Fiscal Ammunition

This has been one of the hardest times for the Federal Reserve.
Last years QE2, where the Fed bought treasury bonds to keep interest rates low has not done what it was supposed to do.Growth in the economy has slowed and unemployment is still too high.
History proves that after the 1929 stock market crash, the Federal Reserve stood by and did nothing.
It was the worst decision to sit back and watch it all unfold.
In that crash, the economy collapsed, GNP plummeted by 27% and unemployment rose to over 30% by today's measurements and a 25% deflation crushed those
already in debt.
Compare that with today's economic situation.
"The Great Recession" saw GNP fall by only 5% and output has almost reached pre-crash highs.
Unemployment is just below 10% and price levels are steady.
The Federal Reserves aggressive moves to give reserves to keep the banking system above water and the financial markets functioning have made all of the
difference between then and now.
And thanks to the Feerderal Reserve the US has done better through this crisis than other countries whose central banks like the Bank of England and the ECB
(European Central Bank) have not done the same.

Operation Twist is the Fed's initiative that has lowered long term interest rates which has the 30 year mortgage rate at an all time low.

It's not over yet.

The Fed can also reduce the interest rate it pays banks on their excess reserves. The rate is 1/4 of 1%. It could be eliminated therefore giving banks less incentive
either to invest their reserves or lend them out.

The Fed's role has always been to keep inflation at 0% to 2% and provide liquidity in times of crisis.

What the Fed wont do is spur growth in productivity, stop excessive government regulation or fix the deficit problem.
We will need sound fiscal policy which should include long-term deficit reduction and short-term tax relief (maybe extending and enlarging the payroll tax
reduction?).

The US economy is driven by the confidence of consumers and investors and by the innovation of workers and entrepreneurs.

Let's use all of the tools we need so that we can get back to shared prosperity sooner than later.

(Stats from Wharton School study)

Where To Go To Get The Big Ideas

1 Demo
demo.com

2 Global Entrepreneurship Week
unleashingideas.org

3 Milken Institute Global Conference
milikeninstitute.org

4 Opportunity Green
opportunitygreen.com

5 South By Southwest
sxsw.com

6 Ted Leadership Conference
ted.com

7 Tiecon
tiecon.org

8 WBENC
wbenc.org

9 Web 2.0 Summit
web2summit.com

10 World Economic Forum
weforum.org

The Buttonwood Gathering

Buttonwood

The Role of Judges Under the US Constitution

A must watch for anyone interested in US Constitutional law
(click on webcast to watch)
Senate Judiciary Hearing~Hart Bldg 10-5-11

It's about Kayley Anthony not Casey

I watched a video of Casey Anthony watching the horrifying breaking news of the recovery of her 2 year old daughter's remains. She appeared to be weeping unconsolably. I believe she was reminded of how guilty she felt-nothing more than self-realization of the horrible act she had commited.
There will be no rest for her.
She will live with Kayley's memory every day for the rest of her life.

I am a mother of two teenagers.
There wasn't one moment when I didn't check on them or peek around the corner to make sure they were alright-especially at the tender age of 2.
I remember days spent following them without thier knowledge just for a little piece of mind.

Brittany and Cody were raised in a small New England town and we all watched out for one another and especially the children.
Especially the "little ones".

Ranking Our Laws

There has been much discussion on constitutional law so here's a breakdown of Federal vs. State laws and the checks and balances on US government.

Any state constitution or state law that conflicts with the US Constitution laws or treaties can not be enforced.

Highest to Lowest
1 US Constitution
2 US laws and treaties
3 State Constitutions
4 State laws
5 Local laws

A document of this kind is only as good as the people make it.
It must be enforced or it becomes meaningless.
We can make it effective by being well informed as to what our government is doing, by taking an interest in and voting in all elections, by writing letters expressing our opinions to our elected officials, by lobbies, by taking court action in what is called a "test case", against any law that we feel is non-constitutional, and by petition.

