The idea behind a balanced budget is great, but limiting ourselves to a balanced budget with a constitutional amendment limits the flexibility government has with its money.
Many states, such as California, have had crippling debt problems, often because they are required to have a balanced budget. While this is good for states and localities, national governments need the flexibility that comes with a temporarily unbalanced budget.
We need to cut spending gradually, not all at once. While the Republicans are correct that we need extreme change to the spending in our nation, a balanced budget amendment is not the best way to do it.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Taxing The Rich-A More Liberal View
We must understand that while the rich in many circumstances can be job creators, the Democratic Party view does hold weight with many Americans.
When the rich are taxed more than the middle class are, as we have stated before in posts, they are still rich. The taxes aren't going to change that. When the middle class is taxed a bit less than the rich are (which doesn't happen) then they are most typically still in the middle class.
Suprised?
It's not class warfare. It's not redistributing the wealth. It's just providing a bit more fairness in our tax system. we know that the government is broke. We need to pay off our debt soon, or much of it, for posterity's sake. A huge debt cripples our nation and allows less fiscal flexibility in hard times such as these. Because the times could get even harder if we only cut spending and do not increase revenue, someone must see their taxes go up.
The rich are those who are able to weather such a burden. The middle class has already been screwed. They need the extra money. What they save, they are likely to put back into the economy purchasing goods, food, and electronics for themselves and their families. The rich have money to spare, and more often hoard their money than the middle class. Taxing them more is not going to make as much as a difference for them.
Taxing job creators is one thing. Allowing people who don't spend and have plenty of money to spare pay lower taxes than the working middle class is another.
When the rich are taxed more than the middle class are, as we have stated before in posts, they are still rich. The taxes aren't going to change that. When the middle class is taxed a bit less than the rich are (which doesn't happen) then they are most typically still in the middle class.
Suprised?
It's not class warfare. It's not redistributing the wealth. It's just providing a bit more fairness in our tax system. we know that the government is broke. We need to pay off our debt soon, or much of it, for posterity's sake. A huge debt cripples our nation and allows less fiscal flexibility in hard times such as these. Because the times could get even harder if we only cut spending and do not increase revenue, someone must see their taxes go up.
The rich are those who are able to weather such a burden. The middle class has already been screwed. They need the extra money. What they save, they are likely to put back into the economy purchasing goods, food, and electronics for themselves and their families. The rich have money to spare, and more often hoard their money than the middle class. Taxing them more is not going to make as much as a difference for them.
Taxing job creators is one thing. Allowing people who don't spend and have plenty of money to spare pay lower taxes than the working middle class is another.
A Microlending Solution To The Jobs Problem
Several members of the humanitarian community have come upon a tool they find valuable in helping the rabbling masses of poor countries around this world. The concept of microlending has been around since Bangladeshi Muhammad Yunus established the practice with his Grameen bank in 1976. This, these new age philanthropists argue, has been a deciding factor in eliminating poverty.
And it has.
The microlending concept is simple: individuals, such as you, or I, can supply a small sum of money to poor farmers, urban workers, and other disadvantaged members of the economy. In the words of Jeffrey Sachs, an economist at Columbia University, "The key to ending extreme poverty is to enable the poorest of the poor to get their foot on the ladder of development. The ladder of development hovers overhead, and the poorest of the poor are stuck beneath it. They lack the minimum amount of capital necessary to get a foothold, and therefore need a boost up to the first rung. "
This idea has been a large factor in getting many residents of poor areas out of poverty. A study conducted by Professor David Gibbons in Malaysia, at the University of Science there, concluded that upwards of 50 % of the Grameen Bank’s members had escaped poverty within ten years. They also observed a significant elevation of women’s status in their own households.
With these notable successes in mind, it is time, perhaps, that we applied this idea which has caught on around the world, through online donation sites such as Kiva, in order to fix problems in the Western World. The problem in our society is not poverty, though the poverty rate is increasing. Poverty in developing countries means extreme, dirt level poverty, something we do not see often in America.
We ought to utilize the policy of microlending in order to combat this nation’s severe economic problems. The current administration’s attempts at fixing our crisis amounts to little more than lobbing money at more government projects, while the unemployment rate has stubbornly stayed at 9%.
What we need is a concerted effort amongst American businesses, perhaps in partnership with the American government but quite preferably autonomously, in order to facilitate loaning and the distribution of money to those who need it most: job creators. If companies were to set up small lending operations, such as microlending in poorer countries, and then allocate money to ideas, businesses, and people who will employ workers, then this can finally rid us of our economic chaos.
