Hope this blog finds you and your family doing well.

Most Naïve Americans and in general the United States of America as a country continues to collapse.

Yesterday evening my wife and I watched Dateline on NBC.  The first (hour) segment dealt with the absurd war your predecessor, president Bush thanks to the vice president at the time, Mr. Cheney (a.k.a. defense contractor), promoted an impossible to win war in Afghanistan.  I believe you have been in office for about year and a half and have not lived up to any of your presidential campaign promises.  Naïve Americans should understand that the promises came from a politician and should not expect them to be fulfilled.  Most Naïve Americans do not appear to be too smart when it comes to politics.  Perhaps they are and voted for the democratic candidate based on promises made behind the scenes by the Democratic Party to special interests groups (i.e., unions).  As usual the common Naïve American was left out in the rain.  So far you have not delivered a single CHANGE but the USA needs to put up with another two and a half years of your administration.

The report on Dateline showed how the Taliban killed and injured dozens of Naïve American soldiers deployed in Afghanistan.  I happen to have military background and when I saw the location of the camp, immediately the idea crossed my mind that the soldiers would not be able to make it in such location.  It took a few days and dozens of dead and injured young Naïve Americans for the Army to close the new camp.  If I am not mistaken, during your presidential campaign, you promised that the arm forces deployed overseas fighting absurd wars would be brought back home.  If I am not mistaken you even had the audacity to provide some rough schedule to bring back home our troops.  Nothing like that is happening.  The USA will never under no circumstances will destroy the perceived enemy in Afghanistan.  The Soviet Union failed and we will too.  Perhaps you need to change your military advisors with people with common sense and no special interests.  A personal question Mr. Obama, do you happen to have stock in companies that manufacture weapons?

A few minutes ago I read on the web an article titled “China pushing the envelope on science, and sometimes ethics” by the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/27/AR2010062703639.html).  The article contains a picture of Zhao Bowen (not John Wayne) a 17-year-old Chinese scientist.  This Chinese (not Naïve American) teenager was part of a scientific team that last year cracked the genetic code of the cucumber.

If you have a chance to read the article, the change in science and education has been quite radical and fast.  A few years ago most people, excluding this Naïve American, believed that uneducated China would always be there as a source of cheap labor.  Today China has not only surpassed the USA as an economic and military power but is already stating to show super powers in the scientific arena.  So what is left for the USA?  I can tell you, we have a plethora of lawyers, politicians, business, sales people and CEOs, which are not able to provide a single good or service desirable outside the USA.  Not sure if you Mr. Obama or your elite team of advisors needs the example that my son and I used to describe global economy to my ten-year-old granddaughter.  She does not understand economic theory (if such a thing exists), but she can tell you that our economy the way it is going will not be able to make it.  On the other had, she fully understands how China is growing and will continue to grow.  I know she is on summer vacations.  If you need an economic advisor I believe we could arrange her to meet with you.

I fully understand how incapable your administration could be if something unexpectedly was thrown at you.  I am referring to the 60+ day fiasco with BP in the Gulf.  It does not take much to figure out that if you are slow to react to an unexpected problem, the problem will destroy you.  The issue is that after two months there is no clear and absolute resolution to the oil spill.  Given that you and your administration lack of engineering and scientific background, you are handling the issue like a politician.  Millions of wild life specimens are and will die before the problem is resolved.  Millions of Naïve Americans will loose their jobs and hundreds of thousands of small businesses with go under.  I guess your green initiative should provide those Naïve Americans with new well paying jobs funded by the few taxes paid by the few Naïve Americans that are able to hold a job.

Following is some food for though.  Please take the amount of oil being spilled in the Gulf by the BP oil well and think of it coming from a flotilla of oil tankers sunk in the Gulf by Osama bin Laden.  911 was caused by a handful of airplanes hitting very few targets and it created a serious problem for the USA.  I guess Tony Hayward BP’s CEO is better dressed and more influential that Osama bin Laden so all is and will be well.

