Tough love. It can be hard to do but as mothers we know it’s needed at times. My children knew from a young age that I would not tolerate lies, and that the consequences of a “cover up” would be far more painful than “fessing up” with the truth. I wanted to instill in them that all meaningful relationships – from friendships, to marriage, to employee/employer – depend on honesty in order to thrive.

Our society depends on us raising children who understand the value of integrity, and when our children are among the soldiers and diplomats serving the U.S. overseas, we expect absolute integrity from our government when it comes to protecting them.

Safety First

Our Constitution very clearly states that one of the most important duties of our federal government is national defense. Our inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness require our leaders (political and military) to keep us safe. We as mothers take this responsibility very seriously, as it’s one of our jobs too. Just watch a mom jump into action when she thinks her child is being threatened!

In order to effectively keep our loved ones safe we must be aware of the facts and understand the truth in any given situation. When our teenagers want to go to a new friend’s house, don’t we “annoy” them with a rapid-fire list of questions? (Where do they live? Will there be adult supervision? Who else is going to be there?) We are trying to assess the environment in order to prevent possible harm.

Our national leaders must also be able to clearly evaluate the environment and accurately assess the world’s conditions in order to make the appropriate decisions for our citizens’ safety. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to have been the case in regards to our U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans were murdered there on September 11, 2012, a date that should have had every American leader on high alert here and most certainly abroad in the Middle East.

Yet it’s now been revealed that repeated requests by our Libyan Ambassador for extra security were denied or ignored even though there had been 230 security incidents in Libya in the 13 months preceding the attack![1] [2]

To make matters worse this administration initially blamed the murders, as well as other anti-American Middle East uprisings, on a “spontaneous protest” over an anti-Muslim Internet video even though evidence from the start showed that to be untrue.[3]

Mother’s Grief

Pat Smith, the mother of one of the 4 Americans murdered in Benghazi, has repeatedly tried to find out the truth about the death of her son. Even though many high-ranking officials, including President Obama, promised her that she would hear the truth no matter how painful, she had this to say in a recent interview on CNN:

“Everyone of them, all the big shots over there told me – they promised me, they promised me that they would tell me what happened… They haven’t told me anything. They are still studying it. And the things that they are telling me are just outright lies.” [4]

Thankfully the truth is starting to come to light in the congressional hearings taking place in Washington,[5] but why wouldn’t the Obama Administration just tell the truth from the beginning? Why blame a video that hardly a living soul had seen? Even if they didn’t have all of the facts yet, why blame someone or something else prematurely? Is it because of the upcoming election and the possible consequences of a failed foreign policy?

Mainstream Media A.W.O.L.?

Worse yet, where were our mainstream media investigative journalists when all of this was happening? Why weren’t they asking the hard, direct questions from the start? It was 9/11 after all. Do they really think the American people believe it was just a coincidence that this “spontaneous protest” just happened to occur on that date? Seriously? Let’s get a mom in front of the media microphones, especially one who has a child risking his life overseas in the military, and I can guarantee that she will drill the White House with a list of tough questions that would make their heads spin!

Remember as moms we know that those who lie and perpetuate a lie must be held accountable and face the consequences. At the very least, if the people in charge were telling the truth, but can’t accurately assess the dangers our citizens face, then these leaders are themselves a threat to our security and must be replaced.

It is my responsibility as a mother to keep my young children safe when they are in my care; and it is my responsibility as a citizen to make sure I hold our  leaders accountable to do the same for all of our daughters and sons, whether overseas or at home.

It took a while for some of these objectives, such as the right to vote, to be achieved for women but through perseverance and an innate sense of this being a just goal, we won that right.

How are we doing on the other objectives? Are we receiving equal pay as our male counterparts? Are we being oppressed simply because we are women? Or, should we be asking a far more important question altogether, such as: will any of these aspirations matter if our economy implodes and there are no jobs to be had? There is no difference in discrimination against women or men between the level of pay, oppression, and job opportunity for the unemployed. Women and men are equally terrified when they can’t provide for themselves or their families.

Economic Tailspin

Our country is in an economic tailspin. Our national debt is nearly $16 trillion,[2] our economy grew at an anemic 1.5% rate in the second quarter of 2012,[3] and the real unemployment rate (U6) is 15%.[4] Add to this list of misery, the cost/taxes of Obamacare (at least 20 of them),[5] the massive increase of Federal regulatory burdens on businesses, the war on fossil fuels, and you can fully expect these figures to get worse. Businesses fold, move over seas, and stop hiring under these types of conditions. This is truly oppression and hardship of a magnitude we have not seen in decades.

Women in business have made great progress over the years in their efforts to start and operate their own businesses. As of 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were almost 8 million non-farm businesses owned by women, an increase of over 20% from 2002.[6] However, what good is this achievement when the Obama Administration has consistently instituted  business regulations and policies that hinder the growth and very existence of these much-needed companies?

It should be no surprise to President Obama that the number one concern of most Americans (women and men alike) since he took office are jobs and the economy. So why hasn’t he met with his Jobs Council in the last 6 months, when during that same time period he attended over 100 fundraisers for his reelection?[7][8] It appears that there is one job he’s very focused on and it’s his own.

“You Didn’t Build That” (The Government Did)

In a speech President Obama let his true ideology come through loud and clear when he said, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.”[9] He communicated that if you have succeeded as a business owner the government gets the credit and the thanks. Never mind the fact that without a thriving private economy to tax, there is no government revenue. Business owners all over the country were in an uproar over this statement, and justifiably so. They know who put in the hard work and risked the money to get these businesses up and running; it certainly wasn’t Uncle Sam!

Should we thank the government for the highest corporate tax rate (39.2%) in the world[10] that pushes companies to expand overseas in order to compete, costing us much needed jobs in the process? Every dollar taken by the government in taxes is less money that companies have available to reinvest and grow their businesses. No growth, no new jobs.

The added cost of the medical device tax (one of many) embedded in the 2700 pages of the Obamacare law has already forced many healthcare businesses to cancel expansion plans.[11] [12] People in communities all over the country who waited expectantly for a chance at those new jobs are having their hopes and dreams crushed.

Should we be grateful to this administration that implements costly, not to mention unreasonable, regulations on the fossil fuel industry even though America’s very foundation, and thus every business and household, is dependent on oil and gas to survive? Could an electrical grid blackout occur in large areas of the U.S., the way it recently did in India,[13] due to the expected closures of many of our coal-powered electrical facilities? It’s a very real possibility, thanks in large part to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) hostility towards the coal industry.[14]

Government Red Tape

Are business owners thanking this administration for the nightmare of red tape (i.e. regulations) they must wade through, costing them valuable time and money that forces them to increase prices to consumers? There has been a 52% increase in regulations under this President and more regulations are on the books than ever before in the history of our nation.[15]

Are you aware that the Obama Administration wrote over 80,000 pages of new regulatory law last year? The Federal Register currently has hundreds of thousands of regulations![16] [17] Can you imagine a teacher inflicting an outrageous number of rules like this onto our children and expecting them to be able to know and accurately follow them, much less to thrive? How many businesses have been “closed” before they ever open due to this type of oppression?

An April 2012 U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll of small-business executives with 500 or fewer employees found that concern over government business regulations top the list of impediments for hiring and expanding their businesses. The July 2012 survey added the Obamacare tax and penalties to that list of obstacles.[18] Since small business is the backbone of our economy, this survey is alarming.

So there you have it. Whether you are a female business owner or a woman desperately looking for a job, you are the one being oppressed under this administration. But, hey, at least as the economy continues to decline, jobs become scarcer, the business revenues shrink (thus tax revenues), and the cost of everything continues to rise, women and men will be equally oppressed, if that is any consolation to us.

It’s not a consolation for me and I hope it’s not for you. We can change things though, through our hard work and perseverance. We can get informed about the economy and understand why the things the Obama Administration has been doing have been dangerous. Like spending trillions more than you take in does not make for a balanced budget and stable economy (every mom running a household knows this one). We can also get involved at the local level in our communities by connecting with other grassroots conservatives, by joining our school boards, and by supporting political leaders who support true capitalism.  Don’t wait for someone else to challenge the progressive policies that  are driving our country over the fiscal cliff.

The Obamacare Individual Mandate, is it a tax or isn’t it? President Obama emphatically denied, prior to Obamacare’s passage into law, that it’s a tax. He even got a bit testy during a TV interview when a dictionary definition of “taxes” was read to him which made his mandate sure sound like a tax.[1] However, when the constitutionality of this health care law was argued before the Supreme Court, Obama’s own Solicitor General, Donald Verrilli, said it could be looked at as a tax (especially if it helped him win in court, I suppose).[2]

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that Obamacare is a tax, the Democrats who supported The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), are now calling it a penalty – for not obeying the law.[3]

So where does this leave us in the midst of all of this semantic bickering? Playing a very “taxing” game of Hide and Seek (politicians hide the taxes and then hope we won’t find them).

Our federal government, with the help of a Supreme Court that seems to have forgotten about our Constitution, just inflicted another law full of “hidden” taxes and is now hoping you and I won’t notice – especially during this election year.

Embedded in Obamacare are at least 20 new taxes, most of them set to hit American families and small businesses, the very backbone of our country.[4] [5] To make matters worse Obamacare is being implemented during one of the worst economic times since the Great Depression.

