The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was amended in 1940, of which, that act in 1940, thus established the forty hour work week as the standard for American workers; thereby providing for those laboring more than forty hours in one week, with time and a half as their compensation for their standard overtime hourly pay if such should occur.  Additionally, through that act, child labor, with some notable exceptions was outlawed, and also an hourly minimum wage was thereby established for employees.  The establishment of the Fair Standards Act during the FDR administration was probably the most constructive legislation ever passed for the benefit of the common laboring employee.  Yet, the forty hour work week as the established standard, has not been successfully reduced per Federal law, in over eighty years; despite all of the progress so having been made with machines, robotics, computers, and the like. 

Perhaps, the forty hour workweek is the type of norm, that should not ever be challenged, and therefore ought never to change; but in a world in which humankind has demonstrated its mastery over the elements, time and time again, it would seem that a nation that is actually progressing would at some point, reach the stage in which the labor so being required from a given individual, would not necessitate a continuous commitment of forty hours, week in and week out.  That is to say, the Fair Labor Standard Act was established in which previously employees were often required to work six days a week,  of which each day would consist of eight hours or possibly more of labor; yet, when this was changed to legally reduce such to forty hours a week, unless the employee was compensated with overtime pay, the American enterprise world or the progression, so of, did not come to an end.

In our modern society, we understand well that there needs to be a good balance between work and leisure; or between work and other commitments, or between work and other activities of interest.  In other words, to believe that the primary purpose of life is to work, seems to put the cart before the horse; because often the main reason why a person works, is to earn the necessary funds so as to enjoy in their spare time, the accouterments and other preferred interests of life; of which, many a person desires strongly to have more free time to address not only their responsibilities in life, but also to experience an overall better life.

American prides itself on believing that it is the world leader and thereby the epitome of what a great country so represents; but when it comes to the amount of labor hours that each person must devote each week in order to get some semblance of a good life, or to at least pay the bills of that life; America has not been making much good progress, at all.  That is why it is so important for this Federal government, to acknowledge that those that labor so hard, are deserving of a fair deal, updated to the present time, and of which, as part of that fair deal, there would be the reduction of the standard work week from the current forty hours, to thirty-five hours or possibly even just thirty-two.  Most people would call that progress – which is what the Fair Labor Standards Act so aptly has represented historically for the American laborer.

Paper money and real money

Most everyone basically believes that dollar bills are money, and thus those dollars bills essentially represent a form of currency.  The thing about dollar bills, or credits of those dollar bills so held in bank accounts and the like, is that the worth of those dollar bills has an awful lot to do with the credibility so given to those dollars by the individuals and enterprises that we exchange money with on a daily basis.  In other words, the stability of a dollar bill, or the lack, thereof, really comes down to the confidence that the recipient has that the dollar bill represents a form of currency that has some implicit stability and thereby universal value to it that is generally accepted by all; and of which, when that perception by a meaningful percentage of people and enterprises thereby changes, the value of that paper money has a strong tendency to depreciate, thereby producing inflation.

The thing about electronic deposits of dollar bills or even the physical dollar bills in a given person’s pocket is that in short, those dollar bills, are pretty much well designed pieces of paper or digital entries, that have no utility to them, other than the full faith and confidence of that government that supports such.  That is to say, Monopoly™ money has no intrinsic value, whatsoever, because nobody is credulous enough to believe that Monopoly™ money has monetary value to it.  So then, basically the only reason why dollar bills are accorded a high degree of credibility is not only the universality of those dollar bills, but the fact that the government  will do its level best to support the dollar, because it understands that a dollar that has lost all credibility, will for a certainty inevitably create an extreme economic crisis.

Many a country, even a well-established country, has issued paper currency, only to have such, through sustained inflation over some period of time, along with national debts that cannot be properly serviced, or via outright national fraud, thereby suffered the indignity of that money, becoming severely depreciated vis-à-vis other sound currencies, thereby leading to the actual default on such, completely, to the ruin of those that have assets in that paper currency.  That is to say, having paper wealth, while seeming to be of value to a given individual or enterprise, does have a potential downside, and that downside is that paper wealth, is susceptible to its value being depreciated precipitously through inflation or default, catastrophic or not.

The main purpose of paper money is its value as a universal medium of exchange, so that trading and selling can more easily be accomplished between parties; and thereby the good governance of a given country, is to the degree so possible, to provide intrinsic stability to that paper currency; for real money is never that which is held on paper, or electronic credits of such in a bank; but rather real money represents that which has a call upon real assets, such as a home, a business enterprise, a vehicle, or a stock certificate, and basically all that which is tangible and has utility in and of itself – whereas paper money has, at best, only a derivative value, based upon confidence, and no more than that.

The law makers and the real law breakers

In order for any nation to prosper there has to be a “rule of law,” of which, without a well-defined and fair rule of law, so structured that it thus applies to all, equally; we so find that where there then is the lack of such a rule of law, that thereby the power structure of that nation and thereby the exertion of that power within that nation will have a strong tendency to favor the ruling class of that nation, and thereby to supersede the rule of law, itself, especially in those cases of most material importance to those of that ruling class.

In the United States, there are laws upon laws upon laws; of which, the interpretation of those laws and the appeals in regards to those laws, oftentimes has an awful to do with the power and the influence of whoever it is, that is petitioning that government, for a redress of grievances.  In other words, for those that are the forgotten, the forsaken, and the forlorn, there is no appeal to any type of justice system, because these people aren’t recognized as being of any material importance to the nation, whatsoever.  On the other hand, for those that have position, power, and influence, but for whatever reason have been caught with their “hand in the cookie jar,” it is absolutely astonishing how many appeals, delays, favors, considerations, and the like are thereby typically available for them to draw upon; thus, making it appear, or more than appear, that there is the law as it is applied to the common man, and there is a wholly different way of that law being applied to those that are especially well positioned.

