My Amendments to the US Constitution

I have three Resolutions for adoption into the US Constitution 1) Congressional Gifts, Campaign Contributions, and Lobbying 2) Too Big to Fail Banks, Separate savings and loans from investment banks, Regulate financial derivative instruments, Breakup too big to fail banks 3) Freedom of Information 

JOINT RESOLUTION on Receipt of Congressional Gifts
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to gift giving and lobbying of congress, and campaign finance of members of congress.
To address the constant influence of money, eliminate conflicts of interest, to promote justice and equality, to place limits on corporate and wealthy entities, and to promote public tranquility the following articles and amendments are proposed. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein),
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission by the Congress:
SECTION 1.
Congress shall not receive more than $100 dollars from any single entity in efforts raising campaign funds with respect to Federal elections, including political action committees, corporations, charitable organizations, churches or religious organizations, and all United States Citizens. There are no exceptions or waivers to this rule for any kind of entity. Congress shall maintain painstaking and specific records of all transactions related to campaign funds and any products such as books, or services such as speeches.
SECTION 2.
Congress shall not receive any lobby dollars, gifts over a $5 dollar value, free lunches, free dinners, free tickets to conventions, transportation tickets or free rides on airplanes, trains, space craft, free hotel rooms, free clothing, or any other produce or service worth more than an appraised value of $5 Dollars from any single entity in efforts or any kind or that would have the appearance of an ethics problem, including political action committees, corporations, charitable organizations, churches or religious organizations, and all United States Citizens. There are no exceptions or waivers to this rule for any kind of entity. Congress shall maintain painstaking and specific records of all transactions related to all kinds of gifts and especially gifts, be they products or services, that could be considered a conflict of interest.
SECTION 3.
The Congressional watchdog, the General Accounting Office, shall have power to make and publish reports and suggestions regarding transparency to all members of congress regarding this article. It is expected that every 10 years there would be an adjustment to gift and campaign dollar limits which will be applied as 20% increase each 10 years after the date of adoptions of this amendment (i.e. $1 added after 10 years equals a new maximum gift value for congress of $6 dollars). 

JOINT RESOLUTION concerning Too Big Too Fail Banks  
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating monopolistic power, financial risk of large US banks and financial entities, national systemic and and economic risk of large US banks, and damage to US citizens from the financial crisis of 2008.
To address the constant influence of high risk financial behavior, to promote justice by slowing down banking fraud, to place limits on financial growth, to safe guard retail banking accounts, and to promote public tranquility the following articles and amendments are proposed.
SECTION 1.
US banks can no longer be both retail and investment banks. Retail banking is the banking for consumers. US citizens accounts shall be protected from bank investments and those within the financial organization that make investments.
SECTION 2.
Financial derivatives and derivative financial instruments will be regulated as any other financial investment. All financial investments whether stocks, bonds, or derivatives will be treated in the same way by regulators and will be shown on balance sheet transactions in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP). Therefore, private hedge funds and private banks will also have to follow GAAP rules, and carry financial transactions on balance sheets.
SECTION 3.
US Banks failing a test of doing annual business greater than $1 trillion dollars in either long term investments, or total capitalization, or $500 billion in total liabilities, or who holds over $300 billion in derivatives, or who creates financial derivative products of over $200 billion annually shall be broken in to separate parts at the end of one year after proposal is adopted. 

JOINT RESOLUTION concerning Freedom for Government Information
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to US Citizens Freedom of Information Requests from all US state and federal government entities. US government agencies work for the US Citizen and are paid through tax dollars from the citizen, so it is reasonable and predicable that citizen will request information.
SECTION 1.
All Federal and State, and Local governments, there agencies and their offices shall provide citizens with free access to information, data, and assistance with respect to Freedom of Information Requests. Therefore government offices shall post instructions, times for office visits, and make an employee available to assist US Citizens visiting in person. Agencies shall make it known where citizens can go to accomplish these freedom of information requests. The citizen will accommodate office hours, office locations, and scheduling of office visits within a weeks time for convenience. Information is recognized as dynamic and changes over time and the intent is that near instant response to freedom of information requests is possible and usually will be reasonable.
SECTION 2.

Economic Stimulus, Jobs Crisis, Specific Problem Areas and Specific Solutions Ideas

Economic Stimulus, Jobs Crisis, Specific Problem Areas and Specific Solutions Ideas

First consider the following problem areas.

