But only time will prove if it takes the focus off domestic unemployment, bankers’ shameless behavior, and all the other ills facing his Presidency. Notable in this context, is America’s national debt.
Haiti’s corruption takes many forms. Most visible today is the most tragic…the physical decomposition before our eyes of the dead and dying citizens of that failed state.
By any measure, it is clear for all to see that the previous $6 billion in US aid funneled into Haiti vanished through its culture of nepotism, cronyism, and embezzlement at the highest level. The people got nothing.
Will the cost of the promises Obama is making to Haiti be another albatross around his re-election neck?
The enormous costs and the decades-long effort that will surely be required to make today’s promises come true are a gift not only to Haitians’ but sadly also to his opponents.
Here again is another issue the right will leverage to attack the cost of all things liberal that will cause taxes to rise on the backs of taxpayers as does health care reform and the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
The abuse of entrusted power for private gain will be a central issue behind the politics that will defeat Obama.
The major banks and Wall Street continue their legal corruption, debasing their own integrity and abandoning any moral obligation to the system in the race for corporate profits at any risk.
Corporate Boards of Directors license what would be graft in non-financial industries if the obscene compensation, incentives and stock options were not part of CEOs and other employees official pay.
This was the Reagan dividend. It was ably facilitated by lawmakers advised by the old boy network of Goldman Sachs senior management and others (as Wall Street influence-peddlers). The enablers were university economists who sold their unproven theories as gospel.
Lack of accountability and weak oversight by regulators has undermined democracy because it is built on trust. The bail out has also forced a massive economic distortion which has raised the cost of government.
It has also infuriated many who want revenge on the selfish, overpaid few who have destroyed their lifestyle and almost their country. The sub prime mortgage fiasco is far from over.
How tolerant will voters be if they don’t see some street justice?
Copyright 2010 William M. MacKay
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( 3 / 140 )The white knight of the Democratic Party and world peace is fading to grey. Here’s why.
1. AL QAEDA IS WINNING
Denials to the contrary are silly. Our lifestyle is being forcibly changed. America has put up walls and is building them higher. The global air travel industry and its passengers bear the cost. Watch for more airline bankruptcies.
Full body scanners are the next incarnation of defense. Interesting, isn’t it, how so many of these machines are suddenly available for deployment around the country. The underbomber was a timely excuse.
Afghanistan is taking lives. Seeing this as something else is an extraordinary delusion.
2. HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL FAIL
It is flawed from the start to involve private insurers because they are risk averse, as insurance companies should be. If they weren’t none of them would exist in any field as a way to protect our assets/lifestyle from possible loss/reversal.
There will be unintended consequences if you thwart insurers’ natural right as profit-based, private enterprise to mitigate the costs of insuring bad risks.
That’s where a public system can spread risk over hundreds of millions to give sick people a fair and affordable insurance through national taxation. And at less cost to the healthy and rich when a one-payer system operates to control inflation and fraud.
3. GOLDMAN SACHS PULLS FINANCIAL LEVERS
Where exactly does control of the financial life of America actually rest? The Sachs’ SWAT TEAM and the Federal Reserve dominate the action. To a dangerous extent government has relinquished power to private hands and bankers. Again, anticipate the regulators failing to regulate for the public good in favor of corporate interests.
This will continue the trend to socialize losses and privatize profits. And how about those bank bonuses this year! Don’t count on hearing much about what GM execs pocket. Some sweet deal for a publicly owned company.
4. AND THEN THERE WAS CAPITALISM
While there was no day of mourning for this particular ‘ism’ (even with its ugly parts) it is a sign of “the times they are a changing”. When Bob Dylan sang that line a generation ago the divisions in society were different but the fundamental principles were the same.
This is the delicate and fragile balance between public trust and democracy and our willingness to participate in it. This is an important link to our financial problems and the growing elements of public administration that lack transparency.
To recap briefly, the free market exchange of goods has social benefits. No debate here. When the link is broken we the people are offended and even outraged by the failure of the system to punish bad behavior. Few went to jail. Were their activities legal?
Think bonuses for Wall Street and the bailed-out banks. Our outrage became anger at one point pushing us close to the pitch-fork stage of democracy for very good reasons. This is where the madness of crowds was legitimate.
We saw failure rewarded with unbelievably extravagant payoffs for the very people who were seen to have destroyed a way of life and led the world to the edge of the precipice. More of the same is likely. The casino is still open.
5. TRANSPARENCY IN NAME ONLY
Who has not heard of someone’s request for information from the government that has been denied? Surely, most of us. And on what grounds is this request denied?
Politicians lack creativity here usually claiming issues of national security. Obama’s recent use of the “war” word that Bush always hid behind sets the stage for more ‘TOP SECRET” stuff around everything.
Politicians (and corporations) know full well when they have tried and succeeded in taking advantage of us. That they have engaged in obfuscation, lies, and sharp dealing and know it to be wrong is why there are so many blocks to transparency and our demands to know the facts. If we knew the truth we would punish them.
Trust, the other ‘t’ word, runs parallel with transparency as a gauge of our willingness to believe and cooperate with the requests, programs, and laws our government ask for or enforce.
SOME HOPE
Today, my confidence is sinking. The gap between trust in government and transparency is widening. That’s the truth.
My hope in Obama to create even a modest improvement in this new decade has dropped to a new low. Hope for the system is at record lows.
Copyright 2010 William M. MacKay
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( 3 / 167 )Where is the ‘best place’ to be as we depart the old year and arrive at the new?
