The United States of Entitlement

The culture in America has grown into one of gimme, gimme, gimme.  There is an entire generation that does not know an America without government programs that give away money to citizens.  A generation that sees people living solely on the hand outs from government.  The older generations that knew life before any progressive movement are all but gone.  It is a shame that not all have listened to our grandparents and great grandparents about how life was in those earlier times.  Sure life was harder, it was tough when people relied on themselves and their local community but it brought a sense of self worth and a pride in community.

This country of ours has been through some really tough times.  There was the revolution to get the country started, the subsequent wars with England and Native Americans, the Civil War, and of course the big wars of the twentieth century and now the war with radical Islam.  No every one seems to think that the government owes them a living.  This could not be further from the truth.  This country and the government formed to keep it together is the fruits of labor, the labor of many men who had a vision of a place to live where the central government did not control every aspect of the their lives.  The governments of Europe in the 1700’s were ones that had complete control of the lives of their citizens, from their religion to how much money they could keep for themselves from there labors.  All property was owned by the government and was handed out as that government saw fit.  There was no private ownership of anything unless you were the monarch ruling the country.  The founders of this country sought several things in the forming on a new nation.  Private ownership of property, the ability to keep what they worked hard for, and self rule or the foundation of government came from the people not over the people.

These ideas and principles are still alive today, just buy fewer and fewer people.  Now I have noticed that people are not remembering history the way it was taught to me when I was growing up.  It would seem that textbooks are being changed but that is another subject.  Entitlement programs were not written in to law in this country until the 1930’s but even then the programs were designed to get people back to work and make them self sufficient.  In other words they were not supposed to be permanent.  As people got back on their feet and became more self sufficient the programs were  suppose to go away.  In the 1960's entitlement programs were expanded and a wider base of people were now entitled to handouts instead of hand ups.  What happened out of the 60's is a generation that expects to be handed everything without having to work for it.  No longer did you have to be elderly or disabled to get Social Security and Medicare.  People are getting income assistance just because they don't make enough money.  What ever happened to finding a better job or better yourself for a better job?  In 1996 President Clinton did try to reform the entitlement system by instituting time limits as well as monetary limits on benefits.  I guess that those limits don't exist anymore.

Now our government is involved in business and bailouts left and right.  It is not only an Obama or Bush problem, remember Regan did it back in the 80's but that was supposed to be a loan to be paid back.  Today we are letting the government through more and more money in to the failed automotive companies and financial institutions.  Yes if it wasn't for the money from the federal government those businesses would be dead.  No one wants another depression. No one wants to see bread and soup lines and massive unemployment.  However the monster in the closet that we are feeding by constantly throwing money at failed businesses and trying to recreate programs that are already in place instead of fixing the system.  I remember that in the Constitution the federal government of the US is to regulate interstate commerce not recreating it.  Our law makers removed a lot of the regulations that has caused the financial mess that we are in.  I say regulate the banks and financial institutions again.  regulate the medical industry don't feed into the current system.  Fix Medicare and Medicaid, don't replace it.  There are constitutional ways to fix our problems.  Let the states handle the business within their borders, or make them and make the federal government stay with in its constitutional restraints, interstate and international commerce and policy issues.

If people are going to stand in line for handouts and refuse to do anything to put themselves back on their own feet then tell them NO!  We will help you help yourself but well will not support you just sitting around collecting dust watching TV.  Go to school, get a job.  Uncle Sam is not your 'sugar daddy' get your hands out of his pockets.

1 am vote through the snow storm…

Can you imagine?  It is the middle of the night on Sunday and Senators are trekking to the Hill for a vote that could not wait until sunrise.  Lets not forget that Washington, DC just got hit by a snow storm that virtually shut the district down for the weekend.  But still Mr. Reid decided that he needed the vote while the rest of the nation slept.
Why not let everyone get some sleep and let the road crews clear the snow and vote in the morning?  Oh yeah, after the vote the Senate only has 30 hours of debate before the issue comes to vote again to move it forward and Christmas is Friday. The house is already gone and can not act of this until after the new year, but Mr. Reid wants in on their desks first thing in January.
What is the rush?  Could it be that opposition is growing against the healthcare bill?  Could be. If that is the case then it is in the best interest of the Democrats to get the bill past while everyone else is busy with the Christmas season and are distracted from what the Congress is doing.  This healthcare bill has opposition on all sides now, no one wants the thing but Pelosi and Reid want it crammed forward and put on the President’s desk as soon as possible.  Health care reform is a very important issue and needs to be discussed at length not shuffled through in the middle of the night which is what Congress is doing which tells me that its not the best thing for this country.
If your Senator or Congressman is voting in favor of this reform bill with out proper redress then maybe they don’t have your best interest at heart and should be voted out of office.  Give it proper thought and really think just how important this is to you and your family now and in the future.  Remember, we will get billed for it (taxed) several years before anyone can benefit from it. If there are any benefits to it. 
Tell Congress to slow down and do things right, you are their boss after all.

Just what is the life cycle of excuses?