While it can be said, that any law can be subject to some interpretational differences, what we do so find, is that, those legal minds that are highly compensated and especially clever, are able to take a given law, which seems to be fairly clear and obvious, and somehow seem to be able to make a successful argument to those of authority, that somehow something within that law, can be interpreted in a certain special way, that will favor their client’s interests.  This thus signifies, that laws as ruled upon, don’t seem to be ruled equally to the rich and poor alike; but rather, those that are the most influential amongst us, are somehow categorized into the position in which the law, as applied, is structured differently and thereby more favorably for them.

The most disappointing thing is that when it comes to crime, we do so find that the conviction and punishment of the common man, is almost always, quite cut and dry; whereas, for those that are amongst the upper echelons of society, somehow, it appears, that these people don’t have to observe the exact same laws as everyone else, or rather, in their lack of observing them, they end up being distinctly treated in a diametrically different way -- which way more times than not, favors them.  The problem with this type of unequal application of justice, is that it lends itself to the general public losing their respect for the rule of law; of which, for all those that are above the law, it not only sets a rather very poor example of leadership to the common man, but it is also indicative that those that make the laws and thereupon break them, without corresponding punishment, are hypocrites of the worse order.

Good policing and bad policing

There are, unfortunately, plenty of people that believe that in order to obtain obedience to the state’s policing arm, that the policing authority has to be wielded in such a way, that the people rightly fear the consequences of their bad actions.  These types of people and those that implement such, are basically known as the “law and order” type, who do not broker dissent, and thereby believe that a state in which criminal acts are dealt with, quickly and surely, will not only earn the lasting respect of the people, but will substantially reduce the criminal element.

The problem though, with this type of mindset, is that it has been tried again and again, throughout the ages, and though it might well look good in principle, it does not work well in action.  The issue that a significant portion of the general population has with a strict law and order state, is that such not only often appears to them as being arbitrary, unfair, overly punitive, as well as concentrating far too frequently on public shaming -- is that a substantial portion of those so suffering the ill effects of this law and order, are being punished in a way and manner that does not often reasonably conform to the nature or the severity of the crime, so committed.  Further to the point, those suffering the most from this law and order state, often are those that are the un-championed, the oppressed, and the impoverished, above all – which presupposes that those not so suffering from such, are probably either better connected, or much more devious.

Those then, that have an open mind about policing, understand that policing, in every society and at every time, must be structured in such a way, that it is a two-way street, in which, therefore, there is respect so demonstrated by those doing the policing to the people; in addition to the people showing respect to those that purportedly are there to serve and to protect them. The bottom line is that whenever the general public perceives those that are doing the policing within their neighborhood as something akin to an occupying force, then there is never going to be peace or justice within that neighborhood, no matter how many people are arrested, ever.  Rather, in order for the police to function well within any community, that community must have a desire to voluntarily cooperate with the police, so enacted because those people understand the good necessity of having a police force within their community in order to ameliorate bad situations and events that need to be thus addressed in a responsible and coherent fashion.

It is well to remember that there can never be a lasting peace within any community, if the price for that peace, is injustice; for that which is unjust, cannot ever bring a lasting peace.  Instead, it has to be recognized that the only legitimate policing force is one that works with, not against, the community that it is serving, of which, it is thereby the responsibility of that community in conjunction with the policing arm to thus build a bridge of rapport, one with another.  So then, the difference between good policing and bad, is the difference between that which is supportive of the common good, and that which is destabilizing or destructive to such.

Those that lean, and those that are leaned on

Life has its troubles and problems, of which, for those of us that are the most successful, or that clearly have their respective act together, they are thus able to fairly demonstrate that they can consistently handle what so comes their way with aplomb, except perhaps in those occasional times in which they are unexpectedly overwhelmed by something; but even then, they thereby usually show forth their character, by their sound ability to get back up on their feet, soon after.  Then, there are also those others, that clearly appear to have a life of trouble and problems which seem to constantly overwhelm them, of which, day after day, seemingly, no progress is ever made on any sustainable level to resolve their most basic troubles or problems, ever.

So then, what we so have, is a divide, between those that lean on others; as contrasted to all those that are leaned upon.  While most people that find themselves being leaned upon, don’t have any real issues with such, especially when the leaning clearly has a beginning and an end to it; we do so find that in those situations in which the person that is being constantly leaned upon, perceives that this leaning does not appear to have any lasting resolution ever to so appear on the horizon, that therefore this constant dependency by the other thus ends up taking a toll on the person so being depended upon.  After all, the dead weight of another, is something, that will certainly take its toll, eventually, upon even the strongest of people.

This thus signifies, that as much as we might desire to help the other, we have to always keep in mind, that we need ourselves to maintain some personal space as well as personal time, so that we don’t suffer from being burnt out or from the diminishing of our good character; of which, if such as that thus happens, this could easily lead us to resent the other person as being some sort of annoying  pest.  So too, for the person that does all of the leaning, it is important for them, to understand that the traffic so being generated, cannot always be just one way; because that direction, so of, isn’t going to lead to anything other than an undesirable dead end.  Therefore, those that typically do all of leaning, need to seriously find some other avenue or idea that will provide them with the means to assist that person who they believe, doesn’t need their assistance, in some activity, that will actually benefit their helpful friend.  For we so find that once a person that is so dependent upon another, recognizes that they too are capable of being of aid to another, in some way, big or small, this thus helps their own self to become more enlightened.

So then, for all those that have a strong tendency to lean on another, they must first be cognizant of that fact, and thereby then resolve to do more to become self-sufficient, which will thus help them to improve their overall outlook in life.  Whereas, for those, that are leaned on, they too must recognize that carrying another person’s weight all of the time, isn’t healthy for either person, and thereby it is often wiser to help steady a person that is stumbling, rather than to just lean over so as to carry them.

