What's Da Buzz?

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This is the day when my topic field is Health and Wealth. How can I not comment on the downfall of the Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and the 504 point stock market plunge given my topic theme? What I will not do is go about it in the same way as so many others.

As a legal immigrant, I can speak on behalf of those who choose to move here a little bit. United States of America is a destination because of the greater freedom to pursue opportunity to improve the lives of our family back home and for the lives of our children. When you get here though, you find out your work is cut out for you and your resolve and determination better be very high. Let’s face facts; life here is tough with the rat race and really expensive lifestyle; hindi po libre. But we sacrifice what we must for the sake of our children and family back home.

What I found out living here (as my hubby pointed out) the American Dream was distorted from what we legal immigrants think it is into owning a car and a house. This has been done over a span of decades. It even became such a strong sentiment that President George H. W. Bush and President Bill Clinton forced the issue and made it so those who are not as well off could get loans from the banks.

It is these loans that have created the “housing bubble” and the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. The Stimulus package did nothing of significance. The push for a house for all has created this financial mess. The government takeover of the Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae because of the government created housing mess has put the US taxpayer in deep debt and bailed out China instead.

What has been missed is something that has been known for thousands of years but some think it can somehow magically be changed. There is no government program or intent that can make a person have the ambition and drive to do what is necessary to succeed in life. The individual has to choose to want to work for something. If you hand it out freely, it only encourages laziness and expectations of more hand-outs (sounds familiar noh?). To continually expect someone else to bail you out is being a coward as the person or company refuses to be held accountable. I have seen this in the lives of a few we know and in the case of Lehman Brothers too. It always leads to failure for all involved.

How does this country get back to being great?  I had the chance to get my hubby to talk about this issue and here’s what he told me…

 It goes back to integrity, honesty, responsibility and accountability for every individual, government branch, and every business. If a business makes bad decisions, then failure of the company is the price they pay. If an individual makes bad decisions, then failure is the price they pay. If a government branch fails, then it should be reformed or abolished. Welcome to life in the rest of the world.

This financial mess is the creation of the government and individuals not taking responsibility for their actions and deeds. What is worse is it makes our  country  even more unprepared for the financial strain of when the Baby Boom generation retires. That financial problem is the result of not enough people entering into the workforce to replace those retiring. It has been made worse by the short sighted and selfish desires of some.

The more there is of a push to redistribute the wealth generated by hard work through all the forms of taxation especially the inheritance tax, the less reason skilled, hard-working, legal immigrants have to come here and it stifles the ability of new markets to grow. The more freedoms are removed such as the freedom of religious expression, freedom of speech and more, the less reason for legal immigrants to come here. The more low skilled ILLEGAL immigrants are favored, the less reason legal immigrants have to come here. Because of abortion, the USA has lost 40,000,000 citizens who could have been part of the replacement workforce and contributed to the tax base. But out of selfishness, the economic future of the USA is in jeopardy.

The True American Dream can be the answer for the USA if the opportunity and the freedoms to pursue it are left intact. Then the people of this country of both legal immigrant and natural borne status can be unlocked to bring the USA back. It all starts with the courage to let the people do what they do best and stop undercutting them. Go back to the USA being the home of the FREE and the BRAVE. 

It is a great big world with a variety of economic opportunities out there. The legal immigrants that could be part of the solution to the economic woes do not need to come to the USA if the USA appears to want to be another China.

Basically, put in a good, honest day’s worth of hard work and keep the fruits of your labor.

Thank you,

Anah