I am disappointed

I have submitted a number of thoughts to our new President. You can read some of them by visiting my blog at http://jackbwalters.blogspot.com. It is predicted that tomorrow the stimulus package he is seeking will be approved.
Our government under President Bush foolishly gave the huge mega-banks nearly one trillion. There were no restrictions. Huge bonuses in the billions have been handed out to those responsible for the depression we find ourselves in. They have even had multi million dollar excursions for their high ranking management without regard to the fact that they were rescued by us, the taxpayers of this country. They continue buying up smaller banks and have not opened up credit to business or individuals, as they promised to do.
I have reviewed the content of the new bill to be enacted. I find little in it to create jobs in business and industry. There will be construction jobs and government jobs but not production. Most of it is to provide unemployment benefits for the entire year of 2009. No doubt that it will be extended for another year beginning in 2010. Let me be clear, I am not opposed to helping those in need, but what is missing is a clear cut program to put people back on the job. It is as if our leaders have given up, and have accepted that jobs already transferred to far away places like China and India, are gone forever. I refuse to accept this idea. I had hoped that President Obama would take bold steps on our behalf but so far he has not. Even his promise to pour funds into alternative energy are not included in this bill in large enough amounts to do anything other than make us believe we are finally serious about breaking away from OPEC and other energy rich countries who do not have our best interests at heart.
In the House version there is a statement about buying American products with this money. I can assure you that it will be stricken from the final document as being offensive to our trading partners and starting a trade war. If there is to be one, then bring it on. We cannot survive as a great power, if we become totally dependent on other countries to provide us goods and services at reasonable cost. We must take care of ourselves first and foremost. A recent example is Russia cutting off natural gas to the Ukraine and Europe in the middle of severe winter weather conditions.
Here is my take on the two parties who are debating this package.
The Republicans are asking for tax cuts, but not the right ones. They should be using whatever leverage they have to lower domestic business and industry taxes, not individual. To compensate they should increase taxes on business and industry that has been sent to other countries. They should be supportive of any program to remove medical costs from industry as the other industrial countries do to increase our competitiveness.
The Democrats are doing what they think is good business and that is to give away funds to as many voters as possible to assure their loyalty at the voting booth. They do not want us to make it on our own. They want us to be dependent on their largess to exist.
This will not work as there are still many of us who do not want handouts. We believe in the free enterprise system and only want government to take care of national interests and get out of our way. By this, I don’t mean there should not be regulation of business. They have proven that left on their own they have created havoc. What I mean is they should do all they can to improve our competitiveness with the rest of the world.
Our leaders continue stressing the need to stimulate us to go shopping. I was disgusted when at the start of the Iraq war our previous President said the same thing. Should we once again forgo reason and spend till we are deeper in debt than we are now, all we will be doing is sending these dollars to places like China and creating jobs there.
The talking heads on television warn us about protectionism. They stress the need for free trade. What this does is shame us into believing that we must keep turning the other cheek and walking the extra mile. They are wrong, dead wrong. How many times must it be said that what we need is fair trade.
Here are a few examples for consideration. Airbus in France receives massive funds from their government. Because of this Boeing and our other aircraft manufacturers are put at a severe disadvantage. Places like Japan and Korea make it extremely difficult for our domestic auto manufacturers to bring their products into those counties. China provides low or no cost electricity to industry. They keep their people’s wages extremely low, do not provide health benefits and have little or no concern about safety, pollution or anything else to improve the lives of their citizens. They maintain a 40% advantage by refusing to allow their currency to float. If Obama really cared he would take immediate steps by raising tariffs on Chinese goods until equity is achieved. Wal-Mart and its millions of customers would scream bloody murder. I say, so what.
We can, and we must bring business back home so that good paying jobs are once again available for willing workers. To spend nearly a trillion dollars and still not create a favorable business climate which could create real jobs is just plain wrong and in my humble opinion stupid.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
February 9, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com