My View

Random ruminations from your resident curmudgeon...

In the face of a massive recession, the federal government introduced a spending and stimulus program that was heretofore unheard of. Agencies were created to carry out infrastructure spending and to create jobs. Government sponsored enterprises- quasi governmental agencies that operated with the blessing and the backing of the federal government- used enormous amounts of tax dollars to bail out banks. Sweeping regulations and laws were passed that intruded into the previously unregulated private sector of the economy. The debt of the federal government had ballooned to gargantuan proportions that had never been seen before in the history of our great nation. In fact, here is what the President said about the entire situation,

"We have tried spending money. We are spending more money than we have ever spent before and it does not work. We have never made good on our promises."

Have I just described our current situation? No. We have been here before, under Franklin D. Roosevelt, and these were all measures that were taken during the course of his administration to attempt to repair an ailing economy. FDR and his economic team made things worse, however, with their misguided attempts to stimulate the economy. Today, we are doing the same things. And things are going to get significantly worse in our economy because history has shown that this type of spending and regulation of private industry does not work. It calls to mind another quote, this one from George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

I was wondering, do deaf mathematicians speak in sine language?


Have you heard of United Nations Agenda 21? No? Actually, you have, just not under that name. UN Agenda 21 addresses "smart growth" and "sustainable development" in developed nations. And who wouldn't want "smart growth and sustainable development"- why it just makes one feel all warm and want to rush out and hug a koala, doesn't it? Here is the truth about UN Agenda 21 and it is not pretty. Agenda 21, if fully implemented will have a dramatic impact on where and how we live. One of the stated objectives of the proposed smart growth plan is to create more dense urban dwellings while leaving rural areas undeveloped. Agenda 21 accomplishes this by proposing an international infrastructure to account for and control assets (read: property) and determine the best use for them. In light of the objective of higher density and no development of rural areas, what do you, dear reader, think this international controlling authority might have as a perspective? There is pressure being applied to our country to buy in to the false pretense of "smart growth" and "sustainable development". All of us want a clean environment, but none of us want to be told how or where to live. UN Agenda 21 is a giant step in that direction.

My intellectual property is in foreclosure.

One of the critical things this country must do to better complete in a global economy is to upgrade our educational outcomes. More children that are coming out of high school need to go on to earn an undergraduate degree. For those parents that are currently paying for college costs, you know how painful that can be financially. Here are the startling numbers: according to the College Board, tuition and fees have increased at public universities 130% over the last 20 years. That is an average annual increase of 6.5%. Those numbers do not include room and board or books. Unfortunately, for many families, incomes have not risen commensurately with the increase in tuition. In fact, the College Board reports that the median income is $33,000. If you adjust that for inflation, incomes have remained flat over the past 20 years. And this is a dilemma for our nation. How do we get more children into the higher education system when the costs are screaming out of sight and pricing many families out of a college degree? There are no easy solutions, but look for more on-line and non-traditional degree programs to emerge. And if you are a parent of a young child, I will give you the same sage advice that the comedian Killer Beaz uses in his comedy act: "Save up".

I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

And that, my friends, is my view.