E-Newsletter No. 54 _____ June 2018

Last month, we talked about the costs and the benefits of employment and welfare. There have been a lot of discussions lately in Washington DC about re-establishing work requirements in exchange for the “entitlement” to receive welfare benefits. Re-establishing work requirements would be a step in the right direction towards eliminating poverty in America.

However, these discussions are also somewhat mis-guided, because they fail to address the fundamental problem, which is Congress’ disregard for the Tenth Amendment and an erroneous belief that the federal government can solve the issue of poverty. The federal government can only throw money at the symptoms of the disease – – it cannot cure / eradicate poverty. Our elected officials have failed to remember the words of wisdom in Thomas Paine’s pamphlet entitled Common Sense about the fundamental differences between government and civil society.

The federal government was established to handle specific, limited responsibilities. Over the past 100 years or so, it has expanded well beyond this limited role, and this expansion has directly contributed to many of the troubling issues that currently confront our country. These social ills – – dependency on the government, a growing sense of “entitlement”, and a ballooning federal debt – – can be tied directly to the advance of Socialism.

As Dennis Prager pointed out in his video on the detrimental effects of Big Government (https://www.prageru.com/courses/left-and-right-differences/how-big-should-government-be-left-vs-right-1) “Big Government eats away at the moral character of a nation. People no longer take care of one another. After all, they know the government will do that.”

One unfortunate by-product of many pieces of legislation passed by Congress is the detrimental effects of unintended consequences. In the tax reform legislation that was passed last December, Congress significantly increased the standard deduction for personal income tax returns. We support that increase – – in The 2020 Initiative we take the position that no individual or family should be asked to pay federal income taxes until they have earned enough income to cover their own cost of living.

However, the problem with this increase in the standard deduction is that it will probably lead to a decrease in the amount of charitable contributions that are made by our country’s citizens. There have already been signs of a decrease in the amount of contributions to universities, civic organizations and religious institutions (the unintended consequences). However, we are somewhat skeptical, because this might actually have been by design – – the federal government wants to continue to crowd out civil society, and Congress wants to be seen as being the solution to all of our country’s social ills. But let’s repeat – – the federal government cannot solve the issue of poverty.

The federal government’s welfare programs simply add to the federal government’s debt. Charitable contributions made by our country’s citizens do not. This is the reason why we recommend that four national pass-through charities be established (for education, food, housing, and medical care), which would be funded by allowing a dollar-for-dollar tax credit against an individual’s / family’s federal income tax liability for the contributions to these four charities. With this change, the federal government should then eliminate all of its “non-constitutional” welfare programs, and the war against poverty should be waged by civil society at the state and local level. Local Not-for-Profit charitable organizations are closer to the action and are better equipped to deliver actual, positive results.

US Debt Clock – – May 1st – $64,606 per citizen / June 1st – $64,635

E-Newsletter No. 53 ______ May 2018

Mitt Romney once suggested that each person “should take personal responsibility” for their own life. This includes assessing the costs and the benefits of the various decisions that you make each day. Should I make my own cup of coffee this morning, or should I buy the 99 cent cup of coffee at the local convenience store, or should I drive over and buy the $4.59 cup of latte at the coffee shop?

But it’s not all about dollar and cents. Sometimes a decision might entail assessing an “intangible consideration” that only you can determine for yourself. Should I sleep in, or should I study for tomorrow’s exam? Should I invest my time in this activity, or that? Should I go back to school so that I can work towards getting into a field that sparks my interest, or should I simply go to my minimum wage job and hope the government can force my employer to pay me $15 per hour?

Here is a short list of the costs of employment – – the cost of transportation to and from your employer; the time value of your time spent going to and from your employer; the “lost opportunity cost” of the time you spend at your employer versus the time you could be spending doing something you might prefer doing.

Here is a short list of the benefits of employment – – the wages/compensation that you earn; the good feeling that arises from making a positive contribution (to your employer, or to your customers, or to society); the good feeling associated with the Pride of your accomplishments; an intangible value and sense of well-being associated with becoming self-reliant.

