The Problem with Jimmy Carter…

When you say Jimmy Carter to someone in my generation the immediate reaction is “worst president in modern American history.” He is synonymous with failure to us and we turn the channel whenever he finds an audience in the main stream media.

Carter has spent his post presidency trying to change history. But history is a stubborn thing. Kinda like facts, the country was leaderless under his administration which is why Obama is being compared to Carter. The country again feels like there is no leadership from the current president. The presidency is first and foremost the chief morale officer of the country. We believe in ourselves but we always feel better when we know our elected chief executive believes that as well.

Both Carter and Obama blame Americans for the ills of failed government policies. They both have lectured us on how we just need to get over ourselves and do what they say we should do. Nothing angers Americans more than being lectured to by our politicians especially when they barely understand how hard we Americans work, every day.

Any of us that lived under Carter believe that comparisons will definitely undermine this president’s chance for re-election. The problem is that Jimmy Carter’s administration was over 30 years ago. There are a lot of new voters that have never lived under Carter and see him as the X President that builds houses for humanity and seems like someone’s grandfather. These new voters do not immediately think failure when Carter’s name is used.

I am not saying we should stop comparing Obama to Carter. No I think it’s part of an overall strategy. We must reach younger voters by highlighting how conservative and constitutional principles lead to greater opportunities for jobs and a successful future. We need a positive message for young folks who spend little time thinking and too much time feeling. They might feel good that the first Black President was elected during their generation but the Presidency is not to be used as a social experiment. The presidency is about competent leadership from an executive that has earned the experience necessary to make decisions. It is also a position that can only be granted to individuals that believe in our constitution and founding principles.

We need to help our youth understand what has given us the wealth they enjoy today, our constitution, individual ingenuity, freedom and capitalism. It wasn’t Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, or Obama. It was the American people unencumbered by government bureaucracy given the freedom to pursue their dreams and be held accountable for failure, the ability to reap the rewards of their ideas and hard work, and willingness to take risks…  

A Failure to Educate…

What we are seeing with the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd is the result of a failure to educate our citizens properly at the elementary and high school levels. It is embarrassing to listen to these protesters who have little clue about capitalism or the reason they exist in this world.

One of the protesters was asked if you want to change the capitalist system, what would you like to replace it with? The blank stare said it all. The student had no idea what the alternative should be and I would guess didn’t even understand how capitalism actually works.

This country is the greatest economic and moral engine of the world. It is the greatest economic engine because we have a capitalist system. We are a beacon for the world because our moral foundation is based on Judeo Christian values. We have a constitution that limits the federal government from infringing on both of these attributes but the current administration along with previous administrations have ignored these limits therefore giving us the malaise we are currently in.

We spend too much time teaching about recycling, diversity, and political correctness and not enough time on the American history, economics, the constitution, and American values.  We need our kids to be taking a full four years of American history, the constitution, and the capitalist system of economics in High School. Too many schools can’t even teach kids to read by the time they graduate High School. Colleges are now forced to have remedial programs in order to accept certain students.

The United States has been the means of good in the world because we have values and an economic system that enables us the free time to worry about others. Our religious institutions are an engine of compassion. To protest against the foundation of our success is ignorance.

What these Occupy Wall Street people need to realize is the reason they are unemployed is the fact that the capitalist system is being undermined by an out of control government. They should be in Washington DC not Wall Street or Main Street. It is not Wall Street “fat cats” that are the problem. It is politicians and business executives that are stealing tax payer dollars and conducting “crony capitalism” that should be the target of the protest. The problem resides in DC. If these people had the proper education they would be in the Tea Party.

Success begins with education and there are many schools that do an OK job. But the public system needs to be completely overhauled and handed back to communities to control. The federal government has been destroying the family, the economy, and personal accountability for long enough. We need to take back the education system because that is the root of the problem.

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the history and future of our country…

The Constitution is About Limits…

There is no better excuse to dictate policy than crisis. Our founders knew the propensity of humans to dictate their will through group think in emotional situations. The founders feared and despised central rule by a King and were determined in the constitution to protect against both dictatorship and group or mob rule.

We are starting to hear politicians that are responsible for creating the current economic mess (chaos) talking about suspending democratic rule. First, we are not a democracy but what they are suggesting is we the people be stripped of our right to vote in or out our representatives to the federal government. These are not fringe lunatics that hold no power; they are a current congress woman and the governor of North Carolina. Their argument is that elected politicians can’t do what they want for fear of being voted out next election. My question is if they are in fear of being voted out of office by their constituents then the policies they are pursuing may be the problem. The reason our representative government does work is that representatives must face re-election every two years.

