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America has been a nation that has prospered from the culture and contributions of people around the world. We have approached an era where people no longer want to contribute to the American Dream and proser as so many generations once aspired to do. The United States needs to reform their border as a nation without borders merely becomes a territory.

The financial burden of illegal immigrants increases every day. Every day you and I the hard working American will have to work harder, and pary larger amounts to our government so they can redistribute our earnings to people who don't want to be a member of our society. Illegal immigration costs California alone, $3.7 billion dollars anually. How is that fair, democratic, just or in anyway American? The United States citizens are forced to pay for something that was never voted on or passed in the legislature, therefore taxation without representation. Time for another tea party I dare say.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the whole situation is the government's inability to act on the people's will. If they just enforced the laws that were in the books, we wouldn't have the current problem on our hands. Furthermore, with voter fraud on the rise, we are gradually losing the power of the vote

Hold on Tight and Invest in Demerit Goods!!!

Barack Obama is proposing a stimulus package that would give financial aide to people with lower income. The supporting thought that people would immediately spend this money which would inject money into the economy. This seems all fine and dandy, but then again, what would they be purchasing? Often people in the lower class purchase goods that include: fast food, cigarettes, alcohol, video games, and cheap imported toys. Will this really help the American economy? Probably not. Furthermore, are these the industries that you want to support? Makes you think twice about why so many Americans are obease.

Furthermore, this will hurt the economy as the government has to get this "stimulus money" from somewhere. They have to get a loan from other nations, other industries, and unfortunantly, this will come at an interest rate. By increasing our debt, we increase the burden on our future generations as they will pay more money to foreign nations/businesses. This increased debt, increases the finacial burden as we must pay more in interest. As a result we are losing revenue that our nation generates now and in the future. Additional debt only increases the amount of money that we are going to have to pay to the government.

My advice to everyone, hold on tight, and invest in demerit goods (alcohol, tobacco, and junk food).

Democracy

America has been the envy of modern day nations due to its prosperity, freedom, and rights of the people to express their views regarding government decisions. As Abraham Lincoln put it: “[democracy is a] government of the people by the people for the people”. Is this form of government without flaw? Certainly not as there are many examples of abuse throughout our history, yet at the same time, is there any other government that is not susceptible to flaws? The great pinnacle that democracy stands on is the freedom of the people and the people’s ability to express the best interest for the nation. For many years the hope expressed in the American spirit has helped the nation aspire to the greatest economic powerhouse the world has known. With the perversion of a the government disguised as “free” but packaged as oppression, democracy will slowly fade from the greatness it once attained from the neglect of the people’s hands and death of the free press.

The Capitalist economic system motivates the common American to work to the greatest capability as our self interest benefits from our labor. The greatest mistake that any leader could make is to decrease this incentive. Many people have become envious of those who work harder as they have attained more. Is this fair to blame others for personal shortcomings or their abundance of opportunity? Certainly not, to do so would be oppressive and alienate the great American spirit of determination. Have we forgotten that the roadblocks of our lives can become the springboards of success with determination and labor? The greatest economic blunder that any leader of a nation could make is to heavily tax the part of society that has the ability to create wealth. According to Hauser’s Law of Economics (similar to Mr. Laffer’s economic theory), increasing the taxes on the rich will decrease the national GDP of the nation and decrease the amount of tax revenue generated. This is a large problem in Europe where taxes are increasingly high and rich people’s incomes grossly underestimated.

High taxes reduce people’s incentives to work hard, produce more goods and increase in economic prosperity as the profit they generate will only be taken away. Furthermore, the upper class has the means to generate more business and increase investments. To decrease incentive to attain profit would create economic strife as many investors would move to different nations where there are less penalties for being successful. The capitalist market with less regulation has been a large reason why America has had the greatest innovative minds and prospered for so long. Capitalism with regulations provides the highest amount of equality as anyone can aspire to gain economic benefits and be a part of the highest economic class. The single limitation that keeps us from this prosperity is the ourselves. If we cannot aspire to something greater, it is not due to the governemnt but rather our lack of discipline or lack of ambition. Any socialistic politician that takes form the rich promising to give government programs to the poor generates a continued and growing dependence on the government. The success of our nation will come to an end when the American people can no longer find the greatest leaders that promote the nation's best interest.

The greatest flaw of the democratic political system is the government’s involvement is the lack of limits on the financial involvement for the common citizen. If people are not responsible enough to set money aside for when economic trouble, how can we expect them to be responsible with any of their financial personal responsibilities? The slow growth of government involvement has increased the financial burden on the responsible citizens as well as given a political advantage to the many irresponsible politicians. If this vicious cycle continues, we will ultimately fall under the weight of our own personal greed. Our nation like all nations has gone through a progressive cycle. A wise man described this cycle as: “From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from great courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependency back again to bondage.” With the American public’s realization that the politicians are able to give them the most “free” things, they have in turn voted out fiscal responsibility accepting bondage and manipulation from the government. With this knowledge, can Democracy ever truly be reached? Democracy exists through the intellect and informed beliefs of the individuals that constitute the nation rather than the beliefs or ideals of the officials in government. With the proper checks and balances and a free press, the people have the ability to hold officials accountable for their actions. With the people’s failure to hold people accountable, and decline of the press, the people steadily lose power that democracy holds. Like most Americans, a politician’s interests gravitate towards their success. If lobbyists provide a means for re-election rather than a politician’s actions judged by Americans, politicians will continue to serve their personal interests regardless of how contrary the decisions are to the common American. Once we as a nation realize this fundamental truth and decide not to be swayed by twisted political adds or selfish incentives, democracy will once again prosper.