Surtaxes on investment income, increases in Medicare payroll taxes, excise taxes on medical devices (think braces, wheel chairs, etc.) and caps on Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) contributions[6] are just a few areas targeted to bring in over $500 billion needed to help pay for this program. Some estimates say Obamacare could bring in as much as $1 trillion in taxes.[7]

Considering the number of taxes we already are forced to pay, both hidden and seen, Obamacare is one that is likely to financially break us as a nation. We are already close to being $16 trillion in debt and it’s recently been discovered there is a $17 trillion spending gap in Obamacare.[8]

Have you ever taken the time to research or make a list of all of the taxes paid in America? Many taxes such as income, sales and property are imposed on the majority of us and are easily seen on our paystubs, receipts or property tax bills. They may be plain to see but they are painful to pay, as their sums are substantial. (I often dream about what I could use that money for if the government didn’t confiscate it).

But what about the “hidden” taxes, can you find them? I did an online search and was shocked to find a list of over 200 taxes paid by Americans![9] Okay in all fairness some were labeled as fees, but lets face it, it’s just that semantics game again. Either way it’s our money, and the government (federal, state and local) is forcefully taking it. This list does not even include the extremely concealed taxes that come in the form of higher priced goods and services. After all, every business is taxed as well and they ultimately pass those taxes onto the consumer in the form of higher prices.

After researching this list of taxes, everything from taxing rainwater runoff to marriage license taxes to death taxes, I’m wondering what’s next? Will they tax us for the air we breathe and for being alive? Oh wait, they just did! Obamacare! If you are a living, breathing human, you must now get health insurance or pay a tax… or is it a penalty? Either way, the Supreme Court ruling just opened the door to allow the Federal Government to force you to buy anything and if you don’t obey, you’ll pay.

Regardless of the label, enough of our hard earned money has gone into politician’s coffers. Too much of our money has been spent irresponsibly and used to buy votes. Milton Friedman, a brilliant economist, once said,

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”[10]

I couldn’t agree more as we only have to look at the gaping, unfunded hole of Social Security to know just what will happen to all of the tax money collected for Obamacare.[11] There may have been good intentions when Social Security was implemented but the reality is it became a slush fund for Washington Inc. and there is no reason to think things will be run any differently with our healthcare money.

Are you tired of this “taxing” game? I know I am, as we are losing at every turn. So let’s change the rules of the game. The only answer is to get government out of our lives and wallets as much as possible, and allow real free market solutions to be implemented for issues such as healthcare. Find out how by reading the book, The Golden Rules of Economics: The Real Way Out of America’s Economic Crisis and then by voting for candidates who will follow through and enact these real “game winning” solutions.

December 14, 2010 Brian Terry, a U.S. Border Control Agent, was brutally murdered during a fierce gun battle while protecting Arizona’s borders. His spine was severed by the bullet of an AK-47. The grief of Terry’s parents over losing their son in such a brutal way has been compounded by the news that our Federal Government, through a program called Fast and Furious, intentionally put at least two of the weapons found at the crime scene into the hands of his murderers.[1]

You may not have heard much about how this federal operation started until recently, as for some reason most of the major news media chose to ignore this story for the last year – even though its had quite a few twists and turns. Everything from whistleblowers to the U.S. Attorney General’s conflicting statements and now the President’s use of executive privilege to keep documents from the investigating committee; all make for a fascinating read. But even more importantly, it leads to the question, what IS the truth surrounding Terry’s death and this now infamous gun-walking scheme and WHY has the Department of Justice been dragging its feet in allowing the truth to be known?

Fast and Furious was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency (ATF) from September 2009 to January 2011; ATF is under the direction of Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ). This sting operation was supposed to lead law enforcement to the kingpins of the Mexican drug cartels by allowing U.S. weapons to be sold to suspected criminals and then allow those firearms to cross the border into Mexico. The gun dealers, though reluctant to make the sales at first, eventually agreed and promptly reported each transaction as instructed to the ATF.[2]

Almost immediately some of these weapons were showing up at violent crime scenes in Mexico. Extremely concerned, ATF Special Agent John Dodson warned his supervisors that Operation Fast and Furious could someday take the life of one of their own officers. His concerns became reality when Brian Terry was murdered. This led Dodson to repeatedly contact the ATF Office of Professional Responsibility but to no avail. He eventually “blew the whistle” and got help from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.[3]

An investigation by Congress was initiated to uncover the truth regarding Terry’s death and this gun-walking operation. The DOJ initially denied the existence of Operation Fast and Furious in a February 14, 2011 letter to Sen. Grassley and Rep. Darrel Issa, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform. When later evidence showed that the DOJ did indeed know about the operation they acknowledged the letter was inaccurate.[4]

On October 12, 2011 the investigating committee issued a subpoena for documents that would provide the Terry family with answers. The DOJ has identified 140,000 pages of documents and communications related to this operation, yet the DOJ has only turned over 7600 pages. (And they originally said the operation didn’t exist. Seriously, how is that possible with this much paper work?)[5]

Issa has repeatedly met with Holder, trying to get at the truth and put this case to rest. It is against the law to sell guns to criminals and apparently hundreds of them were sold anyways and NOT even tracked, meaning that assault-type weapons will be on the streets of Mexico and probably the U.S. for years to come. How many more of these “lost” weapons will we find tied to crime scenes in our Southwestern states?

Since Holder has refused for months to turn over the subpoenaed documents, the House of Representatives had no choice but to take up a vote to hold him in contempt. However, one last meeting was scheduled on June 19, 2012 in an effort to avoid this vote. Here is what Holder asked for during this meeting in return for handing over a small subset of documents: (1) permanently cancel the contempt vote; (2) agree the Department was in full compliance with the Committee’s subpoenas, and; (3) that Issa accept the subset of documents sight unseen.[6] Whoa! The Attorney General wants to cut a deal! Not so fast! Let’s read the mission statement from the Department of Justice’s own website:

“To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.”[7]

Was the law enforced, the public safe, and crime controlled in Operation Fast and Furious? It doesn’t appear to have been but how do we know for sure without all of the information being made available to Congress.

Needless to say Issa refused to accept Holder’s conditions from June 19. Then minutes before the contempt vote on June 20, 2012, President Obama asserted executive privilege, at Holder’s request, essentially preventing Congress from getting the requested information. One week later, Holder made history by being the first sitting Cabinet member ever held in contempt. The vote was 255-67 with 17 Democrats joining the Republican majority.[8]

The use of executive privilege by Obama was particularly stunning due to the fact that on numerous occasions the President insisted that he was not informed of Fast and Furious and neither were any White House personnel.[9] Since one of the purposes of executive privilege is to protect the relationship between the President and his closest advisors when discussing sensitive issues, how can the President invoke this privilege regarding Fast and Furious when by his own admission he didn’t know about the operation?[10] What are these two men trying to hide in these documents? Are these two very powerful public servants upholding the laws of our country, as they swore to do, or are they trying to cover up unlawful behavior?

As Congress has doggedly pursued answers in this case, they have been accused of wasting taxpayer money on something that is political. Yet what should they do; ignore contradictory statements and hard evidence that seems to support a cover up by our own Attorney General? I would hope not. Where was the concern for the taxpayer’s money when the DOJ spent 5 years prosecuting Roger Clemens for possible use of performance-enhancing drugs during his baseball career?[11] [12] Which do you think the American public worries more about at night – untracked criminals armed with automatic weapons roaming our borders and communities (courtesy of the Federal Government), or a sports figure’s steroid use?

The wife of the Fast and Furious whistle blower recently said in regards to the grueling consequences they’ve had to endure:

“John had to come forward,” Keri Dodson said. “The way we were both brought up, truth is the ultimate. Truth may hurt. It may sting. It may be hard to deal with. To lie or not tell truth because you are worried about money is just not something that we do.”[13]

Just days ago, on June 25, 2012, Darrel Issa wrote a letter to President Obama. Here is one very interesting comment from Issa:

“Accordingly, your privilege assertion means one of two things. Either you or your most senior advisors were involved in managing Operation Fast & Furious and the fallout from it, including the false February 4, 2011 letter provided by the Attorney General to the Committee, or, you are asserting a Presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation. To date, the White House has steadfastly maintained that it has not had any role in advising the Department with respect to the congressional investigation.”[14]

In reading this I can only come to one of two conclusions: The President is either a liar or covering for a liar. He either knew about Fast and Furious but denied it or he’s trying to cover up for someone else’s unlawful actions by using executive privilege when it does not legally apply to this investigation. Neither one is acceptable to me. Now you must choose, when you vote this November 2012, if they are acceptable to you. Do you want an administration and candidates who see themselves as above the law or do you want people who are TRUE law-abiding public servants? Choose carefully – the consequences of this election are immense.

Seeing how easy it is to get a ballot in New Hampshire, (even for voters who are no longer among the living), one has to wonder if this frightening scenario is being repeated in the 20 states that currently do not have voter ID requirements.[2] In addition, why would Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ) continue to bring suit against many states that try to pass voter ID laws or that try to clean up and purge their voter rolls for accuracy – especially when Holder himself was the “victim” of voter fraud?

Could it be that one of the most critical presidential elections in the course of our nation’s history is at stake? Could “dead men” voting steal this November 2012 election?

That is what many Americans and seasoned investigative journalists believed happened in the 1960 presidential election.

