Abraham Lincoln in his famous Gettysbuerg Address talked about a democracy as a government “of, by and for” the people. This assumed that the “people” meaning American citizens were involved.
Unfortunately, most Americans aren’t involved in our democracy. Too many of us believe that the responsibilities of a citizen are to vote, serve on a jury when summoned and occasionally volunteer. Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve heard about government bureaucracies. You probably also know that many city, state, and federal government agencies are outsourcing many services to the private sector to save cost.
And you’ve no doubt encountered a government bureaucracy from time to time - whether it be the Department of Motor Vehicles, the court system, the IRS and on and on. So most of us appreciate that most public-sector agencies are slow to provide service, provide mediocre service, are difficult to get hold of and so on. But just in case you don’t or you need a reminder of how inefficient government is, this blog entry will highlight examples.
1. A friend lost his wallet. He called MediCare to request a replacement Id. He automated voice response system told him his call would be handled by a human within 10 minutes. The woman who answered was pleasant and helpful. “You’ll have your new card in four to six weeks” she said. My friend then called American Express to get a replacement card. They answered quickly. The woman found his record and told him “You’ll have it tomorrow.” Read the rest of this entry »
Sound backwards? The founding fathers would think so. They knew that America’s priorities had to be “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and in that order as stated in the Constitution. They understood that if the country isn’t safe or is at war (“life), then we couldn’t be truly free (“liberty”). And they understood that if we aren’t free, then we can “pursue our happiness”.
Unfortunately, we have our priorities backwards and it shows. Too many of us care more about our pursuits of happiness, than we do about ensuring the country is strong and thus free.
We spend more time getting on Do Not Call lists than we do communicating with our elected officials. We teach our children how to prove that two triangles are congruent but don’t teach them how to be good citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
No bailout, stimulus package, G7 edict, regulation or interest rate cut will get us out of our current economic situation until we fix the underlying problem. What is it?
“Blacks First”, “Republicans First”, “Gays First”, “Unions First”, “Hispanics First”, “Democrats First”, “Trial Lawyers First”, “Public Accountants First” and on and on with “America Last”.
We put our “special interests” above the interests of the country. What’s good for special interest groups may or may not be in the best interest of the country. But what’s good for the country is always in the best interest of these special interest groups. Because if the country isn’t safe (Life) and free (Liberty), then none of us or any special interest group can “pursue its interests.”
The underlying problem we face is that we, as citizens in a democracy, don’t take time from our “pursuits of happiness” to do the things needed to keep the country safe and free. Good Citizen’s website lists the types of things each of us needs to be doing. The only for this lack of involvement will change is to teach our children how to be effective citizens as part of the Social Studies curriculum in elementary school.
On that same day, fewer than 40% of registered voters and 30% of eligible voters were willing to take the time from their “pursuits of happiness” to vote. It was too big a sacrifice.
Our unwillingness to take on the responsibilities of citizenship to keep this country safe and free is the single most important issue we face. It’s a national disgrace.
The top goal of this nation needs to be to teach its youth the importance of being involved in a democracy and how to be effective citizens.
· Remind Us of Our Heritage
· Keep Us Involved In the Democratic Process
· Support Groups Who Have A Responsibility for Keeping the Country Strong
· Keep Individuals and Families Strong
· Foster a Sense of Community
· Help Us Understand the Workings of Our Government
Don’t be a part of the “silent majority”. In a democracy, when one is silent, they are part of the minority.
Don’t blame others. In a democracy, we are responsible for everything that happens – not special interest groups, not the media, not elected officials, not organizations.
Don’t let special interest groups define this country. We’ve become a SIGocracy – a nation of, by and for special interests. Be a part of the special interest group for this country.
Don’t let down your children and future generations and those who are fighting and have fought to keep this country free. Make a list of citizen actions that you can do on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis.
Edmund Burke had it right when he said - “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing”.
