FFM

Whenever possible, we should be spending on those things that we either consider investments in our future or expenditures that we know we will be making in the future anyway,. If we repair a road, we will be more productive in the future. If we plant a tree in northern Michigan our future productivity does not rise. Both expenditures act as a current stimulus; however, improving the road has the added benefit of improving our ability for future production. A stimulus should be prioritized.

Dick Armery, a leader of the Tea Party movement, likes to say that the flat tax is a fair tax. This is not true. The wealthy have more opportunity to partake in our economic system and therefore there is nothing unfair about them paying more in taxes. Further, a flat tax would be more fair if our economic system was operated as a truly free market. Presently, many of our markets are controlled by a small group of corporations that stifle competition and new entries from participating in the market. This concentration of power results from the refusal of our government to enforce anti-trust laws and the Supreme Court allowing unlimited campaign contributions from these large corporations. We need to amend the constitution..

Many in Washington, mostly Republicans, argue that if taxes were reduced  for the wealthy they would ivest more and the result would be more jobs for the working/middle class  Reduce taxes and regulation and the private sector will pour funds into investments that in turn will get the economy growing and unemployment will drop swiftly. To them I say: It's demand stupid. America's business community is already flush with cash. They are not investing because the middle class is not buying the goods and services that these companies produce.These corporations are not run by the builder of The Field of Dream .  They do not believe if they build one more new home the middle class will buy it.

"We are slowly — and painfully — being forced to realize that we are no longer the America of our imaginations. Our greatness was not enshrined. Being a world leader is less about destiny than focused determination, and it is there that we have faltered." America's Exploding Pipe Dream ,   Charles Blow, New York Times, October 29, 2011 One can agree with most of what is said above except for one major point. Blow makes it sound like it is over. It is not over unless we believe it is over. What made our nation great is not its founders and it is not its constitution and rule of law; however, these were pillars on which this great country could be built. The greatness of the United States is the people who had a dream and came here determined to fill that dream. They knew it would be a struggle. They knew there would be setbacks. They knew that sacrifices would have to be made. They knew that some among them would not share the dream  and try to take undue advantage

“Obama will not take money from registered lobbyists like me,” the lobbyist said with some bitterness, “but that doesn’t mean that he won’t take money from people who are lobbying. There’s a big difference.” Obama Backers Tied to Lobbies Raise Millions, By ERIC LICHTBLAU, New York Times, October 28, 201 1 This is what makes it so hard for many voters to throw their heart and soul into supporting Obama. He made several blunders in his first term as a result of lacking experience. We can now, however, rationalize he has the needed experience. I suspect that if asked, behind closed doors with no microphones, about accepting campaign contributions from lobbyist, he would say that he cannot do any good for the country if not re-elected and he must accept money from lobbyist in order to remain in office. What a tragedy. Here are other examples of the problem.

If you believe in America's future, we should stimulate. The purpose of a stimulus is not to create permanent jobs. Its purpose is to increase the demand for goods and services produced by the private sector, which results in the private sector hiring more permanent workers  so they can fill the new demand from the market. Once the stimulus kicks in, the cycle of creating permanent jobs continues as demand continues to expand.. The problem is the nation must go deeper in debt to fund the stimulus and the average American has been "burned" by his debt load and he is in no mood to increase his debt burden, personal or national. For the past 20 years, the average American lived beyond his means. He maxed out his credit cards and used his home equity loan as a piggy bank to consume way more than he was earning. When the housing bubble burst, he not only was unable to use his home equity line to maintain his life style, but his net worth dropped as a result of a 40%

1. Prohibit Corporations and Unions From Financing Political Campaigns by Amending The Constitution 2. Enforce Anti-Trust Laws against Oligopolies & Monopolies! 3. Bring Our Deficit Under Control and amend tax code! The above are long term goals that will eventually bring more  equally to the economy. The above goals will not be accomplished overnight and we need to do something that will bring the unemployment rate down now. A good start is President Obama's jobs bill with some modifications brought about by sound ideas brought about by members of Congress and the Senate.

College football is corrupt and  is hurting our countries competitiveness with the rest of the world. As we are encouraging our youth to spend all of their time making it "big" as a professional athlete, China, India and other countries are stressing education. The result is we have the best football players in the world and losing the bigger battle of competing economically on a global scale. Our college athletes are taken advantage of by the schools they play for, ESPN and other television networks. The schools and networks are raking in the money while our youth are working hard to make it big as a professional athlete. College football is further damaged by the "consolidation" and creation of "super conferences" to increase revenues for the few and create a disadvantage for those schools who are not in these super conferences.

