Help Wanted: Proven Executive Leadership Required

In response to my last post, I have received some interesting feedback. I would say a mixed bag of comments about the post. Like the prior post, I note it is interesting how our emotional attachment and perspective of issues can affect our response to new information. I make no attempt to offend, but I also generally do not reserve my opinion for want of not offending either. I believe in personal ability, personal responsibility and the God given right of freedom. As such, while I am always willing to assist those who are working to improve themselves, and give willingly to charities that I am confident try to do the same, I feel no allegiance or affinity toward the inclination that our government has the responsibility of sustaining, creating or even supporting what has become a welfare state, approaching the social nanny state condition of much of our European counterparts. It is simply not what our country was founded on or intended to be.

So what is the role of government with regard to our daily lives? For the purpose of this post I will narrow the scope even further to what is the role of the President, and will return to the role of our government in a future post. The obligation of the President is fairly summed up in the oath of Office that is taken at each inaugural occurrence:

Each president recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Regardless of all the party and campaign rhetoric, the actual obligation of the President (and frankly most of our other federally elected representatives) is fairly straight forward. They are sworn to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The President, being the head of the executive branch of our republic form of government is sworn to execute this responsibility from his office of head of the Executive Branch of our goverment. The role of each of the branches of our Republic form of government is specifically delineated and separate from one another. Each has a specific purpose and is restricted from intruding on the authority, powers and processes of the other. This fact is unfortunately lost on much of the citizenry of our nation and oft abused by those who are sworn as office holders. It is as important to understand what the role of the President is not, as it is to understand what his role is. Only with this understanding can one accurately assess the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the current administration and or any potential successor to the office. Let us first clearly separate the authority of the Executive branch from the Legislative, and Judicial.

First and foremost, it is necessarily noted that all branches of our federal government are exclusively bound to function, and empowered to act, only within the bounds and authorities afforded to them by the constitution of The United states of America. Only powers granted therein or have been since granted by amendment, which have been fully and completely ratified by the states, are available to be executed and only within the bounds of the specific branch and office of government within their specified roll and limited authority. No extenuating power or authority is legally available.

The President is not, and has no authority as a law maker. The authority and power of making laws is exclusive to the legislative branch of government. While the president retains a check and balance in the process of the veto, any attempt to unduly alter, go around, and or place in effect laws or regulatory powers not authorized by law through the legislative branch is an abuse of power.

The President also is not empowered to make interpretations of the law. The interpretation of law is exclusively the authority and power of the judicial branch of government. Any attempt to exact power or place any policy, regulation and or restrictive process by altering the specified language and or meaning of any law passed by the legislative branch is an abuse of power.

It is of critical import to note the language of the Oath of office of the President. He or she is sworn to “faithfully execute the office”, which is to perform his or her duties as exactly as possible, being faithful to the constitutional powers and authorities granted the office. Deviations from this exactness: “faithfully executing”, are a violation of the very oath sworn and cause for concern for each of us as free people, who are in no way meant to be subjects of an individual or government that would purport any powers not afforded them of the people through the constitution or the aforementioned amendment process.

If then, the President has no authority to make law, and no authority to interpret law, what then is his role and purpose? What qualities are necessary for a person to “faithfully execute the office…”?

The President is the Head of the Executive branch, only one of our equally empowered 3 branches of government. He holds no governing power over the other two and is restricted even in agenda to that which is afforded him in our constitution. Being head of the “Executive Branch” should indicate to anyone who has functioned in our free market economy at any supervisory level some indication of what the duties of the President are.

Having spent my corporate career in the private sector at various levels of management including holding executive level responsibilities for a worldwide publicly traded entity, I am very familiar with the purpose and processes of executive level management. Having served under several administrations and experienced various philosophies of executive management styles, I am also very familiar with those that are effective, and those that are less so. Having also served on various boards, commissions and councils including some federal government commissions, I have also experienced and noted the effectiveness or lack thereof of those charged with executive responsibilities in our government.

