To: President Donald Trump, United States Chamber of Commerce, The Virginia State House, The Virginia State Senate, Governor Ralph Northam, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
To Government, Business, and Media: "A Modest Proposal"
Recognizing that the time has long since passed for our governments, businesses, and the media to put aside divisive issues like gay marriage, religion, the birther horns woggle, the vice presidential selection, evolution...to address real problems--crises of our own making that only we can fix. Government and business can put us on a correct path--will they?
We have real, big, important issues to solve. Therefore, be it resolved that:
Whereas, the Eurozone is in crisis and close to collapse. The euro, the world's second currency, will not likely survive, and Europe remains a vital American trading interest. That our banks and firms are tied up with its creditworthiness and prosperity, and this threatens the United States mightily.
Whereas, Money-printing is the shifting sands foundation of our a national economic policy, because the Federal Reserve remains committed to 'monetary loosening' at the slightest provocation. That the list of disasters which that loosening has already, vastly, contributed to includes: the dotcom bubble, the housing bubble, the failure of the subprime mortgage market, the failure of Lehman, AIG, Bear Stearns and their many peers, a totally out of control fiscal deficit, and much more. That Ben Bernanke would like to loosen whenever the opportunity presents. Financial firms are now Quantitative Easing (QE) addicted.
Whereas, the Fiscal Situation is at the "fiscal cliff," and the United States' deficit is out of control. That senior, sane, respected economists regard the U.S. as being effectively bankrupt. That the Congressional Budget Office's own long-run forecasts of the national debt are hardly more encouraging--"By 2021, debt would exceed 100 percent of GDP. After that, the growing imbalance between revenues and noninterest spending, combined with the spiraling cost of interest payments, would swiftly push debt to unsustainable levels." That they don't use the word "bankrupt," but it's what they mean.
Whereas, the costs of Healthcare are preventing us from having a country that guarantees acceptable healthcare for all its citizens. That we want a healthcare system which doesn't kill the federal government and threaten to suffocate private enterprise. Further, that other countries manage to do this, but the United States can't, because our politicians prefer partisan sniping to constructive thought.
Whereas, we are sitting on Pension Time-bomb combined with out-of-control public spending, and our presidential candidates are not discussing the fact that numerous state pension funds are heading for failure. That while this might feel like state-level problems now, such conditions will become so widespread and so dangerous, that they start to become federal ones.
Whereas, We have become Tax Insane. That we generally like to believe in and vote for small government and the price mechanism. That we have a big government and are only paying for a small one. Further, we are in a fiscal hole and we must pay our debts. That means all of us paying tax.
Whereas, The Wall Street Monster has not been put back in its box? That JP Morgan, a supposedly well-managed bank, just lost $2 billion fooling around with financial derivatives that it, of all firms, should understand: because it invented them. And further, if we the people give Wall Street funds, opportunity adding in moral hazard... it will always create a bomb. They get the bonus, we the people get the costs.
Whereas, the world is awash in Lousy Assets. That, more broadly, there continues to be a frightening number of poor-quality financial assets floating around our economy and financial system. That mortgages that are underwater, and that Fannie, Freddie and the humongous guarantees have failed. That the toxic, veritably radioactive remains from the subprime collapse still sit on corporate balance sheets, and that the Federal Reserve probably now has the biggest stockpile of these assets, bought with the People's money.
Whereas, China, the miracle that has prevented the complete collapse of the world economy, is slowing down. That Goldman Sachs and others are now slashing forecasts to 13-year lows. That the Chinese figures may not say as much, but in China figures and facts are two different things.
Whereas, the world and United States is a Political Failure. That public protest, unstable regimes, and the evil fruit of all this - little of which is purely American in occurrence -- swells to ripeness across the globe. That in Greece we have riots, in Spain, mass protest, in Italy, disaffection. and in France, a politics of no! Further, that in country after country, the old guards of politics are being swept aside by rightly discontented electorates, who haven't yet figured out that they might want to try brand new political strategies for these altered times. Strategies like, you know, telling the truth...
