One additional area I would focus on if I were the leader of this Nation at this important time would be a return to the virtues of Freedom and Accountability. Across this Globe the word "America" is synonyms with "Freedom." America is, or should be, Freedom. I would remind the citizens of our great land that America was founded by men and women who craved for personal responsibility. They craved the opportunity to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labors because they had been deprived of them by a Colonial Empire. They craved the opportunity to succeed - even if in the attempt they would fail. I would remind our people that this country was founded to reduce government - not to embolden it. I would tell the leaders of business and industry that the very bedrock of America is not the government but the Freedom the government is to sustain and that Freedom cannot exist without Accountability. They are two sides of the same coin. Once cannot exist without the other.

One of the key areas we, as a Nation, must focus on is Education. Bill Gates makes some great points in this short talk on Education. The first part is on Malaria, the second part is on Education.

I highly recommend you watch it.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/451

For the long term, we must begin to prize education again as not only a means to an end, but an end to itself. Learning should be an objective because we love it and because it makes us better human beings - more able to love, listen, understand, share, build, play and create. Education today is too much of a rite of passage, an obstacle in a way on the course of life rather than life itself. It is not an obstacle - it is the prize at the end of the course. When we look back on our lives, we should be filled with gratitude for what we learned, that we learned everything we possibly could, and that we loved learning it. Life is more than movies, video games and extra-curricular activities. Life is about learning. We need to change our mindsets and help change others as well.

I watched an interview with Ron Paul today and he mentioned how there were only five copies of the final bill circulated among the house and the senate on the day the bill was voted on. Unbelievable.

If you want to be one of the lucky few to actually see what is in the bill for yourself (instead of reading the cliff notes version), click here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/h1/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf

As you look through you will be amazed.

Do we need more domestic attention? We do - absolutely. However, you can't cut taxes and increase spending. You can't cut taxes and wage two wars. We can't cut taxes and continue planning yet another $100 billion bailout bill. We can't have it all - we need to sacrifice for our country. We all need to pull together as individual Americans and sacrifice. Some might say that this bill is that sacrifice. However, this bill doesn't require any sacrifice of us - at least not for quite some time. It requires a sacrifice of our children and our unborn and their unborn. This bill also doesn't do anything for them. It arguably won't make things better for them as it doesn't change the fundamentals of what has and is going wrong in America. Taxing the future for the status quo is reckless, dangerous and irresponsible. What is the sacrifice we must make? No one has asked us for one.

Last night I posted what I would do if I were expected to do something. Two of the points I said that would need our attention would be fiscal policy and inflation. Both are obviously related but in the short term, we can make immediate changes to reduce the coming hyperinflation. The current bailout bill is the wrong direction for the short and long term.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdVP_sgCETo

To watch a short presentation on the point I made regarding the money supply increasing by 24% annually, you will need to watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDEe0Ai6lTM

Not that Glenn Beck is a good source of backup, but the data from the Federal Reserve is.

Finally, AEI has a great article called "The Second Coming of Keynes." I recommend it to you. If you look at the proposed bailout relative to anything that has ever been undertaken by the government in our history, you will see how crazy this plan is.

The author closes: "The truth is that there is very little empirical support for policies such as these. They will likely provide a small boost, at an enormous cost. When the boost is gone, the cost will remain.

For those economists who are more skeptical of the theories of John Maynard Keynes, there is but one consolation: An experiment this large will provide ample opportunity for study. "

Indeed it will and we have good reason to suspect the outcome won't be pretty. Amending the Federal Reserve Act to allow money to be printed only at the rate of productivity would be the best and most sound fiscal policy for our country - gold should not be our standard nor should the great experimental ideas of the Fed bankers. Gold and the Fed are not the wealth of the nation. Smith was right - it is labor.

There are two enemies to our future - Government spending and the Federal Reserve system of unbridled freedom to set America's monetary policy. Both must be reigned in.

In response to a friend's question about what would I do regarding the economic stimulus plan and the current situation, I put this forward as a possible solution. At first pass, this is the direction I think we should go:

Communicate with Hope and Vision

It is the role of all leaders to lead us to a better place. The words we say have a powerful effect on the feelings we feel and the actions we take. If I were responsible for the country, I would hope that I would recognize this important trust and communicate the truth of the present and a vision of optimism and hope for the future.

Understand the Long Term Issues Facing the Country

One of the primary problems I see with the current economic situation is that the TARP and current stimulus plan being debated is, as most legislation is, very reactionary. Politicians are never voted in for their 10-20 year plans. They are voted in for what they can do for the problems people were facing yesterday. As a result, the actions in congress are very reactionary and sadly do little to avoid problems and create strategies for the future.

