Perspective: Is Obama Psychologically Fit to be President?

By any measure the Obama presidency is an abject failure, and everyone knows it, including our allies. The poor performance includes destructive policy selection, failure to lead, to govern and deliberate over reach of power. The way the citizens voted in 2014 indicates that they made a mistake by voting to keep this President in 2012, so are there other ways to remove this President before more harm is done?

Writers such as Bob Woodward, Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, and now Chuck Todd have tried to understand Obama and have published their thoughts. However, each of these authors seems stumped to explain Obama’s behavior. They all believe that he is incredibly smart and a voracious reader; yet, something is missing.

What if what is missing is that Obama has some malady that renders him incapable of discharging his duties? Are there psychological factors that might explain this uncharacteristic behavior of our President? Let’s consider some that may affect his ability to perform his Constitutional duties.

Atychiphobi
Obama has all of the signs of atychiphobi which means abnormal, persistent and unwarranted fear. In Obama’s case it is fear of failure which is a psychological disorder that impedes one’s ability to act. Clues of this phenomenon include his failure to lead, failure to negotiate with Congress, avoiding the building of interpersonal relationships required for successful negotiating, deferring decision making while being the “cool no drama Obama”, and blaming others for the failure of his or his organization.

Paraphrasing another President, Obama seems to believe that the “only thing to fear is anything fearful”. There is hardly any responsibility of the presidency that does not require one to be able to manage fear. His failure to take responsibility for his or his administration’s failures means that to paraphrase another President, with Obama, “the buck stops elsewhere”.

Pathological Untruth Telling
This characteristic may be tied into each of the physiological factors being discussed. Prevarication helps to disguise Obama’s true motives. Does the phrase “you can keep your doctor”, ring a bell?

Dementia:
Another question is his inability to recall critical events. This raises the question whether he is experiencing incipient dementia. For a person who is only in his fifties, chronic memory loss seems strange, but there are numerous examples of this. For example, he admits freely that he only learns from the news media about the numerous and serious crises occurring in his administration. Yet, he is briefed daily about these critical events by his staff.

The most recent and clearest example of dementia occurred when Jon Gruber was taped numerous times claiming that Obamacare only became law by duping the public who were too stupid to figure it out. Obama while in Australia was shocked to learn that Jon Gruber, an economics PhD from MIT, helped create Obamacare. However, Obama has been caught on tape touting the skills and strengths of Gruber before the work on Obamacare began and doubtless recommended him for the job. This is the same Jon Gruber who claims that he is one of the architects of Obamacare and was paid $400k to work on the bill. Moreover, this is the same Gruber who visited the Whitehouse numerous times to discuss the bill, often when Obama was present.

If we were to conclude that Obama has underlying psychological issues such as fear of failing, pathological lying and dementia that impede his performing his Constitutional duty, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution may provide a remedy.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution states in essence that:

In the Case of the President’s Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Congress may by Law provide the Case of Removal and the Vice-President shall act as President until the President has recovered or until another President is elected.

Consequently, Congress could deem Obama “Inable” to perform his presidential duties in the manner that the Constitution describes. Therefore, he could be removed from office until he is ‘cured’ of his malady or until another President is elected.

Can you just imagine members of Congress having the courage to apply this remedy? Of course not!! Therefore, all we have left is prayer!! But wait! Maybe not even that! The atheists will probably have prayer banned in public places. Then all we would have are the saloons and bars. But wait, again! The drinks will probably be taxed beyond our reach to support Obamacare.

Bettie Davis said it best! “Fasten your seat belts, its going to be a bumpy ride!”

Perspective: What Should the Priority be for Congress and the Administration?

The exit polls from the November 5^th election
showed that an overwhelming majority of voters’ top priority was the expansion
of the economy with attendant job creation. Fortunately, this wish can be
accommodated because we have a unique once in a life time opportunity that stares
us right in the face; namely, our natural gas and petroleum windfall!! The
wonderful part of this opportunity is that it also meets the main principles
that both parties hold in common, namely:  

• Job
  Creation
• Protection
  of the Environment
• Protection
  of Our Citizens

Therefore, what the Congress and the President need to do is
to focus like a laser to create and pass legislation to (1)Maximize the development
and the exploitation of our vast reserves of natural gas and oil and (2) eliminate
the disadvantage our corporations have by making their taxes globally competitive. 

Here is how it would work: 

Creation of Low Tech Jobs:

It turns out that the cost of natural gas is about half that
of gas or diesel fuels, and we have the technology to convert the internal
combustion engines from gas or diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG), and we
have the technology to create the re-fueling facilities. Many of our busses,
taxis and garbage trucks have already been converted. 

If we were to adopt a National policy to convert a maximum
number of our trucks and cars to CNG, and we installed the needed re-fueling
stations across the Nation, millions of low skill jobs could be created for
those underemployed or who have stopped looking for employment. This could
begin at once and would probably take two decades or so to complete. Most of
the currently unemployed and underemployed have sufficient skills to perform
these tasks with minimum if any additional training. Moreover, because the need
to build this infrastructure is national in scale, most of these jobs are in
the very areas where these persons currently reside.  

Creation of High Tech Jobs:

Ethane, a major building block for chemicals and polymers,
is a component of natural gas. As a result the availability of this low cost
raw material, numerous chemical manufacturers, who in recent years have moved
plants overseas, now plan multi-billion dollar plants in the US.
BASF a German chemical company and incidentally the largest chemical
manufacturer in the world, is planning a 4 billion dollar petrochemical plant in
the US based on
this low cost ethane gas.  We can expect
that the low cost of energy from methane along with our leading edge in
technology will play a role in bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US.
If there are no serious regulations or tax barriers to thwart this effort, we
can expect to see the middle class income to rise as these new jobs pay wages
significantly above the wages middle class workers make today.

 

Protection of the Environment

Converting our internal combustion engines to CNG, would
reduce carbon emissions by 25% or more and toxic emissions by more than 50%. No
other environmental plan could have a greater favorable and immediate impact on
the environment than this program. Moreover, we could stop putting food in our
gas tanks by the elimination of ethanol as a gas addititive. 

Protection of our Citizens

It turns out that the same fracking technology which
produces natural gas also produces oil. As a result very shortly we will be
self sufficient in oil so much so that we could become an exporter of oil, and
if we convert trucks and cars to CNG, we would even have more oil to export. By
exporting oil to Europe, we could cause Russia’s
share of the market to drop as well as their prices. Since Russia’s
economy is completely dependent on revenue from oil and gas, this action would
have a greater impact than any sanctions. Furthermore, this would be a much
better way to deal with Russia
than to have a military conflict. 

Advantages of Proposed Policy:

In addition to creating jobs, helping with environmental
issues and strengthening our hand in the confrontation with Russia,
there are numerous financial benefits that accrue to this program as well.
First, while inflation overall has been below 2 percent for the past decade or
so, food, gas and heating fuel prices have nearly doubled. The increases in the
prices of these items have impacted the middle class disproportionately. Secondly,
with corn removed from fuel and returned to its use as food, the price of food
will come down. Thirdly, with local production of oil, OPEC control of the
price of oil will be neutralized, so one might expect heating fuel prices to be
reduced, as well. Finally, the dollar will be strengthened by our not having to
import oil, and enhanced further by our export of newly discovered  oil as well as the export of corn which will no
longer be needed for ethanol. 

Enacting an energy policy will return the United
States to a place of economic and political
leadership in the world. But most importantly, it will give the middle class
hope and confidence that the American Dream is not dead. They could have faith
that their children can do as well as or perhaps even better than they. When in
history has there been such an opportunity to solve so many problems at once?