America is sinking and you and your administration have not done a single thing to solve the obvious problems.  All we have seen is additional useless bureaucracy in the economic and healthcare front that are making it harder for most Naïve Americans to get ends to meet.  Hopefully these few words will motivate you and your administration to wake up before things get past the point of no return.  I fully believe we are almost there.  When we pass such point, there will not be enough CHANGE to make a difference.

Sincerely yours;

The Naïve American

When our illustrious president Obama was in the campaign trail he promised CHANGE in different fronts.  Mr. Obama has been in office for over a year and the only CHANGE that has occurred is with the trend of things in the USA; as a whole, things are just getting worse by the minute.

Career politicians CONTINUE to celebrate being in office for life, politicians CONTINUE getting “legal bribes”, the USA CONTINUES being at war and Mr. Obama is sending more troops to fight a war that cannot be won, healthcare insurance companies CONTINUE to raise prices and reduce coverage, CEOs CONTINUE to collect huge bonuses requesting Naive American tax payers bailouts, industry CONTINUES to shrink, small businesses CONTINUE to decline, our kids CONTINUE to score lower and lower when compared to their peers in other countries, inflation CONTINUES to creep in, the legal system has nothing to do with justice and CONTINUES to support special interest groups with laws supported by the Supreme Court, the trade deficit CONTINUES to grow, federal expending CONTINUES to rise, drug consumption and crimes CONTINUE to grow, unions CONTINUE to claim benefits with little work to show for their demands, etc, etc, etc.  That is what is going while Mr. Obama is at the helm.  Nothing has changed for the best in the first 13 months of his administration.  Perhaps Mr. Obama is waiting to surprise the country (do not hold your breath).

Now that we have characterized what is happening with the Obama administration, the question remains, what type of person would like to associate themselves with an individual and ideology that, so far, has not been able to CHANGE a thing while in a position (the USA presidency) that took hundreds of millions of dollars in political contributions from organizations and individuals that do not expect anything in return (If you believe this, I have a bridge I would like to sell you).  Obviously the people who contributed to the presidential campaign are not part of the “Obama Generation”.  Perhaps the “Obama Generation” represents the millions of Naive Americans that have lost their jobs and are getting so many well-paid construction jobs repairing roads.  Maybe the “Obama Generation” is made of people that are involved in all those new well-paid green jobs (doing who knows what).

It appears that there are no logical reasons for Naive Americans to be associated with a group labeled the “Obama Generation”.  If you know of a good or logical reason please let me know.  I will amend this blog with such reference.

Hope you and your family had a nice holiday.  Naive Americans know that you had a nice holiday on the East Coast while most of us were unemployed or in the process of loosing our jobs.  Yet your administration spent several million dollars on your vacations / holidays.

As you are aware during the month of December 2009 businesses cut 85,000 jobs and unemployment is still around 10%.  I live in the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota with a population of about 50,000.  If the entire population of Apple Valley (it includes youngsters and elderly) would have been laid off last month it would still be less than what actually happen.  I can anticipate your comments.  85,000 in a country with a population of about 304 million is just a drop in the bucket.  The answer sounds reasonable so I will like to add that the lives lost in the 9/11 attack and the ones lost in the foolish wars we have embarked in the last few years (i.e., Afghanistan) are nothing but a drop in the bucket.  Mr. Obama the economic recovery plan your administration has put together could not possibly work and so far has not.  It has just deepened the hole from which our country has to emerge.

You continue to push your renewable / green energy plans to get Americans back to work and help the economy.  I do not know who came with such a preposterous plan.  For the current and foreseeable future alternate energy technology will not be able to replace other sources of energy (i.e., coal, nuclear and oil) and if and when they do in the next few decades how many people do you estimate will be able to work on such technology?  There might be a few thousand good paying jobs for the design engineers but the way things are going all the equipment will be manufactured in China.  What would be left for Naive Americans is to install and service Chinese units.  What a way to promote the US economy!

I have been quite busy designing and developing software in the past month or so.  Have had no spare time to write blogs.

