate has done since his father released 12 years of returns in 1968.

I think that Romney believes releasing a few numbers to the public will make us all forget that he is still very obviously hiding something.  I also imagine that he'll be very surprised over the next month and a half when he is still on the receiving end of continued attacks about his suspicious, and likely unethical, tax activities. 

Romney's Statements Fuel Division and Islamophobia

We had an interesting conversation on the American Complaint Department radio program Tuesday.  During the conversation, the question was asked if we thought that the country would band together if we underwent another attack like the 9/11 attacks.  At the time my thoughts were that, in today's political climate, I don't think we would see the same level of cooperation that we saw following the attacks in 2001.  What we've seen in the last two days have confirmed my belief. 

Late on September 11, the Romney campaign released a statement criticizing the Obama administration on their response to the violent protests at our Cairo and Libya consulates that led to the death of four Americans.  While I have a list of reasons that Romney's statement is absurd, irresponsible, and unpresidential, I'm more concerned right now with the aftermath of the statement. 

I've seen so many people posting social network updates about President Obama "apologizing" for America.  This comes directly from the statements made by Romney in response to the tragic incidents in Cairo and Libya.  Ignoring the fact that none of this is true, all this has done is divide the people at a time when we should be coming together to mourn the loss of more lives on September 11. 

Not only is this division showing how poor our political discourse is, but it is also showing the growing trend of Islamophobia.  I keep seeing it in the comments online.  Here are some examples in discussions about President Obama:

"I expect nothing less from a Muslim sympathizer..."

 

"Muslims are determined to kill or convert all to Islam no matter what through their religious doctrine. This ideology will never change and all of Islam and it's nations should be classified as the axis of evil and terrorism against the USA..."

"...go suck the Muslims.! You [are] sympathetic to these rats who want us dead and against Christians obviously..Muslims belong in their Arab nations..."

" A Muslim is a filthy Muslim..There is no such thing as good Muslims"

What a horrible way to look at the world.  Is it any wonder that some Muslims hold a negative opinion of the United States.  Furthermore, who cares if Obama is a Muslim?  There is no religious test of office for the President.  The only criticisms these people have are that (1) President Obama is Muslim, which is insignificant, (2) Islam is a religion of violence, which is about as true as saying all Christians believe in the protests and anger of the Westboro Baptist Church, and (3) building peaceful relations with Islamic nations is somehow poor foreign policy.  I don't even know how to explain the last one.  I guess peace is poor policy. 

I made a statement on the radio program that much of this Islamophobia comes from simple ignorance.  I have thought about this statement and I would have to retract what I said.  There is no excuse of ignorance in today's world.  These people are on the internet.  They have access to the information and have been given the information necessary to stop being bigots, but they refuse.  These people are driven by pure hatred and stupidity.  They fear what is different and hate anyone who dares to question them.  This is the attitude that permeates the Republican party today.  It irresponsible and dangerous for a country to be run by a group, or a person, with this mentality.  This is why I will be casting my vote for President Obama in November.  I will not accept a country run by bigotry and hate. 

President Clinton's Ubuntu Vision - We're All in this Together

For those of you who are new to my blog, or don't have the sense to read every post...please read this blog about the concept of ubuntu before continuing.

Now that you've been introduced to this concept.  I want to talk a little about ubunutu philosophy outlined in the speech by President Bill Clinton last night at the Democratic National Convention.  Okay, so he didn't actually talk about ubuntu, but some of the ideas he mentioned were in the realm of the ubuntu concept.  Think about these two quotes:

"A person is a person through other persons." - Desmond Tutu

"we believe that 'We're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'You're on your own.'" - President Clinton

Can you see how this philosophy could easily be translated into the ubuntu concept?  The idea that we each don't only worry about ourselves and let everyone else be damned, but we are here to help each other, and we improve by giving each other a hand.  Here are some more quotes from the speech that I thought fit into the same concept:

"When times are tough and people are frustrated and angry and hurting and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may be good, but what is good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. What works in the real world is cooperation."

