Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The "Haves" Versus The "Have Nots"

The struggle between “haves” and “have nots” has existed since the creation of mankind, and every attempt, throughout the ages, to redistribute the wealth and the power, from the few to the many, has ended in utter and complete failure.  The indisputable fact of the matter is this; despite the principles and purposes of any cultural or political reorganization or revolution, the most energetic and ambitious among us will recapture the wealth and power within a generation or two regardless of the chosen ideology.  The fault lies not in the perfection of political ideologies, but in the fact humans are not equal in their physical, mental and emotional construct, and we are imperfect creatures.

It follows then that man’s struggle to exist is simply a repeating, eternal cycle between poverty and prosperity.  The perfect system cannot exist because the people are imperfect.  There will always be those who choose contrary or incompatible values and thus become either adversaries to or parasites of the system.  The question then becomes how best to modulate the cycle in order to lengthen the duration of prosperity and shorten the duration of poverty for the greatest number of people.  Utopia is simply a figment of wishful thinking, and as long as we allow guilt, anger, greed and jealousy to consume our thoughts and control our actions, the poor and disadvantaged will always be among us.

So, which modern economic and political system has actually provided the highest standard of living, for the majority of its citizens, for the longest period of time?  The obvious and correct answer is capitalism.  Yet, because of imperfect humans, there are those who would prefer to destroy the entire system because a small minority engage in manipulation and corruption.  It is interesting that we see the same consequences in bloated and corrupt bureaucracies, such as the Veterans Administration, but very few are calling for the elimination of these bureaucracies.


The inherent value of capitalism is its unique creation of a middle-class – without the incentive to create personal wealth, the middle-class would not exist under this or any other political or economic system.  While some of these wealthy individuals may be despicable human beings, their existence is necessary for the greater good of the economy.  Even the worst of the wealthy class serve the common good, albeit unintentionally.  Because they don’t keep their money buried in the backyard or hidden in a mattress, it is available to the economy through their preferred investments – it becomes the seed money for entrepreneurs and the capital for growing the business.  No amount of legalism, rulemaking or policy changes will eliminate the desire, in some, to excel and prosper in any system.  Their behavior will only change when it is in their best interest to do so.  The forces of wealth are no different than the forces of nature – we learn to live with the bad, knowing it serves to strengthen the entire system.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

The Cacophony of the Aristocracy

From a conservative’s perspective, the Obama administration has been the crowning achievement of the modern progressive movement.  He has made good on his promise to “fundamentally change America” but in ways very few could have possibly envisioned.  A community organizer, without any meaningful qualifications or experience, was elected President of the United States, not once but twice.  President Obama has brought this nation to a watershed moment – we will either reverse his policies and restore the values as established by our founding fathers, or we will sink irrevocably deeper into the abyss of socialism.  The litany of his failures, blunders, deceit and intentional disregard for the precepts of democracy, as set forth in our Constitution, will be the fodder for presidential historians for generations to come. 

Complicit in the attempted destruction of the traditional American culture has been a self-anointed, ruling class of citizens otherwise known as the Congress of the United States.  And their accomplices are many who choose to serve themselves before serving our nation – industry, politicians, bureaucrats, academics, special interests, lobbyists, journalists, pundits, activists and political hacks.  These demagogues, parasites, and emotionally handicapped are motivated by their own desires and their contempt and disregard for the common citizen.  Together with Congress, they have created a nearly unchallengeable, impenetrable and almost invisible aristocracy.

Then, someone has the temerity to publicly profess outrage over the behavior of the aristocracy.  Normally, these charges would be dismissed and the accuser overwhelmed with accusations and assaults from every sector of the aristocracy culminating in his or her personal destruction.

But this time it’s different.  This time the accuser is a defector from the aristocracy, one who knows and has participated in their deeds, and who is armed to the teeth with massive resources and unparalleled resolve.  And the accuser possesses some very unique qualifications which we have not seen in any modern presidential candidate, from any party.  First and foremost, he was born with the gift of a seemingly limitless source of personal energy.  All of us personally know this rare kind of personality because we have been an eyewitness to, a collaborator with, or a victim of this indomitable spirit – we know its power and the magnetism of its infectiousness.  Second, he is a competitor – he knows, better than only a few, the desperation for victory and the suffering from defeat.   But even in his worst moments, he is driven to rise from where he has fallen, to shake off the naysayers, and to begin again.  He knows you are never defeated until you admit defeat.  He is the consummate definition of a winner, and America loves a winner.  Third, he not only understands but is a master practitioner of capitalism, finance and most importantly, the art of leverage.  We can trust that when he negotiates on behalf of the enterprise (the United States), his mindset and focus is on getting the best possible outcome for the enterprise and not his personal stature or legacy.  Why?  Because personal fulfillment is his greatest need, and the restoration of America will be his greatest challenge.  And fourth, the wisdom he has gained from his varied interests and experiences has given him a vividly clear understanding of human nature.  Heartfelt compassion is born of this understanding – otherwise, compassion is simply the need for self-importance, or relief from personal guilt, or the result of undeserved pity, or the means to a selfish objective.