What makes the superrich nervous

When you are the class of privileged people that have all of the money and all of the power – then about the only thing that you ever get nervous about is losing the very qualities that permit you to have those financial resources and power at your disposal.  So then, what we so find is that in times of social unrest and societal unease, those that are the elites of a given country, are the very same people, that have little or no interest in ceding any ground to those that are in opposition to them, no matter how justified their cause may well be, because they do not wish to risk any possible troubling change to the current social order in which they are the kingpins of. 

After all, those that are superrich have it all; so that, therefore, they have zero interest in any sort of sharing, or in the diminishing of their power – unless upon their own terms.  So too, this signifies in any construct, in which there is a massive disparity between those that have all of the material assets as well as the controlling influence upon all governmental policy that affects them as in comparison to the common man, that it is thus vital that those that serve the superrich for a very generous stipend, prove their value, so of, by putting forth whatever narrative, muscle, as well as policies so required, that will induce those that are the common people, that all is well; or if not well in the present, will, given enough patience, or on an arc long enough, eventually trickle down to them.

The superrich make it their point to try to convince others, that their wealth and power, is absolutely legitimate, and therefore that they are deserving of having such; of which, the importance of convincing the general public that this is true, is of high importance to them, because these superrich so wish to impress upon others, that all that they have, is really part and parcel of simply playing the capitalistic game, very well.  The implication of this sort of mindset, so accepted, is to thereby successfully win over a huge subset of the population, so as to convince them that all is fair, and that therefore the opportunity for these others to thereby become superrich, is thus some sort of achievable goal.

The superrich need to be perceived by a significant percentage of the population as being seen as licit in having achieved their status; which thereby makes it easier for the superrich to thus convince those believers, that therefore the social order need not change at all, because not only is it fair, but clearly it is also the best conceivable pathway to becoming successful, for these others, as well.  Yet, the superrich know that this is all a lie, and when they are constantly confronted and bombarded with the facts and information, which demonstrates that any nation having a small elite that has all of the money and all of the power, cannot possibly represent a true democracy -- and further to the point, a  nation in which so few have so much, can’t possibly represent egalitarianism, fair play, justice, or  authenticity, then we do so find, that the superrich get really nervous, because knowing that they aren’t the type to willingly give up what they so have, then they know that there will be indeed, a frightful reckoning, and blood in the streets.

Like begets like

In this world, those that are of the non-privileged class, are often susceptible to suffering from injustice, unprovoked violence, unfairness, intolerance, and hate.  After all, in a construct in which the privileged class have all sorts of rights provided just for them, seemingly forever, then those of that privileged class that are especially hateful, bigoted, or vindictive, are prone to striking out especially against those that do not have a good defense against them; and of which, the consequences for that privileged class for having done those bad deeds, does not often reflect any aspect of equal justice, under the law.

Those that have been abused and unjustly treated, would seem to be absolutely justified in striking back against their oppressors, and to a large extent, to do so, by any means so possible, which would seem to be on the surface, the most logical and appropriate thing to do.  Yet, further thoughtful contemplation, would sensibly indicate to us, that one bad act, responded with an in-kind bad act, isn’t going to be the type of response, that will ever bring a successful and lasting resolution to such injustice.  In other words, as it has been said, two wrongs do not make a right; and because two wrongs do not make a right, this thus indicates that the best response to that which is wrong, is to thereby do what is right.

Those that are violent, are often prone to such, in order to prove to themselves that they are superior to the other; and characteristically, such violence comes about because of that violent person’s own fears, wavering self-image, and their unrestrained anger; of which, the overriding purpose of that violence is for that violent person, to get their way.  The unresolved problem though for those that commit violent acts is that no matter how often that they do so, or how successful such initially appears to be; that very act of violence, almost never successfully resolves over the long term the underlying reason for that violence.  That is to say, those that hate one thing, or fear another thing; will so find, that the same sort of hate and the same sort of fear, will keep coming back to haunt them, time and time again, because what really troubles them, is on the inside, and therefore the real battle that they therefore need to fight, is within their own being, and nowhere else.

It can indeed be a very difficult thing to not strike back against injustice, hate, and violence; but to do so, typically means to leave the moral high ground, so as to engage in something that will bring the respondent down to the lower level of that which is troubling them.  The best response, then, is to maintain one’s balance and nerve by staying focused in the sure knowledge that the fires of hatred, will eventually burn itself out, if we do not add fuel to that fire, by our own hate.  So then, to break that endless cycle of man’s inhumanity to man, we must ourselves have the courage to stand firm on the principle that love of neighbor as our own self, is the right way, and an eye for an eye, is not.

Retaliation for wrongs so committed against us

While we do read in the New Testament, about the value of turning the other cheek; even those of the highest moral standards are susceptible to striking back at their opponent or their instigator, at some point; and oftentimes for good reason, so of.  Unfortunately, we live in a world, in which justice, doesn’t seem to fully take into consideration the full story of a given event; of which, for instance we do so find, that it is often the person so retaliating that seems to suffer the most unfairly from the justice system; perhaps because such retaliation appears to be to a neutral party an overreaction or unwarranted.

The thing about retaliation, is that in a lot of cases, it isn’t one thing that triggers a response from a given person, but frequently, it’s instead, unrelenting provocations, so done to the other, day in and day out, in which a given person, thus reaches their reasonable limit and thereupon strikes back.  So then, for those that are not the participants, so of, and thereby have only seen the response, it can appear to them, as if the person so striking back, is overreacting, and because of their overreaction, are thereby the one to thus suffer the heavier penalty; in which, ironically, these retaliators are considered to be the instigators of their own trouble.

In life, there are always two sides to complete a story; and further to the point, those that are most devious and especially clever in an evil way, can be quite good about provoking trouble, in a way and manner, in which their desire, is to get a reaction from their opponent, at a time in which, such reaction by the other will be mostly perceived by outsiders, as being wholly wrong.  In truth, most everyone has a trigger point, and some people are quite adept in triggering that from another, so done, for often the purpose of getting that other person in trouble, and thereby gaining for the actual troublemaker, the benefit, so of, at the expense of the person so retaliating.

