Assessing Problems necessary for Solutions.

Over the last several years, while our local economy has suffered from a multitude of issues, this blog has pointed out areas of concern and outright problems that are economic, social, and cultural in nature that not only take root locally, but are the result of global initiatives and governance. Although I have been frustrated and perplexed by the intellectual laziness and lack of desire on the part of my fellow man/woman to understand and take interest in the issues facing our ecosystem, I have not lost faith in the nature of the greater power in this life to bring the forces of good together to repel the darkness that attempts to control and manipulate paradigms towards the personal interests of elitism.

If you don't understand the above paragraph, then please read it again and if you don't understand, then I'll try to break it down, but it loses the gravity of its magnitude when I do so -- and I am not attempting to be arrogant. I am just a regular person trying to figure out life and convey what I have learned and am learning to the people who read this material in hopes that we can become an atomic lifeforce spreading the energy of true openness and love.

We have people who have bastardized the terms capitalism and entrepreneur. They have taken these market principles and contorted them into a perverse notion of I'll get mine whatever way I can, by hook or by crook and you can attempt to do the same; but while you are doing that I'm going to try to keep you from getting yours by erecting barriers and I'm also going to try to steal your livelihood and your assets.

Over the years of this blog and prior, I have been told by local public figures that we need to look on the bright side... we need to be positive. It is easy to talk about problems, but we need to focus on solutions. What these people don't understand is that we can't focus on solutions until we are willing to get beneath the surface and look at what has caused the illness related to those economic, social, and cultural issues. If you have a wound that is oozing puss, then you need to figure out what is causing the underlying issue.

Whether people like it or not, part of the solution is pointing out these problems/issues we face. These issues are not static. They did not come about overnight and as time has rolled on, these issues have evolved into negative issues even bigger in nature. By failing to take action, the problems we have faced have grown even more intensely -- near an exponential level.

When we face down issues head on, in the beginning it might look daunting, but as we gain fortitude through experience, you become adept at adapting. That is what we are talking about when we talk about resiliency. We are always going to struggle, but it is how quickly and nimbly you adapt that separates successful from unsuccessful endeavors, whether on a personal or community level. The biggest negative issues that we face in this community are fear and excessive control to the point of manipulation.

I understand the fear that individuals have in relation to current issues involving personal economics and finance. I freely admit that I have struggled for a long time. It beats you down. It is depressing. I have not struggled to the point that I have seen many others go through, but I am not progressing as well as a person my age should. and cannot afford luxuries. People are worried about the future and this causes them to pull back. This is part of behavioral economic theory. When the population hits a critical mass of people pulling back financially, then on whatever level (local, national, international) we see the economy as a whole regress. That is where we are today.

People and communities grow desperate. Instead of trying to find ways to address issues that will create value, they become obsessed with cutting costs. While keeping tight reins and accountability built into a budget is critical, cost cutting does not create wealth and cutting costs can lead to the destruction of wealth.

Chrysler Corporation learned this in the mid to late 1970s. In college, studying management in the late 1980s, we had this vivid message honed into our minds. Chrysler cut costs to the point that they virtually eliminated the Research and Development program. The book entitled "Behind the Wheel at Chrysler," takes a look at how Chrysler's research and development was constrained while the company invested in ventures that had little to do with the corporate mission; how many of Chrysler's new models were simply redesigned chassis on existing platforms; how internal rivalries undermined the company's productivity; and more.

In my opinion, we have seen a similar dynamic on the local level. Egos and marking territories has no doubt been an issue. That does not mean that there aren't really good government employees on the local level. I think the majority take pride in their work and truly do represent the public well. But, we do see a lot of turf protection when it comes to the openness of governance and pushing agendas, protecting friends and allies, and trying to control outcomes towards personal interests. What this does is limit the public's choices in the marketplace.

If you have limited choices, it leads to a deterioration in the quality of products, the marketplace, and ultimately the quality of life in a community. Why? Because this is what happens with controlled economic outcomes. Let's say that a town deems that there will only be one bakery in town and  an ordinance is created that says no one else is allowed to bake or sell bread. That bakery has a captive audience. If you want bread, you have to buy it from them. They can choose what products they offer. They can set whatever price they want. Sure, the residents might choose to not buy bread or even create a black market, but what incentive does the bakery have to create good products at a good price and what incentive do they have to provide an excellent customer service? In looking at similar metaphors, how does a community benefit from a controlled marketplace?

You see, the solutions will take care of themselves if you have a responsive marketplace. The government can take a positive approach by helping to create a dynamic marketplace. Solutions are derived from the assessment of problems.

Optimism? Pessimism? Realism? - Personal Reflection

Over the last few years with the economy in the dumps, many of us who have struggled have heard comments about how, as individuals, being more optimistic could help individuals move forward through their economic travails and get back on their feet sooner and headed towards the path to economic success. Some even surmise that our local community is suffering, because of a pervading pessimistic mood that has taken hold in the community like a contagion. I have been chastised time and time again for not being upbeat about this community. Maybe it is just my inherent personality, but I can't get a feel for what these people are saying.

I understand belief systems, I understand devotion, I understand perseverance and endurance... That is what keeps me going. That is what gives me hope that things will turn around. Yes, it is up to me as an individual to keep moving forward and keep challenging myself, but the anxiety and the depressed state of my emotions to me is understandable. I had no problem with making a modest income and not having all of the fancy trappings of life, but the last five years of my personal life have been a struggle; not in terms of making ends meet as much as not making personal economic progress -- closer to old age with nothing to show. I cannot do the physical work that I do when I get much older. And what does this treading water hold for my future?

I believe that intellectually through the necessity of the expansion of my cultural and social understanding that I have grown greatly. We have leaders on the local level all the way up to the top of the pyramid in this nation who think that if you have the opportunity, then you should work yourself to death. In my line of work, working on a line in a kitchen,  you will not live very long if you work 60 hours a week. I used to do it up until a few years ago and it tears your body up and is mentally very stressful -- to the point of physical and mental exhaustion. In the end what I am espousing is that I believe that it has been necessary for my priorities to change.

Maybe it has been a blessing that so many have had to take a step back from the rat race. I have read stories lately about how the labor dynamic in this country has been permanently altered. Productivity is up, because of robotic automation. Jobs have been offshored due to transfer costs related to labor costs versus the bottom line Corporate Profit picture. While this has gone on, since the year 2000, we see the economic realities of a cost of living that has increased by at least 30% (Consumer Price Index), a median household income that in real terms has fallen by 10%, and a United States population that has grown by 10%. None of that bodes well for the economic future of this nation unless their are dramatic shifts in its economic realities.

As I have stated to others, many of us rightfully feel anger and frustration towards the apathy, ambivalence, and status quo mentality of many of the people in this community; who seem to be saying that the economy is bad around here, because we have bad attitudes. I disagree with that assessment and believe that the anger and frustration comes from the bad economy, a lack of vision of many people in this community, impediments by many in decision making positions towards taking action, and a lack of empathy towards those who are less fortunate.

I can tell you that I don't seek pity. I certainly don't want someone patronizing me. All anyone wants is opportunity. Impediments block opportunity. A lack of acknowledgement of those impediments makes the problems we face even worse. 

I try to convey messages of relevance on this blog. I try to provide proper references and give detailed data and statistical summaries of what I proffer here. I also try to fully separate my opinion from the material presentations that are presented. Yes, I do display emotions, because I am a human being; but unlike the Dinosaur media, I don't try to pretend that I am impartial without a rooting interest, because I am an advocate, but I am an objective advocate.

One thing that I believe that we have spread here on this blog is that we must strive for excellence. That means that WE are going to have to take some risks and get out of our comfort zone  I do realize that there are people who are still doing well economically. I know people from every segment of the socio-economic strata. Many of these people are going about their lives business as usual. I am an observant person. I see the cars people drive and many are obviously still going out to dinner and spending lots of money. But I also see the melancholy that has pervaded much of our society. There is a sense that something is missing. Maybe, just maybe, it is that God and spirituality have taken a back seat to material acquisitions. I see people who wear their religiosity on their sleeves, while promoting their personal material badges. I don't believe that those ideals go hand in hand. Think Humility.

