Immortal Music...

Last night after arriving home late, I was scanning the endless range of cable stations for something to "lull" me to sleep. Suddenly on EWTN, the Catholic religious network that I have to say I normally avoid, was this huge sounding symphony of Beethoven's "Misa Solemnis" which I had listened to decades ago but suddenly found myself newly enthralled at this masterpiece of musical genius. Having my musician's background and experience in producing musical groups and writing music to a certain extent, I just can't imagine the genius of Beethoven who intertwined so many layers of music and voice into this long expression of passion and spirituality. Here was the Bavarian Chorus and Symphony of a couple hundred musicians and a tremendously talented "Quartet" of singers, performing this huge composition so perfectly together that it brought tears to my eyes.

I couldn't find the same version I saw last night on TV as performed by the Bavarian Radio Choral and Symphony so I will look to buy the DVD somewhere online. I did find Bernstein's series of recordings of this mass on YouTube and share one of the video links above at the head of this blog. It isn’t as quality of a recording or perfectly balanced performance as I witnessed last night, but it still gives a pretty good illustration of what I am expressing today.

Even though this “Misa”...Latin for “Mass”… is written and performed in Latin...the universal passion and combinations of moods created by clashing dissonances, eerie harmonies, heavy percussion, varied tempos, and amazing control over so many artists to produce the lightest solo line to the heaviest combinations of all instruments and vocalists giving 100% simultaneously. Once can't help but make some life comparisons to this symphonic symbol of genius ideas and creativity.

To hear the wonderful quartet parts in this symphony is to marvel at the combined individual talents, singing in counterpoints yet all in beautiful harmonies and controlled tones, ending up on the same chord eventually bar after bar, staff after staff...is a testament to individual talents/styles that when combined in a common direction of the symphony make total sense and complete productive effect. World collective efforts could use some of this process in advancing the human race in the many causes we share.

Beethoven's melodies are lilting and lifting, whether sung with lyric or simply tones played superbly by one of the symphony instrumentalists. To think Beethoven wrote this masterpiece in his later stages in life when completely deaf is another testament to man's ability to overcome adversity to express his innermost passions and ideas. These are the true miracles we observe in life where one excels even in the midst of their most trying times. There is something in the human spirit that challenges us to overcome our failures and difficulties...to make the self immortal even in our physical mortality. For those of us who have learned music, to master an instrument, or to simply understand the disciplines of composing such musical ideas...this is an experience that I think knows no other comparison. To have these hundreds of great talents both in the chorus, symphony and quartet tied together by a great Director to perform the genius creations of a composer who lived 200 years ago is a truly astonishing feat and again, symbolic of how our world could function together if we all were free to develop our talents and intelligence anywhere near our capacities.

Personally, I think our world could use more exposure to these fine arts and expressions of achievements in harmony and cohesive ideas...that could be replicated in all other aspects of our lives...from politics to religion to corporate productivity. Music is truly the universal language and how sad to me that the world is much more focused on sports and wars both real and economic than on "making beautiful music together". I am newly challenged to expose as many people in my own little world to the "symphonic world". Whether young or old, rich or poor...with a little understanding, experience and an open mind...I think anyone could understand the power and potential of these artistic expressions. At least I am currently optimistic of this possibility during times of great pessimism.

New Technologies...Hope for the Future

In the midst of all the world's bad economic and environmental news, I have been looking for "good news" lately to get me up in the morning with a better, more positive perspective for the future. I am happy to report that if we look for it, there are many new discoveries and technologies that will over time bring significant improvements to life for MILLIONS of humanity. Let's look at just three varied ideas and or businesses that can have significant impact when fully developed and marketed.

New Solar energy technologies show great hope for bringing cheaper and cleaner energy sources to the masses. Wired News brings a report of advances in "Solar Ring" technology which can make ice in the middle of the desert from simple solar energy. The solar ice maker is an attractive technology. Clean, portable and relatively cheap, solar ice makers could make the storage of high-value perishable items a reality in hot, poor regions. Refrigeration technology throughout the world is one of the biggest "polluters" of our globe. The emissions from Freon and combustible engines that run most refrigeration trucks and buildings is tremendously hard on the global environment. Like so many things in life, the technologies we rely on to help us survive heat and cool our drinks and living space also contribute tremendously to the cancers and other diseases our environment brings us. This new technology alone can significantly help offset the costs to our health and pocketbooks when we demand cold carbonated drinks and frosty living environments in tropical climates.

