Leave a Comment

The other day I spent the afternoon at my local Borders (a place I spend entirely too much time at), and picked up the latest issue of Time magazine. On the cover was a picture of the Constitution with the bottom of it appearing to have been run through a paper shredder, accompanied by the tagline, "Does it Still Matter?"

Usually when I see this type of thing it raises the hairs on the back of my neck… I mean come on, are we seriously asking if the Constitution of the United States still matters? But, in a newfound spirit of logically considering every argument, no matter how absurd or odd it may sound, I decided to read the article all the way through and form as many unbiased, objectionable opinions as I could. Needless to say, I formed one or two… okay, so more like three-hundred and seventy-two… yeah, I'm kinda opinionated…

The article covered 4 practical matters we're dealing with today that have raised questions of constitutionality, mainly the national debt, our involvement in Libya, Obamacare, and immigration. The point is made in each of these cases that these are new things we're dealing with that the founding fathers couldn't have anticipated or imagined, and that because of that fact, the constitution can increasingly be seen as outdated and as having outlived its usefulness.

If this was all there is to it I would be inclined to agree, but it's not quite that simple.

The one point that would have eliminated this argument is that the founding fathers designed our constitution to guard against human nature, not the advances of society and technology.

It was designed to protect us from ourselves.

Sure, there was no Apple or Microsoft back in ol' Jefferson's day. There were no television shows like Jersey Shore, or Hip-Hop stars for colonial youth to idolize. There was however the same type of behavior that we still see in the politicians and general society of today.

Perfect recent example- Arnold Schwarzenegger. A Governor with a secret, illegitimate child. Think this kind of thing wouldn't happen back in the days of yore? Think again. Thomas Jefferson, the man who literatly sat down and wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, did the same exact thing, except it was with one of his slaves rather than a live-in maid (yeah, there's controversy surrounding it, but it's pretty much been proven).

This is just one example. From countless events concerning bribery, treason, and the attempt to gain more power throughout our history, we really haven't learned as much as we think we have in the past 224 years (the amount of time the Constitution has existed), at least about ourselves anyway.

Sure, we've learned how to light our homes at night, talk to someone on the other side of the world, and even travel through space to land on other celestial bodies, but we really haven't learned to eliminate the fallacies within our own complex human nature.

I don't point this out to make our founding fathers seem like less than great men. In fact, what they accomplished despite their failings as human beings is part of what makes them great. I do point this out however to make it obvious that we need to be guarded from ourselves, from our own weak natures.

We all have weaknesses and specific things that tempt us. We all know right from wrong, but sometimes we don't always act like we do. The founding fathers knew this, and they studied and drew from thousands of years other people's mistakes and shortcomings to create something that would allow for the most freedom and the most protection from the corruption that power breeds as possible.

I do think that things need to be debated and thought about in different ways from time to time, even this particular debate. Progress certainly needs to be made in our world. But perhaps we should keep in mind that we may not be as high and mighty as we think ourselves to be… perhaps we need to keep in mind the fact that we all have the same potential for as much corruption and moral failings as we do for great accomplishments and impeccable integrity and  honor.

Perhaps we need something to keep us accountable… something based on our human nature like the Constitution of the United States.

Subscribe to the Official Go Be Rich Newsletter Here!

Leave a Comment

14,284,723,029,854. That number look familiar to anyone? Oh wait, look again, now it's at 14,284,723,094,234. Now it's 14,284,723,512,812… now it's at…

Yup, that's the national debt of the United States of America.

But, as with anything else, this number will mean more to you after a little perspective. Yes, this will be a history lesson, an economic history lesson. I know, I'm never gonna get a date at this rate.

When the Debt Was Good

Believe it or not, there was a time back in the day when having debt was a good thing. It was a simpler time, a time when the world was basking in the afterglow of revolution (except for France… they were doing their own horribly bloody, revolutionary, and ultimately pointless thing). I'm talking of course about during and after the revolutionary war. 

See, to the rest of the world, this little thing called America was the new kid on the block, with absolutely no history and a completely unproven form of government. Basically, we had no credit. How does anyone establish credit? We borrow money, and then prove we can pay it back, with interest, on time, if not earlier. Or you could buy other people's debt.

Alexander Hamilton's Plan

Enter Alexander Hamilton, federalist extraordinaire (meaning he was all for a big ol' strong, central government). This is  the man who spearheaded the plan for the central government to assume all of the debt that the individual states had racked up throughout the revolutionary war, thus giving America as a country the chance to pay back it's debtors, thereby establishing credit.

