Pre-Boomer Musings

The other day, someone asked, “when does a helping hand becomes a hand out?”  This poses more questions.   Should there be spending limits for short-term government projects?  How long should these social programs be in effect?  What about long-term entitlements and the move toward income redistribution?  If our elected representatives don’t address these issues now, the American economy may soon be sunk.

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Unemployment is over 9%, with 14 million people out of work, and the situation is not likely to show marked improvement in the near future.  On top of this is the unknown numbers who are underemployed or have simply given up looking for a job.  The extended unemployment benefits have or are running out for these folks. 

Many of those who have been hit hard by the recession are uninsured, so this becomes a drain on the nation’s already over-stressed health care system.  Those of us who are insured find our health insurance premiums are on the rise. 

These people, and those who are working but are financially overextended, find themselves having to walk away from their homes or living in them without making mortgage payments.  That means more houses are on the market at lower prices in order for the banks to recoup some of their losses.  At the same time, it is difficult for people to qualify for financing.  For current homeowners, this translates to reduced equity and less likelihood of being able to sell their property even at a bargain price.

Nobody can deny that many people are hurting.  As Americans, we want to help the less fortunate, but there comes a time when trying to save a drowning person will result in our own demise as well.  Why can’t those receiving unemployment benefits earn the money by engaging in state or municipal work?  This would help communities and may encourage folks to worth harder at getting a job.

Consideration ought to be given to the food stamp issue, since more people use them than ever before.  Welfare in general needs to be reformed.  If a recipient has smart phones, video games and a flat screen should they qualify?  And, if someone is going to check on what the money is buying, they might find out what kind of car is in the driveway.  This is not a matter of the government poking its nose into private matters, rather those taking public money must be responsible for what they do with the dollars taxpayers are spending on their behalf.

Reducing waste, fraud and abuse will help if coupled with good stewardship by our elected representatives.  However, the current financial crisis won’t be fixed until people are willing to let the government rework the two major entitlements: Social Security and Medicare.  Until citizens accept the fact that these programs are not sustainable in their present form, the government will fall deeper in debt.  It’s time to put aside party politics and unite to solve common problems that sooner or later will affect every American.  Scaring us won’t fix things but caring will.    

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It’s been a long 235 years since a group of early American’s risked their livelihoods, their possessions and their very lives when the Founding Fathers signed The Declaration of Independence.  These were our first heroes and we learned about their courage through American History lessons beginning in the elementary grades all the way through high school.  They put everything on the line for freedom.  Have we become so blasé that freedom no longer has the meaning it once had?

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New Seniors (pre-boomers and the early baby boomers) are the ones who benefited most from the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.  It may seem strange to those younger than we are to consider being born during the Great Depression or WWII to be a good thing.  But it was.  We saw first hand, or soon came to understand, what incredible strength, faith and courage our parents and the others of their era had.  They were patriots.

They, their parents or earlier ancestors, came to this country with a dream: the hope of building a new and better life.  One were they could be free.  And, one where their children would have endless opportunities to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  These people left behind whatever they had and whomever they knew to come to America.  They understood it would not be easy but believed it would be worth it.

Few arrived here with money or the possibility of work.  They lucky ones had friends or relatives provide them with food and shelter.  When jobs were found, the hours were long and the tasks difficult.  Yet these new Americans were determined to make it and while doing so they made this country a better place for all of us.  This makes them patriots.

It’s almost impossible for us to think of what they went through.  Although stories passed down let us know it was no cake walk.  What our patriot parents went through was a long arduous journey through the ‘30s and directly into fighting a War on two fronts in the early ‘40s.  Many of us remember those war days, when people lived in both fear and faith for nearly five years.  And we all benefited from their efforts as the country moved from 15 long years of darkness into the sunshine of post-war prosperity.

Those who carried the message of family tradition and the responsibility that goes with the freedoms enjoyed in this great country of ours are leaving us at an ever increasing rate.  The pre-boomers are approaching old age as the boomers join us as New Seniors.  In the meantime, we have work to do in order to help get the US back on track.

This Independence Day, let us commit ourselves to using what we learned and what we believe to reignite the feeling of patriotism within in our families, our friends and our communities.  The true greatness of America began with the individual and became  bigger, stronger and more beautiful as people worked together to make this the land of the free and the home of the brave.  This may be the moment in history when we can do our part to let the American dream live on for our children and grand children.  There is no better birthday gift we could give to the country that gave so much to us.

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The latest cause the environmentalists are trying to foist on the American public is to ban fireworks displays on July 4^th.  There was a suit brought to court in San Diego recently seeking to accomplish this, but a judge ordered a reprieve.  So the people of that city will be able to enjoy fireworks, at least for this year.  Will such efforts succeed in this city and throughout the country next year?

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We are allowing a minority fringe to hijack America by changing our accepted and preferred way of life to fit their agenda.  And, it affects a great deal more than shooting off fireworks one day a year in the local park.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal government’s arm for setting rules and regulations to keep American clean, safe and beautiful for all its inhabitants, human and otherwise.

Has this agency become more interested in control than it is for the total welfare of the more than 300 million people living here?  Take the three inch long smelt that is endangered by the irrigation system in California’s Central Valley farm area.  Billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs have vanished because the government has closed down the canals.  No wonder food prices are going through the roof.

There’s a species of lizard in West Texas that is dwindling in numbers.  If the environmentalist get their way oil drilling there will be put on hold.  Add that to the lack of drilling licenses issued for the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill, along with the administrations refusal to drill offshore in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans or tap into the rich reserves in Alaska and it is understandable why we are being held hostage by those unfriendly countries (Canada excluded) that export oil to us.

