POTPOURRI OF OPINION - the Economy, the Building Industry, the National Debt, The Mosque

The Economy

The economy will not begin full recovery until the building industry recovers. For a number of reasons, the home buying public has decided that this is not the right time for them to buy. When the buyers decide to release the huge pent up demand for housing, the industry will quickly recover. With that, the economy has the greatest chance of complete recovery.

It sounds simple, but we can't forget the 535 articulate incompetents in the Congress. In their constant pursuit of re-election, they will tinker and tinker some more. Antecedent probability tells us, by looking at at least six of the recessions since World War II, that it makes little difference that the interest rates are at an all time low or that housing prices are probably, in most markets, as low as they are going to fall. People are simply not ready to buy. Tinkering with the economy may do more harm than good. Don't forget that FDR tinkered continually and started more programs than all his predecessors combined. Ten years after the Wall Street crash, and six years after he assumed office, in 1939, unemployment still stood at 17%. We'll just have to wait and see if the great minds of the Congress don't end up stifling the recovery. Keynesianism has its limits. It's axiomatic that recessions begin and recessions come to an end.

The National Debt

In 2000, the National Debt of the United States was a little more than $5 trillion. When George W. Bush left office, in the year 2008, it was over $11 trillion. It is now almost $13.5 trillion. As a result, other developed countries are beginning to lose confidence in the ability of the United States to contain its spending. The national debts of most European countries relative to GDP are in the 70+% range. In Zimbabwe it is 300%. In Chile, the national debt is 11% of GDP. In the United States it's racing towards 100% of GDP. This is a result of the free spenders in Congress spending for political purposes with little regard to the state of the union and a President who was unwilling to veto even the wildest of spending bills.

On the other hand, President Gerald Ford, with 2 years in office, vetoed 49 spending bills. He, at least, did what he could to restrain the Congress from their insatiable drive to spend our money. For this, at the end of 2 years, he was asked to leave. Apparently, he didn't live up to the political standards of the American public. The national debt the size of ours is a very serious problem, which will take years, if ever, to narrow down to workable proportions. It would be interesting to finance an independent study to determine where we are compared to during the 500 year decline of the Roman Empire.


The Mosque

As we painfully watch the saga of “The Mosque” drag forward, we see bigotry, ignorance, shortsightedness and a barrel full of demagoguery; all combined will probably lead to major problems for us in the future.

A Letter, Intercepted - Eleanor Clift and a painless fix for Social Security

TO: Eleanor Clift
C/O The McLaughlin Group
www.mclaughlin.com

Dear Ms. Clift:

Several weeks ago, on McLaughlin, you made a statement that one of the painless ways to solve the Social Security problem is to simply raise the retirement age. We are astonished and disappointed that you would join the likes of Pat Buchanan and Charles Krauthammer. Pat Buchanan, the great protector of the working class, wants to raise the retirement age to 70. Charles Krauthammer, in his customary arrogance, says “fixing Social Security is simple. It just requires raising the retirement age.” To arrive at this conclusion involves a process of reasoning which violates nearly all of the 8 rules of the syllogism.

It simply does not follow that because one lives longer, one can work longer. This is unjust, and an insult, to the millions of Americans who work with their arms, legs and backs. These people are the assembly line workers, the men and women who hang sheet rock, the brick layers, the concrete finishers, the coal miners and all the people who toil with their bodies from the time they are 18, or even earlier. We would suggest that you ask your doctor, but we are afraid your doctor wouldn't have any idea what the working class endures. The fact is, that these people, after at least 40 years when they reach age 60, cannot work at their trades or jobs any longer. Even hairdressers who stand on their feet for 40 years are usually finished by age 60.

Of course, it's not expected that those among us who have never lifted anything heavier than half a ream of paper would give this a second thought. The elitists of this country don't even know that these people exist. They think that all these myriads of jobs performed for them to make their lives easier in all respects, are performed by some invisible robot. These working Americans do exist, their bodies do wear out, no matter how long they live. Yet, their lives are affected by the positions that people of your ilk take concerning their future.

We urge you to think more in depth about this subject before, so cavalierly, adopting an idea which is so detrimental to the millions of Americans of the working class. We also suggest that you take a hard look at the present system historically. For the first 50 years, 1935 to 1985, the system worked moderately well. Then the tinkering started and it will continue until it becomes evident to all that the present system was never designed to be viable over the long haul. There are plans on the planet which are designed to work for centuries. No doubt, there will be objection to this, especially from our leaders who will say that we know best and that we don’t have to lift any ideas from any other countries. Our response is what H. L. Mencken said when the situation demanded it. Bosh and folderol.



We would love to hear your thoughts on raising the retirement age.

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