There were also other intended results, such as the strengthening of the union within. This was done by issuing bonds to help fund this plan, thus giving the states and their citizens an incentive to help the federal government grow.

This also helped to have America seen as a more powerful, singular entity to the rest of the world, instead of a bunch of squabbling, laughable states, as was often the case.

This act of Hamilton's (there were others involved, but he was the most passionate one), did many things:

1. Established the First Bank of the United States (in 1791)
2. Set our official currency, the Dollar (before, individual states used various types of currency)
3. Created the cabinet position of Secretary of Treasury (of which Alexander Hamilton was the first)
4. Introduced An excise tax (sin tax), on things such as sugar, tobacco, and snuff (the first ever federal tax on American citizens, by the way, aside from a tariff tax on imports and exports established in 1789)
5. Introduced the U.S. Mint, in 1792.

Basically, Hamilton's plan set into motion the entire American economic policy that we're familiar with today. It gave us credibility, strength, and success that we're all still enjoying today.

So if the federal government assuming debt was so good for us back then, why isn't the massive amount of debt we have today even better?

Differences Between Then and Now

Honestly I thought this section was going to be easier to write than it actually was. I started researching the last time the budget was balanced, GDP to Debt levels in 1800 versus today, and various other things, to try and explain why the debt level today is bad. Then I realized that…

A). There is some incredibly creative accounting going on out there

B). I'm not an accountant

and

C). Statistics and "facts" can be manipulated and interpreted in ways beyond my imagining.

So instead of giving you false info or info that I don't understand, I'm going to go with what I know. You as a individual cannot buy a house that has higher mortgage payment than you can afford to pay every month. If you do, eventually you will get that house taken away from you.

The federal government however has taxpayers and an unlimited "credit card" to help them make that mortgage payment they can't afford. This unlimited credit card is called a moveable debt ceiling. Basically congress chooses when to raise their credit limit and by how much. So, after voting to allow themselves to go deeper into debt (aka, raising the debt ceiling), they search out entities to get loans from, be it internally or abroad.

I know that this isn't right from a moral standpoint. Nor is it sustainable, because eventually, either we'll stop being  able to tax our citizens enough to cover our debt payments, other countries and entities will stop seeing us a safe investment and refuse to lend us money, or both.

In fact, I argue that it's possible that the government increasing its debt past a certain point could even be unconstitutional. If the debt gets so out of hand that American citizens get taxed into the poor house, doesn't that qualify as denying us the right to our pursuit of happiness? I don't care what anyone says, money can equal a certain amount of happiness… you know you're happier living in a $400,000 house stocked full of food and clean clothes than you are living on the street.

Caveat: I'm nowhere close to being in any way shape or form educated on constitutional law… just making a point.

Although…

I also know that there was one time in the history of our country when we were 100% debt free. This occurred in 1835, under the instruction of President Andrew Jackson. This actually caused a depression.

Long story short, Andrew Jackson did away with the National Bank that Alexander Hamilton created, and so when the government had paid off the national debt, and didn't have a bank to put the extra cash in, it got divided up between the states.

This influx of easy cash resulted in massive spending and the creation of a "land Bubble", quite similar to the housing bubble, just with land. Eventually, like all good bubbles do, it burst, sending America into a 6-year depression. Then the government needed to start borrowing again.

The Moral of The Story?

Personally, I don't think the idea of a debt-free America has been explored well enough. It could still be done successfully, although we all know it's incredibly unlikely we'll ever get there again.

The common thread between both of these viewpoints, the one of more national debt and the one of absolutely no national debt, is restraint. in both situations, our willingness to spend spend spend, with our cash or with our credit cards when the cash is gone, is what has led to many, if not all, of our financial troubles. The same can be said for us as individuals and companies as well.

I'm all for living it up, buying expensive things, and driving unnecessarily powerful, gas-guzzling vehicles, but only if it's done responsibly and if it's within our means. This is something both the government and its citizens need to think about just a little bit more often.

Subscribe to the Official Go Be Rich Newsletter Here!

Leave a Comment

One of the reasons I'm happy to have a blog nowadays is so I can put up a cheesy posting whenever a holiday rolls around, in order to help myself get into the spirit of things (just wait till Thanksgiving and Christmas… my favorite time of the year!)

