It is the Economy Stupid

(Article contributed by Mike Walker)

(Cartoon contributed by Michael Ramirez)

My very brief musings on the current troubles in our economy.  Here are hard questions that need to be asked in Washington:

A.  Increase the velocity of the dollar in the economy.  This means getting the cash flowing again in our financial markets.  When the "quiz kids" and hat-in-hand bankers show up ask them how they are going to achieve this paramount goal.  If they waffle, dissemble, etc send them packing without a dime.

As an aside, it is a national loss that many investment banks have gone away.  Investment banks are a great engine for economic growth.  Their "velocity" in priming the economy is double that of commercial banks.  They are the best.

B. Good Stable Jobs = Support for Private Sector Businesses.

Job #1 is support for Small Business.  That is the road to turning the economy around.  Every other stimulus goal must be secondary.

When someone opines in Washington that they have the "magic bullet" to cure our ills ask them about small businesses.  If it ain't first and foremost then send them packing without a dime.

Job #2 is support for the rest of the private sector.  If we want to keep jobs in America we need to make American industry competitive.  We have the second highest corporate tax rate in the developed world.  Shame on us!  We need to be globally competitive and that means keeping big government out of the pockets of the private sector.

Job #3 is infrastructure development.  This is an essential but tricky issue.  Infrastructure can enhance economic growth but alone it cannot turn an economy around.  

When the gurus propose their infrastructure plans, ask how does this help our Country achieve Job #1 and Job #2? 

If it looks like they are giving you the "smoke screen" and really arguing infrastructure is Job # 1 then send them packing without a dime.

The purpose of infrastructure development is to create an environment that allows the private sector to thrive.  Building a bridge to make it economically efficient for local business to operate is super.  Building roads to provide access for new businesses is the ticket. 

But these projects are never ends in themselves.  They take years to get off the ground and it is short-term work.  Once the bridge is built the jobs go away for many decades.  

Ask how the project stimulates the private sector and how that will create long-term job growth.  If the nabobs can't clearly answer that question then send them packing without a dime.

The last Job.  Assisting failed/failing industries and State/big city bureaucracies.  When these guys come begging ask them to specifically explain how they are going to change.

Ask them to present a fiscally responsible plan for the future.  Ask them to explain in detail how the money they want from Washington is a one-time bridge to a responsible future.  If they can't provide the answers then send them packing without a dime.

C. Change the business model in Congress.  Kill the pork added to the economic actions.  Enough is enough.  This national economic downturn is a real problem.  It is a serious problem.  It is time for adult leadership in congress.

Congress needs to put our county first and their pork project/special interest pandering dead last.  

Ask your elected representatives if they are going to deal with the task at hand before they go back to politics as usual.  If they start to pontificate and ramble, vote them out the first chance you get.

Semper Fi,

Mike

A Veteran's Day Message

Mike Walker

All,

The Military Times did a poll of our men and women in uniform, our GI's, on the presidential election. If you are wondering what the Military Times does, it publishes a number of newspapers, the Navy Times, the Army Times, etc, that are widely read by GI's around the world.

The result of their poll is a reason to give all of us, especially the new administration, a good reason to pause and reflect.

While the American people, as whole, favored the Obama-Biden ticket by a close ratio of about 5:4, our GI's favored the McCain-Palin ticket by a ratio of nearly 3:1.

That is a huge disconnect. Why?

Now that I am retired, I can speak in a way that would be inappropriate were I still in uniform.

I believe it is not President-elect Obama. I believe that he will vigorously lead and support our men and women in uniform during the ongoing war against terror; a war we neither asked for nor wanted but had forced upon us on 9/11.

I do not believe it is Vice President-elect Biden. He has been a consistent voice of reason in developing the strategies needed for victory in this war. I do not agree with all of his arguments, but his message and intent are unmistakable. He knows the risks of failure and the importance of victory.