When I speak of striving for excellence, I am not talking about the personal attainment of luxuries. I am talking about the overall "Quality of Life" environment that surrounds us as individuals. I believe that the ecosystem in which we live is integral to the excellence of us as individuals. If the people around me are happier, then I am going to be happier. If you are in a room of 100 people and 10 are in a bad mood, then you can still say that "there is always one in every crowd" and the attitude of the room will remain positive. If you have 50 in that room that are upset, then soon another 40 are going to be upset and the tables are going to be completely reversed. When I talk about momentum, this is exactly what I am talking about. Right now we have negative economic momentum in this community and in this nation.

I look to the fashion that has become ingrained in our culture and in some ways I have been a participant in it. This sense of dressing down and not being judged for how one looks. I think a lot of us have done this , because our jobs don't necessitate us being in a uniform or needing to be presentable. In my personal industry, we are around food and chemicals and we are actively working, so anything we wear is going to get ruined fairly soon. But, in saying that, I do realize that this style has become a reality as part of my every day wardrobe and since the dynamics of my personal life have been downtrodden, I have dressed the part on a mostly permanent basis over the last few years.

In my personal life, I have felt the blahs related to this negative momentum that could definitely be described as pessimism. I have gotten tired of being tired and achy. Some of this has been related to the feeling of mortality due to my grandmother's passing, some has been due to the loss of people in my life, some is related to knowing that my life is closer to over than beginning, and a lot of it is related to this survival mode that I have been in that feels like it is never going to end. I have told people that I have learned to embrace my bitterness. Much of this discomfort had caused me to not go to Church over the last several months and that was only snowballing these feelings. So, I made a New Year's resolution to take a stand,  whether feeling like it or not, and get back to church and try to wear a suit when attending.

In the end, it is all about making an effort, even if one is just going through the motions in the beginning. I think for too long, many of us have found every way possible to follow the path of least resistance. I think the path of least resistance, and the false comfort that lies therein, is what has led this nation to where we are today. It is going to take a few of us, who are willing to take a stand, to turn the tide. We are going to have to create some resistance. Discomfort is coming whether we seek it or we wait on its arrival. Embrace the anxiety. It means you are alive.


Drumroll Please !!! - Hickory Metro is the 8th worst place in the United States to find a job. - U.S.News & World Report - Danielle Kurtzleben - January 23, 2012

We are on the hook for FRAUD!!! by the Banksters

60 Minutes - Part 1 - Countywide Mortgage Fraud




60 Minutes - Part 2 - Citibank Mortgage Fraud




The Hound: I am sure that many of you have seen the 60 Minutes pieces from Sunday. Wow!!! That nailed it. Countrywide and CitiGroup aren't the exception, they are the rule. The issue isn't just Sarbanes-Oxley. The issue is the corruption of our financial system from the top to the bottom.

The Executive Branch is corrupted. The Congress is corrupted. The Department of Justice is corrupted. The Securities and Exchange Commission is corrupted. Wall Street is out of control and run by a what amounts to organized crime. Everyone of the above groups have profited and the American people have been shafted. The Rich get richer and the Middle Class continues to be decimated.

What happens if you are broke and don't pay your taxes or write a bad check? And that probably amounts to anywhere from tens of dollars to maybe a few thousand. The Government will come jail you, because they don't respect you. They feed off of the weak. Yet, these people have stolen millions, billions, and trillions and they aren't even being questioned. That says it all, doesn't it?

We look to the European crisis and the bailout by The United States Federal Reserve. This wasn't done in the American people's interest. This was done to protect the hides of those invested in the Ponzi Economy. I question Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner's manhood. They throw these daggers into America's economic system and don't have the guts to face issues of accountability in relation to what they and their cohorts have done. They are flailing away, buying time, in the face of an economic breakdown crisis. The World economic system is unraveling before our very eyes. Our government and our economy has been hijacked by these people who have been deemed to be smarter and better than "We the People." This leadership who has no common sense and thus no common intelligence.

You have people like Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sponsoring unconstitutional, anti-Liberty legislation to protect the hides of Legislators who feel that they should never be held accountable. Hey South Carolina, it is time that you wake up!!! You talk about smaller government and individual self-reliance and then you keep re-electing this big nanny state liberal just because he runs as a Republican. Lindsey Graham is 180 degrees opposite of what the Reagan movement was supposed to represent!!!

It is time to get back to some checks and balances. I don't want to lose the functionality of the Federal Government, but right now it has gone rogue. It isn't that it is directionless. It has a direction, but that direction is an Anti-Liberty and Globalist initiative. People compartmentalize issues. Look at the overall picture. They are destroying the value of the currency. That is a hidden tax. Right now it means that the money you worked for last year buys 10% less and the money you are earning this year will probably be worth 20% less next year. They cook the books and tell you inflation is only 3%, so seniors relying on Social security are going to see their already limited purchasing power further eroded. And inflation compounds and feeds off of itself over time. The dollar from 1913, when the Federal Reserve was created, is worth 1-cent today. A gold double eagle was $20 then and had held that value for 60 years. Today it is trading at over 85 times that value ($1,710). It is time to take steps to stabilize our financial system and it is obvious that the current power structure has no interest in restoring a system to "We the People." Their actions show that they are only interested in protecting themselves and their connected cronies. And folks, they obviously aren't very good at it.

REPORT: Bill Clinton collected $50k a month from Corzine's MF GLOBAL...

PAPER: Fed may give money to IMF to help euro zone...


Guantánamo for US citizens? Senate bill raises questions



 

Contagion in the system

Below is Warren Pollock's Open Letter to the CME Group.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Open Letter to the CME
To: Terrence A Duffy, Chairman CME Group

As illustrated by the failure of MF Global, I am of the opinion that, the CME has not met its basic obligations to the marketplace as a “public fiduciary.”

Our society depends on “basic finance” to provide “utility function” such as banking, hedging, insurance, and/or capital formation. Presently, we have an “innovative system” that degrades the integrity needed for “basic finance” to perform as required in a well-structured economy.

Worse yet, our “innovative” financial system impedes the effectiveness of the greater “physical economy.” The “physical economy,” consisting of all those individuals and entities tasked with meeting actual need. The "physical economy" consists of many of your customers including farmers, manufactures and electric companies.

Our society needs people working in the "physical world" to create jobs more desperately than it needs the continuity of the CME. Must we endure another market catastrophe to figure this out?

The 2008 bailouts defined “moral hazard,” as the socialization of losses due to over-leverage. MF Global consumers are currently subsidizing losses attributable to over-leverage and “innovation.” Perhaps, small percentage moves in speculation rationalized an internal choice between corporate survival and the sanctity of customer funds. Complexity has been specifically designed, by “modern finance” to intentionally allow over-leverage leading to out sized profits and reactively-subsidized losses.

The word, “theft,” comes to mind.

I believe that, the products traded by your member firms, at the CME exchange and elsewhere, well exceed the capacity of the monetary system to cover relatively small percentage losses or speculative miscalculations. Clearing OTC derivatives on an exchange does not, and will not, correct the problem.

With repeal of Glass Steagall, and the conversion of mutual companies to publicly traded entities, meaningful regulation has proved to be politically impossible to recapture. The solution therefore resides in simplification from “innovative” towards “basic” finance.

Presently, I would urge you to make MF Global customers whole as a perquisite to market reform towards a “utility function.” More than just the continuity of the CME may be at stake.