The constitution was designed with a House of Representatives to be most accountable to the people. That is why all laws are created by the House. The design of the house also allows for the protection against mob rule. There are 435 representatives that represent many districts with many competing interests. These competing interests make it less likely that a majority of these representatives will react with emotion rather than analysis. It is not a perfect system but it is the best the world has ever been able to put together under one set of rules. Those rules we call the US Constitution.

If we were to suspend elections so representatives did not have to face the voters, would this make the people complacent or angry? Forget the fact it would be an impeachable offense, is it a good idea to undermine the rule of law? The majority of the people in the United States want the federal government to reduce spending and repeal Obamacare. The anger, frustration, and ailing economy are being perpetuated by a few representatives that are not willing to listen to the people they represent.

Is the answer bypassing the people or is the answer electing people that will listen to the people and abide by the limits of the US Constitution?

Stupid is what Stupid Does…

The ability to think has been lost by too many individuals in this country. It is harder to think than to feel which is why we have so many feelings getting in the way of intelligent analysis. The economy is about to crash and every thinking man and woman can see it coming but yet we stand by watching as if it were a car wreck on the side of a highway.

How do you grow the economy by taking a dollar out of one man’s pocket and putting it into another man’s pocket? All you accomplish is taking one dollar from one man’s pocket and put it into another man’s pocket. Think about it. What has been created? Nothing is created and never has been in the redistribution of wealth. Hence the word redistribution, otherwise it would be called creation of wealth.

The creation of wealth comes when an individual, small business or corporation develops a new piece of software that does something new; create a new product or service that individuals in the market place find valuable enough to part ways with their dollars to purchase it. Take the iPod for instance. When the iPod was created it was a cool new way to store and listen to music. People bought them by the millions. Musicians sold more music. Accessories for iPods exploded like cases and night stands with speakers and all of these new products had to be manufactured, distributed, and sold creating jobs, jobs, jobs.

The creation of wealth creates more wealth as the market builds off of the new products that get introduced. Clever individuals take the ideas and build off of them, sometimes as competitors, and other times as collaborators to improve the product or service. There is no take one dollar from one and giving to another, it is ideas, products and services generating new wealth and the dollars exchanging hands are for the market value of that product.

The concept is really easy to understand if you think about it. It is not a feeling but a real concept. The people in our government right now are stupid. That’s right stupid. The definition of stupid: Slow to learn or understand; obtuse, tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes, marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless.

The product of our political discussions is class envy and a division of the American people. We have the makers and the takers. The people that are makers are under attack and their money is being taken to be given to the takers. The takers are simply using those dollars to sustain their lives. There is no creation of new products, services, or God forbid an idea. If we were to stop taking from the makers and left those dollars with the makers and they make things, jobs would be one of the results (I will avoid the moral argument).

Government is the agent of the takers and yes some makers. But mostly the government is in the business to take from the makers to give to the takers. That destroys jobs. Hence the economy we are in. And even when Government gives to the makers like “green energy” projects, the makers that become takers have broken a golden rule of successful makers; there needs to be a market place of willing individuals to buy what you’re selling. You can’t force people to by stuff they don’t want, yet.

So the only conclusion you can come to if you are a thinking individual is we are being represented by stupid. Stupid is what stupid does…

The Tea Party…

The Tea Party movement is under assault and there is a concerted effort to define them as radical outsiders and hell bent on destroying the federal government. The attacks are coming from politicians that believe they know best about the things we need, and will take all the resource necessary to deliver on their grand promises. The Tea Party disagrees.


The founders of this nation were patriots that at the time were being defined in a similar fashion by the British establishment as Washington today is defining the Tea Party. It is amazing how history repeats itself when people fail to study their history. The Tea Party is simply asking the federal government to act within the constitution and live within the means we the people have set for them. There is no terrorism or radicalism in that philosophy. It is a simple request and it will be adhered to one way or the other. The government serves at the will of the people. The Tea Party represents the people.

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

The Tea Party is simply returning to the principles we were founded on and if we as a nation want to change those principles the constitution provides a mechanism to do so through the amendment process. The people that are intent on defining the Tea Party as terrorists are truly the radical element and need to be ejected from the leadership of our country. They know they are about to be sent home in 2012 so they have decided the only way they can survive is to undermine the credibility of the Tea Party. It will not work.

The Tea Party is not easily demonized because there is no one face that represents it. The faces are diverse and when you see a picture of a Tea Party gathering it is not easy to portray it as radical. The faces are young, old, black, white, brown, male and female. They are the faces of a nation that is realizing its history once again and asking simply to return to the principles that have made us a great nation; faith in God and the individual. We rejected royalty once and we are doing it again. It is not terrorism it is patriotism.