John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Richard Nixon competed fiercely against one another in an effort to become the 35th President of the United States. It was a nail biter of a night for both camps as the votes were counted. At times Kennedy led only to have Nixon pull ahead, leaving major TV networks scrambling and backtracking as they attempted to call one state after another, only to be wrong. In fact after the grueling last days of campaigning, with next to no sleep, Nixon finally went to bed at 4 AM still not knowing if he had won or lost.[3]

We all know that JFK was declared the winner but do we really know who won? Historical newspaper accounts at that time covered the Republicans’ accusations of voter fraud in several key states such as Illinois and Texas. Red flags such as major reporting delays of precincts in Chicago that suddenly took the lead away from Nixon were especially suspect.[4]

Earl Mazo, a Washington-based national political correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune during this turbulent time, began looking into allegations of voter fraud in Chicago. After obtaining voter lists in suspicious precincts to verify addresses he found a “cemetery where the names on the tombstones were registered and voted.”[5] Apparently, truth is stranger than fiction.

The Republicans last hope was to take their case to the Attorney General, but once John F. Kennedy appointed his own brother to that position, well…good luck with that. The fight was over.

It’s doubtful we’ll ever know the true results from this election, but surely our nation learned SOMETHING to prevent us from going through this turmoil again. Apparently not, since the largest voter fraud investigation in U.S. history occurred just over 20 years later in Illinois. The sheer magnitude of corruption involved in that extremely close 1982 governor’s race should have been a wake up call to every state in the nation, at least to those who wanted an honest election.

The U.S. Attorney in Chicago during that investigation, Daniel Webb, estimated that 100,000 fraudulent votes were cast in Chicago alone!  In addition, 63 of the 65 individuals who were indicted for federal election crimes were convicted! And yes, the dead did indeed vote in that election as well.[6] When will this nightmare end? The case of the Chicago tombstone voters is not the first incident – and certainly won’t be the last, unless we can get stricter voter ID laws in place.

As long as there are elections, especially elections with so much at stake, there will be cheaters. We must do all that we can to stop the corruption of our democratic process and the stealing of our votes. A step in the right direction would be to remove non-eligible voter names from the states’ voter lists (including dead people of course).

Florida, an important swing state in the upcoming election, has been trying to do just that since last September by asking for access to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) federal immigration database. This database would help the state more accurately identify illegal voters. So far the DHS has not cooperated, forcing Florida to file suit. In return, Obama’s Department of Justice filed suit against Florida to stop the purging of their voter rolls.[7]

Texas, a state with 38 important electoral votes,[8] was recently stopped by the DOJ from implementing a photo ID law to help ensure the integrity of their elections. Prior to that it was South Carolina that Attorney General Eric Holder prevented from instituting a voter ID law.[9]

Do we really want to go through another presidential election where the winner is possibly not the real winner, or the final results are contested in dragged-out recounts and court hearings (remember the Gore-Bush election and the Florida recount)? If states are being sued by our own Federal Government for trying to ensure accurate and fair elections, then one has to wonder what the results – not to mention the cost – of these endless lawsuits will be!

America is a nation that, by intention, is to be governed by its citizens and not by a “Ruling Class” that knows how to manipulate the system and steal our votes. One sure way to end voter fraud is to implement voter photo ID laws in every state.

National elections affect us all and the November 2012 election will literally change the course of our country, so this is serious! Having a stricter voter ID law will improve public confidence in elections, knowing there is no voter fraud occurring. This would ultimately improve the confidence in our government knowing citizens truly elected the officials in office.

Senators and Congressmen vote on laws that effect every area of our lives, with the biggest issues today being the economy and our soaring national debt. How do you feel about the power of your legitimate vote against the fiscal insanity possibly being wiped out by a “dead man” or another illegal voter?

Many people to this day believe that the 1960 election was stolen from Nixon. If Nixon were truly the winner, I would change their words slightly to say that the election was stolen from the people.

Let’s get informed and involved in this critical issue of voter fraud to make sure that no one from any party or special interest group steals our elections again. We can’t let cheaters rule or we’re all dead men.

We will soon find out as the Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly known as Obamacare. The consequences to all of us if the Supreme Court does not strike down this law are terrifying.

In a country that was founded on the premise that individuals were free and wanted minimal government intrusion, this overreach of power and control would leave our Founding Fathers horrified. After all, why should so many Americans have suffered and died for freedoms that we are seeing stripped from us by those in government?

Not only would this law, if upheld, rob us of basic freedoms (to buy or not to buy), but we would literally be robbed-from our pocket books. Our nation’s debt, thus OUR debt, is close to $16 trillion and this is prior to Obamacare being fully implemented.

Even though a recent CBS/New York Times poll shows that 68% of Americans want all or part of Obamacare repealed,[2] and the Supreme Court may be striking it down, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) still went ahead and awarded a $20 million contract to the global advertising agency Porter Novelli to promote it.[3] We need to ask why would Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary, spend our money so frivolously?

President Obama assured us, as he promoted the PPACA, that it would “only” cost $900 billion over 10 years and it would not add to our debt. However, Senator Session’s staff discovered after studying this massive bill that there is a $17 trillion funding gap with Obamacare! In other words, there is no money source to pay for it.[4]

The financial burden of this bill to businesses and ultimately to us, as regulatory costs are always passed onto the consumer in the form of higher prices, can also be found in the complexity of the law itself. People need to clearly understand laws in order to follow them, yet 6 pages of the 907 page law has produced 429 pages of regulations.[5] At this rate we will have almost 65,000 new regulations just for Obamacare alone. And you thought our tax code was confusing!

Young people, who typically have low healthcare premium rates, have started to feel the pain as well. Many universities and colleges have already announced that they will no longer provide health insurance for their students and if they do the premium costs will skyrocket by as much as 1,112%![6] [7]

Medical device manufacturers are downsizing and moving factories overseas due to the excise tax that Obamacare imposes.[8] This is especially disturbing in light of the dismal jobs report just released from The Labor Department.[9]

I shudder to think of the harmful domino effect to our freedoms and our economy if this law isn’t struck down. The power to change the course of our country partially lies in the hands of these 9 Supreme Court justices. The rest of the power lies in ours when we go to the voting booth. Presidents appoint new justices whenever a current one retires (a very near possibility considering 4 of the current Supreme Court justices are in their mid-late 70’s), and WE choose the president.

So whom will you choose this November: those who will fight to ensure our freedom to prosper and live the way our Constitution declared, or those who will continue to take us over the economic cliff with spending programs we can’t afford?

While we anxiously wait to see what our highest court chose in this monumental hearing, hold onto your hats-or should I say wallets-America, and may freedom truly ring.

“A problem ignored is a disaster invited.” This was a quote I saw on a bulletin board in a building where I once worked. Ironically, it was there during a time when management was refusing to address an escalating problem looming under their noses. The facts and issues had been repeatedly presented to them by others and witnessed by those in charge; but management still refused to act. The detrimental effects that eventually occurred were inexcusable as management had a responsibility to confront the issues at hand. It was their job.

A similar situation is playing out on the national stage today with our political “money managers” and our nearly $16 trillion debt. The economic problems our nation is facing have been brewing for years. The facts have been under politicians’ noses and repeatedly presented to them. Surely they have seen our debt spinning out of control on the website usdebtclock.org!

For over 3 years, Senator Harry Reid has refused to allow a budget to come to the Senate floor, even though it’s part of the Senate’s job to present and vote on a budget every year.[1] The Washington Post, in a February 2011 article, said this about the Senate’s lack of leadership and action:

This latest scuffle is indicative of the Democrats’ entire approach to the debt and our fiscal train wreck — kick the can down the road, show no leadership, put the government on automatic pilot and hope the voters aren’t angered by their refusal to do their job. What then is the argument for Democrats to retain the majority in the Senate? (We haven’t done our job in three years, so keep us in charge!)[2]

Even submitting a budget (like so many families have had to enforce) that would freeze government spending at 2008 levels would have been movement in the right direction for the Senate. This would have shown taxpayers they are serious about tackling our fiscal dilemma.

Mary Meeker,[3] a partner at one of the “largest and most established” venture capital firms in the world, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers,[4] completed a financial analysis of America’s balance sheets (based on 2010 revenues and expenses) and the summary is not pretty. Here are a few of the “highlights”: [5]

* In fiscal year 2010, America had revenues of $2.2 trillion and expenses of $3.5 trillion

* Over half the spending was on entitlement programs (e.g. Social Security, Medicare, unemployment)

* From 1790-1930 Federal Government spending was 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 2010 it had soared to 24%

* Entitlement spending increased 11 fold over the last 45 years, while real GDP grew only 3 times larger

* By the year 2025 all government revenue will be consumed by entitlement spending and interest on our debt

Mary Meeker’s observation: “If a company were spilling ink like this, shareholders would freak.” [6] Are you freaking out yet? I am. I don’t need to be a financial expert to know that continuously spending more money than you take in, year after year, puts one in a very deep financial hole. To take on even more expenses, like Obamacare, makes the crater deeper; especially now that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says it will cost us a whopping $1.7 trillion over 10 years, twice the original estimate.[7]

The bottom line is entitlement “programs are wildly more expensive than any other budget items, and they’re also growing like weeds.”[8] If all our federal revenue will be consumed by entitlements and interest on our debt by 2025, then where is the money to protect us from hostile nations? National Defense, after all, is one of the most important jobs of the Federal Government, according to our Constitution.