So then, when we look at the troubles that America has, in regards to crime, poverty, ill-education, lack of opportunity, and violence; there seems to be a justice system so set up that specifically targets those that do not adhere to the expected standards of civil behavior and right actions, thereby making those particular people, prone to being marked as potential trouble to the state.  Thereupon, the response by the policing arm of the state has often been to see that those that fit the description of being difficult or incorrigible, is to put their boot down hard upon their necks, in order to thus make it a point to these targeted people, that there is a rule of law, which must thereby be obeyed.  But what has been forgotten, or perhaps is wholly unseen, is that long standing historic treatment that has been unjust, capricious, unfair, and prejudicial to a certain segment of society, will when having reaching its collective trigger point for them, have as its result, retaliatory behavior – and so what is happening in our society, writ large, is that those that are considered to be the “malcontents” are often those that are responding through retaliation to what has been an unyielding amount of provocation.

Here is how to reduce crime by 50% or more

America absolutely loves to lock up its criminals, of which, there is no other western nation that comes close to the incarceration rate that America so represents.  While there are a multitude of theories of why there are so many criminals in America, the bottom line is that there doesn’t seem to be a “magic bullet” which will successfully reduce that crime rate to something more reasonable, which exists over the near horizon.  However, in consideration, that as reported by prb.org, that men “…have an imprisonment rate 14 times higher than the rate for women,” and further to the point that forcible rape is almost exclusively male in origin, along with the fact that murders, burglaries, and robberies are all at a 85% or higher rate of males being the perpetrators, so of; it would be fair to state, that the criminal element, is dominated by males, and thereby the solution to reducing crime would seem to be as simple as the reduction of males within our society.

We live in an era, in which our medical profession has gotten ever more competent in being able to artificially inseminate a given female, of which, by controlling which chromosomes are so utilized in that insemination, we do so find, that the sex of a given child, can undoubtedly be successfully controlled for.  This thus signifies, that if a nation, so desired to have a higher percentage of females so being birthed, and made that their resolve; and further to the point, provided a financial incentive to do so, along with the accompanying governmental support in regards to the care and nurturing of that newborn, then, in all probability, the birthrate of females would thereby, far exceed the birthrate of males.

No doubt, in a world in which, for instance, the new births of females outnumbered males, by, for instance, a ratio of two-to-one, this would make for a significantly different construct than we do so have presently. It has to be recognized that the era of brawn, is in the past, and we live now in an era in which robotics and machines, so of, are often quite capable of picking up the slack of having less manpower, than before.  While it is true, that our family structure, would materially change, with considerably less males in the population; it is also fair to state, that never has there been more single-family households than we do so see today, of which the vast majority of such, are currently female led.  Additionally, it has to be stated, that having no male in a household, is materially better than a useless one.

So too, when it comes to our laws, our representatives, our judicial decisions, and our businesses, in general; it is a given that women have different priorities and thereby support different initiatives than males do; of which, females are known for being far less bellicose, far more civil, far more accommodating, far more caring, and far more reasonable, than males are.  This thus signifies that more females thereby so represented in our legislatures, in our governing bodies, and in the laws so made and enacted, would probably represent a more nurturing world, and therefore a far less vindictive and violent one.

We do so find that for generation upon generation, societies have been almost exclusively patriarchal in structure, and what we so see, reflects how poorly that has gone.  So then, if we truly want a better society, one that is also safer and has far less crime, then we need more females, and far less males.

The gross unfairness of the step-up basis

In the United States, this country permits people that have money to spend that money or invest such, per their individual inclination.  That said, eventually the death knell so tolls, even for the rich, and thereby that person with that money dearly departs from this world.  One would think then that the government would thereby treat the assets of the decedent in a logical manner, in which, the taxable value of their assets, would be an honest reflection of what those assets so cost the deceased, to begin with.  In other words, if a given stock investment cost $10/share when first purchased, or a given home cost $125,000 when first bought; than the inheritor of that property would thereby be responsible for any accumulated taxable gain, if such existed, should they so choose to sell such at a future time and date.  In fact, that isn’t the tax law, at all.  Rather, for some dubious reason, there is something called a “step-up basis,” in which assets so inherited do not reflect the real cost basis of that asset when first purchased, but rather reflect the step-up basis of that asset, instead; which is thus defined as the value of such at the date of the decedent’s death.  This thus so indicates, that those that are fortunate enough to inherit something of value – essentially inherit that asset with no incumbent capital gains tax associated to it, should they be inclined to sell.  In other words, if a home cost just $125,000, forty years ago, and now is valued at $1,250,000 – of which, the inheritor of that property, sold it, they wouldn’t owe the appropriate capital gains tax amount associated with that $1,000,000 capital gain, for rather they wouldn’t owe a thing.

Quite frankly, the step-up basis law, permits the inheritor of such, to circumvent the capital gains tax bill so accumulated, over an extended period of time, as if this never so occurred.  That is to say, those that inherit assets at the step-up basis, inherit those assets, with the accumulated capital gains liability that may have been accrued over a period of decades, having been completely erased, as if it never existed.  While, no doubt, this is a great benefit for those privileged enough to have inherited that asset; it does though, seems to come at the expense of the common tax paying citizen.  As they say, “nothing is certain except death and taxes;” but the step-up basis law puts a lie through that idiom – for the person so dying, did not have to pay taxes on their accumulated capital gains portion of their wealth; nor did the person so inheriting such either.  In other words, in today’s America, while death is certain, taxes aren’t.

The only conceivable reason why the step-up basis ever became law, is basically because those that are our legislative representatives, are the type of people, that typically have meaningful assets of their own; and further to the point, answer often to those that have sizeable assets, power, and influence.  Therefore, we find that together, they came up with a tax workaround, that very adeptly assures that dynastic wealth, can pass from one generation to the next, without the worry of having a capital gains portion of such, go to the very government, which provided them with the  opportunity to become successful in the first place.