And yet, even in the face of another liberal presidency, and the almost assured financial collapse of our economy, the aristocrats are truly frightened like never before – their empire is in immediate and nearly certain peril.  I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say they all quietly prefer another liberal administration.  Oh, publicly, some Republicans will lament such an outcome but in reality, everything will remain just as it was, just the way they want it.  They go on hiding behind the façade of patriotism, sacrifice and service while living the good life at the taxpayers’ expense.  They’ll continue to amass personal wealth that will shield them and their posterity from the eventual financial collapse they have done nothing to prevent.  And worse yet, there are others among them who have been personally and skillfully defeated by the accuser’s unassailable presence; who now place their wounded egos and hurt feelings before the health and unity of the party.  It is absolutely beyond my comprehension that supposedly respected leaders would set the example that abstention is preferable to participation.  Do they still wonder why Americans are so angry with the establishment and the system?

The cries of the Republican cabal are a cacophony of self-righteousness.  They say Donald Trump supporters are simply the dispossessed among us -- those for whom the American dream is not working.  Really?  I may be a sample of one at the moment but not among the circle of friends, associates and acquaintances I have developed over the past 69 years.  I have an undergraduate and graduate degree from a state-named and supported university (and I repaid my student loans in five years), I finished my corporate career as a senior sales officer of a large international manufacturing corporation, and I am comfortably retired devoting much of my time to service in the kingdom of our Lord.  I’m not dispossessed!  But even if I were, where in our constitution am I disqualified from exercising my voice and my right to vote?  Where does it say certain, pre-qualified citizens have a greater right to determine the course of this nation?  I am a realist and pragmatist and I pity the ideological and intellectual deaf and blind fools who will be the first to succumb when our prosperity is depleted.  I doubt there will be much talk or concern with social issues among those standing in line at the soup kitchen. 

The aristocrats argue Mr. Trump is epically unprepared to become the President of the United States.  (Any more so than the empty-suit currently in the White House?)  Let’s first start with the question, ‘what defines proper preparation’?  If the aristocracy’s list of pre-qualifications doesn’t mirror Mr. Trump’s resume of experience, then they are epically clueless and have no idea of what constitutes preparedness.  Experience to the aristocracy means you must act like us, think like us, and play by our rules or you won’t play at all.  To suggest he can’t be trusted with the nuclear codes is the kind of fearmongering one would expect from those whose power, prestige, influence and social status are in imminent jeopardy. Never trust the opinion of anyone who hasn’t spent time in the trenches of capitalism.  For them, their myopic view of the world is what they imagine or want it to be.  I’ll take execution over intellect every time.

Oh, the aristocracy is so truly alarmed they have even gone to great lengths to question his integrity.  That is rich!  In a culture where “integrity” is more of a slogan than a virtue, where the “ends” justify the “mean”, where truth is what you want it to be, where ideology trumps character, where just the right amount of “bad” is good, where we’re big on diversity but not when it comes to academia, where the Democrat’s presumptive opponent is considered the most deceitful human on the planet, and where Saul Alinsky has become the patriarch of modern political warfare, do the aristocrats believe “integrity” is integral and fundamental to the voters’ decision process?

The aristocrats are acting like immature and petulant adolescents, and I say to them, if you have not already endorsed Mr. Trump’s campaign, you are a greater liability to a Republican victory in November than Hollywood, the national media or George Soros.  Continue to pout and history will deny you the legacy you so desperately desire.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Leadership Mr. Speaker

April 20, 2016

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker of the House of Representatives
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Did anyone ever teach you good decisions are made well before the fact?  Did you ever notice great leaders didn’t defer, engage in prolonged deliberation or procrastinate over decisions falling to their authority?  Great leaders know where they are going and they have already established inalienable guiding principles for their decision-making process.  This is what gives great leaders the courage to make decisions of enormous consequence and to patiently endure the ignorance of those who seek only to serve themselves.

It is obvious to me you have not established such guiding principles for the duties, obligations and responsibilities set before you.  It appears to me you readily succumb to the self-serving agendas of fear mongers who desperately want you to believe our country is in immediate peril.  Humans are always in peril and have been since Adam and Eve were banished from the garden.  Our problems are no different than the problems of generations before us.  However, Americans have been blessed with many extraordinary leaders who prevailed against overwhelming odds.  Are you going to be one of those leaders or just another politician who will fade into obscurity?

Respectfully,

Bill Monroe

Puerto Rico Debt Crisis

April 14, 2016

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker of the House of Representatives
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

You worry me!  Case in point – the debt crisis in Puerto Rico.  If there was ever an issue on which all conservatives should be of the same mind, this is it.  The question is, why are you so ambivalent to allowing the credit markets to run their natural course?

By their very nature, free markets experience highs and lows, and any attempt to modulate these cycles is detrimental to an otherwise vigorous and healthy process.

Could it be you are putting election year politics ahead of your values and convictions?  Is there something you know about the fragility of our economy that you are unwilling to share with the American people?  Or do you simply lack the faith and trust in the American people to patiently persevere and prevail over the detours and setbacks inherent in capitalism and free markets?

You worry me Mr. Speaker, and you are fast approaching the realm of disappointment.

Respectfully,

Bill Monroe

cc:    Honorable Kenny Marchant
        Honorable Mitch McConnell
        Honorable John Cornyn
        Honorable Ted Cruz