The qualities of leadership and skills associated with executive level management are quite interchangeable between government and business. We are after all people regardless of whether our emphasis is in the public or private sector. The primary quality necessary of a president is first and foremost to be an effective leader. As the one and only elected head (having selected a vice president who is elected in consort) the President is the single most powerful person in our government. Not that he is granted exclusive powers over the other branches of government, but in that the power of the other branches is divided among several or many where in the executive branch it is focused on one.

The role of the President is to lead. While he cannot create law or interpret law, he is charged with setting direction, He is the voice of those he serves and is charged with raising an issue and setting the direction for those who do legislate to pursue. With his cabinet, he has the obligation of carrying out the legislation and honoring the laws that are created by our legislators. He has the obligation of being able to work with and draw the disparate factions of the legislative branch together to effectively arrive at solutions that are consistent with the will of the people. Above all, the president is the elected representative and chief servant of the people.

Unlike other forms of government where the monarch, king, dictator or other ruler is supreme and the people are subject, in our form of government, the inverse is true. All power and authority is vested in the people and only granted to our servant representatives for the purposes that are outlined in our constitution. Did you see any other obligation or charge in the oath of the President? No, because there is none.

His role is not to host spectacular parties, create or foster social agendas, not to honor sports teams, or the myriad of other public relations stunts and feel good activates that are so popular in our government. Nor is his role to increase the power of the office, to find ways to work around congress, or ways to justify his own agenda. His role, as with our other our other federal servants, is to find ways to more efficiently: Preserve, Protect, and Defend the Constitution.

How much of our government is focused in other areas? How much of the waste, expense, and unnecessary effort is spent in areas that have no bearing on the job which, by oath our President and other sworn federal servants are elected to execute?

We need a leader of integrity, that understand the role, extent of power and limitations thereof, who can, through inspirational dialog, garner support for those items of critical import to our nation. Those items that will strengthen our ability as a free people to live free from the tyrannical intrusion of government, be it our own, or the influences of others that would try to reshape our nation. We need a leader that is not the bully in chief or one that thinks because he is president he has a mandate to do his will regardless of the will of the people. His role is only to protect the freedom of the people by defending their constitutional rights.

We need a leader who understands that the power of our nation is based upon the willing investment and productivity of it's people. A free people who when enabled to excel will find the means to do so. The President’s job is to protect the environment of free enterprise such that a free people can flourish, that individual creativity is not squelched in a flood of regulatory obstacles. Above all the necessary quality required of our President is an understanding that the power of our nation is dependent on our ability to create individual wealth from which a portion is entrusted to our servant government to uphold and defend our freedom. It is the wealth of individual effort that enables our government to uphold our constitution and preserve our rights.

We need a leader who is a problem solver, one who can see inefficiency and misplaced effort, the misuse of the our wealth, entrusted by the people, whom the government is to serve, provided by the people only to protect their freedom. We need a president who can garner the support of others to stop, remove, and discontinue much of what has become a diverse federal bureaucracy focused not on the protection and preservation of the freedom of our citizenry, but on maintaining power and leveraging control of the processes of decision. We need a leader who effectively is an business efficiency expert, with a knowledge of, and will to do, only what he is sworn to. One who, along with his wisdom of restraint, has the character and charisma to enable him to set the direction of the legislative branch and lead his counterparts in becoming effective, efficient, and fiscally responsible with the wealth and entrusted. A leader who will narrowly focus on the charge he each swore to uphold: to Preserve, Protect and Defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

We need a leader who understands the principals of government as outlined by our founding Fathers, one who believes in the exceptionalism of our nation! One that is truly a servant of the people in protecting that which has, for over two centuries allowed us to be free!

Who in the field of presidential candidates and or our current administration has the qualities necessary? Better yet who can be disqualified by merit of their public record? That will be the topic of my next post.

Freedom: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

America was founded on the idea that a free people could self govern and excel with minimal intrusion from governing forces. But how free are we really today? It has some 235+ years since this experiment we call the United States of America began and I often wonder what our Founding Fathers would think of our country if they were here today. Would they stand proud with our elected leaders? Would they marvel at the advancement of our society? Would they even recognize us as a “free people”? We are certainly not the republic that was established on the principals of freedom that these great men, in their own time of struggle, sacrificed to come together and formed what was the basis for what would become the greatest and most free nation on earth.