Warren E. Pollock

What is the CME Group? (Wikipedia) - CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) owns and operates large derivatives and futures exchanges in Chicago and New York City, as well as online trading platforms. It also owns the Dow Jones stock and financial indexes. The exchange-traded derivative contracts include futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, rare and precious metals, weather and real estate.[1]

The corporate world headquarters are in the Chicago Loop financial district The corporation was formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). On March 17, 2008, it announced its acquisition of NYMEX Holdings, Inc., parent company of the New York Mercantile Exchange and Commodity Exchange, Inc (COMEX), which was formally completed on August 22, 2008.[2] The four exchanges now operate as designated contract markets (DCM) of the CME Group.[3]

On February 10, 2010, CME announced its purchase of 90% of Dow Jones Indexes including the Dow Jones Industrial Average.[4]


Problems in the system - Insight: Farm belt rage over MF Global could chill markets - Reuters - By Bob Burgdorfer and Philip Shishkin - CHICAGO/WASHINGTON | Mon Nov 21, 2011 - When the CME Group pledged $300 million of its own money to help former MF Global customers get their cash back faster, the exchange was likely thinking of customers like Kansas cattle rancher Tim Rietzke. Fed up and frustrated with his broker's collapse and what he sees as the CME's slow efforts to help him retrieve $30,000 in stranded capital, Rietzke says his faith in the futures industry has been shaken to its core. "I would be hedging some feeder cattle right now, but I'm not going to do it. I'm leaving them exposed to the cash market and I don't like that," Rietzke said. Rietzke may reside far from the trading pit in Chicago, but he and thousands of other ranchers and farmers across the country are at the heart of futures trading. With billions of their dollars locked up by MF Global's October 31 bankruptcy filing, they are a key voice in determining if and when the futures business regains its poise and reputation. "I have no confidence in the market, because it could happen at any other brokerage," Rietzke told Reuters from his 8,000 acre ranch near the southwest Kansas town of Coldwater......

CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE - The victims of MF Global's bankruptcy have experienced a range of emotions, from anger and betrayal over the missing funds to criticism of regulators being slow to spot problems. With billions of dollars still frozen at MF Global, the outrage has turned to the CME Group for failing to help its customers regain speedy access to their accounts. Far more than the failure of Refco six years ago, MF Global's downfall has triggered a call to arms for medium-and small-scale traders across the marketplace who say it has exposed previously obscured risks in the system -- and the fact that there's no 'white knight' to save them. "The exchange should make this right. Let them hold the bag instead of us," says cattle broker Lynn Wagnon. "We can't trust the system anymore." So far, the CME has offered $300 million to help MF Global's bankruptcy trustee make up for potential customer losses. But even that measure has been criticized. Some of the MF Global's former clients argued in a recent court filing that the guarantee was "an insufficient band-aid, at best." Some $50 million of the offer is from an emergency fund that will help make up for any customer account shortfall; the remainder is simply a "limited guarantee" to allow the trustee to return client funds more quickly. Crain's Chicago Business wrote in an editorial that the CME had suffered "a dramatic and unforgivable void in leadership." CME's shares have fallen nearly 14 percent since the day before MF Global's collapse through to Monday's close....

FOR TRADERS OR PROFIT? - And yet many traders still look to the CME Group to make it right somehow, a sentiment that dates back more than a century to the CME's roots as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board. Until its listing in 2002, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was run as a member-owned club, providing a degree of comfort to traders that the exchange had their best interests at heart. But as big money hedge funds replaced traders as its main constituency, the CME focused on boosting profits, buying first the Chicago Board of Trade in 2007 and the New York Mercantile Exchange the following year, even as exchange members complained loudly they were being short-changed by the deals. CME executives regularly emphasize they are bound to put their "fiduciary duty" to shareholders above any loyalty to their members and Chicago, promising this year they will leave the city -- the home of many of their traders -- unless the state reverses a tax hike made earlier this year. That shift in allegiance may be fueling criticism from market participants.....


The Hound: The problem lies with these Huge Multi-National Mega-Corporations and their marriage to global governance. They are supposed to represent all interested parties. The customer/client, the employee, the community where they do business, as well as the shareholders. Instead they have only looked towards the interests of Executives at the top and the largest shareholding interests. Everyone else is screwed.

Who has control over these entities, which many have deemed "too big to fail?" Domestically, these entities have bought into every facet of our political party structure through lobbying influence and political contributions. This means that Mega-Corporate Interests take precedence over those of the American people. When these entities break the law they are rarely held accountable, especially in a punitive fashion.

In Theodore Roosevelt's autobiography (from 98 years ago) he addresses this issue in relating the Progressive Platform of the Bull-Moose party, which was formed as a splinter group from the Republican Party led by President William Taft who had succeeded Roosevelt in 1909. This was during the first Robber Baron period of this nation, when Incorporated Business growth was leading to monopolies, collusion, price fixing, anti-competitive practices, and other unregulated power through these interests, which led to such regulation as the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act.

Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography - NEW YORK: MACMILLAN, 1913 - NEW YORK: BARTLEBY.COM, 1999
(Chapter) XV - THE PEACE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS - APPENDIX B - THE CONTROL OF CORPORATIONS AND "THE NEW FREEDOM"
"Behind the ostensible Government sits enthroned an invisible Government, owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics, is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.... This country belongs to the people. Its resources, its business, its laws, its institutions, should be utilized, maintained, or altered in whatever manner will best promote the general interest." This assertion is explicit. We say directly that "the people" are absolutely to control in any way they see fit, the "business" of the country. I again challenge Mr. Wilson to...

We need to get these corporate structures back under control and number one they must adhere to the rules and regulations of this nation. Corporate Powers have a fiduciary responsibility to protect all interested parties, not just executives and shareholders. When you represent to a client/customer that their money is secure, then it damned well better be there and available.

Mr. Pollock was not invested in a Derivative contract, at the time, so his money should be secure. Everyone understands the inherent risks of Futures Commodity investments. That is not the issue. This issue is not about day traders and hedge funds. The issues involve the separation of cash accounts and contracts. If one makes a bad investment, then it is understandable that they can lose, but if their money is parked, then it should be secure.

The big issue is the purpose of these markets. These markets were initially implemented to allow  Enterprises that need to procure commodities in huge volumes over extensive periods of time to be able to smooth out waves (price fluctuations) in the market. Without a reliable market, we are all going to be left vulnerable to shocks (price fluctuations) in the market place involving short term crises leading to panics.

This is the reason why the Federal Reserve needs to be taken out of the marketplace. Their manipulations are what have caused many of these issues and they are an unelected (and basically unregulated) body.  I believe the Fed is using their recently printed up Federal Reserve Notes to manipulate the commodity markets. It is the paper precious metal markets that are driving the price of precious metals, much like the paper (derivative) markets are driving up most commodities at this time. In reality there are shortages in relation to the paper assets. As an example, right now it is hard to get a hold of U.S. Mint Walking Liberty silver ounces, because the U.S. Mint is having a hard time sourcing the metal. There are several times multiples of paper versus actual physical metals in the futures market. Listen to what they are saying about MF Global. It is (could be) basically the beginning of a cascading default in the futures market. What is a future? It is a derivative investment off of the actual physical asset, but in the end it is backed by nothing other than a guarantee of delivery. The same holds true whether for a long or short position. What if the deal is that all of these future contracts are looking to take delivery and the metal isn't there? Do you see where this is leading? It is leading to a default and a cascading effect. It can take down the CME and then it will take down the hedgefunds, which leads to the financial houses going down and who owns the financial houses? That would mean that the economy would be tied up in knots and non-functional.

We are in big trouble folks!!!

Obama, You are not one of us. You are not the 99%!!!

I come home and get on the Internet to check out the news. I go to ESPN to check out football scores and see the results of the Indycar racing finale for the 2011 season. And the cold hard slap in the face is that Dan Wheldon died in a horrific crash 11 laps into the race. Indycar Open Wheel is a perilous sport and I have now seen more than a handful of athletes die racing on the cutting edge.

Then I can't read anymore sports so I go check out the Drudge Report and I am about as sick as I can be. Sometimes I don't think after what I have seen over the last year my heart can go any lower. The front page of the Drudge Report has Czar Obama trying to co-opt the Occupy Movement and turn the class issue in his favor by talking about the 99%. Now, what I say here is going to raise the ire of the World Wrestling Federation Political Junkies, but Obama represents the one-tenth of one percent not the 99 percent.

