Will Greed Crush America … This Time doc

Will Greed Crush America … This Time? by Bill Yuska Published by Bill Yuska at Smashwords Copyright 2012 “The few who understand the system, will either be so interested from its profits or so dependent on its favors, that there will be no opposition from that class.” . . . “Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.” — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild, 1744-1812 "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." — Pres. Thomas Jefferson, 1816 “…There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing.” — Pres. Andrew Jackson, 1832, Promise to Veto an extension for the Charter of the Second National Bank (Four years prior to renewal) "The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other people's money." — Rep. Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr., 1923 “The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe, if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living." — Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1938 "In the United States we have, in effect, two governments We have the duly constituted government … Then we have an independent, uncontrolled and uncoordinated government in the Federal Reserve System, operating the money powers which are reserved to Congress by the Constitution.(Article 1, Section 8)" — Rep. Wright Patman, Chair of House Banking & Currency Committee, 1967 "Because [corporations] have become so international and global in nature, it's highly questionable whether governments can actually control corporations to a sufficient degree to prevent them from controlling governments." — Rep. Paul Kanjorski, House Banking Committee, 2011 A new Constitution is not needed, but We The People must change our overly simplistic views and find answers to the destruction of the American Way caused by the level of greed which will always escalate whenever wealth becomes unregulated. The United States will never fully recover without action from We! The Constitution needs to be amended due to the effects of wealth gaining control as fascism and plutocracy voids democracy to pervert the “American Dream” into “where’s mine?”, and change the “Golden Rule” into “Gold Makes The Rule”. The only Constitutional Convention ever held did replace the Articles of Confederation; so it is conceivable that another might create a different Constitution, but options are running out for the future of the United States, and the citizens need to take the initiative to begin fixing the problems brought on by the ever increasing level of greed, and a lack of Congressional action to address the real problem. The Roman Empire lasted more than 1,000 years and served as the basic model for the United States Constitution. As dictatorship began changing the Roman Republic and greed and corruption became more evident, the satirist Juvenal simply replied “bread and circuses” when asked why the people didn't revolt; in other words, subsistence living provide necessities while entertainment distracts from the problem that would eventually destroy the Republic. The separation of powers ensures that no one part of our government (executive, legislative, or judicial) can become too powerful (Roman Senators were appointed for life). Unfortunately, nothing is preventing “our moneyed corporations” from manipulating legislation; so once again, the people need to start fighting for the common good or the greatest nation ever conceived will become just another “could-a-should-a” of history. The checks and balances are meant to prevent the greed and corruption that proved to be the downfall of Rome, but the greatest check is the freedom to determine, and either approve or deny leadership by voting. An inalienable right instilled at birth, stupidity is defined as repeating the same mistake and expecting a different result, and as a society we pass laws to protect ourselves from the abuse of this right. Today, the abusers have again risen to power and shape the governance of the nation to meet their wants while passing the burden onto those least capable of supporting it. The common man need not “understand the system” to know that it is not working to his benefit. For the third time since the end of the American Revolution, the United States faces a national collapse brought about by the level of greed generated by uncontrolled wealth. The first time happened because the thirteen new states had created the Articles of Confederation which made state law superior to national law so that aristocrats could establish their own little fiefdoms and pass the majority of the economic burden onto working class citizens, and left the federal government without any means to help the people promote the general welfare for common good of the nation. Next, the wealth became concentrated among fewer during the Industrial Revolution. “Robber Barons” sought more for themselves without regard for consequence which laid the framework for the Great Depression. To restore an economic balance, these merchants of greed sold war materials to Hitler and Hirohito which created the conditions leading to World War II, but the Depression did end. The increasingly heavier taxes imposed on wealth began too late and would have taken many decades before restoring a balance by themselves. Today the United States watches history repeat as the country is again ruled by wealth for wealth, and the economic burden is again placed on those least able to support it to promote the common good (prosperity for all). After the American Revolution (wealthy aristocrats either bought deferments or became paid officers while soldiers received little in compensation), the Articles of Confederation became the law of the land in 1781, but too much power to the individual states was granted to aristocratic leaders who wrote and applied law to maintain control of their states in order to pursue their want for more. A weak centralized government did not have resources to handle a collapsing economy as wealth only sought to obtain more regardless of consequence. The call for a Constitutional Convention was finally answered in 1787 for the express purpose of modifying the Articles of Confederation, but Thomas