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Chapter 22
“Thanks for having me today, as
your time is regarded as highly valuable.
The direction that you choose for yourself can make a difference in
your individually chosen profession, but the best thing is the investment
you are making for yourself in your future, your college degree.
I am very excited to be able to speak to your University today.”
“I would like to start by talking
about the line item veto. When
a spending bill goes before Congress, there are many issues contained in
the same bill. The past ways
of doing business has been to provide a bill with a title and purpose that
has a popular goal that most everyone wants.
Within that bill are several line items that are considered
frivolous, called pork barrel spending.
What your Congressman are doing are attempting to pull federal
money to their state, as any money does help the people within that area,
but does not allow for the level of priority that we need to implement.
We may not have the monies that we want to spend for the important
things, yet we continually throw in frivolous issues that are just a fight
for money with no real effort at making sure the monies we want are going
to the right things. With the
money coming from our Federal governments, each state Congressman does not
have any motivation to be reasonable with their efforts in these bills,
only having motivation to get as much as we can.
Without the line item veto, we can not go through and clean up
these things, and allow for fair spending, thus reducing your tax base as
well as making sure as your government officials and leaders.
Most all states now have a line item veto at the state level, but
the
United States
, the Federal government does not. The
House has passed a bill allowing a 45 day period to affirm rider bills as
they are called. This has yet
to pass the Senate, so in effect is currently a dead issue.
At this time a bill of importance still has the non ability to
clean it up from Pork Barrel spending and pass it for what is important.
This system is greatly flawed in my opinion, and should be
considered an old way of doing things.
My idea is to pass the line item veto.
If these line items do not have merit then this allows the
President to line item veto them, then they could go through Congress on
their own. It is believed by
the opposition to this idea that the President would have individual power
to pick and choose where he wants to spend the money, and that his
personal goals and motivations are allowed to be exploited, yet it allows
for no way to fix these pork barrel spending line items.
It is a waste of your tax payer dollars.
I think the line item veto is totally necessary.”
“There is another idea I have too.
If we were able to start each year by seeing how much money we have
in the federal government that can be allocated for state aid, highways,
bridges, infrastructures, federal law enforcement, schools, then give each
state an allotment of that money based on the same quantifying system we
judge elections through electoral votes that represent the numbers of
people in each state, then each state would be allowed to present their
budget to the federal government for their state based on these electoral
votes. This would allow more
money for certain states with higher populations but this would also
represent more accurately the amount of dollars per tax payer.
For the higher population states such as
California
or
Florida
, they would indeed have a higher budget, and rightfully so.
They would need more aid for schools, roads, and infrastructure and
police protection and the federal tax dollars are paid in by those very
folks that would receive the monies. The
states with low populations would get less, but that makes sense in that
they pay in much less to the Federal System.
One pays, one plays. Then
with this allotment the state provides the budget to be approved and would
be sent back for review. Once
the budget is approved by the federal government, such as any grant works,
and then they can spend the money where they think it is best suited.
If they have pork barrel items in their budget, then they can live
with that kind of spending themselves as the states are now in control of
what is important, and the states can be scrutinized by the people of that
state. With that pork barrel
spending however, they would be robbing Peter to pay Paul, but only affect
their own state. With a well
run state government then the spending would be decided with integrity,
and no more federal budget cuts because we bought an Air Balloon company a
one mile long paved runway through pork barrel spending.
It only makes sense to allow the state governments to decide where
to spend the money, and the less regulation the better.
One would think that the national highway system as one example
would not be consistent from state to state, because of state priorities,
but then as each state is maintained and one deteriorates, they would in
fact know they are going to drive people away as population and
transportation drives the economy. The
National highway system’s needs would be added to that formula based on
miles to maintain or build for the states fund.
Some states do not have the people, but long miles of the national
highway system. Without
efficient transportation, the state’s economy would additionally suffer,
so the state would be best advised as to how to spend it.”
“These are more ideas and should be
reviewed, probably not a fix-all, but at least your dollars would be sent
back to where they came from, and the scrutiny of spending would have a
state responsibility on spending now attached that would be sensitive at
the local level, rather than the current system with every State’s pork
barrel filled spending bill, presented to Congress.
There might indeed be separate money for Federal Lands for
preservation, even highways, but these are now specific issues that can be
reviewed and the Air Balloon Company has nothing to do with it.
A wide angle view of what is happening needs to be seen, we need to
only spend what we have which this one issue we could do, and the
violations of what we are doing should now be seen sticking out like a
sore thumb. Pork Barrel
spending should not be a part of our system at all.
Pork Barrel means to me that our system is broken.
We need to fix that. Federal
Tax cuts need to be a thing of the past.
Collect federal taxes for the year, then in turn give it to the
state level governments so they can do the budgets themselves.
Deep down they know what they need at the state level and can
decide between their Air Balloon Company example and cutting farm aid.”
“The exact dollars sent to each
state can be adjusted in a formula that will work, to make sure the rural
farmers are considered with their needs through droughts and disasters
that should be considered, as well as other disaster issues and long
federal highways through long stretches of rural lands.
Our federal parks do not have populations that support this program
so a formula to balance the monies would be needed.
