We the People of the United States of America are tired of our elected officials

Two hundred thrity two years ago, people fed up with the tyranny and injustice of a government far, far away, declared their independence from those who thought themselves superior.  Our forefathers envisioned honest and well intentioned people answering the call to public SERVICE of their fellow man (and woman).  

I find it interesting, ushistory.org's website version of our country's Declaration of Independence is subtitled "The Want, Will and Hopes of the People.

Thomas Jefferson wrote to the government back in England:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them  with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The hubris of our elected officials today mirror those of King George III.

Jefferson continues:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

We each have individual control over our success or failure we have equal opportunity.  Our destiny is not predetermined.  We are not subject to a cast system. We aren't forced to live in squalor, we aren't forced to be dependent.  What we do with our lives is our choice.  Where we end up at the end of the day is the result of the choices we make on a daily basis.  Our government is required to acknowledge that basic right of man (and woman) and allow us to achieve all we are capable of doing.  Not using us as slaves to the government or anyone else.  The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution abolished that. The 19th amendment was the last step to ensure we were all equal in the electoral process.  We really don't need the government's help to achieve anything, the only limits we have, are those we place upon ourselves.. 


The Government Of the People, By the People and FOR the People

Our constitution gives us, We the people, the power to change our government.  Yes, we have the ability to elect officials to represent our interests in Washington.  But as we have seen through our lifetimes, Almost all end up representing their own interests.  

The founding fathers thought the most important part of our government was the representation of the people.  That is why Article 1 discusses the Legislative Branch, (Not Article II Joe Biden).  Second was the representation of our country in the world, The Executive Branch discussed in Article II.  The third part of the triumverant, was the Judicial Branch.  Congress thought the most honorable of people would aspire to be judges.  These people would look blindly upon the people involved, and look at the merits of law and the claims against it, place the facts on the scales and inform the public which way the balance shifted.  

Unfortunately, we find our more perfect union, an imperfect one.  Congress levies taxes, and spends money to benefit their own interests as well as those of their friends and family over the people they allegedly represent.  Judges tip the scales, not in favor of justice, but in favor of their own personal interests, over the best interests of the country.  And those who desire the power to be king, like George III, twist the facts, lie, deceive, and bribe us for their own personal gaines.  Eventually one will become the "Leader of the Free World".

A Frenchman, once desired to make his country better.  He'd his torn apart during the French Revolution and wanted to come to America, to learn about it's penal system and make conditions more humane for the inturned.  He came away with a deeper understanding of our country than it's life long citizens will ever have.  Alexis de Tocqueville wrote America is great because it's people believe in the equality of condition.  Rich or poor, all people face the same problems in life at the same time.  

He went on to say: “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money”.

John Jay Hooker - But there will be no justice, there will be no government of the people, by the people, and for the people, as long as the government and its officials permit bribery in any form.

These are the situations we face today.  Our leaders are corrupt.  We voted out corrupt Republicans and replaced them with corrupt Democrats.  Our advocate, our watchdog, our beloved press, sits idly by twisting facts in favor of their personal views.  Often in favor or one political party over the other.  Almost always against the best interest of the people who buy it's half truths through subscription, listening, or watching the daily news.

Our Congresspeople  our supposed to be like us.  After all, they are our representatives.  We come from all walks of life, black, white, red, yellow, immigrant, native, male, female, rich, not so rich and poor.  But look at our representatives.  How many of them today drive a seven year old car with rust and balding tires?  How many of them worry about the cost of medicines or health care?  How many of them wonder if they can put a little into their retirement account this year, or will that money need to be spent on food, or clothes, or warmth?

Truth is, our representatives no longer represent us.  Most drive fancy imported cars, live in large gated homes, and send their children to private schools.  They can't be trusted to self control.  Ethics rules are violated almost every day, yet those who do only receive a slap on the wrist if even that.  Davy Crockett once called on members of congress to give a week's salary to compensate a widow, rather than send her money from the public treasury. ( http://patriotpost.us/histdocs/crockett_not_yours_to_give.asp ) His reason was, charity was the responsibility of the people, not the government.  Our government's idea of charity is lining their own pockets, not the betterment of America.

Like a modern day Paul Revere, We need a call to arms:
We must insist on fundamental changes in Congress, the Presidency and our Court System.  Changing the Presidency is easy.  We must elect a chief executive who realized our system is corrupt and wants to change it.  They must have a like minded second in command to drive the issue in the Senate.  

Change the Constitution to put more controls of the people over the actions and benefits of Congress.  Therefore, we must adopt the following proposed constitutional amendments:

1. Congressional Compensation - No representative of congress shall receive medical, retirement, or social security or other benefits that exceed those received by 50.1% of the population for the district they represent.  All members of congress shall be subject to the same base pay upon initial date of service.  Increases in compensation for service to a district shall be put to public vote in their districts.
2. Campaign Finance Reform - All remaining funds raised by candidates after an election cycle must be turned over to the government as part of the general revenue fund.  All funds used to cover personal expenses by candidates shall be subject to income tax. 
   
