Obama equals Bush

President Obama has been in office 17 months and now the baby is all his. The President is still moderately popular on a personal level, hovering around 50% approval, but when it comes to his policies, his poll numbers have fallen like a rock. His approval rating stands at an all-time low of minus 9.

Most people, including me, have been pulling for him. We want the country to do well, and we have been willing to give him a fair chance, but his time has just about run out. The Independents and Republicans are not his only critics. Many of his most loyal followers feel betrayed.

We cannot deny that Bush handed Obama a mess. The economy was struggling, and the war was dubious, but one of Bush’s worst failings involved the housing crisis. Oh sure, his team can deflect some of the blame for the Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac debacle by pointing to the likes of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, Democratic Congressman. They certainly played major roles as the instigators of the dumb “make a loan to anybody” policies that eventually caused the downfall in the national real estate market. But, the truth is the Republican President and his pals were willing to ignore all of the signs of risk as long as employment was high and people were refinancing their homes. As far as they were concerned those forces were creating plenty of people to tax and support the war.

In fairness to the former President, the Democratic Congress has done him no favors. The House is the body that originates bills and provides the money to spend. They came up with a stimulus package, but they are obviously playing politics because they have delayed releasing the money until it will buy them votes in the 2010 mid-term elections. But most politicians see through their “I will do anything to get reelected” policies and the polls say they are playing with fire. Besides, we all know that most of those “shovel ready” projects were not needed and even if they are implemented any “work” from them is short term. Real jobs would be much better.

So we can conclude that the Republican Bush handed Obama a big fat mess and the Democratic Congress made things worse for him, but we still look to the current President to set the course and solve the problems. Obama is not doing a very good job of it.

This is where Bush and Obama are so much alike. Bush was in over his head and so is Obama. Then to compound matters, they each charted their own course without much regard for anybody else. Bush went after Iraq and Obama wants to finance a transformation of the Country to something much less driven by Capitalism and more dependent on the Government, as evidenced by the Health Care debacle. That was the biggest power grab in American history and worse yet; the small amount of bi-partisanship that was exhibited was on the “opposes” side….that is a few democrats joined the Republicans, who all voted “No”.

They both alienated their most ardent supporters, right from the beginning. Bush spent money like a drunken sailor and did nothing about the illegal immigration issue. He also created a brand new Federal agency; The Department of Homeland Security. As for Obama, he has not drawn down the war, he has not created any “green” jobs or any others, he has not sufficiently investigated Dick Chaney nor closed Gitmo prison as promised although that may still happen.

Bush used fear and the media to justify some questionable policies such as the way he manipulated the UN; and, Obama uses fear and the media to manipulate his adversaries, such as Fox News.

There are many similarities of these two Presidents and one thing is for sure: The supporters of each man would say that they failed to live up to expectations.

what similarities have you noticed?

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Sister Jeanine

I have six sisters and each one of them has oddball traits. I would like to tell you that I am the only normal person in the family, but I doubt if I would get away with that. Anyway, I thought I would share some juicy details about each one of them with you, starting with the youngest one.

Jeanine is the baby of the group. She has many fascinating traits, but I will just tell you about one.

Jeanine has illustrated by her actions and comments that she would rather take 25,000 digital pictures (and growing) and forgo the time to organize and label them all, than take 1,000 pictures and keep good records about the who, why, when, where, and what of it all. It is not uncommon for her to have two digital cameras with her at the same time, each with hundreds of new photos waiting to be stashed away somewhere.

Now, do not suppose that I am criticizing her. That is not my point. She is not the least bit lazy or irresponsible. She packs each day with productive hours (a quality we both got from our mother), but there is only so much time, so we all have to decide where our priorities lie. She just likes to capture as many moments as possible and there is nothing wrong with that.

So, Jeanine chooses to take zillions of pictures now and live with the fact that someday it might be difficult to recall some of the details. She has suggested that she might organize it all some day, and perhaps she will, but I think she will be too busy taking new pictures to really do that.

But there is one thing she can count on: She will never be far from the people who have mattered to her the most. Every variation of each persons development is captured in her pictures...but it might take a while to find them.

What about you? Do you take lots of pictures?

Would you rather have volumes of pictures and live with incomplete notes, or would you rather look at a more select group of pictures and know who you are looking at and the other details?

Drop by my other blog if you want to know how to save a bunch of money the next time you buy a car.

Irreconcilable Differences

My wife and I have been married for nearly 40 years. We have had a few arguments along the way, and there is one problem that just will not go away. It does not matter how many times it comes up, the outcome is always the same. It has to do with walking.

