The Greatest Reward

In these times in history and, also, our lives when we are living in fear and trepidation, we realize that life has no purpose, and all is meaningless and of no value without God. Whoosh! You may say. Where did that come from? It’s just a thought—a thought that just might come to you some day when you are being “wheeled” into Hospice with only weeks, or perhaps hours, to live.

In his commentary on Christian rewards, chapter 6 of the book of Matthew, William Barclay tells us, “If a man takes his own way, he drifts farther and farther from God; the gulf between him and God becomes ever wider, until in the end God becomes a grim stranger, whom he only wishes to avoid. But, if a man all his life has sought to walk with God, if he has sought to obey his Lord, if goodness has been his quest through all his days, then all his life he has been growing closer to God, until in the end he passes into God’s nearer presence, without fear and with radiant joy—and that is the greatest reward of all”.

Oh yes! You’re absolutely right. I haven’t always fit that mold either; but, trust me; Hospice is just around the corner for all of us. Just a thought.

In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com signing off.

Dear Mr. President

(Addendum to my letter of November 8, 2016)

In my original letter of November 8, to you, I suggested the two most important priorities which, in my opinion, confront you as you enter office. In this addendum, I would like to respectfully continue my suggestions for your consideration. I should say, also, that my letters are posted to my blog, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com, and I will, also, be copying my Representative, Ted Yoho, and Senator, Bill Nelson.

Third, our economy is out of control. For the past thirty-five years, we have been led in the wrong direction; we are rapidly going downhill; and, the light at the end of the tunnel is a train. I’m sure you know: Our middle class is in trouble. The “poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer”. Most everyone is in debt up to their ears and our government debt in beyond belief. Free markets are a fantasy and morality has become more and more a thing of the past. You must know this—it’s true.

We the people, through our government, must regain control over our economy. To this end, I’m going to break this down into segments. I beg of you that you read this with an open mind and consideration. The good of our nation is at stake. We must gain control over our national debt, the accomplishment of which can only be done through increased revenues, i.e. taxes, and decreased spending—obviously. In so doing, however, we must be ever mindful not to slow our economy in the process. Reforms in taxation, i.e. revenues, and spending must be done in light of the propensity to consume by the populace, and ability to pay by the taxpayers. To whom more is given, more is demanded.

I must call to your attention that the financial crisis of 2008 would have led us into a deep depression even greater than 1932, all our bailouts notwithstanding, if it had not been for the safety net programs of the New Deal of the 1930’s and the Great Society of1965, i.e. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. I firmly believe that. If one were to calculate the money pumped into our economy by these programs, I’m sure my belief will be confirmed. Accordingly, I believe Social Security is imperative for the future of our country. Less it fail, we should reform it immediately—just as soon as you enter office. It is the least difficult and one of the most important of our safety nets. The amount of the benefits to be paid should be at a livable level, and they should be indexed every year for changes in the cost of living. Because this fund is administered on a “pay as you go” basis, it does not run a deficit; and, therefore, does not contribute to our national deficit. We should reform it first because it is the easiest and simplest to do.

Next, we need to reform our nation’s healthcare programs, and we should do so immediately. Employee contributions to Medicare notwithstanding, our healthcare (including Medicare) are one of the greatest contributors to our deficit and national debt. We should replace all healthcare programs, with perhaps the exception of veteran’s healthcare, with a single program of universal access single payer, Medicare for all. As we have studied this subject to death (figuratively), it should not be that difficult to assimilate. We did so with Medicare in 1965 within a year and we were starting from scratch. It should be on a stand-alone basis as is Social Security and “pay as you go” so as not to affect the national deficit in the future. The cost savings to be realized should, in and of themselves, come close to eliminating our present deficit. For simplicity, transparency, and control, we should use a single tax to finance it. I believe it would be very wise to devise a tax with the least impact and administrative cost on the American people, but transparent.

