CapitalistMarks

The Iraq experiment

Posted on 07. Mar, 2010 by scott.

Today Millions of Iraqis go (have gone by the time I write this)  to the polls.  Of course such an event would have been regarded as pure fiction if mentioned less than a decade ago.  A majority Arab nation holding meaningful democratic elections?  It seems so, and this event is historic if the answer is ye.

In the 2005 election tens of thousands of U.S. military forces ‘guarded’ the nations elections.  Today they rest uneasily in camps far away from city polling stations.  Security now is handled by about 500,000 Iraqi internal security forces.  Still bombs are exploding and grenades fall in the midst of some waiting voters.  Dozens have been killed and many more injured in today’s unjustified violence.  Yet reports indicate that a majority of Iraq’s nearly 20,000,000 voters are risking life and limb to have ‘their’ voice heard in this important election.

This isn’t like any election American’s would find familiar, and not just because of the violence administered by a very small and intolerant/ignorant minority.  Think of more than 62,000 candidates running for 325 parliament seats.  With such numbers it will probably take many months to complete the ‘counts’ and seat a parliament elected by the people.  But the effort is worth it.

I have often called George W. Bush the least competent President in memory.  I still think he will fill pages of history books with tales of his ‘cowboy’ diplomacy and refusal to acknowledge the will of the people . . . likely the worst President ever.  Consider.  More than 4,300 or our neighbors and friends have lost their life in this dry and unwelcoming land.  The financial cost is at or above $1 trillion.  The cost of in terms of America’s loss of international moral superiority could eventually prove to be even higher (Obama must weigh in on this).

Despite all of the above, if Iraq develops into a truly democratic nation that includes the interests of Shia, Sunni and Kurd alike, the eventual toll on our great nation may have been worth it.  That particular social and economic calculation is years from being completed.   America’s Iraq war cost must be measured in the future success of Iraqi democracy and a peaceful and safe Iraq population.

I wonder if once American’s are gone from this country we will be counted as friends or foes?  I wonder if Iraqis will look back on the ten or so years of their horrors during the war and its aftermath as a price well paid.  I wonder if Iraq will rise above the terror and become a nation filled with pride and a desire to be a part of the wider community of free nations?  I wonder if Iraq’s natural resources will be fully developed (some predict that Iraq’s production of oil will go to 10 million barrels/day by 2020 — from the 2 million/day they now have) and used to develop infrastructure that benefits all the people?  I wonder if hospital and schools will replace the thousands of military ‘bases’ that litter the cities and country sides?  I wonder if women will have the same opportunities as men?  Will the majority live in houses with 24/7 electricity and running water?   I really wonder if Iraqis will one day feel both proud and safe?

If the answer to those questions is a resounding yes, say ten years down the road, then I believe we (America and her allies as well as the people of Iraq) will count the heavy price of Iraqi freedom and safety to be worth it.

As this 2nd Iraqi parliamentary election winds down, Americans should remember that it was years after the revolutionary war was won before our constitution and government took its rightful place in history.  We should all hope that Iraq achieves their own greatness in the near future and that this election is a step in that direction.

Today we can only hope.  Tomorrow and the day after, we might be able to help the process along — peacefully.

Thanks to flickr’s cudmore for the photo

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Unemployment #’s are unexpectedly encouraging.

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by scott.

The government’s unemployment numbers today were surprising to me.  I was expecting a higher number and unemployment to go to 9.9%.  But yippee, we take the positive with glad hearts and minds.

Stocks have rallied, the $ is stronger, and government bond interest rates have gone up.  Signs that confidence and the economy continues on a growth path.

Sadly, but naturally, commodity prices also went up–from oil ( over $81 –yikes!) and gas (natural gas remains near an all-time low) to corn and copper.

Unemployment (click on the above chart for a better view) remains the #1 priority on President Obama’s desk (despite his continuing push for the democrats to force health care as defined by the dems) down American’s throats.  But, the question is will he act?

Obama and his minions just have to start taking tax uncertainty and health care cost uncertainty off the table.  They should waste no further time and simply announce that ALL the Bush tax cuts will remain in place (maybe expanded with business friendly cuts) and that health care (if not passed by the dems in the next two weeks) will be taken off the table for the rest of Obama’s term.

