It is quite interesting to see how many people oppose President Obama's decision to rid us of yet another terrorist, or should we even use the word "terrorist" in this obsessively emerging politically correct world? It is difficult to find any rationale that would dispute the President's "obligation" to act as he did, which is the only conceivable way to protect the American people from future harm. I am not fond of the President's ideology; in fact, I diametrically oppose most of his agenda. However, his actions resulting in the recent "terminations" of al-Qaeda leaders have shown that he was able to step out of his safety zone, and to act in accordance with the oath he took the day he was sworn in to the top job.
It not only took courage, but it also required that he put aside his personal views, which are probably more aligned with those who oppose his order to exterminate these icons of evil.
“Due Process”! That is what some demanded should have been afforded to al-Awlaki (I suspect that the same should have applied to Osama Bin Laden?). Aside from the fact that the term itself is not even technically applicable in this case, under any scenario, the concept of applying “due process” to a member of an enemy army is bizarre. Of course I do not intend to insult legitimate members of enemy armies by comparing terrorists to them, however, for the sake of argument let’s classify the typical terrorist as such, i.e. an enemy combatant. I am sure there is no argument that the purpose of “war”, even in the conventional sense, is to “eliminate” as many opposing soldiers as possible, without “due process”, without the ability to verify if any member of enemy forces may at one time have been an American citizen. There should also be no argument that any person (citizen or not) who has abandoned his homeland to embark in a war against the same has also implicitly declared his expatriation. There is no constitutional protection for an enemy soldier and there is certainly none for terrorists.
The big question, however, is how to reconcile the President’s “orders to kill” with the position he took in 2009 when his administration rejected the term “enemy combatant” and refused to classify al-Qaeda members as terrorists*1. His recent executive order calling for the ”elimination” of several senior al-Qaeda leaders would arguably only be justified if he also agrees to qualify them as enemy combatants i.e. terrorists.
*1 source : Press Release, Department of Justice, March 13, 2011, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/March/09-ag-232.html
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Sunday, May 9, 2010
From Europe with Love
Many people wonder what some of the more intelligent members of the media mean when they draw a comparison between European Socialism and the current trend many seem to embrace in this country. You may not be aware, but there is a segment of our society that represents almost one half of the US population, that does NOT pay any taxes. Of course, most younger Americans grew up with a Credit Card that encouraged them to spend regardless whether the charge was covered with real "green" money or not. I am not talking about the many professionals that made their way through college and had to run up a substantial tab to get to the finish line. I am talking about those who never intended to “go out of their way” to become productive and hard working citizens.
Socialism is not the answer; rather it is an enabling cancer that makes you believe that if you are not productive it is because someone else limited your chances, in short, it is not your fault. In exchange for a vote or two, the government “will take care of you”
Socialism is built on the reckless disregard for basic economics, such as: “you can only spend as much as you make”. Sorry for being as mean spirited as to suggesting that if you did not make the money, maybe you should not be entitled to spend it. Maybe you should not be entitled to the same luxuries as the guy next door who puts in 70-hour weeks of hard work. What a concept.
Europe led the way to Socialism. If you peel off all the theoretical definitions, it comes down to the popular believe that capitalism cumulates wealth and power among an elite minority of society, and that such elite minority derives its wealth through the “exploitation” of the working class. Simply expressed, if you have a job you are being exploited. It is thus the responsibility of the government to impose corrective measures through re-distribution of such wealth to provide equal opportunities for everyone (sound familiar?).
European countries with a highly productive society, such as Germany, France, Italy, have been able to fund their Socialism through high taxation of its work force. Other, less productive countries (PIGS members) lived way over their means.
Let’s see if we can put real numbers into perspective. The Budget Deficits as a percentage of GDP of the PIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are:
Today, these countries face financial Apocalypse, even though their tax rates have been around the 50% mark for quite some time. You may have followed recent news which reported about the riots in Greece. These riots are organized by people who just got word from their government that they can no longer count on “all” the entitlements they have grown used to over the past 50 years. How dare the government wanting to reduce the freebies. It is almost funny to hear some of the media refer to these riots and the underlying causes with an arrogant undertone, as if this is a European phenomenon. The sad truth is that our federal deficit puts the US right into the group of PIGS. With a mind boggling 10.5% deficit of Gross Domestic (Product) Output we are about to overpass most European countries. Our Gross Domestic Product went from $13.4 Trillion in 2006, to only $14.6 trillion in 2010, a total of 9.14% growth over 4 years. Our Deficit went from 1.85% of GDP to a staggering 10.64% of GDP, an increase of 475% for the same period. This is before most of the new legislative measures have taken effect. Of course, healthcare reform is supposed to “reduce” our budget deficit, and further stimuli (there will be more, take my word for it) will be shrugged under the carpet and won’t count because they supposedly will create jobs.