Next, we need tax reform—real reform. We should have a progressive income tax, the fairness of which will be based on ability to pay, and the wealthy must pay their fair share. Accordingly, tax returns should be simplified that the average taxpayer and small business owner can readily calculate and submit their own tax returns, the tax preparer lobby notwithstanding. If they want to exist and sell their product and services in our country, corporations must be made to pay their fair share of taxes as legislated. Corporate inversions should be outlawed as well as the “hiding“ of money and other assets at foreign locations.

If corporations and businesses in the United States of America refuse to honestly and conscientiously pursue and perform their business’s primary purpose to exist, that is, to produce a quality product or service for their customer(s), be loyal and faithful to our country, fair and caring to their employees, and honest with their stockholders, they should be disenfranchised—their corporate charters cancelled. In this regard I will tell you that one of the major problems within our nation (and, I think, the whole world) today, is the irresponsibility of business getting too big for their pants (as my mother used to chide me). Profit has replaced production and service for the people as the real purpose of a business. The real truth is, however, that profit is an expense of doing business, just as is rent, insurance, the electric light bill, etc. Profit is only the purpose of the lender, the investor. A business exists only to serve—a tool of the people. In our speculative economy, business is laboring under the delusion that we are here to serve them rather than they serve us. They are wrong—dead wrong; and, if we let them continue in the direction in which they are going, they will destroy us. But I digress.

Continuing with the subject of taxes, the corporate welfare in our tax system is abominable. In many instances, subsidies are needed here and there as incentives to aid governmental objectives; but, today, our tax system, especially corporate welfare, has gone wild. It is outrageous and irresponsible that our Congress hasn’t corrected the problem already. I won’t try to go into this any further here as, in all candor, I’m just not qualified; but you have people at your disposal much higher paid than I who are qualified. You and I both know it has, as in most everything else, already been studied to death. We just need to do it. Restoration of fair taxation of the rich, elimination of corporate welfare, the establishment of Medicare for all, and the elimination of waste and fraud in government (of which we have been talking for the past sixty years) will go a long way toward eliminating the national deficit and the paying down of the national debt.

There is more, Mr. President—just a few quickies. For the last (I don’t know how many) years, we have talked about our need for the Department of Defense to have an auditable set of books. For every excuse that comes down the pike, we have failed to do so. The books and records of our Department of Defense remain unauditable, they don’t balance, databases aren’t integrated, and billions, if not trillions, of dollars in money and materials are unaccounted for annually. I submit to you that if our largest transnational corporations can balance their books (which they are required by law to do) for management, cost accounting, and tax purposes, the Department of Defense can also. This is one of the many accomplishments you can do to set this country right again.

And, for now, last, but most certainly not least, I want to talk about education. Here again, I’m not an expert; but, thanks to a wonderful G.I. Bill, I know a little bit, and I’ve seen a few streetcars go by. Education is one of the most important and essential services government can provide. In the long run, education is absolutely essential to our very survival (In order to save another thousand words or so, please trust me on this one; but, if required, I think I can prove it). It is essential for social order; it is essential for economic order; and it is essential for our prosperity. We need an educational system that begins at Pre K and ends, minimally, at an undergraduate level in college, including community college and/or vocational training, depending on the election and needs of the student, the cost of which should be paid wholly from taxes on the people. One more thing, and perhaps the most difficult of all, this education must not be optional. Every citizen, bar none except for the mentally or physically incompetent, must be required to avail themselves of this opportunity. The objective is that every citizen must be trained for a vocation of some sort when he or she graduates from the program—every citizen must be qualified for a job; and they will be given job preference over non-citizens at that time. It will be said, “We cannot afford such a program.” I say to you, If you want for us to be the greatest country in the world, as well as the leader, we cannot afford not to.

I lied. I want to say one more thing, less I forget. We have a problem in the management of our nation’s affairs which I believe we must address. I’m going to address just two examples, the Internal Revenue Service and Immigration, problems which, admittedly with my limited knowledge, I believe are really ridiculous and uncalled for.

We are told that the Internal Revenue Service has an outstanding balance of approximately $380 Billion dollars; and, yet, they are so understaffed that they don’t have the people to collect them. Why? They need to have the resources to collect these taxes. I’m guessing they aren’t allowed those resources because of politicians who are failing to pay their fair share of taxes.