Last year one of your economic advisors Warren Buffett acquire additional railroads.  I have not had the opportunity to meet Mr. Buffett in person.  He definitely has skills to generate personal wealth.  Not sure what the implications of his business ventures have been for Naive Americans, but that set aside, have you interpreted what he is stating?

Allow me to enlighten you with an educated guess.  The logic goes as follows:  In the not too distant future (less than a few years) the dollar will have to devaluate.  Our growing (thanks to you) trade deficit will sooner or later catch up with the USA.  When that happens a gallon of diesel fuel made by American refineries with imported oil from the Middle East will sky rocket.  I would estimate it to be about $10 a gallon.  This will represent another blow to our always-declining economy not to mention what will happen to the trucking industry.  Given that little is being manufactured in the US (Did you hear about China becoming the first producer of good in the world passing Germany?) most goods being imported will arrive by ship (less expensive) on one of the coasts.  Trucks will be used to move containers from the maritime terminals to railroads (very short distances, less trucks, less truckers, less jobs).  From railroads connecting the US (they are already there, they only need to be properly maintained) they will be shipped throughout our country.  When they arrive to their destination, containers will be moved by truck to local distributors, which will ship them to stores or consumers.  The use of Internet commerce will continue to grow in an attempt to cut household spending.  So what is the message broadcasted by your most respectable economical advisor?  Not good!

We need fundamental changes in most aspects of our country, from economy, to education and politics.  On several occasions you have mentioned that you have read about the Great Depression in our country hopping to get a better understanding and ideas on how to deal with the present situation.  Knowledge is good if and only if is able to produce new effective ideas.  Otherwise it is just a waste of time.  I would like to suggest you and your advisors start reading about the French Revolution.

Going back to your presidential campaign, Naive Americans would like to see CHANGEs.  So far your administration has failed miserably in providing them.  Hopefully you will meditate on this blog entry and come up with at least a handful of good ideas.

Best regards;

The Naive American.

www.NaiveAmerican.com

Upon arrival at the clinic I had to check in to see a physician.  The receptionist asked if I would like to see a specific doctor.  I told her that any physician would do.  I did not feel I needed to see a specialist for my irritated eye at that point.  Handed my driver license, insurance card and a $20 bill for co pay fee.  Got my documents and a receipt back.  We were then asked to wait until called.

Around the suggested time for the appointment (09:00 AM) I was called in.  A nurse escorted us to a small examination room.  The nurse took my vitals and asked me for the reason I wished to see a doctor.  After she got all the information the nurse told us to wait for the physician.  It would be a few minutes.  Considering that it was a Friday before a long weekend (Labor Day) the 45-minute wait was kind of expected.

The physician that we saw was in his mid sixties.  A very pleasant individual.  Chatted about what brought us to see him.  Explained the situation and after an examination of ears and eyes he figured out that some drops with an antibiotic would do the trick.  He handed me a prescription and immediately started chatting about healthcare reform.  I mentioned that two of my sisters are schooled as physicians.  It appears that my statement made him comfortable and opened up somewhat.

The analogy that he used was rather interesting but perhaps not quite correct or complete.  When he was young he bought a Chevy car for about $2,000 US dollars.  Today he has to pay for a much better and improved Chevrolet automobile around $30,000 dollars.  No one has much to say about the price increase in a car, why should people complain about healthcare.  My wife and I were not in the mood to take up a healthcare discussing that early in the morning but in general we agreed with the statement.  Some of the costs associated with healthcare are valid but many are due to concessions made by politicians to health insurance companies, law firms and medical and pharmaceutical companies.

The point I wish to make is that it appears that many physicians are not in agreement with the health plan proposed by Mr. Obama.  It appears they believe it will also affect their source of income.  I am not sure it would.  It all depends on how reform is done.  It is natural for people to react when threatened.

When thinking about healthcare reform Mr. Obama needs to address the important issue of special interest companies that deal with healthcare.  They are the middlemen who make huge amounts of profits and do not deliver services.  The issue with them is that they have lobbyists that control a vast majority of politicians.

At this point it appears that according to different polls most Naïve Americans are not satisfied with the way Mr. Obama is handling healthcare or any other topic.  So much for the promise of CHANGE.