Then, I think we will see businesses’ opening their healthy coffers of cash (the big ones) or their entrepreneurial resources )the smaller ones)  to ‘full speed ahead.’

thanks to speaker pelosi for the chart

As to health care, congress should forget the massive restructuring they contemplate and start working on the important pieces one at a time.  Like a bill to open interstate competition.  Then a bill directed at tort reform to reduce costs.  Finally (this year anyway) a bill to regulate the insurance companies with the interests of the entire country in mind (no denials of benefits, insurance available to even the sick, and rate increases limited to inflation adjusted health care costs.

There is a lot to do and a lot to look forward to.  I am hopeful for the first time in months (see prior blog on the Obama ‘Home star’ program).

I would just love to see the March unemployment #’s drop but right here and now I will predict a slight increase to 9.8% in March (primarily because Obama and the dems will not likely do anything to mitigate the above mentioned uncertainty).

The next couple of weeks will really determine the rest of the year.  Act now Mr. President.  Help him Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.  Pleeeeease!

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Obama finally gets it right. Really.

Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by scott.

As I listened today to President Obama’s speech at Savannah Tech I became more and more enthusiastic.  The new Home star program that he explained there appears to be a real ’swing for the fence’ home run.

I like it.  The home construction industry will like it.  Home Depot and Lowes (mentioned in the speech) are really going to like it.  Local building supply retailers are going to like it.  Most importantly the American home owner is going to like it–a lot I suspect.

Here are some of the items he spoke about:

Homeowners are going to be given an incentive to make their most important possession (usually) more energy efficient with a ‘rebate’ of up to $3,000.  The rebate will be calculated by giving back 50% of the cost of applicable ‘raw materials’ needed to accomplish the goal.  The program is tilted towards things like windows, doors, insulation, roofing and such.

All of that is good enough, but Obama has shown his true potential here with the  way he is going to handle the details.  And, in this case the approach is unique, vary creative and a major step in simplifying the process.

Let me say here that I used the old program last year to get a $1300 tax credit for buying new highly insulated windows . . . but I had to search carefully for the right ones, get all kinds of details on efficiency, keep records of the entire project, calculate only the actual window costs and then apply those to my taxes to get the credit some 8 months after the project started.  Yechh!

But this new program is a giant leap forward in government thinking and execution.  It helps the consumer, it helps the construction industry, small business, local contractors (all hurting in this recession) and big box and local home suppliers alike.

The rebate applies to things like roofing, insulation, windows and doors–all things that are usually made in the good ‘ol USA — oh yeah, baby.  Those things are all going to be installed by local contractors and sold by local stores.  The program is actually going to create jobs, save consumers $ over the long term and short term, and stimulate the economy (get us consumers to spend).

But, the greatest and most unique part of the program (and don’t ask me how the government is going to do this ) is that you and I, if we chose to improve our home’s efficiency will get the ‘rebate’ right at the cash register.  No waiting.

Now, that is thinking Mr. President.   You’ve made this program appealing and easy.  That doesn’t sound like something government would typically create.

So I congratulate you President Obama.  You are finally showing that you have the capacity to live up to your ‘hype’ and push change that is beneficial all the way around.  I just wish that this kind of focus had been forthcoming earlier in the recession.  Think of what the $758 billion stimulus could have accomplished if this kind of program had been used and multiplied by 10 fold.

Fantastic.  Private sector type thinking goes a long way to making me, and a few hundred million others, believe we just might be able to improve our trust in government and stimulate our confidence . . . 70% of the U.S. economy just got a little more positive in their outlook.

Great job Mr. President.  Hoorah!

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Obama on healthcare — an acrid summit.

Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by scott.

When I could, today, I watched live, the Obama healthcare summit.

Surprisingly there were many good ideas bounced around–none of them new.  Not so surprisingly, there was a lot of acrimony on both sides of the aisle.  Obama had the repubs sitting on his left and the dems on his right, in what I guess was a weird attempt to moderate ideologues.

It didn’t work.  Tort reform was mentioned but the dems effectively took it off the table (how many of them were/are trial lawyers?).  Open insurance competition was also mentioned but didn’t seem to move anyone from their talking points.  And, cost reforms?  Not a chance.  Too difficult for our multi-term elected officials.

If this summit is any evidence of progress or change then we need to start looking for ‘offshore’ medical care.  Even a hospital ship would be better than what might be coming.

The closing statement by Nancy Pelosi was strident and critical of her opponents on the right.  She didn’t even bother to smile while jabbing her California liberal knife right in their conservative chests.