We can’t just keep borrowing ever-increasing amounts of money, because eventually America will be seen as a country that can’t pay its bills (remember the downgrading of our credit rating in 2011).[9] This is no different than a person applying for many credit cards and “maxing” them all out to the limit. There comes a point when the banks look at the individual’s credit report and discern that extending more credit is too big of a risk.

Our political “leaders” really have no excuse for ignoring our financial crisis. They could easily look at the mess in Europe to see America’s fate if things don’t change fast! Greece is a crystal clear warning as to what happens when a nation chooses to ignore economic problems – disaster.

America is at a fiscal tipping point. Who do you see with a REALISTIC plan to get America back on the road to economic responsibility and prosperity? Is it President Obama whose 2013 budget was unanimously voted down by the House (414-0)?[10] Apparently his own party members don’t even have confidence in his plan; or is it they are afraid to be on record as supporting even more debt?

To fix a problem we must clearly diagnose it. We must search for and support (e.g. donations, time) those who are willing to see the hard facts and who will implement the solutions, even if they are painful, in the short term. Any politician who says the Federal Government should take on more entitlement spending is not looking at the facts on the balance sheet. They are clearly ignoring the real problem. We know what follows those who ignore economic problems – disaster.

“We’re number one! We’re number one!” When America is competing against other countries at international events, isn’t that chant music to your ears? Guess what? On April 1, 2012 the U.S. moved into first place, but this is one time when coming in last would actually be the more desirable spot. Welcome to the competition of International Business and Economic Recovery.

America now has the “honor” of having the highest corporate tax rate in the world! Up until now Japan held that title with a rate of 39.5% with the U.S. at a close second with 39.2%.[1] Even though we may think of this tax rate as someone else’s problem, it is in fact our problem.

Businesses are run and owned by people, and people have predictable responses to circumstances and influences. When looking for employment, we try to find the job that will give us the largest paychecks. When we fill out our tax returns we do our best to find every deduction and tax credit. We simply want to get and keep as much of our hard earned money as possible.

Business owners are no different, and that’s where the high corporate tax rate affects us all. Perhaps an existing company in your community wants to build a factory, which would be great news in this horrendous economy. To have new jobs available for the many family and friends we know who have been out of work would be cause for celebration.

It makes sense, however, that the business owners would choose to build the factory in a place that allows them to keep more of their profits. This is actually beneficial to more than just the owner, as the money not taken in taxes can be used to reinvest into the business and thus the local economy (e.g. more workers, better equipment, research, new products). In fact when corporate taxes are lower, employee wages are generally higher, since more investment in the company tends to make workers more productive and thus more valuable.[2] That’s good for everyone.

Unfortunately our high tax rate hasn’t made it easy for businesses to reinvest or even to stay in the local communities. Not only do companies have the opportunity to look for the most favorable tax rates within our 50 states (state tax rates can vary greatly),[3] but they can also look at tax rates in different countries as well. The number one way to see increased growth in the economy, according to the bipartisan joint committee on taxation, is to lower the corporate tax rate.[4]

While most developed countries have lowered their corporate tax rates in the last 20 years, what has the U.S. done? Nothing. Germany has dropped its rate since 1900 from over 54% to 30%, and the average of all industrialized countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is 25 percent.[5] This puts America at a distinct disadvantage.

Bruce Josten, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official had this to say:

“As countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom have moved to reform their tax systems and lower rates to encourage economic growth, America’s inaction puts American worldwide companies at a competitive disadvantage and threatens our economic recovery.“[6]

It truly is a global competition between countries with each one desperate to improve its own economy. New businesses and job growth are the prizes. Who will be the winner? That answer depends on many things, but it starts with us.

If we want to see economic recovery and unemployed citizens finding jobs, we need to clearly understand what is causing our depressed economy. In addition to the high corporate tax rate, there are many other economic policies severely hindering businesses (e.g. burdensome regulations and excessive government spending). Get informed, find candidates who will implement solutions, work to get them in office, and then hold them accountable. Unless we do so, we are guaranteed to be the losers in a competition we can’t afford to lose.

Don’t leave home without it. You’ll need it for almost every area of your life. If you want to drive a car, board an airplane, cash a check, open a bank account, see a doctor, rent an apartment, or get a job, you’d better have it as proof of your identity. Yet for one of the most important things in your life, something our American soldiers have died to protect, it’s not required. A photo ID is not needed to vote in any of our Minnesota elections, and the ease with which an imposter can steal your vote is shocking.

Hopefully this will change on November 6, 2012 when a Yes or No question will be placed on the ballots.  We will be asked if Minnesota should require photo identification for voting, as 30 other states do now.  Voter IDs would be provided free of charge. The question will instruct each voter to either mark the “Yes” box (we should require photo ID) or the “No” box (no proof required, we trust you). Voters choosing not to answer might be in for a surprise, as they will in essence be casting a “No” vote. A blank answer defaults to “No.”

Why a Yes or No question on a ballot is allowed to have a default is beyond me, as it rigs the outcome in favor of one side. This makes it extremely important for us to know the facts about this issue and why it affects each and every one of us.

Most Minnesotans remember the 2008 Senate election between Norm Coleman and Al Franken because it was too close to call without a hand count. We were in the national spotlight for months, as the winner of that race would swing the balance of power in the U.S. Senate to one party or the other – parties with vastly different visions for our country. Franken won by a mere 312 votes out of almost 3 million votes cast.[1]

This incredibly small margin of victory highlights the importance of having a system in place with unquestionable integrity to ensure that the winner of any contest is indeed the real winner. None of us wants our vote cancelled out by the vote of an ineligible person. Many questions on a ballot are specific to an area and to the citizens lawfully living there. Would you want someone living in a neighboring city or state to be able to walk into your precinct and have influence over the outcome of your local election results (e.g. school referendum or city parks issues)?

When national issues are at stake, it is not unusual for special interest groups to bring in busloads of activists to various parts of the country to try to influence election results. Currently Minnesota has no protection in place to prevent such people from voting, as long as they can find a local voter to “vouch” that they live here.

Contrary to what some opponents say, passing this new law would NOT end same day registration for voting, rather it would end this very loose system of vouching. One person can “vouch” for up to 15 people, and they don’t even vouch for their true identity, only that they live in that precinct. What is to stop corrupt individuals from abusing this system?[2]

Minnesota’s own Constitution requires, in Article VII, Section I, that ineligible persons “shall not be entitled or permitted to vote at any election in this state.”[3] This being the case, passing the voter ID amendment in November would be a way to actually enforce a law already in our state’s Constitution. In fact, according to a recent data analysis from MN Voters Alliance, thousands of same-day registered voters from the 2008 election still can’t be confirmed as eligible voters![4]

Considering that 3 ½ years after such an important election there is still doubt as to whether the results can be trusted, why would anyone who truly wants a fair election be opposed to voter ID?  Perhaps they know they can’t win without cheating?

Those opposing this common sense ID requirement often argue that it will hurt the poor, especially African-Americans, as they might not have government issued ID’s and would be prevented from voting. Yet a recent study done by American University found that of the 2000 registered voters surveyed, only 1.2% couldn’t produce a valid photo ID. The vast majority of them, however, did have citizen documentation, meaning obtaining an ID would be easy.[5]

Voter ID laws often have bipartisan support as they did in Rhode Island. In addition, former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young (African-American) has spoken out in favor of photo ID, as has former President Jimmy Carter; both are Democrats. Requiring voter ID brings integrity to a system seen by many as corrupt, and can actually increase the participation rate of those truly eligible to vote.[6]

Another argument from the opposition is that voter fraud is rare, and that spending the time and money to implement a new system is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Tell that to Eric Holder (U.S. Attorney General) who has sued states that try to implement voter ID laws – and just lost in Arizona – while a hidden camera recently captured how easy it would’ve been for an imposter to vote in a primary pretending to be…Eric Holder![7]

Even former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (a liberal) wrote in a 6-3 majority opinion upholding an Indiana voter ID law:

“That flagrant examples of [voter] fraud…have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by respected historians and journalists…demonstrate[s] that not only is the risk of voter fraud real but that it could affect the outcome of a close election.”[8]

Ensuring that our election results are accurate should be reason enough to implement this proposed amendment, but there are time and money benefits as well. With the electronic swipe of the ID, thousands of pounds of paper rosters would no longer be needed; no lining up by alphabet at the polling place; months of post election data entry would be eliminated. This would bring significant cost savings for every county.[9]

Every Minnesota citizen has the power, with the “stroke of their voter’s pen,” to make the voter ID law a reality by voting “Yes” on November 6^th.  Poll after poll has shown the vast majority of Americans – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – WANT this amendment.[10] Let’s spread the word about the significant role we play to ensure all future elections are truly the voice of citizens being heard.

“The British are coming! The British are coming!” This is the phrase attributed to Paul Revere during his midnight ride at the start of the American Revolutionary War; but according to eye witness accounts in historical documents, he actually said, “The Regulars are coming out.”[1] The “Regulars” was a term referring to an official army of a country, and in this case, it referred to Great Britain’s army.[2]

The Revolutionary War in essence was an economic war. The colonists had had enough of Great Britain and King George’s trade and tax policies. They were making it nearly impossible for most American entrepreneurs to profitably run a business and support their families. The last straw was the Stamp Act of 1765 and soon the Boston Tea Party and the war followed.[3]

Paul Revere’s warning was uttered to the American colonists well over 200 years ago. In a sense, though, it could be pronounced again today, not in regards to Great Britain’s regular army, but in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s army of regulations. However, his cry today would probably be… “The Regulators are coming! The Regulators are coming!”

