Sign My Petition Revive the Real Estate Market with This “No Cost Stimulus Package” | PRLog

Sign My Petition Revive the Real Estate Market with This “No Cost Stimulus Package” | PRLog

Attack Them Where It Hurts the Most

Attack Them Where It Hurts the Most

It’s not Occupy the Streets, it's Paving the Road to Fairness

As one person out of the 99% who is sick and tired of the current economic and political situation the country is in, I am of the opinion that the following will have a much quicker, bigger and productive impact:

1.       Impeach Congress: If any of us doesn’t do a job bestowed upon him/her efficiently and in a professional manner he/she will not last two days in that job, he/she will be fired. Our congress, both houses, hasn’t done its job for years and we keep re-electing the same people hoping things will change. They won’t. So we have to fire members of both houses and bar them for a term or two from participating in elections, and hire some new faces based on their resumes not based on their connections. Why wait another thirteen months to re-elect the same people and wait another several months for them to start blaming each other again for not doing what we hired them to do in the first place.

2.       Close your account when you find out that the customer service of the company you are trying to reach has its customer service outsourced to another country, and take your account to a competitor that is not outsourcing its customer service.  If you can’t find a competitor that is not outsourcing its customer service then we are in a more serious trouble than we think we are in. Companies outsourcing to other countries haven’t reduced their prices to benefit you; in fact, in many instances they have raised their prices more than the inflation rate. Outsourcing has raised their, the Companies, profits by cutting jobs here and hiring cheap labor in those foreign countries.

3.       Don’t buy anything that is not MADE in AMERICA. Companies manufacturing outside the U.S. have not cut their prices and they have not passed the benefits to you, they have raised your cost and raised their own profit margins by cutting jobs here and hiring cheap labor in those foreign countries.

4.       There can be no economic recovery without fixing the Real Estate market. Check out this “No Cost Stimulus Plan to Revive the Real Estate Market”.  Details @ http://bit.ly/nywP8S and see if it benefits you, if it does, make sure your representative hears from you.

5.       Illegal immigration. Most every country in the world, even countries with minimal resources, has, can and is able to protect its borders and control the immigration flow.  We, the United States, go out of our way, thousands of miles across and put our kids’ lives in danger, spending billions of dollars every year, to protect some foreign country’s borders, or build their nations, ignoring our country’s needs. We should bring the troops (or at least most of them) home and have them join hands with the National Guard and protect the borders, all four, and free the country from drug dealers, illegal immigration and rebuild the country, Our Country. Also, offer all illegal, undocumented immigrants currently living in the country a path to citizenship by putting them on probation, with the understanding that anyone who has or does commit any crime it is cause for automatic deportation. Anyone who is working an honest day’s work and is providing for his/her family with good behavior may apply for a permanent visa. Let’s be realistic; we cannot deport 10-20 million people, it destroys the U.S. economy. 

6.       Health insurance: Everyone should be entitled to be treated when struck by an illness, or suffers from an injury.  But no one should pay for another’s unwillingness to participate in providing for his or her own healthcare needs, unless that person is incapable of producing income whether due to age or a permanent disability. Anyone who prefers to avoid the purchase of health insurance coverage and finds himself/herself in need of health care services must pay in cash or sign a document authorizing the government to garnish a portion of his/her wages or income until the bill for the healthcare services provided to him/her are paid in full including interest at a predetermined rate.  If the person using the services is incapable of producing income for legitimate reasons or that person is a permanently disabled person (with proof), his/her bill to be paid by charity foundations first, and any shortage in funds to cover all expenses should be covered by the government. It’s the human thing to do especially for a rich country like ours.

7.       Infrastructure: We have the world’s best engineers both in the army (The Army Core of Engineers) and the private sector, yet we have the most deteriorated infrastructure in the developed world. We should be able to rebuild our country and provide jobs both to the military coming back home and the private sector.  We need to build bridges, highways, public transportation, airports, railroads, etc. and we have to stop the enormous mismanagement of funds.

Example of mismanagement: Gasoline taxes and the DMV fees collected that are supposed to pay for road repairs and maintenance are spent more for administration than the actual road repairs. We have to ask our government to manage the funds better.