The defeat of the recent Senate immigration bill, designed to deal with illegal immigration and which had bi-partisan support, is an example of the power of democracy. Americans were outraged by what was being proposed and they rose up and convinced their representatives not to support the bill. The country would be stronger and safer if we did this more often!
Unfortunately, the death of the immigration bill seems to have also been the demise of further attempts to fix the illegal immigration malady. Many outside of goverment have proposed immigration reform plans of their own. Here are elements included in many of these plans and which are needed to end illegal immigration.
1. Establish a private-sector-based group to draft legislation for ending illegal immigration
Congress is not capable of developing immigration legislation in the best interest of the citizens of the U.S. They are too beholden to special interest groups. Thus, Congress needs to “outsource” the drafting of immigration legislation to a private sector group whose only interest is the citizens of the U.S and not to any special interest groups. The U.S. has an enormous amount of private-sector talent in the form on consulting firms, think-tanks and executives. A representative from the House and Senate can participate and be responsible for getting the proposals passed in their respective legislative bodies. This can be done in 3-4 months.
2. Secure our borders
Congress needs to pass legislation and work with the states to ensure that our borders are secure – meaning unauthorized individuals cannot get into our country. The means to do this are of secondary importance. It can be accomplished through a combination of Federal, state and local law enforcement, the military, fences, and technology.
3. Enforce Our Existing Immigration Laws
Congress needs to pass legislation that ensures that our immigration laws are enforced by Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. These laws need to mandate that when an individual is found to be in this country illegally, they are either immediately deported or jailed or given some other strong incentive to never come back to the United States . Individuals who enter the country illegally should never be given a visa or put on the path to citizenship. This legislation needs to ensure that employers who hire illegal immigrants are severely punished economically and/or criminally. The legislation needs to ensure that entities such as churches and cities that provide sanctuary for illegal are charged with a felon. Individuals who have overstayed their Visas need to be identified and removed from the country. By enforcing our existing immigration laws, most illegals will go home voluntarily because their isn’t work for illegals and because they pay a high price for being caught. This effort must start immediately to gain the confidence and trust of the American people.
4. Clarify the law so that children of illegal immigrants are not US Citizens.
To reward someone who enters our country illegal by making their children citizens of the United States is an affront to everything we stand for. It hurts the country and provides an incentive for illegals to have children once in the U.S. The parents don’t even need to be married! The law needs to be changed even if it takes a Constitutional Amendment.
5. Stop giving illegals access to our social services
Currently illegals have access to our social service programs like welfare and food stamps. They are also given free health care, free school lunches and breakfasts, free school bus rides and free or highly subsidized access to our colleges and universities. They get many things most Americans don’t’ get! These free services are one of the reasons illegals are able to live in the country and work for the low wages they do.
6. Develop a system for uniquely identifying each individual in this country
Congress needs to develop a system whereby every American and every non-American in the country can be uniquely identified to minimize identify theft. The technology exists.
7. Have every illegal alien register themselves.
We need to know who is here illegally. We can’t make informed decisions about a guest worker program until we know who, how many and what type of work they are doing. The incentive to register would be that failure to register would mean automatic and immediate deportation with no hope of ever being able to return to this country as part of any guest worker program or other program developed to deal with the large number of illegals already here – see below. Until a guest worker-type program were put in place, these illegals would be allowed to stay here. They would not be able to receive free social services like medical care or free school tuition or lunches.
8. Develop a guest –worker program
Contrary to what some say, illegals don’t do work that Ameircans won’t do. Illegals do work at wages Americans can’t afford to do the work at. Having said that, there may be situations in certain seasonal industries such as agriculture or other industries where needed labor is short , where it makes economic sense for the country to allow individuals into the country to supply this labor on a short-term basis. The American people are a generous people. And once our borders are secure and we are enforcing our current immigration laws, we will put together a guest-worker program that takes into account many factorsand is fair.
