What the Hell Happened To the United States? An Essay- Part Three
Long after I am taking a dirt nap, I think history is going to reflect back on this time period and see the mistakes that were made.
That these mistakes are somehow "inevitable" are the kinds of things that risk managers would scoff at. These events, whether you believe they are black swan events or not, are largely preventable. I will point to the air safety of 7000 domestic and commercial flights that take place in the United States every day. That is two and one half million flights per year without any significant large scale loss. When crashes do occur, they are studied intensely. Planes are grounded. Inspections take place. Pilots are given new instructions and flight simulations. We have done an admirable job of making flying the safest mode of transportation there is. When there is a disaster, it is usually a combination of factors headlined by pilot or human error. And while we will never be able to stop all losses, we have done an admirable job of keeping it to a bare minimum.
Our country was given "republic" status and we embraced the idea of capitalism long ago. We have been around for a few hundred years and by now you'd think we might have learned a few things about capitalism. We all know that capitalism is just a fancy word for greed. And while that may seem a little simplistic and it probably is- why do we think that human behavior is so unpredictable? In fact, I would argue, given an operating structure such that we have- human behavior is quite predictable.
We are hell bent on studying everything in the universe, why then is our own behavior such a mystery? It's really not. We just don't like examining ourselves or practicing rigorous honesty. We want to examine everyone else instead. That's what we do. We worry about everyone else's yard while our own yard piles high with leaves. And it seems, we never learn from our mistakes. A greed and credit fueled frenzy in 1929 repeated itself 80 years later. There is really little difference. Human beings, those fear driven and greedy people, were in a position to lift all the regulations that had been put in place to prevent a repeat of 1929 and they did. http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/9454
At the core of the problem is a Federal Reserve Bank. They fueled the crisis of 1929 with easy credit and they did it again in the late 90's. The first bubble that burst was the dot com bubble and rather than quench the supply of money they increased it. It isn't that the FED is necessarily evil in and of itself- but what gives it enormous power is its monopoly over the quantity of our money supply. Debt is money. They will forever strive to increase debt. That of course- has to end badly. The FED's days are numbered. We simply can't allow an unregulated, unaudited, 4th branch of government to destroy the fabric of this country. To usurp the very power of our elected leaders. They have essentially nullified our vote. The FED is the biggest domestic enemy of our state. (You can come get my guns if you'd like) That they are able to operate in complete secrecy and create this illusion of credibility defies all comprehension. The 8th wonder of the world.
I'm not sure at this juncture that we can restore the rule of law in our country. Thousands of prosecutors have been silenced. Federal courts are little help. The federal government no longer serves to assist states' in the prosecution of offenses- it blocks those efforts. In some cases- it sues. When a complete and utter failure of the federal government occurs particularly in enforcement (executive branch), such that we have seen, I am not sure what the remedy is. I think ultimately the states should call a convention and demand that the rule of law be followed. The original intent of our framers was for the states to be sovereign, maintaining a balance of power, and keep the Federal Government in check. Clearly that balance of power is woefully askew. I would support secession in the event the Federal Government refuses to comply. I think that is a real possibility. I am trying to write this without sounding like a whack job and trust me- it is difficult. I never thought it would come to this.
On a personal and emotional level, I have managed to get a grip on fear. I accept that human beings are fearful and that one of the manifestations of that is greed. That has never changed- yet I keep hoping that it does. Our leaders cannot deny that anytime there is an opportunity for greed, people will exploit it. Whether that is medicare fraud or obtaining crappy HELOC's. That's been the history of man. I kind of began this essay with fear and all of the negative emotions that come with it. I'd like to end it on a positive note. All of the qualities that we as individuals seek to possess- tolerance, patience, wisdom, humility, compassion, honesty, fairness, loyalty, kindness, respect, and a whole host of others...simply don't have a fear component. It might be as simple as stating that the more you fear, the lower your capacity to love others is. It's just a little something I've noticed over the years.