However, I think the real assessment of the summit came from President Obama himself.  In what can only be termed a threat to republican intransigence, Obama made it clear what his plan is.  If no bipartisan work is advanced on the existing healthcare bills in the Senate and the House within 4-6 weeks, then the dems were going to act by getting the House to accept the Senate bill and just allow passage with no amendments.

I suppose the President believes that some kind of bill, no matter how flawed, is better than nothing.

I guess I would have to agree.  The status quo is just not acceptable.  But this??

Was this summit wasted time then?  We will know in a week or two, not the 4-6 the President allowed for.  Either the repubs will provide some concrete suggestion immediately (they already know what they are) and the dems will accept them (negotiations possible). . .  or else.  That will be clear in the next two weeks.

Great television, courageous on the part of Obama (I can’t imagine Bush even thinking about hanging himself out like this), exposed the public (those willing to listen or watch) to the realities of the issues involved.  Thats about it.

I guess I had better start saving now because I am sure my ‘individual’ insurance plan premiums are going to increase shortly–and I am dang sure I won’t like the increase.  More and more of us working Americans are going to be in the same place as time goes on because it is becoming far to expensive for small to medium sized businesses (or any except the big banks) to offer health insurance as a benefit.

Frankly, my biggest worry is that this whole politicized exercise just might end up costing more of us our insurance coverage.  Then we can expect healthcare to be the main issue for the upcoming 2010 and 2012 elections.

Did I tell you NOT to vote (ever) for incumbents?

Thought so.

thanks to flickr’s simminch for the photo

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Toyoda on Toyota.

Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by scott.

What a spectacle today.  The son of Toyota Motor’s founder (and current DEO of the Japanese parent company) apologizing in front of a mostly unfriendly congressional hearing.  Mr. Toyoda used a translator for both sides of the conversation.  Others on the Toyota team spoke in English, including the Japanese head of U.S. operations for the company.  American’s had no doubt as to the tone or meaning behind our elected officials complaints.

While the accusations that were swirling around are serious, much of what is currently happening is pure political theater.

As an example take the Congressmen from Kentucky.  I don’t remember his name and it is not important, but his district is.  A district that is the North American headquarters for Toyota’s operations.  A district with thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) of voters who either work directly for, or owe their job to the Toyota factory there.

While other Congressmen complained and threatened, this particular one spent his entire 5 minutes (the time alloted to each committee member) reading a lengthy document praising Toyota, their history, job creation impact and products (all more blatant than any SuperBowl ads).  It was such an obvious and ridiculous statement that all that Mr. Toyoda (I guess when they started doing business here they figured we couldn’t pronounce the name with a ‘D’) could do at then end was stare wide-eyed.

Politics.  The very word is beginning to disgust Americans.  Sure Toyota may have come culpability here but a recent study showed that the # of complaints by Toyota owners is substantially lower (per 100,000 vehicles) than for other major makers (including GM and Ford).

Nothing like a little product scare to bring out the thespians in congress.

Yet, tomorrow is an even greater stage.  Obama’s broadcast of open and honest ‘negotiations’ by democrats and republicans on the health care issue.  I suspect that this will turn into political theater too, but it would be nice if the Repubs would actually bring some legitimate ideas to the table (tort reform, true interstate competition) and then the dems would actually listen.

Don’t hold your breath . . . I think this issue is DOA.

I drive a Toyota and I am a lot more worried about what our legislators are going to do than I am about crashing into a telephone pole while behind the wheel of my wife’s Avalon.  I figure I will die a lot sooner from lack of decent and affordable health care if they don’t act.  So yeah I am worried.

You should be too.

Did I mention term limits?

Thanks to flickr’s hryck for the photo

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Fiscal policy to the forefront.

Posted on 21. Feb, 2010 by scott.

Anyway you slice it (the economic ‘loaf’) we need a renewed focus on fiscal policy.

Too many politicians and far too many economists have been wearing monetary policy blinders for the last year or so.  They do seem to be working.  but that isn’t enough today.

Sure interest rates are too low, sure there is no more expansionism the FED can do right now, and sure the ‘quants’ have been spending far too much time at their computers modeling what future rate policy will do for/against economic growth.

We all pretty much get that.

But, what about the current White House administration whose present worries seem  limited to the problem with employment?  I think they are leaning too much on the FED’s liberal current views of expansion.  They need to act unilaterally.