Whenever we go walking together, whether we are in the neighborhood with our dog or on the beach at sunset or simply in the isles of the local grocery store, we have different objectives. She likes to exercise and move briskly, but I like to stroll along at a casual stride. She wants to see as many roses as possible and I want to smell them along the way.

The pattern is predictable. She will be the first one out the door as if she is leading the way. I pull in behind her like a trailer behind a truck. She instinctively tries to set a brisk pace. At first I try to keep up but when I draw closer, she accelerates to an even faster pace. It does not matter how fast I go, it is never fast enough. She cannot stand to have me at her side. She always has to be a half-step out in front as if to urge me to go just a little bit faster. Sometimes I suggest that she go at her pace and that I will go at mine and we can meet her at our destination, but then she points out that if we aren’t walking together it counters the original objective. So, that does not work.

Eventually, I realize “it” is happening again and I grab her shoulder. We have gotten to that point so many times she instantly knows what my message is. She will usually slow down for a moment or two, but she is as anxious to get going again as a kid is on Christmas morning. It is just a matter of time before her subconscious takes over and off she goes undeterred. A few moments later we are nearly jogging again.

Every once in a while a couple gets to the point where they just cannot resolve their differences. This is one of those cases. We have been going for walks for 40 years but we still cannot walk in harmony. No doubt about it, when it comes to walking together we have irreconcilable differences.

Perhaps we should visit a walk therapist.

Dont forget my other blog, currently discussing buying cars.

A SOLUTION FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

I have posted two previous articles on this topic: scroll down if you want to check them out.

In this article I would like to identify my solution to the overall problem as I see it. It is my opinion that it is our responsibility to control our borders and we have blown it big time. By not doing so we have sent mixed signals to everybody concerned and therefore we are essentially responsible for all of the ensuing problems including an invasion of illegal immigrants, violence from those who traffic in drugs and potential terrorist activities.

If you will read my previous article, I do not blame the immigrants themselves. In fact, I see them as victims of two inept governments. A lot of it can be traced back to Ronald Reagan’s administration. They granted amnesty to several million immigrants in 1987, which was a compassionate thing to do. But there was supposed to be some teeth in the law after that, which would make it more difficult for people to come here illegally. Neither political party has made any serious effort to follow through on that obligation, even though they both have had ample opportunity. Instead the politicians of both parties have exploited the situation for their own political gain.

In the meantime “we the people” have let it all happen by electing politicians who run the government “their way”. Therefore, this is my fault; and, this is your fault. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Now things have gotten out of hand.

Our history suggests that we sometimes need a slap in the face before me make proper adjustments (see previous article) and the Arizona Government may have issued the wake up call we needed. By passing a draconian law, they have pitted good citizens against each other and their state against the Federal Government. In a round about way, they have drawn attention to a problem that should have been solved long ago. Suddenly wags are coming out of the woodwork to discuss the matter.

There are idiots on both extremes. Some just want to disregard our borders and let anybody in, and provide them with all the benefits of our society. That is admirable but insanely naïve. These people just do not understand economics. They do not realize where money or jobs come from. The “tax the rich” mantra sounds good, but that will lead us all into poverty within a few years because there are not that many rich people. The immigrants will have a much better chance if there are dignified jobs for them that last a lifetime rather than if they become dependents of government aid. That is why it is far better to reward the entrepreneurs than tax them. By promoting businesses through lower taxes, we make it possible for borderline companies to make a profit; and that very pursuit of profit becomes the fuel that creates jobs and grows the economy.

The people who want to escort all of the illegal immigrants to the border are just as naïve. Once again, the desire to abide by laws is admirable but they are pointing the finger of blame in the wrong direction. If you put honey on the sidewalk and attract ants, it is not the ants’ fault. Furthermore, if this group is so concerned with abiding by laws, then they would have to respect the law that makes citizens out of all babies who are born here and allow their parents to stay and care for those baby citizens. Then, there is the logistics of the matter. How would anybody carry out such a program? It is just not practical.

Sometimes you hear them say punish the businesses who hire them or the landlords who house them but that too is foolish. Chasing consumers away will cause more businesses to fail and that will raise the unemployment rates: and chasing tenants out of the country will just cause more vacancies. Reduced demand for housing will cause the real estate market to plummet further. None of that is really in our best interest.

So, we definitely have a problem, but what is a realistic solution? Naturally, I have the solution.

In the interest of full disclosure I should admit that I stand to lose money if we escort the illegals south of the border because I own rental property which caters to some of them. But as evidence that this is truly my philosophy, not just a monetary matter, I was also for a regime change in Iraq. I think getting rid of Saddam Huessin and bringing freedom to 25-million people was a very noble cause and I gladly pay my tax dollars for the cause. Therefore, in both case I am driven by compassion for the downtrodden as opposed to money.