Here is a short list of the costs of welfare – – the dollar cost to society to provide assistance to those individuals / families in need (which could very well be appropriate in certain situations, and in certain other instances, maybe not); the “intangible cost” associated with the loss of self-esteem that arises from a feeling of dependency (but unfortunately, this intangible cost has been decreasing in our country over the course of the past 50 years or so, due to the growing sense of entitlement among our country’s citizens).

Here is a short list of the benefits of welfare – – the dollars received from society (as opposed to wages/compensation earned); the “opportunity benefit” of avoiding the costs of employment (see the list of costs above); the time-value-benefit of the extra time available to yourself.

It has been said that “Our country needs a steady in-flow of immigrants, because most Americans would never do those types of jobs.” What ??? Where did that line of thinking ever come from? Well, to a large degree it comes from the trends of what has been happening in our country over the course of the past 50 years or so. Unfortunately, the federal government’s welfare programs have had a significant effect on the cost/benefit assessment of the various factors listed above.

In a Socialistic society, people begin to believe that they are entitled to the generous benefits available from the government. But in a self-reliant society, people understand that they are responsible for their own life decisions. Frederick Douglas once observed, “People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get”. That was certainly true in the past, but then Big Government Socialists began giving away welfare benefits for “free”.

US Debt Clock – – April 1st – $64,468 per citizen / May 1st – $64,606

E-Newsletter No. 52 _____ April 2018

As we have noted on our Foundation’s website, our Editorial Board tends to approach many of our country’s issues from a “business” perspective, rather than a “political” perspective. In the business world, the management of a company has a fundamental responsibility to guard against occupational fraud.

Dr. Donald Cressey was a criminologist who developed a fraud triangle model that identified three factors that, when taken together, can contribute towards a person committing an act of fraud – Pressure, Opportunity, and Rationalization. Do these same three factors come into play in politics?

Pressure – A potential opponent from within your own party in the next primary election, an opponent from the other party in the next general election, the need to deliver results to your various special interest groups so they will continue to provide campaign contributions for your next re-election, etc…. But maybe the biggest pressure is your own desire to maintain your current lifestyle and the sense of power that comes from your position within the federal government. The question becomes – Wouldn’t these pressures on the members of the House and Senate be significantly reduced if they knew they had been elected to serve a limited number of years, so that they can devote all of their time and efforts towards promoting the general welfare of the country as a whole, rather than worrying about their next re-election?

Opportunity – Congress’ approval ratings are at historical lows, and yet over 96% of the incumbents in the House and Senate who sought re-election in 2016 were successful in getting re-elected. It is a well-known fact that incumbents have a tremendous advantage over any challengers – – name recognition, a built-in fund-raising advantage, along with the continued support they receive from their various special interest groups. However, the single biggest opportunity that members of Congress have in regards to spending our children’s /grandkids’ money is that they can’t vote yet.

Rationalization – The Scottish historian Alexander Tytler observed that “A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy.” But aren’t politicians simply giving their constituents what they want from the government? Isn’t this why we have Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, and Welfare programs? Isn’t this the primary role of the federal government? [ No ].

Our Editorial Board promotes the concept of Personal Responsibility, rather than yet another government program. We oppose Socialism and Big Government. Winston Churchill observed “The inherent vice of Capitalism is the unequal sharing of Blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of Miseries.” Margaret Thatcher observed that “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” Our federal government ran out of other people’s money a long time ago (which is why our federal government is already $21.1 trillion in debt, thanks to FDR, LBJ and the other Big Government Socialists). When you run out of other people’s money, you are almost forced to go after the money of people who can’t even vote yet.

We started this newsletter with an observation that in the business world, the management of a company has a fundamental responsibility to guard against occupational fraud (and Ponzi schemes). Our country’s Founders set up a government where We-the-People are the managers over our elected officials. The time has come for We-the-People to exercise our management responsibilities and call a Convention of States to propose amendments to the US Constitution that would impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.

US Debt Clock – – March 1st – $63,450 per citizen / April 1st – $64,468

E-Newsletter No. 51 _____ March 2018

We were originally going use this month’s newsletter to discuss the cost/benefit analysis that every person performs each day, when they decide whether they should get out of bed and go to work. However, we are deferring that newsletter, and will instead use this month’s newsletter to give you another update on our federal government’s lack of fiscal responsibility.

