Does anyone know of any major civilization that still exists? We should consider this since our country is now paramount. Major powers such as Great Britain, the Third Reich, Royal France, Italian cities, Rome, Greece, Imperial China and even three-thousand years of Egyptian preeminence ended. How can anyone think that our superiority might last? No, the question is only when it will end?
This eventuality would be prudent for us, but also our government to recognize. Not by being pessimistic, but by acting positively, by doing that which will maintain some level of importance to forestall any decline. Contrary, our government is doing everything to hasten the downfall.
One of the first changes needed is for all Americans to stop over-consuming. Americans, collectively as a country, have been buying more than the United States has been selling, since 1977. Since that year, our country has had a negative balance of international payments. We have ceded much of what we want to other countries by having them make what we most desire. As to over-consumption, how many homes today have multiple automobiles, television and computers? Almost all were made outside the U.S. Our country has been buying on credit, thus our negative balance of payments. Individuals add credit card debt. Consequently the U.S. has run up the biggest debt the world has ever known. On January 7, 2004, the International Monetary Fund stated that the United States' financial problems are a major threat to world economies. Some day those who sell us will demand real money, not our failing dollar.
In addition, we continue to over-consume oil. Americans buy gasoline at one of the cheapest prices in the entire world, even with the current inflated prices. Consequently, Americans have bigger cars which consume more fuel; we are producing less and less of that fuel. No other country has cars the size of those we drive. Producing more oil will only mask the fact that what oil exists will never meet the growth of our expanding demand. We even refuse to utilize other sources of energy, such as windmills in many areas, as many western European countries employ. The U.S. even stopped building atomic power plants. Using windmills and other reproducible sources of energy would reduce our need for foreign oil.
Another major problem is in armaments. Republican, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about the armament industry taking over the U.S. Wake up, it has. On hundreds of acres we have mothballed of the best airplanes in the world. Yet, we go on building better planes, better than what? Why? Does anyone really expect Russia or China to mount an attack such as the Third Reich did in Europe? Can anyone conceive of any country invading our shores, especially when no other country has any kind of navy as Japan had at Pearl Harbor? Examine what the allied powers needed to invade across the English Channel on D-day. A missile or another 9/11 attack does not bring down the country.
Why do we need more aircraft carriers, submarines or giant field cannons? Establishing military bases around the world only bates attacks on them and what purpose do the bases serve? Where will the upkeep money come from? Who appointed the United States policeman of the world? History shows that attackers must invade a country to overcome the enemy, as we did in Iraq. How can any other country invade us or do more than local damage? Our military would not keep from obliterating the attacking country. The world accepted the balance of power theory for hundreds of years. That theory worked against the USSR for decades. Why not now? Think about North Korea today. If it attacked the U.S. with a few missiles, what would be left of that country after just a few days? Does anyone really think that people in North Korea are crazy enough to risk their own lives? Yet, we continually increase our defense budgets. This keeps the only industry that actually manufactures anything, the armaments, going in the USA; but, at what a cost? This overproduction results from listening to the constant repetition from politicians and the media that it is only through armaments that we obtain security. Realize instead that having strong armies encourages their use, mostly to show Americans our advanced technologies. Therefore, we start wars to utilize this equipment; otherwise that stuff would just be sitting around getting old. What a cost in U.S. soldiers' lives! Realize that no country in the world, as the U.S., has been in so many wars since World War II, not even the USSR.
Politicians have convinced most Americans that taxes are evil. God forbid that any politician would dare to suggest that taxes should be raised. That person is politically dead. But look at it another way. If taxes are bad, then lowering them is good. Lowering them more is even better. Follow that line of thinking along; having no taxes is ideal. But realize that any government with little or no money equates to anarchy. Why did ancient civilizations establish governments? People realized that they needed governments to provide desired services that people could not obtain on their own. Safety, as well as law and order were tops on that list, followed by safe rights-of-ways. As civilizations developed, other services became mandatory. There was defense, sanitation, communal water and fire protection. Later advances were schooling, libraries, hospitals and even aid to the disadvantaged. The majority of people were willing to pay for these services. It would throw us back into the dark ages of being uncivilized to deny these services.
But the excuse for lowering taxes is to have governments cut back on unnecessary waste. But that is a platitude; for what may be your waste, is someone else's need. Republicans are now in complete control of the Federal government, yet creating the biggest federal deficits ever. They passed a governmental funding bill which contains the most pork ever in their self-serving bloated budget. Yet, the Republicans are in the forefront of wanting to lower taxes. Isn't this duplicitous? Billions of dollars have been spent on such things as electric transmission facilities in Iraq, yet not one penny has been spent on our own. We are building schools there, but not here. What will actually happen? Our grandchildren will have to pick up the tab for this real waste, the pork and the money to Iraq. But congress has also canceled or materially reduced the death tax; so the wealthy will be able to leave their entire wealth to their grandchildren. Why should they care about the bloated interest on a bloated national debt? Their grandchildren will have the wherewithal to carry it with the reduced tax rates that were recently enacted for them. If that type of shenanigans doesn't bring down a civilization, it sure adds fuel to a fire.
It should be pointed out that the wealthy are the most in need of good government of all groups of people. Who will be the first to suffer if lawlessness occurs or a foreign power takes over? It will be the wealthy who are first attacked. Examine all revolutions and discover that it was the palaces, grand homes and similar structures that were first attacked by revolutionaries. Study ordinary lawlessness. Where do you expect robbers, break-in artists, etc. to go? But more important, the wealthy did not make their wealth in a backward country. It is the United States with its laws and its services that allow the wealthy to get wealthy. Industries and businesses, whether in direct selling or services, need customers to thrive. Escaping the tax burden means others must pick up the loads. Those people in the middle and poor classes could afford to be better customers of the companies the wealthy own, if the wealthy took less advantage of the other classes. This would increase business and profits. Paying taxes has to be seen as and is directly equivalent to buying those expensive seats at football or baseball games. That money goes to support the players who are performing for the crowd. Tax money goes to support the customers who buy the products or services.
But our current government forgets its friends. The administration has alienated almost every country by negating treaties and having an excessive number of wars that almost all people in the world disdain. Since World War II, the U.S. has had wars in North Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and two in Iraq. Yet Bush goes around claiming that we are a peace loving nation. But surprisingly, he went around proclaiming himself the WAR PRESIDENT after 9/11! Our biggest problem, which our media avoids, is how most Moslems hate us for our single-minded support of Israel, whether that country is right or wrong. Supporting Israel when it is right is bad enough to the Moslems, but blindly supporting Israel when it is wrong raises anger in most people of the world. But a country like the U.S., that forgets its friends, soon finds out that friends are needed for events that can't be conceived of today. History shows that powers that alienated friends lost their position when former friends' deserted them. Ancient Athens was the first and prime example; it lost to Sparta mostly because Athens' friends deserted.
The current government uses propaganda upon all Americans. Don't think for one minute that we in the United Sates are immune to distorted propaganda! Almost all the world sees our actions in Iraq or with Israel totally different than we have been programmed by our media reports. Our government plays politics and uses the bully pulpit to distort facts. It has been officially accused of paying to get out misinformation. It certainly destroys the country's moral fabric to have a relatively nationwide distortion of events and facts. When the end of our superiority does come, no one will understand why.
Who can ignore how our government ignores the poor and the homeless? Look at New Orleans. The children of our poor shouldn't be so ignored. Top this with the way our government ignores the health care problems that almost everyone in the country faces, no matter what their ages, while Congress, our surrogates, has one of the best coverages possible, at our expense. Contrast this with what most developed countries do; they provide health coverage for almost all citizens. If these healthcare problems do not eventually bring down our civilization, I guess I am wrong in my whole concept. Congress even ignores the baby boomers who will soon become eligible for Social Security. The approximate one-trillion dollars worth of government bonds that the Social Security Administration holds will have to be redeemed. Where will the U.S. government find those dollars with the present government now deeply in the red? That obligation can't be ignored, but Congress does!
Our present government gave very big tax breaks to the wealthy. The U.S. now has the largest spread between the wealthy and the middle class and poor of all countries throughout the history of the world. How can any supposedly democratic government allow this to happen? Simply, our government is not democratic. No one will tolerate such a spread, so what better reason for the end to come?
The present government has starved important agencies, while relaxing many others. The IRS is the most important agency being starved; that agency raises all the money our government takes in. It would reduce the government's deficit big time if it could collect all legitimate income. Remember that money will mostly come from the wealthy. The IRS has had its budget seriously reduced for that reason. Drug enforcement, policing of food quality, environmental quality control have also been reduced. Public lands and forests are being given away with regulations reduced. These actions diminish the attitudes and respect for the government by most Americans. Our national parks were once the envy of the world. They are now reduced to deteriorating facilities, open to any off-road motorized vehicle to run amuck.
At one point, the major problem of employment was the relocation of blue-collar jobs to locations overseas. Now white-collar jobs are also being moved out. Employees once making $150,000 are being replaced overseas with people doing the same work at $20,000. These former high-paid employees have taken lower-paying jobs, at a great loss to family lifestyles, which confuses the statisticians. The records don't report these conditions. Our unemployment numbers don't even consider former hard-working individuals who have stopped looking for employment. However, everyone takes pleasure in seeing the unemployment numbers reduced. Those people in government, the Federal Reserve and Wall Street should all experience these income level reverses themselves. Let them all be forced into lower-paying jobs that they would be overqualified for, but been required to take in order to survive; statistics would then look differently.
Today, our government is mired in what we all conceive as terrorism. But we are slowly surrendering our precious liberties to counteract these potential acts of terrorists. Terrorists are still continually winning even when doing nothing. Travel within our country and from abroad has become more difficult. Just great for business! We are fingerprinting the world, performing searches at unbelievable places, hardening in almost every government building, especially in Washington - all at huge costs. Each self-protection reaction is a victory for our enemy. Think about this; the cost of all those concrete barricades along the curbs in Washington could feed most of the poor and homeless. But these actions of protection subconsciously weaken the moral fabric of everyone in our country. We are now living as the English did under the German blitz during 1939-40. The English took it knowing that it might end someday. What does our future hold, where is the end and how do our children see all of this security? If we possess the brain power to send vehicles to Mars, one would think that some better way of national security could be conceived. Something that isn't so omnipresent. If it is not a downer now, what then is?