Today's holiday however isn't exactly one I would call cheesy. Yes, there are some awesome sales going on out there, and yes, it's another day off of work (and a short work week at that), but this holiday means so much more.

So because I woke up this morning, came across an inspiring, patriotic YouTube video, and have some time to kill (and I just learned how to embed videos), below are some various patriotic videos, as well as that particular YouTube video that some recent Air Force Basic Training Graduates just might recognize…

Ripley's Amazing Military Stories

The Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery… this is done 24/7, 365 days a year, at least once every hour, depending on the season. Read some amazing facts about these guys here.

Al-Qaida Head Bin Laden Dead

 Mark Shultz's "Letters From War" (Leave a comment if you saw this video every week during church service in Air Force Basic Training, and don't lie… you know you cried, everyone balled like a baby)

Subscribe to the Official Go Be Rich Newsletter Here!

Leave a Comment

This one seems pretty obvious, but the founders believed that having good leaders would ensure the continuation of the republic. Go figure.

The founders had a lot to say about what constitutes a good leader however.  Their idea of a leader was more of a public servant-type figure, sacrificing much of their own life in order to properly serve the public. 

In fact, political positions were not meant to provide high salaries whatsoever. Their salaries were originally intended to pay a modest amount that covered the necessities, so as not to create a reason for seeking a political position other than to serve the public. It was an attempt to keep the public officials objective and focused on why they were there, which was simply to serve the people.

Things are a little different today than how they were meant to be, judging from this historical chart of congressional salaries below.

Obtained from http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_pay.htm

Source of Chart: Senate Historical Office and Senate Disbursing Office; Paul Dwyer, Salaries of Members of Congress, Report No. 95-898GOV, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, December 11, 1995. Information for 2002: http://usgovinfo.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa031200a.htm. A Congressional Research Service Report on congressional salaries is located at http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30014.pdf. See also http://www.thecapitol.net/FAQ/payandperqs.htm

Leave a Comment

This is a post I wrote in September of 2009 and posted on my first blog, and as such few of you may remember what I am talking about. This post however is still relevant today, and will continue to be so.

We’ve all probably heard of this YouTube video of schoolchildren singing praises to Barack Obama by now, especially if you briefly pass the Fox News channel during your nightly channel surfing. Understandably parents and the general public are viewing this news story in a negative light, but I feel as if I need to make a distinction.

Teaching very young, impressionable children to blindly praise one particular man in a place of power is wrong, and borders on indoctrination.

Teaching young, impressionable children to love their country and believe in the American way however, is not.

Imagine if duty to your country, to the ideals that America stands for, were taught in our schools. Would we have more citizens concerned with the direction our country is heading? Would we have more citizens who could name more than 5 presidents, or that could recite one single line of our constitution?

Would we have more citizens that realize that their actions throughout their life could benefit their country and aid in the continuance of the greatest country in the world?

The danger of teaching children to blindly follow an individual lies in giving that individual unchecked power. The only danger of teaching children about why their country was founded and why they live in one of the greatest places on the planet is making this country an even larger, more righteous power in this world, capable of solving every problem we encounter.

To go a step further, there are probably people in places of power that feel that preventing children from learning these lessons affords them a certain amount of “job security”, but that’s for another post (and no, I promise I’m not a conspiracy theorist).

"Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom."

-John Adams, Defense of the Constitutions, 1787

By the way, here are the lyrics to that song. There are actually two of them.

Source for Lyrics

Song 1:
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama

Song 2:
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"

Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!

Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country's economy number one again!

Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!

So continue —- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick
So here's a hearty hip-hooray —-

Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!

Leave a Comment

This is the second entry in the Founding Principles series. This series is based on a book titled The 5000 Year Leap. The title stems from the fact that before America was founded, technology and society hadn't changed a whole lot over the course of 5,000 years, but since the founding of America we humans have enjoyed an explosion of technology and innovation that until now has been completely unheard of. This was possible through the efforts of the founding fathers and the 28 principles that they adhered to when building the United States. Periodically I will be posting an article about some of these principles to give readers a better idea of how our great country was originally intended to be ran.

 Founding Principle#2: Citizens Must Remain Moral and Virtuous to Retain Their Freedom    

To understand this principle, you’ll have to consider the fact that the majority of the citizens of a country need to possess strong morals and a virtuous nature to remain free. This makes sense considering the officials who are in power are elected by the people. If the citizens are corrupt and devoid of morals, then what problem would they have with electing people who have the same types of beliefs?

