How many condolences do we have to offer, before we decide to take action? Demand change? We are not helpless victims, we have real choices to make.
Guns kill too many people. No one says take guns away, but we can provide an environment where we know who has guns, how many , and where. we can register them and ensure the folks have liability insurance. Institute the same accountability and consequent liability that we have for homes, businesses and boats, cars, etc. Any property with a potential for harm has a price to be paid for ownership and liability. Why not guns?
Climate change is a problem. There are more violent ” killer” storms every year, all over our Country, all over our Planet. How many times do we mourn loss of property and lives before we do something positive to either mitigate the cause of these horrendous weather patterns or adapt acknowledging that we want to curtail loss of life now? What will it take for us to change?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qFi74k2UE Japan’s Tsunami/recently released.
Who else is a victim? We the people are victims? Who mourns for US? Not Fairholme Capital & other hedge funds now suing Fannie and Freddie. Not John Paulson, who shorted the Housing Bubble and made his fortune. These people sue because they have the money and have bought the resources to win. According to the Financial Times, 5/12/14, “Hedge Funds are testing the Quality of US democracy”. If they win their lawsuit against Fannie and Freddie, the taxpayers will lose $33 Billion .
-- Financial Times: 5/12/14 Hedge Funds are testing Quality of US Democracy. Edward Luce. Public Policy auctioned to the highest bidder? Read the full article at: http://on.ft.com/1mPkuVU
” Paying off vulture funds will get seniority to the taxpayer. Some say it was always this way? Look at US agribusiness , they captured the bulk of the subsidies at the expense of small farmers. Or the ability of large oil companies to write off their investment costs. Likewise, private equity has managed , for years, to prevent ” carried interest” from being taxed as normal income”. And so it goes. Rewarding the top .1% at the expense of the rest of us. Aided and abetted by the latest Supreme Court rulings. No one is looking out for we the People, worse, Government by the People, for the People, is being gutted as we watch helpless? Do we offer our condolences to our Democracy, too?
We the people have suffered. We have lost our homes, our pensions and our livelihood. We are saddled with debt at the expense of Corporate welfare. What stops all of us from waking up and stopping the carnage? Haven’t we lost enough? Show your interest in your own welfare, start to discuss what’s wrong with our Democracy? Then start thinking about the change you want? Self interest is a good thing . Think and act for a better future. Watch what our representatives to Congress do, not what they say?
Congress solicits our support and our money to overturn Citizens United. It takes 2/3 rds of both houses of Congress to overturn an Amendment to the Constitution or a convention called by the legislatures which represents 2/3 rd of the states. Ratification depends upon a vote by 3/4 of the State Legislatures. Therefore, since Congress knows ” we the people find Citizens United or the Mccutcheon v. fec ruling egregious , why aren’t they acting in the People’s best interest? Congress knows what ” we the People ” want,” a government by the people for the people”. They don’t need our money. They need to represent the People. Why not consider Sarbane’s bill that rewards small contributors? Personally, I prefer a totally government supported campaign spending program : by the People for the People. No more 2 yrs campaigning on promises, let’s see results first?
mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/17/opinion/nocera-rethinking-campaign-finance.html?referrer= Open for debate!
Clearly, people living a marginal existence or The Middle Class are victims of our Society, too! I read the current Foreign Affairs magazine article on the results of programs to alleviate poverty. ” Show them the money” page 117 in the May/June volume 2014. From all the studies generated, it is not clear that people in poor countries benefit from aid distributed by the Government or through a middle man. It has been found that cash disbursements , via the internet , directly into someone’s account , actually costs less and has more importance to the person receiving the cash. Poor people spend money on necessities creating an economy based on need.
http://m.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141214/christopher-blattman-and-paul-niehaus/show-them-the-money
The question should be, what would help people in developed Nations like ours? direct giving? I was 1/2 joking at the start of this Recession, when I thought we should adopt a 99% person! meaning a person who had been out of work for 99 weeks. My thoughts have evolved after 7 years of Recession. Perhaps the top 1% should give to the bottom, 99% $10,00.00 per family. Doing the math , $1 Billion divided by $10,000 funds a Million people. Imagine $1 Trillion funds 100,000,000 all with an extra $10,000.00 to spend? My next big question would be is this meaningful? How do you compensate people who have lost their jobs, their homes, their pensions and life savings? Certainly , this would be enough to jump start the economy as we seek larger more long range solutions.
According to all 3 religions, Christians, Muslims and Jews , 10% tithing to the poor is recommended. How do we translate this commitment to charity, to doing good in this Country and using our Model Globally? Lot’s to debate. Better then Mourning in America .
