NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2009, (AND 2010)  

DECEMBER 30, 2008 (updated, fast forward to December 30, 2009)

  

      EVERY YEAR ABOUT THIS TIME, MOST OF US DECIDE TO MAKE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS, TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES OR CORRECT OUR HABITS.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS ARE GOOD FOR THAT REASON, BECAUSE, NONE OF US ARE PERFECT; WE RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR FAULTS, OR OUR MISTAKES AND, BY RESOLUTION, PROMISE OURSELVES TO IMPROVE OUR ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES.

      USUALLY, OUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS ARE LIMITED TO PROMISES TO OURSELVES TO LOSE WEIGHT, CORRECT OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR LOVED ONES, OR TO QUIT SMOKING CIGARETTES. THESE ARE COMMON PLEDGES AND MOST YEARS...SOME OF US SUCCEED, BUT MOST RESOLUTIONS ARE SOON FORGOTTEN BY MID-JANUARY OF THE NEW YEAR.

      THIS YEAR, OUR RESOLUTIONS, BY NECESSITY, MUST BE STRIKINGLY MORE PROFOUND AND IMPORTANT, BECAUSE OF THE STATE OF OUR ECONOMY IN THE U.S.A.   WE JUST CANNOT SIT IDLY BY AND WATCH THIS GREAT COUNTRY, BUILT ON THE PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, FALL INTO THE DISPAIR, DISRESPECT, DISUNITY, AND THE DEPRESSION WE FIND OURSELVES. THE COUNTRY IS IN CRISES.

      THE WARS IN AFGANISTAN AND IRAQ WHICH CONTINUE AFTER SEVEN YEARS HAVE DRAINED THE LIFE BLOOD OF OUR SERVICE PEOPLE AND ALSO, OUR FINANCIAL RESOURCES.

      OVERBUILDING, IN THE CONSTRUCTION FIELD ALONG WITH EASILY AVAILABLE CREDIT AT LOW RATES AND DOWN PAYMENTS, HAS CAUSED A DRASTIC REDUCTION IN OUR HOME AND HOME BUILDING VALUES.    THESE, IN TURN, HAVE CAUSED A FLOOD OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES, AND A CRISIS IN THE FINANCIAL FIELD, IN WHICH THEY ARE HOLDING MORTGAGES ON REAL ESTATE NOW ARE WORTH ABOUT HALF THE VALUE OF THE MORTGAGES.  CITIES AND TOWNS AND STATES ARE CAUGHT WITH BUDGET SHORTFALLS DUE TO THE FALLING VALUES, RESULTING ASSESSMENT DECLINES AND TAX RECEIPTS.  THIS LEAVES THEM WITH THE HARD CHOICE OF RAISING ALREADY BURDONSOME TAXES OR REDUCING NEEDED SERVICES.    

      UNEMPLOYMENT HAS BEEN RISING STEADILY DUE TO THE COMPETITION WITH  FOREIGN GOODS  AND  OUR FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS IN COUNTRIES WITH WAGE SCALES AS LOW AS ONE DOLLAR AN HOUR.   U.S. FACTORIES HAVE RUSHED TO LOCATE IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LOW WAGE COSTS AND, AS A RESULT, UNEMPLOYMENT HAS RISEN TO 10 %, TODAY.

      THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED RISE IN THE PRICES OF GASOLINE AND FUEL OILS THIS LAST YEAR, HAVE CRIPPLED THE LOCAL AUTOMOBILE MAKERS, WHO HAVE BEEN PRODUCING BIGGER AND BETTER GAS GUZZLERS EXCLUSIVELY FOR YEARS, BASED ON DEMAND.  IN SPITE OF THE RECENT DROP IN THESE PRICES, THE CONSUMER REMAINS WARY BECAUSE NO ONE SEEMS INTERESTED OR DETERMINED ENOUGH TO MAKE THE EFFORT NECESSARY TO CONTROL OR STABILIZE THESE OIL PRICES.   

     THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN LIVING ON A CREDIT ECONOMY, WITH CREDIT CARDS MAXED OUT BY MOST FAMILIES, MORTGAGES OBTAINED WITHOUT CREDIT CHECKS  OR  REFINANCED OVER AND OVER AS INTEREST RATES FELL.  NOW, MANY HOMEOWNERS HAVE NO EQUITY LEFT IN THEIR HOMES, AND THEY HAVE BEEN LIVING FROM PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK EACH WEEK.            

     THOSE OF US, WHO COULD, MAY HAVE SQUIRRELED AWAY A FEW DOLLARS FOR A RAINY DAY OR FOR FUTURE RETIREMENT, WERE MORE OR LESS FORCED TO INVEST IN THE STOCK MARKET.   HOPEFULLY, WE WOULD OBTAIN A BETTER RETURN THAN WAS AVAILABLE BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT’S CONTROL OF INTEREST RATES, LEAVING US WITH A RETURN LESS THAN THE INFLATION RATE.  WITH THE COLLAPSE OF THE STOCK MARKET, OUR SAVINGS WERE DEPLETED OR LOST.

      IT IS UNDER THIS DARK CLOUD OF PESSIMISM THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO START A NEW YEAR, WITH OUR ONLY HOPE LEFT IS WITH THE NEW PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA, WHO PROMISES CAN DO, CHANGE AND HOPE IN THE MIDST OF DISPAIR AND DEPRESSION.   

      CONGRESS AGAIN FACES THE TASK OF SOLVING PROBLEMS IT HAS NOT BEEN ABLE OR WILLING TO DEAL WITH FOR MANY YEARS.    UNFORTUNATELY, ITS MEMBERS ARE MORE BEHOLDEN TO LOBBYISTS THAN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO ELECTED THEM.   THEY VOTED FOR THE “HURRY UP THE SKY IS FALLING” $700 BILLION BAILOUT TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, WHO WILL NOT ACCOUNT FOR ITS USE.

    PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA IS FACED WITH THE UNENVYABLE TASK OF ATTEMPTING TO HELP THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SURVIVE THIS DEEP AND TROUBLING RECESSION, WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE, THIS COMING YEAR, 2009, WE CAN SIT IDLY BY AND COMPLAIN OR CRITICIZE HIS EVERY MOVE, OR, WE CAN HELP HIM IN HIS TASK BY HELPING SHOULDER THE PROBLEMS WITH HIM BY DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO ASSIST AND ENCOURAGE HIM, IN REALITY, WE WILL BE HELPING OURSELVES.

     THAT, MY COUNTRYMEN, SHOULD BE OUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION FOR 2009, TO LEND OUR HAND OF ASSISTANCE TO OUR NEW PRESIDENT AND GOVERNMENT BY HELPING SOLVE THE MANY PROBLEMS WE NOW FACE IN THIS COUNTRY IN A CO-OPERATIVE AND DEDICATED WAY, WE WILL BE ASSURED OF THE SUCCESS.   THIS WILL INEVITABLY COME, IF WE ALL PULL IN THE SAME DIRECTION.   WE MUST ALSO PUT OUR PARTY AFFILIATIONS ASIDE AND ACT AS UNITED AMERICAN’S, FIRST, IF WE EXPECT TO HAVE A BETTER YEAR, 2009.

     

DECEMBER 30, 2009

 

DEAR PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA,

 

      ALMOST A YEAR HAS PASSED IN YOUR PRESIDENCY.  MANY OF US HAVE CONTACTED YOU WITH ADVICE TO HELP YOU SOLVE THE SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THE ECONOMY AND UNEMPLOYMENT, BUT MATTERS IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE BECOME WORSE INSTEAD OF BETTER, BECAUSE:

1.      BANKS ARE NOT LENDING  BUT ARE KICKING UP THE STOCK MARKET WITH THE TARP MONEY THEY HAVE RECEIVED FROM THE U. S. TREASURY; THE CONTINUED AND DOUBLE  INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT TO 10 %; CONTINUED FORECLOSURES CAUSING A STEADY DECLINE OF REAL ESTATE VALUES.  THE DOUBLING OF THE NATIONAL DEBT,  THE CONTINUING INCREASE IN THE IMBALANCE OF TRADE WITH OIL FROM THE OPEC NATIONS OVERSEAS AND THE GOOD INTENTIONED FREE TRADE SYSTEM ALL TOGETHER HAVE REDUCED THE VALUE OF OUR DOLLAR CURRENCY AND  NOT PRODUCED AN ATMOSPHERE OF RECOVERY  TO HELP THE ECONOMY OR EMPLOYMENT RECOVER.

2.    ALL CONGRESS’S AND YOUR EFFORTS THIS YEAR TO HELP THE ECONOMY ARE TEMPORARY, MEASURES THAT FAIL TO CORRECT THE PROBLEMS PERMANANTLY:

A.   ALL THE TARP RECIPIANTS ARE CONTENT TO MAKE MONEY ELSEWHERE, RATHER THAN RISK GIVING LOANS IN A UNCERTAN BUSINESS AND REAL ESTATE CLIMATE.  THEY HAVE DOUBLED THEIR PROFITS IN THE STOCK MARKET IN ONE YEAR AND ARE THUMBING THEIR NOSES AT THE GOVERNMENT AND YOU, THEIR BENEFACTORS.

B.    TAKE THE AUTO INDUSTRY TO WHOM YOU AND CONGRESS RUSHED IN TO HELP WITH BIG LOANS TO HELP KEEP THEM SOLVENT.  YOUR PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE CLUNKER TRADE IN PLAN ONLY RESULTED IN THE INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATING OPERATIONS AND DUMPING DEALERS IN ORDER TO SAVE MONEY WHILE THEY DELIBERATELY ADDED TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM, WHILE OUR TREASURY MONEY PAID $5000 FOR EACH CLUNKER.  STILL, FOREIGN COMPETITION IS KILLING OUR LOCAL AUTO COMPANIES BECAUSE THE AUTO UNIONS HAVE PRICED THEMSELVES OUT OF THE LABOR MARKET FOR THE LAST THIRTY YEARS.

C.   CONGRESS’S AND YOUR EFFORTS TO HELP THE REAL ESTATE MARKET BY PROVIDING AN $8,000.00 CREDIT TO FIRST TIME AND OTHER BUYERS HAS DONE LITTLE TO HELP THE CONTINUING DROP IN HOME VALUES BECAUSE FORECLOSURES CONTINUE TO FLOOD THE MARKET, ESPECIALLY AS THE VALUES CONTINUE TO FALL.  OF COURSE, THAT PROGRAM DID ADD TO THE NATIONAL DEBT WHICH IS CAUSING SIGNS OF DEVALUATION OF THE DOLLAR AND ADDING TO INFLATION WORRIES.