"President Obama's approach embodies the values, the ideas, and the direction America has to take to build a 21st-century version of the American dream, a nation of shared opportunities, shared responsibilities, shared prosperity, a shared sense of community."

Say what you want, but I believe the United States is a nation founded on the idea of ubuntu.  Maybe not in so many words, but in the spirit of what our founding fathers created.  We have had to struggle and fight to live up to that spirit.  We have had to abolish slavery, fight for women's rights, fight for civil rights, and we still fight to live up to the spirit of ubuntu today.  Sometimes the fight is against our own prejudice.  Sometimes it's a struggle with our greed.  Sometimes it's a struggle to include those who believe and live differently than we do - even in so innocent an area as who they love.  Through all of this struggle, we will prevail.  As President Clinton said:

"For more than 200 years, through every crisis, we've always come back. People have predicted our demise ever since George Washington was criticized for being a mediocre surveyor with a bad set of wooden, false teeth. And so far every single person that's bet against America has lost money, because we always come back.  We've come through every fire a little stronger and a little better. And we do it because, in the end, we decide to champion the cause for which our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor, the cause of forming a more perfect union."

Election 2012: Romney Economics

It’s time. I’m going on the offensive against Romney. It has pretty much been decided that Romney is going to be the Republican candidate. If, for some reason, Ron Paul pulls of his coup at the convention and is able to secure the nomination I’ll move my sights on to him.

For now, we’ll attack Mitt. I’m going to look at Mitt through his record. If you read my other blogs, you will learn that I don’t believe in unsubstantiated claims. I will support my claims with facts. The claims will easily demonstrate why this man has no business becoming the next President of the United States.

Let’s look at one of the major complaints people have about the U.S., and how Mitt’s record is on this subject. While every poll is slightly different based on the wording of the questions, there is one result that seems to be prevailing. The most important issues to the majority of Americans are the economy and jobs. I’m rolling these into one category because they are so closely tied together.

Now I could try to attack every business deal Mitt has made. I’m not interested in doing that. I don’t think it’s necessary. I prefer to look at the overall impact of his involvement with the businesses he has touched. I have noticed two glaringly important facts about his involvement in business.

     1. Executives make a lot of money when he gets involved with a business. Many times right before the company fails miserably.

     2. The average worker suffers when Mitt has a hand in the company. This is a result of everything from job losses to pension cuts.

On the first point, I will say that this is exactly what everyone I know has been screaming about over the last couple of years.

***Here’s a slightly off-topic rant about this.***

 

Executive pay has gotten way out of control. Why? Not because they are so good at their jobs. In fact, Forbes did a study on the highest paid CEO’s and the best performing CEO’s. Here are some interesting results:

 

• Jeffrey Bezos – Amazon CEO – Ranked #1 in performance; Ranked 470 in pay

• John Hammergren – McKesson CEO – Ranked #1 in pay; Ranked 121 in performance
  
   

If only companies were all run by people like Jeffrey Bezos, our economy would probably be much healthier. The average CEO now makes approximately 231 times what the average worker makes. Do they work harder? Not a chance. Do you want to know a secret about executive compensation? It’s rigged. Executive pay is somewhat complicated, but it boils down to the two things. The CEO’s pay has to be approved as “fair” by the board of directors, and it is sometimes determined by outside consulting firms. The fun part is that many CEO’s serve on the boards of the CEO’s that serve on their boards. This means all of these buddies get to approve each other’s compensation packages. If your friend approved a ridiculous increase in your pay, would you turn around and deny his? I doubt it. The companies who use outside consultants are just as fun. The companies who do the consultations are often used by the company in other areas of consultation. So, if they refuse to recommend a generous compensation package for the CEO, they may be looking at the loss of a lucrative contract down the road.

