Beliefs (A Quick Overview)

• Politics


• Fiscally



• In the current state most welfare programs are wrong. Many welfare programs create an entitlement mentality in those who are dependant on them. Many who are dependant on welfare stop being accountable for their plight. They can quickly fall into the trap of waiting for the check instead of getting out and looking for work. In fact, many of those who are dependant on the government work very hard to stay on these government programs. The amount of time and effort many people put in fighting to stay in these programs eclipses the amount of time and effort they put into getting educated or finding job.

  
  

  Welfare can create, what I call, 'the Welfare Family Cycle'. The welfare family cycle is where mom/dad are on welfare and the child emulates what they see their parents do. The child, through their parents, quickly learn the ins-and-outs of the various government social programs. They learn they can always put their hand out and have enough to live on. With no hard stop on these programs people can, in essence, live off the government their whole lives and so can their kids, their kids kids and so on.




• The government should spend what it takes in from tax revenue. There are few exceptions to this and I can only think of two:
  

  1. During times of war
  2. during times of extreme economic contraction
  
  During times of economic expansion the government should save at least 5% of the annual tax revenue. This surplus should be invested in all kinds of equities and in the case of stocks they should hold shares that pay dividends and have no voting rights. The surplus should be used, until exhausted, to fund wars and incrementally to fund economic recovery.




• I believe that most of my financial beliefs are centrist but lean conservative.




• Socially

  
  

  • I would love to fund every social program but I recognize that the the dollar can only stretch so far. I would love it if no one had to work and everyone could spend all day discussing the arts and sciences but that isn't likely to ever be the case while people have needs and to a lesser extent wants.

  • Take welfare as an example here. I think the easiest fix for welfare is to

    1. limit the number of years a person can receive welfare to 4 over their lifetime
    2. A person on welfare should receive enough money that they can live while attending school
    3. After four years on the roles people should be removed and shouldn't be able to receive welfare ever again

  
  

  • The government has no business in the business of religion and religion has no business in the business of government. Thomas Jefferson clearly explains this in his 'Wall of Separation' letter. While evangelicals are trying to rewrite history and convert dead people to their side the debate about our Founding Fathers faith should have been put to rest a long time ago but many in the religious right refuse to except facts as evidence. Not even Benjamin Franklin's own words can stop the debate over his faith
    

    for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist. - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

    
    Those who want you to believe that Benjamin Franklin was Christian point to quotes like Fear not death; for the sooner we die, the longer shall we be immortal and Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy to support their arguments. A couple of examples of misinformed people passing along their dogma can be found at The Young Earth Creation Club and Faith of our Fathers". George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine and Ethan Allen where deists too. Yes these men were deists, yes they were religious but by they were not christian.
    
    

    The Constitution and the Bill of Rights only exclude religion from government. Article VI paragraph 3 forbids a religious test as a qualification of public office or trust and the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights builds the 'Wall of Separation' that Jefferson wrote about.

  
  

  Note: The The Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom is sometimes referred to as the precursor for the establishment clause. There are two main interpretations of the establishment clause, one interpretation is to prohibit and the other interpretation is no-aid. Not being a fan of slippery slopes I prefer the prohibit interpretation over the no-aid but that even that depends on how no-aid is being applied.

  
  

  • While many of my social beliefs can be interpreted as liberal I would say that they are centrist and, like a good centrist, some are conservative and some are liberal.

    
    

This is a very brief overview of what I believe. It is a living document and will change as my opinions and views are changed.

Hello World (AKA My Introduction)

I am a product of my trials and tribulations, my socioeconomic background, my successes and my failures. I am a thinker, I am a teachers as well as a student. I have my preferences when it comes to the subjects that I study and, knowing this, need to ensure that I the subject matter I like isn't the only focus of the classes that I take. I am open minded but I recognize that I am human. At times my own bigotries and prejudices will cloud my judgement and I would appreciate it if people would be kind enough to politely point this out.

I know that I am influenced by all that I read, who and what I listen to and what I see. To help ensure that I have a balanced perspective I read, listen and watch conservative and liberal media. Everyday I ensure that I look at conservative and liberal media sources to keep up on current events and have both perspectives. I don't trust the media to present the facts without bias and when the topic is important enough I double check the facts, read from additional sources, I seek out the source itself (if I can) and I engage in debate with others about the topics to get their take. Through what I read, listen to and those who give me council I will further my knowledge of who I am.

I recognize that I am flawed and being flawed I make bad choices as well as good. I am able to change and I am an agent of change. By not closing down, shutting off or walking away I keep myself open to other points of view. With so many choices, so many temptations, and my own selfish desires I will make mistakes after all I am human. I cannot accept that this is as good as it gets, whether we're discussing the current state of affairs or my life, things can always get and be better, I can be better.

This is my introduction. It is a living document and will change as my opinions and views are changed.