Look at what Obama has done for the Wall Street Cronies and the Federal Reserve. He reappointed Ben Bernanke after Bernanke's complete mismanagement of the Banking Crisis. The Federal Reserve inflated the Real Estate Bubble through its artificial low interest rates. This hurts people who have retirement accounts, because it lowers what they can make on money market funds. Thus it hurts senior citizens. Then at the same time his Obamacare debacle looks to gut Social Security and Medicare at the same time it enriched the banking cartel's who own the Health Insurance Industry. Do you think the Health Insurance Industry represents the one-percent?

I have seen the lack of care afforded by our healthcare industry in my dealings with it through the health issues that my late grandmother had and my mother is now experiencing. I don't expect perfect care. I expect people to be treated with dignity and not looked at as revenue generators. The corporate medical machine looks at people for money, when they have found a way to exhaust people's money then they are left to fend for themselves. Folks, you better understand that from the get-go, because that is the dynamics of the game. The reason why healthcare costs have spiraled out of control is because of the convoluted system created through the marriage of Corporate Ponzi Insurance, the Corporate Ponzi Medical Industry, and the United States Federal Ponzi Bureaucracy.

Back to our President, look at how he represents himself in this tough economy. He gets to play golf all the time. His biggest face time is picking NCAA brackets and talking about sports. He and his wife are jetsetting everywhere on the public's dime and this is a man who has never held a job in the private sector. He is so far out of touch, he may as well be walking on the moon. He is certainly not the right man for the circumstances we currently find ourselves in. He is twiddling, while this nation's prospects are going up in smoke.

I have seen it all and frankly I've had enough. Everything in this country revolves around paper money and nothing revolves around the substance of empowering people and working to help them build and maintain a good quality of life. We can't build efficiencies into the system, because we have some money hungry jerks trying to screw people and not deliver on service and quality. You see all of these business owners, especially Corporate America including the Governmental Corporatocracy, looking to cut corners and give the minimum amount of service necessary to meet their legal obligation. You see the people at the top looking to deliver big bonuses to themselves at the expense of the consumers who purchase their products, while the viability of the middle class continues to be diminished, because they have offshored the productive capacity of our economy.

And I know you can't blame it all on Obama. Hell, he's just a puppet. In my opinion, he is the weakest President in the history of the United States. We always hear about Hoover, well this is your modern day Hoover. His administration  can't get out of the way of itself, which makes many of us wonder if they are doing this on purpose.

Obama's constant speaking out of both sides of his mouth has to make one wonder about his emotional and mental stability  How can one be that two faced and look at themselves in the mirror. I understand that he is just reading words off of a teleprompter, but let me ask you, who is writing what he reads on the teleprompter? And would you endure representing something you don't believe in? Would you not rebel?

The article from the Financial Times ( Obama extends support for protesters -Financial Times - Shannon Bond - October 16, 2011) states that Obama "offered more support for protesters against the global financial system after a weekend of demonstrations in cities around the world, but called on them not to “demonise” those who worked on Wall Street."

Now you WWE Democrat types looking to buy into what Obama reverbs off of his teleprompter tell me how that is possible. We look at the scandals that have beset this administration like Solyndra (not to mention the Fast and Furious Gun Running Scheme). We look at the Fraudclosure issue involving the MRSA robosigning issue and how government officials want to sweep this under the rug after all of these banks have illegally foreclosed on people after utilizing predatory lending practices, including zero down/ARMs, to put them in houses they couldn't afford. We see how rating's agencies such as Standard and Poor's and Moody's were rating junk assets as AAA for Investment Bank favors, such as Goldman Sachs, and Goldman Sachs is pumping and dumping this stuff on both ends. Hmmm... Now who were 2008 Presidential Candidate Barack Obama's biggest contributors?

We see all of this corruption on Wall Street in conjunction with the Federal Reserve and Government at all levels from this President and administration right down to Congressmen, Senators, Governors, Mayors, City Officials, and the Bureaucracy and no one goes to jail, but we aren't supposed to get upset or "Demonize" anyone.

Why do you think they are speaking out of both sides of their mouths? Because they don't want to be held accountable, because at the least they are incompetent, but more likely they are crooked.

We're going to see some justice. There always comes a time where the darkness of corruption is met head on with the equal and opposite light of justice. The events are never pretty. The people who caused this mess and have benefited from it are going to try to control the outcome. If they were smart, they would plead mea culpa and fork over what they have stolen and try to restore the health of our economic system, but I honestly think their greed far outstrips their intelligence. They are going to continue on speaking out of both sides of their mouths, not doing anything meaningful to restore the system they have corrupted, and trying to buy time. But, time will continue to move along and the economy will continue to worsen, because what we are seeing is not a normal business cycle. It is a breakdown crisis and what has broken the system is fraud and corruption and that must be addressed in order to move our economy and society forward.

Herman Cain is a Tool for the Federal Reserve -- DoGood and the Hound

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/ftn/main20117827.shtml

On October 9th, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich appeared on the ‘Face the Nation.’ Some of you reading this may already know that. You may likewise know parts of the conversation coming from that show. In part, here are some excerpts from the transcript of that show, as broadcast (You can magnify the text below by pressing Ctrl and +):

Schieffer: “…---there are thousands of protesters camped out on Wall Street and around the country. Mr. Cain, you suggested they might be there just because they're jealous of people that have good jobs. Here's a little of what you said:”

"And to be angry at somebody because they're successful is anti-American in my opinion. Secondly, this is a distraction from the failed policies of the Obama administration. Why be made you don't have a job at the bankers on Wall Street? They're the ones that help create the jobs."

Cain: “The proof is quite simply the bankers and the people on Wall Street didn't write these failed policies of the Obama administration. They didn't spend a trillion dollars that didn't work. The administration and the democrats spent a trillion dollars. They're not proposing another 450 billion dollars, the administration is proposing another 450 billion dollars wrapped in different rhetoric so it's a distraction so many people won't focus on the failed policies of this administration. So I stand by that.”

Schieffer: “I don't want to interrupt so you're saying that these people all got together up there to draw attention away from Barack Obama. That's why they're there?”

Cain: “They were encouraged to get together.”

Schieffer: “Who encouraged them?”

Cain: “We know that the unions and certain union related organizations have been behind these protests that are going on on Wall Street and other parts around the country. It's coordinated. To create a distraction so people won't focus on the failed policies of this administration.”

Schieffer: “And why is that anti-American?”

Cain: “It's anti-American because to protest Wall Street and the bankers is basically saying that you're anti-capitalism. The free market system and capitalism are the two things that have allowed this nation and this economy to become the biggest in the world. Even though we have our challenges, I believe the protests are more anti-capitalism and anti-free market than anything else.”

Schieffer: “What's your take Mr. Gingrich?”

Gingrich: “I think the sad thing is, this is the natural product of Obama's class warfare. And Ronald Reagan used to tell the story about the British worker who stood by the road with his sign as a Rolls Royce went by and said someday we're going to get that guy out of that car. And the Americans stood by the road as a Cadillac went by and he said someday you're going to buy that car. Now Reagan represented the real American tradition which is that you and your children have a chance to go out and work hard, the Steve Jobs experience. You can create a better future. You can do something better. We have had a strain of hostility to free enterprise and frankly, a strain of hostility to classic America starting in our academic institutions and spreading across this country and I regard the Wall Street protesters as a natural outcome of a bad education system teaching them really dumb ideas.”

Schieffer: “Well do you agree with Mr. Cain who says they're just jealous of people who have jobs?”

Gingrich: “Well I'm not even sure that the people actually protesting..look, there are a lot of people in America angry. I was with 35 realtors in Buford, South Carolina on Wednesday who are looking at a disaster in housing but they know that it's the Dodd-Frank bill, it's the Obama administration, it's Bernanke and Geithner and they're focusing their anger on the people who are causing them pain. They're not angry about other people being successful, they're angry about an Obama administration stopping them from having the chance to be successful.”