 

 

 

PERSPECTIVE: SHOULD PUBLIC EDUCATION BE NEXT IN THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION?

In an earlier blog we explored the rapid pace of the
development and adoption of digital devices, and we focused on the current
Smart Phone which is the Ultimate Device. Because the Smart Phone is an extension
of our brain’s memory, and we can download  tools of every type, we can begin to imagine how
it will alter the way we conduct business, medicine, education, government and
our personal lives. The K-12 public education system is an industry that can
benefit from the digital revolution.

The best way to think about the public school system is to
realize that if it were a private business, it would be bankrupt! No private business
could survive if the expense to create a product (a high school graduate)
exceeded $100,000 and 20+% of what was manufactured failed to meet
specifications (dropped out).

 

For perspective, we need to ask how and why was public
education designed, formed and implemented in the first place.  Actually, it was to supply labor for the
Industrial Revolution. Kids on the family farm in the 1800s needed little
formal education, but work in the factory was different. Factory owners found
that they needed workers who could read directions, write results of their work
and record how many items they produced in a day. It soon became apparent that literacy
was going to be important, and how to add and subtract figures, as well. So,
the early education focused on the three “Rs”, i.e., reading, writing and
arithmetic. By the twentieth century public high schools were preparing
students for basically three categories (1) those who were going to college,
(2) those who were going to be stenographers or book keepers and (3) those who
were going to work in the factories or farms. The introduction of the PC ended
all of that.

The PC, created in 1973, eliminated the jobs of
stenographers and book keepers overnight. Robotization of tasks in factories,
and the replacement of horses with huge farm equipment made the public school’s
shops for the third group totally inadequate. Consequently, the schools focused
on what they still could do, namely, prepare students for college. The result
is what one would expect. Two thirds of the students are bored to death by the
time they reach ninth grade which causes them to drop out mentally by that time
and some physically shortly thereafter.

The global job market in the 21^st century is in a
constant state of flux and requires skills that will change from time to time
during one’s work career. Consequently, one has to be prepared to change jobs
perhaps as often as every five years, and often learn new skills as well during
a career.  This means the person has to
be knowledgeable enough to search for and learn how to re-train for the new
job. Moreover, this new world means that the worker needs to think of him or
herself as a “business entity” with skills someone might want to purchase. This
requires the student to learn how to become his or her own teacher, business
owner and marketer.

To achieve this, the entire K-12 education system needs to
be changed. The protocol of students being lectured by a teacher and required
to memorize material for a test is no longer essential when one can Google a
request for information and have the answer in seconds. What the student needs
to know is where the information is, how to research it, how to verify that the
information is true and then how to communicate in clear written as well as
spoken language exactly what the essence of the researched information is.  

Therefore, the principles for the new education system are
these:

• 
  
  Learning
  how to search for needed information
  
• Learning
  to think critically for oneself to determine the truth of the information
• Knowing
  how to solve problems based on such thinking
  
• Learning
  how to communicate clearly what was learned

The goal of the new education system should be keyed to
finding the student’s inherent “talent” early in the K-12 system so that it can
be nurtured and honed. If this talent is identified, it doubtless will hook up
with the student’s passion, and thus be a driving force to motivate the person
to enjoy education enough to graduate, and more than that, to make education a
lifetime pursuit.

The key to the new education system is digital technology. The
Smart Phone, or equivalent digital device, would be employed in the classroom.
The student would be required to have it for every class and this includes for
many tests, as well.  Fear that the child
would text or do something else, is a matter of the child’s self discipline.
Any child being detracted by the Smart Phone will fail the tests. If the child
is developing and focusing on its “talent”, the child will soon become self
disciplined.

Here is how the new K-12 might work! We should scrap all
formal education by rote after 5^th grade. After 5^th
grade, the classroom teacher would no longer become the lecturer. The lecturer
would be a master teacher who would convey the information to the student via a
large TV screen, or You Tube on the Smart Phone. The adult person in the class
room would be a coach and monitor. That person would teach the child how to
find information, how to ascertain the veracity of the information and how to
communicate what was learned in clear unequivocal and succinct language.

The first and foremost job of this helper would be to have
the child understand that the Smart Phone or equivalent is an extension of the
brain’s memory. The child may appear to know everything there is to know about
the Smart Phone, but they do not. They have the facility to learn about it
faster than we adults, but because they have not lived long enough, they lack
the wisdom to ask the right questions to get to the bottom of the issue at
hand. That is where the classroom teaching comes in.

After the student learns that the Smart Phone, Tablet or
Laptop is the means for recalling what information is needed for any given
subject, the student then needs to know how to separate fact from fiction. This
is more important than at any other time in history because the sources of information
are ubiquitous, but editors and fact finders are becoming scarce. When one
billion men, women and children already have the Smart Phone “glued” to their
hands whatever they see, hear of or read, they instantly communicate to someone
via e-mail, Face Book, Twitter, Instamatic, blog or whatever means at their
disposal.  However, these “reporters” do
not pay much attention to whether it is true or not. Actually our commercial
sources of news are not much better. Consequently, false or incomplete information
spreads like gossip. As great as Wikipedia is, it is not the absolute truth
either because users can add information to it. Therefore, what all students
need are skills and training in how to think critically, how to solve problems
and how to communicate clearly and unequivocally what has been learned.

Critical thinking is a vital skill that helps the student to
separate fact from fiction. It should be a required subject in school beginning
as early as possible and reinforced continually throughout the K-12 education
phase. Knowing how to think critically is going to be needed all during one’s
life not only to separate fact from fiction but also to help in problem solving
which starts with the separation of fact and fiction. In other words, one should
not believe anything, unless it can be verified. Since the Smart Phone is a
pathway to all the knowledge of mankind and is available in seconds, wouldn’t
it make sense to teach students how to be critical thinkers and to check their
“new memory” for some verification for each question at hand?

Problem solving should also be a curriculum topic. There are
some very good texts on this subject. The basics of problem solving involve (1)
the separation of fact from fiction in the information about the problem (same
as critical thinking), (2) the development of hypothesis that will be possible
answers to the problem and (3) how to choose the most probable hypothesis. The
third involves the concept of Occams Razor. That idea is one of the more
important ones a student should learn. Simply stated it means that among competing
hypothesis, the simplest has the highest probability of being correct. Most of
the time we humans choose the most complex of the theories and fall into the
trap of believing there is a conspiracy.

Communication skills permit the student to communicate what
has been learned from research of a given assigned subject. Simply filling in
blanks or darkening holes for multiple choice tests to show that is learned will
not suffice for the digital world. The student should be required to know how to
communicate simply, succinctly and clearly and should be judged on how well the
student can  write a paragraph and  how to give an oral presentation about what
was learned. With the world’s largest dictionary in the palm of the hand, and
the device offering unsolicited spelling and grammar corrections as the report
is typed, every lesson will have a vocabulary, spelling and grammar as part of
the subject regardless of what subject is being taught. Actually twitter might
fit here because if one can accurately explain a complex subject in 140
characters, that person knows how to communicate. Measuring performance of
these skills should be a continuous part of the entire curricula regardless of
the subject or class grade.

The widening range of communication vehicles from the
Internet through the Face Book and other social media require individuals to be
their own communicators. Today, many of our brightest scientists and business
leaders lack the communication skills needed to communicate one-on-one with the
public to explain why their research should be funded or why someone should
invest in a new idea. Imagine how much better they would be at communicating
how well their work is going and how well they could sell the funders to
continue funding their work if they had been forced to learn communication
skills in K-12.