Jefferson and John Adams worked behind-the-scenes to help create our present Constitution based on equality; concessions were still made to wealthy aristocrats to get the votes necessary for ratification; but with the addition of the first ten Amendments (Bill of Rights) four years later in 1791, the United States became a nation of, by and for the people. Unfortunately, protection from the greed that uncontrolled wealth generates was never provided for the common man. The Federal Reserve was established to stop bank failures and stabilize the economy caused by the Panic of 1907 (along with those in the 19th century), and steadily fails to serve its purpose. Since its creation to end multiple runs on banks and the resulting general economic failures, it has done little in the national interest for the common man. The Federal Reserve is composed of privately owned banks and not an agency of the government. The Great Depression, further recessions and inflation have destroyed the value of the dollar. The Federal Reserve Act does not require the governing Board to report any of its actions to any Congressional Committee. Why have all the calls for audits been rejected by Congress? Exactly what has the “FED” done to stabilize the economy? Why does Congress still allow it to exist in its current mode of operation? Is the inaction of Congress bought by the “campaign donations” from the members of the Federal Reserve Board, and owners of banks who don’t want the public to know the truth? War profiteers made billions during World War I. General Smedley Butler, twice awarded the Medal of Honor, wrote War is a Racket based on his retirement speech (1931) stating that he was nothing more than “a gangster for capitalism.” World War II saw little difference in profiteering. The purpose of the American military is to defend our nation, not to improve any financial situation. Saddam Hussein was a dictator who remained in power by keeping internal factions fighting among themselves, and neighbors from invading by a show of military force which was proven to be negligible after Desert Storm. What plausible explanation is there for our being in Iraq, if not just to put money in someone’s pocket? How many tours of combat should one person have to endure? Too many of America’s finest continue being injured and killed just to put more dollars into already swollen wallets! It is imperative to repair the injustices We have ignored for far too long as the United States has become a nation where the Star-Spangled Banner waves over a land of indebted slaves and become home to the complacent. Increasingly, business fails to provide employment that creates an acceptable standard of living. Fortunately, the framers of the Constitution anticipated a time when Congress might be unable to adequately promote the general welfare for the common good, and provided the means for a majority to take back what has been lost using Article V of the Constitution to establish amendments without a need for bloodshed. The Framers of the Constitution were among the wealthiest of colonists, yet they created a government to serve common good instead of letting wealth determine how the majority should live to serve aristocratic want and demand as happened throughout Europe. History shows that whenever an economic difference becomes too unequal, tragic events will happen to rectify the problem; the French Revolution began because of the growing disparity in wealth between aristocracy and commoners which created conditions allowing Napoleon to become the dictator of France, and Hitler rose to power from Germany’s economic collapse due to heavy World War I reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. 1999 saw the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act which was ratified in 1933 to keep banks from generating another “Great Crash” that would launch yet another “Great Depression”. Now, America is primed for a “Great-er” Depression; and, a World War would not be feasible to bring it to a conclusion as it would result in the destruction of all nations with the exchange of nuclear arms. All economies are based on cash flow, not retention. Profits are the just rewards for people taking risk, but as money belongs to fewer people to invest the “risk” has been to favor already certain industries which delays progress and promotes wealth for the very few. No sane person begrudges the likes of Bill Gates or Steve Jobs for the billions made because they created industries which improved the nation’s welfare; but, those like Warren Buffet, who only use other people’s money to make more, should be taxed higher to provide the funds the government needs to keep promoting the general welfare for the common good. The corporate tax rate of the United States is the highest in the world at 35%, but most avoid paying through various schemes. Since a corporation's profit is not taxed until the money enters the country, would a corporation create a “foreign dummy corporation” to “invest” the profit back into their own corporation? Proposals to lower the rate and close loopholes have long been said could not work, but have never even been attempted. Since JFK lowered taxes (went into effect in 1964 – the first time taxes were lowered since the Great Depression on advice from economic advisers), Congress has continually lowered taxes and never sought an optimal tax rate on wealth that maintains a high investment incentive while still obtaining funds necessary to run needed government programs promoting national growth. NAFTA is a failure; jobs, manufacturing and technology have been sent to slave- labor countries to the detriment of the nation to satisfy the demands of wealth. Corporations keep more efficient products from reaching the market by pressuring smaller business to fail, delaying improvement and progress just to increase their own profit. As a nation, the United States enjoys its best “general welfare” periods whenever the wealth disparity between economic classes is in proportional balance; the last time that happened was from the late 1940s to the beginning of the 1970s. The income tax system has become increasingly complex with a variety of codes for what is considered “income”. Our tax