The problem is that with so much apathy in the White House (apathy to real action in their own front yard that is) no one is paying any attention to the mood of small businesses and hopeful entrepreneurs.

Why?  Doesn’t take a bunch of polls to tell us that most Americans in those two categories are cautious . . .  and that they are cautious due to lack of direction in terms of fiscal policy.

Anyone with a payroll knows that employment and business taxes are too big of a burden right now.

Uncertainty regarding the administration’s views on the subject are restricting growth (particularly in all-important employment).

What to do?

Announce soon, as in this week Mr. President, that the former administration’s tax cuts are going to be allowed new life rather than an early death.  Don’t let those tax cuts die President Obama.

Too many of the potential ‘hirers’ in the economy are waiting–even though they see obvious signs of economic growth–waiting to hire, waiting to expand, waiting to add to inventories, waiting to take a flyer an new products focused at the consumer.

You, Mr. President can change all that.

Continuing (and maybe adding to) the Bush tax cuts would very likely calm the nerves of businesspersons (nearly half of them are women afterall) and consumer (more than half) alike.

Take a flyer on American intelligence and ingenuity President Obama.  I am pretty sure that if you took such action, we would see a surge in the economy and in stock markets within a few weeks (at most).

I’m ready to pile back on and a bunch of others will be too–if you calm our fears of imminent tax hikes.

thanks to flickr’s wonderlane for the photo

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Can 1/4% hurt?

Posted on 18. Feb, 2010 by scott.

Today the FED announced that starting tomorrow the so-called ‘discount’ rate will be raised, effective tomorrow, from .5% to .75%.  In and of itself that doesn’t seem like much–still well below the historically low 1% benchmark that reflects extreme monetary policy (quantitative easing for the ‘pure in hear).

Yet, in reality this increase is far more.

Announced subtly by the FED’s email process (think press release)–no luncheon, no White House prepping, no hint of a change in the more formal policy of pumping the economy at the expense of restraint of the debt variety–no accompanying fanfare in other words.  Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

In reality the decision is a shot across the bow of the perpetual optimists who have been pushing a bull-market in stocks since last March.

For the first time since, oh gosh it seems like forever . . . though only about two years, a distinct change in policy is on the horizon.  The rays are there already now and the full blown light can’t be far away.

Don’t take this FED action as a simple adjustment. Reversal is more like it.  If the economy continues to grow at a rate anywhere close to that of last quarter’s 5.7%  (and while we will know that in early April–the FED knows it now) then more rates increases are coming.

They will be fast and furious too.  Have to be to give China and others who hold U.S. debt any reason to keep on buying.  So, I wasn’t surprised when in between other stories today I noticed that China had actually been net sellers of Treasury Notes in the last few months.  Ouch!

This is just a heads-up right now.  Time to consolidate profits, trim a little fat, start thinking about what higher rates might mean.  To you, me and about half of the rest of the world.

At least my savings account might earn more than .04% from now on.  Heck we’d have been better off to stuff our mattresses with the paper the FED has been printing!

The Sun is Gonna Shine Tomorrow (humm along as you sing that line).

thanks to flickr’s cosmic kitty for the photo

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Debt really is a burden.

Posted on 15. Feb, 2010 by scott.

There is a reason that economists, and average Joe’s, call America’s debt a burden.  Because it really is a burden: a load that is difficult to bear, something that is oppressive.

Need I go further?  Apparently so, as our leaders in Washington seem to share the opinion that in all cases regarding re-election increasing debt is an okay thing.

Hence, to help get re-elected the majority democratic House increased the ‘legal’ debt limit of our wonderful nation to $14.2 trillion.  And then Obama signed the new ‘legal’ debt limit into law.  That was the easy thing to do.  The hard thing?  Balance the freakin’ budget you knuckleheads!!

What does the new debt ceiling accomplish?

For one thing the democrats in Washington (the ‘never met a government transfer payment too large or too extravagant to pass’ democrats) now have clear sailing to spend about $1.5 trillion MORE than they already have.  And, if history is any indicator, they will spend it fast and furiously with no consideration for the long-term consequences or their misguided selfish and ’socialist’ tendencies.

As I have said many times in the past, I am neither democrat nor republican (though I clearly lean toward the conservative side of nearly all fiscal issues).  Yet, when I see gross incompetence and even grosser ignorance I do not hesitate to call a spade a spade.