The biggest problem may be the detritions of our educational system. The National Academies reports that our educational systems are falling far below even the smaller countries of the world. The majority of students pursuing advanced degrees across the world, no longer come to the United States. It has been reported that most students going for advanced degrees now go to China. Maybe the U.S. should accept the inevitable and resign our supremacy now. Let China take all the heat. It is only time anyway!
Chester P. Soling
Monday, April 06, 2015
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Why New Yorkers Rub People The Wrong Way
Before I explore the various reasons as to why New Yorkers sometimes have a unique gift for rubbing people the wrong way, let me first tell you how great the City of New York is. You might say that I am biased as I am from the Big Apple, but that's not why I believe this city is the greatest city of all. As a New Yorker, however, born and raised in East Harlem, I am entitled to my opinion. Still, since first impressions are important, I insist on giving everyone the respect that they deserve.
New York City is quite unique. As they say, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. If you can't, you'll be leaving with your tail between your legs. New York has certainly earned a reputation as one of the world's most fascinating cities. The Big Apple isn't simply the commercial epicenter of the United States, it is the heart of American advertising, and the fashion, publishing, and broadcasting mecca of the world. It is the American melting pot of industry, commerce, immigration, and even religion. In short, it is America personified. That is why so many people visit and move here each year, to partake of its diversity, its immense culture and the wonders of the creativity of the human spirit that it displays.
As for the inhabitants of this enormous metropolis, 8,175,133 people according to the 2010 census, we have two groups. First there are the native New Yorkers such as myself who have strong emotional attachments to our roots. Next we have those who flock to New York, those who have gravitated to the brightest lights of the biggest city. They move to New York for many reasons, mainly because it's the best place in the world to seek the American Dream.
We must be fair in our evaluation of this great city, however. Certainly New York City is fantastic, but there are always drawbacks to living in any metropolis. New York's arteries are slowly calcifying with a dangerous blockage caused by too many people, and when the blood pressure rises, tempers and hostilities flare. New Yorkers, largely due to the aggravation of overpopulation, can be testy. As the city becomes progressively more crowded, tensions, nerves and even outright hostilities will continue to thrive. Since this is a tough city to live in, New Yorkers tend to possess a certain mental toughness. This attitude comes across as being obnoxious and rude. New Yorkers are therefore believed to have a crummy attitude, considered anti-social.
Face it, living in the Big Apple can be tough. As with any city, there are problems. Social animosities occur, there are political issues and financial meltdowns to deal with, there's crime, overcrowding, living standards, and many other daily problems. True New Yorkers accept these bumps in the road as par for the course. They adapt. They survive and thrive amidst a deluge of ongoing contingencies. That doesn't mean, of course, we don't gripe about these problems and many others.
Not only are we labeled as chronic complainers with attitudes, we're also considered out-spoken, bossy, arrogant, talkative or worse, impatient. But wouldn't you have an attitude if you tried to find an empty taxi day after day to no avail? Or a parking space? How about a simple seat on the subway? Does anyone like being crushed in the train next to someone who hasn't bathed for a week simply trying to get home from work? Doesn't that warrant a disparaging remark or two?
Sure, I've been ridiculed for my "Noo Yawk' accent. Maybe I do say "Fugheddaboudit! I ain't saying nuttin," or "Gedoutahea, yer pudding me on!" So! Wherever we go, we New Yorkers will always stand out. For good or ill, we are different, and that's what makes us so great.
Nonetheless, to categorize all New Yorkers as rude is an unfair misrepresentation. There has to be a polite New Yorker out there somewhere, right? Just kidding. Considering what we deal with on a daily basis and the sense of humor we have cultivated to cope with these daily hardships, we're extremely polite. What other city could have handled 9/11 with such courage, unity and grace?
So the next time you run into a so-called obnoxious, loud-mouthed New Yorker, remember 9/11. Maybe you'll find some respect for who New Yorkers really are.
With 13 years of research experience, History in all its manifestations is Miriam B. Medina's passion, and she loves nothing more than sharing what she learns with everyone. So be sure to check it out at http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city_directories.html, a one-stop resource center for writers, journalists, historians, teachers and students.
New York City is quite unique. As they say, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. If you can't, you'll be leaving with your tail between your legs. New York has certainly earned a reputation as one of the world's most fascinating cities. The Big Apple isn't simply the commercial epicenter of the United States, it is the heart of American advertising, and the fashion, publishing, and broadcasting mecca of the world. It is the American melting pot of industry, commerce, immigration, and even religion. In short, it is America personified. That is why so many people visit and move here each year, to partake of its diversity, its immense culture and the wonders of the creativity of the human spirit that it displays.
As for the inhabitants of this enormous metropolis, 8,175,133 people according to the 2010 census, we have two groups. First there are the native New Yorkers such as myself who have strong emotional attachments to our roots. Next we have those who flock to New York, those who have gravitated to the brightest lights of the biggest city. They move to New York for many reasons, mainly because it's the best place in the world to seek the American Dream.
We must be fair in our evaluation of this great city, however. Certainly New York City is fantastic, but there are always drawbacks to living in any metropolis. New York's arteries are slowly calcifying with a dangerous blockage caused by too many people, and when the blood pressure rises, tempers and hostilities flare. New Yorkers, largely due to the aggravation of overpopulation, can be testy. As the city becomes progressively more crowded, tensions, nerves and even outright hostilities will continue to thrive. Since this is a tough city to live in, New Yorkers tend to possess a certain mental toughness. This attitude comes across as being obnoxious and rude. New Yorkers are therefore believed to have a crummy attitude, considered anti-social.
Face it, living in the Big Apple can be tough. As with any city, there are problems. Social animosities occur, there are political issues and financial meltdowns to deal with, there's crime, overcrowding, living standards, and many other daily problems. True New Yorkers accept these bumps in the road as par for the course. They adapt. They survive and thrive amidst a deluge of ongoing contingencies. That doesn't mean, of course, we don't gripe about these problems and many others.
Not only are we labeled as chronic complainers with attitudes, we're also considered out-spoken, bossy, arrogant, talkative or worse, impatient. But wouldn't you have an attitude if you tried to find an empty taxi day after day to no avail? Or a parking space? How about a simple seat on the subway? Does anyone like being crushed in the train next to someone who hasn't bathed for a week simply trying to get home from work? Doesn't that warrant a disparaging remark or two?
Sure, I've been ridiculed for my "Noo Yawk' accent. Maybe I do say "Fugheddaboudit! I ain't saying nuttin," or "Gedoutahea, yer pudding me on!" So! Wherever we go, we New Yorkers will always stand out. For good or ill, we are different, and that's what makes us so great.
Nonetheless, to categorize all New Yorkers as rude is an unfair misrepresentation. There has to be a polite New Yorker out there somewhere, right? Just kidding. Considering what we deal with on a daily basis and the sense of humor we have cultivated to cope with these daily hardships, we're extremely polite. What other city could have handled 9/11 with such courage, unity and grace?
So the next time you run into a so-called obnoxious, loud-mouthed New Yorker, remember 9/11. Maybe you'll find some respect for who New Yorkers really are.
With 13 years of research experience, History in all its manifestations is Miriam B. Medina's passion, and she loves nothing more than sharing what she learns with everyone. So be sure to check it out at http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city_directories.html, a one-stop resource center for writers, journalists, historians, teachers and students.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
A Nation of Legalized Theft
We are living in a country that has been stolen. We no longer have a "Free Market" and we no longer have a "Democracy". We live in a nation where the system has been deliberately broken. Wealthy families have managed to purchase our government, and through purchasing them they have managed to enact laws that ensure their own prosperity. Laws that have created the largest wealth gap in the history of any modern, industrial nation since the french revolution. This is the fall of Rome all over again. We are a glowing plutocracy, a nation run by the wealthy, with laws established only for the benefit of the 1%. This 1% is so wealthy they can give away 90% of what they earn, invest 90% of what they keep, and still be unable to spend their wealth faster than they earn it. Even people like myself, at the 99% salary mark, can not imagine this wealth gap between myself and the 1%... The gap is so great, that if we graphed it on a football field, the wealth of the 99% would stand 3 feet off the ground at the 99 yard line, and the goal line representing the 1% wealthy would be in the outer atmosphere of the earth..
We live in a nation of corrupt politicians who have legalized their own bribery and kick-backs. They are placed into office, in order to make it legal for the wealthy, the corporations, the banks, and wall street to STEAL FROM US by passing the deregulation they were bribed and put into office to pass... The wealthy then have tricked people into joining organizations like the "tea Party" started by Koch Industries, and have created FOX News as a 24 hour propaganda machine.
Organizations that funded by these same billionaires, often under shadow companies with catchy "national" sounding names (like Koch Industries' "Americans for Prosperity" which has nothing to do with America or the nation's prosperity) are convincing people to march down the street saying "Please let them steal more from me" under the false, misguided notion that it will "create jobs". These people having no idea that these jobs never actually VANISHED, they were just shipped overseas for profit.