A few minutes ago I visited the White House web page (www.whitehouse.gov) and saw one of your pictures while visiting Cairo.  Looking good.  Hope your visit will result in positive improvements (CHANGES) to the US.

I would like an answer to one and only one question from the Naive American.  Before I pose it allow me to briefly provide some background and motivation for it.

A few weeks ago I was reading an article on the BBC on-line (http://news.bbc.co.uk) which called my attention.  The article was based on an interview of a woman that I will call Jane Doe.  Jane actually lives in Washington State.  For many years, Jane used to work as a mechanic in the aerospace industry.  I believe she worked in a Boeing plant.

As you well know, because labor unions, Jane was making very good wages for a person with her education and skills.  Unions raise manufacturing costs, which force employers to outsource and lay off Naive Americans.  Years ago Jane got laid off from her well-paid job.

A few months later, having many expenses including a mortgage, which is impossible to pay with unemployment benefits, Jane was lucky enough to get a job in the local government.  Given that the government does not produce many desirable goods or services her wages were quite less than while a mechanic, but she was able to make ends meet for a few years.

It was not until recently that Jane got laid off from her local government job.  Apparently Jane will be loosing her house in the near future.

The reporter interviewing Jane asked her to comment on the future.  Jane was quite realistic on her response.  Things are not looking good for her or for Naive Americans in general.  Most manufacturing jobs have left the USA and will never come back.  As the population increases, less well paid jobs for people with two to four year degrees will be available.

Changing the subject from Jane Doe to when I was growing up, I recall a joke that I saw in a magazine.  Perhaps you have run into a version of it.  Picture on the background a white board with some mathematical equations.  On the left side is a student wishing to get a passing grade on the subject.  On the right side one finds a perplexed professor trying to make sense on the answer provided by the student.  As you look closer into the math, a cloud is pictured with the following label:  “… and then something happens…” and the correct result is displayed.

I would like to modify the joke by replacing the student with you Mr. President, the professor with Naive Americans, and the mathematical problem with the simple question: “What CHANGES are you going to make in the US?” to get to the expected and correct answer “Stable economy as it was many decades ago“.  So far Mr. Obama, you and the rest of politicians and advisors always evade the difficult yet realistic issue that there is no well thought plan on how to solve the economical problems for us, our children or generations to come.

Please respond to the Naive American with a reasonable and realistic plan, not just a magic cloud, which will allow the USA to get from were we are to were we all would like to be.  I sincerely hope you prove me wrong with your response.

Yours truly,

The Naive American

It was in the news late last week that your administration appears to be interested in passing legislation to regulate to some extent the way credit card companies do business.  The Naive American is quite impressed with your decision.  Allow me to explain.

The Naive American does not know who you are or where you came from.  I believe most Naive Americans would share this opinion.  The Democratic Party selected a set of politicians to run for office.  We have never been presented with so many choices (white, African American, male, female, Hispanic, etc, etc, etc).  The situation of the country, the democratic advertisement engine (CHANGE) and the way you were advertised got you elected.  Your speeches sound like they are coming from a preacher.  A lot of emotion but little, if any substance.

As you might have read on previous blogs on my web site, your ideas to induce CHANGE in America do not make sense.  Infrastructure (roads and railroads) was a good thing to do fifty years ago.  Today such approaches will just exacerbate the economical problems.  Our country does not need construction jobs that do not produce goods and services that are desirable worldwide.  They just waste money that our country does not have and will be hard to come up in the foreseeable future.

I am not sure what your aids and advisors are telling you, but you should fire all of them.  OK, perhaps keep one or two.  You just need to look around in your house or out the window and see what Naive Americans use and are in need.  Allow me to provide you with some hints:  clothing, automobiles, electronics, computers, small appliances, cell phones, food, healthcare, etc, etc, etc.  Where are those things coming from?  The majority are not produced and / or designed in the USA.  We need to build our economy from the ground up by helping small and medium size businesses.  Those are the ones that have carried our country for decades.  So far your administration has done nothing in this important segment of our economy.