system needs simplification so that all income (salary, capital gain, bonds, stocks, etc) is taxed similarly; the economic burden is proportionally distributed to reduce the deficit, lessen the load on the middle-class and allow the entire nation to share the prosperity generated by the hard efforts of the American workforce. Congress continually fails to represent needs for the whole nation, as the two party political system has fallen into a state of disrepair, and positions on social issues is all that separate a Democrat from a Republican as they continually fail to address the national need in favor of wealthy concern. At the end of an election there should be representation for all of America's needs not a “plutocratic party”! Two-thirds of Congress is required to pass a law, so why are all tax cuts “across-the-board”? Would cuts only favoring those in need get the required vote? 47% of the United States Congress are millionaires as opposed to 1% of Americans, and either chair or sit on committees controlling their investments. Is this why they spend millions of dollars to get elected to a position that pays $175,000 per year? To serve themselves and wealthy donor interest? Do We have “taxation without representation”? How many workers in America get to vote for a pay raise or cost of living increase for themselves? Shouldn't Congressional salary be based on a low multiple of the poverty level? Isn't it their duty to insure that the majority of the nation receives a wage increase first? From the Tillman Act of 1907 to the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002, every attempt to limit the amount of money to campaign contributions has been overturned by the Supreme Court for the exact same reason – a violation of free speech; after a century, isn't it obvious that an amendment is needed? Doesn’t wealth just increase the volume that drowns out the free speech of less affluent candidates? Since the tax system has been repeatedly revised wealth is once again dominating the political process, and common citizens no longer have a say in the governing of the country as career politicians replace citizen representatives to benefit the affluent at the expense of the majority. Today's situation is similar to wealthy aristocrats ruling states under the Articles of Confederation that collapsed the economy or the control of the nation by “Robber Barons” which created the conditions leading to the Great Depression. Fair and equal job performance considerations are nonexistent. When an employee gets laid off, they no longer contribute to government revenue through payroll taxes (FICA), but subtract from the revenue by receiving unemployment benefits. Why then should it be considered NORMAL when a CEO gets fired for not fixing the problems he was hired to correct, he is given a multiple of his YEARLY salary while an employee is considered LUCKY to receive one WEEK for every year of loyal service to the company when their only “failure” was following poor management decisions? Isn’t it more logical to remove one CEO without rewarding failure, and retain hundreds of employees who only implement management decisions on behalf of the best interest of the corporation at the CEO's discretion? The average amount of money that each United States household saves is continually declining which means the majority will be spending more than they earn as personal debt keeps growing larger; the gap in wealth between rich and poor is the widest it has ever been, and only continues to worsen. Today, wealth controls the United States and a Constitutional Convention will only be the first step in a long fight to return to a government of, by and for the people; and, the means for corruption must be removed from government by limiting wealth in the political process before any good is accomplished. Article V requires 66% of STATE legislatures (34 states) to apply for a Constitutional Convention to be convened; and every proposed Amendment must then be approved by 75% of the state legislatures (39 states) before it is ratified. Unlike the last convention, this will take many years to complete as Congress will seek every means to delay action. Those opposed are mostly concerned that moneyed interests will buy delegates to insure their benefit, but this is where the effort of We must make our voices heard to be sure that each delegate selected only represents the interest of their state, and any amendment proposed by their delegates will be based on their community need, but some concessions will still be needed to advance some amendments. Individual independence always comes first in the United States, but being able to set differences aside and come together for common good is what makes it the greatest nation. There will be Amendments proposed that will not be to everyone’s liking, but the majority of We can determine which will work best, and once more return to governing for the common good of the nation, instead of being ruled by the wants of the very few. We The People need to stand up and start fighting back for control of our nation, but it is going to be a difficult task. Ben Bagdikian was called an “alarmist” for stating that only 50 corporations controlled the majority of news media in his book, “The Media Monopoly” in 1983. Today, they have merged into just 6. Who decides what news is fit to be known? The assignment before us is immense, but perhaps most difficult will be informing all the people how close to a “twilight’s last gleaming” We truly are as those contributing the most to political campaigns are the likeliest to influence the media moguls with wealth spent to advertise and support their own interest. Hopefully, the knowledge of how dire the situation that greed has inflicted on America will be presented, and the people will make an informed decision to turn the country back from the brink of destruction, and place the future back on the path to common good for the whole United States. Congressional term limits and salary adjustments; campaign finance control; earmark reform; a balanced budget; controlling the Federal Reserve; repairing a tax system that unjustly rewards wealth; breaking up the media monopoly to allow free press; and limiting