The rhetoric today is "All you people who don't like having people steal from you, are just LAZY, bleeding heart hippies, and you don't want to work! You are jealous of the wealthy, you hate success because you aren't successful". The Occupy Wall Street crowd is doing what needs to be done, doing everything they can do short of bloody revolution (which if things don't change, will eventually come). To me they are heroes. They are the people pushed to the breaking point, who are smart enough to see the reality of our plutocracy (this term coined by Citibank in an internal memo). The reality of our station is that this government no longer "We the People". We no longer have a government "Of the People, by the people, for the people" - we are a plutocracy. We are in a place where the wealthy 1% (who are mostly born that way) don't work. They have their family money handed down on a silver platter the day they were born (like the Koch Brother's who's daddy invented the process of converting oil to gasoline, or Paris Hilton who is only famous because she is rich). We live in a country with the largest wealth gap of any industrial nation (even larger than many countries we consider "3rd world"). We have banks that STOLE MY SAVINGS that I worked 15 years to MAKE. When I watched my personal stock value drop from over a million dollars down to about 100K in value, these thieves on Wall Street and at the banks made RECORD PROFIT off my loss which they caused deliberately. These kids out there protesting (many are students) are paying for college out of pocket on back breaking loans because a lot of them had their college funds pillaged by the government, meanwhile our job competitors in India and Singapore and Holland and China have college and vocational education paid for by their governments.
The Federal Reserve bank (which is not federally owned by the way) has sole control over printing our money, which makes the money YOU HAVE in the BANK worth LESS whenever they do. They print that money and give it to the banks as loans, who then tax YOU AND ME to pay the interest. I pay over 30% in income taxes while billionaires pay 15% because their income comes from Wall Street in the form of capital gains. They are using my money and savings and investments in market gain, losing it's value, in order to make money for themselves. My retirement account is drained by their hedge funds while they control the market fluctuations for profit (the reason hedging was illegal before the mid 90s is because it was always postulated that market gain was driven by business success and could not be easily manipulated, while market decline could easily be caused by manipulation of the media and fear).
The banks invested in bad mortgages they never should have given out, throw them into the stock market removing the risk from them and then BET AGAINST THEM by hedging those securities to make a profit. When those worthless mortgage-backed securities failed, the banks MADE MONEY while you and I lose our 401K... These banks then take OUR TAX DOLLARS (on top of "golden parachutes" being sucked out of our government and the federal reserve for YEARS), saying it will "Save the economy and prevent a credit crisis" and use that money to go on private jets to conferences in tropical island countries and hand out huge million dollar bonuses to the CEO's who crashed our economy.
Today, I can't get a loan to purchase a foreclosure next door to me. A house vacant for the past 2 years, and selling for 1/2 what it will be worth in a few short years. I make over 200K/year and have almost zero debt and a 720 point credit rating, and I can't find a bank willing to loan me the money to purchase this house selling for almost nothing... why? Because banks won't LOAN money for a guy like me to invest in real estate.
Our entire government is owned by these psychopaths. The owners of the billion dollar oil companies like Koch industries, who fund all their campaigns. They deliberately finance the idiotic decision making and deregulation that got us into this mess, along with chasing oil in the middle east causing 2 wars that make them billions by siphoning war profit from wars that cost us trillions in tax payer money. They direct the puppet show that stalls "recovery" (recovery from what? 2011 was a banner year for corporate America's profits).
We don't have a "Representative democracy" anymore, we have a government owned by the aristocratic billionaires who can afford to buy their own politicians. In 2011 the fortune 500 turned RECORD PROFIT... MY COMPANY made record profit, in both revenue and % margin (our best year ever, and we are a publisher of retail entertainment). So where are these jobs? Well I can speak for my company. Deferred tax liability law (thank you W. ) FORCES us (yes me included) to compete by offsetting overseas profit through hiring foreign labor - it's not that we are "evil", or choose this path. It's business, it's the best way to profit, and its exactly what we SHOULD do with the current tax laws. If we didn't do that we would fail and fold, because as a publicly traded company it's either that or watch our stock crash.
India, China, Singapore - that labor isn't better (not by a long shot) or even cheaper in direct cost, it's just practically FREE because of the tax code!!! We can write off overseas profit by hiring overseas labor due to Bush's deferred tax liability on overseas profit... ONE SIMPLE LAW would change all that and not hurt our profits, or our bottom line, or change government revenue one PENNY (well actually revenue would go up, while corporations would increase profit) - The idea is that we keep the loophole exactly as it is, deferred tax on overseas profit, but change the last bit of the bill to "AS LONG AS it returns to US soil" rather than "As long as it NEVER returns to US soil". We actually switch it so that we only defer foreign profit taxation if you are hiring US EMPLOYEES and stimulating OUR economy... It would bring all these high paying jobs back here OVERNIGHT, myself (just me) would immediately in-source the hundreds of production jobs we outsource today, increase my profit while INCREASING government revenue, not with my profit! but with the salary of US employees who would start paying taxes and buying goods and stimulating our economy even farther here in the US... Which would in the end, greatly reduce the cost of safety net spending, and increase revenue reducing our deficit even more.
The argument is this is a "Vast Conspiracy Theory" - I return to the famous line "the greatest trick the devil ever did is convincing the world he didn't exist". This concept of masking reality through calling it "crazy conspiracy theory" has been used before. The holocaust was a "crazy conspiracy theory". Global warming, is a "Crazy conspiracy theory". How long will we continue to pretend that facts can be ignored? It is a fact that the Federal reserve bank is printing money at it's sole discretion. It is a fact that this causes inflation, it is a fact that inflation hurts those who SAVED, and those who cause the inflation profit from it. It is a fact that bribery is LEGAL and that politicians can make millions of dollars in bribes that they can now simply pocket and spend however they see fit (that is what a SUPER-PAC IS!).
The Occupy Wall Street crowd, while often "free spirited" and sometimes appearing to be "Dirty hippies", aren't out there protesting the success of millionaires AT ALL. They aren't out there begging for JOBS, or refusing to TAKE jobs. They are out there protesting the THIEVES that are our entire financial system. The thieves that stole our free market, stole our government, stole our media (and even stole our religion for their own personal gain). The 1% who don't pay taxes and profit off of the destruction of our democracy and our economy, and the destruction of our previously strong entrepreneurial middle class.
So stop bashing the people fighting for YOU. Don't attack the people trying to get BACK your right to save the money YOU EARNED without having it stolen by people so rich they don't even have the ability to spend what they steal from you. Start fighting for your right to have a representative in your government who actually REPRESENTS YOU, and stop fighting against our right to HIRE AMERICANS and make things here. Stop screwing yourself because you have had your brain shut off by puppet masters who scare you into fighting for them. Bring this country back to where it was supposed to be "Of the people, by the people, for the people". YOU start fighting for YOURSELF, the 99, and the country will get better on it's own.
Simon Says
We live in a nation of corrupt politicians who have legalized their own bribery and kick-backs. They are placed into office, in order to make it legal for the wealthy, the corporations, the banks, and wall street to STEAL FROM US by passing the deregulation they were bribed and put into office to pass... The wealthy then have tricked people into joining organizations like the "tea Party" started by Koch Industries, and have created FOX News as a 24 hour propaganda machine.
Organizations that funded by these same billionaires, often under shadow companies with catchy "national" sounding names (like Koch Industries' "Americans for Prosperity" which has nothing to do with America or the nation's prosperity) are convincing people to march down the street saying "Please let them steal more from me" under the false, misguided notion that it will "create jobs". These people having no idea that these jobs never actually VANISHED, they were just shipped overseas for profit.
The rhetoric today is "All you people who don't like having people steal from you, are just LAZY, bleeding heart hippies, and you don't want to work! You are jealous of the wealthy, you hate success because you aren't successful". The Occupy Wall Street crowd is doing what needs to be done, doing everything they can do short of bloody revolution (which if things don't change, will eventually come). To me they are heroes. They are the people pushed to the breaking point, who are smart enough to see the reality of our plutocracy (this term coined by Citibank in an internal memo). The reality of our station is that this government no longer "We the People". We no longer have a government "Of the People, by the people, for the people" - we are a plutocracy. We are in a place where the wealthy 1% (who are mostly born that way) don't work. They have their family money handed down on a silver platter the day they were born (like the Koch Brother's who's daddy invented the process of converting oil to gasoline, or Paris Hilton who is only famous because she is rich). We live in a country with the largest wealth gap of any industrial nation (even larger than many countries we consider "3rd world"). We have banks that STOLE MY SAVINGS that I worked 15 years to MAKE. When I watched my personal stock value drop from over a million dollars down to about 100K in value, these thieves on Wall Street and at the banks made RECORD PROFIT off my loss which they caused deliberately. These kids out there protesting (many are students) are paying for college out of pocket on back breaking loans because a lot of them had their college funds pillaged by the government, meanwhile our job competitors in India and Singapore and Holland and China have college and vocational education paid for by their governments.
The Federal Reserve bank (which is not federally owned by the way) has sole control over printing our money, which makes the money YOU HAVE in the BANK worth LESS whenever they do. They print that money and give it to the banks as loans, who then tax YOU AND ME to pay the interest. I pay over 30% in income taxes while billionaires pay 15% because their income comes from Wall Street in the form of capital gains. They are using my money and savings and investments in market gain, losing it's value, in order to make money for themselves. My retirement account is drained by their hedge funds while they control the market fluctuations for profit (the reason hedging was illegal before the mid 90s is because it was always postulated that market gain was driven by business success and could not be easily manipulated, while market decline could easily be caused by manipulation of the media and fear).
The banks invested in bad mortgages they never should have given out, throw them into the stock market removing the risk from them and then BET AGAINST THEM by hedging those securities to make a profit. When those worthless mortgage-backed securities failed, the banks MADE MONEY while you and I lose our 401K... These banks then take OUR TAX DOLLARS (on top of "golden parachutes" being sucked out of our government and the federal reserve for YEARS), saying it will "Save the economy and prevent a credit crisis" and use that money to go on private jets to conferences in tropical island countries and hand out huge million dollar bonuses to the CEO's who crashed our economy.
Today, I can't get a loan to purchase a foreclosure next door to me. A house vacant for the past 2 years, and selling for 1/2 what it will be worth in a few short years. I make over 200K/year and have almost zero debt and a 720 point credit rating, and I can't find a bank willing to loan me the money to purchase this house selling for almost nothing... why? Because banks won't LOAN money for a guy like me to invest in real estate.
