GREED, FRAUD,DECEPTION, ETHICS

There seems to be a growing practice with consumer products all over; The downsizing of various consumer products; foods, beverages, and PAINT!

Several months ago I was browsing in the paint department of one of the major building supply companies, and looking at a shelf of paint which appeared to be one gallon containers, something didn’t look exactly right. Upon further examination, I saw that the cans were almost imperceptibly smaller than the standard one gallon container. Yes, when I looked at the label, the weight was listed as 123 or 124 ounces.. Where we used to get coffee in one pound bags or cans, they were first cut to about 13 ounces, and now, 11.5 ounces, but, same as paint, this reduction in sizes came with an increase in price.
I need to check a little closer, but I believe that quarts of paint have shrunk to 12 ounces.

Now I notice paint being advertised and labeled as gallon-size. Has the U.S. Bureau of Standards changed the standard of measurement for any of these products? Next, a dozen (of eggs) will be a quantity of 8, and a pound of butter or margarine will be 3 four ounce sticks. Next Beer will be sold as 4-packs, with each can or bottle weighing 10 ounces.

When we talk about going green, it doesn’t mean more green going into the pockets of manufacturers.

It might have been more acceptable if these smaller packages had been announced, but for the manufacturers to announce such, we would have expected a cut in prices. Instead, this was all done without any fanfare, but with greed as the motivating factor, very few people have been made aware of this this.

The real concern is that when told this, many times the response is “how many ounces are in a gallon, or a pound?” That’s really not surprising, with the dummying down of education that began in the 80’s. Are weights and measurements even taught any more? At one time they were an integral part of math classes, but now, if they are taught at all, it’s likely in something called domestic science, (aka, Home Ec.)

I would like to say that this is fraud and deception, but it’s more a matter of ethics. If these changes had been announced, they might have been more acceptable.

There’s an old saying “Caveat Emptor” let the buyer beware !

Corporate Welfare

In the news all over: “Dell Leaving Forsyth County, 900+ people to loose their jobs.” NC Governor says that Dell will have to repay “every red cent” of the incentive money paid to them..

That was a few days ago. Now, we are hearing that only a portion has to be repaid. Once again, taxpayers are getting shafted. Now it seems that large portions of this incentive money will not have to be repaid. If the original contract was as we were led to believe, why not? Do all our politicians and local officials involved in this deal have their pants on fire?

It’s not too hard to figure, and everything points to the fact that the contract was not as we were led to believe. Let’s see who really gets to repay this money? Another tax increase fits right in here.

Why do we have to pay any money at all to get a company to locate in our area or any area? How much federal tax incentives did Dell get for constructing a new facility? Traditionally a corporation and its stockholders assumed the risks associated with expansion. How did it turn around so that cities and states were called on to extend “Corporate Welfare, and many instances, extortion in the guise of, “we’re looking at several locations but haven’t pinpointed any one location./ So now the bidding starts. Back and forth it goes.

Remember a few years ago when Southern states were bidding to host a new Mercedes plant? Alabama finally won the bid, but some reports said that it nearly bankrupted the state. I wonder who paid the bill on that one.

Did it all start several years ago when Major League Sports Franchises began to hold their host cities hostage with the threat of moving such franchises to other cities?

If this was an individual trying to secure monetary favors, he would be indicted for extortion or blackmail. Corporations and Sports organizations seem to have some kind of super immunity.

What about the well-known names that used to be a part of Alamance County; Burlington Industries, Glen Raven, West Point Stephens and others that are now gone? How about the multitude of small businesses that are part of any economy? Most of them depended on giving good service, and earning the trust of the neighborhood. If they made a good product or gave a good service, they prospered, and the whole community prospered.

With all this talk about taxes and welfare for individuals, let’s remember that welfare is welfare whether given to an individual or a corporation, and remember, too, who pays the bill.

Universal Health Care

Just as no one should have to go without food and shelter in the richest country in the world, the biggest disgrace in this country is how much we are unwilling to care for the less fortunate. In many municipalities and counties across the country there are medical facilities - hospitals that are called non-profit. How do we know they are non-profit? They do not have to account to anyone except usually a hand picked board of directors, about their income or expenses, just as national non-profit groups such as The American Heart Association, March of Dimes, the United Way, and so on. Their non profit status puts them in the same category as religious organizations, except that these medical facilities sometimes receive taxpayer funds.

