The US government has three groups of elected officials that are representatives of the people who elect them. By definition a representative is: "somebody who speaks, acts, or votes on behalf of others". When we vote for individuals we expect them to
embody the hopes and desires of those that elect them. Abraham Lincoln said this best in the Gettysburg address "Government of the people, by the people and for the people". This is the premise of America. It is what has unified America and what has held it together through good times and bad times. It is the mortar that allows America to be great.
Do you feel like the government represents you? If you don't, it is no surprise. Most Americans feel that they are poorly represented by those in elected office. This was not always the case but the last time so many Americans felt this way was at the initiation of the Civil war. It is uncertain at what point in recent history that the majority of Americans began to feel this way but it is certain that as time goes by there are more and more that believe a change is needed.
Many felt that they were electing change when they voted for President Obama. Was it the change they expected? Look at the polls less than one year into his elected term and you will find a startling answer. It is not the change they were looking for. When he took office he had around 80 percent approval and in less than one year is about 40 approval. In fact more and more Americans that voted for the change are wishing that they had voted differently. The two main parties no longer represent their stated values nor their constituencies. This is indisputable in the view of the American people in the wake of the House and Senate passed health care bills. Americans are standing up in record numbers against the new Health Care policies but those elected march forward as if propelled by some sub-verse motivation.
We must hold our elected officials responsible for their actions. If they will not represent the people that elect them we must stand up and replace them. If neither party is capable of representing the people we should form a new party. Not a party that is almost entire purpose is self preservation rather a party that truly represents america. Why does our budget get bigger and bigger every year? Why do we consistently spend more money that we bring in? This same behavior breaks individuals, marriages, small companies, large corporations and yes will even break governments.
Either our elected officials begin to represent the people or we must replace them with people that will. The American Revolution was fueled by a cry of Taxation without representation. Look at the situation today. True we do have elected officials but do they represent us? In effect are we being taxed with out representation? Thomas Jefferson wrote "When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
I am not calling for a revolution with guns but rather a revolution of ideas and expectations. Write your Senators and Representatives. Let them know how you feel about the Health Care bill that was passed today. Tell them that if they push it forward and it is signed into law that you will hold them responsible and will do everything in your power so they will not be elected again. If it is the case that they still pass the Health Care bill or additional spending bills and continue to spit in the face of the american people that we will replace them.
December 24, 2009
December 14, 2009
Read my lips
Friday, December 11, 2009 one of the largest banks in America, Citigroup, announced that it would pay back the remaining 20 Billion dollars it borrowed from the TARP fund. The reason: Too many government restrictions. It is uncertain if they plan to pay any interest on the money that they borrowed. Interest at 10%, which is very low for the riskiness of the investment, would be about 4B for the 18 month loan term.
On top of the 20B that Citigroup plans to repay, the US government now owns a 34% stake in the banking giant. They plan to sell their stake over the next 6-12 months. That brings the total borrowed by Citigroup to about 45B and the US government estimates a net gain of 6.7B.
Most other large banks that took TARP money have repaid the government as well. JP Morgan Chase & Wells Fargo are a few of the banks that have already paid back the government. Turns out that they didn’t like all of the extra government imposed rules either. Kudos to the banks for paying back the money that they never should have needed, but at least they paid it back.
Now that the banks, the main target group for TARP, has or is in the process of paying the money back a few questions are raised. If banks are viable enough now to pay back the money, are other companies that received money paying it back? Does the government count the money paid back as more money available to pay out or are they being fiscally responsible and holding on to the money that no one had to lend in the first place? And finally, if the banks and other critical parts of the economy are functioning again, is it time to stop handing out the money even though there are billions that still haven’t been handed out?
Ask your friends and family and you will find that America is pleading and hoping that the government will STOP distributing the TARP and Stimulus. They also want everyone who received money to have the moral courage to step up and pay it back with interest. It really comes down to the average American who will end up paying for the continued lack of fiscal responsibility. The choices we make today as a country will determine in large part, who and what kind of country we will become. The choice is clear.
READ my lips, Stop TARP and Stimulus. We must stop them or we will face huge tax increases or wild inflation. We can't afford to raise taxes. People are still losing houses and jobs at an alarming rate and handing out more TARP and Stimulus money will just increase the burden of paying the money back. Taxes are bad and inflation is probably worse. If you don’t believe me do a quick Google search on inflation in post WWII Germany. Both are bad. Bad for America, bad for our future. Let’s make hard decisions today so we don’t have to deal with either.
I love America. I love what it stands for. I want its future to be even better than our amazing past. I want a future I can believe in, not a promise of bigger or complete government. That is not America, it is not what we represent nor is it where our brightest future lays.
Write your elected officials today and ask them to stand up and stop the bleeding in American politics. Ask them to make the right decisions for America even if it means that they won’t get elected. Ask them be fiscally responsible and repeal the TARP and stimulus bills so no more money we don’t have gets handed out.
We can still save our future but we have to act now. With your help and the help of people all across America we can make America the place we continue to be proud to be a part of.
On top of the 20B that Citigroup plans to repay, the US government now owns a 34% stake in the banking giant. They plan to sell their stake over the next 6-12 months. That brings the total borrowed by Citigroup to about 45B and the US government estimates a net gain of 6.7B.
Most other large banks that took TARP money have repaid the government as well. JP Morgan Chase & Wells Fargo are a few of the banks that have already paid back the government. Turns out that they didn’t like all of the extra government imposed rules either. Kudos to the banks for paying back the money that they never should have needed, but at least they paid it back.
Now that the banks, the main target group for TARP, has or is in the process of paying the money back a few questions are raised. If banks are viable enough now to pay back the money, are other companies that received money paying it back? Does the government count the money paid back as more money available to pay out or are they being fiscally responsible and holding on to the money that no one had to lend in the first place? And finally, if the banks and other critical parts of the economy are functioning again, is it time to stop handing out the money even though there are billions that still haven’t been handed out?
Ask your friends and family and you will find that America is pleading and hoping that the government will STOP distributing the TARP and Stimulus. They also want everyone who received money to have the moral courage to step up and pay it back with interest. It really comes down to the average American who will end up paying for the continued lack of fiscal responsibility. The choices we make today as a country will determine in large part, who and what kind of country we will become. The choice is clear.
READ my lips, Stop TARP and Stimulus. We must stop them or we will face huge tax increases or wild inflation. We can't afford to raise taxes. People are still losing houses and jobs at an alarming rate and handing out more TARP and Stimulus money will just increase the burden of paying the money back. Taxes are bad and inflation is probably worse. If you don’t believe me do a quick Google search on inflation in post WWII Germany. Both are bad. Bad for America, bad for our future. Let’s make hard decisions today so we don’t have to deal with either.
I love America. I love what it stands for. I want its future to be even better than our amazing past. I want a future I can believe in, not a promise of bigger or complete government. That is not America, it is not what we represent nor is it where our brightest future lays.
Write your elected officials today and ask them to stand up and stop the bleeding in American politics. Ask them to make the right decisions for America even if it means that they won’t get elected. Ask them be fiscally responsible and repeal the TARP and stimulus bills so no more money we don’t have gets handed out.
We can still save our future but we have to act now. With your help and the help of people all across America we can make America the place we continue to be proud to be a part of.
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