Our entire government is owned by these psychopaths. The owners of the billion dollar oil companies like Koch industries, who fund all their campaigns. They deliberately finance the idiotic decision making and deregulation that got us into this mess, along with chasing oil in the middle east causing 2 wars that make them billions by siphoning war profit from wars that cost us trillions in tax payer money. They direct the puppet show that stalls "recovery" (recovery from what? 2011 was a banner year for corporate America's profits).
We don't have a "Representative democracy" anymore, we have a government owned by the aristocratic billionaires who can afford to buy their own politicians. In 2011 the fortune 500 turned RECORD PROFIT... MY COMPANY made record profit, in both revenue and % margin (our best year ever, and we are a publisher of retail entertainment). So where are these jobs? Well I can speak for my company. Deferred tax liability law (thank you W. ) FORCES us (yes me included) to compete by offsetting overseas profit through hiring foreign labor - it's not that we are "evil", or choose this path. It's business, it's the best way to profit, and its exactly what we SHOULD do with the current tax laws. If we didn't do that we would fail and fold, because as a publicly traded company it's either that or watch our stock crash.
India, China, Singapore - that labor isn't better (not by a long shot) or even cheaper in direct cost, it's just practically FREE because of the tax code!!! We can write off overseas profit by hiring overseas labor due to Bush's deferred tax liability on overseas profit... ONE SIMPLE LAW would change all that and not hurt our profits, or our bottom line, or change government revenue one PENNY (well actually revenue would go up, while corporations would increase profit) - The idea is that we keep the loophole exactly as it is, deferred tax on overseas profit, but change the last bit of the bill to "AS LONG AS it returns to US soil" rather than "As long as it NEVER returns to US soil". We actually switch it so that we only defer foreign profit taxation if you are hiring US EMPLOYEES and stimulating OUR economy... It would bring all these high paying jobs back here OVERNIGHT, myself (just me) would immediately in-source the hundreds of production jobs we outsource today, increase my profit while INCREASING government revenue, not with my profit! but with the salary of US employees who would start paying taxes and buying goods and stimulating our economy even farther here in the US... Which would in the end, greatly reduce the cost of safety net spending, and increase revenue reducing our deficit even more.
The argument is this is a "Vast Conspiracy Theory" - I return to the famous line "the greatest trick the devil ever did is convincing the world he didn't exist". This concept of masking reality through calling it "crazy conspiracy theory" has been used before. The holocaust was a "crazy conspiracy theory". Global warming, is a "Crazy conspiracy theory". How long will we continue to pretend that facts can be ignored? It is a fact that the Federal reserve bank is printing money at it's sole discretion. It is a fact that this causes inflation, it is a fact that inflation hurts those who SAVED, and those who cause the inflation profit from it. It is a fact that bribery is LEGAL and that politicians can make millions of dollars in bribes that they can now simply pocket and spend however they see fit (that is what a SUPER-PAC IS!).
The Occupy Wall Street crowd, while often "free spirited" and sometimes appearing to be "Dirty hippies", aren't out there protesting the success of millionaires AT ALL. They aren't out there begging for JOBS, or refusing to TAKE jobs. They are out there protesting the THIEVES that are our entire financial system. The thieves that stole our free market, stole our government, stole our media (and even stole our religion for their own personal gain). The 1% who don't pay taxes and profit off of the destruction of our democracy and our economy, and the destruction of our previously strong entrepreneurial middle class.
So stop bashing the people fighting for YOU. Don't attack the people trying to get BACK your right to save the money YOU EARNED without having it stolen by people so rich they don't even have the ability to spend what they steal from you. Start fighting for your right to have a representative in your government who actually REPRESENTS YOU, and stop fighting against our right to HIRE AMERICANS and make things here. Stop screwing yourself because you have had your brain shut off by puppet masters who scare you into fighting for them. Bring this country back to where it was supposed to be "Of the people, by the people, for the people". YOU start fighting for YOURSELF, the 99, and the country will get better on it's own.
Simon Says
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Healthcare Reform or Fraud?
Why healthcare reform? It is claimed that the cost would be less and would give better services. It is estimated that the healthcare bill will cost trillions. When you look at the overall picture you can see that it is not financially sustainable. You will have to pay hundreds of dollars before it begins to pay for your healthcare. Government is inefficient in everything it does. Private Enterprise does a much better job.
Doctors are just breaking even with Medicare patients and cannot survive if they do not have enough regular insurance patients. Many are planning on quitting the profession if the new healthcare plan is implemented because they cannot stay in business with its regulations. That will mean a shortage of doctors and long waiting lines for patients. Obama kills jobs, Romney creates them.
Is it healthcare reform or a fraud? There is a provision in the bill that the Government will be able to withdraw from your banking account and your retirement account. You will not know from one day to the next when you are going to be robbed by Uncle Sam. Capital gains tax will be increased so it will be difficult to earn money from investments.
When they were passing the healthcare bill, they said they had to pass it to find what is in it. That is like handing someone a blank check and telling them to fill in any amount they want. That is what the bill is about. It will take billions or trillions to implement and run it. Four more years with Obama will mean that we will become another third world nation. It's Romney or Greece for America.
Is it healthcare reform or a fraud? the bill is a huge job killer. Small businesses cannot afford it. It costs more and you will get fewer services. When you get to a certain age, not only will they refuse to pay for an operation, they will not permit you to spend your own money to save your own life. The decision will not be between you and your doctors, but government bureaucrat will tell you if you are going to live or die. Obama kills jobs, Romney creates them.
They seem to be trying to run things like a European nation. That is not the American way. What made this country great were capitalism, competition and self-reliance. Government regulations are choking businesses. They have to create a division that does nothing but make sure all regulations are followed. This expense keeps them from hiring productive people. The healthcare reform is in reality a fraud.
To create jobs you have to give people incentive to work hard and take risks. This administration apparently does not understand this. Businesses cannot plan for expansion because they never know when more restrictions will be added. They do not have incentives to expand because it is not financially feasible. Many businesses send their work overseas because of our high tax rate.
Where are the Jobs? Some are hiring, but the trouble is that they do not pay enough more than people getting unemployment for them to be interested. We have poured millions into the poverty fund since the Great Society and we have more poor people now than then. People usually find a job when their unemployment check runs out. People accustomed to a handout do not want to go back to work. The healthcare reform is a government fraud.
We should quit playing the race card. People should be judged on their character and not what the color of their skin is. We should stop class warfare. If wealth is distributed evenly, no one has incentive to work harder and better.
In America you can go as far as your ambition skill, and determination can take you. This Administration encourages staying on unemployment compensation for long
periods. This discourages them from using their unique talents to create wealth.
Governments have oppressed the people since Bible days. God warned Israel that they should not have a king because he would tax them heavily, take a portion of their crops and flocks and would make them his servants (1Samuel 8:10-18). They had rejected the Lord as their king and wanted a physical one. Have you rejected your God and realized that you do not know all the answers? The book, "Climbing the Heavenly Stairs," was written to help understand the Bible, and find your way to God. Do not keep going toward eternal destruction. Order this book so that you can head in the right direction. http://thelynnbradleybook.com
Doctors are just breaking even with Medicare patients and cannot survive if they do not have enough regular insurance patients. Many are planning on quitting the profession if the new healthcare plan is implemented because they cannot stay in business with its regulations. That will mean a shortage of doctors and long waiting lines for patients. Obama kills jobs, Romney creates them.
Is it healthcare reform or a fraud? There is a provision in the bill that the Government will be able to withdraw from your banking account and your retirement account. You will not know from one day to the next when you are going to be robbed by Uncle Sam. Capital gains tax will be increased so it will be difficult to earn money from investments.
When they were passing the healthcare bill, they said they had to pass it to find what is in it. That is like handing someone a blank check and telling them to fill in any amount they want. That is what the bill is about. It will take billions or trillions to implement and run it. Four more years with Obama will mean that we will become another third world nation. It's Romney or Greece for America.
Is it healthcare reform or a fraud? the bill is a huge job killer. Small businesses cannot afford it. It costs more and you will get fewer services. When you get to a certain age, not only will they refuse to pay for an operation, they will not permit you to spend your own money to save your own life. The decision will not be between you and your doctors, but government bureaucrat will tell you if you are going to live or die. Obama kills jobs, Romney creates them.
They seem to be trying to run things like a European nation. That is not the American way. What made this country great were capitalism, competition and self-reliance. Government regulations are choking businesses. They have to create a division that does nothing but make sure all regulations are followed. This expense keeps them from hiring productive people. The healthcare reform is in reality a fraud.
To create jobs you have to give people incentive to work hard and take risks. This administration apparently does not understand this. Businesses cannot plan for expansion because they never know when more restrictions will be added. They do not have incentives to expand because it is not financially feasible. Many businesses send their work overseas because of our high tax rate.
Where are the Jobs? Some are hiring, but the trouble is that they do not pay enough more than people getting unemployment for them to be interested. We have poured millions into the poverty fund since the Great Society and we have more poor people now than then. People usually find a job when their unemployment check runs out. People accustomed to a handout do not want to go back to work. The healthcare reform is a government fraud.
We should quit playing the race card. People should be judged on their character and not what the color of their skin is. We should stop class warfare. If wealth is distributed evenly, no one has incentive to work harder and better.
In America you can go as far as your ambition skill, and determination can take you. This Administration encourages staying on unemployment compensation for long
periods. This discourages them from using their unique talents to create wealth.
Governments have oppressed the people since Bible days. God warned Israel that they should not have a king because he would tax them heavily, take a portion of their crops and flocks and would make them his servants (1Samuel 8:10-18). They had rejected the Lord as their king and wanted a physical one. Have you rejected your God and realized that you do not know all the answers? The book, "Climbing the Heavenly Stairs," was written to help understand the Bible, and find your way to God. Do not keep going toward eternal destruction. Order this book so that you can head in the right direction. http://thelynnbradleybook.com
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Industrial Military Complex
Dwight David Eisenhower was the first 5 star general our country ever had. In 1953, he was the first Republican president since Herbert Hoover. That had been a twenty year hiatus for the Republicans. Eisenhower warned our country against the industrial military complex (IMC). Very knowledgeable in military matters, Eisenhower did not want to see the IMC taking over our country. It's been many years since he served. Today most of us probably don't even recognize his name. But his warning against the IMC should not have been ignored. Realize that the IMC spending is a huge part of our government's longtime yearly budget. It is deceitfully called defense spending.