Whereas, Global Change is an undeniable, scientifically proven and documented fact. That vast changes in t...
We have real, big, important issues to solve. Therefore, be it resolved that:
Whereas, the Eurozone is in crisis and close to collapse. The euro, the world's second currency, will not likely survive, and Europe remains a vital American trading interest. That our banks and firms are tied up with its creditworthiness and prosperity, and this threatens the United States mightily.
Whereas, Money-printing is the shifting sands foundation of our a national economic policy, because the Federal Reserve remains committed to 'monetary loosening' at the slightest provocation. That the list of disasters which that loosening has already, vastly, contributed to includes: the dotcom bubble, the housing bubble, the failure of the subprime mortgage market, the failure of Lehman, AIG, Bear Stearns and their many peers, a totally out of control fiscal deficit, and much more. That Ben Bernanke would like to loosen whenever the opportunity presents. Financial firms are now Quantitative Easing (QE) addicted.
Whereas, the Fiscal Situation is at the "fiscal cliff," and the United States' deficit is out of control. That senior, sane, respected economists regard the U.S. as being effectively bankrupt. That the Congressional Budget Office's own long-run forecasts of the national debt are hardly more encouraging--"By 2021, debt would exceed 100 percent of GDP. After that, the growing imbalance between revenues and noninterest spending, combined with the spiraling cost of interest payments, would swiftly push debt to unsustainable levels." That they don't use the word "bankrupt," but it's what they mean.
Whereas, the costs of Healthcare are preventing us from having a country that guarantees acceptable healthcare for all its citizens. That we want a healthcare system which doesn't kill the federal government and threaten to suffocate private enterprise. Further, that other countries manage to do this, but the United States can't, because our politicians prefer partisan sniping to constructive thought.
Whereas, we are sitting on Pension Time-bomb combined with out-of-control public spending, and our presidential candidates are not discussing the fact that numerous state pension funds are heading for failure. That while this might feel like state-level problems now, such conditions will become so widespread and so dangerous, that they start to become federal ones.
Whereas, We have become Tax Insane. That we generally like to believe in and vote for small government and the price mechanism. That we have a big government and are only paying for a small one. Further, we are in a fiscal hole and we must pay our debts. That means all of us paying tax.
Whereas, The Wall Street Monster has not been put back in its box? That JP Morgan, a supposedly well-managed bank, just lost $2 billion fooling around with financial derivatives that it, of all firms, should understand: because it invented them. And further, if we the people give Wall Street funds, opportunity adding in moral hazard... it will always create a bomb. They get the bonus, we the people get the costs.
Whereas, the world is awash in Lousy Assets. That, more broadly, there continues to be a frightening number of poor-quality financial assets floating around our economy and financial system. That mortgages that are underwater, and that Fannie, Freddie and the humongous guarantees have failed. That the toxic, veritably radioactive remains from the subprime collapse still sit on corporate balance sheets, and that the Federal Reserve probably now has the biggest stockpile of these assets, bought with the People's money.
Whereas, China, the miracle that has prevented the complete collapse of the world economy, is slowing down. That Goldman Sachs and others are now slashing forecasts to 13-year lows. That the Chinese figures may not say as much, but in China figures and facts are two different things.
Whereas, the world and United States is a Political Failure. That public protest, unstable regimes, and the evil fruit of all this - little of which is purely American in occurrence -- swells to ripeness across the globe. That in Greece we have riots, in Spain, mass protest, in Italy, disaffection. and in France, a politics of no! Further, that in country after country, the old guards of politics are being swept aside by rightly discontented electorates, who haven't yet figured out that they might want to try brand new political strategies for these altered times. Strategies like, you know, telling the truth...
Whereas, Global Change is an undeniable, scientifically proven and documented fact. That vast changes in t...
Why is this important?
This petition calls upon our governments, business, media, and us to address the really important issues--political, economic, social, and environmental--of our time. Without the serious involvement of all of us, life for future generations will be dismal.