Today the regulations of the EPA are having the same destructive economic effects as King George and his taxation laws. According to a February 2012 study just released by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, never in the EPA’s 40-year history have so many environmental rules been put into effect simultaneously that have converging effective dates and massive compliance costs. These costs are estimated to be in the billions and some say even 1 trillion dollars![4]

Some of the EPA rules currently adopted or in various stages of proposal are:[5]

* Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)

* Electric Utility Maximum Available Control Technology Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (Utility MACT)

* Industrial Boiler MACT

* Portland Cement Kiln MACT

* Cooling Water Intake Structure Rule (CWIS)

* Coal Combustion Residuals Rule (CCR)

* Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)

* Particulate Matter (PM) NAAQS

* Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Regulation of Stationary Sources

* GHG Regulation of Mobile Sources

Suffice it to say if you string a few letters from the alphabet together you’ve more than likely come up with an EPA regulation!

Not only are these rules costly to enact but taken altogether they would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process (a sobering thought to many in this already depressed economy).[6] An even more astounding aspect to all of this is the EPA, by their own admission, doesn’t even figure job losses into their economic analysis, a point that one Congressman incredulously observed and repeatedly pointed out to the EPA representative being questioned on Capital Hill![7] How can this be? An economic analysis on the consequences of EPA regulations without looking at the crucial impact on jobs! Why even bother.

Researching even further into EPA’s protocol for analysis and studies, it turns out the very method of their scientific procedures has been questioned by the U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) scientists.[8] The EPA has a program called IRIS (at least it’s not another regulation), which stands for Integrated Risk Information System. It is described on the EPA website as follows:

EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is a human health assessment program that evaluates information on health effects that may result from exposure to environmental contaminants. Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest quality science-based human health assessments to support the Agency’s regulatory activities.[9]

Notice the last sentence which states they provide “the highest quality science-based…” Yet on July 14, 2011 the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight held a hearing with the express purpose of evaluating the EPA’s IRIS program. In fact the GOA had this to say:

“The IRIS database was at serious risk of becoming obsolete because EPA had not been able to routinely complete timely, credible assessments. After subsequent reports, in January 2009 [GAO] added EPA‘s processes for assessing and controlling toxic chemicals to [its] list of areas at high risk for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement or in need of broad-based transformation.”[10]

This July 2011 hearing was prompted in part by a report from the NAS, which had raised concerns in prior years over EPA’s IRIS process. According to the charter on the NAS website, they are asked to provide scientific advice to the Government whenever called upon and they receive no compensation for their services.[11]

Here is what Dr. Thomas Burke, associate dean of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and recent chair of an NAS panel on ways to improve EPA risk assessment had to say:

“The sleeping giant is that EPA science is on the rocks . . . if you fail, you become irrelevant, and that is kind of a crisis.” He also referred to EPA‘s risk assessment process as the agency‘s “Achilles heel.”[12]

So here we have EPA bureaucrats (meaning we have no direct way to vote them out of office) enacting “through the roof” costly regulations for businesses; putting people out of work; AND all of this is based on flawed economic studies and questionable scientific procedures!

This must stop! We cannot in good conscience allow our citizens and our country to economically suffer under this type of bureaucratic agency. The EPA is not, as some would like to believe, the 4^th branch of the Federal Government. It is time for Congress to take back control from this agency, ending its over-reaching rules and regulations. And it is time for us to research and then vote in 2012 for candidates who understand and will enforce the Constitutional roles and responsibilities of the true branches of our government.

Now is the time for our “midnight ride” but be warned: the Regulators aren’t coming out. They are already here and they must be stopped!

What do $10 million in “Sesame Street” remakes for Pakistan, $765,828 to subsidize “pancakes for yuppies” in Washington D.C., and $550,000 for a documentary about how rock music contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, all have in common? You paid for them.[1]

In a December 2011 oversight report, U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Oklahoma) listed these and almost 100 other jaw-dropping expenditures by our Federal Government. Did you know that last year almost $18 million was given to China in foreign aid, even though we have to borrow money from them to pay our bills?[2] Apparently, we borrow money from China to give it back to them in aid!

All of this is rather shocking in light of the fact that on December 21, 2011 our national debt, which is over $15 TRILLION, exceeded our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).[3] The GDP represents the total dollar value of all goods and services produced over a specific time period.[4] In other words, the dollar amount that taxpayers owe on our Federal Government’s “credit card bill” exceeds the value of everything we produce in America. This is terrifyingly high!

To put this in perspective on a personal level, let’s say the take home pay from your job is $5000 per month.  Of course you need to use a good portion of this money for your everyday expenses to survive (e.g. mortgage, utilities, clothing, food, etc.).  What would you do if you opened your credit card bill and saw that you owed $5005? How do you pay this bill and pay for your living expenses? It’s impossible to make the math work. The money just isn’t there.

Since reading Senator Coburn’s report I’ve been asking myself, “Did I get my money’s worth from all of this Washington spending? Did I enjoy it?” I don’t think so. In fact, it’s reminding me of stories we’ve all read in the news regarding people who were drunk and went shopping online without remembering it!  Unexpectedly, packages started showing up at their door. This was rather nice at first, until the bill came in the mail. The only difference with what’s happening in Washington is that we aren’t the ones doing the drunken spending – Washington politicians are, and they’re using our money!

The bills have come due and we have no way to pay them off. Each day the credit card bill grows larger and larger due to the interest owed plus the new spending. Every family knows that in tough economic times they have to stop unnecessary spending in order to survive.

Ronald Reagan once said about our government,

“We could say they spend like drunken sailors, but that would be unfair to drunken sailors, because the sailors are spending their own money.”[5]

Washington’s drunken spending of our money must end, and we can achieve this in the 2012 elections. There are candidates who know how to spend our money on necessities only; who know how to balance a budget; who know that continuing down the current economic path will lead to our nation’s destruction –(remember Greece).

We have to find those candidates who have proven they are serious about getting our nation’s budget and spending under control, and then get those candidates elected to office. It’s the only remedy to this endless drunken spending spree.

Recent headlines scream with grim news: over $15 trillion in national debt and growing, and little to no economic growth. The really depressing topic right now is gas prices rising to near record levels with no end in sight. Oil is connected to virtually every aspect of our lives (e.g. food, transportation, clothing, medicine) and the family budget really feels the pain as the cost of just about everything rises. What is our President doing to help solve this problem? Gambling with our money.

How else could you describe the actions of this administration as company after company in the green energy industry falters or fails after BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars were poured into them?

The Department of Energy (DOE) has given federal loans and grants to alternative energy companies as part of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[1] CBS recently reported on the financial problems of 12 of these energy companies. At least five of them have filed for bankruptcy: Beacon Power, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt, AES’ subsidiary Eastern Energy, and Solyndra.[2]

All of the other companies mentioned in this CBS article, such as Nevada Geothermal, First Solar, and SunPower are facing potential financial problems as well. Even more disturbing, according to a University of Maryland economist Peter Morici, the Department of Energy’s “investment” of our money, in the now bankrupt Beacon Power company, was the equivalent of a below investment grade junk bond. Meaning, Beacon Power had a 70% risk of failing in the long term and the Department of Energy knew it. They knew it had a Standard and Poor rating of CCC+ and they still gave Beacon Power the loan![3]

Colorado based Abound Solar, another beneficiary of $400 million of our money, recently laid off 70% of its workforce, that’s almost 300 people. The company also received these loans in spite of major red flags from Fitch Ratings.[4]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has criticized the DOE’s procedure for handing out these loans and grants. According to Peter Schweizer’s book Throw Them All Out, of the first 18 approved loans that the GAO examined in March 2011, none had been properly documented. They lacked clear review processes, analysis and performance assessments.[5]

In fact the Department of Energy’s own inspector general, Gregory Freidman, severely reprimanded the alternative-energy loan and grant programs for their lack of transparency and accountability; even testifying that contracts were steered to “friends and family.”[6]

Ratings companies and government personnel are not the only ones to raise concerns. Spanish economist, Gabriel Calzada, has been sounding the warning bell hoping to prevent America from following in the folly of Spain’s “green” footprints. His conclusions based on his study of public aid for renewable energy sources, which his own government recently validated but our government is choosing to ignore, are extremely disturbing.[7]

For every green job “created” by the Spanish government, 2.2 jobs were lost; and most of those green jobs were only temporary. To make matters worse Spain’s electricity prices, which had been one of the lowest in Europe, skyrocketed. The taxpayers are now on the hook for billions of dollars in losses on green energy loans.[8] Does this story sound familiar?

Renewable energy sources can have a place in our nations energy supply but experience shows that artificially propping up an industry with taxpayer money ends in failure.  To have politician’s deciding which companies are the winners and the losers is insanity. In fact we’ve often heard quoted this definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

With that in mind what can we discern from this quote by President Obama at a fundraiser in February 2012?

“With or without this Congress, I’ll continue to do whatever I can to develop every source of American energy, so that our future isn’t controlled by events on the other side of the world.”[9]

Does this mean that despite the dismal results and billions in losses thus far in taxpayer-backed loans to the green energy industry, he’s going to continue pouring more of your hard earned money into it? To top it off, he’s apparently going to do it even if Congress, meaning you the people, doesn’t want it. Is this gambling, insanity or worse?

