Indentured Servitude – the Future of American Children

            American life in my generation has required the use of loans to purchase big-ticket items, like a home or car, which was then paid for over an agreed upon time period.  Then came the credit card, and we began to buy everything using month-to-month “mini loans,” which often grew to unmanageable proportions.  We truly began living in debt during the latter half of the 20^th century. 

            War debt after World War II encumbered the current and subsequent generations, but America was making things of value, and we were able to retire our national debts through massive production of goods.  Many manufacturing jobs have left, however, for lands with low labor costs, and the “Arsenal of Democracy” has lost the sounds of factories and mills operating at full capacity.

            America and many colonies throughout the world relied on the use of indentured servants to do much of the work involved in daily life.  Now, these were not slaves, because they were people who worked for the owner of their contract for a given number of years, and then their contract was fulfilled and they were free to carry on with their lives.  Slaves were owned entirely, with no set future of release from bondage.  Have we come full circle?

            Now we see a future for our children and grandchildren of indentured servitude, being born with a debt of over thirty thousand dollars.  In a country that has lost a great deal of its ability to “produce” to countries with low labor costs, how will our progeny get out of debt?  Unless we take drastic measures, the only solution might be total socialism, as took place in the Soviet Union, where everyone works for the state.  The state will control production, meter out utilities, provide everyone with a guaranteed pay check, and manage whatever “profits” are left over. 

            Why haven’t the people in our government learned from the example of the Soviet Union?  When there is no incentive to excel and work harder, production stagnates.  Why knock yourself out when the slug next to you gets the same pay?  In this system, the only people who rise to enjoy the perks in life are those in government itself, who control everyone else.  They’ll be the ones enjoying the state-owned vacation homes, beluga caviar and fine wines.  As throughout history, they are the people with vast fortunes and those with political power.  Their only motivation is to maintain their family’s status without regard for everyone else.

            Drastic measures are needed to return America to sound footing.  We must face the fact that government cannot continue taking our incomes and redistributing it to others.  We need to increase the number of producers in this country and reduce the number of people on the receiving end.  Economic collapse is a hard way to learn this lesson.

Communist China’s Inventivity

            Yes, I know the Chinese invented gunpowder, paper, printing, and the compass.  That was then, this is now.  The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids and other incredible structures.  What do they build now?  (Don’t tell me the Aswan Dam – that was Britain first, then the USSR.)  Times change, and so do societal abilities.  Today China seems to have little ability to innovate, but a great capacity to copy.  All of the technology that accompanies corporate movements to China is analyzed, adopted, and incorporated.  It is copied, pirated, stolen, and extorted.  They don’t care about copyrights, patents, or proprietary information.  They take it, because the end justifies ANY means, and the end result for Communist China is world dominance.

            Long before our Congress filled Wal-Mart’s shelves with Chinese goods, Communist Chinese companies were copying successful Japanese products and selling them in third-world countries.  On my first trip to Lithuania in 1994 I went into a new electronics store that had a limited number of products for sale.  There were several boom boxes in the glass case and I thought they looked familiar.  Were they Sony, Sanyo, or Panasonic?  No, they were “Pensonic,” “Pansionic,” and “Panasony.”  All names that would fool the average buyer who wasn’t too savvy about the genuine article.  Was it worthwhile for Panasonic to go after this outright fraud?  Not really.  Too hard to prove when you can’t go into China for evidence.  Did they ever stop the pirated music and video business there?

            Nothing has changed today.  Communist China will do anything to come out ahead, and that means our rules are not their rules.  With all the international business world scrambling to move production to China, I believe they are overlooking the long-term disadvantages with cheap labor.  Instead of business growth and increased profitability, companies will eventually see copycat competition take over market share of their formerly exclusive products.  The Chinese can make very good copies!  In time they may be able to make copies that hold up almost as well as the originals, but right now they have problems with raw material quality and product longevity.  But, hey, who cares?  If the radio, tool, motor, etc., breaks, just go out and buy another one; they’re so cheap!  I just know I’ll never buy a BMW made in China.

Total Weight Onboard (TWO)

            During the early days of aviation passenger planes were not very large or powerful, and the weight that the plane could carry was limited.  Therefore, everything had to be weighed that went onboard, and the load had to be balanced as well; fore and aft, and laterally.  People were weighed as well as baggage and cargo.