Getting back to my proposal, I expect it to irritate everybody somehow, so it seems like it may just have some potential. Here is my 7-step plan.

1. For starters, I support a path to amnesty, but this time things will be a lot different. It will take 10 years. The people who are here illegally will have to prove their value on two different occasions. (I have already pissed you off, haven’t I?)
2. We notify the Mexican Government that we intend to reduce the amount of aid that we send them if they do not help us in our cause. We expect them to immediately patrol their own borders and punish anybody who attempts to come here illegally. If we do not see sufficient progress within one year or anytime thereafter, we will compute how much money we have spent on their citizens who use our medical facilities without paying; and, we will withhold that amount from the financial aid we send them. In addition, we will no longer allow illegal immigrants to wire money from our country to theirs, thus potentially cutting off the largest source of funds for their country.
3. Next, we really do secure the boarder so the problem does not escalate. No other compromises or allowances will be made until non-partisan experts can verify that the border is secure. Call out the National Guard until the fence can be built. If we have to shoot people who threaten us in the meantime, that is what we must do. Illegal entry is no longer overlooked.
4. Currently it is nearly impossible for them to get in our country legally. We need to fix that so they can realistically join us. Currently there is a lottery system but only one out of 200 are allowed in each year. I want to raise the number substantially, say 25 out of 200. That means the average person can get in within 8 years. We turn the approval process over to the private sector. They will perform background and security checks similar to the way our aerospace programs function. Immigrants will not be approved if they have a criminal record in either country. They must have a job and pay taxes. A job pool will be established for this purpose. New people will not be allowed in if there are no jobs in the pool.
5. No more anchor babies for illegal immigrants. Although the number of new illegal immigrants will be way down, there may still be some who try to slip through. They will not have approval to be here and their babies will not save them. This should eliminate the line of expectant mothers at the border.
6. We implement a massive advertising campaign to inform all illegal immigrants who are here now, that they must register within 90 days. They will be given a “Yellow Card” and a Social Security number. The “Yellow Card” authorizes temporary residence for up to three years. At the end of three years, they must either apply for citizenship or go home. To be granted citizenship they must prove that they have a way to provide for themselves and they must be able to speak English and it will take seven years more to earn their citizenship. If they do not wish to apply for citizenship, they must leave our country, with our blessing. They will forfeit any money they paid into the Social Security System. Anybody who fails to register and gets caught will be considered to be criminals. They will be deported and never allowed to return, or they will be put in medium security jail for the rest of their lives. If their families get broken up because they did not abide by the laws, it is their fault not ours. All of this will be monitored by the private sector, not the government, because the political parties have proven they cannot be trusted. The Social Security card means they will be subject to withholding, and entitled to the same wages as anybody else. Since they receive the same compensation they cannot undercut our own entry-level workers. They will be less likely to be exploited by ruthless employers because there will be serious felony charges for any of our employers who fraudulently subvert the intent of the system. All of those with Yellow Cards will be allowed to wire funds out of the country and they will have the same access to medical care that the rest of us have, without punishing their home country.
7. We work with the Mexican government to create a middle class and more jobs in their own country. They have industrious citizens and incredible opportunities with oil, agriculture, and tourism. They also have awesome shore lines, comparable to ours. We will help them set up a banking system so their people can borrow money and build a future for themselves. This will diminish the need for their citizens to come here in the first place. It will also provide incentives for the ones who are here to go home after they learn a skill.

There are many Americans who do not like any path to citizenship because amnesty rewards misbehavior. On the other extreme, there are many Americans who prefer an open border policy. Since it is not possible to please everybody, the best thing we can do is look for a system that pisses everybody off, and that is what I have tried to do. I have made it possible to stay here but no new compassion will be handed out until we can indeed verify that the border is secure and the problem is solved once and for all. In addition, my program provides the Mexican Government with a big incentive to work with us as they develop their own resources and attract their own citizens.

So, what do you think?

Be sure to check out my other blog, currently discussing the auto industry and buying cars.

Illegal Immigrants: Part 2

This is the second article of three on the topic. The first one is below. In it, I identified some facts and observations as I perceive them. This time, I will expand on some of the ideas. I will probably irritate all readers but you will have a chance to rebut my wisdom a bit later if you choose.

I am a big fan of Ronald Reagan. I have read his philosophy about the illegal immigration issue and I think he sent a wonderful message of compassion and decency. However, he made one major mistake. He did not follow through and see to it that the real problem was fixed.

If somebody keeps cutting you with a razor-blade and all you do is tend the wounds you will never solve the real problem until you take the razor-blade away. President Reagan took care of the wounds but he failed to confiscate the razor-blade. There were plans to beef up the border, but it never got funded and the problem continues through 4 more presidents and 24 years.