Schieffer: “Well did you really mean that literally, you think they're just jealous? You think that's the driving force? Couldn't it also be that these people don't have a job, they don't know where to turn, they don't see any answers to the problems they have and you think it comes down to jealousy?”

Cain: “Bob, yes I do.”

Schieffer: “Really?”

Cain: “Because it's class warfare. Some of them are there because they don't have a job. Yes. But the fact of the matter is, why aren't there jobs? Go and picket the white house. Demonstrate in front of the white house. The thing that this administration does not get is that the business sector is the engine of economic growth. That's key. They don't get that. So this president and administration wants to continue to try to spend our way to prosperity. Part of it is jealousy. I stand by that. And here's why I don't have a lot of patience for that. My parents, they never played the victim card. My parents never said that we hope the rich people lose something so that we can get something. No. My dad's idea was I want to work hard enough so that I can buy a Cadillac, not take somebody else's. And this is why I don't have a lot of patience for people who want to protest the success of somebody else.”



Silence DoGood
I guess that I could have shortened the transcript above by redacting certain parts of the conversation that didn’t support what I want to write about, but that conveys precisely what it is I loathe about what goes on in this City, County, and Country, so I left it all in and gave you the link to read the entire transcript if you so choose.

Herman Cain has spunk, I’ll give him that. Where he’s wrong in entirety, is comporting to the notion that it is “un-American” to protest. It is entirely American to do so. Now, there are certain things you can’t engage in while so assembled, but you have that right to assemble and speak. To pronounce otherwise, as Cain so vehemently does, demonstrates either an ignorance of the Constitution or disdain for what it says. And he is wrong to suggest that one man can change the unemployment situation and then, proposes that people should engage in picketing the White House. Something he is entirely against. Not that I think he is the only one that thinks that way. I’m sure if all candidates were truthful, at any level of government service, it would be shocking how many comport to the notion we have too many rights. Not unlike some employers thinking workers have too many benefits.

Let me go on however. Yes, this President spent one trillion dollars, using the number from the transcript, in true Keynesian economic fashion, to get the economy moving again. It is my rebuttable presumption that money was placed with the financial institutions of this nation to loan, put into circulation, and finance projects, which in turn would serve to put people back to work and thus, get their money back into circulation, allow them to buy things. The big economic wheel goes round and round. From my discussions with others, this isn’t what happened however. The banks either sat on the money or lent it out for things other than what it was intended. Was that the fault of the President? Probably, as a lawyer he should have known better than to give cash to bunch of Wall Street types carte blanche and trust them to do the right thing with it.

Both candidates in their conversation with Bob Schieffer eluded to “class warfare” being waged by the President. I think that a war of sorts is brewing in this country. Whether or not it will be a bullets and bombs affair or merely a social ‘revolution’ remains to be seen. But the fact is, this President didn’t start it. I sometimes wonder if he is even aware of it himself. This class dispute has been brewing for quite some time and for an operative illustration of how class works in this area, I’ll refer you back to ‘The Hickory Hound’ on Monday, October 10th, 2011 about Burke County. This is how it works folks. If a class war is building, it isn’t the fault of this President, or unions, or anything else, it is because those in the under classes are tired of being used and then cast aside as those who reside atop the socioeconomic scale continue to amass wealth, even in this time of severe economic downturn. Right here, let me say this to you if you reside in the upper elevations. I don’t want a thing you have nor am I jealous or envious of you. By the same token, the folks not within the confines of that elite circle are tired of seeing everything they’ve worked and scraped to provide themselves in that capitalistic reflection of you being taken away. Crude oil is down per barrel, but the gas price is still way over $3.00. Right now, gas in Denver, NC is $3.12 a gallon. Look at what it’s selling for in Hickory. Bank of America has added a $5.00 per month fee because the CEO of BOA has a responsibility to the stockholders to provide a dividend. Duke/Progress Energy wants a 17% pay hike to fund future projects. Food has increased by around 30% in the past 18 months. Who pray, tell, is taking from whom? And what the folks in the small business community fail to realize is, they are in the same boat as the blue-collar skilled workers and lower scale white-collar workers.

The Occupy

I like to refer to these parameters as ‘blissful ignorance.’ As long as the under classes could go out to eat every Friday night, had something to do like watch NASCAR or football, and money to make all those installment payments, life, as they say, was good. But that came to a screeching halt, didn't it? People finally began to look around and say, “What the heck is going on here?” They began to question what they had taken no prior interest in. The classic mantra used to be, “if you work hard, you too will succeed.” And in a generalized manner of speaking, that was true. It isn’t true today however. Think about this, I along with others, have talked for months and years, here and elsewhere, about how money buys you access and influence and how political power attracts money. Look at the billions of dollars spent on lobbying and PACs (Political Action Committees) as a means of garnering that influence. Look at how many companies in this City and County alone fled when the door opened to China. Do you think that your legislators were just sitting around one day twiddling their thumbs and one said, “Hey, in the interest of free trade, lets open up trade agreements and allow our companies to off shore jobs and their businesses, because it will be good for everybody.” They didn’t propose the concept and no one ever paused to ask who was within the use of the word ‘everybody’. While the workers here were hardly making a fair wage for what they did, they were left high and dry just as soon as cheaper labor became available after decades of working for less than median wages. So don’t try and hand me this ‘family’ company atmosphere in business for workers. It got penciled, papered, and stamped for the benefit of those other than the common everyday people. We are now living the result.

Is that the fault of the wealthy? I read a letter to the editor a couple of years ago written by someone from the Northwest in response to a letter written by a citizen. I don’t recall the exact words but the gist was, my father worked hard and did this, that, and the other and don’t blame me because I’m wealthy. Ok, Daddy worked hard. Others have likewise worked hard and not enjoyed that apparent level of success. The implication that one has not worked hard is like a slap in the face. To be perfectly candid, that is the same attitude that has brought about some of the problems that we face. Conceit and arrogance are not valid replacements for grace, class, and being humble. Luck has a little bit to do with success, along with work ethic. Either way though, your fault or not, that isn’t going to stop you from being blamed.

So while this infernal finger pointing continues, lives continue to falter and deteriorate as well as the status of this nation. People are fed up and the number of protests is growing, if you haven’t noticed. Frankly, I’m not all that interested in assigning fault or blame. I’m interested in right and I’m interested in fix. One man can’t do it. One group alone can’t do it. It will take everyone working together. Business, labor, republican, democrat, I don’t care what label you choose to identify with. We’re all Americans. It’s time we came together as Americans.

The Hound: I agree with a good portion of this. Herman Cain is a tool. He was the head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is the Central Bank and the conduit of the Mega Bank Cartel that today rules this country. If you buy into Cain's 9-9-9 tax scheme, then you haven't paid attention. This is just a scheme to get their foot in the door by introducing a Federal (VAT) sales tax.  Can you afford a new tax? Oh, they talk about reducing the income tax and they might reduce it by a few percent, but the goal is to drastically increase the taxes paid by the middle class at the same time they implement their austerity measures. And Cain is a Republican?!?!?

Where I hugely disagree with DoGood is in his assessment of Obama. While he is completely correct about the fact that the Unemployment situation should not be laid at Obama's feet, Obama has been foot to the floorboard on the schemes of the Federal Reserve and the Crony Social Capitalists. Look at his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner who was the head of the Federal Reserve's largest branch -- New York. He has worked in conjunction with the Fed to print the Monopoly money and continue offshoring our economy. The issue of offshoring has developed for a couple of generations. I, myself, am not against foreign trade. What I am against is the American workforce having to compete against Third World Slave Labor, which is essentially a form of Corporate Mercantilism. The Mega Corporations (Fortune 100) are the only people who have benefitted from this scheme.

Obama is a tool of the Federal Reserve just like recent Presidents. The monies for the Economic Stimulus package of 2009 went to specific packages that were, for the most part, given to local governments and went mostly to Democrat Party cronies as part of the Democrat wave that was elected in 2008. The money was definitely spent. It isn't sitting somewhere in a reserve vault. It was a pay off to cronies, such as Jeffrey Immelt and George Soros. Monies have gone to projects that have allowed GE and GM to increase factory capacity in China, to hand over Chrysler to Fiat, and for offshore exploration of oil in Brazil. How is that operating in the favor of the little people who Obama said he would bring Hope and Change to?