It is important to note that I believe that for those long term needs for the safety and general welfare of the People that the free market has failed to see profit in, the Government has a role to ensure the need is met. Please know up front that I do not believe that the role of government is to interfere in the marketplace where there is a marketplace but in those places where there is not one. The government cannot be, and should not be, the be all and end all of everything as it is quickly becoming. The place of government is not to prop up crippled institutions, cap executive salaries, flood markets with endless streams of cash, nationalize institutions, purchase private equities in firms or place an impossible burden of debt on the backs of the People for immidiate, short term boosts.

I would therefore not take any short term action that would adversely affect the long term future of our nation's children. Those issues that must be addressed to ensure long term success for the nation are:

1. The Breakup of the Family as the Basic Unit of Society

It is in the interest of the citizens of our nation to help ensure that each child born into our country is born to a father and a mother who honor their marital vows. Children that are raised in a loving home gain the self confidence they need to succeed in life, a foundation of love and respect for their fellow man, and a commitment to generally a sense of personal honor and commitment. The breakdown of the family will be a country of individuals whose hearts have grown cold through abuse and neglect and who will desire love but not know how to find it. The dissatisfaction with this kind of life leads many to a life of a relentless pursuit of selfishness. Selfishness only brings more misery and heartache along with the other ills of an uncivilized people. As a leader I would promote fidelity and the virtues of honor, commitment, love, respect, and forgiveness.

2. The Growing Lack of Creativity

Western civilization has primarily grown out of our ability to create. Inventions that bless the lives of individuals whether for increased work productivity or leisure are desired commodities. The United States is producing fewer and fewer creative inventions. This decline in America's ability to create will cause a real shift in global positioning that is concerning for our children.

The government must actively be finding ways to help more people become interested in engineering and the sciences. The government must understand its place in funding the sciences of all kinds and in removing barriers to the country remaining competitive on this front. Creativity in renewable energies is a key area for our nation to gain core competencies. This leads us to the next long term problem.

3. Education

Natural born citizens have fallen far behind the rest of the world in education. Our children do not learn much in school and our parents are not concerned or trying to help them learn more. Instead, they want their children's lives to be dominated by extra-curricular activities rather than academic ones. Learning must be enshrined as part of our culture - not just entertainment. As a leader, I would work with leading business and education leaders to help re-shape the American education system to help our children be prepared for and to help shape the 21st Century.

4. Immigration Reform

Because our schools are not producing the number of graduates that are needed to fill the creative jobs in our country, we must make it easier and not harder for the dreamers, the creators, the engineers of today in foreign countries to become American citizens. The doors of our country should open to the people of all nations and we should welcome them into our nation and culture.

5. Energy Independence

The long term success of the west is dependent on energy independence. The government must take a strategic role in helping our country leave behind its dependence on foreign oil. The country must enact true, long term energy policy that would greatly reduce or entirely eliminate our need for foreign oil. Just yesterday it was announced that China purchased more cars last month than the United States for the first time. Imagine what a billion more cars on the road will mean for the oil supply. We are in an insecure place if we are all relying on the same source of energy. America must see the greater need for long term energy policy. The safety of our nation largely depends on this one piece - energy independence.

Understand the Short Term Problems Facing the Country

As I see it, the true short term problems of our nation are:

1. The Housing Market

The housing market was one of the primary sources of our current economic problem. In the short term, relief must be given to those deserving home owners who are facing foreclosures. Rather than give hundreds of billions to banks to compensate them for their losses, the government should step in and force a renegotiation of contract and interest rate that ensures the people of this great country are served as well as the interest of the banks.

2. Inflation

The Government and Federal Reserve have already spent or committed nearly $10 Trillion on the economic bailout. That is a lot of extra money that has gone into the economy. Additionally, M2 - the Nation's money supply - is growing at a rate of 24%. That is scary - do you want to see 20% inflation? I don't - that is a very dangerous thing. The Federal Reserve must stop flooding the markets with money and the government must stop this as well or else I fear our economy would be incredibly hurt. So, not just those who have been unwise would be hurt - but those who have been wise as well. As a leader I would make this hard decision.

3. Credit

The lending institutions who have been given money in the TARP funds should be required to use the funds or return them to the government. The only way they will return to solvency is by earning money and they cannot do that by "strengthening their balance sheets" alone. They have to produce something and that "something" is financial services and credit.

4. Reaction

As a leader I would urge Congress to not react with haste but with positive energy and a long term strategy to create the right solutions for our nation's current and future issues.