Is it a place where you hope to be next year? Many would be justified in wanting an upgrade given the year they’ve experienced.
Maybe it’s a new home or even just a place to live, worry free. Perhaps it’s the top ranked country cited by the UN and other rating agencies.
But I doubt it’s a place at all.
I’d put my money where my heart is…the place where I can feel the way I want to feel. Seriously. It’s that simple.
In fact, if you don’t have a clear picture of that ‘place’ (the feelings that really matter most to you) no amount of moving from one country, city, home, or job can make any sustainable difference. No amount of stuff or bigger screen TVs will be enough.
It’s funny how few people get beyond this accumulation of stuff and ask what it represents to them. But when you push that question as far as you can and dive deeper into the real value behind what you bought trust that you will be rewarded.
You will discover that the place you love most is any ‘high’ that gives you pleasure. The joke is that these highs rarely can be bought. For the most part they cost nothing. They are the gifts of being alive and the gratitude we have for the people who share them with us. I call these my ‘passion absolutes’.
Good friends. A loving partner, child. A devoted pet. The joys of nature; beautiful sunsets, oceans, mountains, trees, and the wild life that run through my woods. The miracle of spring’s first flowers pushing up through the snow (at least where I live) is a sight I never tire of seeing every year. At my age I am counting the number of times left that I will experience this pleasure.
These feelings are the place settings for happiness. They are the true markers of success. Of course, having a million dollars doesn’t depreciate this quality of life. Poverty is not a prerequisite to happiness.
Whatever your goal make sure you understand where that place is for you and why you are spending what you do to get there… to enjoy that feeling, that high that makes it all worthwhile. Challenge yourself to analyze what those things you purchase represent to you. Are they the best investment of your income to get what they represent?
Quality of life is what makes you happy. Not what others want you to have.
Feeling the way you want to feel is what matters to you. That’s the best place in the world.
Copyright 2009 William M. MacKay
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( 2.9 / 152 )This should not be a novel idea. But, as bizarre as it seems, it is.
Consider your own budgeting effort if, as, and when it ever happens.
Is it more like damage control than your pursuit of greater satisfaction and opportunity?
Try this next self-analysis question as well if you have any doubts.
In your spending every week do you get the most for the least, leveraging the potential of every dollar to get what you want most?
Every dollar you spend should do what it does best; build the elements of the lifestyle you truly desire.
This is the strength of the financial system and economy we have created but, sadly, abused with excessive consumption on the trinkets and trash with no lasting value.
The debt spiral that has sucked down many is not playing to our personal strengths either.
The tragedy here is failing to use a very potent strength we have, our spending power, and applying it to the organization of a life worthy of the labor you exerted to acquire it.
I feel robbed whenever I get so little for so much. Don’t you?
Perfect performance is a long shot to be sure in our consumer culture when it comes to getting what you think you want and expect from a purchase. But surely we can all do better.
Where to start? You must breaks the pattern of the deficit based approach which is the predominant model established by traditional budgeting.
You know the routine; you are constantly in damage control mode, analyzing what happened to your money and how to fix your overspending here by cutting expenses there.
The deficit based budget never takes you where you want to be. It prevents you from going where you don’t want to be. This does little to motivate you toward a better lifestyle.
So let’s get more constructive. It begins with discovering your Dreams’ Delights.
This is not an ice cream flavor but a similar satisfaction with a much longer term payback. Spending here captures your passions and aspirations that give your life its defining character and meaning.
Some of these delights are what I label ‘Passion Absolutes’. If these are unavailable or eliminated (by the stupidity of an across the board cut to your spending) then all other aspects of your lifestyle are diminished regardless of all you have acquired or achieved.
What are your Passion Absolutes? A hobby, special time with a child, your flower garden, work with the handicapped, or outreach with your church?
This is the place where life puts a smile on your face. Don’t miss it through over-consumption and the over-working it takes to pay for it.
Enjoy a little happiness with a new approach to spending. Try a satisfaction based approach to your budgeting. You might like it.
Copyright 2009 William M. MacKay
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( 2.7 / 205 )Millions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA has pegged the value of your life at $6.8 million. But sadly, you can never collect this bounty because you would be dead.
This 2008 Valuation of a Statistical Life is yet another financial yardstick to measure (screw up) our self-worth versus our net worth, under $100,000 for most of us.
Throw in the median household income stats for your clan and this can create misery if you are one of the not-so-rich.
Is it any wonder that almost half of us are reporting anxiety, sleeplessness, and depression?
You can see why happiness and its pursuit occupy so much of your time when you are constantly bludgeoned with these comparative numbers. Not surprising that your attitude falls into recession along with the economy.
Well, I think it’s time, just the same, for the “Finding Happiness Budget”. Think of it as a survival guide to the best days ahead.
My take on this is simple; if you can begin to get some of what you value most then you can see yourself making progress. Hopefully, with the new frugality that is creeping into your lifestyle, what you are saving on the trinkets and trash is being reallocated to building your dreams.
Even if this is on the installment plan that’s okay.
We live in a credit-based culture and not much is going to change that unless the world falls into a black hole. So use the tools (credit and debt) the system provides but use them strategically to get more of what you really value most.
Start your budget today for the new priorities that will take you toward greater self-worth. Drop all the B.S. about being an automatic millionaire, with that mythical 4 hour work week.
There’s a new face on the world and the sooner you look in the mirror and see your reality, all the better.
Well done if you have already made the leap and figured out what truly makes you rich.
Copyright 2009 William M. MacKay
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