D.   YOUR SO CALLED STIMULUS OR ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN CONTAINED TEMPORARY HELP TO CITIES, STATE AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYESS AND INFRASTRUCTURE, AND A LOT OF PORK BARREL PROJECTS TO WIN CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL BUT ONLY A PITTANCE FOR PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT FOR THE UNEMPLOYED.

D.  YOUR REQUEST TO THE BANKING INDUSTRY TO REWRITE DEFAULTING MORTGAGES TO KEEP THE FORECLOSURE RATE DOWN AND TO KEEP HOMEOWNERS IN THEIR HOMES HAS FALLEN ON DEAF EARS BECAUSE OF THE CONSTANT FALLING OF REAL ESTATE VALUES AND THE RESULTING INCREASED RISK INVOLVED. THESE ARE THE SAME BANKS THAT WERE HURT BY THE MORTGAGE BUBBLE WHEN IT BURST AND THEY ARE STILL RELUCTANT TO WRITE NEW MORTGAGES WITH VALUES STILL DECREASING.  THE REAL ESTATE MARKET MUST BE STABILIZED, FIRST.

 

    JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT CONGRESS AND YOU HAVE DONE TO HELP THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN OF LITTLE HELP, OR SIGNIFICANT SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT. ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE I HAVE WRITTEN YOU AT LEAST WEEKLY WITH SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO HELP THE ECONOMY BUT YOU HAVE SEEN FIT TO PUT FORTH YOUR IDEAS AND PLANS, ALL OF WHICH HAVE RESULTED IN A CONTINUING DECLINE OF THE ECONOMY, THIS PAST YEAR.  YOU GIVE YOURSELF A B+ GRADE WHILE THE VOTERS GIVE YOU A FAILING MARK, OF AN F.  JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE POLLS.

     IF YOU KEEP LISTENING TO SECRETARY GHETNER AND BERNANSKI YOU’RE FED. CHAIRMAN, WE CAN ASSURE YOU THERE WILL BE NO IMPROVEMENT, AS THE PAST YEAR HAVE PROVEN.   THEY ARE INFLUENCED BY THE VERY PEOPLE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO CONTROL. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS THE GREEDY BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT HAD MOST OF THE CONTROLS LIFTED SO THEY COULD ABUSE THE MARKET AND LEAVE THE GOVERNMENT TO PICK UP THE TAB     THEY MUST BE BROUGHT BACK IN LINE, WITH THE CONTROLS CONGRESS HAS NOT PASSED IN THE YEAR’S TIME THEY HAD TO DO IT.  SINCE WHEN DO YOU ALLOW LOBBYISTS TO CONTROL LEGISLATION?

     LET US NOT FORGET THAT UNIONS AND THE FREE TRADE POLICY OF THE LAST 15 YEARS HAS DRIVEN MOST OF BUSINESSES OVERSEAS. 

     CONGRESS MUST LEARN TO WORK FOR THE PEOPLE AND NOT FOR THEMSELVES.  THEY WILL SURELY RECEIVE THEIR REWARD AT THE POLLS IN 2010.  YOU WERE ELECTED OUR PRESIDENT TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS AND YOU PROMISED TO DO JUST THAT.  IF YOU HAD THE    PUBLIC OPINION IN YOUR FAVOR YOU HAD WHEN ELECTED YOU WOULD NOT NEED ANYONE ELSE TO HELP YOU    YOUR POPULARITY HAS FALLEN BECAUSE YOU HELPED WALL STREET FIRST AND YOUR FELLOW POLITICIANS SECOND WHILE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, WHO ELECTED YOU WERE PLACED THIRD AND LAST, NOW YOU NEED TO REVERSE THE PRIORITIES AND PLACE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FIRST SECOND, THIRD AND ALWAYS.  THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAD THE FAITH IN YOU TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS BUT YOUR TRACK RECORD THIS YEAR LEAVES ALL THESE PROBLEMS FESTERING INSTEAD OF SOLVED.   NO EXCUSES.      

       IF YOU SOLVE THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM WITH A PLAN FOR PERMANENT JOBS, EARLY NEXT YEAR, YOUR PROBLEMS WITH THE ECONOMY AND POPULARITY WILL BE SOLVED.   PLEASE, LISTEN TO US.

CHRISTMAS IS FOR CHILDREN 

December 25, 2009

 

Dear children everywhere:

 

           Isn’t it fun to be celebrating the Christmas Season?    You get time off from the discipline of school every day.  You can go to the Mall and stores to see the vast collection of toys, gadgets and other things you wish for and desire.  You get to see Santa Claus with his red coat, long white beard and jolly face or one of his look-a likes and tell him what you would like Santa to bring to you on Christmas day.  You get to help decorate the Christmas tree with lights and other ornaments.  The Christmas tree is the focus of your attention, because, every year, Santa Claus and others manage to surround the tree with brightly colored boxes of all sizes and shapes for the entire family and for visiting guests and family members, who may have traveled many miles to come to your home for this festive Holiday.  Just about everyone has two sets of grandparents who are usually present, to help you enjoy the day and who understand and spoil you more than your parents would allow.

    None of you can wait until Christmas morning, to gather under that tree to help distribute and open your gifts.  You go to bed early, as you are told by your parents and to be good or Santa may not come.  You cannot wait and usually lay in that bed in wild anticipation until you doze off to dreamland from sheer exhaustion.  When you awake in the morning, you awaken your siblings and you all rush to the tree to see the gifts that lay beneath that fruitful tree.  After the usual “oohs” and “ahhs” you set about the task of handing out the gifts.  Based on the names written on the tags, like “To Seth From Santa”, or “From Santa To Paige”.  In a few minutes everyone is busy tearing apart the beautiful wrappings and fancy ribbons and bows, to discover, inside, that special gift they wanted all year but, their parents insisted they could not afford to buy.  You were so happy, you cried with joy and immediately set down to examine and play with this cherished gift.

     After a while you hear someone announce, “Everyone, dinner is ready!” and you scramble to the beautifully set table and take your place.  All the best china, crystal, glasses and sterling silverware are set around the table at each place setting, along with the linen tablecloth and matching napkins that your family only uses on special occasions and, this is such an occasion, because it is Christmas.  There is the pair of silver candlesticks with burning white candles set on each end of a blooming bouquet of aromatic flowers and pine as a centerpiece in the middle of the table. 

      Mother and Grandmother, Rose,  have cooked a special meal of turkey with gravy, ham and all the fixings like stuffing, potatoes, peas, a lettuce salad, hot rolls and plenty of butter.  Followed by the special desserts which are mostly homemade pies of apple, blueberry, and pecan and lemon meringue. Aunt Christine arrived with a large round marble cake covered with melted Hershey Chocolate frosting which was served with a choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.  It was an instant hit and most of the pies were placed in Tupperware and handed out for snacks to take home for everyone to enjoy later.   

     Christmas is the time to exchange Christmas cards and New Years greetings.  Many are of the Hallmark Company with the preprinted words that require only the sender’s signature while those of my youngest daughter, Janet Quilty, are handmade works of art suitable for framing and cherished forever as masterpieces.  Grandpa Joe, sends out the cards in his family which are filled with handwritten notes on the front and back, as his says, because he wants to get his money’s worth and send a personal heartfelt message to each recipient.

     Christmas is a special, happy time, to visit friend and relatives to sing Christmas carols to remind us that Jesus was born on Christmas day in a manger or stable in the town of Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary and Joseph, the carpenter.  At the time a bright star appeared in the East attracting the Three Wise Men who traveled from afar to bring gifts to this Christ child, as he was called.  This was the start of the gift giving tradition at Christmas where every child is looked upon as possible saviors of our religion and faith in our one God.    Each parent cherishes their children from birth to death with the love and sacrifice only a parent can give in the hope their children will have a better and fuller life than their parents have enjoyed.     

      Christmas, then, is about our religion, as taught to children by their parents and their Church.  It is about Jesus and his life and his twelve disciples who helped start the Christian religion.  It is about caring for people, healing the sick and feeding the poor and those less fortunate.  It is about helping those who cannot help themselves, by sharing and caring for your fellow man when the need arises.  Maybe we cannot perform miracles like Jesus did, when he made the blind see or made the crippled walk again, but we can do well by helping others whenever we can.   

     This is our purpose in life, to live our lives like every day is Christmas. To love and be loved, to be generous when we can give and to gratefully accept help when we are in need.   To dedicate our lives to make this world a better place.  To have progeny to take over our task when we become old and too handicapped to help any longer, that is our fulfillment in our lives, not money, not power,  but love and compassion for our fellow man.    

     Finally, we know that Christmas is for children, to instill in them the knowledge and love necessary to respect and help their fellow man.  To accept gifts at first as a deserving child so  that they will ultimately learn to bear  and give gifts to others, in  reciprocation and  to  feel  more satisfied in giving, rather, than in  receiving, as, when they  were children.

     This year, more than ever, with two long enduring wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we need to pray for our servicemen and servicewoman who are fighting and dying for us to keep us free and safe.  Every one of them is a hero for doing this for us while we go about our lives with so little of the sacrifice they have given us for many years without complaint.  We must never forget their devotion to duty for us and remember to respect them as heroes when they finally come home  content to pick up their lives where they left, off, just happy to be back in this wonderful free country called America.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

   I will not be posting my articles until after Christmas sometime.  Enjoy your Christmas as will I.  Thank you all for your faithfulness in reading my articles.  Regards,  Andy Looney

 

THE BANKS, THE BANKS,

THE BLANKETE BLANK BANKS

January 27, 2009 and updated below, on December 15, 2009

Dear president Barack Obama:

          If the banking crisis was not so serious, the above heading of this story would be funny, but in reality its purpose is to get your attention from another point of view, that of the American people.