I for one, have compassion for the immigrants. They remind me of other important movements in our history. Our own founding fathers began this country by defying their government, but a battle was necessary to pull it off.

The civil war shaped us further as two distinct factions fought it out. Some wanted to preserve the status quo of an agricultural society, built in part, on the backs of slaves; and, another group wanted to move into a more prosperous and futuristic concept of industrialization. A half-million people lost their lives in the process.

In a non-military example, many blacks really never did get a fair shake until the civil rights movement of the sixties. All of that was set up by Eisenhower putting the Arkansas National Guard under Federal control and escorting black students into an all white high school. That too was met with violence. Later Rosa Parks demanded an equal seat on the bus. Then there were plenty of riots in the streets. It took a lot of effort to get the attention of the masses and turn the tide.

After that, there was the hippie days, where free love and new drug awareness was part of an evolving society. From that we had a great movement of women’s rights. Once again the downtrodden had to fight for what should have been theirs all along.

Meanwhile, otherwise good citizens were hauled off to jail for partaking in a recreational drug that is not much different from that of the drinking crowd who enforce the laws. Over time both of those movements had made contributions to the positive evolution of a complicated society.

As I see it the immigration issue is similar because people who are otherwise good citizens are victims of an inept system and essentially encouraged to defy a legal system in order to fulfill their greater destiny. They did not set up the circumstances, they merely deal with them. They would gladly come here legally, if we would devise a reasonable process for that. But since it is nearly impossible to get in here legally (one in 200 applicants is awarded a green card via a lottery process) and we only enforce our laws on an arbitrarily basis, we are the ones who have created a subculture of “illegals”.

Meanwhile, our citizens want the borders controlled and out leaders ignore the sentiment (sound familiar?) Both political parties exploit the “illegals”. The Democratic leaders ignore the problem because the more people who employ the social programs, the more power the leaders can wield as they promote and implement the Government’s aid. The Republican leaders are no better because they see these people as cheap labor that fuels the profits of a capitalistic system. Leaders in both parties are really more interested in getting reelected than solving the problem in a sensible way. All of that creative avoidance unnecessarily pits neighbors against each other when they are not the ones to blame.

In the meantime, the Mexican Government does nothing to promote a middle class although they have incredible opportunity to do so. They obviously have an enthusiastic work force. They also enjoy hundreds of miles of pacific coast land that could be developed similarly and better than what we have done all the way from San Francisco to San Diego. In addition they are blessed with natural resources (we get 25% of our imported oil from Mexico) and awesome agricultural opportunities due to their climate and weather.

However, their leaders are more corrupt than ours. They do not want a middle class because that strips them of their power. You may have heard of Lord Acton’s famous quote, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The Mexican government is a quintessential example of that.

They are also devoid of a worthwhile banking system. Therefore their citizens have no jobs and no way to get their hands on money. Even if they do get money, they may have to buy off the Federales, who are their police.

It is a tragic misfortune that the Mexican economy is so dependent on the money they receive from “illegals” in our country. However, that source of revenue pales compared to what they could generate if they would just seize the opportunities all around them. But instead, their most industrious people take wild risks to share in the crumbs of American success.

So, the failures of two governments pit one group of industrious citizens against the other. Mexicans use our institutions and avoid learning our language. They take up entry level jobs that our own high-school kids could do. They send billions of dollars out of the US as they support their families, back home. They take up one-third of our prisons in Los Angeles and other places. Since they hide in undesirable jobs, they do not make enough money to buy health insurance and therefore they run-up our health costs. They do not pay income taxes or Social Security taxes while the remainder of us get tax-raped by our government year after year.

All along, many of our citizens want to blame a hard working people who would gladly do the honorable thing if given that opportunity. But there is no other realistic way for them to improve their circumstances. We ignore the fact that our founding fathers would also be considered invaders. I suppose we could ask the Mexican citizens to overthrow their government, but how is an unarmed citizenry of so many women and children suppose to do that? Our own government has enough trouble just controlling a border and we have all sorts of tools and weapons.

Furthermore, if we chase the “illegals” home we will end up with millions of vacant homes and that will just devastate an already weak housing market. Such a drastic action could actually force us into a depression that would take a generation to overcome.

All of that could have been avoided if Reagan would have insisted on taking the razor-blade away. He should have set up a realistic way for good people to get in legally. He also could have helped Mexico to set up programs that enable their citizens to succeed in their own country.

My next post will include my “fairly realistic” solution to the problem. Be sure to drop in again and let me know why you think I am full of bologna. For that matter, you can begin right now. Just click on “comment” below and let ‘er rip!

Also check out my Family Finances Blog where I am currently discussing how to buy a car and save thousands.