Getting It Right - This Is Not Just Another Business Cycle

This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
We are not entering another recession. I believe the current downturn in our economy is the beginning of a long term economic change in the basics of our national well being. This is a change in economic direction, not a part of a cycle.
With this fact before us, our reactions must be different than the actions that are normally taken to correct recessionary movements of our economy. "Tweaking" of the interest rates by the Federal Reserve will have little or no beneficial effects. Rebates and tax holidays may ease the pain for families on a short term basis, but these actions will not solve the core problems we face.
I believe all citizens of our great nation are in for a period of awakening. Not one generation since the great depression has been raised in a period where our economy was not expanding, new opportunities were everywhere, and the general standards of living was not improving. Each successive generation has had it "better" than that before it as our giant economic system grew and met the needs of all.
Unfortunately, that will not be the case for all of those youngsters in our grade schools, middle schools, and high schools, since we are facing a basic change in our economy. They will be facing a protracted period of declining opportunities, falling incomes, rising prices, and reduction of their standard of living. I fear for our children and grandchildren.
It seems most of the business people and common workers feel these beginning changes already, but many of our government officials, elected and appointed do not. This is especially true at the State and Federal levels where they live in a more cloistered, false environment. They seem to feel these problems are the result of normal economic cycles and the problem will go away in a few months. They can continue to say the right things, protect their political and personal interest, and things will continue as they always have.
The truth is that this time the problems are being created by factors that are not within our span of control as a nation. Decades of bad political management of our economy and energy policies have led us to a crippling situation where we are dependent on other nations for our source of energy, combined with a declining, crippled dollar because of excessive spending and borrowing combined with ill conceived trade policies. At the present time our national fate is in the hands of others.
Our politicians and bureaucrats will wake up when they discover that their never ending flow of tax revenues is being reduced from a river to a stream. Only then will they be forced to separate government services and expenditures that are essential from those that are "nice to have". Size of government may be reduced for the first time.
The coming months will define the correctness or error of these opinions and predictions. I know for sure that it is time for our government to begin doing more things right. We are not Democrats or Republicans when it comes to our national interest….WE ARE AMERICANS!
Even though this is an election year, our elected officials must work together immediately to dig us out of this pit we are falling into.
RUDAMENTS, ODDS AND ENDS WORTH MENTIONING:
- I saw a feature on television the other night that showed how Brazil has achieved energy independence by creating national programs for growing sugar cane for ethanol, use of flex-cars that can use a variety of fuels, and national energy savings programs.
- Jackson and Washington Counties are under a West Nile equine encephalitis alert. The public health officials recommend that we only go out at night if absolutely necessary, wear heavy clothing no matter how hot it is, never enjoy an evening in our back yards grilling or socializing, always spray with stinky, sticky bug spray, and never allow an old can, tire, or boat bilge to sit with water. I would recommend also filling in most of those worthless, ugly water retention ponds that are scattered throughout town behind every business at the demands of our beloved State EPA.
They have brought the "swamp to the city" and now we have a public health problem because of it.
- The State Fish and Game Department has lowered the limit on red snapper to TWO.
Who wants to buy an expensive salt water fishing license, then spend over $100 for boat gasoline to get out to deep water, for the privilege of catching "two" measly fish? I think we should all go for a year without fishing or buying licenses so that they would realize where the money for their paychecks are really coming from.
- On the toll road issue. If the toll road is going to come through the panhandle….I
would rather see it located in Jackson County. The impact on traffic on highway 231 will be the same regardless of the exact route. It will create huge increases in county property tax revenues and possibly gas and sales tax revenues. Also a huge transportation industrial park will undoubtedly be created where it crosses I-10. I would rather see us get that benefit than some neighboring county. The designers of the project seem to be seeking a route that involves a minimum of disruption to land owners. The primary issue is whether or not it does become a reality. If so, I want it to cross through Jackson County.
- I congratulate the Marianna City Planning Commission for their reasonable approach to "tweaking" the restrictive sign ordinances that are currently in place.
Quote of the Week: The difference between a "Conservationalist" and an "Environmentalist" is:
The Conservationalist looks after the ecology on his OWN land, while
The Environmentalist looks after the ecology on SOMEONE ELSE’S land.
Folks, we need to put pressure on our State and Federal representative to spur some action and to stop this foolish partisan fighting while our nation needs action. They seem to be developing a "Nero Complex" and want to play the lyre while Rome burns. Help our nation through this crisis and you will be "Getting It Right"!