Therefor here I go.

The democrat majority in the House and the Senate, with a little ‘egging on’ from the democrat White House, are on a spend and expand (as in government) spree the likes of which we have never seen.

Nearly everyone in D.C. agrees that the current recession is either out or on its way.  Yet Demo’s are hustling through the House yet another stimulus.  And, as evidence that the public is rejecting their already extravagant spending, they insist on adding more $$ to pretend to create jobs and to do so without consulting (read ‘listen to’) their cohorts on the right.  This has nothing to do with really creating employment since any results would be many months (here read ‘after the coming election’) from being proven.  They are doing it just for show and for votes.

I hope the American people see through this sham.  Brought to you by the same people that promised unemployment of 8% or less if the $758 Billion stimulus bill was passed (it is at or near 10% now).

So who are we to trust?  Not the republicans, sadly, those guys brought a tripling and quadrupling of our deficit during the Bush years.  Fiscal conservatives? Hardly!

We must all recognize that our debt really does matter.  China owns a chunk of it.  So does Saudi Arabia.  Does anyone in their right mind think those dudes are our ‘freinds’?  Hardly!  What if the bank that owned your mortgage hated your guts . . . do you think for a second that they would ‘work’ it out with you?

On top of that is the cost of servicing any debt we ‘bear’ in that burden.  At current interest rates that cost is normatively low . . . but who expects interest rates to remain at all-time record lows?  No one outside of the Washington beltway.  Debt service could soon be HUGE!

You and I can’t operate our lives at a deficit — not for long anyway.  Cities and counties can’t either.  Most states can’t by law (even with Arnold the ‘Gobernator’  at the helm).

So how can the federal government?

Because of war goes the historical party line.

Yet the costs of the ‘wars’ we are in now are only a small part of our federal budget.   Don’t buy that old argument today.  We always have high defense costs and the incremental costs of the current  ’wars’ are really small overall — even though in the tens of billions of $$.   The federal budget for next year is over $3.5 trillion  and annual ‘war’ costs are less than 3% of that.

Government spending is totally OUT OF CONTROL.

We can’t continue with the current debt burden.  Politicians aren’t going to do anything but talk and ignore the problem.  They are ‘professionals’ after all . . . too smart to listen to you and I.

Solutions?  Get citizen politicians to serve for one or two terms.  Let them handle the purse strings like they would their own.  Tight and conservative.

Economics is too often about politics.  The vice-versa isn’t necessarily true.

Vote against ALL incumbents and for citizen leaders willing to serve for ONLY a few years.

I bet you that if we all do this the whole ‘burden’ issue will be moot in a decade.

And if you don’t think your voice can be heard then you are wrong.

United we stand . . .  divided we fall (and the fall would be much greater than any you ever heard of in the stock markets).

thanks to flickr’s azrainman for the photo

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A 41 to 59 majority?

Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by scott.

After the STN (state of the union) address it seems that Washington D.C. has come to a standstill.  Kind of like the circus has folded its tents and vanished . . . is no news good news?  Not when there is so much to do.

Health care?  Say what?

Jobs? Huh?

Debt management?  Oh come on, we are talking about  Washington.

I heard someone jokingly mention the above headline as if it were real.  Yikes.

There is a lot to do in order to move our nation along.  The democratic majority has been demoralized by a single special election.  Who are these smidgeons anyway?

Reid?  Gone fishin.  Pelosi? Hiding under a basket of wash.

No leadership from the White House either.  Appears Obama is already out on the campaign trail for 2012.  Flying here and there with an upbeat message . . . but not even  focusing on getting the things done that he promised on the ‘last’ campaign trail.

We still need universal health care–something that works for everyone and costs less. Hey, dems, swallow your dangburn pride and take another look at the repubs suggestions on tort reform (I don’t care how many of your are lawyers — you are working for the people now).  Then sit down and give serious thought to making health insurance available nation wide on the same networks available regionally or statewide now.  Finally, spend all the money the health care lobbyists gave you on watching Avatar a few hundred time, because then you can forget them and do something about helping to stop the rising costs of prescription medicines.

And you knucklehead republicans can forget saying ‘no’ to everything.  We, the people, see through your tawdry machinations.  Heck, in the past year you have even fought against things you originally proposed . . . just to make the party on the other side of the aisle look helpless.