      

          Back in 1933, president, Franklin d.  Roosevelt closed the nation's banks to stop the run by depositors to withdraw their meager funds.   He soon realized the government needed to do something to induce depositors to have faith and trust in banks and return their funds to a safe depository, in lieu of their mattresses and other hiding places.  He established the federal depositor's insurance corporation, a government agency which would guarantee depositor's funds up to one hundred thousand dollars, which solved that problem for about fifty years.  Then, another problem arose in the mid eighties, banks and lending institutions, riding high, profit wise, on an expanding economy, took exceptional risks in granting marginal loans to many speculating land developers and contractors, more for the profit considerations than good business sense, since they soon realized, if the loans went bad and the bank failed their depositors were protected by the FDIC guarantees.   The famous savings and loan scandal in Texas is just one of thousands of examples of this greed.    When the bottom fell out of these banks, the U.S. Government reluctantly but dutifully, made good on the money lost by depositors at these banks at the expense of the u s treasury.

      now, only twenty five years later, we are faced with the very same problem,  but  magnified a hundred times, since we have heavy mortgage foreclosures added to the mix we did not have twenty-five years ago.      FDR set up the home loan corporation in the thirties, to rewrite deflating mortgages to avoid foreclosures.   Now, the added guarantees by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack, two government agencies, apparently completely out of control, with the help of congress, have added billions maybe trillions of dollars of government responsibility by way of guaranteed mortgages.

     Again, the greedy banks, freed from controls  by acts of congress have saddled the government and the American people with responsibility to cover maybe more trillions of dollars of deposits, while the bank managers, directors and CEO' s  have filled their pockets with ridiculously big salaries and bonuses, without regard to the rights of shareholders and obligations to depositors.  

     Last October, president Bush's answer to this problem was to grant 700 billion dollars to some of the biggest or favorite banks or lending institutions, "to keep them solvent and hopefully help fund loans to businesses to meet payrolls, these funds were also needed to help the mortgage foreclosure crises which has worsened since 2006 and continues to gain in numbers, while unemployment rises and more businesses fail because of the sinking economy.  

       The American people, who have a long memory, were against this so called bailout, simply because it was helping the very people who again have caused this financial crisis, whereby the government and the American people are required to pick up the bill for the bad business practices of the banks and financial institutions.

      Congress mindful of the upcoming election and a chance to cash in on these crises quickly passed the measure, only after they were permitted to add fifty billion dollars of pure pork measures to this bailout sum.   Now, three months later they find that no conditions were placed on this bailout and it is business as usual with the bank managers with a refusal to account for this money while continuing to grant pay raises and bonuses to management and employees and squandering millions on vacations, parties, office renovations and the like.      

    The only way to rein in this practice is the following:

• 1. Do not give these greedy institutions any more of money.
• 2. Banks and lending institution must be put under strict fiscal and management controls including salaries and bonuses for all employees and controlled by the SEC and government agencies, like the Federal Reserve.
• 3. The FDIC guarantees must be reduced by fifty percent, with the bank being required to guarantee the remaining fifty percent with bank funds or private insurance.
• 4. Strict criminal penalties must be imposed on all bank employees including management for any violations of said imposed controls. Forfeiture, heavy fines, restitution and recoupment should apply in any case.
• 5. Under our free enterprise system if banks or lending institutions are insolvent, they must be put out of business or reorganized or sold to the many American investors who always stand ready to invest in the lucrative business of such institutions bank examiners must be permitted to do their job and to report all irregularities in business practices. End of 1/27/2009 article.

 December 15, 2009

My dear president Obama:

     It has been nearly a year since I sent you the above letter and these lending institutions have received the second half of these funds, from you, still without the conditions and controls suggested above.  Congress has been working on it but, in the meantime, little if any loans have been made to help the economy.   Now you are faced with about 20 billion dollars of this loan money being paid to these "fat cats' in the form of bonuses, while the American people are losing their jobs in increasing numbers.   They have even hired lobbyists with this borrowed money to fight with congress against any regulations being imposed on them.     This is ironic, since many of these banks have the public's money on deposit which is being put at risk, not their money, separate and apart from stockholder's money.   

     We hear you complain profusely about his situation but you are the man who said "they are too big to fail," when you ran back to Washington during your campaign to vote for the bailout bill called "tarp" also when AIG ran, lavish parties and gave huge bonuses with our taxpayer's money, your treasury secretary announced, "it cannot be stopped because it was part of their contract".   Many Americans feel you are posturing, just to save face.    

      The American people disagreed and felt your administration was not acting because you were favoring Wall Street and not the Main Street people who elected you.     It is absolutely unconscionable for Wall Street to give such excessive bonuses, when ten percent of the working force is suffering under unemployment and the economy is in shambles, due to these same banks and financial institutions' actions.    

      You could have acted against Wall Street and still can, by issuing and executive order on an emergency basis, since this is wartime and also a national economic emergency, freezing all wages and bonuses over $100, 000 for the duration, or until we have full employment.   In addition the Federal Reserve System or the SEC can step in and stop these bonuses until it is determined that they were merited under the circumstances.

      Now, we understand that these loans have or are about to return these funds in order to avoid further regulations. The SEC and the Federal Reserve have the power, per se, to regulate them and they should, in all events to prevent a repeat of these last two costly fiascos to our treasury.

     There are many Americans who voted for you in the hope and promise of "change" and "can do" while, thus far, it seems the unemployment and economic problems, central to most Americans has had only token assistance and results from your efforts.   After two long years it is time to plan and do something quick and positive for the unemployed.  Loans alone will not produce jobs especially if there is no market for the products produced.  Demand for products only results   when people are working and spending their earnings and paying their taxes.

     We realize that Washington is being driven by politics but you were elected to overcome these obstacles, which you promised you "can do"   you know you are losing favor with the people, and matters will get worse unless you forget politics and come to the aid of the country, now.    You may give yourself a B+ for your efforts to date but you are only fooling yourself.  For the sake of the country and its people, you have a duty to bring immediate relief from this crisis, relief, a year from now, will be too late.  The economy is so bad the American people really do not care about health care for all Americans or anything else because that is not our number one problem for these last two years.

     Thank you for the chance to voice our opinion.  We were not wrong a year ago and we believe we are not wrong today, but that is not the question.   

IS PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE RIGHT TRACKS TO RECOVERY?

An open letter to the President 

December 14, 2009  

Dear President Barack Obama:         

     I am sure you realize that you were elected our president of these United States, because of the need and your promise to solve the severe economic problems in America and an unending conflict in Iraq and Afganistan, you also promised to end and pull out our troops.  Our troops are tired and need to come home, for good permanently.  

     We realize that for the previous eight years, under republican leadership, the main concern was terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11 and ways and means to make our country safe from attack again.  However without the proper attention to our economy, while placing all that emphasis on these wars, they brought about a financial crisis in our country, the likes of which we have not seen since the great depression of the 1930’s.    

     Unemployment reached about 5 % during President Bush’s term and his answer to the problem was a couple of cash payouts to most Americans, which did little to help, and in fact the economy continued to suffer.   Congress has been a bickering contest between the two political parties, with little or nothing really being done to solve the country’s pressing problems.  The American public is totally disenchanted and disgusted with their actions.         

     There was another reason for your election, you promised to reverse this problem between the political parties, in and out of congress and work to bring them and the country together so that those unsolved and nagging problems would be solved.   You promised this new approach with a resounding slogan of “change” and “can do.”       

     However, looking back at this first year, in office, 2009, everything is getting worse, instead of better.     

1.     First, you chose a new cabinet and administration ofold line politicians, including one hold over, namely, Defense Secretary, Donald Gates, who can only do your bidding.It was obvious, that you joined the old school politicians instead of rejecting them as you promised. 

2.   Then you approved a stimulus bill passed by congress which you called a economic recovery bill, which contained nothing but pork barrel projects long sought after by the house and senate democratic office holders, that have done and will do little to solve the problems of the sagging economy and unemployment you have particularly helped those local, state and federal employees keep their jobs when most Americans feel it is time to cut them and other costs  since you are operating in a deficit mode of about 1.5 trillion dollars a year.   

3 .       As a result, in less than one year, unemployment has doubled to 10% with little prospect that it will improve in the near future, since you have failed to institute aggressive and permanent solutions to this problem. 

4.        The economy has not improved, since the mortgage foreclosure problem has continued unabated with lower real estate values triggering more foreclosures.   All that tarp money you voted for and continued during your administration has given to banks and financial institutions, without adequate controls or conditions.  This has resulted in no impetus for them to make the necessary loans to help the economy recover, especially to small businesses.   Today, these lending institutions are waiting to see what restrictions or controls congress will implement.  To every one’s chagrin, they are using that bailout money we taxpayers loaned them to pay lobbyists to prevent those necessary controls, needed to help the economy.   Instead, they invested those loans in the stock market, boosted it back up to near where it was in 2008, and then they took the profits and paid back these loans with our own money.  This is not an improvement in the economy since not one person was returned to employment, as a result or one job created. 

5.        You ran to the help of the auto manufacturers when their problem was, no competition due to high union wages.   These loans only allowed them to survive and lay off workers by the thousands instead of putting workers back to work. 

6.        You’re supposed help to first time home buyers and others with $8,000.00 dollar credits, to help stimulate the economy, have been a boon but, only to those persons needing new homes in the first place and has not helped those needing help to save their homes from foreclosure on loans made by greedy banks who loaned without merit.         

7.        Your program to turn in so called old clunkers for new cars with a $5,000.00 dollar credit only helped people with the jobs to pay for these new cars, not the unemployed. 

8.        Your actions this last year have done little to find or make new and permanent jobs for the unemployed.   Even the black people who voted overwhelmingly for you are disappointed in you, because you have come to everyone’s aid but the unemployed in America especially them, whose unemployment rate is about 15 %.  All your actions have been temporary, while practically no new jobs have been created or planned by you. 

9.        You and congress’s continual efforts to give extensions to the unemployment benefits, only put an additional tax burden on the businesses that have employees on the payroll under the unemployment tax rules.   If this trend continues you may expect more layoffs, not hiring. 

10.    The American people know you inherited most of these problems but, by your election and promises you undertook to solve these problems, and the sad fact is you are not on the right track to solve any of them, since all your actions and all you spending have been wasted on temporary measures, not permanent ones.    

11.     Since you have failed to rally both political parties to solving these problems you can expect the opposition party to continue biting at your heels and objecting to any and all plans you may have.  You may have the majority to bowl over them, but you can expect a problem every day and you certainly will lose support in your own party come the 2010 us elections.  If you think the recent state and congressional elections were a fluke, and that you are on the right course,  just wait for the awakening shock in  2010, only months away. 