What is really exciting about this new system is that the
K-12 student does not have to focus on just one goal, namely going to college.
With the help of the classroom coach, the grammar school student could discover
his or her talent.  Then in high school the
student could be coached how to research a path to pursue that passion. The
fact that Apps of all types can be downloaded supports this idea. For example,
if a child is tentative about speaking or has a weak voice, and therefore, has
difficulty performing, a microphone can be downloaded from the Internet which
can be amplify the child’s voice via a Bluetooth Speaker right there in the
class room.

On the other hand if a student must be prepared for and meet
the entry requirements for college or a special technical school, then these
must be included in their curriculum. Such courses as algebra, trigonometry,
calculus, physics and chemistry are among these, but they also could be taught
with the Smart Phone in mind.

In summary, our K-12 public school system has been broken
for a good while, and most students who have been exposed to it know it. Today,
the digital revolution, globalization and the widening range of communication
systems require a different style of educating. The Smart Phone provides a wonderful
opportunity to fix a failed system.  The
Smart Phone can and should be a key means for finding the information the
student needs in the new education system. But equally important is knowing how
to think critically about the information obtained and then knowing how to
write and speak about it.

The sooner that this new education system is adopted the
sooner the student will be prepared to cope with the challenges of the Digital
Revolution and its rapid rate of change present in today’s world which is so
radically different than the Industrial Revolution of two centuries ago.

The good news is that digital devices are already being adopted
by some K-12 public schools. Three years ago Clearwater,
Florida high school provided Kindles for
all 9-12 grades, and it has been a huge success for both staff and students.
Numerous other school districts are now experimenting with digital devices in
the class room, and we have heard of one school where they are even permitting
the use of the Smart Phone. In addition, the Smart Phone should be the ideal
device for Home Schooling.  Therefore, it
is likely that it will prevail as a teaching tool regardless of how hard we try
to prevent it.

Perspective: Wyn Not Just Quit?

Perspective: Why Not Just Quit?

If you want to know what is not right about our country, just look at what our past two Secretaries of Deference have not done! They simply retired, and then quietly slipped off to write books. If what they are telling us in their books is true, they should have quit and made a big splash about why they were upset!

Actually what they are they telling us is that either our President is incompetent as a leader and manager or is deliberately trying to destroy the United States. We who follow events have known for six years that he could not perform as poorly as he does without being one or the other. Just consider what his foreign policy has done to the Middle East with his so-called strategy of “leading from behind”, and then try to keep from laughing out loud .... or crying. For the moment we will deal with incompetence, because if it is the latter it is either treason of high crimes and misdemeanors, which are impeachable offences.

I read Robert Gates book and watched Panetta’s interviews with Bill O’Reilly and Charlie Rose. The demeanor of Panetta in these interviews was upsetting. He is clearly scared and fearful for our country. This was clear from his words and from his body language. If this person who has served so many presidents with distinction and honor is scared, then I am really scared!!

Let’s focus on one event that tells it all, Benghazi. The question all along is what the Secretary of Defence believed about the attack on Benghazi and what did he tell the President. Panetta told Charlie Rose that he, Panetta, knew it was an attack of terrorists that very night, and he told President Obama that was the case that very night. Charlie then asked how he felt when her heard Susan Rice say on five Sunday programs five days later on September 16, 2012 that it was a video, not terrorists. He said he was not happy!

Oh for crying out loud! NOT HAPPY!!!! HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIVID AND RESIGNED AT ONCE IN PROTEST! Folks, that is what is wrong today. If Panetta had resigned in protest to the White House’s allowing Susan Rice to report such a falsehood, he might not be so fearful. Because had he blown the whistle then before the November, 2012 election, we would probably have a president who knows how to manage and lead, namely Mitt Romney.

Perspective: What to do About ISIS

President Obama ran for office on the premise that he would end the war in Iraq as soon as possible, and he withdrew all US troops in 2011. This is first time in modern history that we left no troops behind to help stabilize and revitalize a country we invaded. We still have troops in Germany, Japan and Korea. Now, ISIS, a rag tag bunch of terrorists in pick-up trucks, routed the Iraq army and took control of a chunk of Iraq the size of Maryland. Worse the Iraq army left behind substantial quantities of US supplied armament which was captured by ISIS.

Everyone knew that Obama’s plan for Iraq would fail, because we had seen this movie before. There has not been a plausible Arabian army in modern history. We’ve seen the Israeli army decimate Arabian armies time after time over the past sixty years, regardless of the country of origin, and we have seen the US rout the Iraq’s army in Dessert Storm in 100 hours, and then in 2003 our army chased the lauded Iraq Republican Guard to Baghdad in three months, and dug Saddam Hussein out of his hole in the ground a few months later.

What is especially poignant about this disaster is to recall those happy Iraqi voters in 2005, including females, waving their ink stained fingers in the air as they celebrated their first democratic vote. It is sad for us also especially after we invested thousands of lives, a trillion dollars or more in military equipment and a decade to create a democracy in Iraq.

Now, despite the miserable and unreliable performance of Arabian armies our President wants us to believe a coalition of Arabic armies will be able to destroy ISIS in three years with little if any US leadership and no support on the ground. It is obvious that our top military leaders do not believe this can be accomplished at all, let alone in three years, and neither should we.


None of the plans for the removal of ISIS are attractive, so what can realistically be done? There are only two courses, and each will take courage.

1. Send the US army back to Iraq to lead the Iraq army in a battle to destroy ISIS in Iraq. Include General Petraeus who could work with the Sunnis as he did during the surge. With the troops in place, this can be accomplished in less than six month. When this objective is accomplished, leave a US force of 20,000 troops to keep the Iraq army strong, and to reinforce their resolve to keep ISIS or any other Al Qaeda group from re-invading Iraq.

2. If we do not have the courage to do this, then we should walk away from the Middle East altogether. The US does not need any oil or gas from the Middle-East, but China definitely does and probably so does Russia. Preserving peace in the region is paramount for them if they want to protect their supplies of oil and gas. So, the US should call a meeting with the top leader of China and Putin of Russia and state clearly these principles:

• The Middle East is China and Russia’s problem

• The United States will protect its allies in the region and that includes Israel

• The US sees no need for Iran to have nuclear weapons, but we expect China and

          Russia to see that that does not happen.

Perspective: The Digital Revolution and Its Attack on Labor

The purpose of this blog is to provide an overview of the digital revolution and the impact it is having on every aspect of our lives. Most will be surprised to learn that the Digital Revolution is already over one hundred years old yet it is accelerating exponentially. Exponential is a mathematical term for growth that goes at faster and faster rates. Graphically the curve becomes steeper and steeper to where it is essentially vertical. Someone said the digital revolution is like having the Industrial Revolution occurring every ten years.

This chart lists the digital events over the past 100 years, and if you note the number of significant additions during the past decade, you get the idea that we are on the vertical part of the curve. The CEO of Google when asked where we are on this exponential curve he said “About ten percent”.