As you are probably aware, the federal government was shut down last month for about 7 hours in the wee morning hours of Friday, February 9th. However, through the heroic efforts of our elected officials in Washington DC, this latest government shut-down was cut short by Congress when they passed legislation that will add over $400 billion to the federal government’s credit card balance. By passing this legislation, our elected officials put each citizen – every man, woman and child – on the hook for over $1,000 each. Every dollar that is added to the federal government’s debt represents one additional dollar of future taxes that will need to be paid by our country’s citizens.

And that’s not the worst aspect of last month’s legislation – – the real travesty is that the bill only funded the federal government though March 23rd, so we are going to have yet another last-minute fire drill later this month.

Here are some of the quotes regarding this latest act of fiscal irresponsibility –

Senator Rand Paul – – “I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama’s trillion-dollar deficits. Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can’t in honesty look the other way.” [ He voted No ].

Rep. John Yarmuth – – “We’re not going to get DACA as part of this. So, if we can negotiate a deal like I think we’ve gotten, that essentially meets every other one of our priorities, then I think that’s where a lot of the Democrats are.” [ He voted Yes ].

Senator Jeff Flake – – “I love bipartisanship… But the problem is the only time we discover bipartisanship is when we spend more money.” [He voted No ].

Maya MacGuineas (the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget) – – “No one voting for this bill can claim to care about the debt and deficits – in fact, it is fiscal malpractice. Congress just ordered everything on the menu (and then some) and then sent the bill over to the kids’ table.”

And…. from the Foundation to Promote Personal Responsibility – – “This is not only fiscal malpractice, the federal government’s growing debt problem and its effect on future generations is immoral.”

Our Editorial Board believes that the time has come for 34 states to come forward and call a Convention of States to propose amendments to the US Constitution that would impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.

US Debt Clock – – February 1st – $63,044 per citizen / March 1st – $63,450

E-Newsletter No. 50 ______ February 2018

So, what could be more pertinent to the discussion about Personal Responsibility, other than a review of the Seven Deadly Sins? As we pondered that question, our Editorial Board does agree with the list of the Seven sins, but we have determined that most of them do have certain positive aspects. We also took a shot at ranking them from “worst” to “least worst”.

Gluttony – OK, it’s hard to find any positive aspects about this one. As we discussed in our Conversation Piece entitled Healthcare Re-Visited, we make the case that healthcare is simply and primarily a Personal Responsibility. And we take issue with the Left’s tactic of trying to make a case that healthcare is somehow a “right” instead of a Personal Responsibility. The political debate is really about who should pay for whose health insurance policy.

Envy – We have run across references where Envy is oftentimes ranked as being the “most deadly” of the Seven Deadly Sins. We generally agree. It was a close contest, but this one doesn’t top Gluttony, because there is at least one redeeming aspect. Maybe Envy can spur someone into action to take Personal Responsibility to improve their own lot in life (rather than simply be envious).

Sloth – OK, so Sloth is another one that doesn’t seem to have very many redeeming qualities. But sometimes it’s OK to just sit back and chill out. Plus, this one is generally a “victimless crime”. But maybe sometimes a person just doesn’t want to work, and so they engage in Disability Fraud.

Wrath – This one is in the top part of the list, because it can lead to all kinds of violence (i.e., Antifa) and other kinds of deadly actions / sins. But Wrath is potentially useful if it leads to moral outrage, which can then be channeled to positive purposes.

Lust – Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Franken, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore…. So, are we all disgusted enough yet, or should we try to finish the rest of this list? This deadly sin isn’t specific to any particular industry or political party. It should also be noted that Lust is not exclusively “gender specific” either. And [ this might be a bit of a stretch ] maybe Lust is needed to help perpetuate the species.

Greed – The Left is probably going to go nuts with this ranking. Shouldn’t this one be at the very top of the list? Our Editorial Board agrees that Greed belongs among the Seven sins, especially when it leads to either thievery or corruption. However, “Greed is good” according to Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street. Plus, it’s an interesting debate as to what has been a better driver of civilization’s progress – – Is it “altruism” or “greed” / entrepreneurialism?

