It is most definitely all about the benjamins this week for America's leading financial institutions. Only one year after being on the brink of collapse, these companies are back and with a vengeance. It was reported this past week that America's financial corporations posted record profits in the billions of dollars. To a certain extent this is great news, the banks that many Americans depend on to purchase homes, attend school, and in some cases make payroll are out of the red. Surely, we should begin the discussion on how people are going to save their homes and go back to work and school, right? Wrong. It appears that these companies are deciding how they will dole out bonuses to the top executives. Now, there is nothing wrong with bonuses being given for a job well done. However, in this scenario, the government gave a bail out to a number of these corporations. Therefore, "we the people" gave money to help save the bank's butts so I would like to know where exactly our bonus is? It still amazes me that the top 1-2% of people in this country hold the vast majority of wealth. I definitely believe that those who work hard should be rewarded, but there has to be a limit to the greed at some point, and there are plenty of people who work extremely hard everyday who make a pittance for a living.
Therefore, the question becomes how do we distribute the wealth in America more equitably? I don't have a concrete answer for this question. However, it seems to me that we have to start with stricter regulations on companies when it comes to lending. These companies have made billions of dollars. Yet, it is still hard for the average American citizen who may actually have a good credit standing to receive a loan much less someone who is on shaky ground. If banks aren't lending the money, where exactly are all these profits going outside of employee salaries and benefits? These financial institutions should be required to start lending again or suffer the consequences, and this time they should be forced to be responsible in their lending practices. Banks were major players in creating this economic crisis, and all of sudden, it seems like they will be able to just walk off into the sunset billions of dollars richer. Meanwhile, Americans are losing their homes and jobs every single minute of every single day.
Another solution to this problem of unequal wealth distribution would be to change America's current tax system. I will not focus much on this topic since it is a blog unto itself, but it is time for Washington to take a long, hard look at how taxes are being paid in this country. The next president who proposes a revolutionary idea in changing the current tax code could possibly find him or herself residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Currently as voters, all we can do is prepare ourselves for a tax hike in the not to distant future. Finally, we have to also take responsibility for holding Wall Street's feet to the fire. Ultimately, if we wanted to bring Wall Street to it's knees, we could. As a collective group, Americans could simply refuse to utilize credit cards, pay off existing loans, and refuse to apply for any new loans. Can you imagine an America where everyone saves and pays out right for things such as cars, furniture,etc? Oh wait, there is no need to imagine this world, you only need to take a trip back in history.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
A Nobel decision?
It truly is amazing the difference one week can make. The president of the United States went from being the face of the failed Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics to the nobel peace prize recipient (it was like a kid getting a lollipop after being beat for insubordination). I have to admit our president receiving the nobel peace prize came as a major shock to me (of course I'm sure no one was more shocked than the recipient himself). I could not understand how someone who has only been officially on the job for 9 almost 10 months could be worthy of such an honor. Don't get me wrong, President Obama has done quite a bit in terms of restoring America's image in the world. For the first time in a long time, people realized that change really can happen (they also found out that American's aren't as dumb as they thought. I mean who would've taken us seriously if Sarah Palin was our vice-president. Brrr, Gives me chills just thinking about it.) I also believe that President Obama has the ability and the support to make major changes in America as well as the world. However, I can't seem to put him in the same category as Woodrow Wilson, Martin Luther King Jr., Al Gore, and countless others just yet. Most importantly, it amazes me that the nobel PEACE prize has been given to someone who is contemplating sending additional troops to Afghanistan to fight the WAR on terror.
I have purposefully avoided discussing Afghanistan and the president's impending decision because I have such mixed feelings about the situation. On the one hand, we know that at one time Afghanistan was home to Al-Qaeda aka Osama's banditos. We also know that the Taliban was in control and absolutely terrorizing Afghani citizens particularly women. Finally, we know that the 9/11 attacks was the "are these "bleep" crazy?, don't they know we are the U.S of freaking A?" moment for this country. Yes, we had more than enough reason and motive in 2001 to invade Iraq. Wait a minute, what happened to Afghanistan? Well, we did send some troops to Afghanistan to "search" for Osama and company, but the all out war was launched in Iraq because they had "weapons of mass destruction". You know, those same wmd's that were used to bring down the twin towers and destroy our Pentagon. I guess the bottom line is that we had plenty of reason to attack Afghanistan in 2001, and yet here we are in 2009, and our new nobel peace prize winning president has to fix the mess that our (i think we all know the appropriate adjectives) ex-president made. Ultimately, I do believe that it is a mess that has to be cleaned up.