The problem is not with the top of the ticket, in my opinion. I believe the military is unshakable in its loyalty to our new administration. I know that the military will execute the orders of the new President to best of their ability, no matter what the personal risk or sacrifice.

The reason for the GI's great hesitancy in voting for the Obama-Biden ticket lies primarily elsewhere. The Obama-Biden ticket was rejected by a troubling margin of our GI's because of a real concern with the next level of leadership and their influence on the new administration.

It is a deep uncertainty over whether or not the new administration can and will be able to match their words of support with actions.

It is a fear that the men and women in uniform who are fighting this war will be let down by some powerful leaders in the Congress and the new administration may not prevent it.

That is why our GI's turned to the McCain-Palin ticket and away from the Obama-Biden ticket. They knew they would not be let down during a McCain presidency. They knew they would not be forced into defeat in the middle of battle due to a lapse of judgment and nerve by our Congress.

I believe I can sum up this fear and uncertainty in two words: Harry Reid.

As veteran of the war in Iraq, I tell you that words cannot describe the crushing effect of Harry Reid's infamous statement on 17 April 2007: "...THIS WAR IS LOST and the surge is not accomplishing anything..."

A rough analogy would be as if it were the last year's Superbowl and, during the third quarter, one of the Giants' assistant head coaches called a press conference on the sidelines to announce that, for the Giants, "..THIS GAME IS LOST and the play by our team on the field is not accomplishing anything..."

Of course this is a very poor comparison. The Superbowl, in the end, is only a game played by great athletes. Our men and women in uniform are not in a game. They are engaged in a life and death struggle to defend this country against some very bad people.

But through this analogy you can get a feel for the deep sense of betrayal and damage that was done by the words of Harry Reid on that fateful Thursday in 2007.

What needs to be done? We need change.

On 21 March 2007, President-elect Obama said: "...we must learn the lessons of Iraq. It is what we owe our soldiers. It is what we owe their families. And it is what we owe our country – now, and in all the days and months to come."

Harry Reid failed as a national leader in time of war. He failed our GI's. He failed their families. He failed our country in a time of great crisis.

As President-elect Obama has said, we must learn the lessons of Iraq and change requires more than speeches.

Change requires action.

Harry Reid must step down.

I am sure Harry Reid has done many fine things in areas not related to the war against terror. Well and good. Find him a new job where his strengths lie but he has no place as a national leader in the war effort.

President-elect Obama must ensure that Harry Reid is no longer the leader of the Senate.

Harry Reid needs to atone by doing the honorable thing in stepping down.

A generation or so ago, another Senator named Arthur Vandenberg said: "To me, 'bipartisan foreign policy' means a mutual effort, under our indispensable, two-party system, to unite our official voice at the water's edge so that America speaks with one voice to those who would divide and conquer us and the free world."

We need a leader in the Senate who will not divide but fight for victory here at home with the same determination, courage, and judgment as that of the GI's fighting on the battlefields overseas.

This is a change we GI's, past and present, need and deserve and many, many, more would say it loud and clear if duty permitted.

Semper Fi,

Mike

From Mike Walker, a timely word!

All,

We now have a new President. It is time to put our political differences aside and do what is best for our Country. I will be honest and state that I voted for John McCain and I have no intention of compromising my values or beliefs.

I have always been a centrist and will take the new President at his word that he will be moderate in his policies, especially towards the middle class and small businesses. I believe him when he says he will reach across the partisan divide to change our Country by unifying rather dividing.

No matter what your political philosophy, two facts are important.

First, there is no ignoring the race of Barak Obama. I was born into a world and nation that held firmly to unconscionable forms of racism. The election of Barak Obama makes a statement, heard round the world, of how far we have all progressed.

Second, we have reaffirmed the ideal of our Republic that the democratic process, with its secret ballot, freedom of political speech, and despite its many flaws, is still the most honest and just form of government for a free people.

I will be praying for and supporting our President as best I can.

We live in the greatest country on earth.

Let us keep it that way.

Semper Fi,

Mike