Would you invest in any organization or business that did not give reports of their financial condition on a regular basis? I don't think so. You are if you pay taxes, but you are not granted the knowledge of any salaries paid to its administration, expenses for upkeep, or how much is received for treatment and care of indigent patients

The most successful social program, in my opinion, is Medicare. Millions of older persons of modest means are able to receive health care because of this. No, it is not free, because a small premium is deducted from their Social Security benefits each month. There are doctors and medical facilities that are called "cost-wise", i.e., they will accept as payment for their services that amount allowed by schedule from Medicare. There is also an optional Plan D supplement that can be purchased by Medicare recipients that will pay a portion of expenses that Medicare does not, or if they choose, they can get supplemental private medical insurance that does the same. Even for retired persons of modest means, these are generally affordable. If the company or business you worked for had a health care plan, you can sometimes carry this in a modified form into your retirement.

As with anything else with people involved, there is fraud and abuse. These should be sought out and prosecuted whenever they are discovered.

The United States is one of a very few developed countries in the world that does not have Universal Health Care. Those that oppose it are the same ones that have made social programs and socialism into dirty words, and an evil they have to keep out of this country. These are the ones that are greedy and always taking without giving. They have forgotten what our Founders knew from the beginning that there is a price that must be paid for freedom and liberty.

A Legacy not soon forgotten

When you add in the administrations that set all this in motion, Reagan and Bush I, it really shows you how gullible and sheep-like American people have become. They will still for many years to come be nay saying remarks like these.

How close to Anarchy did we actually come? We are seeing what happens when financial institutions are given license to steal, usurious interest rates, and just plain ignoring any moral or ethical behavior. "If the President says it's alright, then they do it. We have come so close to worshiping and setting up humans as our moral and ethical authority.

We have also seen the rise of religious cults and their false prophets, many who embraced and approved what was happening in this country. People who have joined these groups are seeking the wrong things. Theirs is a hate type religion, and they condemn anyone who does not believe as they believe. That's an almost exact copy of fundamentalist Muslim groups, but these so called Christian fundamentalists damn these Muslim groups for their unbelief.

How do we tell the true followers of Christ from these pretenders and false prophets? Easy. Their deeds are contrary to what they say. They cannot claim to follow Christ and not have and show love for their brothers and sisters. Christ told the Rich Young Ruler that everyone was his brother, and that he should love his enemy.

Instead of waging war as a first or only option, we should seek other means of settling our differences. How many times have I said here that the words compromise and negotiate have been removed from our language?

Some are looking for a worldwide revival, but I doubt if this generation sees it. We have a long way to go before something like this can happen.

Barack Obama. Lots of people have high expectations for him, and I wish him well, but he can't solve all our problems. We, as well as our President and other leaders must turn to the one that can.

Leadership Vacuum

For the past forty-five years, this country has wallowed and foundered in the throes of a leadership vacuum in most things that are measured to determine a country's standards in relation to others. We have lost our leadership in most areas of economic strength, medical advances, health care, education, and housing. There is a long list of things that measure a Nation's standing among other nations, and where we were once at or near the top in most positive categories, we have now faded to just beyond the horizon of our former greatness,

I will not attempt to point a finger and accuse any one thing for this erosion of this country to a level we used to think of third world or emerging countries. An atmosphere of pessimism has blanketed the whole country. We no longer have the respect and admiration of our peers. We have differing groups divided along the lines of their ideologies. The words negotiate and compromise is no longer used.

Church membership and attendance is at an all time low. We have become obsessed with those of alternate lifestyles that we haven't taken care of our own.

Fortunately we have been given a second chance. We have the opportunity now to show each other and the world what we are made of. A breath of fresh air has blown through this country which can have a purging and cleansing effect if we will take advantage of it, and renew our spirit of cooperation with one another, and put aside our hate and greed.

Many have called this country a Christian nation, and indeed it can be, but in being so we must practice tolerance and understanding of other religions and ethnic groups as well. Our commonality is that we are all Americans, and as such should present unity, leadership, and strength to the rest of the world. This should not be done in arrogance or superiority, but with the confidence that we know who we are.

We have a lot of fences to mend, and broken promises to keep. All of us are ready for change, and we must be sure it is the right and most effective change.

Next Tuesday, January 20, 2009, we will start with a new page in American History, one unprecedented. An era many thought would never come. It is up to each of us, regardless of any stereotypes to do our best to help this country succeed. It does not all rest on the shoulders of one person, but is the responsibility of us all. Our future depends on it.