In the past few decades an ever-increasing number of Naive Americans have decided they are above the rest.  They are royalty.  Their time is extremely expensive and their know how needed for the US to continue to grow.  Of course nothing of this is true.  Those are the people that have destroyed our country.

Credit card companies do not produce goods or services that contribute to the well being of the nation.  They just satisfy the high salaries and bonuses demanded by top executives that believe their expertise and time is so unique that they can get millions of dollars in compensation every year.  Your suggestion of regulating credit card companies is the first good thing that has come from your administration and has the potential of induce the CHANGE that you promised during your presidential campaign.

Naive Americans will be following the actions of your administration in the next few weeks and months to see if you are just one more politician with wishes to be part of or server the American Royalty.  Time will tell.  By the way it appears that time is running out for the US.

Best regards;

The Naive American

About ten years ago he moved to the Twin Cities looking for a change and to be close to relatives.  He worked at a local casino and at the international airport.  He then found a job at a Walmart store in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota.

Joe worked five days a week.  His schedule changed now and then.  Most of the time he worked over weekends.  He would get up early in the morning to make sure he had enough time to get to work on time.  He was never late.

A few weeks ago Walmart start cutting his hours and shifting his schedule.  Given that Joe has been a loyal Walmart employee for several years, his current salary is somewhat higher than of new employees (or associates as they are called by Walmart).  Joe is quite desperate at this time looking for a new job because with no more than twenty hours a week he is not able to pay his bills.

Most Naive Americans are aware of the economic condition in the US and around the world.  What most Naive Americans do not understand is that American Royalty created the crisis.  It just happens that the Walton family who is the largest shareholder of Walmart and Sam’s Club are part of such American aristocratic class.

Walmart lobbied for vendor companies to outsource in order to reduce their manufacturing costs while maintaining their profit margins selling at a discounted price to them.  Walmart helped companies reduce their costs by moving manufacturing offshore.  So who benefited from such approach?  Well, consumers that shop at Sam’s Club and Walmart did.  Who paid for the lower prices that made huge profits for Sam’s Club and Walmart?  Most Naive Americans.

As manufacturing jobs fled the US at an accelerated pace, more and more Naive Americans lost their jobs and had to look for new lower paying jobs.  The condition got so bad that Sam’s Club and Walmart lobbied for an increase on the minimum wage in the USA.  Walmart did not care about what they were paying their employees but they reasoned that by increasing the minimum wage they would increase their revenue.  Most people that shops Sam’s Club and in particular Walmart are lower income families.

Lately Joe experienced a couple personal issues.  His mother passed away a few months ago.  In the past month or so Joe’s hours at Walmart were reduced from five to three days.  It appears that due to the additional stress (and to some extent his genetics) he developed a case of type II diabetes.

The question that all Naive Americans should ask our government is how the road construction and lately rapid trains will help Joe in any way shape or form?  The answer is quite simple.  Those projects that will cost the USA billions of Dollars will not help Joe and millions of other Naive Americans.

Last week, on the evening news on April 15, reports from protests in many cities around the US showed some Naive Americans protesting against taxes.  The interesting this about such protest was the tea party theme.  This is how the USA came to be by rebelling against the British.  If things continue to go the way they have been, sooner than later we might have some type of massive protest in our country, which will have serious repercussions for all Naive Americans and the world.

We need to put pressure on all politicians to take immediate action (or quit) to induce CHANGE.  The American Royalty has to go!

After shopping for perfume for my wife at the Mall of America, we headed to visit my youngest son.  My wife and I have two sons, both with families of their own.  My wife had purchased a few weeks go some Easter baskets which my daughter in law needed for next week.  The grandkids will be hunting for eggs next week.  At this time we are not sure such event will be outdoors or indoors.  When we went to bed last evening there was no snow on the ground.  This morning all is covered with about two inches of fresh snow.  The weather forecast calls for a warming period.  Hopefully the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul will be experiencing highs in the 50′s by the end of this week.  The kids might be able to spend time outdoors next Sunday.

