Sunday, November 30, 2008

Whose Jobs? Whose Helping?

One thing I heard during this election cycle often from Democrats is that Republicans were giving tax cuts to companies that were taking jobs overseas.  The rage over "outsourcing" was also present in the 2004 presidential election as well, with John Kerry and John Edwards going so far as to term this companies "Benedict Arnold" companies, which was frequently repeated by supporters.  My question is who these companies are betraying?

Of course it's not true that Republicans are cutting taxes on these companies because they are outsourcing jobs, which is what Democrats make it sound like.  Republicans think that taxes obstruct businesses, and therefore hurt the economy, so of course they are going to support tax cuts for these corporations.  They aren't cutting taxes so they will, or because they do, ship jobs overseas.  There is no intended causality between the two.  Of course, higher taxes and more demands by unions (like cardcheck) would lead  companies to outsource jobs and higher prices, so it would make much more sense to say that Democrats are really leading the companies to outsource and  are really the ones hurting people.  This isn't even mentioning the fact that many economists believe outsourcing is good for the economy.  

Of course, the implication of this "betrayal" argument is that these corporations are betraying America or some American people.  It is a natural and understandable to at first have negative reaction to these companies giving jobs to foreigners, not Americans.  It is natural to like people that are like us.  But, after thinking about it, I can't find any sufficient answer as to why Americans deserve these jobs, except for the fact they are, well, American.  The only argument I see is on the grounds of xenophobia, ethnocentrism, or racism.  Of course most people that are complaining about outsourcing are not overtly racist or classist, it is only a prejudice that most people struggle with (partially natural, partially socially-imbedded) to prefer people we know and like.

These companies have a right to hire whomever they want.  They risk their assets, livelihood, and time running a business.  It is obviously cheaper to employ foreigners who will work for less.  From a business standpoint, it would be downright dumb to keep jobs in America.  So, the people who hate outsourcing companies want them to make decision that will hurt their own company.

The person that the companies hires overseas is no less of a person than an American. If they are African, Asian, Arab, or Hispanic they are no less of a person.  They don't deserve the job any less.  In fact, they are more than likely poorer than the American worker, in some cases they are desperately poor.  They need the job more than the American.

It is a painful experience for someone to lose a job.  In time, however, they will likely find a new job.  In many cases, a better job.  Businesses don't owe them anything.  Entrepreneurs don't start companies for employees, they start companies for themselves.  They have the right to do whatever they want with their money.  They risked their own money, not their future employees' money.  It is nobody's right to demand that they make a bad business move.  It is not a bad thing if American politicians want to try and keep jobs in America.  That's fine.  What is going to attract companies to stay in America?  Lower taxes and more freedom for companies, such as less of an obstructive influence from labor unions.

Who is trying to promote these things?  Republicans.

The Democratic approach defies logic.  A company outsources jobs so you raise taxes and promote unionization.  That won't do anything but encourage companies to outsource more jobs.

So who is really helping American workers?  Republicans.

Of course many of the politicians making these claims are hyprocrites themselves.  John Edwards, one of the loudest voices of opposition, for instance, has put millions of dollars into offshore hedgefunds to evade taxes, and many more hold stock in companies that are outsourcing.   

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Bond Movies

My top five Bond movies:

1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. Moonraker
3. Diamonds are Forever
4. Casino Royale
5a. Thunderball (tie)
5b. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

What I Would Do If I Were President

(I realize very few of these would ever be passed.)

1. Create a special council to decide America's role in tackling global poverty, the AIDS epidemic, preventable diseases, and unjust trade systems resulting in a widening economic gap between first and third world countries.

2. Create a 9/11 style commission to address American's energy future, providing both short-term and long-term strategies for energy independence and reforming the energy grid, and advising which alternative fuels are most viable to explore and research and have the most production potential.

3. Address the drunken-driving epidemic (to be discussed in the future).

4. Reform the prison system.

5. Reform the welfare system, transitioning to a more streamlined, organized workfare-based system with more mandates and time-based requirements. (Include healthcare coverage.)

6. Outlaw all abortions, except in cases where their is a threat to materal health (which is rare), expanding adoption and foster care systems, making them more accessible and creating more financial incentives, while simultaneously shutting down all abortion providers.  (Without prosecuting  women trying to obtain abortions.)

7. Create a comprehensive immigration reform package, securing the border, creating a guest worker program, prosecuting businesses and companies employing illegal aliens, and making legal immigration easier.  (to be discussed in the future.)

8. Legalize drugs to all 18 and over (with the possible exception of some hallucinogens and methamphetamines), drop the legal alcohol consumption and purchasing age to 18, legalize prostitution and gambling for all 18 and over, or at least give this power to each state.  Create better anti-drug education systems.

9. Through incrementalist methodologies (such as merit pay for teachers, expansion of voucher programs, more school choice through open enrollment, and greater accountability for schools, leading to budget cuts or closure of failing schools) privatize schooling and shrink the Department of Education to an independent oversight  agency (similar to the Securities and Exchange Commission).  

10. Reform the tax system, creating a less graduated, flatter code with lower tax rates.

11. Create a new military branch of peacekeepers, trained to assist countries in transition after a war (such as Iraq or Afghanistan).  

12. Create better congressional accountability, cutting the August Recess in half, mandating term limits for all Congresspersons and  Senators, and require those office-holders running for
a higher office to designate someone to serve in their place for the duration of the campaign.   



Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Interesting Places I've Visited

A comprehensive list of the interesting places I've visited.