Would you want his Job

The ignorant fringe (both Republicans and Democrats, expect Obama to have everything fixed by his inauguration. We are well aware that radicalism is just that, and is not unique to any political party. It is not even a part of either of the two major parties, but exists somewhere on the fringe of both.

If anyone was listening, or heard anything above the noise and heat of the political campaigning, they heard the current administration's spokespersons acknowledge that this economic downturn has not yet bottomed out. A lot of this, I'm sure was political rhetoric to cover their own bare hind parts in the event their candidate was elected President.

Those that expect The President to have a fix for the economy, and a resolving of conflicts in the middle East are going to be disappointed. These things didn't come about overnight, and they won't go away in a like manner.

Why do we need a veto proof Congress? If they are truly doing their jobs of representing the American People, . . . .no, I guess I'm an idealist, or pretty naive to believe that the body politic can and will always work for the good of all Americans.

Somehow within the past several years, the words negotiate and compromise have been removed from the American (as opposed to English) language. What ever happened to The Loyal Opposition? The differing parties have always had their own ideas how to run the government, but they once tried to make their policies palatable enough that they would be acceptable to the most people. Not so now, both parties have the attitude that it's "my way or the highway."

Somewhere since World War II we lost the idea that this is a country for all, and that everyone has an equal opportunity to be the best they can.

How can we call our country a free enterprise any more when most of the larger banks and many of the large manufacturers are standing in the welfare line? Yes, welfare line. Call it bail out or whatever you wish, but it's still welfare. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck . . .

Our core industries are still stuck in the post WWII era when most of the world was rebuilding from the ravages of that war, and the US was the only one able to supply what Americans were demanding. Meantime, American Manufacturing went to sleep, and foreign interests came in and gave people what they wanted instead of what a Ford or Westinghouse wanted us to have. They have not yet become aware that they are going to have to compete on the other country's playing field and by his rules.

America Grows Up!!!

America, we have finally grown up! We have come a long way from being skeptical in 1960 of a Catholic President, to the election 48 years later of a Black American. It's time to do away with this business of hyphenated anything ; African-American, Hispanic-American, Japanese-American, or any other mongeralization .

I may not have it exactly correct, but we are at that point where those prophetic words of Dr. martin Luther King Junior have come true: "The time will come when men are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin."

We have been hindered in our quest for being the best we can be by denying to some the opportunity to be part of that greatness as individuals and a nation. I am optimistic that we have finally gained the momentum to make that happen, and we can be called "An equal opportunity Nation".

Although I had good feelings about the results of this Presidential Election, I was pleased by the reassurances that were given Sunday evening on CBS TV's "Sixty Minutes" by our new President and first lady. I have read some criticism of the dress and demeanor of the new first lady, but bear in mind she is not a clone of the President, but is her own person. You only have to look back to Eleanor Roosevelt to see the different personalities that first Lady's have brought to The White House. I certainly hope that Michelle Obama is not forced into a mould not of her own making, and she will be able to withstand the controversy and criticism that surrounds people in public life

Especially amusing and informative were the little exchanges between husband and wife, instead of a President and first lady. There was an air of honesty about these exchanges, and not some phony attempt to show that they are just ordinary people. Face it, ordinary people are not elected to the Presidency, but they need to be able to empathize with all people, and have an understanding of who and what they are. Some of our Presidents have come from humble backgrounds, and they should not forget that, and at the same time it shouldn't hinder them from doing the duties of the office they have chosen and to which they were elected.

For the past sixteen years, we have had divisive elements and controversy surrounding our Presidents. We have seen a people being divided by similar events that divided us during the Vietnam era. It was one ideology against another - so called Conservatives against So called Liberals. What ever happened to the "loyal opposition", and going along to get along? the words negotiation and compromise were removed form our language. Everything should be open to negotiation and compromise.

Religious and moral differences have reared their ugly head. We have had, and still do, religious groups that are trying to push their agenda, that their form of religion and dogma is the only way. It is almost as if religious war has broken out. Islam is not the enemy, but other Christians with differing beliefs. These groups have, in effect, made their God very small, narrow, and one way. Is there no longer room in this country as our Founding Fathers envisioned it, for all religions to be able to worship without fear, and with freedom?

No, it is not God that has narrowed His view, but it is we the people, who have let our narrow, bigoted, prejudices govern us instead of being tolerant and understanding of the religions of others. If you claim Christianity, as many Americans do, you were told by the founder of Christianity to take His message to all the world, but not to force it on them. As a matter of fact, Christ said that if they would not accept His message, to move on and present it to those that would.