A. Problem Area Taxes are Lower for Rich People:
1) Capital Gains, 2) Dividends, 3) Carried Interest, 4) Deferred Wages,

B. Problem Area Taxes for Social Security, Medicare not paid by the Rich (These social programs are under funded).

C. Problem Area Most People Don't Work - although women did join the work force and increase the number of people competing for jobs.  These 4 types of people require others to take care of them whether family or social programs:
1) Children, 2) Elderly, 3) Infirm, 4) Spouses at home

D. Problem Area The Alternative minimum Tax doesn't work for Rich who still have "Loop Holes", Pay "Non Wage Tax Rate", and No Definition of "effective tax rate" except for the tax in the IRS tax booklet. Taxable income and earning is reduced by some calculations, then deductions are put through further manipulations, tax credits are added in, and so on. The original concept of the AMT was for the rich to pay more, but seems they were excluded from the final law when it was passed.

E. Problem Area Congress Spends Funds that We Don't Have.

1) War over 500 Mile from this Country is Questionable, 2) There is No Trust Fund for War Spending, 3) Taxpayer's Borrow Money for War, 4) Much of Spending is a transfer of Taxpayer money to industry, 5) Too much Spending for Prisons for nonviolent crime, 6) Over 1600 Federal Subsidies, 7) Social Security Funds Stolen for War Funding.

F. Problem Area Banks Are Predatory, engage in dishonest and Criminogenic activity, One Idea: "Banks should become a Utility" managed like a the water company. It seems like a good idea, because they function to lend money and with Fractional Reserves - they are really making money "out of thin air" (transparency and regulation goes without saying if banks become a "Utility").

G. Problem Area Borrowed Money which brings up Mondern Monetary theory, central banking, borrowing money for government operations, getting loans from banks as the preferred method and not considering other alternatives than creating this massive federal deficit:

1) MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) has some different ideas. If we are the government, we own the treasury, why don't we create money and institute monetary policy, and why should we pay back money borrowed, or ... even borrow money to begin with???? Unless we borrow or lend to foreign entities we can create money without borrowing it.
2) Monetary Policy is all about making sure there is enough money in the system. If businesses can be born, and grow...if people can borrow and use credit,... then the system works. But today with dishonest deals driving out honest deals ... like the No Document Mortgages, packed and resold within hours or days. Money supply should be tied to changes in population to prevent money from getting tight as it is now. Small businesses can't get loans today (I am told). And people that want to refinance homes can't refinance.
3) Monetary Policy is supposed to work for both Main Street and Wall Street. And it has nothing to do with "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps". Today the money system is Broke. And the Economists in charge are "Neoliberalist".

"Neoliberalism is a contemporary form of economic liberalism that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets to promote globalization. Neoliberals therefore seek to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the political and economic priorities of the world."

H. Problem Area Job Creation is Really Creating an Environment For Starting Small Businesses (Small Businesses are the heart of the USA, employ the most people, and manufacture the most products - it is a myth that big giant corporations are the heart of the USA).

I) Problem Area We are transferring large amounts of funds from the taxpayer to industry through spending, through tax abatements, through public private partnerships, and through federal subsidies that number over 1600 to agriculture, oil industry, and many others like Walmart.

J) Problem Area Taxpayer funds transferred to the defense industry doesn't provide the economic stimulus that another manufacturing industry would. The economic multiplier effect of producing  goods and sending them to the market for other producers to utilize and sell as a component of their product is much less. War material is often controlled and kept out of the common market, it is often damaged or destroyed, and resale after obsolescence is often to foreign countries outside of our markets.

Now here are some potential solutions or ideas:

1) Get rid of the Central Bank (since we know they are in bed with the people that they are supposed to Regulate, the Revolving Door from the Treasury to Big Banks to the Federal Reserve proves this is one big "Club"). No one knows why the FED was created in secrecy without congress anyway.
2) Break Up All Banks that are too big to fail with Antitrust Laws (separate commercial banks, investment banks, and savings banks).
3) Stop Foreign War over 500 Miles from any one US State.
4) Stop asking the Government to Create Jobs.
5) Stop asking Businesses to Create Jobs.
6) Fully Fund Social Security and put money behind a Firewall (that is why we called it a "Trust").
7) Extend Unemployment benefits another year
8) Bring Army Troops back to permanent stations in the USA from Japan, Korea, and Germany. This means building (Stimulating) more housing, barracks, training facilities, and maintenance facilities. It also WILL Stimulate the US Economy as their money is spent in the US.
9) Create Incentive programs in K-12 through small Grants of $2000 - $4000, and in Colleges and Tech Training Schools of $5000 - $6000 to test new inventions, create contests in science, agricultural labs, greenhouses, etc.
10) Close the Department of Education since it has failed.

