"You Never Know Until You Try"

The never-ending game of mental masturbation continues, unabated, within the hallowed halls of government in our nation’s capitol.

The advice of the top economic brains in the country for a swift and decisive response to the “recession” were summarily ignored in favor of a “political” solution and a demonstration of bi-partisanship. Intelligence trumped by corruption. Where has it gotten us? Only deeper into the mire of pain and suffering by those who can least cope with it.

1. Development and implementation of effective controls on Wall Street were
orchestrated by George W. Bush, Henry Paulson, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke,
Larry Summers, Timothy Geithner, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and a whole cadre of
lesser types whose loyalties are not with the American People, all of which
were, ultimately, subjected to the stamp of approval by the very ones to be
regulated. How is that for strong leadership?

2. Elizabeth Warren, the Joan of Arc in all this, seems to have vanished into
the night. Was that, perhaps, why she was brought into the ranks of the “White
House Staff to be marginalized and neutralized? It wouldn’t surprise me if
that were, indeed, the case.

3. Any meaningful and cost-effective changes in health care were summarily
trumped by the very thieves who were targeted for reform; Health Care Insurance
Companies, Health Care Providers, Pharmaceutical Companies and the endless
numbers who feed on their largesse.

4. Guantanamo Bay remains open for business. The Justice Department, the
Military Establishment and the Intelligence Apparatus, instead of being
revamped, have only grown and expanded under the able leadership of Barack
Obama.

5. The two wars that were supposed to be consigned to a finite life, have
been experiencing a slow, agonizing death in the name of national security
without one scintilla of evidence to support that boogey man that keeps scaring
the hell out of the Americans who labor under the handicap of any attempt at
original thought.

6. Trade policies still accrue to our collective detriment. Not one treaty has
been re-negotiated or modified to favor the United States. In fact, the
president has pledged his full support for NAFTA and free trade -
another “switcheroo” for us to swallow.

7. We still go to China with hat in hand instead of standing firm and correcting
the disadvantaged position of the United States in terms of trade policies and
practices, and a just re-alignment of the relationship between our two
currencies.

8. Any improvement in our industrial base has, at best, only been a token effort
lest it just might upset the strategic advantages enjoyed by international
corporations that have moved plants and factories to cheap labor pools
overseas.

9. States have gone begging for funds to support their obligations to citizens,
while the gluttonous appetite of the federal monolith remains unchecked.

I don’t know about you but, given the corrupting and incestuous relationship that exists between the Congress, the Senate, the White House, and Defense with big money and influence, I don’t trust most of them to do anything but look out for each other’s interests (providing the price is right), the rest of us be damned. One only has to look at the gargantuan disparity between what has been done for Wall Street, what is done for the Pentagon and compare all that to the paltry tokenism that has been handed out to the 50 States. I ask you, who is sucking hind teat on this one?

What did TARP do for you? What has “Too big to fail” done for you? What are the absolutely obscene salaries and bonuses for the big banks on Wall Street done for you? Compare all that money with the token amount handed out under the banner of a Stimulus Package for the states. Have things really improved in the wake of that magnanimous gesture? We are still fed questionable statistics to allege that things are getting better. How? By massive tax cuts to the richest among us and the power of mega-corporations? Hardly.

Now, after Obama has given away the store in the name of “compromise” and “bi-partisanship,” the Republicans have turned their concern to the financial crisis that is consuming all their attention and rhetoric. How quickly they forget! But, have the Democrats in Congress and the White House rammed the tax cuts for the oligarchs down their throats in order to stifle their massive lies and distortions about the real cause of our social and economic woes? Not a peep. And the beat goes on.

The continued assault on “entitlement programs” is the dragon that must be slain. Shhhhh! Let us not mention that it is the loss of tax revenues that have put us in this pickle. It might disturb the tranquility of the rich and privileged. In the meantime, the stench of their corruption seeps into every aspect of our government and the two major political parties that have cornered the market.

The virtues of integrity and basic honesty seem to have been relegated to the dust bin a long, long time ago. To subscribe to such notions only further ties our hands and limits our ability to function in today’s world. Bull crap!

Now, the storm clouds are building on the horizon as rumors grow that fiscally strapped states are going to be cut loose from Washington, D.C. to fend for themselves. Gotta take care of all those rich bastards, right?