Pride – Wikipedia points out that Pride carries two antithetical meanings. Pride is one of the Seven sins if it leads to a foolish sense of one’s personal value or status. But this one is at the bottom of the list, because everyone should take Pride in their work and accomplishments.

US Debt Clock – – January 1st – $62,996 per citizen / February 1st – $63,044

E-Newsletter No. 49 _____ January 2018

Here is the link to the picture –

http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/A-Picture-is-Worth-a-Thousand-Words.pdf

US Debt Clock – – December 1st – $63,044 per citizen / January 1st – $62,996

E-Newsletter No. 48 _____ December 2017

In September, the US House of Representatives and US Senate failed to address the federal government’s growing debt problem, as they postponed any action on the “debt ceiling” until December 8th. Our Editorial Board does not anticipate that any meaningful debt ceiling / limitation will be established this month.

As we mentioned in our Conversation Piece entitled Other Musings, the lack of fiscal responsibility by our federal government represents a complete and unequivocal failure of our country’s leadership (in both political parties). The Left has generally ignored many of the warnings that were laid out in the Federalist Papers and in Thomas Paine’s pamphlet entitled Common Sense.

Our Editorial Board does not believe that there is anything fundamentally wrong with the way the US Constitution was written. Unfortunately, the liberal/progressive movement continues to try to “fundamentally transform” the federal government and, therefore, the relationship between We-The-People and our government.

Fortunately, our country’s Founders provided us with a means to work around an out-of-control government, and we believe the time has come to amend the US Constitution and implement Term Limits for members of the House of Representatives and Senate. Under Article V of the Constitution, 34 of the 50 states need to pass legislation to call for a Convention of States. Such a convention would then be able to draft proposed amendments to the US Constitution, such as establishing fiscal restraints on the federal government, limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limiting the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress. You can go to www.conventionofstates.com to learn more.
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Please note that we have posted an eBook version of The 2020 Initiative on our website –

http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/The-2020-Initiative-e-Book.pdf

We encourage you to forward this link to your representatives in Congress (along with their Legislative Directors) and we encourage you to continue to deliver the message that “enough is enough”.

US Debt Clock on December 1st – – $20.5 trillion / / $63,044 per citizen

E-Newsletter No. 47 ______ November 2017

One year ago, our country’s citizens decided that we do not want a bigger, more intrusive federal government. Unfortunately, the Socialists of the Left are not going to go away quietly. This month, we are providing a link to another new Conversation Piece on our Foundation’s website entitled Other Musings –

http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Other-Musings.pdf

The federal government’s cumulative debt amount continues to rise. The members of our Foundation need to stay engaged in this conversation with our elected officials, and need to continue to deliver the message that “enough is enough”. Our elected officials need to either deliver a solution, or they will be voted out of office.

We close this month’s newsletter with another one of our favorite Forrest Gump quotes. Whenever Forrest was finished articulating yet another self-evident truth, he would sum it all up by saying “That’s all I have to say about that.”

E-Newsletter No. 46 _______ October 2017

Just a short newsletter this month – we are providing the following link to another new Conversation Piece on our Foundation’s website entitled Other Thoughts on Personal Responsibility –

http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Other-Thoughts-on-Personal-Responsibility.pdf

In addition to promoting the concept of personal responsibility, our Editorial Board also believes in the concepts of Opportunity for All and Favoritism to None. This is where the federal government’s focus should be.

Unfortunately, the Left supports Big Government and intrusive regulations that diminish Opportunities for All. The Socialists of the Left condemn corporations (along with successful, wealthy individuals) as being the source of all evil in society. But here is a fundamental question – – If corporations and other businesses are not the means by which our citizens receive goods and services, who is going to provide the jobs (and opportunities) that people need in order to have a meaningful purpose in life? Of course, the Socialists’ default answer is “Big (more) Government”. But history has shown that Socialism doesn’t work – a government does not and cannot create wealth – it can only re-distribute wealth.