3. Ethics - No member of congress shall be permitted to receive campaign contributions from any organization directly or indirectly affected by committee or subcommittee membership.  If a member of congress has received compensation from a group prior to a committee membership, an amount equal to all monies donated by those groups now affected, shall be made available to the general revenue fund of the federal government.  All travel paid for by lobbyists shall be given a real value and the congressional member taxed for the value of said travel.  
4. Term Limits - No Member of the house may serve more than a total of five terms.  No member of the senate may serve more than a total of two (or three) terms.  (This ensures continuity, yet prevents any one member of the legislature from gaining too much power and influence over other members of Congress)

Getting these changes to our constitution will be difficult.  Three Quarters of the State Legislatures and two thirds of congress must pass these amendments.  Congress has demonstrated their lack of desire to self regulate.  If a member of Congress does not support our petition, then we the people have the right to start recall proceedures directed towards that representative.  


We must act.  Inactivity on our part implies we agree with the actions of our elected officials.  If that is so, then we are just as culpable in the mess our Government has created, and we deserve the situation we are currently enduring.  We must perfect, this more perfect union.  Ensure equal justice for all, restore domestic tranquility, and reestablish the blessings of liberty.

I'm beginning to wonder if the "bailout" of the financial institutions is more of a red herring than a reality.  I understand there is difficulty obtaining some loans.  But my neighbor, who works in the commercial loan department for a mortgage broker is still writing notes. Not as many as she did during the housing boom, but she is still writing notes Yes, banks are failing because they bought stock certificates in bad loans.  Programs the current administration inherited from its predecessor, tried to change but couldn't. 

I wonder how an "Agreement in Principle" could be reached in such a short period of time.  Several house members objected several times, but it wasn't reported in detail on any news channels.  Instead everyone blamed John McCain for getting involved.  It wasn't until he showed up and met with the objectors, any dissent was brought to our attention.  I think we were on the verge of having a bailout bill shoved down our throats.  This is one one of the first pieces of legislation I know of to be drafted without hearings in either chamber of congress.  Is there something wrong with this picture?

It is my understanding 20% of the proceeds from the future sale of the notes the government acquires will go to ACORN.  This institution has taken profits from underwriting mortgages and using it to fund questionable voter registration drives, several of which have been found to be fraudulent.  Proceeds of any government operation that generates profits should go back to the people taking the risk, the American Taxpayer. One of the things that bothers me is congress has investigated the White House almost incessantly since taking over two years ago.  were they too busy investigating nothing when they should have been investigating this potential problem? 

One Presidential candidate has worked closely with ACORN, and he supports the current bailout plan.  The other thinks the American taxpayer shouldn't have to foot the bill.

The Inspector General of the SEC said numerous red flags were missed with Bear Sterns.  Christopher Cox said the monitoring system at the SEC for banks is fundamentally flawed, because monitoring of the banks is voluntary.  As soon as the first bank failed, shouldn't congress changed the law or the SEC changed its rules for monitoring of banks to become mandatory.  Somebody was asleep at the switch. 

A large portion of the problem we are in is due to home speculators flipping houses for a quick profit.  As I said in my last blog, I know of three people who collectively own more than 21 residential properties and are struggling to make the payments on each one.  Actually one of the lost four of his five homes.  If the government bails them out, they stand to make very large profits from their risky venture, at the expense of others.  If unchecked, speculators will be able to push the financial markets to the brink once again, by continuing the same practices that got us to this point in the first place.

As with anything that comes out of our current congress, the bill will have earmarks to this group and that.  The "golden parachutes" will still exist no matter what congress puts into the bill. The government will buy the bad debt immediately making the financial institutions profitable.  Higher profits means greater bonuses for executives in those companies.  Will the higher profits for these "troubled" institutions go to offsetting the bad debt the government bought?  I don't think so.   Washington Mutual failed and the outgoing CEO still received millions for his incompetence.  The FDIC, (you and I) insured the deposits for WAMU and helped line the pockets of the departing CEO.  If the FDIC hadn't helped out, JPMorgan wouldn't have stepped in. WAMU paid $24 Million to two CEOs it fired within six weeks.  If they didn't have that liability, would they still be around?

My feeling about several of these financial geniuses that ran the banks into the ground is similar to the computer people of the Internet Boom of 2000.  Unskilled yet motivated people disguised at computer people pumped millions from venture captialists and immediatly lined their pockets.  Once the VCs demanded a return on their investment, the money dried up and we had the tech crash of 2000.  I think many of these bank CEOs worked in the industry for a few years, worked their way up closing lots of profitable loans and jumped from company to company while inflating their resumes and negotiating sweetheart deals.  When real decisions needed to be made they took their bankroll and ran rather than work out the problem. 

We the people elected these representatives to protect our interests in government and they have failed us miserably. And most of the news channels turn a blind eye to the goings on in Congress.  It is a fact the Democrats have enough votes to force any rescue plan through the legislative process.  If it is such a good deal, why do the Republicans object, and why don't they pass it anyway. 