12) Scrape the current federal income tax scheme in favor of a progressive tax that only allows 5 deductions, recognizes wages and earnings the same way, investment dividends and short and long term profits and loses are treated with an exclusion for the first $15K earned, then taxed at 24%, interest rates for two mortgages can only be deductible up to $100K per house, there would be no such thing as a lower tax rate for "carrying fees" earned through business.  This tax plan will get Lawyers, Tax Lawyers, Accountants, Tax Accountants into other economic activities that could be helpful to the GDP and may have a multiplier effect on the economy (hopefully we can get more financial managers into manufacturing also). This may also reduce the number of IRS employees needed to review tax forms. Outlaw Deferred Wages since they erode tax base and obstruct visibility of Executive Wages Earned (nontransparent).

   A) Progressive tax with few deductions from 14% ($1-$22K per year) 16% ($23K-30K per year) 18% ($31K-38K per year) 20% ($39K-$49K per year) 22% ($50K-$60K per year) 24% ($61K-70K per year) 26% ($71K-82K per year) 28% ($83-$95K per year) 30% ($96K-120K per year) 31% ($121K-$1.5M per year) 32% ($1.6M- infinity)
   B) All wages, tips, carry fees, income treated the same
   C) Rich people pay full Social Security and Medicare taxes
   D) Allowed to own two houses and deduct up to $100K per year per house, additional houses are called investments and you can't deduct the interest paid from income taxes
   E) Head of Household and those with dependents can deduct health insurance premiums, copays, drug costs, and medical bills
   F) Investments are encouraged, loses and gains are only calculated when actually sold stocks, bonds or other financial instruments.
   G) Pensions are not taxed by the federal government unless they exceed $100K per year in which case they would be taxed at the lowest rate or 14%
   H) Personal deduction allowed, plus deduction for dependents and spouse

13) Overturn NAFTA and CAFTA
14) Stimulate manufacturing with "Economics Free Zones" in states and cities across the USA which would remove barriers to businesses, reduced taxes, reduced licenses, reduced certification requirements, no unions, reduced sales tax, reduced production tax, reduced capitol investment tax, maybe customers would not have to pay sales taxes either.
15) Stimulate manufacturing by providing small grants to trade schools and to students toward teaching them about business and how to start a manufacturing enterprise (laboratories, agricultural plots, energy and alternative energy testing projects, chemistry projects, hazardous waste control technology).
16) Stimulate manufacturing by identifying banks that would lend to new businesses, establish new small business federal loan programs at federal loan rate of 6% or 8%, identify technologies that will be trends in the future and will be focus of federal loan program (waste disposal, recycling, energy, autos, mass transportation).
17) Stimulate business creation with additional public works programs, and energy technology programs grants, loans, reduced production tax, sales tax, capitol investment tax, for businesses with capitalization below $10 Million Dollars that will produce energy or manufacture capitol equipment utilized in the energy industry.
18) Make Health Care Portable across State Lines ending monopolistic Insurance Programs.
19) Make all Student Loan Interest Rates go down to either 6% or 8% to end the predatory rates from financial organizations who get their money for free or nearly free (Fractional Reserve Lending) and who now use profits to Lobby Congress.
20) Break up the TV/Cable Monopoly with Antitrust Law. No media owner/corporation/cabal should have the power to advertise talking points and call it news.
21) Outlaw Lobbying Congress and Gift Giving to Congress (i.e. free hotels, free dinners, free vacations, free conventions, free plane rides). And accepting gifts/contributions from foreign entities by congress is treason. Campaign contributions shall be set at the same limit for all US Citizens, but corporations and PACs shall not contribute to congressmen/women. Congress shall raise money through books and speaking, but can't sell books to PACs or corporations or some rich entity.
22) SEC must be bolstered with full backing of US Treasury if it is to face big banks in court to discourage criminogenic behavior.
23) SEC probably needs manpower of 200 additional agents to investigate Fraud and Criminogenic environment.
24) Corporations need to be rated not only on their risky behavior, and for hiring unqualified personnel to create mortgage loans or other financial instruments, but also for the amount of leverage they use and lack of reserves they keep on hand (transparency is key).
25) Corporations need to be Rated for all consumers, investors, or potential business partners with regard to transparency and independent audits of Off Balance Sheet Transactions. GAAP rules are the goal for US Businesses and should be mandatory for transparency.
26) Politicians should be Rated and Evaluated when they intervene/pressure Federal regulatory offices and agencies. For Instance it is said that congress interfered with the IRS audits of Rich people in the past. The real danger is that political pressure can allow regulations to be bent without the politician knowing the full context of the US regulations or the Lobbying Entity's Activities (Context is crucial to all US systems).
27) Make Banks become "Utilities" like water or electric with profit controls, leverage controls (less than 10 to 1), fractional reserve controls (minimum on hand assets), Interest Rate controls (Student Loans at either 6% or 8%, Small Business Loans either 6% or 8%), Off Balance Sheet transaction controls (to make explicit what is allowed and what is prohibited), and transparency of credentials for bank loan officers and mortgage specialist.
28) End the Revolving Door Between Federal Regulators and the Industries they Regulate. There are rules that exist that prevent government employees from working in industry jobs for a period of 5 years under certain conditions and circumstances. Disclosure Forms can be used to keep up on job changes of government employees that want to move from the Treasury or another agency to work for the entity or industry they were sworn to regulate (this forces people to chose their careers and stick to their decisions).
29) There should be a US congressional program to monitor, control, discover, and eliminate slave labor and child labor used in foreign countries for cheap labor. If US textile and manufacturing jobs have gone over to foreign countries, then we should have certainty that the labor rate is not a slave labor wage. We should not lose manufacturing to slave labor.