Since the end of the World War II, our only military actions have been wars we started ourselves, or willingly joined in. Yes, the USSR was a potential military antagonist. President Ronald Reagan caused Russia to implode by expanding our military. No one will face up to what that arming cost our country. We purchased our arms only by borrowing money, mostly from Japan. In actuality, it was that our credit was better then the USSR's. The USSR couldn't borrow the necessary funds to match our expanding military, so it gave up. The trouble is that someday our grandchildren or great-grandchildren will have to pay for all these weapons. This certainly includes our present squandering of money for weapons which hopefully will never be used. This time it is mainly China financing our so-called defense budget.
There is absolutely no country on earth that can really threaten us. An invasion with ground troops is the only real threat. What county can mount an invasion? Yes, more 9/11s are probable. Wouldn't it make very good sense to take much of the IMC money and spend it on protection against terrorists? Instead our government is spending meager dollars for this effort and using the money in silly ways. The inspector general of our Homeland Security Department complained about how money for port security has been spread around to very small harbors, even inland harbors which, under the wildest dreams will never be attacked. No efforts have been undertaken yet to protect chemical plants, nuclear plants, for major port security where most shipping occurs, for hazardous waste transfer or on bioterrorism. These shortcomings have been reported by the press. Yet, money and effort has been spent on hardening in every government building in Washington, DC, but against terrorist acts. Hey, what about the rest of the country?
Still the U.S, builds aircraft carriers, submarines and extremely expensive fighter planes. Our army is lobbying for bigger and faster field guns. Typically, our military arms emphasis results mostly from the last wars. I can't even think of any of our many wars after Korea that these armaments could have been employed, except maybe that first phony Gulf War against Saddam. Before that war, Saddam hadn't even won the war he had started against Iran. Perhaps these weapons were applicable in the standoff with the USSR. The major trouble now is that when our leaders see any trouble, with all these weapons around, our country will have to use them. We will start wars as we just did in Iraq or have wars like Kosovo. Otherwise these weapons will just rot or rust. Yes, someday, not too far off, a country like China may rise up to challenge us. But by then all our current weapons will be old hat in military and the IMC's terms. They will all then be labeled outdated, so they will have to be replaced than.
Chester P. Soling / 2005-02-24
Since the end of the World War II, our only military actions have been wars we started ourselves, or willingly joined in. Yes, the USSR was a potential military antagonist. President Ronald Reagan caused Russia to implode by expanding our military. No one will face up to what that arming cost our country. We purchased our arms only by borrowing money, mostly from Japan. In actuality, it was that our credit was better then the USSR's. The USSR couldn't borrow the necessary funds to match our expanding military, so it gave up. The trouble is that someday our grandchildren or great-grandchildren will have to pay for all these weapons. This certainly includes our present squandering of money for weapons which hopefully will never be used. This time it is mainly China financing our so-called defense budget.
There is absolutely no country on earth that can really threaten us. An invasion with ground troops is the only real threat. What county can mount an invasion? Yes, more 9/11s are probable. Wouldn't it make very good sense to take much of the IMC money and spend it on protection against terrorists? Instead our government is spending meager dollars for this effort and using the money in silly ways. The inspector general of our Homeland Security Department complained about how money for port security has been spread around to very small harbors, even inland harbors which, under the wildest dreams will never be attacked. No efforts have been undertaken yet to protect chemical plants, nuclear plants, for major port security where most shipping occurs, for hazardous waste transfer or on bioterrorism. These shortcomings have been reported by the press. Yet, money and effort has been spent on hardening in every government building in Washington, DC, but against terrorist acts. Hey, what about the rest of the country?
Still the U.S, builds aircraft carriers, submarines and extremely expensive fighter planes. Our army is lobbying for bigger and faster field guns. Typically, our military arms emphasis results mostly from the last wars. I can't even think of any of our many wars after Korea that these armaments could have been employed, except maybe that first phony Gulf War against Saddam. Before that war, Saddam hadn't even won the war he had started against Iran. Perhaps these weapons were applicable in the standoff with the USSR. The major trouble now is that when our leaders see any trouble, with all these weapons around, our country will have to use them. We will start wars as we just did in Iraq or have wars like Kosovo. Otherwise these weapons will just rot or rust. Yes, someday, not too far off, a country like China may rise up to challenge us. But by then all our current weapons will be old hat in military and the IMC's terms. They will all then be labeled outdated, so they will have to be replaced than.
Chester P. Soling / 2005-02-24
Monday, March 23, 2015
The Destruction Of The United States Of America
Louisiana State University Federal Agency Directory lists over 1,300 distinct organizations across all three branches of federal government: Legislative branch (Congress); Executive branch (President and departments and independent agencies); and Judicial branch (Supreme Court and Circuit Courts). One should question the necessity for these agencies. Excepting the Executive branch, each agency gets a 7.5 percent automatic increase in their budget every year. But, to get their increase, they are mandated to spend every penny of the previous years budget. Just to give you an idea of what that means, the 2010 budget for the department of human services was more than the entire federal budget in 1962.
In 1974 the congress, in order to avoid being held responsible for the increases in spending, enacted "the Congressional Budget Act of 1974", which, at the time, set a 10 percent increase in budget allowance for all agencies and departments within the federal government. The budget act provided that if a department spent its complete allotment, it would receive an automatic increase of 10 percent the following year. In 1984 the republican congress was able to cut the increase down to 7.5 percent. Under this act representatives and senators could no longer be held responsible by their constituents for increases in spending by the federal government. There were 291 Democrats and 144 Republicans 144, in the house of representatives. The Senate, had 61 Democrats, 38 Republicans, and 1 independent. Nothing the democrats wanted could be stopped by a republican vote.
Richard Nixon vetoed this legislation. Congress overrode his veto. He vetoed the legislation because he thought it would lead to deficit spending that would cause inflation. This law, put into place in 1974 was the beginning of what we are experiencing today, a runaway deficit spending government.
The only thing that I know for certain is that during the next decade the census department predicts a 14 percent growth in population. While the projected growth in federal spending, under the current base line budgeting system, is 106.1 percent. The 2010 budget was a whopping $3,456,000,000,000.00. If you are having trouble with that number, it reads, three trillion four hundred fifty six billion. To help you get a mental picture of how much money that is, here is an explanation. A one dollar bill is 6 inches long, put end to end, it would take 10,160 of them to go 1 mile. That many dollars would stretch out to 340,157,480 miles that would be equal to 712 round trips to the moon or 4 round trips to the sun. If the current base line budget is not stopped the amount spent in the year 2020 will be $7,119,360,000,000.00, more than twice the 2010 budget while population growth will be only 14 percent. Frankly, there is no possible justification for that increase in spending.
Here is a quote from President Ronald Reagan. "The scariest thing to hear is someone saying "I am from the government and I am here to help you"". This is the road to destruction that congress does not want to change. After all, who wants to take the responsibility for all that spending? I would encourage all of you to sit down and write your congressmen and women and ask them to repeal the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and make every department in the government justify their budget every year.
"God save me from change, give me improvement." should become the mantra of the people of the United States of America.
This article was written by R. B. Jeffrey who has a degree in sociology from the University of California Sacramento is a businessman who lives in Visalia, CA. Mr. Jeffrey is the owner of Fur Pets Only, a company that makes dog and cat collars, leashes and harnesses right here in America. If you agree with me, let me know. My e-mail address is furpets@comcast.net
In 1974 the congress, in order to avoid being held responsible for the increases in spending, enacted "the Congressional Budget Act of 1974", which, at the time, set a 10 percent increase in budget allowance for all agencies and departments within the federal government. The budget act provided that if a department spent its complete allotment, it would receive an automatic increase of 10 percent the following year. In 1984 the republican congress was able to cut the increase down to 7.5 percent. Under this act representatives and senators could no longer be held responsible by their constituents for increases in spending by the federal government. There were 291 Democrats and 144 Republicans 144, in the house of representatives. The Senate, had 61 Democrats, 38 Republicans, and 1 independent. Nothing the democrats wanted could be stopped by a republican vote.
Richard Nixon vetoed this legislation. Congress overrode his veto. He vetoed the legislation because he thought it would lead to deficit spending that would cause inflation. This law, put into place in 1974 was the beginning of what we are experiencing today, a runaway deficit spending government.
The only thing that I know for certain is that during the next decade the census department predicts a 14 percent growth in population. While the projected growth in federal spending, under the current base line budgeting system, is 106.1 percent. The 2010 budget was a whopping $3,456,000,000,000.00. If you are having trouble with that number, it reads, three trillion four hundred fifty six billion. To help you get a mental picture of how much money that is, here is an explanation. A one dollar bill is 6 inches long, put end to end, it would take 10,160 of them to go 1 mile. That many dollars would stretch out to 340,157,480 miles that would be equal to 712 round trips to the moon or 4 round trips to the sun. If the current base line budget is not stopped the amount spent in the year 2020 will be $7,119,360,000,000.00, more than twice the 2010 budget while population growth will be only 14 percent. Frankly, there is no possible justification for that increase in spending.
Here is a quote from President Ronald Reagan. "The scariest thing to hear is someone saying "I am from the government and I am here to help you"". This is the road to destruction that congress does not want to change. After all, who wants to take the responsibility for all that spending? I would encourage all of you to sit down and write your congressmen and women and ask them to repeal the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and make every department in the government justify their budget every year.
"God save me from change, give me improvement." should become the mantra of the people of the United States of America.