From November 2008 to January 2009 we have all heard that the new administration has ‘inherited’ a mess.  That excuse was use well into the summer of 2009.  With all the legislative action that has taken place since January 20th 2009 can they still use that excuse in to the beginning of 2010? 
That is right I am still hearing that excuse all over the the television and newspapers.  Oh sure the Bush 43 administration did have problems and did have issues unresolved at the end of their term.  However, with full control of Congress and the White House the Democrats have made moves with passing legislation with out reading it or in the late night hours.  They have rushed to get legislation passed before anyone can really find out what it is that they are passing.  The Obama administration has pumped billions into the economy.  Automobile manufacturers bailouts, bank bailouts, cash for clunkers, cash for caulkers, tarp funds, I am sure that we will hear more and more currency hemorrhaging programs. 
The grace period is more than over, time for the current administration to own up to its own actions.  In less than a year the current administration has created the largest budget deficit in the history of our country.  People are now beginning to question the actions and the motives of the federal government, even though most of the media ignores public opinion.  Time for Obama, Pelosi and Reid to stand up and be counted, you three are responsible for what is going on in this country at this point in time.  People are angry and it is not at George W. Bush, it is at you three.

December 15th, Bill of Rights Day

Is this one preprinted on your calendars?  It is not on mine.  What is the “Bills of Rights Day”?

In 1941 then President Roosevelt declared the 15th of December to be the “Bill of Rights Day” to signify the importance of the Bill of Rights and the protections that it gave to each and every individual in our country.  James Madison proposed the bill of rights to congress in 1789 to insure that individual and states rights were insured against a centralized federal government.  Fears of a strong centralized federal government was threatening the ratification of the new federal US Constitution and Madison felt that these ten amendments to the constitution would insure rights to the people and protection against a strong centralized government.  These amendments were designed to protect the citizens of the United States of America from any attack on individual or states rights from the federal government.  It is important to remember that in beginning of our country the founding fathers wanted to insure that a centralized government could not infringe on the rights of the citizens, this concern came from people that lived under strong centralized governments that imposed laws, taxes, and penalties on citizens without any regard for their welfare and well being.

The Bill of Rights was ratified and came into effect on December 15th, 1791.  Many do not know that there was a preamble to the Bill of Rights which I have included here.  This preamble is not generally know because it does not appear in the constitution.

”Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.”

“expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution.”  This statement says a lot about the intent of the bill of rights.  It means that people did not want a government that could arbitrarily impose laws that could infringe on the rights of the people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  We all should feel that are rights are ours and are inalienable afforded and guaranteed by our Creator.  The spirit of the Bill of Rights is that the federal government is restricted in what it can do in the name of the country and to the country, the individual is sovereign and affords authority to the government to run the day to day business of running the country and to keep the United States united.  Some feel that our country is growing away from the intent and purpose of the constitution and the fundamental ideals of our country. 

Growing movements against actions taken by Congress and the President our based on the protection against ‘misconstruction or abuse of powers’.  Their fears are real and based the preamble of the Bill of Rights.  So on December 15th and every other day of the year, think about what the Bill of Rights mean to the country and to you as a sovereign individual and act accordingly.

We the People....

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Is it me or does it seem that those we have elected to run the country have forgotten this very simple and fundamental statement? Late night and weekend sessions to pass hurry up bills that take more money out of our pockets. What happened to the promise at transparent government? Career politicians are playing fast and loose with the money of the American people.

The founders of this country wanted to get away from 'rulers' that collected as much money as it could from the citizens for use on whatever it pleased and the citizens had no say over anything. Today our federal government is growing by leaps and bounds with last minute and late night votes to pass new bills with all kinds of hidden cost.

This country use to have term limits for all elected positions except for the President. Now the office of President has term limits but not one Senator nor Congressman does. We have career politicians in Washington D.C. who want nothing more than to stay right where they are. They pass laws for regulations and restrictions on the people while they pass special benefits for themselves as well as give themselves raises. They would never give themselves pay cuts, nor subject themselves to the same programs and policies that the impose on us. Our country has grown into what it was not suppose to be.

The only problem is like the blind leading the blind we keep electing these 'stellar' individuals to office. Why? Are we that stupid that we keep sending the same people to Washington in order to keep treating us this way? My friends there is no longer any difference between Democrat nor Republican politicians. They fight and argue amongst themselves over issues and such. However, the spending is out of control which ever party is in control.

Just recently another last minute bill was past in the House of Representatives to supposedly guard against the failing of financial institutions in the U.S. Touted as the most extensive since the New Deal it places many restrictions on business and gives the Government the ability to step in any time it believes that a business is failing. The New Deal legislation was an attempt to ward off another fall on Wall Street and another depression. Well less than one hundred years later many financial institutions and automobile manufactures were facing failure and the government thought that it would be bad for the country. I agree that the loss of jobs and industry would be bad for our country. Businesses, just like people, who spend more than they make are destined for failure. It is the nature of a free market system that business who do not manage business well will fail. They worst thing that there is for a free market system is for government to get involved. Oh sure, regulate interstate commerce but to become actively involved in the running of a business is wrong, it is socialism.

It is time my fellow citizens to stand up once again and fight for our freedom. I am NOT talking about violence or armed action, I am talking about action through voting and voicing your concerns to all in elected office. If they do not listen then replace them. We are their employer, they work for us. If you do not perform your job as expected to you get to keep it? Why do politicians get to stay in office if they do not do what we want? We re-elect them blindly believing the lies they tell us. We are not that stupid! America can not stand if we continue down the path that we are going. The time to act is now not when things get worse.