Obama has made it clear that he favors the green energy industry through his comments regarding ending the oil industry’s “subsidies” (which are actually legal tax deductions that all manufacturing industries take); his excessive regulations on the fossil fuel companies; and his refusal to drill for more oil.[10] [11] We can only conclude that we will indeed be following in the economic footsteps of Spain if this president has his way.

We CANNOT let that happen. Our national debt is crippling us. Our energy costs are crippling us. There is abundant oil and gas in the U.S. that can be safely extracted, thanks to innovation over the years.

One only has to look at the flourishing economy in North Dakota, thanks to the oil boom on private lands, to see what our national economy could look like. Low unemployment, good paying jobs, and government surpluses could be our news headlines as well IF we have the right people in office.[12]

We must get informed on this issue; find the candidates who understand our nation’s problems and how to resolve them based on facts and results, not political favors; and then tirelessly work together to get them elected.  The solutions are out there; but they’re not found at the gambling tables!

Check back soon at http://truecapitalism.org/ for the next article on this topic to find out who IS winning at the gambling tables; the rigged tables that is.

There’s a knock at your front door, and when you open it you see a complete stranger standing there.  You inquire as to what he wants, and he promptly tells you that he would like you to loan him $100,000 to buy the house that is up for sale next door to yours.  Once you are able to speak again, (after all you’ve just choked on the cup of coffee that you were drinking), you ask this stranger why on earth he thinks that you should loan him any money at all, much less an amount that large? You don’t even know him!

He goes on to explain that he currently rents an apartment in the neighborhood, but he really believes it would be much nicer if he could own and live in a house rather than rent. After all, that’s what he’s been hearing from the people who’ve been giving election speeches over the years. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any money saved for a down payment because everything he earns is used for his day-to-day living expenses.  That’s the reason he needs the enormous loan from you.

At this point, most of us would respond with a resounding “no” and shut the door. Unless of course there was someone standing behind you with a gun saying, “Lend this man the $100,000 or I will take away your job, money and livelihood,” and you knew he had the power to do it. What would you do now?

While the above situation seems like something out of a crazy, fictional movie, it is sadly based on a true story; a story most of us are living in the midst of right now. While we may not really be one of the characters in the starring roles, we are the ones facing the crushing financial consequences due to the actions of the man with the gun.

The person opening the door in the true story is your local banker. The stranger at the door asking for money is anyone going to the bank applying for a home loan when he doesn’t have the means to pay it back. Who is the person threatening the banker who has opened his door to a customer? That would be the United States Government insisting that even though the customer does not meet the financial standards to borrow money, he should still be given the loan. Congress passed the law. Bill Clinton signed it. The bank must obey it. [1] [2]

And what is the gun? The gun would be threats by the politicians to the bank; threats to revoke their charter and close them down if they didn’t make these risky loans to every applicant regardless of the borrower’s ability to make the monthly payments.  These threats were not made, however, without some mercy on the part of the government.  Understanding the distress that would be caused, they assured the bankers that there were two government-sponsored institutions that would buy these loans. Their names were Freddie and Fannie.

You would be rightly outraged if someone forced you to lend your money to a risky stranger with no means of proving to you they could pay it back. Isn’t it your money and your decision whether or not you’ll keep it or exchange it for something else?

You’ve understood this concept since childhood; it’s called Capitalism – an economic system of barter (trade) in which all trading partners believe they receive equal or greater value in exchange for what they give up. Clearly the banks didn’t think it was a fair trade, but what choice did many of them have when not complying meant going out of business?

To “encourage” bankers to make risky loans when they resisted, politicians promised there would be plenty of taxpayer money to guarantee the repayment of any failed loans.  After all, that is one of the main roles of the taxpayer-funded government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.[3] [4] Once again we find the peoples’ hard earned money being squandered by politicians who make unfunded promises for the purpose of gaining votes and retaining power.

What is the title of this horror movie currently playing in your neighborhood?  It’s called Washington Inc., and if you’d like its run to be over anytime soon, then its time in the 2012 elections to remove the politicians who played in the starring roles.

“Now, since I signed the Affordable Care Act into law 10 months ago, Americans already have more power, greater freedom, stronger control of their health care. This law will lower premiums. It is limiting costs.”[1]

This statement, from President Obama’s speech at the January 2011 Families USA Health Action Conference, was not the only time that he insisted that health insurance costs would go down once “Obamacare” went into effect. Whether he was speaking on the campaign trail or to Congressmen in Washington, the lower health insurance cost promise has been a consistent theme we’ve repeatedly heard.[2]

Apparently somebody forgot to tell President Obama’s chief healthcare reform advocate and architect, Dr. Jonathan Gruber, an economist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), that this was still the case. Dr. Gruber, it would appear, has done a 180 and changed his mind regarding healthcare premium costs. He just recently informed the states of Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin that the premiums will rise for many people and in some cases dramatically so (31 percent!), even after figuring in tax subsidies.[3]

“It is true that even after tax credits some individuals are ‘losers,’” Dr. Gruber conceded, “in that they pay more than before [Obama's] reform.”[4]

This turn around is especially interesting for a number of reasons:

First of all Dr. Gruber had previously rebutted a 2009 insurance industry report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that said premiums would shoot up if a health care bill passed.[5] His main reason for disagreeing with this report was their failure to take into account the government subsidies. Even without the subsidy he insisted that families and individuals would still see their premiums decline.[6] Minnesota, Colorado and Wisconsin are sure finding out this isn’t the case and one has to wonder which states are next.

Secondly, at the time Dr. Gruber was promoting the Democrats health care plan and rebutting this industry report, he was also under a “no bid” contract (i.e. he was hand picked for this contract) for almost $400,000 with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).[7]

Lastly, many prominent journalists were unaware of this HHS contract and were concerned over Dr. Gruber’s failure to disclose this fact in many interviews and publications.[8]

Whether Dr. Gruber’s earlier premium conclusions were influenced by his connections with the Democratic party, the HHS or the White House is not for me to say but it does beg the question, “What else has been promised in regards to this massive healthcare reform that currently is, or will turn out to be, untrue and destructive to us and our economy?”

Let’s take a look at what is happening with the small business health care tax credits that Obama referenced in that same January 2011 speech when he said,

“
Already, small business owners are taking advantage of the new health care tax credit that can offset as much as 35 percent of the cost of covering their employees.” [9]

According to a July 2011 Forbes article, very few businesses are benefitting from this credit. The main reason being that it’s nearly impossible to qualify for the credit as only businesses with fewer than 10 employees with average wages of less than $25,000 a year are eligible for the full 35% credit. For those that do qualify, the tax credits diminish as the company grows so the business owner may have to choose between keeping the tax credit and hiring new employees.[10]

In addition, the rules and regulations of this entire law are a nightmare for people to decipher. Many businesses are waiting on new hires and expansion plans until a “referee can decide what the rules are” to quote one Nevada small business owner when discussing the healthcare law.[11] This healthcare law may actually discourage companies from hiring additional staff as businesses with fewer than 50 employees can avoid the mandate to provide Obamacare.[12]

A 2011 U.S. Chamber of Commerce report validates these concerns in that 33% of the small businesses surveyed listed the healthcare law as one of the top 2 obstacles for new hiring.[13]

Small businesses are not the only ones struggling financially with the consequences of Obamacare. The IRS just released their proposed plan for implementing a 2.3% medical device excise tax to help pay for this massive healthcare reform and its promises. Cook Medical is a global company located in Indiana that manufactures a wide variety of medical devices. Here is what Cook Group’s Chairman Stephen Ferguson had to say about this new tax:

“For a company like ours, which pays 35 percent of our net earnings in federal corporate taxes and another 4 to 5 percent in state and local corporate taxes, the excise tax translates to another payment that will consume 15 percent more of our earnings,” he estimated. “This creates tremendous pressure for us to move manufacturing to Europe and other parts of the world.”[14]

According to the trade publication Mass Device, Cook Group has already canceled plans to build a new factory in the U.S. because of the Obamacare tax burden.[15]

This tax, which begins in 2013, will not only increase the costs of these medical devices to consumers but it will stifle medical innovation.[16] How does all of this line up with the following statements made by President Obama during the same 2011 Families USA Health Action Conference?

“I outlined my vision for an America that’s more determined, more competitive, better positioned for the future — an America where we out-innovate, we out-educate, we out-build the rest of the world; where we take responsibility for our deficits; where we reform our government to meet the demands of a new age. That’s what will be required for the new jobs and new businesses of the 21st century to set up shop here in the United States.”[17]

To put it bluntly, Obamacare with its massive rules and regulations discourages job creation, innovation, and increases costs to consumers. How can all of this possibly “better position America for the future”? Our economy is suffering badly. Americans and their families are suffering financially. Our deficit as a country is soaring and Obamacare will drastically add to it.

We must put an end to this monstrosity of a law by getting informed on this issue, communicating the facts to others and then working to elect candidates in the 2012 election who will repeal Obamacare in its entirety. It’s the only way to get our economy back on track and our citizens the jobs they desperately need and want.

Most of us know from personal experience that completing our taxes is burdensome, time consuming, frustrating and we just wish it would go away!

Considering the amount of record keeping an individual or a family must do over the course of the year just to file their taxes, one can only imagine the regulatory burden the Federal Government puts on a business.