I also loved the next story on Wired about the "rental goats" being used to clear unwanted vegetation from fire-prone slopes and polluted landfills...without the use of harmful chemicals or lawnmowers. They even consume and digest certain waste products like paper trash. We see these same affects on our development project here in Panama on Lake Gatun. We have a few head of cattle and horses who keep almost 100 acres of open tropical grassy land mowed down to a very traversable level even at the height of rainy season. They provide natures best fertilizer all self contained on the property. I love observing God's natural order in motion to solve some of the simplest problems modern day man encounters. I'm thinking about buying into a herd of goats now since their milk and cheese products are apparently very high in nutrients and protein needed for a healthy human diet. Thank God Noah put a couple of these creatures on the Ark.

Finally, I loved the idea of the "Inflatable House" that can provide temporary shelter during a catastrophe. This mini inflatable world provides a bed, couch, freeze-dried food, a 50 gallon water bladder, a first-aid kit, radio and a cook stove. A fully livable "home" for less than $3,900! This was another American business idea and I can think of many applications for this genius creation. I'm sure it is a much cheaper and more humane solution than has been previously implemented during disasters such as Katrina and the various increasing devastation we are seeing caused by global weather changes.

So today I am encouraged and motivated by seeing progress on so many fronts in meeting our global challenges of clean and inexpensive energy creation, and humane and ingenious solutions for easing the human condition on planet earth. May all who push these envelopes be successful, rich, and encouraged to keep on their paths of intelligent living.

Obama’s Biggest Challenge…Who He is Going To Listen To

In the aftermath of President-elect Barack Obama's election win, the euphoria has quickly moved into all kinds of speculations over who will be in his inner circle, which he will choose to be at the helms of many crucial government posts. While we know the new President will have a daunting task finding solutions to the significant crisis of the economy, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and potential boiling over of Middle East conflicts...my greatest fear is how he will handle some of the extreme Liberals in his own party who currently lead Congress. Specifically, I hope he can control/bridle Nancy Pelosi, George Miller and Charley Rangel. Let's look at each of these individuals as examples of Democratic Liberals to understand why we should be concerned.

Nancy Pelosi...as speaker of the House of Representative, is next in line after the Vice President of the USA to ascend the Presidency should the President and Vice President be incapacitated. This makes her the most power politician outside of the executive office. She also is the first woman in history to attain that position. While her power and advancements are commendable in that modern day America now allows minorities from women to blacks to rise to these levels of power and responsibility without the historical bigotry and prejudice that previously precluded them, I still have to wonder why and how THIS woman rose to this level over many other potential leaders. She is from one of the most extreme liberal districts in the country in the San Francisco area. She first attained office by being named by the dying representative in 1987. She then narrowly won her first election in a runoff...and has now been in office over 22 years...my definition of a lifelong politician.

My observations of Pelosi are that she is ultra liberal and for those 22 years has voted WITH her party 98.3% of the time...which to me points to a total lack of individuality or centrist capability. Everything I have read or seen on the news shows her as the most partisan Speaker of the House in my lifetime. While the media and pundits have been heaping all the blame of our country's economic woes and deficits on President Bush and the executive office, in reality it is CONGRESS that controls the purse strings of our federal government. How is it that they can duck a considerable amount of the blame for federal deficits, debt and lack of oversight on government bureaucracies? In my mind they are no less guilty than Bush and his cronies on economic issues. All I saw them do during the recent panic of Wall Street was show up as "Democrats United" with their "deer in the headlights" image, and fingers pointing at the Republicans on this matter. They then simply proposed the infamous $700 BILLION bailout of Wall Street with your and my tax dollars. How will Obama deal with this issue?

George Miller...is like Pelosi's twin brother, also from California. He is another long term representative since 1975 from that same region. He is hard core LEFT of left! He is labors biggest "pro-union" congressman which to me equates him with going socialistic with USA industry in a day and age when we are losing competitively to much of the rest of the globe in labor and business. My fear is that in teaming up with Pelosi and others, they will think with Obama in the White House that they have an open mandate for taking the liberal pendulum to another dimension Left than we already are. That would do nothing for my personal beliefs in smaller, constitutional based government along with a requirement for a balanced federal budget. It also in my opinion would further destroy the US business economy in the long run.