12.    This recession is unlike any other and temporary, jump start solutions will not work these days since you favor free trade, which has turned out to be a disaster to the American worker, you admit those jobs are “gone forever”, ( your words).  If you cannot find ways and means to compete worldwide, you must come up with new and permanent means of employment in the green and alternative energy fields without delay to rid us of the dependency on foreign oil.  

     My advice to you, Mr. President, is get on the right track before it is really too late for you and your party.  Otherwise, both political parties will lose in 2010 and the American people will lose faith in you for 2012.

IS PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE RIGHT TRACKS TO RECOVERY? An open letter to the President December 14, 2009  Dear President Barack Obama:         I am sure you realize that you were elected our president of these United States, because of the need and your promise to solve the severe economic problems in America and an unending conflict in Iraq and Afganistan, you also promised to end and pull out our troops.  Our troops are tired and need to come home, for good permanently.   We realize that for the previous eight years, under republican leadership, the main concern was terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11 and ways and means to make our country safe from attack again.  However without the proper attention to our economy, while placing all that emphasis on these wars, they brought about a financial crisis in our country, the likes of which we have not seen since the great depression of the 1930’s.    Unemployment reached about 5 % during President Bush’s term and his answer to the problem was a couple of cash payouts to most Americans, which did little to help, and in fact the economy continued to suffer.   Congress has been a bickering contest between the two political parties, with little or nothing really being done to solve the country’s pressing problems.  The American public is totally disenchanted and disgusted with their actions.          There was another reason for your election, you promised to reverse this problem between the political parties, in and out of congress and work to bring them and the country together so that those unsolved and nagging problems would be solved.   You promised this new approach with a resounding slogan of “change” and “can do.”        However, looking back at this first year, in office, 2009, everything is getting worse, instead of better.     1.     First, you chose a new cabinet and administration ofold line politicians, including one hold over, namely, Defense Secretary, Donald Gates, who can only do your bidding.It was obvious, that you joined the old school politicians instead of      rejecting them as you promised. 2.   Then you approved a stimulus bill passed by congress which you called a economic recovery bill, which contained nothing but pork barrel projects long sought after by the house and senate democratic office holders, that have done and will do little to solve the problems of the sagging economy and unemployment you have particularly helped those local, state and federal employees keep their jobs when most Americans feel it is time to cut them and other costs  since you are operating in a deficit mode of about 1.5 trillion dollars a year.   3        As a result, in less than one year, unemployment has doubled to 10% with little prospect that it will improve in the near future, since you have failed to institute aggressive and permanent solutions to this problem. 4        The economy has not improved, since the mortgage foreclosure problem has continued unabated with lower real estate values triggering more foreclosures.   All that tarp money you voted for and continued during your administration has given to banks and financial institutions, without adequate controls or conditions.  This has resulted in no impetus for them to make the necessary loans to help the economy recover, especially to small businesses.   Today, these lending institutions are waiting to see what restrictions or controls congress will implement.  To every one’s chagrin, they are using that bailout money we taxpayers loaned them to pay lobbyists to prevent those necessary controls, needed to help the economy.   Instead, they invested those loans in the stock market, boosted it back up to near where it was in 2008, and then they took the profits and paid back these loans with our own money.  This is not an improvement in the economy since not one person was returned to employment, as a result or one job created. 5        You ran to the help of the auto manufacturers when their problem was, no competition due to high union wages.   These loans only allowed them to survive and lay off workers by the thousands instead of putting workers back to work. 6        You’re supposed help to first time home buyers and others with $8,000.00 dollar credits, to help stimulate the economy, have been a boon but, only to those persons needing new homes in the first place and has not helped those needing help to save their homes from foreclosure on loans made by greedy banks who loaned without merit.         7        Your program to turn in so called old clunkers for new cars with a $5,000.00 dollar credit only helped people with the jobs to pay for these new cars, not the unemployed. 8        Your actions this last year have done little to find or make new and permanent jobs for the unemployed.   Even the black people who voted overwhelmingly for you are disappointed in you, because you have come to everyone’s aid but the unemployed in America especially them, whose unemployment rate is about 15 %.  All your actions have been temporary, while practically no new jobs have been created or planned by you. 9        You and congress’s continual efforts to give extensions to the unemployment benefits, only put an additional tax burden on the businesses that have employees on the payroll under the unemployment tax rules.   If this trend continues you may expect more layoffs, not hiring. 10   The American people know you inherited most of these problems but, by your election and promises you undertook to solve these problems, and the sad fact is you are not on the right track to solve any of them, since all your actions and all you spending have been wasted on temporary measures, not permanent ones.    11   Since you have failed to rally both political parties to solving these problems you can expect the opposition party to continue biting at your heels and objecting to any and all plans you may have.  You may have the majority to bowl over them, but you can expect a problem every day and you certainly will lose support in your own party come the 2010 us elections.  If you think the recent state and congressional elections were a fluke, and that you are on the right course,  just wait for the awakening shock in  2010, only months away. 12   This recession is unlike any other and temporary, jump start solutions will not work these days since you favor free trade, which has turned out to be a disaster to the American worker, you admit those jobs are “gone forever”, ( your words).     If you cannot find ways and means to compete worldwide, you must come up with new and permanent means of employment in the green and alternative energy fields without delay to rid us of the dependency on foreign oil.    My advice to you, Mr. President, is get on the right track before it is really too late for you and your party.  Otherwise, both political parties will lose in 2010 and the American people will lose faith in you for 2012.

It is Time to Recognize the Cause,Before you can Apply the Cure To our two Year Unemployment Problem 

 

DECEMBER 5, 2009

 Dear president Barack Obama: 

The unemployment problem in the United States has been getting progressively worse over the last two years.  It has been nearly one year into your administration and the situation has been getting worse, month after month.  You talked to a group of business men and economic advisors last Friday to receive suggestions in how to help put people back to work you were given much advice on temporary solutions but not one permanent solution to the present employment problem.     First of all, you have been advised about past recessions and how to deal with them as they were dealt with in the past.   But today’s problem and its cause are unlike any past recessions and it calls for a very different approach to this problem.   
     
     You have tried the so called stimulus or economic recovery bill, a clunker bill of a $5,000 dollar credit to encourage people to trade in their old cars for new and to help the auto industry, you have also instituted and extended the so called, first time home buyer’s bill giving them an $8,000 dollar credit as an incentive to spur interest in the home and mortgage business.   All these plans should be of some help for the industries involved and the unemployment figures but really they are temporary small band-aid methods, because they do not address the root cause for the high unemployment figures and the breakdown of the economy over the last two years.     
    
     If you are sick and the home remedies don’t work, you should visit a doctor who must first examine you, then diagnose the cause of your malady, before he can recommend a procedure or medicine to cure you.     By extending the unemployment benefits and other minor incentives to the public you are providing a small band-aid temporary assistance to the economy and unemployment by treating the result instead of the cause needed to cure it.          

     Temporary measures, seldom, if ever, provide permanent solutions   the congress and past administrations are famous for providing temporary small band-aid measures to such problems as social security, high gas prices and home heating oil, the constant lowering of the prime rate to nearly zero and the bailing out of big banks, AIG, financial institutions and loans to the two big American auto companies.    None of these emergency measures cured anything, nor were they meant to, either. It seems politicians are prone to place a small band-aid on a large problem and leave the permanent solution to someone else.   That approach did not solve anything permanently in the past and certainly will not in the future, since all these problems are repeating and facing our attention and solution once again.    

     The beginning of our serious economic problems began in the 1970’s with the OPEC oil embargo which brought us to our knees and long lines at the pump.  Oil has been a threat to our economic future since then with fluctuating prices threat from the Arab OPEC Nations, while the balance of trade has increased to the point it is now one trillion dollar a year with 50% of our oil needs being imported.  At this rate the Arab Nations will own all our assets in about another twenty-five years or sooner.    In the meantime, over the next 40 years, congress and successive administrations have done nothing to correct this urgent problem.       

     It does not take and economic genius to discover that our trade policies are responsible for our losses in the American automotive industries over the last sixty years.  We have seen one auto or truck manufacturer after another fall prey to competition to foreign made vehicles while the free trade acts of the 1980’s has caused most of our manufacturing base to leave the country in search of cheaper labor due to the demands of labor unions and the inability of our US companies to confronts labor and competition problems successfully.  First, we lost the steel industry then the auto industry then clothing and other everyday products, like tools and paper products all escaped overseas to the much cheaper labor sources.        
     Still, the last remaining home grown industry, construction, seemed to withstand the constant high wage and benefit demands of unions and their workers, mainly because construction is local, unions are strong only in large labor markets, like big  cities and the added cost was simply passed along to the consumer.     The resulting high cost of construction naturally affected the cost of the home appliances and products, homes and commercial property.   This condition caused values existing homes and commercial properties to rise proportionally, as the cost of construction rose.   Remember, even though most steel and metal components  were now imported, the lack of these home  products in the US construction field was not felt locally,  except the American steel and allied industry’s employees were now increasingly laid off and unemployed.     The rise in prices in the construction and existing home and commercial real estate, coupled with a softening in the employment fields, due to foreign imports, and easy credit gave rise to most Americans being encouraged by banks and lending institutions to refinance or sell their home at these rising prices because of the continuous and available lower interest rates being offered by the lending institutions. And the government under its Fannie Mae, Freddie Mack and veterans loan programs backed by the credit and guarantee of the US government.  All this started in the late 1970’s and continued until about 2007, when the bottom fell out of the banking credit system.  Congress had passed legislation allowing financial institutions to loan beyond their previous reserves and to trade in mortgages on the stock market while congress, also allowed banks to insist on buyers purchase mortgage insurance to cover possible loses in most mortgages.  Thusly, AIG, an international company, was born.  Now banks and lending institutions were covered 100% from losses in the mortgage business and free from risk of loss of the depositor’s deposits by the federal deposit insurance fund.  Now, they could deal in the mortgage and loan market without fear of loss and the unfettered opportunity to profit, thus began the concentrated effort to banks, lending and financial institutions to write mortgages to almost everyone and anyone without concern for possible default because their responsibility was eliminated by the guarantee of the US government or an insurer like AIG.     This, and the steady lowering of the prime rate by the Federal Reserve chairmen, in turn, caused more and more home and business owners to seek new and rewrite real estate mortgages on their properties.  Because of the lower interest rates, this resulted in many properties being mortgaged at or above the real value of the properties.  Soon, these institutions, sought more and more profit while relaxing the normal credit safeguard on applications for first time buyers and thus many persons who did not qualify were given mortgages while others were given mortgages equal of above their actual value in their haste and abandon of usual safeguards.         