1907 The Vacuum Tube Invented:
1947 The Transistor Invented
1958 Internet Created
1969 The ATM Introduced:
1973 Cell Phone Introduced
1973 The Personal Computer (PC) Introduced:
1984 Apple Introduces MAC:
1985 Microsoft Introduces Windows:
1985 The Laptop Introduced:
1993 E-Mail Introduced:
1996 Text Messaging Added to Cell Phone
1996 The Digital Camera Introduced:
2001 The I-Pod Introduced:
2003 Social Media Launched
2003 LinkedIn:
2004 Facebook:
2005 Youtube:
2006 Twitter
2010 Instragram:
2007 The Kindle Introduced:
2007 The I-Phone Introduced:
Combines
The Cell Phone with Texting
The Digital Camera
The Google and Other Search Engines
A Multitude of Potential Apps downloadable from the Internet

The vacuum tube lasted 40 years until it began to be replaced by the transistor. Twenty or so years later the ATM, the PC and the Cell Phone made their debuts. Then during the next twenty years various Internet applicable nuances were introduced. And then in rapid session we saw the digital camera, and by 2001-2003 the I-Pod and various social media entered the system. A mere four years later in 2007 the Kindel and the I-Phone entered the market. Every one of these devices impacted labor as industry after industry was uprooted to make room for the new technology.

Of all the incredible developments along this one hundred year period, the I-Phone is the most fantastic, and it will have the greatest impact on every human endeavor. The I-Phone, often called the Smart Phone It is so small that it fits into the palm of the hand but has the computing power of many Laptops and PCs. But it is more than a just a powerful computer. It is the Ultimate Device!

One way to think about this remarkable device is to consider the number of devices that it has replaced by merging them into one device. The devices merged include the cell phone with text messaging, the digital camera, the I-Pod and comparable devices to download music, e-books, connection to the Internet through browsers such as Google with its access to the entire knowledge of the world, GPS, maps, verbal communication to locate shops, etc., You Tube and for streaming movies, and the list goes on and on.

From a marketing point of view this means that instead of having to purchase a device for each application, such as a Kindel for reading a book, or a CD player, or a digital camera, you have this in one small powerful device. Since one billion persons in the world already own these devices, the market potential for a new item, such as a book, a tune or an App is one billion versus several markets of one or two hundred million for such devices as a Kindel, a digital camera or a CD player.

The most important fact to understand about this new device is that it is like an extension of our brain’s memory. It also has the ability to add tools (called Apps) that the brain may need. When we truly understand that, we will be able to imagine what the impact of this less than a decade-old device will have on business, medicine, education, government and our personal lives.

Here are some examples of Apps that already exist.

Medical: Measuring blood pressure, body temperature, EKG determinations and blood sugar levels, etc.

Home: Determining what is going on in your home while you are away ranging from photographing an intruder to changing the heating or cooling and/lighting, monitoring a baby sitter, etc.

Business: Monitoring a production machine from home, or miles from home

Store: Using the Smart Phone to scan the barcodes on purchased items, and having your bank account debited or our credit card charged.

Miscellaneous: A multitude of possibilities, for example, an App to determine whether a surface is level, an App to measure sound amplification and a microphone if there is a need to amplify one’s voice.

At the moment, the kids use the Smart Phone more than anyone. They have the device seemingly glued to the palm of their hand, and adults cannot pry it away. However, they mainly use it to text colleagues, take photos and videos and place them onto the social media that they facilitate so easily. However, ask them a question about some event in history, and they will feign ignorance, until you point to or mention what is glued to their hand. What they are demonstrating is that they have not yet realized that it is also an extension of the brain’s memory. Most of us adults are only gradually discovering the same principle. Further, both the youth and the adults are all learning that with Apps the Smart Phone can be used for virtually anything.


The impact of these digital devices has had on jobs over this past century can be summarized as follows.


Vacuum Tubes: Countless companies making these tubes all over the United States went out of business. The transistor never wears out, so TV and radio repairmen who replaced the failed tubes are no longer needed. Electronic mail and texting from a cell phone eliminates a paper based message sent by regular mail and handled by the Post Office. Because of this and the handling of packages by FedEx and UPS, the Post Office revenue has been cut severely causing a current deficit of $2 Billion per quarter.

Google Search Engine
Google has organized the access to the endless knowedge on the Internet so that the encyclopedia, text book, dictionary and/or a library are becoming obsolete.

Digital Camera
The digital camera replaced the film camera. This led to the collapse of Kodak and other such companies. An entire industry has been wiped out.

The I-Pod
This device which allows the owner to download tunes from the Internet, has destroyed the 100 year old traditional recording industry from the manufacturer of the recording such as the CD, the manufacturer of the CD player and the store that sold the CD recordings.

The Kindle
The invention of the electronic book will eventually put the paper book industry out of business from log to library. Borders one of the largest book sellers already closed its 511 US stores in 2011, and many libraries are beginning to feel the impact.

The Internet
Newspapers and magazines have been cutting back or going out of business completely. Texting and e-mail are replacing typed and hand-written letters sent by regular mail and handled by the Post Office. Because of this and the handling of packages by FedEx and UPS, the Post Office revenue has been cut severely causing a current deficit of $2 Billion per quarter. Only the older generations are getting their news and information from papers and magazines and books. When they are gone in a decade or two, who will be left to buy newspapers, magazines and paperbound books?

Having just seen what the new technology as embodied in the Kindel and the Smart Phone is doing to the printing industry and to the music industry, does anyone really believe the invasion will stop there? The answer is no! The only question is which industry will be attacked next? Future blogs will address that question!

Perspective: Was There Ever a Middle Class?

There is much political rhetoric about the collapse of the middle class of the United States and what needs to be done to restore it. To understand how to deal with this, we must ask: What makes up the Middle Class, and has all of it collapsed?

Most of us believe that there are three classes: the Rich, the Middle Class and the Poor. The rich and the poor are clear enough, but the middle class is a bit more complex. Perhaps we should call it the laboring class.





There are three categories of labor; Agrigiculture, Service and Industry. The Industry group, which includes manufacturing, began with the Industrial Revolution, and the workers needed for it came from those working in Agriculture. Massive amounts of farm labor have migrated to the factories ever since so that today only a very small percent of the population is employed in farming.

Beginning with the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800's, manufacturing grew continuously for about one hundred years right up to the Depression of the 1930’s. Then it fell significantly and remained flat for that decade until after WWII, when manufacturing grew and continued robust growth for the next three decades until about 1980. After that it began to fall and has continued to fall ever since. So, what happened?





Here is what happened. During WWII, Germany destroyed most of England’s manufacturing, and the US destroyed the manufacturing capability of Germany and Japan. Consequently, when the war ended, the US was the only viable manufacturer that could supply the worldwide demand for consumer products such as automobiles, appliances, clothing and other goods. This explains the rapid rise of the industry curve beginning about 1950, and this growth continued until Japan and Germany, with US government help, were able to compete again. At this same time, China decided to become a worldwide capitalistic manufacturer. Consequently, by the 1980’s the United States manufacturers had great difficulty competing with low labor cost foreign manufacturers in products from shoes, to clothes to appliances to automobiles and especially to electronic products of all types. To stay in business many US producers closed their US factories and moved manufacturing to these low labor cost countries. The trend continues to this day.





During this halcyon period of the US domination of world manufacturing, US labor found that it could demand high wages and benefits from employers such as GM, Ford and Chrysler by unions going on or threatening to go on strike. We recall how the unions struck GM one year, Ford the next and so forth. The employers in turn found they could raise prices to accommodate these demands. This virtually monopolistic position for US labor raised it from Lower Middle Class to an affluent Middle Class never seen before.

Now, for perspective, it is important to note that most of the professional, shopkeeper, trade and the other service jobs have not and will not be lost to foreign competition. They remain based in the US, and most of them are considered Middle Class.

In short, the collapse of the middle class the politicians and media are constantly haranguing about occurred in manufacturing because during a brief period after WWII the US had virtually a monopolistic position vis-à-vis foreign competition. This advantage lasted for about three decades, and then it disappeared. It was a nice time as long as it lasted. But it was a fluke!!



So, the question is: Can manufacturing jobs return to the US?



