WAILING OR WHINING ON WALL STREET??

So, how are you feeling about the "Wall Street Occupiers"??   A little torn, or ambiguous?  It's probably the biggest news out there right now, and perhaps the one with the most potential for important consequences----but nobody seems to know whether to cheer them  on, or wish they'd go away. In fact, it seems un-American to say anything negative about a group of people who are coming up against the behemoth giant of our capitalistic society----like David and Goliath of the Bible. Who doesn't want to root for the little guys, and who doesn't still have a bad taste in their mouth over the behavior of some of Wall Street's finest institutions?  In our hour of desperation, they continued to dole out obscene amounts of money in the form of bonuses, as if we who had bailed them out in their hour of need, wouldn't notice.  And weren't they partly responsible for the current economic meltdown, in the first place?? Yes, some, not all, were complicit and guilty as sin for agreeing to the mandates of the federal govt., namely Fannie and Freddy to supply homes for people who could not afford them, then bundling those unreliable loans, and selling them off to unsuspecting clients. The house of cards came tumbling down when those mortgages could not be met by people who could not afford them in the first place. A well intentioned idea---or a way to line the pockets of those involved in the transactions??

But don't forget the word, complicit---which implies a partnership in wrongdoing or a crime.  A major wrongdoing and huge reason for our economic problems is due to the housing collapse, and was instigated by the government mortgage institutions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, at that time led by Chris Dodd and Bernie Frank, who insisted, in a moment of excessive left wing entitlement ideology, in which almost everyone deserved to own a home, and mandated it so to the banks.  Ironically, these two gentlemen were the same designers of the new regulatory reforms now crippling many of the financial institutions with their over reaching rules and infringement against a free market flow. The housing collapse and ensuing failure of the banks and auto industry was a crime against all of us, the tax payers who would eventually have to pay for all the wrongdoing, in the form of a stimulation that failed as well.  The sin of greed was certainly committed---but not only by some Wall Street folks, but by those involved in the faulty loans.  Interesting that Fannie and Freddie, who also were bailed out by the tax payers, were never slapped with regulatory reforms----and to this day continue operating without much change.

So, let's be clear here.  Wall Street financial institutions, or huge corps. are not angels, they are in business to make a profit--- they are greedy sometimes, even law breakers sometimes, but they are not all devils, nor the ones who concocted our poisonous brew of economic woes.  To be sure, it's no secret , or shouldn't be that Wall Street and the United States government work together all the time via special interest groups, unions, etc., and the financing of all manner of programs. They have a love/hate relationship at times----- they need each other, and they know it. Big government needs big money, and the corporations, love them or hate them, generate that money.  The Democrats, and especially this administration are fond of  referring to them as  enemies of the people, the "fat cats", when in fact many within the Wall Street businesses supported Obama's candidacy and continue to do so, though their numbers are fading as they see their world crumbling around them. According to N.Y.'s comptrolling office, 20,000. Wall Street jobs have been lost and another 10,000 layoffs are expected by the end of this year.

It would seem an odd thing, even a dangerous thing for the president of the United States to take sides and align himself and his party against Wall Street and encourage the demonstrators---but that is what Obama appears to be doing. For a man who promised to be a president for all of us, to rally against devision, he is looking less and less credible, and more and more the common politician.bent on morphing himself into whatever will garner the most votes in 2012 .  How disappointing.  And how refreshing it would be for him to, instead of cheering on the Wall Street people, many of whom are misinformed, to tell it like it is---that the blame for our financial difficulties are not to be pinned on any one culprit. The government and those who ran it prior to President Obama, and now he and the mis-management of both parties, were partly to blame and continue to bear that burden of overspending and not being vigilant enough to see the wave of crushing debt coming towards us, or courageous enough to stop it.  Even all of us are to be held partially to blame for living beyond our means. Our economic house was a bubble bound to burst, but there were many factors leading up to it, not just one.

 Like so many mobs, the mentality gets focused and warped by a sort of group-think---without logic or the desire to look at the whole picture. In this case, it seems a good excuse to go after the popular demon of the left wing, big business----or sometimes just an invitation to party at a park. Burn the evil witch of  corporations, or at least make them the scapegoat----but then what?  Will that create more jobs?  Will it make us all well again?  No, but it could be another step towards the dismantlement of  capitalism.  But what will take its place?? Is this another "Arab Spring", American style? If so, perhaps it should be called, as someone suggested,  "The American Fall"---at least, as we have known her to be. Keep a leery, careful eye on those who scream for "justice" ----is their target a just one, and what do they offer as a better solution?

The state of our union is in deep trouble.  The people are angry and scared, and have a right to be.  They also have a right to object, to try to change things, even to demonstrate against that which they feel are counter to their way of thinking. Large groups of activists can often shine a spotlight on areas needing attention.  But unruly mobs in general, are not the best way to effect good change. They are emotionally charged,  fueled by artificial numbers, sometimes populated by those who do not necessarily have any agenda, save being against whatever.  If we are to change the direction of this country, we must do it in an orderly, wise fashion, as we always have--- or leave ourselves vulnerable to the whims of a noisy few, not the majority, otherwise known as anarchy.