It isn't only the stimulus money, but you had the revolving door of TARP money that was passed during September 2008. I wrote about this in the articles The Federal Government's Ponzi Scheme and Let's Add this up - $1.979 trillion in bailouts and counting. This has gone on and on and on... The money of the citizens of this nation thrown at a black hole. Nothing has changed in the last three years and this went on during George W. Bush's administration, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, and all the way back to 1913. All Democrat and Republican alike. The only President who took any action to rein in the Federal Reserve was John Kennedy and we all know how that ended.

I can't get people to move away from their loyalty to WWE style party politics. Herman Cain is telling people to buy lock, stock, and barrel into Party identity and Politics. It is all about divide and conquer. He's preaching a notion, as Republicans do, that anyone who is struggling is doing so because they are lazy. Tell that to the people who still have factory jobs and are basically making the same wage or less than what they were making years ago. Herman Cain's words show that he doesn't respect the people who are struggling in this economy. As DoGood points out, the prices keep escalating and he wants to 9-9-9 us. Flip that one upside down and that is where these shills are taking us. There is very little difference between the Party Republicans and the Party Democrats. The differences people see are convolutions spinning in their minds related to the frustrations of their personal lives and the corruption and greed they see associated with the marriage of Big Government and Transnational Big Business. Both Parties support and foster that marriage, because it personally empowers them. There is no loyalty towards this nation and its people or founding principles. What I define above should not be mistaken for Capitalism. It is a controlled form of socialist economy.

It is time to make our representatives prove themselves. It is time to start voting FOR candidates, instead of AGAINST others. It is time for some real choices. I am a Republican, but I am not considered a Republican by the establishment. You Democrats aren't considered a part of the Democrat Party establishment, so at the end of the day the decision makers aren't listening to you. TARP should have proven that. TARP proved who the politicians are working for. The reappointment of Ben Bernanke, after years of colossal failure, proved who the politicians are working for. The Presidential Nominees who have been marketed by the Parties show what the Parties are all about. Smaller Government, Cutting Spending, and Lower taxes are lip service issues for the Republicans and ending the wars and investing in the Middle Class are lip service issues for the Democrats. The governmental leadership in this nation does not identify with Registered Voting members of their respective parties. They are only loyal to those who give them campaign contributions and the lobbyists that pay for their perks and privileges.

These people who are today in positions of power are Vampires looking to suck the life force out of us. They aren't looking to empower the people. They are looking to empower themselves through us. They will spend our energy and once they are through with us, then they will discard us, because we have no value to them. People need to take the blinders off and understand what is happening all around them.

July Rant - Can Hickory Be a Technology Hub

In this presentation, I wanted to speak directly to the followers of this blog. City Manager Berry has stated his desire that Hickory become a technology hub. In the following audio presentation, I explain one of the personal issues that I have faced in dealing with the city and another that others have expressed to me. These have all been given and confirmed as realities by several people I have spoken with.

Some may consider these issues small and trivial, but if you can't take care of these small issues, then how are you ever going to take the giant leap towards the desire of City Manager Berry?

I hope that you will take 10 minutes to listen and please feel free to let me know what you think.



The issues relate to being able to make online payments on the city's website. I have tried and you just can't get it done. I have also had people tell me that they couldn't fill out online surveys, because they couldn't find them. I went online and they were right. These surveys were nowhere to be found. How are you going to become a technology hub, if you can't build user friendliness into a website for the public or organize and run the city's website properly?

June Rant - It is an Honor to be called a Conspiracy Theorist

Paul Craig Roberts stated that it is an honor to be called a Conspiracy Theorist yesterday during an interview with Alex Jones and I have to concur. We are constantly sold propaganda by government sources, we are given misleading statistics and out-and-out lies about the condition of our economy. We see so many of our leaders who are perfect caricatures of used car salesmen from "B" movies. The whole governmental system that we see becomes more hokey every day. Why is it? Because the government has lost relevance and has no credibility. Being labeled a Conspiracy Theorist only means that they disdain you for critical thinking and not automatically taking for granted that you are being told the truth by these sources.

I know people who voted for Obama because he was going to get us out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and many are just supporting him for the sake of supporting him. Just look at the facts. Now we are nearly all over the equatorial region of the Afro-Asian continent from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean; five specific hostile actions taking place in Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan with implications of future action in Syria.  We also see connected action through NATO in the Ivory Coast and Tunisia. And yet these same people who supported Obama and derided Bush are nowhere to be found when it comes to accountability related to Obama's campaign rhetoric of three years ago. It is a joke that he was given a Nobel Peace Prize. What did he do or what has he done to deserve an honor of Peace. Actions mean a lot more than hyperbole.Our economy is faltering beyond any belief that I thought conceivable in the previous generations of my life. I don't care if a Republican or a Democrat is in charge. We cannot afford to continue these unlimited, infinite Imperial Offensive actions!!!

Then take a serious look at the United States economy. Go back to the beginnings of this blog. I told you that TARP would not fix anything. I told you that stimulus would not work. I told you that it was about fraud and padding people's pockets. I can see not understanding economics and giving the leaders that you believed in the benefit of the doubt. You see, that is what I am doing with you who gave these authorities the benefit of the doubt. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt. But now I am out of patience, because there comes a time when all credit and doubt is erased and all we are left with is the unvarnished, indistinguishable truth. It is time to separate the bologna from the real meat. These government officials are either corrupt or incompetent and folks we can't afford either scenario in these perilous times.

Gerald Celente says "Let the people vote. Let the people vote." He believes that we need to see direct democracy, because our representatives are not representing the needs and the interests of the people of the United States. Our supposed representatives have been for sale to the highest bidder for years. They represent the interests of the elite and the corporations that they own. They call it "Campaign Contributions" and we call it bribes and payoffs. That is the reason why capitalism has gotten a bad rap, because the sociopaths have perverted capitalism into crony capitalism, which is the neo-feudalistic, fascist model. We have a new aristocracy represented by these elite owners of these mega-corporations and you have a marriage of Wall Street and Washington and you see the sincerest form of flattery on the local level. You might think you are one of them, because you are a little higher up on the food chain in your small community, but soon they will gobble you up too, if we don't start working towards straightening this situation out.

A man that I consider a mentor of mine is Rick Smyre. I trained under him in a field that he calls "Master Capacity Building." It is all about making connections and seeing where one can put pieces together. Sometimes it can take years  for an opportunity to allow a connection to be made, but when that opportunity arises then you must recognize that opportunity and seize upon it. One of my shortcomings, in my opinion, in relation to Capacity Building is that I am not as diplomatic or patient as a man such as Rick. I want to see things happen while I am still relatively young and still have energy so that I can enjoy the fruits of this labor in my lifetime.

I also think that we are not going to leave this world in good shape if we leave it to the hands of the Corrupt and /or Incompetent. Rick has pushed a notion that he calls Mobile Governance that has been given to a friend and colleague Dewey Harris to formulate and relate to the public and move towards eventual implementation by governments that still are interested in more than a contrived relationship with the public that they are supposed to represent. You can listen to the Youtube presentation or read about this theory of Governance at the links at the bottom.

What is clear in my mind is that allowing the American people to have a direct say in their governance can't put us in any more of a bottom of the barrel position than we are currently in. I have started to believe that money and brains are like oil and water. We can't get back to being AMERICA, and all that is supposed to represent, until more of us begin to strive for excellence and start reaching for the stars. The possibilities are only limited by ourselves and those that we allow to control us. I don't think that the divine spirit wants us to punish ourselves through unnecessary artificial moral bondage. What the spirit of the higher power wants is that humanity be righteous and just. Are we striving towards those values today? Isn't that where we have gotten off track? Are the Power and Control mechanisms that are currently out of control in our society the root antithesis of Justice and Righteousness? I think so!