President Obama said on television that half or so of illegal immigrants within our country are here by overstaying their visas. We have been told that there are eleven million of them, so we are talking of five and one half million illegals having overstayed their visas, and we don’t know who or where they are. Why? We can track down a cow in Timbuktu behind a cowshed, but we can’t follow-up on an illegal alien? Nonsense. Building a wall won’t help solve this problem. My guess is that, here again, the INS has an insufficient budget to allow them to do their job, viz. their computer systems are obsolete and outdated.

Mr. President, these are the most important things you can accomplish which will bring our people together, most of them at least, and “make our country great again”.

In the mean time, this is Ronald Miller, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com signing off.

Donald Trump,

Our President Elect

There can’t be anyone who objects more to the election of President Elect Donald Trump than I. I have said so many times, if not in my blog, on Facebook and to my friends and acquaintances. In a “hooded” booth with fear and trepidation, I voted for Hillary Clinton only because of the influence I hoped would come from Bernie Sanders and her agreement with him. Also, Senator Sanders would be in line for chairman of the budget committee. My vote for her was for what I believed to be the lesser of two evils. As I have said previously, one would prove to be a disaster and the other, Donald Trump, a catastrophe. Again, I chose what I believed to be the lesser of two evils.

Before I go further, let me speak of another view in conjunction with this election and my perspective on the matter. I hear people speak: “I am a Republican. I have been a Republican all my life. My grandfather was a Republican, my father was a Republican, and by gum and by golly, I’m a Republican. I have heard essentially the same beliefs expressed by Democrats to which I say, “Rubbish”—absolute “Rubbish”. Neither party is the same party today they were yesterday. The Republican Party of today is far different from the Party of Lincoln. The Democratic Party of today is far different from the party of the New Deal, the party of the people. People who think this way are tantamount to dead men on the voting rolls. Some people might call them the voting dead. They voted based upon the past—certainly not the present, certainly not their own ideas or beliefs. To those, therefore, who adamantly proclaim, “I am a Republican”, “I am a Democrat”, I adamantly proclaim, my registration notwithstanding, “I am an American”. By gum and by golly, “I am an American” It’s long past time for the American people to get their heads out of the sand, become informed, and support their interests—not their grandfather’s, not their father’s, not necessarily those of the parties, but theirs, their interests.

What does the foregoing have to do with the purpose of this writing? I am unhappy with this election. Not only am I unhappy with who was elected and his selection in general, I am unhappy with how this election is being accepted by the public even though forty-three percent of the people didn’t even vote.

We are a nation of law based upon a Constitution which establishes rules for the selection of our president. We the people elected Donald Trump within those rules and he deserves the right to see those rules followed thru. We asked for him. We elected him. Now he deserves for us to give him a chance. There will be 2018.       

What’s your view? In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com signing off.

The People Have Spoken

The election is over! The people have spoken; we have made our bed; and we must sleep in it. We have no choice. We must now move forward. The momentous task immediately before us is to heal the separation of our people—to effect reconciliation. To that end, our president must lead us in the direction we the people, want to go—not where our shadow government of the Corporatocracy and Power Elite want us to go, and not necessarily where he wants to go. We must “take back our country”. We the people must prevail. It is no longer about him. It is about us. If he fails or refuses to do so, our nation will be in peril.

In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller. www.sageobservers.blogspot.com

  

Open Letter to Our Next President

Congratulations on your election as, Leader, Chief Executive Officer, and Top Manager (all in one) of the greatest country in the world, and arguably, leader of the free world, for the next four years. That, under our Constitution, your position as our President will not be that of a dictatorship and must have the patriotic support of our elected representatives in the Congress as well as the people, your challenge is monumental indeed.

In the next approximately three months before your inauguration, you will be planning your appointments and recommended solutions to the many problems confronting our nation today. It is to this end that I write this letter. I believe the very sovereignty of our democratic republic is at stake; in light of which I would like to suggest what I believe are two of the most critical issues before us today, none of which were emphasized during the campaign. I will write more at a later time.

