AMERICA NEEDS DREAMS, PLANS, AND GOALS

American needs to stand for something, to believe in something, to live for something as a nation, not just for individuals. Mr. Obama, Mr. Boehner, Democrats, Republicans, where is your leadership? America used to stand for "Liberty and Justice for All". Now what does America stand for? Accommodation with dictators? Diplomacy with terrorists? Dealing with totalitarian regimes? Buying cheap goods from foreign countries while our own manufacturers go out of business? Allowing US businesses to close plants, lay-off workers in the US, and re-open business in a cheap labor nation? Running multi-dollar trade deficits while our people cannot find jobs, are losing their homes, and wondering where their next meal is coming from? Regulating our national businesses virtually to death while other nations such as India, for example, have booming private businesses because they don't regulate businesses to death? Government spending on foolish things to ridiculous levels so that ourselves and future generations are saddled with tremendous taxes that keep us poor and stifle business?

Do we have any plans or goals to be preeminent in space exploration? No. Instead we are cutting it back. Do we have any plans to improve our missile defense against nuclear attacks? No. Do we have any plans to make our military the best in world? No. Instead we are cutting it back. Do we have a goal to have the best high speed railroads? No. Do we have any plans to build or rebuild our broken interstate highways, our bridges, our subways, our heavy industries, our cities? Not anything significant. Our we really trying to become energy self-sufficient? Not really.

So what is wrong with our leaders? Are they too busy drawing up health plans, welfare plans, pork barrel spending, negotiating with terrorist states, new business killing free trade plans and regulations, fighting between each other over minor political disagreements? I am afraid so. We have lost sight of how America should be a great nation in all respects and be a good example to others. Our leaders cannot see the forest because they can only see a few trees! Wake up America! Lets get this country doing something meaningful and get back to work!

If you agree with me, write and call your Congressmen, and email me. Don't bother if you like the status quo.

THE ESTATE TAX SHOULD BE ELIMINATED

Why do we need to tax estates? the government gets less than 1% of their tax revenue from estate taxes, even when they were at the 45% level. What is so bad about people inheriting money from a deceased person that has a significant estate or a business. In some cases when the estate is a small business, the business usually has to be sold to pay the taxes. This usually causes a loss of jobs for employees and the loss of a stable business income for the family. This loss to the family and the workers is not just a one-time loss. It can cause lifetime disruption for the employees and the family, not to speak of the loss of a good business in the community. That restaurant you love might close. Your favorite bar closes. Your favorite mom and pop grocery store is gone. But the large businesses that are privately owned have ways to avoid the estate taxes. Another argument against estate taxes is that they tend to level the financial condition of the people so that people who otherwise might have inherited a little money, instead struggle just to survive, and possibly eventually going on the public dole when they can no longer earn their living. So the estate tax is actually counter-productive to the government's financial situation. The fear merchants will say, "But you can't let families gain so much financial power by inheriting a lot of money." So what, how about the Kennedy's? They have really been an important family in our history with great accomplishments and contributions to our country! How about Bill Gates and Warren Buffet with their very large contributions to charity? Isn't that great? So what is wrong with having more rich people or just affluent people in the USA and fewer people on the public dole?

THE TAX DEAL UPSETS THE LEFT

The new tax deal that President Obama has made with the Republicans has made certain democrats very angry because taxes will not be increased on the rich for two years. I am not a rich man but my question is why should the rich pay any more taxes than anyone else on a percentage basis? It is not fair and it is not consistent with the American capitalist system. Most people should not even pay taxes because the original intent of the founding fathers was that taxes should be on capital GAIN, not on workers who are only exchanging their labor and time for payment. So doing a job is not gain -- it is simply an exchange of time for pay. Now the government has decided to tax everything, income from employment and investment gain, and the American people have meekly accepted this abuse of government power. However this was not my main concern. My main concern is that the socialist communistic agenda of the leftist democrats is not so much that the rich make too much money and should be taxed more. Rather rich people do not fit their socialist agenda that all people should be leveled financially so that only the political leaders will have ultimate power and control every aspect of life of every person. So there will not be any rich that could rock their boat. In other words the leftist democrats do not want anyone to be rich, except themselves, and they are jealous that any rich man should have any more power in any sense than a poor person, a middle class person, or especially a leftist politician.

SENDING OUR WEALTH OVERSEAS

Our deficits in trade over the last 3 years have averaged $48 billion. In 2010 alone we gave up $44 billion buying imports versus exports. Projecting the $44 billion over the next 10 years we will give up $440 billion in lost American wealth, jobs, resources, GDP, and other things. What will we get in return? Good will from foreign nations? I don't think so. We will get a lower quality of life, a weaker country, decaying infrastructure, and loss of influence in the world. We have already gone form a creditor nation to a debtor nation. The first step on the road to oblivion of the American way of life.

The following is a partial list of imported manufactured goods from just China alone. Just think what these goods represent in lost American jobs and industries in some cases. More than likely, we see even more lost jobs and industries in the future. One interesting import is in the area of military equipment. what in the world are we thinking when we import military equipment from China? What happens if we suddenly have a cold or hot war (I hope not) with China? Think of the shock when all of sudden we can't get the goods we are used to getting? We are even buying complete aircraft from China. We should be able to build our own aircraft and not have to buy any from overseas!

Why do we have this problem and we can't seem to correct it? It is because of the so-called "Free Trade" agreements where we are essentially "giving away the store." These agreements have been foolishly instituted by both Democrats and Republicans, unfortunately. Instead of "free trade" we should have FAIR TRADE that has appropriate tariffs, quotas, or taxes on imports that at least level the playing field for our domestic manufacturing.

Here is the partial list of imports from China alone:

Food
Paper products
Iron and steel products
Audio visual media
Generators
Transformers
Electrical parts
Oil drilling equipment
Mining equipment
Engines
Pumps
Compressors
heavy construction machinery
Agricultural machinery
Machine tools
Process machinery
Measurement, test, control, and lab instruments
Material handling equipment
Computers
Semiconductors
Telecom equipment
Business machines
Medical and hospital equipment
Civilian aircraft
Railroad equipment
ships and boats
Spacecraft
Automobiles
Footwear
Textiles
Cosmetics
Household appliances
Motorcycles
Toys
TV,VCR, video and audio equipment
Records, tapes, Cds, DVDs
Jewelry
Artwork
Military aircraft and parts

THE CONFLICT MINERALS LAW

The wonderful Dodd-Frank financial law passed this last July has a very nice provision that the use of any minerals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold that come from Africa, that have been sold or taxed by rebel groups, must be labeled that the product is not free of "conflict minerals".

In the first place, it is very hard to determine if one of these materials is not conflict free, once it gets into the hands of a manufacturer, especially if it is incorporated in some part or device that is bought by the manufacturer for incorporation in his device or final product. An example is a large screen television that may have a thousand or more electronic parts in it. One or more of the materials mentioned above may be incorporated in any part. It is possible that any given part may have been in stock for several years before it is finally used in a product such as the television. Now how in the world is its "conflict minerals" status going to be determined?

The Dodd-Frank bill, supposedly bi-partisan, is another example of over-regulation by the Democratic controlled Congress. The financial provisions in the bill are pretty awful also. This whole Congress has run amok, Democrats, and Republicans, putting our country in a terrible state of government over-reaching, over-taxing, over-spending, over-regulation, and general bloated over-grown inefficiency.