Today, as we enter another election year and prepare to once again to exercise a remaining freedom, our ability as citizens to cast our vote for the leadership of what is still purported to be our representative government. It would behoove us to do some self examination. Each of us stands at a point in our lives where we have our collected experience, education, and hopes for the future. Our perspective is shaped largely by our selected focus. For many it is pop culture and the influence of modern media. This is true for much of the younger generation who has largely been deprived of a foundational education including historical American socio-economic perspectives while being bombarded at an ever increasing rate with unceasing globalized messages. For some, like me, the modern information age is something of an amusement, but it is troubling at the same time.

My generation was taught a somewhat distorted version of our countries foundational principals, but it was taught at a time when the available information was largely what was taught in our classrooms and influenced only by a very few media venues. I grew up in an era when we were fearful of an always impending attack from the U.S.S.R., It was the time of the cold war. We were drilled on what to do when the “bomb” was dropped quite regularly as I lived near a major military installation which was thought to be a standing target for Soviet missiles. Our perspectives were more locally based and reflected largely upon our immediate environment much more than do the perspectives of youth today. Of course there are the generation of my parents and still a few of the prior generation still holding on. These senior “citizens” experienced a vastly different information age than either I or my children, and as such their perspective, having lived through world wars, real economic depressions, social and governmental actions that we only vaguely are reminded of, have yet a different take on the condition of our society today.

So which is correct? Are any of them? Does it really matter? Does our collective foundational experience and education matter in the decision we are once again to make as “free citizens” of this great land? The answer to that question will vary as much as the experience of those answering. And that is our problem. We will not be able to agree on a course forward until we come to agreement on the past.

Regardless of our perspectives about the current state of our union, which is somewhat dire by many accounts, we cannot move forward with any hope in the future unless we know what it is that we hope for. Hope, itself, requires a point of reference, a basis from which to improve. That is the legacy of our nation. We were founded on the idea that we as a people, unencumbered by despotic rule would be able to excel at a rate greater than all the rest of the world who had their hope limited by the restrictions placed upon them for whatever reasons by governing authorities. That principle, as long as it was allowed to flourish in segments of our society created the opportunity of hope and the environment of entrepreneurial growth that created the greatest economy on earth, one that has survived even until now. But today things are different.

Do we still have the hope of our forefathers? Is the opportunity for hope still allowed to flourish unencumbered by regulatory and governmental intrusion? Are we the free people that our forefathers envisioned or have we allowed ourselves, to come under a system of rule that places our point of reference for hope at a place vastly different than was that of our founders?

If we have no reference point, then we have no hope, as such, little matters as to the direction we choose to go forward. We are at a crossroads once again, we will continue but in what direction? If we have no destination in mind, then the direction really doesn’t matter. But there is a problem even with the idea that individually, one may not have an interest or opinion on what the future should be because there are many that do and they do not all agree. They do not have a common point of reference or understanding of our society and in some cases don’t care or believe that a historical reference is valued. There are some, a growing minority, which believe that what we call America was never exceptional or if it was it was exceptionally wrong. As such their perspective leads them toward an activism that will reshape our nation if they are allowed to be the active driver in the process. Worse yet, even those who share this negative view of America do not agree on the direction for the future, but they are willing to work together to fragment what is the current norm, to destabilize power such that they can then seize opportunity to reshape this nation into their world view whatever that is.

Today we stand at a crossroads. Some give dire warnings that we have already gone over the cliff, past the point of no return, that we are in the grasp of those who will remake our country on the world stage. There are those who say we are near the cliff, ready to fall into the precipice, that we must put on the brakes, and do an about face. Then there are those who just came along for the ride and are being used as willing pawns in an integral game, waiting to see what the future holds.

The examination that must take place, in order for hope of any sort to prevail, is one of individual worth and our individual role in this society. Who am I? What can I say I know with certainty and what is that knowledge based on? What do I hope for, and what role do I have in making it happen?