And, voters, I remind you that the real control is in our hands.  So, stop the Washington mishmash and force our elected officials to take real action.  Vote ALL incumbents out of office and let them know now so that they will stop legislating for themselves  and think about us.

I love America . . . it has been great to me, and I thank my great-great-grandfather for leaving a freeheld farm in Norway to come here with not much more that the clothes on his back.  I wonder how many of us could do something like that today.

We have a lot going for us but we have got to make our voices heard.

I hope Obama, Reid, Pelosi and everyone else in D.C. come to the realization that the time for change in the way government practices their once honorable profession is now.

God Bless America and full speed ahead!!!  The race has just begun.

Thanks to flickr’s mcamcamca for the photo

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China, year of the tiger.

Posted on 01. Feb, 2010 by scott.

As if America didn’t have  enough problems.

Recession, a still messed up financial sector, overbearing majorities in the House and Senate, two wars, unprecedented unemployment, ongoing political bickering, nutty ideologues on TV & radio, a celebrity President, fearful climate change (?), porous borders, huge deficits, ballooning national debt, rapidly increasing cable rates, Big Macs, french fries and the disappearance, and fall,  of  Tiger.

And thus, speaking of Tigers, on to China . . . a problem that is a growing economic and political threat and one that we are not doing enough about.

China continues to own nearly $1 trillion of American debt (including  $800 billion of Treasury notes), has increasing influence around the Globe, possesses $2.5 trillion of walking around money and is using it to ‘buy’ into future resources that we both need, with a military that is rapidly narrowing the tech gap with the U.S., has a very Communist political system that prohibits real freedom (say goodbye to Google, Shanghai),  can exercise nearly instant and complete control of their seemingly ‘free market’ economic system, and finally, relishes political and economic power that grants them greater clout in the UN and around the world.

On top of that it is the Chinese year of the Tiger.

Seems like everything is going their way.

Should we be worried?

You bet’cha (as Sarah Palin would say from her modest home in Wasilla).

The signs are all over.

Recently, the President confirmed sales of modern Aircraft, weapons and defensive hardware to Taiwan.

China didn’t like that and announced a halt to military exchanges with the U.S. — exchanges that would help lessen the tension and open a mutually beneficial dialogue.

They didn’t care about the benefits — something more was at stake.

Chinese leaders are acting like petulant children who won’t share their candy.  They have always taken such an approach.

This time it is different though . . . they don’t seem to care what ‘our’ leaders think about them and they don’t really expect change.  Its all about politics and public relations and the rest of the world is their audience (excluding America).

In their own minds they deserve better–or they just don’t care what we think.  In their opinion the American markets for Chinese goods is shrinking . . . so the leaders in China find us less appealing . . . and other global markets are being targeted.

Heck, the President put off a meeting with the Dali Lama just to please them and they were still somewhat less than civil.

What more do they want?

Chinese leadership is increasingly independent of the U.S., and, at the same time,  best buddies with Venezuela, Russia and even Iraq.

How does that old saying go?  The enemy of your enemy is my friend.

Our leadership needs to beware.

At stake is the once inevitable globalization of our Democratic system — our economic model as well.  China’s recent success has third world and developing nations thinking that the option of democracy and American free-market economics isn’t as attractive as once believed.  China’s model is the new answer.

How would the world look with only two systems?  Ours and theirs.  And, since the majority of nations and populations are in the third world or developing category that are now inclining toward them — we could end up as the minority.  Odd man out.

Not good.

We have to counter with wise policies to end recession and reignite our economy.  We also have to come up with quick ideas to rebuild our demonstrably better political system.

Not going to be easy.

Obama has to lead — not ’shine.’

Congress has to act — not react.

The FED, the Treasury, Congress, and the President have to monitor the recession and start raising interest rates and taxes as soon as a recovery is evident.  Political change is as important as economic change.  And both need to bring a clearly ‘better’ result.  Soon.

Democrats and republicans alike should have enough confidence in themselves and their parties to push for a constitutional amendment that would create term limits on all elected offices.

Further the government, from Washington D.C. to Wasilla, Alaska, should follow-suit .

If we follow this plan we can be back in the global ‘driver’s seat’ in about four years.

American should, and can, return to greatness.

Level-headed economic policy (including debt reduction) and term limits are two good places to start.

2010-2014 can by our years of the tiger-beater (and maybe Tiger Woods will back us up too!).

thanks for the photo to flickr’s law_kevin

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