Thursday, October 27, 2011

Occupy Wall Street -- OWS


     Sometimes you just know you're getting screwed.   You don't necessarily understand who did it or why, but one thing you are sure of, you got the short straw.  Is that why this OWS thing has gotten so popular?  A lot of people have been getting screwed for a long time.   Are they talking back and forth, "Oh really?  You got screwed too?  D@mn, I thought it was just me.  Well, we got to do something about this BS."  


     Normally, I would not agree with the OWS way of thinking.  Normally, I would say that rich people got that way because they worked hard and they deserve the fruit of their labor.  Their wealth is "honest" wealth.  The only reason that I'm siding with the OWS folks is because too many people get rich today by taking advantage of others.  Worse, they use monetary influence in the political process as one of their tools for always making sure that they get the long straw.  I hope the OWS crowd will make the distinction between "corrupt" wealth and "honest" wealth.


     Honest wealth is what we should all be striving for.  It is a natural result of the efficient production of goods and services that others want and need.  This type of productive behavior should always be freely encouraged and supported.  Unfortunately, many of the most successful people have an unfettered lust for even more wealth and power.   They see competition as a threat to their status, and so they create laws (via lobbyists and a compliant congress) to stifle competition.  They always have a more "noble" reason for the laws, but the true purpose is to secure wealth and power for the 1%.   Of course, there is a lot of outright fraud these days as well.  If it's sophisticated enough, no one can figure out "how" it was fraud, and so you just get away with it.  There certainly is plenty of "corrupt" wealth going around these days.


     I hope the the OWS folks figure out that freedom does the best job at equalizing opportunity. It's counter-intuitive, but it works.  I fear that they want to have more rules to "make" the rich people play fair.   Unfortunately, this will never work because the 1% will always buy off a congressman to slip in some clever loophole.  We have been trying to use the law to make people play fair for ages.   Complex laws don't work.  Complex laws only serve to restrict competition, and consequently the opportunity of the 99%.


     There are some even more obvious solutions to making the world more fair:  for one, stop giving money away to people who are already in the 1% club.  Corporate welfare should be the first target of the OWS crowd.  Corporate welfare permeates American society now from local cities trying to get a Walmart or Home Depot to the FED bailing out Bank of America, to the CIA and US military subsidizing British Petroleum by controlling the rulers of oil producing countries. All of this must stop! 


     Large corporations already have huge advantages, yet small businesses still thrive.  If we cut the unfair flow of money, we will create more space for small businesses, green energy, and individual opportunity to grow like flowers after a spring rain. Mega corporations' profits will fall, and their CEO pay will follow.  There will still be ultra rich folks, but that's OK, if they've earned it.


     Lastly, sound money is key to individual prosperity. Average citizens need to be able to save a little money and have it hold its value. That's how people can save and start their own businesses.  That's how people can save to buy a house in cash, rather than pay a bank interest for all their life.  Sound money won't happen with the FED freely printing money and giving it away to the "already" rich and powerful 1%. 


     Please OWS, if you want a real change to empower the 99% to succeed, become a Blue Republican.  Hold your nose and register to vote in the GOP primary.  Ron Paul is the only candidate truly dedicated to help the 99% rise up.

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