I was born at the very beginning of the Great Depression and I and my family would have been homeless without the love, affection, and generosity of other members of our family. In short, I have seen a lot of streetcars go by; and I have never seen this country as divided as it is today. I do not believe our country has been this divided since the Civil War, over one hundred fifty years ago. All our other problems notwithstanding, this is the largest and most important issue. In spite of how things might appear, our people are crying, if not begging, for a leader who will bring us together. Under present conditions (you know what they are) with which we are confronted, I must remind you that what you do must include ALL THE PEOPLE—not just the wealthy and influential. With all due respect, if you are unable to unite us, we will all lose and lose severely.

Second, and also a threat to our very sovereignty, the Corporatocracy and Power Elite have taken over our nation, and govern as a Shadow Government, controlling us through lobbyists, campaign contributions, bribery, and intimidation, even to the point, in many instances of writing the very laws that come before our Congress, effectively usurping the best interests and welfare of the American people. The American people are being slowly but surely (not so slowly at times) reduced to serfdom. Immediate action must be taken to reverse this direction and return our government to “We the People”. I submit to you that “Citizens United” must be reversed. We must take money out of our election process. Corporations are legal entities; they are tools to serve, provide for, and facilitate the needs of people, but they are not people. Man created corporations. Corporations did not create man. Almighty God created man.  I also suggest that all corporations chartered within the United States which function across state lines be charted by the Federal government rather than by states. I could go on and on about the ruthless profiteering, lack of patriotism, disregard for employees, and so on by the Corporatocracy; but I will stop here. Suffice it to say, our corporations must be taken in hand; they exist to serve us—NOT rule over us. Again, with all due respect, if you are unable or unwilling to do this, we will all lose and lose severely.

I have more to share; and, therefore,will follow-up on this later, Mr./Mrs. President. In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller. www.sageobserver.blogspot.com.

Healthcare: What’s the Problem; What are We Going to Do About It; When?

This is a brief discussion in general of our healthcare problem, the causes, and the solution—in my mind, the only solution that will work in the scheme of things.

In short, healthcare need(s) in our nation is growing rapidly; our population is increasing; our people are growing older; costs are rising exponentially; and, given the increasing disparity in income and wealth, our standard of living has decreased to a point where healthcare has become prohibitively unaffordable, what the politicians tell us notwithstanding.

But you all know that; don’t you? You feel the pain every time you receive the bill. The very thought is tantamount to a stab in the gut. In fact, many, if not most of you, have come to the point where you no longer even have the ability to pay

We all know why our population is increasing. Primarily, it’s due to immigration and increasing life spans outweighing our decreasing birth rates. We are getting older—no one wants to change that; and, as to immigration, those who have really studied the subject empirically, know we need these people. Legal immigration is a boon to our country and contributes to our economy, intellectually and productively.

With regard to increasing costs, in a free market economy, supply and demand in and of itself will cause prices to rise; but, that having been said (and it’s true about supply and demand), don’t think for a moment that I believe we are in a truly free market economy and neither should you. The only really free market we have is in a classroom on the chalkboard. That our corporations manipulate markets regularly is obvious to all—but I digress. There are other reasons for increasing costs—profiteering by the insurance companies and large healthcare providers, price gouging, fraudulent billing practices, corruption—it goes on and on. Additionally, these companies spend millions, if not billions, of dollars every year in lobbying Congress, and campaign contributions (do you think these costs just might find a place in your insurance or hospital or doctor bill)?

The problem with our healthcare is obvious. Our system of healthcare is a disaster. The question is what we are going to do about it, the answer to which is simple—adopt a universal single-payer healthcare system with public access affordable to all, i.e. Medicare for everybody.

And, finally, when are we going to do it? Aye, there’s the rub. And the answer is, when our illustrious Congress and President quit playing chess with our lives, set aside their outmoded ideologies, personal greed, and narcissism, and just do it. Enough is enough.

We the people are suffering under increasing pressure. The breaking point is near. Do you really want that to happen? Yes, you can shoot us down in the streets; but, in the end, is it really worth it to you? Keep doing what you’re doing. Play your games. The ball is in your court. You are responsible.

In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller. www.sageobserver.blogspot.com