January Rant - The Pursuit of Excellence

The Tangled Web

Our governments have become dysfunctional from the top to the bottom. I am not saying that everyone associated with the government is bad. I know that there are people associated with the government who truly care about what they do. They want to create a better society. But, all it takes is a few bad apples to rot the bunch.

Fear is one of the common threads that keep people from acting upon any grievances they see. It isn't about sniping about a bad economy. It isn't about taking pot shots about every issue that we disagree about. It is about the "Us versus Them" attitude of many of the people from the dark side of governance. Those people who lose their way and become entrenched. The people who cannot even tell you their mission or their purpose; why they choose to serve. They look at many of the people they are supposed to be representing as enemies. I believe, if you aren't representing the interest of everyone, then you are serving against the will of the people! And that is a major problem.

If we look at local economic governance, we see very few of these people who have any educated understanding, rationale, or philosophy related to economics. Are they following the Austrian model? Keynesian? University of Chicago - Milton Friedman? Supply Side - Arthur Laffer? Where does their economic guidance come from? Would they have an inkling of an idea about what I am talking about?

I don't care if people mix the above philosophies, because as human evolution has taken place so have economic realities. I just believe there needs to be some deep thinking about the economic roadmap being laid out before us and the map is important on every level of the government. There needs to be some guidance and context associated with leadership's reasoning. And there needs to be communication with the citizenry about what the government is doing with the capital it takes in as tax revenues or borrows against future tax revenues.

There are problems in every part of this nation. We are seeing communities fall into disrepair as the fight against the forces of a mounting tsunami of debt are racked up from pushing systemic problems down the road. We are fast approaching a tipping point where these economic forces are going to crash down upon all of us. According to a US Census Data analysis, in 2010 nearly one in three working families struggled to meet basic needs. Under these mounting pressures, there are two approaches that will be displayed as we move forward. The easy route of human nature would be "Every man for Himself" as the panic sets in and we are already seeing the vestiges of this begin. The harder route will be the more moral route, the route of virtue, where we are all in this together.

Smaller government doesn't have anything to do with taxes, because as we see in this community we have a thriving bureaucracy. We see local governments looking to keep local taxes low, while requesting more money from Raleigh and Washington. What these local decision makers fail to understand is that the money comes from the same pie; the American People and their present and future earnings.

And it rolls downhill, because as we have seen before, when Raleigh falls short of revenue, then they look to the revenues of the counties and municipalities to make up the difference. When the State and Federal funds dry up, then there are holes in expenditures that have to be filled or vacated.

They are not going to say, "Hey, since you kept a solid financial structure, we're going to let you keep all of the money in your treasury account." They are going to expect as many pounds of flesh as from those who have spent freely. The State of North Carolina owes the Federal government $2.5 billion for unemployment insurance debt. Guess where most of that unemployment has occurred? Do you think that the State might want us to pay a higher weighted installment of this debt and the interest associated with it than areas with less unemployment? Would that not make sense?

Why are we here?

I understand all of the above fully, but what many don't understand is how to separate politics from economic realities. Simple politics is what is ruining this nation, because it does not provide leadership and it represents nothing. Basically, it makes no sense. The term used by Warren Pollock describes this perfectly, "Pseudoligica Fantastica" - Every Space dog has his Sputnik. This means Hyperbolic fake reasoning. Trying to sell people a load of B.S. and make them feel good about it.

The people of this nation need to man up and ask the politicos why they want to hold office and what actions they are going to take to implement their objectives. If they can't answer these questions with relevant answers that go beyond the prototypical soundbite, then they have no business holding office. The onus of self-reliance is always placed upon the American people. That we need to do our due diligence before voting, but what about those who represent us? If they can't be self-reliant upon their own brain to explain themselves and their core philosophy and values, then why would they want to hold a position of responsibility?

The Cause of the Mess

This is not about political party affiliation. This is about Individual Leadership and Responsibility. If the shoe fits, then you have to wear it. Look at the General Realities (as pointed out in the January 2010 Trends Research Institute Newsletter):

1) Both parties were party to the bailouts, so-called stimulus programs, and saving the too-big-to-fails (mega-bank Financial Institutions).

2) Both parties were party to renewing the (anti-liberty) Patriot Act, both supported intensified domestic spying, the torture of suspected terrorists, and the President’s right to order assassinations of American citizens.

3) Both parties maintained a bipartisan, unbroken silence on the crippling Pentagon budget and America’s ruinous “War on Terror.”

As the newsletter points out and I concur, many of the leaders of our government have a mindset structured around “glibness, manipulation and pathological lying to feed their grandiose sense of self worth, while callously lacking empathy for others.”

"Whether moral hypocrisy or mental pathology, until the United States acknowledges and comes to terms with its own reality, there can be neither salvation nor recovery. Until it honestly assesses its own behavior and motives, America will not find the truth that will set it free."

The Hound

No one needs to come preaching to myself or others associated with the Hound about our message. If you don't like what we have to say, you have no reason to shout us down or try to shut us up. You have as many, if not more, avenues to offer your interpretation of the times in which we live. Don't shoot down our message. Promote your own!

This isn't about mocking elected officials or people in the bureaucratic structure. There are issues where we firmly disagree with these people and it is not based upon pettiness. Where we disagree is that in the United States of America we are all supposed to be in this venture together. The people that I know aren't looking for equal outcomes, we are looking for the Pursuit of Happiness through Equal Opportunity.

If people would follow the philosophical principles of Honesty, Integrity, Honor, and Loyalty, then I truly believe that they would understand where I am coming from. I understand the need to look toward ones own interest; but in order to have depth as a human being, you have to look out for the well-being of those who surround you.

Pursuit of a cost cutting, "it's better than nuthin'," bottom line leaves you with a sense of emptiness and discontent, that you aren't fulfilling your destiny. Excellence is the only bottom line that I aspire to. When you take short cuts and compromise that bottom line, then you aren't creating good value. The pursuit of excellence creates beauty, which derives an innate pleasure and satisfaction. If you want to turn our fortunes around, then I ask you to join me in this endeavor.