Charlie Rangel...is the other lifelong politician in the culprit category. While he has been one of the minority leaders in the federal government to push for equality and diversity in America, he also is one of the most liberal of the Democrats. In addition, he is now chairman of the House and Ways and Means Committee, which means he presides over approvals of the federal government budgets. If you want to watch what our government does with your tax dollars, this is the committee...and chairman...you want to watch over. His committee can thumbs up or down most any federal government program or incentive. Problem is, he has recently been under a lot of pressure over profiting from subsidized rent programs in New York on properties he shouldn't have anything to do with. While he had the power to get those charges put to rest apparently, I have never liked the guy’s politics or his personal ethics. Why we have a guy going on his 80s in this powerful position in our government is a very interesting question. He is in a position to be a big pain if Obama and other government leaders want to go centrist or moderate in their approach to our nation’s problems. He strikes me as the dealmaker who is always going to be asking “what’s in this for me?”

It’s going to be very interesting after January 20th how much we see these three Democratic leaders interacting with President Obama. I hope for all our sakes that Obama will be able to reason and bring these people some balance in their thinking...and pursue the non-partisan politics he has advocated. Problem is...if he does that...I think he is going to have a battle with these three Democratic leaders in congress. Let's wait and see.

Dance...Dedicated to Overcoming Adversity

My friend Ruth sent this video to me today and I couldn't help but be inspired and affected by it.

We all have been through ups and downs in life and experienced adversity from time to time. Every person reacts differently it seems when faced with adversity or hardship. Some of us get depressed, some angry, and it is easy to be cynical or embittered by circumstances that cause us stress or discomfort. This dance of the one legged man yells out to me the beauty and triumph possible if one chooses to overcome adversity and excel no matter what circumstances confront us.

I talked to a young man last night who is 38 years old though he looks younger. He has all his faculties, reasonably good looks and a likeable personality. We had a pretty deep heart to heart conversation through which I found out he already had 3 failed marriages, was jobless and living at home with his mother. He could not get a clear vision of what he wanted to do in his life and was only focused on what could possibly make him the most money most quickly. When I asked him what he WANTED to do or what he has passion for...he couldn't really answer the question. This to me was the saddest point in the conversation. I wanted to share with him some of my interests/passions since I sometimes feel I have too many of them to pursue in this short lifetime. But, I have found you cannot impart passion in other people...they either have it/develop it, or they don't...and they often have a long list of "reasons" why they are helpless or victims.

As I ponder this subject, I can't help but think on what I know of President-elect Obama. Here is a young guy, not that much older than my friend last night, who overcame a background of being born to a mixed race couple in a time where it was a real stigma, grew up largely fatherless because of his parent's divorce and abandonment by his father, and from what we are to gather he did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. Somehow, and I'm sure he had help along the way, he made it through Harvard Law School, was the first black editor of the "Harvard Law Review" as a highly unlikely candidate. I have only read overviews of his recent published books about his life experiences, but from what I have read it seems he struggled much with his identity regarding race and religion, his early exposure to multi-cultural living also presented many paradoxes to deal with I'm sure. He even did his share apparently of experimenting with drugs and partying without letting it take control of his life like so many do…going through some very low moments. Yet, somehow in a relatively short lifetime, he aspired to and accomplished becoming the first black President of the United States. Can you spell O-V-E-R-A-C-H-I-E-V-E-R?

Another recent example to me closer to home is my dear Aunt Nan. As recounted on another blog I wrote, she recently lost her partner of almost 60 years after a long bout with cancer and is in the midst of adjusting back to a more solitary life. If that wasn't enough challenge to deal with, just a couple weeks after my Uncle’s passing she became sick in the middle of the night and on her way to the bathroom passed out. She fell and broke one leg in two places and her kneecap on her other leg along with contusions to her head. They rushed her to the hospital and had to do almost immediate surgery on her broken leg which will require a long period of recovery. She spent well over a week after the hospital in a convalescent/recovery center with large amounts of painful daily therapy to get her walking again. She is now at home confined to a wheelchair and a long road to get back on her feet again. I talked to her the day after surgery and again today and through it all it is amazing how she retains her positive, hearty view on life. I know she's getting good family support, but I think the average person would have quite a bit of "poor me" syndrome during this combination of events. When you talk to my aunt, you only get the idea that she is looking forward, not backwards, and taking each day at a time as an overcomer.

As I consider these three examples of people today combined with viewing the one legged dance video, it reminds me that I have no excuse for not succeeding or achieving my dreams. I have many more advantages over the people mentioned above when it comes to background, experience, and even age. As I approach another birthday this next month I am reminded that the ticking clock waits for no one. How we think and act during every moment of our life determines what we will or won't achieve. Sure, some things in life are based on luck, but a majority is based on "pluck". As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect".