THE WEAK SIGNAL OF MOBILE GOVERNANCE by Rick Smyre

Bringing People to the table of Governance - A presentation on Mobile Governance

May Rant - Where are the jobs?

Jobs. This is the issue. It has been the issue for nearly a decade and it will continue to be the issue until we get a class of leadership that is will to fight to bring jobs back to our country!

The problem is the marriage of corruption and comfort. The elite are comfortable with corruption. I face this issue every time I bring this issue up about specific incidences of corruption happening at every level of the government and our society. The response that I receive is, "tell me something new."

OK, I'm going to tell it to you straight. If you make no effort to solve the issues of corruption that we face, then it is game over and our country is a full fledged Banana Republic. Not addressing issues of corruption is like a dog chasing its tail. You ain't gonna get nowhere. We cannot restore the economy without addressing issues of corruption.

I am not naive. I understand that there has always been corruption and there is always going to be corruption. That is not the issue and people use that angle to obfuscate their personal acceptance of corruption. What I am obviously espousing is that when we see corruption, then we should route it out. If you accept corruption, then you are complicit in its exercise. I have shown you who has stolen money through our government. Where are the indictments against the banksters who utilized the financial system to steal trillions of dollars from the public treasury? Where are the indictment against the politicians and bureaucrats that willingly worked with these people to steal the public's money and feather their own nest?

The reason why we don't have jobs is because we have allowed our industry to be exported to the Third World. This has been perpetrated by the criminal Elite Investment class of Hedge Funds that rule World markets including Wall Street and it has only benefited the elite class who are able to invest in these funds. It has not benefited the American public. This is completely unacceptable. Where has the wealth of this nation gone? Our National wealth has been built upon a Ponzi Scheme!!! If we are wealthy, then why is our currency imploding and why have we racked up $14.3 trillion in debt on the Federal level. Folks, you are dumber than I think you are, if you think that is a sign of wealth!!!

I have shown you this. This is what the documentary The One Percent delves into. This is what I have been showing you with the Economic Stories of Relevance news links that I have been putting out each Sunday. The reason we don't have jobs is because of the greed and the corruption that have infested what is supposed to be a Free Market system. Eventually, we will put the perps in prison. We are coming to get you. It is just a matter of time. We want our money back!!!

Why has our nation used our tax dollars to invest in General Motors so that they can invest in China and celebrate Communism? (Washington Times). What has happened to our nation and our people? Why is this not a headline in every newspaper and being questioned by network television reporters? This is the reason the major media has no credibility!!!

Why is our government supporting and underwriting Brazilian Oil exploration? (Wall Street Journal - Obama underwrites offshore drilling). We have lost thousands of oil related jobs due to shutdowns in the Gulf of Mexico. We have a $700 billion annual trade deficit related to oil.  Could someone tell the environmentalists that if there is an oilspill created by Petrobras that it will still affect us. We should be making sure that we have companies drilling in the United States and for the United States that represent United States interests (period)!!!

Here in the Hickory area, since the collapse of manufacturing that took place over a decade ago, we have pushed the notion that if people get more educated and/or retrained that everything will be alright. The politicians have been the biggest supporters of this notion. Well, there have been many of us that followed that advice. People have gone out, gone into thousands of dollars of personal debt and learned new skills, boned up on how to use new technology, and earned various certifications and diplomas. We have done our part. Have the politicians done theirs? -- we all know the answer to that!!!

The bottom line is that these various "Free for All" - "Battle Royale" international trade mechanisms have not worked. They have left this nation vulnerable. People are not lazy, which is the notion that many of the Republicans want to push. They just want to earn a decent living and have a purpose to their life. They don't want a ragtag, live day-to-day existence. They want a career. They want to progress in a job that has meaning to where they can enjoy their families without working multiple jobs to make ends meet and never getting to spend time with their loved ones. I don't think people care about retiring. I personally don't ever want to retire, but I want to build and accumulate some modest wealth so that I can go on a vacation, improve the homestead, have a decent form of transportation, have money saved for a rainy day such as an illness, and be able to slow down when I get older like I know is the natural due process of living life.

Our government is not giving us this option. All they do is feather their own nest at our expense. It is time to take back elected officials pensions, since they are intent on destroying ours. It is time to cut their pay, since they are intent on cutting ours. It is time for them to sacrifice, since the blowhards tell us that we need to sacrifice. It is time to take away their comfort, since they are intent on taking away ours. It is time for them to feel the anxieties of the public that they work for. We are not their subjects. They are supposed to be working towards our interests. Where are our jobs?!?!

The mindset of the public should be: if we can't have our jobs back, then neither can you. It is time for some freaking accountability. It is time to end the excuses. It is time for some execution (as in performance for the dimwits who would accuse me of preaching violence). I want to see some action taken to reverse the trends. The trends are deplorable and getting worse.

If you are lost, do you double back or keep going down the path that you are lost on. It is obvious that we are lost and no one knows how to get our freaking jobs back, so maybe one of the pea brains needs to get us back on the road that we were on when we had decent jobs and our economy was progressing. And it is time that our local officials find some courage to support the public's interest or it is time for the public to show courage and kick the parasites out the door, because you are either with us or against us. We want our dignity and We want our jobs back!!!

April Rant - Governance

I remember about a year and a half ago sitting in a meeting of some very cutting edge people that live in Hickory and Catawba County and having a discussion about how we go about changing the mindset of the people who live in the area. The discussion turned in the direction of Horse Race politics and how you go about making changes related to changing officials in elected office and how the same people hold their positions for lengthy periods of time and how those people hold no accountability because empirical evidence shows that no matter what they do or how we continue in an economic and social malaise in this area that these people will be reelected anyway, because they will always have someone else to blame and there are very few people who have the intestinal fortitude to hold their feet to the fire.

After listening to the people talk in circles about this subject, I had to interject that it isn't about the Horse Race, because what these people were saying was obvious and frankly it is time to move on from constantly bemoaning the obvious. It just isn't constructive to keep preaching to the choir. The message has to be taken to the people who are clueless as to the way our governance works in this area.

Evidence has proven that Mayors in Hickory stay in office for a generation. We have a Mayoral position that has a four year election cycle and in the last 52 years we have had 4 mayors and only one served a single 4 year term. Julian Whitener was in office from 1959 to 1977, George Murphy served the single term from 1977 to 1981, Bill McDonald was in office from 1981 to 2001, and Mayor Wright has been in office from 2001 to present. Compare that to the United States Presidency where there have been 10 office holders during that same subsequent time period.

What I pointed to that day was that the Horse Race is fine and dandy, but in the end it is about governance. We have people that get so entrenched in political ideology related to the Horse Race that they just walk away from the situation once the election is over only to come back when the subsequent terms are up to the wash and rinse repeat cycle. What about what goes on between the four year terms and the decisions that are made and the consequential implications of the decisions that have been made?

I am not only speaking about Hickory's Mayoral race. Too be fair, the same goes on in every local decision making race that is held from City Council to County Commission to State House and State Senate and that doesn't only go for Hickory. It also goes for all of the Metropolitan area of Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton. I don't believe in Trickle Down Economics and I don't believe in Trickle Down Governance. The most important decisions that are made that effect this area are made right here by our local officials either by action or inaction.

Elected officials will play it off and blame everyone else, but they are who we elect to hold office. They have no right to abrogate their authority to any part of the bureaucracy, whether that be government or quasi-government agencies. They are the people who hire the local City and County Managers and they empower all forms of decision making bodies. This is supposed to be done for the sake of public interests, but all too often we see it done for personal self interest and for their associates without taking into account the effects that it will have on the big picture. They have no right to cry about Raleigh and Washington, when the State and Federal Government sends them millions of dollars in grants and usually lets them decide how to spend such monies or they are allowed to request and apply for such grants of their choosing to be directed towards interests of their choosing.