On our way home we decided to go to the Best Buy store in Eagan, MN.  Last week a technician from the cable company stopped by to address an issue we were experiencing.  The cable box and the cable between it and the TV were replaced.  The technician swapped the RCA (composite video and stereo audio) with a HDMI cable.  After all was done the issue was resolved and most interesting the quality of the picture was improved.  My wife and I decided to swap the cable connecting the Blu-ray player to the TV for added quality.  On a side note, if you decide to purchase a HDMI cable make sure you check prices.  Some manufactures and stores are asking exorbitant amounts of money for four feet wire and a couple connectors.

As we were leaving the store my wife received and unexpected phone call from a long time friend.  The husband of a common friend passed away earlier that day.  He left behind two daughters and wife.  A death in the family is never welcomed, but what made it worse is that his wife, a retired oral surgeon affected by crippling rheumatology arthritis, lost not only her husband but also her primary care taker.

Last evening my wife was on the phone for over two hours with another friend whose husband works for the same company as the deceased.  She mentioned that employees in there fifties are extremely concerned with the state of our economy.  In the past couple months it is not uncommon to hear several times a week the sirens of paramedics in the corporate main campus of the company these people work.  Several employees have been taken to hospitals with heart attacks and stokes.  The main cause appears to be the high stress being exposed due not only to job demands but also to the uncertainty that has been brought on us by our economy.  I am not going to mention the name of the firm but it is listed as a Fortune 500 company.  It is one of the largest employers in Minnesota.  As a matter of fact I used to work there about twenty years ago.

So besides the tragedy of the death for the family and friends, Naive Americans need to stop and reflect on the most likely culprit for this untimely death and the death of other in this and other companies in the USA. 

In a different blog I mentioned a study conducted for years on the world population regarding happiness.  It was surprising that Naive Americans with our large houses full of stuff and huge SUVs that waste so much energy are ranked far from to the top.  Most Naive Americans are unhappy and angry.  The study points out that most Naive Americans are not happy because we do not have the stability provided by our government and our society like in so may other countries around the world.  If you do not believe this, take a few minutes and read the news on the Internet:

 ”… A silent killer carrying two handguns opened fire in an upstate immigration center Friday April 03, 2009, executing 13 people in a brutally efficient murder spree.  Wong, was bitter over his recent layoff from a Shop-Vac factory when he grabbed two handguns, a bag of ammunition and his body armor Friday …”

This individual was pushed to the limit because of the state of our economy.  I do agree that the perpetrator does not fit the age profile (50′s) of the worker that passed away Saturday, but it does not take much to figure out that the root of the problem is quite similar.

Last week president Obama attended the last G-20 meeting in Europe.  Their main goal was to come up with measures to fix the world economy.  Sounds like something a candidate in the Miss America pageant would say, “fix the world economy“.  If you look at the list of countries that make up the G-20 and follow what goes on in the world, you can easily figure out that correcting the issues in the US would go against helping other countries.

Naive Americans are interested in making money but not study or work.  We are a nation of investors, lawyers and accountants that demand (we believe that we somehow we deserve) very high returns on our investments and are not able to put in a 40-hour week of hard work.  Our industries and know how are being outsourced and globalize for the benefit of the American Royalty.  This is why our automobile industry is about to collapse.  The Naive American predicts that the automobile industry in the US will follow the same road as other technological driven industries had in the past (e.g., television sets, photocopiers, small home appliances, watches, etc, etc, etc).

Next time you have some time to spare, look through your TV guide, for the program “How is it Made”.  Each episode covers a handful of products.  It shows how raw materials are transformed into desirable finished goods (manufacturing).  I have watched the show a few dozen times.  It does not take too long to figure out that the show is not based in the USA.  It is Canadian.  The Naive American offers some kudos to our northern neighbors.  Do you know which show did “How is it Made” replaced?  When I say replaced, I do not mean in the full extent of the meaning.  One show is on The Discovery Channel and the other was on The Travel Channel.  The show was “Made in America”.  I am not going to get into further details, but industry, manufacturing and technology are fleeing the USA.  These actions are weakening our economy to the point of no return.