Though we cannot, and should not force businesses to commence such a program, I believe there would be much incentive to do so—even without tax breaks from the government on these job incubators. Many businesses have huge support systems. Car companies like Ford need small companies to design their fluid pressure sensors. Department stores in local marketplaces need regional connections to products that the residents of that specific area find valuable. Phone companies need programmers working out of their garages to create the next hit application. Such a support system is a win-win. If the large companies or wealthy individuals can create these support systems, as well as encourage the creation of additional companies, the whole economy benefits.
This program would be entirely grassroots, and business driven, which is why this idea can actually put Americans back to work, unlike a certain person’s stimulus bill.
Businesses create jobs, not the government. The only role for the government in this quest is to provide the smoothest role possible towards the creations of these lending entities. Hopefully this idea is something that both parties can agree on. While Republicans would like to get much more done, Democrats have obstinately dug in their hooves. We need action. We need a plan.
Taxing the rich, as the Democratic Party would propose, in order to cover the costs of more stimulus, is not as good an idea as they would let on. Many of these rich help create jobs. Additionally, they could help provide the capital for this new lending system. If the rich are willing to spend their money in this system rather than sit on top of it, as many companies are inclined to do in present circumstances, than tax away. But the upper middle class and some rich could provide the capital for this microlending system. The average loan for microlending in Bangladesh is 100 dollars. This is hardly enough to start a small business. Though in order to start creating businesses, a future businessman might not need too much money, he doubtless needs more than a Benjamin.
Perhaps why the concept of microlending can be so effective—and appealing—is that it is built to succeed without interference from large, powerful, national banks. Grameen Bank was a small loaning entity created as a research project. Many microlending services online act like charities. While the greed of bankers and asset traders, who sold off toxic loans from bank to bank, person to person, until loans (which were by now immensely profitable to the banks) were being given out to people who had no authority to even think about getting a loan, microlending sends a smaller amount of capital to a person with a firm belief in their own ideas and a drive to contribute for their families. In a struggling economy, we need such a mindset to help us haul through.
Muhammad Yunus himself recognized the value that his system could add to entrepreneurship. By encouraging people to be entrepreneurs, the poor could climb out of poverty. With special assistance, many enterprising people in America can get the small spark needed to form their own profitable businesses.
With so many problems of our own, it’s time we learned our own lessons. It is time to put America back to work. By stimulating our people to create, innovate, and succeed, we can shed ourselves of economic bondage and create a new entrepreneurial force in our beautiful country.
And it has.
The microlending concept is simple: individuals, such as you, or I, can supply a small sum of money to poor farmers, urban workers, and other disadvantaged members of the economy. In the words of Jeffrey Sachs, an economist at Columbia University, "The key to ending extreme poverty is to enable the poorest of the poor to get their foot on the ladder of development. The ladder of development hovers overhead, and the poorest of the poor are stuck beneath it. They lack the minimum amount of capital necessary to get a foothold, and therefore need a boost up to the first rung. "
This idea has been a large factor in getting many residents of poor areas out of poverty. A study conducted by Professor David Gibbons in Malaysia, at the University of Science there, concluded that upwards of 50 % of the Grameen Bank’s members had escaped poverty within ten years. They also observed a significant elevation of women’s status in their own households.
With these notable successes in mind, it is time, perhaps, that we applied this idea which has caught on around the world, through online donation sites such as Kiva, in order to fix problems in the Western World. The problem in our society is not poverty, though the poverty rate is increasing. Poverty in developing countries means extreme, dirt level poverty, something we do not see often in America.
We ought to utilize the policy of microlending in order to combat this nation’s severe economic problems. The current administration’s attempts at fixing our crisis amounts to little more than lobbing money at more government projects, while the unemployment rate has stubbornly stayed at 9%.
What we need is a concerted effort amongst American businesses, perhaps in partnership with the American government but quite preferably autonomously, in order to facilitate loaning and the distribution of money to those who need it most: job creators. If companies were to set up small lending operations, such as microlending in poorer countries, and then allocate money to ideas, businesses, and people who will employ workers, then this can finally rid us of our economic chaos.
Though we cannot, and should not force businesses to commence such a program, I believe there would be much incentive to do so—even without tax breaks from the government on these job incubators. Many businesses have huge support systems. Car companies like Ford need small companies to design their fluid pressure sensors. Department stores in local marketplaces need regional connections to products that the residents of that specific area find valuable. Phone companies need programmers working out of their garages to create the next hit application. Such a support system is a win-win. If the large companies or wealthy individuals can create these support systems, as well as encourage the creation of additional companies, the whole economy benefits.