As I watch the states and the citizens of those states trying to survive in the current political, economic and social milieu, I am reminded of the old adage, “The devil takes care of his own.” It seems to me that the federal monolith is doing a pretty good job of doing that, but to the detriment of the middle class, the working class and the poor. So, what is to prevent the states from applying that same principle to their citizens residing within the borders of those states?

As I was cogitating about this appalling situation, I was originally going to include all state government administrations under one banner. However, as I watch events unfold, I am going to exclude any reference to Republicans because I honestly believe their political beliefs trump any real concern for the citizens of their respective states.

States, cities and towns are having to lay off policemen, firemen, teachers and others staffing the vital services in their communities. Revenues are shrinking at the peril of those they serve. So, I asked myself the question, “How might these problems be creatively addressed?” I can only raise questions and explore ideas. I have no way of knowing whether they are feasible or not, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

What might be the result if the Governor of each state was to call in his/her Attorney General and State Treasurer, and charge them to:

1. Prepare a working agenda of every conceivable way that the state might
improve their financial and economic health by ascertaining the power
and prerogatives of the state vs. those that rightfully belong to the
Federal Government pursuant to the provisions in the Constitution, and
all amendments and laws pertaining thereto.

2. Focus on state regulation of financial institutions, and the power of
the state to regulate business and commerce within the borders of the
state.

3. Identify those prerogatives affecting the state, but which are clearly
the prerogatives of the Federal Government.

4. Identify those prerogatives affecting the state that are under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the state.

5. Develop a plan for reconciling any contentious issues that may exist
between the respective authority of the state and the Federal Government.

6. Any prerogatives vested with the Federal Government that rightfully
belong to the state would be returned to the state, either by mutual
consent or by action of the appropriate court of law. Any prerogatives
vested with the state that rightfully belong to the Federal Government
would be resolved in like fashion.

The Governor, the Attorney General and the State Treasurer would proceed with all legitimate means to enhance state revenues that are clearly within the purview of the state and the rule of law. Some ideas are -----

1. A tax would be imposed on all financial transactions carried out by
banks,financial institutions and mortgage companies that are not
headquartered in the state. Financial institutions headquartered in and
chartered by the state would be exempt from all such taxes.

a. The state would have the exclusive power to determine or approve all rates of
interest, service charges and penalties before any implementation would be
permitted. This provision would apply to all service charges, loans,
mortgages and credit card fees charged by financial
institutions operating within the boundaries of the state.

2. All business enterprises not headquartered in the state would be taxed
for the privilege of doing business within the state. No such tax would
apply to business enterprises headquartered in and doing business within
the state.

3. All goods imported from a foreign country that are offered for sale
within the state would be subject to a value added tax added to the
purchase price at the point of sale.

4. Prisons would be exclusively managed by state government. No private
prisons or the contracting out of prisons would be permitted.

5. All other commercial enterprises or activities not specifically
mentioned in the statutes would be presumed to fall under the
jurisdiction of the state and subject to the state laws applicable to
that particular business activity.

6. All tax revenues collected by business enterprises operating within the
boundaries of the state, on behalf of the Federal Government would be
forwarded to the State Treasurer for review and transmittal to the
Federal Government, except for federal income taxes. The state
government would retain the option of retaining such revenues to the
extent the Federal Government failed to fulfill its solemn obligations
to the citizens of the states. Disputes would be resolved by the court
of law having jurisdiction.

7. And a whole host of other great ideas that are out there just waiting to
be exploited for the benefit of the citizens of the state.

All laws and regulations set forth herein would be subject to legislative action and/or approval as may be deemed appropriate. Any disputes arising from the implementation and administration of the provisions of the relationship as set forth herein would be resolved by the court of law having jurisdiction.

If the leadership of any given state was not interested or inclined to give consideration to these and other means of strengthening the power of the state in order to better serve its citizens, then the ideas might be better left in the hands of an organized effort to form a new political party that could more effectively serve all the citizens of this country, starting at the local level and reaching all the way to national prominence.

The objective is to recover and retain all rights and responsibilities that rightfully fall under the lawful jurisdiction of the state, and that have not been legally and properly allocated to the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.

The feasibility of this idea taken to its fullest potential might just provide opportunities for retaining or creating badly need revenues for use within the state, but that is better left to real legal minds. However, to the extent we could legally stick it to the robber barons on Wall Street, all within the provisions of the law, wouldn’t that be grand?

If Washington cannot or will not do it, what do we have to lose? You never know until you try.

Cowboy Bob
February 16, 2011