As aircraft and engines developed, the payload increased and passenger weight was dropped from the preflight boarding check.  Luggage weight, however, eventually was limited.  As fuel costs increased, profit margins fluctuated depending on the total weight the planes were carrying.  During the past 50 years our luggage restrictions have remained relatively constant, but the weight of the passengers has dramatically increased.  Sixty percent of Americans are now overweight.  The airlines had to do something to recoup the expense of flying fatter people, so they have decreased luggage weight limits and are now chipping away at carry-on luggage.  Some airlines are making you pay for your bags, regardless of weight.  Isn’t it time we look at another solution? 

Disregarding complaints from the ACLU about “discrimination,” I believe airlines should reinstitute weighing passengers as well as their baggage, for a “total weight onboard” (TWO) limitation.  A total weight should be established, such as 300 pounds, which would include the weight of the passenger and his or her luggage, combined, for a “total weight onboard.” This would not be discriminatory because all passengers are treated the same.  The only difference is that if you are lean and weigh 130 pounds, you would be allowed 170 pounds of luggage.  If you weigh 300 pounds, you will be charged for whatever your luggage weighs above that. 

Why charge everyone when the problem is only with overweight passengers?  Is everyone charged more for their glasses so that people who need bifocals don’t have to pay more?  Are oversize coffins the same price as standard size?  Times have changed and conditions have changed.  This reversion to airlines’ original weight balance requirements is just common sense and fair for everyone.  I’m angry that I now have to pay a fee for each piece of luggage simply because the guy behind me is twice my weight.

Jobs in the USA

     Jobs.  That’s what Americans are looking for.  Where have they gone and why did they leave?  One answer is they went for cheaper labor and greater profits.  Does that mean that a few are profiting more at the expense of millions who are put out of work?  Should we be working harder to preserve jobs and grow jobs?  Isn’t President Obama “saving and creating jobs” with his Stimulus Plan?  Where are they?  Do you know someone who got a lasting job from this effort?

     Let's visit the Powhatan #6 coal mine in Belmont County, OH.  Travel over 300 feet below ground to see coal being mined.  This is a “longwall” operation, a very efficient means of extracting the maximum amount of coal from a mine in a minimum amount of time.  The machinery and men that operate them are awesome.  Mining is not easy work.
     Getting coal out of the ground involves physical labor and mechanization.  Dealing with government oversight of mining, on the other hand, is mentally taxing, frustrating, expensive, futile, and often counterproductive.  Ryan Murray and Kevin Hughes, mine superintendent, spend 35 to 40 percent of their workdays mitigating federal rules and regulations, citations, new laws, and constant daily inspections by Mine Safety and Health Administration and state inspectors.  On any given day there are three to nine inspectors in the mine.

     Things have changed in dealing with inspectors’ violation citations.  Minor violations not likely to cause injury can no longer be contested.  You just have to eat the fine imposed ($60 to $60,000).  Only “significant and substantial” violations can be argued or defended on behalf of the mine (up to $220,000 fine).  Inspectors always find violations.  Part of their job security; their reason for existence.

     Opening a new mine in the USA is a truly exasperating challenge.  Our government has enacted so many regulations and laws, required so many permits and studies, involved so many agencies who’s approval must be garnered that it is no longer worthwhile to pursue a new mine venture.  Recently Bob Murray is flew to South Africa to explore the possibility of opening a coal mine there to provide this resource to India.  It’s just too hard and expensive to start a new business in the USA.

     Recently plans for a coal-fired power plant were scrapped due to pressure from environmentalists and cost increases.  The environmentalists, including the Sierra Club’s Ohio branch, believe it was their efforts that stopped the construction.  This was a three billion dollar project that would have brought hundreds of jobs to Meigs County in a region that has huge unemployment; construction jobs and long-term operational jobs.  Not going to happen now.  But there are “green jobs” in Meigs County – growing marijuana.  Too bad marijuana isn’t manna.

     Ohio has problems with government organizations; California has some of its own.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, operating under the Endangered Species Act, is working very hard to preserve the habitat of the Delphi Sands flower-loving fly.  That’s right, Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis, a cute little bug that made the Endangered Species List a few years ago.  There’s a Recovery Plan in effect to protect this fly to the tune of $1.6 million of your tax dollars.  They’ve even reduced the speed limits on highways near the fly’s habitats to keep them from getting splattered on windshields.
     Further north a much more serious event is still taking place.  It seems that the water intake pumps that provided nearly all the irrigation water for the fertile California Central Valley farmland was killing another endangered species, the delta smelt, Hypomesus transpacificus, a 2-3 inch little fish.  Can’t have that.  A California judge ruled in favor of environmentalists citing the Endangered Species Act and shut off water to nearly 750,000 acres of prime farmland.  Already suffering from a drought, the Central Valley has become a virtual desert, and the 40,000 jobs associated with it have also deserted.