So to summarize today's lesson my friends, the way to overcome adversity is to:

Look to the future, not the past.

You have to have a dream, goal or objective in order to steer your life in a positive direction.

We can't limit ourselves to our circumstances or accept barriers, whether interior or exterior, to reach our life objectives.

I'll encourage you if you encourage me. But...I will not wait for your encouragement.

So...how will YOU use today? Let’s dance!

President Obama...and What To Expect

I start writing this blog the day BEFORE election day. I think most of us already know, along with the pundits and pollsters, who the 44th President of the United States is going to be. Now that the hoopla of the campaign is winding down and we have to deal with reality...we might as well start looking at the pros and cons in anticipation of this daunting new day in American presidential politics.

As I have stated in earlier blogs, I did not vote for either of the two leading candidates. I voted my conscience and stand by that vote with the idea that until individual Americans start truly voting their consciences...or even developing one...they will always have the government they deserve. Still, I am the eternal optimist and here are some "positives" that I will try to look for and support in this current new American administration.

Personally I would have preferred a mature Colin Powell as the first minority leader of the free world. Yet, I cannot help but be a bit proud of our country that we have finally voted for a minority as our leader and that we had two significant political women strongly considered in this year's race in both main parties. America is truly a "melting pot" which has too long been controlled politically by a white male elite. Wealth from whatever race or nationality carries with it significant responsibilities, but for too long our political system has not evenly represented the varied demographics of our huge and changing population. By electing President Obama, I optimistically hope that his example of rising to the top against all odds serves as an encouragement to all minorities in our country that they too can have a voice and compete to be heard at the highest realms of public office and discourse. Hopefully a large number of young black boys looking for role models will now think and aspire to goals larger than just being the next multi million dollar sports star or "rapper". We have given too much credence and importance to high profile sports stars and entertainers in our society and not enough adulation or respect to business and political leaders who come from disadvantaged minority backgrounds.

Anyone reading this who thinks that everyone in America has had equal opportunity all these years no matter what their race, gender or religion has been deluding themselves. I have seen the ugly face of racism many times in my life, and I truly hope that President Obama serves with intelligence, balance and effectiveness...for ALL Americans. I hope he lives up to his self hype of working with any reasonable leaders from all walks of life and all over the world to solve our many conflicts. I hope he CAN bring peace instead or war. I hope he CAN bring hope to financial markets and relief to the financially devastated. I hope he CAN reach across the political aisle and start some new processes in Washington that will bring progress and renewed positive energy to America at large. It is a tall order...and I hope to God he and his leadership around him will be up to the task of leading the USA away from its current abyss of decline.

Some have compared Obama's rise to preeminence to that of President John F. Kennedy. This comparison has been perpetuated further by the outspoken support Obama has received from JFK's survivors, especially Ted Kennedy and the former President's daughter, Caroline. To this day, JFK was the only Catholic elected as President and was the youngest ever to acheive the Presidency. Actually, I think JFK had significant advantages over Barack Obama. JFK had a powerful political family behind him in name and deed. He also had served much longer as a congressman than Barack Obama has. So, one could argue that Obama is the least experienced, freshest political face to ever enter the office. One has to wonder still how the current Republican leadership could lose this election...but reality is here.

While trying to be optimistic, I have some concerns. I think it highly evident that the economic woes in America and the Republican's lack of a cohesive, detailed plan to correct what has NOT happened the last eight years they were in office is what handed the office to the Democratic candidate. We now have to watch what the new President and his Democratic party with so much control over our combined government entities now will act on to turn our economics around. If they only take care of the "little guy", bail out the failures at the expense of the successful, and turn our whole country into some watered down experiment of "neo-socialism"...I think it will spell calamity for the long term health of our country and you will see capital spill OUT of the USA as fast as you can "whistle Dixie". The only chance America has for recooping its wealth and positive role as a democracy and mecca for free enterprise is to make itself more competitive for investment coming IN...better/fairer tax laws that compete with where capital could potentially flow out...and start REDUCING entitlements and government handouts we can no longer afford, and yes, substantial cost cutting at the federal government level. I will be all ears in hearing how this new administration will pay for its long promised "universal healthcare plan" and re-organizing the huge bad debts of both the citizens and the government at large. I am hoping that now this President will be able to plan and speak honestly about some of the "tough medicine" that will be required to make our country better.