The answer is:        A resounding YES!!!





Here is why!! It turns out that the United States has all the components required to bring manufacturing back to the America and thus recreate that unique phase of the Middle Class. In an earlier blog I described how General Electric discovered and is implementing this. The factors that favor the return are:





1.Low cost and huge supplies of fossil energy in the US due to fracking





2.High tech automation due to our lead in digital technology development




3.The high cost of transportation from China to the US due to rising oil prices



4.The need for rapid turn around of product changes demanded by customers
requires that marketing, engineering and manufacturing be in close proximity to each other.

How lucky can we get?





The really good news is that the new manufacturing jobs require higher skills and are thus higher paying than the old ones. If this were not enough reason to make this the Nation’s top priority, a healthy manufacturing economy would increase GDP growth which would beneficiate the entire working population.

So why is manufacturing not returning?



The main reason is that our current administration is deliberately blocking it!!! Here is what they are doing that stands in the way.





1.The US government makes it difficult to get drilling permits to expand the supply of fossil fuels which would keep energy prices low.





2.The EPA is unilaterally planning a 30% surcharge on fossil fuel, despite Congress’s refusing to grant this, and all the while falsely claiming that carbon dioxide is a toxic substance despite the fact that without it there would be no life on earth.





3.US corporations pay the highest tax rate in the entire world. With little hope for any change in this policy, numerous corporations are not expanding in fact several moving their headquarters overseas.

From their words and deeds we all know that Obama and the progressives believe that Climate Change should be given the priority over job creation.



If that is the case, then let’s be honest!

They are sacrificing the Middle Class to save the Climate!!





What this country needs immediately are leaders who understand that the most important task before them is to rebuild the manufacturing segment of the middle class as soon as possible. It is clear that the government rules and laws are blocking it. For the citizenry to understand the importance of removing those restrictions, our leaders from both parties must speak unequivocally, clearly and with total and constant focus on the pressing need for, and unique opportunity we have presently to bring manufacturing back to the United States. American Business knows how to do it in an environmentally satisfactory way, and it can be made to happen soon. To accomplish do this we need to get government out of the way! Successes with this project will beneficiate everyone.



 The mantra should be:

SAVE THE MIDDLE CLASS

                                     
RETURN MANUFACTURING

                                      TO
AMERICA

Perspective: How to Remove a President Who Fails to Perform the Constitutional Duties?

The Founders became students of both good and bad governments, and from their findings they created our Constitution. This document is one of the most precise, understandable and brief government documents ever written. A copy should be on every citizen’s night stand for easy reference.

The Constitution provides for three equal and separate branches of government:
• The Legislative which creates and passes the laws and controls the purse,
• A Judicial that determines when the laws meet the requirements of the Constitution
• A President who is expected to faithfully carry out the laws.

The Founders anticipated there would come a time when there would be a need to replace the President for failing to perform the Constitutional duties. Accordingly, they placed in Article II Section 4 of the Constitution “Impeachment for High Crimes and Misdemeanors”. The process requires a majority the House of Representatives to impeach the President, and it requires two thirds of the members of the Senate to Convict and remove the President. The Constitution specifically states“The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on Impeachment for and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors”.

Those who have researched the Framer’s intentions believe that the Framers used the word “High” to mean a person in a high place, not that the crime be high. In other words, the Framers believed the President of the United States is under a special obligation not applicable to the ordinary person, and by this the Framers meant that the President is legally responsible for everything that he and everyone in the executive branch is doing, and moreover, the President is not protected by “plausible deniability”

The Framers were familiar with the phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors” because the English Parliament used the term since 1386. In Britain it covered such offences as misappropriating government funds, appointing unfit subordinates, not prosecuting offences, not spending appropriated money and disobeying a Parliamentary order.

It is clear from their writings that the Framers wanted the power to rest with the citizenry. The Declaration of Independence contains there words paraphrased here: All men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable Right and to secure these Rights, governments derive their Powers from the Consent of the Governed. Moreover, for this to be effective, the Framers believed that the citizenry needed a strong moral structure based on the Judeo-Christian tradition. The writings of the Framers are full of this sentiment.

The idea of impeaching the President has arisen three times since the Republic was formed. The first was Andrew Johnson who was impeached but not convicted for illegally firing his Secretary of War. The second was President Nixon for his “obstructing and impeding the administration of justice” regarding the cover up of the Watergate break in He resigned for fear of being impeached. The third case was President Clinton who was impeached by the republican House for “willfully corrupting and impeding, for his own personal gain and exoneration, the administration of justice”, but a democrat controlled Senate refused to convict him.
It is interesting to consider the three cases in light of the question of the morality of the citizenry and their representatives. Johnson had morality on his side. He wanted to follow Lincoln’s wish to restore the nation. But Northern politicians hated him because the feelings left from the war were too strong. In article 1 of the impeachment Johnson was accused of illegally firing his Secretary of War. The law he violated was subsequently found to be unconstitutional, but he missed being convicted by just one vote.

Nixon was clearly immoral and illegal. He deserved to be impeached and removed from office as well. Democrats were of this opinion, and the republicans of Nixon’s own party were of the same opinion, so conviction would surely have followed impeachment in Nixon’s case.

Clinton was clearly immoral and illegal, and he also deserved to be removed from Office. DNA evidence proved that he had sex with a entrée level government employee in the Oval Office, about which he lied to the public via national television and to a grand jury. What made the Clinton case especially egregious was that there was a law on the books that prohibited sexually harassing an employee, and the women’s organizations were consumed by actions to strengthen such laws in the work place.

Notwithstanding this, democrat Senators to a person refused to convict Clinton. What was especially interesting is that the Senators and the public at large did not think it a big deal to lie about such a sexual matter. This despite the democrats believing they were the party that championed women’s rights.

What is even more amazing politically is that the democrat Senators could have taken the moral high ground and won high stakes, as well. You see, they could have had Vice President Gore finish the final two years of Clinton’s term and then Gore would surely have been elected to two terms on his own. In short had they voted to convict they could held the White House for ten years and showed how important protecting the women is to them to boot!! To this day we have no explanation from any of them, or the media or in fact anyone as to why they did not do the honorable and moral thing which would have permitted the Framers to sleep peacefully into eternity.

Today, we are faced with impeachment issue once more. The current resident of the executive office has violated his vows as President often enough so as to make Clinton’s case look like a walk in the park!!

Here is a partial list of Obamas’s high crimes and misdemeanors.

• Failing to execute existing laws
Failure to vigorously enforce the immigration laws
Changing the Affordable Care Act
• Dereliction of duty
Refusing to fire incompetent subordinates
Having to read in the newspapers of employee's malfeasance
• Failure to protect the US from Jihadist attack

One could consider it a deliberate mishandling of the various issues in the mideast including encouraging the Arab Spring in Egypt, Libya and other African nations as well as leaving the door open for Isis, the new
Al Qaeda, to gain a position in oil rich Iraq and the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Each one of these high crimes should be measured against Obama’s boast upon being elected “To transform America”. He has surely achieved much of this goal. We are no longer considered the world’s leader, defender and upholder of democratic principles, and our country continues to be in an anemic phase of economic recovery because he has done everything he can to stifle job creation. The latter is particularly sad when one considers that with our low cost energy windfall and our lead in automation technology, high paying manufacturing jobs should come back. If you have this advantage why would you want to take it away by adding a 30% tax to fossil fuel without legal authority, by the way, and why would you want to have US companies continue to pay the highest tax rate in the world?