At least, the PIGS countries have some very rich neighbors who have decided to bail them out. Who are our neighboring countries? Good luck in asking Mexico and Canada to help us out.
Maybe it is time to set all partisan bickering aside and focus on the problem at hand. Ideology, class warfare, sucking the few that produce liquidity dry, and campaigning rather than governing, will not get us there. It is time to pull out a cheap calculator because it is not rocket science, and to stipulate to the “facts and figures”. Our leaders owe us honesty and respect for those 50% who are productive and keep this country going. Remember, if you take away the incentive and make their lives impossible, you may end up with only the 50% that do not produce.
Socialism is not the answer; rather it is an enabling cancer that makes you believe that if you are not productive it is because someone else limited your chances, in short, it is not your fault. In exchange for a vote or two, the government “will take care of you”
Socialism is built on the reckless disregard for basic economics, such as: “you can only spend as much as you make”. Sorry for being as mean spirited as to suggesting that if you did not make the money, maybe you should not be entitled to spend it. Maybe you should not be entitled to the same luxuries as the guy next door who puts in 70-hour weeks of hard work. What a concept.
Europe led the way to Socialism. If you peel off all the theoretical definitions, it comes down to the popular believe that capitalism cumulates wealth and power among an elite minority of society, and that such elite minority derives its wealth through the “exploitation” of the working class. Simply expressed, if you have a job you are being exploited. It is thus the responsibility of the government to impose corrective measures through re-distribution of such wealth to provide equal opportunities for everyone (sound familiar?).
European countries with a highly productive society, such as Germany, France, Italy, have been able to fund their Socialism through high taxation of its work force. Other, less productive countries (PIGS members) lived way over their means.
Let’s see if we can put real numbers into perspective. The Budget Deficits as a percentage of GDP of the PIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are:
• Portugal – 9.3%
• Ireland – 12%
• Greece 13%
• Spain 11.4%.
Today, these countries face financial Apocalypse, even though their tax rates have been around the 50% mark for quite some time. You may have followed recent news which reported about the riots in Greece. These riots are organized by people who just got word from their government that they can no longer count on “all” the entitlements they have grown used to over the past 50 years. How dare the government wanting to reduce the freebies. It is almost funny to hear some of the media refer to these riots and the underlying causes with an arrogant undertone, as if this is a European phenomenon. The sad truth is that our federal deficit puts the US right into the group of PIGS. With a mind boggling 10.5% deficit of Gross Domestic (Product) Output we are about to overpass most European countries. Our Gross Domestic Product went from $13.4 Trillion in 2006, to only $14.6 trillion in 2010, a total of 9.14% growth over 4 years. Our Deficit went from 1.85% of GDP to a staggering 10.64% of GDP, an increase of 475% for the same period. This is before most of the new legislative measures have taken effect. Of course, healthcare reform is supposed to “reduce” our budget deficit, and further stimuli (there will be more, take my word for it) will be shrugged under the carpet and won’t count because they supposedly will create jobs.
At least, the PIGS countries have some very rich neighbors who have decided to bail them out. Who are our neighboring countries? Good luck in asking Mexico and Canada to help us out.
Maybe it is time to set all partisan bickering aside and focus on the problem at hand. Ideology, class warfare, sucking the few that produce liquidity dry, and campaigning rather than governing, will not get us there. It is time to pull out a cheap calculator because it is not rocket science, and to stipulate to the “facts and figures”. Our leaders owe us honesty and respect for those 50% who are productive and keep this country going. Remember, if you take away the incentive and make their lives impossible, you may end up with only the 50% that do not produce.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Fiscal Discipline... Right After Detox
Dear Members of Congress,
Elections are around the corner and I am sure your strategists and campaign managers are spending endless hours to determine how to make you look at your best when you go back to your districts and address the electorate. Of course, with an approval rating at the lowest since anyone can remember, and a political landscape that is paved with the outcry of the many chanting “enough is enough” that is no easy task. During the not so distant future, I expect to read and hear a select number of impressive buzzwords that are designed to make voters believe that they absolutely have to side with you, and send you back to Washington. It seems that one favorite will be the call for “Fiscal Discipline”. The Republicans will try to hijack the call for “Fiscal Discipline” based on the recent events some people call “Healthcare Reform”. The latter is subject to an entire different discussion, one I will offer at a later time. For the moment, let’s focus on the “Fiscal Discipline” thing. Yes of course, I am sure most tax payers agree with a strategy that focuses on "Fiscal Discipline". However, the reason why most voters are equally frustrated with Democrats and Republicans alike is because at the one hand, Democrats have completely abandoned any form of capital rule and have become oblivious to what money, cost and spending means in the context of our fiscal envelope. Republicans failed the American people when they missed their chance to “practice” fiscal discipline when they controlled Congress and the Presidency. Are you old enough to remember the “Contract with America” (1994 election). Where are all the promises? Hearing many Republican members of Congress speak about "fiscal discipline" seems, to say the least, disingenuous considering the fact that U.S. federal spending increased during the Bush/Republican governance by almost 29% (about 20% in real dollars). Non-defense discretionary growth alone was almost 36% (or app. 25% in real dollars). This represented the highest increase in federal spending since Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson, not considering the expenditure for the Iraq/Afghanistan war.