We have clean up issues too that have been ignored.
The Columbia River in
Washington
is an example. With the
headwaters in
Canada
and coming out to the ocean by
Seattle
, it is a major pollution issue. It
as well as other rivers and streams and coastal areas that are in bad need
of attention and turn them around from our past mistakes.
If we do not take action, they will be permanently destroyed;
literally dead. A reward
program can be put in place for those that do clean up our resources.
Not only will they be cleaned up, but the states would be
financially compensated for their efforts with this bonus program.
Money seems to talk, so put it where it is needed.
Federal moneys are there with State matching funds, and then an
ecological minded development can be built so people can enjoy the rivers
and coastal areas in a controlled and ecologically sound way.
The Salmon can not reach the headwaters on the
Columbia
such as they did in Lewis and Clark days with dams and reservoirs that
have been built, as well as the heavy contamination of the waters and
sewage that comes from surrounding towns and cities as well as plants.
Any proposed dam should look at these consequences but that is just
a formula that should be reviewed and set.
The federal government should be responsible for this reward
program as a part of the monies that are sent to each state rather than
Congress arguing over the monies, as they set the tax base now for federal
income taxes. The federal
government should also be responsible for setting the right formula for
what the state gets as state aid, and also be accountable for the way it
was spent in specific categories through accomplishments and audits of the
programs they claim they have succeeded in relating to their specific
issues.”
“Votes to change all these formulas
can be set up by Congress, but only as an appeal to the committee that is
still responsible for setting the federa formulas for federal money
distribution to the states. The
committee would see what is important for the current days and times.
No political action access, no payoffs!
It would all be State controlled beyond the basic formulas, with
audits to the state for effective distribution.”
“One more issue on farm aid that
might not come out as being popular but needs review would be the CRP
program. It baffles me that we
would pay to keep people from farming one piece of land, yet the dozers
are working daily to produce more; tearing out our valuable forest lands.
This creates a false value to the CRP lands and is now the lands
are being sold with this as an income asset and driving up these land
prices and values. This in
turn drives land up. As a
result the farmers are turning to the so called unimproved forest lands as
it is all they can afford; now scrapping them off to yield the affordable
land that they want for farming. In
the central and northern part of our state of
Missouri
we pay farmers that have valuable lands to not grow for a decade at a
time, yet our forests in the Ozarks are being destroyed to create new
cattle lands. The Ozark hills
will all look like
Iowa
some day with the dozers rolling, with a result of rolling hill fields.
These issues reduce these valuable forests to our ecology.
Did you know you are paying for folks to not grow crops, out of
your paycheck through tax dollars with that federally funded CRP program?
We need to spend that effort and money to create new markets so the
farmers have a market and keep their income up to sustain their family
farms. I do hold our farmers
in the highest regard with their best interest at heart.
E85 is an alternative fuel that cars now can run on, 85 percent
grain produced fuel including corn, soy, many crops having the ability to
produce usable levels of ethanol, to 15 percent fossil fuels, and this in
itself would bring the money at the gas pump to the farmer’s pocket.
Even the corn stalks themselves can be consumed.
It does take a lot of grain to produce the fuel, but continued
improvements in technology will improve the levels and efficiency, as well
as crop yields. For the muscle
car, power hungry folks, E85 can produce more horsepower with its higher
octane, as well as run cooler and be better on our environment.
We need E85 to be available at all gas stations, subsequently the
demand will climb; for the production of these new generation fuels.
What good is an E85 car that is now more commonly being produced if
they can’t find E85? The car
manufacturers are indeed responding with the technology.
We need to now make it a viable fuel.
Without demand they will quit making E85 cars.
They have indeed started the process and we need to help see to it
that E85 is available everywhere.”
“Another idea is to opening up wind power generation.
Allow the ability of reverse metering to sell into the power
company’s grid and make it widely accessible.
This would allow anyone that can produce more than they use, to be
an eco friendly supplier back into the power grid.
These windy areas of our nation are sitting on great power
generation ability, and with the increase in building wind generators in
these lands, would also make a valuable use of some of those farm lands.
Bird protection also needs to be looked at, researching ways to
keep birds from flying through the windmills used in wind generation.
That is only a technological advancement away from being figured
out. Paying CRP tells me we
have too much farmland for our own good, yet the dozers keep rolling and
creating more! I don’t have
the intention of taking dollars away from farmers though, without creating
an alternative. Change does
take effort. Farmers are
important for our economy, and with the export of food to many countries
that do not have the climate resources to grow these foods, it also
creates new markets. There are
your CRP monies if you must spend it.
There are countries that can’t feed themselves.
A seed program to assist some of the poorest countries could be
considered, to promote a self sustained life.
If they can’t afford to buy grain, teach them to grow it, send
seed and help in planting it. Diversity
in farming is important too. We
can produce what is in demand, and we need to know what that is and how as
a government are we to promote and respond.
If you started a company called the
USA
, and wanted to export products, wouldn’t you look at the markets and
see what works for all areas of the world?
Wouldn’t you find that market and see what it affords.
The good part of globalization can be realized if we now look at
our export markets. They are
growing now.