"“Who do you think pays the taxes?” said one longtime money manager. “Financial services are one of the last things we do in this country and do it well. Let’s embrace it. If you want to keep having jobs outsourced, keep attacking financial services. This is just disgruntled people.” New York Times , October 15,2011 This guy has lost perspective. Who caused the sub-prime crash? Also, if income were more fairly distributed more taxes would be collected, demand for goods and services would be higher and the economy would be performing better. OccupyWallStreet, kick Ass!  More  http://bit.ly/ns5nnS

" Publicly, bankers say they understand the anger at Wall Street — but believe they are misunderstood by the protesters camped on their doorstep. But when they speak privately, it is often a different story .   “Most people view it as a ragtag group looking for sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll,” said one top hedge fund manager. “It’s not a middle-class uprising,” adds another veteran bank executive. “It’s fringe groups. It’s people who have the time to do this.”" New York Times October 15,2011 What an insult! Banks, like other oligopolies, need to be brokem up  Everyone defines free markets incorrectly. Yes, free markets should be unencumbered from useless regulation that increases the cost of doing business and provides no societal good. However, in order for a market to be free as defined by Adam Smith and Milton Friedman a market must be overseen by an umpire and in this case the umpire is the government. Can you imagine an NFL football game without r

I complement the administration for stepping up and adjusting last years health reform after realizing their plan will not work.The correct solution is to make the health insurance industry more competitive. As a nation that was founded by mostly Christians, one of our core principles is that it is a morale obligation of those that have been blessed with superior talents and gifts to help the needy. This includes providing basic health care to those who are in need but not in a position to afford it on their own. Christianity is not the only religion that preaches this belief. One of the basic Pillars of Islam as stated in the Koran is Giving Zakat which means ‘giving a specified percentage on certain properties to certain classes of needy people.Our core value of helping our neighbor is why we needed to improve our health care system. Now we must decide what is the best way to do it. Another reason is that it is presently inefficient. The government is not protecting the free market

Everyone defines free markets incorrectly. Yes, free markets should be unencumbered from useless regulation that increases the cost of doing business and provides no societal good. However, in order for a market to be free as defined by Adam Smith and Milton Friedman a market must be overseen by an umpire and in this case the umpire is the government. Can you imagine an NFL football game without referees? It would be like the Romans watching the gladiators. The government has failed to do its job of being the referee to markets and industries. Ever since the 1980's our representatives have enacted a "Don't Ask, Don't tell" regulatory policy that has destroyed our free markets. Markets need to be free from destructive, costly and harmful regulations; however, they also must be free from private entities lacking scruples and striving to take over markets at the expense of individual citizens. These entities have over time managed to buy the control of our

You have created awareness of some major problems in this country. Now you have the responsibility to do something about it and bring about change. Our current system of governing and fairness is not working. Our representatives in Washington will not correct the problem  unless they are pushed. They are personally benefiting from the current system. It is not enough to sit  in and sing cumbia. We must come up with a solution. Let's get organized and make the change happen. I have some ideas to change things and Occupy Wall Street has the attention of the media. Let's get together and bring on the change needed. Please send me an email at OWS@freeourfreemarkets.org if you want this movement to make a difference.

The issues are easy to understand and simple to fix if politicians have the will to fix it. We as a nation are heading towards becoming an Oligarch; a nation controlled by a handful of corporations that are controlling "our" government leaders to further consolidate the power of the Oligarch. If the occupation of Wall Street is going to have any impact on bringing about change it needs to promote and take on the challenge of amending our constitution outlawing political contributions from both labor and corporations. This is the change that is needed. More:   http://bit.ly/oOvp7z

Our labor laws and structure needs to be changed. Just as it is not in the public good to have only one or a few companies controlling an industry, the same is true with unions. What caused the destruction of our auto industry was the oligopoly of the big three and the UAW. We need to make the "labor industry" more competitive. Read More: http://bit.ly/nLY5A3

My Uncle Bill: He died yesterday after living on earth for four score and eleven years Although the world does not know it, it is is a better place because he visited it. He died the same way he lived; making his own decisions after consulting with his best friend and buddy, his wife, my Aunt Margaret. My Uncle Bill: His life was rich with love and he shared it with Margaret, who kept him in line when needed. They lived by the term "family values" before it became a popular saying for the politically right leaning citizens who stole it as their battle cry and changed its meaning. My Aunt and Uncle's greatest joys and sorrows centered around their children Barbara, Bill and JoAnne. My Uncle Bill: It seemed to me that he did everything with Aunt Margaret. They walked together, played golf and bowling together, cheered on their athletically talented son and daughters together and just soaked up life together. They both worked in the auto factories and were proud members of