Today, at our crossroads we have a seemingly insurmountable national debt, a national government that is largely dysfunctional at best and vastly corrupt in many corridors of power. We have a judicial system filled with biases rather than impartiality and seeking power of law making rather than justice of laws in place. We have become a society regulations meant to protect us from ourselves that that largely restrict our freedoms and inhibit innovation. We have ceded much of our independence, our freedom and our wealth to others, unions, association heads, local and state entities as well as federal bureaucracies, in the hope that the result will be more favorable for us individually. We have created institutions of power to protect “our freedoms” when in reality all that they do restricts our freedom, and largely removes the wealth apparent in individual independence. No oversight comes without cost. Our Founding Fathers new this, they knew that when power was collected in the few that only the interests of the few would be served. This is why they limited the powers of our federal government and retained the right of governance to the people.

Our republic form of government was never meant to “care” for the individual, only to protect his/her freedom and to allow the pursuit of life liberty and happiness. There was never any guarantee on the outcome or promise of a living standard or even of success of effort. There was only the protection from influences that would restrict the potential of the individual.

So here we are with high unemployment, massive debt, an increasingly unstable world, all with governing powers more despotic or chaotic than even our own. Is there reason for hope? Can the future be brighter than the past? Can America remain or return to the exceptional role it has held for the part to centuries, a powerful and robust society that has survived under a single form of government for longer than any other society on earth? Is it possible? Is it even what we hope for as a people? Is it what you hope for individually? Do you want the opportunity to prosper? Do you want the freedom to choose your pursuit and enjoy the fruits of your labors or is your hope for a different idea?

Who are you? Are you willing to do what is necessary to overcome the obstacles that are placed in your path or are you a willing pawn in someone else’s game? Not everyone has the desire to achieve the same level of success. Not everyone even defines success in the same terms, but common to all success is an individual characteristic applied by those who create the means and act to achieve what they hope for. What do you hope for and are you willing to create your success?

If you have read my background sketch in my initial post, you may wonder if I consider myself successful. After all, I left a life of great financial reward and today live a life of modest means largely removed from the mounting “progress” of our society. I do consider myself a success, defined from my own perspective as having been able to choose and exact my own future. You see this is the point of this and my future posts, we should not be told what success looks like or be pressured to obtain what someone else perceives success to be. We live in a unique society, founded upon principals of freedom that were meant to afford each of us to define for ourselves what success means. We are meant to be free individuals having the ability to pursue the destination of our choice. I have achieved success in various venues of life I have chosen to participate and have been afforded the freedom to excel as I desired. My pursuits have changed as my desires for life and family have matured and I have had the freedom to pursue those changing interests, with no guarantees, no promises, but with the opportunity to choose, for myself, my destiny. So yes, I by my definition, am successful and am still pursuing success in life as I choose today.

There is the opportunity for hope. The future is not lost except as we individually allow it to be. The solutions both for our individual success and for the success of our union as a constitutional republic are based on simple sound principals that, when applied, allow for the greatest freedom and potential for success.

We are about to choose a President for our national government. We will also choose the balance of our legislative branch. Together they will appoint and shape the direction of our judicial system. Individually we have a role in shaping the direction of our nation and the principles that we must use to guide us in the decisions we make on the national front should be the same as those that we apply to our own lives. The rules of success do not change when applied to government. What is good for us individually is in the best interest of our nation. The same principals that are used to balance a checkbook, pay bills, put food on the table and create a daily life, govern the halls of Washington, or at least they should. Fiscal responsibility and the virtue of self reliance are just as important nationally as they are for each of us individually. When looking for solutions to national problems, first look to how we must solve our individual problems. Let’s look at a national problem on an individual level.

Unemployment is a relative and divisive concept. In my previous post I addressed some statistics and their manipulation to serve the interests of certain parties in power. On an individual level, it is an issue both of emotional and physical value. But is there such a thing as unemployment? Yes, by choice we may be unemployed, underemployed, dependant, even destitute.