To exist and stay in business, companies must comply with tax laws and must follow, on a day-to-day basis, all the government’s rules and regulations. To make matters worse, companies must also stay informed on all pending laws that could affect their industry. Each new requirement passed down by politicians and bureaucratic agencies reduces company’s profit as it takes time, supplies and money to stay in compliance.

Senator Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania had this to say while speaking to the Education and the Workforce Committee in Washington, “Talk to the small banks. They’re scared to death to do anything. Why, because their government has such an onerous regulation … Because the rules and regulations for the legislation that have been put through hasn’t [sic] even been written!”[1]

In other words, why would any business invest money to create new products or services if they knew a few months down the road that a government agency (e.g. FDA, EPA) would change the rules forcing them to redo everything or risk severe penalties?

If I as a homeowner was considering adding a deck onto my house, but there was talk at city hall of banning certain types of deck material; I can say with all certainty that I would wait for the final law. I would not buy the materials, and I wouldn’t hire anyone to build the deck, as I wouldn’t want to waste my money having to redo everything if a change were made.

With every new set of regulations, how many businesses are impacted? How much money will businesses have to redirect from productive activity to follow these new rules?

According to the Heritage Foundation, from the beginning of the Obama Administration to mid Fiscal Year of 2011, regulators have inflicted $38 billion in new costs on the American people. This is more than any comparable period on record![2]

To make matters worse, all of this regulation increases the size of our Federal Government and our debt, (over $15 trillion and growing), as government regulators are then hired to make sure businesses are following these new laws. Thus we have new bureaucratic agencies, new budgets, new support staff, etc. The list goes on and on.

These regulatory costs don’t just affect the bottom line for a company but they affect all of us, as these costs are generally passed onto the consumer in the form of higher prices or fewer product choices. Products such as light bulbs, cars, mattresses, toilets and ovens all have government mandates requiring various standards, and consequently these items cost significantly more. The higher prices are essentially a hidden tax to all of us.

While some government regulation is good, excessive regulation is stifling to our everyday freedoms and our economy.

Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as Obamacare, requires restaurants and owners of vending machines to disclose the calorie content for certain items. Is our Federal Government helping or hindering by requiring this disclosure, even when an independent study showed that having this information available didn’t change the purchasing behavior of the customer?[3] [4]

In fact on the Federal Register at one of the government’s own websites, the following statement was made in regards to the vending machine food labeling:

These studies suggest that calorie information often lacks salience, or relevance, for consumers at the time of purchase and consumption, even though they may experience regret about their decisions at a later date. This tendency may explain why consumers have not generally demanded calorie and other nutrition information for food sold from vending machines before, or at, the point of purchase, even if they may, at a later point in time, value that information.[5]

If I am to understand this correctly the consumers haven’t asked for this information, the vendors don’t want to incur the extra costs, and even if the nutritional labels are there it doesn’t change the food choices a consumer makes. Why is our tax money being used to regulate this?

Apparently Washington has decided that we are fat and unhealthy and it is their job to do something about it, even if it’s costly and doesn’t work!

Perhaps if we didn’t have to spend so much time sitting at our computers figuring out the complex tax code and regulatory laws, we could go on more walks.

This inefficiency, intrusion, and over-regulation by our government has got to stop if we want to see jobs created, businesses grow and our economy flourish. We must find the men and women running for office in the 2012 election who will remove these excessive and ridiculous regulations, and work to get these candidates elected. The time is now to end the rule of these runaway regulators.

The school gymnasium was brimming with energetic grade school students waiting for the end of the year program to begin.  This event was specifically held to celebrate the 6^th graders graduating from elementary school and to reward them for their hard work and achievements in various school activities over the year. I will never forget the feeling that rose up within me as I watched those older students going forward to receive an award as their names were called. That desire grew even stronger as I noticed that some of those students made that walk to the podium numerous times. I made a vow to myself that day that I was going to work so hard that when it was my turn to graduate, I was going to be the one walking to the podium multiple times.

That memory has come to mind numerous times over my lifetime, but never more than it has in the last few years when thinking about the deplorable condition of our economy. At first glance, these topics may seem completely unrelated, but in fact they are connected in a very fundamental way. In the above example, a student saw something she wanted very much; her name repeatedly spoken over the microphone and gold-filigreed awards lining her shelves. She was willing to give up her leisurely, free time in order to get it. This story no doubt resembles something that all of you have either experienced in your childhood or have witnessed as you’ve raised your own children. It also points out something that’s instinctive within us all; a desire for fair trade.

Compare this on a larger scale to what goes on in the business world. An individual believes he has a wonderful idea for a new product, and decides to give up his free time and hard earned money to produce, market and hopefully sell this product to consumers. He believes if he works hard and runs his business well, he can earn a profit, provide for himself and his family and hopefully raise their standard of living. The details involved in starting/running a business are endless, but an entrepreneur is willing to invest it all for the possible rewards.

However, what happens to the incentive of the grade school student or the businessperson when they realize that “the powers that be” have rigged the game? In other words, what if, after all of the time put into those school activities, the award wasn’t given to the student who earned it, but to the child of the parents who donated a large sum of money to expand the school’s playground?

In the case of the start-up businessman, what happens when he finds out that the government is handing out loans to his competitors because they turn around and give a portion of that money back to the politician for his next campaign? This entrepreneur finds out very quickly that no matter how hard he works, or improves his product, he can’t stay in business when the endless supply of taxpayer money is funneled to his competition. The motivation to pursue these dreams just simply dies.

Sadly, this is what’s happening today in our country on a massive scale. We’ve all heard about the Solyndra disaster, but that is just one of many similar stories.[1] In September 2011, with the support of Senator Harry Reid, Nevada Geothermal Power received a $79 million federal loan guarantee as well as $66 million in stimulus grants, and now the company’s own auditor expressed “Significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” [2]

Entrepreneurs are waiting in the wings full of ideas and dreams, but until they see that the rules of the game have changed, why should they risk everything? How many more successful jobs and start-up businesses are we willing to lose? The time is now for us to vote people into office who have the integrity to say no to business as usual in Washington. No More Washington Inc.

Darkness, swirling snow, and wind chills of -20 below enveloped the mass of people waiting in a single file line. They periodically stomped their feet as their toes felt the pain of being close to frostbitten in spite of the heavy winter boots. The waiting had gone on for hours and hours, but it was worth it as perhaps this was the day that they would be the lucky ones to… get that “Black Friday” special at the local electronics store.

Yes, the crazy things we Americans will do on the first “official” day of Christmas shopping when there is a treasure to be had (i.e. great prices on those electronic gadgets).  We will wait in the longest of lines in the worst weather possible to get a chance at these deals, but woe to the person who tries to jump in line in front of us. Suddenly the Christmas spirit evaporates and everyone who’s been waiting in line will “zero in” on the line jumper and let them know politely, or not, to “proceed to the back of the line and wait your turn.” It’s interesting to watch the dynamics of a crowd when someone tries to beat the system and play unfairly.

I can think of another treasure that millions of people covet as well; American citizenship. From her earliest days, America has been a land of unbelievable freedom and opportunity. Where else in the world could a person, through hard work and creativity, have a chance to come out of abject poverty and become a millionaire?

America has benefited greatly from having this melting pot of talented and innovative immigrants. The products and services invented by people who emigrated here are endless. From the invention of the telephone by Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell[1] to the wildly successful eBay auction site founder, French-Iranian immigrant, Pierre Morad Omidyar.[2] Yes, our everyday lives have been radically changed for the better thanks to the hard work of these and many other immigrants.

Unfortunately, due to America’s desirability, we have “line-jumpers.” People from countries all over the world are trying to get into or stay in this country illegally, rather than going through the proper legal channels. A recent study by the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center, referenced on the U.S. Immigration Support website, estimates that there are 12 million illegal immigrants living in America.[3]

Because of the massive number of illegals in the country, and the economic consequences, debates have been raging over what to do about this issue. Some politicians want to grant complete amnesty, others wish to give specific benefits. For example, in the state of Maryland the legislature voted in 2011 to give in-state college tuition rates to illegal aliens at a cost to the taxpayers of $40,000 per student for a 4-year degree. However, due to growing public debt, the taxpayers rebelled and gathered more than 100,000 signatures to have the law suspended until a public referendum could be held.[4]

Some of the people supporting this petition to halt the new law were immigrants themselves not too long ago. Josephine Beyam, a nursing student who emigrated legally from the Philippines in 2008, said, “Everyone wants to get an education, but you can’t just come to this country illegally and think everything is free. You have to be patient and legalize yourself.”[5] 

Another petitioner, Shakil Hamid who emigrated legally from Bangladesh, said, “These people are taking seats in college away from our kids. Why should we reward their dishonest behavior?”[6]

Both of these people bring up a valid point. Why should those who disobeyed the law be rewarded at the expense of those who obeyed the law? Think about the Black Friday shopping lines; what would happen if it became common knowledge that jumping to the front of the line guaranteed you would walk away with the desired product at the expense of those who waited their turn. Is this fair? Even more disturbing, what kind of message are we sending as a nation that is ruled by law and has an expectation that we all obey the law? Instead, the opposite message is being sent.

The U.S. did something similar in 1986 when Congress granted mass amnesty to the nearly 3 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. at that time. This amnesty only served as an incentive for illegal immigration, encouraging a whole new wave of people to come here illegally.[7] Why aren’t we rewarding those immigrants who have come here legally?