Of course our current President is taking spending to an unprecedented and extreme level that will take decades to undo if it will be possible at all. So the term Fiscal Discipline and political reality are on a clear collision course. I wonder if there are any smart strategists that try to figure out why approval ratings of our current Congress has been hovering around a painful 20% (depending which pole you use the range is between 14% and 28%). The problem is that both parties have lost much of their credibility and it will take a long time before Congress will gain the lost trust back.
Even if (what I expect) the upcoming elections will give the Republican Party a strong boost I am not sure that a Republican leadership with more of the same will instill the necessary level of confidence among voters to put their "long-term" trust into the Republican Party again.
What is needed is a voluntary "recycling" program that replaces the congressional leadership with people we can all believe in (again). A new and fresh set of politicians who are willing to stimulate and carry a meaningful discussion of common sense solutions, such as stop fighting smoking habits but exclude smoke related illnesses from health care coverage, let's quit talking about abortion as a political platform, let each woman make her own choice, but exclude voluntary abortions from health care coverage (except for medically indicated procedures), legalize the use of drugs for adults, but exclude consequential illnesses from health care coverage. I am not a drug user, never have been, but I don't understand why we help drug pushers and dealers keep their prices high, by pretending we are prosecuting them, a war that sounds tough but one we will never win. We should re-direct our resources to more meaningful law enforcement activities. Other countries have de-criminalized drug use and are doing perfectly fine; in fact drug related crime has obviously substantially declined. There are so many areas in dire need of ground-up reform.
Everyone is craving to see or hear some refreshing novel approach to countless problems we have been listening to since decades. Fiscal discipline is just one of them. People have become desensitized to the growing challenges of our modern times. We need help soon.
Fiscal Discipline = cutting cost = relinquishing power strongholds of our central government ! = Political Power Detox ... Yeah right, I am sure our leaders will get right on this.
Of course our current President is taking spending to an unprecedented and extreme level that will take decades to undo if it will be possible at all. So the term Fiscal Discipline and political reality are on a clear collision course. I wonder if there are any smart strategists that try to figure out why approval ratings of our current Congress has been hovering around a painful 20% (depending which pole you use the range is between 14% and 28%). The problem is that both parties have lost much of their credibility and it will take a long time before Congress will gain the lost trust back.
Even if (what I expect) the upcoming elections will give the Republican Party a strong boost I am not sure that a Republican leadership with more of the same will instill the necessary level of confidence among voters to put their "long-term" trust into the Republican Party again.
What is needed is a voluntary "recycling" program that replaces the congressional leadership with people we can all believe in (again). A new and fresh set of politicians who are willing to stimulate and carry a meaningful discussion of common sense solutions, such as stop fighting smoking habits but exclude smoke related illnesses from health care coverage, let's quit talking about abortion as a political platform, let each woman make her own choice, but exclude voluntary abortions from health care coverage (except for medically indicated procedures), legalize the use of drugs for adults, but exclude consequential illnesses from health care coverage. I am not a drug user, never have been, but I don't understand why we help drug pushers and dealers keep their prices high, by pretending we are prosecuting them, a war that sounds tough but one we will never win. We should re-direct our resources to more meaningful law enforcement activities. Other countries have de-criminalized drug use and are doing perfectly fine; in fact drug related crime has obviously substantially declined. There are so many areas in dire need of ground-up reform.
Everyone is craving to see or hear some refreshing novel approach to countless problems we have been listening to since decades. Fiscal discipline is just one of them. People have become desensitized to the growing challenges of our modern times. We need help soon.
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