ramblings of the political sort

"Closely allied with the trend toward bigger and bigger government is the tendency toward loose fiscal policy, both public and private. This concerns us as free men. 'The borrower is servant to the lender' (Proverbs 22:7). A nation can hang itself on the gallows of excessive public debt-and the United States is no exception." - "The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson," p. 291

This thought was in my email inbox this morning from WOOL (Words of our Leaders). It has gotten me thinking (imagine) about an NPR commentary that I heard yesterday. Well, more like a full radio program which turned into commentary in my head.


With 41 days until the election how do we get good policy among these politics. America is sick with significant stress due to the fall of the market and increase in oil prices. Congress can't efficiently act upon these things because of campaigning. And government is trying to react to these things with unjustified means in rash decision making.

America is plagued with the damages of confidences; being confidence in our government policy.

We have grave doubts seeing our leaders digging themselves into a deeper political depression. For what is in front of their faces they ought to stand back a bit and examine possibilities. Just one example is the Fanny May and Freddy Mac; including the meddling that the government is doing with the looming and certain foreclosures.

With the current deficit how can the government even be considering buying out the populations mortgages. What is this saying to the people? You can live in your homes, with no foreclosure, while the government owns the home and they become the biggest home owners in the country. All this while neighbors who have sacrificed to stay on top of their mortgages continue to pay their mortgages. The government bails out our people at the expense of the people. What happens when it is the government foreclosing on the people whose first preservation was its leadership?

Is this now a game of chicken between the president and congress? What are we teaching the American people? That we will pay for our irresponsible neighbors, that we will suffer for their over spending and lack of consumer control to live within means. Sounds like a set up for a civil war burgeoning in Americas own communities.

Never is a forced decision a good decision, and all this is coming to potential policy as of Friday. When are we going to see it as headlines, after the fact. Something like, "700 Billion in borrowed government money goes to pay for Homeowners to continue to live well above their means."

It's called the Bailout Proposal. And it is causing outrage as Congress again fails America in order to meet Americans panicked immediate need..

It is much more complicated than my few minutes allow me. This is becoming an art more than a science; a political art. This comes down to the responsibility of our consumers. The way I see out of this mess is our American Consumers need to have a depression. Sounds like harsh medicine, but if the illness continues to spread among our people, we must be prepared to take the prescribed therapy.

It continues to displace market mechanisms as we teach our people to turn to Uncle Sam for "bailout". A serious depression is in order to deal with the credit messes, messes in our own homes and messes within our government set up.


Shall we be afraid. Yes. We are the product of our own credit destruction. Again, what President Benson said, "Closely allied with the trend toward bigger and bigger government is the tendency toward loose fiscal policy, both public and private. This concerns us as free men. 'The borrower is servant to the lender' (Proverbs 22:7). A nation can hang itself on the gallows of excessive public debt-and the United States is no exception." - "The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson," p. 291

Our nation has hung itself. By bailing out, at the expense of government borrowing money from additional foreign sources is just bad practice. Seriously. How do they decide who deserves to be bailed out and who doesn't, it becomes personal. And it teaches something I don't want my kids learning in History class. Bad credit behavior is rewarded with temporary cream of the crop.

Efforts to reform Fanny May and Freddy Mac have been unsuccessful, and this is the demise of policies driven by the current partnership of congress and the republican party allowing the seeds of financial crash to be planted.

No fingers to point, not point in placing blame, but I don't think playing chicken and then making a rash decision like deer in the headlights is the best possible function that government can offer its people. We are headed into a head-on fatality.

We need to go back to a live and learn society.

Jeremy's lock:
For instance, Jeremy called, much in tears, the first week of school. He had put a lock on his locker and was unable to get into the locker because he had forgotten his keys.

First of all, it's against school policies to put a lock on your locker.

Second of all, it is his personal responsibility that he has what he needs for the day upon arriving at school.

And third, yes, as his mother I went through the reminders, and I did talk to him about that specific school rule being broken, including the consequences of his choice for putting the lock on THAT VERY MORNING.

I made sure, because he is ONLY 7 years old, and in the 2nd grade, that he had his key, that he knew to take the lock off, and that he should not choose to do it again. It is breaking a rule, a policy, which has been put in place at his school by the administration, to protect him from his own discomfort when he finds himself in the future FORGETTING HIS KEY.

So, when I got the phone call from the lovely lady in the office mentioning that he forgot his key, and could not get into his locker, I was quite surprised that I was somehow expected to bail him out. My first reaction was, waahhhh. Not really feeling bad for him

Of course I said, well, he broke a school rule, what are his options.

She asked if I could please talk to him because he was sad. I believe he was sad, but shouldn't he be allowed to feel what he is feeling, to learn, and particularly being he was suffering the consequences of his choices, his behavior.

Of course, not wanting to be the meany, I talked to him. Something like, I am sorry that this has happened, you must be feeling really bad, no I will not bring you the key, what do you think that you can do for today. I offered what I thought was the natural consequence. Get Chris the custodian to come cut the lock off.

Yes, Jeremy had saved his money, and bought the lock on his own. It is a beautiful red lock, combination lock, with a key for memory fault.

He, of course, did not like what I was saying to him. Really, I felt bad, but too bad. This was not something that I felt would do him any good if I came running over to the school, to dry his tears, and unlock his locker. I knew that if I did, it would only happen again, and in many other situations. Situations that would be worse and more painful for him. Situations that I won't be able to bail him out.

I told him that although I felt bad that he was feeling sad, I was now realizing that he was also tardy, and that he should get his "butt" into class because now he was interrupting the learning process; which would serve him better than having a place to store his stuff.

His option was to have Chris cut off his lock or leave his backpack and lunch in the office, but he had better get to class. (Which he informed me that the principle was not giving tardies today because it was only the first week. And I informed him that he was going to owe me time after school writing about the reasons why it is important to be on time, for personal growth and improvement, and respect.)

He went to class.

Later in the day, I was kindly informed that the sweet administration had tended to his wounds, checked in on him to make sure he was not having "a bad day" because of the mornings events.

Yes, I am thankful for kindness in my children's world, but I would also like to see consequences in their world. And a bad day every now and then is NOT the end of the world.



Another of my thoughts: we are in the middle of a supposed water crisis. Why is it easier to say that the water crisis can be solved if people take personal responsibility for their use of the water? Again, responsibility. And the bottom line is that IS what this is ALL about.

Isn't government just justifying our ridiculous spending habits here. Even Obama and McCain, although diversely choosing their course, are promoting this crisis as "a moment to rise above politics." And republicans are opposing the solutions to their inability to reform their own proposals.

What a world we live in today? It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood, how about yours? I should have warned, this is certainly a rambling with slight political opinion, open to comments or alternate opinions.

I will have changed my mind once I go out into the world today and see what the game plays are. I really do hope for reform; Personal reform in how we each live, and recognize how our actions cause reactions that effect much more than our own circumstances.

I say, "cut the lock".