The bottom line is that our local officials are responsible and accountable for the decisions that they make. But, it is the responsibility of the citizenry to keep up with what is going on in their local government and hold their elected officials accountable. This is not done by less than 10% of the people showing up for a local election. This is not done by not following the decision making process of local government officials. This is not done by not participating in the processes of governance. This is not done by only complaining when something directly effects you and walking away when it's your neighbors issue that has taken the stage. We are all supposed to be looking out for the welfare of the entire community. If we are only going to look out for our own interests, then why even have a City Charter?

To be successful we need to grow the pie. We need a local economy that is growing. In order to do that we have to be in this thing together, but it seems way too many people are out for themselves and their own short term interests. Mayor Wright has constantly stated that our local decision making body, "the Hickory City Council" is non-partisan. As I have stated in the past, nothing could be further from the truth. If someone is thinking in regular pop culture Democrat or Republican terms, then they are only fooling themselves with such a simple context. What we have in our area is the Downtown Development Association Party and the Northwest Hickory Party and everyone who does not conform to those interests is getting routed. I mean they are getting their A Double Esses handed to them. Those interests are not non-partisan. Check out the agendas of the Hickory City Council and see what they relate to. See what the issues on the agenda are directed towards. And maybe you just might get my point.

I constantly hear people from the Republican Party who espouse the notion of competition. That is one of the reasons why I can claim to be a real Republican and most of the people around here are one dimensional thinkers playing charades. All they can talk about is low taxes and small government. They want "My Taxes" to be low, but they also want goodies sprinkled all over them by the government. They don't care about other people's taxes or the common interest services that should be provided by a viable community that will help a community prosper.

You might say that I am not for competition, because I don't support Free Trade. I disagree, I don't support the Laissez Faire, "Free for All," Battle Royale trade policies that are currently going on that have scarred the American Industrial System. These policies are devastating the middle class and thus that is what is hurting our local area. The question is what are our local officials doing to help the working class people in the area? It seems that their policies are always geared towards the upper class. What about the tens of thousands of people in our area that have been adversely effected by what has been going on for the last decade?

I believe in fairness and each side playing by the same rules of justice. This does not mean that there will be equal outcomes and I do not believe in forced outcomes, but I do believe in equal opportunity, because I believe this allows the best ideas and the best entrepreneurs and the best leaders to rise to the top. It isn't all about investing capital and physical money into the middle class. It is about investing time, energy, and ideas into helping the interests of the majority of the people in our region, instead of focusing everything towards the same old stale ideas fostered by the closed circuit club that runs in the same circles and is not open to new ideas and the realization that we can't tweak around the edges to change the negative economic momentum of our area.

The people at the top of Hickory's Food Chain may like it here, because of their status. They may not want the area to change. They may not want to invite people here that have different ideas than their own, because they are afraid that it will change what they have deemed Hickory is supposed to be; but I guarantee that these people are anxious, because they see the economic writing on the wall. They know the economy isn't good and this isn't a normal downturn of the business cycle, but they are stuck in a paradox of wanting to control Hickory towards their own will by trying to firm their grip and steady their position, while at the same time they continue to see the local economy become more and more irrelevant in this 21st century world. They are in denial about the fact that what Hickory was is not going to come back and making a transition towards a new future is not some sort of fantasy, it is imperative for the viability of the community.

Maybe certain people don't care if the population implodes. Maybe certain people want a downsized Hickory. Who does this benefit? Do you want to participate in such a process? Do you understand the implications this will have on your personal finances and the quality of your life? Do you know what this will mean to your property value? Don't you want to know what the vision of our leaders is? Don't you care about the direction in which we are headed? Don't you want to be in the loop on this decision making? It doesn't worry you? You don't care what relevance this has to you and your family? Are you giving up? Is this some sort of long term slow suicide pact that I don't know about?

Put down the Chicken Wings dripping in Ranch, push back the Pabst Blue Ribbon, push the off button on the Remote to the Boob Tube, lower the lever to the foot stool of the La-Z-Boy, and start getting involved in your lives; because if you don't, then you aren't going to be able to afford all of those poor man luxuries. Our Forefathers busted their butts so that our lives could be easier and we are headed to the point where we are going to have to start over from scratch, all because people didn't care to play a role in their own lives and their own destiny. People may not like what I am saying or what I am doing. Well to that I say it is time for YOU to SAY SOMETHING and DO SOMETHING!!!

February Rant - Critical Thinking

This is what the Hickory Hound tries to be centered around. One of the original stated ideas and goals of the Future Economy Council was to move towards an organization of people who would come together from various positions of the political and cultural spectrum and work together to discuss, initiate, implement, and produce common objectives that will benefit the community. That is the importance of Master Capacity Building. We are connectors, who utilize our individual characteristics, personalities, and personal skills to bring people together to make those common objectives realities.

That is what I have tried to do by bringing you these predictive capacities about weak signals in and of the future. That is what I have tried to do by talking about people like Gerald Celente, who always states that "Current Events form Future Trends." In this age of constant change and uncertainty, it is very important to be able to walk through this minefield with skills and knowledge that can help you cope with constant chaos. That is what will keep you mentally steady and helps one be adaptive and nimble and thus resilient in this current age of uncertainty and constant evolution of changing realities.

We are currently going through a great period of Transformation at every level of Society. Most people are reluctant to deal with the seismic shifts in evolutionary realities that we are constantly witnessing over a daily basis. It is hard to get people to deal with and open up to the fact that the World's realities are no longer stable. Problems must constantly be dealt with to keep issues from becoming overwhelming. Look at the Dictators in the Middle East. Do you think that they thought that they would be overwhelmed by revolutionary movements in a matter of weeks, when they have controlled their nations for decades?

Rick Smyre of Communities of the Future states that there are 4 stages of true transformation: 1) resistance - where people will not accept new ideas being introduced, because of defense mechanisms related to anxiety associated with risk aversion, 2) hmmm? - the stage where people willing to accept progress and evolutionary changes start to look at a subject from different viewpoints and how ideas can work, 3) aha! - when the people willing to accept transformation begin to comprehend new realities and how those realities can be brought to tangibility , and 4) of course - the point at which acceptance of the new reality is achieved... there is no way to shortcut this process.



The reality is that our species is evolving. No one can tell you exactly what will happen, but we have seen an advance in computerization and technology, we have seen an evolution towards dependence on convenience and material desires, we have seen a 6 fold increase in worldwide population in one century, we have seen a battle between forces who desire individual liberty versus those who desire social control...

There are other forces at play in this tug of war, but there will always be a struggle between what most of us desire as "Good" versus the differences that we all interpret differently as evil. I do foresee a melding of the human into what will be part machine. The technology will evolve and eventually be biological instead of mechanical. In my opinion this will be good to the extent that it enhances us as individuals and the quality of our lives, but it will be bad if it is utilized to control us as animals and/or property of the elite.

The one thing that I do know is that we are headed towards some really tough times. There are some of us that want to bring the whole World up to the scale of quality of life that many Americans enjoyed in the past, but there are others that view these people from the Third World as subhuman and view the poor in our nation as subhuman. They feel that we are pawns to fulfill their purposes and they do not want to share the technological goodies with Average Ordinary People.

There is more than enough room on this planet and it is time to stop thinking that Ordinary people don't have value. We all have value. Think about the people you love, don't they have value to you? Haven't they played a role in your life? Everyone you see wherever you go has value to someone. Do you think that an elitist who doesn't even know you or your loved ones should be treating you or your loved ones like a disposable pawn?

This is the Force of Good versus Evil that I have alluded to. We are all going to have people that we don't want to work with; people that we can't stand. That is human nature. But, when we work towards bettering society and not playing the "Us versus Them" game, then we enhance our Ecosystem and thus we make the World a better place for ourselves and everyone in the system. It generates positive momentum. It is going to take this sort of mentality, of working together, to get out of this Depression and start growing economically, culturally, and as a society once again. I hope that you will keep this in mind the next time that you have a chance to help someone out. I know that the people who read this blog are, for the most part, critical thinkers. It is time to get the people we care about to start thinking this way too.

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.