I guess I am unemployed but uncounted as such if I were to look at it from the perspective of governmental statistics. I made the decision to leave the corporate world a little over 7 years ago. I had reached a point where I could make such a decision, financially and still attain a standard of living that I regard as successful. I have never taken unemployment, never applied for any type of government assistance. I have paid a fortune in taxes and into social security, but never expect to see it returned. I still work, everyday. I still create a standard of living for my family and teach each of my children the value of work, freedom, and independence. I choose not to work for others at this point but do what is necessary to maintain my desired living standard. I am amazed to hear of unemployment numbers as they are today, to hear of stories of loss of home, of necessity of unemployment benefits being extended to unprecedented levels, and government assistance at all time highs, while at the same time I see help wanted signs, needs for services, want for goods, and opportunities for employment everywhere.

What are the governing principles that have resulted in this situation? They were certainly not fiscally sound, nor were they based on individual responsibility or self reliance. Economics 101, no, 1^st grade math teaches that there are only so many pieces in a pie. Before you can eat the pie you must first create it, and regardless of the portion size, when it is gone it is gone. Never has there been a foundational principal that was sound that indicated that from one pie could the benefits of more than one pie be enjoyed. Well I guess there is an example in the bible, but that invoked intervention beyond our mortal capabilities. Before one can enter the fray of advanced mathematics or economics, a sound foundation of basic math and the ability to exact its use is required. When one has advanced in studies beyond his capability, a return to that which is understood is required before advancement may occur successfully. This is natural law. It is not theoretical hypothesis; it is just the way it is.

We learn and develop our abilities in steps, as our applied ability grows, we are able to exact a greater level of reward for that ability. We should expect nothing more. If our ability is dependent on another then we must accurately assess our willingness to associate our ability with that individual and or entity and not commit ourselves physically, emotionally or financially beyond our ability to maintain that commitment without the assistance of the other. This is the basic principal of self reliance.

When related to the context of employment, the significance is undeniable yet for much of our society it has been largely forgotten. We have become a society of living beyond our means so much that we do not really grasp what our means, individually, even are. In context of freedom, the significance is even more evident. The idea of “employment” is to give up of a portion of one’s freedom, in return for an agreed upon reward (ie: I have an ability which I will use to the benefit of the employer in return for the compensation that is agreed upon. ). Therefore the employee gives up the freedom of his time and his ability to do with that time as he chooses, to use the ability that is of benefit to the employer in return for the agreed upon compensation. This is actually a form of advanced mathematics and involves a logic assessment of risk vs. reward rather than purely a numerical solution. Sometimes, we as employees forget that. We assume that the numerical solution of basic math will always hold true, neglecting the variables involved that are associated with the particular equation we allow ourselves to become variables to. This does not change the basic premise of the mathematical law, it just may be an advanced level that we are not fully prepared to exact or commit ourselves to.

Ponder this:

Why, when individuals are often unprepared to even assess the employment risks in the situations they enter into, do they allow themselves to commit, financially, to obligations that are entirely dependent on their ability to generate a level of wealth from a situation that they are even not capable of assessing the associated risk of. Just because one obtains employment, in no way ensures continued employment without a great deal of additional factors being taken into consideration.

I have heard so many stories of heartless bank foreclosures and of repossessions, layoffs, and heartless businesses who “put profits before employees”. What I hear little of is the fact that no one forced anyone into a mortgage that they could not afford, if anything banks were to lenient to those who wanted, but had questionable judgment and means. I have never heard of a repossession that occurred as a result of a borrower who lived up to his obligations, and as for businesses and employees, barring any extenuating contracts, the employer settles his obligation to the employee every payday, often paying for services that could have been rendered more effectively but the paychecks are still granted for hours served even if they were not of the highest caliber.

So let’s be real. The responsibility for our employment is not someone else’s, and the value of our time is what we are able to extract for it, not some scale associated with a predetermined wage because of education, membership in a union guild or association, it is what we agree to and are willing to work for. The responsibility for our ability to maintain any level of lifestyle is not the responsibility of government, your neighbor or even your father. It is the responsibility of each of us for ourselves and those whom we have obligated ourselves to.

I have acquaintances who would rather sit home and receive assistance than to go out and work in a field that was not their field of educational training. They seem to feel that they are owed something merely because they were educated at a certain level. I say that when they received their diploma they got what they earned. Anything more is left to negotiation and performance. I come from a pay for performance and right to work background. I believe that each of us have the right to make whatever honest living wage we are able exact by our performance for anyone who is willing to provide value for our services. But no one is owed anything beyond the value of his honest hard work.