8.       Not occupy Wall Street, have Wall Street behave better.  I don’t think any one of us wants to occupy anything, we just want fairness. We can accomplish a lot if we attack them where it hurts the most, and where it hurts the most for anyone is taking the job, the home, the business and the clout they have away from them. If we can do that, we probably will have our jobs back. Remember if we don’t have a job, eventually no matter where they outsource to, manufacture in, how many homes they build, we won’t be affording any of it. It is not only us who will lose, all the countries that are providing the outsourcing or manufacturing will lose also because they won’t have anyone to sell to. We simply won’t be able to afford it. Even China cannot grow without the American buying what it produces. Ultimately it will prove to be a lose-lose situation for all.

Why the Loan Modification Program Is Not Working

If you are wondering why the Loan Modification Program is not working here is the answer:

1. Underwriting: using underwriting guidelines that are obsolete, e.g.

When calculating COMMISSION income you should not use the same method that was used before the economic collapse (taking the two-year average, or the year to date average). In this type of economy you should use the average of the last 3 months and allow for another 10% decline in commission income from that, until we are certain the economy is improving.

When modifying a loan, many do not qualify because when their income is calculated on a year to date income, their debt to income will look lower than it actually is. Even though their commission income is decreased the average income will show higher than the actual current income. This is how:

If you were making $3,000 salary plus $4,000 commission per month the first 3 months of the year your pay-stub would show $21,000 which is the equivalent of an average income of $7000 per month. But, in April if the company lost clients due to the economic conditions, and your commission has now dropped to $2500 instead of the $4000 you were used to earn, your pay-stub at the end of June (6 months) will show 6 x $3,000 + 3 x$4,000 + 3 x $2,500= $37,500 for the six months, which makes it $37,500 / 6 = $6,250 average monthly when in reality your actual income now is $3,000 + $2,500= $5,500

Those lost clientele will not come back when the economy is in bad shape, things will get better only if the economy gets better.

How does this effect a loan modification?

For the Government to approve a loan modification your housing to income ratio has to be over 31%. Housing ratio is the total of your monthly mortgage payment(s) plus your property tax, plus home insurance, plus home owners association (if any), plus Mello Roos (if any) over your monthly income.

e.g.

Mortgage payment $1,670.00

Property tax $165.00

Home insurance $45.00

Mello Roos $55.00

Total $1,935.00

If we take this housing and divide by the old way of calculating income $1,935/$6,250= 30.96% your housing ratio will be 30.96% which is less than the required 31%. This means you can't qualify for the Loan Modification. But we know your income is not the same as it was 3 months ago, now it is $5,500 instead of $6,250. In this case, if they use your actual current income the result would be: $1,935/$5,500= 35.20% which is higher than the 31% required for qualifying for the loan. So your loan should be modified and your mortgage payment has to come down to $1,450 from 1,670$ per month.

2. Attitude of Employees: Although there are a few employees who treat the borrower with respect and understanding, many of these lender employees have no clue that their job is to help these borrowers and that by helping these borrowers they are actually helping their banks, their employers. They treat these borrowers with an attitude, forgetting that many of those borrowers were and are much smarter, educated and more successful in some instances than they will ever be, it is just that they became victims of circumstances beyond their control, circumstances in most cases created by the very financial institutions they are working for. Most of these employees have no clue or are lost in the number of programs there are and have no idea of how to match the borrower with the right program.

3. No Common Sense: In many instances, most banks and their employees have lost their ability of identifying a make sense loan and the potential of loss of everything both for borrower and themselves. For example: a borrower who has been an excellent client of the bank and has a proven history of making his payments on time for years in the past, but has fallen victim to the current economic conditions and has had a reduction in his income; if he is willing to keep the home, and make a payment, as much as he can, per month to avoid foreclosure or a short sale; It is the banks best interest that it facilitates the situation and allows the borrower to remain in that house. The alternative is for the house to be sold in a dead market at a much lower price that does not even cover the balance of the loan.