The effort to get Americans to switch to other forms of fuel has been spectacularly unsuccessful.  Ethanol costs more to produce and results in corn shortages worldwide.  Without this commodity, many will die.  Electric cars have been proposed, but coal is frowned upon as an energy because it pollutes, even though it is a highly cost-effective energy source and abundantly available within the borders of the continental US. 

However, neither the facts nor the current financial straits we are experiencing seem to stop the government from blindly forging ahead with plans to immediately take America off oil and change the country to renewable energy, sort of like they way it wants us to instantly change our eating habits.  How do they intend to make this happen? Wind and solar power are still a more expense form of energy. Plus, depending on how the energy will be used, power grids and charging stations must be built – a long and expensive process.  And, nuclear energy became taboo after the disaster in Japan.

The energy situation is just one of the areas where the environmental activists, the EPA and the administration appear to be working at cross-purposes with the will and needs of the people.  It’s time we took a stand and said no more regulations until America gets back on its feet.  Maybe the place to start is by being sure we can celebrate the country’s birthday with a rip-roaring, patriotic display of fireworks.

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The current administration recently announced federal funding to the tune of $500 million for innovative early learning programs for children under the age of 5.  Advocates claim this will get children, particularly the poor, prepared for kindergarten and result in them having better opportunities to learn.  Opponents believe this is not the government’s job and that the costs will escalate well beyond initial projections.

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Jennifer Garner, actress turned advocate for Save the Children, thanked the administration for the funding but warned, “this is not enough.”  She went on to tell reporters, “I have a child entering kindergarten and believe it or not, a huge part of why you are successful and bright and cheerful, clean, pretty looking people is because you were able to sit in a circle when you got to kindergarten – that is kindergarten readiness.”

So let’s get this straight, Ms. Garner and others like her believe that being able to be still and sit in a circle is kindergarten readiness?  Try selling this concept to the parents of any healthy, active 5 year old boy or even some girls.  Could the objective of the program be to produce a bunch of cookie-cutter kids that behave the way they are told and, therefore, can be trained in a way that will allow the government to teach young absorbent minds what it wants them to learn?

Isn’t it the parents responsibility to provide the early instruction, basic training if you will, for the children?  They teach the toddlers by example, reading to them and exposing them to society.  Family values are a big part of a child’s development.  Should parents leave this up to the state?  What about the notion of religious teaching?  No school receiving federal funding will be permitted carry out the wishes of all parents, so whatever the children are taught will necessarily be religion-free. 

By taking the child out of the home environment the parent forfeits the early nurturing contact with the youngster and deprives the children this basic need.  Operating under government regulations will mean all children must receive the same degree of care and attention in order to provide equal treatment.

Some may argue that many families are comprised of working couples or single parents, which justifies the need for toddler schools.  This is outweighed by the potential loss of parental control and authority government run facilities the will occur.  If you doubt this, look at today’s public elementary schools compared to when we were young.  Bible reading and prayer are out, but revisionist history and gender diversity education are in.

This new program is designed to establish the government as the super-parent, the all-knowing and all-providing entity that will take care of everyone’s needs from the cradle on, and do it fairly as opposed to the way a living, loving parent does.  Is this what America is becoming?  If you like this, go with it.  If you question this approach to raising our kids, contact your elected representative and let them know that you believe parents must have responsibility over their children.

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IBM has come to be synonymous with America businesses acumen for building, refining and expanding at home and globally.  The firm has thrived over a span of time that included two world wars and many lesser ones, the great depression and a number of financial bumps in the road, periods of fantastic growth as well as a frightening setback.  It has survived and prospered by creating a cultural for success that prevails today.

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The forerunner to the company was established in the 1880s when the firm’s founder invented a machine that helped the US Census Bureau complete the tabulating task in two rather than ten years and saved the government millions.  In 1911, this firm combined with three others to form the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR).

In 1914, Thomas J. Watson joined the company as general manager and became president a year later.  He was innovative and believed in team work as well the motivation and retention of good employees.  Soon after he arrived, the first disabled employee was hired.  He started training programs.  And it was Watson who coined the famous company slogan: “Think.”   Ten years after his arrival, the company changed its name in order to more accurately reflect the company’s mission and goals to International Business Machines (IBM).

Even during the Great Depression, IBM continued to hire people and was among the first companies to provide group life insurance, survivor benefits and paid vacations.  All the while, Watson saw to it that the firm reinvested in its future through research and development activities.  He strongly believed in “world peace through world trade” and had that statement inscribed on the headquarters building in New York.  But, when WWII broke out, he offered his company’s facilities for the production of military ordnances.  It was during the war that the first woman became an IBM vice president.  Immediately after the war ended, the company hired its first black salesman.

As the post war recovery took place, the company was faced with making the transition from mechanical counter devices and systems to the electronic age.  This effort was interrupted with Watson’s death at age 82.  His son, Tom Watson, JR., took over and completely reorganized the company while keeping his father’s philosophies and policies in place.  After his retirement in 1971, IBM continued to flourish.

The shift to PCs and an influx of new technology in the early 1990s had a devastating effect on IBM.  It had to shed old products and seek new areas of opportunities. The firm lost nearly half its workforce, but continued to practices the proven principles for success.  

Today, less than two decades later, IBM is back up to about the same number of employees and revenues have increased to well above previous levels.  This demonstrates that a commitment to excellence at all levels within a company can payoff for everyone involved, in spite of setbacks.  Other companies could learn from IBM’s performance.  And, the government might learn a thing or two as well, if it were so inclined.    

Tags: America, Current Events, Government, Nostalgia // Add Comment »