http://www.truth-out.org/have-super-rich-seceded-united-states/1326127151
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36kizAjPmuo&list=PL0F4ACDBAAD6AA9CA&index=2&feature=plpp_video

Brief 17 minutes run down on current environment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Qe0HlKKfw
 Teaching session 56 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=6YT84CokUsA Controversy about firing US AG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12oDVr2RZQ&feature=related

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/banks-financing-mexico-s-drug-cartels-admitted-in-wells-fargo-s-u-s-deal.html
http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2012/01/26/wachovia-bank-laundered-money-for-latin-american-drug-cartels/
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/04/wachovia-paid-trivial-fine-for-nearly-400-billion-of-drug-related-money-laundering.html

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=7495773   Robert Reich 
and here is the Blog from Robert Reich on Truthout.com 
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/8214-break-up-the-banks-says-the-dallas-fed
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/money-power-wall-street/  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_loan_crisis  (1980s and 1990s) ( total cost for resolving the 747 failed institutions was $87.9 billion)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932010
http://www.dallasfed.org/assets/documents/fed/annual/2011/ar11.pdf  
http://www.neweconomicperspectives.org/2011/09/william-black-why-nobody-went-to-jail.html

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7926
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Akerlof
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_K._Black
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis
http://ideas.repec.org/a/bin/bpeajo/v24y1993i1993-2p1-74.html
http://www.walmartsubsidywatch.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals#Notable_accounting_scandals
http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2011/06/warcosts  
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-how-big-banks-are-rewriting-the-rules-of-our-economy/  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism  
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/02-5  link on neoliberalism

Banking Reform, Economy, Globalization, Unemployment, US Budget, US Banks, US Congress, US Debt, US Politics, Federal Reserve, Lobbying, Revolving Door,

Why do Americans Watch Debates or SOU?

Why do Americans Watch Debates or SOU??? Really!

All we get is a guy kissing a baby for all our time!

The words of Politicians are misleading, disingenuous, Spin, and Propaganda!

Now listen to the clapping in state of the union address. This is just a ruse to confuse or placate the masses. That is why most politicians spout rhetoric instead of honest word. Politics is a game. The game is to fool people to vote for them - if you by chance are interested in voting.

Politicians are magicians. They do one thing that you can see while doing a completely different thing behind their back. We all know that money buys elections. Lobby money buys elections, laws, deregulation, banking fraud, accounting fraud, and too big to fail banks. Never mind that executives have figured out how to loot corporations with lavish benefits packages, start an environment where dishonest deals drive out honest deals, and reduce real employment and real manufacturing that increases the US GDP and increases spin off jobs to support manufacturing.