This program would be entirely grassroots, and business driven, which is why this idea can actually put Americans back to work, unlike a certain person’s stimulus bill.
Businesses create jobs, not the government. The only role for the government in this quest is to provide the smoothest role possible towards the creations of these lending entities. Hopefully this idea is something that both parties can agree on. While Republicans would like to get much more done, Democrats have obstinately dug in their hooves. We need action. We need a plan.
Taxing the rich, as the Democratic Party would propose, in order to cover the costs of more stimulus, is not as good an idea as they would let on. Many of these rich help create jobs. Additionally, they could help provide the capital for this new lending system. If the rich are willing to spend their money in this system rather than sit on top of it, as many companies are inclined to do in present circumstances, than tax away. But the upper middle class and some rich could provide the capital for this microlending system. The average loan for microlending in Bangladesh is 100 dollars. This is hardly enough to start a small business. Though in order to start creating businesses, a future businessman might not need too much money, he doubtless needs more than a Benjamin.
Perhaps why the concept of microlending can be so effective—and appealing—is that it is built to succeed without interference from large, powerful, national banks. Grameen Bank was a small loaning entity created as a research project. Many microlending services online act like charities. While the greed of bankers and asset traders, who sold off toxic loans from bank to bank, person to person, until loans (which were by now immensely profitable to the banks) were being given out to people who had no authority to even think about getting a loan, microlending sends a smaller amount of capital to a person with a firm belief in their own ideas and a drive to contribute for their families. In a struggling economy, we need such a mindset to help us haul through.
Muhammad Yunus himself recognized the value that his system could add to entrepreneurship. By encouraging people to be entrepreneurs, the poor could climb out of poverty. With special assistance, many enterprising people in America can get the small spark needed to form their own profitable businesses.
With so many problems of our own, it’s time we learned our own lessons. It is time to put America back to work. By stimulating our people to create, innovate, and succeed, we can shed ourselves of economic bondage and create a new entrepreneurial force in our beautiful country.
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Friday, August 26, 2011
A New Approach In American Politics
We need to take a new approach to politics. We need to take back America and advocate policies that the people want. We need to create a government that works for the people. We need government to operate more efficiently. The American people deserve better. We cannot have ceaseless partisan bickering. We need to do what is right for America, do what is right for the people.
We advocate this new approach to politics. We encourage people to become active in their communities and encourage good governance. We need to keep up to speed with current events and let our representative know how we feel about the issues, events, and policies that define our nation. We cannot sit back while all the decisions are made by Washington bureaucrats. We need to take action.
We advocate this new approach to politics. We encourage people to become active in their communities and encourage good governance. We need to keep up to speed with current events and let our representative know how we feel about the issues, events, and policies that define our nation. We cannot sit back while all the decisions are made by Washington bureaucrats. We need to take action.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Inspiring Speech Relevant in Today's World
A very inspiring speech with relevance even today. Robert Kennedy's response to the killing of Martin Luther King Jr. With his monument being recently unveiled, King's message deserves uncovering in this age of polarization and misunderstanding.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Two Party System is Broken
The two party system is dividing America. With both the GOP and the Democratic Party's refusal to negotiate or give up ground on key issues, the American people continue to lose. Instead of enacting reforms that Americans need, the parties have been politicking each move, deciding that electoral security is better than a prosperous America.
We need action.
We need people in the Congress who can form consensuses with others and keep in touch with the people. Instead of feeding more money to their districts, we need to make government more efficient. With such streamlining, we can promote growth. The government needs to act for the people it represents, not just the big donors that bankroll their campaigns. Most Americans are not so far to the left or right as our representatives. We need people who will protect and work for the people's interests.
We need action.
We need people in the Congress who can form consensuses with others and keep in touch with the people. Instead of feeding more money to their districts, we need to make government more efficient. With such streamlining, we can promote growth. The government needs to act for the people it represents, not just the big donors that bankroll their campaigns. Most Americans are not so far to the left or right as our representatives. We need people who will protect and work for the people's interests.
Cartoon View on Illegal Immigration
An interesting view on illegal immigration from a cartoon found on slate.com. We hope that comics like these can start a debate on what we want from immigration policy. Sure we want to secure borders and protect American jobs, but many immigrants represent what the spirit of America means. They to want to live the American dream. They are also good people.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Debt Ceiling Political Shenanigans Are Ridiculous
It is time for the politicians to stop trying to gain leverage over each other politically and form a lasting deal that will save this country from financial ruin. A deal that could help in the long run and not hurt as much in the short turn could look like this:
*Cuts to Entitlements--Entitlements are a severe drain on the budget. They will soon become unaffordable. A reasonable deal to limit the cost of these programs is necessary. The Ryan plan may be unreasonable, but it does bring up the issue that we need to change what is broken. We cannot afford to spend loads of money on entitlements down the road.