I may sound course, and frankly I am admittedly a little calloused toward the grossly regulated and deteriorating level of workforce that is entering and in the workplace today. It is one of the reasons I chose to leave a corporate carrier. Too many whiners with expectations that ability does not back up, not enough prideful workers willing to do what it takes to excel. To too many employees who think they are owed more than what they contracted for in their work agreement, to much government intrusion and regulation in the work place to continue the risk of personal capital for decreasing returns.

Having said that, there is work available, there are opportunities in the market place that abound for those who are willing to put themselves forward, taking calculated risks to earn the associated reward. But it is a different market place and one must adapt to the necessary changes of those who are still willing to risk their personal wealth on the services of those who have needed talent.

What we need is less government assistance, less government intrusion, less governmental oversight and less required contribution to bloated inefficient redistributive governmental programs. We need more personal responsibility, more self worth and self reliance. What we need is leadership who will remove governmental obstacles, build confidence in the worth of American entrepreneurship and engage in practices that allow for the risk reward cycle of our unique capitalist system to flourish once again.

What does that mean in terms of a president and what is his role in our American economy? That is the topic of my next post. “What America needs is an exceptional leader.”

Emotional Attachments - Illogical Assesments

A few days ago, I posted a link on my Facebook account to an analysis of the unemployment figures that are being reported as having improved considerably over the last few months. I don’t know how everyone else out there is feeling about it but it doesn’t feel right to me. So I started looking at the BLS number myself and noticed that they are adjusting the way they are reporting the numbers, or you might say manipulating the data for the benefit of those who would like to create the impression that things are getting better. The link I provided is a unbiased analysis of the workforce statistics and benchmarks them at the traditional method of analysis and reporting rather than the skewed method that is being used currently to make the numbers look more favorable than they are. Here is my post and the link:

Dave Roskelley

Think Unemployment numbers are getting better? Believe your gut not the media. Take a look at this link then think again about what you are hearing in the media.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/real-jobless-rate-114-realistic-labor-force-participation-rate

The reactions I received were interesting, and one in particular, from my sister, whom I love, but share some ideological differences with, made me pause. Here are her two posts:

· Rosanne Roskelley Oh come on!! Obama didn't create this mess do you remember Bush!!

January 6 at 7:40pm · Like · 1

· Rosanne Roskelley Ultimately, President George W. Bush’s massive spending and mishandling of the federal economy, turned a President Clinton budget surplus into a massive deficit. W. Bush inherited a strong economy and surplus, whereas Obama inherited a massive deficit and losing wars.

As I mentioned in my opening post, I am somewhat slow to respond to these types of comments but in this case I feel it is worth it so I am dedicating this post to my sister, and hope that after reading this she doesn’t take too much offence.

It is interesting; the things that we have an emotional, sometimes even visceral reaction to. Nowhere in my post did I mention our current President, or suggest blame for the current state of the economy to him. I have not had any conversations with my sister about any socio-political issues for years, unfortunately due to our physical distance between us, we rarely see or speak, yet merely at the suggestion that the unemployment numbers are not as reported by the media currently, the reaction would seem to suggest that I am blaming the current administration for the economic situation. Not only is the suggestion that our current president is not to have any responsibility, but the follow up post clarifies that that in reality it is all the prior presidents fault, that our situation was merely inherited by the current president and our prior president’s success was entirely due to his good fortune of having inherited a robust economy from his predecessor and rode it for not one but two terms. If you follow this logic back far enough, no one can or should take credit for the economic success or calamities of their administration. Obviously I do not subscribe to this line of thought and certainly have an opinion I would like to share. But first things first I must respond to my sister’s post so bare with me:

Yes, I do remember George W. Bush, very well, I remember his predecessor as well, Bill (philanderer) Clinton, and the prior Bush – George Herbert Walker, I remember Ronald Regan as well, who from your point of view must have inherited a wonderfully robust economy from his predecessor, yes, I remember Jimmy Carter. In fact I even have some memory of his predecessor, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon. Sorry while I may remember some events that occurred during the prior administration, I have very little recollection of Lindon B. Johnson who was President when I was born so my knowledge of his administration and all of the wonderful things that occurred and brought our country together in the mid to late "sixties" (ahemm a bit of sarcasm) come from my study of events and not from personal experience as they may for you as my “older sister”. Unfortunately, I do not connect to my memory of the Bush administration, all of the ills that you evidently place on him.

