Tuff love needed to end debt

It has been published recently on multiple websites that approximately 40 percent of the people who file taxes, end up getting money back from the government, or do not have to pay anything at all. The extensive tax cuts that are in place make for a great payday around tax time, but how much money is the country losing by not having this extra revenue.

While it is called by some an interest free loan to the government, the payout at the end of the tax season creates a large hole in what could be used for handling government business until the end of the fiscal year in October.

Anyway you look at the numbers, reducing government spending, and increasing the amount of tax revenue is the only way that we will see positive numbers again as a country. We cannot continue to borrow against money we do not have and will not have. In terms of our debt, we are not getting any better, and if we are to strengthen ourselves as a country, we must get back to positive numbers in the check book.

Some other ways to help end the national debt are:

• Reduce the amount of money public officials are paid per year or at least sever their "all-expenses paid" travel budgets. This would go to include former presidents as well.
• Remove the tax cuts in place to "stimulate" the economy as it has clearly been shown not to produce the results projected.
• Stop pushing our politics on people who do not want them and stop "peace-keeping" missions to over-throw foreign governments. 
• Put an end to privatized banking or only allow non-profit banking establishments. Allowing banks to spend money that is not theirs on bad deals and then ask the Government for a loan is not only bad business, but is bad for us as a people. 
• Cut off subsidies to oil companies and push the advancement of transportation that does not require fuel. The technology is there, we just need the oil companies (and the government that earns taxes on every gallon of gas) to get out of the way.
• Legalize, and heavily tax recreational drugs. When you tell a person they cannot have it, is when they want it the most. Tobacco is heavily taxed and yet the hardy tobacco users still purchase it. Recreational drugs are being used regardless what the government says, at least the government could make some money off of it, as well as regulate it better this way.
• Redirect and reduce the amount of money spent on destroying the world, and focus more on maintaining and improving our infrastructure.
• Tax foods that are deemed unhealthy to reduce the number of obese people in the United States. This in turn would lower the amount of Disability claims for people who are too big to work, and will also help to reduce the costs of insurance. 
• Last but certainly not least, bring employers back to the United States by making it more profitable to hire an American than to outsource to another country. 

Prices on everything are bound to go up, but they will continue to go up regardless of us making changes. Nothing stays the same forever, and we must make changes today, so our children will have a future tomorrow.

The Hungry find hope

I live in a small town that only exists because two main highways meet here. Everybody's store to hate (Walmart) has pushed its share of smaller businesses out of the area, but we still have a small selection when it comes to grocery shopping. Included in that selection is two Safeway stores (Known as Von's in some areas) which I found out today offer up the fresh food that cannot be sold to the local food bank.

I cannot say what the unemployment rate is for our small town, but the food bank here sees a lot of business. At least half of everything the grocery stores end up throwing away is still safe to eat but will not sell because it is attached to, or in the same bundle as something that is no longer good to eat. While those who can afford to be picky about their meal selections can select something of better quality (which coincidentally is rarely eaten before it goes bad), those who have no choice in the matter are more than grateful to find fresh fruits and vegetables in their bag (or occasionally box) of food.

It is also good to note, that a hungry person will waste far less than a person who has too many choices for food. This is the case for a large portion of the people in the United States who have become accustom to having everything they could possibly want at their fingertips. I do not know if Safeway and Von's stores in other areas do the same thing, but I applaud our small town grocers for taking an interest in helping our community remain healthy.

I can only dare to hope that their example will be followed and that no one will have to go hungry while food is nearby and unwanted by those too full of themselves to accept a partially sub standard product. 

Child labor laws getting an update?

I cannot remember if it was the paper or a news show that first dropped this tidbit of information, but it would appear that the US Government wants to go after cash strapped farmers even farther by mandating that children can no longer work on farms. When the Industrial revolution took of and the first wave of child labor laws came out, it was understood that children of families who operated farms were still needed to help keep the farm operating. It would appear that the Government no longer feels this way as it is looking at taking children out of the "Farm life" so they can spend more time on "Farmville."

I can only attempt to believe that the Government has the nations best interest in mind with it's plan to end child labor on farms, but in the long run, it is children working on the farm that go on to take the farm from their parents. Allowing a child 14 years to be lazy and unaccustomed to how farm life really is will only set the farm up to fail with the influx of the new generation. It is often the children of the farmer who take over the farm and keep everything running as they know every nut, bolt, and crop on their property. They feel more responsible for the farm as they have worked it their entire life, and they show a greater amount of responsibility in general.

The other problem with removing the farmer's children from his workforce is the need to replace the missing bodies on the farm. Farms today are only producing at a meager profit because of tax cuts and subsidies provided by the government. Forcing the farms to hire more people would only take away from their meager profit and may cause the farm to operate at a loss. A loss in a farms production puts more stress on the shaky ground of having to produce food to feed everyone and will inevitably drive up costs for the consumer who is already struggling to get by as it is.

My solution would be to destroy any plan of reducing the farms labor force and even suggest that farms become places to teach outside children the amount of work required to supply a meal that they are ungrateful for. Too many people today have no idea what it takes to keep food in the supermarkets so they can keep food on the table. Personally, my wife and I have started building a large backyard garden that our children are equally responsible for the maintenance of and share in the rewards. The hope is that we will not only save ourselves some money by having fresh vegetables and herbs at home, but to show our children the amount of time and effort required to grow even the smallest amount of food. Its becoming all I can do to keep them from picking our under-developed strawberries before they are ready, and they are watching the tomatoes to see how much longer they are going to stay green.

Equality should mean Equal

Equality is something that every minority strives for in the United States, but very few ever achieve. Even when the status of a people is considered "Equal," they often receive a limited equality where they have equal rights, but they are not treated equally.

As a good example of the above "limited equality," we can take a look at women in the United States. Women should be paid equally for the same jobs that men are typically paid more for. However, while wanting to be equal, some women will reject equality and play the "I am a woman" card when it comes to getting in trouble, or when it comes to going on a date. There is little to no areas where a man of any color can announce "I am a man so I deserve better," nor can he open his shirt a little in order to make things happen in his favor.

Another example comes starkly apparent when it comes to sports. Teenage sports is the biggest topic as gender mixed sports are becoming more apparent. It made the national news and inspired other girls to try out for Football when one teenage girl was pointed out as being a better kicker than the boys, and as such made the boys team as their kicker. After the initial story came out, at least three other stories launched where girls were trying out for, and making the boys football team. Fast forward six months, and the headlines show a single boy, smaller in size, strength, and weight than the majority of a girls Lacrosse league being kicked off the girls team because his scoring percentage was higher than any girl in the rest of the league. His advantage had nothing to do with size, weight, or strength, his only advantage was he had played Lacrosse since he was a young boy. His only advantage was experience, something any group of minority status people will tell you, should be a reason that they be treated equally and not be rejected.

Equality means to be regarded with the same "quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability." (Dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/equality). If this phrase works to the advantage of one, it must work to the advantage of everyone, regardless of their sex, size, intelligence, beliefs, and character.

In regards to the world as a whole, everyone is made of the same materials in varying amounts, the only difference is in how we look at each other. As a world of people, we should all be treated equally, held to the same regard, and suffer the same consequences. No one should be held above any other, nor should anyone have to want for something because it is being kept away from them by a certain few.