In these situations, everyone is a loser. The home owner for losing his home, the bank for

collecting less than it is owed, the neighborhood because of flooding the market with more

available properties for sale for the limited amount of buyers, causing even further

deterioration of the home values.

4. Government: I don't think I even need to tell you about the government. Our government officials are worried more about their chairs than the country, have become more hateful than constructive, more partisan than negotiators, more complainers than creators, more dependents than providers. Our competition is winning not because they are better; they are winning because they are using what they have learned from us: educating their people, building their infrastructure, caring for the weak, rewarding success, running a country; things we have forgotten.

5. Know-it-all Leaders: Our leaders, regardless of what they say about listening to their constituents, feeling their (constituents) pain, understanding their situation, open to their suggestions, they all seem to be know-it-all persons. When our leaders start listening to the guy in the street who is really hurting, who knows what's causing his pain, who knows what would help him, then we'll have the real solutions that work because they are coming from the real source and not from some emotionless, heartless statistic that could be translated according to your party's ideological benefits.

6. Time: The time it takes for a bank to process a loan modification is so long that sometimes the frustration kills the applicant, it makes you feel like a football being tossed from this department to the other to another, repeating the same information to one person to another and another as if your information keeps changing while holding for the other person. Some people would rather give up than continue with the process. It is a shame.

The situation is very serious. I am an optimist by nature but with the ways things are now with this government, congress and upcoming elections, things are looking pretty bleak. Whether you are making your payments on time or not you are losing, if not your house you are losing its value.

Self Preservation, Patriotism or Protectionism? What the Government Can't Tell You, I Will

There is a good reason why Government officials cannot tell you to do certain things; in this instance, and probably this is the only instance where, these officials are right in doing so.

In this Global economy where every country depends on another country to trade with, to buy from, to sell to, people and governments must learn to walk a very fine line for their survival.

The Government cannot force us to buy American preaching Patriotism. Every country and its people love their country and are patriotic enough without the government pushing them to be one.That fine line gets much finer and delicate when it comes to governments and their officials. Every word, every physical expression, every move, which is measured, analyzed, scrutinized, politicized may result in peace treaties, or cause wars to erupt.

When a temporary savings of 5 cents is costing hundreds of dollars in the end, people should avoid shooting themselves in the foot and must think for themselves and decide which serves their best interest in the long run.

The Government cannot demand or force us to buy American nor impose tariffs and fees for imports to discourage us from buying cheaper imported goods; that will be seen as Protectionism. And if we adopt that philosophy or mentality, all countries we export to will do the same to our products.

The people however, can take matters into their own hands and buy American without making public announcements for the purposes of Self Preservation.

Take a moment and think of this, every penny you are saving by buying a product made outside of the US is costing you an extra dollar and a job. Here is why and how:

Although I congratulate all emerging countries for the advances they are making in their countries; I can't help but notice it has tremendous and very dangerous effects on our country's future. By just comparing per capita income of 3 sample countries we will see where things are heading.

The same product manufactured in the US will cost $47,400 (U.S. Annual Capita Income)/$3,339 (India's Annual Capita Income) = 14.195 times what it would cost in India and $47,400 (U.S. Annual Capita Income) /$7,518 (China's Annual Capita Income) =6.305 times what it would cost in China in labor. Source: China http://bit.ly/jKOafJ $7,518 India $3,339 U.S. $47,400

When we add all other developed countries which are doing the same thing, buying from outside their country, we are creating a volume which is adding up to an additional 25 million jobs needed and created per year in China alone. Where, at the same time, and in the same period, we cannot even create the million jobs needed a year, just to keep up with our population growth. This new middle class surge is in the emerging markets such as: China, India by the millions is causing a huge demand on everything from food, clothing, shelter, wood, copper, oil and everything every middle and upper class people need and use.

The leaders of these emerging countries deserve a lot of credit for achieving the success they have and still are achieving. Especially interesting is their mentality of buying all natural resource mines they can possibly put their hands on around the world; by taking this kind of an approach they are securing the pricing and production control, which most developed capitalist countries didn't even think of doing until recently.