***Getting back on topic.***

 
So how does this relate to Romney? A very significant portion of executive compensation is based on stock and non-salary benefits. (Remember this the next time you praise any CEO for giving up a million dollars of salary for a cause. They are still getting millions in compensation.) This is where Romney and his boys at Bain made their money. They would purchase stock in these companies. They would work very hard to find ways to improve profitability. In most cases that involved reducing the average worker’s benefits, laying off employees, and streamlining costs in any way possible. These companies would incur great amounts of long-term debt, but their short-term results looked great. This drove the price of the stock way up. When the executives felt that their value was at its highest, they could then sell the stock and make hundreds of millions in profits. As they relinquished command of these companies, they could wash their hands of a company that had mountains of debt. Then, in a few years, when the debt became insurmountable, the company would fail or file bankruptcy. The Bain executives would get to claim that they had no hand in this problem because they sold out years ago. They tend to forget that they put the company in the position in the first place. For a man who is making his run for office based on the idea that he will reduce the budget deficit, this doesn’t seem like the best approach. So yes, Mitt, you did make a great deal of profit. However, as President Obama said, as President “your job is not just to maximize profits.” If Romney’s history holds true, he will streamline government by cutting jobs and increasing profitability. Then, right before we fall into a terrible economic downturn, he will cut and run.

How will he do it? Let’s look at his economic and job plans. From his own job plan, I take the following:

“A complementary step would be to align the wages and benefits of federal workers with market rates and then work to reduce the overall size of the federal workforce by 10 percent (pg. 143).”

The current size of the federal workforce is estimated just over 4.4 million people. So this man, who claims that he wants to create jobs, plans to eliminate 440,000 jobs in the U.S.? Why? Do the American people not have enough problems with the private sector eliminating jobs? Is the federal workforce that large? No. In fact, from 1962 to 1995, the federal workforce was always higher than it is now. The federal workforce declined from 1996 until right before the recession in 2008. At its peak, the federal government employed over 2 million people more than it employs today. But, go ahead Mitt. Cut those jobs. It seems to be what you’re good at…

 
That leads me into my next problem with Mitt Romney’s plan for the economic future of the U.S. He has a history of hurting the average worker. Not only did he work to reduce pensions and benefits for workers in an effort to increase the bottom line, Bain owned companies that were pioneers in the outsourcing trend. This was done while Romney was actively running Bain. Romney recently stated that “[China has] been able to put American businesses out of business and kill American jobs.” Really, sir? And who has been helping them do that? When President Obama remarked about the obvious hypocrisy in his stance compared to his track record, Romney could only reply with “President Obama confirmed today that he will continue his attacks on the free enterprise system…My campaign is offering a positive agenda to help America get back to work."

No, sir. I believe that he was attacking the fact that you are a hypocrite who will say whatever you think people want to hear. While this is not really unusual for a politician, the fact that you are loudly basing your platform on the fact that you are a successful businessman, but your success has been at the expense of the American workers, you lose all credibility. When you tell us that you will create jobs, but plan to eliminate almost half a million jobs when you take office, you are a liar. When you refuse to answer the many questions raised about inconsistencies in your history and platform, you are a coward. A good businessman? No. A profitable businessman for yourself and a few investors? Yes. But, who are the investors in this situation? Romney would have you believe that it’s the American people. Wrong. The PACS are the investors. They are the ones working so hard to get Romney elected. They are the ones who would benefit from his presidency. We are the ones who would pay the price.

You don’t have to like Obama. You don’t have to agree with everything he says or does. Economic recovery and job growth have been slow and agonizing, but it is growth. We are adding jobs and increasing GDP. To put a man with a record of destroying jobs, outsourcing, and creating huge profits on the backs of the American workers in the Oval Office is tantamount to middle class suicide. We know what we will get with Obama. More work towards recovery and growth. What will we get with Romney? Richer executives? A weaker and smaller middle class? Fewer jobs? How can this possibly be a better option than the recovery we’re experiencing now?