Perhaps it might help to explain this if one recalls that Obama is a Saul Alinsky protégé! Taken as a piece, it sounds like Obama has adopted Saul Alinski’s idea of destroying existing structures so they can be replaced by new and better ones. By the Framers’ standards Obama should be removed from office as soon as possible is before he does any more damage, which could be and probably will be considerable given that he has nearly three more years in office.

A book by Andrew C. McCarthy published this year focuses on this issue. The title of the book is “FAITHLESS EXECUTION Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment.” He makes the case and includes drafts of Articles of Impeachment for removing Obama from office.

McCarthy also shows why it is so difficult to impeach a president. The answer is in the book’s title, ‘Building the Political Case’. Only when the public is fully aware of the high crimes and is sufficiently angry about it will their representatives have the resolve to take any action. It is interesting that the polls show that the voting is getting a belly full of this president’s wantonly refusing to perform his Constitutional duty in every category of importance. But do the voters have the moral fortitude to do the right thing is what the Founders want to know?

Maybe the Framers made a mistake in deciding on three branches of government. Imagine if we had a parliamentary form of government. In that situation the Prime Minister is the head of government who is elected from the parliament itself. If the members feel there is sufficient reason, they can have a vote of “no confidence” and that person is removed promptly!

Perspective: What's IQ Got to Do With It?

We are told* that IQ is a better predictor of financial income, job performance, chance of unwanted pregnancy and involvement in crime. Roughly 60% of IQ is inherited and 40% is derived from the environment in which one is raised. Experts further believe that those with high IQ are becoming separated from those with average and below average intelligence causing us to become a divided society. If this is so, should we be concerned about how to maintain high average I Q in the United States.

First, do we note a divided society? Absolutely, that is all the politicians and media talk about! “The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer” is the mantra! Could it be that one of the causes is that the smart are getting smarter and those who are not as smart are falling further behind? This is no small question in light of the radical change in structure of the job market due to globalization and the digital revolution. Jobs requiring low education are being shifted overseas or are being replaced by machines while many jobs that require a higher education are starving for properly educated and trained workers. Since there will not be enough ordinary jobs for those with less education, those with less intelligence will surely end up near or below the so-called poverty level.

Culture is a major factor impacting poverty, and we all know it. But how to fix the culture is another matter. During the past fifty years, the pillars that supported our culture for generations, in fact centuries have been severely eroded. Fifty years ago, the norm for child raising was a husband and wife living in the same home supported by a neighbor and a school system who acted as surrogate parents. Then nearly everyone went to Sunday school. During that period, a child was expected to earn self esteem, and if punished for any misbehavior in school was told by the parent that “if you think that was bad, just wait until you get home”. A generation or so ago the idea of having a child out of wedlock was so repugnant, the person was shamed, shunned or forced into a shot-gun wedding. The marriage vow “to death do us part” was taken seriously. Today the 50-70 percent rate of out of wedlock births is accepted such that a pregnant high school girl may even stay in class with her off spring. Of course the sperm donor is no where in sight, so a shot gun wedding is out of the question.

The research shows what our predecessors knew all along. A child living with a father and mother in the same house has the highest chance of being smarter, better educated, wealthier, healthier and living longer. Any other system is inferior to one degree or another. It should be obvious to us that raising children out of wedlock with no father present is the worst scenario.

What we are talking about in this blog is that in virtually one generation we have gone from a preponderance of a father and mother living together to a paucity of that. Since single mom parenthood produces the poorest environment, would one be surprised if the IQ of such progeny might just possibly be lower than average? If it is true that poverty reduces IQ, and if we do nothing to eradicate let alone retard the growth of poverty, how well will the US be able to compete in the digital and global economy in the future?

The following chart demonstrates the impact of the inherited and the environmental parts of IQ. We have keyed the quality of the environment component to the percent of out of wedlock births. The actual environmental numbers are theoretical but reflect what one would believe that children born out of wedlock would have an inferior environment to those born with two parents living in the same home. In the chart zero percent of out of wedlock equates to a father and mother living in the same home.

IQ AS IMPACTED BY
PERCENT OF OUT-OF WEDLOCK
% Out of Wedlock 0 15 45 70
High IQ
% Inherited 50 50 50 50
% Environment 35 30 20 10
Total % IQ 85 80 75 60

Low IQ
% Inherited 30 30 30 30
% Environment 35 30 20 10
Total % IQ 65 60 50 40

In sum it shows that a child that inherits a high IQ might survive the poor environment, especially if there is a mentor along the way. On the other hand, the child that does not inherit a high IQ is going to have a very hard time climbing out of poverty unless they have a supporting father and mother. Moreover, IQ levels will probably get worse as those coming from poor environment have children.

If poverty is the cause of poor environment and if poor environment affects IQ negatively, and if reduced IQ makes it more difficult for those in poverty to rise to higher income levels, don’t you think that we all ought to be concerned and wonder what we can do about poverty? Instead we are paying people to stay home and not work. This runs counter to nature, and is wrong. Today, we have 15% or 50 million of the US population living below the poverty level and the number is growing. Meantime, our government is going broke spending a trillion dollars per year supporting programs that produce no positive results.

Now, imagine what the economic growth might look like if the government got out of the way of private enterprise and employers invested in job creating economic activity? We have such an opportunity! Because we have the lowest cost energy in the world, manufacturing and the jobs it can create can and would return to the United States.

But wait, Obama doesn’t want that. Unilaterally he plans to place a 30% surcharge on our energy which will wipe out that opportunity. Sadly, for all of their hand wringing about this problem, Obama and the progressives really don’t want to change anything because those getting government handouts tend to vote for them.




*From” The Bell Curve: “Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life” a book by Charles Murray and Richard J. Herrnstein released in 1994.

Perspective The Millennial Generation and Job Opportunities

Those born between 1980 and 2000 comprise the generation known
as the Millennials. That generation is faced with challenges much greater than
those their parents and grandparents had to face due to the rate of change of
the digital technology and its impact on virtually every job.The Millennials
are entering the market just as digital devices are replacing human labor in
scores of job types at an accelerating rate. This occurs in virtually all job
categories, but ordinary mid-pay jobs and starting jobs where a Millennial
might expect to begin a career are hit the hardest. The more routine and
repetitive the job, the easer it is replace it with a computer based machine.
In an economy that is not expanding, this shrinkage of jobs is serious, and is
virtually unnoticed by the media and our government. Perhaps it is not
surprising that the highest unemployment rate rests with the Millennials. The
irony is that the Millennial generation is the first generation to adapt with
ease to the new digital technology which they began to acquire in pre-school. 

The driving force behind this trend is that businesses
actually prefer machines to humans. Machines work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
and 365 days a year. They work faster and more accurately than humans. They
don’t get sick, take vacations, need maternity leave, go on strike, need health
care or be provided with annual raises, bonuses, IRAs or Social Security.
Experts predict that about 40 percent of such present jobs could be replaced
with current digital technology, and this includes most service jobs. On top of
this let’s not forget that jobs replaced by machines will never return! Furthermore,
machines pay no taxes and purchase no products. Millennials will have to deal
with this issue, as well.

The list of jobs that is vulnerable is shown in the Appendix
below. 

Ironically, the positions of the generations have been
reversed. Today, Millennials know more about the tools of the trade (digital
devices) than their bosses who are of their parent and grandparent generations,
so the mentoring that came from learning how to use the tools from the elders may
be lost.  Consider this! Historically,
while in an apprenticeship, the apprentice (Millennial) would have been taught
by the “master” (older generation) regarding how to use the tools, but the
apprentice was also mentored how the business worked, the importance of
culture, integrity and how to be a good neighbor when working side-by-side with
other worker. 