This high demand in all commodities, supplies, housing, and manufacturing has made prices here in the US unaffordable for us. Building a 1300 sq.ft. house that used to cost $50,000-$60,000 10 years ago is now costing $150,000-$200,000 because the cost of materials have doubled, tripled, and in some cases quadrupled. U.S. labor costs, were already more expensive than labor in almost any other country. So the few cents we are saving on a toy or a sofa made in outside the US is costing us our American Dream and The Jobs that used to make it possible to achieve those dreams.

Self Preservation is not a shame, it is not forbidden; it is a must to save our country, the next generations and their future in this country. We cannot expect companies to hire in the U.S. and provide us jobs and job security, when we are buying Chinese, Indian, Korean, or any other country but American to save a penny. They, the companies, manufacturers, service industries will have to hire in those countries to make the goods we are looking for, to buy them for cheap in here, the United States. Buying others' products, because we are saving few pennies here and there, is like winning the battle but losing the war. Winning the battle, because we could save few dollars a month, but, losing the war, because we are losing the jobs and the income to afford those products to be able to buy them in the first place. We are losing the American Dream.

It is us who can do something about this situation, not the government, not the companies we keep blaming.

The Government cannot tell you to Buy American, I can.

Chair vs. Country

 

There is nothing that compares to the power of the chair

Whether a king, or a queen, you fall for it without care

It seduces, it attracts, challenges you to a dare

It snatches your soul, even God doesn’t know where

The chair has attacked members of congress

It’s taken over what once had made sense

16 million unemployed, country in big mess

The chair keeps winning, causing us stress

The pain is growing, hurt is everywhere

Markets are falling, you can turn nowhere

We’re getting fired; their jobs ‘ still there

People have regrets handing them that chair 

No Cost Stimulus Package___ Believe It! I’ll Prove It.

In The Next 5 Minutes I’ll Show You How My Stimulus Package Costs Nothing to Implement, Raises Real Estate Values, Creates Jobs Almost Instantly, And Makes Money for the Banks and the Government in Less Than One Year.

We all know that without the revival of the Real Estate market the economy cannot improve as much as we would like it to. Being a Real Estate and Mortgage Broker for the past 26 years I have come up with this solution that benefits almost everyone. This may be the biggest transaction of my life, without pay, but it will help the economy and the country.

1.       Underwater Properties:  an underwater property is a property that its owner owes more on the property than the property is worth, but, he or she wishes to keep the property, still has a job but has suffered a reduction in income, can afford a modified loan and wishes to occupy the property as his/her personal residence. Sample property:                      

Home value                                                      = $150,000

Combined loan amount on the house 

(the sum of 1^st, 2^nd, or even 3^rd mortgages)      = *$200,000

Underwater amount                                           = $ 50,000

Solution:

a.       Refinance: Banks to Streamline Refinance the entire $200, 000 @3.75% annual interest rate payable interest only for 10 years and then convert into a 30 year amortized loan.

b.      Trust Fund: Establish a Mortgage Insurance Trust Fund where insurance premiums are deposited.  Government to insure the underwater amount plus 20% of the total loan by imposing a one-time fee equal to 2.75% of the loan amount as an insurance, like the mortgage insurance companies did. This fee to be paid by the bank to the government and be added to the loan not to burden the borrower to come up with it in advance.

Example: Loan amount          $200,000

Property Value                         $150,000

Underwater Amount             $  50,000

Mortgage Insurance= 2.75% of $50,000 + 2.75% of $40,000 (20% of $200,000) = $2,475. This formula insures the Mortgagee the Underwater amount plus a 20% to compensate for the 20% down payment ordinarily required during a purchase transaction.

c.       Personal Guarantee: Borrower signs a personal guarantee for the loan for a 3 year term, after the 3 years have passed the property remains the sole collateral for the loan.

d.      In the event of the borrower’s default, this insurance pays for the difference and covers the bank’s losses.

e.      The amount that the government pays to the bank, if the borrower defaults within 3 years of the refinanced loan, becomes a personal loan to the defaulting borrower, a personal loan that survives bankruptcy, just like student loans.

f.        Assumption: The new loan to be an assumable loan to qualified buyers. The Bank may charge 1% of the loan amount as a transfer fee, plus a set $500 Combined Processing and Funding fee and  0.5% of the loan amount for escrow and Title fee. The bank may (at its own discretion) ask for, accept, or reject a physical inspection report showing an acceptable condition of the property to the lender.

g.       Prepayment: The loan to have a no prepayment penalty clause.

h.      Credit Report: As an additional incentive, finance companies or banks must remove derogatory credit from credit reporting agencies for borrowers who qualify and obtain such loans at new terms.