     All the while, the generous mortgage terms and easy availability, set by lenders, caused a constant and continued surge in home and business real estate building, prices and sales.  The limit was reached when some buyers were buying home, with high mortgage they could not afford on the income they were receiving but were encouraged to take five year rewrite mortgage s on the basis of the expected rise in values.  That never happened, due to the flood of overbuilding, sales of high priced existing homes with high mortgage beyond the value of the property, and the slow increase of unemployment from the mid 1980’s to mid 2000’s due to the free trade agreements with foreign countries, rising oil prices and the drying up of credit due to the uncertainty of the economy.   Between these periods, most of our manufacturing base had re-located overseas where the cheaper labor was, so they could, compete globally, and also in the USA market.  The government even assisted them by giving them tax breaks, while dumpung their employees.   Now, because of the nearly trillion dollar imbalance in the free trade system, especially with China, we will have sold them our country in about 25 years, because of our increasing debt to them.         

     By the fall of 2007, the real estate market began its collapse, when the increasing list of unemployed workers found they could not pay their mortgage or the balance on their credit cards, mailed to most Americans regardless of qualifications, for example unemployed College students.  The free flow of credit through the credit card system had caused many Americans to max them out to maintain their standard of living or while looking for new jobs.   Real estate prices began to fall precipitously, and as a mortgage exceeded the lower value of the property, the run of bank foreclosures began.     Banks, true to their tradition, felt the time honored procedure of foreclosue was the only way to eliminate an un-abiding, defaulting mortgagee, running away from their obligations, unfortunately, they may not have realized the magnitude of the problem or simply did not care because as a result of these foreclosures which flooded the courts for the next two years, the problem was compounded because this procedure caused the value of real estate to drop even more since the market was being flooded with foreclosed real estate each month, further depressing prices and triggering more foreclosures.       

     Of course, banks that had held government guaranteed or insured mortgages, had nothing to worry about since they were covered 100% for these foreclosed mortgages and only those 300 odd banks that have recently failed nationwide, were defunct because they held their mostly local mortgage loans not guaranteed or insured, and did not bundle and assign then to others.  Thusly, the time honored local banking systems were left to suffer takeovers or shutdown only because of the precipitous drop in values of real-estate over this two year period.  None of this would have happened if those guaranteed or insured banks or financial institutions, had taken the time to rewrite these mortgages at the beginning of the downturn of values, with the government’s intervention so the loss to the government and the American taxpayer would be limited and not the disaster it has caused.  This is a prime example of the lack of control, the congress and the government has consistently avoided and encouraged over the last twenty years to its detriment.     If you are wondering why the banks are not lending money these days despite your urging it is because the economy is uncertain and prices of real estate have not stabilized to warrant the risk of loans.  In addition, the financial world is waiting to see what controls our congress will impose on them in the future before they feel the confidence necessary to proceed.  One of the most important controls you should insist congress puts on the financial industry is the government controls and has the last word on all loan guaranteed by the US government.  That would have stopped most of these foreclosures in their tracks and avoided the lower values of real estate which have wiped out most of America’s owners equity.    In the meantime financial institutions are merrily boosting up the stock market with the money invested from the government loans, and using that capital gain to pay the American taxpayers back, less the low 15 % capital gains tax that should be immediately raised to 30 %, without question in stock market gains.    This may convince those big money people to start investing in American businesses for profit rather than controlling the up and down movement of the American stock market by their pure greed for profit, that would certainly help our sagging  economy, just when it needs help.     The biggest mistake the government has made and is still making is bailing out all those financial institutions, carte blanche without adequate controls on how the loans will be handled.  Today, they are all thumbing their noses at the government which is the American taxpayer and our children.     All the foregoing was the result of greedy financial institutions, inconsiderate, labor unions, businesses pushed to a survival mode, and the actions of congress to win favor and re-election over the last 20 years.    Every opportunity to do something permanently was too bothersome to do so now the small band aid approach of the past just will not solve this economic mess we are in, with the highest unemployment in years and little hope for re-employment in their old jobs as was the case in the past,    those jobs have gone overseas, so we either find a way to bring them back or we must look for new industries for their employment in permanent jobs, temporary measures in this type of economic recession will not do because America cannot compete with cheap foreign labor and industries.  This is no ordinary recession, where time honored temporary fixes will do.      

     The following twelve solutions are proposed:  

1.     We either amend free trade to a balanced trade system, or we encourage and help build a series of new industries that are home grown and supported by the USA for permanent jobs.

2.   Now is the time to rid our country of the dependence on foreign oil     and fuels, we must initiate a crash program for new renewable safe and reasonably priced energy here in the USA. 

3.     We must encourage union members to insist on their unions to invest in their former companies in a partnership for jobs to return to the USA to compete with the world market and to keep their members and companies alive and permanently employed. 

4.      The free enterprise system of business has been the backbone of progress in this country for three hundred years.   We must encourage and assist small businesses, who are famous for their low costs and low overhead to thrive and prosper to help make permanent jobs and help our economy.   

5.      A federally funded home loan mortgage company should be set up to handle the re-write of mortgages to prevent continued foreclosures and keep homeowners in their homes and to stop the continued depression of real estate values and to stabilize their value. 

6.           A federally funded small business mortgage company should be set up to re-write and grant new mortgages to small business owners to assist them in starting up or expanding their businesses in order to hire permanent employees in the future and to compete in foreign markets. 

7.           The government’s practice of guaranteeing bank sponsored loans through Fannie Mae, Feddie Mack should be cancelled and these loan agencies dissolved because of the bad and costly experience over the years along with the mismanagement problems. 

8.           Care should be taken to insure that banks fully fund the federal deposit insurance program in the future to protect deposits in banks up to the new $250,000 dollar limit. 

9.     The government should set up a separate agency to assist, promote and support self employed individuals in so-called “Mom and Pop” home- businesses to help families with no other employees to set up and maintain small business enterprises from a home location on a full or part time basis or so they may maintain full self employment and independence.  With the advent of the computer, these businesses are very feasible in such an environment and many people are anxious to be employed, especially women with children at home. 

10.   We need to encourage and assist our last remaining large employer and manufacturer, the airplane industry in the US to help them compete successfully with foreign companies, to prevent the loss of  an industry that is most vital to our national defense.  This principal should also apply to a nucleus of ship and submarine building and related defense and strategic material companies, such as motor vehicle and chemical and ammunition works all vital to our defense.   This will insure new permanent jobs for thousands of Americans, and an industry that can quickly convert to a wartime footing.  

11.   We need to cancel all visa granted foreign persons allowed to work in the US and, if need be train American workers for these jobs taken from ready, willing and able Americans.  

12.   We need to classify and determine the status of every person living in the US stated during the 2010 federal census.  All illegal’s in this country must be sent home immediately until we have what is considered full employment in the US.        

      This list is but a few important suggestions to help the economy by finding new or permanent jobs for our unemployed Americans.  When we return a person to his/her employment, he/she can pay his/her mortgage, pay his/her taxes and feed his/he family, and regain the self respect he/she should have in this country as Americans.  In this way and in this manner, every one gains and nobody loses and all our economic problems will be solved, soon.        

     Once you realize the cause of this recession it is made clear what the solutions needed to be applied.   Temporary relief is called welfare, the American people do not want welfare, what they want are permanent jobs, Mr. President.  Are you listening?  If so, I would appreciate your personal written reply and comments.  For your information, I have twice the experience you have on this subject of employment.

It is Time to Recognize the Cause,Before you can Apply the Cure To our two Year Unemployment Problem  