unjust CEO compensation and rewards will never be fixed by a Legislature because they are forced to deal with various “political” agendas to address the symptoms, but never the cause, and will only be repaired by the people. For instance, Congress passed Presidential Term Limits (Amendment 22) in 1951, but has done nothing about their own term limits. The majority of Americans believe Congress only act in either their own or campaign donor benefit regardless of any cost to the nation. Congressional Term limits will force career politicians out of office and protect our nation from their abuse of power, but should still allow effective leaders the opportunity to return. The following ten Amendments or Bill of “Liberty and Justice for ALL” (control the level of greed) should be added to the Constitution: (1.) An automatic draft to take effect within 90 days of a declaration of War or a conflict lasting longer than 90 days; to insure that a commitment of U.S. Forces is in national interest, and not the interest of anyone’s wallet, and let's hold our officials responsible for their decision! (2.) Congressional Term Limits (voter turnout averages around 63%). Should not exceed two consecutive terms, but to allow for the return of ‘good’ political leadership, there should be a minimal time out of office before any re-election could be sought. No “Grandfather clauses”. Congressional salaries lowered and set to a multiple of no more than three times the poverty level – let them live a middle-class lifestyle and earn a raise by creating one for the nation. (3.) Campaign Finance Reform to eliminate wealth from buying the leadership of our nation. (4.) Earmark Reform to stop Congress from “buying votes” that spin poor legislation into law. (5.) A Balanced Budget to stop increasing the federal deficit. (6.) Congressional overview and twice yearly audits of the Federal Reserve to hold them totally accountable for all their activities and maintain control of the wealth merchants (banks have proven that they require supervision). (7.) A simplified Tax System established for “common good” that provides needed money for national programs while still allowing a reasonable profit for ALL – as was originally proposed: a tax on ALL income regardless if it was obtained legally or illegally (or stock options). To allow for adjustments to the economy, a review to raise or lower taxes for a limited set period before reverting back, no more across-the-board cuts, set optimal tax rates, and collect what is owed, especially from “Our moneyed corporations”. (8.) Break up of the media monopoly to ensure a free press, and that the WHOLE truth is always presented so that every decision made is always based on all the facts. (9.) Fair and Equal performance for the work place where rewards are based on the ability to perform, not for failure; and, equal considerations when layoffs occur regardless of job position. (10.) A “Death Tax” where a determined percentage is divided among survivors; and, the rest is provided to the government for determination of how much will be utilized by programs or donated to worthy charitable organizations. Why should descendants have unfair monetary advantages that their ancestor earned beyond the education that was offered? The time has come to end the “Wealth Caste System”; and, give every generation a fair and equal chance based solely on the ability to perform in their chosen pursuit of happiness. Not everyone is expected to agree with every proposal and others may see different needs, but this is what will be accomplished through a Constitutional Convention and ratification process. When enlisting in the military there is an oath taken when sworn in — “…I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic …”. Intangible enemies are the hardest to fight because they can't be seen or touched; only the effects are felt. Greed exists in all humans as part of the survival instinct, but can quickly become the invisible enemy, camouflaged by divisional factors and rarely recognized until too late. The level of greed must be brought under control as greed only knows more, and more can never be enough. Just like a dictator, control is maintained by diverting attention from issues so the people do not realize the true cause of the majority of problems, or they might join forces and take the action needed to correct the true problem. All empires have fallen, some to military failure or a more technologically advanced adversary, but the vast majority collapse when greed breaks the empire's back (middle-class). Freedom of choice can be the difference this time. The framers of the Constitution did what could be done to create a nation based on equality, but could not protect the common man from unregulated wealth, the level of greed it generates and the devastation brought about because of it, but they provided a means for an educated populace to start fighting back for control of their nation by using Article V of the Constitution to take back what has been lost. We have the freedom to choose our leadership and either approve or deny it. The choice is up to US: Fight back for fair and equal governing, or do nothing as wealth keeps dictating the rule, and the greatest government ever conceived will collapse. Wealth must be removed from governing this nation to protect the common man and keep the United States steadily advancing. If you would like to help your country return to its intended purpose of promoting the general welfare for common good, please inform your State Legislators to make the call to assemble a Constitutional Convention: http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/State_and_Territories.shtml, and then citizen attention needs to insure that it does assemble, and provide the solutions so critically needed. “… and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth" — Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863 . Will Greed Crush America … This Time? by Bill Yuska Published by Bill Yuska at Smashwords Copyright 2012 “The few who understand the system, will. destruction of the American Way caused by the level of greed which will always escalate whenever wealth becomes unregulated. The United States will never fully