Annual Interest rates to be fixed at 3.75% for conforming and 4.125% for jumbo loans.

2.       Foreclosed properties: Foreclosed properties are properties that the owners ultimately had no way of refinancing, and not enough income to support their mortgage even if and when modified. They chose to let go of the property.

These properties are a major burden on the banks that had the financing for these homes and the real estate market in general because they are causing a major over supply of properties which, in turn are devaluating entire neighborhoods.

Solution:

a.       Government to purchase foreclosed property from bank at loan value. This will clear the banks from their books to allow for new financing.

b.      Offer said property for lease with the following conditions to promote and incentivize potential tenants:

1.  Offer the property on lease with an option to buy at a predetermined price which should equal the total of the cost of the government purchase of the property from the bank plus 10%, for example: property cost the government $200,000 to own, the price for the tenant to pay in the event tenant wishes to purchase this property within the 3 year term offered to him will be $200,000 + $20,000 (10% of $200,000) = $220,000.

2.  Credit all lease payments made by tenant towards the down payment if tenant chooses to remain in the property and eventually purchase the property within 3 years. Tenant forfeits this right if he chooses not to buy property within the 3 years period and all money paid remains past or paid rent.

c.       The term of the lease to be 3 years or less to qualify for the credit.

This will guarantee that government money is not lost; actually, it is making money and taking a lot of inventory out of the market while helping owner occupancy.

 3.       Damage To property due to foreclosure:

Any borrower, who leaves or abandons his or her property, or lets his or her property go to foreclosure, must hand over the property in a normal wear and tear condition. No additional damage should be made to the property blaming the bank as the cause for the foreclosure and that revenge is in order, such as: pulling drywall from the walls, pulling out appliances, causing plumbing damage, inflicting roof damage, or doing anything that is out of the ordinary. The government will be authorized to place a personal lien on the owner who caused these damages whether the bank or the government end up fixing it to bring the property to its normal condition. Damages charged to borrower are to survive bankruptcy protection.

  

Excess money in borrowers’ pockets will incentivize him/her to spend more. This spending will cause businesses to hire more employees and get the ball rolling. The demand created will tighten supplies which, in turn will generate a moderate inflation, increase asset valuation, and eventually lead to higher rates and increase the GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

It is Not a Secret that When the Real Estate Market Improves the Economy Improves. 

*How to calculate your savings if your payment is converted into a 3.75% annual interest rate, payable

 interest only:  

Take loan amount e.g. 200,000 multiply by .0375 then divide the answer by 12.

$200,000 x .0375= 7,500 take the 7,500 and divide by 12. $7,500/12=$625 your payment will be 625

 dollars a month for the next 10 years. For your own personal loan, replace the $200,000 by your

 total loan amount and check the answer. That will be your payment. Deduct this from your current

payment. 

The Day Terrorism Lost and America Won!

September eleven year two thousand one

The day terrorism lost and America won

Three thousand died, markets lost a trillion

The buildings came down, but America won

It was a bad day, a very sad time

Panic for many, confusion for some

Target was designed to hit everyone

 Whether Jew, Muslim or they were Christian

No matter how unfortunate this event might have been

The country stood tall, vowed not to give in

Held hands together on the March to win

Against intruders; even Bin Laden

America’s Silver Platter

America's Silver Platter

It is no secret that the United States of America is the most generous country in the world. We are the first to send help when a disaster strikes anywhere in the world. We are the first to send money wherever a disaster hits. We give and give and there is nothing wrong with that. The reason we could give however was that we had jobs; we had companies that generated jobs and income for the country; we had the best education system and we produced very smart graduates to join the workforce. We knew how to utilize our resources and we had a military that was very well trained, equipped, and that it, our military, was strategically diversified and distributed. We had the dollar that was worth something, and a service industry with an impeccable reputation. We used to work hard to secure a nice future for our next generation.  Unfortunately, we slowly, but surely, put all that we had on a Silver Platter and offered it to our competitors for free. We are slowly losing our MOJO, so to speak. If we keep this up, soon we won’t be the country we used to be.

