Social Security "Entitlements"

I am so steamed up about this debt load from the War in Iraq that words fail me.

Back in July I wrote about this use/misuse of our Social Security Trust Fund monies.

The blog date is July 27, 2011, and the article said it pretty well. Instead of sputtering in frustration today, I invite you to read it again.

This week Congress is again waffling on budget concerns and passed a "two month extension" of approval for budget appropriations. Are they kidding?

Imagine that you are an accountant trying to keep your client organized and projections relevant. Imagine that you are a SSI or Social Security recipient and need monthly income to survive. What are they thinking?

It is time to send a bulldozer down to Washington and flatten some offices. Maybe if they have to stand in the street, like the protesters in New York and Los Angeles, Congress might get down to business faster and have much more focus.

No, I do not consider myself a tea party fancier. I am a frustrated liberal who is appalled by the lack of common sense in our capitol.

Let's cut our military budget back to Eisenhower (pre-Regan days) and let states and private enterprise do their own thing. Ethics and regulation, oversight and supervision is just so much crap. I would dearly love to hear a professorial discussion between Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama. They are both teachers and of high intellect. (Really) I would like to see just what is going on. Then we can turn our sights to Congress and the apparent dim-wits who are really running our country.

To Congress: Get a life. Get some smarts. For crying out loud, get over project and pork barrel swaps and pay attention to what the country really needs.

Get rid of lobbyists because the types of industry and business they foster are not good for the long run. An example: Buffets and catered cocktail parties to sway legislation to build a "bridge to nowhere", or "let elephants perform in the circus", or "count the number of times a shrimp jerks its legs when exposed to nasty stuff".

I am not exaggerating too much; these examples are just a bit altered from the real McCoy.

The kind of changes in our economy that we need are down at the grass roots level. Forget the 50 thousand dollar loans. Do you have any idea how many really small incubator loans can be made for that sum?

There is a church project to buy a $100 heifer for a needy woman in a poverty stricken country. The opportunity the heifer represents is hope. The heifer grows and is bred. It has a calf and gives milk. The heifer is potentially a calf producer, the milk is nutritious and can also be sold. After a couple of years, the calf/cow represents independence.

For our circumstances, micro loans can do the same thing.

Large loans incur a lot of interest and this cost is out of proportion to fledgling business ideas. Micro loans are better able to let a good idea take root and grow.

Lets think about that kind of helping hand at this holiday season.

Seniors rock.