DECEMBER 5, 2009

 Dear president Barack Obama: The unemployment problem in the United States has been getting progressively worse over the last two years.     It has been nearly one year into your administration and the situation has been getting worse, month after month.  You talked to a group of business men and economic advisors last Friday to receive suggestions in how to help put people back to work you were given much advice on temporary solutions but not one permanent solution to the present employment problem.     First of all, you have been advised about past recessions and how to deal with them as they were dealt with in the past.   But today’s problem and its cause are unlike any past recessions and it calls for a very different approach to this problem.        You have tried the so called stimulus or economic recovery bill, a clunker bill of a $5,000 dollar credit to encourage people to trade in their old cars for new and to help the auto industry, you have also instituted and extended the so called, first time home buyer’s bill giving them an *8,000 dollar credit as an incentive to spur interest in the home and mortgage business.   All these plans should be of some help for the industries involved and the unemployment figures but really they are temporary small band-aid methods, because they do not address the root cause for the high unemployment figures and the breakdown of the economy over the last two years.     If you are sick and the home remedies don’t work, you should visit a doctor who must first examine you, then diagnose the cause of your malady, before he can recommend a procedure or medicine to cure you.     By extending the unemployment benefits and other minor incentives to the public you are providing a small band-aid temporary assistance to the economy and unemployment by treating the result instead of the cause needed to cure it.           Temporary measures, seldom, if ever, provide permanent solutions       the congress and past administrations are famous for providing temporary small band-aid measures to such problems as social security, high gas prices and home heating oil, the constant lowering of the prime rate to nearly zero and the bailing out of big banks, AIG, financial institutions and loans to the two big American auto companies.    None of these emergency measures cured anything, nor were they meant to, either. It seems politicians are prone to place a small band-aid on a large problem and leave the permanent solution to someone else.   That approach did not solve anything permanently in the past and certainly will not in the future, since all these problems are repeating and facing our attention and solution once again.     The beginning of our serious economic problems began in the 1970’s with the OPEC oil embargo which brought us to our knees and long lines at the pump.  Oil has been a threat to our economic future since then with fluctuating prices threat from the Arab OPEC Nations, while the balance of trade has increased to the point it is now one trillion dollar a year with 50% of our oil needs being imported.  At this rate the Arab Nations will own all our assets in about another twenty-five years or sooner.    In the meantime, over the next 40 years, congress and successive administrations have done nothing to correct this urgent problem.        It does not take and economic genius to discover that our trade policies are responsible for our losses in the American automotive industries over the last sixty years.  We have seen one auto or truck manufacturer after another fall prey to competition to foreign made vehicles while the free trade acts of the 1980’s has caused most of our manufacturing base to leave the country in search of cheaper labor due to the demands of labor unions and the inability of our US companies to confronts labor and competition problems successfully.  First, we lost the steel industry then the auto industry then clothing and other everyday products, like tools and paper products all escaped overseas to the much cheaper labor sources.         Still, the last remaining home grown industry, construction, seemed to withstand the constant high wage and benefit demands of unions and their workers, mainly because construction is local, unions are strong only in large labor markets, like big  cities and the added cost was simply passed along to the consumer.     The resulting high cost of construction naturally affected the cost of the home appliances and products, homes and commercial property.   This condition caused values existing homes and commercial properties to rise proportionally, as the cost of construction rose.   Remember, even though most steel and metal components  were now imported, the lack of these home  products in the US construction field was not felt locally,  except the American steel and allied industry’s employees were now increasingly laid off and unemployed.     The rise in prices in the construction and existing home and commercial real estate, coupled with a softening in the employment fields, due to foreign imports, and easy credit gave rise to most Americans being encouraged by banks and lending institutions to refinance or sell their home at these rising prices because of the continuous and available lower interest rates being offered by the lending institutions. And the government under its Fannie Mae, Freddie Mack and veterans loan programs backed by the credit and guarantee of the US government.  All this started in the late 1970’s and continued until about 2007, when the bottom fell out of the banking credit system.  Congress had passed legislation allowing financial institutions to loan beyond their previous reserves and to trade in mortgages on the stock market while congress, also allowed banks to insist on buyers purchase mortgage insurance to cover possible loses in most mortgages.  Thusly, AIG, an international company, was born.  Now banks and lending institutions were covered 100% from losses in the mortgage business and free from risk of loss of the depositor’s deposits by the federal deposit insurance fund.  Now, they could deal in the mortgage and loan market without fear of loss and the unfettered opportunity to profit, thus began the concentrated effort to banks, lending and financial institutions to write mortgages to almost everyone and anyone without concern for possible default because their responsibility was eliminated by the guarantee of the US government or an insurer like AIG.     This, and the steady lowering of the prime rate by the Federal Reserve chairmen, in turn, caused more and more home and business owners to seek new and rewrite real estate mortgages on their properties.  Because of the lower interest rates, this resulted in many properties being mortgaged at or above the real value of the properties.  Soon, these institutions, sought more and more profit while relaxing the normal credit safeguard on applications for first time buyers and thus many persons who did not qualify were given mortgages while others were given mortgages equal of above their actual value in their haste and abandon of usual safeguards.          All the while, the generous mortgage terms and easy availability, set by lenders, caused a constant and continued surge in home and business real estate building, prices and sales.  The limit was reached when some buyers were buying home, with high mortgage they could not afford on the income they were receiving but were encouraged to take five year rewrite mortgage s on the basis of the expected rise in values.  That never happened, due to the flood of overbuilding, sales of high priced existing homes with high mortgage beyond the value of the property, and the slow increase of unemployment from the mid 1980’s to mid 2000’s due to the free trade agreements with foreign countries, rising oil prices and the drying up of credit due to the uncertainty of the economy.   Between these periods, most of our manufacturing base had re-located overseas where the cheaper labor was, so they could, compete globally, and also in the USA market.  The government even assisted them by giving them tax breaks, while dumpung their employees.   Now, because of the nearly trillion dollar imbalance in the free trade system, especially with China, we will have sold them our country in about 25 years, because of our increasing debt to them.          By the fall of 2007, the real estate market began its collapse, when the increasing list of unemployed workers found they could not pay their mortgage or the balance on their credit cards, mailed to most Americans regardless of qualifications, for example unemployed College students.  The free flow of credit through the credit card system had caused many Americans to max them out to maintain their standard of living or while looking for new jobs.   Real estate prices began to fall precipitously, and as a mortgage exceeded the lower value of the property, the run of bank foreclosures began.     Banks, true to their tradition, felt the time honored procedure of foreclosue was the only way to eliminate an un-abiding, defaulting mortgagee, running away from their obligations, unfortunately, they may not have realized the magnitude of the problem or simply did not care because as a result of these foreclosures which flooded the courts for the next two years, the problem was compounded because this procedure caused the value of real estate to drop even more since the market was being flooded with foreclosed real estate each month, further depressing prices and triggering more foreclosures.        Of course, banks that had held government guaranteed or insured mortgages, had nothing to worry about since they were covered 100% for these foreclosed mortgages and only those 300 odd banks that have recently failed nationwide, were defunct because they held their mostly local mortgage loans not guaranteed or insured, and did not bundle and assign then to others.  Thusly, the time honored local banking systems were left to suffer takeovers or shutdown only because of the precipitous drop in values of real-estate over this two year period.  None of this would have happened if those guaranteed or insured banks or financial institutions, had taken the time to rewrite these mortgages at the beginning of the downturn of values, with the government’s intervention so the loss to the government and the American taxpayer would be limited and not the disaster it has caused.  This is a prime example of the lack of control, the congress and the government has consistently avoided and encouraged over the last twenty years to its detriment.     If you are wondering why the banks are not lending money these days despite your urging it is because the economy is uncertain and prices of real estate have not stabilized to warrant the risk of loans.  In addition, the financial world is waiting to see what controls our congress will impose on them in the future before they feel the confidence necessary to proceed.  One of the most important controls you should insist congress puts on the financial industry is the government controls and has the last word on all loan guaranteed by the US government.  That would have stopped most of these foreclosures in their tracks and avoided the lower values of real estate which have wiped out most of America’s owners equity.    In the meantime financial institutions are merrily boosting up the stock market with the money invested from the government loans, and using that capital gain to pay the American taxpayers back, less the low 15 % capital gains tax that should be immediately raised to 30 %, without question in stock market gains.    This may convince those big money people to start investing in American businesses for profit rather than controlling the up and down movement of the American stock market by their pure greed for profit, that would certainly help our sagging  economy, just when it needs help.     The biggest mistake the government has made and is still making is bailing out all those financial institutions, carte blanche without adequate controls on how the loans will be handled.  Today, they are all thumbing their noses at the government which is the American taxpayer and our children.     All the foregoing was the result of greedy financial institutions, inconsiderate, labor unions, businesses pushed to a survival mode, and the actions of congress to win favor and re-election over the last 20 years.    Every opportunity to do something permanently was too bothersome to do so now the small band aid approach of the past just will not solve this economic mess we are in, with the highest unemployment in years and little hope for re-employment in their old jobs as was the case in the past,    those jobs have gone overseas, so we either find a way to bring them back or we must look for new industries for their employment in permanent jobs, temporary measures in this type of economic recession will not do because America cannot compete with cheap foreign labor and industries.  This is no ordinary recession, where time honored temporary fixes will do.       The following four solutions are proposed:   1.     We either amend free trade to a balanced trade system, or we encourage and help build a series of new industries that are home grown and supported by the USA for permanent jobs 2.   Now is the time to rid our country of the dependence on foreign oil     and fuels, we must initiate a crash program for new renewable safe and reasonably priced energy here in the USA. 3.     We must encourage union members to insist on their unions to invest in their former companies in a partnership for jobs to return to the USA to compete with the world market and to keep their members and companies alive and permanently employed. 4.     The free enterprise system of business has been the backbone of progress in this country for three hundred years.   We must encourage and assist small businesses, who are famous for their low costs and low overhead to thrive and prosper to help make permanent jobs and help our economy.   5.     A federally funded home loan mortgage company should be set up to handle the re-write of mortgages to prevent continued foreclosures and keep homeowners in their homes and to stop the continued depression of real estate values and to stabilize their value. 6.           A federally funded small business mortgage company should be set up to re-write and grant new mortgages to small business owners to assist them in starting up or expanding their businesses in order to hire permanent employees in the future and to compete in foreign markets. 7.           The government’s practice of guaranteeing bank sponsored loans through Fannie Mae, Feddie Mack should be cancelled and these loan agencies dissolved because of the bad and costly experience over the years along with the mismanagement problems. 8.           Care should be taken to insure that banks fully fund the federal deposit insurance program in the future to protect deposits in banks up to the new $250,000 dollar limit. 9.     The government should set up a separate agency to assist, promote and support self employed individuals in so-called “Mom and Pop” home- businesses to help families with no other employees to set up and maintain small business enterprises from a home location on a full or part time basis or so they may maintain full self employment and independence.  With the advent of the computer, these businesses are very feasible in such an environment and many people are anxious to be employed, especially women with children at home. 10.   We need to encourage and assist our last remaining large employer and manufacturer, the airplane industry in the US to help them compete successfully with foreign companies, to prevent the loss of  an industry that is most vital to our national defense.  This principal should also apply to a nucleus of ship and submarine building and related defense and strategic material companies, such as motor vehicle and chemical and ammunition works all vital to our defense.   This will insure new permanent jobs for thousands of Americans, and an industry that can quickly convert to a wartime footing.  11.   We need to cancel all visa granted foreign persons allowed to work in the US and, if need be train American workers for these jobs taken from ready, willing and able Americans.  12.   We need to classify and determine the status of every person living in the US stated during the 2010 federal census.  All illegal’s in this country must be sent home immediately until we have what is considered full employment in the US.         This list is but a few important suggestions to help the economy by finding new or permanent jobs for our unemployed Americans.  When we return a person to his/her employment, he/she can pay his/her mortgage, pay his/her taxes and feed his/he family, and regain the self respect he/she should have in this country as Americans.  In this way and in this manner, every one gains and nobody loses and all our economic problems will be solved, soon.         Once you realize the cause of this recession it is made clear what the solutions needed to be applied.   Temporary relief is called welfare, the American people do not want welfare, what they want are permanent jobs, Mr. President.  Are you listening?  If so, I would appreciate your personal written reply and comments.  For your information, I have twice the experience you have on this subject of employment.

 

 

CONGRESS AND OBAMA'S PLAN TO CHANGE "MEDICARE" TO: "LITTLE OR NO CARE FOR THE

OLD AND DYING."

December 1, 2009

Dear president Barack Obama,

      As an 85 year old veteran of WWII and a member of the "great generation" that saved this country from challenge of the imperialistic Japan and the militaristic axis powers of Europe, I cannot believe you plan to save a half trillion dollars from our Medicare benefits, by leaving us to die in our time of need, instead of the final care we have earned.

      I must admit that our value to our country these days, at the final stage of our lives, is limited to breathing its free air and quietly living out those few moments  left in  our  ticking down clock of life.  We have endured thus far, with pride in our accomplishments, and with undying devotion and respect for our country we saved from defeat.  Nearly sixty-five years ago in order to keep the freedom you cherish so commonplace today, is this how you intend to reward us as the great generation?  Please remember or be advised that this great generation includes those dedicated and unselfish Americans that stayed home and worked in the defense industries that helped us win that war.   They did it with wage and price controls and with shortages of every nature including food.   It was the dedication and hard work of those Americans as well as us servicemen that won the war and saved our freedom for you and future generation to enjoy.