This article was written by R. B. Jeffrey who has a degree in sociology from the University of California Sacramento is a businessman who lives in Visalia, CA. Mr. Jeffrey is the owner of Fur Pets Only, a company that makes dog and cat collars, leashes and harnesses right here in America. If you agree with me, let me know. My e-mail address is furpets@comcast.net
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Interesting Factors That Affect Gender-Driven Sales Performances
"Are women or men better at sales jobs?"
This is an interesting question that is sure to be hotly debated until the end of time. There are many variables that go into answering this question that have an impact as to which gender makes the better sales person.
Both sexes have their strengths and weaknesses and if you were to look at a traditional perception of a woman's role it would no doubt involve being barefoot and pregnant at home; while the men were responsible for bring home the bacon. Times have certainly changed and women are also at the forefront of certain careers, including sales. But does make them really better than men at selling?
The answer would depend on what the both genders are selling. If both are car sales people, then a woman may find it a bit more challenging to sell to a man, especially if it is the truck market. Men have a bias view that women know nothing about cars, therefore how can a woman seriously be good at it. And some women feel the same way and would prefer a male sales person over a woman.
On the other hand, women are the lead sellers in the insurance and real estate market because of a special quality that many of them have, which is the ability to be nurturing and this talent for softening one's approach when dealing with clients helps to close the deal. Men are normally considered hard sellers as well as women but a woman's intuition gives them that edge that men typically do not have.
Another factor in this debate of who are better sales people needs to also consider the fact that women are more willing to go back to school to educate themselves. Having academic qualifications is a key tool when it comes to making sales. Instead of having to put out the energy and effort of a door-to-door sales man, a person's education will avail them to workable strategies that allow them to multiply their efforts very easily. Networking in sales is one way of doing it. Men also educate themselves but they seem to rely more on experience and men usually have a well-defined buddy system that gets them connected to all the right people.
Women have an Achilles heel in that some of them have a feeling of entitlement and expect by right, a certain quota level in sales without fail. And when this quota falls way below expectations, their disappointment is enough to make them fold up and go home.
Recruitment agencies see a larger number of women than men looking for jobs suggesting their willingness to work. And when it comes to jobs such as customer service representatives or product promoters, women are the preferred gender.
In the end, while women make formidable sales people, society seems to lean towards men when it comes to looking for answers and because of this perceived dependency, men maybe considered as better sales people.
This is an interesting question that is sure to be hotly debated until the end of time. There are many variables that go into answering this question that have an impact as to which gender makes the better sales person.
Both sexes have their strengths and weaknesses and if you were to look at a traditional perception of a woman's role it would no doubt involve being barefoot and pregnant at home; while the men were responsible for bring home the bacon. Times have certainly changed and women are also at the forefront of certain careers, including sales. But does make them really better than men at selling?
The answer would depend on what the both genders are selling. If both are car sales people, then a woman may find it a bit more challenging to sell to a man, especially if it is the truck market. Men have a bias view that women know nothing about cars, therefore how can a woman seriously be good at it. And some women feel the same way and would prefer a male sales person over a woman.
On the other hand, women are the lead sellers in the insurance and real estate market because of a special quality that many of them have, which is the ability to be nurturing and this talent for softening one's approach when dealing with clients helps to close the deal. Men are normally considered hard sellers as well as women but a woman's intuition gives them that edge that men typically do not have.
Another factor in this debate of who are better sales people needs to also consider the fact that women are more willing to go back to school to educate themselves. Having academic qualifications is a key tool when it comes to making sales. Instead of having to put out the energy and effort of a door-to-door sales man, a person's education will avail them to workable strategies that allow them to multiply their efforts very easily. Networking in sales is one way of doing it. Men also educate themselves but they seem to rely more on experience and men usually have a well-defined buddy system that gets them connected to all the right people.
Women have an Achilles heel in that some of them have a feeling of entitlement and expect by right, a certain quota level in sales without fail. And when this quota falls way below expectations, their disappointment is enough to make them fold up and go home.
Recruitment agencies see a larger number of women than men looking for jobs suggesting their willingness to work. And when it comes to jobs such as customer service representatives or product promoters, women are the preferred gender.
In the end, while women make formidable sales people, society seems to lean towards men when it comes to looking for answers and because of this perceived dependency, men maybe considered as better sales people.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Why America's Pastime Is Losing Its Identity
On a May 28, 2006 Barry Bonds succeeded in hitting his 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth's homerun record and now second to Hank Aaron's Major League Baseball (MLB) all-time home run record of 755, it is representative in a number of ways of the present state of MLB. Specifically, the state of the game's future in the African-American community comes to mind. And it might be an appropriate time to reexamine the decline of participation of the black athlete in baseball, which is a far more multi-faceted problem than commonly expressed.
While there is a dearth of interest among young boys and teenagers in the black community participating in organized baseball, the reasons most often provided are shortsighted and often too easy to come by. Without an honest discourse between the leaders of the black communities throughout the United States, as well as some candor coming from the offices of MLB, what seems an insurmountable problem to attract blacks to baseball, will forever remain.
And although it is simply too easy to blame any one entity for all of the fall-off of black players in baseball, the primary beneficiary, of ignoring players from the U.S. including white players, remains MLB. And it must be held accountable, regardless of myriad cultural reasons attributed to children's lack of interest in baseball, predominantly in the inner city neighborhoods, for its lack of investment in them.
On February 28, 2006, MLB opened its first Urban Youth Academy in the U.S. At a cost of $3 million which took three years to complete, with the idea shopped around for six, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig clucked, "This is the first of what I hope is a series of academies all over America." The facility is located at the campus of Compton Community College on 10 acres of land in Compton, CA, south of Los Angeles. It includes two regulation size baseball diamonds, a youth field and one for girl's softball and a 12,000 square foot clubhouse with locker room, weight room and other training facilities. It is expected to be a prototype for other U.S. facilities, through the Urban Youth Initiative, which will serve not only as a catalyst for reviving baseball but a place for inner-city youth to enjoy each summer and after school.
Starting in June 2006, 125 children each day are expected to participate and to be given instruction by professional level coaches on playing the game. The monetary investment however was not solely supplied by MLB. $70,000.00 was collectively donated by Enos Cabell, Jr. and Tim Purpura, GM of the Houston Astros for batting cages and $500,000.00 was donated by L.A.'s Anaheim Angels. Access to classrooms and computers are being made available by Compton Community College. Compton was picked primarily as so many African-Americans from MLB's past arose from Compton, but also because the college donated a number of its facilities. It takes on average three years to build a Major League stadium. It is stunning how long it took to put in four ball fields and a clubhouse with so little financial investment from MLB and whose idea largely came to the Commissioner's Office as a grass roots effort.
In 1989, former Major League player, John Young, developed a program called RBI or Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities in South Central Los Angeles for children ages 12-18. In 1991, MLB got involved and assumed its administration. MLB then teamed with the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association from 1993-1996 in providing grants to various cities demonstrating financial need. After five years, Young went national and by 1997 RBI collaborated with various chapters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. However, MLB and its individual teams have only provided $15 million for RBI since 1991.
The RBI program now includes both boys and girls and its objective is to also include nurturing children's interest in school along with baseball as the main component. It claims that it has helped more than 150,000 children in more than 200 cities worldwide play baseball. And its Quick SMART! Program addresses the issues of alcohol, tobacco and other harmful drugs with city youth. Says Roberto Clemente, Jr., who founded the RBI program in Pittsburgh, "RBI keeps kids out of trouble and off the streets, while at the same time teaching them to stay in school. The educational components help them realize their potential and worth in receiving college scholarships based not only on athletics, but academics." But one can question the program's expansion worldwide before the job is done in the U.S.
"Campos Las Palmas has set the standard for what a baseball academy should be and we're extremely proud of the work done here, not only on the field, but in the community as well." No, this is not another baseball academy planned for the U.S. but a quote from Frank McCourt, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, upon his visit to the Dodger's Dominican Republic baseball complex, in celebrating its 20th year anniversary, earlier in 2006. And while no one can find fault with the individual efforts of the RBI program nor with the idea of Urban Youth Academies in the U.S., it is necessary to contrast those programs with over the $60 million dollars each year which MLB and its individual teams pour into Latin American countries for player development.
Most MLB teams have more than one such facility in Latin America with the most located in the Dominican Republic, followed by Venezuela. When Camp Las Palmas opened in the 1987 season, it was the first facility of its kind and became the universal prototype for all MLB teams in Latin America. It sits on 75 acres of land, equipped with two full and two half baseball fields, a dining room, kitchen, recreation room and two two-story dormitories accommodating 100 players. In addition, it provides lessons in adapting to American culture, classes in English, and nutritional counseling.
Players stay up to 30 days at a time and can be signed at age 16 unlike players in the U.S. where players must at least complete high school or be 18 years of age. If they are enrolled in college, U.S. players must wait until the age of 21 to be signed. But then they go into the draft, which clubs claim deters them from investing in any development of U.S. players, as another club could end up as the beneficiary of such efforts. Also, Latin America does not face competition from the sports of basketball and football as baseball does in the U.S., therefore giving MLB many more prospects to choose from.
It is crucial to understand that offshoring of Latin American baseball players is arguably directly proportional to the loss of African Americans being developed in MLB. Black players were at their peak of their composition in MLB in the late '70's and early '80's or roughly 27% of all players. Today that total hovers around 10%. However, it is the combination of other factors which make the Latin American factor even more decimating to the black athlete's chances of ever making it to the Major Leagues.
Ideologies include the increased incarceration of young black males, the lack of positive role models and the lack of two parent families as contributing factors. They, however, cannot necessarily be declared the primary determinants of the lack of blacks' participation in baseball. It is argued that expense is a factor, as it supposedly takes $100,000.00 to build a baseball field and that even if there are baseball fields available, maintenance costs are necessary too. But urban and rural African-Americans played baseball on sandlots and played street stickball for generations, long before pristine $100,000.00 fields were considered a prerequisite to playing baseball.