I will also be watching who President Obama chooses to surround himself with in cabinet and other appointments. He needs balance and maturity in many areas where his experience and background lacks. Those key positions will determine if he can execute a viable plan for bringing America out of its current economic straights and successfully "handle" the many conflicts handed to him by our current leaders. Obama's most crucial actions may be about how he handles our "enemies" and how self sufficient he grows our economy and gets us over our addiction to foreign oil and other aid. Yes, we are getting huge financial "aid" from countries that have not traditionally supported or shared our values. You have to wonder about their motivations when you see that happening.

A couple faces I hope to see surrounding Obama are Warren Buffet for economics and Colin Powell for foreign affairs and policy. I hope he attracts some moderate Republicans that can help him stay fair and focused for ALL Americans. Republicans like Robert Kagan, a leading neoconservative and co-founder of the Project for the New American Century...and Republican moderate Chuck Hagel who just retired from the senate...should help him keep as centrist as possible on the political spectrum in representing as broad of interests as possible.

The real role of the President of the United States is to be an example and reflection of its people...both domestically and to the world at large. To that end, I do hope President Obama improves the image of intellect and depth the world wants to see in our leader. This man was elected in my opinion because he appealed to a broader spectrum of Americans, talked about the issues more than his opponents, and represented an image of hope and change that his competition seemed only able to mimic. I hope he continues with a positive message of change, propogated by balanced legislative actions based on realistic financial budgets. We didn't get into our present difficulties over night...and I think any rational person would agree we won't get out of our troubles overnight either. If this new administration simply starts the ball rolling the other direction...this President could end up as one of the greatest of all time. While I didn't vote for him, I truly wish him that success. For ALL our sakes...

Understanding Wealth...and Poverty

In light of current market gyrations and swift fluctuations of wealth and status, both for countries and individuals, I feel it time to air out a discussion on wealth and poverty. This has taken quite a few days of reflection and writing a little bit at a time. I should begin with the premise that I am a philosopher at heart, a sociologist in practice/observation, with roots in Judeo-Christian ethics while pursuing human reason and objectivity. Yet I aspire to be scientific and rational regarding my absolutes in life...so to understand me and my thinking is to start with those complicated parameters for discussion :).

During the course of my "blogging", we have had a number of postings and comments regarding the economic problems that confront us. We have discussed a lot of politics as it related to our pocketbooks and tax consequences. We have discussed religion and how it shapes our outlook on social and economic issues. We have touched on causes and solutions for the various economies from first world to emerging markets. I mean, if you look back at these past months of blogging, we have covered a plethora of significant topics and agendas related to money and economics. This past week’s blog on "Obamas New Tax Plan" elicited some of the most heated comments so far, so I thought maybe a direct blog on wealth and poverty along with our personal roles and responsibilities in the economic world might merit some comments and continue a hearty and hopefully helpful discussion.

Philosophically and politically, as many of you know by now, I lean heavily towards Libertarianism. I am not a card carrying member of the party, am not much of a "joiner", and would hold suspect any such organization that would have me as a member. I am more about individual rights and responsibility...which includes a strong respect for "otherness", a healthy regard for those whose opinions differ from mine, and always attempting to see the whole puzzle of how our varied thoughts, beliefs and opinions combine in actions to move humanity one direction or another. One of the most perplexing aspects of putting the puzzle together is understanding how such a large percentage of humanity can be so poor while such a SMALL percentage control the vast majority of the world's wealth and resources. Let’s look at some theories or philosophies that might help explain this perplexity.

Free Trade and Laissez-faire capitalism: Those of us who grew up in the breadbasket of USA democracy have pretty strong roots in believing this form of economics to be the most sound and productive form of economic theory. The problem is, as we grew up and experienced the real world, we see how this has been more a doctrine than a practice. Many people say they believe in free markets and capitalism until they lose a battle or two in the marketplace. When people, or organizations, or countries find themselves losing or broke, their pure thinking about a competitive marketplace go out the window. Most humans in the shadow of failure will adopt any new idea that helps them get quick access to security and/or pleasure and away from the stark pain of failure.

We see this behavior acted out in children at an early age. When one kid is picked on by another kid, you often see the underdog resort to recruiting friends, and maybe even their parents, to combat the threat and losing proposition against a larger, more experienced opponent. While this reaction is understandable and seeming smart on the part of the weaker kid...it truly changed the conflict from one on one competition/combat to "who can gain the largest following and popularity to support his image and agenda". We learn gang warfare at a very early age, and now we know where the fundamentals of the world's arms race began.