 Moreover, the
generations born from 1900 to 1980 held most culture concepts in common and
spoke a common cultural language. During this period Society had four pillars
to help youth to assimilate the culture and become responsible citizens. These
were: (1) a parent who understood and accepted the job of teaching the child,
(2) a neighbor who assumed the role of a partner with the parent, (3) the
school that became the surrogate parent with all the rights of the parent while
the child was under it’s supervision, and finally (4) the Sunday school where
the child learned about God and to love one’s neighbor. Unfortunately, for the Millennials
these pillars have been weakened if not completely destroyed. 

Consequently, the Millennial is expected to come to the job
ready to start work. This places the Millennial in a position of virtually
being on his or her own in this radically and rapidly changing time. Whereas it
was common for your parents and especially your grandparent’s generations to
spend an entire career in one business often with one company with many mentors
as the career progressed, that is mostly gone, also. Experts believe that
Millennials will have to change jobs multiple times during their career. So they
will have to find their own mentors. That will require creating a network of
sources for support. Parents and grandparents can and should be part of that
network. The older generations may not have the skills and facility with the
modern digital technology the Millennials have, but they have and amazing
amount of wisdom that is timeless. And if you did not know it, they would love
to share the wisdom with you at any time they are asked!!! 

Grandparents and even parents need not sit on the side
lines. One way for them to participate is to become less intimated with digital
technology. In other words, try to communicate with the Millennials on their
turf!  It is not that difficult to text, send
e-mails, and visit and comment on Facebook and other social media to keep up
with your Millennials. You can do this, and you will be amazed how they will
react to you!  Doing this is not just
important, it is essential. 

The message about the economy and the place of the
Millennial need not be one of doom and gloom. The United
States is poised for economic growth, based
on an abundance of low cost energy and the technical leadership to exploit it
in an environmentally sound manner. The Millennials can and will be able to engage
in this opportunity.  

The United States
is still great because it is still the best form of government that could be
devised by humans. It is based on the Constitution which is not out of date. It
is just as valid and modern as it was when it was created in 1781 by our
brilliant Founding Fathers. The Millennials, in partnership with the parent and
grandparent generations, can and will preserve it, and in doing so can mutually
enjoy the economic benefits that will logically flow.

ADDENDUM

“All Over the World, Technology
Is Replacing Employees”

AP Article Dated January 23, 2013

Key Findings:

 

• Technology
  is being adopted by every kind of organization that employees people.
• It’s
  replacing workers in large and small established companies, start-ups,
  schools, hospitals and the military.

 

• The
  most vulnerable workers are those doing repetitive tasks.
• For
  example, e.g. accountants and paralegals.

 

• Startups
  are launched with a third fewer employees than in the 1990’s.
• These
  account for most of the job growth today

 

• It’s
  becoming a self-serve world.
• Instead
  of relying on someone else to do the task, we use technology to do it
  ourselves. (Think ATM, and grocery checkouts) This trend will grow.
•  

This chart summarizes some of the pertinent features of the
generations living today.

                                                                                                     Computer                          

Name                            Born             
Age            Population       Skills

                                                                       
                                  1-10

GI                                1900-1924       90 +               5 million          0-1

Greatest                       1925-1945       69-89 
         35 million          1-3

Baby Boomers             1946-1964       50-68           80 million          5-7

X                                 1965-1979       35-49           40 million           8-9

Millennial                    1980-2000       14-34           70 million           10+

Present                         2001-Present      0- 3

 

 

 

 

PERSPECTIVE: THE WAR ON POVERTY

My last blog examined how well government does at running businesses. Regarding public education, we found that a third of the products government produces (i.e. graduates) fail to meet specifications. We found the Post Office bankrupt, and the Affordable Care Act looks like a train wreck. Now, it seems only logical to see how the government’s 50 year “War on Poverty” is doing.

The goal of that program, started in 1964, was to eliminate poverty for the 15% of the US population that was considered to be living in poverty in that year. Today, 15% of the population, or fifty million persons, are still considered to be living in poverty. Moreover, the records show that during this 50 year period we have spent about 20 trillion dollars on these 50 million persons. My fifth grade math teacher said the long division should be set up like this:

20,000,000,000,000 dollars = 8,000 dollars/person per year
50,000,000 persons x 50 years

So, during this 50 year period we tax payers spent $8,000 per person per year, and we still have about 50 million persons living in poverty. And it is getting worse. Last year all government t programs combined (Federal and State) aimed at this group totaled just short of one trillion dollars. That is about $20,000 per person

It is worth noting that in the second term of Clinton’s administration; legislation was passed that mandated that persons on the poverty program must find work within a two-year period. They even claimed it was the end to poverty. However, that plan was quickly amended because it was claimed that there were no jobs. Actually only about 3% on poverty had gotten work.

The problem was that digital technology and globalization began to replace US unskilled labor during this period, and the pace is increasing. Further exacerbating the issue is that a third of our public school students who have dropped out will be unable to get a job that pays above the poverty level. Realistically, it is not likely that we will ever reduce, let alone eliminate, poverty in the United States!

Now, a family of four can live quite well on the funds and ancillary programs available from the government so there really is little incentive to get off the program. For example a visit to Google shows that these folk have all the appurtenances that you have. Moreover, this group is entitled to a negative income tax, which means that they get a tax refund while paying zero tax. So, should we be shocked to learn that few if any living on these government funds would want to try to find work? Actually I wonder why we all shouldn’t want to get in on this deal!

A short list jobs that government in partnership with the private sector, could create that most members of the group have the skills for right now might include building the infrastructure to convert all our automotive fleet to environmentally friendly compressed natural gas to replace gasoline and diesel fuels. There are also public service jobs out there that many of the under skilled workers could do such as assisting teachers and assisting the elderly. But can you imagine trying to get this 50 million person group to do public service work in return for the government hand-out? You can’t, can you! But we could require work such as described above for the government handout. But since this group doubtless will vote for the hand that feeds it, can you imagine such a program having a chance of being enacted into law? Probably not!

It is ironic that we have two US Government Departments that deal with animals. The Agricultural Department providesfree food to 50 million human animals. The Interior Department provides food and shelter for countless millions of wild animals. It is curious that the Interior Department places signs in the parks instructing visitors to: “Please don’t feed the animals”.

What’s wrong with our current war on poverty is that it runs counter to the laws of nature. Feeding human animals, just like the animals in the park, makes them unable to “fend for themselves”. Christ said something that is terribly pertinent here:” Give a man a fish, and he is fed for a day; teach a man how to fish, and he is fed forever”.

Obama campaigned and won his elections on his idea to “Transform America”. What we did not know was that he was too late. America was transformed 50 years ago. We might as well get accustomed to understanding that 85% of the US population that works and pays taxes will be expected to provide a living wage for 15% of the population who will be in the program into perpetuity and will probably never work a day!

Now, we will be expected to celebrate this 50 year old program!! Celebrate it?? Are we serious? We should be ashamed at the harm we have done to our fellow man!

Perspective: How well does Government run businesses?

This Christmas Santa sent us a letter (my December 24, 2013 blog) that recommended a way to make jobs for those who are unemployed or who are unemployable in the digital age. Santa’s idea was that the government should get out of the way of private enterprise and let them exploit our natural gas windfall by converting every internal combustion engine to compressed natural gas (CNG), and in addition convert every gas station in the Nation to supply CNG. Despite this obvious opportunity, our politicians continue to think that government is the best place to create jobs! Let’s examine some government run businesses and then imagine whether you, an investor, would want to invest in any of them.