 Some have likened the Wall Street Occupiers to the Tea Party  folks.  There are stark dissimilarities, but they are alike, in that they are both grass roots movements and are exercising a very American right to free speech---but there is one very huge difference. The Tea Party target is big government.  The Wall Street group's target is big business.  Pick your poison.  Big business will always have a few bad apples, but they can be routed out, and they are the cornerstone of our financial system.  Big government can get so big that even the bad apples get to stay in way beyond their welcome, and they live off of the financial success of business and those who work in the private sector.

 Memo to the Wall Street Occupiers----careful what you ask for, and that you are not being exploited.  The same people who uphold you now, could also ridicule and possibly shut you down, if your agenda doesn't fit theirs.  Accountability regulations are already in place, perhaps to the extreme.  Less profit and fewer bonuses? Those may be opinions, but not  the peoples' right to govern such things in a free market.  Ah, but wait--- higher taxes would  seem to be a way to soothe the disparities between those who enjoy the haves and the have- nots.  Life just isn't fair, and class warfare is so tempting--- and for some, so much easier to whine, than to work.   It has stirred many a revolution, but--- in reality, our corporations already pay a much higher tax rate, at 35%, second highest in the world.  And the top 1% of top wage earners in this country pay 38% of all federal taxes, while the bottom 50% of wage earners pay only 3% of all federal taxes, and 49% of our population pay no federal taxes at all..  That sounds pretty progressive already. How much is enough,  and why should we punish those who are successful? Don't we all want to be successful?   One young man at the Wall Street gathering said he thought he was entitled to free education health benefits, and even free housing and a car if possible---he knew that probably wasn't going to happen, but he said he could ask for it anyway.  Entitlement gone awry?  Success at the expense of others' hard work?  Here's the fear---that young man may get what he wants, or close to it---a short cut to "success", or at least a free distribution of the perks, but at whose expense, and at what detriment to our democratic soul?  In  the meantime, however, we are losing more and more of our businesses to other countries  with fewer stringent laws and harsh regulations. Business thrives on profit, and a free  country thrives on hard work and a people willing to pull themselves through the hard times, without dragging everyone down to a common denominator.

 Occupy and shame the bogey men of Wall Street, many of whom are hard working employees?  Take over public parks and make the public pay for the mess left behind?  Exercise our right to voice our opinions, even in a disorderly way that prompts police/tax paid action?  You bet'cha----this is America!!  And that's just the way we roll.  Love it, or leave it---just don't kill the golden goose that lays the golden eggs, that fuels the whole engine called-----  capitalism..  Listen to it roar---or is it whimpering the last sighs of a system beseiged by too many who would burn it down, rather than find a way to rebuild it?




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"AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM"--REALLY??

It keeps coming up---"American exceptionalism".  It can even be found in the comment section of this blog site's last entry, finding its way into a dialogue not directly related, but somehow always relevant to many an American mind set, and is often used in the same breath as "the American dream",  It was mentioned this week on "Meet the Press", as the talking heads discussed the current crop of Republican nominees for president and what the American people really want in their president----and whether any of the nominees, or even  President Obama, has that intangible quality that will inspire people to once again believe that the American dream is still possible and react accordingly----because that dream is fading ---we are losing confidence in ourselves and the notion that we are in any way exceptional.  On the contrary, there is a visible shift in our historical and here-to-fore national pride and self image ----we no longer feel like winners, but more like losers here at home and on the world stage. A "Shining city on the hill", as President Reagan called us? Not so much.  That hill has eroded beneath us, as we struggle to shore it up with so called stimulus money we don't have, and which so far has proven to be ineffective. There are conflicting philosophies as to how to regain our economic footing, and more and more speeches and debates. You can hear the despair in our conversations about ourselves, read it in the daily news of unemployment and foreclosure figures, and see it in the resigned, sad eyes of a people, who once proud, now instinctively sense our greatness slipping away.

We are becoming quite unexceptional, and we sense it. China is eating our lunch, owning much of our debt, and we  resent it. We have lost our way and our standing as  the greatest and most respected power, and the whole world  knows it. We endlessly discuss the crux of our problems, which is  our sick economy, but nobody  seems to know how to fix it---or has the courage to do so.  Therein lies the despair--- we are no longer what we were, and the urgency of a needed correction and change couldn't be more evident.  There are even those who think it's too late, that we are  in the throes of a downward spiral from which we will not return very soon, if ever.  And even worse,  that we have lost our exceptionalism, the  key to our identity and the very thing that got us started, always kept us going, and led us away from the cliffs of previous disasters.