We are in need of a massive CHANGE in our government and in the ways Naive Americans conduct ourselves.  The economical problems in the world were mainly cause by American Royalty.  We need to make the necessary changes to be able to get out of the hole we are in.  We need confidence and peace of mind to grow and hopefully get America back on track.

Arthur, rest in peace.

The Naive American

I am sending you this letter in hopes you clarify how your stimulus package(s) are going to help Naive Americans that are or have worked in Wall Street and are loosing or already have lost their jobs.  I am also interested in finding out what your administration is doing or going to do to prevent the issues that caused the US economic meltdown not to repeat.

As I have stated on previous blogs, I am a computer scientist not associated in any way with Wall Street.  I have read several articles on Wall Street and watched several segments on the subject on national TV.

The financial system in the US is completely corrupt.  Greed had been the motivation for most people involved in the financial industry, which I will refer to in general as Wall Street.

The Oxford on-line dictionary defines Greed as follows:

Noun intense and selfish desire for food, wealth, or power.

All is well with being greedy as long as it does not compromise moral and ethical principles.  Given that you are a lawyer by trade, I assume that you are familiar with the base principle of morality (which has nothing to do with any religion):

Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.

Based on the news, it appears that some (very few in the opinion of most Naive Americans) Wall Street executives are under scrutiny by the US legal system to determine if they have committed crimes.  The issue with this is that many Naive Americans have become very good snake oil sales people (deceiving others) and like to walk on a thin gray line between what is criminal and what is not.  No matter what people in Wall Street say or how are they represented, they all knew what was going on and they did nothing to correct or stop earlier in the game.

As you well know, most of the economical issues the USA is currently experiencing were precipitated (not started) by a law passed towards the end of the Clinton administration (way before the 8 years of George W. Bush while you were a politician in the state of Illinois and the few months of your administration).  It appears that greed, lack of responsibility, lack of morals, etc, etc, etc was not only something found in Wall Street but it was (and still is) spread all over our society.

This Naive American fully understands that it is important to recognize the past, but it is a complete waste of time and resources to just complaint and not CHANGE.  Sounds familiar Mr. President?  We need legislation to be passed to address the issues that led a small set of Naive Americans to take advantage of the majority without any legal consequences.  We also need to make sure that checks and balances are in place in Wall Street so greedy Naive Americans are not able to repeat what they have done.

A few weeks ago I was watching the news on national TV.  A Wall Street analyst stated that executives in his business live a different reality.  They need to be greedy and get paid millions of Dollars a year.  I can assure you that you can fire all Wall Street executives and in less that 24-hours such positions would be filled by better qualified Naive Americans which would be eager to work for a reasonable salary (no more that $400,000 Dollars per year) and get stock options from stock holders to motivate them to excel in their jobs.  In America we do not believe in blue blood or monarchies.

Regarding the stimulus package, how is it going to help Naive Americans that used to work in Wall Street?  Building roads, making buildings green, getting healthcare and unemployment benefits are not going to the problem.  The caps on Dollar amounts and periods for unemployment benefits might be fine for Naive Americans that had very low incomes, but not for middle and upper middle class workers from Wall Street.  Most Naive Americans are part of the middle class (which sadly is shrinking and could / will bring serious problems down the line).  Middle class Naive Americans need well-paid jobs that produce goods and services that may be consumed in and outside the US.  Well-paid jobs that demand skills and know how have gradually been outsourced.  Manufacturing has been affected by globalization.

In conclusion, pouring money that will never be recovered into the economy is just going to postpone and / or stretch the symptoms.  If the stimulus is coming from taxes, loans, or printing currency, things will just get worse.  The USA needs massive and deep CHANGES in our economy and society in order to get us back on track and leave our children and generations to come a better place to live in.

Yours truly;

The Naive American

PS:           Mr. President, please read the About section in the www.naiveamerican.org site to get a better flavor of what has and is happening with the USA.  Then prove me wrong by inducing the proper CHANGES!!!