Education:

All public schools are organized and managed by government and funded via taxes, with the objective of producing a high school graduate in 13 years. The United States spends about $10,000 to $15,000 per student per year which is more money per K-12 pupil than any other industrial nation. But look at the results! Our students rank lower than our competitor nations in the basics of language, math and science, and on top of that the high school drop out rate exceeds 30%. Now, as an investor would you put $100,000 to $150,000 into a company whose only product fails 30% of the time? Worse, the management of the company has not the slightest clue how to fix the problem. How long would you tolerate such incompetent management? Would you ask them to walk down the production line to see where the problem begins? OMG, if they did that they might learn that the boys, who represent 60% of the dropouts, fall behind the girls as early as 3rd grade and decide to drop out by 9th grade. Oh, I forgot to mention that management might find a dozen books that spell our exactly why the boys drop out. But no, they just ask you, the investor (read taxpayer), to invest more money in the failing plant.

It is even worse than that. The new digital work place requires graduates who have education at least 1-2 years beyond high school, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math. The government’s failing education system is not producing the needed number of graduates that qualify for the advanced training the high tech jobs require and that the Country absolutely must have to compete in the vibrant global economy.

On top of that, the government the owner and operation of the education business makes you the investor responsible for what to do with the 30% of the product that has no market value. Since there are no jobs to support the high school drop outs, you, the investor (read tax payer) has to subsidize food, shelter, utilities and other amenities for the discarded product, i.e. the dropouts. Many of these will be on the dole for as far out as you can see. But the dropout can vote, which means in effect, that the dropout is your BOSS!!

When you recover from the shock of this failed business, we will continue to the next one!

Roads and Bridges:

We are constantly told that these are in serious disrepair, yet these are government owned and government maintained. The revenue to pay for the work comes from government taxes and tolls, already in place which government can increase nearly at will. The 800 billion dollar stimulus program was intended to fund “shovel ready jobs” presumably for the unemployed and unemployable.. Today’s road and bridge jobs involve highly sophisticated machinery which requires well trained and experienced operators. There are no shovel jobs anymore!

A much more pertinent question is why is this problem? Roads and bridges are always in need of repair, and the money needed for that is being raised constantly from taxes and tolls. Oh, no, don’t tell me the money designated for this infrastructure repair was used for something else!

The Post Office:

The government owns and operates the Post Office which sells a service and in some cases a product, but it looses billions of dollars year after year doing it. Worse, FedEx and UPS beat it every day on services where the Post Office might make money if they knew how to manage a business. As an investor, you would want to sell this one as soon as possible.

Medicare:

Medicare like Social Security is like a ponzi scheme. It is based on the premise that more people pay in at the bottom than take out at the top. That was a fine plan when the number at the bottom (paying in) equaled or exceeded those at the top (taking out). But that was when the average age of death was 65 years. However, in the current real world, the pyramid is turned upside down. We do not die at 65 as was factored in actuarially 50-75 years ago. Today, the average age of death is 79, but if you check the obits, you will find that most lives will end in the 80’s and 90’s. The extra years can be traced to our modern medical technology including our ability to replace virtually any body part that has worn out. Meanwhile, another factor that inexorably exacerbates the issue is that the “boomers” are reaching 65 years of age. This group which totals 80 million is beginning to participate in both Medicare and Social Security while the group putting money into these programs totals only 40 million. Oh, by the way, someone took the funds from the Social Security “Lock Box”, so it is already bankrupt. Do you want to invest in either of these businesses?

Affordable Care Act:

So, now the government wants to get into the insurance business! Insurance is a business that is based on the actuarial bet that you are not sick in the case of health or in the case of your home that you are not an arsonist or in the case of the automobile that you have passed all of the tests indicating that you know how to drive safely. However, under the ACA the government is willing to insure you even if you are deathly ill and require millions of dollars of medical treatment to permit you to live just one more year. This is analogous to going to your insurance agent to get insurance because your house just caught fire!

If you want to become more cynical consider this. The government might set up a committee to decide who might be permitted to get treatment. Oh, wait, that idea is expressed in the ACA bill, and Sarah Palin had the unmitigated gall to call such a committee a “Death Panel”. Knowing what you now know about the NSA data collection and the IRS interference with non-profits that are of the wrong political affiliation, do you question whether the “Death Panel” might check your voting record before authorizing the treatment you need?

In short, it will only be a matter of time until the ACA insurance idea collapses and goes bankrupt, and the government will have to bail out or take over the insurance industry. Oh, that’s right; the bail out provision is in the ACA bill. It is just as Nancy Pelosi said “You have to pass the bill to find out what is in it” .Let’s get real, does anyone really believe that government can manage the health industry which represents one sixth of the US economy? So, do you want to invest in such a mismanaged operation?

We could go on and on examining businesses our government tries to run and that would certainly include Solyndra and a myriad of illogical clean energy fiascos that have already gone bankrupt. Or consider the investment to save Chrysler. We spent billions of dollars to rescue Chrysler only to have it purchased by Fiat at 50 cents on the dollar. Would you sell an asset you just repaired for half of what it cost you to repair it?

In short, businesses owned and operated by our government are bankrupt or are edging their way into bankruptcy of a financial order never before seen or even imagined. Thus when we question whether government can run businesses, we can use the President’s way to punctuate his thought …. It can’t… PERIOD!!!

When the government doesn’t run the enterprise, they feel that they should regulate it. Now, if government does such a lousy job running a business, why should we believe that they would be intelligent enough or have the needed business experience to regulate one? Actually, it is the government’s over regulation of nearly every step that businesses have to take that is precisely why private enterprise is not creating new jobs. This is easy to understand. Would you enter a poker game where the rules were unknown or likely to change in mid-game like Obamacare? Of course not! But that is what the private investor faces vis a vis government regulations.

As a consequence companies with no place to safely invest are hording capital by the bushel. This has resulted in the gigantic rise in stock prices, and the huge amount of cash on corporate books. So, why should we be surprised if companies, who are struggling in the highly competitive global markets made infinitely more complex by the digital revolution and massive and ever-changing government regulations, are willing to pay top dollar to acquire and keep the top CEOs. Oh, in case you haven’t noticed, these top managers are running their businesses quite well for their stockholders, thank you.

By the way, with all the complaints about CEO pay scales, why does no one mention the humongous salaries of our Hollywood stars and our star athletes? Since TV expanded the cash flow produced from the increased number of viewers, our star athletes are being paid massively more, on a constant dollar basis, than Babe Ruth was paid in his time. Moreover, these stars are certainly paid much more than the venders who sell peanuts and other items to those who attend the games. The fact is that in a free market, consumers (stock owners, movie goers and sports enthusiasts alike) will pay high prices for the best products and services.

Now, we can begin to understand why we feel the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Machines have replaced the equivalent of “shovel” jobs in just about every endeavor. Any worker from those who operates today’s machines to those who are in management needs higher skills and continuous training than ever before. Now, we can grasp the nub of why the middle class is falling behind. Highly skilled workers are getting paid significantly more proportionately than those with low or no skills. The problem is that we have a huge shortage of those with the skills needed, and there are no significant jobs for dropouts.

“Santa caught the essence of the problem and told us in his Christmas letter that “Government is the problem not the solution”. Wasn’t there a Santa of the 80ies saying that very same thing? He was also called the Gipper, as I recall. Where is the Republican Gipper today?

When are the Republicans going to have the courage to say it out loud and in clear unequivocal language?

• Government cannot run businesses viably, PERIOD!!

• Private Industry cannot create jobs with government’s over regulation and without a sufficient supply of skilled workers, PERIOD!!