-Mount Vernon (home of George Washington) and grave
-Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson) and grave
-Hyde Park (home of FDR)
-Dwight D. Eisenhower's home
-Lincoln's childhood home
-Gettysburg
-Harper's Ferry
-Antietam
-Bull Run/Manassas
-Chickamauga
-Lookout Mountain/Chattanooga
-Stone Mountain
-Fort Sumter
-Fort Necessity
-Williamsburg, Virginia
-Biltmore Estate (Vanderbilt's)
-Marble House (Vanderbilt's)
-Pearl Harbor
-Diamond Head Crater (Hawaii)
-Grand Canyon
-Bryce Canyon
Yosemite National Park
-Glen Canyon
-Zion Canyon
-The Strip (Las Vegas)
-Crater Lake
-Mono Lake
-Lake Mead
-Lake Tahoe
-Lake Champlain (Burlington, Vermont)
-Ben and Jerry's Headquarters (Waterbury, Vermont)
-Von Trapp family residence (Stowe, Vermont)
-"Painted Desert" (Arizona)
-"Petrified Forest" (Arizona)
-Meteor Crater (Arizona)
-Hoover Dam
-Ford's Theater and Lincoln's death site
-Arlington National Cemetery
-all major Washington D.C. landmarks
-childhood home of Carl Sandberg
-Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
-first Starbucks (Seattle)
-first Wendy's (Columbus)
-first Ghirardelli's (San Francisco)
-Sears Tower
-Golden Gate Bridge
-Niagara Falls
-original Quaker Oats factory and headquarters (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
-Wright Brothers childhood home
-Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop
-Ivy League universities-Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell

 

Palin for President?

People are already talking about the 2012 election.  Of course one of the biggest stories is Sarah Palin.  Many conservatives are excited about the prospect of her candidacy.  I liked Sarah Palin as a VP candidate.  Someone like John McCain doesn't needs someone with all the experience in the world.  She would have been extremely helpful in guiding America towards energy independence and reforming the energy grid, which should be the top priority of any administration right now.  She is also clearly reform-minded, which would have been a good help to John McCain.  She is also has a track record of cutting spending, which would be very helpful, as the current growth of government and the national debt should be a top priority.  She didn't have enough experience to be president, but that's overrated. She was running for vice president, not president.   Obama had practically no experience.  But he had time to mature over the campaign, she didn't.  Many other successful vice presidents have had similar level of experience as her.  Today, advisors and handlers are so important that one person doesn't have that much power and is certainly not alone.  Besides, if something would have happened to McCain (of course this is a double-hypothetical case) she would have likely had experience as a vice president.  She didn't make me any more unsteady than Joe Biden, who seems a little bit bombastic and brash.  (Some of his statements made me wonder if he was trying to throw the election.)  I don't believe for a second that she was as dumb as the media made her out to be.  She couldn't have become a governor that way.  It would be hard to believe she is a diva as well, or she wouldn't be the most popular governor in the country.  In looking at old clips and seeing lower-pressure interviews with her, she is clearly a smart, well-studied woman.  The presidency is a completely different situation.  She wouldn't just be somebody's helper.  Palin clearly does not have the breadth of knowledge or experience to be in charge of the country right now, especially in terms of economics or foreign affairs.  However, there are many things I admire about Mrs. Palin.

1. She seems like a genuinely warm and caring person.
2. She isn't a "politician", she has tackled corruption and excess, even in her own party.  It is a very impressive thing for her to put the state's jet on Ebay and cut the governor's chef.
3. She doesn't seem like an insane partisan like so many politicians, she repeatedly talked about people of all political persuasions finding common ground and such, and actually displayed this in Alaska.  Interviews with her as a mayor show a very humble, practical person.
4. She is not wealthy or elite like so many politicians, but comes from a working class background.
5. She has personal connections to issues, again unlike many politicians, a son in Iraq, a special needs son, a teenage daughter who is pregnant.


That said, I would prefer if she didn't run in '12.  I probably wouldn't vote for her, unless she shows she has significantly increased her knowledge.  Personally, I would like to see her join the senate.  I think she would be a very strong presence and could do some things.  Perhaps she could then think about running in 2016.  But as it stands now, there are several other people who I would support before her.  I like Palin, but I'm not one of these far-right conservatives that thinks she is fully qualified to be president now or wants her to run in the next election. She is a great governor and perhaps a good presidential candidate someday.  She's too conservative for my taste, but I still think she could be a candidate I could vote for someday, but not anytime soon.
 

Oil Crude...About to go up?

I'm wondering if oil prices will start rising soon.  Demand is still low, but I don't know if it can drop too much more.  What I'm really interested  is to see how the increased piracy along the coast of Africa (and a little along South America) affects the price of oil.  Shipping costs are already up this year and insurance rates are steeply increasing due to all of the piracy.  The situation is quickly getting to be a major problem.  That coupled with the OPEC's attempts to decrease production are distorting the market.  Just what we need.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

My Prayer

This is a prayer/poem I wrote.  Forgive me if it not good, but I wrote it quickly in the middle of the night.  But I kinda liked it.

Lord, 

Guide my steps.
Pick me up when I fall.
Humble me when I think I know it all.
Help me to become more like you everyday, in every way.
Give me the strength, courage, and maturity to do the right thing when it's not easy.
Help me love others as you do, help me do unto others as you would do.  
Help my heart to stay strong but my spirit meek.
Let me feel your love when the future looks bleak.