The Tea Party has the best interest of our citizens at heart. They do not represent corporations or special interests. They want a limited government and a balanced budget. They simply want their freedom and God given rights back…

We Mutually Pledge to Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor…

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were obviously of a different time which has been long lost in the politicians of today. If a group of current politicians at any level of government were to band together and take that same pledge today they would be laughed at, ridiculed, and possibly arrested for subversive activity against the government of the United States.


We need that same commitment to our constitutional values and liberties those men made in 1776 today in 2011. But we are sadly too soft and have been convinced that it is not honorable to stand up and defend what is right. The moral foundation of this country has been compromised through an education system that has been subversive to the principles of our founding.

The history scores and the pathetic performance of Americans when asked questions about our history and founding are evidence we have been infiltrated by the same evils our founders hoped to eliminate in the miraculous document; the US Constitution. The founders knew that men seeking power and dominance over others was a human trait that had no cure. They knew that the document was a key to maintaining liberty but only if the people that were governed stayed informed and aware of their leaders.

We only have to look at the people that have been elected to our government over the past century to realize we have failed as a people to do our part. There is some hope. There are pockets of patriots like the Tea Party movement which is made up of Americans who care about the law, our constitution, and liberty. Even though they are portrayed by the media and political elite as being an aberration, the movement is growing and passionate about the cause of constitutional government. I am more confident and hopeful knowing that people like the Tea Party are reengaging in the political battlefield.

We are facing a similar battle to the one faced in 1776. That is not hyperbole, demagoguery, over the top, it is simply the truth. For those of us that observe, honor, and relish our form of government we can see the danger we are facing today from an over reaching federal government. This is serious business just as it was in 1776. We have petitioned our government to abide by the constitution but they continue to ignore it. We voted for constitutional candidates in 2012 but have seen little action to stop the current path toward economic destruction. We have a president that believes he can spend our fortunes at his discretion in wars that need further clarification to the connection to our national security. We have a federal bureaucracy determined to intrude into every detail of American life which is undermining our basic rights.

We need our citizenry to stand up against Washington DC as one voice. Not as democrats or republicans but as Americans who want to return to lawful government. What government can give us should not be the standard we judge our government by. It is time to return to the principles of self reliance and a bond created by the states to protect our liberties from foreign invasion and the regular flow of commerce both foreign and domestic. We need a more engaged citizenry that understands the value of history and how that knowledge is the only defense against politicians that are determined to undermine our individual liberties for the sake of some common utopia that can never be realized. Our founders knew what we were capable of if given the freedom to pursue our individual lives and happiness.

We need all Americans today to understand what our founders meant when they said, “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Amen and God Bless America on this Independence Day 2011…

A Plan to Redistribute Wealth

I agree with President Obama that it is our responsibility as citizens of this great nation to redistribute our wealth to those less fortunate than those of us that have “succeeded” so far in life. I have put together my own plan, and if you think about it, you can probably come up with a similar plan that leverages your skills and success. If we all put together a plan maybe the federal government will stop implementing its plan that is currently ruining this economy and the country.


On with my plan:

• I have written three books, two of which include advice for people on how to achieve success by becoming passionate about life. One of the books is specifically focused on teens (since I have two) and what it takes to be successful in life.

• I have started a new business that I hope will generate even more income for me which in turn will generate even more tax revenue to be redistributed.

• Over the years I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge that I often share with my children, my wife, friends and extended family. This wealth of knowledge I share is often accompanied by additional ideas on how to be more successful in life. By redistributing my wealth of knowledge I am helping others become better at what they do so they can create even more wealth to distribute.

• I am writing another book that I hope will generate more wealth in both ideas and revenue that will be another source of wealth to redistribute.

These are just a few of the things I am doing to redistribute my wealth. Add this plan to the wealth I am already creating by being a productive member of the society and it starts to add up. Imagine the amount of additional wealth we could create if every one of us committed to sharing our wealth of experience with our youth and individuals not as fortunate as ourselves. The amount of wealth that will be created and distributed will be significant.

Instead of taking from us in a compulsive manner, how about letting us distribute our wealth by creating and sharing new ideas in the free market place? People love to share their wealth when it is their choice to do so. People hate to have their wealth stolen from them. It is also important that the people receiving the wealth appreciate the source of that wealth.

In the spirit of our upcoming July 4th celebration of liberty from compulsive taxation of an overbearing central government, what better way to celebrate than to make a plan for wealth independence?

Isn’t this a plan for the redistribution of wealth that will really work?