Lets first get the facts by using a dictionary.  From MSN Encarta http://encarta.msn.com/:

Capitalism:  An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit.

Socialism:  An economic and social system under which essential industries and social services are publicly and cooperatively owned and democratically controlled with a view to equal opportunity and equal benefit for all.  The term socialism also refers to the doctrine behind this system and the political movement inspired by it.

So the answer is:  it depends on the subject and whom are we talking with.

Lets take a look at a few examples, which should put the answer in perspective.

If we look at some farmers, most in the southern part of the USA, we find that some are receiving Federal Aid because they are not able to compete planting their traditional crops (e.g., cotton) with other countries in the world.  If the farmer is not competitive, then under capitalism two basic options are presented.  Sell the farm to a different farmer or corporation that has the means to grow the same or different crops, or go out of business and move on to a different way of life.  Simple but in reality some influential farmers get compensation from the US Federal Government to do nothing with their land and live very well.  What for of Capitalism is this?

I live in the State of Minnesota.  I am not a farmer, but our crops are mostly corn.  Our neighbor to the East is Wisconsin.  They do raise dairy cattle and make large amounts of cheese.  I always though that the State of Wisconsin was the number one producer of dairy in the country, but it appears that they are in second place.  The honors go to the state of California.  The government regulates the price of milk and cheese.  Some good years, due to good weather conditions, production of corn, milk and cheese goes up, therefore the associated prices go down, and there goes the government helping out farmers.  I am not saying that the actions of the government or the farmers are right or wrong.  The Naive American is just asking if under Capitalism, most farms should not be out of business?

Most Naive Americans own some type of automobile, truck or SUV for their personal transportation.  Currently in the USA most vehicles use some type of fossil fuel.  Businesses via lobbyist try to pass different laws to maintain the status quo with fossil fuels and inefficient automobiles.  Very few Naive Americans continue to make large amounts of money with little or no work.  The price of gas at the pump varies but a relative large percent of it goes into different federal and local taxes.  The rest goes to the greedy oil companies to pay dividends and extravagant salaries and perks to executives.  What is interesting is that no one can sell gas for less than or higher than a price range set by the government.  What type of capitalism is this?

For my last example, we have K-12 education.  A percentage of your taxes go to pay the corrupt and inefficient school system we have in our country.  Are you able to skip that portion of the taxes if you do not have a child in school age or if you decide to send your kids to a private institution?  My two sons attended a private military school.  My wife and I made the decision several decades ago after watching the public school system in action.

One of my sons has two sons but they are still too young to attend K – 12 school.  My oldest son has two daughters in school age K-12.  They are attending a private school.  So why would a Naive Americans pay taxes for public school and then send their kids to a private institution for an additional fee?  The motivation is quite simple.  The socialistic school system in the USA is broke and corrupt.  Our kids are ranked 14^th (not second or third) compared to other countries, yet the budgets are leading the list.  School unions want more money to continue to perform poorly.  Our government continues to give them more money.  Is this a sign of capitalism or pure socialism?  I personally think it is madness.

At this point in time, most Naive Americans are not too interested in the issues with education, they are more interested in the economy and how are they going to put food in their mouths and keep a roof above their heads.  I believe we all understand and agree with this.  What the government needs to do is induce a fundamental CHANGE in education to eliminate the current system and switch to one that is based on performance (good education implies good teacher making good salaries).  If the approach for this change is to eliminate the public education system and replace it with private institutions, so be it.  Pouring money into the current K-12 school system has proven a complete and total failure.  Does our country need to be ranked LAST in the world before we take the appropriate action?

President Obama was elected on the premise that his presidency would bring CHANGE.  Here is one critical issue that needs CHANGE before our high school graduates are not able to read, write or perform some basic arithmetic.  Hopefully Mr. Obama’s economic plan does not include more money to provide more jobs for inept schoolteachers.

In conclusion, is the US the ultimate capitalistic bastion, or are we just portraying that and follow may socialistic principles in order to work less and get more without concerns for the rest of Naive Americans?