FFM

The system must find ways for the parents to do their job. Many parents do not know how to help and/or do not have time because of working two or three jobs. One thing to do, probably funded by a private grant, is to develop an online program that would help students with homework. The Twin Cities was able to get $13-million from corporations, so why can't we. (This program would be similar to one that is online for a student studying for his/her GED.) It would allow the student to work on his homework online and get instant feedback to measure their comprehension and progress. It gives the parent a vehicle to see the progress on a daily basis and see how much time and effort their child is putting forth.

"President Obama, seeking to mend fences with big New York donors to the Democratic Party, came to New York to headline three back-to-back fund-raisers on Wednesday night, casting his re-election campaign as the next step in the effort to speed up the economic recovery. “People are worried about the future of the American dream,” Mr. Obama told some 60 donors who paid up to $35,800 a plate to be part of the first scheduled event, a dinner party with the president at the Manhattan home of Jon S. Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey", New York Times, April 28, 2011 This is what is at the core of our economic problems. Our politicans are for sale and they have no shame as to where they get the money.

There is an underlying issue not being addressed by anyone who has a pulpit to the public. Our "free economy" that has created jobs for decades, and even centuries, is being dismantled. It is not being destroyed by a central government; however, the central government is playing a major role in allowing it to happen. We need to Free Our Markets . The idea of free markets being the way to increase the Wealth of Nations, and thus the wealth of its citizens, was crystallized by Adam Smith. He rationalized that if the producers of goods and services were allowed to pursue their rational self-interest, constrained only by common sense rules preventing one producer from getting an unfair advantage over other producers, the consumers, citizens, would get the best products at the lowest price. 

Being too big to fail highlights the third leg of a three legged stool that supports a thriving society and government. That leg is Free Markets and in our country they are becoming less and less free. Without free markets goods and services cost more, there is less innovation, resources are allocated inappropriately, income disparity rises and society deteriorates over all.   Conservatives in this country lambaste a central government, like China, having too much control over its industry and economic markets. They sight history saying when power gets too centralized, it is too far removed from the marketplace and citizens to make decisions in the best interest of society as a whole. Their personal self interest overrides the country that they are serving.

Our government mimics its people. My generation, the baby boomers, lived for today, leveraged their earnings by going in debt and consumed like drunken sailors If we are going to stay strong as a nation this must change. At the end of World War II we were the last country standing and consuming. This is no longer the case. Other countries are gaining strength. This will put more pressure on the worlds resources.

"It was Washington’s zeal to turn more Americans into homeowners that launched the housing and economic crisis that we’re slowly emerging from, former Federal Reserve Governor Mark Olson told his audience at St. Olaf College on Friday."  It would be nice if they had some zeal to keep our "free markets".free. More

When the Supreme Court ruled that money equals speech 35 years ago, it was responding to forces of technology and economics reshaping American politics that made it much more expensive to run a campaign. While ruling that public financing and limits on contributions are valid ways to limit donors’ undue influence, it struck down candidate, campaign and independent spending limits. Now the court’s conservative majority is again reshaping politics, ruling that what matters most for money and speech is their “fair market” impact. The result will be closer scrutiny of public financing, while enabling even more rampant spending by wealthy candidates. New York Times, April 12,2011 We are in drastic times and it requires drastic action. We need an amendment to the constitution to bring back free speech. It is not free if how much you can speak depends on how much money you have.

Obama needs to define when he is willing to compromise. I want a President who is willing to listen to all sides of an argument and one who is also willing to draw the line when he knows that he is right. In most of his first two years as President, Obama hardly acknowledged the Republicans. He did not think he needed them and he did not bother to listen. Now it seems that he is willing to have them raise their kilts and let him kiss their behinds. I guess maybe he went with Joe Dimaggio .   

"After shrinking during the 2008-9 recession, paychecks for top American executives are growing again — in many cases, significantly so. Rarely has the view from the corner office seemed so at odds with the view from the street corner. At a time when millions of Americans are trying to hang on to homes and millions more are trying to hang on to jobs, the chief executives of major corporations like 3M, General Electric and Cisco Systems are making as much today as they were before the recession hit. Indeed, some are making even more. " New York Times, April 10, 2010  Until we fix this problem, it will only get worse. More

I am embarrassed and disgusted as an American concerning the games our Politicians play. Both parties continue to conduct a conspiracy to fool the public so they can get reelected and remain intoxicated on the power that is in Washington. The Games People Play The negotiations to keep the government from shutting down was more about casting our elected officials in a positive light than trying to do what is right for our country and its citizens. The Republicans once again were able to blackmail the President into caving in. They were able to put the best spin possible on their determination to "cut the Budget" to appease the Tea Party Members. The games our politicians play is appalling. The budget needs to be addressed, however, there is no need to shut the government down. This was grandstanding at its worst. Washington needs to change! It is not working.

I use to own a Lionel model train and it had three rails. It could not run without the third rail that delivered the power. The solution to fix our budget needs a third rail. We need to cut spending and raise taxes; however, we also need to free our "free markets". Our free markets have been destroyed by government allowing core industries to be taken over by a few large corporations choking off competition. One of the primary responsibilities of government is to protect its citizens from tyranny; both, foreign and domestic. An affect of this take-over by oligopolies is that the distribution of income in this country has been distorted. If this is corrected income disparity would shirk, less government welfare programs would be needed, we would be more innovative and tax revenues would increase. This is not being discussed because every politician in Washington is on the take from these large corporations. America is losing it and it will take drastic action for us to