The saddest part of this whole process is we won't be able to review any of it until it has been passed by congress and is on the way to the President's desk.  By then it will be too late, and we will be stuck with the results.  Some government of the people, by the people and for the people.  It always seems like "Take it From the People, Shove it Down the People, and Stick it to the People"

And government only knows one solution.  Like the IBM commercial here  ==> IBM Commercial - Catapult ((Sir Arthur Throw Money at the Problem) Throw money at the problem and it will go away.  The problem is, it's our money.  Experts say there are other things that can be done that cost a lot less money.  Eric Cantor's insurance proposal through FHA costs a lot less.  Changing accounting rules for banks and businesses would help as well.   Sarbanes - Oxley is a nightmare and a big part of this problem as well.  

 I wonder how many hidden mickey's will be found in this bill over time. 

Even today the three biggest lies still hold true.  Although number two and three change over time, number one has stayed the same:  "I'm from the goverment and I'm here to help."

I'd like to take the opportunity to personally yell at all those responsible for the current credit meltdown.  To blame one individual would be irresponsible.  But let's put blame where it needs to be. 

• President Clinton:  This was your program.  It was your administration that started this mess.  You got the ball rolling.  Like Prometheus, you gave investors fire.  Initially the Investment Gods told you it was a bad idea to loan money to high risk individuals, you didn't listen.  Eventually the Investment Gods came on board, because they saw the opportunity to line their own pockets.  
• Congress.  It was your actions forcing lenders to give loans to people who can't pay them back.  You also left enough loopholes so people could leverage their primary residence on margin to buy more homes as investment property.  Didn't you guys learn about the problems of buying on margin back during the stock crash of the 1987?  
• President Bush: You and your cabinet new what was going on.  But you liked the fact your administration could claim high home ownership rates.  (Note: Since posting this, additional research has proven President Bush attempted to do something about this potential problem back in 2002 but was shouted down.  I still blame him for not going to the bully pulpit to make his point and get his way.)
• Warren Buffett:  You kept money cheap despite the indicators.  You had inside info to the credit markets yet you pushed on.  Fannie and Freddie needed the cheap money.  You basked in the glory. 
  
• Financial CEOs:  Just like President Bush and Congress, you guys knew the facts behind the economic boom since 2001.  But you lined your pockets and bailed out.  As long as the money came in, you guys didn't have to make hard choices.  For some reason you guys stopped screaming when the money got good.  
• Senator Chuck Schumer:  You and you alone caused the melt down of IndyMac.  Our economy was still able to hold its own until that bank failure.  You made the comment they could be in trouble and it's investors panicked and ran.  That was the start of the avalanche.  
• Any of the CEOs and board members of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  You took federal subsidies and cooked the books.  What you all did was actually criminal.  You are lucky you aren't in jail.  The profits you made based upon lies are nothing less than fraud.  
• Those of you who flipped houses to get rich.  I personally know three people in this category and have already given them a piece of my mind. Between them, they owned more than 20 homes (individually more than John and Cindy McCain).  Well actually the banks owned them.  They had enough trouble making payments on their primary home.  They abused the system legally, lined their pockets, and got caught, a little bit. They didn't lose it all, but they did lose a big portion of what they had.

So far the only solution presented is to bring back a version of the Resolution Trust Corporation.  Those of us old enough to remember that debacle have a good idea of how this one will end up.  The news media suggests congress will adjourn and leave this problem to simmer.  Like the gas price issue, you would rather do nothing until after the election than help a nation who hired them to do a job.  It is too bad we the taxpayers don't have any recourse, such as withholding pay to you and your staff until crisis solved.  It probably doesn't matter anyway.  You guys have gotten rich of our money for far too long. 

I'd like to thank the hand full of responsible journalist who kept talking about the potential problems with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  You at least tried to warn us of the problem before it became too big.  Unfortunately your colleagues didn't take up your drum beat. Between you and John McCain, at least you guys tried to prevent a melt down.  Unfortunately people higher up in the food chain did their very best to keep your screams down to the level of a church pew whisper.  

Why am I so mad?  The reason is simple.  I've watched for years as my health care costs have gone through the roof.  I seldom go to the doctor, but I know many people who do and understand their plight. It hit home when a very dear friend became seriously ill and I had to rush them to the hospital. The impediments I endured trying to help my friend helped me find a solution to his problem.  Today I'm on the brink of developing a new product that will guarantee to lower health care costs.  My biggest problem, there isn't much money left for me to borrow.    I'm just a working class stiff with a wife, dog and mortgage.  I can't afford the lawyers I need to protect and patent my idea.  I need money to develop the prototype.  I need cash to pay the people who will help me develop it.  Banks want collateral.  The equity I had in my home is now gone because of the housing crash.  Venture Capitalists will take more than 50% of the idea just for funding it.  Since I don't have the money to hire lawyers, they would almost assuredly want most of the remaining shares, leaving me with about 10% of the original idea.  

I agree with one Presidential candidate the fundamentals of our economy are strong.  There are just too many forces working against us.

Could government please get out of the way and let us at least try and walk.  For those walking, please keep to the right, some of us want to run.