That these mistakes are somehow "inevitable" are the kinds of things that risk managers would scoff at. These events, whether you believe they are black swan events or not, are largely preventable. I will point to the air safety of 7000 domestic and commercial flights that take place in the United States every day. That is two and one half million flights per year without any significant large scale loss. When crashes do occur, they are studied intensely. Planes are grounded. Inspections take place. Pilots are given new instructions and flight simulations. We have done an admirable job of making flying the safest mode of transportation there is. When there is a disaster, it is usually a combination of factors headlined by pilot or human error. And while we will never be able to stop all losses, we have done an admirable job of keeping it to a bare minimum.
Our country was given "republic" status and we embraced the idea of capitalism long ago. We have been around for a few hundred years and by now you'd think we might have learned a few things about capitalism. We all know that capitalism is just a fancy word for greed. And while that may seem a little simplistic and it probably is- why do we think that human behavior is so unpredictable? In fact, I would argue, given an operating structure such that we have- human behavior is quite predictable.
We are hell bent on studying everything in the universe, why then is our own behavior such a mystery? It's really not. We just don't like examining ourselves or practicing rigorous honesty. We want to examine everyone else instead. That's what we do. We worry about everyone else's yard while our own yard piles high with leaves. And it seems, we never learn from our mistakes. A greed and credit fueled frenzy in 1929 repeated itself 80 years later. There is really little difference. Human beings, those fear driven and greedy people, were in a position to lift all the regulations that had been put in place to prevent a repeat of 1929 and they did. http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/9454
At the core of the problem is a Federal Reserve Bank. They fueled the crisis of 1929 with easy credit and they did it again in the late 90's. The first bubble that burst was the dot com bubble and rather than quench the supply of money they increased it. It isn't that the FED is necessarily evil in and of itself- but what gives it enormous power is its monopoly over the quantity of our money supply. Debt is money. They will forever strive to increase debt. That of course- has to end badly. The FED's days are numbered. We simply can't allow an unregulated, unaudited, 4th branch of government to destroy the fabric of this country. To usurp the very power of our elected leaders. They have essentially nullified our vote. The FED is the biggest domestic enemy of our state. (You can come get my guns if you'd like) That they are able to operate in complete secrecy and create this illusion of credibility defies all comprehension. The 8th wonder of the world.
I'm not sure at this juncture that we can restore the rule of law in our country. Thousands of prosecutors have been silenced. Federal courts are little help. The federal government no longer serves to assist states' in the prosecution of offenses- it blocks those efforts. In some cases- it sues. When a complete and utter failure of the federal government occurs particularly in enforcement (executive branch), such that we have seen, I am not sure what the remedy is. I think ultimately the states should call a convention and demand that the rule of law be followed. The original intent of our framers was for the states to be sovereign, maintaining a balance of power, and keep the Federal Government in check. Clearly that balance of power is woefully askew. I would support secession in the event the Federal Government refuses to comply. I think that is a real possibility. I am trying to write this without sounding like a whack job and trust me- it is difficult. I never thought it would come to this.
On a personal and emotional level, I have managed to get a grip on fear. I accept that human beings are fearful and that one of the manifestations of that is greed. That has never changed- yet I keep hoping that it does. Our leaders cannot deny that anytime there is an opportunity for greed, people will exploit it. Whether that is medicare fraud or obtaining crappy HELOC's. That's been the history of man. I kind of began this essay with fear and all of the negative emotions that come with it. I'd like to end it on a positive note. All of the qualities that we as individuals seek to possess- tolerance, patience, wisdom, humility, compassion, honesty, fairness, loyalty, kindness, respect, and a whole host of others...simply don't have a fear component. It might be as simple as stating that the more you fear, the lower your capacity to love others is. It's just a little something I've noticed over the years.
Comments
That's why we have that money sucking Dept of Education. That is the holy grail of the Moonbat world. We have this crappy education system and an even crappier bureaucracy running it. Adding to our deficits and piling on more debt with defaulted student loans. How we tolerate that mess defies belief.
I have said many times, government only exists for the protection and safety of it's citizens. Any department beyond that scope is simply not within the description and design of what we created government for. That includes Fannie, Freddie, Sally Mae, HUD, Education, and a whole host of other programs- arts, humanities, and national parks which could be turned over to states.