     What is our government doing?  What has become of common sense and greater good?  How long can we allow this tail to wag the dog?  How many people must lose their jobs before they stand up and shout, nay, scream, “ENOUGH!”?  Now is the time.  This is the year to send a magnitude 8 tremor through Congress with millions of votes across our country to throw out the powerful House and Senate members who have fed from the public trough for too long.  It’s time for Barney Frank, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, and a hundred others from both political parties to clean out their offices and go home.  This is what our Founding Fathers intended; serve your country for a spell and return to your walk of life.  They never intended for people to make politics a profession.  They never conceived of someone spending 20, 30, or 40 years in office.  That just wouldn’t be honorable in their opinions.

Beware of Candy from China

I wouldn’t be writing this if it weren’t for the pet food crisis American pets went through in 2007.  Food ingredient suppliers from China adulterated a pet food protein supplement with melamine in order to increase the apparent level of protein, resulting in the illness and death of many dogs and cats across North America. The contamination was discovered too late for these pets, and melamine destroyed their kidneys.

We are about to celebrate Halloween, and a lot of candy will be handed out in towns throughout the United States.  Congress has now seen fit to allow candy manufactured in China to be imported for sale here, just as it has with frozen seafood, fish, garlic powder, apple juice, and many other foods for human consumption. Yet our government only inspects 0.6 percent of the foods we import.  There won’t be broader testing unless a problem is discovered.

Be aware of this potential danger when you purchase candy to give away this Halloween.  READ THE BAG to find out where the candy was manufactured.  Use your best judgment in purchasing candy and only buy products you are familiar with, MADE IN THE USA.  Are you ready for another major food catastrophe?  With Congress allowing more and more food products and ingredients from China, it’s only a matter of time.

Cap and Trade – the Last Nail

Cap and Trade, the scheme to tax everything that produces greenhouse gas emissions, will be the last nail in the coffin of American industry, and, therefore, the American economy.  As part of the Kyoto Protocol, advanced nations around the world are working hard to create a means to minimize ozone-depleting emissions by penalizing industries that produce them, down to and including dairy farmers.  Yes, those dairy cows produce some bad gasses!  Since you and I produce carbon dioxide, taxing us for living is also a possibility.
Cap and Trade might be acceptable if it applied to everyone in the world, but the Kyoto Protocol exempts “developing countries.”  Last year China surpassed the USA in greenhouse gas production, and India is not far behind; both exempt.  While we decline, they develop at our expense.  Cap and Trade taxation, like every other cost of industry, trickles down to the consumer when we buy products.  It will be one of the many “embedded” taxes that we pay unknowingly when we buy anything.  This leads to ever more “generational debt,” i.e. more national debt than the current generations can possibly pay off, therefore passed on to the yet unborn.

Can we stop this madness?  This administration is forging ahead with Cap and Trade, and with a rubber-stamp Congress, it is very likely that we will all be paying more and more.  We will also see more major American companies face bankruptcy from yet another disincentive to do business in this country, and more unemployment.  Think you will get a “green job” to replace the one you have now?  Think again.

This is taxation WITH representation, unlike the taxation our Founding Fathers faced with Britain, but are our members of Congress really looking out for us?  It’s time to contact your Representative in Congress and let them know that you want them to vote AGAINST cap and trade, no matter what special interest groups, lobbyists, other countries, and the President want.  Stop nailing the lid on this Nation’s coffin.

IMMIGRATION

In April Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stated that, "Crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is civil." The reaction to this was immediate and overwhelming. Yes, it IS a crime to enter this country without permission and without documentation, and it has been since the Naturalization Act of 1790. As with most things Constitutional today, however, it seems to be subject to interpretation and modification to suit the needs of the administration.

Immigration “reform” generally means amnesty for those already in this country illegally, especially if they have been here for any amount of time. Amnesty for illegal entry into our country is as ridiculous as amnesty for all shoplifters during the past five years. Both are “victimless crimes,” but illegal entry is far more potentially dangerous to our country.

Enforcing our immigration laws is the only acceptable answer to illegal immigration, and completing a sound southern border fence is a necessity, augmented with increased and enhanced surveillance of both of our borders. National security begins with border security.