Others argue that the National Basketball Association (NBA) has done a far better job at marketing to black youth, who rarely ever go to MLB games. And making the National Football League (NFL) is far more attractive than an arduous and lengthy learning process on the way to earning a MLB contract. Both the NBA and the NFL although now require at least a year of college play, are a fast track on the way to fast bucks for those lucky enough to make it. Still, the family fabric not only in the inner city, but more pronounced there, has destroyed the learning curve necessary to build a baseball following. Baseball requires a father or father figure such as a youth leader or mentor to have an impact upon, what used to be considered the National Pastime, the inner-city child. And if they are not hooked by age 13 or 14, it's hard to get them interested later.
Requisite hand-eye coordination skills do not come to children naturally and must be learned, unlike the immediate impact of shooting a basketball or running with a football. It takes patience and fortitude for those skills that must be nurtured. Historically, such nurturers were fathers. But also absent today is the presence of present MLB players who do not involve themselves with the community like Hall of Famers, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Reggie Jackson did. The black MLB player today must step up even more so, especially because of the lack of male role models in the black community.
The dissolution of the once three-sport player has also added to the demise of baseball in the inner city. Many public schools only field a football team or basketball team and have dropped baseball altogether. Intramural programs, the victim of budget cuts, only heightens the chances that black youth will be absorbed into gangs, due to lack of organized programs for them.
And for college baseball players, scouting is limited and even more so for the black baseball athlete who rarely competes in baseball in college due to the small scholarships awarded for baseball. Even Howard University has dropped its baseball program, which one would think is a no-brainer for the development of African American baseball players, given its vast appreciation of black history. The National Collegiate Athletic Association only allows for 11.7 baseball scholarships at any given time for a team of 30 players on a roster. Full scholarships are rare. Football, however, is allowed up to 85 scholarships and basketball gets 13 for a roster half the size of baseball's. Both programs are provided far more full scholarships.
Frank Robinson, now 70, and presently the Manager of the Washington Nationals after holding several positions within MLB, became part of the first generation of great black players who followed Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in 1947. And Frank Robinson holds today's players accountable. "People don't see minorities attached to the community or going home and giving something back. Now the stars and the top players, they hide. They don't go into the community. They don't go back into the inner city or where their roots were. Baseball is now third, maybe fourth in the [inner-city] household."
Yet, the baseball draft instilled in 1965, with stricter age limits, combined with MLB's vastly increased development in Latin America over the past 20 years, remain the biggest impediments, along with the lack of MLB's moral will, in increasing the African-American presence in MLB. Much like the ill-fated acceptance of the offshoring of U.S. manufacturing jobs by U.S. multi-national corporations, MLB has enjoyed the same misguided regime, regardless if it ultimately hurts the American athlete.
Commissioner Selig stated after the 2005 season that gate receipts, merchandising revenue, team revenue- sharing and acquired broadcast rights revenue were at all-time highs in MLB. He likes the public to know that, given his abysmal management in other areas such allowing steroids in baseball over the years, the 1994 strike, the handling of the sale of the Montreal Expos, including his lack of involvement with the black community. However, while baseball enjoys such "good times," like its multi-national counterparts, MLB does not reinvest in the U.S.
Much like cheap labor overseas appears to be a required component of U.S. industry, similarly the benefits of signing and investing in baseball players has been relegated to Latin American players and more recently in Asia, where the rules of the U.S. do not apply. So instead, MLB has found new ways to circumvent its problems by merely skipping over U.S. players. And while the African-American community has seen the starkest decline in participation, the white community is also losing ground to foreign players. More than 40% of major and minor league players are born outside of the U.S., with nearly 30% comprising the major leagues. It is predicted that by 2007 over 50% of all major and minor league players will be Latin Americans.
Prior to 1965, teams could contract with any high school graduate that scouts identified. Since it was believed that this advantaged only the wealthier teams, MLB imposed the draft. U.S. citizens could no longer be signed immediately, starting the cycle of lack of development investment by particular clubs. Along with supposedly eliminating the exploitation of underage players, the age restrictions followed. However, a player can be signed to a MLB contract at age 16 in Latin America with the clubs spending several years developing those players far earlier. By the time a U.S. player reaches 18 or 21 if they are in college, they are years behind Latin American players. Secondly, the contracts offered the Latin American undeveloped players are far less than those offered drafted U.S. prospects. And prior to 1984 there was no age limit on signing Latin American players who were signed as young as 12 or 14.
Since developing players is a big expense, MLB simply went after the "cheap and unregulated labor." Sound familiar? And for foreign and U.S. players of similar talent levels the expected recompense for U.S. players is much lower given the lack of property rights in developing him and what is expected to be a shorter career. If it is a choice between two players of equal talent in the U.S. or Latin America, the MLB club invariably chooses the foreign or Latin American player.
While white players who are affluent or have a family willing to invest resources to have their sons join available teams outside the inner city, the road still remains a gamble due to the outright scouting delays of Americans, given the preference of the cheaper talent. Unless a draft choice is truly bankable, the chances of that prospect succeeding are contingent upon his former training either from college or paid for opportunities from family. And U.S. baseball players do not have the benefit of competing at academies like those in Latin America, often run like baseball boarding schools with seemingly unlimited budgets.
In conclusion, much like the U.S. watches its industries and institutions being sold bit by bit to foreign entities, it will take the will of the community, not just the black community or the white community, but the American community, to fight for our young people and to show them that America is worth fighting for. We can no longer afford to isolate ourselves from each other regardless of our color or ethnicity. For this fight is far more than the one between basketball and baseball. It is symbolic of the erosion of that which once identified America and was a staple of the family and by extension our neighborhoods. And contrary to popular belief, the hijacking of America's National Pastime is not unimportant, but is indicative of a dangerous trend in the U.S. And we owe it to ourselves as Americans to not only save our children in the process but in turn to save our country.
Diane M. Grassi is a freelance columnist, reporting and writing commentary on current events of the day providing honest and often politically incorrect assessments. From U.S. public policy to Major League Baseball, she is an eclectic thinker, and demanding of her readers to reflect on their own thinking patterns from an alternative perspective. Whether you agree with her or not, Diane M. Grassi will have you coming back to note her opinions, and if at best she wakes you up, then her goal will have been accomplished.
Ms. Grassi is featured with the online publications: New Media Journal.us; American Chronicle; Mich News.com; Opinions Editorials; the Conservative Voice; Liberty Watch Magazine as well as many others. She also writes regular columns on Major League Baseball where she is a featured online columnist with The Diamond Angle Baseball Ezine and Sports-Central.org. Ms. Grassi may contacted at: dgrassi@cox.net
While there is a dearth of interest among young boys and teenagers in the black community participating in organized baseball, the reasons most often provided are shortsighted and often too easy to come by. Without an honest discourse between the leaders of the black communities throughout the United States, as well as some candor coming from the offices of MLB, what seems an insurmountable problem to attract blacks to baseball, will forever remain.
And although it is simply too easy to blame any one entity for all of the fall-off of black players in baseball, the primary beneficiary, of ignoring players from the U.S. including white players, remains MLB. And it must be held accountable, regardless of myriad cultural reasons attributed to children's lack of interest in baseball, predominantly in the inner city neighborhoods, for its lack of investment in them.
On February 28, 2006, MLB opened its first Urban Youth Academy in the U.S. At a cost of $3 million which took three years to complete, with the idea shopped around for six, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig clucked, "This is the first of what I hope is a series of academies all over America." The facility is located at the campus of Compton Community College on 10 acres of land in Compton, CA, south of Los Angeles. It includes two regulation size baseball diamonds, a youth field and one for girl's softball and a 12,000 square foot clubhouse with locker room, weight room and other training facilities. It is expected to be a prototype for other U.S. facilities, through the Urban Youth Initiative, which will serve not only as a catalyst for reviving baseball but a place for inner-city youth to enjoy each summer and after school.
Starting in June 2006, 125 children each day are expected to participate and to be given instruction by professional level coaches on playing the game. The monetary investment however was not solely supplied by MLB. $70,000.00 was collectively donated by Enos Cabell, Jr. and Tim Purpura, GM of the Houston Astros for batting cages and $500,000.00 was donated by L.A.'s Anaheim Angels. Access to classrooms and computers are being made available by Compton Community College. Compton was picked primarily as so many African-Americans from MLB's past arose from Compton, but also because the college donated a number of its facilities. It takes on average three years to build a Major League stadium. It is stunning how long it took to put in four ball fields and a clubhouse with so little financial investment from MLB and whose idea largely came to the Commissioner's Office as a grass roots effort.
In 1989, former Major League player, John Young, developed a program called RBI or Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities in South Central Los Angeles for children ages 12-18. In 1991, MLB got involved and assumed its administration. MLB then teamed with the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association from 1993-1996 in providing grants to various cities demonstrating financial need. After five years, Young went national and by 1997 RBI collaborated with various chapters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. However, MLB and its individual teams have only provided $15 million for RBI since 1991.
The RBI program now includes both boys and girls and its objective is to also include nurturing children's interest in school along with baseball as the main component. It claims that it has helped more than 150,000 children in more than 200 cities worldwide play baseball. And its Quick SMART! Program addresses the issues of alcohol, tobacco and other harmful drugs with city youth. Says Roberto Clemente, Jr., who founded the RBI program in Pittsburgh, "RBI keeps kids out of trouble and off the streets, while at the same time teaching them to stay in school. The educational components help them realize their potential and worth in receiving college scholarships based not only on athletics, but academics." But one can question the program's expansion worldwide before the job is done in the U.S.
"Campos Las Palmas has set the standard for what a baseball academy should be and we're extremely proud of the work done here, not only on the field, but in the community as well." No, this is not another baseball academy planned for the U.S. but a quote from Frank McCourt, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, upon his visit to the Dodger's Dominican Republic baseball complex, in celebrating its 20th year anniversary, earlier in 2006. And while no one can find fault with the individual efforts of the RBI program nor with the idea of Urban Youth Academies in the U.S., it is necessary to contrast those programs with over the $60 million dollars each year which MLB and its individual teams pour into Latin American countries for player development.