I do agree that he was a more progressive spender than I would have preferred, and I will give you that he was not as polished a speaker as his predecessor or our current President (as long as he has his prompter in front of him at least) but then I don’t recall the moral integrity issues of president Bush as I do of his predecessors and I somehow missed the radical musings in President Bush’s memoirs of his youth, or his stated desire to fundamentally change our form of government and society to a more European socialist model as our current President is hard at work doing. Maybe you have a point, maybe my memory is clouded, slanted or just not worthy of consideration. So let’s take a different approach to the topic at hand which if I remember correctly was the distortion of unemployment figures.

Why would such a post create such a reaction? The facts are what they are. Unemployment is vastly higher than should be accept able to any us, the occupant of the Whitehouse included. Responsibility for the current situation must be borne by the policy setter of the moment in order for appropriate action to be taken. I have listened now for 3 years while our current president has attempted to deflect all responsibility to others and now wants us to give him four more years to continue the policies that he has set in place.

In the clarifying second post, two reasons were given as to why we are in this “mess” (both attributed to President Bush) and accolades were attributed to President Clinton and his “Budgetary Surplus” that was “mishandled” by President Bush. While I do not agree with the premise of blame, I do subscribe to the causal rational of the effect of governmental management (ie: regulation setting) and excessive spending on the health of our economy so let’s take a look at the spending side of this issue.

Let us first make a clarification to spending terms because in the post there is a potential of confusion. There is a vast difference between budgetary spending resulting in a potential surplus and the “Debt” which is related to what we call deficit spending or the longer deficit of the country. The first is an annual fiscal figure that is always manipulated and is never calculated form a zero basis as we would in business budgeting. Rather it is a projected number which is reported on an expected increase over current spending levels and when the expected level of spending is not reached it is counted as a surplus. Some administrations have been better at managing public perception of this expected increase in annual spending than others and have been able to reap the perceptive rewards of a “budgetary surplus”. This is akin to the adage that if you buy something on sale that you didn’t really need, you saved when in reality you still spent money that you didn’t need to but because it was less than if you paid full price you did well. In reality, unless you have an unlimited source of funds, this entire methodology is flawed regardless of who is using it or reaping the benefits. The latter, or more important and telling number for analysis is deficit spending or an increase to the total debt obligation of the country. Yes, President Clinton did have a “budgetary surplus”, but what was the real impact of his and other administrations on our countries long term debt situation, the number that really matters to the fiscal health of our monetary system? You guessed it, President Clinton was a deficit spender just like all of our other administrations in the 20^th century. What about President Bush? Yes, absolutely he was a deficit spender, and President Obama, well let us just say we haven’t seen nothing yet, including his current fiscal projection, he will, by the end of his first term have amassed a cumulative deficit level that will more than double all of his predecessors in the history of our nation combined.

If you would like unbiased analysis with detailed information on all levels of governmental spending, please visit this incredible site that compiles raw spending numbers for the last century and provides concise analysis in fairly basic terms: http://www.usgovernmentspending.com

The solution to our problem is one of basic fundamentals. There is no magic built and it is going to hurt. But it is possible. We all should know the answer because we live in a tangible economy that requires payment for goods and services. Our freedoms and liberties depend upon it. Our republic form of government was meant to ensure it, but we have, and are, at an alarming rate departing from the proven economic principles that have made us an exceptional country and economy for the past 200 years.

What does this have to do with unemployment? Well, while a bit misguided in analysis and casting of blame, my sister hit the nail on the head. It is about the management of the economy, the policies, regulation and climate of investment. It is also about the responsibility of our government in constraining spending within the bounds of actual revenue (tax receipts not GDP) which has long been a neglected element of monetary policy to the point of our country reaching fiscal insolvency.