Having said that…. It is very true that a very significant problem exists – – Corruption occurs under “crony capitalism”. However, this corruption is oftentimes due to collusion between career politicians and special interest groups, and this collusion violates the concept of “Favoritism to None.”

The federal government was established to militarily defend the country as a whole, and to protect our citizen’s rights. Period. (Please re-read the Tenth Amendment). When the federal government attempts to expand beyond this limited role, bad things begin to happen. Forrest Gump (and his mom) were fond of saying “Stupid is as stupid does”. Unfortunately, the federal government is currently doing a lot of stupid things.

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We close this month’s newsletter with a sobering piece of news, which should come as no surprise to the members of our Foundation. Our federal government’s finances are on an unsustainable path, and unfortunately this past month, our country passed a new threshold. The federal government’s cumulative debt now stands in excess of $20 trillion (and continues to rise)…

US Debt Clock – – September 1st – $61,330 per citizen / October 1st – $61,981

E-Newsletter No. 45 _______ September 2017

Fair warning to all readers who might have “Democratic Socialism” tendencies… Continue reading at your own risk. On our website, we have added a new Conversation Piece entitled Welfare Reform Re-Visited –

http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Welfare-Reform-Revisited.pdf

In this Conversation Piece, we provide our thoughts on how to repeal and replace the federal government’s counter-productive welfare programs. Our country needs to face a sobering fact – – our federal government has lost its “War on Poverty”. History and events have proven that LBJ’s Great Society welfare programs have been an abject failure. We have spent over $22 trillion on welfare programs since the 1960s, and the percentage of people who live in poverty has remained virtually unchanged.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting to achieve a different result. We need to fundamentally transform welfare (which is simply the delivery of goods and services to citizens who need assistance). With this Conversation Piece, our Editorial Board is launching our own war on the War on Poverty. The welfare programs sponsored by our federal government cannot solve the problem of poverty (contrary to how these programs have been “marketed” to the public in the past). Instead, these welfare programs have only served to foster a growing sense of entitlement among our country’s citizens and have increased the level of dependency on the federal government.

Our Editorial Board’s alternative is to promote the concept of Personal Responsibility, rather than Socialism. An individual who is in poverty should look to assistance from civil society for the solution to their problem(s), rather than a government program. History has proven without a doubt that the federal government’s programs cannot accomplish the objective of reducing poverty.

LBJ’s Great Society programs were a drastic over-reach by the federal government. The federal government was not established by the States to deliver welfare to individual citizens. It was set up to protect our country’s citizens’ lives and liberties, and our ability to pursue happiness. The General Welfare clause in the Constitution refers to policies and programs that promote the General Welfare of the country as a whole, and does not refer to providing welfare benefits to individual citizens.

Having said that… Compassionate citizens of all political persuasions recognize that some individuals are going to need some assistance during some period of time in their life. The poor have always lived among us, and this has been true going all the way back to pre-biblical times. As we noted in The 2020 Initiative, the real solution to the problem of poverty is to help the poor become “unpoor”. However, one of the first steps that needs to happen is for each individual to develop a game plan to take Personal Responsibility for their own life. A sense of Personal Responsibility (instead of a sense of “vicitimization”) combined with the assistance available from civil society (families, supported by local community groups, charities, and social service agencies) is the only means by which a person will become unpoor. For those on the Left who are brave enough, please launch the link to the Conversation Piece entitled Welfare Reform Re-Visited.

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As many of us recall, on October 30, 2015, legislation was passed to suspend the federal government’s debt limit to March 2017. Since then, the Treasury department has employed “extraordinary measures” to continue meeting federal obligations without issuing new debt, and the amount of the federal government’s debt has been stalled at approximately $19.97 trillion since July. However, these extraordinary measures will become depleted some time later this month. Unfortunately, the incremental costs that have been incurred for these extraordinary measures total approximately $2.5 billion. Although this is a “big number”, this amount is “miniscule” when you consider the fact that the annual deficit for this year is going to be around $600 billion.

US Debt Clock – – August 1st – $61,344 per citizen / September 1st – $61,330