So what is or was this exceptionalism??  It may depend on who's doing the talking ,as to whether it is something to which we should still aspire.   Possibly the first person to coin the phrase, "American exceptionalism", was Alexis de Tocqueville, a writer, who in 1831 used it as as theory to explain and describe the mix of characteristics that were inherent in the America's early success---liberty, egalitarianism, individual populism, and "laissez faire"----very different from the England and every other country at that time.  Later, Abraham Lincoln's words in the Gettysburg Address, were permanently remembered for their strong emphasis on individual freedom and that "all men are created equal---".  Much later, New Gingrich, a United States Senator, and currently a Republican presidential hopeful, in both his film, "A Nation Like No Other", and his book, "A City Upon a Hill", echoed those feelings by reminding us that our rights do not come from government, but from God.  In a nutshell, American exceptionalism means that one is not limited by his or her birth circumstances,  but that with hard work and perseverance, anything is possible in terms of financial, career, and social ambitions.

 However, though this theory of individual freedom to excell is still widely accepted as the American dream, it is beginning to appear less and less attainable, and perhaps only an old fashioned relic of the past.   It is no longer a creed in which we wholeheartedly and unanimously ascribe---it is in fact, the basis for great philosophical and political strife currently being waged in this country today.  It may even lie at the core of the main differences between our two political parties, for Conservatives or Republicans still cling to the concept of American Exceptionalism, while Liberals or Democrats tend to underplay and even eschew the strength and effectiveness of individual pursuits, preferring instead to give more power to the government for,  in their minds, the greater good.

President Obama in a 2009 speech perhaps revealed his true compass, and may be the reason for his failure to lead a beleagured, doubting country, when he  punted in regards to the validity of American exceptionalism and said that while he believed in American exceptionalism, it was no different than that of the British or the people of Greece. In other words, he feels we are not so exceptional, after all.  Obama's recent speeches seem to reflect even more so his belief that government, therefore higher taxes, especially from those who are wealthy, are, in large part, the answer to our problems.  His idealogy of wealth distribution is becoming more obvious, and seems to encourage class warfare , as he deliberately pits one class against the other, and dims our chances of pulling together---it is disappointing, destructive to our  already national, polarized mood, and most unpresidential .  But ever the strategic politician, with a laser eye on the 2012 election, Mr. Obama is banking that most of the country will follow his idealogical trumpet call to minority groups and rhetorical fable of the rich, greedy Republicans vs. the Democrats, so-called champions of the poor and middle class. And he may be right---Robin Hood politics sells, and the Republicans need to do more to show that their way is the better way, that real revenue comes not from taking from the rich, but from making it possible for all to materially succeed, thereby creating real, sustainable revenue.  They need to put forth a candidate that re-instills a renewed vigor and faith in our ability to restore ourselves--and clear solutions, not just platitudes.    Do they have such a person?  The media would have us believe  not---but it is still early, and the jury has barely begun to assemble.

We are the jury, and our challenge is to recognize that the biggest turning point in our history may be taking place now---do we want to continue on the same path, or will we have the courage to fire those who do not believe in us, and take back the possibility of the American dream and believe once again that we are exceptional---because once upon  a time, we gave birth to a nation against all odds, fought hard to overcome great difficulties and enemies, tamed our frontiers, fought even among ourselves to sort out our principles, and built a free, strong, capatalistic country the likes of which the world had never seen.  We still take in more immigrants than any other country, based on the American dream theory---we still offer more hope than any other country, but how disappointing it must be for those people to slowly grasp that that dream has seemingly been replaced by a different vision, which stifles and discourages individual success  and pursuits, in the name of social progress, but otherwise known as socialism---not a new idea, nor one that has ever flourished beyond mediocrity.
  
This a crucial time for our country--- the other side of the argument for American exceptionalism is that there are those who feel that it  is a negative concept, in that it smacks of ignorance and breeds arrogance, and that it is time for us to become more world integrated and less "parochial" or self focused---and that we should leave some of our constitutional laws behind, including cancelling the next election, as outrageously suggested by  democrat North Carolina's governor, Beverly Perdue, last week.  Perhaps, the thinking goes, we should think of ourselves, not as disloyal to our original concepts, but as evolving into a better, more enlightened society, where everybody gets a fair share of the pie.  Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek magazine referred to a "post American world", which is not about the decline of America, but the rise of everyone else" , But. that sounds more like an excuse, than a remedy, and more like Utopia, than reality.  Mr. Zakaria is a smart and nice man, but probably not a believer in American exceptionalism.There will always be room for improvement, and ways to bring opportunity and aid to the unfortunate among us, but does not run-away charity lead to not only an over taxed budget, but a creeping subserviency?

The original American spirit does not believe in rising everybody without merit or as welfare dependants of the rich---or in excusing our decline. It believes in everyone having a crack at the American dream , not through a government which takes from everybody and distributes as it sees fit, but through a free people, willing to work hard for their success. It may be too late, but it is time for those who still believe in American exceptionalism to stand up and be counted---or watch as we become quite ordinary, no longer a "shining city on a hill", but dimmed to the point of intellectual and socialistic "enlightenment".