On the other hand, I question whether this mess needs to be cleaned up now and if it should be done militarily. The unfortunate truth of the matter is we waited too late to catch the bad guys. I don't know any criminal that would allow himself to be caught after 8 years (ok, there is always an exception to the rule, Roman Polanski). Our objective in Afghanistan has now changed from finding Osama and the crew to stabilizing a country that is whirling out of control. When it comes to this issue of us getting deeply entrenched in Afghanistan, I have so many questions such as: When are our troops stationed in Iraq coming home? If they do come home, will they only be here long enough to give a quick kiss and hug to their mother, wife, husband, father, daughter, son, etc. before they are shipped to Afghanistan? Where will the money come from to support not only this new war effort but maintain troops in Iraq? Why are we maintaining troops in Iraq, Korea, Germany, etc. again? Do people know how much money it takes to maintain this empire that we know of as America? Is our maintenance of all of these bases around the world really keeping us safer? How would we feel if a foreign country invaded us and decided to set up shop in the American heartland? Are we as bad as those European countries who colonized Africa, India, South America, and yes this great land that we call home? Didn't they too rob people of their natural resources and culture? Can I blame another country for hating mine so much when we claim to build a country up but only end up destroying it in the end? Could we employ one more man, educate one more child, or provide healthcare for one more woman if we cut back on our defense spending? I always heard that you should take care of home first and then you are better able to help others, isn't our home broken?
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I am hoping that our commander in chief is pondering at least some of these questions as he contemplates sending more troops to Afghanistan. I have to admit that it does give me some peace of mind to know that he is taking the time to make a decision versus just rushing in and invading Iraq, I mean Afghanistan. Ultimately, there are human lives that are depending on President Obama to make the right decision, and I'm not only speaking of the soldiers but their families, our families, and thousands of Afghani citizens. We can not afford to make another mistake when it comes to fighting the war on terror. The price is simply just too high, and I am not talking economics.
I have purposefully avoided discussing Afghanistan and the president's impending decision because I have such mixed feelings about the situation. On the one hand, we know that at one time Afghanistan was home to Al-Qaeda aka Osama's banditos. We also know that the Taliban was in control and absolutely terrorizing Afghani citizens particularly women. Finally, we know that the 9/11 attacks was the "are these "bleep" crazy?, don't they know we are the U.S of freaking A?" moment for this country. Yes, we had more than enough reason and motive in 2001 to invade Iraq. Wait a minute, what happened to Afghanistan? Well, we did send some troops to Afghanistan to "search" for Osama and company, but the all out war was launched in Iraq because they had "weapons of mass destruction". You know, those same wmd's that were used to bring down the twin towers and destroy our Pentagon. I guess the bottom line is that we had plenty of reason to attack Afghanistan in 2001, and yet here we are in 2009, and our new nobel peace prize winning president has to fix the mess that our (i think we all know the appropriate adjectives) ex-president made. Ultimately, I do believe that it is a mess that has to be cleaned up.
On the other hand, I question whether this mess needs to be cleaned up now and if it should be done militarily. The unfortunate truth of the matter is we waited too late to catch the bad guys. I don't know any criminal that would allow himself to be caught after 8 years (ok, there is always an exception to the rule, Roman Polanski). Our objective in Afghanistan has now changed from finding Osama and the crew to stabilizing a country that is whirling out of control. When it comes to this issue of us getting deeply entrenched in Afghanistan, I have so many questions such as: When are our troops stationed in Iraq coming home? If they do come home, will they only be here long enough to give a quick kiss and hug to their mother, wife, husband, father, daughter, son, etc. before they are shipped to Afghanistan? Where will the money come from to support not only this new war effort but maintain troops in Iraq? Why are we maintaining troops in Iraq, Korea, Germany, etc. again? Do people know how much money it takes to maintain this empire that we know of as America? Is our maintenance of all of these bases around the world really keeping us safer? How would we feel if a foreign country invaded us and decided to set up shop in the American heartland? Are we as bad as those European countries who colonized Africa, India, South America, and yes this great land that we call home? Didn't they too rob people of their natural resources and culture? Can I blame another country for hating mine so much when we claim to build a country up but only end up destroying it in the end? Could we employ one more man, educate one more child, or provide healthcare for one more woman if we cut back on our defense spending? I always heard that you should take care of home first and then you are better able to help others, isn't our home broken?
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I am hoping that our commander in chief is pondering at least some of these questions as he contemplates sending more troops to Afghanistan. I have to admit that it does give me some peace of mind to know that he is taking the time to make a decision versus just rushing in and invading Iraq, I mean Afghanistan. Ultimately, there are human lives that are depending on President Obama to make the right decision, and I'm not only speaking of the soldiers but their families, our families, and thousands of Afghani citizens. We can not afford to make another mistake when it comes to fighting the war on terror. The price is simply just too high, and I am not talking economics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)