Influences upon us, and what we so become

There are all sorts of influences that impressed themselves upon  us every day; of which, some of these influences we invite into our lives; whereas, there are also those other influences that though uninvited or unwittingly, do so find a pathway to influence us, anyway.  The thing about life, is that each person is responsible for their own life; of which, regrettably there are a fair amount of people that do not seem to understand this fundamental concept.  This thus signifies that those that are incapable, unable, complacent, or just too lazy to build a life based around being a person of initiative, volition, integrity and of good character, are the very same people that will be most susceptible to outside influences throughout their life, and of which, we do so find, that those influences, for them, are more than likely, not going to be the good type.

The reason that what influences us is so important to every one of us, is because we do so find that in order for particular people and institutions to get their way, that they often find themselves resorting to exerting influence, both direct and indirect, upon us, so as to lead us to where they so desire us to go.  That would not necessarily be so bad for us, if this influence was utilized for our greater good; but far too frequently that sort of influence upon us, is typically being directed at us, so as to mold us into what these others so want for their own self-serving interests; of which, it is probably fair to state, that this isn’t likely to be something that is of much good for us, at all.

On the other hand, there are those great souls, as well as good people of common sense, and of sound wisdom, that also desire to influence us, but not for their personal benefit; for rather they richly desire to see us grow into becoming the best person that we so can become, which thereby helps to make society, a better place.  These type of good people, are the type of individuals that lead by example, while also being concerned about our welfare, of which, they are the ones that lend us not only a helping hand when such is necessary; but also, are the same ones that provide us with the bridge that will help us to overcome turbulent trouble.  This is therefore the type of influence that we should desire to have in our life, and while there are plenty of people that will take on the guise of being of material help to us, not all that so offers such, are going to be true to such.

So then, what each of us, needs to take to heart, is to determine as to whether or not those that currently have influence upon us, are the type of people that are bringing us closer to our noble goals and good deeds; or whether they are instead the type of people that are distracting us from those necessary things that we so need to address and to get accomplished.  Each of us is influenced by others, whether we consciously recognize it or not – therefore it behooves us to make sure as well as to ascertain whether that influence is for our betterment or not; and to thereby to make adjustments, as so required, to become that which we were meant to be.

Politics: “The conduct of public affairs for private advantage”

If you wonder, how come so many of our politicians never seem to come close to fulfilling any of their promises so campaigned upon, then look no further than the quote above as given to us, by the inestimable, Ambrose Bierce.  While there are a lot of good reasons why people get into politics – one should never underestimate that one of the main reasons why so many are interested in politics is for their own personal gain, as well as for the power that is accorded to them.  Whether or not a politician is a personage on a national scale, or strictly on a local scale, we do so find, that the budgets and programs that these politicians are involved with, are often quite impactful.  So then, those particular others that know certain politicians who they are able to exert influence over or are able to work well with, will find that a quid pro quo relationship is often quite beneficial, and typically so, at the expense of the general public.

It would be appropriate if our political representatives, actually represented the people; and further to the point, actually accomplished what they were elected to accomplish or at least nobly tried to, but that isn’t the reality of what so occurs.  It would be fairer to state, that the most successful politicians are absolutely masterful in spinning what is so occurring in a way in which it appears that the general public is actually benefiting, when more times than not, they are stuck with the short end of the stick, instead.  The main problem with immense power is that it has a strong tendency to take even those of good character, and melt them in a way that they so become the servant to that power.  After all, every single human person is subject to giving in to their weaknesses, as well as having difficultly controlling their own foibles; whereas, all those that really want something from a politician, have a strong knack of exploiting those very same weaknesses, and will often not relent until they get what they so came for.  Additionally, there are also those politicians, in which, from day one, they so sought their particular position, for the expressed benefit of their own self, and thereby for their own private advantage, and of which, their only real thought has been consistently how to best spin things and thereby to maintain control of the narrative, in which, they are able to thus subsequently best sell the illusion that they are doing right by the people, when they are mainly doing wrong.

Politics, offers two basic temptations, for those that become its politicians, of which, the first is the power to make policy which will unfairly benefit some entity at the expense of some other; and the second is the ability to structure things in a way and manner, in which the politician will personally benefit, if not so at the present time, then at a future time, so agreed upon.  The only possible way for the general public to achieve some sort of virtuous influence upon these sorts of temptations, is when all that which is being done under their name, is discussed and thereby disseminated in a way in which that forum is open, transparent, and subject to a fair investigation.  If not, what will so happen is what happens, which is that those that are in politics, are often there essentially to advantage themselves in conjunction with all those that best help them to do exactly that.

The despised tax collector as an instrument of the state

Throughout history, tax collectors have been recognized as being some of the most despicable persons within a given nation, and not without good reason.  The most basic reason why tax collectors are so often despised, has a lot to do with the material fact, that few people, actually desire to pay taxes;  however, what makes tax collectors throughout history, to be seen as being such contemptible characters, has an awful lot to do with the quantifiable fact that tax collectors, have historically been collecting taxes so being charged upon the people, as a rather blunt instrument of the state, and further to the point, have themselves exhibited a strong tendency to collect more than they should, so as to pocket the difference, so of, into their own hands.

In today’s modern world, the collection of taxes has become institutionalized, so that the tax collector as an individual is pretty much not ever noticed; and despite the fact that America, saw fit, to initiate a progressive income tax, generations ago, we do so find that in the present age, that never have the superrich had it so good when it comes to taxes, as they do so, now.  This presupposes that the taxing arm of the state, while definitely being in existence, as its own separate governmental entity, has for all practical purposes, apparently been subsumed by that same superrich elite, so as to “game” the system, in a way and manner, in which the general public is left holding the tax bag, and those that have plenty of assets and wealth, already, are therefore not only able to hold on to what they so have, but also to pass a substantial portion of what they have so accumulated throughout their lifetime, onto their progeny and/or other institutions of their preference.