5. Energy Costs

In reality, many people and businesses were hurt over the recent high energy costs which is a result of the country's complacency in creating alternative fuel sources. The government has a place to ensure that monopolies on energy are charging fair and reasonable prices for the fuel they provide. There needs to be some government oversight for industries where there is not a true free market.

6. Out of Control Government Spending

I need to say nothing more than the banner at the top of this page. By living way beyond our means we are quickly laying the foundation for certain economic, long term doom.

For an infrastructure bill we should understand the key structural issues that need addressing.

I do not believe that roads and bridges are a huge problem to our country's present and future growth. If there are real problems with some roads and bridges we should by all means fix them. However, the current financial crisis is not the time to be working on roads that simply need widening or freeways that need expanding for no real reason other than to create jobs.

The real structural problems that need addressing are as follows:

1. Fiscal Policy

It is my belief that the Federal Reserve Act should be amended to allow the Fed to only increase the money supply according to the increase in productivity. Any exceptions to this should be approved by the House of Representatives. Allowing a private bank to control the wealth of the nation, which is the labor of the people, puts the people at odds with business and slaves almost to the wealth they should own. The People of this nation are the wealth thereof and should be the ones responsible for the money supply.

2. Tax Reform

Our government must look at true tax reform and investigate a more representative tax system.

3. Government Oversight

For the country to not repeat the same problems that led to this, the White House should investigate and find the places where oversight failed or was non-existent and propose corrections. We have laws and police to enforce those laws. This is a place that certainly needs some attention. As a good friend posted a comment on dirivities, this would certainly be the area to monitor that.

4. True government fiscal reform

To save our country we must end the entitlement state, allow market forces and the common descency of our people to fill in the gaps, and restore Government to its proper place. By following the Long Term plan I put forth above, we would be able to better position our country for future economic success and help to create a better and safer world.

Conclusion

If I were responsible for such a monumental task, I would like to think this is where I would start. This is what I feel the proper role of government is. There are those that believe that any government involvement is bad involvement (I have found that to be mostly partisan rhetoric). I disagree and know that history would disagree along with some of our greatest founding fathers. Hamilton, Madison (as they wrote in the Federalist) and Washington would have believed in some limited involvement for the benefit of all in these types of situations.

I do not believe the government should be hands off but I also do not believe it possesses the solutions to the problems. It can only work by communicating with optimism and creating the proper structure for the true creative forces to work - the People of our great land. To do this, the government should avoid destroying the people by stealing their wealth through inflation, taxing them for their whole lives for a benefit that will last a few months, and creating a nationalized system that takes the true creative forces out of the market that blesses our lives.

The answer lies in the People and if we are true to the principles of individual liberty and justice for all, we will make tomorrow better than today for you, me and our children.

A good friend of mine received this letter from Senator Dodd yesterday. It is in response to the Economic Stimulus Bill being debated presently. His response, like that of Senator Lieberman, shows that his mind is made up. Imagine what your life would be like if you, in times of trouble, with your income going way down, took out a massive loan to support yourself and hedge your bets that you would one day be able to pay off the loan. First, no bank in their right mind would loan to you. Second, that was what brought you here in the first place. And third, it wouldn't fix the behavior that got you here in the first place.

My only point in this is to document for anyone reading (all two of you (my wife and I)), that this is just more of the same. I am certain that the intent is to bring change but the motives and the rhetoric are the same of the past 16 years. Here is the headline from the political sports coverage by Politico:

This article is another example of why we are not on course for change. Just look at the headline:

"Obama losing the stimulus message war"

Rather than having the media focus on the who is winning and who is losing the political game like it's some type of sports coverage, the media should focus on the facts, the policy, the motives, the possible outcomes, costs and benefits. The media has colluded with our elected officials to make our government little more than a horse race. One quick scan of this paragraph illustrates my point:

"At this crucial juncture in the push to pass an economic recovery package, President Obama finds himself in the most unlikely of places: He is losing the message war. Despite Obama’s sky high personal approval ratings, polls show support has declined for his stimulus bill since Republicans and their conservative talk-radio allies began railing against what they labeled as pork barrel spending within it. "

I think the media has this one wrong. They should inform the viewers - not give a play by play of the game of politics. In a way, the parties use this type of coverage to keep from doing what we need them to.

Some things fundamentally have to change for us to really progress and one way is to have the media force the politicians to talk about policy, motives, philosophy and purpose rather than who's on first and what's on second.

To read the who article on the political game, click here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090205/pl_politico/18444

As I read a few news articles on the stimulus package being debated in Congress and the President's response to the difficulty of getting it passed, I couldn't help but see some problems.