Russia
is seeing young and upcoming professional couples buying cars and houses.
That is a good thing. Supply
to them, and then help the others learn.
They will benefit over the long haul through assistance for a
better life, and we can have new customers for our goods.
It is again a win-win.”
“Much effort needs to be put forth
for these schools of thought, and we need to be able to move forward to
take advantage of technology rather than old systems that are preventing
it. Yes we are changing the
path of the almighty dollar. Yes
we are cutting programs and ideas, but the national and world picture is
much larger if allowed to be adjusted.
The end results of reviewing current technologies and taking a
modern day approach is cleaner air with the burning of the fuels we use,
more trees to provide oxygen, better use of our crops down to the stalks
of corn, and less tax dollars spend on false returns but more productive
results in markets. This does
not bring into account the technology we create can lead the world with
that technology and creating another export that can help the world with
these same problems at the same time.”
“I think fossil fuels should be a thing of the past, the kerosene
of our day. Oil companies
might now loose, but even cigarette companies have now diversified into
other markets. They as a corporation are responding to a changing world
and the chameleons have been effective at surviving through change.
Change is not a bad thing, rather a new horizon in our efforts and
diversity and change to be the agenda of the day.”
“Patents should be made licensable
and affordable and with a much shorter term in these energy issues too, so
the price is not held high by a monopoly created patent from these badly
needed ideas. One should
patent energy ideas for the volumes of its use and the contribution to the
world’s needs, rather than regulating the use of such through a high
profit motives. We must drive
down the prices of our fuels, windmills, anything energy related that will
be needed if our country is to move through the 21st century.
It will indeed be better for all, an exciting time for the people,
by the people, now driven by our active and involved government that has
the constituents’ progressive thinking and ecology at heart. While
companies want to protect themselves and Wall Street has stock prices and
values in mind, Wall Street itself will literally be underwater before
they know what happened to them being on a low island elevation.
By the time that happens our entire economic system will suffer,
and that stock market will fall dramatically as we drown our coastal
waters at the same time from our global warming; ignorance to what we are
doing to ourselves. Hurricanes
will waste our coastal areas. It
is all related when you step back and look at it all.
It scares me from my viewpoint, that wide angle view.
We must recognize the problems, and face them head on with
solutions. Anything that
stands in the way with our political system should be looked at and those
participants and systems should also be thrown out if the direction is
impeded. Americans should vote
in the ones that have these goals, and send the old system down the road.
Please vote. Vote your
conscious. It is indeed the
best thing this democracy is founded on.
We are a government by the people, for the people, and when you
elect a Senator or Representative, they pick your president through the
Electoral College. You do have
the deciding votes at your state level.
You are choosing your own destiny by putting the right person at
the state level of government that will lead us in the right direction.”
“As final statements today and to
be respectful of your class schedules, we must hold compassion for others,
world wide, and ecology and environment in our highest regards.
This is not only important for us but your child that you tuck in
bed at night. Compassion for helping others in times of need should be a
focus, because if disaster happened to
Manhattan
Island
or
San Francisco
, the
New Orleans
area will leave you sitting as well, just as you have for them, and just
as the rest of the country has done. You
have witnessed what will happen to you if it is your turn.
Who will want to come help you?
What difference will it make that it is your town rather than
New Orleans
. The ecology of our world
will be the future assault upon us, and we refuse to look at it as a
threat. We live in our little
box, with our pretty things on our tables and expensive cars, stuck in our
little cells of our chosen lives. We
love our little cells of life. Funny
thing, we need the rest of the world to work in these ways, or our little
cells of life will crumble too. We
must be more involved on a world level. We
must pull our head out of the sand. John
F. Kennedy said it best. Ask
not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your
country. An assignation did
not kill this concept. It
should be something we should still live by.
We know the issues of today. We
just forgot that it is up to us as a grass roots democracy.
That is what I am most proud of being a part of.
That is the one thing that makes our country great, not ego and
military control. Thank you
for your time today.”
The
room broke out in a roar! Everyone
jumped up at once and the audience was energized with a response level
that was louder than any Nascar race, a rock concert, or a Football
Stadium winning a Super Bowl with a game winning touch down at the last
seconds of the contest. Cameras
flashed all over the room. The
number of pictures that were being taken brightened the room with the
frequency of flashes that seemed to create a constant light.
The media was there in full force as the announcements of my
appearance were getting more national attention every time I stepped up to
the podium. The response
overwhelmed me at that moment, so strong that I did not expect it.
I started shaking now, as this kind of power should not be in any
one individual’s power I thought, yet it was happening.
This was a feeling I was not personally interested in, rather
making me nervous instead of excited for myself.
It was that time that I thought, I wish it was someone else, but
also wish good ideas could become reality.
That to me was the exciting part, as to what our great, yet humble
grass roots democratic country could be.
We are leading the world in what seems to be the start of a demise
of sorts, and I viewed it as world conflict could be around the corner.
I have personal friends in other countries that don’t like the
US
much anymore. These are
friends of ours! I have been
embarrassed by our past actions as a country with them.
It has been some of the saddest days of my life.
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