The tax code within America, is unnecessarily complicated, of which, the purpose of that tax code being so convoluted, is so that the superrich, are thereupon able to bend the tax rules in their favor, or delay such for such an extended period of time, that this ends up serving their purpose, just as well.  The fact that the superrich are able to be taxed on their capital gains at a lower rate than the higher progressive tax rates for ordinary income, is proof positive, that the tax collecting arm of the state, is clearly on the side of those that have all of their wealth already accumulated; and is clearly in opposition to those that have to labor for a living.  Further to the point, mega corporations that have profits of billions upon billions of dollars are able to successfully circumvent fair taxation upon their profits, again and again, year after year, by sophisticated and unfair tax avoidance strategies, so structured or countenanced by the taxing arm of the state, to benefit specifically those mega corporations, at the expense of the common man.  Finally, this nation, refuses to implement the most practical of taxing actions, which is to simply collect a small percentage of the accrued wealth of those mega corporations and of those that have high net worth, each and every year – and the reason that this does not happen, is the fact that the historically despised tax collector or its modern day equivalency is still clearly the instrument of the state, and in this case, that state is firmly in the hands of the superrich, the well connected, and the elite.

The bars on one’s windows

Oftentimes, when we think about bars on a given window, we think of prisons, in which those bars serve the functional purpose of being there, in order to preclude escape as well as to buttress confinement.

That said, for the most part when we think of windows, we think of them as representing an outlet for us to see what is going on outside, as well as to let in natural light; of which, we do appreciate windows for providing us with the ability to gaze outdoors as well as to let in fresh air.  We do so find, though, that there are those communities in which most windows have metal bars attached upon them, as well as even some of their doors having an additional steel bar security door attached to its main door.  The purpose of these bars on windows as well as being on doors is to keep intruders out and for the residents, so of, to thereby feel better protected from the possibility of outside elements inflicting damage or burglarizing their home or apartment.

While it is important to feel safe in one’s home, there are those neighborhoods that exact a very heavy price upon those residents that feel constantly unsafe, or feel that they are under constant siege.  The problem is that when residents of a particular neighborhood behave in a manner in which they essentially do not venture our into their own neighborhood, so as to go to the park, or to walk up to the store, or to simply take a walk, or to sit out on their porch, because they are fearful; they then thereby become, in essence, prisoners within their own home. That isn’t healthy for the people that live there, and especially isn’t healthy for those that are young, high-spirited, and that have a strong desire to go out and socialize with their peers and other people, but are not permitted to do so, because of the perceived dangers in doing so.

In any neighborhood, in which the residents of such, confine themselves to their own home, and thereby never venture forth, then the overall community cohesion, as a byproduct, is obviously going to be rather poor.  Further to the point, when the reason behind such, that makes those streets unsafe, are because those streets are essentially under the control of gangs or of a criminal element, and there isn’t any real hope that anything will change for the better anytime soon -- because as bad as the criminal element may be, the policing arm of the state, isn’t in its effect, any better – by virtue of its own inconsistency, as well as by its own tendency to injustice and violence and arbitrariness, then there really isn’t any good solution, in play, for the good people that live there.

The thing about poverty, is that being impoverished, is often punishment enough; but when that poverty is also combined with the fact that there is no vibrant sanctuary in the sense of where a community can come together in order to better themselves, then what we so have, is social isolation, and hopelessness, writ large.

Human guinea pigs

Humankind has an interest in finding solutions to all sorts of medical issues of the time, in which, oftentimes in order to make progress, medical experimentations with real human subjects are preferred and thereby considered to be necessary.  Not too surprisingly, when it comes to things such as radiation, toxic concoctions, medical surgeries of the vanguard, and the like, there is a real tangible risk for those that have “volunteered” to be experimented upon, and therein lies the rub.

What this government has proven, time and time again, is that it richly desires not to be transparent, open, and forthcoming in regards to some of its human experimentations and thereby the purpose behind the research of those experiments -- not only to the general public, who have a right to know, but even worse, to those that are being experimented upon.  Further to the point, it isn’t possible for any human being to give their outright consent to any experiment, that may be of extreme material damage to them, without receiving in return, a full accounting of the dangers, thereof.  Additionally, all those people that are compromised to begin with, as in those that are incarcerated, or of feeble mind, or are monetarily poor, or have been conscripted, or are quite ill, or are considered by that government to be of no real importance, aren’t in a very good position, whatsoever, to provide a true willing consent to any human experiment so being performed upon them.

While it certainly makes sense that the medical profession should want to try their best to resolve problems of long standing, in regards to things such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and the like; it has to be first of all, well noted, that not everything that the medical profession suggests, actually has the best interests of the patient in mind; for in America, those that have a heavy influence upon that medical profession, such as the military, the government, or those institutions fixated upon a profit, have their significant say.  In other words, some experiments, are conducted on human persons, as a way and means for the military to know how to, for example, best counteract the ill effects of radiation, or of poisonous or non-poisonous gas, or of various chemicals known to be harmful to the human body, and so on and so forth.

A significant amount of Americans believe in the virtue of making some sort of sacrifice for their nation, when called upon, in those times of need and trouble.  That said, not every human experiment, so devised, actually has the best interests of humans in mind, for rather there are those experiments that will attempt to determine the tolerance of human beings to various agents which are known or strongly suspected to be toxic or dangerous to humans. Further to the point, not every medical procedure, or medicine so being tested, is the type of procedure or newfound drug, in which there is actually a reasonable chance of success of it being of lasting benefit for humans; for rather there is often immense managerial pressure put upon the medical profession to come up with some sort of “magic bullet”, no matter how unreasonable, such appears to sound minds.

In short, the greatest disservice so done by this government, on many an occasion, is to take advantage of the poor, the uneducated, the disadvantaged, the trapped, and the forsaken, so as to pretend to these very people, that what is so being done to them, is for their expressed benefit, when in reality, they are often being victimized by their own government, under false pretenses.

“Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”

There is no such thing as “the war to end all wars,” and never will be.  So too, it is fundamentally incorrect to believe that anything that is negative, evil, or wrong, could ever be vanquished and thereby removed from the human experience by a more powerful combination of that which is in its essence, negative, evil, or wrong.  In order to right a wrong, in order to bring light to darkness, in order to bring love to hate, in order to bring tolerance to intolerance, in order to bring justice to injustice, it takes an unrelenting commitment by those that have the right belief as well as the moral integrity to stand up to that which is wrong, and to not relinquish their stand, come what may.

The above headline quotation came from the inestimable, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and those that know of King, know that he died as a martyr for his cause; of which his cause, is our cause, until such a time that the arc of the moral universe completes its bend to justice.  Humankind has consistently believed by its actions that might makes right, but that is a false belief; of which, this is especially disappointing to see because it signifies that humankind in many ways, has despite having impressive mental powers and the innate capacity for goodness, prefers far too often to deal with one another, as if we are mere animals, thereby protecting our own turf or territory, or trying to aggrandize such, until the end of time.

Each of us has been created with free will, by our Creator.  That free will, is ours to do with, whatsoever that we so desire; but it has to be recognized that decisions so made, and actions so taken, typically done through the thoughts that we have acted upon – always have consequences, good or bad.  Those then that recognize the disappointing status of our world, today, and of our society, must so acknowledge that this a fair reflection of what so occurs by wrongful and selfish actions, by lying, by cheating, by fighting, by hating, and by insisting that it has to be our way, or no way.

Humankind has proven, again and again, that though it may indeed be book smart, and able to therefore to come up with wonderful inventions, that have been of material benefit to humankind; that it hasn’t yet fully grasped the true purpose and the why thereof, of life and its meaning.   Recognize this well, and never forget this; this world is a proving ground, and therefore each one of us will be tested as to whether or not we are true to the eternal good principles of our creation, or whether we are false to such.  This signifies that we must take to heart, that each one of us, needs to do our good part, to help make this world a better place, by our participation in it; and that therefore the very first step in doing so, is to recognize that we each have a hallowed commitment to do good onto others, demonstrated by our consistent acts to others of forgiveness, patience, generosity, humility, appreciation, steadfastness, and love.

Vehicle registration fees should be reformulated

Each State sets its own criteria in regards to how much or how little it will cost the vehicle owner to register their vehicle each year.  While the basic criteria so used does vary from State to State, we typically so find that what is taken into consideration consists of factors such as the weight of the vehicle, the value of the vehicle, the age of the vehicle, the type of vehicle, as well as it being in some States, just a simple flat rate so being charged upon the vehicle. 

The thing is that all the vehicles so being driven in America, utilize the roads of America; in addition to the salient fact, that the weight of the vehicle as well as the fuel so being used to power the vehicle, makes a material difference in the amount of pollution or damage so being generated from that vehicle; and finally, the amount of vehicles that are on the road at any given time makes a difference in regards to the efficiency or inefficiency of those roads so being driven upon, as well as idling time of said vehicles.

As it stands currently, no State takes into account the amount of mileage driven or not driven on an annual basis.  In other words, all things being equal, those that drive a lot are going to pay the same annual registration fee as those that drive considerably less; in which, logic clearly tells us that there is a direct correlation, depending upon the vehicle, in regards to the more miles that a given vehicle is driven, in conjunction with the wear and tear upon the roads so being driven upon, as well as the pollution so being generated by that vehicle.  This would seem to signify that those that drive a lot of miles, should fairly pay more in their annual vehicle registration fees than someone that does not.

In most States, though not all, the vehicle owner is required to pass an emissions test each year, in which, at that emissions test, the odometer mileage on that vehicle can easily be recorded; thereby signifying that if the governance of that State, or the Federal government, for that matter, desires to impose an additional registration fee, for having driven more than some allocated amount of miles, that imposing such, and thereby invoicing for such, would not be a difficult hurdle to accomplish.

While those that drive a lot, might well complain about the additional fees that would be imposed upon them, and with some degree of correctness, point out that the monies so being spent by them on fuel contributes to road upkeep and repair; the bottom line is that there isn’t any real good reason why those that drive much more than other drivers, shouldn’t pay a higher registration fee, as a reflection of the fact that their usage is above whatever norm has been determined by that State.  Further to the point, the less mileage so being driven by vehicles, corresponds to not only less wear and tear on roads, but also less pollution, and in addition, less vehicle accidents.

Middle class home ownership is their major asset

We read at brookings.edu, that “For households in the three middle-income quintiles, home equity is the largest single financial asset, representing between 50% and 70% of net wealth.”  Further, we read at pewtrusts.org, that in 2021, “Investors bought 24% of all single-family houses sold nationwide.”  What this basically signifies is that in America, in which home ownership for the middle class is considered to be the single most important asset to own and thereby to pass on as an inheritance to their progeny or else to utilize as equity as people age, is that there is clearly a changing of the guard, in which more and more investors, whether they be outside individuals, or Limited Liability Corporations, or consortiums of such are thereby making major purchases of single family homes and apartment complexes in America.  In fact, we find that individual home ownership peaked in 2004 at 69.2% according to ipropertymanagement.com, and is of 2021, now at 65.5%.

When it comes to home ownership the trend that we are seeing should be something that we need to pay attention to, and in an era, in which, Americans in their retirement age, pretty much have to hope that their own individually financed retirement plans such as their 401Ks, as well as the monies so designated for them by Social Security will keep them whole; we find that in their retirement years, this well could be problematic for them, depending upon whether or not they own their own home.  The important thing to know, is that for a significant swath of Americans so reaching retirement, in many of those cases, they have successfully paid off their 30-year mortgage, thereby signifying that they truly own the home that they reside in, and further to the point, no longer are making monthly mortgage payments, which from a budgetary perspective, is of a very high importance, for the payment of mortgages, is often one of the biggest, if not the biggest expense, that most people have to make on a monthly basis, for those that are home owners.