Probably the largest difference between the Americans of 1776 and the Americans of today is that the original Americans doubted whether they could sustain a self-governed nation, they doubted their capacity to remain moral and virtuous. Today that doubt is not considered by the general population.

 In their definition of being moral and virtuous, the founding fathers included things such as being involved in your government, staying informed on current events, possessing a sense of patriotism and community, and a commitment to liberty.

The founding fathers also had what seemed to be a curious fear of British extravagance and luxury, believing that if these things took hold in the colonies, then the industrious and virtuous nature of the American settlers would be in grave danger.

Leave a Comment

Ever wondered why we need so many laws and policies to prevent every possible negative event in society?

Considering social events of the past decade, the answer to this question may seem extremely simple; to prevent bad things from happening again and to possibly save lives.  However I believe the very premise of this question, and its answer, need to be addressed in a different way; why do we increasingly look to the government to solve our problems?

Simply put, because it’s easy.

Much easier than each one of us taking responsibility for our society and, by following the values this country was founded on, fixing it ourselves.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not proposing that an external threat like 9/11 could have been solved by people being thrifty or working harder at their jobs, but I am proposing that many of our internal issues could be solved by getting back to the basics.  This country was founded on hard work, thriftiness, a drive to excel and achieve, and the belief that we all should have a chance to make ourselves what we will, with only the sky as our limit.

Now however, those basics have been replaced by our increasing laziness, consumer lifestyle, complacency with how things are (called apathy), and the growing belief that equal results for our attempts at success should be guaranteed, regardless of the quality of our effort (in other words, the “I deserve it because I’m alive and breathing” mentality).  Instead of looking at ourselves and re-discovering the original American-born values and ideals, we allow the government, who by nature will take power wherever it can, to “solve” these issues for us. What does this result in?

Socialized industries, massive bailouts, the largest deficit ever, a government-run healthcare system (Obamacare), and general government corruption.

One day we may wake up and realize that the very rights, freedoms, and opportunities that make America what it is have evaporated, and the only ones to blame will be the citizens. Don’t blame the government; they receive their power from the people, they receive their power from you reading this right now.

If you didn’t vote, you’re to blame. If you have no idea what’s going on with America politically, you’re to blame. If you do not take any kind of interest in your government, either locally or nationally, you’re to blame.

Many people say it’s too complicated, I say that’s an excuse. Yes, it is complicated, there are many, many things that I do not understand…but I try, I take an interest, I strive to understand, instead of simply giving up without truly making my best effort.

What YOU can do

If you feel overwhelmed by the whole political game, take very, very small steps. Start with finding out who represents you and your state in congress. Find out what they believe in and how they have voted on past issues, and then decide if you agree with them. Next, pay attention to local and national elections and the candidates involved, and when it comes time to vote, you’ll be able to make a decision based on your informed, educated opinions.

Beyond that, just learn what you can about America, how it was meant to be, and what it has become today.

Find out who represents YOU at www.senate.gov.

Unbiased, fact-based research on various government officials at http://www.votesmart.org/

Leave a Comment

I just finished reading a book titled the 5000 Year Leap.  The title stems from the fact that before America was founded, technology and society hadn't changed a whole lot over the course of 5,000 years, but since the birth of America we humans have enjoyed an explosion of technology and innovation that until now has been completely unheard of.

This was possible through the efforts of the founding fathers and the 28 principles that they adhered to when building the United States.

So, periodically I will be posting an article about each one of these principles to give readers a better idea of how our great country was originally intended to be ran on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. Below is the first principle.

Principle #1: Natural Law

Natural Law is a philosophy made famous by the Roman thinker Cicero (106-43 B.C.). Essentially natural law is something Cicero believed to be the one "true law", based in large part on the belief in a one true god. Natural Law is the law of nature, and as such its validity is universal, and Cicero believed all other man-made laws should be measured against it.

The tenants of natural law include things such as justice, reason, love for neighbors and others in society, high morals and a virtuous personal nature. Particularly offensive to Natural Law is unjust subjugation and persecution of citizens by their government or other groups of citizens.  

Natural Law may be easier to understand if examples from our own American society are given. Below are concepts that were derived from Natural Law by our founding fathers.

1. Unalienable rights

2. Habeas corpus

3. Limited government

4. Separation of powers

5. Checks and balances

6. Right to bear arms

7. No taxation without representation

For something that most Americans know nothing about, we sure did derive a lot of our most basic beliefs and laws from it.