*Cuts to Defense--We spend WAY too much money on foreign wars, foreign bases, and expensive military technology. We're not saying get rid of all of this, but surely some dough could be had from limiting foreign involvement and doing without a few new ships, tanks, or joint strike fighters. These projects do bring money to several special congressmen's districts, so it may be hard, but limiting the expenditures of the state will surely help us down the road
*Cuts to make government more efficient--Lots of businesses are saving money simply by the way they operate. The government could take a lesson from SOME private sector companies (HINT: NOT BANKS) in order to lower operation costs of some departments. Trimming some here and some there may not seem like much, but applied to the whole government, one can have real and significant change. People might not like it, but hey, we've got to trip money, and that's one way to do it. Trim from the first and second bullets first though.
*Increase in revenue--Notice we didn't say "increase in taxes". While others debate of what the exact meaning of not raising taxes is, there is no denying this: the governmental needs money. In order to temper what will likely be harsh cuts, revenue must come to the government. Taxes are how the government gets its money. So, in order to ensure the severity does not fall to America's industrious middle class, who are fighting for their lives in the recession, we must turn to those who can stomach it, the rich. We have tried trickle down economics, and it has not worked. We need a strong middle class in America, so they shouldn't have to bear the burden of the recession and debt. Another note: if the rich are taxed more, they're still rich, just as if the middle class are taxed less, they are also still in the middle class.
There are doubtless other ideas at how we can cut, trim, increase, decrease, or whatnot. If we come up with any more, we'll definitely post them. Feel free to tell us your own opinions. We shouldn't throw out ideas just because of where they come from. The citizens of this country must have their voice too.
*Cuts to Entitlements--Entitlements are a severe drain on the budget. They will soon become unaffordable. A reasonable deal to limit the cost of these programs is necessary. The Ryan plan may be unreasonable, but it does bring up the issue that we need to change what is broken. We cannot afford to spend loads of money on entitlements down the road.
*Cuts to Defense--We spend WAY too much money on foreign wars, foreign bases, and expensive military technology. We're not saying get rid of all of this, but surely some dough could be had from limiting foreign involvement and doing without a few new ships, tanks, or joint strike fighters. These projects do bring money to several special congressmen's districts, so it may be hard, but limiting the expenditures of the state will surely help us down the road
*Cuts to make government more efficient--Lots of businesses are saving money simply by the way they operate. The government could take a lesson from SOME private sector companies (HINT: NOT BANKS) in order to lower operation costs of some departments. Trimming some here and some there may not seem like much, but applied to the whole government, one can have real and significant change. People might not like it, but hey, we've got to trip money, and that's one way to do it. Trim from the first and second bullets first though.
*Increase in revenue--Notice we didn't say "increase in taxes". While others debate of what the exact meaning of not raising taxes is, there is no denying this: the governmental needs money. In order to temper what will likely be harsh cuts, revenue must come to the government. Taxes are how the government gets its money. So, in order to ensure the severity does not fall to America's industrious middle class, who are fighting for their lives in the recession, we must turn to those who can stomach it, the rich. We have tried trickle down economics, and it has not worked. We need a strong middle class in America, so they shouldn't have to bear the burden of the recession and debt. Another note: if the rich are taxed more, they're still rich, just as if the middle class are taxed less, they are also still in the middle class.
There are doubtless other ideas at how we can cut, trim, increase, decrease, or whatnot. If we come up with any more, we'll definitely post them. Feel free to tell us your own opinions. We shouldn't throw out ideas just because of where they come from. The citizens of this country must have their voice too.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Auxilia Party Now On Google+
The Auxilia Party is now on Google+. You can follow our updates here: https://plus.google.com/101424940641010996189/posts
We'll keep you posted on any developments in our organization. We will continue to post on this blog and try to link between or social networking sites.
We'll keep you posted on any developments in our organization. We will continue to post on this blog and try to link between or social networking sites.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Congressmen Must Take The Lead
Congressmen have to realize that the time for partisanship is over. In the endless debates in congress over the payroll tax, the debt ceiling, and the budget, politicians seldom realize that it is the American people that lose because of the inaction. Politicians are even greater procrastinators than students shoving off a huge project to the last night before it is due. Congress chronically cannot come up with a deal until the 11th hour, and even then, the deal is a weak mix of ideas designed solely to get a jumble of votes pass. Congress hasn't formed strong. well rounded compromises that will last beyond the election cycle.
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