The fact is if politicians wanted to solve problems, stop wars, create Justice, regulate accounting fraud, they would. There is a mountain of laws and regulations that are not enforced properly or have had subsequent laws reduce their effectiveness. Oh and you tell the IRS to go after small wage earners since they don't influence/lobby congress or engage in expensive legal battles. Oh and you can fail to budget money for proper staffing of agencies like the SEC. And you can over fund and over budget money for agencies involved in the war on drugs.

The solution: Vote for the underdog that wants to go back to individual rights. Vote for Ron Paul for US President.

It is clear that Ron Paul can not implement sever changes to our social systems, social security, social medicare/medicaid,...

we need to send a message to Washington DC and the K Street Lobbyist:

1) We won't be run over by lying politicians.
2) We are watching all politicians.
3) We don't tolerate looting our corporations.
4) We don't tolerate banks funding only Finance and Bank Deals.
5) We won't tolerate Accounting Fraud in the USA
6) we won't tolerate banks that focus on dishonest deals that put quick money in the pocket of the few deal makers.
7) we won't fall for Financial Ratings Agencies and independent accounting firms that don't do what they say the represent, but are "In Bed" with dishonest financial managers.

Republican Debates, State of the Union, US Politicians, Politics, Lobbying, Financial Crisis, Mortgage Scandal, Banking Reform

Transform the Dis-enfranchisement, ...I am the Bridge (you)

Summary: The way that government work is different from the original concept of legislators (congress and Senate). I sort of remember that law makers pass new regulations in the form of law and decide where the money goes. One solution is to add congressional representatives for the poor/gangs/minorities and for Big Business while at the same time enforcing strict "no gift" and no "giving" restrictions on Congress and the Senate.

Background: Lobbying is a non-transparent, true, force behind government. lobbyist find all kinds of ways to pass gifts to government representatives. Government representatives are not strictly regulated on what their expenses are, and where funds come from. Minorities feel disenfranchised. The education system does not match the national security recommendations. Americans and foreigners know that lobbyist sway government and write laws for America, but the system doesn't expressly show this relationship. The US Government is expressly a limited representative government or limited republic instead of a 100% Democracy. However the US Senate and Congress spend most of their efforts on winning funds for home precincts and...listening to Interest Groups or Lobbyists. Also besides the obvious pull from Big Business, there are actually strong feelings from criminal gangs who feel disenfranchised and the neighborhoods that they represent.

My Solution late this evening is to create seats in both the senate and house of representatives for both the Gang/projects and for the Big Business Lobbies, while enforcing strict "No Gifts" and "No Lobbies" laws. We will end the conflict of interest that Lobbies and Congressmen have. There will be no lobbying. An End to all Lobbies while there are Senate and Congressional Representatives. The whole world knows of the old conflict of interest and will welcome the change. Congressmen and Congresswomen will perhaps fear the change in the number or make up of representatives. But the future income for congressmen and senators will come from their books that will express their ideas, their ability to analyze policy, and their ability to show planning to change policy. In addition people at the lowest economic level will find recognition from Congressional and senate Representatives. The frequent elections of congress and the senate for gangs, minorities, and the poor will finally, and truly create a fair government.

Diaglog Universal Healthcare: forget partisanship, Let's talk

Dialog on Universal Health care, let's talk: forget partisanship.

Jim;

You are a business administrator for the US DOD and have 25 plus years in service. How is it you never learned to debate or use logic. And how could you send those emails that make you look like a nitwit schmuck.

Hey you are a nice guy and I know your values make you the nice guy that you are. So maybe this is something we can learn together - about how to lay out convincing logic instead of Slander, innuendo, and mystical fabrications.

Now back to Health care. I really want to know how Americans are supposed to have Thrived when HMOs and Health Insurance Agencies have incentives in place to deny payments to enrol lees. I'm not even talking about denials of policies to people with previous diabetes, heart attacks, strokes that constitute a risk and Loss payments to Insurance companies. You probably know someone denied treatment. Remember when Cataract Surgery came out, but no one could get approval? I remember bone marrow transplant as being not authorized and considered experimental.