Checks and Balances
I Checks on Congress and the Supreme Court made by the President
A May veto bills of Congress
B May call special session of Congress
C May adjourn Congress if House and Senate can not agree on an adjournment date
D May withold information from Congress
E President may appoint Supreme Court Justices

II Checks on President and Supreme Court made by Congress
A May propose amendments to the Constitution that affect offices of the President and the Supreme Court
B May impeach and try President or Supreme Court Justices
C May override President's veto by 2/3 vote of each house
D Controls all spending of money in the US
E Senate may refuse to give it's consent to an appointment to the Supreme Court
F Senate may refuse to give it's consent to any other appointments or treaties made by the President

III Checks on the President and Congress made by the Supreme Court
A May declare law passed by Congress and signed by the President unconstitutional
B May bring suits or issue court orders against public officers

Is Defense The Best Offense Now

I have been reading alot about Japan and their military submarine fleet.
They are producing submarines at a cost of approximately $2 billion a piece.

Would a US national defense program with a comprehensive MEM sensor system be more efficient?
I believe the metric of the future is not capacity but capability.

A "sensor"  system of our nation's borders would secure them without building walls or fences.

I have also heard that in the northern part of our Mexican border there is very little illegal entry so I am not convinced that a "boots on the ground" approach to illegal entry is efficient in that region.

Walls and fences are not American.
Our country is what this is about and securing our borders without building walls should be the goal.

  

Education

Times have changed.
Now as governments and parents tighten their belts-it's changing.
We need more people who place value on not following the academic path at any cost.
The best way to learn many skills is by practicing those skills- not sitting in a classroom.
Likewise, the best way to become an entrepreneur is by starting a business-but if you have to service 5 or even 6 figures of student debt in addition to starting the business-it's difficult.
College seems more like a 4-5 year party and it often serves as a way to avoid thinking about the future instead of preparing for it.
We should not judge the quality of the education system on the number of students who go to universities.
Design and creativity are so central to the nation's economic growth.
Background is no bar to betterment.
We should be matching creativity with commercial reality.
It produces students you would want to have working in your business.

In comparison, Chinese students lose the fun of being children.
China is good at teaching basic knowledge but western students are better at teamwork, communication, research and independent thinking.

What Now?

I ask , "Are we a country that can think as a nation?"
President Obama needs to become proactive and I am hoping the jobs plan he "reveals" in September will show us what an effective leader he is.
He can use his executive power to suspend regulations that are slowing down job contracts. He needs to get in front of Congress and the Democratic Party and show his leadership that got him to office.
Isolate the extremes.
Tell them to get out of the way.

Looking Back To Move Forward

Roling Stone with President Obama September 2010
Obama In Command

National Security

National Cyber Security Article

Michael Joseph Gross's expose on  the condition of our national cyber security issues and who is behind it in Vanity Fair's September Issue.

The Real Threat

Originality trumps all.

There are people who will tell you that you have to look like this or wear that or worse yet believe in a certain religion or ideology to belong.
It's anti-American.
Our country was formed on the basis of these natural born rights.
Anyone who tries to convince you to be someone or something that you are not is only trying to break you.
We will not tolerate cult-like leadership.
Moral superiority is the real threat to democracy.

Pardon me, my brain is in overdrive

The budget needs to protect the recovery.
What are we not producing today that we can sell tomorrow?
Mergers and acquisitions don't create revenue.
Research and development does.
Low corporate tax.
We need to concentrate on exports.
Private sector is better at creating jobs than government.

We are begining to comprehend and correct the problem.

I hear that we are in a better position than most  EU countries.
Banks in the EU are having solvency problems.

USA is still the One.

