us that if a man will not work, he shall not eat. I found it necessary to
dispatch this today. Think it through. Could Christians lead the way?
Could we value work over money? What about volunteerism? Just some
thoughts
Sept 23, 2011
White House Staff
Executive Branch
United States of America
More serious than is generally known
To whom it may concern;
I am a Disabled American Worker who is not altogether uneducated. Having
once been a rather effective member of the workforce, I am familiar with
issues of concern by the wealthy. But having been blind the bulk of my
adult life, I am also familiar with poverty related issues. Over the past
several years I have taken an academic and personal interest in economics
and done considerable study beyond my graduate level education. Please hear
my words. This is serious.
I know the White House staff and the bulk of congress from both parties have
been well briefed by economists from several financing perspectives. The
best synoptic book currently available at the popular level is Endgame: The
end of the debt Supercycle and it's implications by John Mauldin. Simply
put, this is more than a double dip recession we are in, the economy is
deleveraging. The private sector is dumping debt and the public sector is
frantically accumulating debt. Every generation knows good times and hard.
We have just lived through a sixty year party and it is time to pay up.
At this point, political affiliation, economic policy and stimulus programs
will only adjust the rate of the economic decline we face and our level of
preparedness for the end consequences. We simply must face that supply and
demand free market economics are rooted in human nature and are
irresistible. People without an altruistic motive will not work without a
perceived benefit. Take the ability to better one's self out of the
equation and most people do not work. The ability to pay for material goods
on debt, technological innovations in manufacture and the ease of
international commerce have for some time now reduced the work load needed
for wealth acquisition. Debt is no longer a viable option and foreign
standards of living and manufacture are improving. The free market is now
acting in such a manner as to bring some equilibrium to the situation and we
can not stop it.
We are looking at a second great depression and you know it. With the
availability of modern transportation, modern agriculture, modern banking
and market controls, modern medicine and technology, particularly in
communications, modern infrastructure and the fact there is no current
nation wide drought, the suffering will not be quite as bad as the last time
around. But I promise you, in the next two years, only the oldest will
recognize the world we will be living in. It is time for good leadership to
make sound decisions and act on them. For now, here is my recommendation:
1. Educate the public about economic history and in that context explain
what is happening. Have this done by professionals since politicians are
generally not trusted. Repeatedly emphasize the survivability and character
building aspects of our national and global journey along with mentioning
the above assets as a method to avoid widespread homelessness, hunger and
thirst. The electric will still run as will the water and our toys will
still work and perhaps decline in price.
2. Emphasize the need for community cooperation. Multi generation
households and alternate heat sources might become needed. Work on these
together. Teach people to take initiative on themselves. As a blind
person, I can tell you that the larger the institution, the slower the
reaction. Think of the Katrina victims that died while waiting for a
government bus. If the mayor says stay at home, stay at home, If get out,
get out, if check on the elderly and disabled, do so.
3. Work. Run documentaries about frugal living. Repeatedly underscore the
need for work without asking the payroll questions. EVERY CONGRESSMAN and
the PRESIDENT should ask every citizen they meet where they work, what they
do and what aside from the money is admirable about it. WE MUST once again
be a nation of people who are proud of the work they do rather than the
money they earn and what it will buy. I was forced out of the workforce
because of my blindness. I can tell you, a man stands with broader
shoulders after a hard day's work.
4. Tap the unemployed for civil service. Make civil service a prerequisite
for unemployment checks and welfare. Employ these people specifically in
law enforcement, sanitation, fire and emergency services. There will be
some riots when some less educated and lazy people realize the free ride is
over and hardship is coming.
5. Stop bailing out banks with taxpayer money or that of future
generations. The strongest banks will survive in the free market. Accept
property, particularly residential from financial institutions at market
rates in exchange for liquidation of bad debt, then help the housing
situation for the poor by selling the homes for CASH ONLY to individuals and
families only with a limit of one per family unit. Sell the remainder to
local municipalities. Forget about building new houses and infrastructure.
We are already overbuilt, with more bedrooms than we have people. There are
too many vacant houses and too many homeless people.
6. Switch from an environmental to a conservationist policy. Regulate what
may be discharged into the land, air and water rather than specifying the
types of vehicles and homes which may be built. As fuel prices rise, for
example, the market will demand that more fuel efficient cars will be built
in time. Remember, there are doctors out there who are doctors because they
want the private airplane and muscle car. Some will become analysts or
educators when they realize they will never own a sports car. Let the
market handle that. All the citizens want is clean water to swim in, clean
national parks and good air to breathe. Here in Kentucky, we have
accomplished much of this at the local level and through private
initiatives.
High speed rail. This project will come along as soon as the profitability
for the program becomes evident. People tend to want private cars when they
can afford it. As the economy declines, the trains will come back better
than ever. The market will solve the problem.
7. Please consider the Fair tax as a replacement for the national income
tax. It would make this nation a corporate haven with this tax structure
and the availability of our educated, shortly far more hearty work force. A
subsistence check could be issued to the lowest income citizens to offset
the taxes on essentials. Apply the tax at every point of sale. This will
by nature make the haircuts less taxed and the luxury cars more heavily
taxed on a percentage basis. And what the hell, the kid with the lawnmower
and the farmer selling produce off his trailer are not taxed at all until
they buy something.
BUT PAY SPECIAL HEED: Do not let the public come to these realizations in
one big tidal wave. Release it bit by bit along with education targeted at
adjustment and this should avoid mass hysteria. Make it illegal for a
mortgage holder or a landlord to evict someone for their home for only
failure to pay for at least one year after the initial stock and commodity
crash. Make this very, very well known. We will need much more extended
stay ultra low income housing such as residential motels and hostels,
particularly for the elderly and disabled. Make all publicly funded nursing
homes multi generational so all able bodied adults can have the liberty to
work. Multi generation homes require less staff and are clinically more
sound anyway.
Well, this is what I have to say. Foresight and preparation are the
solutions. I have little to lose at this point in life. I am actually
going to enjoy watching a lot of very aarogant people put in their place and
a lot of freeloaders get their just desserts. Warren Buffitt once said that
a bet against the United States economy or otherwise is a very bad bet. A
good point. And it is true. But look at all the railroads he owns and ask
yourself why. Let's work through this together. Don't buy twice as much
diet food at four times the cost, buy half the real food at half the cost.
Show some common sense. And let's make this OUR finest hour. My
Grandparents thought of themselves as the greatest generation. Is that a
challenge?
With respect,
Warren McClendon
Lexington, Kentucky.