As a proud American any one of us would wish to reclaim our place in the world and bring all those lost on that silver platter back for our kids’ sake. We are reaching a critical state in this great country of ours, and if we do not take care of this problem soon enough, we will be forced to put our kids and mothers on that platter too to survive. I don’t want to do that, do you? 

Our ship is sinking!!! What are we going to do in order to save it?

In today’s world of globalization, each and every country must navigate through the waves of change and adaptation by using all the skills of a knowledgeable, smart and experienced captain and crew, along with the careful participation and alertedness of its passengers. In our country, neither the captain nor the crew are at the controls.  As for the passengers, they are either busy surviving  by hanging on to whatever they can, or are completely clueless and only focused on their social pursuits. The captain was handed the Titanic after it crashed into the iceberg. The crew has changed in the middle of the ship taking water in the turbulent sea.  Most of the incoming crew is so new and inexperienced that they are ignoring the consequences of digging more holes in the ship may do.  It is ensuring that the ship will be sinking faster, with more vigor, and  with no possibility of rescue.

Luckily, this ship was built with democratic principles. The passengers have a big say on how the captain and the crew perform, and who can direct them to make the right decisions and take all actions that are necessary. My political wish is that these passengers take a moment to wake up and realize that our ship is sinking and to take action before it is too late and we hit bottom.  A bottom that is so low that the pressure will keep us there for a very long time, leaving the world to the emerging countries to benefit from what our predecessors died to secure for us. Neither the crew nor passengers can worry about party affiliations while the ship is sinking; the only worry should be how to get above water and fast.

Where Have the Jobs Gone? The Seven Sins and What We Can Do to Bring the Jobs Back!

We keep wondering where the jobs have gone and why we cannot bring the Unemployment rate down from the advertised rate of 9.1 or 9.2 %, or the actual rate of 17-19%. In reality we all know where the jobs have gone: out of the U.S. and almost everywhere else, but here. We also know why the jobs have gone and it is due to the following:

1.    We want to pay less for the products we buy;

2.    We want the employer to provide us with all types of benefits for the same jobs other countries do without;

3.    We do not devote any time to guide, discipline, educate or support our children, teachers and schools;

4.    Our Education and Labor Departments offer no help in providing research, studies and guidance as to which fields will be in demand and which will be oversupplied for securing jobs for the future generations;

5.    We have taken the easy way out by allowing our children to be busier on social media sites and at social events than prepare for their future well-being;

6.    Our corporations have divorced themselves from corporate citizenship and surrendered to corporate profits to satisfy shareholders on one hand, and try to satisfy our need to pay less for merchandise and services on the other hand. They invest in other countries and create jobs in those foreign countries;

7.    The leadership in our country has become so childish in regards to dealing with the country’s affairs and so preoccupied with securing a seat in lieu of securing the country’s interests, that it has severely damaged consumer confidence and trust.

The political wish may seem obvious in this case, but it is worth repeating. I wish to see the following:

1.    Remove sales taxes on American made products temporarily (a year or two);

2.    Offer tax incentives (a year or two) for employers offering benefits;

3.    Parents, teachers and government officials to make a commitment to find time for their kids and spend at least an hour with them, tend to their needs and concerns while guiding them;

4.    It is no secret that jobs and education are related issues. The Education Department can work with the Labor Department to learn which jobs will be in high demand, where the trend is going and offer that information to potential students for them to know what to do;

5.    Social Life or Social media is a great thing if it is used for the right reasons.  However, spending hours and hours daily on them instead of studying is not the way to go. So, we need to find a way to monitor time spent on those outlets, or at least make those arenas more useful in educating the participants;

6.    We have to offer corporations’ incentives to bring their businesses back to the U.S., and offer them incentives to bring money earned outside back to the U.S. on the condition that they hire more U.S. Employees;

7.    Our Leaders grow up and do the job we hired them to do or take away their seats and hire a new team. Any employer would fire an employee in a heartbeat if that employee did what our leaders are doing, so why can’t we?