Shale Gas.....To Drill Or Not To Drill

China's coast has 6 new liquefied natural gas terminals under construction. They are predicting that by the end of 2015 they will have doubled the amount of LNG (liquefied natural gas) they can import. 
On the other side of China, a new pipeline from Turkmenistan is pumping gas.
Deregulation of America's Natural Gas Policy of 1978 has encouraged entrepreneurial energy companies to gamble on new technologies allowing them to extract gas trapped in shale beds.
Now the incentives were greater for recovering it because it could get to market through pipelines newly obliged to offer "open access" to all comers. It changed how shale gas is traded globally.Large quantity of  LNG export capacity was created with American markets in mind. If shale gas success is repeated elsewhere, a major source of energy will become available from a more diverse source of suppliers in more free markets. So different from the boom in oil after WWII-this growth can become superior political weaponry power to those with the biggest reserves. Shale could diminish the political clout of Russia, Venezuela, and Iran as part of their gas revenues.
Another form of energy, "tight gas" is found in sandstone and coal bed methane is promising.
In the future, gas frozen into hydrates in the planet's continental shelf is becoming an energy  speculation. It is the cornucopian belief that human ingenuity will always find ways to increase availability of resources.
The World Energy Outlook sees the "Golden Age of Gas" world production rising trade in gas between the world's major regions double. Coal use will decline and by 2030 gas will surpass it providing one fourth of all the world's energy
Companies are sinking well tests in Poland. South Africa, which may have the largest reserve has attracted Shell Oil Company who is also in China, which may have the largest source on the planet.
The big question is will mankind's insatiable demands exhaust the planet's finite resources? Or will human ingenuity lead to the more efficient use of existing raw materials and the discovery of new sources of supply?

Apocalyptic Freedom

Very few people know that the original Greek translation of "Apocalypse" means "Lifting of the veil" or "Revelation"... the disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception.

Far from being a horrible experience, Apocalypse represents the revealing of the true nature of things. It ushers in an era of forgotten freedoms and unprecedented clarity. This "Lifting of the veil" will set us free from the woes that have been the result of our ignorance or lack of information.
It really has nothing to do with religion.

Angelus Novus

A Klee painting named Angelus Novus shows an angel looking as though he is about to move away from something he is fixedly contemplating. His eyes are staring, his mouth is open, his wings are spread. This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we percieve a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. The storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward.

This storm is what we call progress.

Walter Benjamin, "Theses on the Philosophy of History"  

Talk About Jobs

Forbes magazine published the "Nifty Fifty" list of innovative companies.
I am happy the Debt Balance Bill has passed and we can move on to job creation and economic growth.

Forbes Nifty Fifty List

Lest we forget

The Bill of Rights of the US Constitution

1st Amendment: The freedom of speech, religion, press, the right to peaceful assembly and to petition the government.

2nd Amendment: The right to keep and bear arms and to have a well regulated militia.

3rd Amendment: No peacetime quartering of soldiers without consent.

4th Amendment: The right of a man's house as his castle to include all papers and effects against unreasonable search and seizure.

5th Amendment: A person can not be tried for a capital crime unless tried before a grand jury. It includes the double jeapardy clause which states a person may not be a witness against him/herself. Private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation. A person may not be deprived of life liberty or property without due processs of law.

6th Amendment: The right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state with assistance of council.

7th Amendment: The value of an item over $20.00 in dispute gives a person the right to a trial by jury.

8th Amendment: Excessive bail is not required and may be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

9th Amendment: A persons rights may not be used to deny or disparage another person's rights retained by the people.

10th Amendment: Powers not delegated by the constitution and not prohibited by the states are reserved to the states or to the people.

The issue of the 14th Amendment use to answer the debt debate could be used if the debt incurred was
used to defend our nation.
I agree categorically.

The Vision

The vision that you glorify in your mind
The ideal that you enthrone in your heart
This you will build your life by
This you will become.

What do you think?
Make it good.

A Thought About The Economy

Listening to the 2012 Presidential hopefuls I can't help but think they should try to stop explaining away the problem in soundbites and just stare at the problems in the face and fix it.
It comes down to practicalities.
Our government should offer firms temporary subsidies to forestall outsourcing labor.
Too much of our ideas come to fruition overseas nowadays.
Corporate leaders can work to churn out a labor force with the right skills. Approach universities or trade schools with matching criteria and assure that graduating classes have the right assets.
It isn't that hard.
It's been done before.