To complicate things even further, our economy is near collapse due to politicians’ insatiable desire to spend. The ever-growing burden placed on our citizens to take on more debt is unsustainable, and the costs of illegal immigration are very real. Costs incurred from education and healthcare alone are having devastating consequences, forcing many hospitals (required by federal law to treat illegals) to reduce staff, increase rates, cut back services, and close maternity wards and trauma centers.[8]

American citizens know that we cannot continue down this economic path. Many politicians, however, choose to ignore the threat to our very economic survival, and instead opt for buying votes from those who benefit most from “line jumping.”

Beyam, the nursing student from the Philippines, also said, “This country is a blessing, and the government is very generous. If you are not born here, you have to start from the beginning, but I accept that, because you can still pursue your dreams.”[9]

Let’s make sure that all of our citizens, present and future, have the opportunity to pursue their dreams. Get the economic facts on this issue and elect the candidates who are not afraid to build a comprehensive plan, painful as it might be, to deal with our illegal immigration problem.

“You don’t need prison to lose your freedom.” These were the words I heard as I was channel surfing on my radio, and they caused me to stop in my tracks. Regardless of what the topic for the show was that day, I knew this statement was absolutely true. I’ve seen it personally with my own eyes and more than likely, you have too.

On a very basic level, we’ve all seen or possibly experienced first hand the consequences of an over-controlling parent. Their children aren’t allowed to grow up and make their own decisions.  Parents insist on doing everything for them, controlling every aspect of their lives. While each of these parents may have different reasons for their behavior, and some may even be well intentioned, the end result is almost always damaging. The unspoken but very clear message sent to the child; you aren’t capable of making your own decisions or leading your own life. Once that belief is formed within a person, it is very difficult to remove.

As children mature into young adults, some of these over-controlling parents will even use money to retain their grasp. This would especially be true if the parents were fairly wealthy, and the child was used to reaping the comforts and benefits of that wealth. I’ve heard stories of grown men, married with children of their own, still bowing to the will of their parents.  Their very survival depends on keeping the money flow coming. Perhaps they work in the family business, or they get a yearly lump sum of cash as a “gift”, but these come with strings attached. By keeping Mom and Dad happy, doing what they say, the money will be there.

These grown men and women, while appearing to be free, are in reality living in prison. They may long to break free and engage in an occupation or business that is entirely different than what their parents have chosen for them. However, they either don’t believe that they have the skills to succeed, (remember the unspoken message of an over-controlling parent – “You aren’t capable”), or they can’t afford to risk the money drying up. They are trapped, and the full potential of who they could become and what they could contribute to this world will never materialize.

Take this reality and apply it across the country on a national scale. We constantly hear of politicians promising to give people free money, free healthcare, free education; on and on the list goes, but is it really free?

Does the money coming from the government come with a price? While on the surface these handouts may seem beneficial, the reality is that it becomes very difficult for the recipients to come out from under the controlling thumb, (i.e. the purse strings), of the government. There is truth to the phrase, A government that has the power to give everything also has the power to take everything. The threat is very real.

Those adult children who have had the strength to “cut the cord” from their parents, and turn their back on the money threat, are a sight to behold. They start to believe in themselves.  They begin to see they possess unique talents.  They learn how to use their talents and how to provide for themselves.  Ultimately they learn how to benefit their communities. They are truly free; free to be whomever they choose to be.

We have the keys to free people in the 2012 election when we vote for, contribute to, and support candidates who will be unstoppable in changing a government that gives everything to its people. We must!  A “Handout Government” is putting us all in prison.

I have, however, read in various news articles that there are a large number of waivers being granted to opt-out of Obamacare; and that a disproportionate number of these waivers are going to unions.[3] Waivers enable the health plans of labor unions, businesses and other groups to avoid having to comply with the new cumbersome and no doubt, costly regulations (remember the 2074 pages of law!).

One recent article stated that just since June of 2011 labor unions representing 543,812 workers received waivers where as only 69,813 private sector workers received waivers during that same time period.[4]  Since this was promoted as such a wonderful law for the American people, why then are so many groups trying to get permission to opt out of it and why are so many waivers going to unions? Is it because unions collectively bargain for their healthcare benefits and they know their current plans are superior to what the government will provide?

In other articles, the costs of this massive takeover of the health insurance industry by the Federal Government are forcing businesses to either downsize or to quit offering health benefits to their employee’s altogether (unless of course they can get a waiver).

Stryker Corporation, a global medical device company based in Michigan, recently announced that it will be forced to lay off 5% of it’s work force in order to offset a 2.3% Obamacare tax that takes effect in January 2013.[5] How many other businesses have or will soon be following suit?

Unfortunately the discussions and process of enacting this law were not made public even though on at least 8 separate occasions President Obama said he would make the healthcare negotiations procedure transparent.[6]

“You know I respect what the Clinton’s tried to do in 1993 in moving health reform forward. But they made one really big mistake, and that is they took all their people and all their experts into a room and then they closed the door. We will work on this process publicly. It’ll be on C-SPAN. It will be streaming over the net.” – November 2008, Google Q & A[7]

C-SPAN CEO, Brian P. Lamb, sent a letter in December 2009, formally requesting that the healthcare discussions between the House and the Senate be covered on live TV. He even offered to provide all of the necessary resources to make this happen.[8] As we all know, these negotiations were never televised and in fact were done behind closed doors. Why? What was said behind closed doors that Americans weren’t allowed to hear? What promises (waivers) were made and to whom? What are the real costs to the taxpayers and our economy?

So now we have some groups who were given a free “pass” from submitting to this law and others that will be punished and fined if they don’t. Section 1411 of PPACA grants the Secretary of Health and Human Services (a non-elected official) almost complete power to determine who gets a waiver and who doesn’t.[9] I thought we were all to be treated fairly under the law but apparently not.

People know from a young age the frustration that can be caused when someone in power plays favorites. My parents, for example, had a rule of no jumping on the beds. I can assure you that had I been punished for disobeying this rule but my sister been given the “waiver”, there would’ve been loud cries, and rightly so, of “That’s not fair!”

“Selective enforcement of the law is the first sign of tyranny.”[10] This was the opening sentence in one of the “Obamawaiver” news articles I recently read; and apparently, it is ringing true. Even more frightening is what this law is currently doing and will continue to do to jobs and our economy when it is fully enacted. An analysis by Medicare chief actuary Richard Foster showed that ObamaCare would not reduce overall health care costs, but would increase them by about $311 billion through 2019![11]

The bottom line is a bill this questionable, massive, burdensome, controlling, costly and not to mention unreadable, should never have been passed in the first place. We have one last chance in the 2012 election to stop Obamacare before it becomes embedded into our everyday lives as this law is being implemented in steps, month by month; year by year.

The time is now to get the facts as to how this legislation will impact our nation’s debt, your freedom in healthcare choices (e.g. doctors, insurance companies, premiums, fines etc.), and our economy. Last but not least, find out which candidates have the proven track record for stopping this Federal Government power grab of the healthcare industry and our lives: then you must vote for them, volunteer for them, spread the word about them. We CAN repeal this law before its too late if we work together to get the right people into office.

While the unemployed American workers continue to look for a beacon of hope in this abysmal economy, another Solyndra like corporation, Beacon Power Corporation, has filed for bankruptcy. Both of these companies have received taxpayer money in the form of federal loans, $535 million by Solyndra and $43 million by Beacon Power.[1]  Not only are the taxpayers saddled with this huge loss, but also hundreds of employees from these two companies have either been laid off or are at risk of joining the ranks of the unemployed.

In the midst of an economy where most individuals and businesses are having to drastically cut expenses just to survive, one must ask:  Are federal loans given to corporations by politicians the best use of our taxpayer money? The inherent problem with the above arrangement, is the susceptibility of all humans to corruption, especially where money and power is concerned.

Our Founding Fathers had lived first hand under economic oppression where the ruling class, King George and the English Parliament, was favoring some businesses over others. To ensure this wouldn’t happen again, they created a new government built under an amazing, negotiated document: The United States Constitution.

The Three Branches of Government were structured for a very simple reason; a brilliant set of checks and balances were created to protect citizens, as much as possible, from the corruptions of power that were sure to happen.  The Constitution also made a regular habit of elections, so that reform could be relentless without potential crippling effects of extreme rapid changes coming from complete turnover of the government in a single election cycle.

In simple terms, the United States of America was formed to prevent the government from taking the hard earned money of it’s citizens and dispersing it to select businesses of their choice, who in turn guarantee future votes to that politician and that politician’s position of power.

While on the surface it may seem beneficial for the government to loan taxpayer money to get a business up and running, the reality is this gives an unfair advantage to one company or industry over another. As citizens, we have lost the right to choose, and as people who build businesses, we have lost the ability to fairly compete unless we are corrupting ourselves with “Washington Inc.”

Since we were small children we have all used the phrase “that’s not fair”.  As we get older, it is still true in today’s Washington.  After all, true Capitalism is an economic system of barter (trade), in which all trading partners believe they receive equal or greater value in exchange for what they give up,” the very thing our founding fathers and the citizen/soldiers fought for in the American Revolution.

Now it is our turn to fight, not on a bloody battlefield with guns and ammunition, but with our votes in the November 2012 election.  We must remove from office those politicians who think “they know better than we” to make the choices that build our personal lives, families, communities and the nation.  Make sure you vote into office those individuals who understand the true definition of Capitalism and who are willing to fight for the equal opportunity it brings.