     If you really want to save money, please put all able bodied men and women on welfare and all the unemployed persons receiving unemployment compensation to work for cities, town and state doing public work and improvements three days a week minimum and watch half of them find jobs in a day or two.  That would save the country many billions of dollars and eliminate the need to euthanize us old and sick people.    Remember, we vote at the polls more than any age group.  Women with children out of wedlock and men who sire children must be supporting them or report for public work seven days a week, until they do so.  Welfare should be limited to sick people who cannot do any productive work even on a part time basis, for minimum wages.

     You and past administrations have taken away our chance to build on our safe savings by reducing the discount rate and interest paid on bank deposits for the last ten years while you fatten the wallets of Wall Street with bailout money you took from our pockets.    Our past president, George Bush, was so bold, that, in his quest to help build the value of, the American stock market, he proposed we invest and risk our social security funds in that gambling den that goes up and down at the whim of the big controlling players on wall street, how can you expect us to invest in the stock market when we have already lost half of our IRA and Keough savings there in 2008, when the market lost nearly half of its value?

     Then, we have the greed of those same financial institutions and banks; you have so generously given our money that caused the housing bubble and the collapse of the construction industry, and our fall into the biggest recession since that we endured in the 1930's,  the  resulting flood  of mortgage  foreclosures,  you and congress have turned a blind eye to, for the last year, have depressed the value of real estate, country wide and caused us also to lose most,  if not all of the equity of our biggest asset, our homes.

     Three of our married children have lost their jobs and are barely getting by, thanks to their spouses, extra efforts.   Unless the economy recovers they have no hope for re-employment.  Most of them have lost their savings in the last stock market crash and had to max out their credit cards  and cannot afford the 30% interest on their large balances.  Unless they find permanent employment soon they face mortgage foreclosure too and possible bankruptcy, which will depress us and values even further.  We have tried to help our children as we have during their early years, but now we also need help and they are in no position to help us as they need to help themselves.

    Who can afford the high prices of fuel oil and gasoline, we have cut back on our travel and on heating our homes and risk the danger of illnesses, due to the thermostat stuck on 60 degrees.  You and congress and our government have stood by for about 38 years and done nothing to control fuel and gasoline prices while letting our local and foreign OPEC oil companies reap huge unconscionable profits.  As a result of the high gas and diesel costs the transporatation industry is forced to pass the added cost of food and transported items to us, the already overburdened consumer.    

     The price of food and utilities and other costs have burdened our budget to the point we must cut down on food in order to afford to pay for our medicine and drug store supplies.  Why does the government continue to allow our medicines and prescription drugs to cost twice what they cost in any other country and forbid us to buy them there at a 50% saving, to boot?     Why are we catering to the drug industry under those circumstances? 

      The fact that the stock market has recovered in the last six months, means nothing to us people who cannot afford to risk our small Keogh plans there anymore than our children who have already lost their retirement savings and their kid's college funds there! 

      We had hoped as part of the economic recovery or stimulus package you and congress passed last February that a large amount of permanent jobs would result for such projects as some alternative energy plants.     Unfortunately, you may have saved a lot of state and federal employee jobs but you may be saving the very jobs you need to eliminate from the ever increasing state and federal payrolls and our 1.2 trillion dollar budget deficit, this year.

        My children are very upset that you and former president Bush have allowed our country to go into debt for about 12 trillion dollars and are leaving the responsibility to pay it off onto them and their children.   

        With a trillion dollar oil import and another trade deficit of a trillion dollars, it will not be long before we will have lost all our assets to pay for this stupid situation, our government has done nothing to fix.

        Now, our once prized American dollar is losing its value here and overseas so fast many countries may switch to the Euro as the stable measure of the international dollar value.

         Finally, we have allowed most of our industries to rush overseas in search of cheap labor, and we soon will be reduced to a service country without the resources to arm ourselves in case of another war.   

       China is about to start selling us motor vehicles cheaper than we can build them here, so soon we will have wasted the one half trillion dollars we gave the auto industry  to survive, because they will be out of business before your term of  office ends.  You gave them all that money from our treasury and all they did was lay off thousands of employees and downsize by shutting down production and plants.

        All those trillions of dollars the government has spent in the last year from our treasury have failed to reverse the unemployment problem, and in fact, have increased it.

        The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have dragged on for seven or eight years and we are still pouring troops in an action that should have been resolved in months.   Instead we have called upon our troops to become nation builders when that is not their job and never should be we made a big mistake to destroy the Sunnis in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. If they were left in place we would not need to be nation builders.  Ask former president Bush why he allowed Osama bin Laden to escape.

        The American people know, from our experience in Korea and Vietnam that, any war that lasts this long, is a losing war that drains the blood of our servicemen and the assets of our country.  We have not had a winning war since WWII and the reason is that only the troops do the fighting, while the American public profits and does not sacrifice, as our troops do,  as they should,  shoulder to shoulder, with our servicemen.  Then maybe, they will have a stake in the wars, too.

       Now, you may be suggesting a "war tax" on the rich, but the tax burden should be on all the taxpayers because that is our price for freedom we should all share, in the cost and sacrifice, as we did in WWII.  

       Thank you for this chance to voice our opinion.

AN UNEMPLOYED AMERICAN'S DEAR SANTA CLAUS LETTER FOR 2009

November 25, 2009

DEAR SANTA CLAUS,

     WE ARE WRITING TO YOU EARLY THIS YEAR TO SEND YOU OUR WISH LIST FOR CHRISTMAS, BECAUSE THE COUNTRY, WE LOVE, IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE AND IN CRISIS AND WE HAVE AN  EMERGENCY. YOU ARE OUR LAST HOPE AND SOURCE FOR HELP, IN THESE TRYING TIMES.

      FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS OUR ECONOMY HAS BEEN FAILING , MOST EVERY SECTOR  HAS GROUND TO A HALT AND WE HAVE REACHED A STAGGERING UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF ABOUT TEN PERCENT AND RISING MONTHLY, WHILE MORE AND MORE OF US ARE LOSING OUR HOMES.  IN MICHIGAN, THE AUTO CAPITAL OF THE COUNTRY, UNEMPLOYMENT IS ABOUT 20% DUE TO THE COLLAPSE OF THE AUTO INDUSTRY BECAUSE OF FOREIGN COMPETITION AND THE HIGH UNCONTROLLED PRICE OF GASOLINE AT THE PUMP.  THE BANKS AND LENDING INSTITUTIONS HAVE BEEN SO GREEDY FOR PROFIT AND THE GOVERNMENT SO GENEROUS ON LAX QUALIFICATIONS FOR MORTGAGE LOANS UNDER THEIR GOVERNMENT GUARANTEED MORTGAGE PROGRAMS THAT THESE LOANS ARE NOW IN DEFAULT AND MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES HAVE FLOODED THE ALREADY OVERBUILT HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKETS.    THIS, HAS IN TURN, CAUSED A COLLAPSE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND ANOTHER TRIGGER OF FURTHER UNEMPLOYMENT AND FORECLOSURES.        REAL ESTATE VALUES HAVE PLUMMETED BY UP TO 50%  POSTPONING ANY HOPE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TO RECOVER UNTIL MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE ARE STOPPED SO VALUES WILL STABILIZE AT PRICES THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CAN COMPETE.  OBAMA AND CONGRESS HAVE RUSHED TO THE AID OF WALL STREET INSTEAD OF MAIN STREET.

     OBAMA AND CONGRESS DECIDED TO THROW TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO AIG AND THE "TOO BIG TO FAIL BANKS" THE VERY INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE CAUSED THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS.  THE NEARLY TRILLION GIVEN GM AND CHRYSLER ONLY RESULTED IN MORE LAYOFFS AND SHUTDOWNS OF DEALERSHIPS, YET NO MONEY WAS MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED TO FIND PERMANENT JOBS.    

     IN THE MEANTIME, THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN IN TROUBLE SINCE THE ADVENT OF THOSE SO CALLED FREE TRADE TREATIES WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES, STARTING IN THE 1980'S.   WE HAVE SEEN A FLOOD OF CHEAPER AND INFERIOR PRODUCTS BEING SHIPPED INTO THIS COUNTRY FROM NATIONS WITH VERY LOW AND NONEXISTENT SAFETY STANDARDS.  THIS TREND CAUSED AMERICAN COMPANIES TO FLEE OVERSEAS IN SEARCH OF THESE LOW WAGE COSTS, IN ORDER TO COMPETE INTERNATIONALLY. UNLESS THERE IS A CHANGE IN THIS FREE TRADE POLICY, SOON, THESE JOBS ARE GONE FOREVER AND MOST VITAL INDUSTRIES WILL, HAVE LEFT THE COUNTRY AND RENDERED US DEFENSELESS IN THE CASE OF ANOTHER WORLD WAR.  THANK GOD, YOU MAKE ALL YOUR GIFTS WITH YOUR ELF'S AT THE NORTH POLE.

     SANTA, WE NEED TO ASK YOU FOR THE JOBS WE HAVE LOST BECAUSE OF THE POOR MANAGEMENT BY OUR COUNTRY'S LEADERS AND CONGRESS.  WE HAVE NO MONEY OR HOPE TO ENJOY CHRISTMAS AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST.     OUR GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO BE WORKING HARD AGAINST US SINCE THEY LOOK ONLY TO ANSWER TO THE LOBBYISTS AND BIG BUSINESS INTERESTS FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THEIR RE-ELECTIONS. WE HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE CONGRESS AND OUR LEADERS, NOW ARE NOT ANSWERABLE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO ELECTED THEM.  OUR WHOLE DEMOCRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED US FOR MANY YEARS, WITH CONGRESS AND OUR LEADERS ALSO BEHOLDEN TO THEIR RESPECTIVE POLITICAL PARTIES, INSTEAD OF THE NEEDS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THEY SHOULD REPRESENT, FIRST AND FOREMOST.  

        SANTA PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU COULD PLEASE HIRE ANY OF US TO WORK AT YOUR HOME WORKSHOP AT THE NORTH POLE.  WE KNOW, AT LEAST, THAT WE WILL GET A WARM RECEPTION FROM SUCH A JOLLY PERSON AS YOU, AND NOT ENDURE THE HIGH TAXES WE HAVE HERE.    