Capitalism and Free Enterprise to me should be about individual and business behaviors, not a statist or political position / theory. It is not even about rich/poor or a belief system. It should just be a common sense approach within humanity that determines how we interact, trade and exchange goods and ideas. There should be no borders or complicated trade agreements to initiate or sustain free enterprise. The problem is, we now have centuries of statist governments indoctrinating the masses that somehow they know better how to maintain trade relations with foreigners on our behalf...and the masses capitulate to the state. In return, the masses have forgotten how to take care of themselves and pursue individual goals and dreams. Instead we have traded for some "corporate" approach to health and happiness.

In my observations and reading of recent history, I don't see positive results from this statist, corporate approach. Most of what I have seen is one historically free, capitalistic, democratic society (USA) on one hand become the wealthiest nation in world history, only to quickly be taken down by expensive expansionist political thinking by its leaders and lazy acquiescence by its relatively wealthy constituents. We are now seeing this watered down version of democracy and free enterprise implode under the weight of unbridled expansion and commercialism provided for by unrealistic national and individual credit. Our economic system has become anything but “capitalistic” or free/fair trade. Our laws and economic practices have gotten so out of whack that now we have the major political parties of our country talking about "redistribution" of wealth and government takeovers of private industries. We refuse to let large institutions fail or accept the hard medicine of their folly. We refuse to let capitalism and free enterprise take its course where the successful prosper and the foolish fail. We are now entreated by our governments and religious institutions to be patriotic and charitable in bailing out those government and large corporate institutions that have set themselves up for such dismal failure and mismanagement. Everyone seems to have "golden parachutes" from their failures...accept us middle class working people and the poor. Somehow we small businesspeople and entrepreneurs have never considered the concept of "golden parachutes". We have always had to face the joy of success or bitterness of failure on our own two feet. The more we have succeeded, the more that has been asked of us and the successful have often been despised by those who failed. The more some have failed, the more society has felt sorry for them and offered them "welfare". The world as a whole has rewarded the wrong type of behaviors and efforts.

Let’s look at the core of poverty for a minute. Most of the ancient books of religious or philosophical persuasions somewhere imply that "the poor will always be among you". One has to ask if this is based on some missing gene in the majority of mankind, or is it a mindset that has been propagated and instilled over centuries of programming and planning by a FEW powerful influential parties.

Just like economics, I think there is a micro and macro aspect to this puzzle of poverty. On the micro level, it is obvious to me that there are individual traits and values both positive and negative that contributes to every individual's status in life related to poverty. Just like the spate of "get rich" books in this century opine that we should "think positive and grow rich"...the reality is that most people read or get messaging throughout their whole life that they are destined to be poor and locked into the system or demographic they were born into. This programming starts in families and the earliest messages to our psyche as we are growing up. The smart, studious, disciplined kid is looked down upon by a majority of his lesser classmates while the majority idolizes the big, attractive, athletic kid who can beat everybody up. From there, our whole society learns to idolize the athlete and sport while ridiculing the "geek" who is too smart for his own good and “has all the answers”. This is the core of the "micro" reality that keeps people in a mindset of failure and poverty. We just can’t measure up if we do our own thing and don’t conform to the norms of our peers. In my own life history, I have observed this from the kids I grew up with...many of the popular jocks or pretty girls of childhood who got caught up in their own hype and adulation turned into dismal failures as adults with no imaginations and living on their past memories of better days for their self esteem. Meanwhile, some of the "geeks" and misfits I came from have turned into quite successful and self sufficient winners in life. Good educations, strong family values, and strong sense of identity and direction. For some reason I have always liked those surprises and supported individualism over conformity. I think eventually the individuals dominate over the conformists...which is one explanation for the differential numbers of wealthy versus poor.

That is the core of what I think we see in the macro aspect of poverty. Most conformists are controlled by their peers and "the rules". The rules are laid out by the individuals who rose to the top and then "lorded" their positions over the masses. After a few generations of imposing behaviors and attitudes under the authority of religion or government, it is no wonder the masses of people have lost any sense of hope and potential for self achievement. Centuries of statist governments and fanatic religiosity have shaped our world into segregated groups. Our world is segregated by race, religion, wealth and poverty. Some countries are very wealthy, most are very poor. The poor ones depend on the charity of wealthier neighbors...or if charity is not given the poor masses rise up and take what is not theirs. Most institutions, governments, or religions on the "giving end" represent some form of the philosophy of give to us and it will be given back to you. Give us your taxes; we will look out for you. Give us your vote and we will be your voice at the leadership conference table. Give us your allegiance and we will give you something to believe in and live for...because somehow WE ALL MUST LIVE FOR SOMETHING HIGHER OR GREATER THAN OURSELVES. That is usually interpreted to mean self comes into play at the back of the line after God, country and others. This is the macro spirit in play that I believe keeps the worlds progress in check, keeps the rich in power, and keeps the poor in their place.

