FFM

Below are the results from the survey posted on November 13, 2012. There are fewer responses than I had hope for; however, it clearly shows that Americans are looking for our representatives to be proactive in changing many of the issues facing the country.

Voters made the right decision in re-electing Barack Obama as President. Now he must decide whether he wants history to say he was the first black president or he was also one of our greatest Presidents. He has the opportunity to be the later if he takes the appropriate action outlined below. 1. Get out of Afghanistan and adjust the defense budget to fit reality. Reality is education is at least as critical to our future as defense and therefore transfer a portion of the defense budget to education. 2. Address Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon including attacking them if necessary. 3. Focus foreign affairs efforts on the western hemisphere including helping Haiti. It we don't China will. Also improve relations with the new democratic nations in the middle east. 4. Implement health care reform while acknowledging adjustments need to be made including enforcing anti-trust laws to make the industry more competitive. 5. Repeal the Supreme Courts decision on Citizens Unit

If we want to stop our drift towards socialism, protect free markets from crony capitalism. There is a struggle going on between crony capitalism and socialism. Crony capitalism is a colloquial word for oligopoly. Control over industries in our economy is becoming more centralized everyday. As this happens power, both monetary and political, is becoming more centralized. Our markets are becoming less free and the economic playing field is skewed in favor of the oligarch. As this centralization of power and wealth is occurring, government can step in and try to "equalize" the playing field by either creating more social programs for the needy or better regulate industries so they are not dominated by crony capitalist. Since the depression of the 1930's the government's tendency has been to create more social programs. This country was founded on the principle that everyone is born with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our forefathers dec

We have a real person in the White House!

The Democrats must take the lead to solve the sequestration issue. The President and the Democratic leadership in the house should present a plan that is delivered to the Republicans and shared with the public. The plan should have several steps. During this next term President Obama must become an expert at using the bully pulpit. He  has the oratory skills to do it. Here is what needs to happen. 1. Clearly define the problem. Our projected future expenditures are greater than our expected future revenues and this is not sustainable. This means our spending must be reduced and our income must rise. 2. We must look at all alternatives and have a general consensus as to what our priorities should be. Is our defense budget too large? Can we reduce the cost of operating existing government departments by 10-15%? Do we need to invest more in education, infrastructure, research and development? With limited resources we must collectively decide how much are we willing to help our les

Barack Obama showed some weaknesses during the first debate that he needs to control if the country is to make headway on debt sequestration and other issues. In an article in the New York Times, referring to how badly Obama did in the first debate, it says, "He emerged newly combative, newly contrite and newly willing to recognize how his disdain for Mr. Romney had blinded him to his opponent’s strengths and ability to inflict damage.",  New York Times, How A Race In The Balance Went To Obama , November 8, 2012 This kind of attitude does not sit well with members of the opposite party when you are trying to carve out a deal on debt reduction that will have an impact on generations. Compromise is in order and if you do not respect your opponents the attitude shows and you lose; just like he lost the first debate. In our country we have three branches of government and they share power. The President must reach out to John Boehner, Paul Ryan and Mickey Cantor. They mu

It is interesting that the debate and the rest of the campaign talked very little of the following issues. 1. Are many banks too big to fail and should we consider breaking them up? 2. Is the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United OK, or should it be repealed? 3. Should anti-trust legislation be implemented to break up monopolies and oligopolies? 4. Do free markets need an umpire as ascribed by Milton Friedman: "But we cannot rely on custom or conscious alone to interpret and enforce the rules; we need an umpire. These then are the basic role of government in a free society; to provide a means where we can modify rules, to mediate differences among us on the meaning of rules, and to enforce compliance with the rules on the part of those few who otherwise would not play the game."

Washington needs to implement a plan reducing our debt over the long term and avoid the automatic cuts that are due to take affect on January 1, 2013. President Obama must nurture a more cooperative environment in Washington and become an expert at using the bully pulpit. The excuse that Congress refuses to do so is not acceptable. There are two mistakes to avoid during the budget talks: 1) Do not allow the automatic cuts that are scheduled to take place at years end and, 2) Do not do something just to meet the deadline. The core problem is the expected future growth of the economy is slower than the expected rise in expenditures and repayment of debt. The culprits for the expected rise in expenditures are medicare, medicaid and social security. The solution must be long term in nature. It must include a stimulus package up front to reduce unemployment and increase growth. The appropriate action is to pass a resolution allowing an extension of the deadline to March 31, 2013. Th