So who is to blame? What is the responsibility of the president, and congress? How do we fix unemployment, increase tax receipts, and lower our deficit such that we can remain an exceptional country and return to an exceptional economy? Well the answer shouldn’t, but might surprise you. That will, along with a foray into the 2012 presidential race and the stakes that are at play, will be the topic of my next post.

Let me know your thoughts, after all we are the responsible party – so to speak, whatever your affiliation, or not, what you do does make a difference!

No Rants! But lets get started!

For several years I have been dormant in blog writing, preferring to focus my time on my family, faith, and building the foundation of our Montana Lifestyle after my exit from the corporate machine that was my life prior to 2005.

Living in Montana has been good for my soul. It has been a step away from the pressures and conflicts of life and career in the corporate world of metro America. Life is different here, not necessarily easier but, from my perspective, better, more satisfying.

Only recently have I began to engage again in political and economic discussion, in response to the increasing vitriolic media and often unsubstantiated remarks and opinions of friends, sometimes family, and acquaintances that like to engage in socio-political discussion even they don’t realize that they are doing it.

Those of you who know me know that I am quite reserved, that although I enjoy a lively discussion, I tend to reserve comment and sharing of opinion unless asked or until I of necessity feel the obligation to set straight the course of dialog and or have something that I feel is of worth in moving forward the topical conversation. With regard to socio-political issues, I tend to be slow to comment and like to think out my responses because of the implications and often emotional attachments to opinion of those who chose to converse about such matters.

For those reading this blog who do not know me, I will give a brief sketch that is by no means a complete biography and is possibly, by nature of it coming from my own perspective, somewhat self serving, in order to establish a basis for my own opinions and tenor of discourse.

I am today a Father, Husband, Patriarch of my home, retired senior executive of a fortune 500 worldwide Brand. I was educated within the public education system during the seventies and early eighties, and completed graduate degrees in Psychology and Business administration. I graduated at the top of my classes, was a sterling scholar, and felt that pretty much the only useful thing I learned in college was to hone my logic skills that enabled me to succeed by giving my professors what they wanted regardless of their persuasion. During my many years as a corporate employee, I used the work ethic developed in my youth, combined with logic skills, and with the mentorship of good men and women I worked with was able to ascend the corporate ladder from a store manager in training through the ranks o operational management, into corporate management and eventually senior executive level management overseeing the development and worldwide brand with locations in 28 countries and majority market share in most markets. During my tenure as a corporate executive, I served on various commissions, boards and committees both political and economic. My views are constitutionally conservative; I have no political affiliation, and do allow my faith to guide my views with regard to policy issues. While I have a wide disparity from much of the left leanings of the democratic national party, I have had the honor to serve on the economic and corporate development counsel of the National Council of Black Mayors which is comprised of over 500 Mayors who are in large part affiliated with the Democratic Party. During my time of service I was asked to chair the national corporate development counsel in developing public and private partnership policy at the local and national level. Note: I am not Black nor do I share the affiliation or leanings of the Democratic Party. I mention this to give credibility to the idea that people of differing political and cultural persuasion can work together based on mutual trust founded in integrity, regardless of political persuasion. This is something that seems lost to many of those who are sent to serve us as government representatives today.

Given my exposure to business around the world, my interactions with governments at all levels, and experience in growing and successfully operating companies in various government and economic climates over the past several decades, I feel I have developed a fairly broad sense of what it takes to adapt and flourish individually and as a business in most economic climates. I have studied the socio-political histories of ours and several other societies and while I do not claim to be an expert in any political arena, I do have a set of socio-political opinions that are based on historical foundations of our exceptional country’s constitutional and representative form of government as well as my understanding both historically and in personal experience with other forms of government.

It is with these personal guideposts I have come to this point, observing the discourse of the day, that I will begin this set of writings. I invite a healthy discourse and will in my next post lay out some foundational rules, if you will, to promote an honest and healthy discussion of the issues ongoing. Hopefully you will enjoy, at the very least my musings, and maybe we will learn something together that will shape our opinions and actions as we move forward in life!