The debate on what to do about the chasm between wealth and poverty obviously touches on many sensitive issues in life. Our core beliefs about religion, government and rights of the individual can get easily confusing and paralyze our thinking to the point of inaction or inability to function as individuals. Most humans in the world I am quite convinced live lives of quiet despair, feeling locked into a set of circumstances or geography that is totally inescapable in their minds. Most resign themselves to living their whole lives "as they are, where they are"...even if they are miserable doing so. Societies teach us to conform, think "humbly" of ourselves, and "behave". And while one would think that with the modern advent of television, the internet and all types of ways we can better interconnect and get educated and expand our horizons...that we would become more productive and knowledgeable...I'm not convinced that is really happening. Instead, the "culture" itself has taken over these vehicles of communication and cultivated the old stereotypes of conformity and distortion of truth. In my lifetime we went from two television channels to HUNDREDS to choose from, yet I think there was more content on the original two than all the rest combined. On the internet, you have to sort through hundreds of wasted, empty websites on most any subject to find one of merit and non distortion. So, instead of sorting it all out, most of us simply resort to what entertains us...and to a scary level that is primarily porn sites and MTV type of music. Information and "truth" sites are just not as profitable or popular.

So, in essence I am seeing the world at least through my eyes as not moving forward very quickly in solving this conflict between wealth and poverty. "Supply side" and "trickle down" methods have not worked in the long haul to meet the challenge of poverty. Communism or Socialism models have not succeeded in bringing wealth or sense of fulfillment to the masses. Every pure model or philosophy for growing wealth or success ends up mired down by mass appeals for "fairness"...for protecting the losers from the winners. Governments in wealthy nations put up walls and borders against poor nations. Wealthy neighborhoods are getting gated and walled in more and more in order to protect the haves from the “ have nots”. Money hangs out with the money...the poor hang out in their barrios and ghettos. These walls and borders simply perpetuate the continued persistence and growth of poverty.

For me personally, I live pretty well in the small, emerging growth country of Panama. Every day I see, touch and feel both ends of this spectrum. I am glad that I do...I WANT to feel the heartbeat of the whole of mankind. I WANT to feel thankful for what I know and have...and at the same time I WANT to touch the poor and destitute. Not the professional beggars in the streets and elsewhere. Some of these people are beyond help...lost in a lifelong mindset of entitlement and handouts. But, a majority of the poor I see are working the best they can to get by...and in some cases to get UP.

I believe in the potential of every human being to elevate their level of thinking and livelihood. It starts with willpower...which has to be encouraged and instilled from a very young age. If we want to reduce or have a vision for eliminating poverty, we must start with educating the youth. Not just book education and institutional degrees...but educating their hearts and souls as well that they are valuable and have great potential. I'm not sure how we teach "desire" and "fortitude"...but I think it starts with just being an example of those qualities...and then reaching down in our immediate world to help bring some others UP with us. It is my opinion if we don’t bring the poor UP, they will eventually bring us DOWN. So to an extent, helping the poor can be a very selfish exercise. But, if it takes selfish motivation to value and preserve what we have, and taking PRIDE in helping others less fortunate, then let's have a little more selfishness around here. In the end it will help our own survival, and be the best answer to providing a bridge between wealth and poverty. I hate to sound redundant, but it starts with the “power of one”, each of us first taking responsibility for ourselves, and THEN pulling up others in our immediate reach. Only this over time will truly overcome the chasm between the rich and the poor.

Obama's New Tax Plan

Well, it looks like Obama and the Democrats are leading in all polls in the final days of this tremendously long election season. McCain appears to be "huffing and puffing" to the finish line with no new ideas and riding the disappearing coat tails of a vivacious but inexperienced Sarah Palin. Really sad days in the Republican Party from what I am able to observe. No cohesion, no new message, no fire...

I think alot of people, especially higher percentages of independent voters, have been attracted to Obamas youthful and intelligent persona and are seeking change from the traditional politicians many of us have come to despise. I do think that he has represented SOME good ideas and a more hopeful, positive message than the Republicans have been able to muster this year. As I have often stated on recent blogs, I don't like either of the main party platforms at this point in America's history and voted 3rd party. Yet, I realize one more time we will be stuck with one of the bloated two party leaders for another four years...and it seems to point to Obama.