On the other hand, there are all those other middle class folks, that haven’t come close to paying off their mortgage; yet, find that their retirement is just around the corner for them; or even more problematic, don’t own a home, thereby signifying for these folks, that the largest expense that they have to contend with, which is their mortgage, or else their rental payment, is something that is not going to go away, anytime soon, if ever.  These people, then, that are in the middle class, but lacking in home equity or are just plain renters, are in more cases than not, going to find that their retirement years are going to be a constant struggle for them, because their bills will continue to have a mortgage payment or a rental payment, that is due, rain or shine, month in and month out.

In summary, it would behoove this nation to do more to benefit those individuals that desire to own their own home; and do a lot less to benefit those that want to speculate in home ownership; under the basic understanding that home ownership is for those of the middle class, their main material asset, and thereby of extreme importance for them to have, or else, it could be said, that though these middle class people have lived and died in America, that more and more of them, never were able to successfully secure a foothold into the American dream.

Super low interest rates

Pretty much everyone knows that if you so desire to borrow money, that there is going to be a corresponding cost to the borrowing of that money, depending upon the amount so requested, as well as your credit worthiness, your status, your business acumen, and your legitimate need for such.  In western nations, the basic cost for such borrowing of money, is charged through an interest rate, usually stated on an annual basis.  So then, when interest rates so being charged to the consumer and businesses are super low, this thereby makes the decision to borrow money for those borrowers a heck of a lot different, then when such a cost, including inflation, is more along the historic norm or even higher than such.  in fact, super low interest rates, can effectively be so low, that the actual cost to the borrower, in the consideration that money now is almost always worth more than money later, can be for all practical purposes, negligible or even favorable for that borrower.

The above signifies, that super low interest rates, are by their structure, going to have winners and losers, which will be materially different than when those interest rates are more in accordance with historic norms.  By far, the biggest loser, of super low interest rates, are those that are net savers; for their ability to make interest on their monetary assets, has been slashed so low, that they effectively aren’t making any money at all, and in all probability, when taking into account inflation, are essentially losing money on an annual basis.   The biggest winners, are going to be those that borrow money when those interest rates are super low, whether needed or not, in order to invest into what they so believe to be enterprises that will provide them with a superior return to the cost of the money so being borrowed, or to invest in their own business, in order to expand such, or for basic sound speculation purposes.  In other words, when interest rates are super low, the hurdle to make money for those that are willing to take on some degree of risk, is going to be a lot lower, then when those interest rates are higher.  This thus signifies, that super low interest rates, especially when such exists for a considerable period of time, is almost for a certainty, going to increase the speculative interest of people and businesses; thereby, signifying that when those super low interest rates, cease to exist, there is going to be a reckoning which could readily be destabilizing to the economy, in whole.

After all, people and businesses are forever trying to look for a bargain; and super low interest rates are the type of thing that certainly looks like a bargain; of which, it could be said, that this is true, as long as those super low interest rates remain in existence.  The problem though lies in the fact that super low interest rates, are typically in existence because of some serious systemic problem with  the underlying economic system or its activity, so of, which necessitates those very low rates; and of which, this is not meant to be the natural order of things, so that, at some point something has to give and when that pivot so happens, those that are not so fleet of foot, may well find that something that looked to be too good to be true, really was. 

Absolute power corrupts

In life, there are those situations in which one person or one institution holds pretty much all of the power over the other person.  We find these types of situations, for instance, in some of the interactions between, the general public and the policing arm of the state; in addition, we also find this scenario occurring in those situations in which a person without a lot of options for gainful employment, find themselves placed in the unenviable position of which they have to basically accept the conditions of that employment without having an effective voice, perhaps because they are an undocumented person or similar.  In these types of cases, the person or institution with the authority and power, are thereby able to exert their will, almost exclusively, without any reasonable fear of any sort of retribution or negative consequences so coming back to haunt them, for their actions, so taken.

Most people, are properly fearful and therefore respectful of the police; for they know for a certainty that police officers, have the power to take away their freedom by their arresting of them, or even to take violence against them, in which, in a lot of cases, the person so being involved in this type of scenario, doesn’t have a lot of good options, available to them to turn to, at all.  Therefore, not too surprisingly, since police officers know their authority and their power, they basically expect that they will be respected by the general population; and those people that don’t show those officers proper respect, have place themselves, perhaps unwittingly, into a possibly precarious situation, in which the end result for them, could be rather catastrophic.  While, logic tells us that respect should always be a two-way street; our innate sensibility tells us that anytime that we are dealing with a superior force, that to hold those with that superior force, to that sort of construct, is probably going to be unwise.  Therefore, it behooves us, to often swallow our pride and our tongue, or else, be prepared to suffer the consequences, so of.

Since America is considered to be the land of opportunity; and of which, there are many other nations that are quite unsafe and full of peril, we do so find that many a person wishes to make the journey to what they so consider to be the promise land.  While, most of those people, so immigrating, know that the situation in America, probably isn’t going to be ideal for them, they often don’t recognize, how lowdown and dirty things can conceivably get.  After all, when an employee works hard for their employer, but gets cheated out of their pay, or are force to work in unsafe working conditions, or to labor for extra hours at no compensation, or a basic combination of those things; they know that they have been cheated, but in consideration, that they are not legal residents of this nation, they also know it’s problematic for them to get justice.

Indeed, absolute power corrupts, and in reality, the only way to temper down some of the worse abuses to such; is to see that first and foremost, that those that are the most vulnerable, have in place, protections to their unalienable rights, which can be asserted in a fair court of law, against those that have transgressed against them.  For, in truth, there are plenty of people and institutions that get a perverse joy in doing all of the punching, but when the other side is entitled to punch back, quickly change their tune.