      WE MUST INFORM YOU THAT, SINCE OUR HOMES HAVE BEEN FORECLOSED UPON AND WE WERE EVICTED, THIS YEAR, WE ARE AFRAID YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIND US WHEN YOU BRING OUR POOR CHILDREN SOME TOYS TO CELEBRATE GIFT GIVING IN THE USUAL SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS.  YOU WILL FIND US AT THE LOCAL HOMELESS CENTER OR IN THE CLOSEST PUBLIC PARK.  JUST LOOK FOR THE RED CRAYONED SIGN ON THE SIDE OF OUR TENT WHICH READS, "THE HOMELESS AND JOBLESS."   

     ALSO, AS A MESSAGE TO OUR LEADERS AND CONGRESS, THEY WILL LISTEN TO YOU PLEASE ARRANGE TO BRING THE CAPITAL AND THE WHITE HOUSE HUGE LUMPS OF COAL, INSTEAD OF THE USUAL TRINKETS AND SALARY RAISES AND BONUSES, FOR THEM.  

      WE ARE AT OUR WITS END TO GET ANY HELP FROM OUR LEADERS AND REPRESENTATIVES, WHO THINK BECAUSE THE STOCK MARKET HAS RISEN, THE RECESSION IS OVER.  IT MAY BE OVER FOR THE RICH AND MONEYED PERSONS AND COMPANIES BUT, NOT THE  FORGOTTEN UNEMPLOYED WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND OUR INNOCENT CHILDREN WHO ARE LEFT HOLDING THE BAG OF DEFICIT SPENDING OF THIS AND THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS.   THEY ARE LEFT WITH A 12 TO 15 TRILLION DOLLAR NATIONAL DEBT OUR GOVERNMENT INCURRED BUT, OUR PROGENY MUST PAY FOR IN THE FUTURE YEARS.

      WE ARE AFRAID TO GET SICK FROM ANYTHING AND ESPECIALLY FROM   THE SWINE FLU EPIDEMIC BECAUSE THE FLU SHOT CONTRACTS WERE AWARDED TO OVERSEAS COMPANIES AND WE PRAY CHINA IS NOT ONE OF THEM.    OUR HEALTH INSURANCE WAS CANCELLED FOR NONPAYMENT AND OUR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ARE BARELY ENOUGH TO FEED OUR FAMILY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF THE ESCALATING FOOD PRICES AND THE FALLING VALUE OF THE DOLLAR.  

       IT IS TOUGH TO FIND WORK WHEN WE ARE COMPETING WITH THE ILLEGALS IN THIS COUNTRY THAT ARE ALSO BETTER OFF HERE THAN WE ARE.  AT LEAST, THEY GET ALL THE MEDICAL HELP THEY NEED FREE AT ANY HOSPITAL AT THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER'S EXPENSE. SOON, THAT WILL CHANGE BECAUSE OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS WILL PASS ANOTHER AMNESTY BILL SO THEY CAN LEGALLY BE COVERED; UNDER THE LATEST HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL OBAMA AND CONGRESS ARE RAMMING DOWN OUR THROATS.  AT CONGRESS'S SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRES.  THEN, WE WILL BE FORCED TO BUY MEDICAL INSURANCE COVERAGE WITH MONEY WE DON'T HAVE OR BE FINED AND PUT IN PRISON IF WE DON'T PAY.  IF THEY WOULD ONLY REDUCE THE MEDICAL COSTS, THEY WOULD NOT NEED ANY NEW PLAN.  FRANKLY, IF I WAS PUT IN JAIL, MY TROUBLES WILL BE OVER BECAUSE THEY MUST FEED AND CLOTHE ME, GIVE ME THE MEDICAL ATTENTION I NEED FREE, AND GIVE ME A PRIVATE ROOM WITH A TV.  MY FAMILY WILL ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF WELFARE AND MEDICAID AND THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM IN MY ABSENCE, WITH ONE LESS MOUTH TO FEED.

      WE HAVE AN ESTIMATED ONE AND A HALF MILLION HOMELESS US VETERANS IN THIS COUNTRY LIVING IN THE STREETS AND THE GOVERNMENT THEY SERVED SO COURAGEOUSLY, HAS TURNED A BLIND EYE AND IT'S BACK  ON THEM IN THEIR TIME OF NEED.  ON SECOND THOUGHT, PLEASE DELIVER SOME OF THOSE LUMPS OF COAL TO THE PENTAGON TO REMIND THEM OF OUR FORGOTTEN, BRAVE AND NEEDY VETERANS.  DON'T WORRY ABOUT THEM SHOOTING YOUR SLEIGH DOWN BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO SHOOT DOWN THE 9/11 TERRORISTS ALSO.

      EVEN IF YOU ARE ABLE TO FIND US THIS CHRISTMAS, PLEASE FORGIVE US IF WE DO NOT LEAVE A GLASS OF MILK AND A FEW OF YOUR FAVORITE COOKIES BY THE CHRISTMAS TREE, WHICH, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO HAVE THIS YEAR, THE KIDS ARE SO HUNGRY WE MUST LOCK UP THE FOOD SO IT LASTS THE WEEK, BETWEEN THE WELFARE CHECKS.  I AM SO EMBARRASSED TO BE UNEMPLOYED AND ON WELFARE, I SEND MY WIFE TO CASH THE WEEKLY WELFARE CHECK AND SPEND THE FOOD STAMPS.  I FEEL HUMILIATED, THAT I CANNOT FIND WORK TO FEED AND CARE FOR MY FAMILY AND WILL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE AN HONEST LIVING. THINGS ARE SO BAD, I HEAR, EVEN THIEVES CANNOT MAKE A DISHONEST LIVING, THESE DAYS.

       IT IS A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS, WHEN WE HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY AND WORKED SO HARD TO BE GOOD INDUSTRIOUS AMERICAN CITIZENS, ONLY TO BE PASSED OVER BY OUR GOVERNMENT WHO IS MORE INTERESTED IN THEIR POSITIONS AS POLITICAL PARTY MEMBERS THAN AS DULY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.    

     THE SO-CALLED STIMULUS OR ECONOMIC RECOVERY BILL PASSED NINE MONTHS AGO, ONLY HELPED LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS, BUT NOT ONE UNEMPLOYED AMERICAN HAS RECEIVED A NEW PERMANENT JOB FROM THE NEARLY TRILLION DOLLARS SPENT FROM OUR ALREADY EMPTY TREASURY.   

     THE TRILLION DOLLAR BANK AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTION BAILOUT ONLY HELPED THEM GIVE OUT OUTRAGEOUS BONUSES AND INVEST INTO THE STOCK MARKET FOR FINANCIAL GAIN AND AS A RESULT NOT ONE AMERICAN HAS RECEIVED A NEEDED LOAN OR A PERMANENT JOB FROM THIS WASTED MONEY.  THOSE PEOPLE WHO PLAY THE STOCK MARKET ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN MAKING MONEY THERE.   NOT ONE OF THEM STOCK MARKET GAMBLERS HAS ANY INTENTION TO INVEST THEIR MONEY IN A BUSINESS WHICH CERTAINLY WOULD EMPLOY PEOPLE AND GET US BACK TO WORK, WHILE HELPING THE ECONOMY.  THE STOCK MARKETS PROFITS SHOULD BE TAXED AT 50% NOT 15%.   AGAIN, ALL POLITICIANS WORK FOR WALL STREET NOT MAIN STREET.

      CONGRESS PASSED AND OUR PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNED A SO-CALLED CREDIT CARD REFORM BILL WHICH DID NOTHING TO REFORM OR RESTRAIN THE CREDIT CARD INDUSTRY AND EVEN ALLOWED THEM THE UNFETTERED RIGHT TO INCREASE THE INTEREST RATES TO ABOUT 30% A YEAR, THIS WAS A NATIONAL DISGRACE AND A CRUEL JOKE, WE WILL NEVER FORGET THIS SLEIGHT OF HAND CONGRESS IS FAMOUS FOR.

     WE ELECTED A FAST TALKING, HANDSOME AND GLIB NEW SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS AS OUR NEW LEADER AND PRESIDENT IN 2008, BASED ON HIS PROMISE OF CHANGE: AND "CAN DO".  ONE YEAR LATER HE HAS PROVEN TO BE THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT AMERICA HAS EVER HAD BECAUSE SUDDENLY WE REALIZE, THAT HE IS JUST ANOTHER POLITICIAN BENT ON POLITICAL PARTY LOYALTY AND SELF GRANDILOQUENCE.  HE HAS ONLY CHANGED MATTERS FOR THE WORSE AND HAS AMPLY DEMONSTRATED HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT TO FIX OUR ECONOMIC CRISIS.  WORSE STILL, HE IS IGNORING THE WISHES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO ELECTED HIM, WHEN HE PROMISED TO BRING OUR COUNTRY TOGETHER.  THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS RESEMBLES A BULL FIGHT ARENA EVERY DAY.  WE ARE WORSE OFF AFTER NEARLY ONE YEAR AS OUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF, WHILE HIS STRATEGY IS LIKENED TO A TRAGEDY.

     IT IS MOST UNFORTUNATE THAT THIS MAN CANNOT MAKE UP HIS MIND TO MAKE UP HIS MIND ABOUT OUR LOSING WARS.  OUR TROOPS HAVE BEEN LEFT TO BLEED WHILE HE AND CONGRESS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THIS WAR WITH A DEFUNCT TREASURY, WHICH IS ABOUT TO CAUSE RUNAWAY INFLATION AND FURTHER DEVALUATION OF OUR DOLLAR.  IF WE PULL ALL OUR TROOPS OUT OF EVERY FOREIGN COUNTRY, WE CAN USE THAT EXPENSE TO HELP FIX OUR ECONOMY AND FIND GOOD PERMANENT JOBS FOR US AMERICANS.  

      SANTA, PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING FOR US AS WE ARE NOW ACCUSTOMED TO DOING WITHOUT THE HELP OF OUR COUNTRY WE LOVE I JUST HOPE WE WILL SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO THE NEXT ELECTION SO WE CAN VOTE TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR COUNTRY BACK FROM OUR SELF CENTERED, SELF INTERESTED REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS AND THE CURRENT  FAILED  ADMINISTRATION.