Most MLB teams have more than one such facility in Latin America with the most located in the Dominican Republic, followed by Venezuela. When Camp Las Palmas opened in the 1987 season, it was the first facility of its kind and became the universal prototype for all MLB teams in Latin America. It sits on 75 acres of land, equipped with two full and two half baseball fields, a dining room, kitchen, recreation room and two two-story dormitories accommodating 100 players. In addition, it provides lessons in adapting to American culture, classes in English, and nutritional counseling.
Players stay up to 30 days at a time and can be signed at age 16 unlike players in the U.S. where players must at least complete high school or be 18 years of age. If they are enrolled in college, U.S. players must wait until the age of 21 to be signed. But then they go into the draft, which clubs claim deters them from investing in any development of U.S. players, as another club could end up as the beneficiary of such efforts. Also, Latin America does not face competition from the sports of basketball and football as baseball does in the U.S., therefore giving MLB many more prospects to choose from.
It is crucial to understand that offshoring of Latin American baseball players is arguably directly proportional to the loss of African Americans being developed in MLB. Black players were at their peak of their composition in MLB in the late '70's and early '80's or roughly 27% of all players. Today that total hovers around 10%. However, it is the combination of other factors which make the Latin American factor even more decimating to the black athlete's chances of ever making it to the Major Leagues.
Ideologies include the increased incarceration of young black males, the lack of positive role models and the lack of two parent families as contributing factors. They, however, cannot necessarily be declared the primary determinants of the lack of blacks' participation in baseball. It is argued that expense is a factor, as it supposedly takes $100,000.00 to build a baseball field and that even if there are baseball fields available, maintenance costs are necessary too. But urban and rural African-Americans played baseball on sandlots and played street stickball for generations, long before pristine $100,000.00 fields were considered a prerequisite to playing baseball.
Others argue that the National Basketball Association (NBA) has done a far better job at marketing to black youth, who rarely ever go to MLB games. And making the National Football League (NFL) is far more attractive than an arduous and lengthy learning process on the way to earning a MLB contract. Both the NBA and the NFL although now require at least a year of college play, are a fast track on the way to fast bucks for those lucky enough to make it. Still, the family fabric not only in the inner city, but more pronounced there, has destroyed the learning curve necessary to build a baseball following. Baseball requires a father or father figure such as a youth leader or mentor to have an impact upon, what used to be considered the National Pastime, the inner-city child. And if they are not hooked by age 13 or 14, it's hard to get them interested later.
Requisite hand-eye coordination skills do not come to children naturally and must be learned, unlike the immediate impact of shooting a basketball or running with a football. It takes patience and fortitude for those skills that must be nurtured. Historically, such nurturers were fathers. But also absent today is the presence of present MLB players who do not involve themselves with the community like Hall of Famers, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Reggie Jackson did. The black MLB player today must step up even more so, especially because of the lack of male role models in the black community.
The dissolution of the once three-sport player has also added to the demise of baseball in the inner city. Many public schools only field a football team or basketball team and have dropped baseball altogether. Intramural programs, the victim of budget cuts, only heightens the chances that black youth will be absorbed into gangs, due to lack of organized programs for them.
And for college baseball players, scouting is limited and even more so for the black baseball athlete who rarely competes in baseball in college due to the small scholarships awarded for baseball. Even Howard University has dropped its baseball program, which one would think is a no-brainer for the development of African American baseball players, given its vast appreciation of black history. The National Collegiate Athletic Association only allows for 11.7 baseball scholarships at any given time for a team of 30 players on a roster. Full scholarships are rare. Football, however, is allowed up to 85 scholarships and basketball gets 13 for a roster half the size of baseball's. Both programs are provided far more full scholarships.
Frank Robinson, now 70, and presently the Manager of the Washington Nationals after holding several positions within MLB, became part of the first generation of great black players who followed Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in 1947. And Frank Robinson holds today's players accountable. "People don't see minorities attached to the community or going home and giving something back. Now the stars and the top players, they hide. They don't go into the community. They don't go back into the inner city or where their roots were. Baseball is now third, maybe fourth in the [inner-city] household."
Yet, the baseball draft instilled in 1965, with stricter age limits, combined with MLB's vastly increased development in Latin America over the past 20 years, remain the biggest impediments, along with the lack of MLB's moral will, in increasing the African-American presence in MLB. Much like the ill-fated acceptance of the offshoring of U.S. manufacturing jobs by U.S. multi-national corporations, MLB has enjoyed the same misguided regime, regardless if it ultimately hurts the American athlete.
Commissioner Selig stated after the 2005 season that gate receipts, merchandising revenue, team revenue- sharing and acquired broadcast rights revenue were at all-time highs in MLB. He likes the public to know that, given his abysmal management in other areas such allowing steroids in baseball over the years, the 1994 strike, the handling of the sale of the Montreal Expos, including his lack of involvement with the black community. However, while baseball enjoys such "good times," like its multi-national counterparts, MLB does not reinvest in the U.S.
Much like cheap labor overseas appears to be a required component of U.S. industry, similarly the benefits of signing and investing in baseball players has been relegated to Latin American players and more recently in Asia, where the rules of the U.S. do not apply. So instead, MLB has found new ways to circumvent its problems by merely skipping over U.S. players. And while the African-American community has seen the starkest decline in participation, the white community is also losing ground to foreign players. More than 40% of major and minor league players are born outside of the U.S., with nearly 30% comprising the major leagues. It is predicted that by 2007 over 50% of all major and minor league players will be Latin Americans.
Prior to 1965, teams could contract with any high school graduate that scouts identified. Since it was believed that this advantaged only the wealthier teams, MLB imposed the draft. U.S. citizens could no longer be signed immediately, starting the cycle of lack of development investment by particular clubs. Along with supposedly eliminating the exploitation of underage players, the age restrictions followed. However, a player can be signed to a MLB contract at age 16 in Latin America with the clubs spending several years developing those players far earlier. By the time a U.S. player reaches 18 or 21 if they are in college, they are years behind Latin American players. Secondly, the contracts offered the Latin American undeveloped players are far less than those offered drafted U.S. prospects. And prior to 1984 there was no age limit on signing Latin American players who were signed as young as 12 or 14.
Since developing players is a big expense, MLB simply went after the "cheap and unregulated labor." Sound familiar? And for foreign and U.S. players of similar talent levels the expected recompense for U.S. players is much lower given the lack of property rights in developing him and what is expected to be a shorter career. If it is a choice between two players of equal talent in the U.S. or Latin America, the MLB club invariably chooses the foreign or Latin American player.
While white players who are affluent or have a family willing to invest resources to have their sons join available teams outside the inner city, the road still remains a gamble due to the outright scouting delays of Americans, given the preference of the cheaper talent. Unless a draft choice is truly bankable, the chances of that prospect succeeding are contingent upon his former training either from college or paid for opportunities from family. And U.S. baseball players do not have the benefit of competing at academies like those in Latin America, often run like baseball boarding schools with seemingly unlimited budgets.
In conclusion, much like the U.S. watches its industries and institutions being sold bit by bit to foreign entities, it will take the will of the community, not just the black community or the white community, but the American community, to fight for our young people and to show them that America is worth fighting for. We can no longer afford to isolate ourselves from each other regardless of our color or ethnicity. For this fight is far more than the one between basketball and baseball. It is symbolic of the erosion of that which once identified America and was a staple of the family and by extension our neighborhoods. And contrary to popular belief, the hijacking of America's National Pastime is not unimportant, but is indicative of a dangerous trend in the U.S. And we owe it to ourselves as Americans to not only save our children in the process but in turn to save our country.
Diane M. Grassi is a freelance columnist, reporting and writing commentary on current events of the day providing honest and often politically incorrect assessments. From U.S. public policy to Major League Baseball, she is an eclectic thinker, and demanding of her readers to reflect on their own thinking patterns from an alternative perspective. Whether you agree with her or not, Diane M. Grassi will have you coming back to note her opinions, and if at best she wakes you up, then her goal will have been accomplished.
Ms. Grassi is featured with the online publications: New Media Journal.us; American Chronicle; Mich News.com; Opinions Editorials; the Conservative Voice; Liberty Watch Magazine as well as many others. She also writes regular columns on Major League Baseball where she is a featured online columnist with The Diamond Angle Baseball Ezine and Sports-Central.org. Ms. Grassi may contacted at: dgrassi@cox.net
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Legislative Democrats refuse to work on day of walk out, but still want to collect per-diem.
The California State Assembly regularly holds floor session on Mondays and Thursdays to vote on bills. However, Monday May 1st they will not be meeting, as the Democrats have chosen to participate in the work stoppage supporting illegal immigration which is planned for that day. But instead of canceling session all together, they changed to a check-in session so that they could still collect their per-diem.Today during closing statements, Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy (R- Monrovia) chastised Assembly Democrats. He asked why they would collect per-diem when everyone else who is taking the day off will not be getting paid at all?
He went on to suggest that Republicans come to the capital on Monday, the day of protest and demand that they be allowed to work in the place of Democrat legislators because they are willing to do the work the Dems are unwilling to do. And they will do it at half the pay!
I LOVE IT!!!!!! Y’ALL COME ON DOWN!!!!!!
**UPDATE**
United 93- The Reality Check America Needs!
Last night I had the chance to attend an advanced screening of United 93. All I have to say is WOW!!!! There are few movies that will impact you the way that this film does.
United 93 tells the story of the only flight out of four that were high-jacked on Sept. 11, 2001 that did not hit it’s intended target. The film is shot in kind of a “home movie/documentary” style that seems to really work for telling this story.
What I love about this movie is that the characters are real and not over dramatized. I also really like the way the film has a definite message, but is not political in nature. As the movie ended, the audience left the theater in silence. As my friend and I drove home, we found ourselves remembering with vivid clarity exactly where we were and what we were doing when we first heard about the attack on the World Trade Center.
WOW again!!!!!
I would definitely recommend this movie. But you might want to take some tissue with you!
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