You can't deny that people die and are refused service when they have an HMO or health insurance. But you family could be at risk of losing all you savings. It is a case where you are the person we are talking about in Universal Health care.

Jim, what you heard about the reality or cost of Universal Coverage is just not true. Paulson has thrown around more money than it would take to start this program (as I remember stated by the Medicare President).

Jim; Foreigners are afraid to visit the US without a health policy because the costs in our hospitals are through the roof. A series of simple operations can bankrupt any of us without adequate coverage. You might find yourself on early retirement planning to assault someone with a gun at the HMO or Hospital for refusal of service. You could therefore go to jail by a stretch of the imagination.

We have Socialized Police, Fire, DHS, DOD, schooling K-12, roadwork, Social Security, Medicare for retirement, ...there are tons of current government functions we could name.

There are many reasonable and successful systems overseas ...the same ones that politicians continually lie about.

Jim, The number one reason that we don't have Universal Health care is that insurance companies don't want to lose the profit margins. Insurance Companies have the highest profits of any industry and we would be lucky to work for them. Dedicated individuals and universities would carry on advancements and discoveries more efficiently that behemoth industrial giants. American scientist want to succeed and want to make a name for themselves and we must have one of the biggest workforces in the world to continue after universal health care.

Correct me here; Hillary failed to create new health care reform because insurance companies spent $100 Million or Billion lobbying. Then we have to throw on the Pharmacies Lobbying.

Lobbying is the tip of the "Follow the Money Iceberg"

There is a lot of money at stake for industry. Don't listen to any politicians on this issue, Jim. It is a war for the Money of the Middle Class.

Please respond with your logical comments.

Election 2008, Longterm Damage to US Financial and Economic Systems

Each of us has to vote on principles this year in the General Election/Presidential Election. Politics are continuing as normal, but even the Gen-Xers know that nothing will change in Washington. We watch TV and wait for plans and specifics of policies, but politicians hold out so that they can please the lobbies after the election. No promises to live up to. Nothing to explain when in office. Status Quo.

But what dangers exist in the budget and the unfunded programs ...and the unfunded National Debt of $10 Trillion Dollars? David Walker is the former Comptroller General of the USA. He has been trying to expose the folly of the Federal Budget and the future crash we have to expect. It doesn't matter what your age is. You will be effected by the Federal Budget and Tax burden. Currently we are only paying debt service, not paying off any of our debt. But that is not new...it is 30-40 years old as a US Policy. We use credit instead of dollars. just like we use dollars instead of gold. I know certain people only want to hear positive words when it comes to our government policy and decision...but. Hey, you laugh at people that live above their means as foolish.

One danger is evident in the falling value of the dollar overseas. Any organization that owns too much debt faces higher interest rates on loans as the value of debt increases risk. But now the foriegn countries that have been buying US Debt are now buying US Corporations and Property at discount prices due to the "Falling Dollar". Remember in the 80's when the Japanese scared so many Americans with their property ownership. It has happened before and that was when our auto industry was stronger...

Bear Sterns, Merrel Lynch, Lehman, AIG, Enron, World Com,....Keating Five, Jack Abramoff, Sub-Prime Mortgages, Financial Derivatives, failed corporations giving bonuses to executives, Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006, ...

According to Wikipedia:

The Lobbying and Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601) was legislation aimed at bringing a level of accountability to federal lobbying practices in the United States. The law was amended substantially by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007.[1] Under provisions which took effect on January 1, 2006, Lobbyists are required to register with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate. Anyone failing to do so is punishable by a civil fine of up to $50,000. The clerk and secretary must refer any acts of non-compliance to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

According to Opensecrets.org

Number of Lobbyists
1998.....10,689
1999.....13,704
2000....12,760
2001....12,075
2002....12,344
2003....13,171
2004....13,416
2005....14,547
2006....15,571
2007....15,771
2008....17,107

I don't this these Lobbyist are working for you and me, except maybe the AARP. Politicians are rewarded and lauded for spending money. But there is no reward for balancing the budget, curbing federal spending, fighting earmarks, and reducing federal programs. Who will fight in Washington to fund social security, welfare, and medicare/medicaid? Who in the "Beltway" will pay off the federal debt for our children and grandchildren??

And the "News of the Day", who will implement current financial laws and reform US financial practices? The Answer: "We don't Know and We have heard no specific plans in this Election 2008".