Consumer Confidence and the Lawyer in President Obama

It is an absolute delight to have a president who keeps his cool under pressure, gives excellent speeches that captivate the audience, young and old, male and female, and who makes tough decisions that produce results such as capturing Bin Laden, or achieving difficult compromises with opponents. However, after a few years in office, President Obama has to put the lawyer in him on hold and govern as a president and not a lawyer. Every time the president has given a speech or an interview it sounds like he has to establish a disclosure and protection clause. Year one or two in a presidency it is acceptable to blame the other party, to let the people know that there is a long way to go; that there is a lot to do and so forth. But, after almost three years in office, the President has to inform us about all the positive achievements made, and that we have crossed at least halfway through the problems and there is a little less left to do for prosperous years to come.  Just by omitting the word looooooooooong from the long way to go, he will instill great confidence that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and improve consumer confidence. People have run out of patience and money and they will eventually run out of hope that this President is making any progress, even if there are signs indicating the existence of progress.

This leads to my political wish that the President stands tall, acknowledges achievements, talks more confidently that things are not as dire as they seem, and will definitely get better without much emphasis on how much moooooooooooore there is to accomplish.  A confident President instills confidence and makes the people march like the soldier who has confidence in his general that the war they are fighting will be won. 

Yes, we’re getting it; the entire country is getting it Mrs. Bachmann. What’s next; A spell on the country?

Presidential candidate Michele Backmann proudly assumed the role of God’s Speaker and announced that the Earthquake and the Hurricane in the East Coast was the act of God. God made them happen so that Washington gets it, and that a change is needed. She also assumed, of course, that the change needed is for her to become the next President. I have a problem with that and it is not for political reasons or inclinations. It is for religious reasons. If I were to accept her assumption it would leave the impression that God is pretty careless in his actions, He either doesn’t calculate the consequences of extreme collateral damages on the neighboring states on the East Coast, or that God does not give a damn about anything but to help Michele Bachmann to become the next President. I think there is a third alternative, I think all of us must know what it says about her, and if we still haven’t gotten that, that means we are as (Whatever you want to call it) as she is, or worse.

My political wish at this juncture is for our politicians to keep God out of the elections. I don’t think God is either a Democrat or a Republican. Our founding fathers figured it out couple hundred years ago and came to the conclusion that God is neutral, that religion is between a person and his God, and that the nation is better served when religion (church) and state are kept separate from government. 

Treasonous?

Just when I thought Politicians have no place lower to stoop to, Governor Perry, The Texas Governor who is also a potential candidate for the 2012 presidential elections, came up with a brilliant idea to

prove me wrong.  As if the debt limit debacle that caused our Country’s first Credit downgrade by our

dear Congress was not enough, Governor Perry accused our Federal Reserve Chairman, Chairman

Bernanke, with treason and challenged him for a duel at the Texas Corral.

The year being 2011 and not 1881, I was expecting, or at least hoping, that the Governor was keeping

pace with civility and progress especially since he is aspiring to lead this great Nation. My Political Wish

in this instance is that our leaders think before they say something, be civil and not act like 19^th

century cowboys. In the age of space shuttles and cruise missiles it is no longer cowboys and Indians.

That era has passed.

The Ostrich Play

After playing chicken for over a month, costing the world trillions of dollars due to the uncertainty they created, and managing to cause the first downgrade of the country, the White House and Congress conveniently decided to adopt the ostrich game and leave Washington thinking that by hiding their heads in the sand, the problems would solve themselves and they will be able to claim victory.

The author wishes that our leaders act as the tigers and lions they presented themselves to the public during elections, and defend this country and her interests against any predators instead of playing chicken and acting as ostriches.