Sunday, March 11, 2012

A Balanced Budget Amendment We Can Live With

Second round of the French presidential electi...Image via Wikipedia
We have to get a balanced budget amendment. I'd like to see any budget with a deficit subject to referendum that also approves immediate taxes to pay it down within 10 years.

And if we have a war or other emergency that requires spending, Congress should be free to start spending, as long as a referendum that approves or vetoes the spending is arranged promptly.

And we need a tax to pay off the existing debt, all of it, within 50 years in the same amendment.

There's no reason the richest country in the world should operate the way it does. The result will be our decline and eventual loss of any power in the world. We cannot expect to compete with other powers technologically and militarily if we don't get our economic house in order.

A lot of people like to talk about democracy, but actually giving the people control over how much debt they are getting into is not what they have in mind.  Many want a process that they can game to their own advantage.

In the US, the trappings of democracy is used to keep the people under control, not to give the people control over their government.  And debt is used to keep the people from understanding the real costs.

Its time we took off the backwards sunglasses.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Why Income Inequality is A Great and Necessary Thing

Northern Minnesota MineNorthern Minnesota Mine (Photo credit: cliff1066™)
Income inequality is a sign that an economy is functioning properly, for people vary greatly in their talents, ambition, tolerance for risk, vision. Some can lead, delegate and inspire, while others cannot. 

Some are great at collaboration, others love confronting difficult challenges. Some are great at squeezing suppliers and others good at pushing people to adopt the next wave of technology. Some know exactly what people want and others are incredibly creative. Some never stop learning.

Some do none of the above and only want everything defined for them with no risks or growth required.

How could anyone analyze all of this incredible variability and decide whether people get too much money for their contributions?

Income inequality rewards the development of all of those qualities.  We all benefit from what high producers produce.

And then they put what they earn in the bank where we can borrow it to make ourselves more productive.

How is that not beneficial for every person in the country?