Stand up for your beliefs

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

There was an interesting event reported on the news recently - a number of people were apparently arrested for blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. It seems they were picketing Wall Street and the financial district and the crowds spilled out onto the bridge. At least that is what the news media reported. No specifics were given about the success of their effort, but there were no indications that the stock market closed as a result of the activity.

After the rather auspicious start, the picketing of financial areas has expanded to numerous other cities but the news media has not reported any effect from the crowds other than the fact that other cities have seen similar protests against the purported wealth of the financial areas. We are truly fortunate to be free to demonstrate as an expression of our dissatisfaction with a condition and hopefully as these demonstrations continue and perhaps grow, they will remain peaceful. Whether they will have any lasting effect however remains to be seen.

The TEA party effort proves that a small area of discontent can have a major impact if the effort is well organized. However, we know the objective of the TEA party and the actual purpose of this group seems unclear (to me at least).

This demonstration of discontent and maybe anger, leads me back to a basic (personal) question. Unless we fully understand what we personally desire from our leaders in Washington, it is unlikely that the change needed in our investment community willtake place. If you look closely at how our nation as a whole spends a very large part of our discretionary dollars, it goes to fund lavish life styles for people in the entertainment field - television and movie stars, athletes, musicians, etc. But I never heard anyone complain about Michael Jackson’s exotic lifestyle. How then can we complain about the bonuses paid to Wall Street bankers when we applaud entertainers with similar life styles?

All of our leaders in Washington seem to want to protect the “middle class,” whatever that is, but many in the middle class contributed to the building/real estate crisis by buying homes expecting to turn a short-term profit by putting the house on the market after it increased in value. Many of them were second or third properties bought on pure speculation “because everyone was making money doing it.” Many investment advisors probably recommended this practice because based on paper calculations and the booming market, it was a good investment and (based on paper calculations) it “couldn’t go wrong.”

The government’s loose money policies provided the financing to make this work, but we don’t seem to understand that this is just an extreme, very broad, example of how government fails to respect the economy, our taxdollars and capitalism. How many examples have you seen on “60 Minutes,” or some other news program where they exposed the hundreds of dollars paid for hammers, etc.

bought for the military under special defense contracts?

Both political parties are guilty of wasting our tax dollars, but Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will forever be my example of how to spend tax payer money for personal benefit. As Speaker of the House of Representatives, she wanted the Air Force to buy a new plane for use in traveling from Washington to her home state of California. The plane they were using did not have all the amenities she felt she deserved for such a long flight.

Consider that our “elected leaders” become accustomed to a lifestyle far, far, above that of the average constituent and part of it is paid for by lobbyists hired by the financial community. Is it then any wonder that the executives of major American corporations put forth so much effort protecting their own perks?

To fit comfortably with the corporate elite, you must become accustomed to the type of benefits available to you and, equally as important, you have to accept them for yourself and work to protect them or you will not be acceptable in their circle. Our elected leaders must learn this if they are to be recipients of the campaign finances the large corporations have available. The large company lobbyists are paid extremely well for their roles in this relationship.

Many of us were brought up with values that stressed doingthings for the “common good.” These were simple lessons such as helping the elderly who couldn’t do something for themselves, sharing what we had with those who had little or nothing, etc. Often these lessons were based on Biblical principles which are scorned today. But, in our nation’s attempt to include everyone, we too often have sacrificed our core values or beliefs because we don’t stand up for what we believe. And, since our personal choices at election time don’t always represent our values we must choose between someone else’s candidates.

When I listen to House Speaker John Boehner (ROhio) talking about protecting the middle class from tax increases, my question is “Who are they?” Is the Speaker protecting the multiple-home speculator or the owner of a business with sales of less than $1 million? Is he actually using them as an excuse to protect large corporate perks and salaries of Wall Street financiers?

Finally, what are you and I going to do about it here in northwest Arkansas? I’m not moving to San Francisco to vote against Nancy Pelosi nor am I moving to Ohio to vote against John Boehner. I can express my dissatisfaction and write to my congressional representatives and become another “number,” which is better than nothing.

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Editor’s note: Leo Lynch, a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 4 on 10/12/2011