We should all be prepared for bad times and any business who doesn’t should have to pay the consequences. I oppose all bailouts. Government should govern (limit) the people through making and enforcing laws. Since when is handing out money a way of imposing limits?

So, how should I handle the situation? I think I might sleep in my clothes one night if it continues so I can run down and speak to the individual. Or maybe I should talk to the people who live in the house where they are stopping? Maybe I’ll send a letter. I don’t know but if it persists something will have to be done. Any suggestions? Leave a comment.

The operation was running very smoothly, they just needed some more surfaces for filling out the ballot, that seemed to be the biggest wait. If they would just set up a couple of tables they would be good to go.

Before getting in line someone approached me to find out which precinct I was in and make sure I stood in the correct line. There were large signs in English & Spanish indicating which lines were for which precincts and for those who didn’t know which precinct they were in there were multiple individuals placing phone calls to a hotline to find out for them.

While I was there a “voter watcher” showed up to observe things and make sure there were no problems. When she was approached to find out which precinct she was in (and after they explained the system to here) she says in a loud voice “those signs are misleading.” Whatever she clearly wanted to cause problems not solve them. The system was perfectly clear. Later I saw here asking questions of the polling officials, which as I heard on the radio this morning, is something she explicitly is not supposed to do. So, except for the “poll watchers” voting appears to going smoothly this morning. If you haven’t done it yet, GO VOTE! Even if you have to wait in line for hours, it’s worth it.

I heard a gentleman on the radio this week talking about the social responsibility we all have to share our wealth. He believes that knowledge belongs to society as a whole and since wealth comes from knowledge, if you use any knowledge that isn’t original you should give your earnings back to society. He did, however, refuse to send a caller a free copy of his book since the knowledge belonged to society.

The question needs to be asked, “should I be disturbed?” Helping out others and sharing your goods are compatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Book of Mormon after the arrival of Jesus Christ the inhabitants of America we read that “they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.” 4 Nephi 1:3 In the early days of the restored church they established the United Order and were given the commandment that “if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the blaw of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.”Doctrine and Covenants 104:18 So, if it is the Lord’s plan for us to share all equally according to our need, why am I opposed to “socialism.”

I feel like there is a big difference from government run socialism and “socialism” run by the Lord. First, the Lord knows what he is doing. Second, all participants in the United Order were there by choice. Nobody was forced to participate, the vote was unanimous. Third, the participants were united by a faith in Jesus Christ and had a strong testimony that the administrators of their funds were inspired and would not misuse their funds. Lastly, there were no, zero, nada, zip, nil administration costs. I will give of my excess voluntarily to those that need it through organizations I can trust in and rely on to deliver the funds to those truly in need.

Best of all are the people on the bus. The bus today is more crowded than ever, I guess that is a result of high gas prices but nearly everyone still has the appearance of coming from the bottom of the income bracket. I think that is because of the time investment involved in riding the bus. It is cheaper than driving by far but it takes me twice as long. I would guesstimate that 80% of the riders are minorities with a larger representation of African Americans than accurately represent the demographic here in Albuquerue.

I’m almost at my stop. I’m going to have to callsomeobe to help me get the Internet before I ride again.

We have a debt driven economy and that is the fundamental problem with the economy. Years ago a business would save money for hard times, they would draw from their savings during the hard times and pay back in during the good times. They might take a loan for a large expansion, but this would be a temporary arrangement or they might sell stock in the company to raise the revenue needed to expand. So, how did we get to the current position where companies have to sell “commercial paper” in order to make payroll. Shouldn’t a company have enough money on hand to pay their employees but according to the news reports many companies have to borrow money to pay their employees only to pay back the lender a short time later. Outside of the corporate environment we call these payday loans and they are generally considered to be negative forms of borrowing/lending. Unless you come into a windfall of money it is extremely difficult to reverse the cycle of borrowing money each payday because you never get your full pay, a larger portion of it goes to the lender each time and should an emergency come up you have to borrow more and you never catch up.

So, the question remains why do so many businesses operate in this fashion? If I were asking this question about an individual who is stuck in the payday loan trap I would probably say they needed to gain more education or skills so they could improve their situation. Perhaps this is the same of the businesses, they need to study up on a better business model, or change their business plan so they can improve their bottom line. I think there may be something else at play, but I don’t know enough about the legaleeze of the business world to be certain. Perhaps business who put money in savings are taxed to heavily on their profits. If they take out loans instead and pay interest they probably receive a tax deduction or credit instead of paying an extra tax for saving their “profit” and preparing for future hard times. If this is true it seems backwards to me.

A solution that works for businesses and individuals. Government should reward preparation and punish lack of it. How about a little tax incentive for saving some money?

One last thing. The government is a poor example. Some words used in last nights debate included surplus, deficit & debt. Clinton supposedly handed George Bush a large surplus, but he also passed on a large debt. Well was it a surplus or a debt? If you have debt, there should be not be a surplus in the budget. Extra money should go towards paying down the debt, but apparently that isn’t a line in the budget. Maybe the government should listen to Dave Ramsey. When asked who they might choose to head the federal reserve both candidates mentioned very successful business people. I think they should have mentioned Dave Ramsey, let’s curtail spending, pay down debt and save for hard times.

Ever since I watched “The War” on PBS, I have wondered this same thing. American’s supported the Second World War because they were personally vested in it. Despite the vast numbers of individuals who went to war those at home sacrificed by rationing food and fuel, changing their lifestyles, purchasing war bonds, and much more. Of course, we were bombed on American soil (like we were on Sept 11) but it was the European War we were fighting before the Pacific. I don’t feel American’s understood the extent of the holocaust until after we defeated Germany. Sure, we knew he was a tyrant, but we didn’t understand the extent of his evil ways until we had been fighting for years and lost millions of lives. (If you are a member of “the greatest generation” correct me if I’m wrong.)

America supported retaliation against Osama bin Laden but we have grown tired of the war. I think this is because we have nothing vested. With the exception of those who have volunteered to go to War (and their families) we have never been asked to sacrifice anything in support of our country or our troops.

So, what did the candidates reply: McCain proposed a government spending freeze and the suspension or termination of unnamed programs. — Doesn’t sound like he’s asking us to do anything, but continuing to force our hand. Will it be a sacrifice for me? Depends on what unnamed programs these turn out to be. A spending freeze and shut down of government sounds kind of appealing - at least then they can’t screw anything up. —– Obama said he would ask us to make changes in our personal lives to conserve energy and then continued to tell us he would offer incentives to do so. If he offers us incentives, is it a sacrifice? He also said he would double the peace core. Sounds like serious sacrifice.

Great question, Theora. I think you understand what this country really needs: some sacrifice for the good of others rather than the selfish greed that runs rampant.

As for generalities in the debate: they did pretty good at answering the questions. I think they did better than Biden & Palin. The lack of applause is refreshing. Some questions did go completely unanswered however. I guess the candidates feel they don’t owe us answers to our questions. I think both candidates are completely out of touch. They both misrepresent their opponents and possibly themselves. I have a hard time believing much of what either of them say. One thing is for certain, I don’t believe anything they say about their opponents.

If only our government realized that our tax dollars also come with sacrifice, despite their being mandatory, as opposed to the voluntary tithing dollars. Perhaps they would be spent more prudently if congress considered the blood, sweat, and tears that went into earning the money that the government takes from each of us in order to support the children’s wooden bow producers, refund wool duties, and securing rural schools, among the millions of other pet programs that we the people are paying for. Our elected officials really our out of touch.