If/when he gets in office, one of the biggest concerns I have about his objectives is how he is going to pay for all his big "change" ideas. Everyone now has a clearer picture of our governments record deficits and a quickly sinking economy. In the middle of this, it appears that the focal point of his economic and tax plan is a "redistribution" of WHICH taxpayers pay WHAT within our system. While on one hand you can understand the desire for fair and balanced payment of taxes, it does concern me that Obama and the Democrats think they are going to be able to create more "entitlements" for the non-productive by taking more from the productive sector. Most people I have talked to who are voting Republican this year are doing so more as a vote AGAINST Obama than FOR McCain...and the main focus of their concern is Obama's not so subtle suggestion that its time for the wealthy and successful to pay more while a large percentage of the electorate will pay less. If this idea goes too far, it will appear much like other leftist or socialist exteme systems such as Chavez in Venezuela, and many other Central and South American countries who have been nationalizing their major industries, leaning heavy on the rich, and giving freely to the poor. It doesn't appear to me very successful in those countries when it comes to economic stability, balance and growth. I now see the potential for America to go down that same road and am very concerned about what the results will be.

An article today in the Wall Street journal probably more clearly examines and states my concerns. It bears repeating here as my summary statement:

Obama and the Tax Tipping Point
How long before taxpayers are pushed too far
WSJ 10-22-08
By: Adam Lerrick--professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute

What happens when the voter in the exact middle of the earnings spectrum receives more in benefits from Washington than he pays in taxes? Economists Allan Meltzer and Scott Richard posed this question 27 years ago. We may soon enough know the answer.

Barack Obama is offering voters strong incentives to support higher taxes and bigger government. This could be the magic income-redistribution formula Democrats have long sought.

Sen. Obama is promising $500 and $1,000 gift-wrapped packets of money in the form of refundable tax credits. These will shift the tax demographics to the tipping point where half of all voters will receive a cash windfall from Washington and an overwhelming majority will gain from tax hikes and more government spending.

In 2006, the latest year for which we have Census data, 220 million Americans were eligible to vote and 89 million -- 40% -- paid no income taxes. According to the Tax Policy Center (a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute), this will jump to 49% when Mr. Obama's cash credits remove 18 million more voters from the tax rolls. What's more, there are an additional 24 million taxpayers (11% of the electorate) who will pay a minimal amount of income taxes -- less than 5% of their income and less than $1,000 annually.

In all, three out of every five voters will pay little or nothing in income taxes under Mr. Obama's plans and gain when taxes rise on the 40% that already pays 95% of income tax revenues.

The plunder that the Democrats plan to extract from the "very rich" -- the 5% that earn more than $250,000 and who already pay 60% of the federal income tax bill -- will never stretch to cover the expansive programs Mr. Obama promises.

What next? A core group of Obama enthusiasts -- those educated professionals who applaud the "fairness" of their candidate's tax plans -- will soon see their $100,000-$150,000 incomes targeted. As entitlements expand and a self-interested majority votes, the higher tax brackets will kick in at lower levels down the ladder, all the way to households with a $75,000 income.

Calculating how far society's top earners can be pushed before they stop (or cut back on) producing is difficult. But the incentives are easy to see. Voters who benefit from government programs will push for higher tax rates on higher earners -- at least until those who power the economy and create jobs and wealth stop working, stop investing, or move out of the country.

Other nations have tried the ideology of fairness in the place of incentives and found that reward without work is a recipe for decline. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher took on the unions and slashed taxes to restore growth and jobs in Great Britain. In Germany a few years ago, Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder defied his party's dogma and loosened labor's grip on the economy to end stagnation. And more recently in France, Nicolas Sarkozy was swept to power on a platform of restoring flexibility to the economy.

The sequence is always the same. High-tax, big-spending policies force the economy to lose momentum. Then growth in government spending outstrips revenues. Fiscal and trade deficits soar. Public debt, excessive taxation and unemployment follow. The central bank tries to solve the problem by printing money. International competitiveness is lost and the currency depreciates. The system stagnates. And then a frightened electorate returns conservatives to power.

The economic tides will not stand still while Washington experiments with European-type social democracy, even though the dollar's role as the global reserve currency will buy some time. Our trademark competitive advantage will be lost, and once lost, it will be hard to regain. There are too many emerging economies focused on prosperity and not redistribution for the U.S. to easily recapture its role of global economic leader.

Tomorrow's children may come to question why their parents sold their birthright for a mess of "fairness" -- whatever that will signify when jobs are scarce and American opportunity is no longer the envy of the world.