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.