Religious freedom represents far more than the right to express an individual’s beliefs. The government holds people’s intellectual and philosophical opinions valuable as they give the people the right to recognize the truth that transcends everything. One of the many reasons that America has continued to be prosperous is its long held adherence to morals. Respecting morals is the choice to recognize the distinction of right from wrong and choosing to do the right. The greatest cause of the recent economic decline is a result of the immorality and greed that has penetrated the hearts of citizens as well as corrupt officials in government. The greatest example is citizens taking more than they need through credit and housing which has burdened the financial intuitions to a breaking point. This caused the fallout in the market and officials responsible for oversight failed to perform their jobs. The once accepted quote of president John F. Kennedy, “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” has long been forgotten and the ideal tossed aside. Democracy only holds as much meaning as we as individuals appreciate the ideals of freedom. Asking to put a price on democracy is like asking someone to place a value on the sacrifices that so many died to ensure freedom. We so often forget that freedom reigns through the lives of the men and women who protect us. The government for the people will only survive as long as we as citizens appreciate the sacrifices that true heroes of the past made because they believed in democracy. With our vote we ensure the validation their incredible sacrifices. Only our vote holds the power to keep the government honest and of the people, by the people, for the people. The hope for democracy resides in the acknowledgement that people may be bought and sold by the power of corruption, but will forever be invaluable to the majority it represents ideals of freedom that reside in every human spirit. There are those who argue that a true democracy can never be reached. “‘It is no fair’ if a fixed, tyrannical majority excludes or alienates the minority. It is no fair if a fixed, tyrannical majority monopolizes all the power all the time. It is no fair if we engage in the periodic ritual of elections, but only the permanent majority gets to choose who is elected. Where we have tyranny by The Majority, we do not have genuine democracy.” First and foremost, it depends how you define democracy. By definition, democracy is a form of government where the supreme power is held by the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. There will always be people who disagree with the large majority, yet to say that the minority somehow has less rights, or less opportunity than the majority would be a lie. The minority has the power to express their views to the majority and if their viewpoint does not influence the public majority, to oppress the majority of the people with the minority’s decisions would be far more oppressive. Additionally, the minority has the right to express their views to the majority and persuade that their perspective is the best course of action. The whole basis of democracy is that the people base their decisions on what serves the nation a whole. A true democracy will only exist with informed individuals who have the ability to make decisions that are based on facts as there is no other way that they will be able to hold political actions accountable. There are many governments world wide that consider themselves democratic, yet often times this is not so. In order for a truly democratic nation to exist, there must be the presence of a free press to ensure transparency of government decisions, media that expresses the true interests of the people, secret ballot, government checks and balances, a regular cycle of elections, and the freedom to create a political party. Without any of these, a just democracy for the people will fail to exist.

When we vote for increased government dependence for our sole benefit, we vote against the freedom that democracy stands for. Government programs burden our economy with high taxation and debt reducing opportunity for the majority. Ultimately, we reduce living conditions and encourage the growth of black markets. The perversion of the justice system that is geared towards leniency allows for the existence of tyranny over the innocent and the wrong to prevail in face of the right. If you believe in freedom, think, discuss, argue and find truth based on fact not on suspicion or personal greed. If you appreciate the value of freedom and honor the sacrifices of our the soldiers that ensure our freedom in the past, present and future, vote. Semper Fi.

Cheaper Health Care = More Competition

Many American's want affordable health care for everyone, sure sounds like a grand idea in a perfect world where everyone works hard, everyone pays taxes, and everyone is a contributing respectible citizen to society...and sure meet you in Oregon or Berkley. BUT FOR THE REST OF US what is the answer?

So many want us to think that in order to obtain cheaper health care, we must allow the government to pay for it all. Yeah, who pays the government...uh oh. Yeah, you and I the hard working American who actually files their taxes. Seeing that the national debt is well, I dunno somewhere in the trillions, I think we better not let the government get involved with the health aspect of our lives. I don't feel particularly fond of the idea of waiting six months before I can have a heart surgery like they do in Canada. The reason why American continues to have the leading products at cheaper prices than at command economies is through competition. Why can't this simple concept be re-applied to the health care system? Sad truth is that many politicians are marionettes for many companys' interests. This is the true reason to the rise in health care costs, but nobody seems to see that. All the monopolizing that has been occuring has contributed to the rising costs and the plundering of our wallets. So we have a choice, to be completely broke (socialized health care) or to feel used (what the current system is)....well I don't know about you, but there is always hope that the current system can be re-regulated. Once the government gains control in an aspect of our lives, they are hard pressed to give back the power they have attained.